Part 28 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 29 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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(5.) Fifthly, If ever you would be holy—then dwell much upon those solemn vows and covenants that you have formerly made in the days of your distress. Ah, how often have you—in the days of your calamity and misery, and in the days when sicknesses and weaknesses did hang upon you, and when the terrors of death were upon you—how frequently in those days did you solemnly vow and promise that, by the strength and assistance of the Lord—you would break off your sins by repentance, and that you would make it your greatest care, and your greatest business and work in this world, to mind holiness, and to press after holiness, and to give your souls no rest until you had experienced the power, excellency, and sweetness of holiness!
David by an oath bound himself to keep God's righteous judgments: Psalm 119:106, "I have sworn, and I will perform it—that I will keep your righteous judgments." A religious vow is nothing else but a solemn promise or oath, whereby a man engages himself to the great God—that he will decline such ways, means, and methods as lead to wickedness; and that he will set in good earnest upon the practice of all the ways and means of holiness—by the strength and assistance of divine grace.
So you have by many vows and promises engaged yourselves "to cast off the works of darkness, and to put on the armor of light," suitable to the apostle's exhortation, Romans 13:12. And as the people in Nehemiah's time did enter into a solemn oath to walk in God's law, and to observe and do all his commandments, Neh. 10:29—just so, you have in the times of your outward and inward distresses vowed to the Lord, that you would observe all his statutes, and walk in all his holy ways, and do all his righteous commandments. Job once made a covenant with his eyes—that he would not lustfully look upon a girl, Job 31:1-2; but how often have you made a covenant with your thoughts—that you would not think of vanity; and with your eyes—that you would not behold vanity; and with your ears—that you would not hear vanity; and with your tongues—that you would not speak vanity; and with yourhearts—that you would not contrive vanity; and with your hands—that you would not act vanity.
Now your vows and your covenants are upon you, oh that you would not, with the immoral woman in the Proverbs, chapter 17, forget the covenant of your God! Oh, it is better ten thousand times not to vow, than to vow and not to pay, Eccles. 5:5. God can take no pleasure in such as are off and on with him, nor in such who are forward to vow—but make no conscience to pay their vows. These are fools in folio, and therefore God cannot but detest them, and turn his back upon them.
If good Jacob, who is called "the father of vows," was so backward to pay his vows, that God was forced, not only to tell him again and again with a "go up to Bethel, and there build me a chapel," but also severely to punish his delays, both in the rape of his daughter, and in the cruelty of his sons, etc., Gen. 35; ah, how severely then may God deal with such who not only delay the paying of their vows—but who live also in the daily breach of their vows! Most men have need of that counsel which one gave Sigismund the emperor, who asked him what he should do to be happy; "Live," said he, "as you promised and vowed to do, when you were last sick of the stone and gout." Ah, that all men would make more conscience of living out, and of living up to the covenants, vows, and promises that they have made to God in the days when the hand of the Lord has gone out many ways against them, and when terrors of conscience have been strong upon them! Oh, what repentance! oh, what reformation! oh, what amendment have they promised in those days! And yet no sooner have these outward and inward storms been over—but they have been as vain and loose and base as ever.
In the time of the great plague in king Edward's days, as long as the heat of the plague lasted, oh how did everyone cry out, "I have sinned, I have sinned! Mercy, Lord! Oh mercy! mercy, good Lord!" Then lords and ladies, and people of all sorts, cried out to the ministers, "Tell us what shall we do to avoid the wrath of the Lord? what shall we do to be safe in this evil day? Oh take these bags of money, and pay so much to such a one whom I have deceived! and restore so much to such a one whom I have in bargaining overreached! Oh give so much to the poor, and so much to other pious uses!" etc. But after the sickness was over, they "returned with the dog to the vomit, and with the sow to the wallowing in the mire again; and so their latter end was worse than their former."
There was a very great sinner, who in the time of his sickness was so sorely terrified in his conscience for his many heinous sins, that he made the very bed to shake upon which he lay, and cried out all night long, "I am damned! I am damned! I am damned!" etc.; and in this his sickness he made many great protestations of amendment of life, if God would but be pleased to recover him, and prevent his going down to the grave at this time. Well, in a short time after he did recover, and being recovered he was as base, wretched, and wicked as ever he was before.
But those who are now like to Satan in sin, may hereafter be like to him in torment. Such who now outlive their vows, shall, when they die, have hell enough. You count it a very shameful thing to break a promise or covenant with men; but is it not far more shameful to break a promise with God? The Egyptians, though heathens, so hated perjury, that if any man did but swear by the life of the king, and did not perform his oath—that man was to die, and no gold was to redeem his life. When the Romans made covenants, they took stones in their hands, and said, "If I make this covenant seriously and faithfully, then let the great Jupiter bless me; if not, so let me be cast away from the face of the gods as I cast away this stone." Covenant-breaking was a sin greatly detested and abhorred among the very heathens; and shall Christians make nothing of breaking their vows, promises, and covenants with the great God? Well, sirs, remember this—those sins that you have vowed against must be deserted, and that holiness which you have vowed to follow must be pursued—or a worse thing than the curse of Meroz must be expected; Judges 5:23 compared with that John 5:14. But,
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Part 29 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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