Take Up the Cross

After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
— Matthew 25:19

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
— Matthew 24:48

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
— Matthew 26:40

And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
— Matthew 26:43

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
— Matthew 25:11-12

O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
— Deuteronomy 32:29

Of Carnal Security in Virgin Churches, by Thomas Shepard. The following contains an excerpt from Chapter One of his work.

MATT. XXV. 5. — Whilst the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

SECTION I.

In this parable were noted two things:

First. The church’s preparation to meet Christ, from ver. 1 to 5.

Secondly. The bridegroom’s coming out to meet them, from ver. 5 to 12.

In this second part, which now we are to open, three things are to be attended unto:

1. The delay of Christ’s coming, or the long-suffering of Christ before he come. Ver. 5.

2. The preparation he makes for his coming, a little before it, from ver. 6 to 10, by an awakening cry, which makes all the virgins look about them.

3. The coming itself; where those that were ready were with joy let in; and those that were unready were with shame shut out.

1. The delay of Christ’s coming. Whence note first, What happened in the interim of his delay, and that is, carnal security, expressed and set out from the lowest and highest degree of it. 1. They “slumbered;” i. e., fell a nodding or winking, as the word most properly signifies. 2. They “slept;” i. e., now they were buried in their sleep, overcome by it.

Secondly. Upon whom these sleeps and slumbers fell; and that is, “They all slumbered and slept; ” i. e., though for a time they were both awake, yet good and bad, wise and foolish, fell into this senseless and stupid, dull and dead, sluggish and sleepy condition.

Observ. I. That in the last days carnal security either is or will be the universal sin of virgin churches.

Observ. II. That carnal security falls by degrees upon the hearts of men.

Observ. III. That the spirit of sloth and security is the last sin that befalls the people of God.

Observ. IV. That Christ’s tarrying from the churches is the general occasion of all security in the churches, or the not coming of the bridegroom when the saints expect him, is the general cause of that security which doth befall them.

SECTION II.

Observ. I. That in the last days carnal security either is or will be the universal sign of virgin churches. When the churches are purged from the gross pollutions of the world, and antichristian fornications and bondage, then either there is or will be general security. For these virgins, when they first made profession of their virginity by their burning lamps, were for a time all awakened, but at last they all slumbered and slept. This is the temper of the body of the churches.

Matt. xxiv. 38, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man.”

Luke xviii. 8, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth?” i. e., an awakening faith.

Hence the Lord forewarns his people of this; (Deut. vi. 12,) “When thou comest to such a land, beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God.”

Quest. But what is this their general security? Ans. Look as it is in our ordinary sleep, so it is in this general security: there are these six things in it:

1. A man forgets his business, his work he was about; so in a carnal security, men forget the Lord, his works, and his will; that which we most think of while we are awake, we least think of indeed when we are asleep. Take a man awakened indeed; O, then the worst remember the Lord and his covenant. Ps. lxxviii. 47. But when asleep, the Lord and his errand is least thought of, and hence security is expressed by “forgetting God.” Ps. 1. 21. And hence Jerusalem’s security was in this, “they remembered not their latter end.”

2. A man in sleep fears no evil until it be upon him, awakening of him; so this is another ingredient into carnal security, though sin lies upon them, they fear not till evil comes; as Joseph’s brethren, though warning is given them, they fear not; like them in the days of Noah and Lot. And hence, (Job xxi. 9,) “Their houses are free from fear;” the misery for the same sin is lighted upon another; yet the secure soul fears not, as in Belshazzar. Dan. v. 22.

3. In sleep all the senses are bound up, the outward senses especially; the eye watcheth not, the ears hear not, the tongue tastes not, the body feels not; so this is an ingredient in carnal security, it binds up all the senses as it did the prophet Jonah’s in the storm; when misery was upon him, he heard not, he saw not, felt not; so when misery, outward or spiritual, is upon a man, he that had quick senses before, his eye sees not, watcheth not; Christians neglect their watchfulness for their friends, the Lord and his Spirit, and coming; nor watch against their enemies that daily besiege them; the ear hears not the voice of the ministry, the voice of providences, the voice of the Spirit within ; the soul smells not, tastes not the sweet of any promise, any ordinance, no, nor of the grace of the Lord himself; hence it commends them not; nay, the soul feels nothing, no evil, no good the Lord doth him; that look as the Lord there said, (Is. xxix. 9, 10,) “The Lord hath poured upon you a spirit of sleep, and hath closed your eyes;” so that the Lord closeth up all the senses, that a man is now stupid, when he is fallen asleep in security.

