THE
OF
RELIGION IN THE SOUL;
Q ' ILLUSTRATED IN A COURSE OF
SERIOUS AND PRACTICAL ADDRESSES,
SUITED TO PERSONS
Of every Character and Circumstance :
WITH A
DEVOUT MEDITATION, OR PRAYER,
SUBJOINED TO EACH CHAPTER.
BY PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D.
NEW-YORK
PUBLISHED BY THE
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETlTy
KO. 150 NASSAU-STREET. Fanshaw, Printer.
THE NEW YORK
PUBUC UBRARY
492hBl
AtTOH, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. » 191(3 ^
CONTENTS.
Preface, . . , «
CHAP. I.— The introduction to tlie work, with some general account of its design, A prayer for the success of it, in promoting the rise and progress of religion, ....
CHAP. II. — The careless sinner awa- kened, .... The meditation of a sinner who was once thoughtless, but begins to be awakened, .
OHAP. III.— The awakened sinner urged to immediate considera- tion, and cautioned against de-
A prayer for one who is tempted to delay applying to religion, though under some conviction of its im- portance, ....
CHAP. IV.— The sinner arraigned and convicted, The confession of a sinner, convin- ced in general of his guilt, .
CHAP, v.— The sinner stripped of his vain pleas, The meditation of a convinced sin- ner, giving up his vain pleas be- fore God, ....
CHAP. VI. — The sinner sentgDced, The reflection of a sia^fr struck with the terror of l_s seuteuce,
CHAP. VII.— The helpless state of the sinner under condemnation, The lamentation of a sinner in this miserable condition,
CHAP. VIH.— News of salvation by Christ brought to the convinced and condemned sinner, The sinner's reflection on this good news
CHAP. IX. — A more particular ac- count of the way by which this salvation is to be obtained, . The sinner deliberating oin the ex- pediency of falling in with tliis method of salvation.
67
CHAP. X.— The sinner seriously ur- ged and intreated to accept of salvation in this way, .' . 84 The sinner yielding to these intrea- ties, and declaring his acceptance of salvation by cSirist, . 90
CHAP. XL— A solemn address to those who will not be persuaded to fall in with the design of the gospel, ....
A compassionate prayer in behalf of tlie impenitent sinner,
lOJ
CHAP. XII.-^ An address to a soul so overwhelmed with a sense of the greatness of its sins, that it dares not apply itself to Christ with any hope of salvation, Reflection on the encouragements he has to do it, ending in an hum- ble and earnest application to Christ for mercy, .
lOS
CHAP. XIII.— The doubting soul more particularly assisted in its inquiries as to the sincerity of its faith and repentance, . . 110 The soul submitting to divine exa- mination the sincerity of its re- pentance and faith, . • 115
CHAP. XIV.— A more particular view of the several branches of the Christian temper ; by which the reader may be further assist- ed, in judging what he is, and what he should endeavour to be, 117 A review of the several branches of this temper in a scriptural prayer, 129
CHAP. XV.— The reader reminded how much he needs the assist- ance of the Spirit of God to form him to this temper, and what en- couragement he has to expect it, 132 An humble supplication for the in- fluences of divine grace to form and strengthen religion in the soul, 135
CHAP. XVI.— The Christian convert warned of, and animated against, those discouragements which he must expect to meet, when enter- ing on a religious course , 138
nr
CONTENTS.
The soul, alarmed by a sense of these difficulties, committiug it- self to divine protection, . 142
CHAP. XVII.— The Christian urged to, and assisted in, an express act of self-dedication to the ser- vice of God. . . 144 An example of self-dedication, 147 Together with au abstract of it, to be used witli proper and requisite alterations, .... 151
CHAP. XVIII.— On communion in the Lord's supper, . . 153
A prayer for one who desires to at- tend, yet has some remaining doubts concerning his right to that solemn ordinance, . 158
CHAP. XIX.— Some more particu- lar directions for maintaining continual communion with God, or being in his fear all the day long ; in a letter to a pious friend, .... 160 A serious view of death, proper to be taken as we Ue down on our beds, 172
CHAP, XX. — A serious persuasive to such a method of spending our
days, 174
A prayer suited to the state of a soul who longs to attain such a life, ISl
CHAP. XXI.— A caution against va- rious temptations, by which the young convert may be drawn aside from tiie course betore re- commended, . . . 183 The young convert's prayer for di- vine protection from the danger of these snares, ... 191
CHAP. XXn.— The case of spiritual decay and languor in religion, 193 A prayer (or one under spiritual decays, .... 199
CHAP. XXIII.— The sad case of a relapse into know^n and deUbe- rate sin, aflM solemn acts of de-
dication to God, and some pro- gress made in religion, . 202 A prayer for one who has fallen into gross sin, after religious resolu- tions and engagements, . 209
CHAP. XXIV.— The case of the Christian under the hidings of God's lace, .... 212 An humble supplication for one un- der the hidings of God's face, 221
CHAP. XXV.— The Christian strug- gling under great and heavy af- flictions, .... 224 An address to God under the pres- sure of heavy affliction, . 228
CHAP. XXVI.— The Christian as- sisted in examining into his growth in grace, . . 231
The Christian breathing earnestly after giowth in grace, . 238
CHAP. XXVII. — The advanced Christian reminded of tiie mer- cies of God, and exhorted to the exercise of habitual love to him, and joy in him, . . , 240 An example of the genuine work- ings of this grateful joy in God, 245
CHAP. XXVIII. — The established Christian urged to exert himself for purposes of usefulness, . 249 The Christian breathing after more extensive usefulness, . . 258
CHAP. XXIX.— The Christian re- joicing in the views of death and judgment, . . . 259
The meditation and prayer of a Christian whose heart is warm- ed with these prospects, . 266
CHAP. XXX.— The Christian ho- nouring God by his dying beha- viour, .... 268 A meditation and prayer suited to the case of a dying Christian, 276
Brief notice of the Life of Dr. Dod- dridge, .... 280
PREFACE.
The several hints given in the first chapter of this Treatise, which contains a particular plan of the design, render it unnecessary to introduce it with a long preface. My much honored friend, Dr. Watts, had laid the scheme, especially of the former part. But as those indis- positions, with which God has been pleased to exercise him, had forbid his hopes of being able to add this to his many labours of love to immortal souls, he was pleased, in a very affectionate and importunate manner, to urge me to undertake it. And I bless God with my whole heart, not only that he hath carried me through this delightful task, (for such indeed I have found it,) but also that he hath spared that worthy and amiable person to see it accom- plished, and given him strength and spirit to review so con- siderable a part of it. His approbation, expressed in stronger terms than modesty will permit me to repeat, encourages me to hope that it is executed in such a manner as may, by the Divine blessing, render it of some general service. And I the rather hope it will be so, as it now comes abroad into the world, not only with my own prayers and his, but also with those of many other pious friends, which I have been particularly careful to engage for its success.
Into whatever hands this work may come, I must desire, that, before any pass their judgment upon it, they would
6 PREFACE.
please to read it through, that they may discern the con- nexion between one part of it and another ; which I the rather request, because I have long observed, that Chris- tians of different parties have been eagerly laying hold on particular parts of the system of Divine truth, and have been contending about them, as if each had been all ; or as if the separation of the members from each other, and from the head, were the preservation of the body, instead of its destruction. They have been zealous to espouse the defence, and to maintain the honor and usefulness of each apart : whereas the honor, as well as the usefulness, seems to me to lie much in their connection : and suspi- cions have often arisen betwixt the respective defenders of each, which have appeared as unreasonable and absurd, as if all the preparations for securing one part of a ship in a storm were to be censured as a contrivance to sink the rest. I pray God to give to all his ministers and people more and more of the spirit of wisdom, and of love, and of a sound mind : and to remove far from us those mutual jealousies and animosities, ^vhich hinder our acting with that unanimity which is necessary in order to the success- ful carrying on of our common warfare against the enemies of Christianity. We may be sure, these enemies will never fail to make their own advantage of our multiplied divisions and severe contests with each other. But they must necessarily lose both their ground and their influence, in proportion to the degree in which the energy of Chris- tian principles is felt to unite and transform the heart of those by whom they are professed.
I have studied, in this Treatise, the greatest plainness of speech, that the lowest of my readers may, if possible, be
PREFACE. 7
able to understand every word ; and I hope persons of a more elegant taste and refined education will pardon what appeared to me so necessary a piece of charity. Such a care in practical writings seems one important instance of that honoring all men, which our amiable and condescend- ing religion teaches us ; and I have been particularly oblig- ed to my worthy patron, for what he hath done to shorten some of the sentences, and to put my meaning into plainer and more familiar words.
I must add one remark here, which I heartily wish I had not omitted in the first edition, viz : That though I do in this book consider my reader as successively in a great variety of supposed circumstances, beginning with those of a thoughtless sinner, and leading him through several stages of conviction, terror, &c. as what may be previous to his sincerely accepting the Gospel, and devoting himself to the service of God ; yet I would by no means be thought to insinuate, that every one who is brought to that happy resolution, arrives at it through those particular steps, or feels agitations of mind equal in degree to those I have described. Some sense of sin, and some seri- ous and humbling apprehension of our danger and misery in consequence of it, must indeed be necessary to dispose us to receive the grace of the Gospel, and the Saviour who is there exhibited to our faith. But God is pleased some- times to begin the work of his grace in the heart almost from the first dawning of reason, and to carry it on by such gentle and insensible degrees, that very excellent persons, who have made the most eminent attainments in the Di- vine life, have been unable to recount any remarkable his- tory of their conversion. And so far as I can learn, this
8 PREFACE.
is most frequently the case with those of them who have enjoyed the benefit of a pious education, when it has not been succeeded by a vicious and licentious youth. God forbid, therefore, that any should be so insensible of their own happiness, as to fall into perplexity with relation tp their spiritual state, for want of being able to trace such a rise of religion in their minds, as it was necessary on my plan for me to describe and exemplify here. I have spoken my sentiments on this head so fully in the eighth of my Sermons on Regeneration, that I think none who has read, and remembers the general contents of it, can be in danger of mistaking my meaning here. But as it is very possible this book may fall into the hands of many who have not read the other, and have no opportu- nity of consulting it, I thought it proper to insert this cau- tion in the preface to this ; and I am much obliged to that worthy and excellent person who kindly reminded me of the expediency of doing it. Philip Doddridge.
THE
OF
RELIGION IN THE SOUL.
CHAPTER I.
THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK, AVITH SOME GENERAL ACCOUNT OF ITS DESIGN.
1. 2. That true religion is very rare, appears from comparing the nature of it with the lives and characters of men around us. — 3. The loant of it, matter of jn.st lamentation. — 4. To remedy this evil, is the design of the ensuing Treatise. — 5. 6. To which, there- fore, the Author earnestly bespeaks the attention of the reader, as his own heart is deeply interested in it. — 7. to 12. A general plan of the Work; ofivhich the first fifteen chapters relate chiefly to the Rise of Beligion, and the remaining chapters to its Progress. — Prayer for the success of the Work.
1. When we look around us with an attentive eye, and consider the characters and pursuits of men, we plainly «ee, that though, in the original constitution of their na- tures, they only, of all the creatures that dwell on the face of the earth, are capable of religion, yet many of them shamefully neglect it. And whatever different notions people may entertain of what they call religion, all must agree in ov/ning, that it is very far from being a universal thing.
2. Religion, in its most general view, is such a sense of God in the soul, and such a conviction of our obliga- tions to him, and of our dependence upon him, as shall engage us to make it our great care to conduct ourselves in a manner which we have reason to believe will be pleasing to him. Now, when we have given this plain ac- count of religion, it is by no means necessary that we should search among the savages of distant Pagan nations, to find instances of thof?e'who are strangers to it. When we view the conduct of the generality of people at home, in a
10 heligion not universal. [Ch. 1
Christian and Protestant nation, in a nation whose obli- gations to God have been singular, almost beyond those of any other people under heaven, will any one presume to say, that religion has a universal reign among us ? Will any one suppose, that it prevails in every life ; that it reigns in every heart ? Alas ! the avowed infidelity, the profanation of the name and day of God, the drunkenness, the lewdness, the injustice, the falsehood, the pride, the prodigality, the base selfishness, and stupid insensibility about the spiritual and eternal interests of themselves and others, which so generally appear among us, loudly pro- claim the contrary. So that one would imagine, upon this view, that thousands and tens of thousands thought the neglect, and even the contempt of religion, were a glory, rather than a reproach. And whore is the neigh- borhood, where is the society, where is the happy family, consisting of any considerable number, in which, on a more exact examination, we find reason to say, " religion fills even this little circle ?" There is, perhaps, a free- dom from any gross and scandalous immoralities, an ex- ternal decenc}' of behaviour, an attendance on the outward forms of worship in public, and, here and there, in the family ; yet, amidst all this, there is nothing which looks like the genuine actings of the spiritual and divine life. There is no appearance of love to God, no reverence of his presence, no desire of his favor as the highest good : there is no cordial belief of the Gospel of salvation ; no eager solicitude to escape that condemnation which we have incurred by sin ; no hearty concern to secure that eternal life which Christ has purchased and secured for his people, and which he freely promises to all who will receive him. Alas ! whatever the love of a friend, or even a parent can do ; whatever inclination there may be, to hope all things, and believe all things the most favorable, evidence to the contrary will force itself upon the mind, and extort the unwilling conclusion, that, whatever else may be amiable in this dear friend — in that favorite child — "religion dwells not in his breast."
3. To a heart that firmly believes the Gospel, and views persons and things in the light of eternity, this is one of the most mournful consideration^^ in the world. And indeed, to such a one, all other calamities and evils
Ch. 1.] THE WANT OF IT TO BE LAMENTED. 11
of human nature appear trides, when compared with this : the absence of real religion, and that contrariety to it, which reigns in so many thousands of mankind. Let this be cured, and all the other evils will easily be borne ; nay, good will be extracted out of them. But if this continue, it "bringeth forth fruit unto death;" (Rom. vii. 5.) and in consequence of it, multitudes, wdio share the entertain- ments of an indulgent Providence w"lth us, and are at least dlied to us by the bond of the same common nature, must, in a few years, be swept away into utter destruction, and be plunged, beyond redemption, into everlasting burnings. 4. I doubt not but there are many, under the various forms of religious profession, who are not only lamenting this in public, if their office in life calls them to an oppor- tunity of doing it ; but are likewise mourning before God in secret, under a sense of this sad state of things ; and who can appeal to Him that searches all hearts, as to the sincerity of their desires to revive the languishing cause of vital Christianity and substantial piety. And, among the rest, the Author of this treatise may with confidence say, it is this which animates him to the present attempt, in the midst of so many other cares and labours. For this he is willing to lay aside many of those curious amusements in science which might suit his own private taste, and perhaps open a way for some reputation in the learned world. For this he is willing to w^ave the labored ornaments of speech, that he may, if possible, descend to the capacity of the lowest part of mankind. For this he would endeavor to convince the judgment, and to reach the heart of every reader: and, in a word, for this, without any dread of the name of an enthusiast, whoever may at random throw it out upon the occasion, he would, as it w^ere, enter with you into your closet, from day to day; and v/ith all plain- ness and freedom, as w ell as seriousness, would discourse to you of the great things which he has learned from the Christian revelation, and on which he assuredly knows your everlasting happiness to depend ; that, if you hither- to have lived without religion, you may be now aw^aken- ed to the consideration of it, and may be instructed in its nature and importance ; or that, if you are already, through Divine grace, experimentally acquainted with it, you may be assisted to make a farther progress.
12 THE author's design. [Ch. 1.
6. But he earnestly entreats this favor of you, that, as it is plainly a serious business we are entering upon, you wbuld be pleased to give him a serious and an attentive hearing. He entreats, that these addresses, and these meditations, may be perused at leisure, and be thought over in retirement; and that you would do him and yourself the justice to believe the representations which are here made, and the warnings which are here given, to pro- ceed from sincerity and love ; from a heart that would not designedly give one moment's unnecessary pain to the meanest creature on the face of the earth, and much less to any human mind. If he be importunate, it is because he at least imagines that there is just reason for it, and fears, lest, amidst the multitudes who are undone by the utter neglect of religion, and among those who are great- ly damaged for want of a more resolute and constant at- tendance to it, this may be the case of some into whose hands this treatise may fall.
6. He is a barbarian, and deserves not to be called a man, who can look upon the sorrov.s of his fellow crea- tures without drawing out his soul unto them, and wish- ing, at least, that it were in the power of his hand to help them. Surely earth would be a heaven to that man, who could go about from place to place, scattering happiness wheresoever he came, though it were only the body that he were capable of relieving, and though he could impart nothing better than the happiness of a mortal life. But the happiness rises in proportion to the nature and degree of the good which he imparts. Happy, are we ready to say, were those honored servants of Christ, who, in the early days of his church, were the benevolent and sym- pathizing instruments of conveying miraculous healing to those whose cases seemed desperate ; who poured in upon the blind and the deaf the pleasures of light and sound, and called up the dead to the powers of action and en- joyment. But this is an honor and happiness which it is not fit for God commonly to bestow on mortal men. Yet there have been, in every age, and, blessed be his name, there still are those whom he has condescended to make his instruments in conveying nobler and more lasting blessings than these to their fellow creatures. Death has long since veiled the eyes, and stopped the ears, of those
Ch. 1.] PLAN OF THE WORK. 13
who were the subjects of miraculous healing, and reco- vered its empire over those who were once recalled from the grave. But the souls who are prevailed upon to re- ceive the Gospel, live for ever. God has owned the la- bors of his faithful ministers in every age to produce these blessed effects ; and some of them "being dead, yet speak," (Heb. xi. 4.) with power and success, in this im- portant cause. Wonder not then, if, living and dying, I be ambitious of this honor ; and if my mouth be freely opened, where I can truly sav, " my heart is enlarged." (2 Cor. vi. 11.)
7. In forming my general plan, I have been solicitous that this little treatise might, if possible, be useful to all its readers, and contain something suitable to each. I will therefore take the man and the Christian, in a great va- riety of circumstances. I will first suppose myself ad- dressing one of the vast number of thoughtless creatures, who have hithetto been utterly unconcerned about reli- gion, and will try what can be done, by all plainness and earnestness of address, to awaken him from this fatal le- thargy, to a care, (chap. 2.) an affectionate and an imme- diate care about it. (chap. 3.) I will labor to fix a deep and awful conviction of guilt upon his conscience, (chap. 4.) and to strip him of his vain excuses and his flattering hopes, (chap. 5.) I will read to him, 0! that I. could fix on his heart, that sentence, that dreadful sentence, which a righteous and an Almighty God hath denounced against him as a sinner; (chap. 6.) and endeavor to show him, in how helpless a state he lies under this condemna- tion, as to any capacity he has of delivering himself, (chap. 7.) But I do not mean to leave any in so terri- ble a situation : I will joyfully proclaim the glad tidings of pardon and salvation by Christ Jesus our Lord, which is all the support and confidence of my own soul. (chap. 8.) And then I will give some general view of the way by which this salvation is to be obtained ; (chap. 9.) urg- ing the sinner to accept of it as affectionately as I can : (chap. 10.) though nothing can be sufficiently pathetic, where, as in this matter, the life of an immortal soul is ia question.
8. Too probable it is, that some will, after all this, re- main insensible ; and therefore, that their sad case may
14 PLAN OF THE WORK. [Ch. 1.
not encumber the following articles, I shall here take a solemn leave of them; (chap. 11.) and then shall turn and address myself, as compassionately as I can, to a most contrary character : I mean, to a soul overwhelmed with a sense of the greatness of its sins, and trembling under the burden, as if there were no more hope for him in God. (chap. 12.) And that nothing may be omitted which may give solid peace to the troubled spirit, I shall endeavor to guide its inquiries as to the evidences of sincere repent- ance and faith; (cliap. 13.) which will be farther illus- trated by a more particular view of the several branches of the Christian temper, such as may serve at once to as- sist the reader in judging what he is, and to show him \vhat he should labor to be. (chap. 14.) This will natu- rally lead to a view of the need we have of the influences of the blessed Spirit, to assist us in the important and dif- ficult work of the true Christian, and of the encourage- ment we have to hope for such Divine assistance, (chap. 15.) In an humble dependence on which, I shall then enter on the consideration of several cases which often occur in the Christian life, in which particular addresses to the conscience may be requisite and useful.
