God. For even St. Paul felt this to be necessary : ft Though I know nothing by myself," says he, " yet am I not hereby justified ; but he that judgeth me is the Lord." There may be self-deceit in us, even when we are least aware of it : and therefore with all our might we should guard against it, lest we find out our delusions, when it is too late to apply a remedy. Of one thing we are sure, that God will not fix our state according to our fancied attainments, but according to our real character in his sight. We say therefore to all, and with those words we shall close our discourse, " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap : he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption ; and he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
god's rule of judgment.
Jer. xvii. 10. 7 the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
THE evil of the human heart is far greater than can be fully conceived either by men or angels. None but God himself can explore the depths of iniquity that are within ita. But He will judge the world in righteousness at the last day; and consequently must have access to the inmost recesses of the soul, and must be able to bring forth to judgment all its hidden abominations. Accordingly, God himself informs us, that he is actually so occupied, noticing every thing, and recording every thing, in order that he may re- ward every man according to his deeds : " I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
We may here see,
a ver. 9.
1057.1 god's rule of judgment. 157
I. The preparation which God is making for the fu- ture judgment —
" The eyes of the Lord are in every place, behold- ing the evil and the goodV Nor is he an uncon- cerned spectator of what is done upon earth : on the contrary, he inspects every thing with the greatest accuracy ; and therefore inspects it, that he may bring it forth to judgment, and pass sentence upon it.
1. He continually marks the ways of men —
[All their actions he observes, not merely according to their outward aspect, but according to the principles from whence they proceed, and the ends for which they are done. However good a thing may be in itself, it is not really good in God's sight, unless it proceed from love to him, and be done with a view to his glory. Our most common actions ought to be so done : "whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, we should do all to the glory of Godc." Our words also, and our very thoughts, are scrutinized by him, to ascertain how much there is of good or evil in them ; and to record the same, as grounds of our condemnation or acquittal at the bar of judg- ment. Hence it is said by David, " His eyes behold, and his eyelids try, the children of mend;" that is, as a man desiring to inspect a thing with more than usual accuracy, almost closes his eyes, in order to exclude every other object, and to fix his attention more intensely on the object before him; so does God examine with the utmost possible care the ways of every human being. This is declared yet more strongly by Solomon, who says, that God " weigh eth the spiritse." Now, in the spirits of men there is a great mixture of motives and principles, which need to be analyzed and distinguished. There is, even in good men, a mixture of faith and of un- belief, of love to God and self-love, of sincerity and hypocrisy. Hezekiah evinced this, in his treatment of the Babylonish Ambassadors f; as did James and John also, when, from zeal for their Master's honour, they would have called fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan village g. In fact, there is imperfection in every thing that proceeds from man. Our very humiliations have a mixture of pride, and our exultations, of self-complacency. But " God tries the reins," as a philosopher assays gold ; and will assuredly declare, at the last day, how much there was of alloy in the very best action of our lives, and how much of the purer metal. Moreover,]