Part 10
Now this is God's own argument, "Be holy—for I am holy," Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:15-16. Concerning the holiness of God, I shall speak at large, by divine assistance, when I come to press you upon perfecting of holiness; and therefore let this touch suffice for the present. Sirs, you cannot be like to God in many other things—but you may be like to God in this one thing, in this noble thing, in this most necessary thing—holiness; and therefore labor after it.
Again, as holiness will render you most like a holy God, so holiness will render you most like a holy CHRIST. The apostle calls him "the Holy One," 1 John 2:20. Christ is essentially holy, he is infinitely holy, he is originally holy, he is singularly holy, he is eminently holy, he is perfectly holy, he is transcendently holy, and he is immutably holy. And so much the devil himself confesses, in Mark 1:24, "I know you who you are—the Holy One of God," or rather as the Greek has it, that Holy One, by way of excellency and eminency—alluding, as some think, to Exod. 28:36. Yes, Christ takes delight to characterize himself by this title: in Rev. 3:7, "These things says he who is holy;" and in Dan. 9:25, he is called "the most holy;" or as the Hebrew has it, "the holiness of holinesses." These abstracts speak out the vigor and strength, the eminency and excellency of Christ's holiness. Christ is holiness itself, yes, holinesses; and what do these abstracts speak out—but that perfect and complete holiness which is in Christ? The angels, in Isaiah 6:3, do three times iterate or repeat, "holy, holy, holy." Now though some do conceive that this threefold repetition has reference to all the three persons of the Trinity—holy Father, holy Son, and holy Spirit—yet those who will but compare the text with John 12:37-41, shall plainly see that it relates only to our Lord Jesus Christ; and so the threefold repetition denotes only the superlative eminency of Christ's holiness.
Christ is holy in his natures, in his offices, in his purposes, in his counsels, in his word, and in his works. His conception was holy, his life was holy, his converse was holy, etc., Acts 4:23; Luke 1:35; Eph. 4; Gal. 2:20. Holiness is the image of Christ, it is the picture of Christ, the perfection of Christ, it makes a man conformable to the
life of Christ. Christ's holiness is that noble copy after which we should all endeavor to write. Subjects may without treason or offence attempt to be like their prince—in wisdom, goodness, righteousness, holiness, peace, piety, mercy, and sanctity; though they cannot without rebellion and disobedience endeavor to be like him in power, greatness, might, majesty, splendor, and glory. Just so —we may safely and honorably attempt to be like to Jesus Christ in wisdom, righteousness, and holiness, etc.; though we may not attempt to be like him in his miracles, signs, and wonders. [It is Christ's particular honor to be imitated in all morals absolutely.]
O sirs! some have counted it their greatest honor and glory in this world, that they have been like such and such, who have been high and glorious in the world; and why, then, should not you reckon it your greatest glory and happiness to be like to Christ in holiness, though not in measure or quantity—yet in truth and reality? As you would resemble Christ to the life—labor to be holy. In other things you cannot be like to Christ—but in holiness you may. You cannot be like to Christ in his greatness, majesty, or glory, nor yet in his omnipotency, omnisciency, nor omnipresence, nor yet in his general or special providence, nor in a thousand other things—but you may be like to Christ in his holiness. Look! as face answers to face, as Solomon speaks, so you may reach to that holiness that in reality may correspond to the very holiness of Christ; and this is your only way to be like to Christ.
Again, as holiness will render you most like to a holy Christ, so holiness will render you most like to the blessed ANGELS. The blessed angels are holy in their nature, and holy in their offices, and holy in their actings. [All angels, in respect of their nature, are alike; but what the particular differences are between angels, archangels, principalities, and powers, and what their distinct offices are, I confess, with Austin, "I understand not, neither is it my duty to know, nor my danger to be ignorant of these things."] They are called holy angels: Mat. 25:31, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him;" and so in Rev. 14:9-10, "And
he who worships the beast, or that receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." The angels' holiness is their conformity to the original pattern of purity and excellency. The crown of holiness was set upon the heads of angels at their creation. Those princes of glory were crowned with holiness, as it were, in the cradle. The angels are holy in their praises, and holy in their waitings, and holy in their operations, and holy in all their ministrations.
When that sorcerer Balaam went to curse the people of God, a holy angel stood in the way, drew his sword upon him, and jostled his bones against the wall, and all to prevent the execution of his wicked and cursed intentions, Num. 22:22. Oh, how much more, then, do they stand in the way of the saints, to prevent those weaknesses and miscarriages which Satan and their own corruptions would otherwise carry them to! And doubtless as they have a hand to restrain the saints from evil, so they have an eye and an influence upon them for good: 1 Tim. 5:21, "I charge you before God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels," etc. The holy angels have their eyes and their influences upon us; they are our observers and overseers; they are called watchers in Dan. 4:17, for they watch our words, and they watch our works, and they watch our ways; they watch us before duties, and they watch us in duties, and they watch us after duties. They watch us before duties, to see how we prepare and fit ourselves to meet with God; and they watch us in duties, to see how our graces are acted upon God, and how our hearts and affections are running out after God; and they watch us after duties, to see whether we walk worthy of God, and worthy of our duties, and worthy of our profession, and worthy of our high calling. [1 Cor. 11:10; Heb. 1:14; Rev. 22:9.]
The angels watch you in all places, cases, and conditions, etc. In times of health, strength, peace, prosperity, etc., they watch to see how wisely, holily, humbly, fruitfully, cheerfully, and thankfully we will walk with God. In times of adversity, they watch to see how
believingly, how contentedly, how self-denyingly, and how patiently we will submit to God, etc.; all which speaks out the holiness of the angels.
O sirs, you cannot in this world be like to the angels in power, strength, might, nor in agility, activity, splendor, beauty, or glory; but yet you may be like to them in purity and sanctity. Sirs, do not deceive yourselves. You shall never be like to the angels in glory, if you will not are like to them now in grace. If you will not with them now put on the robe of holiness, you shall not with them hereafter put on the crown of happiness.
We are to follow the examples of the best men—not an inch further than they were followers of Christ, 1 Cor. 11:1. "Christians," says Latimer, "are not bound to be the saints' apes, they are not to imitate them in everything." Where their examples were good, it is good to imitate them, and where they were bad, it is duty to decline them. The fairest copies that ever were written by saints have their blots, their blurs, and their erratas; and therefore it is best, it is safest, it is noblest, to set the most exact, the most perfect, and the most excellent copy of the angels before us, who, as they excel in strength, so they excel in holiness also: Psalm 103:20, "Praise the Lord, you angels of his, you mighty creatures who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands." The angels obey divine commands readily, cheerfully, faithfully, universally, reverentially, humbly, affectionately, and unweariedly. O sirs, such obedience, such holiness will be your honor here, and your happiness hereafter.
