It is a strange Occurrence that my Text refers unto. The Father of the Faithful, once and again falling into the Errors of Unbelief. His Life was filled with Trials; But in them all, the Faithfulness of the Glorious God unto His Promises, was marvellously illustrated. The Blessed God, had once and again promised, That He would be a God unto the Offspring of Abraham. And yet this famous Patriarch, did [...] and again after some sort Alienate the Promises, and by his own Act, exposed his Wife to such Hazards, that he had lost the Fulfilment of the Promises, if God had not in a way of Sovereign Grace marvellously stept in for his Deliverance. Formerly in the [Page 3] Court of Egypt, and now in the Court of G [...]rar, our Patriarch dissembled his Relation to his Wife, apprehending that his Life might be in danger among so debauch'd a people, if it had been known, how he was related unto her▪ It is not now a Time, nor is it here a Place, to declare at large, the Judgment which the Ancients, as well as the Moderns, have passed upon this Action of Abraham; an Action Looking so like a prostitution; how severely some have Condemned it, how plausibly some have Defended it. Were [...] Empannel'd on the Jury, I should not consent that either the one or the other draw up the Verdict; with my Consent, my dear Calvin should [...] Foreman, tho' I am aware, how [...] Jesuits reproach him for his Verdict upon it, which after all the Cand [...] he can use, yet says, When we had done all, we must own, [...], he was really Guilty of [...] Unbelief, not relying so much on the Providence of God, in a way of plain [Page 4] dealing, as he should have done. The Compassion of God unto His Poor, Frail, Distressed Servant on this occasion was wonderful! Had the Intention of Abimelek to Marry this Lady, been accomplished, he had been plunged into a Criminal Adultery; A Crime whereof, as much a Pagan as he was, he yet own'd, It would have been a Great Sin upon him, and upon his Government. But while the Sin was yet only intended, and under the alleviating Circumstance of, A mistake of the Person too, God smote Abimelek with a Fit of Illness, and his Court also with Plagues which had in them something Extraordinary. While he was in much concern about these things, God in a Dream informed him of the Cause why these Plagues were come, & of the way to remove them. In the XXXIII Chapter of Job, you have a large Paragraph, concerning a Dream wherein God withdraws a man from his purpose; And I suspect, that this History of Abimelek might be therein referr'd [Page 5] unto. The only Clause of the History, now to be insisted on, is, that Passage in the Speech of God, unto the Awakened Soul of the Prince now in a Dream, wherein He spoke once, yea, twice unto him; He says, I with-held thee from Sinning against me. It is mentioned as a Singular Kindnss, a Special Kindness of God unto him. The Trouble that he suffered, was it seems a vast Kindness, in that it with-held him from Sinning, against the Glorious God▪ It was, as Elihu speaks, in the Text I told you of, To keep back his Soul from the Pit, and his Life from perishing by the Sword.
The most Gracious God, in an excellent manner displays his Grace towards the Sinful Children of Men, in with-holding them from Sinning against him.
To be preserved from Sin, 'tis to enjoy [Page 6] a preservation, that, my Brethren, we cannot be too Thankful for.
Two things now demand a most affectionate Consideration with us; First the Method, and then the Mercy, of this Happiness, I with-held thee from Sinning against me.
I. The Method of our Good God, in With-holding us from Sinning against him; This is various, and curious, and has many Wonders in it. We will take the Surprizing Subject into our Contemplation.
First; Our Good God With-holds the Temptations and Occasions of Sin; This is one Method in which He withholds us from Sinning against him There is an Army of Evil Spirits, united under one Leader, for which cause they all go under the single Name of, Saran, or, The Devil. The Design of these Evil Spirits, is to Tempt us unto Sin, that so they may by their Temptations bring us under their Condemnation. Our Tempter, the Devil, goes about, seeking [Page 7] whom he may Deceive into Sin, & by Deceiving Devour them. As our Lord said, Luk. XXII. 31. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you: So may it more or less be said, about every man in the World; Sinner, Sinner, Satan the Tempter hath desired, that he may have thee, to Tempt thee unto some undoing Wickedness. Indeed Satan must have the permission of God for it, before he can fall upon us. But now our God very often does not permit Satan, to Tempt us with such Fury, and such Success, as he would otherwise assault us withal. Our God has the Tempter in a Chain; He holds in the Ty-'Dog. He withholds the Tempter from Ensnaring of us, and thereby He witholds us from falling into the Snare of the Wicked. There are People set upon mischief. 'Tis very strange that they do no more. 'Tis because God Chains up the Devil, and won't let him suggest unto them, what they may do. Our Indians had else done a thousand times more mischief, [Page 8] than they have, to our Plantations. This World is also full of those Things, which are the Occasions, the Incentives, the Inducements of Sin. The Stumbling Block: of Iniquity do even fill the World. But our God with-holds us from Sin, by with-holding from us, those things that would provoke us to Sin. He takes the Stumbling-blocks out of our way, & so witholds us from Falling into Sin upon them. Our God witholds us from the exorbitant Out-breakings of the Lust of the Flesh, and the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life, by withholding from us the Objects, that are the Fuel of them. We say, 'Tis opportunity that makes a Thief. Our God witholds many a man from many a Th [...]t & other Sins by this; He won't give him an Opportunity. He won't give Riches to one man; and so the man is witheld from the Denying of God. He won't pinch another man with Poverty; and so the man is witheld from Taking the Name of God in vain. If God should order for man, some, Conditions, & some [Page 9] Employments, & some Companions, which He witholds from them, Verily, they would be drawn into abundance of Sin, more than they are.
Secondly, The Diverting of us from Sin, by the Good Hand of God, this is one Method used by our Good God in witholding us from Sin. We should Sin more than we do, but our God witholds us, by finding something else for us to do. One gave this agreeable Account [...] how he kept his Innocency; The Devil don't find me at Liesure, to do what he would have me to do. Infuriated Saul would have Embrued his hands in the Blood of a Servant of God, but God call'd him off! We read, 1 Sam. XXIII. 27. There came a Messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come away:—You know for what. Many such a Messenger comes unto us from God, that calls us another way, when we are just upon some sinful perpetrations. The Flood seems to have been as notable, as General, an Example of this Observation. The [Page 10] Curse of the Flood, is in this turn'd into a Blessing on the World. The more fructifying mould of the Earth, has been so damnified by the Flood, that men live now with more Difficulty than they did before. No man that knows the Heart of man, will deny, that a Flood of Wickedness is prevented in the World, by mens being so necessarily taken up how to Live in the World. What infinite Wickedness would men be hatching every where, if they had nothing else to do! If the World had nothing but Fruitful Plains in it, it would soon be an Entire Sodom, and fit for nothing but a Conflagration. Indeed our God witholds us from Sin, when he Compels us to Work. For the most part, our God plunges us into such indigent Circumstances, that the most of our Thought, and our Time, goes to the Earning of our Bread. By Engaging us in our daily Occupations, without which we and our Families would starve, Our God withholds us from Sinning against Him. And [Page 11] sometimes when our Vocations are not enough to Engross our Care, and withold us from Sin, our Vexations must; God finds out for us Vexations that shall. One man is hampered with such a Malady; another man is Embroiled with such an Enemy; a third man is taken up with such an Inconvenience. Why so; The Voice of the All-wise God unto us in these things is, Thus I witheld thee from Sinning against me!
