Early Piety Again Inculcated, Sermon
Early Piety again Inculcated From thoſe famous Words of SOLOMON, ECCLES. XII. 1. Remember now thy CREATOR in the days of thy Youth. IN A SERMON Preached to a Society of YOUNG MEN, in Boſton, July 10. 1720.
By Benjamin Colman.
BOSTON: Printed by S. KNEELAND, for D. HENCHMAN, and J. EDWARDS, and Sold at their Shops. 1720.
Early Piety again Inculcated.
ECCLES. XII. 1.
Remember now thy CREATOR in the days of thy Youth.
THE Words are among ſome of the laſt of the wiſe Solomons; his dying Precept and Counſel (as it were) to Young People. He was now Old, and happily recovered to GOD by His Grace, from whom he had fallen after a pious Education, and a very gracious beginning of his life: And now in the day of his repentance, and after ſuch an experience both of good and evil, of wiſdom and folly, as ſcarce any one ever had the like before him, he addreſſes this Exhortation to Young People, to remember their Creator now in the days of their Youth; inforcing it with an Argument which he had felt the reaſon of and which became his Age and ſad Experiment, — while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou ſhalt ſay, I have no pleaſure in them.
LET Young People therefore hear with Reverence the words of the Preacher, the Royal Preacher, King of Iſrael; who in the cloſe of this his practical and penitential Sermon warns and admoniſhes them; counſels, directs and charges them; Remember now thy CREATOR in the days of thy Youth.
THIS is the Inſtant and important Duty of Young People; And I ſhall endeavour here to ſhow them,
1. That they have a CREATOR.
2. What it is to remember Him.
3. That they muſt remember Him now, in the days of their Youth.
1. I am to ſhew thee, O Young Perſon, that thou haſt a CREATOR, and who is thy Creator. The Great GOD is the CREATOR of all things▪ GOD that made the World and all things in it, who is Lord of Heaven and Earth, He is thy MAKER; and has made of one Blood all Nations of men that dwell on all the face of the earth, Act. 17.24. The LORD that ſtretcheth forth the Heavens, and layeth the foundation of the Earth, and who formeth the Spirit of man within him, Zech. 12.1.
THERE is but One GOD and no other beſide Him. The LORD JEHOVAH is the One true and living GOD. And by Faith we underſtand that the Worlds were made by Him. Iſai▪ 44.34. Thus ſaith the LORD thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb; I am the LORD that maketh all things, that ſtretched forth the Heavens alone, that ſpreadeth abroad the earth by my ſelf. Jer. 10.11, 16. The god's that have not made the Heavens and the Earth, even they ſhall periſh from the earth and from under theſe heavens; the Portion of Jacob is not like them, for He is the FORMER of all things, the LORD of HOSTS is his name: He hath made the Earth by his power, He hath eſtabliſhed the World by his wiſdom, and ſtretched out the Heavens by his diſcretion.
MOSES informs us in the manner of our Creation: Gen. 2.7. The LORD GOD formed Man out of the duſt of the earth, and breathed into his noſtrils the breath of life, and Man became a Living Soul. And He who made the firſt Man is the Creator of every Individual, Son or Daughter that has proceeded from him, or that are yet to be born. We muſt own our ſelves the Divine Workmanſhip, and bow down and kneel before the LORD our Maker. Pſal. 100.3. Know ye that the LORD he is GOD, it is He that made us and not we our ſelves. When we look upon our curious Bodies, we muſt lift up our admiring eyes to Heaven and ſay, Joh, 10.8. Thine hands have made me and faſhioned me round about. And when we look in upon our Souls, which as plainly perceive their own Exiſtence powers and operations, as our Eyes ſurvey the form and parts of our Bodies, we muſt again adore before the Father of Spirits, the Creator of Angels and the Former of the Spirit of Man within him, and ſay, Jer. 38.16. The Lord liveth that made us this Soul.
So has the LORD our Maker ſpoken of Himſelf, and reveal'd Himſelf to us; that we may know that we have a Creator, and Who He is.
II. I come to Enquire, WHAT it is for us to remember our Creator? And to be ſure it is here a word of great Import and Significancy, and means much; for it ſtands for every thing that the Young Man owes to the GOD of his Being and Life. More particularly,
1. It means that we be often thinking of the Great and Bleſſed BEING, who has made us and all things, and that we do always preſerve and keep in our minds a lively and religious Apprehenſion of His Being, Bleſſedneſs, Perfection and Glory.
