USE FOURTH.—Is it so? Is the soul such an excellent thing, and is the loss thereof so unspeakably great? Then, I pray thee, let me inquire a little of you: what provision thou hast made for thy soul? There be many that, through their eagerness after the things of this life, do bereave their soul of good, even if that good the which if they had it would be a good to them forever (Eccl 4:8). But I ask not concerning this; it is not what provision thou hast made for this life, but what for the life, and the world to come. 'Lord, gather not my soul with sinners,' saith David, (Psa 26:9); not with men of this world: Lord, not with them that have their portion in this life, whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hidden treasures. Thus you see how Solomon laments some, and how his father prays to be delivered from their lot who have their portion in this life but have not made provision for their soul. Well, then, let me inquire about this matter with you. What provision hast thou made for thy soul? And,
1. What hast thou thought of thy soul? What ponderous thoughts hast thou had of the greatness and immortality of thy soul? This must be the first inquiry: for he who has not had his thoughts truly and ponderously exercised, about the greatness and immortality of his soul, will not be careful, after an effective manner, to make provision for his soul, for the life and world to come. The soul is a man's all, whether he knows it or not, as I have already shown you. Now a man will be concerned about what he thinks is his all. We read of the poor servant who 'setteth his heart upon' his wages (Deu 24:14, 15). But it is because it is his all, his treasure, and that wherein his worldly worth lies. Why, thy soul is thy all; it is strange if thou dost not think so! and more strange if thou dost think so, and yet hast light, seldom, and trivial thoughts about it. These two seem to be inconsistent, let thy conscience speak; either thou hast very great and weighty thoughts about the excellent greatness of thy soul, or else thou dost not count that thy soul is so great a thing as it is, else thou dost not count it thy all.
2. What judgment hast thou made of the present state of thy soul? I speak now to the unconverted. Thy soul is under sin, under the curse, and an object of wrath; this is that sentence that by the Word is passed upon it—"Woe unto their soul,' saith God, 'for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.' (Isa 3:9). This is the sentence of God. Well, but what judgment hast thou passed upon it while thou livest in thy debaucheries? Is it not that which thy fellows have passed on theirs before thee, saying, 'I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst' (Deu 29:19). If so, know that thy judgment is gross, thy soul is miserable, and turn, or in a little time, thine eyes will behold all this.
3. What care hast thou had of securing thy soul, that it might be delivered from the danger that, by sin, it is brought into? If a man has a horse, a cow, or a swine that is sick or in danger by reason of this or that casualty, he will take care of his beast, that it may not perish; he will pull it out of the ditch on the Sabbath day. But, oh! That is the day on which many men put their souls into the ditch of sin; that is the day that they set aside to pursue wickedness. But, I say, what care hast thou taken to get thy soul out of this ditch?—a ditch out of which you can never get it without the aid of an omnipotent arm. In things pertaining to this life, when a man feels his own strength fail, he will implore the help and aid of another; and no man can, by any means, deliver by his own arm his soul from the power of hell, which thou also wilt confess, if thou beest not a very brute; but what hast thou done with God for help? Hast thou cried? hast thou cried out? yea, dost thou still cry out, and that day and night before him—' Deliver my soul' (Psa 17:13) 'Save my soul, preserve my soul' (Psa 25:20), 'Heal my soul,' (Psa 42:4), and, 'I pour out my soul unto thee?' (Psa 62:5). Yea, canst thou say, My soul, my soul waiteth upon God, my soul thirsteth for Him, my soul followeth hard after him? (Psa 63:1,8). I say, dost thou this, or dost thou hunt thine own soul to destroy it? The soul, with some, is the game, their lusts are the dogs, and they themselves are the huntsmen, and never do they more halloo, and lure, and laugh, and sing, than when they have delivered up their soul, their darling, to these dogs—a thing that David trembled to think of, when he cried, 'Dogs have compassed me. Deliver my darling,' my soul, 'from the power of the dog' (Psa 22:16,20). Thus, I say, he cried, and yet these dogs were but wicked men. But, oh! how much is a sin, a lust, worse than a man to do us hurt; yea, worse than is a dog, (or) a lion, to hurt a lamb!
