The Soules Humiliation

p. 1THE SOVLES HVMILIATION.

14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mightie famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

15. And he went and joyned himself to a citizen of that countrey, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16. And he would faine have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eate: and no man gave unto him.

17. And when he came to himselfe, he said, How many hired servants in my fathers have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger?

18. I will arise, and goe to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned, &c.

THAT a poore sinner might come and be partaker of the precious merits and death of our Saviour and receive comfort thereby.

There are two things considerable. First, a fitting and enabling of the soule for Christ. Secondly, an inplantation p. 2of the Soule into Christ. For howsoever it is true there is aboundance of mercy, and infinite merit in Christ: yet unlesse the Soule be fitted and enabled by the hand of faith, to lay hold upon Christ; he shall never receive comfort from him, be his necessities never so many, and his misery never so grievous. Therefore Iohn Baptist was sent to prepare the way, that all those mountaines of pride might be laid low, and all the ditches filled up, and all the crooked things might be made strieght and all rough things might be made smooth, that there might be a way for Christ. The meaning is this: The heart of a man is the high way wherein Christ comes. Now there are mountaines of pride and untoward stoutnesse of heart, and many windings and turnings, and devices which the heart hath, by reason of many lusts that are in it. This fitting and preparing, is nothing else but the taking away of that knotty knarlinesse of the heart, and that pride, and all such cursed corruptions, that the doore may be set open, and the heart made ready that the King of glory may come in.

The heart being thus fitted and enabled, then followes humiliation: for the breaking of the heart, is not all that God hath to doe with a poore sinner, though the Lord wound the heart of a sinner, and run him through, yet the heart will be starting aside, and will not goe out to Christ. Therefore I shall now speake of humiliation of the spirit, yet before I come to it, give me leave to lay open two passages.

p. 21. The necessity of this worke, it must needs be.

2. The nature of this worke.

p. 3First, it is necessary that the soule should be thus humbled; for humiliation pares away all selfe-sufficiency from the soule by compunction: the Lord breakes the heart, and wearies it with sinne, and then the soule will be no more drunke, nor loose, nor vaine, no more foolish, nor dissembling, nor hating of Gods servants, nor use no more false weights; by humiliation the Lord plucks away the confidence in a mans priviledges, and all his good performances, and all his duties, by which he is ready to shelter himselfe, and by which he thinks to get some succour and comfort to his owne soule. Now as sinne shall not rule in the heart, so the Lord will make the sinner see, that whatsoever he hath and doth, can never helpe him, except the Lord Iesus come downe from heaven by his mightie power. For the further opening of these, you must know that there are these two maine lets, which hinder the comming of faith into the soule, and which keepe a man from beleeving in Christ, that Christ may have possession of him.

First, [1. Let of Faith.] when the soule is taken up with a secure course, and rests it selfe well apaide in his owne practises, and therefore it never seeth any need of a change, nor never goes out for a change: now while he lives thus, and blesseth himselfe in his sinne, it is impossible that ever the soule should receive faith, or ever by the power of faith repaire to Christ upon these termes: for ever where faith comes it works a change, all the old things are done away, and become new, he is new in heart and life; now the secure sinner that seeth no need of a change, will p. 4never see need of faith, nor labour for it; and if the Ministers of God bid such a man to leave his sinne, and to pray in his family, and forsake his sinfull practises, and to sanctifie the Lords day, and take up new courses, he thinkes they bid him to his losse: now by that time the Lord hath taken away this let, and burthened the soule marvellous extreamely, and saith, is it well that you live in drunkennesse, and in covetousnesse, in cheating, in lying and the like, then take your sinnes and get you downe to hell with them; thus the Lord is forced to breake the heart: then a poore sinner begins to see where he is, and now he saith, and is this true, then I am the most miserable creature under heaven, and except I be otherwise, it had beene good for mee if I had never beene borne; by this time the soule sees need of a change: Therefore as they said, Men and brethren what shall we doe, [Acts 2.37.] we have beene thus and thus, but if we rest here it will be our ruine for ever, oh what shall we doe. Thus the soule comes to a restlesse dislike of it selfe, and saith, I must either be otherwise or else I am but a damned man for ever.

p. 4When the soule is thus resolved that it must of necessitie change, and there is no dallying with the Lord nor with himselfe, and this heart must be altered, and this course must be amended. …