Works Part 1, Part 4
SELF-DENIAL Opened in a SERMON At St. Mary Spittal, March, 26. 1649.
Matth. 16▪ 14, and so forward.
Then said Jesus unto his Disciples, if any Man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross and follow me, For whosoever will save his Life shal lose it, And whosever will lose his Life for my sake shall find it, For what is a Man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul? Or what shall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul?
THe occasion of this speech of our Savior was this, he had a little before told his Disciples, what great things he was shortly to suffer at Jerusalem, whereupon Simon Peter begins to rebuke his Master for admitting of such a Melancholly thought, Far be it from thee to imagine, that God will ever suffer thee to undergo such sad things as these are, Master pitty thy self, if there be any danger take a course to avoid it; Our Savior therefore replies to Peter, get thee behind me Satan, thou art an offence to me, this is nothing but the savor of the things of the world, that makes thee give me this wicked counsel; having rebuked Peter, he turns to al his Disciples and utters this speech that I have read, wherein our Lord strikes at the Root of that, which made Peter give him that carnal counsel, for the Lord knew it was nothing but unmortified self in Peter, and he wel saw that it would bring the like bitter fruits in all in whom it was not Crucified, and therupon gives them that counsel, that is contained in those three verses that I have read to you, wherein there are these two things. First,
1. Here is a Lesson necessarily to be practised by all Christs Disciples, in these words, If any man wil be my Disciple, Let him deny himself, Take up his Cross And follow me; that is the Lesson. Secondly,
2. Here is an Argument to perswade to the learning of this lesson, the Argument is taken from the necessity of it, it is so necessary, that that man that wil not deny himself, even to the denying of his life for Christs sake, wil undo himselff by his good husbandry, by his providence, if he think to save himself by following more wary Counsel, he wil ruine himself, but if he wil resign up himself to the counsel that Christ gives him, Christs counsel shal save him, and Salvation any other way he shal never find: Now lest some-body might object against this and say, But in probability the following of thee, and taking up our Cross wil be so far from saving of us that it wil ruine us, and the looking a little better to our selves may save our state, save our credit, save our liberty, save our life: Wel, to that saith Christ, do but cast up the gain that wil be got by this way, I deny not but a man may by that providence that you speak of save his estate, and save his credit, he may possibly gain the world, a great state in it, but he wil lose his soul by it, and that man that should purchase al the world, that should be able to say this Kingdom is mine, the other Kindom is mine, all the Kingdomes of the earth are mine, But what did they cost you? nothing but my soul, I gave my soul for them, that man hath made a miserable bargain of it, he will gain nothing that will venture the loss of his soul for the purchasing of the whol world: The worth of a soul is invaluable, and besides when a soul is once lost, the loss of a soul is irrecoverable, what shal a man ever give in exchange for his soul? Therfore set this down for your Conclusion, The man that wil not follow my counsel, upon the best account that can be made, is certainly an undone man. This is the scope of Christ in these words, Now I come to the Doctrinal part, (which I shal only insist upon at this time) and in it there are these two things. First,
1. Here is the Lesson that Christ teacheth and imposeth on his Disciples, in these words, Let him that wil be my Disciple, Deny himself, Take up his Cross and follow me. Those are the three things that Christ imposeth upon all his Disciples, Deny themselves, Take up their Cross, Follow him. Secondly,
2. Here is the Condition upon which this Duty is imposed; If any man wil be my Disciple: Christ wil compel no body to be his Disciple, and if they have not a mind to be his Disciples, he wil not impose upon them denial of themselves, and taking up of their Cross, and following him, if they like other waies better, let them take them, and see what will come of them in the end, but if any man wil pretend to be a follower of Christ, if he be resolved to be listed amongst Christs Souldiers, or admitted into Christs School, or into Christs Family; then this is the ABC, this is the first Lesson that he must learn, He must deny himself, Take up his Cross and follow him, and that is all that I will say to the Condition of it, that it may be as a watch word to all you that hear me this day, I shal by and by (by the Lords assistance) handle a Doctrine that I know is very hard to flesh and blood, that which possibly many of you never yet learned, nor have any purpose to learn, but only now remember this: You shal not be compelled to learn it, if you have not a mind to the Doctrine that shal be opened, you are at freedome to take another way, provided you wil not lay claim to be the followers of Christ: Run your hazards and enjoy your good things in this world, and see what wil come of it, but if you have a purpose (as I know you have) and would be glad to be thought followers of Christ, then be you high or low, Lords or Ladies, Gentle or Simple, Learned or Ignorant, know you that this is injoyned to every one whom Christ will own, that they must deny themselves, take up their Cross, and follow him. It is only the first of them that I purpose to treat upon at this time, Deny himself, and the Doctrine which (by the Lords assistance) I shall handle is this, the very words of the Text.
DOCT. That whosoever wil be a Disciple or Follower of Christ, he must deny himself.
And for the explication of the words, there is nothing hard but this: The word, He shal deny himself, doth signifie a total abrenunciation, he must wholly deny himself, (as I shal make good out of the Scripture) it must be a total work.
Now for the proof of it that it must be so, it were easie to turn you to a great many Scriptures, where the very same words are used, and upon the like occasion, you shal find it in Mark 8. and also in Luke 9. but for fear I be prevented, I wil content my self with a Text that I wil turn you to, and that is in Luke 14. from verse 28. to the end of the Chapter, & it wil abundantly demonstrate the necessity of this Doctrine: If Christ may be beleeved, you shal find there, that there were a great many came in to Christ to be his Disciples, great multitudes, they were taken with his Miracles, & his Sermons, and the Conversation of the whol world began to run after him, and gave in their names as fast as they could be admitted: but mark what Christ saith to them, about verse 26. saith he, If any man come after me, and do not hate Father and Mother, and Wife and Children, and Lands, and his own Life, he cannot be my Disciple, mark what he saith, he cannot, he doth not say, I wil not own him, but positively, because there is an impossibility of being Christ's Disciple, unless that a man do so far deny himself, as to renounce and and forsake whatsoever may be called himself: And lest he should not be beleeved, he doth prosecute this by three parables that follow there in order, and they are to this purpose, in the two first parables he doth plainly tel them.
