152 THE WORLD TO COME. much of heaven let into all the chambers of the soul : It is then only that we begin to know ourselves aright, and know God in his most awful and most lovely manifestations : It is in this light, we.see. the. hateful evil of every sin, the beatrty of holiness, the worth of the gospel of Christ, and of his salvation. It is a light that carries'divine heat and life with it; it renews all the powers of the spirit, and introduces holiness, hope and joy, in the room of folly and guilt, sin, darkness and sorrow. III. If God has wrought this sacred and divine change in our souls, if we are made the children of light, or if we profess to have felt' this change, and hope for an interest in this bright inheritance of the saints, let us put away all the works of dark- ness, with hatred and detestation. Let no walk in the light of truth and holiness ; Eph: v. 8. Ye were once darkness, but are now light in'the Lord ; walk as children of light. And the apostle repeats his exhortation to the Thessalonians. Ye are all children of the light and of the day, and not the sons of night or darkness; therefore let us not steep as do others, but let us watch and be sober ; putting on the breast -plate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation, for God fiat li not appointed no to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ ; 1 Thess. v. 5 -9. To animate every Christian to this holy care and watchful- ness, let us think what a terrible disappointment it will be after we have made a bright profession of Christianity in our lives, to lie down in death, in a state of sin and guilt, and to awake in the world of spirits, in themidst of the groans and agonies of hell, surrounded and covered with everlasting darkness. Let our public profession be as illustrious and bright as it will, yet if we indulge works of darkness in secret; night and darkness will be our eternal portion, with the anguish of conscience, and the terrors of the Almighty, without one glimpse of hope or relief. It is only those who walk in the light of holiness here, who can be fit to dwell in the presence of a God of holiness hereafter. Light is sown only for the righteous, and joy for the Upright in heart; Ps. xcvii. 11. and it shall break out, one day, from amongst the clouds, a glorious harvest ; 'but only the sons and the daughters of 'light shall taste of the blessed fruits of it. Think again with yourselves when you are tempted to sin and folly, what if I should be cut off', on a sudden, practising the works of darkness, and my soul be summoned into the eter- nal world, covered with guilt and defilement? Shall I then be fit for the world of light ? Will the God of light ever receive me to his dwelling ? Do I not hereby render myself unfit còmpanÿ for the angels of light ? And what if I should be sent down, to dwell among the spirits of darkness, since I have imitated their sinful manners and obeyed 'their cursed influences? 0 may such
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=