mind in reference to the object that grieves and ought most solicitously to seek forit; it will produce hatred to sin, and a giveness, yet he may go on offending resolution to forsake it. And there will against God, trampling under foot every be no true repentance where there is not one of his precepts, caring nothing about connected with it faith in the Lord Jesus the matter; as if Jehovah were that only Christ, as the only way by which sin can be being in the universe whom it should not for given. grieve us to offend. It is a great contempt of the law of God, that, after we have trampled it under foot, and accounted it an unholy thing-that then we should have no grief for the injury we have done it. And, moreover, a want of penitence marks a total rejection of the whole scheme of mercy in the gospel. If we have no brokenness of heart, if we are not brought to humble ourselves in the sight of God, we are not in a state of mind that at all prepares us to receive the gospel; we are neglecting the great salvation; and are adding to all our other sins contempt of the Son of God in his mediatorial capacity and work.

My friends, you will perceive, then, that the want of penitence is a most awful crime; it comprehends every aggravation of iniquity. The impenitent man is going on, adding sin to sin; and this is the link that binds him to an unconverted and sinful state. It is of great importance that I represent this matter, because the latter part of the subject is to state to you the punishment, THE CONSEQUENCES THAT WILL FOLLOW UPON IMPENITENCE; and, as they are very terrible, it should be manifest that the sin that will bring them is equally great.

Now, my hearers, this is penitence; and impenitence means, of course, the opposite to this. The man who is not convinced of sin-the man who is not alarmed -who does not see that he is under the wrath of God, and deservedly exposed to eternal misery-who does not grieve over his sin-who does not hate and forsake it -who does not depend on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation-such a man is impenitent; he is hard-hearted towards God, and every thing connected with religion. Now, there may be this impenitence, this hardness of heart, where there is much that is morally amiable in the conduct of those to whom I am now referring. Towards their fellow-creatures there may be much genuine pity, much tenderness of spirit, much benevolence towards men, and yet not one spark of penitence in the sight of God. We have heard of many of the most lovely of their species who yet appear to be altogether in the dark with respect to their spiritual condition -who have no conviction of sin, no genuine penitence; but are living in the most confirmed hardness of heart. Perhaps you may not see the guilt of this want of penitence-this hardness of heart; but it really contains in itself every aggravation that sin admits of. There is, for instance, rebellion against the authority of God, who commands men every where to repent. There is great insult offered to God: for in proportion to the excellence of any being whom we may offend, should be the promptness of our mind to confess the offence and mourn over it. How prompt, then, should we be to hasten to the footstool of the divine throne, and confess the sins we have committed against the infinitely blessed, glorious, and holy God! So that the man without penitence is living in a state of aggravated insult against Jehovah; as if, though he The time when this punishment will be ought to be very sorry for the very small- inflicted. It is very true that the moment est offence against his fellow-creatures, we die we enter into heaven or hell. I

Now turn your attention first to the time when the punishment will be inflicted. And before we proceed, let me entreat you, my dear hearers, to ask yourselves the question, "Have I yet been brought by the Spirit's teaching and grace to true penitence, or am I still impenitent? Is not my heart hardened, insensible to abiding impressions on religious subjects? If so, I am the very person whose punishment the preacher is about to describe." Just so you are the man-you, whoever you are, who are still destitute of "repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."

am not quite sure that mankind consider
this so frequently as they ought: they stop
at the article of death. Death is the most
awful catastrophe that can happen to us
in this world; but the most awful event
that can happen in this world is as no-
thing compared with what is to follow.
We are all just as near to heaven or hell
as we are to death: if this night we die,
we sink to the torments of lost souls, or
rise to the felicities of redeemed ones.
But neither the happiness of the righteous
nor the punishment of the wicked is com-
plete at death. At the morning of the
resurrection the body is to be reassociated
with the spirit; and then the whole man
is to enter on his endless career of torment
or of bliss.

Observe how it is spoken of: "The
day of wrath." The day of judgment will
be to the wicked nothing but a day of
wrath; all they see, all they hear, all they
feel, all they anticipate, will be unmixed
wrath. It will be to them as the deluge
was to the impenitent and unbelieving in
the time of Noah. They saw the foun-
tains of the great deep breaking up, and
the windows of heaven thrown open; they
heard the strange uproar, and felt them-
selves in the midst of the wild confusion
of a dissolving world, as it must have ap-
peared to them; and in every thing around
them, in all they saw and heard, they be-
held nothing but awful justice, fearful and
indescribable vengeance. So will it be
with the wicked, the impenitent, in the
day of judgment: it will be a day of
wrath.