To gather up all, as ever you would be like to a holy God, a holy Christ, and the holy angels—labor to be holy. In holiness you may be like them, in other things you cannot resemble them. But,
15. In the fifteenth and last place, To provoke you to labor after holiness, consider the stinging argument in the text, namely—that without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
The expression is exclusive. Now to "see" is a Hebraism, and implies both vision and fruition. Now without holiness, no man, be he high or low, noble or ignoble, rich or poor, etc., shall ever come to a blessed acquaintance with God here, or to a glorious fruition of God hereafter. O friends, if it were so great a misery to Adam to be cast out of paradise, and so great a punishment to Cain to be cast out of his father's family—which was the only visible church of God on earth—and such a sore affliction for the lepers under the law to be shut out from all converse with men, and so great a trouble and torment to Absalom to be banished his father's court, and so great a hell to Jonah to be seemingly cast out of God's sight, and so great a tribulation to John to be confined to the isle of Patmos; [Gen. 3:and 4:13; Lev. 14; 2 Sam. 14:13, 14; Jonah 2; Rev. 1:9.] oh, how great a misery, how great a punishment, how great an affliction, how great a trouble and torment, how great a tribulation, how great a hell, will it be for all unholy people forever and ever to be banished the court of heaven, and to be shut out from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power! 2 Thes. 1:7, 11.
If it were such an unspeakable grief and misery to the primitive Christians, as indeed it was, to be debarred of one another's society and company, by being exiled to islands, or shut up in prisons; oh, then, what an unspeakable grief and misery will it be to all unholy people to be forever debarred of the blessed society of God, Christ, angels, and saints—and to be everlastingly confined to the prison of hell, and to the society and company of that damned crew who will be still a-cursing and a-blaspheming of God, and adding to one another's torments!
O sirs, it is the sight of God in heaven wherein man's happiness and blessedness does consist; it is the fruition of God in heaven which is the life, the honor, the crown, and glory of angels and saints. Heaven itself would be but a poor thing, yes, it would be but a great nothing, without the sight and fruition of God there. Now without holiness there is no seeing of God, there is no possessing or enjoying of God, there is no possibility of ever obtaining a part or portion in God. Ah,
friends! without holiness all is lost. Your soul is lost, your Christ is lost, your God is lost, your crown is lost, your heaven is lost, your glory is lost; and what are all other losses, compared to these losses?
Demorrathus said, "they lost the chief part of their lives' happiness, who did not see Alexander sit on the throne of Darius." But what was their loss, compared to that unconceivable and unexpressible loss which all unholy people must sustain, who shall never see the King of kings in his beauty, who shall never behold the Lord on the throne of his glory? Well, sirs, if none of these arguments can prevail with you to labor after holiness, I must conclude that divine justice has hardened you, and that Satan has blinded you, and that your lusts have besotted you, and that this world has bewitched you, and that it had been ten thousand thousand times better for you that you had never been born—than to live without holiness, and to die without holiness, and to be everlastingly damned for lack of holiness!
And thus much for the motives for holiness.
Sixteen Counsels
I come now to lay down some means and helps to holiness. Supposing that the language of some of your souls may be this: "Oh, what shall we do to be holy! Oh, what course, what way, what means must we use that we may obtain this holiness, without which we now clearly see that we shall never come to a fruition of happiness!" Methinks I hear some of you crying out, "Oh, nothing but holiness, nothing but holiness!" as that martyr once cried out, "Oh, none but Christ, none but Christ!" Methinks I hear you crying out, "Oh, give me holiness--or I die!" as Samson once cried out, "Give me water—or I die;" or as Rachel once cried out, "Give me children—or I die." Just so, you cry out, "Oh, give us holiness—or we die! Give us holiness, or we eternally die! Oh, what shall we do to be holy! We see we are undone without holiness, we shall be damned without holiness. Oh, that we were but made holy—that hereafter we may be assuredly happy!"
Well, then, if you are in good earnest resolved to be holy, I would thus advise and counsel you in these sixteen particulars:
First, take heed of some things. There are six things you must avoid and shun.
Secondly, Labor to put in practice these ten things.
I. The six things that you are to avoid and shun, even as you would shun poison in your food, or a serpent in your way, yes, as you would shun the devil himself, or hell itself, are these:
1. First, Take heed of mistaking some particular scriptures, as that of Ezek. 14:6; 18:30-32, and 33:11, 14, 16, 19. From these and such like scriptures, many unholy hearts are apt to conclude that they can repent when they please, and that though they do defer their repentance—yet it is no such difficult thing to confess their sins
at the last moment of life, and to be sorry for their sins at the last moment, and to forsake their sins at the last moment, and to beg the pardon of their sins at at the last moment. And that if they do so, they imagine that God has given his word for it, he has given it under his own hand—that he will pardon their sins, and save their souls. Now to prevent these soul-undoing mistakes, you must know, O sinner,
[1.] First, That you can as well wash a black man white at pleasure —as you can repent at pleasure! You can as well raise the dead at pleasure—as you can repent at pleasure! You can as well make a world at pleasure—as you can repent at pleasure! You can as well stop the course of the sun at pleasure—as you can repent at pleasure! You can as well put the sea in a cockle-shell at pleasure—and measure the earth with a ruler at pleasure—as you can repent at pleasure. Witness the proofs in the margin. [Jer. 13:23, and 31:18; Lam. 5:21; Acts 5:31; Eph. 1:17-19; 2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 11:18.]
