232 Direction (5). Fifthly, If you would be good betimes, if you would know, scek, and serve the Lord in the spring and morning of your youth, then take heed betimes of carnal reason, take heed of consulting with flesh and blood, Gal. i. 15, 16. Many a hopeful young man hath been undone temporally and undone eternally, by hearkening to those evil counsellors. Carnal reason is an enemy, yea, an utter enemy, nay, it is not only an utter enemy, but it is enmity, yea, enmities, Rom. viii. 7. An enemy may be reconciled, but eninity can never be reconciled. Carnal reason is not only averse, but it is utterly averse to all goodness; it builds strongholds and syllogisms against the most glorious gospel truths, and accounts the precious things of Christ as a strange thing. Carnal reason will make God and gospel do homage to it. When carnal reason is in the throne, Christ and his truths must all bow or be judged before its bar. Ah! young men, young men, as ever you would be good betimes, stop your ears against all carnal reasonings within you. Carnal reason judges the choicest things of the gospel to be mere foolishness, 1 Cor. i. 23. It is purblind, and cannot see how to make a right judgment of Christ, his word, his ways, and yet will control all. If you are resolved to be still scholars to this master, then you must resolve to be unhappy here and miserable hereafter. But it is safer and better for you to imitate those young men, who in the morning of their days have graciously, wisely, and resolutely withstood those evil counsellors, carnal reason, flesh and blood; Joseph and Moses, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, all these in the primrose of their youth were good at turning the deaf ear to carnal counsel and carnal counsellors, Gen. xxxix. 7-11, &c; Heb. xi. 24-26; Dan. i. Cassianus reports of a young man that had given himself up to a Christian life, and his parents misliking that way, they wrote letters to him to persuade him from it; and when he knew there were letters come from them, he would not open them, but threw them into the fire. This example is worth a following. Another famous example you have in the story of King Edward the Sixth, when Cranmer and Ridley came to him, and were very earnest to have him give way to his sister the Lady Mary to have mass. He stood out and pleaded the case with them, that it was a sin against God, and provoking to the eyes of his glory, &c., but they still continued to use many carnal arguments to persuade the king, who was but a child about fifteen years of age, but he withstood them a great while; but at length when he saw he could not prevail with all his pleading against those brave men, but that they still continued their suit, he burst out into bitter weeping and sobbing, desiring them to desist. The motioners seeing his zeal and constancy, went as fast as he, and being overcome, they went away and told one that the king had more divinity in his little finger, than they had in all their bodies. Ah! young men, it will be your safety and your glory to write after this princely copy, when you are surrounded with carnal reason and carnal counsellors, &c. 1 Cicero, a heathen, could say, that man would not be so wicked, and do so wickedly, were it not for his reason. would be good betimes, if you would in the spring and morning of your carnal reason, take heed of consult15, 16. h been undone temporally and undone evil counsellors. , an utter enemy, nay, it is not only y, yea, enmities, Rom. viii. 7. An nity can never be reconciled. Carnal is utterly averse to all goodness; it s against the most glorious gospel things of Christ as a strange thing. nd gospel do homage to it. When ist and his truths must all bow or be as ever you would be good betimes, asonings within you. Carnal reason spel to be mere foolishness, 1 Cor. see how to make a right judgment fet will control all. holars to this master, then you must n that had given himself up to a in the story of King Edward the ed their suit, he burst out into ty and your glory to write after not be so wicked, and do so wickedly, Direction (6). Sixthly and lastly, If y then take heed of comparing yourselves wi yourselves. Young men are very apt to compare ther worse than themselves, and this proves a s times their bane, their ruin, John ix. 39, 40 risee in the Gospel, who pleaded his negativ as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adul parative goodness, nor as this publican;' comparisons, but upon his disparisons, bei quick-sighted abroad; he contemneth and lican, who was better than himself, Luke xv saying of Seneca, 'The nature of man,' sai perspicillis magis quam speculis, to use men's faults, rather than looking-glasses to risees do justly incur the censure which t upon grammarians, that they were better Ulysses than with their own. 2 Ah! young man, young