Tag Archives: Samuel Davies

Oh! look before you, and see where it leads!

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Oh! look before you, and see where it leads!

(Samuel Davies, “Saints Saved with Difficulty; and the Certain Perdition of the Wicked”)

“Enter through theย narrowย gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Butย smallย is the gate andย narrowย the road that leads to life, and only aย fewย find it!” Matthew 7:13-14

This, my friends, and this alone–is the way of salvation. Is this the way in whichย youย are walking? Or is it the smooth, easy downward road to destruction? You may slide along that without exertion or difficulty, like a dead fish floating with the stream; butย oh! look before you, and see where it leads!ย 

Most people . . .
ย  form some easy system of religion,
ย  from their own vain imaginations,
ย  suited to their depraved taste,
ย  indulgent to their sloth and carnality,ย 
ย  and favorable to their lusts–
and this they call ‘Christianity’!ย 

But this is not the religion of the Bible! This is not theย way to lifeย laid out by God in His Word–but it isย the smooth downward road to destruction!

Well, when you are suffering the punishment of this sin in hell!

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Well, when you are suffering the punishment of this sin in hell!

(Samuel Davies, “The Nature and Danger of Making Light of Christ and Salvation”)

“But they made light of it.”ย Matthew 22:5

Consider what those things are, which engross your affections, and which tempt you to neglect Christ and your salvation.

Have you found a better friend than Christ, or a more substantial and lasting happiness than His eternal salvation?ย 

Oh! whatย triflesย andย vanities, whatย dreamsย andย shadowsย are men pursuingโ€”while they neglect the important realities of the eternal world!ย 

If crowns and kingdoms, if all the riches, glories, and pleasures of this present world were ensured to youโ€”as a reward for making light of Christ, you would even then make the most foolish bargain possible; for what are these in the grand scaleโ€”when compared to eternal joy, or eternal misery! “What is a man profited, if he shall gain even the whole world, and lose his own soul!”ย 

But you cannot realistically hope for the ten thousandth part of these worldly trifles! And will you cast away your souls for such a pittance?ย 

Alas! what does the richest, the highest, the most voluptuous sinner doโ€”but lay upย treasures of wrathย against the day of wrath! Oh how will the unhappy creatures torture themselves forever with the most cutting reflections, for selling their Savior and their soulsโ€”for such trifles! Let your sins and earthly enjoyments save you then, if they can! Then go and cry to theย godsย you have chosen; let them deliver you in the day of your damnation!ย 

The time is hastening on, when you will not think so lightly of Christ and salvation. Oh, sirs, when God shall commissionย DEATHย to tear your guilty souls out of your bodies, when devils shall drag you away to the place of torment, when you find yourselves condemned to everlasting fire by that Savior whom you now neglectโ€”what would you then give for a Savior!ย 

When you see that theย worldย has deserted you, that yourย companionsย in sin have deceived both themselves and you, and all yourย merry daysย are over foreverโ€”would you notย thenย give ten thousand worlds for Christ!!

And now, dear immortal souls! Whenever you spend another prayerless, thoughtless day; whenever you give yourselves up to sinful pleasures, or an over-eager pursuit of the worldโ€”may your conscience become your preacher, and sting you with these solemn truths!ย 

I cannot but fear, after all, that some of you, as usual, will continue careless and impenitent.ย Well, when you are suffering the punishment of this sin in hell, remember that you were warned, and acquit me from beingย accessoryย to your eternal ruin!

And when we all appear before the supreme Judge, and I am called to give an account of my ministry: when I am asked, “Did you warn these creatures of their danger? Did you lay before them their guilt in making light of these things?” You will hear me answer, “Yes, Lord, I warned them in the best manner I couldโ€”but they would not believe me; they would not regard what I said!”ย 

Oh sirs, must I give in this accusation against any ofย you? No, rather have mercy on yourselvesโ€”that I may give an account of you with joy, and not with grief!

The conflagration of the world!

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The conflagration of the world!

(Samuel Davies, “The Universal Judgment!“)

“The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare!” 2 Peter 3:7, 10ย 

Theย presentย state is but theย infancyย of the world. All the events of time, even those which make such great noise to us, and determine the fate of kingdomsโ€”are but as theย trivial games of little children. But if we look forward and trace events to maturity, we meet with vast, significant and majestic events! To one of those scenes I would direct your attention this day; I mean the solemn, tremendous, and glorious scene of theย universal judgment!

