our kind sponsors.
CHAPTER VII.
THE NECESSITY OF DILIGENTLY SEEKING THE SAINTS' REST.
The saints' rest surprisingly neglected. The author mourns the neglect, and
excites the reader to diligence, by considering, 1. The ends we aim at, the work
we have to do, the shortness and uncertainty of our time, and the diligence of
our enemies; 2. Our talents, mercies, relations to God, and our afflictions; 3.
What assistance we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty never to
do enough; 4. That every grace tends to diligence, and to trifle is lost labor;
that much time is misspent and that our recompense and labor will be
proportionable; 5. That striving is the divine appointment; all men do or will
approve it; the best Christians, at death, lament their want of it; heaven is
often lost for want of it, but never obtained without it; 6. God, Christ, and
the Holy Spirit are in earnest; God is so in hearing and answering prayer;
ministers in their instructions and exhortations; all the creatures in serving
us; sinners in serving the devil, as we were once, and now are, in worldly
things, and in heaven and hell all are in earnest.
If there be so certain and glorious a rest for the saints, why is there no more
earnest seeking after it? One would think, if a man did but once hear of such
unspeakable glory to be obtained, and believed what he heard, he would be
transported with the vehemency of his desire after it, and would almost forget
to eat and drink, and would care for nothing else, and speak of and inquire
after nothing else, but how to get this treasure. And yet people who hear of it
daily, and profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their faith, as
little mind it, or labor for it, as if they had never heard of any such thing,
or did not believe one word they hear. This reproof is applicable to the
worldly-minded, to the profane multitude, to formal professors, and even to the
godly themselves.
The worldly-minded are so taken up in seeking the things below, that they have
neither heart nor time to seek this rest. O foolish sinners, "who hath bewitched
you?" The world bewitches men into brute beasts, and draws them even to madness.
See what riding and running, what scrambling and catching for a thing of nought,
while eternal rest lies neglected! What contriving and caring to get a step
higher in the world than their brethren, while they neglect the kingly dignity
of the saints! What insatiable pursuit of fleshly pleasures, while they regard
the praises of God, the joy of angels, as a tiresome burden! What unwearied
diligence in raising their posterity, enlarging their possessions, (perhaps for
a poor living from hand to mouth,) while judgment is drawing near! but how it
shall go with them then, never brings them to one hour's consideration! What
rising early and sitting up late, and laboring from year to year, to maintain
themselves and children in credit till they die! but what shall follow after
they never think! Yet these men cry, "May we not be saved without so much ado?"
How early do they rouse up their servants to their labor! but how seldom do they
call them to prayer, or reading the Scriptures! What hath this world done for
its lovers and friends, that it is so eagerly followed and painfully sought
after, while Christ and heaven are neglected? or what will the world do for them
for the time to come? The common entrance into it is through anguish and sorrow.
The passage through it is with continual care and labor. The passage out of it
is the sharpest of all. O unreasonable, deluded men! will mirth and pleasure
stay by you? will gold and worldly glory prove fast friends to you in the time
of your greatest need? Will they hear your cries in the day of your calamity? At
the hour of your death will they either answer or relieve you? Will they go
along with you to the other world, and bribe the Judge and bring you off clear,
or purchase you a place among the blessed? Why then did the rich man want "a
drop of water to cool his tongue?" Or are the sweet morsels of present delight
and honor of more worth than eternal rest? And will they recompense the loss of
that enduring treasure? Can there be the least hope of any of these? Ah, vile,
deceitful world! how oft have we heard thy most faithful servants at last
complaining, "O, the world hath deceived me, and undone me! It flattered me in
my prosperity, but now it turns me off in my necessity. If I had as faithfully
served Christ as I have served it, he would not have left me thus comfortless
and hopeless." Thus they complain; and yet succeeding sinners will take no
warning.
