insensibility, and yet may at length arise and discharge its office in a way that shall fill a man with terror, for those offences for which he felt, at the time, no concern.

We have an instance of this, even in a man who had known the fear and love of God, and the influence of true piety. David seems to have passed many months with but few and slight challenges from conscience for his enormous sins, till Nathan the prophet came to him: but after that he says, "My sin is ever before me." "I have no rest in

my bones by reason of my sin."

The same was probably the case with the characters in my text. Their sins appear to have given them no disquietude, till the arrow of conviction was directed to their consciences by an unerring hand. So also with the converts of Pentecost and with the jailor of Philippi: and so with the traitor Judas. He pilfered from the bag habitually, and, as far as appears, without remorse; and probably he " rejoiced in his gain of the thirty pieces of silver," at one period of that very day on which he cast back the price of blood with horror, and then laid violent hands upon himself.

Flatter not yourselves, O sinners, because at present you live at your ease, strangers to all remorse. Though your consciences be now, in

"seared

the strong language of scripture, even as with a hot iron"-yet is all their exquisite sensibility capable of being so restored in a moment as to make you a terror" to yourselves. These awful feelings may overwhelm you in the hour of sickness or of death, and if not, they will at least surprise and confound you in the day of judgment.

But it is not only against persons guilty of notorious sins, that conscience is capable of bearing an alarming testimony. If God should be pleased at once to enlighten our minds to a just knowledge of his law, and of our own manifold failures and offences in thought, and word, and deed; and to let loose our consciences upon us; our convictions would be terrible, and we should all be driven to exclaim, "Thou makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. Innumerable evils have compassed me about! My sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up: and my heart hath failed me.

II. TO OFFER SOME PROOF of this, and by so doing, to draw the subject home to ourselves, is the second thing proposed.

Let any one then consider how wrong a spirit has existed, and how many wrong dispositions have prevailed in him from his childhood. Indeed, in consequence of the fall of man, we all come

E

into the world, with these wrong dispositions in our hearts. We are naturally disinclined to God's service, and inclined towards the world, and sin, and folly. Hence we are from the first, as soon as we become capable of it, in our conduct, "foolish and disobedient, serving divers lusts and pleasures." We do not serve God-but the contrary. Has not this been the case, at least during a large part of life?

Towards our fellow-creatures, how many wrong tempers have wrought within us: pride, envy, anger, malice, selfishness, uncharitableness. If we watch ourselves diligently, we must be convinced how remote our temper has been from loving all men "as we love ourselves," how different our conduct from "doing to them as we would they should do unto us.' So much so, that we are apt to let these laws of God quite escape our thoughts, and to govern ourselves by some very different rule.

Another view of the subject, which may readily show us the multitude of our offences, if we properly consider it, is, reflecting on our sins of omission. We are apt to think only of the instances in which we have positively done those things which we ought not to have done,' overlooking the innumerable multitude of cases in which we have left undone the things that we ought to have done.'

Particularly when we come to apply this reflection to all the different relations in life, in which we have stood, as children or parents, as brothers or sisters, as masters or servants. When we consider how we ought to have filled up all these relations, so as to have promoted the honour of God, and the good, spiritual as well as temporal, of all with whom we have been connected; that all should have been the better for us-better prepared for heaven by our means, and how little, perhaps, we have even thought of such a thing; if we consider this, we must surely become convinced that our failures are 66 more in number than the hairs of our head." Accordingly we see even the best characters of Scripture, under the influence of an awakened and enlightened conscience, and under the convincing energy of the Holy Ghost, expressing the deepest sense of their own sinfulness and unworthiness. I need do no more than mention to you the names of Job and David, of Isaiah and Daniel, of St. Peter and St. Paul. When Job beholds the glory of God, he says, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear ; but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Isaiah exclaims in the presence of God, "Wo is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of un

own confessions and our

not confess our sins,

clean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." St. Paul was "alive without the law once," but, he adds, "when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." And what are our own prayers? Do we and ask forgiveness as often as we pray for daily bread? And if we thus daily and hourly transgress-if the best things that we do have somewhat in them to be pardoned, and if "in many things we offend all," then how great, and even passing calculation must be the catalogue of our transgressions for the whole of life! Oh should God commission our consciences to awake, arise, and set in order before us, all that we "have done," and all that we have "left undone," who should be able to abide it? "Who can tell

Lord, shouldst

how oft he offendeth? If thou, be severe to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who shall stand?" We have all done enough to ruin our souls, and most justly to bring upon ourselves God's wrath and everlasting damnation. If we feel it not, if we admit it not, it only shows that our consciences are yet unawakened, callous, and insensible. It makes our state but so much the worse, and not the better and the most awful thing that could befal us would be, not to be awakened from this insensible state till death