No Cross, No Crown. William Penn

his service and glory, which is the true life and obedience of the cross of Jesus; narrow still, but before an unbeaten way. For when there was none to help, not one to open the seals, to give knowledge, to direct the course of poor man's recovery, He came in the greatness of his love and strength; and though clothed with the infirmities of a mortal man, being within fortified with the almightiness of an immortal God, He travelled through all the straits and difficulties of humanity, and first, of all others, trod the untrodden path to blessedness.

      V. O come! let us follow Him, the most unwearied, the most victorious captain of our salvation; to whom all the great Alexanders and mighty Cæsars of the world are less than the poorest soldier of their camps could be to them. True, they were all great princes of their kind, and conquerors too, but on very different principles. For Christ made himself of no reputation, to save mankind; but these plentifully ruined people to augment theirs. They vanquished others, not themselves; Christ conquered self, that ever vanquished them; of merit therefore the most excellent Prince and Conqueror. Besides, they advanced their empire by rapine and blood, but He by suffering and persuasion; He never by compulsion, they always by force prevailed. Misery and slavery followed all their victories, his brought greater freedom and felicity to those he overcame. In all they did they sought to please themselves; in all He did he aimed to please his Father, who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

      It is this most perfect pattern of self-denial we must follow, if ever we will come to glory; to do which let us consider self-denial in its true distinction and extent.

      VI. There is a lawful and unlawful self: and both must be denied for the sake of him, who in submission to the will of God counted nothing dear that he might save us. And, though the world be scarcely in any part of it at that pass as yet to need that lesson of the denial of lawful self, that every day most greedily sacrifices to the pleasure of unlawful self; yet to take the whole thing before me, and for that it may possibly meet with some that are so far advanced in this spiritual warfare as to receive some service from it, I shall at least touch upon it.

      VII. The lawful self which we are to deny, is that conveniency, ease, enjoyment, and plenty, which in themselves are so far from being evil, that they are the bounty and blessings of God to us, as husband, wife, child, house, land, reputation, liberty, and life itself; these are God's favours, which we may enjoy with lawful pleasure and justly improve as our honest interest. But when God requires them, at what time soever the lender calls for them or is pleased to try our affections by our parting with them; I say, when they are brought in competition with him, they must not be preferred, they must be denied. Christ himself descended from the glory of his Father, and willingly made himself of no reputation among men, that he might make us of some with God; and, from the quality of thinking it no robbery to be equal with God, he humbled himself to the poor form of a servant; yea, the ignominious death of the cross. (Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7, 8.)

      VIII. It is the doctrine he teaches us in these words, "He that loveth father or mother, son or daughter, more than me, is not worthy of me." (Matt. x. 37.) Again, "Whoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple." (Luke, xiv. 33.) And he plainly told the young rich man that if he would have eternal life, he should sell all and follow him; (Mark, x. 21, 22;) a doctrine sad to him as it is to those that, like him, for all their high pretences to religion, in truth love their possessions more than Christ. This doctrine of self-denial is the condition to eternal happiness, "He that will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." (Matt. xvi. 24.)

      IX. This made those honest fishermen quit their lawful trades and follow him, when he called them to it, and others that waited for the consolation of Israel to offer up their estates, reputations, liberties, and also lives, to the displeasure and fury of their kindred and the government they lived under for the spiritual advantage that accrued to them by their faithful adherence to his holy doctrine. True, many would have excused their following him in the parable of the feast: some had bought land, some had married wives, and others had bought yokes of oxen, and could not come; (Luke, xiv. 18, 19, 20;) that is, an immoderate love of the world hindered them: their lawful enjoyments, from servants became their idols; they worshipped them more than God, and would not quit them to come to God. But this is recorded to their reproach; and we may herein see the power of self upon the worldly man, and the danger that comes to him by the abuse of lawful things. What, thy wife dearer to thee than thy Saviour! and thy land and oxen preferred before thy soul's salvation! O beware, that thy comforts prove not snares first, and then curses: to overrate them, is to provoke him that gave them to take them away again: come, and follow him that giveth life eternal to the soul.

      X. Woe to them that have their hearts in their earthly possessions! for when they are gone, their heaven is gone with them. It is too much the sin of the greatest part of the world, that they stick in the comforts of it. And it is lamentable to behold how their affections are bemired and entangled with their conveniencies and accommodations in it. The true self-denying man is a pilgrim; but the selfish man is an inhabitant of the world: the one uses it, as men do ships, to transport themselves or tackle in a journey, that is, to get home; the other looks no further, whatever he prates, than to be fixed in fulness and ease here, and likes it so well, that if he could, he would not exchange. However, he will not trouble himself to think of the other world, till he is sure he must live no longer in this: but then, alas! it may prove too late; not to Abraham, but to Dives he may go; the story is as true as sad.

      XI. But on the other hand, it is not for nought that the disciples of Jesus deny themselves; and indeed, Christ himself had the eternal joy in his eye: "For the joy that was set before him," says the author to the Hebrews, "he endured the cross;" (Heb. xii. 2;) that is, he denied himself, and bore the reproaches and death of the wicked; and despised the shame, to wit, the dishonour and derision of the world. It made him not afraid nor shrink, he contemned it; and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. And to their encouragement, and great consolation, when Peter asked him, what they should have that had forsaken all to follow him, he answered them, "Verily I say unto you, that ye, which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," (Matt. xix. 27–29,) that were then in an apostacy from the life and power of godliness. This was the lot of his disciples; the more immediate companions of his tribulations, and first messengers of his kingdom. But the next that follows is to all: and "every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." It was this recompense of reward, this eternal crown of righteousness, that in every age has raised, in the souls of the just, a holy neglect, yea, contempt of the world. To this is owing the constancy of the martyrs, as to their blood, the triumph of the Truth.

      XII. Nor is this a new doctrine; it is as old as Abraham. (Gen. xii.) In several most remarkable instances, his life was made up of self-denial. First, in quitting his own land, where we may well suppose him settled in the midst of plenty, at least sufficiency: and why? Because God called him. Indeed this should be reason enough, but such is the world's degeneracy that in fact it is not: and the same act, upon the same inducement, in any now, though praised in Abraham, would be derided. So apt are people not to understand what they commend; nay, to despise those actions, when they meet them in the people of their own times, which they pretend to admire in their ancestors.

      XIII. But he obeyed: the consequence was, that God gave him a mighty land. This was the first reward of his obedience. The next was, a son in his old age; and which greatened the blessing, after it had been, in nature, past the time of his wife's bearing of children. (Gen. xxii. 2.) Yet God called for his darling, their only child, the joy of their age, the son of a miracle, and he upon whom the fulfilling of the promise made to Abraham did depend. For this son, I say, God called: a mighty trial: that which, one would have thought, might very well have overturned his faith, and stumbled his integrity; at least have put him upon this dispute in himself. This command is unreasonable and cruel; it is the tempter's, it cannot be God's. For, is it to be thought that God gave me a son to make a sacrifice of him? that the father should be butcher of his only child? Again, that he should require me to offer up the son of his own promise, by whom his covenant is to be performed; this is incredible. I say, thus Abraham might naturally enough have argued,