Part 24 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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[2.] Secondly, If you compare the life of man to the long lives of the patriarchs before the flood—then the life of man is but short. Threescore years and ten, is man's age, Psalm 90:10. And where one man lives to this age, how many thousands die before they come to it! But what is this seventy years, compared to the age that men lived to in former times? Enoch lived as many years as there are days in the year, and Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years, and Methuselah lived nine hundred sixty-nine years, Gen. 5. Now what are our lives—compared to the long lives of the patriarchs? As men's wickedness does more and more increase—so their days do more and more decrease. The more wicked any generation is—the shorter lived that generation shall be. God will quickly despatch them out of the world—who make quick despatches in ways of wickedness.
[3.] Thirdly, The life of man is but short, if you compare it to what it shall be after the morning of the resurrection. Oh, then man's days shall reach to eternity! Eternity is that one perpetual day which shall never have an end. When men after the resurrection begin to live—they shall never die after that day. Every man shall live in everlasting bliss or in everlasting woe! When the last trumpet has sounded, man shall live forever and ever!
[4.] Fourthly, The life of man is but short, if you compare it with the days of God. Psalm 39:5, "My age is nothing before him;" all time is nothing, compared to eternity. Man's life is but a minute, it is but a point of time, compared to the days of eternity. What head, what heart can conceive or reckon up the duration of God, who ever was, who still is, and who ever will be! Every child and every fool can tell you their age—but what man on earth or what angel in heaven can tell you the years of the Most High? Surely none!
[5.] Fifthly and lastly, The life of man is but short, if you compare it with the lives of other creatures. Some say that the eagle will live until she is a hundred years old. And some elephants live three hundred years; by which you see the brevity of man's life. And why then should man be so foolish, so vain—to put the day of his death so far from him? I have read of the birds of Norway, that they fly faster than the fowls of any other country; they knowing, by an instinct that God has put into them, that the days in that climate are very short—do therefore make the more haste to their nests. And oh that all who hear me this day would learn by these birds of Norway—to make haste to believe, and to make haste torepent, and to make haste to love God, and to make haste to be holy, etc., seeing their day of life is so short, and their night of death is hastening towards them.
And as the life of man is very short, so it is very significant—that a very small matter, a very little thing—may quickly put an end to man's life. When the emperor threatened the philosopher with death, he replied, "What more is your threat—than a Spanish fly may do?" An ordinary fly, zooming into the mouth of the proud Pope Adrian, choked him. Tamerlane, a Scythian captain, the terror of his time, died suddenly with a fever. Anacreon the poet was choked with the seed of a grape. Aeschylus was killed by the fall of a turtle, which fell from an eagle's talons upon his head. The duke of Brittany was stifled to death in a throng of people. An emperor died by the scratch of a comb. One of the kings of France died by choking on his food. One who was playing at tennis, received a blow with a ball a little above the right ear, which struck him into his grave. There is nothing so small, but it may be a man's bane. The tripping of a toe, the cutting of a corn, the scratch of a nail, the prick of a pin, a fish-bone, a hair, a drop of water, a crumb of bread, bad air—may bring a man to his long home! Yes, a little smoke may soon suffocate him, or his own spittle may suddenly choke him.
And oh, that all I have spoken upon this account might be so blessed as to work you to take heed of putting the day of your death so far away from you! The evil servant, when he thought his master was gone afar off, begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk, Luke 12:45. And just so, the lewd woman in the Proverbs, chapter 7:19-20, when the husband was gone a long journey, when he was far from home—then she grew promiscuous, vain, and secure. Just so, when men put afar off the day of their death, then they grow more loose, profane, and unholy. Whereas a serious and frequent eyeing and minding of death as at hand, as at a man's elbow—would alarm a man to break off his sins by repentance, and to labor for holiness, as a man would labor for life itself. I have read of the women on a certain island—that the first garment they make is their shroud, with which they usually gird themselves when they go abroad, to show that they are still mindful of their mortality. Ah, friends, a constant minding of your mortality would contribute very much towards the making of you holy. He who daily looks upon death—will be daily a-looking after holiness. The oftener any man looks into the grave—the oftener that man will be looking up to heaven, and a-begging that God would make him holy even as he is holy. But,
6. Sixthly and lastly, Take heed of settling yourselves under an unholy minister--of one whose life gives the lie to his doctrine. An unholy preacher is the greatest destroyer of the souls of men! He who preaches well--but lives bad--does what he can, to murder all his hearers at once! There is no greater bar to holiness, than ministers' unholy lives. An unholy life mars the soundest and the sweetest doctrine. The sins of teachers are the teachers of sins! "The leaders of the people have led them down the path of destruction." Isaiah 9:16.
