to go out of ourselves to look for righteousness, or to be beholden to another for it. And this is the reason that justification by faith in Christ hath had so many adversaries in the world; mankind in general being so much in love with themselves, and doting upon what themselves do, that they cannot endure to renounce and vilify their own obedience and good works, so much as to think they stand in need of any other righteousness besides their own, as if their own righteousness was so perfect that God Himself could find no fault with it, nor make any exceptions against it, but must needs acknowledge them to be just and righteous persons for it.

Whereas, alas! there is not the best action that ever a mere mortal did, but, if examined by the strict rules of justice, it is far from being good, yea, so far, that God Himself may justly pronounce it evil, and by consequence condemn the person that did it for doing of it. And therefore I cannot but wonder what it is that any man doeth or can do, for which he can in reason expect to be justified before God; our very righteousness being, as the Prophet tells, "but as filthy rags," and our most holy performances fraught [Isa. 64.6.] with sin and imperfection, and therefore so far from justifying us, that we may justly be condemned for them; but this mankind doth not love to hear of, the pride of our hearts being such, that by all means we must have something in ourselves whereof to glory before God Himself. But woe be to that person who hath no other righteousness but his own, wherein to appear before the Judge of the whole world; for, however specious his actions may seem to men, they will be adjudged sins before the eternal God.

7. He, therefore, that would come to Christ, although he must labour after righteousness to the utmost of his power, yet, when he has done all, he must renounce it, and look upon himself as an unprofitable servant : "For Christ Matt. 9. 13. came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," that is, He came not to call such persons as think they have righteousness enough of their own to serve their turns, for such persons think they have no need of Him, and therefore it would be in vain to call them: but He calls sinners, such as may, perhaps, be as righteous as the other;

but they do not think themselves to be so, but look upon themselves as undone for ever, unless they have something else to trust to than their own good works and obedience to the Moral Law.' Such persons, therefore, Christ came to call; and if they come to Him, they cannot but find rest and righteousness in Him and if any of us desire to go after Christ, so as to be His disciples, we must be sure to look upon ourselves as sinners, as deserving nothing but wrath and vengeance for whatsoever we have done; we must renounce all our own righteousness, and be so far from depending upon it, as to think that we have none to depend upon, for so really we have not. And when we have laid aside all thoughts of our own righteousness, as to the matter of our justification before God, then, and not till then, shall we be rightly qualified to embrace another's, even that righteousness which is by faith in Christ. Thus St. Paul, though he had as much, yea, more reason to trust in the -Phil. 3. 6. flesh or in himself than others; for himself saith, "that as

ver. 7-9.

touching the righteousness which is of the law, he was blameless." "Yet," saith he, "what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Thus, therefore, it is, that all those must do who desire to be, as St. Paul was, real disciples of Jesus Christ; as we must forsake our sins, so we must renounce our righteousness too. It is true, this is a great and difficult part of self-denial, thus to deny ourselves all that pride, pleasure, and confidence, which we used to take in the thoughts of our own righteousness and obedience to the Law of God; but we must remember, that the first thing which our Saviour enjoins those that come after Him, is to deny themselves.

Thus I have shewn what it is in ourselves that we must deny, and how it is that we must deny ourselves, if we desire to go after Christ. We must deny ourselves the curiosity of searching too much into the mysteries of the Gospel by

the light of our own clouded reasons; we must deny our self-conceit, our self-will, our self-love, self-interest, selfconfidence, and whatsoever proceeds from and terminates in our sensual and sinful selves, so as to have no delight in, nor dependence upon ourselves; yea, we must so deny ourselves, as to be quite taken off of our former selves, and become other creatures than what before we were. Thus St. Ambrose explains these words, saying, "Seipsum sibi [De Pœnit. homo abneget, et totus mutetur:"Let a man deny himself to 10.96; vol. himself, so as to be wholly changed from what he was.' But ii. p. 437, a. then you will say, what need is there of all this trouble; what reason can be given that a man must deny himself before he can be a true Christian?

