APPLES
OF GOLD
by Thomas Brooks, 1660
Chapter 6.
I shall now come to those
DIRECTIONS and HELPS
that must, by assistance from heaven, be put in
practice, if ever you would be godly early, and serve the Lord in the
primrose of your days. Now all that I shall say will fall under these two
heads.
First, Some things you must carefully and watchfully
decline, and arm yourselves against; and
Secondly, There are other things that you must
prosecute and follow.
First,
There are some things that you must watchfully decline,
and they are these.
Direction, (1). First, If ever you would be godly
early, if you would be gracious in the spring and morning of your youth, oh!
then, take heed of putting
the day of death far from you,
Amos 6:3, "You push away every thought of coming
disaster."
Young men are very prone to look upon death afar off, to
put it at a great distance from them. They are apt to say to death as
Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get away from me, and let me see your face no more,"
Exod. 10:28. If old men discourse to them of death, they are ready to
answer, as the high priest did Judas in a different case, Mat 27:4, "What is
that to us? look you unto it." We know sickness will come, and death is a
debt that we must all pay, but surely these guests are a great way from us;
for does not David say, "The days of a man are threescore years and ten"?
Psalm 90:10. We have calculated our nativities, and we cannot abate a day, a
minute, a moment, of "threescore and ten;" and therefore it is even a death
to think of death; there being so great a distance between our birth-day and
our dying-day, as we have cast up the account.
Ah! young men, it is sad, it is very sad, when you are so
wittily wicked as to say with those in Ezekiel, "the people of Israel are
saying—His visions won't come true for a long, long time." Ezek. 12:27.
Ah! young men, young men, by putting far away this
day—you gratify Satan, you strengthen sin, you provoke the Lord, you make
the work of faith and repentance more hard and difficult, you lay a sad
foundation for the greatest fears and doubts.
Ah! how soon may that sad word be fulfilled upon you,
"The Lord of that servant (who says his Lord delays his coming) shall come
in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
and shall cut him asunder (or cut him off), and appoint him his portion with
hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth," Mat. 24:48-51.
When Sodom, when Pharaoh, when Agag, when Amalek, when Haman, when Herod,
when Nebuchadnezzar, when Belshazzar, when Dives, when the fool in the
Gospel—were all in their prime, their pride, when they were all in a
flourishing state, and upon the very top of their glory—how strangely, how
suddenly, how sadly, how fearfully, how astonishingly—were they brought down
to the grave, to hell!
Ah young man, who are you? and what is your name or fame?
what is your power or place? what is your dignity or glory? that you dare
promise yourself an exemption from sharing in as sad a portion as ever
justice gave to those who were once very high, who were seated among the
stars, but are now brought down to the pit of hell, Isaiah 13:10-17. I have
read a story of one that gave a young prodigal a ring with a death's head,
on this condition, that he should one hour daily, for seven days together,
look and think upon it; which bred a great change in his life.
Ah! young men, the serious thoughts of death may do that
for you which neither friends, counsel, examples, prayers, sermons, tears,
have not done to this very day. Well! remember this; to labor not to die is
labor in vain, and to put this day far from you, and to live without fear of
death, is to die living. Death seizes on old men, and lays wait for the
youngest. Death is oftentimes as near to the young man's back as it is to
the old man's face.
It is storied of Charles the Fourth, king of France, that
being one time affected with the sense of his many and great sins, he
fetched a deep sigh, and said to his wife, By the help of God I will now
so carry myself all my life long, that I will never offend him more;
which words he had no sooner uttered, but he fell down dead and died.
Do not, young men, put this day far from you, lest you
are suddenly surprised, and then you cry out, when too late, "A kingdom for
a Christ, a kingdom for a Christ!"
Ah! young men, did you never hear of a young man that
cried out, "Oh! I am so sick, that I cannot live, and yet, woeful wretch
that I am! so sinful, that I dare not die. Oh that I might live! oh that I
might die! oh that I might do neither!" Well! young men, remember this, the
frequent, the serious thoughts of death will prevent many a sin, it will arm
you against many temptations, it will secure you from many afflictions, it
will keep you from doating on the world, it will make you do much in a
little time, it will make death easy when it comes, and it will make you
look out early for an unshakable kingdom, for incorruptible riches, and for
unfading glory. Therefore do not, Oh do not put the day of death far from
you. Take heed of crying tomorrow, tomorrow, says Luther; for a man
lives forty years before he knows himself to be a fool, and by that time he
sees his folly, his life is finished. So men die before they begin to live.
