SELF-DENIALL Opened and Applyed IN A SERMON BEFORE The Reverend Assembly OF DIVINES On a Day of their private HUMILIATION BY EDWARD REYNOLDS D.D. Minister of the Word of God at Braunston in Northamtonshire and a Member of That ASSEMBLY The Second Edition LONDON Printed by T. Maxey for Robert Bostock at the signe of the Kings Head in Paul's Church-yard 1652. To the Reverend Assembly of DIVINES Brethren and Fathers THis Sermon was preached by your command and in your alone audience nor had it gone further then those wals had not the importunity of many Reverend Brethren amongst your selves urged the Publication of it The Argument of the Sermon taught me to lay aside mine own judgment touching the expediency or seasonablenesse of this action seeing the judgments of so many godly and learned Brethren concur for it I have this advantage and benefit by the publishing of it that I may return some small tribute of thanks for those many grave judicious and learned Debates those many gracious and heavenly excercises that sweet and most delightfull Society whereof I have been made a partaker by sitting amongst you which truly have made my life amidst many great losses and greater infirmities more cheerfull to me then even mine own judgment in such sad and calamitous times could otherwise willingly have allowed it to be Yet it will be a farther accession unto this content if you shall be pleased to accept of this poor part of my labours first preached in your hearing and now submitted to your view from him whose hearts desire and prayer is That the Lord whose you are and whom you serve would prosper all your Labours for the good of his Church and make you happy Instruments of healing the Breaches reconciling the Differences preventing the Confusions and advancing the Peace of his Sion Your most humble servant in the Lord E.R. SELF-DENIAL Opened and Applyed in a Sermon before the Reverend Assembly of DIVINES MATTH. 16. 24. Then said Iesus unto his Disciples If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his crosse and follow me WE may observe of CHRIST that usually when there appeared in him any evidences of humane frailtie lest his servants should thereat bee offended and stumble hee was pleased at the same time to give some notable demonstration of his divine Power hee was born weak and poor as other Infants but attended on by * a multitude of glorious Angels proclaiming him to the Shepherds and by a speciall * Starre leading the wise men to worship him Hee was hungry and Tempted by Satan as other men but by his divine power a he vanquished the enemy and was ministred unto by Angels He was deceived in the fig-tree which he went to for fruit and found none and so shewed the infirmitie of an humane ignorance but withall immediately did b manifest his divine power in drying it up from the roots c He was crucified as the Apostle telleth us in weaknesse and yet withall he did even then manifest himself The Lord of glory by d rending the rocks opening the graves darkning the Sun converting the thief and the Centurion and e so triumphing over principalities and powers On the other side we may observe when holy men in Scripture f have been in any notable manner honoured by God he hath been pleased so to order it that some intercurrent providence or other should fall out to humble them lest they should be too highly exalted in their owne thoughts It was so with g David After his Kingdom setled and great Victories over enemies obtained steps in a great sin which humbled and afflicted him all his life after So with h Hezekiah after he had been raised up by a great deliverance from a potent enemy and a sentence of death hee falls into a sin of pride and vain-glory upon which the Lord revealed unto him his purpose of leading his people and children into captivity and giving up his Treasures into the hands of the King of Babylon which caused him to humble himself for the pride of his heart So with i Paul hee was caught up to the third Heavens and heard unspeakable words and saw visions of the Lord but withall there was given him a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet him left he should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations And so it was with Peter here in this Chapter Hee made a glorious confession of Christ the Messiah Thou art Christ the Son of the living God and Christ highly honoured him for it And I also say unto thee saith Christ Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church Which * though we are to understand principally of the Rock which he had confessed as the Learned expound it yet there is something of * speciall honour therein bestowed upon Peter We read in Scripture of a two-fold foundation of the Church A personall foundation which is but one for other foundation can no man lay then that is laid which is Christ Iesus 1 Cor. 3. 11. And a Doctrinal foundation for the Church is said to be built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Ephes. 2. 20. and so we read of Twelve foundations in the new Jerusalem Revel. 21. 14. Now amongst these as Peter had the precedence in faith to make the first confession of Christ to be the Messiah so hee had the honour to be the first of those twelve Foundations who should first of all plant the Gospel and gather a Church unto Christ after his Resurrection as we finde he did Acts 2. In which respect haply it is that the Gospel of the Circumcision is said to have been committed unto Peter Gal. 2. 