vain Answ. Childhood and Youth continue vain for want of a due use of means appointed for their healing O young People here are three things in this that are very fit to move you 1. First here 's Comfort that the Vanity of Youth is healable thy case is sad but 't is not desperate there 's hope in Israel concerning the Recovery of Sinners in their Youth The Devils became wicked and never can be recovered they may grow viler but they can never grow better but blessed be God this is not thy case the Wound though sad is yet curable There have been many young Folk made pious and serious Isaac was good betimes Timothy and Iohn were Old Disciples before they could call Man Iosiah's tender years were impress'd with Grace I have known undoubted Evidence of Grace before ten year old Oh then you need not resolve to be vile because 't is in vain to attempt to be good no no No young Persons in this Assembly need to say so or need think so God has not resolved against Young Persons that they shall never be recovered nay he has determined that out of the mouth of Babes and Sucklings he will ordain praise Psal. 8. 2. Children Our Lord Jesus has never said he will have nothing to do with such as you I 'll neither wash you nor heal you nor teach you Nay he has said quite otherwise Suffer little Children to come unto me and forbid them not c. Mat. 19. 14. The Spirit of God never resolv'd I will convince no wicked Children I will sanctifie no prophane Youth nay instead of that to you he speaks in Psal. 34. 11. Come ye Children hearken to me and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. The Spirit has a Mind to be the Teacher of Children and the Instructer of Youth he has a mind to train up the Young Generation for Heaven as well as the Old ones So that Young ones may say to Day Why though I am wicked yet there 's hope and though I have a vile Nature yet there 's hope I may be recovered even though my whole frame seems thus set for Villany and appears thus desperately dispos'd There 's the first point and that 's a great matter and under the power of that I preach to Young Ones and under the hopes of that you Young Ones should regard what I say and urge for the case of Youth is healable 2. Secondly Here 's a loud Call to you that God uses means to heal Young Ones of their Vanity This confirms the former Is God at pains with Youth to make them better then there 's hope of Youth for God would not be at this labour if it were wholly useless O my Friends God has sent his Son to dye for young Children as well as old Men even Young ones receive forgiveness by his Blood My little Children to whom I write for your sins are forgiven 1 Ioh. 2. 12. The Spirit of God strives with many Young ones as soon as they can understand any thing he bids early for your compliance I do believe there 's not a Child of six years old under the Gospel Means but the Spirit of God has been striving with This holy One can truly say I have been dealing with this Child to make it happy Pray let 's a little consider Thou Child or Youth hast thou had no sence of Hells misery ever upon thy Heart hast thou never been convinc'd that 't was ill to Lye or Swear Hast thou never found pressing motions to be good and to resolve against evil have no good desires stirr'd in thy Soul Why all these were the workings of the Spirit of God on thy poor Soul God has been labouring with every young Body in this Congregation He has been labouring with thee by the advice of thy Parents when they taught thee to read or taught thee thy Catechism or instructed thee to pray it was God by them taking pains with thee We Preachers preach to you Young Ones as well as to the Old nay we preach to you with more hopes expecting that you are not hardned as old Persons are Young People have not the Mercies of God have not the preservations of God towards you been so many Teachers What has been the Language of every Mercy to thee Child to you young ones but this Oh Children don 't you provoke this God don't make me your Enemy for you see I would fain do you good I would fain be merciful and not a Destroyer of you Nay have not Afflictions been the pains of God with you Is there ever a Young one here that has not been sick at one time or other Why the Lord sent that Sickness to thee and spake in this manner thereby I will warn this Young one to be Religious lest he should dye before he be converted all the Corrections of thy Parents and Master for thy Sin they have all been the Calls of God and his Language in them all has been I would fain imbitter Sin to this poor Young one by something short of Hell I would gladly restrain the Wickedness of this Youth before I must damn him You see you had need look to it for God has used means towards your recovery think not God doth not mean me in his Word don't say God did not intend my cure in the helps I enjoy alas he intendeth thee as well as any other It 's thy enlightening Oh Young Man he intends by all his teachings 'T is thy Conversion O Young Woman that he designs by all his Calls all these have been directed upon this very design and least you should doubt it the Spirit of God does particularly name you O Young Men and Maids praise you the Lord Psal. 148. Young Men be sober Tit. 2. 