A REFORMATION SERMON. will become a jest, and all his invisible terrors a matter of derision. Now who is there of us willing to have our .ears filled with such language of hell, with public and loud curses against our heavenly Father, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier? Can we bear to have all that is sacred and divinely dear to us, exposed to mockery ? All that we infinitely value, named with contempt ? All that we fear and worship treated with insult and ridicule ; When God's holy name and attributes are made the song of the drunkards, our, heart may grieve within us, and our con- ; sciences will smite us inwardly, with a.sharp reproach, that we never assisted the reformation : While rivers of tears shall flow down your eyes, your lips will take up .thisdoleful reflection, " Alas ! ,How much share have I in the guilt of these wild and open blasphemies of my God, because I -never did any thing to prevent them." II. Universal difficulties and discouragements will attend the practice and profession of piety ; for the more men improve in wickedness themselves, the more will ,they hate all appearance of religion in others ; and they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall be sure to suffer persecution " 2 Tim. iii. P.?. When " the fools have said in their hearts there is no God, they will eat up his people as they eat bread ;" Ps. xiv. 4. All religious discourse shall be banished from conversation, and be put out of countenance with bitter raillery : This indeed is already too frequent, and pious conference is almost forbidden amongst us : but ifsin further prevails, godli- ness will be afraid to appear in any of its forms ; virtue must hide its head, and religion will be driven into corners. Profaneness has grownso bold these forty years and more, that a saint has been .a word of scoff and reproach ; in due time every thing that looks serious will become a scandal, and if there be any righteous Lots amongst us, their. " souls will be vexed with the impure conversation of sinners :" 2 Pet. ii: 7, 8. Aman shall hardlybe able to attend upon the public worship of God, but he must receive abuses in his way thither ; the high-way of holi- ness will be unoccupied,, the travellers to, Zion will be forced to walk in by-paths, and. the frequenters of the house of God will cease in our Israel ;' Judges v. 6, 7, l2, 13. but I hope our " Deborah is risen, she is risen a
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