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

LXV.

3. The terrible engine of all is, their pofitive and 'confident damning of all that live and die out of the communion of their church. This I have fully spoken to upon another occafion, and therefore shall only fay at prefent, 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 gofpel condemns no man. And of all things in the world, one would think, that the uncharitableness of any church fhould be an argument to no man, to run into its communion.

I fhall conclude with the apoftle's exhortation, ver. 23. of this chapter, "let us hold faft the pro"feffion 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."

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SERMON

SERMON LXVI.

Of

felf-denial and fuffering for
CHRIST'S fake.

1015

MATTH. XVI. 24.

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

"THE Tupon

LXVI.

fermon on

HEN faid JESUS to his difciples," that is, SER M. upon occafion of his former difcourfe with them, wherein he had acquainted them with his ap-The firft proaching paffion, that he must shortly go up to Je- this text. rufalem, and there fuffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and at last be put to death by them; "then said JESUS unto his disciples,

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if any man will come after me, let him deny him

felf, and take up his crofs, and follow me."

"If any man will come after me, or follow me;" that is, if any man will be my difciple, and undertake the profeffion of my religion; if any man chuse and refolve to be a Chriftian; he must be fo upon thefe terms, he must "deny himself, and take up his "crofs and follow me;" he muft follow me in felfdenial and fuffering.

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

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

I 2

force

LXVI.

SERM. force and violence to compel them to the profeffion of his religion; but fairly offers it to their confideration 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 difciples."

II. I fhall endeavour to explain this duty of felfdenial, expreffed in these words, "let him deny himfelf, and take up his crofs and follow me."

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

IV. I fhall endeavour to vindicate the reasonablenefs of this precept, of felf-denial and suffering for CHRIST, which at first appearance may feem to be very harfh and difficult; and I fhall go over these particulars as briefly as I can.

fo

I. We will confider the way and method which our SAVIOUR here useth in making profelytes, 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 propofeth it to their confideration and choice, telling them plainly upon what terms they muft be his difciples; if they like them, and are content, and refolved to fubmit 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 profefs what they do not inwardly believe; fo on the other hand,

he

LX VI.

he does not haul and drag them by force, and awe SER M. them by the terrors of torture and death to fign the christian faith, though most undoubtedly true, and to confefs with their mouths, and fubfcribe 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 thruft the facrament of bread into, their mouths; as if men might be worthy receivers of that bleffed facrament, whether they receive it willingly or no.

he

Our bleffed SAVIOUR, the author and founder of our religion, made ufe of none of these ways of violence, fo 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 fays, "if any man will be my difciple; ufeth no arguments, but fuch 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 fubjects, taken from this world; but from the endless rewards and punishments of another. "The weapons" which he made ufe of, to fubdue men to the obedience of faith, were not "carnal; " and yet they were mighty through GOD, " to conquer the obftinacy and infidelity of men. This great and infallible teacher, who certainly came from God, all that he does, is to propofe his religion to men, with fuch evidence and fuch 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 difadvantages of it, and the hazards and fufferings that would attend it; and now, if upon full confideration, they will make his religion

I 3

LXVI.

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SER M. religion their free choice, and become his disciples, 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 felf-denial, expreffed in these words, "let him deny himself, and take up his crofs." These are difficult terms, for a man "to deny himself, and "take up his own cross," that is, willingly to fubmit to all those fufferings which the malice of men may inflict for the fake of CHRIST and his religion. For this expreffion of " taking up one's cross," is a plain allufion to the Roman custom, which was this, that he that was condemned to be crucified, was to take his crofs upon his fhoulders, 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 crofs, they compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him, as is declared by the other evangelifts: and yet he tells them,

c

they that will be his difciples must follow him,

bearing their own crofs," that is, being ready (if GoD call them to it) to fubmit to the like fufferings for him and his truth, which he was fhortly to undergo for the truth, and for their fakes.

But though thefe terms feem very hard, yet they are not unreasonable, as I fhall fhew in the conclufion of this difcourfe. Some indeed have made them fo by extending this felf-denial too far, attending more to the latitude of the words, than to the meaning and fcope of our SAVIOUR'S difcourfe: 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 Chriftians to.