I confess that if to repent were to hang down the head like a bulrush for a day, or to whine with Saul for an hour, or to put on sackcloth and walk softly with Ahab for a short space, or to confess with Judas, "I have sinned," or to say with Simon Magus, "Pray to the Lord for me," or to tremble with Felix for a moment—I say, if this were to repent, doubtless you might repent at pleasure; but alas! friends, to repent is another thing, to repent is the hardest and most difficult work in the world; and that will appear in the next particular. And therefore,
[2.] Secondly, To repent is to turn a heart of flint into a heart of flesh; it is to turn darkness into light; it is to turn hell into heaven— and is this easy? To repent is to make all clean: inside clean, and outside clean. To repent is to make a clean head and a clean heart; a clean lip and a clean life—and is this easy? [Ezek. 36:25, 26; Acts 26:18; Ezek. 16:61-63, and 29:43; 2 Cor. 7:10-11.] True repentance includes a true sense of sin, a deep sorrow for sin, a hearty loathing of sin, and a holy shame and blushing for sin—and is this easy? To
repent is for a man to loathe himself as well as his sin—and is this easy for man, who is so great a self-lover, and so great a self-exalter, and so great a self-admirer, to become a self-loather? To repent is to cross sinful self, it is to walk contrary to sinful self, yes, it is to revenge a man's self upon himself—and is this easy? To repent is to pluck out right eyes, and to cut off right hands, and offer up only Isaacs—and is this easy? True repentance is a daily turning of the soul further and further from sin, and a daily turning of the soul nearer and nearer to God. It is a repentance not to be repented of; it is a repentance from sin, as well as a repentance for sin. Sin has cast the soul at such a distance from God, that though the soul be every day a-turning nearer and nearer to God—yet it can never, in this life, get so near him as once it was, and as in heaven it shall be. And now tell me, O soul, is this such an easy thing, to be every day a-turning your back upon sin, and a-turning your face nearer and nearer to God? Surely not! True repentance lies in a daily dying to sin, and in a daily living to him who lives forever. The very life of repentance is the repentance of the life: and is this easy? But,
[3.] Thirdly, True repentance is a turning, not from some sin—but from every sin. Ezek. 18:30, "Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall." Every sin strikes at the law of God, the honor of God, the being of God, and the glory of God; and therefore the penitent must strike at all. Every sin fetches blood from the heart of Christ, and every sin is a grief and vexation to the Holy Spirit; and therefore the penitent must set upon crucifying of all. [Ezek. 18:21, 31, and 20:43. He who had the spot of leprosy in any one part of his body was accounted a leper, although all the rest of his body were sound and whole, Lev. 13. Just so, he who has but one spot, one sin which he does not endeavor to wash out in the blood of Christ, and in the tears of true repentance, he is a leper in the account of God.]
Every sin is an enemy to a man's peace, and to a man's comfort, and to a man's confidence, and to a man's assurance, and to a man's communion with God; and therefore he must set upon forsaking of
all. If ever you are saved, O man, you must repent of your Achans—as well as your Absaloms. You must repent of your Rimmons—as well as your Mammons. You must repent of your Davids—as well as of your Goliaths. You must repent of your secret sins—as well as your open sins. You must repent of your loved sins—as well as well as of your loathed lusts. You must repent of your babe-transgressions—as well as of your giant-like provocations. If your repentance is not universal, it will never be effectual. If a ship springs three leaks, and only two are stopped—the third will certainly sink the ship. Or if a man has two mortal wounds in his body, and takes only the remedy for the cure of one—the other will undoubtedly kill him. Or if a man has two mortal diseases upon him, and will only deal with the physician for a remedy against the one—he will, without all question, perish by the prevalence of the other.
Herod turned from many sins—but not from his Delilah, his Herodias, which was his ruin. Judas, you know, was a devil in an angel's dress; he seemed to be turned from every sin—but he was a secret thief, he loved the bag; and that golden devil, covetousness, choked him, and hanged him at last. Saul for a time turned from several evils—but his sparing one, Agag, cost him his soul and his kingdom at once.
I have read a story of a devout man, who among other gifts had the gift of healing, and many people resorted to him for cure. Among the rest, one Chromatius, who being sick, sent for him, and told him of his sickness, and desired that he might have the benefit of cure, as others had before him. The devout man replied, "I cannot do it until you have beaten all the idols in your house to pieces." "Oh, that shall be done," said Chromatius. "Here, take my keys, and where you find any idols, break them in pieces;" which accordingly was done. Upon this the devout man went to prayer—but no cure was wrought; whereupon the sick man cried out, "Oh, I am as sick as ever! oh, I am very weak and sick still!" "It cannot be otherwise," replied the devout person, "neither can I help it, for there is doubtless one idol yet in your house undiscovered, and that must be defaced too." "True," says
Chromatius, "it is so indeed, it is all of beaten gold, it cost a fortune. I would gladly have saved it—but here take my keys again, you shall find it fast locked up in my chest, break it also in pieces;" which being done, the devout man prayed, and Chromatius was healed.
The moral of it is good—the sin-sick soul must break, not some—but all its idols in pieces, before a cure will follow. It must deface its golden idols, its most costly idols, its most darling idols! The returning sinner must make headway against all his sins, and trample upon all his lusts—or else he will die and be undone forever; and though this be as difficult as it is noble—yet it is no more than what God has engaged to do, and to see done, as you may see by comparing Ezek. 36:25-27 with Isaiah 30:21-22. "Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them— Away with you!" Isaiah 30:22
Now is this an easy thing, to turn from every sin, to loathe every sin, and to abandon every sin, with an "Away with you—for what have I more to do with you!" Surely not! "Ephraim shall say—What have I to do any more with idols?" Hosea 14:8. As Nehemiah cast out Tobiah and all his household stuff, in Neh. 13:6-8—just so, true repentance, it casts out Satan and all his retinue. As Moses would not leave so much as a hoof behind him, Exod. 10:26—just so, true repentance will not leave so much as a lust behind. A dispensatory conscience is always an evil conscience; he who can dispense with one sin, will, when opportunity presents, commit any sin. And as the flood made clean work, it swept away all Noah's friends, and drowned all his servants—just so, the flood of penitent tears makes clean work, it sweeps away every lust, it drowns every corruption—in respect of love and dominion. And as conquerors will not give so much as one of their enemies quarter, so true repentance will not give one lust quarter; it falls heavily upon the bones of every sin, and nothing but the blood and death of sin will satisfy the penitent soul.
The true penitent is for the mortifying of every lust which has had a hand in crucifying of his dearest Savior. It was worthily and wittily said by one, that "true repentance strips us stark naked of all the garments of the old Adam, and leaves not so much as the shirt behind." Well, sirs, remember this, to repent of sin—and yet to live in sin—is a contradiction. "If you repent with a contradiction," says Tertullian, "God will pardon you with a contradiction. You repent and yet continue in your sin, God will pardon you—and yet send you to hell. There is a pardon with a contradiction." Again,
[4.] Fourthly, If repentance be such an easy work as you suppose, I beseech you to tell me—why do many men lie under such horrors and terrors of conscience as they do, for not repenting, when repentance would quickly give them ease, and turn their hell into a heaven? I was last winter with a young man, who upon his dying bed for several hours together, being in a dreadful agony, lay crying out, "I am damned! I am damned! I am damned! I am damned!" Ah, how soon would this poor wretch have gotten out of this hell, if it had been so easy a thing to have repented, as you imagine it is! and how many, when they have been pressed to repent, have professed, that if they might have a thousand worlds to repent, they could not repent! And will you say that repentance is easy? How many have sought repentance with tears, and would have bought repentance with the price of their dearest blood—but could not obtain it! and will you say that repentance is easy? O sirs, is it good to be damned? Is it good to go to hell? Is it good to dwell with a devouring fire, and to live in everlasting burnings? Is it good to have your eternal dwelling place among devils and damned spirits? Is it good to be banished the court of heaven, and to be separated forever from the glorious presence of God, and the sweet enjoyments of Christ, and the blessed society of angels and saints, and the fruition of all the happiness that heaven affords? Oh no! oh no! Oh, why then do not men prevent all this by repentance, if it be such an easy thing to repent! But,
[5.] Lastly, If repentance be such an easy work, why then do your hearts so rise both against the doctrine of repentance, and against
those who preach it and press it? Of all words, is not the word of repentance the hardest word to read? John 6:60. And of all sayings and sermons, is not that of repentance the hardest to hear and bear? Luther confesses that before his conversion he met not with a more displeasing word in all the Scripture, nor in all his study of divinity, than that word repent. O man! if repentance be so easy, why does your spirit rage, and why does your heart so swell and rise against those who preach repentance unto life? Of all preachers, there are none who so displease and move you, who so cut and gall you—as those who are still a-crying out, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" Mat. 3:2.