It is called a day of revelation: and so it will be in every view we take of it. There will be a revelation of God, in the wisdom of his plans, in his mercy to his people, in his justice of the punishment of the wicked. There will be a revelation of Jesus Christ. The long-agitated question will then be finally and for ever settled. There will be no question who he is: no more shall it be doubted that he is the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. No Socinian in that day shall question his divinity: no blaspheming infidel shall deride then. He shall be revealed in power and in great glory; and it is expressly called "the day of the revelation

of Jesus Christ." There shall be at that
day not only a revelation of God and of
Jesus Christ, but there shall be a revela-
tion of man. Millions of saints shall come
out from their obscurity, and shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Millions of flaming but hypocritical pro-
fessors shall stand at that day unmasked.
Silent and unheeded goodness shall be
brought to light; secret and enormouswick-
edness shall be exposed. Oh, the deeds
that shall then be brought to light! Oh, the
secrets that shall be made manifest in the
day of revelation! God grant, my hearers,
that there may come out nothing in that
day that shall fill you and me with dis-
may! God grant that we may have no-
thing to be brought from behind the veil
of secrecy which we shall blush to hear
in that awful day! There will be a reve-
lation of secrets then-all the secrets of
men's history. Sinner, thou that art now
screening thyself from public gaze, carry-
ing on thy career of iniquity behind a dis-
guise most dexterously wrought-that
mask shall serve thee nothing in the day
of revelation; it shall be torn away, and
thou shalt appear as thou art.

But the text speaks particularly of one kind of revelation—the revelation of righteous judgment that shall come on the wicked. There will be a revelation of judgment itself. The punishment of the wrath of God is now revealed partially on the page of Scripture against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men: but it is only a partial revelation. Ah! we must go to eternity to know the secrets of eternity. Never, Christian, will the greatness of thy felicity be revealed-never, impenitent sinner, never till the day of judgment will the greatness of thy iniquity be revealed.

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But this is not all it is the revelation of righteous judgment; a complete manifestation of the justice of God in the punishment of the wicked. Now we know, that terrible as the curse of the wicked will be-we know, that though there is a lake that burneth with fire and brimstone —we know, that though profane men and infidels mock at the justice of God in the punishment of the wicked-we know that God is just; and the men that mock now

ing: I beseech you take warning! And he lies down at night, he is richer (if I then, when it does come it will be unpitied may apply the term) in vengeance in suffering. Divine compassion now stands another world, than when he arose in the by you; the Saviour stands with his grace. morning. He is continually deepening If he was here he would be ready to drop and darkening his hell; he is continually tears of compassion over the impenitent adding to the weight of the fetters which and unbelieving. But in the day of your will sink him down into the bottomless punishment there will be no pity: "he pit. It is no hyperbole, it is no forced will laugh at your calamity, and mock expression, to say, that there will be mulwhen your fear cometh.”—This, then, is titudes who will lament in eternity that the punishment that shall come on the they had not been in hell sooner, before wicked and impenitent. they had been permitted to go such lengths in sin. And then, as this proportion will be according to the sin committed, so it will be according to the mercies abused and neglected. The rich man commits greater sin than the poor man, the wise than the unlearned: they sin against more light; they abuse greater means of doing good. But of all the men with whom God will deal most severely in judgment, and in reference to whom there will be more accumulation of wrath, is the man that has lived all his days under the preaching of the gospel, and been favoured with religious advantages. The sins of the poor heathen are light com

be light too. Every broken Sabbath adds something to the weight of wrath; every neglected sermon adds something to the weight of punishment; all the checks of conscience, all the remonstrances of friends, all the advice and prayers of parents, will be taken into account in that day, and will all tend to increase the heap of wrath.

But there is another circumstance yet to be mentioned, and that is, the proportion of the punishment. In the Hebrew Scriptures the idea of hope is set forth by treasure: we use the word generally only in reference to what we account precious; but in the Hebrew writings any thing that is accumulative is accounted treasure. Hence, we read of the treasures of wickedness. The expression "treasurest up wrath," seems to be put in opposition to the expression in the foregoing verse"the riches of his goodness." What an idea! Treasures of love! Heaps of wrath! And you will observe, the sinner is represented as the author of his own punish-pared with his; and the punishment will ment; there is nothing arbitrary, nothing capricious; he is the author of it himself. The idea conveyed is this-that there is an accumulation continually going on as long as he sins. Do let me again entreat you to think of this-that whatever an impenitent man is doing, he is heaping up wrath. He may be getting wealth, but he is treasuring up wrath. He may be getting fame, but he is treasuring up wrath. He may be forming pleasing connexions, but he is treasuring up wrath. Every day he is adding something to the heap. Every oath the swearer utters, there is something more gone to the heap of wrath. Every lie the liar tells, there is something more gone to the treasure of wrath. Every act of uncleanness that the lewd man commits, there is something more gone to the accumulation of wrath. Every day he lives in sin, the book of God's remembrance debits to his account. There is a weightier treasure of wrath for the impenitent to-day, than there was yesterday; there will be more to-morrow, if he continues impenitent, than there is to-day. When VOL. I.-14

