What is it for the soul to perish? It is to wither, to fade, to die; like the offspring of some beautiful plant, the bud appears, the beautiful blossom is expected, the sweet fragrance is anticipated, but instead thereof it is blighted, it withers, it falls, it dies.

In

stead of the soul expanding, perfecting itself, and becoming like the soul of Jesus, it is blighted by ignorance, it is shrivelled by sin, it withers under the curse of God, and is doomed to suffer pain and disgrace for ever. To perish, is to be separated from God, the source of knowledge, holiness, happiness, and honour.

To perish, is to be associated with fallen, degraded, and wicked angels; and with the most wretched, miserable, and depraved of human kind. To perish, is to be excluded from heaven with all its light, grans deur, and glory; and to be doomed to dwell in hell, the abode of darkness, gloom, and black despair. To perish, is to be deprived of hope, excluded from mercy, and doomed to dwell with consuming fire, to linger for ever in everlasting burnings. To perish, is what? Who can tell? It is terrible beyond the powers of description, it is awful be yond the powers of conception. And are souls perishing? Yes, by thousands, by mil lions, by hundreds of millions. Look into the distance, the heathens perish, and no man regardeth it. Look near home, and in every country, in every city, in every town, in every village, in every hamlet, in every

street, almost in every house, souls are perishing. How fearfully common! But will not the Lord spare? Did he spare the an gels that sinned? Did he not cast them down to hell? Did he spare the world in the days of Noah? Did he not bring the flood on the world of the ungodly? Did he spare Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot? Are they not set forth for an example, sufs fering the vengeance of eternal fire? Did he spare Jerusalem, or Nineveh, or Babylon? Why then should he spare sinners now? For sin, only for sin. Man has set himself against God, he is at enmity with God, he will not do what God bids, nor believe what God says. He will not apply to God for mercy, nor even think of God if he can avoid it. His law is rejected, his ordinances are neglected, his Sabbaths are violated, and his gospel is treated with contempt. Man could once do all that God required, and in doing it enjoy perfect happiness. But he sinned away his power and became a spiritual imbecile. God pitied the criminal, and devised means by which he may yet be saved, and now, instead of commanding him to do and live, he lovingly invites him to believe and be saved; to come to Jesus and have life, but he is determinedly set against it, and the language of his heart and life is, "I will not come to Christ, that I might have life." Man can

But why do souls perish?

not be saved by the law, because he is weak; and he is not saved by the gospel, because he is unwilling. Those without the gospel perish for violating the law and acting contrary to the voice of conscience within; and those who have the gospel perish because of their unbelief. For this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and menloved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." God has provided means to prevent man from perishing, there is no necessity that he perish, for "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God."

66

Reader, is your soul safe? It was in a perishing condition once, and but for the grace of God, and the gift by grace, it would be perishing now. Can you say, He hath saved me, and called me with an holy calling ?" Saved! Oh, what a blessing! Called with an holy calling! Oh, what a privilege! Saved from sin, with all its attendant evils! Saved from hell, with all its endless horrors! Called from darkness to light, from nature to grace, from earth to heaven. Call

ed to inherit a blessing, and called to be a blessing to others. If God saves us, it is that we may be instrumental in saving others. If God calls us, it is that we may convey his gospel to others. Are we then answering God's design? If we are safe ourselves, if our souls are delivered from death, if we know God for ourselves, then we should endeavour to teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord." The grand end of life should be, to become all things to all men, that we may by all means save some. This leads us to our second question,

1 2. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO SAVE SOULS FROM PERISHING? Yes, for God works by means. He rarely, if ever, saves a soul but by the use of means; and rarely, if ever, are God's means employed specifically for this purpose, but God saves souls by them. No soul can be saved from perishing without the agency and work of the Holy Spirit; but God giveth his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him. No soul can be saved without the gospel; but God has given us the gospel, and has commanded us to make it known unto all nations, for the obedience of faith. God works by the Bible; and we should cir culate it. He works by religious tracts and books; and we should distribute them. He works especially by the living voice; and we should use our voices, with this object in view. "Preach the gospel to every creature,”

is the Saviour's command; and we should tell every person we know, we should speak to every one to whom we can get access, of the glorious good news. Yes, we should personally speak to all about us of their dan ger, and of the only way of escaping the wrath to come. We should speak to them as if deeply concerned for their welfare, as if we heartily, and above all things beside, desired their salvation. Souls may be saved from perishing, much may be done, and done by us, to save souls from death. God is willing to use us, he has promised to bless us, he has always crowned honest, hearty, and loving efforts with success.

If we can do anything to save souls from perishing, and do not, what then? Are we not like Saul at the martyrdom of Stephen? are we not consenting unto their death? Do we not say, "Let them perish, I shall not interfere " Or, "If they cannot be saved without my efforts, I shall not put myself out of the way to save them ?" *But I am shy!" Would that prevent you pulling your neighbour's child out of the water, if it was drowning ?" "But I am timid; I am such a poor thing!" Would that prevent you helping to extinguish the fire, if your neighbour's house was in flames ? "But I am a poor illiterate creature!" Would that prevent you telling your fellow-workman, if he was sick, of a remedy that had cured you of the same disease? We can easily