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"ULii' iil«PI«iWR i' ) URGENT APPEALS So t^r llnsahii^, TO FLEE FROM THE WRATH "«! COME, AND LAY HOLD ON ETERNA. LIFE. ! S I HT THK liEV. GEORGE SUTHERLAND. k CHARLOTTETOWN : HENRY A. HARVIE, QUEEN STREET. -MRS. intKMNEU. I'KINCE STREET. 1867. ^sum l.FJ-ttl hi i.1 ^ irlttc^ (Bflward iisilattd. Be it kkmembeukd that on tliis the Ei«rhteenth day of February, A. D. 1867, the Kev. Geor«;fe Sutherland of (har- lottetown, in the said Island, has deposited in this Office the title of a Book, the Copyri«?ht whereof he claims in the words follo\vin«f : — ** Url) TO HE FEAREP ...... WHAT I'HOVOKES HIM TO AXGEU ..... WHO SHALL STAND WUEX GOD AVENGES .... CHAPTER II. CONSIDERATION DEMANDED RY GOD. CONSIDERATION DEMANDED IJY GOD ..... ■WHO ARE ADDRESSED IIY GOD ...... WHAT GOD DEMANDS ....... WHAT GOD THREATENS ....... CHAPTER III. SINNT:RS STANDING ON SLIPPERY' GROUND. AITEARANCES MAY DECEIVE ...... SINNERS ON SLIPPERY GROUND . .... STANDING TIME LIMITED ....... THE CALAMITY HASTENED ...... CHAPTER IV. JUDGMENT OVERTAKING THE SINNER. THE WARNING ........ THE SINNER FLEEING .... ... .JUSTICE PURSUING ........ JUDGMENT OVERTAKING THE SINN Kit ..... 9 12 32 38 42 .51 r>4 70 70 89 102 CHAPTER V. THE PUNISHMENT FOR SLIGHTING DIVINE MERCYS ILLUSTRATIONS ...... ATTEMPTS TO RECLAIM ... . . MERCY REJECTED ....... SIN lUTTABLr FDNISHED ...... Ill llfi 12.-) 128 rmw^mm rONTKNTS. VIII CHAPTER VI. IIKAVKN'S I.AST INVIIATIOX I.AHT EFIOUTH WATKU OF LIFK WHO AKK INVHKI> . WHO lJKIN(i TIIK INVITATION CHAPTER YII. GOD MKiri's riiE KpyruKNixo sinner. MAUVKM-OUS CONDKSrENSIOK . . • • • TIIK CAIiL ...••••• TUK IMIOMI.SK ..•••••* UEASONS FOR TUIIMNO TO GOD . . . • 140 149 162 166 177 182 188 lf>2 201 209 CHAPTER VIII. SELF-DENIAL INDISPENS.UiLE TO SALVATION. SUCCESS ATTAINED WITH DIFFICUIiTY THE OFFENCE OF THE EYE . . . • • TREATMENT mESCUIllED . . . • • • CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLECT . . . . • CHAPTER IX. THE lIlcaiTEOUS HONORED IN THE GREAT DAY . 21« THE JUDGMENT ..••••• 22O THE UIGUTEorS ....•••' 229 TIIEIU SENTENCE jgy THEIR REWARD CHAPTER X. THE HOME OF THE REDEEMED. HEAVEN ITS eternatj day , IT3 ETERNAL BLISS . 242 . 247 . 254 Vlll 140 141» 1'>U 162 106 177 182 188 li?2 201 209 RGENT APPEALS. CHAPTER I. C|t anger of t|e ^linig|tn to be keakl>. " THOU— Thou art to ])C feared : and who mav stand in Thy sight when once Thou art angry ? " I'S. Ixxvi. 7v. The inhabitants of earth have cast off the fear of God. They have departed from God, and God has departed from them ; and ceasing to desire or realize his presence, they have ceased to stand in awe of Him. Yet they have no peace. For they are frequently disturbed by a voice within assert- ing the violation of some law, and threatening the vengeance of some unseen power. This is the voice of conscience. The boldest »theist as well as the most degraded savage is subjected to this secret alarm. This is not the fear of God but an inward terror the result of casting off that fear. Man looks in awe at the manifestations of the powers of nature, without exhibiting any dread of rrT h; 10 URGENT APPEALS. ■i \ . { i { i i I \ the God of nature. The seaman stands with pal- pitating heart, on the deck of his ship, in the gloom of a night of tempest, when his struggling vessel rises on the crest of the wave to have spars bent and rigging strained, and again descends to the trough of the sea, to have her deck swept by the raging billows, yet how seldom do his thoughts rise above the immediate occasion of his alarm? The untutored Polynesian rushes from his hut when the earth quakes beneath him, and while gazing in mute awe on the volcano in his neigh- bourhood belching forth its huge columns of lire, may leel a momentary dread of the displeasure of some supernatural being, but how little does he know and how little does he fear that Supreme Being whose mundane arrangements keep alive these subterranean fires ? The civilized inhabitant of earth is often startled by the loud crash of thunder rolling along the sky and the fitful light- ning's flash leaping along the earth ; but he hears and sees what to him is not the voice of the Al- mighty, and the messenger of his will, but the rush and the roar of electricity. And even in those lands where that Book, in which God reveals himself, has free circulation, how many are found who, having no desire for the knowledge of God, and absorbed in the pursuit of the vanities, plea- sures, and riches of this world, never heartily study its sacred pages — never search the scriptures w^ GOD IS TO BE FEARED. 11 vlth pul- ic gloom ig vessel irs bent s to the by the ;hoaii:lits I alarm? his hut d while s iieigh- i of fire, asure of docs he supreme 3p alive habitant crash of ul light- tie hears the Al- but the even in L reveals ■e found of God, s, plea- heartily — and therefore fail to realize and reverence the presence of Him in whom they live and move and have their being, and who is absent from them at no moment of their existence? If the ordinary course of nature in all its simplicity and grandeur, if its occasional startling providential interrup- tions, if the possession of the Book of God itself does not impress the souls of men with an habit- ual dread of incurring the displeasure of their Maker, are we not constrained to admit the truth of that inspired statement concerning the race in general : * ' There is no fear of God before their eyes?" Why is this? — The human soul in that state which is now natural to it, is in such dark- ness that it cannot apprehend, and in such insen- sibility that it cannot feel the presence of the unseen but omnipresent spirit. Every effort must therefore be made to penetrate this darkness that by the en- trance of light, life and feeling may be restored. Reader are you in this darkness ? Do the works of nature and the wonders of providence reveal to you the glory of God ? Is their voice heard, or their utterance comprehended ? You may behold and admire what is beautiful and grand in nature, and stand in awe at what is startling in providence, and yet be devoid of the fear of God. A Himiboldt, or a Halley, may wander over our globe, or explore with the telescope the stellar worlds around us, may gaze upon the natural curiosities, and inves-^ Tr 12 URGENT APPEALS. -J i i * I H i 1 tigate the singular phenomena of the one, or cal- culate the motions and the distances of the other, and yet never once realize, reverence, or rejoice in the presence of that Spirit who gave him and them their being. Experience teaches that they who rise from nature up to nature's God, have first had an acquaintance with the God of nature. Does the word of God so occupy your thoughts — so * * dwell in you " — as to lead you to aim at setting the Lord ever before you, or is your know- ledge of it so superficial and your meditation on it so rare, that no sense of His presence ever restrains you from sin or stimulates you in duty ? If so may I not conclude that spiritual darkness and insensibility still characterize you — ^that you are a stranger to God — ^that his fear is not before your eyes — ^that you are yet in your sins, and in inune- diate danger of eternal damnation. Let me reason with you most kindly but faithfully. I. WHY IS GOD TO BE FEARED? Because he is holy. Holiness is the essence of all morality. No being can be called abso- lutely holy in whom any one feature of morality is found to be defective. But the term is often used in a restricted sense, as indicating an absence from all impurity. Thus God is said to be ** of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity." God's holiness is perfect and unchange- L m WHY 18 GOD TO BE FEARED. 13 e, or cal- ;he other, )r rejoice him and that they od, have f nature. thoughts :o aim at )urknow- rtion on it • restrains Y? If so :ness and you are a fore your in imme- ne reason ? B essence ed abso- morality I is often a absence ► be ♦* of »t look on nchange- -i able. Hence no sin can ever elude his dislike and opposition. The perfect holiness of Jehovah ren- ders him an object of profound reverence to the heavenly hosts. A mortal's ear heard the seraph- im cry one to another : " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." The commission of sin by any creature renders that creature an object of aversion to 1 holy God, and the greater and more numerous the sins, the greater the degree of aversion. This aversion leads to separation. No matter how lofty the spirit, or how near the throne of the Eternal, sinning, he must depart from the presence of the holy Jehovah. " For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee." The angels that kept not their first estate, have been cast down to hell ; and Adam, who transgressed the express command of his maker was cast out of paradise. God's holiness being unchangeable, this aversion and separation must continue for ever, unless by some means the sin of the past be purged away and for/^otten, and holiness be restored to the creature, and rendered permanent. You, therefore, as a sinning mortal have every- thing to fear from the presence of a holy and sin- hating God. Did he delight in sin, or did he even regard it with indifference, you might in the midst of your sins, maintain the utmost complacency of mind ; but because " his soul hateth the wicked," rf wm 14 URGENT APPEALS. ■ ) i! I ' !i \ I \ f " stand in awe, and sin not." Unpardoned, and "in your sins," you are a stranger to Him, and were you to die as you now arc, he could not and would not admit you into that glory where there are pleasures forevermore. Reflect, then, that every additional sin which you commit increases God's aversion to you, and that aversion ripens into confirmed hatred, and that hatred, through perseverance in sin, gi'ows into fury, and that fury, through contempt of mercy, breaks out into ven- geance, and the sinner sinks to perdition under the frown of his holy Creator. If this is the end, what says reason? — "Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings, cease to do evil." Let the fear of the displeasure of a holy God, deter you from every sin, as the fear of losing your life would deter you from planting your foot on a rolling stone on the verge of a precipice. God is to be feared, because he is Just. He is just who renders to every one his due. God as the su- preme ruler is perfectly just. This perfection is everywhere attributed to Him in scripture. There he is described as " a God of truth and without ini- quity ^ just and right is he." And even in accom- plishing what seems incompatible with j ustice , name- ly, saving those who have rebelled against him from merited punishment, it is careful to assert that he is " a just God " while yet " a Saviour." He is re- presented as revered and adored for his justice by AVIIY IS GOD TO BE FEARED. 