upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it; but whosoever cometh to me, and heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock."* The rock upon which you are building, and the rock of your confidence, is Christ; and amidst the dissolving earth, and the melting of the elements with fervent heat, you shall be safe and eternally saved, for you are united by living faith to the "Rock of ages," who is the rock of your salvation. To you belongs now, that "peace of God which passeth all understanding ; "+ and to you we may say, "The Lord of peace Himself, give you peace always by all means." "This one thing do, forgetting § those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before press toward the mark for the prize of the * Matthew vii. 24, 28. † Phil. iv. 7. §2 Thess. iii. 16. high calling of God in Christ Jesus."* May He "keep you steadfast, and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.”+ But does your conscience tell you, that you ought to lay your finger on that part of the inquiry which you have gone through, where you were urged to ask yourself, whether, as a sinner by nature, and by your own transgressions of the Divine laws, you had sought reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ; and ought you to confess that you have not earnestly done this; that you have not looked upon every evil deed as the transgression of the law of God, and upon sin as that by which you dishonour God, who made and redeemed you, that you might glorify Him by your faith and obedience, that you have not borne it in mind that "the wages of sin is death," and that you are not therefore seeking, as the best of blessings, to receive mercy and for * Phil. iii. 13. † 1 Cor, xv. 58, Romans 6, 23. giveness, and to be made holy, believing in the Son of God? or, although you profess to believe in Jesus Christ, and call Him your Saviour and Lord, are you trusting only to a name to live, but living in sin and departing not from iniquity, to you we must say, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light;"* light to see yourself as born in sin, and sinful by your own acts and exposed to the just wrath of God,-light to see that that there is no other name under Heaven given amongst men whereby you can be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ,-light to see, and truly to know, those words of His, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which in Heaven."+ To you we would say, in the words of God Himself, "Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die ?" and beg you to consider how graciously He has said, Why will ye die? and called upon you to turn, that Ephes. v. 14. ↑ Matthew vii. 21. Ezekiel xxxiii. 11. you may live ;-but he has said, turn, shewing you that if you will not turn to Him, you must die eternally; but that if you turn, you may have life eternal.-And do you still linger and hold back? How many of your fellow creatures are daily summoned away from their scene of trial! What would any of these, who died in their sins, now give for a space for repentance and turning unto God? But there is no voice now warning them to repent-their doom is sealed for ever-and why are you spared? Is not the goodness and forbearance of God intended to "lead you to repentance?"*"Turn you then, turn you, why will you die?"-Can you bear to think that by your sins you are putting the Son of God to open shame, who died "to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works?" and that you are "doing despite to the Spirit of Grace?"-Are you now "pricked in your heart,"* and conscience-stricken, and ready to smite on Romans ii. 4. Titus ii. 14. Hebrews x. 29. *Acts ii. 37. your breast and say "God be merciful to me a sinner?"+ Turn not away from God! To you we would affectionately speak in the words of Christ himself, who said, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden," labour and are heavy laden with the burden of sin,-" and I will give you rest." Come unto Him, and pray in His Name that God would give you repentance and remission of sins.-Come unto Him, as the only Physician of the soul, who is ready sanctify you wholly in body, soul, and spirit, and preserve you blameless unto the coming of your Lord" to judgment. § to Finally, Christian Brother or Sister, THINK upon these things!-When at home, when abroad, when alone, when with others, yet always remember that the Gospel which has been made known to you, and been put into your hands, is the rule by which you must walk, and by which you will be judged. -When engaged in communing with your own heart, let your prayer be such as this, Luke xviii. 13. Mat. xi. 28. § 1 Thess. v. 23. |