RELIGION very much conſiſts in and is preſerved by our having right and honourable tho'ts of God, and ſetting Him always before us. And Firſt,
1. WE muſt ſtedfaſtly believe and ſtrongly realize His Being; which is ſuppoſed in the Act of remembring Him; for how can we remember that which we ſuppoſe not to be, or queſtion the Being of? Wherefore as the Apoſtle ſays, Heb. 11.6. He that cometh to God muſt firſt believe that he is. Nor is this the eaſieſt thing in the World for us to do, tho' it be one of the plaineſt things in the World to be proved, that GOD is: Becauſe there is abundance of unbelief and infidelity in the hearts of the Children of Men, which is one great part and proof of the Corruption of our Nature; Pſal. 14.1, 2. The fool hath ſaid in his heart there is no God, they are corrupt, there is none that do underſtand and ſeek God. Job. 35.10. None ſaith, where is God my Maker—. Pſal. 10.4. God is not in all their thoughts. This proves an unaccountable Atheiſm lurking in the hearts of Men. For the firſt thing in Religion is that, Iſai. 17.7. A man ſhall look to his Maker, and his eyes have reſpect to the Holy One of Iſrael. And what irreligion can be greater than that, Iſai. 51.13. And forgetteſt the Lord thy Maker, that hath ſtretched forth the Heavens, and laid the foundations of the Earth. Now when we have realiz'd the Being of God, and fix'd that firſt Principle deep in our hearts, which God Himſelf muſt do for us; then,
2. WE muſt always bear in mind What He is; that ſo we may ever maintain worthy Idea's of Him, and always think becomingly and reverently of His Glorious Name. We muſt therefore form our Conceptions of the Great GOD from His holy Word, wherein He has ſpoken in a manner worthy of Himſelf, the things that are true of Himſelf; for the Spirit ſearcheth all things, even the deep things of God, and has revealed them unto us. We muſt accordingly believe that God is the Immenſe, Infinite, Eternal and Unchangeable Spirit, Self-exiſtent, and Bleſſed for evermore, the firſt Cauſe, Author and Creator of all things, and the Preſerver and Governour of all; for whoſe Glory all things are and were Created, and in the Being and Government of all things His Perfections and Glories do ſhine forth: therefore that He is (as is clearly ſeen from the things that are made) a Being moſt High, moſt Wiſe, Almighty, moſt Good, moſt Holy, True & Juſt. And we muſt ever remember that this bleſſed and glorious and fearful BEING is ever preſent with us, and that we are always before Him. Unleſs we have theſe great worthy tho'ts of GOD, it will be no honour done him if we remember him; for an unworthy tho't of Him is to do him diſhonour; as for inſtance, ſhould we own his Being and with-hold any divine Attribute and Glory from Him: ſhou'd we ſay as they did—How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the moſt High? The Lord ſhall not ſee, neither ſhall the God of Iſrael regard it?—this were to frame to our ſelves a defective, lame and imperfect Deity; and in effect to think him altogether ſuch a one as our ſelves, and ſink him down into an Idol or Image; a god that is good for nothing, neither great, nor to be feared, nor to be truſted in. Wherefore if we would at all remember our CREATOR, we muſt be ſure to bear in mind a very worthy Idea of Him; What he is in himſelf; how glorious and fearful his Name is, And then,
3. As our Text requires me to add, We muſt remember what He is to us: Thy CREATOR. We muſt conſider him in the Relations wherein he ſtands to us; without which we had as good never remember him at all: for without this we ſhall neither honour him nor benefit our ſelves by any remembrance of him. Neither indeed can a Creature remember his Maker, but the relation he herein ſtands to God muſt be a principal thing in the remembrance. Whenever we remember God it muſt be as our Maker. Preſerver, Lord, King and Judge; our Saviour, Redeemer, and great Benefactor: that we have receiv'd our Being from him, and in him we live and move and have it; and that God has made us for himſelf, form'd us for his own Praiſe: that we are not our own, nor to live unto our ſelves, but that we depend on God, and muſt account to him, and can be ſaved only by him. This is the acknowledgment of God which the HOLY GHOST has led us into: Thou O Lord art our Father, and we all are the work of thy hand. We are the clay & thou our potter: We are his People and the ſheep of his hands, for of him and to him are all things. He is the God of the Spirits of all fleſh: in his hand is every living Soul, and the breath of all mankind. The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King. He is our Father in Heaven.
Thus to remember our CREATOR implies our thinking often of the Great and Bleſſed Being who has made us and all things; and that we do always preſerve and keep in our minds a lively and religious apprehenſion of his Being, bleſſedneſs, perfection and glory: that God is, and what he is in himſelf, and what he is unto us. Not a day, nor yet an hour ſhould paſs us, without ſome actual remembrance of our bleſſed Maker, Preſerver, Judge and Saviour. And we ſhould never paſs a tho't of this great and bleſſed Being, without a moſt profound veneration, fear and love.
Which leads me to ſay,
2. THE remembring of our CREATOR muſt be with a Mind and Soul duly affected with the glorious Idea of Him, and toward the glorifying him. We muſt remember him with admiring and adoring Souls; we muſt remember him with a holy fear and dread; we muſt remember him with love, gratitude and delight of Soul; The deſire of our Souls muſt be unto his Name and to the remembrance of him: Our meditation of him ſhould be ſweet unto us, and we ſhould be glad in the Lord. We muſt remember him and truſt in him, whoſe Name is a ſtrong Tower; the righteous flyeth thereunto and are ſafe. Pſal. 20.7. Some truſt in chariots and ſome in horſes, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. We muſt remember who and what he is and reſign to him in all that He in his Governing Wiſdom orders for us. As Elihu teaches, Job. 26.2, 3. Suffer me a little, and I will ſhew thee that I have yet to ſpeak on God's behalf; I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will aſcribe righteouſneſs to my Maker: He that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. In a word, We muſt remember our CREATOR and device our ſelves to him for ever; make our Choice of him for our God and portion, and the Conſecration of our ſelves to him, to his ſervice and glory here and hereafter believing in his Covenant-faithfulneſs, and looking for his ſure mercies, and the Everlaſting Enjoyment of Him in ſupream glory and bleſſedneſs. So the Pſalmiſt remembred God upon his bed, and meditated on him in the night watches; his ſoul follow'd hard after him, and in the ſhadow of his wings he did rejoyce, Pſal. 6.3.7.
THIS is to remember God with the religious veneration of Creatures that are made capable of knowing him and loving him; and O how thankful ſhould Sinners be that they may and can thus remember their Holy CREATOR; remember him and not be troubled, not be confounded and overwhelmed at the remenbrance of him.
IN this Affective ſenſe we pray that God would remember us; that he would think upon us for good according to our needs, remember that we are duſt; remember us with the favour that be bears unto his choſen: remember all our offerings, and accept our burnt-ſacrifices; remember for us his tender mercies and his loving kindneſs, which have been ever of old. And if this be for God to remember us, then for us to remember him can mean nothing leſs than that we bear upon our minds and hearts, a due and lively ſenſe of his Excellent Majeſty and Greatneſs, of his Polineſs and Purity, of his Juſtice and Truth, of his Grace and Mercy (the glory wherein he paſſes before ſinful Men) and render him thoſe pious Affections which theſe Glories of his exalted Name call for from us.
IN this latitude and extent the Text is to be underſtood, and ſuch let thy Remembrance of God thy CREATOR always be: Sanctifying to thy Soul, and having the Government of thy Life: This is that remembring of God which only is worthy of Him, who ſearches the heart and who demands it of us; who is a jealous God and will not be mocked; and if thou ſayſt— Behold we know it not,—doth not he that pondereth the heart conſider it? and he that k…eth thy Soul doth not be know it? and ſhall be not render to every man according to his Works?
