The danger of prosperity discovered in several sermons upon Prov. I. 27 /

Is he truly rich whose whole Estate lies in a Ship abroad, that is to pass through Seas exposed to Tempests, and infested with Pirates, and runs a double hazard of being robbed or cast away? And the Consideration thereof, is a proper Argument to cause us to keep a low Mind in a high Condition. 'Tis the Apostle's counsel, Let the rich, and the great in¹ the World, rejoice in that he is made low: because as the Flower of the Grass he shall pass away: when the florid Beauty is displayed, it presently withers. How many survive their Estates and Dignities, and by unforeseen Revolutions become poor and low. Many that were overflowing in Riches and Pleasures, are as dry and desolate as the Desert. And is it not a disparagement to our ⟨p. 205⟩Reason to admire Shadows, and be proud of transient Vanities? But suppose they continue with Men here, can they preserve the Body from Diseases and Death, or the Soul from oppressing Sorrows? And is it not miserable folly to pride themselves in secular Greatness, that is so insufficient to prevent the worst Evils? But especially the consideration how Man is vilified by Sin, should make him be abased and low in his own Eyes. As that blessed Martyr, Bishop Hooper says, Lord, I am Hell, thou art Heaven; I am a Sink of Sin, thou art the Fountain of Holiness. And the more gracious and bountiful God is to Men, the more sinful should they appear to themselves. Humility discovers our native Poverty, in the midst of rich Abundance; our ⟨p. 206⟩true Vileness in the midst of glittering Honours, that nothing is ours but Sin and Misery; and makes us say, with the Spirit of that humble Saint, We are less than the least of all God's Mercies. Now the more of Humility, the more of Heaven is in the Soul: 'tis that disposition that prepares it to receive the Graces and Comforts of the Spirit in an excellent degree. God resists the Proud; the Self-conceited and Aspiring he is at defiance with, and abhors them; he justly deprives them of Spiritual Treasures, who value themselves and bear it high for the abundance of this World: But he gives Grace to the Humble. The due sense of our Wants and Unworthiness, makes us fit to partake of Divine Blessings.

Is he truly rich whose whole Estate lies in a Ship abroad, that is to pass through Seas exposed to Tempests, and infested with Pirats, and runs a double hazard of being rob'd or cast away? And the Consideration thereof, is a proper Argument to cause us to keep a low Mind in a high Condition. 'Tis the Apostle's counsel, Let the rich, and the great in