it in the most odious colours? As if it were seeking salvation by works, or seeking to establish our own righteous ness? And how readily do Antinomians of all kinds, from the smooth Moravian, to the boistrous, foulmouthed Ranter, join the cry, with their silly, unmeaning cant, of legality, and preaching the law? Therefore you are in constant danger of being wheedled, hectored, or ridiculed out of this important gospel-doctrine, either by false teachers or false brethren (more or less beguiled from the simplicity of the gospel) if you are not deeply grounded therein. Let fervent prayer then go before, accompany, and follow, what you are now about to read, that it may be written, in your heart by the finger of God, so as never to be erased.

2. But what is self-denial? Wherein are we to deny ourselves? And whence does the necessity of this arise? I answer, The will of God is the supreme, unalterable rule for every intelligent creature: equally binding every angel in heaven, and every man upon earth. Nor can it be otherwise this is the natural, necessary result of the relation between creatures and their Creator. But if the will of God be our one rule of action, in every thing, great and small, it follows by undeni able consequence, that we are not to do our own will in any thing. Here, therefore, we see at once the nature, with the ground and reason of self-denial. We see the nature of self-denial: it is the denying or refusing to follow our own will, from a conviction that the will of God is the only rule of action to us. And we see the reason thereof, because we are creatures; because it is he that bath made us, and not we ourselves.

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3. This reason for self-denial must hold, even with regard to the angels of God in heaven: and with regard to man, innocent and holy, as he came out of the hands of his Creator. But a farther reason for it arises, from the condition wherein all men are since the fall. We are all now shapen in wickedness, and in sin did our mother conceive us. Our nature is altogether corrupt, in every power and faculty. And our will, depraved equally with the rest, is wholly bent to indulge our natural corruption. On the other hand, it is the will of God, that we resist and counteract that corruption, not at some times,

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times, or in some things only, but at all times, and in all things. Here, therefore, is a farther ground for constant and universal self-denial.

4. To illustrate this a little farther. The will of God is a path leading straight to God. The will of man, which once ran parallel with it, is now another path, not only different from it, but in our present state directly contrary to it. It leads from God: if, therefore, we walk in the one, we must necessarily quit the other. We cannot walk in both. Indeed a man of faint heart and feeble hands, may go in two ways, one after the other. But he cannot walk in two ways at the same time: he cannot at one and the same time, follow his own will, and follow the will of God; he must chuse the one or the other: denying God's will, to follow his own, or denying himself, to follow the will of God.

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5. Now it is undoubtedly pleasing for the time, to follow our own will, by indulging in any instance that offers, the corruption of our nature. By the following it in any thing, we so far strengthen the perverseness of our will: and by indulging it, we continually increase the corruption of our nature. So by the food, which is agreeable to the palate we often increase a bodily disease. It gratifies the taste; but it inflames the disor der. It brings pleasure: but it also brings death.

6. On the whole, then, to deny ourselves is, to deny our own will where it does not fall in with the will of God, and that, however pleasing it may be it is, to deny ourselves any pleasure which does not spring from, and lead to God: that is, in effect, to refuse going out of our way, though into a pleasant, flowry path to refuse What we know to be deadly poison, though agreeable to the taste. bus bavio.

chad And every one that would follow Christ, that phap. would be his real disciple, must not only deny himself, but take up his cross also. Across is, any thing contrary to our will, any thing displeasing to our nature. So that taking up our cross goes a little farther than denying ourselves it rises a little higher, and is a more difficult task to flesh and blood : it being mcre easy, to forego pleasure, than to endure pain.

8. Now in running the race which is set before us, accor

ding to the will of God, there is often a cross lying in the way, that is, something which is not joyous, but grievous, something which is contrary to our will; which is displeasing to our nature. What then is to be done? The choice is plain; either we must take up our cross, or we must turn aside from the way of God, from the holy commandment delivered to us if we do not stop altogether, or turn back to everlasting perdition.

9. In order to the healing of that corruption, that evil disease which every man brings with him into the world, it is often needful, to pluck out as it were a right eye, to cut off a right hand so painful is either the thing itself which must be done, or the only means of doing it the parting, suppose, with a foolish desire, with an inordinate affection or a separation from the object of it, without which it can never be ex tinguished. In the former kind, the tearing away such a desire or affection, when it is deeply rooted in the soul, is often like the piercing of a sword, yea, like the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, the joints and marrow. The Lord then sits upon the soul as a refiner's fire, to burn up all the dross thereof. And this is a cross indeed it is essentially painful: it must be so in the very nature of the thing. The soul cannot be thus torn asunder, it cannot pass through the 'fire, without pain.