9. As some peculiar difficulties and discouragements attend the first entrance on a religious course, it will here be our first care to animate the young convert against them. (chap. 16.) And that it may be done more effec- tually, I shall urge a solemn dedication of himself to God; Tchap. 17.) to be confirmed by. entering into the com- munion of the church, and an approach to the sacred ta- ble, (chap. 18.) That these engagements may be more happily fulfilled, we shall endeavor to draw a more par- ticular plan of that devout, regular and accurate course, which ought daily to be attended to. (chap. 19.) And because the idea will probably rise so much higher than what is the general practice, even of good men, we shall endeavor to persuade the reader to make the attempt, hard as it may seem, (chap. 20.) and shall caution him against various temptations, which might otherwise draw him aside to negligence and sin. (chap. 21.)
10. Happy will it be for the reader, if these exhorta- tions and cautions be attended to with becoming regard; but as it is, alas ! too probable, that, notwithstanding all,
Ch. 1.] PLAN OF THE WORK. 15
the infirmities of nature will sometimes prevail, we shall consider the case of deadness and languor in religion, which often steals upon us by insensible degrees; (chap. 22.) from whence there is too easy a passage to that terri- ble one of a return into known and deliberate sin. (chap. 23.) And as the one or the other of these tends, in a proportionable degree, to provoke the blessed God to hide his face, and his injured Spirit to withdraw, that melan- choly condition will be taken into particular survey, (chap. 24.) I shall then take notice also of the case of great and heavy afflictions in life, (chap. 25.) a discipline which the best of men have reason to expect, especially when they backslide from God, and yield to their spiritual enemies. 11. Instances of this kind will, I fear, be too frequent; yet, I trust, there will be many others, whose path, like the dawning light, will " shine more and more unto the perfect day." Prov. iv. 18. And therefore we shall en- deavor, in the best manner we can, to assist the Christian in passing a true judgment on the growth of grace in his heart, (chap. 26.) as we had done before in judging of its sincerity. And as nothing conduces more to the ad- vancement of grace, than the lively exercise of love to God, and a holy joy in him, we shall here remind the real Christian of those mercies which tend to excite that love and joy; (chap. 27.) and in the view of them, to animate him to those vigorous efforts of usefulness in life, which so well become his character, and will have so happy an efficacy in brightening his crown, (chap. 28.) Supposing him to act accordingly, we shall then labor to illustrate and assist the delight with which he may look forward to the awful solemnities of death and judgment, (chap. 29.) And shall close the scene by accompanying him, as it were, to the nearest confines of that dark val- ley, through which he is to pass to glory; giving him such directions as may seem most subservient to his honor- ing God, and adorning religion, by his dying behaviour, (chap. 30.) Nor am I without a pleasing hope, that, through the Divine blessing and grace, I maybe, in some instances, so successful as to leave those triumphing in the views of judgment and eternity, and glorifying God by a truly Christian life and death, whom I found trem- bling in the apprehensions of future misery; or, perhaps.
16 PRAYER FOR SUCCESS OF THE WORK. [Ch. 1.
in a much more dangerous and miserable condition than that : 1 mean entirely forgetting the prospect, and sunk in the most stupid insensibility of those things, for an at- tendance to which the human mind was formed, and in comparison of which all the pursuits of this transitory life are emptier than wind, and lighter than a feather.
12. Such a variety of heads must, to be sure, be han- dled but briefly, as we intend to bring them within the bulk of a moderate volume. I shall not, therefore, discuss them as a preacher might properly do in sermons, in which the truths of religion are professedly to be explain- ed and taught, defended and improved, in a wide variety, and long detail of propositions, arguments, objections, re- plies, and inferences, marshalled and numbered under their distinct generals. I shall here speak in a looser and freer manner, as a friend to a friend ; just as I would do if I were to be in person admitted to a private audience, by one whom I tenderly loved, and whose circumstances and character I knew to be like that which the title of one chapter or another of this treatise describes. And when I have discoursed with him a little while, which will seldom be so long as half an hour, shall, as it were, step aside, and leave him to meditate on what he has heard, or endeavor to assist him in such fervent addresses to God, as it may be proper to mingle with those meditations. In the m.ean time, I will here take the liberty to pray over my reader and my work, and to commend it solemnly to the Divine blessing, in token of my deep conviction of an entire dependence upon it. And I am well persuaded, that sentiments like these are common, in the general, to every faithful minister, to every real Christian.
A Prayer for the Success of this Work, in promoting the Rise and Progress of Religion.
" 0 thou great eternal Original, and Author of all creat- ed being and happiness ! I adore thee, who hast made man a creature capable of religion, and hast bestowed this dignity and felicity upon our nature, that it may be taught to say, Where is God our maker ? Job, xxxv. 10. I lament that degeneracy spread over the whole human race, which has "turned our glory into shame," (Hos. iv. 7.) and has rendered the forgetfulness of God, unnatural as it is, so common, and so universal a disease. Holy
Ch. 1.] PRAYER FOR SUCCESS OF THE WORK. 17
Father, we know it is thy presence, and thy teaching alone, that can reclaim thy wandering children, can impress a sense of Divine things on the heart, and render that sense lasting and effectual. From thee proceed all good pur- poses and desires ; and this desire, above all, of diffusing wisdom, piety, and happiness in this world, which (though sunk in such deep apostacy) thine infinite mercy has not utterly forsaken.
" Thou ' knowest, 0 Lord, the hearts of the children of men ;' (2 Chron. vi. 30.) and an upright soul, in the midst of all the censures and suspicions it may meet with, re- joices in thine intimate knowledge of its most secret sen- timents and principles of action. Thou knowest the sincerity and fervency with which thine unworthy servant desires to spread the knowledge of thy name, and the savour of thy Gospel, among all to whom this work may reach. Thou knowest that, hadst thou given him an abundance of this world, it would have been, in his esteem, the noblest pleasure that abundance could have afforded, to have been thine almoner, in distributing thy bounties to the indigent and necessitous, and so causing the sorrowful heart to rejoice in thy goodness, dispensed through his hands. Thou knowest, that, hadst thou given him, either by ordinary or extraordinary methods, the gift of healing, it would have been his daily delight, to relieve the pains, the maladies, and the infirmities of men's bodies ; to have seen the languishing countenance brightened by returning health and cheerfulness ; and much more to have beheld the roving, distracted mind reduced to calmness and se- renity, in the exercise of its rational faculties. Yet hap- pier, far happier will he think himself, in those humble circumstances in which thy providence hath placed him, if thou vouchsafe to honour these his feeble endeavours, as the means of relieving and enriching men's minds ; of recovering them from the madness of a sinful state, and bringing back thy reasonable creatures to the knowledge, the service, and the enjoyment of their God ; or of im- proving those who are already reduced.
" 0 may it have that blessed influence on the person, who- soever he be, that is now reading these lines, and all who may read or hear them ! Let not my Lord be angry, if I presume to ask, that, however weak and contemptible this
18 PRAYER FOR SUCCESS OF THE WORK. [Ch. 1.
work may seem in the eyes of the children of this world, and however imperfect it really be, as well as the author of it unworthy, it may nevertheless live before thee ; and, through a Divine power, be mighty to produce the rise and progress of religion in the minds of multitudes in distant places, and in generations yet to come ! Impute it not, 0 God, as a culpable ambition, if I desire, that, whatever becomes of my name, about which I would not lose one thought before thee, this work, to which I am now apply- ing myself in thy strength, may be completed and propa- gated far abroad : that it may reach to those that are yet unborn, and teach them thy name and thy praise, when the author has long dwelt in the dust ; that so, when he shall appear before thee in the great day of final account, his joy may be increased, and his crown brightened, by num- bers before unknown to each other, and to him ! But if this petition be too great to be granted to one who pre- tends no claim but thy sovereign grace, to hope for being favoured with the least, give him to be, in thine Almighty hand, the blessed instrument of converting and saving one soul; and if it be but one, and that the weakest and meanest of those who are capable of receiving this address, it shall be most thankfully accepted as a rich recompense for all the thought and labour it may cost ; and though it should be amidst a thousand disappointments with respect to others, yet it shall be the subject of immortal songs of praise to thee, O blessed God, for and by every soul, whom, through the blood of Jesus and the grace of thy Spirit, thou hast saved ; and everlasting honors shall be ascribed to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, by the innumerable company of angels, and by the general assembly and church of the first-born in heaven. Amen,"
Ch. 2.] CARELESS SINNER AWAKENED. 19
CHAPTER II.
THE CARELESS SINNER AWAKENED.
I. 2. It is too supposeable a case that this Treatise may come into such hands. — 3. 4. Sinrs many, not grossly vicious, fall under that character. — 5. 6. j1 more particular illustration of this case, with an appeal to the reader, whether it be not his own. — 7 to 9. JExjwstu- lation with .such. — 10 to 12. More particularly — From acknoW' ledged principles relating to the J\7iture of God, his universal pre- sence, agency, and perfection. — 13. From a view of personal obli- gations to him. — 14. From the danger of this neglect, when consi- dered in its aspect on a future state. — 15. jln appeal to the con- science as already convinced. — 16. Transition to the subject of the next chapter. — The meditation of a sinner, who, having been long thoughtless, begins to be awakened.
1. Shamefullv and fatally as religion is neglected in the world, yet, blessed be God, it has some sincere disci- ples, children of wisdom, by whom even in this foolish and degenerate age, it "is justified:" (Matt. ix. 18.) who having, by Divine grace, been brought to the knowledge of God in Christ, have faithfully devoted their hearts to him, and, by a natural consequence, are devoting their lives to his service. Could I be sure this Treatise would fall into no hands but theirs, my work would be shorter, easier, and more pleasant.
2. But among the thousands that neglect religion, it is more than probable that some of my readers may be in- cluded ; and I am so deeply affected with their unhappy case, that the temper of my heart, as well as the proper method of my subject, leads me, in the first place, to ad- dress myself to such : to apply to every one of them ; and therefore to you, 0 reader, whoever you are, who may come under the denomination of a careless sinner.
3. Be not, I beseech you, angry at the name. The phy- sicians of souls must speak plainly, or they may murder those whom they should cure. I would make no harsh and unreasonable supposition. I would charge you with nothing more than is absolutely necessary to convince you that you are the person to whom I speak. I will not, therefore, imagine you to be a profane and abandoned prof- ligate. I will not suppose, that you allow yourself to blas- pheme God, to dishonour his name by customary swearing,
20 MANY NOT GROSSLY VICIOUS. [Ch. 2.
or grossly to violate his Sabbath, or commonly to neglect the solemnities of his public w^orship : I will not imagine that you have injured your neighbours, in their lives, their chastity, or their possessions, either by violence or by fraud ; or that you have scandalously debased the rational nature of man, by that vile intemperance which trans- forms us into the worst kind of brutes, or something be- neath them.
4. In opposition to all this, I will suppose that you be- lieve the existence and providence of God, and the truth of Christianity as a revelation from him : of which, if you have any doubt, I must desire that you would immediate- ly seek your satisfaction elsewhere.* I say, immediately ; because not to believe it, is in effect to disbelieve it ; and will make your ruin equally certain, though perhaps it may leave it less aggravated, than if contempt and opposition had been added to suspicion and neglect. But supposing you to be a nominal Christian, and not a deist or a sceptic, I wdll also suppose your conduct among men to be not only blameless, but amiable; and that they who know you most intimately, must acknowledge that you are just and sober, humane and courteous, compassionate and liberal ; yet, with all this, you may "lack that one thing" (Mark, X. 21.) on which your eternal happiness depends.
5. I beseech you, reader, whoever you are, that you w^ould now look seriously into your own heart, and ask it this one plain question : Am I truly religious ? Is the love of God the governing principle of my life ? Do I walk un- der the sense of his presence ? Do I converse with him from day to day, in the exercise of prayer and praise ? And am I, on the whole, making his service my business and my delight, regarding him as my master and my father?
6. It is my present business only to address myself to the person whose conscience answers in the negative. And I would address, w4th equal plainness and equal free- dom, to high and low, to rich and poor : to you, who, as the Scripture with a dreadful propriety expresses it, " live
* In such a case, I beg leave to refer the reader to my three ser- mons on the evidence of Christianity, and the last of the ten on the Power and Grace of Christ ; in which he may see the hitherto un- shaken foundations of my own faith, in a short, and I hope a clear view.
Ch. 2.] APPEAL TO THE READER. 21
without God in the world!" (Eph. ii. 12.) and while m words and forms you " own God, deny him in your ac- tions." (Tit. i. 16.) and behave yourselves in the main, a few external ceremonies only excepted, just as you would do if you believed and were sure there is no God. Un- happy creature, whoever you are ! your own heart con- demns you immediately ! and how much more that "God who is greater than your heart, and knoweth all things." 1 John, iii. 20. He is in " secret," (Matt. vi. 6.) as well as in public ; and vvords cannot express the delight with which his children converse with him alone : but in secret you acknowledge him not: you neither pray to him, nor praise him, in your retirements. Accounts, corresponden- ces, studies, may often bring you into your closet; but if nothing but devotion were to be transacted there, it would be to you quite an unfrequented place. And thus you go on from day to day, in a continual forgetfulness of God, and are as thoughtless about religion as if you had long since demonstrated to yourself that it was a mere dream. If, indeed, you are sick, you will perhaps cry to God for health : in any extreme danger, you will lift up your eyes and voice for deliverance : but as for the pardon of sin, and the other blessings of the Gospel, you are not at all inwardly solicitous about them; though you profess to be- lieve that the Gospel is Divine, and the blessings of it eternal. All your thoughts, and all your hours, are divid- ed between the business and the amusements of life ; and if now and then an awful providence, or a serious sermon or book, awakens you, it is but a few days, or it may be a few^ hours, and you are the same careless creature you ever were before. On the whole, you act as if you were resolved to put it to the venture, and at your own expense to make the experiment, whether the consequences of ne- glecting religion be indeed as terrible as its ministers and friends have represented. Their remonstrances do indeed sometimes force themselves upon you, as, (considering the* age and country in which you live,) it is hardly possible entirely to avoid them ; but you have, it may be, found out tlie art of Isaiah's people, " hearing to hear, and not un- derstand ; and seeing to see, and not perceive : your heart is waxed gross, your eyes are closed, and your ears heavy." Isa. vi. 9, 10. Under the very ordinances of worship
22 APPEAL TO THE READER. [Ch. 2.
your thoughts " are at the ends of the earth." Prov. xvii. 24. Every amusement of the imagination is welcome, if it may but lead away your mind from so insipid and so disagreeable a subject as religion. And probably the very last time you were in a worshipping assembly, you mana- ged just as you would have done if you had thought God knew nothing of your behaviour or as if you did not think it worth one single care whether he were pleased or dis- pleased with it.
7. Alas ! is it then come to this, with all your belief of God, and providence, and Scripture, that religion is not worth a thought ? That it is not worth one hour's serious consideration and reflection, " What God and Christ are, and what you yourselves are, and what you must hereafter be ?" Where then are all your rational faculties ? How are they employed, or rather how are they stupified and benumbed?
8. The certainty and importance of the things of which I speak, are so evident, from the principles which you yourselves grant, that one might almost set a child or an idiot to reason upon them. And yet they are neglected by those who are grown up to understanding, and per- haps some of them to such refinement of understanding, that they would think themselves greatly injured if they were not to be reckoned among the politer and more learned part of mankind.
9. But it is not your neglect. Sirs, that can destroy the being or importance of such things as these. It may in- deed destroy you, but it cannot in the least affect them. Permit me, therefore, having been myself awakened, to come to each of you, and say, as the mariners did to Jonah while asleep in the midst of a much less dangerous storm, "What meanest thou, 0 sleeper ? Arise and call upon thy God." Jonah, i. 6. Do you doubt as to the reasonable- ness or necessity of doing it ? " I will demand, and an- swer me;" (Job, xxxviii. 3.) answer me to your own con- science, as one that must, ere long, render another kind of account.
10. You own that there is a God ; and well you may, for you cannot open your eyes but you must see the evi- dent proofs of his being, his presence, and his agency. You behold him around you in every object. You feel
Ch. 2.] CARE AND PRESENCE OF GOD. 23
him withiu you, if I may so speak, in every vein, and in every nerve. You see, and you feel, not only that he hath formed you with an exquisite wisdom, which no mor- tal man could ever fully explain or comprehend, but that he is continually near you, wdierever you are, and how- ever you are employed, by day or by night ; " in him you live, and move, and have your being." Acts, xvii. 28. Com- mon sense will tell you, that it is not your own wisdom, and power, and attention, that causes your heart to beat, and your blood to circulate ; that draws in and sends out that breath of life, that precarious breath of a most uncer- tain life, "that is in your nostrils." Isa. ii. 22. These things are done when you sleep, as well as in those w^ak- ing moments w^hen you think not of the circulation of the blood, or of the necessity of breathing, or so much as recollect that you have a heart or lungs. Now what is this, but the hand of God, perpetually supporting and ac- tuating those curious machines that he has made ?
11. Nor is this his care limited to you ; but if you look all around you, far as your view can reach, you see it ex- tending itself on every side : and, oh ! how much farther than you can trace it! Reflect on the light and heat which the sun every where dispenses ! on the air which surrounds all our globe ; on the right temperature on which the life of the whole human race depends, and that of all the in- ferior creatures which dwell on the earth. Think of the suitable and plentiful provisions made for man and beast; the grass, the grain, the variety of fruits, and herbs, and flowers ; every thing that nourishes us, every thing that de- lights us , and say, whether it does not speak plainly and loudly, that our Almighty Maker is near, and that he is careful of us, and kind to us. And while all these things proclaim his goodness, do not they also proclaim his power ! For what power has any thing comparable to that, which furnishes out those gifts of royal bounty ; and which, un- wearied and unchanged, produces continually, from day to day, and from age to age, such astonishing" and magnifi- cent eff'ects over the face of the whole earth, and through all the regions of heaven !
12. It is then evident that God is present, present with you at this moment; even God your Creator and Preserver, God the Creator and Preserver of the whole visible and
24 PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS TO GOD. [Ch. 2
invisible world. And is he not present as a naost observant and attentive being ? " He that formed the eye, shall not he see ? He that planted the ear, shall not he bear ? He that teaches man knowledge," that gives him his rational faculties, and pours in upon his opening mind all the light it receives by them, "shall not he know?" Psal. xciv. 9, 10. He who sees all the necessities of his creatures so season- ably to provide for them, shall he not see their actions too ; and seeing, shall he not judge them ? Has he given us a sense and discrimination of what is good and evil, of what is true and false, of what is fair and deformed in temper and conduct; and has he himself no discernment of these things ? Trifle not with your conscience, which tells you at once that he judges of it, and approves or condemns, as it is decent or indecent, reasonable or unreasonable ; and that the judgment which he passes is of infinite importance to all his creatures.
13. And now to apply all this to your own case, let me seriously ask you, is it a decent and reasonable thing, that this great and glorious Benefactor should be neglected by his rational creatures ? by those that are capable of attain- ing to some knowledge of him, and presenting to him some homage ? Is it decent and reasonable, that he should be forgotten and neglected by vou ? Are you alone, of all the works of his hands, forgotten or neglected by him ? 0 sinner, thoughtless as you are, you cannot dare to say that, or even to think it. You need not go back to the helpless days of your infancy and childhood to convince you of the contrary. You need not, in order to this, recollect the remarkable deliverances, which, perhaps, were wrought out for you many years ago. The repose of the last night, the refreshment and comfort you have received this day ; yea, the mercies you are receiving this very moment, bear witness to him ; and yet you regard him not. Ungrateful creature that you are ! Could you have treated any human benefactor thus ? Could you have borne to neglect a kind parent, or any generous friend, that had but for a few months acted the part of a parent to you ? to have taken no notice of him while in his presence ; to have returned him no thanks ; to have had no contrivances to make some little acknowledgment for all his goodness ? Human na- ture, bad as it is, is not fallen so low. Nay, the brutal
Ch. 2.] VIEW OF A FUTURE STATE. 25
nature is not so low as this. Surely every domestic ani- mal around you must shame such ingratitude. If you do but for a few days take a little kind notice of a dog, and feed him with the refuse of your table, he will wait upon you, and love to be near you ; he will be eager to follow you from place to place, and when, after a little absence, you return home, will try, by a thousand fond, transported motions, to tell you how much he rejoices to see you again. Nay, brutes far less sagacious and apprehensive, have some sense of our kindness, and express it after their way : as the blessed God condescends to observe, in this very view in which I mention it, " The" dull " ox knows his owner, and the" stupid " ass his master's crib." Isa. i. 3. What lamentable degeneracy therefore is it, that you do not know: that you, who have been numbered among God's professed people, do not, and will not consider your num- berless obligations to him.
