The path of the godly is narrow, and the entrance upon it strait —
[The way of God's commandments is that to which the godly are confined ; and the entrance upon it is by conversion. A man must have seen the evil and danger of his former ways: he must have come to Christ who is " the door'';" and, re- nouncing every other hope, he must cleave unto Christ with full purpose of heart. Having thus entered, he must go for- ward in an uniform course of dependence upon Christ, and devotedness to him. This is indeed a strait and narrow way. A partial repentance, a divided trust, a reserved obedience, will not suffice; our contrition must be deep, our faith un- feigned, and our dedication of ourselves to God entire, or we shall only deceive our own souls.]
To enter upon this path is our bounden duty —
[God never intended that men should follow the imagina- tion of their own hearts. He calls us to himself, and invites us by every argument that can aflTect a rational being. Nor will he leave us to fail for want of strength. If we will exert our- selves in earnest and cry imto him for help, nothing shall be impossible unto us. Difficult as the duty is, it has been per- formed by many in all ages. We therefore should exert our- selves without delay. We must not stand aloof, doubting and hesitating whether we shall enter upon this way or not; nor must we put off* the time of entering upon it to some more convenient season. The command of God is clear and univer- sal, " Enter ye in at the strait gate."]
We shall see the importance of this duty if we attend to,
II. The arguments with which it is enforced —
No stronger arguments can be urged than those suggested in the text —
1. The broad way, however crowded, will infallibly lead us to destruction —
[Every way of sin will destroy the soul: whether it be open and notorious, or secret and refined, it will surely bring upon us the wrath of God. Nor will the numbers of those who walk in any way at all affect the quality of their actions Sin will be sin, though the whole world should countenance each other in the commission of it. The idolatrous compliance of the Babylonish nation was not the less sinful because it was sanctioned by numbers; nor was the nonconformity of the
h John X. 9.