6. Nay Christ himself tells us in Prov. 1. 4. that his great design there is to give discretion to the simple young ones Therefore I beg that not one young body in this place may forget what I say now that they frustrate God's hopes if they be not Good and disappoint him of all his labour if they be not gracious all the pains that have been taken with them are lost upon them and will God bear this will he always bear this what will become of you if you proceed this way 3. Thirdly Here 's an awful Charge That you young Men continue vain because you don 't rightly use the means for your healing Ah sad Charge the case of young ones is curable but why is it not altered before now Why O Conscience speak Children you have Consciences Young Ones you have Consciences Can you say 't is long of God I am vile still 't is long of the want of means that I am vile still Ah Friend Father Son and Spirit can all say 't is not my Fault that this Child is bad still 't is not my Fault this young Man and Woman is wicked so long 't is not long of me May not
the blessed God and is the gratifying thy lusts equal to these You are receptive of divine Joys and are thy carnal merriments answerable to these Oh young Body what use art thou fit for to others What benefit mayest thou yield to thy self how canst thou seem to answer these by a trifling diversion or a perishing advantage Sure thy Capacity is thy shame the very Beast that liveth to the utmost of his Powers will witness against thee who behavest thy self so much below thine It would have been thy Mercy whose Exercises have been so low that thy abilities had been less Hence 3. Wilt not thou shortly acknowledge with shame and grief that thou hast lived to unvaluable Purposes No Ministers rebukes will be so sharp as thy own when Grace renews thee or endless Torments overtake thee If the Spirit ever enlighten thy Mind and alter thy Will we may ask thee What fruit had you of those things whereof you are now ashamed Rom. 6. 21. With a grieving blush thou wilt answer Nothing I dare boast of nothing I can justifie I am ashamed of my Reward as well as my Labour What I reaped by Sin is my shame as well as sin it self it was a Fools Diversion wherewith I pleased my self it was my Blemish wherein I gloried it was my Loss whereby I valued my self What are they now to me they are Dogs meat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to what I now taste Phil. 3. 8. I am astonished that I could relish these unsavoury things or derive the least Contentment from them when my chief Good was unsecure Young Man if Grace do not awaken thee Hell will the never-dying Worm will be Convictions of the emptiness of what thou hast pursued and the base Purposes thou hast lived to How will they tear thy Soul with such Thoughts as these where 's the Pleasure now where 's the Satisfaction to which my Endeavours were confined oh that I had been but a Beast who have lived to designs so brutish Oh that I had had no intellectual Nature being I studied not to know my God and the way of Life Oh that I had been void of rational Powers since I did not govern my self accordingly Oh that ever I had natural Abilities to love and fear being I have not loved my God nor so revered him as to abstain from Vanity Wo is me that I had a Capacity for any Service seeing I have lived so uselesly to God to my Friends and to my self Alas where is the Fruit of my labonr what now do I enjoy that deserved one hour of my life or answers the least of my Abilities These these oh Child will be the Effects of thy present way 3. Children and young People are apt to live to destructive purposes which is the height of Vanity The last Head is convincing that it were as well thou hadst never lived but by this it were far better for thee thou hadst remained meer nothing to this day to live to hurtful Ends is worse than not living at all yet this is thy Condition you dishonour God you provoke the Eyes of his Glory you trample the blood of Christ under your Feet with Contempt How many young People serve the Devil with their strength are a Snare and Infection to all they can influence One young body spoils many others and leads them to that Villany they had never thought of You oft break your Parents Hearts and they by thy means feel that a foolish Son is the heaviness of his Mother Prov. 10. 1. You frequently destroy your Master's Estate To the serious you are a Grief to the City and Kingdom a Plague as helping on its Sin hastning its Punishment and obstructing its Good How many may complain of Harm on thy account But whatever Hurt you bring to others sure you avoid Mischief to your selves No no Young men live most to their own Hurt and seem to take great pains to make their Misery sure and great Oh vain Youth thou daily makest thy self more the Child of Wrath by thy sinful Practices thy wicked Habits grow more strong by idleness and frequent opposition hopeful Principles are more baffled and expelled Conscience by thy Affronts is less concerned and capable to admonish thee Thy ill treatment of Gods Spirit makes him withdraw and his Visits are more seldom so that he is ready to say of thee Let him alone Hos. 4. 