Now, my hearers, do consider the misery that will come on the impenitent. And there is great reason to fear, to use the striking language of a distinguished American preacher-there is great reason to fear that there are many in this assembly, and listening to this discourse, who will be the subjects of deep misery to all eternity. Who they are, where they sit, what they may be thinking about, we do not know. They may be at ease; they may be flattering themselves they shall escape; that matters are safe with them; but they are hastening on to this miserable state. If we knew, said he, that there was but one such soul in this assembly, what an awful thought! If we could see

him, what an awful sight it would be! then, believe the awful threatening! Is A man whom we knew was going to eter- it true, or is it not true, that God has said, nal misery, and would certainly endure" The wicked shall be turned into hell?" it! Well might the whole congregation Is it true, or is it not true, that Jesus Christ set up a bitter and a lamentable cry over will say to the wicked, in the last day, him. But, alas! instead of there being "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlastonly one, there are doubtless many who ing fire, prepared for the devil and his will remember this sermon, to all eter- angels?" Is it true, or is it not true, that nity, in hell. It would be a wonder if Jesus Christ has said, "Their worm dieth some of the congregation were not there not-their fire is not quenched?" Oh, if before this year were out: and it would it be true, believe it! Turn from the be no wonder if some, now in health and profane men who would convert the energy, were there before to-morrow morn- threatenings of Scripture into matters of ing. And let the impenitent heap up as ridicule. Close your ear against the long as they may, if they continue im- sceptic, who would throw a doubt on the penitent, they will soon be there: their reality of the threatenings of God's word. damnation lingereth not; their destruction Will he not punish the wicked? Then will come swiftly and perhaps suddenly why has he said it? Is there no hell? upon them. Some, doubtless, that you Then the Bible is a fiction-Christ was once knew, and who were as likely to an impostor, and the apostles partakers live as yourselves, and deserved perdition of the delusion. Is there no hell? Then no more than yourselves, are already past there is no heaven-no hereafter-no hope their agony is begun, their despair-judgment-seat. I entreat you believe the ing course commenced. But you are to- threatenings. Oh, the madness, the madnight in the land of the living-in the house of God-within the reach of mercy -within the reach of hope. Oh, what would those poor, despairing, lost creatures give for one such opportunity of salvation as you enjoy this night!

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ness-I will not give up the term, and use a milder-the madness of that man that spends all the time that God's mercy has given him to flee from hell, by persuading, or attempting to persuade, himself there is none! I say, attempting And now, my hearers, what shall I say to persuade himself, for he has not done to you? Reflect, I beseech you, on your it. Is there no trembling? Is there no condition. Disprove the fact that you are midnight voice, no spectral fear? Is there sinners, and the subject has nothing to do no palpitation of heart at the sound of the with you. You may go carelessly away knell, or the sight of an open grave? to-night: you may say, these terrors ap- Why tremble at death? Why that ply not to me; the thunders of the law anxiety of mind to persuade yourself that roar harmless over me. But, I beseech there is no hell? Because in spite of all you, consider that you are sinners. I do thy bravado thou fearest that there is. not say that any of you are profligates; I Oh, believe that there is! for this is the do not say that you are immoral; but I first step towards escaping it. Go home say that you have broken the law of God. to-night believing that God is as true in You are sinners; you are under the con- his threatenings as he is true in his prodemnation of the law, and are in danger of mises. It is yet wrath to come. No fearperishing. Do take up that cry, "I am a ful portents are in the sky; no gloomy lost, a miserable sinner." Then believe comet glares upon it with portentous the threatenings of God's word denounced light, from the upper regions of the atagainst sin. You must have faith-you mosphere; no convulsive throes heave must believe it. You must first believe the ground beneath thy feet. There is the law, before you can believe the gos- mercy-Christ waits to be gracious-his pel. You must believe you are a con-blood cleanseth from all sin. To-night, demned sinner, before you can believe in to-night betake thyself, O sinner, to Christ, as a Saviour of the lost; or you prayer! Begin to-night-bow thy knees can never believe to salvation. Oh, do, to-night. Thy heart is hard; I know it;