The life of faith in three parts, the first is a sermon on Heb.…

But speculation, and opinion, and talk, are one thing, and a renewed truly humble soul is another thing. If all this while you are as great, and wise, and good in your own esteem, and make as great a matter of mens opinion of you, as others do that speak less against Pride, your speeches and preachings serve but to condemn your selves. It is as easy to talk against covetousness, gluttony, and other sins, whilst he that condemneth them, continueth in them, and condemneth himself. Talking against an enemy, obtaineth no victory; and talking against sin, may signify what you have learned to say, or perhaps what dislike you have to that sin at a distance, or in specie, or in ⟨p. 453⟩another, when yet you may damnably love it in your selves. It were well for Preachers, if it were as easy or common to conquer sin, as to preach against it: But alas it is not so.

But speculation, and opinion, and talk, are one thing, and a renewed truly humble soul is another thing. If all this while you are as great, and wise, and good in your own esteem, and make as great a matter of mens opinion of you, as others do that speak less against Pride, your speeches and preachings serve but to condemn your selves. It is as easie to talk against covetousness, gluttony, and other sins, whilest he that condemneth them, continueth in them, and condemneth himself. Talking against an enemy, obtaineth no victory; and talking against sin, may signifie what you have learned to say, or perhaps what dislike you have to that sin at a distance, or in specie, or in ⟨p. 453⟩another, when yet you may damnably love it in your selves. It were well for Preachers, if it were as easie or common to conquer sin, as to preach against it: But alas it is not so.

6. Another cloak of Pride is, The presence of a real partial humility, together with an outward humble garb. A man may be really humble in some, yea in many respects, and yet be exceeding proud in others: He may be vile in his own eyes, because he is conscious of many great and odious sins, and because he knoweth that sin is a thing odious to God, and all that will be saved, must be humbled for it; and because he knoweth that his body is earth, and must return by death to filth and dust: And he may go in sordid poor apparel; and such may have a humble tone and manner of speech; and perhaps speak so self-abasingly, as if there were none so lowly as they: And yet they may be exceeding proud of their supposed wisdom, or spiritual understanding, and of a supposed extraordinary measure of holiness, or revelations, or interest in God, or of this humility it self: Yea their common natural pride may not be taken down, though there be frequent expressions of great humiliation.