A LIFE OF PLEASURE A LIFE OF DEATH.

REV. J. HAMBLETON, A.M.

CHAPEL OF EASE, HOLLOWAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1834.

"But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth."-1 TIMOTHY, V. 6.

If this be true-and, being part of the Word of God, it must be true-then the world of pleasure is a region of death, and a life of pleasure is a living death. These are strange tidings for those who live only for pleasure, and who boast that they alone, of all mankind, enjoy life. Strange tidings these for those also who, with some outward attention to religion, yet continue, in heart and life, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

But who is meant by the person that liveth in pleasure? That shall be our first consideration. Secondly, how is that person dead while alive? These two points, with the practical advice which may arise out of them, may furnish us with instruction, which I pray God to bless to your souls' profit in time and in eternity. The Lord assist us!

First: WHO IS MEANT BY THE PERSON THAT LIveth in PleASURE? It is important to make this plain, otherwise my aim will be missed; the arrow of God's word, instead of piercing the conscience, will spend its force, and fall harmless to the ground.

And this point does require explanation; for the word "pleasure," is one strangely abused: it has quite a different meaning in different companies, and among different men. There are pleasures in science, pleasures in sin; pleasures in holiness here, and in heaven, we know, there are pleasures for ever more. Who, then, is the person meant by the Apostle, as living in pleasure, and therefore dead while alive? The Apostle is speaking, you will remember (for it was our second lesson this evening), of the rules to be observed in the Christian church, in regard to the ministrations made in those days, for destitute widows. He directs a distinction to be observed, according to the difference of character. "Honour widows that are widows indeed;" and their character is explained in the fifth verse: "Now, she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." Now this is evidently a character just the reverse; that of one who trusteth not in God, who neglects supplication and prayers. The same character is further described more at length in the eleventh and the thirteenth verses: wantonness, idleness, wandering about from house

to house, tattling, the spirit of busy-bodies, speaking things which they ought not-are given as characteristics of her that liveth in pleasure.

The original word, "liveth in pleasure," is very peculiar, and is used in only one other place in the New Testament, namely, in James, v. 5. We will turn to it; for I am anxious to convince you all that I am not dressing up some notion of my own, as a phantom that I call pleasure: the solemn language of life and of death, respecting those who live in pleasure, is far too serious to be trifled with by me or by you. Now, in that passage of St. James, he is addressing the wealthy, and the luxurious: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten." Then, in the fifth verse-"Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter:" where the word that is translated "ye have been wanton," is the very same word with that which, in our text, is rendered "liveth in plcasure:" and the whole passage strikingly describes what kind of character is intended. Thus it is plain already, that to live in pleasure, is to live without trust or faith in God, without constant prayer; in wantonness, idleness, trifling, the pride of wealth; in luxury, sensuality, and self-indulgence. This is the life of worldly pleasure.

But there are yet many other Scriptures which describe the life of pleasure; and I am anxious you should feel the scriptural force of the subject. Thus, in the Prophet Amos, in the sixth chapter: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of nations, to whom the house of Israel came. Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph." Again you see the spirit of the child of pleasure: he makes himself "at ease;" he "puts far away the evil day:" he is self-indulgent, luxurious, gay, and jovial; he feels not for the affliction of God's afflicted people.

In the book of Job, we have another description of men living in worldly pleasure-in his twenty-first chapter: "Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us ; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?" Here, again, you see the life of pleasure to be a life of unsanctified prosperity, festivity, mirth, wealth; with the spirit of infidelity mocking at religion, asking, What good in prayer-what end to serve God? O, ye that have lived in pleasure, does not your conscience feel, "My life is detected; my character has been described?"

So in our Lord's parable; the rich man, who fared sumptuously every day, and was clothed in purple and fine linen, was evidently a man of pleasure-luxurious, self-indulgent, fond of dress. The city of Sodom was a city of pleasure: and "This," says the Scripture, "was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her, and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."

Then think of Babylon, once filled with the gayest of the gay; see that city of pleasure described in the Prophet Isaiah: "Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the mill-stones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered; yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. As for our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. I was wrath with my people, I have polluted my inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst thou remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection, for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thy enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me." My friends, again you see, from Scripture, the spirit of those who are given to pleasure, luxury, delicacy, self-security; no laying of serious things to heart, no thought of the latter end; carelessness of living, and trust in wickedness; the attempt to deceive the Omnipotent-"None seeth me;" perverted wisdom, abused knowledge, vain confidence of heart. It is thus they think, and speak, and act, who are living in worldly pleasure.

I have thus endeavoured to open the Scriptural character of one who lives in pleasure. Your consciences are my witnesses that I have kept closely to the written Word: and my motive has been, that I might, with God's blessing, touch those who, with a professed regard for Scripture, and with the name of Christians, have yet, up to this day, been living in pleasure. I ask you all to consider whether, if I have faithfully described that character, that character is not every where to be found; whether it has not been the character of many of you; whether it is not still that of some whom I am now addressing. Have you not known some, living in ease, mirth, joviality, wantonness, pride, sensuality, self-indulgence-some one who neglected prayer, and stubbornly refused to serve God-some one whose idol was dress, or vanity, or pleasure-some one who would not lay these things to heart, and would not consider the latter end

thereof? Then you have known some one such as the Apostle meant by one living in pleasure.