14. Surely, if you have any ingenuousness of temper, you must be ashamed and grieved in the review ; but if you have not, give me leave farther to expostulate with you on this head, by setting it in something of a different light. Can you think yourself safe, while you are acting a part like this ? Do you not in your conscience believe there will be a future judgment? Do you not believe there is an invisible and eternal world ? As professed Christians, we all believe it; for it is no controverted point, but displayed in Scripture with so clear an evidence, that, subtle and ingenious as men are in error, they have not yet found out a way to evade it. And believing this, do you not see, that, while you are thus wandering from God, " destruction and misery are in your way ?" Rom. iii. 16. Will this fndolence and negligence of temper be any security to you ? W^ill it guard you from death ? Will it excuse you from judgment? You might much more reasonably expect, that shutting your eyes would be a de- fence against the rage of a devouring lion ; or that looking another way should secure your body from being pierced by a bullet or a sword. When God speaks of the extra- vagant folly of some thoughtless creatures who would hearken to no admonition now, he adds, in a very awful manner, " In the latter day they shall consider it perfectly." Jer. xxiii. 20. And is not this applicable to you ? Must
26 MEDITATION OF A SINNER, [Ch. 2.
you not, sooner or later, be brought to think of these things, whether you will or not? And, in the mean time, do you not certainly know, that timely and serious reflection upon them is, through divine grace, the only way to prevent your ruin ?
15. Yes, sinner, I need not multiply vv'ords on a sub- ject like this. Your conscience is already inwardly con- vinced, though your pride may be unwilling to own it And to prove it, let me ask you one question more : Would you, upon any terms and considerations whatever, come to a resolution absolutely to dismiss all farther thought of religion, and all care about it, from this day and hour, and to abide the consequences of that neglect ? I believe hardly any man living would be bold enough to determine upon this. I believe most of my readers would be ready to tremble at the thought of it.
16. But if it be necessary to take these things into con- sideration at all, it is necessary to do it quickly ; for life itself is not so very long, nor so certain, that a wise man should risk much upon its continuance.
And I hope to convince you, when I have another hearing, that it is necessary to do it immediately, and that, next to the madness of resolving you will not think of religion at all, is that of saying you will think of it hereafter. In the mean time, pause on the hints which have been already given, and they will prepare you to receive what is to be added on that head.
The Meditation of a Sinner, loho was once thoughtless, hut begins to be awakened.
" Awake, 0 my forgetful soul, awake from these wan dering dreams. Turn thee from this chase of vanity, and for a little while be persuaded by all these considerations, to look forward, and to look upward, at least for a few moments. Sufficient are the hours and days given to the labours and amusements of life. Grudge not a short allot- ment of minutes, to view thyself and thine own more im- mediate concerns : to reflect who and what thou art, how it comes to pass that thou art here, and what thou must quickly be !
" It is indeed as thou hast seen it now represented. O
Ch. 2.] WHO BEGINS TO BE AWAKENED. 27
my soul ! tliou art the creature of God, formed and fur- nished by him, and lodged in a body which he provided, and which he supports; a body in which he intends thee only a transitory abode. Oh ! think how soon this ' taber- nacle' must be 'dissolved,' (2 Cor. v. 1.) and thou must * return to God.' Eccles. xii. 7. And shall He, the One, Infinite, Eternal, Ever-blessed, and Ever-glorious Being, shall He be least of all regarded by thee ? Wilt thou live and die wdth this character, saying, by every action of every day, unto God, ' Depart from me, for I desire not the knowledge of thy ways ?' Job, xxi. 14. The morning, the day, the evening, the night, every period of time, has its excuses for this neglect. But oh ! my soul, what will these excuses appear, when examined by his penetrating- eye ! They may delude me, but they cannot impose upon him.
" 0 thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor! When I think, but for a moment or two, of all thy great- ness and of all thy goodness, I am astonished at this in- sensibility, which has prevailed in my heart, and even still prevails ; 1 ' blush and am confounded to lift up my face before thee.' Ezra, ix. 6. On the most transient review, I ' see that I have played the fool,' that ' I have erred exceedingly.' 1 Sam. xxvi. 21. And yet this stupid heart of mine would make its having neglected thee so long, a reason for going on to neglect thee. I own it might justly be expected, that, with regard to thee, every one of thy rational creatures should be all duty and love ; that each heart should be full of a sense of thy presence ; and that a care to please thee should swallow up every other care. Yet thou ' hast not been in all my thoughts ;' (Psal. x. 4.) and religion, the end and glory of my nature, has been so strangely overlooked, that I have hardly ever seriously asked my own heart what it is. — I know, if matters rest here, I perish ; yet I feel, in my perverse nature, a secret indisposition to pursue these thoughts : a proneness, if not entirely to dismiss them, yet to lay them aside for the present. My mind is perplexed and divided ; but I am sure, thou, who madest me, knowest what is best for me. I therefore beseech thee that thou wilt, ' for thy Name's sake, lead me and guide me.' Psal. xxxi. 3. Let me not delay till it is for ever too late. * Pluck me as a brand out
28 MEDITATIONS OF A SINNER. [Ch. 2.
of the burning.' Amos, iv. 11. 0 break tbis fatal enchant- ment that holds down my affection to objects which ray judgment comparatively despises ! and let me, at length, come into so happy a state of mind, that I may not be afraid to think of thee, and of myself, and may not be tempted to wish that thou liadst not made me, or that thou couldst for ever forget me; that it may not be my best hope, to perish like the brutes.
" If what I shall farther read here be agreeable to truth and reason, if it be calculated to promote my happiness, and is to be regarded as an intimation of thy will and pleasure to me, O God, let me hear and obey ! Let the words of thy servant, when pleading thy cause, be like goads to pierce into my mind ! and let me rather feel, and smart, than die ! Let them be ' as nails fastened in a sure place;' (Eccl. xii. 4.) that, whatever mysteries as yet un- known, or whatever difficulties there be in religion, if it be necessary, I may not finally neglect it; and that, if it he expedient to attend immediately to it, I may no longer delay that attendance ! And, oh ! let thy grace teach me the lesson I am so slow to learn, and conquer that strong opposition which I feel in my heart against the very thought of it ! Hear these broken cries, for the sake of thy Son, who has taught and saved many a creature as un- tractable as I, and can ' out of stones, raise up children unto Abraham !' " Matt. iii. 9. Amen»
Cll.3.] REGARD TO RELIGION URGED.
CHAPTER III.
THE AWAKENED SIIVNER URGED TO IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATiaN, AND CAUTIONED AGAINST DELAY.
1. Sinners, when awakened, inclined to dis7niss convictions for the present. — 2. ^n immediate regard to religion urged. — 3. From the excellence and pleasure of the thing itself. — 4. From the uncer- tainty of that future time on which sinners presume, compared zoith the sad conseqxtences of being cut off in sin. — 5, From the immutability of God's present demands. — 6. From the tendency which delay has to make a compliance with these demands more difficult than it is at present. — 7. From the danger of God's with- drawing his Spirit, compared with the dreadftd case of a sinner given up by it — 8. Which probably is now the case of many. — 9. Since, therefore, on the ivhole, whatever the event be, delays may prove matter of lamentation. — 10. The chapter concludes with an exhortation against yielding to them. And a prayer against temp- tations of that kind,
1. I HOPE my last address so far awakened the convic- tions of my reader, as to bring hiai to this purpose, " that some time or other he would attend to religious considera- tions." But give me leave to ask, earnestly and pointedly, When shall that be ? " Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season I will call for thee," (Acts, xxiv. 25.) was the language and ruin of unhappy Felix, when he trembled under the reasonings and expostula- tions of the apostle. The tempter presumed not to urge that he should give up all thoughts of repentance and re- formation ; but only that, considering the present hurry of, his affairs, (as no doubt they were many,) he should defer it to another day. The artifice succeeded, and Felix was undone.
2. Will you, reader, dismiss me thus ? For your own sake, and out of tender compassion to your perishing, im- mortal soul, I would not willingly take up with such a dismission and excuse. No, not though you shall fix a time; though you shall determine on the next year, or month, or week, or day. I would turn upon you, with all the eagerness and tenderness of friendly importunity, and entreat you to bring the matter to an issue even now. For if you say, " I will think on these things to-morrow," I shall have little hope ; and shall conclude, that all that I
30 UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. [Ch. 3.
have hitherto urged, and all that you have read, has been offered and viewed in vain.
3. When I invite you to the care and practice of reli- gion, it may seem strange that it should be necessary for me affectionately to plead the cause with you, in order to your immediate regard and compliance. What I am invit- ing you to is so noble and excellent in itself, so well worthy of the dignity of our rational nature, so suitable to it, so maaly, and so wise, that one would imagine you should take fire, as it were, at the first hearing of it ; yea, that so delightful a view should presently possess your whole soul with a kind of indignation against yourself, that you pur- sued it no sooner. — " May I lift up my eyes and my soul to God ! May I devote myself to him ! May I even now commence a friendship with him : a friendship, which shall last for ever, the security, the delight, the glory of this im- mortal nature of mine ! And shall I draw back and say, Nevertheless, let me not commence this friendship too soon : let me live at least a few weeks or a few days longer without God in the world." Surely it would be much more reasonable to turn inward, and say, " 0 my soul, on what vile husks hast thou been feeding, while thy Heavenly Father has been forsaken and injured ? Shall I desire to multiply the days of my poverty, my scandal, and my mi- sery ?" On this principle, surely an immediate return to God should in all reason be chosen, rather than to play the fool any longer, and go on a little more to displease God, and thereby starve and wound your own soul ! even though your continuance in life were ever so certain, and your ca- pacity to return to God and your duty ever so entirely in your own power, now, and in every future moment, through scores of years yet to come.
4. But who, and what are you, that you should lay your account for years, or for months to come ? " What is your life ? Is it not even as a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away ?" James, iv. 14. And what is your security, or what is your peculiar war- rant, that you should thus depend upon the certainty of its continuance ? and that so absolutely as to venture, as it were, to pawn your soul upon it ? Why, you will per- haps say, " I am young, and in all my bloom and vigour ; I see hundreds about me who are more than double my
Ch. 3.] DYING UNPREPARED. 31
age, and not a few of them who seem to think it too soon to attend to religion yet."
Yon view the living, and you talk thus. But I beseech you, think of the dead. Return, in your thoughts, to those graves in which you have left some of your young com- panions and your friends. You saw them awhile ago gay and active, warm with life, and hopes, and schemes. Anif some of them would have thought a friend strangely im- portunate, that should have interrupted them in their bu- siness, and their pleasures, with a solemn lecture on death and eternity. Yet they were then on the very borders of both. You have since seen their corpses, or at least their coffins, and probably carried about with you the badges of mourning which you received at their funerals. Those once vigorous, and perhaps beautiful bodies of theirs, now lie mouldering in the dust, as senseless and helpless as the most decrepid pieces of human nature which fourscore years ever brought down to it. And, what is infinitely more to be regarded, their souls, whether prepared for this great change, or thoughtless of it, have made their appear- ance before God, and aie at tliis moment fi\:ed, either in heaven or in hell. Now let me seriously ask you, would it be miraculous, or would it be strange, if such an event should befall you ? How are you sure that some fatal dis- ease will not this day begin to work in your veins ? How are you sure that you shall ever be capable of reading or thinking any more, if you do not attend to what you now read, and pursue the thought which is now offering itself to your mind ? This sudden alteration may at least pos- sibly happen ; and if it does, it will be to you a terrible one indeed. To be thus surprised into the presence of a forgotten God ; to be torn away, at once, from a world to which your whole heart and soul has been rivetted : a world which has engrossed all your thoughts and cares, all your desires and pursuits; and be fixed in a state which you never could be so far persuaded to think of, as to spend so much as one hour in serious preparation for it: how must you even shudder at the apprehension of it, and with what horror must it fill you ? It seems matter of wonder, that in such circumstances you are not almost distracted with the thoughts of the uncertainty of life, and are not even ready to die for fear of death. To trifle with
32 WORK DIFFICULT BY DELAY. [Ch. 3.
God any longer, after so solemn an admonition as this, would be a circumstance of additional provocation, which, after all the rest, might be fatal ; nor is there any thing you can expect in such a case, but that he should cut you off immediately, and teach other thoughtless creatures, by your ruin, what a hazardous experiment they make whei tney act as you are acting.
5. And will you, after all, run this desperate risk ? For what imaginable purpose can you do it ? Do you think the business of religion will become less necessary, or more easy, by your delay ? You know that it will not. You know, that, whatever the blessed God demands now, he will also demand twenty or thirty years hence, if you should live to see the time. God has fixed hi& method, in which he will pardon and accept sinners in his Gospel. And will he ever alter that method ? Or if he will not, can men alter it? You like not to think of repenting, and humbling yourself before God, to receive righteousness and life from his free grace in Christ ; and you, above all, dislike the thought of returning to God in the ways of holy obedience. But will he ever dispense with any of these, and publish a new Gospel, with promises of life and sal- vation to impenitent unbelieving sinners, if they will but call themselves Christians, and submit to a few external rites ? How long do you think you might wait for such a change in the constitution of things ? You know death will come upon you, and you cannot but know, in your own conscience, that a general dissolution will come upon the world long before God can thus deny himself, and con- tradict all his perfections and all his declarations.
6. Or if his demands continue the same, as they as- suredly will, do you think any thing which is now dis- agreeable to you in them, will be less disagreeable here- after than it is at present ? Shall you love to sin less, when it is become more habitual to you, and when your con- science is yet more enfeebled and debauched ? If you are running with the footmen and fainting, shall you be able " to contend with the horseman ?" Jer. xii. 5. Surely you cannot imagine it. You would not say, in any distemper which threatened your life, " I will stay till I grow a little worse, and then I will apply to a physician : 1 will let my disease get a little more rooting in my vitals, and then I
Ch. 3.] WORK DIFFICULT Br DELAY. 33
will try what can be done to remove it." No, it is only where the life of the soul is concerned, that men think thus wildly : the life and health of the body appear too precious to be thus trifled away.
7. If, after such desperate experiments, you are ever re- covered, it must be by an operation of Divine grace on your soul, yet more powerful and more wonderful in pro- portion to the increasing inveteracy of your spiritual mala- dies. And can you expect that the Holy Spirit should be more ready to assist you, in consequence of your having so shamefully trifled with him, and affronted him ? He is now, in some measure, moving on your heart. If you feel any secret relentings in it upon what you read, it is a sign that you are not yet utterly forsaken. But who can tell, whether these are not the last touches he will ever give to a heart so long hardened against him ? Who can tell, but God may this day " swep,r, in his wrath, that you shall not enter into his rest ?'' Heb. iii. IS. I have been telling you that you may immediately die. You own it is possible you may. And can you think of any thing more terrible ? Yes, sinner, I will tell you of one thing more dreadful than immediate death and immediate damnation. The blessed God may say, " As for that wretched creature, who has so long trifled with me and provoked me, let him still live : let him live in the midst of prosperity and plenty: let him live under the purest and the most powerful ordi- nances cf the Gospel too ; that he may abuse them to aggra- vate his condemnation, and die under sevenfold gHKlt, and a sevenfold curse. I will not give him the grace to think of his ways for one serious moment more ; but he shall go on from bad to v/orse, filling up the measure of his iniqui- ties, till death and destruction seize him in an unexpect- ed hour, and ' wrath come upon him to the uttermost.' " 1 Thess. ii. 16.
8. You think this is an uncommon case ; but I fear it is much otherwise. I fear there are few congregations, where the word of God has been faithfully preached, and where it has long been despised, especially by those whom it had once awakened, in which the eye of God does not see a number of such wretched souls ; though it is impossible for us, in this mortal state, to pronounce upon the case who they are.
2*
34 PRAYER UNDER CONVICTION. [Ch. 3.
9. I pretend not to say how he will deal with you, 0 reader ! whether he will immediately cut you off, or seal you up under final hardness and impenitency of heart, or whether his grace may at length awaken you to consider your ways, and return to him, even when your heart is grown yet more obdurate than it is at present. For to his Almighty grace nothing is hard, not even to transform a rock of marble into a man or a saint. But this I will con- fidently say, that, if you delay any longer, the time will come vvhen you will bitterly repent of that delay, and either lament it before God in the anguish of your heart here, or curse your own folly and madness in hell ; yea, when you will wish, that, dreadful as hell is, you had rather fallen into it sooner, than have lived in the midst of so m.any abused mercies, to render the degree of your punishment more insupportable, and your sense of it more exquisitely tormenting.
10. I do therefore earnestly exhort you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the worth, and, if I may so speak, by the blood of your immortal and perishing soul, that you delay not a day, or an hour longer. Far from " giving sleep to your eyes, or slumber to your eyelids," (Prov. vi. 4.) in the continued neglect of this important concern, take with you, even now, " words, and turn unto the Lord :" (Hos. xiv. 2.) and before you quit the place where you now are, fall upon your knees in his sa- cred presence, and pour out your heart in such language, or at least to some such purpose as this :
A Prayer for one ivho is tempted to delay applying to Religion, though under some conviction of its importance.
" 0 thou righteous and holy Sovereign of heaven and earth ! thou God, ' in whose hand my breath is, and whose are all my ways !' Dan. v. 23. I confess I have been far from glorifying thee, or conducting myself according to the intimations or the declarations of thy will. I have there- fore reason to adore thy forbearance and goodness, that thou hast not long since stopped my breath, and cut me off from the land of the living. I adore thy patience, that I have not, months and years ago, been an inhabitant of hell, where ten thousand delaying sinners are now lament- ing their folly, and will be lamenting it for ever. But, O
Ch. 3.] PRAYER UNDER CONVICTION. 35
God, how possible is it, that this trifling heart of* mine may at length betray me into the same ruin! and then, alas ! into a ruin aggravated by all this patience and for- bearance of thine ! I am convinced, that, sooner or later, religion must be my serious care, or I am undone. And yet my foolish heart draws back from the yoke ; yet I stretch myself upon the bed of sloth, and cry out for ' a little more sleep, a little more slumber, a little more fold- ing of the hands to sleep.' Prov. vi. 10. Thus does my corrupt heart plead for its own indulgence against the conviction of my better judgment. What shall I say? O Lord, save me from myself! Save me from the artifices and deceitfulness of sin ! Save me from the treachery of this perverse and degenerate nature of mine, and fix upon my mind what I have now been reading !
" 0 Lord, I am not now instructed in truths which were before quite unknown. Often have I been warned of the uncertainty of life, and the great uncertainty of the day of salvation. And I have formed some light purposes, and have begun to take a few irresolute steps in my way to- ward a return to thee. But, alas ! I have been only, as it were, fluttering about religion, and have never fixed upon it. All my resolutions have been scattered like smoke, or dispersed like a cloudy vapour before ihe wind.
0 that thou wouidst now bring these things home to my heart, witli a more powerful conviction than it hath ever yet felt ? O that thou wouldst pursue me with them, even when I flee from them ! If I should even grow mad enough to endeavour to escape them any more, may thy Spirit ad- dress me in the language of effectual terror, and add all the most povv'erful methods which thou knowest to be necessary, to awaken me from this lethargy, vvhich must otherwise be mortal ! May the sound of these things be in mine ears ' when I go out, and when I come in, when
1 lie down, and when I rise up !' Deut. vi. 7. And if the repose of the night, and the business of the day, be for a while interrupted by the impression, be it so, 0 God ! if I may but thereby carry on my business with thee to better purpose, and at length secure a repose in thee, instead of all that terror which I now find, when ' I think upon God, and am troubled.' Psal. Ixxvii. 3.
" 0 Lord, ^ my flesh trembieth for fear of thee and I
36 SINNER CONTICTED. [Ch. 4.
am afraid of thy judgments.' Psal. cxix. 120. I am afraid lest, even now that I have begun to think of religion, thou shouldst cut me off in this critical and important moment, before my thoughts grow to any ripeness, and blast, in eternal death, the first buddings and openings of it in my mind. But O spare me, I earnestly entreat thee : for thy mercies' sake, spare me a little longer ! It may be, through thy grace, I shall return. It may be, if thou continuest thy patience toward me a while longer, there may be ' some better fruit produced by this cumberer of the ground.' Luke, xiii. 7, 8. And may the remembrance of that long forbearance, which thou hast already exercised toward me, prevent my continuing to trifle with thee, and with my own soul ! From this day, O Lord, from this hour, from this moment, may I be able to date more lasting im- pressions of religion, than have ever yet been made upon my heart by all that I have ever read, or all that I have heard. Amen."
