decree, or to reverse his sentence. He has said, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die":" and die it shall, even " the second death, in the lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone :" nor if the whole universe should combine their efforts to avert the sentence, should they ever prevail in any single instance p. " The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men'' :" and sooner shall heaven and earth pass away, than one impenitent transgressor escape. How great then must be the folly of making a mock at sin ! If we could prevail on God to accord with our views, and to concede that sin should pass unpunished, we might have some plea for our conduct : but if the effect of our representations be only to deceive our own souls, and to rivet the chains with which sin and Satan have already bound us, we must confess that Solomon's \iews of such conduct are just, and that they are " fools" who " make a mock at sin."]
To all of you then I would, in conclusion, say,
1. Make not light of sin yourselves —
[Your souls, your immortal souls, are at stake. Were the consequences of your error only temporary, we might leave you to enjoy your own delusions : but they are eternal. There is no repentance in the grave. " As the tree falls, so it will lie." If you die under the guilt of sin, your doom is irreversible, yoiu: misery everlasting. How do milHons that are now in the eternal world curse their folly for making light of sin, in direct opposition to all that God had spoken in his word respecting it ! and in what accents would they speak, if they could now have access to you to warn you ! I pray you then be wise in time ; and seek without delay to obtain " the forgiveness of your sins through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus "^ " ]
2. Regard not the scoffs of those who do —
[Suppose it desirable to possess the good opinion of the world : yet surely to purchase it at the expense of your im- mortal soul is to pay too high a price for it : it is but for a moment at all events : and though it is valuable so far as it may give you an influence over them for their good, yet it cannot for one moment be put in competition with the testi- mony of a good conscience, and the approbation of your God. You are taught to expect, that if you will not countenance the world in their ways, they will do all they can to discoun- tenance you in yours. You see that this has been the case from the beginning : from the time of Abel to this hour, " they who have been born after the flesh have persecuted those who
» Ezek. xviii. 20. p Prov, xi. 21. q Rom. i. 18. ^ Col. i. 14.
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