Direction (2). Secondly, If you would be godly
early, then take heed of
leaning to your own understanding.
This counsel wise Solomon gives to his son (or the young
men in his time): "My child, never forget the things I have taught you.
Store my commands in your heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do
not lean on your own understanding," Proverbs 3:1, 5.
Youth is the age of folly, of vain hopes, and overgrown
confidence. Ah! how wise might many have been, had they not been wise in
their own opinion when young.
Rehoboam's young counselors proved the overthrow of his
kingdom. It is brave for youth at all times to be discreet and sober-minded.
Three virtues, they say, are prime ornaments of youth, modesty, silence, and
obedience.
Ah! young men, keep close in every action to this one
principle, namely, in every action resolve to be discreet and wise. Ah!
young men, your leaning upon yourselves, or upon others, will in the end be
bitterness and vexation of spirit. Young men are very apt to lean on their
own wit, wisdom, arts, parts, as old men are to lean on a staff to support
them (as the Hebrew word signifies, that is rendered lean, in that of
Proverbs 3:5). This has been the bane of many a choice wit, the loss of many
a brave head, the ruin of many a fine mind.
Ajax thought it was only for cowards and weaklings to
lean upon the Lord for support, not for him when he was foiled. Lean not to
great parts, lean not to natural or acquired accomplishments, lest you lose
them and yourselves too. Leaning to natural or moral excellencies, is the
ready way to be stripped of all. Babylon, who was bold bold upon her high
towers, thick walls, and twenty years' provision laid in for a siege, was
surprised by Cyrus.
It was said of Caesar, that he received not his wounds
from the swords of enemies, but from the hands of friends; that is, from
trusting in them. Ah! how many young men have been wounded, yes slain, by
trusting to their own understandings, their own abilities!
It was an excellent saying of Austin, He who stands
upon his own strength, shall never stand. A creature is like a single
drop left to itself, it spends and wastes itself presently, but if like a
drop in the fountain and ocean of being, it has abundance of security.
Ah! young men, young men, if you will need be leaning,
then lean upon precious promises, 2 Peter 1:4, Psalm 27:1; lean upon the
rock that is higher than yourselves, lean upon the Lord Jesus Christ, as
John did, who was the youngest of all the disciples, and the most beloved of
all the disciples, John 21:20, chapter 13:23. John leaned much, and Christ
loved him much. Oh lean upon Christ's wisdom for direction, lean upon his
power for protection, lean upon his purse, his fullness, for provision,
Cant. 8:5; lean upon his eye for approbation, lean upon his righteousness
for justification, lean upon his blood for remission, lean upon his merits
for salvation. As the young vine, without her wall to support her, will fall
and sink, so will you, young men—without Christ putting his everlasting arms
under you to support you, and uphold you. Therefore, above all leanings,
lean upon him. By leaning on him, you will engage him; by leaning on him,
you will gain more honor than you can give; by leaning on him, you may even
command him, and make him eternally yours, etc.
Direction (3). Thirdly, If you would be godly
early, if you would seek and serve the Lord in the spring and morning of
your days, then take heed
of flatterers and flattery.
Ah! how many young men might have been very godly, who
are now exceeding bad, by hearkening to flatterers, and pretending flattery!
Flattery undid young Rehoboam, Ahab, Herod, Nero, Alexander, etc. Flatterers
are soul-murderers; they are soul-undoers. They are like evil surgeons, who
skin over the wound, but never heal it.
