EARLY PIETY RECOMMENDED.

ECCLESIASTES xii. 1.

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.

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THERE are many considerations of very great weight, to awaken our mind to a holy reverence and most sacred attention, when we read or hear the word of God. It is the word of God, the infinitely great and glorious God, the supreme Lord and sovereign Governor of the whole world; whose are all things, and whose we are, and who has a right to command us; the God that angels fear, and to whose voice they always hearken with the deepest reverence, esteeming all his injunctions most sacred. And besides, all that he speaks to us is calculated not only for his own glory, but also for our best good. As the kind Father of our spirits, in his infinite wisdom he marks out that path for us to go in, which is not only right and fit in itself, but also suited to render us most happy. His laws are all holy, just, and good. And that he may reach our hearts the more effectually, he singles out particular cases, and adapts himself to the particular tempers and circumstances of the children of men. He knows just how it is with mankind, how they feel, what their hearts are apt to be set upon, and what their temptations and dangers are, and how to speak a word in season to every soul. So of old he used to deal with the children of Israel: all the nations round about them were idolaters, and worshipped their gods under some visible form. And he knew what temptations his people would be under to do as others did, and conform to the common mode. How often, therefore, and how solemnly, by Moses and by the prophets, does he warn them to beware, lest at any time they should be led away from the Lord their God to other gods, or to worship him under some visible form, as the heathen nations round about did their deities. So here in our text, he admonishes persons in their youth.

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He knows the temper and temptations of young people; how apt they are to be unmindful of the God that made them, and to forsake their own mercies to follow after lying vanities, and run into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. He sees them, he pities them; and as the great Governor of the world, and the kind Father of their spirits, he calls after them, reproves and warns them. "Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. Stop! hearken! consider! No longer forget the God that made you; be not unmindful of the hand that formed you, and holds your soul in life, nor delay any longer; but REMEMBER NOW thy Creator in the days of thy youth." As if he had said, "I see what your temper is, I know what your thoughts are, what your temptations, and what your danger: you are inclined to have no sense of God upon your spirit, to give a loose to your vain imaginations, to indulge wanton affections, and put far away all serious thoughts; flattering yourselves with vain hopes of a better time hereafter. The world looks gay to you, and your companions entice you along but verily that road leads to eternal ruin. I see you, and know the way you take; I pity you, I call to you, I warn you, I command you, remember thy Creator; be mindful of God now, without any further delay, in the days of thy youth." And should not young people hearken when God thus speaks to them, and attend with the utmost solemnity! Especially, considering that all this is in and through Jesus Christ, the Mediator. For so bad were we, and such were our guilty circumstances, that we cannot in any reason suppose the great and holy Governor of the world would have had any thing to do with us in a way of mercy, but for the interposition of a Mediator. It would have been a reproach to the holy Majesty of heaven and earth, to have ever spoken one kind word to a guilty world, but for the mediatorial undertaking of his own Son. It would have been inconsistent with the honour of his Majesty, of his holiness and justice, and sacred authority; because, by our apostacy from God, we were become too bad to be pitied, too bad to have any mercy shown us; so bad, that every thing was too good for us, that was better than damnation. Such was

our deplorable case! But the Son of God has interposed as Mediator, to secure his Father's honour, and to open a door for mercy. He was made of a woman, made under the law; has obeyed, suffered, and died, to make atonement for sin by his blood, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. In his obedient life and death, the holiness and justice of God have received perfect satisfaction, and the honour of his law and government is secured; that now the great Governor of the world may show favour to sinners, and yet not so much as seem to be a favourer of sin. Hence he has reprieved this guilty world from ruin, and entered upon methods of grace, to recover sinners to himself. And shall we not now hearken, to any kind word he speaks, and attend to every command with all our hearts!-O that these thoughts which have been suggested, might awaken us all, and particularly every youthi in the assembly, to attend with the utmost solemnity of mind, while we take the words of our text into serious consideration! They are immediately spoken to you that are in your youth, and that from God, the great. Governor and Judge of the world. In this warning he seeks your welfare; and it is the precious blood of Christ, which has purchased for you the mercy of this call from God. That I may assist you to dwell a while upon these words in serious thoughts to better advantage, I will observe this method in the following discourse:

