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   Title: The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul Illustrated in A
   Course of Serious and Practical Addresses Suited to Persons with a
   Devout Meditation, or Prayer, Subjoined to Each Chapter.
   Creator(s): Doddridge, Philip (1702-1751)
   Rights: Public Domain
   CCEL Subjects: All
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    THE

RISE AND PROGRESS

    of

                              RELIGION IN THE SOUL

ILLUSTRATED IN A COURSE OF

SERIOUS AND PRACTICAL ADDRESSES

SUITED TO PERSONS

   Of every Character and Circumstance:

WITH A

DEVOUT MEDITATION, OR PRAYER,

   SUBJOINED TO EACH CHAPTER

by PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D.

  PUBLISHED BY
  THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,
  150 NASSAU STREET NEW-YORK.

  D. Faushaw, Printer.
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PREFACE

   THE several hints given in the first chapter of this Treatise, which
   contains a particular plan of the design, render it unnecessary to
   introduce it with a long preface. My much honored friend, Dr. WATTS,
   had laid the scheme, especially of the former part. But as those
   indispositions with which God has been pleased to exercise him had
   forbid his hopes of being able. to add this to his many labors of love
   to immortal soul; he was pleased, in a very affectionate and
   importunate manner, to urge me to undertake it: And I bless God with my
   whole heart, not only that he hath carried me through this delightful
   task, (for such indeed I have found it) but also that he hath spared
   that worthy and amiable person to see it accomplished, and given him
   strength and spirit to review so considerable a part of it. His
   approbation, expressed in stronger terms than modesty will permit me to
   repeat, encourages me to hope that it is executed in such a manner as
   may, by the Divine blessing, render it of some general service. And I
   the rather hope it will be so, as it now comes abroad into the world,
   not only with my own prayers and his, but also with those of many other
   pious friends, which I have been particularly careful to engage for its
   success.

   Into whatever hands this work may come; I must desire that, before any
   pass their judgment upon it, they would please to read it through, that
   they may discern the connexion between one part of it and another;
   which I the rather request, because I have long observed that
   Christians of different parties have been eagerly laying hold on
   particular parts of the system of Divine truth, and have been
   contending about them, as if each had been all; or as if the separation
   of the members from each other, and from the head, were the
   preservation of the body, instead of its destruction. They have been
   zealous to espouse the defence, and to maintain the honor and
   usefulness of each apart whereas the honor, as well as the usefulness
   seems to me to lie much in their connection, and suspicions have often
   arisen betwixt the respective defenders of each, which have appeared as
   unreasonable and absurd as if all the preparations for securing one
   part of a ship in a storm were to be censured as a contrivance to sink
   the rest. I pray God to give to all his ministers and people more and
   more of the spirit of wisdom, and of love, and of a sound mind and to
   remove far from us those mutual jealousies and animosities which hinder
   our acting with that unanimity which is necessary in order to the
   successful carrying on of our common warfare against the enemies of
   Christianity. We may be sure these enemies will never fail to make
   their own advantage of our multiplied divisions and severe contests
   with each other. But they must necessarily lose both their ground and
   their influence, in proportion to the degree in which the energy of
   Christian principles is felt to unite and transform the heart of those
   by whom they are professed.

   I have studied in this Treatise the greatest plainness of speech, that
   the lowest of my readers may, if possible, be able to understand every
   word; and I hope persons of a more elegant taste and refined education
   will pardon what appeared to me so necessary a piece of charity. Such a
   care in practical writings seems one important instance of that
   honoring all men, which our amiable and condescending religion teaches
   us; and I have been particularly obliged to my worthy patron for what
   he hath done to shorten some of the sentences, and to put my meaning
   into plainer and more familiar words.

   I must add one remark here, which I heartily wish I had not omitted in
   the first edition, viz. That though I do in this book consider my
   reader as successively in a great variety of supposed circumstances,
   beginning with those of a thoughtless sinner, and leading him through
   several stages of conviction, terror, &c. as what may be previous to
   his sincerely accepting the Gospel, and devoting himself to the service
   of God; yet I would by no means be thought to insinuate, that every one
   who is brought to that happy resolution, arrives at it through those
   particular steps, or feels agitations of mind equal in degree to those
   I have described. Some sense of sin, and some serious and humbling
   apprehension of our danger and misery in consequence of it, must indeed
   be necessary to dispose us to receive the grace of the Gospel, and the
   Saviour who is there exhibited to our faith. But God is pleased
   sometimes to begin the work of his grace in the heart almost from the
   first dawning of reason, and to carry it on by such gentle and
   insensible degrees, that very excellent persons, who have made the most
   eminent attainments in the Divine life, have been unable to recount any
   remarkable history of their conversion. And so far as I can learn, this
   is most frequently the case with those of them who have enjoyed the
   benefit of a pious education, when it has not been succeeded by a
   vicious and licentious youth. God forbid, therefore, that any should be
   so insensible of their own happiness as to fall into perplexity with
   relation to their spiritual state, for want oft being able to trace
   such a rise of religion in their minds as it was necessary on my plan
   for me to describe and exemplify here. I have spoken my sentiments on
   this head so fully in the eighth of my Sermons on Regeneration, that I
   think none who has read and remembers the general contents of it can be
   ill danger of mistaking my meaning here. But as it is very possible
   this book may fall into the hands or many who have not read the other,
   and have no opportunity of consulting it, I thought it proper to insert
   this caution in the preface to this; and I am much obliged to that
   worthy and excellent person who kindly reminded me of the expediency of
   doing it.

   PHILIP DODDRIDGE
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                 THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF RELIGION IN THE SOUL.
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CHAPTER I.

  THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK WITH SOME GENERAL ACCOUNT OF ITS DESIGN.

   1, 2.That true religion is very rare, appears from comparing the nature
   of it with the lives and characters of men around us.--3. The want of
   it, matter of just lamentation.--4. To remedy this evil is the design
   of the ensuing Treatise.--5, 6. To which, therefore, the Author
   earnestly bespeaks the attention of the reader, as his own heart is
   deeply interested in it.--7 to 12. A general plan of the Work; of which
   the first fifteen chapters relate chiefly to the Rise of Religion, and
   the remaining chapters to its Progress,--Prayer for the success of the
   Work.

   1. WHEN we look around us with an attentive eye, and consider the
   characters and pursuits of men, we plainly see, that though, in the
   original constitution of their natures, they only, of all the creatures
   that dwell on the face of the earth, are capable of religion, yet many
   of them shamefully neglect it. And whatever different notions people
   may entertain of what they call religion, all must agree in owning that
   it is very far from being a universal thing.

   2. Religion, in its most general view, is such a Sense of God in the
   soul, and such a conviction of our obligations to him, and of our
   dependence upon him, as shall engage us to make it our great care to
   conduct ourselves in a manner which we have reason to believe will be
   pleasing to him. Now, when we have given this plain account of
   religion, it is by no means necessary that we should search among the
   savages of distant Pagan nations to find instances of those who are
   strangers to it. When we view the conduct of the generality of people
   at home, in a Christian and Protestant nation, in a nation whose
   obligations to God have been singular, almost beyond those of any other
   people under heaven, will any one presume to say that religion has a
   universal reign among us? Will any one suppose that it prevails in
   every life; that it reigns in every heart? Alas! the avowed infidelity,
   the profanation of the name and day of God, the drunkenness, the
   lewdness, the injustice, the falsehood, the pride, the prodigality, the
   base selfishness, and stupid insensibility about the spiritual and
   eternal interests of themselves and others, which so generally appear
   among us, loudly proclaim the contrary. So that one would imagine, upon
   this view, that thousands and tens of thousands thought the neglect,
   and even the contempt of religion, were a glory, rather than a
   reproach. And where is the neighborhood, where is the society, where is
   the happy family, consisting of any considerable number, in which, on a
   more exact examination, we find reason to say, "religion fills even
   this little circle?" Where is, perhaps, a freedom from any gross and
   scandalous immoralities, an external decency of behavior, an attendance
   on the outward forms of worship in public, and, here and there, in the
   family; yet amidst all this, there is nothing which looks like the
   genuine actings of the spiritual and divine life. There is no
   appearance of love to God, no reverence of his presence, no desire of
   his favor as the highest good: there is no cordial belief of the Gospel
   of salvation; no eager solicitude to escape that condemnation which we
   have incurred by sin; no hearty concern to secure that eternal life
   which Christ has purchased and secured for his people, and which he
   freely promises to all who will receive him. Alas! whatever the love of
   a friend, or even a parent can do; whatever inclination there may be to
   hope all things, and believe all things the most favorable, evidence to
   the contrary will force itself upon the mind, and extort the unwilling
   conclusion, that, whatever else may be amiable in this dear friend--in
   that favorite child--"religion dwells not in his breast."

   3. To a heart that firmly believes the Gospel, and in views persons and
   things the light of eternity, this is one of the most mournful
   considerations in the world. And indeed, to such a one, all other
   calamities and evils of human nature appear trifles, when compared with
   this--the absence of real religion, and that contrariety to it which
   reigns in so many thousands of mankind. Let this be cured, and all the
   other evils will easily be borne; nay, good will be extracted out of
   them. But if this continue, it "bringeth forth fruit unto death;" (Rom.
   7:5) and in consequence of it, multitudes, who stare the entertainments
   of an indulgent Providence with us, and are at least allied to us by
   the bond of the same common nature, must, in a few years, be swept away
   into utter destruction, and be plunged, beyond redemption, into
   everlasting burnings.

   4. I doubt not but there are many, under the various forms of religious
   profession, who are not only lamenting this in public, if their office
   in life calls them to an opportunity of doing it; but are likewise
   mourning before God in secret, under a sense of this sad state of
   things; and who can appeal to Him that searches all hearts as to the
   sincerity of their desires to revive the languishing cause of vital
   Christianity and substantial piety. And among the rest, the author of
   this treatise may with confidence say, it is this which animates him to
   the present attempt, in the midst of so many other cares and labors.
   For this he is willing to lay aside many of those curious amusements in
   science which might suit his own private taste, and perhaps open a way
   for some reputation in the learned world. For this be is willing to
   wave the labored ornaments of speech, that be may, if possible, descend
   to the capacity of the lowest part of mankind. For this he would
   endeavor to convince the judgment, and to reach the heart of every
   reader: and, in a word, for this, without any dread of the name of an
   enthusiast, whoever may at random throw it out upon the occasion, he
   would, as it were, enter with you into your closet, from day to day;
   and with all plainness and freedom, as well as seriousness, would
   discourse to you of the great things, which he has learned from the
   Christian revelation, and on which he assuredly knows your everlasting
   happiness to depend; that, if you hitherto have lived without religion,
   you may be now awakened to the consideration of it, and may be
   instructed in its nature and importance; or that, if you are already,
   through Divine grace, experimentally acquainted with it, you may be
   assisted to make a farther progress.

   5. But he earnestly entreats this favor of you that, as it is plainly a
   serious business we are entering upon, you would be pleased to give him
   a serious and an active hearing. He entreats that these addresses, and
   these meditations, may be perused at leisure, and be thought over in
   retirement; and that you would do him and yourself the justice to
   believe the representations which art here made, and the warnings which
   are here given. to proceed from sincerity and love, from a heart that
   would not designedly give one moment's unnecessary pain to the meanest
   creature on the face of the earth, and much less to any human mind. If
   he be importunate, it is because he at least imagines that there is
   just reason for it, and fears, lest, amidst the multitudes who are
   undone by the utter neglect of religion, and among those who are
   greatly damaged for want of a more resolute and constant attendance to
   it, this may be the case of some into whose hands this treatise may
   fall.

   6. He is a barbarian, and deserves not to be called a man, who can look
   upon the sorrows of his fellow creatures without drawing out his soul
   unto them and wishing, at least, that it were in the power of his hand
   to help them. Surely earth would be a heaven to that man who could go
   about from place to place scattering happiness wheresoever be came,
   though it were only the body that he were capable of relieving, and
   though he could impart nothing better than the happiness of a mortal
   life. But the happiness rises in proportion to the nature and degree of
   the good which he imparts. Happy, are we ready to say, were those
   honored servants of Christ, who, in the early days of his church, were
   the benevolent and sympathizing instruments of conveying miraculous
   healing to those whose cases seemed desperate; who poured in upon the
   blind and the deaf the pleasures of light and sound, and called up the
   dead to the flowers of action and enjoyment. But this is an honor and
   happiness which it is not fit for God commonly to bestow on mortal men.
   Yet there have been, in every age, and blessed be his name, there still
   are those whom he has condescended to make his instruments in conveying
   nobler and more lasting blessings than these to their fellow-creatures.
   Death has long since veiled the eyes and stopped she ears of those who
   were the subjects of miraculous healing, and recovered its empire over
   those who were once recalled from the grave. But the souls who are
   prevailed upon to receive the Gospel, live for ever. God has owned the
   labors of his faithful ministers in every age to produce these blessed
   effects; and some of them "being dead, yet speak" (Heb. 11:4) with
   power and success in this important cause. Wonder not then, if, living
   and dying I be ambitious of this honor; and if my mouth be freely
   opened, where I can truly say, "my heart is enlarged." (2 Cor. 6:11)

   7. In forming my general plan, I have been solicitous that this little
   treatise might, if possible, be useful to all its readers, and contain
   something suitable to each. I will therefore take the man and the
   Christian in a great variety of circumstances. I will first suppose
   myself addressing one of the vast number of thoughtless creatures who
   have hitherto been utterly unconcerned about religion, and will try
   what can be done, by all plainness and earnestness of address, to
   awaken him from this fatal lethargy, to a care (chap. 2), an
   affectionate and an immediate care about it (chap. 3). I will labor to
   fix a deep and awful conviction of guilt upon his conscience (chap. 4),
   and to strip him of his vain excuses and his flattering hopes (chap.
   5). I will read to him, O! that I could fix on his heart that sentence,
   that dreadful sentence, which a righteous and an Almighty God hath
   denounced against him as a sinner (chap. 6), and endeavor to show him
   in how helpless a state he lies under this condemnation, as to any
   capacity he has of delivering himself (chap 7). But I do not mean to
   leave any in so terrible a situation: I will joyfully proclaim the glad
   tidings of pardon and salvation by Christ Jesus our Lord, which is all
   the support and confidence of my own soul (chap. 8). And then I will
   give some general view of the way by which this salvation is to be
   obtained (chap. 9); urging the sinner to accept of it as affectionately
   as I can (chap. 10); though not thing can be sufficiently pathetic,
   where, as sin this matter, the life of an immortal soul is in question.

   8. Too probable it is that some will, after all this, remain
   insensible; and therefore that their sad case may not encumber the
   following articles, I shall here take a solemn leave of them (chap.
   11); and then shall turn and address myself as compassionately as I
   can, to a most contrary character; I mean, to a soul overwhelmed with a
   sense of the greatness of its sins, and trembling under the burden, as
   if there were no more hope for him in God (chap. 12). And that nothing
   may be omitted which may give solid peace to the troubled spirit, I
   shall endeavor to guide its inquiries as to the evidences of sincere
   repentance and faith (chap. 13); which will be farther illustrated by a
   more particular view of the several branches of the Christian temper,
   such as may serve at once to assist the reader in judging what he is,
   and to show him what he should labor to be (chap. 14). This will
   naturally lead to a view of the need we have of the influences of the
   blessed Spirit to assist us in the important and difficult work of the
   true Christian, and of the encouragement we have to hope for such
   divine assistance (chap. 15). In an humble dependence on which, I shall
   then enter on the consideration of several cases which often occur in
   the Christian life, in which particular addresses to the conscience may
   be requisite and useful.

   9. As some peculiar difficulties and discouragements attend the first
   entrance on a religious course, it will here be our first care to
   animate the young convert against them (chap. 16). And that it may be
   done more effectually, I shall urge a solemn dedication of himself to
   God (chap. 17), to be confirmed by entering into a communion of the
   church, and an approach to the sacred table (chap. 18). That these
   engagements may be more happily fulfilled, we shall endeavor to draw a
   more particular plan of that devout, regular and accurate course, which
   ought daily to be attended to (chap. 19). And because the idea will
   probably rise so much higher than what is the general practice, even of
   good men, we shall endeavor to persuade the reader to make the attempt,
   hard as it may seem (chap. 20); and shall caution him against various
   temptations, which might otherwise draw him aside to negligence and sin
   (chap.21).

   10. Happy will it be for the reader, if these exhortations and cautions
   be attended to with becoming regard; but as it is, alas! too probable
   that, notwithstanding all, the infirmities of nature will sometimes
   prevail, we shall consider the case of deadness and languor in
   religion, which often steals upon us by sensible degrees (chap. 22);
   from whence there is too easy a passage to that terrible one of a
   return into known and deliberate sin (chap. 23). And as the one or the
   other of these tends in a proportionable degree to provoke the blessed
   God to hide his face, and his injured Spirit to withdraw, that
   melancholy condition will be taken into particular survey (chap. 24). I
   shall then take notice also of the case of great and heavy afflictions
   in life (chap. 25), a discipline which the best of men have reason to
   expect, especially when they backslide from God and yield to their
   spiritual enemies.

   11. Instances of this kind will, I fear, be too frequent; yet, I trust,
   there will be many others, whose path, like the dawning light, will
   "shine more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18) And therefore
   we shall endeavor, in the best manner we can, to assist the Christian
   in passing a true judgment on the growth of grace in his heart (chap.
   26), as we had done before in judging of its sincerity. And as nothing
   conduces more to the advancement of grace than the lively exercise of
   love to God, and a holy joy in him, we shall here remind the real
   Christian of those mercies which tend to excite that love and joy
   (chap. 27); and in the view of them to animate him to those vigorous
   efforts of usefulness in life, which so well become his character, and
   will have so happy an efficacy in brightening his crown (chap. 28).
   Supposing him to act accordingly, we shall then labor to illustrate and
   assist the delight with which he may look forward to the awful
   solemnities of death and judgment (chap. 29). And shall close the scene
   by accompanying him, as it were, to the nearest confines of that dark
   valley through which he is to pass to glory; giving him such directions
   as may seem most subservient to his honoring God and adorning religion
   by his dying behavior (chap. 30). Nor am I without a pleasing hope,
   that, through the Divine blessing and grace, I may be, in some
   instances, so successful as to leave those triumphing in the views of
   judgment and eternity, and glorifying God by a truly Christian life and
   death, whom I found trembling in the apprehensions of future misery;
   or, perhaps, in a much more dangerous and miserable condition than that
   I mean, entirely forgetting the prospect, and sunk in the most stupid
   insensibility of those things, for an attendance to which the human
   mind was formed, and in comparison of which all the pursuits of this
   transitory life are emptier than wind and lighter than a feather.

   12. Such a variety of heads must, to be sure, be handled but briefly,
   as we intend to bring them within the bulk of a moderate volume. I
   shall not, therefore, discuss them as a preacher might properly do in
   sermons, in which the truths of religion are professedly to be
   explained and taught, defended and improved, in a wide variety, and
   long detail of propositions, arguments, objections, replies, and
   inferences, marshalled and numbered under their distinct generals. I
   shall here speak in a looser and freer manner, as a friend to a friend;
   just as I would do if I were to be in person admitted to a private
   audience by one whom I tenderly loved, and whose circumstances and
   character I knew to be like that which the title of one chapter or
   another of this treatise describes. And when I have discoursed with him
   a little while, which will seldom be so long as half an hour, shall, as
   it were, step aside, and leave him to meditate on what he has heard, or
   endeavor to assist him in such fervent addresses to God as it may be
   proper to mingle with those meditations. In the mean time, I will here
   take the liberty to pray over my reader and my work, and to commend it
   solemnly to the Divine blessing, in token of my deep conviction of an
   entire dependence upon it. And I am well persuaded that sentiments like
   these are common, in the general, to every faithful minister to every
   real Christian.

   A Prayer for the Success of this Work, in promoting the Rise and
   Progress of Religion.

   "O thou great eternal Original, and Author of all created being and
   happiness! I adore thee, who hast made man a creature capable of
   religion, and hast bestowed this dignity and felicity upon our nature,
   that it may be taught to say, Where is God our maker? (Job 35:10) I
   lament that degeneracy spread over the whole human race, which has
   "turned our glory into shame," (Hos. 4:7) and has rendered the
   forgetfulness of God, unnatural as it is, so common and so universal a
   disease. Holy Father, We know it is thy presence, and thy teaching
   alone, that can reclaim thy wandering children, can impress a sense of
   Divine things on the heart, and render that sense lasting and
   effectual. From thee proceed all good purposes and desires; and this
   desire, above all, of diffusing wisdom, piety, and happiness in this
   world. which (though sunk in such deep apostacy) thine infinite mercy
   has not utterly forsaken.

   "Thou knowest, O Lord, the hearts of the children of men;' (2 Chron.
   6:30) and an upright soul, in the midst of all the censures and
   suspicions it may meet with, rejoices in thine intimate knowledge of
   its most secret sentiments and principles of action. Thou knowest the
   sincerity and fervency with which thine unworthy servant desires to
   spread the knowledge of thy name, and the savor of thy Gospel, among
   all to whom this work may reach. Thou knowest that hadst thou given him
   an abundance of this world, it would have been, in his esteem, the
   noblest pleasure that abundance could have afforded to have been thine
   almoner in distributing thy bounties to the indigent and necessitous,
   and so causing the sorrowful heart to rejoice in thy goodness,
   dispensed through his hands. Thou knowest, that, hadst thou given him,
   either by ordinary or extraordinary methods, the gift of healing, it
   would have been his daily delight to relieve the pains, the maladies,
   and the infirmities of men's bodies; to have seen the languishing
   countenance brightened by returning health and cheerfulness; and much
   more to have beheld the roving, distracted mind reduced to calmness and
   serenity in the exercise of its rational faculties. Yet happier, far
   happier wilt he think himself, in those humble circumstances in which
   thy providence hath placed him, if thou vouchsafe to honor these his
   feeble endeavors as the means of a relieving and enriching men's minds;
   of recovering them from the madness of a sinful state, and bringing
   back thy reasonable creatures to the knowledge, the service, and the
   enjoyment of their God; or of improving those who are already reduced.

   "O may it have that blessed influence on the person, whosoever he be,
   that is now reading these lines, and all who may read or hear them! Let
   not my Lord be angry if I presume to ask, that, however weak and
   contemptible this work may seem in the eyes of the children of this
   world, and however imperfect it really be, as well as the author of it
   unworthy, it may nevertheless live before thee; and, through a divine
   power, be mighty to produce the rise and progress of religion in the
   minds of multitudes in distant places, and in generations yet to come!
   Impute it not, O God, as a culpable ambition, if I desire that,
   whatever becomes of my name, about which I wou1d not lose one thought
   before thee, this work, to which I am now applying myself in thy
   strength, may be completed and propagated far abroad: that it may reach
   to those that are yet unborn, and teach them thy name and thy praise,
   when the author has long dwelt in the dust; that so, when he shall
   appear before thee in the great day of final account, his joy may be
   increased, and his crown brightened, by numbers before unknown to each
   other, and to him! But if this petition be too great to be granted to
   one who pretends no claim but thy sovereign grace to hope for being
   favored with the least, give him to be, in thine Almighty hand, the
   blessed instrument of converting and saving one soul; and if it be but
   one, and that the weakest and meanest of those who are capable or
   receiving this address, it shall be most thankfully accepted as a rich
   recompense for all the thought and labor it may cost; and though it
   should be amidst a thousand disappointments with respect to others, yet
   it shall be the subject of immortal songs of praise to thee, O blessed
   God, for and by every soul whom, through the blood of Jesus and the
   grace of thy Spirit, thou hast saved; and everlasting honors shall be
   ascribed to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, by the
   innumerable company of angels, and by the general assembly and church
   of the first-born in heaven. Amen."
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CHAPTER II.

  THE CARELESS SINNER AWAKENED.

   1, 2. It is too supposable a case that this Treatise may come into such
   hands.--3, 4. Since many, not grossly vicious, fail under that
   character.--5, 6. A more particular illustration of this case, with an
   appeal to the reader, whether it be not his own.--7 to 9. Expostulation
   with such.--10 to 12. More particularly--From acknowledged principles
   relating to the Nature of Got, his universal presence, agency, and
   perfection.--13. From a view of personal obligations to him.--14. From
   the danger Of this neglect, when considered in its aspect on a future
   state.--15. An appeal to the conscience as already convinced.--16.
   Transition to the subject of the next chapter. The meditation of a
   sinner, who, having been long thoughtless, begins to be awakened.

   1. SHAMEFULLY and fatally as religion is neglected in the world, yet,
   blessed be God, it has some sincere disciples, children of wisdom, by
   whom even in this foolish and degenerate age, it "is justified:" (Matt.
   9:18) who having, by Divine grace, been brought to the knowledge of God
   in Christ, have faithfully devoted their hearts to him, and, by a
   natural consequence, are devoting their lives to his service. Could I
   be sure this Treatise would fall into no hands but theirs, my work
   would be shorter, easier and more pleasant.

   2. But among the thousands that neglect religion, it is more than
   probable that some of my readers may be included; and I am so deeply
   affected with their unhappy ease, that the temper of my heart, as well
   as the proper method of my subject, leads me, in the first place, to
   address myself to such: to apply to every one of them; and therefore to
   you, O reader, whoever you are, who may come under the denomination of
   a careless sinner.

   3. Be not, I beseech you angry at the name. The physicians of souls
   must speak plainly, or they may murder those whom they should cure I
   would make no harsh and unreasonable supposition. I would charge you
   with nothing more than is absolutely necessary to convince you that you
   are the person to whom I speak. I will not, therefore, imagine you to
   be a profane and abandoned profligate. I will not suppose that you
   allow yourself to blaspheme God, to dishonour his name by customary
   swearing, or grossly to violate his Sabbath, or commonly to neglect the
   solemnities of his public worship; I will not imagine that you have
   injured your neighbors, in their lives, their chastity, or their
   possessions, either by violence or by fraud; or that you have
   scandalously debased the rational nature of man, by that vile
   intemperance which transforms us into the worst kind of brutes, or
   something beneath them.

   4. In opposition to all this, I will suppose that you believe the
   existence and providence of God, and the truth of Christianity as a
   revelation from him: of which, if you have any doubt, I must desire
   that you would immediately seek your satisfaction elsewhere*." I say
   immediately; because not to believe it, is in effect to disbelieve it;
   and will make your ruin equally certain, though perhaps it may leave it
   less aggravated than if contempt and opposition had been added to
   suspicion and neglect. But supposing you to be a nominal Christian, and
   not a deist or a skeptic, I will also suppose your conduct among men to
   be not only blameless, but amiable; and that they who know you most
   intimately, must acknowledge that you are just and sober, humane and
   courteous, compassionate and liberal; yet, with all this, you may "lack
   that one thing" (Mark 10:21) on which your eternal happiness depends.

   5. I beseech you, reader, whoever you are, that you would now look
   seriously into your own heart, and ask it this one plain question; Am I
   truly religious? Is the love of God the governing principle of my life?
   Do I walk under the sense of his presence? Do I converse with him from
   day to day, in the exercise of prayer and praise? And am I, on the
   whole, making his service my business and my delight, regarding him as
   my master and my father?

   6. It is my present business only to address myself to the person whose
   conscience answers in the negative. And I would address, with equal
   plainness and equal freedom, to high and low, to rich and poor: to you,
   who, as the Scripture with a dreadful propriety expresses it, "live
   without God in the world!" (Eph. 2:12) and while in words and forms you
   "own God, deny him in your actions," (Tit. 1:16) and behave yourselves
   in the main, a few external ceremonies only excepted, just as you would
   do if you believed and were sure there is no God. Unhappy creature,
   whoever you are! your own heart condemns you immediately! and how much
   more that "God who is greater than your heart, and knoweth all things."
   (1 John 3:20) He is in "secret," (Matt. 6:6) as well as in "public" and
   words cannot express the delight with which his children converse with
   him alone: but in secret you acknowledge him not: you neither pray to
   him, nor praise him in your retirements. Accounts, correspondences
   studies, may often bring you into your closet; but if nothing but
   devotion were to be transacted there, it would be to you quite an
   unfrequented place. And thus you go on from day to day in a continual
   forgetfulness of God, and are as thoughtless about religion as if you
   had long since demonstrated to yourself that it was a mere dream. If,
   indeed, you are sick, you will perhaps cry to God for health in any
   extreme danger you will lift up your eyes and voice for deliverance but
   as for the pardon of sin, and the other blessings of the Gospel, you
   are not at all inwardly solicitous about them; though you profess to
   believe that the Gospel is divine, and the blessings of it eternal. All
   your thoughts, and all your hours are divided between the business and
   the amusements of life; and if now and then an awful providence or a
   serious sermon or book awakens you, it is but a few days, or it may be
   a few hours, and you are the same careless creature you ever were
   before. On the whole, you act as if you were resolved to put it to the
   venture, and at your own expense to make the experiment, whether the
   consequences of neglecting religion be indeed as terrible as its
   ministers and friends have represented. Their remonstrances do indeed
   sometimes force themselves upon you, as (considering the age and
   country in which you live), it is hardly possible entirely to avoid
   them; but you have, it may be, found out the art of Isaiah's people,
   "hearing to hear, and not understand; and seeing to see, and not
   perceive your heart is waxed gross, your eyes are closed, and your ears
   heavy." (Isa. 6:9,10) Under the very ordinances of worship your
   thoughts "are at the ends of the earth." (Prov. 17:24) Every amusement
   of the imagination is welcome, if it may but lead away your mind from
   so insipid and so disagreeable a subject as religion. And probably the
   very last time you were in a worshipping assembly, you managed just as
   you would have done if you had thought God knew nothing of your
   behavior, or as if you did not think it worth one single care whether
   he were pleased or displeased with it.

   7. Alas! is it then come to this, with all your belief of God, and
   providence and Scripture, that religion is not worth a thought? That it
   is not worth one hour's serious consideration and reflection, "what God
   and Christ are, and what you yourselves are, and what you must
   hereafter be?" Where then are your rational faculties? How are they
   employed, or rather how are they stupefied and benumbed?

   8. The certainty and importance of the things of which I speak are so
   evident, from the principles which you yourselves grant, that one might
   almost set a child or an idiot to reason upon them. And yet they are
   neglected by those who are grown up to understanding; and perhaps some
   of them to such refinement of understanding that they would think
   themselves greatly injured if they were not to be reckoned among the
   politer and more learned part of mankind.

   9. But it is not your neglect, sirs, that can destroy the being or
   importance of such things as these. It may indeed destroy you, but it
   cannot in the least affect them. Permit me, therefore, having been
   myself awakened, to come to each of you, and say, as the mariners did
   to Jonah while asleep in the midst of a much less dangerous storm,
   "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God." (Jonah
   1:6) Do you doubt as to the reasonableness or necessity of doing it? "I
   will demand, and answer me;" (Job 38:3) answer me to your own
   conscience, as one that must, ere long, render another kind of account.

   10. You own that there is a God, and well you may, for you cannot open
   your eyes but you must see the evident proofs of his being, his
   presence, and his agency. You behold him around you in every object.
   You feel him within you, if I may so speak, in every vein and in every
   nerve. You see and you feel not only that he hath formed you with an
   exquisite wisdom which no mortal man could ever fully explain or
   comprehend, but that he is continually near you, wherever you are, and
   however you are employed, by day or by night; "in him" you live, and
   move, and have your being." (Acts 17:28) Common sense will tell you
   that it is not your own wisdom, and power, and attention that causes
   your heart to beat and your blood to circulate; that draws in and sends
   out that breath of life, that precarious breath of a most uncertain
   life, "that is in your nostrils." (Isa. 2:22)These things are done when
   you sleep, as well as in those waking moments when you think not of the
   circulation of the blood, or of the necessity of breathing, or so much
   as recollect that you have a heart or lungs. Now, what is this but the
   hand of God, perpetually supporting and actuating those curious
   machines that he has made?

   11. Nor is this his care limited to you; but if you look all around
   you, far as your view can reach, you see it extending itself on every
   side: and, oh! how much farther than you can trace it! Reflect on the
   light and heat which the sun every where dispenses; on the air which
   surrounds all our globe; on the right temperature on which the life of
   the whole human race depends, and that of all the inferior creatures
   which dwell on the earth. Think on the suitable and plentiful
   provisions made for man and beast; the grass, the grain, the variety of
   fruits, and herbs, and flowers; every thing that nourishes us, every
   thing that delights us, and say whether it does not speak plainly and
   loudly that our Almighty Maker is near, and that he is careful of us,
   and kind to us. And while all these things proclaim his goodness, do
   not they also proclaim his power? For what power has any thing
   comparable to that which furnishes out those gifts of royal bounty; and
   which, unwearied and unchanged, produces continually, from day to day,
   and from age to age, such astonishing and magnificent effects over the
   face of the whole earth, and through all the regions of heaven?

   12. It is then evident that God is present, present with you at this
   moment; even God your creator and preserver, God the creator and
   preserver of the whole visible and invisible world. And is he not
   present as a most observant and attentive being? "He that formed the
   eye, shall not he see? He that planted the ear, shall not he hear? He
   that teaches man knowledge," that gives him his rational faculties, and
   pours in upon his opening mind all the light it receives by them,
   "shall not he know?" (Psal. 94:9,10) He who sees all the necessities of
   his creatures so seasonably to provide for them, shall he not see their
   actions too; and seeing, shall he not judge them? Has he given us a
   sense and discrimination of what is good and evil, of what is true and
   false, of what is fair and deformed in temper and conduct; and has he
   himself no discernment of these things? Trifle not with your
   conscience, which tells you at once that he judges of it, and approves
   or condemns as it is decent or indecent, reasonable or unreasonable;
   and that the judgment which he passes is of infinite importance to all
   his creatures.

   13. And now to apply all this to your own case; let me seriously ask
   you, is it a decent and reasonable thing, that this great and glorious
   Benefactor should be neglected by his rational creatures--by those that
   are capable of attaining to some knowledge of him, and presenting to
   him some homage? Is it decent and reasonable that he should be
   forgotten and neglected by you? Are you alone, of all the works or his
   hands, forgotten or neglected by him? O sinner, thoughtless as you are,
   you cannot dare to say that, or even to think it. You need not go back
   to the helpless days of your infancy and childhood to convince you of
   the contrary. You need not, in order to this, recollect the remarkable
   deliverances which perhaps were wrought out for you many years ago. The
   repose of the last night, the refreshment and comfort you have received
   this day; yea, the mercies you are receiving this very moment bear
   witness to him; and yet you regard him not ungrateful creature that you
   are! Could you have treated any human benefactor thus? Could you have
   borne to neglect a kind parent, or any generous friend, that had but
   for a few months acted the part of a parent to you; to have taken no
   notice of him while in his presence; to have returned him no thanks; to
   have had no contrivances to make some little acknowledgment for all his
   goodness? Human nature, bad as it is, is not fallen so low. Nay, the
   brutal nature is not so low as this. Surely every domestic animal
   around you must shame such ingratitude. If you do but for a few days
   take a little kind notice of a dog, and feed him with the refuse of
   your table, he will wait upon you, and love to be near you; he will be
   eager to follow you from place to place, and when, after a little
   absence you return home, will try, by a thousand fond, transported
   motions, to tell you how much he rejoices to see you again. Nay, brutes
   far less sagacious and apprehensive have some sense of our kindness,
   and express it after their way: as the blessed God condescends to
   observe, in this very view in which I mention it, "The" dull "ox knows
   his owner, and the" stupid "ass his master's crib." (Isa. 1:3) What
   lamentable degeneracy therefore is it, that you do not know that you,
   who have been numbered among God's professed people, do not and will
   not consider your numberless obligations to him.

   14. Surely, if you have any ingenuousness of temper, you must be
   ashamed and grieved in the review; but if you have not, give me leave
   farther to expostulate with you on this head, by setting it in
   something of a different light. Can you think yourself safe, while you
   are acting a part like this? Do you not in your conscience believe
   there will be a future judgment? Do you not believe there is an
   invisible and eternal world? As professed Christians, we all believe
   it; for it is no controverted point, but displayed in Scripture with so
   clear an evidence, that, subtle and ingenious as men are in error, they
   have not yet found out a way to evade it. And believing this, do you
   not see, that, while you are thus wandering from God, "destruction and
   misery are in your way?" (Rom. 3:16) Will this indolence and negligence
   of temper be any security to you? Will it guard you from death? Will it
   excuse you from judgment? You might much more reasonably expect that
   shutting your eyes would be a defence against the rage of a devouring
   lion; or that looking another way should secure your body from being
   pierced by a bullet or a sword; When God speaks of the extravagant
   folly of some thoughtless creatures who would hearken to no admonition
   now he adds, in a very awful manner, "In the latter day they shall
   consider it perfectly." (Jer. 23:20) And is not this applicable to you?
   Must you not sooner or later be brought to think of these things,
   whether you wilt or not! And in the mean time do you not certainly know
   that timely and serious reflection upon them is, through divine grace,
   the only way to prevent your ruin!

   15. Yes, sinner, I need not multiply words on a subject like this. Your
   conscience is already inwardly convinced, though your pride maybe
   unwilling to own it. And to prove it, let me ask you one question more:
   Would you, upon any terms and considerations whatever, come to a
   resolution absolutely to dismiss all farther thought of religion, and
   all care about it, from this day and hour, and to abide the
   consequences of that neglect? I believe hardly any man living would be
   bold enough to determine upon this. I believe most of my readers would
   be ready to tremble at the thought of it.

   16. But if it be necessary to take these things into consideration at
   all, it is necessary to do it quickly; for life itself is not so very
   long nor so certain, that a wise man should risk much upon its
   continuance. And I hope to convince you when I have another hearing,
   that it is necessary to do it immediately, and that next to the madness
   of resolving you will not think of religion at all, is that of saying
   you will think of it hereafter. In the meantime, pause on the hints
   which have been already given, and they will prepare you to receive
   what is to be added on that head.

   The Meditation of a Sinner who was once thoughtless, but begins to be
   awakened.

   "Awake, O my forgetful soul, awake from these wandering dreams. Turn
   thee from this chase of vanity, and for a little while be persuaded, by
   all these considerations, to look forward, and to look upward, at least
   for a few moments. Sufficient are the hours and days given to the
   labors and amusements of life. Grudge not a short allotment of minutes,
   to view thyself and thine own more immediate concerns: to reflect who
   and what thou art, how it comes to pass that thou art here, and what
   thou must quickly be!

   "It is indeed as thou hast seen it now represented. O my soul! thou art
   the creature of God, formed and furnished by him, and lodged in a body
   which he provided, and which he supports; a body in which he intends
   thee only a transitory abode. O! think how soon this tabernacle' must
   be dissolved,' (2 Cor. 5:1) and thou must return to God.' (Eccl. 12:7)
   And shall He, the One, Infinite, Eternal, Ever-blessed, and
   Ever-glorious Being, shall He be least of all regarded by thee? Wilt
   thou live and die with this character, saying, by every action of every
   day, unto God, Depart from me, for I desire not the knowledge of thy
   ways?' (Job 21:14) The morning, the day, the evening, the night, every
   period of time has its excuses for this neglect. But O! my soul, what
   will these excuses appear when examined by his penetrating eye! They
   may delude me, but they cannot impose upon him.

   "O thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor! when I think but for a
   moment or two of all thy greatness and of all thy goodness, I am
   astonished at this insensibility which has prevailed in my heart, and
   even still prevails; I blush and am confounded to lift up my face
   before thee.' (Ezra 9:6) On the most transient review, I see that I
   have played the fool,' that I have erred exceedingly.' (1 Sam. 26:21)
   And yet this stupid heart of mine would make its having neglected thee
   so long a reason for going on to neglect thee. I own it might justly be
   expected, that, with regard to thee, every one of thy rational
   creatures should be all duty and love; that each heart should be full
   of a sense of thy presence; and that a care to please thee should
   swallow up every other care. Yet thou hast not been in all my
   thoughts;' (Psa. 10:4) and religion, the end and glory of my nature,
   has been so strangely overlooked, that I have hardly ever seriously
   asked my own heart what it is. I know, if matters rest here, I perish;
   yet I feel in my perverse nature a secret indisposition to pursue these
   thoughts; a proneness, if not entirely to dismiss them, yet to lay them
   aside side for the present. My mind is perplexed and divided; but I am
   sure, thou, who madest me, knowest what is best for me. I therefore
   beseech thee that thou wilt, for thy name's sake, lead me and guide
   me.' (Psa. 31:3) Let me not delay till it is for ever too late. Pluck
   me as a brand out of the burning!' (Amos 4:11) O break this fatal
   enchantment that holds down my affection to objects which my judgment
   comparatively despises! and let me, at length, come into so happy a
   state of mind that I may not be afraid to think of thee and of myself,
   and may not be tempted to wish that thou hadst not made me, or that
   thou couldst for ever forget me; that it may not be my best hope, to
   perish like the brutes.

   "If what I shall farther read here be agreeable to truth and reason, if
   it be calculated to promote my happiness, and is to be regarded as an
   intimation of thy will and pleasure to me, O God, let me hear and obey!
   Let the words of thy servant, when pleading thy cause, be like goads to
   pierce into my mind! and let me rather feel, and smart, than die! Let
   them be as nails fastened in a sure place;' (Eccl. 12:4) that whatever
   mysteries as yet unknown, or whatever difficulties there be in
   religion, if it be necessary, I may not finally neglect it; and that,
   if it be expedient to attend immediately to it, I may no longer delay
   that attendance! And, O! let thy grace teach me the lesson I am so slow
   to learn and conquer that strong opposition which I feel in my heart
   against the very thought of it! Hear these broken cries, for the sake
   of thy Son, who has taught and saved many a creature as untractable as
   I, and can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham!' (Matt. 3:9)
   Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER III.

  THE AWAKENED SINNER URGED TO IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION AND CAUTIONED AGAINST
  DELAY.

   1. Sinners, when awakened, inclined to dismiss convictions for the
   present.--2. An immediate regard to religion urged.--3. From the
   excellence and pleasure of the thing itself.--4. From the uncertainty
   of that future time on which sinners presume, compared with the sad
   consequences of being cut off in sin.--5. From the immutability of
   God's present demands.--6. From the tendency which delay has to make a
   compliance with these demands more difficult than it is at present.--7.
   From. the danger of God's withdrawing his Spirit, compared with the
   dreadful case of a sinner given up by it.--8. Which probably is now the
   case of many.--9. Since, therefore, on the whole, whatever ever the
   event be, delays may prove matter of lamentation.--10. The chapter
   concludes with an exhortation against yielding to them; and a prayer
   against temptations of that kind.

   1. I HOPE my last address so far awakened the convictions of my reader,
   as to bring him to this purpose, "that some time or other he would
   attend to religious considerations." But give me leave to ask,
   earnestly and pointedly, When shall that be? "Go thy way for this time,
   when I have a convenient season I will call for thee," (Acts 24:25) was
   the language and ruin of unhappy Felix, when he trembled under the
   reasonings and expostulations of the apostle. The tempter presumed not
   to urge that he should give up all thoughts of repentance and
   reformation; but only that, considering the present hurry of his
   affairs, (as no doubt they were many) he should defer it to another
   day. The artifice succeeded; and Felix was undone.

   2. Will you, reader, dismiss me thus? For your own sake, and out of
   tender compassion to your perishing, immortal soul, I would not
   willingly take up with such a dismission and excuse--no, not though you
   shall fix a time; though you shall determine on the next year, or
   month, or week, or day. I would turn upon you, with all the eagerness
   and tenderness of friendly importunity, and entreat you to bring the
   matter to an issue even now. For if you say, "I will think on these
   things tomorrow," I shall have little hope; and shall conclude that all
   that I have hitherto urged, and all that you have read, has been
   offered and viewed in vain.

   3. When I invite you to the care and practice of religion, it may seem
   strange that it should be necessary for me affectionately to plead the
   cause with you, in order to your immediate regard and compliance. What
   I am inviting you to is so noble and excellent in itself, so well
   worthy of the dignity of our rational nature so suitable to it, so
   manly and so wise, that one would imagine you should take fire, as it
   were, at the first hearing of it; yea, that so delightful a view should
   presently possess your whole soul with a kind of indignation against
   yourself that you pursued it no sooner. "May I lift up my eyes and my
   soul to God! May I devote myself to him! May I even now commence a
   friendship with him--a friendship which shall last for ever, the
   security, the delight, the glory of this immortal nature of mine! And
   shall I draw back and say, Nevertheless, let me not commence this
   friendship too soon: let me live at least a few weeks or a few days
   longer without God in the world?" Surely it would be much more
   reasonable to turn inward, and say, "O my soul, on what vile husks hast
   thou been feeding, while thy Heavenly Father has been forsaken and
   injured? Shall I desire to multiply the days of my poverty, my scandal,
   and my misery?" On this principle, surely an immediate return to God
   should in all reason be chosen, rather than to play the fool any
   longer, and go on a little more to displease God, and thereby starve
   and wound your own soul! even though your continuance in life were ever
   so certain, and your capacity to return to God and your duty ever so
   entirely in your power, now, and in every future moment, through scores
   of years yet to come.

   4. But who and what are you, that you should lay your account for years
   or for months to come? "What is your life? Is not even as a vapor, that
   appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away?" (Jam. 4:14) And
   what is your security, or what is your peculiar warrant, that you
   should thus depend upon the certainty of its continuance, and that so
   absolutely as to venture, as it were, to pawn your soul upon it? Why,
   you will perhaps say, "I am young, and in all my bloom and vigor; I see
   hundreds about me who are more than double my age, and not a few of
   them who seem to think it too soon to attend to religion yet."

   You view the living, and you talk thus. But I beseech you, think of the
   dead. Return, in your thoughts, to those graves in which you have left
   some of your young companions and your friends. You saw them awhile ago
   gay and active, warm with life, and hopes, and schemes. And some of
   them would have thought a friend strangely importunate that should have
   interrupted them in their business and their pleasures, with a solemn
   lecture on death and eternity. Yet they were then on the very borders
   of both. You have since seen their corpses, or at least their coffins,
   and probably carried about with you the badges of mourning which you
   received at their funerals. Those once vigorous, and perhaps beautiful
   bodies of theirs, now lie moldering in the dust, as senseless and
   helpless as the most decrepit pieces of human nature which fourscore
   years ever brought down to it. And, what is infinitely more to be
   regarded, their souls, whether prepared for this great change, or
   thoughtless of it, have made their appearance before God, and are at
   this moment fixed, either in heaven or in hell. Now let me seriously
   ask you, would it be miraculous. Or would it be strange, if such an
   event should befall you? How are you sure that some fatal disease will
   not this day begin to work in your veins? How are you sure that you
   shall ever be capable of reading or thinking any more, if you do not
   attend to what you now read, and pursue the thought which is now
   offering itself to your mind? This sudden alteration may at least
   possibly happen; and if it does, it will be to you a terrible one
   indeed. To be thus surprised into the presence of a forgotten God; to
   be torn away, at once, from a world to which your whole heart and soul
   has been riveted--a world which has engrossed all your thoughts and
   cares, all your desires and pursuits; and be fixed in a state which you
   never could be so far persuaded to think of, as to spend so much as one
   hour in serious preparation for it: how must you even shudder at the
   apprehension of it, and with what horror must it fill you? It seems
   matter of wonder that in such circumstances you are not almost
   distracted with the thoughts of the uncertainty of life, and are not
   even ready to die for fear of death. To trifle with God any longer,
   after so solemn an admonition as this, would be a circumstance of
   additional provocation, which, after all the rest, might be fatal; nor
   is there any thing you can expect in such a case, but that he should
   cut you off immediately, and teach other thoughtless creatures, by your
   ruin, what a hazardous experiment they make when they act as you are
   acting.

   5. And will you, after all, run this desperate risk? For what
   imaginable purpose can you do it? Do you think the business of religion
   will become less necessary or more easy by your delay? You know that it
   will not. You know, that whatever the blessed God demands now, he will
   also demand twenty or thirty years hence, if you should live to see the
   time. God has fixed his method, in which he will pardon and accept
   sinners in his Gospel. And will he ever alter that method? Or if he
   will not, can men alter it? You like not to think of repenting and
   humbling yourself before God, to receive righteousness and life from
   his free grace in Christ; and you, above all, dislike the thought of
   returning to God in the ways of holy obedience. But will he ever
   dispense with any of these, and publish a new Gospel, with promises of
   life and salvation to impenitent unbelieving sinners, if they will but
   call themselves Christians, and submit to a few external rites? How
   long do you think you might wait for such a change in the constitution
   of things? You know death will come upon you, and you cannot but know,
   in your own conscience, that a general dissolution will come upon the
   world long before God can thus deny himself, and contradict all his
   perfections and all his declarations;

   6. Or if his demands continue the same, as they assuredly will, do you
   think any thing which is now disagreeable to you in them, will be less
   disagreeable hereafter than it is at present? Shall you love to sin
   less, when it becomes more habitual to you, and when your conscience is
   yet more enfeebled arid debauched? If you are running with the footmen
   and fainting, shall you be able "to contend with the horsemen?" (Jer.
   12:5) Surely you cannot imagine it. You will not say, in any distemper
   which threatened your life, "I will stay till I grow a little worse,
   and then I will apply to a physician: I will let my disease get a
   little more rooting in my vitals, and then I will try what can be done
   to remove it." No, it is only where the life of the soul is concerned
   that men think thus wildly: the life and health of the body appear too
   precious to be thus trifled away.

   7. If; after such desperate experiments, you are ever recovered, it
   must be by an operation of Divine grace on your soul yet more powerful
   and more wonderful in proportion to the increasing inveteracy of your
   spiritual maladies. And can you expect that the Holy Spirit should be
   more ready to assist you, in consequence of your having so shamefully
   trifled with him, and affronted him? He is now, in some measure, moving
   on your heart. If you feel any secret relentings in it upon what you
   read, it is a sign that you are not yet utterly forsaken. But who can
   tell whether these are not the last touches he will ever give to a
   heart so long hardened against him? Who can tell, but God may this day
   "swear, in his wrath, that you shall not enter into his rest?" (Heb.
   3:18) I have been telling you that you may immediately die. You own it
   is possible you may. And can you think of any thing more terrible? Yes,
   sinner, I will tell you of one thing more dreadful than immediate death
   and immediate damnation. The blessed God may say, "As for that wretched
   creature, who has so long trifled with me and provoked me, let him
   still live; let him live in the midst of prosperity and plenty; let him
   live under the purest and the most powerful ordinances of the Gospel
   too; that he may abuse them to aggravate his condemnation, and die
   under sevenfold guilt and a sevenfold curse. I will not give him the
   grace to think of his ways for one serious moment more; but he shall go
   on from bad to worse, filling up the measure of his iniquities, till
   death and destruction seize him in an unexpected hour, and wrath come
   upon him to the uttermost.'" (1 Thess. 2:16)

   8. You think this is an uncommon case; but I fear it is much otherwise.
   I fear there are few congregations where the word of God has been
   faithfully preached, and where it has long been despised, especially by
   those whom it had once awakened, in which the eye of God does not see a
   number of such wretched souls; though it is impossible for us, in this
   mortal state, to pronounce upon the case who they are.

   9. I pretend not to say how he will deal with you, O reader! whether he
   will immediately cut you off; or seal you up under final hardness and
   impenitency of heart, or whether his grace may at length awaken you to
   consider your ways, and return to him, even when your heart is grown
   yet more obdurate than it is at present. For to his Almighty grace
   nothing is hard, not even to transform a rock of marble into a man or a
   saint. But this I will confidently say, that if you delay any longer,
   the time will come when you will bitterly repent of that delay, and
   either lament it before God in the anguish of your heart here or curse
   your own folly and madness in hell, yea, when you will wish that,
   dreadful as hell is, you had rather fallen into it sooner, than have
   lived in the midst of so many abused mercies, to render the degree of
   your punishment more insupportable, and your sense of it more
   exquisitely tormenting.

   10. I do therefore earnestly exhort you, in the name of our Lord Jesus
   Christ, and by the worth, and, if I may so speak, by the blood of your
   immortal and perishing soul, that you delay not a day or an hour
   longer. Far from "giving sleep to your eye; or slumber to tour
   eyelids," (Prov. 6:4) in the continued neglect of this important
   concern, take with you, even now, "words, and turn unto the Lord;"
   (Hos. 14:2) and before you quit the place where you now are, fall upon
   your knees in his sacred presence, and pour out your heart in such
   language, or at least to some such purpose as this:

   A Prayer for one who is tempted to delay applying to Religion, though
   under some conviction of its importance.

   "O thou righteous and holy Sovereign of heaven and earth! thou God, in
   whose hand my breath is, and whose are all my ways!' (Dan. 5:23) I
   confess I have been far from glorifying thee, or conducting myself
   according to the intimations or the declarations of thy will. I have
   therefore reason to adore thy forbearance and goodness, that thou hast
   not long since stopped my breath, and cut me off from the land of the
   living. I adore thy patience, that I have not, months and years ago,
   been an inhabitant of hell, where ten thousand delaying sinners are now
   lamenting their folly, and will be lamenting it for ever. But, O God,
   how possible is it that this trifling heart of mine may at length
   betray me into the same ruin! and then, alas! into a ruin aggravated by
   all this patience and forbearance of thine! I am convinced that, sooner
   or later, religion must be my serious care, or I am undone. And yet my
   foolish heart draws back from the yoke; yet I stretch myself upon the
   bed of sloth, and cry out for a little more sleep, a little more
   slumber, a little more folding of the hands to sleep.' (Prov. 6:10)
   Thus does my corrupt heart plead for its own indulgence against the
   conviction of my better judgment. What shall I say? O Lord, save me
   from myself! Save me from the artifices and deceitfulness of sin! Save
   me from the treachery of this perverse and degenerate nature of mine,
   and fix upon my mind what I have now been reading!

   "O Lord, I am not now instructed in truths which were before quite
   unknown. Often have I been warned of the uncertainty of life, and the
   great uncertainty of the day of salvation. And I have formed some light
   purposes, and have begun to take a few irresolute steps in my way
   toward a return to thee. But, alas! I have been only, as it were,
   fluttering about religion, and have never fixed upon it. All my
   resolutions have been scattered like smoke, or dispersed like a cloudy
   vapor before the wind. O that thou wouldst now bring these things home
   to my heart, with a more powerful conviction than it hath ever yet
   felt? O that thou would pursue me with them, even when I flee from
   them! If I should even grow mad enough to endeavor to escape them any
   more, may thy Spirit address me in the language of effectual terror,
   and add all the most powerful methods which thou knowest to be
   necessary to awaken me from this lethargy, which must otherwise be
   mortal! May the sound of these things be in mine ears when I go out,
   and when I come in, when I lie down, and when I rise up!' (Deut. 6:7)
   And if the repose of the night and the business of the day be for a
   while interrupted by the impression, be it so, O God! if I may but
   thereby carry on my business with thee to better purpose, and at length
   secure a repose in thee, instead of all that terror which I now find
   when I think upon God, and I am troubled.' (Psal. 77:3)

   "O Lord, my flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy
   judgments.' (Psal. 119:120) I am afraid lest, even now that I have
   begun to think of religion, thou shouldst cut me off in this critical
   and important moment, before my thoughts grow to any ripeness, and
   blast in eternal death the first buddings and openings of it in my
   mind. But O spare me, I earnestly entreat thee: for thy mercies' sake,
   Spare me a little longer! It may be, through thy grace I shall return.
   It may be, if thou continuest thy patience towards me while longer,
   there may be some better fruit produced by this cumberer of the
   ground.' (Luke 13:7) And may the remembrance of that long forbearance
   which thou hast already exercised towards me prevent my continuing to
   trifle with thee, and with my soul! From this day, O Lord, from this
   hour, from this moment, may I be able to date more lasting impressions
   of religion than have ever yet been made upon my heart by all that I
   have ever read, or all that I have heard. Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER IV.

  THE SINNER ARRAIGNED AND CONVICTED.

   1. Conviction of guilt necessary.--2. A charge of rebellion against God
   advanced.--3. Where it is shown--that all men are born under God's
   law.--4. That no man hath perfectly kept it.--5. An appeal to the
   reader's conscience on this head, that he hath not.--6. That to have
   broken it, is an evil inexpressibly great.--7. Illustrated by a more
   particular view of the aggravations of this guilt, arising--from
   knowledge.--8. From divine favors received.--9. From convictions of
   conscience overborne.--10. From the strivings of God's Spirit
   resisted.--11. From vows and resolutions broken.--12. The charges
   summed up, and left upon the sinner's conscience.--The sinner's
   confession under a general conviction of guilt.

   1. AS I am attempting to lead you to true religion and not merely to
   some superficial form of it, I am sensible I can do it no otherwise
   than in the way of deep humiliation. And therefore supposing you are
   persuaded, through the divine blessing on what you have before read, to
   take it into consideration, I would now endeavor, in the first place,
   with all the seriousness I can, to make you heartily sensible of your
   guilt before God. For I well know, that, unless you are convinced of
   this, and affected with the conviction, all the provisions of Gospel
   grace will be slighted, and your soul infallibly destroyed, in the
   midst of the noblest means appointed for its recovery. I am fully
   persuaded that thousands live and die in a course of sin, without
   feeling upon their hearts any sense that they are sinners, though they
   cannot, for shame, but own it in words. And therefore let me deal
   faithfully with you, though I may seem to deal roughly; for
   complaisance is not to give law to addresses in which the life of your
   soul is concerned.

   2. Permit me therefore, O sinner, to consider myself at this time as an
   advocate for God, as one employed in his name to plead against thee and
   to charge thee with nothing less than being a rebel and a traitor
   against the Sovereign Majesty or heaven and earth. However thou mayest
   be dignified or distinguished among men; if the noblest blood run in
   thy veins; if thy seat were among princes, and thine arm were "the
   terror of the mighty in the land of the living," (Ezek. 32:27) it would
   be necessary thou shouldst be told plainly, thou hast broken the laws
   of the King of kings and by the breach of them art become obnoxious to
   his righteous condemnation.

   3. Your conscience tells you that you were born the natural subject of
   God, born under the indispensable obligations of his law. For it is
   most apparent that the constitution of your rational nature, which
   makes you capable of receiving law from God, binds you to obey it. And
   it is equally evident and certain that you have not exactly obeyed this
   law, nay, that you have violated it in many aggravated instances.

   4. Will you dare to deny this? Will you dare to assert your innocence?
   Remember, it must be a complete innocence; yea, and a perfect
   righteousness too, or it can stand you in no stead, farther than to
   prove, that, though a condemned sinner, you are not quite so criminal
   as some others, and will not have quite so hot a place in hell as they.
   And when this is considered, will you plead not guilty to the charge?
   Search the records of your own conscience, for God searcheth them: ask
   it seriously, "Have you never in your life sinned against God?" Solomon
   declared, that in his days "there was not a just man upon earth, who
   did good and sinned not;" (Eccl. 7:20) and the apostle Paul, "that all
   had sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23) "that both
   Jews and Gentiles (which you know, comprehend the whole human race)
   were all under sin." (Rom. 3:9) And can you pretend any imaginable
   reason to believe the world is grown so much better since their days,
   that any should now plead their own case as an exception? Or will you,
   however, presume to arise in the face of the omniscient Majesty of
   heaven, and say, I am the man?

   5. Supposing, as before, you have been free from those gross acts of
   immorality which are so pernicious to society that they have generally
   been punishable by human laws; can you pretend that you have not, in
   smaller instances, violated the rules of piety, of temperance, and
   charity? Is there any one person, who has intimately known you, that
   would not be able to testify you had said or done something amiss! Or
   if others could not convict you, would not your own heart do it! Does
   it not prove you guilty of pride, of passion, of sensuality, of an
   excessive fondness of the world and its enjoyments? of murmuring, or at
   least of secretly repining against God, under the strokes of an
   afflictive providence; of misspending a great deal of your time;
   abusing the gifts of God's bounty to vain, if not, in some instances,
   to pernicious purposes; of mocking him when you have pretended to
   engage in his worship, "drawing near to him with your mouth and your
   lips while your heart has been far front him?" (Isa. 29:13) Does not
   conscience condemn you of some one breach of the law at least? And by
   one breach of it you are, in a sense, a Scriptural sense, "become
   guilty of all," (Jam. 2:19) and are as incapable of being justified
   before God, by any obedience of your own, as if you had committed ten
   thousand offences. But, in reality, there are ten thousand and more
   chargeable to your account. When you come to reflect on all your sins
   of negligence, as well as on those of commission; on all the instances
   in which you have "failed to do good when it was in the power of your
   hand to do it;" (Prov. 3:27) on all the instances in which acts of
   devotion have been omitted, especially in secret; and on all those
   cases in which you have shown a stupid disregard to the honor of God,
   and to the temporal and eternal happiness of your fellow-creatures:
   when all these, I say, are reviewed, the number will swell beyond all
   possibility of account, and force you to cry out, "Mine iniquities are
   more than the hairs of my head." (Psal. 40:12) They will appear in such
   a light before you, that your own heart will charge you with countless
   multitudes; and how much more, "then, that God, who is greater than
   your heart, and knoweth all things!" (1 John 3:20)

   6. And say, sinner, is it a little thing that you have presumed to set
   light by the authority of the God of heaven, and to violate his law, if
   it had been by mere carelessness and inattention? How much more
   heinous, therefore, is the guilt, when in an many instances you hare
   done it knowingly and willfully! Give me leave seriously to ask you,
   and let me entreat you to ask your own soul, "Against whom hast thou
   magnified thyself? Against whom hast thou exalted thy voice," (2 Kings
   19:22) or "lifted up thy rebellious hand?" On whose law, O sinner, hast
   thou presumed to trample? and whose friendship, and whose enmity, hast
   thou thereby dared to affront! Is it a man like thyself that thou host
   insulted? Is it only a temporal monarch--only one "who can kill thy
   body, and then hath no more that he can do?" (Luke, 12:4)

   Nay, sinner, thou wouldst not have dared to treat a temporal prince as
   thou hast treated the "King Eternal, Immortal," and "Invisible." (1
   Tim. 1:17) No price could have hired thee to deal by the majesty of an
   earthly sovereign, as thou hast dealt by that God before whom the
   cherubim and seraphim are continually bowing. Not one opposing or
   complaining, disputing or murmuring word is heard among all the
   celestial legions, when the intimations of his will are published to
   them. And who art thou, O wretched man! who art thou, that thou
   shouldst oppose him? That thou shouldst oppose and provoke a God of
   infinite power and terror, who needs but exert one single act of his
   sovereign will, and thou art in a moment stripped of every possession;
   cut off from every hope; destroyed and rooted up from existence, if
   that were his pleasure; or, what is inconceivably worse, consigned over
   to the severest and most lasting agonies? Yet this is the God whom thou
   hast offended, whom thou hast affronted to his nice, presuming to
   violate his express laws in his very presence. This is the God before
   whom thou standest as a convicted criminal; convicted not of one or two
   particular offenses, but of thousands and ten thousands; of a course
   and series of rebellion and provocations, in which thou hast persisted
   more or less ever since thou want born, and the particulars of which
   have been attended with almost every conceivable circumstance of
   aggravation. Reflect on particulars, and deny the charge if you can.

