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 FEB 28 1912 
 
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 . BY 
 
 X E W M A N H A L L , L L . B . 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 "COME TO JraVS," "follow .TE8U3," KTO. 
 
 XEW YORK: 
 IJOBERT CARTEL k BROTHERS, 
 
 No. 530 BROADAVAT, 
 
 1859. 
 
EDWAKD 0. JENKINS, 
 
 t9riiUrr & .Stfrfotnpfr, 
 Kf\ 26 Frankfort Strebt. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAOB. 
 
 NOW. 5 
 
 THE CASE STATED 14 
 
 I.— THE TEESENT IS THE ONLY PORTION OF 
 TIME YOU ARE SURE OF POSSESSING: 
 THEREFORE, REPENT NOW! IT 
 
 II.— THE PRESENT IS THE ONLY PORTION OF 
 TIME IN WHICH IT IS POSSIBLE TO ACT: 
 THEREFORE, REPENT NOW. 37 
 
 IIL— YOUR GOOD INTENTION MAY NOT LAST 
 TILL TO-MORROW: THERFORE, ACT ON IT 
 NOW ! 44 
 
 IV.— BECAUSE THE DIFFICULTY INCREASES BY 
 
 DELAY— REPENT NOW. 51 
 
 v.— THE WHOLE OF LIFE IS NOT TOO LONG 
 FOR THE WORK OF SALVATION : THERE- 
 FORE, BEGIN NOW! 73 
 
 VI.— SIN INFLICTS PRESENT EVILS : AVOID THEM 
 
 BY REPENTING NOW! 89 
 
 VII.— GODLINESS CONFERS PRESENT BENEFITS : 
 
 SECURE THEM BY REPENTING NOW. 95 
 
 VIII.— DUTY TO GOD DEMANDS REPENTANCE 
 
 NOTF 99 
 
 IX.— GRATITUDE SHOULD PROMPT TO REPENT- 
 ANCE NOW 105 
 
NOW. 
 
 lN"ow! A short word; a shorter thing. 
 Soon uttered ; sooner gone. 
 
 Now ! A grain of sand on a boundless 
 plain. A tiny ripple on a measureless ocean ! 
 Over that ocean we are sailing, but the only 
 part of it we possess is that on which our 
 vessel at this moment floats. We look back 
 and watch the ship's wake in the waters. But 
 how short a distance it reaches, and how soon 
 every trace disappears! We see also some 
 landmarks farther off — and then the horizon 
 closes the view. But beyond, that ocean still 
 rolls far, far away. Memory looks back on 
 the few years of our individual life. History 
 shows us a dim outline of mountains. Science 
 tells us that still farther back, out of sight, 
 stretches that vast sea. Eeason assures us 
 
 1* (5) 
 
6 NOW. 
 
 tliat like space, it hath no boundary. But all 
 that we possess of it is represented by this 
 small word — Now! The past, for action, is 
 ours no longer. The future may never be- 
 come present, and is not ours until it does. 
 The only part of time we can use is the pre- 
 sent — this very moment — Now ! 
 
 But multitudes waste what they actually 
 possess, in vain regrets for what they once 
 had, or vain intentions respecting what is not 
 yet theirs. " Alas !" says one, " I have thrown 
 away the choicest opportunities — the best part 
 of my life is lost ; — 0, if those years might re- 
 turn, how differently would I now act !" Those 
 years cannot return. But you have the pres- 
 ent moment! Why add the neglect of the 
 present which you can improve, to the heap 
 of lost opportunities which are now far be- 
 yond your reach ? 
 
 A passenger comes bustling into the rail- 
 way station. He is just too late, for the en- 
 gine has sounded its whistle and the train is 
 gliding rapidly out of sight. He looks after 
 
NOW. 7 
 
 it in despair. He had important business to 
 transact. Rninons may be the consequences 
 of delay. He sits down on his trunk, leaning 
 his head upon his hand, and, absorbed in vain 
 regrets, gazes vacantly forward. But see ! 
 another train is at the platform just about to 
 start for the same destination. Other passen- 
 gers have arrived and are eagerly crowding 
 in. The bell rings. Again the whistle sounds 
 — again the engine bears away its living freight 
 — and, starting up, our friend again bewails an 
 opportunity lost! sit not down again dc- 
 spondingly! There is yet another chance. 
 Throw not this away too, but at once take 
 your seat in this third train which now is pre- 
 paring to follow the other two ! 
 
 But should we never look regretfully after 
 the past? Certainly, but for this purpose, 
 that we may be stirred up to improve the pre- 
 sent. Let us think of past sins that we may 
 repent now. Let us meditate on former fail- 
 ures, that we may watch and pray and fight 
 against similar dangers now. But let us not 
 be so foolish as to lose what yet remains, 
 
8 NOW. 
 
 while poring over what is gone for ever. 
 Kouse thee, self-reproaching, desponding sin- 
 ner ! Thy guilt has been great. You cannot 
 lessen it by merely regretting it. Bring it 
 noiu to Christ, that He may pardon it ! You 
 cannot atone for tlie past, but you may im- 
 prove the present. Often in by-gone years 
 you might have sought God in an "accepted 
 time," and have rejoiced in a " day of salva- 
 tion." Great is your guilt and great your 
 folly in having lost such opportunities. Yes ! 
 think of this and be ashamed. Think of this 
 and mourn. But so think of it as not to add 
 to that guilt aud folly. So think of it as to 
 act at once on the divine word — "Behold, 
 Now is the accepted time; behold, Wow is 
 the day of salvation." 
 
 There are indolent anticipations, as well as 
 indolent "regrets. We waste the only time we 
 possess, if w^e spend it in resolving what we 
 will do in time to come. If a private soldier 
 were to be continually revolving in his mind 
 what he would do when he became a Serjeant, 
 but meanwhile were to perform none of the 
 
NOW. 9 
 
 private's duties, it is plain that his promotion 
 would never take place. Neglect of the 
 actual present would disqualify him for the 
 imagined future. So if, while busy with fram- 
 ing good resolutions for to-morrow, we disre- 
 gard the duties of to-day, we not only waste 
 the present, but thereby help to unfit our- 
 selves for that very future when it comes. 
 Look, by all means, towards the future ; but, 
 as with the past, let such looking prompt you 
 to improve the present. Look forward to the 
 day of judgment, not to become the victim of 
 a hopeless terror, but diligently to prepare for 
 that judgment 7iow ! Think of the hour of 
 death, not to settle down into inactive melan- 
 choly, but to discharge the duties of life 7iow ! 
 Let your good intentions for to-morrow prompt 
 you to prepare for executing them, by dili- 
 gence, io-day ! 
 
 But alas, the very opposite is too often the 
 practice of mankind. They look to the possi- 
 bilities of the future, in order to avoid the 
 duties of the present. To resolve is much 
 easier than to work. A purpose of amend- 
 
10 NOW. 
 
 ment encourages evil indulgence. Conscience 
 remonstrating, is gagged by plausible promises. 
 If "yesterday" has slain its thousands, "to- 
 morrow" has slain its ten thousands. 
 
 Procrastination has been still more fatal 
 than indolent regret. There is not a more 
 subtle and powerful antagonist to the Gospel. 
 Infidelity, with its bold arguments, cunning 
 hints, or covert sarcasm is comparatively feeble ; 
 there is a still small voice within the breast 
 which ever gives the lie to scepticism. World- 
 linens may display its gilded baubles to capti- 
 vate the eye, but the inward heart pronounces 
 them insufficient to satisfy its cravings. Sin 
 may mingle the honey of pleasure with its 
 poison, but cannot altogether disguise the bit- 
 ter, and he who drinks knows there is death 
 in the cup. But " To-morrow," assenting to, 
 confirming, enforcing the claims of duty, yet 
 suggesting delay — ah, of all the agents of the 
 devil there is not a subtler antagonist of truth, 
 a deadlier foe of man, than To-morrow! 
 
 Few persons can endure to be grossly incon- 
 sistent. They at least wish others to think, 
 
NOW. 11 
 
 and tliey try to persuade themselves, that 
 their creed and conduct are in harmony. 
 Their minds cannot enjoy rest while the 
 one grossly contradicts the other. Who is 
 consistent in religion ? lie who acknowledges 
 that there is a God, and worships Him ; that 
 Jesus is the Saviour of sinners, and trusts in 
 Him. AVho is consistent in irreligion? He 
 who docs not worship God, because he does 
 not acknowledge his existence • who does not 
 trust in the Saviour, because he denies that 
 Jesus is the Christ. Both are consistent. The 
 earnest piety of the former, is in harmony 
 with his creed — the utter irreligion of the 
 latter corresponds Avith his avowed disbelief. 
 Who is chargeable with the grossest of all 
 inconsistency ? He who acknowledges a God, 
 and does not worship Him ; who confesses a 
 Saviour, and does not trust in Him. To admit 
 as true what the Bible teaches, and at the 
 wsame time to determine never to act in accord- 
 ance witli it — to say "There is a judgment 
 day, but I will never prepare for it — a hell, 
 but I will never try to escape from it — a God, 
 
12 NOW. 
 
 but I will never worship Him — a Saviour, but 
 I will never seek Him," — this is too gross for 
 any but the most abandoned. The devil does 
 not tempt us to make such a resolve. Bj so 
 shocking our reason he would defeat his own 
 purpose. But he sends his emissary "To- 
 morrow," by whose artful persuasions multi- 
 tudes give such an answer as this to the appeal 
 of Divine Love — 
 
 " I acknowledge the truth of religion, and 
 have resolved to yield to its claims. I intend 
 to repent of my sins, and seek pardon through 
 Christ. I will certainly give up my wicked 
 practices, and by God's help live a better, 
 holier life. Thus I am determined to flee from 
 the wrath to come, and obtain the salvation 
 offered me in the Gospel. All this I am re- 
 solved to do — To-morrow r 
 
 To-morrow ! Eloquent advocate ! robed as 
 a king's counsel, holding the devil's brief! 
 The sermon's swift antidote, the preacher's 
 most formidable respondent, never at a loss 
 for a reply. To-morrow ! Skillful fencer, 
 warding off so dexterously the best aimed 
 
NOW. 13 
 
 blows. To-morrow ! Prompt physician, dull- 
 ing the sense of pain by sweet but deadly 
 narcotics — quieting the pangs of conscience, 
 and closing up so comfortably the wounds of 
 the sword of truth. To-morrow ! Accom- 
 plished musician, soothing the soul to slumber 
 by endless variations on a single string. De- 
 lusive phantom, ever beckoning the traveler 
 onward, downward, to the precipice's very 
 brink. Courteous traitor, smiling assassin. 
 Satan's chief recruiting serjeant, paving with 
 good intentions the road to hell ! 
 
 To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow I 
 Creeps in this petty pace from day to day 
 To the last syllable of recorded time ; 
 And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 
 The way to dusky Death ! 
 
 O then, instead of indolently gazing after 
 yesterday and delusively looking forward to- 
 wards to-morrow — give heed to the voice from 
 Heaven which urges you to seek salvation 
 NOW I 
 
THE CASE STATED. 
 
 The state of tlie case is this. You, in com- 
 mon with all mankind, have "sinned, and 
 come short of the glory of God." The guilt 
 of each has some special aggravations. So 
 has yours. You have incurred the just dis- 
 pleasure of the Almighty. You are in danger 
 of eternal death. " The soul that sinneth, it 
 shall die. The wicked shall be turned into 
 hell." Moreover, you are already by sin in a 
 ruined state, unfit for the high duties and pure 
 enjoyments for which you were originally de- 
 signed. " They that are in the flesh cannot 
 please God, The wrath of God abideth on 
 them. There is no peace, saith my God, to 
 the wicked." 
 
 But " God so loved the world, that He gave 
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believ- 
 eth in Him should not perish, but have ever- 
 lasting life." He invites you to put your trust 
 in this Saviour, to repent, to seek forgiveness, 
 to change your mind and amend your conduct, 
 [143 
 
NOW. 15 
 
 to love God and keep Ms commandments. 
 To help yon, He promises to give yon his 
 holy Spirit, for whose assistance He bids you 
 earnestly pray. He thus urges you to seek 
 salvation. This is his gift, but you must 
 make an effort to obtain it. You can never 
 deserve it, but if you seek you shall find. If 
 you are ever saved, it must be by grace — or 
 undeserved favor — yet it never will be with- 
 out exertion on your own part also. " Strive 
 to enter in at the strait gate." 
 
 God calls on you to make this effort at once. 
 The Holy Ghost says — "To-day, if ye will 
 hear his voice, harden not your heart. Seek 
 the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon 
 Him while He is near. Whatsoever thy hand 
 findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there 
 is no work, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, nor 
 device, in the grave whither thou goest. Be- 
 hold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is 
 the day of salvation." But you prefer to post- 
 pone the work. Convinced of the truth and 
 importance of religion, you sincerely intend 
 to repent, but not at present. You wait for a 
 
16 NOW. 
 
 more convenient season. With affectionate 
 earnestness and prayer that the Divine Spirit 
 may give them power, the following argu- 
 ments are submitted to your careful considera- 
 tion, for the purpose of persuading you not to 
 wait a single day, but to " repent and believe 
 the Gospel" NOW! 
 
THE PRESENT IS THE ONLY POETION OF TIME YOU 
 
 AEE STIKE OF POSSESSING ; THEREFORE, 
 
 REPENT NOW. 
 
 All putting off till to-morrow implies an 
 expectation of possessing to-morrow. In judg- 
 ing of the reasonableness of such delay, we 
 must take into consideration both the nature 
 of the work to be done, and the grounds of 
 expecting a time in which to do it. Much un- 
 certainty as regards opportunity is of little con- 
 sequence when the business to be transacted is 
 trivial. But a small amount of such uncer- 
 tainty becomes invested with the gravest im- 
 portance when momentous interests are at 
 stake. 
 
