"God is never so well pleased as when he beholds the beauty of his own grace shining in a poor lost self-debasing creature."

Sure such a creature as I cannot without a miracle have a smile from God. God may indeed look upon me in his wrath, and vex me in his sore displeasure. God may justly look me into hell; but that he should look upon me in kindness, or take any special notice of me in love, that would be a wonder indeed. What, God dwell with me! Yes, with thee, if thou hast but high thoughts of him, and low thoughts of thyself; the meaner thou thinkest of thyself, the greater worth he sees in thee. God will not only look upon thee, nor will he only knock at thy door, and call at your house, or give you a transitory visit, but he will come and dwell with thee. Now dwelling speaks a continued abode with one, and thus God will continue with the humble; never remove from them, for any considerable time, till eternity hath an end, till himself, and the soul cease to be, which will be never. God will not be a stranger to humble souls, but he will come to them, and bring that along with him, that shall make him and them welcome too. God never comes to his friends, but he brings good cheer along with him. When the soul gives God the best entertainment, it is all at his cost, his bread, his fatlings, his wine, his oil, his cordials, his rich dainties. Where God comes, he will keep a noble house, and there shall be mirth and rich cheer, good store, Isai. lxvi. 1, 2. Thus saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is that house ye will build me? And where is the place of my rest? For all these things hath my hand made, and all those things hath been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. God seems to have low thoughts of heaven itself in comparison of a humble soul: This is the palace, where this great King will keep his court; this is the place of his rest. God is not so much delighted and pleased in any of his brave feats, as in this of an humble heart; here he dwelleth most commonly; this was the great purchase of his own Son; this was the master-piece of his power and goodness; this was the project of infinite wisdom and council. What shall I do to be saved? is a language that makes hell in a rage, and heaven to rejoice. God is never so well pleased as when he beholds the beauty of his own grace shining in a poor lost self-debasing creature. The Spouse is adorned with humility, when Christ gives her that visit, Cant. i. 4. God hath far more kindness for one that lies under a sense of his own vileness, that thinks himself unworthy to tread upon God's earth, or to breathe in his air, than for the most confident righteous Pharisee in the world. Such a humble soul will be much in admiring of God, and will set a high price upon his kindness; a look, a smile, a visit! O how welcome are they to those poor trembling ones! Wherefore God doth with frequency and love visit them; he knows that he can never be unwelcome to such, they will count it the highest honour that the most High should come in to them in their low condition. Wherefore if you desire to have any intimate acquainunce with God, labour to be more and more sensible of your own unworthiness, study your heart and nature well, and be more curious in the observance of the baseness and treachery of your own soul; endeavour to have as mean thoughts of yourself as Paul had, who did not stick to call himself the chiefest of sinners; Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you; he that is little in his own eye is great in God's. When was it that Jacob met with God, but when he had been humbling of himself? As you may read at your leisure, Gen. 23. There is many a professor that holds out many a year in a course of external performances, and yet never knows what it is to have any intimate acquaintance or converse with God: Whereas I am persuaded, if the business were thoroughly examined, it would be found that they were never made deeply sensible of their undone state out of Christ; never understood the desperate depravedness of their hearts and nature; that they never lay under any lively sense of their separation from, and enmity against God; and they were never brought off from their own righteousness, and saw themselves poor, beggarly, starved creatures; and in this condition came to buy wine and milk without money and without price. But this humility, it is an excellent grace, it makes the soul fit for the richest enjoyments of God, and to do God the greatest service. Were it possible that God should converse much with a proud man, he would make a strange use of it, he would steal God's crown, and put it upon his own head; but God would not endure proud angels near him, and can it be expected that he should take proud men in their places? The more any one grows in grace, and acquaintance with God, the more he sees of his own unworthiness, the more he admires free grace. Why me, Lord! Why me! will be the language of those which converse with God: And while they are thus admiring God, and lay themselves low, he comes again with his soul-ravishing kindnesses; and thus by humility they are more acquainted with God, and being more acquainted with God, they are made more humble, and the one increaseth the other. Thus the humble soul is raised higher and higher, till he come to an eternal possession of God in the highest heavens. When an humble saint lives as it were in Heaven upon Earth, he scarce thinks himself worthy to live upon earth. When any one speaks well of him, and admireth the grace of God in him, he looks upon himself as an unprofitable servant, and he durst not assume the least glory to himself; not unto me, not unto me, but unto thee, Lord, be the praise given. Who am I, poor wretch? O did you but know what a heart I have, did you but see the workings of my thoughts, could you but tell how things are, indeed you would rather admire at God's patience, than man's excellency. This he speaks, not that he is worse than others, but because he hath a more spiritual sense of his state than others have: Neither doth he speak thus in proud policy, thinking to make others to have a better esteem of him for his humility; but he doth really feel the pressure of that filthiness of sin; which makes him thus to groan out these complaints. The reason why God doth converse most with the humble, is because they will be most thankful, and most fruitful, and make the wisest improvement of his favours. Wherefore, if you value the comfort of a spiritual life, if you desire communion with God, if you would have a Heaven upon Earth, endeavour to get a humble heart: To walk humbly, and to walk with God, go together.

—James Janeway