A CARELESS AND UNGODLY LIFE.

BY THE

REV. HENRY ALFORD, A.M.,

LATE OF SIDNEY SUSSEX COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; MASTER Of the
GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BIDEFORD.

JEREMIAH VIII. 20.

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

THE prophet, in the chapter from whence these words are taken, upbraids his countrymen for their impenitence and want of religion, declares in strong and energetic language that GOD would punish their offences, and then shows them that though He is gracious and long-suffering, He will not suffer the best of their days to be past in sin, nor reward them with eternal happiness if they forget Him in the summer of life. In their prosperity, they were often unmindful of his mercies, and for their impiety, and want of true genuine holiness, it was, that GOD cast them out of his favoured land, and suffered them to become a by-word and a reproach among the heathen. Although blest with the law, and favoured by the prophets with continual communications from God himself, though enjoying in the promised land all that their hearts could wish, or nature bestow, still they were unthankful to their heavenly benefactor, and repaid with ingratitude the distinguished mercies which He had so bountifully showered down upon them. Even in their affliction and distress, GOD did not leave himself without witnesses among them; He communicated his

will by the prophets, and threatened them with punishment if they refused to hear them. But how often were these heavenly admonitions slighted! How often were the prophets held in derision, and the sinful courses upon which they had entered persevered in, although they knew that for all these things GOD would bring them into judgment! The truth is, they copied the bad example of the surrounding nations, who were addicted to idolatry, and every vicious propensity, and instead of consulting their duty, sought only the gratification of their unholy desires. Wickedness abounded amongst them; bad examples were multiplied to an amazing extent; impiety and ungodliness prevailed; and the house which was destined by JEHOVAH to be the glory of all nations, became (to use the expressive language of Scripture)" a den of thieves." It is no wonder, then, that GOD in his displeasure should cast them away,—no wonder that He should permit them to suffer distress, when they rejected Him, and cast his words behind their back. It seems almost beyond the power of belief, that any nation could so far forget their duty and their own eternal welfare, as to act in direct opposition to GOD's commands; yet such was positively the fact, that with a complete knowledge of the will of the Most High, they acted contrary to that knowledge, "and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for evermore." They shaped their mode of life according to their earthly desires, and placed their chief happiness in the enjoyments of time and sense. Instead of preparing for a future state of existence, they prepared only for the present, and suffered the summer of life, and the harvest, which should have produced the fruits of religion, to pass away unimproved, and their eternal salvation to remain insecure.

The besetting sin amongst the Jews is also prevalent in this our day,-I mean, forgetfulness of GOD. My brethren, we profess to be Christians, to be the followers of the blessed JESUS; but how many amongst us are there, who, if called upon "to give a reason of the hope that is in them," would find that their religion consisted only in profession! How many, who bare the badge of the Saviour's name, and who promised, when they were admitted into covenant with Him, to depart from iniquity, still continue in their sins-prefer this world to the next-time to eternity-the fleeting things of this earth to the lasting joys of heaven! Though from their earliest years the great truths of Christianity have been set before them by the ministers of CHRIST with the greatest care-though they have been taught to read the book of GOD, and to meditate on his providencethough numberless examples of piety and godliness surround them on every side among their friends and acquaintances-still their wicked hearts remain untouched with remorse for their sins, and they live as if they never thought of GOD, and cared little or nothing about their eternal welfare. The present life is everything with them-eternity nothing; worldly enjoyments and worldly pleasures draw their minds from high and heavenly things to grovel upon the earth on which they move, and on which they place all their desires, while death and the awful judgment scarcely occupy one moment of their time, or give them the least anxiety and solicitude. What an awful infatuation is this! That any in our day should be found, blessed as they are, with the bountiful means of grace for securing their salvation, "naming the name of CHRIST"-professing themselves to be his followers, and yet "not departing from iniquity!" How can they reconcile their conduct

with any principle of duty to the Supreme Being, or to themselves! How can they live in direct opposition— nay, in open violation of his laws, when they know from Scripture that GOD spared not his own Son for the wickedness of men, but gave Him up to suffer a cruel and ignominious death! We have too much cause, I fear, to apply to many in this Christian land the striking words of the prophet, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

We propose to consider these words in the order in which they stand, and may the blessed SPIRIT of GOD assist our endeavours, and be present with us in our meditation upon them, that our souls may be roused to activity and diligence, and that we may not, when death shall put a period to our existence, "fall short of the prize of our high calling."

First, then, the harvest is. past.

By the term harvest, we are to understand that portion of time when we might reasonably expect the fruits of righteousness to have arrived at maturity, and when those seeds of holiness and virtue which have been sown in our early years might have produced abundant increase. The Christian is required to be faithful, and if he neglect to improve the talent committed to his care, or keep it "bound up in a napkin," the Lord of the harvest will come in an hour when he thinks not, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Wherever the seed of the Word has been sown, whatever heart has received JESUS CHRIST as a crucified Saviour, whatever tongue has confessed his name, there the fruits of righteousness are expected in their due time. No doubt many, perhaps all of us, can call to recollection, the earnestness and attention with which our parents and friends endeavoured to instil into our youthful

minds, in early life, the seeds of virtue and religion, the blessed precepts of the Gospel, and the great rewards promised by GOD to a life spent in piety and holiness; no doubt we have been warned from time to time of the deceitfulness of sin, and the depravity of the human heart, by the faithful ministers of CHRIST;—no doubt we have every one of us experienced innumerable blessings from Him "from whom every good and precious gift cometh;" now, I would ask, have all these benefits which religious education, religious exhortation, and heavenly kindness have procured, produced in us corresponding gratitude?

Have we been brought to feel "that there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we can be saved, but only the name of our Lord JESUS CHRIST?" Have our hearts been humbled, and has the pride of our nature been subdued; have we been brought to the foot of the cross to confess ourselves miserable sinners, without hope, without consolation, except in and through the mercy of our Redeemer? Have our minds been more fixed on heaven, and have we learnt "to set our affections more on the things above than those which are on the earth?" Have we used this world as not abusing it, considering ourselves only as strangers and pilgrims on earth, seeking another and a better country, that is, a heavenly one? Have we been instant in prayer, and anxious through God's grace to accomplish the work which He has given us to do, not walking in the byroads and devious paths of sin, but as humble disciples of the Lamb of GOD, "who died to take away the sins of the world?" Have we endeavoured "to put away the old man with his deeds," that is, the passions and desires of a corrupt nature, "and to put on the new man," that is, the graces and ornaments of the Christian character, VOL. III.

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