peace?" Did you never hear what God replies to those who say, " I shall have peace, though I walk after the imaginations of my heart?" " The Lord, it is said, will not spare that man ; but the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against him; and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him ; and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven'." Go on, if you are determined so to do ; but know, that " whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap : he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption ; and he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap Ufe everlasting'^."]
2. The self-righteous moralist —
[Solomon justly observes, "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, but are not washed from their filthiness'." And such is the character of those whom we are now addressing. They are ready to say, " I have kept all the commandments from my youth up : and what lack 1 yet?" But, like that deluded Youth, they lack the one thing needful, namely, " to forsake all, and follow Christ." This they do not: this they will not do : they hold fast their own righteousness, and will not renounce it for an interest in his. Such was Paul in his unconverted state : but when his eyes were opened to see the plan of Salvation revealed in the Gospel, then " he counted all things but dung and dross that he might win Christ, and be found in him, not having his own righteousness, but Christ's." Know then. Brethren, that, if you trust in the law, you shall be tried by the law, and suffer all its penalties for your infrac- tions of it : but if you will embrace the Gospel, and seek for acceptance solely through the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall find that " in him you shall be justified, and in him shall you glory."]
3. The professed believer —
[Much blindness yet remains within us after we have be- lieved in Christ : and the most eminent believer still needs to maintain a godly jealousy over his own deceitful heart. The Apostles themselves at one time " knew not what manner of spirit they were of." But where shall we find any amongst ourselves that suspect this to be their own case ? Alas ! we all are more or less blinded by self-love : and, when most confident of our own integrity, we still need to say with Paul, " I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified ; but he that judgeth me is the Lord""." We entreat you to guard with all possible care against the delusions of your own hearts ; for they will assuredly, if persisted in, betray you to your ever- lasting ruin. The express declaration of God on this subject is, " If thou sayest, (in reference to any duty neglected, or sin
i Deut. xxix. 19, 20. '^ Gal. vi. 7, 8.
1 Prov. XXX. 12. m 1 Cor iv. 4.