162 TIE RIGHT IMPROVEMENT OF LIFE. {BERM. xXX1X, new thy nature, though thou art an,old hardened rebel, and a transgressor from thy very infancy. Lose not a moment more, but set about the work in good earnest;, trifle no longer with grace, thou who art on the borders of the grave ; fly to the hope that is set before thee ; beg salvation of God with daily and nightly tears, and give him no rest till he bath heard thee. Sch an importu- nity is like to be successful ; and then, though thy tem- poral life bath been no benefit to thee hitherto, yet the last moments of it may possibly be accepted, and prevent thy everlasting death : God who is rich in mercy, may bestow on thee some humble place in heaven, but thou canst not expect to shine amongst the brightest saints. Thou gayest be blbssed among the dead who die in the Lord, and rest from thy sorrows and thy sins; but thou hast scarce any good words to follow thee. Thy works in all the sprightly years of, thy life, have been matter of guilt and shame, and it is infinite mercy, that they shall he remembered no more. But if thy heart be broken for sin, and healed by the blood of . Christ, thy humble repentance, and thy holy faith in the fèw remaining days of old age, and death shall be accepted through the abounding grace of the gospel. The dying thief on the cross forbids thee to despair utterly, though thou hast run a terrible risk, and ventured on the borders of de- struction ! And if thou art saved at last, it is so as by fire, it is like a brand plucked out of the burning, or as a man escaping naked out of the flames, and passing on the very brink of hell into everlasting life." THE RECOLLECTION Of the doctrinal part. "Audis life the only space given inv to be reconciled to God, and am I still a stranger and an enemy ? Have I wasted away so many years of this golden season of hope, this day of mercy, and have I not yet received this mercy, nor laid hold on this hope set before me : Search, exa- mine, enquire, what is thy state, O my soul ? And if thou art yet a child of wrath, and unreconciled to G.od, make haste and fly for refuge to the grace of the go.pel. ,Cry mightily for repentance and forgiveness in the name and blood of Jesus. Let no more days of thy life pass away in such a dangerous and dreadful state, lest life should come to a speedy period, and then thou art ba- nished from grace and hope for ever.
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