You have sometimes seen a stately building in ruins; come now, and view the ruins of aย demolished world! Come now, and view the whole universe severely laboring and agonizing in her last convulsions, and her well-ordered system dissolved!ย 

You have heard of earthquakes here and there which have laid huge cities in ruins; come now, and feel the tremors and convulsions of the whole globe, which blend cities and countries, oceans and continents, mountains, plains and valleysโ€”in one giant heap!

You have a thousand times beheld the moon walking in brightness, and the sun shining in its strength; come now, look and see the sun turned into darkness, and the moon into blood!ย 

It is our lot to live in an age of war, blood, and slaughter; an age in which our attention is engaged by the dubious fate of kingdoms. Draw off your thoughts from these trifling objects for an hour, and fix them on more solemn and vital objects.ย Come view this dread scene!
“The world alarmed, both earth and heaven o’erthrown,ย 
ย And gasping nature’s last tremendous groan;ย 
ย Death’s ancient scepter broke, the teeming tomb,
ย The Righteous Judge, and man’s eternal doom!”

Let us now enter upon the majestic scene! But alas! whatย imagesย shall I use to represent it? Nothing that we have everย seen, nothing that we have everย heard, nothing that has ever happened on theย stage of timeโ€”can furnish us with proper illustrations. All here is low and grovelingโ€”when compared with the grand phenomena of that day!

We are so accustomed to trifling earthly objects, that it is impossible that we should ever raise our thoughts to a suitable pitch of elevation. But before long, we shall beย amazed spectatorsย of these majestic wondersโ€”and ourย eyesย and ourย earsย will be our instructors!ย 

But it is now necessary we should have such ideas of themโ€”as may affect our hearts, and prepare us for them. Let us therefore present to our view, those representations which divine revelationโ€”our only guide in this caseโ€”give us . . .
of the person of the Judge, and the manner of His appearance;ย 
of the resurrection of the dead, and the transformation of the living;ย 
of the universal gathering of all men before the supreme tribunal;ย 
of their separation to the right and left hand of the Judge, according to their characters;ย 
of the judicial process itself;ย 
of the decisive sentence;ย 
of its execution,ย 
and ofย the conflagration of the world!


The annals of hellโ€”or the biography of devils!

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The annals of hellโ€”or the biography of devils!

(Samuel Davies, “The Universal Judgment!”)

Though we are too apt to think that we are not accountable for ourย wordsโ€”He who is to be our Judge, has plainly told us that “forย every careless wordย which men speak, they shall give an account in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36

“For God will bring every deedย into judgment, includingย every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14

What astonishing discoveries will this trial ofย every hidden thingย make!ย 

On the one handโ€”whatย noble dispositionsย which never shone in full beauty to mortal eyes! Whatย generous purposesย crushed in embryo for lack of power to execute them! Whatย pious and noble actionsย concealed under the veil of modesty, or misconstrued by ignorance and prejudice! Whatย affectionate aspirations, whatย devout exercises of heart, which lay open only to theย eyes of Omniscience, are now brought to full light, and receive the approbation of the Supreme Judge before the assembled universe”!

But on the other handโ€”what works ofย shameย andย darknessย are then revealed! What hidden things of dishonesty! What dire secrets of treachery, hypocrisy, lewdness, and various forms of wickednessโ€”all artfully and industriously concealed from human sight! What horrid exploits of sin now burst to light in all their hellish colorsโ€”to the confusion of the guilty, and the astonishment and horror of the universe!

Surely theย history of mankindย must then appear likeย the annals of hellโ€”or the biography of devils!ย Then theย mask of deceitย will be torn offโ€”and menย will appear in their true characters. Their hearts will be, as it were, turned outwardsโ€”and all theirย secretsย exposed to full view!

The design of this judicial inquiry will not be to inform the omniscient Judgeโ€”but to convince all worlds of the justice of His proceedings. And this design renders it necessary that all these ‘secret things’ should be laid open to their sight, that they may see the grounds upon which He passes sentence.

Does not the prospect of such a ‘revealing’ fill some of you with horror? For many of your actions, and especially of yourย thoughtsโ€”will not bear the light. How would it confound you, if all your secret thoughts were now all published, even in the small circle of your friends! How then, can you bear to have them all fully exposed before God, angels, and the universe! Will it not confound you with shame, and make youย objects of everlasting contemptย to all worlds!

