The Leonard Library

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Toronto

shelf NO. ^491

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THE

ENTIRE WORKS

REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M.A,

WITH COPIOUS INDEXES,

PREPARED BY THE REV.

THOMAS HARTWELL HOIINE, B. D.

i,o N no N :

IMilNTKD BY KIC1IAHD CLAY, EKEAU-STIIEKT-II 1 1. 1..

HOR^E HOMILETIC^E:

OR

DISCOURSES

(PRINCIPALLY IN THE FORM OF SKELETONS)

NOW FIRST DIGESTED INTO ONE CONTINUED SERIES, AND FORMING A COMMENTARY

UPOX EVERY BOOK OF

THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT;

TO WHICH IS ANNEXED, AN IMPROVED EDITION OF A TRANSLATION OF

CLAUDE'S ESSAY ON THE COMPOSITION OF A SERMON,

IN TWENTY-ONE VOLUMES.

BY THE REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M.A.

SENIOR Fr.I.I.OVV OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

VOL. VII.

PROVERBS TO ISAIAH XXVI.

LONDON:

HOLDSWORTH AND BALL,

18, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD.

M nccc xxxir.

CONTENTS TO VOL. VII.

liiscourse.	Text.	Subject.	PaKo.
	PROVERBS
753.	i. 20—31.	Attending to God's gracious Invitations	1
754.	ii. 1—6.	The Way of attaining Divine Knowledge	5
755.	ii. 10, 11.	Piety a Preservative from Evil	9
756.	ii. 10 — 22.		15
757.	iii. 5, 6.	j «/ Confidence in God encouraged .	20
758.	iii. 9, 10.	The Reward of Charity .	25
759.	iii. 17.	j j The Pleasantness of Religion	30
760.	iii. 21—24.	True Religion delineated ....	36
761.	iii. 35.	The Rewards of Wisdom and of Folly	42
762.	iv. 7.	Nature and Excellence of true Wisdom	46
763.	fv. 18.	Christian's Path compared to the Light	49
764.	iv. 23.	Keeioinn the Heart	52
		± u
765.	v. 12, 13,	Sinner's Retrospect ....«-	59
766.	v. 22.	The captivating Power of Sin .	63
767.	vi. 6 — 10.	The Sluqqard reproved	67
768.	vii. 1 — 4.	Love to the Holy Scriptures inculcated	72
769.	viii. 17.	Address preparatory to Confirmation .	76
770.	viii. 29 — 32.	Wisdom's Address to Men ....	79
771.	viii. 35, 36.	The Value of true Wisdom ....	86
772.	ix. 1 — 6.		90
773.	x. 3.	God's Care for the Righteous .	95
774.	x. 4.	Effects of Sloth and Diligence compared	98
775.	x. 22.	God's Blessing, the greatest Riches .	101
776.	xi. 18.	The Wicked and Righteous contrasted .	104
777.	xi. 25.	Christian Liberality encouraged . .	108
778.	xi. 30.	The Wisdom of winning Souls .	112
779.'	xii. 26.	The Excellency of the Righteous .	116
780.	xiii. 5.	The Character and End of the Wicked	121
781.	xiii. 5.	The Way of Transgressors hard . .	124
782.	xiv. 9.	The Folly of making a Mock at Sin .	128
783.	xiv. 10.	Man's Experience known to himself alone	133

\ 1

CONTENTS.

Dl.co.r,,	Te*t.	Subject.	Page.
	VROVERBS
784.	xiv. 12.	Misconceptions about Salvation	134
785.	xiv. 13.	The Vanity of carnal Mirth . . .	141
786.	xiv. 14.	The Danger of Backsliding	144
787.	xiv. 26.	Fear of the Lord a Source of much Good	148
788.	xv. 3.	The Omnipresence of God ....	150
789.	xv. 8.	The Upright alone acceptable to God .	154
790.	xv. 32.		159
791.	xvi. 2.	Mans Estimate of himself and God's
			162
700	xvi. 3.	Trustino in God ......	168
/ */ — .
793.	xvi. 23.	The Benefit of experimental Religion	170
794.	xvi. 25.	Erroneous Views of Religion refuted .	175
795.	xvi. 33.	God is the Disposer of all Events .	185
796.	xviii. 10.	The Name of the Lord a strong Tower	188
797.	xviii. 14.		192
798.	xix. 2.	Divine Knowledge most desirable .	197
799.	xix. 3.	Sinfulness of murmuring against God	202
800.	xx. 4.	The Consequence of Sloth ....	205
801.	xx. 6.		208
802.	xx. 9.	No absolute Perfection here below .	213
803.	xxi. 25.	Desire is nothing without Labour .	217
804.	xxiii. 17, 18.	The Fear of God all the Day . .	221
805.	xxiii. 23.		225
806.	xxiii. 26.	3 «7 The Duty of giving the Heart to God .	229
807.	xxiv. 11, 12.	The Folly of vain Excuses .	232
808.	xxiv. 30 — 34.	The Sluggard's Vineyard .	234
809.	xxv. 21, 22.	Returning Good for Evil .	238
810.	xxvi. 12.		243
811.	xxvii. 1.	i/ «/ Against depending upon future Time .	247
812.	xxvii. 4.		250
813.	xxvii. 19.	The Hearts of Men alike ....	257
814.	xxviii. 4.	Effects of Piety and Impiety .	263
815.	xxviii. 5.	The Light enjoyed by the Godly	270
810.	xxviii. 1 1 .	Advantages of Rich and Poor compared	276
817.	xxviii. 13.	True Repentance recommended . .	281
818.	xxviii. 20.	The Portion of the Faithful Man . •	286
819.	xxviii. 26.	Self-confidence removed ,	289
820.	xxix. 1.	Danger of Obstinacy in Sin . . .	293
821.	xxix. IS.	The Importance of Gospel Ministrations	298

CONTENTS.

Vll

Discourse.	Text.	subject.	Page.
	PROVERBS
822.	xxix. 25.	The Fear of Man	299
823.	xxx. 1, 2.	A Saint's Views of himself .	304
824.	xxx. 7 — 9.	Agur's Wish	311
825.	xxx. 12.	The Self-deceiver exposed .	314
826.	xxxi. 10.	Usefulness of Schools of Industry .	318
	ECCLESIASTES
827.	i. 2.	The Vanity of the Creature .	322
828.	i. 14, 15.	The Creature is Vanity and Vexation	326
829.	ii. 2.	The Emptiness of worldly Mirth .	331
830.	ii. 13.	The Excellency of Wisdom .	336
831.	ii. 26.	Portions of the Righteous and Wicked	341
832.	v. 4, 5.	Duty of paying our Vows .	345
833.	vii. 4.	The House of Mourning to be preferred	350
834.	vii. 10.	Contentment recommended . . . .	356
835.	vii. 12.	The Excellency of Spiritual Wisdom .	360
836.	vii. 16.	Against an over-righteous Spirit .	365
837.	vii. 29.	Man's Origin and present State .	370
838.	viii. 1 1 .	Man's Abuse of God 's Patience .	376
839.	viii. 12.	The Blessedness of Fearing God .	378
840.	ix. 3.	The Wickedness of Unregenerate Men	382
841.	ix. 10.	Earnestness in Religion recommended	384
842.	ix. 14—16.	Wisdom practically disregarded . .	390
843.	ix. 18.	The destructive Influence of Sinners .	395
844.	xi. 1.	Liberality encouraqed	400
845.	xi. 9.	Youth warned of the future Judgment	405
846.	xii. 1.	Remembering God in our Youth	409
847.	xii. 13, 14.	The Sum of all true Religion .	415
	CANTICLES
848.	i. 3, 4.	The Church's Love to Christ .	420
849.	ii. 1—3.	The Church's Fellowship with Christ .	426
850.	Hi. 1—4.	Perseverance crowned with Success .	432
851.	v. 2—8.		437
852.	v. 9.	Transcendent Excellencies of Christ .	442
853.	v. 16.	The Excellency of Christ ....	446
854.	viii. 5.	The Christian's Reliance on Christ	450
855.	viii. 6, 7.	The Church's Desire of Christ's Love	454
	ISAIAH
856.	i. 2, 3.	God's Complaint against his People .	459
857.	i. 4, 5.	The Sinfulncss of the Nation .	462

VJ11

CONTENTS.

858. 859. 860. 861. 862. 863. 864. 865. 866. 867. 868. 869. 870. 871. 872. 873. 874. 875. 876. 877. 878. 879. 880. 881. 882. 883. 884. 885. 886. 887. 888. 889. 890. 891. 892. 893. 894. 895. 896.

ISAIAH

i. 10—17.

i. 18.

i. 25.

ii. 5.

iii. 10, 11.

iv. 5.

v. 3—5.

v. 20.

vi. 5 — 7.

vi. 8.

viii. 12—14.

viii. 18.

viii. 19.

ix. 2—4.

ix. 6.

ix. 13.

x. 12—17.

xi. 2, 3.

xi. 6 — 9.

xi. 9.

xi. 10.

xii. 1, 2.

xii. 3.

xii. 3 — 6.

xiv. 2.

xiv. 27.

xiv. 32.

xix. 20.

xix. 24, 25.

xxi. 11, 12.

xxii. 12—14.

xxii. 24.

xxiv. 23.

xxv. 4.

xxv. 6 — 8.

xxv. 9.

xxvi. 3, 4.

xxvi. 13.

xxvi. 20, 21.

Service which alone is pleasing to G< d 464 Crimson Sins made White . . . -470

God purifying his People .... 474 Exhortation to a Holy Walk . . .4/8

Final State of Man 482

God the Protector of his Church . .486

God's Appeal to Man's Decision . . 490

Sinfulness of confounding Good andEcil 493

Isaiah's Vision of Christ 504

A Missionary Spirit described . . . 509

God the only proper Object of Fear . 513

Believers are for Signs and Wonder x . 517

Seeking after God 520

Blessings imparted by the Gospel . . 522

Christ's Incarnation and Character • 526

Impenitence under, Divine Chastisement} 529

Abasement of the Assyrian Monarch . 532

Christ's Qualifications for his Office . 539

Change to be wrought in the latter Da// 543

The Millennium 547

Christ a Standard for the Gentiles 551

The Believer's Song 555

The Wells of Salvation 559

The Believer's Song 563

The Christian Warfare 568

Immutability of God's Counsels . .573

God's Church and People secure . . 578

Christ a great Saviour 583

The Conversion of Jews and Gentiles • 585

Profane Scoffers instructed .... 590

Unconcern amidst Calls to Repentance 595

Eliakim a Type of Christ .... 599

The Reign of Christ glorious . . . 602

Christ a suitable and all-sufficient Help 605

The Gospel a Source of richest Blessings 610

Christ's Advent a Ground of Joy . . 614 Trust in God recommended . . . .618

Humiliation with Zeal 624

The only Refuge of Sinners . . .'• 627

PROVERBS.

DCCLIII.

THE NEED OF ATTENDING TO GOD's GRACIOUS INVITATIONS.

Prov. i. 20 — 31. Wisdom crieth without ; she uttereth her voice in the streets : she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates : in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity ? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge ? Turn you at my reproof : behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof : I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ; ivhen your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me : for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their otvn way, and befitted with their own devices.

TO expostulate with men respecting their evil ways, to point out the consequences of persisting in them, to urge the necessity of a speedy and thorough conversion to God, and to enforce the address with affectionate entreaties and encouraging assurances, is stigmatized as the effervescence of a heated ima gination, the offspring of a weak enthusiastic mind. But, however it be foolishness with men, it is wisdom in the sight of God. No expostulations, entreaties, promises, or threatenings can be delivered with greater

VOL. VII. B

2 PROVERBS, J. 20—31. [753.

energy or affection than those in the text ; yet God calls them the voice, not of folly and enthusiasm, but of " wisdom ;" and, whatever we may think of them, they will be found to be " the words of truth and soberness." We are now " in the chief place of con course," and it is wisdom itself, or God under the name of Wisdom, that now addresses us. The sub stance of the address may be comprehended under two general observations :

I. To those who receive his invitations, God will be

exceeding gracious- Nothing can be more tender than the expostulation before us—

[The words are addressed not merely to the " simple," but to those who " love simplicity ;" not only to the ignorant, but to them that " hate knowledge;" not only to those who are destitute of religion, but who "delight to scoff" at it. "What can we suppose that God should say to such daring trans gressors ? What, but to denounce the heaviest judgments? But " he is God and not man," and therefore he speaks to them as God, in terms of inconceivable love and mercy ; "How long will ye love your evil and destructive ways ? " Will not " the past time suffice to have followed" them? Have they been so pleasant or profitable that ye will forego all the hap piness of heaven for them ? or, if ye intend to turn away from them, have ye fixed the period of your conversion ? " How long " do you intend to persist ? Till the time of sickness, and the hour of death ? or till some more convenient season ? Ah ! " turn you at my reproof;" let the words of a Father and a Friend prevail with you : do not attempt to justify your actions; or to extenuate your guilt: you see clearly enough that your conduct is indefensible : turn, turn from it without delay—]

The promises, with which the expostulation is enforced, add greatly to its weight—

[A consciousness both of weakness and of ignorance often contributes to keep men under the power of their sins — A thought arises in their minds, ' I know not how to turn ; I know not how to obtain either the pardon of my sins, or victory over my lusts.' But God obviates at once all such discouraging reflections. He says in effect, 'Are your cor ruptions insuperable by any efforts of your own ? "I will pour out my Spirit " to sanctify you throughout. Are you at a loss

753.] GOD'S GRACIOUS INVITATIONS. 3

how to obtain my favour? " I will make known to you the words of life ;" I will reveal my Son in your heart ; I will shew you the efficacy of his atonement, and make you wise unto salvation through faith in him.' Thus does he silence their objections, and dissipate their fears : " Behold, what manner of love " is this ! surely we should not hear of it but with wonder ; we should not receive its overtures, but with grateful adoration — ]

But " God will not always strive with man." On the contrary,

II. They, who despise his invitations, shall be given up to final impenitence and ruin—

The contempt too generally poured upon the mercy of God, is awful in the extreme—

[One would suppose that such invitations and promises could not fail of pi-oducing the desired effect. But, alas, the reception they meet with is such as God himself represents it : men " refuse to obey his calls ; when he stretches out his hands to them with parental tenderness and importunate entreaties, they will not regard him ; they set at nought his counsel ; they despise his reproof; they hate even to hear of their duty, and determine, whatever be the consequence, that they will not perform it." The zeal and earnestness of his ministers are made a subject of profane ridicule ; and the dictates of wisdom are laughed at as the effusions of folly and fanaticism. We appeal to the consciences of all respecting these things. Who that has made any observations on the world around him, or on what passes in his own heart, must not attest that these things are so ? Yes ; we are all guilty : " This has been our manner from our youth." Some have been more open and notorious, and others more secret and reserved, in their oppositions to God's will ; but all have opposed it, and, if divine grace have not slain our enmity, we are opposing it still : the deliberate sen timent of every unregenerate man is like theirs of old, " As for the word which thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto theea".]

But such conduct, if persisted in, will one day meet a suitable reward—

[As God cannot be deceived, so neither will he be mocked : if he have a day of grace, so has he also a day of vengeance ; and that day is hastening on apace. However secure the sinner may think himself, there is an hour of " desolation, and of consequent distress and anguish coming upon him." Perhaps

a Jer. xliv. 16.

4 PROVERBS, I. 20—31. [753.

it may come in this life ; on a dying bed he may be filled with terror and remorse; and though, like Judas, he may confess his sin, or, like Esau, pray for a revocation of his sentence, his prayers may be cast out, and God laugh at his calamity. Often does God threaten this, and often has he executed his threat ening ; " Go to your gods whom ye have chosen," said he to his people of old; let them deliver you ; for I will deliver you no more11." So now does he often suggest to the mind of an awakened, but unconverted sinner, ' What will the world do for you now? What will your pleasures, your riches, or your honours profit you in this day of my wrath ? What do you think of the seed which you have been sowing, now you begin to reap the fruit thereof?' But if God deal not with us thus in this world, most assuredly he will in the world to come. That will indeed be an hour of distress and anguish when these despisers of mercy shall stand at the tribunal of their Judge : and oh! how will HE then " laugh at their calamity! how will he mock at all their fear" and terror ! ' You would not believe my word : now see whether it be true or not. You would not be persuaded that I would ever vindicate my insulted Majesty: What do you think of that matter now ? You despised me, and said, " Depart from me ; I desire not the knowledge of thy ways !" You shall have your request : I will depart from you; and you too shall depart from me: depart, accursed, into ever lasting fire : and though you should pray to all eternity for a mitigation of your pain, you shall never have so much as a drop of water to cool your tongue.'

Would to God that men would realize these things, and be persuaded to believe that God is true ! But whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, we must declare what God has spoken : and, however an ignorant world may deride it as folly, we will aver it to be the " counsel of true wisdom," and the declaration of an unerring God.]

APPLICATION —

1. Let all adore the divine goodness —

[Which of us must not plead guilty to the charge of despising God ? Which of us has not persevered in a course of disobedience to him in spite of all his messages of mercy ; and that too, not for clays merely, but for months and years? Yet has God exercised forbearance towards us ; and at this very instant renews to us his gracious invitations. Let us con sider how many thousands have been cut off in their sins, while we are yet spared to hear the tidings of salvation : and " let the patience and long-suffering of God lead us to repentance."

b He has threatened it, Mic. iii. 4. Jer. ii. 27, 28 ; and he has executed it, Zecli. vii. 11 — 13. Judg. x. 13, 14.

754. ] THE WAY OF ATTAINING DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. 5

Let us magnify him for such distinguished favours ; and turn to him " to-day, while it is called to-day, lest he swear in his wrath that we shall never enter into his rest."]

2. Let all tremble at the divine justice—

[Though God be so full of compassion, " not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and live," yet is he a just and sin-avenging God : " he will by no means clear the guilty0." He sometimes " repays the wicked to their face" even in this life; but there is a day which he has appointed for the full display of his own righteousness ; a day, wherein he will render to every man according to his deeds ; to those, who have sought for immortality, eternal life; but to the despisers of his truth, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish d. Let us then get our minds impressed with this thought, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Gode: and let us instantly comply with his invitations here, that we may be par takers of his promises in a better world.]

c Exod. xxxiv. 7. d Rom. ii. 6 — 9. e Heb. x. 31.

DCCLIV.

THE WAY OF ATTAINING DIVINE KNOWLEDGE.

Prov. ii. 1 — 6. My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding ; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures ,• then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom ; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

WISDOM is justly considered as the first of human attainments. It is that which elevates us in the scale of being, and to it we are indebted for all the most refined comforts of civilized society. But there is a spiritual wisdom totally distinct from that which is merely intellectual, and as much superior to it both in its qualities and effects, as reason is superior to in stinct. What this is, and how it is to be attained, we are informed by Solomon in the words before us. Let us then consider, I. Wherein true wisdom consists—

The nature of true wisdom is plainly declared in the text —

G PROVERBS, II. 1—6. [754.

