The Eighth Direction

Labour to get your hearts mortified to the world, dead to the world: we must not content ourselves that we have gotten some reasoning about the vanity of the Creature, and such kind of things as these are, but we must exercise mortification, and be crucified to the world. Says Paul, I die daily, we should die daily to the world. We are baptized into the death of Christ, that is to signify that we have taken such a profession as to profess to be even as dead men to the world. Now there are no crosses that fall out in the world that do trouble those that are dead; if our hearts were dead to the world we should not be much troubled with the changes of the world, nor the tossings about of worldly things. As it is very observable in those soldiers that came to break the bones of Christ, they broke the legs of one that was crucified with him, and of the other; but when they came to Christ they found he was dead, and so they did not break his legs. There was a providence in it, to fulfill a Prophecy, but because they found he was dead they did not break his bones. Let Afflictions and trouble find you with a mortified heart to the world and they will not break your bones. The bones of those that are broken by crosses and afflictions are those that are alive to the world, that are not dead to the world. But one that has a mortified heart and dead to the world, no afflictions or troubles will break the bones of such a one, that is, they will not be very grievous or painful to such a one as is mortified to the world: This I fear is a mystery and riddle to many, for one to be dead to the world, to be mortified to the world. Now it is not my work to open to you what Mortification is, or death to the world is, but only thus: to have our hearts so taken off from the things of the world, as to use them as if one used them not; not to make account that our lives, our comforts, our happiness does consist in these things. They are things that are of another nature that our happiness does consist in, and we may be happy without these; this is a kind of deadness to the world.

Work to get your heart mortified to the world — dead to the world. It is not enough to have reasoned through some arguments about the vanity of earthly things. We must actually practice mortification and be crucified to the world. Paul says: "I die daily" — we should die daily to the world. We are baptized into the death of Christ, which signifies that we have taken a profession that makes us as good as dead to the world. Troubles that occur in the world do not disturb the dead. If our hearts were truly dead to the world, the changes and upheavals of worldly things would not greatly trouble us. Consider what happened when the soldiers came to break the legs of those crucified with Christ: they broke the legs of the two others, but when they came to Christ they found He was already dead and did not break His legs. God's providence arranged this to fulfill a prophecy — but the point is: they found He was dead, so they did not break His bones. When affliction and trouble find you with a heart mortified to the world, they will not break your bones. The ones whose bones are broken by crosses and afflictions are those who are still alive to the world — those who have not died to it. But afflictions will not break the bones of one whose heart is mortified and dead to the world — that is, they will not be crushing or devastating to such a person. I fear this remains a mystery and puzzle to many: to be dead to the world, mortified to the world. It is not my purpose here to fully explain what mortification is — but briefly: it is to have our hearts so detached from worldly things that we use them as though we were not using them, not treating them as the source of our life, comfort, and happiness. Our happiness consists in things of a different nature entirely. We can be truly happy without worldly things — this is what it means to be dead to the world.