since he had expressly asserted above, that here All things come alike to all; and no man knoweth either love or hatred, i. e. the favour or displeasure of the divine Being, by all that is before them*: That there is a wicked man to whom it happeneth according to the event of the righteous; and on the other hand, many a righteous man to whom it happeneth according to the event of the wicked†; i. e. that very bad men often prolong their lives through a long series of prosperity, while good men are cut off by an untimely stroke, or linger out their days in a painful succession of sorrows. This led him to conclude, Surely God will judge the righteous and the wicked; which in many of these cases could only be done in some invisible state, to which both should be reserved. And of this judgment he solemnly warns the young sinner, as a most powerful antidote against the baits of sensuality; as an awful thought, which might fix the most roving eye, and be a means of reducing the most ungoverned heart to the discipline of wisdom and piety. As I conclude that this sense of the words is now sufficiently illustrated and established, I proceed, II. To inforce the admonition by such considerations, as are expressly suggested in the text, or may naturally arise from it. I importunately beg your serious attention; I say not these things, either to grieve, or to shame you, but as my beloved brethren and children I warn you§. And here let me prevail upon you to consider, the depravation and corruption of your own heart, the many delusive charms which are continually offering themselves to your eyes;-consider, that the blessed God is now the spectator of your conduct,-that he will certainly bring you to an account for it,-an account which will be inexpressibly strict and awful.-These are the arguments, which I shall more largely inforce; and if they make no deep impression on your mind, there is the utmost reason to fear, that you will go on hardened in your evil ways, till you actually come to that tribunal, which you now forget or despise. 1. Think of the depravation and corruption of your own hearts, to deter you from walking in the ways of them. The heart of man is described by that God, who alone perfectly knows it, as deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. The imagination of it is, by him, said to be only evil, Eccles. ix. 1, 2. § 1 Cor. iv. 14. + Eccles. viii. 14. vii, 15. Jer. xvii. 9. Eccles. iii. 17. and that continually*. It is a very sad truth, though perhaps you have never seriously considered it, that a degenerate and corrupted nature is conveyed down from one generation of men to another, so as still to leave room-for that expostulation of Job, What is man that he should be pure, how can he be clean that is born of a woman+!-for that confession of David, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me!-for that declaration of the apostle, whether in his own name, or that of another, In me, that is, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing §. If you know not The plague of your own heart, it is a plain argument that you know little of God, or of yourselves; and you had need be seriously reminded of it, lest, with Solomon's fool, you should trust it ¶, and the blind lead the blind, till you fall into the pit of destruction**. Do you not know the degeneracy and corruption of your own hearts? I beseech you to review what has passed there : Think of the advantages which you have enjoyed for knowing and serving God; of all the mercies you have received, of all the instructions you have heard, of all the convictions you have sometimes felt, and of all the good resolutions you have probably formed in consequence of them: And then think, how little all this hath produced, how you have forgotten God, days and times without number++, and started back from him like a decitful bow‡‡; how you have been delivered over, in a foolish circle, from one vanity to another, wearied with the pursuit of trifles, and yet rising, after a little respite, to pursue them again. Think, my friends, how you have overborne the dictates of your own consciences, and grieved the holy spirit of God, when he hath been pleading with you in a most importunate manner, and saying unto you, Oh do not this abominable thing that I hate§§. Yet you have done it, and sacrificed the repose of your own minds, and the hopes of glory, to mean, vile considerations, which you would be ashamed to hear mentioned before an assembly: And this not in one instance, but again and again. You have formed good purposes, and broken them; and formed them again, and broken them again; and run such a round of folly and sin, that I am persuaded many of you could not have suspected yourselves of such a conduct some time ago, nor have believed, if one had told you, that you should act such a part. And must these treacherous hearts still be trusted, and will you still go on to walk in the ways of them? when they have already Gen. vi. 5. + Job xv. 14. xxv. 4. Psal. li. 5. § Rom. vii. 18. †† Jer. ii. 32. led you into so much sin, when they have already plunged you into so much distress? 2. Think how many delusive charms are daily offering themselves to your eyes, that you may not heedlessly walk in the sight of them. Remember, Sirs, I beseech you, that you are in a very dangerous situation, and walk among snares. The most mortal poisons are often mingled with the sweetest dainties, and the most dangerous enemies of our souls accost us in the fairest forms. The fruit which undid our common mother, and brought death and a curse upon us all, was a fruit which appeared to be Good for food, and which she saw to be pleasant to the eyes*. It is an awakening saying of one of the most lively and pathetic, as well as of the most pious writers which our age has produced, "That the condition of man in his natural state seems to be like that of a person sick of a variety of diseases, knowing neither his distemper nor cure, but unhappily inclosed in a place where he could hear, or see, or taste, or feel nothing, but what tended to inflame his disorder." Not that the world in its original constitution, and considered as the work