LVI.

[Gen. 3.

19.]

SERM. inclinations; not remembering the sentence of God upon all mankind, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread all the days of thy life;" a sentence designed, in great mercy, to make this world uneasy to us, that we may set our hearts upon a world where true ease and peace are to be found. So great are the mischiefs, so great the sin, of an idle, useless life!

[Phil. 2. 12.]

Indeed there is a diligence as evil, and even worse than doing nothing. There are people who even take pains to ruin themselves and others; there are too many whose whole lives are spent in laborious pleasures; and the most of all do labour hard for that which will not profit them in the end.

None of these, we may be sure, do answer the end of their creation, which is, to glorify God, and to fit ourselves for that happiness for which we were made.

This is what concerns us all to know and to think of, as ever we hope to be happy. This is the fruit expected from us; and for which only our lives are continued to us. And lastly, this is what the Apostle exhorts Christians earnestly to think of," and to work out their salvation with fear and trembling;" that is, with a concern suitable to the work they have to do. Of which work take this short account:

We have, every soul of us, dishonoured God by our sins; and therefore have offended Him, and must make our peace with Him, by a sincere repentance, and this forthwith, lest we should provoke Him to cut us off before we have done it.

We have, the very best of us, contracted too great a love for this world; and it will be expected, and will require time and pains, to wean our hearts from it, and to gain such tempers as are absolutely necessary to fit us for heaven.

We have, too many of us, contracted evil habits, and these we must get rid of, and that as soon as possible, lest we carry them with us into another world, for then we are ruined.

We stand in need of the grace of God every day of our lives; and if we do not every day of our lives pray for it, we have no reason to expect it.

We receive favours from God continually; and as we hope for the continuance of His blessings, we are obliged to give Him thanks as often as we receive them.

We are obliged to honour God by doing our duty in that state of life in which His providence has placed us.

Whether we are parents, or children; or masters, or servants; or magistrates, or pastors; or poor, or rich; all have their several duties, by discharging of which, as we ought to do, we honour God, and answer the end of our creation, and are fitting ourselves for a better life.

And we are not to forget that we shall meet with difficulties in the doing these several duties.

We have enemies to watch against; the devil, a very powerful spirit, seeking whom he may devour, finding them off their guard, or from under the protection of God; the world, a very corrupt world, tempting us to follow its ways, which lead to certain destruction; and lastly, our own corrupt hearts, powerfully inclining us to evil. So that we need not be at pains to be undone : we shall be undone of course, if we do not, through the great grace of God, strive to overcome these difficulties.

In short, that Christian who fancies that he has little or nothing to do, in order to be saved, and is at a loss how to spend his time, does not yet know what it is to be a Christian, and is in some danger of being treated as a fruitless tree: Cut it down, &c.

And were it not for the infinite goodness and patience of God, who waits for our amendment, this sentence would have been executed upon many who yet live, and have time given them to save themselves from ruin.

9; 1 Tim.

John 3. 16.]

God (His Spirit assures us) " is not willing that any should [2 Pet. 3. perish, but that all should come to repentance;" for He 2.4; Ezek. would have all men to be saved, and to come to the know- 18. 32; ledge of the truth. He has declared, "that He has no pleasure in the death of sinners." And He so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him," and so believeth as to obey His laws, "shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

What are all these most gracious declarations for, but to encourage sinners to lay hold of His mercy, while they have time given them to do it in? And they certainly abuse His goodness and patience, when they delay one moment to repent, and to lead holy lives.

And take notice, I beseech you, of what the Holy Spirit declares will be the punishment of those who despise the

LVI.

SERM. riches of His goodness and patience, and long-suffering; not considering that the goodness of God is intended to lead [Rom. 2.5.] sinners to repentance. "They treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath;" than which there is nothing more severe nor more certain, however little sinners think of it.

And for God's sake, let us all remember, what the Spirit assures us, "that there is a day of salvation, an accepted time;" that this day and this time passes away continually; and if we do not lay hold of it, the day of wrath will follow; that there is a time when we may be heard, and therefore a time when we shall not be heard; when the Spirit of God will no longer strive with us; when sinners have not been bettered by the means of grace and salvation offered them, but have long despised and resisted the Spirit of God, and grieved Him by their evil deeds. In short, there is a time when the dresser of the vineyard will no longer intercede for the fruitless tree, there being no longer hopes of its being bettered by His pains.

