the saints themselves to be hypocrites, deceivers, fools, weak, despised, a spectacle to the world, yea, as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things; so must the believer esteem the world, as seeming to be what it is not, as a weak and insufficient thing, as the Teρualάguata kái TávτWV Tεpinμα, 1 Cor. iv. 11-13, the very filth of the streets that is swept away, or cast upon the dunghill; or as a thing devoted to death for the averting of an imminent judgment. Paul's judgment is in a prevalent degree the judgment of every gracious soul; "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ: yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ;" Phil. iii. 7, 8. Were the world but thus conceived of by a practical judgment, it were half crucified already. If men did verily think that the world is their loss, they would love it less, and less greedily seek after it, than now most do. Gehazi would not have run after Naaman for his money, if he had thought it had been his loss. Achan would not have hidden the forbidden gold, as a treasure, if he had thought it had been his loss. Who would be at so much care and pains for their loss, as worldlings and sensualists are for their delights? And if the judgment did once esteem the world as dung, they would not be so greedy for it, nor put it into their bosoms. Who would fall in love with dung, or dote upon filth or dog's-meat? As the judg-ment doth esteem it, the affections will be towards it. And they that know not of a better condition, will value this as the best, though common reason will call it vanity. But they that by faith have found out the true felicity, have low and contemptuous thoughts of the world. O what a carcase what a shadow is it in their eyes! What a poor, low thing is it which the sons of men do tire themselves in seeking after! What a dunghill do they wallow in, as if it were a bed of roses! What deformities do they dote upon, as if they were the most real beauties! A toad abhorreth not the company of a toad; but shall not a man abhor it? But we shall have occasion of saying more to this in the application.

3. The third act by which we crucify the world, is a kind of annihilation of it to ourselves; in our conceptions taking

it as a very nothing, so far as it would be something separated from God, or co-ordinate with him. How oft doth the Scripture call it vanity, a dream, a vain show, a shadow, yea, nothing, yea, and less than nothing before God, and lighter than vanity itself; Isai. xl. 17. Psal. lxii. 9. Job vi. 21. The princes of the earth, who are something in the eyes of themselves and others, appear as nothing when God lets out his wrath upon them; Isai. xxxiv. 12. Even as the straw when the fire hath consumed it, or the fairest buildings when it hath turned them to ashes. For though the world be really something, yet, 1. In regard of the effects which it promiseth to seduced worldlings, it may be called nothing. For that which can do nothing for us in our extremity, which hath no power to relieve or satisfy us, which leaveth the soul empty, and deceiveth them that trust it, may well be called nothing in effect: 'In genere boni,' that which can do us no good, is nothing to us. Let a needy soul betake himself to the world for comfort under the burden of sin, for quiet and true peace to a wounded conscience, and you will find it can do nothing. Seek to it for grace or strength against corruptions and temptations, and you will find it can do nothing. Cry to it for succour in the depth of your affliction, and at the hour of death, and try whether it will present you acceptable unto God, and bring your departed souls with boldness to his presence, and you will find that it can do nothing! Whatever it promiseth, and whatever it seemeth to deluded sinners, when you look for any real good from it, you will find it can do nothing: and therefore you may well take it as a mere nothing to you. 2. And in esse objectivo' we may make nothing of it, by excluding it from any room in our souls, as to those acts that do not belong to it. 3. And as a separated being, independent as to God, so it is indeed nothing, for there is no such thing: much less as it is a separated good or felicity to man. Annihilate then the world to yourselves. When it would appear to you to be what it is not, and would promise you to do what it cannot, let it be as nothing to you. Conceive of it as of a shadow, or a thing that seemeth to be and is not. Could you once make nothing of it, it would have no power over you, nor any unhappy effects upon you. You would not dote upon a known nothing, nor change your God and glory for nothing. As Job saith of the wicked,

"He openeth his eyes, and he is not ;" Job xxvii. 19. so we may say of the world when we open our eyes, we shall see that it is not that which before seemed nothing to us, will appear to be all things; and the world, that seemed all things, will be nothing.

The sum of all that hath been said is this: The opposing world must be apprehended as an enemy to God and us, and so far hated. The glozing world appearing as our felicity, or a competitor with God, must be conceived of as worthless, and contemned: and the world as it would appear as a separated good, being any thing to us, or having any thing for us, out of God, must be annihilated in our conceptions, and taken as nothing.

We are next briefly to shew you, how it is that we are crucified to the world; having shewed you how the world is crucified to us. And in general the meaning is, that we are as dead or crucified men to it, in regard of those forementioned unjust respects, in which the tempter would present it to us. So that 'crucified' here is put for the absence of that action and worldly disposition, which carnal men are guilty of. So that it is a moral, and not a natural death, that is here mentioned; and observably differeth from a natural in these respects.

