Come, and thy dear self revealing, The new heaven's and earth's Creator, Still we wait for thine appearing, Come, and manifest the favour CHAPTER XII. FIRST SCRIPTURE PORTION. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they and have done abominable iniquity, there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back, they are altogether become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no not one, Ps. liii. 1—3. The heart is deceitful above all things, and des perately wicked, Jer. xvii. 9. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding. Covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; who knowing the judgment of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them, Rom. i. 18-32. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not, and there is no judgment in their goings. They have made them crooked paths, whosoever goeth therein, shall not know peace, Isa. lix. 7, 8. Behold thou hast spoken and done as evil things as thou couldest. This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood, Jer. xiii. 25. The pride of Israel testifieth to his face, and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this, Hosea, vii. 10. And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their own doings have beset them about, they are before thy face, Hosea. vii. 2. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them, the works which none other man did, they had not had sin, but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause, John xv. 22-25. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather that light, because their deeds were evil, John iii. 19. And what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God. And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear, 1 Peter iv. 17, 18. SECOND PORTION. Threatenings. Prov. v. 22, 23; vi. 12-15. Isa. xxviii. 17-19; Ivii. 20, 21. Obadiah i. 3, 4. Ezek. xxii. 14; xvii. 22. Hosea iv. 17; v. 4-6. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Phil. iii. 18, 19. THIRD PORTION. Exhortations. Job xxxvi. 21. Jer. xiii. 16, 17. Mat. v. 25, 26; vii. 13, 14. Luke xiii. 1-5. Acts viii. 21-23. Rom. Eph. iv. 22; v. 14-16. Heb. iii. 8-13. vi. 12, 13, 19. FOURTH PORTION. Encouragements to Repent and Return. Job xxii. 21-27. Isa. i. 16-20; xxvii. 4, 5; lv. 1-7. Jer. iii. 12-14. Ezek. xviii. 21-27, 30-32; xxxiii. 11. Amos. v. 4-8. Acts iii. 19. 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. 1 Tim. i. 15, 16. James iv. 8, 10. Rev. iii. 20. ADDRESS. Nothing can be more affecting than to see a fellow creature imprisoned in the chamber of sickness, and at the same time discovering no concern about spiritual things, but on the contrary, a great dislike to subjects of a religious nature. The same hardness of heart and contempt of the gospel, which were felt and discovered amidst scenes of bodily health and occupation, are manifested in the room of affliction, (and perhaps the chamber of death), where some seriousness is at least expected. This perhaps is your case, afflicted friend; if so, faithfulness and love to your soul require that the truth should, under these circumstances, be presented to you. You have hitherto been living without hope, without God, and without Christ in the world. With your companions in scenes of dissipation, you have made religion the subject of your ridicule, and those who have professed that religion, the objects of your derision. Serious things and holy persons have been made your sport; there was no sin you were not prepared to commit, and you committed it with greediness and without regret. It was only necessary that some plan of wickedness should be proposed, and it found in you a prompt and hearty abettor. The means of grace were neglected, the Sabbath was employed in idleness, worldly recreations, or earthly pursuits. The Bible was never opened, prayer was never offered, the house of God was never visited. And can it be supposed that the heart-searching and sinhating God will hold such an one guiltlessthat he has not noticed such impiety and rebellion, and that he will not call to account for such scenes of guilt in which the sinner has been engaged, and for the neglect of such religious privileges, with which he is chargeable? Alas, no! He is now entering into judgment with you; it is the day of adversity and he calls you to consider. Consider what you are, what you have been, and what are your prospects of the future. Outward circumstances are indeed altered with regard to you; the hand of the Lord is upon you, you feel the effects of sin in your frail and suffering body, and you have a fearful intimation that you must die, that your state is such as can by no means justify the expectation of dying safely or happily. It is awful enough to see a human being trifling with spiritual things in the midst of health and prosperity; but oh, how fearful to trifle upon the verge of death and in the prospect of eternity. Were a catalogue of your past sins to be prepared |