1. That if any man pretend to be Christ's Disciple, and do not learn this lesson of self-denial, that man if ever he be put to it wil prove an Apostate, if ever times of tryall come, that man that enters into Christs School not having learned the Lesson of self-denial, wil prove an Apostate. or Secondly,
2. If he be never put to it in a way of persecution, then he wil live all his daies but in a meer form of Godliness, and an unsavory general profession he may make, he wil never have any power in it; and this (I say) the Lord shews in three Parables, the two first of them you wil find they are taken, one from a man that goes about a building, to errect a House, before he have throughly cast whether he have mony enough to go through with the building, and then when he hath gone as far as he can, and spent all that he hath, the building is unfinished, and himself is laughed at; Or a King that goes to war-fare, and doth not cast up what the War wil cost him, and whether he have strength enough to go through with it, when he is ingaged in it, then he is fain to make shameful conditions, and come off dishonorably and basely, because he thrust himself into a War that he was not able to go through with: So (saith Christ) wil it prove with you, if any man undertake the work of being my Disciple, and hath not brought his heart to this resolution, to deny himself in whatsoever may be called himself, that man wil never hold out if a storm come, or if it he be ever put to it: Then the next Parable tels you, that he wil live but an unsavory profession, he may be Salt without any savor that is good for nothing, not so much as good to be cast to a dunghil; and that wil be the upshot of all: the Christians in the world that list themselves under Christ Jesus, and have not learned this lesson of self-denial: That one Text is proof enough of it, but the main thing that I aim at in the Doctrinal part is, to try if (by the Lords assistance) I may make you understand what this same self denial is, and wherein it stands, and so there are two things that I shal bestow the best part of an hour upon. First,
1. In shewing you what is meant by self, what is that self that must be denied. Secondly,
2. What is this denial of a mans self, or when doth a man do that which Christ Jesus cals denying of himself. First,
1. We wil enquire what is meant by self, and the rather you must enquire into it, because there is a self that a man must not deny, there is a self that we must bring with us to Christ, we must not leave that behind us, we must give our selves to the Lord: The Apostle saith in Rom. 6. We must save our selves: in Acts 2. Peter exhorted his hearers, Save your selves: there is a self that we must watch over and attend to, Attend to your selves: So that if there be a self that must be saved, and brought to Christ and preserved, it is necessary to enquire what the Lord means by that same self that must be denyed: Now that I may make this plain to you, I must carry you a little further back; Then the present condition that we are all now in, in our sinful state, and I beseech you bend your best attention for a while, while I endeavor to cleer this to you. Know therefore thus, That when the Lord did at first make man, he gave unto man a Soul and a Body and excellent endowments and accomplishments to both of them, he gave man likewise the Creatures, all the works of his hands, but though man had all these things to use, yet man had no portion but God, God alone was the Portion of mans Soul, he might use his Understanding, use his Wil, his Wit, his Reason, his Parts, his Wife, his Estate, use them all, but enjoyed nothing at all, but God, God was the whol portion of man, as man stood in the state of integrity: But now assoon as man fel off from God by sin, when (I say) he sinned against God, man did immediately leave God for his portion, cease to make God his portion, and having forsaken God as his portion, now he made himself his own portion, and the greatest good that he hoped for or looked for was himself for the time to come, and therein indeed fulfilled the Devil's speech, that if you eat of such a Tree you shal be as Gods, so we became Gods to our selves immediately upon our fal, and ever since that, man did come to fal into himself, to settle (as it were) upon his own bottom, and to rest upon his own Center, and now since that time all other things good or bad, that might be any waies conducible to man, to nourish that self-sufficiency that he had conceived in himself, and expected in himself, presently man maketh use of all these, but though he useth them all as means, he rests in none of them as his end, but himself is the end of all: This is the true state of man; so that by self is meant that self-sufficiency, that portion that lost man did find after he had departed from God: But to make you understand this a little more fully, be pleased to know that every man in the world, though he have but one comprehensive self, yet this self hath four branches, and (if you wil) you may cal them so many selves, though indeed they are but one, yet there is a quaternity in it. First,
1. There is a sinful self.
2. There is a natural self.
3. There is a worldly self.
4. There is a religious self.
Give me leave to explain all these to you. I say First,
1. There is that that we cal a sinful self, not that the other selves are not sinful, but we call this sinful, because it is materially sinful, this is not only sinful, the others are sinful in the use: but this (that I mean by the first) it is materially sinful, and that is the body of corruption, the body of lusts and corruption which every man in the world hath in him from his Mothers womb. You shal find that to be called our Self in many places of Scripture, in Collos. 2.5. saith the Apostle there, Mortifie your earthly members; mark you, they are our members, And what are they? Fornication, Uncleanness, evil Concupiscence, Covetousness, Anger, Wrath, Malice, Lying, all these Cursed lusts doth he call our members, and in the next verse, cals it the old man; and our Savior Christ cals our beloved lusts, our right Eye, or our right Hand, or our right Foot. There is one branch of Self, the body of corruption. Secondly,
2. There is another Self that is called natural Self, and by it I understand the Soul and the Body, and all the endowments, and Ornaments of them, our wisdom, our Learning, our Will, our Love, our Joy, our Fear, our Strength, our Beauty, all these that make up the Person that you or I do bear, with all the natural endowments or accomplishments; that you al know to be Self, and that the world commonly understands by Self. Thirdly,
3. Every man hath in him likewise that that is called a worldly Self; by that I mean al the relations that man stands in to the Creature, and all the interest that he hath in the Creature; as for example our Wife, our Children our Estates, our Trades, our Lands, our Revenues, our Offices: Now that this is called a mans self the Text is plain for it, in this Text where Christ speaks of denying a mans self, he makes the world a piece of a mans self, and in Luke 14. where he would have a man forsake himself, there he reckons up Father, and Mother, and Wife, and Children, and Lands, and all that he hath. This is a third Branch of Self. Fourthly,
4. There is another that is as much Self as any of these; and that is that that we cal religious Self; and by that you are to understand our performance of holy Duties, our Vertues, our Righteousness, any thing that seems to be spiritual, and good, and moral in us; this you shal find a notable passage about, in Phillip. 3. where the Apostle there saith of true Beleevers (saith he) We are the Circumcision that do worship God in the spirit, but we put no confidence in the flesh, we regard nothing of the flesh, and (saith he) if there be any man that might have any confidence in the flesh, I as much as any, mark his words, I much more than any, What flesh doth he mean? mark what follows, I was an Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the Tribe of Benjamin, by my Religion a Pharisee, touching the righteousness of the Law I was altogether unblameable, here was his self: Now, this was his flesh; so that the Religion, the Honesty, the Conversation agreeable to the Law, that Paul makes a part of himself, and cals it his flesh: Now concerning these four, (for yet I have not done explaining this first part, what I mean by Self, concerning all these four) both our Lusts, and our natural endowments, and our worldly interest, and our Religion, you must take these three corrollaries to understand them all, three things that I would add, The first is,
1. That al these are but one and the same self; pray mark me, all these are but one self only, As the Sea which is but one, yet it is called the Brittish Sea as it toucheth upon England or Scotland, It is called the German Sea as it washeth the German shoar, and a great way off it is called the Ethiopique Sea as it washeth there, but all is but one Sea, so all is but one wretched self, though we call it a sinful self: as self applies it self to Lusts, cal it worldly self, as self applies it self to wealth or riches or honor: and cal it religious self, as self applies it self to the Law of God or to God, in any such like, but all is but one self, all is but one and the same man in all these. And Secondly, Another thing that I would have you know about them all four is this.
2. That though all these are in every natural man, yet commonly there is but one of them that is predominant, and all the other are subordinate unto it, As for example, Some men make their Lusts, their known Lusts their predominant self, and unto that Reason and Wil, and Father and Mother, and Children, and Law, and Duties, and all shal be subordinate, because this is the Lord paramount: In some others it may be the world is the paramount, Oh! and then unto that all their other Lusts, and all their Religion likewise shal be subordinate; It may be in another his Religion is the predominant, his Honesty, his righteousness, his holy performances, that is his great predominant, and then unto that all the other shal be subordinate; Commonly there is but some one of them that carries the Chair, that sits upon the Throne, and al the rest are underlings to that. Thirdly, and that which I most of all would have you mark, and weigh, concerning them all is this, and I beseech you weigh my words.