Thirdly; Interest, Interest; That is a Surprising Method of God; That is a strong sort of a Curb, wherewith our God Witholds us from Sinning against Him. The Metal which the Curb is usually made of, is well known in the World. We say, Interest will not Ly; tho' it will often make men do it. Every man is True to that, which he takes to be his Interest. This is a most Exquisite Policy of Heaven, as I may call it, in the Government of the World. Humane Society, would be Damaged, yea, Disbanded, [Page 12] if some Sins were not become very odious, which yet men are naturally enough prone unto; It is Interest that has made them Odious; men feel 'tis for their Interest that they should be so. God makes the Transgressors feel that word; Hab. II. 9, 10. Wo to him that Coveteth an Evil Covetousness; Thou hast consulted shame to thy self. God makes men see, that by such and such Sins, they shall bring a Mischief on themselves; This witholds them from Sinning against Him! There is a Detestable Generation of men, who go under the Name of Deists. These Dangerous Wretches pretend unto a kind of Moral Vertue; Their Moral Vertue is this; A man expects the Civilities of his Neighbours; his Condition would be insupportable should his Neighbours count him unworthy of their Civilities. Now, that a man may not Lose the Civilities of others, he must then treat them with Civilities. These are all the Bonds of a Good Behaviour, that these Baptised Infidels [Page 13] are sensible of. This is all, that keeps the Dangerous Monsters, from Stealing, and Lying, and Murder. Our God witholds men from Sin, by making them see, that their Neighbours will else withold their Civilities from them▪ Tis the Hope of Gain, by their show of some Godliness, that witholds many men from the Grossest Efforts of Ungodliness.
Fourthly. There is the Method of Conscience; Our God witholds us from Sin, by the Controul of Conscience, which He has placed as His Deputy in our Souls. Men durst not Sin as they would, because of what the Candle of the Lord shows unto them; they can't Sin except they put out this Candle. A Conscience which tells them, That they who do such things are worthy of Death; The Conscience which causes a Wicked man, to do what no other man could bring him to; Act. XXIV. 25. To Tremble at the Thoughts of a Judgment to come. That stands in the way of many a man, like an Angel with a Flaming [Page 14] Sword, and stops him, when his Way is perverse before the Lord.
And our God, by ordering a Good Education for us, keeps our Conscience in a more Wakeful and Active Plight; so that we cannot get over the Checks which it gives unto us. This Light within, tho' it be so darkened that it is not a sufficient Guide unto Life, yet it shows us, many Fair Things, and like a Fire it scalds us if we do any Foul ones. The Supream Governour of the World holds the World in order by this Golden Engine, & witholds men from very much of the Disorder which else they would rush into. Many a man would Murder his Parents, Destroy his own Wife, Debauch his Neighbours, Blaspheme God, Burn down the Town, and run a muck among the people, if some Conscience did not withold men from Sinning at such a rate of Outrageous Madness. The men who proclaim it, that they have shaken off the Regards of Conscience, and suppressed & smothered [Page 15] its Admonitions, they are but so many Beasts of Prey let loose upon the World; It is from the Curse of God, when such Increase and Multiply.
Fifthly, and Finally. I can show you a more Excellent Way, than all of this. There are those whom a Good God Witholds from Sin, by infusing into their Souls a Principle of Grace, which is contrary to Sin; A Principle under the power whereof, men cannot Sin like other men. A Principle of Piety does God shower down from Heaven, into the Souls of some; [...] Principle of Respect unto all the Holy and Just and Good Laws of Heaven. By such a Principle the Dispositions to Sin in the Hearts of Good men are Mortified; & the Considerations which deter from Sin, are Entertained, with a most Lively Efficacy. Under the force of such a Principle, a man cannot but hate Sin, and Loath Sin, and refuse to Sin; and if he be pressed unto: Sin, he will say, Gen. XXXIX. 9 [...]. How shall I do this Wickedness, and [Page 16] Sin against God? O admirable way of being Witheld from Sin! To be inspired with an Antipathy to every known Sin. The New Nature in a Child of God says to him, No, Thou shalt not Sin; Oh! Do not the Abominable Thing, which is hated by the Soul of God! This lays a Glorious Restraint upon him. Oh! that we were more commonly Restrained so! But now,
II. The Mercy of our Good God, in thus Witholding us from Sinning against Him; This is what we are to wonder at; and what exceedingly bespeaks our Praises unto Him. This will appear immediately. For,
First. We shall fall into Sin, yea, into all manner of Sin and Blasphemy, and such as would never be Forgiven too; if our God Withold us not. We are every one of us Depraved with Original Sin; and this our Original Sin is the Original of Every Sin; it contains in it a propensity to every Sin. We must every one of us all confess, Behold, I was [...]hapon in Iniquity. We must every one of us make that Confession, [Page 17] The whole Imagination of our Heart is only Evil continually. Our First Parents whom God justly made the Representatives of all Mankind, were made Mutable. And it was no unjust Thing in the Sovereign One to make them so: Immutability is the Prerogative of none but the Infinite GOD. These our Parents, abused their own Liberty, and brought upon themselves a most Sinful Pravity; which cannot but be derived now unto us their Unhappy Children [...] A Seed of Evil Doers, Children that are Corrupters! We are born with Hearts whereof we read, Matt. XV. 19. There proceed out of them, Evil Thoughts, Murders, Adulteries, Fornications, Thefts, False witness, Blasphemies. There is no Heart among us, but if God should not withold it, rapid streams of Sin would burst from it, and whole Torrents of Iniquity. Bring in a Catalogue of all the Crying Sins found any where among the Children of men, there is no Heart among us, but what would soon carry us into the worst of them all, if God Withheld us not. And if God should allow Satan to fill this Heart, an Heart that is of it self so desperately wicked, no man alive can imagine to how a desperate a [Page 18] Degree of Wickedness we should be carried, and with how vehement an Impetuosity! An Evil Spirit not forbidden by God, will go forth, and perswade an Aha [...], an [...] prevail also, to any thing in the World. If God should not Withhold our Adversary from hurting of us, his Devices would soon be too cunning for us: The Charms and Chains of Hell would soon bring the last Confusion upon us.
Secondly. We are very Unworthy that God should withold us from Sinning against Him; our Frequent Sinning has Left us in the greatest Unworthiness of such a Mercy! By our former Sins, we deserve to be left unto further Sins. The punishment of Sin with Sin, is no uncommon proceedure in the tremendous Dispensations of God. Men Sin with Delight; They signalize their Love of Sin, their Choice of Sin. The Justice of God then passes this Doom upon them, Let them go on to Sin! They be not willing to be hindred! When people will not Hearken to the Voice of God, it is but a Righteous Thing with him, To give them up unto the Lusts of their own Hearts, and let them walk in their own Counsels, which you may be sure, will [Page 19] he bad enough The Righteousness of God never shines brighter than in that black Event of wilful Sinning; Rom. I. 26. For this cause, God gave them up to vile Affections. If we are witheld from any Sin, that ever [...] fell into, we must say, Lord, This is [...] not worthy of! Tis, Mercy, Mercy, that witholds us from Sin; for we can plead no Merit of our own for such a Blessing. In begging to be witheld from Sin, our Style must be that; God be merciful tome a Sinner! Tis to be very Mercifully, that is to say, Undeservedly dealt withal.
