AN URGENT MESSAGE FOR YOUNG MEN E-Book

J. C. Ryle

• Herausgeber: Brave New Books
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1167

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Josef, Joshua, Samuel, David and Jonathan, Josiah, Daniel and his three friends, Josef the son of David, and Timothy had something in common: they were all young men and believed in God; they were all young men and faithful servants of God; they were all young men and courageous. They were true Christian knights. But not all young men are like that. Bishop Ryle observes: "I exhort you, because I see so few young men anywhere, who walk with God. I speak without respect of persons: I say it of all. High or low, rich or poor, gentle or simple, learned or unlearned, in town or in country, it makes no matter. I tremble to observe how few young men are led by the Spirit, how few are in that narrow way which leads to life, how few are setting their affections upon things above, how few are taking up the cross, and following Christ. I say it with all sorrow, but I believe, as in God's sight, I am saying nothing more than the truth." This volume has been compiled to help young men get serious about their faith and their life as a disciple of Jesus Christ and presents some of his finest papers on the Christian faith and life.

Leseprobe

AN URGENT MESSAGE

FOR YOUNG MEN

AND SOME FUNDAMENTALS OF THE

CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE

J.C. RYLE

Coverdesign: W.J. Boot

ISBN:9789464487565

© 2022. W.J. Boot

INTRODUCTION

Josef, Joshua, Samuel, David and Jonathan, Josiah, Daniel and his three friends, Josef the son of David, and Timothy had something in common: they were all young men and believed in God; they were all young men and faithful servants of God; they were all young men and courageous. They were true Christian knights. But not all young men are like that.

Bishop Ryle observes: “I exhort you, because I see so few young men anywhere, who walk with God. I speak without respect of persons: I say it of all. High or low, rich or poor, gentle or simple, learned or unlearned, in town or in country, it makes no matter. I tremble to observe how few young men are led by the Spirit, how few are in that narrow way which leads to life, how few are setting their affections upon things above, how few are taking up the cross, and following Christ. I say it with all sorrow, but I believe, as in God’s sight, I am saying nothing more than the truth.

Young men, you form a large and most important class in the population of this country; but where, and in what condition, are your immortal souls? Alas! Whatever way we turn for an answer, the report will be one and the same.”

This volume has been compiled to help young men get serious about their faith and their life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It begins with the famous sermon of Bishop Ryle: “Young men exhorted.” All other chapters are taken from various other books of his and discuss matters that are essential to the Christian faith and life, such as: the biblical way of salvation (sin, faith, repentance) and the essentials of the Christian life (prayer, bible-reading, worship, charity).

May God bless you, the reader, and help you stand firm in the knowledge of the faith, once delivered to the saints, by walking steadfastly on the old paths of the true and tested faith as it is in Jesus.

May every young man read this, study it and live by the truths in it; and may every father read and study it with his son.

1 AN URGENT MESSAGE FOR YOUNG MEN 1

Young men likewise exhort. — Titus 2:6.

I wish to follow the advice which Paul gave to Titus. I am going to preach a sermon to young men.

I am not very old myself;2 — but neither was Titus. Youth must never hinder any of us from trying to do good. Timothy was a young man when Paul wrote to him, — but what is he told to do? — “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” (1 Tim. 5:20) “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Tim. 4:2) “Let no man despise your youth.” (1 Tim. 4:12) Titus was a young man when Paul left him in Crete, — but mark the directions given to him; — “Rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.” (Tit. 1:13) “Speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise you.” (Tit. 2:15) See too how he is desired to speak to different classes among his people, — “To the aged men, — to the aged women, — to young men, — to servants.” I feel therefore that in addressing one particular class of my hearers, I do nothing presumptuous or strange. I am simply following a line that Paul himself has marked out: I am doing one portion of my work as a minister of Christ.

Young men in my congregation, it is my heart’s desire to speak to you as a brother; and I ask you in all affection to attend. You may possibly hear some things you do not like. Do not, on that account, refuse them. Medicines are none the worse for being bitter, — and the simple object I have in view this day, is the health of your souls.

I want to do you good. I have no wish to offend anyone, but to profit all. I have no wish to irritate and hurt your feelings, but rather to tell you something to your advantage, and make you wise unto salvation. I do not stand here as a judge and a taskmaster, but as a counsellor and a friend.

Believe me, I preach to myself as well as to you. If I point out faults, I do it because I see them in myself. If I warn you against dangers, it is because I fear them for my own soul. If I offer advice, I know that no one needs it more than I.

May the Lord give you all a hearing ear! May the Eternal Spirit, without whom my preaching is in vain, open all your hearts! May I speak the truth in love, and may it sink down deeply into your mind, and bring forth good fruit unto everlasting life!

The things that I have to say may be arranged under four heads, and for convenience sake, I will name them at once:

I will mention some

special reasons

which move me to exhort you.

I will tell you some

special dangers

against which young men need to be warned.

I will give you some

general counsels

, which I entreat you to receive.

I will name some particular

rules of conduct

which I earnestly beg you to follow.

These four things I shall try to set before you in order, the Lord being my helper.

1. First then, I have to mention some special reasons which move me to exhort you.

Why should I single out one particular class in my congregation? Why should I turn aside from my usual practice, and not preach the word to all ages without distinction? Why should I not draw my bow at a venture, and trust to the arrow of truth reaching the hearts of young as well as old? These are questions you have a right to ask, and these are questions I feel it a duty at once to answer.

a. For one thing then, I exhort you, — because I see so few young men anywhere, who walk with God.