AND thus we have conſidered the Import of the Duty preſcribed in the Text, What it is to remember our CREATOR. I ſhall now add a few words with reſpect to our manifeſ Obligations to do ſo. And Firſt,
1. WHAT ſerve our Eyes and the viſible Works of God for, but to remember us of our Creator? As ſoon as we do but obſerve and conſider the Light which God has made for us to ſee by, and our Eyes the light of the body by which we ſee, and the various beauteous … which ſurround us and preſent themſelves unto our ſight; what muſt we firſt think or but the GOD that made all theſe things? made them in the elegant Order wherein they are and as in the elegant Form wherein we behold our ſelves? that is to ſay, the firſt thing that occurs to the rational Mind, upon his ſurveying his own Body and the viſible Univerſe is the Greatneſs and Glory of the Creator. This the Man is inſtantly put in mind of, namely Of the GOD that made him and all theſe things. For the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament ſheweth his handy work, day unto day uttereth ſpeech, and night unto night ſheweth knowledge, Pſal. 19.1, 2. That Perſon is ſtupid and bruitiſh therefore that live in ſuch a World as this is, and minds not the inviſible things of GOD, which are ſo clearly ſeen from the things which are made, even His Eternal Power and God-head. We are utterly without excuſe if we do not know God and glorify him as God, with admiring and thankful Souls; becauſe that which may be known of God is manifeſt in theſe his Works; wherein God hath ſhewed of himſelf to us, even the glories of his Incorruptible GODHEAD, Rom. 1.20.
WHO can behold the Sun when it ſhines, or the Moon walking in brightneſs, and not own the GOD that is above? Or when we conſider God's Heavens the work of his ſingers, the Moon and the Stars which he has ordained; muſt we not admire the Greatneſs and Condeſcention of God in what he has done for us Pſal. 8. Init. We muſt either make God's of the Hoſts of Heaven and worſhip them, as the Heathens fooliſhly did, to the infinite diſhonour & offence of the Great CREATOR; or we muſt fall down and adore Him, who has divided them among all the Nations of Men that dwell on the face of the whole Earth. Deut. 4.19. Why has God ſpread out the skye over us, which is (as He Himſelf ſays of it) like a Molten looking-glaſs, but that when we look up into it we may ſee the CREATOR, the Face of GOD in it. Every Work and every Creature of GOD which Man beholds with his natural eye, loudly proclaims to him the Creators Being, perfections and glories, and bids him to remember Him. When God had gone thro' a long and ſublime Account of his Works, in one part and another of the viſible Creation, then Job cries out—Now mine eye ſeeth-thee. The Pſalmiſt could not look upon theſe, but as one dazled with the Creators Glory, he breaks out, Pſal. 104. O Lord my God thou art very great, thou art clothed with honour and majeſty, who covereſt thy ſelf with light as with a Garment; who ſtretcheſt out the Heavens as a Curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariots, and walketh upon the wings of the wind: the Glory of the Lord ſhall endure for ever, the Lord ſhall rejoyce in his works. And again he calls upon the Sun and Moon and Stars of light to praiſe their MAKER; yea upon Mountains & all Hills, Eeaſts and all Cattle, as well as Kings of the Earth and all People.
BUT we need not look off from our own Bodies, to be put in mind of GOD. Let us but look in one anothers Faces, and obſerve their beauty and comely proportion, the Grandeur and Majeſty which is viſible therein, and can we forget the GOD that has form'd us what we are? Who fram'd theſe elegant Bodies, this ſublime Countenance, theſe ſeeing eyes, and hearing ears, and ſpeaking mouths, and agile hands? He that firſt made he Earth, he only could thus refine it and animate it. Remember I beſeech you Him that his form'd you of the clay! You muſt forget your ſelves ſooner than you can your CREATOR. Or, were you deaf and blind and dumb and lame, yet there would remain eno' to remember you of GOD. Job. 10. 10. Thou haſt clothed me with skin and fleſh, and haſt fenced me with bones and ſinews. Pſal. 139. 14. I will praiſe thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works and that my ſoul knoweth right will.
Now what ſerve theſe viſible Works of God to us, if not to remember us of Him from day to day? theſe call upon, and admoniſh us from day to day to keep him ever in our minds, for they keep him ever in our ſight; and our eyes ſhould affect our hearts.
2. WHAT ſerve our Souls for, and thoſe rational Powers wherewith God has endowed us, but to remember him. There is a Spirit in Man, and the inſpiration of the Almighty giveth us underſtanding. This we are as ſenſible of, and the operations of our living Souls are as evident to us, and to one another, as the light of the Sun is to our eyes, and the forms of every Creature. We think, we ſpeak, we reaſon and diſcourſe, and form Idea's of things we never ſaw, and whereof bare matter, and outward form can give us no intimation. We find within our ſelves the power of remembring and recollecting, calling things to mind and keeping them in mind. Who now gave us this power, and made us for this? ſhould He not be remembred by us? Can we conſider this ſpiritual power in us, and not ſay, Where is God my Maker, who hath taught me more than the beaſts of the Earth, and made me wiſer than the fowls of Heaven? Job. 35.10. How well does he deſerve to be degraded from this honour and glory wherewith he is crowned, (made but a little lower than the Angels, an Angel in fleſh) that remembers not the God that made him this Soul! Let him loſe that Soul which he ſo debaſes! let him be turn'd down from his Throne, like Nebuchadnezzar, among the beaſts of the Field, and let a beaſts heart be given him! let him be driven from his dwelling with Men, and let him eat graſs as an ox, and his hairs like theirs be his clothing! let him wear no more a humane ſhape, but cover him with Eagles feathers, and change his fingers for birds claws; till he know and bleſs the moſt High his Maker, and honour Him that liveth for ever and ever.