Thirdly, Tis a Great Mercy sure, to be Witheld from the Greatest Evil; If we are not Witheld from Sinning against God, we fall into the Greatest Evil in the world. Sin, tis the Greatest Evil. Our Saviour, who is the Good One, has call'd it, Joh. XVII. 5. The Evil. A [...] Escape from some Extream [...] of perishing, we so with a shuddering Horror, look back upon it. We give a start, when the Thought of it suddenly darts into our minds; We almost [...] away, when we Think what we [...]. My Friend, When [...] Witheld from Sin, 'tis an Escape, [Page 20] which thy Soul may be well amazed in Reflecting on. Thou ma [...]st with a Transport of Joy cry out, My Soul is escaped, as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler: Oh! the Mercy, Oh! the Mercy of it! When our God says, I have witheld thee from Sinning against me, He does in Effect say, I have witheld thee from throwing thy self into many Sorrow [...]; I have witheld thee from wronging thy own Soul; I have witheld thee from the worst thing that could have befallen thee. To Sin, Tis to Deny the God that is Above. Tis a sad Thing to be left unto so vile a Thing. To Sin, Tis to do that for which the Wea [...]h of God comes. To be Witheld from Sin, 'tis to be witheld from stepping over a dismal Precipice; from tumbling down into a Devouring Fire, and Everlasting Burnings. O thou Saved of the Lord, Witheld from Sin, thy Song may be that; Lord, Thou deliveredst my Soul from Death, my Eyes from Tears, and my Feet from Falls. The Mercy cannot be too highly spoken of!
APPLICATION.
I. There are some Occurrences in the World, that are very much to be wondred [Page 21] at; But we now see the Reason of those Wondrous Occurrences. I will entertain you with the Mention of Two or Three Things, whereof we must now say, These are the Doings of the Lord, and they are marvellous in our eyes. If there were not a Good God, who witholds men from Sinning against Him, the World would not have such a Respite from such Wonderful Miseries, which I shall now tell you of.
First. We may Wonder that some Destructive Wickednesses are not ever now and then done in the World, by people that are Wicked enough to do them. There are people, who have nothing within them, to withold them, from such Things as are too horrible to be spoken of. People there are, who would Stick at nothing, that they could see themselves able to do, that they may ruine others, and Enrich themselves. People there are, who if it came into their Minds, what they are capable of doing, and yet might Ly Concealed after all, and it may be Roast their own Eggs into the Bargain, would soon be the Actors of direful Tragedies! Many an honest man, is aware of Wayes to do incredible Mischief, which if some [Page 22] Wicked men should be as much aware of, they would be more perilous Creatures, than the Dragon of Hetruria, whereof Dion tells us, that after he had made fearful Devastations, he was killed with a Thunderbolt. The men are Devils, and very cunning and subtil Devils too; but they have Chains of Darkness upon them. They don't see what they can do: And would if they saw it. Prudence will direct, that I should not go too far in Explaining my self.—But this I may say; There are People that would make a very Light matter of a Perjury; they would make nothing for a small matter to Forswear themselves. Tis a wonder, that no more Naboths are Sworn out of their Lives, or at least out of their Vineyards, by them that have no Yoke upon them. Tis very strange! And so is another thing, that I will venture to speak of. He that is willing to throw away his own Life, may easily be master of Another mans. And yet, you have known many people set upon throwing away their own Lives. But you scarce ever knew one of these desperate Suicides disposed unto the killing of any besides themselves. What is the Reason of this? Our Good God has [Page 23] acquainted us; I witheld them!
Secondly. We may wonder, That this World is not an entire Aceldema, and that it Swims not with Blood, even up to the Horse-bridles. There are cursed Fires Latent in the Souls of men; Fires that have sometimes broke out, and burnt all round about, burnt unto the very Foundations of the Mountains, burn't down all before them. A very Little Thing will serve sometimes, to blow up these Fires; Maxima odia ex Levissimis causis! And then a whole Nation becomes a formidable Volcano; no more habitable than a Vesuvie. Our Apostle speaks, as if every man had the Heart of a Murderer in him; and Rom. III. 15, 16. Feet swift to shed Blood; Destruction and Misery in their wayes. We see some Commit bloody Murders. Why don't they grow as common, as they did a little before the Final Catastrophe on Jerusalem! The Venemous Hearts of Men, have in them the Root, which all Murders grow upon. Sometimes a Cup of poison to be trembled at, has been put into the Hands of Nations; Then the Intoxicated Nations have run mad; [Page 24] have been furiously set upon destroying one another; have sheathed their Swords in one anothers bowels, with a Rage that has reached up to Heaven. The Passions have been of old called; The wild beasts of the Soul. if those Wild Beasts are once let loose, they make fearful Depredations▪ they turn Populous. Regions into a Wilderness! When a Kingdom is divided against it self, what Ad [...]nyes, what Opiates are they, that keep under the worst of all Phrensies, that would soon bring all to Desolation! When Distracted People think themselves oppressed, what is it that keeps under the Massanello's, or keeps things in the Calm, which tis said, the French Salvages told a greater than themseves, was the thing which of all they had seen, they most admired at? Who is it that Stills the Noise of the Seas, and the Tumult of the People? Our Good God has acquainted us with the Reason of this; I witheld them!
Thirdly. We may wonder, That there is any True People of God Left in the World; and that the Burning Bush is not Consumed. Our Lord-Redeemer has thro' all Ages, a Church visibly Existing on the Face of the Earth; His Willing, [Page 25] and His Holy People. The Generation of them that seek Him: A Generation which Condemns the World, and Offends it, and [...] it, and must not marvel, if it be [...] of the World Satan, who is the God of this World, and the Spirit that works in the Children of Disobedience, fills his Children with an implacable Aversion and Antipathy for this People of God. They will grant not only Liberties, but also Preferments, to Devils Incarnate [...] yea, tho' they may differ very much among one another. But they will turn every Stone, that the Children of God may be Discouraged, and even Exterminated. The Persecution of Dissenters, has been in all Ages carried on; Always with most Unreasonable Barbarities, and sometimes, to an Extremity of cruel Dissipations; even such an Extremity, that the Dioclesians on the Thrones of Iniquity, have boasted, of a, Superstitione Christiana deleta; That there was no more Christianity [...]eft in the World. But still the Church of our Lord, Our-lives the Attempts of all its Adversaries, yea, gains ground, grows great, & improves by those Attempts; and having Obtained [Page 26] Help from God, it continues to this Day. The Song of the Church in all Ages hath been that; Psa. LXXVI. 10. Surely, The wrath of man shall praise thee, the Remainder of that Wrath shalt thou Restrain. We can hardly tell whence it is, That tho' the Wolves bring forth many more at a Littter, than the Sheep; and we seldom hear of a Wolf kill'd, when the Sheep is every day Led into the Shambles; yet there are a thousand times more Sheep known in the World than there are of those ravening Devourers. But I now propound a much stranger thing than this. The Faithful People of God, are Counted like sheep for the slaughter all the Day long. They are but a Little Flock, a very Little Little Flock; The Wolves, they, as it was of Old said about a Syrian Herd of them, Fill the Country. Now, Whence is it, that the Church is not utterly cut off; & the Name of it, no more had in Remembrance! Why have no Dayes of Purim, and of Bartholomew, nor Irish Massacres totally Extinguished it? Our Good God has acquainted us with the Reason of it; I witheld them. Oh! Let us now Give to our Good God, the Glory of such Wonderful Dispensations.
