Seim. CXXVII. Men mill be accountable. i 6 of a Diamond ? as the Exprellon is, Jer. 57. 5. I remember all their Wickednefr, and their Doings arebefore me, fays God, Hof. 7. 2. And Chap. 8. 7. The Lordbath (morn by the Excellency ofJacob, Surely Iwill not forget any oftheir Works. We fin, and forget that we have finned; but 'God chargeth himfelf with theRetnembrance of all our evil Doings, and they can never flipout ofhis Mind. Did Men ferioufly believe thefe Things, and were they affe&ed with them as they ought, they could notbut have a wonderful Effe&upon their Lives, to make us more watchful over our Ways, and to tread every Step of our Lives more warily. We could not commit Iniquity with fo muchGreedinefs andPleafure, and rufh into Sin, as the Rorie rufheth into Battei, without any Fear or Confideration, were we verily perfwaded, that every evil A&ion that we do in this Life, will be Matter of Charge and Accufation in the Dayof Judgment. Therefore when we are doing any Thing, we fhould ask our felves, Will not this alfo come ipto Judgment ? When we are engaged in any wicked Defign or vicious Courfe, we fbould confider, With what Face will this A& of Violence and Opprefiion, of Fraud and Cozenage, of filthy Lewdnefs and brutifh Intem- perance, appear at the Great Day ? How will it look, when God 'hall drift to lodg- ment? When we are carelefs and remits, flight and fuperficial in the Service of God, and the Duties of his Worfhip, we fhould remember that God takes ,no- tice of all this, and we muff give anAccount to him for the Manner, as well as the Matter of our A&ions. If the A&ions of ourLives were tranfient, and the Confequenceof them were over fo loon as they are done, and no Memorial of then would remain here- after if they would die with us, and never rife up in Judgment againft us; we needed not to take fuch heed to them : But we do all Things for Eternity, and every Aetion of this Life will have a good orbad Influence upon our everlafting State. More particularly, the Confideration of this fhould: have an Influence upon us, more efpecially to thefe Purpofes : a. To make us afraid of lei%r Sins, as well as greater, beeaufe thofe alfo, as well as thefe, will come into Judgment; and we fhould not efteem any Thing little, which God (hall think fit to take into Confideration, andto bring upon the Stage at the Great Day. 2. The Confideration of this fhould likewife deter us from fecret Sins. We are apt to think, that if we can but fin in fecret, and hide what we do from the Eyes of Men, we are fecure and Cafe enough : But alas ! our great Danger is not from Men, but God ; not now, but hereafter. We are now very folicitous to conceal our Wickednefs, that we may avoid Shame, and efcapePunifhment from Men : but God will one Day produce all our fecret Sins, and bring them forth into the Light, for all our ttudious Concealment of them now. Now we are afraid of the Eye of Men, and therefore chufe Secrefy, that we may commit our Sins privately and unfeen. Vain Man ! The Day is at hand, when all thy fecret Lewdnefs and Fraud will bebrought upon the publick Stage of the World, and be Matter of publick Infamy to thee. and an everlafting Reproach that can never be wiped off; and tho' thou now ctverefl thy,Tranfgreffion as Adam, and hidefl thins Iniquity in thyBofom; yet the Time is coming; when all thy fecret Wicked- nefs (hall be expos'd to the View of Angels and Men and then Sinner, what wilt thou do, when thou thalt appear before this all-feeing Judge? None of thine Arts of Concealment will then Rand thee in Cead. Canft thou hide thy Sine fromhis Eye, fo that he cannot Cearch then out ? orthy Pelffrom his Wrath? If thou canft not, what matters it to have anySecret from others, when all is known to thy Judge ? g. This fhould likewife difpofe us to great Sincerity in all our Words and A&ions, and make us always to fpeak as we think, to performwhat we promife and profefs, and in all Things to be what we would feem to be, fince there is a Day a coming when the Secrets of all Hearts (ball be difclofed, and every Mask of Hypocrify and Diflìmulation !hall be pluck'd off, and our moft dole and cunning Defigns thall be brought into the open Light. In that great Day of Revelation, Y nothing.
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