Cross of Christ, the Christian's glory

THE

CROSS OF CHRIST,

THE

CHRISTIAN'S GLORY.

A

SERMON

PREACHED

At the Visitation of the Reverend John Brown D. D. Archdeacon of Northampton; held at All-Saints, in Northampton, on May 10, 1753.

Galatians vi. 14. God forbid that I ſhould glory, ſave in the Croſs of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.

TO WHICH IS ADDED,
THE AUTHOR'S LAST SERMON.

 

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By the late Reverend JAMES HERVEY, A. M.
Rector of Weſton-Favell, in Northamptonſhire.

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GLASGOW,

PRINTED BY J. AND M. ROBERTSON.

1802.

THE

CROSS OF CHRIST,

THE

CHRISTIAN’S GLORY.

Gal. vi. 14. God forbid that I ſhould glory, ſave in the Croſs of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.

THE croſs of Chriſt was the favourite topic of St. Paul’s contemplation; The croſs of Chriſt was the choſen ſubjeft of his ſermons, and the grand theme of his writings. At all times, and in every capacity, he profeſſed, he avowed, he gloried in the croſs of Chriſt. Nay, what is very remarkable, he gloried in nothing elſe—and, what is ſtill more obſervabley he abhorred the thought of glorying in any thing elſe. He ſpeaks of ſuch a practice, in the language of deteſtation and dread, accounting it a high degree both of folly and wickedneſs: God forbid that I ſhould glory fave in the croſs of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.

It may therefore be an employ worthy of our preſent attention, to enquire into the nature, the reaſonableneſs, and the wiſdom of this reſolution. All which, I hope will appear if we conſider,

I. In what the apoſtle would not glory.

II. In what he did glory.

III. What reaſon he had to glory in the croſs of Chriſt. Theſe points being briefly diſpatched, I ſhall beg leave to add a word of application, ſuggeſted by the tenor of the diſcourſe, and adapted to the circumſtances of my ſeveral hearers. And may that adorable Jeſus, who has exchanged his Croſs for a heavenly Crown, accompany all with his divine bleſſing! Let us then enquire,

I. In what the apoſtle did not glory. Not in the greatneſs of his learning, as a ſcholar. He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel; educated by the moſt famous tutor of the age. Nor was his genius or his induſtry, inferior to the other advantages of his education. Yet all theſe advantages, with their correſpondent acquiſitions, he accounted no better than pompous ignorance, of refined folly.

Not in the ſtrictneſs of his life, as a Jew, In this reſpect he profited above his equals; was taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers; after the ſtricteſt feet of their religion, he lived a Phariſee: was zealous, exceeding zealous, of the whole cerimonial law, and all the traditional conſtitutions. Which accompliſhments muſt finiſh his character among his countrymen; muſt open his way to ſome of the firſt honours of the nation; and give him a name among thoſe worthies who were reputed the excellent of the earth. But what others counted gain, this he counted loſs for Chriſt. Not in the eminency of his gifts, nor in the extent of his uſefulneſs of a Chriſtian miniſter. He had been caught up into the third heaven; had heard the words of God, and ſeen the viſion of the Almighty; had wrought all manner of wonders and ſigns, and mighty deeds.-What was ſtill more valuable, he had planted churches, and converted ſouls. His labours were gone out into all lands, and his words into the ends of the earth. Yet all theſe acquirements, before the infinite God, were defective; all theſe performances, in point of juſtification, were inſufficient. Therefore, in none of theſe he gloried. Which reminds me of the ſecond inquiry.

II. In what did the apoſtle glory? He gloried in a croſs. Strange! What ſo ſcandalous as a croſs? On a croſs rebellious ſlaves were executed. The croſs was execrable among men, and accurſed even by God, yet the apoſtle glories in the croſs. Crucifixion not being uſed among us, the expreſſion does not found ſo harſh, neither is the idea ſo horrid. But to the ear of a Galatian, it conveyed much the ſame meaning, as if the apoſtle had gloried in a halter, gloried in the gallows, gloried in a gibbet.