I speak without respect of persons: I say it of all. High or low, rich or poor, gentle or simple, learned or unlearned, in town or in country, — it makes no matter. I tremble to observe how few young men are led by the Spirit, — how few are in that narrow way, which leads to life, — how few are setting their affections upon things above, — how few are taking up the cross, and following Christ. I say it with all sorrow, but I believe, as in God’s sight, I am saying nothing more than the truth.

Young men, you form a large and most important class in the population of this country; but where, and in what condition, are your immortal souls? Alas! Whatever way we turn for an answer, the report will be one and the same.

Let us ask any faithful minister of the Gospel and mark what he will tell us. How many unmarried young people can he reckon up who come to the Lord’s Supper? Who are the most backward about means of grace, — the most irregular about Sunday services, — the most difficult to draw to weekly lectures, and prayer meetings, — the most inattentive under preaching at all times? Which part of his congregation fills him with most anxiety? Who are the Reubens for whom he has the deepest searchings of heart? Who in his flock are the hardest to manage, — who require the most frequent warnings and rebukes, — who occasion him the greatest uneasiness and sorrow, — who keep him most constantly in fear for their souls, and seem most hopeless? — Depend on it, his answer will always be: “The young men.”

Let us ask the parents in any parish throughout England, and see what they will generally say. Who in their families give them most pain and trouble? Who need the most watchfulness, and most often vex and disappoint them? Who are the first to be led away from what is right, and the last to remember cautions and good advice? Who are the most difficult to keep in order and bounds? Who most frequently break out into open sin, disgrace the name they bear, make their friends unhappy, embitter the old age of their relations, and bring down grey hairs with sorrow to the grave? — Depend on it, the answer will generally be: “The young men.”

Let us ask the magistrates and officers of justice, and mark what they will reply. Who go to public houses and beer shops most? Who are the greatest Sabbath breakers? Who make up riotous mobs and seditious meetings? Who are most often taken up for drunkenness, breaches of the peace, fighting, poaching, stealing, assaults and the like? Who fill the jails, and penitentiaries, and convict ships? Who are the class which requires the most incessant watching and looking after? — Depend on it, they will at once point to the same quarter, — they will say: “The young men.”

Let us turn to the upper classes, — and mark the report we shall get from them. In one family the sons are always wasting time, health, and money, in the selfish pursuit of pleasure. In another, the sons will follow no profession, and fritter away the most precious years of their life in doing nothing. In another, they take up a profession as a mere form, but pay no attention to its duties. In another, they are always forming wrong connections, gambling, getting into debt, associating with bad companions, keeping their friends in a constant fever of anxiety. Alas! Rank, and title, and wealth, and education, do not prevent these things. Anxious fathers, and heartbroken mothers, and sorrowing sisters, could tell sad tales about them, if the truth were known. Many a family, with everything this world can give, numbers among its connections some name that is never named, — or only named with regret and shame, — some son, some brother, some cousin, some nephew, — who will have his own way, and is a grief to all who know him.

There is seldom a rich family which has not got some thorn in its side, some blot in its page of happiness, some constant source of pain and anxiety; — and often, far too often, is not this the true cause: “The young men?”

What shall we say to these things? These are facts, — plain staring facts, — facts which meet us on every side, — facts which cannot be denied. How dreadful this is! How dreadful the thought, that every time I meet a young man, I meet one who is, in all probability, an enemy of God, — travelling in the broad way which leads to destruction, — unfit for heaven! Surely, with such facts before me, you will not wonder that I exhort you, — you must allow there is a cause.

b. But I exhort you also, because death and judgment are before you, even as others, and you nearly all seem to forget it.

Young men, it is appointed to you once to die; and however strong and healthy you may be now, the day of your death is perhaps very near. I see young people sick as well as old. I bury youthful corpses as well as aged. I read the names of persons no older than yourselves in every churchyard. I learn from books that, except infancy and old age, more die between thirteen and twenty-three, than at any other season of life. And yet you live as if you were sure at present not to die at all.

Are you thinking you will mind these things tomorrow? Remember the words of Solomon: “Boast not yourself of tomorrow; for you know not what a day may bring forth.” (Prov. 27:1) “Serious things tomorrow,” said a heathen to one who warned him of coming danger; but his tomorrow never came.3 Tomorrow is the devil’s day, but today is God’s. Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions may be, and how holy your resolutions, if only they are fixed for tomorrow. Oh! Give not place to the devil in this matter; answer him, “No! Satan, it shall be today, today.” All men do not live to be Patriarchs, like Isaac and Jacob. Many children die before their fathers. David had to mourn the death of his two finest sons. Job lost all his ten children in one day. Your lot may be like one of theirs, and when death summons, it will be vain to talk of tomorrow, — you must go at once.

Are you thinking you will have a convenient season to mind these things by and by? So thought Felix, and the Athenians to whom Paul preached; but it never came. Hell is paved with such fancies. Better make sure work while you can. Leave nothing unsettled that is eternal. Run no risks when your soul is at stake. Believe me, the salvation of a soul is no easy matter. All need a “great” salvation, whether young or old, — all need to be born again, — all need to be washed in Christ’s blood, — all need to be sanctified by the Spirit. Happy is that man who does not leave these things uncertain, but never rests till he has the witness of the Spirit within him, that he is a child of God.