   7. If knowledge be an aggravation of guilt, thy guilt, O sinner, is
   greatly aggravated! For thou wast born in Emmanuel's land, and God hath
   "written to thee the great things of his law," yet "thou hast accounted
   them as a strange thing." (Hos. 8:12) Thou hast "known to do good, and
   hast not done it;" (James 4:17) and therefore to thee the omission of
   it has been sin indeed. "Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard?"
   (Isa. 30:28) Wast thou not early taught the will of God? Hast thou not
   since received repeated lessons, by which it has been inculcated again
   and again, in public and in private, by preaching and reading the word
   of God? Nay, hath not thy duty been in some instances so plain, that,
   even without any instruction it all, thine own reason might easily have
   inferred it? And hast thou not also been warned of the consequences of
   disobedience? Hast thou not "known the righteous judgment of God, that
   they who commit such things are worthy of death?" Yet, thou hast,
   perhaps, "not only done the same, but hast had pleasure in those that
   do them;" (Rom. 1:32) hast chosen them for thy most intimate friends
   and companions; so as hereby to strengthen, by the force of example and
   converse, the hands of each other in your iniquities.

   8. Nay more, if Divine love and mercy be any aggravation of the sins
   committed against it, thy crimes, O sinner, are heinously aggravated.
   Must thou not acknowledge it, O foolish creature and unwise! Hast thou
   not been "nourished and brought up by him as his child, and yet hast
   rebelled against him?" (Isa. 1:2) Did not God "take you out of the
   womb?" (Psal. 22:9) Did he not watch over you in your infant days, and
   guard you from a multitude of dangers which the most careful parent or
   nurse could not have observed or warded off? Has he not given you your
   rational powers? and is it not by him you have been favored with every
   opportunity of improving them? Has he not every day supplied your wants
   with an unwearied liberality, and added, with respect to many who will
   read this, the delicacies of life to its necessary supports? Has he not
   "heard you cry when trouble came upon you?" (Job 27:9) and frequently
   appeared for your deliverance, when in the distress of nature you have
   called upon him for help? Has he not rescued you from ruin, when it
   seemed just ready to swallow you up; and healed your diseases, when it
   seemed to all about you, that the residue of your days was cut off in
   the midst? (Psal. 102:24) Or, if it has not been so, is not this
   long-continued and uninterrupted health, which you have enjoyed for so
   many years, to be acknowledged as an equivalent obligation? Look around
   upon all your possessions, and say, what one thing have you in the
   world which his goodness did not give you, and which he hath not thus
   far preserved to you? Add to all this, the kind notice of his will
   which he hath sent you; the tender expostulations which he hath used
   with you, to bring you to a wiser and better temper; and the
   discoveries and gracious invitations of his Gospel which you have
   heard, and which you have despised; and then say, whether your
   rebellion has not been aggravated by the vilest ingratitude, and
   whether that aggravation can be accounted small?

   9. Again, if it be any aggravation of Sin to be committed against
   conscience, thy crimes, O sinner! have been so aggravated. Consult the
   records of it, and then dispute the fact if you can. "There is a spirit
   in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding;"
   (Job 32:8) and that understanding will act, and a secret conviction or
   being accountable to its Maker and Preserver is inseparable from the
   actings of it. It is easy to object to human remonstrances, and to give
   things false colorings before him; but the heart often condemns, while
   the tongue excuses. Have you not often found it so? Has not conscience
   remonstrated against your past conduct, and have not these
   remonstrances been very painful too! I have been assured, by a
   gentleman of undoubted credit, that, when he was in the pursuit of all
   the gayest sensualities of life, and was reckoned one of the happiest
   of mankind, he has seen a dog come into the room where he was among his
   merry companions, and has groaned inwardly and said, "O! that I had
   been that dog!" And hast thou, O sinner, felt nothing like this? Has
   thy conscience been so stupified, so "seared with a hot iron," (1 Tim.
   4:2) that it has never cried out for any of the violences which have
   been done it? Has it never warned thee of the fatal consequences of
   what thou hast done in opposition to it? These warnings are, in effect,
   the voice of God; they are the admonitions which he gave thee by his
   vicegerent in thy breast. And when his sentence for thy evil works is
   executed upon thee in everlasting death, thou shalt hear that voice
   speaking to thee again in a louder tone and a severer accent than
   before; and thou shalt be tormented with its upbraiding through
   eternity, because thou wouldst not, in time, hearken to its
   admonitions.

   10. Let me add farther, if it be any aggravation that sin has been
   committed after God has been moving by his Spirit on the mind, surely
   your sin has been attended with that aggravation too. Under the Mosaic
   dispensation, dark and imperfect as it was, the Spirit strove with the
   Jews else Stephen could not have charged it upon them, that through all
   their generations "they had always resisted him." (Acts 7:51) Now,
   surely, we may much more reasonably apprehend that he strives with
   sinners under the Gospel. And have you never experienced any thing of
   this kind, even when there has been no external circumstance to awaken
   you, nor any pious teacher near you? Have you never perceived some
   secret impulse upon your mind, leading you to think of religion, urging
   you to an immediate consideration or it, sweetly inviting you to make
   trial of it, and warning you, that you would lament this stupid
   neglect? O sinner, why were not these happy motions attended to? Why
   did you not, as it were, spread out all the sail of your soul to catch
   that heavenly, that favorable breeze? But you have carelessly neglected
   it: you have overborne these kind influences. How reasonably then might
   the sentence have gone forth in righteous displeasure, "My Spirit shall
   no more strive." (Gen. 6:3) And indeed who can say that it is not
   already gone forth? If you feel no secret agitation of mind, no
   remorse, no awakening while you read such a remonstrance as this, there
   will be room, great room to suspect it.

   11. There is indeed one aggravation more, which may not attend your
   guilt--I mean that of being committed against solemn covenant
   engagements: a circumstance which has lain heavy on the consciences of
   many, who perhaps in the main series of their lives have served God
   with great integrity. But let me call you to think to what this is
   owing. Is it not that you have never personally made any solemn
   profession of devoting yourself to God at all--have never done any
   thing which has appeared to your own apprehension an act by which you
   have made a covenant with him, though you have heard so much of his
   covenant, though you have been so solemnly and so tenderly invited to
   it? And in this view, how monstrous must this circumstance appear,
   which at first was mentioned as some alleviation of guilt! Yet I must
   add that you are not, perhaps, altogether so free from guilt on this
   head as you may at first imagine. Has your heart been, even from your
   youth, hardened to so uncommon a degree that you have never cried to
   God in any season of danger and difficulty? And did you never mingle
   vows with those cries? Did you never promise, that, if God would hear
   and help you in that hour of extremity, you would forsake your sins,
   and serve him as long as you lived? He heard and helped you, or you had
   not been reading these lines; and, by such deliverance, did as it were
   bind down your vows upon you; and therefore your guilt, in the
   violation of them, remains before him, though you are stupid enough to
   forget them. Nothing is forgotten, nothing is overlooked by him; and
   the day will come, when the record shall be laid before you too.

   12. And now, O sinner, think seriously with thyself what defence thou
   wilt make to all this. Prepare thine apology; call thy witnesses; make
   thine appeal from him whom thou hast thus offended, to some superior
   judge, if such there be. Alas! those apologies are so weak and vain,
   that one of thy fellow-worms may easily detect and confound them; as I
   will endeavor presently to show thee. But thy foreboding conscience
   already knows the issue. Thou art convicted, convicted of the most
   aggravated offences. Thou "hast not humbled thine heart, but lined up
   thyself against the Lord of heaven," (Dan. 5:22,23) and "thy sentence
   shall come forth from his presence." (Psal. 17:2) Thou hast violated
   his known laws; thou hast despised and abused his numberless mercies;
   thou hast affronted conscience, his vicegerent in thy soul; thou hast
   resisted and grieved his Spirit; thou hast trifled with him in all thy
   pretended submissions; and, in one word, and that his own, "thou hast
   done evil things as thou couldst." (Jer. 3:5) Thousands are no doubt
   already in hell whose guilt never equaled thine; and it is astonishing
   that God hath spared there to read this representation of thy case, or
   to make any pause upon it. O waste not so precious a moment, but enter
   attentively, and as humbly us thou canst, into these reflections which
   suit a case so lamentable and so terrible as thine.

   Confession of a Sinner convinced in general of his Guilt.

   "O God! thou injured Sovereign, thou all-penetrating and Almighty
   Judge! what shall I say to this charge! Shall I pretend I am wronged by
   it, and stand on the defence in thy presence? I dare not do it; for
   thou knowest my foolishness, and none of my sins are hid from thee.'
   Psal. 69:5) My conscience tells me that a denial of my crimes would
   only increase them, and add new fuel to the fire of thy deserved wrath.
   If I justify myself, mine own mouth will condemn me; if I say I am
   perfect, it will also prove me perverse;' (Job 9:20) for innumerable
   evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me,
   so that I am not able to look up: they are,' as I have been told in thy
   name, more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart faileth me.'
   (Psal. 40:12) I am more guilty than it is possible for another to
   declare or represent. My heart speaks more than any other accuser. And
   thou, O Lord, art much greater than my heart, and knowest all things.
   (1 John 3:20)

   "What has my life been but a course of rebellion against thee? It is
   not this or that particular action alone I have to lament. Nothing has
   been right in its principles, and views, and ends. My whole soul has
   been disordered. All my thoughts, my affections, my desires, my
   pursuits have been wretchedly alienated from thee. I have acted as if I
   had hated thee, who art infinitely the loveliest of all beings; as if I
   had been contriving how I might tempt thee to the uttermost, and weary
   out thy patience, marvelous as it is. My actions have been evil, my
   words yet more evil than they! and, O blessed God, my heart, how much
   more corrupt than either! What an inexhausted fountain of sin has there
   been in it! A fountain of original corruption, which mingled its bitter
   streams with the days of early childhood; and which, alas! flows on
   even to this day, beyond what actions or words could express. I see
   this to have, been the case with regard to what I can particularly
   survey. But, oh! how many months and years have I forgotten, concerning
   which I only know this in the general, that they are much like those I
   can remember; except it be, that I have been growing worse and worse,
   and provoking thy patience more and more, though every new exercise of
   it was more and more wonderful.

   "And how am I astonished that thy forbearance is still continued! it is
   because thou art God, and not man.' (Hos. 11:9) Had I, a sinful worm,
   been thus injured, I could not have endured it. Had I been a prince, I
   had long since done justice on any rebel whose crimes had borne but a
   distant resemblance to mine. Had I been a parent, I had long since cast
   off the ungrateful child who had made me such a return as I have all my
   life long been making to thee, O thou Father of my spirit! The flame of
   natural affection would have been extinguished, and his sight and his
   very name would have become hateful to me. Why then, O Lord, am I not
   cast out from thy presence?' (Jer. 52:3) Why am I not sealed up under
   an irreversible sentence of destruction! That I live, I owe to thine
   indulgence. But, oh! if there be yet any way of deliverance, if there
   be yet any hope for so guilty a creature, may it be opened upon me by
   thy Gospel and thy grace! And if any farther alarm, humiliation, or
   terror be necessary to my security and salvation, may I meet them and
   bear them all! Wound my heart, O Lord, so that thou wilt but afterwards
   heal it;' and break it in pieces, if thou wilt but at length condescend
   to bind it up." (Hos.6:1)
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER V.

  THE SINNER STRIPPED OF HIS VAIN PLEAS.

   1, 2. The vanity of those pleas which sinners may secretly confide in,
   is so apparent that they will be ashamed at last to mention them before
   God.--3. Such as, that they descended from pious us parents.--4. That
   they had attended to the speculative part of religion.--5. That they
   had entertained sound notion..--6, 7. That they had expressed a zealous
   regard to religion, and attended the outward forms of worship with
   those they apprehended the purest churches.--8. That they had been free
   from gross immoralities.--9. That they did not think the consequences
   of neglecting religion would have been so fatal.--10. That they could
   not do otherwise then they did.--11. Conclusion. With the meditation of
   a convinced sinner giving up his vain pleas before God

   1. MY last discourse left the sinner in very alarming and very pitiable
   circumstances; a criminal convicted at the bar of God, disarmed of all
   pretences to perfect innocence and sinless obedience, and consequently
   obnoxious to the sentence of a holy law, which can make no allowance
   for any transgression, no not for the least; but pronounces death and a
   curse against every act of disobedience: how much more then against
   those numberless and aggravated acts of rebellion, of which, O sinner!
   thy conscience hath condemned thee before God? I would hope Some of my
   readers will ingenuously fall under the conviction, and not think of
   making any apology; for sure I am, that, humbly to plead guilty at the
   divine bar, is the most decent, and, all things considered, the most
   prudent thing that can be done in such an unhappy state. Yet I know the
   treachery and the self-flattery of a sinful and corrupted heart. I know
   what excuses it makes, and how, when it is driven from one refuge, it
   flies to another, to fortify itself against conviction, and to
   persuade, not merely another, but itself, "That if it has been in some
   instances to blame, it is not quite so criminal as was represented;
   that there are at least considerations that plead in its favor, which,
   if they cannot justify, will in some degree excuse." A secret reserve
   of this kind, sometimes perhaps scarcely formed into a distinct
   reflection, breaks the force of conviction, and often prevents that
   deep humiliation before God which is the happiest token of approaching
   deliverance. I will therefore examine into some of these particulars;
   and for that purpose would seriously ask thee, O sinner! what thou hast
   to offer in arrest or judgment? What plea thou canst urge for thyself;
   why the sentence of God should not go forth against thee, and why thou
   shouldst not fall into the hands of his justice?

   2. But this I must premise, that the question is not; how wouldst thou
   answer to me, a weak sinful worm like thyself, who am shortly to stand
   with thee at the same bar? and "the Lord grant that I may find mercy of
   the Lord in that day," (2 Tim. 1:18) but, what wilt thou reply to thy
   Judge? What couldst thou plead, if thou wast now actually before his
   tribunal, where, to multiply vain words, and to frame idle apologies,
   would be but to increase thy guilt and provocation? Surely, the very
   thought of his presence must supersede a thousand of those trifling
   excuses which now sometimes impose on "a generation that are pure in
   their own eyes," though they "are not washed from their filthiness!"
   (Prov. 30:12) or while they are conscious of their impurities, "trust
   in words that cannot profit," (Jer 7:8) and "lean upon broken reeds."
   (Isa. 36:6)

   3. You will not to be sure, in such a condition, plead "that you are
   descended from pious parents." That was indeed your privilege; and wo
   be to you that you have abused it, and "forsaken the God of your
   fathers." (2 Chron. 7:22) Ishmael was immediately descended from
   Abraham, the friend of God, and Esau was the son of Isaac, who was born
   according to the promise: yet you know they were both cut off from the
   blessing to which they apprehended they had a kind of hereditary claim.
   You may remember that our Lord does not only speak of one who would
   call "Abraham father," who "tormented in flames," (Luke 16:24) but
   expressly declares that many of the children of the kingdom shall be
   shut out of it; and when others come from the most distant parts to sit
   down in it, shall be distinguished from their companions in misery only
   by louder accents of lamentation, and more furious "gnashing of teeth."
   (Matt. 8:11,12)

   4. Nor will you then presume to plead "that you had exercised your
   thoughts about the speculative parts of religion." For to what end can
   this serve, but to increase your condemnation? Since you have broken
   God's law, since you have contradicted the most obvious and apparent
   obligations of religion, to have inquired into it, and argued upon it,
   is a circumstance that proves your guilt more audacious. What! did you
   think religion was merely an exercise of men's wit, and the amusement
   of their curiosity? If you argued about it on the principles of common
   sense, you must have judged and proved it to be a practical thing; and
   if it was so, why did yen not practice accordingly? You knew the
   particular branches of it; and why then did you not attend to every one
   of them? To have pleaded an unavoidable ignorance would have been their
   happiest plea that could have remained for you; nay, an actual, though
   faulty ignorance, would have been some little allay of your guilt. But
   if; by your own confession, you have "known your Master's will, and
   have not done it," you bear witness against yourself, that you deserve
   to be "beaten with many stripes." (Luke, 12:47)

   5. Nor yet, again, will it suffice to say "that you have had right
   notions both of the doctrines and the precepts of religion." Your
   advantage for practicing it was therefore the greater; but
   understanding and acting right can never go for the same thing in the
   judgment of God or of man. In "believing there is one God," you have
   done well; but the "devils also believe and tremble." (Jam. 2:19) In
   acknowledging Christ to be the Son of God and the Holy One, you have
   done well too; but you know the unclean spirits made this very orthodox
   confession; (Luke 4:34,41) and yet they are "reserved in everlasting
   chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude,
   ver. 6) And will you place any secret confidence in that which might be
   pleaded by the infernal spirits as well as by you?

   6. But perhaps you may think of pleading that "you have actually done
   something in religion." Having judged what faith was the soundest, and
   what worship the purest, "you entered yourself into those societies
   where such articles of faith were professed, and such forms of worship
   were practiced: and among these you have signalized yourself by
   exactness of your attendance, by the zeal with which you have espoused
   their cause, and by the earnestness with which you have contended for
   such principles and practices." O sinner! I much fear that this zeal of
   thine about the circumstantials of religion will swell thine account,
   rather than be allowed in abatement of it. He that searches thine heart
   knows from whence it arose, and how far it extended. Perhaps be sees
   that it was all hypocrisy, an artful veil under which thou wast
   carrying on thy mean designs for this world, while the sacred name of
   God and religion were profaned and prostituted in the basest manner:
   and if so, thou art cursed with a distinguished curse for so daring an
   insult on the Divine omniscience as well as justice. Or perhaps the
   earnestness with which you have been "contending for the faith and
   worship which was once delivered to the saints," (Jude, ver. 3) or
   which, it is possible, you may have rashly concluded to be that, might
   be mere pride and bitterness of spirit; and all the zeal you have
   expressed might possibly arise from a confidence of your own judgment,
   from an impatience of contradiction, or some secret malignity of
   spirit, which delighteth itself in condemning, and even in worrying
   others; yea, which, if I may be al1owed the expression, fiercely preys
   upon religion, as the tiger upon the lamb, to turn it into a nature
   most contrary to its own. And shall this screen you before the great
   tribunal? Shall it not rather awaken the displeasure it is pleaded to
   avert?

   7. But say that this zeal for notions and forms has been ever so well
   intended, and, so far as it has gone ever so well conducted too; what
   will that avail toward vindicating thee in so many instances or
   negligence and disobedience as are recorded against thee in the book of
   God's remembrance? Were the revealed doctrines of the Gospel to be
   earnestly maintained, (as indeed they ought) and was the great
   practical purpose for which they were revealed to be forgot? Was the
   very mint, and anise, and cummin to be tithed; and were "the weightier
   matters of the law to be omitted," (Matt. 23:23) even that love to God
   which is its "first and great command?" (Matt. 22:38) O! how wilt thou
   be able to vindicate even the justest sentence thou hast passed on
   others for their infidelity, or for their disobedience, without being
   "condemned out of thine own mouth?" (Luke 19:22)

   8. Will you then plead "your fair moral character, your works of
   righteousness and of mercy?" Had your obedience to the law of God been
   complete, the plea might be allowed as important and valid. But I have
   supposed, and proved above, that conscience testifies to the contrary;
   and you will not now dare to contradict it. I add farther, had these
   works of yours, which you now urge, proceeded from a sincere love to
   God, and a genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you would not have
   thought of pleading them any otherwise than as an evidence of your
   interest in the Gospel-covenant and in the blessings of it, procured by
   the righteousness and blood of the Redeemer; and that faith, had it
   been sincere, would have been attended with such deep humility, and
   with such solemn apprehensions of the Divine holiness and glory, that,
   instead of pleading any works of your own before God, you would rather
   have implored his pardon for the mixture of sinful imperfection
   attending the very best of them. Now, as you are a stranger to this
   humbling and sanctifying principle, (which here in this address I
   suppose my reader to be) it is absolutely necessary you should be
   plainly and faithfully told, that neither sobriety, nor honesty, nor
   humanity will justify you before the tribunal of God, when he "lays
   judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet," (Isa. 28:17)
   and examines all your actions and all your thoughts with the strictest
   severity. You have not been a drunkard, an adulterer, or a robber. So
   far it is well. You stand before a righteous God, who will do you ample
   justice, and therefore will not condemn you for drunkenness, adultery,
   or robbery; but you have forgotten him, your Parent and your
   Benefactor; you have "cast off fear, and restrained prayer before him;"
   (Job 15:4) you have despised the blood of his Son, and all the immortal
   blessings that he purchased with it. For this, therefore, you are
   judged, and condemned. And as for any thing that has looked like virtue
   and humanity in your temper and conduct, the exercise of it has in
   great measure been its own reward, if there were any thing more than
   form and artifice in it; and the various bounties of Divine Providence
   to you, amidst all your numberless provocations, have been a thousand
   times more than an equivalent for such defective and imperfect virtues
   as these. You remain therefore chargeable with the guilt of a thousand
   offences, for which you have no excuse, though there are some other
   instances in which you did not grossly offend. And those good works in
   which you have been so ready to trust, will no more vindicate you in
   his awful presence, than a man's kindness to his poor neighbors would
   be allowed as a plea in arrest of judgment, when he stood convicted of
   high treason against his prince.

   9. But you will, perhaps, be ready to say, "you did not expect all
   this: you did not think the consequences of neglecting religion would
   have been so fatal." And why did you not think it? Why did you not
   examine more attentively and more impartially? Why did you suffer the
   pride and folly of your vain heart to take up with such superficial
   appearances, and trust the light suggestions of your own prejudiced
   mind against the express declaration of the word of God? Had you
   reflected on his character as the supreme Governor of the world, you
   would have seen the necessity of such a day of retribution as we are
   now referring to. Had you regarded the Scripture, the divine authority
   of which you professed to believe, every page might have taught you to
   expect it. "You did not think of religion!" and of what were you
   thinking when you forgot or neglected it? Had you so much employment of
   another kind? Of what kind, I beseech you! What end could you propose,
   by any thing else, of equal moment? Nay, with all your engagements,
   conscience will tell you that there have been seasons when, for want of
   thought, time and life have been a burden to you; yet you guarded
   against thought as against an enemy, and cast up, as it were, an
   entrenchment of inconsideration around you on every side, as if it had
   been to defend you from the most dangerous invasion. God knew you were
   thoughtless, and therefore he sent you "line upon line, and precept
   upon precept," (Isa. 28:10) in such plain language that it needed no
   genius or study to understand it. He tried you too with afflictions as
   well as with mercies, to awaken you out of your fatal lethargy; and
   yet, when awakened, you would lie down again upon the bed of sloth. And
   now, pleasing as your dreams might be, "you must lie down in sorrow."
   (Isa. 50:11) Reflection has at last overtaken you, and must be heard as
   a tormentor, since it might not be heard as a friend.

   10. But some may perhaps imagine that one important apology is yet
   unheard, and that there may be room to say, "you were, by the necessity
   of your nature, impelled to those things which are now charged upon you
   as crimes; and that it was not in your power to have avoided them, in
   the circumstances in which you were placed." If this will do any thing,
   it indeed promises to do much--so much that it will amount to nothing.
   If I were disposed to answer you upon the folly and madness of your own
   principles. I might say that the same consideration which proves it was
   necessary for you to offend, proves also that it is necessary for God
   to punish you; and that, indeed, he cannot but do it: and I might
   farther say with an excellent writer, "that the same principles which
   destroy the injustice of sins, destroy the injustice of punishment
   too." But if you cannot admit this; if you should still reply, in spite
   of principle, that it must be unjust to punish you for an action
   utterly and absolutely unavoidable, I really think you would answer
   right. But in that answer you will contradict your own scheme, as I
   observed above; and I leave your conscience to judge what sort of a
   scheme that must be which would make all kind of punishment unjust; for
   the argument will on the whole be the same, whether with regard to
   human punishment or divine. It is a scheme full of confusion and
   horror. You would not, I am sure, take it from a servant who had robbed
   you and then fired your house; you would never inwardly believe that he
   could not have helped it or think that he had fairly excused himself by
   suck a plea; and I am persuaded you would be so far from presuming to
   offer it to God at the great day, that you would not venture to turn it
   into a prayer even now. Imagine that you saw a malefactor dying with
   such words as these in his mouth: "O God! it is true I did indeed rob
   and murder my fellow-creatures; but thou knowest, that, as my
   circumstances were ordered, I could not do otherwise; my will was
   irresistibly determined by the motives which thou didst set before me,
   and I could as well have shaken the foundations of the earth, or
   darkened the sun in the firmament, as have resisted the impulse which
   bore me on." I put it to your conscience whether you would not look on
   such a speech as this with detestation, as one enormity added to
   another. Yet, if the excuse would have any weight in. your mouth, it
   would have equal weight in his; or would be equally applicable to any,
   the most shocking occasions. But indeed it is so contrary to the
   plainest principles of common reason, that I can hardly persuade myself
   that any one could seriously and thoroughly believe it; and should
   imagine my time very ill employed here if I were to set myself to
   combat those pretences to argument by which the wantonness of human wit
   has attempted to varnish it over.

   11. You see then, on the whole, the vanity of all your pleas; and how
   easily the most plausible or them might be silenced by a mortal man
   like yourself; how much more then by Him who searches all hearts, and
   can; in a moment, flash in upon the conscience a most powerful and
   irresistible conviction? What then can you do, while you stand
   convicted in the presence of God? What should you do, but hold your
   peace under an inward sense of your inexcusable guilt, and prepare
   yourself to hear the sentence which his law pronounces against you? You
   must feel the execution of it, if the Gospel does not at length deliver
   you; and you must feel something of the terror of it before you can be
   excited to seek to that Gospel for deliverance.

   The Meditation of a convinced Sinner giving up his vain pleas before
   God.

   "Deplorable condition to which I am indeed reduced! I hare sinned, and
   what shall I say unto thee, O thou Preserver of men?' (Job 7:20) What
   shall I dare to say? Fool that I was, to amuse myself with such
   trifling excuses as these, and to imagine they could have any weight in
   thy tremendous presence, or that I should be able so much as to mention
   them there. I cannot presume to do it. I am silent and confounded: my
   hopes, alas! are slain, and my soul itself is ready to die too, so far
   as an immortal soul can die; and I am almost ready to say, O that it
   could die entirely! I am indeed a criminal in the hands of justice,
   quite disarmed, and stripped of the weapons in which I trusted.
   Dissimulation can only add provocation to provocation. I will therefore
   plainly and freely own it. I have acted as if I thought God was
   altogether such a one as myself:' but he hath said, I will reprove
   thee; I will set thy sins in order before thine eyes;' (Psal. 50:21)
   will marshal them in battle array. And, oh! what a terrible kind of
   host do they appear! and how do they surround me beyond any possibility
   of an escape! O my soul they have, as it were, taken thee prisoner, and
   they are bearing thee away to the divine tribunal.

   "Thou must appear before it! thou must see the awful, the eternal
   Judge, who tries the very reins,' (Jer. 27:10) and who needs no other
   evidence, for he has himself been witness to all thy rebellion.' (Jer.
   29:23) Thou must see him, O my soul! sitting in judgment upon thee;
   and, when He is strict to mark iniquity,' (Psal. 130:8) how wilt thou
   answer him for one of a thousand!' (Job 9:3) And if thou canst not
   answer him, in what language will he speak to thee! Lord, as things at
   present stand, I can expect no other language than that or
   condemnation. And what a condemnation is it! Let me reflect upon it!
   Let me read my sentence before I hear it finally and irreversibly
   passed. I know he has recorded it in his word, and I know, in the
   general, that the representation is made with gracious design. I know
   that be would have us alarmed, that we may not be destroyed. Speak to
   me, therefore, O God! while thou speakest not for the last time, and in
   circumstances when thou wilt hear me no more. Speak in the language of
   effectual error, so that it be not to speak me into final despair. And
   let thy word, however painful in its operation, be quick and powerful
   and sharper than any two-edged sword.' (Heb. 4:12) Let me not vainly
   flatter myself let me not be left a wretched prey to those who would
   prophecy smooth things to me,' (Isa. 30:10) till I am sealed up under
   wrath, and feel thy justice piercing my soul, and the poison of thine
   arrows drinking up all my spirits.' (Job 6:4)

   "Before I enter upon the particular view, I know, in the general, that
   it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' (Heb.
   10:31) O thou living God! in one sense I am already fallen into thine
   hands. I am become obnoxious to thy displeasure, justly obnoxious to it
   and whatever thy sentence may be, when it comes forth from thy presence
   (Psal. 17:2) I must condemn myself and justify thee. Thou canst not
   treat file with more severity than mine iniquities have deserved; and
   how bitter soever that cup of trembling may be (Isa. 51:17) which thou
   shalt appoint for me, I give judgment against myself, that I deserve to
   wring out the very dregs of it.'" (Psal. 75:8)
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER VI.

  THE SINNER SENTENCED.

   1, 2.The sinner called upon to hear his sentence.--3. God's law does
   now in general pronounce a curse.--4. It pronounces death.--5. And
   being turned into hell.--6. The judgement day shall come.--7, 8. The
   solemnity of that grand process described according to scriptural
   representations of it.--9. With a particular illustration of the
   sentence, "Depart, accursed," &c.--10. The execution wilt certainly and
   immediately follow.--11. The sinner warned to prepare for enduring it.
   The reflection of a sinner struck with the terror of his sentence.

   1. HEAR, O sinner! and I will speak (Job 42:4.) yet once more, as in
   the name of God, of God thine Almighty Judge, who, if thou dost not
   attend to his servants, will, ere long, speak unto thee in a more
   immediate manner, with an energy and terror which thou shalt not be
   able to resist.

   2. Thou hast been convicted, as in his presence. Thy pleas have been
   overruled, or rather they have been silenced. It appears before God, it
   appears to thine own conscience that thou hast nothing more to offer in
   arrest of judgment; therefore hear thy sentence, and summon up, if thou
   canst, all the powers of thy soul to bear the execution of it. "It is,"
   indeed, a very small thing "to be judged of man's judgment;" but "he
   who now judgeth thee is the Lord." (1 Cor. 4:3,4) Hear, therefore, and
   tremble, while I tell thee how he will speak to thee; or rather, while
   I show thee, from express Scripture, how he doth even now speak, and
   what is the authentic and recorded sentence of his word, even of his
   word who hath said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one
   tittle of my word shall ever pass away." (Matt. 5:18)

   3. The law of God speaks not to thee alone, O sinner! nor to thee by
   any particular address; but in a most universal language it speaks to
   all transgressors, and levels its terrors against all offences, great
   or small, without any exception. And this is its language: "Cursed is
   everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the
   book of the law to do them." (Gal. 3:10) This is its voice to the whole
   world; and this it speaks to thee. Its awful contents are thy personal
   concern, O reader! and thy conscience knows it. Far from continuing in
   all things that are written therein to do them, thou canst not but be
   sensible that "innumerable evils have encompassed thee about." (Psa.
   40:12) It is then manifest thou art the man whom it condemns: thou art
   even now "cursed with a curse," as God emphatically speaks, (Mal 3:9)
   with the curse of the Most High God; yea, "all the curses which are
   written in the book of the law" are pointed against thee. (Deut. 29:20)
   God may righteously execute any of them upon thee in a moment; and
   though thou at present feelest none of them, yet, if infinite mercy do
   not prevent, it is but a little while and they will "come into thy
   bowels like water," till thou art burst asunder with them, and shall
   penetrate "like oil into thy bones." (Psa. 109:18)

   4. Thus saith the Lord, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezek.
   18:4) But thou hast sinned, and therefore thou art under a sentence of
   death. And, O unhappy creature, of what a death! What will the end of
   these things be? That the agonies of dissolving nature shall seize
   thee, and thy soul shall be torn away from thy languishing body, and
   thou "return to the dust from whence thou wast taken." (Psal. 104:29)
   This is indeed one awful effect of sin. In these affecting characters
   has God, through all nations and all ages of men, written the awful
   register and memorial of his holy abhorrence of it, and righteous
   displeasure against it. But, alas! all this solemn pomp and horror of
   dying is but the opening of the dreadful scene. It is a rough kind of
   stroke, by which the fetters are knocked off when the criminal is led
   out to torture and execution.

   5. Thus saith the Lord, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, even all
   the nations that forget God." (Psal. 9:17) Though there be whole
   nations of them, their multitudes and their power shall be no defence
   to them. They shall be driven into hell together--into that flaming
   prison which divine vengeance hath prepared--into "Tophet, which is
   ordained of old, even for royal sinners" as well as for others; so
   little can any human distinction protect! "He hath made it deep and
   large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord,
   like a stream of brimstone, shall kindle it;" (Isa. 30:33) and the
   flaming torrent shall flow in upon it so fast, that it shall be turned
   into a sea of liquid fire; or, as the Scripture also expresses it, "a
   lake burning with fire and brimstone" for ever. (Rev. 21:8) "This is
   the second death," and the death to which thou, O sinner! by the word
   of God art doomed;

   6. And shall this sentence stand upon record in vain! Shall the law
   speak it, and the Gospel speak it? and shall it never be pronounced
   more audibly? and will God never require and execute the punishment? He
   will O sinner! require it; and he will execute it, though he may seem
   for a while to delay. For well dost thou know that "he hath appointed a
   day in which he will judge the" whole "world in righteousness, by that
   Man whom he hath ordained, of which he hath given assurance in having
   raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:31) And when God judgeth the world,
   O reader! whoever thou aft, he will judge thee. And while I remind thee
   of it, I would also remember that he will judge me. And "knowing the
   terror of the Lord," (2 Cor 5:11) that I may "deliver my own soul,"
   (Ezek. 33:9) I would, with all plainness and sincerity, labor to
   deliver thine.

   7. I therefore repeat the solemn warning: Then, O sinner! shalt "stand
   before the judgment-seat of Christ." (2 Cor. 5:10) Thou shalt see that
   pompous appearance, the description of which is grown so familiar to
   thee that the repetition of it makes no impression on thy mind. But
   surely, stupid as thou now art, the shrill trumpet of the archangel
   shall shake thy very soul: and if nothing else can awaken and alarm
   thee, the convulsions and flames of a dissolving world shall do it.

   8. Dost thou really think that the intent of Christ's final appearance
   is only to recover his people from the grave, and to raise them to
   glory and happiness? Whatever assurance thou hast that there shall be
   "a resurrection of the just," thou hast the same that there shall also
   be "a resurrection or the unjust;" (Acts 24:15) that "he shall
   separate" the rising dead "one from another, as a shepherd divideth the
   sheep from the goats," (Matt. 25:32) with equal certainty, and with
   infinitely greater ease. Or can you imagine that he will only make an
   example of some flagrant and notorious sinners, when it is said that
   "all the dead," both "small and great," shall "stand before God;" (Rev.
   20:12) and that even "he who knew not his Master's will," and
   consequently seems of all others to have had the fairest excuse for his
   omission to obey it, yet even "he," for that very omission, "shall be
   beaten," though "with fewer stripes?" (Luke 12:48) Or can you think
   that a sentence, to be delivered with so much pomp and majesty, a
   sentence by which the righteous judgment of God is to be revealed, and
   to have its most conspicuous and final triumph, will be inconsiderable,
   or the punishment to which it shall consign the sinner be slight or
   tolerable? There would have been little reason to apprehend that, even
   if we had been left barely to our own conjectures what that sentence
   should be. But this is far from being the case: our Lard Jesus Christ,
   in his infinite condescension and compassion, has been pleased to give
   us a copy of the sentence, and no doubt a most exact copy; and the
   words which contain it are worthy of being inscribed on every heart.
   "The King," amidst all the splendor and dignity in which he shall them
   appear, "shall say unto those on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
   Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
   world!" (Matt. 25:34) And "where the word of a king is, there is power"
   indeed. (Eccles. 8:4) And these words have a power which may justly
   animate the heart of the humble Christian under the most overwhelming
   sorrow, and may fill him "with joy unspeakable and fall of glory." (1
   Pet. 1:8) To be pronounced the blessed of the Lord! to be called to a
   kingdom! to the immediate, the everlasting inheritance of it; and of
   such a kingdom! so well prepared, so glorious, so complete, so
   exquisitely fitted for the delight and entertainment of such creatures,
   so formed and so renewed that it shall appear worthy the eternal
   counsels of God to have contrived it, worthy his eternal love to have
   prepared it, and to have delighted himself with the views of bestowing
   it upon his people: behold a blessed hope indeed! a lively, glorious
   hope, to which we are "begotten again by the resurrection of Christ
   from the dead," (1 Pet. 1:3) and formed by the sanctifying influence of
   the Spirit of God upon our minds. But it is a hope from which thou, O
   sinner! art at present excluded; and methinks that it might be grievous
   to reflect, "These gracious words shall Christ speak to some, to
   multitudes--but not to me; on me there is no blessedness pronounced;
   for me there is no kingdom prepared." But is that all? Alas! sinner,
   our Lord hath given thee a dreadful counterpart to this. He has told us
   what he will say to thee, if thou continuest what thou art--to thee,
   and all the nations of the impenitent and unbelieving world, be they
   ever so numerous, be the rank of particular criminals ever so great. He
   shall say to the "kings of the earth" who have been rebels against him,
   to "the great and rich men, and the chief captains and the mighty men,"
   as well as to "every bondman and every freeman" or inferior rank, (Rev.
   9:15) "Depart front me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for
   the devil and his angels." (Matt. 25:41) Oh! pause upon these weighty
   words, that thou mayest enter into something of the importance of them

   9. He will say, "Depart:" you shall be driven from his presence with
   disgrace and infamy: "from him," the source of life and blessedness, in
   a nearness to whom all the inhabitants of heaven continually rejoice;
   you shall "depart," accursed: you have broken God's law, and its curse
   falls upon you; and you are and shall he under that curse, that abiding
   curse; from that day forward you shall be regarded by God and all his
   creatures as an accursed and abominable thing, as the most detestable
   and the most miserable part of the creation. You shall go "into fire;"
   and, oh! consider into what fire! Is it merely into one fierce blaze
   which shall consume you in a moment, though with exquisite pain? That
   were terrible. But, oh! such terrors are not to be named with these.
   Thine, sinner, "is everlasting fire." It is that which our Lord hath in
   such awful terms described as prevailing there, "where their worm dieth
   not, and the fire is not quenched;" and again, in wonderful compassion,
   a third time, "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
   quenched," (Mark 9:44, 46, 48) Nor was it originally prepared or
   principally intended for you: it was "prepared for the devil and his
   angels;" for those first grand rebels who were, immediately upon their
   fall, doomed to it: and since you have taken part with them in their
   apostacy, you must sink with them into that flaming ruin, and sink so
   much the deeper, as you have despised the Savior, who was never offered
   to them. These must be your companions and your tormentors, with whom
   you must dwell forever. And is it I that say this? or says not the law
   and the Gospel the same? Does not the Lord Jesus Christ expressly say,
   who is the "faithful and true witness," (Rev. 3:14) even he who himself
   is to pronounce the sentence?

   10. And when it is thus pronounced, and pronounced by him, shall it not
   also be executed? Who could imagine the contrary? Who could imagine
   there should be all this pompous declaration to fill the mind only with
   vain terror, and that this sentence should vanish into smoke? You may
   easily apprehend that this would be a greater reproach to the Divine
   administration than if sentence were never to be passed. And therefore
   we might easily have inferred the execution of it, from the process of
   the preceding judgment. But lest the treacherous heart of a sinner
   should deceive him with so vain a hope, the assurance of that execution
   is immediately added in very memorable terms. It shall be done: it
   shall immediately be done. Then on that very day, while the sound of it
   is yet in their ears, "the wicked shall go away into everlasting
   punishment;" (Matt. 25:46) and thou, O reader! whoever thou art, being
   found in their number, shalt go away with them; shalt be driven on
   among all these wretched multitudes and plunged with them into eternal
   ruin. The wide gates of hell shall be open to receive thee: they shall
   be shut upon thee for ever, to enclose thee, and be fast barred by the
   Almighty hand of divine justice, to prevent all hope, all possibility
   of escape for ever.

   11. And now "prepare" thyself "to meet the Lord thy God." (Amos 4:12)
   Summon up all the resolution of thy mind to endure such a sentence such
   an execution as this: for "he will not meet thee as a man;" (Isa. 47:3)
   whose heart may sometimes fail him when about to exert a needful act of
   severity, so that compassion may prevail against reason and justice.
   No, he will meet thee as a God, whose schemes and purposes are all
   immovable as iris throne. I therefore testify to thee in his name this
   day, that if God be true, he will thus speak; and that if he be able,
   he will thus act. And on supposition of thy continuance in thine
   impenitence and unbelief, thou art brought into this miserable case,
   that if God be not either false or weak, thou art undone, thou art
   eternally undone.

   The Reflection of a Sinner struck with the Terror of his Sentence.

   "Wretch that I am, What shall I do, or whither shall I flee? I am
   weighed in the balance, and am found wanting.' (Dan. 5:27) This is
   indeed my doom; the doom I am to expect from the mouth of Christ
   himself, from the mouth of him that died for the redemption and
   salvation of men. Dreadful sentence! and so much the more dreadful when
   considered in that view! To what shall I look to save me from it? To
   whom shall I call? Shall I say to the rocks, fall upon me, and to the
   hills, cover me? (Luke 23:30) What should I gain by that? Were I indeed
   overwhelmed with rocks and mountains, they could not conceal me from
   the notice of his eye; and his hand could reach me with as much ease
   there as any where else.

   "Wretch indeed that I am! O that I had never been born! O that I had
   never known the dignity and prerogative of the rational nature? Fatal
   prerogative indeed, that renders me obnoxious to condemnation and
   wrath! O that I had never been instructed in the will of God at all
   rather than that, being thus instructed, I should have disregarded and
   transgressed it! Would to God I had been allied to the meanest of the
   human race, to them that come nearest to the state of the brutes,
   rather than that I should have had my lot in cultivated Life, amidst so
   many of the improvements of reason, and (dreadful reflection!) amidst
   so many of the advantages of religion tool and thus to have perverted
   all to my own destruction! O that God would take away this rational
   soul! but, alas! it will live for ever, will live to feel the agonies
   of eternal death. Why have I seen the beauties and glories of a world
   like this, to exchange it for that flaming prison! Why have I tasted so
   many of my Creator's bounties, to wring out at last the dregs of his
   wrath! Why have I known the delights of social life and friendly
   converse, to exchange them for the horrid company of devils and damned
   spirits in hell! Oh! who can dwell with them in devouring flames? who
   can lie down' with them in everlasting, everlasting, everlasting
   burnings?' (Isa. 33:14)

   "But whom have I to blame in all this but myself? What have I to accuse
   but my own stupid incorrigible folly? On what is all this terrible ruin
   to be charged, but on this one fatal, cursed cause that having broken
   God's law. I rejected his Gospel too;

   "Yet stay, O my soul, in the midst of all these doleful foreboding
   complaints. Can I say that I have finally rejected the Gospel? Am I not
   to this day under the sound of it? The sentence is not yet gone forth
   against me in so determinate a manner as to be utterly irreversible.
   Through all this gloomy prospect one ray of hope breaks in, and it is
   possible I may yet be delivered.

   "Reviving thought! Rejoice in it, O my soul! though it be with
   trembling, and turn immediately to that God, who, though provoked by
   ten thousand offences, has not yet 'sworn in his wrath that thou shalt
   never be permitted to hold further intercourse with him., or to enter
   into his rest' (Psal. 95:11)

   "I do then, O blessed Lord! prostrate myself in the dust before thee, I
   own I am a condemned and miserable creature. But my language is that of
   the humble publican, God be merciful to me a sinner!' (Luke 18:13) Some
   general and confused apprehensions I have of a way by which I may
   possibly escape. O God, whatever that way is, show it me, I beseech
   thee! Point it out so plainly that I may not be able to mistake it!
   And. oh! reconcile my heart to it, be it ever so humbling, be it ever
   so painful!

   "Surely, Lord, I have much to learn; but be thou my teacher! Stay for a
   little moment thine uplifted hand, and in thine infinite compassion
   delay the stroke till I inquire a little farther how I may finally
   avoid it!"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER VII.

  THE HELPLESS STATE OF THE SINNER UNDER CONDEMNATION.

   1, 2. The sinner urged to consider how he can be saved from this
   impending ruin.--3. Not by any thing he can offer.--4. Nor by any thing
   he can endure.--5. Nor by any thing hr can do in the course of future
   duty.--6-8. Nor by any alliance with fellow-sinners on earth or in
   hell.--9. Nor by any interposition or intercession of angels or saints
   in his favor. Hint of the only method to be afterwards more largely
   explained. The lamentation of a sinner in this miserable condition.

   1. SINNER, thou hast heard the sentence of God as it stands upon record
   in his sacred and immutable word; and wilt thou lie down under its in
   everlasting despair? wilt thou make no attempt to be delivered from it,
   when it speaks nothing less than eternal death to thy soul? If a
   criminal, condemned by human laws, has but the least shadow of hope
   that he may escape, he is all attention to it. If there be a friend who
   be thinks can help him, with what strong importunity does be entreat!
   the interposition of that! friend? And even while he is before the
   judge. how difficult is it! often to force him away from the bar, while
   the cry of mercy, mercy, mercy, may be heard, though it be never so
   unseasonable? A mere possibility that it may make some eager in it, and
   unwilling to be silenced and removed.

   2. Wilt thou not then, O Sinner! ere yet execution is done, that
   execution which may perhaps be done this very day, wilt thou not cast
   about in thy thoughts what measures may be taken for deliverance? Yet
   what measures can be taken? Consider attentively, for it is an affair
   of moment. Thy wisdom, thy power, thy eloquence, thy interest can never
   he exerted on a greater occasion. If thou canst help thyself, do it. If
   thou hast any secret source of relief, go not out of thyself for other
   assistance. If thou hast any sacrifice to offer, if thou hast any
   strength to exert; yea, if thou hast any allies on earth, or in the
   invisible world, who can defend or deliver thee, take thy own way, so
   that thou mayest but be delivered at all, that we may not see thy ruin.
   But say, O sinner! in the presence of God, what sacrifice thou wilt
   present, what strength thou wilt exert, what allies thou wilt have
   recourse to on so urgent, so hopeless an occasion. For hopeless I must
   indeed pronounce it, if such methods are taken.

   3. The justice of God is injured; hast thou any atonement to make to
   it? If thou wast brought to an inquiry and proposal, like that of an
   awakened sinner, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow
   myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt
   offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with
   thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?" (Mic.
   6:6,7) Alas! wert thou as great a prince as Solomon himself and couldst
   thou indeed purchase such sacrifices as these, there would be no room
   to mention them. "Lebanon would not be sufficient to burn, nor all the
   beasts thereof for a burnt-offering." (Isa. 40:18) Even under that
   dispensation which admitted and required sacrifices in some cases, the
   blood of bulls and of goats, though it exempted the offender from
   farther temporal punishment, "could not take away sin," (Heb. 10:4) nor
   prevail by any means to purge the conscience in the sight of God. And
   that soul that had "done aught presumptuously" was not allowed to bring
   any sin-offering, or trespass-offering at all, but was condemned to
   "die without mercy." (Num. 15:30) Now God and thine own conscience know
   that thine offences have not been merely the errors of ignorance and
   inadvertency, but that thou hast sinned with a high hand in repeated
   aggravated instances, as thou hast acknowledged already. shouldst thou
   add, with the wretched sinner described above, "Shall I give my
   first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
   soul?" (Mic. 6:7) What could the blood of a beloved child do in such a
   case, but dye thy crimes so much the deeper and add a yet unknown
   horror to them? Thou hast offended a Being of infinite majesty; and if
   that offence is to be expiated by blood, it must be another kind of
   blood than that which flows in the veins of thy children, or in thine
   own.

   4. Wilt thou then suffer thyself till thou hast made full satisfaction?
   But how shall that satisfaction be made? Shall it be by any calamities
   to be endured in this mortal, momentary life? Is the justice of God
   then esteemed so little a thing, that the sorrows of a few days should
   suffice to answer its demands? Or dost thou think of future sufferings
   in the invisible world? If thou dost, that is not deliverance; and with
   regard to that, I may venture to say, when thou hast made full
   satisfaction, thou wilt be released; when thou hast paid the uttermost
   farthing of that debt, thy prison-doors shall be opened; but in the
   mean time thou must "make thy bed in hell:" (Psa. 139:8) and, oh!
   unhappy man, wilt thou lie down there with a secret hope that the
   moment will come when the rigor of Divine justice will not be able to
   inflict any thing more than thou hast endured, and when thou mayest
   claim thy discharge as a matter of right? It would indeed be well for
   thee if thou couldst carry down with thee such a hope, false and
   flattering as it is; but, alas! thou wilt see things in so just a
   light, that to have no comfort but this will be eternal despair. That
   one word of thy sentence, "everlasting fire;" that one declaration,
   "the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched," will be sufficient
   to strike such a thought into black confusion, and to overwhelm thee
   with hopeless agony and horror.

   5. Or do you think that your future reformation and diligence in duty
   for the time to come will procure your discharge from this sentence?
   Take heed, sinner, what kind of obedience thou thinkest of offering to
   a holy God. That must be spotless and complete which his infinite
   sanctity can approve and accept, if he consider thee in thyself alone:
   there must be no inconstancy, no forgetfulness, no mixture of sin
   attending it. And wilt thou, enfeebled as thou art by so much original
   corruption and so many sinful habits contracted by innumerable actual
   transgressions, undertake to render such an obedience, and that for all
   the remainder or thy life! In vain wouldst thou attempt it, even for
   one day. New guilt would immediately plunge thee into new ruin. But if
   it did not, if from this moment to the very end of thy life all were as
   complete obedience as the law of God required from Adam in Paradise,
   would that be sufficient to cancel past guilt? Would it discharge an
   old debt, that thou hast not contracted a new one? Offer this to thy
   neighbor, and see if he will accept it for payment; and if he will not,
   wilt thou presume to offer it to thy God?

   6. But I will not multiply words on so plain a subject. While I speak
   thus, time is passing away death presses on, and judgment is
   approaching. And what can save thee from these awful scenes, or what
   can protect thee in them? Can the world save thee--that vain delusive
   idol of thy wishes and suits, to which thou alt sacrificing thine
   eternal hopes? Well dost thou know that it will utterly forsake thee
   when thou needest it most; and that not one of its enjoyments can be
   carried along with thee into the invisible state, no, not so much as a
   trifle to remember it by, if thou couldst desire to remember so
   inconstant and so treacherous a friend as the world has been.

   7. And when you are dead, or when you are dying, can your sinful
   companions save you? Is there any one of them, if he were ever so
   desirous of doing it, that "can give unto God a ransom for you," (Psa.
   49:7) to deliver you from going down to the grave, or from going down
   to hell? Alas! you will probably be so sensible of this, that when you
   lie on the borders of the grave you will be unwilling to see or to
   converse with those that were once your favorite companions. They will
   afflict you rather than relieve you, even then; how much less can they
   relieve you before the bar of God, when they arc overwhelmed with their
   own condemnation!

   8. As for the powers of darkness, you are sure they will he far from
   having any ability or inclination to help you. Satan has been watching
   and laboring for your destruction, and he will triumph in it. But if
   there could he any thing of an amicable confederacy between you, what
   would that be but an association in ruin? For the day of judgment of
   ungodly men will also be the judgment of these rebellious spirits; and
   the fire into which thou, O sinner, must depart, is that which was
   "prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matt. 25:41)

   9. Will the celestial spirits then save thee? Will they interpose their
   power or their prayers in thy favor? An interposition of power, when
   sentence is gone forth against thee, were an act of rebellion against
   heaven, which these holy and excellent creatures would abhor. And when
   the final pleasure of the Judge is known, instead of interceding in
   vain for the wretched criminal, they would rather, with ardent zeal for
   the glory of their Lord, and cordial acquiescence in the determination
   of his wisdom and justice, prepare to execute it. Yea, difficult as it
   may at present be to conceive it, it is a certain truth, that the
   servants of Christ, who now most tenderly love you, and most
   affectionately seek your salvation, not excepting those who are allied
   to you in the nearest bonds of nature or of friendship, even they shall
   put their amen to it. Now indeed their bowels yearn over you, and their
   eyes pour out tears on your account. Now they expostulate with you, and
   plead with God for you, if by any means, while yet there is hope, you
   may "be plucked as a firebrand out of the burning." (Amos 4:11) But,
   alas! their remonstrances you will not regard; and as for their
   prayers, what should they ask for you? What but that you may see
   yourself to be undone; and that utterly despairing of any help from
   yourself, or from any created power, you may lie before God in humility
   and brokenness of heart; that, submitting yourself to his righteous
   judgment and in an utter renunciation of all self-dependence and of all
   creature dependence, you may lift up an humble look towards him, as
   almost from the depths of hell, if peradventure he may have compassion
   upon you, and may himself direct you to that only method of rescue,
   which, while things continue as in present circumstances they are,
   neither earth, nor hell, nor heaven can afford you.

   The Lamentation of a Sinner in this miserable Condition.

   "O! doleful, uncomfortable, helpless state! O wretch that I am, to have
   reduced myself to it! Poor, empty, miserable, abandoned creature! Where
   is my pride and the haughtiness of my heart? Where are my idol deities.
   whom I have loved and served, after whom I have walked, and whom I have
   sought,' (Jer. 8:2) while I have been multiplying my transgressions
   against the majesty of heaven? Is there no heart to have compassion
   upon me? Is there no hand to save me? Have pity upon me, have pity upon
   me, O my friends, for the hand of God bath touched me;' (Job 19:21)
   hath seized me! I feel it pressed upon me hard, and what shall I do?
   Perhaps they have pity upon me; but, alas! how feeble a compassion!
   Only, if there be any where in the whole compass of nature any help,
   tell me where it may be found! O point it out, direct me toward it; or
   rather, confounded and astonished as my mind is, take me by the hand
   and lead me to it!

   "O ye ministers of the Lord, whose office it is to guide and comfort
   distressed souls, take pity upon me! I fear I am a pattern of many
   other helpless creatures who have the like need of your assistance. Lay
   aside your other cares to care for my soul, to care for this precious
   soul of mine, which lies as it were bleeding to death, (if that
   expression may be used) while you perhaps hardly afford me a look, or,
   glancing an eye upon me, pass over to the other side.' (Luke 10:32)
   Yet, alas! in a case like mine, what can your interposition avail if it
   be alone: If the Lord do not help me, how can you help me?' (2 Kings
   6:27)

   "'O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh,' (Num. 16:22) I lift up
   mine eyes unto thee, and cry unto thee as out of the belly of hell.'
   (Jon. 2:2) I cry unto thee, at least from the borders of it. Yet, while
   I lie before thee in this infinite distress, I know that thine Almighty
   power and boundless grace can still find out a way for my recovery.

   "Thou art he whom I have most of all injured and affronted; and yet
   from thee alone must I now seek redress. Against thee, thee only, have
   I sinned, and done evil in thy sight;' so that thou mightest be
   justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest,' (Psa.
   51:4) though thou shouldst at this moment adjudge me to eternal misery.
   And yet I find something that secretly draws me to thee, as if I might
   find rescue there, where I have deserved the most aggravated
   destruction. Blessed God, I have destroyed myself; but in thee is my
   help,' (Hos. 13:9) if there can be help at all.

   "I know, in the general, that thy ways are not as our ways, nor thy
   thoughts as our thoughts;' but are as high above them as the heavens
   are above the earth.' (Isa. 55:8,9) Have mercy,' therefore, upon me, O
   God, according to thy loving-kindness, according to the multitude of
   thy tender mercies!' (Psa. 51:1) O point out the path to the city of
   refuge! O lead me' thyself in the way everlasting!' (Psa. 139:24) I
   know, in the general, that thy Gospel is the only remedy: O teach thy
   servants to administer it! O prepare my heart to receive it! and suffer
   not, as in many instances, that malignity which has spread itself
   through all my nature, to turn that noble medicine into poison!"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER VIII.

  NEWS OF SALVATION BY CHRIST BROUGHT TO THE CONVINCED AND CONDEMNED SINNER.

   1. The awful things which have hitherto been said, intended not to
   grieve, but to help.--2. After some reflection on the pleasure with
   which a minister of the Gospel may deliver at message with which he is
   charged.--3.And some reasons for the repetition of what is in
   speculation so generally known.--4-6. The author proceeds briefly to
   declare the substance of these glad tidings: viz. that God having in
   his infinite compassion sent his Son to die for sinners, is now
   reconcilable through him.--7, 8. So that the most heinous
   transgressions shall be entirely pardoned to believers, and they made
   completely and eternally happy. The sinner's reflection on this good
   news.

   1. My dear reader, it is the great design of the Gospel, and wherever
   it is cordially received, it is the glorious effect of it, to fill the
   heart with sentiments of love; to teach us to abhor all unnecessary
   rigor and severity, and to delight not in the grief but in the
   happiness of our fellow-creatures. I can hardly apprehend how he can be
   a Christian who takes pleasure in the distress which appears even in a
   brute, much less in that of a human mind; and especially in such
   distress as the thoughts I have been proposing must give, if there be
   any due attention to their weight and energy. I have often felt a
   tender regret while I have been representing these things; and I could
   have wished from my heart that it had not been necessary to have placed
   them in so severe and so painful a light. But now I am addressing
   myself to a part of my work which I undertake with unutterable
   pleasure, and to that which indeed I had in view in all those awful
   things which I have already been laying before you. I have been showing
   you, that, if you hitherto have lived in a state of impenitence and
   sin, you are condemned by God's righteous judgment, and have in
   yourself no spring or hope and no possibility of deliverance. But I
   mean not to leave you under this sad apprehension, to lie down and die
   in despair, complaining of that cruel zeal which has "tormented you
   before your time." (Matt. 8:29)

   2. Arise, O thou dejected soul, that art prostrate in the dust before
   God, and trembling under the terror of his righteous sentence; for I am
   commissioned to tell thee, that, though "thou hast destroyed thyself,
   in God is thine help." (Hos. 13:9) I bring thee "good tidings of great
   joy," (Luke 2:10) which delight mine own heart while I proclaim them,
   and will, I hope, reach and revive thine--even the tidings of salvation
   by the blood and righteousness of the Redeemer. And I give it thee for
   thy greater security, in the words of a gracious and forgiving God,
   that "he is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and not
   imputing to them their trespasses." (2 Cor. 5:19)

   3. This in the best news that ever was heard, the most important
   message which God ever sent to his creatures; and though I doubt not
   that, living as you have done in a Christian country, you have heard it
   often, perhaps a thousand and a thousand times; I will, with all
   simplicity and plainness, repeat it to you again, and repeat it as if
   you bad never heard it before. If thou, O sinner, shouldst now for the
   first time feel it, then will it be as a new Gospel unto thee, though
   so familiar to thine ear; nor shall it be "grievous to me" to speak
   what is so common, "since to you it is safe" and necessary. (Phil. 3:1)
   They who are most deeply and intimately acquainted with it, instead of
   being cloyed and satiated, wilt hear it with distinguished pleasure;
   and as for those who have hitherto slighted it, I am sure they had need
   to hear it again. Nor is it absolutely impossible that some one soul at
   least may read these lines who hath never been clearly and fully
   instructed in this important doctrine, though his everlasting all
   depends on knowing and receiving it. I will therefore take care that
   such a one shall not have it to plead at the bar of God, that, though
   he lived in a Christian country, he was never plainly and faithfully
   taught the doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ, "the way, the truth,
   and the life, by whom alone we come unto the Father." (John 14:6)

   4. I do therefore testify unto you this day, that the holy and gracious
   Majesty of heaven and earth, foreseeing the fatal apostacy into which
   the whole human race would fall, did not determine to deal in a way of
   strict and rigorous severity with us, so as to consign us over to
   universal ruin and inevitable damnation; but, on the contrary, he
   determined to enter into a treaty of peace and reconciliation, and to
   publish to all whom the Gospel should reach, the express offers of life
   and glory, in a certain method which his infinite wisdom judged
   suitable to the purity of his nature and the honor of his government.
   This method was indeed a most astonishing one, which, familiar as it is
   to our thoughts and our tongues, I cannot recollect and mention without
   great amazement. He determined to send his own Son into the world, "the
   brightness of his glory and the express image of his person," (Heb.
   1:3) partaker of his own divine perfections and honors, to be, not
   merely a teacher of righteousness and a messenger of grace, but also a
   sacrifice for the sins of men; and would consent to his saving them on
   no other condition but this, that he should not only labor, but die in
   the cause.

