impenitence and unbelief, as much as if they had never heard of the Saviour's love, or received the offers of a free sal- vation ]
And what can these expect, but the curse of God upon them ?
[A man will not always cultivate a field that requites all his labours with nothing but " thorns and briers:" neither will God always bestow his care on those who h6ld fast their iniquities, and continue unchanged under all the efforts that are made for their salvation. He has told us that " his Spirit shall not alway strive with man*^," and that, " if his word be not a savour of life to the life of any soul, it shall become a savour of death to his death and condemnation''." To this effect God
warned his Church of old*^ And our blessed Lord has
told us that a similar misimprovement of his Gospel will render our state worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrha^ ]
See then, brethren,
1. What matter here is for diligent inquiry —
[You see, and all around you see, the effects produced on the earth by fertilizing showers'": and should not similar effects be found on you ? See then whether you have, both in your heart and life, an evidence of the change which the Gospel produces on all who receive it aright, and to whom it comes with power ? I must warn you of your responsibility to God for all the means of grace. You do not depart from the house of God the same persons that you were when you came into it. If you are not softened by the word of God, you are hardened by it: and if you are not brought nearer to God by it for the remission of your sins, you are driven farther from him, to your everlasting confusion ^ ]
2. What reason here is for watchfulness and care —
[When you come to the house of God, remember that you come into the more immediate presence of the Deity ; and that every word you hear, wings its way to heaven to record the manner in which it was heard. Pray therefore to God before you go thither, and whilst you are there under the ministry of the word, and when you depart thence, that the word preached may be accompanied with a divine energy, and prove " the power of God to the salvation of your souls." And, if at any time a favourable impression be made upon you, beware that you do not lose it. It is i?i that pat'ticular view that the A2:)ostle suggests the comparison in my text : and
•> Gen. vi. 5. c 2 Cor. ii. 16. ^ Isai. v. 4 — 6.
e Matt. X. 15. f Isai. Iv, 10, 11. s Jam. i. 23—25.