Young Men, your time is short. Your days are but a span long, — a shadow, — a vapor, — a tale that is soon told. Your bodies are not brass. “Even the young men,” says Isaiah, “shall utterly fall.” (Is. 40:30) Your health may be taken from you in a moment: — it only needs a fall, a fever, an inflammation, a broken blood-vessel, — and the worm would soon feed upon you. There is but a step between any one of you and death. This night your soul might be required of you. You are fast going the way of all the earth, — you will soon be gone. Your life is all uncertainty, — your death, and judgment are perfectly sure. You too must hear the Archangel’s trumpet, and go forth to stand before the great white throne, — you too must obey that summons, which Jerome says was always ringing in his ears, “Arise you dead, and come to judgment.” — “Surely I come quickly,” is the language of the Judge Himself. I cannot, dare not, will not let you alone.

Oh! that you would all lay to heart the words of the Preacher: “Rejoice O young man in your youth; and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes: but know you, that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment.” (Eccl. 11:9) Wonderful that, with such a prospect, any man can be careless and unconcerned! Surely none are so mad as those who are content to live unprepared to die. Surely the unbelief of men is the most amazing thing in the world. Well may the clearest prophecy in the Bible begin with these words, “Who has believed our report?“ (Is. 53:1) Well may the Lord Jesus say, “When the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 28:8) Young men, I fear lest this be the report of many of you in the courts above, “They will not believe.” I fear lest you be hurried out of the world, and awake to find out, too late, that death and judgment are realities. I fear all this, and therefore I exhort you.

c. I exhort you also, because what you will be in all probability depends on what you are now, and you seem to forget this.

Youth is the seed-time of full age, — the molding season in the little space of human life, — the turning point in the history of man’s mind.

By the shoot we judge of the tree, — by the blossoms we judge of the fruit, — by the spring we judge of the harvest, — by the morning we judge of the day, — and by the character of the young man, we may generally judge what he will be when he grows up.

Young men, be not deceived. Think not you can, at will, serve lusts and pleasures in your beginning, and then go and serve God with ease at your latter end. Think not you can live with Esau, and then die with Jacob. It is a mockery to deal with God and your souls in such a fashion. It is an awful mockery to suppose you can give the flower of your strength to the world and the devil, and then put off the King of kings with the scraps and leavings of your hearts, — the wreck and remnant of your powers. It is an awful mockery, and you may find to your cost the thing cannot be done.

I dare say you are reckoning on a late repentance. You know not what you are doing. You are reckoning without God. Repentance and faith are the gifts of God, and gifts that He often withholds, when they have been long offered in vain. I grant you true repentance is never too late, but I warn you at the same time, late repentance is seldom true. I grant you, one penitent thief was converted in his last hours, that no man might despair; but I warn you, only one was converted, that no man might presume. I grant you it is written, Jesus is “able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him;“ (Heb. 7:25) but I warn you, it is also written by the same Spirit, “Because I have called, and you refused, I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear comes.” (Prov. 1:24,26)

Believe me, you will find it no easy matter to turn to God just when you please. It is a true saying of good Archbishop Leighton: “The way of sin is downhill; a man cannot stop when he would.” Holy desires and serious convictions are not like the servants of the Centurion, ready to come and go at your desire; rather are they like the unicorn in Job, they will not obey your voice, and attend at your bidding. It was said of a famous general of old, when he could have taken the city he warred against, he would not, and by and by when he would, he could not.4 Beware, lest the same kind of event befall you in the matter of eternal life.

Why do I say all this? I say it because of the force of habit. I say it because experience tells me that people’s hearts are seldom changed, if they are not changed when young. Seldom indeed are men converted when they are old. Habits have long roots. Sin once allowed to nestle in your bosom, will not be turned out at your bidding. Custom becomes second nature, and its chains are threefold cords not easily broken. Well says the Prophet, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? — Then may you also do good that are accustomed to do evil.” (Jer. 13:23) Habits are like stones rolling downhill, — the further they roll, the faster and more ungovernable is their course. Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak, when it is a sapling, — a hundred men cannot root it up, when it is a full-grown tree. A child can wade over the Thames at its fountain head, — the largest ship in the world can float in it when it gets near the sea. So is it with habits: the older the stronger, — the longer they have held possession, the harder they will be to cast out. They grow with our growth, and strengthen with our strength. Custom is the nurse of sin. Every fresh act of sin lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil inclination.

Young men, you may fancy I am laying too much stress on this point. If you had seen old men, as I have done, on the brink of the grave, feelingless, seared, callous, dead, cold, hard as the lower mill-stone, — you would not think so. Believe me, you cannot stand still in the affairs of your soul. Habits of good or evil are daily strengthening in your hearts. Every day you are either getting nearer to God, or further off. Every year that you continue impenitent, the wall of division between you and heaven becomes higher and thicker, and the gulf to be crossed deeper and broader. Oh! Dread the hardening effect of constant lingering in sin. Now is the accepted time. See that your flight be not in the winter of your days. If you seek not the Lord when young, the strength of habit is such that you will probably never seek Him at all.

I fear this, and therefore I exhort you.

d. I exhort you also, because the devil uses special diligence to destroy the souls of young men, and you seem not to know it.

Satan knows well that you will make up the next generation, and therefore he employs every art betimes to make you his own. I would not have you ignorant of his devices.

