XXVI.

NECESSITY OF IMPROVING GOSPEL

OPPORTUNITIES.

JER. viii. 20." The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."

Whatever may have been the application of these words to Israel, we are constrained to consider them as descriptive of the actual condition of many in our own country, of numbers in every congregation, who once had opportunities of salvation, but from whom all hope is now for ever departed, and who are kept waiting for the vengeance of eternal fire. The text teaches us that such persons have had seasons of mercy, and that for their present condition they have no excuse. This will be evident if we consider,

I. THE MEANS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED TO AWAKEN AND SAVE THEM.

They have had from God,

1. The teachings of his gospel.

By this they have been taught the necessity of salvation; from it they might have learned the depravity of their nature, their inability to effect its change, their exposure to the wrath of God, and how unavailing are all human efforts to escape therefrom. The Gospel teaches further that man is not left to the consequences of his condition and guilt, but that on the contrary, help has been laid on one who is "mighty to save," he having borne our iniquities. Concerning the method of this salvation, the gospel also affords instruction; it not only informs us of that which God has done for us, but also of what he expects from us: an entire abandonment of sin, and a believing reliance on the atonement. 2. Warnings of Providence.

God warns men by dreadful calamities, of accident, of storm, of poverty, of fire; by sickness in their own person, or in the persons of their friends; by death in their families, of parents, partners, or children.

3. Influence of the Holy Spirit.

From this Spirit proceeds conviction of the evil and hazard

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of sin. Few, if any, sin ignorantly; none without warning from the Spirit. He powerfully draws men from sin, restrains them in sin, and offers aid to resist sin.

II. THE GRACIOUS SEASONS AFFORDED TO THEM.

1. There was the season of youth.

When their minds were unhardened by the long practice of sin; when they were free from the operation of vicious habit. In youth they had special promises, and special encouragement to turn to God; things which the aged have

not.

2. The season of affliction.

Seasons of affliction, however distressing, are intended by their sender, to be the means of spiritual benefit. They afford opportunity for solemn inquiry; they remind us of our relations to God, to time, to eternity. By them, if rightly used, the heart is softened, the will subdued, the mind humbled. There are few but have been favoured with such seasons; there are many by whom they have passed by unimproved.

3. Seasons of special grace.

Nations and individuals have these visitations. There is scarcely an individual who has not been the subject of what are called the extraordinary influences of the Holy Spirit. They have been felt in seasons of suffering, under the ministry of the word, in the ordinances of religion. On such occasions they have been filled with fear, roused to concern, melted into contrition. Such visitations have not been few; they have been repeated again and again, but in the case before us, without effect.

III. THE GRIEVOUS RESULT.

The truth asserted is, that it is possible for seasons of mercy to pass away, and leave man a stranger to salvation. 1. The word of God asserts it.

It was

There are few truths so explicitly revealed. declared in an early age of the world, prior even to the deluge. It is found in the frequent warnings given to the children of Israel by Moses, by Solomon, by the prophets, "O Israel what shall I do unto thee."

2. Facts establish it.

Look at the old world; the men of that generation were striven with, a hundred and twenty years; but the flood came after all. Look at Jerusalem in the days of the Re

deemer; it was blessed with his personal ministry; yet he wept over it, and pronounced that its season of mercy was gone. He spared it for years, favoured it with many outpourings of his Spirit; but all was of no avail; it was destroyed. Look at the aged, who have been from infancy in the way of being saved, but of whom there is now no hope. Look at all who have been for a long time listeners to the gospel, without experiencing its saving power; and you find them untouched by its threatenings, unmoved by its offered mercy.

To each unsaved sinner we must say that if your condition has not now been described, yet it is the condition to which you are hastening. O consider before it be too late; let me call upon you,

1. To make a serious inquiry into your real condition.

To assist you to do this, allow me to remind you that your present state is one of guilt, of misery, and of danger. 2. To the exercise of true repentance.