The emperor Anastasius' motto was, Smooth talk proves
often sweet poison. Flattery is the very spring and mother of all
impiety; it blows the trumpet, and draws poor souls into rebellion against
God, as Sheba drew Israel to rebel against David. It put our first parents
upon tasting the forbidden fruit; it put Absalom upon dethroning of his
father; it put Haman upon plotting the ruin of the Jews; it put Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram upon rebelling against Moses; it makes men call evil good
and good evil, darkness light and light darkness, etc. Flattery puts people
upon neglecting the means of grace, upon undervaluing the means of grace,
and upon despising the means of grace; it puts men upon abasing God,
slighting Christ, and vexing the Spirit; it unmans a man; it makes him call
black white and white black; it makes a man exchange pearls for pebbles, and
gold for counters; it makes a man judge himself wise when he is foolish;
knowing, when he is ignorant; holy, when he is profane; free, when he is a
prisoner; rich, when he is poor; high, when he is low; full, when he is
empty; happy, when he is miserable, Rev. 3:17-18.
Ah! young men, young men, take heed of flatterers; they
are the very worst of sinners; they are left by God, blinded by Satan,
hardened in sin, and ripened for hell! God declares sadly against them, and
that in his word and in his works: in his word, as you may see by comparing
these scriptures together, Deut. 29:18-20; Psalm 78:36, 36:1, 3; Job 17:5;
Ezek. 12:24; Dan. 11:21, 32, 34. Psalm 12:2-3, "They speak vanity
everyone with his neighbor: with flattering lips, and with a double heart,
do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue
that speaks proud things." And as God declares sadly against them in his
word, so he has declared terribly against them in his works, as you may run
and read in his judgments executed upon Ahab's flattering prophets, and upon
Haman, and upon Daniel's princely false accusers, etc. And why, then, will
not you stop your ears against those wretches, whom the hand and heart of
God is so much against?
Again, as God declares against them, so godly men detest
them and declare against them, as you may see by comparing these scriptures
together, Psalm 5:8-10; Proverbs 2:16, Proverbs 7:21, Proverbs 28:23; Job
32:21-22; 1 Thes. 2:5, 10. Proverbs 20:19, "Meddle not with him who flatters
with his lips." Why so? Why! Because a man who flatters his neighbor spreads
a net for his feet, Proverbs 29:5. The Hebrew word that is here rendered
flatterer, signifies a soft butter-spoken man, because flatterers use
smooth, soft speeches. Also the word signifies "to divide," because a
flatterer's tongue is divided from his heart. Flatterers have their nets,
and those who give ear to them will be taken to their ruin. A lying tongue
hates those who are afflicted by it, and "a flattering mouth works ruin,"
Proverbs 26:28. A flattering mouth ruins name, fame, estate, body, soul,
life.
Valerian, the Roman emperor, used to say, Not bitter
words—but flattering words do all the mischief.
When Alexander the Great was hit with an arrow in the
siege of an Indian city, which would not heal, he said to his flatterers,
You say that I am Jupiter's son—but this wound cries that I am but a man.
Now shall godly men detest them and abhor them, as they
are the pest of pests, the plague of plagues; and will you own them, will
you take pleasure in them, to your ruin here and hereafter? The Lord forbid!
Oh say to all flatterers, as he to his idols, "Get hence, for what have I
more to do with you?" Hosea 14:8.
Nay, once more consider, that not only the good—but the
bad, not only the best—but some of the worst of men, have manifested their
detestation of flatterers and flattery.
When a court parasite praised Sigismund the emperor above
measure, the emperor gave him a sound beating.
When Aristobulus the historian presented to Alexander,
the great book that he had written of his glorious acts, wherein he had
flatteringly made him greater than he was, Alexander, after he had read the
book, threw it into the river Hydaspes, and said to the author, It were a
good deed to throw you after it.
When the flatterers flattered Antigonus, he cried out,
You lie, you lie in your throat; these virtues that you speak of I have not
in me—I am like a leopard, that have ten black spots to one white.
Augustus Caesar and Tiberius Caesar were deadly enemies
to flatterers, insomuch that they would not be called lords by their
own children.
A good saying is attributed to Trebonianus Gallus,
namely, No flatterer can be a true friend.
Ah! young men, young men, shall God, shall godly men,
shall bad men, detest and declare against flatterers and flattery, and will
not you turn a deaf ear upon them, yes, fly from them as from a serpent, and
shun them as you would shun hell itself? If you do not, the very heathens
but now cited will rise in judgment against you.
