Secondly, That we may live to God, we must aim at the glory of Christ in all things, and at the credit of religion, not at our own credit. If Christ be Lord of the quick and dead, while we live we must not seek our own glory but his. The contrary to this the apostle complains of: ' All seek their own,' saith he, * and not the things that are of the Lord Jesus Christ,' Phil. ii. 21. We must consider what is for the credit of religion and the honour of Christ ; and not what is for our own advantage. Is it not good reason that we should seek the glory of him that is Lord over us ? Naturally proud man is led with a spirit of self-love ; and he seeks himself in all things, even in his religion. So far as it stands with his own lusts he will be rehgious, and no further. So long as God's will is not contrary to his, he will do God service ; but if it cross his will once, then he will give God leave to seek him a servant.
Thus man makes himself an idol ; he sets up himself in the room of God ; he doth all things, as from himself, so for himself ; nor indeed can he do otherwise, till he put off himself wholly, and deny himself — a man cannot go beyond himself but by grace, that raiseth a man above himself. It makes him have an eye to some excellency, out of himself, conformity whereto and interest whereinto will make him happy.
Now that we may aim at Christ in all things, it is good to call ourselves
810 Christ's exaltation
to account for our aims. Whcrcforo wo live and wherefore we have, are, or do anything, cither in grace or nature, it is or shoukl he, not only that we may bo saved ourselves, hut that Christ in all may be glorified. Wo need not sever these ; for Christ joins them both together; and he that seeks his own salvation seeks the glory of God, because God will he glorified in saving us. The end hath a main influence into all actions ; and as it dif- ferenceth man from other creatures, that though he do the same action as a beast, he eats and drinks and sleeps, all for another end, for an end beyond himself, because ho is a reasonable creature, whereas other creatures rest in themselves. So it diilcrenceth between natural men and Christians ; they ditler in their aims, not in their actions. Both do the same thing. One doth it for base ends of his own ; keeps within the circle of those ends. The other having a light discovering excellencies better than the world can all'ord, and having another spiritual life above, he is thereby directed to further aims in all ; yea, even in his civil actions.
Saint Paul gives a rule, that ' whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we should do all to the gloiy of God,' 1 Cor. x. 31. Though tho action be common and civil, not tending directly to the glory of God, as eating, &c., yet our aim should be in it, at Christ and at God, that the body thereby being refreshed may be fit to serve God.
And indeed there is not the commonest action of this life, but we may shew that we have a good end in it, and therein glorify God. Therefore in Scripture it is put as a kind of limitation : ' Obey in the Lord,' ' marry in the Lord,' do all things in the Lord ; that is, in Christ. He shews that we should do all such things, intimating that as we must go about such enterprises with invocation of the name of the Lord, &c., so chiefly we should do them so far, and no farther, as they may stand mth the favour and glor}^ of Christ, In subordinate things, the rule of subordinate things is to do them so far as they may help to the main end. Now the service of all other is subordinate to the service of Christ, and all other bonds are sendceable to the main bond in marriage, or whatsoever may not pre- judice the bond of mai*riage in the Lord ; marry not rich, nor honour- able, but in the Lord. All things must have their limitation to be done in the Lord ; that is, so far as they may stand with pleasing the Lord. Thus we see what it is to live to the Lord with his good pleasure and likening.*
Now an assistant help — of living to the Lord — is a perpetual self-denial of our own wisdom, will, and afiections in all things, else we shall live to ourselves, and to the Lord we shall never attain.
But you will say this is a hard saying. True. But consider this one thing, that we are the greatest enemies to ourselves of all ; and we carry in ourselves a cursed enmity to all that is divine and supernatural. Natu- rally we are trained up to our own will, therefore we cannot endure the yoke of Christ without supernatural strength.
Again, Divine things perju'tiiaUi/ cross the liking of the soul ; whereupon there is an antipathy between us and Christ, and divine things. There- fore there must be self-denial of necessity. Now the knowledge of this will be a good means to enable us to the duty.