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Show iS4 11>68. 'i../"V'-.J Chap. Ill. Mark7.n, 22, 23• No CROSS, NQ CROWN. Voi.. I. C H A P. III. §. 1. What the Crofs of Chrifl is? .A. J!'igurotive Spttch, hut trill], t1't. D~" ine P(»tttr, tb:J lfJOfli.fou t6e WorU. §. ~. /J" {t~ u0t41t} 1~ ~p4jlk Paul 10 tbf Connthl· ans. §. 1• Wbtrt ir is1be Croft Appurs ad , .. jt bt born 1. W1thm, w6trt ~he Lu{h ~reo, thfrt :f{h7nuJ~o::;u;le:~~. §&~' ,!JP:;::n:~h:·::;e":l~:t :t:fl:~:t~~~ C,~fb:ff:;~~~:· s.0 ; :;:;.t ~:t;;~t;0b: \~~~~: 1./:"J::fj:jl:d ~i;~~d jJ~b;~gb{ ~~~::~,.Plt§!u~: ~hi!}~!: the Difficult,ft Jtr rbe Neteffi!J of tbt Cr~Js. T HE Daily Crofr being then, and fiill, 0 Cbriflendom, the Way to G!IJry; that the fucceeding Matter, which wholly relates to the Doflrine of it, may come with moft Evidence and Advantage upon thy Confciencc, it is moft ferioufiy to be confidercd by thee, Firft, What the Cro{s of Chrifl is? SeCondly, Where the Crofs of Cbrift is to be taken up? Thirdly, How, and after wbat Manner it is to be born? Fourthly, What is the grettt Work and B11jinejs of the Crofs? In which The Sins it Crucifies, wirh the Mifchiefs that attend them, will be at large expre!S'd. Fifrhly and Lal!ly, 1 flnll add many Teftimonies from Living and Dying Perfons, of great Reputation either for their !<._11ality, Learmng, or Piuy, as a Genera! Confirmation of the whole Tratl:. To the Firft, What i~ the Crofs of Cbrifl? . §. I. The Crofs of Cbrifl is a Figurative Speech, borrowed from the out· ward Tree, or TVooJen Ct·ofs, on which Cbrifl j11bmittcd to the Will of Gcd, in permitting him tv J11jftr Death at the Hands of evil .A-len. So that rhe Crofs My.flieal is that Divine GrAct ar.d Power, wbicb cro.D'etb tbc C'arnal Wills uf 1nen, and tivts a ContradiOion to their corrupt JJ.ffe8ions, and that conjla1zt!y oppoJub it Jeif to the Inordinate_ nnd Flejh!y .Appe,;te of their .lt1tnds, and fo may he jujl/y ttrmed the ln/1rument of JUan's holy Dying to the World, and being mnde conformable to t~e Will of Gc,d. For nothing elfc can monifie Sin, or make it eafie for us to fubmit to the Divine Will, in Things otherwife very contrary to our own. §. II. The Preaching of the Crofs therefore in Primitive Times was fitly cal1ed by Pnul (rhat famous and lkilful Apoftle in Spirirual Thing•) the PorJJtr of God, rho' to them that perifh, then, as now, Foolijhnrfs. That is, to thofe that were truly weary and heavy laden, and needed a Deliverer; to whom Sin was burdenfome and odious, the Preaching of the Croft, by which Sin was to be mortified, was, as ro them, the Power of God, or :1 Pre:~.ching of the Divine Power, by which they were made Difciplei of Chrift, and Children of God : And it wrought fo powerfully upon them, that no proud or licentious Mockers could put them out of Love with it. But to thofe that walk'd in the BToad Way, in the full Latitude of their Lufts, and dedicated their Time and Care to the Pleafure of their Corrupt ~ppetites, to whom all Yoke and Btid!e were and are intolerable, the Prenclr wg of the Crofs was, and is, ,Foolijln:ejJ: To which I may add, ·in the N:1rne but of too many now-a-days, and the Pratl:ice RiJiculo1u; embrac'd by none, if they may be believed, but halfwitted People, of flingy and fin.(ular Tempers, nffelleJ with the Hypocondry, and opprtjs'd ~lth the Power oj Melancholy. For .all this, and more, is beftowed upon the Life of the Bleffed 'crt~fJ of Cbrift, by the very Profeffors and pretended Admirers of ir in the Perfoos of rhofe that truly be11r it. ' §. III. lVell, But then where dou tbif Crofs appear, ami m11/1 it be to-hn up? , I anfwer, WitlJin: That is, in the Heart and Soul ; for where the Sin is, the Croft muft be. Now, all Evil comes from within : This Chrill taught. From within (faith Chri!t) Out of tbt Htnrt of Mrn promd Euil T/m]J:J. VoL. I. No CROSS, No CROWN. Adulteries, Fornic11tions, Murdtrs; Thefts, Covetoufntfl, Wickedntfs, De· !668. teit, Lafcivi~ufntj~, ~n evil Eye, B!t'.fphemy, Pride, Foolijhnrfl: Ji/J tbt[c L .... r-y----.J Evils come from wuhm, and defile the Man. 1 Ch:1p. Ill.