THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES j>^'u%ru i»^ ^ r S% ,:v^ I ^ ^ ?' i -\t^ ^>x - \ f _^ rJ ^ \ ':\ K t s^ w <** N ^ ^- ^ ^; ^ n^ <, And j?o^ thv father icus Tract Socvctu. PERSUASIVES EAELY PIETY. BY J. G. PIKE. ABRIDGED, BY PEaMISSIOX OF THE AtJTHOB, FBOM A LARGER -WORK, SOLD BY THOMAS BICHABOBON, DERBY; AND SIMPKtN AND MABSHALL, LOXDOM. LONDON; THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY; Instituted 1799. BEPOSITORY, 56, PATERXOSTER-noW. AND G5, ST. Paul's churchyard. 6V PREFACE. ^^^7' r b^p — ^~ i^^5 This abridgment of " Persuasives to Early Piety" is especially designed to accommodate those friends of religion who, on various accounts, and on nu- merous occasions, may deem a book of this size more suitable for a present, than a larger volume. It should, hov/- ever, be understood, that this volume does not contain more than half the original work, which is interspersed with prayers and meditations, adapted to the state of mind referred to in the various chapters. The original v^•ork, in a larger letter, is published and sold by Thomas Rich- ardson, Derby; and by Simpkin and Marshall, London. CONTENTS. Chap. Page I. Introductory address 5 II. The fallen and ruined state of man 16 III. Some of the sins of youth enumerated.. 42 IV. Religion briefly described 56 V. Cautions apjainst some delusive sup- ports on which many rest their hopes, to their eternal ruin 72 VI. The worth of the soul a reason for early piety ; and its importance shown by the word of God 81 VII. Divine love a reason for early piety ... 97 VIII. Early piety peculiarly acceptable to God, and peculiarly honoured by him 112 IX. The advantages of early religion 122 X. The pleasantness of early piety 151 XI. The happy conclusion of a religious life, a motive for early piety 161 XII. No real good possessed by those desti- tute of religion ; their ingratitude to God, and cruelty to themselves 179 XIII. The vanity of youth, and the uncer- tainty of life, reasons for the imme- diate choice of early piety 191 XIV. The sorrows and dangers that attend the way of transgressors noticed, as a reason for the choice of early religion 196 XV. The terrors and fearful consequences of death and judgment to the uncon- verted, a reason for early piety 209 XVI. Some objections to early piety briefly stated and answered 227 XVII. I'he young reader entreated to make his lasting choice 236 XVIII. Advice and directions to the young Christian 250 PERSUASIVES EAELY PIETY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS TO THE YOUXG READER. My dear young friend, if a person could rise from the dead to speak to you, how atten- tively would you listen to his discourse, and how much would you be affected by it ! Yet a messenger from the dead could not tell you more important things than those to which I now beseech you to attend. I come to ask you to give your heart to God ; I come to invite you to follow the Divine Redee3ier noio; I come to entreat you to walk in the pleasant path of early piety. Oh that I could, •with all the fervour of a dying man, beseech you to attend to your only great concerns ! It is not to a trifle that I call your attention, but to your life, your all — your eternal all, your God, your Saviour, your heaven, your everything that is worth a thought or wish. 6 PERSUASIVES TO Do not let a stranger be more anxious than yourself for your eternal welfare. If you have been thoughtless hitherto, be serious now. It is time you were so. You have wasted years enough. Think of Sir Francis Walsingham's words : " While we laugh, all things are serious around us. God is serious, who preserves us, and has patience towards us ; Christ is serious, who shed his blood for us; the Holy Spirit is serious when he strives with us ; the whole creation is serious in serving God and us ; all are serious in an- other world ; how suitable then it is for man to be serious ! and how can we be gay and trifling ?" Do you smile at this grave ad- dress, and say that it is the cant of enthu- siasm ? Oh, think that those who laughed at these solemn truths when they were first delivered, now laugh no more ! The friendly warning may be neglected, and the truths of the Bible disbelieved ; but death and eter- nity will soon force on the most careless heart a deep conviction, that religion is the one thing needful. Yes, my young fviend, "One thing is need- ful :" so said the Lord of life — needful to you, to me, to all. The living neglect it, but the dead know its value. Every saint in heaven feels the worth of religion, through partaking of the blessing to which it leads ; and every EARLY PIETY. 7 soul in hell knows its value by its -want It is only on earth that triflers are to be found ; and will you be one of them ? God forbid ! Read, I beseech you, this little book with serious prayer. Remember that it is your welfare which is sought. I wish you to be happy here, and when time is past, happy for ever. I plead with you a more import- ant cause than ever was conducted before an earthly judge. Not one which concerns time only, but which concerns eternity. Not one on which a little wealth or reputation depends; but one with which your eternal poverty or eternal riches, eternal glory or eternal shame, a smiling or a frowning God, an eternal heaven or an eternal hell, are all connected. It is your cause I plead, and not my own ; and shall I plead your cause to yourself in vain ? Oh, may God forbid that I should ! I know, my young friend, how apt we are to read the most serious calls as if they were mere formal things, of little more con- sequence to us than the trifles recorded in a newspaper ; but do not thus read this little book. Believe me, I am in earnest with you ; read, I entreat you, what follows, as a serious message which I have from God for you ; and let such considerations as the fol- lowing persuade you to attend. 8 PERSUASIVES TO Consider what will be your thoughts of the advice here given you a hundred years hence. Long before that time you will have done with this world for ever. Then, your now vigorous and youthful body will be turned to dust, and your name probably forgotten upon earth ; yet your immortal soul will be living in another world, and far more sensible of joy or grief than it can pos- sibly be now. Then, my young friend, what will you think of this friendly warning? How happy will you be if you have followed the advice it contains ! Fancy not that it will be then forgotten. Calls and mercies forgotten here must be remembered there, when every sin is brought to the sinner's re- membrance. If you now think me over ear- nest, you will not then entertain the same opinion. If you now slight this humble ef- fort for promoting your salvation, and care- lessly or contemptuously throw this book aside, or read it and forget it, then, if ten thou- sand worlds were yours, they would appear but a trifle, for another season of salvation like that you now enjoy, and which, perhaps, you now waste : but now is your day of grace ; then another generation will have theirs. Think again, that while you are reading this, thousands are rejoicing in heaven, that they, in past years, attended to such earnest EARLY PIETY. 9 calls. Once they -were as careless as you may have been ; but Divine grace disposed them to listen to the word of life. They re- garded the -n-arnings addressed to them ; they found salvation ; they are gone to rest ; and now, with what pleasure do they recollect the fervent sermon, or the little book, that, under God, first impressed their hearts ! About one hundred andfifty years ago, a gen- tleman went into the shop of a Mr. Boulter, a London bookseller, to inquire for some plays. Mr. Boulter told him he had none ; but showed him Mr. Flavel's treatise of " Keeping the Heart," and assured him that it would do him more good than plays. The gentleman, glancing at different pages, said, "What a fanatic was he who made this book 1" Mr. Boulter advised him to read it, and assured him he had no cause to censure it so bitterly. He bought it, but said he •would not read it. ""\"\Tiat will you do with it, then?" said the friendly bookseller. " I will tear and bm-n it," said he. 3Ir. Boulter told him then he should not have it. Upon this the gentleman promised to read it. About a month after, he went again, and spoke to 'Sir. Boulter to this effect : "I most heartily thank you for putting this book into my hands. I bless God who moved you to do it. Blessed be God that I ever came into 10 PERSUASIVES TO your shop !" And then he boiight a hundred more of the same book, to give to those who could not buy them. How much happier now is he of whom you have been reading, than he would have been if he had con- tinued the same thoughtless creature he was when he entered the bookseller's shop ! Now, though to us his name is unknown, we have reason to believe he forms one of the company above ; but had he continued to waste his fleeting years, he might, in hope- less misery, have Wn wishing in vain for those precious hom's he had wasted on plays, and romances, and novels. Had he slighted good Mr. Boulter's advice, he might now in hell have been lamenting his folly. Yes, think that while you are reading this little Look, millions of wretched souls, in utter darkness and despair, are cursing that des- perate madness, which led them to turn a deaf ear to such friendly warnings, once addressed to them. O my young friend, I beseech you, by the joys of saints in heaven, and by the terrors of sinners in hell, trifle not with this afiectionate call. Consider further — If you were going a journey, you would make preparations for it. Would you not, if going to travel only one or two hundred miles ? and were you thus far from home, would not your thoughts be often EARLY PIET^. 