The crucifying of the world

Direct. 1.

Observe and Practise the Direction intimated in the Text. It is the Cross of Christ that must Crucify the world to you. Its thither therefore that you must repair for help. An Infidel may fetch such weapons from reason and experience as shall wound the world, and diminish his esteem of it, and make it less delightful to him: But it is only the Cross of Christ that can furnish us with those weapons that must pierce it to the very heart. Or if the Unbeliever were deprived of all earthly delight, and brought into despair of ever receiving more comfort from the world (as it is with many of them in some extremity, and with all at death) yet he himself is not Crucified to the world: Though his delight in it be gone, yet his love to it is not gone: Though he be out of Hope of ever having content in it, yet his desires after it are the same: If he call it vanity and vexation, as the Believer doth, it is because it denieth him his desires: Not because he takes it heartily for an Enemy, but for an unkind Lover, that dealeth hardly with him that hath given it his heart. If he look upon it as Dead, and unable to help him, yet doth he behold it as the carcass of a friend, with grief and lamentation. It is his greatest trouble that the world cannot give him that which he would have: And therefore he is trying what it will do for him as long as he hath any hope: As the poor Infants in Ireland lay sucking at the breasts of the corpse of their mothers, when the Irish Papists had slain them: so will these poor worldlings still hang upon the world, even when they find that it cannot help them; and when it will scarce afford them a miserable life; but with much labour and suffering they hardly get a little food and clothing. So that their affections are still alive to the world, even when to their sorrow they look on the world as dead, or almost dead to them.

OBserve and Practise the Direction intimated in the Text. It is the Cross of Christ that must Crucifie the world to you. Its thither therefore that you must repair for help. An Infidel may fetch such weapons from reason and experience as shall wound the world, and diminish his esteem of it, and make it less delightful to him: But it is only the Cross of Christ that can furnish us with those weapons that must pierce it to the very heart. Or if the Unbeliever were deprived of all earthly delight, and brought into despair of ever receiving more comfort from the world (as it is with many of them in some extremity, and with all at death) yet he himself is not Crucified to the world: Though his delight in it be gone, yet his love to it is not gone: Though he be out of Hope of ever having content in it, yet his desires after it are the same: If he call it vanity and vexation, as the Believer doth, it is because it denyeth him his desires: Not because he takes it heartily for an Enemy, but for an unkind Lover, that dealeth hardly with him that hath given it his heart. If he look upon it as Dead, and unable to help him, yet doth he behold it as the carkaise of a friend, with grief and lamentation. It is his greatest trouble that the world cannot give him that which he would have: And therefore he is trying what it will do for him as long as he hath any hope: As the poor Infants in Ireland lay sucking at the breasts of the corpse of their mothers, when the Irish Papists had slain them: so will these poor worldlings still hang upon the world, even when they find that it cannot help them; and when it will scarce afford them a miserable life; but with much labour and suffering they hardly get a little food and cloathing. So that their affections are still alive to the world, even when to their sorrow they look on the world as dead, or almost dead to them.