A Treatise of Self-Denial, Treatise · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. What Selfiſhneſs and Self-denyal are; at the Root.
I HAVE already ſpoken of Converſion in the foregoing Diſcourſe, both opening to you the true nature of it, and the reaſons of its neceſſity, and perſwading men thereunto. But leſt ſo great a work ſhould miſcarry with any for want of a more particular explication, I ſhould next open the three great parts of the work diſtinctly and in order: that is, 1. From what it is that we muſt Turn: 2. To whom we muſt Turn: 3. And By whom we muſt Turn. For though I touched all theſe in the foregoing Directions, and through the diſcourſe; yet I am afraid leſt ſo brief a touch ſhould be uneffectual.
The firſt of theſe I ſhall handle at this time from this Text, medling with no more but what is neceſſary to our preſent buſineſs.
You may eaſily perceive that the Doctrine which Chriſt here proclaimeth to all that have thoughts of being his followers, is this, that [All that will be Chriſtians, muſt Deny themſelves, and take up their Croſs, and follow Chriſt, and not reſerve ſo much as their very lives, but reſolve to reſign up all for him.]
Self-denyal is one part of true Converſion: For the opening of this I muſt ſhew you; 1. What is meant by Self; and 2. What by Denying this Self: and 3. The Grounds and Reaſons of the point: and 4. I ſhall briefly apply it.
I. Self, is ſometime taken for the very perſon, conſiſting of ſoul and body ſimply conſidered: and this is called Natural or Perſonal Self. 2. Self is taken for this Perſon conſidered in its capacity of earthly comforts, and in relation to the preſent bleſſings of this world that tend to the proſperity of man as in the fleſh: And this may be called Earthly Self (yet in an innocent ſenſe.) 3. Self is taken for the Perſon as corrupted by inordinate ſinful ſenſuality; which may be called Carnal Self. 4. Self may be taken for the Perſon in his ſanctified eſtate; which is Spiritual Self. 5. And Self may be taken for the perſon in his Naturals and Spirituals Conjunct, as he is capable of a Life of Everlaſting Felicity; which is the Immortal Self.
II. By Denying Self, is meant diſclaiming, renouncing, diſowning, and forſaking it. Self is here lookt on partly as a party dis…unct from Chriſt, and withdrawn from its due ſubordination to God, and partly as his Competitor and oppoſite: and accordingly it is to be denyed, partly by a neglect, and partly by an oppoſition.
Before I come to tell you how far ſelf muſt be denyed, I muſt tell you wherein the diſeaſe of ſelfiſhneſs doth conſiſt; and for brevity we ſhall diſpatch them both together.
And on the Negative, 1. To be a natural Individual perſon diſtinct from God our Creator, is none of our diſeaſe, but the ſtate which we were created in. And therefore no man muſt under pretence of ſelf-denyal either deſtroy himſelf, or yet with ſome Hereticks aſpire to be eſſentially and perſonally one with God, ſo that their individual perſonality ſhould be drowned in him as a drop is in the Ocean.
2. The diſeaſe of ſelfiſhneſs lyeth not in having a Body that is capable of …aſting ſweetneſs in the Creature, or in having the Objects of our ſence in which we be delighted, nor yet in all actual ſweetneſs and delight in them; nor in a ſimple love of life it ſelf: For all theſe are the effects of the Creators Will. And therefore this ſelfdenyal doth not conſiſt in a hatred or diſregard of our own lives; or in a deſtruction of our appetites or ſenſes, or an abſolute refuſal to pleaſe them in the uſe of the Creatures, which God hath given us.
3. Yea though our Natures are corrupted by ſin, ſelfdenyal requireth not that we ſhould kill our ſelves, and deſtroy our humane natures that we may thereby deſtroy the ſin. Self-murder is a moſt hainous ſin, which God condemneth.
4. Our ſpiritual ſelf, or ſelf as ſanctified muſt not be ſo denyed, as to deny our ſelves to be what we are, or have what we have, or do what we do: we may not deny Gods Graces; nor deny that they are in us as the ſubject, nor may we reſtrain the holy deſires which God exciteth in us; or deny to fulfil them, or bring them towards fruition, when opportunity is offered us.
5. We may not deny to accept of any mercy which God ſhall offer us, though but a common Creature: nor to uſe any talent for his ſervice if he chooſe us for his ſtewards; much leſs may we refuſe any ſpiritual mercy, that may further our Salvation: It is not the ſelf-denyal required by Chriſt, that we deny to be Chriſtians, or to be ſanctified by the ſpirit, or to he delivered from our ſins and enemies; or that we deny to uſe the means and helps that are offered us, or to accept of the priviledges purchaſed by Chriſt: Much leſs to deny our ſalvation it ſelf, and to undo our own ſouls. In a word, it is not any thing that is really and finally to our hurt or loſs.
But (as to the Affirmative) I ſhall ſhew you what the diſeaſe of ſelfiſhneſs indeed is, and ſo what ſelf-denyal is. 1. When God had created man in his own Image, he gave him a holy diſpoſition of ſoul, which might incline him to his Maker as his only Felicity and Ultimate End. He made him to be bleſſed in the ſight of his Glory, and in the everlaſting Love of God, and delight in him, and praiſes of him. This excellent employment and glory did God both fit him for, and ſet before him.
