out humility, carries a precious powder in the wind with

out a cover.

3. Consider the increase of grace by it, the perfect enmity of God against pride, and his bounty towards humility; He resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

God resisteth the proud; singles pride out for his grand enemy, and sets Himself in battle array against it: so the word implies. It breaks the ranks of men in which he hath set them; yea, pride rises up in rebellion against God, and doth what it can to dethrone him and usurp his place: therefore he orders his forces against it. And if God be able to make his party good, pride shall not escape ruin. he will break it, and bring it low; for he is set upon that purpose, and will not be diverted,

But he giveth grace, pours it out plentifully upon humble hearts. His sweet dews and showers of grace, slide off the mountains of pride, and fall on the low valleys of humble hearts, and make them pleasant and fertile.

To this humility, as in these words it is taken in the notion of our inward thoughts touching ourselves and our carriage in relation to others, the apostle joins the other humility, in relation to God; being indeed the different actings of one and the same grace, and inseparably connected each with the other.

Ver. 6. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

THIS is pressed by a reason both of equity and necessity in that word, The mighty hand of God. He is sovereign Lord of all, and all things do obeisance to him; therefore it is just, that you his people, professing loyalty and obedience to him, be most humble in your subjection to him in all things. Again, mark the necessity, his mighty hand; there is no striving; it is a vain thing to flinch and struggle, for he doth what he will. And his hand is so mighty, that the greatest power of the creature is nothing to it. Yea, it is all indeed derived from him, and therefore cannot do any whit against him. If thou wilt not yield, thou must yield; if thou wilt not be led, thou

shalt be pulled and drawn. Therefore submission is your only course.

A third reason by which this duty is pressed, is that of utility, or the certain advantage of it. As there is nothing to be gained, yea rather, as you are certainly ruined by reluctance, so this humble submission is the only way to gain your point. What would you have under any affliction, but to be delivered, and raised up? Thus alone can you attain that; Humble yourselves, and he shall raise you up in due time.

This is the end why he humbles you. He lays weights upon you, that you may be depressed. Now when this end is gained, that you are willingly so, then the weights are taken off, and you are lifted up by his gracious hand. Otherwise it is not enough, that he hath humbled you by his hand, unless you humble yourselves under his hand. Many have had great and many pres sures, one affliction after another, and been humbled, and yet not made humble, as they commonly express the dif ference; humbled by force in regard of their outward condition, but not humbled in their inward temper; and therefore as soon as the weight is off, like heaps of wool, they rise up again, and grow as big as they were before.

In due time. Not thy fancied time, but his own wisely appointed time. Thou thinkest, "Now I am sinking; if he help not now, it will be too late." Yet he sees it otherwise. He can let thee sink still lower, and yet bring thee up again. He doth but stay till the most fit time. Thou canst not see it now, but thou shalt see it, that his chosen time is absolutely best. God waiteth to be gracious. Doth he wait, and wilt not thou? O the firm belief of his wisdom, power, and goodness! what difficulty will it not surmount? So then, be humble under his hand. Submit not only thy goods, thy health, thy life, but thy soul. Seek and wait for thy pardon as a condemned rebel, with thy rope about thy neck. Lay thyself low before him, stoop at his feet, and crave leave to look up, and speak, and say, "Lord, I am justly under the sentence of death. If I fall under it, thou art righteous, and I do here acknow ledge it. But there is deliverance in Christ; thither I would have recourse: yet if I be beaten back, and kept

out, and faith withheld from me, and I perish, as it were, in view of salvation; if I see the rock, and yet cannot come at it, but drown; what have I to say? In this likewise, thou art righteous. Only if it seem good unto thee to save the vilest, most wretched of sinners, and to show great mercy in pardoning so great debts, the higher will be the glory of that mercy. However, here I am resolved to wait, till either thou graciously receive me, or absolutely reject me. If thou do this, I have not a word to say against it; but because thou art gracious, I hope, I hope, thou wilt yet have mercy on me." I dare assert that the promise in the text belongs to such a soul, and it shall be raised up in due time.

And what though most or all of our life, should pass without much sensible taste even of spiritual comforts? a poor all it is! Provided we can humbly wait for free grace and depend on the word of promise, we are safe. If the Lord will clearly shine on us and refresh us, this is much to be desired and prized; but if he so think fit, what if we should be all our days held at a distance and under a cloud of wrath? It is but a moment in his anger. Then follows a life-time in his favor, an endless life-time. It is but weeping for a night, and joy comes in the morning, that clearer morning of eternity, to which no evening succeeds.

