do not conform to God's law ; (nor indeed have they any wish to do so ;) but yet, though their actions are not correct, their hearts are good : they mean no harm : they do as they would be done by ; and that, in their estimation, comprehends all that is required of them. It is truly astonishing to see how, in the midst of all their iniquities, men will " bless themselves in their hearts" as much as if there were nothing amiss ha their conduct. They quite resent the idea of being sinners, and of deserving God's wrath and indignation : they conceive that they are very good sort of people (as the expression is), and deserving of God's favour. Thus it was with the Jews of old; "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these f:" they thought that no expressions were too strong to characterize their goodness. And thus do sinners in this day boast of their goodness : yea, not only the moral and sober do so, but even the drunken, the sensual, the profane : all are ready to think themselves as good as they need to be, and to answer, like the Youth in the Gospel, " What lack I yet?" So blinded are they by Satan, and hardened through the deceitfulness of their own hearts !]
3. Their confidence —
[They entertain no doubts or fears : they think that all go to heaven, and that they must of necessity be happy when they die. " I shall have peace," is the bold assertion of every one amongst them ; nor will they suffer the safety of their state to be once questioned. On some occasions perhaps a suspicion arises in their minds that it is not quite so well with them as they imagine ; but in general they go on as assured of happiness as if all the promises of the Gospel were on their side. Nor is this only in the thoughtlessness of youth : their confidence increases with their age : and even in death they frequently retain it to such a degree as to feel no fear of death : and this delusion of theirs is considered by the survivors as an evidence of their final acceptance. Well does the prophet say of them, " A deceived heart hath turned them aside, so that they can- not deliver their souls, nor sav, Is there not a lie in my right hand?"]
But God views them with other eves, and de- nounces, II. Their awful doom —
The terms in which this is declared are sufficient to alarm the most careless sinner. The wrath of God is here denounced against him. This must be his portion: and this doom is,
f Jer. vii. 4.