But the firſt temptation did entice him to adhere to an inferiour good, for the pleaſing of his fleſh, and the advancement of him ſelf to a carnal kind of felicity in himſelf, that he might be as God in knowing good and evil. And thus man was ſuddenly taken with the Creature as a means to the pleaſing of his carnal ſelf, and ſo did depart from God his true felicity; and retired into himſelf in his eſtimation, affection, and intention; and delivered up his Reaſon in ſubjection to his ſenſuality, and made himſelf his Ultimate End.
With this ſinful inclination are we all born into the world; ſo that every man according to his corrupted nature doth terminate all his deſires in himſelf: and what ever he may notionally be convinced of to the contrary, yet practically he makes his earthly life and the advancement and pleaſure which he expecteth therein, to be his felicity and end.
Self-denyal now is the cure of this: It carryeth a man from himſelf again, and ſheweth him that he was never made to be his own felicity or end; and that the fleſh was not made to be pleaſed before God; and that it is ſo poor, and low, and ſhort a felicity, as indeed is but a name and ſhadow of felicity, and when it pretends to that, a meer deceit. It ſheweth him how unreaſonable, how impious and unjuſt it is, that a Creature and ſuch a Creature, ſhould terminate his deſires and intentions in himſelf: And this is the principal part of ſelf-denyal.
2. As God was mans ultimate End in his ſtate of innocency, ſo accordingly man was appointed to uſe all Creatures in order to God, for his Pleaſure and Glory. So that it was the work of man to do his Makers will, and he was to uſe nothing but with this intention.
But when man was faln from God to himſelf, he afterwards uſed all things for himſelf, even his carnal ſelf; and all that he poſſeſſed was become the proviſion and fuel of his luſts; and ſo the whole creation which he was capable of uſing, was abuſed by him to this low and ſelfiſh end, as if all things had been made but for his delight and will.
But when man is brought to Deny himſelf, he is brought to reſtore the Creatures to their former uſe, and not to ſacrifice them to his fleſhly mind; ſo that all that he hath and uſeth in the world, is uſed to another end (ſo far as he denyeth himſelf) than formerly it was; even for God and not him…elf.
3. In the ſtate of Innocency, though man had naturally an averſneſs from death and bodily pains, as being natural evils, and had a deſire of the welfare even of the fleſh it ſelf; yet as his body was ſubject to his ſoul, and his ſenſes to his Reaſon, ſo his bodily eaſe and welfare was to be eſteemed and deſired and ſought, but in a due ſubordination to his ſpiritual welfare, and eſpecially to his Makers Will. So that though he was to value his Life, yet he was much more to value his everlaſting life, and the pleaſure and Glory of his Lord.
But now when man is faln from God to Himſelf, his Life and earthly felicity is the ſweeteſt and the deareſt thing to him that is. So that he preferreth it before the Pleaſing of God and everlaſting life: And therefore he ſeeketh it more, and holdeth it faſter as long as he can, and parteth with it more unwillingly. As Innocent Nature had an appetite to the objects of ſenſe; but corrupted nature hath an enraged, greedy, rebellious and inordinate appetite to them: ſo Innocent nature had a love to this natural earthly life and the comforts of it: but corrupted Nature hath ſuch an inordinate love to them, as that all things elſe are made but ſubordinate to them, and ſwallowed up in this gulf: even God himſelf is ſo far loved as he befriendeth theſe our carnal ends, and furthereth our earthly proſperity and life.
But when men are brought to Deny themſelves, they are in their meaſures reſtored to their firſt eſteem of Life and all the proſperity and earthly comforts of life. Now they have learned ſo to love them as to love God better; and ſo to value them as to prefer everlaſting life before them; and ſo to hold them and ſeek their preſervation as to reſign them to the will of God, and to lay them down when we cannot hold them with his Love, and to chooſe death in order to life everlaſting, before that life which would deprive us of it. And this is the principal inſtance of ſelf-denyal which Chriſt giveth us here in the Text, as it is recited by all the three Evangeliſts that recite theſe words, [He that ſaveth his life ſhall loſe it, &c. And what ſhall it profit a man to win all the world and loſe his ſoul?] By theſe inſtances it appears, that by ſelf-denyal Chriſt doth mean a ſetting ſo light by all the world, and by our own lives, and conſequently, our carnal Content in theſe, as to be willing and Reſolved to part with them all, rather than with him and everlaſting life: even as Abraham was bound to love his Son Iſaac, but yet ſo to prefer the Love and Will of God, as to be able to ſacrifice his Son at Gods Command.
