Secondly, Upon the other side cast up the account, what you may lose by youi* consent to be Christ's ; and whether these losses be sufficient to balance or preponderate the gain that comes by such a consent ; that so your choice of Christ may be a deliberate and full choice, and you may never repent afterwards of the choice you have made. It is a rule in the civil law, Non consentit qui non sentit. He cannot consent that doth not think, understand, and deliberate : and this is the reason of so much flinching from Christ, and shameful apostasy in times of persecution ; men did not think of such sufferings and losses ; they are mere surprisals to them. To prevent all such occasions of offence, our Lord deals candidly and openly with us, and tells us before-hand what are the worst things that may befal us for his sake, John xvi. 1, 2. " These " things have I spoken unto you, that you should not be offended : " They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time " Cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think he doth God " service.'' But, ver. 4. he adds, " These things have I told you, ^' that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told ** you of them :" q. d. Remember yourselves in times of persecu- tion, that all these things were propounded, considered, and con- sented to ; they were the very terms you subscribed to me ; had you not liked them, you might, at the everlasting damage and ruin of your immortal souls, have refused and rejected them. Now the things you are to balance mth the gain of Christ, must by you be sorted into two ranks.
1. Things that must be parted with.
2. Things that may be parted with for Christ.
1. The things that you must part with, viz. your lusts, and all the vicious pleasures you have had in them ; how much profit or pleasure soever they have brought you in, away they must go ;
they must be devoted to destruction and mortification, or you can have no interest in Christ, you must shake hands for ever with all your sinful courses and companions, Rom. vi. 16. "His servants " you arc, to whom you obey.'' Be they as pleasant and profit- able as your right hand or eye, they must be plucked out and cut off, Mat. V. 22, 30. Doth this sound harsh and unpleasant to your cars ? Doth this cause the demur ? O, consider, what it is to part with sin ; it is but to part with the disease of your souls, and the instruments of your everlasting ruin. Which of you would not be glad to part with a fever, the stone, or dropsy ? What is passipn, but the fever of the soul ? What is a hard heart, but a stone ? What is covetousness and earthly-mindedness, but the insatiable dropsy of the soul ? Now, if men would be glad to be rid of such dreadful diseases in their bodies, and to be restored to soundness, case, and health ; how much more should you be glad to be rid of your corruptions, and have the rectitude, ease, and pleasure of your souls restored again ? yea, instead of these impure, vicious, brutish pleasures you have taken in sin, you shall enjoy the pure, divine, suitable and everlasting pleasures of holiness. Consider now, and accordingly make your choice, whether you will take the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, in exchange for the everlasting joys which are at God's right hand for ever.
2. There are other things which you mai/ be called to part with, and give up for Christ. It is uncertain whether God may actually call you to part with your liberties, estates, relations, and lives for Christ : Many are never actually called forth to such sufferings ; but because many are, and every one of you may be so called, you must realize them, ponder them, and subscribe those very terms, making full account of these things as if they were now before you, Luke ix. 23. For so Christ hath propounded them : But then withal, weigh these troubles with the gain and advantages you shall have by them, and not singly and alone by themselves ; for so Christ hath presented them to you, Matth, xix. 28. " And every " one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, " or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, " shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life."
Now, if you think such gainful troubles, such soul-enriching losses, be worth accepting for Christ's sake ; then close the match with Christ, and bring the matter to a conclusion : Do not beibol yourselves with a fond and groundless presumption that these things will never befal you. I fear many flatter themselves with such vain hopes ; the Lord knows how soon these suppositions, at a distance, may be turned into realities before your eyes : You have much reason to expect them, and much more to embrace them, whenever Christ shall call you to them. This is the great