one inwardly, and Circumcifion is that of the Heart, in the Spirit and not in the Letter, whofe Praife is not of Men, but of God.

DISCOURSE V.

The Nature and Advantage of SelfDenial.

MAT. xvi. 24.

Then faid Fefus unto his Difciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself.

T

HESE Words exhibit to us a Duty, which, at the first Proposal, bids as fair for our Affent, and carries as much Conviction with it, as any we are concerned in. The leaft Reflection will inform us, that the human Nature wants Guidance and Direction, Re

ftraint

straint and Discipline; and if indulg'd in all its Appetites, and all their Degrees, must be greatly disordered, if not immediately diffolved.

But notwithstanding this ready Affent to the Duty of Self-Denial in general, when we we come to inquire into the particular Exercise of it, we find our felves involv'd in great Difficulties. We feel our felves press'd with a natural and neceffary Love of our felves, which it is not in our Power to divest our felves of: The Love of our own Being, Perfection and Happiness, is interwoven with our Being it felf; Senfe and Consciousness are not nearer to us; and when we examine this our moft Domestick Instinct, we cannot but approve it entirely. The Preservation of our Being, and the Increase of our Perfection and Happiness, are manifeftly our highest Duty and fupreme Intereft. What can make us amends for the Lofs of our

Being, what valuable Exchange can we make for Happiness?

At the fame time as Self-love is thus highly reasonable and abfolutely neceffary, Self-denial must be confess'd to be so too.

How far this neceffary, this reasonable Instinct ought to be reftrained or encouraged; (for it neither can nor ought to be cancelled or ftruck out of our Composition) where to fix the exact Limits or Boundaries of it, feems to be a Business, not only of great Importance, but of uncommon Delicacy and Niceness.

Now as a general and confused Conviction of a Duty, without a certain, and definite Application of it in Practice, can ferve only to perplex our Minds, and render us unstable in our Manners; so I cannot better employ the present Occafion, than in endeavouring to state the Grounds and Reafons of Self-Denial, from whence the

Limits and Boundaries of it will appear; which being known, we need no longer fight, as those who beat the Air, but walking in the Light, may make straight Paths to our Feet.

Self-Love then, as was before obferved, is a neceffary and reasonable Principle; 'tis our highest Duty and supreme Interest to seek our highest Perfection and Happiness; a Duty, which no Cafe or Confideration whatfoever can interfere with. To fuppofe any Being, under Obligations to destroy it felf, or neglect its own Happiness, is to charge the Author of Nature with Inconfstency and Cruelty, and is the highest Reflection on the divine Wisdom and Goodness.

This being allowed, the Duty of Self-Denial can stand only upon this Ground: It fupposes and implies, that we are apt to love our felves irregularly, to mistake our true Happiness, to pursue things as agreeable or good,