And the Lord Jeſus himſelf was the livelieſt Pattern to us of his Self-denyal that ever the world ſaw: Indeed his whole life was a continued practice of it. And it hath oft convinced me that it is a ſpecial part of our Sanctification, when I have conſidered how abundantly the Lord hath exerciſed himſelf in it for our example. For as it is deſperate to think with the Socinians that he did it only for our Example; ſo it is alſo a deſperate Error of others, to think that it was only for ſatisfaction to God, and not at all for our Example. Many do give up themſelves to Fleſh-pleaſing, upon a miſconceit that Chriſt did therefore deny his fleſh, to purchaſe them a liberty to pleaſe theirs. As in his Faſting and Temptations, and his ſufferings by the reproach and ingratitude of men, and the outward Poverty and Meanneſs of his condition, the Lord was pleaſed to deny himſelf; ſo eſpecially in his laſt Paſſion and death. As I have ſhewed elſewhere, he loved his natural life and peace: and therefore in manifeſtation of that, he prayeth, Father, if it be thy Will, let this Cup paſs from me: But yet when it came to the comparative practical Act, he proceeded to chooſe his Fathers Will with death, rather than life without it, and therefore ſaith, [Not my Will (that is, my ſimple love of life) but thy Will be done.] In which very words he manifeſteth another will of his own, beſides that, which he conſenteth ſhall not be done, and ſheweth that he preferred the pleaſing of his Father in the Redemption of the world, before his own life. And thus in their meaſure he cauſeth all his Members to do: ſo that life, and all the comforts of life, are not ſo dear to them as the love of God and everlaſting life.
4. When God had created man, he was preſently the Owner of him, and man underſtood this that he was God's, and not his own. And he was not to claim a Propriety in himſelf, nor to be affected to himſelf as his own, nor to live as his own, but as His that made him.
But when he fell from God, he arrogated practically (though notionally he may deny it) a propriety in himſelf, and uſeth himſelf accordingly.
And when Chriſt bringeth men to deny themſelves, they ceaſe to be their own in their conceits any more; Then they reſign themſelves wholly to God as being wholly his. They know they are his, both by the right of Creation and of Redemption: And therefore are to be diſpoſed of by him, and to glorifie him in body and ſpirit which are his, 1 Cor. 6. 19, 20. Rom. 14. 9. To be thus heartily devoted to God as his own, is the form of Sanctification; and to live as God's own, is the truly Holy life.
5. As man in Innocency did know that he was not his own; ſo he knew that nothing that he had was his own; but that he was the Steward of his Creator, for whom he was to uſe them, and to whom he was accountable.
But when he was fallen from God to himſelf, though he had loſt the Right of a Servant, yet be graſpeth at the Creature, as if he had the Right of a Lord: He now takes his Goods, his Lands his Money to be his own: and therefore he thinks he may uſe them for himſelf, and give God only ſome ſmall Contribution, leſt he ſhould diſturb his Poſſeſſion: he ſaith as the impious ones, Pſal. 12. 4. [Our lips are our own; who is Lord over us?] Though all of them know ſpeculatively that all is Gods, yet practically they take it and uſe it as their own.
But when Grace teacheth them to deny themſelves, it ſtrippeth them naked of all that they ſeemed Proprietors of; and maketh them confeſs that nothing is their own, but all is Gods; and to God they do devote it, and uſe it for him, and give him his own: which the firſt Chriſtians ſignified by ſelling all, and laying at the Apoſtles feet. And therefore he asketh God what he ſhall do with it, and how he ſhall uſe it; and if God take it from him, he can bleſs the name of the Lord with Job, Job 1. 21. as knowing he taketh but his own: and can ſay with Eli, It is the Lord, let him do what ſeemeth him good, 1 Sam. 3. 18. He knows that God may do with his own as he liſt. Mat. 20. 15. and that he can have nothing but of his bounty; and therefore that it is his Mercy that leaveth him any thing; but it were no wrong to him if he took away all. And thus he underſtandeth that he is but a Steward, and therefore muſt uſe all that he hath for him that he received it from. If he have Children, his deſire is to know which way they may be moſt ſerviceable to God: and to that he will devote them. If he have Wealth, or Honour, and Power among men, his care is to know which way he may employ them for his Maſters uſe, and ſo he will imploy them. If he have Wit and Learning, his care is to ſerve God by it. If he have ſtrength and time, he is thinking which way to improve them for his Lord. And if vain Companions, or the World, or fleſhly Delights would draw him to lay them out for them, he remembers that this were to waſte his Maſters ſtock upon his enemies. So that though the ſanctified man hath all things, yet he knows that he hath nothing. All things are his as Gods Steward: but nothing is properly and ultimately his own. All things are his for God; but nothing is his for his Carnal-ſelf, nor ultimately for his perſonal or natural ſelf. Upon this ground he gives the Devil, the World, and the Fleſh a Denyal, when they would have his Time, his Tongue, his Wit, his Wealth, or any thing that he poſſeſſeth: he telleth them [They are none of mine, but God's: I received them, and I muſt be accountable for them. I had them not from you, and therefore I may not uſe them for you: I muſt give to God the things that are God's: that which is yours I will readily yield you. Juſtice requireth that every one have his own.] And thus Selfdenyal doth take off the ſanctified from giving that which is God's unto themſelves.
Object. But do we not lawfully uſe his Mercies for our ſelves? Is not our Meat, and Drink, and Cloaths, and Houſes, and Goods our own, and may we not uſe them for our ſelves?
Anſw. Improperly they are our own: ſo far our own, as that our Fellow-ſervants may not take them from us without our Lords conſent: as every ſervant may have a peculiar ſtock entruſted in his hands, or may have his tools to do his work with, which indeed are his Maſters; but are his to uſe. But as to a ſtrict Propriety they are none of ours, but God is the only Proprietary of the world.