17. Believe it careless Youth thy ways tend to more sin and less hopefulness of Grace and Glory Oh wretched Life to live only to be more guilty and to be exposed to greater Punishments thou runnest Hell-ward thy Thoughts tend there thy Words lead there thy vile Actions heap the greater store of eternal Flames Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish are the things thou workest for Rom. 2. 8 9. Thou labourest for these Wages thou livest thy self daily to a greater obnoxiousness to these Woes as if thou wert afraid thou shouldest not be miserable enough Oh Soul to be pitied not to be born had been thy mercy as well as Iudas unless thou change thy living is it not to thee those words are proper Behold you are worse than nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa. 4. 24. Hadst thou not lived at all thou hadst not done the mischief thou now art doing thou couldst not have felt the hurt thou must shortly endure How may most young Folk bemoan the day of their Birth their Life is a misery which might have capacitated them for the Bliss of Angels had they well employed it The Lord grant you be not found thus foolish and cruel to your selves yet to this you are more proner than to a more profitable Course The next Work is to shew you 1. How Childhood and Youth became thus vain 2. Why they continue so 3. How most young People grow still vainer 1. Quest. How comes it to pass that Childhood and Youth are vain Ans. Childhood and Youth became vain by Original Sin There 's the Spring of the Disease thou didst not come out of God's Hand thus prone to sin and thus averse to himself But a depraved Nature descends to thee from Adam by the Line of thy Ancestors Thou wert born under the Infection common to Mankind generated in the ordinary manner the very quickened Embrio in the Womb hath all the Seeds of those sins which time ripens and opportunity brings forth our Constitution is become sinful and all corrupt Effects are next to natural I shall not trouble you with Disputes but meerly inform you 1. How our Nature became corrupt 2. How it descends thus corrupted to thee 1. Our Nature became corrupt or vain by the entrance of Sin whereby the Divine Image was expelled as well as forfeited A Rational Soul cannot be void of moral Qualities and Dispositions as it is a Subject of God's moral Government there must be Wisdom or sinful Ignorance in the Mind there must be Love or Enmity to what is good and Aversion or Inclination
I fear thou dost not know what it is to be saved Salvation with thee is only being kept out of Hell as a place of Torment when thou hast sin'd thy fill but there is little more to commend Heaven to thee If there be not vain sports Revelling and the like carnal Enjoyments thou canst not tell how Heaven should be a happy State thô better than Hell But is not this the grossest Folly What to think that Salvation which contains no Vision of God no perfect Holiness of Heart no full Conformity to Christ no ravishing sense or Communications of the Divine Love no hand in God's Praises Foolish Youth there 's no Heaven but what principally includes these that is not Salvation which wants any of these Let me ask thee art not thou foolish if thou judgest Salvation to be what it is not art thou not foolish to think it to be another thing than God describeth it to be art thou not a Fool that fanciest that cannot be a happy State unless it wants what all good Men account to be Happiness and unless it includes such wicked and bruitish things as Heaven must keep and cleanse us from Oh poor Creature thus foolish do thy Notions of eternal Life discover thee to be Ans. 2. Thy Folly appeareth in that thou fanciest thou canst be saved in another way than that which leads to it To convince thee of this consider that 1. Christ is the principal Way to Life Ioh. 14. 8. He as a Priest by offering up himself merited Life for such as repent believe and obey him He as a Prophet teacheth Men the Author Means and Nature of the Terms of Life He as King applies his Purchase by the Spirit subdues Impediments fits the Soul for and judicially admits it into Glory Now Child dost thou hope to live for ever and neglect Christ is it not Folly to expect Life and despise a Saviour yea trample his Blood under thy Feet is it not Folly to hope to be saved by Christ and yet believe the Devil rather than him and prefer the Dominion of others before his Government 2. Faith Repentance and Holiness are a way to Heaven subordinate to Christ I say subordinate to Christ for they could not save thee but for a Christ Sinners had never obtained them but by a Christ and they tend to save as they refer to Christ whose atonement is the only purchasing Price But yet they are a way to Life No Man shall ever get to Heaven without them Christ hath resolved without Faith no Man shall have Pardon by his Merits and therefore all the savingly enlightned do believe that they may be justified Gal. 2. 16. He appoints us to repent that our sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come Act. 3. 19. and limits the number of the saved to such as obey him Heb. 5. 