perdition, surrounded with the blackness of darkness, in which no cheering ray presents itself, as a signal of hope amidst the fearful gloom! It is lost to every token of comfort and happiness, and lost in utter anguish and despair. It is lost to every principle and emotion of spiritual life-lost under the power of the second death-lost to heaven, and lost in hell! 3. What duration! The loss of the soul is immense, both in degree and duration. It is a loss never to be repaired nor mitigated. A lost estate may be regained—and lost liberty may be regained—and lost friends may be regainedand lost health-and lost reason may be regained; but the loss of the soul is irreparable! It is a loss beyond the possibility of recovery-an abiding loss-a loss which will always be felt in the stings of bitter remorse, unavailing anguish, and tremendous anticipation. Its banishment is perpetual; its destruction everlasting; and its woe without end. It will be wrath ever present, and ever to come. Who can estimate the magnitude of the soul's loss in losing heaven? Who can fathom the depth of its misery, in the utter extinction of every comfort, and the gnawings of the never-dying worm? What rule of calculation or plan of measurement will suffice to demonstrate the nature and extent of such a calamity? Other losses are connected with time—this has a relation to eternity. Other losses admit of gradual mitigation; but, as the enmity of the lost spirit to the Divine character and government will continue without abatement, and even acquire increasing strength of opposition to the authority and image of infinite holiness, the load of its guilt will be ever accumulating, with a consequently increasing weight of punishment. Oh, the dreadful state of the soul thus placed beyond the reach of grace and mercy-for ever! Thus an outcast from life and happiness-for ever! thus abandoned to its depraved appetites and passions-for ever! thus doomed to sink in filth and misery-for ever! thus left to reap the fruit of sin, and suffer the displeasure of God-for We notice ever! II. THE UTTER IMPOSSIBILITY FOR ANY EARTHLY POSSESSION, HOWEVER LARGE, TO COMPENSATE FOR SUCH A Loss. "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Admit, for a moment, that the possession of the whole world is not only attainable, but actually realised. Imagine a man able to appropriate the entire globe to himself. All its sources of wealth and means of gratification, are at his command. Its continents, islands, oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers-all belong to him. Nothing in it can be named of which he is not the proprietor, or that he does not feel entitled to call his own.-But for the sake of the world he barters his soul. He gains the one, and loses the other. Will the result justify his choice, commend his prudence, and declare the bargain to be in his favour? Were it thus possible to gain the whole world, what profit would accrue from it at last, when all its happiness must terminate, and the soul depart hence, without any provision for its everlasting welfare? But though the whole world be not gained; -suppose a man to obtain as large a portion of its honour, wealth, and pleasure, as ever was possessed by an individual; -let him be surrounded with every attraction his heart could desire, and nothing be withheld which can administer to his wishes, or conduce to his enjoyment;-let his prosperity be continued for a long succession of years, without the slightest interruption, and every day yield, not merely as the day preceding, but much more abundantly; his prospects, bright and flattering as they may seem, can only last for a season. There is a period when the good he now inherits will be no longer his, when he will be removed to a state of existence whither he cannot carry with him any of his present sources and means of gratification, and where he will see the whole of them in a light which he does not now contemplate. Behold, he sickens and dies! His earthly sojourn closes, and he opens his eyes in eternity! The world was his all. He sought no other honour than what it bestows; he aimed at no higher felicity than what it communicates. But it has passed away from him, and he has passed away from it. What are now his reflections? What does he think of his former gain, and his present loss? In the balancing of accounts between the two, is he satisfied with the part he has acted? Does he see no reason for regret, in having caught at the shadow, and missed the substance-in having thought only of the things of time, and neglected the concerns of eternity? Can you conceive of a lost spirit congratulating itself upon its arrival at the place of torment? Is there any thing in the abode of hell to recompense it for having rejected the great salvation? Ah! all is reality now. The miscalculation is at an end. The foolish bargain is obvious. The result is clear. The case speaks for itself. And where is the profit? Can any advantage be realised, amidst the tumults