And for the uſe of them, it may be for our ſelves in ſubordination to God, but never ultimately for our ſelves. We may not uſe one Creature, but ultimately and principally for God. When we eat or drink, we muſt never make the pleaſing of our Appetite our end, but muſt do it to ſtrengthen, and chear, and fit our ſelves for the ſervice of God, and therefore we muſt firſt ask God, and not our Appetite, what, and how much we muſt eat and drink: And we muſt no further pleaſe our Appetite, than the pleaſing of it doth fit us for the ſervice of God. It is the expreſs Command, 1 Cor. 10. 31 [Whether ye eat or drink, or what ever ye do, do all to the Glory of God.] You may not wear your Cloaths meerly and ultimately for your bodies, but only to fit your bodies for Gods ſervice: and therefore you muſt advice with his Word, and with your end, what you ſhould put on. You may not provide a houſe to dwell in, nor Friends, nor Riches, nor any thing elſe for the pleaſing of your fleſh, as your ultimate end, but for the ſervice of your Lord. For you muſt put on the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and make no proviſion for the fleſh to fulfil the luſts thereof, Rom. 13. 14.
6. As man had his Being and well-being from God, ſo is it God only that can preſerve and continue them. Innocent man underſtood this, and therefore lived in a Dependance upon God; looking to his hand for the ſupply of his wants, and caſting all his care upon him, and truſting him wholly with himſelf, and all, and not diſtracting his own mind with cares and diſtruſtful fears, but quieted and contented his mind in the Wiſdom, Goodneſs, and All-ſufficienly of God.
But when man was fallen to himſelf from God, he deſired preſently to have his portion or ſtock in his own hands, and grew diſtruſtful of God, and began to look upon himſelf as his own preſerver; (in a great meaſure) and therefore he fell to carking and caring for himſelf, and to ſtudious contrivances for his own preſervation and ſupplies. He ſearched every Creature for himſelf, and laboured to find in it ſome good for himſelf, as if the care of himſelf had been wholly divolved on himſelf. I have been as much troubled to underſtand that Text in Gen. 3. 22. as any one almoſt in the Bible, being ſomewhat unſatisfied with ſome ordinary expoſitions; and yet it is too hard for me. But this ſeems to me the moſt probable Interpretation; that in his eſtate of innocency Adam was as a Child in his Fathers houſe, that was only to ſtudy to pleaſe his Father, and to do the work that he commanded him, but not to take any thought or care for himſelf: for while he was obedient, it was his Fathers part to preſerve him and provide for him, to keep off death and danger, and ſupply all his wants. And therefore though man had the faculty or power of knowing more perfect than we have now, yet he did not need to trouble himſelf about theſe matters of Self, becauſe they belonged to God: and conſequently had not the actual conſideration of knowledge of them: for that would have been but a vain and troubleſome knowledge and conſideration to him: For though the knowledge of all things Neceſſary to be known, was part of his perfection, yet the actual knowledge of many things unneceſſary and vexatious or tempring, may be part of a mans infelicity and miſery. And ſo he that increaſeth knowledge increaſeth ſorrow, Eccl. 1. 18. As man that foreknoweth his own death, is through the fear of it all his life time ſubject to bondage, Heb. 2. 15. and the fear is more grievous than the death it ſelf; when a beaſt that knoweth not his death is freed from thoſe fears. Indeed in our faln eſtate there is ſome uſe for more of this kind of knowledge than before; But in innocency man needed only to know his maker, and his will and works, and the Creature as his utenſils, and the glaſs in which he was to be ſeen, and to fear with moderation the death which he had threatned, meerly as threatned by him. But by the temptation of Satan, man grew deſirous to be paſt a child, at his Fathers finding, and under his care, and would take care and thought for himſelf and know what was good or evil for himſelf as to the natural man: and ſo far turned his eye to the Creature to ſtudy it for himſelf, when he ſhould have ſtudied God in it: and to ſearch after good and evil to himſelf in it, which he ſhould have ſearched after the attributes of God in it, and daily gazed with holy love and admiration upon his bleſſed face that ſhined in this glaſs: and ſo he would uſe the Creature directly for himſelf, which he ſhould have uſed only for Gods ſervice. And thus I conceive man did indeed by his fall attain to much more actual knowledge as to the number of objects than he had before: which knowledge was indeed in it ſelf conſidered Phyſically good, but not Good to him as any part of his felicity, or his vertue, but rather by participation his ſin and miſery, as being unſuitable to his condition. It was better with him when he knew One God, and all things in God as they conduced to the Love and Service of God, and were ſuitable to his ſtate, than when he turned his mind from God, and fell to ſtudy the Creature in it ſelf, and for himſelf, as Good or Evil to himſelf, and ſo loſt himſelf and his underſtanding in a crowd of unneceſſary and miſuſed objects: Like a fooliſh Patient that having a moſt judicious and faithful Phyſitian that will take care of his health, and provide him the beſt and ſafeſt remedies, doth grow to an eager deſire to be acquainted himſelf with the nature of each medicine and to be skilful in the cure of his own diſeaſe, that he may truſt his Phyſitian no longer, but may be his own Phyſitian: and therefore hearkneth to a ſeducer that tells him [The Phyſitian doth but keep thee in ignorance, leſt thou ſhouldſt be as wiſe as he, and able to cure or preſerve thy ſelf, hearken to me, and I will teach thee to known all theſe things thy ſelf, and ſo thou maiſt take care of thy ſelf.] So man was ſeduced by Satan to withdraw himſelf from the fatherly care of God, by a deſire himſelf to be wiſe for himſelf in the knowledge of all that in the Creature which might be directly good or evil to himſelf, ſo taking on himſelf the work of God, and caſting off the work that God had ſet him, and withdrawing himſelf from his neceſſary dependence on his Maker. And accordingly much of this ſelfiſhneſs knowledge of the Creature he did attain: but with the woful loſs of the Divine knowledge of the Creature, and of the filial ſoul-contenting knowledge of God: yea and of himſelf, as in his due ſubordination to God. This ſeems the ſence of this text, and this is the caſe of faln mankind.
