has " waited to be gracious unto us ; " and at this very moment does he follow us with his overtures of mercy, saying, " As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways : for why will ye die, O House of Israel? "]
From viewing the character of God, let us proceed to notice,
II. The reflections naturally suggested by it — We cannot but see here,
1. Our base ingratitude —
[What might we justly expect to be the state of our minds towards such a God as this ? Methinks, we might well be filled with wonder and amazement at his forbearance towards us, and be striving to answer all the purposes of his grace by turning towards him with our whole hearts. But how is it with us ? We are, for the most part, altogether insensible of his mercy. We receive his benefits very nearly as they are re- ceived by the brute creation, without any distinct acknowledg- ment of him, or any heartfelt gratitude towards him. Scarcely of any mercy whatever are we sensible, but by the loss of it: when it is gone, we see what we have enjoyed : but, whilst we possess it, it makes very little impression on our minds. Even the great mercy of Salvation, that which fills all heaven with wonder, is scarcely contemplated by us at all. Perhaps in the whole of our lives, we never spent one hour in adoring him for the gift of his only clear Son, and in imploring mercy at his hands in the Saviour's name! Say, Brethren, whether this have not been your sad experience? and whether it do not mark you as base — beyond expression or conception base ?]
2. Our awful desert —
[Take only this view of your state, and then say what you deserve at the hands of a holy God. What would you think a fellow-creature would deserve at your hands, if he should deal thus with you ? Suppose you had exerted yourselves all your days to make him happy, and that with unbounded beneficence and inconceivable self-denial; and suppose, that, notwithstand- ing this, he never testified any regard for you, never concerned himself about you, never sought to please you, never obeyed any of your commands, but trampled under foot your authority, and made use of all the favours which you heaped upon him, for no other end than to wound your feelings and cast dis- honour upon your name : would you not say, ' You are unworthy of my " compassion." and shall be an object of it no longer. I have been " slow to anger " against you, and " of great mercy towards you ;" but my patience is now exhausted, and can find no more scope for exercise. The mercies you
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have so despised shall be now withdrawn, and you shall be left to eat the fruit of your own doings ? ' If, then, you would think this an equitable retribution from one creature to another, judge what is due to yourselves from the hands of an offended God. You need not ever have committed one heinous sin to subject you to the wrath of God : this ingratitude alone will justify the infliction of his heaviest judgments on your souls.]
3. The extreme folly of not turning unto God —
[Is God so full of compassion towards you, so patient, so long-suffering, so abundant in mercy ; and will you withstand him to the uttermost, till his patience is come to an end, and " his mercy is clean gone for ever?" Nay, will you make use of all God's mercies for no better purpose than to aggravate your guilt, and to enhance your eternal condemnation ? Think what reflections will press upon your mind in the eternal world, when your hope is perished, and you are lost without a remedy. How bitter will be the thought, that you thus wasted your day of grace, and constrained your God to " swear in his wrath that you should never enter into his rest." Me thinks the recol- lection of these things will be the bitterest ingredient in that bitter cup which you will have to drink of to all eternity. Can you conceive, that if such tidings as now sound in your ears were sent to the heirs of perdition that are shut up in hell, they would be so slighted as they are with you? No, verily : there would be in them, at least, a desire to escape from their torment, even though they did not affect the felicity of heaven. But neither the allurements of heaven nor the terrors of hell can move you. I pray you, Brethren, " harden not your hearts any longer ;" but "to-day, whilst it is called to-day," avail your- selves of God's proffered mercy in Christ Jesus, and " flee for refuge to the hope that he has set before you."]