and "the place that now knows you will know you no more for ever." "Oh, that you were wise, that you understood this, that you considered your latter end!" Consider how near it may be. Life is uncertain, as well as short. Death never comes without a warrant, but it often comes without a warning. How many do you know in the circle of your acquaintance who have suddenly expired! While, therefore, you live, death does not linger, and when you feel your infirmities and the feebleness of your frame, the diseases and accidents to which you are exposed, it seems wonderful that you should live a day, or a week, or an hour.

Then there is what Young calls "a slow sudden death," the death of opportunities, and of your powers; you delay and delay till you are in a fever, till you are paralysed, till you are delirious, till you can only bring up the name of God in a consumption; then you send for your preacher to prepare skin and bones for eternity.

The Apostle speaks of the heart being hardened through "the deceitfulness of sin." When Felix heard Paul preach concerning the faith in Christ he trembled, but instead of cherishing this feeling, he said, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a more convenient season, I will send for thee." He saw Paul repeatedly after this, but said nothing concerning the faith in Christ. Oh no, the funeral of his convictions had taken place; he never felt again as he felt then. Conviction, if it be not assassinated, may be starved; and some of you starve your convictions, while others of you murder them.

A great deal has been said about the lapse of a day of grace. In a general way we may say, while there is life there is hope, and with our sweet singer :

"And while the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return."

And not only are there losses of opportunities, but there is the last offer of mercy somewhere; whether this is the last opportunity some of you will ever have, it is impossible for us to determine. But if you are sincere in seeking to know what you must do to be saved, He is able and willing to save you, whereas if you neglect the great salvation, He will say, "Because I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; therefore will I laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh." "He that being often reproved,

hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy."

We have but one more question to ask, WHY ARE WE TO "TURN"? Now, surely the command of God is a sufficient answer. Surely from His authority there is no appeal, and it should immediately determine us. He might have treated us with neglect, but He has been long-suffering towards you, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." And again this evening He says, by my mouth, "Turn." If you turn not you must die. "Turn, or Burn," was one of the quaint sayings in one of Baxter's most alarming works; yes, it is true you must "turn " or die. So says our text, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked: but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel." And what is the death that will be the consequence of your not turning? Not annihilation, not the destruction of the powers of mind; such a death as this the wicked would hail as a privilege. No, but it is the death of your happiness, the death of your well-being, the death of your hopes. What dreadful images are held forth in the Scriptures of truth! Qualify them as you please, what a tremendous meaning do they convey! Oh, this is dreadful, and "none knoweth the power of His anger." If you turn, you shall live. This, again, is the language of God in another part of this prophecy, where he says, "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." Oh, how you value life! "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Yet this life is full of sorrow, for "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." Our days are "few and evil," and we spend them as a shadow. But there is the life of God in the soul, eternal, everlasting blessedness.

If you "turn," you will find pardon. What a privilege is this! your sins are numberless and aggravated; but oh, to hear Him say, "your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more!" "Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." How blessed is he in his mercies, in his duties, and in his trials too!

If you "turn," you will find liberty. What a blessing is this! "He that commiteth sin is the servant of sin." What a black, wretched master he serves! what a bondage is the bondage of corruption! But if the "Son make you free, you

shall be free indeed." O, what a glorious liberty is that of the sons of God!

If you "turn," you will find peace. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. "Great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them."

In a word, if you "turn," happiness will be the result, and this is your being's end and aim. Who is happy? One day a man was singing "I am happy as a king." I wonder who believed him. Is a king likely to be happy? Was Haman happy, "whom the king delighted to honour?" No, he groaned. "All this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai sitting at the king's gate." But "blessed are the people who know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance." And if they are so blessed now, what will be their enjoyment above? for "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

To conclude, I have had as short a text this evening as I could; you will, therefore, easily be able to remember it, and I hope you will remember it for good. But you must be reminded that something more is required than your remembrance of it. Yes, there are many whose judgments are well informed in Divine things, but who are forgetful of our Saviour's remark, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them;" who see and approve better things, but follow worse; who are clear in their heads, but whose hearts are not changed by Divine grace; who have God upon their lips, and the devil in their lives. We come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, but you often send us back to tell Him, that while we offer heaven, you are for hell. We study plainness, but you understand us Our message is a most serious one, but you hear it not. We exhibit before you the greatest things to attract your attention, the sweetest to allure you, and the most awful to alarm you. If the truth could convince you, you would soon be convinced. If Scripture, reason, and experience, your own, and that of others, could decide you, we should soon hear you exclaim, "Behold, I am vile." We should soon see you at the Saviour's feet, saying "Lord, save, or I perish." But since all these persuasions and addresses avail you nothing, we must leave you to death and to judgment, and to that dreadful fiat, "He that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still."

not.

Your sins are now all recorded, and by-and-by you will hear them all read before angels and men. God keeps the book now, but He will then deliver it into your hands, and conscience will keep for ever.

"But as yet there is a hope;

You may His mercy know;
Though His hand is lifted up,

He still withholds the blow."

"'Twas for sinners Jesus died;
Sinners, He invites to come.
None who seek shall be denied ;
He says 'there yet is room."

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IX.

GOD'S RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE.

What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee.-JEREMIAH xiii. 21.

It is questionable whether there be such a creature in the world as a speculative Atheist, one who denies the existence of a God. We naturally think it impossible for a person possessed of reason and common sense really to believe this: that there are creatures without a Creator-effects without a cause; the eye and ear accidentally so exactly adapted to their use and design. If there be such a monster to be found, I am persuaded he will be found in a Christian and not in a heathen land. How far God may give up to strong delusions, that they may believe a lie, those who have contemned the Revelation He has so graciously given us, it is impossible to tell. But we read of those whose minds He has blinded, and whose hearts He has hardened, and who daringly provoke Him to His face. There may be a professed Atheist; we now and then hear of one of these heroes in our own nation, who disbelieve the truths of Revelation, and glory in their shame. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." The sentiment is better expressed without the words in Italics, "The fool hath said in his heart, No God! away with Him!" There is no one being stands so much in his way as God; who so much opposes his designs, and who gives him so much uneasiness; therefore there is no being he wishes so much to get rid of.

There may, perhaps, be persons in this large assembly who would go thousands of miles if they could meet with a demonstration to prove that there is no God to see them, or to judge them, so that they might walk after their own lusts. But whatever opinion we may entertain, there can be no doubt of His existence. There are evidences enough to prove that many live without God, regardless of His glory and His grace; who lie down and rise up, who go out and return, who begin and end