rtó THE PRIVILEGE, OF THE rSERM. Rt. and offence to practise a glorious duty, andenjoy a plea- sure which the blessed in heaven cannot taste ? VII. Self-denial and mortification of sin, belongs also to this life alone. It is the first lesson in the school of Christ, to deny ourselves daily, if we will be his disciples; .Lulee ix. 23. but it is the lesson of the school and not of the palace ; a lesson for earth and not for heaven ; fot in the world above, our duty is all delight, and there is no need of contradicting our own pleasure, or our interest, in order to please or serve our God, or our brother: In those holy regions every part of our work is congenial to our sanctified natures, and with resistless appetite and inclination we shall pursue all the duties that belong to that happy state. Nor are there any sins to be mortified there : The body of death is buried with the body of flesh in the grave, and earth is the place where the members of it must be put to death. iliortifij your members which are capon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate af- fection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idól'atry; Col. iii 5. Let us be daily engaged in the zealous practice of this duty, and subdue all the unruly appetites that make an assault upon our virtue, that de= file our consciences, and subdue our peace. Now, now is the time to set ourselves at wórk to fight against our vicious inclinations and our irregular desires : Now let us multiply our victories over sin and self. Earth is the field of battlewith sin: In heaven our desires shall all be pure and holy, there is no sinful wandering appetite, no perverse affection ; no irregular thought or wish amongst all the saints above; There is no contest with indwelling corruptions, no such conquests are to be gained in 'all that holy and happy world. There are no new honours of this kind to be given to Jesus, the Captain of our Sal- vation, nor any new triumphs to be obtained over sin, to the glory of divine grace. Come then, let us bestir our- selves, and awake to the battle ; let us bravely resist the workings of flesh and blood, by the aids of the blessed Spirit; let us be strong in the grace that is iñ Christ Je= sus, and maintain the glorious warfare, like soldiers who fight for the honour of their general, and who hope for a crown of immortality. {If this Sermon be too long, it may be divided here.}
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