SERM. First Cause of all things, we shall soon learn the Divine art of taking comfort in every thing that happens in the world, one as well as another, so as never to be thoughtful or solicitous about what may, nor troubled for what doth, fall out; but in the midst of all the changes and vicissitudes of this mortal life, still to say and sing, not only with our mouths, but from the very bottom of our hearts, "The LORD reigneth, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof." SERMON CV. GOD'S OMNIPRESENCE THE BEST GUARD AGAINST SIN. PSALM XVI. 8. I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. CV. As we are all conceived and born, so naturally we all live SERM. in sin; our whole lives being nothing else, in a manner, but one continued sin against Him in Whom we live; against Almighty God Who made us, and Who made us on purpose that we might glorify, serve, and worship Him, by observing those wise and good laws which He for that purpose hath prescribed to us: whereas we cannot but be conscious to ourselves that we have either totally neglected, or else transgressed, or at least come so far short of all His said laws, that we have not punctually observed any one of them, since we came into the world, to this day; but have rather "followed the devices and desires of our own sinful hearts," and have been hurried about by our corrupt humours and passions, which carry us headlong directly contrary to the rules which God hath set us; so that we are always either " doing what we ought not to do, or not doing what we ought," or at least not so as we ought to do it; and so no way answer the end of our creation, but live to no purpose in the world, but rather to a very ill one: for instead of serving and glorifying our Great Creator, we live in open rebellion against Him, and do what we can to reproach and dishonour His Sacred Name; which is so offensive and displeasing to His Divine Majesty, that it is no wonder that He so orders it in His Providence, that we meet with many troubles and crosses in the world. It is SERM. rather a wonder that we meet with no more: for if He should CV. punish us according as our sins deserve, He might justly strip us of all the mercies we enjoy, and inflict all manner of judgments upon us: He may justly divest us of our estates, and reduce us to the extremity of want and poverty: He may justly deprive us of our health, and cause us to lie languishing upon a sick-bed all our days: He may justly take all our friends and relations from us, or make them enemies and scourges to us: He may justly blast our credit and reputation in the world, and make us the scorn and derision of all that are about us: yea, He may justly condemn us immediately to everlasting shame and torment, and not suffer us to breathe any longer in His air, or tread any longer upon His earth, but command us to go out of this [Mark 9. place into the infernal pit," where the worm dieth not, and 44.] the fire is not quenched." If He should lay any, or all of these punishments upon us, we must still acknowledge Him to be "just in all His ways, and righteous in all His judgments:" for we have sinned against Him, and therefore lie perfectly at His mercy: He may do with us what He pleases, and if He should execute the severity of His wrath upon us, it is no more than what our iniquities have deserved from Him. Now, this being our present state and condition by nature, it cannot surely but be worth the while to bethink ourselves what to do in it, and to consider, whether there may not be some way found out whereby we may, at least in some measure, keep ourselves from those sins which we have hitherto been so apt to fall into, and so prevent those many and great judgments, which God hath threatened, and may justly every moment inflict upon us for them. That the thing is possible to be done we know, because others have done it before us: and that we are as capable of doing it as they were, we know likewise, because we have the same power and means to do it, as they had. The only question is, what course they took for the effecting of it; and by consequence, what course we must take, if we desire to do it effectually. For this, therefore, our best way will be to consult such of whom we are fully assured that they really did it; amongst whom we cannot but acknowledge David to have been one of the most eminent, as being able to say, by the Spirit of Truth itself bearing witness with him, " I Ps. 18. 23. was also upright before God, and I kept myself from mine iniquity," and who therefore elsewhere saith," I will not be Ps. 3. 6. afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about." "Yea, though I walk through Ps. 23. 4. the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." But how did David thus keep himself from sin, yea, from his own, his beloved sin, so as to fear no evil that could befall him for it? What course did he take? What method did he use for the doing of it? To understand that, we need go no farther than my text, wherein he plainly acquaints us with it, saying, "I have set the Lord always before me: because He is on my right hand, I shall not be moved." As if he had said, Although by nature I am very apt to be moved from my duty into sin, and so into all the troubles which attend it, yet I keep myself from it, by setting the Lord always before me; for so long as He is at my right hand, I am sure not to be moved, so as to fall either into sin, or any real misery. This therefore being the great means that David used, and found so effectual in this case, I shall endeavour to explain it more particularly to you; and for that purpose shall consider, I. What it is properly to set the Lord always before us. II. How much this conduceth to our continuing steadfast both in our duty to God, and in His love and favour towards us, so as not to be moved either to do or suffer any real evil in the world. I. In speaking to the first, I suppose I need not tell you whom we are here to understand by the Lord; even the Lord of Hosts, the Most Mighty and Eternal God, Who made all things by the power of His word, Who upholdeth all things by the word of His power, and ordereth all things in the world according to the pleasure of His Own will; Who is not only infinitely wise, and powerful, and great, and just, and merciful, and good, and glorious in all perfections, but Infinite Wisdom, and Power, and Greatness, and Justice, and Mercy, and Goodness, and Glory, and Perfection itself: such Infinite Wisdom, that in every thing i.] CV. SERM. He doth He proposeth the best ends, chooseth the best means, and useth them in the best manner that can be: such Infinite Power, that He can do what He will, by willing it to be done: such Infinite Greatness, that He comprehendeth all things, and is comprehended of nothing: such Infinite Justice, that He punishes every sin that is committed such Infinite Mercy, that He pardoneth every sinner that repenteth: such Infinite Goodness, that every thing He is, or doth, or makes, is good; yea, the best that it is possible for it to be: so that His goodness is over all His works such Infinite Glory, that He displays Himself, and shines forth in, upon, through, and beyond all the creatures in Heaven and earth: such Infinite Perfection, that as He hath infinite perfections in Him, so every perfection in Him is infinite: and therefore, when we speak of the Lord, we are not to apprehend Him as like to any thing we know, but as One infinitely greater, and higher, and better, and holier than any thing that we are able to comprehend; in comparison of Whom, nothing else is great, or high, or good, or holy, or any thing at all. This is the Lord, that Almighty God Whom David did, and we ought, always to set before us: not as if He were not before us unless we set Him there, nor yet as if we could set Him before us more than He really is; but we are said to set the Lord before us, when we actually believe, and are fully persuaded, that He is with us, and sees us, as He really is and doth continually; when we exercise that [Heb. 11. faith, which, as the Apostle saith, "is the evidence of things not seen," and so possesseth us with as firm a confidence and as great a certainty that God is present with us, as that any thing we see is so, although we cannot perceive Him Job 9. 11. by any of our senses: as Job observed of Him, saying, "Lo, He goeth by me, and I see Him not; He passeth on also, but I perceive Him not." And the reason is, because our senses cannot perceive any thing but their own respective objects, which are all matter diversely put together, modified, and agitated so as that each of them may move and affect its proper sense, or that part of our bodies which is fitted for it, by being so composed and ordered, that it is apt to be affected with such particular impressions as are made upon |