they should have said, What! are we all unconverted and ungodly? Shall none be saved but a few such as you?' Self was not able to bear this doctrine, they would have had his life for it.,

7. Again, let but a minister or a private Christian deal closely with ungodly men or hypocrites about their particular sins, by private reproof, and see whether self be not lord and king in them. O how scurvily they will look at you! and their hearts do presently rise against you with displeasure, and they meet you with distaste and passion, and plead for their sins, or at least excuse or extenuate them; or bethink themselves what they may hit you in the teeth with of your own. Or if malice itself can fasten nothing on you, they let fly at professors, or those that they think are of your mind and way. In a word, they shew you that they take it not well that you meddle with them, and let not their sin alone, and look to yourselves, for all that God hath expressly commanded us, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him;" Lev. xix. 17. And, " Exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, lest any be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin;" Heb. iii. 13. So Matt. xviii. 15, 16. Try but plain dealing with your neighbours one twelvemonth, with as much prudence, and love, and lenity as will stand with faithfulness; and when you have done, I dare leave it to yourselves to judge, whether God or self have the more servants in the world, and whether selfdenial and sanctification be not very rare.

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8. Yet further, you see it is the duty of Christians to admonish and faithfully reprove one another; but because most men take it ill, and plain dealing will displease and lose a friend, how few even of professors will be brought to perform it! yea, of those that expect a minister should reject the offender, when it cannot be done till after admonition, and impenitency thereupon. No, this is a troublesome duty, and self will not give them leave to do it.

9. Moreover, you know that church-government and discipline is an undoubted ordinance of Christ, which the church hath owned in every age; (though in the execution some have been negligent, and some injurious;) and that open, scandalous sins must have open confession and repentance, that the ill effects may be hindered or healed, and the

church see that the person is capable of their communion, and that the absolution may be open and well grounded. And yet let any man (except the truly penitent and godly) be called, after a scandal, to such a necessary confession, and how hardly are they brought to it! What cavilling shall you have against the duty! They will not believe that it is their duty; not they! And why so? is it because it is not plainly required by God? No, but because it tends (they think) to their disgrace; and self is against it: and when you have shewed them such reasons for it that they cannot answer; yet, the sum is, they will not believe it; or if they believe it, they will not do it. What! will they make themselves the laughing-stock and talk of the country? No, they will never do it; and it is an injury, they think, for God or man to put them upon it. God commands, and self forbids; God bids them yield, lest they perish in impenitency; self bids them not to yield, lest they shame themselves before men: God persuadeth, and self dissuadeth, and which is it that most commonly prevails? (Though to avoid the shame of excommunication, self also will sometimes make them yield.) Did but the magistrate by a penalty of ten or twenty pounds upon refusers, persuade them to this, not one of a hundred would then refuse; but when God urgeth them with the threatening of hell, the wages of impenitency, they make little or nothing of it: as if they could escape it by not believing it, or some way or other could deal well enough with him. Judge by the performance of this one duty, whether God or self have more disciples.

10. Lastly, let me instance in one duty more. Suppose a deceitful tradesman, or oppressing landlord, or any one that gets unlawfully from another, is told from the word of God that it is his duty to make restitution, either to the person, or to his posterity, (or to God by the poor, if neither can be done ;) and to give back all that ever he thus unjustly came by, though he had been possessed of it (without disgrace) never so long: see what entertainment this doctrine will have with the most. Self will not lose the prey that it hath got hold of, till death shall wring it out of its jaws, and hell make them wish they had never meddled with it, or else had penitently and voluntarily restored it. O what abundance of objections hath self against it! and no answer will satisfy from God or man. Of a thousand unjust getters, how

many do restore, and say as Zaccheus, "Behold Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold?" Luke xix. 8.

Nay, let us instance in a duty of lesser self-denial, than this of restitution. If two do but fall out, and one give railing words to the other; or if one slander his neighbour and do him wrong; though it be undoubtedly the will of Christ that he penitently ask him forgiveness that he hath wronged (Luke xvii. 4.), yet proud-hearted, selfish men will refuse it. What! will they stoop to such a fellow, and ask him forgiveness (especially if it be their inferior)? No, they scorn it; never talk to them of it more; they will never do it. And why so? would not God have them do it? Hath not he said, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted?" Yea, but what tell you them what God saith, and what Scripture saith, as long as self, and flesh, and pride are against it. Judge now by these ten duties that I have named, whether God or self be king with most.