As for the profane multitude, they will not be persuaded to be at so much pains
for salvation as to perform the common outward duties of religion. If they have
the Gospel preached in the town where they dwell, it may be they will give the
hearing to it one part of the day, and stay at home the other; or if the master
come to the congregation, yet part of his family must stay at home. If they have
not the plain and powerful preaching of the Gospel, how few are there in a whole
town who will travel a mile or two to hear abroad though they will go many miles
to the market for provisions for their bodies! They know the Scripture is the
law of God, by which they must be acquitted or condemned in the judgment; and
that "the man is blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and in his law
doth meditate day and night;" yet will they not be at the pains to read a
chapter once a day. If they carry a Bible to church, and neglect it all the
week, this is the most use they make of it. Though they are commanded to pray
without ceasing, and to pray always, yet they will neither pray constantly in
their families nor in secret. Though Daniel would rather be cast to the lions
than forbear praying three times a day in his house, where his enemies might
hear him; yet these men will rather venture to be an eternal prey to Satan, the
roaring lion, than thus seek their own safety. Or their cold and heartless
prayers invite God to a denial: for among men it is taken for granted, that he
who asks but slightly and seldom, cares not much for what he asks. They judge
themselves unworthy of heaven, who think it not worth their more constant and
earnest requests. If every door was marked where families do not, morning and
evening, earnestly seek the Lord in prayer, and his wrath were poured out upon
such prayerless families, our towns would be as places overthrown by the plague,
the people being dead within, and the mark of judgment without: I fear, where
one house would escape, ten would be marked out for death; and the very doors,
as it were, cry, "Lord, have mercy upon us," because the people would not pray
themselves. But especially if we could see what men do in their secret chambers,
how few would you find in a whole town that spend one quarter of an hour,
morning and night, in earnest supplication to God for their souls! O how little
do these men value eternal rest! Thus do they slothfully neglect all endeavors
for their own welfare, except some public duty in the congregation, to which
custom or credit engages them. Persuade them to read good books, learn the
grounds of religion in their catechism, and sanctify the Lord's day in prayer,
and meditation, and hearing the word, forbearing all worldly thoughts and
speeches, and what a tedious life do they take this to be! as if they thought
heaven were not worth doing so much for.
Another class are formal professors, who will be brought to any outward duty,
but to the inward work of religion they will never be persuaded. They will
preach, or hear, or read, or talk of heaven, or pray in their families, and take
part with the persons or causes that are good, and desire to be esteemed among
the godly; but you can never bring them to the more spiritual duties,--as to be
constant and fervent in secret prayer and meditation; conscientious in
self-examination; heavenly-minded; to watch over their hearts, words and ways;
to mortify the flesh, and not make provision to fulfil its lusts; to love and
heartily forgive an enemy, and prefer their brethren before themselves; to lay
all they have, or do, at the feet of Christ, and prize his service and favor
before all, to prepare to die and willingly leave all to go to Christ.
Hypocrites will never be persuaded to any of these. If any hypocrite entertains
the Gospel with joy, it is only in the surface of his soul; he never gives the
seed any depth of earth: it changes his opinions, but never melts and new moulds
his heart, nor sets up Christ there in full power and authority. As his religion
lies most in opinion, so does his chief business and conversation. He is usually
an ignorant, bold, conceited dealer in controversies, rather than an humble
embracer of known truth with love and obedience. By his slighting the judgments
and persons of others, and seldom talking with seriousness and humility of the
great things of Christ, he shows his religion dwells in his brain, and not in
his heart. The wind of temptation carries him away as a feather, because his
heart is not established with Christ and grace. He never, in private
conversation, humbly bewails his soul's imperfections, or tenderly acknowledges
his unkindness to Christ; but gathers his greatest comfort from his being of
such a persuasion or party. The like may be said of the worldly hypocrite, who
chokes the Gospel with the thorns of worldly cares and desires. He is convinced
that he must be religious, or he cannot be saved; and therefore he reads, and
hears, and prays, and forsakes his former company and courses but he resolves to
keep his hold of present things. His judgment may say, God is the chief good;
but his heart and affections never said so. The world has more of his affections
than God, and therefore it is his god. Though he does not run after opinions and
novelties, like the world, yet he will be of that opinion which will best serve
his worldly advantage. And as one whose spirits are enfeebled by some
pestilential disease, so this man's spirits being possessed by the plague of a
worldly disposition, how feeble is he in secret prayer! how superficial in
examination and meditation! how poor in heart-watchings! how nothing at all in
loving and walking with God, rejoicing in him, or desiring him! So that both
these and many other sorts of hypocrites, though they will go with you in the
easy outside of religion, yet will never be at the pains of inward and spiritual
duties.
And even the godly themselves are too lazy seekers of their everlasting rest.
