No doubt, when the threatenings of the Almighty began to be executed; when the mighty waters were descending from above, and rising in billows from the deep below; when these people saw the ark, whose building and preparation they had despised, floating in security upon the surface of the waters, gladly would they have been admitted: no longer did they question the power of God, or the truth of His word; or hold in contempt the preaching of His prophets; earnest then, no doubt, was their supplication for mercy; and they must have wished, in the bitterness of their hearts, that they had listened to the declarations and instructions of that holy minister of God, who was provided with a refuge; who was escaping unhurt amidst the rolling of the waves, which threatened _them_ with immediate and inevitable destruction. But their conviction came too late; the days of reconciliation were ended; the door of the ark was shut; never to be opened again, till the flood had wrought its vengeance, and exterminated the sinners from the earth. Has not the like, the parallel of this dreadful case, been frequently discovered by ourselves? Have we not seen, or at least heard of persons, who have held out impenitently all their lives long against every means of grace and reclaim, by which they have been visited, and then at last, when suddenly overtaken by a sickness unto death, have distressfully desired that comfort and refuge, which they have never appeared to find? Their attention has been called, their eye directed to the ark of salvation, the gospel of the blessed Jesus; but having taken no interest in it before, having discarded and rejected it, they have seemed to behold it only in dismay and despair. Man, it is true, is not an adequate judge in such a case; he could not possibly decide, whether they were saved or not; but there was fear all around; their friends were denied the consolation of persuading themselves, that the door of mercy was opened; the sinner cried in agony, but there was no visible sign, that the cry was heard; no respite to the afflicted conscience; and no repose upon the countenance, that betokened the blessedness of peace. Suppose not, that this is a scene pourtrayed for the mere purpose of a momentary excitement or present effect; it is a true description of what has too frequently occurred; and it falls indeed, as every representation must fall, infinitely short of the terrible reality. Readily can we imagine the sufferings and sorrow and distress of the people, who were drowning, with the ark before their eyes; and must we not conclude, that the impenitent sinner under the gospel, when he comes to die, will behold, with even deeper feelings of anguish, the ark of righteousness into which he has never sought to enter; when he finds or fears, that the overflowings of ungodliness are sinking his soul to ruin, can any description exaggerate, can any description equal, the wretchedness of his condition?