3. That in all these the heart is equally wicked, in every one of them the heart is as bad, and as far from God in the one as it is in the other, I mean plainly thus, That man that sets up his Lusts, suppose his Whore, suppose his Pride, suppose any known wickedness, sets up that to be the great good that pleaseth him, that man is no more wicked, his heart is no more wicked in that than another man that maketh Mammon his God, the gathering of wealth, or the maintaining of his honor, and neither of these are more wicked than he that maketh his righteousness, his own religious performances his God, because for (though these may seem strange, yet if you wil wait you will find it to be good Divinity) though in all these self is the end, and all these are used but as means, in the one of them I make use of the Devil to serve my self, in another I make use of the world to serve my self, in another I make use of God to serve my Self: but whosoever I make use of, it is my self that I set in the Throne, my own Ease, my own Wil, my own Good, my own Happiness: Now then here is the result, whatsoever a poor lost sinner doth make his portion, before he come to be reconciled to God in Christ, whatsoever it is that he maketh his portion, or placeth his happiness in, that our Lord means by self; and there you have the first thing explained that I intended to handle, What is meant by our Self that must be denied? all that we make our portion, be it our Lusts, be they our natural abilities, be they our worldly interests, be they our religious Vertues, Duties, Righteousnesses, they are all alike when the heart sodders with them, or rests in them, all these make up that self that must be denied. That is the first. Secondly, The second thing that is to be explained, is,
2. What it is to deny a mans self; he that will follow Christ must deny himself, What is that? I answer, First,
1. In general, (as I hinted before) it must be a total denyal, it is such a denial of a mans self, as must be a total abrenunciation, it must not be to put off the skin, the Serpents skin, and leave the Body, or to cut off a Joynt and leave the Trunk, but the whole man, all the comprehension of this must be abhominated and renounced, by that self-denial that the Lord here means.
But what is it? (you wil say) Wherein stands it? That I shal labor to cleer to you as wel as I can.
1. Negatively, I wil shew what it is not. And then,
2. Positively, I wil shew you what it is.
1. What it is not. First,
1. By denying a mans self the Lord means not, that we should counterfeit our selves to be other than we are, as Jeroboam's Wife denied her self to be Jeroboam's Wife, by faining her self to be another Woman than she was; The Lord means not that he that is a proud man should say I am not a proud man, or he that is a rich man should say, I am not a rich man, or he that is a proper man should say I am not a proper man, or he whose name is John or Thomas, should say I am not that man that is not the meaning, that he should counterfeit or feign himself to be another than he is: Nor Secondly, (which it may be you think most probable) by denying a mans self is this meant.
2. That a man must wholly be rid of al these things, that that man that denies himself must wholly part with all his corruptions, and part with the powers and faculties of his soul, or the accomplishments of them, or part with all his Estate, his Wife and Children, or part with his morral Duties and Religion, that is not the meaning neither, and that that is not the meaning I prove thus to you First,
1. Some of these things are things we must not part with, the Lord forbids us to part with them: If God have bestowed upon any man a good Wife, or Children, or Memory, Understanding, Learning, Wealth, Honor or Abilities, or Honesty and Righteousness, the Lord commands them not to part with these, these are things that God may be served with, and must be served with, therefore that cannot be the meaning. Nay,
2. The worst of them, none of them can be parted with while we live in this world, though we would never so fain part with them, totally no man upon earth can part with all his corruptions: If there be any man can say, he hath no sin in him, that man rather hath no Grace in him: St. John saith that man that saith he hath no sin in him lyeth, and the truth of God is not in him; therefore that cannot be the meaning, What is it then? I answer, and I humbly crave your attendance and weighing of these things, because your everlasting welfare must be measured out by this, you wil know your spiritual interest in Christ by it. I answer then,
2. That this same denial of our selves, this total renunciation of our selves, it comprehends these four things in it, and these four things do constantly meet in every soul that doth deny it self. First of all,
1. All these things that I have spoken of, we do totally and absolutly renounce them all from being any part of our portion, that whereas before all our good lay in some of these things, that if you would ask any man what he is worth, What are you? and what are you worth? he must tel you, I am worth a thousand pound a year, or I am worth as much as my Wife and Children, my Wit, my Parts, my Learning, my Education, my good name, my honest Conversation, Look what worth there is in all these so much I am worth; and this was all his portion: but now when the soul cometh to Christ, it totally renounceth all these, to be nothing at all to him in the point of a portion, if he be the Lords; and I shal shew you good reason for it by and by God willing; I wil shew you a notable instance of it in the Apostle Paul, in that forenamed Phillip. 3. where he saith, I think if any man might Glory in the flesh, I might Glory as much as any, and there he reckons up his Religion, his Birth, his Education, his Learning, his Righteousness, and the like, and (saith he) these things were gain to me, they were my portion, that if you had asked Paul, Paul what are you? What am I? as good a man as you I hope, Wherein lies your goodness? I am a Jew, an Hebrew, a Benjamite, a Pharisee, a Scholler, an honest man, one that is unblameable in my whol conversation, This was my gain (saith Paul) but after that Paul was called to Christ, he did profess al that was his gain before, it was now Dogs meat to him, shipwracked; his Learning abided with him stil, and his wealth, and his wit, or any thing, he had it stil: but it was all rubbish now, he did lay no worth in the world upon it, he had no portion now but the favor of God in Christ Jesus, that was his wealth, but now for all these things what use soever he might make of them, they were nothing, not one penny to him in the point of a portion; This is the first thing that is an ingredient into this same self-denial, that when the soul cometh to Christ, it is unloosed and set loose from all these things, as they gave any support to the soul, to breed a good esteem in it of its own happiness. That is the first. The Second thing that maketh up this self-denial is,
2 That as the Soul doth renounce all these from being a portion, so as in any of these there is any thing found that stands in opposition to Christ, or hath any enmity against Christ, so far the soul totally doth not only throw it aside as a worthless thing, but opposeth it as a deadly thing, it casteth it aside as an enemy: Before in the other it throws it aside as a useless thing: but here it throws it aside as an enemy, when it hath any opposition or enmity against Christ Jesus, or the waies that Christ would have his people walk in; that is plain both by many Scriptures, that you shal see the Servants of God when they come to deny themselves, they say to their Lusts, get you hence, to their Idolatry, to their wicked waies, they throw them out to the Moles and the Bats, they mortifie them, they crucifie them, they put off the old man, with all the Lusts that are contrary to Christ, & their carnal reason that stands in enmity against Christ; According (I say) as there is any thing in them that bears opposition to Christ Jesus, and the waies of holiness, so far the soul renounceth them as an enemy, if ever they deny themselves, because (as you shal hear in the Reason) Christ Jesus alone is the great good of that soul that denies it self. A Third thing that maketh up this self-denial is,