Repentance is the vomit of the soul; and ah, how do sinners' hearts rise against that remedy—and those who bring it! You love those who preach pleasing things, who tickle your ears—though they never touch your hearts! You love those who please your fancies—though they never meddle with your consciences; and you prefer one sermon of mercy—before a thousand sermons of repentance. [Isaiah 30:10; Jer. 5:30, 31; 14:14, and 23:11 to the end.] Now certainly if repentance were so easy to you, the doctrine of repentance would be more pleasing to you.
For a close, know that that white devil who now presents repentance to you as the easiest thing in the world, he will at last—work you to despair, and to cut the throat of your soul—by presenting repentance not only as a hard and difficult work—but as an impossible work. Oh, that these things may be so blessed unto you, as to preserve you from being deceived and deluded with a conceit that repentance is easy, and so by this means keep you from laboring to be holy!
Now as to that part of the plea, from the scriptures formerly cited— namely, that HEREAFTER will be time enough to repent—I shall thus reply:
1. First, Certainly the present call of God, the uncertainty of the Spirit's motion, and the danger of delay—calls upon you for present
repentance. It is a dangerous thing to deal with God, as ill debtors do by their creditors; first they put them off one week, and then another week, and then a third week, etc., until at last they provoke their creditors to cast them into prison, and to practice all severity upon them. Those who thus deal with God shall be as severely dealt with by God, as you may see in Proverbs 1:24-32.
The ancient warriors would not receive an old man into their army; and do you think, O vain man! that after you have spent your time, and wasted your strength, and exhausted your spirits in the work of Satan, and in the service of your lusts—that God will receive you to his grace and favor? If you do thus flatter yourself, it is ten thousand to one but that you will deceive yourself! Though true repentance is never too late—yet late repentance is seldom true. Ah, how many millions are now in hell, who have thought, and resolved, and said that they would repent hereafter—but that hereafter never came! You say "Tomorrow, tomorrow I will repent," when you know not what a tomorrow will bring forth. Alas! how many thousand ways may death surprise you before tomorrow comes! Though there is but one way to come into the world—yet there are a thousand thousand ways to be sent out of the world. Oh, the diseases, the hazards, the dangers, the accidents, the deaths—which daily—which hourly attend the life of man!
A Jewish Rabbi, pressing the practice of repentance upon his disciples, exhorted them to be sure to repent the day before they died; to which one of them replied, that "the day of a man's death was very uncertain;! to which the Rabbin made answer, !Repent, therefore, every day, and then you shall be sure to repent the day before you die.! O sirs, unless you do repent today, you cannot tell that you shall repent the day before you die; for who knows today— but that he may die tomorrow?
It was once asked of Augustine, what he would say of a wicked man who had lived loosely all his life—but died penitently, etc. To whom he replied, "What would you have me to say? That he is damned? I
will not, for I have nothing to do to judge him. Shall I say that he is saved? I dare not, for I would not deceive you. What then? Why, this, "If you now repent—you are safe, whatever has become of him."
Ah, friends, you are never safe until you repent; it is repentance which puts you out of all danger of miscarrying forever. Shall the farmer take his present seasons for sowing and reaping? shall the good tenant repair his house while the weather is fair? shall the careful pilot take his advantage of wind and tide, and so put out to sea? shall the traveler mend his pace when he sees the night comes on? and shall the smith strike when the iron is hot?—and shall not we take the present opportunity of repenting and turning to the Lord, remembering that there will be a time when time shall be no more; and when there shall be no place found for repentance, though it should be sought carefully with tears, Heb. 12:17; and remembering that there will be a time when your hour-glass will be out, and when the door will be shut, and when there will be no entrance at all, Luke 13:24, 27; and remembering that it is a safer course, with prudent Prometheus, to foresee a danger and shun it, than, with foolish Epimetheus, to go on unadvisedly and be punished?
Ah friends! it is a dangerous thing to make repentance, which should be the practice of all your days, to be the task of old age. Does not common experience tell us that the longer the ship leaks—the harder it is to be emptied; and that the longer the house goes to decay—the worse it is to repair; and that the further the nail is driven—the harder it will be to get out? And so certainly the longer any man defers his repentance, the more difficult it will be for him to repent; his heart will every day grow more and more hard, and his will more and more perverse, and his judgment more and more corrupted, and his affections more and more disordered, and his conscience more and more benumbed or enraged, and his whole life more and more defiled and debauched. "Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!" Numbers 23:10
Friends, do not deceive yourselves, old age is but a sad, a sandy, a tottering and sinking foundation for you to build your hopes and happiness upon—for you to build your everlasting condition, your eternal making or marring upon. Are the dog-days of old age, are the trembling hands, the wrinkled face, the failing eyes, the gasping lungs, the fainting heart, the feeble knees, and the broken down legs —are these a sacrifice worthy of a majestic God? Is a body full of sores, aches, and diseases, and a soul full of sin—an offering befitting a majestic God? Surely not! Oh, what madness, what wickedness is this—to serve Satan, your lusts, and this world with full dishes—and to put off God with scraps! to serve these in the flower, in the prime and primrose of your days—and to put off God with the dregs of old age!
Certainly repentance is rather a work for youth than old age. It is a work rather for strength than weakness, and for health than sickness. Oh, do not let Satan deceive you, do not let your own hearts delude you—but fall upon the work of repentance presently, knowing that as you have one day more to repent of, so you have one day less to repent in. What a piece of vanity is it—that while the ship is sound, the tackling sure, the pilot well, the sailors strong, provisions laid in, and the wind favorable—that the mariners and passengers should lie in the harbor—playing cards, drinking, dicing, dancing, and idling! And when the ship is leaky, the pilot sick, the mariners faint, provisions spent, and the winds boisterous—then to hoist up sail, to make a voyage into a far country!