O Man, endued with a Heaven-born immortal Soul, a ſpiritual Intelligence, that knows and wills, and thinks and reaſons and reſolves, that recollects it ſelf when it pleaſes, & dwells on what it will, and contemplates and ſearches into thy ſelf and other things as thou pleaſeſt; canſt thou or dareſt thou to forget thy Creator, who gave thee theſe powers? From within thy ſelf thou knoweſt in a very great meaſure what GOD is, the Living, Eternal, Immortal, Immenſe Spirit, moſt Wiſe, Holy and Good; Almighty, moſt Perfect, moſt Bleſſed, the Father and Former, and the only Portion of Immortal Spirits? And canſ thou be and think and ever forget this Bleſed BEING, whoſe Offspring thy Soul is, and in whom thou doſt live and move and haſt thy being? Can HE be ever far from thee? is He not ever nigh unto thee? in thy heart and nouth! He only ſearches and knows thee, and underſtands thy tho'ts afar off: there is not a vord in thy tongue but he knoweth it altogether: whither wilt thou go from his ſpirit, or whither canſt thou fly from his preſence? He is ever preſent with thee, and ſhould he not be ſo to thy Mind.
THAT only among the Creatures here below can aſcend to him, can know and love and laud him, receive and entertain Him: What Houſe can we build him, or where is the place of his reſt? He dwelleth not in temples made with hands, but in living, holy, gracious Minds of his own preparing, ſanctifying and enlightening! Thy Mind, thy Memory, thy Adoring Tho't is ſomething like His own Simplicity, Spirituality and Immenſity, a ſpacious Palace for his glorious Reſidence; lift up your heads ye Heavenly Gates, and be ye lift up ye Everlaſting-Doors, and thy CREATOR, the King of glory ſhall come in! HE that made thee this Soul, in his own Image, and for his own praiſe; here ever to be remembred and adored.
WILT thou not remember thy MAKER, O my Soul; who form'd thee above matter and all corruptible things! who form'd thee vaſter than the Univerſe thou ſeeſt, for thou canſt add the Heavens of Heavens unto the viſible ones in thy enlarged tho'ts Who made thee ſwifter and brighter than the rays of light, ſo that in one moment of time thou canſt paſs the fixt Stars up to the Father of Light? That Soul deſerves to loſe the pover of thinking any more for ever, except it be on its own Guilt; that does not employ it tho'ts on GOD, and how he may be glorifyed and enjoyed by him: and well does he deſerve to loſe the faculty and power of remembring any thing, but his own wretchedneſs and miſery, who forgets his Maker.
IN a word, Each noble Faculty of the Humane Soul is made for GOD; the Mind to know him, the Will to chuſe him, the Conſcience to act in his Name and by his Authority, the Memory to keep him always in mind, and every Affection of the Soul to place on him; And not to think of, or not to keep in mind, this great and bleſſed BEING; not to remember Him evermore with the higheſt love, deſire and delight; how unnatural and inhumane and impious a thing muſt it be in our own Conſciences! What can be more ungrateful and baſe? It is worſe than brutiſh, it is deviliſh. It is a vile abuſe of our ſelves, for as One ſays, Our Memory is as a noble Cabinet made for the laying up this Excellent Jewel in, our Great Creator, his Word and Works and Will; and ſhall we fill it with ſtraw and pebbles, with dung and filth! What an abuſe is this to God who made us theſe living Souls and made us for himſelf. Once more,
3. WHY has God reveald Himſelf to us in his Holy Word, the Inſpired and written Scriptures of Truth; and why has he inſtituted and appointed to us the Ordinances of his Worſhip, but that we ſhould always preſerve a believing thankful and devout Remembrance of him.
THAT we might know him and not forget him, he has written to us the great things of his Law and Goſpel, his Great works of our Creation and Redemption; for theſe begin and finiſh the Old & New Teſtament, which are given us by the Inſpiration of GOD. Theſe are put into our hands, and laid open before our eyes, and are written for our learning, and we are commanded to read in them day & night, and to ſearch them daily, and to keep in memory the things that are ſpoken to us, and not turn away from Him that ſpeaketh from Heaven. Here we read of God's Being, his Name, his Nature; Perfections, Glories, Works, and of his Law, Covenant, Promiſes and Threatnings, what we are to believe concerning him, and what duty he requires of us; how he will be worſhipped ſerved and glorified by us here, and how we may come to enjoy him for ever.
MAN by his Apoſtacy from God had ſadly loſt the knowledge of him. The World by wiſdom knew not God: and as for tradition it it could not keep up the Remembrance of him. In pitty and mercy to our neceſſity he therefore made a Revelation of Himſelf, his Truth and Will unto us; for we needed a Day-ſpring from on high to viſit us and enlighten our darkneſs, and guide our feet in the way of holineſs, ſpiritual duty and worſhip. Deut. 6.6, 7. Theſe words which I command thee this day ſhall be in thy heart, and thou ſhalt teach them diligently unto thy CHILDREN: and talk of them when thou ſitteſt in thy houſe, and when thou walkeſt by the way, and when thou lieſt down, and when thou riſeſt up: and thou ſhalt bind them for a ſign upon thine hand, and thou ſhalt write them upon thy poſts—, and beware lest thou FORGET the LORD thy GOD.
AND that we may the more effectually preſerve a religious Remembrance of GOD, the Miniſtry and Preaching of the Word is inſtituted to us; and God's Sabbaths and the Ordinances of his Houſe are appointed to us for the more ſolemn Remembrance of Him. And all little eno' to prevail on a few of us to remember our Creator, in any ſuitable manner.
THE Sabbath we know was from the beginning appointed for the Remembrance of our CREATOR thereon. It is a Holy Memorial of his Reſt. And the Houſe and Worſhip of God was from the days of Moſes, and is to the end of the World, to keep God in our minds: therefore we come to Pray before him & Praiſe him, and hear his Word, and obſerve the Memorials and Remembrances which he has ordained to us of Himſelf.
HIS Sanctuary, his Tabernacle, his Temple in Iſrael were the place which he choſe and hallowed to put his Name there. 1 Kin. 8.16. Exod. 20. 24.2 Sam. 7.13. The Paſſover Ordinance to the Children of Iſrael, was in a ſpecial manner to them a Remembrance of the LORD their GOD; of His Redeeming power and mercy, and Covenant-kindneſs & faithfulneſs to them, and of their holy awful Bonds to him. Exod. 12.14. This day ſhall be a memorial to you for ever. 13.9. And thou ſhalt ſhew the reaſon of it to thy Son after thee, and it ſhall be a ſign unto thee upon thy hand.
