[6] They are like the bankrupt before the court the other day who did not keep books. Not he. He did not know how his affairs stood, and, moreover, he did not want to know; he did not like his books, and his books did not like him. He was going to the bad, and he therefore tried to forget it. They say of the silly ostrich that when she hides her head in the sand, and does not see her pursuers, she thinks she is safe; that is the policy of many men. They spread their sails, and get up the steam, and go with double speed straight ahead. What, not look at the chart! No, they do not want to know whether there are rocks and breakers ahead. Arrest that captain, put him in irons, and find a sane man to take charge of the vessel. Oh for grace to arrest that folly which is the captain of your bark, and put sound sense in command, or else a spiritual shipwreck is certain.--_Spurgeon._ INCONSIDERATENESS. i. 3. _My people doth not consider._ +I. Inconsiderateness is one of the commonest of all human characteristics.+[1] +II. While apparently a comparatively harmless thing, it is the source of nearly all the evils by which man is afflicted, and of the sins by which God is grieved and made angry.+--1. "Presumptuous sins" are comparatively rare. 2. Look at some of the evils to which a want of consideration leads in the various spheres of life: educational, domestic, social, commercial, political, religious.[2] APPLICATION.--1. _Cultivate the habit of considering the issues of various courses of conduct._ We should regard our thoughts, words, and actions as the farmer regards his seeds--as the germs of a future harvest; and we should remember that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." This will lead to a wise caution in regard to the seeds we sow. 2. _Consider the relations in which you now stand to Almighty God._ You _must_ be either a rebel, exposed to His vengeance, or a pardoned child, shielded by His love. Which is it? FOOTNOTES: [1] Silly man is like the foolish chickens, though the kite comes and takes away many of their fellows, yet the rest continue pecking the ground, never heeding their owner, never minding their shelter. Death comes and snatches away one man here, a second there; one before them, another behind them, and they are killed by death, undone for ever; yet they who survive take no warning, but persist in their wicked, ungodly ways (Job. iv. 20, 21).--_Swinnock,_ 1673.