2. The reason, ' For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh ; ' Mat. xxiv. 44, ' For in such an hour you think not of, the Son of man cometh.'
Doct. The great duty that lieth upon them that believe and look for Christ's coming is watching.
My business will be to show you what watching is in the general notion of it. As it is taken spiritually and metaphorically, it implieth a diligent care and heed to the great affairs of our souls ; for it is a mixed thing, made up of prudence and diligence. It implieth a pru- dent foresight of the soul's danger, with a diligent care to avoid it. It
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is pressed in scripture to a double end ; partly that we may maintain the present state, and partly that we may prepare for the future : the one quickeneth the other. And though the latter be of chief consi- deration in this place, yet it will not be amiss to consider both ; for there is no hope to stand before Christ at his coming;, unless we be careful to get and keep grace for the present. And on the other side, the argument to quicken us to present care and diligence is the blessedness we shall have at Christ's coming, and the danger of being disallowed at last.
1. Watching with respect to our present preservation is pressed : Mat. xxvi. 41, 'Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation;' and 1 Cor. xvi. 13, ' Watch ye, stand fast in the faith/
2. Watching with respect to future acceptation. That is pressed in other places : Mat. xxiv. 42, ' Watch ye, for ye know not in what hour the Lord cometh.' The particular time of Christ's coming is kept secret, that we may be moved at all times to prepare for it. The Lord foresaw that we would be prone to negligence and carnal security, and that the knowledge of the express time of his coming would be hurtful to us ; therefore it is inter arcana imperii, among the secrets kept in the Father's bosom, that we might be always ready. So Luke xxi. 36, ' Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to stand before the Son of man.' The meaning is, that we may escape the judgments then to be poured out upon the wicked and the careless ; that we may not causa cadere ; that we may have a sentence of approbation passed in our favour. These are the two sorts of watching pressed upon us in scripture, the one to avoid the snares of the devil, the other that we may be ready for the coming of the Lord.
First, Watching with respect to our present state and safety. This again is twofold — a watching to avoid evil, and a watching for the careful performance of that which is good. The scripture speaketh of both ; and both are enforced by their own proper reasons.
1. For the avoiding of evil. There is in us all a sinful proneness to evil, which we must seek to cure and prevent : Prov. iv. 23, ' Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.' The heart is terminus actionum ad intra, et fons actionum ad extra. It is the heart that God aimeth at in all that he doth upon us, and it is the heart that is the ground of all our actions. The fountain must be kept pure from pollutions, that the streams may be the more limpid and clear. Every man hath a little garrison to keep, and he himself is the watchman of it ; his conscience is to sit porter at the door, and to examine whatever cometh out and entereth in, as a watchman doth at the gates of a city. All the thoughts, affections, words, actions, are to be examined, what they are, whither they go, whence they come, whither they tend, lest a temptation be let in, or a corruption be let out ; otherwise the heart cannot be kept pure and loyal to God. >Solomon telleth us, Prov. xxv. 28, ' He that hath no rule over his own spirit, is like a city that is without walls.5 A town without walls lieth open to every comer : sin and danger, and all kind of evil motions go to and fro, without any kind of check and control : things will pass out which should be suppressed and kept in, and temptations will enter which should be kept out. Now this caution is no more
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than needeth, if we consider the enemies of our salvation, the devil, the world, and the flesh.
[1.] The malice of Satan. Our adversary is very watchful, and getteth advantage by nothing so much as our security. Vigilat liosiis, et dormis ? It was an old word : the devil is neither dead nor asleep, and shall not we stand upon our guard ? 1 Peter v. 8, ' Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.' Satan is a restless adversary, full of malice and craft ; his end is to destroy and to devour souls, and his diligence is answerable to his malice. Night and day we are in danger every one of us. There were but two Adams, and they were both tempted, though the one was made after God's image, and the other had the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him bodily. Adam in innocency and Christ in human nature were tempted, and can we hope to escape ? Neglect your watch, and you become a ready prey to the devil : ' When the servants slept, the enemy sowed tares,' Mat. xiii. 25. He observeth all our drowsy fits, and is waiting for some advantage, or at least some occasion. Sometimes we give him an advantage by our folly and indiscretion : 2 Cor. ii. 11, ' Lest Satan should get an advantage against us.' Or if not, he taketh occasion, as he tempted Christ when he was an hungry, Mat. iv. 2 ; and 2 Cor. vii. 5, ' That Satan tempt you not.' He can interpret the silent language of a blush, a smile, a frown, a look, the glance of a lustful eye, the most secret dis- covery of wrath and discontent, and suiteth his temptations to all the postures of spirit we are in.