The Sacred Diary, Section 37 – Section 38
SECT. XXXVII. Of a Man's taking a review in the Evening of the Actions and Mercies of the Day paſt.
IT is good before you lie down to Sleep, to take a review of all the Actions and Mercies of the paſt Day.
If thou wouldſt know the Sins thou haſt committed the Day paſt, or the Week paſt, or thy whole Life paſt, thou mayſt briefly run over all the Commandments of God, and thou mayſt eaſily ſee what Commandments thou haſt Tranſgreſſed, and ſo mayſt be humbled for thy Sins, and mayſt renew thy Repentance, and reſolutions for better Obedience. Look diligently into the whole ſtate of thy Life, conſider what progreſs thou haſt made in Godlineſs, or how thou haſt declined: What Words thou haſt ſpoken, what Works thou haſt done, and to what end, and in what manner they were performed.
Conſider thine Apparel, thy Service, thine Attendance, thy Table, thy Converſation, thy Entertainment, and all thy Dealings and Demeanour, whether they have not ſavoured of Pride and Vanity; and let this be matter of Humiliation to thee.
Take a ſtrict examen of thy Conſcience every Evening: For if Conſcience condemn, God doth much more Condemn: And if Conſcience acquit and juſtifie, by the evidence of the Word and Spirit, God doth Acquit and Juſtifie, and we ſhall have confidence toward God. What can more nearly concern us, than daily to make a thorow and careful ſearch of our own Conſciences? Shall Men be ſo careful to examine their Evidences, by which they hold Lands and Annuities, their Leaſes whereby they hold Farms; and ſhall we be ſo careleſs as to let our Hearts and Conſcienccs lie unexamined and unſearched?
I have read a Story of a certain King, who after a long time of Bloody Wars, which cauſed a great confuſion in Men's outward Eſtates, in a publick Aſſembly, called upon his Subjects to ſhew their Evidences, by which they held their Lands; whereupon the Nobles being loth to have their Writings examined, drew their Swords, and ſaid, By theſe they held their Lands. So there are many that cannot endure to ſearch their Hearts and Conſciences, becauſe they have no ſound hope to find their Evidence good and clear to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Unleſs ye be juſtified by Faith in Chriſt, your Conſciences when they be indeed awakened and enlightned, will condemn you Guilty in the ſight of God, and will condemn the beſt of your Actions as not wrought in God, nor done in the Name of Chriſt, not proceeding from the Love of God, nor intended for his Glory. Now ere ye can find your ſelves juſtified by Faith in Chriſt through the Goſpel, ye muſt find your Conſciences condemning you for Sin, and therefore daily yield them to be ſearched and convinced by the Word of God.
Take a review every Evening likewiſe of all the Gifts, Graces, Bleſſings, Benefits, God hath beſtowed upon thee, and conſider after what ſort thou haſt employed them the Day paſt; and examine whether all theſe things, wherewith thou ſhouldſt have done the more Service unto him who gave them, thou haſt not made Weapons and Inſtruments, wherewith to offend him the more. Examine how thou haſt uſed thy Strength, thy Health, thy Riches, thy Subſtance, thy Life, thy Underſtanding, thy Memory, thy Will, thy Affections, thy Sight, thy Tongue, thine Ears, thy Hands, and all the reſt of thy Members and Faculties: And then let the conſideration of God's Benefits make thee to acknowledg him, and his Goodneſs to love him: As we are not to ſlight common Mercies, yet extraordinary Mercies muſt be more ſpecially and particularly obſerved by us.
SECT. XXXVIII. Of providing in the Evening for the Day to come.
IT is good Advice that one giveth, that a Chriſtian ſhould begin from the Evening, the purpoſe of good Works which he is to perform the next Day; what points he ought to meditate upon; what Vice he ſhould reſiſt; what Vertue he ſhould exerciſe; what Affairs he is to take in hand, to make all appear in its proper time, with a well matured Providence. It is the Thred of Ariadne, which guideth our Actions in the great labyrinth of Time, otherwiſe all runneth to Confuſion.
Some commend the Evening as a fit time for Meditation, viz. from the Sun-ſetting to the Twi-light. It is ſaid of Iſaac, that he went forth into the Field in the Evening, to meditate and to pray. The Original Word ſignifies both Duties. It is conceived by ſome Interpreters, that David penned the eighth Pſalm in the Night, occaſioned by his meditation on the Works of God.
In the Evening, conſider that every Morning hath its Evening, and the longeſt Day hath its Night. So every Man's day of Life, will have its night of Death. The longeſt day of Life, will have its night of Death. Think upon that ſpeech of our Saviour, John 9.4.I muſt Work while it is Day, for the Night cometh wherein no Man can Work. There is no working out your Salvation, when the night of Death is come.
If thou, O Man, haſt ſpent the Day in vain delights and pleaſures, ask thy ſelf in the Evening, what ſatisfaction thou haſt found in thoſe Vanities which thou haſt ſo eagerly purſued all the Day before; and what comfort they now afford unto thee? Ah! they are now gone and paſſed, and they have left but a ſad reliſh behind. But if yet thou reſolveſt to tread the ſame paths of Sin and Deſtruction again, be thou well aſſured, that a Night will come which ſhall never have Morning. When being covered with the ſhadow of Death, thou ſhalt lie down in everlaſting Sorrow. Then wilt thou cry out in the anguiſh of thy Soul, O what an unfortunate Wretch am I, that had time and opportunity to gain that bleſſed State which Angels and Saints do enjoy in the Kingdom of Heaven, and would not uſe the benefit thereof! O how idly and wickedly hath the time of my Life paſſed away, which ſhall never return again! And now for a few momentany Pleaſures on Earth, I muſt ſuffer intollerable and everlaſting Torments in Hell. O unhappy Pleaſures! O curſed Change! O unfortunate Hour and Moment, wherein I thus blinded my ſelf! What a miſerable Wretch am I! A thouſand, yea, ten thouſand times unhappy, that have ſo fondly deceived my ſelf! Oh, it had been well if I had never been Born.