The P R A Y E R.

Mr God, my Happiness, who art the last End of my Defires, the very utmost of all Perfection, and beyond whom there is no Good; be thou the laft End of my Actions

too,

and let them all meet and unite in thee, as Lines in their Center. Grant, I may set thee before me in all my Thoughts, Words and Actions; let my Eye of Contempla- . tion be always open, and whatever intermedial Designs I may have, let my last Aim be thy Glory. And, O let me never be fo low funk, base and wicked, as to make Religion an Inftrument of Worldly Policy, nor to dishonour thee and my own Sout, by fuch a mercenary Piety. But do thon always poffefs my Mind with such a due Value for thy infinite Excellency, that I may refer all Things to Thee, and Thee and Thine to nothing, but Love and Embrace Thee for Thy own felf, who in Thy felf alone art altogether lovely. Amen, Amen.

1

A Dif

1.

A Difcourfe upon Rom. 12. 3.

Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think foberly, according as God hath dealt to every Man the Measure of Faith.

Here is nothing wherein Men are fo much divided from one another, as in Opinions; and nothing wherein they more unanimoufly confpire, than in thinking well of themfelves. This is a Humour of fo Catholic a Stamp, and Univerfal Empire, that it may feem to Challenge a place among thofe Elements of our Conftitution, thofe Effentials of our Nature which run throughout the whole Kind ; and are participated by ༡་ every Individual. For fhould a Man take the Wings of the Morning, and Travel with the Sun round the Terreftrial Globe, he would hardly find a Man either of a Fudgment fo difficult to be pleas'd, or of Accomplishment fo little to recommend him, that was not notwithstanding fufficiently in Love with himself, however he might dislike every thing else about him; and without question, that arrogant and peevish Mathematician who charged the grand Architect with want of Skill in the Mechanism of the World, thought he had play'd the Artist well enough in himself, and as to the Harmony of his own frame, acquitted the Geometry of his Maker.

2. And as Men are thus naturally apt to think well of themselves in general, fo there is nothing wherein they indulge this Humour more, than in the Opinion they have of the Goods of the Mind; and among thefe, there is none which has fo great a fhare of their Partiality, as their Intellectual Faculty. The Defire of Knowledge is not more Natural than the Conceit that

we

we are already furnish'd with a confiderable Measure of it; and tho' a particular Sect were Characteriz'd by that Appellation, yet all Mankind are in reality Gnoftics. For as 'tis (ingenioufly obferv'd by the excelDiffert. de Method.p.1. lent Cartefius) nothing is more equally diftributed among Men than the Intellectual Talent, wherewith every one fancies himself fo abundantly ftock'd, that even those who have the most unfatiable Defires, and whom Providence could not fatisfie in any one thing elfe, are notwithstanding, as to this Difpenfation of Heaven, well enough content, complain not of the dull Planet that influenc'd their Nativity, or with their Minds more richly endow'd than they are. And altho' there are a generation of Men who use to be very eloquent in fetting out the degeneracy of Human Nature in general, and particularly in decyphering the Shortness of our Intellectual Sight, and the Defects of our now diminish'd Understanding, yet fhould a Man take them at their Word, and apply that Verdict to themfelves in particular, which they fo freely beftow upon the whole Species, I dare not undertake that he fhall not provoke their Refentment: And perhaps notwithstanding the liberal, tho' otherwife juft Complaints of the Corruption of Human Nature, could all Mankind lay a true Claim to that Estimate which some pass upon themfelves, there would be little or no difference betwixt laps'd and perfect Humanity; and God might again review his Image with paternal Complacency, and ftill prenounce it good.

3. Nor is it at all to be wondr'd, that Self-Conceitednef's fhould be of such an unlimited and Tranfcendental Nature, as to run through all Sorts and Claffes of Men, fince the cause of it, Self-love, has fuch an univerfal Frisdiction in our Hearts. 'Tis moft natural and neceffary for every Man (and indeed for every Intelligent Being) to be a lover of himself; and to Covet whatfoever any way tends to the Perfection of his Nature. And as 'tis neceffary for every Man to be thus affected towards

wards himself, fo is this the only Difpofition of Mind wherein Man acts with Conftancy and Uniformity. Our other Paffions have fometimes their total intermiffions, and 3. beft their increases and decreases; but this is always e Full, and ftands drawn out to the utmost Stretch of Capacity. No Man loves himself more at one time chan at another, and that because he always loves himmelf in the highest Degree that is poffible. More than all good he cannot wifh to himself, and lefs than all he will not; nay, I had almost pronounc'd it impoffible for Omnipotence it felf, which stays the proud Waves of the Ocean, and blocks up its violent Efforts with Bars and Doors, to fay unto this Paffion, Hitherto fhalt thon come but no farther, Job 38. 10. or to fet any other Bounds to it befides thofe of all poffible good.

4. Now Man being fuch an infinite Lover of himself, is eafily brought to believe that he is really Mafter of many of those Excellencies and Perfections which he fo paffionately wishes among the Inventory of his Poffeffions. For there is this notorious difference betwixt Self-love and the Love of others, that whereas the Love of others fupposes an Opinion of their Excellency, the Love of our Telves begets it. We Love others because we think well of them,but (fo prepofterous is the method of Self-love) we think well of our felves because we first Love our felves. So that now upon the whole, confidering how neceffarily and vehemently every Man is carried on to the Love of himself, and what a natural product Self-conceit is of Self-Love, 'tis much to be fear'd,that as we cannot fet any Bounds to the love of our felves, fo we fhall hardly fet due ones to our Opinions of our felves; and confequently, the moft mortify'd and refign'd Man of us all, has no reafon to think himfelf unconcern'd in this Admonition of the Apostle ---Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, accordingly as God hath dealt to every Man the Meafure of Faith.

5. 'Tis fuppofed that the Apoftle in thefe words, had refpect to the then prevailing Herefie of the Gnofticks,

a

Dr. Hammoud.

a fort of Men that pretended to great Heights of Divine Knowledge; and upon that prefumption grew fo haughty and infolent, as to defpife Dominions and fpeak evil of Dignities; and withall fo careless. and fecure, as to defile the Flesh, and indulge themfelves in all manner of Senfuality; as you may fee their Character in the Epiftle of St. Jude. Nay, of fuch turbulent ungovernable Principles, and profligate, Manners were thefe Men, that fome of the Learned (and particularly an eminent Divine of our own Church) have adventured to Write upon their Fore-heads Mystery, and to place them in the Chair of Anti-Chrift. As an Antidote therefore against this Poifon, the Apostle (2 Cor. 12. 7.) who through the Abundance of Revelation had himself been in danger of being exalted above Measure, and experimentally knew how prone Human Nature is to fwell and plume upon a Conceit of its own Excellen cies, thought it expedient to advise his Charge at Rome (the place which Simon Magus the Author of that Sect had made choice of to be the Scene of his MagicalOperations) to moderate and fober Thoughts of themselves; and being to teach them a Leffon of Humility, he modeftly ufhers it in with a Preface of his Commiffion and Authority. For I Say (fays he) through the Grace given unto me, to every Man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly, &c.

6 The Difcourfe which I defign upon thefe words fhall be comprised within thefe limits:

First, I obferve, That we are not at our own Liberty, to entertain what Opinions we please concerning our felves; but that we ought to regulate them by fome Standard. Which I Collect from the former part of the Text, Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think foberly.

7. Secondly, I obferve, That the Standard whereby we are to regulate our Opinions concerning our felves, are thofe Excellencies and Perfections which we are really indow'd with; which I Collect from the latter

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