10. In the latter kind, the means to heal a sin-sick soul, to cure a foolish desire, an inordinate affection, are often painful, not in the nature of the thing, but from the nature of the disease. So when our Lord said to the rich young man, Go sell that thou hast and give it to the poor, (as well knowing, this was the only means of healing his covetousness) the very thought of it gave him so much pain, that he went away sorrowful : chusing rather to part with his hope of heaven, than his possessions on earth. This was a burden he could not consent to lift, à cross he would not take up. And in the one kind or the other every follower of Christ will surely have need to take up his cross daily.

11. The taking up differs a little from bearing his cross.

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We are then properly said to bear our cross, when we endure what is laid upon us without our choice, with meekness and resignation. Whereas we do not properly take up our cross, but when we voluntarily suffer what it is in our power to avoid when we willingly embrace the will of God, though contrary to our own: when we chuse what is painful, because it is the will of our wise and gracious Creator.

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12. And thus it behoves every disciple of Christ, to take up, as well as to bear his cross. Indeed in one sense, it is not bis alone; it is common to him and many others seeing there is nos temptation befals any man es un aubgowos but such as is common to men, such as is incident and adapted to their common nature, and situation in the present world. But in another sense, as it is considered with all its circumstances, it is his peculiar to himself it is prepared of God for him: it is given by God to him, as a token of his love; and if he receives it as such, and (after using such means to remove the pressure as Christian wisdom directs) lies as clay in the potter's hand, it is disposed, and ordered by God for his good, both with regard to the quality of it, and in respect to its quantity and degree, its duration, and every other circumstance.

13. In all this we may easily conceive our blessed Lord to act as the physician of our souls, not merely for his own pleasure, but for our profit, that we may be partakers of his boliness. If in searching our wounds he puts, us to pain, it is only in order to heal them. He cuts away what is putrified or unsound, in order to preserve the sound part. And if we freely chuse the loss of a limb, rather than the whole body should perish, how much more should we chuse, figuratively, to cut off a right-hand, rather than the whole soul should be cast into hell?

14. We see plainly then both the nature, and ground, of taking up our cross. It does not imply the disciplining durselves (as some speak) the literally tearing our own flesh the wearing haircloth, or iron girdles, or any thing else that would impair our bodily health (although we know not what allowance God may make for those, who act thus through involuntary ignorance :) but the embracing the will of God, though contrary to

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our own; the chusing wholesome, though bitter, medicines: the freely accepting temporary pain, of whatever kind, and in whatever degree, when it is either essentially or accidentally necessary to eternal pleasure.

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II. 1. Iam, secondly, to shew, that it is always owing to the want either of self-denial, or taking up his cross, that any man does not thoroughly follow him, is not fully a disciple of Christ.

It is true, this may be partly owing in some cases, to the want of the means of grace of hearing the true word of God spoken with power, of the sacraments, or of Christian fellowship. But where none of these is wanting, the great hindrance of our receiving or grow, ing in the grace of God, is always the want of denying ourselves, or taking up our cross.

2. A few instances will make this plain. A man hears the word which is able to save his soul. He is well pleased with what he hears, acknowledges the truth, and is a little affected by it. Yet he remains dead in trespasses and sins, senseless and unawakened. Why is this? Because he will not part with his bosom sin, though he now knows it is an abomination unto the Lord. He came to hear, full of lust and unholy desire and he will not part with them. Therefore no deep impression is made upon him, but his foolish heart is still hardened: that is, he is still senseless and unawakened, because he will not deny himself.

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3. Suppose he begins to awake out of sleep, and his eyes are a little opened, why are they so quickly closed again? Why does he again sink into the sleep of death? Because he again yields to his bosom-sin: he drinks again of the pleasing poison. Therefore it is impossible that any lasting impression, should be made upon his heart. That is, he relapses into his fatal insensibility, because he will not deny himself.

4. But this is not the case with all. We have many instances of those, who when once awakened sleep no more. The impressions once received, do not wear away; they are not only deep, but lasting. And yet many of these have not found what they seek: they mourn, and yet are not comforted. Now why