Ver. 7. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

AMONGST other spiritual secrets, this is one and a prime one, the combination of lowliness and boldness, humble confidence. This is the true temper of a child of God towards his great and good Father, nor can any have it, but they who are indeed his children, and have within them that spirit of adoption which he sends into their hearts. And these two the apostle here joins together; Humble yourselves under the hand of God, and yet, Cast your care on him: upon that same hand under which you ought to humble yourselves, must you withal cast your care, all your care; for he careth for you.

Consider, I. the nature of this confidence, Casting all

f

your care on him: II. the ground or warrant of it, For he careth for you.

I. The nature of it. Every man hath some desires and purposes that are predominant with him, besides those that relate to the daily exigencies of life with which he is compassed; and according to their importance or his estimate of them, and the difficulties occurring in them, he is naturally carried to be proportionally thoughtful and careful in them. Now the excess and distemper of this care is one of the great diseases and miseries of man's life. Moral men, perceiving and feeling it, have been tampering at the cure, and prescribing after their fashion, but with little success. Some present abatement and allay of the paroxysm or extremity, their rules may reach; but they never go near the bottom, the cause of the evil, and therefore cannot work a thorough, sound cure of it. Something they have spoken, somewhat fitly, of the surpassing of nature's rule in the pursuit of superfluous, needless things; but for the unavoidable care of things needful, they know no redress, but refer men entirely to their own industry and diligence. They can tell how little will serve him who seeks no more than what will serve, but how to be provided with that little, or to be assured of it, and freed from troubling care, they cannot tell.

Now it were a great point to be well instructed in the former; and it is necessary for the due practice of the rule here given touching necessary cares, first to cut off cares unnecessary, to retrench all extravagant, superfluous desires; for, certainly, a great part of the troublous cares of men relate merely to such things as have no other necessity in them, than what our disordered desires create, nor truly any real good in them, but what our fancy puts upon them.

And this is indeed the first thing to be looked to, that our desires and cares be brought to a due compass. And what would we have? Think we that contentment lies in so much and no less? When that is attained, it will appear as far off as before. When children are at the foot of a high hill, they think it reaches the heavens, and yet if they were there at the top of it, they would find themselves as far off as before, or, at least, not sensibly

nearer. Men think, "O had I this, I were well;" and when it is reached, it is but an advanced standing from which to look higher, and spy out for some other thing.

So then, I say, this is first to be regulated ; all childish, vain, needless cares are to be discharged, and, as being unfit to cast on thy God, are to be quite cast out of thy heart. Entertain no care at all but such as thou mayest put into God's hands, and make his on thy behalf; such as he will take off thy hand and undertake for thee. All needful, lawful care, and that only, will he receive.

Now in thy thus well-regulated affairs and desires, there is a diligent care and study of thy duty; this he lays on thee. There is a care of support in the work and of the success of it; this thou oughtest to lay on him. And so indeed all the care is turned off from thee upon him, even that of duty, which from him lies on us. We offer our service, but for skill and strength to discharge it, that care we lay on him, and he allows us to do so; and then, for the event and success, with that we trust him entirely. The care of duty thus carried is sweet and light, doth not cut and divide the mind; it is united and gathered in God, and rests there, and walks in his hand all the way. He bears the weight of all our works, and works them in us and for us; and therein lies our peace, that he ordains for us. If thou wouldst shake off the yoke of obedience, thou art likewise to be shaken off thyself; but if, in humble diligence in the ways of God, thou walk on in his strength, there is nothing that concerns thee and thy work, but he will take the charge and care of, thyself and all thine interests.

Do not vex thyself therefore with thinking, how will this and that be, what if this and the other fall out. That is his part wholly, and if thou meddle with it, thou at once displeasest him, and disquietest thyself. This sin carries the punishment of it closely tied to it. If thou wilt be struggling with that which belongs not to thee, and poising at that burden that is not thine, what wonder, yea, I may say, what pity if thou fall under it ? Art thou not well served? Is it not just, that if thou wilt do for thyself, and bear for thyself, what thy Lord calls for