children of godly parents, the unconverted servants of godly families, and the unconverted members of evangelical congregations are the hardest people on earth to impress. They seem past feeling. The same fire which melts the wax, hardens the clay — It is a doctrine, moreover, which re- ceives awful confirmation from the histories of some of those whose last ends were eminently hopeless. Pharaoh, and Saul, and Ahab, and Judas Iscariot, and Julian, and Francis Spira, are fearful illustrations of our Lord's meaning. In each of these cases there was a combination of clear knowledge and deliberate rejection of Christ. In each there was light in the head, but hatred of truth in the heart. And the end of each seems to have been blackness of darkness for ever.
May God give us a will to use our knowledge, whether it be little or great ! May we beware of neglecting our opportunities, and leaving our privileges unimproved ! Have we light ? Then let us live fully up to our light. Do we know the truth ? Then let us v/alk in the truth. This is the best safeguard againt the unpardonable sin.
In the last place, let us gather from these verses tJie immense importance of carefulness about our daily loords. Our Lord tells us, that " for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment." And He adds, " By thy vv'ords thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
There are few of our Lord's sayings which are so heart-searching as this. There is nothing, perhaps, to which most men pay less attention than their wqrds. They go through their rlaily work, speaking and talking