man, you kn though he drinks not so much as another, a though not so great, so high treason as an be poisoned, and hanged, as he that hath poison, and committed higher acts of treaso Sirs! do not delude and befool your o wicked as others, you shall not be as mu yet you shall be as certainly damned as ot hell as others; you shall as sure be shut o saints, angels, and all the treasures, pleasu others, except it be prevented by timely r pardoning mercy on God's. Wilt thou cour in him that is sick, to reason thus ? I am and therefore I will not send to the phys man to say, I am not so desperately wou therefore I will not send to the chirurgeon I am not guilty of so many foul and heino and therefore I will not look after a pard man to say, I am not so hard put to it as I will not welcome a hand of charity? A greatest madness in the world for thee to thy returning to the Lord in the spring an cause that thou art not as sinful, as wicked a softer bed, a milder punishment in hell t then go on; but if thou art afraid of the the fire that never goes out, being like being once kindled could not be quenched betimes! Oh seek and serve the Lord in your days! 1 Thales, one of the seven sages, being asked wha to do? answered, to know other men's faults, and no 2 Diogenes apud Laertium. lib. vi. * Mat. xi. 22-25. As in heaven, one is more glori be more miserable than another.--Aug[ustine]. To think often of hell, is the way to be preserved from falling into hell. Ah! young men, young men, that you would often consider of the bitterness of the damned's torments, and of the pitilessness of their torments, and of the diversity of their torments, and of the easelessness of their torments, and of the remedilessness of their torments. Momentaneum est quod delectat, æternum quod cruciat, The sinner's delight here is momentary, that which torments hereafter is perpetual. When a sinner is in hell, dost thou think, O young man! that another Christ shall be found to die for him, or that the same Christ will be crucified again for him, or that another gospel should be preached to him? Surely no. Ah! why then wilt thou not betimes return and seek out after the things that belong to thy everlasting peace? I have read of Pope Clement the Fifth, that when a young nephew of his died, he sent his chaplain to a necromancer, to know of him how it fared with him in the other world; the conjuror shewed him to the chaplain, lying in a fiery bed in hell, which, when the pope understood, he never joyed more, &c.2 Ah! young man, that these occasional hints of hell may be a means to preserve thee from lying in those everlasting flames. Bellarmine tells us of a certain advocate of the court of Rome, that being at the point of death, was stirred up by them that stood by, to repent and call upon God for mercy; he, with a constant countenance, and without sign of fear, turned his speech to God, and said, Lord! I have a desire to speak unto thee, not for myself, but for my wife and children, for I am hastening to hell, neither is there anything that thou shouldst do for me; and this he spake, saith Bellarmine, who was present, and heard it, as if he had spoken of a journey to some village or town, and was no more affrighted.3 Sir Francis Bacon also, in his History of Henry the Seventh, relates how it was a common byword of the Lord Cordes, that he would be content to live seven years in hell, so he might win Calice [Calais] from the English; but if thou, O young man, art given up to such desperate atheism, and carnal apprehensions of hell, I am afraid God will confute thee one day by fire and brimstone; but I would willingly hope better things of all those young persons, into whose hands this treatise shall fall; and thus you see what things must be declined and avoided, if ever you would be good betimes, if ever you would seek and serve the Lord in the spring and morning of your days. CHAPTER VII. But in the second place, as those things must be declined, so other things must carefully and diligently be practised, if ever you would be good betimes. I shall instance only in those that are most considerable and weighty; as, First, If ever you would be good betimes, &c., then you must labour to be acquainted with four things betimes. 1 Chrysostom. Hom. 44. in Mat. Bellar. De arte Moriendi, lib. ii, cap. 10. 2 Jac. Rev. Hist Pont. Rom., 199. ♦ Works, by Spedding, Ellis, and Heath, vol. vi. p. 100.