[Many hear the Gospel, and approve it, who yet are never truly converted by it, never stirred up to flee from the wrath to come, never quickened to lay hold on eternal life : religion never becomes the one business of their lives : they never engage in it as the voluptuary in his pleasures, or as the worldling in his pursuits : they may go on in a round of observances; but they want the life and power of godliness: their religion is destitute of zest, and earnestness, and uni- formity Now these persons withstand the most power- ful engine which God himself employs for the conversion of the world. If they had never heard the sound of the Gospel, there might be hope that they would submit to it as soon as it should reach their ears : but they have heard it, and con- tinue to resist its power, or to yield to it only a feigned and limited obedience. Let such persons consider the warning- given them by St. James: for, whilst they are "hearers only, and not doers, of the law, they fearfully deceive their own souls : it is the doer of it only, that shall be blessed in his
deeds"." Let us then examine what effects the Gospel
produces upon us ; let us see what conformity there is in our spirit and conduct to the examples of Christ and his Apostles : it is not by a mere outward morality that we must judge of ourselves, but by the spirituality of our minds, and the heaven- liness of our lives. It is to this, that "Moses, and the Prophets" invite us; and, if we "hear them" not to this end, we hear them altogether in vain.]
2. How inexcusable are they who will not hear the Gospel !
[Various are the grounds on which men slight the ever- lasting Gospel : some think it too early in life to pay any attention to it; others are too busy; others take up a prejudice against it; others are deterred by the fear of man. But what would they say to us, who are now fixed in their eternal state, if they were permitted to come and declare their minds ? Would the blest inhabitant of heaven tell us, that his reward is too small a compensation for his labour, and that he regrets having paid so much attention to the concerns of his soul ? Or would the wretched companion of devils and damned spirits represent his sufferings as unworthy to be regarded, and tell us that we need give ourselves no trouble to escape them? No : whether it should be the Rich Man from hell, or Lazarus from heaven, that should come to us, his testimony would be, " The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil, that is understanding." Beware therefore, brethren, lest you suffer any thing to divert your attention from the Gospel
» Jam. i. 22—25.