A LOOKING GLASS, &c. ROD FOR THE SLUGGARD; OR, THE GREAT EVIL OF IDLENESS REPRESENTED. THE following Discourse on a branch of Christian morality not very frequently insisted on, I shall found upon that striking and beautifully figurative passage of Solomon, in Eccl. x. 18. By much slothfulness the building decayeth, and through idle ness of the hands the house droppeth through.' This is given as the opinion of the wise man, after the most extensive experience, and the closest attention to moral objects. Amongst the many discoveries he made, this is one, that as on the one hand he saw, generally speaking, the hand of the diligent to make rich; on the other he found, that want cometh certainly and irresistibly upon the slothful and indolent that in the nature of things, and from the relation between cause and effect, 'By much slothfulness the building decayeth, and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.' He evidently saw, that the bounty of our moral governor has not in itself the least tendency to tie the hand of diligence, or to prevent the utmost exertion of every natural and moral power; but, on the contrary, that it is the best incentive to human industry. The Psalmist, addressing himself to his God, and taking a survey of the brutal inhabitants of this world, useth these remarkable words, Psal. civ. 27, 28. These all wait upon thee, 'that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That ⚫thou givest them they gather; thou openest thine hand, and 'they are filled with good.' These words most beautifully display the law, which the whole system of being is under to the Almighty Creator, whose bounty is the only efficient of their subsistence; the obligation all are under to gather* the blessings of his bounty, in the use of appointed means. And although spoken primarily, with reference to the brutal ranks, it cannot but be very proper to apply them to reasonable men; as it would be absurd to suppose that the all-wise Creator, by an invariable stated law, should have subjected unthinking animals to diligence, in gathering the blessings of his providence, and have left his vicegerent man, whom he hath ennobled with his own image, and adorned with thinking powers, unsubjected to any such obligation. In the days of Israel's peregrinations in the wilderness, their God was indeed pleased graciously to depart from the usual rules of his providence, and by a miracle to feed them for forty years; yet still so, as that his blessings should be sought with industry, and that they should gather with their own hands the provision made for their sustenance. The manna fell indeed in all the camp, but not within any of their tents; and although it fell even by the tent doors, it dropped into none of their mouths. He gave them manna in the greatest abundance; but they must gather it ere they could feed; every man must seek his own provision, every man his Omer. None could live upon the industry of his neighbour; so that if any neglected to gather, he must even fast it out, till the next return of the corn of heaven, Psal. lxxviii. 24. From hence we are taught, that plenty of means has in itself no tendency to promote their neglect or disuse. God gives many precious blessings to his people in the use of means; but all his gifts must be sought for in the ordinances of his house, where his blessed provisions are given to the hungry; and he fares the best who is most diligent in his own special appointments, for he filleth their mouths with his goodness. Strange as it may seem, there really is such a thing as being glutted with a plenty of the means, and a perverting the designs of grace, by taking occasion from the richness of the Kedeemer's bounty, to indulge ourselves unto slothfulness and neglect; till our appetite for spiritual things is so far gone, as to lothe even the honeycomb itself; and because we have means so exceedingly plenty, we profit them little or nothing. Our gracious Provider giveth his good things only to the hungry: the dull, the heavy, and fat soul, is usually sent empty away. How beautiful is it to see, on the one hand, the bounty of our God poured down about our camp in plentiful showers; and on the other hand, to see the munificence of heaven serving to quicken the zeal, and to promote the activity of its dependants, so that they are up with early diligence, and holy industry, to gather the bounties of their God. But what an unlovely scene does slothfulness present, and how truly contemptible does it render its subjects! Ask the wise man, for he can tell you. To gather-The word gather is here chosen rather than collect in allusion to the passage above quoted from the sweet Singer of Israel. Prov. xxiv. 30, 31. I went by the field of the slothful, and by 'the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was 'all grown over with thorns, nettles had covered the face thereof, ' and the stone wall thereof was broken down.' What a landscape is here! How awfully picturesque are the consequences of slothfulness! And how disagreeable, yea, how shocking is the dwelling of the sluggard! The slothful man, and the man void of understanding, are both but one person; an idle hand. being a certain symptom of a vain and foolish heart. Wisdom is like faith, it can only be known by its fruits; and slothfulness being no evidence either of wisdom or faith, the holy scripture sets down the idle, slothful person, for both a fool and an infidel. His vineyard and fields are eyesores to the public, and nuisances to the commonwealth. His farm is a thorny wilderness, rather than a fruitful field, and his vineyard more fit for an habitation of dragons, than likely to yield delight to the rational beholder. Such is the case of that professor, who is careless in the use of the means of grace. His soul is uncultivated like the sluggard's garden; whilst he sleeps in security, the nettles and thorns spring up with luxuriance. His heart is more like a den of dragons, a cage of filthy birds, or a pit where serpents are fostered, than the throne of the holy immaculate Redeemer; and his conduct is an evident slight upon the bounties of sovereign grace, instead of manifesting a desire after the enjoyment of its Author. I may add, that not unlike to the vineyard of the slothful, is that church where discipline is neglected; discipline is as the stone wall of the vineyard, which, when broken down, the wild bear of the forest, foxes both great and small, may enter in, to devour and tread under foot. As in other cases, it is here, The hand ' of the diligent maketh rich,' Prov. x. 14. Diligence secureth the bouse, ennobles and beautifies the landscape. 1o come now to a more particular illustration of the subject, I shall consider this slothfulness or idleness of the hands, as it may refer to the things of this life.---To Christians in a collective capacity,---and to individual professors of religion, as they use, or disuse, the appointed means of grace. I. Sloth, or idleness of hands, is common enough, even as it respects the things of this present life, notwithstanding its absurdity, and its unwarrantableness by all laws, divine and human. In the nature of things, the end is not to be expected without the use of the means. If you would go to France, you must cross the waters; if you would live comfortably, you must act diligently; or if you would dwell in safety, you must stand upon your guard. The voice of the law is, "He that will not work. let him not eat,' 2 Thess. iii. 10. yet, in defiance of divine authority, some are so sottishly stupid, and void of understanding, that they expect the end without the means, and to eat whether |