CHAPTER IV.
THE SINNER ARRAIGNED AND CONVICTED.
1. Conviction of guilt necessary — 2. j1 charge of rehellion against God advanced. — 3. Where it is shown — tliat all men are horn under God^s laiv. — 4. That no man hath perfectly kept it. — 5. ^n appeal to the reader^s conscience on this head, that he hath not. — 6. That to have broken it, is an evil inexpressibly great. — 7. Illustrated by a more particular view of the aggravations of this guilt, arising — frorn knowledge. — 8. From divine favours received. — 9. From con- victions of conscience overborne. — 10. From the strivirigs of God's Spirit resisted. — 11. From vows and resolutions broken. — 12. The charges sunwied up, and left upon the sinner^s conscience. The sinner^ s confession under a general conviction of guilt.
1. As I am attempting to lead you to true religion, and not merely to some superficial form of it, I am sensible I can do it no otherwise than in the way of deep humilia- tion. And therefore, supposing you are persuaded, through the divine blessing on what you have before read, to take it into consideration, I would now endeavour, in the first place, with all the seriousness I can, to make you heartily sensible of your guilt before God. For I well know, that,
Ch. 4.] SINNER CONVICTED. 37
unless you are convinced of this, and affected with the conviction, all the provisions of Gospel grace vt^ill be slighted, and your soul infallibly destroyed, in the midst of the noblest means appointed for its recovery. I am fully persuaded, that thousands live and die in a course of sin, without feeling upon their hearts any sense that they are sinners, though they cannot, for shame, but own it in words. And therefore let me deal faithfully with you, though I may seem to deal roughly j for complaisance is not to give law to addresses in which the life of your soul is concerned.
2. Permit me therefore, O sinner, to consider myself at this time as an advocate for God, as one employed in his name to plead against thee, and to charge thee with no- thing less than being a rebel and a traitor against the So- vereign Majesty of heaven and earth. However thou raayest be dignified or distinguished among men : if the noblest blood run in thy veins ; if thy seat were among princes, and thine arm were " the terror of the mighty in the land of the living," (Ezek. xxxii. 27.) it would be ne- cessary thou shouldst be told, and told plainly, thou hast broken the laws of the King of kings, and by the breach of them art become obnoxious to his righteous condem- nation.
3. Your conscience tells you, that you were born the natural subject of God, born under the indispensable obli- gations of his law. For it is most apparent, that the con- stitution of your rational nature, which makes you capable of receiving law from God, binds you to obey it. And it is equally evident and certain, that you have not exactly obeyed this law, nay, that you have violated it in many aggravated instances.
4. Will you dare to deny this ? Will you dare to assert your innocence ? Remember it must be a complete inno- cence ; yes, and a perfect righteousness too, or it can stand you in no stead, farther than to prove, that, though a con- demned sinner, you are not quite so criminal as some others, and will not have quite so hot a place in hell as they. And when this is considered, will you plead not guilty to the charge ? Search the records of your own conscience, for God searcheth them : ask it seriously, " Have you never in your life sinned against God ?" So-
88 SINNER CONVICTED. [Ch. 4.
lomon declared, that in his days " there was not a just man upon earth, who did good and sinned not;" (Eccles. vii. 20.) and the apostle Paul, " that all had sinned and come short of the glory of God," (Rom. iii. 23.) "that both Jews and Gentiles (which, you know, comprehend the whole human race) were all under sin." Rom. iii. 9. And can you pretend any imaginable reason to believe the world is grown so much better since their days, that any should now plead their own case as an exception ? Or will you, however, presume to arise in the face of the omni- scient Majesty of heaven, and say, 1 am the man ?
5. Supposing, as before, you have been free from those gross acts of immorality, which are so pernicious to society, that they have generally been punishable by human laws; can you pretend that you have not, in smaller instances, violated the rules of piety, of temperance, and charity ? Is there any one person, who has intimately known you, that would not be able to testify you had said or done some- thing amiss ? Or if others could not convict you, would not your own heart do it ? Does it not prove you guilty of pride, of passion, of sensuality, of an excessive fondness of the world and its enjoyments ? of murmuring, or at least of secretly repining against God, under the strokes of an afflictive providence; cf misspending a great deal of your time ; abusing the gifts of God's bounty, to vain, if not, in some instances, to pernicious purposes ; of mocking him when you have pretended to engage in his worship, " drawing near to him with your mouth and your lips, while your heart has been far from him ?" Isa. xxix. 13. Does not conscience condemn you of some one breach of the law at least ? And by one breach of it, you are, in a sense, a scriptural sense, " become guilty of all," (Jam. ii. 10.) and are as incapable of being justified before God, by any obedience of your own, as if you had committed ten thousand offences. But, in reality, there are ten thou- sand, and more, chargeable to your account. When you come to reflect on all your sins of negligence, as well as on those of commission ; on all the instances in which you have " failed to do good, when it was in the power of your hand to do it;" (Prov. iii. 27.) on all the instances in which acts of devotion have been omitted, especially in secret ; and on all those cases in which you have shovni
Ch. 4.J EVIL OF OFFENDING GOD. 39
a stupid disregard to the honour of God, and to the tem- poral and eternal happiness of your fellow-creatures : when all these, I say, are reviewed, the number will swell be- yond all possibility of account, and force you to cry out, '^ Mine iniquities are more than the hairs of ray head." Psalm xl. 12. They will appear in such alight before you, that your own heart will charge you with countless multi- tudes; and how much more "then, that God, who is greater than your heart, and knoweth all things." 1 John, iii. 20. 6. And say, sinner, is it a little thing, that you Lave presumed, to set light by the authority of the God of hea- ven, and to violate his law, if it had been by mere care- lessness and inattention ? How much more heinous, there- fore, is the guilt, when in so many instances you have done it knowingly and wilfully? Give me leave seriously to ask you, and let me entreat you to ask your own soul, " against whom hast thou magnified thyself? against whom hast thou exalted thy voice," (2 Kings, xix. 22.) or " lifted up thy rebellious hand ?" On whose law, O sinner, hast thou presumed to trample ? and whose friendship, and whose enmity, hast thou thereby dared to affront? Is it a man like thyself, that thou hast insulted ? Is it only a temporal monarch ? Only one '' who can kill thy body, and then hath no more that he can do ?" Luke, xii. 4.
Nay, sinner, thou wouldst not have dared to treat a temporal prince as thou hast treated the " King Eternal, Immortal," and " Invisible." 1 Tim. i. 17. No price could have hired thee to deal by the majesty of an earthly sove- reign, as thou hast dealt by that God, before whom the cherubim and seraphim are continually bowing. Not one opposing or complaining, disputing or murmuring word, is heard among all the celestial legions, when the intimations of his will are published to them. And who art thou, O wretched man ! who art thou, that thou shouldst oppose him ? That thou shouldst oppose and provoke a God of infinite power and terror, who needs but exert one single act of his sovereign will, and thou art in a moment stripped of every possession ; cut off from every hope ; destroyed iind rooted up from existence, if that were his pleasure-, or, what is inconceivably vvorse, consigned over to the severest and most lasting agonies ? Yet this is the God whom thou hast offended, whom thou hast affronted to
40 HEINOUSNESS OF SIN. [Ch. 4.
his face, presuming to violate his express laws in his very- presence. This is the God, before whom thou standest as a convicted criminal : convicted, not of one or two particular offences, but of thousands and ten thousands ; of a course and series of rebellion and provocations, in which thou hast persisted, more or less, ever since thou wast born, and the particulars of which have been at- tended with almost every conceivable circumstance of aggravation. Reflect on particulars, and deny the charge if you can.
7. If knowledge be an aggravation of guilt, thy guilt, O sinner, is greatly aggravated ! For thou wast born in Emmanuel's land, and God hath "written to thee the great things of his law," yet " thou hast accounted them as a strange thing." Hos. viii. 12. Thou hast " known to do good, and hast not done it;" (James, iv. 17.) and there- fore to thee the omission of it has been sin indeed. " Hast thou not known r Hast thou not heard .^" Isa. xl. 28. Wast thou not early taught the will of God ? Hast thou not since received repeated lessons, by which it has been inculcated again and again, in public and in private, by preaching and reading the word of God ? Nay, hath not thy duty been in some instances so plain, that, even with- out any instruction at all, thine own reason might easily ha^'e inferred it .'' An 1 hast thou not also been warned of the consequences of aibobedienre ? Hast thcu not " knowu the righteous judgment of Gcd, that they who commit such things are worthy of death .^" Yet thou hast, perhaps, ^' net only done the same, but hast had pleasure in those that do them :" (Rom. i. 32.) hast chosen them for thy most inti- mate friends and companions ; so as thereby to strengthen, by the force of example and converse, the hands of each other in your iniquities.
8. Nay more, if Divine love and mercy be any aggrava- tion of the sins committed against it, thy crimes, O sinner, are heinously aggravated. Must thou not acknowledge it, 0 foolish creature and unwise t Hast thou not been " nourished and brought up by him as his child, and yet hast rebelled against him .^" Isa. i. 2. Did not God " take you out of the womb .^" Psal. xxii. 9. Did he not watch over you in your infant days, and guard you from a mul- titude of dangers, which the most careful parent or nurse
Ch. 4.] HEINOUSNESS OF SIN. 41
could not have observed or warded off? Has he not given you youT rational powers ? and is it not by him you have been favoured with every opportunity of improving them ? Has he not every day supplied your wants with an unwea- ried liberality, and added, with respect to many who will read this, the delicacies of life to its necessary supports ? Has he not " heard your cry when trouble came upon you ?" (Job, xxvii. 9.) and frequently appeared for your deliver- ance, when in the distress of nature you have called upon him for help ? Has he not rescued you from ruin, when it seemed just ready to swallow you up; and healed your diseases, when it seemed to all about you, that the " resi- due of your days was cut off in the midst ?" Psal. cii. 24. Or, if it has not been so, is not this long-continued and uninterrupted health, which you have enjoyed for so many years, to be acknowledged as an equivalent obligation ? Look around upon all your possessions, and say, what one thing have you in the world which his goodness did not give you, and which he hath not thus far preserved to you ? Add to all this, the kind notices of his will which he hath sent you ; the tender expostulations which he hath used with you, to bring you to a wiser and better temper; and the discoveries and gracious invitations of his Gospel, which you have heard, and which you have despised ; and then say, whether your rebellion has not been aggra- vated by the vilest ingratitude, and whether that aggrava- tion can be accounted small ?
9. Again, if it be any aggravation of sin to be committed against conscience, thy crimes, 0 sinner ! have been so aggravated. Consult the records of it ; and then dispute the fact if you can. " There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding;" (Job, xxxii. 8.) and that understanding will act, and a se- cret conviction of being accountable to its Maker and Pre- server is inseparable from the actings of it. It is easy to object to human remonstrances, and to give things false colourings before men ; but the heart often condemns, while the tongue excuses. Have you not often found it so ? Has not conscience remonstrated against your past conduct, and have not these remonstrances been very pain- ful too ? I have been assured, by a gentleman of undoubted credit, that, when he was in the pursuit of all the gayest
42 CONSCIENCE STIFLED. [Cll. 4.
sensualities of life, and was reckoned one of the liappiest of mankind, he has seen a dog come into the room where he was among his merry companions, and has groaned in- wardly, and said, "Oh! that I had been that dog!" And hast thou, 0 sinner, felt nothing like this ? Has thy con- science been so stupified, so " seared with a hot iron," (1 Tim. iv. 2.) that it has never cried out, for any of the violences which have been done it ? Has it never warned thee of the fatal consequences of Vv'hat thou hast done in opposition to it? These warnings are, in etFect, the voice of God; they are the admonitions which he gave thee by his vicegerent in thy breast. And when his sentence for thy evil works is executed upon thee in everlasting death, thou shalt hear that voice speaking to thee again, in a louder tone, and a severer accent, than before ; and thou shalt be tormented with its upbraidings through eternity, because thou wouldst not, in time, hearken to its admo- nitions.
10. Let me add farther, if it be any aggravation that sin has been committed after God has been moving by his Spirit on the mind, surely your sin has been attended with that aggravation too. Under the Mosaic dispensation, dark and imperfect as it was, the Spirit strove with the Jews ; else Stephen could not have charged it upon them, that through all their generations " they had always re- sisted him." Acts, vii. 51. Now, surely, we may much more reasonably apprehend that he strives with sinners under the Gospel. And have you never experienced any thing of this kind, even when there has been no external circumstance to awaken you, nor any pious teacher near you ? Have you never perceived some secret impulse upon your mind, leading you to think of religion, urging you to an immediate consideration of it, sweetly inviting you to make trial of it, and warning you, that you would lament this stupid neglect ? 0 sinner, why were not these happy motions attended to ? Why did you not, as it were, spread out all the sails of your soul, to catch that hea- venly, that favourable breeze ? But you have carelessly neglected it : you have overborne these kind influences. How reasonably then might the sentence have gone forth in righteous displeasure, " My Spirit shall no more strive." Gen. vi. 3. And indeed, who can say that it is not alrea-
Ch, 4.] HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 43
dy gone forth ? If you feel no secret agitation of mind, no remorse, no awakening, while you read such a remon- strance as this, there will be room, great room to suspect it.
11. There is indeed one aggravation more, which may not attend your guilt: I mean, that of being committed against solemn covenant engagements : a circumstance which has lain heavy on the consciences of many, who perhaps in the main series of their lives have served God with great integrity. But let me call you to think, to what this is owing. Is it not, that you have never per- sonally made any solemn profession of devoting yourself to God at all ? have never done any thing, which has ap- peared to your ov/n apprehension an act by which you have made a covenant with him, though you have heard so much of his covenant, though you have been so solemnly and so tenderly invited to it? And in this view, how mon- strous must this circumstance appear, which at first was mentioned as some alleviation of guilt ! Yet I must add, that you are not, perliap?, altogether so free from guilt on this head as you may at first imagine. Has your heart been, even from your youth, hardened to so uncommon a degree, that you have never cried to God in any season of danger and ditSculty? And did you never mingle vov/s with those cries ? Did you never promise, that, if God would hear and help you in that hour of extremity, you would forsake your sins, and serve him as long as you lived ? He heard and helped you, or j^ou had not been reading these lines; and, by such deliverance, did as it were bind down your vows upon you; and therefore your guilt, in the violation of them, remains before him, though you are stupid enough to forget them. Nothing is forgot- ten, nothing is overlooked by him ; and the day will come, when the record shall be laid before you too.
12. And now, 0 sinner, think seriously v,ith thyself, what defence thou wilt make to all this ! Prepare thine apology ; call thy witnesses ; make thine appeal from him, whom thou hast thus offended, to some superior judge, if such there be. Alas ! those apologies are so weak and vain, that one of thy fellow-worms may easily detect and confound them ; as I v^ill endeavour presently to show thee. But thy foreboding conscience already knows the issue. Thou art convicted, convicted of the most aggra-
44 CONVINCED sinner's CONFESSION. [Ch. 4.
vated offences. Thou " hast not humbled thine heart, but Jifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven ," (Dan. v. 22, 23.) and "thy sentence shall come forth from his pre- sence." Psalm xvii. 2. Thou hast violated his known laws ; thou hast despised and abused his numberless mercies ; thou hast affronted conscience, his vicegerent in thy soul; thou hast resisted and grieved his Spirit; thou hast trifled with him in all thy pretended submissions ; and, in one word, and that his own, "thou hast done evil things as thou couldst." Jer. iii. 5. Thousands are, no doubt, already in hell, whose guilt never equalled thine ; and it is astonishing, that God hath spared thee to read this re- presentation of thy case, or to make any pause upon it. 0 w^aste not so precious a moment, but enter attentively, and as humbly as thou canst, into those reflections which suit a case so lamentable and so terrible as thine.
The Confession of a Sinner, convinced in general of his Guilt.
" 0 God I thou injured Sovereign, thou all-penetrating and Almighty Judge! what shall I say to this charge? Shall I pretend I am wronged by it, and stand on the de- fence in thy presence ? I dare not do it ; for ' thou know- est my foolishness, and none of my sins are hid from thee.' Psalm Ixix. 5. My conscience tells me, that a denial of my crimes would only increase them, and add new fuel to the fire of thy deserved wrath, ' If I justify myself, mine own mouth will condemn me ; if I say I am perfect, it will also prove me perverse ;' (Job, ix. 20.) ' for innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up : they are,' as I have been told in thy name, 'more than the hairs of my head ; therefore my heart faileth me.' Psalm xl. 12. I am more guilty than it is possible for another to declare or represent. My heart speaks more than any other ac- cuser. And thou, 0 Lord, art much greater than my heart, and knowest all things. 1 John, iii. 20.
"What has my life been but a course of rebellion against thee ? It is not this or that particular action alone I have to lament. Nothing has been right in its princi- ples, and views, and ends. My whole soul has been dis- ordered. All my thoughts, my affections, my desires, my
Ch. 4.] CONVINCED sinner's confession. 45
pursuits, have been wretchedly alienated from thee. I have acted as if I had hated thee, who art infinitely the loveliest of all beings ; as if I had been contriving how I might tempt thee to the uttermost, and weary out thy pa- tience, marvellous as it is. My actions have been evil, my words yet more evil than they ! and, 0 blessed God, my heart, how much more corrupt than either ! What an inexhausted fountain of sin has there been in it ! A foun- tain of original corruption, which mingled its bitter streams with the days of early childhood ; and which, alas ! flows on even to this day, beyond what actions or words could express. I see this to have been the case with regard to what I can particularly survey. But, oh ! how many months and years have I forgotten, concerning which I only know this in the general, that they are much like those I can remember; except it be, that I have been growing worse and worse, and provoking thy patience more and more, though every new exercise of it was more and more wonderful.
"And how am I astonished that thy forbearance is still continued ! It is because thou art ' God, and not man.' Hos. xi. 9. Had I, a sinful worm, been thus injured, I could not have endured it. Had I been a prince, I had long since done justice on any rebel whose crimes had borne but a distant resemblance to mine. Had I been a parent, I had long since cast off the ungrateful child who had made me such a return as I have all my life long been making to thee, 0 thou Father of my spirit ! The flame of natural aff'ection would have been extinguished, and his sight and his very name would have become hateful to me. Why, then, 0 Lord, am I not ' cast out from thy presence ?' Jer. Hi. 3. Why am I not sealed up under an irreversible sentence of destruction ? That I live, I owe to thine indul- gence. But, oh ! if there be yet any way of deliverance, if there be yet any hope for so guilty a creature, may it be opened upon me by thy Gospel and thy grace ! And if any farther alarm, humiliation, or terror, be necessary to my security and salvation, may I meet them, and bear them all ! Wound my heart, 0 Lord, so that thou wilt but after- wards ' heal it ;' and break it in pieces, if thou wilt but at length condescend to bind it up." Hos. vi. 1,
46 SINKER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. [Ch. 6
CHAPTER V.
THK SINNER STRIPPED OF HIS VAIN PLEAS.
1. 2. The vanity of those pleas which sinners may secretly confide in, is so apparent, that they iclll be ashamed at last to mention them before God. — 3. Such as, that they descended from pious parents. — 4. That they had atteiuled to the speculativc.part of reli- gion.—5. That they had entertained sound notions. — 6. 7. That they had expressed a zealous regard to reUg-io7i, and attended the outward forms of worship with those they apprehended the purest churches. — 8. That they had been free from gross immoralities. — 9. That they did not think the consequences of neglecting religion would have been so fatal. — 10. That they could not do otherwise than they did. — 11. Conclusion. With the meditation of a con- vinced sinner giving up his vain pleas before God.
