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righteousness which would keep them from him---And let" those who have believed be careful to maintain good works"---]

CCCLXIX. THE END OF UNBELIEVERS.

1 Pet. iv. 17. What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

MANY are the troubles of the righteous: and though their afflictions are not always penal, yet they are for the most part to be considered as paternal chastisements, and as the judgments which God inflicts on his own household with a view to their advancement in faith and holiness-But though they are to be regarded in this favourable light by the sufferers themselves, they have a very awful aspect upon the world at large; for, as the Apostle intimates, if God's paternal chastisements be often so severe, what must his vindictive judgments be? If judgment first begin at the house of God, what must the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?-To impress this solemn consideration upon our minds, we shall shew

I. Who they are that obey not the gospel

To ascertain this, it will be proper to state briefly what the gospel requires

[The gospel supposes men to be in a state of guilt and misery, obnoxious to the wrath of God, and incapable of delivering themselves from it-It proposes to them a remedy of God's appointment: it sets forth Jesus as an all-sufficient Saviour; and declares that sinners of every description may be washed in his blood, and renewed by his Spirit-But, if we will not apply to him by faith, and thankfully accept his proffered benefits, it dooms us to destruction under the aggravated guilt of despising, and trampling under foot the Son of God-The commission which our Lord gave to his disciples," and the answer given by Paul to the awakened jailor, abundantly confirm this view of the gospel, and shew that a cordial acceptance of Christ as our only Lord and Saviour is the sum and substance of a Christian's duty-]

* Mar. xv 15, 16.

b Acts xvi. 30, 31.

According to this statement, very many will be found disobedient to the gospel

1. They who neglect Christ altogether

[This is so obvious a truth that the mention of it seems needless and absurd: but experience proves that the most abandoned sinners, and most avowed infidels, are often insensible of the guilt which they contract-Be it known however, that their excuses or objections will avail them nothing in the day of judgment: their whole lives were one continued act of disobedience to the gospel; and they will most assuredly be numbered amongst the enemies of their incarnate God-Their rejection of him, whether in principle or practice, will be a decisive evidence of their guilt-]

2. They who unite something else with him as a foundation for their hope

[The gospel requires us to renounce all dependence on our own works-However good our works be, they must never for one moment be considered as justifying us before God, either in whole or in part-In Christ alone must be all our hope; and if we attempt to unite any thing of ours with his perfect righteousness, we shall not only not add to our security, but shall altogether invalidate all which Christ himself has done for us-St. Paul asserts this in the plainest terms; and from the fullest conviction of its truth desired to be found in Christ, clad with his righteousness and his only] .

3. They who, while they profess to follow Christ, dishonour him by their conduct

[Many there are who with apparent zeal cry, Lord, Lord, who yet are far from doing the things which he commandsMany alas! "profess to know him, but in their works deny him:" they are observant of outward duties, but inattentive to their spirit and temper: instead of being meek and lowly, patient and forgiving, and solicitous only to honour God, they are proud and passionate, covetous and worldly, and studious rather to be thought Christians than really to deserve the name -Let such know that they" amidst all their appearances of religion deceive themselves, and their religion is vain" neglecting to walk as Christ walked they disobey the gospel, as much as if they rejected him altogether-]

To awaken such from their slumbers, we proceed to shew

• Gal. v. 2, 4.

d Phil. ii. 9.

t

Jam. i. 26.

II. What their end shall be

The peculiar manner, in which the Apostle speaks of their "end," intimates that it will be dreadful

1. Beyond expression

[In the text St. Peter infers from the trials, which God suffers to come upon believers here, the far greater miseries that shall be endured by unbelievers hereafter-But his very mode of suggesting this inference shews, that the two states could scarcely admit of any comparison: for what are any transient pains of body inflicted by the most ingenious cruelty of man, when compared with the eternal torments both of soul and body, which will be inflicted on the wicked by the hand of an incensed God?-St. Paul institutes a similar comparison, and, like St. Peter, leaves our imagination to supply what no language could possibly express-There are indeed terms used in scripture to represent to us the misery of the damned-They are represented as "cast into a lake of fire and brimstone," "where the worm of an accusing conscience dieth not, and the fire of God's wrath is not quenched:" they "weep and wail and gnash their teeth;" and the "smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever:" But, awful as these expressions are, they convey no adequate idea of the misery sustained by those who have perished in unbelief: we must say of that, as St. Paul says of the things he heard and saw in the third heavens, that it is unutterables]