   5. Accordingly, at such a period of time as infinite wisdom saw most
   convenient, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in human flesh; and after he
   had gone through incessant and long-continued fatigue, and borne all
   the preceding injuries which the ingratitude and malice of men could
   inflict, he voluntarily "submitted himself to death, even the death of
   the cross;" (Phil. 2:8) and having been "delivered for our offences,
   was raised again for our justification." (Rom. 4:25) After his
   resurrection he continued long enough on earth to give his followers
   most convincing evidences of it, and then "ascended into heaven in
   their sight;" (Acts 1:9-11) and sent down his Spirit from thence unto
   his apostles, to enable them, in the most persuasive and authoritative
   manner, "to preach the Gospel;" and he has given it in charge to them,
   and to those who in every age succeed them in this part of their
   office, that it should be published "to every creature," (Mark 16:15)
   that all who believe in it may be saved by virtue of its abiding
   energy, and the immutable power and grace of its divine Author, who is
   "the same yesterday. today, and for ever." (Heb. 13:8)

   6. This Gospel do I therefore now preach and proclaim unto thee, O
   reader, with the sincerest desire that, through divine grace, it may
   "this very day be salvation to thy soul." (Luke 19:9) Know therefore
   and consider it, whosoever thou art, that as surely as these words are
   now before thine eyes, so sure it is that the incarnate Son of God was
   "made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men;" (1 Cor.
   4:9) his back torn with scourges, his head with thorns, his limbs
   stretched out as on a rack, and nailed to the accursed tree; and in
   this miserable condition he was hung by his hands and feet, as an
   object of public infamy and contempt. Thus did he die in the midst of
   all the taunts and insults of his cruel enemies, who thirsted for his
   blood; and, which was the saddest circumstance of all, in the midst of
   those agonies with which he closed the most innocent, perfect, and
   useful life that ever was spent on earth, he had not those supports of
   the divine presence which sinful men have often experienced when they
   have been suffering for the testimony of their conscience. They have
   often burst out into transports of joy and songs of praise, while their
   executioners have been glutting their hellish malice, and more than
   savage barbarity, by making their torments artificially grievous; but
   the crucified Jesus cried out, in the distress of his spotless and holy
   soul, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46)

   7. Look upon your dear Redeemer! look up to this mournful, dreadful,
   yet, in one view, delightful spectacle! and then ask thine own heart,
   Do I believe that Jesus suffered and died thus? And why did he suffer
   and die? Let me answer in God's own words, "He was wounded for our
   transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement
   of our peace was upon him, that by his stripes we might he healed: it
   pleased the Lord to bruise him, and put him to grief, when he made his
   soul an offering for sin; for the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us
   all." (Isa. 53:5,6,10) So that I may address you in the words of the
   apostle, "Be it known unto you therefore, that through this man is
   preached unto you the forgiveness of sins;" (Acts 13:38) as it was his
   command, just after he arose from the dead, "that repentance and
   remission of sins should be, preached in his name among all nations,
   beginning at Jerusalem," (Luke 24:47) the very place, where his blood
   had so lately been shed in such a cruel manner. I do thereby testify to
   you, in the words of another inspired writer, that Christ was made sin,
   that is, a sin offering, "for; though he knew no sin, that we might be
   made the righteousness of God in him:" (2 Cor. 5:21) that is, that
   through the righteousness he has fulfilled, and the atonement he has
   made, we might be accepted by God as righteous, and be not only
   pardoned, but received into his favor. "To you is the word of this
   salvation sent," (Acts 13:26) and to you, O reader, are the blessings
   of it even now offered by God, sincerely rely offered; so that, after
   all that I have said under the former heads, it is not your having
   broken the law of God that shall prove your ruin, if you do not also
   reject his Gospel. It is not all those legions of sins which rise up in
   battle array against you that shall be able to destroy you, if unbelief
   do not lead them on, and final impenitency do not bring up the rear I
   know that guilt is a timorous thing; I will therefore speak in the
   words of God himself nor can any be more comfortable: "He that
   believeth on the Son hath everlasting life," (John 3:36) "and he shall
   never come into condemnation." (John 5:24) "There is therefore now no
   condemnation," no kind or degree of it, "to them," to any one of them,
   "who are in Jesus Christ, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
   spirit." (Rom. 8:1) You have indeed been a very great sinner, and your
   offences have truly been attended with most heinous aggravations;
   nevertheless you may rejoice in the assurance, that "where sin hath
   abounded, there shall grace much more abound; "that where sin bath
   reigned unto death," where it has had its most unlimited sway and most
   unresisted triumph, there "shall righteousness reign to eternal life,
   through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 5:21) That righteousness, to
   which on believing on him thou wilt be entitled, shall not only break
   those chains by which sin is, as it were, dragging thee at its
   chariot-wheels with a furious pace to eternal ruin, but it shall clothe
   thee with the robes of salvation, shall fix thee on a throne of glory,
   where thou shalt live and reign for ever among the princes of heaven,
   shalt reign in immortal beauty and joy. without one remaining scar of
   divine displeasure upon thee, without any single mark by which it could
   be known that thou hadst even been obnoxious to wrath and a curse,
   except it be an anthem of praise to "the Lamb that was slain, and has
   washed thee from thy sins in his own blood." (Rev. 1:5)

   8. Nor is it necessary, in order to thy being released from guilt, and
   entitled to this high and complete felicity, that thou shouldst, before
   thou wilt venture to apply to Jesus, bring any good works of thine own
   to recommend thee to his acceptance. It is indeed true, that, if thy
   faith be sincere, it will certainly produce them; but I have the
   authority of the word of God to tell thee that if thou this day
   sincerely believest in the name of the Son of God, thou shalt this day
   be taken under his care, and be numbered among those of his sheep to
   whom he hath graciously declared that "he will give eternal life, and
   that they shall never perish." (John 10:28) Thou hast no need therefore
   to say, "Who shall go up into heaven, or who shall descend into the
   deep for me? For the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy
   heart." (Rom. 10:6,7,8) With this joyful message I leave thee; with
   this faithful saying, indeed "worthy of all acceptation;" (1 Tim. l:15)
   with this Gospel, O sinner, which is my life; and which, if thou dost
   not reject, will be thine too.

   The Sinner's Reflection on this Good News.

   "O my soul, how astonishing is the message which thou hast this day
   received! I have indeed often heard it before and it is grown so common
   to me, that the surprise is not sensible. But reflect, O my soul, what
   it is thou hast heard, and say whether the name of a Savior whose
   message it is, may not well be called Wonderful, counsellor,' (Isa.
   9:6) when he displays before thee such wonders of love, and proposes to
   thee such counsels of peace!

   "Blessed Jesus, is it indeed thus? Is it not the fiction of the human
   mind? Surely it is not! What human mind could have invented or
   conceived it? It is a plain, a certain fact, that thou didst leave the
   magnificence and joy of the heavenly world in compassion to such a
   wretch as I! Oh! hadst thou from that height of dignity and felicity
   only looked down upon me for one moment, and sent some gracious word to
   me for my direction and comfort, even by the least of thy servants,
   justly might I have prostrated myself in grateful admiration, and have
   kissed the very footsteps' of him that published the salvation.' (Isa.
   52:7) But didst thou condescend to be thyself the messenger? What grace
   had that been, though thou hadst but once in person made the
   declaration, and immediately returned back to the throne from whence
   divine compassion brought thee down? But this is not all the triumph of
   thine illustrious grace. It not only brought thee down to earth, but
   kept thee here in a frail and wretched tabernacle, for long successive
   years; and at length it cost thee thy life, and stretched thee out as a
   malefactor upon the cross, after thou hadst borne insult and cruelty
   which it may justly wound my heart so much as to think of. And thus
   thou hast atoned injured justice, and redeemed me to God with thine own
   blood.' (Rev. 5:9)

   "What shall I say! Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!' (Mark 9:24)
   It seems to put faith to tile stretch, to admit what it indeed exceeds
   the utmost stretch of imagination to conceive. Blessed, for ever
   blessed be thy name, O thou Father of mercies, that thou hast contrived
   the way! Eternal thanks to the Lamb that was slain, and to that kind
   Providence that sent the word of this salvation to me! O let me not,
   for ten thousand worlds, receive the grace of God in vain!' (2 Cor.
   6:1) O impress this Gospel upon my soul, till its saving virtue be
   diffused over every faculty! Let it not only be heard, and
   acknowledged, and professed, but felt! Make it thy power to my eternal
   salvation;' (Rom. 1:16) and raise me to that humble, tender gratitude,
   to that active, unwearied zeal in thy service, which becomes one to
   whom so much is forgiven.' (Luke 7:47) and forgiven upon such terms as
   these.

   "I feel a sudden glow in mine heart while these tidings are sounding in
   mine ears; but, oh! let it not be a slight superficial transport! O let
   not this, which I would fain call my Christian joy, be as that foolish
   laughter, with which I have been so madly enchanted, like the crackling
   blaze of thorns under a pot!' (Eccles. 7:6) O teach me to secure this
   mighty blessing, this glorious hope, in the method which thou hast
   appointed; and preserve me from mistaking the joy of nature, while it
   catches a glimpse of its rescue from destruction, for that consent of
   grace which embraces and ensures the deliverance!"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER IX.

  A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE WAY BY WHICH THIS SALVATION IS TO BE
  OBTAINED.

   1. An inquiry into the way of salvation by Christ being supposed.--2.
   The sinner is in general directed to repentance and faith.--3. And
   urged to give up all self-dependence.--4. And to seek salvation by free
   grace.--5. A summary of more particular directions is proposed.--6.
   That the sinner should apply to Christ.--7. With a deep abhorrence of
   his former sins.--8. And a firm resolution of forsaking them.--9. That
   he solemnly commits his soul into the hands of Christ, the great vital
   act of faith.--10. Which is exemplified at large.--11. That he make it
   in fact the governing care of his future life to obey and imitate
   Christ.--12. This is the only method of obtaining Gospel salvation. The
   Sinner deliberating on the necessity of accepting it.

   1. I now consider you, my dear reader, as coming to me with the inquiry
   which the Jews once addressed to our Lord, "What shall we do, that we
   may work the works of God?" (John 4:28) "What method shall I take to
   secure that redemption and salvation which I am told Christ has
   procured for his people?" I would answer it as seriously and carefully
   as possible, as one that knows of what importance it is to you to be
   rightly informed; and that knows also how strictly he is to answer to
   God for the sincerity and care with which the reply is made. May I be
   enabled to "speak as his oracle," (1 Pet. 4:11) that is in such a
   manner as faithfully to echo back what the sacred oracles teach!

   2. And here, that I may be sure to follow the safest guides and the
   fairest examples, I must preach salvation to you in the way of
   "repentance toward God, and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," (Acts
   20:21) that good old doctrine which the apostles preached, and which no
   man can pretend to change but at the peril of his own souls and of
   theirs who attend to him.

   3. I suppose that you are by this time convinced of your guilt and
   condemnation, and of your own inability to recover yourself. Let me
   nevertheless urge you to feel that conviction yet more deeply, and to
   impress it with yet greater weight upon your soul; that you have
   "undone yourself," and that "in yourself is not your help found." (Hos.
   13:9) Be persuaded, therefore, expressly, and solemnly, and sincerely,
   to give up all self-dependence; which, if you do not guard against it,
   will be ready to return secretly before it is observed, and will lead
   you to attempt building up what you have just been destroying.

   4. Be assured, that, if ever you are saved, you must ascribe that
   salvation entirely to the free grace of God. If, guilty and miserable
   as you are, you are not only accepted, but crowned, you must "lay down
   your crown," with all humble acknowledgment, "before the throne." (Rev.
   4:10.) "No flesh must glory in his presence; but he that glorieth must
   glory in the Lord; for of him are we in Christ Jesus, who of God is
   made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
   redemption." (1 Cor. 1:29,30,31) And you must be sensible you are in
   such a state, as, having none of these in yourself; to need them in
   another. You must therefore be sensible that you are ignorant and
   guilty, polluted and enslaved; or, as our Lord expresses it, with
   regard to some who were under a Christian profession, that as a sinner
   "you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
   (Rev. 3:17)

   5. If these views be deeply impressed upon your mind you will be
   prepared to receive what I am now to say. Hear, therefore, in a few
   words, your duty, your remedy, and your safety; which consists in this,
   "That you must apply to Christ, with a deep abhorrence of your former
   sins, and a firm resolution of forsaking them; forming that resolution
   in the strength of his grace, and fixing your dependence in him for
   your acceptance with God, even while you are purposing to do your very
   best, and when you have actually done the best you ever will do in
   consequence of that purpose.

   6. The first and most important advice that I can give you in your
   present circumstances, is, that you look to Christ and apply yourself
   to him. And here, say not in your heart, "who shall ascend into heaven,
   to bring him down to me?" (Rom. 10:6) or, "who shall raise me up
   thither, to present me before him?" The blessed "Jesus, by whom all
   things consist," (Col. 1:17) by whom the whole system of them is
   supported. "forgotten as he is by most that bear his name," "is not far
   from any of us;" (Acts 17:27) nor could he have promised to have been
   "wherever two or three are met together in his name," (Matt. 18:20) but
   in consequence of those truly divine perfections, by which he is every
   where present. Would you therefore, O sinner, desire to be saved? Go to
   the Savior. Would you desire to be delivered? Look to that great
   Deliverer; and though you should be overwhelmed with guilt, and shame,
   and fear, or horror, that you should be incapable of speaking to him,
   fall down in this speechless confusion at his feet, "and behold him as
   the Lamb or God, that taketh away the sins of the world." (John 1:29)

   7. Behold him therefore with an attentive eye, and say whether the
   sight does not touch, and even melt thy very heart! Dost thou not feel
   what a foolish and what a wretched creature thou hast been, that, for
   the sake of such low and sordid gratifications and interests as those
   which thou hast been pursuing thou shouldst thus "kill the Prince of
   Life?" (Acts 3:15) Behold the deep wounds which he bore for thee, "look
   on him whom thou hast pierced, and sorely thou must mourn," (Zech.
   12:10) unless thine heart be hardened into stone. Which of thy past
   sins canst thou reflect upon, and say. "For this it is worth my while
   to have thus injured my Savior, and to have exposed the Son of God to
   such sufferings?" And what future temptations can arise so considerable
   that thou shouldst say. "For the sake of this I will crucify my Lord
   again?" (Heb. 6:6) Sinner, thou must repent, thou must repent of every
   sin, and must forsake it; but, if thou doest it to any purpose I well
   know it must be at the foot or the cross. Thou must sacrifice every
   lust, even the dearest, though it should be like a "right hand or a
   right eye;" (Matt. 5:29, 30) and therefore that thou mayest. if
   possible, be animated to it, I have led thee to that altar on which
   "Christ himself was sacrificed for thee an offering of a sweet smelling
   savor?" (Eph. 5:2) Thou must "yield up thyself to God as one alive from
   the dead." (Rom. 6:15) And therefore I have showed thee at what a price
   he purchased thee; "for thou wast not redeemed with corruptible things,
   as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Son of God, that
   Lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Pet. 1:18,19) And now I
   would ask thee, as before the Lord, what does thine own heart say to
   it? Art thou grieved for thy former offences? Art thou willing to
   forsake thy sins? Art thou willing to become the cheerful, thankful
   servant of him who hath purchased thee with his own blood?

   8. I will suppose such a purpose as this rising in thine heart. How
   determinate it is, and how effectual it may be, I know not; what
   different views may arise hereafter, or how soon the present sense may
   wear off. But this I assuredly know, that thou wilt never see reason to
   change these views; for however thou mayest alter, the "Lord Jesus
   Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever." (Heb. 13:8) And the
   reasons that now recommend repentance and faith as fit and necessary,
   will continue invariable as long as the perfections the blessed God are
   the same, and as long as his Son continues the same.

   9. But while you have these views and these purposes, I must remind you
   that this is not all which is necessary to your salvation. You must not
   only purpose, but, as God gives opportunity, you must act as those who
   are convinced of the evil of sin, and of the necessity and excellence
   of holiness. And that you may be enabled to do so in other instances,
   you must in the first place, and as the first great work of God, (as
   our Lord himself calls it) "believe in him whom God hath sent;" (John
   6:29) you must, confide in him; must commit your soul into the hands of
   Christ to be saved by him in his own "appointed method of salvation."
   This is the great act of saving faith, and I pray God that you may
   experimentally know what it means, so as to be able to say with the
   apostle Paul, in the near view of death itself, "I know whom I have
   believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
   committed to him until that day;" (2 Tim. 1:12) that great decisive
   day, which, if we are Christians, we have always in view. To this I
   would urge you; and O that I could be so happy as to engage you to it
   while I am illustrating it in this and the following addresses! Be
   assured you must not apply yourself immediately to God absolutely, or
   in himself considered, in the neglect of a Mediator. It will neither be
   acceptable to him, nor safe for you, to rush into his presence without
   any regard to his own Son, whom he hath appointed to introduce sinners
   to him. And if you come otherwise, you come as one who is not a sinner.
   The very manner of presenting the address will be interpreted as a
   denial of that guilt with which he knows you are chargeable; and
   therefore he will not admit you, nor so much as look upon you. And
   accordingly our Lord, knowing how much every man living was concerned
   in this, says, in the most universal terms, "No man cometh unto the
   Father but by me." (John 14:6)

   10. Apply therefore to this glorious Redeemer, amiable as be will
   appear to every believing eye in the blood which he shed upon the
   cross, and in the wounds which he received there. Go to him, O sinner!
   this day, this moment, with all thy sins about thee. Go just as thou
   art; for if thou wilt never apply to him till thou art first righteous
   and holy, thou wilt never be righteous and holy at all; nor canst be so
   on this supposition, unless there were some way of being so without
   him; and then there would be no occasion for applying to him for
   righteousness and holiness. It were indeed as if it should be said that
   a sick man should defer his application to a physician till his health
   is recovered. Let me therefore repeat it without offence, go to him
   just as thou art, and say, (O that thou mayest this moment be enabled
   to say it from thy very soul!) "Blessed Jesus, I am surely one of the
   most sinful and one of the most miserable creatures that ever fell
   prostrate before thee; nevertheless I come, because I have heard that
   thou didst once say, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy
   laden, and I will give you rest.' (Matt. 12:28) I come, because I have
   heard that thou didst graciously say, Him that cometh unto me I will in
   no wise cast out.' (John 6:35) O thou Prince of Peace, O thou King of
   Glory!! I am a condemned, miserable sinner; I have ruined my own soul,
   and am condemned forever, if thou dost not help me and save me. I have
   broken thy Father's law and thine; for thou art one with him.' (John
   10:30) I have deserved condemnation and wrath; and I am, even at this
   very moment, under a sentence of everlasting destruction, a destruction
   which will he aggravated by all the contempt that I have cast upon
   thee, O thou bleeding Lamb of God! for I cannot and will not dissemble
   it before thee, that I have wronged thee, most basely and ungratefully
   wronged thee, under the character of a Savior as well as or a Lord. But
   now I am willing to submit to thee; and I have brought my poor
   trembling soul to lodge it in thine hands, if thou wilt condescend to
   receive it; and if thou dost not, it must perish. O Lord, I lie at thy
   feet: stretch out thy golden scepter that I may live.' (Esth. 4:11)
   Yea, if it please the King, let the life of my soul be given me at my
   petition!' (Esth. 8:3) I have no treasure wherewith to purchase it, I
   have no equivalent to give thee for it; but if that compassionate heart
   of thine can find a pleasure in saving one of the most distressed
   creatures under heaven, that pleasure thou mayest here find. O Lord, I
   have foolishly attempted to be my own savior, but it will not do. I am
   sensible the attempt is vain, and therefore I give it over, and look
   unto thee. On thee, blessed Jesus, who art sure and steadfast, do I
   desire to fix my anchor. On thee, as the only sure foundation, would I
   build my eternal hopes. To thy teaching, O thou unerring Prophet of the
   Lord, would I submit: be thy doctrines ever so mysterious, it is enough
   for me that thou thyself hast said it. To thine atonement, obedience,
   and intercession, O thou holy and ever-acceptable High Priest, would I
   trust. And to thy government, O thou exalted Sovereign, would I yield a
   willing, delightful subjection: in token of reverence and love, I kiss
   the Son:' (Psa. 2:12) I kiss the ground before his feet. I admit thee,
   O my Savior! and welcome thee, with unutterable joy, to the throne in
   my heart. Ascend it and reign there for ever! Subdue mine enemies, O
   Lord, for they are thine; and make me thy faithful and zealous servant:
   faithful to death, and zealous to eternity."

   11. Such as this must be the language of your very heart before the
   Lord. But then remember, that, in consequence thereof it must be the
   language of your life too. The unmeaning words of the lips would be a
   vain mockery. The most affectionate transport of the passions, should
   it be transient and ineffectual, would be but like a blaze of straw,
   presented, instead of incense, at his altar. With such humility, with
   such love, with such cordial self-dedication and submission of soul
   must thou often prostrate thyself in the presence of Christ; and then
   thou must go away, and keep him in thy view; must go away, and live
   unto God through him, defying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and
   behaving thyself "soberly, righteously, and godly, in this vain
   ensnaring world." (Tit. 2:12) You must make it your care to show your
   love by obedience, by forming yourself, as much as possible, according
   to the temper and manner of Jesus, in whom you believe. You must make
   it the great point of your ambition, and a nobler view you cannot
   entertain, to be a living image of Christ; that, so far as
   circumstances will allow, even those who have heard and read but little
   of him may, by observing you, in some measure see and know what kind of
   a life that of the blessed Jesus was. And this must be your constant
   care, your prevailing character, as long as you live. You must follow
   him whithersoever he leads you; must follow with a cross on your
   shoulder, when he commands you to "take it up;" (Matt. 16:24) and so
   must be faithful even unto death, expecting "the crown of life." (Rev.
   2:10)

   12. This, so far as I have been able to learn from the word of God, is
   the way to safety and glory: the surest, the only way you can take. It
   is the way which every faithful minister of Christ has trod, and is
   treading; and the way to which, as he tenders the salvation of his own
   soul, he must direct others. We cannot, we would not alter it in favor
   of ourselves, or of our dearest friends. It is the way in which alone,
   so far as we can judge, it becomes the blessed God to save his apostate
   creatures. And therefore, reader, I beseech and entreat you seriously
   to consider it; and let your own conscience answer, as in the presence
   of God, whether you are willing to acquiesce in it or not. But know,
   that to reject it is thine eternal death. For as "there is no other
   name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved," (Acts 4:12)
   but this of Jesus of Nazareth, so there is no other method but this in
   which Jesus himself will save us.

   The Sinner deliberating on the Expediency of falling in with this
   Method of Salvation.

   "Consider, O my soul! what answer wilt thou return to such proposals as
   these? Surely, if I were to speak the first dictate of this corrupt and
   degenerate heart, it would be, This is a hard saying, and who can hear
   it?' (John 6:60) To be thus humbled, thus mortified, thus subjected! To
   take such a yoke upon me, and to carry it as long as I live! To give up
   every darling lust, though dear to me as a right eye, and seemingly
   necessary as a right hand! To submit not only my life, but my heart, to
   the command and discipline of another! To have a master there, and such
   a master as will control many of its favorite affections, and direct
   them quite into another channel! a master, who himself represents his
   commands, by taking up the cross and following him! To adhere to the
   strictest rules of godliness and sobriety, of righteousness and truth;
   not departing from them in any allowed instance, great or small, upon
   any temptation, for any advantage, to escape any inconvenience and
   evil, no, not even for the preservation of life itself; but, upon a
   proper call of Providence, to act as if I hated even my own life!'
   (Luke 14:26) Lord, it is hard to flesh and blood; and yet I perceive
   and feel there is one demand yet harder than this.

   "With all these precautions, with all these mortifications, the pride
   of my nature would find some inward source of pleasure, might I but
   secretly think that I had been my own savior, that my own wisdom and my
   own resolution had broken the bands and chains of the enemy, and that I
   had drawn out of my own treasures the price with which my redemption
   was purchased. But must I lie down before another, as guilty and
   condemned, as weak and helpless? And must the obligation be multiplied,
   and must a Mediator have his share too? Must I go to the cross for my
   salvation, and seek my glory from the infamy of that? Must I be
   stripped of every pleasing pretence to righteousness, and stand, in
   this respect, upon a level with the vilest of men; stand at the bar
   amongst the greatest criminals, pleading guilty with them, and seeking
   deliverance by that very act of grace whereby they have obtained it.

   "I dare not deliberately say this method is unreasonable. My conscience
   testifies that I have sinned, and cannot be justified before God as an
   innocent and obedient creature. My conscience tells me that all these
   humbling circumstances are fit; that it is fit a convicted criminal
   should be brought upon his knees; that a captive rebel should give up
   the weapons of his rebellion and bow before his sovereign, if he
   expects his life. Yea, my reason as well as my conscience tells me that
   it is fit and necessary that, if I am saved at all, I should be saved
   from the power and love of sin, as well as from the condemnation of it;
   and that, if sovereign mercy gives me a new life, after having deserved
   eternal death, it is most fit I should yield myself to God as alive
   from the dead.' (Rom. 6:13) But, O wretched man that I am! I feel a law
   in my members that wars against the law of my mind,' (Rom. 7:23,24) and
   opposes the conviction of my reason and conscience. Who shall deliver
   me from this bondage? Who shall make me willing to do that which I know
   in my own soul to be most expedient? O Lord, subdue any heart, and let
   it not be drawn so strongly one way, while the nobler powers of my mind
   would direct it another! Conquer every licentious principle within,
   that it may be my joy to be so wisely governed and restrained!
   Especially subdue my pride that lordly corruption which so ill suits an
   impoverished and condemned creature, that thy way of salvation may be
   made amiable to me in proportion to the degree in which it is humbling!
   I feel a disposition to linger in Sodom, but O be merciful to me, and
   pull me out of it,' (Gen. 19:16) before the storm of thy flaming
   vengeance fall, and there be no more escaping!"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER X.

  THE SINNER SERIOUSLY URGED AND ENTREATED TO ACCEPT OF SALVATION IN THIS WAY.

   1. Since many who have been impressed with these things suffer the
   impression to wear off.--2. Strongly as the ease speaks for itself,
   sinners are to be entreated to accept this salvation.--3. Accordingly
   the reader is entreated--by the majesty and mercy of God.--4. By the
   dying love of our Lord Jesus Christ.--5. By the regard due to our
   fellow-creatures.--6. By the worth of his own immortal soul.--7. The
   matter is solemnly left with the reader, as before God. The sinner
   yielding to these entreaties, and declaring his acceptance of salvation
   by Christ.

   1. Thus far have I often known convictions and impressions to arise,
   (if I might judge by the strongest appearances) which after all have
   worn off again. Some unhappy circumstance of external temptation, ever
   joined by the inward reluctance of an unsanctified heart to this holy
   and humbling scheme of redemption, has been the ruin of multitudes.
   And, "through the deceitfulness of sin, they have been hardened," (Heb.
   3:25) till they seem to have been "utterly destroyed, and that without
   remedy." (Prov. 29:1) And therefore, O thou immortal creature who art
   now reading these lines, I beseech thee, that, while affairs are in
   this critical situation, while there are these balancings of mind
   between accepting and rejecting that glorious Gospel, which, in the
   integrity of my heart, I have now been laying before you, you would
   once more give me an attentive audience while I plead, in God's behalf
   shall I say? or rather in your own; while, "as an ambassador for
   Christ, and as though God did beseech you by me, I pray you in Christ's
   stead that you would be reconciled to God," (2 Cor. 5:20) and would
   not, after these awakenings and these inquiries, by a madness which it
   will surely be the doleful business of a miserable eternity to lament,
   reject this compassionate counsel of God towards you.

   2. One would indeed imagine there should be no need of importunity
   here. One would conclude, that as soon as perishing sinners are told
   that an offended God is ready to be reconciled, that he offers them a
   full pardon for all their aggravated sins, yea, that he is willing to
   adopt them into his family now, that he may at length admit them to his
   heavenly presence; all should, with the utmost readiness and pleasure,
   embrace so kind a message, and fall at his feet in speechless
   transports of astonishment. gratitude, and joy. But, alas! we find it
   much otherwise. We see multitudes quite unmoved, and the impressions
   which are made on many more are feeble and transient. Lest it should be
   thus with you, O reader! let me urge the message with which I have the
   honor to be charged; let me entreat you to be reconciled to God, and to
   accept of pardon and salvation in the way in which it is so freely
   offered to you.

   3. I entreat you, "by the majesty of that God in whose name I come,"
   whose voice fills all heaven with reverence and obedience. He speaks
   not in vain to legions of angels; but if there could be any contention
   among those blessed spirits, it would be, who should be first to
   execute his commands. Oh! let him not speak in vain to a wretched
   mortal I entreat you, "by the terrors of his wrath," who could speak to
   you in thunder; who could, by one single act of his will, cut off this
   precarious life of yours, and send you down to hell. I beseech you by
   his mercies, by his tender mercies, by the bowels of his compassion,
   which still yearn over you as those of a parent over "a dear son," over
   a tender child, whom, notwithstanding his former ungrateful rebellion,
   "he earnestly remembers still." (Jer. 31:20) I beseech and entreat you,
   "by all this paternal goodness," that you do not, as it were, compel
   him to lose the character of the gentle Parent in that of the righteous
   Judge; so that, as he threatens with regard to those whom he had just
   called his sons and his daughters, "a fire shall be kindled in his
   anger, which shall burn unto the lowest hell." (Deut. 32:19,22)

   4. I beseech you further, "by the name and love of your dying Savior."
   I beseech you by all the condescension of his incarnation, by that
   poverty to which he voluntarily submitted, "that you might be enriched"
   with eternal treasures; (2 Cor. 8:9) by all the gracious invitations
   which he gave, which still sound in his word, and still coming, as it
   were, warm from his heart, are "sweeter than honey, or the honey-comb."
   (Psa. 19:10) I beseech you by all his glorious works of power and of
   wonder, which were also works of love. I beseech you by the memory of
   the most benevolent person and the most generous friend. I beseech you
   by the memory of what he suffered, as well as of what he said and did;
   by the agony which he endured in the garden when his body was covered
   "with a dew of blood." (Luke 22:44) I beseech you by all that tender
   distress which he felt when his dearest friends "forsook hint and
   fled," (Matt. 26:56) and his blood-thirsty enemies dragged him away
   like the meanest of slaves, and like the vilest of criminals. I beseech
   you by the blows and bruises, by the stripes and lashes which this
   injured Sovereign endured while in their rebellious hands; by the shame
   of spitting, from which he hid not that kind and venerable countenance.
   (Isa. 50:6) I beseech you by the purple robe, the scepter of reed, and
   the crown of thorns which this King of Glory wore that he might set us
   among the princes of heaven. (Psa. 113:8) I beseech you by the heavy
   burden of "the cross," under which he panted, and toiled, and fainted
   in the painful way "to Golgotha," (John 19:17) that he might free us
   from the burden of our sins. I beseech you by the remembrance of those
   rude nails that tore the veins and arteries, the nerves and tendons of
   his sacred hands and feet; and by that invincible, that triumphant
   goodness, which, while the iron pierced his flesh, engaged him to cry
   out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke
   23:34) I beseech you by that unutterable anguish which he bore when
   lifted up upon the cross, and extended there, as on a rack, for six
   painful hours, that you open your heart to those attractive influences
   which have "drawn to him thousands and ten thousands." (John 12:32) I
   beseech you by all that insult and derision which the "Lord of Glory
   bore there;" (Matt. 27:29-44) by that parching thirst which could
   hardly obtain the relief of "vinegar," (John 19:28,29) by that doleful
   cry so astonishing in the mouth of the only begotten of the Father, "My
   God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) I beseech you by
   that grace that subdued and pardoned "a dying malefactor;" (Luke
   23:42,43) by that compassion for sinners, by that compassion for you,
   which wrought in his heart, long as its vital motion continued, and
   which ended not when "he bowed his head, saying, It is finished, and
   gave up the ghost." (John 19:30) I beseech you by the triumphs of that
   resurrection by which he was "declared to be the Son of God with
   power;" by the spirit of holiness which wrought to accomplish it, (Rom.
   1:4) by that gracious tenderness which attempered all those triumphs,
   when he said to her out of whom he had cast seven devils, concerning
   his disciples who had treated him so basely, "Go, tell my brethren, I
   ascend unto my Father and your Father, unto my God and your God." (John
   20:17) I beseech you by that condescension with which he said to
   Thomas, when his unbelief had made such an unreasonable demand, "Reach
   hither thy finger, and behold mine hands, and reach hither thine hand,
   and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing." (John
   20:27) I beseech you by that generous and faithful care of his people
   which he carried up with him to the regions of glory, and which engaged
   him to send down "his Spirit," in that rich profusion of miraculous
   gifts, to spread the progress of his saving word. (Acts 2:33) I beseech
   you by that voice of sympathy and power with which he said to Saul,
   while injuring his church, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts
   9:4) by that generous goodness which spared that prostrate enemy when
   he lay trembling at his feet, and raised him to so high a dignity as to
   be "not inferior to the very chiefest apostles." (2 Cor. 12:11) I
   beseech you by the memory of all that Christ hath already done; by the
   expectation of all he will farther do for his people. I beseech you, at
   once, by the scepter of his grace, and by that sword of his justice
   with which all his incorrigible "enemies" shall be "slain before him,"
   (Luke 19:20) that you do not trifle away these precious moments while
   his Spirit is this breathing upon you; that you do not lose an
   opportunity which may never return, and on the improvement of which
   your eternity depends.

   5. I beseech you "by all the bowels of compassion which you owe to the
   faithful ministers of Christ," who are studying and laboring, preaching
   and praying, wearing out their time, exhausting their strength, and
   very probably shortening their lives, for the salvation of your soul,
   and of souls like yours. I beseech you by the affection with which all
   that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity long to see you brought
   back to him. I beseech you by the friendship of the living, and by the
   memory of the dead, by the ruin of those who have trifled away their
   days and perished in their sins, and by the happiness of those who have
   embraced the Gospel, and are saved by it. I beseech you by the great
   expectation of that important "day, when the Lord Jesus shall be
   revealed from heaven;" (2 Thess. 1:7) by "the terrors of a dissolving
   world;" (2 Pet. 3:10) by the "sound of the archangel's trumpet," (1
   Thess. 4:16) and of that infinitely more awful sentence, "Come, ye
   blessed," and "Depart, ye cursed," with which that grand solemnity
   shall close. (Matt. 25:34,41)

   6. I beseech you, finally, by your own precious and immortal soul; by
   the sure prospect of a dying bed, or of a sudden surprise into the
   invisible state and as you would feel one spark of comfort in your
   departing spirit, when your flesh and your heart are failing. I beseech
   you, by your own personal appearance before the tribunal of Christ,
   (for a personal appearance it must be, even to them who now sit on
   thrones of their own;) by all the transports of the blessed, and by all
   the agonies of the damned, then one or the other of which must be your
   everlasting portion. I affectionately entreat and beseech you, in the
   strength of all these united considerations, as you will answer it to
   me who may in that day be summoned to testify against you, and, which
   is unspeakably more, as you will answer it to your conscience, as you
   will answer it to the eternal Judge that you dismiss not these
   thoughts, these meditations, and these cares, till your have brought
   matters to a happy issue; till you have made resolute choice of Christ,
   and his appointed way of salvation; and till you have solemnly devoted
   yourself to God in the, bonds of an everlasting covenant.

   7. And thus I leave the matter before you, and before the Lord. I have
   told you my errand; I have discharged embassy. Stronger arguments I
   cannot use; more endearing and mores awful considerations I cannot
   suggest. Choose, therefore, whether you will go out, as it were clothed
   in sackcloth, to cast yourself at the feet of him who now sends you
   these equitable and gracious terms of peace and pardon; or whether you
   will hold it out till he appears sword in hand to reckon with you for
   your treasons and your crimes, and for this neglected embassy among the
   rest of them. Fain would I hope the best; nor can I believe that this
   labor of love shall be so entirely unsuccessful, that not one soul
   shall be brought to the foot of Christ in cordial submission and humble
   faith. "Take with you," therefore, "words, and turn unto the Lord;"
   (Hos. 14:2) and O that those which follow might, in effect at least, be
   the genuine language of every one that reads them.

   Sinner yielding to these Entreaties, and declaring acceptance of
   Salvation by Christ.

   "Blessed Lord, it is enough! It is too much! Surely there needs not
   this variety of arguments this importunity of persuasion, to court me
   to be happy, to prevail on me to accept of pardon, of life, of eternal
   glory. Compassionate Savior, my soul is subdued; so that I trust the
   language of thy grief is become that of my penitence, and I may say, my
   heart is melted like wax in the midst of my bowels.' (Psa. 22:14)

   "O gracious Redeemer! I have already neglected thee too long. I have
   too often injured thee: have crucified thee afresh by my guilt and
   impenitence, as if I had taken pleasure in putting thee to an open
   shame.' (Heb. 6:6) But my heart now bows itself before thee in humble,
   unfeigned submission. I desire to make no terms with thee but
   these--that I may be entirely thine. I cheerfully present thee with a
   blank, entreating thee that thou will do me the honor to signify upon
   it what is thy pleasure. Teach me, O Lord, what thou wouldst have me to
   do; for I desire to learn the lesson, and to learn it that I may
   practice it. If it be more than my feeble powers can answer, thou wilt,
   I hope, give me more strength; and in that strength I will serve thee.
   O receive a soul which thou hast made willing to be thine!

   "No more, O blessed Jesus, no more is it necessary to beseech and
   entreat me. Permit me rather to address myself to thee with all the
   importunity of a perishing sinner, that at length sees and knows there
   is salvation in no other' (Acts 4:12) Permit me now, Lord, to come and
   throw myself at thy feet like a helpless outcast that has no shelter
   but in thy gracious compassion! like one pursued by the avenger of
   blood,' and seeking earnestly an admittance into the city of refuge!'
   (Josh. 20:2,3)

   "'I wait for the Lord; my soul doth wait; and in thy word do I hope,'
   (Psa. 130:5) that thou wilt receive me graciously.' (Hos. 14:2) My soul
   confides in thy goodness, and adores it. I adore the patience which has
   borne with me so long; and the grace that now makes me heartily willing
   to be thine: to be thine on thine own terms, thine on any terms. O
   secure this treacherous heart to thyself! O unite me to thee in such
   inseparable bonds, that none of the allurements of flesh and blood,
   none of the vanities of an ensnaring world, none of the solicitations
   of sinful companions, may draw me back from thee, and plunge me into
   new guilt and ruin! Be surety, O Lord, for thy servant for good,' (Psa.
   119:122) that I may stilt keep my hold on thee, and so on eternal life;
   till at length I know more fully, by joyful and everlasting experience,
   how complete a Savior thou art. Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XI.

  A SOLEMN ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE PERSUADED TO FALL IN WITH THE DESIGN
  OF THE GOSPEL.

   1. Universal success not to be expected.--2-4. Yet, as unwilling
   absolutely to give up any, the author addresses thou who doubt the
   truth of Christianity, urging an inquiry into its evidences, and
   directing to prayer methods for that purpose.--5 Those who determine to
   give it up without further examination.--6. And presume to set
   themselves to oppose it.--7, 8. Those who speculatively assent to
   Christianity as true, and yet will sit down without any practical
   regard to its most important and acknowledged truths. Such are
   dismissed with a representation of the absurdity of their conduct on
   their own principles.--9, 10. With a solemn warning of its fatal
   consequences.--11. And a compassionate prayer, which concludes this
   chapter, and this part of the work.

   1. I would humbly hope that the preceding chapters will be the means of
   awakening some stupid and insensible sinners, the means of convincing
   them of their need of Gospel-salvation, and of engaging some cordially
   to accept it. Yet I cannot flatter myself so far as to hope this should
   be the case with regard to all into whose hands this book shall come.
   "What am I, alas! better than my fathers," (1 Kings 19:4) or better
   than my brethren, who have in all ages been repeating their complaint,
   with regard to multitudes, that they "have stretched out their hand all
   day long to a disobedient and gainsaying people!" (Rom. 10:21) Many
   such may perhaps be found in the number of my readers; many, on whom
   neither considerations of terror nor of love wilt make any deep and
   lasting impression; many, who, as our Lord learned by experience to
   express it, "when we pipe to them, will not dance; and when we mourn
   unto them; will not lament." (Matt. 11:17) I can say no more to
   persuade them; if they make light of what I have already said. Here,
   therefore, we must part: in this chapter I must take my leave of them;
   and O that I could do it in such a manner as to fix, at parting, some
   conviction upon their hearts, that though I seem to leave them for a
   little while, and send them back to review again the former chapters,
   as those in which alone they have any present concern, they might soon,
   as it were, overtake me again, and find a suitableness in the remaining
   part of this treatise, which at present they cannot possibly find.
   Unhappy creatures. I quit you as a physician quits a patient whom he
   loves, and is just about to give over as incurable: he returns again
   and again and re-examines the several symptoms, to observe whether
   there be not some one of them wore favorable than the rest, which may
   encourage a renewed application.

   2. So would I once more return to you. You do not find in yourself any
   disposition to embrace the Gospel, to apply yourself to Christ, to give
   yourself up to thee service of God, and to make religion the business
   of your life. But if I cannot prevail upon you to do this, let me
   engage you, at least, to answer me, or rather to answer your own
   conscience, "Why you will not do it?" is it owing to any secret
   disbelief of the great principles of religion? If it be, the case is
   different from what I have yet considered, and the cure must be
   different. This is not a place to combat with the scruples of
   infidelity. Nevertheless, I would desire you seriously to inquire "How
   far those scruples extend?" Do they affect any particular doctrine of
   the Gospel on which my argument hath turned; or do they affect the
   whole Christian revelation? Or do they reach yet farther, and extend
   themselves to natural religion, as well as revealed; so that it should
   be a doubt with you, whether there be any God, and providence, and
   future state, or not? As these cases are all different, so it will be
   of great importance to distinguish the one from the other; that you may
   know on what principles to build as certain, in the examination of
   those concerning which you are yet in doubt. But, whatever these doubts
   are, I would farther ask you, "How long have they continued, and what
   method have you taken to get them resolved?" Do you imagine, that, in
   matters of such moment, it will be an allowable case for you to trifle
   on, neglecting to inquire into the evidence of these things, and then
   plead your not being satisfied in that evidence, as an excuse for not
   acting according to them? Must not the principles of common sense
   assure you, that, if these things be true, as when you talk of doubting
   about them, you acknowledge it at least possible they may be, they are
   of infinitely greater importance than any of the affairs of life,
   whether of business or pleasure, for the sake of which you neglect
   them? Why then do you continue indolent and unconcerned, from week to
   week, and from month to month, which probably conscience tells you is
   the case?

   3. Do you ask, "What method you should take to be resolved?" It is no
   hard question. Open your eyes: set yourself to think: let conscience
   speak, and verily do I believe, that, if it be not seared in an
   uncommon degree, you will find shrewd forebodings of the certainty both
   of natural and revealed religion, and of the absolute necessity of
   repentance, faith, and holiness, to a life of future felicity. If you
   area person of any learning, you cannot but know by what writers, and
   in what treatises, these great truths are defended. And if you are not,
   you may find, in almost every town and neighborhood, persons capable of
   informing you in thee main evidences of Christianity, and of answering
   such scruples against it as unlearned minds may have met with. Set
   yourself, then, in the name of God, immediately to consider the matter.
   If you study at all, bend your studies close this way, and trifle not
   with mathematics, or poetry or history, or law, or physic, which are
   all comparatively light as a feather, while you neglect this. Study the
   argument as for your life; for much more than life depends on it. See
   how far you are satisfied, and why that satisfaction reaches no
   farther. Compare evidences on both sides. And, above all, consider the
   design and tendency of the New Testament. See to what it will lead you,
   and all them that cordially obey it, and then say whether it be not
   good. And consider how naturally its truth is connected with its
   goodness. Trace the character and sentiments of its authors, whose
   living image, if I may be allowed the expression, is still preserved in
   their writings; and then ask your heart, can you think this was a
   forgery, an impious, cruel forgery? for such it mast have been, if it
   were a forgery at all: a scheme to mock God, and to ruin men, even the
   best of men, such as reverenced Conscience, and would abide all
   extremities for what they apprehended to be truth. Put the question to
   your own heart, Can I in my conscience believe it to be such an
   imposture? Can I look up to an omniscient God, and say, "O Lord, thou
   knowest that it is in reverence to thee, and in love to truth and
   virtue, that I reject this book, and the method to happiness here laid
   down."

   4. But there are difficulties in the way. And what then? Have those
   difficulties never been cleared? Go to the living advocates for
   Christianity, to those of whose abilities, candor and piety you have
   the best opinion, if your prejudices will give you leave to have a good
   opinion of any such; tell them your difficulties; hear their solutions;
   weigh them seriously, as those who know they must answer it to God; and
   while doubts continue, follow the truth as far as it will lead you, and
   take heed that you do not a "imprison it in unrighteousness." (Rom.
   11:8) Nothing appears more inconsistent and absurd than for a man
   solemnly to pretend dissatisfaction in the evidences of the Gospel, as
   a reason why he cannot in conscience be a thorough Christian; when at
   the same time he violates the most apparent dictates of reason and
   conscience, and lives in vices condemned even by the heathen. O sirs!
   Christ has judged concerning such, and judged most righteously and most
   wisely: "They do evil, and therefore they hate the light; neither come
   they to the light, lest their deeds should be made manifest, and be
   reproved." (John 3:20) But there is a light that will make manifest and
   reprove their works, to which they will be compelled to come, and the
   painful scrutiny of which they shall be forced to abide.

   5. In the mean time, if you are determined to inquire no farther into
   the matter now, give me leave, at least, from a sincere concern that
   you may not heap upon your head more aggravated ruin, to entreat you
   that you would be cautious how you expose yourself to yet greater
   danger. by what you must yourself own to be unnecessary; I mean
   attempts to prevent others from believing the truth of the Gospel.
   Leave them; for God's sake, and for your own, in possession of those
   pleasures and those hopes which nothing but Christianity can give them;
   and act not as if you were solicitous to add to the guilt of an infidel
   the tenfold damnation which they, who have been the perverters and
   destroyers of the souls of others, must expect to meet, if that Gospel,
   which they have so adventurously opposed, shall prove. as it certainly
   will, a serious, and to them a dreadful truth.

   6. If I cannot prevail here, (but the pride of displaying a superiority
   of understanding should bear on such a reader, even in opposition to
   his own favorite maxims of the innocence of error and the equality of
   all religions consistent with social virtue, to do his utmost to
   trample down the Gospel with contempt) I would, however, dismiss him
   with one proposal which I think the importance of the affair may fully
   justify. If you have done with your examination into Christianity, and
   determine to live and conduct yourself as it were assuredly false, sit
   down, then, and make a memorandum of that determination. Write it down:

   "On such a day of such a year, I deliberately resolved that I would
   live and die rejecting Christianity myself, and doing all I could to
   overthrow it. This day I determined, not only to renounce all
   subjection to, and expectation from Jesus of Nazareth, but also to make
   it a serious part of the business of my life to destroy, as far as I
   possibly can, all regard to him in the minds of others, and to exert my
   most vigorous efforts, in the way of reasoning or of ridicule to sink
   the credit of his religion, and, if it be possible, to root it out of
   the world; in calm, steady defiance of that day, when his followers
   say, He shall appear in so much majesty and terror, to execute the
   vengeance. threatened to his enemies."

   Dare you write this, and sign it? I firmly believe that many a man, who
   would be thought a deist. and endeavors to increase the number, would
   not. And if you in particular dare not do it, whence does that small
   remainder of caution arise? The cause is plain. There is in your
   conscience some secret apprehension that this rejected, this opposed,
   this derided Gospel may, after all, prove true. And if there be such an
   apprehension, then let conscience do its office, and convict you of the
   impious madness of acting as if it were most certainly and demonstrably
   false. Let it tell you at large, how possible it is that "haply you may
   be found fighting against God," (Acts 5:39) that, hold as you are in
   defying the terrors of the Lord, you may possibly fall into his hands;
   may chance to hear that despised sentence, which, when: you hear it
   from the mouth of the eternal Judge, you will not be able to despise. I
   will repeat it again. In spite of all your scorn: you may hear the King
   say to you. "Depart, accursed. into everlasting fire, prepared for the
   devil and his angels." (Matt. 25:41) And now, go and pervert and
   burlesque the Scripture, go and satirize the character of its heroes,
   and ridicule the sublime discourses of its prophets and its apostles,
   as some have done, who have left behind them but the short lived
   monuments of their ignorance. their profaneness. and their malice. Go
   and spread like them, the banners of infidelity and pride thyself in
   the number of credulous creatures listed under them. But take heed lest
   the insulted Galilean direct a secret arrow to thine heart, and stop
   thy licentious breath before it has finished the next sentence thou
   wouldst utter against him.

   7. I will turn myself from the deist or the sceptic, and direct my
   address to the nominal Christian; if he may upon any terms be called a
   Christian, who feels not, after all I have pleaded a disposition to
   subject himself to the government and the grace of that Savior whose
   name he hears: O sinner, thou art turning away from my Lord, in whose
   cause I speak; but let me earnestly entreat thee seriously to consider
   why thou art turning away; and "to whom thou wilt go," from him whom
   thou acknowledgst "to have the words of eternal life." (John 6:63) You
   call yourself a Christian and yet will not by any means be persuaded to
   seek salvation in good earnest from and through Jesus Christ, whom you
   call your Master and Lord. How do you for a moment excuse this
   negligence to your own conscience? If I had urged you on any
   controverted point it might have altered the case. If I had labored
   hard to make you the disciple of any particular party of Christians,
   your delay might have been more reasonable; nay, perhaps your refusing
   to acquiesce might have been an act of apprehended duty to our common
   Master. But is it matter of controversy among Christians, whether there
   be a great, holy, and righteous God; and whether such a Being, whom we
   agree to own, should be reverenced and loved, or neglected and
   dishonored? Is it matter of controversy whether a sinner should deeply
   and seriously repent of his sins, or whether be should go on in them?
   Is it a disputed point amongst us, whether Jesus became incarnate, and
   died upon the cross for the redemption of sinners, or not? And if it be
   not, can it be disputed by them who believe him to be the Son of God
   and the Savior of men, whether a sinner should seek to him, or neglect
   hint; or whether one who professes to be a Christian should depart from
   iniquity, or give himself up to the practice or it? Are the precepts of
   our great Master written so obscurely in his word, that there should be
   room seriously to question whether he require a devout, holy, humble,
   spiritual, watchful, self-denying life, or whether he allow the
   contrary? Has Christ, after all big pretensions of bringing life and
   immortality to light, left it more uncertain than he found it, whether
   there be any future state of happiness and misery, or for whom these
   states are respectively intended? Is it a matter of controversy whether
   God will, or will not, "bring every work into judgment, with every
   secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil?" (Eccl. 12:14)
   or whether, at the conclusion of that judgment, "the wicked shall go
   away into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life eternal?"
   (Matt. 25:46) You will not I am sure, for very shame, pretend any doubt
   about these things, and yet call yourself a Christian. Why then will
   you not be persuaded to lay them to heart, and to act as duty and
   interest so evidently require? O sinner, the cause is too obvious, a
   cause indeed quite unworthy of being called a reason. It is because
   thou art blinded and besotted with thy vanities and thy lusts. It is
   because thou hast some perishing trifle, which charms thy imagination
   and thy senses, so that it is dearer to thee than God and Christ, than
   thy own soul and its salvation. It is, in a word, because thou art
   still under the influence of that carnal mind, which, whatever pious
   forms it may sometimes admit and pretend, "is enmity against God, and
   is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Rom. 8:7)
   And therefore thou art in the very case of those wretches, concerning
   whom our Lord said in the days of his flesh, "Ye will not come unto me,
   that ye might have life," (John 5:40) and therefore "ye shall die in
   your sins." (John 8:24)

   8. In this case I see not what it can signify, to renew those
   expostulations and addresses which I have made in the former chapters.
   As our blessed Redeemer says of those who reject his Gospel, "Ye have
   both seen and hated both me and my Father," (John 15:24) so may I truly
   say with regard to you, I have endeavored to show you, in the plainest
   and the clearest words, both Christ and the Father; I have urged the
   obligations you are under to both; I have laid before you your guilt
   and your condemnation; I have pointed out the only remedy; I have
   pointed out the rock on which I have built my own eternal hopes, and
   the way in which alone I expect salvation. I have recommended those
   things to you, which, if God gives me an opportunity, I will, with my
   dying breath, earnestly and affectionately recommend to my own
   children, and to all the dearest friends that I have upon earth, who
   may then be near me, esteeming it the highest token or my friendship,
   the surest proof of my love to them. And if, believing the Gospel to be
   true, you resolve to reject it, I have nothing farther to say, but that
   you must abide the consequence. Yet as Moses, when he went out from the
   presence of Pharaoh for the last time, finding his heart yet more
   hardened by all the judgments and deliverances with which he had
   formerly been exercised, denounced upon him "God's passing through the
   land in terror to smite the firstborn with death, and warned him of
   that great and lamentable cry, which the sword of the destroying angel
   should raise throughout all his realm;" (Exod. 11:4-6) so will I,
   sinner, now when I am quitting thee, speak to thee yet again, "whether
   thou wilt hear, or whether thou wilt forbear," (Ezek. 2:7) and denounce
   that much more terrible judgment; which the sword of divine vengeance,
   already whetted and drawn, and "bathed, as it were, in heaven," (Isai.
   34:5) is preparing against thee; which shall end in a much more doleful
   cry, though thou wert greater and more obstinate than that haughty
   monarch. Yes, sinner, that I may, with the apostle Paul, when turning
   to others who are more likely to hear me, "shake my raiment, and say, I
   am pure from your blood," (Acts 18:6) I will once more tell you what
   the end of these things will be. And, O that I could speak to purpose!
   O that I could thunder in thine ear such a peal of terror as might
   awaken thee, and be too loud to be drowned in all the noise of carnal
   mirth, or to be deadened by those dangerous opiates with which thou art
   contriving to stupify thy conscience!

   9. Seek what amusements and entertainments thou wilt, O sinner! I tell
   thee, if thou wert equal in dignity, and power, and magnificence, to
   the "great monarch of Babylon, thy pomp shalt be brought down to the
   grave, and all the sound of thy viols; the worm shall be spread under
   thee, and the worm shall cover thee;" (Isai. 14:11) yes, sinner, "the
   end of these things is death!" (Rom. 6:21) death in its most terrible
   sense to thee, if this continue thy governing temper. Thou canst not
   avoid it; and, if it be possible for any thing that I can say to
   prevent, thou shalt not forget it. Your "strength is not the strength
   of stones, nor is your flesh of brass." (Job 6:12) You are accessible
   to disease, as well as others; and if some sudden accident do not
   prevent it, we shall soon see how heroically you will behave yourself
   on a dying bed, and in the near views of eternity. You, that now
   despise Christ, and trifle with his Gospel, we shall see you droop and
   languish; shall see all your relish for your carnal recreations and
   your vain companions lost. And if perhaps one and another of them bolt
   in upon you, and is brutish and desperate enough to attempt to
   entertain a dying man with a gay story, or a profane jest, we shall see
   how you will relish it. We shall see what comfort you will have in
   reflecting on what is past, or what hope in looking forward to what is
   to come. Perhaps, trembling and astonished, you will then be inquiring;
   in a wild kind of consternation, "what you shall do to be saved:"
   calling for the ministers of Christ, whom you now despise for the
   earnestness with which they would labor to save your soul! and it maybe
   falling into a delirium, or dying convulsions, before they can come. Or
   perhaps we may see you flattering yourself, through a long, lingering
   illness, that you shall still recover, and putting off any serious
   reflection and conversation, for fear it should overset your spirits.
   And the cruel kindness of friends and physicians, as if they were in
   league with Satan to make the destruction of your soul as sure as
   possible, may perhaps abet this fatal deceit.

   10. And if any of these probable cases happen, that is, in short,
   unless a miracle of grace snatch you "as a brand out of the burning,"
   when the flames have, as it were, already taken hold of you; all these
   gloomy circumstances, which pass in the chambers of illness and on the
   bed of death, are but the forerunners of infinitely more dreadful
   things. Oh! who can describe them? Who can imagine them? When surviving
   friends are tenderly mourning over the breathless corpse, and taking a
   fond farewell of it before it is laid to consume away in the dark and
   silent grave, into what hands, O sinner! will thy soul be fallen? What
   scenes will open upon thy separate spirit, even before thy deserted
   flesh be cold, or thy sightless eyes are closed? It shall then know
   what it is to return to God, to be rejected by him as having rejected
   his Gospel and his Son, and despised the only treaty of reconciliation;
   and that so amazingly condescending and gracious! Thou shalt know what
   it is to be disowned by Christ, whom thou hast refused to entertain;
   and what it is, as the certain and immediate consequence of that, to be
   left in the hands of the malignant spirits of hell. There will be no
   more friendship then: none to comfort, none to alleviate thy agony and
   distress; but, on the contrary, all around thee laboring to aggravate
   and increase them. Thou shalt pass away the intermediate years of the
   separate state in dreadful expectation, and bitter outcries of horror
   and remorse. And then thou shalt hear the trumpet of the archangel, in
   whatever cavern of that gloomy world thou art lodged. Its sound shall
   penetrate thy prison, where, doleful and horrible as it is, thou shalt
   nevertheless wish that thou mightest still be allowed to hide thy
   guilty head, rather than show it before the face of that awful Judge;
   before whom "heaven and earth are fleeing away." (Rev. 20:11) But thou
   must come forth, and be reunited to a body now formed for ever to
   endure agonies, which in this mortal state would have dissolved it in a
   moment. You would not be persuaded to come to Christ before: you would
   stupidly neglect him, in spite of reason, in spite of conscience, in
   spite of all the tender solicitations of the Gospel, and the repeated
   admonitions of its most faithful ministers. But now, sinner, you shall
   have an interview; with him; if that may be called an interview, in
   which you will not dare to lift up your head to view the face of your
   tremendous and inexorable Judge. There, at least, how distant soever
   the time of our life and the place of our abode may have been, there
   shall we see how courageously your heart will endure, and how "strong
   your hands will be when the lord doth this." (Ezek. 22:14) There shall
   I see thee, O reader! whoever thou art that goest on in thine
   impenitency, among thousands and ten thousands of despairing wretches,
   trembling and confounded. There shall I hear thy cries among the rest,
   rending the very heavens in vain. The Judge will rise from his throne
   with majestic composure, and leave thee to be hurried down to those
   everlasting burnings, to which his righteous vengeance hath doomed
   thee, because thou wouldst not be saved from them. Hell shall shut its
   mouth upon thee for ever, and the sad echo of thy groans and outcries
   shall be lost, amidst the hallelujahs of heaven, to all that find mercy
   of the Lord in that day.

   11. This will most assuredly be the end of these things; and thou, as a
   nominal Christian, professest to know, and to believe it. It moves my
   heart at least, if it moves not thine. I firmly believe, that every
   one, who himself obtains salvation and glory will bear so much of his
   Savior's image in wisdom and goodness, in zeal for God, and a steady
   regard to the happiness of the whole creation, that he will behold this
   sad scene with calm approbation, and without any painful commotion of
   mind. But as yet I am flesh and blood; and therefore my bowels are
   troubled, and mine eyes often overflow with grief to think that
   wretched sinners will have no more compassion upon their own souls; to
   think that in spite of all admonition, they will obstinately run upon
   final, everlasting destruction. It would signify nothing here to add a
   prayer or a meditation for your use. Poor creature, you will not
   meditate! you will not pray! Yet as I have often poured out my heart in
   prayer over a dying friend, when the force of his distemper has
   rendered him incapable of joining with me, so I will now apply myself
   to God for you, O unhappy creature! And if you disdain so much as to
   read what my compassion dictates, yet I hope, they who have felt the
   power of the Gospel on their own souls, as they cannot but pity such as
   you, will join with me in such cordial, though broken petitions as
   these:

   A prayer in behalf of an Impenitent Sinner, in the case just described.

   "Almighty God! with thee all things are possible." (Matt. 10:26) To
   thee therefore do I humbly apply myself in behalf of this dear immortal
   soul, which thou here seest perishing in its sins, and hardening itself
   against that everlasting Gospel which has been the power of God to the
   salvation of so many thousands and millions. Thou art witness, O
   blessed God! thou art witness to the plainness and seriousness with
   which the message has been delivered. It is in thy presence that these
   awful words have been written; and in thy presence have they been read.
   Be pleased, therefore, to record it in the book of thy remembrance,
   that so, if this wicked man dieth in his iniquity, after the warning
   has been so plainly and solemnly given him, his blood may not be
   required at my hand,' (Ezek. 33:8,9) nor at the hand of that Christian
   friend, whoever he is, by whom this book has been procured for him,
   with a sincere desire for the salvation of his soul. Be witness, O
   blessed Jesus, in the day in which thou shalt judge the secrets of all
   hearts,' (Rom. 2:16) that thy Gospel hath been preached to this
   hardened wretch, and salvation by thy blood hath been offered him,
   though he continued to despise it. And may thy unworthy messenger be
   unto God a sweet savor in Christ,' in this very soul, even though it
   should at last perish! (2 Cor. 2:15)

   "But, oh! that after all his hardness and impenitence, thou wouldst
   still be pleased, by the sovereign power of thine efficacious grace, to
   awaken and convert him! Well do we know, O thou Lord of universal
   nature! that he who made the soul can cause the sword of conviction to
   come near and enter into it. O that, in thine infinite wisdom and love,
   thou wouldst find out a way to interpose, and save this sinner from
   death, from eternal death! O that, if it be thy blessed will, thou
   wouldst immediately do it! Thou knowest, O God, he is a dying creature!
   thou knowest that if any thing be done for him, it must be done
   quickly! thou seest, in the book of thy wise and gracious decrees, a
   moment marked, which must seal him up in an unchangeable state! O that
   thou wouldst lay hold on him while he is yet joined to the living, and
   hath hope!' (Eccl. 9:4) Thy immutable laws, in the dispensation of
   grace, forbid that a soul should be converted and renewed after its
   entrance into the invisible world: O let thy sacred Spirit work while
   he is yet as it were within the sphere of its operations! Work, O God,
   by whatever method thou pleasest; only have mercy upon him! O Lord!
   have mercy upon him, that he sink not into these depths of damnation
   and ruin, on the very brink of which he so evidently appears! O that
   thou wouldst bring him, if that be necessary, and seem to thee most
   expedient, into any depths of calamity and distress! O that, with
   Manasseh, he may be taken in the thorns, and laden with the fetters of
   affliction,' if that may but cause him to seek the God of his fathers.'
   (2 Chr. 33:11,12)

   "But I prescribe not to thine infinite wisdom. Thou hast displayed thy
   power in glorious and astonishing instances; which I thank thee that I
   have so circumstantially known, and by the knowledge of them have been
   fortified against the rash confidence of those who weakly and
   arrogantly pronounce that to be impossible, which is actually done.
   Thou hast, I know, done that, by a single thought in retirement, when
   the happy man reclaimed by it hath been far from means, and far from
   ordinances, which neither the most awful admonitions, nor the most
   tender entreaties, nor the most terrible afflictions. nor the most
   wonderful deliverances, had been able to effect.

   "Glorify thy name, O Lord, and glorify thy grace, in the method which
   to thine infinite wisdom shall seem most expedient! Only grant, I
   beseech thee, with all humble submission to thy will, that this sinner
   may be saved! or if not, that the labor of this part of this treatise
   may not be altogether in vain; but that if some reject it to their
   aggravated ruin, others may hearken and live! That those thy servants,
   who have labored for their deliverance and happiness may view them in
   the regions of glory, as the heaven, to him who hath loved us, and
   washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us,' of
   condemned rebels, and accursed, polluted sinners, kings and priests
   unto God; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever!' (Rev. 1:5,6)
   Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XII.

  AN ADDRESS TO A SOUL SO OVERWHELMED WITH A SENSE OF THE GREATNESS OF ITS SINS,
  THAT IT DARES NOT APPLY ITSELF TO CHRIST WITH ANY HOPE OF SALVATION.

   1-4. The case described at large.--5. As it frequently occurs.--6.
   Granting all that the dejected soul charges on itself.--7. The
   invitations and promises of Christ give hope.--8. The reader urged,
   under all his burdens and fears, to an humble application to him. Which
   is accordingly exemplified in the concluding Reflection and Prayer.

   1. I have now done with those unhappy creatures who despise the Gospel,
   and with those who neglect it. With pleasure do I now turn myself to
   those who will hear me with more regard. Among the various cases which
   now present themselves to my thoughts, and demand my tender,
   affectionate, respectful care, there is none more worthy of compassion
   than that which I have mentioned in the title of this chapter, none
   which requires a more immediate attempt of relief.

   2. It is very possible some afflicted creature may be ready to cry out,
   "It is enough: aggravate my grief and my distress no more. The sentence
   you have been so awfully describing, as what shall he passed and
   executed on the impenitent and unbelieving, is my sentence; and the
   terrors of it are my terrors. For mine iniquities have gone up into the
   heavens,' and my transgressions have reached unto the clouds. (Rev.
   18:5) My case is quite singular. Surely there never was so great a
   sinner as I. I have received so many mercies, have enjoyed so many
   advantages, I have heard so many invitations or Gospel grace; and yet
   my heart has been so hard, and my nature is so exceeding sinful, and
   the number and aggravating circumstances of my provocations have been
   such, that I dare not hope. It is enough that God hath supported me
   thus long; it is enough, that, after so many years of wickedness, I am
   yet out of hell. Every day's reprieve is a mercy at which I am
   astonished. I lie down, and wonder that death and damnation have not
   seized me in my walks the day past. I arise, and wonder that my bed has
   not been my grave; wonder that my soul is not separated from my flesh,
   and surrounded with devils and damned spirits."

