O pray, pray, pray, poor needy miserable sinners; for it must be now or never. You have yet health and strength, and bodies fit to serve your souls: it will not be so always: languishing, and pains, and death are coming. O use your health and strength for God; for it must be now or never. you Yet there are some stirrings of conviction in your consciences: find that all is not well with you; and you have some thoughts or purposes to repent and be new creatures. There is some hope in this, that yet God hath not quite forsaken you. O trifle not, and stifle not the convictions of your consciences, but hearken to the witness of God within you. must be now or never. It Would you not be loath to be left to the despairing case of many poor distressed souls, that cry out, O it is now too late! I fear my day of grace is past; God will not hear me now if I should call upon him: he hath forsaken me, and given me over to myself. It is too late to repent, too late to pray, too late to think of a new life; all is too late.' This case is sad; but yet many of these are in a safer and better case than they imagine, and are but frightened by the Tempter: and it is not too late, while they cry out, It is too late;' but if you are left to cry in hell, It is too late;' alas, how long and how doleful a cry and lamentation will it be! O consider, poor sinner, that God knoweth the time and season of thy mercies. He giveth the spring and harvest in their season; and all his mercies in their season, and wilt thou not know thytime and season, for love, and duty, and thanks to him? Consider that God, who hath commanded thee thy work, hath also appointed thee thy time. And this is his appointed time. To-day, therefore, hearken to his voice, and see that thou harden not thy heart. He that bids thee "repent and work out thy salvation with fear and trembling," doth also bid thee do it now. Obey him in the time, if thou wilt be indeed obedient; he best understandeth the fittest time. One would think to men that have lost so much already, and loitered so long, and are so lamentably behind hand, and stand so near the bar of God, and their everlasting state, there should be no need to say any more, to persuade them to be up and doing. I shall add but this: You are never like to have a better time.' Take this, or the work will grow more difficult, more doubtful, if through the just judgment of God, it become not desperate. If all this will not serve, but still you will loiter till time be gone, what can your poor friends do but lament your misery! The Lord knows, if we knew what words, what pains, what cost would tend to your awakening, and conversion, and salvation, we should be glad to submit to it: and we hope we should not think our labours, or liberties, or our lives too dear to promote so blessed and so necessary a work. But if when all this is done that we can do, you will leave us nothing but our tears and moans for self-destroyers, the sin is yours, and the suffering shall be yours. If I can do no more, I shall leave this upon record, that we took our time to tell you, that serious diligence is necessary to your salvation; and that God is the "Rewarder of them that diligently seek him," and that this was your day, your only day. It must be now or never. FIFTY REASONS. HEB. III. 7, 8. To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 1. CONSIDER to whom it is that you are commanded to turn; and then tell me whether there can be any reason for delay. It is not to an empty deceitful creature, but to the faithful all-sufficient God; to Him that is the cause of all things; the strength of the creation; the joy of angels; the felicity of the saints; the sun and shield of all the righteous; the refuge of the distressed; and the glory of the whole world. Of such power, that his word can take down the sun from the firmament, and turn the earth and all things into nothing; for he doth more in giving them their being and continuance of such wisdom, that he was never guilty of mistake; and therefore will not mislead you, nor draw you to any thing that is not for the best: of such goodness, as that evil cannot stand in his sight, and nothing but your evil could make him displeased with you; and it is from nothing but evil, that he calleth you to turn. It is not to a malicious enemy, that would do you mischief, but to a gracious God, that is love itself; not to an implacable jus |