stand, he cannot save thee: For he cannot deny himself; he cannot overthrow the whole tenor of his gospel, and make himself The minister of sin*. You know, he has expressly said, If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins†; nay, He that believeth not shall be damned. You know he has foretold, that he will another day publicly say, As for those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before meş: And that so much more dreadful condemnation awaits them, than fell on the transgressors of Moses's law, though they Died without mercy, that It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for such¶. And will your hopes still stand, while all this dreadful artillery is planted directly against them? Shall the earth be forsaken for thee, and the rock be removed out of its place**? Rocks should much sooner be removed, and all the earth left desolate, than the whole constitution of the gospel shall be overthrown, lest thou shouldst perish. You would not take poison, in hope that God should work a miracle to preserve your life. Yet you might more reasonably expect this, than the other; because it would not so directly contradict any of the perfections of God, or any of his declarations. The matter is brought to a very short issue; and it requires no penetration, or labour of thought, to see it. If the gospel be not true, there is no foundation for expecting this salvation at all; but if it be, you are cut off from any hope of it, while you continue thus; and you are, even whilst I speak, on the very borders of hell. And now, disarmed as you are of all these unavailing hopes, sit down and enter deeply into your present circumstances. "The Son of God became incarnate, and lived and died to procure salvation for such guilty creatures as I: And I have heard of this salvation; but I have no share in it. To this very hour The wrath of God abideth on mett. A storm of vengeance is arising around me, and I am excluded from the only ark in which I could be safe. Excluded by what? Why, to make it so much the more grievous, by my own folly." If we were to take upon us absolutely to pronounce concerning any of you, that you were excluded from the offers of gospel grace, you would no doubt resent it highly; as you reasonably might. Much more, were it in the power of a fellow mortal to deprive you of all share in this great salvation, might you cry out of it Gal. ii. 17. ↑ John viii. 24. Mark xv. 16. **Job xviii. 4. Luke xix. 27. ++ John iii. 36. tainty sits on your minds? Are you easy under it? Do you carelessly defer the enquiry from one day to another; or purposely decline it, because you are afraid of some consequences which may disturb you? Or do you renew your examinations. again and again, searching for those scriptures, and waiting for those parts of our public discourses, which may pierce deepest, and try your souls to the utmost; still above all begging, that God would search them; and renewing your humble entreaties, that you may know the very worst of your state, and be at length brought unto him through Christ, though it were by the most painful way, that any of his servants have ever trod ? : As to some of you, perhaps, the case may require diseussion But I believe there are others, to whom it would be no long labour. I fear, even while I am yet speaking, conscience must witness against some of you, that you are utter strangers to such a temper, and that you never came unto God by Christ. And therefore, 3. "Let those who are conscious to themselves, that they have never come unto God by Christ, be engaged seriously to reflect on the danger of their present condition." I know, the corruption of our hearts strongly inclines us, to think as favourably as possible of ourselves, and eagerly to grasp the feeblest reed, which may give some present, though most precarious, support to our hope: And I know, Satan would favour the delusion to the utmost, because he is aware, there is but a short time in which he need labour to do it; so that if he can amuse you a few days, you are his prey for ever. It is our business, as ministers of the gospel, to counter-work these deceivers. that God would teach us to do it effectually! "Sinner, thou art convinced in thy conscience, that thou art a stranger to the temper and character described; that Thou art the man who hast sat, perhaps many years, under the sound of the gospel, and to this very day hast never come unto God by Christ. And dost thou hope for salvation by him, while this is the case? It is a most arrogant and pernicious hope. I solemnly declare unto thee this day, Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter*. Dost thou hope? On what foundation is it? Shew me one promise in the whole book of God, that speaks pardon and peace to an impenitent unbelieving sinner. Wilt thou say, Christ is able to save to the uttermost? He is indeed so; and yet it is no contradiction to declare, that as things now What if God should send an ambassador to them, and give him authority to address them to some such purpose as this?" Desparing creatures, I am now come amongst you, not as a messenger of vengeance, but of peace. God has at length looked on your miseries with a compassionate eye; and there is a ray of mercy, darting through this gloom from the throne of grace, and from the Sun of Righteousness. The proposals you so long heard with indifference, and which you have so much longer remembered in the bitterness of your souls, are once more renewed. If you Cry unto him, even out of these depths, he will hear you; if you will submit your souls to his government and his grace, he will save you, and I am commissioned in his name to assure you, that not only shall these gates of hell be thrown open for your release, but those of heaven shall be opened too for your admittance." Sinners, let your own consciences say, how you imagine at least, that such a proposal would be received by condemned spirits. Do you not think, that, as one forcibly expresses it, they would even leap in their chains? Do you not think, the marks of long horror and despair would immediately vanish from their faces; that their eyes would sparkle with hope and joy; and that they would begin the work of