also reign with him 2 Tim. 2.11 12. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradice of God Rev. 2.7 Hee that overcometh shall not bee hurt of the second death vers 11. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which us man knoweth saving hee that receiveth it vers 17. Hee that overcometh and keepeth my words unto the end to him will I give power over the Nations and hee shall rule them with a red of iron vers 26 27. And I will give him the morning star vers 28. Hee that overcometh the same shall bee cloathed in white raiment and I will not blat out his name out of the book of life but I will confess his name before my Father and before his Angels Rev. 3.5 Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the temple of my God and hee shall go no more out and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the name of the City of my God which is New Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new Name vers 12. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with mee in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne vers 21. 2 It makes a clear representation of the great and glorious things contained in these promises and gives the soul assurance of them The Apostle tells us of faith that it is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 1 The substance or subsistence of things hoped for it gives them a substantial being long before they bee as if they did already actually exist Hence the object of faith is present that is faith considers it as present Faith beleeves that God doth answer before hee answers As God in answering sometimes prevents our asking Isa 65.24 Before they call I will answer so when faith is exercised it prevents Gods answering Before the Lord giveth I know I have it Faith reallizeth the blessings promised before they have a being When mercies are but in their principles in their conception and birth when they are but in their cradle and swadling bands faith speaks as gloriously of them as if they were fully acted and grown up before the eye And therefore it is 2 The evidence or demonstration of things not seen not onely because it apprehends them which neither sense nor reason doth but because it apprehends them and discovers them unto the soul as cloathed upon with so much certainty and reality When a man can discern no ground of incouragement either by sense or reason faith spies it presently Now this hath a mighty influence on the soul to carry it on in a way of Self-denial While we look not at the things which are seen but at things which are not seen saith Paul We count our sufferings but a light affliction 2 Cor. 4.17 18. By this means it begets hope in the soul as by the other fear and this makes one resolute to undertake any service though never so difficult and ready to undergo any suffering though never so dangerous in obedience to the will of God for his glory This it doth by giving the soul a sight of God in these promises 1 As able Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbeleef but was strong in faith giving glory to God being fully perswaded that what hee had promised hee was able also to perform Rom. 4.20 21. 2 As faithful to accomplish them Through faith also Sarah her self received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a childe when shee was past age because shee judged him faithful who had promised Heb. 11.11 Answ 3. Faith sets a-work all other graces which are requisite to bee exercised in any one act of Self-denial and secures them in their working This appears partly in the former particular by what hath been said of fear and hope but I shall speak more directly and fully unto it in this There is not any one act of Self-denial but to the performance of it there is required the acting of several graces in their kinde so that if any one of these graces should not bee acted there would bee no acting of the rest and consequently no Self-denial the act of Self-denial would bee prevented Now faith hath a mighty influence upon every grace to set it a work according to the nature and quality of the duty that is to bee performed and to maintain it in its working so that it shall prevail I will shew this in these four particulars 1 That to every act of Self-denial is required the exercise of several graces 2 That if any one of those which are required should bee stopt and hindred in its acting there would bee a stop of all the rest and consequently no Self-denial 3 That faith hath a mighty influence to set all of them a work 4 That faith secures them in their working 1 To every act of Self-denial there is required the exercise of several particular graces several graces must bee exercised in the judgement and in the will and in the affections See an instance in Moses his Self-denial Heb. 11.25 26 27. of grace exercised 1 In his judgement Hee esteemed the repreach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt vers 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accounting or judging or having accounted or judged c. 2 In his will hee refused to bee called the Son of Pharaohs daughter vers 24. and chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season vers 25. 3 In his affection Hee forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King vers 27. Some acts of Self-denial consists meerly in the exercise of grace others are performed by the exercise of grace These are the inward acts of Self-denial which are terminated within the minde these are the external acts To both are required the acting of several graces As grace is not single in its being so not in its working as there is a connexion of graces in the habit so likewise in the operation 2 If any one of those which are required should bee stopt and hindred in its acting there would bee a stop of all the rest and consequently no Self-denial As there is a conjunction so likewise there is a dependance of the several graces one upon another a conjunction in their being and a dependance in their working so that if one bee stopt all the rest stop too As it is in a watch if one wheel stop all the wheels when they come to the motion of that wheel stop too When there is required three or four particular graces to the making up of one and the same act of Self-denial if any one of them bee wanting