2. Beyond a doubt

[The Apostle appeals to our own consciences for the truth of the inference which he suggests-He says, in effect, What must the state of unbelievers be? Can it be the same with that of obedient believers? Will God put no difference between those who serve him, and those who serve him not? Has not the scripture plainly declared the end of those who disobey the gospel? And are we not constrained to acknowledge the equity of that sentence, which the contemners of Christ are taught to expect? Shall not an angel from heaven be accursed, if he presume to preach any other gospel, and can we hope to reject the gospel with impunity? Our wishes are doubtless in opposition to the declarations of God; but in our judgment we must approve of them; and we shall surely be silent in the day that they shall be enforced, even though we ourselves be the unhappy monuments of God's displeasure-]

We may LEARN from hence

? Heb. x. 29.

2 Cor. xii. 4.

Gal. i 8.

1. How to improve the dispensations of God's providence

[In God's providential dealings the most eminent Christians are often involved in public calamities, or bowed down under a load of personal afflictions-On the other hand the enemies of God often triumph, and revel in a fulness of all earthly enjoyments-But the intelligent Christian will see in these dispensations the certainty of a future day of retribution, when the wicked shall receive the just reward of their wickedness, and he himself be exalted to an inconceivable state of bliss-He will argue thus: If God so afflict his children in the day of his mercy, how will he punish his enemies in the day of his wrath? And if he so prosper his enemies and load them with benefits in this vale of tears, what prosperity and happiness must he have reserved for his friends in the regions of glory? If crowns and kingdoms be the portion of many who disregard and despise him, what shall be the inheritance of those who honour and obey him?-Such are the reflections suggested in the text; and such are the considerations which every dispensation, whether joyous or grievous, should excite in our minds-]

2. How to judge of our state before God

[Mere morality is by no means a sufficient criterion whereby to judge of our state: we may be free from gross violations of God's law, and yet be far from yielding obedience to the gospel-Let us then enquire whether we be obeying the gospel by a simple dependence upon Christ, and by a spirit and temper suited to our profession? This is the test to which we must bring ourselves, since we shall be tried by it at the last day-In vain will be our morality, if Christ be not our only foundation; and in vain will be our professed adherence to Christ, if we do not adorn the gospel by an holy conversation-Let us then examine ourselves, that we may know beforehand what our end shall be—And let all earthly comforts or troubles be improved as means of exciting us to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal life-]

CCCLXX. THE SIN OF MAKING LIGHT OF CHRIST. Matt. xxii. 5. But they made light of it.

WE are apt to condemn the Jews as blind and obstinate, because they rejected Christ in spite of the clearest evidence in his favour-But we ourselves are more

guilty than they, because we enjoy much greater advantages for understanding the gospel than they did, and yet are as regardless of it as they were.

Our blessed Lord illustrated their conduct by a marriage-feast, to which they who were invited, refused to come. The same invitation is sent to us; and we, no less than they, "make light of it.”

To bring home a conviction of this upon our minds, we shall shew

I. What are the blessings which we are invited to partake of

God is here represented as having made a marriage for his Son

[The figure of a marriage union is often used to represent the connexion that subsists between Christ and his churcha— He is the bridegroom, and the church is his bride”—And the connexion is then formed, when the church gives up herself to Christ as her head and Lord, and by faith becomes so united to him as to be one flesh, or to speak more properly, "one spirit with him❞—]

The feast prepared on the occasion contains all the blessings of grace and glory

[There is nothing that can nourish or delight the soul, which God has not prepared for the bride on her union with Christ-She instantly becomes related to him, and is considered in all things as his daughter, an object of his affections, and a partaker of his inheritance-Let any one enquire, What is there that my soul can desire in time or eternity? and he shall find it all set before him, that he may freely and richly enjoy it-]

To a participation of this feast we are sent to invite you

[In one view, they to whom we are sent, are the bride; but in another view, they are the guests-The commission God has given to his servants is, to "go out into the highways and hedges, and to bring in as many as they can find❞—To you therefore we come, declaring that no unworthiness on your parts shall exclude you, provided you put on the wedding garment, which the Master of the feast has prepared for you --Accept the invitation; and all the blessings of salvation shall be yours-Pardon, peace, strength, and whatever else

a Jer. iii. 14. Hos. ii. 19, 20. Eph. v. 30-32.

₫ 1 Cor. vi. 17

b Isaiah liv. 5. Rev. xxi. 9.

John iii. 29.

e Isaiah x. 6.

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