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It fears me that a great part of you knows not what you are doing now, or what you are about. It fears me that the Lord desert you, and leave you to yourselves, at this time: and it will be but idle pains for me to speak to you, if the Lord leave you to wrestle with your own ill hearts. Ay, we will have all of us just cause to fear that the Lord stake us with blindness of mind and hardness of heart, and dead and senseless souls. To have a blind mind and a hard heart, and a dead and senseless soul, in a day of a solemn humiliation, that is the most fearful judgment that can be. I think the very naked reading of these same words should have moved you more than I can see any appearance amongst you. I perceived by many of your countenances and gestures that ye did not so much as to take heed what was reading; many of you would have heard an idle tale better and would have bended your ears to it.
1. Ye may perceive here that all good things which are comforts and all evil things which are troubles, they come from the Lord. There is nothing that is comfortable to us but it is a blessing of God; and there is nothing that is hurtful to us but it is a curse of God; at least it tastes of a curse. Atheists, they cannot see that God is the sender of blessings and cursings, but ascribe them to natural reasons—to an ill year and a good year. An ill year that is dear, they say that it comes from the ill and unseasonable weather that has been before; or if a year be cheap, that has come from the good and seasonable weather that has been before;1 but they look not to that wherefrom it is that those storms and that good weather comes. They may well look to the air, but that is the highest of it; they look not to the highest link that is in God’s hand: they see not God’s providence to be the highest link of that chain, and he has it into his own hand. Everyone acknowledges a providence of God, but everyone is not affected with that providence in everything. 2. Ye may perceive here, that all the ills that come upon man, they come upon him for sin. Without we had sinned, we needed not to have feared any of these curses; but when we sin, we are liable to them all. “Because they hearkened not to the commandments of God; because they walked not in his ways; because they kept not his statutes and judgments and testimonies,” therefore did all those evils come upon them. 3. Do ye think, when ye hear of all these several curses, that they can come to pass, or that they could come to pass and be execute upon the people of God? Ay, indeed; for as terrible-like as ye think them, and as incredible-like, there was not one of them all but they came to pass, even that which would seem to be most strange. This same they did, for as cruel-like as ye think it; women did eat their own children. And therefore think not but God is a just God; and as he can perform his promises to his own, and will do it, so will he also perform these curses upon his enemies. And he will perform more than is here upon them—even all that is not written in this book; even all the plagues and judgments of God, both written and unwritten, shall come upon the hard-hearted sinner. They shall all rest upon him who says, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my own heart.” I would have all of you to take notice of that general that is contained in the 26th verse of the former chapter, “Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.” Now, beloved, I wish that every one of you but understood the meaning of this same; and so know that without repentance and faith, this is an iron chain tying you to the vengeance and curse of God. And the chain has sundry links in it. 1. It speaks of the curse of God. What is that? All miseries that can be in this life; then death at the end of it; and then an everlasting separation of soul and body from that living and life-giving presence of God. This is not like the railing of men, who rail against you, nor is it like the punishment of any prince upon earth; for who can curse if God bless, or who can bless if he curse? He has death, hell, etc., all of them are in his power: therefore, we should not fear him who can kill the body, but fear him who can cast both soul and body into hell-fire. Now, believest thou that this is the curse and the malediction of God, and yet tremblest not at it? then it is a token that thou art near unto it. 2. He speaks here of “every one,” from him that sitteth upon the throne to him that sitteth behind the mill;2 from him that heweth the wood to him that draweth the water—every one, from the highest to the lowest. The highest is not exemed from this curse because of his greatness and majesty, nor is the meanest overseen because of his baseness. Whoever thou be, magistrate or subject, lord or laird, high or low, if thou endeavour not to obey the law of God, then the curse and malediction of God shall be upon thee. 3. He says, “That continues not in all that is written, in this law, for to do them.” That is, albeit it were possible for thee to keep some of these things that are commanded here, yet if thou keep not all of them, then thou art guilty of the breach of them all; and so the malediction of God is due to thee. And so, thou must either confess thy sins, and cry for mercy through Christ (and if thou beg it thou shall get it), or otherwise, the curse of God shall seize upon thee. 4. He says, “That continues not.” Even as the apostle, writing to the Galatians, says of this same—that is, although we should keep the whole commandments, being children, in our young years, and when we are come to men’s age, and yet transgress them when we are come to old age, then we are guilty of the breach of them, because we have not continued in the keeping of them: and so, without repentance, we cannot escape the wrath and malediction of God. Yea, cursed is every one. Then the sinner, till he repent him of his sin, he is cursed already: if he live in that estate he is born into, he is void of grace, repentance, and faith; and if he go on so, then he must perish in sin, and so he cannot escape the curse of God. And so evermore till we repent, the curse of God is on us, albeit we be not sensible of it. Cain, he was accursed of God—God’s malediction was on him; yet he forgets it, and takes him to building of cities: and yet, for all that, the curse of God seized upon him. Even so a man may be busied about his lawful negotiations, and yet the curse of God may be attending him all that time, and light upon him at last. Beloved, there is a time wherein, as it is in Psalm 78, the Lord shews himself to be patient towards sinners, that he will not