Alas! what a disproportion is there between our light and heat, our profession
and prosecution! Who makes such haste as if it were for heaven? How still we
stand! how idly we work! how we talk, and jest, and trifle away our time! how
deceitfully we perform the work of God! how we hear, as if we heard not! and
pray, as if we prayed not! and examine, and meditate, and reprove sin, as if we
did it not! and enjoy Christ, as if we enjoyed him not! as if we had learned to
use the things of heaven as the apostle teacheth us to "use the things of the
world!" What a frozen stupidity has benumbed us! We are dying, and we know it,
and yet we stir not; we are at the door of eternal happiness or misery, and yet
we perceive it not; death knocks, and we hear it not; God and Christ call and
cry to us, "Today, if ye will hear my voice, harden not your hearts; work while
it is day, for the night cometh, when none can work." Now ply your business,
labor for your lives, lay out all your strength and time now or never! and yet
we stir no more than if we were half asleep. What haste do death and judgment
make! how fast do they come on! they are almost upon us, and yet what little
haste we make! Lord, what a senseless, earthly, hellish thing is a hard head!
Where is the man that is in earnest a Christian? Methinks men every where make
but a trifle of their eternal state. They look after it but a little by the by;
they do not make it the business of their lives. If I were not sick myself of
the same disease, with what tears should I mix this ink! with what groans should
I express these complaints! and with what heart-grief should I mourn over this
universal deadness!
Do magistrates among us seriously perform their work? Are they zealous for God?
Do they build up his house? Are they tender of his honor? Do they second the
word and oppose sin and sinners, as the disturbers of our peace and the only
cause of all our miseries? Do they improve all their power, wealth, and honor,
and all their influence, for the greatest advantage to the kingdom of Christ, as
men that must shortly give an account of their stewardship?
How few are the ministers who are serious in their work! Nay, how grievously do
the very best fail in this! Do we cry out of men's disobedience to the Gospel
"in the demonstration of the Spirit," and deal with sin as the destroying fire
in our towns, and by force pull men out of it? Do we persuade our people as
those should that "know the terrors of the Lord?" Do we press Christ, and
regeneration, and faith, and holiness upon men, believing that, without these,
they can never have life? Do our bowels yearn over the ignorant, careless,
obstinate multitude? When we look them in the face, do our hearts melt over
them, lest we should never see their faces in rest? Do we, as Paul, "tell them,
weeping," of their fleshly and earthly disposition; "and teach them publicly,
and from house to house, at all seasons, and with many tears?" And do we entreat
them, as for their soul's salvation? Or rather, do we not study to gain the
approbation of critical hearers; as if a minister's business were of no more
weight but to tell a smooth tale for an hour, and look no more after the people
till the next sermon? Does not carnal prudence control our fervor, and make our
discourses lifeless on subjects the most piercing? How gently do we handle those
sins which will so cruelly handle our people's souls! In a word, our want of
seriousness about the things of heaven, charms the souls of men into formality,
and brings them to this customary careless hearing, which undoes them. May the
Lord pardon the great sin of the ministry in this thing and, in particular, my
own!
And are the people more serious than magistrates or ministers? How can it be
expected? Reader, look but to thyself and resolve the question. Ask conscience,
and suffer it to tell thee truly. Hast thou set thy eternal rest before thine
eyes, as the great business thou hast to do in this world? Hast thou watched and
labored with all thy might, "that no man take thy crown?" Hast thou made haste,
lest thou shouldst come too late, and die before thy work be done? Hast thou
pressed on, through crowds of opposition, "toward the mark, for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus," till "reaching forth unto those things
which are before?" Can conscience witness your secret cries, and groans, and
tears? Can your family witness that you taught them the fear of the Lord, and
warned them not to "go to that place of torment?" Can your minister witness that
he has heard you cry out, "What shall I do to be saved?" and that you have
followed him with complaints against your corruptions, and with earnest
inquiries after the Lord? Can your neighbors about you witness that you reprove
the ungodly, and take pains to save the souls of your brethren? Let all these
witnesses judge this day between God and you, whether you are in earnest about
eternal rest. You can tell by his work whether your servant has loitered, though
you did not see him; so you may, by looking at your own work. Are your love to
Christ, your faith, your zeal, and other graces, strong or weak? What are your
joys? What is your assurance? Is all in order with you? Are you ready to die, if
this should be the day? Do the souls among whom you have conversed bless you?
Judge by this, and it will quickly appear whether you have been laborers or
loiterers.