AND ſo in like manner, the Preaching of the Goſpel with us from Sabbath to Sabbath, & the Adminiſtrations of the Sacraments of Chriſtianity from time to time, are to revive upon us, and keep in us a lively & affectionate Remembrance of God our Creator and Redeemer. Therefore has he requir'd that from Sabbath to Sabbath all fleſh ſhould come and worſhip before him; and in effect has he ſaid of every Ordinance do this in Remembrance of Me. But of the Word Preached, as I was ſaying, what has a more natural and powerful tendency to keep up the Remembrance of GOD than this? 1 Cor. 15.2. By which ye are ſaved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, (which unleſs you do) you have believed in vain. 2 Pet, 1.12, 13. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of theſe things, tho' ye do already know them: yea I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle to ſtir you up, by putting you in remembrance; that ſo after my deceaſe you may ever remember them.
THUS the Revelation that God has given us in his Word, the Ordinances of his Worſhip, the Miniſtry of his Word, all ſerve to this one End and are intended by God thereunto; namely, to remember us of our Creator and Saviour, and cauſe us to remember him with a becoming devotion and ſolemnity and to walk before him in all holy Obedience for ever and ever.
AND ſo I have briefly ſhown from the viſible Works of God, from the nature of our own Souls, and from the Revelation that God has made of Himſelf and his Will to us in his Word, that it is our duty to remember Him our CREATOR.
I come now unto the Third and laſt Head under the Doctrine, and the firſt and principal ſcope of the Text, which is,
III. THAT thou muſt remember Him NOW, in the days of thy YOUTH. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy Youth. Now inſtantly, now in Youth eminently and more eſpecially; Begin now; do not delay, defer or put off, till ſome uncertain hereafter, and particularly not to Old Age, the Evil days, which the Text ſpeaks of afterward.
THE Words do not mean to limit the Remembrance of GOD to our Youthful days only: nor to allow us to forget him in riper Age or Old Age; or if we have forgotten God in our Youth we may not think that the Text does not concern us: It is the perpetual duty of Man in every Age of his life to remember his Creator, and it is as much incumbent on him in Old Age as in our Early Life: but the meaning of the Text is, that Youth is the time to begin this duty in, and that it is of great importance to the whole Life that God be remember'd then. Remember thy Creator NOW whether thou be Young or Old, but eſpecially if thou be YOUNG begin now to do it.
1. FIRST then let me ſay, We muſt remember GOD our MAKER now, whether we be Young or Old; whether we have remembred or forgot him in days paſt; yet inſtantly and for all times to come let us preſerve a devout remembrance of him. Now ſpeaks the preſent time, immediately: and alſo from henceforth, always hereafter, thro' all our future days. Time is in a conſtant courſe and ſucceſſion; Now is gone in the breath wherein it is uttered; and yet Now is ever preſent with us, and ever paſſing away. It ever continues the ſame.
NOW is a little Image of Eternity; it is the firſt and the laſt, ever exiſting and ever the ſame. When GOD, the ETERNAL, pleas'd to make known himſelf to Moſes, as a Man is known by his Name, he ſaid, Exod. 3.14. I AM that is my Name. Truly if we would know the meaſure of our life and days, what it is, this ſhort word Now, importing the inſtant moment of our paſſing life is all that is ours. God exiſts in an Eternal Now; without beginning of days or end of time; We exiſt in one inſtant paſſing moment, and our age is as nothing before Him.
To remember our CREATOR Now takes in the whole of this paſſing life; which now only is; for the days paſt are irrecoverably gone; and we are not ſure of a breath to come. Wherefore Now, this inſtant, is all that we have, or are ſure of, to remember our Creator in: Do it now as you would at all, do it now and you do it always. Now as Young as thou art remember God thy Maker; Now do it, i. e. ſtill, as long as thou haſt any Being. Now, that is to day while it is called to day; and now will be to morrow if it comes as truly as to day is. You actually forget God, if now he be not in thy mind and memory. If you ſay you will do it hereafter, that it will be time eno'then; this is the thing which the Precept in the Text forbids, and would warn you againſt: that's the ſure way ever to forget God. Now is the only time we have, or that God will accept; 2 Cor. 6.2. Now is the accepted time and now is the day of Salvation. Pſal. 119.44. So ſhall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
I cloſe this head with a wiſe and good Tho't of Dr. Hickmans; The time paſt is fled and gone for ever, and leaves nothing behind it but either the comfort of having diſcharg'd our duty, or the ſad remembrance of our neglects. The time to come is it ſelf nothing; the fond imagination & forlorn hope of the ſluggard and the ſpend-thrift. The time paſt is already dead, the time to come is yet unborn; but Now is our life.
BUT yet neither is this the immediate Scope of the Text, what that means by Now is the days of Youth: to that the Text limits it:
Wherefore,
2. MORE eſpecially Young People muſt remember their Creator now, in the days of their Youth.
TO YOUNG PEOPLE therefore I ſhall confine my ſelf in the reſt of my Diſcourſe, and on them I am to preſs the Duty as eſpecially incumbent on them. The Text implies and ſuppoſes that they eſpecially are in danger of forgetting their Creator, that they from their Early Childhood ſhould be carefully inſtructed in the knowledge of Him, and that they carefully receive and retain the Inſtructions of their Parents, Tutors and Miniſters.
BUT I ſhall only lay before the Young Perſon theſe Three Reaſons why he, is peculiarly obliged to remember his CREATOR now in the days of his Youth.
1. BECAUSE it is exceeding honorary and well pleaſing to GOD that he do ſo. Now the firſt End of your Being is to pleaſe and honour your CREATOR, and to it you ought in the firſt place to apply your ſelves. This GOD requires of thee. Prov. 8.17. Seek me early. 23.36. My Son, give me thy heart. OUR SAVIOUR'S words and action were a plain declaration and a lively Emblem of the pleaſure he has in early Piety; When he ſaid of little Children, Suffer them to come to me, of them is my Kingdom; and when he took them up into his arms and bleſſed them. The LORD our GOD, requir'd the firſt ripe fruits under the Law, and his Soul deſires it under the Goſpel; And the one was but a Type and ſhadow of the other. Under both Teſtaments, we have many beauteous Inſtances, from righteous Abel down to gracious Timothy, of GOD's pleaſure in and glory from an Early Piety. The time would fail me to ſpeak of Enoch, Iſaac, Joſeph, Joſhua, Samuel, David, and SOLOMON in his Glory. Who but GOD ſhould have the firſt poſſeſſion of the mind and heart, or the firſt fruits of the Life? The firſt affections of a Creature made to be Religious, muſt be ſacred to GOD. It is both a high diſhonour and injuſtice to the Great CREATOR, to rob him of this; and a thing very pleaſing to the Devil.
