Reasons to evince the necessity of this circumspect walking.
First, We have a strict rule, that doth not yield the least allowance and indulgence to sin. When David had admired the perfections of the law, for the purity of it, and its dominion over the conscience, what was the fruit of that meditation ? Ps. xix. 12, ' Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from secret faults.' The best man living, when he compareth himself with the law of God, will be forced tO' blush and acknowledge more sins than ever he took notice of before. The law of God is said to be a ' broad law,' and sometimes a ' narrow law.' A broad law : Ps. cxix. 96, ' I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandments are exceeding broad.' A narrow law, as our way to heaven is called a ' narrow way,' Mat. vii. 14. It is a broad commandment, because it compriseth the whole duty of man. Every- thing is under a law, not only our actions, but our aims ; there is a law to our thoughts and our desires, and the very sudden and indeliberate motions of our souls. We make too short an exposition of the law, and therefore have too large an opinion of our own righteousness. Again, it is a narrow law, because it alloweth no liberty to corrupt nature to discover and bewray itself. There are extremities on either side to be avoided : Deut. v. 32, ' Ye shall not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left.' It is a proverbial form of speech, used to signify our exact care to walk in God's laws; it is taken from passengers, that keep
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exactly to the road and highway, from which they could not turn aside on either hand, without trespassing on some one or other. The same speech is used, Isa, xxx. 21, ' This is the way, walk in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left ; ' Prov. iv. 27, ' Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left ; remove thy foot from evil' Now, then, in a narrow way it is easy to err, for it is hardly found and hardly kept, but the danger of erring is great. Therefore to escape the danger, and that we may walk evenly in the ways that lead to heaven and happiness, we need much circumspection. Let me give you an instance. Solomon saith, Eccles. vii. 16, 17, 'Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyself overwise : why shouldst thou destroy thyself? Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldst thou die before thy time ? ' The meaning is, avoid the faulty extremes on both sides. But then he saith, ver. 18, ' He that feareth Ciod shall come forth of them all ; ' that is, he that ordereth his ways in the fear of God, turneth not after either to the right hand or to the left ; he is neither too stiff and proud in his own conceit, nor too flexible and bending, where his duty forbiddeth compliance.
Secondly, What a holy God we have for our witness, approver, and judge, who will one day call as to an account ! This is often pressed : Deut. iv. 23, 24, ' Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the cove- nant of the Lord your God, which he hath made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, which he hath forbidden thee : for the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.' Therefore we must not make bold with his name, law, worship, or interest. So to j)ress them to seriousness : Josh. xxiv. 19, ' And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord ; for he is a holy God, he is a jealous God.' And when he smote the Bethshemites, 1 Sam. vi. 20, ' Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God ? ' It may be you will think this is the character of God as he represented himself to the Jews ; but doth not the christian representation of God call for the same respect and reverence ? See Heb. xii. 28, 29, ' Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear ; for our God is a consuming fire.' He is a God of all grace, but he will not be slighted ; his mercy doth not lessen his majesty, nor expose it to contempt. There are two things in this reason — (1.) That God is our witness; and (2.) He must be our approver and judge.
(1.) He looketh on, and seetli all that we do for the present : Ps. cxix. 168, 'I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies ; for all my ways are before thee.' It is impudence, and great contempt of God, to break his laws before his face. What can we do that is hidden from him and done behind his back ? And his inspection is accurate : Prov, xvi. 2, ' The Lord weigheth the spirits.' He not only seeth, but weigheth them.