3. That all these four, or any thing that may fal under any one of them, so far as they ever stand in competition with Christ, and the things of Christ, so far the soul totally abandons them likewise, totally abandons them all according as they stand in competition with Christ Jesus; and that our Lord means when he saith, That a man must hate his Father, and Mother, and Wife, and Children, Certainly the Lord doth not mean that we should hate them simply, No, but when they come to stand in competition with Christ's excellence, or providence, or things fall out so, that I must either renounce these, or I must withdraw from Christ, I cannot serve Christ, and enjoy them too, therein I totally renounce them all; and this you shall understand thus: Our Savior Christ saith a man then denies Christ, though he have never so good an opinion of Christ, if yet when he comes to that exigent, that either he must leave Christ, or leave the world, or leave his wealth, if he leave Christ for his wealth sake then he denies Christ, so Christ saith, by the same reason when I leave my life, leave my wealth, leave my Wife, my Children, my Name, my Credit, my wil, my Duties, when these stand in competition with Christ, then I deny them all, then that soul may truly be said to deny them; as I pray take an instance or two of it, that you may see what I mean: Take that that is reported of a famous Lady in the primitive Church, I think her name was called Julida or Juletta, that having a Suit before a Heathen Magistrate, in somewhat that concerned her estate, her cause was good, and it was like to go of her side, but some body whispers the Judge in the Ear, and tels the Judg that she was a Christian, the Judg tels her; Lady, your cause is good (saith he) and it is like to go with you, but here is an information come that you are a Christian, and if so, you will not only lose this cause, and this part of your estate, but al your estate, and your honor, and your life, all is gone: Is it come to that? (saith she) farewel my lands, farewel my honor, farewel my life, Nay, I am a Christian when these come to stand in competition with Christ once: Or as Gallatius Carixialdus a famous Italian Marquess, that had a Lady and delicate Children, and a fair Estate, but when he could not enjoy Christ and these together, he left them all and went to Geneva to live with Mr. Calvin: And there is a speech of Chrysostome that he said, when he thought he should go to banishment, or martyrdome for Christs sake, he said, If my Father should stand in my way, I would throw him down, if my Mother should meet me, I would tread upon her belly, meaning plainly, that if any of these should be hinderances to him in Christ's cause, and stand in competition, he would trample them under his feet: And this the Lord plainly means by a mans denying himself, my Life is dear, my Learning is dear, my Children are dear, my Credit is dear, al are good, I value them, I love them, I would keep them, but if either my peace with Christ must go or these, if my Conscience must go or these, if the Glory of Christ must go or these, all pack away, they are all renounced as they stand in competition with Christ. This is the third thing in self-denial. Fourthly there is another, (and I pray lay up these things in your hearts, against I come to apply them by and by) and that is,
4. That the soul that doth deny it self doth totally forsake all these so far, as from claiming his interest or propriety in them; they do not only not make them their wealth, but now they resign them all up unto Christ, give them up to Christ, and themselves turn Baylifs or Stewards to Christ, to use them all according to the will and pleasure of Christ Jesus alone: Pray understand this, because though you be never called to some of the other, yet for this last this is that vein of self denial, that must run through the whol course of a mans life, and he hath use of it every day he lives if he be a servant of Christ; Pray understand my meaning thus: Suppose a man had a smal Farm upon which he totally lived, it was the inheritance he received from his Father, and it is al that he and his Wife & Children have to subsist on, and he useth it according to his own will for his best advantage, builds, plucks down, plows, laies down his plowed ground, turns it into pastures, sels it, keeps it, changeth it, doth what he wil, it is all the wealth he hath, suppose this man had a fair estate that is ten thousand times better, settled upon him by some great man, that gives it him freely, only ties him to this condition, that this Farm that was his own before, he shal now surrender it up to the hands of the Lord, to him that is his Lord, and for time to come though he shal dwel upon it stil, yet now he shal occupie it only as his Baylif, shal not cut down a Tree but what he appoints, not pluck down a house nor alter a room but as he orders him, and all the fruits he shal lay them where he would have them, and dispose of them as he commands him, be but his Baylif and Steward as to that: the other now is his own portion that he shal live upon: Just now here is the case, while we are in our natural estate, all we have to live upon is our self, I have so many corruptions that (it may be) are very pleasurable, and honorable some of them, I have such parts, such strength of Body, I have such a wit, or such an estate, or such a good name, it is al I have to live upon, and I wil improve it to the best I can, and as it may best serve my turn I use it, but now when I take Christ Jesus to be my portion, when I come to take the Lord Christ to be my portion, I surrender all these up into Christ's hands, and while he is pleased to put them back again into mine, I am only his Baylif, his Steward, my wit is his, my Honour is his, my Wealth is his, my Lands are his, and a man that hath denied himself doth occupy all these things, just as the Jews were to occupy the Land of Canaan, of whom you may read in Levit. 25. that the Lord told them, This Land (saith he) is all mine, and you are but sojourners with me, you shal plow it thus many years, and then you shal plow it no longer than such a time, and of the fruits of it you shal bring the first fruits to such a place, and pay the Tithes to such a place, and to the poor give such a thing, and gives this Reason, For the land is mine and you are but sojourners with me, so that all that a man hath in this world, al that is comprehended under the name self, when once the Soul closeth with Christ, it is but a sojourner with him to use these things, and to use them according to the Lords pleasure; and these four do make up self-denial; when a Soul (in a word) is come thus far, that he doth abhominate all that is in it so as for making it a portion, when he hates and labors to crucifie whatsoever in it is an enemy to Christ and the waies of Christ, when he parts with all, with any thing as they stand in competition with Christ, when they labor to use all according to the rules of Christ, so as to make Christ the Proprietor, and themselves to be but Stewards or Tennants at wil to him. This is the self-denial that the Lord saith must be in every Soul that wil be his Disciple. Now before I come to the Application of this, I have but one thing more and that is to shew you,
3. Why it must be thus, what reason there is, that so the thing may be demonstrated to you, that so when I come to the Application your hearts may have nothing to oppose against it; and understand me, the question is not why it is comely to do thus, why it is requisite it should be so: but why there is such an absolute necessity of it, that a man cannot so much as pretend to be a Disciple of Christ that will not submit to it. What Reason for it? I answer first,
