SE11MON XL: 575 Constraining love, to win the hearts of their children to God, to persuade them to accept of the grace of Christ, and snatch them as brandsout ofthe burning. Let friends and dearest relatives, let masters and rulers of families, lay hold on every just occasion to speak of the things of God to those that are near them. ' Life is the only time to express our zeal for God, and love to souls, in such a manner as this. When we pray, Thy kingdom come, we should awaken our endeavours to gain some new sub- jects to Christ. Come, let us all engage our own consciences in this sacred and compassionate work, while we consider, that to-day is the accepted,time, now is the hour ofsalvation. Godmay put an end to our own lives, or the lives of our friends to-morrow, and either their death or ours willpreventthis sort of work for ever.. Then we can speak no more, or they can hear us no more : 'They will be for ever out of the reach of our compassionate desires to save them. We may send our bitter sighs, andour fruitless groans, after them, when they are gone down to darkness without hope ; and we may feel the inward anguish of a sharp and painful repentance, while, through our neglect, and their own folly and wickedness, they are cursing the day of their birth and crying out, in full despair, under the torture of divine vengeance. XI. Another grace which can be exercised only in this life, is holy zeal, andboldness in the profession of christianity, with courage in suffering for Christ. These are virtues that belong only to our mortal state ; these are made necessary to the saints, by the opposition that is raised against true religion by the men of this world. Here in this world, they that will livegodly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution; 2 Tim. iii. 12. Our Savi- our himself, in the first publicationof his own gospel, endured the contradictionof sinners against himself; he sealed his doctrine with his own blood, and has given his followers a glorious exam- ple of a suffering zeal and holy fortitude. Imitate him who endured the cross, and despised theshame; Heb. xii. 2, 3. 'This sort of virtues doth not belong to the heavenly state ; for there is no opposition made to truthand holiness,: There are no such trials of our zeal and courage in heaven ; courage to speak boldly for Christ, and zeal to give him publie glory, by maintaining his gospel in the face of terror and death ; for there are no infidels, no sinners, no enemies in all the heavenlyregions: There are no threatening tyrants, no persecuting powers, no penal laws in the upper world : No prisons, no fires, no gibbets nor axes there for the followers of the Lamb ; no cruel mockings nor so much as a reproachful word : but the greater our zeal is Vat. 1. P p
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