it has never learned to pray or praise: Sin reigns in his heart, and therefore religion has no power nor place there. Now if such a man is wearied, and his patience worn out, by being an hour or two in the company of godly men on earth, is he not quite unfit for heaven? Were he admitted into the mansions of immortal glory, they would afford him no joy. O remember, that a heavenly temper and disposition must be brought into the soul, before the soul can be raised to heaven. We must be holy, or we cannot be happy. We must be like Christ, or we can never be with Christ. To suppose that an ungodly man can go to heaven is to suppose an impossibility. Will a father suffer a murderer to dwell among his children, or a king permit a rebel to lodge in his palace? What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? Does not Christ expressly say, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins, and where I am ye cannot come." Is not such a declaration enough to make the ears of every one that heareth to tingle? Yes, you had better, with a free pardon, die in a desert or dungeon, than with riches and honour die in your sins. If you be shut out from the presence of Christ, you will not have one moment of peace, one drop of comfort, or one ray of hope, for ever. It is a weighty maxim of Baxter, "Heaven will pay for any loss we may suffer to gain it, but nothing can pay for the loss of heaven." How strongly and solemnly is the necessity of a change of mind insisted on in the scriptures. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John iii. 8. "Without holiness, no man shall see he Lord." If the gospel does not change you, est assured your impenitence will not change God's counsels. False notions may lull you for a time, but they cannot turn age into youth, a bed of thorns into a bed of roses, or the king of terrors into an angel of peace.

Without repentance, it is impossible to avoid hell. Hear the faithful and true Witness-" Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." That the awful and weighty truth might make a deeper impression, he doubles his declaration, and, by pointedly repeating the same words, applies it to the conscience with stroke upon stroke. Luke xiii. 3-5. To perish, in this place, does not mean the death of the body, for that comes alike to all, the righteous and the wicked. Nor does it mean a total loss of being, although some bad men have brought themselves to wish, and almost believe, they should die like the beasts. The present life is but the porch, by which we enter into an eternal state. The word of God assures us, "It is appointed for men once to die, and after death the judgment." By comparing one part of scripture with another, we learn, that to perish is to be deprived of all happiness, and doomed to endless misery. Peter speaks of the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Christ commands us to fear Him, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Paul says, "Those who know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thess. i. 9. By examining the scriptures you will be convinced, that to perish is for the precious soul to be irrecoverably lost! To perish, is to endure indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, as the just punishment of sin! To perish, is to be cast into outer darkness and unquenchable fire, among the workers of iniquity! What a description has our Lord given of the rich man in hell! After he had left behind him his fine linen and purple robes, he was clothed with shame and covered with confusion. Instead of those rich wines, which he once drank so freely, he now begs in vain for a drop of water to cool his tongue! O how plainly, how positively, how solemnly has God forewarned the wicked of eternal destruction! Can you read or hear of this without being alarmed? Can you even bear to think upon it for a moment without terror and dismay? Do not treat these things as fancies and fables. A faithful God has stamped his threatenings, as well as his promises, with the seal of truth. "Hath he said it, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken it, and shall he not bring it to pass? Yea, heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of his word shall be made void."

Woe to them that seek for those things only which feed their lusts, and flatter their pride. If you remain unmelted with all the tender mercies, and unmoved with all the solemn warnings, of God, how can you escape the damnation of hell? Whither will you go for shelter? What device, what contrivance do you trust to for deliverance? "Can you thunder with a voice like God? wage war with the Almighty?" Can you find a corner in the vast universe, to hide you from the all-searching eye of your Judge? When once plunged into the pit of despair, can you pass the gulf which God has fixed between heaven and

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hell? O consider and believe it, there is nothing before you but repentance or ruin! Do you think it necessary to pursue your business, provide for your family, and preserve your health? These, however, are the things of time, but godliness is necessary for eternity. O the importance of eternity! When millions of millions of years are gone, eternity will not be lessened! wicked," saith Christ, "go away into everlasting punishment, and into the place prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. xxv. 46. And if, without a change, this must be your doom, is not repentance absolutely necessary? This demands your serious attention, though every thing else should be neglected. The soul is too precious to be risked for the poor trifles of a day. It is useless to gather riches and honours; for, if you had whole kingdoms in your possession, they could not deliver you from death. If you continue impenitent to the last, all the angels of heaven, should they wish it, could not save you from hell. Woe unto you, if God withdraw the beams of his favour! Every creature will then forsake you. "The heavens will reveal your iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against you." The want of penitence, after we have sinned, provokes God more than the sin itself. Has the thought of this never yet seriously affected you? O may you be smitten to the heart with a conviction of your sin and danger! May you be plucked as a brand out of the burning, by the arm of sovereign grace! O cry earnestly, cry unceasingly, Lord, I have been ignorant and sensual, as a beast before thee! I have been a stubborn rebel-a hateful monster! "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned;

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save me, and I shall be saved." Why am I yet spared, when thousands, less guilty, have been cut off in their sins! "Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." Had I been swept away into the flames of thy wrath, it would have been nothing more than I have deserved. "Have mercy upon me, have mercy upon me, and blot out my sins." Give me thy good Spirit, to soften the soil of my heart, that the incorruptible seed of truth may take root there, and bring forth a hundredfold.

2. Repentance is universally necessary.

Do not think what has been said applies to none but blasphemers, thieves, and murderers. " All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." The infection has struck deep, and spread wide. Sin is a disease equally dangerous, whether it works secretly within, or breaks out into odious eruptions of vice "Therefore, God," saith the apostle, "hath now commanded all men everywhere to repent." There is not one, come to years capable of seeing the difference between good and evil, who has not sinned against God. We behold a great many different opinions, tastes, and pursuits among men; but all are transgressors, and need repentance. I shall, therefore, address myself to the profligate and presumptuous; the negligent and careless; the self-righteous and hypocritical.

1st. I address myself to the profligate and presumptuous.

Is it asked, who are meant? I reply, do you profane the Sabbath, and spend those hours, which were set apart for the service of God, in loose