SERMON IV.

2 SAMUEL XII. 7. 1ft part.

And Nathan faid unto David, Thou art

the man.

HERE is no hiftorical paffage

THE

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 paffed over in himself, and poffibly reconciled to his own confcience. To know one's felf, one would think could be no very difficult

G4

cult leffon;-for who you'll fay can well be truly ignorant of himself and the true disposition of his own heart? If a man thinks at all, he cannot be a stranger to what paffes there-he must be confcious of his own thoughts and defires, he must remember his past purfuits, and the true fprings and motives which in general have directed the actions of his life he may hang out falfe 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 historical proofs of it, befides this to which the text refers-"that the heart "of man is treacherous to itself and de

ceitful above all things," and experience and every hour's commerce with the world confirms the truth of this feeming paradox, "That though man is the

"only

"only creature endowed with reflection, "and confequently qualified to know "the most of himfelf-yet fo it hap"pens, that he generally knows the "leaft-and with all the power power which "GOD has given him of turning his eyes inward upon himself, and tak

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ing 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 passes, "that he is as much, nay often, a much greater stranger to his own difpofi

❝tion and true character, than all the "world befides."

By what means he is brought under fo manifeft a delufion, and how he fuffers 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

to give an account of, nor need we feek 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 see and reason just so far and no farther than they give us leave. How hard do we find it to pafs an equitable and found judgment in a matter where our intereft is deeply concerned?-and even where there is the remoteft confideration of felf, connected with the point before us, what a strange bias does it hang upon our mind, 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 efteemed, and though there

there happens to be ftrong appearances against him, how apt we are to overlook or put favourable conftructions upon them, and even sometimes, when our zeal and friendship tranfport us, to affign the best and kindeft motives for the worst and most unjustifiable parts of his conduct.

We are still worfe cafuifts, and the deceit is proportionably stronger with a man, when he is going to judge of himfelf-that dearest of all parties,--fo clofely connected with him-fo much and fo long beloved-of whom he has fo early conceived the highest opinion and efteem, and with whofe merit he has all along, no doubt, found fo much reason to be contented. It is not an easy matter to be fevere, where there is fuch an impulfe to be kind, or to efface at

once