   3. "I have indeed heard the message of salvation; but, alas! it seems
   no message of salvation to me. There are happy souls that have hope;
   and their hope is indeed in Christ and the grace of God manifest in
   him. But they feel in their hearts an encouragement to apply to him,
   whereas I dare not do it. Christ and grace are things in which I fear I
   have no part, and must expect none. There are exceeding rich and
   precious promises in the word of God; but they are to me as a sealed
   book, and are hid from me as to any personal use. I know Christ is able
   to save: I know he is willing to save some. But that he should be
   willing to save me--such a polluted, such a provoking creature, as God
   knows, and as conscience knows, I have been, and to this day am--this I
   know not how to believe; and the utmost that I can do towards believing
   it, is to acknowledge that it is not absolutely impossible, and that I
   do not lie down in complete despair; though, alas! I seem upon the
   borders of it, and expect every day and hour to call into it."

   4. I should not, perhaps, have entered so fully into this case, if I
   had not seen many in it; and I will add, reader, for your
   encouragement, if it be your case, several, who now are in the number
   of the most established, cheerful, and useful Christians. And I hope
   divine grace will add you to the rest, if "out of these depths you he
   enabled to cry unto God;" (Psa. 130:1) and though, like Jonah, you may
   seem to be cast out from his presence, yet still, with Jonah, you "look
   towards his holy temple." (Jonah 2:4)

   5. Let it not be imagined, that it is in any neglect of that blessed
   Spirit, whose office it is to be the great Comforter, that I now
   attempt to reason you out of this disconsolate frame; for it is as the
   great source or reason, that he deals with rational creatures; and it
   is in the use of rational means and considerations that he may most
   justly be expected to operate. Give me leave, therefore, to address
   myself calmly to you, and to ask you, what reason you have for all
   these passionate complaints and accusations against yourself? What
   reason have you to suggest that your case is singular, when so many
   have told you they have felt the same? What reason have you to conclude
   so hardly against yourself, when the Gospel speaks in such favorable
   terms? Or, what reason to imagine, that the gracious things it says are
   not intended for you? You know, indeed, more of the corruption of your
   own heart, than you know of the hearts or others; and you make a
   thousand charitable excuses for their visible failings and infirmities,
   which you make not for your own. And it may be, some of those whom you
   admire as eminent saints when compared with you, are on their part
   humbling themselves in the dust, as unworthy to be numbered among the
   least of God's people, and wishing themselves like you; in whom they
   think they see much more good, and much less of evil, than in
   themselves.

   6. But to suppose the worst, what if you were really the vilest sinner
   that ever lived upon the face of the earth? What if "your iniquities
   had gone up into the heavens" every day, and "your transgressions had
   reached unto the clouds," (Rev. 18:5) reached thither with such horrid
   aggravations, that earth and heaven should have had reason to detest
   you as a monster of impiety? Admitting all this, "is any thing too hard
   for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14) Are any sins, of which a sinner can repent,
   of so deep a dye, that the blood of Christ cannot wash them away! Nay,
   though it would be daring wickedness and monstrous folly, for any "to
   sin that grace may abound," (Rom. 6:1) yet had you indeed raised your
   account beyond all that divine grace has ever yet pardoned, who should
   "limit the holy One of Israel?" (Psa. 78:41) or who shall pretend to
   say, that it is impossible that God may, for your very wretchedness,
   choose you out from others, to make you a monument of mercy, and a
   trophy of hitherto unparalleled grace? The apostle Paul strongly
   intimates this to have been the case with regard to himself; and why
   might not you likewise, if indeed "the chief of sinners," obtain mercy,
   that in you, as the chief, "Jesus Christ might show forth all
   long-suffering, for a pattern to them who shall hereafter believe?" (1
   Tim. 1:15,16)

   7. Gloomy as your apprehensions are, I would ask you plainly, do you in
   your conscience think that Christ is not able to save you? What! is he
   not "able to save, even to the uttermost, them that come unto God by
   him?" (Heb. 7:25) Yes, you will say, abundantly able to do it; but I
   dare not imagine that he will do it. And how do you know that he will
   not? He has helped the very greatest sinners or all that have yet
   applied themselves to him; and he has made thee offers of grace and
   salvation in the most engaging and encouraging terms. "If any man
   thirst, let him come unto me and drink:" (John 7:37) "let him that is
   a-thirst come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life
   freely." (Rev. 22:17) "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
   laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) And once more, "Him
   that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." (John 4:37) "True,"
   will you say, "none that are given him by the Father: could I know I
   were of that number, I could then apply cheerfully to him." But, dear
   reader, let me entreat you to look into the text itself, and see
   whether that limitation he expressly added there. Do you there read,
   none of them whom the Father hath given me shall be cast out? The words
   are in a much more encouraging form; and why should you frustrate his
   wisdom and goodness by such an addition of your own? "Add not to his
   words, lest he reprove thee;" (Prov. 30:6) take them as they stand, and
   drink in the consolation of them. Our Lord knew into what perplexity
   some serious minds might possibly be thrown by what he had before been
   saying, "All that the Father hath given me shall come unto me;" and
   therefore, as it were on purpose to balance it, he adds those gracious
   words, "him that cometh unto me I will in no wise," by no means, on no
   consideration whatsoever, "cast out."

   8. If, therefore, you are already discouraged and terrified at the
   greatness of your sins, do not add to their weight and number that one
   greater, and worse than all the rest, a distrust of the faithfulness
   and grace of the blessed Redeemer. Do not, so far as in you lies,
   oppose all the purposes of his love to you. O distressed soul! whom
   dost thou dread? To whom dost thou tremble to approach? Is there any
   thing so terrible in a crucified Redeemer, in the Lamb that was slain?
   If thou carriest thy soul, almost sinking under the burden of its
   guilt, to lay it down at his feet, what dost thou offer him, but the
   spoil which he bled and died to recover and possess? And did he
   purchase it so dearly, that he might reject it with disdain? Go to him
   directly, and fall down in his presence, and plead that misery of
   thine, which thou hast now been pleading in a contrary view, as an
   engagement to your own soul to make the application, and as an argument
   with the compassionate Savior to receive you. Go, and be assured, that
   "where sin hath abounded, there grace shall much more abound." (Rom.
   5:20) Be assured, that, if one sinner can promise himself a more
   certain welcome than another, it is not he that is least guilty and
   miserable, but he that is most deeply humbled before God tinder a sense
   of that misery and guilt, and lies the lowest in the apprehension of
   it.

   Reflections on these Encouragements, ending in an humble and earnest
   Application to Christ for Mercy.

   "O my soul! what sayest thou to these things? Is there not at least a
   possibility of help from Christ? And is there a possibility of help any
   other way? Is any other name given under heaven, whereby we can be
   saved? I know there is none. (Acts 4:12) I must then say, like the
   lepers of Israel, (2 Kings 7:4) If I sit here, I perish; and if I make
   my application in vain, I can but die.' But peradventure he may save my
   soul alive. I will therefore arise, and go into him; or rather,
   believing him here, by his spiritual presence, sinful and miserable as
   I am, I will this moment fall down on my face before him, and pour out
   my soul unto him.

   "Blessed Jesus, I present myself unto thee, as a wretched creature,
   driven indeed by necessity to do it. For surely, were not that
   necessity urgent and absolute, I should not dare, for very shame, to
   appear in thine holy and majestic presence. I am fully convinced that
   my sins and my follies have been inexcusably great, more than I can
   express, more than I can conceive. I feel a source of sin in my corrupt
   and degenerate nature, which pours out iniquity as a fountain sends out
   its water, and makes me a burden and a terror to myself. Such
   aggravations have attended my transgressions, that it looks like
   presumption so much as to ask pardon for them. And yet, would it not be
   greater presumption to say, that they exceed thy mercy, and the
   efficacy of thy blood; to say, that thou host power and grace enough to
   pardon and save only sinners of a lower order, while such as I lie out
   of thy reach? Preserve me from that blasphemous imagination! Preserve
   me from that unreasonable suspicion! Lord, thou canst do all things,
   neither is there any thought of mine heart withholden from thee. (Job
   42:2) Thou art indeed, as thy word declares able to save unto the
   uttermost. (Heb. 7:25) And therefore, breaking through all the
   oppositions of shame and fear that would keep me from thee, I come and
   lie down as in the dust before thee. Thou knowest, O Lord! all my sins,
   and all my follies. (Psa. 69:5) I cannot, and I hope! may say, I would
   not disguise them before thee, or set myself to find out plausible
   excuses. Accuse me, Lord, as thou pleasest; and I will ingenuously
   plead guilty to all thine accusations. I will own myself as great a
   sinner as thou callest me; but I am still a sinner that comes unto thee
   for pardon. If I must die, it shall be submitting, and owning the
   justice of the fatal stroke. If I perish, it shall be laying hold, as
   it were, on the horns of the altar: laying myself down at thy
   foot-stool, though I have been such a rebel against thy throne. Many
   have received a full pardon there; have met with favor even beyond
   their hopes. And are all thy compassions, O blessed Jesus! exhausted?
   And wilt thou now begin to reject an humble creature who flies to thee
   for life, and pleads nothing but mercy and free grace? Have mercy upon
   me, O most gracious Redeemer! have mercy upon me, and let my life be
   precious in thy sight! (2 Kings 1:14) O do not resolve to send me down
   to that state of final misery and despair from which it was thy
   gracious purpose to deliver and save so many!

   "Spurn me not away, O Lord! from thy presence, nor be offended when I
   presume to lay hold on thy royal robe, and say that I cannot and will
   not let thee go till my suit is granted! (Gen. 32:26) Oh! remember that
   my eternity is at stake! Remember, O Lord, that all my hopes of
   obtaining eternal happiness, and avoiding everlasting, helpless,
   hopeless destruction, are anchored upon thee; they hang upon thy
   smiles, or drop at thy frown. O have mercy upon me, for the sake of
   this immortal soul of mine! Or if not for the sake of mine alone, for
   the sake of many others, who may, on the one hand, be encouraged by thy
   mercy to me, or, on the other, may be greatly wounded and discouraged
   by my helpless despair! I beseech thee, O Lord, for thine own sake, and
   for the display of thy Father's rich and sovereign grace! I beseech
   thee by the blood thou didst shed on the cross! I beseech thee by the
   covenant of grace and peace, into which the Father did enter with thee
   for the salvation of believing and repenting sinners! save me, save me,
   O Lord, who earnestly desire to repent and believe! I am indeed a
   sinner, in whose final and everlasting destruction thy justice might be
   greatly glorified; but oh! if thou wilt pardon me, it will be a
   monument raised to the honor of thy grace and the efficacy of thy
   blood, in proportion to the degree in which the wretch, to whom thy
   mercy is extended, was mean and miserable without it. Speak, Lord, by
   thy blessed Spirit, and banish my fears! Look unto me with love and
   grace in thy countenance, and say to me, as in the days of thy flesh
   thou didst to many an humble supplicant, Thy sins are forgiven thee, go
   in peace.'"
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CHAPTER XIII.

  THE DOUBTING SOUL MORE PARTICULARLY ASSISTED IN ITS INQUIRIES AS TO THE
  SINCERITY OF ITS FAITH AND REPENTANCE.

   1. Transient impressions liable to be mistaken for conversion, which
   would be a fatal error.--2. General scheme for self-examination.--3.
   Particular inquiries--what views there have been of sin?--4. What views
   there have been of Christ?--5. As to the need the soul has of him;--6.
   And its willingness to receive him with a due surrender of heart to his
   service.--7. Nothing short of this sufficient. The soul submitting to
   Divine examination the sincerity of its faith and repentance.

   1. IN consequence of all the serious things which have been said in the
   former chapters, I hope it will be no false presumption to imagine that
   some religious impressions may be made on hearts which had never felt
   them before; or may be revived where they have formerly grown cold and
   languid. Yet I am very sensible, and I desire that you may be so, how
   great danger there is of self-flattery on this important head, and how
   necessary it is to caution men against too hasty a conclusion that they
   are really converted, because they have felt some warm emotions on
   their minds, and have reformed the gross irregularities of their former
   conduct. A mistake here may be infinitely fatal; it may prove the
   occasion of that false peace which shall lead a man to bless himself in
   his own heart, and to conclude himself secure, while "all the
   threatenings and curses of God's law" are sounding in his ears, and lie
   indeed directly against him: (Deut. 19:19,20) while in the mean time he
   applies to himself a thousand promises in which he has no share; which
   may prove therefore like generous wines to a man in a high fever, or
   strong opiates to one in a lethargy. "The stony ground hearers received
   the word with joy," and a promising harvest seemed to be springing up;
   yet "it soon withered away," (Matt. 13:5,6) and no reaper filled his
   arms with it. Now, that this may not he the case with you, that all my
   labors and yours hitherto may not be lost, and that a vain dream of
   security and happiness may not plunge you deeper into misery and ruin,
   give me leave to lead you into a serious inquiry into your own heart,
   that so you may be better able to judge of your ease, and to
   distinguish between what is at most being only near the kingdom of
   heaven, and becoming indeed a member of it.

   2. Now this depends upon the sincerity of your faith in Christ, when
   faith is taken in the largest extent, as explained above: that is, as
   comprehending repentance, and that steady purpose of new and universal
   obedience, of which, wherever it is real, faith will assuredly be the
   vital principle. Therefore, to assist you in judging of your state,
   give me leave to ask you, or rather to entreat you to ask yourself,
   what views you have had, and now have, of sin and of Christ? and what
   your future purposes are with regard to your conduct in the remainder
   of life that may lie before you? I shall not reason largely upon the
   several particulars I suggest under these heads, but rather refer you
   to your own reading and observation, to judge how agreeable they are to
   the word of God, the great rule by which our characters must quickly be
   tried, and out eternal state unalterably determined.

   3. Inquire seriously, in the first place, "what views you have had of
   sin, and what sentiments you have felt in your soul with regard to it?"
   There was a time when it wore a flattering aspect, and made a fair,
   enchanting appearance, so that all your heart was charmed with it, and
   it was the very business of your life to practice it. But you have
   since been undeceived. You have felt it "bite like a serpent, and sting
   like an adder." (Prov. 23:32) You have beheld it with an abhorrence far
   greater than the delight which it ever gave you. So far it is well it
   is thus with every true penitent, and with some, I fear, who are not of
   that number. Let me therefore inquire farther, whence arose this
   abhorrence? Was it merely from a principle of self-love? Was it merely
   because you had been wounded by it? Was it merely because you had
   thereby brought condemnation and ruin upon your own soul? Was there no
   sense of its deformity, of its baseness, of its malignity, as committed
   against the blessed God, considered as a glorious, a bountiful, and a
   merciful Being? Were you never pierced by the apprehension of its vile
   ingratitude? And as for those purposes which have arisen in your heart
   against it, let me beseech you to reflect how they have been formed,
   and how they have hitherto been executed. Have they been universal?
   Have they been resolute? And yet, amidst all that resolution, have they
   been humble? When you have declared war with sin, was it with every
   sin? And is it an irreconcilable war which you determine, by divine
   grace, to push on till you have entirely conquered it, or die in the
   attempt? And are you accordingly active in your endeavors to subdue and
   destroy it? If so, what are "the fruits worthy of repentance which you
   bring forth?" (Luke 3:8) It does not, I hope, all flow away in floods
   of grief. Have you "ceased to do evil?" Are you "learning to do well?"
   (Isa. 1:16,17) Doth your reformation show that you repent of your sins?
   or do your renewed relapses into sin prove that you repent even of what
   you call your repentance? Have you an inward abhorrence of all sin, and
   an unfeigned zeal against it? And doth that produce a care to guard
   against the occasions of it, and temptations to it? Do you watch
   against the circumstances that have ensnared you? and do you
   particularly double your guard against "that sin which does most easily
   beset you?" (Heb. 12:1) Is that laid aside, that the Christian race may
   be run: laid aside with firm determination that you will return to it
   no more, that you hold no more parley with it, that you will never take
   another step toward it?

   4. Permit me also farther to inquire, "what your views of Christ have
   been? What think you of him, and your concern with him?" Have you been
   fully convinced that there must be a correspondence settled between him
   and your soul? And do you see and feel, that you are not only to pay
   him a kind of distant homage, and transient compliment, as a very wise,
   benevolent, and excellent person, for whose name and memory you have a
   reverence; but that, as he lives and reigns, as he is ever near you,
   and always observing you, so you must look to him, must approach him,
   must humbly transact business with him, and that business of the
   highest importance, on which your salvation depends?

   5. Yon have been brought to inquire, "Wherewith shall I come before the
   Lord, and bow myself before the most high God? (Mic. 6:6) And once
   perhaps you were thinking of sacrifices which your own stores might
   have been sufficient to furnish out. Are you now convinced they will
   not suffice; and that you must have recourse to the Lamb which God has
   provided? Have you had a view of "Jesus as taking away the sin of the
   world?" (John 1:29) "as made a sin-offering for us, though he knew no
   sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him?" (2 Cor.
   5:21) Have you viewed him as perfectly righteous in himself; and,
   despairing of being justified by any righteousness of your own, have
   you "submitted to the righteousness of God?" (Rom. 10:3) Has your heart
   ever been brought to a deep conviction of this important truth, that if
   ever you are saved at all, it must be through Christ; that if ever God
   extends mercy to you at all, it must be for his sake; that if ever you
   are fixed in the temple of God above, you must stand there as an
   everlasting trophy of that victory which Christ has gained over the
   powers of hell, who would otherwise have triumphed over you?

   6. Our Lord says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved." (Isai. 45:22) He
   says, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)
   Have you looked to him as the only Savior, have you been drawn unto him
   by that sacred magnet, the attracting influence of his dying love? Do
   you know what it is to come to Christ, as a poor "weary and heavy laden
   sinner, that you may find rest?" (Matt. 11:28) Do you know what it is,
   in a spiritual sense, "to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son
   of man;" (John 6:53) that is, to look upon Christ crucified as the
   great support or your soul, and to feel a desire after bitterness as
   the appetite of nature after its necessary food? Have you known what it
   is cordially to surrender yourself to Christ, as a poor creature whom
   love has made his property? Have you committed your immortal soul to
   him, that he may purify and save it; that he may govern it by the
   dictates of his word and the influences of his Spirit; that be may use
   it for his glory; that he may appoint it to what exercises and
   discipline he pleases, while it dwells wells here in flesh; and that he
   may receive it at death, and fix it among those spirits, who with
   perpetual songs of praise surround his throne, and are his servants
   forever? Have you heartily consented to this? And do you, on this
   account of the matter, renew your content! Do you renew it deliberately
   and determinately, and feel your whole soul, as it were, saying Amen,
   while you read this? If this be the case, then I can, with great
   pleasure, give you, as it were, the right hand of fellowship, and
   salute and embrace you as a sincere disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ;
   as One who is delivered from the powers of darkness, and is "translated
   into the kingdom of the Son of God." (Col. 1:13) I can then salute you
   in the Lord, as one to whom, as a minister of Jesus, I am commissioned
   and charged to speak comfortably, and tell you not that I absolve you
   from your sins, for it is a small mall matter to be judged of man's
   judgment, but that the blessed God himself absolveth you: that you are
   one to whom he hath said in his Gospel, and is continually saying,
   "Your sins are forgiven you;" (Luke 7:48) therefore go in peace, and
   take the comfort of it.

   7. But if you are a stranger to these experiences, and to this temper
   which I have now described, the great work is yet undone: you are an
   impenitent and unbelieving sinner, and "the wrath of God abideth on
   you." (John 3:36) However you may have been awakened and alarmed,
   whatever resolutions you may have formed for amending your life, how
   right soever your notions may be, how pure soever your forms of
   worship, how ardent soever your zeal, how severe soever your
   mortification, how humane soever your temper, how inoffensive soever
   your life may be, I can speak no comfort to you. Vain are all your
   religious hopes, if there has not been a cordial humiliation before the
   presence of God for all your sins; if there has not been this avowed
   war declared against every thing displeasing to God; if there has not
   been this sense of your need of Christ, and of your ruin without him;
   if there has not been this earnest application to him, this surrender
   of your soul into his hands by faith, this renunciation of yourself,
   that you might fix on Him the anchor of your hope: if there has not
   been this unreserved deification of yourself, to be at all times, and
   in an respects, the faithful servant of God through him; and if you do
   not with all this acknowledge, that you are an unprofitable servant,
   who have no other expectations of acceptance or of pardon but only
   through his righteousness and blood, and through the riches of divine
   grace in Him; I repeat it to you again, that all your hopes are vain,
   and you are "building on the sand." (Matt. 7:26) The house you have
   already raised must ho thrown down to the ground, and the foundation be
   removed and laid anew, or you, and all your hopes, will shortly be
   swept away with it, and buried under it in everlasting ruin.

   The soul submitting to Divine Examination the Sincerity of its
   Repentance and Faith.

   Lord God! thou searchest all hearts. and triest the reins of the
   children of men! (Jer. 17:10) Search me, O Lord, and know my heart; try
   me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and
   lead me in the way everlasting. (Psa. 139:23,24) Doth not conscience,
   Lord! testify in thy presence, that my repentance and faith are such as
   have been described, or at least that it is my earnest prayer that they
   may be so? Come, therefore, O thou blessed Spirit! who art the author
   of all grace and consolation, and work this temper more fully in my
   soul. O represent sin to mine eyes in all its most odious colors, that
   I may feel a mortal and irreconcilable hatred to it! O represent the
   majesty and mercy of the blessed God in such a manner that my heart may
   be alarmed, and that it may be melted! Smite the rock, that the waters
   may flow: (Psa. 78:20) waters of genuine, undissembled, and filial
   repentance! Convince me, O thou blessed Spirit! of sin, of
   righteousness, and of judgment! (John 16:8) Show me that I have undone
   myself; but that my help is found in God alone, (Hos. 13:9) in God
   through Christ, in whom alone he will extend compassion and help to me!
   According to thy peculiar office, take of Christ and show it unto me.
   (John 16:15) Show me his power to save! Show me his willingness to
   exert that power I teach my faith to behold him as extended on the
   cross, with open arms, with a pierced, bleeding side; and so telling
   me, in the most forcible language, what room there is in his very heart
   for me! May I know what it is to have my whole heart subdued by love;
   so subdued as to be crucified with him; (Rom. 6:6) to he dead to sin
   and dead to the world, but alive unto God. through Jesus Christ. (Rom.
   6:11) In his power and love may I confide! To him may I without any
   reserve commit my spirit! His image may I bear! His laws may I observe!
   His service may I pursue! And may I remain, through time and eternity,
   a monument of the efficacy or his Gospel, and a trophy of his
   victorious grace!

   "O blessed God! if there be any thing wanting towards constituting me a
   sincere Christian, discover it to me, and work it in me! Beat down, I
   beseech thee, every false and presumptuous hope, how costly soever that
   building may have been which it thus laid in ruins, and how proud
   soever I may have been of its vain ornaments! Let me know the worst of
   my case, be that knowledge edge ever so distressing; and if there be
   remaining danger, O let my heart be fully sensible of it, sensible
   while yet there is a remedy!

   "If there be any secret sin yet lurking in my soul, which I have not
   sincerely renounced, discover it to me, and rend it out of my heart,
   though it may have shot its roots ever so deep, and have wrapped them
   all around it, so that every nerve shall be pained by the separation!
   Tear it away, O Lord, by a hand graciously severe! And by degrees, yea,
   Lord, by speedy advances, go on, I beseech thee, to perfect what is
   still lacking in my faith. (l Thess. 3:10) Accomplish in me all the
   good pleasure of thy goodness. (2 Thess. 1:11) Enrich me, O Heavenly
   Father, with all the graces of thy Spirit; form me to the complete
   image of thy dear Son; and then, for his sake, come unto me, and
   manifest thy gracious presence in my soul, (John, 14:21,28) till it is
   ripened for that state of glory for which all these operations are
   intended to prepare it Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XIV.

  A MORE PARTICULAR VIEW OF THE SEVERAL BRANCHES OF THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER, BY
  WHICH THE READER MAY BE FARTHER ASSISTED IN JUDGING WHAT HE IS, AND WHAT HE
  SHOULD ENDEAVOR TO BE.

   1, 2. The importance of the case engages to a more particular survey
   what manner of spirit we are of.--3. Accordingly the Christian temper
   is described, by some general views of it, as a new and divine
   temper.--4. As resembling that of Christ.--5. And as engaging us to be
   spiritually minded, and to walk by faith.--6. A plan of the
   remainder.--7. In which the Christian temper is more particularly
   considered with regard to the blessed God: as including fear,
   affection, and obedience.--8, 9. Faith and love to Christ.--10. Joy in
   Him.--11-13. And a proper temper towards the Holy Spirit, particularly
   as a spirit of adoption and of courage.--14. With regard to ourselves;
   as including preference of the soul to the body, humility, purity.--15.
   Temperance.--16. Contentment.--17. And Patience.--18. With regard to
   our fellow creatures; as including Love.--19. Meekness.--20.
   Peaceableness.--21. Mercy.--22. Truth.--23. And candor in judging.--24.
   General qualifications of each branch.--25. Such as Sincerity.--26.
   Constancy.--27. Tenderness.--28. Zeal.--29. And Prudence.--30. These
   things should frequently be recollected.--A review of all in a
   scriptural prayer.

   1. WHEN I consider the infinite importance of eternity, I find it
   exceedingly difficult to satisfy myself in any thing which I can say to
   men, where their eternal interests are concerned. I have given you a
   view, I hope I may truly say, a just as well as a faithful view, of a
   truly Christian temper already. Yet, for your farther assistance, I
   would offer it to your consideration in various points of light, that
   you maybe assisted in judging of what you are and what you ought to be.
   And in this I aim, not only at your conviction, if you are yet a
   stranger to real religion, but at your farther edification, if, by the
   grace of God, you are by this time experimentally acquainted with it.
   Happy you will be, happy beyond expression, if, as you go on from one
   article to another, you can say, "This is my temper and character."
   Happy in no inconsiderable degree, if you can say, "This is what I
   desire, what I pray for, and what I pursue, in preference to every
   opposite view, though it be not what I have as yet attained."

   2. Search, then, and try "what manner of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55)
   And may he that searcheth all hearts direct the inquiry, and enable you
   "so to judge yourself; that you may not be condemned of the Lord." (1
   Cor. 11:31,32)

   3. Know in the general, "that, if you are a Christian indeed, you have
   been renewed in the spirit of your mind,' (Eph. 4:23) so renewed as to
   be regenerated and born again." It is not enough to have assumed a new
   name, to have been brought under some new restraints, or to have made a
   partial change in some particulars of your conduct. The change must be
   great and universal. Inquire, then, whether you have entertained new
   apprehensions or things, have formed a practical judgment different
   from what you formerly did; whether the ends you propose, the
   affections which you feel working in your heart, and the course of
   action to which, by those affections, you are directed, be, on the
   whole, new or old. Again, "If you are a Christian indeed, you are a
   partaker of a divine nature,' (2 Pet. 1:4) divine in its original, its
   tendency, and its resemblance." Inquire, therefore, whether God hath
   implanted a principle in your heart, which tends to him, and which
   makes you like him. Search your soul attentively, to see if you have
   really the image there of God's moral perfections, of his holiness and
   righteousness his goodness and fidelity; for "the new man is, after
   God, created in righteousness and true holiness," (Eph. 4:24) "and is
   renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." (Col.
   3:10)

   4. For your farther assistance, inquire "whether the same mind be in
   you which was always in Christ.' (Phil. 2:5) Whether you bear the image
   of God's incarnate Son, the brightest and fairest resemblance of the
   Father which heaven or earth has ever beheld." The blessed Jesus
   designed himself to be a model for all his followers; and he is
   certainly a model most fit for our imitation: an example in our own
   nature and in circumstances adapted to general use: an example
   recommended to us at once by its spotless perfection, and by the
   endearing relations in which he stands to us, as our Master, our
   Friend, and our Head; as the person by whom our everlasting state is to
   be fixed, and in resemblance to whom our final happiness is to consist,
   if ever we are happy at all. Look then, into the life and temper of
   Christ, as described and illustrated in the Gospel, and search whether
   you can find any thing like it in your own. Have you any thing of his
   devotion, love, and resignation to God? Any thing of his humility,
   meekness, and benevolence to men? Any thing of his purity and wisdom,
   his contempt of the world, his patience, his fortitude, his zeal? And
   indeed all the other branches of the Christian temper, which do not
   imply previous guilt in the person by whom they are exercised, may be
   called in to illustrate and assist your inquiries under this head.

   5. Let me add, "If you are a Christian, you are in the main
   spiritually-minded,' as knowing that is life and peace;' whereas, to be
   carnally-minded is death.'" (Rom. 8:6) Though you "live in the flesh,
   you will not war after it," (2 Cor. 10:3) you will not take your orders
   and your commands from it. You will indeed attend to its necessary
   interests as matter of duty; but it will still be with regard to
   another and a noble? interest, that of the rational and immortal
   spirit. Your thoughts, your affections, your pursuits, your choice,
   will be determined by a regard to things spiritual rather than carnal.
   In a word, "you will walk by faith, and not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7)
   Future, invisible, and in some degree incomprehensible objects, will
   take up your mind. Your faith will act on the being of God, his
   perfections, his providences his precepts, his threatenings, and his
   promises. It will act upon Christ, "whom having not seen," you will
   "love and honor." (1 Pet. 1:8) It will act on that unseen world, which
   it knows to be eternal, and therefore infinitely more worthy of your
   affectionate regard than any of "those things which are seen and are
   temporal." (2 Cor. 4:18)

   6. These are general views of the Christian temper on which I would
   entreat you to examine yourself; and now I would go on to lead you into
   a survey of the grand branches of it, as relating to God, our neighbor,
   and ourselves; and of those qualifications which must attend each of
   these branches; such as sincerity, constancy, tenderness, zeal and
   prudence. And I beg your diligent attention, while I lay before you a
   few hints with regard to each, by which you may judge the better, both
   of your state and your duty.

   7. Examine, then, I entreat you. "the temper of your heart with regard
   to the blessed God." Do you find there a reverential fear, and a
   supreme love and veneration for his incomparable excellencies, a desire
   after him as the highest good, and a cordial gratitude towards him as
   your supreme benefactor? Can you trust his care? Can you credit his
   testimony? Do you desire to pay an unreserved obedience to all that he
   commands, and an humble submission to all the disposals of his
   providence? Do you design his glory as your noblest end, and make it
   the great business of your life to approve yourself to him? Is it your
   governing care to imitate him, and to "serve him in spirit and in
   truth?" (John 4:24)

   8. Faith in Christ I have already described at large, and therefore
   shall say nothing farther, either of that persuasion of his power and
   grace, which is the great foundation of it, or of that acceptance of
   Christ under all his characters, or that surrender of the soul into his
   hands, in which its peculiar and distinguishing nature consists.

   9. If this faith in Christ be sincere, "it will undoubtedly produce a
   love to him:" which will express itself in affectionate thoughts of
   him; in strict fidelity to him; in a careful observation of his charge;
   in a regard to his spirit, to his friends, and to his interests; in a
   reverence to the memorials of his dying love which he has instituted;
   and in an ardent desire after that heavenly world where he dwells, and
   where he will at length "have all his people to dwell with him." (John
   17:2)

   10. I may add, agreeably to the word or God, "that thus believing in
   Christ and loving him, you will also rejoice in him:" in his glorious
   design, and in his complete fitness to accomplish it; in the promises
   of his word, and in the privileges of his people. It will be matter of
   joy to you, that such a Redeemer has appeared in this world of ours;
   and your joy for yourself will be proportionable to the degree of
   clearness with which you discern your interest in him, and relation to
   him.

   11. Let me farther lead you into some reflections on "the temper of
   your heart towards the blessed Spirit." If "we have not the Spirit of
   Christ, we are none of his. (Rom. 8:19) If we are not "led by the
   Spirit of God, we are not the children of God." (Rom. 8:14) You will
   then, if you are a real Christian, desire that you may "be filled with
   the Spirit;" (Eph. 5:18) that you may have every power of your soul
   subject to his authority; that his agency on your heart may be more
   constant, more operative, and more delightful. And to cherish these
   sacred influences, you will often have recourse to serious
   consideration and meditation: you will abstain from those sins which
   tend to grieve him; you will improve the tender seasons, in which he
   seems to breathe upon your soul; you will strive earnestly with God in
   prayer, that you may have him "shed on you still more abundantly
   through Jesus Christ;" (Tit. 3:6) and you will be desirous to fall in
   with the end of his mission, which was to glorify Christ, (John 16:14)
   and to establish his kingdom. "You will desire his influences as the
   Spirit of adoption," to render your acts of worship free and
   affectionate, your obedience vigorous, your sorrow for sin overflowing
   and tender, your resignation meek, and your love ardent: in a word, to
   carry you through life and death with the temper of a child who
   delights in his father, and who longs for his more immediate presence.

   12. Once more, "if you are a Christian indeed, you will be desirous to
   obtain the spirit of courage." Amidst all that humility of soul to
   which you will be formed, you will wish to commence a hero in the cause
   of Christ, opposing, with a rigorous resolution, the strongest efforts
   of the powers of darkness, the inward corruptions of your own heart,
   and all the outward difficulties you may meet with in the way of your
   duty, while in the cause and in the strength or Christ you go on
   "conquering and to conquer."

   13. All these things may be considered as branches of godliness; of
   that godliness which is "profitable unto all things," and hath the
   "promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come." (1
   Tim. 4:8)

   14. Let me now farther lay before you some branches of the Christian
   temper "which relate more immediately to ourselves." And here, if you
   are a Christian indeed, you will undoubtedly prefer the soul to the
   body, and things eternal to those that are temporal. Conscious of the
   dignity and value of your immortal part, you will come to a firm
   resolution to secure its happiness, whatever is to be resigned,
   whatever is to be endured in that view. If you are a real Christian,
   you will be so "clothed with humility." (1 Pet. 5:5) You will have a
   deep sense of your own imperfections, both natural and moral; of the
   short extent of your knowledge; of the uncertainty and weakness of your
   resolutions; and of your continual dependence upon God, and upon almost
   every thing about you. And especially will you be deeply sensible of
   your guilt; the remembrance of which will fill you with shame and
   confusion, even when you have some reason to hope it is forgiven. This
   will forbid all haughtiness and insolence of your behavior to your
   fellow-creatures. It will teach you, under afflictive providences, with
   all holy submission to bear the indignation of the Lord as those that
   know they "have sinned against him." (Mic. 7:9) Again, if you are a
   Christian indeed, "you will labor after purity of soul," and maintain a
   fixed abhorrence of all prohibited sensual indulgence. A recollection
   of past impurities will fill you with shame and grief, and you will
   endeavor for the future to guard your thoughts and desires, as well as
   your words and actions, and to abstain, not only from the commission of
   evil, but "from the" distant "appearance" and probable occasions "of
   it:" (1 Thess. 5:22) as conscious of the perfect holiness of that God
   with whom you converse, and of the "purifying nature of that hope," (1
   John 3:3) which by his Gospel he hath taught you to entertain.

   15. With this is nearly allied "that amiable virtue of temperance"
   which will teach you to guard against such a use of meats and drinks as
   indisposes the body for the service of the soul; or such an indulgence
   in either, as will rob you of that precious jewel, your time, or
   occasion an expense beyond what your circumstances will admit, and
   beyond what will consist with what you owe to the cause of Christ, and
   those liberalities to the poor which your relation and theirs to God
   and each other will require. In short, you will guard against whatever
   has a tendency to increase a sensual disposition against whatever would
   alienate the soul from communion with God, and would diminish its zeal
   and activity in his service.

   16. The divine philosophy of the blessed Jesus will also teach you "a
   contented temper." It will moderate your desires of those worldly
   enjoyments after which many feel such an insatiable thirst, ever
   growing with indulgence and success. You will guard against an
   immoderate care about those things which would lead you into a
   forgetfulness of your heavenly inheritance. If Providence disappoint
   your undertakings, you will submit; if others be more prosperous you
   will not envy them, but rather will be thankful for what God is pleased
   to bestow upon them, as well as for what he gives you. No unlawful
   methods will be used to alter your present condition; and whatever it
   is, you will endeavor to make the best of it, remembering it is what
   infinite wisdom and goodness have appointed you, and that it is beyond
   all comparison better than you have deserved; yea, that the very
   deficiencies and inconveniences of it may conduce to the improvement of
   your future and complete happiness.

   17. With contentment, if you are a disciple of Christ, "you will join
   patience too," and "in patience will possess your soul." (Luke 21:19)
   You cannot indeed be quite insensible either of afflictions or
   injuries; but your mind will be calm and composed under them, and
   steady in the prosecution of proper duty, though afflictions press, and
   though your hopes, your dearest hopes and prospects be delayed.
   Patience will prevent hasty and rash conclusions, and fortify you
   against seeking irregular methods of relief; disposing you, in the mean
   time, till God shall be pleased to appear for you, to go on steadily in
   the way of your duty; "committing yourself to him in well-doing." (1
   Pet. 4:19) You will also be careful that "patience may have its perfect
   work," (Jam. 1:4) and prevail in proportion to those circumstances
   which demand its peculiar exercise. For instance, when the successions
   of evil are long and various, so that "deep calls to deep," and "all
   God's waves and billows seem to be going over you," one after another;
   (Psa. 42:7) when God touches you in the most tender part; when the
   reasons of his conduct to you are quite unaccountable; when your
   natural spirits are weak and decayed; when unlawful methods of redress
   seem near and easy; still your reverence for the will of your heavenly
   Father will carry it against all, and keep you waiting quietly for
   deliverance in his own time and way.

   18. I have thus led you into a brief review of the Christian temper,
   with respect to God and ourselves: permit me now to add, "that the
   Gospel will teach you another set of very important lessons with
   respect to your fellow-creatures." They all are summed up in this,
   "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;" (Rom. 13:9) and whatsoever
   thou wouldst (that is, whatsoever thou couldst, in an exchange of
   circumstances, fairly and reasonably desire) that others should do unto
   thee, do thou likewise the same unto them." (Matt. 7:12) The religion
   of the blessed Jesus, when it triumphs in your soul, will conquer the
   predominancy of an irregular self-love, and will teach you candidly and
   tenderly to look upon your neighbor as another self. As you are
   sensible of your own rights, you will be sensible of his: as you
   support your own character you will support his. You will desire his
   welfare, and be ready to relieve his necessity, as you would have your
   own consulted by another. You will put the kindest construction upon
   his most dubious words and actions. You will take pleasure in his
   happiness; you will feel his distress, in some measure, as your own.
   And most happy will you be, when this obvious rule is familiar to your
   mind, when this golden law is written upon your heart, and when it is
   habitually and impartially consulted by you upon every occasion,
   whether great or small.

   19. The Gospel will also teach you "to put on meekness," (Col. 3:12)
   not only with respect to God, submitting to the authority of his word,
   and the disposal of his providence, as was urged before; but also with
   regard to your brethren of mankind. Its gentle instructions will form
   you to calmness of temper under injuries and provocations, so that you
   may not be angry without, or beyond just cause. It will engage you to
   guard your words, lest you provoke and exasperate those you should
   rather study by love to gain, and by tenderness to heal. Meekness will
   render you slow in using any rough and violent methods, if they can by
   any means be lawfully avoided; and ready to admit, and even to propose
   a reconciliation, after they have been entered into, if there may yet
   be hope of succeeding. So far as this branch of the Christian temper
   prevails in your heart, you will take care to avoid every thing which
   might give unnecessary offence to others; you will behave you yourself
   in a modest manner, according to your station; and it will work, both
   with regard to superiors and inferiors, teaching you duly to honor the
   one, and not to overbear or oppress, to grieve or insult the other. And
   in religion itself; it will restrain all immoderate sallies and harsh
   censure; and will command down "that wrath of man, which, instead of
   working, so often opposes the righteousness of God," (Jam. 1:20) and
   shames and wounds that good badge, in which it is boisterously and
   furiously engaged.

   20. With this is naturally connected "a peaceful disposition." If you
   are a Christian indeed, you will have such a value and esteem for
   peace, as to endeavor to obtain, and to preserve it, "as much as lieth
   in you," (Rom. 12:18) as much as you fairly and honorably can. This
   will have such an influence upon your conduct, as to make you not only
   cautious of giving offence, and slow in taking it, but earnestly
   desirous to regain peace as soon as may be, when it is in any measure
   broken, that the wound may be healed while it is green, and before it
   begins to rankle and fester. And more especially, this disposition will
   engage you "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,"
   (Eph. 4:3) "with all that in every very place call on the name of our
   Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Cor. 1:2) whom if you truly love, you will also
   love all those whom you have reason to believe to he his disciples and
   servants.

   21. If you be yourselves indeed of that number, "you will also put on
   bowels of mercy." (Col. 3:12) the mercies of God, and those of the
   blessed Redeemer, will work on your heart, to mould it to sentiments of
   compassion and generosity, so that you will feel the wants and sorrows
   of others; you will desire to relieve their necessities; and as you
   have an opportunity, you will do good, both to their bodies and their
   souls; expressing your kind affections in suitable actions, which may
   both evidence their sincerity and render them effectual

   22. As a Christian, "you will also maintain truth inviolable," not only
   in your solemn testimonies, when confirmed by an oath, but likewise in
   common conversation. You will remember, too, that your promises bring
   an obligation upon you, which you are by no means at liberty to break
   through. On the whole, you will be careful to keep a strict
   correspondence between your words and your actions, in such a manner as
   becomes a servant of the God of truth.

   23. Once more, as, amidst the strictest care to observe all the divine
   precepts, you will still find many imperfections on account of which
   you will be obliged to pray, that "God would not enter into strict
   judgment with you," as well knowing "that in his sight you cannot be
   justified," (Psa. 143:2) you will be careful not to judge others "in
   such a manner as should awaken the severity of his judgment against
   yourself.'" (Matt. 7:1,2) You will not, therefore. judge them
   impertinently, when you have nothing to do with their actions; nor
   rashly, without inquiring into circumstances; nor partially, without
   weighing them attentively and fairly; nor uncharitably. putting the
   worst construction upon things in their own nature dubious; deciding
   upon intentions as evil, farther than they certainly appear to be so;
   pronouncing on the state of men, or on the whole of their character,
   from any particular action, and involving the innocent with the guilty.
   There is a moderation contrary to all these extremes, which the Gospel
   recommends; and if you receive the Gospel in good earnest into your
   heart, it will lay the ax to the root of such evils as these.

   24. Having thus briefly illustrated the principal branches of the
   Christian temper and character, I shall conclude the representation.
   with reminding you of "some general qualifications which must be
   mingled with all, and give a tincture to each of them; such as
   sincerity, constancy, tenderness, zeal, and prudence."

   25. Always remember, that "sincerity is the very soul of true
   religion." A single intention to please God, and to approve ourselves
   to him, must animate and govern all that we do in it. Under the
   influence of this principle you will impartially inquire into every
   intimation of duty, and apply to the practice of it so far as it is
   known to you. Your heart will be engaged in all you do. Your conduct,
   in private and in secret, will be agreeable to your most public
   behavior. A sense of the Divine authority will teach you "to esteem all
   God's precepts concerning all things to be right, and to hate every
   false way." (Psa. 119:128)

   26. Thus are you, "in simplicity and godly sincerity to have your
   conversation in the world." (2 Cor. 1:12) And "you are also to charge
   it upon your soul to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in
   the work of the Lord.'" (1 Cor. 15:58) There must not only be some
   sudden fits and starts of devotion, or of something which looks like
   it, but religion must be an habitual and permanent thing. There must be
   a purpose to adhere to it at all times. It must be made the stated and
   ordinary business of life. Deliberate and presumptuous sins must be
   carefully avoided; a guard must be maintained against the common
   infirmities of life; and falls of one kind or of another must be matter
   of proportionable humiliation before God, and must occasion renewed
   resolution for his service. And thus you are to go on to the end of
   your life, not discouraged by the length and difficulty of the way, nor
   allured on the one hand, or terrified on the other, by all the various
   temptations which may surround and assault you. Your soul must be fixed
   on this basis, and you are still to behave yourself as one who knows he
   serves an unchangeable God, and who expects from him "a kingdom which
   cannot be moved." (Heb. 12:28)

   27. Again, so far as the Gospel prevails in your heart, "your spirit
   will be tender, and the stone will be transformed into flesh." You will
   desire that your apprehensions of divine things may be quick, your
   affections ready to take proper impressions, your conscience always
   easily touched, and, on the whole, your resolutions pliant to the
   divine authority, and cordially willing to be, and to do whatever God
   shall appoint. You will have a tender regard to the word of God, a
   tender caution against sin, a tender guard against the snares of
   prosperity, a tender submission to God's afflicting hand: in a word,
   you will be tender wherever the divine honor is concerned; and careful,
   neither to do anything yourself; nor to allow any thing in another, so
   far as you can influence, by which God should be offended, or religion
   reproached.

   28. Nay, more than all this, you will, so far as true Christianity
   governs in your mind, "exert a holy zeal in the service of your
   Redeemer and your Father." You will be "zealously affected in every
   good thing," (Gal. 4:18) in proportion to its apprehended goodness and
   importance. You will be zealous, especially, to correct what is
   irregular in yourself; and to act to the utmost of your ability for the
   cause of God. Nor will you be able to look with an indifferent eye on
   the conduct of others in this view; but, so far as charity, meekness,
   aid prudence will admit, you will testify your disapprobation of every
   thing in it which is dishonorable to God and injurious to men. And you
   will labor, not only to reclaim men from such courses, but to engage
   them to religion, and quicken them in it.

   29. And once more, you will desire "to use the prudence which God bath
   given you," in judging what is, in present circumstances, your duty to
   God, your neighbor, and yourself; what will be, on the whole, the most
   acceptable manner of discharging it, and how far it may be most
   advantageously pursued; as remembering that he is indeed the wisest and
   the happiest man, who, by constant attention of thought, discovers the
   greatest opportunities of doing good, and with ardent and animated
   resolution breaks through every opposition, that he may improve those
   opportunities.

   30. This is such a view of the Christian temper as could conveniently
   be thrown within such narrow limits; and I hope it may assist many in
   the great and important work of self-examination. Let your own
   conscience answer, how far you have already attained it, and how far
   you desire it; and let the principal topics here touched upon be fixed
   in your memory and in your heart, that you may be mentioning them
   before God in your daily addresses to the throne of grace, in order to
   receive from him all necessary assistance for bringing them into
   practice.

   A Prayer, chiefly in Scripture Language, in which the several Branches
   of the Christian temper are more briefly enumerated in the order laid
   down above.

   "Blessed God, I humbly adore thee as the great Father of lights, and
   the Giver of every good and every perfect gift. (Jam. 1:17) From thee,
   therefore, I seek every blessing, and especially those which may lead
   me to thyself, and prepare me for the eternal enjoyment of thee. I
   adore thee as the God who searches the hearts and tries the reins of
   the children of men. (Jer. 17:10) Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psa. 139:23,24) May I know what
   manner of spirit I am of; (Luke 9:55) and be preserved from mistaking,
   where the error might be infinitely fatal!

   "May I, O Lord, be renewed in the spirit of my mind. (Eph. 4:24) A new
   heart do thou give me, and a new spirit do thou put within me. (Ezek.
   34:26) Make me partaker of divine nature; (2 Pet. 1:4) and as he who
   hath called me is holy, may I be holy in all manner of conversation. (1
   Pet. 1:15) May the same mind be in me which was also in Christ Jesus;
   (Phil. 2:5) may I so walk even as he walked. (1 John 2:6) Deliver me
   from being carnally-minded, which is death; and make me
   spiritually-minded, since that is life and peace. (Rom. 8:6) And may I,
   while I pass through this world of sense, walk by faith and not by
   sight (2 Cor. 5:7) and be strong in faith, giving glory to God. (Rom.
   4:20)

   "May thy grace, O Lord, which hath appeared unto all men, and appeared
   to me with such glorious evidence and lustre, effectually teach me to
   deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,
   and godly. (Tit. 2:11,12) Work in my heart that godliness which is
   profitable unto all things; (1 Tim. 4:8) and teach me by the influence
   of thy blessed Spirit, to love thee, the Lord my God, with all my
   heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my
   strength. (Mark 12:30) May I yield myself unto thee, as alive from the
   dead, (Rom. 6:13) and present my body a living sacrifice, holy and
   acceptable in thy sight, which is my most reasonable service! (Rom.
   12:1) May I entertain the most faithful and affectionate regard to the
   blessed Jesus, thine incarnate Son, the brightness of thy glory, and
   the express image of thy person. (Heb. 1:3) Though I have not seen him,
   may I love him; and in him, though now I see him not, yet believing,
   may I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, (1 Pet. 1:8) and
   may the life which I live in the flesh be daily by the faith of the Son
   of God. (Gal. 2:20) May I be filled with the Spirit, (Eph. 5:18) and
   may I be led by it; (Rom. 8:14) and so may it be evident to others, and
   especially to my own soul, that I am a child of God, and an heir of
   glory. May I not receive the spirit of bondage unto fear, but the
   spirit of adoption, whereby I may be enabled to cry, Abba, Father.
   (Rom. 8:15) May he work in me, as the spirit of love, and of power, and
   of a sound mind, (2 Tim. 1:17) that so I may add to my faith virtue. (2
   Pet. 1:5) May I be strong, and very courageous. (Josh. 1:7) and quit
   myself like a man, (1 Cor. 14:13) and like a Christian, in the work to
   which I am called, and in that warfare which I had in view when I
   listed under the banner of the great Captain of my salvation.

   "Teach me, O Lord, seriously to consider the nature of my own soul, and
   to set a suitable value upon it. May I labor, not only or chiefly, for
   the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth to eternal life.
   (John 6:27) May I humble myself under thy mighty hand, and be clothed
   with humility, (1 Pet. 5:5,6) decked with the ornament of a meek and
   quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price. (1 Pet. 3:4)
   May I be pure in heart, that I may see God, (Matt. 5:8) mortifying my
   members which are on the earth, (Col. 3:5) so that if a right eye
   offend me, I may pluck it out, and if a right hand offend me, I may cut
   it off. (Matt. 5:29,30) May I be temperate in all things, (1 Cor. 9:25)
   content with such things as I have, (Heb. 13:5) and instructed to be so
   in whatever state I am. (Phil. 4:11) May patience also have its perfect
   work in me, that I may be in that respect complete, and wanting
   nothing. (Jam. 1:4)

   "Form me, O Lord, I beseech thee, to a proper temper toward my
   fellow-creatures! May I love my neighbor as myself, (Gal. 5:14) and
   whatsoever I would that others should do unto me, may I also do the
   same unto them. (Matt. 7:12) May I put on meekness under the greatest
   injuries and provocations, (Col. 3:12) and, if it be possible, as much
   as lieth in me, may I live peaceably with all men. (Rom. 12:18) May I
   be merciful, as my Father in heaven is merciful. (Luke 6:36) May I
   speak the truth from my heart; (Psa. 15:2) and may I speak it in love,
   (Eph. 4:15) guarding against every instance of a censorious and
   malignant disposition; and taking care not to judge severely, as I
   would not be judged with the severity which thou, Lord, knowest, and
   which mine own conscience knows, I should not be able to support.

   "I entreat thee, O Lord, to work in me all those qualifications of the
   Christian temper which may render it peculiarly acceptable to thee, and
   may prove ornamental to my profession in the world. Renew, I beseech
   thee, a right spirit within me, (Psa. 51:10) make me an Israelite
   indeed, in whom there is no allowed guile. (John 1:47) And while I
   feast on Christ, as my passover sacrificed for me, may I keep the feast
   with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor. 5:7,8) Make
   me, I beseech thee, O thou Almighty and unchangeable God! steadfast and
   immovable, always abounding in thy work, as knowing that my labor in
   the Lord shall not be finally in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58) May my heart be
   tender, (2 Kings 17:19) easily impressed with thy word and providence,
   touched with an affectionate concern for thy glory, and sensible of
   every impulse of thy Spirit. May I be zealous for my God, (Num. 25:13)
   with a zeal according to knowledge and charity, (1 Cor. 14:14) and
   teach me in thy service to join the wisdom of the serpent with the
   boldness of the lion and the innocence of the dove. (Matt. 10:16) Thus
   render me, by thy grace, a shining image of my dear Redeemer; and at
   length bring me to wear the bright resemblance of his holiness and his
   glory, in that world where he dwells; that I may ascribe everlasting
   honors to him, and to thee, O thou Father of mercies, whose invaluable
   gift he is, and to thine Holy Spirit, through whose gracious influence,
   I would humbly hope, I may call thee my Father, and Jesus my Savior!
   Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XV.

  THE READER REMINDED HOW MUCH HE NEEDS THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO
  FORM HIM TO THE TEMPER DESCRIBED ABOVE, AND WHAT ENCOURAGEMENT HE HAS TO
  EXPECT IT.

   1. Forward resolutions may prove ineffectual.--2. Yet religion is not
   to be given up in despair, but Divine grace to be sought.--3. A general
   view of its reality and necessity, from reason.--4. And Scripture.--5.
   The spirit to be sought as the spirit of Christ.--6. And in that view
   the great strength of the soul.--7. The encouragement there is to hope
   for the communication of it.--8. A concluding exhortation to pray for
   it. And an humble address to God pursuant to that exhortation.

   I HAVE now laid before you a plan of that temper and character which
   the Gospel requires, and which, if you are a true Christian, you will
   desire and pursue. Surely there is, in the very description of it,
   something which must powerfully strike every mind which has any taste
   for what is truly beautiful and excellent. And I question not, but you,
   my dear render, will feel some impression of it upon your heart. You
   will immediately form some lively purpose of endeavoring after it; and
   perhaps you may imagine, you shall certainly and quickly attain to it.
   You see how reasonable it is, and what desirable consequences
   necessarily attend it, and the aspect which it bears on your present
   enjoyment and your future happiness; and therefore are determined you
   will act accordingly. But give me leave seriously to remind you how
   many there have been, (would to God that several such instances had not
   happened within the compass of my own personal observation!) whose
   goodness hath been "like a morning cloud and the early dew," which soon
   "passeth away." (Hos. 6:4) There is not room indeed absolutely to apply
   the words of Joshua, taken in the most rigorous sense, when he said to
   Israel, that he might humble their too hasty and sanguine resolutions,
   "You cannot serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:12) But I will venture to say,
   you cannot easily do it. Alas! you know not the difficulties you have
   to break through; you know not the temptations which Satan will throw
   in your way; you know not how importunate your vain and sinful
   companions will be, to draw you back into the snare you may attempt to
   break; and, above all, you know not the subtle artifices which your own
   corruptions will practice upon you in order to recover their dominion
   over you. You think the views you now have of things will be lasting,
   because the principles and objects to which they refer are so: but
   perhaps tomorrow may undeceive you, or rather deceive you anew:
   tomorrow may present some trifle in a new dress, which shall amuse you
   into a forgetfulness of all this. Nay, perhaps before you lie down on
   your bed, the impressions you now feel may wear off. The corrupt
   desires of your own heart, now perhaps a little charmed down, and lying
   as if they were dead, may spring up again with new violence, as if they
   had slept only to recruit their vigor; and if you are not supported by
   a better strength than your own, this struggle for liberty will only
   make your future chains the heavier, the more shameful, and the more
   fatal.

   2. What then is to be done? Is the convinced sinner to lie down in
   despair? to say, "I am a helpless captive, and by exerting myself with
   violence, may break my limbs sooner than my bonds, and increase the
   evil I would remove?" God forbid! You cannot, I am persuaded, be so
   little acquainted with Christianity, as not to know "that the doctrine
   of divine assistance bears a very considerable part in it." You have
   often, I doubt not, read of "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
   Jesus, as making us free from the law of sin and death," (Rom. 8:2) and
   have been told, "that through the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the
   body." (Rom. 8:13) You have read of "doing all things through Christ,
   who strengtheneth us," (Phil. 4:15) whose grace "is sufficient for us,"
   and whose "strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) Permit
   me, therefore, flow to call your attention to this, as a truth of the
   clearest evidence, and of the utmost importance.

   3. Reason, indeed, as well as the whole tenor of Scripture, agrees with
   this.*.' The whole created world has a necessary dependence on God:
   from him ever, the knowledge of "natural things" is derived, (Psa.
   94:10) and "skill in them is to be ascribed to him." (Exod. 31:3-6)
   Much more loudly does so great and excellent a work, as the new-forming
   the human mind, bespeak its divine Author. When you consider how
   various the branches of the Christian temper are, and how contrary many
   of them also are to that temper, which hath prevailed in your heart,
   and governed your life in time past, you must really see divine
   influences as necessary to produce and nourish them, as the influences
   of the sun and rain are to call up the variety of plants and flowers,
   and grains and fruits, by which the earth is adorned, and our life
   supported. You will be yet more sensible of this, if you reflect on the
   violent opposition which this happy work must expect to meet with; of
   which I shall presently warn you more largely, and which if you have
   not already experienced, it must be because you have but very lately
   begun to think of religion.

   4. Accordingly, if you give yourself leave to consult Scripture on this
   head, (and if you would live like a Christian, you must be consulting
   it every day, and forming your notions and actions by it) you will see
   that the whole tenor of it teaches that dependence upon God which I am
   now recommending. You will particularly see, that the production of
   religion in the soul is matter of divine promise; that when it has been
   effected, Scripture ascribes it to a divine agency; and that the
   increase of grace and piety in the heart of those who are truly
   regenerate, is also spoken of as the word of God, who begins and
   "carries it on until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:6)

   5. Inconsequence of all these views, lay it down to yourself as a most
   certain principle, that no attempt in religion is to be made in your
   own strength. If you forget this, and God purposes finally to save you,
   he will humble you by repeated disappointments, till he teach you
   better. You will be ashamed of one scheme and effort, and of another,
   till you settle upon the true basis. He will also probably show you,
   not only in the general, that your strength is to be derived from
   heaven, but particularly that it is the office of the blessed Spirit to
   purify the heart, and to invigorate holy resolutions; and also that, in
   all these operations, he is to be considered as the Spirit of Christ,
   working under his direction, and as a vital communication from him
   under the character of the great Head of the Church, the grand
   Treasurer and Dispenser of these holy and beneficial influences. On
   which account it is called "the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,"
   (Phil. 1:19) who is "exalted at the right hand" of the Father, "to give
   repentance and remission of sins," (Acts 5:31) "in whose grace alone we
   can be strong," (2 Tim. 2:1) and "of whose fullness we receive even
   grace for grace." (John 1:16)

   6. Resolve, therefore, strenuously for the service of God, and for the
   care of your soul: but "resolve modestly and humbly." Even "the youths
   shall faint and be weary, and the young men utterly fall; but they who
   wait on the Lord" are the persons who "renew their strength." (Isai.
   40:30,31) When a soul is almost afraid to declare, in the presence of
   the Lord, that it will not do this or that, which has formerly offended
   him; when it is afraid absolutely to promise that it will perform this
   or that duty with vigor and constancy, but only expresses its humble
   and earnest desire that it may by grace be enabled to avoid the one or
   pursue the other; then, so far as my observation and experience have
   reached, it is in the best way to learn the happy art of conquering
   temptation, and of discharging duty.

   7. On the other hand, let not your dependence upon this Spirit, and
   your sense of your own weakness and insufficiency for any thing
   spiritually good, without his continual aid, discourage you from
   devoting yourself to God, and engaging in a religious life, considering
   "what abundant reason you have to hope that these gracious influences
   will be communicated to you." The light of nature, at the same time
   that it teaches the need we have of help from God in a virtuous course,
   may lead us to conclude that so benevolent a Being, who bestows on the
   most unworthy and careless part of mankind so many blessings, will take
   a peculiar pleasure in communicating to such as humbly ask them, those
   gracious assistances which may form their deathless souls into his own
   resemblance, and fit them for that happiness to which their rational
   nature is suited, and for which it was in its first constitution
   intended. The word of God will much more abundantly confirm such a
   hope. You there hear divine wisdom crying even to those who bad long
   trifled with her instructions, "Turn ye at my reproof, and I will pour
   out my Spirit upon you" (Prov 1:23) You hear the apostle saying, "Let
   us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
   find grace to help in every time of need." (Heb. 4:16) Yea, and you
   there hear our Lord himself arguing in this sweet and convincing
   manner: "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
   children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit
   unto them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13) This gift and promise of the
   Spirit was given unto Christ when he ascended up on high, in trust for
   all his true disciples. God hath "shed it abroad abundantly upon us in
   him." (Tit. 3:6) And I may add, that the very desire you feel after the
   farther communication of the Spirit, is the result of the fruits of it
   already given; so that you may, with peculiar propriety, interpret it
   as a special call "to open your mouth wide, that he may fill it." (Psa.
   81:10) You thirst, and therefore you may cheerfully plead, that Jesus
   has "invited you to come unto him and drink;" with a promise not only
   that you shall drink if you come unto him, but also that "out of your
   belly shall flow," as it were, "rivers of living water," for the
   edification and refreshment of others. (John 7:37,38)

   8. Go forth, therefore, with humble cheerfulness, to the prosecution of
   all the duties of the Christian life. Go and prosper "in the strength
   of the Lord, making mention of his righteousness, and of his only."
   (Psa. 71:16) And as a token of farther communication, may your heart be
   quickened to the most earnest desire after the blessings I have been
   now recommending to your pursuit!" May you be stirred up to pour out
   your soul before God in such holy breathings as these! and may they he
   your daily language in his gracious presence!

   An humble Supplication for the Influences of Divine Grace, to form and
   strengthen Religion in the Soul.

   "Blessed God! I sincerely acknowledge before thee my own weakness and
   insufficiency for any thing that is spiritually good. I have
   experienced it a thousand times; and yet my foolish heart would again
   trust itself,' (Prov. 28:26) and form resolutions in its won strength.
   But let this be the first fruits of thy gracious influence upon it, to
   bring it to an humble distrust of itself, and to a repose on thee!

   "Abundantly do I rejoice, O Lord, in the kind assurances which thou
   givest me of thy readiness to bestow libera1ly and richly so great a
   benefit. I do therefore, according to thy condescending invitation,
   come with boldness to the throne of grace, that I may find grace to
   help in every time of need. (Heb. 4:16) I mean not, O Lord God, to turn
   thy grace into wantonness or perverseness (Jude, ver. 4) or to make my
   weakness an excuse for negligence and sloth. I confess that thou hast
   already given me more strength than I have used; and I charge it upon
   myself, and not on thee, that I have not long since received still more
   abundant supplies. I desire for the future to be found diligent in the
   use of all appointed means; in the neglect of which I well know that
   petitions like these would be a profane mockery, and might much more
   probably provoke thee to take away what I have, than prevail upon thee
   to impart more. But firmly resolving to exert myself to the utmost, I
   earnestly entreat the communication of thy grace, that I may be enabled
   to fulfil that resolution.

