with power to their souls, or " the love of God be shed abroad in their hearts," have they not a very foretaste of heaven upon earth ? Compare their state with that of others, on a dying bed : follow them in the instant of their departure from the body : see them welcomed to the bosom of their Lord : con- template their eternal state, in contrast with that of those who despised them ; and then say whether they have any reason to complain, that their fidelity to God occasioned on the whole a diminution of their happiness ?]
Address —
1. Those who are yet following their evil ways —
[One question I beg leave to put to you : Will God " do you no hurt ?" Inquire, I pray you : search the sacred re- cords : see what God has spoken respecting sin and sinners : Will it do you no hurt to bear his wrath, and to drink of the
cup of his indignation to all eternity ? We inquire
not, What are the ways you follow ? if you do not turn from every evil way to God, and devote yourself unreservedly to your Lord and Saviour, the issue will be the same, whatever course you take. Your guilt may be more or less aggravated, and your misery be apportioned accordingly : but, without entering into the different degrees of punishment, let me ask, Will not sin be visited with the wrath of God ? and will that
do you no hurt ? On the other hand, would not God
do you good, if you would return unto him ? " Turn
then from all your transgressions ; so iniquity shall not be your ruin8."]
2. Those who are turning from their evil ways —
[Halt not between two opinions : strive not to reconcile the inconsistent services of God and mammon*. " If Baal be God, follow him : but if the Lord be God, then follow him." There is a certain kind of turning unto God, by which you will suffer hurt on every side, and receive no benefit whatever. If your " heart be not whole with God," no good can accrue to you, nor can any evil be averted from you. The world will not approve of you, because you are too precise for them : and God will not approve of you, because you are not upright before him. Be not then temporizing and hypocritical, but open, decided, and consistent characters. " Follow your Lord fully :" " follow him without the camp, bearing his reproach11." Thus, though " your life may be accounted madness, and your end to be without honour, yet shall you be numbered among the children of God, and have your lot among his saints*."]
8 Ezek. xviii. 30. « Matt. vi. 24.
u Heb. xiii. 13. x Wisd. v. 4, 5.