it but oh that hee would heare and keep my Commandements always for his good when God dehorts and disswades from sin why is it but that man might not wrong and injure himself God hath so twisted his own glory our good together that he expects no service from us which shall not be more a service to our selves God hath so graciously ordered the matter that the very meanes of our happiness is a part of it our duty a priviledge and our work wages so that wee cannot doe our selves a greater courtesie than in doing God the best service our greatest interest lies in surrendring our selves wholly unto God to feare God and keep his Commandements is the whole as duty so happiness of man for all the rest that is under the Sun is but impertinent and unprofitable yea to call it by its owne name very vanity and vexation of spirit We doe but miscall and flatter the World yea abuse our selves also when we attribute to it and adorn it with the fine words and specious titles of Grandeure and Gallantry beauty and bravery delight and delicacy pleasure and prettiness honour and happiness alas these are but pompous shewes glittering and gaudy nothings the rosiness of the most glaring and charming beauty the whistling of the most silken bravery the chinking of bewitching white and yellow dust which we call gold and silver the sparkling Crownes which doe tempt and captivate the amorous the genteel otherwise proud the covetous and the ambitious Sons of men will one day appeare to be but a cheat of Fancy and that such as have been enamoured of them have but deceived and jugled themselves out of true happiness for a false one and espoused themselves to a meer paultry vanity which if it be any thing is a something worse than nothing Welcome my wealth this loss hath gain'd me more Riches adiew When I again grow greedy to be poor Herb. Imit I le wish for you Welcome my credit this disgrace is glory Honours adiew When for renown and fame I shall be sorry I le wish for you Welcome content this sorrow is my joy Pleasures adiew When I desire such griefs as may annoy I le wish for you And as for sin it is so ugly a thing so vile and abominable that the worst of words are not bad enough to call it by it s owne name is the very worst sinful sin Rom. 7.13 yet as if that were not significant enough the Apostle could not but adde an exceeding to it to denote how hyperbolically vile a thing it is it is good for nothing but to be hated and to have stones of scorne contempt and indignation thrown at it such a deformed Hagge is not fit for the embraces of men no nor of Devils it is not only the cause but the hell of hell and if there were no other hell it were yet damnation enough to be a sinner for as such the poore wretch is in a state of separation from God whom to injoy is eternal life and Heaven and therefore it can be no less than Death and Hell to be without him and thus the Scripture concludes no less peremptorily than truly and justly that men in their sins are condemned already and must be so for ever without the interposition of repentance and faith before they dye Sin Oh that I could a sin once see Herb. We paint the Devil foul yet he Hath some good in him all agree Sin is flat opposite to th' Almighty seeing It wants the good of vertue and of being Sin Sin Herb. Imit I would faine define thee but thou art An uncouth thing All that I bring To shew thee fully shews thee but in part I say thou art the sting of Death 't is true And yet I find Death comes behind The work is done before the pay be due I say thou art the Devils work yet hee Should much rather Call thee father For he had been no Devil but for thee What shall I call thee then if Death and Devil Right understood Be names too good I 'le say thou art the quintessence of evil By all this it most clearly appears that Grace is mans glory that the service of God is mans freedome that Self-denial is mans advantage Oh Divine thing Grace how would the Sons of men make Court to thee did they but see what a beautifying what an innobling and to speake as truly as highly in Scripture sense what a deifying thing thou art Surely as Reason is mans advance above bruits grace is mans advance above men other men and himself for it makes a man more a man and more than a man and though man was Created little lower than the Angells yet as a new Creature hee shall not onely bee like and equal to the Angells but it seems is already above them they being his servitours and spirits sent forth to Minister to him and for his good Yea further it makes man like God himself for what is godlinesse but God-likeness that whereby wee are as so many living Images and lively pictures of the Divine nature How highly concerning is it then to put off our self that wee may be our own Not to bee in our selves that in God as naturally so spiritually wee may live move and have our beings for clearly man is never truely his own nor himself but when hee is Gods Dead and lost is his Motto all the while he is a stranger to the life of God Luke 15.32 Man is not himself when hee goes from God that is when hee sins and seeks himself and man then comes to himself as t is said of the Prodigal when hee comes to God so that if man will but do himself the right to bee wise for and good to himself it must be by this Christian Art and knack of Self-Denial not making his own understanding his guide Prov. 3.5 6 7. For he that will bee wise must become a fool not making his own will his rule nor flesh-pleasing or which is all one self-pleasing his end but resigning himself to the conduct of God considering what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God devoting himself to do all hee doth to the glory of God hee may finde himself in not seeking himself and live altogether to himself in not living at all to himself But dear Reader This Treatise which I commend to thy perusal and practice will further and more fully acquaint thee with this thing the nature and excellency of it as to which and the Author my friend I think it improper because needless to say any thing I shall therefore adde but a little more and commend this the book and thee to the blessing of God Go Self-Denial go and prosper I am sure thou wert once and didst then make a glorious triumphant shew in the world when Christ our dear and blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ was here and though thou have been a stranger for a long time