· The Heart of M:tn is the Seat of Sin, and where he is defiled, ~e mull: be SanB:i6ed; and where Sin lives, there it muft dye: It mufi be crucified. Cuftom in Evil hath made it Narural to Men to do Evil; and as the Soul rules the Body, fo this corrupt Nature fways the whole Man: But ftill, 'tis all from within. • . §. IV. Experience teache• every Son and Daughrcr of AJnm an Affent to tbis; for the Enemy's Temptations are ever direlted to the !Hind, which is within : If they take not, the Soul fins not ; if th~ are embrac'd, Luft is prefently t?nceiye~, (that~. inordinate pefires) Lu (onceived, b:ings forth Jlroes 1.11J Sin; and Stnfinijhd, (that lS, :tCled) brmgs forth tat b. Here lS both the Caufe and the E.ffe£1, the very Genealogy of Sin, irs Rife and End. In all this, the Heart of evil Man is the DevWs Mint, hi.s Work.·Houf(, the Place of his Rejidence, where he exercifes his Power and Arr •. And there-fore the Redemption of the Soul is aytly called, Tbc Dcftruflidn of the 1 John 3• S. WorRs of the Droit, ond bringing in of Everlflfiing Righreoufnrfr. '¥hen the JewJ would have defam'd Chrift's Miucle of CufiiTig out Devils, by a Blafphemous Imputation of it to the Power of Beelzebub, he fays, That no Mark 1t 27; ft1an con enter into a ftrong Man's HouJe, and Jpoil hi1 GooJr, rill he jirfl 6ind the ftrong Man. Which, as it ibews the Comrariety thar was be(weeft Bulzebub, and the Power by which he difpoffefs'd him; fo it teaches us tQ know, that the Souls of the Wicked are the Devil's Houfe, and that his Goods, his evil Workr, can never be dell:royed, till firft he thar wrought them, and keeys the Haufe, be hound. All whch makes it eafie to know~ ahen the Crojs mutt be taken up, by which alone the/.rong Man mufi be bound, his Goods fpoil'd, and his Temptations refifie , this ls, within, in the Heart of Man. · §. V. But in the next Place, How, and in whqt M11nnrr is tbe Crofs to he Jaily horn? The Way; like the Crofs, is Spiritual: Th:Jt is, .An inward Submi./]ion of the Soul to the Will of God, tU it is manifcfled hy the Light o/ Chrift in tbe Confciences of .Men; though it be contrary to their own Inclinations. For Example: When Evil prefents, That which fhews the Evil, does alfo tell them, They fh.ould not yield to it; and if they clofe with it's Counfd, it gives them Power co efcape it. But they that look and gne u·pon the Temptation, at lafi fa11 in with it, and' are overcome by ir; the Confequence of which is Guilt and J udgmenr. Therclore as the Crofs of Chrijl, is that Spirit and Power in Men, though not ot'M.en, hut of God, which croffeth and reproveth their Flelhly Lulls and Affeaions: So the Way of raking llp the Crofs, is an intire Refignarion of Soul to the Difcoveries and Rcquirings of it: Not to confult their Worldly Pleafure, or Carnal Eafe, or Intereft, (for fuch are captivated in a Moment) but continually to watch againft the very Appearances-of Evil, and by the Obedience of Faith, that i1, of true Love to, and Confidence in God, chearfully to offer up, to the Death of the Crofs, that Evil Part\ that ]11dar jn themfelves, which, not enduring the Heat of the Siege, ana being impatient in the Hour of Temp_~ lotion, would, by its near Relation to the Tempter, more eafily betray .the1r Souls into his Hands. §. VI. 0 this Chews to every Experience, how hard ir is to be 3./f'lle !Jif. ciple of ]ejt1:~! The Way is narrow indeed, and the Gate very. flrmgbt, , where not a Word, no not a Tho11gbt muft flip the Wntch, or efcnpe ]11dg- ~;4·42. ment: Such Circumfpe8ion, fuch Caution, fuch Patience, fuch C.onjlancy, ch: 26~ ~t_ fuch Holy Fear and Trembling. This gives an eafie Inrerpreration to that 4~. · hard faying, Flefo and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God: Thofe that Phil.. 2. 1at are caprivarcJ wirh Flefhly Lufts and Affetl:ions; for they cannot bear the· Crofs; arrd they that cannot endure the Crif.r, muft never have the Crown. ~ ~.3;~·"~ To reign, •ris nece.f!ary firit to fhfrer. , .n * c;: H J\ P. |