Who this charitable dresser of the vineyard is, and what methods He takes to preserve His plantation from being cut down, we now come to consider.

Who can this be, but the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who is our Advocate with God, interceding for those whom He hath redeemed with His most precious blood; and who by His Holy Spirit, and by His ministers, is continually labouring to make us bring forth fruits worthy of a place in His vineyard; and to prevent, if possible, the being rooted up, and cast out to be burned? To this end, "He speaks once, yea twice, though men perceive it not ;" by mercies, by judgments, by disappointments; by all other methods most likely to make us consider the end of our creation, and to pursue it with concern and zeal.

It is He who sends His ministers, to exhort, to warn, to give men notice, of the threatened ruin, if they do not repent and amend their bad lives. They are these His ministers, who join with their Lord and Master, to beg of God to continue His patience towards the flock committed to their several charges; who remember you in their prayers to God for you; who beg of God to root out all growing vices, to

pardon what is past, and that iniquity may not be your

ruin.

And happy is it for their flock when they do this; and woe to them if they do it not! for "they watch for your [Heb. 13. souls, as they that must give an account."

Which brings us to the next thing that this parable puts us in mind of: the dreadful end of impenitent sinners. "If it bear fruit, well; if not, after that thou shalt cut it down;" that is, I will intercede for it no longer; all the labour bestowed upon it is in vain; no fruit can be expected from it; it is only fit to be burned.

Would men but apply this to themselves, and suppose this should be their own case, it would make the stoutest heart to tremble.

But the great misfortune of too many is this; they will not believe that they are in so great danger, till it be too late to prevent it, till the axe is laid to the root of the tree, and it is just going to be cut down.

In short, you see, Christians, that there is an appointed time in which God offers grace to sinners, and an opportunity of working out their salvation, by glorifying God, and mending their corrupt nature; and that when this is neglected and past, they have nothing to expect but judgment without mercy.

17.]

It was this consideration that made the compassionate vine-dresser [our blessed Saviour] to weep over His vineyard [the people of Jerusalem] in these most sorrowful words: "Ah! happy had it been for thee, if thou hadst known in [Luke 19. 41, &c.] this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes;" that is, by thine own sins and infidelity in not giving heed to the warnings thou hast had, thou hast at last provoked God to leave thee to thine own blindness, which will end in thy destruction.

Thus, my Christian brethren, matters stand with all of us. We are gone astray from God: God has appointed us a time in which to return to Him and to our duty; if we lose this time, we are certainly undone.

This is not what He desires, and therefore He spares us, a men capable of knowing their danger, and the way to avoid Wisd. 12. it; as we are told He did with the Canaanites; not that He 8, &c.

SERM. was unable to have destroyed them at once, but that executing His judgments by little and little, He gave them space for repentance.

LVI.

And thus He deals with all mankind; and they that perish, perish through their own perverse fault and blindness. They will not see the time and opportunities which God, the merciful God, affords them, in which to work out their salvation.

Have a little patience, and I will shew you the true reason of this; why we do not see and acknowledge the kindness and mercy of God in all the dispensations of His providence, which are designed to awaken and call us to our duty.

If He visits us with sickness, we consider it only as the pure effect of natural causes, and what every body is subject to, and which could not be avoided; though perhaps it was intended as the last call to repentance that ever we are to have.

If any thing befalls us that is very grievous to nature; as loss of children, of goods, or of limbs; we are apt to ascribe it to chance, mere chance; whereas nothing can happen to us, but by the order or permission of God; and it is designed for our good, if we could but be persuaded to consider it, either to awaken us when we grow careless, or to lead us to do our duty, or to punish us in this world that we may escape it in the next.

If the ministers of God warn you of the danger you are in by reason of your careless and very sinful lives, you are too apt to look upon it as their business to say such things, rather than your concern to lay them to heart.

If God gives you health, you are apt to forget that ever you must die; and if He lays you upon the bed of sickness, you are as apt to satisfy your minds with good resolutions, if ever you shall recover, which are too often forgot.

If He gives you uneasiness of mind, or trouble of conscience, you are impatient till you can cast off fear, and be as easy as the rest of the world; and if He gives you peace of mind, you conclude all is safe, and there is no need at all to fear.

But there is still another cause of men's blindness, and neglect of their salvation; and that is, a constant hurry of