And yet such is the vanity of most men, who in the days of their youth, health, and strength, who when their memories are strong, and their minds quick, and their reason ripe, etc., do sin away, and fool away, and trifle away the day of grace, the offers of mercy, the motions of the Spirit, and the entreaties of Christ! And when old age comes, when their wits are cracked, their souls distracted, their senses stupified, their hearts astonished, their minds darkened, and their bodies diseased and distempered—oh, then they think to leap into heaven, with a "Lord have mercy upon me" in their mouths!
Even though they have lived like devils—yet they hope they shall die like saints; and though they never took no care of God's honor—yet they hope that God will take care of their souls; but when the thread of their lives is cut, the next news that ever you shall hear of these is —that they are gone to hell.
I have read of a young man, who being admonished of the evil of his way and course, and being pressed to leave his wickedness, and to break off his sins by repentance, upon the consideration of judgment, eternity, and death a-coming; he answered, "What do you tell me of these things? I guarantee you, that I will do well enough, for when death comes, I will speak but three words—and that will help all. And so he went on in his wickedness. But one day, on coming to a bridge over deep waters, the horse stumbled, and he let go the bridle, and gave up himself and his horse to the waters; and was heard to say these three words, "Devil take all!" Here were three words with a witness! And oh that all that think to repent at last, with a "Lord have mercy upon me," would lay this instance to heart! The light of your life may be put out before you can once say, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner!"
Oh, take heed of delaying your repentance, for the more you delay it, the more will your account be increased, your debt augmented, Satan strengthened, your body enfeebled, your lusts emboldened, your soul endangered, and all the difficulties of conversion more and more multiplied. By delaying of your repentance you gratify Satan, deceive yourself, lose the opportunities of grace, and damn your soul forever and ever. Well, remember this, if you will not repent today, God may swear in his wrath tomorrow, that you shall not enter into his rest! And then woe to you—that ever you were born!
And thus much for the preventing of these sad mistakes about repentance, which mistakes keep off many a man from looking and laboring after that holiness without which there is no happiness.
2. Secondly, If ever you would be holy—oh, then take heed of the witch—take heed of the world! The world often swells the heart with pride; it makes men forget God, neglect Christ, slight ordinances, and despise holiness, Deut. 32:15, 22. Ah, the time, the thoughts, the strength, the energies—which this enticing world has made many to spend and consume, while their souls have lain ableeding, and eternity has been hastening upon them! Oh, the deadness, the barrenness, the listlessness, the heartlessness to anything which is holy—which attends a worldly temper! Many men are so bewitched with the profits, pleasures, and honors of the world, that they mind not holiness, they regard not holiness, they care not for holiness, nor the means that lead to holiness: Phil. 3:18-19, "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now I tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things." [That cardinal was wretched as well as rich, who would not leave his part in Paris for a part in paradise.] Who were those who walked disorderly? why, those who minded earthly things. Who were those who fetched tears from the apostle's eyes? why, those who minded earthly things. Who were those who were enemies to the cross of Christ? why, those who minded earthly things. Who were those whose end is destruction? why, those who minded earthly things. Who were those whose God was their belly? why, those who minded earthly things. Who were those whose glory was their shame? why, those who minded earthly things.
Sicily is so full of sweet flowers, that dogs cannot hunt there; and what do all the sweet contentments and delights of this world—but make men lose the scent of heaven and holiness? The world proves silken halters to some, and golden fetters to others. All the flowers of this world, are surrounded with many briers. The world is all shadow and vanity; it is like Jonah's gourd—man may sit under its shadow for a while—but it soon decays and dies. He who shall but weigh man's pains with his pay, his miseries with his
pleasures, his sorrows with his joys, his crosses with his comforts, his needs with his enjoyments, etc., may well cry out, "Vanity of vanity, and all is vanity." The whole world is circular, the heart of man is triangular, and we know a circle cannot fill a triangle. [If the whole earth were changed into a globe of gold, it could not fill your heart.]
O sirs, if your hearts are not filled with holiness—they will be filled with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Either holiness or Satan must possess you.
Some there are, who have much holiness, and much of the world too; as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, David, Hezekiah, Daniel, etc.
And others there are, who have no holiness, nor anything of the world either. These men are fair for two hells—a hell of misery here, and a hell of torment hereafter.
Some have much of the world—but not a spark of holiness; as Saul, Haman, Dives, Herod, etc., who had a world of wealth—but not a grain of grace.
And others have a great deal of holiness, who have but little or nothing of the world; as the apostles and Lazarus, etc., James 2:5; Mat. 11:5.
Is it not infinitely better to have holiness without the world, and so be happy forever—than to have much of the world without holiness, and so be damned forever?
A man bewitched with the world will lose many precious opportunities of grace, which are more worth than a world: witness rich Felix, who had no leisure to hear poor Paul, though the hearing of a sermon might have saved his soul, Acts 24:24, seq. A man bewitched with the world has his sinning times, and his eating times, and his sleeping times, and his trading times, and his feasting times, and his sporting times, etc.; but he has not his hearing times, nor his praying times, nor his reading times, nor his mourning times,
nor his repenting times, nor his reforming times, etc. He can have time, yes, and he will have time, for everything—but to honor his God, and to make himself happy forever.
A man bewitched with the world will, when it is put to his choice, rather part with Christ to enjoy the world, than part with the world to enjoy Christ: witness the young man in the Gospel, who preferred a drop before a sea, a crumb before a crown, and his treasure on earth before eternal treasure in heaven, Mat. 19:16, 23. He would not leave that on earth which he could not long keep, for the enjoyment of that in heaven which he should never lose; rather than he would let his possessions go, he would let God and Christ go, and heaven go, and all go, etc. If heaven can be had at no cheaper a rate than parting with his possessions, "Christ may keep his heaven to himself," says he, for he'll have not have heaven upon those terms.
Again, a man bewitched with the world will prefer the most base and contemptible things before the Lord Jesus Christ; he will, with the Gergesenes, prefer his very swine before a Savior, Mat. 8:28, seq.; when they saw what a sad market their hogs were brought to, they desired Christ to depart out of their country; these Gergesites had rather lose Christ than lose their porkers; they had rather that the devil should possess their souls than that he should drown their pigs; they prefer their swine before their salvation, and present a wretched petition for their own damnation; they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts; though there be no misery, no plague, no curse, no wrath, no hell--compared to Christ's departure from a people—yet men bewitched with the world will desire this. "Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region." Matthew 8:34
Men bewitched with the world will prefer a Barabbas before a Jesus. They will with Judas betray Christ, and with Pilate condemn Christ, and with the Scribes and Pharisees they will cry out,
"Crucify him crucify him! Away with this Jesus! Away with this Jesus! Let Barabbas live—but let Jesus die! Let Barabbas be saved— but let Christ be hanged!" Ah, what incarnate devils will such men prove, who are bewitched with this world!