If you dare!

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If you dare!

(Samuel Davies, “The Universal Judgment!“)

“Then I sawย a great white throneโ€”and HIM who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were openedย  . . . If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of lifeโ€”he was thrown into the lake of fire!” Revelation 20:11, 12, 15

What an astonishing scene is this!ย The stable earth and sky cannot bear the majesty and terror of His look; they fly away affrighted! This is the Judge before whom we must stand; and this is the manner of His appearance!

But is this theย babe of Bethlehemโ€”who lay and wept in the manger?ย 

Is this theย supposed son of the carpenter, the despised Galilean?ย 

Is this theย man of sorrows?ย 

Is this He who was . . .
ย  arrested,ย 
ย  condemned,ย 
ย  buffeted,ย 
ย  spit upon,ย ย 
ย  crowned with thorns,ย 
ย  executed as a slave and a criminal, upon the cross?ย 

Yes, it is Him!ย The very same Jesus of Nazareth!ย 

But oh how changed! How deservedly exalted! Heaven and earth flee before Him!ย 

Now let hisย enemiesย appear and show their contempt and malignity!

Now,ย Pilateโ€”condemn the King of the Jews as a usurper!

Now, youย Jews, raise the clamor,ย “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”ย Now bow the knee in scorn, spit in His face, and buffet Him! Now tell theย scourged impostorย that He must die!

Now despise His grace,ย 
now laugh at His threatenings, andย 
now make light of His displeasureโ€”if you dare!

Ah! now their courage fails, and terror surrounds them! Now they try to hide in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. Now they call to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and fromย the wrath of the Lamb!ย For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

But, alas! That LAMB who once bled as a sacrifice for sinโ€”now appears in all the terrors of a LION! Oh! could they hide themselves in the bottom of the ocean, or in some rock that bears the weight of the mountainsโ€”how happy would they think themselves!

Where shall you find a rock?

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Where shall you find aย rock?ย 

(Samuel Davies, “Jesus Christ, the Only Foundation” 1757)

“The presentย heavensย andย earthย are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men! The day of the Lord will come like a thief. Theย heavensย will disappear with a roar; theย elementsย will be destroyed by fire, and theย earthย and everything in it will be burned up!” 2 Peter 3:7, 10

The fiery deluge of divine vengeance, which has been gathering and swelling for thousands of years; but has been, as it were, restrained and kept within bounds byย divine patienceโ€”shall then rise so high as to burst through all restraints, and overwhelm the guilty globe, and turn it into a universal ocean of liquid fire! This resistless torrent shall sweep away all theย refuges of lies, and those who trusted in themโ€”into the gulf of remediless destruction!

Well my friends, where shall we find aย supportย to bear us up in this tremendous day? Where shall we find aย rockย to build upon, that we may be able to stand the shock, and remain safe and unmovedโ€”in the wreck of dissolving worlds? What canย upholdย usโ€”when thisย vast machine of our world, formed with so much skill and strength by the hands of aย divine Architect, shall be broken up and fall to pieces?

Now,ย nowย is the time for us to find theย refuge; it will be too late when all created supports are swept away, and this solid globe itself is dissolved beneath our feet into a sea of fire!

And where will you look? Where will you turn? Thisย earth,ย and all its riches, honors, and pleasuresโ€”will prove to be but aย quicksandย in that day! Yourย friendsย andย relations, were they ever so great or powerfulโ€”canย thenย afford you no support! Therefore, thinkโ€”where shall you find aย rockย on which you may build a happiness that will stand the shock in that dreadful day?

Everything else besides Christ . . .
ย  is sliding sand,
ย  is yielding air,
ย  is a breaking bubble!ย 

In that dread day . . .
ย ย wealthโ€”will prove to be a vain shadow,ย 
ย ย honorโ€”will prove to be an empty breath,ย 
ย ย pleasureโ€”will prove to be a delusive dream,ย 
ย ย your own righteousnessโ€”will prove to be a spider’s web!
If we rely on these, disappointment and doom are inevitable!

Nothing but Christ, nothing but Christ, can stably support us in that dread day! “He alone is my rockย and my salvation; He is my fortressโ€”I will never be shaken!” Psalm 62:2

His righteousnessย is infinitely perfect, equal to the highest demands of the divine lawโ€”and therefore a firm, immovable ground of trust. We may safely ventureย the weight of our eternal allโ€”upon this rock! It will stand forever, without giving way under the heaviest pressure; without being broken by the most violent shock. Let thousands, let millions, withย all the mountainous weight of guiltย upon them, build upon this foundation, and they shall never be moved!