[That which in one verse is called, " Wisdom," and " Understanding," in a subsequent verse is called, " The fear of the Lord," and " The knowledge of God." The wisdom which unregenerate men possess, resides only in the head ; but that of which the text speaks is seated in the heart. The former consists merely in a knowledge of men and things, with a faculty of applying that knowledge to present circumstances : but the latter consists in a knowledge of God as reconciled to us in Christ Jesus, together with a correspondent fear and love of his name. The former enlarges the mind, and directs the conduct in things relating to time : the latter informs and re gulates the soul in reference to eternity.]

This description is just and accurate—

[We confess that the knowledge and fear of God is not so reputed by the world : on the contrary, it is stigmatized as folly and madness. But that which arrogates to itself an ex clusive title to the appellation of wisdom, is by no means so deserving of it as this : because, whatever excellencies it pos sesses, its operations are weak, uncertain, transient : whereas " the wisdom that is from above" brings into subjection every rebellious passion, and progressively prepares us for the enjoy ment of our God. It was with this wisdom that the Messiah himself was endued'"1. And it is of this that Solomon speaks, when he declares that nothing else is worthy the name of wisdom b.]

Respecting wisdom the text further informs us, II. By what means it is to be attained —

The wisdom of this world may be gained by study only : but spiritual wisdom requires,,

1. Sincerity—

[If a man have not a disposition to obey the word of God, he will find occasion of cavil and dispute in the plainest ex pressions. The Pharisees of old, though conversant with the sacred writings, and instructed by our Lord himself, remained ignorant of the truth, because " they loved darkness rather than light." Thus it will be with us. However good the seed that is sown may be, it will never bring forth fruit to perfec tion, unless it be " received into an honest and good heart." If we would be truly wise, we must imitate the docility of Cornelius c; or, in the language of the text, we must " receive God's word, and hide his commandments with us," as an in estimable jewel which we are solicitous to possess and keep.] 2. Diligence—

d Isai. xi. -2, :}. '> Prov. ix. 10. <•• Acts x. 3:3.

754.] THE WAY OF ATTAINING DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. 7

[This idea is strongly inculcated in the words before us: " we should incline our ear, and apply our heart to under standing, and seek it as silver, and search for it as for hid treasures." We should consider the inspired volume as an inexhaustible mine, which yields nothing to a superficial observer, but will richly repay those who explore its inmost recesses. To this effect was the direction given to Joshua d ; and if we follow that advice, we shall succeed like the Be- reans of old6. It is the diligent hand, and that only, that can ever make us rich.]

3. Prayer —

[Nothing will succeed without prayer. A man might commit to memory the whole Bible, and yet not understand one spiritual truth contained it, if he trusted in his own powers, instead of looking up to God for the teaching of his Spirit. Our blessed Lord assures us, that none knoweth the Father, but he to whom the Son shall reveal himf. And this also is intimated in the repeated direction given us in the text, to " cry after knowledge, and lift up our voice for under standing." The Apostles themselves needed to have " their understandings opened, before they could understand the Scriptures8." Yea, established Christians still need "a spirit of wisdom and revelation to be given" to them, in order to their obtaining a juster view of revealed truths11. All of us therefore, if we would be taught of God, must cry with David, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law1."]

For the encouragement of all, Solomon further declares,

III. The certain issue of those means- God is the source and giver of all spiritual know ledge —

[Nothing can be more positive than the assertion before us, That " God giveth wisdom, and that out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." It is in this view that he is called, " The Father of lights k ;" because as that bright luminary, the sun, was the work of his hands, so all light, in tellectual or spiritual, is derived from him. Human learning gives a man no advantage towards the attainment of true wisdom. All, under God, depends on the state of mind with which men seek divine knowledge : if they be willing to " learn of the Father'," he will teach them: if they be too proud to

<l Josh. i. 8. e Acts xvii. 11. f Matt. xi. 27.

8 Luke xxiv. 4,3. h Eph. i. 17, 18. ' Ps. cxix. 18.

k Jam. i. 17. 1 John vi. 45.

8 PROVERBS, II. 1—6. [754.

submit to his instructions, he will leave them to wander further and further from the right way. He will " take the wise in their own craftiness"1," and "reveal to babes what he hides from the wise and prudent"."]

Nor will he suffer us to use the appointed means in vain—

[Frequent are the assurances which God has given us respecting this0. And he has made distinct promises to each of the foregoing means. Are we sincere? he will open our eyes P. Are we diligent? he will reveal himself to usq. Are we importunate in prayer? he will give us liberally, and without upbraiding1'. No want of learning, no weakness of intellect, shall be any obstacle to him, or deprive us of the benefits which we seek8. On the contrary, he will make use of the weakest and most contemptible of men to confound the wise and mighty1.]

INFER—

1. How highly should we value a preached Gospel! [Men spend much time and money in acquiring human

knowledge, and are glad to avail themselves of all lectures, public or private, whereby they may gain instruction. But a frequent ministration of divine ordinances, and a faithful dis pensation of God's word, are deemed worthy of censure rather than of approbation ; and the very persons for whose benefit the word is preached, can scarcely be prevailed upon to lend an ear to the instruction that is freely offered. Little do they think what it is that they thus despise. The ordinances are appointed of God for the express purpose of " converting souls, and making wise the simple11." How many are there now in heaven, who would have " perished for lack of knowledge," if the voice of God in his ministers had not reached their hearts, and " brought them out of darkness into marvellous lightx!" Let all then improve the ordinances with diligence, and pray that by means of them they may be " made wise unto salvationy."]

2. How precious should the Scriptures be in our sight !

[It is only at certain seasons that we can attend on public ordinances : but the Scriptures we may read at all times. In them is contained all that we need to know. And the Holy Spirit is promised us, to guide us into all truth2. Let the

m 1 Cor. i. 19. and iii. 19. n Matt. xi. 25.

0 Ps. xxv. 9, 12, 14. P John vii. 17. i Prov. viii. 17.

r Jam. i. 5. s isaf. Xxxv. 8. t I Cor. i. 27, 28.

u Job xxiii. 12. Ps. xix. 7. x 1 Pet. ii. 9.

> 1 Pet. ii. 2. Hob. ii. 1. * John xvi. 13. 1 John ii. 20, 27.

755.] PIETY A PRESERVATIVE FROM EVIL. 9

sacred volume then be our delight, and our meditation all the day a. Let us not cavil at any part of it, or say, This is a hard sayingb ; but let us receive it with meekness, knowing that, if it be engrafted in our hearts, it is able, and shall be effectual, •to save our souls0.]

a Ps. i. 2. b John vi. GO. c Jam. i. 21.

DCCLV.

PIETY A PRESERVATIVE FROM EVIL.

Prov. ii. 10, 11. When ivisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.

PIETY, more than any other thing whatever, is regarded with jealousy and suspicion : and it is no uncommon thing for parents to guard their children against its advocates and professors, as they would against persons infected with a contagious disease. What the fruit of this folly, both in parents and chil dren, too generally is, may be easily conceived : the children, taught to dread piety, which alone could preserve them from evil, become the victims of temp tation, and fall into every species of iniquity ; and the parents not unfrequently are bowed down by the misconduct of their children, till their grey hairs are brought with sorrow to the grave. Men vainly hope to effect that by moral suasion, which nothing but the grace of God can produce : they would have fruit without a root, and blamelessness without any fixed principle of piety in the soul. But the only way in which any man can be kept in one uniform path of goodness and of honour, is, by submitting his soul to the influence of true religion, and surrendering himself up unreservedly to God. This at least was the conviction of Solomon's mind : " When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, under standing shall keep thee." By "wisdom and know ledge" we are not to understand worldly wisdom : for a proficiency in that, however great it may be, is no pledge of morality, no preservative from sin. These terms are used in Scripture to express real piety; and

10 PROVERBS, II. 10, 11. [755.

it is that alone which will prove a sufficient antidote to temptation, or become a perennial source of holi ness in the life.

In confirmation of this sentiment, I will shew, I. What reception divine truth should meet with—

The heart is the proper seat of divine knowledge—

[Other knowledge is seated in the head : it is acquired only by deep study, and by force of intellect : nor, in what ever degree it be attained, does it at all sanctify and renew the soul. But the truth of God " enters into the heart :" there is that " incorruptible seed " deposited ; and from thence is it brought forth into life and action. I mean not to say, that the understanding is not to be exercised, or exercised deeply, in relation to divine truth ; for, beyond all doubt, every truth must so far approve itself to our judgment, as evidently to appear worthy of God, and suited to our condition : nor should any man give an unrestrained scope to his imagination or affections : for, if he were implicitly to follow them, he would of necessity be led away from the solid maxims of the Gospel: but when once he is convinced of any truth of God, then is he to deliver up his affections to be moulded and directed by it.

To make this clear, let me state what I mean by divine knowledge. The word of God teaches us that sin is an evil of extreme malignity ; that, to every soul in which it reigns, it is defiling, debasing, damning. It teaches us that we are altogether incapable of cancelling its guilt, or of subduing its power ; and that if we find not a Saviour who is able to effect these things for us, we must inevitably and eternally perish. It teaches us yet further, that the Lord Jesus Christ is precisely such a Saviour as we want, and that he is both " able and willing to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him." Still further, it teaches us the beauty of holiness, and the blessedness of serving and enjoying God. But of what use are these things, as a mere theory ? It is only by their being actually experienced in the soul that they can be productive of any solid benefit. But, when truly received into the heart, they set in motion all the affections of the soul, and call into activity our fears and our hopes, our sorrows and our joys.]

It should be received there with supreme delight — [Truth of any kind is pleasing to the mind, as all who are accustomed to the investigations of science can attest. But divine truth should generate the sublimest joy ; or, as my text expresses it, should be " pleasant to the soul." It should be to us what light is to the wandering and benighted traveller : he pants for it; and congratulates himself on the very first appearance of its orient dawn. To him it comes as a remedy

755.J PIETY A PRESERVATIVE FROM EVIL. 1 1

that is suited to his most urgent necessities. Conceive of the Israelites, when pressed with hunger, or perishing with thirst ; with what interest must they have beheld the manna that was showered about their tents ! and with what avidity must they have bowed down to drink of the streams that issued from the rock ! Or, if it be said that these things are objects of sense, and therefore inapplicable to the point in hand, take the in stance of the brazen serpent, which was exhibited to their faith. They felt themselves dying of the wounds which had been inflicted by the fiery serpents : they were perfectly conscious that no physician on earth could help them : and they were informed, that, by God's appointment, a brazen serpent had been erected, in order that, by looking to that, they might be restored to health. Would they hear of that with sceptical indifference, or behold it with an uninterested curiosity ? No : it would be to them a matter of life and death : the very first tidings of such an instrument would make them eager for the exposure of it to their view ; and when they saw or heard others attesting its efficacy, they would look to it with a desire to experience in themselves its healing power. Now this is the way in which divine truth should be viewed by us. To the ungodly world it is most unwelcome, because it bears testimony against them, and against all their ways : hence " they hate the light, and will not come to it, lest their deeds should be reproved." But to us it should be an object of ardent desire and supreme delight. We should look to it, not for the pur pose of critical discussion, but of grateful application to the soul. Our spirit should be precisely that of the blind man whom Jesus had healed. Our Lord put the question to him, " Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" To which he replied, " Who is he, Lords that I might believe on him a ?" Here he finds no disposition to speculate upon the subject, as on a matter of mere critical inquiry ; but shews a readiness to admit the truth the moment it should be revealed to him, and to embrace it as the one ground of all his future conduct. Such should be the disposition of our minds also. And when we have attained clearer views of divine truth, we should " rejoice as one that findeth great spoil V]

That we may be stirred up to seek divine truth in this way, let us consider, II. Its salutary influence when duly received—

" Discretion will preserve us, and understanding will keep us." This is the testimony of God himself. But it may be asked, * If common knowledge be not effectual to keep us, or even divine knowledge when

a John ix. 35, 36. b Ps. cxix. 1G2.

12 PROVERBS, II. 10, 11. [755.

received only into the head, how can the circumstance of receiving knowledge into the heart be productive of any such effect ?' I answer, ' It is this very cir cumstance which makes all the difference : divine knowledge, when it resides merely in the head, is speculative only ; whereas, when it enters into the heart, it becomes practical.

1. It rectifies the judgment—

[On every subject connected with the soul, the judgment

of mankind is in direct opposition to the mind of God. In their

eyes, the things of time and sense are of the first importance ;

but in the sight of God they are all lighter than vanity itself:

in his eyes, the concerns of the soul and of eternity are alone

worthy of the care of an immortal Being. To the ungodly, even

the Gospel itself, that unrivalled production of divine wisdom,

is " foolishness;" but to an enlightened mind, it is " the power

of God and the wisdom of God." To the stout-hearted infidel,

to follow the commands of God is to " be righteous over-much: "

but to one who is taught of God, obedience to God's commands

appears his highest honour and felicity. But the truth is, he

once was in darkness, but is now " brought into marvellous

light : " he once saw only through the distorting medium of

sense ; he now beholds with the eye of faith, which brings him

within the vail of the sanctuary, and discovers every thing as it

is beheld by God himself. Nor should this appear strange to us.

The difference made in the aspect of any object by its being

viewed through glasses of different construction, may easily

convince us how different an appearance every object must

assume, according as it is viewed through the medium of sense,

or by the penetrating eye of faith. The person who turns to

God has the very law of God written in his heart ; and needs

only to look within, and he will see the correspondence between

the divine records and his own actual experience : so that he

does not merely believe the divine testimonies to be true and

good, but " has ivitkin himself a witness" of their transcendent

excellence : or, as it is said in the verse before our text, " he

understands righteousness, and judgment, and equity, yea,

every good path."]

2. It infuses sensibility into the conscience—

[The conscience of an unenlightened man is blind, partial, and in many respects seared ; since, in relation to the disposi tions of the soul towards God, which is of far greater importance than any thing else, it never reproves at all. But when divine wisdom has entered into his soul, a man will not be satisfied with a freedom from great and flagrant transgressions : he will

755.] PIETY A PRESERVATIVE FROM EVIL. 13

examine his duties towards God as well as those towards man: he will mark his defects, no less than his excesses : he will observe his thoughts, yea, and " the very imaginations of his thoughts;" and will be more grieved for an evil propensity or desire, than the world at large are for an evil act. He endea vours to have his conscience as much alive to the least evils, as to the greatest ; and to keep it tender, as the apple of his eye : and if but a mote assail it, he will take no rest, till he has wept it out with tears of penitence and contrition. See this in the Apostle Paul. Before his conversion, he could find no evil in himself, though he was " a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious;" but after his conversion, he did but utter a disre spectful word to a judge who was violating the plainest rules of justice, and he made it a matter of humiliation in the pre sence of the whole court.]

3. It instils a watchfulness against the occasions of evil —

[Those who are destitute of vital godliness will venture themselves any where, without fear and without remorse : but a man of real piety will be afraid to expose himself where the objects around him present only what has a tendency to vitiate his mind : he prays to God " not to lead him into temptation;" and therefore he will not voluntarily run into it; he will select his associates from amongst the excellent of the earth, who will forward, rather than retard, the growth of holy affections within him ; and, as far as his situation will admit of it, he will " come out from the ungodly world, and be separate, and not even touch an unclean thing," lest he be defiled, and have " his good manners corrupted by evil communications." This is very particularly insisted on in the following context, in reference both to evil men and evil tvomen. It is said, " Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee ; to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things ; who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness ; who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked ; whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths : to deliver thee also from the strange woman, even from the stranger who flattereth with her words ; who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God : for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead : none that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life : That thou mayest icalk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous0." Here the conduct of evil men is drawn to the very life, as is the character of the evil woman also, against both of whom the man of piety will be c ver. 11 — 20.

14, PROVERBS, II. 10, 11. [755.

strictly on his guard, proposing to himself the example of the godly, and availing himself of their aid in his walk before God. He knows, that " he cannot take fire in his bosom, and not be burned ;" and therefore he will use the utmost possible circum spection in the whole of his deportment. The books, the company, the conversation that would defile his mind, he care fully avoids ; and, like the Jews at the time of the Passover, he searches the most secret recesses of his soul, to sweep from it the leaven that would offend his God.]

4. It leads us continually to God for direction and support—

[Without divine aid all human efforts are vain. But the word of God clearly, fully, constantly directs us to look to him ; and an experience of it in our own souls will convince us of the necessity of crying to him continually, " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." It is in this way chiefly that divine wisdom preserves us. The soundness of our principles may prescribe what is right ; and our love to those principles may incline us to the performance of it : but divine grace alone can ever prove effectual for us. No " power, but that which raised Jesus Christ himself from the dead," will be sufficient to carry on within us the work that has been begun. On the other hand, if we really trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall, " through his strength, be able to do all things," " nor shall any thing ever prevail to separate us from his love."]

Having illustrated the great truth in our text, we

would further IMPROVE it, by suggesting, 1. In what spirit we should hear the word —

[We should not come to the house of God in a mere cus tomary manner, for example sake, or to perform a duty, and still less to be amused with what we hear : but, as Cornelius and his friends, when Peter came to minister unto them, said, " Now are we all here before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God ;" so should we come up to the house of God to " hear what the Lord our God shall say concerning us." We should come to learn our duty, in order that we may practise it. We should bless our God that so sublime a privilege is accorded to us. We should come as a patient to receive the counsels of his physician, with a determination of heart to follow his prescriptions. A mariner, if amongst shoals and quicksands, does not consult his chart and compass for amusement, or with a disposition to dispute their testimony, but with a desire to have every mistake rectified, and to navi gate his ship through the dangerous passage, agreeably to their direction. O ! when will Christian assemblies meet in this frame ? When will God's ordinances be thus improved for

756. J BENEFITS OF TRUE WISDOM. 15

their proper end ? Brethren, only reflect on the office of true wisdom, as delineated in the passage before us, and you will never want either a direction or a motive for a profitable attendance on the means of grace.]

2. With what care we should improve it —

[The word we hear will judge us in the last day : and if we do not take occasion from it to follow the counsels of the Most High, we shall greatly aggravate our guilt before God. The word we hear, if it prove not " a savour of life unto life, will become to us a savour of death unto death." The lessons of wisdom had better never have been delivered to us, than be suffered to pass away without a suitable improvement of them. Our blessed Lord told his hearers, that if he had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin ; but that now they had no cloak for their sin. And so must I also say unto you. All that you have heard respecting the evil of sin, the sufficiency of Christ, the beauty of holiness, of what use will it be to you, if it do not humble you as sinners, encourage you as penitents, and animate you as believers ? I pray you, neglect not the day of your visitation, nor " hold the truth in unrighteousness ;" but receive the truth in the love of it; and deliver your souls into it as a mould, that it may fashion you after the image of your God. And never imagine that you have got above the use of ordinances, or that it is of no profit to attend upon them : they are the golden pipes through which, to your latest hour, you must receive the golden oil into your lamps ; and through the supplies of the Spirit which you may receive by them, you may hope that your path shall shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day."]