1. Because wheresoever the Lord Christ is received by any soul, he wil be received as the All of that Soul, mark my words, Christ wil be all or he wil be nothing, what the Father hath sent him to do he wil be all to do it, he wil never undertake a piece of it, and the Lord hath sent him to be all that a poor lost sinner can need. Now I pray conceive my meaning thus, Take a Maid that a Man wil be a Husband to her, when she marries to this man he wil be all in the place of a Husband, and she must renounce all the men in the world in matters that belong to conjugal Relations, the marriage state wil admit no rivalty; I but for al that, though the Husband must be all in the relation of a Husband, yet he is not al that the Wife needs, and she may lawfully have application to other Creatures, and to other men for some things wherein her Husband cannot be all to her; if she be sick, she must have a Physitian; if she be wounded, she must have a Chyrurgeon; if she be sad, it may be she must have another to comfort her: neither can her Husband be her Bread, and her Cloaths, she must have another must make them, and prepare them. But now Christ Jesus is All that the soul needs, he is their Father, their Husband, their Brother, their Friend, their Companion, their Bread, their Drink, their Cloth, their Gold, their Silver, their Honor, he is All in All; Christ Jesus is so, and he wil be so, or he wil be nothing; and there is this natural reason for it, Because every mans heart shares out both its prayers, and its confidence, and its love, and its praises (I say it shares it out) according as it needs, or findeth supply any where. If one man be my Patron, and give me a great deal of my maintenance, I share out my expectations, my prayers, my love, my service most to that man; but another helps me with some of these, and he hath part of my good wishes, and part of my prayers, and part of my praises, according to the proportion of good I receive from him, so is my heart shared out to him in dependance, or thankfulness, or love. But Christ Jesus wil have no sharing, he wil have all thy heart, all thy prayers, all thy love, all thy affections, all thy obedience; Christ Jesus expects all, which he cannot have until he be all, and he never can be all, til al other be renounced, til I have no God but Christ, til I have no Father but Christ, til I have no Wisdom but Christ, til I have no Righteousness but Christ, I shal never share out al my prayers, and confidence, and love, and the like, to Christ for al; and therefore wil Christ have al renounced that he may be all. That is one Ground, and the great Ground. There is another (which I wil briefly touch) and that is this:
2. Because al these things that we are to renounce, even the best of them al in those notions wherein we are to renounce them, they are al of them, and wil be adversaries and hindrances to us, in the way that Christ Jesus expects we should walk before him, and therefore until our souls do totally renounce them, we are in perpetual danger of being undone by them; as I pray conceive my meaning thus in a familiar comparison: Suppose in a Civil War wherein a Nation is divided, and one Faction engaged against the other; if a man that hath been engaged on the one Party, do leave that Party, and come over to serve that side against which he did oppose before, this man must renounce all the other Party, though his Brethren were there, though his Estate lay in those Quarters, he must renounce them all, or otherwise he wil never be trusted by them, to whom now he pretends to joyn; or be sure (which is the thing I alledg it for) if he hold correspondence with them, they wil ever be dropping destructive principles into him, against the way that he now engageth for. So al these things, not only our Drunkenness, and Whoredom, and Lust, and Lying, and stealing, and slandering; but our Reason, our Wills, our Affections, our Wealth, our Honor, our Children, our Friends, our Duties, our Performances, wil lie as blocks in the way to hinder us from some of the things that the religion of Christ wil put upon us; there is nothing cleerer, Saint John hath an excellent speech in 1 John 2.16. saith he) All that is in the world (mark his words, All that is in the world) the Lusts of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of life, it is not of the Father: It is not of the Father al that is in the world, What means he by all that is in the world? that that he had said before, Little Children love not the world, nor any thing in the world, his meaning is, love not Life, love not Wife, love not Children, Estate, Honor, Wealth, love them not, Why? They all serve but to nourish the Lusts of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye, or the pride of Life, and that is not of the Father, they wil draw you away from God, therefore take heed of them; and look what John saith of the things of the world, the same may be carried to al the other; Love not your Duties, love not your Righteousness, love not your Performances, love not your Honesty, love none of these as you in your natural estate cleave to them, they al of them tend but only to advance your self, and to pul down Christ, and wil be hinderances to you in the way wherein Christ wil have you walk; And thus I have endeavored (Beloved) to make plain unto you this great Doctrine of Christianity, that is the very first door that we pass through when we come into Christs School to deny our selves: Now it remains that I make some Application of it, and that I shal do as briefly and as cleerly as the Lord shal please to enable me, and among many other things there are but two or three that I intend to insist upon. The one is,
USE, 1.
Hence from all this discourse it cleerly follows, that among the great multitude of those that are called Christians, there are but very few who are Christians indeed (for Gods sake marke this that I say to you, I say) If this discourse of mine be true (as I hope I have made it cleer out of Gods word to you) that a man cannot be Christs Disciple, that hath not learned this lesson of self-denial, certainly there are very few Christians to be found in Christendome, and truly I have often thought and am perswaded it is true, that the not understanding of this lesson, or the not coming to Christ upon the tearms of this Lesson, is the great cause of all the formalities, and hypocrisies, and the unbelief, and apostacy that is sound amongst Christians. I observe (and it is an observation that many have made) that in the primitive times of the Church, when death and ruine was visibly to be expected by any one that would imbrace Christ, then it would be hard for any man to enter upon Christianity, until he had resolved upon this lesson, because they took it for granted, I go to poverty, I go to hanging, I go to stoning, I go to beggery if I go to Christ, and therefore they had need see so much in Christ, that they might be willing to part with all for him, and yet even then our Savior Christ noted, that a great many came in upon false grounds: but now after the name of Christian Religion hath obtained in the world, and men are made Christians from their mothers womb, I mean in an outward form, that assoon as we have a Child born we say it is born a Christian, and then we go and Baptize it as a Christian, and then when it cometh to Church it hears Sermons as a Christian, and then as it grows up and gets a little more knowledg it comes to the Lords Table as a Christian, and so men are made Christians by piece-meals, and they know not how, but the Lord knows mavelous few amongst them ever understood any thing at all of this Point of self-denial, that if amongst such a great Assembly as here