   "Be surety, O Lord! unto thy servant for good. (Psa. 119:122) Be
   pleased to shed abroad thy sanctifying influences on my soul, to form
   me for every duty thou requirest. Implant, I beseech thee; every grace
   and virtue deep in my heart, and maintain the happy temper in the midst
   of those assaults from within and from without, to which I am
   continually liable while I am still in this world and carry about with
   me so many infirmities. Fill my breast, I beseech thee, with good
   affections towards thee, my God, and towards my fellow-creatures.
   Remind me always of thy presence, and may I remember that every secret
   sentiment of my soul is open to thee. May I therefore guard against the
   first risings of sin, and the first approaches to it; and that Satan
   may not find room for his evil suggestions, I earnestly beg that thou,
   Lord, wouldst fill my heart with thine Holy Spirit, and take up thy
   residence there. Dwell in me, and walk with me, (2 Cor 6:16) and let my
   body be the temple of the Holy Ghost. (1 Cor. 6:19)

   "May I be so joined to Christ Jesus my Lord, as to be one spirit with
   him, (1 Cor. 6:17) and feel His invigorating influences continually
   bearing me on, superior to every temptation, and to every corruption;
   that while the youths shall faint and he weary, and the young men
   utterly fall; I may so wait upon the Lord as to renew my strength,
   (Isai. 40:30,31) and may go on from one degree of faith, and love, and
   zeal, and holiness, to another, till I appear perfect before thee in
   Zion; (Psa. 84:7) to drink in immortal vigor and joy from thee, as the
   everlasting fountain of both, through Jesus Christ my Lord, in whom I
   have righteousness and strength, (Isai. 45:24) and to whom I desire
   ever to ascribe the praise of all my improvements in both. Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XVI.

  THE CHRISTIAN CONVERT WARNED OF, AND ANIMATED AGAINST THOSE DISCOURAGEMENTS
  WHICH HE MUST EXPECT TO MEET WHEN ENTERING ON A RELIGIOUS COURSE.

   1. Christ has instructed his disciples to expect opposition and
   difficulties in the way to heaven.--2. Therefore a more particular view
   of them is taken, as arising from the remainder of indwelling sin.--3.
   From the world, and especially from former sinful companions.--4. From
   the temptations and suggest ions of Satan.--5, 6. The Christian is
   animated and encouraged, by various considerations, to oppose them;
   particularly by the presence of God; the aids of Christ; the example of
   others, who, though feeble, have conquered; and the crown of glory to
   be expected.--7. Therefore, though apostacy be infinitely fatal, the
   Christian may press on cheerfully. Accordingly the soul, alarmed by
   these view; is represented as committing itself to God, in the prayer
   which concludes the chapter.

   1. WITH the utmost propriety has our Divine Master required us "to
   strive to enter in at the strait gate," (Luke 13:23) thereby
   intimating, not only that the passage is narrow, but that it is beset
   with enemies; beset on the right hand and on the left with enemies
   cunning and formidable. And be assured, O reader! that whatever your
   circumstances in life are, you must meet and: encounter them. It will
   therefore be your prudence to survey them attentively in your own
   reflections, that you may see what you are to expect; and may consider
   in what armor it is necessary you shall be clothed, and with what
   weapons you must be furnished to manage the combat. You have often
   heard them marshalled, as it were, under three great leaders, the
   flesh, the world, and the devil; and; according to this distribution, I
   would call you to consider the forces of each, as setting themselves in
   array against you. O that you may be excited "to take to yourself the
   whole armor of God," (Eph. 6:13) and to "acquit yourself like a man,"
   and a Christian! (1 Cor. 16:13)

   2. Let your conscience answer, whether do you not carry about with you
   a corrupt and degenerate nature? You will, I doubt not, feel its
   effects. You will feel, in the language of the apostle, who speaks of
   it as the case of Christians themselves, "the flesh lusting against the
   spirit, so that you will not be able," in all instances, "to do the
   things that you would." (Gal. 5:17) You brought irregular propensities
   into the world along with you; and you have so often indulged those
   sinful inclinations, that you have greatly increased their strength;
   and you will find, in consequence of it, that these habits cannot be
   broken through without great difficulty. You will, no doubt, often
   recollect the strong figures in which the prophet describes a case like
   yours; and you will own that it is justly represented by that "of an
   Ethiopian changing his skin, and the leopard his spots." (Jer. 13:23)
   It is indeed possible, that, at first, you may find such an edge and
   eagerness upon your spirits, as may lead you to imagine that all
   opposition will immediately fall before you. But, alas! I fear that in
   a little time these enemies, which seemed to be slain at your feet,
   will revive, and recover their weapons, and renew the assault in one
   form or another. And perhaps your most painful combats may be with such
   as you had thought most easy to be vanquished; and your greatest danger
   may arise from some of those enemies from whom you apprehended the
   least, particularly from pride and from indolence of spirit; from a
   secret alienation or heart from God, and from an indisposition for
   conversing with him, through an immoderate attachment to "things seen
   and temporal," which may be oftentimes exceedingly dangerous to your
   salvation, though perhaps they be not absolutely and universally
   prohibited. In a thousand of these instances you must learn to deny
   yourself, or you "cannot be Christ's disciple." (Matt. 16:24)

   3. You must also lay your account to find great difficulties from the
   world, from its manners, customs, and examples. The things of the world
   will hinder you one way, and the men of the world another. Perhaps you
   may meet with much less assistance in religion than you are now ready
   to expect from good men. The present generation of them is generally so
   cautious to avoid every thing that looks like ostentation, and there
   seems something so insupportably dreadful in the charge of enthusiasm,
   that you will find most of your Christian brethren studying to conceal
   their virtue and their piety, much more than others study to conceal
   their vices and their profaneness. But while, unless your situation be
   singularly happy, you meet with very little aid one way, you will, no
   doubt, find great opposition another. The enemies of religion will be
   bold and active in their assaults, while many any or its friends seem
   unconcerned; and one sinner will probably exert himself more to corrupt
   you, than ten Christians to secure and save you. They who have been
   once your companions in sin, will try a thousand artful methods to
   allure you back again to their forsaken society: some of them perhaps
   with an appearance of tender fondness, and many more by the almost
   irresistible art of ridicule: that boasted test of right and wrong, as
   it has been wantonly called, will be tried upon you, perhaps without
   any regard to decency, or even to common humanity. You will be derided
   and insulted. by those whose esteem and affection you naturally desire;
   and may find much more proprietary than you imagine, in that expression
   of the apostle, "the trial of cruel mockings," (Heb. 9:36) which some
   fear more than either sword or flames. This persecution of the tongue
   you must expect to go through, and perhaps may be branded as a lunatic,
   for no other cause than that you now begin to exercise your reason to
   purpose, and will not join with those that are destroying their own
   souls in their wild career of folly and madness.

   4. And it is not at all improbable, that in the meantime Satan may be
   doing his utmost to discourage and distress you. He will, no doubt,
   raise in your imagination the most tempting idea of the gratifications,
   the indulgences, and the companions you are obliged to forsake; and
   give you the most discouraging and terrifying view of the difficulties,
   severities, and dangers, which are, as he will persuade you,
   inseparable from religion. He will not fail to represent God himself,
   the fountain of goodness and happiness, as a hard Master, whom it is
   impossible to please. He will perhaps fill you with the most
   distressful fears, and with cruel and insolent malice, glory over you
   as his slave, when he knows you are the Lord's freeman. At one time he
   will study, by his vile suggestions, to interrupt you in your duties,
   as if they gave him an additional power over you. At another time he
   will endeavor to weary you of your devotion, by influencing you to
   prolong it to an immoderate and tedious length, lest his power should
   be exerted upon you when it ceases. In short, this practiced deceiver
   has artifices which it would require whole volumes to display, with
   particular cautions against each. And he will follow you with malicious
   arts and pursuits to the very end of your pilgrimage, and will leave no
   method unattempted which may be likely to weaken your hands and to
   sadden your heart, that if through the gracious interposition of God,
   he cannot prevent your final happiness, he may at least impair your
   peace and your usefulness as you are passing to it.

   5. This is what the people of God feel, and what you will feel in some
   degree or other, if you have your lot and portion among them. But,
   after all, be not discouraged: Christ is the "Captain of your
   salvation." (Heb. 2:10) It is delightful to consider him under this
   view. When we take a survey of these host of enemies, we may lift up
   our head amidst them all, and say, "More and greater is he that is with
   us, than all those that are against us." (2 Kings 6:16) "Trust in the
   Lord, and you will he like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but
   abideth for ever." (Psa. 125:1) When your enemies press upon you,
   remember you are to "fight in the presence of God." (Zech. 10:5)
   Endeavor, therefore, to act a gallant and a resolute part; endeavor to
   "resist them steadfast in the faith." (1 Pet. 5:9) Remember, "He can
   give power to the faint, and increase strength to them that have no
   might." (Isai. 40:29) He hath done it in ten thousand instances
   already, and he will do it in ten thousand more. How many striplings
   have conquered their gigantic foes in all their most formidable armor,
   when they have gone forth against them; though but as it were "with a
   staff and a sling, in the name of the Lord God of Israel!" (1 Sam.
   17:40-45) How many women and children have trodden down the force of
   the enemy, "and out of weakness have been made strong!" (Heb. 11:34)

   6. Amidst all the opposition of earth and hell, look upward and look
   forward, and you will feel your heart animated by the view. Your
   General is near; he is near to aid you, he is near to reward you. When
   you feel the temptation press the hardest, think of him who endured
   even the cross itself for your rescue. View the fortitude of your
   Divine Leader, and endeavor to march on in his steps. Hearken to his
   voice, for he proclaims it aloud, "Behold, I come quickly, and my
   reward is with me." (Rev. 22:12) "Be thou faithful unto death, and I
   will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2:10) And, oh! how bright will
   it shine! and how long will its lustre last! When the gems that adorn
   the crowns of monarchs, and pass (instructive thought!) from one royal
   head to another through succeeding centuries, are melted down in the
   last flame, it is "a crown of glory which fadeth not away." (1 Pet.
   5:4)

   7. It is indeed true, "that such as turn aside to crooked paths" will
   be "led forth with the workers of iniquity," to that terrible execution
   which divine justice is preparing for them, (Psa. 125:5) and it would
   have been "better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
   than, after having known it, to turn aside from the holy commandment."
   (2 Pet 2:21) But I would, by divine grace, "hope better things of you."
   (Heb. 6:9) And I make it my hearty prayer for you, my reader, that you
   may be "kept by the mighty power of God," kept, as in a garrison on all
   sides fortified in the securest manner, "through faith, unto
   salvation."

   The Soul, alarmed by a sense of these difficulties, committing itself
   to Divine Protection.

   "Blessed God! it is to thine Almighty power that I flee. Behold me
   surrounded with difficulties and dangers, and stretch out thine
   omnipotent arm to save me, O thou that savest by thy right hand them
   that put their trust in thee, from those that rise up against them.'
   (Psa. 17:7) this day do I solemnly put myself under thy protection:
   exert thy power in my favor, and permit me to make the shadow of thy
   wings my refuge.' (Psa. 57:1) Let thy grace be sufficient for me,' and
   thy strength be made perfect in my weakness.' (2 Cor. 12:9) I dare not
   say, I will never forsake thee, I will never deny thee,' (Mark 14:31)
   but I hope! can truly say, O Lord, I would not do it; and according to
   my present apprehension and purpose, death would appear to me much less
   terrible, than in any willful and deliberate instance to offend thee. O
   root out those corruptions from my heart, which in an hour of pressing
   temptation might incline me to view things in a different light, and so
   might betray me into the hands of the enemy! Strengthen my faith, O
   Lord, and encourage my hope! Inspire me with heroic resolution in
   opposing every thing that lies in my way to heaven; and let me set my
   face like a flint' against all the assaults of earth and hell! (Isai.
   50:7) If sinners entice me, let me not consent;' (Prov. 1:10) if they
   insult me, let me not regard it; if they threaten me, let me not fear!
   Rather may a holy and ardent, yet prudent and well-governed zeal, take
   occasion from that malignity of heart which they discover, to attempt
   their conviction and reformation! At least, let me never be ashamed to
   plead thy cause against the most profane deriders of religion! Make me
   to hear joy and gladness' in my soul, and I will endeavor to teach
   transgressors thy ways, that sinners may be converted unto thee' (Psa.
   51:8,13) Yea, Lord, while my fears continue, though I should apprehend
   myself condemned, I am condemned so righteously for my own folly, that
   I would be thine advocate, though against myself.

   Keep me, O Lord, now, and at all times! Never let me think, whatever
   age or station I attain, that I am strong enough to maintain the combat
   without thee! Nor let me imagine myself, even in this infancy of
   religion in my soul, So weak that thou canst not support me! Wherever
   thou leadest me, there let me follow; and whatever station thou
   appointest me, there let me labor: there let me maintain the holy war
   against all the enemies of my salvation, and rather fall in it, than
   basely abandon it.

   "And thou, O glorious Redeemer; the Captain of my salvation,' the great
   Author and Finisher of my faith,' (Heb. 12:2) when I am in danger of
   denying thee, as Peter did, look upon me with that mixture of majesty
   and tenderness, (Luke 22:61) which may either secure me from falling,
   or may speedily recover me to God and my duty again! and teach me to
   take occasion, even from my miscarriages, to humble myself more deeply
   for all that has been amiss, and to redouble my future diligence and
   caution! Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XVII.

  THE CHRISTIAN URGED TO, AND ASSISTED IN, AN EXPRESS ACT OF SELF-DEDICATION TO
  THE SERVICE OF GOD.

   1. The advantages of such a surrender are briefly suggested.-- 2, 3, 4.
   Advice for the manner of doing it; that it be deliberate, cheerful,
   entire, perpetual.--5. And that it be expressed with some affecting
   solemnity.--6. A written instrument to be signed and declared before
   God, at some season of extraordinary devotion, reposed. The chapter
   concludes with a specimen of such an instrument, together with an
   abstract of it, to be used with proper and requisite alterations.

   1. AS I would hope, that, notwithstanding all the forms of opposition
   which do or may arise, yet in consideration of those noble supports and
   motives which have been mentioned in the two preceding chapters, you
   are heartily determined for the service of God, I would now urge you to
   make a solemn surrender of yourself unto it. Do not only form such a
   purpose in your heart, but expressly declare it in the divine presence.
   Such solemnity in the manner of doing it is certainly very reasonable
   in the nature of things; and surely it is highly expedient for binding
   to the Lord such a treacherous heart as we know our own to be. It will
   be pleasant to reflect upon it, as done at such and such a time, with
   such and such circumstances of place and method, which may serve to
   strike the memory and the conscience. The sense of the vows of God
   which are upon you, will strengthen you in an hour of temptation; and
   the recollection may also encourage your humble boldness and freedom in
   applying to him, under the character and relation of your Covenant God
   and Father, as future exigencies may require.

   2. Do it therefore; but do it deliberately. Consider what it is that
   you are to do, and consider how reasonable it is that it should be
   done, and done cordially and cheerfully; "not by constraint, but
   willingly," (1 Pet. 5:2) for in this sense, and in every other, "God
   loves a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:7) Now surely there is nothing we
   should do with greater cheerfulness or more cordial consent, than
   making such a surrender of ourselves to this Lord, to the God who
   created us, who brought us into this pleasant and well-furnished world,
   who supported us in our tender infancy, who guarded us in the
   thoughtless days of childhood and youth, who has hitherto continually
   helped, sustained, and preserved us. Nothing can be more reasonable
   than that we should acknowledge him as our rightful owner and our
   Sovereign Ruler; than that we should devote ourselves to him us our
   most gracious Benefactor, and seek him as our supreme felicity. Nothing
   can be more apparently equitable than that we, the product of his
   power, and the price of his Son's blood, should be his, and his for
   ever. If you see the matter in its just view, it will be the grief of
   your soul that you have ever alienated yourself from the blessed God
   and his service: so far will you be from wishing to continue in that
   state of alienation another year, or another day, you will rejoice to
   bring back to him his revolted creature; and as you have in times past
   "yielded your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin," you
   will delight to "yield yourselves unto God as alive from the dead," and
   to employ "your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."
   (Rom. 6:13)

   3. The surrender will also be as entire as it is cheerful and
   immediate. All you are, and all you have, and all you can do, your
   time, your possessions, your influence over others, will be devoted to
   him, that for the future it may be employed entirety for him, and to
   his glory. You will desire to keep back nothing from him; but will
   seriously judge that you are then in the truest and noblest sense your
   own, when you are most entirely his. You are also, on this great
   occasion, to resign all that you have to the disposal of his wise and
   gracious providence; not only owning his power, but consenting to his
   undoubted right to do what he pleases with you, and all that he has
   given you; and declaring a hearty approbation of all that he has done,
   and of all that he may farther do.

   4. Once more, let me remind you that this surrender must be perpetual.
   Yon must give yourself up to God in such a manner as never more to
   pretend to be your own; for the rights of God are, like his nature,
   eternal an immutable; and with regard to his rational creatures, are
   the same yesterday, today, and for ever.

   5. I would farther advise and urge that this dedication may be made
   with all possible solemnity. Do it in express words. And perhaps it may
   be in many cases most expedient, as many pious divines have
   recommended, to do it in writing. Set your hand and seal to it, "that
   on such a day of such a month and year, and at such a place, on full
   consideration and serious reflection, you came to this happy
   resolution, that, whatsoever others might do, you would serve the
   Lord." (Josh. 24:15)

   6. Such an instrument you may, if you please draw up for yourself; or,
   if you rather choose to have it drawn up to your hand, you may find
   something of this nature below, in which you may easily make such
   alterations as shall suit your circumstances, where there is any thing
   peculiar in them. But whatever you use, weigh it well, meditate
   attentively upon it, that you may "not be rash with your mouth to utter
   any thing before God." (Eccl. 5:2) And when you determine to execute
   this instrument, let the transaction be attended with some more than
   ordinary; religious retirement. Make it, if you conveniently can, a day
   of secret fasting and prayer; and when your heart is prepared with a
   becoming awe of the Divine Majesty, with an humble confidence in his
   goodness, and an earnest desire of his favor, then present yourself on
   your knees before God, and read it over deliberately and solemnly; and
   when you have signed it, lay it by in some secure place, where you may
   review it whenever you please; and make it a rule with yourself to
   review it, if possible, at certain seasons of the year, that you may
   keep up the remembrance of it. And God grant that you may be enabled to
   keep it, and in the whole of your conversation to walk according to it.
   May it be an anchor to your soul in every temptation, and a cordial to
   it in every affliction. May the recollection or it embolden your
   addresses to the throne of grace now, and give additional strength to
   your departing spirit, in a consciousness that it is ascending to your
   covenant God and Father, and to that gracious Redeemer, whose power and
   faithfulness will securely "keep what you commit to him unto that day."
   (2 Tim. 1:12)

   An Example of Self-Dedication.

   "Eternal and unchangeable Jehovah! thou great Creator of heaven and
   earth, and adorable Lord of angels and men, I desire, with the deepest
   humiliation and abasement of soul, to fall down at this time in thine
   awful presence, and earnestly pray that thou wilt penetrate 'my heart
   with a suitable sense of thine unutterable and inconceivable glories.

   "Trembling may justly take bold upon me, (Job 20:6) when I, a sinful
   worm, presume to lift up my head to thee, presume to appear in thy
   majestic presence on such an occasion as this. Who am I, O Lord God! or
   what is my house? What is my nature or descent, my character and
   desert, that I should thus address the King of kings, and Lord of
   lords! I blush and am confounded before thee. But, O Lord! great as is
   thy majesty, so also is thy mercy. If thou wilt hold converse with any
   of thy creatures, thy superlatively exalted nature must stoop, must
   stoop infinitely low. And I know, that in and through Jesus, the Son of
   thy love, thou condescendest to visit sinful mortals, and to allow
   their approach to thee, and their covenant intercourse with thee; nay,
   I know that the scheme and plan is thine own, and that thou hast
   graciously sent to propose it to us; as none untaught by thee would
   have been able to form it, or inclined to embrace it, even when
   actually proposed.

   "To thee therefore do I now come, invited by the name of thy Son, and
   trusting in his righteousness and grace. Laying myself at thy feet,
   with shame and confusion of face,' and smiting, upon my breast,' I say,
   with the humble publican, God be merciful to me a sinner!' (Luke 18:13)
   I acknowledge, O Lord! that I have been a great transgressor. My sins
   have reached unto heaven,' (Rev. 18:5) and my iniquities are lifted up
   unto the skies.' (Jer. 51:9) The irregular propensities of my corrupted
   and degenerated nature have, in ten thousand aggravated instances,
   wrought to bring forth fruit unto death.' (Rom. 8:5) And if thou
   shouldst be strict to mark my offences, I must be silent under a load
   of guilt, and immediately sink into destruction. But thou hast
   graciously healed me to return unto thee, though I have been a
   wandering sheep, a prodigal son, a backsliding child. (Jer. 3:22)
   Behold, therefore, O Lord! I come unto thee. I come, convinced not only
   of my sin, but of my folly. I come, from my very heart ashamed of
   myself, and with an acknowledgment, in the sincerity and humility of my
   soul, that I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.' (1 Sam.
   26:21) I am confounded myself at the remembrance of these things; but
   be thou merciful to my unrighteousness, and do not remember against me
   my sins and my transgressions!' (Heb. 8:12) Permit me, O Lord, to bring
   back unto thee those powers and faculties which I have ungratefully and
   sacrilegiously alienated from thy service; and receive, I beseech thee,
   thy poor revolted creature, who is now convinced of thy right to him,
   and desires nothing in the whole world: so much as to be thine!

   "Blessed God! it is with the utmost solemnity that I make this
   surrender of myself unto thee. Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth!
   I avouch the Lord this day to be my God, (Deut. 26:17) and I avouch and
   declare myself this day to be one of his covenant children and people.
   Hear, O thou God of heaven! and record it in the book of thy
   remembrance,' (Matt. 3:16) that henceforth I am thine, entirely thine.
   I would not merely consecrate unto thee some of my powers, or some of
   my possessions, or give thee a certain proportion of my services, or
   all I am capable of for a limited time; but I would be wholly thine,
   and thine for ever. From this day I would solemnly renounce all the
   former lords which have had dominion over me,' (Isai. 26:13) every sin
   and every lust; and bid, in thy name, an eternal defiance to the powers
   of hell, which have most unjustly usurped the empire over my soul, and
   to all the corruptions which their fatal temptations have introduced
   into it. The whole frame of my nature, all the faculties of my mind,
   and all the members of my body, would I present before thee this day,
   as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which' I know to
   be my most reasonable service.' (Rom. 12:1) To thee I consecrate all my
   worldly possessions: in thy service I desire to spend all the remainder
   of my time upon earth, and beg thou wouldst instruct and influence me,
   so that, whether my abode here be longer or shorter, every year and
   month, every day and hour, may be used in such a manner as shall most
   effectually promote thine honor, and subserve the designs of thy wise
   and gracious providence. And I earnestly pray, that, whatever influence
   thou givest me over others, in any of the superior relations of life in
   which I may stand, or in consequence of any peculiar regard which may
   be paid to me, thou wouldst give me the strength and courage to exert
   myself to the utmost for thy glory; resolving not only that I will
   myself do it, but that all others, so far as I can rationally and
   properly influence them, 'shall serve the Lord' (Josh. 24:15) In this
   course, O blessed God! would I steadily persevere to the very end of
   life; earnestly praying, that every future day of it may supply the
   deficiencies and correct the irregularities of the former; and that I
   may, by divine grace, be enabled not only to hold on in that happy way,
   but daily to grow more active in it!

   "Nor do I only consecrate all that I am and have to thy service, but I
   also most humbly resign, and submit to thy holy and sovereign will,
   myself, and all that I can call mine. I leave, O Lord! to thy
   management and direction, all I possess, and all I wish; and set every
   enjoyment and every interest before thee, to be disposed of as thou
   pleasest. Continue or remove what thou hast given me; bestow or refuse
   what I imagine I want, as thou, Lord, shalt see good! And though I dare
   not say I will never repine, yet I hope I may venture to say, that I
   will labor not only to submit, but to acquiesce; not only to bear what
   thou doest in thy most afflictive dispensations, but to consent to it,
   and to praise thee for it; contentedly resolving, in all thou
   appointest for me, my will into thine, and looking on myself as
   nothing, and on thee, O God! as the great eternal ALL, whose word ought
   to determine every thing, and whose government ought to be the joy of
   the whole rational creation.

   "Use me, O Lord! I beseech thee, as the instrument of thy glory; and
   honor me so far, as, either by doing or suffering what thou shalt
   appoint, to bring some revenue of praise to thee, and of benefit to the
   world in which I dwell! And may it please thee, from this day forward,
   to number me among thy peculiar people! that I may no more be a
   stranger and foreigner, but a fellow-citizen with the saints, and of
   the household of God!' (Eph. 2:19) Receive, O heavenly Father! thy
   returning prodigal! Wash me in the blood of thy dear Son; clothe me
   with his perfect righteousness; and sanctify me throughout by the power
   of thy Spirit! Destroy, I beseech thee, more and more the power of sin
   in my heart! Transform me more into thine own image, and fashion me to
   the resemblance of Jesus, whom henceforward I would acknowledge as my
   teacher and sacrifice, my intercessor and my Lord! Communicate to me, I
   beseech thee, all needful influences of thy purifying. thy cheering,
   and thy comforting Spirit! And lift up that 'light of thy countenance
   upon me,' which will put the sublimest joy and gladness into my soul.'
   (Psa. 4:6,7)

   "Dispose my affairs, O God! in a manner which may be most subservient
   to thy glory and my own truest happiness; and when I have done and
   borne thy will upon earth, call me from hence at what time and in what
   manner thou pleasest: only grant, that in my dying moments, and in the
   near prospect of eternity, I may remember these my engagements to thee,
   and may employ my latest breath in thy service. And do thou, Lord, when
   thou seest the agonies of dissolving nature upon me, remember this
   covenant too, even though I should then be incapable of recollecting
   it. Look down, O my heavenly Father! with a pitying eye, upon thy
   languishing, thy dying child; place thine everlasting arms underneath
   me for my support; put strength and confidence into my departing
   spirit, and receive it to the embraces of thine everlasting love.
   Welcome it to the abodes of them that sleep in Jesus, (1 Thess. 4:14)
   to wait with them that glorious day, when the last off thy promises to
   thy covenant people shall be fulfilled in their triumphant
   resurrection, and in that abundant entrance which shall be administered
   to them into that everlasting kingdom, (2 Pet. 1:12) of which thou hast
   assured them by thy covenant, and in the hope of which I now lay hold
   of it, desiring to live and to die, as. with mine hand on that hope.

   "And when I am thus numbered among the dead, and all the interests of
   mortality are over with me for ever, if this solemn memorial should
   chance to fall into the hands of my surviving friends, may it be the
   means of making serious impression on their minds. May they read it,
   not only as my language, but as their own; and learn to fear the Lord
   my God, and with me, to put their trust under the shadow of his wing
   for time and for eternity! And may they also learn to adore with me
   that grace which inclines our hearts to enter into the covenant, and
   condescends to admit us into it when so inclined; ascribing, with me,
   and with all the nations of the redeemed, to the Father, the Son, and
   the Holy Ghost, that glory, honor, and praise, which is so justly due
   to each divine person for the part he bears " in this illustrious work.
   Amen.

   N.B. For the sake of those who may think the preceding Form of
   Self-Dedication too long to be transcribed, as it is possible many
   will, I have, at the desire of a much esteemed friend, added the
   following Abridgment of it, which should, by all means, be attentively
   weighed in every clause before it is executed; and any word or phrase
   which may seem liable to exception, changed, that the whole heart may
   consent to it all.

   "Eternal and ever-blessed God! I desire to present myself before thee,
   with the deepest humiliation and abasement of soul, sensible how
   unworthy such a sinful worm is to appear before the holy Majesty of
   heaven, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and especially on such an
   occasion as this, ever to dedicate myself, without reserve, to thee.
   But the scheme and plan is thine own. Thine infinite condescension hath
   offered it by thy Son, and thy grace hath inclined my heart to accept
   of it.

   "I come, therefore, acknowledging myself to have been a great offender;
   smiting upon my breast, and saying with the humble publican, God be
   merciful to me a sinner!' I come, invited by the name of thy Son, and
   wholly trusting in his perfect righteousness, entreating that for his
   sake thou wilt be merciful to my unrighteousness, and wilt no more
   remember my sins. Receive, I beseech thee, thy revolted creature, who
   is now convinced of thy right to him, and desires nothing so much as
   that he may be thine

   "This day do I, with the utmost solemnity, surrender myself to thee. I
   renounce all former lords that have had dominion over me; and I
   consecrate to thee all that I am, and all that I have; the faculties of
   my mind, the members of my body, my worldly possessions, my time, and
   my influence over others; to be all used entirely for thy glory, and
   resolutely employed in obedience to thy commands, as long as thou
   continuest me in life; with an ardent desire and humble resolution to
   continue thine through all the endless ages of eternity; ever holding
   myself in an attentive posture to observe the first intimations of thy
   will, and ready to spring forward with zeal and joy to the immediate
   execution of it.

   "To thy direction also I resign myself, and all I am and have, to be
   disposed of by thee in such a manner as thou shalt in thine infinite
   wisdom judge most subservient to the purposes of thy glory. To thee I
   leave the management of all events, and say without reserve, Not my
   will, but thine be done,' rejoicing with a loyal heart in thine
   unlimited government, as what ought to be the delight of the whole
   rational creation.

   "Use me, O Lord, I beseech thee, as an instrument of thy service!
   number me among thy peculiar people! Let me be washed in the blood of
   thy dear Son! Let me be clothed with his righteousness! Let me be
   sanctified by his Spirit! Transform me more and more into his image!
   Impart to me through him, all needful influences of thy purifying,
   cheering, and comforting Spirit! And let my life be spent under those
   influences, and in the light of thy gracious countenance, as my Father
   and my God!

   "And when the solemn hour of death comes, may I remember thy covenant,
   well ordered in all things and sure, as all my salvation and all my
   desire,' (2 Sam. 23:5) though every hope and enjoyment is perishing;
   and do thou, O Lord! remember it too. Look down with pity, O my
   heavenly Father, on thy languishing, dying child! Embrace me in thine
   everlasting arms! Put strength and confidence into my departing spirit,
   and receive it to the abodes of them that sleep in Jesus, peacefully
   and joyfully to wait the accomplishment of thy great promise to all thy
   people, even that of a glorious resurrection, and of eternal happiness
   in thine heavenly presence!

   "And if any surviving friend should, when I am in the dust, meet with
   this memorial of my solemn transactions with thee, may he make the
   engagement his own; and do thou graciously admit him to partake in all
   the blessings of thy covenant, through Jesus the great Mediator of it;
   to whom, with thee, O Father, and thy Holy Spirit, be ever-lasting
   praises ascribed, by all the millions who are thus saved by thee, and
   by all those other celestial spirits in whose work and blessedness thou
   shalt call them to share! Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XVIII.

  ON COMMUNION IN THE LORD'S SUPPER.

   1. If the reader has received the Ordinance of Baptism, and; as above
   recommended, dedicated himself to God.--2. He is urged to ratify that
   engagement at the Table of the Lord.-- 3. From a view of the ends for
   which that Ordinance was instituted.--4. Whence its usefulness is
   strongly inferred.--5. And from the Authority of Christ's Appointment;
   which is solemnly pressed on the conscience.--6. Objections from
   apprehensions of Unfitness.--7. Weakness of grace, &c. briefly
   answered.--8. At least, serious thoughtfulness on this subject is
   absolutely insisted upon.--9. The chapter is closed with a prayer for
   one who desires to attend, yet finds himself pressed with remaining
   doubts.

   1. I hope this chapter will find you, by a most express consent, become
   one of God's covenant people, solemnly and most cordially devoted to
   his service; and it is my hearty prayer, that the engagements you have
   made on earth may be ratified in heaven. But for your farther
   instruction and edification; give me leave to remind you, that our Lord
   Jesus Christ hath appointed a peculiar manner of expressing our regard
   to him, by commemorating his dying love, which, though it does not
   forbid any other proper way of doing it, must by no means be set aside
   or neglected for any human methods, how prudent and expedient soever
   they may appear to us.

   2. Our Lord has wisely ordained, that the advantages of society should
   be brought into religion; and as, by his command, professed Christians
   assemble together for other acts of public worship, so He has been
   pleased to institute a social ordinance, in which a whole assembly of
   them is to come to his table, and there to eat the same bread; and
   drink the same cup. And this they are to do, as a token of their
   affectionate remembrance of his dying love, of their solemn surrender
   of themselves to God, and of their sincere love to one another, and to
   all their fellow-Christians.

   3. That these are indeed the great ends of the Lord's supper, I shall
   not now stay to argue at large. You need only read what the apostle
   Paul hath written in the tenth and eleventh chapters or his first
   epistle to the Corinthians, to convince you fully of this. He there
   expressly tells us, that our Lord commanded "the bread to be eaten,"
   and "the wine to be drunk, in remembrance of him," (1 Cor. 11:24,25) or
   as a commemoration or memorial of him; so that, as often as we attend
   this institution, "we show forth the Lord's death," which we are to do
   "even until he come," (1 Cor. 11:26) And it is particularly asserted,
   that "the cup is the New Testament in his blood;" that is, it is a seal
   of that covenant which was ratified by his blood. Now, it is evident,
   that, in consequence of this, we are to approach it with a view to that
   covenant, desiring its blessings, and resolving, by divine grace, to
   comply with its demands. On the whole, therefore, as the apostle
   speaks, we have "communion in the body and the blood of Christ," (1
   Cor. 10:16) and partaking of his table and of his cup, we converse with
   Christ, and join ourselves to him as his people; as the Jews, by eating
   their sacrifices, conversed with Jehovah, and joined themselves to him.
   He farther reminds them, that, though many, they were "one bread and
   one body," being "all partakers of that one bread," (1 Cor. 10:17) and
   being "all made to drink into one Spirit;" (1 Cor. 12:13) that is,
   meeting together as if they were but one family, and joining in the
   commemoration of that one blood which was their common ransom and of
   the Lord Jesus, their common head. Now, it is evident, all these
   reasonings are equally applicable to Christians in succeeding ages.
   Permit me, therefore, by the authority of our divine Master, to press
   upon you: the observation or this precept.

   4. And let me also urge it, from the apparent tendency which it has to
   promote your truest advantage. You are setting out in the Christian
   life; and I have reminded you at large of the opposition you must
   expect to meet in it. It is the love of Christ which must animate you
   to break through all. What then can be more desirable than to bear
   about with you a lively sense of it? and what can awaken that sense
   more than the contemplation of his death as there represented? Who can
   behold the bread broken, and the wine poured out, and not reflect how
   the body of the blessed Jesus was even torn in pieces by his
   sufferings, and his sacred blood poured forth like water on the ground?
   Who can think of the heart-rending agonies of the Son of God as the
   price of our redemption and salvation, and not feel his soul melted
   with tenderness, and inflamed with grateful affection? What an exalted
   view doth it give us of the blessings of the Gospel-covenant, when we
   consider it as established in the blood of God's only-begotten Son! And
   when we make our approach to God as our heavenly Father, and give up
   ourselves to his service in this solemn manner, what an awful tendency
   has it to fix the conviction, that we are not our own, being bought
   with such a price! (1 Cor 6:19,20) What a tendency has it to guard us
   against every temptation, to those sins which we have so solemnly
   renounced, and to engage our fidelity to him to whom we have bound our
   souls as with an oath! Well may our hearts be knit together in mutual
   love, (Col. 2:2) when we consider ourselves as "one in Christ:" (Gal.
   3:28) his blood becomes the cement of the society, joins us in spirit,
   not only to each other, but "to all that in every place call upon the
   name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours," (1 Cor. 1:2) and
   we anticipate in pleasing hope that blessed day, when the assembly
   shall be complete, and we shall all "be for ever with the Lord." (1
   Thess. 4:17) Well may these views engage us to deny ourselves, and to
   "take up our cross and follow our crucified Master." (Matt. 16:24) Well
   may they engage us to do our utmost, by prayer, and all other suitable
   endeavors, to serve his followers and his friends; to serve those whom
   he hath purchased with his blood, and who are to be his associates and
   ours, in the glories of a happy immortality.

   5. It is also the express institution and command of our blessed
   Redeemer that the members of such societies should be tenderly
   solicitous for the spiritual welfare of each other: and that, on the
   whole, his churches may be kept pure and holy, that they should
   "withdraw themselves from every brother that walketh disorderly;" (2
   Thess. 3:6) that they should "mark such as cause offences" or scandals
   among them, "contrary to the doctrine which they have learned, and
   avoid them;" (Rom. 16:17) "that if any obey not the word of Christ by
   his apostles," they should "have no fellowship or communion with such,
   that they may be ashamed;" (2 Thess. 3:14) that they should "not eat
   with such as are notoriously irregular" in their behavior, but, on the
   contrary, should "put away from among themselves such wicked persons,"
   (1 Cor. 5:11-13) It is evident, therefore, that the institution of such
   societies is greatly for the honor of Christianity, and for the
   advantage of its particular professors. And consequently, every
   consideration of obedience to our common Lord, and of prudent regard to
   our own benefit and that of our brethren, will require that those who
   love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity should enter into them, and
   assemble among them, in these their most solemn and peculiar acts of
   communion, at his table.

   6. I entreat you, therefore, and if I may presume to say it, in his
   name and by his authority, I charge it on your conscience, that this
   precept of our dying Lord go not, as it were, for nothing with you; but
   that, if you indeed love him, you keep this, as well as the rest of his
   commandments. I know you may be ready to form objections. I have
   elsewhere debated many of the chief of them at large, and I hope not
   without some good effect.* The great question is that which relates to
   your being prepared for a worthy attendance; and in conjunction with
   what has been said before, I think that may be brought to a very short
   issue. Have you, so far as you know your own heart, been sincere in
   that deliberate surrender of yourself to God, through Christ, which I
   recommended in the former chapter? If you have, whether it were with or
   without the particular form or manner of doing it there recommended,
   you have certainly taken hold of the covenant, and therefore should
   devote yourself to God, in obedience to all his commands. And there is
   not, and cannot be, any other view of the ordinance in which you can
   have any further objection to it. If you desire to remember Christ's
   death; if you desire to renew the dedication of yourself to God through
   him; if you would list yourself among his people; if you would love
   them, and do them good according to your ability, and, on the whole,
   would not allow yourself in the practice of anyone known sin, or in the
   omission of any one known duty, then I will venture confidently to say,
   not only that you will be welcome to the ordinance, but that it was
   instituted for such as you.

   7. As for other objections, a few words may suffice by way of reply.
   The weakness of the religious principle in your soul, if it be really
   implanted there, is so far from being an argument against your seeking
   such a method to strengthen it, that it rather strongly enforces the
   necessity of doing it. The neglect of this solemnity, by so many that
   call themselves Christians, should rather engage you so much the more
   to distinguish your zeal for an institution in this respect so much
   slighted and injured. And as for the fears of aggravated guilt, in case
   of apostacy, do not indulge them. This may, by the divine blessing, be
   an effectual remedy against the evil you fear; and it is certain, that
   after what you must already have known and felt, before you could be
   brought into your present situation, (on the supposition I have now
   been making) there can be no room to think or a retreat; no room, even
   for the wretched hope of being less miserable than the generality of
   those that have perished. Your scheme, therefore, must be to make your
   salvation as sure, and to make it as glorious, as possible; and I know
   not any appointment of our blessed Redeemer which may have a more
   comfortable aspect upon that blessed end, than this which I flat
   recommending to you.

   8. One thing I would at least insist upon, and I see not with what face
   it can be denied. I mean, that you should take this matter into serious
   consideration; that you should diligently inquire, "whether you have
   reason in your conscience to believe it is the will of God you should
   now approach to the ordinance or not;" and that you should continue
   your reflections, your inquiries, and your prayers, till you find
   farther encouragement to come, if that encouragement be hitherto
   wanting. For of this be assured, that a state in which you are on the
   whole unfit to approach this ordinance, is a state in which you are
   destitute of the necessary preparations for death and heaven; in which,
   therefore, if you would not allow yourselves to slumber on the brink or
   destruction, you ought not to rest so much as one single day.

   A Prayer for one who earnestly desires ins to approach the Table of the
   Lord, yet has some remaining doubts concerning his right to that solemn
   ordinance.

   "BLESSED LORD! I adore thy wise and gracious appointments, for the
   edification of thy church in holiness and in love. I thank thee that
   thou hast commanded thy servants to form themselves into churches; and
   I adore my gracious Savior, who hath instituted, as with his dying
   breath, the holy solemnity of his Supper, to be through all ages a
   memorial of his dying love, and a bond of that union which it is his
   sovereign pleasure that his people should preserve. I hope thou, Lord,
   art witness to the sincerity with which I desire to give myself up to
   thee; and that I may call thee to record on my soul, that, if I now
   hesitate about this particular manner of doing it, it is not because I
   would allow myself to break any of thy commands, or to slight any of
   thy favors. I trust thou knowest that my present delay arises only from
   my uncertainty as to my duty, and a fear of profaning holy things by an
   unworthy approach to them. Yet surely, O Lord! if thou hast given me a
   reverence for thy command, a desire of communion with thee, and a
   willingness to devote myself wholly to thy service, I may regard it as
   a token for good, that thou art disposed to receive me, and that I am
   not wholly unqualified for an ordinance which I so highly honor and so
   earnestly desire. I therefore make it my humble request unto thee, O
   Lord! this day, that than wouldst graciously he pleased to instruct me
   in my duty, and to teach me the way which I should take Examine me, O
   Lord! and prove me, try my reins and my heart!' (Psa. 26:2) Is there
   any secret sin, in the love and practice of which I would indulge? Is
   there any of thy precepts in the habitual breach of which I would allow
   myself? I trust I can appeal to thee as a witness, that there is not.
   Let me not, then, wrong my own soul, by a causeless and sinful absence
   from thy sacred table! But grant, O Lord! I beseech thee, that thy
   word, thy providence. and thy Spirit, may so concur as to make my way
   plain before me!" (Pro. 15:19) Scatter my remaining doubts. if thou
   seest that they have no just foundation! Fill me with more assured
   faith, with a more ardent love, and plead thine own cause with mine
   heart in such a manner as that I may not be able any longer to delay
   that approach, which, if I am thy servant indeed, is equally my duty
   and my privilege! In the mean time, grant that it may never be long out
   of my thoughts; but that I may give all diligence. If there be any
   remaining occasion of doubt, to remove it by a more affectionate
   concern to avoid whatever is displeasing to the eyes of thine holiness,
   and to practice the full extent of my duty. May the views of Christ
   crucified be so familiar to my mind; and may a sense of his dying love
   so powerfully constrain my soul, that my own growing experience may put
   it out of all question that I am one of those for whom he intended this
   feast of love!

   "And even now, as joined to thy church in spirit and in love, though
   not in so express and intimate a bond as I could wish, would I heartily
   pray that thy blessing may be on all thy people; that thou wouldst feed
   thine heritage, and lift them up for ever!' (Psa. 28:9) May every
   Christian church flourish in knowledge, in holiness, and in love! May
   all thy priests be clothed with salvation, that by their means thy
   chosen people may be made joyful. (Psa. 132:16) And may there be a
   glorious accession to thy churches every where, of those who may fly to
   them as a cloud, and as doves to their windows.' (Isa. 60:8) May thy
   table, O Lord! be furnished with guests,' (Matt. 22:10) and may all
   that love thy salvation say, Let the Lord be magnified, who hath
   pleasure in the prosperity of his servants.' (Psa. 35:27) And I
   earnestly pray, that all who profess to have received Christ Jesus the
   Lord,' may be duly careful to walk in him,' (Col. 2:6) and that we may
   all be prepared for the general assembly of the first-born, and may
   join in that nobler and more immediate worship where all these types
   and shadows shall be laid aside; where even these memorials shall be no
   longer necessary; but a living, present Redeemer shall be the
   everlasting joy of those who here his absence have delighted to
   commemorate his death. Amen'
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XIX.

  SOME MORE PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS FOR MAINTAINING CONTINUAL COMMUNION WITH GOD,
  OR BEING IN HIS FEAR ALL THE DAY LONG.

   1. A letter to a pious friend on this subject introduced here.--2.
   General plan of directions.--3. For the beginning of the day.--4.
   Lifting up the heart to God at our first awakening.--5, 10. Setting
   ourselves to the secret devotions of the morning, with respect to which
   particular advice is given.--11. For the progress of the day.--12.
   Directions are given concerning seriousness in devotion.--13. Diligence
   in business.--14. Prudence in recreations.--15. Observations of
   Providence.--16. Watchfulness against temptations.--17. Dependence on
   divine influence.--18. Government of the thoughts when in
   solitude.--19. Management of Discourse in company.--20. For the
   conclusion of the day.--21. With the secret devotions of the
   evening.--22, 23. Directions for self-examination at large.--24. Lying
   down with a proper temper.--25. Conclusion of the letter.--26. And of
   the chapter. With a serious view of death, proper to be taken at the
   close of the day.

   1. I would hope, that upon serious consideration, self-examination, and
   prayer, the reader has given himself up to God; and that his concern
   flow is to inquire, how he may act according to the vows of God which
   are upon him. Now, for his farther assistance here, besides the general
   view I have already given of the Christian temper and character, I will
   propose some more particular directions relating to maintaining that
   devout, spiritual, and heavenly character, which may, in the language
   of Scripture, be called "a daily walking with God, or being in his fear
   all the day long." (Prov. 23:17) And I know not how I can express the
   idea and plan which I have formed of this, in a more clear and distinct
   manner than I did in a letter which I wrote many years ago [in 1727] to
   a young person of eminent piety, with whom I had then an intimate
   friendship; and who, to the great grief of all that knew him, died a
   few months after he received it Yet I hope he lived long enough to
   reduce the directions to practice, which I wish and pray that every
   reader may do, so far as they may properly suit his capacities and
   circumstances in life, considering it as if addressed to himself. I
   say, and desire it may be observed, that I wish my reader may act on
   these directions so far as they may properly suit his capacity and
   circumstances in life; for I would be far from laying down the
   following particulars as universal rules for all, or for any one person
   in the world, at all times. Let them be practiced by those that are
   able, and when they have leisure; and when you cannot reach them all,
   come as near the most important of them as you conveniently can. With
   this precaution I proceed to the letter, which I would hope, after this
   previous care to guard against the danger of mistaking it, will not
   discourage any, the weakest Christian. Let us humbly and cheerfully do
   what we can, and rejoice that we have so gracious a Father, who knows
   all our infirmities, and so compassionate a High Priest, to recommend
   to divine acceptance the feeblest efforts of sincere duty and love!

   My dear Friend,

   Since you desire my thoughts in writing, and at large, on the subject
   of our late conversation, viz. "By what particular methods, in our
   daily conduct, devotion and usefulness may be most happily maintained
   and secured "--I set myself with cheerfulness to recollect and digest
   the hints which I then gave you; hoping it may be of some service to
   you in your most important interests; and may also fix on my own mind a
   deeper sense of my obligations to govern my own life by the rules I
   offer to others. I esteem attempts of this kind among the pleasantest
   fruits, and the surest cements of friendship; and as I hope ours will
   last for ever, I am persuaded a mutual care to cherish sentiments of
   this kind will add everlasting endearments to it.

   2. The directions you will expect from me on this occasion naturally
   divide themselves into three heads: How we are to regard God in the
   beginning; the progress; and the close of the day. I will open my heart
   freely to you with regard to each, and will leave you to judge how far
   these hints may suit your circumstances; aiming at least to keep
   between the extremes of a superstitions strictness in trifles, and an
   indolent remissness, which, if admitted in little things, may draw
   after it criminal neglects, and at length more criminal indulgences.

   3. In the beginning of the day: It should certainly be our care to lift
   up our heads to God as soon as we wake, and while we are rising; and
   then, to set ourselves seriously and immediately to the secret
   devotions of the morning.

   4. For the first of these it seems exceedingly natural. There are so
   many things that may suggest a great variety of pious reflections and
   ejaculations which are so obvious that one would think a serious mind
   could hardly miss them. The ease and cheerfulness of our minds on our
   first awaking; the refreshment we find from sleep; the security we have
   enjoyed in that defenceless state; the provision of warm and decent
   apparel; the cheerful light of the returning sun; or even (which is not
   unfit to mention to you) the contrivances of art, taught and furnished
   by the great Author of all our conveniences, to supply us with many
   useful hours of life in the absence of the sun; the hope of returning
   to the dear society of our friends; the prospect of spending another
   day in the service of God and the improvement of our own minds; and
   above all, the lively hope of a joyful resurrection to an eternal day
   of happiness and glory: any of these particulars, and many more which I
   do not mention, may furnish its with matter of pleasing reflection and
   cheerful praise while we are rising. And for our farther assistance,
   when we are alone at this time, it may not be improper to speak
   sometimes to ourselves, and sometimes to our heavenly Father, in the
   natural expressions of joy and thankfulness. Permit me, Sir, to add,
   that, if we find our hearts in such a frame at our first awaking, even
   that is just matter of praise, and the rather, as perhaps it is an
   answer to the prayer with which we lay down.

   5. For the exercise of secret devotion in the morning, which I hope
   will generally be our first work, I cannot prescribe an exact method to
   another. You must, my dear friend, consult your own taste in some
   measure. The constituent pans of the service are, in the general,
   plain. Were I to propose a particular model for those who have half or
   three quarters of an hour at command, which, with prudent conduct, I
   suppose most may have, it should he this:

   6. To begin the stated devotions of the day with a solemn act of
   praise, offered to God on our knees, and generally with a low, yet
   distinct voice; acknowledging the mercies we have been reflecting on
   while rising, never forgetting to mention Christ as the great
   foundation of all our enjoyments and our hopes, or to return thanks for
   the influences of the blessed Spirit which have led our beans to God,
   or are then engaging us to seek him. This, as well as other offices of
   devotion afterwards mentioned, must be done attentively and sincerely;
   for not to offer our praises heartily, is, in the sight of God, not to
   praise him at all. This address of praise may properly be concluded
   with an express renewal of our dedication to God, declaring our
   continued repeated resolution of being devoted to him, and particularly
   of living to his glory the ensuing day.

   7. It may be proper, after this, to take a prospect of the day before
   us, so far as we can probably foresee, in the general, where and how it
   may be spent; and seriously to reflect, "How shall I employ myself for
   God this day? What business is to be done, and in what order? What
   opportunities may I expect, either of doing or of receiving good? What
   temptations am I likely to be assaulted with, in any place, company, or
   circumstances, which may probably occur? In what instance have I lately
   failed? And how shall I be safest now?"

   8. After this review it will be proper to offer up a short prayer,
   begging that God would quicken us to each of these foreseen duties;
   that he would fortify us against each of these apprehended dangers;
   that he would grant us success in such or such a business undertaken
   for his glory; and also that he would help us to discover and improve
   unforeseen opportunities to resist unexpected temptations, and to bear
   patiently, and religiously, any afflictions which may surprise us in
   the day on which we are entering.

   9. I would advise you after this to read some portion of Scripture: not
   a great deal, nor the whole Bible in its course; but some select
   portions out of its most useful parts, perhaps ten or twelve verses,
   not troubling yourself much about the exact connection, or other
   critical niceties which may occur, though at other times I would
   recommend them to your inquiry, as you have ability and opportunity,
   but considering them merely in a devotional and practical view. Here
   take such instructions as readily present themselves to your thoughts,
   repeat them over to your own conscience, and charge your heart
   religiously to observe them, and act upon them, under a sense of the
   divine authority which attends them. And if you pray over the substance
   of this Scripture with your Bible open before you, it may impress your
   memory and your heart yet more deeply, and may form you to a
   copiousness and variety, both of thought and expression, in prayer.

   10. It might be proper to close these devotions with a psalm or hymn;
   and I rejoice with you, that through the pious care of our sacred
   poets, we are provided with so rich a variety for the assistance of the
   closet and family on these occasions, as well as for the service of the
   sanctuary.

   11. The most material directions which have occurred to me relating to
   the progress of the day, are these: That we be serious in the devotions
   of the day; that we be diligent in the business of it, that is, in the
   prosecution of our worldly callings; that we be temperate and prudent
   in the recreations of it; that we carefully mark the providences of the
   day; that we cautiously guard against the temptations of it; that we
   keep up a lively and humble dependence upon the divine influence,
   suitable to every emergency of it; that we govern our thoughts well in
   the solitude of the day, and our discourses well in the conversations
   of it. These, Sir, were the heads of a sermon which you have lately
   heard me preach, and to which I know you referred in that request which
   I am now endeavoring to answer. I will therefore touch upon the most
   material hints which fall under each of these particulars.

   12. For seriousness in devotion, whether public or domestic, let us
   take a few moments before we enter upon such solemnities, to pause, and
   reflect on the perfections of the God we are addressing, on the
   importance of the business we are coming about, on the pleasure and
   advantage of a regular and devout attendance, and on the guilt and
   folly of an hypocritical formality. When engaged, let us maintain a
   strict watchfulness over our own spirits and check the first wanderings
   of thought. And when the duty is over, let us immediately reflect on
   the manner in which it has been performed, and ask our own consciences
   whether we have reason to conclude that we are accepted of God in it?
   For there is a certain manner of going through these offices, which our
   own hearts will immediately tell us "it is impossible for God to
   approve;" and if we have inadvertently fallen into it, we ought to be
   deeply humbled before God for it, lest "our very prayer become sin."
   (Psa. 109:7)

   13. As for the hours of worldly business, whether it be that of the
   hands, or the labor of a learned life not immediately relating to
   religious matters, let us set to the prosecution of it with a sense of
   God's authority, and with a regard to his glory. Let us avoid a
   dreaming, sluggish, indolent temper, which nods over its work, and does
   only the business of one hour in two or three. In opposition to this,
   which runs through the life of some people, who yet think they are
   never idle, let us endeavor to dispatch as much as we well can in a
   little time; considering that it is but a little we have in all. And
   let us be habitually sensible of the need we have or the divine
   blessing to make our labors successful.

   14. For seasons of diversion, let us take care that our recreations be
   well chosen; that they be pursued with a good intention, to fit us for
   a renewed application to the labors of life; and thus that they be only
   used in subordination to the honor of God, the great end of all our
   actions. Let us take heed, that our hearts be not estranged from God by
   them; and that they do not take up too much of our time; always
   remembering that the facilities of human nature, and the advantages of
   the Christian revelation, were not given us in vain; but that we are
   always to be in pursuit of some great and honorable end, and to indulge
   ourselves in amusements and diversions no farther than as they make a
   part in a scheme of rational and manly, benevolent and pious conduct.

   15. For the observation of Providence, it will be useful to regard the
   divine interposition in our comforts and in our afflictions. In our
   comforts, whether more common or extraordinary: that we find ourselves
   in continued health; that we are furnished with food for support and
   pleasure; that we have so many agreeable ways of employing our time;
   that we have so many friends, and those so good, and so happy; that our
   business goes on so prosperously; that we go out and come in safely;
   and that we enjoy composure and cheerfulness of spirit, without which
   nothing else could be enjoyed: all these should be regarded as
   providential favors, and due acknowledgments should be made to God on
   these accounts, as we pass through such agreeable scenes. On the other
   hand, Providence is to be regarded in every disappointment, in every
   loss, in every pain, in every instance of unkindness from those who
   have professed friendship; and we should endeavor to argue ourselves
   into a patient submission, from this consideration, that the hand of
   God is always mediately, if not immediately, in each of them; and that,
   if they are not properly the work of Providence, they are at least
   under his direction. It is a reflection which we should particularly
   make with relation to those little cross accidents, (as we are ready to
   call them) and those infirmities and follies in the temper and conduct
   of our intimate friends, which may else be ready to discompose us. And
   it is the more necessary to guard our minds here, as wise and good men
   often lose the command of themselves on these comparatively little
   occasions; who, calling lip reason and religion to their assistance,
   stand the shock of great calamities with fortitude and resolution.

   16. For watchfulness against temptations, it is necessary, when
   changing our place, or our employment, to reflect, "What snares
   attended me here?" And as this should be our habitual care, so we
   should especially guard against those snares which in the morning we
   foresaw. And when we are entering on those circumstances in which we
   expected the assault, we should reflect, especially if it be a matter
   of great importance, "Now the combat is going to begin: now God and the
   blessed angels are observing what constancy, what fortitude there is in
   my soul, and how far the divine authority, and the remembrance of my
   own prayers and resolutions, will weigh with me when it comes to a
   trial."

   17. As for dependence on divine grace and influence, it must be
   universal; and since we always need it, we must never forget that
   necessity. A moment spent in humble fervent breathings after the
   communications of the divine assistance, may do more good than many
   minutes spent in mere reasonings; and though indeed this should not be
   neglected, since the light of reason is a kind of divine illumination,
   yet still it ought to be pursued in a due sense of our dependence on
   the Father of Lights, or where we think ourselves wisest, we may
   "become vain in our imaginations," (Rom. 1:21,22) Let us therefore
   always call upon God, and say, for instance, when we are going to pray,
   "Lord, fix my attention! Awaken my holy affections, and pour out upon
   me the spirit of grace and of supplication!" (Zech. 12:10) When taking
   up a Bible or any other good book, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may
   behold wondrous things out of thy law! (Psa. 119:18) Enlighten my
   understanding! Warm my heart! May my good resolutions be confirmed, and
   all the course of my life be in a proper manner regulated!" When
   addressing ourselves to any worldly business, "Lord, prosper thou the
   work of mine hands upon me, (Psa. 90:17) and give thy blessing to my
   honest endeavors!" When going to any kind of recreation, "Lord, bless
   my refreshments! Let me not forget thee in them, but still keep thy
   glory in view!" When coming into company, "Lord, may I do, and get
   good! Let no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but that
   which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the
   hearers!" (Eph. 4:29) When entering upon difficulties, "Lord, give me
   that wisdom which is profitable to direct!" (Eccl. 10:10) "Teach me thy
   way, and lead me in a plain path!" (Psa. 27:11) When encountering with
   temptations, "Let thy strength, O gracious Redeemer, be made perfect in
   my weakness!" (2 Cor. 12:9) These instances may illustrate the design
   of this direction, though they may be far from a complete enumeration
   of all the circumstances in which it is to be regarded.

   18. For the government of our thoughts in solitude: let us accustom
   ourselves, on all occasions, to exercise a due command over our
   thoughts. Let us take care of those entanglements of passion, or those
   attachments to any present interest in view, which would deprive us of
   our power over them. Let us set before us some profitable subject of
   thought; such as the perfection of the blessed God, the love of Christ,
   the value of time, the certainty and importance of death and judgment,
   and the eternity of happiness or misery which is to follow. Let us
   also, at such intervals, reflect on what we have observed as to the
   state of our own souls, with regard to the advance or decline of
   religion; or on the last sermon we have heard or the last portion of
   Scripture we have read. You may perhaps, in this connection, Sir,
   recollect what I have, if I remember right, proposed to you in
   conversation; that it might be very useful to select some one verse of
   Scripture which we have met with in the morning, and to treasure it up
   in our mind, resolving to think of that at any time when we are at a
   loss for matter of pious reflection, in any intervals of leisure for
   entering upon it. This will often be as a spring from whence many
   profitable and delightful thoughts may rise, which perhaps we did not
   before see in that connection and force. Or if it should not be so, yet
   I am persuaded it will be much better to repent the same scripture in
   our mind a hundred times in a day, with some pious ejaculation formed
   upon it, than to leave our thoughts at the mercy of al1 those various
   trifles which may otherwise intrude upon us, the variety of which will
   be far from making amends for their vanity.

   19. Lastly, for the government of our discourse in company. We should
   take great care that nothing may escape us which can expose us, or our
   Christian profession, to censure and reproach; nothing injurious to
   those that are absent, or those that are present; nothing malignant,
   nothing insincere, nothing which may corrupt, nothing which may
   provoke, nothing which may mislead those about us. Nor should we by any
   means be content that what we say is innocent: it should be our desire.
   that it may be edifying to ourselves and others. In this view, we
   should endeavor to have some subject of useful discourse always ready;
   in which we may be assisted by the hints given about furniture for
   thought, under the former head. We should watch for decent
   opportunities of introducing useful reflections; and if a pious friend
   attempt to do it, we should endeavor to second it immediately. When the
   conversation does not turn directly on religious subjects, we should
   endeavor to make it improving some other way; we should reflect on the
   character and capacities of our company, that we may lead them to talk
   of what they understand best; for their discourses on those subjects
   will probably be most pleasant to themselves, as well as most useful to
   us. And in pauses of discourse, it may not be improper to lift up a
   holy ejaculation to God, that his grace may assist us and our friends
   in our endeavors to do good to each other; that all we say or do may be
   worthy the character of reasonable creatures and of Christians.

   20. The directions for a religious closing or the day which I shall
   here mention, are only two: let us see to it, that the secret duties of
   the evening be well performed; and let us lie down on our beds in a
   pious frame.

   21. For the secret devotion in the evening, I would propose a method
   something different from that in the morning; but still, as then, with
   due allowances for circumstances which may make unthought-of
   alterations proper. I should advise to read a portion of Scripture in
   the first place, with suitable reflections and prayer, as above; then
   to read a hymn, or psalm; after this to enter on self-examination, to
   be followed by a longer prayer than that which followed reading, to be
   formed on this review of the day. In this address to the throne of
   grace, it will be highly proper to entreat that God would pardon the
   omissions and offences of the day; to praise him for mercies temporal
   and spiritual; to recommend ourselves to his protection for the ensuing
   night; with proper petitions for others, whom we ought to bear on our
   hearts before him; and particularly for those friends with whom we have
   conversed or corresponded in the preceding day. Many other concerns
   will occur, both in morning and evening prayer, which I have not here
   hinted at; but I did not apprehend that a full enumeration of these
   things belonged, by any means, to our present purpose.

