of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." (1 Pet. iv. 10, 11.) "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Eph. iv. 29.) "Exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb. iii. 13.) “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment: The law of his God is in his heart, &c." (Psal. xxxvii. 30, 31.) "Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day." (Psal. lxxi. 8.) "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life. The lips of the righteous feed many." (Prov. x. 11. 21.) And Christ himself decideth it expressly, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things." (Matt. xii. 34, 35.) For a man that hath no heart to prayer or holy conference, but loathes them, and is weary of them, and had rather talk of fleshly pleasures, to pretend that yet his heart is good, and that God will excuse him for not expressing it; and that it is his prudence, and his freedom from hypocrisy, that maketh his tongue to be so much unacquainted with the goodness of his heart, this is but to play the hypocrite to prove that he is no hypocrite, and to cover his ignorance in matters of his salvation, with the expression of his ignorance of the very nature and use of heart and tongue, and to cast by the laws of God, and his own duty, and cover this impiety with the name of prudence. If heart and tongue be not used for God, what do you either with a heart or tongue? The case is plain, to men that can see that it is your strangeness to yourselves, that is the cause that you have little to say against yourselves, when you should confess your sins to God; and so little to say for yourselves, when you should beg his grace; and so little to say of yourselves, when you should open your hearts to those that can advise you: but that you see not that this is the cause of your dumbness, who see so little of your own corruptions, is no wonder, while you are so strange at home. Had you but so much knowledge of yourselves as to see that it is the strangeness to yourselves that maketh you so prayerless and mute; and so much sense as to complain of your darkness, and be willing to come into the light, it were a sign that light is coming in to you, and that you are in a hopeful way of cure. But when you neither know yourselves, nor know that you do not know yourselves, your ignorance and pride are likely to cherish your presumption and impiety, till the light of grace, or the fire of hell, have taught you better to know yourselves. 2. And here you may understand the reason why people fearing God are so apt to accuse and condemn themselves, to be too much cast down; and why they that have cause of greatest joy, do sometimes walk more heavily than others. It is because they know more of their sinfulness, and take more notice of their inward, corruptions and outward failings, than presumptuous sinners do of theirs. Because they know their faults and wants, they are cast down; but when they come further to see their interest in Christ and grace, they will be raised up again. Before they are converted, they usually presume, as being ignorant of their sin and misery in the infancy of grace they know these, but yet languish for want of more knowledge of Christ and mercy. But he that knoweth fully both himself and Christ, both misery and mercy, is humbled and comforted, cast down and exalted. As a man that never saw the sea, is not afraid of it; and he that seeth it but afar off, and thinks he shall never come near it, is not much afraid of it: he that is drowned in it, is worse than afraid: and he that is tossed by the waves, and doubteth of ever coming safe to harbour, is the fearful person: he that is tossed but hath good hopes of a safe arrival, hath fears that are abated or overcome with hope: but he that is safe landed is past his fears. The first is like him that never saw the misery of the ungodly: the second is like him that seeth it in general, but thinks it doth not belong to him; the third is like the damned that are past remedy the fourth is like the humbled, doubting Christian, that seeth the danger, but doth too much question or forget the helps: the fifth is like the Christian of a stronger faith, that sees the danger, but withal seeth his help and safety: the sixth is like the glorified saints, that are past the danger. Though the doubting Christian know not his sincerity, and therefore knoweth not himself so well as the strong be liever doth, yet in that he knoweth his sinfulness and unworthiness, he knoweth himself better than the presumptuous world. These two remarks, with the foregoing caution, having interposed (somewhat out of place), I now return to prosecute my exhortation, that no matters may seem so sweet, so honourable, so great, or necessary, as to pass with you for excuses for the neglecting of the most diligent and impartial study of yourselves. All persons to whom I can address this exhortation, are either godly or ungodly; in the state of sin, or in the state of grace. And both of them have need to study themselves. I. And to begin with the unrenewed, carnal sort, it is they that have the greatest need to be better acquainted with themselves. O that I knew how to make them sensible of it; if any thing will do it, methinks it should be done by acquainting them how much their endless state is concerned in it. In order hereunto, let me yet add, to all that is said already, these few considerations: 1. If you know not yourselves, you know not whether you are the children of God, or not; nor whether you must be for ever in heaven or hell; no, nor whether you may not within this hour behold the angry face of God, which will frown you into damnation. And is this a matter for a man of