Stupid creature, perhaps ſome may reply, to undervalue the ſame ſubſtantial endowments, and glory in infancy itſelf! But ſtop a moment, and hear the apoſtle farther. He glories in the croſs of Chriſt; that illuſtrious perſon, who was anointed so be the all-inſtructing prophet, the all-attoning prieſt, and the all-conquering king of the church. In the croſs of Chriſt Jeſus; who, by the diſcharge of all thoſe important offices, ſhould ſave his people from the dominion of ſin, and from the damnation of hell. In the croſs of Chriſt Jeſus our Lord; and not ours only, but Lord of all; who hath on his veſture, and on his thigh written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

And is it poſlible for any human heart to contemplate the croſs of ſo divine a Being, and not to glory? is it poſſible to ſay, Angels, he rules over you; but he died, he died on a croſs for meː and not exult in ſuch tranſporting beneficence?———This will be more evident, if we examine,

III. What reaſon the apoſtle had to glory in the croſs of Chriſt. The croſs, though in itſelf an ignominious tree; yet, being the croſs of Chriſt, is infinitely ennobled. It becomes the tree of life; it bears the divine fruit; its cluſters are all ſpiritual and heavenly bleſſings. Two or three of thoſe cluſters you will permit me to ſelect; and may the God of all mercy make them better than a feaſt to every humble ſoul.

One bleſſing is the pardon of ſin; the pardon of all ſin, original and actual; Sin that is remembered, and ſin that is forgotten: Sin, however circumſtanced, or however aggravated, the pardon of all was purchaſed by the death of Chriſt;———completely purchased; ———ſo that, againſt the true believer, ſin ſhall never riſe up in judgement; ſhall not ſo much as be mentioned unto him; ſhall be done away as tho' it had never been. For, thus faith the ambaſſador of the Prince of peace, Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgivneſs of ſins, and by him all that believe are juſtified from all things. Oh, my ſoul! my guilty ſoul! what are all the kingdomsof the world, and the glories of them, compared with this ineffable bleſſing! Yet this is but one among a multitude.

Another benefit, accruing from the croſs of Chriſt, is reconciliation with God. When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, by the death of his Son. Not pardoned only, but accepted; from a ſtate of enmity, reſtored to a ſtate of favour! even that favour which is better than life. A privilege of ſuch ſuperlative excellency, that it was celebrated in the hymns of angels. When the heavenly hoſt offered a ſong, this was the ſubject of their harmonious joy: Glory be to God in the higheſt, and or earth peace, good will towards men. “By the birth of this wonderful Child, and the death he ſhall ſuſtain, peace is made between heaven and earth: and not peace only, but a divine friendſhip commences. God regards the poor apoſtate race of men, not only without indignation, but with complacency and delight. He rejoices over them to do them good." Another benefit is holineſs; or, if you pleaſe, the true, the Chriſtian morality, Let none think, the believer in Jeſus diſparages true morality. True morality is the image of the bleſſed God: It is moſt charmingly delineated throughout the whole Bible: It is the beginning of heaven in the human ſoul; and its proper origin is from the croſs of our divine Maſter. For, thro' the merits of his death, ſinners are made partakers of the holy Spirit; who writes upon their hearts, and makes legible in their converſation, what was anciently written upon the mitre of the high-prieſt, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And oh! what a motive is the croſs of Chriſt to the exerciſe of every virtue! He died; my Lord, my Judge, my King died; to redeem me from all iniquity, and make me zealous of good works. How powerfully, far beyond any naked inſtructions, or abſtract reaſonings, do ſuch conſiderations invite us, urge us, conſtrain us, to renounce all ungodlineſs, and adorn the goſpel of God our Saviour!

Another bleſſing is victory over death. This alſo is the fruit of that once deteſted, but now ever beloved tree. For thus it is written, That through death, be might deſtroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their life-time ſubject to bondage. The devil is ſaid to have the power of death; becauſe, by tempting too ſucceſsfully our firſt parents, he brought death into the world; becauſe, by tempting their poſterity to ſin, and too often prevailing, he arrays death in horror; he arms death with its ſting. But Chriſt, by expiating our guilt, has diſarmed this laſt enemy's has taken away its ſting, and made it not loſs, but gain to die. The gay, and the healthy, know not how to form an eſtimate of this deliverance; nor can any words of mine deſcribe it with proper energy, Go to dying beds; there you will learn its true worth. Aſk ſome agonizing friend; he, and he alone can tell you, what a bleſſing it is to have the king of terrors, converted into a meſſenger of peace.

