Four books on the eleventh of Matthew

8. An humble spirit it is willing that God should put him into mean employment, and into hard employment, and into employment that it can see no Reason for but only the will of God, Yea, if the Lord should put him into the lowest work that ever creature was put into, an humble spirit submits and thinks, it is well if I may be in any service at all, Let me be but as the hired Servant, saith an humble Spirit, As it was with the Gibeonites, they were content that they might be but as Hewers of Wood, and Drawers of Water, So they might but live. The very Angels show themselves humble in this kind, to be willing to be Ministering Spirits, to the poorest Saint in the world, the poorest Saint in the world hath a guard of Angels about him night and day, this shows the Lowliness of Angels, and therefore we should be willing to be serviceable from their example in the lowest work for God, and not think that my parts and my Spirit is fit to be employed in higher ways, As a Servant to think, why am not I a Governor? I but to think that it is the condition God hath put me into, this is his Duty. And so for Services hard to Flesh and Blood, Yet an humble Spirit will go on, and the truth is, humility in the behaviour of the Spirit towards God appears in this, to be content to obey God in what I see no Reason for in the world, I know it is the mind of God, and though I can see no Reason for it, yet I will be content to do it, here is subjection ⟨p. 538⟩of the heart to God, not stand wrangling, Why should I perform Duties? And why should I do so and so? No, but this is that that shall sway my Reason and all, because God commands it. Now these are the main frames of an humble heart towards God, and as long as we go along, Oh, that we would examine how far short we come of Lowly hearts, it may b• we were taught before that we ought to be lowly, but here we may that we find come short, and there we may find matter of humiliation in our Prayers.

8. An humble spirit it is willing that God should put him into mean imployment, and into hard imployment, and into imployment that it can see no Reason for but only the wil of God, Yea, if the Lord should put him into the lowest work that ever creature was put into, an humble spirit submits and thinks, it is well if I may be in any service at al, Let me be but as the hired Servant, saith an humble Spirit, As it was with the Gibeonites, they were content that they might be but as Hewers of Wood, and Drawers of Water, So they might but live. The very Angels shew themselves humble in this kind, to be willing to be Ministring Spirits, to the poorest Saint in the world, the poorest Saint in the world hath a guard of Angels about him night and day, this shews the Lowliness of Angels, and therefore we should be willing to be serviceable from their example in the lowest work for God, and not think that my parts and my Spirit is fit to be imployed in higher waies, As a Servant to think, why am not I a Govenor? I but to think that it is the condition God hath put me into, this is his Duty. And so for Services hard to Flesh and Blood, Yet an humble Spirit will go on, and the truth is, humility in the behavior of the Spirit towards God appears in this, to be content to obey God in what I see no Reason for in the world, I know it is the mind of God, and though I can see no Reason for it, yet I will be content to do it, here is subjection