SERM. which we have done, and are still ready to make good, LXV. to be the cafe betwixt us and the church of Rome.

But,

3. The terrible engine of all is, their positive and confident damning of all that live and die out of the communion of their church. This I have fully spoken to upon another occasion, and therefore shall only say at present, that every man ought to have better thoughts of God, than to believe, that he, " who delighteth not in the death of finners," and " would have all men to be saved, and come to the "knowledge of the truth," will confirm the fentence of fuch uncharitable men, as take upon them to condemn men for those things, for which our SAVIOUR in his gospel condemns no man. And of all things in the world, one would think, that the uncharitableness of any church should be an argument to no man, to run into its communion.

I shall conclude with the apostle's exhortation, ver. 23. of this chapter, "let us hold fast the pro"fession of our faith without wavering; and pro"voke one another to charity and good works; " and fo much the more, because the day approach"eth, in which God will judge the faith and lives " of men, by JESUS CHRIST, according to his gofpel."

66

SERMON

1015

LXVI.

SERMON

Of self-denial and suffering for
CHRIST'S fake.

MATTH. XVI. 24.

Then faid Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

66

"T

HEN HEN said JESUS to his disciples," that is, SERM. LXVI. upon occafion of his former discourse with them, wherein he had acquainted them with his ap-The first

し

fermon on

proaching paffion, that he must shortly go up to Je- this text. rufalem, and there suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and at last be put to death by them; "then faid JESUS unto his disciples, " if any man will come after me, let him deny him" self, and take up his cross, and follow me."

" If any man will come after me, or follow me;" that is, if any man will be my disciple, and undertake the profession of my religion; if any man chuse and refolve to be a Christian; he must be so upon these terms, he must "deny himself, and take up his "cross and follow me," he must follow me in selfdenial and fuffering.

In the handling of these words, I shall do these four things.

I. I shall confider the way and method which our SAVIOUR useth in making proselytes, and gaining men over to his religion. He offers no manner of

12

force

SERM. force and violence to compel them to the profession LXVI. of his religion; but fairly offers it to their conside

ration and choice, and tells them plainly upon what terms they must be his difciples; and if they be contented and refolved to submit to these terms, well; if not, it is in vain to follow him any longer; for " they cannot be his disciples."

II. I shall endeavour to explain this duty of selfdenial, expressed in these words, " let him deny him"self, and take up his cross and follow me."

III. I shall confider the ftrict and indispensable obligation of it, whenever we are called to it, "with" out this. we cannot be CHRIST's disciples; if any "man will come after me, or "be my difciple, " let him deny himself.

دو

IV. I shall endeavour to vindicate the reasonableness of this precept, of felf-denial and fuffering for CHRIST, which at first appearance may seem to be so very harsh and difficult; and I shall go over these particulars as briefly as I can.

I. We will consider the way and method which our SAVIOUR here useth in making proselytes, and gaining men over to his religion. He offers no manner of force and violence to compel men to the profeffion of his religion; but fairly proposeth it to their confideration and choice, telling them plainly upon what terms they must be his disciples; if they like them, and are content, and refolved to submit to them, well; he is willing to receive them, and own them for his difciples; if not, it is in vain to follow him any longer: for "they cannot be his difciples." As on the one hand, he offers them no worldly preferment and advantage, to entice them into his religion, and to tempt them outwardly to profess what they do not inwardly believe; so on the other hand,

he

LX VI.

he does not haul and drag them by force, and awe SERM. them by the terrors of torture and death to sign the christian faith, though most undoubtedly true, and to confess with their mouths, and subscribe with their hands, what they do not believe in their hearts. He did not obtrude his facraments upon them, and plunge them into the water to baptize them, whether they would or no, and thrust the sacrament of bread into their mouths; as if men might be worthy receivers of that blessed sacrament, whether they receive it willingly or no.

Our blessed SAVIOUR, the author and founder of our religion, made use of none of these ways of violence, so contrary to the nature of man, and of all religion, and especially of chriftianity, and fitted only to make men hypocrites, but not converts; he only says, " if any man will be my difciple; " he useth no arguments, but such as are spiritual, and proper to work upon the minds and confciences of men. For as his "kingdom was not of this world," so neither are the motives and arguments to induce men to be his subjects, taken from this world; but from the endless rewards and punishments of another. "The weapons" which he made use of, to fubdue men to the obedience of faith, were not "carnal; " and yet they were "mighty through God, to conquer the obstinacy and infidelity of men. This great and infallible teacher, who certainly came from God, all that he does, is to propose his religion to men, with fuch evidence and such arguments as are proper to convince men of the truth and goodness of it, and to perfuade men to embrace it; and he acquaints them likewife with all the worldly disadvantages of it, and the hazards and fufferings that would attend it; and now, if upon full confideration, they will make his religion

13

وو

دو

SERM. religion their free choice, and become his disciples,

LXVI.

he is willing to receive them; if they will not, he understands the nature of religion better, than to go about to force it upon men, whether they will or no. II. I shall endeavour to explain this duty or precept of self-denial, expressed in these words, "let him

deny himself, and take up his cross." These are difficult terms, for a man " to deny himself, and “ take up his own cross," that is, willingly to fubmit to all those sufferings which the malice of men may inflict for the sake of CHRIST and his religion. For this expreffion of " taking up one's cross," is a plain allusion to the Roman custom, which was this, that he that was condemned to be crucified, was to take his cross upon his shoulders, and to carry it to the place of execution; this the Jews made our SAVIOUR to do, as we read, John xix. 17. till that being ready to faint under it, and left he should die away before he was nailed to the cross, they compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him, as is declared by the other evangelists: and yet he tells them,

they that will be his disciples must follow him, bearing their own cross," that is, being ready (if God call them to it) to submit to the like fufferings for him and his truth, which he was shortly to undergo for the truth, and for their fakes.

But though these terms feem very hard, yet they are not unreasonable, as I shall shew in the conclufion of this difcourse. Some indeed have made them fo by extending this self-denial too far, attending more to the latitude of the words, than to the meaning and scope of our SAVIOUR'S discourse: for there is no doubt, but that there are a great many things, which may properly enough be called felf-denial, which yet Our SAVIOUR never intended to oblige Christians to.

It