and so far it is well with us. The seed is sown, but then if it happen to full among thorns, the thorns grow up, that is, the [Matt. 13. 22; Luke cares, or the pleasures of this world choke the word; they divert the mind, and hinder the will from hearkening to what the conscience would direct to be done; which is the true reason why we are sometimes very serious, and sometimes very little concerned, for our soul's welfare. But, for God's sake, let us not deceive ourselves. If, when I lay things to heart, I see by faith a necessity of being seriously religious, why then there is still the same necessity, though I do not always see it, nor live as if I believed it. In short, eternal happiness, and eternal misery, are very serious things; and if a man who will say I wish I could be as serious as I should be, would but say, I will often think of what will become of me when I die, such a man would soon be serious, there is no doubt of it. It is true, to be able to say, and to do this, will require a lively faith, such as will awaken the conscience, work upon the will, call back the affections from closing with the world; and, to preserve such a degree of faith, a man must watch, and pray, and deny himself, and strive to keep a pure heart; all which are very contrary to flesh and blood. But then, it is for our life. Let that be seriously considered, and no difficulties will discourage us. very And let us, in the next place, endeavour to possess our hearts with a just sense of the corruption of our nature. He must be blind who does not see, and very perverse who does not own this, when it is with so great difficulty that we are brought to comply with the will of God; when we can hear of heaven and hell, and be indifferent; when we can see our interest, and neglect it; when we can resist so many motives of loving God, and make all His designs for our conversion ineffectual. All these are sad proofs of a state of deep corruption. The knowledge of which is most proper to awaken us, and fill our souls with concern, that we may not flatter ourselves with being secure, when we are prone to evil continually; that we may fly to God for help, and cheerfully comply with the methods He has ordained for our recovery; that we may admire the goodness of God, who had pity upon us in our distress, and make this a lasting reason of loving XXXIII. SERM. Him with all our hearts; always remembering, that to lament our condition, without desiring to be reformed, will not excuse but increase our guilt, since all our ailments may be cured, if we are not wanting to ourselves. [Prov. 28. would be the way to miscarry. 14.] [Luke 11. But then, we must not depend upon ourselves; that, indeed, "Happy is the man that feareth always;" that distrusteth his own wisdom and strength, and looks up to, and depends upon God. And we shall be apt to do so, if we call to mind how often our best purposes have been forgotten, our most solemn vows broken, and very hopeful beginnings come to nothing. Thus it always has been, and thus it always will be, until, out of a deep sense of our own weakness, we give up ourselves into the hands of our Creator, Who has a right to govern His creatures, and Who never designed us for self-government and independence. And, therefore, as we hope for security, we must make use of those means which He has appointed for confirming us in His grace. And here let us not delude ourselves, and depend upon what will not profit us: such are, a good faith without a suitable life; confessing our sins, without avoiding temptations; fruitless purposes, without taking care to amend; formal devotions, which never affect the heart; imploring God's assistance, without using our own endeavours; pretending to love God, when we love the world above all things; hearing His Word, without thinking of obeying His laws: these may serve to harden our hearts, but can never confirm us in the grace of God. But if we would set about the work of our salvation with the seriousness of people who hope to go to heaven, we must suffer our faith to set before us the happiness and the miseries of the world to come; we must strive with all our might that nothing may divert us from thinking often upon these important subjects, which are the foundation of Christian constancy. For having these before our eyes, we shall not so easily return to the sins we have repented of; for we know who has told us what a sad state that man is in, to whom an evil spirit returns, after he has been turned out, "with seven other spirits worse than himself." We shall therefore watch against such backsliding; we shall pray with the concern of people that are in the midst of dangers; and we shall lose no opportunity of gaining or improving those graces which are so necessary for our security and above all, we shall commit ourselves and our cause to God every day of our lives, beseeching Him, that as often as we forget ourselves (which we are but too apt to do), that He would awaken us into a lively concern for our salvation. To conclude. "Let us use all diligence to make our 2 Pet. 1. 