2. It is dangerous, because of the effects; for when predominant
1 Thucydides.
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lusts have broken all bounds of divine light and rule, how long do you think that human rules will keep them in order? They break through all in such a season as the apostle describes. And if they come to break through all human restraints, as they have broken through divine, they will fill all things with ruin and confusion.
3. They are perilous in the consequence ; which is, the judgments of God. When men do not receive the truth in the love of it, but have pleasure in unrighteousness, God will send them strong delusion, to believe a lie. So 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11, is a description how the Papacy came upon the world. Men professed the truth of religion, but did not love it, — they loved unrighteousness and ungodliness; and God sent them Popery. That is the interpretation of the place, according to the best divines. Will you profess the truth, and at the same time love unrighteousness? The consequence is, security under superstition and ungodliness. This is the end of such a perilous season ; and the like may be said as to temporal judgments, which I need not mention. Let us now consider what is our duty in such a perilous season : — (1.) We ought greatly to mourn for the public abominations of the world, and of the land of our nativity wherein we live. I would only observe that place in Ezek. ix., God sends out his judgments, and destroys the city; but before, he sets a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. You will find this passage referred in your books to Rev. vii. 3, " Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." I would only observe this, that such only are the servants of God, let men profess what they will, " who mourn for the abominations that are done in the land." The mourners in the one place are the servants of God in the other. And truly, brethren, we are certainly to blame in this matter. We have been almost well contented that men should be as wicked as they would themselves, and we sit still and see what would come of it. Christ hath been dishonoured, the Spirit of God blas- phemed, and God provoked against the land of our nativity; and yet we have not been affected with these things. I can truly say in sin- cerity, I bless God, I have sometimes laboured with my own heart about it. But I am afraid we all of us come exceeding short of our duty in this matter. " Rivers of waters," saith the psalmist, " run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law." Horrible profana- tion of the name of God, horrible abominations, which our eyes have seen, and our ears heard, and yet our hearts been unaffected with them ! Do you think this is a frame of heart God requireth of us in such a season, — to be regardless of all, and not to mourn for the public abominations of the land? The servants of God will mourn. I could speak, but am not free to speak, to those prejudices which keep us
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off from mourning for public abominations; but they may be easily suggested unto all your thoughts, and particularly what they are that have kept us off from attending more unto this duty of mourning for public abominations. And give me leave to say, that, according to the Sciipture rule, there is no one of us can have any evidence that we shall escape outward judgments that God will bring for these abominations, if we have not been mourners for them ; but that as smart a revenge, as to outward dispensations, may fall upon us as upon those that are most guilty of them, no Scripture evidence have we to the contrary. How God may deal with us, I know not.
This, then, is one part of the duty of this day, — that we should humble our souls for all the abominations that are committed in the land of our nativity ; and, in particular, that we have no more mourned under them.
(2.) Our second duty, in reference to this perilous season is, to take care that we be not infected with the evils and sins of it. A man would think it were quite contrary; but really, to the best of my ob- servation, this is, and hath been, the frame of things, unless upon some extraordinary dispensation of God's Spirit: — as some men's sins grow very high, other men's graces grow very low. Our Saviour hath told us, Matt. xxiv. 12, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." A man would think the abounding of iniquity in the world should give great provocation to love one another. " No," saith our Saviour, "the contrary will be found true : as some men's sins grow high, other men's graces will grow low."
And there are these reasons for it : —
[1.] In such a season, we are apt to have light thoughts of great sins. The prophet looked upon it as a dreadful thing, that upon Jehoiakim's throwing the roll of Jeremiah's prophecy into the fire, till it was consumed, " yet they were not afraid, nor rent their gar- ments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words," Jer. xxxvi. 24. They were grown senseless, both of sin and judgment. And Avhere men (be they in other respects never so wise) can grow senseless of sin, they will quickly grow senseless of judg- ments too. And I am afraid, the great reason why many of us have no impression upon our spirits of danger and perils in the days wherein we live, is because we are not sensible of sin.