impressed on the minds of all, he even swears in confirmation of it; " The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works V]
But plain and important as this truth is, men do not consider it —
[No man is so ignorant as not to be acquainted with this truth. There are many indeed who will put forth atheistical sentiments for the sake of vindicating their own conduct, and silencing the accusations of conscience: they will say, like those of old, " Tush, God shall not see ; neither will the Almighty regard it1:" but in their sober hours they will not hesitate to confess, that God both sees all their wickedness, and will remember it in order to a future retribution.
But the evil is, that, though men confess this truth, they " do not consider it :" they do not like to give it a place in their minds : they cannot bear to have it suggested to them. If the thought of it arise in their minds, they rush into busi- ness, or into company and dissipation, to get rid of it. That they do not consider it, is manifest : for could they sin with so much ease, if they did ; or could they maintain such tran- quillity of mind after having committed sin ? Would not the thought of God's eye being upon them, cast some damp upon their pleasure ; and the expectation of a future recompence occasion some disquietude ? We are sure that many of those evils which are committed under the cover of the night, would not be committed, if only the presence of a superior should be seasonably interposed. How then must the presence of Almighty God awe us, if we would but duly consider it! Suppose a poisonous draught were put into our hands, and we were informed, that, within a few hours after we had drank it, we should be racked with inexpressible agony, and in the space of one day should die through the excess of torment ; should we not reflect a moment before we ventured to drink it ? And supposing us infatuated enough to sacrifice our lives for a momentary gratification, should we not put the cup to our lips with a trembling hand ? and after we had swallowed the contents, should we not feel some concern, some regret, some sense of our folly ? Could we go away and laugh at what we had done, and boast of it, and encourage our friends to do the same? If we could not, the reason is obvious. Much more therefore should we be affected with a dread of future sin, and a sorrow for the past, if we considered who is privy to our actions, and how certainly he will remember them to our everlasting confusion.]
h Amos viii. 7. i Ps. xciv. 7.