Ah ! young men, remember this, when Christ was young, he was tempted and tried ; when he was in the morning of his days, his wounds were deep, his burden weighty, his cup bitter, his sweat painful, his agony and torment above conception, beyond expression ; when he was young, that blessed head of his was crowned with thorns ; and those eyes of his, that were purer than the sun, were put out by the darkness of death ;x and those ears of his which now hear nothing but hallelujahs of saints and angels, were filled with the blasphemies of the multitude ; and that blessed beautiful face of his, which was fairer than the sons of men, was spit on by beastly filthy wretches ; and that gracious mouth and tongue, that spake as never man spake, was slandered and accused of blasphemy ; and those hands of his, which healed the sick, which gave out pardons, which swayed a sceptre in heaven and another on earth, were nailed to the cross ; and those feet, that were beautiful upon the mountains, that brought the glad tidings of peace and salvation into the world, and that were like unto fine brass, were also nailed to the cross : all these great and sad things did Jesus Christ suffer for you in the prime and flower of his clays, and oh ! what an unspeakable pro- vocation2 should this be to all young ones, to give up themselves betimes to Christ, to serve, love, honour, and obey him betimes, even in the spring and morning of their youth.
Let the thoughts of a crucified Christ, saith one, be never out of your mind, let them be meat and drink unto you, let them be your sweet- ness and consolation, your honey and your desire, your reading and your meditation, your life, death, and resurrection.
Motive (3). The third motive or consideration to provoke you to begin to be good betimes, is this, viz., That it is the best and choicest way in the world, to be rich in gracious experiences betimes? which are the best riches in all the world. As he that sets up for himself betimes is in the most hopeful way to be rich betimes, so he that is good in good earnest betimes, he is in the ready way, the highway of being rich in grace and rich in goodness. They usually prove men of great observation and great experience. God loves to shew these his ' beauty and his glory in his sanctuary/4 He delights to cause ' his glory and his goodness to pass before' such. These shall find all his ' paths drop marrow and fatness/ For these ' the Lord of hosts will make a feast of fat things, a feast of wiues on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.' These shall have all man-
1 Nolo vivere sine vulnere, cum te video vulneratum. — Bonaventura. 0 my God, as long as I see thy wounds, I will never live without wounds. Aut Deus natures patitur, aut mundi machina dissolvitur, said Dionysius Alexandrinus ; either the God of nature suf- fered, or the frame of the world will be dissolved. [Epist. ad Poly car p.: ascribed also to the astronomer Ptolemy. — G.] 2 ' Stirring up.' — G.
3 The philosopher once said, solus sapiens dives, only the wise man is the rich man.
4 Ps. lxiii. 1, 2 ; Exod. iii. 3, xix. 22, &c. ; Ps. lxv. 11, 12 ; Isa. xxv. 6 ; Cant. vii. 13.
208 APPLES OF GOLD. [1 KlNGS XIV. 13.
ner of ' pleasant fruits' laid up ' at their gates for their well-beloved.' None have bo many choice pledges of Christ's love, nor bo many sweet kisses of Christ's mouth, nor so many embraces in Christ's arms, as those souls thai are good betimes. Oh the grace, the goodness, the sweetness, the fatness thai Christ is still a-dropping into their hearts! Chrisl will make their hearts his largest treasury, he will lay up most of bis heavenly treasure in their souls. There he will stoic up mercies now and old ; there he will treasure up all plenty, rarity, and variety; there he will lay up all that heart can wish or need require. Oh the many drops of myrrh that falls from Christ's fingers upon their hearts ! Oh the many secrets that Christ reveals in their ears! Oh the many love-lot tors that Christ sends to these! Oh the many visits that he o-ives to those ! Oh the turns, the walks, that he hath in paradise with these ! There are none in the world for experience and intelligence to thi Be. Ah ! young men, young men, as you would be rich in the host riches, beoin to be good betimes ;' as there is no riches to spiritual riches, so there is no way to be rich in these riches, but by beginning to be good, in good earnest, betimes.
As for worldly riches, philosophers have contemned them, and pre- ferred a contemplative life above them, and shall not Christians much more?2 The prophet calls them 'thick clay,' which will sooner break the back than lighten the heart ; they cannot better the soul, they can- not enrich the soul, Hah. ii. 6. Ah! how many threadbare souls are Id be found under silken cloaks and gowns ! How often are worldly riches like hangmen, they hide men's faces with a covering, that they may not see their own end, and then they hang them. And if they do not hang you, they will shortly leave you, they 'make themselves wings and fly away,' Prov. xxiii. 5. When one was a-commending the riches and wealth of merchants, I do not love that wealth, said a heathen, that hangs upon ropes; if they break, the ship miscarrieth, and all is lost, He is rich enough, saith Jerome, that lacketh not bread, and high enough in dignity that is not forced to serve.
1 This world's wealth, that men so much desire, Way well be likened to a burning fire, Whereof a little can do little harm, But profit much our bodies well to warm : But take ton much, and surely thou shalt 1mm ; So too much wealth to too much woe does turn.'
It was an excellent saying of Lewis of Bauyer,3 emperor of Germany, Hujusmodi (rnnpcurcmdcB sunt opes quae cum naufragiosimult ,■■ such goods are worth getting and owning as will not sink or wash away if a shipwreck happen, but will wade and swim out with us. \Y such are the spiritual riches that will attend those who, in the spring and morning of their youth, shall know the Lord and serve the Lord, and gel an interest in the Lord ; and thus much for the third motive
Motvoe (4). The fourth motive to provoke young ones to he really good betimes is, to consider that The present tvme, the prm nt day, U the only season that you are sure of.
1 Earthly riches are full of poverty. DiviticB corporate pavpertatir plena sunt.
2 [f there m re any ha] piness in riches, the gods would nut, want them, saith Seneca. [A frequent sentiment in his Letters.— G.] * Bavaria ?— G.
1 Kings XIV. 13.] apples of gold. 209