15 the saints in glory when they exclaim : " Great and niarv^ellous are thy works Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." They wlio have no sin, and who are forever freed from all danger of sinning may revere God for his justice, while they stand in no dread of it; but they who have sinned and are habitually sinning have reason to tremble at the thought of it. The children of men can only excuse themselves for not fearing a just God on one of two grounds, either tlicy do not transgress Kis commands or they can- not and will not be compelled to answer for their conduct before His tribunal. Few are so ignorant or so depraved as to deny that they are sinners against God ; and none can doubt that they shall yet appear before the bar of God without impug- ning divine revelation, and disregarding the con- victions and foreshadowings of their own con- sciences. Hear the God of truth on these two points. "There is none righteous, no, not one:" All have sinned and come shoii; of. the glory of God." And, " we must all appear before the judg- ment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." He will not lay upon man more than is right ; but he will exact that right ; " for every man shall bear his own burden." Though in this life the wicked often seem to prosper, and the righteous are oppressed, M 16 URGENT APPEALS. i| i : ■• i ' 1 ! yet even here, proofs are not wanting that God has marked the conduct of transgressors, and will re» ward them according to their deeds. In his just indignation he destroyed untold millions in the dreadful catastrophe of a general deluge. This was no hasty and inconsiderate act of retribution, for "the longsuflTering of God waited" for one hundred and twenty years for the repentance and reformation of an ungodly race, but in vain. In like manner, he overthrew the cities of the plain of Jordan, consuming their dwellings and sub- merging their land, the elements above and the earth beneath, combining as in the former judg- ment to execute the righteous displeasure of their Creator. These cities in their sudden and terrible doom "are set forth" says the apostle Jude, "for an example " of God's justice against sinners suf- fering the vengeance of eternal fire.'' In respect to individuals, instances of the swift vengeance of a just God are no less striking. The fire of God strikes dead, in a moment, the two sons of Aa- ron for approaching Him, and presuming to serve Him, in a way expressly forbidden. A hus- band and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, are instant- ly smitten with death for deception and lying against the Holy Ghost. These examples are sufficient. The justice which requires one sin to be visited with merited punishment, will if impar- tial, require every sin to be treated in a similar WHY IS OOI) TO BE FEAKED. 17 Srod has will re- his just iu the This bution, for Olio nee and in. In le plain id sub- md the r judg- of their terrible le, "for ers suf- respect ance of of God of Aa- iing to Ahus- instant- l lying les are ) sin to impar- similar iTiJinnor. Jehovah's justice is as impartial as it is inflexible. He " will I>y no means clear the guilty.' If the reader seek a proof for this, let him look on Him who is stretched on the cross on C^alvary. He who hangs there dyiiiir in gloom is legally guilty, though personally innocent. Justice will not suffer the sinner's cup to pass from the lips of the sinner's substitute, although that substitute be no less a personage than the eternal Son of the supreme God. Who hereafter can ever doubt that God is just ? When his })eloved Son undertook to bear our burdens, and atone for our sins, the just jndge exclaims — " Awake O sword ! against my shepherd, and against the man that is my Fellow saith the Lord of hosts — smite the shepherd." If God spared not his own Son, when bearing the sins of others how can the sinner expect that he will escape the wrath of God when bearing his own sins? It is absolutely hopeless. Unconverted reader, God has marked every sin of your past life, and he will bring you into judg- ment for them all. You cannot, if you would, re- move from under his eye, even for one moment. You cannot, if you would, prevent him from mark- ing down in the book of his remembrance every sin as you commit it. You cannot, if you would, by any possibility, prevent your personal appearance before Him in judgment. And you cannot, if you would, resist the execution of his sentence, al- 18 UIIGENT A PPE ALS . i w i ! ; I i I il tlioufifli it .should ('()iisissil)ility of incurring the displeasure of such a miglity one should awake a AvholesouK* fear, wliat should be the feeling of those who, times without number, have provoked him to anifer ? If vou could withstand him or his approach, if your armour could prove impenetrable to his arrows, if you could laugh when his flaming sword flashes before your eyes, or if you could es- cape at your pleasure the fleetest pursuit of his wrath, there might be some reason for your present inditforcncc and imaginaiy security ; but when the worm beneath your foot is less at your disposal than you are at his — when his very frown can an- nihiliite you, or fill you with terrors which eternity will not assuage, how can you disregard Lis will or trample on his laws, and still cry peace, peace, to your deluded soul? You do not question Je- hovah's might, you cannot question the sinner's exposure to the full force of his vengeance, and why do you not question that strange security in which you rest, and to which you blindly cling? i 20 URCfENT APPEALS. '•\i I S'. ■« i We do not oxpoct tho stunned com])atant to heed the exploding niaguzine on which he lies, or the shiuofhtcn^d nisirine to rise from the blood smeared deck of his battered and dismantled and now sink- ing ship, but might W(; not expect that the boasted reason of man would give him some note of alarm in time to escape from the unspeakable dangers of an impenitent state ? Reason has failed, God must speak, and his voice alone can awaken the slumber- ing sinner to a consciousness of his real condition. God is also to be feared because he is true. He is styled the " God of truth." Of him it is emphatically said: "He cannot lie." And what has He said? He has uttered to man many gracious promises, and many awful threatenings. It is only to a few of the latter that your attention is now asked. He said to Adam : " In the day that thou eatest there- of (the forbidden fruit) thou shalt surely die." Man did eat, and that very hour he died. His soul till that moment of disobedience enjoyed the presence of God which was its life ; that presence was withdrawn, and the soul died, as an immortal soul only can die, although the full horrors of that death were not immediately developed. He said at the time of the flood : " The end of all flesh is come before Me, and behold I will destroy them from the earth." The days of respite ended, this most terrible judgment, so long talked of and at which so many had laughed, came and left not a ■P WHY 18 GOD TO BK FFIAKEI). 21 o heed or the neared V sink- oasted ■ alarm <^ers of d must [imbcr- dition. He in itically 3 said? )mises, a few L He b there- y die." . His ^ed the •eseuce imoi-tal of that le said flesh is y them jd, this and at 1 not a ■.•■<■ soul alive on the sui-faeo of our tjlohe save those within the ark. And nuiny ii J ^i^'St..i.h^i^d^.:^i*,h^SS&- WHAT rUOVOKES UIM TO ANCSKIt. 23 of t Mild hrilliant powers. His superiority over inanv was seen and felt. Tlie eomparison, we may suppose, leVHAT PROVOKES HIM TO ANGER. 