because mankind are naturally divesu stand and misrepresent it. Mr. vine "that humility ought to be stret

to say,

he

catalogue of Virtues, and placed on the rasenstad This must have been owing to ally

Vices."

norance, or extreme malignity. The most char supposition is, that he really mistook a mere selfish and painful sense of natural inferiority for true humility.

This leads me to observe, that a man's humbling himself is something very different from his having a mistaken and reluctant sense of his own inferiority in respect to his fellow-mortals. Though men generally think too highly of themselves in regard to their inferiors, yet they as generally think too meanly of themselves in comparison with their superiors. The truth is, mankind are much more upon a level, in point of natural excellences and imperfections, than many are willing to acknowledge. The depressing sense, which some entertain of their natural inferiority, is greatly owing to their ignorance. But knowledge, and not ignorance is the mother of both humility and devotion. Those who know the most of God, of themselves, and of their fellow men, may be the most humble and devout persons in the world. There is a meanness and criminality in that voluntary humility, which the apostle mentions and condemns.

Humility is likewise different from submission, which seems to resemble it. Submission is the respect, which an inferior justly owes to a superior. The child owes submission to the parent, the subject to the prince, and the creature to the great Creator. But inferiors manifest no humility in submitting to their superiors. They only take their proper place, with

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ading themselves in the least

mility is something different from which is the part of a superior, and conping to an inferior. Thus the Creator may oll descend to a creature, the prince to a subject, the rich to the poor, and the aged to the young. But

though condescension is stooping, yet it is by no means degrading. Real condescension always displays a noble and amiable spirit. I may now safely say, that humility essentially consists in self-abasement, which is self-degradation, or a voluntary sinking not only below others, but below ourselves. It is therefore, wholly founded in guilt. None but guilty creatures have any cause or reason for abasing themselves. But every guilty creature ought to abase himself, whether he is willing or unwilling to perform the mortifying duty. For sin is of a degrading nature, and always sinks the sinner below himself. Sin degraded Satan from the highest to the lowest creature in the universe. The moment he rebelled against his Maker, he lost his original rank in creation, and sunk below himself and all the holy angels. Sin degraded Adam, and his first offence sunk him below the lowest creature on earth. Sin has had the same effect upon all his posterity, and made them more vile and abominable than the beasts that perish. The higher and nobler any intelligent creatures are by nature, the lower and meaner they become by sin.

Hence the humility, which sinners ought to exercise, consists altogether in self-abasement. They ought voluntarily to sink down to that place, which their sins deserve, or to be willing to lie as much below themselves and others, as their guilt can sink them. This is totally different from mere abasement. They

may be abased, and abased as lives t
be abased involuntarily, and widvinehe
aspiring to rise above themselves and

is no humility in such constrained and s
abasement, Satan is the subject of this kind
ment while his heart is full of pride and self-exalta
tion. But when the guilty are heartily willing to lie
as low as their sins deserve, then they really abase
themselves and exercise true humility. This is the
feeling which all sinners ought to have, and which ev-
ery one must have, who is finally raised to the king-
dom of glory. And this is only feeling according to
truth. Sin has degraded every sinner, and he must
ipe willing to degrade himself, and voluntary take the
place, which justly belongs to him. Such self-abase-
ment is the very essence of that humility which all men
ought to exercise. As there is nothing but sin, that
can really degrade us, so there is nothing but sin, that
calls for real humility. It belongs not to innocent,
but only to guilty creatures, to humble themselves.
Sinners have forfeited their natural rank among the
creatures of God, and ought to abase themselves be-
fore him. This always appears perfectly proper to
true penitents, who are sensible of their ill desert, and
have correspondent feelings towards themselves, and
towards God, whom they have injured and offended.

And now, if we look into Scripture, we shall find humility there represented as founded in guilt, and consisting in self-abasement. In the twenty sixth chapter of Leviticus, God said concerning Israel in case they should prove disobedient and forfeit his fa vour, "If then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant

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tio remember; and I will remember

I

3 from this divine declaration,

ccasioned by guilt, and consists in

or the voluntary accepting of the pundue to sin. To such a spirit God always ngs sinners, when he renews their hearts and prepares them for mercy. The prophet speaking of a time of general reformation says, "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." These representations of humility may be illustrated, by various examples recorded in the Old and New Testament, Jacob felt that humility, which consists in self-abasement, when he said unto God, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant."

David exercised that humility, which consists in self-abasement, under a sense of what he had deserved at the hand of God for numbering the people. When he saw the angel of the Lord brandishing his sword over Jerusalem, he humbly said unto God, "Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned; but as for these sheep what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house." This was real and deep humiliation for sin. It was voluntary sinking down as low as God should please to abase him. Job felt and expressed the same self-abasing spirit under the chastizing hand of God. In the depth of his complicated afflictions he said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord." And when he was reproached for such self-abasement, he

pertinently replied, "Shall we receivesu
of God, and shall we not receive divine he

that his humiliation flowed from a sent
unworthiness in the sight of God. Our Sas
self set up the publican's prayer as a proper exam
of that humility, which becomes a sinner, and which
will always meet the divine approbation. While the
Pharisee boasted of his innocence and goodness, the
Publican confessed his guilt, and humbly cried, "God
be merciful to me a sinner." This man was accepted,
and the other rejected. This man was willing to
abase himself, but the other exalted himself. This
man was humble, but the other was proud and self-
righteous. The prodigal son, when he came to him-
self, felt the spirit and spoke the language of real
humility. He said to himself, "I will arise, and go to
my father, and will say unto him, I have sinned
against heaven and before thee, and I am no more
worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy
hired servants." He freely confessed, that he had sin-
ned, that he had sunk his character, that he had de
graded himself below the rank of a son, and therefore
declared, that he was willing to take the low and igno-
ble place of a servant. Paul was a very humble man,
and his humility consisted in self-abasement for sin.
Once he says, "He is less than the least of all saints;"
by which he meant, that he was the most guilty and
ill-deserving in the sight of God. So he explains this
seeming paradox in another passage. "For I am the
least of all the apostles, that am not meet to be cal-
led an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his
grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain;
but I laboured more abundantly than they all." Here
it is very evident, that Paul's humility did not arise