is, if a man in Gods name should come but to enquire and say, Are you a Christian? Yes: Do you follow Christ? I: And are you his Disciples in truth? I hope so: Pray have you denied your self? Have you learned the Lesson of self-denial? God he knows they know nothing of the meaning of it (as they say) it is heathen Greek to them, they are unacquainted with it: Wel (Friends) know you for certain, that you may be bred Christians, bear the name of Christ, make a profession of Christ, hear Sermons of Christ, partake of the Sacraments of Christ, and do a thousand things that may outwardly speak you to be the Servants of Christ, and in the mid'st of all these you may be as far from being his Disciples in truth, as they were that crucified him, and if ever the Lord come but to dispose of you, and come to cal for that same beloved Self of thine whatsoever it be, that thou must turn it out of door, the world shal quickly know that thou never didst receive Jesus Christ in sincerity, I am perswaded that so many of you as have but ordinary understandings in the Book of God wil be able to Judg, if you compare my Doctrine with the lives of most men. You wil say, Either this that you have preached is not Gospel, or we are not Christians, there are very few of us that ever learned this Lesson, therefore I desire you (before I go any further) every one a little to try his own soul, what evidence he hath of this Lesson wrought in him, you cal your selves the servants of Christ, I beseech you examin, Have you ever denied your selves? I do not ask now whether you have learned a particular Lesson, to deny your Credit, or your Wil at this time or the other time, but this same putting off this old Self, this renouncing of thy self, hast thou ever learned that? and among a great many trials I wil pray you (at the present) but to weigh these two Considerations. First,
1. In the presence of God tel me, what doest thou weigh in the Ballance? This is somwhat a blunt question, but it is that that wil mightily determine the case, Tel me in the sight of God, what doest thou weigh in the ballance? my meaning is this, I know thou knowest what thou art, and what thou hast, thou knowest thy self (it may be) to be a Scholler, a wel bred man, it may be a great Magistrate, it may be of a great estate, it may be a great name, it may be an honest man, it may be an unblameable conversation, it may be cried up as one of the eminentest men in the City where thou livest, looked upon by all the City, and neighborhood as a rare man, and it may be al this is true: But tel me what doest thou weigh in Gods sight? That God that knows how thou esteemest thy self can determine this question: Wel thus plainly, Art thou one that carriest such thoughts as these? there is such and such and such they are great Professors, I thank God I am as good a man as any of them all, I am sure I have a better estate than they, I am sure I have more honesty and as good a wit as they▪ and I can set out my foot by any man, let any man detect me, I thank God I am not as a great many others are, and thus thou judgest of thy self; Alas poor soul! thou art very far from Christ Jesus: But now if God wil bear witness with thy soul, that in the mid'st of al these thou sayest, I am (indeed I am) it may be a learned man, or a great man, or a rich man, or a Schollar and the like, and I have lived honestly, and God hath kept me from many notorious wicked waies that others have walked in, but alas what am I for al this? a poor undone Creature, a worthless Craature, not only my lusts but my Prayers, my Sermons that I preach, or hear, my duties that I perform, God help me I am a base Creature, if God look not upon me in Christ Jesus, I have no one thing to commend me to God, nothing that ever I had, nothing that ever I did is of any worth, I loath it all, Oh! if God would give me Christ I am wel, but for other things I have nothing, there is the man, the soul that weighs nothing in the ballance, is nothing hath denied himself, he hath sold himself, he saith indeed I am worth nothing, Why? Is not this house yours? It was but I have sold it and spent the mony too, God help me, so I had these things, but (alas) they are not worth a Groat, they are wotrh nothing, my worth is this, if I have hope in Christ I am wel, if not I am lost. Ask but thy soul that. Secondly,
2. Tel me (for that fourth branch that I named, because I know if thou hast but any face of Christianity, thou darest not own those that are known Lusts, known Corruptions, thou endeavorest to mortifie them, but I wil insist only upon that fourth branch) Dost thou with all that thou hast, look upon thy self as one that is Christs Baylif and Steward, he hath laid up thy portion for thee, he measures out thy wealth for thee, and for him thou livest, and for him thou givest that that thou hast, and that that thou art, and that that thou doest, thy honor, thy estate, thy life, thy wealth, if Christ may have any service from them, by them, through them, here they are, thou tenderest them to him with all thy soul, if the Lord have subdued thy heart to that, I tel thee for thy comfort (and so I pass from this first use, if the Lord have subdued thy heart to that) he hath taught thee that lesson which though it be the first in order to Christianity, yet it is the hardest Nut thou hast to crack, it is a lesson that nothing but Gods Spirit dwelling in thee ever subdued thy heart too, and it is assure a token that the Lord is thine, as any thing that ever can be found in thee, when thou hast renounced all, that Christ may be all to thee: but if this be a stranger to thee and thou to it, do not flatter thy self with thy carnal confidence, thou maiest be very religious and honest in outward shew, but thou servest thy Self and not the Lord, and that self of thine wil ruine thee and never save thee, and therfore in the next place (which is the use which I most of all intend, and which when I have done with I have done my Sermon)
USE, 2.
I would labor to teach this Lesson, this great Lesson of self-denial, I would be a help to those that are willing to learn this hard Lesson, how it may be attained that we may follow the Lord, and truly (Honorable and Beloved) if I should look upon my self only in this work, my weakness to think that I should perswade you to deny your selves, I profess I would as soon expect that I might perswade you to go out of this Assembly, and lay violent hands upon your selves, and cut your own Throats, as soon as by any Rhetorick or Arguments of mine, I should ever look to perswade you to this great lesson of self-denial, but when I consider that in this work I am the Minister of Christ, and that his Spirit goes along with his word, I may hope through his Grace that I may teach that, and leave that upon many of your souls, that may make you contented to forsake all, and follow Christ all the rest of your daies; I say again, looking upon humane perswasions it is nothing: I remember the Story that is told of Luther, When Luther first came out to preach against the Popes indulgences, and to reform the corruptions of the Church of Rome, went about that vast Task, there was one Albertus that liked Luthers projects very wel, but despaired that ever he would make any thing of it, he wrote to him, Frater abi in cellam, die miserere mei Deus; Fryar (saith he) go to thy bed, go into thy Cel, thou wilt never do any good at this work: So to come to perswade men to forsake themselves, to renounce themselves, to come and deal with Lord Majors, and Aldermen, and Sheriffs, and Ladies, and great Citizens, and learned men, to come and turn them out of al that ever they have, that they should renounce al, and deny al, and not be worth one Groat but the favor of God in Christ, Abi in Cellam, Go to thy Bed, there is no hope of it, but if God strike in, there wil be hopes of it, and therfore to perswade you to it, be pleased to take these three motives·