O blessed rest, how unworthily art thou neglected! O glorious kingdom, how art
thou undervalued! Little know the careless sons of men what a state they so
neglect. If they once knew it, they would surely be of another mind. I hope
thou, reader, art sensible what a desperate thing it is to trifle about eternal
rest, and how deeply thou hast been guilty of this thyself. And I hope, also,
thou wilt not suffer this conviction to die. Should the physician tell thee, "If
you will observe but one thing, I doubt not to cure your disease," wouldst thou
not observe it? So I tell thee, if thou wilt observe but this one thing for thy
soul, I make no doubt of thy salvation; shake off thy sloth, and put to all thy
strength, and be a Christian indeed: I know not then what can hinder thy
happiness. As far as thou art gone from God, seek him with all thy heart, and no
doubt thou shalt find him. As unkind as thou hast been to Jesus Christ, seek him
heartily, obey him unreservedly, and thy salvation is as sure as if thou hadst
it already. But, full as Christ's satisfaction is, free as the promise is, large
as the mercy of God is, if thou only talk of these when thou shouldst eagerly
entertain them, thou wilt be never the better for them: and if thou loiter when
thou shouldst labor, thou wilt lose the crown. Fall to work, then, speedily and
seriously, and bless God that thou hast yet time to do it.
To show that I urge thee not without cause, I will here add a variety of
animating considerations. Rouse up thy spirit, and, as Moses said to Israel,
"set thy heart unto all the words which I testify unto thee this day; for it is
not a vain thing, because it is your life." May the Lord open thy heart, and
fasten his counsel effectually upon thee!
1. Consider how reasonable it is that our diligence should be answerable to the
ends we aim at, to the work we have to do, to the shortness and uncertainty of
our time, and to the contrary diligence of our enemies.
The ends of a Christian's desire and endeavors are so great that no human
understanding can comprehend them. What is so excellent, so important, or so
necessary as the glorifying of God, the salvation of our own and other men's
souls, by escaping the torments of hell, and possessing the glory of heaven? And
can a man be too much affected with things of such moment? Can he desire them
too earnestly, or love them too strongly, or labor for them too diligently? Do
not we know, that if our prayers prevail not, and our labor succeeds not, we are
undone for ever?
The work of a Christian here is very great and various. The soul must be
renewed; corruptions must be mortified; customs, temptations, and worldly
interests must be conquered; flesh must be subdued; life, friends, and credit
must be slighted; conscience, on good grounds, be quieted and assurance of
pardon and salvation attained. Though God must give us these without our merit,
yet he will not give them without our earnest seeking and labor. Besides, there
is much knowledge to be acquired, many ordinances to be used and duties to be
performed; every age, year and day, every place we come to, every person we deal
with, every change of our condition, still require the renewing of our labor;
wives, children, servants, neighbors, friends, enemies, all of them call for
duty from us. Judge, then, whether men that have so much business lying upon
their hands, should not exert themselves; and whether it be their wisdom either
to delay or loiter.
Time passeth on. Yet a few days, and we shall be here no more. Many diseases are
ready to assault us. We, that are now preaching, and hearing, and talking, and
walking, must very shortly be carried and laid in the dust, and there left to
the worms, in darkness and corruption; we are almost there already; we know not
whether we shall have another sermon, or Sabbath, or hour. How active should
they be who know they have so short a space for so great a work! And we have
enemies that are always plotting and laboring for our destruction. How diligent
is Satan in all kinds of temptations! Therefore "be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith." How diligent are all the "ministers
of Satan! false teachers, scoffers, persecutors," and our inbred corruptions,
the most busy and diligent of all! Will a feeble resistance serve our turn?
Should not we be more active for our own preservation than our enemies are for
our ruin?
2. It should excite us to diligence, when we consider our talents and our
mercies, our relation to God, and the afflictions he lays upon us.
The talents which we have received are many and great. What people breathing on
earth have had plainer instructions, or more forcible persuasions, or more
constant admonitions, in season and out of season? sermons, till we have been
weary of them, and Sabbaths, till we have profaned them; excellent books in such
plenty that we knew not which to read? What people have had God so near them? or
have seen so much of Christ crucified before their eyes? or have had heaven and
hell so open unto them? What speed should such a people make for heaven! how
should they fly that are thus winged! and how swiftly should they sail that have
wind and tide to help them! A small measure of grace becomes not such a people,
nor will an ordinary diligence in the work of God excuse them.
