6. In all debates between conscience and interest, be sure to observe God's special providence to thyself. When conscience and interest are a struggling, consider, whence hadst thou that which thou art so unwilling to part withal, but from the Lord ? Distrust is the ground of self-seeking. We do not consider the providence of God to us, and that all changes are in his hands, and therefore we cannot deny our- selves. Who is that which gave thee such an estate that thou art loth lo lose ? or such a comfort thou art unwilling to part withal ? When Amaziah the king of Judah was admonished by the prophet not to let the army of Israel go with him, ' What shall I do,' saith he, ' for the hundred talents ? ' 2 Chron. xxv. 9, the sum for which he had hired them ; and the man of God answered, * The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.' So when thou art troubled. How shall I do to live ? what sliall I do for an estate ? The Lord is able to give thee more than this. It is God's blessing that maketh rich, and he can supply thee with a great deal more if he see fit. Men think it is their own providence that doth all, and so they are loth to part with what they have. Consider, thou couldst not have this if God had not given it thee. So wlien men are loth to lose their friends, when, by the pro- fession of religion, they may be in danger thereof, remember who brouglit them to be thy friends. Prov. xvi 7, ' When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes his very enemies to be his friends.' Piety will do more than carnal compliance. Thou mayst by this hazard God and thy friends too.
7. Consider the right God hath in all that is thine ; he hath a natural right, and a right by contract. A natural right to all thou hast : he made it, and he gave it thee. No creature can be sui juris, at his own ]iower and disposal. Eiches are not thy own, but God's bounty to thee. Foolish men account all that they have their own, they think they may do with it as they list : Ps. xii. 4, ' Our tongues are our own, who is Lord over us ? ' Consider, thy tongue is not thy own, for it was
200 A TREATISE OF SELF-DENIAL. [BoOK I.
not made by thee ; and when it is blasted, thou canst not repair it. A prodigal that is not able to deny his pleasure, speak to him about it, and he will answer, I hope that which I spend is my own. Thy estate is not thy own, to spend it as thou pleasest. So covetous men think they are absolute lords of what they have : 1 Sam. xxv. 11, 'Shall I take my bread, and my drink, and give it to strangers ? ' Goods must be laid out according to the owner's will, else it is robbery. Now all that thou hast is God's, therefore thou art to part with every interest and concernment of thine, as it may be for his glory. God hath a right also by contract : thou hast given up thyself, and all that is thine, to God, Rom. xii. 1 ; and do but consider the danger of alien- ating things tliat are once consecrated. Consider, wliat was the end of Ananias and Sapphira.
Before I come to the particular kinds of self-denial, take some obser- vations concerning this duty. If you would deny yourselves,
[1.] Every one must observe his temper, and the particular constitu- tion of his own soul. There are several ways of siiming ; let every one look to his own way, Isa. liii. 6. God knows, we are all out of the way, but usually there is some particular way of sin into which our hearts do wander and digress. Now when God tries any man, he tries him in his Isaac ; therefore self-denial must be considered according to the kind of self-love. Which way doth self-love most of all bend and incline your souls. The observation is necessary, because there may be some kind of shadow of self-denial in carnal men. Lusts are obstinate, and because their contrariety will not give way one to the other, therefore, for the convenience of the grand lust, a man may deny himself in something. A covetous man bereaves his soul of good, and may be rigid and sullen to his nature, yet he may not deny himself. He may deny himself of pleasure, but not of worldly profit. Others, that are of a dreggy and voluptuous constitution of spirit, they may be slight as to worldly profit, when their hearts are caught by another snare : Ps. xviii. 23, ' I kept myself from mine iniquity.' Usually thei-e is some special sin, which, by the frequency of temptation that oiteu occurs, and our desires that way, we may call our sin. Now herein is our uprightness tried, Avhen we can deny our sin.
[2.] Many may deny themselves in pur[)ose, that yet fail when they come to act. Certainly, in purpose we must deny ourselves. Whenever we come to Christ, we must bring our lives and our comforts in our hands ; we must come with a resolution to part with all. Though every christian be not a martyr in effect and act, yet he must be in vow and purpose, and resolve to renounce all upon the just and convenient reasons of religion. Now the trial is when we are put upon these particular cases. We cannot so well judge of an affection by its single exercise, as when it is brought to a direct conflict and trial. The thing.s of religion, in the absence of a temptation, may seem best to the soul ; but the spirit is never discovered till we come to an actual choice, and particulars are compared with particulars; then desires, which before lay hid and dormant, rouse themselves, and ojipugn grace in the civil wars of the soul. When there is a conflict between conscience and interest, then are we tried. Now you need not wish for these cases, for befor.-