[Page 27] II. A Lesson of Wondrous Thankfulness is to be now taught unto those, whom God has Witheld from Sinning against Him. Sirs, You are Thankful, no doubt, that you have been Witheld from Things that would have brought Sicknesses upon you, or Things that would have wounded you with incureable Reproaches; That you have been Witheld from Wants and Straits, by which your Lives would have been Embittered; That you have been Witheld from grievous Deaths, by frightful Accidents which have threatened them. You are very much to Blame, if you are not very Thankful for such Deliverances; Unholy, if Unthankful! But are you Thankful that you have been Witheld from Sinning against the Glorious GOD? This, O Redeemed Ones, This is a greater Cause for Thanksgiving, than any of the rest. It may be, some of you have been all your Dayes hitherto upheld, and witheld from doing any Thing, of a Scandalous Aspect; Like the Young man in the Gospel, You have been kept from your Youth up, from every Thing that may be called, Scandalous. Oh! Be very Thankful, for so rare a Mercy; so rich a Mercy! Or, if not so, [Page 28] yet you have been witheld from such Scandals as you have seen Others fall into. God has not Left you to make your selves Prodigies of Sin; God has not hang'd you up in Chains, among the Monuments of his Wrath; Others no worse by Nature than you, have been so. Even in This, you have Ground of Thankfulness. Tis a Mercy of God; And a meer Mercy it is! Yea, My Hearers, I believe there are very few of you, but what may call to mind, that you have been at some Time or other, just upon the point of doing some very horrible Thing! You have been very violently push'd on, to do some horrible Thing, which if it had been done, you had been the most Undone Things in the World; Undone for Both Worlds! You may make that Report; Psal. LXXIII. 2. As for me, my Feet were almost gone, my steps had will-nigh, slipt. But God stept in, and saved you. O fall down before the Lord, and thankfully admire so obliging a Mercy; and say, Bless the Lord, O my Soul; I bless thee, O my God, for thou hast delivered my Soul, in delivering my Feet from the Falls I have been so near unto!
I will make Two Remarks on the Gratitude which is now called for. The [Page 29] One is this; In this thing it may so fall out, that you may give a shining Demonstration of your Sincerity before the Lord. It may be, 'tis by some sore and sharp Affliction upon you, that God has Witheld you from Sinning against Him. Well, Can you now so far heartily give Thanks to God for this Affliction; and can you heartily say, Lord, I bless thee, that thou wouldest rather, bind me in Affliction and Iron, and bring down my Heart with Labour, then let me run Loose in the broad way that Leads unto Destruction! He was a Saint of God, who could say; Psal. CXIX. 67, 71. Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I have kept thy Word. It is good for me, that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy Statutes. O Thou Sin-hating Soul; This would be a mark of Sincerity, that would have no less than on Evident Token of Salvation in it. The Other is this; You must not fall into a Dream, that a Negative Religion, will be enough to secure your Blessedness. Many men, because they have been Witheld from such Things as many others are chargeable withal, they fancy they have Religion enough. They [Page 30] can say, I am not as other men, or as this Publican, and they fancy here is Religion enough to put them in Good Terms with Heaven. A very Grand Mistake! You read; Matth. III. 10. Every Tree that brings not forth Good Fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the Fire. Tis not enough, that you bring not forth Evil Fruit; You must bring forth Good Fruit; and by a Regenerating Work of God upon you, be made Good Trees in order to it; You must not only be Witholden from Sin, but also be Converted from Sin; else you go into a Fire to be trembled at! Not only Sins of Commission, but also Sins of Omission, will expose you to it.
III. Certainly, it becomes us to do what we can, that Others as well as Our selves, may be Witheld from Sinning against the Glorious God. This is very plain; If the Mercy of God be great, in Witholding men from Sinning against Him, Then they who Seduce or Invite others to Sin, are the worst Enemies they can have in the world. Yea, 'tis a Mercy to be Delivered from such Unreasonable men; to be kept out of the Paths of such Destroyers! I will first say this; My Son, [Page 31] If Sinners Entice thee to be and to do like themselves, Oh! Consent thou not; Fly from them, as thou wouldest from the worst of Enemies; Make no Friendship with them, lest thou Get a snare to thy Soul. But O you, Enticers, what will be your Doom from God? What shall be given to you, or what shall be done to you, or, What shall be said of you. O ye Mischievous Ones? An Apostle of God once fixing his Eyes on one of your Tribe, said, O Full of all Mischief, Th [...] Child of the Devil! Were such a Man of God now to speak, he would surely tell you, Wretches, The Devil is your Father; you do his work. You shall be punished with your Father, and they who will Curse the Day th [...] ever they [...] you, will give a dread [...] Aggravation to your punishment. On the other side; Shall not we do what we can, to With [...]ld Others from Sin? Tis God-like: A most amiable Imitation of God; And, Oh! how acceptable to the Holy Lord! But what shall be done? Publick Officers may do very much in the Execution of their Offices. These are Masters of Restraint. And Oh! that all such would [...] themselves to think, What may I do, [...] Sin may be more discountenanced? [Page 32] God forbid, they should fall under that Blame, They have overpassed the Deeds of the Wicked. But Private Christians may also do much by their Faithful and Loving Admonitions. Oh! Let us Call upon one another, & Exhort one another daily, lest any be hardened, thro' the Deceitfulness of Sin. Our Warrant, it is unquestionable; Lev. XIX. 17. Thou shalt Rebuke thy Neighbour, and not suffer Sin upon him. And, if we all owe this Duty to one another,; if none but the Children of Gain will say, Am I my Brothers keeper? O Parents, How much do you owe this Duty unto your own Children, To Withold them from Sinning against God? Those Children of yours, [...] like the Wild Asses Colt, & as Wild and M [...]d, into what Sin will they run headlong, and headstrong, if you do not Withold them? And can you bear to see them Sinning against your God, and Theirs, and as Possessed Ones keep cutting & wounding themselves among the Monuments of the Dead? Oh! Be concerned for them. Instruct them; Advise them; Lay the Charges of God upon them; Enquire into their Manners; Do not suffer them in any Evil Manners; nor with Companions that may Corrupt [Page 33] their Good Manners. Have you forgot the Vengeance of God, on the House of Eli, when his Children made themselves Vile, and he Restrained them not! If they do any Vile Things, from which you can Withold them, Verily, you make their Guilt your own; and be it known to you, God will do such Things upon both of you, as your Ears might well tingle at the hearing of. I will now say but this; If the Children must go on as Children left unto themselves, and you will not Withold them, they will bring you to Shame, and themselves to Hell, and your Indulgence that will not allow you to make them sensible, that it is an Evil Thing and a Bitter, to Sin against God, will be found, Bitterness in the Latter End.
