his Holy Spirit, and under his guidance forming the most serious resolutions to correct and amend, without delay, whatever we find amiss in our temper, principles, and conduct. This is the true spirit and meaning of the religious solemnity of this day*, and the holy season which follows it; this is the substance and the essence of what is called in Scripture language, and in the epistle we have just heard, "turning to the "Lord with weeping, fasting, and mourn 66 ing." And what is there in all this, but that sort of solicitude concerning our spiritual condition, and our future prospects, which every man of common sense, if he thinks them worth his notice, must see to be not only highly reasonable, but indispensably necessary? Is there a man who has any important end in view for the advancement of his fame, his fortune, his rank or consequence in life, who does not frequently think and reflect upon it, who does not give up a large share of his time and attention to it, who does not often shut himself up in his closet to consider whether he is in the right road to it, whe * Ash Wednesday. ther he is taking the most efficacious means to accomplish his end? We all know that this, and much more than this, is, and must be done, in such cases. And yet, in a case of infinitely greater moment, we conceive all this care and attention to be perfectly needless. We expect to go to heaven without so much as giving ourselves the trouble to inquire, at proper intervals, whether we possess the qualifications required of all who are allowed to enter there; whether the course of action we are pursuing will lead us to the point we profess to have in view. The church calls upon us to give up a few hours at stated times, for a few weeks, to those great objects which we all acknowledge to be the most important that can engage the attention of a human being. But the world calls us another way: it calls us a thousand different ways; and which call is it that we obey? Look around and see what it is that now occupies, and is likely to occupy, for the next six weeks, the greater part of the inhabitants of this gay and dissipated metropolis. Is it retirement, is it prayer, is it self-examination, is it repentance, is it prostration and humiliation of their souls before God? It is almost preposterous to ask the question. Some, it is true, there are, and, I trust, not a few, that have not yet bowed the knee to Baal; who have not yet fallen down before those idols of sin, of pleasure, of interest, of ambition, which the world has set up to worship; who love God with all their heart, and soul, and mind, and strength; who dedicate not only this day, and this season, but a large proportion of every day to his service, and pay an uniform and constant obedience to his commands. But great numbers, it cannot be denied, (would to God it could !) pursue a very different course, and think it meanness to adore the God that made them. Far from rending either their hearts or their garments on such occasions as the present, they treat with sovereign contempt every ordinance of the church to which they belong; and this, above all others, they affect not only to despise but to detest. They cannot bear, it seems, they shudder at the very thought, they cannot bear to draw down imprecations, such as the service of this day contains, on themselves and their neighbours, and to pronounce their own condemnation with their own mouths. Absurd and thoughtless men! Do they, then, imagine, that if these imprecations are not sanctioned by their own lips, they will be of no avail? From whom do they originally proceed? From God himself. They are the terrors, not of man, but of the Lord. And do the threatenings of God want the confirmation of man, before they can take effect? Will not the unmerciful, the drunkard, the extortioner, the fornicator, the adulterer, the murderer, the curser of his father and his mother, will not these, and all the rest of the black catalogue of sinners enumerated this day, receive their due punishment hereafter, if you are only so tender-hearted, and so indulgent, as not to pronounce their sentence here? Alas! that sentence is already pronounced by their Almighty Judge. It is recorded in the books of heaven; and though every tongue on earth were silent, nay, though every tongue should join in glossing over, and even justi fying all or any of these crimes, that sentence will assuredly be pronounced on all impenitent offenders. Deceive not, then, yourselves with any such vain imagination, as if any thing you could say, or forbear to say, would alter one iota in the judicial decrees of the Almighty Sovereign of the universe. There is, indeed, one thing that can change them. But that depends not on you, but on the sinner himself. It depends not on what he says, but on what he does. “ When the wicked man turneth away from "his wickedness that he hath committed, “ and doeth that which is lawful and right, "he shall save his soul alive.”* This is the only way of averting those dreadful maledictions you have this day heard denounced; and it is to bring men to this way, to stamp upon their souls a strong conviction of the danger of sin, and the necessity of a speedy repentance, that our church has thought fit to make use of such strong and impressive terms. It does not, it must be owned, prophecy smooth things. In does not, in a mortal disease, deceive * Ezek. xviii. 27. |