Naturally now every man would fain have his ſafety and Comforts in his own hand. He thinks them not ſo ſure and well in the hand of God: O what would a carnal man give that he had but his life and health in his own hand, and might keep them as long as he ſaw good! When he is poor, he had rather it were in his hand to ſupply his wants, than in Gods; for he thinks it would go better with him. When he is ſick, he had far rather it were in his own hand to cure him, than in Gods, for then he ſhould be ſure of it. If he be in any ſtrait, he cannot be content with a bare promiſe for his deliverance; but unleſs he ſee ſome probability in the means, and work, and unleſs he be acquainted with the particular way by which he muſt be delivered he is not ſatisfied: for he cannot truſt God, ſo well as himſelf. Is not this the caſe of all you that are carnal? Would you not think your caſe much ſafer and better if it were in your own hands, than you do now it is in Gods! What would you not give, that you were but as able to give eaſe, and heath and wealth, and honour, and life to your ſelves, as God is! Hence it is that you ſo anxiouſly contrive for your ſelves, and trouble your ſelves with needleſs cares; becauſe you dare not truſt God, but think you are faln to your own care and finding. You think your ſelves quite undone when you have nothing left you but God and his Promiſe to truſt upon, and when you ſee nothing in your ſelves and the Creature to ſupport you. And thus are all men faln from God to themſelves.
But Sanctification teacheth men that ſelf-denyal which according to its meaſure, doth heal them of this diſeaſe. Though ſome actual knowledge of good and evil, and ſome care of our natural ſelves be now become a neceſſary duty, as ſuited to our lapſed ſtate, which yet had never been but through ſin: Yet that which is ſinful, ſelfdenyal doth deſtroy. It ſheweth man that he is every way inſufficient for himſelf, and that he is not the fountain of his own felicity: nor doth it belong to him, but to God, to preſerve him and ſecure his welfare. He ſeeth what a folly it is to depart from the tuition of his Heavenly Father, and as the Prodigal Son to deſire to have his portion in his own hands. Experience tells him with ſmart and ſorrow that he hath not been ſo good a preſerver of himſelf, nor uſed himſelf ſo well as to deſire to be in the ſame hands any longer that have ſo abuſed him: Yea he knoweth that it was God that indeed preſerved him, while he was over Solicitous about it himſelf, and would needs have the managing of his own affairs. He now believes that he can be no where ſafe but in the hands of God, and no way ſufficiently provided for but by his wiſdom, love and power: Nor dare he truſt himſelf hereafter with himſelf or any Creature! He finds that he hath but turmoiled and diſtracted his mind by undertaking the management of his own preſervation: and that he hath brought himſelf into a wilderneſs, and loſt himſelf and ravelled his own affairs: when if he had committed himſelf to God, and been ſatisfied in his Wiſdom, Love, and Power, all had been kept ſafe and ſound, and man had not been loſt, nor his eſtate thus ſhattered and overthrown. And therefore the returning ſelf-denying convert is brought to an utter diſtruſt of himſelf, and reſolved hereafter to truſt himſelf upon nothing below All-ſufficiency and Infinite Love. He is ſo offended with himſelf for his former ſelf-deſtruction, and for undoing himſelf ſo fooliſhly, that he calls himſelf to account and into judgement for it, and condemneth himſelf as a Traytor to God, and a Murderer of himſelf, and will no more be in the hands of ſo treacherous a delinquent: But as the eyes of a ſervant are on the hand of his Maſter, ſo are his eyes on God for all ſupplies. And this is the part of the work of the ſpirit of Adoption, who teacheth us to cry Abba, Father▪ and as Children, not to be very careful for our ſelves, but to run to our Father in all our wants, and tell him, what we ſtand in need of and beg relief: and to be careful for nothing: but in every thing by prayer with ſupplication and thanksgiving to make knownour requeſts to God, Phil. 4. 6. And this acquieſcence of the ſoul in the love of God, is it that keepeth our hearts and minds in that Peace of God which paſſeth underſtanding, verſ. 7. ſo that the more ſelf-denyal, the leſs is a man dependant on himſelf, or troubled with the cares of his own preſervation: and the more doth he caſt himſelf on God, and is careful to pleaſe him that is his true Preſerver, and then quietech and reſteth his mind in his All-ſufficiency and infinite wiſdom and love; and ſo is a meer dependant upon God.