IV. But what if we have not been Witheld from Sinning against the Holy God, who is of purer Eyes than to behold Evil, and who cannot Look upon Iniquity? On! Let us then mourn exceedingly before the Lord, and not withold our Tears upon on Occasion so very deplorable! My Brethren, Let us look back on what is past, and Con [...]ider our Wayes. It may be, we shall find, that we have grievously, [Page 34] and heinously, perhaps notoriously Miscarried, in our Time What shall we now do, but Walk softly all our Days in the Bitterness of our Soul, from the Remembrance of our past Miscarriages. We would not have the Holy One to do it against us, but let us Remember against our selves, our Former Iniquities; and upon the Review thereof, Let our Lamentations be those; Lam. III. 19, 20. Remembring the Wormwood and the Gall, my Soul has them still in Remembrance, & is humbled in me. Have we been Left unto such as I may call. Sins of Distinction? It is a most humbling Remark that we have to make upon it. Other Dealings of God with us, be they never so Bitter Ones, may be but Paternal Chastisements after all. But when God leaves us to Sin against Him, This looks as if he dealt more Vindictively with us, Alas, Herein▪ He has wounded us with the wound of an Enemy, and with the Chastisement of a very Angry One. O dreadful, O dreadful, Indignation of God! We may now cry out, O Lord, Thou hast rebuked me in thy wrath; with wounds that stink & are corrupt, because of my Foolishness. The Wise man says concerning the Sins of Unchastity; They are the Abhorred of the [Page 35] Lord, that fall into them! I may say unto you, Sirs, To be given up to Sin, 'tis a plague for a Devil! Oh, Plague a thousand times more horrible than the Pestilence that is the Terror of the Night: How can we be free from Ter [...]or, when we see our selves thus horribly plagued, and in so hot a Displeasure of God!
And now, What remains to be done in this most Lamentable Case? What, but this? We must make our Flight unto our Great Saviour, and His Great Sacrifice, and for the Pardon, of our Sin, plead that Blood which Cleanses from all Sin. This must be done with a Repenting Soul: A Soul full of Contrition for Sin; full of Indignation against our selves for our Sin; full of Resolution to watch against all Return to our Sin. We must not lay the least Blame on the Holy God, for not Witholding us from Sin, but with an unspeakable Remorse blame our selves for not Looking up unto Him to Withhold us. This Repentance must never be Laid aside; it must be often Renewed; it must be always Maintained; it must Live to the Last; never be laid aside until we Die. The Penitential Psalms, and the Records of our Sins, that call for our Penitentials, the very Curtains [Page 36] of our Death-bed, as I may say, should have these written upon them. We must hereupon Study to Excel in such Vertues, and such Vertuous Actions, as are very directly contrary to the points wherein we have more Egregiously Sinned. We should set our selves to think; What Good Thing shall I labour to be and to do, that I may Glorify God, in the way that is most contrary to that wherein I have dishonoured Him? Upon this, All our past Sins will [...]e before the Lord, as if they had never been at all. A God ready to pardon, will now say of us, I will Remember their Sins no more. However, with us they should not be so. We should always Remember them. I am now preparing, A Treacle out of a Viper. Since we have not been Witheld from some very Enormous Out-breakings of Sin, by this very [...]ing, we may and should be Witheld from One Sin which is very offensive to the most High God; such an Offence, that He knows them, & throws them afar off, and makes Rejected Lepers of them that are under the power of it; PRIDE is that Sin. It may be, our Pride caused our Fall; And now our Fall may cure our Pride. It may be of Use to Withold Pride from [Page 37] us. It may inspire into us, a most Abasing, a most Beautiful Humility. After we have so fallen, methinks, we should never be Lifted up with Pride any more. If a proud Thought begin to rise in our Minds, we should presently retund it, with such a Stroke upon it; What! Such a Wretch as I, ever be proud of any thing! When we meet with any Contemptuous Treatment among our Neighbours, we should now bear it very patiently. Think, My Sin has made me a Contemptible Creature! And let this Thought produce a perfect work of Patience in us; Being Reviled, now Revile not again. And, when we see oothers Overtaken with a Fault, with what Compassion, with what [...], with what Clemency, should we [...] dulcify the Reproofs, which we [...] give unto them! Considering our selves, how we have been Tempted! Here the Riddle of, Meat out of the Eater, will be accomplished admirably!
But I see one in this Auditory, who has very peculiar cause to be Attentive unto these Things; and I suppose, he does give such an Attention, as can be expected from no one else in this Congregation of God. A Young man, [Page 38] who has not been witheld from a Sin, for which now he must not be witheld from the Pit; he must hasten to the Pit, and [...] one may stay him. This Youth has with some Expression of Amazement at it, signified unto me, some sense of the Strange Wayes, which the Holy One takes to bring home his Elect unto Himself. Had he not been Left unto the Capital Crime for which he is now to Dy, he thinks he had probably gone on Sinning, and Stupid, and Secure, and Slept himself into a Damnation that Slumbreth not. But his Capital Crime has bro't him into such Awakening Circumstances that [...] he shall be Effectually bro't [...] unto God. Ah, poor David; [...] I wish, We all pray, That thou [...] find it so! I need not now Rep [...]t unto you, the Directions for a Sound Repentance, which the Ministers of God in this Town, are charitably and continually inculcating upon you. There was a David, who had the Guilt of Innocent Blood upon him; With the Strains and the Cries, and the Tears, of the Fifty first Psalm, he found Mercy with God. I know something of the price you set upon that admirable Psalm. [Page 39] Do so still; and present before God, the Blood of a dear JESUS, for the Expiation of your Bloody Murder, and of all the Sins, which have so provoked the Holy One, that He has not witheld you from it. That Blood is an Open Fountain; yea, Open for a Menasseh, and for a Murderer! A Country-man of yours, Executed for Murder, after his Flight unto that Soul-cleansing Blood, went chearfully to his Execution; and often used those words; God is a Great Forver! God is a Great Forgiver! Verily, A Repenting David will find Him so.
I will inform the Auditory. This poor Young man tells me; He uses all his power to turn unto God; but he finds he has no power, in himself; He looks up to God for power, and owns himself unworthy that God should give it him. He tells me, He sees his Heart full of Corruption, and his Life all Iniquity; but he looks on all Sin as most odious, because it is an Offence unto God. He tells me, That a Saviour appears to him, the best thine in the word; & an Interest in Him worth a thousand worlds. He tells me, That he desires the Saviour to Reconcile. God unto him, and also to humble him, [Page 40] and give a New Heart unto him, & fill his Heart with the Love of God. He tells me, That the Hope he has of Mercy from God, breaks his Heart for him; & makes him think, What he shall do for God. Particularly, He desires, that his Sins may be known to all the World; & that all the World may be warned from him, and witheld from Sinning against God. If all this be Hearty, 'tis well. Repentance in Distress, is often so Deceitful, that, Young man, you cannot be too jealous of your own Heart, in yours. But, I shall proceed unto another Article of work, that is now provided for me.
V. Learn where to go, Learn what to do, that we may be Witheld from Sinning against our God. Oh! Tis a Mercy, no Tongue is able to declare how Desireable; more to be Desired than Gold, than much fine Gold! And one may shake to think, what they who are not very Desirous of it, may be Left unto.
There are especially Three Counsils, which I am now to tender you.
