2. The causes of this contempt were great, and such as did every way justify it. As he contemned great things, so he contemned them for weighty causes. Two are mentioned —
[1.] ' The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; ' that is, that he might obtain the knowledge of Christ, which is so excellent that it made all other things seem vile in his eyes. Those things could only yield a carnal, light, and temporary profit ; this a spiritual, solid, and eternal felicity. To keep them and lose this would be a loss not to be recompensed.
[2.] ' That I may gain Christ ; ' that is, have the favour of Christ, which is the highest of all privileges.
I shall now insist upon the greatness and vehemency of his contempt of all worldly and carnal things in comparison of Christ.
Doct. That he that is or would be a good christian should have such an esteem of Christ as to count all things but loss and dung, yea, should readily quit and forsake all things rather than miss of Christ.
1. Let us consider Paul's self-denial as it is here represented.
2. Give you the reasons why it bindeth all christians, and becometh them to have such a frame of spirit.
I. This instance of self-denial ; and there —
1. The universality of its extent, ' All things,' whatever would detain us from Christ, be they honours, pleasures, profits, yea, life itself, what- ever we are and have. This is to be observed —
[1.] Partly because some can deny a few things for Christ, but not all ; their resignation is not entire and unbounded ; but if we keep back any one thing, the price is too short. Any one lust reserved
14 SERMONS UPON PHILIPPIANS III. [SeR. II.
keeps afoot the devil's interest in the soul ; therefore if we esteem but one thing, though we prefer * never so many, before Christ, though we renounce many profits and pleasures, yet that one darling contentment to which we have a special liking will prove a snare to the soul. Herod did many things, but was loath to part with his Herodias. The young man lacked one thing, Mark. x. 21. If a woman love but one man in the world more than her husband, though she love him better than millions of others, yet it is a breach of the marriage cove- nant. Any one thing reserved may bring us to forsake and neglect him as much as if we had preferred a hundred things before him. That one thing will quickly prevail over us for the entertainment of more ; there- fore David prayeth, Ps. cxix. 133, ' Order my steps in thy word, and let not any one iniquity have dominion over me/ If a man be dead to pleasure, yet if he be alive to credit ; if he have a slight esteem of honour and glory, yet the riches of the world have a great interest in him ; if he can bridle passion and anger, and easily become meek, yet his fear may betray him ; if he can withstand boisterous temptations, which by violence would withdraw him from Christ, yet if he be over- come by vain appetites, and cannot tame his own flesh, he may finally miscarry. When men come to take possession of a house, all persons must be outed, or else the possession is not valid and good ; you must deliver up all to Christ, or he will accept of none.
[2.] And partly to show that not only things apparently unlawful must be denied for Christ, but things lawful must be disesteemed, dis- countenanced, and rejected for his sake.
(1 ) That our sins must be renounced is out of question. If I cannot deny adultery, gluttony, covetousness, pride, drunkenness, oppression for his sake, surely I am unworthy of him. Therefore there can be no ques- tion made of this, that I must put off the old man with his lusts, Eph. iv. 22. These were never worth keeping ; these stick to us as our clothes or the skin on our backs, yet they must be put off, whatever interest they have in our affections. It is no strange motion of the physician if he should require the patient to part with his disease ; or he that minds to bestow new apparel upon us, should require us to cast away our old rags. If we would try it once, it is more pleasant to be rid of sin than to keep it ; and the pleasures of sin would be found more troublesome than the most painful course of obedience. Surely they can leave little for Christ that cannot leave one delightful or profitable sin, or are so far from preferring a saviour before the glorious pomp and vanities of this world, that they cannot leave the abominable crimes of it.
(2.) That lawful things which are not absolutely to be despised, but only comparatively, when they come into competition with Christ, may be comprehended also ; such as are the comfort of our relations, esteem and honour in the world, the natural supports of the present life, yea, life itself. Such things are reckoned up by Christ : Luke xiv. 26, ' If any man come to me, and hate not father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple ; ' where you see that not our lusts only are to be forsaken, but our natural interests, those things which otherwise lawfully we may and ought most dearly to affect ; these must be forsaken, hated, trampled upon in comparison of our love to Christ ; that is, we must resolve to gain Christ, and 1 Qu. ' postfer/ or some such word ? — Ed.