The firm foundations, the stately columns, the majestic buildings of Nineveh, Babylon and Persia, and all the magnificent structures of antiquity, though formed of the most durable stone, and promising immortalityโ€”are now shattered into ten thousand fragments, or lying in ruinous heaps!ย 

But here in Christโ€”isย a foundation for immortal soulsโ€”a foundation that will remain the same to all eternity! Hisย righteousnessย is an everlasting righteousness, Hisย strengthย an everlasting strength, and Himself the everlasting Father. He ever lives forever to make intercession for His people, and therefore he is able to save to the uttermost, to the uttermost point of durationโ€”all who come unto God by Him!

Millions and millionsย of depraved, wretched, ruined creatures, have always found Him perfectlyย able, and as perfectlyย willingโ€”
ย  to expiate the most enormous guilt;
ย  to deliver from the most inveterate corruptions;
ย  and to save to the very uttermost!ย 

Ten thousand times ten thousand, have built their hopes upon thisย rockโ€”and it has never failed so much as one of them! Manasseh, Paul, and Mary Magdalen, and thousands more atrocious sinnersโ€”have ventured upon thisย all-sufficient rockย with all theirย load of sinย upon them, and found it able to sustain them!

Your conscience will not always sleep!

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Your conscience will not always sleep!ย 

(Samuel Davies, “Divine Mercy to Mourning Penitents“)

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, theirย consciencesย also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.” Romans 2:15

The principal means which God uses in conversion, is that of conscience; and indeed without this, all the rest are in vain. Outward afflictions are of serviceโ€”only as they tend to awaken the conscience from its lethargy to a faithful discharge of its duty. It is conscience which makes the sinner sensible of his misery and scourges him. Theย lashes of a guilty conscienceย are intolerable; and some under them have chosen strangling and suicide, rather than life.

Conscience is a serpent in his breast, which bites and gnaws his heart; and he can no more avoid it, than he can fly from himself!ย 

Let not such of you as have never been tortured with its remorse, congratulate yourselves upon your happiness, for you are not innocents!ย Your conscience will not always sleep!ย It will not always lie torpid and inactive, like a snake benumbed with cold, in your breast!ย 

It willย awakenย you either to your conversionโ€”or condemnation!

Either the fire of God’s wrath flaming from His law will enliven it in this worldโ€”to sting you withย medicinalย anguish; or the unquenchable fire of His vengeance in the lake of fire and brimstone will thaw it into lifeโ€”and then it will horribly rage in your breast, and diffuse its tormenting poison through your whole frame! And then it will become aย never-dying worm, and prey upon your hearts forever!

Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture?

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Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture?

(Samuel Davies, “The Preaching of Christ Crucified, the Means of Salvation”)

“Christ died for the ungodly!” Romans 5:6

Inย the cross of Christโ€”God’s hatred to sinย is manifested in the most striking light! The evil of sin is exposed in the most dreadful colors! Now it appears, that such is the divine hatred against all sin, that God can by no means forgive sin, without punishment; and that all the infinite benevolence of His nature towards His creatures cannot prevail upon Him to pardon the least sinโ€”without an adequate satisfaction.

Nay, now it appears that when so malignant and abominable a thing is but imputed to His dear Son, His co-equal, His darling, His favoriteโ€”that even He could not escape unpunishedโ€”but was made aย monument of vindictive justice, to all worlds!ย 

What can more strongly expose the evil of sin
โ€”than the cross of Christ?ย 
Sin is such an intolerably malignant and abominable thing, that even a God of infinite mercy and graceโ€”cannot let the least instance of it pass unpunished!

It was not a small thing that could arm God’s justice against the Son of His love. Though He was perfectly innocent in Himselfโ€”yet when He was made sin for usโ€”God spared not His own Sonโ€”but delivered Him up unto deathโ€”the shameful, tormenting, and accursed death of the cross!

Go, you fools, who make a mock at sin! Go and learn its malignity and demeritโ€”at the cross of Jesus!ย 

WHO is it that hangs there writhing in the agonies of death
โ€”His hands and feet pierced with nails, His side with a spear, His face bruised with blows, and drenched with tears and blood, His heart melting like wax, His whole frame racked and disjointed; forsaken by His friends, and even by His Father; tempted by devils, and insulted by men?ย Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture?ย It is Jesus, the eternal Word of God; His Elect, in whom His soul delights; His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased!