4. In sleep there is a cessation from speaking and motion: there a man keeps silence and lies still; so in carnal security, the spirit of prayer is silent. Is. lxiv. 7; Ps. xxxii. 1-3. David calls it a keeping of silence. “Up! why sleepest thou? Seek 「to thy God,” say the mariners: indeed/men may talk in their sleep; so men may pray in their deep security, yet not thoroughly awakened: and there is a lying still, no progress; so in carnal security the soul stands at a stay, goes not backward, grows not worse, but goes not forward; such a one is compared to the door on the hinge.

5. In sleep, the senses being stupefied, and motion ceased, a man falls a dreaming; some dreams he forgets, some he remembers, and in his sleep fully and firmly believes them; so in carnal security, now a man’s mind dreams of that which is not, and of that which never shall be; a man’s mind is grown vain, and full of fancies and dreams; those things which never entered into God’s thoughts, something a man dreams of the Lord that this is his will and mind, which is not; of the world, that is a goodly thing; of things to come which shall never be.

6. In deep sleep, though a man be awakened, yet he presently is overcome by his sleep; so that is another ingredient into spiritual slumber; sleepiness is predominant over his watchfulness; and thus it was with the disciples in the garden, they slept; the Lord came once and twice, and awakens them, yet they slept till temptation surprised them; scarce any Christian so secure

in the chambers of Christ, but he hath some knocks of conscience, some cries of the ministry, some woundings from the Lord, and they do awake him, but yet he falls to sleep again.

SECTION III.

We shall now show the reasons why virgin churches in the last days are or will be overcome by security.

Reason 1. Because that in virgin churches there are the strongest provocations to this sin, which are chiefly three.

1. Rest and places of peace, and freedom from hard bondage: Jacob may sleep with his stone under his head, but much more easily under his own vine and fig trees. A man may be secure in the times of trouble, but much more in times of peace, when we have our beds made soft for us, and easy pillows. Friends can boldly desire us to rest, where there is lodging for us: the world thrusts us out of lodging; while the prick is at the breast the nightingale awakes and sings, but when that is taken away it sleeps in the day. In times of persecution Paul is preaching till midnight, and the Lord is remembered in the songs, and sighs, and prayers of the night season; but in times of peace, peace, like Jael’s milk and butter, stupefies all the senses, though destruction be near; hence, (Deut. vi. 12,) “Then forget not the Lord.” Do you think that Noah in the ark, when the waters swelled above the mountains, was secure? No; but when the waters ceased, and he had his vineyard planted, now he sleeps in his drunkenness, because he knew not the strength of wine. In the virgin church, where this sleep is, we suppose this freedom from evil.

2. Because there men are most free from inward pain; for where there is much grief and pain, there is no rest, though all the house about be still; but when the house is still, and the body well, now it is hard but there may be rest; while the Christian doth live under antichristian pollution, his conscience hath no rest, and hence it is awake there. Here (saith the soul) I want the ordinances of God; O that I had them! Here I see sin and wickedness abounding, that my child is like to be poisoned therewith; here are such and such superstitions that my copscience can not bear: hence conscience is kept waking. But in virgin churches, where the house is swept of these, now conscience is quiet and at rest; now I have got a Levite into my house, God is now blessing me, etc. Now conscience hath laid down its burden, it falls down to sleep; now they cry, “The temple of the Lord,” etc.

3. Because in such churches there is most aptitude in men to spiritual fullness, viz., plenty of the means; there is all the ordinances; in this mountain (Is. xxv. 1) God’s feast is made, and fullness of spiritual gifts and graces, because they have now escaped the pollutions of the world, conquered the enmity of the world; now have come to a good measure of grace, and conquered the way of their enemies, got the better of them; hence, as the Israelites made peace with the Canaanites, not when they were too strong, but too weak for them, so now the soul comes to be at rest, to lay down its warfare, and to yield to a truce, to a league to his lusts and distempers for a time. When men are kept short of food, now they awake; so when the word of the Lord and his ordinances be rare and precious, and hard to find, now a Christian can trudge after them; but when men are full, now they desire rest so it is here.