25 the soul is once fully enslaved, it becomes a will- ing captive, and imagines, thinks, plans, and de- termines solely for the gratification of sense. This sin is, and has been in all ages, universally prevalent. The history of all ancient nations, and the abounding]; drunkenness and licentiousness a- mong the modern, plainly warrant this statement. Christ and his apostles represent sins of this class as the common disgrace of humanity. Such gene- ral results must have a general cause. The sim- ple fact is, man having ceased to find his supreme happiness in God, has sought it through the crea- ture, and that chiefly by the gratification of sense. The limited and subordinate enjoyment of the crea- ture was allowed, but man has made it exclusive and supreme. The gratification of the sight and the taste was involved in the first great sin, and ever since, sense has asserted a right to dictate its will to the human soul. Alas ! that the soul should so readily accede to that dictation. Body and soul have sufiered together and fallen together. The passions are now always unruly, easily become ex- cessive, and frequently become ungovernable. With sins of sensuality God is greatly provoked. After enumerating some of these, the apostle Paul adds : " For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." God is displeased because it destroys his workmanship. The human body is the most extraordinary and B 26 URGENT APPEALS. M • (fi \ urse, and ur appeti- dition in- your life svillofthe to rights ^ery com- indolence iolence is »rtunities. ed wisely ) powers, he benefit able at all i^erty, de- e abode of penury, and witness all the evils attending want, of which the main cause is known to be idleness, with- out experiencing a feeling of censure rise within him ? Who can excuse the indolence that would fold the arms in mute indifierence while a confla- gration is seizing a neighbour's dwelling, or a rising flood is sweeping away his property? And who can repress his indignation when human life is at stake, and the means of assistance within reach, to see mere sloth restrain active exertion until all ef- fort is hopeless ? And this indignation is not a little [increased when the subject of sloth is one specially '\ appointed to rescue those who are ready to perish. And intensity is added to it when the perishing one is suspended for a time between life and death iWith the express view of being saved. Now God beholds man, the chief of his works on earth, pin- ing in spiritual destitution, consuming in the fires of corruption, and ready to sink into the pit of I perdition. This last and irremediable woe, the de- |mand of his inflexible justice, is delayed in infinite I mercy in the hope that the sinner, by repentance and timely effort, may escape. The Lord is not slack concerning either his promises, or his threat- enings, but is longsuffering to us-ward not willing [that any should perish, but that all should come to [repentance." Therefore does he "wait that he I may be gracious;" and therefore does he call to the perishing : Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die I '^■^i't^^JiieA^iJ^', Ifiik'At U^,^ 28 URGENT APPEALS. M {I ,. i and in the urgency of the occasion exclaims : '* To- day if ye hear my voice harden not your hearts." Yet such is the carnal security, and inveterate spiritual indolence of fallen man, that the threaten- ings and promises alike of the great Jehovah often fail to arouse him to exertion. Man has a soul to save ; and no amount of diligence in any world- ly calling will excuse him for neglecting his eter- nal salvation. One thing is needful; and until that has been properly attended to, anything which would set it aside, or give it a mere secondary place is unlawful. But why should God be angry with man for neglecting his own salvation? If man perish, is it not his own loss? But I an- swer, is man his own master? Has he a right to dispose of himself as he pleases ? Is suicide less heinous than murder ? Provocation or necessity may be urged as an excuse for taking away the life of another ; what provocation or necessity can be urged for taking away one's own life? We would all condemn most sincerely the man that would cause the eternal damnation of another man's soul, why not condemn, in like manner, the man who would cause his own damnation? If it is a sin to expose the soul to divine wrath, is it not a greater sin to persist in that exposure? And if God would be angry in the former case, would he not be specially so in the latter? You may now see that indolence in the impenitent sinner, while I TBi^mm »i» i- .jmrwmmKf^img!' WHAT PROVOKES HIM TO ANGER. 29 ms : *' To- r hearts." inveterate 5 threaten- 3Vah often las a soul tny world- y his eter- and until ling which secondary 1 be angry ation ? If But I an- a right to licide less r necessity away the jessity can life? We man that ther man's :, the man If it is a is it not a ? And if , would he I may now mer, while God waits to be gracious, and delays his justice for that purpose, is not only sin, but a confirmation of sin in its worst form, and provokes an outburst of the divine indignation. Reader, are you working out your own salvation with fear and trembling, or are you crying, ' peace and safety ' — when sudden destruction is coming upon you ? The companion of this sin is another not less oflfensive — despising God's warnings. Its very spirit is breathed in the following language from Isaiah. Answering the Almighty, bold and pro- fane men say : " Let him make speed and hasten his work that we may see it ; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come that we may know it !" Amos replies to them by saying : " Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord I to what end is it for you ? — ^the day of the Lord is darkness and not light." Warning proceeds from friendliness. An en- emy does not give notice of coming danger. To despise God's warning is to cast a reflection on his foreknowledge or friendliness, and to set up our own judgment as superior to his. How often did I he complain of this treatment from his ancient people I Why were they subdued and oppressed ;by the nations that lay along their borders ? Why were the Assyrians allowed to carry them captives ? And why long afterwards was their renowned city, Jerusalem, destroyed by the Koman conqueror, -.,:'-L^'>y.>,:J!^.VJiiJ:iL-J'»I.,:-ii::v At.i-X''''!'^t>J^'iat^'iL.-~S- .1/ r 1 I i I dO URGENT APPEALS. and they themselves scattered over the earth ? One answer meets all — they persistently despised the warnings of God. How often does God refer to the messages sent to them by his servants the pro- phets ; which messages generally remained un- heeded. P itience at last has run its course ; for- bearance has ceased ; and so great is the provoca- tion that God refuses to be entreated of by them ; he forbids his messenger to pray for them ; and de- clares that although three of the greatest favorites of heaven, Noah, Daniel, and Job stood up to plead for them, their destruction would not be averted. Let no one imagine that he may safely despise even one admonition from heaven. God governs his creatures to-day on the same principles on which he governed them three thousand years ago. In- creased light will increase the guilt of sin com- mitted in it. And the man who habitually dis- regards friendly advice in a matter of so much importance as Ms soul's salvation can have no one to blame but himself, if the dangers so often ad- dressed to his unwilling ears should some day sud- denly overtake him, and all his efforts to escape prove utterly futile. God will not meet him "as a man," but as the avenging Judge, and even rocks and mountains will then fail to hide him from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. O take warning and flee in time from the wrath now coming. WHAT PROVOKES HIM TO ANGER. 31 rth? One pised the I refer to 3 the pro- Eiined un- rse ; for- provoca- 3y them ; ; and de- favorites ) to plead averted, pise even irerns his on which igo. In- sin com- lally dis- so much ''e no one often ad- day sud- ;o escape him "as ven rocks from the from the id flee in 'it. One more sin I shall mention ; it is the sin of rejecting the Son of God. This is the crowning sin : it is the greatest of all sins. It puts the seal of damnation on the soul. It not only rejects salva- tion hut rejects it at the hand of its author. It says, ' I will not be saved, although God himself should come to save me.* It rejects the Father who sent, and the Spirit wb) endowed the Son. It disregards the love of the Father, the gifts of the Spirit, and the condescension, compassion and power of the Son. It locks the only door by which the sinner can escape from his prison, and throws away the key. It turns the back upon heaven, and surrenders the soul to the guidance and con- trol of hell. It puts the foot upon all the mercies of God, and raises the hand of defiance against the Almighty. It treats as weakness the delays of justice, and scorns as deception the alarms of dan- ger. This is strong language, yet it is a truthful description of a very common sin. It will be ad- mitted that if anything on earth could provoke the indignation of the Lord it would be this sin. The truth is, God is angry with the wicked every day, and for no sin more than for rejecting his Son. He is still without form or comeliness in the eyes of the worldly ; he is daily despised and rejected of men, as of old ; he comes to his own, but his own receive him not ; and while his servants urge obedience to Him as the only lawful ruler, they ,ii.^ i 0,. i « 32 URGENT APPEALS. i receive as a reply — " We will not have this man to rule over us." Reader, have you received this Saviour in the arms of a living faith ? Have you enthroned him in the purest affections of a loving heart? Beware of delay, Receive him now, and heaven is yours. III. WHO SILVIX STAND WHEN GOD RISES UP , TO TAKE VENGEANCE? Not the monarcha and nobles, whose only excel- lence is their earthly grandeur. " And the kings of the earth, and the great men . . and the chief captains and the mighty men . . hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, — ^Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Their high rank in the sight of men adds nothing to their dignity in the sight of God. God looks upon the heart ; and the soul of a beggar may, in his estimation, be more noble than the soul of an emperor. The power which they could wield on earth fails them in the hour of death, and the ho- mage which they could claim from man, secures no respect at the bar of the Eternal. They stand as helpless as the meanest slave in their dominions, when the^ Almighty summons them to their account. Not the rich, who love this present evil world. How is mammon worshipped in this generation ! WHO SHALL STAND WHEN GOD AVENGES. 