First. You must not be too Confident; you must beware of rash Confidence. Don't Confidently presume upon it, That [Page 41] there is any One Sin, from which you can Withold your selves. I tell you truly, There is no One Sin more certainly, and more awfully corrected, by a mans being Left unto some very flagrant Sin, than this Vain Presumption. The best Advice that can be given us, is that; 1 Cor. 10. 12. Let him that thinks, he stands, take heed lest he fall. When we see any one fall into the most Atrocious Crimes that can be found among the Sons of Men, whose Hearts are fully set in them to do Evil; it becomes us to Reflect with one of the pious Ancients; Ille heri, Ego hodie, Tu cras. He fell yesterday, because Left unto himself; I shall fall To Day, and, you, my Brother, will fall To morrow, if God Leave us, as He di [...] that Fallen Sinner. Don't say within your selves, (I use the Term within your selves, because few have so little Wit, as to speak it audibly;) Well, I am sure, I shall never do so Base a Thing, as I have seen done by such a man. Man, my Heart akes, to hear thee say so. When David had his Heart smiting him, for a small Disrespect shown unto a Father-in-law, had any one told him, Sir, You shall one Day fall into very filthy Adulteries, and when you have done so, instead of taking [Page 42] an easie way to cover them, you shall fly to treacherous and barbarous Murders for the Covering of them, and the whole world shall in all Ages be astonished at what you'll be Left unto! Doubtless, he would have derided the praediction; He would have said, It is impossible! When Peter was told, that he would within a few Hours, Deny, Renounce, Forswear the Lord, whom he thought, he lov'd above a thousand Worlds; did he believe a word of it? But all the World have with Astonishment seen the Consequences! David Wallis once thought as little as another man, that he should ever come, to what we now see him come to. Oh! Work out your own Salvation with fear & trembling, of what you may be Left unto.
Secondly. Prayer to God, with Faith in the only Saviour, who is Able to keep you from falling; This is a most necessary Course, that you may not Fall to the breaking of your Bones; Fall into the horrible Pit. Our dear Saviour, has undertaken to keep His people, from the Falls into Sin, that might Separate them from the Love of God. All the Grace that is needful to keep us from any Falls, 'tis Lodg'd and Laid up in our dear Saviour for us. When we come into the Covenant [Page 43] of Grace, 'tis with a Consent, That our Saviour shall be our Keeper: This incomparable Nazarene. We say to Him, Lord, thou art He that keeps my Soul! And we Lay Hold on that word, The Lord shall preserve thy Soul. But then, frequent must be our Supplications unto the Lord. Supplicate at that rate; Oh! Let not my Heart be inclined unto any Evil Thing! Supplicate at that rate; Oh! Do thou hold me up and I shall be safe; and I shall have Respect unto thy Statutes continually! Supplicate at that rate? Consider me, O Lord my God, Le [...]t my Enemy say, I have prevailed against him! Tis a most suitable petition for you; Psal. CXIX. 116. Lord, Uphold me, according to thy Word. Souls, you are not so much urged unto that Prayer, Lord, Withold me from a state of Poverty: For one may be poor in this▪ World, and Rich in Faith. You are not so much urged unto that Prayer, Lord, Withold me from a Disgraced or a Despised Name. For one may have their Honour here Laid in the Dust, and yet have a Name written in Heaven. You are not so much urged unto that Prayer, Lord, Withold me from Sicknesses; For one may be Sick, and yet be one whom Jesus loves. But [Page 44] this, this is the Prayer I urge you to; Lord, Withold me from Sinning against thee. Think a thousand times on that word, Wo unto them, when I depart from them!
Thirdly. Take the Warnings of such as have not been witheld from Sin; Be warned, Be warned, against Sin, when you see what their Sin has brought them to.
Especially, Let our Young People now take heed, that they do not slight the warnings of God. Methinks, I overhear the merciful God, saying over the Young People in this Place, How shall I give them up! And He therefore multiplies unto them those warnings, on which every one might Reasonably say, Surely, They will now fear God, and receive Instruction, that so they may not be cut off. Among those whom God has employ'd for the warning of the Young People in this Place, that they may be witheld from Sinning against Him, here is a poor Young man before you, that is just going to the Dead. God is this day holding up a Young man in Chains, that all the Young People of New-England, [Page 45] may take warning from him, and be witheld from Sinning against the God of their Fathers. When Asahel had been smitten by Abner, we read, 1 Sam. II. 23. It came to pass, that as many as came to the Place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still. Behold here a poor Young man smitten to Death; You are come to the place where a Young man falls down and dies, in the Violent pu [...] suit of many Sins. Young men, won't you stand still at this Bleeding Spectacle By a Young man thus Lying in his Blood, [...]e witheld from going on any [...] in such Sins, as you now hear hi [...] [...] with the Groans of a Deadly Wounded Man complaining of! He desires [...] and it is a Token for Good upon his that he does so; To make use of [...] Tragical Example, for the saving [...] others, from such Sins, as have destroy [...], and Murdered him, and [...] brought him unto the Death [...]. I am to tell you, [...] Things that Ly Heavy upon [...] he is the more willing [...] [Page 46] have them told, because he hopes, a merciful Saviour who has called such Heavy-Laden Sinners unto Him, has taken off the heavy Loads: The sad causes of Heaviness.
First; His Disregard unto Parental Instructions; This Troubles Him. He was bred in a Family, that had in it the Exercises of Piety, and he was there Instructed in his Catechism. These Early means of Good, had no Impression on him: And so he proves one, whose Father has no Joy. [Good God, [...] thou and support his Distressed Father, when the Tidings of this Day arrive unto him.] The Trouble for such unfruitfulness makes [...]ow a great Impression on him. We read of some who had been well counselled by their Father, but proved vitious Young men: I pray, what came they to? We read, 1 Sam. II. 25. They hearkned not unto the voice of their Father, because the Lord would s [...]ay them. Children, Hearken to this, Your Parents give you their counsils, To Converse much with the word of God, [Page 47] and, To uphold the Religion of the Closet, and, To shun Wicked Company. Won't you Hearken to them? Tis because the Great God has a dreadful Thing to do upon you. You now make nothing of Troubling your Parents. Be assured, God will Trouble you for your Impiety. And when you are in your Troubles, your outcry will be, How have I not obey'd the voice of my Teachers, nor inclined my Ear to them that instructed me! It is a Thing, which I wish you would more think upon; Very few come to the Gallowes, but what make that outcry there; My undutiful carriage to my Parents, has Laid the Foundation of all the Confusion that is come upon me! And the more of a Religious Education the Children have had, the more it may be expected, that the Holy God will appear as a swift Witness against them, if they do not answer it. I suppose there are many Young men, who have been more Extravagant and Rebellious Prodigals, than this Young man; who yet has been Bad enough. But no doubt, his Education, [Page 48] This has hastened the Judgments of God upon him, has Ripened him for the Judgments of God. Children of a Good Education, If you do Wickedly, the Judgments of God, will cut you off, more fearfully, and speedily, than any in the World.
There is another thing, that this Young man very much layes to Heart; that is, Ungoverned passion, Inordinate passion: This at last, brought a Stabbing Fury upon him; You see what it has cost him. The Discretion of a man, will defer, and abate and allay his Anger. Cholerick People, will be Indiscreet; cannot but often speak and act very Indiscreetly. Passion will betray the wisest Men, into inexcusable Folly. They are first Blind, then Mad, that are under the furious conduct of it. A Moses himself in a Passion, will break both Tables of the Law. If the Angry Children of Dan will not run upon me, I would advise them; When you find a fit of Anger come upon you, presently think, There will nothing be so well [Page 49] spoke or done in Anger, but what would be much better out of it. Presently think, The Wrath of Man won't work the Righteousness of God. Utter not a word, until you have lift up your Hearts to God; O my God, let me have the Meekness of Wisdom now adorning of me! Unbridled Anger, will certainly hurry you on to Things, that must be Repented of. I must Entreat you particularly to beware of Rash Words in your passion; God hears them; & those words may return in Wounds upon you, which you little think of. This Young man who now stands before you, too often, & very rashly in his former vain Conversation used that Expression, I'll be hang'd if—not so and so. Tis impossible for him to Express the pain of Soul with which he now looks back upon it. I will go on to tell you, If there be Hatred, if there be Malice, invenoming of your Anger; if you really wish Ill to them that you are Angry with; I must say, Cursed is the Anger, for it is raging, it is Hellish; and the [Page 50] Wrath, for it is Cruel, it is Devillish. There is a Murder in it: It it a Murder in the Egg of the Cockatrice. It will render a Man, that Murderer whom Eternal Life does not belong unto.
