Camden reports, that "Redwald, king of the East-Saxons, the first christian prince of this nation, allowed 'n the same church an altar for Christ and another for the heathen idols." How many professed christians imitate him. Their hearts are not whole with Christ: they are sons of folly. This is a charge of Wisdom to all her children: consider, there is but one object can make your heart happy; there are a thousand that promise happiness, but only yield misery: keep thy heart "in the love of God." Jude 2l.
Give all diligence to this blessed end: unless you do, vanity may prevail in the mind, error in the understanding, perverseness in the will, the affections may be inordinately set upon other objects than thy Lord, and so thy conscience contract fresh guilt. Then thou mayest be left to bemoan a hard heart and an absent God: darkness may surround thee: fears and terrors haunt thee; the remembrance of long-departed sins may distress thee; the prospect of death and eternity appear awful to thee; the day of judgment dreadful, while Satan triumphs over thee, "There, there, so would I have it." Then may thy heart upbraid thee that all this is come upon thee because thou wast not diligent to watch its motions, to keep out the enemy, and maintain sweet communion and holy fellowship with thy best friend, thy Saviour.
Lord, stir up my soul to "give all diligence." Though we shall not be saved for our diligence, yet, we shall thus escape many snares and evils, and enjoy safety and comfort: "The soul of the diligent shall he made fat." Prov. 13:4. Such shall feed upon heavenly truth, grace and love; their soul shall prosper and be in health; while careless triflers with God and their own souls shall go to rest with dejection, rise with distress and live in awful suspense.