You are those on whom he plays off all his choicest temptations. He spreads his nets with the most watchful carefulness, to entangle your hearts. He baits his traps with the sweetest morsels to get you into his power. He displays his wares before your eyes with his utmost ingenuity, in order to make you buy his sugared poisons, and eat his accursed dainties. You are the grand object of his attack. May the Lord rebuke him, and deliver you out of his hands!

Young men, beware of being taken by his snares. He will try to throw dust in your eyes, and prevent your seeing anything in its true colors. He would fain make you think evil good, and good evil. He will paint, and gild, and dress up sin, in order to make you fall in love with it. He will deform, and misrepresent, and caricature true religion, in order to make you take a dislike to it. He will exalt the pleasures of wickedness, — but he will hide from you the sting. He will lift up before your eyes the cross, and its painfullness, — but he will keep out of sight the eternal crown. He will promise you everything, as he did to Christ, if you will only serve him. He will even help you to wear a form of religion, if you will only neglect the power. He will tell you all the beginning of your lives, it is too soon to serve God, — he will tell you at the end, it is too late. Oh! Be not deceived!

You little know the danger you are in from this enemy and it is this very ignorance which makes me afraid. You are like blind men, walking amidst holes and pitfalls; you do not see the perils which are around you on every side.

Your enemy is mighty. He is called “the Prince of this world.” (John 14:30) He opposed our Lord Jesus Christ all through His ministry. He tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and so brought sin and death into the world. He tempted even David, the man after God’s own heart, and caused his latter days to be full of sorrow. He tempted even Peter, the chosen Apostle, and made him deny his Lord. Surely his enmity is not to be despised.

Your enemy is restless. He never sleeps. He is always going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is ever going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. You may be careless about your souls: — he is not. He wants them to make them miserable, like himself, and will have them if he can. Surely his enmity is not to be despised.

And your enemy is cunning. For near six thousand years he has been reading one book, and that book is the heart of man. He ought to know it well, and he does know it; — all its weakness, all its deceitfulness, all its folly. And he has a store of temptations, such as are most likely to do it harm. Never will you go to the place where he will not find you. Go into towns, — he will be there. Go into a wilderness, — he will be there also. Sit among drunkards and revelers, — and he will be there to help you. Listen to preaching, — and he will be there to distract you. Surely such enmity is not to be despised.

Young men, this enemy is working hard for your destruction, however little you may think it. You are the prize for which he is specially contending. He foresees you must either be the blessings or the curses of your day, and he is trying hard to effect a lodgment in your hearts thus early, in order that you may help forward his kingdom by and by. Well does he understand that to spoil the bud is the surest way to mar the flower.

Oh! That your eyes were opened, like those of Elisha’s servant in Dothan! Oh! That you did but see what Satan is scheming against your peace! I must warn you, — I must exhort you. Whether you will hear or not, I cannot, dare not, leave you alone.

e. Lastly, I exhort you, because of the sorrow it will save you, to begin serving God now.

Sin is the mother of all sorrow, and no sort of sin appears to give a man so much misery and pain as the sins of his youth. The foolish acts he did, — the time he wasted, — the mistakes he made, — the bad company he kept, — the harm he did himself, both body and soul, — the chances of happiness he threw away, — the openings of usefulness he neglected; — all these are things that often embitter the conscience of an old man, throw a gloom on the evening of his days, and fill the latter hours of his life with self-reproach and shame.

Some men could tell you of the untimely loss of health, brought on by youthful sins. Disease racks their limbs with pain, and life is almost a weariness. Their muscular strength is so wasted, that the grasshopper seems a burden. Their eye has become prematurely dim, and their natural force abated. The sun of their health has gone down while it is yet day, and they mourn to see their flesh and body consumed. Believe me, this is a bitter cup to drink.

Others could give you sad accounts of the consequences of idleness. They threw away the golden opportunity for learning. They would not get wisdom at the time when their minds were most able to receive it, and their memories most ready to retain it. And now it is too late. They have not leisure to sit down and learn. They have no longer the same power, even if they had the leisure. Lost time can never be redeemed. This too is a bitter cup to drink.

Others could tell you of grievous mistakes in judgment, from which they suffer all their lives long. They would have their own way. They would not take advice. They formed some connection which has been altogether ruinous to their happiness. They chose some profession for which they were entirely unsuited. And they see it all now. But their eyes are only open when the mistake cannot be retrieved. Oh! This is also a bitter cup to drink.

Young men, young men, I wish you did but know the comfort of a conscience not burdened with a long list of youthful sins. These are the wounds that pierce the deepest. These are the arrows that drink up a man’s spirit. This is the iron that enters into the soul. Be merciful to yourselves. Seek the Lord early, and so you will be spared many a bitter tear.

This is a truth that Job seems to have felt. He says, “You write bitter things against me, and make me to possess the iniquities of my youth.” (Job 13:26) So also his friend Zophar, speaking of the wicked, says; “His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.” (Job 20:11)

David also seems to have felt it. He says to the Lord, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.” (Ps. 25:7)

Beza, the great Swiss Reformer, felt it so strongly, that he named it in his will as a special mercy that he had been called out from the world, by the grace of God, at the age of sixteen.

Go and ask believers now, and I think many a one will tell you much the same. “Oh! That I could live my young days over again,” he will most probably say: “Oh! That I had spent the beginning of my life in a better fashion: Oh! That I had not laid the foundation of evil habits so strongly in the springtime of my course.”