-G. y to be preserved from falling into isional hints of hell may be a means advocate of the court of Rome, that g Duty (1). First, You must labour to acqu Scripture betimes. You must study the wor the word in the morning of his days, in the I this made him wiser than his enemies, yea made him as much excel the ancients, as th as the moon excels the twinkling stars, Ps. cx good betimes; and no wonder, for in the pri acquainted with the Scripture; he was inur childhood, yea, from his infancy, as the word that 119th Psalm, the 9th verse, 'Wherew cleanse his way? By taking heed according way to a holy heart and a clean life but by a the word betimes. One hath long since obser down the Scriptures to the capacity even of all excuse may be taken away, and that youn to study the Scripture betimes. Ah, young parable to the histories of the Scriptures: 3, variety; 4, brevity; 5, perspicuity; 6, harn books cannot equal God's, either in age or aut lency, in sufficiency or glory.3 Moses is found more ancient and more h whom the Grecians make most ancient and Hesiod, and Jupiter himself, whom the Gree of their divinity. The whole Scripture is but one entire lo the Lord Christ to his beloved spouse; and be a reading in this love-letter? Like Ca noble parentage, who carried always about that she might still be a-reading in Christ's sweet workings of his love and heart towa ones.1 Luther found so much sweetness in the w that made him say he would not live in par: the word; at cum verbo etiam in inferno the word he could live in hell itself. The word is like the stone garamantides, itself, enriching of the believing soul. This made them willing to give a load of hay fo in English. Augustine professeth that the sacred S delight. And Jerome tells us of one Nepotianus, meditation on the holy Scriptures, had mad Jesus Christ.5 And Rabbi Chiia, in the Jerusalem Tal count all the world is not of equal value wit That which a papist reports lyingly of their 1 2 Tim. iii. 15, ¿rò Bgiços, from a suckling. animam Dei, the heart and soul of God. C that there are as many mysteries in it as there be drops in the sea, dus on the earth, angels in heaven, stars in the sky, atoms in the sunbeams or sands on the sea-shore, &c., may be truly asserted of the Holy Scrip tures. Oh! the mysteries, the excellencies, the glories that are in the word Ah! no book to this book; none so useful, none so needful, none so de lightful, none so necessary to make you happy and to keep you happy a this. It is said of Cæsar, major fuit cura Cæsari libellorum, quam purpura, that he had a greater care of his books than of his royal robes for, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, he carried hi books in his hand above the waters, but lost his robe. Now, what are Cæsar's books to God's books? Ah! young men, young men ! the word of the Lord is a light to guid you, a counsellor to counsel you, a comforter to comfort you, a staff to support you, a sword to defend you, and a physician to cure you. The word is a mine to enrich you, a robe to clothe you, and a crown to crow you. It is bread to strengthen you, and wine to cheer you, and a honey comb to feast you, and music to delight you, and a paradise to entertain you.1 Oh! therefore, before all and above all, search the Scripture, study the Scripture, dwell on the Scripture, delight in the Scripture, treasure up the Scripture; no wisdom to Scripture wisdom, no knowledge to Scrip ture knowledge, no experience to Scripture experience, no comforts to Scripture comforts, no delights to Scripture delights, no convictions to Scripture convictions, nor no conversion to Scripture conversion. Augustine hearing a voice from heaven, that bade him take and read tolle et lege, whereupon, turning open the New Testament, he fell upor that place, Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy ing. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision fo the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof,' Rom. xiii. 13, 14. This scriptur so sunk into his heart, as that it proved the means of his conversion, a himself reports. This Augustine, as he was once preaching, his memor failing of him, contrary to his purpose, he fell upon reproving the Mani cheans, and by a scripture or two, not before thought of, to confute thei heresies, he converted Firmus, a Manichean, as he after acknowledge to Augustine, blessing God for that sermon." It is reported of one Adrianus, who seeing the martyrs suffer suc grievous things in the cause of God, he asked what was that whic caused them to suffer such things? and one of them named that tex Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the hear of man to conceive, the things which God hath prepared for them tha love him,' 1 Cor. ii. 9. And this text was set home with such a powe upon him, as that it converted him and made him to profess religion and not only to profess it, but to die a martyr for it. Cyprian was converted by reading the prophecy of Jonah. Juniu was converted by reading the first chapter of John the evangelist. I have read of a scandalous minister that was struck at the hear 1 The Jewish Rabbins were wont to say, that upon every letter of the law there han mountains of profitable matter. Lib. viii. Confes. cap. xi. Possidon. de vita.—Augustine. |