A practical discourse upon charity in its several branches and of the reasonableness and useful nature of this great Christian virtue / by Edward Pelling ...

VII.

7. The next Character of Cha∣rity is, that it is not Puffed up; alloweth not People to be Proud and Arrogant, to be Haughty and Supercilious, to have an immodest,

lofty, and over-high Conceit of a Man's own self; or to behave himself with Contempt and Scorn towards those, whom he looks down upon at a distance as his In∣feriors.

There is hardly another Vice that is more Foolish, more Hate∣ful, than Pride is; none that is so like to the Devil's Temper; I am sure, none that stands in more di∣rect opposition to all the Laws of Charity. An humble Mind stoops to all, though the meanest and lowest Offices; nor is there any Act of Love, which it is not wil∣ling to reach out a kind Hand unto, though it be to the washing of Feet: And the Reason is, be∣cause a truly humble Man hath so modest an Opinion of himself, and so high an Esteem of others, that he is apt to reckon all good

Offices to be a kind of Debt to them, and a very necessary, though a poor Tribute of Honour to the Meek and Lowly Jesus. But Pride sets Men so remote from their Neighbours, that to desire their Friendship, looks like Incroach∣ment; and for themselves to offer it, seems to them a Transgressing the Rules of Greatness; and so in that distance and interval between State and Meanness, many Acts of True Charity are wanting, many Blessed Opportunities of doing Good drop to the Ground, and are quite lost, and perhaps too when the Necessities of Poor Wretches are most pressing. Sel∣dom do Proud Men think of God himself, They care not for God, nei∣ther is God in all their Thoughts, saith David, Psal. 10. 4. They think not of him as their Maker

and Benefactor, by whom they live; or as their Law-giver and Judge, by whom they must be Sentenced to Eternity; at least they think not with that Grati∣tude, Reverence, and depth of Thought, which should swallow up all their vain Imaginations. And if God be not in their Minds, it is no wonder if Men be not there, and if they be full of no∣thing but Themselves. But this is not all: The Case would be bet∣ter though they did no Good, if they did no Hurt neither. But Pride is such an Injurious and Im∣perious Vice, that where it Ruleth, it admits of no Bound but those of its own setting, and those are as uncertain, as precarious Priviledges under an Arbitrary Power. Pride commonly hath Covetousness for its Factor, to Toil and Drudge for

its Maintenance; and when those Vices go hand in hand, nothing is safe that is within reach, though it be Naboth's Vineyard. Ahab was sick at Heart for it, and to recover his Content, the Poor Man's Blood was sought for too, as the speediest Remedy. Men of such Tempers are so bloated with an Opinion of their own Deserts, that they fancy themselves to have a kind of Right to every Thing, especially if it be judged necessary and convenient; and how then can we hope for Cha∣rity, when there is no room for Justice? Fraud, Rapine, and Op∣pression, are the usual designs of an elated Mind, and 'tis the harder to stop them, because Proud Peo∣ple are ever apt to over-look their Actions; think it a Diminution to obey such a Thing as Con∣science;

are too Big to be taken to account; too High to ask themselves; is there not Iniquity in my Right Hand?

Indeed People who are thus puffed up, have not always power to hurt others much in their For∣tunes; but then they seldom fail to oppress them in their Fame; which is another Thing utterly in∣consistent with that Candor and Goodness, which evermore attends a Charitable Temper. Pride is always very Censorious; though many times there is no other Rea∣son for the hard Character it gives, but this only, That it may have a Foil, to set off it self. The greatest Innocence is often Re∣proached, because Proud People care not what others deserve, but would have you know how Sin∣gular their own Merits are; by

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exposing a Neighbour, they hope you will think the better and the more highly of them: By throw∣ing Dirt upon others Faces, they think their own will appear the more Beautiful; like the haugh∣ty Pharisee in the Gospel, who thought to Recommend himself to God, by making Reflections; I am not as other Men are, Extor∣tioners, Ʋnjust, Adulterers, nor even as this Publican, Luke 18. 11.

By this Injurious and Unchari∣table Practice, many Mischiefs be∣fal Mankind; as Strife, Railings, Animosities, Violence, and all man∣ner of Outrage. So that Salo∣mon saith, Prov. 13. 10. Only by Pride cometh Contention. 'Tis the only Natural Mother of Conten∣tion: There are Accidental Causes of it, as Drunkenness, Passion, Revenge, and the like, which

bring forth Strife upon preceding Heats and Provocations; but Pride is the only Vice, that hath a con∣stant, natural Inclination that way; a Principle that tends to Strife, whether there be just Provoca∣tions or no; the Vice that loves it, and delights in it; and indeed that Signalizeth it self chiefly by it; for had we not Reason to be∣ware of Quarrels, and to be afraid of them, for the mischievous Na∣ture and Consequence of them, very little notice would be taken of Proud People; they would be the most Slighted and Scorned, as now they are the most Hated Creatures in the World.

Therefore that we may beget in us a right Spirit of Charity, and be able duly to express it, we should Learn of our great Law∣giver and Exemplar, to be very

lowly in Heart, Matth. 11. 29. We should first lay our selves low under an awful Apprehension of God's Greatness, and under a just Sense of our own Vileness and Unworthiness, to be sure in com∣parison of Him; of whose Perfe∣ctions and Glory there is no End. Then we should consider, with what admirable Wisdom God hath ordered the World; that as all Things depend upon him, so under him one Thing dependeth upon another, and ministreth Help to another; and in this respect or that one Thing excelleth another too: That Man himself, though he struts upon the Earth with such Pomp and State, is behold∣ing to the meanest Creature for Succour and Assistance: That the most Valuable Things any Man hath are all borrowed, and that

but for a little time too. That though the Righteous be more Excellent than his Neighbour, yet it is God that makes the diffe∣rence, and that we have nothing of our own but our Follies and our Sins. Few think it reasonable to be proud of these; and be∣cause all the rest are Debts, there is no reason for any to be proud of them neither. Upon these ac∣counts we should prick the Bubble in our Minds, which hath nothing in it but Air, nothing about it but Phantastical Gaiety, to please Chil∣dren and Fools. The business of a Man is to do Good; and in or∣der thereunto, we should Prefer one another in Honour, Rom. 12. 10. Condescend to Men of low Estate, Vers. 16. Do nothing through Strife or Vain-glory, but in lowliness of Mind each should esteem other better

than themselves, Philip. 2. 3. Be∣cause how great soever one Man's Gifts may be, those of the most inferior Rank have in some re∣spect or other greater Gifts than he hath. Briefly we should imi∣tate the great Humility of the Lord Jesus, as a sure way of ex∣pressing his great Charity too; who though He was in Form of God, and thought it no Robbery to be Equal with God, yet made himself of no Reputation. As he laid aside his Glory for the Form of a Servant; so he laid aside his Garments for the lowest Ministration, to wash the Feet of his Disciples with those most holy Hands, which had wrought so many Miracles, nay to wash the Feet of Judas himself, that was now going to betray him. But I shall speak no more at present of

this Virtue, Humility, because it will require a particular Discourse by it self.