Flatterers are the very worst of sinners. The flatterers
told Caesar, that his freckles in his face were like the stars in the skies.
They bought and sold Aurelius the emperor at pleasure. And Augustus
complained, when Varrus was dead, that he had none now left that would deal
plainly and faithfully with him.
I have been the longer upon this, out of love to young
men's souls, who are so apt to be ensnared in the flatterer's net. If ever
you would be good in good earnest, you must abhor flatterers as the
first-born of the devil, and as such as are most pernicious to men's
happiness both here and hereafter.
It is reported of one Oramazes, that he had an
enchanted egg, in which, as he boasted himself, he had enclosed all the
happiness of the world; but being broken, nothing was found in it but wind.
Flatterers are the greatest cheaters, the greatest deceivers in the world.
They say of the crocodile, that when he has killed a man,
he will weep over him, as if he were sorry, and did repent for what he had
done; the application is easy.
Direction (4). Fourthly, If you would be godly
early, if you would seek and serve the Lord in the spring and morning of
your days, then take heed
of engaged affections to the things of the world.
The young man in the Gospel took many a step towards
heaven: "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?"
Mat. 19:16-24. Christ makes a very fair offer to him in the next words: "If
you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and
you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me." You shall have
heaven for earth, a sea for a drop, a treasure for a mite, a crown for a
crumb. Ay—but the young man's affections were strongly engaged to the things
of the world; and therefore he turns his back upon Christ, and goes away
sorrowful, because he had great possessions. Oh the madness, the folly of
this young man, who, to enjoy a little temporal felicity, has bid an
everlasting farewell to Christ and glory!
In Genesis 13:2, it is said, that Abraham was very
rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold; the Hebrew word which is here
rendered rich, signifies heavy; it signifies a burden, to show us
that riches are a heavy burden and an hindrance many times to heaven and
happiness; and this young man in the Gospel found it so to his eternal
undoing. Though the loadstone cannot draw the iron when the diamond is in
presence, yet earthly possessions did draw this young man's soul away when
Christ the pearl of price was present. The world is a silken net, and this
young man found it so; the world is like golden fetters, and this young man
found it so; the world is like sweet poison, and this young man found it so;
for he had drunk so large a draught of it, that there was no room in his
soul for Christ or heaven, for grace or glory.
Some say, that when the serpent Scytale cannot overtake
the flying passenger, she does with her beautiful colors so astonish and
amaze them, that they have no power to pass away until she have stung them;
such a serpent the world proved to the young man in the Gospel; it did so
affect him and take him, so amaze him and amuse him, that he could not stir
until it stung him to death.
When the moon is fullest, it is furthest from the sun; so
the more men have of the world, the further commonly they are from God; and
this the young man in the Gospel demonstrated.
Many have ventured life and limb, and many a better
thing, to gain the things of this world; and yet, after all, they have got
nothing at all. Achan's golden wedge proved a wedge to cleave him; and his
stolen garment—a garment to shroud him.
The whole world is circular, the heart of a man is
triangular, and we know a circle cannot fill a triangle; yes, if it is not
filled with the Trinity, it will be filled with the world, the flesh, and
the devil. The world may be resembled to the fruit that undid us all, which
was fair to the sight, smooth in handling, sweet in taste—but deadly in
effect and operation.
Ah! young men, young men, have none of you found it so?
The world in all its bravery is no better than the cities
which Solomon gave to Hiram, which he called Cabul, that is to say,
displeasing or dirty, 1 Kings 9:13; the world will afford nothing but
trivial flowers, surrounded with many briers. Oh the vanity, the
uncertainty, the imperfection of all things below! If a man should weigh his
pay and his pains together, his miseries and his pleasures together, his
joys and his sorrows together, his mercies and his crosses together, his
good days and his bad days together, will he not conclude, Vanity of
vanities, and all is vanity?
It was a wise and Christian speech of Charles the Fifth
to the Duke of Venice, who, when he had showed him the glory of his princely
palace and earthly paradise, instead of admiring it, or him for it, only
returned him this grave and serious memento, These are the things which
make us unwilling to die. It was a good saying of one to a great Lord,
upon his showing him his stately house and pleasant gardens, Sir, you had
need make sure of heaven, or else when you die you will be a very great
loser.