DCCLVI.

BENEFITS OF TRUE WISDOM.

Prov. ii. 10 — 22. When ivisdom entereth into thine heart, and knoivledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee ; to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things : who leave the paths of uprightness, to tvalk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked ; whose tvays are crooked, and they froward in their paths : to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words ; which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forget- teth the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life; that thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the

16 PROVERBS, II. 10—22. [756.

paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it : but the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

WHETHER we regard Solomon as a saint walk ing with his God, or as a backslider restored to God, we must consider him as pre-eminently qualified to give advice for the regulation of our conduct : for, as a saint, he was endued with wisdom above all the children of men ; and, as a backslider, he had a wider range for his wickedness, and a deeper experience of its folly, than any other person ever possessed.

Under the character of " wisdom," he here speaks of true religion ; which he recommends to all, but especially to persons in early life ; and, in order to impress his advice the more deeply on our minds, he sets before us,

I. The benefits derived from true wisdom—

When once religion is deeply rooted in the heart, it will render us the most essential services—

1. It will keep us from the society of ungodly men—

[There are many whose delight is in wickedness : they have departed from God themselves, and have " made crooked paths for themselves;" in which they proceed with all imagin able " frowardness" and perverseness. Disdaining to receive any light from God or his word, they " walk in utter darkness, not at all knowing whither they goa." And not content with casting off all restraint themselves, and walking after their own lusts in all manner of uncleanness, they wish to draw all they can along with them: they deride all serious piety, and labour to the uttermost to turn aside from the way of godliness any who may be inclined to itb— — " They rejoice to do evil :" and, if they can but succeed in their efforts to ensnare a person who has been fleeing from sin, and to divert him from following after God, not even Satan himself will exult more than they —

Now from such companions true religion will preserve us. We shall see at once how far they are from God, and how im possible it is to be happy in their society : " for what fellowship can righteousness have with unrighteousness ; or light with darkness ; or Christ with Belial ; or he that believeth with an unbeliever0?" Instead of seeking their society, therefore, we

a ver. 13. with 1 John ii. 11. b 1 Pet. iv. 4.

c 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.

756.] BENEFITS OF TRUE WISDOM. 17

shall come out from among them, and be separate '';'' and not have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them6"

2. It will keep us from the snares also of ungodly women- fit is lamentable to think how degraded human nature is,

and how assimilated to the very beasts multitudes are, who were originally formed in the image of their God. Females, married, as well as unmarried, " forsaking the guide of their youth and the covenant of their God," will abandon them selves to the most vicious courses, soliciting the embrace of men to whom they are utter " strangers," and practising every species of artifice, to ensnare and vitiate all who come in their way-

And such is their influence over those whom they have once ensnared, that it is a miracle almost if even one is recovered to a sense of his duty, and is brought back again in penitential sorrow to his Godf. Truly their ways lead down to death and to hellg: for not only do they draw men from all thoughtfulness about their souls, but they bring them into extravagances and crimes, which not unfrequently issue in suicide, or death by the hands of the public executioner.

But from these also will vital piety preserve us. It will lead us to use all the precautions against them, that a prudent government employs against the infection of the plague. We shall have no communication with persons, whose very pre sence will endanger the life of our souls. We shall not go near their houses, or the places of their resort h. We shall not parley with temptation when it comes in our way ; but shall flee from it, as Joseph did, saying, " How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God1?"- — ]

3. It will guide us in the paths of righteousness and peace —

[When once true religion enters into the soul, we shall take the Scriptures for our guide, and endeavour to walk in the paths which all the holy men of old have trod before usk. We shall not be satisfied with following the customs of those around us, or with conforming to the standard of duty which the world approves ; we shall desire to be " holy, as God is holy ;" and shall determine through grace to " perfect holiness in the fear of God " — • — — ]

Such being the effects of true wisdom, I will pro ceed to point out to you,

d 2 Cor. vi. 17. c Epb. v. 11. f ver. 19.

* Prov. v. .'5 — 5. and vii. 2fi, 27. h Prov. v. 8.

' Gen. xxxix. 9. k ver. 20.

VOL. VII. c

18 PROVERBS, II. 10—22. [756.

II. The vast importance of seeking after it—

Both the promises and threatenings of the Mosaic law were chiefly of a temporal nature ; the people who served God faithfully being encouraged to ex pect peace and plenty in the land of Canaan ; whilst those who were disobedient to his laws were to be visited with war, famine, pestilence, and ultimately to be driven out of that land, as the Canaanites had been before them. But under these figures truths' of far higher moment were veiled : and the present and eternal states of men were shadowed forth as indissolubly connected with their moral and religious character. Hence the contrast drawn between the sentence accorded to "the upright" and "the wicked" in the concluding verses of our text, must be under stood as referring to their respective states, 1. In this world —

[" Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the pro mise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come1." Certainly in this world there is an immense " difference between those who serve God, and those who serve him notm." We readily grant that the ungodly and profane may prosper in respect of outward things, and that the saints may be in a state of degradation and oppression": but there is no comparison between the real happiness of the one and of the other : the ungodly are " like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt0:" they are agitated by many ungovernable and con flicting passions: their tempers are a source of continual dis quietude1': and they have no inward resources to calm the tumult of their minds — — But the godly have consolations peculiar to themselves, and abundantly sufficient to counter balance their afflictions. They have a God to go unto ; a God, who says, " Cast thy burthen on the Lord, and he will sustain thee." The very tribulations which they endure for righteous ness sake, are to them a ground of glorying q: and the light of God's countenance lifted up upon them fills their souls with joy and peace, even with " a joy that is unspeakable," and " a peace that passeth all understanding."

If then we look no further than to this present life, we do not hesitate to declare, that " the fear of the Lord, that is wis dom ; and to depart from evil, that is understanding1."]

1 1 Tim. iv. S. m Mai. iii. 18. " Ps. Ixxiii. 3—10.

0 Isai.lvii. 20, 21. i> Rom. iii. 16, 17. '» Rom. v. 3. r Job xxviii. "28.

756.] BENEFITS OF TRUE WISDOM. 19

2. In the world to come—

[" There is a rest which remaineth for the people of God8;" a rest, into which the true Joshua shall introduce them, as soon as ever they shall have completed the period fixed for their abode in this dreary wilderness : and there shall they " remain" for ever : there shall they be as " pillars in the temple of their God, and shall go no more out1." But how shall I represent their happiness in that place where there will be no remains of those evils which they experienced in this world"; and where every blessing which they here sought for, shall be imparted to the utmost extent of their desires, and of their capacities for enjoymentx

On the other hand, there is a day of retribution for the ungodly, when they shall not only be " convinced of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily committed, and of all their hard speeches which they have spoken against the Lord and his ways, but will have judgment executed upon them" by the Judge of quick and deady. And what words can ever suffice to give an adequate idea of their misery, when, driven from the presence of their God, and from the congregation of his saints2, they shall be consigned to those regions of misery, where they will take their portion in " the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone," arid " dwell for ever with everlasting burnings ? "

If men would but reflect one moment on these consequences of their impiety, there would be no longer any occasion to descant on the wisdom of seeking after God, or the folly of provoking his displeasure by a life of sin.]

Let us LEARN then,

1. To form a right estimate of religion — [Religion is wisdom, even though the whole world should

combine to call it folly ]

2. To seek it in due measure—

[To receive it into the head is to little purpose: the proper seat of it is the heart. Nor is it sufficient that we yield a constrained obedience to it : its service should in our estimation be accounted perfect freedom. It is only " when wisdom enters into our hearty and knowledge is pleasant to our soul" that we can be said to have received the grace of God in truth. The worldly man is at home in the world : it is his element wherein he moves. And such must religion be to the child of God, his rest, his element, his delight —

3. To let it have its full operation on our souls —

8 Heb. iv. 9. * ver. 21. with Rev. iii. 12. u Rev. xxi. 4. x Psal. xvi. 11. > Jude, ver. 15. z Ps. i. 5. Lukexiii.28.

20 PROVERBS, III. 5, G. [757.

[Wherever true wisdom is, there will be " discretion to preserve us, and understanding to keep usa." We conceive this observation to be deserving of peculiar attention ; because the indiscretions of religious people are rarely traced to their proper source, a want of right dispositions in the heart. Where meek ness, and modesty, and diffidence, and humility reside in the heart, there will be a corresponding propriety of conduct in the life : but where pride, and conceit, and forwardness, and self- will are predominant, there will the deportment savour of these hateful qualities in all our intercourse with mankind. There is this remarkable difference between human wisdom and that which is divine : human wisdom leaves the heart untouched, or even administers fuel to its corruptions : but divine wisdom " pours the very soul into the mould of the Gospelb," and assi milates all its dispositions to the image of God himself. It was not Paul's eminence in intellectual attainments that made him so eminent in Christian tempers : it was the abundance of God's grace that rendered him so fruitful in every good word and work: and, if the grace of God abound in us, we also shall proportionally adorn the Gospel in the whole of our life and conversation. Let that then be remembered which Solomon has told us, " I Wisdom dwell with Prudence0:" and let us be careful that we do not by any indiscreet conduct give " occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." Our determination, through grace, must be, to cut off from the world all unnecessary occasion of offence. We must not imagine that our separation from an ungodly world gives us a licence to violate either the duties or the charities of life ; but, whilst we " abstain from all appearance of evil," we must cultivate to the uttermost not only " whatsoever things are true, and honest, and just, and pure, but whatsoever things are lovely and of good report'1." We must labour to " behave ourselves wisely in a perfect way''."]

a Prov. ii. 11. i> Rom.vi. 17. The Greek.

<• Prov. viii. 12. ll Phil. iv. 8. e Ps. ci. 2.

DCCLVII.

CONFIDENCE IN GOD ENCOURAGED.

Prov. iii. 5, 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him; and he shall direct thy paths.

THE book of Proverbs is not so much designed to open to us the way of salvation, as it is to regulate our conduct after we have attained the knowledge of the truth. It abounds with maxims admirablv

757.] CONFIDENCE IN GOD ENCOURAGED. 21

calculated to assist us in our intercourse with men, and with instructions also relative to our walk before God. Of this latter kind is the advice given us in the words which we have just read ; wherein we see, I. The confidence which God requires of us—

As creatures, we are of necessity dependent on Him who first gave us our existence ; for in him we live, and move, and have our being. But it is by no means sufficient for us to acknowledge this as a truth which we cannot controvert : we must acquiesce in it as a state that we approve, and glory in it as our highest privilege. Our confidence in God must be co-extensive with our necessities : it must be—

1. Entire—

[We must trust in the Lord "with all our heart." There must be no aversion to such an appointment as unnecessary, no distrust of it as insufficient. We should view ourselves as utterly incapable of ensuring our own happiness ; and we should regard God as engaged to order every thing for our good. We should not for a moment doubt his wisdom to discern what shall eventually prove best for us, nor his power to execute it, however great or numerous the difficulties may be which appear to obstruct its accomplishment. Nay, we must be persuaded, that his love delights in caring for us, and that his truth and faithfulness will perform all that in his un bounded mercy he has undertaken in our behalf. From this conviction we must commit all our concerns to him, to be ordered and overruled as he in his infinite wisdom shall see best. There must be an actual transfer of them (if we may so speak) into his hands, and a full conviction of mind that he is able to keep, and will assuredly keep, what we have so committed to him, so as to bring all our affairs to a blessed and successful issue3.]

2. Exclusive —

[We must " not lean to our own understanding," so as to rely on it for any thing. We are to use our understanding indeed, but not to transfer to it any measure of that depen dence which should be placed on God only. We know not what would be the ultimate issue of any one thing. We are ready to suppose, that whatever obstructs our wishes for a time, will endanger their final accomplishment : whereas God often makes those very events subservient to his own gracious

a Ps. xxxvii. 5. with 2 Tim. i. 12.

22 PROVERBS, III. 5, G. [757.

purposes, and uses them as means whereby his ends shall be fulfilled. This was remarkably the case with Joseph, in all his trials : and there is no true believer who will not acknowledge, that in his own experience many things which have been desired by him would have proved injurious, and many things which have been deprecated by him have been overruled for his welfare. From a full conviction that " a man's way is not in himself, and that it is not in man that walketh to direct his stepsb," we must renounce all idea of planning for ourselves, any further than in an entire dependence on the divine guidance and direction. We are doubtless to use all proper means for attaining what on the whole appears most desirable : but the relying on our own devices, as calculated of themselves to ensure success, is the thing which God has marked with his strongest disapprobation0— — • — The doing of this de monstrates our folly d, and exposes us to the heaviest curse6. We must therefore altogether " cease from our own wisdom f."]

3. Uniform—

[" In all our ways we must acknowledge him;" not in those only which seem to be of greater importance, but in all without exception. It is not in the rise and fall of empires only that God's hand is to be viewed, but in the falling of a sparrow, or in any event equally insignificant. We are apt to consider some things as important, and others as unimportant; but the truth is, that in God's sight nothing is important (except as it may advance his glory) ; nor is there any thing unimportant as it relates to us. Many things which in their effects and consequences have been of the greatest imaginable importance, may in their origin be traced to the slightest pos sible occurrence. If we look into the book of Esther, we shall see this observation confirmed in its utmost extent. Nor is God to be acknowledged only in those events which would be deemed small, but in those also which are casual, or, as we call them, accidental: "the lot (than which nothing is more casual) is cast into the lap, but the whole disposal thereof is of the Lord." In every thing therefore, whether great or small, painful or pleasant, concerted or fortuitous, God must be acknowledged as having sent it, if past, and as having the entire disposal of it, if future.]

To place this entire confidence in God will be found our truest wisdom, if we consider, II. The encouragement he gives us to trust in him—

b .Tor. x. 23.

Tsai. xxii. 8 — 11. See also Isai. xxx. 1 — 3. and xxxi. 1 — 3. 11 Prov. xxviii. 26. «•• Jer. xvii. 5, G. f Prov. xxiii.4.

757. J CONFIDENCE IN GOD ENCOURAGED. 23

Wonderful is the promise here given for our en couragement ; " He will direct our paths." But how will he direct us ? Will he speak to us in dreams, or visions, or by Urim and Thummim, or by an audible voice ? Or will he go before us in the pillar and the cloud, as he did before his people in the wilderness ; or answer us, as he did David, in reference to the men of Keilah, and the Amalekitesg? No: we are not authorized to expect any thing of the kind : yet will he direct us sufficiently to preserve us from any material error,

1. By his Spirit —

[To " open the eyes of our understanding" is one of the most important offices of the Spirit : and, in doing this, he will purge away from our eyes that film which obstructs our sight. Pride, passion, interest, and a thousand other things, incapaci tate us for a clear and perfect discovery of our duty : and, till these be mortified, we are constantly exposed to the most awful delusions : we are ready at all times to " call good evil, and evil good ; to put darkness for light, and light for darkness." But, when our minds are duly enlightened, we see things in their proper colours. On different occasions, when the apostles would have called fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan village, and when they contended with each other who should be the greatest, our blessed Lord instructed them better : and so will he do with us, bringing to our remembrance some por tion of God's word which bears upon the point in hand. Thus he fulfils that blessed promise, " that we shall hear a word behind us, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it ; when we should otherwise have turned either to the right hand or to the left h." We say not, that the Holy Spirit does not sometimes effect this without the word : we are inclined to think he does ; and that too by a kind of impression on the mind deterring us from evil and guiding us to good ' : but he never does it con trary to the ivord. Suffice it to say, that whether with or without the word, he will guide us into all truth, so far as shall be necessary for the rectifying of our views, and the regulating of our conduct.]

2. By his Providence —

[God often interposes for men in a most wonderful man ner, to preserve them from evil, and to guide them into that which is good. Even a wicked Balaam was obstructed in his way by God's appointment, in order to awaken him to a just

s 1 Sam. xxiii. 4, 11, 12. and xxx. 8. h Isai. xxx. 21.

1 Ps. Ixxiii. 24. 1 John ii. 20, 27.

21. PROVERBS, III. 5, G. [757.

sense of his duty. A remarkable instance of such an interposi tion occurs in the life of David. He, being incensed against Nabal for the contemptuous manner in which he had treated his messengers, and for his ungrateful refusal to administer to his necessities k, had determined to avenge himself upon him and all that belonged to him. But God put it into the heart of Abigail to go to meet him, and by mild representations to pacify his wrath '. Thus were the greatest impieties prevented through the intervention of this prudent female m. And in this way God often directs the ways of his people, either sending a friend perhaps, or a minister, to suggest such considerations as shall influence their minds : or by some particular occurrence " raising, as it were-, a hedge, or building a wall," to keep them in the path of duty". It may be, that the occurrence may occasion much grief at the time : but God knows how to accom plish his own purposes, and will constrain us all in due time to acknowledge that " he doeth all things well."]

We will ADD a few words,

1. To direct your exertions —

[Do not imagine that confidence in God is to supersede your own personal exertions. You are to labour, as much as if every thing depended on yourselves ; and then to trust in God, as if nothing had been done by you. You must also expressly commit your concerns to God in fervent and con tinual prayer. The Psalmist particularly combines this with confidence in God : " Trust in God at all times, ye people ; pour out your hearts before him0." The confidence that is unaccompanied with prayer and diligence is mere presumption. We have a beautiful pattern in Jacob, when he was about to meet his brother Esau. He disposed every thing in a way most suited to pacify his brother's anger, or, in the event of not succeeding in that attempt, to secure that part of his family who were most dear to him: but, whilst he acted thus, he committed himself wholly to the Lord, and looked for success from him alone p. Thus let there be no want of prudence or of diligence on your part ; and then you may be assured that God will not suffer you to be disappointed of your hope.]

2. To regulate your expectations—

[Though God promises to direct your paths, he will not so direct you as to keep you from every degree of error. The apostles themselves, though in what they declared to be the will of God they were inspired to utter nothing but what was true, were not infallible in their own personal conduct. Peter

k 1 Sam. xxv. 4—11. > 1 Sam. xxv. 18—31.

111 1 Sam. xxv. 32—34. » IIos. ii. 6, 7.

0 1's. Ixii. 8. P Gen. xxxii. 9—32.