bee immagined a more cursed disposition is not to bee found in Hell Another thing wherein those that want gifts are to deny Self in respect of gifts is 3 Not to glory in those that have them As some are too too apt to envie and maligne them so others too too apt to Idolize and adore them attributing all unto them as if they were the authors and finishers of their faith and though these men may seeme to have but little regard to themselves their own honour and esteem while they are thus busied in promoting the good esteeme of others yet the contrary is most true for by this means they seek to commend themselves lavishing out their praises upon others that they may return with advantage back again upon themselves for hereby they would be thought to bee men of a piercing eye and an accurate judgement in that they doe approve the things that are excellent Phil. 1.10 they would bee accounted of the number of those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil Heb. 5.14 so that though they have no atchievements of their own to boast of yet they are good Judges of other mens they can tell who doth well and who doth ill and amongst those that doe well who doth best and such they like such they love yea so confident are they of their own judgement in this particular that they make it the common standard whereby all that honour which is to bee given to men of worth and eminency is to bee tried and they will have neither more nor less given to any one than their own judicious selves shall allow of And hence it is that in populous places where there are divers Ministers of note one shall seldome come into any company but he shall hear one crying up one and another another and a third it may be deerying both them and their contention many times is so great which of their Teachers should bee the greatest that instead of commending they fall to downright rayling upon them and one upon another till at length being no longer able to endure they all break up in a chafe and resolve never to have fellowship with one another more e When the one shall say I am of Calvin and another I am of Luther when as they meet both in the name of Christian nay when by most ridiculous dissention for we have heard of such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when one shall say I am of Martin and another I am of Luther whereas they did but divide Martin Luther for they were both of his religion what must they needs bring but a deformity and confusion upon the face of the Church a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enough to make up a Chaus Calverwel The Schism p. 19. There is not any one thing that occasions more divisions and sub-divisions amongst Professors than this vain-glorying in men as wee see in the Church of Corinth while every one said I am of Paul and I of Apollo and I of Cephas and I of Christ 1 Cor. 1.12 And the reason is this f Culverwel ib. 22. they that glory in some excellencies vilifie meaner nay they vilifie choice ones too For such as glory in Paul slight Apollo and such as admire Apollo dis-esteem Paul Now such as glory in Paul cannot endure that Paul should bee dis-esteemed and they that admire Apollo cannot endure that Apollo should bee slighted and therefore they that glory in Paul provoke those that admire Apollo by sleighting of Apollo and they that admire Apollo provoke those that glory in Paul by dis-esteeming Paul and so both rend the Church in peeces g See Dr. Reyn. Treat of Pass p. 317 318. Nothing exasperates our spirits so much Nothing so much provokes us to anger as contempt from others meeting with the love of our selves And therefore when a man already strongly possessed with a love of his own or his friends person or parts shall finde either of them by others slighted and despised from whose joynt-respect hee hoped for a confirmation of his judgement there-hence ariseth not onely a grief that his expectation is crossed and his judgement under-valued but an eager desire to manifest his displeasure against the persons who thus contemn him which is commonly done by such wayes and means as make the h All anger ig a kind of disjoyning or divulsion of things before joyned Reyn. Treat of Pas 332. breach so wide that it can hardly afterwards bee made up again Therefore for the preventing of Schisme wee must deny our selves and not cry up one to the disparagement of another but give to every one i Rom. 13.7 his due praise Lastly For those that want Gifts to deny self in respect of Gifts is 4 Not to desire not to endeavour after them for self-ends Those that want Gifts ought to covet them earnestly and earnestly to labour after them as I shewed before but not for honour and applause not for preferment and profit as k See Act. 8.18 19 21 22 23 v. Simon Magus did but for the edification of the Church as the Apostle tells the Corinthians 1 Cor. 14.12 For as much as yee are all zealous of spiritual Gifts seek that yee may excell to the edifying of the Church Wee see what it is for those that want Gifts to deny Self in respect of Gifts consider 2 What it is for those that have Gifts 1 Negatively For those that have Gifts to deny self in respect of Gifts is not 1 To deny that they have them Solomon observes Prov. 13.7 There is that maketh himself rich yet hath nothing there is that maketh himself poor yet hath great riches that is there are some that make their boast of great estates that live after the rate of rich men when indeed they are worth nothing onely l Trap in loc they trick up themselves with other mens plumes There are others that are continually complaining of their wants that live after the rate of poor men when indeed they have enough and more than enough to live upon It is so here There is that maketh himself gifted yet hath no Gifts There is that maketh himself not gifted yet hath great Gifts Some go up and down boasting as if they did abound in knowledge and in all judgement they can resolve all doubts put an end to all controversies and yet are most grosly ignorant and have need to be taught the first principles of Religion They desire to bee Doctors of the Law but understand neither what they say nor whereof they affirm 1 Tim. 1.7 Some again that have attained to a good degree of knowledge that in the judgement of others are fitly qualified for publick service will notwithstanding bee ever and anon declaiming against themselves as not fit for any thing Now though there seem to be much of Self-denial in such a seeming modest denial of our own parts and abilities yet for the most part
