fountain of the Redeemer's blood: ye all need to " turn from your transgressions, that so iniquity may not be your ruin." O that God may enable you to accept this warning with all thankfulness ! We have striven, as it became us, to " deliver our own souls : " the Lord grant that, in thus endeavouring to " save ourselves, we may be instrumental to save also those that hear usf! "]
f 1 Tim. iv. 16.
Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the ivicked turn from his way and live : turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel ?
THE excuses which men offer for not turning unto God, are, for the most part, reflections cast on the Deity himself. One man deems the service of God unnecessary ; another thinks it impracticable in his particular situation ; another says, I can do nothing without grace, and if God do not bestow his grace upon me, how can I help myself? Such was the disposition manifested by the Jews of old, when they were invited and commanded to repent : they complained, that it was to no purpose to repent, since they were already pining away under their transgressions ; and that the promises of life, which were held forth to them in God's name, were delu- sive, since God, so far from wishing to pardon them, had shewn a pleasure in executing his vengeance upon them3. Against such unrighteous accusations, God vindicates himself by an oath, and by the most pressing and affectionate exhortation renews his calls to repentance. In the message which he sent by the prophet to the Jews, we have his message to sinners of every age and nation : and in delivering it to you at this time we would call your attention to two things contained in it :
a This seems to be implied in ver. 10. as connected with the text.