758.] THE REWARD OF CHARITY. 25

greatly erred on one occasion, in his conduct towards the Gentiles ; as Paul also did in reviling God's high priest. You must not therefore conceive thatyou are certainly and altogether right, because you have prayed to God for direction: God may have many wise and gracious purposes to answer by leaving you still under some measure of darkness and ignorance : if it be only to humble you still more, and to shew you the blind ness of your minds and the deceitfulness of your hearts, it is a good and gracious end, for which you will in the issue see reason to be thankful. Be modest then, and diffident in your conclusions: and instead of assuming infallibility to yourselves, be always ready to suspect that your way is still far from per fect ; and to the latest hour of your lives be praying to God to lead you in a right path, and to fulfil to you that gracious promise, " The meek he will guide in judgment ; the meek he will teach his way."]

DCCLVIII.

THE REW'ARD OF CHARITY.

Prov. iii. 9, 10. Honour the Lord tvith thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase : so shall thy barns befitted with plenty, and thy 2>resses shall burst out with new trine.

TO instruct men how to ensure success in their agricultural pursuits or commercial speculations, is no part of a minister's office. Were we able sub stantially to benefit mankind in those particulars, there would be no want of hearers, nor any complaint that we laboured too zealously in our vocation : on the contrary, the more successful we were in effecting our wishes, the more gratefully should we be acknow ledged as public benefactors. Shall I then, for once, exceed, as it were, the commission given me, and at tempt to teach you how to thrive in this world ? Yes; suffer me for once to usurp this office ; and to assure the most unlearned person amongst you, that by acting on the principles which I will set before him this day, he shall be as sure to prosper in his busi ness, as if he were ever so conversant with the arts of trade. I mean not indeed to say, that a person going out of his own proper line shall be enabled to pro secute that line to advantage ; but that, whilst pro ceeding prudently in his proper vocation, he shall succeed more certainly, and to a greater extent, than

26 PROVERBS, III. 9, 10. [758.

on other principles he can expect to do. And I say this the more confidently, because the directions which I shall give are not the results of fallible rea sonings or of uncertain conjectures, but the plain unequivocal declarations of Heaven : " Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase : so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

In these words we see, I. Our duty—

We must "honour the Lord with our substance" — [All that we have is the Lord's. " Our very bodies and souls are his;" and much more the property which he has committed to our care. With the whole of that he is to be honoured ; and in the disposal of it, respect must be had to his will, his interests, his glory. We are to consider every thing that we possess, not as given to us, but merely as confided to us, to be improved for him ; and we must so employ the whole, as to meet his approbation in the day that we shall give up our account, and to be acknowledged by him as good and faithful stewards.]

We must honour him, also, " with the first-fruits of all our increase "-

[The first-fruits under the Law were claimed by God as his, and they were to be presented to him as his peculiar pro perty : " Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring, of the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there3." Besides these, was the tithe of all their increase to be offered to him every third year : " At the end of three years thou shalt bring all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thce, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied ; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand, which thou doestV Under the Gospel, the letter of this law is abolished; but the spirit of it yet remains in force : for the express com mand of God to UK is, " On the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered himc." We are not to wait for the gathering in of our harvest ; and then give a portion to the Lord after our own interests are

a Deut. xxvi. 2. b Deut. xiv. 28, 29. c 1 Cor. xvi. 2.

758.] THE REWARD OF CHARITY. 27

secured : but rather to honour the Lord first, as the real pro prietor of all ; and then, trusting him for a supply of our own wants, to employ for ourselves what he shall graciously bestow upon us.]

This duty will not appear hard, if we consider what God has spoken for, II. Our encouragement- It should seem as if the giving of our substance were the way to diminish it ; and the devoting of our first-fruits to him, the way to endanger our own pro vision through the year : but God has declared the very reverse, and has pledged himself that he will amply make up to us all that we part with for his sake. This, under the Law, he did, visibly, according to tlie letter —

[Under that dispensation, a present and visible retribution marked, for the most part, the approbation or displeasure of God. When the people delayed to build his temple, he chas tised them with famine, and referred to that visitation as a judgment inflicted on them for their sin: " Ye looked for much, and, lo ! it came to little ; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of Hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit d." And when they were stirred up to begin the work, he not only assured them of his blessing on their temporal concerns, but bade them note down the day that the foundation of his temple was laid, and see whether their blessings were not augmented from that very hour : " Consider now, from this day and upward, from the four-and-twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it : from this day will I bless you6." He bids them even to prove him in relation to this matter, and to see whether his bounty would not keep pace with their piety : " Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house : and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive itf."]

Under the Gospel, also, he will do it, but invisibly, and according to the spirit —

[ We are not taught to look so much to temporal rewards, as to those which are spiritual and eternal : though still we are

d Hagg. i. 9, 10. e Hagg. ii. 18, 19. ' Mai. iii. 10.

28 PROVERBS, III. <), 10. [758.

told that " godliness has the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to comeK;" and that, if we " seek h'rst the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all needful things shall be added unto us'1." A temporal recompence for our liberality we may not obtain : but a spiritual reward is sure. For thus said the Lord: " If thou deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ; if, when thou seest the naked, thou cover him, and hide not thyself from thine own flesh; then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health spring forth speedily : and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thyrereward. If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul ; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones : and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not1." An eternal recompence will also most assuredly await us : for our blessed Lord has expressly told us, that if, instead of lavishing our money in feasting the rich, we delight to expend it on the poor, " we shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the justk." He has commanded us on this account to " make friends to ourselves of the mammon of un righteousness," in the full expectation that at our death " we shall be received into everlasting habitations1." And St. Paul speaks to the same effect, when he says, " Charge them that are rich in this world, that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation.against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life"1."

But, after all, we must not altogether put out of our consi deration even a present reward in the precise sense spoken of in our text : for it is beyond a doubt, that God does engage to supply the necessities of those who honour him with their sub stance": and we can appeal to many, and ask, whether they have not seen, in relation to their temporal concerns, many gracious interpositions of God in their behalf? But, indepen dent of these, who does not know that liberality is the parent of economy, and economy of wealth? A man desirous of honouring God with his substance, is delivered at once from all those vices and follies which ruin the estates of thousands. Besides, who that delights in doing good has not found incom parably greater delight in self-denial for the benefit of others, than the utmost latitude of self-indulgence could ever have afforded him? Granting, then, that no addition is actually

8 1 Tim. iv. 8. h Matt. vi. 33. > Isai. Iviii. 7 — 11.

k Luke xiv. 12 — 14. ' Luke xvi. 9. »' 1 Tim. vi. 17—10. 11 Phil. iv. 18, 1'J.

758.1 THE REWARD OF CHARITY. 29

made to our wealth ; yet, if our desires are moderated, and our expenditure restrained, the same effect is ultimately produced: for we are not more truly enriched by the increase of our sub stance, than we are by the diminution of our wants and our consumption.]

Let me now point out THE BEARINGS of this subject,

1. On those who are engaged in visiting the sick0— [Persons engaged in imparting instruction to the ignorant, and consolation to the afflicted, have yet, in a more eminent degree, the promise in our text fulfilled to them. Their light perhaps, at first, is but very imperfect ; but by imparting it to others, their own views become enlarged, and their own experience of divine truth becomes deeper, from the very cir cumstance of their improving it for the benefit of others. In deed, I can hardly suggest any better method for enlarging our own knowledge, than the making use of it for the instruction of our less enlightened brethren: for, besides the natural effect which may be expected from the communication of knowledge, we may expect a peculiar blessing from God whilst we are so employed. A remarkable instance of this may be found in Apollos : " He, when he knew only the baptism of John, spake and taught diligently the word of the Lord." " Aquila and Priscilla hearing him in the synagogue, took him, and ex pounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." And then, going forth with his augmented light, he prospered far more in his labours of love, not only " convincing the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, but helping them much who had believed through grace p." This example is most encouraging to all, to improve for God the light which they possess : for, whatever we do for God, is regarded by him as a loan which he will repay q: and in every instance shall it be found, that " he who vvatereth others, shall be watered also himself1"."]

2. On those who contribute for the support of the charity—

[On these, the subject bears to its full extent ; and we are warranted to affirm, that men shall " reap either sparingly or bountifully, according as they sows." But there is one point of view in which they pre-eminently " honour God," and with peculiar advantage secure their reward. They honour God particularly, not merely by the distribution of their alms, but by employing and calling forth into activity the piety of others,

0 This part must be varied, according to the occasion. It was preached in behalf of a Visiting Society ; but it may easily be accom modated to a Spiial Sermon, or any other Charitable Institution.

P Acts xviii. 24 — 28. 1 Prov. xix. 17.

r Fiov. xi. 25. 8 2 Cor. ix. G.

30 PROVERBS, III. 17. [759.

for the benefit of their fellow-creatures. It is obvious that individuals of small property could not, without assistance from others, relieve the necessities of the poor to any great extent : and if they could not administer some temporal relief, they could not find easy access to the chambers of the sick. But being furnished with the means of easy access, they can pour the light of instruction and the balm of consolation into the souls of the afflicted to great advantage ; and the persons so instructed and comforted, not only abound in thanksgivings to God for the benefits received, but in prayers to God in behalf of their benefactors. This St. Paul speaks of, as ennobling charity far beyond the mere conveyance of temporal relief1 — Now, then, let me ask, How can you honour God more, than in causing thanksgivings to arise to him from the altars of many hearts ? and, What compensation under heaven can equal the prayers and intercessions of saints in your behalf? Put your alms in one scale, and the prayers offered to a prayer- hearing God in the other, and say whether your recompence be not very abundant, or whether it is possible to lay out money in any other way to such advantage ? Let all of you, then, according to your power, "abound in this heavenly grace" of charity, after the example of your blessed Lord ; " who, though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through his poverty might be richu." Only get a sense of his love upon your souls, and a " sincere love to him" in return, and we shall have no occasion to entreat liberality from you ; for " you yourselves will be willing of your own accord, and will be ready to pray us, with much entreaty, that we will take upon ourselves the office of ministering to the saints" as your stewards1.]

* 2 Cor. ix. 12, 13. Cite the words, and mark what is said of their thanksgivings and prayers.

u 2 Cor.' viii. 9. * 2 Cor. viii. 3—8.

DCCLIX.

THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION.

Prov. iii. 17. Her ivays are ivays of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

TO be sincerely and eminently religious is consi dered by the world as a symptom of weakness and folly. But the Scriptures represent such a life as characteristic of true wisdom. Upon such " wisdom" Solomon bestows the highest commendations3: he

a vcr. 13 — 16. That this is the true meaning of "wisdom" and " understanding." is evident from Job xxviii. 28.

759.] THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION. 31

speaks of it as incomparably more precious than gold, or rubies, or any earthly good whatever : he paints her as a queen disposing of riches, honour, and lon gevity to all her subjects : and, because we are more captivated by the idea of pleasure than of any thing else, he commends her to us in the text as productive of it in the highest possible degree.

We are naturally led to shew from the words be fore us, that the duties of religion are, I. Pleasant in their exercise —

In confirmation of this truth, let us consider religion,

1. In a general and comprehensive view — [Religion, as our Lord informs us, is comprehended in two

things ; the love of God, and the love of our neighbour.

Let us then inquire into the love of God. Suppose a person filled with admiration of the divine perfections as exhibited in the works of creation, must not that be a pleasant exercise of mind? Suppose him rising yet higher to the works of redemp tion, and contemplating the justice and the mercy, the truth and the love, the wisdom and the goodness of the Deity, as united, and harmonizing, and glorified in the cross of Christ ; suppose him, I say, contemplating these with rapture, till he burst forth in songs of praise similar to those uttered by the angels at the birth of Christ, or those which are now sung around the throne of God ; would there be no pleasure in such an employment ? Suppose him yet further meditating upon the mercies of God vouchsafed to himself in particular, and adoring the triune God for all the wonders of electing, redeeming, sanctifying grace ; must not such a frame be pleasant?

Inquire, next, into the love of our neighbour : suppose one to be exercising all those dispositions towards him which his relation to us or his situation demand: suppose one to be rejoicing with him in his prosperity, or to be weeping over his adversity in tender sympathy ; suppose one to be stretching out the hand of charity for his relief, or administering consolation for his support; — is there no pleasure in all this? Surely he has not the heart of a man, who can question this obvious, indubitable truth.]

2. In its most difficult and painful duties— [Repentance is a principal duty of religion : but can we

find, it may be asked, any pleasure in that ? We answer, Yes : only view repentance in its proper light, and we will affirm that it is pleasant. Suppose that one of us had by mistake swallowed somewhat that was poisonous ; that we felt the deadly venom preying on our vitals ; and that our medical attendant informed

32 PROVERBS, III. 17. [759.

us, that, unless removed from our stomach, the poison would destroy us in a few hours ; should we deem the exertions neces sary for the removal of it a painful task ? Should we not gladly renew them, till we had accomplished our end ? Should we not, instead of regretting the pain occasioned by them, feel thankful that we had an opportunity to use them? And would not the success that accompanied our efforts turn our pain into a plea sure ? Such then is repentance ; it is a painful exertion to get rid of sin, which, if not expelled from our hearts, will utterly and eternally destroy us : and, though we do not say that pain can ever be pleasure, yet we affirm, that the very pangs of contrition, considered in a complex view, as consonant with our wishes and conducive to our good, are really pleasant : and for the truth of our assertion we will appeal to all who ever expe rienced those pangs : we will ask whether the seasons of their deepest humiliation have not been the sweetest seasons of their lives? We fear no contradiction upon this point, unless from those who are wholly ignorant of the matter.

Self-denial is another, and a very important, duty. But this, it should seem, precludes, in the very nature of it, the idea of pleasure, because it is a thwarting our own inclinations. We must however include this also among the ways that are ways of pleasantness. That the gratifying of a corrupt inclination is pleasant to flesh and blood, we cannot deny : but that the mortifying of it is abundantly more pleasant, we do not hesi tate to affirm. Suppose a person tempted to yield to the solicitations of lust, or to gratify a no less keen appetite for revenge ; would not a victory over his evil passions afford him more pleasure than a compliance with them ? would not the mortifying of an unchaste desire be attended with a pleasure more pure and refined than could be attained by the indul gence of it ? And, granting that the overcoming of evil with evil would be pleasant, (for revenge, they say, is sweet,) would not the " overcoming it with good" afford him incomparably sublimer happiness b ? Let us illustrate each of these positions by an example. Joseph, we know, resisted the importunity of his mistress : but were his sensations less pleasing when he had got out of the reach of temptation, than they would have been if he had consented to her wishes ? David, when enraged at the ingratitude and insolence of Nabal, went to avenge himself by his destruction : but when stopped and pacified by Abigail, did he regret the loss of any satisfaction which he would have felt in executing his cruel designs? No: he blessed her, and blessed God for her; and found infinitely more de light in the exercise of a forgiving spirit than the completest revenge could ever have afforded him0. We maintain it then,

b Rom. xii. 21. « 1 Sain. xxv. 31 — 33.

759.] THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION. 33

that the self-denial which religion calls for, is a source of real pleasure to the soul.

The bearing of the cross is another duty inculcated on all the followers of Christ d. And can this be pleasant? Yes, we must affirm that this also is a source of pleasure to the true Christian. Doubtless the contempt and hatred which we must expect from an ungodly world are not pleasant in themselves : to be shut up in prison, and scourged, and put to a cruel and lingering death, are not pleasant in themselves : but, as endured for the sake of Christ, they are pleasant. To ascertain this, inquire of those "who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods6;" or those who, with their feet in the stocks and their backs torn with scourges, " sang praises to God at midnight';" or those who, after their imprisonment, " rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the sake of Christ8." Ask what our Lord meant, when he taught his followers to " rejoice and be exceeding glad," whenever they should be called to suffer'1 ? and inquire of all the primitive saints who had learned, through grace, to " glory in tribulation1." Inquire of him, who suffered more than any other of the Apostles, and who, speaking of his expected martyrdom, exults in it as a matter of the wannest congratulation k. The experience of all true Christians is the same at this day : they " count themselves happy when they are called to endure1 ;" and look upon it as a special honour conferred upon them, when " it is given them to suffer any thing for their Redeemer's sake™." In a word, religion raises us so much above earthly pains and pleasures, as to render us altogether independent on them for our happiness".

Seeing then that even the most painful duties of religion are sources of pleasure, we may confidently affirm the same respecting " all" her w.ays.]

To this blessed account of wisdom's ways, we may

add, that they are,

II. Peaceful in their issue- Mark the influences of religion on all who walk in

her ways : mark them, 1. In life-

[None know any thing of " peace," except the true Christian. As God has said, so experience proves, that " there is no peace to the wicked0." The cisterns to which they go for refreshment, are polluted ; or rather, they are

d Luke ix. 23. 2 Tim. iii. 12. e Heb. x. 34.

f Acts xvi. 23 — 25. « Acts v. 41. h Matt. v. 11, 12.

1 Rom. v. 3. k Phil. ii. 17, 18. ' Jam. i. 2. and v. 11.

m Phil. i. 29. " Hub. iii. 17, 18. ° Isai. Ivii. 21.

VOL. vn. D

34 PROVERBS, III. 17. [759.

" broken cisterns that can hold no water1'." All that they possess is mere " vanity and vexation of spirit." " Even in laughter their heart is sorrowful ; and the end of their mirth is heaviness q." But is it thus with the true Christian? Has not he peace in his soul, and " joys, with which the stranger intermeddlcth notr?'' Yes, he "has already entered into rest8:" he has a tranquillity arising from the subjugation of his passions : he has a holy composure of mind springing from the testimony of a good conscience*: he has many sweet manifestations of God's love to his soul : he has that within him which mitigates every sorrow, enhances every enjoyment, and supplies his every want. In a word, from committing his soul, and all his concerns, to God, he has " a peace that passeth all understanding." This peace, we say, flows from the very exercises of religion, and is, more or less, an in separable attendant on them. To this effect the inspired writers uniformly speak. The Psalmist observes, " Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them"." To the same purpose Isaiah also says, " The work of righteousness is peace, and the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance for everx:" and St. Paul confirms their testimony, saying, " To be carnally-minded is death ; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace y."]

2. In death-

[Even in the time of health the ungodly cannot bear to think of death : conversation upon that awful subject is irk some and disgusting to them : they avoid it, because it makes them melancholy. If they be attacked with any fatal disease, their friends do all that they can to abate their fears, and to hide from them the real state of their disorder. When at last they come to feel their danger, then they are full of alarm and terror ; and, however much they despised the duties of religion before, will then begin to pay attention to them. There are some indeed so blinded by their own delusions, that they believe themselves safe ; while others are so callous as to be altogether insensible of their awful condition. But if men are not wholly blinded by conceit, or hardened by wickedness, they cannot but tremble at the approach of death : and then the hopes which they once fondly entertained, give way to painful forebodings, even to "a fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indigna tion." On the contrary, he who hath walked in wisdom's ways, is enabled in the midst of life to look forward to death, (like a bridegroom to his approaching nuptials,) as to the period, when all his desires shall be fulfilled, and his joys consummated. As

P Jer. ii. 13. 1 Eccl.ii.2. Prov.xiv. 13. r Prov. xiv. 10.

s Heb. iv. 3. ' 2 Cor. i. 12. « Ps. cxix. 165.

x Isai. xxxii. 17. y Rom. viii. 6.