praise even with their flaming tongues? But are not you yourselves in the same condemnation, though the sentence be not yet executed? Why then do you now despise those rivers of mercy, the smallest drop of which you will hereafter desire in vain? Alas! what we have here described, is merely an imaginary scene. Millions of ages shall roll away in sad succession, and no such proposals be made to the inhabitants of hell; nor to you sinners, if you come into that place of torment. But they are now made good in earnest ; and therefore, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts*. Oh force us not another day, for the deliverance of our own souls, to bear a dreadful testimony to the condemnation of yours; but hearken to these embassies of peace, and let us intreat and persuade you to be reconciledt. This is still the message, the invitation, the charge, even the same that you heard from the beginning: Come unto God by Christ. Behold a gracious God, stretching out his arms to receive you: Behold a compassionate Redeemer, yet waiting to introduce you to his favourable presence: And all the faithful subjects of his kingdom, here and above, are longing to see it erected in your souls. The thought even of + 2 Cor. v. 20. Heb. iii. 15. our own salvation, would be still sweeter to us, if we had a probable hope of sharing it with you. And shall earth and heaven expect and desire it in vain ? and will you, as it were, grieve both; that hell may rejoice in your ruin, and that devils may insult over you, and upbraid you, as having with your own hands thrust away that salvation, of which all their malice and their rage might in vain have attempted to deprive you? You will then, alas, Find no place for repentance, though, like Esau, you seek it carefully with tears*. Alas, my friends, what more shall I say? Could I find out any more weighty arguments, any more plain, serious, and affecting, forms of address, I would go on, though the discourse should swell beyond its due bounds; though my own strength were impaired by the earnestness of it; and though a vain, wretched, unbelieving world should deride at that earnestness as enthusiasm and madness. Nay, who that knows the importance of immortal souls, would not go on to plead in such a cause, though minutes and hours were to be struck off from his life for every word that he utters in it, could even such an expensive service be sure of success? But that depends upon God, and to him we would look for it. In the mean time, I dismiss you with this one word: Whether you will hear, or whether you will forbear, he in whose name I speak, is witness, that the embassy is delivered; and such words as these remain recorded in the book of his remembrance, and will sooner or later be brought to yours. 5. "Let such as are desirous of coming to God by Christ, take encouragement from the declaration of the text." We are not altogether Ignorant of satan's devices+: We know, by frequent observation and experience, how soon he can turn the syren's song, into the roaring of a lion; what efforts he makes, to drive the awakened soul into the agonies of despair, and to persuade him that he has thrown himself beyond the reach of mercy. But, if he be practising such cruel artifices on any soul in this assembly, I do, in the name of our Lord and Master, charge the lie on the father of falsehoods. You have perhaps a great many things to plead against yourselves; such as, the number, the enormity, and aggravation of your sins: You will say, they have been committed against the clearest light, against the tenderest love, against admonitions, more serious resolutions, most solemn covenant engagements: But all these pleas, and a What if God should send an ambassador to them, and give him authority to address them to some such purpose as this?" Desparing creatures, I am now come amongst you, not as a messenger of vengeance, but of peace. God has at length looked on your miseries with a compassionate eye; and there is a ray of mercy, darting through this gloom from the throne of grace, and from the Sun of Righteousness. The proposals you so long heard with indifference, and which you have so much longer remembered in the bitterness of your souls, are once more renewed. If you Cry unto him, even out of these depths, he will hear you; if you will submit your souls to his government and his grace, he will save you, and I am commissioned in his name to assure you, that not only shall these gates of hell be thrown open for your release, but those of heaven shall be opened too for your admittance." Sinners, let your own consciences say, how you imagine at least, that such a proposal would be received by condemned spirits. Do you not think, that, as one forcibly expresses it, they would even leap in their chains? Do you not think, the marks of long horror and despair would immediately vanish from their faces; that their eyes would sparkle with hope and joy; and that they would begin the work of praise even with their flaming tongues? But are not you yourselves in the same condemnation, though the sentence be not yet executed? Why then do you now despise those rivers of mercy, the smallest drop of which you will hereafter desire in vain? Alas! what we have here described, is merely an imaginary scene. Millions of ages shall roll away in sad succession, and no such proposals be made to the inhabitants of hell; nor to you sinners, if you come into that place of torment. But they are now made good in earnest; and therefore, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts*. Oh force us not another day, for the deliverance of our own souls, to bear a dreadful testimony to the condemnation of yours; but hearken to these embassies of peace, and let us intreat and persuade you to be reconciledt. This is still the message, the invitation, the charge, even the same that you heard from the beginning: Come unto God by Christ. Behold a gracious God, stretching out his arms to receive you: Behold a compassionate Redeemer, yet waiting to introduce you to his favourable presence: And all the faithful subjects of his kingdom, here and above, are longing to see it erected in your souls. The thought even of + 2 Cor. v. 20. Heb. iii. 15. |