11 there? And if obstructions lay in the wax, that threatened to prevent your ever return- ing, would you not exert all your skill and power to remove them ? And are you indeed only a stranger and traveller upon earth? Are you only going forward through a little span of time to an eternal world ; and there to find an endless abode, amidst the deepest sorrow or the most perfect joy ? And do many things iinite to hinder you from reaching the kingdom of heaven ? Is this the case ? Indeed it is. And will you go forward, thoughtless whither you are going ? thoughtless of what awaits you on your en- trance into that vmseen world — that unseen, unknown, endless world, of joy unspeak- able, or of grief beyond expression ? Were your soul intrusted to another's care, would you not complain of his cruelty, if you saw one begging him to seek its happiness, and yet perceived him turning a deaf ear to the request, and careless whether you were saved or lost ? Would you not cry out, " O unhappy creature that I am, to have my eternal all intrusted to a wretch so cruel, that he will see me sink into the pit of destruc- tion, to spend a dreary eternity there, rather than give himself r.ny care or concern about my eternal happiness I" Would such be your 12 PERSUASIVES TO complaint in this case ? Oh, be not then, by carelessness, more cruel yourself! While, therefore, in what follows, I would address you with affectionate earnestness, I once more entreat you seriously to regard the plain, but important truths I shall present to you ; and forgive me that I am not earnest enough when speaking to you on things of everlasting consequence. Did I but feel the thousandth part of the worth of an im- mortal soul, I might abhor myself for writing so coldly, and you blush and be confounded, at ever having needed warning and advice to lead you to seek its welfare. It is impos- sible to be earnest enough with you : if you ever know the worth of true piety, you will be convinced that it is. Did we see thou- sands asleep on the brink of a precipice, and some every moment falling and dying, could we too earnestly endeavour to awaken those not yet undone .' O my yoimg friend, if you have been a careless triflerwitli the gospel of Christ, danger, infinitely worse, eternal dan- ger, threatens you. Awake, awake, I beseech you, awake ! Awake before it is too late ! before eternity seals your doom, before God forgets to be gracious ! Awake ! as in the sight of God, I call on you, awake! Act not the sluggard's part : say not, "A little more EARLY PIETY. 13 sleep, a little more slumber !" Close not your eyes to sleep in sin again, lest ■ you should shortly feel, The sleeper sleeps no more in hell. Awake ! I beseech you, and begin to mind that one thing, which is so needful to you ; that food is not half so needful to the poor ■wretch perishing of hunger ; nor help to him that is sinking in the waves, or scorching in the flames. A prayer for young persons, imploring tlie Divine blessing on themselves while read- ing this hook. Great God, thou seest me, a young and thoughtless creature. Young as I am in years, yet I have gone far in sin ; so far, that thou mightest justly ha^e said with respect to me, " Cut down that cumberer of the ground ;" and had that dreadful sentence been long ago pronounced and executed, I must have owned it just. My years are few, but my sins are many ; more numerous are they than my days or hours ; more countless than the hairs of my head. Alas ! blessed God, what a part have I acted ; I have re- ceived life from thee, and employed it in neglecting and sinning against thee. I might have only seen the light, and closed mine 14 PERSUASIVES TO eyes in deatli, but thou didst watch over me in infancy, didst guard me in childhood, and hast brought me to the blooming days of youth; and how have I requitt'd thee! Wretch that I have been, to requite thy iove with ingratitude, thy goodness with neglect ! Foolish creature that I have been, to spend the flower of my years in grieving thee, my best Friend ; in pleasing Satan, my infernal foe; and in undoing my own immortal soul ! O, make me sensible of my sin ; teach me to bewail and loathe my folly, and help me to forsake it ! Now let me begin to live that life, which on a dying bed I shall wish to have lived. Gracious God ! thou hast spared me in mercy : let me not be thus mercifully spared in vain ; but let my life, which has been too long spent without thee, now be devoted to thee. Four out thy Spirit upon me, for He alone can teach me what thou art. Give me to thy Son, and thy Son to me. Thou art permitting me, in this little book, to read a serious invitation to early piety ; enable me to regard the trutlis it teaches ; and may I read them with a devout and at- tentive mmd ! May the persuasions and mo- tives here presented to me, enter my heart ; and may I,when I reach the conclusion of this book, be no longer the thoughtless creature I have hitherto been ; but may I be found EARLY PIETT. 15 to have chosen that good part, which none can take away ! But ah ! great God, what am I, that I should speak of reaching the conchi- sion even of this little book ! Though I have read its first pages, I know not that I shall live to read its last. Young and vigorous as I may now be, perhaps before I can reach Its end, my time may be finished, my eyes closed in death, and my soul called to meet thee, my long-neglected, and much injured God. Oh, then, teach me to be wise without delay. Teach me what rehgion is, and enable me to choose it as my portion. Teach me what I am ; and lead me to Jesus Christ, thy once crucified, but now exalted Son. Oh, make me thine I O Saviour, make me thine I O God of glory, make me thine, without delay, and teach me all thy will I Then, whatever be the means of awakening my soul, thine shall be the praise ; for it is thy work, and the glory is justly thine. Hear me. O thou most merciful Father I and wash my sins away in the atoning blood of Christ ; hear me, and let my youth from this day be devoted to thee ; hear me, for -he sake of thy beloved Son. And now to ^Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise jod, be glory and dominion, world without ml. Amen. 16 PERSUASIVES TO CHAPTER 11. THE FALLEN AND RUINED STATE OF MAN. I NOW, my young friend, address you on a subject unspeakably important. Though no hope can be entertained of doing you lasting good, till you feel the truth of the state- ments contained in this chapter ; yet if you be led, by the Divine Spirit, to perceive that this chapter describes your own condition, there will then be a pleasing prospect of your becoming acquainted with those things which belong to your everlasting peace. In reference to bodily disorders it is said, that to know our disease is half the cure ; the same observation will apply to the dis- orders of the soul. If one deeply infected with a fever, or the plague, w^ere so deluded as to believe that he enjoyed perfect health, or to think himself, at worst, but slightly disordered, and were, therefore, to neglect the means for restoring health, how soon would death and the grave convince him of his sad mistake ! Such a delusion is seldom met with ; but an infinitely more dreadful and more mischievous delusion is as com- EARLY PIETY. 