called Elijah the troubler of Israel, which he had troubled himself; 1 Kings xviii. 17.: and meet them as he did the same prophet. "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" 1 Kings xxi. 20. They meet not a minister as the messenger of God that calls them to repentance, but as an enemy in the field, to strive against him, and raise up all the reasonings and passions of their souls against him, because he condemneth their unregenerate state, tells them but what God hath charged him to tell them; when the poor sinners consider not, that before God hath done with them, as sure as they breathe, he will make them either by grace or judgment, condemn themselves as much as any of his ministers condemned them (from the word of God), at whom they were most offended. Ah! little do these proud worms, that rage at us now for faithful dealing, and for telling them that which they will shortly find true, little do they think that they shall shortly say the very same against themselves, which they hated us for saying: nay, with a hundred times more bitterness and self-revenge will they speak these things against themselves, than ever we spoke them. Hence it is that faithful plain-dealing ministers are commonly hated and persecuted by the ungodly, especially by the great ones and honourable sinners. For their message is against self, and therefore self will rise up against them, and so many selfish unmortified persons as there be in the congregation, so many enemies usually hath such a minister. And therefore the lords of Israel petition the king that Jeremy may be put to death; Jer. xxxviii. 4. And Amaziah, the priest, calls Amos a conspirator against the king, and tells the king that the land was not able to bear his words, and commands him to preach no more at the king's chapel or his court; Amos vii. 10-13. And what was the matter that deserved all this, yea, and the death of almost all the prophets and apostles of Christ? Why, it was for speaking against self and its carnal interest; but was it not a truth that was spoken? True or false, if it be against self, it cannot be borne! As the bishop of Ments that Luther speaks of, meeting with a Bible, and reading an hour in it, 'I know not,' saith he,' what book this is, but I am sure it is against us:' meaning the Popish clergy. So these men say by our preaching and by the word of God itself, Be it never so true, we are sure it is against us:' or, rather, we

will not believe it, because it is against us.' But if these men had their wits about them, they would see that this is for them, which they think is against them. It is for their healing and salvation, had they hearts to entertain it, though it be for the troubling of them at the present by humiliation. O how tender are carnal persons of this self! How quickly do they feel, if a minister do but touch them! How impatiently do they smart, if he meddle with the galled place, and plainly open their most disgraceful sins, and most dangerous courses, as one that had rather be guilty of displeasing them, than of silently permitting them to displease God, and undo their souls! They fret and fume at the sermon, and go home with passion in their hearts and reproaches in their mouths against the minister: and are of the mind of the desperate Sodomites, that said to Lot when he exhorted them, "Stand back: this one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee than with them; Gen. xix. 9. What, say they, 'can he not preach and let me alone? hath he none to rebuke before the congregation but me! And thus will every ungodly person reject the word as they are selfish, and self must be let alone in all. But why must you be let alone? will you be ever the safer or better for that? will God let you alone if we should let you alone? No, he will not be frightened from dealing with you as you are; whatever his word hath said against you, he will certainly make good, though you should never more be told of it by ministers. You have not silenced your Judge, when you have silenced his messengers. He will handle you in another manner than ministers do. O how easy is it to hear a preacher threatening the everlasting wrath, in comparison of hearing the sentence of the Judge aud feeling the execution! If we should yield to your desires, and let you alone, God would neither let you nor us alone; you would but go the more quietly to hell; and your blood will be required also at our hands; Ezek. xxxiii. 6—9. and then what would become both of us and you?

O were it not for the powerful resistance of this selfishness, what work would every sermon make that we preach to you! O what abundance would be converted at a sermon! for what should hinder it? I should make no doubt of persuading you all to close with the Lord upon his rea

sonable terms, and to become a holy and heavenly people, and presently to forsake your former sin, even this hour. Nay, some ordinances there are that selfishness hath almost shut out of the church; as most of the exercise of the ancient discipline, in open and personal admonitions, and public confessions and lamentation of sin, with rejection of the impenitent, and the absolution of the penitent; besides most of that private address to pastors for their advice in case of falls, and spiritual decays, or weaknesses, and difficulties that meet them in doctrine or duty. Self will not suffer men to stoop to most of these! What, will they be brought to open confessions and lamentations of sin, and to follow the guidance and persuasions of a priest? No, all the priests in England shall not make such fools of them; so wise are these selfish men for a little while! But how long will this hold! and how long will madness go for wisdom! when they are dying, then they will send for the minister and confess; and when some of them come to the gallows, they will confess and every one of them shall confess at last whether they will or no; and God will indite their confession for them, and open their shame to all the world in another manner than ministers required them to open it but then confession will do nothing for remission, and the preventing of execution, as now it might have done.