7 8. because the Gospel was by Christs appointment to be first of all preached to the Jews who were God's first-born Acts 3. 26. and 13. 46. Exod 4. 22. Now from this time of Peter's Confession Christ to take off all mistakes touching his Kingdom began to acquaint his Disciples with his Sufferings whereat Peter is presently offended and taketh upon him to advise his Master and rebuke him Be it far from thee this shall not be unto thee Hereupon Christ sharply reprehends him It is not now Thou art Peter but Thou art Satan a Tempter an Adversary to the work of Christs mediation for so much the word elsewhere implies Num. 22. 22. 2 Sam. 19. 22. not now a stone for building but a stone of offence Thou savourest not the things of God but the things which are of men that is Thou hast a carnal and corrupt judgment of me and of my Kingdom conceiving of it according to the common apprehensions and expectations of men and not according to the counsell and will of God In this Reprehension there is 1. A personal correption ver. 22. 2. Doctrinall Instruction teaching his Disciples and the people That all they
His end his will his wisdome must be ours As all Rivers run into the Sea and do not stay within themselves and so are kept from being harmfull If the Sun should keep its light the Clouds their rain the Earth its sap unto themselves what use were there of them or benefit by them God hath made all things in such a sweet subordination that each one serving that which is above it self inanimate animate and both man and man God all the services of all the creatures should finally meet and run into God who alone is worthy of all service and obedience Self-depending is when we put confidence for Spirituall ends which respect righteousnesse and salvation in our graces expecting pardon of sin favour with God and finall happinesse from our own duties as the Jews did Rom. 10. 3. And when for other Civill and publick ends wee put confidence in Men Counsels Horses Treasures in an Arm of flesh rising and sinking confiding and drooping or desponding according as second causes doe ebb or flow A sin which in these times wee are too much guilty of and whereby God being so greatly provoked might justly leave us to our selves that when wee finde our selves fatherlesse we might be driven more closely to finde mercy in him It is a sin very injurious to the Love Power Wisdome Mercy Truth of God upon which Attributes of his our confidence should cast anchor For all these are immutable alwayes the same ever equally neer unto us tender of us ready to engage themselves for us And therefore there should not be such changes such risings and fallings in our dependance upon him But wee weak men are like a Ship at anchor though the anchor be fastned unto a sure Rock which moveth not yet the Ship notwithstanding is subject still to tossings and unquietnesse when windes and wayes beat upon it So though our anchor and confidence have a sure and stedfast ground to keep it unmovable yet according to the different aspect of second causes our hearts are too apt to waver and change one while to say with David I shall never be moved and presently upon the turne of things to be faint and troubled againe Therefore wee should pray and labour for a more stable and composed frame of heart Say not one while The enemy is strong now we shall be devoured say not another time The enemy is weak now we shall prevail and have an end of trouble But let us learn to sanctifie the Lord God of Hosts himself in our hearts let him be our fear and let him be our hope when he humbleth us let us fear and yet still trust in him because if we repent and return hee will lift us up for it is all one with him to help whether with many or them that have no power And when hee exalteth us let us rejoyce and yet still tremble because if we be proud and provoke him hee lifteth us up in anger that hee may make our ruine and fall the greater as the Psalmist speaks Thou hast lifted me up and cast me down Let us be the more earnestly exhorted unto the practise of this duty by how much the more necessary it is and foundamental unto salvation for which purpose let us learn and put in use these few brief but excellent Rules 1. To exalt the Word and Counsel of God in our judgements In matters of Faith Worship and Obedience let us fetch our light from him and not lean on our own wisdom nor be wise in our own eyes Prov. 23. 4. Isai. 5. 21. nor suffer natural and carnal reasonings to elude and shift off any Divine truth whereby lust should be restrained and conscience guided 2. To exalt the authority of God in our wills to say as Paul did Lord what wilt thou have me to do This is the great point upon which all duty hangs The principal point in difference between God and sinners is whose Will shall stand his or theirs Cesset voluntas propria non erit infernus said Bernard truly Conquer Will and you conquer Hell 3. To exalt the honour of God in all our aimes Let us be willing that it go well or ill with our selves according as the one or the other doth most make for God's glory and for the advancing of his Name to say as David If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me again and shew me his habitation But if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him do to me as seemeth good unto him 2 Sam. 15. 