ADD here theſe two very ſerious Conſidetions: What abundance of Sin againſt GOD, and Diſhonour to him is prevented, if we Early remember Him? and what a foundation is laid for Service and Glory to Him herein, if He ſpare us in his World? As long as we forget Him we ſhall be ſinning againſt him; and as ſoon as we begin ſeriouſly to remember Him we ſhall be ſerving and glorifying him. The Infant in Years becomes a great Sinner and a high Offender againſt the GOD of his Being out of whoſe Hands he is but juſt come, if he do not begin to remember his Creator: and what a Generation of Vipers are the little brood like to be that run aſtray as ſoon as they born, without any check or reſtraint upon them from the Remembrance of GOD? Gen. 8.21. On the contrary, What a World of time is ſav'd and work done, if we begin betimes and hold on? What proficiency in Grace is the earneſt Youth like to make, if he ſets out ſoon and keeps on, tho' he run but ſlow! The way will rid away apace, and he get a great way a head! the Child may die a hundred years old! be further on his way, and have done more for God, than a late Penitent of that Age; might ſuch a one be ſuppoſed. He that grows in Grace while he does in Stature may in his Youth be a Man in Chriſt Jeſus.
2. IT is exceeding Profitable and beneficial to our ſelves if we remember our Creator in the days of our Youth. Is it GOD's honour and glory that we remember Him Young? it is as much our own Intereſt and happineſs, preſent and future.
THE Pious Youth prevents a world of evil and miſchief, guilt and miſery to himſelf; and a world of good comes to him. If we forget GOD in our Youthful days we make ſad work for an after-repentance, and a ſorrowful Remembrance there will be of our folly and wickedneſs as long as we live. No body knows the darkneſs and remorſe, the ſorrows & anguiſhes, the wounds and dolours of Soul that it may procure you; or which is a worſe plague, what blindneſs and hardneſs, inſenſibility and obduracy! Beſides the Woes which the Prodigal is uſually reduc'd to in Body and in worldly Circumſtances, wherein he is made to poſſeſs the Sins of his Youth, thro' many an evil day and month of vanity and mourning, Prov. 5.11.
ON the other hand, by early Piety and Religion the Young Perſon puts himſelf under the care and bleſſing of a Gracious Providence. He makes Jacobs Choice of GOD and Vow to Him; and GOD makes the ſame Covenant with him. Gen. 28.20. Like Jabez he prays, and GOD gives him his Petition. He is like a green Olivetree in the houſe of GOD, and truſts in his mercy for ever and ever, Pſal. 52.8.
MORE eſpecially, He that remembers his CREATOR in the days of his Youth is bleſſed on Spiritual Accounts. This is the BLESSING which he early ſeeks and finds. He is like to bleſſed with an Abundance of Grace and of the gift of righteouſneſs; as was before hinted. What a ſpiritual Mind is this like to be in mortal Fleſh! and what a Divine life is he like to attain in Communion with GOD? How natural and familiar, eaſy and pleaſant will a Godly life be rendered by Uſe from thy Youth-up! What a Preparation will it be againſt the Evils and Afflictions of the preſent life; and what a preſervation from the Evil? Pſal. 71.17, 18. What a peaceful and happy Death may well cloſe this comfortable life, and O the exceeding Great and Eternal weight of Glory to this happy Perſon! If there are Degrees of Glory in Heaven, as doubtleſs there be, Theſe are like to be High therein, who beginning Young in the good ways of the LORD hold on and out to the end. Theſe eminently have glorified CHRIST on Earth, and he will glorify them with himſelf for ever. Theſe are the Rich in Grace, and ripe for Glory. Theſe ſhall have an Entrance adminiſtred abundantly into the Joy of their LORD, and be taken near to the B ſom of JESUS. To what Crowns and Manſions ſhall they be taken who by a patient continuance in well doing have been ſeeking after Glory Honour and Immortality! This Tribe of righteous Abel, living long in the Worſhip and Service of GOD, if they come not quite up to his Crown of Martyrdom, ſeem to come next to it.
THUS the Benefit is vaſt to us both preſent and future. on temporal & in ſpiritual reſpects, by remembring your CREATOR now in the days of your Youth.
3. And laſtly, IT is the way to be ſingularly uſeful and bleſſings to Others if we remember our CREATOR in the days of our Youth. We are not born for our ſelves only, but alſo for the good of others: and as ſoon as may be we ſhould be benefitting others; and how ſoon can GOD make us beneficial to others? His Grace in us betimes, makes us uſeful betimes.
To be particular:
1. WHAT comforts and bleſſings will this render you to your Parents and gracious Friends? if they ſee you remember your CREATOR Now in the days of your Youth. How lovely will it render you in their eyes, and how much their Joy? Such Children are their Parents Crown, and ſuch Youths are the Staff of their Old Age, and happy the Father in ſuch a Son, happy the Mother in ſuch a Dau'ter.
SOLOMON tells us, and it is the firſt of his Proverbs ſtrictly ſo called; Prov. 10.1. A wiſe Son maketh a glad Father. And again he ſays to the Young Man, 23.15. My Son, if thine heart be wiſe, my heart ſhall rejoyce, even mine; yea my reins ſhall rejoyce when thy lips ſpeak right things. Children know not what joy they would give their Parents by Early Piety.
EVEN Parents that are not Converted to GOD themſelves are glad to ſee their Children Pious and Religious; yea it may be the means of their Converſion, and ſometimes has been. But if a Parent be gracious it both delights and edifies him to ſee the Grace of God in his Child; it enlarges his heart in thankfulneſs to God as well as in love to his Child. Prov. 23.24. The father of the righteous ſhall greatly rejoyce, and he that begetteth a wiſe child ſhall have joy of him; thy father and thy mother ſhall be glad, and ſhe that bare thee ſhall rejoyce. Therefore remember thy Creator now, that while you are in the houſe of your Parents, they may have comfort in you, and when you are for your ſelves their comfort in you may increaſe.
