Inclinations bend as what his Pleasure and Command is. A notable Inftance whereof we have in old Eli, who queftionlefs could not but be very willing that the Iniquity of his Sons might be forgiven, and his Family profper in the World, yet how foever when God had manifefted his Pleafure to him, that his House fhould be destroyed, he fubmitted his own Will wholly unto God's, faying, It is the Lord, let him da what feemeth him good, 1 Sam. iii. 18. And whofoever of us would be Chrift's Difciple indeed, must be fure thus to deny and renounce his own Will, whenfoever it appears to be contrary unto God's, fo as even to will, that not his own Will but God's be fulfilled, as our Lord and Mafter himself hath taught us each Day to pray, Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. And whofoever hath learn'd this Art of making his own Will bow and ftoop to God's, hath made a very good Progrefs in the Chriftian Religion, efpecially in that part of it which requires us to deny our felves

AND feeing we muft deny our Wills, we muft needs deny our Affections too, which are indeed nothing elfe but the fe veral Motions of the Will towards Good and Evil, but ufually they are fo diforder ly and irregular, as to place themselves

upon

upon Objects directly oppofite to what they were defigned for; fo that we ordinarily love what we ought to hate, Yand hate what we ought to love; defire what we ought to abhor, and abhor what we ought to defire; rejoyce in thofe things which we ought to grieve for, and are grieved at fuch things as we ought to rejoyce in. So that if we suffer our Affections to move, according to their natural Tendency and corrupt Inclinations, we fhall be fo far from going after Chrift, that we fhall continually be running from him. And therefore it must be our great Care and Study to bridle our Affections, deny them their unlawful, and fix them upon their proper Objects; yea, and to deny our felves too the lawful ufe of fuch things as our Affections are apt to be unlawfully placed upon. As for Example: It is lawful, yea our Duty to love our Re lations, but if our Love to them becomes exorbitant,fo as to love them more than God, our Love to them must be turned into Hatred in Comparison of our Love to him, Luk. xiv. 26. And whatfoever lawful thing it is that we take Pleasure in, if once we find that our Pleafure in that extinguisheth, or but damps that Pleasure which we used, or ought to have in God, we are to deny our felves fuch Pleafures as N 3 thefe

2

thefe are, and rather difplease our felves than God.

[YEA we must deny our felves moreover the Ufe and Enjoyment of our Estates and earthly Poffeflions, whenfoever they come into Competition with his Glory. So that if it comes to that Point, that we -muft either leave our Eftates to enjoy Chrift, or leave Chrift to enjoy our Eftates, we must be willing and ready, without any more ado, to abandon and renounce whatfoever elfe we have, rather than our Intereft in Chrift. For indeed he is not worthy to be Chrift's Difciple that doth not prefer him before all things elfe; neither he that loves the World at all in Comparifon of Chrift: For if any Man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, --I Job. ii. 15. And therefore he that would be Chrift's Difciple indeed, muft fix his Heart fo faft on Chrift, that it hang loofe and indifferent as to all things here below, being no more proud of them, no more delighted in them , no more concerned about them, than as if he had them not. So that though he have all things befides Christ, he must have nothing but him, or at leaft in Comparison of him; yea, be ready to part with all that he may gain, Chrift. And though many of us may think this an hard Saying, we may affure our

felves, it is no more than what we must do, if we defire to be Chrift's Difciples, Luc. xiv. 33.

L

FURTHERMORE, we must deny our felves thofe Sins efpecially, and Lufts which we have or do ftill indulge our felves in, for thus the Gofpel teacheth you in a par ticular manner, to deny ungodliness and worldly lufts, Tit. ii. 12. And therefore we in vain pretend to be true Chriftians, fo long as we live in any one known Sin with any love unto it, or delight in it. I fuppofe none of my Readers guil

ty of all Sins, and I fear there are few but live in fome. No Man but may be natu rally averse from fome Sins, but it is very rare to find one that is inclined to none for ordinarily every Man hath his darling, his beloved Sin, his own Sin, as David himself once had, though he afterwards kept himself from it, Pfal. xviii. 23. So I fear none of my Readers but have fome Sin, which he may in a peculiar manner call his own, as being that which his thoughts run moft upon, and his defires are carried moft unto, which he labours moft after, and takes most pleasure in, which he is moft loth to be reproved for and most easily overcome by. Now this and whatsoever other Sins any of us are addicted to, we muft wholly leave, and utterly

N 4

utterly renounce, if ever we desire to be Chrift's Difciples. And therefore fo long as any of us live in any known Sin, as in Pride or Prodigality, in Oppreffion or Covetoufuefs, in Malice or Uncleanness, in Drukennefs, Uncharitableness, or any or ther Sin whatsoever, we must not think our felves to be Chriftians indeed, Chrift will never own us for his Difciples; for fo long as we live in any known Sin, it is that Sin, not Chrift that is our Master, and therefore if we would lift our felves into his Service, we must be sure to deny our felves whatfoeyer we know to be offenfive to him.

THERE is ftill another thing behind wherein we must deny our felves, if we de fire to go after Chrift, and that is, we muft deny and renounce all our Self-righteoufnefs, and all hopes and confidences from our felves, and from what we have done, which I look upon as a very great piece of Şelf-denyal, for naturally we are all prone to facrifice to our own Nets, to burn incense to our own Drags, to boaft of our own good Works, and to pride our felves with the conceit of our own Righteoufnefs. Though we be never fo finful, we would not be thought to be fo, but would very fain be accounted righteous, not only by Men, but by God himself, for fomething

or