The Great Duty of Self-Resignation to the Divine Will, Introduction
THE INTRODUCTION.
AMongst all Divine Truths, none are more frequently, more powerfully, to be prest and urged, than those that are wholly practical, that refer to Spiritual Obedience, that pertain foreign, to life and godliness, that tend to the real bettering of Man, and transforming him into the Divine Image; such as are most powerful to the subduing our own Wills, as divided from God's, and the bringing them unto a conformity to the Will of God.
But alas! these great practical Truths have been too commonly either sparingly, or but coldly and insignificantly, not fully, clearly and vigorously recommended. The great noise and ado in the Christian World hath been about the lighter matters of the Law, Mint, Annise and Cummin, Meats and Drinks, wherein the Kingdom of God doth not consist. The great talk and zeal hath been about things less necessary and more obscure and doubtful: men doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings and evil surmisings. It pleaseth men to hear of speculative Doctrins, and to be entertained with a luscious Preaching of the Gospel, made up all of Promises and these wholly unconditional; it gratifies them to hear what is done without them rather than what is to be done within them, and the necessity of sincere and entire obedience to our Saviours Precepts urged upon them. All would reign with Christ, but they would not suffer with him; they would hear only of Christs dying for sin, of his being crucified for them; but to hear of their dying to sin and their own corrupt will, of their being crucified with him, and suffering their wills to be resigned to the will of the Father as Christs was, to hear of making an entire oblation of themselves to God, this is a hard saying, few will bear it, 'tis very unpleasing to flesh and blood, 'tis too spiritual a Gospel for the carnal mind to relish. But how unpleasing soever it be, it is not therefore to be forborn;Gal. i. 10. for if we should seek to please men, we should not be the servants of Christ. If we should gratifie and humour insincere people in their soft and delicate self-chosen Religion, and their willing their own will, we should not be faithful to their souls, whose grand interest and necessary concernment it is to know and practise this first and great Lesson in the School of Christ. Self-Resignation is a great part of the Doctrin that is according to godliness. foreignThey are the wholsom (or healing) words of our Lord Jesus Christ, viz.Luke xiv. 27. Mat. x.38. He that doth not take up his Cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple: Nor is he worthy of me.
This is healing Doctrin that alone can cure the inward Distempers of our Souls, and therefore absolutely necessary to be taught and prest with all authority. It matters not that the carnally minded and delicate Christian doth not relish it. We that are the Ministers of the Gospel are to imitate careful and prudent Physicians, who, when they come to their Patients, do not ask them what they love best, and then prescribe them what is most pleasing to their Palates, though most hurtful; but, informing themselves well of the case of the diseased, they appoint what they judge most proper for them, though it be no whit grateful or acceptable to them.
But howsoever the resigning their wills to the will of God be as loathsom Physick to the carnal, it is to the truly spiritual both meat and drink, as it was to their great Master: It is their constant Diet, the savoury Meat which their Souls love and live by: They esteem the fore-mentioned and the like words of their Saviours mouth, more than their necessary food: to borrow Iob's expression, Chap. xxiii. 12.
And this so little minded, so much neglected Doctrin of Self-Resignation is that which I design to treat of, and with all seriousness to recommend to those that name the name of Christ. For the more distinct understanding whereof, we must know that Self-Resignation doth relate either, First, to the Commands of God, particularly such Commands as are difficult to nature, and grievous to flesh and bloud (for to obey in lesser and more easie instances, is no worthy proof of our Resignation) and thus considered, it implieth an entire Obedience to the Preceptive Will of God. Or, Secondly it relates to hard Trials, great hardships and sufferings, such as God doth allot and appoint to humble us and to know what is in our hearts: And thus considered it implieth a meek patience and quiet submission to the divine Disposals and Will of Providence.
But I shall not speak to these two distinctly, but joyn them both together in this Aphorism, wherein is comprized the grand Fundamental and Mystery of Practical Religion, viz. That a Christian is to resign his Will wholly to the Will of God, to make an entire Oblation of himself to him.
In discoursing on which we shall first present you with several weighty Considerations that do most effectually recommend to us this Self-Resignation: And secondly set down such Helps and Directions as are most proper to attain it.