The Young man mourns for another Thing, which too often breaks out, as the smoke of the Bottomless Pitt, from a a Soul raging in his Folly. Tis this; Because of Swearing his Heart mourns: The profane Swearing and Cursing, wherewith sometimes he struck at the Glorious & Fearful Name of GOD. This now recoils upon himself; Tis a Dagger at his Heart, now God has made his Plagues Wonderful. A most Senseless Iniquity! All the sense of it, is, to declare, an open Defiance of GOD. The Transgression of the Wicked Swearer,serves only to declare, That there is no Fear of God before his Eyes. The Great GOD, who is the Creator, and Preserver, and Governour of the whole World, of all Worlds; and on whom we all have our continual Dependance for every [Page 51] thing; For an insolent worm, to count it a Decency, and a Bravery, in him, to [...] Contempt on this Almighty GOD! A Senseless Villian, that has nothing to plead for this outrage of Wickedness! There can be neither pleasure nor profit in it. It is a Daughter of the Devil disposed without any Dowry! Christians, we have too Light Thoughts of it. If the Fear and Love of GOD had not very much left the World, the Fine for this Crime would be much greater than it is, and it would be more Zealously Executed; and they that are in it, would be so [...] to us, that we should even disdain to look upon them. A famous King in France punished Blasphemers by Searing the Lips of the Blasphemers with an hot Iron. It was Executed on a rich Citizen in Parts, for which they cried out upon him a [...] a Tyrant; which when he heard of he made this Reply; I would to God, that with Searing my own Lip [...], I could banish all Blasphemers, and all Wick [...] Oathes, [...] of my Kingdom. It will signifie [Page 52] Little, for any of your Ministers to say, We could be content never to speak any more, if that would purchase a Silence for that Hellish Language that is often heard among us. But this I will say, A Tongue b [...]ed with an hot Iron, would be a less Evil than a Tongue so set on Fire of Hell. Whither are you Travelling, O you that have learn'd the Language of Fiends; It cannot but be down to the Torment of Fiends: A Torment where such a Tongue will be gnaw'd for Pain, and a Drop of water to Ease the Scorches of it, will in vain be roared for. I bring that passage of the Divine Oracles, What Man is he who desireth Life, & Loveth many Days! Keep thy Tongue from Evil. Alas! I bring it with a Lively Commentary; I must say, with a Deadly Commentary!
There is yet another Introduction to all mischief, which this Young Man does now in sober sadness bestow his [...]ears upon. I cannot hear that he was a Common Drunkard; but if he had no [...] been somewhat in Drink, at the [Page 53] Time of it, (which he had been, alas, at other times) it is probable he had never done the Fact for which he sees the cutting off of his Days, and is deprived of the Residue of his Years. Nor is he the only one, that has been Executed in this Place, for things done by them, when Strong Drink had Enraged them. Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Holy One, I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; That Lying proverb, A Drunken man gets no Harm. I thought, you had seen Harm, enough to follow upon Drunkenness, in the Ignominy, which it fixes upon them that wallow in it; Harm enough, in the wast of Substance that arises from such Beastly Living; Harm enough in the Diseases, in the Dis [...]sters, in the untimely Deaths which it Leads unto: And, what? No Harm in the Wounds which the Slaves of the Bottle bring upon all the Faculties of their Souls▪ Truly, tis a very great Significancy, which I find in the Language of [...] doustan; [Page 54] Tis a copious Language, and yet it uses but one word for A Drunkard, and A Madman. But if this be not enough, certainly, to be brought to the Gallows is Harm enough. O Lovers of Strong Drink, There is Death in that Pott, that Cup, with which you are intoxicated. Never give over crying to God, until he has delivered you, from the Vice, which thus drowns you in Perdition.
But I am informed of one thing, which will perfectly Shock every Sober Christian that shall hear of such a thing. I remember our Tertullian, in his Apologetick relates, how severe the Ancient Romans were, against their Women, if any of Them were found hankering after Strong drink. I suppose, he took his Relation out of Pliny. And indeed he, and Cicero, and some other Roman Writers, report such severities used on that occasion, that I do not care to mention them, lest abused Husbands under their irritations take too much Advantage of it. So much I will [Page 55] say; Drunkenness in a Woman, was as Criminal among them as Adultery. But now, it is said; That there are Women in this Place who are no Strangers to the Sin, and Trade of Excessive Drinking. The Town has had cause to know the Truth of this; Ah! Miserable Women: The Blemish of their Sex: And such as the Countrey may call, as one did his Daughter, the Ulcers of it! I can tell the Name of a Pious Woman, who was unjustly suspected of being in Drink. That Handmaid of the Lord, in her Vindication cried out, No, I should be a Daughter of Beliel, if I should be guilty of such a thing. To them who cannot so well Vindicate themselves as Hannah could, I will say; How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy Strong Drink from thee! If thou art a Woman of a sorrowful Spirit, instead of pouring in Strong Drink, Oh! Much rather, pour out thy Soul unto the Lord.
I think, the Young man is willing, that I should from him also tell you, That when a Man comes to Dye, the [Page 56] Sins of Unchastity, will be Felt as more bitter than Death unto him. One of old who had Experience enough, Pronounced them so. I can at this Hour show you another, who does it. Sins they are, that leave Cursed stings behind them. There is one thing which I have more than once or twice observed; and I have heard that the famous Mr. Perkins, also, who dealt much with Condemned Prisoners, observed it. Adultery was Capital in the old Law of Israel, and is so at this Day in the Law of some other Nations. Tis not so in our Law; yea, This Adulterous Generation makes a Trifle of it. But very many of them who come to a Capital Execution for other things, cry out, God has set my secret Adulteries in the Light of His Countenance; my Secret Adulteries, I see God has known them, and been a Witness of them. O you that pursue any Unlawful Amours, Give over; God will Judge you, if you go on any further in them. Let the Harlots of this [Page 57] Place also be afraid, and fearfulness surprize the Lewd Women of the Town; The Houses where some of them dwell, are too well known; Bruitish Ones, You are going to dwell with a Devouring Fire, with Everlasting Burnings.
One thing more: My poor Young man does Lament the Temptations, & the Wretchednesses of the Sea-faring Life exceedingly. He ran to Sea Ten years ago, when he was about fourteen Years of Age, without and against the mind of his Father; Tho' he has been since Reconciled unto his Father, yet he has found the Ill Effects of so leaving him. The Sea, that ever that Element should be so poisoning, so polluting! Truly, Our Sea-faring Tribe, do call for a most extraordinary Concern and Pity from us!
