"" we obey fuch commands?" To this he answers, "That profeffion with the tongue is but an external "thing, and no more than any other gefture, whereby 66 we fignify our obedience, and wherein a Chriftian, "holding firmly in his heart the faith of Christ, hath the "fame liberty which the Prophet Elifha allowed to Naaman. But what then (fays he) fhall I answer to our "Saviour, faying, Whosoever denieth me before men, him

will I deny before my Father which is in heaven?" His anfwer is, "This we may fay, that whatsoever a fubject "is compelled to, in obedience to his fovereign, and "does it not in order to his own mind, but the law of "his country, the action is not his, but his fovereign's; "nor is it he that in this cafe denies Christ before men, "but his governor, and the laws of his country."

But can any man that in good earneft pays any degree of reverence to our bleffed Saviour and his religion, think to baffle fuch plain words by fo frivolous an anfwer? There is no man doubts, but if the magiftrate fhould command men to deny Chrift, he would be guilty of a great fin in fo doing: but if we must obey God rather than men, and every man must give an account of himself to God; how will this excufe him that denies Christ, or breaks any other commandment of God, upon the command of the magiftrate? And to put the matter out of all doubt, that our Saviour forbids all that will be his difciples, upon pain of damnation, to deny him, though the magiftrate fhould command them to do so, it is very obfervable, that in that very place where he speaks of confeffing or denying him before men, he puts this very cafe of their being brought before ings and governors for confeffing him, Matth. x. 17. 18. Beware (fays he) of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will fcourge you in their fynagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my Jake, for a teftimony against them and the Gentiles. But what teftimony would this be against them, if Christians were bound to deny Chrift at their command? But our Saviour goes on, and tells them how they ought to demean themselves, when they were brought before kings and governors, y 19. But when they hall deliver you up, take ye no thought how or what ye jball speak; for it shall be given you in that

very hour what ye shall Speak. But what need of any fuch extraordinary affiftance in the cafe, if they had nothing to do but to deny him, when they were required by the magistrate to do it? And then, proceeding in the fame difcourfe, he bids them, y 28. not to fear them that can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do ; that is, not to deny him, for fear of any temporal punishment or suffering the magiftrate could inflict upon them; but to fear and obey him who can destroy body and foul in hell. And upon this discourse our Saviour concludes, y 32. 33. Whofoever therefore shall confefs me before men, him will I confefs alfo before my Father which is in heaven. But whofoever jhall deny me before men, him will I alfo deny before my Father which is in heaven. And now can any thing be plainer, than that our Saviour requires his difciples to make confeffion of him before kings and governors, and not to deny him for fear of any thing which they can do to them? But let us inquire a little farther, and fee how the Apostles, who received this precept from our Saviour himself, did understand it. Acts iv. 17. 18. 19. we find Peter and John fummoned before the Jewish magiftrates, who strictly commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jefus. But Peter and John anfwered and faid unto them, Whether it be right in the fight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. And when they still perfifted in their courfe, notwithstanding the command of the magiftrate, and were called again before the council, chap. v. 27. 28. and the high priest afked them, faying, Did we not ftraitly command you, that you should not teach in this name? and behold, ye have filled Jerufalem with your doctrine: they return them again the fame anfwer, y 29. Then Peter and the other apofiles anfwered and faid, "We ought to obey God rather than men.

And let any man now judge, whether our Saviour did not oblige men to confefs him even before magistrates, and to obey him rather than men. And indeed how can any man in reason think, that the great King and Governor of the world fhould inveft any man with a power to controul his authority, and to oblige men to disobey and renounce him, by whom kings reign, and princes decree judgment? This is a thing fo unreasonable, that it

can

can hardly be imagined, that any thing but downright malice against God and religion could prompt any man to advance fuch an affertion.

I fhould now have proceeded to the fourth and laft particular which I propofed to fpeak to; namely, to vindicate the reasonablenefs of this precept of felf-denial, and fuffering for Chrift, which, at first appearance, may feem to be fo very harsh and difficult. But this, together with the application of this difcourfe, fhall be referved to another opportunity.

SER M ON LXVII.

Of felf-denial, and fuffering for Christ's fake.

MATTH. xvi. 24.

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

T

The fecond fermon on this text.