reason to be quietly and contentedly ignorant of? It is a business of such unspeakahle concernment, to know whether you must be everlastingly in heaven or hell, that no man can spare his cost or pains about it, without betraying and disgracing his understanding. You are sure you shall be here but a little while: those bodies you all know, will hold your souls but a little longer as you know that you that are now together here attending, must presently quit this room and be gone; so you know that when you have stayed a little longer, you must quit this world, and be gone into another. And I think there is not the proudest of you but would be taken down, nor the most sluggish or deadhearted but would be awakened, if you knew that you must go to endless misery, and that your dying hour would be your entrance into hell. And if you know not yourselves, you know not but it may be so. And to know nothing to the contrary, would be terrible to you if you well considered it, especially when you have so much cause to fear it. O, sirs, for a man to sit here senselessly in these seats, that knows not but he may burn in hell for ever, and knows not because he is blind and careless; how unsuitable is it to the principle of self-preservation? And how much. unbeseeming the rational nature, to have no sense or care, when you look before you into the unquenchable fire, and the utter darkness, where, as the heathen poet speaks, Nec mortis pœnas mors altera finiet hujus; If any of you think that all these matters are to be put to the adventure, and cannot now be known, you are dangerously mistaken. As you may certainly know by Scripture and the light of nature, that there is a future life of joy to the godly, and of misery to the wicked, so may you know by a faithful trial of yourselves, to which of these at present you belong, and whether you are under the promise or the threatening; know yourselves, and you may know whether you are justified or condemned already, and whether you are the heirs of heaven or hell. Surely He that comforteth his servants with the promise of glory to all that believe and are new creatures, and sanctified by his Spirit, did sappose that we may know whether we believe, and are renewed and sanctified or not: or else, what comfort can it be to us? If blinded infidels, have no means to quiet themselves but their unbelief, and a conceit that there is no such life of misery, they have the most pitiful opiate to ease them in the world; and may as well think to become immortal, by a confident conceit that they shall never die. If they befool themselves with the ordinary questions, 'Where is hell, and what kind of fire is it? &c.' I answer them with Augustine, 'Melius est dubitare de occultis, quam litigare de incertis: Illum quippe divitem in àrdore pœnarum, et illum pauperem in refrigerio gaudiorum esse intelligendos non dubito: sed quomodo intelligenda illa flamma in inferno ille sinus Abrahæ, illa divitis lingua, ille digitus pauperis, illa sitis tormenti, illa stilla refrigerii, vix fortasse à mansuetè quærentibus, contentiose autem sectantibus nunquam invenitur;' that is, It is better to be in doubt about things that are hidden from us, than to quarrel about things that are uncertain to us. I am past doubt that we must understand that that rich man was in the heat of pain, and the poor man in a refreshing place of joys: But how to undertand that flame in hell, that bosom of Abraham, that tongue of the rich man, that finger of the poor man, that thirst of torment, that drop for cooling or refreshment, perhaps will hardly be found by the most humble inquirers, but never by contentious strivers. So that I may conclude, that the greatness and dreadfulness of the case, should make every person that hath an eye to see, an ear to hear, and a heart to understand, to read and inquire and consider, and never rest till they know themselves, and understand where it is that they are going to take up their abode to everlasting. 2. Consider, that all men must shortly know themselves. Presumption will be but of short continuance.. Be never so confident of being saved without holiness, you will speedily be undeceived. If the Spirit's illumination do not convince and undeceive you, death will undoubtedly do it at the farthest. Thousands and millions know their sin and misery now when it is too late, that would not know it when the remedy was at hand. Sinners, your souls are now in darkness: your bodies are your dungeon; but when death brings you out into the open light, you will see what we could never make you see. O how glad would a faithful minister of Christ be, if by any information he could now give you half the light that you shall then have, and now make you know at the heart with the feeling of repentance, that which you must else quickly know, even at the heart with the feeling of despair. Sirs, I hope you think not that I speak mere fancies to you, or any think that is questionable or uncertain: you cannot say so without denying yourselves to be Christians; no, nor without contradicting the light of nature, and debasing your souls below the heathen, who believe an immortality of souls in a different state of joy or misery in the life to come: and if you are once below heathens, what are you better than brute beasts? Better in your natural faculties and powers, as not being made brutes by your Creator; but worse as to the use of them, and the consequents to yourselves, because you are voluntary, self-abusing brutes. But to live here as a brute, will not make you die and be hereafter as a brute: to believe you shall die as a beast will not prevent the miserable life of an impenitent sinner. It will not make your souls to be |