of God wee shall bee shut out of heaven The next thing here required is 2 To aim at it as our end When a man aims at a mark hee hath it in his eye looks off from all other things and fixeth his eye upon that alone This then is another part of the Direction Aim at the recompence of reward that is make it your design and the scope of all your actions that you may attain it 1 This would make things of the world of small account with us 1 The good things of the world as pleasures profits and honours See Heb. 11.9 10-35 vers 2 The evil things of the world Christ for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the shame Heb. 12.2 Paul speaks of his manifold sufferings as but one light affliction while hee looked not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen 2 Cor. 4.17 2 This would turne the scales in any temptation You know a man sets at nought all things whatsoever they be that will not further him to the attaining of his end which his heart is set upon as his chief good and therefore offer him never so much hee will not regard it if it make not for his end and though never so many difficulties way-lay him hee makes nothing of them that so hee may attain his end Thus it is with one whose heart is set upon the recompence of reward though the Devil come with temptations of pleasure or profit saying All these will I give thee yet hee prevails not so when with afflictions c. 3 This would make us press forward with strength of resolution in our Christian race so that nothing should bee able to turn us out of our way See Phil. 3.14 Come to one that is running a race and tell him of such a merry meeting such a good bargain c. hee will not hearken there is no talking to him So it is with a Christian that hath nothing more in his thoughts than that hee may come to the marke for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus The Fourteenth Direction 14 Set faith a worke bee much in the exercise of faith Faith hath a mighty influence upon the soul to the inabling of it in the practice of this duty of Self-denial Read over the Eleventh of the Hebrews wherein you have a little book of Martyrs containing the Acts and Monuments of a number of Saints before Christs coming in the flesh all which by the exercise of this grace of faith overcame the world the Devil and Self the greatest enemy of all Quest Wherin lyes the power of faith to carry a man through this duty of Self-denial Answ 1. Faith doth mightily convince a man that it is his duty to deny himself Till a man bee convinced that it is his duty hee will never deny himself till hee see that hee is obliged hee will never make conscience of it This is the first thing wherein the power of faith is seen in inabling a man to deny himself Now faith doth this three wayes 1 It takes special notice of the command of Self-denial As If any man will come after mee let him deny himself Mat. 16.24 Bee not conformed to this world but bee yee transformed Rom. 12.2 Bee kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love in honour preferring one another vers 10. Minde not high things but condescend to men of low estate vers 16. Bee not wise in your own conceits ibid. Recompence to no man evil for evil vers Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification Rom. 15.2 Let nothing bee done through strife or vain-glory but in low liness of minde let each esteem other better than themselves Phil. 2.3 Look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others vers 4. Whensoever one is tempted in any sinful way to seek himself faith if it bee exercised brings in some command or other to the contrary Faith deals much in the commands As it carries the soul out of it self for subsistence by vertue of a promise so it carries it above and beyond nay contrary to it self in operation and working by vertue of a precept Faith is the principal grace that brings the soul into obedience unto Christ in Gospel-duties therefore the obedience of the Gospel is called the obedience of faith Rom. 16.26 Now this it doth first by setting before the soul some command or other which must bee considered of before any thing bee done one way or other But this is not all Besides this 2 It makes a full discovery of the true minde and meaning of it It tells not onely that there is a command but what it is that is commanded It discovers not onely in the general that it is a duty but also in particular wherein it lyes It is not enough that wee have a command but it must bee rightly interpreted When men judge of a command by their own wisdome they give no other interpretation of it than may accord with their own lusts so making it to speak as they would have it And thus it is before faith Men conceit they can serve God and themselves too God and Mammon well enough whatsoever the command saith to the contrary notwithstanding There seems Indeed to bee some contradiction but they know how to reconcile it by the fair and candid construction that they make of it And hence they will have to do with the command as well as others for though in one sense they grant it makes against them yet in another which they put upon it it makes nothing at all against them if it make not for them so that they often plead that for their justification which is the onely thing that condemns them Saul interpreting the command by carnal policy qualifies it so as might serve his own turn and therefore notwithstanding the command hee thinks hee might do as hee did and afterwards stands upon it that he had performed it 1 Sam. 15 13-20 I but now when faith comes it gives the true sense of the Command and will not suffer carnal reason to bee the Interpreter but tells the soul This is the meaning and nothing else And it silenceth all objections to the contrary so that the soul hath nothing to say or plead against the Command in any of the specialties of it but that all is holy just and good and must bee obeyed Faith stops the mouth of carnal reason and brings it to a non-plus Faith brings in the command with spiritual evidence and demonstration Now a thing is then demonstrated when a man sees that it must needs be so and cannot be otherwise when all objections are answered and nothing left to create the least shaddow of doubt or scruple concerning it but it presently vanisheth before the brightness of the appearance of the evidence of it When this is done then 3 It mightily