All our lives have been filled with mercies. God hath mercifully poured out upon
us the riches of sea and land, of heaven and earth. We are fed and clothed with
mercy. We have mercies within and without. To number them, is to count the stars
or the sands of the sea-shore. If there be any difference betwixt hell and
earth, yea, or heaven and earth, then certainly we have received mercy. If the
blood of the Son of God be mercy, then we are engaged to God by mercy. Shall God
think nothing too much nor to good for us; and shall we think all too much that
we do for him? When I compare my slow and unprofitable life with the frequent
and wonderful mercies received, it shames me, it silences me, and leaves me
inexcusable.
Besides our talents and mercies, our relations to God are most endearing. Are we
his children, and do we not owe him our most tender affections and dutiful
obedience? Are we "the spouse of Christ," and should we not obey and love him?
"If he be a Father, where is his honor? and if he be a Master where is his fear?
We call him Master, and Lord, and we say well;" but if our industry be not
answerable to our relations, we condemn ourselves in saying we are his children
or his servants. How will the hard labor and daily toil which servants undergo
to please their masters, judge and condemn those who will not labor so hard for
their great Master? Surely there is no master like him; nor can any servants
expect such fruit of their labors as his servants. And if we wander out of God's
way, or loiter in it, how is every creature ready to be his rod to bring us back
or urge us on! Our sweetest mercies will become our sorrows. Rather than want a
rod, the Lord will make us a scourge to ourselves; our diseased bodies shall
make us groan; our perplexed minds shall make us restless; our conscience shall
be as a scorpion in our bosom. And is it not easier to endure the labor than the
spur? Had we rather be still afflicted, than be up and doing? And though they
that do most, meet also with afflictions; yet surely, according to their peace
of conscience and faithfulness to Christ, the bitterness of their cup is abated.
3. To quicken our diligence in our work, we should also consider what assistance
we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty that we can never do too
much.
For our assistance in the service of God, all the world are our servants. The
sun, moon, and stars attend us with their light and influence. The earth, with
all its furniture of plants and flowers, fruits, birds, and beasts; the sea,
with its inhabitants; the air, the wind, the frost and snow, the heat and fire,
the clouds and rain, all wait upon us while we do our work. Yea, "the angels are
all our ministering spirits." Nay more, the patience of God doth wait upon us;
the Lord Jesus Christ waiteth in the offers of his blood; the Holy Spirit
waiteth, by striving with our backward hearts; besides the ministers of the
Gospel, who study and wait, preach and wait, pray and wait upon careless
sinners. And is it not an intolerable crime for us to trifle, while angels and
men, yea, the Lord himself, stand by and look on, and, as it were, hold us the
candle while we do nothing? I beseech you, Christians, whenever you are praying,
or reproving transgressors, or upon any duty, remember what assistance you have
for your work, and then judge how you ought to perform it.
The principles we profess are, that God is the chief good; that all our
happiness consists in his love, and therefore it should be valued and sought
above all things; that he is our only Lord, and therefore chiefly to be served;
that we must love him with all our heart, and soul, and strength; that our great
business in the world is to glorify God and obtain salvation. Are these
doctrines seen in our practice? or rather, do not our works deny what our words
confess?
But, however our assistance and principles excite us to our work, we are sure we
can never do too much. Could we "do all, we are unprofitable servants;" much
more when we are sure to fail in all. No man can obey or serve God too much.
Though all superstition, or service of our own devising, may be called a "being
righteous over much;" yet, as long as we keep to the rule of the world, we can
never be righteous too much. The world are mad with malice when they think that
faithful diligence in the service of Christ is foolish singularity. The time is
near, when they will easily confess that God could not be loved or served too
much, and that no man can be too earnest to save his soul. We may easily do too
much for the world, but we cannot for God.
4. Let us further consider that it is the nature of every grace to promote
diligence, that trifling in the way to heaven is lost labor, that much precious
time is already misspent, and that in proportion to our labor will be our
recompense.
See the nature and tendency of every grace. If you loved God, you would think
nothing too much that you could possibly do to serve him and please him. Love is
quick and impatient, active and observant. If you loved Christ, you would keep
his commandments, nor accuse them of too much strictness. If you had faith, it
would quicken and encourage you. If you had the hope of glory, it would, as the
spring in the watch, set all the wheels of your souls a-going. If you had the
fear of God, it would rouse you out of your slothfulness. If you had zeal, it
would inflame, and "eat you up." In what degree soever thou art sanctified, in
the same degree thou wilt be serious and laborious in the work of God.
