1 . Ye children of this world — [How far are ye from according with God. With him, Christ is all ; with you, the world. If ye may but enjoy the pleasures, the honours, the riches of the world, ye care not about the image of Christ : to be rich in faith and good works is not the object of your ambition: that you leave to the old, the sick, the enthusiasts. But ah! if Christ be all, as indeed he is, think what a vanity you are pursuing : think how poor ye will be in the day of judgment ; and how you will then execrate your present ways. Be persuaded to be wise in time : and beg without delay that " Christ may be made unto you wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and re- demption V]
2. Ye self-deceiving professors —
[How many are there in the Church, who will talk about Christ, and speak of him as the ground of all their hopes, while yet they are shamefully destitute of his image ! Yes, grievous it is to say, that there are " many vain-talkers and deceivers " now, as well as in the apostolic age ; many that are proud and passionate ; many that are earthly-minded and covetous ; many that are unchaste and lewd ; many that are deceitful in their words, and dishonest in their dealings; many, in short, whose tempers, and dispositions, and conduct, are a disgrace to their profession. Know ye, if such there be here present, that ye are as unlike to God as Satan himself is ; and that all your knowledge, all your experiences, and all your professions, will only aggravate your condemnation, if you die in your present state '. You do well to rely on Christ, and to make him your all in point of dependence ; but know for a certainty, that, however you may pretend to trust in him, you never can be saved by him, unless you become new creatures k: for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord1."]
3. Ye true believers —
[You can appeal to God that you are like-minded with him in this grand point ; and that you desire as much to be saved from sin, as to be delivered from hell itself. This is a blessed evidence that ye are born of Godm. While ye are thus panting after holiness, ye have nothing to fear : your faith is sound", your hope is scriptural0, and saving p. Go on then from grace to grace, from strength to strength q. Be daily
h 1 Cor. i. 30. « Jobxxxvi. 13. k 2 Cor. v. 17.
1 Heb. xii. 14. m 1 John hi. 10. " Jam. ii. 22.
0 1 John iii. 3. P Rom. v. 5. and viii. 24. 'i 2 Pet. iii. 18.