1. My last discourse left the sinner in very alarming and very pitiable circumstances : a criminal convicted at the bar of God, disarmed of all pretences to perfect inno- cence and sinless obedience, and consequently obnoxious to the sentence of a holy law, which can make no allow- ance for any transgression, no not for the least ; but pro- nounces death and a curse against every act of disobe- dience : how much more then against those numberless and aggravated acts of rebellion, of which, 0 sinner I thy conscience hath condemned thee before God ? I would hope some of ray readers will ingenuously fall under the conviction, and not think of making any apology ; for sure I am, that, humbly to plead guilty at the divine bar, is the most decent, and, all things considered, the most prudent tiling that can be done in such an unhappy state. Yet I know the treachery, and the self-flattery of a sinful and corrupted heart. I know what excuses it makes, and how, when it is driven from one refuge, it flies to another, to fortify itself against conviction, and to persuade, not merely another, but itself, " That if it has been in some instances to blame, it is not quite so criminal as was re- presented; that there are at least considerations that plead in its favour, which, if they cannot justify, will in some degree excuse." A secret reserve of this kind, sometimes perhaps scarcely formed into a distinct reflection, breaks the force of conviction, and often prevents that deep hu-
Ch. 5.] SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 47
miliation before God, which is the happiest token of ap- proaching deliverance. I will therefore examine into some of these particulars ; and for that purpose would seriously ask thee, O sinner ! what thou hast to offer in arrest of judgment ? What plea thou canst urge for thyself, why the sentence of God should not go forth against thee, and why thou shouldst not fall into the hands of his justice ?
2. But this I must premise, that the question is not, How wouldst thou answer to me, a weak sinful worm like thyself, who am shortly to stand with thee at the same bar? and "the Lord grant that I may find mercy of the Lord in that day ;" (2 Tim. i. 18.) but, what wilt thou re- ply to thy Judge ? What couldst thou plead, if thou wast now actually before his tribunal ; where, to multiply vaia words, and to frame idle apologies, would be but to in- crease thy guilt and provocation? Surely the very thought of his presence must supersede a thousand of those trifling excuses which now sometimes impose on " a generation that are pure in their own eyes," though they " are not washed from their lilthiness !" (Prov. xxx. 12.) or while they are conscious of their impurities, " trust in words that cannot profit," (Jer. vii. 8.) and " lean upon broken reeds." Isa. xxxvi. 6.
3. You will not, to be sure, in such a condition, plead " that you are descended from pious parents." That was indeed your privilege ; and wo be to you, that you have abused it, and " forsaken the God of your fathers." 2 Chron. vii. 22. Ishmael was immediately descended from Abraham, the friend of God, and Esau was the son of Isaac, who was born according to the promise ; yet you know they were both cut off from the blessing, to which they apprehended they had a kind of hereditary claim. You may remember that our Lord does not only speak of one who could call "Abraham father," who was "tor mented in flames;" (Luke, xvi. 24.) but expressly declares, that many of the children of the kingdom shall be shut out of it; and when others come from the most distant parts to sit down in it, shall be distinguished from their companions in misery only by louder accents of lamenta- tion, and more furious " gnashing of teeth." Matt. viii. 11, 12.
4. Nor will you then presume to plead, " that you had
48 SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. [Ch. 5.
exercised your tboughts about the speculative parts of re- ligion." For to what end can this serve, but to increase your condemnation ? Since you have broken God's law, since you have contradicted the most obvious and apparent obligations of religion, to have inquired into it, and argued upon it, is a circumstance that proves your guilt more au- dacious. What! did you think religion was merely an exercise of men's wit, and the amusement of their curi- osity ? If you argued about it on the principles of common sense, you must have judged and proved it to be a prac- tical thing ; and if it was so, why did you not practise ac- cordingly ? You knew the particular branches of it ; and why then did you not attend to every one of them ? To have pleaded an unavoidable ignorance, w^ould have been the happiest plea that could have remained for you ; nay, an actual, though faulty ignorance, would have been some little allay of your guilt. But if, by your own confession, you have " known your Master's will, and have not done it," you bear witness against yourself, that you deserve to be "beaten with many stripes." Luke, xii. 47.
5. Nor yet, again, will it suffice to say, " that you have had right notions both of the doctrines and the precepts of religion." Your advantage for practising it was therefore the greater ; but understanding, and acting right, can never go for the same thing in the judgment of God or of man. In " believing there is one God," you have done well ; but the " devils also believe and tremble." James, ii. 19. In acknowledging Christ to be the Son of God and the Holy One, you have done well too ; but you know the un- clean spirits made this very orthodox confession ; (Luke, iv. 34, 41.) and yet they are "reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." Jude, ver. 6. And will you place any secret confi- dence in that which might be pleaded by the infernal spirits, as well as by you ?
6. But perhaps you may think of pleading, that " you have actually done something in religion." Having judg- ed what faith was the soundest, and what worship the purest, " you entered yourself into those societies, where such articles of faith were professed, and such forms of worship were practised ; and among these you have sig- nalized yourself, by the exactness of your attendance, by
Ch. 5.] SINNER STRIPPED or nsioTTgES. 49
the zeal with which you have espoused their cause, and by the earnestness with which you have contended for such principles and practices." 0 sinner! I much fear that this zeal of thine about the circumstantials of religion, will swell thine account, rather -than be allowed in abate- ment of it. He that searches thine heart, knows from whence it arose, and how far it extended. Perhaps he sees that it was all hypocrisy, an artful veil under which thou wast carrying on thy mean designs for this world ; while the sacred name of God and religion were profaned and prostituted in the basest manner ; and if so, thou art| cursed with a distinguished curse, for so daring an insult ou the Divine omniscience, as well as justice. Or perhaps the earnestness with which you have been " contending for the faith and worship which was once delivered to the saints,*' (Jude, ver. 3.) or vvhich, it is possible, you may have rashly concluded to be that, might be mere pride and bitterness of spirit; and all the zeal you have expressed might possibly arise from a confidence of your own judg- ment, from an impatience of contradiction, or some secret malignity of spirit, which delighteth itself in condemning, and even in worrying others ; yea, which, if I may be allowed the expression, fiercely preys upon religion, as the tiger upon the lamb, to turn it into a nature most contrary to its own. And shall this screen you before the great tribunal ? Shall it not rather awaken the displeasure it is pleaded to avert ?
7. But say that this zeal for notions and forms has been ever so well intended, and, so far as it has gone, ever so well conducted too ; what will that avail toward vindi- cating thee in so many instances of negligence and diso- bedience, as are recorded against thee in the book of God's remembrance ? Were the revealed doctrines of the Gos- pel to be earnestly maintained, (as indeed they ought,) and was the great practical purpose for which they were revealed to be forgot ? Was the very mint, and anise, and cummin, to be tithed ; and were " the weightier matters of the law to be omitted," (Matt, xxiii. 23.) even that love to God, which is its "first and great command?" Matt. xxii. 38. Oh ! how wilt thou be able to vindicate even the justest sentence thou hast passed on others for their infidelity, or for their disobedience, without
60 SINNER sTnirrj3.JL» OF KAUUSES. [Ch. 5
being "condemned out of thine own mouth?" Luke, xix. 22.
8. Will you then plead " your fair moral character, your works of righteousness and of mercy?" Had your obe- dience to the law of God been complete, the plea might be allowed as important and valid. But I have supposed, and proved above, that conscience testifies to the contrary j and you will not now dare to contradict it. I add farther, had these works of yours, which you now urge, proceed- ed from a sincere love to God, and a genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you would not have thought of plead- ing them any otherwise than as an evidence of your inte- rest in the Gospel-covenant, and in the blessings of it, procured by the righteousness and blood of the Redeemer ; and that faith, had it been sincere, would have been at- tended with such deep humility, and with such solemn ap- prehensions of the Divine holiness and glory, that, instead of pleading any works of your own before God, you would rather have implored his pardon for the mixture of sinful imperfection attending the very best of them. Now, as you are a stranger to this humbling and sanctifying princi- ple, (which here in this address I suppose my reader to be,) it is absolutely necessary you should be plainly and faithfully told, that neither sobriety, nor honesty, nor hu- manity, will justify you before the tribunal of God, when he " lays judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet," (Isai. xxviii. 17.) and examines all your actions and all your thoughts with the strictest severity. You have not been a drunkard, an adulterer, or a robber. So far it is well. Yoti stand before a righteous God, who will do you ample justice, and therefore will not condemn you for drunkenness, adultery, or robbery ; but you have forgotten him, your Parent, and your Benefactor ; you have " cast off fear, and restrained prayer before him ;" (Job, XV. 4.) you have despised the blood of his Son, and all the immortal blessings that he purchased with it. For this, therefore, you are judged, and condemned. And as for any thing that has looked like virtue anci humanity in your temper and conduct, the exercise of it has in great measure been its own reward, if there were any thing more than form and artifice in it ; and the various boun- ties of Divine Providence to you, amidst all your number- less provocations, have been a thousand times more than
Ch. 5.] SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 51
an equivalent for such defective and imperfect virtues as these. You remain therefore chargeable with the guilt of a thousand offences, for which you have no excuse, though there are some other instances in which you did not grossly offend. And those good works, in which you have been so ready to trust, will no more vindicate you in his awful presence, than a man's kindness to his poor neighbours would be allowed as a plea in arrest of judgment, when he stood convicted of high treason against his prince.
9. But you will, perhaps, be ready to say, " you did not expect all this : you did not think the consequences of ne- glecting religion would have been so fatal." And why did you not think it ? Why did you not examine more atten- tively, and more impartially? Why did you suffer the pride and folly of your vain heart to take up with such super- ficial appearances, and trust the light suggestions of your own prejudiced mind against the express declaration of the word of God ? Had you reflected on his character as the supreme Governor of the world, you would have seen the necessity of such a day of retribution as we are now refer- ring to. Had you regarded the Scripture, the divine autho- rity of which you professed to believe, every page might have taught you to expect it. " You did not think of reli- gion !" and of what were you thinking, when you forgot or neglected it ? Had you so much employment of another kind ? Of what kind, I beseech you ? What end could you propose, by any thing else, of equal moment ? Nay, with all your engagements, conscience will tell you, that there have been seasons, when, for want of thought, time and life have been a burden to you ; yet you guarded against thought as against an enemy, and cast up, as it were, an entrenchment of inconsideration around you on every side, as if it had been to defend you from the most dangerous invasion. God knew you were thoughtless ; and therefore he sent you " line upon line, and precept upon precept,'* (Isai. xxviii. 10.) in such plain language, that it needed no genius or study to understand it. He tried you too with afflictions, as well as with mercies, to awaken you out of , your fatal lethargy; and yet, when awakened, you would lie down again upon the bed of sloth. And now, pleasing as your dreams might be, '^ you must lie down in sorrow." Isai. 1. 11. Reflection has at last overtaken you, and must be beard as a tormentor, since it might not be heard as a friend.
62 SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. [Ch. 6.
^ 10. But some may perhaps imagine, that one important apology is yet unheard, and that there may be room to say, *' you were, by the necessity of your nature, impelled to those things which are now charged upon you as crimes; and that it was not in your power to have avoided them, in the circumstances in which you were placed.'' If this will do any thing, it indeed promises to do much : so much that it will amount to nothing. If I were disposed to answer you^, upon the folly and madness of your own principles, I might say, that the same consideration, which proves it was ne- cessary for you to offend, proves also that it is necessary for God to punish you ; and that, indeed, he cannot but do it ; and I might farther say, with an excellent writer, " that the same principles which destroy the injustice of sins, destroy the injustice of punishment too." But if you cannot admit this ; if you should still reply, in spite of principle, that it must be nnjust to punish you for an action utterly and absolutely unavoidable; I really think you would answer right. But in that answer you will contradict your own scheme, as I observed above ; and I leave your conscience to judge, what sort of a scheme that must be which would make all kind of punishment unjust : for the argument will on the whole be the same, whether with regard to human punishment, or divine. It is a scheme full of confusion and horror. You would not, I am sure, take it from a servant who had robbed you, and then fired your house : you would never inwardly believe, that he could not have helped it; or think that he had fairly excused himself by such a plea : and I am persuaded, you would be so far from presuming to offer it to God at the great day, that you would not ven- ture to turn it into a prayer even nov/. Imagine that you saw a malefactor dying with such words as these in his mouth : " 0 God ! it is true, I did indeed rob and murder my fellow-creatures ; but thou knowest, that, as my cir- cumstances were ordered, I could not do otherwise : my will was irresistibly determined by the motives vrhich thou didst set before me; and I could as well have shaken the foundations of the earth, or darkened the sun in the firma- ment, as have resisted the impulse which bore me on." I put it to your conscience, whether you would not look on such a speech as this with detestation, as one enormity added to another. Yet, if the excuse would have any
Ch. 5.] MEDITATION OF A CONVINCED SINNER. 63
weight in your mouth, it would have equal weight in his; or would be equally applicable to any, the most shocking occasions. But indeed it is so contrary to the plainest prin- ciples of common reason, that I can hardly persuade my- self, that any one could seriously and thoroughly believe it; and should imagine my time very ill employed here, if I were to set myself to combat those pretences to argu- • raent, by which the wantonness of human wit has at- tempted to varnish it over.
11. You see then, on the whole, the vanity of all your pleas, and how easily the most plausible of them might be silenced by a mortal man like yourself: how much more then by Him, who searches all hearts, and can, in a mo- ment, flash in upon the conscience a most powerful and irresistible conviction ? What then can you do, while you stand convicted in the presence of God ? What should you do, but hold your peace under an inward sense of your inexcusable guilt, and prepare yourself to hear the sen- tence which his law pronounces against you ? You must feel the execution of it, if the Gospel does not at length deliver you ; and you must feel something of the terror of it, before you can be excited to seek to that Gospel for deliverance.
The Meditation of a convinced Sinner, giving up his vain pleas before God,
" Deplorable condition to which I am indeed reduced! I have sinned, and ' what shall I say unto thee, 0 thou Preserver of men ?' Job, vii. 20. What shall I dare to say? Fool that I was, to amuse myself with such trifling ex- cuses as these, and to imagine they could have any weight in thy tremendous presence, or that I should be able so much as to mention them there. I cannot presume to do it. I am silent and confounded : my hopes, alas ! are slain, and my soul itself is ready to die too, so far as an immortal soul can die ; and I am almost ready to say, O that it could die entirely ! I arw indeed a criminal in the hands of jus- tice, quite disarmed, and stripped of the weajDons in which I trusted. Dissimulation can only add provocation to pro- vocation. I will therefore plainly and freely own it. I have acted as if I thought God was * altogether such a one
54 MEDITATION OF A CONVINCED SINNER. [Ch. 5.
as myself:' but he hath said, * I will reprove thee ; I will set thy sins in order before thine eyes :' (Psal. 1. 21.) will marshal them in battle array. And, oh ! what a terrible kind oS host do they appear ? and how do they surround me beyond any possibility of an escape ! O my soul ! they have, as it were, taken thee prisoner, and they are bearing thee away to the divine tribunal.
" Thou must appear before it ! thou must see the awful, the eternal Judge, who ^ tries the very reins,' (Jer. xvii. 10.) and who needs no other evidence, for he has ' himself been witness to all thy rebellion.' Jer. xxix. 23. Thou must see him, 0 my soul ! sitting in judgment upon thee ; and, when he is strict to ' mark iniquity,' (Psal. exxx. 3.) how wilt thou * answer him for one of a thousand !' Job, ix. 3. And if thou canst not answer him, in what language will he speak to thee ! Lord, as things at present stand, I can expect no other language than that of condemnation. And what a condemnation is it ! Let me reflect upon it ! Let me read my sentence before I hear it finally and irreversibly passed. I know be has recorded it in his word, and I know, in the general, that the representation is made with a gra- cious design. I know that he would have us alarmed, that we may not be destroyed. Speak to me, therefore, 0 God ! while thou speakest not for the last time, and in circum- stances when thou wilt hear me no more. Speak in the language of eff'ectual terror, so that it be not to speak me into final despair. And let thy word, however painful in its operation, be ' quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.' Heb. iv. 12. Let me not vainly flatter myself, let me not be left a wretched prey to those who would * prophecy smooth things to me,' (Isai. xxx. 10.) till I am sealed up under wrath, and feel thy justice piercing my soul, and ' the poison of thine arrows drinking up all my spirits.' Job, vi. 4.
" Before I enter upon the particular view, I know, in the general, that ' it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' Heb. x. 31. 0 thou living God ! in one sense 1 am already fallen into thine hands. I am become obnoxious to thy displeasure, justly obnoxious to it ; and whatever thy sentence may be, when it comes forth from thy presence, (Psal. xvii. 2.) I must condemn myself, and justify thee. Thou canst not treat me with more severity
Ch. 6.] SINNER SENTENCED. 55
than mine iniquities have deserved ; and how bitter soever that cup of trembling may be, (Isai. li. 17.) which thou shalt appoint for me, I give judgment against myself, that I deserve * to wring out the very dregs of it.' " Psal. Ixxv. 8.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SINxVER SENTENCED.
. 2. The sinner called upon to hear his senteyice. — 3. Ootids law does now in general pronounce a curse. — 4. It pronounces death. — 5. And being turned into hell. — 6. The judgment-day shall comt. — 7. 8. The solemnity of that grand process described according to scriptural representations of it. — 9. With a particular illustra- 'tion of the sentence, " Depart accursed," fyc. — 10. The execution will certainly and immediately follow. — 11. The sinner warned to prepare for enduring it. The reflection of a sinner struck with the terror of his sentence.
:, (Job, xlii. 4.) yet once more, as in the name of God, of God thine Almighty Judge, who, if thou dost not attend to his ser- vants, will, ere long, speak unto thee in a more immediate manner, with an energy and terror which thou shalt not be able to resist.
2. Thou hast been convicted, as in his presence. Thy pleas have been overruled, or rather, they have been si- lenced. It appears before God, it appears to thine own conscience, that thou hast nothing more to offer in arrest of judgment; therefore hear thy sentence, and summon up, if thou canst, all the powers of thy soul to bear the ex- ecution of it. " It is," indeed, " a very small thing to be judged of man's judgment ;" but " he who now judgeth thee is the Lord." 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4. Hear, therefore, and tremble, while I tell thee how He will speak to thee ; or rather, while I show thee, irom express Scripture, how he doth even now speak, and what is the authentic and recorded sentence of his word, even of His word, who hath said, -'Heaven and earth shall pass away; but not one tittle of my word shall ever pass away," Matt. v. 18.
3. The law of God speaks not to thee alone, 0 sinner! nor to thee by any particular address ; but in a most uui'
66 SINNER SENTENCED* [Ch. 6
versal language, it speaks to all transgressors, and levels its terrors against all offences, great or small, without any exception. And this is its language : " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Gal. iii. 10. This is its voice to the whole world ; and this it speaks to thee. Its awful contents are thy personal concern, 0 reader ! and thy con- science knows it. Far from continuing in all things that are written therein to do them, thou canst not but be sensi- ble that " innumerable evils have encompassed thee about." Psalm xl. 12. It is then manifest, thou art the man whom it condemns : thou art even now " cursed with a curse," as God emphatically speaks, (Mai. iii. 9.) with the curse of the Most High God ; yea, " all the curses which are written in the book of the law" are pointed against thee. Deut. xxix. 20. God may righteously execute any of them upon thee in a moment ; and though thou at present feel- est none of them, yet, if infinite mercy do not prevent, it is but a little while, and they will " come into thy bowels like water," till thou art burst asunder with them, and shall penetrate " like oil into thy bones." Psalm cix. 18. 4. Thus saith the Lord, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezek. xviii. 4. But thou hast sinned, and therefore thou art under a sentence of death. And, O unhappy crea- ture, of what a death ! What will the end of these things be ? That the agonies of dissolving nature shall seize thee ; and thy soul shall be torn away from thy languishing body, and thou " return to the dust from whence thou wast ta- ken." Psal. civ. 29. This is indeed one awful effect of sin. In these affecting characters has God, through all nations and all ages of men, written the awful register and memo- rial of his holy abhorrence of it, and righteous displeasure against it. But, alas ! all this solemn pomp and horror of dying is but the opening of the dreadful scene. It is a rough kind of stroke, by which the fetters are knocked off, when the criminal is led out to torture and execution.
5. Thus saith the Lord, " The wicked shall be turned into hell, even all the nations that forget God." Psal. ix. 17. Though there be whole nations of them, their multi- tudes and their power shall be no defence to them. They shall be driven into hell together: into that flaming prison^ which divine vengeance hath prepared : into " Tophet,
Ch. 6.] JUDGMENT DAY WILL COME. 57
which is ordained of old, even for royal sinners," as well as for others ; so little can any human distinction protect ! " He hath made it deep and large : the pile thereof is fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, shall kindle it;" (Isai. xxx. 33.) and the flaming torrent shall flow in upon it so fast, that it shall be turned into a sea of liquid fire ; or, as the Scripture also expresses it, " a lake burning with fire and brimstone" for ever. Rev. xxi. 8. " This is the second death ;" and the death to which thou, O sinner ! by the word of God art doomed.