1. Three Considerations I would give you, to make you willing to learn this lesson of self-denial, and then,
2. I will shew you the means that you must use to attain it.
1. To provoke you to it, Consider in the first place.
1. That this self, this cursed self that I am preaching against, it is absolutely the greatest Idol in the world, the greatest Idol and false God that is to be found in al the world: Since man left the true God from being his portion, there have been found out a hundred thousand other Gods, but all those hundred thousand and hundred thousand demy-gods, they are all of them but underlings to this same God that is called Self, Self invented them, Self set them up, Self changeth them, Self produced them, and they all bow before it, as Dagon did before the Ark, so all the other Idols in the world bow before Self: I know I speak Gods truth, my meaning is, All false religions, all policies, all injustice, all oppressions, all underminings, all villanies that are acted in the world, and from one end of the world to the other, they all are but the fruit of self-love, self-preservation, self-interest, self-content, self-respect, somewhat about Self hath set them up, and were they all banished out of the world, while we have a Self in us, an unmortified Self, that self in mankind would invent all those again that ever were, or as bad as they: This is the Abaddon, the Apollion, the abomination that was all desolation, and certainly this ruines Kingdoms, ruines Commonwealths, overthrows Churches, it is the great waster that destroies all, and you set against all other things without any purpose, til you go against this; I hope I speak to wise men, but I am sure if you wil search you wil find this to be true, that it is only self is the ruine of al men, and til you turn that off, you do but crop the bud; and as if a man should say, that I have almost undone my self by a Whore, but I wil give her over, I wil follow her no more; and another say, I have undone my self by a pack of Cards, but I will use them no more, but if self remains Covetousness wil undo thee with Religion and with Honesty, it wil carry thee to Hell by thy Prayers, by thy Tears, by thy reformations, til the Lord turn self out you do nothing. That is one. Secondly, Consider this,
2. There is an absolute impossibility (the Lord help you to weigh what I am now saying to you, I say there is an absolute impossibility) that ever the soul should cordially close with Christ until it do totally renounce it self, never can Christ be cordially closed with til then: There are a thousand things may make a man make an external profession of Christ, or keep a fair quarter with him, but cordially to close with him it is impossible, til the Lord teach us to renounce our selves: I wil give you the reason, because Christs interest and self-interest are diametrically opposite one to the other, directly opposite one to another, and therefore it is not possible that ever we should close with Christ until we renounce that other; that is that our Savior means in Math. 6. No man can serve two Masters, he doth not mean that a poor man cannot serve two or three or ten Masters, he may serve twenty Masters, so as all those Masters have but one interest, if they have all one common and joynt stock he may serve them al, but if their interests be opposite one to another, the man can never serve them both; Now Christs interest what is that? it is only to lay the Creature low, to make man, and all that is of man vile and nothing, and to exalt free Grace only, that is Christs interest, but now self-interst is nothing in the world but to exalt it self, whosoever goes down, to tread upon the Devils shoulders to exalt it self, to tread upon the world to exalt it self, to tread upon Gods shoulders to exalt it self, any thing that may exalt it self, they are so opposite that it is impossible they should both close: Thus far indeed a man that hath made Self and self-interest his portion, that man may keep a marveilous fair quarter with Religion, as a learned man handling this very Doctrine I am preaching of, useth this comparison, saith he; Those men whose interest is to maintain their own greatness, they will entertain those that are cal'd the wits of the time, the pleasant Companions, the Drols, they wil entertain them, bid them welcom, be glad of them: though it be some cost to them, it is a part of their grandour, it maintains their greatness to have such, and they are as welcome to them as any body in the world, but if any of these wits or pleasant Companions shal come to engage this man, and say, pray (Sir) be you bound with me for ten thousand pound: Sir you are welcome to my house, and your Horse is welcom, but (Sir) you must pardon me, he wil throw him off rather than do so: So a man may entertain Christ, while hearing of Sermons and discoursing of Religion is only an Ornament to a man, a man that is of a selvish spirit may cordially entertain him so far, but so as to hazzard their own undoing for Religions sake, for Christ's sake to bring me to beggary, it may be to hang me upon a Gallows, to throw me out of my Office, to overthrow my Trade, wholly to throw these away no man living can entertain Christ so far. It was a notable speech of the King of Navarre, that afterwards was Henry the fourth of France, The King of Navarre was a Protestant, and owned the Protestant cause, but his eye was upon the Crown of France, to which he knew he was Heir, and hoped to come to it, and when Beza and the other Protestants did press the King of Navarre, to appear cordially in the cause of God, saith he, I am yours, I wil go with you, but I promise you I will go no further to Sea, than I may come to Land if a storm rises, his meaning was, he would never hazzard the loss of the Crown of France for the Protestant Religion, and so he fared accordingly; and truly so may it be now, Thou maiest tel Christ after a complemental manner, Lord, thou art mine, it is my honor to be thy servant, I delight to hear thy word preached, and worship thee in my Family, I rejoyce in it: all this fair quarter maiest thou keep, but beleeve it, if the Lord have not taught thee to renounce thy self, when Christ shal come to try thee throughly, thou wilt honor him just as you shal find in the Story, and it is worth your observation, in 1 Kings 20. you have such a Story as this is, Benhadad the King of Syria sendeth to Ahab King of Israel such a Letter as this, saith he, Thus saith Benhadad, All that thou hast is mine, thy Wives and thy Children are mine, thy Gold and thy Silver is mine; and al is mine, Ahab very loth to quarrel with him returns him a very fine complement, My Lord (saith he) all that I have is at your service, all is thine; Well, Benhadad sendeth next day, Wel, (saith he) whereas I sent to thee that all is mine that thou hast, I wil send my Servant for to seize upon it: while he only talked of it, Ahab would own it, my Lord all is thine: But when to morrow I wil send my servants, and they shal seize upon it, then he cals his Counsellors, See you how this man picks a quarrel with me, what a fair answer I sent to him, and now he would seize upon all: So if Christ come to thee, til thou hast learned self-denial, and say, here I wil lay thee down, here thou shalt lose thy credit, or thy Conscience, peace with me, or peace with men, thou canst never close with Christ cordially till thou hast learned this lesson. And then Thirdly and Lastly for my Motives.
3. Know for certain, If the Lord have but once taught thee this Lesson, there is nothing in all Christianity wil be difficult to thee, all the waies of Christ will be as plain as a Bowling-Alley, whatsoever thou art called too; I know I speak a great word, but I bless God I speak not unpreparedly in it, all the waies of Christ wil be as plain as a Bowling-Alley to thee, if the Lord have but once taught thee to turn Self out of doors, thy work wil be brought only to these two Heads.
1. One part of it to learn to know what Gods wil is concerning thee, what he would have thee do, or what he would have thee suffer. And,
2. The other wil be but to seek strength of him, that thou maiest not in thy own power go about it, but be supported by him; but otherwise all objections and difficulties are removed, if Self be but once turned out of doors; Why? Because all the difficulties in the waies of Christ ariseth from Arguments taken from Self only, either this will be against my honor, or here I must part with such a pleasure, or here my estate may hap to be crack't, or here this may hazzard my life, or this may deprive me of my Children, or this may cut me off from my Friends, or this may expose me to scorn, some such thing or other comes in, but otherwise when a man hath no such thing to take care for, I have no honor, nor credit, nor wife, nor Children, nor friends I regard, the Lord is my portion, I live upon him, I drink water out of that Cisterne, and I care for no other, when the soul hath but once learned that, it is but with him as it was with Paul, saith he, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, and I profess I know not what I shal meet withal, saith one, then I will tel you what you shal meet withal, the Holy Ghost saith the Jews shall bind you, and Scourge you, and Whip you, and send you to Rome, and what then? they all fal a Weeping for, and about him, saith he, why break you my Heart? What care I to die at Jerusalem when it is the work of the Lord; he had no self to regard, he had turned self out of doors, and all the waies of Christ were easie to him, and God knows this passage was one of the motives that made me choose this Theam before this grave Auditory; Truly our times are extream Ticklish and dangerous, and the wisest man under Heaven knows not what wil betide him, whether it fals back or edge, no man can tel what will become of him, nor what to meet withal, and a great many wise men are perplexed to know what to do, now I tel you, if the Lord do but teach you to deny your selves, to lay aside all that may be called self, you will have no great difficulty not in these difficult times, but only to know what God would have you do, that you may not go out of the right way for want of light that you may not ingage in sinful actions for want of councel, you wil pray to God to make your way plain, but as for other difficulties whether you shal stand or fal, Live or Die, it would be no great trouble to you, if God had but once taught you to deny your selves; Nay, you will not only be prepared for the worst times to come, but for all services you shal be called to, It is a good observation of a learned man, That all the men that ever have been eminently serviceable, either in matters of the Gospel, I mean, in Duties of Religion, or eminent if it have been in a Christian way, in matters of Charity, or Justice, or in being faithful Patriots, they have been men that have little regarded themselves, that have not greatly regarded what they were talked of, how they were valued or esteemed, or what was like to betide them, but only men that were willing to be publick sacrifices if need were, and those men have done the best service if any other; So in the greatest Services, you may be possibly called to suffer, turn but Sarah aside now, when Abraham must go to Sacrifice his Son, Sarah shal not know of it, and then Abraham can do it well enough, for he had learned to follow Gods will, but Sarah would have Rung him another Peal; So turn but self out of the way, and you will be fit for any thing God shal cal you to; But you will say.
