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child, the joy of their age, the son of a miracle, and he upon whom the fulfilling of the promise made to Abraham did depend. For this fon, I fay, God called: a mighty trial, that which, one would have thought, might very well have overturned his faith, and ftumbled his integrity; at least have put him upon this difpute in himself: this command is unreasonable and cruel; it is the tempter's, it cannot be God's. For, is it to be thought that God gave me a fon to make a facrifice of him? That the father fhould be butcher of his only child? Again, that he fhould require me to offer up the fon of his own promife, by whom his covenant is to be performed? this is incredible. I fay, thus Abraham might naturally enough have argued, to withstand the voice of God, and indulge his great affections to his beloved Ifaac. But good old Abraham, that knew the voice that had promised him a fon, had not forgot to know it, when it required him back again': he difputes not, though it looked ftrange, and perhaps with fome furprize and horror, as a man. He had learned to believe, that God that gave him a child by a miracle, could work another to preferve or reftore him. His affections could not balance his duty, much lefs overcome his faith; for he received him in a way that would let him doubt of nothing that God had promifed of him.

To the voice of this Almightinefs he bows, builds an altar, binds his only fon upon it, kindles the fire, and ftretches forth his hand to take the knife: but the angel ftopped the stroke. Hold, Abraham, thy in

tegrity is proved.' What followed? A ram ferved, and Ifaac was his again. This fhews how little ferves, where all is refigned, and how mean a facrifice contents the Almighty, where the heart is approved. So that it is not the facrifice that recommends the heart, but the heart that gives the facrifice acceptance.

God often touches our beft comforts, and calls for that which we most love, and are leaft willing to part

! Gen. xxi.

with. Not that he always takes it utterly away, but to prove the foul's integrity, to caution us from exceffes, and that we may remember God, the author of those bleffings we poffefs, and live lose to them. I speak my experience: the way to keep our enjoyments, is to refign them; and though that be hard, it is fweet to fee them returned, as Ifaac was to his father Abraham, with more love and bleffing than before. O ftupid world! O worldly christians! Not only ftrangers, but enemies to this excellent faith! and whilft fo, the reward of it you can never know.

§. XIV. But Job preffed hard upon Abraham: his felf-denial also was very fignal. For when the meffengers of his afflictions came thick upon him, one doleful story after another, till he was left as naked as when he was born; the first thing he did, he fell to the ground, and worshipped that power, and kiffed that hand that ftripped him: fo far from murmuring, that he concludes his loffes of estate and children with these words: Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and • naked fhall I return: the Lord gave, and the Lord

hath taken away, bleffed be the name of the Lord'. O the deep faith, patience, and contentment of this excellent man! one would have thought, this repeated news of ruin had been enough to have overset his confidence in God: but it did not; that stayed him. But indeed he tells us why: his Redeemer lived; I know

(fays he) that my Redeemer lives. And it appeared he did; for he had redeemed him from the world: his heart was not in his worldly comforts; his hope lived above the joys of time, and troubles of mortality; not tempted by the one, nor fhaken by the other; but firmly believed, that when after his skin worms should ⚫ have confumed his body, yet with his eyes he should fee God.' Thus was the heart of Job both submitted to, and comforted in, the will of God.

§. XV. Mofes is the next great example in facred story for remarkable self-denial, before the times of

• Job i. 21.

* Job xix. 25, 26.

C 4

Chrift's

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Christ's appearance in the flesh. He had been faved, when an infant, by an extraordinary Providence, and it feems, by what followed, for an extraordinary fervice: Pharoah's daughter (whofe compaffion was the means of his preservation when the king decreed the flaughter of the Hebrew males) took him for her fon, and gave him the education of her father's court". His own graceful prefence and extraordinary abilities, joined with her love to him and intereft in her father to promote him, must have rendered him, if not capable of fucceffion, at least of being chief minifter of affairs under that wealthy and powerful prince. For Egypt was then what Athens and Rome were after, the most famous for learning, arts, and glory.

§. XVI. But Mofes, ordained for other work, and guided by a better ftar, an higher principle, no fooner came to years of difcretion, than the impiety of Egypt, and the oppreffions of his brethren there, grew a burthen too heavy for him to bear. Aud though fo wife and good a man could not want thofe generous and grateful refentments, that became the kindness of the king's daughter to him; yet he had alfo feen that

God that was invifible", and did not dare to live in the ease and plenty of Pharoah's houfe, whilft his poor brethren were required to make brick without straw*.'

