THE fourth Encouragement is,1 That distracted duties may keep you humble, 2when as your perfect performances might make you proud. It is written of Master Knox, that on his death-bed, after he had received many blows from Satan about his sins, he was at last assaulted by him with this temptation, viz. That sure God owed him a kindness for his upright and industrious labours, until that 1 Cor. 4.7. was strongly imprinted on him, What hast thou which thou hast not received? Perhaps the Lord fore-saw, that thy heart was ready to be fly blown with pride, when thou dost well, and therefore he suffers these distractions, like Vultures to gnaw upon thy heart, to keep thee humble*. Far be it from you to ⟨p. 212⟩draw from hence an occasion to rest more securely in these sins. That Knight was surnamed Fortunate, because, being on a time in the deck of a ship, a great wave came and took him off into the Sea, and another wave took him and set him on the deck of another ship; yet no man (I trow) would to obtain such a name, be content that a wave should so hazard him: Even so, though God do sometimes make use of our infirmities to do us good, yet let no man venture therefore to sin, that grace may abound, Because the Physician can so temper poison, that it may do thee good, wilt thou therefore venture to drink poison? It is miraculous wisdom in God to do thee good hereby, and it were miraculous folly in thee therefore to venture upon evil. And with this caution, I proceed and observe, that it is a very hard thing to hear, or pray exactly without some tang of spiritual pride after it: And to prevent this, God permits us to wander, and lose our selves, lest we should be lost; he sees that it is easier for a man to fall into a lesser evil, when he can turn it to a greater good, than to attain a lesser good, and hazard to fall into a greater evil. O when a man sees ⟨p. 213⟩so much dregs in his very best duties, such constant disappointments, such foolish impertinences in his heart, yea such wicked contrivances in the very presence of God, O then what a wretched man am I! surely I am more brutish than any man, I am not worthy to come to thee, nor think I my self worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof, no such sinner on earth as I; my best is very bad, &c*. Thus the soul is throughly humbled, and brought to sit among the chief of sinners, and spiritual pride rebuked.
THE fourth Incouragement is,1 That distracted duties may keep you humble, 2when as your perfect performances might make you proud. It is written of Master Knox, that on his death-bed, after he had received many blows from Satan about his sins, he was at last assaulted by him with this temptation, viz. That sure God owed him a kindness for his upright and industrious labours, until that 1 Cor. 4.7. was strongly imprinted on him, What hast thou which thou hast not received? Perhaps the Lord fore-saw, that thy heart was ready to be fly blown with pride, when thou dost well, and therefore he suffers these distractions, like Vultures to gnaw upon thy heart, to keep thee humble*. Far be it from you to ⟨p. 212⟩draw from hence an occasion to rest more securely in these sins. That Knight was sirnamed Fortunate, because, being on a time in the deck of a ship, a great wave came and took him off into the Sea, and another wave took him and set him on the deck of another ship; yet no man (I trow) would to obtain such a name, be content that a wave should so hazard him: Even so, though God do sometimes make use of our infirmities to do us good, yet let no man venture therefore to sin, that grace may abound, Because the Physician can so temper poison, that it may do thee good, wilt thou therefore venture to drink poison? It is miraculous wisdom in God to do thee good hereby, and it were miraculous folly in thee therefore to venture upon evil. And with this caution, I proceed and observe, that it is a very hard thing to hear, or pray exactly without some tang of spiritual pride after it: And to prevent this, God permits us to wander, and lose our selves, lest we should be lost; he sees that it is easier for a man to fall into a lesser evil, when he can turn it to a greater good, than to attain a lesser good, and hazard to fall into a greater evil. O when a man sees ⟨p. 213⟩so much dreggs in his very best duties, such constant disapppointments, such foolish impertinencies in his heart, yea such wicked contrivances in the very presence of God, O then what a wretched man am I! surely I am more brutish than any man, I am not worthy to come to thee, nor think I my self worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof, no such sinner on earth as I; my best is very bad, &c*
- 1§. 4.
- 2IV. Encouragement from the consequent.IV. Incouragement from the consequent.
- *Si vero debilitatus à peccato six nequis orare, quantumcunque potes teipsum cohibeas; & Deus ignoscit, eo quod non ex negligentia, sed ex fragilitate non potes ut oportet assistere coram eo. Basil. in Serm. de Orando Deum.Si vero debilitatus à peccato sixe nequis orare, quantumcunque potes teipsum cohibeas; & Deus ignoscit, eo quod non ex negligentia, sed ex fragilitate non potes ut oportet assistere coram eo. Basil. in Serm. de Orando Deum.
- *The worst prayers we make (to our sense) speed ever best, and then we pray most happily, when we arise most humbled. Dr. Harris.
