Sweet and Soul-Persuading Inducements Leading Unto Christ, Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
BUt it may be here demanded how many wayes a man may deceive himſelfe in the point and matter of ſelf-denyall. The heart of man is deceitfull above meaſure, and man is very prone to deceive himſelfe, as in other neceſſary points and parts of ſalvation, ſo in this of ſelf-denyall. To this therefore I anſwer,8. Deceits in Self-denyall. that man is apt to deceive himſelfe in this behalfe eight wayes.
1. By denying himſelfe ſuperſtitiouſly. 1. Superſtitiouſly.Thus many deny reſt, food, and liberty neceſſary, lawfull, and allowed; whipping, ſcourging, macerating, pinching, and even ſtarving their owne fleſh, denying themſelves the uſe of ſuch creatures, as God hath ordained and provided for the comfort and ſupportment of his ſervants. God hath made man ſubordinate lPſal. 8.6, 7, 8.Lord over the works of his hands, and hath put all things under his feet, all ſheep and oxen, and the beaſts of the field, the fowles of the ayre, and the fiſhes of the ſea. m1 Tim. 4 1…5Every creature of God (ſaith the Apoſtle) is good, and nothing to be refuſed, if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is ſanctified by the word of God and prayer; yet many in their ſuperſtition deny themſelves the free and Chriſtian uſe of the creature, placing their Religion and ſelf-denyall in abſtinence from ſome ſorts of creatures. This is a law of Antichriſt mentioned by Saint Paul, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstaine from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving. Such ſelf-deniers are none of Chriſts, but Antichriſts ſubjects. Men placing their ſelf-denyall in the obſervation of humane inventions, are farre from denying their owne corrupt and carnall luſts and affections; they that make tradition the rule of their Religion, are farre from ſpirituall and true mortification, zealous obſervers of humane deviſes in ſtead of denying themſelves, deny the Lord Jeſus: Of ſuch therefore the Apoſtle teſtifies, that they are nCol, 2.18, 19vainly puft up in their fleſhly mind, and not holding the head which is Chriſt, and rebuking their ſuperſtition as repugnant to Chriſts death, he ſaith, wherefore if ye be dead with Chriſt from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world are ye ſubject to ordinances (touch not, taſte not, handle not, which all are to periſh with the uſing) after the commandements and doctrines of men. This is the ſuperſtitious mans ſelf-denyall.
2. By denying himſelfe covetouſly. 2. Covetouſly.Many out of an immoderate deſire after earthly riches, and inordinate love to the world, deny themſelves bodily reſt, oPſal. 127.2.riſing up early, and ſitting up late, and eating the bread of ſorrowes; they deny themſelves neceſſary food and rayment, they travell under their worldly abundance, as a galled horſe under a heavy burthen; they want nothing of all their ſoules deſire, yet God pEccl. 6.1, 2.gives them not power to eat thereof. This is the miſerable worldlings humility and ſelf-denyall, and in this he is ready to pleaſe and applaude himſelfe; this man indeed abaſeth himſelfe below the duſt, but he doth not humble himſelfe under Chriſt; he makes himſelfe the drudge and ſlave of worldly dung and droſſe, he makes not himſelfe the ſervant of Chriſt.
3. Partially.3. By denying himſelfe partially. He denyes ſome, but not all his luſts; he walks in ſome, but not in all the ordinances of God. Jehu denyed Baals Prieſts, he q2 King 10.put them to death, but he allowed the calves in Dan and Bethel. Saul denyed himſelfe in the refuſe of the Amalekitiſh ſtuffe, he deſtroyed the r1 Sam 15.refuſe, but he denyed not himſelfe in the bleating ſheep,Mat. 6. and lowing oxen, he ſpared them; Herod denyed himſelfe in many things, he heard the Baptiſt gladly, and did many things, but he denyed not himſelfe in Herodias, he continued his inceſt. He that denyes not himſelfe in all things, truly denyes himſelfe in nothing; he that allowes himſelfe under the power of one ſinne, is farre from Christ, farre from the knowledge of Chriſt; as he that allowes one moate in his eye is farre from the cleare and comfortable ſight of the Sunne; far from the life of Chriſt, and health of grace, as he that allowes himſelfe in one diſeaſe is farre from health of body, farre from the love of Chriſt, as the woman which allowes one ſtrange lover in her boſome, is farre from the love of her husband; he is farre from the way to life, as he that keeps himſelfe, and travels on in one falſe way, is farre from his right path; farre from all intereſt in Gods promiſes, as he that breakes one Covenant and condition of his Leaſe, hath forfeited his whole Leaſe; and farre from spirituall liberty and freedome, as he that is fettered with one ſtrong chaine, is farre from bodily freedome; he that denyes not all ſinne, denyes none as it is ſinne; hypocriticall, miſerable, deceitfull is their ſelf-denyall, which is partiall, and halt like Iſrael between God and Baal, between vertue and vice, between the earth and heaven, ſtill abiding under the power of ſin, without either truth or perfection in grace.
