SERMON LIV.

THE DESPERATE EFFORT.

Matthew, xi. 12.

The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

I REMEMBER to have been very much affected with a scrap of civil story which I met with in the history of the Greeks' escape from the iron bondage of their Turkish oppressors. After being robbed and plundered some hundreds of years, they at length attempted to escape. The enemy had, for some months, closely besieged Missolonghi, and the Grecian band had concluded to surrender; but as there was nothing for them but servitude, or death, they finally concluded not to be taken, but to rush into the fort at the desperate moment, and blow themselves up. Their purpose fixed, and the light of Greece about to be extinguished forever, there was one young man who, with his sister, concluded to watch the favoured moment, and rush out of the fort, and sell their lives as dear as possible, and make their attack where the ranks of the foe were the thinnest. They did so; and the sister being mounted upon a mule, fought side by side with her brother, and both were so inspired by their desperation that they hewed themselves a passage, and made their escape, and lived to tell the

story. Their settled purpose was to die, sword in hand, or spill all the Turkish blood they might, and live.

Thus men must determine to put forth, in the effort to reach heaven, all the energy they can muster, and if they do this, they shall live. I suppose this to be the very spirit of the text, which reads in the original, "Agonize to enter in at the strait gate."

I was similarly affected by a narrative of the escape of a post-man, who, for a very large reward, attempted to carry a letter across one of the deep glens of Scotland, through an overwhelming north-east storm. He had been, if I remember right, a shepherd, and fearlessly set out on the enterprise, while many were filled with apprehension for his life, if the storm did not subside. The weather was excessively cold, and the violence of the storm rendered it impossible to see any track of man or beast, through the whole glen. The only chance of a safe arrival consisted of some knowledge he had of the ground, where he had many a time driven his flocks in summer. But, as he afterward assured us, one may have a very accurate knowledge of the way in summer, while, in a winter storm of snow, at night, the whole way seems like a trackless ocean. It is said that some of those glens in Scotland are so full of snow in winter as not to thaw out in midsummer.

His courage, as the storm thickened, and the cold increased, would have failed, but at length it became as doubtful whether he could find the way back, as whether he should succeed in crossing the mountain ridge in safety. As he had to cross many a small stream, now filled with snow, he not unfrequently sunk, and wet his feet in the stream, and on bringing them up again to the cold air, they froze, and at length became

so disabled that he could rise on his feet no more, and he had to press forward on his knees, as well as he could. From some indications, he concluded, that he had well nigh crossed the glen, and might, by lifting up his voice, be heard. He cried aloud for help-a lost traveller!-but cried in vain. At length he became frozen to his knees, and he could only worm himself onward with his hands, for he knew that when he should cease all exertion, he must immediately die, and there was a possibility that his cry might be heard, and he should live. Hence he raised again and again his cry, a lost traveller! But at length, a little opening of the storm showed a shepherd's cot at hand. He had not missed his way to the cottage of a shepherd which he sought, and easily wormed himself to his very door, and gave the signal that saved his life. His friend opened to him and built a fire, and warmed him into recollection and recovery.

But if that man had not persevered after he had frozen his feet, and even after he could no longer travel on his lower limbs, but had to worm his way on his elbows, he must have died. Although he was near the shepherd's cot, yet as he did not know his position, if his resolution had failed for a moment, and exertion had ceased, he must have died. He agonized to live, and his agonizing saved him. And if we will only thus agonize to live forever, we shall live forever.

There is not an enterprise we undertake that requires so much exertion as to reach heaven. Those who conclude that they know enough of the subject already, and that heaven will come as a thing of course, and fold their arms and slumber on, will die in their sins, and never see the King in his beauty. The few years of their probation will slip by before they are aware, and

ence.

they will just begin to feel the importance of doing something, when they shall find themselves upon a dying bed, the harvest past, the summer ended, and they unsanctified. The divine direction is, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate," agonize to enter in. There is here no tameness, nor waiting, nor listlessness, nor indifferWe are to put on the whole armor of God, and force our way to heaven, as men cut themselves a path by dint of prowess, through the ranks of the enemy, and make their escape, when there seems nothing before them but death. Who can you expect to be concerned for your salvation, if you care not for it yourself? Who will agonize for your cleansing, and your pardon, and your acceptance, if you care for none of these things? If God ever interpose in your behalf, the first thing he will do will be to awaken you to the concerns of your own soul. If you are not now awakened, it is certain you are still in the broad way to destruction. Let me offer a few reasons why you should try to be saved.

1. You cannot expect to be saved without trying. "The kingdom of heaven," says Christ, "suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force :" implying, as all agree, that if we would be saved, we must make great exertion.

If we would get to heaven there is a great deal of truth that we must know and believe. We must be acquainted with the character of God that we may love him; with the character, offices, and work of Jesus Christ, that we may trust in him; with the nature and operations of the Holy Ghost, that we may feel his sanctifying influence. We must be acquainted with our hearts, or we shall never see the need of their being purified; and with all the great doctrines of the gospel, or there will be no medium of our cleansing. "Sanctify

them through thy truth." We must know the Scripture account of heaven, or we cannot wish to be there; and to learn all this truth will require great exertion.

these:

We have a great many sins to subdue, and must calculate to wrestle hard for the mastery. Neither pride, nor envy, nor anger, nor vanity, nor ambition, nor lust, nor selfishness, can enter heaven. We must put off all anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of our mouth." These vile affections must all have been subdued when we reach heaven. The warfare is no mean one. And more yet: "we wrestle not againt flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." We must fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.

Nor can we enter heaven unless we have all the features of the divine image: we must "add to our faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, charity." We must be familiar with the exercises of "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." We must "forget those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto the things which are before, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Now, all this implies great exertion, which, if we do not make, we cannot reach the kingdom of God.

2. Striving to be saved, you have the most kind assurance of success. The obstructions to your salvation are all removed, on God's part, by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. God can now be "just, and the justifier of him that believeth." "Mercy and truth are met together,