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SERMON XVII.

SELF-DENIAL.

MATT. XVI. 24.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

THIS saying of our Lord's, together with the occasion on which it was delivered, is recorded by three out of the four Evangelists. He had been foretelling his shameful death and glorious resurrection. The manner in which this communication was received by his disciples, is passed over by St. Luke; but St. Matthew and St. Mark both inform us, that Peter (utterly at a loss, no doubt, as to what could be meant by the resurrection, but grievously hurt and scandalized at hearing of the crucifixion) "took him" and in his ignorant and officious zeal, began to rebuke him, saying, "Be it far from

thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee." But he (the narrative proceeds) turned and said, "Get thee behind me Satan, thou art an offence unto me; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." That is, when thou wouldest have me shun the sufferings which are ordained for me, thou knowest not what thou art about-thou wouldest have me yield to man's mistaking apprehensions of what is fit and desirable, instead of being guided by the wisdom and will of God; and thus, thou art doing Satan's work, and acting the parţ of an adversary and tempter towards me. And then come the words of the text: in which, according to his usual manner of grounding some saying of general instruction upon review of the impertinent and foolish conduct of those about him, he plainly states the terms or conditions upon which alone we may share the privileges of his kingdom. He was going, through humiliation and sufferings and every thing distasteful to flesh and blood, to glory. " If any man will come after me" (he says) "let him deny

himself, and take up his cross and follow me."

I shall endeavour, by God's assistance,

I. First to explain the meaning of this precept,

II. And then to urge and enforce the obligation to attend to it.

I. And first as to the meaning of the precept, "Whosoever will be saved, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Christ."

To deny ourselves, is to act in contradiction to our own natural appetites and inclination: to take up the cross, is but another expression illustrative or expository of the first. St. Luke adds the word daily; "let him take up his cross daily;" and no doubt the same thing is implied in the words as reported by St. Matthew. The thing required of us, is habitual self-denial in imitation of Christ our Master.

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Our Lord gives this account of himself. came not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me."+ "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." And upon this he acted from the manger to the cross: Not as I will," righteous Father, "but as thou wilt."§

When he was made man, he was "made in all things like unto his brethren," || sin alone excepted. He had all the innocent weaknesses of our nature: the same natural abhor

↑ John vi. 38.

* Luke ix. 23.

† John iv. 34.

§ Matt. xxvii. 39.

|| Heb. ii. 17.

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rence that we have of suffering, whether mental or bodily. Being put into this condition, our salvation was the work assigned him to accomplish; but it proved from first to last, as he knew, before he entered upon it, that it would prove, a work of absolute self-denial. In order to it, he submitted to be born in the low and mean estate of poverty; he had not where to lay his head; he endured perpetual toil; he met with perpetual opposition; he was despised and rejected by those whom he came to bless; reviled, misrepresented, persecuted continually. Had he cared at all to serve or please himself; had it not been his fixed and invariable determination in all things, to make himself a sacrifice; being requited as he was, he would have turned back. Self-love and self-seeking would quickly have resented neglect so blind and gross, opposition so unmerited, calumny, and ill usage, and unthankfulness, and malignity, and scorn, and insult, so base and so unremitting. But he went on bearing the cross: nor did he spend one day as he would have done, had he counted his own ease, or profit, or comfort, or honour, worthy to be put in competition, for an instant, with the good of the souls of men. That God in all things should be glorified, that sinners should be redeemed from death, these were the joint

ends which he kept in view; and he could not be wearied, or provoked to halt or waver in the least, or to cease to press forward in the prosecution of them. Till at length his hour came that he must make the final expiation for his enemies, and he knew what manner of hour it was to be; and his human apprehensions shuddered, and his human frame was agonized at the contemplation of it,-Yet, rise," he says to his disciples, "let us be going," not to flee the suffering but to meet it, "behold he is at hand that doth betray me.' ""* So "he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors."†

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Our part is to imitate, through grace, his devotion and his charity; and in order to do this, to remove out of the way the grand obstacle or hindrance to the discharge of our duty; namely, a self-willed, self-seeking, self-preferring spirit.

Follow Christ, we must; not merely in doing the thing that is right, the thing that is for God's glory, and our brother's benefit, then, and only then, when it may cost us nothing, or cost us little;-but in setting ourselves aside, in foregoing our own present advantage, in submitting readily to present loss or trouble, in

*Matt. xxvi. 46.

+ Isa. liii. 12.