glory in heaven; we know and confider ourselves not as men in the flesh, but as fellow-members of a new fociety, that are to have all our hearts, our tempers, and converfation in heaven.

THUS it is that Christianity has placed us out of, and above the world; and we fall from our calling, as foon as we fall into the tempers of the world.

Now as it was the spirit of the world that nailed our blessed Lord to the cross; fo every man that has the Spirit of Chrift, that opposes the world as he did, will certainly be crucify'd by the world fome way or other.

FOR Chriftianity ftill lives in the fame world that Christ did; and these two will be utter enemies, till the kingdom of darkness it entirely at an end. ·

HAD YOU lived with our Saviour as his true disciple, you had then been hated as he was; and if you now live in his Spirit, the world will be the fame enemy to you now, that it was to him then.

If ye were of the world, faith our bleffed Lord, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chofen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John xv. 19,

WE are apt to lose the true meaning of these words, by confidering them only as an biftorical defcription of fomething that was the ftate of our Saviour and his difciples at that time. But this is reading the Scripture as a dead letter: for they as exactly describe the state of true Chriftians at this, and all other times, to the end of the world.

FOR as true Chriftianity is nothing else but the Spirit of Chrift, fo whether that fpirit appear in the perfon of Chrift himself, or his apoftles, or followers in any age, it is the fame thing; whoever hath his Spirit, will be hated, despised, and condemned by the world, as

he was.

FOR the world will always love its own, and none but its own: this is as certain and unchangeable, as the contrariety betwixt light and darkness.

WHEN the holy Jefus faith, If the world hate you,

he

he does not add by way of confolation, that it may fome time or other cease its hatred, or that it will not always hate them; but he only gives this as a reason for their bearing it, You know that it hated me before it bated you: fignifying, that it was he, that is, his fpirit, that by reason of its contrariety to the world, was then, and always would be hated by it.

You will perhaps fay, that the world is now become Christian, at leaft that part of it where we live; and therefore the world is not now to be confidered in that state of oppofition to Christianity, as when it was heathen.

Ir is granted, the world now profeffeth Chriftianity. But will any one fay, that this Chriftian world is of the fpirit of Chrift? Are its general tempers the tempers of Chrift? Are the paffions of fenfuality, felf-love, pride, covetoufnefs, ambition, and vainglory, lefs contrary to the fpirit of the Gofpel, now they are amongst Chriftians, than when they were amongst heathens? Or will you fay, that the tempers and paffions of the heathen world are loft and gone?

CONSIDER, fecondly, what you are to mean by the world. Now this is fully defcribed to our hands by St. John. All that is in the world, the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eyes, and the pride of life, &c. 1 John ii. 16. This is an exact and full defcription of the world. Now will you fay, that this world is become Chriftian? But if all this ftill fubfifts, then the fame world is now in being, and the fame enemy to Chriftianity, that was in St. John's days.

IT was this world that St. John condemned, as being not of the Father; whether therefore it outwardly profeffeth, or openly perfecuteth Christianity, it is still in the fame ftate of contrariety to the true spirit and holinefs of the Gospel.

AND indeed the world by profeffing Christianity, is fo far from being a lefs dangerous enemy than it was before, that it has by its favours deftroyed more Chriftians, than ever it did by the moft violent perfecution. WE must therefore be fo far from confidering the X

world

world as in a state of lefs enmity and oppofition to Chriftianity, than it was in the first times of the Gofpel, that we must guard against it as a greater and more dangerous enemy now, than it was in those times.

Ir is a greater enemy, because it has greater power aver Chriftians by its favours, riches, honours, rewards and protections, than it had by the fire and fury of its perfecutions.

Ir is a more dangerous enemy, by having loft its appearance of enmity. Its outward profeffion of Chriftianity makes it no longer confider'd as an enemy, and therefore the generality of people are easily perfuaded to refign themselves up to be govern'd and directed by it.

How many confciences are kept at quiet, upon no other foundation, but because they fin under the authority of the Christian world?