9. Now young Man is it not Folly in thee to expect Heaven when thou hast nothing which Christ hath instituted as a means of that Glory Doth he as our Law-giver declare that he will and must suspend thy Salvation 'till thou believe and wilt thou madly say he will save me though I do not believe dost thou know what he 'll do better than himself Yea your Folly is greater in that Christ hath not only suspended Life on these Conditions but he hath expresly declared that they shall for ever perish that do not in these things submit to him and yet thou art confident What greater Folly than for an unholy one to look for Glory when God saith Without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord Heb. 12. 14. and All the wicked shall be turned into Hell Psal. 9. 17. is it not Folly to remain impenitent and yet be in hopes of Heaven when Christ saith Except you repent you shall all likewise perish Luk 13. 3. Will not you own your Madness that look'd for Life in your Disobedience when you shall hear our Lord saying Slay these mine Enemies that would not that I should reign over them Luk. 19. 27. Is it not an establish'd Rule under the Gospel He that believeth not shall be damned Mar. 16. 16. Unbelief and Hell are certainly connected as Faith and Heaven 3. Thy Folly appears yet more in that thou fanciest thou canst be saved in a way contrary to Salvation and certainly leading to Hell Wouldst not thou judge him a Fool that intending for Dover yet chuseth the Road to York are not they Fools who desiring Health refuse Physick and take nothing but Poyson Thy behaviour exceeds the grossest of these Instances What barrs any one from Heaven but the dominion of sin and that Conscience justly chargeth thee with Doth not God declare that to be carnally minded is death Rom. 8. 6 thou art so minded and yet expectest life Is not God express that no Whoremonger nor unclean Person nor covetous hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of God Eph. 5. 5 And also that the abominable and all Liars shall have their part in the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimstone Rev. 21 Is he not as positive that no Fornicator Reviler Thief or Drunkard can be saved 1 Cor. 6. What can be plainer than that in being such as these thou destroyest thy self These Vices lead to destruction and God warns thee against foolish self-deceit by hoping for a better issue than Ruine by such a Course Oh sottish Youth will Theft Drunkenness Swearing Prophaneness think you lead to Heaven after all these discoveries of God's resolves what will damn thee if such Vices will not who can be damned if thou be saved will a provoked God lye for thy sake No no his Threats will take hold of thee notwithstanding thy silly dreams Children you see I have described the Folly of all Young Ones who are wicked I have chosen this great Instance viz. They mistake their true Happiness and the Way to it I might open this great sore beyond this Alas Young People are generally ignorant of God and themselves they know neither good nor evil aright they commend what they ought to dispraise they chuse what they should reject they make a mock of the greatest Mischiefs as Sin and Hell they rarely understand Men or know how to carry it aright for this World or for Eternity they mistake Truth for Error are governed by appearances rather than realities Where shall I stop if I intend a full attempt of the Folly of Youth Quest. What shall I that am Young do to heal me of my Folly Answ. 1. Beg Wisdom of God by fervent Prayer Iam. 1. 5. If any of you lack Wisdom let him ask it of God c. Thou wantest Wisdom thou art bid to ask it Thou art encouraged to ask for he giveth it to such as ask yea he gives liberally and he will not upbraid thee with thy past Folly when thou settest thy self to get Wisdom Nothing will heal thy Folly but wisdom and a prayerless creature is never like to obtain it
Thy Parents if they be pious will reduce thy love to the same instances Thus thy Mother bespeaks thee What my Son and the Son of my Womb and what the Son of my vows Give not thy strength to Women Prov. 31 2 3. and so she v. 4 5. forbids Drunkenness Thy Father charges thee My Child hear the instruction of a Father Let thy heart retain my words keep my Commandments and live get wisdom c. Prov. 4. 1 4. They will both intreat thee Child if thou hast any love for us keep from sin save thy self from Hell we are most concerned to see thee a real Saint and eternally glorious we 'll bear any thing rather than sin we are afraid for nothing as much as thy Soul if thou destroy that thou shewest the greatest hatred and art as cruel as thou canst be unto us Canst thou think thou lovest them and be thus perverse Nay if thou think they love thee that must cause some relentings How can I run so cross to my God and to my Parents who so dearly love my Soul and are so solicitous for its weal my hardned Heart begins to yield and I cannot continue obstinate my Love to them and my sense of their Love to me doe overpower my stubborn spirit 3. Be perswaded of thy own ignorance and unfitness to direct thy self A proud conceit that you know better than