Ah! young men, young men, it is only heaven that is above
all winds, storms, and tempests; nor has God cast man out of paradise for
him to think to find out another paradise in this world. The main reason why
many young men doat upon the world is, because they are not acquainted with
a greater glory. Men ate acorns until they were acquainted with the use of
wheat. The woman had the moon under her feet when she was clothed with the
sun, and had a crown of twelve stars upon her head, Rev. 12:1.
Ah! young men, were you but clothed with the Sun of
righteousness, and had you a crown set upon your heads by the hand of faith,
you would have all the things of this world—which are as low, bespotted, and
mutable as the moon—under your feet, Heb.11: 24-27, 35; Heb. 10:34. Well!
young men, as ever you would be godly early, sit loose from the things of
this world, be no longer worshipers of this golden calf, and never let the
world, that shall be but your servant, become your Lord. Oh! let not the
devil and the world have more service for an ounce of gold, than Christ
shall have for the kingdom of heaven!
Ah, young men! the world and you must part, or Christ and
you will never meet, "you cannot serve God and mammon," Matt. 6:24. The two
poles shall sooner meet, than the love of Christ and the love of the world.
Direction (5). Fifthly, If you would be godly early,
if you would know, seek, and serve the Lord in the spring and morning of
your youth, then take heed
early of carnal reason, take heed of consulting with flesh and blood,
Gal. 1:15-16.
Many a hopeful young man has been undone temporally and
undone eternally, by hearkening to those evil counselors.
Carnal reason is an enemy, yes, an utter enemy, nay, it
is not only an utter enemy—but it is enmity, yes, enmities, Romans 8:7. An
enemy may be reconciled—but enmity can never be reconciled. Carnal reason is
not only averse—but it is utterly averse to all goodness; it builds
strongholds and arguments against the most glorious gospel truths, and
accounts the precious things of Christ as a strange thing. Carnal reason
will make God and gospel do homage to it. When carnal reason is on the
throne, Christ and his truths must all bow or be judged before its bar.
Ah! young men, young men, as ever you would be godly
early, stop your ears against all carnal reasonings within you. Carnal
reason judges the choicest things of the gospel to be mere foolishness, 1
Cor. 1:23. It is blind, and cannot see how to make a right judgment of
Christ, his word, his ways, and yet will control all.
If you are resolved to be still scholars to this master,
then you must resolve to be unhappy here and miserable hereafter. But it is
safer and better for you to imitate those young men, who in the morning of
their days have graciously, wisely, and resolutely withstood those evil
counselors—carnal reason, flesh and blood; Joseph and Moses, Daniel,
Shadrach, Mesbach, and Abednego, all these in the primrose of their youth
were good at turning the deaf ear to carnal counsel and carnal counselors,
Gen. 39:7-11, etc; Heb. 11:24-26; Dan. 1.
Cassianus reports of a young man that had given himself
up to a Christian life, and his parents disliking that way, they wrote
letters to him to persuade him from it; and when he knew they were letters
come from them, he would not open them—but threw them into the fire. This
example is worth a following.
Another famous example you have in the story of King
Edward the Sixth, when Cranmer and Ridley came to him, and were very earnest
to have him give way to his sister to have mass. He stood out and pleaded
the case with them, that it was a sin against God, and provoking to the eyes
of his glory, etc.—but they still continued to use many carnal arguments to
persuade the king, who was but a child about fifteen years of age—but he
withstood them a great while; but at length when he saw he could not prevail
with all his pleading against those brave men—but that they still continued
their suit, he burst out into bitter weeping and sobbing, desiring them to
desist. The motioners seeing his zeal and constancy, being overcome, they
went away and told one that the king had more divinity in his little finger,
than they had in all their bodies.
Ah! young men, it will be your safety and your glory to
write after this princely copy, when you are surrounded with carnal reason
and carnal counselors, etc.
Direction (6). Sixthly and lastly, If you
would be godly early, then
take heed of comparing yourselves with those who are worse than
yourselves.
