SERMON XXIV.

Pride.

LUKE XIX. IO, TI.

But thou, when thou art bidden, go and fit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have worship in the prefence of them who fit at meat with thee; for whofoever exalteth himself shall be abafed; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

It is an exhortation of our SAVIOUR's to Humility, addreffed by way of inference from what he had faid in the three foregoing verses of the chapter: where, upon entering into the house of one of the chief Pharifees to eat bread, and marking how small a portion of this neceffary virtue entered in with the feveral guests, discovering itself from their choofing the chief rooms, and most distinguished places of honour :he takes the occafion which fuch a behaviour offered, to caution them against Pride ;-states the inconvenience of the paffion shows the disappointments. which attend it;-the difgrace in which it generally - ends, in being forced at last to recede from the pretenfions to what is more than our due: which, by

the way, is the very thing the paffion is eternally prompting us to expect. When therefore, thou art bidden to a wedding, fays our SAVIOUR, fit not down. in the highest room, left a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him, come and fay to thee,-Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. -But thou, when thou art bidden, go and fit down in the lowest room :- -Hard lecture-In the lowest room?-What,-do I owe nothing to myfelf? Muft I forget my ftation, my character in life? Refign the precedence which my birth, my fortune, my talents, have already placed me in poffeffion of? -Give Give all up? and fuffer inferiors to take my honours? Yes;for that, fays our SAVIOUR, is the road to it: For when he that bade thee cometh, he will Say to thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have worship in the prefence of them who fit at meat with thee :-for whosoever exalteth himself shall be abafed; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

To make good the truth of which declaration, it' is not neceflary we fiould look beyond this life, and fay, that in the day of retribution, wherein every high thing shall be brought low, and every irregular paffion dealt with as it deferves ;-that pride, amongst the reft (confidered as a vitious character) fhall meet with its proper punishment of being abased, and lying down for ever in fhame and dishonourIt is not neceffary we should look fo far forwards for the accomplishment of this: the words feem not fo much to imply the threat of a diftant punishment, the execution of which was to be refpited to that day;

as the declaration of a plain truth, depending upon the natural course of things, and evidently verified in every hour's commerce of the world; from whence, as well as from our reafoning upon the point, it is found, that Pride lays us open to fo many mortifying encounters, which Humility in its own nature rests fecure from, that verily, each of them, in this world, have their reward faithfully dealt out by the natural workings of mens paffions; which, though very bad executioners in general, yet are fo far just ones in1 this, that they feldom fuffer the exultations of an infolent temper to efcape the abafement, or the de-portment of a humble one to fail of the honour, which each of their characters do deserve."

In other vitious exceffes which a man commits, the world (though it is not much to its credit), feems to ftand pretty neuter: if you are extravagant or intemperate, you are looked upon as the greatest ene" my to yourself,—or, if an enemy to the public-at least, you are fo remote a one to each individual, that no one feels himfelf immediately concerned in your punishment: but in the inftances of Pride, the attack is perfonal: for as this paffion can only take its rife from a fecret comparifön, which the party has been making of himfelf to my disadvantage, every intimation he gives me of what he thinks of the matter, is so far a direct injury, either as it with. holds the refpe&t which is my due, or perhaps denies me to have any or else, which preffes equally hard, as it puts me in mind of the defects which I really have, and of which I am truly confcious, and confequently think myself the lefs deferving of an ad

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monition in every one of which cafes, the proud man, in whatever language he fpeaks it,—if it is expreffive of this fuperiority over me, either in the gifts of fortune, the advantages of birth or improvements, as it has proceeded from a mean eftimation, and poffibly a very unfair one, of the like pretenfions in myself, the attack, Ffay, is perfonal; and has generally the fate to be felt and refented as fuch.

So that with regard to the present inconveniences, there is scarce any vice, bating fuch as are immediately punished by laws, which a man may not indulge with more fafety to himself, than this one of Pride; the humbleft of men, not being fo entirely void of the paffion themselves, but that they fuffer fo much from the overflowings of it in others, as to make the literal accomplishment of the text a common intereft and concern in which they are generally fuccefsful, the nature of the vice being fuch, as not only to tempt you to it, but to afford the oc cafions itself of its own humiliation.

The proud man- -fee he is fore all over; touch him you put him to pain; and though, of all others, he acts as if every mortal was void of all fenfe and feeling, yet is poffeffed with fo nice and exquifite a one himself, that the flights, the little neglects and inftances of difefteem, which would be fcarce felt by another man, are perpetually woundng him, and oft-times piercing him to his very heart.

I would not therefore be a proud man, was it only for this, that it fhould not be in the power of every one who thought fit-to chaftife me-My other infirmities,, however unworthy of me, at leaft will not

incommode me :-fo little difcountenance do I fee given to them, that it is not the world's fault, if I fuffer by them-But here if I exalt myself, I have no profpect of efcaping with this vice I ftand fwoln up in every body's way, and muft unavoidably be thruft back whichever way I turn, whatever step I take under the direction of this paffion, I prefs unkindly upon fome one, and in return, muft prepare myfelf for fuch mortifying repulses, as will bring me down, and make me go on my way forrowing.

This is from the nature of things, and the experience of life as far back as Solomon, whofe obfer. vation upon it was the fame, and it will ever hold good, that before honour was humility, and a haughty Spirit before a fall-Put not therefore thyself forth in the prefence of the king, and ftand not in the place of great men :--for better is it (which by the way is the very diffuafive in the text) better is it, that it be faid unto thee, Friend come up higher, than that thou shouldeft" be put lower in the prefence of the prince whom thine eyes bave feen.

Thus much for the illuftration of this one argument of our SAVIOUR's, againft Pride there are many other confiderations which expofe the weakness of it, which his knowledge of the heart of man might have suggested; but as the particular occafion which gave rife to this lecture of our SAVIOUR's against Pride, naturally led him to fpeak of the mortifications which attend fuch inftances of it as he then be. held for this reafon, the other arguments might be omitted, which perhaps, in a fet discourse, would be doing injuftice to the fubject. I fhall therefore,