I(
I~           s~
'7.Y~ 
i 
OF
~cvrz~lia   rttgi'toit?
'I    
WILL YOU CONSIDER THE SUBJECT OF
PERSONAL RELIGION'?
~BY ~ H~ENRY A?~.IOARDMAN, D.D.
BY ENR  A'BOARDMAN, D.D.
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION,
No. 316 CHESTNUT STREET.
NEW YORE: No. 147 NASSAU ST...... BOSTON: No. 9 CORNHILL.
LOUISVILLE: No. 103 FOURTII ST.
1 ~~~
iet   rteat'utstilol *
"z',','  X 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by the
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION,
in the Cle-rk's Offce of the District Court of the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.
_. 1Yo books are published by the AMERICAN SuNDAY-SCHOOL UNIOrN
without the sanction of the Committee of Publication, consisting of fourteen members, from the following denominations of Christians, viz. Baptist, Methodist, Congregational, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and
Reformed Dutch.  Not more than three of the members can be of the same
denomination, and no book can be published to which any member of the
Committee shall object. 
PREFACE.
IT is an every-day occurrence, to meet with persons
who "feel no interest" in the subject of religion, and
who,,on this ground, excuse themselves from giving
their attention to it. I have in very many instances
wanted some suitable book to place in the hands of
persons of this description.
Within a certain broad and comprehensive sphere,
Baxter's Call, Alliene's Alarm, Doddridge's Rise and
Progress, or Halyburton's Great Concern of Salvation,
might answer the purpose. But, with a great number
of individuals, not one of these admirable works could
be used with any hope of its being read.
Had I known where to find a book to meet the
case, the present volume would not have been written.
It has grown out of a conscious and urgent want.
1J*               5 
PREFACE.
That it will fully supply this acknowledged and serious
deficiency in our practical religious literature, I do not
allow myself to believe. But I hope it may prove an
acceptable offering to some who are either neglecting
their own duty, or who have friends to whom they
would like to propose the question-" WILL YOU CONSIDER THE SUBJECT OF PERSONAL RELIGION?"
With these views, the work is sent to the press, and
humbly commended to His blessing, who alone can
make it an instrument of good.
H. A. B.
6 
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
SECTION I.
The Great Question.- Will ou consider the subject
of personal religion?
The Bar and the Pulpit-No Interest in Re  ligion-God's right to be heard-The only
way-Filial Impiety-A  Mystery — Self  ignorance-Systematic Thoughtlessness-An
evil Qmen - Ashamed of Religion- An
Anomaly-Antipathy to the Bible........... 1143
SECTION II.
Illusive pleas examined.
No Alternative - Christianity wronged-Im  becile Reasoning-Alienation  from God  Tyranny of Habit-Observation-Experience
7 
CONTENTS.
-The great Conflict-A  sad InversionProspective Repentance-The HIeart hardened-In earnest...............................44-76
SECTION III.
The pretexts for neglecting religion, irrational and
sordid.
Mercenary Calculations-]Divine Munificence
-The dying Statesman-A base Return  The  World  first-Religion  disparaged  Responsibility inevitable-White to the Har  vest-Sinning to repent-Infatuation-Sin  cerity tested-Means to be used-Will you
try?.............................................. 7-112
SECTION IV.
Encouragements.
Unreasonable Demands-Success to be Ex  plained-Where it listeth-Waiting-Grace
abounding-Our Immanuel-Mission of the
Spirit-Living Witnesses-Long-suffering  Pause-Obduracy-The Spirit quenched.113-147
8 
CONTENTS.
SECTION V.
Religion must and will be considered.
No  Option-The  World  withdrawn-Alone
with God-In Eternity-Mercy and Judg  ment-Before the Bar-Repentance or Per  dition-Remember-An  appalling  Retro  spect - Remorse - Mistaken Tenderness
Forever and ever-Believe and live..... 148-182
SECTION VI.
'What can I do?
Depravity- The  Remedy- The  Mediator  Faith-Christ our Righteousness-Saved  Conviction - Come unto me-Repentance
unto Life-Just as I am-A Chart-Begin
now-The House of Prayer-Augustine -Search the Scriptures-Christian Counsel
-Promise of the Spirit-Pray without ceas ing-What is your decision?.............. 183-230
9  
WILL YOU CONSIDER THE SUBJECT OF PERSONAL
RELIGION?
I CALLED once upon a very intelligent
professional gentleman, for the purpose
of conversing with him on the subject of
religion. I knew that he had received
an excellent Christian education; and
that his whole life had been one of exemplary morality. But he was not yet
a communicant in the church; and I
was anxious to learn the precise ground
he occupied.
After stating my errand in general
terms, I took occasion to assure him of
the interest I felt in his spiritual wel                                 11
.'T    6ttat   Qutsttaill 
12        THE GREAT QUESTION.
fare, and of the satisfaction it would
afford me, to see him giving his personal
attention to the requirements of the
gospel, and identifying himself with its
professed disciples. He heard me with
something more than respectful courtesy,
and when I paused, replied substantially
as follows:  "I feel grateful to you for your kindness in coming to me on this errand. I
cordially assent to all you have said on
the great importance of personal religion.  I wish from my heart I felt the
interest in it which you have described.
I know this ought to be the case, and
trust the time is coming when it will be.
But as a matter of fact, I must candidly
say to you, that I feel no such interest
in the subject at present."
"I highly appreciate," I responded,
"the frankness of your answer; it isi 
THE BAR AND THE PULPIT.       1l
what I should have expected from your
training, and your known principles. I
am aware, too, of the serious nature of
the impediment in your way. It is a
difficult matter to take up a subject and
examine it about which one feels no
particular concern, and to which there
may even be a conscious antipathy.
But religion is of such paramount moment, and the consequences of neglecting it are so irreparable, that neither
this nor any other obstacle should hinder us from attending to it. Are you
willing to read on the subject, and to do
other things which may be adapted to
inspire you with that interest in it, the
want of which you are deploring?"
To this he readily assented. I suggested some books for his perusal, and,
with a few counsels, left him. It is not
for man always to trace out the subtle
2
13 
14        THE GREAT QUESTION.
mechanism of causes and effects. Nor
do I know what agency, or whether any,
this interview may have had in the subsequent result. But it is my happiness
to know, that this able and estimable
man, not very long afterward, made a
profession of religion, and has now been
for several years a most active and efficient Christian minister, consistent in
his life, abundant in his labours, and
eminently useful.
This is by no means a solitary example of the kind. Many an individual
occupying the same ground with my
friend, has, by a similar process, been
put in possession of a sure and comfortable hope of eternal life. Very many
others there are, who are neglecting
their salvation, purely on the ground
that they "1 feel too little interest" in the
matter, to take it up; too little even to 
TIIE QUESTION STATED.        15
be willij-,i' to examine the gracious offers
of the Gospel. It is this class of persons to whom I beg to propose the question: " WILL YOU CONSIDER THE SUBJECT
OF PERSONAL RELIGION?" That we may
perfectly understand each other, let me
define what I suppose to be your state
of mind.
You receive Christianity as a divine
system. You assent to its teachings.
You admit the great alternative it presents, of faith and repentance, or perdition. You go with more or less regularity to the sanctuary.   You honour
those who show themselves to be real
Christians. You hope one day to be
among them, but you are not ready for
this now. You "feel no particular interest in the subject;" and when it is pressed
upon you, you fall back upon this state
of indifference, as supplying a reason 
16        THlE GREAT QUESTION.
why you should pass all such appeals
over to your neighbours, instead of appropriating them to yourselves. You
expect some day to feel the interest in
religion which you at present lack, and
then you will bestow upon it that careful consideration which it demands. Till
that time comes, you must be excused.
Now if this be a just conception of
the matter, you cannot fail to see that it
brings you within the full sweep of the
penalties denounced in the Scriptures
against inconsideration. It is no answer
to this charge to plead the 1'want of a
disposition" to consider the subject. If
you should submit a certain scheme of
business or domestic policy to your children, and require their instant attention
to it, you would be quite indignant
should they treat it with neglect, and
then tell you, by way of apology, that 
NO INTEREST IN RELIGION.      17
they "felt no interest" in examining it.
In your view, there would be two sufficient reasons why they should have examined it without delay. First, because
of its intrinsic importance; and secondly,
because you wished and commanded it.
You would regard these considerations
as paramount and controlling; as absolutely barring all objections on their part,
to a compliance with your instructions.
Their predisposition to neglect the matter might even, if foreseen, have been a
motive with you for urging it upon
them; and what they offered as a palliation of their remissness, might, in your
judgment, add to its criminality.
Deal honestly, and apply this reasoning to the case we have in hand. You
will not impugn the plenary right of the
Deity to submit to us any subject, or
prescribe to us any course of conduct he
2* 
18       THIE GREAT QUESTION.
may see fit; and enjoin our immediate
attention to it. Should a personage,
claiming to have a message for you from
God, and exhibiting competent credentials, present himself to you, your feeling
would be, that every thing else must
give way to this interview; that to
subject the ambassador to a moment's
unnecessary delay, would be an insult
to his master; that whenever and howsoever it was God's pleasure to speak to
you, it was your indispensable duty to
hear and to obey. But God has spoken
to you.  He is speaking to you daily.
ile is speaking not only by prophets and
apostles duly accredited, but by his beloved Son.  His communication is in
your hands. It is in a tongue you can
understand.   You  have  access to it
every hour of your life. It, is, at stated
intervals, set forth in your hearing. 
GOD'S RIGHT TO BE HEARD.     19
You cannot but know what the substance of it is. Will it, therefore, avail
you any thing to plead that you have
neglected it because you had s" no disposition" to consider it? If your obligation to attend to it had been suspended
on your state of feeling, this might avail.
But there is no such contingency in the
case. It was not in ignorance of your
state of mind that the message was sent.
He who sees the end from the beginning
foreknew precisely how you would be
situated, and how you would feel; but
he did not suppress nor modify the message. He has caused it to be laid before
you in its integrity, and demands your
candid, thorough, and prayerful consideration of it as your prime duty-a duty
which must take precedence of all your
secular plans and purposes whatsoever.
It is a mere evasion of this claim, to 
20        THE GREAT QUESTION.
urge that you will give your attention
to it when you feel "more inclined"
to think of it; an evasion which if
attempted toward you by your children,
would bring down upon them your swift
displeasure. In one aspect, it is even a
worse affront to God than a positive rejection of the message; for it is a refusal
to obey, coupled with a full acknowledgment of his authority to command. You
admit that it is God who speaks to you,
and yet you will not consider what he
says.  With what pungent significancy
might he say to you, "If I be a father,
where is mine honour? and if -I be a
master, where is my fear?"
Take another view of the ground you
occupy.   The  absolute  right  of the
Supreme Being to propound any theme
whatsoever, for your examination, has
been conceded.   It may  aid you in 
TEE ONLY WAY.            21
estimating the guilt of your inconsideration, to reflect on the import of the communlication he has actually submitted to
you. Not to launch forth here upon a
boundless sea, let it suffice to say, that
the BIBLE contains the only adequate
revelation of the character and will of
God, and discloses the only path which
leads from earth to heaven. If our reason and consciences were in a healthful
condition, it would startle us, should we
ever be conscious of an indisposition to
think of Him who made us, and in whom
we live and move, and have our being.
For what can be more rational, what
more unavoidable, one might almost say,
than that an intelligent creature should
love to think of its Creator? And yet
this is one part of the very sin here laid
at the door of those with whom we are
arguing-an aversion to think of God. 
22        TiHE GREAT QUESTION.
Meditations upon his attributes,-especially his moral attributes, are unwelcome to you. You have a tacit compact
with yourself, that this subject is to be
shunned whenever it can be; and so, instead of sitting down to dwell upon the
holiness, the justice, the love, and the
mercy of the Deity, it is a grateful relief to you on the Sabbath, when the
benediction dismisses you from the
sanctuary, and you can go where you
will not  be compelled to hear about
GOD.   Surely there  must  have  been
some fearful dislocation of your moral
faculties, when the essential instincts of
your nature are thus overborne, and you
can breathe freely only in an atmosphere
surcharged with atheism.
To recur to our illustration, what
would you think of a group of children,
who did their best to forget a wise and
22 
FILIAL IMPIETY.          23
affectionate father; who drew their
daily support from his bounty, without
ever thanking him; who availed themselves of his protection when in danger,
and experienced his sympathy in sickness and sorrow, without acknowledging
his goodness; who rarely mentioned his
name in their domestic intercourse, unless it was to point a jest or energize an
oath; who, if they could avoid it, would
not even permit their minds to dwell
upon him, and when they heard others
celebrate his virtues, found it a wearisome and stupid theme, to be entertained only so long as good breeding
might require? Could an example of
this sort be found among the households
around you, you well know how notorious it would soon become as an illustration of the blackest filial impiety; how
those unnatural children would be 
24        THE GREAT QUESTION.
pointed at as a set of monsters; and
how their names would awaken emotions of horror in every generous bosom.
But what are you doing? Have you
not a FATHER, wise, bountiful, affectionate;
who supplies your daily bread, clothes
you, guards you, heals you, comforts you,
never wearies in doing you good, never
ceases opening to you fresh sources of
enjoyment? If so, you at least, who are
so indignant at the display of ingratitude
and hardihood we have just been contemplating, are earnest and constant in
rendering to your Father the love and
the homniage which are his due. His
name is often on your lips. His ear
often drinks in the accents of praise
which you pour forth on your bended
knees. The book which reveals him is
your most delightful study.  Those who
love and honour him most are your fa 
WITHOUT GOD IN THE WORLD.    25
vourite companions.   The  Sabbath  is
the choicest day of the seven, because it
brings the most leisure for communion
with him. And you would rather be a
door-keeper in his house than to dwell
in the tents of wickedness. 18 it thus
with you? Alas! how humiliating the
reflection that it may be in all things
the very reverse; that even with such a
Father you make no suitable return of
gratitude; own himn not in your business, nor in your family; rarely open
his word; seldom, if ever, utter his
name; have no love for his ordinances;
find his Sabbaths a burden, and repel
the very thought of him from your
breast, when it seeks to return after you
have accomplished the perfunctory routine of public worship! What estimate,
in all honesty, ought you to put upon
this conduct?   And what dimensions
3 
26         THE GREAT QUESTION.
will you assign to the flagrancy of that
inconsideration which  makes  you shun
all serious thoughts of GOD?
Marvellous as this phenomena must
appear, there is another no way inferior
to it. The inconsideration which the
Bible lays at your door has respect no
less to your own character than to God.
It might be supposed, that if an intelligent creature could, under the pressure
of some strange mental or moral obliquity, live in the practical forgetfulness of the Being who made him, it
would at least be impossible for him to
avoid thinking much about himself and
his own paramount relations and prospects. It would be taken for granted
that every thing pertaining to himself
would awaken his deepest interest, and
be made the subject of earnest study,
just in proportion as it might bear 
STRANGE INCONSIDERATION.      27
with more or less urgency upon his
happiness.
Now, it must certainly be conceded,
that you do think much about yourself.
The very neglect of God, of which we
have just spoken, is combined with an
enthronement of self in the heart, and
around this centre all the plans of life
are made to revolve. Instead of living
for God, you live for yourself.   Hlis
claims are adjourned that your own
may be honoured.
And yet it may be true that you are
guilty of an extreme and highly criminal
inconsideration as regards yourself. It
may be that the things concerning yourself, which engross your attention, are
stamped with utter insignificance when
compared with other things which you
neglect. It may be that having (as we
all have) two distinct classes of attri 
28        THE GREAT QUESTION.
butes and two sets of relations, the inferior and transitory of these series so
monopolizes your care, that you have
neither leisure nor inclination to look
after the other.   At once mortal and
immortal, dying and yet deathless, is it
not the case, that the personal objects
which occupy you are objects all of
which are bounded by the narrow horizon of the present life?
Claim for these objects whatever magnitude you may; set forth in whatsoever terms their intrinsic value, and the
reasonableness, and even necessity, of
pursuing them; expatiate on the importance and obligation of a man's providing for his family, and giving diligent heed to his business, and on the
fitness of those social relaxations in
which you are accustomed to indulge.
Every thing you can equitably demand 
SELF-IGNORANCE.           29
on these points will be conceded, and
you will still be compelled to acknowledge that all these interests are " of the
earth, earthy," and that they are no
more to be ranked with other interests
you have, than the body with the soul,
and time with eternity.
Is there no room here for the charge
of culpable neglect? Is it a calumny to
intimate, that among those into whose
hands this book may fall, there may be
some individual who rarely devotes an
hour's serious consideration to the wants,
the perils, and the duties of his spiritual
nature?  You understand well your relations to the world, but when have you
investigated your relations with God?'
You are at home on every question per-.
taining to your secular engagements,
but what do you know in respect to the
state of your soul?  You keep pace with                  3* 
30        THE GREAT QUESTION.
the progress of public affairs, and scan
the journals of every day with eager
curiosity to learn what is happening in
Washington and in London, at St. Petersburg and Canton; but what progress are you making in self-knowledge,
and how much time do you bestow
upon the current of events within your
own bosom-those events which will
affect you for good or for evil, millions of ages after this globe, with its
cities and empires, shall have been
burned up?
Is it not a most surprising exhibition
of inconsideration  that an individual
should rarely, if ever, commune with his
own heart?  That he should know more
of what is passing on the opposite side
of the globe than of his own real condition? That he should actually spend
more time in studying the character and 
SYSTEMATIC THOUGHTLESSNESS.    31
career of some foreign scholar, soldier, or
usurper, than he does in examiniing his
own principles and ascertaining his duties and prospects?
This were strange enough, if it could
be set down to the account of constitutional levity, or assigned to the category
of mere fortuitous results, such as in
other departments diversify the tapestry
of human life, without having any very
tangible causes. But it assumes a more
serious aspect, when it is found that the
parties in question practise this selfneglect of set purpose; that theirs is a
considerate inconsideration; that they refrain from looking into their own hearts
on system and from absolute aversion,
This appears such a crime against the
rational nature the Creator has endowed
us with, that the statement would be
deemed incredible, if the proofs of it 
32        THE GREAT QUESTION.
were not too incontrovertible to be resisted.
There are, on every side of us, persons
whom  neither argument  nor entreaty
can prevail upon to enter into a close
and searching scrutiny of their own
breasts. They are perfectly aware that
they have a long and very grave account
with God; but they have no wish to
know how it stands. They are conscious that they must die, and that they
may die at any moment; but they have
no wish to meet the question, "Am I
prepared for death?"  They are anticipating an endless existence beyond the
grave; but they are unwilling to turn
their eyes inward long enough to learn
whether it is everlasting glory or eternal shame for which they are ripening.
There is a something there which repels
them. They cannot bear to hold fel 
AN EVIL OMEN.             33
lowship with themselves. They would
sooner look anywhere than into their
own hearts. Questions of trade interest
them; questions of politics, of science,
of literature; the trivial incidents of
every-day life; the interchanges of friendship; for all these they have an eye and
an ear. But when it conmes to inquiries
like these: "What am I? Where am
I? Whither am I tending? What portion has my soul? How can I meet my
God?" all their interest vanishes. They
drive out these topics from their breasts
as they would a set of intrusive visitors
from their houses, and replace them with
the evanescent, but more grateful themes
which are clothed with the tinsel livery
of earth.
An impartial judge would be apt to
say, on this naked showing of facts, that
there must be something radically wrong 
34        THE GREAT QUESTION.
here. And, to deal frankly, does it not
strike you so also-you, I mean, who are
implicated in this representation? Admitting, as you do, the existence of all
those relations of which we have been
speaking, you cannot but regard it as an
evil omen that you should be conscious
of an indisposition to reflect on your own
course of life, to weigh your motives, to
explore the recesses of your heart, and
learn what manner of spirit you are of.
There must be, underneath this superficial complacency of demeanour, a latent
feeling that things are not with you as
they should be. You are probably no
stranger to the misgivings of the merchant who fears to make out a balancesheet, lest it may prove him a bankrupt;
or the misgivings of an invalid, who
shrinks from consulting a physician, because he believes himself smitten with a 
A LESSON FROM THE BRUTES.       35
fatal malady. But however that may
be, these secret apprehensions are held
in check, and you live on in a voluntary
ignorance of yourself, which would excite universal wonder, if the depravity
which produces it were not also universal.
My object in presenting these considerations is, to lead you to reflect with
calmness and impartiality on the position you occupy. The charge the Scriptures bring against you is, that you will
not consider; that while the beasts of
the field, even the least sagacious of
them, the ox and the ass, act in accordance with the laws of their constitution,
you live in the violation of those laws;
that the subjects to which your inconsideration applies are of no mere speculative character, but pre-eminently practical and important; that olou are even 
36        THE GREAT QUESTION.
unwilling to think seriously of your
Creator, and wlhat is.yet more surprising, to think seriously of yourself.
The impression which such an exposition is adapted to make upon your mind
will be still further confirmed, when you
remember that this inconsideration, this
unwillingness to reflect and investigate,
extends to the whole subject of RELIGION.
It is not improbable that your associations with this very word may be disagreeable, or at least unwelcome. Against
religion in the abstract you have nothing
to say. You assent to its teachings.
You respect its institutions. You desire
its prosperity. You attend, not without
some interest, upon its public ministrations. But when it comes to be a personal matter, to the reading of a religious book, to a religious conversation
with a Christian friend, to pray, to any 
ASHAMED OF RELIGION.        37
thing which looks directly to your becoming religious, then your aversion to
it begins to work.
If on entering a room alone you should
see a table covered with books, and on
taking one of them up should find it a
religious treatise, would you not lay it
down with an emotion almost amounting
to positive antipathy? Should you happen to sit down at the same table, with
an open Bible before you, would not the
first sound of an approaching footstep
make you shut up the volume and move
from the place, lest perchance some one
might suspect you of reading the Scriptures? Or, to proceed a step further,
should your pastor call to converse with
you on the subject of religion, would you
not, if possible, elude either the interview
or the subject?  Would you not decline
a walk with a Christian friend, if you
4 
38        THE GREAT QUESTION.
thought he might avail himself of the
opportunity to address you in a serious
and pointed way on the question of your
salvation? Would it not be distasteful
to you to join a social circle, where you
knew the great themes of evangelical
Christianity would be the leading topics
of the evening? I do not affirm these
things; but if they are so, if your own
conscienc eassents to the substantial accuracy of this representation, what an
affecting view have we presented to us
of your moral condition!
You aspire, we will suppose, to the
character of a cultivated and refined person. You are eager in the pursuit of
knowledge. You search for it in the
depth of the ocean, and along the star-lit
galleries of the firmament.   You can
spend hours in analyzing a flower or decomposing a drop of water. You are 
AN ANOMALY.             39
willing to take lessons from the birds,
the fishes, the insects, from the very pebbles under you feet. You range through
all history. You study foreign languages, that you may explore the libraries and decipher the monuments of other
lands. Wherever knowledge is to be acquired, in the humblest repositories or in
the most inaccessible, you are ready for
the effort. But it is all with this single
and most remarkable exception. Here
is a volume which contains more truth,
and truth of greater importance, than
all other volumes  combined.   Where
other books deal in guesses and hypotheses, and where nature is silent, this
book speaks with distinctness, with fulness, and with authority. It is in fact
the only source to which we can look for
satisfactory information respecting our
Creator, ourselves, and the way of salva 
40        THE GREAT QUESTION.
tion. And it is commended to us by
having impressed upon it that sublime
title, "THE WISDOM OF GOD." Yet from
this book you turn away! The volume
which, it might be presumed, would draw
every lover of truth to its pages with an
irresistible attraction, is the very work
which you find jejune and prosaic; so
much so, that it even imparts the same
taint to every work deduced from it.
If the cause of this phenomenon be inquired into it will readily be discovered.
The Bible is not simply a book of
science or a book of literature, but a
religious book. We must eliminate the
religious element, if we wish to invest
it with the charms which belong to
so many uninspired productions. Man
thirsts for knowledge; but even lIis desire
of knowledge is not so strong as his enmity
to God, and he will sooner forego the in 
ENMITY TO GOD.           41
dulgence of one of his most powerful natural appetites, than gratify it at the cost
of being brought into immediate intercourse with his Maker. He will pursue
truth with an unfaltering step, and an
unslumbering eye throughout the universe, until she enters that refulgent
sphere where the throne of God and of
the Lamb is; then, as if smitten by a
paralysis or struck with insanity, he can
no longer discern any form or comeliness
in her, and she has no beauty that he
should desire her. The moment she arrays herself in the vestments of ioliness,
she becomes as much an object of repulsion as she had before been of loveliness.
Clad in the coarsest fabrics of earth, she
is sure of his homage; transfigured in.
the splendours of the uncreated glory,
and his veneration is changed to hatred.
You will not say that this sketch is
4* 
42         THE GREAT QUESTION.
unreal or exaggerated. It is vindicated
by the confessions of too many individuals to be set aside as savouring of extravagance. The fact it assumes is one
to be seriously pondered, viz.: the prevalence among so many, even educated persons, of a positive antipathy to religious
truth; the utter distaste which you yourself may feel to the reading of the Bible
and to serious reflection on its teachings.
Nor is this the whole truth. Connect
with the fact just stated, the feelings
sometimes, perhaps habitually, awakened
in your bosom when the claims of religion are pressed home upon you for immediate action. Are you not conscious
,on these occasions of a great repugnance
to the subject? Are you not apt to feel
,that religion would'interfere with your
e,enjoyments? Do you not blend with it
ideas of austerity and gloom, and treat 
ANTIPATHY TO THE BIBLE.       43
it as you would some impending cala,
mity which, since it could not be eluded
altogether, you would avert as long
as possible, and then submit to it with
such resignation as you might command?
And is it not under the influence of
sentiments like these, that you so often
put the subject away from you, and refuse even to consider it? 
44         THE GREAT QUESTION.
SECTION II.
ILLUSIVE PLEAS EXAMINED.
HIIERE, then, there is a palpable want
of congruity between religion and your
feelings. Is the fault with you or with
religion? Is religion that harsh, cheerless, morose system which you have
imagined it to be, or are your faculties
so disordered that you have entirely
mistaken its nature? For the sake of
argument, let us assume that you are
right in your estimate of religion. Let
us suppose that it is a scheme of faith
and morals adverse to present enjoyment; that it forbids even what we are
accustomed to regard as innocent plea
sures; that the life to which it calls us 
CHIRISTIANITY OF GOD.       45
is a gloomy life; that its paths are full
of thorns, with only here and there a
flower, and that whatever it may promise for the future, it has little or nothing to recommend it in so far as this
world is concerned.
Conceding all this, of what avail
would it be in justifying or even extenuating your neglect of religion? The
vital question is, whether Christianity is
of God. If it is, all arguments drawn
from its nature, with a view of discrediting its claims to our obedience, must
be inconclusive and impertinent. For
if Christianity is true, it proposes to us
the only method of reconciliation to
God, and the only means by which we
can escape everlasting torments. What
could be more idle, then, than to talk
of the  inconveniences  and trials" to
which the reception of its doctrines 
46        THE GREAT QUESTION.
might subject us? If a profession of
Christianity even involved imminent
personal peril; if, as in the early days
of the church, we were liable to be hurried off from the Lord's Supper to the
dungeon, or the stake,-what then? Is
the rage of them who, at most, can only
kill the body, to be more dreaded than
His wrath who can destroy both soul
and body in hell?  Make the way to
heaven as rough and thorny as you
choose; multiply its obstacles; magnify
its dangers; add any practicable amount
of actual suffering, as the indispensable
portion of every traveller,-so it really
conducts to heaven, all these hinderances combined are not of the weight
of a grain of sand, contemplated in their
bearing upon the question, " What ought
I to do?"  The instant you, concede the
truth of the Bible, you are shut up to a 
BLESSINGS OF RELIGION.       47
foregone conclusion. It is at once the
height of arrogance, and the extreme of
folly, to admit that God has spoken to
us, and then to palter about "considering and obeying" his commands, because the tone of them does not suit us,
or obedience to them may expose us to
trouble.
But we can stand upon firmer ground
than this. The concession just made is
a sheer gratuity. Religion is no such
gloomy and prison-like system. Its mission in our world is one of God-like
beneficence.  Its hands are full of blessings. Its paths are peace. It confers
substantial happiness here, as well as
a title to perfect and eternal happiness
hereafter.   The evidences of this are
within your reach. They are to be
found in the Bible itself, and in the
united testimony of all who have had 
48        THE GREAT QUESTION.
experience of its benefits. Not indeed
that a religious life involves no difficulties. It is justly represented as a warfare-an  exterminating  warfare.    It
must needs be a road somewhat rough
and dangerous which leads from a revolted world to heaven. But the very
fact that you can conceive of this system
as one hostile to your present enjoyment,
and adapted to throw the sombre hues
of the grave over all that is bright and
cheerful in life, illustrates the evil tendency of your inconsideration. You are
repelled from the consideration of it because it wears to your eye so lowering
an aspect. If you mu8st barter away
your cheerfulness, you will at least postpone the sacrifice as long as possible.
Do you not believe that God is a
Being of infinite goodness and mercy,
and that he delights, not in the misery, 
RELIGION WRONGED.          49
but in the happiness of his creatures?
Does not this very scheme of religion,
about which we are arguing, attest his
concern for our welfare, in a manner
adapted to silence all doubts and extinguish all skepticism? Is the sentiment
to be tolerated for one moment, that he
who so loved the world, as to give his
only-begotten Son to die for it, could
frame a system of religion, in any' the
least particular unfavourable to our wellbeing? Can you persuade yourself, that
he who spared not his own Son, but
delivered him  up for us all, will not
with him also freely give us all things?
Whence, then, these most unwarrantable suspicions about the proper effects of religion?   Whence  these injurious prejudices against it, as being
adverse to rational and elevated happiness? If, as you admit, it bears GoD's
5 
50        THE GREAT QUESTION.
image and superscription, how can
you think of it as a sour and ascetic
scheme, or suppose it would require of
you any sacrifice which is not demanded
by your own good? If you will but reason a little on the subject, you will find
ample cause to distrust your impressions
as to its nature, as you will certainly
see both the injustice and the impolicy
of being deterred by such a prejudice,
from a careful consideration of its claims.
Nay, if you are disposed to deal honestly
with yourself, you will find material for
sober reflection, in the very fact that religion should wear this forbidding guise;
that adapted and intended, as your reason no less than revelation assures you
it must be, to comfort and bless you, it
should suggest to your minds only
images of sadness or terror. I How unavoidable the presumption, that you 
IMBECILE REASONING.        51
must be labouring under some gross hallucination; that some violent disease
has impaired and confounded your
faculties; that the defects you attribute
to religion are in your own character;
and that your repugnance to it is a
startling proof, how much you stand in
need of its healing power.
This neglect of it, however, is to be but
temporary. You find a shelter from the
reproaches of the Bible, and of your own
conscience, in the reflection that by-andby the subject shiall be considered; that
you will take it up, and make amends,
by a thorough examination, for your
present indifference to it.  But why
should you do this? Why not dismiss
the subject altogether? If it is so unwelcome to you, why let it project its
dark shadows athwart your future path,
and obscure the serenity of your declin 
52        THE GREAT QUESTION.
ing years? You are ready with your
answer: - "It would be madness to
banish finally a subject which involves
my well-being for eternity. I must attend to it sooner or later, or be lost forever."
Will you do yourself the justice to
weigh the import of this answer? You
"must consider the subject of religion
hereafter, because it involves your wellbeing for eternity." Give me leave to
put this in another form, without altering the sense.  "On my reception or rejection of the gospel offer, is suspended
my everlasting destiny. If, through the
mercy and grace of God, I embrace it, I
shall at my death ascend to heaven, and
be perfectly holy and happy forever. If
I refuse or neglect to embrace it, I must,
at death, be cast into outer darkness.
Hell will be my home; the devils and 
IMBECILE REASONING.       53
lost spirits my companions; I must lie
down in the unquenchable fire, and endure the gnawings of the worm that
never dies. This doom may overtake
me at any moment, since nothing is more
precarious than life. IY/erefore, in order
to escape so horrible a destiny, I must
hereafter,  at  some  undefined  period,
when my antipathy to religion shall
have vanished, give attention to the
subject, and make preparation for a
change of worlds!" Such is the import
of your language, without the slightest
colouring. And in what light does it
present your inconsideration?  Did you
ever hear of so impotent a conclusion,
from such  majestic  premises?   Were
logic and reason ever before so put
to shame? Were eternal things ever
treated with such grave trifling? You
will consider of religion hereafter, be                   5* 
54        TiHE GREAT QUESTION.
cause if you die, (which you may do
to-day,) without having attended to it,
you are lost beyond redemption! And
in this purpose you rest, simply from
"the want of a disposition" to apply
your mind to the subject now. You
"feel no interest" in the matter at present, and you must wait until you do;
when that auspicious day arrives, that
you are disposed to hear what God has
to say to you, you will listen to his communications!
Reference has already been made to
the indignity which this conduct casts
upon the Supreme Being. Not to revert to that topic here, do you not perceive, in the state of feeling in question,
a most cogent argument why you should
bring your mind into instant and earnest contact with  the  gospel?   The
greater your aversion to this, the more 
ALIENATION FROM GOD.        55
palpable your need of it. This aversion
is the vital principle of the malady you
are seized with, and for which the gospel is the only antidote. It stands forth,
a convincing and solemn memento of
that violent disjunction between your
soul and God, which can be removed
only through your sincere repentance
and faith in the Redeemer. And when
you talk of waiting until you feel sufficient "interest" in the matter to give
heed to it, can you suppose that the
course you are pursuing is adapted to
bring about this desired change in your
feelings? Will your love of the world
be diminished, by a continued devotion
to the world? Will the power of sin
over you be abated by indulgence in
sin? Will your wayward passions and
attachments be weakened by gratification? "Are you so thoughtless or un 
56        THE GREAT QUESTION.
knowing, as to fancy that a long course
of estrangement from your higher interest, of aversion to it, of resistance
against its claims, of suppression of the
remonstrances of conscience in its behalf, is to leave you in a kind of mental
state, impartial to admit at length the
conviction, that now it is high time, and
easily convertible into a Christian spirit?
Consider that all this timne you are forming the habits, which, when inveterately
established, will either be invincibly
upon you through life, or require a
mighty  wrench  to  emancipate  you.
This refusal to think; this revolting
from any attempt at self-examination;
this averting of your attention from
serious books; this declining to seek the
Divine favour and assistance by prayer;
this projecting of schemes bearing no
regard to that favour, and which are not
I 
TYRANNY OF HABIT.           57
to need that assistance; this eagerness
to seize each transitory pleasure; this
preference of companions, who, perhaps,
would like you the worse, if they
thought you feared God, or cared for
your  eternal welfare;- these  dispositions, prolonged in a succession of your
willing acquiescences in them, will grow
into a settled constitution of your soul,
which will thus become its own inexorable tyrant. The habit so forming will
draw in to it all the affections, the workings of imagination, and the trains of
thought; will so possess itself of them,
that in it alone they will live, and
move, and have their being.   It will
have a strong, unremitting propensity to
grow entire, so as to leave nothing unpreoccupied in the mind, for any opposing agent to take hold on, in order to
counteract it, as if it were instinctively 
58        THE GREAT QUESTION.
apprehensive of the effect of protests
from conscience, or visitings from the
powers of heaven, or intimations from
the realm of death; and, therefore, intent on forming the sentiments of the
soul to such a consistence and coalition,
as shall leave none of them free to desert at the voice of these summoners."*
It is, indeed, a monstrous deception
you practise upon yourself, when you
fancy that a course of implicit submission to these  earth-born  propensities
will ultimately generate a disposition to
break away from the bondage they impose. As well might the inebriate pretend that prolonged indulgence in his
cups would by-and-by evolve a disgust
for the poison which is consuming him;
or the husbandman, that a thorough
* Foster. 
THE GRAND HINDERANCE.        59
seeding his plantation with thistles,
would guarantee a generous harvest of
grain. It is a strange way of insuring
the renovation of your character, to
foster principles and habits which are in
flagrant antagonism to all holiness. These
very habits and principles constitute the
grand hinderance to your salvation now;
they operate with such potency as even
to inspire an antipathy to all reflection on
your spiritual state. By what alchemy
are they to be transmuted into monitors
to repentance and stimulants to a holy
life?  Hlow is an ever-increasing alienation from God to facilitate your return to
him? If you have no inclination to return now, why should you have when
the distance which separates you from
him has been indefinitely increased?
The conclusions to which. so many
lines of abstract argument conduct us, 
60         THE GREAT QUESTION.
may be tested by observation and experience. You will be able, without
going beyond the sphere of your daily
walks, to find individuals who have
long occupied the ground you stand
upon. Twenty, thirty, forty years ago,
when pressed with the obligation of immediate repentance, they resisted and
deferred it on the ground that they
then "felt no disposition" to consider it.
They had the full purpose of complying
with it, but deemed it advisable to wait
until their indifference had passed away.
Has it passed away, or are they waiting
still? To your eyes, however it may
be to their own, the case is too plain
and too affecting to need an interpreter.
You see how, during all this period,
they have been heaping up obstacles
between themselves and heaven. By a
silent and gradual process, they have 
OBSERVATION.            61
invigorated their secular principles, and
become more completely saturated with
the.spirit of the world. The net-work
of earthly passions and projects which
encloses them, once so fragile, is intricate and  compact.  Avenues  to their
consciences, which were once open, are
shut up. They are less sensitive to the
appeals of Scripture. It is more difficult
to arouse them to wholesome meditation
upon their prospects for eternity. They
have the same latent intention of repentance;  but when  you look at the
superincumbent mass of earthliness and
sin which has accumulated upon it, you
feel that nothing short of a miracle can
ever vitalize it, so as to convert the purpose to repent into actual repentance.
All this is as clear as the meridian
sun to your eyes, in respect to many
persons whom you have seen growing
6 
62        THE GREAT QUESTION.
old or approximating to old age in the
neglect of religion. And is there not
something still nearer home to corroborate it? Can you not refer to a period in
your own experience, when the ascendency of the world over you was less
complete than it is now? Has the result justified your calculation, that the
lapse of time would abate your disinclination to serious thought? Is your repugnance to prayer and to the study of
the Scriptures diminished? Do you find
it more difficult to ward off the shafts
of divine truth, as they reach you in the
sanctuary? Have you a keener sense of
the vanity of earth, and a growing disposition to engage in the service of God? Or
is the reverse of all this true? Is the tide
of worldliness rising higher and higher,
and gradually filling up every interstice
of your heart? HIas the broad current 
TESTS OF EXPERIENCE.        63
of your thoughts and affections become
thoroughly impregnated with a mere
earthly spirit? Are you living for this
world  alone?   Are  your  avocations,
your plans, your pleasures, your hopes,
your associations, absorbed with the
things which are seen and temporal, to
the exclusion of the things which are
unseen  and  eternal?  And when, in
some better moment, a stroke of Providence, a sermon, or some other agency
happens to disturb your spiritual torpor,
and awaken a feeling of remorse and uneasiness, do you find it a lighter task
than it once was to smother these selfreproaches and resume your wonted
levity? Surely, then, you can interpret
these omens also. You require no prophet from heaven to assure you that
they bear the same evil significancy
with the kindred portents you so readily 
64        THE GREAT QUESTION.
decipher in the case of your friends and
neighbours.   They are the handwriting
on the wall over-against you; and they
admonish you, in no ambiguous symbols, of impending destruction, if you
go on trusting to a life of worldliness
to extinguish your repugnance  to the
gospel.
There is also implied, in this inconsideration, a very inadequate conception
of the work we have to do, and of the
time demanded to do it properly. We
find in the Bible expressions like these:
" Strive to enter in at the strait gate."
"Giving all diligence, make your calling
and election sure." "Hie that endureth
to the end shall be saved." " If the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall
the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
Salvation, then, is a difficult work. It
is a great thing to be a Christian. Co 
THE MIGHTY CONFLICT.           65
lossal obstructions bar the way to heaven. Every step has its dangers.
"'Tis but a few that find the gate,
While crowds mistake and die."
Could we see things as they are,the deliverance of a soul from spiritual
death, its liberation from the bondage
of Satan, its enfranchisement with the
rights and privileges of Christ's kingdom, its gradual transformation into
the divine image, its triumph over all
its enemies, and its final entrance into
the realms of glory, we should be no less
awe-struc    k       with the difficulty and grandeur of this achievement, than filled
with admiration at the boundless wisdom, power, and grace displayed in
accomplishing it. Marathon and Thermopyl., Trafalgar and Waterloo, the
proudest of earth's battle-fields, where                  6* 
66        THE GREAT QUESTION.
soever they may be found, dwindle into
insignificance when compared with the
mighty conflict involved in the salvation
of a single individual. Yet this sublime and most arduous undertaking,
you would thrust into a mere corner
of human life. Instead of making every
thing give way to it, you allow every
thing to take precedence of it. You
make it wait on business, on study, on
pleasure, on social engagements, on indolence, on indifference. There is absolutely nothing in life, however insignificant and contemptible, that this vast
interest, which comprehends eternity in
its issue, is not, with one person or
another, compelled to wait on it. Life
were short enough to do it justice, had
you taken it up with the dawn of your
moral agency and prosecuted it until
you fell asleep in death.  But it has 
INFATUATED CONDUCT.         67
been pushed along, year after year,-the
difficulty of the work increasing as the
space for performing it has been diminished, until to-day you have more
work to do and le8ss time to do it in, than
you ever had before. Nay, you are possibly even now parleying with yourself
whether you shall not postpone its
claims still longer. Does it at all occur
to you what these questions are, which
you adjourn with so fatal a facility to
all the trivialities of the passing moment, which you even dismiss because
you happen not to be in a mood to consider them?  Alas! it is this very inconsideration which betrays you into the
infatuated course we are deploring. It
is not that you do not know, but because you do not consider that it is your
own SALVATION which is at stake. It is
the question, "How may I escape from 
68        THiE GREAT QUESTION.
hell and fly to heaven?" that you are
forcing into some little parenthesis of
your little future,-handing it over, peradventure, to the puerilities of a miserable dotage, or to the weakness, the
sufferings, and the dismay of an unexpected death-bed. And wherefore? Is
there any invincible necessity laid upon
you to submit to this strange mal-adjustment of your concerns, this transfer
of the very greatest and most momentous of your affairs, to the very worst
season in your whole life for attending
to them?  No, you might just as wellyea, ten thousand times better-provide
for these interests sooner. But you
must needs use the vigour of your faculties and the flower of your time for
other ends. This world is to be looked
after. First the body, then the soul.
Time first, eternity afterward.   Thus 
A SAD INVERSION.          69
the soul is robbed and ruined. What
ought to be the prime business of life is
delayed till the spark of life is about
going out. What ought to engross all
the powers of mind and body throughout
the entire limit of our mortal probation,
is assigned to the hapless decrepitude of
old age. With the ocean of eternity
before you, instead of employing the
time God has given you in making preparation for your endless voyage, you
waste it upon comparative trifles, and
leave your whole preparation to the moment when you may be summoned to
embark! This is not the design, but
this is, in every instance of delay, the
possible, as it is in innumerable instances the actual, result. To neglect
to prepare to-day, abridges by so much
your time and opportunity for preparing, and may preclude it altogether. 
70        THE GREAT QUESTION.
You will not admit this. You have
no thought of going into eternity unprepared. You almost resent the suggestion that you may be so infatuated as to
reserve for it only the closing days or
hours of life. But if this is not your
purpose, what is? If you are resolved
not to reinit the serious consideration of
religion to a death-bed, when is it to be
taken up? Is the day marked in your
diary?  Is the purpose drawn up and
put on file with the plans you have
framed respecting your worldly affairs?
If you were pressed to answer these
questions, would not the humiliating
confession be extorted from you, that
this is a matter about which you have
no plan; that while every possible arrangement is made concerning your
earthly interests, you have fixed upon
no period for looking after your immor 
PROSPECTIVE REPENTANCE.       71
tal interests; that you have, in fact,
simply a general  purpose of making
your peace with God; but whether it is
to be undertaken on this day twelvemonth, or this day ten years, or at any
other specific date, is a point you have
not settled.
Now, on this admission, it is no injustice to you to allege that you are
virtually remitting this great interest to
your death-bed. A merciful God may
interpose and prevent this procrastination; but, in so far as you are concerned,
there is every probability that it will be
delayed until the prospect of a speedy
dissolution forces it upon your attention.
There are thousands of individuals every
year who are brought to this result by
the identical process through which you
are passing. Relying through life on a
vague and delusive purpose of embrac 
72        THE GREAT QUESTION.
ing the gospel offer " at some period,"
they are astonished, at length, (they
need not have been, for it was precisely
what they might have expected,) to find
themselves grappling with death without
out any equipment for the encounter.
Often are individuals of this kind heard
bemoaning their folly and criminality,
waking up to the consciousness that it
is a sad time to prepare for eternity,
when the blood is chilling in the arteries, and the afrighted soul is waiting,
trembling and agonized, for the walls of
its clay tenement to fall and leave it
houseless, portionless, hopeless, under
the piercing gaze of an injured and
avenging God! And why may it not be
so with you? You are treading the
same path they trod. You are trusting
to the same visionary hopes. You are
vindicating or excusing your inconsidera 
RESULTS OF PROCRASTINATION.    73
tion by the same gossamer-like apologies.
Like you, they "felt no interest" in religion, and had too little energy to bring
themselves to the examination of it.
Like you, they were resolved to attend
to it long before death should summon
them away. Like you, they permitted
one earthly object and pursuit after another to beguile their time and steal
away their affections. Like you, they
grew insensibly hardened by this course
of worldliness and this habitual resist
ance to divine truth. And will it be
surprising, if, having thus cast in your
lot with them through so large a part
of the way, you should go on with them
to the close, and have your dying moments harassed with the gloom and the
consternation which marked their passage into eternity?
But why argue this point? Every
7 
74        THE GREAT QUESTION.
thing is conceded, when  you  admit,
what no one has the presumption to
deny, that death may come for you at
any moment; that your winding-sheet
may even now be in the fuller's hands;
and the shaft on its unerring flight.
which is to transfix your heart. This
fact alone might suffice to show you,
that, in neglecting to consider the claims
of religion, you are putting your everlasting all in jeopardy; that a single
day's delay may involve an eternity of
unavailing remorse and sorrow.
Here then let me pause long enough
to inquire whether it is possible for you,
even to extenuate the guilt and folly of
this inconsideration, by any of those
pleas or pretexts which have hitherto
satisfied you.   Remember  that when
God charges this neglect upon you as a
sin, it is your own happiness, no less 
WHIIY IT IS NEGLECTED.       75
than his sovereignty which is implicated
in the allegation. The crime you are
guilty of is a crime against your own
rational  and  immortal  nature.   You
ought to be happy.   You  mnight  be
happy. God requires you to be happy;
and has placed the means within your
reach, at an infinite cost to himself,
though as free as the air of heaven to
you. Yet you decline his bounty. You
even refuse to' consider" the sublime
and glorious scheme through which he
proposes it to you. And the barrier
behind which you shelter yourself when
this conduct is brought home to you as
a sin, is that "your feelings are not interested in the matter," and therefore
you cannot attend to it. Why should
they be interested unless you have tried
to have them so? Suppose.you deal
with this subject as you would deal 
76        THE GREAT QUESTION.
with a question of commerce or a question of history, with a branch of science
or a personal accomplishment. Bring
your mind to the patient study of the
Bible. Commune with your own heart.
Call upon God in prayer. Rouse yourself from your lethargy. Feel that religion is a reality; and that your soul is
to be saved through the blood of the
cross, or to perish eternally. Do this
and see whether you cannot surmount
this fearful torpor which threatens to
destroy you forever. 
POSTPONED FOR THE PRESENT.
SECTION III.
THE PRETEXTS FOR NEGLECTING RELIGION
IRRATIONAL AND SORDID.
I HAVE shown, that where there is an
habitual indisposition to consider the
claims of religion, that duty is likely to
be remitted to a death-bed. It is proper,
in this connection, to call your attention
to the specific feeling which usually
prompts to this delay. That feeling is,
that there is no actual necessity, on the
score of personal safety, for'becoming
religious' just now, and therefore it may
be postponed for the present without
hazard.  If this course involved manifest and palpable danger, you would
7*
77 
7   THE GREAT QUESTION.
overcome your reluctance, and sit down
to the careful examination of the subject. But as you see no danger, a little
delay cannot be an evil of much moment.
Hlere, then, the whole question, whether
religion shall receive your instant attention, is made to hinge on the point,
whether it will put you in jeopardy to
refuse. The demand which religion
makes of you is, that you cease to do
evil, and learn to do well; that you repent of your sins, and render to your
Creator and Preserver that homage and
obedience which are his due; that you
,trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon, and walk henceforward in the way
of his commands. It exacts of you no
sacrifice; lays upon you no service; appoints you to no trial, which is not for
your own good. It proffers you the
78 
GOD'S MERCY ABUSED.         79
protection and friendship of God, all
needful succours and consolations in this
world, and everlasting felicity and glory
hereafter. These are the proposals religion makes to you; and it is in pondering
such proposals, and to guide you in your
disposition of them, that you raise the
question, "Can I reject them for a time,
without putting myself in peril? or,
does my safety require me to accept
them now?"  You cannot fail, on a moment's reflection, to be struck with the
utter want here indicated, of any due
appreciation of the blessings tendered
you, or any perception of the relations
subsisting between the parties to this
transaction. It might be supposed, with
our instinctive and irrepressible desire
of happiness, that blessings like these
would be eagerly seized the moment
they were placed within our reach; that 
80        TiEE GREAT QUESTION.
the mere possibility of securing them
would make any individual of our race
willing to put forth the most unwearied
exertions and to submit to the greatest
hardships. But, instead of this, we have
the extraordinary spectacle presented to
us, (nay, we all in turn present this
spectacle,) of rebels consulting whether
they can, with prudence, defer acceding
to an offer of clemency from their Sovereign; of lost sinners, calculating how
long it will be safe for them to go on in
sin, before consenting to a free tender of
salvation! In all this procrastination
and paltering, the authority and rights
of Jehovah are ignored; duty is set at
defiance; the claims of reverence and
gratitude are trampled in the dust;
nothing is thought of, but the personal
immunity of the transgressor. As long
as he can do without God, he will; when 
MERCENARY CONDUCT.         81
dangers thicken, and death impends, he
will seek his aid.
To say that the principle of action
here assumed would excite universal
abhorrence if carried into any department of secular or social life, is only to
give utterance to a sentiment in which
every generous mind must acquiesce.
What reason is there, what fitness, in
suspending our loyalty to God on his
toleration of our sins; in resolving to
disobey him, just so long as we fancy he
will restrain his vengeance, and not cut
us down in our impiety? No honourable man would deal thus with his neighbour, or with the government under
which he lives. Does it sanctify a sordid principle that we have adopted it,
not in our intercourse with our fellowcreatures, but in our conduct toward
God? Are the same actions mercenary, 
82        THE GREAT QUESTION.
when they have respect to a creature;
and innocent, not to say commendable,
when they terminate on the Creator?
The more this is pondered, the more
clearly will it be seen, that in the scheme
of life we are considering the one element of personal safety is made to subserve the most unwarrantable and unworthy purposes.
It might be opportune to remark, that
it is no less blind than perverse; that
in seeking its own ends by its own
means, it too commonly plucks down
upon itself the ruin it would elude;
and that true safety is to be found
in doing God's will, not in resisting it.
But waiving that topic, why surrender
one's self to the control of this grovelling
sentiment, as though, in our relations to
the Deity, there were no room for any
other?   "Not knowing," says the apos 
DIVInE MUNIFICENCE.         83
tle, "that the goodnes8 of God leadeth
thee to repentance."
Look around you at the tokens of His
goodness. See how he has blessed you
in your basket and in your store, in
your health, in your business, in your
family, in your country, in your manifold religious privileges. Review your
life, and see how he has watched over
you from childhood to this hour, with
paternal affection; how often he has
interposed to rescue you from difficulty
or danger; and in how many forms he
has carried forward his beneficent ministrations toward you. Is there no susceptibility in your breast, to which kindness like this appeals; no chord there
which vibrates when these mercies pass
in review before you? And when to
these blessings you superadd the infinitely higher blessings of redemption, 
84        THE GREAT QUESTION.
purchased with "blood divine," are you
still unmoved? Can nothing stir that
leaden torpor, that Dead Sea stagnation,
within, but the sense of impending
wrath? Has gratitude no place there?
Shall your bosom thrill with thankfulness whenever you receive the most
trivial kindness from a fellow-creature,
and be unimpressed by all the affluence
of that bounty which Jehovah is lavishing upon you? You will not say that
this is right.
You will admit that it is all wrong.
If you have the least spark of magnanimity, the slightest leaven of honourable and manly feeling, you will be
abashed when you reflect on the principle which governs you in your intercourse with a Benefactor to whom you
owe such infinite obligations..
In recording, some time since, the 
THE DYING STATESMAN.        85
decease of a very distinguished statesman, the newspapers stated that he was
much occupied during his illness with
the subject of religion; that he conversed often with the ministers of the
gospel; avowed his cordial reception of
the Christian faith, and in this state of
mind passed into eternity. The narrative was in terms which implied that
his preparation for death had been postponed until he was taken sick; and,
indeed, it was well known, that however
correct he might have been in his general deportment, he had never up to that
time manifested any personal interest
in religion. In all this he was the
representative of a very numerous body
of persons; for similar examples are constantly occurring in every walk of life.
Now, in looking at a scene like this,
every one must commend this solicitude
8 
86        TIHE GREAT QUESTION.
about the soul, even though it has been
so long delayed. Far better to repent
with the dying malefactor than not to
repent at all. Better to strive to enter
in at the strait gate at the eleventh
hour,-yes, better even to strive and
fail, than to die in utter unconcern and
stupidity. But contemplate this spectacle in another aspect.  Here is a man
(the case occurs daily) forty, fifty, possibly sixty years of age. IHe has spent
his life in the bosom of a Christian community. Every day has come to him
freighted with blessings.  iHe  has always had the Bible within his reach.
He has weekly heard, or might have
heard, the preaching of the gospel. God
has called him to repentance in innumerable ways. Hils duty has been
set before him in the clearest manner.
iHe has been  reasoned with, warned, 
NO INFREQUENT CASE.         87
exhorted, entreated to make his peace
with God, and to give his influence to
religion. But he has steadily refused.
He has, possibly, been unwilling even
to consider the claims of God upon him.
Absorbed with other things, carried
away by the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, he has
sought his own ends, lived only for the
world, and left Christianity to fight its
own battles, careless whether they terminated in victory or defeat.  Disease
lays its iron grasp upon this proud
votary of the world, and conducts him
into that chamber from which he is
never to come forth until his remains
are carried to their last resting-place.
Assured by his physicians (and not
till then) of the serious nature of his
malady, he begins to consider his ways.
HIe calls for the Bible; so long neglected 
88        THE GREAT QUESTION.
that he knows not where to read.  He
procures other religious books, which
may aid him in getting clearer views of
the way of life.  He sends for a Christian friend or pastor to counsel him, and
tell him what he must do to be saved.
He is frequent and earnest in his supplications for the Divine mercy. And
thus he is hastening his preparation for
a change of worlds. In all this, he is
acting wisely.  But what  a miserable
return  is he  making  to God!   His
health, time, talents, property, influence,
all have been expended upon selfish and
earthly objects; and now that he dare
not and cannot cleave to these any
longer, he will turn to God! No love
to God prompts him, no gratitude, no
ingenuous sentiment of contrition, no
dissatisfaction with the world: if he
could with safety, he would cling to his 
A BASE RETURN.            89
idol still. Death is at the door: this
is the sole secret of his anxiety. iHe
comes to dedicate to his Maker his
shattered powers, and the few hours
that may remain to him, simply because,
if he neglects this, a terrible retribution
will presently overtake him.
You see, as distinctly as I can, the
true tenor of this transaction.  But "it
is not to be thus with you." You have
too much elevation of character to think
of putting the Deity off with so paltry
an offering. You are not ready to consider the subject of religion. now, but
you fully purpose to do it before you are
prostrated with a mortal disease.
Without impugning the sincerity of
this intention, it may be allowed me to
ask, whether the principle it proceeds
upon is essentially better than the one
exemplified in the case just considered.
8* 
90        THE GREAT QUESTION.
It is the prayer of Augustine over again:
"Lord, convert me; but not yet 1" It
recognises the obligation to serve him,
but practically denies his claim to your
whole time, and your entire influence.
It assumes that your first duty is to the
world; and that it will be enough if you
devote yourself to God after you shall,
for an indefinite period, have lived for
the world.   You cannot be ignorant,
that where this ground is taken, the
common result is substantially the same
as in the example already noted: the
lion's  share goes  to the world;-the
meager remnant, if any, to God. It is,
in any event a deliberate determination
to abridge your means and opportunities
of doing his will and promoting his glory.
Can this be justified? Can it be extenuated? Is life, fleeting, evanescent
life, too long a period to be employed 
UNDIVIDED HOMAGE DUE TO GOD   91
in serving the Being who bestowed life
upon  you?   Would  your  undivided
homage be too opulent a return for the
favours you have received from him?
Is it the acknowledgment which your
own reason and conscience assure you
is befitting the relations you sustain to
him, to exhaust the vigour of your
faculties in the prosecution of mere
earthly objects, and appropriate to him
only your days of decline and inactivity,
if not of decrepitude? Conceding that
you may live to old age, and that death
will then await your plenary preparae
tion for his summons; how much more
honourable would it be to come now,
and lay your thrift and enterprise, your
genial affections and noble aspirations
upon his altar, than to put Him off with
the impoverished refuse of a life of sin
and folly! 
92         THE GREAT QUESTION.
Besides, how erroneous and unworthy
a conception of religion is that involved
in this and its affiliated schemes of life!
In a company of military officers, (one
of whom was a personal friend of the
writer's,) the question one day came up,
whether it was expedient to permnit
clergymen to visit the sick. Not to recite the other opinions,'"My notion,"
said the surgeon of the corps, "is, that
such visits are proper in certain circumstances. When the physician has done
all he can for a man, and gives him up,
then, I think, it is proper to send for
the clergyman." You will smile at the
ignorance and irrationality displayed in
this remark; but it is not very much
aside from the popular idea of religion.
If you will analyze the schemes which
you are cherishing, you will probably
find that religion is contemplated rather 
RELIGION DISPARAGED.        93
as a provision for death than a chart of
life; much more as a bridge, over which
we are to pass into heaven, than as a
highway, along which we are to travel
through this world.  The feeling is, "I
cannot die without religion, but I can
live without it."  And so you think it
very well for the infirm, and the aged,
and invalids of every sort to become
religious; but there is no reason why
the hearty and vigorous, who are engaged in active duties, should be in
haste about it. In other words, there
is no reason why you should not sacrifice all the sound and the fat of your
flock to mammon, and put God off with
the lame, and the blind, and the sick.
There is no reason why you should not
expend the energies of your being upon
yourselves, and dedicate your withered
faculties to your Creator. 
94         THE GREAT QUESTION.
THIS IS NOT CHRISTIANITY.  Religion,
it is true, is rich in its consolations, and
supplies our only adequate support in
sickness and trouble. But it is no less
a scheme of duty than a means of comfort. It was merely nor mainly to provide comfort for his people that Christ
died, but to make them holy; not simply that they might get to heaven themselves, but that they might help others
in getting there also.  Hie challenges
our undivided allegiance.  Hie insists
upon the subjugation of all our powers
and passions to his will; upon the thorough extirpation of our sinful principles and habits, and the gradual moulding of our whole characters into his
image. He demands that we serve him
in our several stations and relations;
that we be governed by the Scripture
code of morals;  that we  subordinate 
LIFE THE VESTIBULE TO ETERNITY.  95
every earthly pursuit to his glory, and
the welfare of his kingdom; and that,
in our respective spheres, we do our
best to maintain the character implied
in those expressive emblems, "Ye are
the light of the world;"  "Ye  are the
salt of the earth." Our own good requires this.   The  present life is the
vestibule to eternity. We are here to
be trained for a higher stage of being.
It is a great achievement to prepare a
race so depraved for so lofty a destiny.
It must needs be (unless God should
choose to work a miracle) a tedious and
painful process to fit such creatures as
we are for citezenship in the New Jerusalem. It is a process which may well
fill up the brief span of human life,
and which it were gross infatuation to
postpone to any other interest whatever. 
96        THlE GREAT QUESTION.
Religion comprehends this wise and
needful tutelage. It exerts its prerogative over the entire range of human life,
from the cradle to the grave; from the
most subtle purpose that lurks in the
innermost chambers of the heart, to
the sublimest transactions of cabinets
and empires. It is impossible to escape
from its authority, even for a moment.
It never intermits its claims upon us.
It stoops to no compromises with the
world. It ceases not to cry in our ears,
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with ALL thy heart, and thy neighbour
as thyself."
Could it do less? Would it be a religion worthy of God, or suited to man,
if it did not thus enjoin upon every
child of Adam supreme and constant
loyalty to Jehovah? On what ground,
then, would you delay a compliance 
GOD REQUIRES OUR WHOLE TIME.  97
with its requisitions? If it is reasonable that God should require your whole
time, if your own good also demands it,
why voluntarily shorten the period you
can devote to him, and lose the advantages to be derived from the culture of
the Christian graces? It is surely an
ungenerous temper which would put
you upon grasping after the rewards
of Christ's kingdom, without rendering
him the stipulated service; which would
make you eager for the crown, but unwilling to bear the cross. Hiad he dealt
with us on this principle, the cross had
never been set up, and we had all gone
down to irretrievable and eternal ruin.
And why, (to glance at another phase
of the selfishness on which we are commenting,) why should you not do your
part in carrying forward the great and
glorious work of human amelioration?
9 
98        THE GREAT QUESTION.
Look over the world, and see how full
it is of sin, and suffering, and sorrow.
Open your eyes upon the very neighbourhood in which you dwell, and see
whether there be not at your very door
a broad field for the exercise of Christian philanthropy. Survey our beloved
country, and watch the torrents of infidelity and vice that are deluging the
land. Whose office is it to counterwork
these pestiferous agencies? Who is to
explore these habitations of penury and
ignorance; to gather the young into
Sabbath-schools and day-schools; to visit
the prisoners; to reclaim the intemperate, to circulate the Scriptures; to
promote the due observance of the Sabbath; to send missionaries to every
destitute spot, and to aid the Church
in sustaining  her  benevolent  institutions? Is there any obligation resting 
RECIPROCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.     99
upon others to do this, which does not
rest on you? It will not do for any of
us to ask, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
Linked together by the ties of a common humanity, we are responsible for
the influence we exert upon each other's
characters and destiny. No man may
lawfully attempt to isolate himself from
his race, and seek only his own interest.
God will hold us accountable for the
good we might have done, and have refused or neglected to do. Christianity
needs your help in carrying forward her
schemes  of relief.  There  are  forces
enough arrayed against her without
your opposition or indifference. Christ
demands your co-operation with his people, in making his atonement known to
all your fellow-creatures, and placing
the means of grace within their reach.
The service to which he calls yo~ is a
a!::.!***  
100       THE GREAT QUESTION.
most reasonable service. Hlis right to
demand it is perfect. It is more worthy
of your powers than any thing else in
which you can engage. Is there any,
even plausible ground on which you can
refuse your aid in promoting the temporal happiness and the eternal salvation
of our ruined race? Would it be generous even if you could do it without sin
and without imperiling your own soul,
to devolve all this work upon others;
to shut your ears against the voice of
Christ himself, through whom you hope
yet to be saved, when he says to you,
"Go work for me in doing good to your
fellow-sinners; and whatsoever you do
to the least of them for my sake, I will
regard it as if done to me!"
Consider, further, that in assigning to
the service of religion only some vague
and. grecarious portion of your future
:!a.:!':.:!.. 
SINNING, TO REPENT.       101
life, (which may prove to be no portion
of it at all,) the intermediate period,
whether longer or shorter, is not to be a
mere blank, without influence upon youx
character and upon your ultimate pros
pects of salvation. You are disinclined
to take up the subject of religion now,
because you "feel no interest" in it. I
have already shown you the fallacy of
supposing, that the continued neglect of
religion can generate a disposition to
Cconsider" it.
But note further, that during this undefined period which is still to precede
your anticipated repentance, you are to
be drinking in the spirit of worldliness, and travelling to a still greater distance from God.   It seems strangely
incongruous to talk of " repentance"
in this connection. " Repentance" for
what? Suppose death should not step
9* 
102       THE GREAT QUESTION.
in and extinguish your hopes in the
blackness of an eternal night; suppose you reach the point, the distant,
shadowy, receding point, where you are
to be sated with the world and ready to
abandon it, what  do you propose to repent
of? If you refer to the sins of your
past lives, it seems quite reasonable.
There are enough of them to call for
bitter tears and the deepest humiliation.
It is a fearful sight to look back over a
whole life, and see nothing there but
sin.   There is a call for repentance.
But your plan comprises more than this.
You mean to repent of other sins; sins
not yet committed. You mean to repent
of the course you are just now entering
upon. You form a purpose to-day not
to consider the subject of religion now,
with the avowed intention of mourning
over that purpose hereafter! You de 
STRANGE PHENOMENON.        103
dcline a gracious call of the gospel, with
the distinct avowal that you mean to
lament that you declined it, and to ask
God's forgiveness! You set out upon a
path which you declare your intention
to retrace, every step of it, with tears!
This is mysterious. Were you to banish
the subject altogether, and brave the
consequences of going into eternity without repentance or faith in Christ, you
might at least claim the merit of consist
ency. But this idea of sinning only
that you may repent; of laughing today, that you may weep over your mirth
to-morrow; of heaping up obstacles between your soul and heaven, that you
may by-and-by remove them with a
sorrowful heart; of pressing on toward
the very verge of the bottomless pit,
that you may at length, when the earth
begins to cave from under your feet, fly 
104       TiE GREAT QUESTION.
back afrighted at your temerity, and
seek the refuge you now scorn,-what
name can be given to a career like this!
And if the actors in it were other
parties, and you the spectators, what
alternative would you feel forced upon
you in seeking a solution of the strange
phenomenon, but that they were either
bereft of reason, or under the sway of a
hostility to God and his service, so inveterate as to be proof against all human
agencies?
If these plain allegations have not
offended you, you may possibly assent
to their substantial verity. You may be
ready to go as far as the Bible itself in
condemning the unreasonableness and
the criminality of your inconsideration;
yet you may say, the fact of your indifference remains. You "do not feel
sufficient interest in the matter" to take 
THE FORMIDABLE HINDERANCE.   105
it up, and you have no resource but to
defer it till you do; and as this is (so
you imagine) "a thing beyond your own
control," you are the more disposed to
let it rest for the present.
I have throughout this whole discussion recognised the reality of this
difficulty. Foolish as it is, criminal as
it is, dangerous as it is, this "lack of
interest" in religion constitutes a real
and formidable hinderance in the way
of a proper examination of the subject.
But as no one will presume to plead it
at the last day as an excuse for his impenitence,- so we must beware how we
treat it with a mistaken leniency now.
The very consciousness of this aversion
to serious things ought to alarm you.
It is the white spot upon the surface
which indicates the leprosy within, and
to neglect the symptom is to trifle with 
106       THE GREAT QUESTION.
the disease. The feeling, too, that this
indifference is absolutely beyond your
control, is but another effect of your
insidious malady. It is true you cannot
change your own heart, nor can you by
a mere volition replace your spiritual
apathy, with that solicitude about the
concerns of eternity which you persuade
yourself you would like to experience.
But there are certain other things
which are within the compass of your
own volitions. If you are not practising
self-dissimulation, if you sinerelv desc,ire
to "become interested in religion," you
will leave no practicable means untried
to bring about so important an end.
What, then, can you do? You can determine, in dependence on the help of
God, to enter upon the careful and
thorough examination of the subject.
You can deal with it as you would with 
SINCERITY TESTED.        107
aiy literary, political, or professional
question which might require your attention. As a physician, you might
have to grapple with some disease you
had never heard of. As a lawyer, you
might find it necessary to investigate a
case which was extremely distasteful to
you. As a merchant, the course of
trade might force you into laborious
researches in some department of commerce which you had always shrunk
from with aversion. But in these exigencies, your policy would be decisive
and onward.   You  could not respect
yourself, if you sat down quietly and
succumbed to your feeling of indifference. Gathering up your mental energies, you would assail the obnoxious
topic with a vigorous determination to
master it. You would make it the
theme of your studies and reflections, 
108       THE GREAT QUESTION.
and avail yourself of all the light that
could be brought to bear upon it. And
according to the established course of
things, your antipathy would give way
and your interest would increase as you
prosecuted your inquest.
What has CHRISTIANITY done, that it
is not entitled to the same treatment at
your hands? Why should you not extend to it the fair and manly dealing
you mete out to any and every secular
matter in which you are implicated? It
is just as competent to you to employ
your powers in examining a question of
theology as a question of jurisprudence
or a question of merchandise. You can
as well set about the systematic reading
of the BIBLE, as the systematic study of
history, metaphysics, or any other branch
of literature. You can take up some
sterling religious book, like Hodge's Way 
MEANS TO BE USED.         109
of Life, Wilberforce's Practical View,
Gregory's Letters, Scott's Force of Truth,
or Alexander's Religious Experience,
and appropriate a specific part of every
twenty-four hours to the private and
thoughtful perusal of it. You can read
with a constant reference to your own
character. You can accompany the exercise with fervent prayer for divine
assistance. You can be earnest in invoking the Holy Spirit to deliver you from
error and unbelief, to subdue your evil
passions, to remove your indifference, to
convince you of sin, and to lead you to
Christ. You can avoid, in a measure,
those scenes and associations, and put
away those habits, which are unfavourable to serious reflection. You can converse with your pastor, and frequent the
sanctuary, and attend the weekly religious services of the congregation to
10 
110       THE GREAT QUESTION.
which you belong, and seek the society
of Christian people, and court such influences as are adapted to foster your
good purposes and enliven your apprehension of "the powers and terrors" of
the world to come. When you have
finished one book, you can read another
and another. You can do all this with
the feeling that religion is no longer to
be tampered with; that your soul is too
precious to be enticed to hell by the
visionary purpose of future repentance;
that, however it may be with others, the
time has come for you to make your
peace with God; and that, God helping
you, nothing shall divert you from this
work, until you are washed from your
sins in the blood of the cross, and made
a new creature in Christ Jesus.
These things you can do. These
things you ought to do.  And  should 
THE PROBABLE RESULT.       111
you do them-with humility, with perseverance, with importunate prayercan you doubt as to the result? Do you
not believe that your indifference would
soon vanish? that what you had undertaken from a sheer conviction of duty,
would presently awaken the dormant
sensibilities of your soul; that what was
at first a matter of pure intellect, would
become no less a matter of feeling; that
religion would begin to unfold itself to
your mind in the solemn grandeur of its
proportions, as at once the most august
and the most urgent of all interests; and
that, from being a mere denizen of earth,
living -only for the world, without a
thought, perhaps, of God and eternity,
you would find yourself engrossed with
the one question, "WHAT MUST I DO TO
BE SAVED?" and pressing into the kingdom of heaven with an energy that 
112       THE GREAT QUESTION.
would brook no delay? Can you doubt
that something like this would follow?
And if you believe it would, can you refu,se to make the trial? 
A SPECIOUS SUGGESTION.
SECTION IV.
ENCOURAGEMENTS.
UP to this point it has been my aim
to exhibit the true nature, and counteract the influence of that "lack of
interest" in the subject of religion, which
has made you unwilling to sit down to
the serious consideration  of it.  If I
have at all succeeded in dispelling the
sophistries and self-illusions which usually pertain to this state of mind, and
in showing that this indifference to
religion is a matter very much within
your own control, there is one specious
suggestion which may still ensnare you.
You may hesitate about entering upon
the course of reading and reflection pro                 10*
113 
114       THE GREAT QUESTION.
posed to you, from a feeling of distrust
as to the ultimate result. There are
"difficulties" in the way, and you are
"not certain" that you could surmount
them. You "might set out and fail."
Such is your conviction of the reasonableness and importance of the duty
enjoined upon you, that nothing could
deter you from giving your attention to
the subject, if you believed it would
"avail;" but having no assurance on
this point, you shrink from undertaking it.
Here, again, the reality of the hinderance must be admitted. In all enter,prises, hopefulness is one of the main
elements of success. It is a sad drudgery to toil and fag at an occupation
which promises to reward us only with
disappointment.  Where  we  have  no
,encouragement, we have no resolution. 
RELIGION NOT FAIRLY DEALT WITH. 115
Without the prospect of attaining an
end, we can have no heart to pursue it.
And as this principle applies equally to
spiritual and to temporal objects, it is
not surprising that persons should hesitate about addressing themselves to the
matter of their personal salvation, if
they see no likelihood of securing it.
But, on the other hand, religion has
cause to complain that it is not placed,
as regards this point, on a footing with
secular  affairs.   No  politician  insists
upon certainty of success, before aspiring to a post of honour in the state.
No physician refuses to cope with a
disease until he is certain he can master it. The multifarious operations of
commerce are all based upon contingent
calculations. Individuals frequently expend a fortune in experimental mining
or manufacturing, where, in the judg 
116       THIE GREAT QUESTION.
ment of impartial observers, the probabilities of success are scarcely more than
five in a hundred. And enlightened
governments will lay out millions of
money, and jeopard whole fleets, in exploring regions which are utterly inaccessible to commerce, and which, the
more they are traversed, stamp with
greater hopelessness the idea of turning
them to any valuable practical use.
Why not proceed in the same way in
spiritual things? With what propriety
can we demand a measure of certainty,
in seeking our salvation, which we
should pronounce very unreasonable in
seeking fame or fortune? Why be disheartened, where the soul is concerned,
with obstacles which would only sharpen
the appetite and stimulate ambition, if
it were a question of property, or a
question of science? One might sup 
CONDUCT IN ORDINARY MATTERS. 117
pose that the whole bias of men's minds
would be the other way; that the bare
possibility of salvation would be sufficient to arouse them to the highest degree of effort; and that, instead of being
retarded or repelled by difficulties, every
new hinderance would be but a fresh
incentive to exertion.   Where  life is
concerned, this is the case. No man
gives over caring for his health because
his symptoms are unfavourable, or the
remedial agents he wishes to employ
difficult of access. "All that a man
hath will he give for his life."  The
universal  principle  with  invalids  is,
while there is life there is hope, and
while there is hope, no means of cure
must be neglected. How extraordinary,
then, is it, that men should be so easily
turned aside, where, instead of life, it is
the SOUL which is at stake! But with 
118       THE GREAT QUESTION.
out stopping to speculate on the causes
of a phenomenon which is, unhappily,
so familiar that it has ceased to excite
wonder, it is more to our present purpose to observe, that there i,s actually le8ss
reason for discouragement in this8 the most
uryent and momentous of all  )rs8ui(ts,
than there is in our common secular avo-r
cations.   Whatever  grounds  we  may
have for anticipating success in any
financial or professional undertaking, we
have more for expecting it in proper
exertions to escape from the thraldom
of sin.  I say  "proper exertions," because, in many cases the effort is really
not made in good faith; it is a mere
languid, temporary striving, with which
the heart has very little to do; and
which must fail as a matter of course.
But there is seldom any failure, where
this object is pursued with the earnest 
ERRONEOUS IDEAS.         119
ness which men usually bring to the
prosecution of their worldly schemes.
There is, however, a peculiarity about
the search after religion, which ought
to be noticed in this connection. Most
persons have but vague ideas of what it
is to "become religious." The entrance
upon a Christian life is, to their minds,
shrouded in mystery. They know that
except they are'"born again," they cannot see the kingdom of God, and that
this change must be wrought by the
Holy Spirit.  The acknowledged greatness of the transformation, combined,
perhaps, with the inspired account of
the effusion of the Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, has impressed them with the
feeling, that if they are ever renewed,
the Divine influence which is to effect
it will come, "like a rushing, mighty
wind," or in some other palpable man 
120        TIE GREAT QUESTION.
ner, and impel them into the kingdom
of heaven.   They  suppose  that  the
operations of the Spirit upon the heart
can ordinarily be distinguished from our
own mental exercises; and that until
we are conscious of his presence, it must
be useless to set about the work of
repentance. That a regenerated person
may have a perfect assurance that the
mighty transformation he has experienced was as much beyond the compass
of his own powers as it would be to
create a world, is an undoubted fact.
But it is from the Bible we learn to
ascribe every thing good in our exercises to the influence of the Spirit. He
exerts his power upon us in a manner
strictly adapted to the laws of our rational nature. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure."  Not only "to do," but 
THE PROMPTINGS OF THIE SPIRIT. 121
even "to will." He touches and controls the secret springs of volition; so
that when we "will," or determine to
cease from sinning, to study the Scriptures, or to do any thing else which he
has commanded, the impulse and the
strength really come from the Spirit.
We are conscious of the determination
or choice, (with the motives which induce it,) and in this, of course, we are
perfectly voluntary.   But  there is a
mysterious power at work back of our
volitions, and secretly prompting them.
And it is on this very ground the apostle
bids us "work out our own salvation."
See Phil. ii. 12, 13. The Spirit is waking us from our slumber; therefore, we
should yield to the bias he is giving to
our inclinations, and put forth our earnest efforts in the same direction.  To
expect that he will disclose his agency
11 
122       THE GREAT QUESTION.
to our minds, is to mistake the whole
character of his functions. Our Saviour
compares his influence to the wind,
which is invisible, silent, and penetrating. You are waiting, you say, for the
Spirit to come and change your heart.
Hlas not the Spirit visited you already?
Are you not thoughtful about your
soul's concerns? Do you not read the
Bible with greater satisfaction? Does
not the truth fall upon your ear in the
sanctuary with a different sound? Is
not your love of the world checked?
Are you not more disposed to seek the
society of Christian people?  Does not
the subject of religion follow you to
your place of business, and often come
up unbidden to your mind?  And yet
you are "waiting for the Spirit!" What
does all this mean, if it is not the Spirit
moving upon your heart? While you 
THE SPIRIT'S OPERATIONS.     123
are looking here and there for the Spirit,
he is already within you. While, like
Naaman and the prophet, you are expecting him to come and do some great
thing for you, you hear not the still,
small voice with which he is admonishing you to look to Christ and live. In
occasional examples, he still approaches
individuals, as he did Saul of Tarsus,
and urges them into his kingdom with
an impetuosity which leaves them no
room to doubt, either as to the reality
of the change in their condition, or the
agency which has produced it.   But
these are exceptions to the established
law of his administration. In ordinary
cases, his first demonstration upon the
heart is of a more tranquil character;
and the entire process is apt to differ
essentially from any thing which the
individuals concerned may have antici 
124        THE GREAT QUESTION.
pated. Enough to know that you are
not to wait in passive idleness for the
Spirit's aid. If you are willing to give
up your sins, it is he who has made
you willing. If you desire to come to
Christ, that desire is from his silent influence upon your heart. Submit to his
strivings; implore his further aid; and
you will find the promise true, "To him
that hath shall be given."
ilere, in fact, is one of the great encouragements you have to enter at once
upon a religious life. The seriousness
of which you may even now be conscious, shows that God is mindful of
you, and waits to bless you. For this
state of feeling is not the fruit of chance.
It is one of those good gifts which come
down from above; a token of kindness;
a harbinger of mercy. You.may say of
it, as Manoah's wife said to him, when 
ENCOURAGEMENTS.         125
he was expecting the Divine displeasure
to break forth against them:'"If the
Lord were pleased to kill us, he would
not have received a burnt-offering and
a meat-offering at our hands, neither
would he have  showed  us  all these
things, nor would, as at this time, have
told us such things as these."  If the
Lord had not thoughts of peace toward
you, would  he have  disturbed  your
spiritual slumber, and enkindled in your
breast this solicitude about your soul?
Or, if this language be too strong, would
he have inclined you to reflect on your
prospects for eternity, and to listen to
the utterances of his word with an unwonted thoughtfulness? Here is the
very Being knocking at your door, on
whom  your  salvation  depends.   Can
you need any further assurance of his
readiness to save you?
11* 
126        THE GREAT QUESTION.
Or, take a broader view of this question. You ask, What encouragement
have I to seek an interest in Christ?
The obvious and conclusive answer is to
point you to the BIBLE. What is the
Bible but a revelation of the Divine
mercy to our world?   "God so loved
the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners." "Him that cometh unto
me, I will in no wise cast out." What
would you have more? What could
you have? Here is a sacrifice of infinite
cost, which God, of his own sovereign
will, provided for the redemption of our
race.   Here is the distinct. announcement that the grand object for which 
GRACE ABOUNDING.         127
his beloved Son became incarnate, was
to save sinners. And here is the gracious promise of the Saviour, that he
will receive every sinner who comes to
him. Are you prepared to say that God
should have done more than this? It
cannot be. The more you reflect upon
it, the greater must be your astonishment that he should have done so much.
Nor can you fail to see here the truth
of the observation already made, that
you have far more reason to hope for
success in a diligent and prayerful
search for salvation, than you have in
prosecuting any mere secular plan whatever.  But although you could not demand more at God's hand, he has actually
given you more.
I refer now especially to the character
of the Saviour.  I mean by this, not his
abstract ability to accomplish the work 
128       THE GREAT QUESTION.
he has undertaken; that is implied in
his being the co-equal of the Father,
"God over all blessed forever."  But I
allude to his personal characteristics as
exemplified in his teachings and actions.
Take up the gospels, and study his life.
Listen to his discourses. Place yourself
by him while he performs his miracles.
Go with him into the abodes of poverty
and suffering. See with what compassion he deals with the sick and the
sorrowful, the tempted and the erring.
Behold what power a cry of distress has
to arrest him on his journeys; how he
accommodates himself to the weaknesses
and the prejudices of different suppliants; how gently he reproves and instructs his ignorant and impetuous disciples; how tenderly he sympathizes
with every stricken one who repairs to
him for succour. All this is so much 
OUR IMMANUEL.            12
superadded to his boundless capacity to
save sinners. It is omnipotence blended
with meekness, and benevolence, and
pity, and long-suffering, and tenderness
beyond the yearnings of a mother's
heart. It not only meets and countervails the sentiment of dread, which
makes a sinful creature shrink from
approaching the Creator, but it clothes
the incarnate Deity with all those human  attributes which usually win our
affections and inspire our confidence.
It diminishes unspeakably the difficulty
of this work, that the Saviour is one
who bears our nature, and has been
tempted in all points as we are, and can,
therefore, be touched with a feeling of
our infirmities. You cannot but feel
that there is every thing in his character to encourage your hopes; and the
more so when you reflect, that during
129 
130       THE GREAT QUESTION.
his earthly ministry, he never sent a
sincere and humble suppliant away
without a blessing.
But we may go a step further still in
this direction. If the SAVIOUR'S character holds out encouragement to you, so
also does the mission of the SPIRIT. We
have just been speaking of his agency in
another aspect. Consider it now as an
incentive to resolute and persevering
effort. So rigorous is the bondage sin
has imposed upon us, that the crucifixion
itself would have been ineffectual to our
salvation, but for the ministration of
the Spirit. His presence, however, obviates  every difficulty.   We  are  by
nature blind to spiritual things, ignorant of ourselves, averse to holiness, inflated with ideas of our own goodness,
devoted to the world, ashamed of Christ.
If aroused to some degree of solicitude 
MISSION OF THE SPIRIT.       131
about our souls, we  become  painfully
conscious of the strength of our depraved passions; the way of salvation
appears obscure; we have no distinct
apprehension of what we ought to do,
and too often lack the moral courage to
obey the dictates of our consciences.
What with the turmoil of feeling within, and the subtle temptations which
are sure to assail us from without, we
are apt to conclude that the task to
which we are summoned is too great for
us, and must be given up or postponed
to a more auspicious season. This insidious suggestion has its proper antidote in the doctrine of the Spirit's influence. The task laid upon you is beyond
your strength. But what then? Does
it exceed the resources of the omnipotent Spirit?   Can not He who  said,
"Let there be light," dispel the darkness 
132        THE GREAT QUESTION.
of your understanding? Can not iHe
who reduced the primeval chaos to symmetry and beauty, restore harmony and
peace to your agitated breast? This is
his prerogative, and this his errand in
our   world.  "When  he, the  Spirit of
truth, is come, he shall guide you into
all truth." It is his beneficent office to
enlighten the mind; to banish its ignorance and prejudice; to show the sinner
the worthlessness of his own righteousness as a foundation for his hopes; to
make him sensible of his spiritual
penury; to reveal to him the excellency
and glory of the Redeemer, and to lead
him a willing bondman to the Saviour's
feet, with the feeling
"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked come to thee for dress,
Helpless look to thee for grace; 
NO INVINCIBLE HINDERANCES.   133
Vile, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die."
This is what you need. It is all you
need. And that Divine Spirit, who can
accomplish this for you-who can teach
you, strengthen you, renew you, guide
you to Christ and fit you for heaven-is
a God at hand, as well as a God afar off.
His ministry is the great promise of the
new dispensation. There is no blessing
we have so much encouragement to pray
for. We are even told that God is more
willing to give the Spirit to those who
ask him, than parents are to give good
gifts to their children.
The whole ground of your hinderances and misgivings, therefore, is covered. Here is an almighty Spirit to
conduct you, and an almighty Saviour
to receive you. You have no difficulties
from which they cannot extricate you;
12 
134      THE GREAT QUESTION.
no obstacles which they cannot enable
you to surmount; no want which they
cannot supply. If such proffers of aid
were tendered you in any secular pursuit, how eagerly you would grasp at
them! Are they of less value where
your salvation is at stake?
But you may be unreasonable enough
to hesitate still, because these are "abstract" promises; you would like to see
them' tested," and then you could feel
more confidence in venturing upon them.
Well, this scruple is provided for. You
have but to look around, and you can be
gratified. There are witnesses on every
side to testify, that they have proved
these promises and found them true to
the letter. They stood once where you
stand, (for I am supposing that you
have begun to "consider ypur ways.")
They had the same doubts and fears, 
LIVING WITNESSES.         1
the same obscure views and fluctuating
purposes. The world tempted them as
it is tempting you. They formed resolutions and broke them. They were
almost persuaded to be Christians, and
then the shame of the cross overcame
their fortitude.   They determined  to
enter upon a new course of life, and the
fear that they'might not persevere"
made them draw back. But the Spirit
continued to strive with them, until, at
length, yielding to his benign solicitations, and relying upon his assistance,
they gave themselves up to the Saviour
with penitent and grateful hearts, and
now they are  rejoicing in hope of the
glory of God." Their faith rebukes
your unbelief. The way of salvation is
laid open to you as it was to them.
You have the same warrant. to accept
of Christ's  gracious  invitation.   You
135 
136       THE GREAT QUESTION.
have the additional motives supplied by
their experience. You have the sympathies and prayers of all Christian people. Your judgment is convinced. Your
conscience is on the side of religion.
The Spirit and the Bride bid you
"Come." Why do you linger?
Hlow extraordinary is it, that arguments and appeals like these should be
necessary. Who is the party to be
benefited? Whose salvation waits on
these trembling balances? What measuring-line has sounded the depths of
that abyss, what pen has depicted the
glories of that paradise, between which
your wavering spirit vibrates?
And yet you demand encouragements
and inducements to begin a religious life,
as though you were the party to confer
the favour, and God to be the recipient
of it! Hiow amazing his forbearance, 
LONG-SUFFERING.         137
that even this ungrateful and (if the
word must be used) arrogant state of
mind, should not repel his clemency.
He actually stoops to your caprices and
gratifies your unreasonable exactions.
He holds out encouragements" to you
far beyond any thing you could ask or
expect. There is not an impediment in
your way, not a difficulty you have to
meet, for which he has not provided.
And to crown the whole costly and
elaborate system of relief which his munificence has prepared, his Spirit continues to strive with you. You may
have tried to banish the subject of religion from your thoughts, and found
yourself unequal to the task. Irksome
as it may be, it cleaves to you with a
tenacity you cannot overcome. Neither
reading nor company, neither business
nor pleasure, brings you relief. Thoughts
12* 
138       THE GREAT QUESTION.
of eternity rush upon you in the midst
of your daily activities. They disturb
you in the night-watches. The spiritual apathy of those around you cannot
tranquillize your conscience. The sense
of guilt haunts you, and the terrors of a
coming judgment may oppress you, even
while you are forcing yourself to appear
cheerful. What is all this but the striving of the Spirit? the long-suffering of
God, who  is not willing you should
perish, but rather that you should come
to repentance?
Consider now what he has done for
your salvation. Review the way in
which he has led you. Ponder well the
position you occupy. And see whether
you can expect ever to be placed again
in circumstances so favourable to your
conversion.  You cannot suppose either
that God is indifferent to the manner in 
THE FATAL LIMIT.          139
which you requite his gracious dispensations, or that his mercy is inexhaustible.
While he offers us a free salvation, he
cannot but view with abhorrence the
deliberate and persevering rejection of
his offer. The goodness displayed in
redemption is infinite. And for such
creatures as we are, to decline its benefits when he himself presses them upon
our acceptance, betrays an ingratitude
and a hardihood which cannot go unpunished.  There  is  a  limit, beyond
which the Spirit will cease to strive.
There is a point where mercy turns to
vengeance. Your present thoughtfulness
may warrant the hope, that you have
not yet passed this fatal barrier. But
you may be rapidly approaching it.
Every thing may hang upon the issue of
this conflict.  While you are hesitating
whether to cast yourself at the Saviour's 
140      THE GREAT QUESTION.
feet, or to cleave a little longer to a
world which is deceiving and ensnaring
you, the hours may be hasting away,
which are to fix your everlasting destiny.
It should be enough to end this strife,
that your salvation depends upon GOD,
and that this appears to be His time.
If Levi had not instantly left all when
Christ called him, it is not probable he
would ever have been made a disciple.
If the three thousand on the day of
Pentecost had not obeyed Peter's instructions, they might never have been
converted.   To trifle with serious impressions, is to insult God. To refuse
to hear his voice when he is speaking
directly to our heart, is to run the hazard
of incurring that awful doom depicted
in the book of Proverbs, (chapter 1st:)
"Because I have called, and.ye refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no 
AWFUL THIREATENINGS.       141
man regarded; but ye have set at nought
all my counsel, and would none of my
reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear
cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind; when distress and anguish
cometh upon you. Then shall they call
upon me, but I will not answer; they
shall seek me early, but they shall not
find me; 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."
I have assumed, in the former part of
this section, that the reader has been
startled from his impenitency, and led
to sober reflection.  But, as  has just
been intimated, it would be too much to 
142       TIHE GREAT QUESTION.
suppose, that this will be the case with
all into whose hands this book may fall.
Some among them will doubtless be as
unwilling as ever, to take up the subject
of religion, and consider it with the seriousness which it demands. To persons
of this description, I feel at some loss
what to say. Professing to know something of the ground you occupy, I have
endeavoured with all the kindness which
was compatible with fidelity to your
souls, to exhibit the criminality of this
inconsideration, to expose the sophistries
by which it is usually palliated, to set
forth your duty, and to show what
ample encouragement God has given
you to set about the performance of
it. That we should have gone over all
these topics without mitigating your
aversion to the subject, is a fact of very
painful significance. It is one of those 
TOKENS OF PERDITION.        143
facts which make men feel their impotence, in dealing with the depravity of
the human heart. What a deep-seated
enmity to God must possess the carnal
mind, when it can stand out, not simply
against the majesty and severity of the
law, but against the boundless love and
tenderness of the gospel! when it can
even refuse to cosider the claims of the
Redeemer, to our confidence and veneration! And what must this import as to
the moral condition of these persons?
The apostle speaks of "tokens of perdition."  It is a pregnant phrase.   I
will not say that it appertains to any
reader of this volume. But you must
judge for yourself, whether this confirmed inconsideration is not likely to
prove, in your own case, a "token of
perdition." Does it not look as though
the spiritual insensibility, which has 
144      THIE GREAT QUESTION.
seized upon you, were to be invincible
and permanent? Does it not seem like
an omen of final and remediless ruin?
I see not how any human agency is to
prevent this result. Our only hope is in
God. He can prevent it. But when
the question is asked, Will he do this?
every tongue must be mute. Secret
things belong unto the Lord. We may
not presume to pry into his counsels.
One resource we have left-prayer. If
your Christian friends have any proper
love for your soul, they will be importunate in their intercessions for you. If
you are not resolved upon self-destruction, I entreat you to pray for yourself.
Peradventure, there may yet be mercy
for you. The Father may even now
wait to receive you. The Saviour may
be stretching out his hand toward you,
and crying, "Look unto me, and live." 
THE SPIRIT QUENCHED.       145
The Holy Spirit may be secretly saying
to you, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead, and Christ shall
give thee light."
If you heed these gracious monitions,
and, putting away all evasions and subterfuges, say with the prodigal, "I will
arise and go to my Father," it will be
well. Eternity will ratify the decision,
and you will rejoice over it with a joy
unspeakable and full of glory. But if
you still refuse, and continue to reject
the proffered mercy, I must again remind you that you tread on dangerous
ground; for it is written, "CMy Spirit
shall not always strive with man."
"There is a time, we know not when,
A point we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men
To glory or despair.
13 
THE GREAT QUESTION.
There is a line, by us unseen,
That crosses every path;
The hidden boundary between
God's patience and his wrath.
To pass that limit is to die,
To die as if by stealth;
It does not quench the beaming eye,
Or pale the glow of health.
The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirits light and gay;
That which is pleasing still may please
And care be thrust away.
But on that forehead God has set
Indelibly a mark,
Unseen by man, for man as yet
Is blind and in the dark.
And yet the doomed man's path below
May bloom as Eden bloomed:
He did not, does not, will not know,
Or feel that he is doomed.
He knows, he feels that all is well,
And every fear is calmed;
Ile lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,
Not only doomed, but damned.
146 
THE MYSTERIOUS BOURN.
0 where is this mysterious bourn
By which our path is crossed;
Beyond which, God himself hath sworn,
That he who goes is lost!
How far may we go on in sin?
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end, and where begin
The confines of despair?
An answer from the skies is sent:
" Ye that from God depart,
While it is called TO-DAY, repent,
And harden not your heart."
147 
THIE GREAT QUESTION.
SECTION V.
RELIGION MUST AND WILL BE CONSIDERED.
UP to this point, we have proceeded
on the assumption, that it was optional
with you, whether to consider the subject of personal religion or not. In this
manner the Bible treats the question.
It addresses us throughout as intelligent
and responsible agents, and leaves us to
decide on our own course after listening
to its appeals and arguments.   Your
own conscience assures you that you can
either choose or refuse to take up the
plan of salvation, and examine it with
148 
MATTER OF PRESENT OPTION.   149
a paramount reference to your own duty.
God does not compel you to examine it.
He commands, expostulates, invites, and
points out the consequences involved in
your disobedience. But he uses no coercion. You can still refuse. You often
have refused. Instead of bringing your
mind into contact with religion, when
its claims were urged upon you, you
have purposely directed it to something
else. You have chosen rather to think
of business or pleasure, or of any one of
an endless variety of objects. It has
not been at all to your taste to think
about repentance and being born again,
and renouncing the world and taking up
the cross to follow Christ.  And so you
have shut these topics out of your breast
and turned to more engaging themes.
And thus far you have seen. no veryserious evil resulting from this habit;
13* 
150        THE GREAT QUESTION.
for a habit it has become. Your inconsideration, you are apt to imagine, has
not materially injured either your character or your prospects, and you are
slow to believe there is so much danger
attending it as has been represented.
You are still disinclined, therefore, (for
this is the case we are now to deal with,)
to combat the repugnance you feel to
spiritual religion, and to commence a
new life.
Now, if this could last, there would
be  less room  to  remonstrate.    You
might be allowed to neglect religion just
as long as your antipathy to it continued. I do not say that this would be
wise, much less that it would involve
no criminality. I speak only of safety.
But it is of the highest moment for you
to know that it cannot last. However
your inconsideration may be a matter of 
NO OPTION.           11
option now, it will not be so always.
There is a period coming, and it may be
just at hand, when all discretionary control of this subject will be at an end, and
you will be compelled to consider it. It
belongs to the genius of the probationary dispensation under which we live,
that no one should be forced into earnest and prolonged reflection upon the
themes of the Bible.  But "in the latter
days ye shall consider it perfectly." On
a death-bed it may be; certainly, after
death, these august and solemn topics
will engross your thoughts. They will
gather around you then, not because
they are more grateful than you find
them now, nor because they are pressed
upon you by more faithful and eloquent
preachers.   No  preacher's voice will
then be needed to awaken youto deep
and  anxious  meditation.    Nor  will
151 
152       THE GREAT QUESTION.
transitory impressions any more be obliterated, as so often happens with you
here, by the returning waves of frivolity
and worldliness. Alien as conviction of
sin is from all your present tendencies
and associations, it will then be your
established condition.  From never tolerating, much less fostering it, you will
never be free from it. It will be your
one dismal and terrible occupation, the
very sum of your being, to dwell with
sorrow and remorse upon those subjects
which all the arguments of reason and
Scripture, fortified by the warnings of
Providence and the reproaches of conscience, cannot prevail upon you to admit into your bosom now.
It is due to you to place this fact distinctly before you. You should understand, that when the Scriptures exhort
you to give attention to these subjects, 
TIME AND PLACE.        158
and when the ministers of Christ enforce
the exhortation with whatever skill or
tenderness they can command, it is simply a question of time and place. It is as
certain that you will be brought to consider them, as that you exist; and that,
whatever your creed or character may
be now.  The whole solicitude of your
Christian friends in urging the matter
upon you is, that you may begin this
work of consideration at once. They
know you will do it sooner or later.
And they know, with equal certainty,
that every thing depends upon your
doing it now.
If you ask what are the grounds of
this representation, the answer is at
hand. One of the chief reasons why
you cannot be prevailed upon to apply
your mind to the subject of religion is,
that you are engrossed and captivated 
154        THE GREAT QUESTION.
with worldly objects. At the period referred to, this temptation will be effectually removed. For "the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat,
the earth also, and the works that are
therein  shall  be  burned  up."   This
change virtually takes place with every
individual at his death; for his relations
with this world are then terminated, as
really as though the globe should at that
moment be destroyed. How fearful the
transition must be to an  unconverted
sinner, no human pen may attempt to
describe. But consider what is involved
in being violently torn away from all
the scenes and pursuits with which you
are now occupied. When the claims of
Christianity are pressed upon you, you
turn to your business and your amusements, to your household cares, to your 
THE WORLD WITHDRAWN.        155
books, to your newspapers,  to public
events, to politics, and upon these interests you lavish the attention which is
properly due to religion. Imagine yourself to be transported to some spot on
the globe where none of these things
would be within your reach-no business, no recreation, no reading, no cognizance of passing events, no opportunity
for the exercise of ambition, of avarice,
of enterprise, no means of personal culture, no congenial society; but, on the
contrary, an unavoidable and intimate
fellowship with companions scarcely removed from demons in character and
behaviour. Can you picture to yourself
any thing more horrible than this? And
yet it would approximate only in the
faintest degree to the actual condition
upon which every unrenewed person
enters at death. For the instant the 
156        THE GREAT QUESTION.
soul quits the body, its severance from
all things terrestrial is complete and final.
There is not even left the spectacle of
the earth itself to look upon; its sands
and its seas, its herbage and its flowers,
its forests and its mountains, all will
have disappeared forever. How impossible will it be then for any man to drive
away religion from his thoughts by inviting the world to come in and preoccupy them! The world, in so far as
he is concerned, will have ceased to be.
And, unless he has some other resource,
for aught that the world can do for him,
the unwelcome themes of religion will
have undisputed possession of his breast.
This, however, is but a small part of
the truth. Not only will he be cut off
from all access to this world, but there
will be every thing in his situation to
force these repulsive topics upon his 
ALONE WITH GOD.          1
attention. Even here a rich man feels
lost, if he is stripped of his wealth; and
a scholar when deprived of his books;
and a merchant when obliged to leave
his business for a season; and a mother
when separated from her children; and
a child when removed from its parents,
its school, or its play. But there, superadded to these privations, then become
absolute and immitigable, there will be
objects and associations too closely linked
with eternal realities for the soul to
elude or resist their influence.   The
rich man in the parable was taken up
with his luxury, and feasting, and selfindulgence, until death snatched him
away. Every one is ready to ask, what
ensued after death. In this single instance, our Saviour has lifted the curtain
and given us a glimpse of a lost soul
after its discharge from the body. For
14
157 
158       THE GREAT QUESTION.
although it is a parable, we cannot suppose that he would so construct it as to
produce an impression upon our minds
contrary to the truth. We follow this
unconverted sinner, then, as the immortal spirit hastens away, and we find him
presently "in hell, being in torments,"
and pleading with Abraham to send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool his tongue-for
he was tormented in the flame. (Luke,
chapter 16th.) We have no reason to
doubt, that a similar doom, of which
this may be but a faint and imperfect
symbol, is experienced by every sinner
dying in impenitency. And if this be
so, you may judge whether it will be
possible for one in these circumstances
to avoid " considering" the serious topics
which were so constantly repelled during
this life.  Will he be able to shut out 
IN ETERNITY.           159
the thought of eternity from his mind,
now that he finds himself in eternity?
Can he refuse to think of his soul, when
his soul is disengaged from its clay
tabernacle, and still preserves a conscious existence?  Can he say in his
heart "There is no God," when the vengeance of God is eating up his spirits?
Can he treat hell as a chimera, when his
ears have no respite from its weeping
and wailing and gnashing of teeth? Can
he flatter himself, that Christ is too
compassionate  to allow a sinner like
him to perish, when the "wrath of the
Lamb" is descending all around him, as
' hailstones and coals of fire?"  Oh, no,
no! There will be no alternative left to
you then. You will be compelled to
think of religion. You will be no more
able to thrust its solemn verities from you,
than to compass your own annihilation. 
160       THE GREAT QUESTION.
So far from being allowed only an oc casional and transient hearing, as they
are here, they will cleave to you with
an invincible tenacity, and fill up all
your waking and your sleeping moments. Your sleeping moments, did I
say? Alas, there will be no sleep for the
lost soul. That is a night which brings
no repose; a sorrow which knows no respite. Could the unhappy sinner cease
from thinking, could he have even his
intervals of mental torpor and forgetfulness, half the bitterness of his cup were
gone. But this cannot be. He must
think on, and think on, and think on;
and forever think of the subjects which
are most painful to him.
These subjects, I have said, are the
great themes of religion, which are so
often pressed upon your attention, and
to so little purpose now. Of course you 
NEW ASPECTS.           161
are not to infer from this that they will
come up before the mind of a lost sinner
in the same aspect as they do here. The
invisible barrier which separates time
from eternity, makes an infinite difference in the relations which we sustain
to the Christian revelation and its Divine Author. So long as we are in this
world, the Bible addresses us in accents
of mercy. The very word gospel, like
the Greek term of which it is the translation, means glad tidings. It is God's
proclamation of pardon.  It is a display
of his benevolence and pity, which has
filled all heaven with adoring wonder.
It is a free tender of forgiveness and salvation to the very chief of sinners. And
this proffer he continues to urge upon
us, down to the very moment of death,
by motives drawn from his own perfections, from the love of Christ, from
14* 
162       THE GREAT QUESTION.
the necessities of our own souls, from
the ruined condition of the world, and
from many other sources. But here he
stops. The change which death produces in the outward condition of the
impenitent sinner, is not greater than
the revolution it effects in his relations
to the system of redemption. To him,
it ceases to be a system of redemption.
There is no offer of pardon; no call to
repentance; no striving of the Spirit.
The Bible and the Sabbath, the ministry
of reconciliation, and even the throne
of grace, disappear. Instead of mercy
there is judgment.  For pity, there is
vengeance.  For "COME UNTO ME," there
is "DEPART  YE!"   For  the  fountain
opened for sin- and uncleanness, there is
the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone. All the objects which crowd
upon the disembodied spirit breathe of 
BEFORE TiE BAR.          163
retribution, and anguish, and despair.
And every thing around and within
conspires to fasten the thoughts, as by
an inexorable necessity, upon that cross
which has now ceased to be a symbol of
mercy; and those abused privileges and
warnings which come back with their
scorpion stings to agonize the soul.
If it be disagreeable to you to think
of religion here; if you have a conscious
antipathy toward it when it is robed in
light and loveliness, and seeks you out,
only to extricate you from the toils of
sin, and conduct you in triumph up to
the realms of bliss, how will you bear
the contemplation of it when it stands
before you, arrayed in the terrors of
vindicatory justice? If you cannot endure its offers of pardon and of heaven,
how will you endure it when it forces
itself upon you, as an ever-present, har 
164       THE GREAT QUESTION.
rowing memorial, that those offers are
withdrawn forever?   If it is irksome
to you to hear of Christ as a SAVIOUR,
what would you not give to have the
rocks and the mountains to fall on you
and cover you, when the archangel's
trump summons you to appear before
him, as a JUDGE!
It would, perhaps, be some slight alleviation of the anguish of that day, were
the whole race to encounter a common
doom. So it will certainly aggravate
the misery of the lost, to reflect, that to
a portion of the race, this is a day of joy
and triumph.
"*  *  * * On the right hand of bliss,
Sublime in glory, talking with their peers
Of the incarnate Saviour's love,"
they will see a multitude which no man
can number, who once dwelt with them
in this vale of tears. Among them may 
THIE LAST MEETING.        165
be some whom they had known as
neighbours, friends, fellow-worshippers,
who sat side by side with them in the
sanctuary, listened to the same sermons,
sang the same hymns of praise, and
united, outwardly at least, in the same
prayers. Nay, there may be those who
were bound to them by much more endearing ties,-a wife, a parent, a child,
a sister, a household group, who used to
sit around the same table, and with
whose lives, theirs were interlaced like
the reticulations  of the  vine, which
spread its drapery over their family
mansion.  These are saved, and they are
lost! They journeyed through life together, and at its close, they parted,
never to meet, except as they meet now,
one on the right hand of Christ, the
other on his left; one never to weep,
the other never to smile again. How 
166       THRE GREAT QUESTION.
inevitable and how poignant the conviction, that but for their own obduracy in
refusing to come to Christ, they too
might have been among that radiant
company!
It will, indeed, be an overwhelming
reflection, that they were fully instructed
in their duty, and admonished of the
consequences of neglecting it. Life and
death were set before them. They
knew, that unless they were born of the
Spirit, they could not enter into the
kingdom of God; that except they repented, they must perish; that if they
refused to believe in Christ, they must
be damned.*  All this was  distinctly
presented to them. With many of them,
it was instilled into their infant minds,
and reiterated by pious parents, and
*John iii. 5. Luke xiii. 3. MIark xvi. 16. 
REPENTANCE OR PERDITION.       167
proclaimed in their hearing by the ministers of the gospel, through the whole
course of their lives. And if the consciousness that he once had "Moses and
the prophets" augmented the suffering
of the rich man in hell, what pangs of
sorrow must they experience who had
not only Moses and the prophets, but
Christ and the apostles
"Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not!
These are the words to which the harps of grief
Are strung; and to the chorus of the damned,
The rocks of hell repeat them, evermore;
Loud echoed through the caverns of despair,
And poured in thunder on the ear of Wo."
There can be little hazard in saying
to the reader of this treatise, that he
knows his duty. It is not a thing of
yesterday with you, that you have had
access to the Bible, or that you have
heard the preaching of the gospel. It
has probably been your high privilege 
168       THE GREAT QUESTION.
to grow up in the midst of religious
influences, eminently adapted to direct
your thoughts and efforts heavenward.
So far from not being instructed in the
essential doctrines and duties of Christianity, these may have been so vividly
impressed upon your mind, that it has
more than once cost you a struggle to
stifle your convictions, and persist in
your devotion to the world.   Should
you finally perish, (which may a merciful God prevent!) this fact cannot fail
to impart new energy to every other
element of your misery. It were in that
case an unspeakable mitigation, could
you be allowed to take your place at
Christ's bar, with the people of Sodom
and Gomorrah, with the besotted Hindoos, or with the ferocious cannibals of
the South Seas. These must suffer; for
they abused the light of nature. But 
REMEMBER.             169
nature is to the written revelation like
a twinkling star to the sun; and all
who pervert or neglect the Scriptures,
must look for a corresponding retribution. There will be no wretchedness
there, comparable to that of those who
persevered through life, in counting the
blood of the covenant an unholy thing,
and doing despite to the Spirit of grace.
In the parable already mentioned,
Abraham begins his reply'to the lost
sinner with a word of most pregnant
signification.  "Son, remember!"  What
unfathomable depths of sorrow are embosomed in this word!  In this life you
find it convenient, and therefore easy, to
forget much that pertains to your spiritual well-being. You forget the pious
lessons of the nursery. You forget the
beneficent invitations of the Saviour.
You forget the urgent expostulations of
15 
170    THE GREAT QUESTION.
the sanctuary. You forget the serious
meditations of the house of mourning.
You forget the self-reproaches, and anxious prayers, and sacred promises of the
bed of sickness. You forget the purposes of amendment  so often formed,
and the strivings of the Spirit so often
resisted. But memory will be more
faithful to its trust in that world. There
are numerous facts which favour the belief, that nothing once confided to this
mysterious  faculty is ever  lost.  Instances have occurred of persons who
have been able to recite long passages of
the ancient classics, many years after
they had lost all knowledge of the language, and of others who could commit
to memory poems of great length in a
language they never learned. There is
a well-known case of a female servant,
who in a fit of delirium during sickness,
170 
FEARFUL TESTIMONY.        171
was heard uttering Hebrew words and
sentences: a marvel which was explained
when an inquiry into her history brought
out the fact, that she had once lived in
the family of a learned German divine,
whom she had heard reading and talking in Hebrew, as she was at work in
his library. And several persons rescued from drowning have testified, that
while struggling under the water, their
past lives have come up before them
with a vividness and minuteness of detail, which they could only describe by
saying, "It seemed as though I thought
of every thing I had ever said and done,
or that had ever happened to me."
These are fearful intimations as to the
constitution of our being.   They give
plausibility to the conjecture that the
memory is like a book written over with
sympathetic ink, which appears a blank 
172       THE GREAT QUESTION.
until exposed to the fire, and then every
page is seen covered with penmanship.
Whatever vacuity may possess the mind
of the unrenewed sinner when summoned before the bar of judgment, it is
only necessary for the Judge to touch
the secret spring of his memory, and his
buried thoughts will start into being,
"like the insects that come from an anthill when it is stirred." And can we
doubt that God will do this? Is it not
implied in the statement, that he "shall
bring every work into judgment, with
every secret thing, whether it be good or
whether it be evil?" And are we not
warranted in believing, that this transcript of the sinner's life, so comprehensive and so graphic as to reveal even his
most secret thoughts, will not merely
be spread before him at the last day, but
kept before him by a too faithful memory 
AN APPALLING RETROSPECT.       173
throughout eternity? For myself, I cannot and do not doubt it.
And if it shall prove to be so, with
how much reason may we contend, that
those who refused to consider the subject
of religion here, will be compelled to
fasten their thoughts upon these unwelcome topics hereafter; and, most of all,
upon the gracious dealings of God with
them, and their base requital of his
kindness.  The life you have lived here,
must be lived over and over again there.
This religious education, these parental
counsels and prayers, these providential
warnings; these tranquil Sabbaths, these
convictions of sin, these anxious forebodings about eternity, these resolutions
of repentance, these secret cries for
mercy, this shame of the cross, this fear
of the world, these relapses into sinall, all will recur hereafter, and continue
15* 
174       THE GREAT QUESTION.
to pass and repass before the mind, so
long as the mind itself endures. You
will think of God; but it will be as the
Psalmist thought of him, " I remembered
God, and was troubled." You will think
of the Bible; but it will be as of a book
which is now sealed against you. You
will think of the Saviour; but it will be
only to look on him whom you pierced,
and whose blood now imprecates vengeance upon you. You will think of
heaven; but it will be with the sad conviction that it was once within your
reach, and is now separated from you by
an impassable gulf. You will think of
your Sabbaths; but it will be to reflect
that they are gone forever. You will
think of your seasons of religious anxiety;
but it will be to remember, that when
you were "almost persuaded to be a
Christian," you dismissed the subject 
REMORSE.             175
from your breast, and threw yourself
again into the arms of an ungodly world.
"Wretch that I am!" you may well
exclaim, "what shall I do, or whither
shall I flee? I am weighed in the balance, and am found wanting. Oh, that I
had never been instructed in the will of
God at all, rather than that, being thus
instructed, I should have disregarded
and transgressed it. Would to God I
had been allied to the meanest of the
human race, to them that come nearest
to the state of brutes, rather than that
I should have had my lot in cultivated
life, amid-so many of the improvements
of reason, and amid so many of the advantages of religion too! and thus to
have perverted all to my destruction.
Who can dwell in the devouring flames?
Who can lie down in the everlasting
burnings? But whom have I to blame 
176       THlE GREAT QUESTION.
in all this but myself? What have I to
accuse but my own stupid and incorrigible folly? On what is all this terrible
ruin to be charged, but on this one fatal
cause, that, having broken God's law, I
rejected his gospel too?  And  now my
doom is sealed, and sealed forever."*
Would that I could spare you such a
recital as this. It is not of choice, but
of necessity that I present it. I shrink
from this topic, the misery of a lost soul,
with a repugnance which is wellnigh
invincible.   There is no theme so repulsive, so appalling to me; none that I so
much dread to speak of. We are all
liable to contract a subtle unbelief on
this subject, which derives shelter and
nourishment from our benevolent sympathies. There is something so horrible,
* Vide Doddridge's Rise and Progress. 
MISTAKEN TENDERNESS.        177
so heart-rending in the thought, that one
whom we have known and loved may
pass out of this world into the abodes of
the damned, and become the companion
of the devil and his angels for all eternity, that we believe it as though we
believed it not. We drive it away from
us. We treat it as a phantom which
must not be allowed to disturb our peace.
But is this right? Is it wise? Is it becoining? Shall we aspire to be more
merciful than the God of mercy? Are
we to challenge to ourselves more tenderness than the Saviour? And did he
avoid this subject? Did hle refrain from
speaking of "'the worm that never dies
and the fire that shall never be quenched?" It is the awful sanctity and the
ineffable gentleness of his character
which impart to his utterances on this
topic so sublime a pathos, so unearthly 
178       THE GREAT QUESTION.
a solemnity. No mistaken lenity kept
him from proclaiming that there was a
hell. Nor did he ever suppress the declaration, that it is the broad road, in
which the mass of the race are walking,
that leads to it. These truths concern
us as deeply as they could the generation among whom he lived. And woe
be to us if we deny or dissemble them.
Yes, there is a hell. And every one
who is neglecting the great salvation, is
in imminent peril of it.
And now, the momentous alternative
submitted to the reader is, Will you
consider the subject of religion here, or
will you consider it in eternity? One
or the other you must do.  You can no
more elude it than you can cease to be.
If you decline the examination of the
subject here, "in the latter days you
shiall consider it perfectly." Judge for 
PRESENT MERCY.           179
yourself, whether it will not be better,
infinitely better, to give your attention
to it now. In this world, religion contemplates you as a sinner ruined and
condemned, but reprieved. It proposes
itself to you as a system of mercy. It
comes with the blood of atonement and
the ministry of the Spirit, with pardon,
and renewal, and holiness, and peace.
It breathes of penitence and love, of
hope and triumph, of a reconciled God
and a glorious heaven. It finds you in
circumstances in which you can comply
with its demands, not only without compromising any of your interests, spiritual
or secular, but with decided advantage
to them all. It supplies you with every
needful help-with a very profusion of
the means of grace. It holds out to you
encouragements and inducements to the
performance of your duty, of the most
179 
180      TIlE GREAT QUESTION.
engaging character. And it crowns all
its appeals with a distinct and monitory
exhibition of the fearful consequences
which must attend your refusal.
Now, contrast with this, the situation
in which you will be compelled to consider the subject, if it is neglected here.
No longer in a world of probation, but
in a world of retribution-the light
of the Sun of righteousness, which is
streaming down upon your pathway
now, exchanged for the blackness of
darkness-all your domestic ties and
social affinities dissolved-all the plans
and occupations which now engross you
annihilated-religion presented to you
only in its terrors-the Saviour known
only in the dreadful anathema denounced
against those who do not love him-the
Spirit known only with the anguish of
the sinner who has sinned away his 
UNENDING WOE.          181
day of grace-with no Bible to repair to
for counsel-no friend to fly to for sympathy-no God to whom you can cry
for mercy —no employments which can
mitigate your desolation-no companions but such as will increase your
wretchedness, —all possible forms  and
appliances of misery around you; and,
within, the gnawings of the undying
worm,-no respite, no peace, no hope
the remorse which knows no cessationthe despair which knows no ebb! And
all this, forever-forever-FoREVER and
EVER!  Oh, my fellow-sinner, can you do
this? Can you postpone all serious reflection to  such a world?  Can  you
pluck down upon yourself a ruin so
awful, so irretrievable? Say not that
this is an exaggerated picture, adapted
only to harrow up the feelings. What
pencil can depict the agonies of a lost
16 
182      TTHE GREAT QUESTION.
soul? If you cannot bear to look upon
the canvas, how could you endure the
reality? And why will you run the
hazard of it, by postponing your repentance?'"iHe that being often reproved,
hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy."
Through the mercy of God, this doom,
which so many others have encountered,
has not yet overtaken you. You are
still within sight of the cross. And the
Saviour still bids you look to him and
live.
"Believe, and take the promised rest;
Obey,-and be forever blest!" 
AN INQUIRER.
SECTION VI.
WHIAT CAN I DO?
I AM willing to believe, that among
the readers of this book, there may be,
here and there, one upon whom the
arguments and appeals presented in the
preceding pages will not have been
thrown away. You are at length satisfied, that it is your duty to attend to
the claims of personal religion.   But
the subject is so new and strange to you
that you know not how to go about it.
"I would like to become a Christian.
But what can I do?  Tell me ju8st what  to
do, and I am ready to follow your di
183 
184       THiE GREAT QUESTION.
rections." This is your language. If it
is uttered in good faith, (as I, of course,
presume it to be,) it is cause for thankfulness. It is a great point gained, when
an individual has been brought by the
Spirit of God to that state of mind, that
he is disposed to ask,'" What must I do
to be saved?"
The answer to this momentous question has been interwoven with the whole
texture of this volume, and, in several
places, stated in a formal way. But
your desire for a more particular explanation of the subject is reasonable, and
shall be complied with, so far as God
may enable me to meet your wishes.
Let us first review the plan of salvation. This very phrase, as you will perceive, directs the mind to our lost condition; for he only who is lost, requires
to be saved. The ruin in which we 
.HUMAN DEPRAVITY.         185
were overwhelmed by the apostacy of
our first parents, comprises two distinct
but inseparable parts or elements: depravity of heart, and subjection to the
penalty of the Divine law. The former
is set forth in such passages as these:
' That which is born of the flesh is
flesh."   "By  nature, the children of
wrath."   " Every imagination  of  the
thought of man's heart is only evil continually." "All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God."  "1 The carnal
mind is enmity against God."   "The
heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked."* The other characteristic of our ruined state is affirmed
with equal explicitness. " The wages
of sin is death."  "The wrath of God is
*John  iii. 6.   Eph.  ii. 3.    Gen.  vi. 5.   Rom.
iii. 23; viii. 7. Jer. xvii. 9.
16* 
186       THE GREAT QUESTION.
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men."
" Cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things which' are written in
the book of the law to do them."
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die."*
A reference Bible will direct you to
numerous other  passages, bearing  on
each of these points. The doctrine they
teach is, that man is by nature and by
practice a guilty and helpless sinner.
His depravity extends to all his powers;
his understanding is darkened; his affections are earthly and grovelling; his
will is rebellious; his conscience is enfeebled or perverted, and the whole current of his being, instead of tending
toward his Creator, is alien from God, and
hostile to his character and government.
* Rom. vi. 23; i. 18.  Gal. iii. 10. Ezek. xviii. 4 
THiE TWOFOLD RUIN.         d
Of course, he is under condemnation.
The sentence of the law has gone out
against him, and retributive justice
waits to visit him with its penal curse.
It is evident, (as formerly intimated,)
that the only salvation which can meet
the exigencies of a race in this condition,
must be of the twofold character of the
misery from which they are to be extricated. To employ a familiar illustration, the sinner is in the condition of a
criminal, who  while under sentence of
death, is attacked with a mortal disease.
There are two things which a man in
these circumstances needs, neither of
which will avail him any thing without
the other. He may receive a pardon,
but he will still die of his malady. iHe
may be healed of his malady, but he
will have to suffer for his crime. He
must be both healed and pardoned, or
187 
188       THE GREAT QUESTION.
his life is gone. So with the sinner.
Ile requires to be forgiven, and to be
cured of the fatal leprosy of sin. Forgiveness alone would not fit him for
heaven. Neither would spiritual healing.  The two must be combined.  And
in the economy of redemption they are
combined. One of them is secured in
the renewing of the heart by the Holy
Spirit; the other, by the soul's casting
itself upon the Lord Jesus Christ, to be
pardoned and accepted, solely through
the merit of his atoning blood and perfect righteousness.
These themes are the burden of the
New  Testament.  "Except a man  be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God." "Of his own will begat he us
with the word of truth."  " If any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature; old
things are passed away; behold, all 
PROOFS PROM SCRIPTURE.      189
things are become new." "Except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
"God so loved the world, that he gave
his only-begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life."   Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness, to
every one than believeth."' HIim that
cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast
out." "For he hath made him to be
sin for us who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God
in him."  "Even the righteousness of
God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ
unto all, and upon all them that believe,
for there is no difference."'"He that
believeth on him is not condemned; but
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only-begotten Son of
*'-:.i:. -.'!* 
190       THE GREAT QUESTION.
God."   "Holiness, without which no
man shall see the Lord."*
In these and other passages, it is
sometimes regeneration, sometimes justification, and again, faith, or repentance,
or holiness, which is declared to be in-'
dispensable to salvation. All are alike
necessary; and are equally included or
implied in the work of the Spirit within
us, and the work of the Saviour without
us. In the statement just made, I have
substituted the word "justification" for
"pardon"  or "forgiveness," previously
used. The reason is, that man needs
more than pardon; he must be "justified." When a convict is pardoned, he
is simply set free from the penalty of
*John iii. 3. James i. 18. 2 Cor. v. 17. Luke
xiii. 3.  John iii. 16.   Rom. x. 4.  John vi. 37.
, or. y...21.   Rom. iii. 22.  John. iii. 18.   Ileb.
B,-'.i';i:'. 
THE MEDIATOR.           191
the law. If his sovereign should also
invite him to his palace, adopt him as a
son, exalt him to the highest honours of
the realm, and make over to him a title
in perpetuity to his kingdom, it would
supply an illustration of what God is
pleased in his infinite mercy to do for
every penitent and believing sinner; and
of what, it may be added, must be done
in order to his salvation.
But you will ask, with anxiety, How
is this effected?   I answer,  Through
the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As is clearly set forth in the Scripture
testimonies that have been quoted, our
condition by nature was quite hopeless.
In so far as any resources of our own, or
of other races of creatures, were concerned, we must have remained forever
under the power of that penal death
which is the righteous penalty of the 
192       THiE GREAT QUESTION.
Divine law. But " where sin abounded,
grace hath much more abounded." God
was pleased, of his mere good pleasure,
to send his only-begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through him.
Uniting our nature with his own, Jesus
stooped to become our SUBSTITUTE, and
to expiate our sins with his blood. Assuming our law-place, he rendered to
the law that obedience which we had
failed to render, and bore that penalty
which we had incurred. It was a fundamental principle of the Divine administration,  that  "without  shedding  of
blood, there could be no remission."
The shedding of CHRIST'S blood not
only sustained, but "magnified" the law;
while it illustrated, beyond any other
measure of which it is possible for the
human mind to conceive, the dreadful
evil of sin, and the boundless love, the 
EFFICACY OF CIIRIST'S BLOOD.  193
inflexible justice, and the immaculate
holiness of the Deity. It was as our
SURETY he suffered and died.; He bore
our sins in his own body on the tree."
" While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us." "Ye are redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ." "Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us."
On the efficacy of this sacrifice there
can be no question. It was appointed
and accepted by the Father; and the
least consideration of the subject must
suffice to show, that the blood of such
a victim has a value sufficient to atone
for the sins of unnumbered worlds, if it
were the purpose of God so to apply it.
Here, then, is what every sinner
needs,- what you need,- - a sacrifice
which takes away sin, and a righteousness which fulfils all the requirements
17 
194        THE GREAT QUESTION.
of the Divine jurisprudence. How can
they so become your's as to avail to your
justification? The answer which the
Scriptures give to this important question, is-by FAITH.  "iHe that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life; he
that believeth not the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God abideth on
him." "God is just, and the justifier of
him that believerth in Jesus." cc This is
his commandment, that we should believe on his Son Jesus Christ." This act
is in other places styled, a looking to
Christ, receiving  Christ, building  on
Christ, and, more commonly, coming to
Christ. For all practical purposes, these
expressions may be regarded as equivalent and interchangeable. The sinner,
enlightened by the Spirit and word of
God, is made sensible of his depraved
and miserable condition, of his exposure 
BELIEF IN cHRIST.          195
to the Divine displeasure, and of the
worthlessness of his former hopes; and,
discovering at the same time the excel lency and sufficiency of CHRIST, he re ceives and rests upon him alone for sal vation. In other words, he believes the
testimony of God concerning his own sin
and  ruin.   He believes  His testimony
concerning Jesus Christ, as the propitiation for our sins, our Ransom, and our
suffering and atoning High Priest.  He
believes the gracious assurance, that God
will save to the uttermost all who come
unto him by Jesus Christ; that none
who come shall in any wise be cast out;
that "every one who thirsteth," yea,
that "whosoever will," even though he
be the chief of sinners, may come to
Christ, and shall be made welcome.
This he believes;-not, indeed, without
much distrust and many a conflict; and 
196        THE GREAT QUESTION.
not, ordinarily, without having tried
various fruitless expedients for obtaining peace of mind.  But, in the end, he
believes it; and thereupon, with contrition for his sins, and gratitude for the
boundless mercy of God, he accepts the
revealed method of salvation, and trusts
in the merits of Christ as the foundation
of his hope. Relying upon the righteousness of Christ for acceptance, that
righteousness is made over to him or set
down to his account-precisely as our
sins were laid upon the Saviour. As
our Substitute, he consented to be'" made 4
sin for us," that is, to have our sins
visited upon him, and to be regarded
and treated as a sinner in our stead.
And  his compassionate design in this
was, that "we  might  be  made  the
righteousness of God in himn;" to wit:
that his righteousness  (his "obedience 
CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.      197
unto death, whereby he fully satisfied
the claims of the law) might be so reckoned to our account, that we should be
regarded and treated as righteous; or, in
other words, be "justified." It is this
closing in with the gospel method of
salvation, this cordial assent of the soul
to Christ's invitations, this entire surrender of the heart to him, not only as a
SAvIOUR to be trusted in, but as a KING
and SOVEREIGN, to be obeyed and honoured, which constitutes true faith.
And if you thus believe in Christ, you
will be saved.
"c But what," you may be ready to ask,
becomes of regeneration and repentance.
Are not these also essential to salvation?" They are. But will you recur
to the views presented in a former part
of this Treatise, on the nature of the
Spirit's work  upon the heart?   This
17-*
197 
198        THE GREAT QUESTION.
Divine agent, we have reason to believe
not only presents the truth to the mind,
but, in some mysterious manner, operates directly upon the mind, so as to
enable it to appre7lend  the truth in
its just import. lHe imparts, with the
light, the capacity of spiritual vision.
(See I Cor. ii. 14.) But all this is done
without trenching upon our free agency.
The sinner acts with as perfect freedom
in every stage of his conversion-and in
the entire development and growth of
the spiritual man-as he ever did in
rejecting the Saviour, or in prosecuting
a secular project.  But the Almighty
Spirit is there, gently withdrawing the
scales from his eyes, unveiling to him
his real condition, disclosing the majesty
of the violated law, the awful holiness
of the Godhead, and the efficacy of the
great sacrifice, swaying his reluctant 
RENEWING GRACE.           199
will, loosening his hold upon the world,
and, by degrees, leading him on, in peni tence, and doubt, and anxiety, toward
the cross-and, at length, to the Saviour
himself.  It is while you are "striving
to enter in at the strait gate," and
occupied with looking to Christ, and as
the cause of your doing this, that the
Spirit is  working in you to w    ill and
,to do of his good pleasure." And it is
through the efficacy of his renewing
grace that you do, as the first act of the
new life he has imparted to you, open
your heart to Jesus of Nazareth, and
cry, "My LORD and my GOD!"
The exercises which precede this receiving of Christ are endlessly diversified.  "By the law is the knowledge of
sin." " The law is our school-master to
bring us to Christ." And the' lawwork" (as the old divines expressed it) 
200       THE GREAT QUESTION.
is longer or shorter, milder or more
pungent, in different cases. In most of
the examples of conversion recorded in
the New Testament, it was of brief duration.  Witness  the dying thief;  the
three thousand; the jailer of Philippi;
the Roman converts. (Acts xxviii.) In
some cases, there was intense anxiety
and terror, as with the jailer and the
publican. While in others, there seems.
to have been no convulsion of feeling
whatever, but an humble and grateful
reception of a crucified Saviour as soon
as he was made known: to this class
may be referred the instances of the
centurion, (Luke vii.,) the Ethiopian
eunuch, (Acts viii.,) and Lydia, (Acts
xvi.) The same diversity has obtained
in later times. Luther was a long while
groping his way to the cross-no strange
thing certainly, when we consider the 
CONVICTION.          201
circumstances in which he was placed.
This also was the experience of Bunyan,
and of that great man, Dr. Owen; both
of whom passed through protracted and
painful  conflicts.   But  in  numerous
other cases of undoubted conversion,
there has been a close resemblance to
those Scriptural examples, in which the
soul was drawn to the Saviour with
cords of love.
Nothing is more common than for individuals newly aroused to serious reflection, to insist upon a specific measure
of "conviction," as an  essential  prerequisite to their coming to Christ.
That some degree of conviction is demanded, appears from the fa,ct, that no
one will seek a Saviour until he feels
himself to be  lost.  "They  that are
whole need not a physician, but they
that are sick." But the precise extent 
202       THE GREAT QUESTION.
to which this law-work shall be carried
in any given case depends on the sovereignty of God. If Jesus sees fit to send
a word, in passing, to the heart of Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom,
which  shall  instantaneously  transmute
him into a disciple; and to consign Saul
of Tarsus to three days and nights of
blindness and contrition and remorse;
neither may complain-Saul, that he
experienced too much distress, nor Matthew that he experienced too little. The
most intense mental anguish has no
mnerit in it. And the ardent desire for
it, on the part of awakened sinners, frequently springs from a subtle spirit of
self-righteousness-from a feeling that it
would in some way recommend them to
the Saviour, or move his pity toward
them. How fallacious this idea is, might
be seen from the fact that individuals 
NO MERIT IN CONVICTION.      203
sometimes experience the most torturing
convictions, without  being  converted.
Of what avail were the convictions of
Cain-of Judas-of Felix?  Nor is it
less important to observe, that the feeling of which I am now speaking, is derogatory to the Saviour. It aims at the
securing to the sinner himself a share in
the glory of his salvation. He would
come to Christ with a price in his handdeeming himself not altogether unworthy of his clemency, because of his tears
and his self-reproaches and his mental
anguish. Distressed and humbled he
may well be: if he could see his sins in
all their enormity, his remorse and terror would far exceed any thing he has
yet experienced. But there is no merit
in this. It has no efficacy to expiate
the least of his transgressions. It cannot, in the slightest degree, mitigate his 
204       THE GREAT QUESTION.
ill-desert. And so long as he trusts in
it to make himself less unworthy to be
accepted and saved, it will prove an invincible barrier to his coming to Christ
at all. If we are ever saved, it must be
by coming to Christ as miserable, depraved, ruined, and helpless sinners, without
righteousness and without strength, feeling that all the merit must be his, that
his blood alone can cleanse us, and that
it is for God, ins his wise and holy sovereignty, to decide, whether we shall be
sprinkled with that precious blood, or
left to perish. It is to those who are
soothing themselves with a complacent
self-righteousness, which as often assumes the type just indicated, as any
other, he says, "Because thou knowest
not that thou art wretched, and misera,
ble, and poor, and blind, and naked, I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried 
COME UNTO ME.          2
in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest
see."
It may be, that amid the variety of
topics which offer themselves for consideration in examining this vital question, you find your mind confused. Let
me say then, that the duty of one who
desires, without longer delay, to make
his peace with God, is perfectly simple
and plain. It is defined in that expression so often cited, "COME UNTO ME, and
I will give you rest." You have but
this one thing to do. You need not
(now) perplex yourself with inquiring,
whether the Spirit has changed your
heart; nor whether your repentance is
yet deep enough to "authorize" you to
-18
205 
206       THE GREAT QUESTION.
believe in Christ; nor whether your motives in desiring to be saved are altogether pure; nor with any thing else
pertaining to your own exercises. Your
warrant, your sole warrant, for coming
to Christ, is contained in his word, not
in your feelings. It is as much addressed to you as to any other human being;
as much as it was to any one among the
myriads who have appropriated it and
found mercy. It is well to examine
your heart by the light of Scripture, to
review your life, and to lay to heart the
years that have been spent in impenitence, and the mercies that have been
abused; but the exclu8sive contemplation
of these things will divert your thoughts
from the Saviour. And it is in looking
to Christ that the sinner soonest learns
to appreciate the evil of sin, the baseness of his ingratitude, and his infinite 
REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE.       2
obligations to redeeming mercy.  This,
in fact, is genuine repentance; the repentance which flows from a discovery
of the divine mercy, in connection with
the purity and spirituality of the moral
law.    They shall look upon ME whom
they have pierced, and they shall
mourn." It is when the sinner has
been led by the Holy Spirit to the Saviour; when he looks upon him he has
pierced, and beholds the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world,
that he abhors himself, and repents in
dust and ashes. Then it is he sorrows
after a godly sort; sorrows, not because
he dreads the punishment of sin, but
because he feels the intrinsic evil of sin,
and sees that it has been committed
against a God of infinite goodness, who
has been all his life loading him with
blessings. Here is the repentance which
207 
208       THE GREAT QUESTION.
is unto life; and it is so far from being
restricted, as'inquirers" are apt to suppose, to the dawn of religion in the soul,
that it forms an essential part of the
daily experience of the Christian, until
he exchanges his body of sin and death,
for the beatific life of heaven. It should
be added, too, that in many cases, as
with President Edwards, Christians experience far more humbling and affecting
discoveries of their deep depravity in
after years, than they did at their conversion.
If these views are correct, the question which now concerns the reader, is,
ARE YOU WILLING  TO COME TO CHRIST?
Do you see and feel yourself to be, by
nature and by practice, a lost and helpless sinner? Is it your earnest desire
and purpose, God helping you, henceforth to hate and forsake all sin? Are 
ARE YOU WILLING TO COME?    209
you ready to give up tlhe world, that is,
the supreme love of the world, and devotion to its interests, for the love and
service of God? Have you seen the insufficiency of your own morality, of your
orthodox creed, your hereditary faith,
your reformation, your contrition, your
prayers, your religious observances, to
entitle you to forgiveness, or recommend
you to the divine compassion? Are you
prepared to renounce all dependence
upon these things, and to cast yourself
upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ,
to be washed from your sins in his blood,
to be justified only through his righteousness, and henceforth to wear his
yoke, to own him as your Lord, and to
spend the remainder of your life in his
service? If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, what hinders
that you should now come to Christ, and
18* 
210       THE GREAT QUESTION.
receive him as your all in all?  "Unworthy," you doubtless are; but who
ever came to Christ, being worthy?  The
feeling of "worthiness" would actually
exclude you from his offer: for he "came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance." If you come to him at all,
it must be just as you are. Here is the
way in which you must come; described
so well, that I see not how any uninspired pen, could describe it better:
"Just as I am-without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidd'st me come to thee     O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,     O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings within, and foes without      0 Lamb of God, I come! 
JUST AS I AM.
"Just as I am-poor, wretched, blind:
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,      O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because thy promise I believe      O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am-thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone      O Lamb of God, I come!"*
I anticipate the feeling with which
some of my readers may listen to this
representation.   "I would like to feel
thus, but I do not. I am willing to do
any thing which may inspire me with
these feelings, and aid me in coming to
Christ. What am I to do?" I reply,
* I learn through a private channel, that this
beautiful Hymn was written by Miss ELLIOT, of
Torquay, England.
211 
212       THE GREAT QUESTION.
that the commands of God and his gracious invitations, call for an immediate
compliance. All things are ready. The
Saviour bids you look to him, and live.
The present is his time: it should be
yours. Such are the uncertainties and
perils of life, that a single day's delay
may transfer this question from a world
of hope to a region of despair. I urge
you then to go to Christ'"just as you
are," without an hour's procrastination.
But if you still ask, a What can I do to
increase the interest I begin to feel in
this momentous subject, and to assist me
in entering upon a Christian life?"  I
answer, by suggesting again the following things, which you can and should do.
1. You can deliberately make u2p your
mind as to the duty of attending to the
subject of religion at this time. Count
the cost of doing it. (Luke xiv. 25-33.) 
A CHART.             213
And determine, as the grace of God may
enable you, whether you will from this
time make it your paramount concern,
to seek an interest in the blood of Christ,
and to serve him.
2. You can faitltfully exert yourself to
put away all known sin. You may be
free from gross vices, but you can not be
free from sin. You may be proud, or
vain - ambitious- passionate-petulant
-resentful-avaricious-deceitful-censorious-or addicted to levity and foolish
jesting.*  You  may have slidden into
* " Foolish jesting."   It is not sufficiently considered, how hostile this habit is to serious reflection. There are persons who make it their vocation
to say witty things. They are looked to in all companies to make the fun. Like the king's fool at the
ancient courts, they are expected to turn every
thing into ridicule; and, conscious of their calling,
they are perpetually essaying puns and pleasantries. 
214     THE GREAT QUESTION.
unworthy practices in your business.
You may be excessively fond of gay
amusements, and the frivolities of fashionable life. You may be chargeable
with the habitual  desecration  of  the
Sabbath; at least, in the way of neglecting its ordinances. It is impossible to
cover this ground by an enumeration of
specific sins. But take the decalogue,
and, with the assistance of any good
exposition, (such as the commentaries
and catechisms supply,) endeavour to
Not to comment on this practice as a matter of
taste, about which opinions might differ, there can
be no question that it is most unfriendly to religious thoughtfulness. The individual who is so
unfortunate as to be addicted to it, will find it a
great impediment to his salvation. Hiis good purposes will speedily succumb to his levity; and he
may barter his soul for the paltry reputation of
a humorist.
214 
BEGIN NOW.             215
discover to what sins you are prone.
And, looking upward for help, begin
at once to forsake and watch against
them. Many persons appear to suppose
that it will be time enough to put away
their sins, and discharge every known
duty, after they shall have become Christians. This is not the way to be saved.
"Turn yourselves, and live ye."  (Ezek.
xviii. 32.)   "1Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts, and let him return unto the
Lord, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon." (Isaiah lv. 7.) The first thing
to be done, is to forsake your evil way,
and even your evil "thoughts." Any
unwillingness to do this may well lead
you to distrust your own sincerity in
professing a desire to enter upon a religious life. There is no more decisive 
216        THE GREAT QUESTION.
characteristic of one who is really "striving to enter in at the strait gate," than a
careful and humble watching against all
sin, whether in thought, word, or deed.
3. As  closely allied to the counsel
just given, you can, to a considerable
extent at least, avoid scenes and associations whTiclh are hostile to serious reflection.
Religious thoughtfulness is too much an
exotic in your breast to thrive without
being sheltered and nurtured. It may be
impaired, and possibly extinguished, by
frivolous talking, by gay amusements,
by light reading. Nay, the very shame
of the -cross, and the stifling of convictions, (Mark viii. 38, John xii. 42, 43,)
may efface your impressions.
4. While shunning these adverse influences, you can court those of an ol)posite
character, which will fortify you in your
good purposes, and aid you in your ef 
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER.        2l 
forts. Pre-eminent among these are the
services of the sanctuary, both on the
Sabbath and during the week. I mention the last because of the repugnance
you may have felt to going to a weekly
lecture or prayer-meeting. There is a
feeling on this point among many persons, as irrational as it is pernicious.
You certainly, if you are in earnest
in seeking your salvation, will not
disparage these social religious meetings. You will gladly avail yourself of
the valuable assistance you can derive
from them in the way of subduing the
worldliness of your spirit, emancipating
you from the bondage of things visible
and transitory, and bringing you into
a closer fellowship with Christian ordinances and Christian people. It is well
to breathe the atmosphere of a house
of prayer. It is in the sanctuary, too,
19
217 
218       THE GREAT QUESTION.
that God's truth is published and explained; and there the omnipotent Spirit
most frequently works his miracles of
mercy in the conversion and salvation
of sinners..
5. You can devote a portion of every
day to to- devout reading of the Scripture8, and other reliyious books. Of such
vital importance is this, that it would be
impossible to insist upon it too strongly.
It was by the study of the Bible he
found in the convent of Erfurt, that Luther was gradually led into the truth,
and so, in the end, equipped for the Reformation.  The Rev. Thomas Scott, the
Commentator, whose praise is in all the
churches, commenced his ministry in the
established Church of England, as a decided Socinian. Anid it was through the
blessing of God on his private study of
the Scriptures, that he became, some 
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.      219
years after, an able expounder and defender of the faith he had once  destroyed.   The "FORCE OF TRUTH," the
narrative in which he has portrayed the
struggles of his powerful intellect in
escaping from the bondage of error, is
one of the most interesting and instructive books of our Christian literature;
and you would do well to read it. The
radiant career of Mr. Wilberforce as a
Christian statesman, is to be traced,
under God, (remotely at least,) to his
perusal of the Greek Testament with his
friend, the Rev. Isaac Milner, as they
travelled together from England to Nice.
These cases, which might easily be
multiplied, illustrate the importance of
a diligent study of the Scriptures. The
entrance of God's word giveth light.
The Holy Scriptures "are able to make
thee wise unto salvation." You will 
220        THE GREAT QUESTION.
not study them in vain. Let your reading, for the present, be chtiefly in the New
Testament, with the book of Psalms.
You will probably find it profitable to
take up one of the Gospels, say the
Gospel of John, and read it continuously. In connection with it, read some
of the Epistles, say Philippians, Hebrews, 1 Peter and 1 John; and then
other portions, both of the New Testament and the Old. A judicious Commentary, like Scott or Henry, may be
of essential service to you. And whether
you use a commentary or not, the examination of parallel passages, as indicated in the reference Bibles, will throw
a great deal of light on the sacred text,
and present familiar truth to your mind
in new and engaging aspects.
With the reading of the Scriptures,
you should have in hand some other 
SUITABLE READING.        221
suitable books. I know of none more
appropriate than those mentioned in a
former section.* To these may be added,
the Pilgrimn's Progress, Newton's Letters,
Jay's Morning and Evening Exercises,
Baxter's Call, and his Saints' Rest, Dr.
J. W. Alexander's Thoughts on Family
Worship, James's Anxious Inquirer,
Henry's Anxious Inquirer, Memoir of
Dr. Gordon, (or the "Christian Philosopher triumphing over death,") and the
lives of Luther, Bunyan, Henry Martyn, Wilberforce, Hannah More, Alexander, Payson, Neff, McCheyne, and
others of kindred character. Books of
this sort will be almost certain to fix
your attention: your mind will be kept
in contact with religion; and the more
you read, the more will your feeling8
become enlisted in the subject,
*Vide pp. 108, 109. 
222       THE GREAT QUESTION.
6. You can confide your views to some
kind and judicious Christian friend-and
with great advantage. This is a point
where many stumble. A sinful pride
puts them upon concealing their thought
fulness until they shall have become
established in the hope of the gospel:
then they mean to lay aside all disguise.
The too common effect of this is, to
smother and destroy their seriousness
altogether. You surely have some friend
in whom you can trust,-your pastor, if
no one else; and you could not gratify
him more than by going to him on such
an errand. Give him the opportunity,
and he will explain many things which
may perplex you. He will point out
your mistakes and dangers. He will
sympathize with you in your trials and
temptations. And although he can do
nothing effectual for you, but simply 
NECESSITY OF PRAYER.       223
say, with John the Baptist, " BEHOLD
THE LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKETH AWAY
TIlE SIN OF THE WORLD!" yet he may
do this ill such a way as shall, by the
divine blessing, greatly help you in finding the road to the cross.
7. I waive various other points, to say,
in conclusion, you can pray. And pray
you must, if you would be saved. Pray
you will, if you are not practising selfdeception. I mention this last, because
it must be combined with all the other
duties which have been specified, or
they will be nugatory. Without prayer
you can neither put away your sins, nor
shun evil associations. Without prayer,
the services of the sanctuary may but
harden you; the private study of the
Bible will be dry and repulsive; and the
counsels of Christian friendship will fall
upon reluctant ears. We have not the 
224       TIHE GREAT QUESTION.
slightest reason to expect that we shall
ever understand the gospel, or ever be
renewed, or pardoned, or saved, without
prayer.  There is nothing more indispensable; nothing which promises more
affluent returns. It is one of the endearing titles of the Deity, the Hearer
of Prayer. (Ps. lxv. 2.) We are everywhere exhorted to pray. "Seek ye the
Lord while he may be found; call ye
upon him while he is near;"-a command addressed to those who are immediately told, "Let the wicked forsake his
way," etc. (Isa. lv. 6, 7.)  "Then shall
ye call upon me, and ye shall go and
pray unto me, and I will hearken unto
you. And ye shall seek me, and find
me, when ye shall search for me with all
your heart." (Jer. xxix. 12, 13.) "Men
ought always to pray, and not to faint."
"Ask, and it shall be given you." (See 
PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT.      225
the whole passage, Matt. vii. 7-11. See
also Phil. iv. 6. 1 Thess. v. 17. Heb.
iv. 16. James i. 5. 1 John v. 14, 15.)
Among the promises connected with
prayer, that of the Spirit's infuence is
pre-eminent. (See Luke xi. 13.) As
there is no blessing we so much need, so
there is none which is so freely promised.
Let this be your encouragement. The
Holy Spirit can do for you all that you
require. He can remove all your difficulties on points of doctrine. He can
guide you into the truth. He can resolve all your questions of duty. He
can preserve you from self-deception.
He can awaken in your breast an ingenuous sorrow for sin.  He can take
away your heart of stone, and give you
a heart of flesh.  He can unveil to you
the glorious character of the Redeemer,
and lead you, a willing and joyful cap 
226       TIE GREAT QUESTION.
tive, to his feet. He can transform you
into a new creature in Christ Jesus,
make you as holy as you have been corrupt, prepare you for heaven, and bring
you there. Are not these blessings
worth praying for?
It is of no avail to say, that you are
not yet "good enough" to pray; that
your heart is too callous; that you could
not pray with "pure motives;" and
that God would not hear your prayers.
All these are the suggestions of pride
and unbelief. It is setting up your own
caprices, or, at least, your own misconceptions, against the clear authority of
God. It is impossible for you to examine the Scripture testimonies on this
subject, with any degree of candour,
without perceiving that he has made it
the imperative duty of every one to pray;
and that you have no reason to look for 
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.       227
his blessing, except in answer to prayer.
Besides, if the corrupt state of your
heart, the selfishness of your motives,
and the ascendency of the world over
you, disqualify you for praying, when
are these obstacles to be removed? and
how? It is just the case of a sick man
waiting to cure himself, before he sends
for a physician.  Undoubtedly, it is that
"evil heart of unbelief" which constitutes the grand hinderance to your salvation, and which makes it impossible for
you, not only to pray aright, but to read
the Scriptures aright, to hear the preaching of the gospel aright, or to do any thing
else in such a manner as to receive the
approval of a holy God. But what are you
to do? Will you shut up your Bible, will
you absent yourself from the sanctuary,
will you cease from all further efforts to
secure your salvation, because you are 
228       THE GREAT QUESTION.
too sinful to do these things as they
ought to be done?  You cannot but see
the sophistry of this pretext. It is because you are full of sin, you ought to
pray.  Pray as the publican did.  Pray
as the dying thief did. Pray as the
father of the demoniac child did: "Lord,
I believe: help thou mine unbelief."
Pray thus, and continue praying, and
you will not pray in vain.
To imagine that you have no right to
pray in your present condition, is a sheer
illusion. You have no right to abstain
from praying. To suppose that it could
do you no good, is a kindred mistake.
Try the experiment. Unfit as you feel
yourself to be for it; conscious that
your heart is still selfish and worldly;
ashamed, it may be, to look up to God,
and take his name upon your lips; make
the effort. These very impediments only 
THINGS YOU CAN DO.       229
show how much you need to pray. And
it will surprise and encourage you to
find how certainly they will yield to
earnest and habitual prayer.
Such, then, is the answer to your inquiry,  1WhIat can I do to become more
deeply interested in religion?"
YOU CAN DELIBERATELY MAKE UP YOUR
MIND, AS TO THE DUTY OF ATTENDING TO
THE CLAIMS OF RELIGION. YOU CAN FAITHFULLY EXERT YOURSELF TO PUT AWAY ALL
KNOWN SIN. YOU CAN, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, AVOID SCENES AND ASSOCIATIONS
WHICH ARE HOSTILE TO SERIOUS REFLECTION.  YOU CAN COURT SUCH INFLUENCES
AS ARE OF AN OPPOSITE CHARACTER.   YOU
CAN DEVOTE A PORTION OF EVERY DAY TO
THE DEVOUT READING OF THE SCRIPTURES
AND OTHER RELIGIOUS BOOKS. YOU CAN
CONFIDE YOUR VIEWS TO SOME KIND AND
20 
230       THE GREAT QUESTION.
JUDICIOUS CHRISTIAN FRIEND.  AND YOU
CAN PRAY.
All these things you can do. You
can persevere in doing them. And you
have far more encouragement to set
about the work, than you have to prosecute any secular scheme or business
whatever.
Are you willing to make the trial?
An eternity of joy or misery may hang
upon your decision. What shall it be?
Will you still neglect the great salvation? Or will you, in humble dependence upon the Spirit of God for all needful grace, begin at once TO CONSIDER THE
SUBJECT OF PERSONAL RELIGION?
THE - END.