17 mon as the light of day. Perhaps you labour under its baneful influence. Perhaps, if your life has been unstained by flagrant enormities, you imagine yourself a good- hearted young man, or an innocent young •woman. Your sins are softened down under the name of youthful follies. The deep cor- ruption of your nature is totally concealed from your view. You are in danger of dying eternally of the worst of plagues, while thinking that all is well. You are exposed to the wrath of a justly-ofiended God, and saying to yourself, " Peace, peace." Perhaps you exclaim, " Shocking doc- trine !" whilst, full of indignation, you are almost ready to throw this book aside, be- fore you have glanced at the proofs afforded in Scripture for the assertions I have made. If this be the case, I beseech you to remem- ber, I appeal to Scripture, not to your pas- sions ; to the declarations of God, not to worldly delusions. You may cry out at the sight of a shroud, a cofiin, a grave, " Shock- ing objects !" but your loudest exclamations will not lessen the awful realities, by which many have happily been shocked into a timely consideration of, and preparation for, approaching death. Refuse not, then, to listen to the declara- tions of God on this momentons subject ; is PERSUASIVES TO to refuse to hearken to them, is to seal your own destruction. His word assures you that every human being is born into this world with a corrupt and sinful nature. God formed man in " his own image," innocent and holy ; but fallen man begat a son " in his own like- ness,'"' corrupt and fallen like himself. Such is the exceeding sinfulness of human nature, that the wo(M of God describes it by dedar- . ing that we are " shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin." Man is a " transgressor from the womb," and "goes astray speaking lies." " Foolishness is bound" even " in the heart of a child." "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth ; is only evil, and that continually;" he is "abominable and filthy, and drinketh in iniquity like water." As he advances in life, do his corruptions weaken ? The words of the apostle answer, No. "We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and en- vy, hateful, and hating one another." " God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did im- derstand." And what is the dreadful result of this examination ? " Every one of them is gone back : they are altogether become filthy ; EARLY PIETT. 19 This sinftiiness of your nature, my young friend, is not partial ; but, like a mortal poi- son, spreads through and pollutes the v/hole. The heart, which should be the best part of man, is now the worst. " The heart is de- ceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Such are the windings of its cor- ruption, that no eye but that of Jehovah can trace them out. ' " It is fiill of evil." Not merely tainted, but filled with sin, and mad- ness dwells in it. From this corrupt foun- tain flows as corrupt a stream. " Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adul- teries, fornications, thefts, false witness,blas- phemies, covetousness, wickedness, [or ma- levolence,] deceit, lasciviousness, [or immo- desty,] envy, pride, foolishness," [or levity.] Not merely is the heart thus polluted, but the lusts of men war in their members. The eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet, the lips, are all defiled by different sins ; and the tongue, that member which was formed pe- culiarly for its Creator's praise, is now " a world of iniquity, and is set on fire of hell I" Such is man : and has he any deeds of right- eousness to counterbalance this exceeding sinfulness ? Oh, let the evangelical prophet answer : "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags ; and we all do fade as a leaf ; and our iniquities, b2 20 PERSUASIVES TO like the wind, have taken us away." So far are our best actions, in our natural state, from helping us, that even they are polluted and loathsome ; and sin, like a whirlwind unopposed, sweeps us onward to perdition. But I foresee an objectiQu, which some of the more moral may make. Perhaps you exclaim, " I have not com- mitted many of the sins here named." Per- haps not. I am here showing you your own lost condition, by referring you to those sad fruits which your depraved heart, unless by one means or other prevented, would pro- duce ; and which, in millions of cases, have been produced. The restraints of education, or other things, may have checked in you some of these corruptions : but this makes no alteration as to your natural sinfulness. If, in spring, you were to cast one handful of wheat into the ground, and lay another in a drawer, would you, in autumn, say of that which had been laid by. This is not wheat, because it might not have put forth the blade and the ear ? No ; it would still be wheat, still be of the same nature as that scattered in the ground, though its situation had pre- vented its growing, and producing fruit like that. So it is with human nature. In some situations, its corruptions may not be so visible as in others: in some situations those EAKLY PIETi. 21 corruptions may not have the same nourish- ment as in others, or may meet with more restraints : like the grain of corn which is buried so deep that it can scarcely push its blade above the surface of the soil. All this may take place — all this does take place in thousands of instances ; but human nature, in its radical corruption, is everywhere the same : like wheat, which is wheat still, whether it vegetates in the furrow, ripens in the ear, or is treasured up in the barn. Allow me, my young friend, after this general view, to descend a little into some particulars. The word of God, in describing your natu- ral condition, represents it as so "extremely sinful," that while you are in it, nothing which you do can be pleasing to God. " They that are in the flesh"' (under the go- vernment of that corruption which is named flesh) "cannot please God." So entire is this corruption that an apostle confesses, " I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." So completely is the soul indisposed by it to all that is really good, that men are " dead in trespasses and sins." How a-svful is their delusion, who are strangers to real religion, and yet flatter themselves that there is something good in them to recommend them to God. Their 22 PERSUASIVES TO best actions flow ffom corrupt motives, and are in his sight but a kind of splendid sins. In pursuing this melancholy description of your natural condition, I must add, that man is not only so extremely sinful, that he can- not please God ; but so blind, that he is en- tirely ignorant of what is acceptable in his Maker's sight. Our Lord himself declares, that the design of his gospel is to open the eyes of men, "and to turn them from dark- ness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." He assures us that he came to " preach recovering of sight to the blind." His most distinguished apostle affirms, that even the followers of Christ " were sometime in darkness ;" that he and they had been " delivered from the power of darkness ;" and humbly confesses, " we ourselves also were sometime foolish, disobedient, de- ceived ;" being blinded by those false hopes and delusions, which deceive thousands now. So destructive is this blindness, that men " know not the way of peace ;" so entire, that the sullen ox and stupid ass know more of their masters, than unenlightened man of his God. " The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib ; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." So awful is this blindness, that the "natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit EARLY PIETY. 23 of God, for they are foolishness unto him." Eren " the preaching of the cross" itself, " is to them that perish foolishness." And so wilful, that '• men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil ;" and proceeding in their career of madness, " fools make a mock at sin." Is it possible, my young friend, to give a sadder represent- ation of the natural blindness of the heart, than these passages give? Sin, Tfhich God declares to be the cause of misery, death, and hell, men treat as a matter of foolish ridicule and mad laughter ; vrhile that glorious plan of salvation, which so magnifies the wisdom and love of God, that it astonishes the an- gels of heaven — even this is folly in the view of poor unconverted men. The man who would laugh at a thousand swords aime J at his defenceless head, or pointed at his naked breast, were wiser than he who laughs at sin. Less foolish were the wretch who should treat as folly a plan to deliver him from the condemned cell, the halter, the gibbet, or the fire, than he who thus treats the wondrous plan which God has devised to save him from the flames of hell. Shall I stop here ? No. The word of God does not. The sacred writers continue the d c-plorable account of fallen man, bv declai-ing 24 I'ERSUASn'ES TO that he is not only poHuted and blind, hut under the influence of the worst foe of God and man. The devil, on account of his ex- tensive reign, is called by them the " god of this world ; the prince of the power of the air ;" and he and the wicked spirits that have fallen with him are " the rulers of the dark- ness of this world." The ungodly are of their father, " the devil, who works in the hearts oi' the children of disobedience ;" he takes away the seed that is sown in the thoughtless heart ; he blinds the minds of the irreligious ; and where the gospel is hid, it is hid through his influence. They are in "the snare of the devil," and are taken "cap- tive by him at his will." Those who neglect religion, to follow the world, are turned aside after Satan. And, lest you should ima- gine that these deplorable assertions refer merely to the most openly ungodly, you are assured, by the Divine Saviour himself, that the design of his gospel is to bring men "from the power of Satan unto God;" and that the tares, or all who are not in reality the children of God, are " the children of the wicked one." The apostle Paul con- fesses that he and his Christian friends once were of this number. The apostle John as solemnly teaches us, that all men are either EARLY PIETY. 