The arraignment of pride, or, Pride set forth, with the causes, kinds, and several branches of it: the odiousness and greatness of the sin of pride: the prognosticks of it, together with the cure of it: as also a large description of the excellency and usefulness of the grace of humility: divided into chapters and sections. / By W. Gearing minister of the word at Lymington in Hantshire.

CHAP. 13. Of Pride of outward priviledges.

EVil men are very apt to pride themselves in their outward priviledges. The Jews boasted they were Abrahams seed according to the flesh, though they cared not to follow Abrahams faith: they boast also that they have the Temple of the Lord, and they cry, the Temple of the Lord; as if they should have said, God dwelleth in the midst of us, he hath his habitation with us: This is the first fortress of hypocrites, saith Calvin. They gloried, that they were a vine of Gods own planting, that God had known and chosen them out of all the fa∣milies of the earth to be his peculiar people, and had entred into covenant with them. There is nothing more common with proud and wicked men, saith Salvian, then to defend themselves by the name of Catholick, when in life they are more prophane than Goths and Vandals: a vain name without a body: yet this is the ar∣gument of Costerus the Jesuite; in this name the Roman Church alone doth glory. But what doth this priviledge of a religious name profit them that call themselves Catholicks? and the

same may be said of the Catholick faith and profession. Little reason have men to be proud of outward priviledges: for the Apostle tells us, that in Christ Jesus, neither Circumci∣sion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature; nothing is acceptable to God, nor available to salvation; and un∣der these two, he Synecdochically comprehendeth all outward privi∣ledges, prerogatives, dignities and precedences whatsoever: under circumcision comprising the dignities of the Jews, Rom. 3.1, 2. Rom. 9.4, 5. under un∣circumcision, the Gentiles, with all their wit, wealth, strength, laws, policy, or whatever is of esteem among men, and glorious in the eyes of the world, all which he accounts as nothing in respect of regeneration.

1. Therefore first, wealth, strength, nobili∣ty, wisdom are nothing, and not to be gloryed in, 1 Cor. 1.26, 27, 28. You see your calling brethren, not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, &c. and things that are not to confound the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.

2. Outward callings are nothing, as to be Emperours, Kings, Priests, Prophets, A∣postles.

3. Or outward actions of hearing, fasting, almes-giving, prayer. It is a mark of a wicked

cast-away to rest in these things, of one who buildeth the house not upon the Rock, but upon the Sand, saith Austin. It is the note of such as shall be refused, when the great King shall make distinction between the sheep and Goats.

4. Kindred and alliance avail not; for if the blessed Virgin had not as well conceived Christ in her heart by faith, as in her womb according to the flesh, she had not been saved, Luke 11.27, 28. For when a certain woman said unto Christ, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps that gave thee suck; he said, yea rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. It seemeth to have been an usual thing among the Jews to commend Pa∣rents by their children, and to commend chil∣dren by pronouncing their Parents blessed in them: So it is recorded of Rabbi Jochanan Ben Zachary, that commending one of his scholars, he brake out into this speech, Bles∣sed is she that bare thee. And in prophane Authors, this and the like speeches are usual,

Faelices tales quae te genuere Parentes.

Thus Solomon tells us, that a wise son mak∣eth a glad father, but a foolish son is heaviness to his mother, Prov. 10.1. yea as good chil∣dren be comforts to their Parents privately, so they be credits to them publickly, as the Psal∣mist

saith, he that hath good children need not be ashamed to meet his enemy in the gate; and that this is an especial outward bles∣sing, our Saviour denyeth not; for in his answer he doth not cross and contradict the speech as false, but only correct it, shewing, that though it were a good thing in the kind to have good children, yet it was a better thing to be good our selves; and howsoever his blessed mother were a vessel of grace on earth, and be now a glorious Saint in heaven, yet herein consisted not the height of her happiness, in that she bare him in her body, but rather in this, that she believed on him in her heart. And if Christs kinsmen had not been his brethren as well by spiritual adoption and regeneration, as by carnal propagation, and generation, they should not have had inheritance in the king∣dom of God.

5. Nay, the outward Elements are nothing without the inward grace.

1. For Baptism, it is not the washing the face or body, nor the washing away the filth of the flesh, that is acceptable to God, but the stipulation of a good conscience that maketh request to God, 1 Pet. 3.21.