 What then is the degree of certainty you 
 possess, that the fature, to which you post- 
 pone repentance, will ever become yours? 
 You perhaps reply, that, from your age at pre- 
 sent, you can by a table of averages calculate 
 2* [17] 
 
18 NOW. 
 
 how many years you have still to live. Life 
 assurances and annuities are thus determined 
 with an accuracy which secures a more certain 
 return that most commercial transactions. 
 But this certainty has relation to an aggregate 
 number of lives, and not to any one in partic- 
 ular. The similarity which prevails in re- 
 spect to the duration of life in a nation, is con- 
 nected with the utmost possible diversity in 
 respect to the individuals composing that na- 
 tion. It is the very uncertainty existing in 
 each person's own case, which prompts him to 
 *' insure his life." Uniformity in the opera- 
 tion of natural laws as regards a community, 
 renders such insurance possible ; uncertainty 
 as regards the individual, renders such insur- 
 ance desirable. Your own argument then con- 
 futes itself; for the years you say you may 
 expect to live are only the average certainty 
 resulting from the individual uncertainty ; an 
 uncertainty so great, so baffling all efforts to 
 remove it, as to call into existence those very 
 calculations on which you falsely ground your 
 personal expectations of to-morrow. 
 
NOW. 19 
 
 As if to render it impossible for any one to 
 presume on the future, Death comes in various 
 forms, and carries away his victims from all 
 the stages of life. Multitudes, roughly weaned, 
 are snatched from their mother's breast. Many 
 a flower is " no sooner blown than blasted ;" 
 many a one is allowed to grow to full maturity, 
 and then is cut down in all its glory, before 
 one sign of decay appears. Some persons 
 linger on the brink of the grave for half a cen- 
 tury; while others, buoyant with health, and 
 confident of long life, are suddenly arrested in 
 their morning race. Some, year by year, on 
 beds of pain, long for release ; while genera- 
 tions of the strong and active pass by them to 
 the grave of which they never dreamed. Thus 
 is the hour of death to each individual shroud- 
 ed by a darkness into which no human sagac- 
 ity can dart a single ray. 
 
 This very concealment strikingly displays 
 the wisdom and goodness of God, whose love 
 is seen in what He withholds as well as in 
 what he gives. Disastrous both to the tem- 
 poral and eternal interests of men would be 
 
20 NOW. 
 
 the knowledge of the moment of death. 
 Friendship, anticipating exactly the hour of 
 separation, would often spend in tears that in- 
 terval which through happy unconsciousness 
 of the approach of the destroyer, is now one of 
 unsuspecting enjoyment. Sad whenever it 
 comes, bereavement would be invested with 
 ten-fold sadness by the long shadow it would 
 cast before it. Besides, as the time of death 
 approaches, some, distracted with terror, would 
 be unfitted for the duties of the present life; 
 while others, throwing off all restraints of pru- 
 dence, would abandon themselves to indolence 
 or dissipation, saying, " Let us eat and drink, 
 for to-morrow we die." Thus the interests of 
 survivors would suffer incalculably, in conse- 
 quence of those whose death was drawing near 
 becoming unfitted or indisposed for any further 
 efforts to promote the common good. 
 
 Still worse would be the tendency of this 
 knowledge as regards religion. Suppose you 
 knew that you would certainly live ten or 
 twenty years. If now, uncertain of even one 
 day, you are tempted to defer repentance, 
 
NOW. 21 
 
 would not that temptation be still greater 
 when you were sure of many years f Would 
 you not be likely to put off all preparation for 
 eternity until the very last ? If you felt quite 
 secure that death would not break in upon 
 your revelry, or rouse you from your slumber, 
 would you not be disposed to spend the 
 greater part of life in wicked indulgence, or 
 at least in religious indifference and forgetful- 
 ness of God? During such a career, would 
 you not be riveting the chains of evil habit, so 
 that as the end drew on, you would be less 
 capable of repentance, and more inclined to 
 postpone it ? This, as will be urged hereafter, 
 is the general tendency of all procrastination. 
 But in the case supposed, that tendency would 
 be more fruitful of evil because the temptation 
 to delay would be itself increased. When all 
 your years had gone but one, you would still 
 be certain of possessing so many months, and 
 therefore would feel safe until the last of 
 these had come. Even then, you would be 
 confident of still enjoying so many weeks ; 
 then, of so many days ; then, of so many 
 
IZ NOW. 
 
 hours. Having put off till tlie last year, you 
 would be likely, tempted by a similar cer- 
 tainty, to put off till the last hour ; and thus 
 to spend the whole of life in the neglect of 
 life's great end, the glory of Him who gave it. 
 To preserve us from these evils, God in 
 mercy has withheld from us this knowledge, 
 by ordaining that no one should be able, from 
 his age, health, or circumstances, to foretell his 
 last hour. Therefore none can be sure that 
 they will ever see that future to which they 
 postpone the greatest work they have to do. 
 " Now" is ours, but whether " to-morrow" will 
 ever dawn, who can tell? " The ground of a 
 certain rich man brought forth plentifully; 
 and he thought within himself, saying — What 
 shall I do, because I have no room where to 
 bestow my fruits ? And he said — This will I 
 do: I will pull down my barns and build 
 greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits 
 and my goods. And I will say to my soul — 
 Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many 
 years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be 
 merry. But God said unto him — Thou fool ! 
 
NOW. 23 
 
 this night thy soul shall be required of thee !'' 
 Therefore, "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; 
 for thou knowest not what a day may bring 
 forth!" 
 
 What is the nature of the work which you 
 postpone until a season so uncertain ? While 
 we rejoice that some have obtained mercy at 
 the close of life, yet we must not forget that 
 religion ought to be the chief business of 
 every day. Were we sure of living a thou- 
 sand years, it would be our highest interest 
 and duty to serve God noiv. We shall recur 
 to this view of the subject. But here we will 
 for a moment adopt the view of those who 
 procrastinate, namely — that the work to be 
 done is simply to save the soul from punish- 
 ment after death, that this can be performed' 
 at any time, and therefore on the last day of 
 life as well as on any other. Consider its im- 
 portance, even on your own representation. 
 Death will usher you into the presence of the 
 Almighty, before whom you must give an ac- 
 count of the deeds done in the body. Unless, 
 during life, you have obtained forgiveness, 
 
24 NOW. 
 
 jow mtist then hear the sentence of condemna- 
 tion — " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
 prepared for the devil and his angels." Your 
 happiness or woe during countless ages de- 
 pends on the performance or the neglect of the 
 work which you postpone. Can then any- 
 thing equal it in importance? If some work 
 of an hour were to influence the whole of 
 your future career in this world, so that the 
 doing or not doing it would determine whether 
 you would have long hfe, health, riches, 
 honor, or the contrary — would you treat that 
 work with indifference ? But how immeasura- 
 bly more important is repentance, when on it 
 depends whether you are acquitted or con- 
 demned at the great assize — whether you are 
 welcomed into heaven, or thrust down into 
 hell — whether through endless ages you dwell 
 where there is " fulness of joy and pleasures 
 for evermore;" or in "outer darkness," where 
 there is " weeping and wailing and gnashing 
 of teeth ! " 
 
 Repentance is a work not only of supreme 
 importance, but of great difficulty. Many 
 
NOW. 25 
 
 persons seem to imagine just the contrary. 
 They put it off, because whenever the right 
 time comes, they fancy that they can easily 
 and at once do all that is necessary to pre- 
 pare for eternity. It is a general rule, that in 
 proportion to the value of a thing is the labor 
 of acquisition. Why should it be supposed 
 that religion is an exception, and that the work 
 of all others the most important, should be of 
 all others the most easy ? It is far otherwise. 
 You have to repent, that is, to change your 
 mind in reference to sin, duty, and God. You 
 have to mourn for your transgressions, to con- 
 fess them with a contrite heart, to pray for 
 pardon, to exercise faith in Christ, and by 
 becoming holy in your character, to be fitted 
 for the enjoyment of a holy heaven — " made 
 meet for the inheritance of the saints in light." 
 Can you regard this as easy ? It is something 
 more than ceasing to indulge in certain definite 
 sins. These must of necessity be given up at 
 the end of life. It would be easy to relin- 
 quish them for one day beforehand, in order 
 to escape the punishment due for many days 
 3 
 
26 NOW. 
 
 of indulgence. But will it be easy to hate 
 what you have always loved — to love what 
 you have always hated ? "Will it be easy to 
 seek God after spending life in trying to for- 
 get Him — to pray sincerely and earnestly when 
 prayer has been always neglected — to confide 
 in the Saviour whom you always shunned — 
 and to have your whole tastes and sympathies 
 so changed that the societj^ of angels would 
 be congenial, and the presence and service of 
 God the happiest home of the soul? " AVith- 
 out holiness no man can see the Lord." With- 
 out this holiness there is no true repentance. 
 Is then repentance so easy a work that you 
 can safely adjourn commencing it to an un- 
 certain time ? 
 
 The Bible does not so represent it. Here 
 we read that it is a labor, and we " must give 
 all diligence;" a race, and we must throw 
 away every incumbrance ; a warfare, and we 
 must ply every weapon ; a wrestling match, 
 and we must strain every nerve ; the gaining 
 of a life by cutting off " a right hand," by 
 plucking out " a right eye," by nailing to the 
 
NOW. 27 
 
 cross and putting to death our old nature of 
 selfishness and sin. '-'Labor to enter into that 
 rest. Work out your own salvation with fear 
 and trembling. Let us lay aside every weighty 
 and run with patience the race that is set before 
 us. Take the whole armor of God. Fight the 
 good fight of faith. \Ye wrestle against prin- 
 cipalities and powers. Crucify the flesh." 
 
 We shall shew on a future page, that this 
 work of securing salvation is so arduous, that 
 the whole of life is not too long for it. But 
 here, for the sake of argument, we are grant- 
 ing the plea of the procrastinator, that it is 
 possible to repent on the last day of life. Still 
 we say that the work is one of immense, of 
 inconceivable difficulty, as well as of infinite 
 importance. You perish eternally if that 
 work is not done ; and yet you put off doing 
 it until to-morrow, though you have not the 
 slightest assurance that for you to-morrow will 
 ever dawn! You are urged by the God of 
 Salvation to secure the blessing now. This 
 '• now' is actually yours. To-morrow is not, 
 may never be. Yet you deliberately, repeat- 
 
28 NOW. 
 
 edlj, habitually, put off what is now within 
 reach, to a period when it may forever be 
 beyond your grasp. 
 
 Do you act thus in the common affairs of 
 life ? If your health or your property is in 
 danger, do you put off exertion until an un- 
 certain future? Perhaps you may — but the 
 consequences are only temporal. You are 
 willing to take the risk. But here the case is 
 different. Eternity hangs on time. Your 
 everlasting destiny depends on what you do 
 now. Can you bear the consequences of 
 failure ? Are you prepared for such a risk as 
 this? 
 
 There are circumstances connected with the 
 present life, in which delay would be regarded 
 as a proof of madness. A mine is about to be 
 exploded. Warning is given. The slow 
 match is lighted. At any moment the spark 
 may reach the powder, and then, as with an 
 earthquake's shock, the ground will be rent, 
 and those fair buildings above be shattered 
 into ruinous heaps. Death must overtake any 
 one lingering there. What would be said of 
 
NOW. 29 
 
 tlie man, who, urged to escape and knowing 
 the danger, still loitered about, presuming on 
 the next moment, instead of improving the 
 present ? A ship, sailing on the broad At- 
 lantic, springs a leak. Every effort is made 
 to remedy the injury. In vain ! The w^ater 
 gains upon the pumps. The truth must be 
 told. The passengers, unconscious of danger, 
 are amusing themselves on deck or in the 
 cabin. But now the captain informs them of 
 their peril. The ship is rapidly settling — she 
 may keep afloat a little longer, but she may 
 sink at any moment : they must, therefore, by 
 boats, rafts, or life-buoys, provide as best they 
 can for their personal safety. If you were one 
 of them would you say — " I must finish this 
 game — or complete this piece of work — or read 
 to the end of this book — and then I will see 
 what can be done : the vessel mcvj keep afloat 
 some hours longer, and I will adopt measures 
 of self-preservation by and by?" If the very 
 supposition of such a case seems outrageous, 
 what is to be said of those who are actually 
 doing what is far more foolish, by delaying 
 3- 
 
30 NOW. 
 
 repentance, and risking their everlasting sal- 
 vation ? 
 
 St. James says — " Go to, now, ye that say 
 To-day or to-morrow we will go into sucli a 
 city, and continue there a year, and buy, and 
 sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not 
 what shall be on the morrow. For what is 
 your life ? It is even a vapor that appeareth 
 for a little time and then vanisheth away." 
 How often men resolve what they will do at 
 a time, when, as the event proves, they will 
 be in eternity. They fix work for themselves, 
 little thinking that when the season allotted 
 for it arrives, the words of Solomon will be 
 verified — ' There is no work in the grave 
 whither thou goest.' It is generally of little 
 importance whether what we intend to do is 
 accomplished or not. But suppose a man says 
 — " To-morrow I will repent ;" yet, before to- 
 morrow dawns, his " soul is required of him !" 
 He is practically saying — " I will prepare to 
 meet the Judge, after sentence is passed : I will 
 begin to avoid being cast into hell, after its 
 gates have closed on me forever ! " Multi- 
 
NOW. 31 
 
 tudes have thus found themselves in perdition 
 at the very time to which they had postponed 
 their efforts to escape it ! May not this be 
 your case also, if you persist in this perilous 
 procrastination ? 
 
 The Apostle admonishes us to say — "If the 
 Lord will, we will do this or that." Xot in 
 words, but perhaps in spirit, you utter the 
 same as regards religion. " If the Lord will, 
 I intend to repent to-morrow. He is merciful. 
 He gives sinners many to-morrows. He has 
 spared me a long time. If He will still bear 
 with me a little longer, I will seek Him." This 
 may have the appearance of piety, but is it not 
 most presumptuous wickedness ? The Lord's 
 will is that you r6pent, not to-morrow, but 
 now. You cannot know his Avill respecting 
 the length of your life, but He has plainl}' 
 declared it respecting your present duty. Will 
 you disobey his positive command, presuming 
 on his possible forbearance ? AVill you make 
 his very mercy an excuse for sin, and because 
 his long-suffering gives you hope of to-morrow, 
 
32 NOW. 
 
 harden yourself in rebellion to-day ? If any- 
 thing could provoke Him to cut you down at 
 once in impenitence, it would be such conduct 
 as yours. Beware lest the parable of the un- 
 faithful steward be verified in you ! " If that 
 evil servant shall say in his heart — My Lord 
 delay eili Ms coming ; and shall begin to smite 
 his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with 
 the drunken; the lord of that servant shall 
 come in a day when he looketh not for him, 
 and in an hour that he is not aware of; and 
 shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his 
 portion with the hypocrites : there shall be 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth!" St. Peter 
 tells us that the " day of the Lord will come as 
 a thief in the night." And Christ himself 
 says — "Therefore be ye also ready, for in such 
 an hour as ye think not, the Son of man com- 
 eth." When you ' think not ' — when you fancy 
 you are secure — when you are calculating on 
 many to-morrows, then He may be at hand ! 
 To those who put off religion, the present, this 
 very now, is such an hour as they think the 
 
NOW. 38 
 
 Son of man will not come. It is therefore just 
 such an hour in which, as He himself tells us, 
 He may come ! 
 
 Perhaps you reply — " But after all, I may 
 have a to-morrow — and therefore, though I put 
 off religion to-day^ I may still repent and be 
 saved." Yes. But this '■may'* of yours in- 
 volves a ' may noC The ^rohahility of your 
 seeking God in time, involves an opposite 
 probability that you may he too late. You may 
 die before you obtain mercy. You may, not- 
 withstanding all your good intentions, be lost 
 forever! Can you delay securing yourself 
 against so fearful a risk, when security is offered 
 to you, and may be obtained noiv f 
 
 Learn from your own conduct in other 
 things. If you possess ordinary prudence you 
 insure your house and furniture. Is this be- 
 cause you expect they will be burnt? No. 
 Comparatively few persons actually suffer in 
 this way. You hope such a calamity may 
 never come to you. But it is possible. And 
 the evil is so very great when it does come, 
 that the mere chance of it is a sufficient reason 
 
34 NOW. 
 
 for insuring against the damage which you 
 would suffer. Now consider whether death, to 
 a man who is unprepared for it, is not infinitely 
 worse than the loss of all his property ? '' What 
 shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world 
 and lose his own soul?" But death to the 
 impenitent is the loss of the soul. And death 
 is not a chance, but a certainty. You do not 
 expect your house to be burnt down. You 
 do expect to die ! 
 
 Suppose you were certain that your property 
 would be destroyed some time within sixty or 
 seventy years, possibly this very night, but 
 certainly at some time within such a period, 
 would you not insure at once, if you had not 
 done so before ? But this is exactly the case 
 with your soul ! You know that on some day 
 within a limited period, you must die. And 
 if you die uninsured, that is, without repent- 
 ance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, you perish eternally ! Should not the 
 bare possibility of this taking place before to- 
 morrow, urge you to repent and believe NOW? 
 You may be on the brink of everlasting ruin, 
 
NOW. So 
 
 and can you trifle ? The fire may brealv out, 
 before the insurance is effected ! The mine 
 may explode, before you liave left it I The 
 ship may sink, before you are in the life-boat ! 
 You may die, while still postponing repentance, 
 and therefore when unprepai'cd ! You may 
 meet the Judge as your enemy I You may be 
 "driven away in your wickedness," you may 
 " be turned into hell, with all the nations that 
 forget God !" Can you, with so fearful a pos- 
 sibility hanging over you, remain one hour at 
 ease? 
 
 When Sodom was about to be destroyed, 
 Lot, warned of the coming catastrophe and 
 urged to make his escape, hesitated and lin- 
 gered. He was loth to leave his house, his 
 property, his friends. He thought the danger 
 was not imminent. He might wait at least 
 another hour or two. There were no signs of 
 peril. All things continued as they were. 
 The city looked, in the early twilight, as stately 
 and S3Curo as ever. AVhy such hiiste to leave 
 it? But the tempest of wrath was about to 
 overwhelm it. So the angels laid hold of his 
 
36 NOW. 
 
 hand and hurried him away, saying, — ' Escape 
 for thy life ; look not behind thee, neither stay 
 thou in all the plain ; escape to the mountain, 
 lest thou be consumed!' Even so, reader, this 
 little book would take thee by the hand, and 
 urge thee without another moment's delay, to 
 " flee from the wrath to come." The to-morrow 
 y(»u trust in may never be yours. The only 
 instant of time you are sure of is the present. 
 Therefore, repent NOW ! 
 
IL 
 
 THE PRESENT IS THE ONLY PORTION OF TIME IN: 
 
 WHICH IT IS POSSIBLE TO ACT. THEREFORE, 
 
 REPENT mw. 
 
 Religion is urged on your attention. Ad- 
 mitting its truth and importance, jo^. refuse to 
 comply with its claims. But you shelter your- 
 self from the charge of inconsistency by resolv- 
 ing to act at some future time. You imagine 
 that this is really taking a practical step in 
 harmony with your convictions. As every 
 work must have a beginning, you flatter your- - 
 self that this is the commencement of your 
 salvation — not merely an introduction to it, but 
 a part of it — perhaps as much as could be 
 expected from you at first. Thus you try to 
 persuade yourself that while resolving for 
 to-morrow you are really doing something 
 towards the duty of to-day. 
 
 You are mistaken. To-morrow, as you. 
 
 [37] 
 
38 NOW. 
 
 have been reminded, may never be yours. 
 And if so, where is your boasted work? 
 Wbat you only resolve to do, will not have 
 been begun. Your purpose, defeated by 
 death, ends in nothing. What you only 
 intend to do, will be as much left undone 
 as if you never formed such an intention. Of 
 -what worth then is that intention ? 
 
 But let it be granted that you will certainly 
 "be spared until that future day to which you 
 postpone repentance. Do you not see that 
 joa cannot really act in any future period of 
 life, until it becomes a Now? Every action 
 implies an agent. In order to act we must 
 exist. But we exist only in the present. 
 Therefore we can work only in the present. 
 We have left a past, we are traveling to a 
 future; we can remember the past, we can 
 anticipate the future; but we can act in 
 neither. Intending to do is no more doing, 
 than remembering what is already done. We 
 must wait till the great wheel of time brings 
 the future within reach, and makes 'to-mor- 
 row ' a ' to-day.' We can work in no moment 
 
NOW. 89 
 
 of time but that which is a Now ; and if all 
 we do in this life is resolving to do, we really 
 do nothing. 
 
 " But," say yon, "though purposes are not 
 performances, arc good intentions altogether 
 worthless ? As actions spring from thoughts, 
 may not the intention to act be the most im- 
 portant part of the act itself? " This is true 
 in some cases, but not in the one we are con- 
 sidering. An important distinction must here 
 be made. Whenever the thing we resolve to 
 do at some future time, is not a duty or a pos- 
 sibility at the present time, the resolution to do 
 it as soon as it becomes obligatory or practica- 
 ble, may be a real mental commencement of 
 the act itself. It may be, but it also may not 
 be. For when the difficulties which, at the 
 time we formed our resolution, were only par- 
 tially foreseen, really exert their counteracting 
 influence, our rr^solution may give way. Thus 
 it fares with the majority of good intentions. 
 Their value can only be tested when the hour 
 for performance arrives. But when the work 
 can and ought to be done noiL\ the opportunity 
 
40 NOW. 
 
 of testing tlie intention is presented to us at 
 once. If then I refuse to do now what is both 
 possible and obhgatory, of what vahie is the 
 promise of performance to-morrow ? It is 
 contradicted by the very act of postponement. 
 It destroys itself. 
 
 We here only refer to the flict which we 
 shall by and by urge as a separate argument, 
 that to repent and turn to God is the duty of 
 every day we live. If then I, to-day, resolve 
 to begin to repent to-morrow, I am at the same 
 time doing and intending. I am actually re- 
 fusing present obligations while resolving to 
 discharge those which are future. Each day 
 has its own work. To-morrow has more for 
 me to do than I shall accomplish, without my 
 giving it the work of to-day. Each hour must 
 bear its own burden. A day lost cannot be 
 regained from the past, nor can the present be 
 crowded into the future. If I say I will do to- 
 day's duty to-morrow, I deceive myself I 
 cannot thus shift my work. If it is not done 
 to-day, it is absolutely repudiated to-day. 
 
 Here then is a rejection of to-day's duty, 
 
NOW. 41 
 
 connected with an intention to do to-morrow's. 
 But actions speak louder than intentions. The 
 positive act of rejecting what is present, is a 
 more real thing than the mere purpose to em- 
 brace what is future. That purpose then is 
 worthless. It is less than worthless, for pres- 
 ent positive disobedience not merely neutralizes 
 but supjDlants it. It is a case, not of two wit- 
 nesses equally trustworthy, who contradict 
 each other ; but of evidence so overpowering 
 on one side, that tlie opposite testimony is 
 disregarded. The procrastinator is doing two 
 things which affect his religious condition : he 
 is actually sinning to-day, and resolving to 
 repent to-morrow. These are opposites; but 
 the former is stronger, more emphatic, more 
 real than the latter. We shall recur to this : 
 but here let it suffice to maintain that the mere 
 resolving to attend to religion to-morrow, is 
 doing nothing towards securing salvation to- 
 day. 
 
 I therefore deceive myself, if I fancy I am 
 nearer to heaven because I intend to set out 
 on the journey at some future time. I cannot 
 4- 
 
42 ^ NOW. 
 
 thus escape the charge of inconsistency. 1 
 profess to believe that Christ has died to save 
 sinners, and that unless I repent and believe 
 in Him, I must perish. Yet I am neither 
 repenting nor believing. In fact, I resolve 
 that for the present I will persevere in sin, 
 and keep on in the way to hell. And I flatter 
 myself that there is nothing absurd in this 
 conduct, because I intend to seek salvation to- 
 morrow ! I put off the most important, the 
 most difficult work, to a most perilous uncer- 
 tainty. I have no security that another hour 
 will be mine, yet I defer to another hour 
 making my escape from a peril impending 
 over me every moment. If I do not live to 
 see the day to which I defer repentance, I 
 perish eternally ; if death overtakes me while 
 only postponing, I am cut off without having 
 even begun the work, and the best intentions 
 for the future avail me nothing ! Every day, the 
 very last day of life, will have been a day of 
 positive impenitence, and the mere purpose of 
 amendment will not alter the fact of actual, 
 habitual wickedness, persevered in till the end. 
 
NOW. 43 
 
 If then I should even be spared to see the 
 day to which T presumptaouslj postpone re- 
 pentance, I am, as much as in the case just 
 supposed, doing nothing now. I have no 
 right to solace myself with the notion that the 
 procrastination of religion is in any degree 
 religion itself. While only resolving to seek 
 salvation to-morrow, I am destitute of salva- 
 tion to-day. While putting off obedience till 
 to-morrow, I am not practising obedience to- 
 day. reader, you may please yourself by 
 the notion that you are acting when you are 
 only resolving, but " Be not deceived, God is 
 not mocked ; for whatsoever a man soweth 
 that shall he also reap." At present you are 
 sowing the solid seed of actual impenitence, 
 mixed with the chaff, light as wind, of 
 good intentions. Rely not on this admixture, 
 lest you verify the threatening which speaks 
 of sowing the windy to reap the whirlwind! 
 
III. 
 
 YOUE GOOD INTENTION MAY NOT LAST TILL 
 
 TO-MORKOW: THEREFORE, ACT 
 
 ON IT Ji'OW! 
 
 The good intention is a present thing. But 
 the carrying out of the intention is a future 
 thing, and may never become actual. The 
 purpose may be very sincere^ and yet not be 
 permanent. Or it may remain as a purpose 
 for some future day, and never become a 
 purpose for instant action. Thus it may prove 
 forever worthless. For you must not allow 
 3' ourself to think that the state of mind which 
 determines to act to-morrow, is the same as 
 that which wills to act at once, or which, when 
 to-morrow comes, will be needed for the doing 
 of what is at present only resolved on. 
 
 Let us see how the question now stands. 
 After reading the two preceding arguments, 
 
 (44) 
 
NOW. 45 
 
 you perhaps reply — "I admit tliat I cannot be 
 quite sure I shall have the opportunity 
 to repent to-morrow, but the chances are so 
 much in my favour that I intend to take this 
 for granted. I admit also that I can really 
 repent only at the present moment ; but I can 
 at the present moment honestly resolve to 
 repent at some period now future ; and in spite 
 of all you say, I consider that my determina- 
 tion to repent to-morrow renders my salvation 
 as sure as to-morrow itself" 
 
 For the sake of argument let us grant that 
 you are sure of to-morrow, and that you are 
 quite sincere in your determination to repent 
 then. You infer from this that your repent- 
 ance is certain to take place. You here make 
 two assumptions which must not be taken for 
 granted. The first is, that your present inten- 
 tion will last till to-morrow. The second is, 
 that the intention to repent to-morrow is the 
 very same state of mind which is required to 
 produce repentance when to-morrow comes. 
 For the intention, sincere to-day, will be 
 worthless unless it lasts until the time fixed for 
 
46 NOW. 
 
 action. And unless it is the same mental act 
 as that which immediately precedes and pro- 
 duces repentance, the existence, sincerity and 
 permanence of intention will not render repent- 
 ance itself a reality. 
 
 Are you not conscious of having had many 
 sincere intentions which have never resulted 
 in performance ? It is the nature of all our 
 thoughts and emotions, when unaccompanied 
 by corresponding practice, to become less 
 vivid as they become more familiar. Com- 
 passion for the needy will diminish in propor- 
 tion as we witness distress without relieving it. 
 The voice of conscience urging us to our duty, 
 will be heard more faintly every time she 
 speaks and we refuse to obey. But while by 
 repetition unheeded impulses to action become 
 feebler, habits of action become stronger. K 
 with less novelty there is less excitement of 
 feeling, there is greater facility of performance. 
 In the absence of this habit of action, the 
 impulse to action becomes weaker without any 
 corrective. Thus in the lapse of time, the 
 most sincere purposes, where the performance 
 
NOW. 47 
 
 is delayed, become impotent and wortliless. 
 Besides, other subjects engage our attention. 
 The importance of what we had purposed is 
 less vividly before the mind, while the diffi- 
 culties become more distinct as the thne of 
 performance approaches. How often does it 
 thus happen that the best intentions die out 
 by insensible degrees, as a fire which, blazed 
 up with paper, wood and turpentine when first 
 kindled, but which afterwards, neither stirred 
 nor fed, gradually becomes extinguished. 
 
 But the purpose itself is not sufficient, even 
 should it be permanent. It must change its 
 character in order to become a practical im- 
 pulse. Futurity is its special feature. It easily 
 reproduces itself, but it does not easily trans- 
 form itself. It hath a numerous progeny, but 
 the children resemble the parent. They are 
 purposes for some period still to come. The 
 present will to perform an act at the present 
 moment, is a very different state of mind from 
 the present purpose to postpone the doing of it 
 — or even the present resolve to do it hereafter. 
 Proofs are abundant. Here is a man addicted 
 
48 NO w . 
 
 to indulge too mucli in sleep. He is awakened 
 early and summoned to his work. He thinks 
 of the claims of duty — he reflects on the evils 
 of his indolent habit — he resolves to rise earlier 
 — but he will not begin till to-morrow. So ho 
 composes himself to sleep again, but fully de- 
 termines that next morning he will rise at the 
 proper hour. But when the next morning 
 comes, does he find that the good purpose he 
 had warmed under the pillow of self-indul- 
 gence is the very same power which is needed 
 to throw away that pillow — to conquer that 
 self-indulgence? Will he find it to be strong 
 enough to destroy the very cradle in which it 
 was nursed? Is not a much greater effort 
 needed than that which resulted in yesterday's 
 purpose ? If he feels nothing more than he did 
 then, he will once more resolve to rise earlier 
 the next morning, and so on from day to day, 
 with only this difference, that each resolution 
 is weaker than the one before. When the rel- 
 ish and excitement of some sinful indulgence 
 have given place to satiety and disgust, is the 
 intention never to repeat the act the same 
 
NOW. 49 
 
 thing as a refusal, when temptation assails him 
 with fresh attractiveness ? Is the promise to 
 render aid to the needy, connected with pres- 
 ent denial of such aid, the very same state of 
 mind as that which, when the time of prom- 
 ised performance comes, unlooses the purse- 
 strings, or impels to personal sacrifice of time 
 and toil? 
 
 The intention to do our duty at a future 
 time is then essentially different from the will 
 to do it now. It may not last even as a pur- 
 pose, until the time allotted. But if it does, 
 its nature must be changed before it becomes 
 the cause of action. Again you are admonished 
 not to deceive yourself with good intentions. 
 Imagine not that to postpone repentance is 
 any security for the practice of repentance. 
 To put off a present duty is a poor ground for 
 expecting to perform it at some other time. 
 God commands you to repent NOW. Your 
 own interest makes it infinitely important that 
 you should repent NOW. If you refuse to 
 repent, do so in plain terms, and let your eyes 
 be open to jouv peril. Bat do not deceive 
 
50 NOW. 
 
 yourself by the notion that resolving to repent 
 to-morrow is any security for such repentance 
 taking j^lace. The very fact of your now 
 promising to repent hereafter, shows that you 
 have some conviction of the claims of religion 
 now, that you are in some measure inclined to 
 consider those claims now. But you put off 
 compliance till to-morrow. How do you know 
 that you will feel to-morrow as much even as 
 you do to-day ? Instead of actually repenting 
 to-morrow, as you promise you will, may you 
 not cease to experience those convictions 
 which you do actually feel now ? May you 
 not be in a positively worse state, instead of a 
 better? This, we shall proceed to show, will 
 most probably be the case. 
 
IV. 
 
 BECAUSE THE DIFFICULTY INCREASES BY DELAY- 
 REPENT 2^0 W. 
 
 A Eoman Governor, notorious both for his 
 public and private vices, was seated with his 
 wife in the audience room of his palace. He 
 held in bondage a Jewish prisoner about whom 
 there had been much public excitement in the 
 province, and against whom many strange 
 charges had been brought, of a nature unknown 
 to Eoman courts. Curious to learn somewhat 
 of his history and opinions, and also hoping 
 that the prisoner might be encouraged to offer 
 a large bribe to secure his acquittal, the mag- 
 istrate sent for him, to explain the nature of 
 the new religion his zeal for which had aroused 
 against him so much enmity. 
 
 Such an opportunity was not to be trifled 
 with. Instead of entering on any speculative 
 
 [51] 
 
52 NOW. 
 
 questions, tlie great preacher addressed him- 
 self at once to the conscience of his questioner. 
 Instead of seeking to please the man on whom 
 his fate depended, he sought to convince him 
 of his sins. Instead of using the customary 
 language of court flattery, he faitlifully warned 
 him of the guilt and consequences of such a 
 career as that he was pursuing. Instead of 
 seeking his own release, he labored to rescue 
 his judge from a far worse captivity, an infi- 
 nitely greater peril. Astonished at such dis- 
 interestedness, awed by such boldness, his 
 scepticism vanquished by those arguments, his 
 conscience startled into new life by those ap- 
 peals, dreading the wrath of God, terrified by 
 the prospect of eternity, the prince quailed be- 
 fore the prisoner, so as even outwardly to reveal 
 the inward agitation of his spirit. "As Paul 
 reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and 
 judgment to come, Felix trembled !" 
 
 He trembled^ but did he turn ? He feared, 
 but didhe/e^e.^ He was convinced, but was 
 \i.Q converted? He intended to be. He would 
 wait awhile. He would think more on the 
 
NOW. 53 
 
 subject by and by. At present it would be 
 very inconvenient to alter his course of life. 
 He could not now give his mind to subjects so 
 serious. But a more suitable time would come, 
 and then, when he had more leisure for such 
 thoughts, and the difficulties in the way of 
 amendment would be fewer, tlien he w^ould 
 again seek the advice of his eloquent captive. 
 This then was the answer of the trembling 
 ruler, " Go thy way for this time : when I 
 have a convenient season I will call for thee." 
 This is more or less the expectation of all 
 procrastinators. They not only make sure of 
 another opportunity, but of an opportunity 
 more suitable than the present. For if the 
 work must be done at some time or other, it 
 is obviously unwise to put it off, unless by so 
 doing some advantage will be gained. Multi- 
 tudes imagine this will be the case in refer- 
 ence to religion. They expect that on some 
 future day they will be more deeply impressed 
 with its importance ; that they will be wiser, 
 stronger, more earnest, and thus better able to 
 perform the work ; or that the difficulty will 
 6* 
 
54 NOW. 
 
 diminish, and that with even inferior strength^ 
 the J will more easily accomplish the task to- 
 morrow than to-day. They say v/ith Felix — 
 " Go thy way for this time — not for all time, 
 but just for the present. It is not convenient 
 for me to hear thee any longer just now. But 
 some other opportunity will occur when I shall 
 be more in the mood to profit by thy advice. 
 I do not wish to dismiss thee altogether. Far 
 from it. I would have thee within call, wait- 
 ing to be summoned at any moment. Hold 
 thyself ready then to visit me ; for I am re- 
 solved some day to give thee more fitting 
 audience, and when I have a convenient season 
 I will send for thee^ 
 
 If you think repentance will be easier here- 
 after than to-day, you must be expecting 
 either that your circumstances will be more 
 favorable to a religious life, or that you your- 
 self will be more disposed for it. Let us look 
 at both suppositions. The former is so gene- 
 rally held, and by persons whose condition is 
 so dissimilar, that their own conflicting testi- 
 mony will be sufiQ-cient to disprove it. For 
 
NOW. 66 
 
 the Ileal thy put off religion till they are sick, 
 and the sick till they recover : the young till 
 they are old, and the old till they are older 
 still : the man of leisure till his amusements 
 are less absorbing, and the man of business 
 till he has more repose. Thus multitudes 
 charge their irreligion on the very circum- 
 stances which others wait for as better suited 
 than their own for a religious life. 
 
 Consider the two most general cases of de- 
 lay, the one on the plea of health, the other 
 on that of age. Many while in the midst of 
 the enjoyments of life say, " I ^vill wait until 
 some illness separates me from these tempta- 
 tions. Then, in the quietness and leisure of 
 the sick chamber, I will turn my thoughts to 
 God." But multitudes die too suddenly for 
 the execution of such a purpose. Death often 
 approaches stealthily without any premonitory 
 signs. But suppose the contrary. Do the 
 circumstances of sickness always render it a 
 '* convenient season?" Often the pain is so 
 severe as to paralyze the mental powers. The 
 sufferer has no capacity for anything beyond 
 
56 NOW. 
 
 the endurance of liis misery. The mind itself 
 sympathizes with the body. The brain, the 
 instrument of the soul, is often enfeebled by 
 illness. A dull indifference to all things and 
 all persons takes possession of the patient. 
 This is often confounded with resignation. 
 Many are thought to be quite willing to give 
 up the world, and are said to die like lambs, 
 whose supposed peace is merely the apathy of 
 disease. In such a condition the mind is un- 
 able to attend even to trivial matters. How 
 much less can it comply with the claims of 
 religion ? 
 
 See what you do in waiting till you are ill ? 
 The most important, the most difl&cult of all 
 tasks, one which requires the utmost possible 
 exercise of whatever power you possess, you 
 postpone to the time when in all probability 
 your faculties ^vill be at the very lowest point 
 of capacity! Would you act so in other 
 things ? If you had work to do requiring the 
 nicest exercise of the eye-sight, would you de- 
 fer it from mid-day till the gloom of evening ? 
 If it demanded the greatest muscular effort, 
 
NOW. 57 
 
 would you wait till you were fatigued with 
 the long labor of the day ? And can you be 
 wise in waiting for sickness, as if you would 
 then be better able to " work out your own sal- 
 vation ?" 
 
 Multitudes at this moment are bitterly con- 
 scious of the folly of such a course. Many a 
 sick chamber is now, while you read this page, 
 a witness to its truth. Their past sins stare 
 them in the face. They feel, as they never 
 felt before, the folly of having so long neg- 
 lected repentance. How they wish that they 
 had considered this when they were well! 
 But now they feel that the work is too ar- 
 duous. Their pain is so great — their weari- 
 ness so distressing — they cannot read — they 
 cannot listen — they cannot collect their thoughts. 
 But, they say, — if God will restore them once 
 more to health, then they will serve Him ; but 
 not Now! They wait for health, you wait 
 for sickness. But does not their excuse for 
 delay afford a sufficient reply to yours ? 
 
 Consider the power of habit, both as affect- 
 ing the plea just considered, and that to which 
 
58 NOW. 
 
 we shall presently refer. Whatever we have 
 (lone once, we do more easily a second time. 
 As we repeat the act, our thoughts and our 
 muscles still more readily perform their task, 
 until that which at first required much labor, 
 is performed with scarcely any conscious exer- 
 tion. On a very rough road, a new effort is 
 needed to drag the carriage over every fresh 
 impediment. Habit, as a skillful engineer, 
 levels the land and lays down rails. Now, 
 the most heavily laden train, whatever the 
 effort needed to set it in motion, moves easily 
 along the groove with an increasing velocity, 
 though impelled by a diminished force. Thus 
 is human toil in providing for the necessities 
 and comforts of life greatly diminished. In 
 the same way habit influences moral conduct. 
 B_y every repetition of an act we acquire 
 greater facility both in good and in evil-doing. 
 If you put off repentance, two habits are 
 strengthened ; that of actual sin, and that of 
 delay in religion. For we are not one hour 
 in a neutral state. As long as you are putting 
 off the repenting of sin, you are going on in 
 
NOW. 59- 
 
 the commission of it. Every sin renders more 
 easy eyery subsequent indulgence ; and every 
 act of procrastination increases this tendency 
 for the future. You are thus becoming more 
 of an adept, both in committing sin, and in 
 putting off repentance. Every day you run 
 more rapidly the road to destruction, and post- 
 pone more readily the effort to turn back. 
 With ever accelerating velocity you rush 
 downward to death ; yet while thus rendering 
 necessary greater efforts to check your advance, 
 at every step you throw away some of the 
 little strength which still remains! ^'Stop! 
 stop ! you are approaching the precipice ! " 
 "No," you reply, "it is too difficult at present. 
 I will slacken speed when I have gone a little 
 further!" That is, when the peril is nearer, 
 your pace swifter, and your strength less I 
 You are thus most fatally acting, when you 
 fancy you are safely deferring. You are con- 
 firming the habit of living in sin. You are 
 also confirming the habit of delaying repent- 
 ance. The work to be done is being rendered 
 
60 NOW. 
 
 more difficult, while you are becoming less 
 inclined — that is, less competent to do it. 
 
 You are perhaps one of that numerous class 
 who delay repentance till they are older. 
 You say that you cannot be expected to be 
 religious, while your passions are so strong and 
 your temptations so many ; but that after a 
 few years j^ou will be better able to obey the 
 stern command of the gospel to "deny your- 
 self" and '^mortify the deeds of the body." It 
 is true that your passions may become less 
 vehement; but it is also true that the habit 
 of indulging them will become more con- 
 firmed. The physical impulse may be weaker, 
 but the mental bias will be stronger. The in- 
 ducement will diminish, but the tendency will 
 increase. The nearer you get to the end of 
 your sinful race, though the prize after which 
 you have been panting will become more 
 evidently worthless, inexorable habit will 
 scourge you to a still swifter pace than 
 before. 
 
 Take an illustration from the miser. He 
 has spent a long life hoarding up wealth. The 
 
NOW. 61 
 
 older lie grows the more reluctant lie is to 
 part with it, the more anxious he is to increase 
 it. lie is now drawing near to the grave. 
 As he can carry none of his money witli him, 
 the time rapidly diminishes during which he 
 can make any use of it. And yet, while its 
 value decreases, his grasp of it becomes more 
 firm. The capacity of gratification is less, but 
 the strength of covetousness is greater. 
 
 So it is with every sinful habit. There may 
 be no longer the physical power of indulging 
 the outward act, yet the imagination may still 
 cherish it, the mind still assent to it. The 
 moral character of actions is determined by 
 the motive of the agent. Innocence may un- 
 consciously do what looks like gross wicked- 
 ness ; while the most hardened depravity may 
 lurk ^vithin the breast of him who is harm- 
 less only because he is powerless. Profound- 
 ly true is the declaration of the Bible — "As 
 a man thinketJi in his heart, so is he." A 
 career of sin confirms the thoughts of the 
 heart in sinfulness, and these determine his true 
 character. The body and mind set out together 
 6 
 
dZ NOW. 
 
 in the fatal journey ; but when the body is 
 worn out and cannot keep up with its more 
 active companion, the mind rushes on alone. 
 A proline man becomes more profane, though 
 he lose the faculty of speech; a murderer 
 more murderous, though deprived of all power 
 to injure. So that when the inducements to 
 sin and the facility of indulgence have alike 
 departed, the tendency to sin, rendered per- 
 manent by habit, urges its victim ever down- 
 ward. He no longer grasps the baubles with 
 which at first the phantom pleasure beguiled 
 him. He no longer sees that phantom itself. 
 It has vanished with a derisive laugh, or 
 turned into the ghastly figure of death. Yet 
 having acquired a certain impetus in the pur- 
 suit, he cannot now stop, though there is 
 nothing to pursue but what he would give all 
 he possesses to avoid. No I the power of sin 
 does not cease with its pleasantness. On the 
 contrary, as its charms depart, its strength 
 augments. Beauty fades from the face of the 
 Syren, but her bony grasp holds her victim 
 safe. The more the fetter pinches, the tighter 
 
NOW, 68 
 
 that fetter binds. The vulture gnaws the 
 vitals, but the iron links of habit, despite the 
 captive's screams, chain him to the rock. 
 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the 
 leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good 
 that are accustomed to do evil ! " 
 
 Do not then postpone repentance in the 
 hope that old age is better able to resist tempta- 
 tion; nor imagine that because your spirits 
 will then be less buoyant, your thoughts will 
 more readily dwell upon religion. The mind, 
 long accustomed to occupy itself with trifles, 
 will not be disposed, at the close of life, when 
 all the powers are enfeebled, to grapple with 
 a subject which demands so much patient 
 attention. The theme which has been habit- 
 ually banished, will not spontaneously return. 
 You and godliness, so long separated, will be 
 likely to remain so forever. This is verified 
 by facts. How very few who have lived a long 
 life of procrastination, are converted in old 
 age! The wildness of youth may have given 
 place to the sedateness of years, but gravity 
 is not necessarily godliness, and may be quite 
 
64 NOW. 
 
 as irreligious as gaiet}^ Amidst that early 
 frivolity, solemn thoughts do sometimes burst 
 upon the soul and startle it into seriousness. 
 But when the sinner has grown old and 
 hardened in procrastination, what can arouse 
 him from that settled, deadly calm which 
 broods over him ? The special grace of God 
 alone ! But according to human probability, 
 and in accordance with the general methods 
 of the divine dealings — " it is impossible to 
 renew him again unto repentance." 
 
 Yield not then to the delusion that your 
 work will be easier by waiting. God may, and 
 sometimes does specially interpose. But we 
 must not presume on this. There are laws 
 relating to mind as regular in their operation 
 as those affecting matter; taking these into 
 consideration we may positively assert that 
 every day's delay of repentance makes the 
 work more difficult. K you do repent here- 
 after, it will cost you more labour than if you 
 repent at once. But there is a fearful proba- 
 bility that if you refuse to repent now, you 
 will never repent at all. 
 
N O AY . 65 
 
 Perhaps you reply — " Without Divine grace 
 I can never repent. If then that grace is 
 given me to-morrow, T can much more easily 
 repent than without that grace to-day." It is 
 quite true that without Divine grace we shall 
 never repent of sin. But bear in mind that 
 the grace of God operates in connexion with 
 our own efforts. If salvation is spoken of as 
 a divine work, it is also spoken of as a human 
 one. If " God worketh in us to will and to 
 do," we are to "work out our own salvation." 
 Jesus who said " Without me ye can do noth- 
 ing," said also — " Change your minds and 
 believe the good news. Ask and ye shall 
 receive: seek and ye shall find. Come imto 
 me. Take my yoke upon you. Strive to 
 enter in at the strait gate. Watch and pray 
 that ye enter not into temptation." There is a 
 work which you have to do. To this work, 
 Christ, the giver of all grace, summons you 
 NOW. And will you presume to postpone 
 obedience on the plea that He has not given 
 you sufiGicient grace — thus charging your sin 
 on Him ? 
 
 6* 
 
66 N o Av . 
 
 Is not God, at this moment, gracious and 
 mercifal ? Does He not at this moment oflPer 
 grace to you, and urge you to acccept it? 
 Does He not at this moment assist you in 
 some measure, by his Holy Spirit? Have 
 you no religious advantages, no knowledge, 
 no convictions of sin, no inward impulses to- 
 wards a better life ? Is not all this to be attrib- 
 uted to Divine grace ? 
 
 What more are yon waiting for? Solemn 
 warnings ? These you have already had. In- 
 vitations? They are repeated to you even 
 now, as you read this book. Strivings of the 
 Spirit ? These also you have felt and resisted. 
 Your present putting off repentance is a put- 
 ting away of the Holy Ghost, to whom it is 
 owing that you feel repentance needful. If 
 you improve what you have, will not more bo 
 given ? But where is the promise for those 
 who trifle with the gift of God, and " do de- 
 spite unto the Spirit of grace ?" Instead of 
 expecting more to-morrow, should you not 
 rather expect less? Jesus is now saying — 
 " Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If 
 
NOW. 67 
 
 any man open the door, I will come in to liim, 
 and sup witli him, and he with me." How 
 much longer do you intend to keep Him there ? 
 While postponing religion until you receive 
 more grace, are you not practically saying 
 that He must knock louder before you intend 
 to take any pains to admit Him to your heart ? 
 But will He always thus wait upon your leis- 
 ure? Will the king much longer stand and 
 urge the acceptance of his royal pardon on a 
 rebel * who trifles with his long-suffering by 
 saying — "If I keep Him waiting longer, He 
 will be more tempting in his oftcrs, more ear- 
 nest in his appeals, and more powerful in his 
 persuasions?" 
 
 sinner! Avill you dare thus to tamper with 
 the Almighty ? Will 3^ou be bargaining with 
 him? Will 3^ou refuse his gift to-day, pre- 
 suming that He will offer more to-morrow ? 
 Will you plead the grace you expect, as an 
 excuse for resisting the grace you have got ? 
 O beware! He may, instead of increasing, 
 withdraw his gift. The Spirit may be so re- 
 sisted as to leave you alone. The sacred flame 
 
68 NOW. 
 
 may be so quenched as to go out. The words 
 spoken of the Jews may be verified in your 
 case — " My people would not hearken to my 
 voice, and Israel would none of me. So I 
 gave them up unto their own hearts' lust^ and 
 they walked in their own counsels 1" Jerusa- 
 lem had her day of grace, but abused it. In- 
 stead of still receiving more, that which she 
 had but which she abused, was taken away, 
 and she was punished for that abuse. Jesus, 
 "full of grace," wept over that guilty and 
 doomed cityj saying — '^K thou hadst known, 
 even thou, at least in this thy day, the things 
 which belong unto thy peace I but now they 
 are hid from thine eyes!" The present is 
 your season of gTace. Do not waste it in pre- 
 sumptuous expectations of some day of still 
 stronger light. The night may be fast closing 
 in upon you for ever I Work while it is called 
 to-day I The ''Holy Ghost saith— 2b-c?ay, if 
 ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart !" 
 If, by waiting for more grace, you class your- 
 self with those who '^ tempted Him and proved 
 Himj" God may class you with them in the 
 
NOW. 69 
 
 threatening — '' Unto whom I sware in my 
 wrath, that they should not enter into my 
 rest." 
 
 To sum up our argument — The difficulty in- 
 creases hy delay ; therefore^ repent now. If cir- 
 cumstances seem hostile to-day, other circum- 
 stances will hinder you to-morrow. If you 
 wait till there is no difficulty, you will be more 
 foolish than the rustic of the poet, who stood 
 on the river-bank watching till all the water 
 should have flowed away before he would 
 attempt to cross. You have no reason to sup- 
 pose that circumstances will be more favorable 
 for repentance at any future period than at 
 present. But you are sure that habit strength- 
 ens by every repetition of an act And it is 
 evident that the longer you delay repentance, 
 the longer you continue in sin. So that a two- 
 fold habit is thus confirmed ; that of a life of 
 sin, and that of putting off the turning from 
 such a life. Thus the difficulty of the work 
 to be done, and the tendency to postpone the 
 doing of it, increase together. You are be- 
 coming more and more inclined to put off the 
 
70 NO w . 
 
 performance of that whicli, the longer it is pu 
 off; becomes increasingly formidable. 
 
 See then your position. The chances of 
 there being a to-morrow at all lessen every 
 day, because it .is certain that a day is coming 
 to every one which will be absolutely the last. 
 But the longer you delay repentance, the 
 stronger the habit of dela}^ becomes. So that 
 as the chance of there being any to-morrow 
 becomes less, your tendency to put off till to- 
 morrow becomes greater! Every act of sin 
 gives sin a stronger mastery over you, and yet 
 you put off till to-morrow, as a more conven_ 
 ient season, though by the very act of put- 
 ting it off you render it less convenient ! You 
 hope to be willing to repent to-morrow, although 
 you are unwilling to repent to-day ; and you 
 are unwilling to repent to-day, because you 
 hope to be willing to-morrow. You are fool- 
 ish to-day, yet in this very foolishness you pre- 
 dict that you will be wise to-morrow. Bely- 
 ing on this prediction, you postpone an act 
 which, by that very postponement, becomes 
 less likely of accomplishment. 
 
NOW. 71 
 
 Like a foolish fly caught in the crafty spi- 
 der's web, you feel yourself eatangled, but will 
 not try to escape. You might, by struggling 
 vigorously, break away. But you say — Not 
 now! to-morrow! But while you are waiting, 
 your subtle foe skillfully, quietly, constantly 
 winds his invisible but potent film more and 
 more securely round you. You say that the 
 work of escape is too dilBficult now, but that 
 you will try to-morrow ! 
 
 You are inhaling chloroform at a time when 
 you have most important business to transact. 
 Under its stupifying influence you feel indis- 
 posed for exertion. By a great effort you 
 could, if you started up at once, throw aside 
 the chloroform and begin the work. But you 
 say — "Wait awhile till I have inhaled a little 
 more, and then I will try." reader, the in- 
 difference you feel to religion is the effect of 
 the devil's chloroform. Inhale a little more, 
 and sleep becomes death. Now, while you 
 ma}^, arouse yourself! Breathe the pure air 
 of divine truth and love ! Eush from the fatal 
 chair of the sorcerer. Begin at once the great 
 
72 NOW. 
 
 buginess of your salvation. Now is the ac- 
 cepted time ! 
 
 A deadly serpent lias sprung upon you. He 
 is coiling himself around you. More and more 
 firm becomes his grasp. Now his fangs are 
 fastened in your flesh. He drinks your life- 
 blood. Every moment he becomes fiercer and 
 stronger by what he feeds on. Every moment 
 you become fainter and feebler. Why do you 
 not struggle to throw off the reptile ? Why 
 do you not cry aloud for help ? You reply — 
 " This I intend to do by and by. ISTow it is 
 too difl&cult, but I expect it will be easier 
 to-morrow, and then I will begin!" reader, 
 do you not see that if your enemy is strong 
 to-day, he will be stronger to-morrow ? that if 
 you are weak to-day, you will be weaker to- 
 morrow? and that he will be stronger and 
 you weaker by that very delay ? then, 
 commence the conflict NOW I 
 
V. 
 
 THE WHOLE OF LIFE IS NOT TOO LONG FOR THE 
 WOEK OF SALVATION : THEREFORE, BEGIN 2^0W. 
 
 Many persons regard religion as simply an 
 expedient for escaping from hell; a work 
 which must be done before death, but for 
 which all days are equally suitable, and any 
 one day suf&cient. Even on this supposition 
 we have shown that it is wise to repent now ;: 
 because we are only sure of to-day; because 
 we can only work to-day ; because the desire 
 may not survive to-day ; because the work is 
 easier to-day. Procrastination, though with 
 the most sincere determination to repent here- 
 after, exposes us to the risk of dying before 
 that day arrives ; leaves the work itself not 
 even commenced; neglects an opportunity 
 when we do in some measure feel its importance, 
 for another when we may be altogether indif- 
 ferent respecting it, and when the habit, both 
 7 (73) 
 
74 NOW. 
 
 of the practice of sin and the delay of repent- 
 ance, must render repentance far more difficult 
 than it is now. Thus we have endeavored to 
 prove that repentance should be set about at 
 once, even on the supposition of its being a sin- 
 gle act, the only object of which is to secure 
 deliverance from hell. 
 
