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promised, and obeyeth whatfoever he hath commanded that receiveth Chrift as his only Prieft to make atonement for him, as his only Prophet to inftruct, and as his only Lord and Master to rule and govern him. In a word, a Chriftian is one that gives himfelf and all he hath to Chrift, who gave himself and all he hath to him; and therefore the very notion of true Chriftianity implies and fuppofes the denyal of our felves, without which it is as impoffible for a Man to be a Chriftian, as it is for a Subject to be rebellious and loyal to his Prince at the fame time; and therefore it is abfolutely neceffary that we go out of our felves before we can go to him, we must ftrip our felves of our very felves before we can put on Chrift; for Chrift himself hath told us, that No man can ferve two masters, for either be will bate the one and love the other, or elfe be will bold to the one and defpife the other, Mat. vi. 24. We cannot ferve both God and Mammon, Chrift and our felves too; fo that we muft either de ny our felves to go after Chrift, or else deny Chrift to go after our felves, fo as to mind our own selfish ends and designs in the World.

WHEREFORE I hope I need not use any other Arguments to perfuade any to deny themselves in the fenfe already explained;

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I dare fay there is none amongft us bút would willingly be what we profess, even a real Chriftian, and fo go after Chrift here, as to come to him hereafter. But we have now feen how Chrift himself hath told us, that we must deny our felves, if we desire to ferve and enjoy him. And ve rily it is an hard cafe if we cannot deny our felves for him, who fo far denied himself for us, as to lay down his own Life to redeem ours. He who was equal to God himself, yea who himself was the true God, so far denied himself as to become Man, yea, A man of forrows and acquainted with griefs, for us, and cannot we deny our felves fo much as a Fancy, a Conceit, a Sin or Luft for him? How then can we expect that he fhould own us for his Friends, his Servants or Difciples? No, he'll never do it, neither can we in reafon expect that he should give himself and all the Merits of his Death and Paffion unto us, fo long as we think much to give our felves to him, or to deny our felves for him. And therefore if we defire to be made Partakers of all thofe glorious things that he hath purchased with his own moft precious Blood for the Sons of Men; let us begin here, indulge our Flefh no longer, but deny our felves whatfoever God hath been pleafed to forbid. And for that end, let us endeavour each

Day more and more to live above our felves, above the temper of our Bodies, and above the allurements of the World, live as those who believe and profefs that they are none of their own, but Chrift's, his by Creation, it was he that made us, his by Pre fervation, it is he that maintains us, and his by Redemption; it is he that hath purchafed and redeemed us with his own Blood. And therefore let us deny our felves for the future to our very felves, whose we are not, and devote our felves to him whofe alone we are by this we fhall manifeft our felves to be Chrift's Difciples indeed, efpecially if we do not only deny our felves, but also take up our Crafs and follow him; which brings me to the fecond thing which our blessed Saviour here requires of those who would go after him, even to take up their Cross.

WHERE, by the Cross, we are to underftand whatfoever Troubles or Calamities, inward or outward, we meet with in the performance of our Duty to God or Man, which they that would go after Christ must take up as they go along, with out any more ado, neither repining at them, nor finking under them; for we must not think that Chrift invites us to an earthly Paradife of Idlenefs and outward Pleafures, as if we had nothing to do or to fuffer for

him. For even as Men, we cannot but find many Croffes in the World, but as Chriftians we must expect more, for Christ, himself hath told us, that in the World we fhall have Tribulation, John xvi. 33. And; therefore whatsoever we meet with, is no, more than what we are to look for; efpecially if we walk uprightly in the way that leads to Heaven, we cannot but expect to meet with many a rub, for God himself hath told us that it is through many tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of beaven, A&t.xiv. 22. And therefore we must not think to be carried up to Heaven with the breath of popular Applaufe, nor to swim through a deluge of carnal Pleasures into the haven of everlafting Happiness. No, we must look to be toffed to and fro in this World,as in a raging and tempeftuousOcean, and never look for perpetual Calmness and Tranquillity, until we are got above the Clouds, yea even above the Sun and Stars themselves. This World was always a World of trouble, and ever will be, its very Friends, and they that have their Portion here, can find no quiet nor fatisfaction in it; but the Difciples of Chrift they are not of this world, as Chrift himself tells us, John xvii. 14. And therefore no wonder if the World frowns more upon them than others. The way they walk

in is opposite to the World, it is enmity it felf to the Flesh, and therefore no wonder if they meet with fo much Enmity and Oppofition here; the way wherein they go after Chrift is a cross way, it is crofs to Sin, crofs to Satan, cross to the World, cross to our very felves as we are by Nature, and by confequence cross to all Men in the World but Chrift's Difciples, and therefore it is no wonder they meet with so many croffes in it. But how foever, if we defire to go after Chrift, he hath told us before hand what we muft expect, as he hath born the Crofs before us, he expects that we now bear it after him; yea we must not only bear it, but take it up too: Not that we should run our felves into danger, but that we fhould baulk no Duty to avoid it, so as to be willing and ready to undergo the greatest fuffering, rather than to commit the leaft Sin, and to run the greatest danger rather than neglect the finalleft Duty. If whilft we are walking in the narrow path of Holiness, there happens to lie a Crofs in the way, we muft not go on one fide nor on the other fide of it out of the path we walk in, neither must we kick and fpurn at it, but we must patiently take it up and carry it along with us; if it be a little heavy at first, it will foon grow lighter, and not at all hin

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