•i^ Col. ii. 8. 1 Rom. xii. 10. '" 1 Cor. viii. 2.
n 1 Cor. ill. 18. ° 1 Cor. iii, 19, 20. p Isai. v. 21.
'1 Ps. cxix. 18. '• Job xxxiv. 32.
Prov. xxvii. 1. Boast not thyself of to-morroiv : for tliou knoicest not ivhat a day may bring forth.
THE opinions of men are not less opposite to the mind of God in what relates to practice, than in the most mysterious doctrines of our holy religion. We are told, that " the things of the Spirit are esteemed as foolishness by the natural man:" and to what an ex- tent they are so, is visible in the commendation uni- versally given to a worldly spirit, and in the contempt poured upon heavenly-mindedness, as though it were the offspring of folly and enthusiasm. But in the judgment of God there is no truer mark of wisdom than to consider earthly things as transient and worth- less, and to place one's-self continually as on the brink and precipice of eternity. To this effect Solomon speaks in the passage before us : in discoursing on which, we shall.
I. Explain the caution here given- It is of great importance to distinguish between 'promd'iug for to-morrow, and presuming upon to- morrow : the former is necessary for our very exist- ence, since without it, the whole world would be in a state of stagnation : but the acting as if we were cer- tain of another day, is the error against which we are cautioned. Now we do this,
1. When our affections are inordinately moved by present things —
[If we feel eager desires after any earthly thing, so as to envy the possessors of it, and account the attainment of it necessary to our happiness; or, if we take such delight in what we do possess, as to forget that this world is not our rest, and that infinitely higher joys are prepared for us above ; or if we grieve exceedingly on account of some loss we have sustained; we manifest that we have been promising ourselves many days, and even years to come : for, would a person be very solicitous about a vanity that he thought might very probably last but a day ? Or would he so congratulate himself on a possession wliich he apprehended to be of such short continuance? or would he lay so much to heart the loss of any thing which he had expected to enjoy but a little time? We cannot but see that in proportion as he was impressed with a sense of the shortness and uncertainty of time, and its nothingness in com- parison of eternity, his affections would be moderated towards every object of time and sense : he would " rejoice as though he rejoiced not, and weep as though he wept not, and use every thing as not abusing it."]
2. When we are but little interested about eternal things —
[Every one knows that sin must be rejjented of; and that, if the guilt of it be imputed to us, we must perish. But this is not all ; we must be born again and be made new creatures in Christ Jesus : and though this be not generally understood, every one has an idea that he must become religious before he die, if he would find acceptance with God in the world to come. Now if persons be deferring the great work of religion, whence can that delay arise but from their expectation of some more convenient season, when they shall execute their purposes of reformation and amendment? Or if they commit sin, whence can they be emboldened to do so, but from a secret confidence that they shall Hve to repent of it; and to rectify what they know to be amiss ? Would any man deliberately do what lie knows must be undone, or leave undone what he knows he must