If you lay claim to the denomination of a difciple of Jefus Chrift, be it in every point and on every occafion your main concern to fulfil your known duty to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft; and your duty to your neighbour, as a branch of your duty to God. Without that ftedfaft concern, you poffefs not the difpofition of a Christian. If, through the renovating influence of divine grace, you have attained by effectual prayer this regenerate frame of foul; and if, through the fame grace, you hold it faft unto the end: then are you in Chrift, a new creature. Then have you scriptural authority for your hopes that, whether in the courfe of the prefent year you shall be numbered with your fathers, or shall be preferved unto the dawning of another, you shall be found of your Lord in peace, and be accepted through the righteousness of Chrift.

On the Guilt and the Confequences of defpifing the Divine Threatenings.

GENESIS, xix. 14.

And Lot went out, and spake unto his Sons-inlaw, which married his Daughters, and faid: "Up; get you out of this Place: for "the Lord will deftroy this City." But be feemed as one that mocked unto his Sonsin-law.

MAN,

fallen from original holiness, darkened in his understanding and perverted in his defires, transforms bleffings into evils. The means of happiness configned by the divine goodness to his application become, under his blind and unhallowed management, causes and inftruments of ruin. The food, by which his body is to be sustained in health

and

and vigour, he employs to pamper intemperance; and corrupts into a fource of difeafe, of weakness, of anguish, of decay. From the word of God, the bread of life, he contrives to extract poifon. Expert in devising mischief against himself, he draws from the fountain of pure doctrine and unfullied righteousness imaginary cordials for unchristian opinions, and imaginary palliatives for unchriftian practices. Unlearned and unftable, he wrefts at prefent, as in the days of St. Peter, the Scriptures to his own deftruction. In no inftance is the depraved perverfeness of the human mind more glaring than in the abuse of the long-fuffering mercy of God. The divine forbearance, deferring from time to time the already protracted vengeance; prolonging the hitherto neglected interval of probation; raising again and again with louder fummons the hitherto unregarded call to repentance; renewing and enlarging the hitherto despised means and wasted opportunities of grace is beheld as ministering encouragement to careleffnefs in fin. Man, obftinately infenfible to the accustomed difpenfations of mercy, hardens himself against extraordinary interpofitions of Providence: and will not repent and believe, though one should rife from the dead, nor though an angel should

Z3

bear

bear to him a special warning from the Moft High.

Among the different nations which, in the days of Abraham, inhabited the land of Canaan, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were distinguished by fuperiority in wickednefs. The cry of the cities arose unto heaven; and called for vengeance on the grievousness of their fin. The long-suffering of God was exhaufted: the season of trial was fulfilled the hour of mercy was paft: the ftorm of fire and brimftone was ready to defcend. Among these habitations of guilt, Lot, the nephew of Abraham, had been unhappily induced, by the fruitfulness of the furrounding country, to take up his abode. He was a just and righteous man, faith St. Peter; and in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous foul from day to day with their unlawful deeds (a). In confideration of his general righteoufnefs, and from tender regard to Abraham, God mercifully pardoned the criminal conduct of Lot in continuing to dwell in fo impious a region; and determined by a fpecial interpofition of providential grace to fend him forth from the impending deftruction. The two angels, the minifters of divine wrath, faid unto Lot; Haft thou any (a) a Pet. ii. 7, 8.

bere

bere befides? Son-in-law, and thy fons, and thy daughters, and whatfoever thou haft in the city, bring them out of this place. For we will deftroy this place: because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath fent us to deftroy it. Thefe words filled Lót with dismay. That his wife and his unmarried daughters, inhabitants of his own house, and accustomed to look up to him for direction, would obediently accompany his flight, might be no prefumptuous expectation. But for his fons-in-law, dwelling apart in houfes of their own, and free from his control as to the guidance of their perfonal conduct and that of their families, his heart trembled. He went out and fpake unto them, and faid, Up; get you out of this place: for the Lord will deftroy this city. How was the exhortation received? He feemed as one that mocked unto his fons-in-law! His words seemed unto them as idle tales: and they believed them not. They beheld terror painted in his countenance: they beheld the anxious earnestnefs of his demeanour: they heard him announce nothing less than utter deftruction: they heard him announce it folemnly in the name of God. What was the effect? Hardened by the deceit fulness of fin, they turned from him as an unwelcome disturber of their tranquillity, a troublefome

Z4