rid them of their terrors, whilst they go on still in their wickedness. Most willingly therefore do they assent to it, that "God is love." "He is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works: "he willeth not the death of a sinner:" heis not "extreme to mark what is done amiss:" he gave his own Son to suffer, and he can never mean to cast his poor creatures into hell: he will accept their repentance: he will extend his long-suffering towards them. They shall have space to repent, if that be needful, and so all will be well. If indeed God were extreme to mark his creatures errors; if he were not so loving unto every man, sinners had need to be more cautious; and, delightful as those indulgences are which his law forbids; to venture upon them would be too hazardous an experiment; but there is little fear as the case really stands. I put it to men's consciences whether they are not arguing thus continually; and whether they could dare to act as they have done, and perhaps are doing, if it were not for some such views as these of the divine mercy and forbearance? But if careless people have recourse to these delusions, and incur this guilt; much more do hypocritical pretenders to godliness. There are persons who statedly read, and hear, and talk loudly of evangelical truth, and 66 66 would pass for men of prayer and piety, whose practices nevertheless are as contrary to the gospel, as darkness is to light; who are not "doers of the word but hearers only, deceiving their ownselves," and holding the truth in unrighteousness." But God "loves them with an everlasting love" they say: By grace are they saved through faith, not by works lest any man should boast." Being "justified by faith, they have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord." "Without money and without price, they are called to take of the waters of life freely." Their father is "the Lord who changeth not;" their Redeemer, the same yesterday, to day, and for ever." Doth he not say, "I am he that blotteth out thy transgression for mine own sake?" "Of his own will, begat he them by the word of his truth;" and "his loving-kindness he will not utterly take from them, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail." "The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin:" He " is able to save to the uttermost:" therefore they are not afraid. Much longer they do not mean to go on in sin, but yet a little farther they will venture, and it shall be "to the praise of the glory of God's grace" at last, when he "makes them to be accepted in his beloved." This, I say, is the fact. There is a tendency in our corrupt nature to bring evil out of good; and by some such processes as these, both careless and comparatively ignorant sinners, and hypocrites, abuse so much of Scripture as they happen to be acquainted with, or care to bear in mind. II. Now consider what an awful danger is hereby incurred. To rebel against a rightful master one would think should be bad enough; but to rebel against one who is not only a master in authority, but a father in love and mercy, must be unspeakably worse; especially where his very fatherly dispositions are made the encouragements to offend him fearlessly. But whatsoever "fools" who "make a mock at sin," may think, or self-dedeceiving hypocrites may pretend, as much sin as there is, so much is there also of danger, and so much is there like to be of condemnation. Nothing can be more true, than that God is merciful; yea, infinitely merciful; nothing more true than that his grace is absolutely free. For God hath given his infinite and infinitely-beloved Son to die for us; and whosoever cometh to the throne of grace by him, shall be accepted for his sake only and entirely. But people would do well impartially to view the whole counsel of God; and then they would see in every page of his word, where the sacrifice of the death of Christ is set forth as the foundation stone of the sinner's hope, that the end and intention of his sufferings is, at the same time, to "redeem us from all iniquity :" * that he hath chosen us that we should be holy:"† that "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin, should live to righteousness:"† that sin is, in itself, the greatest of all evils, and that salvation primarily consists in the "renewal of the spirit of the mind"§ after the divine image, and cannot be without it. If these things are so, it should at least be evident that the sinner persisting in his evil courses, can have no part or lot in Christ; that he is all day long rejecting and despising his great salvation, and shutting himself out of heaven, by rendering himself more and more incapable of heavenly blessedness. But he shall repent. Most assuredly, if today he will hear the voice of God and of conscience; if he be ready now, at this instant, to throw down the weapons of his warfare and sue for grace, God "waiteth to have mercy," || and willeth not the death of a sinner. But this 1 Pet. ii. 24. 16arging Eph. iv. 23. i som han za || Isa. xxx. 18. is what he has no thought of doing. He will continue in sin a little longer, presuming upon God's forbearance. Is not this just what your neighbours have done before you, and so have gone to judgment with their sins upon their heads? Know ye "the day or the hour, in which the Son of man shall come?" Does not sin harden the heart and sear the conscience? If men are not growing in grace, can it be other than that they are growing in sin? And will repentance become the easier because we love sin more, and have more to repent of? Can men repent without grace? And if they cannot, are they the likely persons to have grace hereafter, who turn their backs upon it when it is profferred them to day, and who refuse the grace of sanctification, because, without asking for it, they are continually experiencing the grace of forbearance? These things, I think, sinners would do well to ponder; for if they are true, nothing can be more perilous than the condition of the wilfully impenitent-nothing more likely than that they should die in their sins, nothing more improbable than their conversion. But except ye repent, ye shall all surely perish. And then "of how sore punishment, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of |