33 s man to ved this lave you a loving tow, and 5ES UP ily excel- le kings the chief emselves lins, and n us and ti on the nothing 3d looks may, in ul of an iv^ield on the ho- secures ey stand ninions, account. 1 world, eration ! How eager the race to })e rich ; and in their haste how many ** fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition I" While they increase their wealth, thev increase their difficulties in getting to heaven. The rich may enter the kingdom of God, but it is " hardly." But they who trust in their wealth, and delight in it as their sole portion cannot redeem their souls from death, nor purchase exemption from the torments of liell. Wluit availed all the wealth of that rich man, of whom JesuH speaks, when in the place of woe he could not obtain so much as a drop of cold water? What does the Almighty care for the sordid dust of earth with which so many strive to burden them- selves. Their gold and silver may bribe an earth- ly judge, and may avert the stroke of justice from a guilty head, but God will condemn and strike down the richest of his foes, as if he were the poorest of the poor. Not the men of science ^ who are destitute ot the knowledge of Christ. Scientific attainments and high erudition, may secure to man fame, may adorn him with titles of rank, and put him in possession of wealth ; but with all this, he may re- main in spiritual ignorance, unrenewed in heart and an enemy of God. The human soul has lost its power of perceiving the things of the spirit of God as they really are ; hence it calls evil, good, ■ii.Si«^J-.!«» J.' ->., ^SJltii^r I i 34 URGENT APPEALS. ? i and good, evil ; and puts bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. The restoration of spiritual sight is the work of the Holy Ghost alone, and with it follow a belief and a love of the truth. Without this illumination the greatest scholar knows not God ; cannot love him ; does not serve him ; and when God arises to take vengeance will tremble and fall before him, undistinguished except by the intensity of his dismay, from the most ignorant savage. "Not many wise are called." "Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent." Not the nominal Christian. External appearance may deceive man, but not God. A profession of religion, without its possession, is self deception or hypocrisy, either of which is an abomination before God. Disrobed by death of his assumed garb, he will appear before God in his proper spir- itual nakedness ; and confounded by the expo- sure, he will sink in terror from his sight into the abyss of woe. Not the proud. His disturbed visage betrays his dismay. His high looks have come down : and trembling in every joint, he awaits with abject terror, the execution of his sentence of eternal hu- miliation. Not the sensual. He carries with him a disease which excludes him from the general assembly of the saints : and on his corniptions feeds the worm that never dies. ,«r WHO SHALL STAND WHEN GOD AVENGES. 35 ft. Not the slothful. His soul's salvation has been nesrlected. His master's work has not been done. The command goes forth — "Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth." Not the despiser of warnings. Where now is his courage ? Where now are the vain hopes on which he rested? Can his heart endure or his hands be strong, now that God is dealing with him ? Alas ! his agony is unutterable — a flood of wrath overwhelms him. Not the rejecter of Christ. He has refused re- conciliation ; now he shall feel the force of indig- nation. He would not be a friend, and he shall be treated as a foe ; and as such he shall be made Christ's footstool and be slain before him. Who shall intercede for him ? Not a voice shall be raised in all the countless throng of the saved to stay, for one moment, the execution of the sentence of e- ternal execration. O hearer of the gospel beware ! But THESE shall be safe in the day of venge- ance, viz ; The regenerate. These are the spiritual off- spring of God, the work of his hands in which he delights. Conformed to the image of his Son, and enrolled among his children, they find shelter un- der the shadow of his wings. The reconciled. Once in rebellion, now they are loyal subjects ; once filled with hatred to God, 1 1 u 3fi UKOENT APPEALS. !l '.II now they are tilled with love to him. Once God wan angry with thcni ; but they dreaded his dis- pleasure, and fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel : they made their peace with God, while the day of mercy lasted by trusting in the atonement of C.hrist. Now clothed in the bright robes of his righteousness, no voice of con- demnation can be raised against them ; God him- self delights to look upon them ; the holy angels greet them as their companions ; and they feel perfectly safe, amid the conflagrations of the heavens and the earth. The sanctified. The fire of God's anger fastens on the sinner wherever he is found ; it leaves the saint unscathed. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Christ presents them to his Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; and thus perfected in holiness, they are welcomed with ineffable joy. A wide gulf will separate them for ever from the objects of divine wrath. The self-denying. These parted with what was as dear as a right eye, hand, or foot rather than offend God. Now they are rewarded. They sa- crificed ease, liealth, wealth, home, friendships, honour and life itself, at the call of duty. Now they are distinguished ; and what was lost is re- stored a thousand-fold. They have passed through great tribulations, reproaches, persecutions, dun- geons, and flames — to their place of safety, the right hand of their Judge. WHO WLVLL STAND WHEN GOD AVENGES. 37 Those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. Love is the first principle of true religion. No man is a disciple of Christ who does not love Christ su- premely. And where this love really exists, it will constrain the soul to honour and obey him Avith a zeal, intensity and perseverence proportionate to its power. When Christ who is their life shall appear they shall exclaim : " Lo ! this is our God : we have waited for him. and he will save us : this is the Lord we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." They are safe indeed, everlastingly safe. And, All who have xaadQii their delight to glorify God. Man's chief end was to glorify God, and in so doing to enjoy him for ever. His rebellion has dishonor- ed God, and brought destruction on himself; but his renovation and consequent new obedience glo- rify God and bring salvation to man. They glorify God, and fulfil theii* whole duty, who habitually fear him and keep his commandments ; and his chief command is : " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Reader, where shall your place be in the great day of Jehovah*s anger ? p.,.-'t3;Sfl=^*^^Js-i-^'^'.- % CHAPTER II. Cottsiberation kmankb bg §A ** Now consider this, ye that foreet God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there bo none to deliver." Psal. l. 22v. Want of due consideration occasions the ruin of multitudes, both for time and eternity. The covetous man, in his eagerness to be rich, will not reflect on the consequences of extortion, roguery, and theft, until the loss of substance, reputation, or liberty convince him of his mistake. The vo- tary of pleasure will rush into the whirl of dissi- pation, and flit round in its giddy circles, not considering that health, peace, and honor are the high price paid for the short-lived enjoyment. The man of fashion must live as splendidly, dress as finely, and drive about as gayly as his neighbour, whatever be his wealth, without stooping to the irksome task of balancing his income with his ex- penditure, until the pressure of uneasy creditors suddenly shuts off the stream of his resources, strips him of his grandeur and leaves him in the cold CONSIDERATION DEMANDED BY GOD. 39 shades of poverty, or compels him to hide his shame in a foreign land. On a wider field inconsidera- tion, less frequently perhaps, but more sweepingly slays its victims. The driver of a passenger train on a railway heeds not the signal that another train is coming down on the same track, but rushes thoughtlessly onward until a terrific crash blends the fragments of engines and cars together, and buries beneath their ruins scores of dead and wounded. The captain of an emigrant ship navi- gates her safely across the ocean. The land is made in the gloom of the evening, and instead of laying to till the light of the morning would reveal his true position, he holds on his way, mistakes a light on the shore, and drives his ship with her living freight hard up on a dangerous ledge lying out from the shore. As yet there is hope, but ere midnight arrives the storm rises, the ship breaks up, and amid the storm, darkness, and tempest, few out of hundreds escape a watery grave, and those who do, find themselves in dreariness and want on a strange land. A commanding officer suffers him- self to be deceived by a wily foe, and pursues what appears to be a retreating army ; wh^n sud- denly the enemy rises in his rear, and immediately shows himself in front also ; he is surrounded, compelled to fight on most unequal terms, and a reckless and most fruitless waste of life is the re- ward of his indiscretion. 