25 the children of God or of the devil ; and that those -^ho do not practise righteousness, and cherish love, are not of God. To give a darker finish to this dreadful picture, the -word of eternal truth declares that men are " lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God ; are alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them ; are alienated from God, and enemies in their minds by -wicked -works ; that they kno-w not God ; are haters of God ; are strangers and foreigners to him ; and without God in the -world." Hence, in a natural state, " there is none that seeketh after God ; there is no fear of God hefore their eyes." By their lives, if they dare not utter it -with their lips, they say unto God, " Depart from us, for •we desire not the kno-wledge of thy ways ;" and by choosing -worldly vanities in prefer- ence to the favour and service of God, they, in fact, utter the dreadful sentence, '• "What is the Almighty that we should serve him ; and what profit should we have, if we pi'ay unto him ?" The apostle Paul, in giving the darkest touch to this dreadful picture, declares that " the carnal mind is enmity against God." A more awful description of fallen man cannot be given, than that con- tained in these few words. The carnal mind i? strictly the earthly or sensual mind ; that 26 PERSUASIVES TO which the moral and the profligate alike pos- sess, -while loving the world and the things of the world. It is not an expression ap- plying merely to the most abandoned, but one that applies to every human being — let his outward conduct be ever so fair — whose mind cleaves to this earth. The miser, as well as the spendthrift ; the pleasing young man who is following earthly objects with all his heart, and the engaging youngwoman whose thoughts are fixed on fashion, dress, and gaiety, as much possess the carnal mind, as does the shameless profligate, whose con- duct they abhor : and the sober tradesman, whose plans and schemes all refer to this world, is as much under its influence as either of the others. All these have a worldly or carnal mind ; and what is it ? — enmity against God, enmity itself. An important inquiry connected with this subject is. Are we to understand this sad description as a description of mankind at large, or only of the worst part of the human race ? Let the word of God give the reply. Hear its solemn answer: "Death has passed upon all men, because all have sinned." " The Scripture hath concluded all under sin." " All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way." None, then, it seems, naturally inclined their EARLY PIETY. 27 feet to the ways of God. " Each -wanders in a different Tvay ; but all the do^vnward road." " The -R^hole \vorld lieth in wicked- ness ;" lies like a wounded and fallen captive, the helpless prey of an infernal foe. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. They are all gone aside : they are altogether become filthy; there is none that dceth good, no, not one. They are aU under sin, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not If one died for aU, then were all dead." If we refer this point to the decision of the best of men, they unite, from their own sad experience, to confirm it. David humbly confesses, '' I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." Daniel, who became so peculiar a favourite of Hea- ven, humbly deplores his rebellion against his Maker. Job, not less distinguished for his piety, said, " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Isaiah exclaims, " Woe is me ; for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips." Paul, the patteiij of piety and usefulness, said, •' I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. We were by nature the childi-en of wrath, even as others." O mv vouu!^ friend, after such a review 28 PERSUASIVES TO of the scriptural account of our natural con- dition, how just and. weighty appears the observation of a great and good man — " The merely outward irregularities of men bear no more proportion to the whole of their depravity, than the particles of water which are occasionally emitted from the surface of the ocean, to the tide that rolls beneath !" Think not that I love to dwell on this melancholy subject. Far from it ; but I warn you of your state, that you may seek deliverance from it ; and would so plainly show you the danger of such a state, that you may flee from the wrath to come. That Divine book, which gives the av/ful descrip- tion of your state you have now read, gives as affecting an account of your danger. By the God of eternal truth you are assured, that men are " by nature the children of wrath; that he who believeth not is con- demned already ; and that judgment has come upon all men to condemnation ;" that men, as sinners, are in " a state of death ; that the wages of sin is death " — the second and more dreadful death, which consists in being " cast into the lake of fire ;" that " the soul which sinneth shall surely die ;" that " destruction and misery are in the ways of men ;" and that a day of judgment and perdition to ungodly men is approach- EARLY PIETY. 29 ing, for which they are reserved. Eveu the compassionate God is declared to hate " all -workers of iniquity ;" and to have his face set " against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth ;" and it is his solemn assertion, that " there is no peace to the wicked." As it were, if possible, to guard men from self-deception, on a point of such infinite importance, the strongest expressions are used, in the word of God, in asserting that all are thus undone. " As many as have sinned without law" (without the advantages of God's written word) " shall also perish without law ; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law :" and its judgment is, tha. " -^very one is cursed, who hath not kept all thmgs that are written in the book of the law to do them." In other words, that every one, who even by a single sin has broken the commands of God, has become an accursed creature. The apostles of our Lord declare, that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven," not merely against some atrocious crimes, but "against all un- righteousness ;" that " every transgression and disobedience shall receive a just recom- pense of reward;" that God will render " indignation and wrath, tribulation and an- guish, to every soul of man that doeth evil;" 30 PERSUASIVES TO and that, " whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend ir -jiie point, he is guilty ot all :"' as truly condemned and ruined by that single act, as he would be had he broken the whole. ^Vhile these are the declarations of inspired apostles, their holy Lord affirms, that even a sinful word exposes the soul to the danger of hell-fire. Not merely do the Lord's inspired pro- phets and apostles represent our natural state as full of danger, but they represent that danger as inexpressibly dreadful. They assure us, that " the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God;" that "the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God ;" and that on them " God will rain fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest ;" that " it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ; for our God is a consuming fire ;" that "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, tak- ing vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Whosoever has not his name vmtten in the book of life, will be then cast into the lake of fire. And not merelv will atrocious sin- EARLY PIETY. SI ners meet this dreadful doom, but " tlie fear- ful and unbelieving," those who are too cowardly to foUow Christ, or who disbelieve the truths of his gospel, " shall be east into the lake that bums with fire and brimstone." Then shall they " eat of the fruit of their own ways, and be fiUed with their own de- vices ;" while " the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." The Divine Saviour, who was a pattern of tenderness and compassion, instead of soft- ening down these dreadful representations, confirms them in the most decisive manner. Though he wept over wretched men, yet he declared that he himself would pronounce the dreadful sentence on all the irreligious : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast- ing fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ;" and he affirms that " they shall go avray into everlasting punishment ; into the furnace of fire, where shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth ; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." To avoid this, he bids you count nothing too dear. " Fear not," says he, " them which kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do ; but fear Ilim, who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell." Dread- ful doom ! " Whose heart can endure, or whose hands be strong, in the day that God 32 PERSDASn'ES TO shall deal with him ? Who can dwell with everlasting burnings ? who can endure de- voui'ing fire ?" While you are thus warned of your dan- ger, even by the Lord himself, you are as solemnly assured by him, that multitudes plunge into this eternal ruin ; and that no outward privileges will suffice to deliver you from its horrors. " Wide," says he, " is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat ;" and then he adds, in the most im- pressive manner, " Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it ! Many are called, but few are chosen." Presume not, then, that there is little danger of missing the path to heaven ; for there is much. The way is narrow. Presume not that most will be saved, and that, therefore, you may go con- tentedly with the multitude. The multitude are travelling the downward road ; and but few find the path which leads to glory and to God. Oh, cherish a pious concern to be- come one of that happy few ! Perhaps, my young friend, you attempt to set aside all that I have urged respecting the danger of your state, by pleading, — " I am not guilty of any notorious crimes ; lying, lewdness, sabbath-breaking, dishonesty, and EARLY PIETY. 