One bleſſing more I would mention, and earneſtly with it, in due time, to all my hearers; an entrance into heaven. This too is the produce of our Redeemer's croſs. St. John ſaw a bright aſſembly of happy beings, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, rejoicing before the throne of God. Theſe, ſaid one of the venerable elders, are they who came out of great tribulation, and have waſhed their robes, and made them white, in the blood of the Lamb. THEREFORE are they before the throne. They came out of great tribulation: They ſuffered, it is probable, in the ſervice of Chriſt: perhaps they laid down their lives for his ſake. But this was not their paſſport into the regions of bliſs. They waſhed their robes in the blood of the Lambː they had applied to their own ſoulst' merit and atonement of the crucified Jeſus. By this means they were preſented without ſpot, and blameleſs; on this account they were admitted to ſee the King of heaven in his beauty! and to be ever, ever with the Lord.

Since then the croſs of Chriſt was demonſtrative of ſuch ſtupenduous love; ſince it is productive of benefits innumerable, invaluable, and eternal; was there not a cauſe for the apoſtle to glory on this behalf? Nay, might not the very ſtones have cried out, to reproach him with inſenſibility and ingratitude, if he had neglected to glory in the croſs of Chriſt. And ſince this love was ſhewed, theſe benefits were procured, not for him only, but for us, and for all generations; does not this afford me an opportunity of applying the doctrine to each particular hearer?

1. Let me addreſs, or rather let me congratulate my brethren in the miniſtry. Tho' you cannot controul the laws of nature; though you cannot ſee into the ſecrets of futurity, you have the ſame cauſe of glorying with the very chief of the apoſtles, a cauſe of glorying, which that holy man of God eſteemed far above all ſuch miraculous abilities. You have the croſs of Chriſt for your ſtudy, as men; for your hope, as Chriſtians; for your preaching, as miniſters.

For your ſtudy, as men. Here the reaſoning faculties may exert themſelves with everlaſting improvement, and everlaſting delight. Here we contemplate the wonders, the unparalleled wonders, of a God made man; dying as a pattern of patience, as a martyr for truth, as an all-perfect ſacrifice for ſin. Here the LORD JEHOVAH hath fully granted what his ſervant Moſes ſo earneſtly requeſted; he hath made all his glory to paſs before the aſtoniſhed eyes of angels and of men. Here juſtice has ſet her moſt awful terrors in array, even while goodneſs appears, with inexpreſſive lovelineſs, and the moſt attractive beauty. Here truth, more unſhaken than a rock, takes her immoveable ſtand: and mercy, tenderer than the mother's tears, yearns with bowels of everlaſting pity. In a word, the croſs of Chriſt is a conſpicuous theatre, on which all the divine perfections unite, and harmonize, and ſhire forth with tranſcendent luſtre.

As chriſtians, we have, in the croſs of Chriſt, the richeſt proviſion for our own ſpiritual wants. This is a foundation of the ſublimeſt hope, and a fountain of the moſt exuberant joy: this affords matter of the deepeſt humility, and yields fuel for the moſt flaming love. Faith in our crucified Jeſus is an ever-active principle of the moſt chearful and exact obedience is an ample and inexhauſtible magazine, from we may fetch arms to counquer, abſolutely conquer the allurements of the world, the ſolicitations of the 18th, and the temptations of the devil. ———By this a way is opened for us into THE HOLY OF HOLIES: and what may we not venture to aſk, what may we not expect to receive, who have the blood of the everlaſting covenant to plead in all our approaches to the throne of grace? Having therefore ſuch an high prieſt; having in this croſs unſearchable riches; who ſhall make our glorying void? What ſhall hinder us from rejoicing and ſaying, Bleſſed be God for the opening beauties of ſpring! Bleſſed be God for the expected fruits of autumn! Bleſſed be God for ten thouſand thouſand gifts of his indulgent providence! but above all, bleſſed be God for the croſs of Chriſt.

