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pofes to his dread difpleasure. Senfible we are guilty creatures, justly meriting punishment, it awakens humility and gratitude, it renders importunate in prayer, and makes cautious and circumfpect in conduct. Con→ vinced that, if we retain our pride, indulge in cove toufnefs, luxury, profanity, and other iniquities, our judgments fhall be increased, and our calamities multiplied, let us learn to fear the glorious majesty of God, to ftand in awe, and not to fin.

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11 The lofty looks of man fhall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men fhall be bowed down, and the LORD alone fhall be exalted in that day.

The prophet here foretels the certain effects of the dreadful judgments which God would affuredly inflict upon proud, incorrigible finners, of every defcription. These he again repeats, at the 17th verfe, in almoft the fame words; fo that when we have explained the verfe before us, we fhall have alfo illuf trated the other.Pride and haughtinefs commonly expreffeth itself by lofty looks, and feldom fails to discover its influence in the countenance. It confift eth in entertaining a high opinion of our real or fuppofed excellencies, in fetting up ourselves in oppofi tion to the authority of God, in flighting his mercies by ingratitude, in fubmitting to his difpenfations with reluctance, in defpifing others, whilft we transfer to ourfelves the honour of all we enjoy, and make our own pleasure and profit the chief objects of pursuit. It is difcovered by affecting a pretended fuperiority above others at their expence, instead of efteeming them better than ourfelves, and allowing them to praise us, and not our own mouths: it renders us partial in our own favours; and difpofes to vain boafting, vain glory, ambition, and felf-conceit. Indeed pride is fuch a radical, comprehensive evil, that it will hardly fubmit to the limits of a definition. Afhamed

Afhamed of itself, on fome pretence or other, it always affumes the mafk of humility. If it blow the trumpet, it is that the poor may be relieved; if it put on gay attire, it is only for the fake of fashion; if it cenfure others, the subject is introduced by commendations; if it aim at higher station, it is under pretence that God, or men, may be ferved; and when it enters fociety, it affumes a fupercilious behaviour, and discovers an eager anxiety to obtain applaufe, whilst it often artfully returns the commendations received, that they may be got with the greater advantage when they rebound. Thus, under the vail of humility, pride endeavours to impofe upon God, and to deceive men; and therefore it is declared, that it

Shall be humbled, and bowed down. How fhortlived, how unreafonable, how mischievous a thing is pride! Destitute of all foundation, it aims to fupport itself upon nothing. High birth, large eftate, immenfe riches, extenfive knowledge, the moft diftin guished gifts, and elevated station, cannot vindicate its high pretenfions, or gratify its vaft demands; and therefore it is maintained by an imaginary greatness and importance. Nor is it lefs mifchievous than unrea fonable. It hath proved the ruin of mankind; it hath divided the church; it hath feparated intimate friends; it hath bred contention in fuperiors; it hath fown difcord among brethren, and excited the contempt of inferiors. Now, as Solomon long ago ob ferved, A man's pride fhall bring him low. God scattereth the proud in the imagination of their heart: they dream of an imaginary greatnefs, the aggrandizement of their families, the increase of their for tunes, the extent of their reputation, and the glory of their achievements. Walking in this vain fhew, he, to whom a proud heart, and even a high look, are an abomination, beholds every one that is proud, and

Prov. xxix. 23.

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abases him he looks upon every one that is lofty, and brings him low.' He refifteth the proud. The word denotes, he fets himfelf as in battle-array against them, and fends forth his wrath among them: he treads down the wicked in their place; he hides them in the dust together; and, thus executing the judgment here foretold, he declares himself to be the Almighty God, to whom vengeance belongeth.-Beware then of pride and haughtiness, which commonly go before a fall, and expofe to moft awful judgments, many inftructive inftances of which are recorded in fcripture. When the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was lifted up, he was depofed from his kingdom: when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was hardened in pride, it proved his deftruction, and that of his mighty hoft: when Herod, the king, was elated by vain applaufe, he was cut off by a fhocking calamity: the king of Tyre, whofe heart was lifted up, was caft to the ground; and on account of the pride and lofty looks of the men of Judah, they were brought low. Let us then hear, and fear, and do no more prefumptuously.