   22. Before I quit this head I must take the liberty to remind you, that
   self-examination is so important a duty, that it will be worth our
   while to spend a few words upon it. And this branch of it is so easy,
   that, when we have proper questions before us, any person of a common
   understanding may hope to go through it with advantage, under a divine
   blessing. I offer you therefore the following queries, which I hope you
   will, with such alterations as you may judge requisite, keep near you
   for daily use. "Did I awake as with God this morning, and rise with a
   grateful sense of his goodness? How were the secret devotions of the
   morning performed? Did I offer my solemn praises, and renew the
   dedication of myself to God. with becoming attention and suitable
   affections? Did I lay my scheme for the business of the day wisely and
   well? How did I read the Scriptures, and any other devotional or
   practical piece which I afterwards found it convenient to review? Did
   it do my heart good, or was it a mere amusement? How have the other
   stated devotions of the day been attended, whether in the family or in
   public? Have I pursued the common business of the day with diligence
   and spirituality, doing every thing in season, and with all convenient
   dispatch, and as unto the Lord?' (Col. 3:23) What time have I lost this
   day, in the morning, or the forenoon, in the afternoon, or the
   evening?" for these divisions will assist your recollection "and what
   has occasioned the loss of it? With what temper, and under what
   regulations have the recreations of this day been pursued? Have I seen
   the hand of God in my mercies, health, cheerfulness, food, clothing,
   books, preservation in journies, success of business, conversation, and
   kindness of friends, &c.? Have I seen it in afflictions, and
   particularly in little things, which had a tendency to vex and disquiet
   me? Have I received my comforts thankfully, and my afflictions
   submissively? How have I guarded against the temptations of the day,
   particularly against this or that temptation which I foresaw in the
   morning? Have I maintained a dependence on divine influence? Have I
   lived by faith on the Son of God,' (Gal. 2:20) and regarded Christ this
   day as my teacher and governor, my atonement and intercessor, my
   example and guardian, my strength and forerunner? Have I been looking
   forward to death and eternity this day, and considered myself as a
   probationer for heaven, and, through grace, an expectant of it? Have I
   governed my thoughts well, especially in such or such an interval of
   solitude? How was my subject of thought this day chosen, and how was it
   regarded? Have I governed my discourses well, in such and such company?
   Did I say nothing passionate, mischievous, slanderous, imprudent,
   impertinent? Has my heart this day been full of love to God, and to all
   mankind? and have I sought, and found, and improved, opportunities of
   doing and of getting good? With what attention and improvement have I
   read the Scripture this evening? How was self-examination performed the
   last night? and how have I profited this day by any remarks I then made
   on former negligences and mistakes? With what temper did I then lie
   down, and compose myself to sleep?"

   22. You will easily see, Sir, that these questions are so adjusted as
   to be an abridgment of the most material advice I have given in this
   letter; and I believe I need not, to a person of your understanding,
   say any thing as to the usefulness of such inquiries. Conscience will
   answer them in a few minutes; but if you think them too large and
   particular, you may make still a shorter abstract for daily use, and
   reserve these, with such obvious alteration as will then be necessary
   for seasons of more than ordinary exactness in review, which I hope
   will occur at least once a week. Secret devotion being thus performed,
   before drowsiness render us unfit for it, the interval between that and
   our going to rest must be conducted by the rules mentioned under the
   next head. And nothing will farther remain to be considered here, but,

   24. The sentiments with which we should lie down and compose ourselves
   to sleep. Now here it is obviously suitable to think of the divine
   goodness, in adding another day, and the mercies of it, to the former
   days and mercies of our life; to take notice of the indulgence of
   Providence in giving us commodious habitations and easy beds, and
   continuing to us such health of body that we can lay ourselves down at
   ease upon them, and such serenity of mind as leaves us any room to hope
   for refreshing sleep; a refreshment to be sought, not merely as an
   indulgence to animal nature, but as whit our wise Creator, in order to
   keep us humble in the midst of so many infirmities, has been pleased to
   make necessary to our being able to pursue his service with renewed
   alacrity. Thus may our sleeping, as well as our waking hours, be in
   some sense devoted to God. And when we are just going to resign
   ourselves to the image of death, to what one of the ancients
   beautifully calls "its lesser mysteries," it is also evidently proper
   to think seriously of that end of all the living, and to renew those
   actings of repentance and faith which we should judge necessary if we
   were to wake no more here. You have once, Sir, seen a meditation of
   that kind in my hand: I will transcribe it for you in the postscript;
   and therefore shall add no more to this head, but here put a close to
   the directions you desired.

   25. I am persuaded the most important of them have, in one form or
   another, been long regarded by you, and made governing maxims of your
   life. I shall greatly rejoice if the review of these, and the
   examination and trial of the rest, may be the means of leading you into
   more intimate communion with God, and so of rendering your life more
   pleasant and useful, and your eternity, whenever that is to commence,
   more glorious. There is not a human creature upon earth whom I should
   not delight to serve in these important interests; but I can faithfully
   assure you, that I am, with particular respect,

   Dear Sir,

   Your very affectionate friend and servant.

   26. This, reader, with the alteration of a very few words, is the
   letter I wrote to a worthy friend (now, I doubt not with, God) about
   sixteen years ago; and I can assuredly say, that the experience of each
   of these years has confirmed me in these views, and established me in
   the. persuasion, that one day thus spent is far preferable to whole
   years of sensuality, and the neglect of religion. I chose to insert the
   letter as it is, because I thought the freedom and particularity of the
   advice I had given in it would appear most natural in its original
   form; and as I propose to enforce these counsels in the next chapter, I
   shall conclude this with that meditation which I promised my friend as
   a postscript, and which I could wish you to make so familiar to
   yourself as that you may be able to recollect the substance of it
   whenever you compose. yourself to sleep.

   A serious view of death, proper to be taken as we lie down on our beds.

   "O my soul! look forward a little with seriousness and attention, and
   learn wisdom by the consideration of thy latter end, (Deut. 22:29)
   Another of thy mortal days is now numbered and finished; and as I have
   put off my clothes, and laid myself upon my bed for the repose of the
   night; so will the day of life quickly come to its period, so must the
   body itself be put off and laid to its repose in a bed of dust. There
   let it rest; for it will be no more regarded by me than the clothes
   which I have now laid aside. I have another far more important concern
   to attend. Think, O my soul! when death comes, thou art to enter upon
   the eternal world, and to be fixed either in heaven or in hell. All the
   schemes and cares, the hopes and fears, the pleasures and sorrows of
   life, will come to their period, and the world of spirits will open
   upon thee. And oh! how soon may it open! Perhaps before the returning
   sun bring on the light of another day. Tomorrow's sun may not enlighten
   my eyes, but only shine round a senseless corpse which may lie in the
   place of this animated body. At least the death of many in the flower
   of their age, and many who were superior to me in capacity, piety, and
   the prospects of usefulness, may loudly warn me not to depend on a long
   life, and engage me rather to wonder that I am continued here so many
   years, than to be surprised if I am speedily removed

   "And now, O my soul! answer as in the sight of God, Art thou ready? Art
   thou ready? Is there no sin unforsaken, and so unrepented of to fill me
   with anguish in my departing moments, and to make me tremble on the
   brink of eternity? Dread to remain under the guilt of it, and this
   moment renew thy most earnest applications to the mercy of God, and the
   blood of a Redeemer, for deliverance from it.

   "But if the great account be already adjusted, if thou hast cordially
   repented of thy numerous offences? if thou hast sincerely committed
   thyself, by faith, into the hands of the blessed Jesus, and hast not
   renounced thy covenant with him, by turning to the allowed practice of
   sin, then start not at the thought of a separation; it is not in the
   power of death to hurt a soul devoted to God, and united to the great
   Redeemer. It may take from me my worldly comforts, it may disconcert
   and break my schemes for service on earth; but, O my soul, diviner
   entertainments and nobler services wait thee beyond the grave!' For
   ever blessed be the name of God and the love of Jesus, for these
   quieting, encouraging joyful views! I will now lay me down in peace,
   and sleep, (Psa. 4:8) free from the fears of what shall be the issue of
   this night, whether life or death be appointed for me. Father, into thy
   hands I commend my spirit, (Luke 23:46) for thou hast redeemed me, O
   God of truth! (Psa. 31:5) and therefore I can cheerfully refer it to
   thy choice, whether I shall wake in this world or another."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XX.

  A SERIOUS PERSUASIVE TO SUCH A METHOD OF SPENDING OUR DAYS AS IS REPRESENTED
  IN THE FORMER CHAPTER.

   1, 2. Christians fix their views too low, and indulge too indolent a
   disposition, which makes it more necessary to urge such a life as that
   under consideration.--3. It is therefore enforced, from its being
   apparently reasonable, considering ourselves as the creatures of God,
   and as redeemed by the blond of Christ.--4. From its evident tendency
   to conduce to our comfort in life.--5. From the influence it will have
   to promote our usefulness to others.--6. From its efficacy to make
   afflictions lighter.--7. From its happy aspect on death.--8. And on
   eternity.--9. Whereas not to desire improvement would argue a soul
   destitute of religion. A prayer suited to the state of a soul who longs
   to attain the life recommended above.

   1. I have been assigning, in the preceding chapter, what, I fear, will
   seem to some of my readers so hard a task, that they will want courage
   to attempt it; and indeed it is a life in many respects so far above
   that of the generality of Christians, that I am not without
   apprehensions that many, who deserve the name, may think the
   directions, after all the precautions with which I have proposed them,
   are carried to an unnecessary degree of nicety and strictness. But I am
   persuaded, much of the credit and comfort of Christianity is lost, in
   consequence of its professors fixing their aims too low, and not
   conceiving of their high and holy calling in so elevated and sublime a
   view as the nature of religion would require, and the word of God would
   direct. I am fully convinced, that the expressions of' "walking with
   God," of "being in the fear of the Lord all the day long." (Prov.
   23:17) and, above all that of "loving the Lord our God with all our
   heart, and soul, and mind, and strength," (Mark 12:30) must require, if
   not all these circumstances, yet the substance of all that I have been
   recommending, so far as we have capacity, leisure, and opportunity; and
   I can not but think that many might command more of the latter, and
   perhaps improve their capacities too, if they would take a due care in
   the government of themselves; if they would give up vain and
   unnecessary diversions, and certain indulgences, which only suit to
   delight the lower part of our nature, and, to say the best of them,
   deprive us of pleasures much better than themselves, if they do not
   plunge us into guilt. Many of these rules would appear easily
   practicable, if men would learn to know the value of time, and
   particularly to redeem it from unnecessary sleep, which wastes many
   golden hours of the day: hours in which many of God's servants are
   delighting themselves in him, and drinking in full draughts of the
   water of life; while these their brethren are slumbering upon their
   beds, and lost in vain dreams, as far below the common entertainments
   of a rational creature as the pleasures of the sublimest devotion are
   above them.

   2. I know likewise, that the mind is very fickle and inconstant and
   that it is a hard thing to preserve such a government and authority
   over our thoughts as would be very desirable, and as the plan I have
   laid down will require. But so much of the honor of God, and so much of
   our true happiness depends upon it, that I beg you will give me a
   patient and attentive hearing while I am pleading with you, and that
   you will seriously examine the arguments, and then judge, whether a
   care and conduct like that which I have advised be not in itself
   reasonable, and whether it will not be highly conducive to your comfort
   and usefulness in life, your peace in death, and the advancement and
   increase of your eternal glory.

   3. Let conscience say, whether such a life as I have described above be
   not in itself highly reasonable. Look over the substance of it again,
   anti bring it under a close examination; for I am very apprehensive
   that some weak objections may rise against the whole, which may in
   their consequence affect particulars, against which no reasonable man
   would presume to make any objection at all. Recollect, O Christian!
   carry it with you in your memory and your heart, while you are pursuing
   this review, that you are the creature of God; that you are purchased
   with the blood of Jesus; and then say whether these relations in which
   you stand do not demand all that application and resolution which I
   would engage you to. Suppose all the counsels I have given you reduced
   into practice; suppose every day begun and concluded with such devout
   breathings after God, and such holy retirements for morning and evening
   converse with him and with your own heart; suppose a daily care, in
   contriving how your time may be managed, and in reflecting how it has
   been employed; suppose this regard to God, this sense of his presence,
   and zeal for his glory, to run through your acts of worship, your hours
   of business and recreation; suppose this attention to Providence, this
   guard against temptation, this dependence upon divine influence, this
   government of the thoughts in solitude, and of the discourse in
   company; nay, I will add farther, suppose every particular direction
   given to be pursued, excepting when particular cases occur, with
   respect to which you shall be able in conscience to say, "I wave it not
   from indolence and carelessness, but because I think it will be just
   now more pleasing to God to be doing something else," which may often
   happen in human life, where general rules are best concerted: suppose,
   I say, all this to be done, not for a day or a week, but through the
   remainder of life, whether longer or shorter; and suppose this to be
   reviewed at the close of life, in the full exercise of your rational
   faculties; will there be reason to say in the reflection, "I have taken
   too much pains in religion; the Author of my being did not deserve all
   this from me; less diligence, less fidelity, less zeal than this, might
   have been an equivalent for the blood which was shed for my redemption.
   A part of my heart, a part of my time, a part of my labors, might have
   sufficed for him, who hath given me all my powers; for him who hath
   delivered me from that destruction which would have made them my
   everlasting torment; for him who is raising me to the regions of a
   blissful immortality." Can you with any face say this? If you cannot,
   then surely your conscience bears witness, that all I have recommended,
   under the limitations above, is reasonable; that duty and gratitude
   require it; and consequently, that, by every allowed failure in it, you
   bring guilt upon your own soul, you offend God, and act unworthy of
   your Christian profession.

   4. I entreat you farther to consider whether such a conduct as I have
   now been recommending, would not conduce much to your comfort and
   usefulness in life. Reflect seriously what is true happiness! Does it
   consist in distance from God, or in nearness to him? Surely you cannot
   be a Christian, surely you cannot be a rational man, if you doubt
   whether communion with the great Father of our spirits be a pleasure
   and felicity; and if it be, then surely they enjoy most of it who keep
   him most constantly in view. You cannot but know, in your own
   conscience, that it is this which makes the happiness of heaven; and
   therefore the more of it any man enjoys upon earth, the more of heaven
   comes down into his soul. If you have made any trial of religion,
   though it be but a few months or weeks since you first became
   acquainted with it, you must be some judge, from your own experience,
   which have been the most pleasant days of your life. Have they not been
   those in which you have acted most upon these principles? those in
   which you have most steadily and resolutely carried them through every
   hour of time, and every circumstance of life? The check which you must,
   in many instances, give to your own inclinations, might seem
   disagreeable; but it would surely be overbalanced, in a most happy
   manner, by the satisfaction you would find in a consciousness of
   self-government; in having such a command of your thoughts, affections,
   and actions, as is much more glorious than any authority over others
   can be.

   5. I would also entreat you to consider the influence which such a
   conduct as this might have upon the happiness of others. And it is easy
   to be seen that it must be very great; as you would find your heart
   always disposed to watch every opportunity of doing good, and to seize
   it with eagerness and delight. It would engage you to make it the study
   and business of your life, to order things in such a manner that the
   end of one kind and useful action might be the beginning of another; in
   which you would go on as naturally as the inferior animals do in those
   productions and actions by which mankind are relieved or enriched; or
   as the earth bears her successive crops of different vegetable
   supplies. And though mankind be, in this corrupt state, so unhappily
   inclined to imitate evil examples rather than good, yet it may be
   expected, that while "your light shines before men," some, "seeing your
   good works," will endeavor to transcribe them in their own lives, and
   so to "glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16) The charm
   of such beautiful models would surely impress some, and incline them at
   least to attempt an imitation; and every attempt would dispose to
   another. And thus, through the divine goodness, you might be entitled
   to a share in the praise, and the reward, not only of the good you had
   immediately done yourself; but likewise of that which you had engaged
   others to do. And no eye, but that of the all-searching God, can see
   into what distant times or places the blessed consequences may reach.
   In every instance in which these consequences appear, it will put a
   generous and sublime joy into your heart which no worldly prosperity
   could afford, and which would be the liveliest emblem of that high
   delight which the blessed God feels in seeing and making his creatures
   happy.

   6. It is true indeed, that amidst all these pious and benevolent cares,
   afflictions may come, and in some measure interrupt you in the midst of
   your projected schemes. But surely these afflictions will be much
   lighter, when your heart is gladdened with the peaceful and joyful
   reflections of your own mind, and with so honorable a testimony of
   conscience before God and man. Delightful will it be to go back to past
   scenes in your pleasing review, and to think that you have not only
   been sincerely humbling yourself for those past offences which
   afflictions may bring to your remembrance; but that you have given
   substantial proofs of the sincerity of that humiliation, by a real
   reformation of what has been amiss, and by adding with strenuous and
   vigorous resolution on the contrary principle. And while converse with
   God, and doing good to men, are made the great business and pleasure of
   life, you will find a thousand opportunities of enjoyment, even in the
   midst of these afflictions, which would render you so incapable of
   relishing the pleasures of sense, that the very mention of them might,
   in those circumstances, seem an insult and a reproach.

   7. At length death will come, that solemn and important hour, which has
   been passed through by so many thousands who have in the main lived
   such a life, and by so many millions who have neglected it. And let
   conscience say, if there was ever one of all these millions who had any
   reason to rejoice in that neglect; or any one, among the most strict
   and exemplary Christians, who then lamented that his heart and life had
   been too zealously devoted to God. Let conscience say, whether they
   have wished to have a part of that time, which they have thus employed,
   given back to them again, that they might be more conformed to this
   world; that they might plunge themselves deeper into its amusements, or
   pursue its honors, its possessions, or its pleasures, with greater
   eagerness than they had done. If you were yourself dying, and a dear
   friend or child stood near you, and this book and the preceding chapter
   should chance to come into your thoughts, would you caution that friend
   or child against conducting himself by such rules as I have advanced?
   The question may perhaps seem unnecessary, where the answer is so plain
   and certain. Well, then, let me beseech you to learn how you should
   live, by reflecting how you would die, and what course you would wish
   to look back upon, when you are just quitting this world and entering
   upon another. Think seriously; what if death should surprise you on a
   sudden, and you should be called into eternity at an hour's or a
   minute's warning, would you not wish that your last day should have
   been thus begun; and the course of it, if it were a day of health and
   activity, should have been thus managed? Wou1d you not wish that your
   Lord should find you engaged in such thoughts and such pursuits? Would
   not the passage, the flight from earth to heaven, be most easy, most
   pleasant, in this view and connection? And, on the other hand, if death
   should make more gradual approaches. would not the remembrance of such
   a pious, holy, humble, diligent, and useful life, make a dying bed much
   softer and easier than it would otherwise be? You would not die,
   depending upon these things. God forbid that you should! Sensible of
   your many imperfections, you would, no doubt, desire to throw yourself
   at the feet of Christ, that you might appear before God, "adorned with
   his righteousness, and washed from your sins in his blood." You would
   also, with your dying breath, ascribe to the riches of his grace every
   good disposition you had found in your heart, and every worthy action
   you had been enabled to perform. But would it not give you a delight,
   worthy of being purchased with ten thousand worlds, to reflect that his
   "grace, bestowed on you, had not been in vain," (1 Cor. 15:10) but that
   you had, from a humble principle of grateful love, glorified your
   heavenly Father on earth, and, in some degree. though not with the
   perfection you could desire, "finished the work which he had given you
   to do:" (John 17:4) that you had been living for many past years as on
   the borders of heaven, and endeavoring to form your heart and life to
   the temper and manners of its inhabitants?

   8. And once more, let me entreat you to reflect on the view you will
   have of this matter when you come into a world of glory, if (which I
   hope will be the happy case) divine mercy conduct you thither. Will not
   your reception there be affected by your care, or negligence, in this
   holy course? Will it appear an indifferent thing in the eye or the
   blessed Jesus, who distributes the crowns, and allots the thrones
   there, whether you have been among the most zealous, or the most
   indolent of his servants? Surely you must wish to have "an entrance
   administered unto you abundantly into the kingdom of your Lord and
   Savior," (2 Pet. 1:11) and what can more certainly conduce to it, than
   to be "always abounding in this work?" (1 Cor. 15:58) You cannot think
   so meanly of that glorious state, as to imagine that you shall there
   look round about with a secret disappointment, and say in your heart
   that you over-valued the inheritance you have received, and pursued it
   with too much earnestness. You will not surely complain that it had too
   many of your thoughts and cares; but, on the contrary, you have the
   highest reason to believe, that, if any thing were capable of exciting
   your indignation and your grief there, it would be, that, amidst so
   many motives and so many advantages, you exerted yourself no more in
   the prosecution of such a prize.

   9. But I will not enlarge on so clear a case, and therefore conclude
   the chapter with reminding you, that to allow yourself deliberately to
   sit down satisfied with any imperfect attainments in religion, and to
   look upon a more confirmed and improved state of it as what you do not
   desire, nay, as what you sincerely resolve that you will not pursue, is
   one of the most fatal signs we can well imagine that you are an entire
   stranger to the first principles of it.

   A Prayer suited to the State of a Soul who desires to attain the Life
   above recommended.

   "Blessed God! I cannot contradict the force of these reasonings: O that
   I may feel more than ever the lasting effects of them! Thou art the
   great fountain of being and of happiness; and as from thee my being was
   derived, so from thee my happiness directly flows; and the nearer I am
   to thee, the purer and more delicious is the stream. With thee is the
   fountain of life; in thy light may I see light!' (Psa. 36:9) The great
   object of my final hope is to dwell for ever with thee. Give me now
   some foretaste of that delight! Give me, I beseech thee, to experience
   the blessedness of that man who feareth the Lord, and who delighteth
   greatly in his commandments,' (Psa. 112:1) and so form my heart by thy
   grace, that I may be in the fear of the Lord all the day long.' (Prov.
   23:17)

   "To thee may my awakening thoughts be directed: and with the first ray
   of light that visits my opening eyes, lift up, O Lord, the light of thy
   countenance upon me!' (Psa. 4:6) When my faculties are roused from that
   broken state in which they lay, while buried, and, as it were,
   annihilated in sleep, may my first actions be consecrated to thee, O
   God, who givest me light; who givest me, as it were, every morning a
   new life and a new reason? Enable my heart to pour out itself before
   thee with a filial reverence, freedom, and endearment! And may I
   hearken to God, as I desire that he should hearken unto me! May thy
   word be read with attention and pleasure! May my soul be delivered into
   the mold of it, and may I hide it in my heart that I may not sin
   against thee!' (Psa. 119:111) Animated by the great motives there
   suggested, may I every morning by renewing the dedication of myself to
   thee, through Jesus Christ thy beloved Son; and be deriving from him
   new supplies of that blessed Spirit of thine, whose influences are the
   life of my soul.

   "And being thus prepared, do thou, Lord, lead me forth by the hand to
   all the duties and events of the day! In that calling, wherein thou
   hast been pleased to call me, may I abide with thee, (1 Cor. 7:20) not
   being slothful in business,' but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord!'
   (Rom. 12:11) May I know the value of time, and always improve it to the
   best advantage, in such duties as thou hast assigned me, how low soever
   they may seem, or how painful soever they may be! To thy glory, O Lord,
   may the labors of life be pursued; and to thy glory may the
   refreshments of it be sought! Whether I eat, or drink, or whatever I
   do,' (1 Cor. 10:31) may that end still be kept in view, and may it be
   attained! And may every refreshment, and release from business, prepare
   me to serve thee with greater vigor and resolution!

   "May my eye be watchful to observe the descent of mercies from thee;
   and may a grateful sense of thy hand in them add a savor and relish to
   all! And when afflictions come, which in a world like this I would
   accustom myself to expect, may I remember that they come from thee; and
   may that fully reconcile me to them, while I firmly believe that the
   same love which gives us our daily bread, appoints us our daily
   crosses; which I would learn to take up, that I may follow my dear
   Lord, (Mark 8:34) with a temper like that which he manifested when
   ascending Calvary for my sake: saying, like him, The cup which my
   Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?' (John 18:11) And when I
   enter into temptation,' do thou, Lord, deliver me from evil.' (Matt.
   6:13) Make me sensible, I entreat thee, of my own weakness, that my
   heart may he raised to thee for present communications of
   proportionable strength. When I am engaged in the society of others,
   may it be my desire and my care that I may do and receive as much good
   as possible; and may I continually answer the great purposes of life,
   by honoring thee; and diffusing useful knowledge and happiness in the
   world. And when I am alone, may I remember my heavenly Father is with
   me;' and may I enjoy the pleasure of thy presence, and fed the
   animating power of it awakening my soul to an en earnest desire to
   think and act as in thy sight.

   "Thus let my days be spent; and let them always be closed in thy fear,
   and under a sense of thy gracious presence. Meet me, O Lord, in my
   evening retirements. May I choose the most proper time for them; may I
   diligently attend to reading and prayer; and when I review my conduct,
   may I do it with an impartial eye. Let not self-love spread a false
   coloring over it; but may I judge myself; as one that expects to be
   judged of the Lord, and is very solicitous he may be approved by thee,
   who searchest all hearts,' and canst not forget any of my works.' (Amos
   8:7) Let my prayer come before thee as incense,' add let the lifting up
   of my hands be as the morning and the evening sacrifice.' (Psa. 141:2)
   May I resign my powers to sleep in sweet calmness and serenity;
   conscious that I have lived to God in the day, and cheerfully persuaded
   that I am accepted of thee in Christ Jesus my Lord,' and humbly hoping
   in thy mercy through him,' whether my days on earth be prolonged; or
   the residue of them be cut off in the midst.' (Isa. 37:10) If death
   comes by a leisurely advance, may it find me thus employed; and if I am
   called on a sudden to exchange worlds, may my last days and hours be
   found to have been conducted by such maxims as these; that I may have a
   sweet and easy passage from the services of time to the infinitely
   nobler services of an immortal state. I ask it through him, who, while
   on earth, was the fairest pattern and example of every virtue and
   grace, and who now lives and reigns with thee, able to save unto the
   uttermost:' (Heb. 7:25) to him, having done all, I would fly, with
   humble acknowledgment that I am an unprofitable servant' (Luke 17:10)
   to him be glory for ever and ever.' Amen "
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXI.

  A CAUTION AGAINST VARIOUS TEMPTATIONS, BY WHICH THE YOUNG CONVERT MAY BE DRAWN
  ASIDE FROM THE COURAGE RECOMMENDED ABOVE.

   1. Dangers continue, after the first difficulties (considered Chap.
   xvi.) are broken through.--2. Particular cautions--against a sluggish
   and indolent temper.--3. Against the excessive love of sensitive
   pleasure.--4. Leading to a neglect of business and needless
   expense.--5. Against the snares of evil company.--6. Against excessive
   hurry of worldly business.--7. Which is enforced by the fatal
   consequences these have had in many cases.--8. The chapter concludes
   with an exhortation to die to this world, and to live to another. And
   the young Convert's prayer for Divine protection against the dangers
   arising from these snares.

   1. THIS representation I have been making of the pleasure and advantage
   of a life spent in devotedness to God and communion with him, as I have
   described it above, will, I hope, engage you, my dear reader, to form
   some purposes, and make some attempt to obtain it. But from considering
   the nature, and observing the course of things, it appears exceedingly
   evident, that, besides the general opposition which I formerly
   mentioned as like to attend you in your first entrance on a religious
   life, you will find even that, after you have resolutely broke through
   this, a variety of hindrances in any attempts or exemplary piety, and
   in the prosecution of a remarkably strict and edifying course, will
   present themselves daily in your path; and whereas you may, by a few
   resolute efforts, baffle some of the former sorts of enemies, these
   will be perpetually renewing their onsets, and a vigorous struggle must
   be continually maintained with them. Give me leave now, therefore, to
   be particular in my cautions against some of the chief of them. And
   here I would insist upon the difficulties which will arise from
   indolence and the love of pleasure from vain company, and worldly
   cares. Each of these may prove ensnaring to any, and especially to
   young persons, to whom I would now have some particular regard.

   2. I entreat you, therefore, in the first place, that you will guard
   against a sluggish and indolent temper. The love of ease insinuates
   itself into the heart under a variety of plausible pretences, which are
   often allowed to pass, when temptations of a grosser nature would not
   be admitted. The misspending a little time seems to wise and good men a
   small matter; yet this sometimes runs them in into great
   inconveniencies. It often leads them to break in upon the seasons
   regularly allotted to devotion, and to defer business which might
   immediately be done, but being put off from day to day, is not done at
   all, and thereby the services of life are at least diminished, and the
   rewards of eternity diminished proportionably: not to insist upon it,
   that very frequently this lays the soul open to farther temptations, by
   which it falls, in consequence of being found unemployed. Be therefore
   suspicious of the first approaches of this kind. Remember that the soul
   of man is an active being, and that it must find its pleasure in
   activity. "Gird up," therefore, "the loins of your mind." (1 Pet. 1:13)
   Endeavor to keep yourself always well employed. Be exact, if I may with
   humble reverence use the expression, in your appointments with God.
   Meet him early in the morning; and say not with the sluggard, when the
   proper hour of rising is come, "A little more sleep, a little more
   slumber." (Prov. 6:10) That time which prudence shall advise you, give
   to conversation and to other recreations. But when that is elapsed, and
   no unforeseen and important engagement prevents, rise and begone. Quit
   the company of your dearest friends, and retire to your proper
   business, whether it be in the field, the shop, or the closet. For by
   acting contrary to the secret dictates of your mind as to what it is
   just at the present moment best to do, though it be but in the manner
   of spending half an hour, some degree of guilt is contracted, and a
   habit is cherished, which may draw after it much worse consequences.
   Consider, therefore, what duties are to be dispatched, and in what
   seasons. Form your plan as prudently as you can, and pursue it
   resolutely; unless an unexpected incident arises, which leads you to
   conclude that duty calls you another way. Allowances for such
   unthought-of interruptions must be made; but if, in consequence of
   this, you are obliged to omit any thing of importance which you
   proposed behave done to-day, do it if possible to-morrow; and do not
   cut yourself out new work, till the former plan be dispatched; unless
   you really judge it, not merely more amusing, but more important. And
   always remember, that a servant of Christ should see to it, that he
   determine on these occasions as in his Master's presence.

   3. Guard also against an excessive love of sensitive and animal
   pleasure, as that which will be a great hindrance to you in that
   religious course which I have now been urging. You cannot but know that
   Christ has told us, "that a man must deny himself, and take up his
   cross daily," (Luke 9:23) if he desire to become his disciple. Christ,
   the Son of God, "the former and the heir of all things, pleased not
   himself," (Rom. 15:3) but submitted to want, to difficulties, and
   hardships, in the way of duty, and some of them of the extremest kind
   and degree, for the glory of God and the salvation of men. In this way
   we are to follow him; and as we know not how soon we may be called,
   even to "resist unto blood, striving against sin," (Heb. 12:4) it is
   certainly best to accustom ourselves to that discipline which we may
   possibly be called out to exercise, even in such rigorous heights. A
   soft and delicate life will give force to temptations, which might
   easily be subdued by one who has habituated himself to "endure
   hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Tim. 2:3) It also
   produces an attachment to this world, and an unwillingness to leave it,
   which ill becomes those who are strangers and pilgrims on earth, and
   who expect so soon to be called away to that better country which they
   "profess to seek." (Heb. 11:13,16) Add to this, that, what the world
   calls a life of pleasure, is necessarily a life of expense too, and may
   perhaps lead you, as it has many others, and especially many who have
   been setting out in the world, beyond the limits which Providence has
   assigned; and so, after a course of indulgence, may produce a
   proportionable want. And while in other cases it is true that pity
   should be shown to the poor, this is a poverty that is justly
   contemptible, because it is the effect of a man's own folly; and when
   your "want thus comes upon you as an armed man," (Prov. 6:11) you will
   not only find yourself striped of the capacity you might otherwise have
   secured for performing those works of charity which are so ornamental
   to a Christian profession, but probably will be under strong
   temptations to some low artifice or mean compliance, quite beneath the
   Christian character and that of an upright man. Many, who once made a
   high profession, after a series of such sorry and scandalous shifts,
   have fallen into the infamy of the worst kind of bankrupts; I mean such
   as have lavished away on themselves what was indeed the property of
   others, and so have injured, and perhaps ruined, the industrious, to
   feed a foolish, luxurious, or ostentatious humor, which, while
   indulged, was the shame of their own families, and when it can be
   indulged no longer, is their torment. This will be a terrible reproach
   to religion: such a reproach to it, that a good man would rather choose
   to live on bread and water, or indeed to die for want of them, than to
   occasion it

   4. Guard, therefore, I beseech you, against any thing which might tend
   that way, especially by diligence in business, and by prudence and
   frugality in expense, which, by the Divine blessing, may have a very
   happy influence to make your affairs prosperous, your health vigorous,
   and your mind easy. But this cannot be attained without keeping a
   resolute watch over yourself, and strenuously refusing to comply with
   many proposals which indolence and sensuality will offer in very
   plausible forms, and for which it will plead, "that it asks but very
   little." Take heed, lest in this respect you imitate those fond
   parents, who, by indulging their children in every little thing they
   have a mind to, encourage them, by insensible degrees, to grow still
   more encroaching and imperious in their demands; as if they chose to be
   ruined with them, rather than to check them in what seems a trifle.
   Remember, and consider that excellent remark, sealed by the ruin of so
   many thousands: "He that despiseth small things, shall fall by little
   and litt1e."

   5. In this view, give me leave also seriously and tenderly to caution
   you, my dear reader, against the snares of vain company. I speak not,
   as before, of that company which is openly licentious and profane. I
   hope there is something now in your temper and views, which would
   engage you to turn away from such with detestation and horror. But I
   beseech you to consider, that those companions may be very dangerous,
   who might at first give you but very little alarm: I mean those who,
   though not the declared enemies of religion, and professed followers of
   vice and disorder, yet nevertheless have no practical sense of divine
   things on their hearts, so far as can be judged by their conversation
   and behavior. You must often of necessity be with such persons; and
   Christianity not only allows, but requires, that you should, on all
   expedient occasions of intercourse with them, treat them with civility
   and respect; but choose not such for your most intimate friends, and do
   not contrive to spend most of your leisure moments among them. For such
   converse has a sensible tendency to alienate the soul from God, and to
   render it unfit for all spiritual communion with him. To convince you
   of this, do but reflect on your own experience, when you have been for
   many hours together among persons of such a character. Do you not find
   yourself more indisposed for devotional exercises? Do you not find your
   heart, by insensible degrees, more and more inclined to a conformity to
   this world, and to look with a secret disrelish on those objects and
   employments to which reason directs as the noblest and best? Observe
   the first symptoms, and guard against the snare in time: and for this
   purpose, endeavor to form friendships founded in piety, and supported
   by it. "Be a companion of them that fear God, and of them that keep his
   precepts." (Psa. 119:63) You well know, that in the sight of God "they
   are the excellent of the earth;" let them therefore "be all your
   delight." (Psa. 16:3) And that the peculiar benefit of their friendship
   may not be lost, endeavor to make the best of the hours you spend with
   them. The wisest of men has observed that when "counsel in the heart of
   a man is like deep waters," that is, when it lies low and concealed, a
   man of understanding will draw it out.' (Prov. 20:5)

   5. Endeavor, therefore, on such occasions, so far as you can do it with
   decency and convenience, give the conversation a religious turn. And
   when serious and useful subjects are started in your presence, lay hold
   of them, and cultivate them; and for that purpose "let the word of
   Christ dwell richly in you," (Col. 3:1) and be continually made "the
   man of your counsel." (Psa. 119:24)

   6. If it be so, it will secure you not only from the snares of idleness
   and luxury, but from the contagion of every bad example. And it will
   also engage you to guard against those excessive hurries of worldly
   business, which would fill up all your time and thoughts, and thereby
   "choke the good word" of God, and render it in a great measure, if not
   quite, unfruitful. (Matt. 13:22) Young people are generally of an
   enterprising disposition: having experienced comparatively little of
   the fatigue of business, and of the disappointments and incumbrances of
   life, they easily swallow them up and annihilate them in their
   imagination, and fancy that their spirit, their application, and
   address, will be able to encounter and, surmount every obstacle or
   hinderance. But the event proves it otherwise. Let me entreat you,
   therefore, to be cautious how you plunge yourself into a greater
   variety of business than you are capable of managing as you ought, that
   is, in consistency with the care of your soul and the service of God,
   which certainly ought not on any pretence to be neglected. It is true
   indeed, that a prudent regard to your worldly interest would require
   such a caution; as it is obvious to every careful observer, that
   multitudes are undone by grasping at more than they can conveniently
   manage. Hence it has frequently been seen, that, while they have seemed
   resolved to be rich, they have "pierced themselves through with many
   sorrows," (1 Tim. 6:10) have ruined their own families, and drawn down
   many others into desolation with them. Whereas, could they have been
   contented with moderate employments and moderate gains, they might have
   prospered in their business, and might, by sure degrees, under a divine
   blessing, have advanced to great and honorable increase. But if there
   were no danger at all to be apprehended on this bend, if you were as
   certain of becoming rich and great, as you are of perplexing and
   fatiguing yourself in the attempt, consider, I beseech you, how
   precarious these enjoyments are. Consider how often "a plentiful table
   becomes a snare, and that which should have been for a man's welfare,
   becomes a trap." (Psa. 69:22) Forget not that short lesson, which is so
   comprehensive of the highest wisdom: "One thing is needful." (Luke
   10:42) Be daily thinking, while the gay and the great things of life
   are glittering before your eyes, how soon death will come, and
   impoverish you at once: how soon it will strip you of all possessions
   but those which a naked soul can carry along with it into eternity,
   when it drops the body into the grave. ETERNITY! ETERNITY! ETERNITY!
   Carry the view of it about with you; if it be possible, through every
   hour of waking life; and be fully persuaded that you have no business,
   no interest in life, that is inconsistent with it; for whatsoever would
   be injurious in view of eternity. is not your business, is not your
   interest. You see indeed, that the generality of men act as if they
   thought the great thing which God requires of them, in order to secure
   his favor, was to get as much of the world as possible: at least as
   much us they can without any gross immorality, and without risking the
   loss of all. Such persons may tell others, and perhaps flatter
   themselves, that they only seek opportunities of greater usefulness.
   But in effect, if they mean any thing more by this than a capacity of
   usefulness, which, when they have it, they will not exert, they
   generally deceive themselves; and, one way or another, it is a vain
   pretence. In most instances men seek the world--either that they may
   hoard up riches for the mean and scandalous satisfaction of looking
   upon them while they are living, and of thinking, that, when they are
   dead, it will be said of them that they have left so many hundreds or
   thousands of pounds behind them; very probably, to ensnare their
   children, or their heirs, (for the vanity is not peculiar to those who
   have children of their own)--or else that they may lavish away their
   riches on their lusts, and drown themselves in a gulf of sensuality in
   which, if reason be not lost, religion is soon swallowed up, and with
   it all the noblest pleasures which can enter into the heart of man. In
   this view, the generality of rich people appear to me objects of much
   greater compassion than the poor: especially as, when both live (which
   is frequently the case) without any fear of God before their eyes, the
   rich abuse the greater variety and abundance of their favors, and
   therefore will probably feel, in that world of future ruin which awaits
   impenitent sinners, a more exquisite sense of their misery.

   7. And let me observe to you, my dear reader, lest you should think
   yourself secure from any such danger that we have great reason to
   apprehend there are many now in a very wretched state, who once thought
   seriously of religion, when they were first setting out, in lower
   circumstances of life; but they have since forsaken God for Mammon and
   are now priding themselves in those golden chains, which, in all
   probability. before it be long, will leave them to remain in those of
   darkness. When, therefore, an attachment to the world may be followed
   with such fatal consequences, "let not thine heart envy sinners,"
   (Prov. 23:17) and do not, out of a desire of gaining what they have, be
   guilty of such folly as to expose yourself to this double danger or
   failing in the attempt, or of being undone by the success of it.
   Contract your desires; endeavor to be easy and content with a little;
   and if Providence call you out to act in a larger sphere, submit to it
   in obedience to Providence, but number it among the trials of life,
   which it will require a larger proportion of grace to bear well. For be
   assured, that, as affairs and interests multiply, cares and duties will
   certainly increase, and probably disappointments and sorrows will
   increase in an equal proportion.

   8. On the whole, learn, by divine grace, to die to the present world:
   to look upon it as a low state of being, which God never intended for
   the final and complete happiness, or the supreme care of any one of his
   children: a world, where something is indeed to be enjoyed, but chiefly
   from himself; where a great deal is to be borne with patience and
   resignation; and where some important duties are to be performed, and a
   course of discipline to be passed through, by which you are to be
   formed for a better state, to which, as a Christian, you are near, and
   to which God will call you, perhaps on a sudden, but undoubtedly, if
   you hold on your way, in the fittest time and the most convenient
   manner. Refer, therefore, all this to him. Let your hopes and fears,
   your expectations and desires, with regard to this world, be kept as
   low as possible; and all your thoughts be united, as much as may be, in
   this one centre: what is it that God would, in present have you to be:
   and what is that method of conduct by which you may most effectually
   please and glorify him.

   The Young Convert's Prayer for Divine Protection against the Danger of
   these Snares.

   "Blessed God! in the midst of ten thousand snares and dangers, which
   surround me from without and from within, permit me to look up unto
   thee with my humble entreaty, that thou wouldst deliver me from them
   that rise up against me,' (Psa. 59:1) and that thine eyes may be upon
   me for good.' (Jer. 24:6) When sloth and indolence are ready to seize
   me, awaken me from that idle dream, with lively and affectionate views
   of that invisible and eternal world to which I am tending! Remind me of
   what infinite importance it is, that I diligently improve those
   transient moments which thou hast allotted me as the time of my
   preparation for it.

   "When sinners entice me, may I not consent! (Prov. 1:10) May holy
   converse with God give me a disrelish for the converse of those who are
   strangers to thee, and who would separate my soul from thee! May I
   honor them that fear the Lord,' (Psa. 15:4) and walking with such wise
   and holy men, may I find I am daily advancing in wisdom and holiness!
   (Prov. 13:20) Quicken me, O Lord! by their means; that by me thou
   mayest also quicken others! Make me the happy instrument of enkindling
   and animating the flame of divine love in their breasts; and may it
   catch from heart to heart, and grow every moment in its progress!

   "Guard me, O Lord! from the love of sensual pleasure! May I seriously
   remember, that to be carnally-minded is death!' (Rom. 8:6) May it
   please thee, therefore, to purify and refine my soul by the influence
   of thine Holy Spirit, that I may always shun unlawful gratifications
   more solicitously than others pursue them; and that those indulgences
   of animal nature which thou hast allowed, and which the constitution of
   things renders necessary, may be soberly and moderately used! May I
   still remember the superior dignity of my spiritual and intelligent
   nature, and may the pleasures of the man and the Christian be sought as
   my noblest happiness! May my soul rise on the wings of holy
   contemplation to the regions of invisible glory; and may I be
   endeavoring to form myself, under the influences of divine grace, for
   the entertainments of those angelic spirits that live in thy presence
   in a happy incapacity of those gross delights by which spirits dwelling
   in flesh are so often ensnared, and in which they so often lose the
   memory of their high original, and of those noble hopes which alone are
   proportionable to it!

   "Give me, O Lord! to know the station in which thou hast fixed me, and
   steadily to pursue the duties of it! But deliver me from those
   excessive cares of this world, which would so engross my time and my
   thoughts, that the one thing needful' should be forgotten! May my
   desires after worldly possessions be moderated, by considering their
   uncertain and unsatisfying nature; and, while others are laying up
   treasures on earth, may I be rich towards God!' (Luke 12:21) May I
   never be too busy to attend to those great affairs which lie between
   thee and my soul; never be so engrossed with the concerns of time, as
   to neglect the interests of eternity! May I pass through earth with my
   heart and hopes set upon heaven, and feel the attractive influence
   stronger and stronger as I approach still nearer and nearer to that
   desirable centre; till the happy moment come, when every earthly object
   shall disappear from my view, and the shining glories of the heavenly
   world shall fill my improved and strengthened sight, which shall then
   be cheered with that which would now overwhelm me! Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXII.

  THE CASE OF SPIRITUAL DECAY AND LANGUOR IN RELIGION

   1. Declension in religion, and relapses into sin, with their sorrowful
   consequences, are in the general too probable.--2. The ease of
   declension and langour in religion described, negatively.--3. And
   positively.--4. As discovering itself by a failure in the duties of the
   closet.--5. By a neglect of social worship.--6. By want of love to our
   fellow Christians.--7. By an undue attachment to sensual pleasures or
   secular cares.--8. By prejudices against some important principles in
   religion.--9,10. A symptom peculiarly sad and dangerous.--11.
   Directions for recovery.--12. Immediately to be pursued. A prayer for
   one under spiritual decays.

   1. IF I am so happy as to prevail upon you in the exhortations and
   cautions I have given, you will probably go on with pleasure and
   comfort in religion, and your path will generally be "like the morning
   light, which shineth more and more until the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18)
   Yet I dare not flatter myself with an expectation of such success as
   shall carry you above those varieties of temper, conduct, and state,
   which have been more or less the complaint of the best of men. Much do
   I fear, that, how warmly soever your heart may now be impressed with
   the representation I have been making, though the great objects of your
   faith and hope continue unchangeable, your temper towards them will be
   changed. Much do I fear that you will feel your mind languish and tire
   in the good ways of God; nay, that you may be prevailed upon to take
   some step out of them, and may thus fall a prey to some of those
   temptations which you now look upon with a holy scorn. The probable
   consequence of this will be, that God will hide his face from you; that
   he will stretch forth his afflicting hand against you, and that you
   still will see your sorrowful moments, how cheerfully soever you now
   "be rejoicing in the Lord, and joying in the God of your salvation."
   (Hab. 3:18) I hope, therefore, it may be of some service, if this too
   probable event should happen, to consider these cases a little more
   particularly; and I heartily pray, that God would make what I shall say
   concerning them the means of restoring, comforting, and strengthening
   your soul, if he ever suffers you in any degree to deviate from him.

   2. We will first consider the case of Spiritual Declensions and Languor
   in religion. And here I desire, that, before I proceed any farther, you
   would observe that I do not comprehend under this head every abatement
   of that fervor which a young convert may find when he first becomes
   experimentally acquainted with divine things. Our natures are so
   framed, that the novelty of objects strikes them in something of a
   peculiar manner: not to urge how much more easily our passions are
   impressed in the earlier years of life, than when we are more advanced
   in the journey of it. This, perhaps, is not sufficiently considered.
   Too great a stress is commonly laid on the flow of affections; and for
   want or this, a Christian, who is ripened in grace, and greatly
   advanced in his preparation for glory, may sometimes be led to lament
   imaginary rather than real decays, and to say, without any just
   foundation, "O that it were with me as in months past!" (Job 29:2)
   Therefore, you can hardly be too frequently told, that religion
   consists chiefly "in the resolution of the will for God,' and in a
   constant care to avoid whatever we are persuaded he would disapprove,
   to despatch the work he has assigned us in life, and to promote his
   glory in the happiness of mankind." To this we are chiefly to attend,
   looking in all to the simplicity and purity of those motives from which
   we act, which we know are chiefly regarded by that God who searches the
   heart; humbling ourselves before him at the same time under a sense of
   our many imperfections, and flying to the blood of Christ and the grace
   of the Gospel.

   3. Having given this precaution, I will now a little more particularly
   describe the case, which I call the state of a Christian who is
   declining in religion; so far as it does not fall in with those which I
   shall consider in the following chapters. And I must observe that it
   chiefly consists "in a forgetfulness of divine objects, and a
   remissness in those various duties to which we stand engaged by that
   solemn surrender which we have made of ourselves to the service of
   God." There will be a variety of symptoms, according to the different
   circumstances and relations in which the Christian is placed; but some
   will be of a more universal kind. It will be peculiarly proper to touch
   on these; and so much the rather, as these declensions are often
   unobserved, like the gray hairs which were upon Ephraim, when he knew
   it not. (Hos. 7:9)

   4. Should you, my reader, fall into this state, it will probably first
   discover itself by a failure in the duties of the closet. Not that I
   suppose they will at first, or certainly conclude that they will at
   all, be wholly omitted, but they will be run over in a cold and formal
   manner. Sloth, or some of those other snares which I cautioned you
   against in the former chapter, will so far prevail upon you, that
   though perhaps you know and recollect that the proper season of
   retirement is come, you will sometimes indulge yourself upon your bed
   in the morning, sometimes in conversation or business in the evening,
   so as not to have convenient time for it. Or perhaps, when you come
   into your closet at that season, some favorite book you are desirous to
   read, some correspondence that you choose to carry on, or some other
   amusement, will present itself, and plead to be despatched first. This
   will probably take up more time than you imagined; and then secret
   prayer will be hurried over, and perhaps reading the Scriptures quite
   neglected. You will plead, perhaps, that it is but for once; but the
   same allowance will be made a second and a third time; and it will grow
   more easy and familiar to you each time than it was the last. And thus
   God will be mocked, and your own soul will be defrauded of its
   spiritual meals, if I may be allowed the expression; the word of God
   will be slighted, and self-examination quite disused; and secret prayer
   itself wilt grow a burden rather than a delight; a trifling ceremony,
   rather than a devout homage, fit for the acceptance of "our Father who
   is in heaven."

   5. If immediate and resolute measures be not taken for your recovery
   from these declensions, they will spread farther, and reach the acts of
   social worship. You will feel the effects in your family and in public
   ordinances. And if you do not feel them, the symptoms will be so much
   the worse. Wandering thoughts will, as it were, eat out the very heart
   of these duties. It is not, I believe, the privilege of the most
   eminent Christians to be entirely free from them; but probably in these
   circumstances you will find but few intervals of strict attention, or
   of any thing which wears the appearance of inward devotion. And when
   these heartless duties are concluded, there will scarce be a reflection
   made, how little God hath been enjoyed in them, how little he hath been
   honored by them. Perhaps the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, being so
   admirably adapted to fix the attention of the soul, and to excite its
   warmest exercise of holy affections, may be the last ordinance in which
   these declensions will be felt. And yet, who can say that the sacred
   table is a privileged place? Having been unnecessarily straitened in
   your preparations, you will attend with less fixedness and enlargement
   of heart than usual. And perhaps a dissatisfaction in the review, when
   there has been a remarkable alienation or insensibility of mind, may
   occasion a disposition to forsake your place and your duty there. And
   when your spiritual enemies have once gained this point upon you, it is
   probable you will fall by swifter degrees than ever, and your
   resistance to their attempts will grow weaker and weaker.

   6. When your love to God our Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ fails,
   your fervor of Christian affection to your brethren in Christ will
   proportionably decline; and your concern for usefulness in life abate,
   especially where any thing is to be done for spiritual edification. You
   will find some one excuse or another for the neglect of religious
   discourse, perhaps not only among neighbors and Christian friends, when
   very convenient opportunities offer; but even with regard to those who
   are members of your own families, and to those who, if you are fixed in
   the superior relations of life, are committed to your care.

   7. With this remissness, an attachment either to sensual pleasures or
   to worldly business will increase. For the soul must have something to
   employ it, and something to delight itself in; and as it turns to the
   one or the other of these, temptations of one sort or another will
   present themselves. In some instances, perhaps the strictest bonds of
   temperance, and the regular appointments or life, may be broken in
   upon, through a fondness for company, and the entertainments which
   often attend it. In other instances, the interests of life appearing
   greater than they did before, and taking up more of the mind, contrary
   interests of other persons may throw you into disquietude, or plunge
   you in debate and contention, in which it is extremely difficult to
   preserve either the serenity or the innocence of the soul. And perhaps,
   if ministers and other Christian friends observe this, and endeavor in
   a plain and faithful way to reduce you from your wandering, a false
   delicacy of mind, often contracted in such a state as this, will render
   these attempts extremely disagreeable. The ulcer of the soul, if I may
   be allowed the expression, will not bear being touched when it most
   needs it; and one of the most generous and self-denying instances of
   Christian friendship shall be turned into an occasion of coldness and
   distaste, yea, perhaps of enmity.

   8. And possibly, to sum up all, this disordered state of mind may lead
   you into some prejudices against those very principles which might be
   most effectual for your recovery; and your great enemy may succeed so
   far in his attempts against you, as to persuade you that you have lost
   nothing in religion, when you have almost lost all. He may very
   probably lead you to conclude that your former devotional frames were
   mere fits of enthusiasm, and that the holy regularity of your walk
   before God was an unnecessary strictness and scrupulosity. Nay, you may
   think it a great improvement in understanding, that you have learnt
   from some new masters, that, if a man treat his fellow creatures with
   humanity and good nature, judging and reviling only those who would
   disturb others by the narrowness of their notions, (for these are
   generally exempted from other objects of the most universal and
   disinterested benevolence so often boasted of) he must necessarily be
   in a very good state, though he pretend not to converse much with God,
   provided that he think respectfully of him, and do not provoke him by
   any gross immoralities.

   9. I mention this in the last stage of religious declension, because I
   apprehend that to be its proper place; and I fear it will be found, by
   experience, to stand upon the very confines of that gross apostacy into
   deliberate and presumptuous sin, which wilt claim our consideration
   under the next head. And because, too, it is that symptom which most
   effectually tends to prevent the success, and even the use, of any
   proper remedies, in consequence of a fond and fatal apprehension that
   they are needless. It is, if I may borrow the simile, like those fits
   of lethargic drowsiness which often precede apoplexies and death.

   10. It is by no means my design at this time to reckon up, much less to
   consider at large, those dangerous principles which are now ready to
   possess the mind, and to lay the foundation of a false and treacherous
   peace. Indeed they are in different instances various, and sometimes
   run into opposite extremes. But if God awaken you to read your Bible
   with attention, and give you to feel the spirit with which it is
   written, almost every page will flash conviction upon the mind, and
   spread a light to scatter and disperse these shades of darkness.

   11. What I chiefly intend in this address, is to engage you, if
   possible, as soon as you perceive the first symptoms of these
   declensions, to be upon your guard, and to endeavor, as speedily as
   possible, to recover yourself from them. And I would remind you, that
   the remedy must begin where the first cause or complaint prevailed, I
   mean, in the closet, Take some time for recollection, and ask your own
   conscience, seriously, how matters stand between the blessed God and
   your soul? Whether they are as they once were, and as you could wish
   them to be, if you saw your life just drawing to a period, and were to
   pass immediately into the eternal state? One serious thought of
   eternity shames a thousand vain excuses, with which, in the
   forgetfulness of it, we are ready to delude our own souls. And when you
   feel that secret misgiving of heart which will naturally arise on this
   occasion, do not endeavor to palliate the matter, and to find out
   slight and artful coverings for what you cannot forbear secretly
   condemning, but honestly fall under the conviction, and be humbled for
   it. Pour out your heart before God, and seek the renewed influences of
   his Spirit and grace.. Return with more exactness to secret devotion,
   and to self-examination. Read the Scripture with yet greater diligence,
   and especially the more devotional and spiritual parts of it. Labor to
   ground it in your heart, and to feel what you have reason to believe
   the sacred penmen felt when they wrote, so far as circumstances may
   agree. Open your soul, with all simplicity; to every lesson which the
   word of God would teach you; and guard against those things which you
   perceive to alienate your mind from inward religion, though there be
   nothing criminal in the things themselves. They may perhaps in the
   general be lawful; to some possibly they may be expedient; but if they
   produce such an effect as was mentioned above, it is certain they are
   not convenient for you in these circumstances, above all, seek the
   converse of those Christians whose progress in religion seems most
   remarkable, and who adorn their profession in the most amiable manner.
   Labor to obtain their temper and sentiments, and lay open your case and
   your heart to them, with all the freedom which prudence will permit.
   Employ yourself, at seasons of leisure, in reading practical and
   devotional books, in which the mind and heart of the pious author is
   transfused into the work, and in which you can, as it were, taste the
   genuine spirit of Christianity. And to conclude, take the first
   opportunity that presents, of making an approach to the table of the
   Lord, and spare neither time nor pains in the most serious preparation
   for it. There renew your covenant with God; put your soul anew into the
   hands of Christ, and endeavor to view the wonders of his dying love, in
   such a manner as may rekindle the languishing flame, and quicken you to
   more vigorous resolution than ever, "to live unto him who died for
   you." (2 Cor. 5:15) And watch over your own heart, that the good
   impressions you then felt may continue. Rest not, till you have
   obtained as confirmed a state of religion as you ever knew. Rest not,
   till yon have made a greater progress than before; for it is only by a
   zeal to go forward, that you can be secure from the danger of going
   backward, and revolting more and more.

   12. I only add, that it is necessary to take these precautions as soon
   as possible, or you will probably find a much swifter progress than you
   are aware in the downhill road; and you may possibly be left of God, to
   fall into some gross and aggravated sin, so as to fill your conscience
   with an agony and horror which the pain of "broken bones" (Psa. 51:8)
   can but imperfectly express.

   A Prayer for one under Spiritual Decays.

   "Eternal and unchangeable Jehovah! thy perfections and glories are,
   like thy being, immutable. Jesus thy Son is the same yesterday, to-day,
   and forever.' (Heb. 13:8) The eternal world, to which I am hastening,
   is always equally important, and presses upon the attentive mind for a
   more fixed and solemn regard, in proportion to the degree in which it
   comes nearer and nearer. But, alas! my views, and my affections, and my
   best resolutions, are continually varying, like this poor body, which
   goes through daily and hourly alterations in its state and
   circumstances. Whence, O Lord! whence this sad change which I now
   experience in the frame and temper of my mind toward thee? Whence this
   alienation of my soul from thee? Why can I not come to thee with all
   the endearments of filial lover as I once could? Why is thy service so
   remissly attended, if attended at all? And why are the exercises of it,
   which were once my greatest pleasure, become a bur den to me? Where, O
   God! is the blessedness I once spake of, (Gal. 4:15) when my joy in
   thee as my Heavenly Father was so conspicuous that strangers might have
   observed it, and when my heart did so overflow with love to thee, and
   with zeal for thy service, that it was a matter of self-denial to me,
   to limit and restrain the genuine expressions of those strong emotions
   of my soul, even where prudence and duty required it?

   "Alas, Lord! whither am I fallen? Thine eye sees me still; but, oh! how
   unlike what it once saw me! Cold and insensible as I am, I must blush
   on the reflection. Thou seest me in secret,' (Matt. 6:6) and seest me,
   perhaps often amusing myself with trifles, in those seasons which I
   used solemnly to devote to thine immediate service. Thou seest me
   coming into thy presence as by constraint; and when I am before thee,
   so straitened in my spirit, that I hardly know what to say to thee,
   though thou art the God with whom I have to do; and though the keeping
   up a humble and dutiful correspondence with thee is, beyond all
   comparison, the most important business in my daily life, And even when
   I am speaking to thee, with how much coldness and formality is it! It
   is perhaps the work of imagination, the labor of the lips; but where
   are those ardent designs, those intense breathings after God, which I
   once felt? Where is that pleasing repose in thee, which I once was
   conscious of, as being near my divine rest, as being happy in that
   nearness, and resolving that, if possible, I would no more be removed
   from it? But, oh! how far am I now removed? When these short devotions,
   if they may be called devotions, are over, in what long intervals do I
   forget thee, and appear so little animated with thy love, so little
   devoted to thy service, that a stranger might converse with me a
   considerable time, without knowing that I had ever formed any
   acquaintance with thee, without discovering that I had so much as known
   or heard any thing of God? Thou callest me to thine house, O Lord! on
   thine own day: but how heartless are my services there! I present thee
   no more than my body: my thoughts and affections are engrossed with
   other objects, while I draw near thee with my mouth, and honor thee
   with my lips.' (Isa. 29:13) Thou callest me to thy table; but my heart
   is so frozen, that it hardly melts even at the foot of the cross,
   hardly feels any efficacy in the blood of Jesus. O wretched creature
   that I am! Unworthy of being called thine! Unworthy of a place among
   thy children, or of the meanest situation in thy family: rather worthy
   to be case out, to be forsaken, yea, to be utterly destroyed!

   "Is this, Lord, the service which I once promised, and which thou hast
   so many thousand reasons to expect? Are these the returns I am making
   for thy daily providential care, for the sacrifice of thy Son, for the
   communications of thy Spirit, for the pardon of my numberless
   aggravated sins, for the hopes, the undeserved and so often forfeited
   hopes of eternal glory! Lord, I am ashamed to stand or to kneel before
   thee. But pity me, I beseech thee, and help me; for I am a pitiable
   object indeed; my soul cleaveth unto the dust, and lays itself as in
   the dust before thee; but, O quicken me according to thy word! (Psa.
   119:25) Let me trifle no longer, for I am upon the brink of a
   precipice! I am thinking of my ways. O give me grace to turn my feet
   unto thy testimonies, to make haste without any farther delay, that I
   may keep thy commandments! (Psa. 119:59,60) Search me, O Lord! and try
   me. (Psa. 139:23) Go to the first root of this distemper, which spreads
   itself over my soul, and recover me from it! Represent sin unto me, O
   Lord! I beseech thee, that I may see it with abhorrence! and represent
   the Lord Jesus Christ to me in such a light that I may look upon him
   and mourn, (Zec. 12:10) that I may look upon him and love! May I awaken
   from this stupid lethargy into which I am sinking, and may Christ give
   me more abundant degrees of spiritual life and activity than I have
   ever yet received! and may I be so quickened and animated by him, that
   I may more than recover the ground I have lost, and may make a more
   speedy and exemplary progress than in my best days I have ever yet
   done! Send down upon me, O Lord! in a more rich and abundant effusion,
   thy good Spirit. May he dwell in me as a temple which he has
   consecrated to himself! (1 Cor. 3:16) and while all the service is
   directed and governed by him, may holy and acceptable sacrifices be
   continually offered! (Rom. 12:1) May the incense be constant, and may
   it be fragrant! May the sacred fire burn and blaze perpetually! (Lev.
   6:13) And may none of its vessels ever be profaned, by being employed
   to an unholy or forbidden use! Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXIII.

  THE SAD CASE OF A RELAPSE INTO KNOWN AND DELIBERATE SIN, AFTER SOLEMN ACTS OP
  DEDICATION TO GOD AND SOME PROGRESS MADE IN RELIGION.

   1. Unthought of relapses may happen.--2. And bring the soul into a
   miserable case.--3. Yet the case is not desperate.--4. The backslider
   urged immediately to return, by deep humiliation before God for so
   aggravated an offence.--5. By renewed regards to the divine mercy in
   Christ.--6. By an open profession of repentance, where the crime hath
   given public offence.--7. Falls to be reviewed for future caution.--8.
   The chapter concludes with a prayer for the use of one who hath fallen
   into gross sins, after religious resolutions and engagements.

   1. THE declensions which I have described in the foregoing chapter,
   must be acknowledged worthy of deep lamentations; but happy will you
   be, my dear reader, if you never know, by experience, a circumstance
   yet more melancholy than this. Perhaps, when you consider the view of
   things which you now have, you imagine that no consideration can ever
   bribe you, in any single instance, to act contrary to the present
   dictates or suggestions of your conscience, or of the Spirit of God by
   which it has been enlightened and directed. No: you think it would be
   better for you to die. And you think rightly: but Peter thought and
   said so too; "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee,"
   (Matt. 26:35) and yet, after all. he fell; and therefore, "be not
   high-minded, but fear." (Rom. 11:20) It is not impossible but you may
   fall into that very sin of which you imagine you are least in danger,
   or into that against which you have most solemnly resolved and of which
   you have already most bitterly repented. You may relapse into it again
   and again. But, O! if you do, nay, if you should deliberately and
   presumptuously fall but once, how deep will it pierce your heart! How
   dear will you pay for all the pleasure with which the temptation has
   been accompanied! How will this separate between God and you! What a
   desolation, what a dreadful desolation will it spread over your soul!
   It is grievous to think of it. Perhaps in such a state you may feel
   more and agony and distress in your own conscience, when you come
   seriously to reflect, than you ever felt when you were first awakened
   and reclaimed: because the sin will be attended with some very high
   aggravations, beyond those of your unregenerate state. I well know the
   person that said, "the agonies of a sinner, in the first pangs of his
   repentance, are not to be mentioned on the same day with those of the
   backslider in heart,' when he comes to be filled with his own way."
   (Prov. 14:14)

   2. Indeed, it is enough to wound one's heart to think how yours will be
   wounded; how all your comforts, all your evidences, all your hopes,
   will be clouded; what thick darkness will spread itself on every side;
   so that neither sun, nor moon, nor stars will appear in your heaven.
   Your spiritual consolations will be gone; and your temporal enjoyments
   will also be rendered tasteless and insipid. And if afflictions be
   sent, as they probably may, in order to reclaim you, a consciousness of
   guilt will sharpen and envenom the dart. Then will the enemy of your
   soul, with all his art and power, rise up against you, encouraged by
   your fall, and laboring to trample you down in utter, hopeless ruin. He
   will persuade you that you are already undone beyond recovery. He will
   suggest that it signifies nothing to attempt it any more; for that
   every effort, every amendment, every act of repentance, will but make
   your case so much the worse, and plunge you lower and lower into hell.