As miniſters of the goſpel, we are not left to ſet before our hearers a ſyſtem of refined heatheniſm; or to entertain them with cold ſpiritleſs lectures of virtue. No; we have the infinitely tender love, the immenſely free grace, of the bleeding, dying IMMANUEL, to diſplay, to improve, to enforce. And is there a topic in the whole compaſs of oratory, is there an argument amidſt all the ſtores. of reaſon, ſo admirably calculated to touch the fineſt movements of the ſoul, to ſtrike all the inmoſt ſprings of action, with the moſt perſuaſive, the moſt commanding energy? Would we alarm the ſupine, or intimidate the preſumptuous? we may call them to behold God's own Son weltering in blood. God's own Son transfixed with the arrows of juſtice; we may bid them conſider, if judgement begins with the immaculate Mediator, where ſhall the irreclaimable ſinner appear? how will he eſcape the ſtroke? how bear the weight of God’s everlaſting vengeance? Would we comfort the diſtreſſed we may point them to an atonement, whoſe merits are infinite, and able to ſave to the very uttermoſt we may lead them to a righteouſneſs whoſe efficacy is unbounded, and ſufficient to juſtify the ungodly. And what balm can be ſo ſovereign for an wounded conſcience? Are we to ſupport the weak, and animate the doubting? here we may ſhew them promiſes, free promiſes, exceeding great and precious promiſes, ratified by the oath of Jehovah, and feared by the blood of his Son. And what cordials can be ſo reſtorative to the drooping Chriſtian?

In ſhort, the doctrine of the croſs is ſuited to anſwer all the great ends of our miniſtry, and promote all the truly valuable intereſts of our people. By this the holy ſpirits delights to work: and this, O Satan, ſhall be thy plague; this, O Sin, ſhall be thy deſtruction. However, therefore, the croſs might be to the Jews a ſtumbling-block, and to the Greeks fooliſhneſs; God forbid that we ſhould glory in any thing elſe! Let this be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, of all our public miniſtrations. Let us leave a favour of this knowledge, which is far better than precious ointment, in every private company. Let it appear, from all our converſation, that the affections of our heart, and the labours of our life, are devoted, wholly devoted, to our adored Redeemer's croſs. Happy the people who are under the care of ſuch miniſters? and bleſſed the miniſters who walk according to this rule!

2. Let me exhort all the true believers; thoſe who are vile in their own eyes, and to whom Chriſt alone is precious. Remember, brethren, what is written in the prophets: it is a deſcription of your eſtate; it is a direction for your conduct. In the Lord, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, Shall all the feed of Iſrael be juſtified, and in him ſhall they glory.

Let none ſay that religion is a gloomy or uncomfortable ſtates I call upon you this day to rejoice. Let none ſay that religion is a mean and deſpicable thing: I call upon you this day to glory: and have the divine authority for both. You will diſhonour the bleſſed Jeſus, you will diſparage his ſurpaſsing excellency, if you do not conſide in him, and make your boaſt of him. Chriſt is King of heaven, Chriſt is Judge of the world, Chriſt is God over all. And of ſuch a Saviour ſhall we not glory? Yes, verily, and in all circumſtances, and on every occaſion.

Amidſt your manifold infirmities, glory in Chriſt. For, though he was crucified in weakneſs, he hath all power in heaven and earth. And it is written before him, it is one of his immutable decrees, Sin ſhall not have dominion over you. Amidſt your various failings, glory in Chriſt. For his righteouſneſs covers all your imperfections, his righteouſneſs ſecures you from wrath and condemnation; and, though deficient in yourſelves, you are complete in him. Under the preſſure of tribulations, lift up your heads, and glory in the croſs: becauſe the Captain of your ſalvation, was made perfect through ſufferings. If you ſuffer with him, you ſhall alſo reign with him, and the ſufferings of this preſent time are not worthy to be compared with the happineſs which Chriſt hath purchaſed with his agonies, and will quickly beſtow on his people, when death approaches, death that cuts off the ſpirit of princes, and is terrible among the kings of the earth, do you ſtill glory in the croſs. Adhering to this banner, you may boldly and triumphantly ſay, O death, where is thy ſting! O grave, where is thy victory? When that great tremendous day ſhall come, which puts an end to time and terreſtrial things; when that awful, that majeſtic, voice is heard, which commands all the race of Adam to appear at the bar; then, my dear brethren in Chriſt, then alſo ſhall you glory in the croſs. When others, in an agony of terror, call upon rocks to fall on them and mountains to overwhelm them; this ſhall be your fedate appeal; rather, this ſhall be your heroic challenge: Who ſhall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? it is God that juſtifieth; who is be that condemneth? It is Chriſt that died. Then ſhall you enter the harbour of eternal reſt; not like a ſhip-wrecked mariner, cleaving to ſome broken plank, and hardly eſcaping the raging waves; but like ſome ſtately veſſel, with all her ſails expanded, and riding before a proſperous gale.