To that I answer, it is reason enough that Christ hath commanded us to do it; and surely He best knows whom He will accept of as His disciples, and what is necessary to be done in order to our being so: and He hath said in plain terms, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself;" implying, that he that doth not deny himself cannot go after Him.

lib. ii. cap.

Ed. Ben.]

But besides that, there is an impossibility in the thing itself, that any one should be a true Christian, or go after Christ, and not deny himself; as may be easily perceived, if they will but consider what true Christianity requires of us, and what it is to be a real Christian. A true Christian, we know, is one that lives by faith, and not by sight: "that [2 Cor. 4. 18.] looks not at the things which are seen, but at those which are not seen;" that believes whatsoever Christ hath said, trusteth on whatsoever He hath promised, and obeyeth whatsoever He hath commanded; that receiveth Christ as His only Priest to make atonement for him, as his only Prophet to instruct, and as his only Lord and Master to rule and govern him. In a word, a Christian is one that gives up himself and all he hath to Christ, Who gave Himself and all He hath to him; and therefore the very notion of true Christianity implies and supposes the denial of ourselves, without which it is as impossible for a man to be a Christian, as it is for a subject to be rebellious and loyal to his prince at the same time; and therefore it is absolutely necessary that we go out of ourselves before we can go to Him, we

must strip ourselves of our very selves before we can put

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on Christ; for Christ Himself hath told us that no man Matt. 6. 24. can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one aud love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." We "cannot serve both God and Mammon," Christ and ourselves too; so that we must either deny ourselves to go after Christ, or else deny Christ to go after ourselves, so as to mind our own selfish ends and designs in the world.

Wherefore I hope I need not use any other arguments to persuade any to deny themselves in the sense already explained; I dare say there is none amongst us but would willingly be what we profess, even a real Christian, and so go after Christ here as to come to Him hereafter. But we have now seen how Christ Himself hath told us, that " we must deny ourselves," if we desire to serve and enjoy Him: and verily it is a hard case if we cannot deny ourselves for Him who so 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 [Isa. 53.3.] Himself as to become man, yea, a man of sorrows, and ac

quainted with griefs," for us; and cannot we deny ourselves so much as a fancy, a conceit, a sin, or lust, for Him? How then can we expect that He should own us for His friends, His servants, or disciples? No, He will never do it, neither can we in reason expect that He should give Himself and all the merits of His death and passion unto us, so long as we think much to give ourselves to Him, or to deny ourselves for Him. And therefore, if we desire to be made partakers of all those glorious things which He hath purchased with His Own most precious blood for the sons of men, let us begin here, indulge our flesh no longer, but deny ourselves whatsoever God hath been pleased to forbid. And for that end, let us endeavour each day more and more to live above ourselves, above the temper of our bodies, and above the allurements of the world; live as those who believe and profess that they are none of their own, but Christ's: His by creation, it was He that made us; His by preservation, it is He that maintains us; and His by redemption, it is He that hath purchased and redeemed us

with His Own blood. And therefore let us deny ourselves for the future to our very selves, whose we are not, and devote ourselves to Him Whose alone we are; by this we shall manifest ourselves to be Christ's disciples indeed, especially if we do not only deny ourselves, but also take up our cross and follow Him; which brings me,

II. To the second 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 understand whatsoever 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, without any more ado, neither repining at them, nor sinking under them, for we must not think that Christ invites us to an earthly paradise of idleness or outward pleasure, as if we had nothing to do or to suffer for Him: for even as men we cannot but find many crosses in the world, but as Christians we must expect more, for Christ Himself hath told us," that John 16. 33. in the world we shall have tribulation." And therefore whatsoever we meet with is no more than what we are to look for; especially, 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 Acts 14. 22. tribulations" that we must "enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." And therefore we must not think to be carried up to Heaven with the breath of popular applause, nor to swim through a deluge of carnal pleasures into the haven of everlasting happiness. No, we must look to be tossed to and fro in this world, as in a raging and tempestuous ocean, and never look for perpetual calmness and tranquillity, until we have 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 satisfaction in it; but the disciples of Christ "they are not of this world," as Christ John 17. 14. Himself tells us. 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 itself to the flesh, and