made him put that hard question to the wife of Zebedee and her two fons, upon her foliciting that one might fit at his right, and the other at his left hand in his kingdom; are ye able to drink of the cup that I fhall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptifm I am baptized with?' It seems their faith was ftrong; they answered, we are able. Upon which he replied, Ye fhall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptifm I am baptized with;' but their reward he left to his Father. §. III. What was his cup he drank, and baptifm he fuffered? I anfwer; they were the denial and offering up of himself by the eternal spirit to the will of God, undergoing the tribulations of his life, and agonies of his death upon the crofs, for man's falvation. §. IV. What is our cup and cross that we fhould drink and fuffer? They are the denying and offering up of ourselves, by the fame fpirit, to do or fuffer the will of God for his service and glory: which is the true life and obedience of the crofs of Jefus : narrow ftill, but before, an unbeaten way. For when there was none to help, not one to open the feals, to give knowledge, to direct the courfe of poor man's recovery, he came in the greatness of his love and ftrength; and though clothed with the infirmities of a mortal man, being within fortified by the almightiness of an immortal God, he travelled through all the ftraits and difficulties of humanity; and firft, of all others, trod the untrodden path to bleffedness. §. V. O come let us follow him, the most unwearied, the most victorious captain of our falvation! to whom all the great Alexanders and mighty Cæfars of the world are lefs than the pooreft foldiers of their camps could be to them. True, they were all great princes of their kind, and conquerors too, but on very differing principles. For Chrift made himself of no reputation to fave mankind; but these plentifully ruined people, to augment theirs. They vanquished others, VOL. II, Mat. xx. 21, 22, 23. not not themselves; Chrift conquered self, that ever vanquifhed them of merit therefore the most excellent prince and conqueror. Befides, they advanced their empire by rapine and blood, but he by fuffering and perfuafion he never by compulfion, they always by force, prevailed. Mifery and flavery followed all their victories; his brought greater freedom and felicity to thofe he overcame. In all they did, they fought to please themselves; in all he did, he aimed to please his Father, who is God of Gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords. It is this moft perfect pattern of self-denial we must follow, if ever we will come to glory: to do which, let us confider felf-denial in its true diftinction and extent. §. VI. There is a lawful and unlawful felf, and both must be denied for the fake of him, that in fubmiffion to the will of God counting nothing dear, that he might fave us. And though the world be scarcely in any part of it at that pafs, as yet to need that leffon of the denial of lawful felf, that every day moft greedily facrifices to the pleasure of unlawful felf: yet to take the whole thing before me, and for that it may poffibly meet with some that are so far advanced in this spiritual warfare, as to receive fome service from it, I fhall at leaft touch upon it. §. VII. The lawful felf, which we are to deny, is that conveniency, eafe, enjoyment and plenty, which in themselves are fo far from being evil, that they are the bounty and bleffings of God to us: as husband, wife, child, house, land, reputation, liberty, and life itself: these are God's favours, which we may enjoy with lawful pleasure, and juftly improve as our honest intereft. But when God requires them, at what time foever the lender calls for them, or is pleafed to try our affections by our parting with them; I fay, when they are brought in competition with him, they must not be preferred, they must be denied. Chrift himself defcended from the glory of his Father, and willingly made made himself of no reputation among men, that he might make us of fome with God; and from the quality of thinking it no robbery to be equal with God", he humbled himself to the poor form of a servant; yea, the ignominious death of the cross, that he might deliver us an example of pure humility, and entire fubmiffion to the will of our heavenly Father. §. VIII. It is the doctrine he teaches us in these words: He that loveth father or mother, fon or daughter, more than me, he is not worthy of me1.' Again, 'Whofoever he be of you, that forfaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple.' And he plainly told the young rich man, that if he would have eternal life, he should fell all, and follow him: a doctrine fad to him, as it is to thofe, that like him (for all their high pretences to religion) in truth love their poffeffions more than Christ. This doctrine of felf-denial is the condition to eternal happiness: He that