of God, is by any means to be blamed. The whole system of it is such, as would lead a regular mind to wise and pious reflections; and its most pleasurable scenes would be the natural occasion of exciting correspondent gratitude and devotion to the great author of Every good and perfect gift. But our souls being corrupted, those things become dangerous to us, which might otherwise have been innocent, and even beneficial; as some of the most wholesome and nourishing foods are fatal to a person inflamed with a raging fever. I am persuaded, that nothing is so likely to make us truly wise, as observations on facts. Let me therefore beseech you, my young friends, seriously to consider how many, within the compass of your own knowledge, have been ruined by the blandishments of the senses; and, perhaps, some of them persons, in other respects, of no contemptible characters. We may indeed say of the world, that specious harlot, She hath cast down many wounded, and many strong men have been slain by her §. Do not, therefore, walk in the sight of your eyes, lest you also be like the bird, that, struck with some gay promising appearance, hasteneth eagerly to the snare, and knoweth not that it is *Gen. iii. 6. † Law on Christian Perfection, p. 11. ↑ Jamesi. 17. Prov. vii. 26. for his life: But endeavour to open the eye of the mind, and by faith to behold the great realities of the invisible world, that you may govern your lives with a regard to them, and so secure, not the deceitful forms, but the substance of true happiness. 3. Let me seriously remind you, that the blessed God is the spectator of all your conduct. This is strongly implied, though it be not expressed in the text: For all these things God will bring thee into judgment; and you cannot surely imagine, that he is like earthly judges, who must have recourse to witnesses, to inform them of what they would otherwise be ignorant. He is not, he cannot be, far from any one of us, seeing in him we live, and move, and have our being+: Nor can we be concealed from his eye, should we fly on the wings of the morning, and with the swiftness of light, to the uttermost ends of the earth; for his hand must lead us thither, and his right hand support us there‡. Remember this, my friends, he sees you when you overlook him, sees himself neglected by you, and his laws violated, and his grace despised: And all for what? You have reason to blush and be confounded, when you think of that: For every vanity that offers itself to pour pursuit, for trifles lighter than air, for which you would not violate the common rules of decency to a fellow creature: As if it were to be taken for granted, that his favour is a thing of no consequence, or that nothing can forfeit it. Oh, Sirs, he hears me while I am speaking to you; and sees perhaps, that some of you hardly give me an attentive hearing. He observes, how many admonitions are despised by you, how many convictions are overborne, how many vows are broken, how many vain words are spoken to him, in those formalities which you call your devotions; and, perhaps, with regard to some of you, I may add, how many bold words are spoken against him, when those mouths are set against the heavens, whose tongues have walked through the earth§: All those slights of religion, which, for want of understanding either, you may be ready to call wit; all that licentious contempt which you throw on his sacred word and ordinances, and fancy it is freedom of thought. You may go on, and presume upon it, that Your lips are your own; but I must tell you, that The Lord hearkens and hears, and a book of remembrance is written for you likewise;―a ¶ book which will another day be thrown open, and read to you with a voice of vengeance and terror; which leads me to urge you, Prov. vii. 23. + Acts xvii. 27, 28. || Psal. xii. 4. Psal. cxxxix. 9, 10. 4. To think how certain the judgment of God is, and your own personal appearance before him. You know there is not any doctrine of the gospel more plain and evident than this, that Every one of us must give an account of himself to God*; and indeed it was a doctrine of the jewish revelation, and even of the wiser heathens: But I would desire you particularly to observe, how strongly it is expressed in the words of the text, Know thou, that God will bring thee into judgment ! Thee, Oh young man, thee, Oh child whoever thou art, that hearest me this day, to thee is the word of this admonition sent, God will bring thee into judgment. His trumpet will sound, his tribunal will be set; thou wilt be summoned, and thou must obey. In vain will be every attempt to conceal thyself, or to excuse or dispute an immediate attendance. He will bring thee: His hand will be strong upon theet, infinitely too strong for thy feeble resistance: And therefore the assembly of the whole world before him is beautifully described, by driving together a Flock of sheep, or of goats. Bear witness, Oh sinner, and let thy conscience record it, I warn thee of this solemn, this dreadful day. I tell thee, that as surely as thou art now in the house of God, thou shalt then be standing before his bar: And how will you stand? Look you to that. We are to give the warning, and, Knowing the terrors of the Lord, are to persuade mens. Hear now therefore this admonition for yourselves, and know it for your good. Consider this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver¶. And to increase the weight and efficacy of the thought, reflect, once more, 5. How strict and awful this judgment will be. For all these things God will bring thee into judgment; which naturally implies, that it will be particular and final. Every particular will be reviewed: All these things; or, as it is yet more strongly expressed elsewhere, Every work, and every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil**. He hath Sworn by himself, that he will not forget any of thy works++. Poor thoughtless creatures! you sometimes conceal your irregularities from parents and masters, or others to whom you are accountable; you disguise them in so artful a manner, Rom. xiv. 12. Job v. 27. + Ezek. iii. 14. + Mat. xxv. 32. § 2 Cor. v. 11. †† Amos viii. 7. |