And let no such persons think that ministers feel a delight in thus exposing their character. We could say, with the Apostle, "For we ourselves were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures." We know what worldly pleasure is: we are anxious to undeceive you all, as to its true character; our desire is to save you from its fatal snares. The children of pleasure know not the concern with which their ministers, if faithful to their duty, witness or hear of their sins. They may, it may be, account us their foes; but we feel to them as friends. We know that those vanities cannot satisfy; that a serpent is lurking in that flowery path; that a life of pleasure is not a life of happiness; yea, that it is death rather than life: therefore we must sorrow, and pray, and weep over you who are still lovers of pleasure.

And let none think that the scriptural description of one that liveth in pleasure applies only to the rich and the great of this world. I grant that they have the temptation; and if the poor have less temptation than the rich to live in pleasure, they have cause to thank God for this advantage of their poor estate. But the temptation is common to all ranks: persons in middle life, and persons in the lowest walks of life, may be found to live continually in pleasure. This do all the intemperate. O what sums the poor and labouring classes spend in the present day, on needless, noxious, inflammatory drink! What is this but to live in pleasure? Then think of the licentiousness of both sexes-(nay, think not, the thought is grievous)—of the numbers who, living in wantonness from week to week, till death overtakes them. Think of the theatres, and places of worldly amusement. Can any man, who has studied the Bible, seriously maintain that those who frequent those places are not, the great and vast majority, lovers of pleasure? Or will any man try to persuade us that they come home thence to pray to God, y serious things to heart, to remember the latter end? Will any one deny that in those places the name of God is blasphemed, bad passions are fomented, vice glossed over, piety ridiculed, or kept out of sight? Yet thither flock high and low, rich and poor.

Then think of the spirit of gambling; the time wasted, the bad passions excited, the families ruined, by that destructive vice; which is far from being confined to the rich and great. Or think of the Sabbath-breaking, the making God's day a day of pleasure, though the Scripture says, "Turn away thy foot from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure." Here again the charge belongs to many of all: ranks-You are living in pleasure.

My brethren, I am almost weary of this part of our subject: you know I love better to be speaking of Jesus Christ, and his salvation. But it is needful, sometimes at least, to shew to the world, in a distinct manner, their character in the light of Scripture. You now know who it is that is living in pleasure. "And what is the harm? say some; "what if we do live in pleasure; you have your pleasures, and we have ours. You call religion a pleasure; we call it a misery. Our taste is for what you call worldly pleasure; we own we love it dearly we see no great harm in it, though you have contrived to describe it accurately enough. We only discover that tastes differ.

If that is all, our subject has a second part. been those who have been living in pleasure?

IN PLEASURE

Are any of you proved to have Then this is God's judgment of the state of such: "SHE THAT LIVETH IN PLEASURE"-WHOEVER LIVETH IS DEAD WHILE ALIVE." Now that is the sentiment, or rather the sentence, of God himself. "What does it mean? She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth :'-how can one be dead while alive? What a parodox; we cannot understand it." I think you can, if you try. Dead while alive. Think of that serious, pious Christian, once in the circle of your acquaintance, once a friend, and even a brother; but now he seems as one dead to all your pleasures; dead to the world; dead indeed unto sin. You say in scorn, that you might as well ask a dead man as ask him to join your worldly pleasure he has become what you term a poor lifeless creature: he is buried alive. Then you can understand how a man may be dead while alive; alive naturally, and, though you may not know it, alive spiritually; and yet dead to what you call the pleasures of life. But, in God's judgment, your state is just the reverse to that; you are alive to pleasure, but dead towards God.

How true, how just, how striking that description! The dead neither move, nor see, nor hear, nor smell, nor feel. Your heart moves not in love to God; your mind's eye sees no suitableness in the Saviour; you hear not his voice; you perceive no fragrance in his name, like that of ointment poured forth; you feel not the constraining force of his dying love. The dead breathe not, there is no pulse of holy delight; no joy beating in that pleasure-loving heart. The dead sigh not and when does God hear from you the sighing of a contrite heart? The dead are cold; their touch is chilling to the hand: and you (I must speak faithfully, even though I offend for the moment, if I might but win your souls)-you, though warm in the service of pleasure, are cold as ice, cold as death, when God is mentioned. Thus are you without spiritual life, not quickened by the Holy Spirit, strangers to Him who is our life, as many of you who are still lovers of pleasure.

Then death is, further, a state of insensibility and helplessness. The dead body knows not that it is dead; it has no consciousness: and so they who are spiritually dead, are often unconscious of their state for years together; they give it no thought; they have no spiritual feeling. The thunder may roll over the dead body; the lightnings may flash around it; ministers may be preaching in the church on subjects of the deepest interest to every human being; the dead in the church-yard around, or in the vaulted chambers beneath, sleep on in utter indifference. So, oftentimes the thunders of the law of God disturb not the souls chained in pleasure; the flashes of God's wrath, which ever and anon break forth between the clouds and darkness which surround us, are by them less heeded than the lightning of a summer's evening. Ministers may preach how they please, they will not come to hear; or hearing they will not understand. O, there is a deadness, a stupor, an awful insensibility, in careless, pleasure-loving souls. And there is a helplessness too: no man hath. quickened his own soul. Only Christ can command the dead man to arise, and be instantly obeyed. We are to exhort in his name, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead;" but in saying it we look, and we entreat you to look, to Christ for his grace to make the command effectual. The dead soul is an impotent thing. It is good to feel this; the feeling it is a sign, often the first