more cost or pains for his own body, than for that of a stranger. It is propriety which naturally draws love, care, and tendernefs along with it; and thefe are ordered by the wildom of providence, for the confervation of the body, which would quickly perich without it.

2. The body is the foul's ancient acquaintance, and intimate friend, with whom it hath affiduously and familiarly conversed from its beginning. They have been partners in each others comforts and forrows. They may say to each other, as Miconius did to his colleague, with whom he had spent twenty years in the government of the Thuringian church: Gurrimus, certavimus, laboravimus, pugnavimus, vicimus, et viximus conjunctifime; We have run, striven, laboured, fought, overcome, and lived moft intimately and lovingly together. Confuetude, and daily converfation, begets and conciliates friendship and love betwixt creatures of contrary natures: Let a lamb be brought up with a lion, and the lion will exprefs a tenderness towards it, much more the foul to its own body.

3. The body is the foul's house, and beloved habitation, where it was born, and hath lived ever since it had a being, and in which it hath enjoyed all its comforts, natural and fupernatural, which cannot but ftrengthen the fouls engagement to it. Upon this account the apostle calls it the foul's home, 2 Cor. v. 6. "Whilft we are at home in the body." It is true, this houfe is not fo comfortable an habitation, that it should be much defired by many fouls; we may fay of many gracious fouls, that they pay a dear rent for the house they dwell in: or as it was faid of Galba, Anima Galbae male habitat, their fouls are but ill accommodated; but yet it is their home, and therefore beloved by them.

4. The body is the foul's inftrument by which it doth its work and bufinefs in the world, both natural and religious, Rom. vi. 13. Through the bodily fenfes it takes in all the natu ral comforts of this world, and by the bodily members it performs all its duties and fervices. When these are broken and laid afide by death, the foul knows it can work no more in that way it now doth, John ix. 4. Eccl. ix. 10. Natural men love their bodies for the natural pleafures, they are inftrumental to convey to their fouls; and fpiritual men, for the ufe and fervice they are of to their own, and other fouls, Phil. i. 23.

5. The body is the foul's partner in the benefit of Chrift's purchases. It was bought with the fame price, I Cor. vi. 20. fanctified by the fame Spirit, 1 Theff. v. 23. interested in the fame promifes, Matth. xxii. 32. and defigned for the fame

glory, Theff. iv. 16, 17. So that we may fay of it as it was faid of Auguftine and his friend Alippius, they are fanguine Chrifti conglutinati, glewed together by the blood of Chrift, And thus of the grounds and reasons of its love.

Infer. I. Is it fo? Learn hence the mighty Arength and prevalence of divine love, which over powering all natural affections, doth not only enable the souls of men to take their separation from the body patiently, but to long for it ardently, Phil. i. 23. While fome need patience to die, others need it as much to live, 2 Thef, iii. 5. It is faid, Rev. xii. 11. They loved not their lives."

And indeed, on these terms they first closed with Chrift, Luke xii. 26. " to hate their lives for his fake," (i. e.) to love them in fo remiss a degree, that whenever they fhall come in competition with Chrift, to regard them no more than the things we hate.

The love of Chrift is to be the fupreme love, and all others to be fubordinate to it, or quenched by it. It is not its own comfort in the body, it principally and ultimately defigns and aims at, but Chrift's glory; and if this may be furthered by the death of the body, its death thereupon becomes as eligible to the foul as its life, Phil. i. 20. Oh! this is an high pitch of grace, a great attainment, to fay as one did, vixere renuo, ut Chrifto vivam; I refufe life, to be with Chrift: Or another, when he was asked whether he was willing to die? anfwered, illius eft nolle mori, qui nolit ire ad Chriftium; let him be loth to die, that is loth to go to Chrift. So, 2 Cor. v. 8. "We are "willing rather to be abfent from the body, and prefent with the "Lord."

