spirit of Scripture against him,
but facts are against him. He may not choose to trouble himself about
his past sins; but he will find that his past sins trouble him, whether
he chooses or not,--and that often in a very terrible way, as they
troubled those poor Jews in their day, and our forefathers after the
Reformation.

"What?" some will say, "is it not expressly written in Scripture that
'when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath
committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his
soul alive?' and 'all his transgressions that he hath committed they
shall not be mentioned unto him,' but that 'in his righteousness which he
hath done he shall live?'"

No doubt it is so written, my friends. And no doubt it is perfectly and
literally true: but answer me this, when does the wicked man do that
which is lawful and right? The minute after he has repented? or the day
after? or even seven years after?--the minute after he is forgiven, and
received freely back again as God's child, as he will be, for the sake of
that precious blood which Christ poured out upon the cross? Would to God
it were so, my friends. Would to God it were so easy to do right, after
having been accustomed to do wrong. Would to God it were so easy to get
a clean heart and a right spirit. Would to God it were so easy to break
through all the old bad habits--perhaps the habits of a whole life-time.
But it is in vain to expect this sudden change of character. As well may
we expect a man, who has been laid low with fever, to get up and go about
to his work the moment his disease takes a favourable turn.

No. After the forgiveness of sin must come the cure of sin. And that
cure, like most cures, is a long and a painful process. The sin may have
been some animal sin, like drunkenness; and we all know how difficult it
is to cure that. Or it may have been a spiritual sin--pride, vanity,
covetousness. Can any man put off these bad habits in a moment, as he
puts off his coat? Those who so fancy, can know very little of human
nature, and have observed their own hearts and their fellow creatures
very carelessly. If you will look at facts, what you will find is this:-
-that all sins and bad habits fill the soul with evil humours, just as a
fever or any other severe disease fills the body; and that, as in the
case of a fever, those evil humours remain after the acute disease is