And the Lord alone fhall be exalted in that day. The word tranflated exalt, fignifies to elevate to an inacceffible height, and fo to establish in an exalted ftate, as that no power whatever can moleft or bring low. It is therefore, with peculiar propriety, applied to express the high exaltation of Jehovah. The glo. rious difplays which are giyen of the perfections of God, in abafing the proud, fhall make them know, that, wherein they deal proudly, Jehovah is far above them; and fhall excite men, of every defcription, highly to extol the name, the glory, and the works of the Almighty. Indeed, there is not any work of God which tends more to his honour and exaltation, than humbling the proud, and exalting the lowly; and in this he seems to take peculiar pleasure. Hence our bleffed Saviour's maxim, Whofoever exalteth himself, fhall be abafed; and he that humbleth ' himself,

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himfelf, fhall be exalted. Accordingly it is foretold, that when God doth this, people fhall magnify and extol him, by entertaining elevated apprehenfions of his infinite majefty, and exercifing fuitable affections toward him, fearing him who pours contempt upon princes, trufting in him in whom is everlasting ftrength, and loving him in whofe favour there is life. They fhall alfo exalt the Lord, by celebrating the praises of his divine excellencies with gratitude and joy, and by fuch a conduct as may give the most fenfible and lively reprefentation of God; beginning, carrying on, and ending all their bufineffes in him; making his love the principle, his law the rule, and his glory the end of all their actions. The feafon marked out for the accomplishment of this event, is that day, wherein Jehovah, by terrible judgments, fhall bring down the pride of haughty men, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.— Be thou exalted, O God, ' above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; that thy beloved may be delivered: fave with thy right hand, and anfwer met.

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he fhall be brought low..

In this, and the four following verses, the awful judgments threatened in the preceding verfe, are more clearly explained, with refpect to the objects on whom they were to be inflicted.The day of the Lord of hofts denotes, that folemn feason wherein he would appear in terrible majefty, effectually humbling the pride of haughty finners. The time fixed for this purpose is called a day, becaufe God was then to be gloriously exalted, his power and righteousness confpi. + Pfal. cviii. 5, 6.

* Luke xiv. II.

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cuoufly difplayed, his juftice in inflicting predicted calamities acknowledged, which was to be followed by the difmal darknefs of night. Such a season is emphatically defcribed in fcripture, as the day of the Lord's anger, a day of calamity and vifitation †, and the day of the Lord's vengeance. To render the description more terrible, it is faid to be the day of the Lord of hofts. All the creatures in the universe are the hofts or armies of Jehovah angels, who excel in ftrength; the fun, the moon, and the stars; the thunder, and the lightning; the wind, the hail, and the rain; the ftorm, and the tempeft; the most infignificant infects, fuch as the flies, and the caterpillars; yea, the fand of the fea, and the duft of the earth. These are the mighty hofts of God: they are fubject to his command: they exactly obey his orders, and execute his pleasure. Earthly princes have their armies, to protect their perfons, to defend their fubjects, to fecure their dominions; they have to aflist their allies, and to establish their authority; fo that all their power is derived from others. Whereas the Lord of hofts is perfectly independent of all his armies, who derive all their power from him; and though he is pleased to employ them to effectuate his purposes, he is their ftrength, and their defence. How dreadful then, beyond defcription, must be the day of the Lord of hofts, whofe armies, and inftruments of deftruction, are as numerous as the angels of God, the stars of heaven, the men in the world, the beafts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the. fand of the fea! This is the day here foretold, which

Shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he fhall be brought low. It is not faid, that the day of the Lord fhall be upon the mean, the and the weak, but upon poor, every one that is lifted up, from whatever cause his elevation may proceed. Is it perfonal strength, vi

*Lam. ii. 22.

Jer. xlvi. 21.

Jer. xlvi. 10.

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