They that trifle lose their labor. Many, who, like Agrippa, are but almost
Christians, will find, in the end, they shall be but almost saved. If two be
running in a race, he that runs slowest loses both prize and labor. A man that
is lifting at a weight, if he put not sufficient strength to it, had as good put
none at all. How many duties have Christians lost for want of doing them
thoroughly! "Many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able," who, if they
had striven, might have been able. Therefore, put to a little more diligence and
strength, that all you have done already be not in vain.
Besides, is not much precious time already lost? With some of us, childhood and
youth are gone; with some, their middle age also; and the time before us is very
uncertain. What time have we slept, talked, and played away, or spent in worldly
thoughts and cares! How little of our work is done! The time we have lost cannot
be recalled; should we not, then, redeem and improve the little which remains?
If a traveller sleep or trifle most of the day, he must travel so much faster in
the evening, or fall short of his journey's end.
Doubt not but the recompense will be according to your labor. The seed which is
buried and dead will bring forth a plentiful harvest. Whatever you do or suffer,
everlasting rest will pay for all. There is no relenting of labors or sufferings
in heaven. There no one says, "Would I had spared my pains, and prayed less, or
been less strict, and done as the rest of my neighbors!" On the contrary, it
will be their joy to look back upon their labors and tribulations, and to
consider how the mighty power of God brought them through all. We may all say,
as Paul, "I reckon that the sufferings" and labors "of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." We labor
but for a moment; we shall rest for ever. Who would not put forth all his
strength for one hour, when, for that hour's work, he may be a prince while he
lives? "God is not unrighteous to forget our work and labor of love." Will not
"all our tears be wiped away," and all the sorrow of our duties be then
forgotten?
5. Nor does it less deserve to be considered, that striving is the divinely
appointed way of salvation; that all men either do, or will approve it; that the
best Christians, at death, lament their negligence; and that heaven itself is
often lost for want of striving, but is never had on easier terms.
The sovereign wisdom of God has made striving necessary to salvation. Who knows
the way to heaven better than the God of heaven? When men tell us we are too
strict, whom do they accuse, God or us? If it were a fault, it would lie in him
that commands, and not in us who obey. These are the men that ask us, whether we
are wiser than all the world beside and yet they will pretend to be wiser than
God. How can they reconcile their language with the laws of God? "The kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Strive to enter in
at the strait gate; for many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work,
nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Give diligence to make your
calling and election sure. If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear?" Let them bring all the seeming reasons they can
against the holy violence of the saints; this sufficeth me to confute them all,
that God is of another mind, and he hath commanded me to do much more than I do;
and though I could see no other reason for it, his will is reason enough. Who
should make laws for us, but he that made us? and who should point out the way
to heaven, but he that must bring us thither? and who should fix the terms of
salvation, but he that bestows the gift of salvation? So that, let the world,
the flesh, or the devil speak against a holy, laborious life, this is my answer,
God hath commanded it. Nay, there never was, nor ever will be, a man but will
approve such a life, and will one day justify the diligence of the saints. And
who would not go that way which every man shall finally applaud? True, it is now
"a way every where spoken against." But let me tell you, most that speak against
it, in their judgments approve of it; and those that are now against it, will
shortly be of another mind. If they come to heaven, their mind must be changed
before they come there. If they go to hell, their judgment will then be altered
whether they will or not. Remember this, you that love the opinion and way of
the multitude. Why, then, will you not be of the opinion that all will be of?
Why will you be of a judgment which you are sure, all of you, shortly to change?
O that you were but as wise in this as those in hell!
Even the best of Christians, when they come to die, exceedingly lament their
negligence. They then wish, "O that I had been a thousand times more holy, more
heavenly, more laborious for my soul! The world accuses me for doing too much,
but my own conscience accuses me for doing too little. It is far easier bearing
the scoffs of the world than the lashes of conscience. I had rather be
reproached by the devil for seeking salvation, than reproved of God for
neglecting it." How do their failings thus wound and disquiet those who have
been the wonder of the world for their heavenly conversation!