33 a hundred other vices, in -n-hich thousands indulged, I never practised." If you knew yourself, and the law of God better, you might perceive that you have, in your heart, conimitted many sins of which you now think yourself guiltless ; but if it be as you imagine, yet the word of God declares you a condemned creature, for leaving undone what you should have done, as much as for doing what you should not. Though your life may be moral, yet, if you do not from your heart submit to the Son of God, you do not obey the gospel. " Be not," then, "de- ceived ;" not merely the open profligate, but " the unrighteous," all who are destitute of real piety, " shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be ac- cursed. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The blessed Redeemer has taught us that merely making light of the gospel, is the way to eternal ruin. " How, then, shall we escape, if we neglect," do nothing worse than neglect, " so great salvation ?" And now, what are your views of your own state ? Do you feel yourself to be j ustly a child of wrath ? or do you cling to the delusions by which thousands are undone? 34 PERSUASIVES TO When, looking round, you see many amiable persons, who seem to want nothing but the one thing needful, do you ask, " Are these, like the vilest sinners, threatened with eternal wrath? or if they are, can these be deserving of it ? " Search the book of God, and you will there surely find that they are ; and that without one thing more, all the amiable qualifications imaginable will do no more to save them from eternal wrath, than a fine dress to save a man from destruction, if hurled from the top of a tremendous preci- pice. Perhaps you may have been an affec- tionate child ; you may be tender, and com- passionate, dutiful and obliging ; but will this save you ? No, never. Excellent as these qualifications are in their place, if these could have atoned for sin, and saved the soul, the Son of God need not have died. But the fact is, you may possess all these, and a thousand other amiable recommendations, and yet live in rebellion against your God : and thus, however fair your character may be in the sight of men, in that of God it may be entire enmity against himself. What is rebellion against God, but continued disobe- dience and neglect of his commands ? And are you not guilty of this? Perhaps you think not. Well, inquire a little further. "Which is the first and great commandment ? Is it EARLY PIETY. 35 not, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy miud, and with all thy strength:-" Have you kept this ? Has God had all your heart? Have all your affections been fixed on him ? Has he been loved with all your soul and mind ; and thus stood highest in your esteem ; and been chosen as your su- preme good and only portion ? If not, how- ever fair and pleasing your outward conduct may have been, you have been all your life committing the greatest of sins : for you have lived breaking God's first and great commandment everyday of your existence. If to love God above all things is the first and greatest commandment, to live forget- ful of him must be one of the greatest of sins, aud indeed a sin that opens the way to every other. O my young friend, could we see things aright, we should feel that the most aggravated guilt is the neglect of the blessed Saviour, and our adorable God ! The blackness of every other crime would be as light, compared with the more hor- rible blackness of alienation of the heart from God, that first of sins, that root of every other. This has been mine ; this has been yours ; and, unless your heart be changed by Divine grace, even at this mo- ment this sin is yours. Though unstained C 2 36 PERSUASIVES TO with the other dark offences of the rohher or the adulterer, yet this bhickest of all you have as well as they. Like them, you be- long to a false, apostate race, that have for- saken their God, and gone away backward. And how can you hope for heaven, if this darkest of crimes remain unrepented of and unforsaken ? Have I succeeded in convincing you that neglect of God and want of love to him is so enormous a sin, that this only, if you had no other, would be sufficient to sink the soul to the lowest depths of hell ? If I have not, oh let me urge it further upon you in a familiar illustration. Suppose that a child, as soon as he could discover any disposition, should show an entire disregard to his most affec- tionate parents. They, fondly attached to him, and desirous to secure a return of affec- tion, study all they can for his advantage, and heap new favours on him. Still he for- gets them, and shows them no love. They confer on him more favours, more benefits still ; yet he still forgets them, and even dis- covers a growing aversion for them. At length, they place him out in the world, and do what they can to promote his happiness there ; he still forgets them ; seems insensible to all their affection ; has no more love for them than the stones beneath their feet ; and EARLY PIETY. 37 eveu treats them with contempt, shmis their presence, and banishes the thought of them from his mind. Would not such a child de- serve to lose his parents' love, and to he cast off for ever ? Suppose this ungrateful child, by abusing his parents' kindness, is imdone, utterly undone. But their kindness ends not : they make themselves poor, to place him once more in circimistances of comfort, and give up whatever they have most valuable for this purpose. Yet still he goes on as before, unatiected by their tenderness, un- thankful for their favours, and -nith an in- creasing dislike to them. Would they still retain one parental feeling ? Would not such a monster of ingratitude deserve to be for- gotten for ever ? Or could they be thought unkind, if they refused to admit this child, •with these worst of dispositions in his heart, to dwell in the closest intimacy v.ith them ? Would the case be mended, if the ungrate- ful creature were affectionate and grateful to every one but his parents, and careless of none but those his best friends and tenderest benefactors ? Would not this make his guilt the worse, as it would show that his heart was not without gratitude and affection, ex- cept towards those to whom these feelings were most justly due? Would it be unrea- sonable for the most affectionate parents to 38 PERSUASIVES TO banish such a child from their presence for ever ? or for them to prefer to him one who loved them, who received their favours with thankfulness, and who daily cherished affec- tion towards them ? Could they be blamed for this preference, even if in some respects the latter child might want the shining qua- lities of the former ? My young friend, harsh as it may sound, if you neglect true piety, you are a more ungrateful child to God than the most ungrateful child could possibly be to the most affectionate parents. For how little are the obligations of a child to his parent, compared with those of a creature to his Creator and his God! And as much greater as is the obligation, so much viler, so much blacker, is the ingratitude of neglect. Oh, how great is the debt of gratitude you owe to God ! It is on his world you live. All that is agreeable around you was made so by kim. Here you are placed, to prepare for an unspeakably better state. Nor are you here forgotten by your God. Every mo- ment of time, every breath you draw, every pleasure you feel, you owe to him. No day passes without its blessings. One favour has scarcely vanished before others appear. The end of one mercy is the beginning of another. Though forgotten, God is not for- getful. Though he may have been neglected EARLY PIETr. 