Heaven upon earth, or, The best friend in the worst of times. Delivered in…

But more particular, if you would have much of Gods company, and be intimately acquainted with him; take heed more especially of those particular sins which make God most to estrange himself from. As,

First, Take heed of Pride: That was the sin which made the first breach between the Creature and the Creator, the sin that sunk the Angels, that made God and them, who were very good Friends once, to be bitter enemies; this hath made the breach infinite, the feud everlasting, the wound incurable. And this made the first Quarrel between God and man. When man thinks himself too good to be but a man, he must be a God; he quickly is too had to be a man, he is but one remove from the Devil. To be a favourite of his Prince is not enough, except he may step into the Throne; it's therefore high time for his Prince to remove such from his presence to a Prison, from the Court to a Dungeon. It was Pride that cast Adam out of Paradise; and do you think that that sin is less hateful to ⟨p. 355⟩God, and less dangerous to man than it was five thousand years ago? Did it then spend all it's poison? And can it now do no harm? Do you believe that God will take that into his bosom now that formerly he abhorred to look upon? Now sin hath increased it's strength and deformity, and heightened it's enmity against the infinite Majesty of the holy Jehovah, shall his hatred against it decrease? will he be more willing to accompany proud aspiring Rebels now than then? no such matter: God is still as holy as ever, and hates all sin, especially pride as much as ever. Do you think that it is for nothing that the word of God speaks so much against this sin? Can it be that the Holy-ghost would say, Prov. 11. That every one that is proud, is an abomination to the Lord, except God did indeed hate them? Why should God threaten such so much, if he took any pleasure in their Society? though hand join in hand, yet the proud shall not go unpunished. Now we call the proud happy, but shall we call him so, when the day of the Lord shall burn as fire, and all the proud shall be as stubble: And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch. When the Lord shall tread down the wicked, and they shall be like Ashes under his feet,