It is for want of diligence that heaven itself is lost. When they that have
"heard the word, and anon with joy received it, and have done many things, and
heard" the ministers of Christ gladly, shall yet perish, should not this rouse
us out of our security? How far hath many a man followed Christ, and yet
forsaken him when all worldly interests and hopes were to be renounced! God hath
resolve that heaven shall not be had on easier terms. Rest must always follow
labor. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Seriousness is the very
thing wherein consists our sincerity. If thou art not serious, thou art not a
Christian. It is not only a high degree in Christianity, but the very life and
essence of it. As fencers upon a stage differ from soldiers fighting for their
lives, so hypocrites differ from serious Christians. If men could be saved
without this serious diligence, they would never regard it; all the excellencies
of God's ways would never entice them. But when God hath resolved, that, without
serious diligence here, we shall not rest hereafter, is it not wisdom to exert
ourselves to the uttermost?
6. But to persuade thee, if possible, reader, to be serious in thy endeavors for
heaven, let me add more considerations: as, for instance, consider--
God is in earnest with you; and why should you not be so with him? In his
commands, his threatenings, his promises, he means as he speaks. In his
judgments he is serious. Was he not so when he drowned the world, when he
consumed Sodom and Gomorrah, and when he scattered the Jews? Is it time, then,
to trifle with God? Jesus Christ was serious in purchasing our redemption. In
teaching, he neglected his meat and drink: in prayer, he continued all night: in
doing good, his friends thought him beside himself: in suffering, he fasted
forty days, was tempted, betrayed, spit upon, buffeted, crowned with thorns,
sweat drops of blood, was crucified, pierced, died. There was no jesting in all
this. And should we not be serious in seeking our own salvation?
The Holy Spirit is serious in soliciting us to be happy. His motions are
frequent, pressing, and importunate. "He striveth with us." He is grieved when
we resist him; and should we not be serious then, in obeying and yielding to his
motions? God is serious in hearing our prayers, and bestowing his mercies. He is
afflicted with us. He "regardeth every groan and sigh, and puts every tear into
his bottle." The next time thou art in trouble thou wilt beg for a serious
regard of thy prayers. And shall we expect real mercies when we are slight and
superficial in the work of God?
The ministers of Christ are serious in exhorting and instructing you. They beg
of God, and of you; and long more for the salvation of your souls than for any
worldly good. If they kill themselves by their labor, or suffer martyrdom for
preaching the Gospel, they think their lives are well bestowed, so that they
prevail for the saving of your souls. And shall other men be so careful and
self-denying for your salvation, and you be so careless and negligent of your
own?
How diligent and serious are all the creatures in serving you! What haste makes
the sun to compass the world! The fountains are always flowing for thy use; the
rivers still running; spring and harvest keep their times. How hard does thy ox
labor for thee from day to day! How speedily does thy horse travel with thee!
And shalt thou only be negligent? Shall all these be so serious in serving thee,
and thou so careless in thy service to God?
The servants of the world and the devil are serious and diligent. They work as
if they could never do enough: they make haste, as if afraid of coming to hell
too late: they bear down ministers, sermons, and all before them. And shall they
be more diligent for damnation than thou for salvation? Hast thou not a better
Master, sweeter employment, greater encouragements, and a better reward? Time
was when thou wast serious thyself in serving Satan and the flesh, if it be not
so yet. How eagerly didst thou follow thy sports, thy evil company, and sinful
delights! And wilt thou not now be as earnest and violent for God? You are to
this day in earnest about the things of this life. If you are sick or in pain,
what serious complaints do you utter! If you are poor, how hard do you labor for
a livelihood! And is not the business of your salvation of far greater moment?
There is no jesting in heaven or hell. The saints have a real happiness, and the
damned a real misery. There are no remiss or sleepy praises in heaven, nor such
lamentations in hell. All there are in earnest. When thou, reader, shalt come to
death and judgment, O what deep, heart-piercing thoughts wilt thou have of
eternity! Methinks I foresee thee already astonished to think how thou couldst
possibly make so light of these things. Methinks I even hear thee crying out of
thy stupidity and madness.