An unholy minister is the greatest pest, the worst plague, and the greatest mischief--that can be to a people; for his enormities, his wickednesses, will have the strongest influences upon the souls and
lives of men--to make them eternally miserable. His falls will be the fall and ruin of many; for people are more prone to live more by examples--than by precepts; mind more what the minister does--than what he says; eye more how he walks--than how he talks. "Watch your life and doctrine closely." 1 Timothy 4:16. "Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12. "In everything set them an example by doing what is good." Titus 2:7.
It was said of one—that was an excellent preacher—but a very bad liver; that when he was in the pulpit—it was pity he should ever come out of it, he preached so well; and when he was out of the pulpit—it was pity that ever he should go into it, he lived so badly. Certainly it is pity that ever such should go into a pulpit who preach well but live bad; who have much of God in their mouths, and much of the devil in their lives; who have the earth as much at their fingers' end as they have heaven at their tongue's end; whose lives puts their words to a blush; who have much of heaven in their expressions, and nothing of heaven in their lives; who have much holiness in their looks—but none in their hearts; and much holiness in their lips—but none in their lives. The unholy lives of such preachers causes people to slight and abhor the holy things of God, 1 Sam. 2:17; yes, their bad lives often raise doubts in their hearers' hearts whether those things that they preach are true or not. Hearers will be ready to object and say, "If these things are true that the minister says, why does he not practice what he preaches? why does he not do as well as say?"
And with what face or confidence can he appear against that in the pulpit, which he countenances and patronizes in his life? Who will credit that man's doctrine, who has Jacob's voice—but Esau's hands; who is a saint, yes, an angel, in the pulpit—but a debauched sinner, yes, an incarnate devil, out of it?
I have read of a woman who, living in professed doubt of the Godhead, after better illumination and repentance, did often protest that the wicked life of a great minister, under whose ministry she lived, did conjure up those damnable doubts in her soul. There is nothing that brings holy truths so much into question as the unholy lives of such preachers; neither is there anything that exposes a minister's person and office to so much scorn and contempt as an unholy life. Let a minister be ever so learned, solid, quaint, elegant, zealous, judicious, sententious, etc.—yet if he is carnal, covetous, worldly, vain, and loose in his life and conversation, his hearers will rather deride his doctrine—than reform by his doctrine; they will rather despise it—than study how to profit by it; therefore he said right, who said—
"Unto a teacher it's no small disgrace
When his own faults reprove him to his face."
There is nothing in all the world that is more powerful and prevalent to corrupt and mislead unholy men, and to harden, strengthen, and encourage them in ways of wickedness—than the looseness of their lives whose office binds them to look to the salvation of their souls, Ezek. 13:22, and Jer. 33:15: Mal. 2:8, "You are departed out of the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law." When the preacher departs out of the way of holiness, the people will quickly stumble at the law of holiness; when ministers are as wandering stars, no wonder if their hearers wander from all that is good. He whose life is not a standing reproof to sin, will, by his life, encourage sinners more and more in a way of sin.
There is nothing which keeps men so off from a good opinion of holiness, and from the love of holiness, and the liking of holiness, and from the pursuing after holiness—than the unholy lives of their teachers. Therefore, as ever you would be holy, fly their tents, and abandon their company and society. Ministers whose lives are unholy, though their abilities may be high, are like a stone gutter, that conveys water into a garden—but receives no benefit itself thereby; or like a harp that makes melody for others—but hears nothing itself. They are like those carpenters who built the ark to save others, and were drowned themselves; or like porters at great men's gates, that let in others—but lodge without themselves; or like sea-marks, that rot themselves—and yet give others warning to avoid shipwreck; or like Caesar's soldier, that dug a fountain for Caesar, and perished himself for lack of water.
Oh, the folly and madness of such ministers, who give light to others—and yet walk in darkness themselves; who feast others' souls—but starve their own; who rescue others from a devouring enemy—and yet allow themselves to be devoured; who forewarn others of the horrible pit—and yet fall into it themselves; who give good counsel to others—and yet can't take good counsel themselves; who study and strive to bring others to heaven—and yet have no mind to go there themselves!
Certainly society and company with such, can't but be a mighty hindrance to holiness. He who is in good earnest resolved to be holy, must resolutely be resolved to have nothing to do with such unholy people. And thus you see the several things that you must decline, if ever you would be holy. But,
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Part 25 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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