that sinners shall be upbraided by their own conscience.
The eyes of the wicked shall be opened to see their loss; now they care not for the loss of God's favor, because they know not the worth of it. A man who loses a rich diamond, and took it but for an ordinary stone, is not much troubled at the loss of it; but when he comes to know what a jewel he lost, he laments. He whose heart would never break at the sight of his sins, breaks at the sight of his loss. When the wife of Phinehas heard the ark was lost, she cried out, "The glory is departed." 1 Sam 4:21. When the sinner sees what he has lost, that he has lost the beatific vision, he has lost the kingdom of heaven—he will cry out in horror and despair, "The glory, the everlasting glory, is departed!"
2. A second aggravation of the loss of this kingdom will be, that sinners shall be upbraided by their own conscience. This is the worm which never dies, a self-accusing mind. Mark 9:44. When sinners shall consider that they were in a fair way to the kingdom; that they had a possibility of salvation; that though the door of heaven was narrow—yet it was open; that they had the means of grace; that the jubilee of the gospel was proclaimed in their ears; that God called but they refused; that Jesus Christ offered them a plaster of his own blood to heal them—but they trampled it under foot; that the Holy Spirit stood at the door of their heart, knocking and crying to them to receive Christ and heaven—but they repulsed the Spirit, and sent away this dove; and that now, through their own folly and foolish wilfulness, they have lost the kingdom of heaven; a self-accusing conscience will be terrible, it will be like a venomous worm gnawing at the heart.
3. A third aggravation of the loss of heaven will be, to look upon others that have gained the kingdom. "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you