Young men are very apt to compare themselves with those
who are worse than themselves, and this proves a snare unto them, yes,
oftentimes their bane, their ruin—as it did the young pharisee in the
Gospel, who pleaded his negative righteousness. He was not as other men are,
"extortioners, unjust, adulterers," and stood on his comparative goodness,
"nor as this publican;" he stands not only upon his comparisons—but upon his
disparisons, being blind at home, and too quick-sighted abroad; he despises
and condemns this poor publican, who was better than himself, Luke 18:11-14,
making good that saying of Seneca, "The nature of man," says he, "is very
apt to use spectacles to behold other men's faults, rather than
looking-glasses to behold our own." Such pharisees do justly incur the
censure which that sour philosopher passed upon grammarians, that they were
better acquainted with the evil of Ulysses than with their own.
Ah! young man, young man, you know, he who drinks poison,
though he drinks not so much as another, and he who commits treason, though
not so great, so high treason as another—shall yet as certainly be poisoned,
and hanged—as he who has drunk a greater quantity of poison, and committed
higher acts of treason.
Sirs! do not delude and befool your own souls; if you are
not as wicked as others, you shall not be as much tormented as others—but
yet you shall be as certainly damned as others; you shall as certain
to hell as others; you shall as sure be shut out forever from God, Christ,
saints, angels, and all the treasures, pleasures, and glories of heaven, as
others, except it be prevented by timely repentance on your side, and
pardoning mercy on God's side.
Will you count it madness, O young man! in him who is
sick, to reason thus? I am not so sick as such and such, and therefore I
will not send to the physician; and in the wounded man to say, I am not so
desperately wounded as such and such, and therefore I will not send to the
surgeon; and in the traitor to say, I am not guilty of so many foul and
heinous treasons as such and such, and therefore I will not look after a
pardon; and in the necessitous man to say, I am not so poor as such and
such, and therefore I will not welcome a hand of charity? And will you not
count it the greatest madness in the world for you to put off your
repentance, and your returning to the Lord in the spring and morning of your
youth, because that you are not as sinful, as wicked as such and such. If to
have a milder punishment in hell than others, will satisfy you, then go on;
but if you are afraid of the worm which never dies, and of the fire which
never goes out, being like that stone in Arcadia, which being once kindled
could not be quenched, oh, then, begin to be godly early! Oh seek and serve
the Lord in the spring and morning of your days!
To think often of hell, is the best way to be preserved
from falling into hell. Ah! young men, young men, that you would often
consider of the bitterness of the damned's torments, and of the pitilessness
of their torments, and of the diversity of their torments, and of the
easelessness of their torments, and of the remedilessness of their torments,
the eternity of their torments. The sinner's delight here is momentary, that
which torments hereafter is perpetual. When a sinner is in hell, do you
think, O young man! that another Christ shall be found to die for him, or
that the same Christ will be crucified again for him, or that another gospel
should be preached to him? Surely not!
Ah! why then will you not early return and seek out after
the things that belong to your everlasting peace? I have read of Pope
Clement the Fifth, that when a young nephew of his died, he sent his
chaplain to a necromancer, to know of him how it fared with him in the other
world; the conjuror showed him to the chaplain, lying in a fiery bed in
hell, which, when the pope understood, he never joyed more, etc.
Ah! young man, that these occasional hints of hell may be
a means to preserve you from lying in those everlasting flames.
Bellarmine tells us of a certain advocate of the court of
Rome, that being at the point of death, was stirred up by those who stood
by, to repent and call upon God for mercy; he, with a constant countenance,
and without sign of fear, turned his speech to God, and said, Lord! I have a
desire to speak unto you, not for myself—but for my wife and children, for I
am hastening to hell, neither is there anything that you should do for me.
Sir Francis Bacon relates how it was a common byword of
the Lord Cordes, that he would be content to live seven years in hell, so he
might win Calais from the English; but if you, O young man, are
given up to such desperate atheism, and carnal apprehensions of hell, I am
afraid God will confute you one day by fire and brimstone; but I would
willingly hope better things of all those young people, into whose hands
this treatise shall fall; and thus you see what things must be declined and
avoided—if ever you would be godly early, if ever you would seek and serve
the Lord in the spring and morning of your days.
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