~piritua/ PerfeC!ion. ~75 his Armv in che R<d Sea. Stnacherib fo high. flown wich che Con~eic of his Irrelitlible Strength·, that he ChalJeng,d Heaven, U:bou JOttr God? that hefbould he ~ble toddtv:r )'OU 0111 of mJ bands? found there was a JUll Power above, char 111 one N1ght delhoy d his mi 3 hry Army, and afrerwa_rd cur him ~If in his Idolatry. JVebu~had~ezz.~r the H.ead of Gold in the F1gure rcprefent1ng the Empires of the \Vorld, was for hts Pnde turn d a grazing among che Beatls, and by his Fall was che Argumenc of che Infulcacion, Thou faitiji in thy heart, I fUI/J af.cend into Heaven, lwrll_exalr '!''Throne above theStanofGod: m. I4· 12 ·: 3 • ] rvi/1 afcend above tht ht(~hth of tht Cloud,, I wt/1 be ltke the mofl high. How art thott • fa!iw from heaven, .o Lucifer, Son of the v:ornmt.; how -art thou mt down to the grotmd that didjl weakw nattons? Herod for ufurp1ng D1vinc Honour was devour' cl by Worms. In every Age there are in(!ances of God's terrible Wrath upon the Proud. 2 • Pride . is very odious in cbe fight of Men : therefore it often borrows the mask of Humility to obtain its ends: but 'cis always odious to God, who fees the mofl intimate workings of it in the heart. A proud Man is an Enemy to the more Excellent and Worthy : he is pleas, cl with the Vices and Infelicities of others, as they afford an ad van· cage to exalc himi<If above chem, and grieved ac cheir Verrues and Happinefs which render chem more valuable than himfelf. Pride is che Parent of Contention.: ic exafperaces the Senfe of a fcna\1 Offence, pucs an edge upon Anger, and has often afforded cragical Subjells, chat have fill d the Scenes with Tears and Blood. Humility produces Patience: for it makes a Man lower in h1s own Eyes, than he is in the opinion of others. Pride treats others with Contempt and Cenfure, and thereby provokes them to turn Reverence into Defpiflog, and Love into Hatred: When a proud Man falls into Mifery, he is che leatl lamented. TIJaC the Cure of eh is Lull is very difficult, will be evident by a Complexion of Con6derations. 1. Pride is the Sin to which Aogds and Men in clJeirbeft ftate were peculiarly liable. The Angels intermhti~g the vifion of the Di,vine Glory, and refle£\-ing upon their Ex.. cellencies, were imox1cated with Self~admiration. 'Tis (!range to Amazement, that chey flwuiJ fo fudden ly unlearn !heir Nacures, and difclaim cheir Maker, who had pre- .venred them with his excellent Benefits, and rais'd them to that Bright Eminence above other Creatures. Man in the ftate of unftain'd Innocence, when all Perfetlions of Body and Mind enter' cl inro his Compo!ition, with all his Luminaries and Graces, was Cor. rupced by Pride. 1ou fba/1 bt likt Gods, was_ .che Tempcacion char corrupced him. Prodigious diforder! His Pride begins when hJS <rue Glory Ends: and his Humility ends when his Shame begins. In che depraved Nature ofMan, Pride is che Radical Reigning Sin, chat firft Lives and !aft Dies. 'Tis call'd tb< Pride ofLif<. Pride fprings up in che Heart of a Child, and continues to extreme Age. Ocher Vices have. their Scafons, which being expir,d they wicher and decay. Carnal pleafures change thm Nacur.., and become dilhtlful: bur Pride flourifht!s and grows in every Age. Now 'tis ufua11y in vain to give Counfels of Eccl. u, Wifdom eo thofe who are funk inco Folly, che pcoper Seafon is to lnflrull and Caurion, when ic may be preventive of Folly. The difficulty of che Cure is increas'd, in chat like a Hellic Fever, 'cis nor eafily dif. cerned till 'tis almoll incurable. Some Vices are.odious from the vilible matter of them, Imemperance, UncleannefS, and Injuflice, by defrauding and oppreffing ochers; bur Pride is often excited and drawn forth by,the fame things wherein. Venues are exercifCd, and ditlinguilhed only by che end, which is ofcen concealed from our own fighc. The Pbarifee is a fignal Intlance of this. A Man may vifibly defpife che Pomp and Vanities of che World, and this may raife his efteem in che minds of real Saincs; and che ourward praaice of Goodnefs will be produllive of che praife of Goodnefs in others: This will afford a ftrong cempcacion of Pride. All the operations of Venues, even che exercife of Humility, that are the matter and argument of Praire, may be incentives of Pride; and thofe Difeafes are excreamly dangerous, which are nourilh'd by thac food that is necelfary to fupport Life. The ol~ Serpenc when he cannot fcduce Men by carnal Tempcacions, which are eafily difcovered, infpires wich fo fofc a breath the opinion of their own Venues, that they are infenlibly tainted. The defic«of excernal Honour and Power beyond whac chey defcrve to be defir'd, and whac is due to che Perfons defirous of chem, is nor eafily difcovered: l'artly, in char che afpiring after Dignity is, in the univerfal confent of Men, an argument and indication of a fublime Spiric; whereas che modeft refufal of ic, expofes eo Infamy, as if che refufcr had a Leaden Soul, whofe Body is racher ics Sepulchre chan its Intlrumenc : And the Heart is the arch.deceiver, the moft partial parafite, and its natural falfenefs is fomented by che anificial Flatteries offorvile Spirics. Every Man is a tlranger to himfelf; as the F f f f Eye
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