CHAPTER VII.

Men's exceeding Tenderness of self in case of any Suffering.

4. ANOTHER discovering instance of the dominion of self, and the scarcity of self-denial, is,' The exceeding tenderness of ourselves in any case of suffering, and the great matter that we make of it, and our displeasure against all that are the causes of it, be it never so just.' I shall here also give you some more particular instances.

1. When did you ever see an offender (at least very few) that justified the judge, and heartily confesseth that his punishment is due (unless some few at the gallows, when the sight of death takes down their pride)? But at most, every one that suffereth for his fault doth repine at it, and at them that caused it, and think they have wrong, or are hardly dealt with. If all the swearers, cursers, profaners of the Lord's day, drunkards, or ale-sellers that harbour them, or are otherwise guilty, were accused by their neighbours, and punished by the magistrate but according to the law, howmany of all these are there that would not be displeased with the

accusers and with the magistrate, and think himself wronged, and bear them a grudge in his mind that did it? And why so? Is it not just and according to the laws of God and man? Must we make a stir in choosing parliament-men? and must they sit there month after month, and use their utmost skill and diligence to make such laws as are necessary for the common good, and when all is done, must not these laws be executed? Why then it were better spare the parliament-men the labour of sitting about them, and ourselves the trouble of choosing us parliament-men, than do all this for nothing. What! is every ale-seller, or drunkard, or swearer, or profane person, wiser than all the parliament and the prince, or are they all better, and juster, and honester than they? No; but it is self that stands up against all. It is in vain to tell them of kings, or parliaments, or laws, or common good, as long as you go about to cross the flesh, and trouble them in their private interest; set but self against all, and all goes down before it as nothing. There is scarce a thief or a murderer that is hanged, but thinks he hath hard measure, because it is against himself.

2. Nay, it is not only penalties, but words, that men are very sensible of, if they be but against themselves. An angry or disgraceful speech. or any contempt or disrespect, doth seem a great matter against them; and they have aggravations enough to lay upon it. So tender are they of themselves, that you may see how little they deny themselves.

3. Yea, God's own corrections do seem so heavy to them, that they murmur and are impatient under them. A little loss or cross to self doth lie as a mountain on them. Poverty, or sickness, or disgrace, or troubles, do make them complain as if they were almost quite undone and all this shews how little they have learned to deny themselves.

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CHAPTER VIII.

The Partiality of Men's Practical Judgment in their own Case.

5. ANOTHER discovering instance of the dominion of self, is, 'The strange partiality of men's practical judgments when the cause is their own, and the equity of their judgments when the case is another man's.'

For particular instances of this, you may take up those that were mentioned before. I will give you but a few.

1. Take but a dull and backward minister (for I know you will expect that I begin next home), and he that is most averse to particular instruction, and discipline, and selfdenying duties, will be content that another man should perform them, and will commend and extol him for a worthy man; except he perceive that another's diligence disgraceth his selfishness and negligence, and then indeed he may possibly repine at it.

2. A man that will not come near us to be instructed or catechized, will yet let his children or servants come. Why what is the matter? Doth he more regard their salvation than his own? or hath he not a soul to save or lose as well as they? and hath he not need of teaching? Yes; but they are not himself: if they learn a catechism, it is no trouble to him if their ignorance be opened, he takes it to be less dishonour to him than if he shew his own. He can yield to their submission without self-denial, but not to his

own.

3. Take a common glutton or drunkard that cannot forbear, but must needs have that which the flesh desires, and they can be content that another man be temperate and sober; and if a neighbour should have the cup before him as they have, or a provocation to their appetite, they could be content that they let it alone; yea, they can tell them that it is the best way, and give them good counsel; and yet when the case is their own, it is otherwise. I bave known drunkards that would persuade their children to take heed of it, and swearers that would whip their children for swearing, and persons that would not read or pray, that would be content to have their children do it. And why is all this 2 Why that which goes by their own throats, must cost them self-denial in the displeasing of their greedy appetites; but that which goes by the throat of another doth cost them nothing: self is not so much against their children's abstinence and reformation as their own.

4. The same magistrate that will not trouble himself and displease his neighbours, by suppressing alehouses and punishing vice, will perhaps be content if it were done by another; so that self might have none of the trouble and ill will.