3. Let me caution the ſelf-righteous; thoſe who more frequently think of their own piety than of Chriſt's obedience; are more apt to cry out, with the Phariſee, I am no extortioner; no adulterer; than to confeſs with the Publican, God be merciful to me a ſinner. What ſhall I ſay to theſe perſons? Let me not be thought cenſorious, when my only aim is to be faithful. Beware, I beſeech you, leſt you build for eternity, not an a rock, but on the ſand. However you may appear in your own fight before the adorable Majeſty of the everlaſting God, before the conſumate perfection of his holy law, you are leſs than nothing, you are worſe than nothing: you are indeed; you are deficiency and ſin. Renounce, therefore, renounce all dependence on ſelf. Truſt no longer in a refuge of lies; left all your admired attainments, at the day of final retribution be like fraw, and hay, and ſtubble, in Nebuchadnezzar's burning fiery furnace. Imitate the bleſſed penman of my text. Are you blameleſs in your external carriage? ſo was he. Are you examplary in many points? ſo was he. Yer all this righteouſneſs he accounted dung, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chriſt Jeſus his Lord . Be this your pattern. Write emptineſs upon your own duties, emptineſs upon your own works; and you ſhall be filled with all the fulneſs of God your Saviour. Every other cauſe of glorying, will be like the morning cloud, or the early dew, which paſſeth away; but this cauſe of glorying will ſtand faſt for evermore, as the moon, and as the faithful witneſs in heaven.

Can I conclude, without adding a word of admonition to the wicked; thoſe, I mean, who are enemies to the croſs of Chriſt; who mind earthly things, but neither hunget nor thirſt after righteouſneſs. My ſoul remembers the wormwood and the gall of ſuch a ſtate, and cannot but tenderly pity theſe unhappy people. Alas! my friends, what have you to glory in? The devil and his angels expect ere long to glory in your deſtruction. Thoſe malignant fiends are eyeing you as their prey, and are impatient to begin your torment. Great, inexpreſibly great is your danger: the Lord Almighty open your eyes to diſcern it. Nevertheleſs, your caſe is not deſperate. You may yet be delivered, as a bird out of the ſnare of the fowler. Look unto the crucified Jeſus. Why does he hang on that bloody tree? Why are his hands pierced with iron? why is his body racked with pain?———Why is his heart torn with anguiſh? It is for you, ſinners, for you. That blood is poured out, to cleaſe you from guilt; thoſe wounds are ſuſtained, to heal your conſciences; that anguiſh is endured to obtain reſt for your ſouls. In that mangled body dwells all the fullneſs of the Godhead. Great, beyond imagination great is the merit of thoſe ſufferings. Why then, O! why will you die? Why will you periſh for ever who have an all-ſufficient propitiation in the croſs of Chriſt? Fly to this ſanctuary: fly, before it be too late: fly without a moment's delay. It is an inviolable ſanctuary. None ever periſhed that fled by faith to the compaſſionate, the divinely compaſſionate Redeemer, his death ſhall be a full ſatisfaction for your iniquities. A ſenſe of his immenſely rich goodneſs ſhall win your affections; ſhall incline (what all the threatenings of damnation could never effect) ſhall ſmooth your path, and expiate your progreſs, to the regions of immortal honour and joy.

Having now, with great plainneſs of ſpeech, addreſſed my brethren in the miniſtry, having exhorted believers, cautioned the ſelfrighteous, and warned the wicked; let me commend the whole to vour ſerious recolleclection, and to God's gracious benediction. And, O Lord moſt holy! O God moſt mighty! O holy and merciful Saviour: by thine agony and bloody ſweat, by thy croſs and paſſion, let not the word now ſpoken be in vain in the Lord! Amen, and Amen.

FINIS.

THE LAST

SERMON

OF THE

REVEREND JAMES HERVEY, D. D.
Rector of Weſton-Favell, in Northamtonſhire.

CONTAINING,

A WALK TO THE BURYING PLACE.

WITH

Obſervations on the Death of a Wicked Perſon.

