der, but rather further our progress towards Heaven.

"

BUT here we must have a great care to understand our Saviour's meaning, and fo our own Duty aright; for we muft not think that every trouble we meet with in the World is the Crofs of Chrift, for we may fuffer for our fancy or humour, or per haps for our Sin and Tranfgreffion of the Laws of God or Men, and if fo, it is our own Cross, not Chrift's which we take upon us; we may thank our felves for it, I am fure Chrift hath no cause to thank us: For this is thankworthy, faith the Apostle, if a man for confcience towards God, endure grief, fuffering wrongfully, 1 Pet. ii. 19, 20. And therefore the Duty which our Saviour here impofeth on us, in few terms is this, that we be ready not only to do, but to fuffer what we can for the glory of God and the furtherance of the Gospel, and that we omit no Duty, nor commit any Sin for fear of fuffering; not to think much of any trouble that befals us for Christ's fake, but rather to rejoice at it, even as the Apostles rejoiced, that they were accounted worthy to fuffer frame for his name, A&t. v.41. Which was a clear inftance of their performing the Duty here enjoined both them and us, under the name of taking up our Cross.

Our

AND I hope there is none of us can take it ill that Chrift hath impofed fo fevere a Duty upon us; for we may affure our felves he requires no more of us than what hipfelf hath undergone before, fo that we can fuffer nothing for him, but what he hath fuffered before for us. Have we grief and trouble in our Hearts? fo had he, Mat. xxvi. 38. Have we pains and tortures in Bodies? fo had he, Mat. xxvii. 29, 30. Are we derided and fcoffed at? fo was he, Mat. xxvii. 31. Are we arraigned or condemned, yea do we fuffer death rit felf? it is no more than what our Lord and Mafter hath done before. And let us remember what he told us when he was upon the Earth, The difciple is not above his mafter, nor the fervant above his lord, Mat. x. 24. If we be Chrift's Difciples, we cannot expect to fare better in the World than Chrift himself did, neither indeed can we fare fo bad; for it is impoffible that we fhould undergo fo much for him as he hath undergone for us, ours being only the Sufferings of Men, his the Sufferings of one who was God as well as Man; whereby Sufferings in general are fanctified to our human nature, it having already undergone them in the Perfon of the Son of God, fo that it can be now no difparagement at all to undergo any trouble, as hatred, reproach,

T

reproach, poverty, pain, yea death it felf, or any other Calamity whatfoever in this World, feeing the Son of God himfelf, he that made the World, underwent the fame while himself was in it. And therefore we need not think it below us to ftoop down and take up the Crofs of Chrift, as confidering that Chrift having born it before us, hath fo bleffed and fanctified it unto ús, that it is now become an honourable, an advantageous, yea and a pleasant Crofs, to them that bear it patiently, thankfully and conftantly as they ought to do, especially feeing it is fuch a Crofs as leads unto a Crown; and whatsoever we can do or fuffer for Chrift here, will be fully recompenced with Glory hereafter, and therefore inftead of being troubled to take up our Crofs, we are rather to rejoice that we have any to take up.

THUS We fee in few words what it is! which our Saviour commands from us when he enjoins us to deny our felves, and take up our Cross, even that we do not gratifie our felves in any thing that is ungrate ful unto him, nor grudge to take up any Crofs, or fuffer any trouble we meet with in the World for his fake, thinking nothing too dear to forfake, nor any thing too heavy to bear for him, who thought not his own Life too dear, nor the Cross

it felf too heavy to bear for us; what now remains, but that knowing our Saviour's pleasure, we should all refolve to do it. There is none of us but hope and defire to be faved by him, but that we can never be, unless we observe what he hath prescribed. in order to our Salvation: And amongst other things, we see how he hath commanded us, to deny our felves, and take up our Crofs; as any of us therefore defires to be Christians indeed, fo as to fee Chrift's face with comfort in another World, let us bethink our felves seriously what Sins we have hitherto indulged our felves in; I fear there are but few, if any amongst us, but are conscious to themselves, that they have and do ftill live, either in the conftant neglect of fome known Duty, or else in the frequent commiffion of fome beloved Sin; what that is, I dare not undertake to tell, but leave that to God and to Mens own Confciences; only I defire them to deal faithfully with their own Souls, and not fuffer themselves to be fooled into a fond and vain perfuafion that they have any interest in Chrift, or are truly his Difciples, until they deny themselves that Sin, whatsoever it is, which they have hitherto indulged themselves in. And let us not think that we shall deny our felves any real pleasure or profit, by renouncing our Sins, for what

pleasure

pleasure can we have in displeasing God, or profit in lofing our own Souls? No, we fhall gratifie our felves more than we can imagine, by denying our felves as much as we are able, whatfoever is offenfive or difpleafing unto God; for we may be fure, he that came into the World on purpose to fave us from evil, commands us nothing but for our own good, neither, would he ever have oblig'd us to deny our felves, if we could have been faved without it, and as for the Crofs. that he was fo well acquainted with, that he would never have impofed it upon us to take it up, but that it is indifpenfably neceffary for us. And therefore if we be what we pretend, real and true Christians, let us manifeft it to the World and to our own Confciences, by denying our felves whatfoever Chrift hath denied us, and by obferving whatsoever he hath commanded us, even to the taking up of any Crofs, that he for his own fake fhall fuffer to be laid upon us, ftill remembring, that Self-denyal, though it be unpleasant, is a moft neceffary Duty; and the Crofs, though it be never fo heavy, it is but short, and hath nothing less than a Crown annexed unto it, a glorious and eternal Crown, which all those shall most certainly obtain, who deny themselves.

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