Another difference from the words you may have thus. A Christian, by the power of God's Spirit in him, is sensible of the contrarieties in him, complains, and is ashamed for the same. But an hypocrite is not so ; he is not sensible of his sleepiness. ' I sleep,' saith the church. So much as the church saith she slept, so much she did not sleep ; for a man that
Ca^'T. V. 2.] ' MY HEAET WAKETH.' 51
is asleep cannot say he is asleep, nor a dead man that he is dead. So far as he saith he is asleep, he is awake. Now, the church confesseth that she was asleep by that part that was awake in her. Other men do not complain, are not sensible of their sleepiness and slumbering, but compose themselves to slumber, and seek darkness, which is a friend of sleep. They would willingly be ignorant, to keep their conscience dull and dumb as much as they can, that it may not upbraid them. This is the disposition of a carnal man ; he is not sensible of his estate as here the chui-ch is.
Obs. 4. A u-akinrj state is a blessed state. The church you see supports and comforts herself that she was waking in her inward man, that she was happy in that respect.
Quest. How shall we do to keep and preserve our souls in this waking condition, especially in these drowsy times ?
Arts. 1. Propound nnto them wakiur/ considerations. What causeth our sleeps but want of matters of more serious obser^'ation ? None will sleep when a thing is presented of excellency more than ordinary. To see, and know, and think of what a state we are now advanced unto in Christ ; what we shall be ere long, yet the fearfiil estate we should be in, if God leave us to ourselves ! a state of astonishment, miserable and wretched, beyond speech, nay, beyond conceit !* Thus did the blessed souls in foi-mer times exercise their thoughts, raise, and stir them up by meditation, that so they might hold their souls in a high esteem of the best things, and not suffer them to sleep. We never fall to sleep in earthly and carnal delights, till the soul let its hold go of the best things, and ceaseth to think of, and to wonder at them. Wliat made Moses to fall from the delights of Egypt ? He saw the basest things in religion were greater than the greatest things in the court, yea, in the world. ' He esteemed the reproach of Chiist better than the greatest treasures of Egypt,' Heb. xi. 26.
2. Make the heart think of the shortness and vanity of this life, with the uncertainty of the time of our death ; and of what wondrous consequentf it is to be in the state of grace before we die. The uncertainty of the gales of grace, that there may be a good hour which, if we pass, we may never have the like again, Luke xLs. 42, Mat. xxiii. 37 ; as the angel descended at a certain hour into the pool of Bethesda, John v. 4, when those that entered not immediately after, went away sick as they came. So there are certain good hours which let us not neglect. This will help to keep us waking.
8. llie necessity of yrace, and then the free dispensing of it in God's good time, and withal the terror of the Lord's-day, ' Remembering,' saith St Paul, ' the terror of the Lord, I labour to stir up all men,' &c., 2 Cor. v. IL Indeed it should make us stir up our hearts when we consider the teiTor of the Lord ; to think that ere long we shall be all dra\vn to an exact account, before a strict, precise judge. And shall our eyes then be sleeping and careless ? These and such Like considerations out of spiritual wisdom we should propound to ourselves, that so we might have waking souls, and pre- serve them in a right temper.
Ans^ 2. To keep faith xvakiny. The soul is as the object is that is pre- sented to it, and as the certainty of the apprehension is of that object. It conduceth much therefore to the awakening of the soul to keep faith awake. It is not the greatness alone, but the presence of great things that stirs us. Now it is the nature of faith to make things powerfully present to the soul ; for it sets things before us in the word of Jehovah, that made all things of * Tliat is ' conception.' — G. t Ttat is. ' consequence.' — G.
52 BOWELS OPENED. [SeRMON IV.
nothing, and is Lord of Ms word, to give a being to whatsoever he hath spoken, Heb. xL 1. Faith is an awakening grace. Keep that awake, and it will keep all other graces waking.
When a man believes, that all these things shall be on fire ere long ; that heaven and earth shall fall in pieces ; that we shall be called to give an account, [and that] before that time we may be taken away — is it not a wonder we stand so long, when cities, stone walls fall, and kingdoms come to sudden periods ? When faith apprehends, and sets this to the eye of the soul, it affects the same marvellously. Therefore let faith set before the soul some present thoughts according to its temper. Sometimes terrible things to awaken it out of its dulness ; sometimes glorious things, promises and mercies, to waken it out of its sadness, &c. "When we are in a pros- perous estate let faith make present all the sins and temptations that usually accompany such an estate, as pride, security, self- applause, and the like. If in adversity, think also of what sins may beset us there. This will awaken up such graces in us, as are suitable to such an estate, for the preventing of such sins and temptations, and so keep our hearts in ' exercise to godli- ness,' 1 Tim. iv. 7 ; than which, nothing will more prevent sleeping.