4. Because in virgin churches, there men are most apt to be overtaken with weariness; a man that never walked on in a holy way may at first setting out delight in Christ; but after he hath done walking in it, now he is apt to faint, especially if he sows much, and reaps for the present but little. And hence, (Gal. vi. 9.) “You shall reap in due season, if you faint not:” now, in virgin churches, these virgins are such persons as have begun to make a profession, and have made a fair progress; O how difficult now is it not to be weary! It is strange to see what short spirits after the Lord, what large after the creatures, we have.

Reason 2. Because they are the more easily overcome by this sin than by any other.

1. Because it is a sin which a man least foresees or fears: the apostle saith, “They that are drunk, and that sleep, sleep in the night;” and yet here men sleep in the open light: why so? Men see it not, men know it not; sleep steals upon a man: it is lawful to sleep; carnal security arises chiefly from the use of lawful things, on which a man’s heart and thoughts are spent; they ate, drank, gave in marriage, they could see no hurt therein. When a man is had before councils, now a man fears to sin, he knows he shall be tempted unto sin; but when the Lord brings the shoulder from under such burdens, now to fear our tables, our beds, our wives, our children, our callings, our professions, and the snares of these, O, it is exceeding hard!

2. Because security is so sweet a sin; O, sleep is sweet; meat is sweet, but men may be soon full of that; but when sleep comes, many hours are little enough to entertain that; some sins are sweet for a time, as a short meal and away; but sloth is a sweeter sin than any else besides. Let a Christian ask his heart, when he can take no content in pots, or loose company, or queans, and can find none in the Lord, yet this will give him ease, viz., his sloth; when he is weary of the world, and of walking with Christ also, yet sloth is his delight: and hence he cries, “A little more slumber and sleep, until destruction comes as an armed man.” Prov. vi. 9, 10. When a man delights not in his wife, children, riches, honors, yet is he sometimes contentedly swallowed up with his sleep and rest.

3. Because Satan doth make his strongest forces ready alway to bring a man first unto this sin, because this makes way for the entrance of all sin and misery; no people so happy as the Israelites, while they were awakened and up with God; no misery could hurt them, (Jer. ii. 1-3;) but when they forgot him, all misery came in: “while the strong man keeps the palace, his goods be at peace; ” it is his care to keep men secure and still.

SECTION IV.

Use 1. Let us therefore now examine whether this sin be not our sin in this country, if it be not begun among us: if we be not sleeping, yet are we not slumbering? if we are not virgin churches, why have we the name of it? if we be virgin churches, then make search if this be not our sin / we have all our beds and lodgings provided, the Lord hath made them easy to us; we never looked for such days in New England; the Lord hath freed us from the pain and anguish of our consciences; we have ordinances to the full, sermons too long, and lectures too many, and private meetings too frequent; a large profession many have made; but are you not yet weary? if weary, not sleepy, not slumbering? it may be on you before you are aware, and you not know it; and when so it is, it may be so sweet that you may be loth to see it, that so you may forsake it. Let me knock again: is it not so? Let me come to every man’s bedside, and ask your consciences.

1. Have you not forgot your God, and forgot your work also ? the business for which you made this great undertaking Ps. cvi. 12. When they were saved from the sea, they soon forgat the Lord; hath not the Lord, by a stretched-out arm, brought thee and thine through seas and dangers, and delivered you wonderfully? are not all his kindnesses forgotten? all your promises forgotten? When the Lord had brought the Israelites out of their captivity, and some hopeful beginnings were, they came for the temple; the dust was precious, but God’s house did lie waste.
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Hag. i. 5, 6, “Consider your ways;” no man prospered scarce in his estate; God did blow upon their corn because they forgat their end. What was your end of coming hither? The ordinances of God, the presence of God; and O, one day there is better than a thousand elsewhere: hath it been so? No, but as it is ver. 9, “Every man turns to his own house:” every man for himself, to their own house, lot, accommodation, provision for children; and in the mean while the Lord’s house lies waste, you build not up that; the souls of thy brethren in church fellowship, yea, of thy family, are not built up; the Lord’s house is despised now, and it is like the schools of the prophets, and much more. O, thought we, if we had such privileges, how would we improve them! But when we have them, have we the same thoughts? Do we not forget them, like men that come to a place for gold, and find it not without digging, they fall to load their ship with wood or coal, that which it will bear?

