What remains is to add a few reflections by way of improvement.
1. And what hath been said teacheth us the importance of realizing the misery and ruin of the condition of all men, as they are born into the world. A want of belief, or due sense of this, leads to a denial of the Gospel--to a rejection of the propitiatory sacrifice of the Redeemer--to almost every heresy and error. Men cannot bear to admit so mortifying a truth as that of their ruined and fallen, guilty and miserable state. Pride rises up, and repudiates the unpleasing doctrine. One says we are not depraved: another affirms which indeed is the same thing, that we have a light of our own adequate to all the purposes of our salvation:--a third contends that there is a portion of real saving grace in every human heart. All these, in effect, disown the scripture doctrine of the text, the utterly ruined and perishing condition of man in himself. The truth endeavoured to be established in the above discourses, is that the light of reason or highest wisdom of mankind is insufficient to teach us the true and saving knowledge of God. It is of the utmost moment to realize this. _The world by wisdom knew not God.--Where there is no vision the people perish: but he that keepeth the law happy is he.--To open their eyes,_ is the design of the Gospel, _and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sin, and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me. Understand ye brutish among the people! and ye fools when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? he that chastiseth the heathen, shall he not correct? he that teachest knowledge, shall he not know? The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity.--I know you,_ says our Saviour, _that the love of God is not in you._--Can any one who seriously believes the scriptures, hold that man has any principle, let it be termed how it may, that can be adequate to all the end of spiritual life here, and eternal life hereafter?--That there is in fact no saving knowledge of God out of Christ, is plain from Acts iv. 12.--_Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved._ He that hath not the son, hath not the father. Deny Christ and reject his Gospel, and you reject life. Misery is, then, inevitable. You must realize that you are, in yourselves, lost and guilty,--wretched and undone,--hopeless and perishing.