4. By denying himſelfe Conſtrainedly; Not for love,4. Conſtrainedly. but for feare; not for the hatred of ſinne, but for the ſence of miſery attending ſinne; as the dog denyes himſelfe his meat when he is ſicke, and the Sow denyes her wallowing in the mire by reaſon of the coldneſſe of the weather. Lord ſaith the Prophet, in trouble have they ſIſa. 26.16.viſited thee; they powred out a prayer when thy chaſtening was upon them. When the hand of God is heavy upon them, they walke humbly, they deny themſelves their former carnall contentments; with the Mariners they caſt out Jonah in the ſtorme: This is the afflicted mans ſelf-denyall, a denyall not ſpringing from any principle of grace, but forc't upon the ſoule, not ariſing from any hatred of ſinne, but from the puniſhment of ſinne: As Mariners ceaſe from the Sea, and lye faſt in the haven, while the ſtormes laſt, but as ſoone as the weather is calme, they put themſelves forth againe: Thus many when the ſtorme is up, when their ſoules are toſſed with the tempeſt of trouble, they ceaſe from their worldly and carnall wayes; but as ſoone as their eſtate is cleare and calme againe, they returne to their former trade and practiſe of ſin: Conſtrained deny all is neither cordiall nor perpetuall.
5. By denying himſelfe hypocritically; 5. Hypocritically.ſeeming to others to deny himſelfe, when yet indeed he doth not; as Ahab put off his Kings roabes, and diſguiſed himſelfe, and went into the battell as a common man, when yet he was indeed the King of Iſrael: Thus many diſguiſe themſelves, enter the profeſſion of Chriſt, as if they were humble and mortified men; when yet they are Kings for their pride, ſelf-conceit, and high opinion of their owne worth, their change is onelyonly in appearance, not in truth; outwardly they have ſheeps cloathing, the ſhew of ſanctity, humility,tMat. 7.15. and ſelf-denyall, inwardly they are ravening wolves: Though they know themſelves to have uRev. 9.Lyons teeth, yet like the Locuſts in the Revelation, they put on the haire of a woman, and the face of a man; they pretend much love to God, much curteſie and kindneſſe unto man, and yet they truly love neither God nor man, they draw wIſa. 29.13.nigh with their lips, but their heart is farre from God; they faſt from bodily food with the Phariſees,Luk. 18. Iſa. 58. but they feaſt and feed their ſoules with pride; they hang downe their heads with them in the Prophet like a bulruſh, but their hearts ſtand upright, theſe are nothing humbled; their denyall is not cordiall, ſincere and true, it is onelyonly ſuperficiall, formall, and ſeeming, as the Devill appeared in the likeneſſe of Samuel, but was not Samuell: ſo theſe appeare in the likeneſſe of penitent, mortified, humble men, men dead to the world, yet in truth they are not ſo;Iam. 1. therefore the Apoſtle ſaith of ſuch, they ſeeme to be religious: As a painted man ſeemes to be a man, and yet is no man but a rotten poſt; as an exhalation ſeemes to be a bright and ſhining Starre, and yet is no Starre, but a vaniſhing vapor;Prov. 15.7. as he in Solomon made himſelfe rich, and yet had nothing: Of ſuch our Saviour ſaith, they appeare xMat. 23.27, 28.righteous before men: As whited ſepulchers appeare beautifull outward, but are within full of dead mens bones, and of all uncleanneſſe; as Ixion in the fable embraced a cloud in ſtead of Juno: ſo many under the Goſpell take the ſhadow in ſtead of the ſubſtance of ſelf-denyall.