39 by you for days and years, he spares you still, that you may turn to him. He has not cut short your days in the moment of sin ; nor hurried you from the scene of guilty de- light to the place of eternal torment. Though unthankful for his blessings day after day, he has continued to give them. Consider that everything you enjoy is God's ; and then think, can the worst of crimes against the best of earthly friends be half so heinous as ingratitude to God ? The mercies I have mentioned are the smallest of his mercies. We are fallen creatures. You have destroyed yourself, but in him is your help. To save you from ruin he gave his beloved and ador- able Son. Could he give more ? " Though he was rich, the Lord Jesus Christ for your sake became poor, that you, through his po- verty, might be rich." Could he do more ? You are a child -whom God has placed on earth, and crovrned with mercies ; and be- cause you were else undone for ever, he, to restore you from your fallen state, has to every other gift added that best and greatest, his beloved Son. Could a child, under God, indebted to its parents for life, indebted to them for all its comforts, and indebted to them for recovery from a thousand evils, owe them a thousandth part so much love and gratitude as you owe to God ? or could 40 PERSUASIVES TO such an one be a thousandth part so guilty as you must be, if you slight all the unspeak- able goodness of God, and all the infinite love of the dying Saviour ? How horrible a state it is, to become through Avilful sin the enemy of God in this world, and then to be such for ever ! to begin by neglecting a kind lieavenly Father here, and to end by hating him, as the sinner will beyond the grave ! To hate Him who is all that is excellent and amiable; and in whose favour alone can any happiness be found hereafter ! How horrible, most hoi'rible a state is this ! yet this condi- tion is yours, if you are not reconciled to God. Can you expect that he should glorify- in his presence, and admit to his right hand, those whose hearts are averse to his ways, or entirely negligent of them : who are loaded with mercies, but still forgetful of tlie Giver ? What though they shine in the view of their fellow rebels, what though they be adorned with a thousand charms of body or mind, yet God beholds the serpent that lurks beneath the rose ; he sees the ungrate- ful heart full of hatred against him. And now, my young friend, with all the seriousness I can use, allow me to ask you, if you were this moment to be summoned before the throne of your Judge, and were accused of having lived nc'i.liffent of God, EARLY PIETY. 41 and thus of having lived a life of dreadful sin, Avould you not be obliged to plead guilty to the charge ? or at least to stand speech- less and confused before your Maker ? Does not your conscience tell you that you must? and if it does, " God is greater than your heart, and knoweth all things." 42 PERSUASIVES TO CHAPTER III. SOME OF THE SINS OF YOUTH ENUMERATED. I ENTREAT you to follow me while I point out to you some of those sins which ruin multitudes. Among these evils, a thought- less, inconsiderate spirit, is, in young per- sons, one of the most common, and one of the most fatal. While open impiety slays its thousands, this sinks its ten thousands to perdition. A time is coming when you must consider your ways. From the bed of death, or from the eternal world, you must take a review of life ; but as you love your soul, defer not till that solemn period which shall fix your eternal state, the momentous question, " How has my life been spent ?" Look back on your past years. They are gone for ever. But what report have they borne to heaven ? Will they rise up in the judgment against you ? Possibly you may not see many instances of flagrant crime ; but do you see nothing which would fill you with alarm, if going to the bar of your Maker ? Perhaps you reply, " It is true, I cannot justify all the actions of my youthful EARLY PIETY. 43 years : yet the -vvorst that I see, were but the frolics of youth." My dear friend, let me deal plainly with you. Do they bear that name in heaven .^ Does your Judge view them in no worse a light? Know, that what you pass over so lightly, your God abhors as sins— sins, the least of which, if unforgiven, would sink your soul to utter, endless woe ; for " the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and un- righteousness." The iniquities of youth, as v>-ell as of riper years, are abhorred by him. The sins of youth were the bitter things which holy Job lamented ; and for deliver- ance from which David devoutly prayed ; " Thou writest bitter things against me ; and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth." "Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: accord- ing to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, O Lord." Take, then, another review of life. Begin with childhood. In that early period, so often falsely represented as a scene of inno- cence, the corruptions of a fallen nature begin to appear ; and the early years of life are stained with falsehood, disobedience, cruelty, vanity, and pride. Can you recol- lect no instances in which your earlier years were thus polluted with actual sin? Can you 44 PERSUASIVES TO bring to remembrance no occasion on which falsehood came from your lips ; or vanity, pride, or obstinacy was cherished in your heart ; or when cruelty to the meaner crea- tures was your sport? Shrink not from the review ; though painful, it is useful. It is far better to see and abhor your youthful sins, in this world, M'here mercy may be found, than to have them brought to your remembrance when mercy is no more. But you have passed the years of child- hood ; you have advanced one stage for- ward in your journey to an endless world. Has siu weakened as your years increased ? Have not some sinful dispositions ripened into greater vigd trifled away. Many young persons act as if they thought they had too much time before them ; that they could afford to squan- der some, when, perhaps, their wasted youth is their all — all in which they \vill ever have an opportunity of preparing for eternity — all in which they can " escape from hell and flee to heaven." One of the most common ways in which time is worse than wasted, is de- voting your hours to romances, plays, and novels. Novels are the poison of the age. If you are a novel-reader, think, the next time you take a novel in your hand. How- shall I answer to my tremendous Judge for the time occupied by this ? AVhen he shall say to me, " I gave you so many years in yonder world, to fit you for eternity ; did you converse with your God in devotion? did 50 PERSUASIVES TO you study his word ? did you attend to the duties of life, and strive to improve to some good end even your leisure hours ?" then, then, shall I he willing to reply, " Lord, my time was otherwise employed ; novels and romances occupied the leisure of my days ; when, alas ! my Bible, my God, and my soul were neglected !" In this way, and many, others, time, that most precious blessing, is squandered away. Does not conscience remind you of many wasted hours ? hours which, though thoughtlessly thrown away, might have been found more valuable than mountains of gold or pearl. Wilful neglect of the soul and eternity, is another common sin of youth. Young per- sons presume on future life ; and grieve the Holy Spirit, by delaying to regard the one thing needful. They trust in their youth ; God reproves the folly, and says, " Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth :" but few will listen to the warning. Instead of doing so, they flatter themselves that they shall live for many years ; and think sickness, death, and judgment far from them. Hence they neg- lect the soul, and seem to imagine religion unsuitable, or at least not needful for them- selves. The blessed God calls on them in his word : the crucified Saviour bids them EARLY PIETY. 51 come to himself; " I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me." The ministers of the gospel urge the advice upon them ; prayers are offered, tears shed for them ; yet many persist in their own ways ; and whatever they do, will not " re- member their Creator in the days of their youth." My young friend, has this been your sin and folly ? Oh, if it has, remember how many ways there are out of the world ; how many diseases to cut short your days ! God gives you time enough to secure salvation : but think not that he gives you any to spare. An attachment to sensual pleasure and worldly gaieties, is another rhost prevalent sin of youth. The -word of God describes those who live in pleasure, as " dead while they live ;" and classes with the most abominably wicked, those who are " lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Though such are the declarations of the Lord, yet pleasure, pleasure, is the chief object of thousands of the young. Some pursue it in the gross and brutish paths of rioting and drunkenness, of "chambering and wantonness:" others in less profligate ways, but with hearts not less in- tent upon it. The card-table, the dance, the horse-race, the play-house, the fair, the wake, are the scenes of their highest felicity. My voung friend, has not this love of worldly 52 PERSUASIVES TO pleasure dwelt in your heart ? Perhaps you have not run into scandalous and disgraceful excesses ; but havej'ou not had a greater love to worldly pleasures than to God and reli- gion ? If you have, you but too surely bear that awful mark of being a child of destruc- tion, that you are "a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God." Have you not been present at scenes of sinful amusement and guilty festivity? Have you not been as anxious as others for those sensual delights, which were more suited to your taste ? and, while thus loving this world, have you not forgotten that which is to come ; and been more eai-nest about a day of promised plea- sure, than about securing aneternity of pure, celestial joy ? Think not that I mean to in- sinuate that the Christian should be the slave of melancholy. Far from it ; none have so much reason to be cheerful as he " Who reads his title clear To mansions in the skies." But wide is the difference between the inno- cent cheerfulness and humble joy of the Christian, and the vain pleasures of a foolish world. Let conscience now answer, as in the sight of God : Has the love of worldly and sensual pleasure been cherished in your ^eart ? If your situation has prevented your EARLY PIETY. 