   3. Thus will he endeavor by terrors to keep you from that sure remedy
   which yet remains. But yield not to him. Your case will indeed be sad;
   and if it be now your case, it is deplorably so; and to rest in it,
   would be still much worse. Your heart would be hardened yet more and
   more; and nothing could be expected but sudden and aggravated
   destruction. Yet, blessed be God, it is not quite hopeless. Your
   "wounds are corrupted, because of your foolishness," (Psa. 38:5) but
   the gangrene is not incurable. "There is a balm in Gilead, there is a
   physician there." (Jer. 8:22) Do not therefore render your condition
   hopeless, by now saying, "There is no hope," (Jer. 2:25) and by drawing
   a fatal argument from a false supposition, "for going after the idols
   you have loved." Let me address you in the language of God to his
   backsliding people, when they were ready to apprehend that to be their
   case, and to draw such a conclusion from it: "only return unto me,
   saith the Lord." (Jer. 3:13) Cry for renewed grace; and in the strength
   of it labor to return. Cry with David, under the like guilt, "I have
   gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant, for I do not forget
   thy commandments;" (Psa. 119:176) and that remembrance of them is, I
   hope, a token for good. But if thou wilt return at all, do it
   immediately. Take not one step more in that fatal path, to which thou
   hast turned aside. Think not to add one more sin to the account, and
   then to repent; as if it would be but the same thing on the whole. The
   second error may be worse than the first; it may make way for another
   and another, and draw on a terrible train of consequences, beyond all
   you can now imagine. Make haste, therefore, and do not delay. "Escape,
   and fly as for thy life," (Gen. 19:17) before "the dart strike through
   thy liver." (Prov. 7:23) "Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to
   thine eyelids," (Prov. 6:4) lie not down upon thy bed under unpardoned
   guilt, lest evil overtake thee, lest the sword of divine justice should
   smite thee, and, whilst thou purposest to return tomorrow, thou
   shouldst this night go and take possession of hell.

   4. Return immediately, and, permit me to add, return solemnly. Some
   very pious and excellent divines have expressed themselves upon this
   head, in a manner which seems liable to dangerous abuse: when they urge
   men after a fall, "not to stay to survey the ground, nor consider how
   they came to be thrown down, but immediately to get up and renew the
   race." In slighter cases the advice is good; but when conscience has
   suffered such violent outrage, by the commission of known, willful, and
   deliberate sin, (a case which one would hope should but seldom happen
   to those who have once sincerely entered on a religious course) I can
   by no means think that either reason or Scripture encourages such a
   method. Especially would it be improper, if the action itself had been
   of so heinous a nature, that even to have fallen into it on the most
   sudden surprise of temptation, must have greatly ashamed, and
   terrified, and distressed the soul. Such an affair is dreadfully
   solemn, and should be treated accordingly. If this has been the sad
   case with you, my then unhappy reader, I would pity you, and mourn over
   you; and would beseech you, as you value your peace, your recovery, the
   health and the very life of your soul, that you would not loiter away
   an hour. Retire immediately for serious reflection. Break through other
   engagements and employments unless they be such as you cannot in
   conscience delay for a few hours, which can seldom happen in the
   circumstance I now suppose. Set yourself to it, therefore, as in the
   presence of God, and hear at large, patiently and humbly, what
   conscience has to say, though it chide and reproach severely. Yea,
   earnestly pray that God would speak to you by conscience, and make you
   more thoroughly to know and feel "what an evil and bitter thing it is,
   that you have thus forsaken him." (Jer. 2:19) Think of all the
   aggravating circumstances attending your offence; and especially think
   of those which arise from abused mercy and goodness which arise, not
   only from your solemn vows and engagements to God, but from the views
   you have had of a Redeemer's love, sealed even in blood. And are these
   the returns? Was it not enough that Christ should have been thus
   injured by his enemies? Must he be "wounded in the house of his
   friends" too? (Zech. 13:6) Were "you delivered to work such
   abominations as these?" (Jer. 7:10) Did the blessed Jesus groan and die
   for you, that you might sin with boldness and freedom, that you might
   extract, as it were, the very spirit and essence of sin, and offend God
   to a height of ingratitude and baseness, which would otherwise have
   been, in the nature of things, impossible? O think, how justly God
   might "cast you out from his presence!" How justly he might number you
   among the most signal instances of his vengeance! And think how "your
   heart would endure or your hands be strong," if he should " deal thus
   with you!" (Ezek. 22:14) Alas! all your former experiences would
   enhance your sense of the ruin and misery that must be felt in an
   eternal banishment from the divine presence and favor.

   5. Indulge such reflections as these. Stand the humbling sight of your
   sins in such a view as this. The more odious and the more painful it
   appears, the greater prospect there will be of your benefit by
   attending to it. But the matter is not to rest here. All these
   reflections are intended, not to grieve, but to cure; and to grieve no
   more than may promote the cure. You are indeed to look upon sin; but
   you are also, in such circumstances, if ever, to look upon Christ, to
   look upon him whom you have now pierced deeper than before, and to
   mourn for him with sincerity and tenderness. (Zech. 12:10) The God whom
   you have injured and affronted, whose laws you have broken, and whose
   justice you have, as it were, challenged by this foolish, wretched
   apostasy, is nevertheless "a most merciful God." (Deut. 4:21) You
   cannot be so ready to return to him, as he is to receive you. Even now
   does he, as it were, solicit a reconciliation, by those tender
   impressions which lie is making upon your heart. But remember how he
   wilt be reconciled. It is in the very same way in which you made your
   first approach to him, in the name and for the sake of his dear Son.
   Come therefore in an humble dependence upon him. Renew your application
   to Jesus, that his blood may, as it were, be sprinkled upon your soul,
   that your soul may thereby be purified, and your guilt removed. This
   very sin of yours, which the blessed God foresaw, increased the weight
   of your Redeemers sufferings: it was concerned in shedding his blood.
   Humbly go, and place your wounds, as it were, under the droppings of
   that precious balm, by which alone they can be healed. That
   compassionate Savior will delight to restore you, when you lie as an
   humble suppliant at his feet, and will graciously take part with you in
   that peace and pleasure which he gives. Through him renew your covenant
   with God, that broken covenant, the breach of which divine justice
   might teach you to know "by terrible things in righteousness:" (Psa.
   65:5) but mercy allows of an accommodation. Let the consciousness and
   remembrance of that breach engage you to enter into covenant anew,
   tinder a deeper sense than ever of your own weakness, and a more
   cordial dependence on divine grace for your security, than you have
   ever yet entertained. I know you will be ashamed to present yourself
   among the children of God in his sanctuary, and especially at his
   table, under a consciousness of so much guilt; but break through that
   shame, if Providence open you the way. You would be humbled before your
   offended Father; but surely there is no place where you are more likely
   to be humbled, than when you see yourself in his house, and no
   ordinance administered there can lay you lower than that in which
   "Christ is evidently set forth as crucified before your eyes." (Gal.
   3:1) Sinners are the only persons who have business there. The best of
   men come to that sacred table as sinners. As such make your approach to
   it; yea, as the greatest of sinners, as one who needs the blood of
   Jesus as much as any creature upon earth.

   6. And let me remind you of one thing more. If your fall has been of
   such a nature as to give any scandal to others, be not at all concerned
   to save appearances, and to moderate those mortifications which deep
   humiliation before them would occasion. The depth and pain of that
   mortification is indeed an excellent medicine, which God has in his
   wise goodness appointed for you in such circumstances as these. In such
   a case, confess your fault with the greatest frankness; aggravate it to
   the utmost; entreat pardon and prayer from those whom you have
   offended. Then, and never till then, will you be in the way to peace;
   not by palliating a fault not by so making vain excuses, not by
   objecting to the manner in which others may have treated you; as if the
   least excess or rigor in a faithful admonition were a crime equal to
   some great immorality that occasioned it. This can only proceed from
   the madness of pride and self-love; it is the sensibility of a wound,
   which is hardened, swelled, and inflamed; and it must be reduced, and
   cooled, and suppled, before it can possibly be cured. To be censured
   and condemned by men, will be but a little grievance to a sour
   thoroughly humbled and broken under a sense of having incurred the
   condemning sentence of God. Such a one will rather desire to glorify
   God, by submitting to deserved blame; and will fear deceiving others
   into a more favorable opinion of himself than he inwardly knows that
   lie deserves. These are the sentiments which God gives to the sincere
   penitent in such a case; and by this means he restores him to that
   credit and regard among others, which he does not know how to seek; but
   which, nevertheless, for the sake both of his comfort and usefulness,
   God wills that he should have, and which it is, humanly speaking,
   impossible for him to recover any other way. But there is something so
   honorable in the frank acknowledgment of a fault, and in deep
   humiliation for it, that all who see it must needs approve it. They
   pity an offender who is brought to such a disposition, and endeavor to
   comfort him with returning expressions, not only of their love, but of
   their esteem too.

   7. Excuse this digression, which may suit some cases; and which would
   suit many more, if a regular discipline were to be exercised in
   churches; for, on such a supposition, the Lord's Supper could not be
   approached, after visible and scandalous falls, without solemn
   confession of the offence, and declarations of repentance. On the other
   hand, there may be instances of sad apostacy, where the crime, though
   highly aggravated before God, may not fall under human notice. In this
   case, remember that your business is with Him to whose piercing eye
   every thing appears in its just light before him, therefore, prostrate
   your soul, and seek a solemn reconciliation with him, confirmed by the
   memorials of his dying Son; And when this is done, imagine not, that,
   because you have received the tokens of pardon, the guilt of your
   apostacy is to be forgotten at once. Bear it still in your memory for
   future caution: lament it before God, especially in the frequent
   returns of secret devotion; and view with humiliation the scars of
   those wounds which your own folly occasioned, even when by divine grace
   they are thoroughly healed. For God establishes his covenant, not to
   remove the sense of every past abomination, but "that thou mayest
   remember thy ways, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more
   because of thy shame, even when I am pacified towards thee for all that
   thou hast done, saith the Lord." (Ezek. 16:63)

   8. And now, upon the whole, if you desire to attain such a temper, and
   to return to such steps as these, then immediately fall down before
   God, and pour out your heart in his presence, in language like this.

   A Prayer for one who has fallen into gross Sin, after religious
   Resolutions and Engagements.

   "O most Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God! when I seriously reflect on thy
   spotless purity, and on the strict and impartial methods of thy steady
   administration, together with that almighty power of thine, which is
   able to carry every thought of thine heart into immediate and full
   execution, I may justly appear before thee this day with shame and
   terror, in confusion and consternation of spirit. This day, O my God!
   this dark, mournful day, would I take occasion to look back to that sad
   source of our guilt and our misery, the apostacy of our common parents,
   and say with thine offending servant David, Behold, I was shapen in
   iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.' (Psa. 51:5) This day
   would I lament all the fatal consequences of such a descent, with
   regard to myself. And, oh how many have they been! The remembrance of
   the sins of my unconverted state, and the failings and infirmities of
   my after life, may justly confound me! How much more such a scene as
   now lies before my conscience, and before thine all-seeing eye! For
   thou, O Lord! knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from
   thee.' (Psa. 69:5) Thou tellest all my wanderings from thy statutes,
   (Psa. 56:8) thou seest and thou recordest every instance of my
   disobedience to thee, and of my rebellion against thee. Thou seest them
   in every aggravated circumstance which I can discern, and many more
   which I have never observed or reflected upon. How then shall I appear
   in thy presence, or lift up my face to thee! (Ezra 9:6) 1 am full of
   confusion, (Job 10:15) and fed a secret regret in the thought of
   applying to thee; but; O Lord, to whom shall I go but unto thee?' (John
   6:68) Unto thee, on whom depends my life or my death; unto thee, who
   alone canst take away the burden of guilt which now presses me down to
   the dust; who alone canst restore to my soul that rest and peace which
   I have lost, and which I deserve for ever to lose!

   "Behold me, O Lord God! falling down at thy feet! Behold me pleading
   guilty in thy presence, and surrendering myself to that justice which I
   cannot escape! I have not one word to offer in my own vindication, in
   my own excuse. Words, far from being able to clear up my innocence, can
   never sufficiently describe the enormity and demerit of my sin. Thou, O
   Lord! and thou only, knowest to the full, how heinous and how
   aggravated it is. Thine infinite understanding alone can fathom the
   infinite depth of its malignity. I am, on many accounts, most unable to
   do it. I cannot conceive the glory of thy sacred Majesty, whose
   authority I have despised, nor the number and variety of those mercies
   which I have sinned against. I cannot conceive the value of the blood
   of thy dear Son, which I have ungratefully trampled under my feet; nor
   the dignity of that blessed Spirit of thine, whose agency I have, as
   far as I could, been endeavoring to oppose, and whose work I have been,
   as with all my might, laboring to undo; and to tear up, as it were,
   that plantation of his grace which I should rather have been willing to
   have guarded with my life, and watered with my blood. O the baseness
   and madness of my conduct! That I should thus, as it were, rend open
   the wounds of my soul, of which I had died long ere this, had not thine
   own hand applied a remedy, had not thine only Son bled to prepare it!
   that I should violate the covenant I had made with thee by sacrifice,
   (Psa. 50:5) by the memorials of such a sacrifice too, even of Jesus, my
   Lord, whereby I am become guilty of his body and blood. (1 Cor. 11:27)
   That I should bring suck dishonor upon religion too, by so unsuitable a
   walk, and perhaps open the mouths of its greatest enemies to insult it
   upon my account, and prejudice some against it to their everlasting
   destruction!

   "I wonder, O Lord God! that I am here to own all this. I wonder that
   thou hast not long ago appeared as a swift witness against me, (Mal.
   3:5) that thou hast not discharged the thunderbolts of thy flaming
   wrath against me, and crushed me into hell; making me there a terror to
   all about me, as well as to myself, by a vengeance and ruin, to be
   distinguished even there, where all are miserable, and all hopeless.

   "O God! thy patience is marvellous! But how much more marvellous is thy
   grace, which, after all this, invites me to thee. While I am here
   giving judgment against myself that I deserve to die, to die for ever,
   thou art sending me the words of everlasting life, and calling me, as a
   backsliding child, to return unto thee.' (Jer. 3:22) Behold, therefore,
   O Lord! invited by thy word, and encouraged by thy grace, I come; and
   great as my transgressions are, I humbly beseech thee freely to pardon
   them; because I know, that, though my sins have reached unto heaven,'
   (Rev. 18:5) and are lifted up even unto the skies,' (Jer. 51:9) thy
   mercy,' O Lord! is above the heavens.' (Psa. 108:4) Extend that mercy
   to me, O heavenly Father! and display, in this illustrious instance,
   the riches of thy grace and the prevalency of thy Son's blood! For
   surely, if such crimson sins as mine may be made white as snow and as
   wool,' (Isa. 50:12) and if such a revolter as I am be brought to
   eternal glory, earth must, so far as it is known, be filled with wonder
   and heaven with praise; and the greatest sinner may cheerfully apply
   for pardon, if I, the chief of sinners,' find it. And, oh! that, when I
   have lain mourning, and as it were bleeding at thy feet, as long as
   thou thinkest proper, thou wouldst at length heal this soul of mine'
   which has sinned against thee, (Psa. 41:4) and give me beauty for
   ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the
   spirit of heaviness!' (Isa. 61:3) O that thou wouldst at length restore
   unto me the joy of thy salvation, and make me to hear songs of
   gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice!' (Psa.
   51:8,12) Then, when a sense of thy forgiving love is shed abroad upon
   my heart, and it is cheered with the voice of pardon, I will proclaim
   thy grace to others; I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners
   shall be converted unto thee:' (Psa. 51:13) those that have been
   backsliding from thee shall be encouraged to seek thee, by my happy
   experience, which I will gladly proclaim for thy glory, though it be to
   my own shame and confusion of face. And may this joy of the Lord be my
   strength!' (Neh. 8:10) so that in it I may serve thee henceforward with
   a vigor and zeal far beyond what I have hitherto known! This I would
   ask with all humble submission to thy will, for! presume not to insist
   upon it. If thou shouldst see fit to make me a warning to others, by
   appointing that I should walk all my days in darkness, and at last die
   under a cloud, thy will be done!' But, O God! extend mercy, for thy
   Son's sake, to this sinful soul at last, and give me some place, though
   it were at the feet of all thy other servants, in the regions of glory!
   O bring me at length, though it should be through the gloomiest valley
   that any one ever passed, into that blessed world, where I shall depart
   from God no more where I shall wound my own conscience, and dishonor
   thy holy name no more! Then shall my tongue be loosed, how long soever
   it might here be bound under the confusion of guilt; and immortal
   praises shall be paid to that victorious blood which has redeemed such
   an infamous slave of sin as I must acknowledge myself to be, and
   brought me, from returns into bondage and repeated pollution, to share
   the dignity and holiness of those who are kings and priests unto God.'
   (Rev. 1:6) Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXIV.

  THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE HIDING OF GOD'S FACE.

   1. The phrase scriptural.--2. It signifies the withdrawing the tokens
   of the divine favor.--3 chiefly as to spiritual considerations.--4.
   This may become the case of any Christian.--5. and will be found a very
   sorrowful one.--6. The following directions, therefore, are given to
   those who suppose it to be their own: To inquire whether it be indeed a
   case of spiritual distress, or whether a disconsolate frame may not
   proceed from indisposition of body,--7. or difficulties as to worldly
   circumstances.--8, 9. If it be found to be indeed such as the title of
   the chapter proposes, be advised--to consider it as a merciful
   dispensation of God, to awaken and bestir the soul, and excite to a
   strict examination of conscience, and reformation of what has been
   amiss.--10. To be humble and patient while the trial continues.--11. To
   go on steadily in the way of duty.--12. To renew a believing
   application to the blood of Jesus. An humble supplication for one under
   these mournful exercises of mind, when they are found to proceed from
   the spiritual cause supposed.

   1. THERE is a case which often occurs in the Christian life, which they
   who accustom themselves much to the exercise of devotion have been used
   to call the "hiding of God's face." It is a phrase borrowed from the
   word of God, which I hope may shelter it from contempt at the first
   hearing. It will be my business in this chapter to state it as plainly
   as I can, and then to give some advice as to your own conduct when you
   fall into it, as it is very probable you may before you have finished
   your journey through this wilderness.

   2. The meaning of it may partly be understood by the opposite phrase of
   God's "causing his face to shine upon a person, or lifting up upon him
   the light of his countenance." This seems to carry in it an allusion to
   the pleasant and delightful appearance which the face of a friend has,
   and especially if in a superior relation of life, when he converses
   with those whom be loves and delights in. Thus Job, when speaking of
   the regard paid him by his attendants, says, "If I smiled upon them,
   they believed it not, and the light of my countenance they cast not
   down," (Job 29:24) that is, they were careful, in such agreeable
   circumstances, to do nothing to displease me, or (as we speak) to cloud
   my brow. And David, when expressing his desire of the manifestation of
   God's favor to him, says, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy
   countenance upon me;" and, as the effect of it, declares, "thou hast
   put gladness into my heart, more than if corn and wine increased."
   (Psa. 4:6,7) Nor is it impossible, that, in this phrase, as used by
   David, there may be some allusion to the bright shining forth of the
   Shekinah, that is, the lustre which dwelt in the cloud as the visible
   sign of the divine presence with Israel, which God was pleased
   peculiarly to manifest upon some public occasions, as a token of his
   favor find acceptance. On the other hand, therefore, for God "to hide
   his face," must imply his withholding the tokens of his favor and must
   be esteemed a mark of his displeasure. Thus Isaiah uses it, "Your
   iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have
   hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isa. 59:2) And again,
   "Thou hast hid thy face from us," as not regarding the calamities we
   suffer, "and hast consumed us because of our iniquities." (Isa. 64:7)
   So likewise for God "to hide his face from our sins?" (Psa. 51:9)
   signifies to overlook them, and to take no farther notice of them. The
   same idea is, at other times, expressed by "God's hiding his eyes,"
   (Isa. 1:15) from persons of a character disagreeable to him, when they
   come to address him with their petitions, not vouchsafing, as it were,
   to look toward them. This is plainly the scriptural sense of the word;
   and agreeably to this, it is generally used by Christians in our day,
   and every thing which seems a token of divine displeasure toward them
   is expressed by it.

   3. It is farther to be observed here, that the things which they judge
   to be manifestations of divine favor toward them, or complacency in
   them, are not only, nor chiefly of a temporal nature, or such as merely
   relate to the blessings of this animal and perishing life. David,
   though the promises of the law had a continual reference to such, yet
   was taught to look farther, and describes them as preferable to, and
   therefore plainly distinct from "the blessings of the corn-floor or the
   wine-press." (Psa. 4:7) And if you whom I am now addressing do not know
   them to be so, it is plain you are quite ignorant of the subject we are
   inquiring into, and indeed have yet to learn the first lessons of true
   religion. All that David says, of "beholding the beauty of the Lord,"
   (Psa. 27:4) or being "satisfied as with marrow and fatness, when he
   remembered him upon his bed," (Psa. 63:5,6) as well as "with the
   goodness of his house, even of his holy temple," (Psa. 65:4) is to be
   taken in the same sense, and can need very little explication to the
   truly experienced soul. But those who have known the light of God's
   countenance, and the shinings of his face, will, in proportion to the
   degree of that knowledge, be able to form some notion of the hiding of
   his face, or the withdrawing of the tokens he has given his people of
   his presence and favor, which sometimes greatly imbitters prosperity;
   as, where the contrary is found, it sweetens affliction, and often
   swallows up the sense of it.

   4. And give me leave to remind you, my Christian friend, (for under
   that character I now address my reader) that to be thus deprived of the
   sense of God's love, and of the tokens of his favor, may soon be the
   case with you, though you may now have the pleasure to see the candle
   of the Lord shining upon you, or though it may even seem to he sunshine
   and high noon in your soul. You may lose your lively views of the
   divine perfections and glory, in the contemplation of which you now
   find that inward satisfaction. You may think of the divine wisdom and
   power, of the divine mercy and fidelity, as well as of his
   righteousness and holiness, and feel little inward complacency of soul
   in the view: it may be, with respect to any lively impressions, as if
   it were the contemplation merely of a common object. It may seem to you
   as if you had lost all idea of those important words, though the view
   has sometimes swallowed up your whole soul in transports of
   astonishment, admiration, and love. You may lose your delightful sense
   of the divine favor. It may be matter of great and sad doubt with you,
   whether you do indeed belong to God; and all the work of his blessed
   Spirit may be so veiled and shaded in the soul, that the peculiar
   characters by which the hand of that sacred Agent might be
   distinguished, shall be in a great measure lost; and you may he ready
   to imagine you have only deluded yourself in all the former hopes you
   have entertained. In consequence of this, those ordinances in which you
   now rejoice, may grow very uncomfortable to you, even when you do
   indeed desire communion with God in them. You may hear the most
   delightful evangelical truths opened, you may hear the privileges of
   God's children most affectionately represented, and not be aware that
   you have any part or lot in the matter; and from that very coldness and
   insensibility may be drawing a farther argument that you have nothing
   to do with them. And then "your heart" may "meditate terror," (Isa.
   33:18) and under the distress that overwhelms you, your dearest
   enjoyments may he reflected upon as adding to the weight of it, and
   making it more sensible, white you consider that you bad once such a
   taste for these things, and have now lost it all. So that perhaps it
   may seem to you, that they who never felt any thing at all of religious
   impressions, are happier than you, or at least are less miserable. You
   may, perhaps, in these melancholy hours, even doubt whether you have
   ever prayed at all, and whether all that you called your enjoyment of
   God, was not some false delight, excited by the great enemy of souls,
   to make you apprehend that your state was good, that so you might
   continue his more secure prey.

   5. Such as this may be your case for a considerable time; and
   ordinances maybe attended in vain, and the presence of God may be in
   vain sought in them. You may pour out your soul in private, and then
   come to public worship, and find little satisfaction in either, but be
   forced to take up the Psalmist's complaint, "My God, I cry in the
   day-time, but thou hearest not; and in the night-season, and am not
   silent;" (Psa. 22:2) or that of Job, "Behold, I go forward, but he is
   not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand,
   where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the
   right hand, that I cannot see him." (Job 23:8,9) So that all which
   looked like religion in your mind, shall seem as it were to be melted
   into grief or chilled into fear, or crushed into a deep sense of your
   own unworthiness; in consequence of which, you shall dare not so much
   as lift up your eyes before God, and be almost ashamed to take your
   place in a worshipping assembly among any that you think his servants.
   I have known this to be the case of some excellent Christians, whose
   improvements in religion have been distinguished, and whom God hath
   honored above many of their brethren in what he hath done for them, and
   by them. Give me leave, therefore, having thus described it, to offer
   you some plain advice with regard to it; and let not that be imputed to
   enthusiastic fancy which proceeds from an intimate and frequent view of
   facts on the one hand; and from a sincere affectionate desire on the
   other, to relieve the tender, pious heart, in so desolate a state. At
   least I am persuaded the attempt will not be overlooked or disapproved
   by "the great Shepherd of the sheep," (Heb. 13:20) who has charged us
   to "comfort the feeble-minded." (1 Thes. 5:14)

   6. And here I would first advise you most carefully to inquire whether
   your present distress does indeed arise from causes which are truly
   spiritual, or whether it may not rather have its foundation in some
   disorder of the body, or in the circumstances of life in which you are
   providentially placed, which may break your spirits and deject your
   mind. The influence of the inferior part of our nature on the nobler,
   the immortal spirit, while we continue in this embodied state, is so
   evident, that no attentive person can, in the general, fail to observe
   it: and yet there are cases in which it seems not to be sufficiently
   considered; and perhaps your own may be one of them. The state of the
   blood is often such as necessarily to suggest gloomy ideas, even in
   dreams, and to indispose the soul for taking pleasure in any thing; and
   when it is so, why should it be imagined to proceed from any peculiar
   divine displeasure, if the soul does not find its usual delight in
   religion? Or why should God be thought to have departed from us,
   because he suffers natural causes to produce natural effects, without
   interposing, by miracle, to break the connection? When this is the
   case, the help of the physician is to be sought, rather than that of
   the divine; or at least, by all means, together with it; and medicines,
   diet, exercise and air, may in a few weeks effect what the strongest
   reasonings, the most pathetic exhortations or consolations might for
   many months have attempted in vain.

   7. In other instances, the dejection and feebleness of the mind may
   arise from something uncomfortable in our worldly circumstances. These
   may cloud as well as distract the thoughts, and imbittter the temper,
   and thus render us in a great degree unfit for religious services and
   pleasures; and when it is so, the remedy is to be sought in submission
   to Divine Providence, in abstracting our affections as far as possible
   from the present world, in a prudent care to ease ourselves of the
   burden so far as we can, by moderating unnecessary expenses, and by
   diligent application to business, in humble dependence on the divine
   blessing; in the mean time, endeavoring, by faith, to look up to him
   who sometimes suffers his children to be brought into such
   difficulties, that he may endear himself more sensibly to them by the
   method he shall take for their relief.

   8. On the principles here laid down, it may perhaps appear, on inquiry,
   that the distress complained of may have a foundation very different
   from what was at first supposed. But where the health is sound, and the
   circumstances easy; when the animal spirits are disposed for gayety and
   entertainment, while all taste for religious pleasure is in a manner
   gone; when the soul is seized with a kind of lethargic insensibility,
   or what I had almost called a paralytic weakness with respect to every
   religious exercise, even though there should not be that deep
   terrifying distress, or pungent amazement, which I before represented
   as the effect of melancholy, nor that anxiety about the accommodations
   of life which strait circumstances naturally produce; I would in that
   case vary my advice, and urge you, with all possible attention and
   impartiality, to search into the cause which has brought upon you that
   great evil under which you justly mourn. And probably, in the general,
   the cause is sin--some secret sin, which has not been discovered or
   observed by the eye of the world; for enormities that draw on them the
   observation and censure of others, will probably fall under the case
   mentioned in the former chapter, as they must be instances of known and
   deliberate guilt. Now the eye of God hath seen these evils which have
   escaped the notice of your fellow-creatures; and in consequence of this
   care to conceal them from others, while you could not but know they
   were open to him, God has seen himself in a peculiar manner affronted
   and injured, I had almost said insulted by them; and hence his
   righteous displeasure. Oh! let that never be forgotten, which is so
   plainly said, so commonly known, so familiar to almost every religious
   ear, yet too little felt by any of our hearts, "Your iniquities have
   separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face
   from you, that he will not hear." (Isa. 59:1,2) And this is, on the
   whole, a merciful dispensation of God, though it may seem severe,
   regard it not, therefore, merely as your calamity, but as intended to
   awaken you, that you may not content yourself, even with lying in tears
   of humiliation before the Lord, but, like Joshua, rise and exert
   yourself vigorously, to "put away from you that accursed thing,"
   whatever it be. Let this be your immediate and earnest care, that your
   pride may be humbled, that your watchfulness may be maintained, that
   your affections to the world may be deadened, and that, on the whole,
   your fitness for heaven may in every respect be increased. These are
   the designs of your heavenly Father, and let it be your great concern
   to cooperate with them.

   9. Receive it therefore, on the whole, as the most important advice
   that can be given you, immediately to enter on a strict examination of
   your conscience. Attend to its gentlest whispers. If a suspicion arises
   in your mind that any thing has not been right, trace that suspicion,
   search into every secret folding of your heart: improve to the purposes
   of a fuller discovery the advice of your friends, the reproaches of
   your enemies; recollect for what your heart hath smitten you at the
   table of the Lord, for what it would smite you if you were upon a dying
   bed, and within this hour to enter on eternity. When you have made any
   discovery, note it down; and go on in your search, till you can say
   these are the remaining incorruptions of my heart, these are the sins
   and follies of my life; this have I neglected; this have I done amiss.
   And when the account is as complete as you can make it, set yourself in
   the strength of a God, to a serious reformation; or rather begin the
   reformation of every thing that seems amiss, as soon as ever you
   discover it; "return to the Almighty, and thou shalt be built up; put
   iniquity far from thy tabernacle, and then shalt thou have thy delight
   in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make
   thy prayer unto him, and he shall bear thee; thou shalt pay thy vows
   unto him, and his light shall shine upon thy ways." (Job 22:23,26,27)

   10. In the meantime, be waiting for God with the deepest humility, and
   submit yourself to the discipline of your heavenly Father,
   acknowledging his justice, and hoping in his mercy; even when your
   conscience is least severe in its remonstrances, and discovers nothing
   more than the common infirmities of God's people; yet still bow
   yourself down before him, and own that so many are the evils of your
   best days, so many the imperfections of your best services, that by
   them you have deserved all, and more than all that you suffer:
   deserved, not only that your sun should be clouded, but that it should
   go down, and arise no more, but leave your soul in a state of
   everlasting darkness. And while the shade continues, be not impatient.
   Fret not yourself in any wise, but rather, with a holy calmness and
   gentleness of soul, "wait on the Lord." (Psa. 37:8,34) Be willing to
   stay his time, willing to bear his frown, in humble hope that he will
   at length "return and have compassion on you." (Jer. 12:15) He has not
   utterly forgotten to be gracious, nor resolved that "he will be
   favorable no more." (Psa. 77:7,9) "For the Lord will not cast off for
   ever; but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according
   to the multitude of his mercies." (Lam. 31:32) It is comparatively but
   "for a small moment that he hides his face from you;" but you may
   humbly hope, that with great mercies he will gather you, and that "with
   everlasting kindness he will have mercy on you." (Isa. 54:7,8) These
   suitable words are not mine, but his; and they wear this, as in the
   very front of them, "That a soul under the hidings of God's face may at
   last be one whom be will gather, and to whom he will extend everlasting
   favor."

   11. But while the darkness continues, "go on in the way of your duty."
   Continue the use of means and ordinances: read and meditate: pray, yes,
   and sing the praises of God too, though it may be with a heavy heart.
   Follow the "footsteps of his flock," (Cant. 1:8) you may perhaps meet
   the Shepherd of souls in doing it. Place yourself at least in his way.
   It is possible you may by this means get a kind look from him; and one
   look, one turn of thought, which may happen in a moment, may, as it
   were, create a heaven in your soul at once. Go to the table of the
   Lord. If you cannot rejoice, go and mourn there. Go and "mourn for that
   Savior whom," by your sins, "you have pierced:" (Zech. 12:10) go and
   lament the breaches of that covenant which you have there so often
   confirmed. Christ may perhaps make himself known unto you "in the
   breaking of the bread," (Luke 24:35) and you may find, to your
   surprise, that he hath been near you, when you imagined he was at the
   greatest distance from you; near you, when you thought you were cast
   out from his presence. Seek your comfort in such enjoyments as these,
   and not in the vain amusements of this world, and in the pleasures of
   sense. I shall never forget that affectionate expression, which I am
   well assured broke out from an eminently pious heart, then almost ready
   to break under its sorrows of this kind: "Lord, if I may not enjoy
   thee, let me enjoy nothing else; but go down mourning after thee to the
   grave!" I wondered not to hear, that, almost as soon as the sentiment
   had been breathed out before God in prayer, the burden was taken off,
   and "the joy of God's salvation restored."

   12. I shall add but one advice more, and that is, that "you renew your
   application to the blood of Jesus, through whom the reconciliation
   between God and your soul has been accomplished." It is he that is our
   peace, and by his blood it is that "we are made nigh:" (Eph. 2:13,14)
   it is in him, as the beloved of his soul, that God declares he is
   well-pleased; (Matt. 3:17) and it is in him that "ye are made accepted,
   to the glory of his grace." (Eph. 1:6) Go therefore, O Christian, and
   apply by faith to a crucified Savior: go, and apply to him, as to a
   merciful high-priest, "and pour out thy complaint before him, and show
   before him thy trouble:" (Psa. 142:2) Lay open the distress and anguish
   of thy soul to him, who once knew what it was to say, (O astonishing,
   that he should ever have said it!) "My God! my God! why hast thou
   forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) Look up for pity and relief to him, who
   himself suffered, being not only tempted, but, with regard to sensible
   manifestations, deserted, that he might thus know how to pity those
   that are in such a melancholy case, and be ready, as well as able, "to
   succor them." (Heb. 2:18) "He is Immanuel, God with us," (Matt. 1:23)
   and it is only in and through him that his Father shines forth upon us
   with the mildest beams of mercy and of love. Let it be therefore your
   immediate care to renew your acquaintance with him. Review the records
   of his life and death; and when you do so, surely you will feel a
   secret sweetness diffusing itself over your soul. You will be brought
   into a calm, gentle, silent frame, in which faith and love will operate
   powerfully, and God may probably cause "the still small voice" of his
   comforting Spirit to be heard, (1 Kings 19:12) till your soul burst out
   into a song of praise, and you are "made glad according to the days in
   which you have been afflicted." (Psa. 90:15) In the mean time, such
   language as the following supplication speaks, may be suitable.

   An Humble Supplication for one under the Hidings of God's Face.

   "Blessed God! with thee is the fountain of life' and of happiness.
   (Psa. 36:9) I adore thy name that I have ever tasted of thy streams;
   that I have ever had the peculiar pleasure arising from the light of
   thy countenance, and the shedding abroad of thy love in my soul. But
   alas! these delightful seasons are now to me no more; and the
   remembrance of them engages me to pour out my soul within me.' (Psa.
   42:4) I would come, as I have formerly done, and call thee, with the
   same endearment, my Father and my God;' but alas! I know not how to do
   it. Guilt and fears arise, and forbid the delightful language. I seek
   thee, O Lord! but I seek in vain. I would pray, but my lips are sealed
   up. I would read thy word, but all the promises of it are veiled from
   mine eyes. I frequent those ordinances which have been formerly most
   nourishing and comfortable to my soul, but, alas! they are only the
   shadows of ordinances: the substance is gone: the animating spirit is
   fled, and leaves them now, at best, but the image of what I once knew
   them.

   "But, Lord, hast thou cast off forever, and wilt thou be favorable no
   more?' (Psa. 77:7) Hast thou in awful judgment determined that my soul
   must be left to a perpetual winter, the sad emblem of eternal darkness?
   Indeed, I deserve it should be so. I acknowledge, O Lord! I deserve to
   be cast away from thy presence with disdain, to be sunk lower than I
   am, much lower: I deserve to have the shadow of death upon my eyelids,'
   (Job 16:16) and even to be surrounded with the thick gloom of the
   infernal prison. But hast thou not raised multitudes, who have
   deserved, like me, to be delivered into chains of darkness,' (2 Pet.
   2:4) to the vision of thy glory above, where no cloud can ever
   interpose between thee and their rejoicing spirits? Have mercy upon me,
   O Lord! have mercy upon me!' (Psa. 123:3) And though my iniquities have
   now justly caused thee to hide thy face from me,' (Isa. 59:2) yet be
   thou rather pleased, agreeably to the gracious language of thy word, to
   hide thy face from my sins, and to blot out all my iniquities.' (Psa.
   51:9) Cheer my heart with the tokens or thy returning favor, and say
   unto my soul, I am thy salvation!' (Psa. 35:3)

   "Remember, O Lord God! remember that dreadful day, in which Jesus thy
   dear Son endured what my sins have deserved! Remember that agony, in
   which he poured out his soul before thee and said My God! My God! why
   hast thou forsaken me?' (Matt. 27:46) Did he not, O Lord! endure all
   this, that humble penitents might, through him, be brought near unto
   thee, and might behold thee with pleasure, as their Father and their
   God? Thus do I desire to come unto thee. Blessed Savior, art thou not
   appointed to give unto them that mourn in Zion, beauty for ashes, the
   oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of
   heaviness?' (Isa. 61:3) O wash away my tears, anoint my head with the
   oil of gladness, and clothe me with the garments of salvation.' (Isa.
   61:10)

   "'O that I knew where I might find thee' (Job 23:3) O that I knew what
   it is that hath engaged thee to depart from me! I am searching and
   trying my ways.' (Lam. 3:40) O that thou wouldst search me, and know my
   heart; try me, and know my thoughts;' and if there be any wicked way in
   me,' discover it, and lead me in the way everlasting;' (Psa 189:23,24)
   in that way in which I may find rest and peace for my soul,' (Jer.
   6:16) and feel the discoveries of thy love in Christ!

   "O God! who didst command the light to shine out of darkness,' (2 Cor.
   4:6) speak but the word, and light shall dart into my soul at once!
   Open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.' (Psa.
   51:15) shall burst out into a cheerful song, which shall display,
   before those whom my present dejections may have discouraged, the
   pleasures and supports of religion.

   "Yet, Lord, on the whole, I submit to thy will. If it is thus that my
   faith must be exercised, by walking in darkness for days, and months,
   and years to tome, how long soever they may seem, how long so ever they
   may be, I submit. Still will I adore thee as the God of Israel,' and
   the Savior, though thou art a God that hidest thyself.' (Isa. 45:15)
   Still will I trust in the name of the Lord, and stay myself upon my
   God,' (Isa. 1:10) trusting in thee, though thou slay me,' (Job 13:15)
   and waiting for thee, more than they that watch for the morning, yea,
   more than they that watch for the morning. (Psa. 130:6) Peradventure in
   the evening time it may be light' (Zech. 14:7) I know thou hast
   sometimes manifested thy compassion to thy dying servants, and given
   them, in the lowest ebb of their natural spirits, a full tide of divine
   glory; thus turning darkness into light before them.' (Isa. 42:15) So
   may it please thee to gild the Valley of the Shadow of Death' with the
   light of thy presence, when I am passing it, and to stretch forth thy
   rod and thy staff to comfort me,' (Psa. 23:4) that my tremblings may
   cease, and the gloom may echo with songs of praise! But if it be thy
   sovereign pleasure, that distress and darkness should still continue to
   the last motion of my pulse, and the last gasp of my breath, O let it
   cease with the parting struggle, and bring me to that light which is
   sown for the righteous, and to that gladness which is reserved for the
   upright in heart;' (Psa. 97:11) to the unclouded regions of everlasting
   splendor and joy, where the full anointings of thy Spirit shall be
   poured out upon all thy people, and thou wilt no more hide thy face
   from any of them!' (Ezek. 39:29)

   "This, Lord, is thy salvation for which I am waiting,' (Gen. 49:18) and
   whilst I feel the desires of my soul drawn out after it, I will never
   despair of obtaining it. Continue and increase those desires, and at
   length satisfy and exceed them aim through the riches of thy grace in
   Christ Jesus . Amen."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXV.

  THE CHRISTIAN STRUGGLING UNDER GREAT AND HEAVY AFFLICTION.

   1. Here it is advised--that afflictions should only be expected.--2.
   That the righteous hand of God should be acknowledged in them when they
   come.--3. That they should be borne with patience.--4. That the divine
   conduct in them should be cordially approved.--5. That thankfulness
   should be maintained in the midst of trials.--6. That the design of
   afflictions should be diligently inquired into, and all proper
   assistance taken in discovering it.--7. That, when it is discovered, it
   should humbly be complied with and answered. A prayer suited to such a
   case.

   1. SINCE "man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward," (Job
   5:7) and Adam has entailed on all his race the sad inheritance of
   calamity in their way to death, it will certainly be prudent and
   necessary that we should all expect to meet with trials and
   afflictions; and that you, reader, whoever you are, should be
   endeavoring to gird on your armor, and put yourself in a posture to
   encounter those trials which will fall to your lot as a man and a
   Christian. Prepare yourself to receive your afflictions, and to endure
   them, in a manner agreeable to both these characters. In this view,
   when you see others under the burden, consider how possible it is that
   you may be called out to the very same difficulties, or to others equal
   to them. Put your soul as in the place of theirs. Think how you could
   endure the load under which they lie, and endeavor at once to comfort
   them, and to strengthen your own heart, or rather pray that God would
   do it. And observing how liable mortal life is to such sorrows,
   moderate your expectations from it; raise your thoughts above it; and
   form your schemes of happiness only for that world where they cannot be
   disappointed; in the mean time, blessing God that your prosperity is
   lengthened out thus far, and ascribing it to his special providence
   that you continue so long unwounded, when so many showers of arrows are
   flying around you, and so many are falling by them, on the right hand
   and on the left.

   2. When at length your turn comes, as it certainly will, from the first
   hour in which an affliction seizes you, realize to yourself the hand of
   God in it, and lose not the view of him in any second cause, which may
   have proved the immediate occasion. Let it be your first care to
   "humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in
   due time." (1 Pet. 5:6) Own that "he is just in all that is brought
   upon you," (Neh. 9:33) and that in all these things "he punishes you
   less than your iniquities deserve." (Ezra 9:13) Compose yourself to
   bear his hand with patience, to glorify his name by a submission to his
   will, and to fall in with the gracious design of his visitation, as
   well as to wait the issue of it quietly, whatsoever the event may be.

   3. Now, that "patience may have its perfect work," (James 1:4) reflect
   frequently, and deeply upon your own unworthiness and sinfulness.
   Consider how often every mercy has been forfeited, and every judgment
   deserved. And consider, too, how long the patience of God hath borne
   with you, and how wonderfully it is still exerted towards you; and
   indeed not only his patience, but his bounty too. Afflicted as you are,
   (for I speak to you now as actually under the pressure) look around and
   survey your remaining mercies, and be gratefully sensible of them. Make
   the supposition of their being removed: what if God should stretch out
   his hand against you, and add poverty to pain, or pain to poverty, or
   the loss of friends to both, or the death of surviving friends to that
   of those whom you are now mourning over; would not the wound be more
   grievous? Adore his goodness that this is not the case; and take heed
   lest your unthankfulness should provoke him to multiply your sorrows.
   Consider also the need you have of discipline, how wholesome it may
   prove to your soul, and what merciful designs our Heavenly Father has
   in all the corrections he sends upon his children.

   4. Nay, I will add, that, in consequence of all these considerations,
   it may be well expected, not only that you should submit to your
   afflictions, as what you cannot avoid, but that you should sweetly
   acquiesce in them, and approve them; that you should not only justify,
   but glorify God in sending them; that you should glorify him with your
   heart and with your lips too. Think not praises unsuitable on such an
   occasion; nor that praise alone to be suitable, which takes its rise
   from remaining comforts; but know that it is your duty, not only to be
   thankful in your afflictions, but to be thankful on account of them.

   5. God himself hath said, "in every thing give thanks," (1 Thes. 5:18)
   and he has taught his servants to say, "Yea, also we glory in
   tribulation." (Rom. 5:3) And most certain it is, that to true
   believers, afflictions are tokens of divine mercy; for "whom the Lord
   loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth," with
   peculiar and distinguishing endearment. (Heb. 12:6) View your present
   afflictions in this light, as chastisements of love; and then let your
   own heart say, whether love does not demand praise. Think with
   yourself, "it is thus that God is making me conformable to his own Son;
   it is thus that he is training me up for complete glory. Thus he kills
   my corruptions; thus he strengthens my graces; thus he is wisely
   contriving to bring me nearer to himself and to ripen me for the honors
   of his heavenly kingdom. It is, if need be, that I am in heaviness,' (1
   Pet. 1:6) and he surely knows what that need is better than I can
   pretend to teach him, and knows what peculiar propriety there is in
   this affliction to answer my present necessity, and to do me that
   peculiar good which he is graciously intending me by it. This
   tribulation shall work patience, and patience experience,' and
   experience a more assured hope,' even a hope which shall not make
   ashamed,' while the love of God is shed abroad in my heart, (Rom.
   5:3,5) and shines through my affliction, like the sun through a gentle
   descending cloud, darting in light upon the shade, and mingling
   fruitfulness with weeping."

   6. Let it be then your earnest care, while you thus look on your
   affliction, whatever it may be, as coming from the hand of God, to
   improve it to the purposes for which it was sent. And that you may so
   improve it, let it be your first concern to know what those purposes
   are. Summon up all the attention of your soul to bear the rod, and him
   "who hath appointed it," (Mic. 6:9) and pray earnestly that you may
   understand its voice. Examine your life, your words and your heart; and
   pray that God would so guide your inquiries, that you may "return unto
   the Lord that smiteth you." (Isa. 9:13) To assist you in this, call in
   the help of pious friends, and particularly of your minister: entreat
   not only their prayers, but their advice too, as to the probable design
   of Providence; and encourage them freely to tell you any thing which
   occurs to their minds upon this head. And if such an occasion should
   lead them to touch upon some of the imperfections of your character and
   conduct look upon it as a great token of their friendship, and take it,
   not only patiently, but thankfully. It does but ill become a Christian,
   at any time, to resent reproofs and admonitions; and least of all does
   it become him, when the rebukes of his Heavenly Father are upon him. He
   ought rather to seek admonitions at such a time as this, and
   voluntarily offer his wounds to be searched by a faithful and skillful
   band.

   7. And when, by one means or another, you have got a ray of light to
   direct you in the meaning and language of such dispensations, take heed
   that you do not, in any degree, "harden yourself against God, and walk
   contrary to him." (Lev. 26:27) Obstinate reluctance to the apprehended
   design of any providential stroke is inexpressibly provoking to him.
   Set yourself therefore, to an immediate reformation of whatever you
   discover amiss, and labor to learn the general lessons of greater
   submission to God's will, of a more calm indifference to the world, and
   of a closer attachment to divine converse, and to the views of an
   approaching invisible state. And whatever particular proportion or
   correspondence you may observe between this or that circumstance in
   your affliction and your former transgressions, be especially careful
   to act according to that more peculiar and express voice of the rod.
   Then you may perhaps have speedy and remarkable reasons to say, that
   "it hath been good for you that you have been afflicted," (Psa. 119:71)
   and, with a multitude of others, may learn to number the times of your
   sharpest trials among the sweetest and most exalted moments of your
   life. For this purpose, let prayer be your frequent employment; and let
   such sentiments as these, if not in the very same terms be often and
   affectionately poured out before God.

   An humble Address to God under the Pressure of heavy Affliction.

   "O thou Supreme, yet all righteous and gracious Governor of the whole
   universe! mean and inconsiderable as this little province of thy
   spacious empire may appear, thou dost not disregard the earth and its
   inhabitants, but attendest to its concerns with the most condescending
   and gracious regard. Thou reignest, and I rejoice in it;' as it is
   indeed matter of universal joy.' (Psa. 97:1) I believe thy providence
   and care; and I firmly believe thy wise, holy, and kind interposition
   in everything which relates to me and to the circumstances of my abode
   in this world. I would look through all inferior causes unto thee,
   whose eyes are upon all thy creatures; to thee, who formest light and
   createst darkness' who makest peace and createst evil;' (Isa. 45:7) to
   thee, Lord, who at thy pleasure canst exchange the one for the other,
   canst turn the brightest noon into midnight, and the darkest midnight
   into noon.

   "O thou wise and merciful Governor of the world! I have often said, Thy
   will be done;' and now, thy will is painful to me. But shall I upon
   that account unsay what I have so often said? God forbid! I come rather
   to lay myself down at thy feet, and to declare my full and free
   submission to all thy sacred pleasure. O Lord! thou art just and
   righteous in all! I acknowledge, in thy venerable and awful presence,
   that I have deserved this,' and ten thousand times more. (Ezra 9:13) I
   acknowledge that it is of thy mercy that I am not utterly consumed,'
   (Lam. 3:22) and that any, the least degree, of comfort yet remains. O
   Lord! I most readily confess that the sins of one day of my life have
   merited all these chastisements; and that every day of my life has been
   more or less sinful. Smite, therefore, O thou Righteous Judge! and I
   will still adore thee, that, instead of the scourge, thou hast not
   given a commission to the sword, to do all the dreadful work of
   justice, and to pour out my blood in thy presence.

   "But shall I speak unto thee only as my Judge? O Lord! thou hast taught
   me a tenderer name: thou condescendest to call thyself my Father, and
   to speak of correction as the effect of thy love. O welcome, welcome,
   those afflictions which are the tokens of thy paternal affection, the
   marks of my adoption into thy family! Thou knowest what discipline I
   need. Thou seest, O Lord! that bundle of folly which there is in the
   heart of thy poor, froward, and thoughtless child, and knowest what
   rods and what strokes are needful to drive it away. I would therefore
   be in humble subjection to the Father of spirits,' who chastened me for
   my profit;' would be in subjection to him and live.' (Heb. 12:9,10) I
   would bear thy strokes, not merely because I cannot resist them, but
   because I love and trust in thee. I would sweetly acquiesce and rest in
   thy will, as well as stoop to it; and would say, Good is the word of
   the Lord;' (2 Kings 20:19) and I desire that not only my lips, but my
   soul may acquiesce. Yea, Lord, I would praise thee, that thou wilt show
   so much regard to me as to apply such remedies as these to the diseases
   of my mind, and art thus kindly careful to train me up for glory. I
   have no objection against being afflicted, against being afflicted in
   this particular way. The cup which my Father puts into my hand, shall I
   not drink it?' (John 18:11) By thine assistance and support I will.
   Only be pleased, O Lord! to stand by me, and sometimes to grant me a
   favorable look in the midst of my sufferings! Support my soul, I
   beseech thee, by thy consolations mingled with my tribulations, and I
   shall glory in those tribulations that are thus allayed! It has been
   the experience of many, who have reflected on afflicted days with
   pleasure, and have acknowledged that their comforts have swallowed up
   their sorrows. And after all that thou hast done, are thy mercies
   restrained?' (Isa. 63:15) Is thy hand waxed short?' (Num. 11:25) Or
   canst thou not do the same for me?

   "If my heart be less tender, less sensible, thou canst cure that
   disorder, and canst make this affliction the means of curing it. Thus
   let it be; and at length, in thine own due time, and in the way which
   thou shalt choose, work out deliverance for me, and show me thy
   marvellous loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy right band them
   that put their trust in thee!' (Psa. 17:7) For I well know, that how
   dark soever this night of affliction may seem, if thou sayest, Let
   there be light,' there shall be light. But I would urge nothing before
   the time thy wisdom and goodness shall appoint. I am much more
   concerned that my afflictions may be sanctified, than that they may be
   removed. Number me, O God! among the happy persons whom, whilst thou
   chastenest, thou teachest out of thy law!' (Psa. 94:12) Show me, I
   beseech thee, wherefore thou, contendest with me,' (Job 19:2) and
   purify me by the fire, which is to painful to me while I am passing
   through it? Dost thou not chasten thy children for this very end, that
   they may be partakers of thy holiness?' (Heb. 12:10) Thou knowest, O
   God! it is this my soul is breathing after. I am partaker of thy bounty
   every day and moment of my life: I am partaker of thy Gospel, and I
   hope, in some measure too, a partaker of the grace of it operating on
   my heart. O may it operate more and more, that I may largely partake of
   thine holiness too; that I may come nearer and nearer in the temper of
   my mind to thee, O blessed God! the supreme model of perfection! Let my
   soul be, as it were, melted, thought with the intensest heat or the
   furnace, if I may but thereby be made fit for being delivered into the
   mold of the Gospel, and bearing thy bright and amiable image!"

   "O Lord, my soul longeth for thee; it crieth out for the living God!'
   (Psa. 84:2) In thy presence, and under the support of thy love, I can
   bear anything; and am willing to bear it, if I may grow more lovely in
   thine eyes, and more meet for thy kingdom. The days of my affliction
   will have an end; the hour will at length come, when thou wilt wipe
   away all my tears.' (Rev. 21:4) Though it tarry,' I would wait for it.'
   (Heb. 2:3) My foolish heart, in the midst of all its trials, is ready
   to grow fond of this earth, disappointing and grievous as it is; and
   graciously, O God, dost thou deal with me, in breaking those bonds that
   would tie me faster to it. O let my soul be girding itself up, and, as
   it were, stretching its wings in expectation of that blessed hour when
   it shall drop all its sorrows and incumbrances at once, and soar away,
   to expatiate with infinite delight in the regions of liberty, peace and
   joy. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXVI.

  THE CHRISTIAN ASSISTED IN EXAMINING INTO HIS GROWTH IN GRACE.

   1. The examination important.--2. False marks of growth to be
   avoided.--3. True marks proposed; such as--increasing love to God.--4.
   Benevolence to men.--5. Candor of disposition.--6. Meekness under
   injuries.--7. Serenity amidst the uncertainties of life.--8, 9.
   Humility,--especially as expressed in evangelical exercises of mind
   toward Christ end the Holy Spirit.--10. Zeal for the divine honor.--11.
   Habitual and cheerful willingness to exchange worlds when ever God
   shall appoint.--12. Conclusion. The Christian breathing after growth in
   grace.

   1. IF by divine grace you have "been born again, not of corruptible
   seed, but of incorruptible," (1 Pet. 1:2,3) even "by that word of God
   which liveth and abideth for ever," not only in the world and the
   church, but in particular souls in which it is sown; you will, "as new
   born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow
   thereby." (1 Pet. 2:2) And though in the most advanced state of
   religion on earth, we are but infants in comparison to what we hope to
   be, when, in the heavenly world, we arrive "unto a perfect man, unto
   the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," (Eph. 4:13) yet,
   as we have some exercise of a sanctified reason, we shall be solicitous
   that we may be growing and thriving. And you, my reader, "if so be you
   have tasted that the Lord is gracious," (1 Pet. 2:3) will, I doubt not,
   feel this solicitude. I would, therefore, endeavor to assist you in
   making the inquiry, whether religion be on the advance in your soul.
   And here I shall warn you against some false marks of growth, and then
   shall endeavor to lay down others on which you may depend as more
   solid. In this view I would observe, that you are not to measure your
   growth in grace only or chiefly by your advances in knowledge, or in
   zeal, or any other passionate impression of the mind, no, nor by the
   fervor of devotion alone; but by the habitual determination of the will
   for God, and by your prevailing disposition to obey his commands,
   submit to his disposal, and promote the highest welfare of his cause in
   the earth.

   2. It must be allowed that knowledge and affection in religion are
   indeed desirable. Without some degree of the former, religion cannot be
   rational and it is very reasonable to believe, that without some degree
   of the latter it cannot be sincere, in creatures whose natures are
   constituted like ours. Yet there may be a great deal of speculative
   knowledge, and a great deal of rapturous affection, where there is no
   true religion at all; and still more, where religion exists, though
   there be no advanced state of it. The exercise of our rational
   faculties, upon the evidences of divine revelation, and upon the
   declaration of it as contained in Scripture, may furnish a very wicked
   man with a well-digested body of orthodox divinity in his head, when
   not one single doctrine of it has ever reached his heart. An eloquent
   description of the sufferings of Christ, of the solemnities of
   judgment, of the joys of the blessed, and the miseries of the damned,
   might move the breast even of a man who did not firmly believe them; as
   we often find ourselves strongly moved by well-wrought narrations or
   discourses, which at the same time we know to have their foundation in
   fiction. Natural constitution, or such accidental causes as are (some
   of them) too low to be here mentioned, may supply the eyes with a flood
   of tears, which may discharge itself plenteously upon almost any
   occasion that shall first arise. And a proud impatience of
   contradiction directly opposite as it is to the gentle spirit of
   Christianity, may make a man's blood boil when he hears the notions he
   has entertained, and especially those which he has openly and
   vigorously espoused, disputed and opposed. This may possibly lead him,
   in terms of strong indignation, to pour out his zeal and his rage
   before God!, in a fond conceit, that, as the God of truth, he is the
   pattern of those favorite doctrines by whose fair appearances perhaps
   he himself is misled. And if these speculative refinements, or these
   affectionate sallies of the mind, be consistent with a total absence of
   true religion, they are much more apparently consistent with a very low
   state of it. I would desire to lead you, my friend, into sublimer
   notions and juster marks, and refer you to other practical writers,
   arid, above all, to the book of God, to prove how material they are. I
   would therefore entreat you to bring your own heart to answer, as in
   the presence of God, such inquiries as these:

   3. Do you find "divine love, on the whole, advancing in your soul?" Do
   you feel yourself more and more sensible of the presence of God? and
   does that sense grow more delightful to you than it formerly was? Can
   you, even when your natural spirits are weak and low, and you are not
   in any frame for the ardors and ecstacies of devotion, nevertheless
   find a pleasing rest, a calm repose of heart, in the thought that God
   is near you, and that he sees the secret sentiments of your soul, while
   you are, as it were, toward those whom an unsanctified heart might be
   ready to imagine it had some just excuse for excepting out of the list
   of those it loves, and from whom you are ready to feel some secret
   alienation or aversion. How does your mind stand affected toward those
   who differ from you in their religious sentiments and practices? I do
   not say that Christian charity will require you to think every error
   harmless. It argues no want of love to a friend, in some cases, to fear
   lest his disorder should prove more fatal than he seems to imagine:
   nay, sometimes the very tenderness of friendship may increase that
   apprehension. But to hate persons because we think they are mistaken,
   and to aggravate every difference in judgment or practice into a fatal
   and damnable error that destroys all Christian communion and love, is a
   symptom generally much worse than the evil it condemns. Do you love the
   image of Christ in a person who thinks himself obliged in conscience to
   profess and worship in a manner different from yourself? Nay, farther,
   can you love and honor that which is truly amiable and excellent in
   those in whom much is defective; in those in whom there is a mixture of
   bigotry and narrowness of spirit, which may lead them perhaps to
   slight, or even to censure you? Can you love them as the disciples and
   servants of Christ, who, through a mistaken zeal, may be ready to "cast
   out your name as evil," (Luke 6:22) and to warn others against you as a
   dangerous person? This is none of the least triumphs of charity, nor
   any despicable evidence of an advance in religion.

   6. And, on this head, reflect farther, "How can you bear injuries?"
   There is a certain hardness of soul in this respect, which argues a
   confirmed state in piety and virtue. Does every thing of this kind
   hurry and ruffle you, so as to put you on contrivances how you may
   recompense, or, at least, how you may disgrace and expose him who has
   done you the wrong? Or can you stand the shock calmly, and easily
   divert your mind to other objects, only (when you recollect these
   things) pitying and praying for those who with the worst tempers and
   views are assaulting you? This is a Christ-like temper indeed, and he
   will own it as such; will own you as one of his soldiers, as one of his
   heroes; especially if it rises so far, as, instead of being "overcome
   of evil, to overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) Watch over your
   spirit and over your tongue, when injuries are offered, and see whether
   you be ready to meditate upon them, to aggravate them in your own view,
   to complain of them to others, and to lay on all the load of blame that
   you in justice can; or, whether you be ready to put the kindest
   construction upon the offence, to excuse it as far as reason will
   allow, and (where, after all, it will wear a black and odious aspect)
   to forgive it, heartily to forgive it, and that even before any
   submission is made, or pardon asked; and in token of the sincerity of
   that forgiveness, to be contriving what can be done, by some benefit or
   other, toward the injurious person, to teach him a better temper.

   7. Examine farther, "with regard to other evils and calamities of life,
   and even with regard to its uncertainties, how you can bear them." Do
   you find your soul is in this respect gathering strength? Have you
   fewer foreboding fears and disquieting alarms than you once had, as to
   what may happen in life? Can you trust the wisdom and goodness of God
   to order your affairs for you, with more complacency and cheerfulness
   than formerly? Do you find yourself able to unite your thoughts more in
   surveying present circumstances, that you may collect immediate duty
   from them, though you know not what God will next appoint or call you
   to? And when you feel the smart of affliction, do you make a less
   matter of it? Can you transfer your heart more easily to heavenly and
   divine objects, without an anxious solicitude whether this or that
   burden be removed, so it may but be sanctified to promote your
   communion with God and your ripeness for glory?

   8. Examine also, "whether you advance in humility." This is a silent
   but most excellent grace; and they who are most eminent in it, are
   dearest to God, and most fit for the communications of his presence to
   them. Do you then feel your mind more emptied of proud and haughty
   imaginations, not prone so much to look back upon past services which
   it has performed, as forward to those which are yet before you, and
   inward upon the remaining imperfections of your heart? Do you more
   tenderly observe your daily failures and miscarriages, and find
   yourself disposed to mourn over those things before the Lord, that once
   passed with you as slight matters, though, when you come to survey them
   as in the presence of God, you find they were not wholly involuntary or
   free from guilt? Do you feel in your breast a deeper apprehension of
   the infinite majesty of the blessed God, and of the glory of his
   natural and moral perfections, so as, in consequence of these views, to
   perceive yourself as it were annihilated in his presence, and to shrink
   into "less than nothing, and vanity?" (Isa. 40:17) If this be your
   temper, God will look upon you with peculiar favor, and will visit you
   more and more with the distinguishing blessings of his grace.

