your God " in judgment ? Yes, indeed : but it is a sad and melancholy truth, that few who have advanced beyond the middle term of life impenitent, are brought to repentance afterwards. Their habits are fixed ; their conceit of their own safety is become inveterate ; and their very consciences, as far as it respects every thing but gross sin, are seared. I thank God, however, that there are instances of persons entering into the service of their God even at the tenth or eleventh hour! Let me entreat you, beloved brethren, to be of that happy number; that, when you come to die, you may be able to adopt the words of our blessed Lord, and say, " Father, I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work which thou hast given me to do0."]
2. Those who are yet in early life —
[It can never be too early for you to begin this necessary work. The lambs which were appointed to be offered unto God in sacrifice, every morning and evening throughout the year, were to be " of the first yearp :" and it is in the earliest period of your lives that you should " offer yourselves living sacrifices to the Lordq." You will remember, that the first fruits of every thing were to be offered to God : and of the corn, they were to be of " full ears" indeed; for God must have every thing of the most perfect kind ; but they were to be " green ears," green ears " dried by fire," and beaten outr. And what can this import, but that, before you have attained that measure of maturity which is required for the service of man, you may, and must, be rendering service to your God ? You have examples of this in Samuel, Obadiah, Timothy ; and, above all, in our blessed Lord himself, who, at the age of twelve years, willingly devoted himself to his God and Father, in his temple s. Let me prevail on you to follow these examples ; and now, ere sin has hardened your hearts, and Satan has drawn you fully into his snares, to devote your- selves to God. And know, for your encouragement, that a special promise is given you of the Lord, " They that seek me early, shall find me*."]
3. All of you without exception —
[Through the mercy of our God the day is yet continued to you ; that day, which, within the last year, has closed on thousands, who, humanly speaking, were as likely to live as you. And, to multitudes of them, how dreary a night has commenced ! and how thankful would they be, if they were permitted once more to hear the tidings of salvation which
° John xvii. 4. p Exod. xxix. 38. i Rom. xii. 1.
r Lev. ii. 14. s Luke ii. 42, 49. l Prov. viii. 17.