the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it, I Cor. 10. 13. These Texts feem both to intend the fame thing, and to refer to the ftrengthening and affifting Grace of God's Spirit, inabling us to refift and withstand Temptations, which is that Grace of God which was fufficient for St. Paul, and is fufficient for all Chriftians, tho' they may not have it in fuch a measure as he had. 7. To this sense it seems alfo reasonable to apply those two places of the Prophet Ifaiah, to this Man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite fpirit, and trembleth at my word, Ifa. 66. And again, thus Saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth Eternity, whofe name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him alfo that is of a contrite and humble Spirit, &c. Chap. 57. This it feems is God's Dwelling-place upon Earth, the Tabernacle of his Reft, the Soul of an Humble and Lowly-minded Man. But now how does God dwell in us but by his Spirit, and by the Gifts and Graces of it. And therefore this again fhews that Humility is a difpofition for Grace. As does alfo that Beati tude of our Saviour Chrift, Bleffed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. For if by Vertue of this Beatitude, the poor in Spirit (by whom we are chiefly to understand the Humble) are intitled to M 3 the the Kingdom of Heaven, then by confequence they must be fuppofed to be equally intitled to the Grace of God's Spirit, fince without Grace there can be no Glory. 8. In the Old Creation we read of a void and inform Mafs, and that then the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters. 'Tis fo in like manner in the New. Humility is that Myftical Void which is the Theatre of the Divine Operation, upon which the Holy Spirit of God acts by his Gracious, * Natural is here taken as 'tis opposed to Moral, and not as it is opposed to Supernatural. as upon the other he did by his Natural Influences. Humility is a state of Self-empti nefs, and the emptiness of it is its Capacity, that which difpofes it for, and makes it capable of the Divine Inspirations. For one Qualification for being fill'd, is to be empty, and if we will receive of his fullnefs, we must be empty in our felves. He indeed is full, and willing to communicate of his fullness, and the fountain of Grace is always open, and always running; and accordingly, our Saviour in his Difcourfe with the Woman of Samaria, compares it to a well of Living Water, John 4. But there is fome difpofition requifite on our part, and that is to be empty when we come to draw at it; for as St. Auftin fays, Tam largo Fonti vas inane admovendum est. We De Verbis Dom. had had need put an empty Veffel to the mouth of fo large a Fountain. And this is the reason that St. Bernard gives of the great diverfity and inequality in the distribution of Grace, why some have fo much, and fome fo little, which he fays is not that God is either a needy or a covetous difpenfer of it, but that where empty Veffels are wanting, the Oyl must needs be at a stand. Unde fpiritualis gratiæ inopia tanta quibufdam, cum aliis copia tanta exuberet? Profecto nec avarus, nec inops eft gratia diftributor. Sed ubi vaena vafa defunt, ftare oleum neceffe eft. He alludes to the story of the Widow's Ŏyl multiplied by the Prophet Elisha, 2 Kings 4. 6. In Afcenfione Dom. Serm. 6. 9. God promifes his Grace to the Humble, and therefore there must be something in Humility that difpofes Men for Grace. This Heavenly Rain in this differs from the Natural, that it falls chiefly in the lower places, whereas that falls indifferently. But herein however it resembles the Natural Rain, that however it falls, yet it stays and lodges in the lower Grounds, in the Valleys, which alfo is the chief place for Springs and Fountains, according to that obfervation of the Pfalmift, he fendeth the Springs into the Valleys, which run among the Hills, Pfal. 104. Now to these Valleys, both St. Austin and St. Bernard compare the Humble and Low-fpirit fioli. Serm. 9. ed Man. Si Humiles funt valles De Verbis Apo- funt, quod infuderis capiunt, non dimittunt. Si venerit aqua Super altitudinem decurrit & defluit. Si ad Concavum & bumilem locum, & capitur & ftat. So St. Auftin. If they are Humble, they are Valleys, they take what is infufed and do not let it go. If water falls upon a high place, it runs down and falls off, but if upon a concavous and low place, it is there received, and there it ftands. He might have further added, and inriches it, and makes it fruitful. And so 'tis with the hearts of Humble Men, thofe Spiritual Valleys, they receive the Grace of God and keep it, (there being nothing in the Spirit of Humility that is offenfive to the Spirit of God, that grieves or provokes him to depart) and being thus under the standing and remaining Influences of the Dew of Heaven,they grow Fruitful with it,and abound in every good word and work; and fo as the Pfalmift fays, The Valleys are fo thick with Corn, that they rejoyce and fing. 10. The Humble Man is the Tree planted by the Rivers of Water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his Season, and whofe Leaf does not wither. For where are the Rivers of Water but in the Valley's. Surely in the Valleys fays St. Bernard. For who Sermo de Santo Benedicto Abbadoes not fee fays he, that the Torrents do decline the steep places te. of of the Hills, and divert to the middle lowness of the Valley. So truly fays he, God refifts the Proud, and gives grace to the Humble. ́He thrives and profpers, and is fruitful in his low but fat and rich Soil, while the Proud Man on the top of his bleak and barren Mountain, for want of taking or retaining this Spiritual Dew, dries up, hardens and withers. For he is too high for the Grace of God, as having no fenfe of his need of it, nor can the Spirit of God delight to dwell with him, who has fo much of the Spirit of the Devil. No, 'tis the Man of an Hum-. ble Spirit with whom God declares he will take up his Refidence and Abode ; and our Saviour comparing the Grace of the Spirit to Water, gives us a hint to conclude that it will not rest upon a Proud Heart. For Water we know does not love high places. And the fame may be faid of the Divine Grace. And therefore fays St. Bernard again, Altitudo est, illuc non perveniunt fluenta gratia. He is a high place (fpeaking of a Proud Man) the streams of Grace do not reach thither. No they do not, but they defcend from thence into the lower ground, into the Heart of the Humble and Poor in Spirit, who receives that Grace which the Proud Man rejects and is not worthy of,and fo has a double portion of the Spirit, the Proud Man's fhare, and his own too. Dom. Serm. 4. In Vigil. Natalis 11. If |