SERMON IV.

2 SAMUEL XII. 7. 1ft part.

And Nathan faid unto David, thou art the man.

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HERE is no hiftorical paffage in fcripture, which gives a more remarkable inftance of the deceitfulness of the heart of man to itself, and of how little we truly know of ourselves, than this, wherein David is convicted out of his own mouth, and is led by the prophet to condemn and pronounce a fevere judgment upon another, for an act of injustice which he had passed over in himself, and poffibly reconciled to his own confcience. To know one's felf, one would think, could be no very difficult lesson;-for who, you'll fay, can be truly ignorant of himfelf, and the true difpofition of his own heart! If a man thinks at all, he cannot be a stranger to what paffes there--he must be conscious of

his own thoughts and defires, he must remember his past pursuits, and the true springs and motives which in general have directed the actions of his life: he may hang out false colours and deceive the world; but how can a man deceive himself? That a man can-is evident, because he daily does fo.-Scripture tells us, and gives us many hiftorical proofs of it, besides this to which the text refers,—" that "the heart of man is treacherous to itself, "and deceitful above all things;" and experience, and every hour's commerce with the world, confirms the truth of this feeming paradox, "That tho' man is the only creature en"dowed with reflection, and confequently "qualified to know the most of himself—yet "fo it happens, that he generally knows the "leaft-and with all the power which GOD "has given him of turning his eyes inward

upon himself, and taking notice of the chain

"of his own thoughts and defires—yet, in "fact, is generally fo inattentive, but always "fo partial an observer of what paffes, that "he is as much, nay often, a much greater "ftranger to his own difpofition and true "character, than all the world befides."

By

By what means he is brought under fo manifest a delusion, and how he suffers himself to be fo grofly impofed upon in a point which he is capable of knowing fo much better than others, is not hard to give an account of, nor need we seek farther for it, than amongst the causes which are every day perverting his reafon and misleading him. We are deceived in judging of ourselves, juft as we are in judging of other things, when our paffions and inclinations are called in as counsellors, and we fuffer ourselves to fee and reafon just so far, and no farther than they give us leave. How hard do we find it to pass an equitable and found judgment in a matter where our intereft is deeply concerned?-and even where there is the remoteft confiderations of felf connected with the point before us, what a strange bias does it hang upon our minds, and how difficult is it to difengage our judgments entirely from it? with what reluctance are we brought to think evil of a friend whom we have long loved and esteemed, and though there happens to be ftrong appearances against him, how apt are we to overlook or put favourable conftructions upon them, and even fometimes, VOL. I.

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when.

when our zeal and friendship transport us, to affign the best and kindeft motives for the worst and most unjustifiable parts of his conduct?

We are still worse casuists, and the deceit is proportionably stronger with a man, when he is going to judge of himself-that dearest of all parties,-fo closely connected with him— fo much and fo long beloved-of whom he has fo early conceived the highest opinion and esteem, and with whose merit he has all-along, no doubt, found fo much reafon to be contented. It is not an easy matter to be severe, where there is fuch an impulfe to be kind, or to efface at once all the tender impressions in favour of so old a friend, which disabled us from thinking of him as he is, and seeing him in the light, may be, in which every one else fees him.

So that however eafy this knowledge of one's-self may appear at first sight, it is otherwife when we come to examine; fince not only in practice, but even in fpeculation and theory, we find it one of the hardest and most painful leffons. Some of the earliest instructors of mankind, no doubt, found it so too, and

for

for that reafon, foon faw the neceffity of laying such a stress upon this great precept of felfknowledge, which, for its excellent wifdom and usefulness, many of them supposed to be a divine direction; that it came down from Heaven, and comprehended the whole circle both of the knowledge and, the duty of man. And indeed their zeal might easily be allowed in fo high an encomium upon the attainment. of a virtue, the want of which fo often baffled their inftructions, and rendered their endeavours of reforming the heart vain and useless. For who could think of a reformation of the faults within him, who knew not where they lay, or could set about correcting, till he had first come to a sense of the defects which required it?

But this was a point always much easier recommended by public inftructors, than fhewn how to be put in practice; and therefore others, who equally fought the reformation of mankind, observing that this direct road which led to it was guarded on all fides by self-love, and confequently very difficult to open access, foon found out that a different and more artful course was requifite; as they had not strength

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