any what is for your good or harm is included in an obstinate frame Dost not thou think that if thou wert convinced that God bids thee do nothing but what were for thy good nor forbids thee any thing but what is for thy harm thou would'st do what he commanded and cease from what he forbids and would it not be the same as to thy Parents and others Let me then reason with thee Young Man Dost thou think thy God would deceive thee or thy Parents and Ministers would lye to thee when they disswade thee from sin and perswade thee to serious Piety and are so earnest in it thou must conclude they think as they say If they be not mistaken they would encourage me to do as I do but if I be mistaken I ought and would do as they advise Then young People the Matter is brought to this thou art obstinate against Counsel because thou art in the right and they that give thee Counsel are in the wrong They as thou thinkest advise thee to thy loss and all things set together thou consultest thy own true Interest better than they do But is not this a very vain Conceit and capital Error Oh Child sure thou art not wiser than thy holy Parents they know more than thou they have experienced what thou hast not they and thy Masters are forced to teach thee the little things of this Life thou would'st soon spoil and kill thy self if they left thee to thy own management Oh young Men and Women are not you sordidly foolish can you imagine you know what God will do with you better than he knows it do you know what you must lose by sin and suffer for sin better than God knows you judge by a short moment but he sees what Eternity is You conclude from what your Body now feels but he knows what thy Soul is and what himself is to the Soul whether in Wrath or Love He knows what the Glory of Heaven and Terrors of Hell amount to Thou concludest by thy Fancy but he passeth a just Judgment which every one will soon submit to therefore I do begg thee to distrust thy self as ever thou wouldst save thy self Consider all the good Men in the World were Conceited as thou art now but they have repented and owned their Folly when they came to their right minds then they came to be of God's mind Yea all the Wicked will be convinced of their Mistake why else will they wail and mourn for ever if it be best to be in Hell why should they always Complain there The Prodigal thought he was wise when he rioted Luk. 15. 17 18. but Repentance assured him that he had been mad Young Folk have you never seen resolved Sinners even in Sickness and Poverty roar out and mourn at the last saying How have I hated Instruction Prov. 5. 12. Consider how unlikely is it that thy Opinion is truer than thy holy Master or Minister thy Lusts darken thy mind they have all the wise part of the World on their side Thou canst remember thou wert as confident of other things which now thou seest to be false as they told thee then Thou sometimes now condemnest thy self for thy course when thy sinful Inclinations are calmed When thou wert sick thou didst own that thy loose way thy irreligious way was thy Folly And after all these wilt thou bear it out must that be thy Character The Fool rageth and is confident whiles thou knowest not at what thou stumblest Prov. 14. 16. Must this be written on thy Grave-stone He shall dye without Instruction and in the greatness of his folly he went astray Prov. 5. 23. 4. Acknowledge thou art one under Dominion and not at thy own disposal People refuse to be subject from a Conceit that they have a right to govern themselves Is not this your Case Our lips are our own who is Lord over us Psal. 12. 4. therefore I will Lye Swear talk frothily let who will contradict But Child thou canst tell who made thee it was God and should not he that made thee govern thee ought not the Creature to observe the Laws which his Creator gives him Nothing thou hast is so much thine as thou art his Christ bought thee with his Blood and additionally founded his Dominion in his Purchase He therefore dyed that he might be Lord both of the dead and living Rom. 14. 9. Thou art therefore the most unjust of Rebels if thou art an obstinate Sinner Thy Parents thy Masters thy Ministers have an Authority over thee and disobeying their just Commands and Calls is a renouncing an Authority thou shouldst own and usurping a power to which thou hast no claim A Masterless Child a masterless Youth is a Slave under pretence of Liberty and doubleth his yoak while he seeks to break it Therefore know young Folk you 'll find God a terrible Judge whom you rejected as a Law-giver Hee 'll vindicate his own Authority and the deputed Authority of your Parents by the sorest Vengeance Eternal Chains shall hold that Youth which would break God's easie bands If any of you say I do own God to be my Ruler and Master consider God's challenge If I be a Master where is my fear saith the Lord God of Hosts Mal. 1. 8. To finish this how many sturdy resolute Young People are here will none of your knees tremble will love melt no Heart will a sence of Gods skill to direct and authority to Command bend no stubborn will this day Dare any Child or Young Person go hence and say I have been stiff-necked