This may be enlarged to all sinful courses. Every sinner worketh a deceitful work, and bringeth forth a lie. Augustine saith well, every sin is a lie (a). Men would be happy, yet they will not live so as they may be happy ; what more deceitful than this ? It will be the complaint of every sinner at length, that was Eve's, the ' serpent hath deceived me,' Gen. iii. 13. It was St Paul's complaint, Rom. viii. 8, and it will be the complaint of all sinful wretches at the last day. What hath pride profited us ? what can the favour of men, upon whom we bear ourselves, do us good now ? Sin pro- misethus contentment, continuance, secresy, full satisfaction, &c., but doth it make good this ? Were ever any, when the beginning and ending was laid together, established by wickedness ? Take it from God himself (we have a commission to speak it),' Say, it shall not go well with the wicked, though they escape an hundred times,' Eccl. viii. 12, 13, yet it is but a reprieval for some further service which God hath to do by them. ' Be not deceived, God is not mocked,' Gal. vi. 7. When we can be more subtle than the devil, or more strong than God, we may think to thrive by sin. Can we think God will alter the course of divine justice for us ? had we not better believe this than find it so hereafter ? Beloved, hell is for those to feel that will not beheve. Certain it is, that those who will sin, notwithstanding God's
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justice, shall be severely punished, notwithstanding his mercy. God is not more peremptory in any one thing than in this, * If any man bless himself in an ill way, my wi'ath shaU smoke against him,' Deut. xxix. 19, 20 ; there- fore it is a good prayer. Lord, (jive me not over to lying, that is, not to trust in that which will lie and deceive me.
This is the unhappiness of us ministers, all other professions are believed when they discover danger, but ' who believeth our report ? ' Isa. liii. 1. We are men's ' enemies, because Ave tell them the truth,' Gal. iv. 16 ; we labom- to take away the sweet morsels fi'om men, their Herodiases (b), and to divide betwixt men and their sins, which they love better than their souls. No creature but man, loves that which will be its own bane. Only WTetched man seeks happiness in the way to misery, and heaven in the waj- to hell. I beseech you therefore, as you would not be deceived, (as indeed who would ?) take heed of the deceitful works of darkness. Satan that tempts us is but a lying spirit (which he is not ashamed to confess), 1 Kngs xxii. 22, and sin is like unto him. What got Ahab by his "\-ineyard ? Judas by his thirty pieces of silver ? what got Haman, and so of the rest, by their sins at the last ? Men are usually ashamed of an ill bargain, because the very thought thereof upbraids them with weakness and folly. Whatever we get by sin for the present, it will prove the worst bargain that ever we made. Oh, therefoi'e, let us use our wits and parts to better purpose ; if we will needs be plotting, let us plot for eternity ; that is worth the plotting for. Let us plot how to avoid Satan's plot. Our time is short, opportunity, the flower of time, shorter. Our talents are many, our accounts strict, our judge unpartial. Let us be ' sowing to the Spirit,' Gal. vi. 8 ; let us labom'to be like om* Judge, who went about doing his Father's work, John xvii. 4, and came to destroy the works of the devil, 1 John iii. 8, Oh, beloved, shall we build up that which Chi'ist came to destroy ? All his miracles tended to good ; he wrought the salvation of those that wrought his destruction ; he shed his blood for those that shed his blood. Satan is all for mischief, and rather than he will not do hurt, he is content to be set about drowning of Bwine, Mark v. 14. And such are all those that are led with his spirit, men wdtty to destroy and acute to malice others, who take a great deal of pains to go to hell and carr}' others mth them. Those that are skilful in the story of natm'e, wi'ite of the scorpion, that he whets his tail often upon stones, that so it may be sharp and ready for a mischief. Some crooked ^vits there are which make it their exercise to vex the quiet of the land ; it is as natural to them as poison to a scoi-pion.
But our happiness is, how to be like the idea, the pattern of all grace, and the glory of our natm-e, by whom we hope to be saved, Om' happiness is to bring forth fruit, and our own fruit ' in due season,' Ps. i, 3 ; to have opportunity, ability, and a heart to do good. How comfortable is death when it takes men so doing ? The time will be ere long, when it -will com- fort us above all things in the world besides, that we have been houom-ed to be instruments of doing good, and stood in the gap to hinder e-^dl. Beloved, we serve a good master. We shall not lose a good word for a good cause. There is a ' book of remembrance, Mai, iii, 16, for eveiy good word and work we do. When vv'icked men have beaten their brains, spent their spirits, and wasted their strength, what becomes of them at length ? A conscience often wounded will receive no comfort, but take God's part against itself, A\Taen the other powers are wearied, then conscience comes and doth its office ; then the eyes of the soul ai'e open to see what it would not see before, then sin that ' lay at the door,' Gen, iv, 7 (c), at the going out