7. Moreover; It is the Prerogative of God as abſolute Owner of us, to be the ſole Diſpoſer of man and of all the other Creatures: and to chooſe them their condition, and give them their ſeveral Talents, and determine of the events of all their affairs, as pleaſeth himſelf; And innocent man was contented with this order, and well pleaſed that God ſhould be the abſolute Diſpoſer of him and all.
But when man turned from God to ſelf, he preſently deſired to be the Diſpoſer of himſelf; and not of himſelf only, but of all the Creatures within his reach. How fain would ſelfiſh corrupted man be the chooſer of his own condition? His will is againſt the will of God, and he uſually diſliketh Gods diſpoſal. If he had the matter in his own hands, almoſt nothing ſhould be as it is; but ſo croſs would they be to God that all thing would be turned upſide down: If it were at their will, there's ſcarce a poor man but would be Rich: and ſcarce a Rich man but would be richer: The Servant would be maſter: The Tenant would be a Landlord: The Husbandman and Tradeſman would be a Gentleman: the Labourer would live an eaſier life: His houſe ſhould be better: his cloathing ſhould be better; his fare ſhould be better: his Proviſion ſhould be greater, his credit or honour with men ſhould be more; the Gentleman would be a Knight, and the Knight a Lord, and the Lord would be a King, and the King would be more Abſolute and have a larger Dominion: Nay every man would be a King, and learn the doctrine of the Jews, and many of this age among us, to expect that the world ſhould be ruled by them; and they ſhould reign as Lords and Princes in the earth. If it were with ſelfiſh men as they would have it, there's ſcarce a man that would be what he is, nor dwell where he doth, nor live at the rates that now he liveth at. The weak would be always ſtrong; and the ſick would be well and always well; and the old would be young again; and never taſte the infirmities of age; and if they might live as long as they would, I think there's few of the unſanctified that would ever die, nor look after Heaven as long as they could live on earth. O what a brave life ſhould I have, thinks the ſelfiſh unſanctified wretch, if I were but wholly at my own Diſpoſal, and might be what I would be, and have what I would have! What would men give for ſuch a life as this? Had they but their own wills, they would think themſelves the happieſt men on earth: that is, if they could be delivered from the will of God, and be from under his diſpoſal, and get the reins into their own hands!
Nay this is not all, but the ſelfiſh perſon would be the diſpoſer of all the world within his reach, as well as of himſelf. He would have Kingdoms at his diſpoſe, and all things carried according to his Will: He would have all his neighbours have a dependance upon him; Very bountiful he would be, if he were the Lord of all: For he would be the great Benefactor of the world, and have all men beholden to him, and depend upon him. If he ſee things that little concern him, he hath a will of his own that would fain have the Diſpoſal of them. If he hear of the affairs of other Nations, ſome will he hath of his own which he would have fulfilled in them, at leaſt ſo far as any of his own intereſt may be involved in the buſineſs.
But when Sanctification hath brought men to ſelfdenyal, then they diſcern and lament this folly: They ſee what ſilly giddy worms they are to be Diſpoſers of themſelves, or of the world: They ſee that they have neither wiſdom, nor goodneſs, nor power ſufficient for ſo great a work. They then perceive that it were better make an Ideot the Pilot of a Ship, or an Infant to be their Phyſitian when they are ſick, or the Diſpoſer of their eſtates, than to commit themſelves and the world to their diſpoſe. They ſee how fooliſhly they have endeavoured or deſired to rob God of his prerogative: And therefore they return from themſelves to him, and give up all by free conſent to his ſole Diſpoſal, that ſo he may do with his own as he liſt. He finds that he hath work enough to do of his own, and is become too unfit for that: and therefore he dare no more undertake the work of God, for which he is infinitely unfit. He finds that the more he hath his own will, the worſe it goes with him: and therefore he will give up himſelf to God and ſtand to his will: If he feels that Providence doth croſs his fleſh, and that he hath Poverty when the fleſh would have riches, and ſlame when that carnal ſelf would have honour, and labour when the fleſh would have eaſe, and ſickneſs when the fleſh would have health, he would not for all that have the work taken out of the hand of God, but truly ſaith, Not my will but thine be done: and believeth that Gods diſpoſal is the beſt; and that his Father knows well enough what he doth; And if it were put to his choice, whether God or he ſhould be the Diſpoſer of his eſtate and honour and Life, he had rather it were in Gods hands than his own: and would not undertake the charge, if it were offered him. Alas, thinks he, I am almoſt below a man and am I fit to make a God of? I come off ſo lamely in the duty of a Creature as deſerves damnation: and am I fit to arrogate the work of the Creator?
8. Moreover it is the high Prerogative of God to be the Soveraign Ruler of the world; to make Laws for them, which muſt be obeyed; and to reward the obedient, and puniſh the diſobedient. God is King of all the earth; even King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; and all ſhall obey him, or be judged by him for their diſobedience.
