time, if by any means we may be induced to repent and turn unto him. Let any one only look back upon his past life ; and he shall find that there have been some periods when he has felt a conviction upon his mind that it was his duty, and would be his happiness, to seek after God, and obtain, whilst yet he might, the remission of his sins.]
But we resist his sacred motions —
[To whom amongst us may not those words of Stephen be applied, (if not in reference to the present moment, yet certainly in reference to some period of our lives,) " Ye stiff- necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so also do yed." We may not, indeed, have set ourselves in such hostility to the truth as they did; but have we been more practically obedient than they? Have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, calling us to repentance, and to a dedication of our whole selves to him ? Alas ! there has been the same stoutness of heart in us, as in persons of a more profane character; many of whom, perhaps, have " said, I will not, but afterwards have repented, and went" into their Lord's vineyard ; whilst we, perhaps, have said, " I go, Sir," but have been as far from executing our acknowledged duty as evere.]
And will the Spirit always continue to strive with us ?
[No : we are assured he will not. We know that his motions maybe resisted, till they are altogether " quenched f." And in many instances has he been driven away by the obsti- nacy of those with whom he had striven. Of Saul we are told, that " the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul ; and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled himg." And it was not without reason that David prayed, " Cast me not away from thy pre- sence ! and take not thy Holy Spirit from meh!" When God saw his ancient people incurably addicted to idolatry, He said, " Ephraim is joined to idols : let him alone1." And what else can we expect, if we continue obstinate in our sins? The doom of Israel must of necessity be ours. Of them it is said, " They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit ; therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and fought against themk :" and we verily can expect no other, than that He, whose solicitations we refused to follow, as a Friend, shall send forth his vindic- tive judgments against us, as an Enemy.]
Let me then proceed to shew,
d Acts vii. 51. e Matt. xxi. 28—30. f 1 Thess. v. 19.
e 1 Sam. xvi. 14. h Ps. li. 11. » Hos. iv. 17.
k Isai. lxiii. 10.