Quest. How shall a man attain this Lesson? What Arguments or what Rethorick can you use, that you can expect ever to prevail with men, to turn them off thus from themselves?
I wil tell you,
Answ. Not by any Humane Oratory in the world is this to be effected, but it is the Lord, it is the spirit of the Lord that doth it; no man can come to me (saith Christ) except my Father draw him; now in every coming, there is a Terminus a quo, and a Terminus ad quem, the term that you must go from, that is Self, the term that you must come to, that is Christ, Now no man cometh from himself, or cometh unto Christ, til God Almighty draw him: But what (think you) is Gods drawing? It is nothing but the spirits perswading, Gods spirit perswades them, And what do you think the Spirit of God perswades them too? that I now come to, and afford me but one quarter of an hour for that, and then (God willing) I shal have done. The Spirit of God when it doth enable a soul thus to deny it self, it doth perswade them of these two things, which two things I would commend to you as your study. The one is,
1. The Spirit of God maketh him see what Self is, and no man under Heaven longer cleaves to himself, than he is deceived in himself, for let him but once have but a true information of himself, and he abominates himself presently. That is one. And then the second is,
2. To make him see the excellency that is to be found in Christ, the All-sufficiency that the soul may find in Christ, and when they see their present portion worth nothing, and that that is offered to them to be every way satisfrctory, then doth the soul readily renounce the one, and close with the other; so that then if you would get out of your self, and renounce your self.
1. Study to know thy self, study but to know who thou art, in any of all these things that I have spoke of, know but thy self; I confess it wil not be a short study, but I commend it to you, and the Lord help you that you may study it (I say) know who thou art. First,
1. What thy Lusts are; for I tel you while a man is in his natural estate, his Lusts are very excellent Ornaments to him, it is a brave thing to many a man to think what a proud spirit he hath, how he can rant it, and tread all his Neighbors under foot, and that he can go from one filthy pleasure to another, that pleases him: Study to know what thy sins are, and who thou art that art a sinner.
2. Study to know what the World is, thy Wife, Honor, Estate, Friends, Liberties, Study to know them.
3. Study to know thy Righteousness, thy Honesty, thy Prayers, thy Duties that thou art so prone to magnifie thy self for, and to make a bottom to stand upon, labor to know them, and thou wilt have enough of them, as I beseech you conceive me thus: Suppose a deluded young man were in love with some beautiful Woman (as he takes her to be) he takes her to be the paragon of beauty of all the Country, and of good behavior, and therefore he sacrificeth his State, his Life, his Parts, his Wit, and all to be her Servant, imagine now that this Woman were some ugly, deformed, abominable strumpet that hath only painted her self, and take her paint off, she hath the horridest visage that a man can look upon, and is all eaten up with loathsom Diseases, shew this Man but this Woman in her own colors, let him see her deformity, he hath quickly enough, then he loatheth himself for loving her: Would the Lord therefore teach you but to take any of al these things, and but to weigh them and study them, and see what shadows, what baubles, what dreans, what fancies the best of them all are, I speak not now of your Swearing, and Drunkenness, and Whoring, but I speak of your Pomp, your Honor, your Wealth, your great Estates, your Revenues, your good Cloaths, Nay (I wil go higher) your Prayers, your Mercies, your hearing of Sermons, your Righteousness, your Honesty, if God would shew you what guilt, what filth cleaves to them, what venom is in them how little they wil stand your soul in stead in the day of tryal, if God would teach you but to study these things aright, certainly you would say, Lord, draw me from my self, deliver me from my self, that am the veriest monster that lives. But especially.
4. Study to know Christ: Christ saith, Let him forsake himself and follow me, (said his Disciples to him) Lord, we wil follow thee, but what shal we have? I wil tel you, (saith he) you shal have a hundred fold more in this world, besides in the world to come you shal have life everlasting, that is, (in a word) Thou shalt find in Christ all that that wil abundantly satisfie thy soul, there is righteousness enough, there is wisdom enough, there is mercy enough, there is goodness enough, there is counsel enough, there is honor enough, thou canst not need so much as thou shalt find in Christ, Rivers, Seas, Oceans of happiness in Christ, study to know Christ and thou wilt follow him. These things I thought good to press, and purposed indeed to have pressed them larger, but I know not how the time is gone, nor how burdensom I may be to you, and although this was all the use I intended, when I prepared this Sermon for this place, yet since I finished it, there is brought somwhat to my hands, that doth enable me to make another use of it, at least of one branch of it, and I beseech you give attention to it, and I have done. I am informed that it is one of the ends of this grave, honorable and solemn meeting of the Magistracy of the City, and of this holy service, to promote a work of Mercy, and Charity, towards the poor of the several Hospitals, to let the wel affected be acquainted how things are, and what may be expected or desired from them, and that I may do it in a few words, have patience but while I read this short paper to you, and then I shal spend a little more of my Theam about it, and then I have done. Here is a true report &c Thus (Beloved) I have read over this paper, and I think I shal not need to tell you how it fals within my Theam, I told you that one special branch of Self denial is, to resign up all that we have of Wealth, Lands, Mony, Trades, Parts, Abilities, to resign them up to Christ, to serve him with them, to lay them out in the way that he wil appoint: Now your hearts could not wish for a way more cleer and evident, for the testifying your being good Stewards for Christ, than in owning the present business that hath been read to you, and to make it good, I wil say but these two things in a few words. First,
1. That of al the Services, of al kind of Services that ever we can do for Christ, next to the saving our souls, the work of Mercy and Compassion to People is most accepted with him, that that himself wil most own in the great day, when there shal not a cup of cold water go unrewarded that ever hath been given for his sake. I am confident you so frequently hear of the excellency of the work of mercy and bounty to the poor, that I shal not need to spend any more time to commend it to you, only I pray you to think of it.
2. But the other thing that I would commend to you is this, (and I beseech you beleeve I would not willingly flatter, but according to the best information that ever I could obtain) There is no such Treasury in the Christian world, no such Banck where a man might promise what he doth to be faithfully, and wisely, and most advantagiously laid out, as in this Treasury of the honorable City of London, and the Governors of these Hospitals, I have often heard (for I am but an ignorant man my self in the affairs of this City) Godly men and wise men often say, that had they any Hospitals to erect, any sums of mony, were it a hundred thousand pounds, that they would promise themselves to be laid out so, that it should not go into private mens purses, or be given to Vagrants and Knaves, but to the halt, and the lame that have need of it, they have professed they would put it into the hands of those that are the Governors of the Hospitals about London, where things are done in such a way, that setting aside such frailties as al humane affairs are suhject to in the generality, they are above making personal gains, but desire only to be faithful Stewards, and therefore if God do put it in any of your hearts, that you would shew your self-denial, and would indeed make Christ beholding to you (as he will be pleased to cal himself your Debtor) know that such things as these are very fit objects for your thoughts. And the Lord of Heaven direct you about it. I dare stay you no longer.
FINIS