Why are a people to be thus secure ? for, as I told you before, God doth not bring destruction ordinarily upon any but upon a secure people. One reason is taken irom God, and another reason is taken from the devil.
1. God gives men up to security in a way of judiciary harden ing of them. God hath now determined their destruction; but he will take his own time, way, and season.
But may not this work be diverted? and will it be accomplished? Saith God, CI will take care for that:' Isa. vi. 9-11, "Go, make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long?" how long shall they be in this state and condition? "And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate." God brings them now under security ju dicially. It is not preaching, — it is not men's thundering from heaven ; it is not sudden judgments, poverty, misery, distresses, fears; — nothing shall now awaken such a people. 'Make their heart fat, and their ears heavy/ ' How long ?' * Until the land be utterly desolate. But the time is not yet come. I must stay a little longer, to try and exercise my people's faith, patience, and obedience ; and many other things I have to do : but this people shall not escape/ saith he. ' But if this judgment and the other judgment pass over, they will escape/ * No/ saith God ; ' I will make their heart fat, and their ears heavy, that they shall not hear, nor understand, until the land become desolate/
A man that is not utterly stupid cannot sometimes but wonder and stand amazed whence it is that mankind should be so secure when judgments are compassing them round about. If the word of God be true, and any tokens of God's anger and displeasure are
534 HOLINESS URGED FROM THE
to be taken notice of, whence is it that men are so unconcerned that they will not lend an ear to them? The reason is given, Isa. vi. 10-12.
2. Satan hath a great hand in it. He is a very crafty prognos- ticator, — hath great apprehensions that judgments are drawing near to a people ; and he was a murderer from the beginning, and delights in nothing but blood and mischief. He is afraid of nothing so much as that judgments should be diverted from a people. When he sees deserved judgments approaching, he knows he hath but this one way to take off all interventions that may hinder them. What is that ? He makes them secure. He will now labour more with his temptations with all sorts of people than at any other time or season in the world. This is his day, the hour and power of darkness, now to try his skill, and see what he can do. If he can but keep people secure, judgments will follow. He delights in blood, as being a murderer from the beginning; and he that sees him not at work in the world in a most eminent manner in these days to this very end and purpose, working in men, by their lusts, by occasions and tempta tions of life, every day, to continue them in their security, I think takes little observation.
This is the first sign of an approaching dissolution, which I have spoken to at large because it is that which the Scripture speaks so much of, and guides us most to consider, — namely, a general security.
Secondly, Another sign is, a universal corruption of life in all sorts of persons. The Holy Ghost tells us, that before the coming of the flood, "all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth," Gen. vi. 12. The way of the flesh is not very good at any time ; I mean the way of men : but when they come as it were by general consent, all of them, to corrupt their way, it is to make way for the bringing in of a flood. Such a state and condition as that is described by the prophet Isaiah, chap. iii. 1-5, "The LORD of hosts doth take away the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the coun sellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour : the child shall behave himself proudly against the an cient, and the base against the honourable." There is a general confu sion and corruption of life and manners. The prophet describes what their state and condition was before God, and which would bring those destructive judgments upon the whole nation; as afterwards He did.
Thirdly, When unto universal corruption of life there is added persecution of the church, that is another sign of an approaching destructive dissolution. Our Saviour tells us, Matt. xxiv. 7-9, that " nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom :