sentence, observes S. Ephraim, the wicked shall be bid farewell by the angels, by the saints, and by their relations. Farewell, ye just; farewell, O Cross; farewell, heaven; farewell, fathers and children; for we shall behold you never more.
And so, in the middle of the valley, a great pit will be opened, where the devils and the lost will fall together, who will hear,
God, those doors to shut behind them which will never open more. Never, never more, through all eternity. Oh, accursed sin, to what a wretched end wilt thou one day lead so many wretched souls? Oh unhappy souls, for whom this wretched end is being preserved!
Affections and Prayers.
Ah, my Saviour and God, what will be the sentence concerning me in that day? If now, my Jesus, Thou shouldst demand an account of my life, what answer could I make, except to tell Thee that I deserve hell a thousand times over? Yes, it is true, my dear Redeemer, I do deserve hell a thousand times; but Thou knowest that I love Thee, and that I love Thee more than love myself; and for the offences which I have committed against Thee, I feel so grieved that it would please me more to have suffered every evil rather than to have displeased Thee. Thou didst condemn, O my Jesus, those sinners who were obstinate in their sins, but not those who repented, and wished to love Thee. Behold me at Thy feet repentant; make me to feel that Thou has pardoned me. But already dost Thou make me hear by the prophet, " Turn ye unto Me, .... and I will turn unto you." (Zech. i. 3.) I leave everything, I renounce all the pleasures and the wealth of the world, and I turn and embrace Thee, my loved Redeemer. Ah, receive me into Thy heart, and there inflame me with Thy holy love; inflame me so much that I may never more think of becoming separated from Thee. My Jesus, save me, and may my eternal happiness be ever spent in loving and in praising Thy mercy. " My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord." (Ps. lxxxix. 1.)