How many directions of the Gospel lye by unregarded; and how unconcernedly do particular perfons read them; for no other reafon, but because they seem unregarded by the Chriftian world?

How many compliances do people make to the Christian world, without any hesitation, or remorfe; which, if they had been requir'd of them only by heathens, would have been refus'd, as contary to the holinefs of Christianity?

WHO could be content with feeing how contrary his life is to the Gofpel, but because he fees that he lives as the Chriftian world doth?

WHO that reads the Gofpel, would want to be perfuaded of the neceffity of great felf-denial, humility and poverty of Spirit, but that the authority of the world has banish'd this doctrine of the cross?

THERE is nothing therefore, that a good Chriftian ought to be more fufpicious of, or more conftantly guard againft, than the authority of the Chriftian world.

AND all the paffages of Scripture, which represent the world as contrary to Chriftianity, which require our feparation from it, as from a mammon of unrighte

ousness,

oufnefs, a monster of iniquity, are all to be taken in the fame ftrict fenfe, in relation to the prefent world.

FOR the change that the world has undergone, has only alter'd its methods, but not leffen'd its power of destroying Religion.

CHRISTIANS had nothing to fear from the heathen world, but the lofs of their lives; but the world become a friend, makes it difficult for them to fave their Religion.

WHILST pride, fenfuality, covetoufness and ambition, had only the authority of the heathen world, Chriftians were thereby made more intent upon the contrary virtues. But when pride, fenfuality, covetousness and ambition, have the authority of the Chriftian world, then private Chriftians are in the utmoft danger, not only of being sham'd out of the practice, but of lofing the very notion of the piety of the Gofpel.

THERE is therefore hardly any poffibility of faving your felf from the prefent world, but by confidering it as the fame wicked enemy to all true holiness, as it is reprefented in the Scriptures; and by affuring your felf, that it is as dangerous to conform to its tempers and paffions, now it is Chriftian, as when it was heathen.

FOR only afk your felf, Is the piety, the humility, the fobriety of the Chriftian world, the piety, the humility, and fobriety of the Christian fpirit? If not, how can you be more undone by any world, than by conforming to that which is Chriftian?

NEED a man do more to make his foul unfit for the mercy of God, than by being greedy and ambitious of honour? Yet how can a man renounce this temper, without renouncing the spirit and temper of the world, in which you now live?

How can a man be made more incapable of the fpirit of Chrift, than by a wrong value for money; and yet how can he be more wrong in his value of it, than by following the authority of the Chriftian world?

NAY, in every order and ftation of life, whether of learning or business, either in Church or State, you can

X 2

not

not act up to the fpirit of religion, without renouncing the most general temper and behaviour of thofe, who are of the fame order and business as your self.

AND though human prudence feems to talk mighty wifely about the neceffity of avoiding particularities, yet he that dares not be fo weak as to be particular, will be often oblig'd to avoid the most substantial duties of Christian piety.

THESE reflections will, I hope, help you to break through those difficulties, and refift thofe temptations, which the authority and fashion of the world hath rais'd against the practice of Chriftian humility.

CHAP. XVII.

Shewing how the education which men generally receive in their youth, makes the doctrines of humility difficult to be practis'd. The spirit of a better education, reprefented in the character of Paternus.

A

Nother difficulty in the practice of humility, a rifes from our education. We are all of us, for the most part, corruptly educated, and then committed to take our courfe in a corrupt world; fo that it is no wonder, if examples of great piety are fo feldom feen.

GREAT part of the world are undone, by being born and bred in families that have no religion; where they are made vicious and irregular, by being like those with whom they firft liv'd.

BUT this is not the thing I now mean; the education that I here intend, is fuch as children generally receive from virtuous and fober parents, and learned tutors and governors.

HAD we continued perfect, as God created the first man, perhaps the perfection of our nature had been a fufficient felf-inftruction for every one. But as fickness and difeafes have created the ne ceffity of medicines and

phyficians,