6. And shall this sentence stand upon record in vain ? Shall the law speak it? and the Gospel speak it? And shall it never be pronounced more audibly ? And will God never require and execute the punishment? He will, O sinner! require it, and he will execute it, though he may seem for a while to delay. For well dost thou know, that " he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the" whole *^ world in righteousness, by that Man whom he hath ordained, of which he hath given assurance in having raised him from the dead." xicts, xvii. 31. And when God judgeth the world, 0 reader ! whoever thou art, he will judge thee. And while I remind thee of it, I would also remember that he will judge me. And " knowing the terror of the Lord," (2 Cor. v. 11.) that I may "deliver my own soul," (Ezek. xxxiii. 9.) I would, with all plain- ness and sincerity, labour to deliver thine.
7. I therefore repeat the solemn warning : Thou, O sin- ner ! shalt "stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." 2 Cor. V. 10. Thou shalt see that pompous appearance, the description of which is grown so familiar to thee, that the repetition of it makes no impression on thy mind. But surely, stupid as thou now art, the shrill trumpet of the arch-angel shall shake thy very soul ; and if nothing else can awaken and alarm thee, the convulsions and flames of a dissolving w^orld shall do it.
8. Dost thou really think, that the intent of Christ's final appearance is only to recover his people from the grave, and to raise them to glory and happiness ? What- ever assurance thou hast that there shall be "a resurrec- tion of the just," thou hast the same, that there shall also be " a resurrection of the unjust:" (Acts, xxiv. 15.) that " he shall separate" the rising dead " one from another,
68 JUDGMENT DAT AWFUL. [Ch. 6.
as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats," (Matt. XXV. 32.) with equal certainty, and with infinitely greater ease. Or can you imagine, that he will only make an example of some flagrant and notorious sinners, when it is said, that " all the dead," both " small and great," shall "stand before God;" (Rev. xx. 12.) and that even "he who knew not his Master's will," and consequently seems of all others to have had the fairest excuse for his omis- sion to obey it, yet even "he," for that very omission, " shall be beaten," though " with fewer stripes ?" Luke, xii. 48. Or can you think that a sentence, to be delivered with so much pomp and majesty, a sentence by which the righteous judgment of God is to be revealed, and to have its most conspicuous and final triumph, will be inconsider- able, or the punishment to which it shall consign the sinner be slight or tolerable ? There would have been little rea- son to apprehend that, even if we had been left barely to our own conjectures what that sentence should be. But this is far from being the case : our Lord Jesus Christ, in his infinite condescension and compassion, has been pleased to give us a copy of the sentence, and no doubt a most ex- act copy; and the words which contain it are worthy of being inscribed on every heart. " The King," amidst all the splendour and dignity in which he shall then appear, " shall say unto those on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world !" Matt. xxv. 34. And " where the word of a king is, there is power" indeed. Eccles. viii. 4. And these words have a power, which may justly animate the heart of the humble Christian under the most overwhelming sorrow, and may fill him "with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." 1 Pet. i. 8. To be pronounced the blessed of the Lord ! to be called to a kingdom ! to the immediate, the everlasting inherit- ance of it; and of such a kingdom ! so well prepared, so glorious, so complete, so exquisitely fitted for the delight and entertainment of such creatures, so formed and so renew- ed, that it shall appear worthy the eternal counsels of God to have contrived it, worthy his eternal love to have pre- pared it, and to have delighted himself with the views of bestowing it upon his people : behold a blessed hope indeed ! a lively, glorious hope, to which we are " begot-
Ch. 6.] JUDGMENT DAY AWFUL. 59
ten again by the resurrection of Christ from the dead," (1 Pet. i. 3.) and formed by the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God upon our minds. But it is a hope from which thou, 0 sinner ! art at present excluded ; and methinks that it might be grievous to reflect : " These gracious words shall Christ speak to some ; to multitudes ; but not to me : on me there is no blessedness pronounced ; for me there is no kingdom prepared." But is that all? Alas ! sinner, our Lord hath given thee a dreadful coun- terpart to this. He has told us what he will say to thee, if thou continuest what thou art : to thee, and all the na- tions of the impenitent and unbelieving world, be they ever so numerous, be the rank of particular criminals ever so great. He shall say to the " kings of the earth," who have been rebels against him, to " the great and rich men, and tlie chief captains and the mighty men," as well as to "every bondman and every freeman" of inferior rank, (Rev. vi. 15.) " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. XXV. 41. Oh ! pause upon these weighty words, that thou mayest enter into something of the importance of them.
9. He will say, "Depart:" you shall.be driven from his presence with disgrace and infamy : " from him," the source of life and blessedness, in a nearness to whom all the inhabitants of heaven continually rejoice; you shall "depart," accursed : you have broken God's law, and its curse falls upon you ; and you are and shall be under that curse, that abiding curse: from that day forward you shall be regarded by God, and all his creatures, as an accursed and abominable thing, as the most detestable, and the most miserable part of the creation. You shall go "into fire;" and, oh ! consider into what fire ! Is it merely into one fierce blaze which shall consume you in a moment, though with exquisite pain ? That were terrible. But, oh ! such terrors are not to be named with these. Thine, sinner, "is everlasting fire." It is that which our Lord hath, in such awful terms, described as prevailing there, " where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched ;" and then says a second time, " where their worm dieth not, and the fire is net quenched ;" and again, in wonderful compassion, a third time, " where their worm dieth notj
60 ILLUSTRATION OF THE SENTENCE. [Ch. 6.
and the fire is not quenched." Mark, ix. 44, 46, 48. Nor •was it originally prepared, or principally intended for you : it was "prepared for the devil and his angels :" for those first grand rebels, who were immediately upon their fall doomed to it; and since you have taken part with them in their apostacy, you must sink with them into that flaming ruin ; and sink so much the deeper, as you have despised the Saviour, who was never offered to them. These must be your companions, and your tormentors, wdth whom you must dwell for ever. And is it I that say this ? or says not the law and the Gospel the same ? Does not the Lord Jesus Christ expressly say, who is the "faithful and true witness," (Rev. iii. 14.) even he who himself is to pronounce the sentence ?
10. And when it is thus pronounced, and pronounced by him, shall it not also be executed ? Who could imagine the contrary ? Who could imagine there should be all this pompous declaration to fill the mind only with vain terror, and that this sentence should vanish into smoke ? You may easily apprehend that this would be a greater reproach to the Divine administration, than if sentence were never to be passed. And therefore we might easily have inferred the execution of it, from the process of the preceding judg- ment. But lest the treacherous heart of a sinner should deceive him with so vain a hope, the assurance of that execution is immediately added in very memorable terms. It shall be done : it shall immediately be done. Then, on that very day, while the sound of it is yet in their ears, "the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment;" (Matt. XXV. 46.) and thou, 0 reader ! whoever thou art, being found in their number, shalt go away with them ; shalt be driven on among all these wretched multitudes, and plunged with them into eternal ruin. The wide gates of hell shall be open to receive thee; they shall be shut upon thee for ever, to enclose thee, and be fast barred, by the Almighty hand of divine justice, to prevent all hope, all possibility of escape for ever.
11. And now, "prepare" thyself "to meet the Lord thy God." Amos, iv. 12. Summon up all the resolution of thy mind to endure such a sentence, such an execution as this ; for " he will not meet thee as a man ;" (Isai. xlvii. 30.) whose heart may sometimes fail him when about to
Ch. 6.] THE SINNER SENTENCED. 6i
exert a needful act of severity, so that compassion may- prevail against reason and justice. No, he will meet thee as a God, whose schemes and purposes are all immovable as his throne. I therefore testify to thee in his name this day, that if God be true, he will thus speak ; and that if he be able, he will thus act. And on supposition of thy continuance in thine impenitence and unbelief, thou art brought into this miserable case, that if God be not either false or weak, thou art undone, thou art eternally undone.
Tiie Reflection of a Sinner, struck with the Terror of his Sentence.
" Wretch that I am ! What shall I do, or whither shall I flee ? '• I am weighed in the balance, and am found want- ing.' Dan. V. 27. This is indeed my doom ; the doom I am to expect from the mouth of Christ himself, from the mouth of him that died for the redemption and salvation of men. Dreadful sentence ! and so much the more dreadful, when considered in that view ! To what shall I look to save me from it ? To whom shall I call ? Shall I say ' to the rocks, Fall upon me, and to the hills. Cover me ?' Luke, xxiii. 30. What should I gain by that ? Were I indeed overwhelmed with rocks and mountains, they could not conceal me from the notice of his eye; and his hand could reach me with as much ease there as any where else.
" Wretch indeed that I am ! 0 that I had never been born ! 0 that I had never known the dignity and preroga- tive of the rational nature ! Fatal prerogative indeed, that renders me obnoxious to condemnation and wrath ! 0 that I had never been instructed in the will of God at all, ra- ther than that, being thus instructed, I should have disre- garded and transgressed it! Would to God I had been allied to the meanest of the human race, to them that come nearest to the state of the brutes, rather than that I should have had my lot in cultivated life, amidst so many of the improvements of reason, and (dreadful reflection !) amidst so many of the advantages of religion too I and thus to have perverted all to my own destruction! O that God would take away this rational soul ! but, alas ! it will live for ever, will live to feel the agonies of eternal death. Why have I seen the beauties and glories of a world like this, to exchange it for that flaming prison ! Why have I tasted so many of my Creator's bounties, to wring out at last the
62 THE SINNER SENTENCED. [Ch. 6.
dregs of his wrath ! Why have I known the delights of so- cial life and friendly convei-se, to exchange them for the horrid company of devils, and damned spirits in hell ! Oh ! ' who can dwell' with them in ' devouring flames ? who can lie down' with them ' in everlasting, everlasting, ever- lasting burnings ?' Isa. xxxiii. 14.
'"But whom have I to blame in all this but myself ? What have I to accuse but my own stupid incorrigible folly ? On what is all this terrible ruin to be charged, but on this one fatal, cursed cause, that, having broken God's law, I rejected his Gospel too ?
" Yet stay, 0 my soul, in the midst of all these doleful foreboding complaints. Can I say tliat I have finally re- jected the Gospel ? Am I not to this day under the sound of it ? The sentence is not yet gone forth against me, in so determinate a manner as to be utterly irreversible. Through all this gloomy prospect, one ray of hope breaks in, and it is possible I may yet be delivered.
" Reviving thought ! Rejoice in it, 0 my soul ! though it be with trembling, and turn immediately to that God, who, though provoked by ten thousand offences, has not yet ' sworn in his wrath that thou shalt never' be permitted to hold further intercourse with him, or to ' enter into his rest.' Psalm xcv. 11.
" I do then, O blessed Lord ! prostrate myself in the dust before thee. I own I am a condemned and miser- able creature. But my language is that of the humble publican, ' God be merciful to me a sinner!' Luke, xviii. 13. Some general and confused apprehensions I have of a way by which I may possibly escape. 0 God, whatever that way is, show it me, I beseech thee ! Point it out so plainly, that I may not be able to mistake it ! And oh ! reconcile my heart to it, be it ever so humbling, be it ever so painful !
" Surely, Lord, I have much to learn ; but be thou my teacher ! Stay for a little moment thine uplifted hand ; and in thine infinite compassion delay the stroke, till I in- quire a little farther how I may finally avoid it !"
Ch. 7.] sinner's helpless state. 63
CHAPTER VII.
THE HELPLESS STATE OF THE SINNER UNDER CONDEMNATION.
1, 2. The sinner urged to consider how he can he saved from this im- pending ruin. — 3. J\ot by any thing he can offer. — 4. J\^or by any thing he can endure. — 5. A^or by any thing he can do in the course of future duty. — 6 — 8. J\''or by any alliance with felloiv-sinners on earth or in hell. — 9. JVor by any interposition or intercession of angels or saints in his favour. Hint of the only method, to be after- wards more largely explained. The lamentation of a sinner in thds miserable condition.
1. SiNNERj thou hast heard the sentence of God, as it stands upon record in his sacred and immutable word. And wilt thou lie down under it in everlasting despair ? Wilt thou make no attempt to be delivered from it, when it speaks nothing less than eternal death to thy soul ? If a criminal, condemned by human laws, has but the least shadow of hope that he may possibly escape, he is all at- tention to it. If there be a friend, who he thinks can help him, with what strong importunity does he entreat the interposition of that friend ? And even while he is be- fore the judge, how difficult is it often to force him away from the bar, while the cry of mercy, mercy, mercy, may be heard, though it be never so unseasonable ? A mere possibility that it may make some impression, makes him eager in it, and unwilling to be silenced and removed.
2. Wilt thou not then, 0 sinner ! ere yet execution is done, that execution which may perhaps be done this very day, wilt thou not cast about in thy thoughts what mea- sures may be taken for deliverance ? Yet what measures can be taken ? Consider attentively, for it is an affair of moment. Thy wisdom, thy power, thy eloquence, thy interest, can never be exerted on a greater occasion. If thou canst help thyself, do it. If thou hast any secret source of relief, go not out of thyself for other assistance. If thou hast any sacrifice to offer, if thou hast any strength to exert; yea, if thou hast any allies on earth, or in the invisible world, who can defend or deliver thee, take thy own w^ay, so that thou mayest but be delivered at all, that we may not see thy ruin. But say, 0 sinner ! in the pre-
64 sinner's helpless state. [Ch. 7.
sence of God, what sacrifice thou wilt present, what strength thou wilt exert, what allies thou wilt have re- course to, on so urgent, so hopeless an occasion. For hope- less I must indeed pronounce it, if such methods are taken.
3. The justice of God is injured : hast thou any atone- ment to make to it ? If thou w^ast brought to an inquiry and proposal, like that of an awakened sinner, " Where- with shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt-offer- ings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or wdth ten thousands of rivers of oil ?" Mic. vi. 6, 7. Alas ! wert thou as great a prince as Solomon himself, and couldst thou indeed purchase such sacrifices as these, there would be no room to mention them. "Lebanon would not be sufficient to burn, nor all the beasts thereof for a burnt-offering." Isai. xl. 16. Even under that dispensation, which admitted and required sacrifices in some cases, the blood of bulls and of goats, though it exempted the offender from farther temporal punishment, "could not take away sin," (Heb. x. 4.) nor prevail by any means, to purge the conscience in the sight of God. And that soul, that had "done aught presump- tuously," was not allowed to bring any sin-offering, or trespass-offering at all, but was condemned to " die without mercy." Numb. xv. 30. Now God and thine own con- science know, that thine offences have not been merely the errors of ignorance and inadvertency, but that thou hast sinned with a high hand in repeated aggravated in- stances, as thou hast acknowledged already. Shouldst thou add, with the wretched sinner described above, "Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?" Mic. vi. 7. What could the blood of a beloved child do in such a case, but dye thy crimes so much the deeper, and add a yet un- known horror to them ? Thou hast offended a Being of infinite majesty ; and if that offence is to be expiated by blood, it must be another kind of blood than that which flows in the veins of thy children, or in thine own.
4. Wilt ihou then suffer thyself, till thou hast made full satisfaction ? But how shall that satisfaction be made? Shall it be by any calamities to be endured in this mor- tal, momentary life ? Is the justice of God then esteemed
Ch, 7.] sinner's helpless stat'e. 65
so little a thing, that the sorrows of a few days should suffice to answer its demands ? Or dost thou think of fu- ture sufferings in the invisible world ? If thou dost, that is not deliverance ; and with regard to that, I may ven- 'ture to say, when thou hast made full satisfaction, thou wilt be released. When thou hast paid the uttermost far- thing of that debt, thy prison-doors shall be opened ; but in the mean time, thou must " make thy bed in hell :" (Psalm cxxxix. 8.) and, oh ! unhappy man, wilt thou lie down there with a secret hope, that the moment will come when the rigour of Divine justice will not be able to in- flict any thing more than thou hast endured, and when thou mayest claim tliy discharge as a matter of right ? It would indeed be well for thee if thou couldst carry down with thee such a hope, false and flattering as it is ; but, alas ! thou wilt see things in so just alight, that'to have no comfort but this will be eternal despair. That one word of thy sentence, " everlasting fire :-'' that one declaration, "the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched ;" will be sufficient to strike such a thought into black confusion, and to overwhelm thee with hopeless agony and horror. 5. Or do you think that your future reformation and dili- gence in duty for the time to come, will procure your dis- charge from this sentence ? Take heed, sinner, what kind of obedience thou thinkest of offering to a holy God. That must be spotless and complete which his infinite sanctity can approve and accept, if he consider thee in thy- self alone : there must be no inconstancy, no forgetful- ness, no mixture of sin attending it. And wilt thou, enfee- bled as thou art by so much original corruption, and so many siniul habits contracted by innumerable actual trans- gressions, undertake to render such an obedience, and that for all the remainder of thy life ? In vain v/ouldst thou attempt it, even for one day. New guilt would imme- diately plunge thee into new ruin. But if it did not, if from this moment to the ver}" end of thy life all were as com- plete obedience as the law of God required from Adam in Paradise, would that be sufficient to cancel past guilt? Would it discharge an old debt, that thou hast not con- tracted a new one ? Offer this to thy neighbour, and see if he will accept it for payment ; and if he will not, wilt thou presume to offer it to thy God ?
66 sinner's helpless state. [Ch. 7.
6. But I will not multiply words on so plain a subject. While I speak thus, time is passing away, death presses on, and judgment is approaching. And what can save thee from these awful scenes, or what can protect thee in them ? Can the world save thee? that vain delusive idol of thy wishes and pursuits, to which thou art sacrificing thine eternal hopes ? Well dost thou know, that it will utterly forsake thee when thou needest it most ; and that not one of its enjoyments can be carried along with thee into the invisible state ; no, not so much as a trifle, to remember it by, if thou couldst desire to remember so inconstant and so treacherous a friend as the world has been.
7. And when you are dead, or when you are dying, can your sinful companions save you ? Is there any one of them, if he were ever so desirous of doing it, that " can give unto God a ransom for you," (Psalm xlix. 7.) to de- liver you from going down to the grave, or from going down to hell ? Alas, you will probably be so sensible of this, that, when you lie on the borders of the grave, you will be unwilling to see, or to converse with, these that were once your favourite companions. They will afflict you rather than relieve you, even then : how much less can they relieve you before the bar of God, when they are overwhelmed with their own condemnation.
8. As for the powers of darkness, you are sure they will be far from having any ability or inclination to help you. Satan has been watching and labouring for your destruc- tion, and he will triumph in it. But if there could be any thing of an amicable confederacy between you, what would that be but an association in ruin? For the day of judgment of ungodly men, will also be the judgment of these rebellious spirits ; and the fire into which thou, O sinner, must depart, is that which was " prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. xxv. 41.
9. Will the celestial spirits then save thee ? Will they interpose their power, or their prayers, in thy favour ? An interposition of power, when sentence is gone forth against thee, were an act of rebellion against heaven, which these holy and excellent creatures would abhor. And when the final pleasure of the Judge is known, instead of interced- ing in vain for the wretched criminal, they would rather, with ardent zeal for the glory of their Lord, and cordial
Ch. 7.] sinner's lamentation. 67
acquiescence in the determination of his wisdom and jus- tice, prepare to execute it. Yea, difficult as it may at pre- sent be to conceive it, it is a certain truth, that the servants of Christ, who now most tenderly love you, and most affectionately seek your salvation, not excepting those who are allied to you in the nearest bonds of nature or of friend- ship, even they shall put their Amen to it. Now indeed their bowels yearn over you, and their eyes pour out tears on your account. Now they expostulate with you, and plead with God for you, if by any means, while yet there is hope, you may " be plucked as a firebrand out of the burning." Amos, iv. 11. But, alas ! their remonstrances you will not reoard ; and as for their prayers, what should they ask for you ? What but that you may see yourself to be undone ; and that, utterly despairing of any help from yourself, or from any created power, you may lie before God in humility and brokenness of heart ; that, submitting yourself to his righteous judgment, and in an utter renun- ciation of all self-dependence and of all creature depen- dence, you may lift up an humble look towards him, as almost from the depths of hell, if peradventure he may have compassion upon you, and may himself direct you to that only method of rescue, which, while things continue as in present circumstances they are, neither earth, nor hell, nor heaven, can afford you.
The Lamenlalion of a Sinner in this miserable Condilion.