Hen faid Jefus unto his difciples; that is, upon occafion of his former difcourfe with them concerning his approaching paffion, and that he muft fhortly go up to Jerufalem, and there fuffer many things of the elders, and chief priests, and feribes, and at laft be put to death by them: Then faid Jefus unto his dif ciples, If any man will come after me; that is, if any man will be my difciple, and undertake the profeffion of my religion, he muft do it upon thefe terms of felf-denial and fuffering.

In the handling of thefe words, I proceeded in this method.

I. I confidered the way which our Saviour here useth in making profelytes, and gaining men over to his religion. He offers no manuer of force and violence to compel men to the profeffion of it, but fairly propofeth it to their confideration and choice, telling them plainly

upon

upon what terms they must be his difciples; if they like them, and be refolved to submit to them, well; if not, it is in vain to follow him any longer; for they cannot be his difciples. And to ufe any other way than this to gain men over to religion, is contrary both to the nature of man, who is a reasonable creature; and to the nature of religion, which, if it be not our free choice, cannot be religion.

II. I explained this duty or precept of felf-denial expreffed in these words, Let him deny himself, and take up his crofs; which phrafe of taking up one's crofs, is an allufion to the Roman custom; which was, that the malefactor that was to be crucified, was to take up his cross upon his fhoulders, and to carry it to the place of exe

cution.

Now, for our clearer understanding of this precept of felf-denial, I told you, that it is not to be extended to every thing that may properly be called by that name, but to be limited by the plain fcope and intendment of our Saviour's difcourfe; and therefore I did, in the

1. First place, remove feveral things which are instanced in by fome, as intended and required by this precept. As,

ift, That we fhould deny and renounce our own fenfes in matters of faith. But this I fhewed to be abfurd and impoffible; because if we do not believe what we fee, or will believe contrary to what we fee, we destroy all certainty, there being no greater than that of fenfe. Befides that the evidence of faith being lefs clear and certain than that of fenfe, it is contrary to the nature of affent, which is always fwayed and borne down by the greatest and clearest evidence. So that we cannot affent to any thing in plain contradiction to the evidence of fense.

2dly, Others would comprehend under this precept the denying of our reafon in matters of faith; which is in the next degree of abfurdity to the other; because no man can believe any thing, but upon fome reafon or other; and to believe without any reafon, or against reafon, is to make faith unreafonable, and infidelity reafonable.

3dly, Others pretend, that, by virtue of this precept,

men

men ought to be content to renounce their own eternal happiness, and to be miferable for ever, for the glory of God, and the falvation of their brethren. But this, I fhewed, cannot be a duty, for this plain reason, because if it were, there is no argument left powerful enough to perfuade a man to it. And as for the two scripture-inftances alledged to this purpofe; Mofes's wifh of being blotted out of the book of life for the people of Ifrael, fignifies no more than a temporal death; and St. Paul's of being accurfed from Chrift for his brethren, is only an hyperbolical expreffion of his great paffion and zeal for the falvation of his countrymen; as is evident from the form of the expreffion, fuch as is commonly used to usher in an hyperbole ; "I could wish." And, in the

2. Second place, I fhewed pofitively, that the plain meaning of this precept of felf-denial is this, and nothing but this: That we fhould be willing to part with all our temporal interefts and enjoyments, and even life itfelf, for the fake of Chrift and his religion; this is to deny ourselves and then that we fhould be willing to bear any temporal inconvenience and fuffering upon the fame account; this is to take up our cross. And this I fhewed from the inftances which our Saviour gives of felf-denial, whenever he had occafion to difcourfe of it.

:

III. I confidered the ftrict and indifpenfable obligation of this precept of felf-denial, rather than to forfake Chrift and his religion. Without this difpofition and refolution of mind we cannot be his difciples; and if we deny him before men, he will alfo deny us before his Father which is in heaven. And this confeffion of him and his truth we are to make before kings and governors, and notwithstanding their commands to the contrary; which are of no force against the laws and commands of God. Thus far I have gone. There remains only the

IV. Fourth and laft particular which I propofed to fpeak to, viz. to vindicate the reasonableness of this selfdenial and fuffering for Chrift, which at first appearance may seem to be fo very difficult. And this precept cannot be thought unreasonable, if we take into confideration these three things.

1. That he who requires this of us, hath himself given us the greatest example of felf-denial that ever was.

The