(4.) Men ai'e prejudiced at the ways of Christ. They expose them to sufferings, Mat. xvi. 24., " Let him take up his cross and follow me." Many stumble at the cross. There are, as Tertullian, delicatuliy silken Christians, who love their ease ; they will follow Christ to mount Tabor, to see him transfigured, but not to mount Golgo- tjia, to suffer with him. But, alas, what is affliction to the glory that follows ! The weight of glory makes affliction light. Ad- imant caput non coronam. O take heed of prejudice ; this hath been a stumbling-stone in men's way to heaven, and hath made them fall short of the kingdom !
A. 6. If you would not miss of the king- dom of heaven, take heed of presumption. Men presume all is well, and take it as a principle not to be disputed that they shall go to heaven. The devil hath given them opium to cast them into a deep sleep of se- curity. The presumptuous sinner is like the Leviathan, made " without fear ;" he lives as bad as the worst, yet hopes he shall be saved as well as the best; he blesseth himself and saith, he shall have peace,
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tliouf^h lie goes on in sin, Deut. xxix. 19. As if a man should drink poison yet not fear but lie should have his health. But whence doth this presumptuous hope arise? Surely from a conceit that God is made up all of mercy. 'Tis true God is merciful, but withal he is just too, Exod. xxxiv. 7., " Keeping mercy for thousands, and that will by no means clear the guilty." If a king did proclaim that only those should be pardoned, who came in and submitted, ought any still persisting in rebellion, to claim the benefit of that pardon ? Dost thou hope for mercy, who wilt not lay do\vn thy weapons, but stand out in rebellion against heaven ? None might touch the ark but the priests ; none may touch this ark of God's mercy, but holy, consecrated persons. Presumption is heluo animarum, — the great devourer of souls. A thousand have mis- sed of heaven, by putting on the broad spectacles of presumption.
A. 7. If you would not miss of the hea- venly kingdom, take heed of the delights and pleasures of the flesh. Soft pleasures harden the heart ; many people cannot en- dure a serious thought, but are for come- dies and romances ; they play away their salvation. Homines capiunter volvptate, ut pisces hamo, Cicero. Pleasure is the su- gared bait men bite at, but there is an hook under. Job xxi. 12., " They take the tim- brel and harp ; and rejoice at the sound of the organ." And a parallel scripture, A- mos vi. 4, 5, 6., " That lie upon beds of iv- ory, that chant to the sound of the aioI, that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments." The -pleasures of the world do keep many from the pleasures of paradise. What a shame is it, that the soul, that princely thing, which sways the sceptre of reason, and is akin to angels, should be enslaved by sinful pleasure ! Beard, in his theatre, speaks of one who had a room richly hung with fair pictures, — he had most delicious music, — he had the rarest beauties, — he had all the candies, and curious preserves of the con- fectioner,— thus did he gratify his senses with pleasure, and swore he would live one week as a god, though he were sure to be damned in hell the next day. Diodorus Si- culus observes, that the dogs of Sicily while
they are hunting among the sweet flowers, lose the scent of the hare : so, many while they are hunting after the sweet pleasures of the world lose the kingdom of heaven. 'Tis (saitli Tlicophylact) one of the worst siglits, to see a sinner go laughing to hell.