2. For the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, he that doth not as well receive panem dominum, as panem domini, the bread that is the Lord, as the bread of the Lord, is an unworthy receiver, and so is guilty of his body and blood: and the reason why these outward priviledges are

nothing available with God, is, because the things that God regardeth are spiritual, and eternal, not temporal and carnal, as these are, which shall utterly cease in the Kingdom of glory: for then shall Christ have put down all rule, and authority, and power, 1 Cor. 15.34.

Object. But it may be said, that these out∣ward priviledges and earthly prerogatives of King over his Subjects, Master over his ser∣vants, Father over his children, have a place here in the Kingdom of grace, and that Christi∣anity doth not overthrow civil policy.

Resp. That a man must be confidered two waies, both in regard of his outward or inward man.

1. In regard of his outward man, as he is a member of the civil society, whether family, Church or Commonwealth, there be differ∣ences of persons, as Masters, Servants, Magi∣strates, Subjects, bond-men, free-men, poor, rich, as the Apostle tells us, Colos. 3.18. 20.—22.

2. But if a man be considered in respect of his spiritual estate, as he is a member of the in∣visible or Catholick Church, under spiritual government, consisting in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; there is no distin∣ction or difference, Rom. 12.5.

The Popish opinion therefore which teach∣eth,

eth, that there be some outward callings and actions that may commend us to God, where∣in we may glory, is here justly condemned, as to lead a single life, to keep many set fasting days, and pray much, to vow voluntary pover∣ty, to perform regular obedience, to profess a monastical life or monkery, to be buried in a Friars Cowl, to abstain from such and such meats, &c. whereas Paul tells us, that out∣ward priviledges will not serve our turns, nor meat commend us to God, 1 Cor. 8.8. Therefore it is a great vanity for men to think highly of themselves for outward priviledges, nor may we glory in them. Nay, the King himself may not be lifted up above his brethren; Deut. 17.20. Pauls example is excellent to this purpose, who neither esteemed the things before his conversion, as his education and breeding, being a Jew, a Citizen of Rome, a Pharisee, a great Doctor and Rabbin, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, of the Tribe of Benjamin, &c. or after his con∣version, as being an Apostle, wrapt up into the third heaven, hearing unspeakable words, not possible for a man to utter. And if any man had cause to glory in these things, Paul had: But saith he, I forbear, lest any man should think of me above what he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me: and of the esteem that he had of all these, you may see, Phil. 3.8, 9. he accounts them all to be but loss and dung for

the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, for whom he suffered the loss of all things.

Notes

• Jerem. 7.4. Deus habitat in medio nostrs, apud nos babet domicilium. Haec pri∣ma hypocritarum muni∣tio. Calv. in Jerem. 7.
• Salvian. de provid. dei. lib. 7. Vanum sine cor∣pore nomen. Hoc nomi∣ne ecclesia. sola Romana gloriatur. Coster. in En∣chirid. de notis Eccles.
• Gal. 6.15.
• Chrysostome saith of the Jews, that divinis penè obruti erant bene∣ficiis.
• Luk. 16.15
• Qui domū aedificat, non in petra sed in are∣na, August. in Ps. 103.
• Beatior Maria percipi∣endo fidem Christi, quàm concipiendo car∣nem Christi, & Chri∣stum faelicius gestavit corde, quam corpore; mente, quam ventre. August.
• Ashre sev∣valed techa. Beataquae te genuit. Tremel. in loc.
• Quisquè nascitur ex Adamo, nascitur dam∣natus de damnato. Aug. in Psal. 132.
• Mark 3.30, 31, 32, 33, 34.
• 1 Cor. 11.27,—29.
• Rom. 14.17. Eph. 4.4. Gal. 3.28.
• Christi no∣men indu∣ere, & non per Christi viam pergere, quid aliud est quam praevaricatio divini nominis? Cyprian.
• Virginity and single life an external prehe∣minence among men, no internal righteous∣ness before God: it's among those things unde faciamus benè, sed non undè fiamus boni. August. 236. Serm. de temp. V. Abbot cont. Bishop.
• Epist. ad regem.
• 2 Cor. 12.4, 5, 6.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.