VeR. 26.] SERMONS UPON 3IARK X. 17-27. 69
necessary. This is au ill use and end to murmnr against God and repine against bis sovereignty and dominion over the creature ; and yet this is the use that many make of it : John vi. 60, ' Many of his disciples when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying, who can hear it ? ' What ! nothing hut mortifying our desires ? nothing but thwarting our pleasing inclinations ? nothing but performing such works which we cannot abide. Why hath God planted such desires in us if he would not have them satisfied ? (2.) Not that we should despair or wholly despond, as those, Jer. xviii. 12, ' There is no hope, but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart ; ' and Jer. ii. 25, ' There is no hope ; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.' Well, I see my condition is lielpless and hopeless, therefore I resolve to make the best of it. When men hear how hard it is to go to heaven, they throw off all in a de- spondency, they shall never bring their hearts to this work. But we should not despair ; and think it altogether impossible Trpoalprja-Lf; ovk iariv aSiivarcov ; there cannot be a pursuit of that which is impossible. Past cure, they say, past care. Many, their affections are so strongly set upon carnal things, and they are so inveigled with the comforts of the world and the pleasures of the flesh, that they are discouraged, and so think it impossible to do otherwise than they do. Oh, no ! that is not the use of it. Do not say. There is no hope of the world to come, therefore let us make the best of this life. God would have the fallen creature to despair of himself indeed : ' With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible,' as in the next verse.
2. Positive. Why should these difficulties be thought of and laid to heart ? to what end ?
[1.] To prevent slightness of spirit. There is not a greater bane to re- ligion, nor a greater judgment lights upon a creature, than a vain, frothy, slight heart ; and therefore, to prevent this, and that we may in good earnest mind the things of our eternal peace, it is good to understand sufficiently the dijBficulty of it. A slight heart thinks it no such great matter to get to heaven, there is no such danger of missing it as men talk of ; though they be not so religious as preachers would have them, nor so strict in conscience as to abstain from every smaller matter, yet through the grace of God they shall do well enough. Hell is made for the devil and devilish men and outrageous sinners ; if they live fairly, and do as their neighbours do, they shall do well enough, though they do not pine and whine over their sins, or busy their brains about clearing up their interest in God ; though they be not so nice and scrupulous, and take God's word too strictly, they shall do well enough for all that. Chris- tians, these conceits, with which most men are leavened, are the bane, and eat out the heart of all religion. It is no such easy matter to go to heaven as the world imagines. A cold faint wish will never bring us thither, nor a desire to enjoy it when we can live here no longer. No ; there must be watching, and labouring, and striving; this must be your great business and employment : Ps. xxvii. 4, ' One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.' Oh ! whatever is neglected, this business must be looked after day after day, namely, in what posture
70 SERMONS UPON MARK X. 17-27. [SeR. XIII.
we are for the enjoyment of the blessed God : Phil, iii 12, Bico/co), ' I follow after it, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ , ' Acts xxvi. 7, ' Unto which hope the twelve tribes serv^ed God instantly/ some render it ; but it is ev eKreveia, with all their strength, ' day and night, hope to come.' Now it is neces- sary men should be sensible of the difficulty of being saved, to quicken their endeavours, and to bring them out of this slight frame of heart which is so natural to us ; they think there needs not so much ado that we make the way straiter than God hath made it ; they will not believe it is half so hard as it is. We see how great is our sloth and negligence. Now, if after he hath told us it is as hard as to go through the eye of a needle, what would we do if all were easy ? Think of the difficulty to prevent this slight heart.
[2.] To keep us in a due dependence upon and an admiration of grace, God would have us sensible of the difficulty. What carnal hearts have we ! how hard a matter is it to guide and govern them in the fear of God that we may keep up an admiration of the power of God that is perfected in our weakness ! 2 Cor. xii. 10, ' When I am weak, then am I strong.' Alas ! when we look to ourselves, we may cry out, when we think of these things, ' Who can be saved ? ' This awakeneth our prayers for special grace from day to day, and maketh us to look up to God for new supplies, because we find it is not in our- selves : ' The way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,' Jer. x. 23 ; ' We are not sufficient of our- selves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God,' 2 Cor. iii. 5.