You, Our Brothers, are under many Obligations to be the Best of men. But I hear that you are much otherwise, & I partly believe it. Yea, It is commonly Reported, That the Sailours are sensibly degenerated in the Last Ten or a [Page 58] dozen years; Tho' God knows, there was Little Reason for their Degeneracy! Ah, What shall we Do for you? We Love you, We Value you, we Rejoice in you, we Pray for you, we wish you well, our So [...]ls are Travailing for your Welfare. We long to see your Vessels a sort of Little Churches for the Worship of God practised in them, and for the Abhorrence & Avoidance of every Wicked Thing aboard. We Long, we Long, to have it said of our Mariners, The Men fear the Lord exceedingly. Others have given you many Solemn Calls, to Repent, and Return, and become a Generation that may comfortably look for the Blessings of God. Behold, One of your own Tribe, in his Fetters here calling upon you; Oh! Take warning by me; Live Religiously; Ly no longer in the Gall of Bitterness, and Bond of Iniquity [...] God grant, that these Calls may not be Lost upon you. Few of you Live to be Old; some of you Dy in your Sins, and for your Sins, and very miserable. [Page 59] Oh! That you, yea, and all this Auditory, would now come to this Conclusion; Lord, I have thought on my wayes, and I have turned my Feet unto thy Testimonies.
But the vast Body of Young People in this Auditory, and throughout the Country, are those who are once again, to be moved with Fear in hearing the Tremendous Warnings of God. God has here taken another YOUNG-MAN & Exhibited him for all the Young People in the Countrey to tremble at the Spectacle. Herein, Lo, God sends out His Voice, and that a mighty Voice! The Youth also from his Chains, does utter his Cries; Oh! Look on me, Young People, and Learn of me, what will become of you, if you so disoblige the Glorious God, that He shall not withold you from Sinning against Him! That so many of our Young People, after all the Warnings, which the Great God has given unto them, continue still Unconverted unto God, and Serious Piety, and Go on still in their Trespasses by which they [Page 60] bespeak the Wounds of His Irritated Wrath; Tis, a Lamentation, & it will be for a Lamentation. There are Multitudes of Young People, who remain Strangers unto Conversion to their Saviour, and unto the Religion of the Closet, wherewith a True Conversion always begins, and is for ever accompanied. And there are some who abandon themselves unto the most abominable Courses, in which they fortify themselves by the Force of Evil Company. I am verily perswaded, There is an Oracle of the Great God, which many of our Young People are very deeply concerned in. Hearken to it, O Children of Incorrigible Folly; Hearken to what is from the Sacred Place of Thunder to be now uttered among you; Hear attentively the Noise of the Voice of God, and the Sound that goes out of His mouth; and Let your Hearts also tremble at it. It is that; Prov. XXIX. 1. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his Neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without Remedy. [Page 61] I am afraid, I am afraid, I am afraid, That before many Months are Expiredan [...] God, will no longer Extend His [...] Patien [...], but single our some Young people, [...] accomplish this terrible word upon them. How happy would it be, for some of our Young people, if an Hand of Heaven would condescend so far, as to appear unto them, and Write that Sentence on the Wall before their Eyes! It were well if it could be [...] written on the Walls of those Houses, I [...] say, those Pest-Houses, where they resort, for Gaming, and for Drinking, or for B [...]dy Entertainments, and all the purposes of Evil Company. But, whether the Sentence be [...] those Walls or no, it stands Written by the Hand of Heaven in the Book of God. Methinks, it should make your looks Change, your Thoughts to Trouble you, and your Knees [...] smite one against another [...] For it will be [...] fully accomplished! It is a remarkable passage; Heb. VI. 8. The Earth which bears Thorns and Briars, is nigh unto Cursing, its End is to be Burned: That is to say, The End of the Briars and Thorns that grow upon it: The Children of Belial, whereof David long ago said, They shall utterly be consumed with Fire. Mark what I say; New-England is a Field of God. Many Good, Rich, sweet Fruits have grown in this Field; and being bound up in the Bundle of Life are Transplanted unto the Celestial Paradise. O Children of New-England, If you prove Degenerate Things; [...] and Thorns, and Lothsome Weeds, and hurtful [Page 62] [...] in this Field; you are Nigh unto Cursing: The Curse is not yet Executed on you; God waits one year after another, to see what you will prove. But the Execution of the Curse, it is Nigh, it is Nigh, to you; The Day is [...]ear, it is near, and it hastens Greatly. God will make a Quick Work of it. It won't be long before you are thrown into the Fires for which the Tares are to be burned. An End [...]e [...]s Fire will be the End of such Briars and Thorns; and the End is very Nigh to them, when their secure Souls do least of all imagine it, and put far away the Evil Day. O Children of New-England, Be a fraid of coming to such an End.
The first Counsil to you, must be that, which if you take it not, no Good Counsil will take any place upon you. Tis, Forsake the Foolish and Live. Tis, Do not sit with vain Persons. Tis, Break off your Familiarity with such wicked Creatures, as you may perceive by their Shibboleths, their Mocking at Religion, their Scoffing and Railing at the Ministers of God, their not bridling of their Tongue, to be the Children of Wickedness. It was an Imperial Sentence, Malas consociationes putamus proximas esse Criminibus; Evil Companions will soon bring Men to Evil Practices. Oh! Take your leave of them, in those Terms; Psal. CXIX. 115. Depart from me, ye Evil Doers; for I will keep the Commandments of my God. A Person of Quality, who Ended his Days at the Gallowes on Tower-hill, used those Pathetical words; If I had hearkened unto the Hundred and [Page 63] nineteenth Psalm; and the Hundred and fifteenth Verse, I had never come to this. That I will say to you, If you will not hearken unto the Hundred and nineteenth Psalm, and the Hundred and fifteenth Verse, no man can say, what you will come to: To no Good, you may be sure of it. But if this point be gain'd, Then I hope, you will go on to Embrace your only Saviour, and study His Beaut [...]es & obey His Commands, and say unto Him. O Lord, I am thy Servant! I am thine, Save me. I hope, I leave you all, in the Frame that you find Exemplified; Psal. CXIX. 57. Thou art my Portion, O Lord, I have said, That I would keep thy Words.
But unto you, O poor Young man, who are now to Dye in Youth, because your Life has been among the Unclean; and to Dye before your Time, for having been▪ especially in one point, Wicked overmuch, all that now remains for me to add, after all the many Instructions which the Servants of God have bestow'd upon you, is this. Tho' your Sins are what they have been, yet Return unto me, saith the Lord. You are a Prisoner of Hope, to find Mercy with that God, who says to the Returning Sinner, I will have Mercy, and I will abundantly Pardon. In the Proverbs of Israel, [Chap. XXXI. 6.] We read about, Giving Wine to them that are of heavy Hearts, because ready to perish. Accordingly among the Jews, there was that which they gave unto Criminals going to be Executed. It may be called by Amos, The Wine of the Condemned; and some think, it is what is called by David, [Page 64] The Wine of Astonishment: [...]. Man; I am not going to bring unto thee, a potion to Stupify thy Senses; No, I give thee the most Solemn Caution in the World; Awake, Awake, O Soul on the Brink of Eternity: And be afraid of nothing so much as a Stupified Soul; be afraid of nothing so much, as l [...]st a Spirit of Slumber sieze upon thee, after the Serpent has bitten thee, and lest a Deceived Heart in thee take up with a Defective Repentance. But I bring thee a Cordial of that Wine, which, O Soul ready to peri [...] thy Heavy Heart may justly esteem above a thousand Worlds. I have known a poor Malefactor, here Executed for a Murder, but [...] some hopeful Appearance of Repentance [...] that word, for his last, and [...] Dye withal; A word that I [...] leave with you, for you in your Dying Moments to Live upon; That is a faithful saying, and worthy of all Acceptation: [...] Christ Jesus came into the World, to Save Sinners; of whom I am Chief.