Two sermons preached by Master Henry SmithTvvo sermons preached by Master Henry Smith

The man that said, Be merry my soul, and take thy ¹pleasure for many years, might have done it, and not God seen him: but he espied him falling to godless security, and threatened him, that night to bereave him of his soul. Forget it not ye that abound in wealth, whose cup runneth over. If God had not seen Achan take up the piece of gold, he had kept it to himself for his labour, and no man should have known where he ²had it. But God seeing it (though closely done) rewarded him with shame in the sight of all Israel. O Lord, what is man that thou so watchest him? Achan would never have stolen if he had known that God did see him. Gehezi durst never have taken a bribe, if he had thought that God beheld his doings. Wilt thou steal, the owner looking on thee? Wilt thou speak treason in the kings hearing? neither would we lie, nor swear, nor steal, nor hurt, nor be profane at any time, if we consider that the Lord seeth us, & remembered that he watcheth us: if we would do this, sin might go a beginning for want of service. Therefore if you will mark but this part of my sermon, that God seeth all, you would refrain from those things secretly, that are to the offence of God, which you for fear or shame will not do before men: and you would say even when your hand is at it, I will not do it, because the Lord seeth me. But as when we sin though in secret, he is all eyes to see us, & when he sees it requisite to make some example, to teach all, that when man cannot nor will not discover us, he will show that he saw us; then ⟨image 58⟩he is all hand to punish and plague us, and in the end, to root us out from all our pleasures: so when we repent, he is all mercy and love; and when we amend our lives, and leave all our wicked ways, to walk before him ever after in holiness, then he is all truth and righteousness, to forgive us all our former wicked life, and to wash us from all our uncleanness. Now therefore repent thee of all the evil that thou hast done, lament truly, run and hie thee as fast as ever thou canst to the throne of grace, prone whether thy repentance will not as boldly stand before God, and as powerfully cry for pardon, as thy sins speedily came up before God, and vehemently cried for punishment. No doubt the Angel that cried; Fallen is, fallen is Babylon the great,