759.] THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION. 35

he beholds death approaching, he rather chides its tardiness, than deprecates its advent. He " knows in whom he has be lieved;" and, in the hour of his departure, commits his soul with confidence into the hands of his ever-living and adorable Redeemer. Thus Stephen2, thus Paula, and innumerable others, have died ; and David tells us, that it is the privilege of all true believers to expect and enjoy such a death as this : " Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace V]

3. In eternity—

[As soon as the ungodly enter into the eternal world, whether they were conceited or callous, whether confident or trembling, they know the truth of all that God's word has declared. The Rich Man that fared sumptuously no sooner breathed out his soul, than he understood and felt the evil of neglecting his eternal interests ; he then found his misery irremediable, and incapable of the smallest alleviation. He knew his five surviving brethren were living in the same thoughtless way, and hastening to the same fatal end ; and wished that they might be apprised of their danger, ere it were too late : he knew by bitter experience that to those who lived and died in sin, nothing remained but unintermitted everlasting misery ; " they drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation ; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night0." How different is the state of true Christians ! They enjoy " the rest which here remained for them ; " they rest in the bosom of their Saviour, free from all sin and temptation, from pain and weariness. The peace which they enjoyed in this world, was but a taste of that banquet on which they feast continually, a drop of " those rivers of pleasure which are at God's right hand for evermore."]

ADDRESS—

1. The votaries of pleasure—

[There are two fatal mistakes under which you labour: the one is, that you think religion (according to the Scriptural representation of it), will afford nothing but pain ; the other is, that it will consist with an enjoyment of all the pleasures of the world. With respect to the former of these, we hope that nothing need be added to what has been already spoken : we hope that religion, if it have a dark and gloomy side, has also, like the pillar and cloud, a bright and cheering aspect : it is only on God's enemies that it casts a gloom : to his friends it affords a reviving light, a refreshing shade, a sure and safe

z Acts vii. 59, 60. a 2 Tim. iv. 6 — 8.

b Ps. xxxvii. 37. ° Rev. xiv. 10, 11.

3G PROVERBS, TIL 21—24. [7GO.

directory to heaven. With respect to the latter idea, namely, that of its countenancing worldly pleasures, surely no one can deliberately put such a construction on our text. If Religion's ways be pleasant, must therefore Pleasure's ways be religion? If so, what can be meant by St. Paul, when he says, " She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she livethd?" What could St. John mean, when he said, " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him6 ? " And what could our Lord mean, when he said, " They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world f ?" Be not deceived, as though carnal and worldly pleasures were the only sources of enjoyment ; but be assured, that the renunciation of them will contribute more to your happiness than the indulgence ; and that real pleasure is to be found in God alone.]

2. The disciples of Christ—

[The wicked know that you profess to find more pleasure in religion than they can obtain in the world : give them not then any reason to think that you are disappointed in your ex pectations. If they see you lukewarm in religion, will they not conclude that it has not charms sufficient to allure you, or benefits sufficient to reward your labour ? And if they see you joining in their company and vain pursuits, will they not, how ever they may encourage you in such a conduct, suppose that religion is not able to make you happy, and that you are forced, after all your professions, to come and borrow of their carnal pleasures, in order to eke out the scanty pittance that religion has bestowed? O bring not such disgrace upon your holy profession. Shew that you despise the vanities of this world, and that you have no appetite for husks after living upon " the bread that is in your Father's house." Our Lord has said, " My yoke is easy, and my burthen is light;" shew therefore that you feel it so ; and let it be seen by your zeal in religious duties, that they are not a weariness to you, but a delight. Thus will you recommend to others the paths you tread, and prove to them that " your feet are guided into the way of peace."]

d 1 Tim. v. 6. e 1 John iii. 15, 10. f John xvii. 1G.

DCCLX.

TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED.

Prov. iii. 21 — 24. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes : keep sound wisdom and discretion : so shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid ; yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be siceet.

760.] TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED. 37

IN the book of Proverbs, "wisdom" is generally put for religion : in some places, perhaps, it may be interpreted as representing Christ himself, who is " the wisdom of God and the power of God :" but in our text there can be no doubt of its importing piety, or the influence of true religion in the soul. And though in the Book of Proverbs the doctrines of religion are not very distinctly specified, the general character of it is developed with peculiar richness and beauty : and this gives to the Proverbs of Solomon an importance far beyond what would belong to a mere collection of moral lessons. We have, in the passage before us, what I might almost call a full- length picture of religion, both in its character and effects : and in these two points of view, we shall, in conformity with our text, proceed to consider it,

I. In its true and proper character- Doubtless religion admits of an infinite diversity of description. But in no place can we find a juster representation of it than in that before us. It is,

1. " Wisdom" in the heart—

[Were \ve to define " wisdom," we should say, It is the seeking of the best ends by the fittest means. And were we to declare what true religion is, we should say, It is the seek ing of the salvation of the soul through the mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ.

Now, then, I would ask, What end is there for us to propose to ourselves, that can be compared with the everlasting salva tion of our souls ? The pursuit of crowns and kingdoms would

be unworthy of an effort in comparison of this —Truly

it is " the one thing needful."

Again I would ask, What means are there fitted for the attainment of this end in comparison of those which are pro posed to us in the gospel of Christ ? There we find a Saviour precisely suited to our necessities ; One who has made an atonement for all our sins ; One who " ever liveth to make intercession for us " in heaven ; and One who, as the Head of all vital influence, is " able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him." By the simple exercise of faith in him, we become partakers of all his blessings : and, therefore, it is our one aim from day to day to " live by faith upon him," and to " receive out of his fulness " all the blessings which we stand in need of.

38 PROVERBS, III. 21—24-. [760.

Now, compare with this any other mode of salvation that can be devised ; and its wisdom will shine forth as the sun, which eclipses, and, as it were, blots from the firmament, all the lights of heaven —

2. Discretion in the life—

[When once religion occupies the soul, it implants a principle there which thenceforth regulates the whole man. No longer does an anxiety about earthly things distract the mind. Pleasure, riches, and honour, are all subordinated to the welfare of the soul ; and the will of God is the one only rule of conduct to him. A regard for God's honour, too, will then operate, so as to give to all circumstances, whether of time or place, their legitimate influence, and to secure to him who is under its influence the approbation of the wise and good. He illustrates in his life that saying of Solomon, " I, Wisdom, dwell with Prudence." In a word, to approve himself to God is the one object of his life : and that one object being ever before his eyes, he is kept from every corrupt bias, and from the incon sistencies which an unhallowed principle would produce.

Of course, it must not be supposed that a person, naturally weak and foolish, will pass in a moment to a comprehensive ness of mind and soundness of judgment : that is not to be expected : on the contrary, inasmuch as a principle of piety infinitely outweighs every earthly object, it may be expected, that, on its first entrance into the soul, it will operate rather in a way of extravagance, and cause a person to overlook the minor considerations of prudence and discretion. But this must be imputed not to religion itself, but to the weakness of him in whom it dwells : and the effect of religion will be to correct his errors, and to induce habits of wisdom, which no other prin ciple would ever have been able to form within him.]

Let us now proceed to consider it, II. In its just and necessary effects —

Religion is not a mere principle ; nor does it con sist in any peculiar practice without a principle : it is an operative principle, producing,

1. Life in the soul—

[I cannot give any juster view of religion, than by saying, It is that in the soul which the soul is in the body. Without the soul, the body is dead ; and without religion, the soul is dead. By the soul the body is animated, and performs all the functions of the animal life ; by religion the soul is quickened, and performs all the functions of the spiritual life. By the union of the soul with the body, all the powers, both of body and mind, are called into activity ; and by the operation of

760.1 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED. 39

religion in the soul, the understanding, the will, the affections, the memory, the conscience, perform their respective offices, in subserviency to God, for the promotion of a man's spiritual and eternal good. The soul, pervading the whole body, acts with ease and regularity, and with so little ostentation, that its operations, though effectual, attract no notice : and so it is with religion in the soul : it brings into easy and harmonious use all its different faculties and powers, governing the whole man, and subjecting even the thoughts themselves to the obe dience of Christ. In a word, it is, as my text has said, " life to the soul." If we were to understand by this expression, that it tends to lengthen out the existence of man on earth, it would be true, and an important truth : but we cannot so con tract the sense, or comprehend less in these words than what we have expressed. Religion makes a man a new creature : " old things pass away, and all things become new."]

2. Gracefulness in the deportment—

[Well is it said by the Apostle, that " a meek and quiet spirit is, in the sight of God himself, an ornament of great price." Through the operation of divine grace upon the soul, all the tempers and dispositions will be kept in order ; so that none shall prevail to the injury of other men, or to the dishonour of the man himself. The discipline of religion is not unlike that which prevails in reference to the body amongst the higher ranks of society. In persons untaught, there is an awkward ness, as it were, apparent in their whole gait ; whilst those who have mixed in polished society have a comparative ease and elegance in all their motions. So, if you see a person un- instructed in religion engaged in religious exercises, he is not at home in any of them : his occupation sits not easy upon him: and if he attempt to assume the posture of real piety, he betrays his want of true feeling by the very motions in which he attempts to express it. But let a contrite and devout soul draw nigh to God, and there is a "correspondence between his looks and attitude, his words and professions. His every motion is such as befits the employment in which he is engaged : yea, there is a symmetry in every part of the spiritual man, so that his whole demeanour is simple, uniform, becoming. He exempli fies in his life that expression of the Psalmist, " I will beautify the meek with salvation :" and he shews in his deportment what that inspired writer meant by that petition, " Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." The more of real piety any man possesses, the more of this image will be stamped upon him ; and the more he communes with his God, the more will a divine glory surround his head, and beam forth from his countenance in the sight of all who behold him.]

3. Stability in the walk—

40 PROVERBS, III. 21—24. [760.

[The man of sound wisdom takes heed to his ways : he desires to see his path clear before him : if he be in doubt, he will take " the word of God as a light to his feet, and a lantern to his paths." If his path be slippery, he will cry unto his God, " Hold thou up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not!" And in answer to his prayer, " God will give his angels charge over him, to keep him in all his ways, that he dash not his foot against a stone." Of these advantages the unconverted man has no experience. He ventures into scenes of temptation, without being aware of his danger : nor has he any guidance or strength but his own. What wonder, then, if he fall? But the man who, with wisdom in his heart, and discretion in his life, " suffers not these " guardian angels, as it were, "to depart from his eyes," will be kept amidst all the most trying scenes in which he can be engaged, and " will be preserved blameless unto the kingdom of his God." " The Law of God is in his heart, and therefore his footsteps do not slide a."]

4. Peace in the heart—

[" What man is he that feareth the Lord ? His soul," says the Psalmist, " shall dwell at ease." A man without religion may pass through the day with some degree of comfort, because of the variety of occupations that engage his thoughts. But when he comes to lie down at night, and he has time for reflec tion, some painful occurrence will dwell upon his mind, and agitate his spirits, and disturb his rest : and when he wakes in the morning, the same unpleasant feelings will haunt him, and destroy that serenity which sleep was calculated to convey. Or, if nothing particular have occurred to distress him, he lies down and rises up without any other feeling than that which he possesses in common with the beasts. But not so the truly religious man. He, when retiring to rest, calls to remembrance the mercies with which he has been encompassed during the day, and renders thanks for them to his heavenly Benefactor ; to whom also he commends himself for protection during the defenceless hours of the night. Shall I speak too strongly if I say, that he lies down, as it were, in the bosom of his God, saying, "I will lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety ? " In the morning, too, when he awakes, he finds that " his sleep has been sweet unto him ;" not to his body merely, but to his soul ; for his soul, at the first resuming of its powers, finds God present with it, in a way which the merely natural man has no conception of: so true is that expression of the Psalmist, " When I awake, I am still with tliee." So true, also, is that encouraging pro mise of Solomom, " Bind the commandment upon thine heart, and tie it about thy neck : when thou goest, it shall lead thee ;

a See Ps. xxxvii. 31. and Prov. iv. 11 — 13.

760.] TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED. 41

when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee ; and when thou awakest, it shall walk with thee."]

APPLICATION—

1. Are there now any present, who are prejudiced against religion ?

[Know what true religion is. It is not by any means that thing which prejudiced persons are ready to imagine. " It is wisdom, sound wisdom, and discretion." There are doubtless in the Gospel many things which surpass our comprehension. But so there are also in all the other works of God, whether of creation or providence. But if there are truths at which a proud man will stumble, there is not one which will not com mend itself to an humble and childlike spirit. And as far as it operates upon the soul, it induces discretion in every part of a man's conduct, and assimilates him to the very image of his God. Who amongst us will say that the Saviour's example was not good ? Yet his enemies condemned it, and accounted him worthy to be crucified as the vilest malefactor. And may there not be a measure of the same prejudice in you, a pre judice that blinds your eyes, and makes you to hate those whom you should love and honour ? But, at all events, know this : whatever corresponds not with religion, as described in our text, we disclaim. If there be folly and indiscretion in any who profess the Gospel, let them bear the blame, and not religion. But if you will condemn the care of the soul as a needless preciseness, and a cleaving unto the Saviour as an enthusiastic and vain conceit, you shall bear the burthen ; for, blame these things as ye may, know that " Wisdom will be justified of all her children."]

2. Are there those here who profess to love religion?

[Beware, lest by any thing imprudent ye " cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of:" yea, seek rather to the utmost of your power to " adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." On your conduct much depends. Men will not judge of religion so much by what ice say, as by what we do. In vain shall Solomon himself describe it as forming such lovely characters, if you contradict his statements in your life and conversation. However we may expose the folly of so doing, men will identify religion with the conduct of its professors ; and will take occasion, from any thing that is unbecoming in you, to cast reflections upon religion for your sake. But, knowing this propensity in them, you should be doubly careful not to cast a stumbling-block in their way. See to it, then, that ye " walk worthy of your high calling." If ye be children of the light, let it be seen by the holiness of your conversation : and, wherever ye go, be ye epistles of Christ, known and read of all

M PROVERBS, III. 35. [761.

men ; so that all who behold you may be constrained to say, " We will go with you; for we see that God is with you of a truth."]

DCCLXI.

THE REWARDS OF WISDOM AND OF FOLLY.

Prov. iii. 35. The wise shall inherit glory ; but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

A DESIRE of distinction and a fear of shame are powerful incentives to the human mind, and produce, in every department of life, exertions far beyond those to which mere natural inclination would prompt us. The soldier on the field of battle finds those principles stronger than the fear of death : nor is the student insensible of their influence upon his mind : on the contrary, the nearer the time approaches for a judgment to be passed upon him, the greater are his anxieties respecting ita. Now, these feelings being founded in nature itself, God is pleased to call them into action in reference to things of far higher moment than those which too generally engross them. Dis grace or honour are awarded to men, even in the present life, on moral and religious grounds, and much more will they in the life to come : and I wish that a due concern may be felt in reference to them, whilst I point out the influence of wisdom, I. On our present state- Wisdom may fitly be described as a conformity to the mind of God ; and folly, as any aberration from it. But it is the Gospel alone that places these in their true light. Let us,

1. Distinguish the two characters—

[The Gospel is a proclamation of mercy to perishing sin ners, through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ ; nor is there any way of salvation for fallen man, except that which is there revealed. All who are not interested in that Saviour must perish under the guilt of their sins

a Preached a little previous to the Degree time at Cambridge ; a time of extreme anxiety to the young men preparing for the Exami nations.

761.] THE REWARDS OF WISDOM AND OF FOLLY.

Now, who is wise, but he who labours to secure that salva tion? or who is a fool, but he who neglects it? Suppose that means of escape from a sinking vessel, or a house in flames, were oft'ered to one in danger of instantaneous destruction ; would any person in the universe hesitate to assign the proper and distinctive epithets to him who availed himself of them, and to him who disregarded them ? Yet would their conduct but very faintly shadow forth that which is exhibited under the Gospel dispensation ; and the terms used to designate that conduct would very faintly describe its appropriate character. Let the two characters, then, be properly distinguished. Where is the man who, with all humility of mind and entire devotion of soul, seeks an interest in the Saviour? — — • Him we may safely designate as " wise." Where, on the other hand, is the

man who neglects the Saviour ? — Whatever excuses he

may allege in vindication of his conduct, we need not hesitate to assign to him the humiliating appellation of a " fool."]

2. Declare their proper award—

[" The wise" shall even here " inherit glory." Every one, whatever his own practice may be, has within his own bosom a witness in favour of those who are religious, provided their conduct be uniform and consistent. In outward profession, I grant, the world may brand religion with the name of folly : but their consciences in secret give a very different testimony : nor is there any man, however ungodly, so wicked, but that he reverences in his heart a pious character, and wishes, if it were possible, to be found in his place at the day of judgment. Herod, in the midst of all his impiety, " feared John, because he knew him to be a just and holy man." And so it is with the ungodly world ; they venerate the very man whom for his piety they hate and persecute. On the other hand, vain and thoughtless as are the world at large, and interested in upholding each other in their various pursuits, there is not one among them, who, in his moments of reflection, does not see the emptiness and vanity of worldly things ; and who would not regard it as an incon sistency in a religious character, if he should betray an eagerness m the prosecution of them. The truth of these observations will be manifest beyond either contradiction or doubt, if only we bear in mind the conduct of the Scribes and Pharisees of old, who, whilst persecuting our blessed Lord even unto death, " built the tombs of the prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous," whom their forefathers had put to death b. Precisely thus we also at this time honour the memory of the Apostles, and of our own reformers too, (for who does not honour the names of Cranmer, and Latimer, and Ridley ?) whilst we hate, revile, and persecute the living saints, who walk

b Matt, xxiii. 29 — 31.

41 PROVERBS, III. 35. [761.

in their steps : and the names of the Scribes and Pharisees of old are odious to us, whilst we pay respect to those who sustain the same character amongst ourselves. All this clearly shews, that whatever our outward behaviour may be towards the two different parties, both of them have an inward witness in our own bosoms; " the wise inheriting the glory" that is due to them, whilst " shame is the only promotion of fools."]