25 26. To say with Iob cap. 1. 21. as well when he taketh away when he giveth Blessed be his Name To say with Paul Let Christ be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death Phil. 1. 20. It is fitter that he should have his honour then that we should have our ease It may be our prayer that he would glorifie himself in our deliverance but it must be our choice rather not to be delivered then that he should not be glorified If thou wilt Lord be glorified by our deliverance we shall admire and magnifie thy mercy But if thou wilt be glorified by our destruction we must needs adore thy dominion over us and acknowledg thy righteous judgment in proceeding against us Lastly To set up the love of Christ and his Church uppermost in our hearts this love will constrain us and make us willing to be offered up in the publick service to say with Ionah Cast me into the sea so the tempest may be stilled to say with Esther I If perish I perish to say with Paul I will very gladly spend be spent though the more abundantly I love the less I be loved and we are glad when we are weak and you are strong This publick Love will cry down all private interest and make us say to our selves as Elisha to Gehazi Is this a time to receive money and to receive garments and olive-yards and vine-yards and sheep and oxen and men-servants and maid-servants 2 Kin. 5. 16. and as Ieremy to Baruch The Lord is breaking down and plucking up and seekest thou great things for thy self seek them not Ier. 45. 4 5. Certainly that man cannot without great repentance and restitution expect mercy from Christ who so he may promote his own private and sordid ends quocunque modo and make a prey and merchandize of the calamity of his brethren and the times cares not how he defraud spoile devoure suck from the publick into his own Cisterne regards not which way the Church or the State fall back or edge sinke or swim so he may sleep in a whole skin and secure his own stake and fish in troubled waters and with the unjust Steward write down fifty for an hundred and like a Fly suck fatnesse and nourishment unto himself out of the wounds and sores out of the blood and tears out of the ruines and calamities of
other men Surely if ever God's hands were clapped at any dishonest gain if ever the flying roll did seize upon the houses of perjurious robbers to consume the Timber and the Stones thereof if ever the curse of Gehazi did attend upon ill-gotten treasures if ever Salt and Brimstome were spread upon lands purchased with iniquity if ever fire did devour the habitations of injustice if ever a wo did hunt those who increase that which is not their own and build with blood if ever the stone did cry out of the wall and the beam out of the timber answer it if ever the furrows of the field did complain and call for thistles in stead of wheat and cockle in stead of barly such men as these must expect that the wrath of God will mingle gall and bitternesse with such wages of iniquity they are sure never to enjoy them in their lives with comfort nor to leave them at their deaths in peace nor to transmit them to their posterity without a canker and curse The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them Pro. 21. 7. Now then for the quickning of us to this necessary duty there are two notable encouragements in the text 1. It enableth us to take up our cross meekly willingly obediently to accept and bear whatsoever affliction God shall lay upon us The less we value our selves the better able shall we be to digest any troubles that befall us We are not moved at the breaking of an earthen or wodden vessel but if a Diamond or rich Jewel be defaced it doth greatly affect us the more vile we are in our own eyes the more unmoved we shall be when any bruize or breach is made upon us Who am I that I should fret against God or cavill at the ways of his providence that I should think my self wise enough to teach or great enough to swell against the will of my Master why should the servant esteem his back too delicate to bear the burden or his hands too tender to do the work which his Master was pleased to bear and to do before him Did Christ bear a crosse to save me and shall not I do the same to serve him did he bear His the heaviest that ever lay on the shoulders of a man and shall not I bear mine which he by his hath made so light and easie Surely if we could have spiritual apprehensions of things as they are in the eyes of God Angels and good men shame would be esteemed a matter of honor and glorying when it is for Christ The Apostles went away from the presence of the Counsel rejoycing Act. 5. 41. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} that they were honored with dishonor or had the dignity conferred upon them to suffer shame for the name of Christ 2. It enableth us to follow Christ in all duties of obedience When I can say not my will I shall quickly say Thy will be done I shall follow him as a Lord No so necessary a qualification to service as self-denial Christ himself though by the dignity of his person he were free yet being in the form of a servant did not seek nor do his own will but the will of him that sent him Joh. 5. 30. 6. 