The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…

Peter speaks of the proud, as if they did challenge God, like champions, & provoke him like rebels, that unless he did resist them, they would go about to deprive him of his rule,¹ as Corah, Dathan, and Abiram undermined Moses. For so the proud man saith, I will be like the highest,² and if he could, above the highest too. This is the creature which was taken out of the dust,³ and so soon as he was made, he opposeth himself against that majesty, which the Angels adore, the thrones worship, the devils fear, and the heavens obey. How many sins are in this sinful world, and yet as Solomon saith of the good wife, Prou. 31. 29. Many daughters have done virtuously,⁴ but thou surmountest them all. So I may say of pride, many sins have done wickedly, but thou surmountest them all: for ⟨p. 431⟩the wrathful man, the prodigal man, the lascivious man, the surfeiting man, the slothful man, is rather an enemy to himself then to God. The envious man, the covetous man, the deceitful man, the ungrateful man, is rather an enemy to men then to God. but the proud man sets himself against God, because he doth against his laws, he maketh himself equal with God, because he doth all without God and craves no help of him: he exalteth himself above God, because he will have his own will, though it be contrary to Gods will. As the humble man saith;⁵ Not unto us Lord, not unto us, but thy name give the glory. Psal. 115. 1. so the proud man saith, not unto him, not unto him, but unto us give the glory: like unto Herod, which took the name of God, and was honoured of all but the worms, and they showed that he was not a God but a man,⁶ Acts 12. 21. Therefore the proud men may be called Gods enemies, because as the covetous pull riches from men, so the proud pull honour from God. Beside the proud man hath no cause to be proud, as other sinners have, the covetous for riches, the ambitious for honour, the voluptuous for pleasure, the envious for wrong, the slothful for ease; but the proud man hath no cause to be proud, but pride it self, which saith like Pharaoh, I will not obey,