be manifest to us that they are heirs of eternal life! O, of what service to them will be our affection, if it be earthly and carnal? Do we not know that the ties of flesh and blood will soon be severed, dissolved, that there is none but the perfect bond, that of faith, hope, and charity, which will subsist forever! It is for heaven, it is for eternity, it is in God, and for God that we should love our friends; it is in the holy covenant of salvation, that our friendship should seek constantly to draw them. 66 How terrible the affliction, should a brother, a sister, father, mother, husband, wife, a friend of our youth, receive the stroke of death without having confessed the "only name by which we can be saved." How should we reproach ourselves for our neglect in speaking to them of the one thing needful," to have drawn them by our word and example, "to choose the good part," and to take refuge by faith in the bosom of Jesus! What bitter regret, if, instead of having drawn them to the Saviour, by the sweet influence of our lively and practical Christianity, they had been alienated by our inconsistency in religious profession, by defects in our character, by our want of humility, sweetness, patience, and charity; and if, instead of being to them the angels of God announcing "glad tidings of salvation," we had seconded the designs of Satan in their perdition! These, these, are the regrets in which it is indeed difficult to find consolation! These are the regrets that we should take care to spare ourselves, by neglecting to shed around the savor of Christ. Let the voice of heaven awaken us to-day! May it render us attentive to the eternal interests of the objects of our love, and cause us to employ every means to become to them the instruments of blessedness. Finally, the truth contained in our text should powerfully affect us all my dear brethren, and dear hearers; let it act upon us, Christians, by prompting us to labor with new ardor in the work of our vocation, that we may have our reins girded and our lamps lighted, waiting the coming of the bridegroom, that we may march with greater activity heavenward, and not be taken with surprise at the midnight call. My dear hearers, still without the firm anchor of hope in Christ Jesus, let the truth in our text incite you to take an account of your past conduct, and no longer delay taking that decisive step which shall place you under the safeguard of the gospel. Ah, may God preserve us from having laid a snare for you in suggesting the possibility of obtaining grace and pardon at the last hour of life. If this thought has struck you, we beseech you not to make it a pillar of security, remembering that we have also said, that there is great, frightful danger to all those who wait until their last moments for the arrangement of their eternal interests! Believe me, my beloved hearers, that "now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Believe me, you can have no assurance of salvation, if you now delay to seek the conversion of your souls! |