Young men, I want to save you all this sorrow, if I can. Hell itself is truth known too late. Be wise in time. What youth sows, old age must reap. Give not the most precious season of your life to that which will not comfort you in your latter end. Sow to yourselves rather in righteousness, break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Sin may go lightly from your hand, or run smoothly off your tongue now, but depend on it, sin and you will meet again by and by, however little you may like it. Old wounds will often ache and give pain, long after they are healed, and only a scar remains: — so you may find it with your sins. The footprints of animals have been found on the surface of rocks that were once wet sand, thousands of years after the animal that made them has perished and passed away:5 — so also it may be with your sins.

“Experience,” says the proverb, “keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” I want you all to escape the misery of learning in that school. I want you to avoid the wretchedness that youthful sins are sure to entail. This is the last reason why I exhort you.

2. I pass on now to mention some special dangers against which I wish to warn you.

I know well that all souls are in fearful peril. Old or young, it matters not, — all have a race to run, — a battle to fight, — a heart to mortify, — a world to overcome, — a body to keep under, — a devil to resist; and we may well say, who is sufficient for these things? But still, every age and condition has its own peculiar snares and temptations, and it is well to know them. He that is forewarned is forearmed. If I can only persuade you to be on your guard against the dangers I am going to name, I am sure I shall do your souls an essential service.

a. First then, and foremost, I warn you all to beware of pride.

Pride is the oldest sin in the world. Indeed it was before the world. Satan and his angels fell by pride. They were not satisfied with their first estate. Thus pride stocked hell with its first inhabitants.

Pride cast Adam out of paradise. He was not content with the place God assigned him. He tried to raise himself, and fell. Thus sin, sorrow, and death, entered in by pride.

Pride sits in all our hearts by nature. We are born proud. Pride makes us rest satisfied with ourselves, — think we are good enough as we are, — stop our ears against advice, — refuse the Gospel of Christ, — turn everyone to his own way. But pride never reigns anywhere so powerfully as in the heart of a young man.

How common is it to see young men heady, high-minded, and impatient of counsel. How often they are rude and uncourteous to all about them, — thinking they are not valued and honored as they deserve. How often they will not stop to listen to a hint from an older person. They think they know everything. They are full of conceit of their own wisdom. They reckon elderly people, and especially their relations, stupid, and dull, and slow. They fancy they want no teaching or instruction themselves: they understand all things. It makes them almost angry to be spoken to. Like young horses, they cannot bear the least control. They must needs be independent, and have their own way. They seem to think like those whom Job mentioned, “We are the people, and wisdom shall die with us.” (Job 12:2) And this is all pride.

Such one was Rehoboam, who despised the counsel of the old experienced men, who stood before his father, and hearkened to the advice of the young men of his own generation. He lived to reap the consequences of his folly. There are many like him.

Such one was the Prodigal Son in the parable, who must needs have the portion of goods which fell to him, and set up for himself. He could not submit to live quietly under his father’s roof, but would go into a far country, and be his own master. Like the little child, that will leave its mother’s hand and walk alone, he soon smarted for his folly. He became wiser when he had to eat husks with the swine. But there are many like him.

Young men, I beseech you earnestly, beware of pride. Two things are said to be very rare sights in the world, — one is a young man humble, and the other is an old man content. I fear this saying is only too true.

Be not proud of your own abilities, — your own strength, — your own knowledge, — your own appearance, — your own cleverness. Be not proud of yourself, and your endowments of any kind. It all comes from not knowing yourself and the world. The older you grow, and the more you see, the less reason you will find for being proud. Ignorance and inexperience are the pedestal of pride: — once let the pedestal be removed, and pride will soon come down.

Remember how often Scripture sets before us the excellence of a humble spirit. How strongly we are warned “not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.” (Rom. 12:3) How plainly we are told, “if any man thinks that he knows anything he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” (1 Cor. 8:2) How strict is the command, “put on humbleness of mind.” (Col. 3:12) And again, “Be clothed with humility.” (1 Peter 5:5) Alas! This is a garment of which many seem not to have so much as a rag.

Think of the great example our Lord Jesus Christ leaves us in this respect. — He washed the feet of His disciples, saying, “You should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15) It is written, “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.” (2 Cor. 8:9) And again: “He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself.” (Phil. 2:7,8) Surely to be proud is to be more like the devil and fallen Adam, than like Christ. Surely it can never be mean and low-spirited to be like Him.

Think of the wisest man that ever lived, — I mean Solomon. See how he speaks of himself as a “little child,” — as one who “knew not how to go out or come in,” or manage for himself. (1 Kings 3:7,8) That was a very different spirit from his brother Absalom’s, who thought himself equal to anything: “Oh! That I were made judge in the land, that every man which has any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice.” (2 Sam. 15:4) That was a very different spirit from his brother Adonijah’s, who “exalted himself, saying, I will be king.” (1 Kings 1:5) Humility was the beginning of Solomon’s wisdom. He writes it down as his own experience, “See you a man wise in his own conceit? — There is more hope of a fool than of him.” (Prov. 26:12)

Young men, lay to heart the Scriptures here quoted. Do not be too confident in your own judgment. Cease to be sure that you are always right and others wrong. Be distrustful of your own opinion when you find it contrary to that of older men than yourselves, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect. It is a mark of Elihu’s wisdom, in the book of Job, that He waited till Job had spoken, because they were older than himself. (Job 32:4) And afterwards he said, “I am young, and you are very old: wherefore I was afraid, and dared not show you my opinion. I said, days should speak and multitude of years should teach wisdom.” (Job 32:6,7) Modesty and silence are beautiful graces in young people. Never be ashamed of being a learner: — Jesus was one at twelve years, when He was found in the temple, — He was “sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:46) The wisest men would tell you they are always learners, and are humbled to find after all how little they know. The great Sir Isaac Newton used to say, that he felt himself no better than a little child, who had picked up a few precious stones on the shore of the sea of knowledge.

