nothing awaits you but " destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power1:" for he has irreversi- bly declared, that " the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God8." If ye say, "This shall not be ;" then will I bring to your remembrance that awful admo- nition, " God is not a man, that he should lie ; nor the son of man, that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good1?" God's promises, it is true, are free and full : but " he will be inquired of," in earnest prayer, before he will vouchsafe to you his proffered blessings11.]
Lastly, Are there any who are discouraged by the idea that God will not condescend to them ?
[Persons too of this description were found in the days of old, who, in a desponding mood, complained, " The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me." But what was the answer of God to them ? " Can a woman forget her suck- ing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? Yea, they may forget : yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually before mex." Here is the very argument that is urged in my^ text, and with all the force which has been given to it. Let it come home to all your hearts, and make every one of you to " pray, without ceasing y," and without a doubt2.]
r 2 Thess. i. 9. s ps. ix. 17. t Numb, xxiii. 19.
u Ezek. xxxvi. 37. x Isai. xlix. 14—16. v 1 Thess. v. 17. z Jam. i. 6, 7.