But still more effect will wisdom have, II. On our condition in the eternal world- There the conduct of all will be rightly appreciated—

[In this world there are many things which obscure the wisdom of the wise, and which serve to palliate the folly of fools. The weaknesses of many good men excite a prejudice against their sentiments and conduct, and do really cast an air of folly over their very profession. This is deeply to be lamented : but, whilst there is so much folly bound up in the heart of man, and in many the seed of Divine Grace is but as a grain of mustard-seed, it is not to be wondered at that such stumbling-blocks should occur: indeed, unless a miracle were wrought to turn babes at once into young men and fathers, it is scarcely possible that offences of some kind should not arise from the injudicious deportment of weaker brethren. On the other hand, amongst those who are not devoted to the Saviour, there are many eminent for their attainments in science, and abounding in every species of worldly wisdom ; and amidst so much that is amiable and good, it is difficult to mark with becoming severity the folly of which they are guilty. But God will judge righteous judgment : he will distinguish infallibly between the errors of the judgment and the bias of the heart : and to those who sought him, though in much weakness, he will give a testimony of applause ; but on those who sought him not he will denounce his sentence of eternal condemnation.]

Then will wisdom and folly appear in their true light-

[Behold the saint approved of his God, and seated on a throne of glory ! Will any one think he sacrificed too much for this, or laboured too hard for this? Will there be any difference of opinion respecting him, amongst the hosts of heaven, or even in the regions of hell? No; there will be but one testimony respecting him. Every creature in the universe will pronounce him wise. See, on the other hand, the most successful and distinguished of the human race banished from the presence of that Saviour whom he would not seek, and of that God whom he refused to serve! Will there be any difference of opinion respecting his folly? Nay, will not he himself be the very first to accuse himself, and to curse the folly

701.] TIIE REWARDS OF WISDOM AND OF FOLLY. 45

which once he so fondly cherished ? Yes : we are told that, in hell, men will " weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth" with anguish : and I cannot doubt but that their self-reproach will be one of the bitterest ingredients in the cup which will there be given them to drink. When they see in what their love of " promotion" has issued, and that it has brought nothing but a pre-eminence in " shame" and sorrow, they will set their seal to that once-despised truth, that " wisdom excelleth folly, as much as light excelleth darkness."]

Permit me now to RECOMMEND to every one amongst you,

1. A retrospect of your past lives —

[What is your estimate now of your past life ? Is there one amongst you who would not rather that it should have been under the influence of wisdom, than that it should have been so devoted to folly, as in the great majority of cases it has been ? I suppose there is scarcely any one that has not, at some season or other, had moments of reflection, and formed some faint purposes of amendment. Let the humiliation then expe rienced have been ever so transient, do you not at this time look back upon it as the best hour of your lives ? and do you not regret that it so speedily passed away ? And, however deeply you may have drunk of the cup of pleasure, do you not now feel that it is all vanity, and that nothing of it remains but the dregs, which have a bitter taste ? Where is there one amongst you, who, if he should hear a dying man glorying in having lived altogether to the flesh and to the world, would not be shocked at it as an excess of impiety and folly ? Or who, if he were himself in dying circumstances, would riot wish for a far different frame of mind to prepare him for his great account ? I make this appeal with confidence, and am content to rest the whole of what I have said on the testimony of your own consciences. Yes, beloved Brethren, you shall be con stituted judges in your own case ; and I will abide by the de cision which you yourselves shall give. Let your convictions, then, be now realized ; and let the Lord Jesus Christ be now sought by you without delay.]

2. A prospective view of futurity—

[Soon you will be convinced, at all events, whether you will listen to good instruction now, or not. Soon you will " see whose word shall stand — the world's, or God's." De pend upon it, God's word will not change. What he has designated as wisdom by the mouth of Prophets and Apostles, he will pronounce to have been so, when he shall sit on his throne of judgment. Why will ye not then anticipate that sentence ? And why will ye not consider what your reflections

4G PROVERBS, IV. 7. [762.

will be, when all your present opportunities of turning unto God shall have passed away ? This only do I ask of you : ' Act now, as you will then wish you had acted.' Methinks this is a reasonable request : it is a request which every one acknowledges to be good in reference to the things of time ; and surely it cannot be less good in reference to eternity. May God enable all of you, then, to comply with it ! and may you all not only become wise, but be made wise unto salva tion through faith in Christ Jesus!]

DCCLXII.

THE NATURE AND EXCELLENCE OF TRUE WrISDOM.

Prov. iv. 7. Wisdom is the principal thing : therefore get n'isdom ,• and ivith all thy getting, get understanding.

THE inspired volume is no less useful in rectifying the prejudices of education, than it is in restraining the indulgence of forbidden appetites. As far as relates to the grosser violations of moral duty, the advice of parents and teachers is in unison \vith the Holy Scriptures ; but we are very rarely exhorted to follow that which is the main end and purpose of life. Get wealth, get honour, are the lessons inculcated on all the rising generation. David however sets us a better example : he earnestly entreated his son above all things to cultivate true religion. And Solomon, having reaped much advantage from those instruc tions, has left them on record for our benefit3. We shall endeavour, I. To shew the nature and excellence of true wisdom—

That which is usually termed wisdom is far from being the object so extolled in the text —

[We mean not to depreciate the attainments of art or science. They are valuable in themselves, and, if duly im proved, may, like the Egyptian gold, enrich and beautify the sanctuary of God. But the wisdom spoken of in the text, has respect entirely to spiritual things.]

True wisdom is the proposing of the best ends and prosecuting of them by the fittest means—

[There is no end so worthy to be pursued by a rational creature, as the sanctification and salvation of his own soul.

a ver. 3—7.

762.1 MATURE AND EXCELLENCE OF TRUE WISDOM. 47

Nor are there any means of attaining it so proper, as those prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. To repent of all our sins, to flee to Christ for the pardon of them, and to seek the reno vation of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, are represented as the only effectual means of salvation. These things, it must be confessed, are often called folly ; but they are called so only by those, who have never known them by experience. Not one among the holy angels would account it folly to love and serve God. None of the redeemed in heaven regret that they were once so strenuous in the exercises of religion. The saints on earth are precisely of the same mind with those in heaven. Hence conversion to a holy life is called " a turning of the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the justV Even devils and damned spirits would confess that devotedness of heart to God is the truest wisdom. Careless sinners are the only beings who dissent from this truth ; and they in a little time will assuredly alter their opinion0.]

Such wisdom is justly termed "the principal thing"-

[There are many other things which are important in their place ; but this is far superior to them all. Riches cannot be put in competition with itd. Pleasure, honour, or even life itself, are not worthy to be compared with ite. It excels every thing else as much as~ light excelleth darknessf. This exclusively deserves the name of wisdom, God himself being witness g. It is " the good part;h" and he alone can be called truly wise, who, like Paul, accounts every thing but loss for that unspeak ably excellent attainment1.]

Its excellency being thus established, we may pro ceed, II. To urge upon you the diligent pursuit of it—

In the text, with the preceding context, we may see the utmost fervour that language can express. May we be animated with the same, while we labour to impress the subject on your minds by the following considerations ! Consider then,

1. This wisdom is both more easily, and more cer tainly, to be attained than any thing else—

[With respect to other things, every one has not a capa city for making great attainments ; nor have all, who possess

b Luke i. 17.

c Wisdom v. 4. What do those rich men, Luke xii. 19, 20. and xvi. 19, 23. now think of their once envied state ?

d Job xxviii. 12—19. e Prov. iii. 13—18. f Eccl. ii. 13. « Job xxviii. 28. »> Luke x. 42. J Phil. iii. 7, 8.

48 PROVERBS, IV. 7. [762.

good abilities, an opportunity of cultivating them to advan tage. Nor can great industry united with great talents, always ensure success k; but no man ever sought this in vain. The poor fishermen of Galilee were as capable of comprehending it, as the philosophers of Greece and Rome. We attain it, not by the mere exertion of our own powers, but by the teachings of God's Spirit1. Nor will he ever refuse that heavenly gift to any who seek it with a teachable and childlike disposition"1. This thought may well encourage all. May we be stirred up by it to seek the unction that shall teach us all things"! Then will God bestow upon us his promised blessing0; and make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christp.]

2. There is nothing else which will so conduce to our present happiness—

[The creature is justly represented as a cistern that will hold no water q. All who seek happiness in it are disappointed. Even science itself, which is the most rational of all earthly pleasures, is often a source of sorrow and vexation1"; but true wisdom is an overflowing fountain of joy. In prosperity, it adds a zest to all our comforts; and in adversity, a balm to all our sorrows. In a time of pain and trouble more especially its excel lency appears. What can earthly things do to assuage our anguish or compose our minds8? But religion enables us to see the rod in our Father's hand, and to know that all is working for our good1. St. Paul found it to be wealth in poverty, joy in sorrow, life in death u. And such will every Christian expe rience it to be in the hour of trial x. Shall not this consideration then quicken our diligence in the pursuit of it?]

3. There is nothing besides this that can in the least promote our eternal welfare—

[Our duties, when performed with an eye to God, are a part of religion itself; but, independent of the respect which we have to him in the performance of them, they are of no value in his sight. A person may do many things that are beneficial to society, and yet be dead in trespasses and sins. But Solomon, specifying the supreme excellency of wisdom, affirms, that it giveth life to them that have ity. No man can perish that possesses wisdom; nor can any man be saved who is destitute of itz. Shall we not then be prevailed upon to seek it? Shall we disregard the commendations that David and Solo mon have given of it ? And shall their importunity be treated

k Eccl. ix. 11. ! Johni. 13. andvi. 45. m Jam. i. 5.

" 1 John ii. 20. ° Prov. ii. 1 — 6. P 2 Tim. iii. 15,

i Jer. ii. 13. r Eccl. i. 17, 18. s Eccl. v. 17.

4 Rom. viii. 28. u 2 Cor. vi. 9, 10. x Prov. iii. 21 — 2G.

y Eccl. vii. 12. * Rom. viii. G, 13.

7(53.1 TIIK CHRISTIAN'S PATH. -1!)

by us with coldness and neglect? Surely such a conduct may well expose us to the most severe of all reflections3.]

" Suffer then a word of EXHORTATION " — •

[The wisdom here spoken of is not the only thing in the world that is desirable; nor the only thing that you may laudably pursue. There are innumerable other things which demand our attention ; and which our several conditions in life render necessary. The text itself supposes, or rather enjoins, that we should labour to get other things ; but wisdom is indisputably " the principal thing ;" and " with all our getting we must be mindful to get understanding." Whatever else be neglected, this must not: it is " the one thing needful." Therefore, " get it, get it, get it, get itb." " Forsake it not, neither forget it ; exalt it, love it, and embrace it; so shall it be an ornament of grace to your head, and a crown of glory to your soul." For whoso findeth it findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lordc.]d

a Prov. xvii. 10. b Four times is this repeated, ver. .5, 7.

c Prov. viii. 35.

(1 If this were the subject of a Commemoration Sermon, the inten tion of the founder, and the obligations necessarily attaching to every member of the society, might be urged as a fourth and more appro priate consideration to enforce the royal precept given in the text.

DCCLXIII.

THE CHRISTIAN'S PATH COMPARED TO THE LIGHT.

Prov. iv. 18. The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

HABITS, of whatever kind, are strengthened by exercise ; the more congenial they are with our na tural feelings, the more easily are they confirmed. Hence the wicked, without any express purpose on their part, are daily more and more riveted to the world and sin. The righteous too increase in love to the ways of God in proportion as they endeavour to fulfil his will. They have indeed a bias, which, if they were left to themselves, would soon turn them aside. But God will not leave them destitute of needful succour : he pledges himself that their path shall resemble the shining light. This is found true by happy experience. Their path is,

I. Beautiful in its appearance —

VOL. VII. E

50 PROVERBS, IV. 18. [763.

The rising sun is as beautiful an object as any in the whole creation—

[At its first approach it tinges the distant clouds with light. On its first appearance it gilds the summits of the woods and mountains : then, dispelling all the shades of night, it illumines the whole horizon. How delightful is this to every one that beholds ita !]

Thus is the path of the righteous exceeding beau tiful-

["The just" are they who are renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of God. Their path in the very outset is beautiful to behold. Their simplicity of mind, and teachableness of spirit, endear them to us ; their lowliness and humility attract the notice of the very angels themselves1'. The fervour of their love engages both .our admiration and esteem. The very shades in their character serve as a contrast to shew the excellence of the change that has passed upon them. As they proceed their graces are more matured. Their course is justly described by the Apostle Paulc. Surely such a conduct must be beautiful in the eyes of God and man. They are justly spoken of as " beautified with salvation*1 : they even reflect a lustre upon the Gospel itself6.]

While their path is so amiable, it resembles the light further, in that it is II. Beneficial in its influence—

The sun does not shine with unproductive splen dour—

[It enables the several orders of men to return to their respective callings. In the darkness they could not go without stumbling f; but now they follow their occupations without fear or difficulty. The productions of the earth also feel the genial influence of the sun, and are matured by means of its invigo rating beams.]

Nor is the Christian unprofitable in his course—

[The wicked are stumbling on every side of him g; but the Christian affords a light to the benighted souls around himh. He shines in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation1 : he is an epistle of Christ, known and read of all men k. The account given of Job, describes his course, as far as his situa tion and circumstances will allow1. Thus by his conduct he

a Eccl. xi. 7. b Luke xv. 10. c Phil. iv. 8.

d Ps. clxix. 4 e Tit. ii. 10. f John xi. 9, 10.

* Prov. iv. 10. h Matt. v. 14. ' Phil. ii. 15, 16.

k 2 Cor. iii. '2, 3. ' Job xxix. 11—10.

763.] THE CHRISTIAN'S PATH. 51

puts to silence the ignorance of foolish men™. He even wins some, perhaps, whom the word alone would never have con verted", and causes many to glorify his heavenly Father0.]

The comparison yet further holds, in that the path of the just, like that of the sun, is,

III. Constant in its progress—

The sun invariably pursues its wonted course—

[From the instant it rises, it hastens toward the meridian. Sometimes indeed its splendour is intercepted by clouds, and sometimes it may be partially, or even totally eclipsed; still, however, it proceeds in its appointed path, and is sure to arrive at its meridian height.]

The Christian too goes forward towards perfection —

[He never rests as though he had attained the summit P. He determines to be ever pressing forward for higher attain ments'1. He may indeed for a season be involved in clouds: yea, perhaps, he may through the violence of temptation, suf fer an eclipse; but, if he be really " just" and upright, his light shall break forth again. God has ensured this by a solemn pro mise1. Jeremiah illustrates it by the very allusion in- the text8: nor is this progress the privilege of some only*. David speaks of it as belonging to Israel of oldu. Paul represents it as enjoyed by every true Christian x ; and Peter shewrs us whence this sta bility proceeds y. None indeed arrive at absolute perfection in this life2; but soon the just will be changed into Christ's per fect image3, and shine above the sun in the firmament for ever and everh.]

IMPROVEMENT—

1. For conviction—

[We are in a world that lieth in darkness and the shadow of death ; and, if we be Christians indeed, we are shining as lights in a dark place. Do our consciences testify that this is the case with us ? Are we examples of holiness to those of our own age and rank? Do we reprove all works of darkness, in stead of having fellowship with themc? If not, how can we ever be numbered among the just? Shall we say that we once were such, but are now under a cloud ? Or that our light is at the present eclipsed ? Let us beware lest we prove only as a

m 1 Pet. ii. 15. n 1 Pet. iii. 1,2. ° Matt. v. 1C.

P Phil. iii. 12. q Phil. iii. 13, 14. r Job xvii. 9.

8 Jer. xxxi. 33—37. l Phil. i. 6, 7. " Ps. Ixxxiv. 7.

* 2 Cor. iii. 18. y 1 Pet. i. 5. •• 1 Cor.xiii. 9, 10.

a 1 John iii. 2. Phil, iii, 21.

b Dan. xii. 3. and Matt. xiii. 43. c Eph. v. 11.

E2

52 PROVERBS, IV. 23. [764.

fleeting meteor. Our light must be steady and increasing, like

that of the sun. The tree is known by its fruit; and the just

by their light'1; and a false profession will deceive us to our eternal ruine.]

2. For consolation—

[There are many true Christians who do not enjoy much comfort, and the darkness of their minds sometimes makes them doubt whether they be upright before God ; but they often write bitter things against themselves without a cause. Dis tress, whether temporal or spiritual, argues nothing against our integrity. Job never shone brighter than in his trouble ; nor Christ, than in the depths of his dereliction. Let him then that is in darkness, stay himself upon his Godf. It is to such persons that God sends us with words of comfort K. To them in parti cular is that delightful declaration addressed1'. Wait then the Lord's leisure, ye afflicted souls, and trust in him. Soon shall your " light rise in obscurity, and your darkness be as the noon-day;" nor will God be glorified less in your patience, than in more active services.]

d Eph. v. 8. e 1 John i. 6. and ii. 9, 11.

f Isai. 1. 10. s Isai. xxxv. 3, 4. h Isai. liv. 7 — 10.

DCCLXIV.

KEEPING THE HEART.

Prov. iv. 23. Keep thy heart ivith all diligence ; for out of it are the issues of life.

IT is certainly of infinite importance that we be deeply convinced of our utter inability to do any thing that is good, and of our entire dependence upon God for the effectual aids of his Holy Spirit. But we must not imagine, that, because we have no suffi ciency of ourselves to do the will of God, we are not bound in duty to do it, or not to be exhorted and stimulated to the performance of it. Our duty is the same, whatever be the circumstances to which we have reduced ourselves ; and it is in, and by, our personal exertions, that God has promised to " work all our works in us." Hence, in the Scriptures of Truth, we are continually exhorted to serve our God in the way of his commandments. It is obvious that we cannot preserve the life of our bodies for one single moment ; yet God expects, that we keep

764.] KEEPING THE HEART. 53

ourselves from those things \vhich would destroy life, and use all proper means of preserving it : so neither can we, of ourselves, preserve the life of our souls ; yet are we bound to " keep our heart with all dili gence ; since out of it are the issues of life."

It is indeed supposed here, that a new heart has been given to us ; because from the unregenerated heart no good thing can issue : but inasmuch as even the renewed heart has still innumerable corruptions within it, we must keep it with all diligence.

To impress this duty on our minds, let us consider, I. The duty enjoined—

"To keep the heart" is indeed an arduous task. To assist you in the performance of it, we will offer such suggestions as appear suitable to the occasion :

1. Fortify it with good principles—

[A city unfortified is open to assault on every side : and so is the heart, if not duly fortified by the principles of true religion. As a sinner redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and sanctified by his Spirit, I am the Lord's peculiar property : I live by him ; and I must live for him : " having been bought with a price, I am not my own, but his" who bought me : and I have nothing to do but to " glorify him with my body and my spirit, which are his." When therefore any thing attempts to gain possession of my heart, I must keep it for Him ; for Him wholly ; for Him alone. Nothing is to break in upon this principle. Let earth and hell assault me, I must oppose them in this impregnable bulwark ; " Depart from me, ye evil-doers; I will keep the commandments of my Goda." The Christian is furnished by God with armour for this con test15; and, clothed in this panoply, he must maintain the conflict even unto death0.]