But ſin turned man into a Rebel againſt Heaven, and a Traitor to his Maker: ſo that now the ſelfiſh unſanctified man diſliketh Gods Government, at leaſt in the particulars, and would Govern himſelf. The Law of God contained in his Word and Works he murmurs at as too obſcure, or too preciſe and ſtrict for him. He finds that it croſſeth his Carnal intereſt, and ſpeaks not good of him but evil, and therefore he is againſt it as ſuppoſing it to be againſt him and his pleaſure, profit, and honour in the world. If men had but the Government of themſelves, what a difference would there be between their way and Gods? If corrupt unſanctified ſelfiſh man might make a Law for himſelf in ſtead of the Word of God, what a Law would it be? and how much of the Law of God ſhould be repealed? If ſinners might make a Scripture, you ſhould find in it no ſuch paſſages as theſe, [Except a man be Converted, or born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven: without Holineſs none ſhall ſee God.] If ſelf might make Laws, you ſhould not read in them [If ye live after the fleſh ye ſhall die; but if by the Spirit ye mortifie the deeds of the body, ye ſhall live▪ ] Nor ſhould you there find, that the Gate is ſtrait, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few there be that find it; or that the righteous are ſcarcely ſaved] As all the Scripture is now for Holineſs, and againſt Prophaneneſs, Ungodlineſs, and Senſuality; if ſelf had the framing of it, it ſhould all be changed, and it ſhould at leaſt ſpeak peace to fleſhly-minded men: All thoſe true and dreadful paſſages that ſpeak fire and brimſtone againſt the unſanctified, and threatned everlaſting torments, ſhould be razed out; and you ſhall find no talk of damnation in the Scripture for ſuch as they: no talk of the worm that never dyeth, or the fire that is never quenched, or of [Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity; I know you not] or that [the way of the ungodly ſhall periſh] or that [God doth laugh at them, becauſe he ſeeth that their day is coming] Abundance of the Bible would be wiped out, if Carnal ſelf had but the altering of it: Nay it would be quite made new, and made a contrary thing: the Articles of our Creed would be changed: the Petitions of our Rule for Prayer would be moſt altered: every one of the ten Commandments would be altered, as I ſhall after ſhew. Idolatry ſhould be no ſin, but the principal Law; for ſelf would be ſet up as the Idol of the world: will-worſhip would be no ſin; men would he held guiltleſs that take the name of God in vain: The Lords day ſhould be a day of mirth and carnal pleaſure: every Subject would be the Soveraign; and every Inferiour the Superior; Revenge would be made lawful for themſelves, though not for others: Fornication and Adultery would be no mortal ſin; Stealing would be made tolerable to themſelves; it ſhould be lawful to them to do any wrong to the name and reputation of another: in a word, every man would do what he liſt, and his will ſhould be his Law, and himſelf ſhould be his own Judge; a gentle tender Judge no doubt. Thus would ſelf Rule.
But ſanctification brings men to Deny this ſelf; and to lay down the Arms of Rebellion againſt God; and to ſee how unfit we are to Rule our ſelves; that we are too fooliſh, and ſinful, and partial to make Laws, and too partial alſo and tender to execute them; and that as we were made to obey, ſo obey we muſt, and come again into our ranks, and willingly ſubject our ſelves to the Soveraign of the world. Self denyal teacheth a man to have his own Carnal wiſdom and reaſonings that riſe up againſt the Laws of God; and to Love them the worſe becauſe they are thus his own; and to love the Laws of God the better, becauſe they are God's, and becauſe they are againſt his Carnal ſelf. The ſtamps of God on them doth make them currant with him, when if they had but the private ſtamps of ſelf, he would diſown them as counterfeit or treaſonable. He hath indeed a fleſh that is reſtrained by Gods Laws, and ſtriveth againſt them; but he thinks never the worſe of the Law for that, but approveth and liketh it in the inner man: and if he might have his choice, he would not blot out one Commandment, nor one Direction, nor one Article of Faith, nor a tittle of the Law, becauſe that ſelf is not the Chooſer in him; but he hath learned to ſubmit to the will and wiſdom of the Lord.
And though he love himſelf, and have a nature that is unwilling of ſuffering, and feareth the diſpleaſure of God, and the threatnings of his holy Law: yet doth he unfeignedly juſtifie the Law, and acknowledge it to be holy, and juſt, and good; and would not have the very threatnings of it to be repealed and blotted out, if he had his choice: for he knows that the Determinations of God are the beſt, and that none but he is fit to govern, and therefore he deſires that he himſelf may be taught better to obey, and not that he may rule; and wiſheth that he were more conformed to the Law; and not that the Law were conformed to him; and fain he would have his own will brought up to Gods, but wiſheth not Gods will to be crookened and brought down to his. As far as men have ſelf-denyal, this is ſo.
9. Moreover, as it is Gods Prerogative to be the Soveraign Ruler of our ſelves, ſo alſo of all others as well as us. But when ſin had ſet up ſelf, man would not only Rule himſelf, but would rule all others. An eager deſire there is in the unſanctified ſelfiſh heart, that he might be Ruler of Town and Country, and all might be brought to do his will. And hence it is that there is ſuch reſiſting and grudging at good Governors, and that men are ſo ambitious and fain would be higheſt, becauſe they would have their own wills fulfilled by all, and therefore would have power to force men to it: Hence it is that there is ſuch a ſtir in the world for Crowns and Kingdoms: and few men have ever been heard of, that have refuſed a Scepter when it was offered them, yea or that would not ſtep out of their way for it, and wound their Conſciences, and hazard all their hopes of Heaven for it, if they found themſelves in a likelyhood of obtaining it; becauſe where ſelf doth raign at home, it would raign alſo over all others. Nothing more pleaſeth the Carnal mind, than to have his will, and to have all men do what he would have them, and to ſee all at his beck, and each man ſeeking to know his Pleaſure, ready to receive his word for Law. This is the reign of ſelf.
