SERMON V.
PIOVEBS iv. 14, 15. "nter hot i»to the Tath of the wicked, and go hot in the wag of evil men. Avoid it, Tass hot by it, turn from it, and Tass away."
NE chief cause of the wiekedness which is every where seen in the world, and in which, alas! each of us has more or lcss his share, is our curiosity to havc some fellowship with darkness, some experience of sin, to know what the p]casures of sin are like. I believe it is even thought unmanly by many persons (though they may not like to say so in plain words), mmmnly and a thing to be ashamed of, to bave no knowlcdge of sin by expcrience, as if if argued a strange seclusion from the world, a childish ignorance of life, a simpleness and narrowness of mind, and a superstitious, slavish fear.:Not fo know sin by experience brings upon a man the laughter and jests of his companions: nor is it wonderful this should be the case in the descendants of that guilty pair to whom Satan in the beginning held out admittance into a strange world of knowledge and enjoyment, as the reward of disobedience fo God's commandment. "When the woman sav that the tree was g'ood for fi)od, and that if was pleasant fo the eyes, and tree fo be desired to make one wise, she took of thc ri-uit thereoç, and did eat., and g;tve also unto her hushand with hcr, md he did eatt." A diseontent with thc almn&mee of blessings which were given, becanse something was withheld, was the sin of out first parents: in like mnner, a wanton roving after things forbidden, a euriosity fo know what if was tobe as the heathen, was one chier source of the idolatries of the Jews; and we af this day inherit with them a like nature ri'oto Adam. I say, euriosity strangely moves us to disobedienee, in order that we may ha.ve experienee of the pleasure of disobedienee. Thus we "rejoiee in out youth, and let out henrt eheer us in the days of our youth, and walk in the ways of out heart, and in the sight of out eyes .'" And we thus intrude into things forlfidden, in vnrious ways; in reading whnt , should hot read, in hearing what we should hot hear, in seeing what we should hot see, in g-oing into eompany whither we should hot go, in presumptuous reasonings and arguings when we should have fifith, in aeting as if we were out own masters where we should obey. We indulge out reason, we indulge our passions, we indulge out ambition, out vanity, out love of power; we throw ourselves into the 1 Gen. Bi. 6. « Eceles. xl. 9,
Ctriosi@ a Totation to çitz. 6 5 soeiety of bad, worldly, or eareless men; and all the while we hink that, after lmving aequired this misetable knowledg'e of g'ood and evil, we ean reurn o out duy, and continue where we left off; merely oing aside a moment o shake ourselves, as 8amson did, nd wih an ig'noranee like his, tha out rue heavenly streng'fl is depared from us. Now this delusion arises from 8aan's eraft, tle father «»f lies, who knows well that if he ean g'et us once fo sin, he ean easily make us sin twiee and thriee, till af leng'th we are ta.ken captive af his will . He sees tha euriosity is man's g'reat and first snare,,as if was in paradise and he knows that, if he ean but force a way into his heart by this chier and exeiting" temptation, those temptations of other kinds, whieh follow in lire, will easily prevail over us; and, on the other hand, that if we resist the beg'inlfing's of sin, there is every prospeet throug'h God's g'raee that we shall continue in a reli- ious way. His plan of action tlen lies plain belote him—to tempt us violently, while the world is new fo us, and out l:opes,and feeling's are eager,and restless. I/enee is seen tlle Divine Msdom, as well as the mereiful eonsideration, of the adviee eontained in so many parts of Scripture, as in the text, ":Enter not into the path,,f the wieked, and go hot into the way of evil men.:kvoid it, pass hot by if, turn from if, and pass away." Let us, t.hen, now for a few moments give out minds 1 2 Tire. il. 26. [VIII] F fo the consideration of this plain truth, which we bave heard so often that for that very reason we are not unlikely fo forget it—that the great thing in religion is fo set off)vcll; to resist the bcg'inning's of sin, flee temptation, to avoid the company of the wicked. "Eiat.er not into the path of the wicked.... avoid pass no. by i, t.urn ri'oto it, pass away." 1. And for this reason, first of all, bceause itis hardly possible fo delay our ftig'ht without rendcring fligh impossible. When I say, resist thc beginnings of evil, I do hOt mean the filut act mercly, but he rising t.houg'ht of evil. Whatever the tempta.ion may be, there may be no time to wait and gaze, without being caught. Woe o us if Satan (so fo say) secs us first; for, as in the case of some beast of prey, for him to sec us is to toaster us. Directly we are ruade aware of he temptation, we shall, if we are wise, turn out backs upon if, without waiting fo think and reason about it we shall engage our mind in othcr thoughts. There are empta.ions when his advice is especially necessary; but under all it is highly seasonable. o,. For consider, in the next place, wimt must in all cases be the consequenee of allowing evil thoughts to be prescrit o us, though we do not aetually admit them into our hears. This, namely,we shall make ourselves familiar with them. iNow out great seeurity against sin lies in being shocked at it. Eve gazed and reflected when she should bave fled. It is sometimes said,
