narrow span of time, you must immediately enter upon a boundless eternity. As you sow in this world, you must reap in th that which is to come. While therefore I set before you the nature and necessity of repentance, I shall use great plainness of speech. I would keep back nothing that may be profitable to you, but faithfully declare the whole counsel of God. If I make use of strong and pointed language, it is because I most ardently wish to arouse you to a true sense of your danger, and lead you into the way of salvation. Look into the scriptures of the Old Testament, and see with what earnestness and solemnity the prophets exhorted the thoughtless, the worldly-minded, and the wicked, to forsake their sins, and cast themselves upon the mercy of a pardoning God. Look into the New Testament, and see with what plainness, with what melting compassion, with what burning zeal, Christ and his apostles warned the guilty to flee from the wrath o come, and lay hold on eternal life.

We read, in Luke xiii. 1-5. "There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye, that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all them that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Here we see how ready men are to put away the weighty concerns of religion from themselves,

and to think or speak only of other persons. They are willing that blame should be laid anywhere, rather than at their own doors. They shun the light, and labour to shake off those convictions which begin to trouble the conscience. In this scripture our Lord directs his piercing words to every heart. He also teaches us the use we ought to make of any remarkable events of providence which take place in the world, and especially in our own neighbourhood. In no part of the Bible is the absolute necessity of repentance more forcibly insisted on than in this passage. As, however, a man must see his danger before he will inquire for a refuge, and his disease before he will seek for a remedy, I shall proceed,

I. To shew the state of the impenitent.

To fix a deeper impression on the mind, the scriptures represent the unconverted by various comparisons. Thus we find the impenitent described as in a state of spiritual darkness, of distance from God, of deep pollution, of guilt and condemnation, of bondage and misery.

1. The impenitent are in a state of spiritual darkness.

It is said, "This is life eternal, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." But sin is a dark cloud upon the mind, a thick veil drawn over the heart, which excludes the precious light of divine truth. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," 1 Cor. ii. 14. To one who is in this state, the clearest displays of the power, wisdom, justice, and goodness of God, and the fullest manifestations of the love, compassion, faithfulness, and glory of Christ, are only as the beauties of a fine prospect to a blind man. While the understanding, which is the window of the mind, remains shut, all within must be dreary darkness. When there is no motion of love and gratitude in the heart, no breathing of fervent prayer from the lips towards God, the soul is dead in trespasses and sins. How strong, and yet how just, is the language of the prophet: "Darkness hath covered the earth, and gross darkness the people." What can more truly describe the ignorance and stupidity of the carnal mind, than these words!

And is this, reader, your unhappy state? Be not offended at this serious question, but examine whether it be so or not. It is possible you may be proud of your knowledge, and yet, in spiritual matters, continue as blind as the mole that grovels in the earth. The footsteps of God are printed on the works of creation, and yet you do not see those footsteps, and admire. The hand of God is stretched out, guiding all the affairs of providence, giving you daily bread and hourly protection, and et you do not see that hand, and thankfully adore. The face of God, the reconciled countenance of the Father, shines as in a glass, in the gospel, and yet you do not see it, and heartily rejoice. The unsearchable riches of Christ, and the everlasting glories of heaven, are opened by the promises, and still you neither see their value, nor seek them. Are not these, proofs that the understanding is darkened? Seneca, in a letter to a friend, says, "My wife keeps a poor silly girl, who all of a sudden lost her sight; and (which may seem incredible, but is very true) she does not know that she is blind; but is every now and then asking her governess to lead her abroad, saying the house is dark. Now, what we laugh at in this poor creature, we may observe happens to us all. No man knows that he is covetous or insatiable: yet with this difference, the blind seek somebody to lead them, but we are content to wander without a guide."

If you beheld a man walking carelessly near the edge of a deep precipice, would you not think him blind or mad? Would you not fly to snatch him back from destruction? And what can be a more full proof of spiritual blindness, than a total indifference to the dangers that threaten the soul? If fire comes so near your house or goods, that you have reason to fear they will be consumed, you use every means to secure them. But though the fire of God's wrath is kindling to destroy the soul, you neither dread nor see the danger. If the mind were not grossly darkened, how could you thoughtlessly dance and sport on the borders of the bottomless pit? It is true, light is come into the world, you live amidst the full blaze of gospel day, and yet you love darkness rather than light. "O that you knew, even in this your day, the things that belong to your peace, before they are hid from your eyes." Luke xix. 42.

2. The impenitent are in a state of distance from God.

In the scriptures, all are represented as wanderers from God. "We all like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one unto his own way." Isa. liii. 6. "We have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jer. ii. 13.

Since Adam fell, every son and daughter of Adam is averse to good and inclined to evil. Not only is the understanding darkened, but the will is perverted, and the affections are corrupted. Instead of seeking happiness from God, the everlasting spring of all blessings, we naturally seek it in the foolish devices and imaginations of our own hearts.

This distance from God, our Lord sets forth in a just comparison, Matt. vii. 13, 14, " Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat." Let me beg you to pay a particular attention to this remarkable scripture. In the broad way there are many separate paths, which all run to the same dreadful end. The inclinations and passions of ungodly men may lead them to different follies and vices, while they are all living without Christ, and far from righteousness. In the broad way is the path of gaiety, full of amusements and diversions. What glittering toys! what alluring vanities! what tempting baits, are here held out to catch the careless, or to entice and delude the young. This flowery path, so plentifully furnished with enchanting charins, is travelled by all who are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Near the path of gaiety is the path of profligacy, in which are prodigals, wasting their substance in riotous living; adulterers and drunkards, glorying in their shame; liars and swearers, whose mouths are full of falsehood, cursing, and bitterness; gamesters and thieves, who live by plunder and violence, neither fearing God nor regarding man. In the broad way is the path of self-righteousness. This indeed is very lofty, and