And to die to ourselves is much like it.
(1.) A man dieth to himself, tohen he regardeth himself in death, and is regarded inuch of nobody else. Persons that have an absolute being of themselves, that have no kindred, not much acquaintance, or have been little fruitful in their lives, die to themselves in a civil sense ; that is, no man mourneth for them, saying, ' Ah, my brother,' 1 Kings xiii. 30. They were of little use in their lives, and so little missed in their deaths.
And usually they that live thus to themselves, they die to themselves, little regarded, little lamented. Only this oftentimes, they do most good when they die ; as we say of swine, * They are never good till dead.'
(2.) But this is meant in a theological higher sense. No Christian ' dieth to himself;' that is, dieth unregarded of God and of good men. As he liveth not to himself but to Christ, so he dieth not to himself : * Precious to the Lord is the death of all his saints,' Ps. cxvi. 15. He is not despotos,'^ with- out lord and master ; but ' whether he liveth or dieth, he is the Lord's.' So much for the negative part, which we see may be taken both actively and passively.
But this clause will be better understood by adding the other. ' "WTiether we live, we live to the Lord ; or whether we die, we die to the Lord.'
Quest. What is it to live to the Lord ?
Ans. First, To acknouiedge the Lord in all our icags to he our Lord, to whom we oice ourselves.
And secondly. Thereupon to resign ourselves to the Lord in our ivhole carriage, so as to obey him, to give up ourselves to be disposed of him, and directed by him as he pleaseth.
And then, thirdly, to refer all things to his glory as our last end, and to endeavour that God and Christ may he k)wivn and viagnijied in the woiid. When we labour to practise what we pray for, according to that first peti- tion, Hallowed be thy name, his religion and truth, and whatsoever else is God's, may be advanced, set high, published, and enlarged ; that he may be known and worshipped ; that he may be to us what he is in himself, the great God, ' Lord of quick and dead.' So by our giving respect to him suitable to our knowledge of him.
* Qu. ' adespotos ' ? — Ed.
THE christian's END. 293
Fourtlily and lastly, He that livetli to the Lord comforteth hiwself in this, that the Lord taketh notice of him, in everything. For it is a phrase import- ing a direction to a duty ; and likewise to confirm and comfort us in this, that we do our duty. We do not serve a dead master, but one that taketh notice of us ' living and dying.'
(1.) So ' to die to the Lord' is to acknowJed/fe Christ ' to be the Lord of life' and the ' Lord of death,' of death as well as of life. ' He hath the keys of hell and of death,' Rev. i. 18, and the disposing of both. There- fore we must resign up ourselves to him in death.
(2.) And then study to honour him by death in any kind, yea, by martyr- dom, if he shall call us to seal the truth of religion with blood.
(3.) And then to acknoidedye him to he owner of us, and one that will receive us dying, as he took notice of us living. And so the words are a privilege as well as a duty. As it is sealed up in the last words, ' whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.' Thus I have unfolded the text.
He first premiseth the general negative : ' No man liveth to himself, no man dieth to himself.' You must apply this to Christians only, that are true professors and members of Christ. For other men, that are not in Christ, and have not the Spirit of Christ, ' they live to themselves, and die to themselves,' and aim at themselves in all things ; and therefore they are not the Lord's. Therefore it is a fearful condition to live and die to ourselves.
Yet you have some kind of men, not only in their particular persons, but in their callings, are all for themselves. Bnt why should I call it calling ; for there is no calling but it is for public good. As an usurer, for whose good is he ? Let all sink or swim, what careth he ? So times hold, and months and years continue, he will have his returns. And such are they that live in a course of oppression, that live by the ruin and spoil of others. But there is a more subtle living to a man's self, as all men do that have not the Spirit of Christ ; they live within that circle, self. The devil keepeth them that they go not out of it ; so that self doth run through all their actions, their civil actions, yea, their religious actions, which are all tainted with self-respects.
Ever since the fall it is so. Man withdraweth himself from God's government, and setteth up himself instead of God, and thought to have a secured happiness from God, in eating the forbidden fruit, and therefore would not depend upon God to be happy. He saw another way to be like God. God hath highest place in our heart by order of creation, and according to the degrees of excellency in things should our esteem of them be, ' everything being beautiful in his place,' Eccles. iii. 11. But where God is put down, — as he is in all men till they be in Christ, — something eelf-love sets up in the heart above God. Hence cometh the necessity of this method of taking us off" from ourselves before we can live to Christ ; because self-love is an impediment and block in the way between us and Christ, heaven and happiness. And therefore Christ begins the gospel with self- denial : ' Whosoever will be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me,' Mat. xvi. 24.