will come after ' me, let him deny himself, and take up his crofs, and < follow me '." Let him do as I do: as if he had faid, he muft do as I do, or he cannot be as I am, the Son of God. §. IX. This made those honest fishermen quit their lawful trades, and follow him, when he called them to it; and others, that waited for the confolation of Ifrael, to offer up their eftates, reputations, liberties, and also lives, to the difpleafure and fury of their kindred, and the government they lived under, for the fpiritual advantage that accrued to them, by their faithful adherence to his holy doctrine. True, many would have excufed their following of him in that parable of the feaft: fome had bought land, fome had married wives, and others had bought yokes of oxen, and could not come; that is, an immoderate love of orld hindered them: their lawful enjoyments, from became their idols; they worshipped them mo God, and would not quit them, to come to God. But this is recorded to their reproach: and we may herein fee the power of felf upon the worldly man, and the danger that comes to him by the abuse of lawful things. What, thy wife dearer to thee than thy Saviour! and thy land and oxen preferred before thy foul's falvation! O beware, that thy comforts prove not snares first, and then curfes; to over-rate them, is to provoke him that gave them to take them away again: come and follow him that giveth life eternal to the foul. §. X. Wo to them that have their hearts in their earthly poffeffions! for when they are gone, their heaven is gone with them. It is too much the fin of the best part of the world, that they stick in the comforts of it and it is lamentable to behold how their affections are bemired, and entangled with their conveniencies and accommodations in it. The true felf-denying man is a pilgrim; but the selfish man is an inhabitant of the world: the one ufes it, as men do fhips, to transport themselves or tackle in a journey, that is, to get home; the other looks no farther, whatever he prates, than to be fixed in fulness and ease here, and likes it fo well, that if he could, he would not exchange. However, he will not trouble himself to think of the other world, till he is sure he must live no longer in this: but then, alas! it will prove too late; not to Abraham, but to Dives, he must go; the story is as true as fad. §. XI. But on the other hand, it is not for nought, that the difciples of Jefus deny themselves; and indeed, Christ himself had the eternal joy in his eye: for the joy that was fet before him (fays the author to the Hebrews) he endured the crofs; that is, he denied himself, and bore the reproaches and death of the wicked and despised the fhame, to wit, the difhonour and derifion of the world. It made him not afraid nor fhrink, he contemned it: and is fet down on the right hand of the throne of God". And to their encouragement, and great confolation, when Peter afked him, ■ Heb. xii. 2. what what they should have that had forfaken all to follow him? he answered them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man fhall fit on the throne of his glory, ye also fhall fet upon twelve thrones, judging the < twelve tribes of Ifrael,' that where then in apoftacy from the life and power of godlinefs. This was the lot of his difciples; the more immediate companions of his tribulations, and first messengers of his kingdom. But the next that follows is to all: 'And every one that hath forfaken houses, or brethren, or fifters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my 'name's fake, fhall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.' It was this recompence of reward, this eternal crown of righteoufnefs, that in every age has raised, in the fouls of the juft, an holy neglect, yea, contempt of the world. To this is owing the conftancy of the martyrs, as to their blood the triumph of the truth. §. XII. Nor is this a new doctrine; it is as old as Abraham P. In several most remarkable instances, his life was made up of felf-denial. First, in quitting his own land, where we may well fuppofe him fettled in the midst of plenty, at least fufficiency: and why? Because God called him. Indeed this fhould be reafon enough; but fuch is the world's degeneracy, that in fact it is not and the fame act, upon the fame inducement, in any now, though praised in Abraham, would be derided. So apt are people not to understand what they commend; nay, to defpife thofe actions, when they meet them in the people of their own times, which they pretend to admire in their ancestors. XIII, But he obeyed: the confequence was, that God gave him a mighty land. This was the firft reward of his obedience. The next was, a fon in his old age; and which greatened the bleffing, after it had been in nature, paft the time of his wife's bearing of children". Yet God called for his darling, their only › Gen. xii, 1 Gen. xviii. • Mat. xix. 27, 28, 29. C 3 child, |