And WHAT has He done?ย He did no wickedness; He knew no sinโ€”but was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. And WHY then, all these dreadful sufferings from heaven, earth, and hell? Why, He only stood in the law-place of sinners; He only received their sin by imputation. And you see what it has brought upon Him! You see how low it has reduced Him! What a horrid evil must that beโ€”which has such tremendous consequences, even upon the Darling of heaven!

Oh! what still more dreadful havoc would SIN have made, if it had been punished upon the sinner himself in his own person! Surely all the various miseries which have been inflicted upon our guilty world in all ages, and even all the punishments of hellโ€”do not so loudly proclaim the terrible desert and malignity of sinโ€”as the cross of Christ!

The infinite malignity of sin, and God’s hatred to it, appear nowhere in so striking and dreadful a lightโ€”as in the cross of Christ! Let a reasonable creature take but one serious view of that cross, and surely he must ever after tremble at the thought of the least sin!ย 

~ย  ~ย  ~ย  ~ย  ~

The unsearchable riches of Christ!

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The unsearchable riches of Christ!

(Samuel Davies)

The unsearchable riches of Christ!” Ephesians 3:8

Consider what rich blessings Christ has purchased for His people; purchased not with corruptible things such as silver and goldโ€”but with His own precious blood! Theย purchase priceย recommends and endears the blessings, though they are so great in themselves, as to need no such recommendation! What can be greater or more suitable blessings to hell-bound sinners, than . . .
ย ย pardonย for the guilty,
ย ย redemptionย for slaves,
ย ย righteousnessย andย justificationย for the condemned,
ย ย sanctificationย for the unholy,
ย ย restย for the weary,
ย ย comfortย for mourners,
ย  theย favor of Godย for rebels and exiles,
ย ย strengthย for the impotent,
ย ย protectionย for the helpless, andย 
ย ย everlasting happinessย for the heirs of hell!ย 
And, to sum up allโ€”graceย andย glory, andย every good thing, andย all the unsearchable riches of Christโ€”for the wretched and miserable; for the poor, the blind, and naked!

These are blessings indeed, and, in comparison with themโ€”all the riches of the world are impoverished, and vanish to nothing!

The only effectual reformer of the world!

The only effectual reformer of the world!

(Samuel Davies, “Serious Reflections on WAR” 1757)

“When He comesโ€”He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment!” John 16:8

The Holy Spirit is the only effectual reformer of the world! If He is absentโ€”

legislators may make laws against crime;
philosophers may reason against vice;
ministers may preach against sin;
conscience may remonstrate against evil;
the divine law may prescribe, and threaten hell;
the gospel may invite and allure to heaven;

but all will be in vain!

The strongest arguments, the most melting entreaties, the most alarming denunciations from God and man, enforced with the highest authority, or the most compassionate tearsโ€”all will have no effectโ€”all will not effectually reclaim one sinner, nor gain one sincere convert to righteousness!

Paul, Apollos, and Peter, with all their apostolic abilities, can do nothing, without the Holy Spirit.

Paul may plant the seedโ€”and Apollos may water it; but God alone can make it grow! “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anythingโ€”but only God, who makes things grow!” 1 Corinthians 3:6, 7.

Never will peace and harmony be established in this jangling worldโ€”until this Divine Agent takes the work in hand.

It is He aloneโ€”who can melt down the obstinate hearts of men into love and peace!

It is He aloneโ€”who can soften their rugged and savage tempers, and transform them into mutual benevolence!

It is He aloneโ€”who can quench those lusts that set the world on fire, and implant the opposite virtues and graces. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are mentioned by Paul, as the fruit of the Spirit, because the Spirit alone is the author of them. And if these dispositions were predominant in the worldโ€”what a serene, calm, peaceful region would it be, undisturbed with the hurricanes of human passions!

Oh, how much do we need the influence of the blessed Spirit . . .

to break the heart of stone,
to enlighten the dark mind, and
to comfort the desponding soul!

Where is there a more sinful spot to be found upon our guilty globe?

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“When disaster comes to a cityโ€”has not the LORD caused it?” Amos 3:6

It concerns us all to seriously reflect upon our own sins, and the sins of our landโ€”which have brought these calamities upon us.

