em all. There is not a
single improper word we have ever uttered, not a wrong feeling we have
cherished, not an ungodly deed we have done, not a duty we have
neglected, but God knew it, will exhibit it, and if unrepented of, will
punish for it. Hear it, ponder it, hide it in the depths of your heart,
God remembers all our wickedness.

Having considered the import of the declaration as it regards Almighty
God, we come now to consider--

II. The charge against the Israelites. They are not charged, you
observe, with denying the truth the Divine Being affirms respecting
Himself, or even with doubting it. They admitted it, believed it, but it
was unpalatable to them, and therefore they put it away from their
thoughts. What a melancholy exhibition of character was this! And yet
does not this declaration hold true of greatly more than one-half of the
population of this evangelized land? Does it not hold true of every
_drunkard_? Could he spend his hard-earned money in that which stupifies
his mind, injures his body, degrades his character, shortens his life,
and destroys his soul; and besides all this, brings want and wretchedness
on his family, and makes himself a scandal and reproach to
humanity--could any man yield himself to the power of intoxicating liquor
that considered what is involved in such a course?

Does not this charge hold true of every _sensualist_? Could any man
become the victim of degrading passions, could he consent to sacrifice
the mental and moral part of his nature--the man to the animal--if he
considered what was due to himself, to society, and to God?

Does not the charge hold true of the _pleasure hunter_? As a condiment,
as a relaxation, pleasure seeking, if of the right sort, is not only
allowable but commendable. He who gave life intended it to be a joy. To
be always seeking after pleasure, however, exercises a dissipating and
debilitating influence on the mind, and prevents the acquirement of true
nobleness and worth of character. And would a creature, which is the
highest workmanship of Infinite Excellence with which we are acquainted,
yield himself to this, if given to the consideration of the fact the
Almighty here states respecting himself?

To mention but one other class of character, does not the charge hold
true of _the fraudulent_? Would a man rob his soul to enrich his pocket,
would he narrow his heart to expand his purse, would he build up a
character that is to endur