It is not every Christian that can arrive to this degree of love, though they love Chrift fincerely, yet they fhrink from death cowardly, and are loth to be gone. There are two forts of grounds upon which chriftians may be loth to be unbodied; 1. Sinful. 2. Allowable.

1. The finful and unjustifiable grounds are fuch as thefe, viz. (1.) Guilt upon the confcience, which will damp and difcourage the foul, and make it loth to die. It arms death with terror, "the fting of death is fin." (2.) Uamortified affections to the world, I mean in fuch a degree as is neceffary to sweeten death, and make a man a volunteer in that sharp engagement with that laft, and dreadful enemy. It is with our hearts as with fuel; if green, and full of fap, it will not burn; but if that be dried up, it catches prefently. Mortification is the drying up of carnal affections to the creature, which is that which refifts death, as green wood doth the fire. (3.) The

weakness and cloudinefs of faith. You need faith to die by, as well as live by, Heb. xi. 13. Allfe died in faith. The lefs ftrength there is in faith, the more in death. A strong believer welcomes the meffengers of death, when a weak one, unlefs extraordinarily affifted, trembles at them.

2. There are grounds on which we may defire a longer continuance in the body, warrantably and allowably: As (1.) to do him yet more fervice in our bodies, before we lay them down. Thus the faints have pleaded for longer life, Pfal. xxx. 9. Pfal. lxxxviii. 11, 12, 13. and Ifa. xxxviii. 18, 19. (2.) To fee the clouds of God's anger difpelled, whether public or perfonal, and a clear light break out e'er we die; Pfal. xxvii. 13. (3.) They may defire, with fubmiffion, to out-live the days of perfecution, and not to be delivered into the hands of cruel men, but come to their graves in peace, Pfal. xxxi. 15. and 2 Thess. iii. 2. that they may be delivered from abfurd men.

3. But though fome Chriftians fhun death upon a finful account, and others upon a justifiable one; yet others there are, who seeing their title clear, their work done, and relishing the joys of heaven, in the prelibations of faith, are willing to be uncloathed, and to be with Chrift. Their love to Christ hath extinguished in them the love of life; and they can fay with Paul, Acts xxi. 13. I am ready. Ignatius longed to come to thofe beasts that were to devour him; and fo many of the primitive Chriftians: Chrift was fo dear, that their lives were cheap, and low-prized things for this enjoyment. And here indeed is the glory and triumph of a Chriftian's faith and love to Chrift: For (1.) it enables him to part chearfully with what he fees and feels, for what his eyes never yet faw, 1 Pet. i. 8. “Whom "having not feen, ye love." (2.) To part with what is dearest on earth, and lies nearest the heart of all he enjoys, for Christ's fake. (3.) To reconcile his heart to what is moft abhorrent and formidable to nature. (4.) To endure the greatest of pains and torments to be with him. (5.) To caft himself into the vaft ocean of eternity, the most amazing change, to be with Christ. Oh the glorious conquests of love!

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Infer. 2. Then the apoftacy of unregenerate profeffors, in times of imminent danger, is not to be wondered at. They will, and muft warp from Chrift, when their lives are in hazard for him. The love of the body will certainly prevail over their love to Christ and religion. Amor meus pondus meum. Self-love will now draw. Love is the weight of the foul, which inclines and determines it, in the competition of interefts, and the predo minant intereft always carries it. Every unregenerate profeffar

loves his own life more than Chrift, prefers his body before his foul; such an one may, upon divers accounts, as education, example, flight comictions of confcience, or oftentation of gifts, fall into a profeffion of religion, and continue a long time in that profeffion, before he visibly recede from Chrift; hope of the refurrection of the intereft of religion in the world; Shame of retracting his profeffion; applaufe of his zeal and conftancy in higher trials, the peace of his own confcience, and many fuch motives, may prevail with a carnal profeffor to endure a while; but, when dangers of life come to an height, they are gone, Matth. xxiv. 8, 9, 10. And therefore our Lord tells us, that they "who hate not their lives, cannot be his difciples," Luke 12, 26. Now will they lofe their lives by faving them, Matth. xvi. 25. and the reasons are plain and forcible: For,