"Second thoug-hts are best:" this is truc in many cases; but there are rimes when if is very [hlse, and when, on the eontrary, first floug'hts are best. For sin is like the se])ent, which sedueed out first parents. We know that some serpents have the power of what is called "fascinating." Their eye has the power of subduing'—nay, in a strange way, of alluriug—their victim, who is redueed fo utter helplessness, cannot flee away, nay, rather is ob]ig'ed fo approach, and (as if were) deliver himself up fo them; till in their own rime they seize and devour him. What a dreadful figure this is of the power of sin and the devil over oto" hearts [ Af first «,ur conscience tells us, ia a plain straig'htforward way, what is rig'ht and what is wrong,; but when we trifle with this warning, out reason beeomes perverted, and cornes in aid of our wishes, and deceives us fo out ruin. Then we begàn fo find, that there are arg, uments available in beha.lf of bad deeds, and we listen fo these tni we corne fo think them truc; and then, if perehanee better thoug'hts return, and we make some feeble effort fo get af the truth really and sineerely, we find out minds by that rime so bewildered that we do hOt know right from wron. Thus, for instance, every one is shocked af cursing md swearing when he first hears if; and af first he eannot help even showing" that he is shocked; that is, he looks grave and downcast, and feels uncomfortable.:But when he has once g'ot aecustomed to such profane
68 Cetriosity et Te»tatiaz ta Siz. lkin, and been ]aughed ou of his strietness, and has beg'nn fo hink i manly, and bas bcen persnaded o oin in it, then he soon learns to defend it. He says he means no harm by if; that if does no one any harm; that if is only so many words, and that every body uses them. Here is an instance in which disobedience fo what we know be right makes us blind. Again, this saine confusion frequently happens in the case of temptations from the world. We fear worldlv loss or discredit; or we hope some ndvantage; and we feel tempted fo act so as fo scoute, nf any rate, the worhlly good, or fo avoid the evil. Now in all such cases of conduct there is no end of rgtdng about rig'ht or wrong', if we once begin; there are numberless wa.ys of aeting, each of" whieh ma.y be speciously defended b r argument, bat plain, pure-hearted common sense, generally speaking, af the very first sight decides the question for us without argument; but if we do hot listen promptly fo this secret monitor, ifs light goes out at once, and we a.re left fo the mercy of mere conjecture, and grope about with but second-best guides. Then seeming arguments in favour of deceit and evil compliance with the world's wishes, or of disgraeeful indolence, ur,e us, and either prevail, or at le,qst so confuse us, that we do not know how to act. Alas! in ancient days if happened in this way, that Christians who were brought before their heathen persecutors for punishment, because they were Christians, sometimes came short of the croxvn of martyrdom, "having" loved this present world ," and so lost their way in the mazes of Satan's crafty arguments. Temptations to unbelief may also be mentioned herc. Speeulatig wantonly on sacred subjeets, and jesting about them, offcnd us at first; and we turn away: but if in an evil hour we are sedueed by the clevcrncss or wit of a writer or speaker, to listen to hls ilupieties, who tan say where we shM1 stop? Can we save oursclvcs l'rom the infection of his profimeness? we cannot hope to do so. And wheu we eome to a better mind (if by God's graee this be afterwards granted to us), what will be out state? like the st,te of men who bave undcrgonc some dreadful illness, which changes the constitution ot the body. That ready and clear perception of right and wrong, whieh before direeted us, will have disappeared, as beauty of person, or keenness of eye-sight in bodilv disorders; and when we begin fo try fo make up our minds which way lies the course of duty on particular trials, we shall bring enfeebled, unsteady powers to the examiuation; and when we more to act, out limbs (as it were) will more the contrary way, anti we shall do wrong when we wish to do right. 