6. Siniſterly.6. By denying himſelfe Siniſterly and politickely, to deceive others, to inſinuate himſelfe into others, to accompliſh ſome earthly project with the more facility. As the Gibeonites came to Joſhuah with yIoſ. 9 12, 13.old ſhooes, and old garments, and rent bottles, as if they had come a long journey, and thus politickely drew Joſhuah to make a league with them: In like ſort many pretend ſelf-denyall, mortification, the putting off the old man, to procure the favour of Gods ſervants, to increaſe their worldly profits, to accompliſh their owne ſiniſter ends; oftentimes men bring about, and finiſh moſt miſchievous deſignes and enterpriſes under a pretence of godlineſſe, mortification, humility, and meekneſſe: Simeon and Levi cloake the maſſacring of the Sichemites with the conſcience of Circumciſion;Gen. 34.…5. Mat. 2.8. 1 King. 21 9. Herod intending to kill Chriſt, pretends the worſhip of Chriſt; Iezabel plotting the death of Naboth, proclaimes a faſt, ordaines a day of humiliation; the Crocodile firſt weeps upon man, and then kils and makes a prey of him: Such Crocodiles are theſe men who under a pretence of teares, repentance, and ſelf-denyall, deceive, and make a prey of their brethren.
7. By denying himſelfe vain-gloriouſly, 7 Vain-gloriouſly. Mat. 6.2, 5.many men doe much, and goe outwardly very farre in the way of ſelf-denyall, for the praiſe of men; Iacob to get Iſaacks bleſſing put on Eſau's clothes, and ſome men to get the bleſſing of mens applauſe and praiſe, put on the outward habit of truly mortitied men; the Phariſees were very liberall in their almes, very frequent in their prayers, very ſevere in outward appearance in their faſtings; and all this they did to be zMat. 23.5.ſeen of men, to gaine the praiſe of men, for this men may, and doubtleſſe ſome doe, give their goods to the poore, and their bodies to the priſon, to the fire. Wherefore elſe doth the Apoſtle ſay, a1 Cor. 13 3.If I give my goods to the poore, and my body to be burned, and have not Love, I am nothing. Vaine men are carried by their ſelf-love to ſuffer martyrdome, as true love carries Gods children; Gods glory carries his children to ſuffer death, that God may be honoured, and to this pride and vain-glory carryes ſome men, that their name may be magnified: Many who will ſuffer nothing for God out of true love and affection, will ſuffer much for themſelves out of an ambitious humour of vaine boaſting and oſtentation: They that care little for a name with God, that doe nothing for Gods approbation, will many times doe much for a name with men, for mens praiſe and commendation. He that doth not humble and abaſe himſelfe, that God may be exalted is deceitfully humbled.
8. By denying himſelfe Temporarily, 8. Temporarily.to walke heavily with b1 King. 21.29.Ahab for a few dayes, to bow downe the head cIſa. 58.5.for a day with the bulruſh, is an hypocriticall and counterfeit ſelf-denyall; falſe denyall may bow, and bring a man very low; as dDan. 4.14, 15Nebuchadnezzars tree was brought to a ſtump, but as that ſtump was bound with bands of braſſe and yron, faſt tyed, and not rooted up, and therefore ſprung and ſprouted up againe; thus many men are very deeply humbled for the preſent, but their inward luſts not being truly mortified, and plucked up by the roots, but faſt bound up within them, they ſprout and ſpring againe, after ſome dew of temporall eaſe and peace, hath a little diſtilled and dropt upon them; they returne againe with the dog to e2 Pet. 2.22.the vomit, and with the Sow to the mire: That ſelf-denyall which is not conſtant and increaſing, is built upon a falſe foundation. He never truly denyed himſelfe for God, that doth not abide and hold out to the end with God; the hypocrite is off and on, he changeth like the clouds, ſometimes moving low, and ſometimes mounted on high; ſometimes following the Sunne, and ſometimes moving againſt the motion of the Sunne. The hypocrite will not alwayes delight himſelfe in the Almighty, fIob 27 9, 10.he will not alwayes call upon God; whatſoever pretence of piety or love he make towards God, like Orpah to Naomi; Ruth 1.yet as ſhe forſooke Naomi, ſo will he forſake the Lord, but the meeke gIſa. 29.19.ſhall increaſe his ſtrength; the truly humble and mortified man ſhall hold out and abide to the end; as his other works, ſo his ſelf-denyall ſhall be more at laſt then at firſt; the longer he liveth in the eſtate of grace, the more his luſts are mortified, the more his owne wiſedome, will, thoughts, affections, deſires, and carnall ends and purpoſes are denyed.