2. Have we not shaken off all fear almost of sin and misery? “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; she fears and provides against a winter.” Do not men think that we have fled too far for the cross to find us, or as if the temple of the Lord was such a den as no foxes or wolves could follow us into? especially when there are causes of fear, when war is proclaimed, and the causes known; and yet they are not feared: how many men have the handwriting of death in their consciences against them! This they confess is nought, they have lived careless, sluggish, and have had some sense of it, yet no awakening fear of the terror of the Lord: when a prince is nigh us, now to commit a little lewdness is great wickedness; where is the man that trembles at the nearness of God to us? when a breach is made, then fear enemies. Divisions and breaches go before falls of churches; where is that spirit of Jehosaphat that feared and proclaimed a fast? When God hath begun to smite, what cause is there to fear! we have been hurt, and yet not laid it to heart; the lion roars, shall not the people fear? I believe we should not have had those Pequot furies upon us, but God saw we began to sleep: where is the man that, with Paul, knows the terror of the Lord, and hence persuades men? When the enemy is ever about us, there is always cause of fear, and yet we fear but now and then.

3. Are not our senses bound up? Look upon men in their fields and conversings, buyings and sellings; where is the daily, weekly watchfulness over our thoughts and tongues? Look to men’s closets; do men there call themselves to account? can they find leisure or need of it? are not men’s eyes closed up, that the glory of God in the Scripture is a sealed thing? men have eyes, but see not; are not men’s ears sealed up? some sermons men can sleep them out; man’s voice is heard, but not the voice of the Son of God: O, how many men are there that become quite sermon-proof nowadays! / Are not men blockish, dull, senseless, heavy under all means? they taste not, smell not; whereas elsewhere, O, how lively and spiritual are they!

4. Is not the spirit of prayer, that lamp, going out in the church of God? The blessedness of all flourishing plantations in the world began by means of that, and shall not continue but as it continues; and if ever cause to seek for prosperity of plantations, these have need. If God should take away this generation of magistracy and ministry, what would this despised country do? and what would become of your children? Then no schools for them, when no gospel is left among them; then every man’s sword shall be against his brother, and God spreading the place with darkness, which through his presence is made light: what little hope of a happy generation after us, when many among us scarce know how to teach their children manners? How apt are we, like to those Asian churches, to fall into those very sins which overwhelmed them, and ruined them! how many fall off, and in time break forth, that it would make men sick to hear of their pranks! what place more open to temptation of persecution and worldly delusions? Go up and down the plantations, where is the man that lays things to heart? who hath the condition of the country written upon his heart, and presenting it before the Lord, rather than his own good? O, men are silent because asleep! How do sins run through men as water through a mill, and men regard it not! What means, what deliverances have we had! but O, what little thankfulness! 2. Do we make progress? nay, is not our shadow gone back? “I sleep, but my heart waketh;” it should be so, but it is not so indeed.

5. Have we not fallen a-dreaming here? what meaneth else the delusion of men’s brains? what a swarm of strange opinions, which (like flies) have gone to the sores of men’s heads and hearts, and these are believed also; and more dreams men have that are never spoken; every man hath some drunken conceit that rocks him asleep: dreams are quite contrary to the truth. What meaneth these, if men are not sleeping? First, drunken dreams of the world. Secondly, golden dreams of grace; that these things advance grace which indeed destroy grace; that there is no grace in the saints, no grace in Christ, no human nature, no promise to evidence grace, no law to be a rule to them that have received grace: who would think that ever any should so fall by a simple woman? But if this be not general, yet look how do men begin to dream concerning the world? Scarce a man but finds want, or is well; if he wants, O, then, if I had such a lot about me, such an estate, how well then were I! and e contra, they that have it, and now they take their rest. “Take heed” (saith the Lord) “your hearts be not overcome with cares;” so I say to you.

6. Doth not the Lord often awaken us, yet we fall to sleep again? the Lord awakened us by the Pequot hornet, yet what use is there made of it? doth not the Lord often meet us in an ordinance, but he is soon lost and gone again? / Is there a man that hath not had his cross since he came hither, as loss in cattle and estate, a dear husband, child, wife dead? a sore and sharp sickness, etc,, he hath been exercised with, etc., but do you not sleep still? If it be not thus, it will come; fear it for time to come; but if it be thus, then I say no more, but know it, you are in your enemy’s hands; and in such an enemy’s hand, that if you mourn not under it, will open the door either to the entrance of some cross sin and temptation, or for some heavy and sudden wrath. It is sufficient for me this day to show you where your heart lieth.

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