40 URGENT APPEALS. But it is in the great concerns of eternity that the most lamentable and fatal results of inconsider- ation appear. The inhabitants of earth occupy their thoughts with the affairs of time to the almost total exclusion of the things of eternity. With multitudes the sole questions of any impoiiance in their eyes are, what shall we eat? what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed? A timely and satisfactory provision for the world to come seems to elicit no concern. Many in their thirst for pleasure will not stop to think whether the stream from which they are drinking is poison- ing or life-giving — their lusts are insjtia; ' > ; and they will drink the fascinating cup within their grasp, although the dregd should prove the despair of damnation. Many will sti*uggle up the rugged, steep, and slippery heights of ambition, expending their utmost energies to acquire the fame of great men, who will not pause to consider the vanity of the prize for which they risk and sacrifice so much ; and who are so absorbed in their pursuit that they totally exclude from their minds the much mo:"o noble and more urgent task of securing the apjp r bation of Him whose single plaudit outweighs tli* approbation of all creation. And a still greater number will spend a score of years in laboring to acquire a fortune, for which they will cross oceans or deserts, and endure all manner of hardship, toil and privation, who could not be induced to devote :^ CONSIDERATION DEMANDED BY GOD. 41 one year to anxious thought how they might obtain an eternal inheritance in heaven. Forjretfulness of God is the main cause of this want of reflection in regard to the things of eternity. If men thought more of God, they would think more about eternity, and be less carried away by the allurements, and less disturbed by the annoy- ances of time. By shutting God out of mind they act inconsiderately and foolishly — they spend their strength for that which will not profit in the end — they neglect their soul's salvation — they live and die in sin, and perish for ever. Reader, do you consider your ways ? Do you ponder the path which you are now treading ? And have you chosen it with the lamp of God's word in your hand ? Or, regarding your own judgment as sufficient to direct you, have you ignored the counsels of the Most High, and resolved to follow the bent of your own inclinations, let the conse- quences be what they may ? If so, let me tell you, you will find the experiment to be disastrous. Thousands before you have tried the same course, and have either repented of their folly and returned back, or have passed on to inevitable destruction. God now calls you to consider your ways, and threatens that if, through thoughtlessness, or ob- stinacy, you persevere in sin he will destroy you without mercy — ^tearing in pieces when there can be none to deliver. 42 URGENT APPEALS. I. WHO ARE ADDRESSED BY GOD.? Those who forget him. *^ Now consider this, yc that forget God." To forget is to let slip from the memory what was once heard or known. Those who forget God must, at one time, have heard or known something of his works or laws or character. This knowledge has been displaced or buried by what was to them more interesting or more urgent, more impressive or more important. Unregener- ate men, everywhere, do not like to retain the kr^owledge of God in their minds. A conscious- li^ of guilt makes the remembrance of the just Judge unpleasant ; and hence they seek to exclude him from their thoughts that they may the more quietly pursue their chosen course. Still the for- getfulness is not absolute or perpetual. No ra- tional creature can live without realizing, at one time or other, the presence or the existence of his Creator. But the remembrance in this case is so occasional, and so evanescent, that the forgetful- ness may be characterized as habitual. The life is not regulated by these random thoughts of God ; they are simply the ruffling of the surface by passing breezes, while the current is setting strong- ly in the opposite direction. The mind is then swollen with ideas of self sufficiency, discoloured by the violence of unruly passions, and carried on- ward by the unrestrained impulse of habitual vanity of speech and life. God is forgotten when, S<: WHO ARE ADDRESSED BY GOD. 43 ;ase is so Men of unregenerate minds make their own feelings the rule of their conduct. This implies that their feelings do not flow forth towards God. Is it not true ? Is it customary to find men anx- iously enquiring after God their maker ? Is it not the declaration of the Holy Ghost — "There is none that seeketh after God ?" Their thoughts, feelings, and inclinations all tend in the opposite direction. Their feelings are not devotional, therefore they seldom pray unto God, and the spontaneous up- lifting of the heart in praise is an exercise with which they have no familiarity. If the feelings are to be the guide, and they turn away from God and his service as subjects with which they have no sympathy, and in which they find no enjoyment, will they not lead the soul to things more congenial to its fallen nature, and will not these things be as much as possible alien to God, and tend to banish all remembrance of him from the mind ? Their feelings are not elevated and holy, but low and grovelling, and following them, they are led away from God, and indulge in sin — they give the reins to their lusts, and lest they should be restrained from their purposes, they will not turn to give a last lingering look towards Him from whom uiey seek to escape. Success attends their efforts. They turn from God, and he turns from them, and thev arrive at that condition in which God is forgotten, so far as it is possible for a sinner to exclude all thought of him. 44 URGENT APPEALS. Their feelings are not humble, meek and for- giving — ^but proud, passionate and revengeful. Giving way to their pride, they despise and injure others. Acting under the influence of passion, they lose self restraint and become obstinate, fierce and quarrelsome. Influenced by revenge, they destroy the property, character or life of their fellow men. The tendency of such a life is not doubtful. Men of this stamp cannot walk with God. His presence is painful to them. They must separate from him; and they feel relieved when no stray thought of him lodges in their minds. Poor souls 1 what a choice they make. Darkness is preferred to light, sorrow to joy, and dishonour to glory. Alas I how many are there who acknow- ledge no law, especially in their inner life, beyond the inclinations of their depraved hearts. Reader, do your feelings rule you, or do you rule them? Are they your guide, or have you something more elevated, steady, and pure by which to regulate your life. The feelings are no safe guide to any on earth ; for in the best of men a sense of duty must prompt to action when the feelings are most dormant ; but when they are regarded as the main spring of conduct in all questions of morality, as in the case of the unregenerate, the soul must urge its way to a realm of thought in which God and eternity are unheard of and forgotten. You can tell how often the carnal mind has driven away the WHO ARE ADDRESSED BY GOD. 45 spirit of prayer and praise, if you were ever blessed with the desire *o seek after God. Your experi- ence may remind you that sensual and grovelling thoughts do not harmonize with thoughts of God — they do not associate together — the indulgence of the one is the exclusion of the other. And you need not be told that where the demon of strife reigns, the spirit of God does not dwell, and that to open the door habitually to the devil, is the most effectual means to separate your soul for ever from God. O examine, then, your heart. Are its emo- tions carnal, sensual, devilish ? Do such feelings rule your conduct and reign within you ? If so, you forget God ; you are a stranger to him ; you tread the path of destruction ; and God calls loudly to you to-day — ' Consider your ways lest I tear you in pieces !' They forget God who make the opinions of men, and not the law of God, the rule of their con- duct. In all ages a very large class prefer the praise of men to the good will of God. This praise they can only enjoy by adopting the opinions and imitating the conduct common among men. The profession of opposing principles, and their reduc- tion to practice would deprive them of their favour and exj)ose them to opprobrium. What are the opinions most common among men? Are they productive of genuine piety? Do they lead the soul habitually to remember God ? — They are em- 46 URGENT APPEALS. bodied in two words irreligion and foi^mality. Many admit that religion is quite allowable to a dying man, but deny all necessity for it in the ordinary enjoyment of life. They affirm that a man may discharge all the common obligations of his existence here without disturbing himself about religion. Religion is not condemned as a thing unbecoming or injurious — it is simply ignored. Others cannot go to this extreme. Their con- science, or their training, or the society with which they are surrounded impels them to observe, to some extent, the forms of religion ; but beyond the forms they do not go. Having no heart in- terest in the matter, they simply submit to the ceremony as an observance of respectable society to which they do not feel prepared to offer any oppo- sition. Such is the world in general. It knows not God ; it acquiesces in the will and domination of the Wicked One. He who would retain the friendship of such, cannot be the servant of Christ, for what concord has Christ with Satan ? If the ordinary opinions of the world are to guide you, you cannot retain a remembrance of your maker. Your opinions will rule your ways ; and your ways will either make you a friend or a stranger to God — ^your meditation on him will be frequent and pleasant, or looking to the conduct of worldly men as your