3. But there is another wretched effect of sinning «,nce, which sometimes takes place;—not only thc sinning that once itselI , but being so sedueed by it, as forthwith fo continue in the commission of t ever afterwards, without seeking for arguments to racer our conscience withal; from a mcre brutish, hcadstrong', infatuate greediness after ifs bad pleasures. There are beasts of prey which are said fo abstain from blood till they faste if, but once tasting if, ever seek if: and, like manner, there is a sort of thirst for sin which is born with us, but whieh graee quenehes, and which is thus kept under li[l we, by out own aet, rouse if again; and which,-whcn once aroused, never ean be allayed. We sin, while we eonfess the wages of 8in fo be death. 4. Sometimes, I say, this is the immediate eflet of a first transression; and if not the immediate effeet, yet if is always the tendeney and the end of sinning af lengtb, viz. fo enslave us fo if. Temptation is ve T powerfifl, it is true, when if cornes first; but, then, ifs power lies in ifs own novelty; and, on the other hand, there is power in the heart itself, divinely given, to resist but when we have long indulged sin, the mind has beeome sinfifl in its habit and eharaeter, and the Spifit of God having departed, if has no principle within if of strength snffieient fo save it ti-om spiritual death. What being tan change its own nature? that would be ahnost cea.sing fo be itself: tire cannot eease to burn; thc leopard changes hot its spots, and eeases not to rend and devour; and the soul whieh has often sinned, cannot help sinning; but in this respect awfully differing ri'oto the condition of the senseless elcments or brute animals, t.hat ifs present state is all ifs own thult; that if might
Curiosi/y a Temyl«tiolz to Siz. 7 bave hindered if., and will have one day to answer for no lmvin hindered it. hus, easy ns i is fo void sin firs of all, a lenffh i is (hunmuly speaking) impossible. "Enter no ino its path," saith the wise man; the two paths of right and wrongstart ri'oto the saine point, and af first are separated by u vcry small difference, so casy (comparative]y) is it fo choose the right instead of the wron" way: but wait awhilc, and pursuc the road ]cadin fo destruction, aud you will find the distance between thc two has wideued beyond measurement, and that between them a great gulf bas been sunk, so t.hat)rOI1 emnot pass fron the one fo the other, though you desil'e if ever so earuestly '. Now fo what do eonsiderations sueh as these le but to out Lord's simple and comprehensive precept, whieh is the saine as Solomon's, but more impressively and solemnly urged on us by the manuer and rime of His giving it? "Watch und pray, lest ye enter inh) temptation." To euter not the path of thc wicked, fo avoid if, and pass by it, what is this but the exereise of wa[«hbg? Therefore He insists upon if so much, knowing that in if out safety lies. But now, on thc other hand, eonsider how many are there among us who eau be said to wa.tch and pray? Is hot the utmost we do to offer on Sunday some kind ot' prayer in Church to God; or sometimes some short praycr morning and Luke xvi. 29.
7 Cetriosi O, a Te»tatioz to Sbz. evening" in the week; and then go into tire world with he sme incaution and foeffulness zs if we hzd never entertained a serious thought? We o throuh the business of he day, quine forgeting, fo any praetieal purpose, ha ail business has snares in i, and therefore needs caution. Le us ask ourselves this question, " How oten do we flink of Satzn in he course of the day as ont grea tempter?" Ye surely he does no eease fo be oetive because we do no think of him; and surely, too, his powers and deviees were revealed fo us by Almighty God tbr the very purpose, tha being" hot inorant of then, we mig'ht watch against them. Who among us will hot contss, that many is the rime that he lins mixed with the world, fortting who the 'od of this world is? or rather, are hot a great many of us living in hnbitual tbrgetfulness that this world is a soene of trial; that is, that this is its character, that zll its employments, its pleasures, its ooeurrences, even the most innocent, the most acceptable to God, and the most truly profitable in themselves, are all the while, so handled by Satan as may be the most conducive to our ruin, if he can possibly contrive if? There is nothing g.loomy or superstitious in this, as the plain words of Scripture will abundantly prove to every inquirer. We zre told "that the devil, our adversary, as a roaring lion walketh about, seekin whom he may devour; '' and thercfore are warned fo 1 Pet. v. 8.
