The divine life in three treatises

2. Hereby he will bring his followers to the fuller knowledge of themselves, and show them that which all their days should keep them humble, and watchful, and save them from presumption and trusting in themselves: When we have made any full confession of Christ, or done him any considerable service, we are apt to say with the Disciples, Matth. 19. 27. [Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee; What shall we have?] As if they had rather been Givers to Christ, then Receivers from him; and had highly merited at his hands: But when Peter forsweareth him, and the rest shift for themselves, and when they come to themselves, after such cowardly ⟨p. 301⟩and ungrateful dealings, then they will better understand their weakness, and know on whom they must depend.

2. Hereby he will bring his followers to the fuller knowledge of themselves, and shew them that which all their dayes should keep them humble, and watchful, and save them from presumption and trusting in themselves: When we have made any full confession of Christ, or done him any considerable service, we are apt to say with the Disciples, Matth. 19. 27. [Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee; What shall we have?] As if they had rather been Givers to Christ, then Receivers from him; and had highly merited at his hands: But when Peter forsweareth him, and the rest shift for themselves, and when they come to themselves, after such cowardly ⟨p. 301⟩and ungrateful dealings, then they will better understand their weakness, and know on whom they must depend.

3. Hereby also they shall better understand what they would have been, if God had left them to themselves, that so they may be thankful for grace received, and may not boast themselves against the miserable world, as if they had made themselves to differ, and had not received all that grace by which they excel the common sort: when our falls have hurt us and shamed us, we shall know to whom we must be beholden to support us.