example, your thoughts of God will be few and far between. Now, has not your follow- WHO ARE ADDRESSED BY GOD. 47 ing of the world in the past led you away from God? When you went with the vain and the worldly to the bar-room or the ball-room, to the card-table or the billiard-table, did you, could you remember the Lord? No; thoughts of God and eternity are intruders in those places, and an eflfort is instantly made to give them a summary ejection. Be this your rule — never to go where you cannot take God with you — never to part company with him. Then, when you die, you will change your place, not your company, and the singularity you were compelled to assume on earth, shall be re- warded by a distinguished and glorious singularity in eternity. God is forgotten when men make a god of this world. The heart will follow the object in which it delights, and in its eagerness to reach it will shut out of thought everything else deemed un- worthy of regard. If men delighted in God, they would follow hard after him and keep him con- stantly in mind. But they have forsaken him, they have all chosen ways of their own, they have said to this and that object : Be thou our portion, and receive the homage of our hearts, and the en- ergies of our lives. One is bent on securing an independence of the ordinary fluctuations of trade, by laying up a sum sufficient to support him through an ordinary term of life. To attain this, every thought is given, every day spent, every 48 URGENT APPEALS. effort expended. No thoughts of religion or of eternity, of heaven or of hell can be suffered to interfere with his cherished object. Possibly he meets the voice of conscience by a promise of giving due attention to these matters when he has freed himself from the bustle and concern of his present business. In the mean time, God himself must stand by and wait the convenience of his poor misguided creature. From early morn till night every waking hour is absorbed in the cares of his occupation — he finds no time for God, no time for his soul, no time for eternity. Is not this for- getting God? Is it not a deliberate abnegation of his claims to any consideration? And should it be a matter of surprise if the money thus gained should never be enjoyed ; if death should step in and say — Thou fool, this night thy soul is required to appear before God, and what wilt thou do with all the goods for which thou hast laboured ? Another is born to wealth ; luxuries surround him from earliest youth ; gaiety and frivolity mark his associates, why should he not give way to mirth and pleasure? The world is to him a theatre of amusement, and his skill is exercised in constantly devising new methods of enjoyment. Does this man concern himself about God ? His every day life answers the question. His portion is here, and he is satisfied with it, so far as the soul can be satisfied with earthly pleasure. As for God, WHO ARE ADDHESSED BY GOD. 49 he desires not the knowledge of his character or laws ; an entire absence of all thought of him is considered a positive relief. lie drinks but thirsts again. Another cup of pleasure is tried with simi- lar results. And still the vain pursuit is followed. Take his pleasures from him, and he exchiims with Micah the Ephraimite — " Ve have taken away my gods, and what have 1 else !" lie is without God and without hope in the world. In the eyes of many , fame has the most powerful at- traction. The soldier, the scholar, and the politician are stirred to the heart by it. Having chosen the profession of arms, the aspirant to military rank and fame studies with assiduity the history of warfare, labours to master its mysteries, volunteers in the most hazardous enteip rises, and grasps the wreath of fame over the mangled remains of his foes at the mouth of the cannon, or perishes in the attempt. What inclination has he to remember God ? His profession has a powerful tendency to drive away religious thoughts, although the very opposite might be expected from the fearful risks to which in active warfare he is constantly exposed. He pants after distinction, and whatever will not contribute to this, or seems to stand in the way of its attain- ment is studiously avoided. Thus God is for- gotten. The scholar has his eye on future fame. For this he will barter time, strength, talent, health and 50 URGENT APPEALS. V ,K ■| h h t H it ii s m It I even life itself. He will study till his constitution is futally undermined — he will prosecute a favour- ite branch of science day and night for a series of years, without even giving as nnich attention to his soul's eternal well-being as to enter the house of God on a sabbath — he will pore over the mysteries of nature with an intensity of interest understood by none but men of deep research, but will turn away from thoughts of God, as from a being de- void of interest to him — and will prosecute his stud- ies and explorations with a view to future fame until his powers sink under the strain, and all this whik persistently and deliberately forget God. ' The politician grasps at greatness and power. For the possession of these he will neglect many religious duties — leave the Bible a 'ed book from one end of the month to the other, while the newspaper is his daily food — neglect private prayer for he finds little time and less heart for the duty — absent himself from the sanctuary that he may write his letters or despatches on sabbath — prac- tice hollow professions and the most wily stratagems , and burden himself with a crushing load of cares, anxieties, annoyances and disappointments ; and through all this, ignore the existence of God, by refusing to render to him the devout homage and obedience which he claims . Although distracted by the multitude of anxious thoughts, God finds no place among them — he is cast out of mind, and for the time totally forgotten. WHAT GOD DEMANDS. 51 Tlius the poor, empty, vttnisliin*^ portion of earth supplants in man's heart the God who *" WHAT GOD DEMANDS. 55 out a cause. My name, my sabbaths, my ordi- nances, my laws, my people have all been hated by you. My presence was so detested that thou wouldst not approach me in prayer. Songs, both vain and lewd, were sung when my praise was abhorred. Novels were read with intense delight, when my words of love and mercy, of salvation and eternal glory, were despised and neglected. My saints were scorned as fools, and hated as hypo- (Tites. My sabbaths were polluted, and my ordinances ridiculed. Thou didst laugh at the mention of hell. The savor of godliness thou couldst not endure ; and my very name thou didst not utter except in profane conversation. What canst thou say to this, O hateful enemy I Thou hast disobeyed my voice. When I called thou wouldst not answer — when I called after thee, thou didst try to hide thyself from me ! When I said: Thou shall have no Go«l before me — thou didst refuse to honour mo < iid didst worship every creature that would minisMT to thy ctirnal mind ! When I said: Thus will 1 be w( r>shipped — thou didst reject my authority, and didst choose thine own mode ! When I said : Reverence my holy name — ^thou didst profane it continually with polluted lips ! When I said : Remember my sab- bath to keep it Loly — thou didst remember it n\y to indulge in vain amusements or carn.-i' -ase ! When I said : Honour those in authority over thee r5P mmm 56 URGENT APPEALS. (< ■ -i^f )[■ — thou didst set thyself up as wiser than all who could advise thee, and wouldst have thine own way in defiance of restraint ! When I said : Preserve thy life — thou didst foolishly waste it in the service of sin ! When I said : Keep thyself pure — ^thou didst give way to all manner of licentiousness ! When 1 said : Defraud not thy fellow-creature — thou didst extort from thy neighbour what was not justly thine ! When I said : Speak the tnith — thou didst lie, and slander, and deceive as if thy tongue was framed for mischief ! When I said : Be content with what thou hast — thou hast greedily coveted what was thy neighbour's, and didst mur- mur against me, as if I had wronged thee ! O thou disobedient sinner, thou daring rebel, what canst thou say to all this? Thou hast despised my mercies. I fed and clothed thee all thy life, yet thou hast never acknowledged it. I restored thee in sickness, and preserved thee in danger, but thou didst soon forget it and went back to all thine old sins ! I warned thee by conscience, by my servants, and by my word, yet thou didst ob- stinately refuse to repent and amend thy ways ! I sent my Son to seek and save the lost. He offered thee redemption, held before thee the key by which he could open thy prison, and offered to take thee out, and thou despisedst his help : he offered to wash away all thy sins in his own blood, but thou wouldst not agree to it : he stretched his ^V WHAT GOD DEMANDS. 