Deut xxix. 19. O that they were wiſe to conſider their latter end.

INSTRUCTIVE LESSONS.

OH that they were wiſe, ſaid the inſpired writer, it was his laſt with for his dear people; he breathed it out, and gave up the ghoſt. But what is wiſdom; it conſiſts not in refined ſpeculations, accurate reſearches into nature, or an univerſal acquaintance with hiſtory. The divine Law-giver ſettles this important point in his next aſpiration; O that they underſtood this! that they had right apprehenſions of their ſpiritual intereſt, and eternal concerns that they had eyes to diſcern, and inclinations to purſue the things that belong to their peace?-But, how ſhall they attain this valuable knowledge; I ſent them not to run over all the volumes of literature, they may much more expeditiouſly acquire this ſcience of life, by conſidering their latter end. This ſpark of heaven is often loft under the glitter of pompous crudition, but fines clearly in the gloomy manſions of the tomb; drowned in the gentle whiſper, amidſt the noiſe of mortal affairs, but ſpeaks diſtinctly in the retirements of ſerious contemplation.———Behold how providentially I am brought to the ſchool of wiſdom: The grave is the moſt faithful maſter, and theſe inſtances of mortality, the moſt inſtructive leſſons.———Come then, calm attention, and compoſe my thoughts: come thou celeſtial Spirit and enlighten my mind; that I may ſo eaſily peruſe theſe awful pages as to become wiſe unto ſalvation.

Examining the records of MORTALITY, I found the memorials of a promiſcuous multitude. They were huddled, at leaſt they reſted together, without any regard to rank or ſeniority. None were ambitious of the uppermoſt rooms, or chief ſeats, in the houſe of mourning. None entertained fond and eager expectation of being honourably greeted in their darkſome cells. The man of years and experience reputed as an oracle in his generation, was content to lie down at the foot of a babe. In this houſe appointed for all living, the ſervant was equally accomodated, and lodged in the ſame ſtory with his maſter. The poor indigent lay as ſoftly, and ſlept as ſoundly, as the moſt oppulent profeſſor; all the diſtinction that ſubſiſted was a graſſy hillock, bound with offers; or a ſepulchral ſtand ornamented with imagery.

Why then, ſaid my working thoughts, Oh, why ſhould we raiſe ſuch a mighty ſtir about ſuperiority and precedence, when the next remove will reduce us all to a ſtate of equal meanneſs! why ſhould we exalt ourſelves, or debaſe others, ſince we muſt all one day be upon a common level, and blended together in the ſame undiſtinguiſhed duſt? Oh that this conſideration might humble my own, and others pride; and ſink our imaginations as low as our habitation will ſhortly be.

Among theſe confuſed relicks of humanity, there are without doubt, perſons of contrary intereſts and contradicting ſentiments, but death like an able days-man, has laid his hand on the contending parties, and brought all their differences to an amicable concluſion. Here enemies, ſworn enemies, dwell together in unity. They drop every imbittered thought, and forget that they once were foes. Perhaps, their crumbling bones mix, as they moulder, and thoſe who, while they lived, ſtood aloof in irreconcilable variance, here fall into mutual embraces, and even incorporate with each other in the grave. Oh that we might learn from theſe friendly aſhes, not to perpetuate the memory of injuries; not to ſoment the fever of reſentment, nor cheriſh the turbulence of paſſion; that there may be as little animoſity and diſagreement in the land of the living, as there is in the congregation of the dead! Here the man of buſineſs forgets all his favourite ſchemes, and diſcontinues the purſuit of gain. Here is a total ſtand to the circulation of merchandiſe, and the hurry of trade. In theſe ſolitary receſſes, as in the building of Solomon's temple, is heard no ſound of a hammer and axe. The winding-ſheet, and the coffin, are the utmoſt bound of all earthly devices: Hitherto may they go, but no further. Here the ſons of pleaſure take a final farewel of their dear delights.