53 freely following the delights of sense, has the love of them dwelt within? If it has, though you should not have had the opportunity of indulging your worldly taste once in a month, or a year, you are still, in God's sight, as much a lover of pleasures as if these had occupied every moment of your time. Sabbath-breaking, though not confined to the young, is a sin that eternally ruins thou- sands of them. God calls the sabbath day his own, but makes the profit of it ours ; and sabbaths spent in holiness, devotion, faith, and love, are blessings Avhich help the soul on towards heaven ; while broken sabbaths increase the sinner's load of guilt here, and of misery hereafter. At the beginning of time, God set apart the sabbath for sacred uses ; and his express commandment is, " Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." He calls for the day. He does not say. Keep holy the sabbath morning, or the sabbath afternoon, or the sabbath evening, but the sabbath day. Though this sacred commandment is thus positive and express, yet no sin is more common than sabbath- breaking. Some profane the whole day; others a part of it. Some employ many of the precious hours of the sabbath in attend- ing to their worldly employments ; others make it a season for finery and gaiety. They 64 PERSUASIVES TO go even to the house of God merely to see or be seen. They idle away their sacred time in trifling conversation, vain amusements, and silly mirth ; or uaste the holy day by rambhng in the fields, with companions as frivolous and worldly as themselves. How have your sabbaths been spent ? Have you been one of the thoughtless young women, or loose young men, that, on the sabbath day, in giddy, but truly pitiable parties, throng our streets, or wander in our fields ? Have you been one who has made that most blessed day no blessing to yourself? I have now named a few youthful sins ; but think not that these things are all. No ; every sin to which our fallen nature is prone, has been found, not merely in those who, by years, were ripened in guilt, but in those also who were beginning the journey of life. Not to enumerate the darker crimes of the multitude, who drink in iniquity like water, where, my young friend, is the youthful heart that never felt the rising emotions of these vile passions — pride, envy, malice, or revenge ? A\liere is the youthful tongue that never uttered a profane or wanton, or, at least, an unkind or slanderous word ? Where is the youth, possessed of the forms of piety, that never mocked God " with solemn sounds upon a thoughtless tongue ?" Where EARLY PIETY. 55 is the youthful ear that was never open to drink in, with pleasure, the conversation of the trifling and the foolish ? and where the youthful eye that never cast a haughty, an angry, a wanton, or an insulting glance ? Are you the person ? Can you appeal to the Searcher of hearts, and rest your eternal hopes on the success of the appeal, that love, unmingled love to God and man, has always dwelt in your bosom ? that no resent- ful, envious, or unkind emotion was ever for a moment harboured there ? that the law of kindness has always dwelt upon your lips? that only meekness, and tenderness, and goodness have glanced from your eye ? and that your ear was never opened to hear, with pleasure, of a brother's shame ? Can you make the appeal ? Surely you cannot. Your own " heart condemns you : and God is greater than your heart, and knowetli all things." 56 PERSUASIVES TO CHAPTER IV. RELIGION BRIEFLY DESCRIBED. Religion is the chief concern of all ; and early religion is -what God solemnly requires. " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." It is as much as if it were said, " Mind religion while you are young. Let that engage your earliest care. Let that possess the first place in your heai't; for it is worthy of it. In the days of your youth, those best days, prepare to meet your God. While young, make him your friend ; seek an enduring mansion in the skies ; and thus to every other source of cheerfulness, add those last and best, your heavenly Father's care, and your gracious Saviour's love." The blessed Redeemer, who spake as never man spake, affectionately declares the importance and value of real piety. " One thing is needful. What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?" Most persons will acknowledge the ex- EAKLY PIETY. 57 crllence and importance of religion, yet few are its real friends. " Fev.' there be that find it." Many are entirely careless of it. Others have the form without the power. Others play the hypocrite's part. They " speak fair words, and act foul deeds ; lift up their eyes to heaven, and turn their steps to hell." Now, while I endeavour to describe to you what religion is, let me beseech you to unite your prayers with mine, that you may indeed be taught of God ; and let me beseech you to attend as seriously to the plain and affec- tionate truths that may be presented to you, as you would do if you were lying on a dying bed, and were then earnestly inquir- ing how salvation might be found. Religion, my young friend, consists in such a practical knowledge of our own guilt and misery, as leads us to abhor sin and ourselves ; and in such an acquaintance with the blessed God, and the adorable Saviour, as leads us to believe on Jesus for salvation ; and resting all our hopes upon his atone- ment and righteousness, to trust our eternal all to his care ; and to yield up ourselves, body, soul, and spirit, to the Father, as our Father ; to the Son, as our Saviour ; and to the Holy Spirit, as our Sauctifier. The foundation of religion is laid in that knowledge of our own guilt and depravity, 58 PERSUASIVES TO to -svhich in the last two chapters I directed your attention. As sickness teaches the pa- tient to prize the physician's aid ; as slavery leads the captive to seek for liberty ; and condemnation makes the criminal cry for mercy ; so the knowledge of our own con- demnation and guilt prepares the soul for the reception of Jesus Christ. Are you ac- quainted with this ? Are you sensible that you have rebelled against a God of love ; and are you penitent for your transgressions? If knowledge of yourself and of the evil of sin, have humbled you in the dust, and led you from the heart to exclaim, "God be merciful to me a sinner ;" then, permit me to add, that a most essential part of religion is an acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. Not a mere speculative knowledge of his excellences, like that which even an infernal spirit may possess ; but such a prac- tical knowledge of his power and grace, and such a belief in him, as subdues the soul, and leads the penitent sinner to make Jesus his hope, his trust, his all. The substance of the gospel message respecting Jesus Christ, is— that his nature is Divine ; " He was in the beginning with God ;" that his own in- finite compassion, and his Father's love, led him to assume the nature of man. " He took on him the form of a servant, and was made EARLY PIETY. 