2. You that are old, oh, it is high time for you to be born again ; you are as good as dead already : Heb. xi. 12, ' Therefore sprang from him one, and him as good as dead.' Chimneys long foul, if they be not swept, will be fired at length. You have long lived or died in the world : ' A sinner of a hundred years old shall be accursed,' Isa. Ixv. 20. He that livetli unreclaimed and unrenewed, though his life be never so much prolonged, shall die an accursed wretch. You never begin to live till you live in Christ ; you have but told over so many summers and winters. All that time is lost that is spent in your unregenerate estate ; as a man may be a long time at sea, and yet make but a short voyage, get but a little ground though long tossed upon the waves. Oh, bethink yourselves before your hoary heads go down to the grave in sorrow. Say not, as Nicodemus, ' Shall a man return into his mother's womb, being old ? ' This is a spiritual work which must pass upon you. God promiseth to pour out his Spirit upon old ones. Acts ii. 17. A ruinous heap of stones, that is ready to drop in pieces, God can raise up to himself a temple for the Holy Ghost to dwell in. Submit to this work before it be too late.
Secondly. Let me speak to the poor and rich.
1. To the poor and them of low esteem in the world, to be born again, and this will ennoble your blood ; to be of God's family, heirs of the kingdom : James i. 9, 10, 'Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted ; and the rich, in that he is brought low;' James ii. 5, * Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him ? ' You are indeed honourably descended ; you are begotten of God, not of corruptible seed : John i. 12, 13, ' But as many as received him, to them gave he f)0wer to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name : which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' And honourably pro- vided for, heirs of a kingdom. Though you cannot reckon up a long pedigree of famous ancestors, nor entitle yourself to such great families as others do, yet you are born from above ; there is your genealogy. You can s^jcak of a descent from heaven. It was one of the works that
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Christ produced to declare that he was sent from God: Mat. xi. 5. ' The poor have the gospel preached unto them,' irToy^ol ivayyeXi^ovTai, the poor are all to he gospelled.
2. The rich are exhorted to look after this. It is no great glory to be born of the froth of the blood and the will of man : John i. 13, ' Not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' It is better to be a new creature than to be the son of nobles, yea, kings and princes. It is not the dignity of men's rule, but the quality and frame of their hearts, by which they are judged before God. Omnis sanguis concolor — all blood is of a colour. The great men of the world shall one day be cast out as the scum and off-scour- iug of all things if they be not born again of the Spirit.
Thirdly, Let me speak to men as profane or as civil. Every man must be born again, be he to appearance better or worse. The state and frame of the heart -must be changed, be he an epicure or carnal man, a gross sinner or a painted pharisee.
1. The profane. Surely it concerneth you to be born again. You that can savour nothing but carnal things, and wallow in all manner of filthiness, you are to change heart and life ; but first the heart, otherwise you build without a foundation. Nature beginneth first with the heart, as the fountain of life. It is the painter that only draweth an outward shadow, that beginneth with the external lineaments and outward proportions first. Now you who declare your sin as Sodom, surely you must be changed. You cannot expect to go from Delilah's lap to Abraham's bosom. The new heavens and new earth are provided for new creatures ; there are no dirty swine can enter there. Oh, sub- mit to this change : 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, ' Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God ? Be not deceived, neither for- nicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.' Meditate on that scripture, ' Know ye not ? ' It is an appeal to conscience. And 'be not deceived,' for the worst are full of confident presumptions. You are travelling west ; that is not the way into the eastern parts. You set your faces against heaven and happiness.