57 arm to shelter thee, but thou didst flee from under it: — he entreated thee to follow him that thou mightst escape damnation, but thou wouldst not hearken, and didst press onward to hell even whilst the gospel was sounding in thine ears I O foolish hating, disobedient, contemptuous creature, my mercies are exhausted, my* justice must be vindi- cated ; thou art guilty ; thou art inexcusable ; how canst thou escape the damnation of hell I This is reproof indeed. May you, reader, never be expo- sed to it. But will the sinner attempt to plead not guilty by saying : — Lord when did I act in this manner towards thee ? Proof shall not be wanting. God makes no charges which he cannot promptly sub- stantiate. His omniscence can point out the time, place and circumv^tances of every event ; and he will set memory on the wing to call up the past, and present it in all the vividness of present ob- servation before the soul. A record has been kept of all the moral acts of the soul from the first dawn of responsibility till the hour of death. This re- cord is in the hands of the gi'eat Judge. And he has only to unfold its pages to find every sin of thought, word or action, committed by the indi- vidual now standing before him. He will point out those sins in their order of time and of nature, and set them clearly before the eyes of the sinner, and then ask if these are not his deeds. Now, to ■■iW 58 URGENT APPEALS. M ?!!' >• I" his utter amazement will appear what was long buried in oblivion, what was done in secret when no mortal eye was resting upon him, what was done alone, and what was done in company with others, what was planned and resolved upon but never executed, what was done in ignorance, and what was done with the full conviction that the deed was wrong, what was done in the follies of youth, and what was done in mature years, what was spoken vainly, in exaggeration, detraction, lying, slandering and false-swearing ; and, to all this, those dense pages of thoughts, proud, mali- cious, impure, cruel, blasphemous and diabolical, utterly confounding in their number, aggravation and guilt. O what can he say when all these sins are held up before his eyes in the light of the great throne of judgment, and when tht two witnesses, conscience and memory, declare every charge to be true ? Will not his brain reel in confusion, his heart sink, his bones shake, his knees tremble, and every joiat be loosed, and the one prevaling wish be, that the clouds beneath him would part that he might drop forever from the sight of the sin-aveng- ing Judge ? O reader, is this terrible ordeal await- ing you ? Will you not consider what is before you, and escape, while there is time, from the coming vengeance ? WHAT GOD THREATENS, 59 III. WHAT GOD THREATENS. That he will tear in pieces, when there can be none to deliver. " Consider this, ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver. " An event is here threatened which could only result from fierce displeasure. The meaning cannot be mistaken. God threatens that an un- heeding, unreflecting continuance in sin, by for- getting him, will awaken his sharp resentment, and lead to terrible consequences. He speaks what he thinks. He threatens what he intends. No hollow, hypocritical alarms to frighten his enemies proceed from his lips. Dread realities have ever attested the sincerity of his warnings. The destruction will be extreme and complete. He will tear in pieces. Not the racking of a joint, not the removal of a limb, but the entire dismem- berment of the whole system. He who came as a Lamb to be slain for the salvation of his people, will yet appear as a Lion for the destruction of his foes. "I will be," says he, "unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah : I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away and none shall rescue." Again charging them with pride and forgetfulness he says : " Ac- cording to their pasture, so were they filled, they were filled and their heart was exalted ; therefore have they forgotten me." And what is the result ? 60 tJRGENT APPEALS. liJ (. iri r s i tl "Therefore I will be unto them as a lion, as a leopard by the way will I observe them : I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion.** Such destruction is complete. Nothing can be added to it. The soul subjected to it is irretrieva- bly lost. Who will put together what God has rent asunder? Who will build up what he has cnimbled into dust? He casts away with the de- termination never to restore. He breaks in pieces as with a rod of iron the earthen vessel fitted for destruction. Is there any spirit so strong as to resist his stroke ? Or can any still live after Jehovah has expended his wrath upon him ? No ; nothing will be left unbroken ; and nothing thus broken will admit of restoration. The destruction will be violent. God sajrs that he will tear; that he will rend; that he will devour. These expressions surely have some meaning. Must we not interpret them as indicating that God will handle his foes with great wrath and determined energy ? The time for reasoning, expostulation, and entreaty is now over ; mercy and forbearance give place to justice ; and God suffers the full con- sciousness of the sinner's guilt and peril to burst upon him. Agony the most intense now seizes him. His soul is torn with anguish. Conscience stirs the fires of imagination, and the most terrific WHAT OOD THREATENS. 61 pictures of interminable woe are held up before him. Every feature la distorted, every faculty distracted, and above the loudest wailings of des- pair rise unceasing self-criminations. This heart- rending is not the bare effect of the full realization of guilt before God, but is also the result of the positive curse of God, a spiritual infliction which terribly lacerates the soul. Pronounced accursed, he is driven from the presence of the Lord, and violently thrust into hell. There the flames of perdition surround him — ^they consume him, — they everlastingly feed upon him . Thus our God, who is a consuming fire, devours his enemies. O is it not a fearful thing to fall unpardoned, unholy, hell-deserving into the hands of the living God I And need I add that this utter and violent de- struction will be irresistible and inevitable. " /," saith God, " will tear in pieces, and there can be none to deliver," We may be delivered from the hands of a violent and blood-thirsty mortal, we may be res- cued from the grasp of the infernal spirit himself, but who shall interfere with the Almighty in his work of justice? — who shall take the criminal out of his hands, and declare that the judgment pro- nounced against him shall not be carried out? It is vain to imagine that ever such a thing will be contemplated, much less attempted. Those who behold the terrors of his wrath, know that resist- ance is hopeless. When the chaff of the threshing- 62 URGENT Al PEALS. ■ I I.-' m floor can resist the whirlwind, when the rush on the sea-beach can withstand the incoming tide, when the hand of an infant can stay the planets in their course, then may a lost sinner of earth retard for one moment the divine vengeance. Powerless in himself, his outcries for help bring no relief. The clouds which have supported him, while he stood his trial before his Judge, and which bear up the righteous as on eagles' wings, now cleave asunder, and cease to uphold him for a moment after his sentence is pronounced. The material creation obeys its Creator. The waters of the Red Sea may stand up as ramparts while the ransomed of the Lord pass through, but let not the Egyptians suppose that they will be equally serviceable to them. As they stood apart to open up a high- way to save the favoured of their maker, so did they rush together to overwhelm in inevitable des- truction those on whom he would be avenged. The infernal hosts will afford neither help nor sympathy. It is not in their nature to comfort or pity, and it is not in their power to aid. On them, as accursed, the same resistless stroke shall fall, and notwithstanding their great superiority in might they shall sink to the same depths of perdition as their deluded victims of Adam's race. The heav- enly hosts will proffer neither counsel nor support. On the contrary, we are told that in obedience to the orders of their king, they will be actively em- WHAT GOD THREATENS. 63 ployed in the punishment of the wicked. Whither will the condemned tuni ? The fires of vengeance rage all around. One avenue is open — it is the descent to hell. Down this burning passage the lost soul is hurried, and the smoke of the pit hides from our view the unutterable horrors which now overwhelm him. O reader, do you habitually forget God ? Is there any pursuit, or occupation, or amusement which shuts God out of your heart ! O consider if the presence of God with your spirit is not worth ten thousand times more than all the gains, than all the charms, than all the joys of earth. Will you part with God for ever ! You answer — No : I would not ! What now are you doing ? If for- gotten have you not parted with him ? Can he be with you, and not known, and not thought of? Never ! You have parted with him, and if you do not speedily resume your intercourse, the separa- tion will be eternal. Now or never I Instantly bethink yourself of God your maker whose eye is now resting upon you, and repent of the crime of forgetting him — a crime which involves rebellion and all its train of transgressions — and seek recon- ciliation through the intercession of Christ. If you will, intercourse may now be restored ; friend- ship may be established ; and your soul bask for ever in the sunshine of Jehovah's favor. CHAPTER III. \i i I Sinners stenbing m slipperj grounb. " Their foot shall slide in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." Deut. xxxii, 35v. Appearances often deceive. That may be least safe which ap'>'/' re most secure. Beyond appear* ances elements may be at work, mustering their forces and preparing for an overpowering eflbrt ; and the hours which immediately precede the on** set may be wholly devoid of any indication of the approaching violence. You walk by the ocean shore on an autumn evening, and delight yourself by looking out on its placid bosom unruffled by a solitary wave. From anything now seen you might launch a boat and make your way across its wide and lonely surface to some distant land, without one feeling of alarm. But beyond the range of vision, electric ourrenta are rushing, the air is in motion, its powers are combining, and before dawn that same glassy sur* face will be broken by the fury of a tempest, its ArrEAKANCEB MAY DECEIVE. 