" Oh ! doleful, uncomfortable, helpless state ! 0 wretch that I am, to have reduced myself to it! Poor, empty, miserable, abandoned creature ! Where is my pride, and the haughtiness of my heart? Where are my idol deities, * whom I have loved and served, after whom I have walk- ed, and whom I have sought,' (Jer. viii. 2.) while I have been multiplying my transgressions against the majesty of heaven ? Is there no heart to have compassion upon me ? Is there no hand to save me ? ' Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, 0 my friends, for the hand of God hath touched me:' (Job, xix. 21.) hath seized me! I feel it pressed upon me hard, and what shall I do ? Perhaps they have pity upon me, but, alas ! how feeble a compassion ! only, if there be any where in the whole compass of na-
68 sinner's lamentation. [Ch. 7.
ture any help, tell rae where jt may be found ! O point it out, direct me toward it ; or rather, confounded and asto- nished as my mind is, take me by the hand, and lead me to it!
" 0 ye ministers of the Lord, whose office it is to ouide and comfort distressed souls, take pity upon me ! I fear I am a pattern of many other helpless creatures, who have the like need of your assistance. Lay aside your other cares, to care for my soul, to care for this precious soul of mine, which lies as it were bleeding to death, (if that ex- pression may be used,) while you perhaps hardly afford me a look, or, glancing an eye upon rae, ' pass over to the other side.' Luke, x. 32. Yet, alas ! in a case like mine, what can your interposition avail if it be alone : 'If the Lord do not help me, how can you help me ?' 2 Kings, vi. 27.
" ' 0 God, the God of the spirits of all flesh,' (Numb. xvi. 22.) I lift up mine eyes unto thee, and ' cry unto thee, as out of the belly of hell.' Jonah, ii. 2. I cry unto thee, at least from the borders of it. Yet, while I lie before thee in this infinite distress, I know that thine Almiglity power and boundless grace can still find out a way for my re- covery.
" Thou art he, whom I have most of all injured and affronted ; and yet from thee alone must I now seek re- dress. ' Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done evil in thy sight;' so that 'thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest,' (Psalm li. 4.) though thou shouldst at this moment ad- judge me to eternal misery. And yet I find something that secretly draws me to thee, as if I might find rescue there, where I have deserved the most aggravated de- struction. Blessed God, I 'have destroyed myself; but in thee is my help,' (Hos. xiii. 9.) if there can be help at all.
" I know, in the general, that ' thy ways are not as our ways, nor thy thoughts as our thoughts ;' but are as ' high above them, as the heavens are above the earth.' Isai. Iv. 8, 9. ' Have mercy,' therefore, ' upon me, O God, accord- ing to thy loving-kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies !' Psalm li. 1. O point out the path to the city of refuge ! O ' lead me' thyself, 'in the way ever- lasting !' Psalm cxxxix. 24. I know, in the general, that
Cb. 8.] NEWS OF SALVATION. 69
thy Gospel is the only remedy : O teach thy servants to administer it ! O prepare my heart to receive it ! and suf- fer not, as in many instances, that malignity, which has spread itself through all my nature, to turn that noble me- dicine into poison !"
CHAPTER VIII.
KSWS OF SALVATION BY CHPaST BROUGHT TO THE CONVINCED AND CONDEMNED SINNER.
1. The awful things which have hitherto been said, intended not to grieve, hut to help. — 2. After some reflection on the pleasure with which a minister of the Gospel may deliver the message loith ivhich he is charged. — 3. WjitZ some reasons for the repetition of what is in speculation so generally known. — 4 — 6. The author proceeds briefly to declare the substance of these glad tidings : viz. that God, having in his infinite compassion sent his Son to die for sin- ners, is now reconcileable through him. — 7, 8. So that the most hei- nous transgressions shall be entirely pardoned to believers, and they made completdy and eternally happy. The sinner'' s reflection on this good news.
1. My dear reader, it is the great design of the Gospel, and wherever it is cordially received, it is the glorious effect of it, to fill the heart with sentiments of love ; to teach us to abhor all unnecessary rigour and severity, and to de- light not in the grief, but in the happiness of our fellow- creatures. I can hardly apprehend how he can be a Christian, who takes pleasure in the distress which ap- pears even in a brute, much less in that of a human mind ; and especially in such distress as the thoughts I have been proposing must give, if there be any due attention to their weight and energy. I have often felt a tender regret, while I have been representing these things ; and I could have wished from my heart, that it had not been necessary to have placed them in so severe and so painful a light. But now I am addressing myself to a part of my work, which I undertake with unutterable pleasure ; and to that, which indeed I had in view, in all those awful things which I have already been laying before you. I have been showing you, that, if you hitherto have lived in a state of
70 NEWS OF SALVATION. [Ch. 8.
impenitence and sin, you are condemned by God's righteous judgment, and have in yourself no spring of hope, and no possibility of deliverance. But I mean not to leave you under this sad apprehension, to lie down and die in des- pair, complaining of that cruel zeal which has " torment- ed you before your time." Matt. viii. 29.
2. Arise, 0 thou dejected soul, that art prostrate in the dust before God, and tremblftig under the terror of his righteous sentence ; for I am commissioned to tell thee, that, though " thou hast destroyed thyself, in God is thine help." Hos. xiii. 9. I bring thee " good tidings of great joy," (Luke, ii. 10.) which delight mine own heart, while I proclaim them, and will, I hope, reach and revive thine; even the tidings of salvation by the blood and righteous- ness of the Redeemer. And I give it thee for thy greater security, in the words of a gracious and forgiving God, that " he is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing to them their trespasses." 2 Cor. v. 19.
3. This is the best news that ever was heard, the most important message which God ever sent to his creatures ; and though I doubt not, that, living as you have done in a Chris- tian country, you have heard it often, perhaps a thousand and a thousand times ; I will, with all simplicity and plain- ness, repeat it to you again, and repeat it as if you had never heard it before. If thou, 0 sinner, shouldst now for the first time feel it, then will it be as a new Gospel unto thee, though so familiar to thine ear ; nor shall it be " grievous to me" to speak what is so common, " since to you it is safe" and necessary. Phil. iii. 1. They who are most deeply and intimately acquainted with it, instead of being cloyed and satiated, will hear it with distinguished pleasure ; and as for those who have hitherto slighted it, I am sure they had need to hear it again. Nor is it abso- lutely impossible, that some one soul at least may read these lines, who hath never been clearly and fully instruct- ed in this important doctrine, though his everlasting all depends on knowing and receiving it. I will therefore take care, that such a one shall not have it to plead at the bar of God, that, though he lived in a Christian country, he was never plainly and faithfully taught the doctrine of sal- vation by Jesus Christ, " the way, the truth, and the life, by whom alone we come unto the Father." John, xiv. 6.
Ch. 8.] NEWS OF SALVATION. 71
4. I do therefore testify unto you this day, that the holy and gracious Majesty of heaven and earth, foreseeing the fatal apostacy into which the whole human race would fall, did not determine to deal in a way of strict and rigor- ous severity with us, so as to consign us over to universal ruin and inevitable damnation ; but, on the contrary, he determined to enter into atreaty of peace and reconciliation, and to publish to all whom the Gospel should reach, the express offers of life and glory, in a certain method, which his infinite wisdom judged suitable to the purity of his nature, and the honour of his government. This method was indeed a most actonishing one, which, familiar as it is to our thoughts and our tongues, I cannot recollect and mention without great amazement. He determined to send his own Son into the world, " the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person," (Heb. i. 3.) partaker of his own divine perfections and honours, to be, not merely a teacher of righteousness and a messenger of grace, but also a sacrifice for the sins of men ; and would consent to his saving them on no other condition but this, that he should not only labour, but die in the cause.
5. Accordingly, at such a period of time as infinite wis- dom saw most convenient, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in human flesh ; and after he had gone through incessant and long-continued fatigues, and borne all the preceding injuries, which the ingratitude and malice of men could inflict, he voluntarily " submitted himself to death, even the death of the cross;" (Phil. ii. S.) and having been " delivered for our offences, was raised again for our jus- tification." Rom. iv. 25. After his resurrection, he con- tinued long enough on earth to give his followers most convincing evidences of it, and then " ascended into hea- ven in their sight;" (Acts, i. 9 — 11.) and sent down his Spirit from thence unto his apostles, to enable them, in the most persuasive and authoritative manner, "to preach the Gospel;" and he has given it in charge to them, and to those who in every age succeed them in this part of their office, that it should be published " to every creature," (Mark, xvi. 15.) that all who believe in it may be saved by virtue of its abiding energy, and the immutable power and grace of its divine Author, who is " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Heb. xiii. 8.
72 NEWS OF SALVATION. [Ch. 8.
6. This Gospel do I therefore now preach and proclaim unto thee, 0 reader, with the sincerest desire, that through divine grace it may " this very day be salvation to thy soul." Luke, xix. 9. Know therefore and consider it, whosoever thou art, that as surely as these words are now before thine eyes, so sure it is, that the incarnate Son of God was " made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men :" (1 Cor. iv. 9.) his back torn with scourges, his head with thorns, his limbs stretched out as on a rack, and nailed to the accursed tree ; and, in this mise- rable condition, he was hung by his hands and his feet, as an object of public infamy and contempt. Thus did he die, in the midst of all the taunts and insults of his cruel enemies, who thirsted for his blood ; and, which was the saddest circumstance of all, in the midst of those agonies with which he closed the most innocent, perfect, and use- ful life that ever was spent on earth, he had not those sup- ports of the divine presence which sinful men have often experienced, when they have been suffering for the testi- mony of their conscience. They have often burst out into transports of joy and songs of praise, while their execu- tioners have been glutting their hellish malice, and more than savage barbarity, by making their torments artificially grievous ; but the crucified Jesus cried out, in the distress of his spotless and holy soul, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" Matt, xxvii. 46.
7. Look upon your dear Redeemer! look up to this mournful, dreadful, yet, in one view, delightful spectacle ! and then ask thine own heart. Do I believe that Jesus suf- fered and died thus ? And why did he suffer and die ? Let me answer in God's own v>'ords, " He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, that by his stripes we might be healed : it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and to put him to grief, when he made his soul an offering for sin ; for the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isai. liii. 5, 6, 10. So that I may address you in the words of the apostle, " Be it known unto you therefore, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins ;" (Acts, xiii. 38.) as it was his command, just after he arose from the dead, " that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations,
(Jh. 8.] NEWS OF SALVATION. ,73
beginning at Jerusalem," (Luke, xxir. 47.) the very place where his blood had so lately been shed in such a cruel manner. I do thereby testify to you, in the words of an- other inspired writer, that Christ was made sin, that is, a sin-offering, " for us, though he knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him :" (2 Cor. v. 21.) that is, that, through the righteousness he has fulfilled, and the atonement he has made, we might be accepted by God as righteous, and be not only pardoned, but receiv^ed into his favour. " To you is the word of this salvation sent," (Acts, xiii. 26.) and to you, 0 reader, are the blessings of it even now offered by God, sincerely offered ; so that, after all that I have said under the former heads, it is not your having broken the law of God that shall prove your ruin, if you do not also reject his Gospel. It is not all those legions of sins which rise up in battle array against you, that shall be able to destroy you, if unbelief do not lead them on, and final impenitency do not bring up the rear. I know that guilt is a timorous thing; I will therefore speak in the words of God himself, nor can any be more comfortable : " He that believeth on the Son, hath ever- lasting life," (John, iii. 36.) "and he shall never come into condemnation." John, v. 24. " There is therefore now no condemnation," no kind or degree of it, " to them," to any one of them, " who are in Christ Jesus, w^ho walk not after the flesh., but after the spirit." Rom. viii. 1. You have indeed been a very great sinner, and your offences have truly been attended with most heinous aggravations ; nevertheless you may rejoice in the assurance, that " where ^sin hath abounded, there shall grace much more abound ;" " that where sin hath reigned unto death," where it has had its most unlimited sway, and most unresisted triumph, there " shall righteousness reign to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. "•Rom. v. 2L That righteousness, to which on believing on him thou wilt be entitled, shall not only break those chains, by which sin is, as it were, dragging thee at its chariot wheels with a furious pace to eternal ruin; but it shall clothe thee with the robes of salvation, shall fix thee on a throne of glory, where thou shalt live and reign for ever among the princes of heaven, shalt reign in immortal beauty and joy, without one remain- ing scar of divine displeasure upon thee, without any single 4
74 NEWS OF SALVATION. [Ch. 8.
mark by which it could be known that thou hadst ever been obnoxious to wrath and a curse, except it be an anthem of praise to " the Lamb that was slain, and has washed thee from thy sins in his own blood." Rev. i. 5.
8. Nor is it necessary, in order to thy being released from guilt, and entitled to this high and complete felicity, that thou shouldst, before thou wilt venture to apply to Jesus, bring any good works of thine own to recommend thee to his acceptance. It is indeed true, that, if thy faith be sin- cere, it will certainly produce them; but I have the autho- rity of the word of God to tell thee, that if thou this day sincerely believest in the name of the Son of God, thou shalt this day be taken under his care, and be numbered among those of his sheep, to whom he hath graciously declared, that " he will give eternal life, and that they shall never perish." John, x. 28. Thou hast no need there- fore to say, " Who shall go up into heaven, or who shall descend into the deep for me ? For the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart." Rom. x. 6, 7, 8. With this joyful message I leave thee : with this faithful saying, in- deed "worthy of all acceptation:" (1 Tim. i. 15.) with this Gospel, 0 sinner, v» hich is my life j and which, if thou dost not reject, will be thine too.
Tke Sinner's Reflection on this Good JVews.
" O my soul, how astonishing is the message which thou hast this day received ! I have indeed often heard it before, and it is grown so common to me, that the surprise is not sensible. But reflect, O my soul, what it is thou hast heard ; and say, whether the name of a Saviour, whose message it is, may not well be called 'Wonderful, Counsellor,' (Isai. ix. 6.) when he displays before thee such wonders of love, and proposes to thee such counsels of peace'
" Blessed Jesus, is it indeed tiius ? Is it not the fiction of the human mind ? Surely it is not ! What human mind could have invented or conceived it? It is a plain, a cer- tain fact, that thou didst leave the magnificence and joy of the heavenly world in compassion to such a wretch as I! Oh ! hadst thou, from that height of dignity and felicity, only looked down upon me for one moment, and sent some gracious word to me for my direction and comfort, even by the least of thy servants, justly might I have prostrated
Ch. 8.] HEWS OF SALVATION. 75
myself in grateful admiration, and have kissed ' the very footsteps' of him ' that published the salvation.' Isai. Hi. 7. But didst thou condescend to be thyself the messenger? What grace had that been, though thou hadst but once in person made the declaration, and immediately returned back to the throne from whence divine compassion brought thee down ? But this is not all the triumph of thine illus- trious grace. It not only brought thee down to earth, but kept thee here in a frail and wretched tabernacle, for long successive years ; and at length it cost thee thy life, and stretched thee out as a malefactor upon the cross, after thou hadst borne insult and cruelty, which it may justly wound my heart so much as to think of. And thus thou hast atoned ' injured justice, and redeemed me to God with thine own blood.' Rev. v. 9.
"What shall I say? ^ Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!' Mark, ix. 24. It seems to put faith to the stretch, to admit what it indeed exceeds the utmost stretch of ima- gination to conceive. Blessed, for ever blessed be thy name, O thou Father of mercies, that thou hast contrived the way! Eternal thanks to the Lamb that was slain, and to that kind Providence that sent the word of this salvation to mfe ! O let me not, for ten thousand worlds, ' receive the grace of God in vain !' 2 Cor. vi. 1. 0 impress this Gospel upon my soul, till its saving virtue be difiused over every faculty ! Let it not only be heard, and acknowledged, and professed, but felt ! Make it ' thy power to my eternal salvation ;' (Rom. i. 16.) and raise me to that humble, tender gratitude, to that active, unwearied zeal in thy service, which becomes one ' to whom so much is forgiven,' (Luke, vii. 47.) and forgiven upon such terms as these .
" I feel a sudden glow in mnie heart, while these tidings are sounding in mine ears; but, oh ! let it not be a slight superficial transport! 0 let not this, which I would fain call my Christian joy, be as that foolish laughter, with which I have been so madly enchanted, ' like the crackling blaze of thorns under a pot!' Eccles. vii. 6. O teach me to se- cure this mighty blessing, this glorious hope, in the method which thou hast appointed ; and preserve me from mis- taking the joy of nature, while it catches a glimpse of its rescue from destruction, for that consent of grace, which embraces and ensures the deliverance !"
76 SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED^ [Ch. 9.
CHAPTER IX.
A. MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE WAY BY WHICH THIS SALVATION IS TO BE OBTAINED,
1. An inquiry into the way of salvation by Christ being supposed,-—
2. The sinner is in general directed to repentance and faith. —
3. And urged to give up all self-dependence. — 4. And to seek sal- vation by free grace. — 5. A summary of more particular directions is proposed. — 6. That the sinner should apply to Christ. — 7. TVith a deep abhorrence of his former .nns. — 8. And a firm resolution of forsaking them. — 9. That lie solemnly commits his soul into the hands of Christ, the great vital act of faith. — 10. Which is exem- plified at large. — 11. That he make it in fact the governing care of his future life to obey and imitate Christ. — 12. This is the only method of ohtaining Gospel salvation. The sinner deliberating on the necessity of accepting it.
1. I NOW consider you, my dear reader, as coming to me with the inquiry which the Jews once addressed to our Lord, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God .?" John, iv. 28. " What method shall I take to secure that redemption and salvation which I am told Christ has procured for his people .^" I would answer it as seriously and carefully as possible, as one that knows ol what importance it is to you to be rightly informed ; and that knows also, how strictly he is to answer to God for the sincerity and care with which the reply is made. May I be enabled to "speak as his oracle," (1 Pet. iv. 11.) that is, in such a manner as faithfully to echo back what the sacred oracles teach !
2. And here, that I may be sure to follow the safest guidos, and the fairest examples, I must preach salvation to you, in the way of "repentance toward God, and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," (Acts, xx. 21.) that good old doctrine, which the apostles preached, and which no man can pretend to change, but at the peril of his own soul, and of theirs who attend to him.
3. I suppose that you are, by this time, convinced of your guilt and condemnation, and of your own inability to recover yourself. Let me nevertheless urge you to feel that conviction yet more deeply, and to impress it with yet greater weight upon your soul ; that you have " undone
Vh. 9.] SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED. 77
yourself," and that •' in yourself is not your help found." Hos. xiii. 9. Be persuaded, therefore, expressly, and solemnly, and sincerely, to give up all self-dependence; which, if you do not guard against it, will be ready to return secretly, before it is observed, and will lead you to attempt building up what you have just been destroying.
4. Be assured, that, if ever you are saved, you must ascribe that salvation entirely to the free grace of God. If, guilty and miserable as you are, you are not only accepted, but crowned, you must " lay down your crovv'n," with all humble acknowledgment, " before the throne." Rev. iv. 10. " No flesh must glory in his presence ; but he that glorieth must glory in the Lord : for of him are we in Christ Jesus, v»ho of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. i. 29, 30, 31. And you must be sensible you are in such a state, as, having none of these in yourself, to need them in another. You must therefore be sensible that you are ignorant and guilcy, polluted and enslaved ; or, as our Lord expresses it, with regard to some who were under a Christian profession, that asasinner'' you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Rev. iii. 17.
5. If these views be deeply impressed upon your mind, you will be prepared to receive what I am now to say. Hear, therefore, in a few words, your duty, your remedy, and your safety ; which consists in this, " That you must apply to Christ, with a deep abhorrence of your former sins, and a firm resolution of forsaking them ; forming that resolution in the strength of his grace, and fixing your dependence in him for your acceptance with God, even while you are purposing to do your very best, and when you have actually done the best you ever will do in con- sequence of that purpose.