We and our countrymen are sinners, aggravated sinners! God proclaims that we are suchโ€”by His judgments now upon us: by withering fields and scanty harvests, by the sound of the trumpet and the alarm of war!

O my country, is not your wickedness great, and your iniquities infinite? Where is there a more sinful spot to be found upon our guilty globe? Pass over the land, take a survey of the inhabitants, inspect into their conductโ€”and what do you see? What do you hear?

You see the gigantic forms of vice bidding defiance to the God of heavenโ€”while true religion and virtue are forced to retire, to avoid public contempt and insult!

You see herds of drunkards swilling down their cups, and drowning all morality within them!

You hear the swearer venting his fury against Godโ€”trifling with that Name which prostrate angels adore, and imprecating that damnation, under which the hardiest devil in hell trembles and groans!

You see avarice hoarding up her useless treasures, dishonest craft planning her schemes of unlawful gain, and oppression unmercifully grinding the face of the poor!

You see prodigality squandering her stores! You see luxury spreading her table!

You see vanity laughing aloud and dissolving in empty, unthinking mirth; regardless of God, of time and eternity!

You see sensuality wallowing in carnal pleasures, and aspiring, with perverted ambitionโ€”to sink as low as her four-footed brethren in the stalls!

You see cards more in use than the Bible; the backgammon table more frequented than the table of the Lord; novels and romances more readโ€”than the history of the blessed Jesus!

You see trifling, and even evil diversions and amusements, become a gigantic business! The outcome of a horse-race is more anxiously attended toโ€”than the concerns of eternity!

And where these grosser forms of vice do not shock your sensesโ€”you often meet with the appearances of a more refined impiety, which is equally dangerous!

You hear the conversation of reasonable creatures, of candidates for eternityโ€” engrossed by trifles, or vainly wasted on the affairs of time! These are their important subjects of conversation, even at the threshold of the house of God!

You see swarms of prayerless families all over our land! You see ignorant, wicked children, unrestrained and untaught by those to whom God and nature have entrusted their souls!

You see the holy religion of Jesusโ€”abused, neglected, disobeyed, and dishonored by its professors!

You see crowds of professed believers, who are in reality, practical atheists! These nominal Christians are really unholy heathens! They are abandoned slaves of sinโ€”who yet pretend to be the servants of the holy Jesus!

You see multitudes lying in a deep sleep in sin all around us! You see them eager in the pursuits of the vanities of timeโ€”but stupidly unconcerned about the important realities of the eternal world just before them! So few are concerned what shall become of themโ€”when all their connections with earth and flesh must be broken, and they must take their flight into strange, unknown regions! So few lamenting their sins! So few crying for mercy and a new heart! So few flying to Jesus!

(Samuel Davies, “The Justice of Godโ€”and the Sins of Our Country” 1755)

If You Dare!

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“Then I saw a great white throneโ€”and HIM who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened . . . If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of lifeโ€”he was thrown into the lake of fire!” Revelation 20:11, 12, 15

What an astonishing scene is this! The stable earth and sky cannot bear the majesty and terror of His look; they fly away affrighted! This is the Judge before whom we must stand; and this is the manner of His appearance!

But is this the babe of Bethlehemโ€”who lay and wept in the manger?

Is this the supposed son of the carpenter, the despised Galilean?

Is this the man of sorrows?

Is this He who was . . .

arrested,
condemned,
buffeted
,
spit upon,
crowned with thorns,
executed as a slave and a criminal, upon the cross?

Yes, it is Him! The very same Jesus of Nazareth!

But oh how changed! How deservedly exalted! Heaven and earth flee before Him!

Now let his enemies appear and show their contempt and malignity!

Now, Pilateโ€”condemn the King of the Jews as a usurper!

Now, you Jews, raise the clamor, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Now bow the knee in scorn, spit in His face, and buffet Him! Now tell the scourged impostor that He must die!

Now despise His grace,
now laugh at His threatenings, and
now make light of His displeasureโ€”if you dare!

Ah! now their courage fails, and terror surrounds them! Now they try to hide in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. Now they call to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

But, alas! That LAMB who once bled as a sacrifice for sinโ€”now appears in all the terrors of a LION! Oh! could they hide themselves in the bottom of the ocean, or in some rock that bears the weight of the mountainsโ€”how happy would they think themselves!

(Samuel Davies, “The Universal Judgment!”)