A man bewitched with the world will gain no good by the ministry of the word. Witness Ezekiel's hearers, "So they come pretending to be sincere and sit before you listening. But they have no intention of doing what I tell them. They express love with their mouths, but their hearts seek only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don't do it!" Ezekiel 33:31-32. Witness the stony ground hearer, Mat. 13:22; and witness Christ's followers, John 6.
Some writers say that nothing will grow where gold grows. Be that as it may, certainly where the love of this world grows—there nothing holy will grow. A heart filled either with the love of the world, or the profits of the world, or the pleasures of the world, or the honors of the world, or the cares of the world, or the businesses of the world— is a heart incapacitated to receive any divine counsel or comfort. It is a heart shut up against God and holiness, it is a heart possessed with many devils; and therefore no wonder if such a heart loathes the honeycomb of holiness! Yes, it is no wonder to see such a heart to deride and scorn holiness as the greatest foolishness, "The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, naturally scoffed at all this." Luke 16:14
The myth tells of Lycaon being turned into a wolf; but when a worldling is made holy, there is a wolf turned into a man! Yes, a devil is turned into a saint! Therefore the Holy Spirit, speaking of Zaccheus, who had long been bewitched by the world, brings him in with an "Behold!"—as if it were a wonder of wonders that ever such a worldling should be made holy.
A man bewitched with the world will venture the loss of his soul to enjoy the world, Mat. 16:26; as that pope that sold his soul to the devil for the enjoyment of the popedom six years. We hate the Turks for selling of Christians as slaves; but ah, how many are there among us, who call themselves Christians, who yet sell themselves and their souls to the slaves of the devil for a penny! Look! as Shimei, by seeking his servant, lost his life—just so, many, by seeking of the world, have lost their souls. Now though of all losses the loss of the soul is the greatest, the saddest, the sorest, the heaviest, and the most intolerable, inconceivable, and irrecoverable loss—yet a man bewitched with the world will run the hazard of losing it, of damning it, to enjoy the world.
You know the Reubenites in Joshua 22 preferred the country that was commodious for the feeding of their cattle, though it was far from the temple, where they might have fed their souls, and have got heaven and holiness for their souls—before their interest in the land of promise. Well, so men who are bewitched with this world in these days, oh, how do they prefer their sensual delights, their brutish contentments, and their carnal enjoyments—before the heavenly Canaan, and before the beauties of holiness, and before the temple of God's holiness, where holiness sparkles and shines in all its bravery and glory, and where their souls might be abundantly satisfied and delighted with the most ravishing joys, the most surpassing delights, and the most transcendent pleasures which are at God's right hand!
To draw to a close, the Arabic proverb says that the world is a carcass, and those who hunt after it are dogs. If this proverb is true, what a multitude of professors will be found to be dogs—who hunt more after earth than heaven; who hunt more after terrestrial than celestial things; who hunt more after nothingnesses and emptinesses, than they do after those fullnesses and sweetnesses which are in God, Christ, heaven, and holiness!
Well, friends, as ever you would obtain that real holiness, without which there is no happiness—take heed of a witch—take heed of this
world! And to that purpose, oh that you would always look upon the things of this world—as you will look upon them when you come to die! Oh, that you would now look upon all the pomp, state, bravery, and glory of the world—as you will look upon it when your souls shall sit upon your trembling lips! Oh, with what a disdainful eye, with what a weaned heart, do men look upon those things then! Do so now, and I dare assure you, that though the world may trouble you— yet it shall never bewitch you.
I have read of a man who, lying in a burning fever, professed that if he had all the world at his dispose, he would give it all for one draught of beer; at so low a rate do men value the world at such a time as that is. If men were so wise to value the world at no higher a rate in health than they do in sickness; in life than they do at the time of their death—it would never bewitch them, it would never be as a wall of separation between holiness and them. As ever you would be holy here, and happy hereafter, take heed of this witch! And believe it to be a witch before it has bewitched you—or else you may believe it too late.
3. Thirdly, If ever you would be holy, then take heed of comparing yourselves with those who are, at least supposedly, worse than yourselves. Many there are, who by comparing themselves with those who are bad, very bad—think themselves to be good, very good; yes, to be too good to go to hell. Such a one was that proud Pharisee in Luke 18, who thought himself a far better man than the poor publican—and yet he was not half so honest, nor half so just, nor half so righteous, nor half so good as he was. The poor publican was ashamed of himself; he loathed himself, he abased himself, he judged himself, and he condemned himself. He acknowledged God, he adored God, he dreaded God, he admired God, and he justified God; in all of which, he exceeded the proud Pharisee. And yet, oh how scornfully does this proud Pharisee look upon him! and how disdainfully and disgracefully does he speak of him! And this was the general frame and temper of the Scribes and Pharisees, who thought no man's penny so good coin, as their own;
who thought themselves better than the best—when they were the very worst of the worst. For publicans and harlots believed and repented, and entered into the kingdom of God before them, Mat. 21:31-32.
And likewise, those in Isaiah 65 were bad, very bad, yes, stark bad; they were the basest among the base, they were the vilest among the vile, they were the most rebellious among the rebellious, and the most superstitious among the superstitious. "I opened my arms to my own people all day long, but they have rebelled. They follow their own evil paths and thoughts. All day long they insult me to my face by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens. They burn incense on the rooftops of their homes. At night they go out among the graves and secret places to worship evil spirits. They also eat pork and other forbidden foods. Isaiah 65:2-4. And yet, oh how do they stroke themselves, and bless themselves, and commend themselves, and cry up themselves, and exalt themselves as the only holy ones. "Yet they say to each other—Don't come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!" Isaiah 65:5. They could deify themselves—and yet damn and devilify others, though they were such monsters as God abhorred, 'They are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away.' Isaiah 65:5.
Ah! how many be there who, by comparing themselves with those who are worse than themselves—do judge themselves to be good enough, and holy enough! They are good negative Christians—and they think that is enough to bring them to heaven. They bless themselves that they are no Nabals for drunkenness, nor any Sodomites for filthiness, nor any Hamans for haughtiness, nor any Amnons for lustfulness, nor any of the old world for idleness, nor any Zaccheuses for covetousness, nor any Laodiceans for lukewarmness, etc. They bless themselves that they are no Gehazis for lying, nor any Shimeis for cursing, nor any Joabs for swearing, nor any Rabshakehs for railing, nor any Doegs for cruelty, nor any Judases for treachery, nor any Demases for apostasy, etc.