38. I shall follow him as an example for what he cōmands us to do to the doing thereof he encourageth us by his own example Ioh. 13. 15. Legal obedience is in hearing and doing but Evangelical obedience for the most part is in hearing and imitating 1 Pet. 2. 21. For this end we were predestinated unto this we were called that we might be conformed unto him hear him in all things whatsoever he shall say Act. 3. 22. and follow him wheresoever he shall go Rev. 14. 4. To give up our selves in all things unto his wisdom to counsel and unto his will to command us and in no service of his to confer with flesh or blood This is the highest noblest disposition of a child of God and that wherein he most resembleth Christ to exclude and prescinde all self-respects in every thing wherein his Master is to be served and glorified Self-seeking ever proceeds from lowness of mind The more truly spiritually noble any man is the more publick-spirited for God's honour and the good of Church and State Look among the creatures and you will ever finde that those who live onely to and for themselves are either base or wild mean or tyrannicall Worms caterpillars weezles mice rats live and eat only for themselves this is their basenesse Lions Wolves Leopards Tigers prey and ravine onely for themselves they plow not your land carry not your burdens submit not to your commands this is their wildnesse But the noblest creatures as Sun Moon Stars have spheres of activity wherein they work for the publick good and the more large their sphere the more noble their nature God hath planted a kind of natural self-denial in all creatures Light things will move downward and heavie things will move upward to preserve the compages of nature from a rupture And he hath planted a kind of Morall Self-deniall in very Heathen men whereby they preferre the publick safety and interest above themselves As Pompey answered the man who would have disswaded him from going upon a publick but dangerous Expedition Necesse est ut eam non ut vivam But we are never enough out of our selves till Christ have taken the spoils of us and divided all that is in us unto himself and his Church and enabled us when Satan calls upon Wit to be wanton or scurrilous upon Reason to be proud and hereticall upon Will to be stubborn and froward upon Passion to be disorderly and violent upon Power to be insolent and injurious upon Wisdome to be cunning and crooked upon Learning to be flatulent and aëry upon Wealth to be luxurious upon Greatnesse of minde to be ambitious or the like to answer I am neither Yours nor mine owne I am bought with a price and his I am who so dearly bought me He denyed himself to purchase me I will deny my self to serve him I will not be so unwise as to lose my soule by being unthankful for the saving of it or to forfeit Christ by serving his enemy and so ruine my self I have done with the exhortation which respects us as the People of Christ And come in the last place to the other which concerns us as his Disciples and Ministers It consisteth of two branches 1. That we would pray for 2. That we would practice this excellent duty For motives unto both which let us seriously consider 1. That nothing in the world is more dangerous to the publick welfare of States or Churches then private self-seeking One false tooth or notch in a wheele will spoile the motion of an exquisite instrument One string in a Lute which hath a private tune of its own dissonant and unharmonious to all the rest will corrupt the whole Musick one self-seeker
the civill Law grounded upon cleare reason is this Non id quod privatim interest unius ex sociis servari solet sed quod societati expedit No persons private interest but the common advantage of the society is to be attended And againe In re communi nemo jure quicquam facit altero invito Therefore the Apostle when upon great and weighty reasons he declined in his owne particular to receive maintenance from the Churches of Achata he yet withall writes a whole Chapter to vindicate and assert the just claime of the Ministers of the Gospel unto maintenance lest hee should by a private act of self-deniall necessary hic nunc for him himselfe to exercise prejudice the common and perpetuall interest of all the Ministers of the Gospel Surely if I had a singular opinion in matters not of faith or necessicessity to salvation different from the opinion of all others and had confidence enough to value it and wit enough to plead for it and wisedome enough to manage it unto plausible correspondencies and forehead enough to undervalue the judgement of all other godly men concerning it I hope either modesty or piety would constraine me to learn of the Apostle to have such a perswasion to my self and not by an unseasonable obtruding of it to offend my brethren and to trouble the Church of God I have but three short words more of Exhortation unto us with respect to our service in this reverend Assembly and then I shal conclude and they are that with respect hereunto we would learn to Deny our selves First In our own private Affaires times occasions that we would not suffer these any way to retard or obstruct the publick service The eyes of friends are upon us expecting our haste the eyes of enemies upbraiding and deriding our slownesse the eyes of other Churches abroad looking on us as healers and