2. Watch all its most secret motions —

[A citadel, however strong, if filled with traitors waiting for an occasion to open it to the enemy, needs to be guarded with peculiar care : the professed defenders of it must them selves be watched. So it is with the heart, notwithstanding it be at present garrisoned for the Lord. It is inconceivably difficult in many instances to distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous. They are both habited in the same uni form ; and both make the very same professions : both too appear actuated by the same holy zeal. The Apostles, when

a Ps. cxix. 115. b Eph. vi. 11 — 10. c Rev. ii. 10.

51. PROVERBS, IV. #J. [764.

disputing with each other who should be the greatest, and forbidding others to cast out devils, because they followed not with them, and desiring to call fire from heaven to avenge their Master's cause, appeared as faithful as men could be'1: yet were they in reality actuated by pride and envy, in the garb of zeal and love : and, had not these corrupt passions been checked at first, who can tell, " how great a matter this little fire might have kindled"?" There is not a motion of the heart but must be strictly marked : its associates must be carefully noticed ; its tendencies examined ; its professions scrutinized ; lest Satan himself be found there, under the semblance of an angel of light f.]

3. Combine all its energies in the service of your God-

[The Psalmist has a remarkable expression on this sub ject ; "Unite my heart, O Lord, to fear thy nameg." If the powers of the soul be scattered, they will be as inefficient as soldiers that are dispersed. It is by a combination of efforts for a preconcerted end, and by simultaneous movements for its accomplishment, that success is attained. The various powers of the soul must act in unison : the understanding, the will, the affections, the memory, the conscience, must all have the same object in view, each defending its proper post to the uttermost, and ready to succour the other with all its might. If, whilst the understanding is occupied about spiritual and heavenly things, the will and the affections are running after earthly and carnal things, what can be expected, but that the enemy shall soon gain undisguised and permanent possession of the soul ? Every one knows, that " a house divided against itself, falleth;" and a divided heart must become a prey to the great adversary of God and man. All its powers must center in God, if God is to inhabit it as his temple, and to possess it as his inheritance.]

4. Call in for it the most effectual aid —

[Human efforts, unassisted by God, will be of little avail. Indeed we can do nothing but as we are assisted by "the Captain of our Salvation V To him then must we look to " strengthen us with might by his Spirit in our inward man ' :" we must go forth against our enemies, as David did against Goliath, not in dependence on an arm of flesh, but in the name of the Lord God of Israel: we must "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might k." Then we may defy all our adversaries : we may boldly ask the greatest amongst them ; " Who art thou, O thou great Mountain? Before Zerubbabel

d Luke ix. 46, 49, 54. e Jam. iii. 5. f 2 Cor. xi. 13, 14.

K Ps. Ixxxvi. 11. i> John xv. 5. » Eph. iii. 1G.

k Eph. vi. 10.

764.] KEEPING THE HEART. 55

thou shall become a plain." See how Paul taught the first Christians to triumph, whilst yet in the midst of all their con flicts : " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? No : in all these things we are more than con querors l :" so then may the weakest of us triumph, if we call in our blessed Lord to our aid: for " through Christ strengthen ing us, we can do all things m."]

But to form a right judgment of our duty, we must yet more distinctly notice,

II. The particular instruction relating to it —

We must keep our heart " with all diligence." Our attention to it must be,

1. Earnest —

[It is not a slight or superficial attention to it that will suffice. The work is too great to be effected in such a way. To keep the heart from sin amidst so many temptations on every side, and to keep it in the exercise of all holy and hea venly graces, from every one of which it is by nature alienated ; this is a great work indeed, and requires the utmost possible exertion on our part. The metaphors by which the Christian's life is set forth, sufficiently shew what efforts are called for on our part. A race is not to be won without straining every nerve : an adversary, whether in fight or in wrestling, is not to be over come without putting forth all our strength. Can we then suppose, that, when our contest is not with flesh and blood only, but with all the principalities and powers of hell, the victory can be gained without the most strenuous exertions ? No ; it cannot : and our Lord plainly tells us that it cannot : "Strive" says he, "to enter in at the strait gate; for many shall seek to enter in, and not be able." Know then, that what ever you have to do in the keeping of your heart, you must " do it with all your might."]

2. Constant —

[The work which we have to do, is not like that of a painter or a statuary, who may leave his work for a time, and find it afterwards in the state in which he left it : it is rather like that of one who is rolling up hill a stone, which will return upon him, as soon as ever he intermits his labour. Our hearts of themselves are " bent to backslide from God," ever ready to "start aside as a deceitful bow :" and Satan is ever on the watch to draw us aside. If he intermit his labours, it is in appearance only, and not in reality : for he is ever " going about, as a

1 Rom. viii. 35, 37. m Phil. iv. 13.

5(> PROVERBS, IV. 9.3. [7(34.

roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." His wiles and devices are innumerable : and, if once he can find us off our guard, he will assuredly avail himself of the occasion to deceive and, if possible, to destroy us. We therefore must be always " on our watch-tower," according to that direction of our blessed Lord, " Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation : and, what I say unto you, 1 say unto all, Watch."]

3. Persevering—

[There is no state at which we can arrive in this world that supersedes the necessity of continued vigilance and care. AVere we as eminent as Paul himself, we must still, like him, " keep our body under and bring it into subjection, lest by any means, after having preached to others, we ourselves become cast aways." Let our circumstances be ever so favourable, we know not but that we shall fall the very next moment. Heze- kiah was but just recovered from a dangerous illness, and that by miracle; yet when the Babylonish ambassadors came to offer him their master's congratulations, he fell, and offended God by "the pride of his heart11." Peter also was but just descended from Mount Tabor, where he had beheld his Lord transfigured, and shining forth in all his glory, when he acted Satan's part in dissuading his Lord from completing the work assigned him : so that he drew forth from his Divine Master that just reprimand, " Get thee behind me, Satan0." We may add too, that there is no wickedness so great, but we may be drawn to the commission of it. Who can reflect on David's adultery and murder, or on Peter's denial of his Lord with oaths and curses, and not see reason to cry continually to God, " Hold thou me up, and i shall be safe ! "

Thus then we see, it is not enough to keep our hearts, but we must " keep them with all diligence," engaging in the work with earnestness, and maintaining it with constancy and per severance to the latest hour of our lives.]

Let us now attend to,

III. The reason with which hoth the one and the other are enforced —

The heart may in some respects be considered as the seat of vitality in the human body, because from thence issues the blood that circulates through the whole frame. But still more may it be said of the heart in a spiritual view, that out of it are the issues of life. For,

1. It is the proper source of all evil—

11 2 Chron. xxxii. 2-1— -2G. ° Matt. xvi. 23, 24.

764.1 KEEPING THE HEART. 57

[There are many evils to which our corrupt nature is apt to yield ; some are spiritual, and some are fleshly ; but the womb where all are generated, and from whence they proceed, is the heart. Adultery, and murder, and theft, with many other evils, might be supposed to arise rather out of external circumstances connected with our outward man : but they are all traced by our blessed Lord to the heart : " From within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica tions, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lascivi- ousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness : all these things come from withinp." Now, if the heart be the fruitful spring of such evils, ought it not to be watched ? ought it not to be kept with all diligence ? It is evident that, without con tinual care, the whole man would soon be inundated with evil : should we not then watch the sluices ? should we not guard the banks, and keep them in good repair ? In other words, should we not do all in our power to prevent such fatal effects? Let it never be forgotten, that the smallest breach in a bank will soon yield to the torrent, and, by its extension, bid defiance to any remedy that can be applied : consequently, if we would not be overrun with all manner of evil, we must guard against the irruption of any. " A little leaven will soon leaven the whole lump."]

2. It is the proper seat of all good —

[Grace is planted in the heart : it has no other residence : it may operate by the members ; but its seat is in the heart. Repentance flows from thence, even from " the broken and contrite heart." Faith has there its first formation. " With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Love combines and concentrates all its powers; " We are to love God with all the heart :" yea, " Christ himself dwells in our hearts by faith." Whatever then proceeds not from the heart, is of no value : all our best services for God are no other than hypo crisy, if the heart be far from himq. Must we not then keep the heart with all diligence, to see that it be duly influenced by divine grace, and that all which we do is the result of gra cious principles implanted there ? Truly, if " a man may give all his goods to feed the poor, and his body to be burned, and, after all, be no better than sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal," because his actions proceed not from a principle of love in the heart, we are called upon to watch over our hearts with all imaginable care, that they be duly stored with all that is good. This is the plain and obvious inference from what our Lord himself hath distinctly affirmed in those memorable words, "The evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil ; and the good man out of the good treasure of

P Mark vii. 21—23. 9 Matt. xv. 7, 8.

58 PROVERBS, IV. £3. [764.

his heart bringeth forth that which is good:" in both cases the produce is "from the abundance of the heart1:" and " the tree is known by its fruits."]

3. By it shall our state be determined in the last day-

[Even in courts of judicature amongst ourselves, it is not so much the act, as the heart, that is the object of investiga tion. Murder itself is not accounted murder, if it was not attended with a purpose of heart to injure and destroy. Much more therefore may it be expected that God will inquire into the designs and purposes of our hearts : " He looketh not on the outward appearance, but at the heart:" and " he searcheth the heart, and trieth the reins, on purpose to give to every man according to the fruit of his doings." For this end " he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." To our hearts then must we look, if ever we would give up our account with joy : for, as our hearts are, so shall we appear in his sight8. Let us then not only search and try ourselves, but beg of God also to "search and try us, and to see if there be any wicked way in us, and to lead us in the way everlasting."]

APPLICATION—

1. Grudge not your labour in the way to heaven—

[You cannot make any attainments in this life without labour : how then can you hope to attain without it the glory and felicity of heaven ? True it is, that heaven is a gift of God; a gift altogether of his free and sovereign grace: but it is also true, that we must labour for it, according to that direction of our Lord ; " Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you*." Labour then with all earnestness, and constancy, and perseverance. If you be frequently foiled, still return to your post, and increase your vigilance in proportion as you discover the deceitfulness and wickedness of your hearts : and be assured, that, however great your toil may be, heaven will be an abundant recom- pence for all.]

2. Doubt not but that your labour shall at last be crowned with success—

[Were your success dependent on an arm of flesh, you might well despond : but your God and Saviour is pledged to " carry on in you the work he has begun," and to " perfect that which concerneth you." Your enemies may renew their assaults as often as they will ; but they shall not prevail : for

1 Luke vi. 45. s Prov. xxiii. 7. l John vi. 27.

765.] SINNER'S RETROSPECT. 59

God has said, that " No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper":" and again, " The law of God is in his heart; his footsteps shall not slide x." Go on then : " watch ye ; stand fast in the faith ; quit you like men; be strongy :" and know for your comfort what the all-gracious and unchanging God hath spoken ; " Be not weary in well-doing ; for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not2."]

u Isai. liv. 17. x Ps. xxxvii. 31. x 1 Cor. xvi. 13. z Gal. vi. 9.

DCCLXV.

SINNER'S RETROSPECT.

Prov. v. 12, 13. How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me !

A TIME of reflection must come to all : if men shake off all thought till the hour of death, they will not be able to do so when once the soul is separated from the body : their ways will then be brought to remembrance ; and all the powers of their minds be fixed upon the contemplation of them. Happily, with many this season arrives before it is too late : and, not unfrequently, the very enormities which have been committed are the means of exciting in the soul a salutary remorse. Sometimes the present conse quences of sin press heavily upon the mind, and awaken the energies of a sleepy conscience. Thus Solomon supposes many to be affected after they have brought trouble on themselves by their licen tious courses : and he urges this very consideration as an argument for guarding against all temptations to sin, that, however pleasurable a life of sin may be, the retrospect will be painful in the extreme ; and the now thoughtless debauchee " will mourn at the last," in the review of the mercies he has abused, and will say, " How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof!"

We shall not confine our attention to the particular subject treated of in the context, though in every con gregation, it is to be feared, there are but too many to whom it would be applicable; but shall rather

GO PROVERBS, V. 12, l;j. [765.

take occasion from our text to set before you in a

more enlarged view,

I. The sinner's retrospect—

That we may bring home the subject to every man's bosom, we shall consider men under two dis tinct classes ;

1. Those who already feel some painful conse quences of their past conduct—

[Amongst these we must first notice the persons more immediately referred to in our text, namely, those who have wasted their property, and injured their constitution, in habits of criminal indulgence3. What reason for regret have they ! How glad would they now be, if they had restrained their appetites, and not purchased a momentary gratification at so high a price! — — Next to these we may mention the spend thrift, and the gamester, who through covetousness or the love of pleasure have dissipated their fortune, and involved them selves in ruin. How common is it for persons so circum stanced to destroy their own lives, and to seek in suicide a remedy for the evils they have en tailed upon themselves ! — To these we may add the persons who by any disgraceful act have blasted their reputation, and rendered themselves ob noxious to just reproach: to such the seasons of reflection are bitter. They attempt perhaps to divert their thoughts by business or pleasure ; but they can never cease to rue the day in which they brought upon themselves so heavy a calamity. There are times when all who have entailed misery on them selves will bring to mind the instructions given them in early youth ; and then they will, inwardly at least, complain, " How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof!"]

2. Those who, though they feel no present pain arising from their sins, are yet sensible that they have not answered the great ends of life—

[The necessity of turning unto God, and the means of acceptance with God through the atonement of Christ, have been distinctly set forth from time to time ; so that, supposing persons to have diligently attended to the word that has been preached to them, and to have "mixed faith with it," it would have been impossible for them to have continued in the ways of sin and death. But how many are at this moment as far from God as they were years ago ! How many have reason to regret that they have ever heard the Gospel, which, instead of being a savour of life to them, has, through their neglect of it, been made a savour of death unto death ! Our blessed Lord told his

a vcr. 9—11.

765.1 SINNER'S RETROSPECT. Gl

hearers, that " if he had never come to instruct them, they would not, comparatively, have had sin ; but that now they had no cloak for their sin." So must it be said to many amongst us; " that having been exalted to heaven" in their privileges, they have reason to expect that they shall, with Capernaum, " be cast the deeper into hell" for their abuse of them. It is a small matter that their sins have not been such as to expose them to shame and reproach among men : their neglect of Christ, their want of love to his name, and of zeal in his service, must be reckoned for at the last day, when he will say, " Bring hither those that were mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, and slay them before me." O painful retro spect ! O afflictive prospect ! Brethren, take a review of your past lives; and seek " the things belonging to your peace, before they be for ever hid from your eyes."]

What then remains to be done by these distinct, but perishing, classes ? To both the one and the other we would say, Consider,

II. The sinner's alternative- There is but one alternative for any child of man : we must either attend to the voice of instruction given us in the Gospel, or we must carry with us un changing and unavailing remorse into the eternal world.

Are we willing to spend eternity in self-condemn ing reflections ?

[They must follow us, if we die in our sins. God himself will remind us of the benefits which here we neglected to im prove : " Son, remember, that thou in thy life-time hadst such and such advantages." What anguish of mind will be occasioned by such thoughts as these : ' I once had the same offers of sal vation, as they had who are now before the throne of God: I enjoyed the same heavenly instruction as they; but I despised it, and would not hear the voice of the charmer, how wisely soever he endeavoured to charm me !' This will be the ground of our heavier " condemnation, that light came into the world, but that we loved darkness rather than light, because our deeds were evil :" and our reflections upon this will be " a never-dying worm," gnawing our conscience to all eternity. Whether our sins were more or less flagrant, this will be the source of our greatest torment, that we despised the instructions given us in the Gospel, and trampled under foot that very Son of God who came into the world to seek and save us.]

If we would not spend an eternity in these bitter

62 PROVERBS, V. 12, 13. [765.

reflections, we must now attend to the things which are revealed to us in the Gospel—

[If our teachers speak out of their own minds, we may refuse to hearken to them : but, if they speak to us the very word of God, then it is at our peril to turn a deaf ear to their instructions. The word of God is sufficient to " make us wise unto salvation through faith in Chi'ist." It bids us fiee to Christ, as to a strong hold, where we shall be safe from the assaults of sin and Satan. It assures us, that " Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him ;" that " his blood will cleanse us from all sin ;" that " his grace is sufficient for us ;" and that " he will cast out none who come unto him." Follow these directions, and you are safe : give yourselves up to him ; live altogether by faith upon him ; improve for his glory the grace which you receive out of his fulness ; and you have nothing to fear. Instead of remorse and sorrow, you shall be filled with peace and joy. In the midst of life it shall be a matter of " rejoicing to you, that you have the testimony of a good conscience ;" in a dying hour you shall look back with comfort in the thought of having " fought a good fight, and finished your course, and kept the faith;" and to all eternity shall you glory in the mercies and privileges which you here enjoyed6.

Here then is your alternative : Despise this instruction, and you shall perish : Obey it, and you shall live for ever.]

ADVICE—

1. Endeavour to view every thing in the light of eternity—

[If you think of time only, the value of present enjoy ments will be unduly magnified : but think of eternity, and nothing will be deemed important but the salvation of the soul ]

2. Endeavour so to spend each day, as you will wish you had spent it, when you shall be standing at the judgment-seat of Christ—

[We know what the wishes are of men who are con demned to death for their violations of the law : and we may be sure that such will be our wishes when we are summoned to meet our Judge : ' O that I had lived a very different life !' - Now then cleave unto Christ with full purpose of heart, and devote yourselves to him without reserve. So shall you behold his face in peace, and be partakers of his glory for evermore.]

>' Rev. i. 5.

766. J THE CAPTIVATING POWER OF SIN. 63

DCCLXVI.

THE CAPTIVATING POWER OF SIN.

Prov. v. 22. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

THE force of habit is well known : it operates as a second nature; so constant is it in its exercise, and so imperious in its demands. There is this difference however in habits of piety, and habits of sin ; that the one are easily lost ; but the other are with great dif ficulty overcome. Nor is this difficult to be ac counted for; seeing that the one is against the course of nature, and the other conformable to all its pro pensities : the motion of the one is a continual ascent ; the other is downward on a declivity. But it is not merely as a natural consequence that sin, when indulged, has so great a power : there is an additional influence given to it by God himself, as a judicial act, and as a just punishment for indulging it : so that in a judicial, no less than in a natural sense, our text is true : " His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself: and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins."

Let us consider, I. The declaration itself—

In a two-fold view it may be noticed ;

1. As a judgment inflicted—

[It is inflicted on the whole human race. There is not a sinner in the universe who cannot from his own experience attest the truth of it. Every sin has a power to enslave the mind, and to lead captive him who has indulged it. But we will instance this in some particulars.