And thus they cheat themselves, and find out fine ways to delude and damn their own souls; they think it grace enough, and holiness enough, that they have attained to this—namely, not to be so bad as the worst, though they fall infinitely short of coming near unto the best. Well, sirs, remember this, if you are not so great sinners as others—your horrors, your terrors, your torments, your hell shall not be so great, nor so hot as others—but without holiness you shall be as certainly damned as others! And what a cold comfort is this, to have a cooler and a lighter hell than others; and yet this is all the comfort that can be handed to unholy hearts. But,
4. Fourthly, Take heed of flatterers. Ah! how good might many men have been, who are yet exceeding bad, had they not sold their ears to flatterers! Flatterers are soul-murderers; they are soulundoers; they are like incompetent physicians, who skin over the wound—but kill the patient! Flattery is the very mother of folly, and the very nursery of all impiety. Flatterers will cry up those for pious men—who are only superstitious; and those for wise men—who are foolish; and those for knowing men—who are ignorant; and those for virtuous men—who are wicked; and those for holy men—who at best are but civil; and those for happy men—who are certainly miserable. Flatterers dare call the proud—happy; and bless those whom God has cursed. They dare call evil good, and good evil. They dare call darkness light, and light darkness. They dare say that that man has grace—who has none. Yes, they dare swear that such and such shall be saved—though for the present they live as if they were resolved to be damned. They dare take upon them to tell you that such and such men's names are written in heaven, and that such and such belong to the election of grace—though their lives speak them out to be void of all grace.
Ah! how many a man has been kept off from the thoughts of holiness, and from the ways of holiness, and from the love and liking of holiness—by flatterers who have flattered them—that doubtless they are in the favor of God—and that certainly God did not make men to damn them—and that without all question they have a saving
interest in Christ—and that there is no question but that their hearts are as good as the best—and that their eternal conditions are good, and their souls happy. Yes, they are so confident of their happiness, that they dare venture a-going to hell, if ever such should go to hell whom they fondly flatter; they dare pawn their souls and their salvation on it, that such shall never miscarry; and by these flatteries they harden men in sin, and arm them against holiness.
Flattery is that sweet poison that has destroyed many a soul. Witness Rehoboam, Ahab, Herod, Nero, Alexander, etc. Just so, true is that of the wise man: Proverbs 26:28, "A lying tongue hates those who are afflicted by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin." [The Hebrew word signifies to throw down, to drive on forwards until a man falls into destruction; none drive so furiously to the ruin and destruction of souls—as flatterers do.] A flattering mouth ruins name, fame, estate, life, body and soul; it ruins a man both temporally and eternally; it often undoes a man in both worlds; it makes a man miserable both here and hereafter. Flatterers are devouring caterpillars. Flatterers' tongues do more mischief than persecutors' swords, for their swords can but destroy the bodies of men—but flatterers' tongues destroy the souls of men. Flatterers are the greatest soul-cheaters and soulundoers in the world. Flatterers dare call vice—virtue; they dare call pride—civility; covetousness—good economy; drunkenness—good company; prodigality—liberality; wantonness—a foible of youth; passion—zeal; revenge—courage, etc. They dare call enormities— infirmities; and wickednesses—weaknesses. They dare call great sins —little sins; little sins—no sins. They gild over all their poisonous pills with gold. They draw the fairest glove upon the foulest hand. They lay their neatest colors upon the filthiest sores. They put their best paint upon the worst faces, and the richest robes upon the most diseased bodies. And by these devices they entangle many to their utter ruin.
Proverbs 29:5, "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet." The Hebrew word which is here rendered flatterer, signifies a soft, butter-spoken man; because flatterers, the better to deceive—oil
their tongues and to butter their lips, so that by their smooth, soft speeches they may the more insinuate themselves into men's minds, and so make way for their destruction. Flatterers have their silken nets to ensnare and entangle poor souls to their eternal ruin. Look! as fowlers strew corn and lay baits to draw birds into their nets; or look, as hunters spread their nets, that they may capture beasts and prey upon them, or make a prey of them—just so, flatterers spread their nets that they may catch poor souls, and either prey upon them, or else make a prey of them.
Flattery is the devil's invisible net; and happy is that soul who escapes it. The flatterer's net is worse than his sword—for his sword may be the more easily seen, feared, and avoided, than his net. Of all weapons, the flatterer's net is the most perilous and dangerous, both to the lives, estates, and souls of men. It were ten thousand times better to trample a flatterer under a man's feet, than for a man to allow his feet to be taken in the flatterer's net. A flatterer is a foul enemy in the dress of a friend; he is a wolf in sheep's clothing; he is a devil transformed into an angel of light! What punishment can be too great for such?
The severity of many heathen princes and emperors has been very great against flatterers. Take one instance for all: Alexander Severus commanded one Turinus, a great flatterer, to be tied to a stake and stifled with smoke, with a herald standing by, and proclaiming to all the people, that it was but just that he who lived by the smoke of flattery should die by smoke. [Many great emperors were great enemies to flatterers.]
Now what a shameful thing is it that such as are called Christians should desire to be flattered—when heathens have so severely punished flatterers. Well, sirs, as ever you would be holy, take heed of flatterers, and take heed of flattery! Let Solomon's counsel be always in your eye, and let it always lie warm upon your hearts: Proverbs 20:19, "Do not meddle with him who flatters with his lips." A man who loves his soul, and would be happy in the eternal world,
should shun flatterers as he should shun a thief, a serpent, a wolf, a lion, a devil. Until you stop your ears against a spirit of flattery, there is little hopes that ever you will be holy.
5. Fifthly, If ever you would be holy, oh! then take heed of putting the day of death far from you. Man is a creature naturally prone to look upon death at a distance, to look upon death afar off, and to say with those in Ezekiel, "Behold, the people of Israel are saying—The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future." Ezek. 12:27. Just so, the rich man in the Gospel reckoned upon many years, when he had not many months, no not many weeks, no not many days, no not many hours—to live in this world! Unholy people are very apt to say to death as Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again!" Exod. 10:28. When death knocks at the poor man's door he sends it to the rich man's gate, and the rich man translates it to the scholar, and the scholar posts it away to the courtier, and the courtier to his lady, and his lady to her maid; and so death is posted away, as it were, from one to another, everyone crying out to death, "Oh, let me not see your face! Oh, let me not see your face!"
