SERMON XV. SELF DENIAL ST. LUKE. IX, 23. And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. THE season of Lent has been observed, from the earliest ages of the church, as a time of peculiar humiliation and fasting, and it is so kept by multitudes of our fellow Christians, at the present day; but I have generally forborne to insist on the necessity of such an observance, in every individual case, being cautious of exciting scruples in any weak conscience, or of burthening it with a sense of obligation, where no duty is positively imposed by the Holy Scriptures. Mortification of the body, by abstinence from food, or by any other means, can be no otherwise Preached First Sunday in Lent. good, than as a sign and effect of humility, or as a method of promoting spirituality of mind. In itself it is nothing; if practised with a view to please God by the mere self-infliction of bodily pain, it is a superstitious vanity; if considered as possessing any meritorious efficacy towards pardon and justification, it is (like all other human efforts undertaken for such purposes) absolutely sinful. But they who are inclined to mortify their bodies, in this way, with the best and most pious intention, viz. for the sake of reducing their hearts to an humble and contrite frame, are free from the obligation, as to the particular time when they shall do so; they are at perfect liberty to choose for themselves that 'season, which shall, on any account, appear in their own judgment and discretion, to be most suitable and expedient, most likely to be profitable towards the accomplishment of the good end which they have in view. That fasting is beneficial, as a religious exercise, to some persons, and on some more especial occasions, of temptation, or of sin, or by way of preparation for encountering some spiritual difficulties, or for producing a more than ordinary degree of self-abasement, or for weaning the affections from carnal and earthly desires, no one can doubt; for these ends it was strictly enjoined 66 on the Jews, under the Mosaic dispensation; it was practiced by our Saviour himself; He acknowledged it to be good, in saying, that a time would come, when it would be right for his disciples to fast. He gave them admonitions on the subject, which plainly expressed his approbation of the practice, though he warned them against making a hypocritical display of it for the sake of human applause; He declared prayer and fasting," to be necessary to their success, in some of the cases, in which they would have to contend with the power of Satan. Moreover, it appears by their writings, that the Apostles did occasionally fast, after his departure; and pious, and godly men, not only in the primitive ages, but from thence down to the present day, have observed and found benefit from the practice. These arguments are sufficient to recommend such acts of humiliation in general; but I leave every sincere Christian to determine on the necessity or expediency of the exercise, in his own particular case, as well as to select the opportunities for performing it; and I shall say no more on this head; what I have at present in view, is, to set before you a duty connected with this subject, but of universal obligation, to all professors of the Gospel, and necessary to be observed, at all seasons alike. I speak, my brethren, of self-denial: fasting is one particular act of self-denial, practiced occasionally for some specific purpose; but the whole of every Christian's life, should be a life of self-denial. Our Saviour says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." These words imply, that we cannot truly follow Him, or be his sincere disciples, unless we do, habitually and constantly, mortify our natural desires, and sacrifice our earthly pleasures. To the same purpose are the words of St. Paul, "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." And again, "set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." This is the general rule and principle to guide and influence us throughout this life, that whereas "our conversation is in Heaven," and, as Christians, 66 we walk by faith and not by sight," we should sacrifice the temporal things that are seen, to the eternal things which are not seen; we should study the interest of our souls, rather than the pleasure of our bodies, we should make sensual gratification yield to spiritual improvement, and leave earth as far as possible behind, while we press forward in our progress towards Heaven. It is the grand and distinguishing feature in the |