11. * And even among those who have kept themselves pure from these grosser abominations; how much anger and pride, how much sloth and idleness, how much softness and effeminacy, how much luxury and self-indulgence, how much covetousness and ambition, how much thirst of praise, how much love of the world, how much fear of man is to be found? Meanwhile, how little of true religion? For where is he that loveth either God or his neighbour, as he hath given us commandment? On the one hand are those, who have not so much as the form of godliness: on the other those who have the form only; there stands the _open_, there the _painted_ sepulchre. So that in very deed, whosoever were earnestly to behold any publick gathering together of the people, (I fear, those in our churches are not to be excepted) might easily perceive, _that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees_: the one having almost as little concern about religion, as if there were _no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit_; and the other making it a mere lifeless form, a dull round of external performances, without either true faith, or the love of God, or joy in the Holy Ghost.
12. Would to God I could except us of this place. _Brethren, my heart’s desire, and prayer to God for you is, that ye may be saved_ from this overflowing of ungodliness, and that here may its proud waves be stay’d! But is it so indeed? God knoweth, yea, and our own conscience, it is not. Ye have not kept yourselves pure. Corrupt are we also and abominable; and few are there that understand any more, few that worship God in spirit and in truth. We too are _a generation that set not our hearts aright, and whose Spirit cleaveth not stedfastly unto God_: He hath appointed us indeed to be _the salt of the earth. But if the salt have lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men._
13. And _shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?_ Yea, we know not how soon he may say to the sword, _Sword, go through this land!_ He hath given us long space to repent. He lets us alone this year also: but he warns and awakens us by thunder. His judgments are abroad in the earth. And we have all reason to expect that heaviest of all, even _that he should come unto us quickly, and remove our candlestick out of its place, except we repent and do the first works_: unless we return to the principles of the reformation, the truth and simplicity of the gospel. Perhaps we are now resisting the last effort of divine grace to save us. Perhaps we have well nigh _filled up the measure of our iniquities_, by rejecting the counsel of God against ourselves, and calling out his messengers.
14. O God, _in the midst of wrath remember mercy_! Be glorified in our reformation, not in our destruction. Let us _hear the rod, and him that appointed it_. Now that _thy judgments are abroad in the earth_, let the _inhabitants of the world learn righteousness_.
15. My brethren, it is high time for us, to awake out of sleep; before the _great trumpet of the Lord be blown_, and our land become a field of blood. O may we speedily see the things that make for our peace, before they are hid from our eyes! _Turn thou us, O good Lord, and let thine anger cease from us. O Lord, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine_; and cause us to know the time of our visitation. _Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; O deliver us, and be merciful to our sins, for thy names sake. And so will we not go back from thee: O let us live, and we shall call upon thy name. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole._
_Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end._ Amen.