and upbraidings of perdition? Can the lost soul derive any benefit from the recollection of the past, or the anticipation of the future? Will not the remembrance of its former preference increase its remorse, and constitute one of the bitterest ingredients in its cup of woe? while the nature and perpetuity of its doom must involve it in endless misery and despair. It is decided at the bar of conscience,-decided according to the judgment of truth, and decided for ever; that no solid gain, no real or lasting profit, can result from a life devoted to the things which are seen and temporal. From this subject we remark 1. As the loss of the soul is so dreadful, then what must be the folly of those who are so careless about its real security and happiness! The care of many is wholly secular. Precious as their souls are, they actually set no value upon them. They live as though their rational and immortal nature were beneath their notice. They treat the affairs of time as if they were of far greater moment than the affairs of eternity. Their desires and affections, their hopes and fears, their disposition and habits, are according to the course of this world. Here their choice is confined; here their thoughts are engrossed; here their prospects are limited. For the sake of a few objects that glitter in their eye, and which are liable to burst and vanish from their sight, they consent to abandon their souls to destruction. And numbers, though possessed of but a very small portion of worldly good, are, nevertheless, so taken up with present things, as to avoid all serious consideration respecting their everlasting interests. Thus high and low are agreed in selling their souls. They virtually consent to be miserable hereafter, for the sake of a brief enjoyment of what is earthly and sensual. Let the circumstances of persons be as they may, if instead of seeking the salvation of their souls as the one thing needful, they fix upon matters which simply concern the present life, as the main end of their existence, they are most assuredly acting in opposition to their well-being as immortal and accountable creatures. In the remarks thus made, it is not intended to condemn a proper attention to the common duties of life, or to object to cares that are in themselves lawful; but it is designed to show that individuals who give themselves solely to the world, and, consequently, not to God, are actually subjecting their souls to the dreadful loss referred to in the text. They trifle with the noblest part of their nature. The method they are pursuing, if persisted in, will end in their irretrievable ruin. Their conduct betrays the entire absence of right feeling, not only as it regards God, but also as it regards themselves. 2. As the loss of the soul is so tremendous, let us take heed to our souls. Are our souls in no danger of being lost? Is there no ground for apprehension or alarm on their account? Or, are we all caring for our souls? Is the soul with you a matter of the first importance? Are you in earnest about its salvation? Have you yielded your souls up to God to be wholly and for ever his? Many souls are lost beyond the reach of recovery; and your souls will be so lost, if they depart this life in their sins. Remember God requires the soul, and the soul requires God. Seek to be wise for time, that you may be wise for eternity. Commit your souls into the hands of the Redeemer, who has both the ability and inclination to save all that, in true earnest, address themselves to him for pardon and eternal life. 3. If the loss of the soul is so tremendous, and if there be any danger of losing it, how important is an interest in the provision of the gospel! The atonement of Christ, revealed in the gospel, exhibits the only medium by which the loss of the soul can be prevented, and its restoration to life and happiness secured. The redemption-price offered and accepted, in the behalf of sinners, is the precious blood of the Lamb of God. The fact of such a sacrifice being necessary declares the worth of the soul, and argues that it must be of unspeakable value to require an offering so costly, in order to raise it from its sinful and degraded condition, and furnish it with a title to, and meetness for, a glorious immortality. For souls the Lord of glory assumed a human form-for souls he became obedient unto the death of the cross-f -for souls he rose triumphant from the dead-and for souls he now fills the mediatorial throne ! A proper care for the soul includes repentance unto life—a cordial reliance upon the merits and sacrifice of the Redeemer -a disposition to walk in the ways of holiness-and the elevation of the thoughts, aims, desires, and affections to things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think, brethren, of what immense value the soul is! "What then is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" THE ENGLISH MONTHLY TRACT SOCIETY, 27, RED LION SQUARE. J. & W. Rider, Printers, Bartholomew Close, London. |