2. A Child that remembers his CREATOR, and he that does it in his Youth, is like to be a bleſſing to his Brethren and Siſters, while he grows up with them and afterward; a bleſſing alſo to the Servants of the Family, to the play-mates of his Childhood, and the Companions of his Youth. Such a Child may be the Salt of the Family, and ſeaſon the whole houſe. A little leven leveneth the whole lump. If in your Childhood and Youth you remember your Creator you will pray to him, and not only Pray for your ſelves but for your Parents, and Brothers and Siſters, and for the Servants of the Houſe; and who knows what your Prayers may do for them, and for your ſelves? And the Praying Child or Youth often leads others to Prayer, puts them on Praying, and it may be Prays with them, as well as for them. A pious Child in a Family is like to put others in it on Secret Prayer, either by Word or by his Example. It reproves others that are careleſs, tho'tleſs and prayerleſs; to ſee one that is younger tho'tful and concerned about his Soul, and retiring to Pray. Yea how often have elder Perſons been inſtructed and corrected by the knowledge and good behaviour of Young Children. "This Child reproves me, and teaches me, may many a grown Perſon ſay; ſeems to underſtand and know more than I do, and to be better than I am. And 'tis an admonition uſually well taken, when it comes in our way. Now let our Young People be deſirous thus to benefit all about them from their Early days, that others may already bleſs GOD for them.
3. IF you remember your CREATOR now in the days of your Youth, it will be the way to make you Bleſſings in the FAMILIES into which the Providence of God may bring you, and in the RELATIONS wherein you ſhall hereafter ſtand. When the Young Man, or the Maiden, goes into Service here or there, happy may the Houſe be where into they come. They are like to be the faithful, diligent, prudent, humble Servants; like the devout Eliezer the Servant of Abraham, in whom the heart of his Maſter could ſafely truſt, and who religiouſly diſcharg'd every truſt committed to him. A Servant that was a Son to Abraham, and a kind of Father to Iſaac. A Servant that carried every Affair wherein he was concerned unto GOD, and did every thing as to the LORD and not to Man, doing the Will of God and of his Maſter from the heart. A good Servant is a rich bleſſing to a Family. Such a one was Jacob in the houſe of Laban, if he may be called a Servant there, and what a bleſſing did he bring with him, as well as carry away with him, out of his Uncles Flocks? Such a Servant was Joſeph in the Egyptians houſe, prudent and diligent and fearing GOD; and GOD bleſs'd the houſe or the priſon where-ever he came, and made all that he did to proſper. Nay what a bleſſing to Naaman and his houſe was the poor girl of Iſrael, that remember'd and ſpake of the GOD of Iſrael in the Land of her Captivity? Thus 'tis the way to make the Young Perſon a Bleſſing in the Family that receives him, if he remember his Creator in his early days.
BUT then there are other and Superiour Relations which the Young Perſon hopes in a few Years to come into, and this will make him a bleſſing to his own Family when he comes to have one; a bleſſing to his Conſort if he marries, a bleſſing to his Children if God give him any, a bleſſing to his Servants when he has them under him. And ſo the Young Woman becomes a bleſſing in the houſe of her Husband, a bleſſing to her Children and Servants, if from her early days ſhe be truly. Religious. Prov. 31.28. Her Children riſe up and call her bleſſed, her husband alſo and he praiſeth her. Happy the religious pair, that thus come together in their Youth, live in holy love, walk in their houſe with a perfect heart, and go hand in hand toward Heaven.
LET ſuch Tho'ts as theſe inſpire and charm our Young People into a timely remembrance of their Creator, that they may live and be ſuch bleſſings in one domeſtic Relation and in another. And now to come to our more publick Relations and Capacities,
4. IF you remember your Creator now in the days of your Youth, it will make you Bleſſings to the World you live in, and to the Generation you are to ſerve by the will of GOD. This it is that will make us good Neighbours, and uſeful to our Town and Country. This is the beſt foundation too that we can lay for a more extenſive ſerviceableneſs, and the being good Magiſtrates or Miniſters.
YOUNG People that now remember their Creator, are the Earneſts of the preſence and favour of GOD with the next Generation. This is the generation of them that ſeek him, and that ſhall be accounted of by him for a Generation, Pſal. 22.30. They are the good tokens upon a People, wherein GOD is ſpeaking graciouſly concerning them for times to come. Theſe will ariſe and declare unto their Children, the works and praiſes of the LORD; that they too may ſet their hope in GOD and keep his commandments, Pſal. 87.7. Then Religion is not like to die with the pious of this Generation, nor to be buried in their Graves; but to ſurvive when the Gracious that now live are gathered to their Fathers.
IN three reſpects you will be like to be great Bleſſings in your day and place, if now you remember your CREATOR in the days of your Youth; by your Prayers, by your Example, and by your knowledge and wiſdom.
I will add ſome other Motives and Conſiderations, further to Excite our Young People to the Duty before us.
1. NOW is your learning time, and what ſhould you firſt learn but the things of GOD, and what has regard to your Supreme Good and Everlaſting Welfare? In Childhood you are put to School, in the beginning of your Youth you are put to Trades; what is there to be done for you in theſe early Years but to inſtruct you? what buſineſs have you to do but to learn? what you now learn you are like to retain; if you don't learn now 'twill be hard to do it hereafter. But of all things that you have to learn there is nothing needful in compariſon with this, the things of Religion, the things of your Everlaſting Peace and Salvation. This only makes you for ever. Other things may ſerve you here, that ſaves you for ever. Other things ſerve you for the Body, this is ſaving to the immortal Soul. By other knowledge you may be uſeful to others in temporal reſpects, by this thou may'ſt he ſerviceable to their Everlaſting Salvation. Therefore learn this in the days of thy Youth, thy learning time; learn to fear and ſerve God.
2. YOUTH is thy beautiful, thy lovely and acceptable time. This is the prime and bloom, the flower, vigour and ſtrength of thy life. This Beginning and Excellency and Firſt-born of thy life devote to God.
