HUMILITY. 



113 



filtercouse is conducted with affection, harmony, 

 and peace. Among the other evils which shall 

 oe banished from the New Jerusalem, it is de 

 clared in the book of Revelation, that &quot; there 

 shall be no more crying&quot; or, as the words should 

 be rendered, &quot; there shall be no more clamour, 

 broils, or contentions&quot; arising from the operation 

 of malignant principles. No jarring affection is 

 ever felt, no malevolent wish is ever uttered, and 

 no discordant voice is ever heard, among all the 

 myriads of those exalted intelligences. Kind 

 ness and benignity expansive, benevolence, con 

 descension and humility, are the characteristics 

 of all the inhabitants of heaven. Without these 

 qualities the celestial world would become a scene 

 of eternal confusion, and happiness would be 

 banished from its abodes. If, therefore, we would 

 be qualified to associate with those glorious be 

 ings and to participate in their enjoyments, we 

 must cultivate the same virtues, and be animated 

 by similar dispositions, otherwise, we could ex 

 perience no delight in the society of angels, 

 and of &quot; the spirits of the just made perfect.&quot; 

 Were an individual whose heart is full of ran 

 cour and envy, who delights in broils and conten 

 tions, and in the exercise of revenge, to be ad 

 mitted into that society, he would find no asso 

 ciates actuated by congenial feelings, he would 

 disturb the harmony of the celestial choir, and 

 would be instantly expelled, with every mark of 

 indignation and horror, from those blessed 

 abodes. &quot;For what fellowship hath righteous 

 ness with unrighteousness ? what communion 

 hath light with darkness ? and what concord 

 hath Christ with Belial?&quot; By a law which 

 pervades the whole moral universe wherever it 

 extends, which can never be rescinded, and 

 which, like the law of gravitation in the materi 

 al world, connects all the individuals of which it 

 is composed in one harmonious system ; such 

 characters must, of necessity, be for ever exclu~ 

 ded from the mansions of the blessed. On the 

 other hand, the man whose heart glows with love 

 to his Creator, and with expansive affection to 

 mankind, and towards all holy beings, is secured 

 of eternal happiness, as the necessary result of 

 the possession of such divine principles ; and 

 must enjoy felicity, while such principles re 

 main in exercise, during all the future periods of 

 his existence, and in every region of the universe 

 to which he may be transported. 



3. Humility is another essential qualification 

 for enjoying the felicity of the future world. 

 There is nothing that appears more prominent 

 in the character of the bulk of mankind, than 

 pride, which displays itself in a thousand differ 

 ent modes in the intercourses of society. It is 

 uniformly accompanied with haughtiness of de 

 meanour, self-conceit, obstinacy, arrogance, and 

 a whole train of malignant passions and affec 

 tions. It is the pest of general society, the 

 source of domestic broils and contentions, and 



the greatest curse that can fall on a Christian 

 church, when it insinuates itself into the minds 

 of those who &quot; love to have the pre-eminence.&quot; 

 It is a source of torment to its possessor, and tc 

 all around him ; and of all the malignant pas 

 sions which rankle in the human breast, it is the 

 most inconsistent with the present character and 

 condition of man. It is peculiar to falle* and 

 depraved intelligences, for it is certain, from the 

 very constitution of the moral system, that no 

 emotions of pride or haughtiness are ever felt in 

 the breasts of angels, or any other holy beings ; 

 because such affections are incompatible with 

 the principle of love to God and to our fellow- 

 creatures. 



In opposition to this principle, which predo 

 minates in the minds of fallen man, and apostate 

 angels, humility is a distinguishing character 

 istic of the sons of God, whether on earth or in 

 heaven. Hence, we are told that &quot; God re- 

 sisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the hum 

 ble&quot; that even &amp;lt;c a proud look is an abomina 

 tion in his sight,&quot; while he beholds with com 

 placency &quot; the humble and the contrite spirit.&quot; 

 Hence, we are exhorted &quot; to clothe ourselves 

 with humility ;&quot; and &quot; to forbear one another 

 in all lowliness and meekness of mind, and to 

 esteem others better than ourselves.&quot; Humility 

 consists in a just sense of our character and con 

 dition, both as depending beings and as apos 

 tate creatures, accompanied with a correspon 

 dent train of dispositions and affections. Howe 

 ver much this disposition has been disrelished by 

 Hume and other infidels, who consider it as both 

 vicious and contemptible, when viewed in its 

 true light, it appears congenial to the best feel 

 ings of our nature, and to the plainest deductions 

 of reason. When we consider our condition as 

 creatures, dependent every moment on a Supe 

 rior Being &quot; for life, and breath, and all things,** 

 when we reflect on the cunon r&amp;gt;r&amp;lt;nni7.ation of 

 our corporeal frame, the thousauus o. . ra.c, arte 

 ries, muscles, bones, lacteals, and lymphatics, 

 which are interwoven through its constitution; 

 the incessant pulsation of the heart in the centre 

 of the system and the numerous other functions 

 and movements over which we have no control, 

 when we reflect on oar character as guilty and 

 depraved creatures, in the presence of Him 

 &quot; who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity ;&quot; 

 and on the numerous diseases, pains, sorrows, 

 and physical evils from the war of the elements, 

 which we are subjected, when we consider, 

 that, ere long, our bodies must crumble into dust, 

 and become the prey of noisome reptiles; 

 when we reflect on the low station in which we 

 are placed in the scale of intelligent existence 

 that we are only like so many atoms, or micro 

 scopic, animalculce when contrasted with the in 

 numerable myriads of bright intelligences that 

 people the empire of God and that the globe 

 on which we dwell is but as &quot;the drop of a 