1. I will endeavour to show what is implied in remembering God.

2. What obligations young people are under to this.And,

3. Offer some directions and motives.

I am,

1. To show what is implied in remembering GOD. And in general, it is a heart-affecting, soul-transforming, vital, efficacious remembrance of God, that is here recommended; . and not any mere empty, dry, lifeless notion of God in the head. It is such a remembrance of God, or such a sense of God on the heart, as effectually divorces and weans us from all other things, and influences us to love him with all our hearts, to choose him for our portion, take up our contentment in him as our ALL, and devote ourselves to him, to walk in all

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fall away from both. Mat. xiii. And therefore, if we open the door wide enough to let in the unregenerate, as such, into the church, we must not insist on their being fixed' what to believe, or fixed' what to do; for there is no root in them. Much less must we affirm, that they must be infallibly certain' that they are fixed,' when, if the bible is the word of God, it is infallibly certain, that they are not 'fixed.' And their very confidence, that they are fixed,' is a full proof that they do not understand and believe the Gospel, which declares that they are not fixed,' that they have no root in themselves.

But to return:

Our author says, (p. 79.)" If it is a real gracious state, that gives us a real right to join with the church; then it is a known gracious state that gives us a known right.' And he adds, This is a self-evident proposition.' And this he says in order to prove, that no man can, with a good conscience, make this profession, without as certain a knowledge of the gracious state of his own heart, as he must have of any particular fact about which he is called to give an evidence in a civil court.' But if this argument is conclusive, then his own scheme is overthrown. For, turn the tables, and the argument stands thus:

"If it is real orthodoxy, that gives us a right to join with the church; then it is known orthodoxy, that gives us a known right." And I may add, this is a self-evident proposition.' And therefore, according to Mr. M. "no man can with a good conscience, join with the church, without as certain a knowledge of his orthodoxy, as he must have of any particular fact about which he is called to give an evidence in a civil court." So then, according to Mr. M. unregenerate, graceless men, must be as certain which of all the various schemes of religion in vogue, in the Christian world, is the right one, as they are of any fact which they see with their eyes, to the truth of which they can make oath; or they cannot, with a good conscience, join with the church i. e. they must have as high a degree of infallibility as the apostles had under inspiration, or they cannot, with a good conscience, join with the church. But does Mr. M.

believe this? Does he look upon his graceless, conscientious church-members, as infallible as the apostles?

To say, that real orthodoxy is not a requisite qualification, is to give up his own scheme.. To say, that although real orthodoxy is a requisite qualification, yet a degree of infalli, bility, equal to that which the apostles had under inspiration, is not necessary to qualify a man, with a good conscience, to join with the church, is to give up his argument. For the apostles were not more certain, which was the orthodox scheme of religion, than we are of facts, which we see with our eyes, and which we can swear positively, that we did see. And our certainty must be equal to this, he says, or we cannot, with a good conscience, join with the church. Every conscientious, graceless church-member, therefore, according to Mr. M. is as infallible, in points of orthodoxy, as was the apostle Paul. But does Mr. M. believe this? No, by no means. What then does he mean? Why, he means to confute our scheme, by an argument built on a principle which he himself does not believe to be true; and which, were it true, would overthrow his own scheme.

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Ojection. But I know that I believe such and such doctrines; yea, I can swear I believe them.

Answer. You can swear that you believe your own creed; but can you swear that your own creed is orthodox? For not a confident belief, but real orthodoxy is, according to Mr. M. a requisite qualification to church-membership. Therefore, according to him, you must be certain that your creed is orthodox; even as certain as you are of facts which you see, and to the truth of which you can make oath before the civil magistrate; which is a degree of certainty equal to that which the apostles had under inspiration.

The Arians, the Socinians, the Pelagians, the Papists, &c. &c. can swear that they believe their schemes; but does this qualify them to be church-members? Would Mr. M. receive them to communion? If so, then it is no matter what scheme of religion men believe, if they do but believe it confidently. And then orthodoxy is not a requisite qualification for church-membership, but rather bigotry!