Reflect on the worth of your soul, the misery to which it is hastening, the awful doom which awaits it unsaved. Think of the glorious salvation to which you are invited, the means by which it has been obtained, and the freeness with which it is offered. Call to remembrance your long neglect, your actual refusals, your oftentimes resistance of the Holy Spirit, and turn at once, call now upon God.

3. Allow me affectionately to warn you that your privileges are passing away, your destiny will soon be unalterably fixed; if you go on as you are, your path will terminate in hell.

N- -R.

XXVII.

THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT.

MICAH ii. 7.-" Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened."

Some understand by the expression "Spirit of the Lord," the power of God; but we understand it to refer to the "effectual worker," in human salvation, the Holy Spirit.

I. PUT THE INQUIRY IN VARIOUS DIRECTIONS. "Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened,”

1. As to place.

Can He act but in one place? Is He confined to one locality? No. In ten thousand places at the same moment; in ten thousand consciences at the same instant, his presence and power may be felt. Time was when the Spirit was local, when he had a special dwelling place on this earth, but now all earth is a place of prayer, and in every place the Spirit works.

2. As to means.

Is the Spirit of God confined to one instrument? No. He can work with or without means, though he graciously uses instrumentality of all kinds, sometimes the most glorious results being produced by the most unlikely instrument. Our duty is to use means, with vigour, with care, with earnestness; but we must use such as are sanctioned by the word of God.

3. By the opposition of men.

Oh why will men oppose the Spirit of God, why engage in so unequal a controversy; men must either bend or break. Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth, but let not men strive with their Maker. Men may, men do combine against the Spirit; but it is like an infant struggling in the grasp of a giant, or a feather endeavouring to resist the force of a hurricane. The mighty ones of the earth may take council against the Lord's anointed, but he that sitteth in the heavens, shall break them with a rod of iron."

4. In his compassions.

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Is the spirit of the Lord straitened in his compassion towards his people-does he not bear with their infirmitiesdoes he not promise them assistance? Is he straitened towards the penitent? The peculiar sin of a state of ungodliness is presumption; that of the penitent is despondency. But why should they despond? Their concern is the result of the operation of the Spirit; and is he now straitened?· Has he brought to the birth, and will he not give power to bring forth?

II. NOTICE SOME OF THE PRACTICAL LESSONS WHICH MAY BE DRAWN FROM THIS SUBJECT.

1. Do not doubt the Spirit's power.

If the Spirit of the Lord is not straitened, why then should you doubt his ability to accomplish all that he has promised? The mind of the christian is frequently the prey of doubts; and perhaps that man who was to declare that he was free from doubts, would need to have the superstructure of his confidence pulled to pieces; for although doubts form no part of religion, yet they appear to be invariably mixed up with religion. Yet with such exceedingly precious promises, and with such an allpowerful Spirit we should manage to get our minds quickly relieved.

2. Do not doubt the Spirit's kindness.

How often has the Spirit knocked at your hearts and been refused entrance. He has come in the morning and has been dismissed; in the evening, but the door was closed; and He has done this for years; and what has He thus visited you for, but that he might put you in possession of the richest blessings in the universe? And for what have you put him off? The beggarly elements of the world.

3. Beware lest the Spirit forsake you.

What is the lesson taught by the deluge? Why was the narrative recorded? Why are its effects still visible on our planet? That we might know that the Spirit will not always. strive with man. Some of you are in danger of the Spirit taking his departure, and if he should withdraw, you are lost for ever.

B- -T.

XXVIII.

THE AWFUL CONDITION OF THE IMPENITENT.

NAHUM i. 6.-"Who can stand before his indignation? Who can abide the fierceness of his anger ?"

The progress of every sinner is towards a point, after which, his salvation is impossible. Up to a certain period in his history, there is hope for every sinner, after that period his damnation is inevitable. Every sinner who does not avail himself in the "now" of the means of salvation, will