The wicked ſeem to lie here, like malefactors in a deep and ſtrong dungeon! reſerved againſt the day of trial.———Their departure was without peace. Clouds of horror let lowring upon their cloſing eye-lids, moſt ſadly foreboding the blackneſs of darkneſs for ever. When the laſt ſickneſs ſeized their frame, and the inevitable change advanced : When they ſaw the fatal atrow ſitting to the ſtrings, ſaw the deadly archer aiming at their life; and felt the invenomed ſhaft, ſaftened to their vitals-Good God! what fearfulneſs came upon them! What horrible dread overwhelmed them! How did they ſtand ſhuddering upon the tremenduous precipice; exceſſively afraid to die, yet utterly unable to live! O what pale reviews what ſparkling proſpects conſpire to augment their ſorrows; they look backward, and behold a moſt melancholy ſcene! Sins unrepented of, mercy ſlighted, and the day of grace ending. They look forward, and nothing preſents itſelf but the righteous Judge, the dreadful tribunal, and a moſt ſolemn reckoning. They roll around their affrightened eyes on attending friends. And, if accomplices in debauchery, it ſharpens their anguiſh, to conſider the further aggravation of their guilt, that they have not ſinned alone, but drawn others into the ſame ſnare. If religious acquaintance, it ſtrikes a freſh flaſh in their hearts, to think of never ſeeing them more, but only at an unapproachable diſtance, ſeparated by the unpaſſable gulph.

At laſt, perhaps they began to pray: Finding no other way of poſſible relief, they are conſtrained to apply unto the Almighty. With trembling lips and faultering tongue, they cry unto that ſovereign, Being, who kills and makes alive-But why, O why have they deferred their addreſſes to heaven ſo long! Why have they deſpiſed all his counſels, and ſtood incorrigible under his inceſſant reproof? How often have they been forewarned of theſe terrors, and moſt importunately intreated, to turn to the Lord! ———I wiſh, they may find favour at this laſt hour. But alas! who can tell whether affronted Majeſty will lend an ear to their complaint? He may for ought any mortals know, laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh.

Thus they lie groaning out the poor remains of life, their limbs bathed in ſweat, their heart ſtruggling with convulſive throbs; pain inſuperable, throbbing through every pulſe; and innumerable darts of agony tranſſitting their conſcience.

If this be the end of the ungodly; My ſoul come not thou into their ſecret, unto their aſſembly mine honour be not thou united! Oh how awfully accompliſhed is that prediction of inpired wiſdom! ſin, though ſeemingly ſweet in the commiſſion, in the iſſue biteth like a ſerpent, and ſtingeth like an adder.

Happy diſſolution, were this the period of their woes. But alas, all their tribulations, are only the beginning of ſorrows; one ſmall drop of that cup of trembling, which is mingled for their future portion.———No fooner has the laſt pang diſlodged the reluctant ſoul: but they are hurried into the preſence of an injured angry God: not under the conducting care of beneficent angels, but expoſed to the inſults of curſed ſpirits who lately tempted them, now upbraiding them, and will for ever torment them.———Who can conceive their confuſion and diſtreſs; when they ſtand guilty and inexcuſable, before their incenſed Creator? They are received with frowns: The God that made them, has no mercy on them: The Prince of Peace, the Fountain of Felicity, rejects them with abhorrence, he conſigns them over to chains of darkneſs, and receptacles of deſpair, againſt the ſeverer doon, and more public infamy of the great day: Then all the phials of wrath will be eruptied upon theſe wretched creatures: The law they have violated, and the goſpel they have flighted, the power they have defied, and the goodneſs they have abuſed: will all get themſelves honour in their examplary deſtruction. Then God, the Cod to whom vengeance belongeth, will draw the arrow to the very head, and ſet them as the mark of his inexhorable diſpleaſure.

Reſurrection, will be no privilege to them, but immortality itſelf their everlaſting curſe—Would they not bleſs the grave, that land! where all things are forgotten, and wiſh to be eternally hid in its deepeſt gloom; but the duſt refuſes to conceal their perſons, or draw a vail over their practices. They alſo muſt awake, muſt ariſe; muſt appear at the bar, and meet the Judge, a Judge before whom the pillars of heaven tremble, and the earth melt away; a Judge once long-ſuffering and very compaſſionate, but now unalterably determined, to teach ſtubborn offenders what it is to provoke the Oninipotent Godhead, what it is to trample in the blood of his Son, and offer deſpite to all the gracious overtures of his holy Spirit, to whom be glory, honour, and immortal praiſe, now, and for evermore. Amen.

FINIS

 

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GLASGOW,
Printed by J. and M. Robertſon, Saltmarket, 1802.