The man addicted to drinking previous to the formation of his habit, had perhaps no particular love to strong drink, or desire after it : but he has been drawn into company, he has there acquired a taste for conviviality, and at last, by repeated excesses, he has contracted such a thirst for intoxicating liquors, that he cannot deny himself the use of them, or use them in moderation. He can see his character sinking in the estima tion of all the sober part of the community, his health im paired, his fortune injured, his family suffering, and his eternal interests sacrificed ; and yet he cannot cast off the habit which

Gi PROVERBS, V. 22. [766.

he has contracted : his soul is bound with it as with a cord, and he cannot burst his bonds.

In a similar plight is he who has given himself up to the gratification of his lusts and passions. They, at least as far as the mind is concerned, are increased by indulgence, so that every object calls forth desire, and " the eyes of the libertine are full of adultery, and cannot cease from sina." His very soul, as it were, is sensualized, and, whether sleeping or waking, his imagination roves after the gratification of his lawless appetites.

Nor must I omit to mention the gamester, in whom the text is most awfully verified. Nothing can induce him to abandon his ruinous pursuits. Domestic ties of wife and children have no influence at all. The ruin of himself and family are all suspended on a card or die. Not even the experience of ruin will reclaim him. Let his losses be repaired again and again, and again and again will he return to the fascinating object, like the moth, and hover round it, till he is consumed.

I have mentioned these instances, as being more obvious and acknowledged: but the declaration is equally verified in the gay, the worldly, the profane ; yea, and in the superstitious and self-righteous also. They all " feed on ashes ; and a de ceived heart hath turned them aside, so that they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right handb?"]

2. As a warning given —

[In this view more especially the declaration in our text is introduced, to guard young men against the temptations to which they are exposed0. And a most awful warning it is: it shews us how earnestly we should guard against our besetting sins. Every man has some " sin which more easily besets him11," and by which he is more in danger of being enslaved. Now every man should find out what this peculiar temptation is ; and should watch and pray against it ; lest, by yielding to it, he provoke " God to give him over to a reprobate minde," and to say, " He is joined to idols ; let him alone f." We should labour to say with David, " 1 have kept myself from my ini quity":" and, with Job, "Thou knowest I am not wicked," not deliberately and habitually wicked11. We should dread lest that be inflicted on us which is spoken in the text ; a judgment far heavier than any other that can be inflicted on us even by God himself, as long as we continue in this present life ; because it is a certain prelude to everlasting misery, and the means of augmenting it every day and hour : for, if we are delivered over to our own lusts, we do nothing but " treasure

a 2 Pet. ii. 11. b Isai. xliv. 20. c vcr. 20.

d Heb. xii. 1. « Rom. i. 28. <' IIos. iv. 17.

s Ps. xviii. 23. h Job x. 7.

766.] THE CAPTIVATING POWER OF SIN. G5

up wrath against the clay of wrath," and accumulate mountains of guilt to sink us deeper and deeper into everlasting perdition1. Our employment will be like that of those mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah, who " drew out iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as a cart-rope k :" for, as a rope is spun out continually to an indefinite length by the constant addition of fresh mate rials, so will our sin be drawn out to an endless extent, till death shall cut it short, and the deserved punishment be awarded to it.]

It would be improper to pass over such a declara tion as this without drawing your attention to, II. The reflections which it naturally suggests—

1. How thankful should we be for the Gospel of Christ !

[Heathens are in the bondage above described, and have no conception of any way of deliverance from it. But in the Gospel a Saviour is proclaimed ; who came on purpose to " preach deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound1." His power no lusts can withstand. As he delivered Peter from prison, causing his chains to fall off, and the prison doors to open of their own accord, so can he liberate the slaves of sin and Satan from their bondage, and bring them forth into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Diseases, devils, elements, all obeyed his voice in the days of his flesh : and at his word the most deep- rooted lusts shall be plucked up, and the most inveterate habits changed. The day of Pentecost sufficiently attests the truth o£ this assertion. The hands of the men who had crucified him were yet reeking with his blood, yet in an instant were their hearts renewed, and they became altogether new creatures, " the wolf being as harmless as the sheep, and the lion as gentle as the lamb m."

However inveterate then your habits may have been, despair not : but look to " that Mighty One on whom your help is laid," and who is able to save " to the uttermost all who come unto God by him."]

2. How watchful should we be against the first incursions of sin !

[As we know not " how great a matter a little fire will kindle," so we know not what evils one sin may introduce. Every evil habit originated in one sin. Judas little thought in what his first act of dishonesty would issue : and millions, who arc now gone beyond the hope of redemption, once thought as little to what a state they .should be ultimately brought, as we now

> Rom. ii. 5. k Isai. v. 18. ' Luke iv. 18. m Isni. xi. 6. VOL. VII. F

G6 PROVERBS, V. 22. [766.

do. Say not, This angry temper is a light evil : It is murder in the seed and embryo ; and may terminate in the very act of murder much sooner than you imagine. Say not, This impure thought or look is venial : it is constructive adultery ; to which it leads, and in which, ere you are aware of it, it may soon issue. The same I would say of envy, hatred, malice, covet- ousness, ambition, and the whole catalogue of spiritual lusts : the admission of them into the heart is as a leak in a ship, which will sink it ultimately, if it be not stopped in time. A mariner will not neglect that leak, though it be but small ; because he knows the consequences: he knows that if it be neglected, his efforts to preserve the ship will ere long be vain and ineffectual. It is not possible to look around us without seeing, in numberless instances, what dominion the evil tempers of men have gained, and what misery they diffuse throughout their respective families and spheres. Had they been checked in their commencement, how much sin and misery would have been prevented ! If then we would not forge chains for our own souls, let us guard against the first risings of sin: for, whatever we may think, " we shall reap according to what we sow : he that sowcth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap cor ruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting"."]

3. How constant should we be in waiting upon the Lord Jesus Christ, both in his public ordinances, and in secret prayer !

[None but Christ can afford us any effectual help : for " without him we can do nothing0." To him we must carry our every trial, and every temptation: and we must plead with him for help, as the Apostle did, till he answer us, and say, " My grace is sufficient for thee1'." Let us never forget that it is in vain to resist sin in our own strength. None but God himself can subdue it in us. " Our sufficiency even to think a good thought must be of himi." If he help us, it is well: " We can do all things ihrough Christ who strengtheneth usr." But if we address ourselves to the purifying of our hearts in our own strength, we shall fail, as the Apostles did, when in self-confidence they attempted to cast out a devil, which " could only be ejected through the influence of prayer and fasting8." Let us look simply to Christ to purge us both from the guilt and power of our sins; and then we shall find, that " according to our faith it shall be done unto us1."]

n Gal. vi. 7, S. ° John xv. 5. P 2 Cor. xii. 9.

i 2 Cor. v. 5. ' Phil. iv. 13. s Matt. xvii. 21.

* Matt. ix. 29.

767.] THE SLUGGARD REPROVED. G7

DCCLXVII.

THE SLUGGARD REPROVED.

Prov. vi. 6 — 10. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her iv ays and be wise : which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, 0 sluggard ? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep ? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep : so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

FORESIGHT in relation to temporal concerns, though not universally practised, is universally ap proved ; and it is a ground of thankfulness that those classes of society who have hitherto scarcely known how to secure any little sums which they might save, have now, by the establishment of Provident Banks, encouragement to provide for themselves against the day of adversity3. Happy would it be if a similar zeal were now exerted in relation to the concerns of eternity. But here, alas ! there is still a sad indif ference amongst us. The wants which we are sure to feel in the eternal world are not anticipated ; nor is the importance of providing for them generally felt. In relation to these things, all around us are cast, as it were, into a deep sleep, from which they need to be roused by the most solemn warnings. This ad dress therefore of Solomon to the sluggards of his day may well serve us as a foundation for a similar remonstrance with those who are yet sleeping in security and sin.

Addressing ourselves to persons of this description, we will speak, I. In a way of humiliating reproof —

Justly does Solomon observe, that " a sluggard is wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that can render a reason V The more careless men are about their souls, the more confident they are of their future safety. But how confident soever they may be, they may go and learn wisdom of the meanest insect.

a Preached the week before the establishment of a Provident Bank at Cambridge. t> Prov. xxvi. 10.

G8 PROVERBS, VI. 6—10. [767.

There is scarcely any thing in the whole creation from which we may not derive the most valuable in struction. The ox and the ass, the crane and the swallow, are brought forward by God himself to teach and reprove usc : and here we are referred for in struction to the ant. She collects in summer the food that is necessary for her subsistence in the winter. She does it with incredible labour, dragging to her cell grains of corn, that one would scarcely conceive she should be able to move. And this she does "without any guide" to direct her, or " overseer" to watch her, " or ruler" to call her to account. And, that her labour may not ultimately prove vain, she bites off, we are told, the ends of every grain, to prevent it from vegetating in the ground.

Go now to the ant, thou sluggard, and consider her ways : consider,

1. Her wise foresight—

[Has she a time approaching, against which it is needful for her to provide ; and hast not thou ? Is there not a time coming, when thou must stand in the presence of thy God, and give an account of every thing that thou hast done in the body, whether it be good or evil ? And hast thou not now to provide a righteousness wherein to appear before God, even the right eousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein alone thou canst ever stand in the presence of a holy God ? Hast thou not a new nature also to obtain, in order to fit thee for the enjoyment of the heavenly world?— — And is not the present the only time when this provision can be made ? If thou neglect the present opportunities, wilt thou find them in the eternal world? Is there " any work or device to be executed in the grave, whither thou goestd?"- - If her work, which relates only

to the short transient life of the body, is important, is not yours, which relates to the eternal interests of the soul, much more im portant? — —Go then to the ant, and learn wisdom of her.]

2. Her voluntary labour—

[She has none to direct her : she is guided by instinct alone. But you have reason to guide you, and to assure you of the certainty and importance of those things which you have not yet seen with your eyes. You have God himself also inspecting every thing that you do, and pledged to call you into judgment for it, and to assign you your everlasting portion according to

c Isai. i. 3. Jer. viii. 7. d Eccl. ix. 10.

767.] ,TIIE SLUGGARD REPROVED. 69

it. Should not you then exert yourselves with all diligence? Are you not convinced, that to prepare for eternity is " a rea sonable service," yea, that it is, in fact, " the one thing need ful ? " —Will you then grudge your labour? Will you not put forth willingly and habitually all the powers of your souls in this blessed work? ]

3. Her prudent care—

[Is she careful to prevent her labours from ever proving abortive ; and should not you prosecute your work to a suc cessful issue? Yet Solomon justly observes, that "the slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting6;" yea, that " his very desire killeth him, because his hands re fuse to labour f." Some kind of pains we all have taken in attending ordinances, and in complying with outward forms ; but there we have rested, without any persevering efforts to render those means effectual for the salvation of our souls. We feel somewhat of a general desire after eternal happiness; and with that consciousness of desire we are satisfied, without pressing forward for the attain ment of the things desired : and thus is fulfilled in us another declaration of Solomon, " The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing8?" If good desires would suffice, the slug gard would get to heaven as well as others : but if great and persevering exertions are necessary, he will rather forego the prize, than use the diligence necessary for the attainment of it. In a word, instead of " looking to himself that he lose not the things that he has wrought, but that he receive a full re ward11," he suffers Satan to take out of his heart the seed that has been sown in it, and to keep him, like the foolish virgins, from providing oil for himself, till it is too late. Say, thou sluggard, whether these things be not true of thee, and whether thou hast not need to go and learn wisdom of the diminutive and despised ant?]

We will yet further prosecute our address, II. In a way of solemn warning —

As a man who has no provision independent of his labour, and no disposition to exert himself, must soon feel the pressure of poverty and want, so, sluggard, shalt thou feel these evils in relation to thy soul —

1 . Reflect on the awfulness of thy state—

[The consequences of thy sloth are coming upon thee: they are coming gradually indeed, but irresistibly. " A tra veller" comes not to his journey's end all at once, but gradually, and almost imperceptibly, by many successive steps. So neither wilt thou find the fatal consequence of thy sloth all at once ;

e Prov. xii. 27. f Prov. xxi. 25. 8 Prov. xiii. 4. h 2 John, ver. 8.

70 PROVERBS, VI. 6—10. [767.

but every day and hour brings them nearer towards thee ; and that too so clearly, that, if thou wouldst stop to examine, thou shouklst see evident symptoms of their approach. Who has not found, that the longer he lives in any sin, the more he becomes addicted to it, and enslaved by it ? The truth is, that as a man by indulging sloth, whether of mind or body, becomes daily more unfitted for exertion, so the man who is remiss and negli gent in his spiritual concerns becomes daily more alienated from God, and more averse to those efforts that are necessary for his salvation '. The curse which is denounced against him seems so distant, that it will never come : but it is advancing as fast as the wings of time can carry it ; as St. Peter says, " Their judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth notk." O sluggard! remember this: thou mayest " linger, like Lot in the plain ;" but " thy judg ment lingereth not ; thou mayest slumber on yet a little while, but thy damnation slumbereth not :" the time is fast approach ing when God will say to thee, as to him who hid his talent in a napkin, " Thou wicked and slothful servant!" and will give orders concerning thee, " Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, where shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth1."

These judgments too shall come upon you irresistibly. You well know how entirely a man unarmed and sleeping is at the mercy of " an armed man" that seeks his life. And such will be your state, in the day that God shall deal with you, and visit you for your sins. You may call on the hills to fall upon you, and the rocks to cover you, from the wrath of your offended God ; but they cannot perform for you this friendly office : no creature in the universe can help you : " though hand join in hand, you cannot pass unpunished." Reflect on this, thou sluggard! Now thou mayest " puff at God's judgments :" but ere long thou wilt bitterly regret that thou didst not improve the opportunities afforded thee to escape from them.]

2. Reflect also on the vanity of thine excuses—

[There are none so hardened as to avow a fixed deter mination never to seek after God : on the contrary, there is in almost all an indistinct purpose to turn unto the Lord at some more convenient season, which they hope is at no very great distance. Hence to those who would rouse them to exertion, they say, " A little more sleep, a little more slumber, a little more folding of the hands to sleep." They acknowledge in general terms the propriety, and even the necessity, of exer tion ; but they wish a little more time for indulgence to the flesh, before they set themselves in earnest to mortify and subdue it. But what has been the consequence of indulgence

i Prov. x. i. and xix. 15. k 2 Pet. ii. 3. * Matt. xxv. 26, 30.

767.JJ TIIE SLUGGARD REPROVED. 71

hitherto ? Are you at all more disposed for exertion now, than you were when first you were bidden to arise ? Is your ability for God's service at all increased by deferring your attempts to serve him ? Have you not found, invariably, that procrastination has increased your difficulties, at the very time that it also enfeebled your powers ? Say not then any longer, " There is a lion in the way," nor plead any longer for delay : but arise and call upon your God, if peradventure time may be yet afforded you to " work out your salvation," and to " flee from the wrath to come."]

ADDRESS—

1. Those who have never yet been awakened —

[Have you no work to do ? or is it a matter of small im portance whether it be done or not ? Is not the present life the only time for doing it? " How long, then, wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" Knowest thou not, that if thou sleepest on till this short life be past, thou wilt assuredly awake in hell? What then shall I say to thee ? Shall I say to thee, as Christ did to his sleepy disciples, " Sleep on now, and take thy rest?" No: God forbid. Let me rather say, " Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light"1." Verily, if thou wouldst now, even now, call upon his name, it should not be too late. Whatever thou wantest, it should be given thee: he would give thee the light of truth to shine into thy heart ; the light of joy in his reconciled countenance ; the light of holiness to attest thine acceptance with him ; and the light of glory to perfect thy felicity. While ye have the light then, walk in the light, that ye may be the children of light.]

2. Those who, though in part awakened, are yet disposed to give way to slothful habits —

[This, alas ! was the case both with the wise and foolish virgins ; " they all slumbered and slept." But let me affec tionately guard you against yielding to sloth. It is said, and the very best amongst us know the truth of it by bitter ex perience, that " the idle soul shall suffer hunger11." Who has not heard of the vineyard of the sluggard, where, through in attention, nothing was produced but nettles and thorns? To him is the same warning given as to the sluggard in the text0. Guard then against the excuses which ye are ready to make. See the excuses made by the Bride in the book of Canticles ; how injurious to her welfare! how destructive of her peace p! " Watch ye then, and pray always." Had the disciples watched, when they were directed to do it by their Lord, they

ra Eph. v. 14. n Prov. xix. 15.

0 Prov. xxiv. 30 — 34. P Cant. v. 2 — 7.

72 PROVERBS, VII. 1—4. [768.

would never have forsaken him as they did in the hour of his deepest trial. But, if you do not watch and be sober, depend upon it that Satan will prevail against you, and '•' sift you as wheat." " Be sober then, and vigilant." Give not way to drowsiness in your spiritual calling : but "give all diligence to make your calling sure." And, seeing that ye look for a period when God shall come to judge the world, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blame less. And " what I say unto one, I say unto all, Watch."]

DCCLXVIII.

LOVE TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES INCULCATED.

Prov. vii. 1 — 4. My son, keep my ivords, and lay up my com mandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto Wisdom, Thou art my sister ; and call Understanding thy kinswoman.

THROUGHOUT the book of Proverbs, we are strongly reminded of that expression of Paul to Philemon, " Though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee." There is an exquisite tenderness in the exhortations of Solomon, addressed as they are by a father to a son. Not that we are to suppose that they were intended only for Rehoboam: they were intended for the Church of God, in all ages : and to us, no less than to Rehoboam himself, is the affectionate language of our text addressed. But indeed a greater than Solomon is here. Con descending as the expressions are, they are addressed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is Wis dom itself incarnate a ; and his are the counsels which we are so earnestly entreated to treasure up in our minds.

In discoursing on the words before us, we will shew,

I. The respect which we should pay to the counsels of Divine Wisdom—

By comparing our text with similar language in the New Testament, we see, that by the terms here used we have to understand, not the Decalogue only,

a Sec Prov. viii. 22 — 32.

768.1 LOVE TO THE SCRIPTURES INCULCATED. 73

but the whole revealed will of God. Now to what ever the counsels of the Deity relate,

1. They should be treasured up with diligence— [Whatever is of more than ordinary value in our eyes, we

lay it up with care in a place of safety ; and the more of it we can amass, the richer we feel ourselves to be. Now there is nothing in the whole universe to be compared with the Scriptures of truth, nothing that will so enrich the mind, nothing that will so benefit the soul. In the great mystery of redemption " are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The precepts too, and the promises, and the histories, and the examples, O ! who can estimate them as they deserve? — -To treasure

these up in our minds should be our daily and most delightful employment. Not a day should