"'be sober, be vigilant." And assuredly our true coinfort lies, lot in disguising" the truth from ourselves, but in knowing something" more than this;—that thoug'h Satan is ag'aiust us, God is for us; that greater is Hc that is in us, than he that is in the Wol'ld; and that He in every temptation will make a way for us fo escape, that we may be able to bear if:. God does IIis part most surely; and SaIan too does his part: we alone are unconcerncd. Hcavcn and hcll are af war for us and against us, yet we trille, and let lire go.on at random. IIeaven and hell are before us as our own future abode, one or other of them; yet our own interest moves us no more than God's mercy. We treat sin, not as an enemy to be feared, abhorred, and shunned, but as a misfortune and a weakness; we do not pity and shun sinful men, but we enter into their path so far as to keep company with them; and next, being" tempted to copy tlmm, we fall almost without an effort. Be not you thus deceived and overcome, my brethren, by an evil heart of unbelie Make up your minds to take God for your portion, and pmy to Him for grace to enable you so to do. Avoid the great evils of leisure, avoid the snare of having" rime on your hands. Avoid all bad thoughts, all corrupt or irreligous books, avoid all bad company: let nothing" seduce you into it. Though you may be laughe.d at for your strictness; though you may lose thereby amusements which you 1 John iv. 4. -" 1 Cor. x. 13.
would like fo pa.rta.ke of; though yon ma.y thereby be ignorant of mueh which others know; aud may appear to disadva.nta.ge when they a.re talking together; though you appear hehind thc test of the world; though you he called coward, or a ehild, or navrow-minded, or superstitious; whatever insulting words be applied to you, fear hot, tZalter not, tail hot; stand firm, quit yot like men; he strong. They think that in the devil's service there are secrets worthy out inquieT, which you share not: yes, there are secrets, and such that if is ca. slmme even fo speak of them; and in like nmnner you have secret whieh they ha.ve not, and which far sm'passes theirs. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Those who obey God and follow Christ have secret gains, so great, that, as well might we say heaven were like hell, as that these are like the gain whieh sinners ha.ve. They bave, secret gift given them by theîr Lord and Sa.viour in proportion to their faith and love. They cannot describe it to others; they have hot possession of it a.ll at once; they cannot have the enjoymcnt of it at this or tiret time when they will. It cornes and goes a.ccording" to the will of the Giver. It is given but in small measure to those who begin God's service.:lt is not given at a.ll to those who follow Him with z divided heart. To those who love the world, and yet a.re in a certain sense religious, and are well eontented with such a religious state, to them it is hot given. But those who give themselves up fo
Curiosi O, a T«»ta/ioz to Silz. 7 5 their Lord nnd Saviour, those who surrender themselves soul and body, those who honestly say, "I ana Thine, new-make me, do with me what Thon wilt," who say so hot once or twiee merely, or in n transport, hnt ealmly and habitually; these are they who gain the Lord's secret gift, even the "white stone, and in flac stone a new naine writtcn which no man knoweth» saving he that recciveth if'." Sinncrs thiuk that thcv know all that religion has fo give, and over and above that, they know the plcasures of sin too. o, they dt) hot, cannot, never will know the secret gift of God, till they repent and anaend. They never will know what it is fo see God, till they obey; nay, though they are fo see Hiln af the last day, eveu that will be no true sight of Him, fi>r the sight of that Holy One will thon impart no comfort, no joy fo thcm. Thcy nevcr will know the blessedness which IIe has fo give. They do know thc satisfaction of sinning, such as it is; and, alas! if they go on as they are going, they will know not only what sin is, but what hell is. But they never will know tha great secret which is laid in the Father and in the Son. Let us hot then be seduced by the Tcmpter and lais promises. He eau show us no ood. IIe bas no good fo give us. Rather let us listen to the gracious words of out ]Iaker and Redeemer, "Call unto ]Ie, and 1 will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest hot ." Rev. il. 17. "= Jer. xxxiii. 3.