[How merciful is the warning which he has given to all to " enter in at the strait gate, and to walk in the narrow way*!" Surely the thought of an eternal existence, either in happiness or misery, should operate upon all ; and, if duly contemplated, it will operate on all, to deter them from evil, and to stimulate them in the path of duty. It is impossible for one who cordially embraces this sentiment not to set him- self in earnest to secure the happiness provided for him in the Gospel.]
See then, brethren,
1. How highly you are privileged above the hea- then—
[There is not a child amongst us, that is not wiser in this
respect than all the philosophers of Greece and Rome
But what if we do not improve our knowledge ? Shall not the heathen rise up in judgment against us, and condemn us? Yes, verily: " the people of Tyre and Sidon, yea, of Sodom and Gomorrha, will find it more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than we," if we do not avail ourselves of the light afforded us, to " flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal life."]
2. What obligations we owe to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ —
[To Him we owe both the light that has discovered these things, and the salvation that renders this discovery so delight- ful. To what purpose would the eternity of rewards and punishments be made known to us, if a way to avoid the one, and obtain the other, had not been revealed ? It would have only been to " torment us before our time." In truth, there are none more miserable than they, who, being assured of the immortality of the soul, are ignorant of the way in which they may obtain acceptance with God. Glad would they be, if there were no future judgment. Glad would they be, if, when the time of their departure from the body arrives, they could be annihilated altogether. What is it that makes the very mention of death so painful to the generality of men? It is the dread of an hereafter, which oIFers to their view no prospect but of " wrath and fiery indignation to consume them." But to you who believe in Christ, and look to him for the remission of your sins, all this gloom has passed away, and " glory and honour and immortality" present themselves to your view as your assured portion ! O ! bless that adorable Saviour, who by his own death has abolished death, and by his own ascension to glory has shewn to you the felicity that
' Matt. vii. 13, 14.