:

So also the duty of brotherly reproof and admonition of offenders, is almost quite cast out by selfishness; and especially, the patient and thankful receiving of it. And those ordinances that are continued, are very much frustrated by the opposition of selfishness. It is a very hard task that Scripture and good books, and preachers have to do; when we speak every word to enemies of the doctrine which we preach, and we can do them no good but by their own consent; and who will consent to that which he is an enemy to? Our work is to subdue their flesh and carnal wills to Christ; and this flesh is so dear to them that it is themselves; so that they take all that doctrine to be against them which should save them: and we have as many enemies as unconverted hearers in our assembly; no wonder, therefore, if they carp and quarrel, and strive, when the self-denying humbly submit and obey.

Self-denial openeth the heart to Christ, and giveth the

ordinances leave to work; it taketh down all opposition and contradiction; so that though the soul may stay to search the Scripture, and see whether the things that are taught be so, yet it 'searcheth with a childlike teachableness, and willingness to learn, and know and obey. It hath no mind to quarrel with God; how easily will a self-denying man submit to those duties which another man abhors? How easily will he be persuaded to forgive a wrong, to part with his right for a greater good to others, to let go a gainful trade that is unlawful, or any sinful way of thriving: how easily is he brought to ask forgiveness of those that he hath wronged, to make a public confession of his sins, if the greatness of them, or his duty to God, or the good of others, do require it; to make restitution of all that he hath gotten wrongfully; to bear a plain and sharp reproof; to part with his own for the relief of the poor; to lay out his estate to the best advantage of the cause and church of God, and the common good; to let go any unlawful vanity; any excess in meat, or drink, or sport, or sleep, or any vanity in apparel, or other work of pride: how easily can he bear rebukes, reproaches, and neglects, and undervaluing or ingratitude from others! But what ado shall we have with carnal, unsanctified wretches, to persuade them to all, or any of this? From them a preacher hath such a work to pull their beloved profitable sins (they seem profitable to them till the reckoning comes) as a man hath to pull the prey from the jaws of a hungry wolf, or meat from the mouth of a greedy dog; but when we require the self-denying to do the same thing, it is but as to bid a child obey his Father whom he loveth and honoureth. The doing of these duties, and forsaking these sins, is to an ungodly man as the parting with a right hand, or a right eye, or the skin from his back, or the flesh from his bones; as we see by the rarity, and the unsuccessfulness of the plainest reasons, and great authority of God himself, and the few works of piety, charity, or self-denial that are done by such at any great cost. But to the self-denying, it is but as the casting away a handful of earth, or casting off an upper garment, for the doing of their work.

CHAPTER LXVIII.

Enemy of all Society, Relations, and common Good.

6. MOREOVER, this selfishness is the enemy to all societies, and relations, and consequently to the common good. And it is not only indirectly and consequentially, but directly that it strikes at the very foundation of all. For the manifesting of this, consider in what respects this selfishness is at enmity with societies.

1. The end of societies is essential to them; and this end is the common good of the society; and therefore a republic hath its name from hence, because it is constituted and to be administered for the commonwealth, or the good of all. Now selfishness is contrary to this common good which is the end of all societies. Every selfish person is his own end; and cares not to hinder the common good, if he do but think it will promote his own. And how is that family, church, or commonwealth like to prosper, where most (alas, most indeed) have an end of their own, that is set up against the end and being of the society? For though the real good of particular persons is usually comprehended in the common good, yet that is but in subserviency to the public good, and is not observed usually by these persons, who principally look at themselves. And it commonly falls out that the public welfare cannot be obtained but by such self-denial of the members, which these men will not submit to; though they incur a greater hurt by their selfishness. Little do they think of the common good; it is their own matters that they regard and mind. So it go well with them, let the church and commonwealth do what it will; they can bear any one's trouble or losses save their own. They are every man as a church, as a commonwealth, as a world to themselves. If they be well, all is well with them; if they prosper, they think it is a good world, whatever others undergo. If they be poor, or sick, or under any other suffering, it is all one to them as if calamity had covered the earth; and if they see that they must die, they take it as if it were the dissolution of the world, (unless as they leave either name or posterity be