6. The first and most important advice that I can give you in your present circumstances, is, that you look to Christ and apply yourself to him. And here, say not in your heart, " who shall ascend into heaven, to bring him down to me?" (Rom. x. 6.) or, "who shall raise me up thither, to present me before him ?" The blessed "Jesus, by whom all things consist," (Col. i. 17.) by whom the whole system of them is supported, "forgotten as he is by most that bear his name^" "is not far from any of usj"
78 SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED. [Ch. 9.
(Acts, xvii. 27.) nor could he have promised to have been "wherever two or three are met together in his name," (Matt, xviii. 20.) but in consequence of those truly Divine perfections, by which he is every where present. Would you therefore, O sinner ! desire to be saved ? go to the Saviour. Would you desire to be delivered ? Look to that great Deliverer ; and though you should be so overwhelmed with guilt and shame, and fear, and horror, that you should be incapable of speaking to him, fall down in this speech- less confusion at his feet, " and behold him as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." John, i. 29. 7. Behold him therefore with an attentive eye, and say, whether the sight does not touch, and even melt thy very heart ! Dost thou not feel what a foolish and what a wretched creature thou hast been, that, for the sake of such low and sordid gratifications and interests as those which thou hast been pursuing, thou shouldst thus " kill the Prince of Life?" Acls, iii. 15. Behold the, deep wounds which he bore for thee, "look on him whom thou hast pierced, and surely thou must mourn," (Zech. xii. iO.) unless thine heart be hardened into stone. Which of thy past sins canst thou reflect upon, and say, " For this it is worth my while to have thus injured my Saviour, and to have exposed the Son of God to such sufferings ? And what future temptations can arise so considerable, that thou shouldst say, " For the sake of this I will crucify my Lord again ?" Heb. vi. 6. Sinner, thou must repent, thou must repent of every sin, and must forsake it ; but if thou doest it to any purpose, 1 well know it must be at the foot of the cross. Thou must sacrifice every lust, even the dearest, though it should be like a " right hand or a right eye;" (Matt. v. 29, 30.) and therefore that thou mayest, if possible, be animated to it, I have led thee to that altar on which " Christ himself was sacrificed for thee an offering of a sweet-smelling savour." Eph. v. 2. Thou must " yield up thyself to God as one alive from the dead." Rom. vi. 15. And therefore I have showed thee at what a price he purchased thee ; " for thou wast not redeemed with cor- ruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Son of God, that Lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. And now I would ask thee, as before the Lord, what does thine own heart say to
Ch. 9.] SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED. 79
it ? Art tliou grieved for thy former offences ? Art thou willing to forsake thy sins ? Art thou willing to become the cheerful, thankful servant of him who halh purchased thee with his own blood ?
8. I will suppose such a purpose as this rising in thine heart. How determinate it, is, and how effectual it may he, I know not ; what different views may arise hereafter, or how soon the present sense may wear off. But this I assuredly know, that thou wilt never see reason to change these views; for however thou mayest alter, the "Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Heb. xiii. 8. And the reasons that now recommend repent- ance and faith as fit and as necessary, will continue inva- riable, as long as the perfections of the blessed God are the same, and as long as his Son continues the same.
9. But while you have these views and these purposes, I must remind you, that this is not all which is necessary to your salvation. You must not only purpose, but, as God gives opportunity, you must act as those who are con- vinced of the evil of sin, and of the necessity and excel- lence of holiness. And that you may be enabled to do so, in other instances, you must in the first place, and as the first great work of God, (as our Lord himself calls it,) " believe in him whom God hath sent:" (John, vi. 29.) you must confide in him ; must commit your soul into the hands of Christ, to be saved by him in his own •' appointed method of salvation." This is the great act of saving faith, and I pray God that you may experimentally know what it means, so as to be able to say with the apos- tle Paul, in the near view of death itself, " I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which*I have committed to him until that day:" (2 Tim. i. 12.) that great decisive day, which, if we are Chris- tians we have always in view. To this I would urge you ; and O that I could be so happy as to engage you to it, while I am illustrating it in this and the following ad- dresses ! Be assured you must not apply yourself imme- diately to God absolutely, or in himself considered, in the neglect of a Mediator. It will neither be acceptable to him, nor safe for you, to rush into his presence without any re- gard to his own Son, whom he hath appointed to intro- duce sinners to him. And if you come otherwise, you
80 LANGUAGE OF SUBMISSION. [Ch. 9.
come as one who is not a sinner. The very manner of pre- senting the' address will be interpreted as a denial of that guilt with which he knows you are chargeable ; and there- fore he will not admit you, nor so much as look upon you. And accordingly our Lord, knowing how much every man living was concerned in this, says, in the most uni-versal terms, " No man cometh unto the Father but by me." John, xiv. 6.
10. Apply therefore to this glorious Redeemer, amiable as he will appear to every believing eye in the blood which he shed upon the cross, and in the wounds which he re- ceived there. Go to him, 0 sinner ! this day, this moment, with all thy sins about thee. Go just as thou art ; for if thou •wilt never apply to him till thou art first righteous and holy, thou wilt never be righteous and holy at all ; nor canst be so on this supposition, unless there were some way of being so without him ; and then there would be no occa- sion for applying to him for righteousness and holiness. It were indeed as if it should be said, that a sick man should defer his application to a physician till his health is recovered. Let me therefore repeat it without offence, go to him just as thou art, and say, (0 that thou mayestthis moment be enabled to say it from thy very soul !) " Bless- ed Jesus, I am surely one of the most sinful, and one of the most miserable creatures, that ever fell prostrate be- fore thee ; nevertheless I come, because I have heard that thou didst once say, ' Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Matt. xii. 28. I come, because I have heard that thou didst graciously say, * Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.' John, vi. 37. O thou Prince of Peace, 0 thou King of Glory ! I am a condemned, miserable sinner, I have ruined my own soul, and am condemned for ever, if thou dost not help me and save me. I have broken thy Father's law, and thine; for thou art * one with him.' John, x. 30. I have deserved condemnation and wrath ; and I am, even at this very moment, under a sentence of everlasting destruction, a destruction which will be aggravated by all the contempt that I have cast upon thee, 0 thou bleeding Lamb of God! for I cannot, and will not dissemble it before thee, that I have wronged thee, most basely and ungratefully wronged thee, under the character of a Saviour, as well as of a
Ch. 9.] HOLY LIFE ESSENTIAL. 81
Lord. But now I am willing to submit to thee ; and I have brought my poor trembling soul, to lodge it in thine hands, if thou wilt condescend to receive it;*and if thou dost not, it must perish. 0 Lord, I lie at thy feet : stretch out ' thy golden sceptre that I may live.' Esth. iv. 11. *Yea, if it please the King, let the life of my soul be given me at my petition !' Esth, vii. 3. I have no treasure wherewith to purchase it, I have no equivalent to give thee for it; but if that compassionate heart of thine can find a pleasure in saving one of the most distressed creatures under hea- ven, that pleasure thou majest here find. O Lord, I have foolishly attempted to be my own saviour, but it will not do. I am sensible the attepipt is vain, and therefore I give it over, and look unto thee. On thee, blessed Jesus, who art sure and steadfast, do I desire to fix my anchor^ On thee, as the only sure foundation, would I build my eter- nal hopes. To thy teaching, O thou unerring Prophet of the Lord, would I submit : be thy doctrines ever so mys- terious, it is enough for me that thou thyself hast said it. To thine atonement, obedience, and intercession, 0 thou holy and ever acceptable High Priest, would I trust. And to thy government, 0 thou exalted Sovereign, would I yield a willing, delightful subjection: in token of reve- rence and love, 'I kiss the Son:' (Psalm ii. 12.) I kiss the ground before his feet. I admit thee, 0 my Saviour ! and welcome thee with unutterable joy, to theihrone in my heart. Ascend it, and reign there for ever ! Subdue mine enemies, O Lord, for they are thine ; and make me thy faithful and zealous servant : faithful to death, and zealous to eternity."
11. Such as this must be the language of your very heart before the Lord. But then remember, that, in con- sequence thereof, it must be the language of your life too. The unmeaning words of the lips would be a vain mockery. The most affectionate transport of the passions, shoulS it be transient and ineffectual, would be but like a blaze of straw, presented, instead of incense, at his altar. With such humility, with such love, w^ith such cordial self-dedi- cation and submission of soul, must thou often prostrate thyself in the presence of Christ; and then thou must go away, and keep him in thy view ; must go away, and live wnto God through him, denying ungodliness and worldly 4*
82 SlKKEIl DELIBEEATING. [Ch. 9.
Insfs, and behaving thyself " soberly, righteously, and god- ly, in this vain ensnaring world." Tit. ii. 12. You must make it your care to show your love by obedience, by forai- ing yourself, as much as possible, according to the temper and manner of Jesus, in whom you believe. You must raake it the great point of your ambition, and a nobler view you cannot entertain, to be a living image of Christ ; that, so far as circumstances will allow, even those who have heard and read but little of him, may, by observing you, in some measure, see and know what kind of a life that of the blessed Jesus was. And this must be your constant care, your prevailing charactef, as long as you live. You must follow him whithersoever he leads you ; must follow with a cross on your shoulder, when he com- mands you to " take it up y' (Matt. xvi. 24.) and so must be faithful even unto death, expecting " the crown of life." Rev. ii. 10.
12. This, so far as I have been able to learn from the word of God, is the way to safety and glory : the surest, the only way you can take. It is the way which every faithful minister of Christ has trod, and is treading; and the way to which, as he tenders the salvation of his own soul, he must direct others. We cannot, we would not alter it in favour of ourselves, or of our dearest friends. It is the way in which alone, so far as we can judge, it be- comes the blessed God to save his apostate creatures. And therefore, reader, I beseech and entreat you seriously to consider it ; and let your own conscience answer, as in the presence of God, whether you are willing to acquiesce in it or not. But know, that to reject it is thine eternal death. For as " there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved," (Acts, iv. 12.) but this of Jesus of Nazareth, so there is no other method but this in which Jesus himself will save us.
The Sinner deliberative on the Expediency of falling in with this Method of Salvation.
" Consider, O my soul ! what answer wilt thou return to such proposals as these .^ Surely, if I were to speak the first dictate of this corrupt and degenerate heart, it would bcj ' This is a bard saying, and who can hear it ?' John, vi.
Ch. 9.] SINNER DELIBERATING. 83
60. To be thus humbled, thus mortified, thus subjected ! To take such a yoke upon me, and to carry it as long as I live ! To give up every darling lust, though dear to me as a right eye, and seemingly necessary as a right hand ! To submit not only my life, butmy heart, to the command and discipline of another ! To have a master there, and such a master as will control many of its favourite affections, and direct them quite into another channel ! A master, who himself represents his commands, by taking up the cross and following him ? To adhere to the strictest rules of godli- ness and sobriety, of righteousness and truth : not depart- ing from them in any allowed instance, great or small, upon any temptation, for any advantage, to escape any incon- venience and evil, no, not even for the preservation of life itself, but, upon a proper call of Providence, to act as if I * hated even my own life !' Luke, xiv. 26. Lord, it is hard to flesh and blood; and yet I perceive and feel there is one demand yet harder than this.
' " With all these precautions, with all these mortifica- tions, the pride of my nature would find some inward re- source of pleasure, might I but secretly think that I had been my own saviour, that my own wisdom, and ray own resolution had broken the bands and chains of the* enemy, and that I had drawn out of my own treasures the price with which my redemption was purchased. But must I lie down before another, as guilty and condemned, as weak and helpless ? And must the obligation be multiplied, and must a Mediator have his share too ? Must I go to the cross for my salvation, and seek my glory from the infamy of that ? Must I be stripped of every pleasing pretence to righteousness, and stand, in this respect, upon a level with the vilest of men ? Stand at the bar amongst the greatest criminals, pleading guilty with them, and seeking deliver- ance by that very act of grace w^hereby they have ob- tained it.
" I dare not deliberately say, this method is unreasona- ble. My conscience testifies that I have sinned, and can- not be justified before God as an innocent and obedient creature. My conscience tells me, that all these humbling circumstances are fit ; that it is fit a convicted criminal should be brought upon his knees ; that a captive rebel should give up the weapons of his rebellioii, and bow be-
84 THE SINNER ENTREATED. [Ch. 10
fore his sovereign, if he expect his life. Yea, my reason, as well as my conscience, tells me, that it is fit and neces- sary, that, if I am saved at all, I should be saved from the power and love of sin, as well as from the condemnation of it; and that, if sovereign mercy gives me a new life, after having deserved eternal death, it is most fit I should * yield myself to God as alive from the dead.' Rom. vi. 13. But, ^ 0 wretched m^i.n that I am ! I feel a law in my members that wars against the law of ray mind,' (Rom. vii. 23. 24.) and opposes the conviction of my reason and conscience. Who shall deliver me from this bondage ? Who shall make me willing to do that which I know in my own soul to be most expedient ? 0 Lord, subdue my heart, and let it not be drawn so strongly one way, while the nobler powers of my m.ind would direct it another ! Conquer every licentious principle within, that it may be my joy to be so wisely governed and restrained! Espe- cially subdue my pride, that lordly corruption, which so ill suits an impoverished and condemned creatuie ; that thy way of salvation may be made amiable to me in pro- portion to the degree in which it is humbling ! I feel a disposition to ' linger in Sodom, but 0 be merciful to me, and pull me out of it," (Gen. xix. 16.) before the storm of thy flaming vengeance fall, and there be no more es- caping!"
CHAPTER X.
THE SINNER SERIOUSLY URGED AND ENTREATED TO ACCEPT OF SALVATION IN THIS WAY.
1. Since many who have been impressed urith these things, svffer the impression to wear off. — 2. Strongly as the case speaks for itself , sinners are to he entreated to accept this salvation. — 3. Accordingly the reader is entreated — by the majesty and mercy of God. — 4. By the dying love of our Lord Jesus Christ. — 5. By the regard due to our fellow -ere attires. — 6. By the worth of his oivn immortal soul. — 7. The matter is solemnly left with the reader, as before God. The sinner yielding to these entreaties, and declaring his acceptance of miration by Christ.
1. Thi7.? ^^^ have I often known convictions and im- pressions to arise, (if I might judge by the strongest
Ch. 10.] THE SINNER ENTREATED. 85
appearances,) which after all have worn off again. Some unhappy circumstance of external temptation, ever joined by the inward reluctance of an unsanctified heart to this holy and humbling scheme of redemption, has been the ruin of multitudes. And, " through the deceitfulness of sin, they have been hardened," (Heb. iii. 25.) till they seem to have been " utterly destroyed, and that without remedy." Prov. xxix. 1. And therefore, 0 thou immortal creature, who art now reading these lines, I beseech thee, that, while affairs are in this critical situation, while there are these balancings of mind, between accepting and re- jecting that glorious Gospel, which, in the integrity of my heart, I have now been laying before you, you would once more give me an attentive audience while I plead, in God's behalf, shall I say? or rather in your own ; while " as an ambassador for Christ, and as though God did beseech you by me, I pray you in Christ's stead that you would be reconciled to God," (2 Cor. v. 20.) and would not, after these awakenings and these inquiries, by a madness which it will surely be the doleful business of a miserable eter- nity to lament, reject this compassionate counsel of God toward you.
2. One would indeed imagine there should be no need of importunity here. One would conclude, that as soon as perishing sinners are told, that an offended God is ready to be reconciled, that he offers them a full pardon for all their aggravated sins ; yea, that he is willing to adopt them into his family now, that he may at length admit them to his heavenly presence ; all should, with the utmost readiness and pleasure, embrace so kind a message, and fall at his feet in speechless transports of astonishment, gratitude, and joy. But, alas ! we find it much otherwise. We see multitudes quite unmoved, and the impressions which are made on many more are feeble and transient. Lest it should be thus with you, O reader ! let me urge the message with which I have the honour to be charged : let me entreat you to be reconciled to God, and to accept of pardon and salvation in the way in which it is so freely offered to you.
3. I entreat you, " by the majesty of that God in whose name I come," whose voice fills all heaven with reve- rence and obedience. He speaks not in vain to legions
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of angels; but if there could be any contention among those blessed spirits, it would be, who should be first to execute his commands. Oh ! let him not speak in vain to a wretched mortal ! I entreat you, " by the terrors of his wrath," who could speak to you in thunder ; who could, by one single act of his will, cut off this precarious life of yours, and send you down to hell. I beseech you by his mercies, by his tender mercies, by the bowels of his compassion, which still yearn over you, as those of a parent over " a dear son," over a tender child, whom, notwithstanding his former ungrateful rebellion, " he ear- nestly remembers still." Jer. xxxi. 20. I beseech and en- treat you, " by all this paternal goodness," that you do not, as it were, compel him to lose the character of the gentle Parent in that of the righteous Judge ; so that, as he threatens with regard to those whom he had just called his sons and his daughters, " a fire shall be kindled in his anger, which shall burn unto the lowest hell." Deut. xxxii. 19, 22.
4. I beseech you further, "by the name and love of our dying Saviour." I beseech you, by all the condescension of his incarnation, by that poverty to which he voluntarily submitted, "that you might be enriched" with eternal treasures ; (2 Cor. viii. 9.) by all the gracious invitations which he gave, which still sound in his word, and still coming, as it were, warm from his heart, are " sweeter than honey, or the honey-comb." Psalm xix. 10. I be- seech you, by all his glorious works of power and of vyon- der, which were also works of love. I beseech you by the memory of the most benevolent person and the most generous friend. I beseech you by the memory of what he suffered, as well as of what he said and did ; by the agony which he endured in the garden, when his body was covered " with a dew of blood." Luke, xxii. 44. I beseech you, by all that tender distress which he felt, when his dearest friends " forsook him and fled," (Matt. xxvi. 66.) and his blood-thirsty enemies dragged him away, like the meanest of slaves, and like the vilest of criminals. I beseech you, by the blows and bruises, by the stripes and lashes, which this injured Sovereign en- dured while in their rebellious hands ; " by the shame of spitting, from which he hid not that kind and venerable
Ch. 10.] THE SIKNKR ENTREATED* 87
countenance." Isai. I. 6. I beseech you, "by the purple robe, the sceptre of reed, and the crown of thorns, which this King of Glory wore, that he might set us among the princes of heaven." Psalm cxiii. 8. I beseech you, by the heavy burden of " the cross," under which he panted, and toiled, and fainted, in the painful way " to Golgotha," (John, xix. 17.) that he might free us from the burden of our sins. I beseech you, by the remembrance of those rude i^ails that tore the veins and arteries, the nerves and tendons, of his sacred hands and feet ; and by that invin- cible, that triumphant goodness, which, while the iron pierced his flesh, engaged him to cry out, " Father, for- give them, for they know not what they do." Luke, xxiii. 34. I beseech you, by that unutterable anguish which he bore, when lifted up upon the cross, and extended there, as on a rack, for six painful hours, that you open your heart to those attractive influences which have " drawn to him thousands and ten thousands." John, xii. 32. I beseech you, by all that insult and derision which the " Lord of Glory bore there ;" (Matt, xxvii. 29 — 44.) by that parch- ing thirst, which could hardly obtain the relief of "vine- gar," (John, xix. 28,29.) by that doleful cry, so astonish- ing in the mouth of the only begotten of the Father, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" Matt, xxvii. 46. I beseech you, by that grace that subdued and pardon- ed " a dying malefactor;" (Luke, xxiii. 42, 43.) by that compassion for sinners, by that compassion for you, which wrought in his heart, long as its vital motion continued, and which ended not when " he bowed his head, saying, It is finished, and gave up the ghost." John, xix. 30. I beseech you, by the triumphs of that resurrection, by which he was " declared to be the Son of God with power," by the spirit of holiness which wrought to accomplish it, (Rom. i. 4.) by that gracious tenderness which attemper- ed all those triumphs, when he said to her out of whom he had cast seven devils, concerning his disciples, who had treated him so basely, " Go, tell my brethren, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, unto my God and your God." John, xx. 17. I beseech you, by that condescension with which he said to Thomas, when his unbelief had made such an unreasonable demand, " Reach hither thy finger, and behold mine hands, and reach hither thine
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hand, and thrust it into my side ; and be not faithless, but believing." John, xx. 27. I beseech you, by that gene- rous and faithful care of his people, which he carried up with him to the regions of glory, and which engaged him to send down " his Spirit," in that rich profusion of mira- culous gifts, to spread the progress of his saving word. Acts ii. 33. I beseech you, by that voice of sympathy and power, with which he said to Saul, while injuring his church, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" (Acts, ix. 4.) by that generous goodness, which spared that pros- trate enemy when he lay trembling at his feet, and raised him to so high a dignity, as to be " not inferior to the very chiefest apostles." 2 Cor. xii. 11. I beseech you, by the memory of all that Christ hath already done, by the ex- pectation of all he will farther do for his people. I be- seech you at once, by the sceptre of his grace, and by that sword of his justice, with which all his incorrigible *' ene- mies" shall be "slain before him," (Luke, xix. 20.) that you do not trifle away these precious moments, while his Spirit is thus breathing upon you ; that you do not lose an opportunity which may never return, and on