Young men if you would be wise, if you would be happy, remember the warning I give you, — beware of pride.

b. The second warning I give you is this, — take heed and beware of the love of pleasure.

Youth is the time when our passions are strongest, — and like unruly children, cry most loudly for indulgence. Youth is the time when we have generally most health and strength: death seems far away, and to enjoy ourselves in this life seems everything. Youth is the time when most people have few earthly cares or anxieties to take up their attention. And all these things help to make young men think of nothing so much as pleasure. “I serve lusts and pleasures,” that is the true answer many a young man should give, if asked, “Whose servant are you?”

Young men, time would fail me, if I were to tell you all the fruits this love of pleasure produces, and all the ways in which it may do you harm. Why should I speak of reveling, feasting, drinking, gambling, theatre-going, dancing, and the like? Few are to be found who do not know something of these things by bitter experience. And these are only instances. All things that give a feeling of excitement for the time, — all things that drown thought, and keep the mind in a constant whirl, — all things that please the senses, and gratify the flesh, — these are the sort of things that have mighty power at your time of life, and they owe their power to the love of pleasure. Be on your guard. Be not like those of whom Paul speaks, “Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” (2 Tim. 3:4)

Remember what I say, if you will cleave to earthly pleasures, — these are the things which murder souls. There is no surer way to get a seared conscience and a hard impenitent heart, than to give way to the desires of the flesh and mind. It seems nothing at first, but it tells in the long run.

Consider what Peter says: “Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” (1 Peter 2:11) They destroy the soul’s peace, break down its strength, lead it into hard captivity, and make it a slave.

Consider what Paul says: “Mortify your members which are upon earth.” (Col. 3:5) “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.” (Gal. 5:23) “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection.” (1 Cor. 9:27) Once the body was a perfect mansion for the soul: — now it is all corrupt and disordered, and needs constant watching. It is a burden to the soul, — not a help-meet; a hindrance, — not an assistance. It may become a useful servant, but it is always a bad master.

Consider again the words of Paul: “Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Rom. 13:14) “These,” says Leighton, “are the words, the very reading of which so wrought with Augustine that from a licentious young man, he turned a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.” Young men, I wish this might be the case with all of you.

Remember again, if you will cleave to earthly pleasures, they are all unsatisfying, empty, and vain. Like the locusts of the vision in Revelation, they seem to have crowns on their heads: but like the same locusts, you will find they have stings — real stings — in their tails. All is not gold that glitters. All is not good that tastes sweet. All is not real pleasure that pleases for a time.

Go and take your fill of earthly pleasures if you will, — you will never find your heart satisfied with them. There will always be a voice within, crying like the horse-leech in the Proverbs, “Give, give.” There is an empty place there, which nothing but God can fill. You will find, as Solomon did by experience, that earthly pleasures are but a vain show, — vanity and vexation of spirit, — whited sepulchers, fair to look at without, full of ashes and corruption within. Better be wise in time. Better write “poison” on all earthly pleasures. The most lawful of them must be used with moderation. All of them are soul-destroying if you give them your heart.6

And here I will not shrink from warning all young men to remember the seventh commandment; to beware of adultery and fornication, of all impurity of every kind. I fear there is often a want of plain speaking on this part of God’s law. But when I see how Prophets and Apostles have dealt with this subject, — when I observe the open way in which the Reformers of our own Church denounce it, — when I see the number of young men who walk in the footsteps of Reuben, and Hophni, and Phinehas, and Amnon, — I for one cannot, with a good conscience, hold my peace. I doubt whether the world is any better for the excessive silence which prevails about this commandment. For my own part, I feel it would be false and unscriptural delicacy, in addressing young men, not to speak of that which is pre-eminently “the young man’s sin.”

The breach of the seventh commandment is the sin above all others, that, as Hosea says, “Takes away the heart.” (Hos. 4:11) It is the sin that leaves deeper scars upon the soul than any sin that a man can commit. It is a sin that slays its thousands in every age, and has overthrown not a few of the saints of God in time past. Lot and Samson and David, are fearful proofs. It is the sin that man dares to smile at, and smooths over under the names of gaiety, unsteadiness, wildness, and irregularity. But it is the sin that the devil peculiarly rejoices over, for he is the “unclean spirit;” and it is the sin that God peculiarly abhors, and declares He “will judge.” (Heb. 13:4)

Young men, “flee fornication” (1 Cor. 6:8) if you love life. “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” (Eph. 5:6) Flee the occasions of it, — the company of those who might draw you into it, — the places where you might be tempted to it. Read what our Lord says about it in Matth. 5:28. Be like holy Job: “Make a covenant with your eyes.” (Job 31:1) Flee talking of it. It is one of the things that ought not so much as to be named. You cannot handle pitch and not be defiled. Flee the thoughts of it; resist them, mortify them, pray against them, — make any sacrifice rather than give way. Imagination is the hotbed where this sin is too often hatched. Guard your thoughts, and there is little fear about your deeds.