1. A natural death destroyeth the very powers or faculties of acting. But a moral death only-destroyeth the disposition and action itself, but not any natural power.

2. A natural death is involuntary; and in itself is neither a virtue nor a vice; neither morally good or evil. But a moral death is principally in the will itself, and nothing is more voluntary, and so it is the principal virtue or vice. To be dead in sin and to God, is the sum of all evil. And to be dead to sin and the world, in Christ, is the sum of moral good.

3. Natural death hath no degree of life remaining (saving of the separated soul). But moral death may consist with much of the contrary life. For it is denominated from the predominant habits of the soul; which may stand with much of the contrary habit, though subdued. We cannot therefore gather that Paul was absolutely free from all sin, because he was dead to it, or crucified to the world. For this is a moral death consisting in a conquest of the enemy; who may be said to be dead, because he is overcome; and

consisting in the prevalent habits of the soul, which yet may have too much of the remnants of their contraries.

More particularly, 1. If we are crucified to the world, our undue estimation of the world is crucified. We have no idolizing, overvaluing regard to it, (in that measure as we are dead to it). As the world do not regard the works of the Lord, (Psal. xxviii. 5. Jer. v. 12.) so the saints do not regard the things of the world. The life of faith so elevate their spirits, that they are mounted up above the creature, and look not upon the world; or look upon it as a despicable thing. They are above that which is the delight and employment of others; and that which the sensual call felicity, they still call vanity. And as a man's stomach abhorreth that which a dog or swine will greedily devour, so the soul of a believer doth despise and abhor the delights of the ungodly. As pride makes the rich look contemp-tuously and disregardfully upon the poor, so the holy elevation of believing souls, doth make them look contemptuously and disregardfully upon all the glory of the world. As faith doth bring them up to God, and make him their object and their all, so doth it make them somewhat like him, and minded as he is minded. And as God “regardeth not persons, (Deut. x. 17.) nor accepteth the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor, (Job xxxiv. 19.) but is pleased more in the least of his image on the humble, faithful soul, than with all the glittering glory of the world; so is it in their measure with his people. Where they see nothing of God, they feel no substance; but so far as God appeareth to them in any creature, or action, or any means or benefit which they possess, so far they perceive some substance in it. As "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, nor can know them, because they are spiritually discerned," (1 Cor. ii. 14.) so the spiritual man hath shut up his senses to the world, and lost his perception of them, because they are carnally so discerned. The carnal man hath his senses quick in discerning and favouring the things of the flesh, but to the things of the Spirit he is dead and senseless. And contrarily the spiritual man is dead and senseless to the things of the flesh, and hath no savour in those things that are other men's delights; Rom. viii. 5, 6. 10. He tasteth no more sweetness in their pleasures than in a chip. He wonders what they can see or

taste in the things of the world, that they so run after it. To be rich or poor, do but little differ in his eyes. To be high or low is all one to him, considering these things as accommodations to the flesh; though still he valueth any condition according to the respect it hath to God, and so that is the best condition to him that best accommodateth and advantageth him for God's service. He taketh the flesh's interest to be none of his interest; and therefore that which only concerneth the flesh, concerneth not him. And therefore he looketh in this regard upon a high estate or low, as nothing to him. Let God dispose of him as he please, that is God's work and not his. He hath "learned in whatever state he is, therewith to be content. He knows how to be abased, and he knows how to abound; every where, and in all things he is instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need;" Phil. iv. 11, 12. If you applaud and honour him, he takes it but as if you breathed on him; at the best it is but a sweeter kind of breath. And if you vilify, and reproach, and unjustly condemn him, he takes it for no great hurt. For" with him it is a very small thing to be judged of man, and at man's bar; for he that judgeth him is the Lord;" 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4. Nay, what if I said that if you imprison him, threaten him, torment him, yea, put him to death, he doth not much regard it, nor make any great matter of it, so far as he is crucified to the world. How joyfully could Paul and Silas sing in the stocks, when their bodies were sore with scourging? Acts xvi. What a rapture of joyful praises did the apostles break forth into, when they were threatened by the priests and elders? chap. iv. 21. 24. I will add but two more instances, Dan. iii. The three Jews that were threatened with a furnace of fire, are accused for not regarding the king, ver. 12. and their own answer is, "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, the God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy Gods;" ver. 16, 17. And sure they that" would not accept of deliverance when they were tortured," Heb. xi. 35. did set little by it in comparison of that better resurrection which they hoped for. As Christ said of satan, "The prince of this world hath nothing in me;" John xiv. 30. so in our mea