And now, reader, having laid down these undeniable arguments, I do, in the name
of God, demand thy resolution: wilt thou yield obedience or not? I am confident
thy conscience is convinced of thy duty. Darest thou now go on in thy common,
careless course, against the plain evidence of reason and commands of God, and
against the light of thy own conscience? Darest thou live as loosely, sin as
boldly, and pray as seldom as before? Darest thou profane the Sabbath, slight
the service of God, and think of thine everlasting state as carelessly as
before? Or dost thou not rather resolve to "gird up the loins of thy mind," and
set thyself wholly to the work of thy salvation, and break through the
oppositions, and slight the scoffs and persecutions of the world, and "lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset thee, and run with patience
the race that is before thee?" I hope these are thy full resolutions. Yet,
because I know the obstinacy of the heart of man, and because I am solicitous
that thy soul should live, I once more entreat thy attention to the following
questions and I command thee from God, that thou stifle not thy conscience, nor
resist conviction but answer them faithfully, and obey accordingly.
If; by being diligent in godliness, you could grow rich, get honor, or
preferment in the world, be recovered from sickness, or live for ever in
prosperity on earth, what lives would you lead, and what pains would you take in
the service of God? And is not the saints' rest a more excellent happiness than
all this? If it were felony to break the Sabbath, neglect secret or family
worship, or be loose in your lives, what manner of persons would you then be?
And is not eternal death more terrible than temporal? If God usually punished
with some present judgment every act of sin, as he did the lie of Ananias and
Sapphira, what kind of lives would you lead? And is not eternal wrath far more
terrible? If one of your acquaintance should come from the dead and tell you
that he suffered the torments of hell for those sins you are guilty of, what
manner of persons would you be afterwards? How much more should the warnings of
God affright you? If you knew that this were the last day you had to live in the
world, how would you spend it? And you know not but it may be your last, and are
sure your last is near. If you had seen the general dissolution of the world,
and all the pomp and glory of it consumed to ashes, what would such a sight
persuade you to do? Such a sight you shall certainly see. If you had seen the
judgment-seat, and the books opened, and the wicked stand trembling on the left
hand of the Judge, and the godly rejoicing on the right hand, and their
different sentences pronounced, what persons would you have been after such a
sight! This sight you shall one day surely see. If you had seen hell open, and
all the damned there in their endless torments; also heaven opened, as Stephen
did, and all the saints there triumphing in glory; what a life would you lead
after such sights! These you will see before it be long. If you had lain in hell
but one year, or one day, or hour, and there felt the torments you now hear of;
how seriously would you then speak of hell, and pray against it! And will you
not take God's word for the truth of this, except you feel it? Or, if you had
possessed the glory of heaven but one year, what pains would you take rather
than be deprived of such incomparable glory!
Thus I have said enough, if not to stir up the sinner to a serious working out
his salvation, yet at least to silence him, and leave him inexcusable at the
judgment of God. Only as we do by our friends when they are dead, and our words
and actions can do them no good, yet to testify our affection for them we weep
and mourn, so will I also do for these unhappy souls. It makes my heart tremble
to think how they will stand before the Lord, confounded and speechless! When he
shall say, "Was the world, or Satan, a better friend to you than I? or had they
done for you more than I had done? Try now whether they will save you, or
recompense you for the loss of heaven, or be as good to you as I would have been
"--what will the wretched sinner answer to any of this? But though man will not
hear, we may hope in speaking to God:
"O thou that didst weep and groan in spirit over a dead Lazarus, pity these dead
and senseless souls, till they are able to weep and groan in pity to themselves!
As thou hast bid thy servants speak, so speak now thyself. They will hear thy
voice speaking to their hearts, who will not hear mine speaking to their ears.
Lord, thou hast long knocked at these hearts in vain; now break the doors and
enter in."
To show the godly why they, above all men, should be laborious for heaven, I
desire to ask them, What manner of persons should those be whom God hath chosen
to be vessels of mercy? who have felt the smart of their negligence in their new
birth, in their troubles of conscience, in their doubts and fears, and in other
sharp afflictions? who have often confessed their sins of negligence to God in
prayer? who have bound themselves to God by so many covenants? What manner of
persons should they be who are near to God, as the children of his family; who
have tasted such sweetness in diligent obedience; who are many of them so
uncertain what shall everlastingly become of their souls? What manner of persons
should they be in holiness, whose sanctification is so imperfect; whose lives
and duties are so important to the saving or destroying a multitude of souls;
and on whom the glory of the great God so much depends? Since these things are
so, I charge thee, Christian, in thy Master's name, to consider and resolve the
question, "What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and
godliness?" And let thy life answer the question as well as thy tongue.