Thus the fear of the Almighty taking deep hold of his heart, he nobly refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and chofe rather a life of affliction with the most defpifed and oppreffed Ifraelites, and to be the companion of their temptations and jeopardies,

than to enjoy the pleasures of fin for a season;' esteeming the reproaches of Chrift (which he suffered for making that unworldly choice) greater riches than all the treasures of that kingdom.

§. XVII. Nor was he fo foolish as they thought him; he had reafon on his fide: for it is faid, He had an eye to the recompence of reward:' he did but refuse a leffer benefit for a greater. In this his wifdom tran

▪ Exod. ii. 1—1},

Heb. xi. 24, 27.

* Exod. v. 7, 16. fcended

scended that of the Egyptians; for they made the prefent world their choice (as uncertain as the weather) and so loft that which has no end. Mofes looked deeper, and weighed the enjoyments of this life in the fcales of eternity, and found they made no weight there. He governed himself, not by the immediate poffeffion, but the nature and duration of the reward. His faith corrected his affections, and taught him to facrifice the pleasure of felf to the hope that he had of a future more excellent recompence.

§. XVIII. Ifaiah was no inconfiderable inftance of this bleffed felf-denial; who of a courtier became a prophet, and left the worldly interests of the one for the faith, patience, and fufferings of the other. For his choice did not only lofe him the favour of men; but their wickednefs, enraged at his integrity to God, in his fervent and bold reproofs of them, made a martyr of him in the end. For they barbarously fawed him afunder in the reign of king Manaffes'. Thus died that excellent man, and commonly called the Evangelical prophet.

§. XIX. 1 shall add, of many, one example more, and that is from the fidelity of Daniel; an holy and wife young man, that when his external advantages came in competition with his duty to Almighty God, he relinquifhed them all and instead of being folicitous how to fecure himself, as one minding nothing lefs, he was, with utmost hazard of himself, most careful how to preserve the honour of God, by his fidelity to his will. And though at the firft it expofed him to ruin, yet, as an inftance of great encouragement to all, that like him will chufe to keep a good confcience in an evil time, at laft it advanced him greatly in the world; and the God of Daniel was made famous and terrible through his perfeverance, even in the eyes of heathen kings.

§. XX. What fhall I fay of all the reft, who, counting nothing dear that they might do the will of God, abandoned their worldly comforts, and exposed their ease

y Dorotheus in his lives of the prophets.

and

and fafety, as often as the heavenly vifion called them, to the wrath and malice of degenerate princes, and an apoftate church? More especially Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Micah, that after they had denied themselves in obedience to the divine voice, fealed up their teftimony with their blood.

Thus was felf-denial the practice and glory of the ancients, that were predeceffors to the coming of Chrift in the flesh and shall we hope to go to heaven without it now, when our Saviour himfelf is become the most excellent example of it? And that not as fome would fain have it, viz. for us, that we need not;' but for us, that we might deny ourselves, and fo be the true followers of his bleffed example.

§. XXI. Whoever therefore thou art, that wouldeft do the will of God, but fainteft in thy defires from the oppofition of worldly confiderations; remember I tell thee, in the name of Chrift, that he that prefers father or mother, fifter or brother, wife or child, house or Jand, reputation, honour, office, liberty or life, before the teftimony of the light of Jefus in his own confcience, fhall be rejected of him, in the folemn and general inqueft upon the world, when all fhall be judged, and receive according to the deeds done, not the profeffion made, in this life. It was the doctrine of Jefus,' that if thy right hand offend thee, thou must cut it off; and if thy right eye offend thee, thou must pluck it out' that is, if the most dear, the most useful and tender comforts thou enjoyeft, ftand in thy foul's way, and interrupt thy obedience to the voice of God, and thy conformity to his holy will revealed in thy foul, thou are engaged under the penalty of damnation to part with them.

§. XXII. The way of God is a way of faith, as dark to fenfe, as mortal to felf. It is the children of obedience, who count with holy Paul, all things drofs and dung, that they may win Christ, and know and walk in this narrow way. Speculation will not do, nor can reMat. v. 29, 30

* Dorotheus, ib.

a 1 Pet. ii. 20, 21, 22.

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