proud," Prov. xvi. 19. Happy
lowliness, that is the foundation of true highness! "But miserable
highness that is the beginning of eternal baseness." "Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Matt. v. 3. Blessedness
begins low, in poverty of spirit. And Christ's sermon upon blessedness
begins at it, but it arises in the end to the riches of a kingdom, a
heavenly kingdom. Grace is the seed of glory, and poverty of spirit is the
seed, first dead before it be quickened to grow up in fruits. And indeed
the grain "is not quickened except it die," (1 Cor. xv. 36) and then it
gets a body, and "bringeth forth much fruit," John xii. 24. Even so, grace
is sown into the heart, but it is not quickened except it die in humility,
and then God gives it a body, when it springs up in other beautiful
graces, of meekness, patience, love, &c. But these are never ripe till the
day that the soul get the warm beams of heaven, being separated from the
body, and then is the harvest a rich crop of blessedness. Holiness is the
ladder to go up to happiness by, or rather our Lord Jesus Christ as
adorned with all these graces. Now these are the steps of it, mentioned
Matt. v., and the lowest step that a soul first ascends to him by, is
poverty of spirit, or humility. And truly the spirit cannot meet with
Jesus Christ till he first bring it down low, because he hath come so low
himself, as that no soul can ascend up to heaven by him, except they bow
down to his lowliness, and rise upon that step.

Now a man being thus humbled in spirit before God, and under his mighty
hand, he is only fit to obey the apostolic precept "Be ye all of you
subject one to another," 1 Pet. v. 5. Humility towards men depends upon
that poverty and self emptying under God's mighty hand, ver. 6. It is only
a lowly heart that can make the back to bow, and submit to others of
whatsoever quality, and condescend to them of low degree, Rom. xii. 16,
Eph. v. 21. But the fear of the Lord humbling the spirit will easily set
it as low as any other can put it. This is the only basis and foundation
of Christian submission and moderation. It is not a complemental
condescendence. It consists not in an external show of gesture and voice.
That is but an apish imitation. And indeed pride often will palliate
itself under voluntary shows of humility, and can demean itself to
undecent and unseemly submissions to persons far inferior, but it is the
more deformed and ha