10. calling and election sure." And since we know by faith that our souls are to live for ever, let us put on resolutions worthy of the faith we profess-a faith which undertakes to enable us to break our bonds, though never so strong; which will deliver us from the powers of darkness, set us free from the bondage of corruption, and put an end at last to that struggle betwixt nature and grace, which every christian, who has any knowledge of himself, is sadly sensible of. If the Spirit of God gives us good desires, let us heartily close with them, and remember, that He is not bound to strive with us for ever; that whatever we think now, if ever we grieve and drive Him from us, all our good designs and desires will vanish, and leave us most pitiable subjects of misery. The good God keep it ever in the hearts of all His servants, that it is an evil thing and bitter to forsake the Lord; [Jer. 2. 19.] keep us from presumptuous sins; preserve us always in a serious temper; that being ever mindful of our infirmities and backslidings, we may be more watchful, more diligent, and more importunate for grace: continually mortifying our corrupt affections, and daily proceeding in virtue and true holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. SERMON XXXIV. THE CREED PUT INTO PRACTICE. O Lord, increase my faith! Let me firmly believe myself what I teach others. Let my faith be truly practical. Fity and awaken all that hold the truth in unrighteousness; have compassion upon the infidel world ; for Christ's sake, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Amen. 26; Acts 8. TIT. i. 16. See Luke13. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him; being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate; [that is, void of judgment.] 13; Rom. 1. 18; 5.1; 2 Tim. 3. 5; 24. Ir one should say to any christian, Deny your God, or 'your Saviour, or your faith; he would tremble, he would abhor the proposal, and him that made it. He would answer, What! would you have me go directly to hell? And yet, you hear, there are those who "profess to know God, but in their works deny Him;" and the Apostle assures us, that such are as abominable, as hated of God, as if they denied 2 Pet. 2. 1. Him with their mouths. And St. Peter speaks of some who are so deplorably fallen from grace "as to deny the Lord that Jude ver. 4. bought them." And St. Jude saith expressly that men of corrupt lives give evident proofs of their apostasy, "denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." And lastly; Tim. 5. 8. St. Paul assures us, that such as are cruel and uncharitable to their own kindred that are poor, "have denied the faith, and are worse than infidels." What are we to learn from all this? Why surely, to be afraid for ourselves; lest any of us, while we tremble at the name of apostasy, should live in the practice of such works as are the sure marks of apostasy; lest, while we confess Christ with the tongue, we renounce Him in our lives. Now, one cannot think of a more effectual way, by the grace of God, to prevent this, than to put christians in mind, and to make them understand, what it is they profess to believe; that whenever they do things contrary to their faith and profession, their consciences may fly in their faces, and make them uneasy, and afraid of the danger and ruin that attends them; which will be one good step towards repentance and amendment of life. I will therefore set before you the words of that Creed which we so often repeat; or those things which every christian declares he believes, and is persuaded of the truth of; and then we shall more easily see, what works are contrary to such a profession; that is, by what works we deny our God and our faith. We shall also see, how necessary every word of this faith is to a Christian life; how we ought to apply the several parts of the Creed, and put them in practice; and how we may judge of the sincerity of our faith, by the manner of our life. These are the things which, by God's assistance, I am now going to explain to you; and which I desire you will attend to, as things which very much concern every soul of us. I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. I believe; that is, I am as fully persuaded of the following truths, as I am of the truth of any thing that I see with my eyes. For instance: I am as verily persuaded that there is a God -a Being above this world, and Who has created all other beings, as I am of my own being; and I find, that I resist and do violence to my reason and conscience, if I go about to stifle or deny the belief of a God. I am therefore as truly persuaded of the almighty power of God,—that with God nothing is impossible,—as if I had seen Him make the world. I believe also, that by the same almighty power He still governs, and preserves, and takes care of, every thing that He has made, with infinite wisdom, justice, and goodness. This appears in a more especial manner with regard to men; for God having, from the beginning, given them laws; |