Charity and Its Fruits
seem greatly abased while in adversity and affliction, or have a natural melting of the heart under the common illuminations of the truth. In others, there is a counterfeit kind of humility, wrought by the delusions of Satan: and all of these may be mistaken for true humility. Examine yourself, then, and see what is the nature of your humility, whether it be of these superficial kinds, or whether it be indeed wrought by the Holy Spirit in your hearts. Do not rest satisfied, till you find that the spirit and behavior of those whom the gospel accounts humble, are yours.
3. The subject exhorts those who are strangers to the grace of God, to seek that grace, that they may thus attain to this spirit of humility. — If such be your character, you are now destitute of a Christian spirit, which is a spirit of grace, and so wholly destitute of humility. Your spirit is a proud spirit, and though you may not seem to carry yourself very proudly amongst men, yet you are lifting yourself up against God, in refusing to submit your heart and life to him. And in doing this, you are disregarding or defying God's sovereignty, and daring to contend with your Maker, though he dreadfully threatens those who do this. You are proudly casting contempt on God's authority, in refusing obey it and continuing to live in disobedience, in refusing to be conformed to his will and to comply with the humbling conditions and way of salvation by Christ, and in trusting to your own strength and righteousness, instead of that which Christ so freely offers. Now, as to such a spirit, consider that this is, in an especial sense, the sin of devils. "Not a novice," says the apostle (1 Tim. 3:6 ), "lest, being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil." And consider, too, how odious and abominable such a spirit is to God, and how terribly he has threatened it; declaring (Pro. 16:5 ) that "every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished;" and again (Pro. 6:16 ), "These things doth the Lord hate: a proud look," etc.; and again (Pro. 29:23 ), that "a man's pride shall bring him low;" and (2 Sam. 22:28 ) that the eyes of the Lord are upon the haughty, that he may bring them down; and still again (Isa. 23:9 ), that "the Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to