65 mighty waves will wildly da»h iigiiinst each other, and the deep moanings of oceau's tortured bosom will sound on every shore. It is midnight. The miners' huts are scattered along the silent valley. In them strangers fi*om distant homes are slumbering, their weary liml>s demanding i*est from the eager toil of many hours. The bed of the river has yielded richly its golden sands ; and the sleepers dream of absent friends, of happy homes, and days of pleasure. But lo ! an unlooked for terror. Their temporary dwell- ings are smitten, tilled and overwhelmed by rush- ing waters. Distant mins have poured an inunda- tion through their valley. They rise and shout and struggle, but in vain ; the torrent cannot be withstood ; they are borne along, some to sink in turbid waters, others to escape a watery grave, far from their dwelling despoiled of all they earned and all they claimed. It is morning. The sun is clothing the mountain tops with its glory. An Alpine cottage is the scene of sweet domestic happiness. The simple morning's meal is taken ; the husband prepaixis to go forth to his labour ; and the children are playing around the hearth. Suddenly the family is startled by a strange crashing sound of great vehemence. They rush to the door. In an instant they are over- whelmed. An avalanche has descended upon them from the mountain. The cottage is swept away, ■\ . Hi- I <•' Mi I 66 URGENT APPEALS. and its inmates are smothered and buried, without a minute's warning, beneath its ruins. Let us b(>rrow from scripture. When David was in the camp of the Philistines, a strong band of Am- alek^i-es, wild marauders from the desert, attacked and plundered the south of Judah, and coming to Ziklag, the town of David, they vented their ani- mosity in robbing and burning the place, and in dragging into captivity the women and children found in it. A dismal sight lay before David and his men when they returned to their home. They weep till nature is exhausted. This o^^er, they think of recovering the lost ; and encouraged by a divine promise, they set out in pursuit. The inhumanity of the robbers leads to their destruction. An Egyptian, abandoned because of his sickness, sets David on the trail of the foe. They are over- taken. But where are they ? — Three days journey in the desert, in some favorite resort, out of the usual routes, — and there, at dusk, they are seen scattered in groups " eating and drinking and dan- cing," no thought of danger disturbing their minds. But for most of them it is their last feasting and dancing on earth, for before another night has come, the Hebrew chief has taken a terrible revenge ; their dead bodies strew the desert on every side in the very retreat in which they deemed them- selves most secure. It was a memorable night in old Babylon when 1 APPEARANCES MAY DECEIVE. 67 king Belshazzar assembled his thousand lords, his wives and concubines, to a magnificent lianquet. Every heart is intoxicated with pleasure. What thought have they of danger ! It is true, an enemy has long beseiged their gates ; but, to their eyes, their city is as impregnable as ever. The king and his courtiers give way to wine, and in their mad- ness, Jehovah must be insulted, and the gods of wood and iron applauded as his victors. But lo ! the decree of the Most High is passed. A hand, not mortal, pens mysterious words upon the wall of the palace in the sight of the king and his lords. It is the lightning's flasli before the thunder's peal. Awe is stfmiped on every face as the honoured Daniel foretells their doom. But hark ! what rush- ing in the streets, what shouts ! v/hat cries ! The Persians ! the Persians ! The palace doors are assaulted ; they are forced open ; in rush the assailants ; terrible is the slaughter ; and among the slain lies the pierced and bleeding body of the royal Belshazzar. While he and his nobles were carousing, Cyrus and his army entered the channel of the river, found the large river gates leading into the city open, and hurrying in spread them- selves over the city and took possession. All this happened in a night when the people, as well as their leaders, gave way to reckless dissipation in their dreams of perfect security. Behold another child of earth consenting to re- »f -^-^^"^ i es URGENT APPEALS. ceive the homage of a god. No sooner has ho placed his foot on that slippery height than he is precipitated into the foulest pit of corruption. Herod Agrippa addresses the assembled multitude in the theatre of Ctesarea. His speech is magnil- oquent, and his royal robes resplendent with jewels. Struck by his appearance and speech, the people shout — " It is the voice of a god and not of a man." Who will dispute it? Whose rights does he in- vade ? No opponent mutters even a dissent. But an unseen God has heard the adulation, and mark- ed the heart of the creature who received it. '^Im- mediately " he is smitten " by the angel of the Lord," and carried out of the theatre in terrible agony, his conscience assuring him that the ven- geance of God is upon him, and that death is at hand. The most horrible disease of worms has seized him ; and for five days they devour his in- testines as if he had already been committed to the grave : when at length, every day seeming to be a year, his wretched spirit escapes from a body too loathsome to be looked at, or to be approached. How near was he to horrible corruption, when ap- parently most exalted, most honoured, and most secure I There is a maturity in things. Events will follow their course, and develop their fruits un- til their force is expended. The tide will rise or ebb till its moving power is exhausted, whether JJ APPEARANCES MAY DECEIVE. 69 »» that be a foot below or above the expectation of man. The fever will contend with the vitality of the system till one or other is overmatched and destroyed. Wars will continue till the fires of animosity which keep them burning die out from want of fuel. Beyond the point of maturity, all is changed. A new power now reveals itself. It may not have operated before, or its operation may have been partially or wholly concealed, but now it appears supreme, A tree falls under the blast of wind ; but it had previously stood many such blasts without any apparent effect. Why now has it tallen ? The former blasts had done their work, the last completed what they had begun. One drop of water sinks the ship. Ten thousand had previously entered with little apparent result. The one drop has tunied the scale of resistance, and a new power assumes control. When the superi- ority of one power is established, every addition which it receives accelerates in a rapid ratio the entire demolition of the opposing force. The water that rolls slowly over the gentle descent, leaps on the brow of the precipice. The avalanche wi ose first motions are imperceptible, rushes with amazing velocity before it reaches the base of the mountain. Apply these illustrations to the condition of the impenitent sinner. His danger is extreme, but he perceives it not. He is standing on slippery ii 70 URGENT APPEALS. ground, but a slight covering of dust conceals from him the treacherous footing. Forces are combi- ning to drive him from his place, but no idea of such a combination has taken hold of him. A time is fixed when the destructive power shall as- sume control, resistance being overcome or re- moved ; and once supreme, its developed force will })ear with terrible velocity on the shattered powers of the sinner, overwhelming him with utter des- truction. Should not those who have examined the foundation tell the sinner where he is standing ? Should not those who study the spiritual barometer forewarn him of the storm that is approaching ? Will the unpardoned reader take it kindly, if I should endeavour to do this friendly work for him ? Will he heed as one personally and immediately interested? Then, let us consider. i; I. THE SLIPPERY GROUND ON WHICH SINNERS ARE STANDING. "Their foot shall slide." The idea is, that sinners are standing on ground so slippery that they cannot maintain their footing. The standing ground of transgressors is one vast declivity, reaching from the base of the hill of rectitude to the brow of the hill of despair, overhanging the pit of destruction. There is no footing so imcer- tain as sin, — none more deceitful or more slippery. But, as sins difler, this declivity is not all equally SINNERS ON SLIPPERY GROUND. 71 I slippery, nor is it all equally steep. The de- scent is more gradual in tlie first stages from the hill of rectitude ; but the nearer the approach to the foot of the declivity, the steeper it becomes, and the more slippery, so that in certain places it is quite impossible to retrace a step once taken. All over the declivity there are many foot paths, all leading downwards, so glib that it is extremely dangerous to place a foot upon them. Many who have done so, have not been able to stop their sliding till they fell into the pit. These paths are temptation's slides. Not satisfied with the gradual progress of the sinner towards hell, the devils, who are incessantly occupied on this declivity, con- stantly labour to persuade him to tread some one of these smooth footpaths. Inducements are not wanting. Over one path will be held some beau- tiful flower, so attractive, so lovely, who would not like to grasp it and make it his own ? And yet to secure it, you must mingle with the gay, the fashionable, and the foolish, and learn and de- light in their ways. Over another is held some ripe fruit, pleasant to the eyes, and good for food. Why may it not be plucked and eaten ? To seize it, you must defraud anothrr, an