repairers of breaches in these times of trouble and division and longing to see the fruits of our labours Let these considerations move us not to be weary or faint in our minds but to do our uttermost to discover truth and to recover peace unto these torn and afflicted Churches Secondly In our Speeches and debates Some men have excellent abilities of copious and fluent speaking a felicity which I so much the more honour and admire whereever I finde it by how much the greater mine own inability is of sudden digesting or uttering mine own conceptions Yet considering the necessity of hastning the work which wee have before us I humbly conceive it were fitter to speak a Aristotle then Cicero concise arguments then copious Orations In 〈◊〉 non est canctandi locus quod non potest laudari nisi per actum Lastly in matters of difference if at any time such shall occurre let us chiefly study to deny our selves Passions are seldom friends unto serious affairs having much of mist and darknesse in them The more heavenly the minde is the more calme and serene and the lesse turbid b Inferiora fulminant It is c Homer's commendation of the Eloquence of Ulysses that it was a showre of snow which falls soft but soakes deep whereas violent and hasty raine runs off the ground before it can enter into it Ionah slept Christ slept while the ship was under a tempest I love not Allegories yet give me leave to make this allusion from it Our Propheticall our Christian temper is too much asleep when we are troubled and distempered with passion I conclude all in the words of the Apostle Look not every man on his own things but on the things of others Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Iesus who being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be equal with God and yet he humbled himself and emptyed himself and made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant And being Lord of all became obedient and Lord of Life obedient unto Death and Lord of Glory obedient to the death of the Crosse If our Lord and Master did so deeply deny himself to save and redeem his Church Let it not be grievous unto us to deny our selves to serve and to edifie the Church FINIS * Luk. 2. 13 14 * Matt. 2. 2. a Matt. 14. 11 Vid. Athanas. Interpretat parabol qu. 22. Et Isid. pelut lib. 1. epist. 15. b Mat. 21. 19 c 2 Cor. 13. 4. d Mat. 27. 51 54. e Col. 2. 15. Vid. Parker de descens l. 4. §. 76. f {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Arian Epist. lib. 3. cap. 24. g 2 Sam. 11. h 2 Kin. 20. i 2 Cor. 12. 7. vers. 16. vers. 18. * Aug. Chrysost. Hilarius Vid. Dr. Reynolds Conference with Hast. cap. 2. Divis 1. * Camero tom 2. pag. 50 60. in quarto Vid. Suid. in voce {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Leg. 2. D. de iis qui notantur infamiâ Illo operante cooperamur Aug. de nat. grat c. 31. Non tantum uâ— arbor sit bona scd ut faciat fructus bonos eâdem gratiâ nacessarium est ut adjuvetur de Grat. Christi lib. 1. cap. 19. Velle currere meum est sed ipsum meum fine Dei semper auxilio non erit meum Hieron. â—om 2. epist. 197. Vid. Hospinian de Orig. Monach l. 6. c. 30. de festis lib. 2. cap. 30. Clavis Reg. Sacerd. lib. 8. cap. 7. §. 5. Downham part 4. lib. 1. cap. 4. §. 4. Forte per angustam tenuis vulpecula rimam Repserat in cumeram frumenti c. Hor. cpi. li. 7. Qui docet in opera confidere is negat meritum Christi sufficere Ferus in Act. 15. August Nemo Deo displicet nisi qui sibi placet Ber. de miser Hom. Qui esse vult sibi non tibi nihil esse incipit inter omnia Idem Ser. 20. in Cantic. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Ignat. epist. ad Rom. Serm. 3. de Resurrect Praecrebuerat oriente toto vetus constans Opinio esse in fatis ut eo tempore Iudaeâ profecti rerum potirentur Suct in Vespasiano cap. 4. Quod superest iterum Cinname Tonsor eris Martial Criminibus debent hortos praetoria mensas Juvenal {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Lib. 4. Hist. Eccles. cap. 10. Vide Reuchlin de arte Cabalisticâ Aug. de unitat Eccles. cap. 16. Nunquam verecundiores esse debemus quà m cùm de Deo agitur Sen. Nat. qu. lib. 7. ex Aristotele a Non ita pro nostrâ sententiâ dimicemus ut eam velimus scripturarum esse quae nostra est c. Aug. de Gen ad lit. l. 1. c. 18 b Id potissimum eligamus quod cum sanâ fide concordat ibid. c. 21. l. 83. qu. 64. Illic expositionum adulteratio ubi doctrinae diversitas Tertul. de praescrip cap. 38. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Clem. Alex. strom l. 6. Rom. 11. 13. 1 Tim. 5. 17. Mark 4. 33. Ioh. 16. 12. Heb. 5. 11. 14. 1 Cor. 9. 22. 1 King 22. 13 14. Ier. 1. 17 18. Ezek. 2. 6. Amos 7. 12 14 15. Mark 6. 18. Acts 4. 19. 5. 29. 2 Cor. 12. 15. Gal. 4. 16. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Plutarch in lib de praecept reip. gerend Epiphan. lib. 2. Haeres 68. Leg. 65. §. 5. D. pro Socio L. 28. D. Communi dividendo 1 Cor. 9. a Vt Menelaus {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Iliad {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Tacit. b Senec. Lucan c {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Iliad {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Summam aggressus ut in Ulysse facundiam magnitudinem illi junxit cui orationem nivibus hibernis copiâ verborum atque impetu parem tribuit Quintil. Orat Instit. Lib. 12. cap. 10.