 That such is a most inadequate view of re- 
 ligion has already been incidentally noticed. 
 But the great importance of the subject de- 
 mands for it renewed and fuller consideration. 
 In the course of our first argument we urged 
 that even supposing repentance were the work 
 of one day, it is a work of so much difficulty 
 that it is most unwise to put it off" to an uncer- 
 tain period. And in our last argument we 
 showed that the longer it is delayed, the greater 
 is the labour which must be undergone when 
 the day to which it is postponed arrives. But 
 now we go further, and say that religion is so 
 important and so difficult a work, that no one 
 may safely say he can spare a single day from 
 the prosecution of it. Instead of waiting till 
 we have less time to spend upon it, we ouglit 
 
NOW. 75 
 
 to feel that the longest life is not too long to 
 devote to it. 
 
 Salvation is much more than escape from 
 punishment, it is deliverance from sin. Jesus 
 Christ was sent to bless us "in turning away 
 every one of us from his iniquities." In be- 
 lieving on Ilim we not only obtain pardon 
 through his blood, but we become holy by 
 the influence of his in-dwelling Spirit. Though 
 pardoned at once, we are not at once made per- 
 fect in purity. This is an arduous, a progres- 
 sive work. Salvation in its full sense implies 
 conformity to Jesus as well as reliance upon 
 Him ; or rather such a reliance as necessarily 
 leads to our walking in his steps, and cultivat- 
 ing his spirit. It is a change of heart, a trans- 
 formation of character, a new life. It is the 
 humbling of pride, the curbing of the passions, 
 the destruction of self-will. It is the subjuga- 
 tion of appetite to reason, of impulse to con- 
 science, of the flesh to the spirit. It is the 
 undoing the work of all former years, the 
 untwisting the coils which the devil had long 
 b'jcn winding round us, and the training us to 
 
76 NOW. 
 
 new habits of thought and action. It is the 
 turning back of the full tide of selfish, worldly, 
 and vain desires, and the steady flow of the 
 soul towards holiness and God. It is not 
 simply the avoiding sin, but the abhorring it ; 
 not chiefly through fear of punishment, but 
 from love to the Kedeemer. It is the heart 
 which once regarded its own pleasure as the 
 highest good, seeking as its chief end and su- 
 preme delight the glory of its Maker. It is 
 the prodigal coming back to his Father, and, 
 with tastes, desires, habits changed, living as a 
 child at home, contented, happy, confiding, 
 submissive, and, by a course of life entirely 
 new, proving the sincerity of his repentance 
 and his gratitude. It is nothing less than be- 
 coming a " new creature ;" being " born again;" 
 " old things passing away, and all things 
 becoming new." 
 
 If this is salvation, can we regard the at- 
 tainment of it as a work to be easily performed 
 whenever we please, and which we can afford 
 to put off till the close of life ? Ought we not 
 rather to feel that not a day, not an hour should 
 
NOW. W 
 
 be lost before we set about it? ''Virtue," 
 says an old Divine, '• is not a mushroom, that 
 springeth up in one night, when we are asleep, 
 or regard it not; but a delicate plant, that 
 groweth slowly and tenderly, needing much 
 pains to cultivate it, much care to guard it, 
 much time to mature it in our untoward soil, 
 in this world's unkindly weather. Happiness 
 is a thing too precious to be purchased at an 
 easy rate. Heaven is too high to be come at 
 without much climbing. The crown of bliss is 
 a prize too noble to be won without a long and 
 tough conflict. Neither is vice a spirit that 
 will be conjured down with a charm. It is 
 not an adversary that can be knocked down at 
 a blow, or despatched with a stab. Whoever 
 shall pretend that at any time, easily, with ce- 
 lerity, by any mysterious knack, a man may 
 be settled in virtue or converted from vice, 
 common experience abundantly will confute 
 him, which showeth that a habit (setting mir- 
 acles aside) cannot otherwise be produced or 
 destroyed, than by a constant exercise of acts 
 suitable or opposed thereto." 
 7* 
 
7S NOW. 
 
 You perhaps reply — " This seems to limit 
 the grace of God, who is surely able to 
 save me at any time, without all this toilsome 
 process on my part. The penitent thief was 
 pardoned at the very close of a wicked 
 life, and went immediately to Paradise. The 
 labourers who entered the vineyard at the 
 eleventh hour received the same Avages as 
 those who had toiled all the day. Why then 
 may I not hope that if I begin to repent even 
 at the close of life, I may obtain salvation ? " 
 
 Nothing can be farther from the purpose of 
 this book than any limiting of the mercy of 
 that God who says — "As I live, I have no 
 pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that 
 he turn from his wickedness and live." Every 
 sinner,' who truly turns to Him, will be for- 
 given. " Him that cometh unto me I will in 
 no wise cast out: " — on no account^ and there- 
 fore not on account of the sinner having neg- 
 lected to come until the last day of his life. 
 This is unqestionable, glorious truth. But 
 salvation has another aspect, equally scriptural, 
 equally important, and it is to this that your 
 
N ^v' . W 
 
 attention is now directed. Doubt not the 
 grace of God ; but abuse it not bj delaying to 
 make those efforts wliich grace has itself pre- 
 scribed. You have a work to do as well as a 
 gift to receive ; a work inseparably connected 
 with the gift ; a work essential to salvation ; a 
 work demanding your best energies every day 
 you live. If God, on his part, " worketh in 
 you to will and to do," you on your part are 
 to "work out 3'our own salvation with fear 
 and trembling." Surely these words imply 
 not only severe, but continual and persevering 
 toil, if you are to "lay hold on eternal 
 life." 
 
 The cases you quote are too often wrested 
 from their true function, and made an ex- 
 cuse for presumptuous delay. The thief was 
 pardoned, but he was penitent. K, like him, 
 you repent, you may be sure, like him, of for- 
 giveness. But can you make sure of repent- 
 ance? God has promised that all wdio seek 
 shall find ; but He never promised that they 
 who now deliberately reject, shall hereafter 
 seek. If, according to the preceding chapter, 
 
80 NOW. 
 
 the difficulty increases by delay, tlie longer 
 you wait the less likely you are to seek, and 
 therefore the less likely to find. \Ye have no 
 reason to suppose that the thief had ever heard 
 the gospel before. His case then is totally 
 unlike yours, if, invited to repent now, you 
 put off accepting the mercy which he embraced 
 at once. Besides, can you for a moment imag- 
 ine that had he been taken down from the 
 cross alive, and survived many years, he would 
 have suspended his religion until death again 
 approached ? Plead then no longer this illus- 
 trious example of divine love, as an excuse 
 for trifling with that love; nor expect that 
 because at the last hour Christ forgave the 
 thief being penitent, that He will by a miracle 
 of grace save you, if, unlike that thief, you 
 now resolve to postpone repentance. It has 
 been said that one such instance is recorded 
 that none may despair; and only one, that 
 none may presume. 
 
 Neither ought the parable of the labourers 
 to give any encouragement to procrastinators. 
 The object of Christ was to shew that the Jews, 
 
NOW. 81 
 
 though for mauj generations they had enjoyed 
 the privileges of God's pecuHar people, were 
 not to receive greater benefits from the Gospel 
 than the Gentiles, who now, as at the eleventh 
 hour, were called to work in the vineyard. 
 But even granting that the j^arable may be 
 applied to the case of individuals, it certainly 
 cannot apply to you. When the workmen 
 were asked why they stood in the market-place 
 all the day idle, they replied — " Because no 
 man hath hired us." Can you say this? Have 
 you not repeatedly been invited to repent, that 
 is to change your mind, and instead of being 
 the slave of the devil, to devote yourself to 
 the service of God ? Is not the Lord of the 
 vineyard at this moment waiting to "hire" 
 you ? You cannot then plead this parable as 
 an excuse for remaining idle. Yet you are 
 practically saying — " It is only the third hour 
 of the day, or the sixth, or at most the ninth. 
 I will wait a little longer, for if I begin as 
 late as the eleventh hour, I shall receive as 
 much as they who have 'borne the labour and 
 lieat of the day ! ' " 
 
82 NOW. 
 
 reader, do not thus *' wrest the scriptures 
 unto your own destruction! " Do not imagine 
 that if God summons you to work now, it is not 
 necessary to begin at once. Do not make so 
 sure that if your purpose to give all but the 
 dregs of life to the devil, and only the dregs 
 to Christ, the eleventh hour will find you in 
 the vineyard. But even if it should, can you 
 imagine that your condition would be exactly 
 the same as if you had been spending all your 
 days in the service of God? This does not 
 seem reasonable. This certainly is not scrip- 
 tural. All who die penitent die pardoned. 
 But salvation is conformity to Christ ; and 
 therefore though all who repent enter heaven, 
 it does not follow that they all make equal 
 attainments in salvation. The greater the toil 
 the greater the progress. " He which soweth 
 sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and he 
 which soweth bountifully shall reap also boun- 
 tifully." There are different degrees in glory, 
 as there are different attainments in grace. 
 There is a recompensing with "ten cities," and 
 a recompensing with "five." There is such a 
 
NOW. 88 
 
 thing as men "laying up in store for them- 
 selves a good foundation against the time to 
 come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.'' 
 Christ commands us to " lay up for ourselves 
 treasures in heaven; " implying that we are to 
 do this by continued, repeated, persevering 
 efforts, even as men accumulate treasures upon 
 earth. Though nothing we do can strictly de- 
 serve any recompense, yet we arc told that he 
 who gives only " a cup of cold water " to one 
 of Christ's little ones, ^' shall in no wise lose 
 his reward." Can he who lets slip all oppor- 
 tunities daring life of thus serving Christ and 
 of laying up treasure in heaven, be no loser 
 by such neglect, because he obtains pardon on 
 his deatli-bed? Though he may gain heaven, 
 can he expect "an abundant entrance?" This 
 by the Apostle Peter is represented as depen- 
 dent on the efforts put forth to attain it. 
 "Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue ; 
 and to virtue knowledge ; and to knowledge 
 temperanc3 ; and to temperance patience ; and 
 to patience godliness ; and to godliness broth- 
 erly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness 
 
84 NOW. 
 
 charity ; for if ye do these thiugs ye shall 
 never fall: for so an entrance shall he ministered 
 unto you abundantly into the everlasting king- 
 dom of our Lord and Savionr Jesus Christ/' 
 
 Can we then afford to lose an}^ time, when 
 each day's work so tells upon our eternal des- 
 tiny? St. Paul exhorts us to be ^^ alwai/s 
 abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch 
 as our labour is not in vain in the Lord." 
 Too much cannot be done. The longest life 
 is not too long for such a service. Christians 
 are not merely to work, but to "abound" in it: 
 not for a short period, but '* always." How 
 can you then with so much levity delay even 
 to commence ? What will it profit you, if, be- 
 tween now and your anticipated repentance at 
 the close of life, you were to gain the whole 
 world ? Would this be any equivalent for the 
 loss of that time from the work of salvation ? 
 The Apostle Paul had lived many years before 
 his conversion ; he also lived many years 
 after. Can you imagine him saying "I 
 repented too soon — for I might have gone on 
 longer in the enjoyment of ease, affluence and 
 
NOW. 85 
 
 honour ? " Can you imagine that if he had 
 known he had twenty years more to live, he 
 would have been willing to abstract one single 
 year, one single day of it from the great work 
 of making sure of salvation ? Hear what he 
 says — ** Not as though I had already attained, 
 either were already perfect — but this one thing 
 I do, forgetting those things which are behind, 
 and reaching forth unto those things which are 
 before, I press toward the mark for the prize 
 of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus I " 
 K such a man as St. Paul felt that he could not 
 remit his efforts one single day, how much less 
 ought ive to suppose that we can lose another 
 day before we commence the work! If those 
 who have attained to the happy assurance that 
 they belong to God's called and chosen ones, 
 are nevertheless exhorted to ^^ give diligence to 
 make their calling and election sure;" can you, 
 who are destitute of this hope, spend in 
 indolent delay a single hour that might be 
 employed in obeying the Divine Call, and 
 thus participating in the privileges of God's 
 elect? 
 
 8 
 
86 NOW. 
 
 Many other scriptural proofs might be given 
 that reli2:ion is a work for the whole of life, 
 and therefore should be attended to now. We 
 are told that God, who renders "to every man 
 according to his deeds," will bestow eternal life 
 on those who " hy patient continuance in well- 
 doing seek for glory, and honour, and immor- 
 tality." Christians are exhorted to "walk 
 circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeem- 
 ing the time;'''' — to " run with patience the race 
 that is set before them ; " — to " build themselves 
 up in their most holy faith, and keep themselves 
 in the love of God ; " — ^to " continue in prayer, 
 and watch in the same ; " — to " pray without 
 ceasing ; " — to " go on unto perfection," and 
 to be " filled with the fruits of righteousness." 
 These exhortations are addressed to those who 
 have already repented, who have found mercy, 
 and who are rejoicing in the hope of glory. 
 Yet even they have no time for trifling. A 
 solemn issue is pending. They are fleeing from 
 hell, but its armies are in hot pursuit. They 
 are reaching forth after heaven, but they have 
 not yet crossed its threshold. The ground is 
 
NOW. 87 
 
 spread with snares. The arrows of temptation 
 fly thick and fast. Satan is ever plotting their 
 ruin ; now hirking in ambush to fall on them 
 when off their guard ; now, undisguised, cast- 
 ing at thcMn his fiery darts, or in deadly strug- 
 gle striving once more to regain possession of 
 his prey. But God is " working in them to will 
 and to do." The Holy Spirit " helpeth their 
 infirmities." Jesus, without ceasing, intercedes. 
 Good angels minister to them in the strife. 
 Sundays, bibles, sermons, sacraments, all means 
 of grace are appointed for their succour. As 
 children, they are under constant training. 
 They are chastened by great and divers trials, 
 for the exercise and maturing of their faith 
 and patience. The refiner's furnace has often 
 to be heated for them. They must be " salted 
 with fire" if they are to be acceptable sacrifices. 
 Nothing which God has kindly ordained for 
 their help, can safely be dispensed with. They 
 are convinced they need it all. They feel they 
 have no time to lose. They are like men 
 racing for a prize, Avho will not turn aside, nor 
 loiter in the course, but who press straight on. 
 
