Riches of mercy to men in misery, or, Certain excellent treatises concerning the dignity…

And again, you must Exalt him as God in your hearts. ¹You will say, What is that? It consists in these Two things.

1. 1To exalt God what.

First, He that will do that, must be utterly emptied of himself; that is, he must see no beauty, nor excellency, nor goodness in himself, he must make nothing of himself, think of himself as a man not worth the looking after. And not so only, but he must see also an emptiness of all power and ability to help himself. And this doth not bring the creature upon his knees only, but it lays him flat upon the ground with his face in the dust, and viles him in his own eyes.

First, He that will do that, must be utterly emptied of himself; that is, he must see no beauty, nor excellency, nor goodness in himself, he must make nothing of himself, think of himself as a man not worth the looking after. And not so onely, but he must see also an emptinesse of all power and ability to help himself. And this doth not bring the creature upon his knees onely, but it layes him flat upon the ground with his face in the dust, and viles him in his own eyes.

When a man shall see that he is not able to sustain himself, together with the sight of the worthlessness that is in him, not having any thing to move another to do it. I say this is one thing, wherein this exalting of God consisteth. When a man seeth neither any beauty, or excellency in himself, nor any power or ability to help himself, nothing to deserve help nor ability to afford himself any help. But this is for the first thing, wherein the exalting of God as God doth consist.