59 in the likeness of men. Though he was rich, \et for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." That Ills great object -was to atone for sin. " He ^vas wounded for our transgressions ; he was V>ruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement :" our peace was upon him ; and with his 'ripes we are healed." That this wonderful plan for the redemption of a ruined world, was the effect of the love and wisdom of God. " God commendeth his love toward us. in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ 'lied for us. We have redemption through s blood, the forgiveness of sins, according > the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom." And that Jesus Christ is now exalted at the right hand of power to intercede for his flock ; to .2:uide, guard, and protect them ; to receive them at the hour of death ; and hereafter to appear as the Judge of all ; when lie will pass on all mankind the sentence that shall fix their eternal state ; and when he will perfect the happiness of all his humble friends. In the case of man, and in your own case, ;i has deserved eternal punishment. Its ages (that recompense which it has de- s-rved) is death. The justice of God called :' r the execution of the sentence ; but his "■ isdom devised a plan of mercy for a rebel- 60 PERSUASIVES TO lious world; and his compassion induced him to adopt the plan. It was, that his be- loved Son should suffer for guilty man, and bear the curse instead of him. Thus would sin be punished : and thus might the sinner be entirely forgiven. An acquaintance with this Divine Saviour is absolutely needful for you. He is set forth as the only foundation for a sinner's eternal hopes. His is the only name by which a sinner can be saved ; and he is the only way of access to God. The way of sal- vation is, believing on him from the heart. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." But, my young friend, permit me affectionately to caution you against deceiving your own soul with the shadow of belief, instead of the substance; for, in one sense, " the devils believe and tremble." Believing in Jesus, is termed in Scripture, " believing with the heart."' There is the consent of the heart to this plan of sal- vation, as well as the persuasion of the mind. Believing on Christ is described as a receiv- ing of him. If you believe, you will receive him as your Lord, your hope, your Saviour, your all. Believing is also described as being a persuasion of divine truths, and an embracing of them. If you believe on Jesus, EARLY PIETY. 61 y >u will be persuaded, on God's authority, * lat he is what the Scriptures represent, an .1-sufficient Saviour ; that he has done what ::io Scriptures declare, that he has laid down ;u3 life for you; and, persuaded of these truths, you will embrace this great salvation. Believing is represented as a going to Christ ; ir is such a conviction of his power and grace, as is attended by the going, as it were, of the soul to him for life and salvation. Look then to him. Rest your eternal all on his righteousness and death. Let this become your plea for obtaining mercy and heaven, that Jesus loved you, that Jesus died for you. Go, in the solemn moments of retired devotion, and intrust your all to Jesus. Can you not there say to him, to whom darkness and day are alike, " Lord, I adore thee as my Saviour : thou didst die for my sins, and I commit my eternal all to thee. Wash me in thy blood ; wash not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Thy gospel I embrace. All that thou dis- coverest let me believe ; all that thou teachest let me learn. Thy example I would follow. All that thou lovest let me love ; all that thou hatest let me hate ; and all that thou com- mandest, let my faith, working by love, iirge me to obey. Be thou my all ; thy death and righteousness my hope ; thy life my pattern ; 62 PERSUASIVES TO thy word my rule ; thy glory my aim ; thy love my heaven." A well-placed trust in Jesus Christ will be found a sure support for hope, and peace, and joy, when all other dependences sink in eternal ruin, and all other hopes are blasted in black despair. The soul committed to his care will be safe through its short stay among the objects of time and sense ; and, what is far more important, will be safe and happy when the graves are giving up their dead, when the world is fleeing from the majesty of .its Maker's face, and when the world is perishing in flames. Numbers profess a regard to Christ, whose hopes are, in reality, built upon themselves ; and they imagine, that when they have done as well as they can, Jesus will make up the rest. But that right knowledge of the Saviour in which so much of religion consists, leads to very difi'erent views : if you enjoy this, Jesus Christ will be your all. You will, as a lost, helpless, condemned, and wretched creature, come to him for life. Your whole trust will be in him : abhorring yourself, you will flee to him as your sole dependence. You will indulge no hope from imagining that your sms are few or small ; but will own them deserving of Divine wrath. You will no longer rest on the deluding, and absohitcly EARLY PIETY. 63 false notion that you have done as well as you could, and that therefore God will ac- cept you ; but you will be humbled as a guilty creature, at your Maker's feet. Nothing past, nothing present, nothing future of your own, must, in the slightest degree, be the ground of your dependence ; but as stripped of everything, as in yourself destitute of all good, you must look to the Lamb of God. A dying minister, eminent in his day, said to a visitor who was taking leave of him, " I am every day expecting my death ; hut I desire to die like the penitent thief, crying to the crucified Jesus for mercy. I am nothing ; I have nothing ; I can do nothing, except what is unworthy : my eye, and hope, and faith, are to Christ on his cross. I bring an unworthiness, like that of the poor dying thief, unto Him ; and have no more to plead than he. Like the poor thief, I am waiting to be received, by the infinite grace of my Lord, into his kingdom," But, my young friend, do not mistake the nature of the gospel ; or imagine, because the soul is saved solely through the obedience and death of Christ, up.on its believing in him, that therefore holiness of heart and life is an unimportant thing. " Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." When Jesus invites the humbled soul to him, he a'ids, 64 PERSUASIVES TO " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ;" he says, " Ye are my friends, if ye do what- soever I command you." " If a man love me, he will keep my words." The true Christian's faith is represented as " faith which worketh by love ;" and without the fruits of holiness, "faith is dead, heing alone." If you, from your heart, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, you will also submit to him as your sovereign Lord. You will love the commandment of God, as just and holy. You will yield up yourself, body, soul, and spirit, to the Lord Jesus Christ ; that " whether you live, you may live unto the Lord ; and whether you die, you may die unto the Lord." While religion leads you to trust the Saviour's death, it will teach you to copy his life. There are few situations in which Chris- tians can show those bright specimens of glowing piety which dazzle the eyes of others ; but that steady, humble, constant piety ; those secret desires for holiness and heaven ; that private, daily converse with God in prayer ; that cheerful, firm depend- ence on the atoning Saviour; and those attempts in the retired scenes of domestic life, to live as apostles would have lived, if placed in a like situation ; — all these flow fromfolloAving Jesus, as surely as water flows EARLY PIKTY. 65 from a fountain ; all these are the effects of being not our own ; but of having Christ live in us, and being given up to the Lord. If ■we were wandering in an unknown country, and, having lost our way, had intrusted our- selves to a guide, should we not renounce our own judgment and our own will, and be so at our leader's disposal, that we might almost be said to move with his feet, and to see with his eyes? Such is the case in re- ligion. We have lost our way to a better world, and, if Christians indeed,- shall com- mit ourselves to Jesus' care, to be saved by him, and in his way, by grace alone ; yet to go where he bids ; to do what he enjoins ; to live as he directs ; to love what he loves; to hate what he hates ; to shun what he commands us to avoid ; to sit at his feet and learn of him ; and to " follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth." Closely connected with the knowledge of the Son is the knowledge of the Father ; in- deed, so closely, that they cannot be sepa- rated. " This is life eternal, to know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Jesus was " God manifest in the flesh." In him the Father's excellences shone in such a lively manner, that he who hath seen him, hath seen the Father. Yet it is proper to remind you, that Jesus i.s 66 I'KIIHUAhlVKN TU your way fo (idil. Tlic dcsimi <»f Cliiist is to bring you to tint KuIIh r, and fo rccoiicilo you to liitu. Mr Ih IIiu Mi what you have aiul arc, as a rea- sonable sacri/icc. In iiiui you will seek your hap|)inebB : and in Iiih pD'Heneeyour eternal refit. 'J'o know hini, lu love him, and to onjoy his lavour, will be the highest unihi- tion of your soul. '• Oivo what tliou wilt, witlioiil llico wc nrn jioor ; And wUli llicc ritli, lake what Ihnu wilt nwny.'' Vour «i(,h will bu that his will may be (lone in you ; that his will may be done by you ; and that his will may bedone with you. A very important part of religion, is a knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Men, when first awakened fo regard 1 )i vine f hingK, often imagine that their own endeavours are to produce iii them thoKc graces which real religion displays. 'J'he word of