460 CHRISTIAN MORALITY, VIZ. [SERA/. XXVIII. and learning, and even grace itself; are no sufficient ground for pride. It is a comely thing to see a man ex- alted by many divine gifts, and yet abasing himself. It is a lovely sight to behold a person well adorned with virtue and merit, and glorified in the mouths of all men, and yet concealing -himself : To see a -.man of shining .worth drawing, as it were, a curtain. before himself, that the world might not see him, while the world do what they can to do him justice, and draw aside the veil to make his merit visible. Not that a man of worth is al- ways bound to practise concealment; this would be to rob mankind of the blessing God has designed for them, and to wrap up his talents in the unprofitable napkin. But there are occasions wherein a worthy and illustrious person -may be equally useful to the world, and yet with- draw himself from public applause. This is the hour to make his humility appear. Flowgraceful and engaging is it in persons of title and duality to stoop to those that are of mean degree, to converse freely at proper seasons with those that are poor and despicable in the world, to give them leave to offer their humble requests, or sometimes to debate a point of importance with them: Not all the dignity of their raiment can render them half so honourable as this condescension does; for nothing makes them so much like God. The high and Holy One who inhabits eter- nity, stoops down from heaven to visit the afflicted; and to dwell with the poor. And surely, when we set our- 'elves before the divine majesty, we are meaner and more contemptible in his eyes, than it is possible for any fel- low-creature to be in ours; he humbles himself to behold princes. It must be allowed . indeed, that where God and the world have placed any person in a superior station, and given him a sensible advancement above his fellow- creatures, he is not bound to renounce the honours that are his due, nor to act beneath the dignity of his charac- ter and state. This would be to confound all the beau tiful order of things in the natural, civil, and religious life, But there-are cases and seasons that often occur, when great degrees of humilitymay be practised without dan- ger of sinking one's own character,` for doing a dishonour to our station-in the world. There is an art ofmaintain-
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