88 NOW. 
 
 turning neither to the right hand nor to the 
 left. The most eminent Christians, those who 
 are the most safe for eternity, are those who 
 are thus convinced that there is not a single 
 Now^ in which salvation does not demand their 
 chief exertions. They, who possess in fullest 
 degree that which you have not begun to seek— 
 they are the persons who will most emphat- 
 ically tell you that if they were sure of living 
 a hundred years, they dare not suspend for one 
 day the work for which you seem to think a 
 single day enough ! Be not deceived ! religion 
 is for every day : the whole of life is not too 
 long for working out your salvation : therefore, 
 begin Now. 
 
YI. 
 
 Sm INFLICTS PRESENT EVILS. AVOID THEM BY 
 REPENTING 2f^0W. 
 
 Perhaps you think that all the harm sin can 
 do you is in another world; and therefore, 
 that if you wait till the close of life, you will 
 as much escape the evil consequences of ungod- 
 liness as if you repented at once. You are 
 mistaken. For consider the uncertainty to 
 which we alluded in the first chapter. You may 
 not see to-morrow ! But if you should, still 
 meanwhile you cannot be sure of it. You are 
 always liable to be haunted by the terrible 
 apprehension that you may be cut off in your 
 sins, that you may at any moment be hurried 
 into eternity, impenitent, unsaved ! Is not 
 this a present evil ? Yes — so great an evil, that 
 you are conscious of deliberate efforts to coun- 
 teract it. You irrationally strive to dismiss from 
 8* [891 
 
90 NOW. 
 
 your mind a consideration solemnly true, be- 
 cause it would interfere with your business, 
 embitter your pleasures, scare you in your 
 sleep. Is not the painful effort you make, an 
 evil? Is not the unimproved alarm attending 
 the frequent faiiure of the effort, an evil? 
 You try to forget you may be on the brink 
 of hell, yet you often start as if you heard the 
 roar of its thunder, and saw the fearful gleam 
 of its fiery lake. Is not this a present positive 
 evil, which might be avoided by repenting 
 now? 
 
 But if you feel secure against danger, you 
 are at least conscious of deferring a most 
 important and difficult work. You know it 
 must be done, yet you put it off. You have 
 not the present toil, but you have the fretting 
 conviction that it has to be encountered. By 
 delaying any unpleasant necessity, we add the 
 pain of anticipation to that of experience. It 
 is always wise to avoid the former by hasten- 
 ing the latter. Let us do at once what must 
 be done, rather than be daily burdened by the 
 consciousness of neglect, and the dread of 
 
NOW. 91 
 
 performance. Whenever 3'ou think of religion 
 at all, you must feel oppressed by the con- 
 viction that there is a work to be done before 
 you die, ever increasing in difficulty, yet not 
 commenced. Would it not be better to avoid 
 the present positive evil of such a state of 
 mind, by repenting now? 
 
 Moreover, every day you wait, you are add- 
 ing to the list of sins for which you must give 
 account. That is a fearful passage which 
 speaks of sinners in their "hard and impeni- 
 tent hearts, treasuring up unto themselves 
 wrath against the day of wrath ! " You are 
 now, by delaying repentance, actually piling 
 up the mountain of condemnation and ruin 
 which threatens to crush you! Every day 
 you defer repentance you add to the heap 1 If 
 the catastrophe is future, the evil is being pre- 
 pared now ! But you say you hope to avoid the 
 catastrophe by repenting before you die. 
 Consider what was said under the preceding 
 chapter, and ask yourself if you can be quite 
 sure that even if forgiven, you will be no loser 
 by such a course? But at least, you are heap- 
 
9i N o w . 
 
 ing up a store of unhappy memories. If God 
 forgets your sins, the pardoned sinner himself 
 cannot, at least in this world. Take the testi- 
 mony of those who have obtained mercy after 
 years spent in wickedness. How their sins often 
 weigh upon their spirits! How gladly, had 
 they to live life over again, would they forego 
 all the pleasures sin ever gave them, if from 
 no other motive, to escape the grief which the 
 thought of those sins now costs them ! How 
 they experience the truth of the combined 
 promise and threatening of Scripture — "Then 
 shall ye remember your own evil ways and 
 your doings that were not good, and shall 
 loathe yourselves in your own sight for your 
 iniquities and for your transgressions." "And 
 I will establish my covenant with thee, and 
 thou shalt know that I am the Lord ; that 
 thou mayst remember and be confounded and 
 never open thy mouth any more because of 
 thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee 
 for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord 
 God."* You are laying up in store such 
 
 * Ezekiel xvi. 61, 63 : xx. 43 : xxxvi. 26-31. 
 
NOW. 98 
 
 memories ! You are feeding such a worm ! 
 You are knotting such a scourge ! You arc 
 doing this now ! 
 
 Above all, bear in mind, that now, while 
 delaying repentance, " the wrath of God 
 abideth on you." Not only will He manifest 
 it towards transgressors at the final judgment 
 — He feels it now. He is compassionate — He 
 waits to pardon — but if men reject or deliber- 
 ately trifle with his mercy, " He is angry with 
 the wicked every day." It is an awful con- 
 sideration for any one, that God is angry with 
 him ! This is your case while procrastinating! 
 It matters not that you mean to repent here- 
 after. You are not repenting now. Therefore 
 you are sinning now! And therefore God is 
 angry with you now ! His eye is never taken 
 off you — He sees you through and through — 
 His hand is ever over you — He follows your 
 every step — and you are at enmity ! He who 
 made, sustains, and could in a moment destroy 
 you ; from whom you cannot escape, from 
 whom you cannot hide, — he is angry with you 
 now ! All his attributes are arrayed against 
 
94 NOW. 
 
 you now ! His justice, wisdom, truth^ love, 
 unite in condemning you now. His omni- 
 presence pursues you now. His omnipotence 
 is ready to punish you now. You are degrad- 
 ed now — leagued witli the devil now — an 
 enemy to God now — frowned on by Heaven 
 now. Even should you be pardoned hereafter, 
 to be in such a condition now^ for a single 
 hour, is a fearful, unutterable evil ! O avoid 
 it by repenting now ! 
 
VII. 
 
 GODLINESS CONFERS PRESENT BENEFITS: SECURE 
 THEM BY REPENTING NOW. 
 
 Let it be granted that you will be alive and 
 fulfil your purpose of repentance to-morrow ; 
 still tlie question may be urged — why wait ? 
 As there are present evils to be shunned, so 
 there are present advantages to be secured. 
 Keligion is not, as many suppose, a life of mis- 
 ery here purchasing a life of happiness here- 
 after, nor is it a mere passport to pleasures 
 which cannot be tasted till we die ! It is not 
 a heavy tax to pay, but a priceless and present 
 gift to receive. It is God's best boon to man. 
 It is intended to make us happy now by rais- 
 ing us out of the degradation into which sin 
 has thrust us. Jesus, God's ambassador of 
 Love, visits us in our fallen, lost condition, and 
 offers to lift us up from the mire, to cleanse us 
 
 [95] 
 
96 NOW. 
 
 from our filth, to cure our leprosy, to heal our 
 wounds, to impart to us a new life, to instil 
 into us purer tastes, to stir us with nobler 
 aspirations, to qualify us for higher employ- 
 ments, to make us partakers of a purer and a 
 more abiding joy than sin or the world can 
 ever bestow. We are summoned in the Gos- 
 pel to a plentiful banquet, a marriage supper. 
 For though connected with toil and self-denial, 
 godliness is not a fast, but a feast ; — a feast at 
 which we are invited to partake not only in 
 heaven hereafter, but on earth now. Pardon 
 full and free — the flivor of God — the honor of 
 serving Him — the privilege of intercourse with 
 Him — joy and peace in believing — the blessed 
 hope of immortality — these are offered now, 
 why then defer accepting them ? 
 
 A prisoner under condemnation waits in his 
 cell the summons of the executioner. His 
 body LS weighed down with heavy chains ; his 
 mind with the still heavier dread of a violent 
 and shameful death. But a pardon is offered 
 him, with immediate release from captivity 
 and restoration to his home. Does he say — 
 
N o w. 97 
 
 " Doubtless the offer will hold good to-morrow 
 as well as to-day, so I will remain yet longer 
 in my cell ?" Though he were sure of liberty 
 to-morrow, why should he wait if he can enjoy 
 it now? And why, O sinner, bound by the 
 chain of thy sins, under the condemnation of 
 the law, exposed to the penalty of death, — why 
 wait one moment in thy dark dungeon, when 
 thou may est escape to light and liberty at once ? 
 If you were a destitute beggar lying in the 
 street, and some compassionate friend were to 
 bring you warm clothing, wholesome food, 
 and the offer of a comfortable home, would 
 you say — "If lean have them to-morrow I 
 will wait here till then, hungry and cold?" 
 And will you delay feasting at the banquet of 
 divine love, putting on the white raiment of 
 Christ's righteousness, and dwelling safely in 
 God, as the home of the soul ? If a large for- 
 tune were presented to you, would you say — 
 "It is very desirable — it will be very useful — 
 I will thankfully take it — but not just now?" 
 Though sure of possessing it in a year's time, 
 would you deprive yourself of the advantages 
 9 
 
98 NOW. 
 
 of it meanwhile ? ' Would a banished courtier, 
 if invited to return to the palace, and to enjoy 
 again the friendship of his prince, voluntarily 
 lengthen the period of his exile and disgrace ? 
 If your earthly Sovereign were to command 
 your immediate attendance in order to confer 
 some high honor on you, would you put it off 
 till to-morrow? And will you, who might 
 this day become possessed of heavenly and 
 incorruptible treasure, remain in poverty? 
 Will you, who are summoned back from the 
 exile into which sin has driven you, delay 
 your return to God ? Will you, whom the 
 King of kings is now willing to receive to a 
 private audience, to treat with distinguished 
 favor, to ennoble by special honors — will you, 
 who may at once participate in the privileges 
 and joys of the children of God, wait till to- 
 morrow ? Can you be happy too soon ? Can 
 you too soon experience the " peace which 
 passeth all understanding;" the '*joy which is 
 unspeakable, and full of glory ?" 
 
VIII. 
 
 DUTY TO GOD DEMANDS REPENTANCE 2fOW: 
 
 Thus far the lower motives of self-interest 
 have been chiefly appealed to. We here rise 
 higher. Even if no hell followed a course of 
 sin, and if Godliness promised no heaven, we 
 ought not to put ofp repentance one single day, 
 because of this highest of all reasons — God 
 commands obedience now. In condescending 
 kindness He alarms and allures us ; He shows 
 what miseries we incur, what pleasures we lose, 
 by irreligion ; but He also teaches us to serve 
 Him because it is right 
 
 As Creator, He possesses the claims of Ab- 
 solute Proprietor. If He endowed us with all 
 our faculties, and preserves us in the possession 
 of them each day, reason itself tells us that we 
 should employ them in obedience to his will. 
 The first and great commanci of conscience and 
 of Scripture is, to love the Lord our God with 
 
 (99) 
 
100 NOW. 
 
 all our heart. He is not only Creator and 
 Ruler, but He is most holy, most wise, most 
 kind ; so that we are under all conceivable ob- 
 ligations to acknowledge that " the chief end 
 of man is to glorify God." He has made 
 known to us his will by his beloved Son. The 
 commands of such a Sovereign, communicated 
 by such an Ambassador, ought to be obeyed 
 simply because they are his commands. 
 
 But we have disobeyed. Yet are we invited 
 to seek forgiveness, and henceforth to love and 
 serve our Creator and Redeemer. His merci- 
 ful command to us as sinners is this: "Trust 
 in Him whom I have sent ; repent, and believe 
 the gospel." He commands this now. It is 
 my duty at once. Every day He proclaims his 
 will, but am I to infer that I may choose any 
 day for complying with it? Every day He 
 waits to receive me, but shall I presume to 
 take my own time for making submission ? If 
 I, a condemned rebel, am summoned to lay 
 down my arms under the promise of immedi- 
 ate forgiveness, do I not fearfully increase my 
 crime if I say — " I will accept the offer here- 
 
NOW. 101 
 
 after ?" I thus admit I am a rebel, but resolve 
 to go on rebelling ! For let no one suppose 
 that a promise to serve God to-morrow is 
 anything but a determination to rebel against 
 Him to-day. If our own salvation is a work 
 for every day, so also obedience is not a debt 
 to be paid once for all, but a constant service 
 which we are bound to render continually. If 
 then I am postponing it, I am meanwhile 
 absolutely repudiating it. I dare to look up 
 to the Sovereign Euler of the Universe, and 
 say — "It is my duty to serve Thee, and when 
 I feel it easy and convenient I intend to begin 
 to do so, but for the present I choose to go on 
 a little longer in my sin !" 
 
