1. To rouse up ourselves. Shake off sloth and security : 2 Tim. i. 6, ' Stir up the gift that is in thee ; ' Isa. lxiv. 7, ' There is none that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee/ There is need of awakening ourselves yet more and more. Conscience is too sleepy, the will too re- miss, the affections are dead and earthly, and are not so active and powerful upon our hearts as they were wont to be. Oh ! do not rest in a lukewarm drowsy profession, but seriously bestir yourselves.
2. Trim up your lamps ; that is, let your practice and profession of godliness be more lively and powerful, and grace kept in constant exercise : ' Having your loins girt, and your lamps burning,' Luke xii. 35. Oh ! it is a blessed thing to be found so doing. You will never do so —
[1.] While you content yourselves with a little religiousness by the by, and do not make godliness your main work and business : ' Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.'
[2.] While you content yourselves with doubtful questionable grace, and do not put it out of all doubt: 1 Peter i. 10, 11, ' Give all dili- gence to make your calling and election sure, that so an abundant entrance may be ministered unto you.'
[3.] You will never do so while you content yourselves with a little general religion, without looking into every part and point of duty : 1 Peter i. 15, ' Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.' Wherein you are to exercise your obedience to God : Acts xxvi. 7, 8, ' Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God night and day, hope to come.'
[4.] You will never do so till your minds be taken off from the pre- sent world, and more deeply fixed upon the world to come, Mat. vi. 21. Till that be your treasure, Col. iii. 1, ' Set your affections upon things above.' Our affections often cool, being scattered too much upon pre-
378 SERMONS UPON MATTHEW XXV. [SER. VI.
sent tilings ; we have little or no thoughts of our spiritual journey : 1 Peter i. 13, ' Gird up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.' It is meant of the affections. It is the lively expecta- tion of blessedness to come that kcepeth us in life and exercise.
Second!;/, We now come to the consideration of it as to the foolish virgins, ' They all arose and trimmed their lamps.' The foolish virgins made a fair nourish ; on their part it noteth their vain confidence, as if they were as ready to meet the bridegroom as the wise, though the; event showeth the contrary ; so that on their part it doth not note so much their serious preparation as their foolish presumption.
Boot. 2. Many think they have grace enough to meet Christ at his coming, when the event showeth no such matter ; or, many have great confidence of the goodness of their condition, that will be found foolish virgins at last. As in the text, the foolish virgins ; and in the 7th of Matthew, the foolish builder.
There are four reasons of this : —
1. Self-love, which blindeth a man in judging of his state and actions : Prov. xvi. % ' All the ways of a man are right in his own eyes.' It is natural to a man to have a good conceit of his own ways ; so Prov. xxx. 12. ' There is a generation of men pure in their own eyes, yet not washed from their filthiness.' A man will favour himself, be a parasite to himself. A self-suspecting heart is very rare, John xiii. 23, 24, and 2 Sam. xii. 7.
2. An overly sense of their duty, and belief of the world to come. Temporaries have but a taste of heavenly doctrine, Heb. vi. 4, a light tincture. The act of their faith is not so intense and serious as to set them a- work with all life and diligence, or to enable them to judge impartially, whether they are able to bear the coming of Christ, yea or no. Presumption is the child of ignorance and incogitancy ; they do not consider of the strictness of the gospel law, or the impartiality of the last day's account ; there is but a notional, slight, superficial, ineffectual apprehension of these things. An ignorant person is fool- hardy, he doth not weigh the danger. It is not the greatness of our confidence, but the acuteness of our sense.
o. Want of searching or taking the course whereby we may be unde- ceived : Jer. viii. 6, ' No man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?' Yea, when searched, and their natural face showed them, James i. 23, 24 ; they will not search and try their ways. A temporary is seldom discovered to himself till it be too late ; but you may find him by these notes. Usually he is slothful ; he is not a laborious Christian — sound exercise maketh us feel our condition; he is not self-searching, he doth not look into himself, he smothereth those misgivings of heart which he hath, and will not consider the case, or return upon himself. If they do not search, they cannot know themselves; if they should search, they do not like themselves; they choose the latter.