pour out his curse upon them; but think not, for all that, that it will be always so; but there is a time also when he will stir up all his indignation. And learn to understand this, and carry it evermore about with you into your hearts, that the malediction and curse of God is upon all who continue not in everything that is written in this book, to do them: there is no exception made at all, but only upon repentance for sin, and by faith in Christ. And, therefore, examine yourselves, and try your sins: we take few days or few hours to examine our sins, but we take many days to commit sin; therefore examine and see that ye flatter not yourselves, but see what ye have done. See if ye have set up an idol into your heart, whether it be the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life; see if that monster be lurking into any nook of your heart. Or see if ye have any idol without you, that has got in God’s place and room from you, so that ye cannot say, except ye be partial to yourselves, but ye have been more careful to please men than to please God; and so ye have made a god of them, albeit your conscience told you that ye did wrong in so doing. And ye of this same city, ye are guilty of this. Now, examine whether or not that which ye have done has been for satisfying of your own ambition, for fear of the world, and for preserving of your worldly portions, more than any other thing; these has made you to do many things that ye have done. Consider, also, if ye have not been formal in the service and worship of God. I am not now to flatter you, and yet I am not to withhold that from you which is your due. Ever since I knew you, in this city, and while I was amongst you,3 I ever knew you to be diligent observers of the Lord’s Day. But I would have you to consider, if ye have rested only upon the outward part of God’s worship, or if ye have laboured also to join the inward part with it, and have been labouring, in the use of the means, to get a hold of Christ; that as ye go beyond many others in the external part, so ye do also in the internal, and has been sorrowful when ye have not found power with the means ye had. I know many of you who have said, when ye came out from the preaching (and I have found it while I was amongst you4), that your souls have been nothing bettered by it. And see if ye prepared yourselves, before ye went to the kirk, and begged a blessing from God to the work ye were to go about. And, indeed, ye cannot deny but ye have given over great place to the devices of men in the service of God; and almost ye are the last in revoking them again. Consider, also, how many oaths are to be heard in your streets. But, especially, consider the guiltiness of the breach of that oath that was made among you, not many years since, when ye did swear to this confession of faith.5 For the profanation of the Sabbath, I grant ye had bad example to that, but that will not excuse you.6 Ye may say to us, “We had no blame of it, but others had the blame,” and so make that an excuse to us; but it will not excuse you before God. And what religion has been among you in private, and in your families? Any catechising of your families? How many families is there among you who has convened every day, morning and evening, to incall upon God together? It may be ye have come to the kirk, to God’s worship there, and some of you gone secretly to your cabinets; but that is not enough, unless ye use religious family exercises. And, indeed, there is matter of humiliation for this; for if every one of you had taken pains upon your families, as ye should, there had not been so foul a defection as there is.
And then for the commandments of the second table, by experience I may speak of some of them. There are some of you so far on in drunkenness and excess that it is not counted a sin amongst you, nor is it counted shameful to be drunk; for that which we count not to be a sin, we will not be ashamed of it: and indeed, sin is then come to a great height, when men becomes impudent and shameless in it.7 I will not say that every one of you has been thus ways set, but I know there are many among you who are not ashamed to be seen drunken upon the streets, nor are not ashamed to see others drunk, that they are even like beasts; not because beasts are subject to this intemperancy, but because it makes them beastly who are so: and, indeed, it is not so ill to be a beast as to be beastly. This mischievous sin it brings a man into all ill, and enables him for all ill. I must tell you, I think it expedient that this be mended among you, or otherwise ye cannot look for a blessing from God. And therefore ye who are magistrates would have a care to see order taken with it through the town; and ye who are masters of families would take care of yourselves and your families. And then for your dealing towards other men, and every one of you towards another, ye know I am but a stranger to you in these things. But I would have you not to think it enough to be Christians in your dealing, according to the Act of Parliament, but according to the word of God. Christ gives a very good rule for this in your dealing towards others; whatsoever ye would that others did unto you, the same do ye unto them. Make this your rule and square in all your dealings towards others, and see wherein ye have transgressed that. But our hearts do deceive us, and everyone has a fault with their calling. There is no calling but it has a fault, through our corruption that is in us; and commonly the fault sticks as fast to us as the calling does: and therefore ye who would approve yourselves to God, strive to know the points and faults in your calling. And albeit ye be free of sins in your calling, yet strive against the sins of the time; for these shall bring wrath upon you, if ye follow them. It is not possible for any to overtake all their own faults; and many think that they are but strangers to themselves who speak this, and yet it is true. O but we be far from that soberness, righteousness, and holiness that the Lord requires of us, and that we are bound to aim at. And therefore, since that this is a time of solemn humiliation, remember that we humble ourselves indeed before God. Remember that God searches and sees what is in us; and let us search and see it also. And let us take no rest till we find out that which is our idol, and it be known to us to be a sin; and having found out the malefactor, bring him out and present him before Christ, the Judge of the world. And therefore let us beware of hypocrisy in this, but deal honestly; that so the Lord may send down a blessing upon this exercise, to his glory and our comfort. And therefore I remit, etc.