Consider the caution I have been giving. If you forget all else, do not let this be forgotten.

c. The third warning I give you is this, beware of thoughtlessness and inconsideration.

Want of thought is one simple reason why thousands of souls are cast away forever. Men will not consider, — will not look forward, — will not look around them, — will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present ways, — and awake at last to find they are damned for want of thinking.

Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are heedless how you walk. You hate the trouble of sober, quiet thinking, and so you form wrong decisions, and run your heads into sorrow. Young Esau must needs have his brother’s pottage, and sell his birthright: — he never thought how much he should one day want it. Young Simeon and Levi must needs avenge their sister Dina, and slay the Shechemites: — they never considered how much trouble and anxiety they might bring on their father Jacob and his house. Job seems to have been specially afraid of this thoughtlessness among his children: it is written, that when they had a feast, and “the days of their feasting came to an end, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings, according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” (Job 1:5)

Believe me, this world is not a world in which we can do well without thinking, and least of all do well in the matter of our souls. “Don’t think,” whispers Satan: he knows that an unconverted heart is like a dishonest tradesman’s books, it will not bear close inspection. “Consider your ways,” says the Word of God, — stop and think, — consider and be wise. Well says the Spanish proverb, “Hurry comes from the devil.” Just as men marry in haste, and then repent at leisure, so they make mistakes about their souls in a minute, and then suffer for it for years. Just as a bad servant does wrong, and then says, “I never gave it a thought,” so young men run into sin, and then say, “I did not think about it, — it did not look like sin.” Not look like sin! What would you have? Sin will not come to you saying, “I am sin;” it would do little harm if it did. Sin always seems “good, and pleasant, and desirable,” at the time of commission. Oh! Get wisdom, get discretion. Remember the words of Solomon, “Ponder the paths of your feet, and let your ways be established.” (Prov. 4:26) It is a wise saying of Lord Bacon, “Do nothing rashly. Stay a little, that you may make an end the sooner.”

Some, I dare say, will object that I am asking what is unreasonable; that youth is not the time of life when people ought to be grave and thoughtful. I answer, there is little danger of their being too much so in the present day. Foolish talking, and jesting, and joking, and excessive merriment, are only too common.7 Doubtless there is a time for all things; but to be always light and trifling is anything but wise. What says the wisest of men? — “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” (Eccl. 7:2,3,4) Matthew Henry tells a story of a great statesman in queen Elizabeth’s time,8 who retired from public life in his latter days, and gave himself up to serious thought. His former gay companions came to visit him, and told him he was becoming melancholy: “No,” he replied, “I am serious; for all are serious round about me. God is serious in observing us, — Christ is serious in interceding for us, — the Spirit is serious in striving with us, — the truths of God are serious, — our spiritual enemies are serious in their endeavors to ruin us, — poor lost sinners are serious in hell, and why then should not you and I be serious too?”

Oh! young men, learn to be thoughtful. Learn to consider what you are doing, and where you are going. Make time for calm reflection. Commune with your own heart, and be still. Remember my caution. — Do not be lost merely for want of thought.

d. The fourth warning I give you is this, beware of contempt of religion.

This also is one of your special dangers. I always observe that none pay so little outward respect to religion as young men. None attend so badly on means of grace, — none take so little part in our services, when they are present at them, — use Bibles and Prayer Books so little, — sing so little, — listen to preaching so little. None are so generally absent at prayer meetings, and lectures, and all such weekday helps to the soul. Young men seem to think they do not need these things, — they may be good for women and old men, but not for them. They appear ashamed of seeming to care about their souls: one would almost fancy they reckoned it a disgrace to go to heaven at all. And this is contempt of religion; — it is the same spirit which made the young people of Bethel mock Elisha; — and of this spirit I say to all young men, Beware! If it be worthwhile to have a religion, it is worthwhile to be in earnest about it.

Contempt of holy things is the high road to infidelity. Once let a man begin to make a jest and joke of any part of Christianity, and I am never surprised to hear that he has turned out a downright unbeliever.

Young men, have you really made up your minds to this? Have you fairly looked into the gulf which is before you, if you persist in despising religion? Call to mind the words of David: “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.” (Ps. 14:1) The fool, and none but the fool! — He has said it, but he has never proved it! Remember, if ever there was a book which has been proved true from beginning to end, by every kind of evidence, that book is the Bible. It has defied the attacks of all enemies and fault-finders. “The word of the Lord is indeed tried.” (Ps. 28:30) It has been tried in every way, and the more it has been tried, the more evidently has it been shown to be the very handiwork of God Himself. What will you believe, if you do not believe the Bible? There is no choice but to believe something ridiculous and absurd.9 Depend on it, no man is so grossly credulous as the man who denies the Bible to be the word of God; — and if it be the word of God, take heed that you despise it not.

Men may tell you there are difficulties in the Bible, — things hard to be understood. It would not be God’s book if there were not. And what if there are? You do not despise medicines because you cannot explain all that your doctor does by them. But whatever men may say, the things needful to salvation are as clear as daylight. Be very sure of this, — people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it only too well; they understand that it condemns their own behavior; they understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment. They try to believe it is false and useless, because they do not like to allow it is true. “A bad life,” said the celebrated Lord Rochester, laying his hand on the Bible, “a bad life is the only grand objection to this book.” — “Men question the truth of Christianity,” says South, “because they hate the practice of it.”

