II. Secondly, We must warn our hearers not to suppose Christian humility to consist in a mere general confession of the weakness and sinfulness of human nature, or (which comes to the same) such a sinfulness in themselves—or, if you will, such an utter corruption and total depravity in their own nature, as they believe to be common to every descendant of Adam, including the most eminent apostles, and other saints.

I am not saying, you will observe, that the sinful disposition of the natural-man is to be denied, or explained away, or lost sight of; only, that the fullest and most habitual consciousness of this does not constitute the whole, or the chief, and most difficult part of Christian humility. A man may indeed feel shame, mortification, selfabasement, alarm,-at being in any respect worse than might have been reasonably expected of him; -at having failed in some duty, or fallen into some sin, where others in like circumstances, have behaved, or probably would have behaved, better. But who can really feel ashamed,— grieved, humbled,—or alarmed, at believing himself no better than the very best of men ;—a sinner as vile as the apostles and martyrs, who

told us to be "followers of them, even as they were of Christ Jesus?" It is very true that they were by nature sinful men, and had to struggle, as we have, against the original frailty of man's heart, and to subdue it by the help of God's Spirit. All I am saying, is, that we must not allow the Christian to deceive himself into the thought that he really feels shame from a sense of any imperfection, great or small, which is common to the whole human race; or that perfect Christian humility consists in confessing one's self to be no better than the very best and most eminent Christians.

It is very right that a child should be fully sensible of his not having the understanding and other powers of a man; but you will seldom find a child really mortified and ashamed of his being no more than a child, and not possessing manly stature and understanding, if he is but equal or superior to his school-fellows of the same age; it is when he falls short of these, or has committed some fault which they have avoided, or which a child might have been fairly expected to avoid,— it is then that he is likely to feel real shame; and

1 1 Cor. xi. 1.

what is more, a profitable shame, such as may incite him to endeavour to do better in future; whereas no one is incited to any exertion for the attainment of anything which he believes to be absolutely unattainable by himself and by his whole species. No man accordingly either attempts to add a cubit to his stature, and to still the waves of the sea by his command; or is ashamed at not having such power;-a power which, as he knows, belongs not to man. His humiliation at a deficiency, and his exertions to overcome it, are alike limited to deficiencies which are not regarded as unavoidable.m

Nor does the consideration that the human race are fallen from a state of innocency which our first parents possessed, make any difference as to the point now before us. A man may indeed feel shame and contrition on account of some deficiency which is now unavoidable, but which he himself had originally brought on, by his own misconduct. For instance, a poor daylabourer quite incapable of raising himself above that condition, may, if he had once been a man of good property, which he squandered away,

m See Note A, at the end.

be deeply ashamed of his present poverty, and full of remorse for his misconduct; but if he were born to poverty through the misconduct of some remote ancestors, who had squandered away their estate, it will be at least a very different kind of shame that he will feel; he will feel ashamed, if at all, of his ancestors rather than himself; and will feel perhaps a discontented mortification at his present lot, mingled with bitter indignation at their misconduct.

Such, I fear, is but too much like the kind of feeling with which the subtle Tempter of Man leads some Christians to contemplate their present condition as resulting from the fall of our first parents. He would fain persuade us that we ought to feel,—and that we do feel,―penitent for the sin of Adam; and by this false and imaginary penitence, to lose sight of what we really may feel, and really ought to feel, for actual sins of our own.

Evils indeed, or dangers, may be felt, or may be apprehended, by us, as the consequence of another man's fault: but no metaphysical subtilties can bring us really to feel,-though they may bring us to fancy we feel,-that real remorse

and personal self-abasement, for his sin, which we should and may feel for an actual transgression of our own.

The true lesson of humility which the history of Adam's fall is designed to teach us, is, selfdistrust and watchfulness, combined with a disposition anxiously to look for, and meekly to rely on the promised assistance of the "Spirit which helpeth our infirmities.” The history

teaches us that even if Adam and Eve had never been, themselves, exposed to such a trial as they did undergo, we, their descendants, resembling them, of course, in character, and where we differ, not differing (naturally) for the better, should, in like circumstances, have yielded, as they did, to the wiles of the same Tempter, whom our unaided powers are insufficient to resist."

III. Thirdly, we should warn our hearers not to conclude too hastily that they are practising humility by talking much, and in strong terms, (whether to their fellow-mortals, or in their addresses to God) of their own ignorance, weakness, and sinfulness. It sometimes happens that

n See Note B, at the end.