But ſanctification teaching men ſelf-denyal, doth make them look fiſt at the Doing of Gods will; and would have all the world obedient to that; and for their own wills, they reſign them abſolutely to Gods, and would not have men obey them but in a due ſubordination to the Lord. As they affect no Dominion or Government but for God, ſo they deſire not men to obey their wills any further than it is neceſſary to the obedience of Gods will, to which they are ſerviceable and conform. The ſelf-denying ſanctified man hath as careful an eye up and down the world for Gods intereſt, as the ſelf-ſeeker hath for his own: And as eagerly doth he long to hear of the ſetting up of the Name, and Kingdom, and Will or Laws of God in the world, as the ambitious man longs for the ſetting up of his own. And it as much rejoyceth the holy ſelf-denying man to hear that Gods Laws are ſet up and obeyed, and that the world doth ſtoop to Jeſus Chriſt, as it would rejoyce the Carnal ſelfiſh wretch to be the Lord and Maſter of all himſelf, and his will become the Law of the world. An Holy ſelf-denying man would be far gladder to hear that Africa, America, and the reſt of the unbelieving part of the world were Converted to Chriſt by the power of the Goſpel, and that the Heathens were his inheritance, and the Kingdoms of the world become the Kingdoms of Chriſt, than if he had Conquered all theſe himſelf, and were become the King or Emperour of the world. For as ſelf is the chief intereſt of an unſanctified man; ſo Chriſt and the will of God is the chief Intereſt of the ſanctified: for the hath deſtroyed the contradictory Intereſt of ſelf, and renounced it, and hath taken God for his End, and Chriſt for the Way, and conſequently for his higheſt Intereſt: ſo that he hath now no buſineſs in the world but Gods buſineſs; he hath no honour to regard but Gods honour; he hath none to exalt but the King of Kings; he knows no gain but the pleaſing of God; he knows no content or pleaſure but Gods pleaſure: for the life that he now lives in the fleſh, he lives by faith of the Son of God, that hath loved him and given himſelf for him; and thereby hath drawn him out of himſelf to the Fountain and End of Love; and ſo it is not he that lives, but Chriſt liveth in him, Gal. 2. 20.
10. Laſtly, it is the high Prerogative of God, to have the honour and Power and Glory aſcribed to him, and be praiſed as the author of all Good to the world: and his Glory he will not give to another: Man and all things are Created, and preſerved and ordered for his Glory: Nor ſhall man have any Glory but in the Glorifying of his Lord: when we fell ſhort of Glorifying the Lord, we alſo fell ſhort of the Glory which we expected by him.
But when ſin turned man from God to himſelf, he became regardleſs of the honour of God, and his mind was bent on his own Honour, ſo that he would have every knee bow to himſelf, and every eye obſerve him, and every mind think highly of him, and every tongue to praiſe and magnifie him: It doth him good at the heart, to have vertue, and wiſdom, and greatneſs aſcribed to him, and an excellency in all; and to have all the good that is done aſcribed to him, and to be taken to be as the Sun in the firmament that all muſt eye, and none can live without, and to be eſteemed the benefactor of all. When he hears that men extol him and ſpeak nothing of him but well, and great things; and when he ſees them all obſerve and reverence him, and take him as an Oracle for wiſdom, or as an Angel of God, O how this pleaſeth his unſanctified ſelfiſh mind! Now he hath his End, even that which he would have; and verily ſaith Chriſt, they have their reward.
But when Sanctification hath taught men to deny themſelves, they ſee then that they are vile and miſerable ſinners, and loath themſelves for all their abominations; and are baſe in their own eyes, and humble themſelves before the Lord, and abhor themſelves in duſt and aſhes, and ſay, To us belongeth ſhame and confuſion of face; Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name give the glory, Pſal. 115. 1. Dan. 9. 7, 8. The holy ſelf-denying ſoul deſireth no glory and honour, but what may conduce to the glory and honour of his Lord: His heart riſeth againſt baſe flattering worldlings, that would rob God and give the honour to him: nor can they do him a greater diſpleaſure than to aſcribe that to him belongeth only to God, or to bring to him or any Creature, his Makers due. If God be honoured, he takes himſelf as honoured, if he be never ſo low: If God be diſhonoured, he is troubled, and his own honour will not make him reparation. As he liveth himſelf to the glory of God, and doth all that he doth in the world to that end; ſo would he have others do ſo too: And if God be moſt honoured by his diſgrace and ſhame, he can ſubmit.
And thus I have ſhewed you the true Nature both of ſelfiſhneſs and of ſelf-denyal. But obſerve that I deſcribe it as it is in it ſelf: but yet there is too much ſelfiſhneſs in the beſt, which may hinder the fulneſs of theſe effects. But ſelf-denyal is predominant in all the ſanctified, though it be not perfect.