 Suppose a check or a stoppage were to hap- 
 pen in the physical universe for one single day. 
 Suppose the heavenly bodies ceased to move 
 in their appointed orbits — the sun to shine, the 
 earth to yield to its attraction, the atmosphere 
 to engirdle the globe, the ocean to keep its 
 bounds. Suppose all the powers of nature 
 should thus cease, even for an hour, to obey 
 the Great Euler ! How fearful would be the 
 9* 
 
102 NOW. 
 
 spectacle ; how terrible its results ! But such 
 an event is impossible. Yet no amount of 
 confusion and disaster in the physical universe 
 could be half so lamentable as the disorder and 
 misery introduced by sin into the world of 
 mind. Irrational things obey the Creator un- 
 consciously, by a necessary law ; but He has 
 endowed you with the higher faculty of yield- 
 ing Him a voluntary homage. Will you abuse 
 this freedom by choosing to do what the mate- 
 rial universe is unable to do ? Will you for 
 one single day stand forth amidst the countless 
 obedient subjects of his dominion, and say to 
 them — ^' I differ from you in this, that I am 
 endowed, like God himself, with reason and a 
 will ; and I choose to differ from you in this, 
 also, that whereas you every moment obey 
 your Creator, I intend to put off obedience 
 till to-morrow !" 
 
 But ask how such deferring of duty is re- 
 garded between man and man. Would a 
 private soldier dare to say to his commanding 
 of&cer, I will attend to orders to-morrow? 
 What would be the worth of a servant who, 
 
NOW. 303 
 
 when required to do a certain work at once, 
 should say, *' I will attend to it when it suits 
 my convenience ?" If you were a master or 
 employer, what would you think of those who 
 were under every obligation to render you 
 cheerful and prompt obedience, telling you 
 that they should take their own time to attend 
 to your wishes ? What would be your feel- 
 ings if your own child, tenderly nurtured and 
 beloved, were to say — " Father, I don't intend 
 to honor and obey you till to-morrow?" 
 Would not this be an act of unnatural and 
 daring disobedience to-day? But thus you 
 arc treating Him who, as j^our Master and 
 Father, has every claim on your service and 
 love now. He himself says — "A son honoreth 
 his father, and a servant his master. If then 
 I be a Father, where is my honor, and if I be 
 a Master, where is my fear, saith the Lord of 
 Hosts !" He is alyoays our Master, He is always 
 our Father, and as his claims are never sus- 
 pended, so our obedience is always due : every 
 morning that dawns upon us, every evening 
 that darkens around us, every hour that strikes, 
 
104 NOW. 
 
 every pulse that beats, reiterates his appeal. 
 The time we have still to live, in no degree 
 affects his claims now. Were we sure of a 
 thousand to-morrows, and were we equally 
 sure there would be no day of retribution, duty 
 to our Maker demands repentance NOW I 
 
IX. 
 
 GRATITUDE SHOULD PROMPT YOU TO REPENTANCE 
 
 irow. 
 
 Are you insensible to the claims of right f 
 then listen to those of love! If the majesty of 
 God does not awe you, let his mercy melt you. 
 He, the Creator and Ruler, condescends to 
 entreat you to be reconciled ! He delighteth 
 in mercy, and wishes to bestow on you that 
 mercy now I The Father from whom you 
 have wandered now stands with open door, 
 and earnestly invites you home ! " Return, 
 ye back-sliding children !" Can you hesitate ? 
 The Son of God is now waiting to bestow on 
 you the salvation He purchased with his 
 blood. He appeals to you, saying — " Come 
 unto me !" He takes you by the hand to lead 
 you to the throne of grace, where he himself 
 will plead your cause. Shall such a friend be 
 
 (105) 
 
106 NOW. 
 
 despised and rejected for one single hour? 
 However sure you may be of repenting to-mor- 
 row, will you now insult him by delay ? The 
 Holy Spirit is now striving within you for 
 your salvation. He is counselling, warning, 
 encouraging, entreating you now. Will you 
 any longer resist and grieve Him? If you 
 have any generous feelings, a small token of 
 kindness, even from an inferior, draws forth a 
 prompt response : still more from one greatly 
 your superior, and from whom you have mer- 
 ited contrary treatment. Yet you close your 
 ear against the loving voice of God ! " He 
 waiteth to be gracious !" — waiieih to show 
 kindness ! Shall the Lord of Heaven stand 
 waiting to show kindness to a rebel, and shall 
 that rebel delay to accept it ? 
 
 Header ! before you lay down this book, 
 suffer it to plead with you a little longer. 
 Despise not its warnings ! Censure the author 
 if you will — blame the book, its language, its 
 method — toss it aside, never open it again — 
 but, in the name of a God of love, and as you 
 
NOW. 107 
 
 value your eternal salvation, trifle not with its 
 message! Your soul is in danger! While 
 putting off repentance, you are traveling to- 
 wards hell. Death watches his opportunity to 
 slam the doors upon you ! Unless you repent, 
 you perish ! You know this, but comfort 
 yourself with the intention to repent to-mor- 
 row! To-morrow? The irrevocable sentence 
 may be pronounced to-morrow ! You may be 
 ** weeping, and wailing, and gnashing your 
 teeth," to-morrow ! It is not a rare event for 
 sinners to be damned, who were always intend- 
 ing to be saved. For every soul in hell who 
 determined to persevere in wickedness, there 
 are a thousand who did just what you are do- 
 ing — they promised to repent to-morroiv ! You 
 are not warned against a danger to which few 
 persons only are exposed. The rapid tide 
 from which this book tries to snatch you is 
 sweeping multitudes all around you to perdi- 
 tion. 
 
 Say not — *'a little sleep, a little slumber!" 
 Are you sure of a little hour in which slumber 
 will be safe ? You may be sure, from past 
 
108 NOW. 
 
 experience, that the little slumber you demand 
 will lead to a little more. Thus the whole of 
 life may be wasted in the bed of the sluggard, 
 and the trumpet call to judgment may be the 
 first sound that scares you from your dreams ! 
 listen to the voice of warning now I "Awake, 
 thou that sleepest," awake noiv ! "Seek the 
 Lord while He may be found," seek him now ! 
 " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 
 shalt be saved," believe now ! Confess to Him 
 your sins, ask pardon through his blood, rely 
 on his atonen:ient, implore the help of his 
 Spirit, devote yourself entirely to his service ! 
 Do it noiol " Strive to enter into the strait 
 gate " now I Offer the prayer — " God be mer- 
 ciful to me, a sinner," now ! Too much time 
 has been wasted already. Lose no morel 
 This may be your only opportunity I Seize it 
 now ! 
 
 It is the devil who suggests it would be bet- 
 ter to wait. "He was a liar from the begin- 
 ning ! " Better to wait ? Does death wait ? 
 Does the judgment wait? Will he himself 
 wait as soon as he gets the signal to seize you 
 
NOW. 109 
 
 as liis prey forever ? While you are waiting 
 does the wheel of your life stand still, and the 
 thread of your probation cease to be untwined ? 
 Have you an unlimited store of days to trifle 
 with ? Can you tell that when you next thrust 
 your hand into that chest of opportunities, you 
 will not find it empty? May not the one you 
 are now trifling with be the very last ? Why 
 do you act as if sure of twenty years ? Are 
 you sure of twenty hours — of twenty minutes 
 — of a single second beyond this very now ? 
 
 What is it you are putting off to this uncer- 
 tainty? The work on which depends the 
 question of ages of bliss or woe! If your 
 house were in flames, yould you wait till to- 
 morrow before you tried to put out the fire? 
 If your leg were broken, would you delay hav- 
 ing it set ? If you had been poisoned, would 
 you put off taking an antidote ? And will 
 you postpone the saving of that soul, which is 
 infinitely more precious than all the world 
 contains ? Neglect every other business — trifle 
 with your property, your health, your life — 
 10 
 
110 NOW. 
 
 this would be wisdom compared with delaj-ing 
 for one day the salvation of the sonl ! 
 
 But you comfort yourself with the thought 
 that though you defer repentance till to-morrow, 
 you are encouraging good intentions to-day I 
 Of what value will they be if you die before 
 they are fulfilled ? K the law apprehends you 
 in the act of theft, will the plea avail that if 
 you had escaped you intended to lead an hon- 
 est life ? If you hnger in the city of Destruc- 
 tion, will the purpose to flee screen you from 
 the tempest of fire when it bursts ? A good 
 intention to be religious to-morrow is only a 
 bad resolve to remain wicked to-day. But it 
 shows you have some sense of the importance 
 of repentance. This even may be gone to-mor- 
 row ! improve it now ! If you have difiiculties 
 to-day, you will have other and greater to-mor- 
 row. The devil, who persuades you to A\'ait, 
 knows that " you will be hardened by the 
 deceitfalness of sin." Therefore the Holy 
 Ghost says ^^ To-day^ harden not j'our heart." 
 Therefore we are to " exhort one another daily^ 
 while it is called to-day I " The longer you 
 
NOW. Ill 
 
 wait, the harder will be the toiL You pamper 
 two deadly foes, the habit of practising wick- 
 edness, and the habit of deferring repentance. 
 You are daily becoming more of an adept in 
 both these methods of suicide. Are you not 
 then mad to think you will ever have a more 
 convenient season than now ? What ? Find 
 the path more readily when you have wandered 
 from it more widely ? Tear up a tree more 
 easily when it is rooted more deeply ? Draw 
 a nail more quickly when it is clenched more 
 firmly ? Stem a torrent more safely when it 
 rolls more rapidly ? The poisoned robe clings 
 to you every day more tightly — off with it 
 now ! lest if you wait your very skin must be 
 torn away with it ! 
 
 But suppose you were sure of repenting to- 
 morrow, and that delay would not increase the 
 difiiculty : still you should repent now. Eelig- 
 ion is a work for every day 1 There is so much 
 to be done, that those who are most diligent 
 feel that there is not a moment to be lost. 
 Besides, religion preserves from present evils, 
 and bestows present blessings. Can you be 
 
112 N O AV . 
 
 delivered too soon from the dreadful sense of 
 insecurit}' ? Is it not a terrible thing to have 
 the Euler of the Universe your enemy for even 
 one day ? Or do you think the list of your 
 sins is not long enough, nor the Judge angry 
 enough, nor hell hot enough, but that you 
 must for another day labor to increase the store 
 of guilt and wrath and punishment ? Yet, if 
 you desire it, you may obtain his favor at once ! 
 You may be made holy and happy at once ! 
 Why wait? Can the poor be enriched, the 
 sick be healed, the sorrowful be gladdened, the 
 outcast restored, too soon? Even if you 
 should be saved hereafter, will you be no loser 
 by having so long been busy heaping up rub- 
 bish which might have proved fuel for your 
 own destruction, when you could have been 
 gathering incorruptible treasure? 
 
 But there is a still higher motive! Your 
 Creator demands obedience noio I Did He 
 make you to be your own master? While 
 you say you will serve Him to-morrow, do 
 you not rebel against Him to-day ? Though 
 sure of a thousand to-morrows, ought you not 
 
NOW. 113 
 
 to obey now? Should you not with David 
 " make haste and delay not to keep his com- 
 mandments ? " If not awed by his authority, 
 will you not be won by his love ? Will you 
 trifle while the King of kings draws near to 
 entreat a hell-deserving rebel to receive a free 
 pardon, purchased by the blood of his own 
 Son ? He offers to receive you into his family, 
 to number you among his children, to take 
 you to dwell with Him in blessedness forever ! 
 Treat not with indifference such love, lest the 
 threatening should be fulfilled — " Because I 
 have called and ye refused ; I have stretched 
 out my hand and .no man regarded ; I also 
 will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when 
 your fear cometh ; then shall they call upon 
 me, but I will not answer ; for that they hated 
 knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the 
 Lord ; they would none of my counsel, they 
 despised all my reproof ; therefore shall they 
 eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled 
 with their own devices ! " 
 
 reject no longer the love of God ! Pro- 
 voke no longer his wrath ! Now^ now is the 
 10* 
 
114 X o w . 
 
 day of salvation! Even this book, small and 
 insignificant as it is, lias made jour case more 
 critical. Before tlie devil snatches up the seed 
 it has sown in yoiir heart — before any slight 
 impression produced by it has faded away — 
 lest such impression, by being effaced, should 
 make you less impressible — ^give heed to its 
 warning now. 
 
 Now ! for time is short, and death is near, 
 and judgment threatens] Now! for in eter- 
 nity it will be too late, and your very next 
 step may land you there! The only season 
 of which you can be sure is now/ The only 
 season in which joii can work is now J The 
 purpose may not last till to-morrow — fulfil it 
 now I Fresh difficulties will flood the channel 
 to-morrow — wade it now! The chain of evil 
 habit will bind you more tighth^ to-morrow — 
 snap it nolo I Eeligion is a work for qyqtj 
 day — begin it now I Sin exposes to present 
 miseries — escape them now ! Holiness confers 
 present joys — seize them now! Your Creator 
 commands — obey him now! A God of love 
 entreats — be reconciled now I The Father 
 
NOW. 115 
 
 from his throne invites — return now! Tlie 
 Siiviour from his cross beseeches — trust 
 Him now ! The Holy Spirit in your heart 
 persuades — yield ncno I " Behold now is the 
 accepted time, behold now is the day of sal- 
 vation ! " 
 
 Alas I what poor weak words, what cold 
 persuasions are these, compared with the im- 
 portance of the theme, and the value of the 
 interests at stake ! A soul in danger of hell — 
 and repentance delayed when delay may be 
 destruction — and yet no greater earnestness of 
 warning! O reader! t,hou art entreated to 
 forgive, not the force, but the feebleness of 
 this message \ Do not judge of its importance 
 by its style. Truly had the author been able 
 to write more earnestly, he would have 
 spared no pains to do so. He feels that no 
 words our language can supply would be too 
 strong to urge thee to repentance now ! But 
 help must be sought from Him who alone can 
 effectually persuade. Spirit of God \ do Thou 
 speak to the reader's heart ! Let not this im- 
 perfect appeal^ intended to benefit him, be- 
 
116 NOW. 
 
 come a curse to him ! Let it not rise up at 
 the last day to condemn him ! But do Thou 
 condescend by even so unworthy a messenger, 
 to persuade him to repent and believe the Gos- 
 pel, NOW ! 
 
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