1. Now is the proper season for the predominant love to be difcovered, it can be hid no longer and the love of life is the predominant love in all fuch perfons; for do, but compare it with their love to Chrift, and it will eafily be found fo. They love their lives truly and really, they love Chrift but feignedly and pretendedly; and the real will, and muft prevail over the feigned love. They love their lives fervently and intenfely, they love Chrift but coldly and remifsly: And the fervent love will prevail over the remifs love. Their love to their bodies hath a root in themselves, their love to Chrift hath no root in themfelves, Matth. xiii. 21. And that which hath a root must needs out-laft and out-live that which hath none.

2. Because when life is in hazard, confcience will work in them by way of difcouragement; it will hint the danger of their eternal state to them, and tell them they may caft away their fouls for ever in a bravado; for though the caufe they are called to fuffer for be good, yet their condition is bad; and if the condi tion be not good as well as the cause, a man is loft for ever, though he fuffer for it, 1 Cor. xiii. 3. Confcience, which encourages and fupports the upright, will difcourage and daunt the hypocrite, and tell him, he is not on the fame terms in fufferings that other men are.

3. Becaufe then all the fprings by which their profeffion was fed and maintained, fail and dry up. Now the wind that was in their backs is come about, and blows a ftorm in their faces; there are no preferments nor honours now to be had from religion. Thefe mens fufferings are a perfect furprize to them, for they never counted the coft, Luke xiv. 28. Now they must VOL. III.

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ftand alone, and refift unto blood, and facrifice all visibles for invisibles; and this they can never do.

Oh therefore, profeffors, look to your hearts, try their predominant love; compare your love to Chrift with that to your lives. Now the like question will be put to you, that once was put to Peter, John xxi. 15. "Lovest thou me more than thefe?" What fay you to this? You think now, you do, but, alas your love is not yet brought to the fire to be tried: you think you hate fin, but will you be able to ftrive unto blood against fin? Heb. xii, 4. Will you chufe fuffering rather than fin? Job xxxvi. 21. O try your love to Chrift, before God bring it to the trial. Sure I am, the love of life will make you warp in the hour of temptation; except,

1. You fat down and counted the cost of religion before-hand: if you fet out in proceffion only for a walk, not for a journey; if you go to fea for recreation, not for a voyage; if you be mounted among other proceffors, only to take the air, and not to engage an enemy in fharp and bloody encounters, yoù are gone.

2. Except you live by faith, and not by fenfe, 2 Cor. iv. 18. "Whilft we look not at the things that are feen." You must balance prefent fufferings with future glory. You must go by that account and reckoning, Rom. viii. 18. or you are gone, "Now the juft fhall live by faith;" and if faith do not fupport, your fears will certainly fink you.

3. Except you be fincere and plain-hearted in religion, driv ing no defign in it but to fave your fouls; you may fee your lot in that example, 2 Tim. iv. 1o. "Demas hath forfaken me." O take heed of a cunning, deceitful, double heart in religion; be plain, be open, care not if your ends lie open to the eyes of all the world.

4. Except you experience the power of religion in your own fouls, as well as wear the name of it. O my brethren, it is not a name to live that will do you fervice now. Many ships are gone down to the bottom, for all the brave names of the Success, the Profperous, the Happy Return, and fo will you. There is a knowing of ourselves by taste and real experience, Heb. x. 34. which doth a foul more fervice in a fuffering hour, than all the fplendid names and titles in the world.

5. Except you make it your daily work to crucify the flesh, deny felf for Chrift, in all the forms and interests of it. He that cannot deny himself, will deny Jefus Chrift, Matth. xvi. 24. "Let him deny himself, take up his crofs, and follow me,” elle