It is a death to many kings and rulers—just to think of death, or to hear of death; and therefore they strictly charge all their servants about them, that when they saw them sick, they should never dare to name that bitter word 'death' in their ears. And Pashur cannot cast his eye upon death—but he is presently a Magor-missabib, a terror to himself, Jer. 20:3. And Saul, though he was a valiant king—yet at the news of death he falls on his face, 1 Sam. 28:20. And so Belshazzar, though he was a mighty emperor, Dan. 5:1-7—yet a letter to him, from him whom Bildad calls the king of terrors, Job 18:14, ah, how does it amaze, astonish, affright, and terrify him! and how many are there who, with Maecenas, had rather live in many diseases than die; and, with the most famous heathens, prefer the poorest life on earth, above all the hopes they have of the eternal world; like Achilles, who had rather be a servant to a poor country down here,
than to be a king to all the souls departed; or like Withipoll, a rich and wretched man, who, when he was in danger of death, earnestly desired that he might live five hundred years, though it were but in the shape of a toad. Vitellius, when facing death, made himself drunk to drown the thoughts of it. A woman being ill—one of her neighbors coming to visit her, told her that if she died she would go to heaven and be with God and Jesus Christ, and with angels and saints; the sick woman answered, that she had no acquaintance there, she knew nobody there, and therefore she had rather live with her neighbors here on earth, than to go there to live among strangers.
And thus you see how apt people are to shrug at death, which is a common lot, and to say to it, as Ephraim did to his idols, "Get away from me, what have we more to do with you?" But this is and must be for a lamentation, that men put off the thoughts of their latter end to the latter end of their thoughts. Man naturally is a great life-lover, and therefore he will bleed, sweat, vomit, purge, part with an estate, yes, with a limb, ay, limbs—to preserve his life. Like him who cried out, "Oh, give me any deformity, any torment, any misery, just so that you spare my life!" And upon this account it is, that he desires that such a guest as death may not knock at his door. But ah! that all such vain men would consider, that by putting the day of their death far from them, they do but gratify Satan, strengthen their sins, provoke the Lord, and make the work of faith and holiness more hard and difficult, and so lay a deep foundation for their own eternal destruction!
Well, sirs, remember this, the serious thoughts and meditations of death, if anything, will work you to break off your sins, to mend your lives, and to look to the salvation of your souls. There is nothing that will sooner work a man to a holy fear of offending God in anything, and to a holy care of pleasing God in everything—than the serious meditation of death. Though that text, "Remember your latter end, and you shall never do amiss," is apocryphal—yet the truth asserted is canonical. I have read a story of one who gave a young prodigal a ring with a death's-head, on this condition—that he should one hour
in a day, for seven days together, think and meditate upon death, which accordingly he did, and it bred a great change and alteration in his thinking and life.
O man! you do not know but that the serious thoughts of death may work that desirable thing in you, namely, holiness, which yet has not been wrought in you by all the holy counsels, the gracious examples, the fervent prayers, and the sorrowful tears of your dearest friends. You do not know but that the serious meditation of death may do you more good than all the sermons that you have ever heard; or than all the books that you have ever read; or than all the prayers that you have ever made; or than all the sighs or groans that you have ever poured out; and why then should you put the thoughts of death far from you? Certainly as he is an deep-rooted sinner, who dares look death in the face and yet sin; who dares steal a purse when the judge looks on—just so, he is a monster rather than a man, who dares look death in the face—and yet satisfy himself to live without holiness; who dares look death in the face—and yet say "I'll drink and be drunk, I'll swear and swagger, I'll roar and whore, I'll cheat and cozen, I'll hate and oppose, I'll quarrel and kill, and my hands shall be as bloody as my heart—let death do her worst!" If such a person is not in the ready way of being miserable forever, I know nothing.
1. Firstly, Well, sirs, remember these three things:
[1.] First, That there is nothing more CERTAIN than death. That statute law of heaven, "Dust you are, and unto dust you shall return," Gen. 3:19, will take hold of all the sons of men. "There is no man who lives and shall not see death," Psalm 89:48. Though Jacob wrestled with an angel and prevailed—yet death was too hard for him, Gen. 32. Though Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe—yet he could not outrun death, and Absalom could not outride it, nor Pharaoh outdrive it. Though Saul and Jonathan were as swift as eagles, and as strong as lions—yet were they slain among the mighty. It was not Solomon's wisdom that could deliver him, nor Samson's strength which could rescue him, nor Haman's honor which could
secure him, nor Goliath's sword which could defend him, nor Dives's riches which could ransom him from the grave; and therefore why should men put this day so far from them? But,
[2.] Secondly, As there is nothing more certain than death, so there is nothing more SUDDEN than death. When the old world, when Sodom, when Pharaoh, when Hagar, when Amalek, when Haman, when Nebuchadnezzar, when Belshazzar, when Dives, when the rich fool, and when Herod—were all in their prime and pride, when they were in their most flourishing estate, when they were at the very top of their glory—ah, how suddenly, how sadly, how strangely, how unexpectedly, and how astonishingly were they brought down to the grave, yes, to hell! Oh, the thousand thousands of crosses, losses, diseases, sicknesses, calamities, dangers, and deaths—which attends the life of man—and by the least of which he may be suddenly surprised and carried into the eternal world! And therefore, why should man cry out "Tomorrow, tomorrow!" when he does not know whether he shall have a tomorrow, when he does not know but that he may die before he has begun to live?
Waldus, a rich merchant of France, seeing one suddenly drop down dead in the streets, went home, repented, changed his life, studied the Scriptures, and became a worthy teacher, father, and founder of the Christians called the Waldenses. And oh that the serious thoughts of the suddenness of death might have that happy effect upon your souls, as to work you to break your league with sin, and to frighten you, as it were—into a love of holiness, and into a life of holiness!
O swearer, what do you know but that death may seize on you while the oath is in your mouth? And what do you know, O drunkard—but that death may step in between the cup and the lip, as it did to Belshazzar? And what do you know, O adulterer—but that a poisoned dart may strike through your liver while you are in the very flagrancy of your lust, as it did through Zimri's and Cozbi's? And what do you know, O proud Haman—but that you who are thus
nobly feasted one day, may be a feast for the crows the next day? And what do you know who are so crafty, O Ahithophel—but that if your subtle counsel is rejected one hour, you may hang yourself the next hour? And what do you know, O you opposing and murmuring Korah—but that the earth may suddenly open and swallow you up? And therefore why should you put that day so far from you, that may so suddenly overtake you?
Berline, in Germany, while in the pulpit, said that the Scriptures were a lie—and was suddenly smitten with an apoplexy, and fell down dead on the spot. And what do you know, who are so apt to charge the Scriptures with lying—but that God may strike you both dumb and dead while the lie is in your mouth? Bibulus, a Roman general, while riding in triumph in all his glory—a tile fell off from a house in the street and knocked out his brains. And what do you know, O vain-glorious man—but that while you are triumphing in your world-glory, by some unexpected blow you may be sent into the eternal world?