3. NOW O Young People is your chuſing time, and commonly your fixing time; and as you fix now it is like to laſt. Now you commonly chuſe your Trade; betake your ſelves to your buſineſs for life, ſhow what you incline to, and how you intend to be imploy'd all your days. Now you chuſe your Maſter and your Education or Occupation. And now you diſpoſe of your ſelf in Marriage ordinarily, place your Affections, give away your hearts, look out for ſome Companion of life, whoſe to be as long as you live. And is this indeed the work of your Youth? and is it not time for you to fix too in your General Calling, your Heavenly Calling? your Fathers buſineſs and the working out your own Salvation? Where now is the love of an Eſpouſal toward GOD? who claims you in the ſtyle and relation of a Husband, as well as of a Father and Maſter! You are to chuſe for your life, and to diſpoſe of your ſelf probably for Eternity! whoſe and where and what you will be! how dreadful is the tho't! wilt thou now forget thy SAVIOUR and thy Soul? deſpiſe Heaven and Eternal Glory? and caſt away thy ſelf into the arms of the World, the Fleſh and the Devil! and into the flames of Hell for ever! God forbid! Wherefore now in thy chuſing time remember thy Creator, and chuſe the ways of God, the things that pleaſe him.
4. Conſider, YOU that are Young, Now may be your only Seaſon. Young as you are you may die to day or to morrow. You may die in Youth, and your life be among the unclean, your lot with them for ever, your Eternity among the unclean Spirits of Hell. You are not ſure of living to be Old, tho' you are ready to hope for it, and to promiſe your ſelf ſome hereafter to repent & remember God in. God may cut ſhort, cut off the thred of your life, and in a moment ſend you down into the place of torments.
5. WON'T you remember your CREATOR now? it may be He will never give you of his Grace to do it hereafter. Juſtly may he deny it to you when you are Older. Nay you will be leſs diſpoſed to remember Him then. Cuſtom in Sin will harden you in it; you harden your ſelves from his fear while you live without the remembrance of him. Satan and luſt blind the mind and fear the Conſcience by their poſſeſſion. They uſually hold the poſſeſſion we give them in our Youth. How few are Converted in riper years! Youth is the time of ſaving Impreſſions for the moſt part. Of ſuch is the Kingdom of Heaven, of ſuch on whom God begins to work while they are Young.
6. AND Laſtly, Let Young People conſider ſeriouſly how they are obliged and engaged, priviledged and advantaged above others, to remember their Creator now. You are not the Children of Heathen, nor born in the regions of darkneſs, where Men are without the knowledge of the true GOD, the Great Creator of all things. You are not of the Families of the Nations where God is unknown and forgotten. You are not Educated in utter ignorance as they are, nor led into their barbarous Doctrines and worſhip of Idols and of Devils. GOD has given you his Word, the Holy Scripture, and made Himſelf known to you in it. The Son of GOD Himſelf has come to give you an underſtanding, and to reveal GOD unto you, his Will and the way of a Sinners Salvation. You are informed from the Holy Word, who made you, and how you were made holy and happy; and how you come to be born a Sinner, and what GOD has done to ſave you, and what you muſt do to be ſaved. GOD has taken you under the wing of his Covenant, and into a Viſible Covenant and Church ſtate from the day of your birth, it may be; and directed you to be ſeparated and mark'd as one of his Flock. Your Parents have privately and publickly dedicated you to Him, as your GOD; avouch'd Him to be ſo, engag'd you to be the LORD's, vow'd you to Him with much Solemnity, before you were born & ſince. Now they ſay to you— You are the Children of the Lord your God; ſee that you remember your Covenant bonds, be holy to Him. They have inſtructed you in the knowledge of him, and taught you in his ways. Herein they have been at ſome pains; more than you think of; as the Prophet ſpeaks, Iſai. 28.9. Whom ſhall he teach knowledge? and whom ſhall he make to underſtand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breaſts? for precept muſt be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little; and with ſtammering lips and another tongue; you have been ſpoken to, to inſtil into you in your Infancy and ignorant ſtate ſome knowledge of your CREATOR. We have ſpoken to you in your own language, to your capacity when Babes, and to your ability to receive words in your Childhood. And ſince that you have been charged by Parents, by Miniſters, by Guardians and Friends, that you remember and keep in mind what you have learnt of GOD and your Souls, and ſeek to GOD betimes. Yea it may be your dying as well as living Parents have Charg'd you, O our Children; or they may do ſo. They have (it may be) Pray'd over you many a time, and you have heard 'em; they have Wept for you and over you, and begg'd of you, yea entreated you—about your Souls and your duty to GOD, and that you might be bleſſed of Him, They have Pray'd for you, as Abraham for his Iſhmael! they have Educated you, as he did his Iſaac, the Son of the Covenant; they have put you upon getting the bleſſing, as Rebecca did her Jacob: They have pour'd out Prayers for you as Job did for his Sons, for he ſaid it may be they have ſinned and forgotten their Creator: They have cry'd to GOD for you as David did for his Solomon, Lord give my Son a perfect heart; —and then have come and warn'd you as he did him,— My Son know thou the God of thy Fathers. Your Parents (O Child) have vow'd you to GOD in a manner as Hannah did her Samuel, and will you not abide by the Sacred Act and by the Sanctuary! they have open'd their mouth expreſly concerning you, more than Jeptha did concerning his Dau'ter, and you muſt ſay with her noble reſolution and reverence, My father—it ſhall be as thou haſt ſaid before the LORD. They have charg'd you as Jonadah did his Sons, and will you not obey their voice? And it may be they have had occaſion to fear concerning you, and with a melting Soul to warn and ſay to you— What my Son, and what the Son of my vows—, wilt thou not remember thy CREATOR? canſt thou dare to forget him and Sin againſt him.
THUS, and much more our Children and Young People are obliged and engaged and advantaged to remember their Creator; and if they do it not they are preſumptuous and rebellious againſt GOD and their Parents; they are unnatural and prophane, and it were better for them (dying ſo) that they had been born of Heathens and never known GOD, or been known of Him.
FINIS.
End of the text · Benjamin Colman, Early Piety Again Inculcated (1720)