Young men, when did God ever fail to keep His word? Never. What He has said, He has always done; and what He has spoken, He has always made good. Did He fail to keep His word at the flood? — No. Did He fail with Sodom and Gomorrah? — No. Did He fail with unbelieving Jerusalem? — No. Has He failed with the Jews up to this very hour? — No. He has never failed to fulfil His word. Take care, lest you be found among those by whom God’s word is despised.

Never laugh at religion. Never make a jest of sacred things. Never mock those who are serious and in earnest about their souls. The time may come when you will count those happy whom you laughed at, — a time when your laughter will be turned into sorrow, and your mockery into heaviness.

e. The fifth and last warning I give you is this, beware of the fear of man’s opinion.

“The fear of man” does indeed “bring a snare.” (Prov. 29:25) It is terrible to observe the power which it has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide; what others think right, they think right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, — they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Romanists, they would be Romanists, — if to be Muslim, they would be Muslim. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.

The thought, “What will my friends say or think of me,” nips many a good inclination in the bud. The fear of being observed upon, laughed at, ridiculed, prevents many a good habit being taken up. There are Bibles that would be read this very day, if the owners dared. They know they ought to read them, but they are afraid: — “What will people say?” There are knees that would be bent in prayer this very night, but the fear of man forbids it: — “What would my wife, my brother, my friend, my companion say, if they saw me praying?” Alas! What wretched slavery this is, — and yet how common! “I feared the people,” said Saul to Samuel: and so he transgressed the commandment of the Lord. (1 Sam. 15:24) “I am afraid of the Jews,” said Zedekiah, the graceless king of Judah: and so he disobeyed the advice which Jeremiah gave him. (Jer. 38:19) Herod was afraid of what his guests would think of him: so he did that which made him “exceeding sorry,” — he beheaded John the Baptist. Pilate feared offending the Jews: so he did that which he knew in his conscience was unjust, — he delivered up Jesus to be crucified. If this be not slavery, what is?

Young men, I want you all to be free from this bondage. I want you each to care nothing for man’s opinion, when the path of duty is clear. Believe me, it is a great thing to be able to say “No!” Here was good king Jehoshaphat’s weak point, — he was too easy and yielding in his dealings with Ahab, and hence many of his troubles. (1 Kings 22:4) Learn to say “No!” Let not the fear of not seeming good-natured make you unable to do it. When sinners entice you, be able to say decidedly, “I will not consent.” (Prov. 1:10)

Consider only how unreasonable this fear of man is. How short-lived is man’s enmity, and how little harm can he do you! “Who are you, that you should be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man, which shall be as grass: and forget the Lord your Maker, that has stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth.” (Is. 51:12,13) And how thankless is this fear! None will really think better of you for it. The world always respects those most who act boldly for God. Oh! break these bonds, and cast these chains from you. Never be ashamed of letting men see you want to go to heaven. Think it no disgrace to show yourself a servant of God. Never be afraid of doing what is right.

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matth. 10:28) Only try to please God, and He can soon make others pleased with you. “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7)

Young men, be of good courage. — Care not for what the world says or thinks: you will not be with the world always. Can man save your soul? — No. Will man be your judge in the great and dreadful day of account? — No. Can man give you a good conscience in life, — a good hope in death, — a good answer in the morning of the resurrection? — No! no! no! Man can do nothing of the sort. Then, “fear not the reproach of men, neither be afraid of their revilings: for the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool.” (Is. 51: 7,8) Call to mind the saying of good Colonel Gardiner: “I fear God, and therefore I have none else to fear.” Go, and be like him.

Such are the warnings I give you. Lay them to heart. They are worth thinking over. I am much mistaken if they are not greatly needed. The Lord grant they may not have been given you in vain.

3. Now let me name some general counsels which I entreat you all to receive.

They are but few, compared with what I might lay before you, but, believe me, they are all of first importance.

a. Seek then, for one thing, to get a clear view of the evil of sin.

Young men, if you did but know what sin is, and what sin has done, you would not think it strange that I exhort you as I do. You do not see it in its true colors. Your eyes are naturally blind to its guilt and danger, and hence you cannot understand what makes me so anxious about you. Oh! Let not the devil succeed in persuading you that sin is a small matter.

Think for a moment what the Bible says about sin; — how it dwells naturally in the heart of every man and woman alive, (Eccl. 7: 20; Rom. 3:23) — how it defiles our thoughts, words, and actions, and that continually, — (Gen. 6:5; Matth. 15:19) — how it renders us all guilty and abominable in the sight of a holy God, — (Is. 64:6; Hab. 1:13) — how it leaves us utterly without hope of salvation, if we look to ourselves, — (Ps. 143:2; Rom. 3:20) — how its fruit in this world is shame, and its wages in the world to come, death. (Rom. 6:21,23) Think calmly of all this. I tell you this day, it is not more sad to be dying of consumption, and not to know it, than it is to be a living man, and not know sin.

Think what an awful change sin has worked on all our natures. Man is no longer what he was, when God formed him out of the dust of the ground. He came out of God’s hand upright and sinless. (Eccl. 7:29) In the day of his creation he was like everything else, “very good