   9. But there is another great branch and effect of Christian humility,
   which it would be an unpardonable negligence to omit. Let me therefore
   farther inquire, are you more frequently renewing your application,
   your sincere, steady, determined application, to the righteousness and
   blood of Christ, as being sensible how unworthy you are to appear
   before God otherwise than in him? And do the remaining corruptions of
   your heart humble you before him, though the disorders of your life are
   in a great measure cured? Are you more earnest to obtain the quickening
   influences of the Holy Spirit? And have you such a sense of your own
   weakness as to engage you to depend, in all the duties you perform,
   upon the communications of his grace to "help your infirmities?" (Rom.
   8:26) Can you, at the close of your most religious, exemplary, and
   useful days, blush before God for the deficiencies of them, while
   others perhaps may he ready to admire and extol your conduct? And while
   you give the glory of all that has been right to him from whom the
   strength and grace has been derived, are you coming to the blood of
   sprinkling, to free you from the guilt which mingles itself even with
   the best of your services? Do you learn to receive the bounties of
   Providence, not only with thankfulness, as coming from God, but with a
   mixture of shame and confusion too, under a consciousness that you do
   not deserve them, and are continually forfeiting them? And do you
   justify Providence in your afflictions and disappointments, even while
   many are flourishing around you full in the bloom of prosperity, whose
   offences have been more visible at least, and more notorious than
   yours?

   10. Do you also advance "in zeal and activity" for the service of God
   and the happiness of mankind? Does your love show itself solid and
   sincere, by a continual flow of good works from it? Can you view the
   sorrows of others with tender compassion, and with projects and
   contrivances what you may do to relieve them? Do you feel in your
   breast that you are more frequently "devising liberal things," (Isa.
   32:8) and ready to waive your own advantage or pleasure that you may
   accomplish them ? Do you find your imagination teeming, as it were,
   with conceptions and schemes for the advancement of the cause and
   interest of Christ in the world, for the propagation of his Gospel, and
   for the happiness of your fellow-creatures ? And do you not only pray,
   but act for it act in such a manner as to show that you pray in
   earnest, and feel a readiness to do what little you can in this cause,
   even though others, who might, if they pleased, very conveniently do a
   vast deal more, will do nothing?

   11. And, not to enlarge upon this copious head, reflect once more, "how
   your affections stand with regard to this world and another." Are you
   more deeply and practically convinced of the vanity of these "things
   which are seen, and are temporal?" (2 Cor. 4:18) Do you perceive your
   expectations from them, and your attachments to them to diminish? You
   are willing to stay in this world as long as your Father pleases; and
   it is right and well; but do you find your bonds so loosened to it;
   that you are willing, heartily willing, to leave it at the shortest
   warning; so that if God should see fit to summon you away on a sudden,
   though it should be in the midst of your enjoyments, pursuits,
   expectations, and hopes, you would cordially consent to that remove
   without saying, "Lord, let me stay a little while longer, to enjoy this
   or that agreeable entertainment, to finish this or that scheme?" Can
   you think, with an habitual calmness and hearty approbation, if such be
   the divine pleasure, of waking no more when you lie down on your bed,
   of returning home no more when you go out of your house? And yet on the
   other hand, how great soever the burdens of life are, do you find a
   willingness to bear them, in submission to the will of your heavenly
   Father, though it should be to many future years, and though they
   should be years of far greater affliction than you have ever yet seen?
   Can you say calmly and steadily, if not with such overflowings of
   tender affection as you could desire, "Behold, thy servant,' thy child
   is in thine hand, do with me as seemeth good in thy sight!' (2 Sam.
   15:26) My will is melted into thine; to be lifted up or laid down, to
   be carried out or brought in, to be here or there, in this or that
   circumstance, just as thou pleasest, and as shall best suit with thy
   great extensive plan, which it is impossible that I, or all the angels
   in heaven, should mend."

   12. These, if I understand matters aright, are some of the most
   substantial evidences of growth and establishment in religion. Search
   after them: bless God for them, so for as you discover them in
   yourself, and study to advance in them daily, under the influences of
   divine grace; to which I heartily recommend you, and to which I entreat
   you frequently to recommend yourself.

   The Christian breathing earnestly after growth in Grace.

   "O thou ever-blessed Fountain of natural and spiritual life! I thank
   thee that I live, and know the exercises and pleasures of a religious
   life. I bless thee that thou hast infused into me thine own vital
   breath, though I was once dead in trespasses and sins,' (Eph. 2:1) so
   that I am become, in a sense peculiar to thine own children, a living
   soul.' (Gen. 2:7) But it is my earnest desire that I may not only live
   but grow, grow in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior
   Jesus Christ,' (2 Pet. 3:18) upon an acquaintance with whom my progress
   in it so evidently depends. In this view, I humbly entreat thee that
   thou wilt form my mind to right notions in religion, that I may not
   judge of grace by any wrong conceptions of it, nor measure my advances
   in it by those things which are merely the effects of nature, and
   possibly its corrupt effects!

   "May I be seeking after an increase of divine love to thee, my God and
   Father in Christ, of unreserved resignation to thy wise and holy will,
   and of extensive benevolence to my fellow-creatures! May I grow in
   patience and fortitude of soul, in humility and zeal, in spirituality
   and a heavenly disposition of mind, and in a concern, that, whether
   present or absent, I may be accepted of the Lord,' (2 Cor. 5:9) that
   whether I live or die, it may be for thy glory. In a word, as thou
   knowest I hunger and thirst after righteousness, make me whatever thou
   wouldst delight to see me! Draw on my soul, by the gentle influences of
   thy gracious Spirit, every trace, and every feature, which thine eye, O
   Heavenly Father, may survey with pleasure, and which thou mayest
   acknowledge as thine own image.

   "I am sensible, O Lord, I have not as yet attained, yea, my soul is
   utterly confounded to think how far I am from being already perfect;
   but this one thing (after thy great example of thine apostle) I would
   endeavor to do: forgetting the things which are behind, I would press
   forward to those which are before.' (Phil. 3:12,13) O that thou wouldst
   feed my soul by thy word and Spirit! Having been, as I humbly hope and
   trust, regenerated by it, being born again, not of corruptible seed,
   but of incorruptible, even by thy word, which liveth and abideth for
   ever;' (1 Pet. 1:23) as a new-born babe, I desire the sincere milk of
   the word, that I may grow thereby.' (1 Pet. 2:2) And may my profiting
   appear unto all men,' (1 Tim. 4:15) till at length I come unto a
   perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
   Christ,' (Eph. 4:13) and after having enjoyed the pleasure of those
   that flourish eminently in thy courts below, be fixed in the paradise
   above! I ask and hope it through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; to
   him be glory, both now and for ever' (2 Pet. 3:18) Amen"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXVII.

  THE ADVANCED CHRISTIAN REMINDED OF THE MERCIES OF GOD, AND EXHORTED TO THE
  EXERCISE OF HABITUAL LOVE TO HIM, AND JOY IN HIM.

   1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The
   Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of
   temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of
   eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living
   and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this
   heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this
   grateful joy in God.

   1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his
   spiritual state, that he is growing in grace. And if you desire that
   this growth may at once be acknowledged and promoted, let me call your
   soul "to that more affectionate exercise of love to God and joy in
   him," which suits, and strengthens, and exalts the character of the
   advanced Christian; and which I beseech you to regard, not only as your
   privilege, but as your duty too. Love is the most sublime, generous
   principle, of all true and acceptable obedience; and with love, when so
   wisely and happily fixed, when so certainly returned, JOY,
   proportionable JOY, must naturally be connected. It may justly grieve a
   man that enters into the spirit of Christianity, to see how low a life
   even the generality of sincere Christians commonly live in this
   respect. "Rejoice then in the Lord, ye righteous, and give thanks at
   the remembrance of his holiness," (Psa. 97:12) and of all those other
   perfections and glories which are included in that majestic, that
   wonderful, that delightful name, THE LORD THY GOD. Spend not your
   sacred moments merely in confession or in petition, though each must
   have their daily share; but give a part, a considerable part, to the
   Celestial and angelic work of praise. Yea, labor to carry about with
   you continually, a heart overflowing with such sentiments, warmed and
   inflamed with such affections.

   2. Are there not continually rays enough diffused from the great Father
   of light and love to enkindle it in our bosom? Come, my Christian
   friend and brother, come and survey with me the goodness of our
   heavenly Fattier. And oh! that he would give me such a sense of it,
   that I might represent it in a suitable manner, that "while I am
   musing, the fire may burn" in my own heart, (Psa. 39:3) and be
   communicated to yours! And oh! that it might pass, with the lines I
   write, from soul to soul, awakening in the breast of every Christian
   that reads them, sentiments more worthy the children of God and the
   heirs of glory, who are to spend end an eternity in those sacred
   exercises to which I am now endeavoring to excite you.

   3. Have you not reason to adopt the words of David, and say, How many
   are thy gracious thoughts unto me, O Lord!' how great is the sum of
   them! When I would count them, they are more in number than the sand."
   (Psa. 139:17,18) You indeed know where to begin the survey, for the
   favors of God to you began with your being. Commemorate it therefore
   with a grateful heart, that the eyes which "saw your substance, being
   yet imperfect," beheld you with a friendly care "when you were made in
   secret," and have watched over you ever since--and that the hand which
   "drew the plan of your members, when as yet there was none of them,"
   (Psa. 139:15,16) not only fashioned them at first, but from that time
   has been concerned in "keeping all your bones, so that none of them is
   broken," (Psa. 34:20) and that, indeed, it is to this you owe it that
   you live. Look back upon the path you have trod, from the day that God
   brought you out of the womb, and say whether you do not, as it were,
   see all the road thick set with the marks and memorials of the divine
   goodness. Recollect the places where you have lived, and the persons
   with whom you have most intimately conversed, and call to mind the
   mercies you have received in those places, and from those persons, as
   the instruments of the divine care and goodness. Recollect the
   difficulties and dangers with which you have been surrounded, and
   reflect attentively on what God hath done to defend you from them, or
   to carry you through them. Think how often there has been but a step
   between you and death, and how suddenly God has sometimes interposed to
   set you in safety, even before you apprehended your danger. Think of
   those chambers of illness in which you have been confined; and from
   whence, perhaps, you once thought you should go forth no more; but
   said, with Hezekiah, in the cutting off of your days, "I shall go to
   the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years."
   (Isa. 38:10) God has, it may be, since that time, added many years to
   your life; and you know not how many are in reserve, or how much
   usefulness and happiness may attend each. Survey your circumstances in
   relative life; how ninny kind friends are surrounding you daily, and
   studying how they may contribute to your comfort. Reflect on those
   remarkable circumstances in Providence, which occasioned the knitting
   of some bonds of this kind, which, next to those which join your soul
   to God, you number among the happiest. And forget not in how many
   instances, when these dear lives have been threatened, lives perhaps
   more sensibly dear than your own God has given them back from the
   borders of the grave, and so added new endearments, arising from that
   tender circumstance, to all your after converse with them. Nor forget,
   in how gracious a manner he hath supported some others in their last
   moments, and enabled them to leave behind a sweet odor of piety, which
   hath embalmed their memories, revived you when ready to faint under the
   sorrows of the last separation, and, on the whole, made even the
   recollection of their death delightful.

   4. But it is more than time that I lead on your thoughts to the many
   spiritual mercies which God has bestowed upon you. Look back, as it
   were, to "the rock from whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the
   pit from whence you were digged." (Isa. 1:1) Reflect seriously on the
   state wherein divine grace found you: under how much guilt, under how
   much pollution! in what danger, in what ruin! Think what was, and O
   think with yet deeper reflection. what would have been the case! The
   eye of God, which penetrates into eternity, saw what your mind, amused
   with the trifles of the present time and sensual gratification, was
   utterly ignorant and regardless of: it saw you on the borders of
   eternity, and pitied you; saw that you would in a little time have been
   such a helpless, wretched creature as the sinner that is just now dead,
   and has, to his infinite surprise and everlasting terror, met his
   unexpected doom; and would, like him, stand thunderstruck in
   astonishment and despair. This God saw, and he pitied you; and being
   merciful to you, he provided, in the counsel of his eternal love and
   grace, a Redeemer for you, and purchased you to himself, through the
   blood of his Son: a price which, if you will pause upon it, and think
   seriously what it was, must surely affect you to such a degree as to
   make you to fall down before God in wonder and shame, to think it
   should ever have been given for you. To accomplish these blessed
   purposes, he sent his grace into your heart; so that, though "you were
   once darkness, you are now light in the Lord." (Eph. 5:8) He made that
   happy change which you now feel in your soul, and "by his Holy Spirit,
   which is given to you," he shed abroad that principle of love (Rom.
   5:5) which is enkindled by this review, and now flames with greater
   ardor than before. Thus far he hath supported you in your Christian
   course, and "having obtained help from him," it is that you continue
   even to this day. (Acts 26:22) He hath not only blessed you, but "made
   you a blessing;" (Gen. 12:2) and though you have not been so useful as
   that holy generosity of heart which he has excited would have engaged
   you to desire, yet some good you have done in the station in which he
   has fixed you. Some of your brethren of mankind have been relieved;
   perhaps, too, some thoughtless creature reclaimed to virtue and
   happiness by his blessing on your endeavors. Some in the way to heaven
   are praising God for you; and some, perhaps, already there, are longing
   for your arrival, that they may thank you, in nobler and more
   expressive forms, for benefits, the importance of which they now
   sufficiently understand, though while here, they could never conceive
   it.

   5. Christian, look around on the numberless blessings, of one kind and
   of another, with which you are already encompassed; and advance your
   prospect still farther, to what faith yet discovers within the veil.
   Think of those now unknown transports with which thou shalt drop every
   burden in the grave; and thine immortal spirit shall mount, light and
   joyful, holy and happy to God, its original, its support, and its hope;
   to God, the source of being, of holiness, and of pleasure; to Jesus,
   through whom all these blessings are derived to thee, and who will
   appoint thee a throne near to his own, to be for ever a spectator and
   partaker of his glory. Think of the rapture with which thou shalt
   attend his triumph in the resurrection-day, and receive this poor,
   moldering, corruptible body, transformed into his glorious image; and
   then think, "These hopes are not mine alone, but the hopes of thousands
   and millions. Multitudes, whom I number among the dearest of my friends
   upon the earth, are rejoicing with me in these apprehensions and views;
   and God gives me sometimes to see the smiles on their cheeks, the
   sweet, humble hope that sparkles in their eyes and shines through the
   tears of tender gratitude, and to hear that little of their inward
   complacency and joy which language can express. Yea, and multitudes
   more, who were once equally dear to me with these, though I have laid
   them in the grave, and wept over the dust, are living to God, living in
   the possession of inconceivable delights, and drinking large draughts
   of the water of life, which flows in perpetual streams at his right
   hand."

   6. O Christian! thou art still intimately united and allied to them.
   Death cannot break a friendship thus cemented, and it ought not to
   render thee insensible of the happiness of those friends for whose
   memory thou retainest so just an honor. They live to God as his
   servants; they "serve him and see his face," (Rev. 22:3,4) and they
   make but a small part of that glorious assembly. Millions, equally
   worthy of thine esteem and affection with themselves, inhabit those
   blissful regions; and wilt thou not rejoice in their joy? And wilt thou
   not adore that everlasting spring of holiness and happiness from whence
   each of their streams is derived? Yea, I will add, while the blessed
   angels are so kindly regarding us, while they are ministering to thee,
   O Christian! and bearing thee in their arms, "as an heir of salvation,"
   (Heb. 1:14) wilt thou not rejoice in their felicity too? And wilt thou
   not adore that God who gives them all the superior glory of their more
   exalted nature, and gives them a heaven, which fills them with
   blessedness even while they seem to withdraw from it, that they may
   attend on thee?

   7. This, and infinitely more than this the blessed God is, and was, and
   shall ever be. The felicities of the blessed spirits that surround his
   throne, and thy felicities, O Christian! are immortal. These heavenly
   luminaries shall glow with an undecaying flame, and thou shalt shine
   and burn among them when the sun and the stars are gone out. Still
   shall the unchanging Father of lights pour forth his beams upon them;
   and the lustre they reflect from him, and their happiness in him, shall
   be everlasting, shall be ever growing. Bow down, O thou child of God,
   thou heir of glory; bow down, and let all that is within thee unite in
   one act of grateful love; and let all that is around thee, all that is
   before thee in the prospects of an unbounded eternity, concur to
   elevate and transport thy soul, that thou mayest, as far as possible,
   begin the work and blessedness of heaven, in falling down before the
   God of it, in opening thine heart to his gracious influences, and in
   breathing out before him that incense of praise which these warm beams
   of his presence and love have so great a tendency to produce, and to
   ennoble with a fragrancy resembling that of his paradise above.

   The grateful Soul rejoicing in the Blessings of Providence and Grace,
   and pouring out itself before God in vigorous and affectionate
   Exercises of Love and Praise.

   "O my God, it is enough! I have mused, and the fire burneth!' (Psa.
   39:3) But oh! in what language shall the flame break forth? What can a
   say but this, that my heart admires thee, and adores thee, and loves
   thee? My little vessel is as full as it can hold; and I would pour out
   all that fullness before thee, that it may grow capable of receiving
   more and more. Thou art my hope and my help; my glory, and the lifter
   up of my head.' (Psa. 3:3) My heart rejoiceth in thy salvation' (Psa.
   13:5) and when I set myself under the influences of thy good Spirit to
   converse with thee, a thousand delightful thoughts spring up at once; a
   thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, and flow in upon my soul
   with such refreshment and joy, that they seem to crowd into every
   moment the happiness of days, and weeks, and months.

   "I bless thee, O God, for this soul of mine which thou hast created;
   which thou hast taught to say, and I hope to the happiest purpose,
   Where is God my Maker!' (Job 35:10) I bless thee for the knowledge with
   which thou hast adorned it. I bless thee for that grace with which I
   trust I may (not without humble wonder) say, thou hast sanctified it;
   though, alas! the celestial plant is fixed in too barren a soil, and
   does not flourish to the degree I could wish.

   "I bless thee also for that body which thou hast given me, and which
   thou preservest as yet in its strength and vigor, not only capable of
   relishing the entertainments which thou providest for its various
   senses, but (which I esteem far more valuable than any of them for its
   own sake) capable of acting with some vivacity in thy service. I bless
   thee for that case and freedom with which these limbs of mine move
   themselves, and obey the dictates of my spirit, I hope as guided by
   thine. I bless thee that the keepers of my house do not tremble, nor
   the strong men bow themselves;' that they that look out of the windows
   are not yet darkened, nor the daughters of music brought low.' I bless
   thee, O God of my life! that the silver cord is not yet loosed, nor the
   golden bowl broken;' (Eccl. 12:3,4,6) for it is thine hand that braces
   all my nerves, and thine infinite skill that prepares those spirits
   that flow in so freely; and when exhausted, recruit so soon and so
   plentifully. I praise thee for that royal bounty with which thou
   providest for the daily support of mankind in general, and for mine in
   particular; for the various tables which thou spreadest before me, and
   for the overflowing cup which thou puttest into my hands.' (Psa. 23:5)
   I bless thee that these bounties of thy providence do not serve, as it
   were, to upbraid a disabled appetite, and are not like messes of meat
   set before the dead.' I bless thee too, that I eat not my morsel of
   meat alone,' (Job 31:17) but share it with so many agreeable friends,
   who add the relish of a social life to that of the animal, at our
   seasons of common repast. I thank thee for so many dear relatives at
   home, for so many kind friends abroad, who are capable of serving me in
   various instances, and disposed to make an obliging use of that
   capacity.

   "Nor would I forget to acknowledge thy favor in rendering me capable of
   serving others, and giving me in any instance to know how much more
   blessed it is to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35) I thank thee for a
   heart which feels the sorrows of the necessitous, and a mind which can
   make it my early care and refreshment to contrive, according to my
   little ability, for their relief; for this also cometh forth from thee,
   O Lord!' (Isa. 28:29) the great Author of every benevolent inclination,
   of every prudent scheme, of every successful attempt to spread
   happiness around us, or in any instance to lessen distress.

   "And surely, O Lord, if I thus acknowledge the pleasures of sympathy
   with the afflicted, much more must I bless thee for those of sympathy
   with the happy, with those that are completely blessed. I adore thee
   for the streams that water Paradise, and maintain it in
   ever-flourishing, ever-growing delight. I praise thee for the rest, the
   joy, the transport, thou art giving to many that were once dear to me
   on earth, whose sorrows it was my labor to soothe, and whose joys,
   especially in thee, it was the delight of my heart to promote. I praise
   thee for the blessedness of every saint, and of every angel that
   surrounds thy throne above; and I praise thee, with accents of
   distinguished pleasure for that reviving hope which thou hast implanted
   in my bosom, that I shall, ere long, know, by clear sight, and by
   everlasting experience, what that felicity of theirs is which I now
   only discover at a distance, through the comparatively obscure glass of
   faith. Even now, through thy grace, do I feel myself borne forward by
   thy supporting arm to those regions of blessedness. Even now am I
   waiting for thy salvation,' (Gen. 49:18) with that ardent desire, on
   the one hand, which its sublime greatness cannot but inspire into the
   believing soul, and that calm resignation on the other, which the
   immutability of thy promise establishes.

   "And now, O my God, what shall I say unto thee? what, but that I love
   thee above all the powers of language to express! That I love thee for
   what thou art to thy creatures, who are, in their various forms, every
   moment deriving being, knowledge and happiness from thee, in numbers
   and degrees far beyond what my narrow imagination can conceive. But,
   oh! I adore and love thee yet far more for what thou art in thyself;
   for those stores of perfection which creation has not diminished, and
   which can never be exhausted by all the effects of it which thou
   impartest to thy creatures; that infinite perfection which makes thee
   thine own happiness, thine own end; amiable, infinitely amiable and
   venerable, were all derived excellence and happiness forgot.

   "O thou first, thou greatest, thou fairest of all objects! thou only
   great, thou only fair, possess all my soul! And surely thou dost
   possess it. While I thus feel thy sacred Spirit breathing on my heart,
   and exciting these fervors of love to thee, I cannot doubt it any more
   than I can doubt the reality of this animal life, while I exert the
   actings of it, and feel its sensations. Surely, if ever I knew the
   appetite of hunger, my soul hungers after righteousness, (Matt. 5:6)
   and longs for a greater conformity to thy blessed nature and holy will.
   If ever my palate felt thirst, my soul thirsteth for God, even for the
   living God,' (Psa. 42:2) and panteth for the more abundant
   communication of his favor. If ever this body, when wearied with labor
   or journies, knew what it was to wish for the refreshment of my bed,
   and rejoice to rest there, my soul, with sweet acquiescence, rests upon
   thy gracious bosom, O my heavenly Father, and returns to its repose in
   the embraces of its God, who hath dealt so bountifully with it.' (Psa.
   116:7) And if ever I saw the face of a beloved friend with complacency
   and joy, I rejoice in beholding thy face, O Lord, and in calling thee
   my Father in Christ. Such thou art, and such thou wilt be, for time and
   for eternity. What have I more to do, but to commit myself to thee for
   both? Leaving it to thee to choose my inheritance' and to order my
   affairs for me, (Psa. 47:4) while all my business is to serve thee, and
   all my delight to praise thee. My soul follows hard after God,' because
   his right hand upholds me.' (Psa. 63:8) Let it still bear me up, and I
   shall press on toward thee, till all my desires be accomplished in the
   eternal enjoyment of thee! Amen'
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXVIII.

  THE ESTABLISHED CHRISTIAN URGED TO EXERT HIMSELF FOR PURPOSES OF USEFULNESS.

   1, 2. A sincere love to God will express itself not only in devotion,
   but in benevolence to men.--3. This is the command of God.--4. The true
   Christian feels his soul wrought to a holy conformity to it.--5. And
   therefore will desire instruction on this head.--6. Accordingly,
   directions are given for the improvement of various talents:
   particularly genius and learning.--7. Power.--8. Domestic
   authority.--9. Esteem.--10. Riches.--11. Several good ways of employing
   them hinted at.--12, 13. Prudence in expense urged, for the support of
   charity.--14. Divine direction in this respect to be sought. The
   Christian breathing after more extensive usefulness.

   1. SUCH as I have described in the former chapter, I trust, are and
   will be the frequent exercises or your soul before God. Thus will your
   love and gratitude breathe itself forth in the divine presence and
   will, through Jesus the great Mediator, come up before it as incense,
   and yield an acceptable savor. But then, you must remember, this will
   not be the only effect of that love to God which I have supposed so
   warm in your heart. If it be sincere, it will not spend itself in words
   alone, but will discover itself in actions, and wilt produce, as its
   genuine fruit, an unfeigned love to your fellow-creatures, and an
   unwearied desire and labor to do them good continually.

   2. "Has the great Father of mercies," will you say, "looked upon me
   with so gracious an eye? has he not only forgiven me ten thousand
   offences, but enriched me with such a variety of benefits? O what shall
   render to him for them all? Instruct me, O ye oracles of eternal truth!
   Instruct me, ye elder brethren in the family of my heavenly Father!
   Instruct me, above all, O thou Spirit of wisdom and love! what I may be
   able to do, to express my love to the great eternal fountain of love,
   and to approve my fidelity to him who has already done so much to
   engage it, and who will take so much pleasure in owning and rewarding
   it!"

   3. This, O Christian! is the command which we have heard from the
   beginning, and it will ever continue in unimpaired force, "that he who
   loveth God," should "love his brother also," (1 John 4:21) and should
   express that love, "not in word and profession alone, but in deed and
   in truth." (1 John 3:18) You are to love your neighbor as yourself; to
   love the whole creation of God; and, so far as your influence can
   extend, must endeavor to make it happy.

   4. "Yes," will you not say, and "I do love it. I feel the golden chain
   of divine love encircling us all, and binding us close to each other,
   joining us in one body, and diffusing as it were, one soul through all.
   May happiness, true and sublime, perpetual and ever-growing happiness,
   reign through the whole world of God's rational and obedient creatures
   in heaven and on earth! And may every revolted creature, that is
   capable of being recovered and restored, be made obedient! Yea, may the
   necessary punishment of those who are irrecoverable, be overruled by
   infinite wisdom and love to the good of the whole!"

   5. These are right sentiments, and if they are indeed the sentiments of
   your heart, O reader! and not an empty form of vain words, they will be
   attended with a serious concern to act in subordination to this great
   scheme of divine Providence, according to your abilities in their
   utmost extent. And to this purpose, they will put you on surveying the
   peculiar circumstances of your life and being, that you may discover
   what opportunities of usefulness they now afford, and how those
   opportunities and capacities may be improved. Enter therefore into such
   a survey, not that you may pride yourself in the distinctions of divine
   Providence or grace towards you, or, "having received, may glory as if
   you had not received;" (1 Cor. 4:7) but that you may deal faithfully
   with the great Proprietor, whose steward you are, and by whom you are
   entrusted with every talent, which, with respect to any claim from your
   fellow-creatures, you may call your own. And here, "having gifts
   differing according to the grace that is given to us," (Rom. 12:6) let
   us hold the balance with an impartial hand, that so we may determine
   what it is that God requires of us; which is nothing less than doing
   the most we can invent, contrive, and effect, for the general good.
   But, oh! how seldom is this estimate faithfully made! And how much does
   the world around us, and how much do our own souls suffer for want of
   that fidelity!

   6. Hath God given you genius and learning? It was not that you might
   amuse or deck yourself with it, and kindle a blaze which should only
   serve to attract and dazzle the eyes of men. It was intended to be the
   means of heading both yourself and them to the Father of lights. And it
   will be your duty, according to the peculiar turn of that genius and
   capacity, either to endeavor to improve and adorn human life, or, by a
   more direct application of it to divine subjects, to plead the cause of
   religion, to defend its truths, to enforce and recommend its practicer
   to deter men from courses which would be dishonorable to God and fatal
   to themselves, and to try the utmost efforts of all the solemnity and
   tenderness with which you can clothe your addresses, to lead them into
   the paths of virtue and happiness.

   7. Has God invested you with power, whether it be in a larger or
   smaller society? Remember that this power was given you that God might
   be honored, and those placed under your government, whether domestic or
   public, might be made happy. Be concerned, therefore, that, whether you
   be entrusted with the rod, or the sword, it may "not be" borne in vain.
   (Rom. 13:4) Are you a magistrate? Have you any share in the great and
   tremendous charge of enacting laws? Reverence the authority of the
   supreme Legislator, the great Guardian of society: promote none,
   consent to none, which you do not in your own conscience esteem, in
   present circumstances, an intimation of his will, and in the
   establishment of which you do not firmly believe you shalt be "his
   minister for good." (Rom. 13:4) Have you the charge of executing laws?
   Put life into them by a vigorous and strenuous execution, according to
   the nature of the particular office you bear. Retain not an empty name
   of authority. Permit not yourself, as it were, to fall asleep on the
   tribunal. Be active, be wakeful, be observant of what passes around
   you. Protect the upright and the innocent. Break in pieces the power of
   the oppressor. Unveil every dishonest heart. Disgrace as well as defeat
   the wretch that makes his distinguished abilities the disguise or
   protection of the wickedness which he ought rather to endeavor to
   expose, and to drive out of the world with abhorrence.

   8. Are you placed only at the head of a private family? Rule it for
   God. Administer the concerns of that little kingdom with the same
   views, and on the same principles, which I have been inculcating oil
   the powerful and the great, if, by any unexpected accident, any of them
   should suffer their eyes to glance upon the passage above. Your
   children and servants are your natural subjects. Let good order be
   established among them, and keep them under a regular discipline. Let
   them be instructed in the principles of religion, that they may know
   how reasonable such a discipline is; and let them be accustomed to act
   accordingly. You cannot indeed change their hearts, but you may very
   much influence their conduct, and by that means may preserve them from
   many snares, may do a great deal to make them good members of society,
   and may set them, as it were, "in the way of God's steps," (Psa. 85:13)
   if peradventure passing by be may bless them with the riches of his
   grace. And fail not to do your utmost to convince them of their need of
   those blessings; labor to engage them to a high esteem of them, and to
   an earnest desire of them, as incomparably more valuable than any thing
   else.

   9. Again, has God been pleased to raise you to esteem among your
   fellow-creatures, which is not always in proportion to a man's rank or
   possession in human life? Are your counsels heard with attention? Is
   your company sought? Does God give you good acceptance in the eyes of
   men, so that they do not only put the fairest constructions on your
   words, but overlook faults of which you are conscious to yourself, and
   consider your actions and performances in the most indulgent and
   favorable light? You ought to regard this, not only as a favor of
   Providence, and as an encouragement to you cheerfully to pursue your
   duty, in the several branches of it, for the time to come, but also, as
   giving you much greater opportunities of usefulness than in your
   present station you could otherwise have had. If your character has any
   weight in the world, throw it into the right scale. Endeavor to keep
   virtue and goodness in countenance. Affectionately give your hand to
   modest worth, where it seems to be depressed or overlooked; though
   shining, when viewed in its proper light, with a lustre which you may
   think much superior to your own. Be an advocate for truth; be a
   counsellor for peace; be an example of candor; and do all you can to
   reconcile the hearts of men, especially of good men, to each other,
   however they may differ in their opinions about matters which it is
   impossible for good men to dispute. And let the caution and humility of
   your behavior, in circumstances of such superior eminence, and amidst
   so many tokens of general esteem, silently reprove the rashness and
   haughtiness of those who perhaps are remarkable for little else; or
   who, if their abilities were indeed considerable, must be despised, and
   whose talents must be in a great measure lost to the public, till that
   rashness and haughtiness of spirit be subdued. Nor suffer yourself to
   he interrupted in this generous and worthy course, by the little
   attacks or envy and calumny which you may meet. Be still attentive to
   the general good, and steadily resolute in your efforts to promote it;
   and leave it to Providence to guard or to rescue your character from
   the base assaults of malice and falsehood, which will often, without
   your labor, confute themselves, and heap upon the authors greater
   shame, or (if they are inaccessible to that} greater infamy, than your
   humanity will allow you to wish them.

   10. Once more, Has God blessed you with riches? Has he placed you in
   such circumstances that you have more than you absolutely need for the
   subsistence of yourself and your family? Remember your approaching
   account. Remember what an incumbrance these things often prove to men
   in the way of their salvation, and how often, according to our Lord's
   express declaration, they render it "as difficult to enter into the
   kingdom of God, as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a
   needle." (Matt. 19:24) Let it therefore be your immediate, your
   earnest, and your daily prayer, that riches may not be a snare and a
   shame to you, as they are to by far the greater part of their
   possessors. Appropriate, I beseech you, some certain part and
   proportion of your estate and revenue to charitable uses; with a
   provisional increase, as God shall prosper you in any extraordinary
   instance. By this means you will always have a fund of charity at hand;
   and you will probably be more ready to communicate, when you look upon
   what is so deposited as not in any sense your own, but as already
   actually given away to those uses, though not yet affixed to particular
   objects. It is not for me to say what that proportion ought to be. To
   those who have large revenues, and no children, perhaps a third or one
   half may be too little; to those whose incomes are small, and their
   charge considerable, though they have something more than is absolutely
   necessary, it is possible a tenth may be too much. But pray that God
   would guide your mind; make a trial for one year, on such terms as in
   your conscience you think will be most pleasing to him; and let your
   observations on that teach you to fix your proportion for the next
   always remembering, that he requires justice in the first place, and
   alms-deeds only so far as may consist with that. Yet, at the same time,
   take heed of that treacherous, delusive, and, in many instances,
   destructive imagination, "that justice to your own family requires that
   yon should leave your children very rich; which has perhaps cost some
   parsimonious parents the lives of those darlings for whom they laid up
   the portion of the poor; and what fatal consequences of divine
   displeasure may attend it to those that yet survive, God Only knows;
   and I heartily pray that you or yours may never learn by experience.

   11. And that your heart may be yet more opened, and that your charity
   may be directed to the best purposes, let me briefly mention a variety
   of good uses which may call for the consideration of those whom God has
   in this respect distinguished by an ability to do good. To assist the
   hints I am to offer, look round on the neighborhood in which you live.
   Thank how many honest and industrious, perhaps too, I might add,
   religious people, are making very hard shifts to struggle through life.
   Think what a comfort that would be to them, which you might without any
   inconvenience spare from that abundance which God hath given you.
   Hearken also to any extraordinary calls of charity which may happen,
   especially those of a public nature, and help them forward with your
   example, and your interest in them, which perhaps may be of much
   greater importance than the sum which you contribute, considered in
   itself. Have a tongue to plead for the necessitous, as well as a hand
   to relieve them; and endeavor to discountenance those poor, shameful
   excuses, which covetousness often dictates to those whose art may
   indeed set some varnish on what they suggest, but so slight a one, that
   the coarse ground will appear through it. See how many poor children
   are wandering naked and ignorant about the streets, and in the way to
   all kinds of vice and misery; and consider what can be done toward
   clothing some of them at least, and instructing them in the principles
   of religion. Would every thriving family in a town, who are able to
   afford help on such occasions, cast a pitying eye on one poor family in
   its neighborhood, and take it under their patronage, to assist in
   feeding, and clothing, and teaching the children, in supporting it in
   affliction, in defending it from wrongs, and in advising those that
   have the management of it, as circumstances might require, how great a
   difference would soon be produced in the character and circumstances of
   the community! Observe who are sick, that, if there be no public
   infirmary at hand to which you can introduce them, (where your
   contribution will yield the largest increase) you may do something
   towards relieving them at home, and supplying them with advice and
   medicines, as well as with proper diet and attendance. Consider also
   the spiritual necessities of men: in providing for which, I would
   particularly recommend to you the very important and noble charity of
   assisting young persons of genius and piety with what is necessary to
   support the expense of their education for the ministry, in the proper
   course of grammatical or academical studies. And grudge not some
   proportion of what God hath given you, to those who, resigning all
   temporal views to minister to you the Gospel of Christ, have surely an
   equitable claim to be supported by you, in a capacity of rendering you
   those services, however laborious, to which, for your sakes, and that
   of our common Lord, they have devoted their lives. And while you are so
   abundantly "satisfied with the goodness of Gal's house, even of his own
   temple," (Psa. 65:4) have compassion on those who dwell in a desert
   land; and rejoice to do something toward sending among the distant
   nations of the heathen world, that glorious Gospel which bath so long
   continued unknown to multitudes, though the knowledge of it, with
   becoming regard, be life everlasting. These are a few important
   charities which I would point out to those whom Providence has enriched
   with its peculiar bounties; and it renders gold more precious than it
   could appear in any other light, that it is capable of being employed
   for such purposes. But if you should not have gold to spare for them,
   contribute your silver; or, as a farthing or a mite is not overlooked
   by God, when it is given from a truly generous and charitable heart,
   (Mark 12:42,43) let that be cheerfully dropped into the treasury, where
   richer offerings cannot be afforded.

   12. And that, amidst so many pressing demands for charity, you may be
   better furnished to answer them, seriously reflect on your manner of
   living. I say not that God requires you should become one of the many
   poor relieved out of your income. The support of society, as at present
   established, will not only permit, but require, that some persons
   should allow themselves in the elegancies and delights of life; by
   furnishing which, multitudes of poor families are much more creditably
   and comfortably subsisted, with greater advantage to themselves and
   safety to the public, than they could be, if the price of their labors,
   or of the commodities in which they deal, were to be given them as
   alms; nor can I imagine it grateful to God, that his gifts should be
   refused, as if they were meant for snares and curses rather than
   benefits. This were to frustrate the benevolent purposes of the
   gracious Father of mankind, and if carried to its rigor, would be a
   sort of conspiracy against the whole system of nature. Let the bounties
   of Providence be used; but let us carefully see to it, that it be in a
   moderate and prudent manner, lest, by our own folly, "that which should
   have been for our welfare become a trap." (Psa. 69:22) Let conscience
   say, my dear reader, with regard to yourself, what proportion of the
   good things you possess your Heavenly Father intends for yourself, and
   what for your brethren; and live not as if you had no brethren--as if
   pleasing yourself in all the magnificence and luxury you can devise,
   were the end for which you were sent into the world. I fear this is the
   excess of the present age, and not an excess of rigor and
   mortification. Examine, therefore, your expenses, and compare them with
   your income. That may be shamefully extravagant in you, which may not
   only be pardonable, but commendable in another of superior estate. Nor
   can you be sure that you do not exceed, merely because you do not
   plunge yourself into debt, nor render yourself incapable of laying up
   any thing for your family. If you be disabled from doing any thing for
   the poor, or any thing proportionable to your rank in life, by that
   genteel and elegant way of living which you affect, God must disapprove
   of such a conduct; and you ought, as you will answer to him, to
   retrench it. And though the divine indulgence will undoubtedly be
   exercised to those in whom there is a sincere principle of faith in
   Christ, and undissembled love to God and man, though it act not to that
   height of beneficence and usefulness which might have been attained;
   yet be assured of this, that he, who rendereth to every one according
   to his works, will have a strict regard to the degrees of the goodness
   in the distribution of final rewards: so that every neglected
   opportunity draws after it an irreparable loss, which will go into
   eternity along with you. And let me add, too, that every instance of
   negligence indulged, renders the mind still more and more indolent and
   weak, and consequently more indisposed to recover the ground which has
   been lost, or even to maintain that which has been hitherto kept.

   18. Complain not that this is imposing hard things upon you. I am only
   directing your pleasures into a nobler channel; and indeed that
   frugality, which is the source of such a generosity, far from being at
   all injurious to your reputation, will rather, among wise and good men,
   greatly promote it. But you have far nobler motives before you than
   those which arise from their regards. I speak to you as to a child of
   God, and a member of Christ; as joined, therefore, by the most intimate
   union, to all the poorest of those that believe in him. I speak to you
   as to an heir of eternal glory, who ought therefore to have sentiments
   great and sublime, in some proportion to that expected inheritance.

   14. Cast about therefore in your thoughts what good is to be done, and
   what you can do, either in your own person or by your interest with
   others; and go about it with resolution, as in the name and presence of
   the Lord. And as "the Lord giveth wisdom, and out of his mouth cometh
   knowledge and understanding," (Prov. 2:6) go to the footstool of his
   throne, and there seek that guidance and that grace which may suit your
   present circumstances, and may be effectual to produce the fruits of
   holiness and usefulness, to his more abundant glory, and to the honor
   of your Christian profession.

   The established Christian breathing after more extensive Usefulness.

   "O bountiful Father, and sovereign Author of all good, whether natural
   or spiritual! I bless thee for the various talents with which thou hast
   enriched so undeserving a creature as I must acknowledge myself to be.
   My soul is in the deepest confusion before thee, when I consider to how
   little purpose I have hitherto improved them. Alas! what have I done,
   in proportion to what than mightest reasonably have expected, with the
   gifts of nature which thou hast bestowed upon me, with my capacities of
   life, with my time, with my talents, with my possessions, with my
   influence over others! Alas! through my own negligence and folly, I
   look back on a barren wilderness, where I might have seen a fruitful
   field, and a springing harvest! Justly do I indeed deserve to be
   stripped of all, to be brought to an immediate account for all; to be
   condemned, as in many respects unfaithful to thee, and to the world,
   and to my own soul; and, in consequence of that condemnation, to be
   cast into the prison of eternal darkness! But thou, Lord, hast freely
   forgiven the dreadful debt of ten thousand talents. Adored be thy name
   for it! Accept, O Lord, accept that renewed surrender which I would now
   make of myself, and of all I have, unto thy service! I acknowledge that
   it is of thine own that I give thee.' (1 Chron. 29:14) Make me, I
   beseech thee, a faithful steward for my great Lord; and may I think of
   no separate interest of my own, in opposition to thine!

   "I adore thee, O thou God of all grace! if, while I am thus speaking to
   thee, I feel the love of thy creatures arising in my soul; if I feel my
   heart opening to embrace my brethren of mankind! O make me thy faithful
   almoner, in distributing to them all that thou hast lodged in mine hand
   for their relief! And in determining what is my own share, may I hold
   the balance with an equal hand, and judge impartially between myself
   and them! The proportion thou allowest, may I thankfully take for
   myself and those who are immediately mine! The rest may I distribute
   with wisdom, and fidelity, and cheerfulness! Guide my hand, O
   ever-merciful Father! while thou dost me the honor to make me thine
   instrument in dealing out a few of thy bounties, that I may bestow them
   where they are most needed, and where they will answer the best end!
   And if it be thy gracious will, do thou multiply the seed sown;' (2
   Cor. 9:10) prosper me in my worldly affairs, that I may have more to
   impart to them that need it; and thus lead me on to the region of
   everlasting plenty, and everlasting benevolence! There may I meet with
   many to whom I have been an affectionate benefactor on earth; and if it
   be thy blessed will, with many whom I have also been the means of
   conducting into the path to that blissful abode! There may they
   entertain me in their habitations of glory! And in time and eternity,
   do thou, Lord, accept the praise of all, through Jesus Christ; at whose
   feet I would bow; and at whose feet, after the most useful course, I
   would at last die, with as much humility as if I were then exerting the
   first act of faith upon him, and had never had any opportunity, by one
   tribute of obedience and gratitude in the services of life, to approve
   its sincerity!"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXIX.

  THE CHRISTIAN REJOICING IN THE VIEWS OF DEATH AND JUDGMENT.

   1. Death and judgment are near: but the Christian has reason to welcome
   both.--2. Yet nature recoils from the solemnity of them.--3. An attempt
   to reconcile the mind to the prospect of death.--4. From the
   considerations of the many evils that surround us in this mortal
   life.--5. Of the remainder of sin which we feel within us.--6, 7. And
   of the happiness which is immediately to succeed death.--8. All which
   might make the Christian willing to die in the most agreeable
   circumstances of human life.--9. The Christian has reason to rejoice in
   the prospect of judgment.--10. Since, however awful it may be, Christ
   will then come to vindicate his honor, to display his glory, and to
   triumph over his enemies.--11. As also to complete the happiness of
   every believer.--12, 13. And of the whole church.--The mediation of a
   Christian whose heart is warm with these prospects.

   1. WHEN the visions of the Lord were closing upon John, the beloved
   disciple, in the island of Patmos, it is observable that he who gave
   him that revelation, even Jesus, the faithful and true witness,
   concludes with these lively and important words: "He who testifieth
   these things saith, Surely I come quickly:" and John answered with the
   greatest readiness and pleasure--"Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus!"
   Come, as thou hast said, surely and quickly. And remember, O Christian!
   whoever you are that are now reading these words, your divine Lord
   speaks in the same language to you--"Behold, I come quickly." Yes, very
   quickly will become by death, to turn the key, to open the door of the
   grave for thine admittance thither, and to lead thee through it into
   the now unknown regions of the invisible world. Nor is it long before
   "the Judge who standeth at the door," (Jam. 5:9) will appear also for
   universal judgment; and though, perhaps, not only scores, but hundreds
   of years will lie between that period and the present moment, yet it is
   but a very small point of time to him who views at once all the
   unmeasurable ages or a past and future eternity. "A thousand years are
   with him but as one day, and one day as a thousand years." (2 Pet. 3:8)
   In both these senses, then, does he come quickly. And I trust you can
   answer, with a glad Amen, that the warning is not terrible or
   unpleasant to your ears; but rather that his coming, his certain, his
   speedy coming, is the object of your delightful hope, and of your
   longing expectation.

   2. I am sure it is reasonable it should be so; and yet perhaps nature,
   fond of life, and unwilling to part with along known abode, to enter on
   a state to which it is entirely a stranger, may recoil from the
   thoughts of dying; or, struck with the awful pomp or an expiring and
   dissolving world, may look on the judgement-day with some mixture of
   terror. And therefore, my dear brother in the Lord, (for such I can now
   esteem you) I would reason with you a little on this head, and would
   entreat you to look more attentively on this solemn subject; which
   will, I trust, grow less disagreeable to you, as it is more familiarly
   viewed. Nay, I hope that, instead of starting back from it, you wilt
   rather spring forward toward it with joy and delight.

   3. Think, O Christian! when Christ comes to call you away by death, he
   comes--to set you at liberty from your present sorrows--to deliver you
   from your struggles with remaining corruption--and to receive you to
   dwell with himself in complete holiness and joy. You shall "be absent
   from the body, and be present with the Lord." (2 Cor. 5:8)

   4. He will indeed call you away from this world; but oh! what is this
   world, that you should be fond of it, and cling to it with so much
   eagerness? How low are all those enjoyments that are peculiar to it,
   and how many its vexations, its snares, and its sorrows! Review your
   pilgrimage thus far; and though you must acknowledge that "goodness and
   mercy have followed you all the days of your life," (Psa. 23:6) yet has
   not that very mercy itself planted some thorns in your path, and given
   you some wise and necessary, yet painful intimations, that "this is not
   your rest?" (Mic. 2:10) Review the monuments of your withered joys, of
   your blasted hopes, if there be yet any monuments of them remaining
   more than a mournful remembrance they have left behind in your
   afflicted heart. Look upon the graves that have swallowed up many of
   your dearest and most amiable friends, perhaps in the very bloom of
   life, and in the greatest intimacy of your converse with them, and
   reflect, that if you continue a few years more, death will renew his
   conquests at your expense, and devour the most precious of those that
   yet survive. View the living as well as the dead: behold the state of
   human nature under the many grievous marks of its apostacy from God,
   and say, whether a wise and good man would wish to continue always
   here. Methinks, were I myself secure from being reached by any of the
   arrows that fly around me, I could not but mourn to see the wounds that
   are given by them, and to hear the groans of those that are continually
   falling under them. The diseases and calamities of mankind are so many,
   and (which is most grievous of all) the distempers of their minds are
   so various, and so threatening, that the world appears like a hospital;
   and a man whose heart is tender, is ready to feel his spirits broken as
   he walks through it and surveys the sad scene; especially when he sees
   how little he can do for the recovery of those whom he pities. Are you
   a Christian? and does it not pierce your heart to see how human nature
   is sunk in vice and in shame? To see with what amazing insolence some
   are making themselves openly vile, and how the name of Christ is
   dishonored by too many that call themselves his people? To see the
   unlawful deeds and filthy practices of them that live ungodly; and to
   behold, at the same time, the infirmities, at least, and irregularities
   of those, concerning whom we have better hopes? And do you not wish to
   escape from such a world, where a righteous and compassionate soul must
   be vexed from day to day by so many spectacles of sin and misery? (2
   Pet. 2:8)

   5. Yea, to come nearer home, do you not feel something within you,
   which you long to quit, and which would embitter even Paradise itself?
   Something which, were it to continue, would grieve and distress you
   even in the society of the blessed? Do you not feel a remainder of
   indwelling sin, the sad consequence of the original revolt of our
   nature from God? Are you not struggling every day with some residue of
   corruption, or at least mourning on account of the weakness of your
   graces? Do you not often find your spirits dull and languid, when you
   would desire to raise them to the greatest fervor in the service of God
   ? Do you not find your heart too often insensible of the richest
   instances of his love, and your hands feeble in his service, even when
   "to will is present with you?" (Rom. 7:18) Does not your life, in its
   best days and hours, appear a low, unprofitable thing, when compared
   with what you are sensible it ought to be, and with what you wish that
   it were ? Are you not frequently, as it were, "stretching the pinions
   of the mind," and saying, "O that I had wings like a dove, that I might
   fly away and be at rest!" (Psa. 55:6)

   6. Should you not then rejoice in the thought, that Jesus comes to
   deliver you from these complaints? That he comes to answer your wishes,
   and to fulfill the largest desires of your hearts, those desires that
   he himself has inspired? That he comes to open upon you a world of
   purity and joy; of active, exalted, and unwearied services?

   7. O Christian! how often have you cast a longing eye toward those
   happy shores, and wished to pass the sea, the boisterous, unpleasant,
   dangerous sea, that separates you from them! When your Lord has
   condescended to make you a short visit in his ordinances on earth, how
   have you blessed the time and the place, and pronounced it, amidst many
   other disadvantages of situation, to be "the very gate of heaven!"
   (Gen. 28:17) And is it so delightful to behold this gate? and will it
   not be much more so to enter into it ? Is it so delightful to receive
   the visits of Jesus for an hour? and will it not be infinitely more so
   to dwell with him for ever ? "Lord," may you well say, "when I dwell
   with thee, I shall dwell in holiness, for thou thyself art holiness; in
   love, for thou thyself art love: I shall dwell in joy, for thou art the
   fountain of joy, as thou art in the Father, and the Father in thee."
   (John 17:21) Bid welcome to his approach, therefore, to take you at
   your word, and to fulfill to you that saying of his, on which your soul
   has so often rested with heavenly peace and pleasure: "Father, I will
   that they whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may
   behold my glory which thou hast given me." (John 17:24)

   8. Surely you may say in this view, "The sooner Christ comes the
   better." What though the residue of your days be cut off in the midst ?
   What though you leave many expected pleasures in life untasted, and
   many schemes unaccomplished ? Is it not enough, that what is taken from
   a mortal life, shall be added to a glorious eternity; and that you
   shall spend those days and years in the presence and service of Christ
   in heaven, which you might otherwise have spent with him and for him,
   in the imperfect enjoyment and labors of earth?

   9. But your prospects reach, not only beyond death, but beyond the
   separate state. For with regard to his final appearance to judgment,
   our Lord says, "Surely I come quickly," in the sense illustrated
   before; and so it will appear to us, if we compare this interval of
   time with the blissful eternity which is to succeed it; and probably,
   if we compare it with those ages which have already passed since the
   sun began to measure out to earth its days and its years. And will you
   not here also sing your part in the joyful anthem, "Amen; even so come,
   Lord Jesus!"

   10. It is true, Christian, it is an awful day; a day in which nature
   shall be thrown into a confusion as yet unknown. No earthquake, no
   eruption of burning mountains, no desolation of cities by devouring
   flames, or of countries by overflowing rivers or seas, can give any
   just emblem of that dreadful day, when "the heavens, being on fire,
   shall be dissolved; the earth also, and all that is therein, shall be
   burnt up;" (2 Pet. 3:10-12) when all nature shall flee away in
   amazement "before the face of the universal Judge," (Rev. 20:11) and
   there shall be a great cry, far beyond what was known "in the land of
   Egypt, when there was not a house in which there was not one dead."
   (Exod. 12:30) Your flesh may be ready to tremble at the view; yet your
   spirit must surely "rejoice in God your Savior." (Luke 1:47) You may
   justly say, "Let this illustrious day come, even with all its horrors!"
   Yea, like the Christians described by the apostle, (2 Pet. 3:12) you
   may be looking for, and hastening to that day of terrible brightness
   and universal doom. For your Lord will then come, to vindicate the
   justice of those proceedings which have been in many instances so much
   obscured, and because they have been obscured, have been also
   blasphemed. He will come to display his magnificence, descending from
   heaven "with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of
   God," (1 Thess. 4:16) taking his seat upon a throne infinitely
   exceeding that of earthly, or even of celestial princes, clothed with
   "his Father's glory and his own," (Luke 9:26) surrounded with a
   numberless host of "shining attendants, when coming to be glorified in
   his saints, and admired in all them that believe." (2 Thess. 1:10) His
   enemies shall also be produced to grace his triumph. The serpent shalt
   be seen there rolling in the dust, and trodden under foot by him and by
   all his servants; those who once condemned him shall tremble at his
   presence; and those who bowed the knee before him in profane mockery,
   shall, in wild despair, "call to the mountains to fall upon them, and
   to the rocks to hide them from the face of that Lamb of God," (Rev.
   6:16) whom they once led away to the most inhuman slaughter.

   11. O Christian! does not your loyal heart bound at the thought? And
   are you not ready, even while reading these lines, to begin the
   victorious shout in which you are then to join ? He justly expects that
   your thoughts should be greatly elevated and impressed with the views
   of his triumph; but at the same time he permits you to remember your
   own personal share in the joy and glory of that blessed day; and even
   now he has the view before him, of what his power and love shall then
   accomplish for your salvation. And what shall it not accomplish? He
   shall come to break the bars of the grave, and to re-animate your
   sleeping clay. Your bodies must indeed be laid in dust, and be lodged
   there as a testimony of God's displeasure against sin, against the
   first sin that ever was committed, from the sad consequences of which
   the dearest of his children cannot be exempted. But you shall then have
   an ear to hear the voice of the Son of God, and an eye to behold the
   lustre of his appearance; and shall "shine forth like the sun" arising
   in the clear heaven, "which is as a bridegroom coming out of his
   chamber." (Psa. 19:5) Your soul shall be new dressed to grace this high
   solemnity, and be clothed, not with rags of mortality, but with the
   robes of glory; for he "shall change this vile body, to fashion it like
   his own glorious body." (Phil. 3:21) And when you are thus royally
   arrayed, he shall confer public honors on you, and on all his people,
   before the assembled world. You may now perhaps be loaded with infamy,
   called by reproachful names, and charged with crimes, or with views
   which your very soul abhors; but he will "then bring forth your
   righteousness as the light," (Psa. 37:6) "and your salvation as a lamp
   that burneth." (Isa. 62:1) Though you have been dishonored by men, you
   shall be acknowledged, by God; and though treated "as the filth of the
   world, and the off-scouring of all things," (1 Cor. 4:13) he will show
   that he regards you "as his treasure, in the day that he makes up his
   jewels." (Matt. 3:17) When he shall "put away all the wicked of the
   earth like dross, (Psa. 119:119) you shall be pronounced righteous in
   that full assembly; and though indeed you have broken the divine law,
   and might in strict justice have been condemned, yet, being clothed
   with the righteousness of the great Redeemer, even "that righteousness
   which is of the great God by faith," (Phil. 3:9) justice itself shall
   acquit you, and join with mercy in "bestowing upon you a crown of
   life." (2 Tim. 4:8) Christ will "confess you before men and angels,"
   (Luke 12:8) will pronounce you good and faithful servants, and call you
   to "enter into the joy of your Lord:" (Matt. 25:21) he will speak of
   you with endearment as his brethren, and will acknowledge the
   kindnesses which have been shown to you, as if he had "received them in
   his own person." (Matt. 25:40) Yea, then shall you, O Christians! who
   may perhaps have sat in some of the lowest places in our assemblies, to
   whom, it may be, none of the rich and great of the earth would
   condescend to speak; then shall you be called to be assessors with
   Christ on his judgment-seat, and to join with him in the sentence he
   shall pass on wicked men and rebellious angels.

   12. Nor is it merely one day of glory and triumph. But when the Judge
   arises, and ascends to his Father's court, all the blessed shall ascend
   with him, and you among the rest: you shall ascend together with your
   Savior, "to his Father and your Father, to his God and your God." (John
   20:17) You shall go to make your appearance in the new Jerusalem, in
   those new shining forms that you have received, which will no doubt be
   attended with a correspondent improvement of mind; and take up your
   perpetual abode in that fullness of joy, with which you shall be filled
   and satisfied "in the presence of God," (Psa. 16:11) upon the
   consummation of that happiness which the saints, in the intermediate
   state, have been wishing and waiting for. You shall go from the ruins
   of a dissolving world, to "the new heavens and new earth, wherein
   righteousness for ever dwells." (2 Pet. 3:13) There all the number of
   God's elect shall be accomplished, and the happiness of each shall be
   completed. The whole society shall be "presented before God, as the
   bride, the Lamb's wife," (Rev. 21:9) whom the eye of its celestial
   bridegroom shall survey with unutterable delight, and confess to be
   "without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing," (Eph. 5:27) its character
   and state being just what he originally designed it to be, when he
   first engaged to "give himself for it, to redeem it to God by his
   blood." (Rev. 5:9) "So shall you ever be" with each other, and "with
   the Lord," (1 Thess. 4:17) and immortal ages shall roll away and find
   you still unchanged: your happiness always the same, and your relish
   for it the same; or rather ever growing, as your souls are approaching
   nearer and nearer to him who is the source of happiness, and the centre
   of infinite perfection.

   13. And now look round about upon earth, and single out, if you can,
   the enjoyments or the hopes, for the sake of which you would say, Lord,
   delay thy coming; or for the sake of which you any more should hesitate
   to express your longing for it, and to cry, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus,
   come quickly!"

   The Meditation or Prayer of a Christian whose Heart is warmed with
   these Prospects.

   "O blessed Lord! my soul is enkindled with these views, and rises to
   thee in a flame." (Jud. 13:20) Thou hast testified, thou comest
   quickly; and I repeat my joyful assent, "Amen, even so, come, Lord
   Jesus." (Rev. 22:20) Come, for I long to have done with this low life;
   to have done with its burdens, its sorrows, anti its snares! Come, for
   I long to ascend into thy presence, and to see the court thou art
   holding above.

   "Blessed Jesus, death is transformed, when I view it in this light. The
   king of terrors is seen no more as such, so near the King of Glory and
   of Grace. I hear with pleasure the sound of thy feet approaching still
   nearer and nearer. Draw aside the veil whenever thou pleasest. Open the
   bars of my prison, that my eager soul may spring forth to thee, and
   cast itself at thy feet;' at the feet of that Jesus, whom, having not
   seen, I love,' and in whom, though now I see thee not, yet believing, I
   rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.' (1 Pet. 1:8) Thou,
   Lord, shalt show me the path of life;' thine hand shall guide me to thy
   blissful abode, where there is fullness of joy, and rivers of
   everlasting pleasure. (Psa. 16:11) Thou shalt assign me a habitation
   with thy faithful servants, whose separate spirits are now living with
   thee, while their bodies sleep in the dust. Many of them have been my
   companions in thy laborious work, and in the patience and tribulation
   of thy kingdom,' (Rev. 1:9) my dear companions, and my brethren. O show
   me, blessed Savior, how glorious and how happy thou hast made them.
   Show me to what new forms of better life thou hast conducted them whom
   we call the dead! In what nobler and more extensive services thou hast
   employed them! That I may praise thee better than I now can, for thy
   goodness to them. And O give me to share with them in their blessings
   and their services, and to raise a song of grateful love, like that
   which they are breathing forth before thee!

   "Yet, O my blessed Redeemer! even there will my soul be aspiring to yet
   a nobler and more glorious hope; and from this as yet unknown splendor
   and felicity shall I be drawing new arguments to look and long for the
   day of thy final appearance, There shall I long more ardently than I
   now do, to see thy conduct vindicated, and thy triumph displayed; to
   see the dust of thy servants re-animated, and death, the last of their
   enemies and of thine, swallowed up in victory.' (1 Cor. 15:26,54) I
   shall long for that superior honor that thou intendest me, and that
   complete bliss to which the whole body of thy people shall be
   conducted. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, will mingle itself with the
   songs of paradise, and sound from the tongues of all the millions of
   thy saints whom thy grace hath transplanted thither

   "In the meantime. O my divine Master, accept the homage which a
   grateful heart now pays thee, in a sense of the glorious hopes with
   which thou hast inspired it! It is thou that hast put this joy into it,
   and hast raised my soul to this glorious ambition whereas I might
   otherwise have now been groveling in the lowest trifles of time and
   sense, and been looking with horror on that hour which is now the
   object of my most ardent wishes.

   "O be with me always, even to the end of this mortal life. And give me,
   while waiting for thy salvation, to be doing thy commandments. May my
   loins be girded about, and my lamp burning,' (Luke 12:35) and my ears
   be still watchful for the blessed signal of thine arrival; that my
   glowing soul may with pleasure spring to meet thee, and be strengthened
   by death to bear those visions of glory, under the ecstasies of which
   feeble mortality would now expire!"
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XXX.

  THE CHRISTIAN HONORING GOD BY HIS DYING BEHAVIOR.

   1. Reflections on the sincerity with which the preceding counsel has
   been given.--2, 3. The author is desirous that (if Providence permit)
   he may assist the Christian to die honorably and comfortably.--4. With
   this view, it is advised--to rid the mind of all earthly cares.--5. To
   renew the humiliation of the soul before God, and its application to
   the blood of Christ.--6. To exercise patience under bodily pains and
   sorrows.--7. At leaving the world, to bear an honorable testimony to
   religion.--8 To give a solemn charge to surviving friends.--9.
   especially recommending faith in Christ.--10, 11. To keep the promises
   of God in view.--12. And to commit the departing spirit to God, in the
   genuine exercises of gratitude and repentance, faith and charity, which
   are exemplified in the concluding meditation and prayer.

   1. THUS, my dear reader, I have endeavored to lead you through a
   variety of circumstances, and those not fancied or imaginary, but such
   as do indeed occur in the human and Christian life. And I can truly and
   cheerfully say, that I have marked out to you the path which I myself
   have trod, and in which it is my desire still to go on. I have ventured
   my own everlasting interests on that foundation on which I have
   directed you to adventure yours. What I have recommended as the grand
   business of your life, I desire to make the business or my own; and the
   most considerable enjoyments which I expect or desire in the remaining
   days of my pilgrimage on earth, are such as I have directed you to seek
   and endeavored to assist you in attaining. Such love to God, such
   constant activity in his service, such pleasurable views of what lies
   beyond the grave, appear to me (God is my witness) a felicity
   incomparably beyond anything else which can offer itself to our
   affection and pursuit; and I would not for ten thousand worlds resign
   my share in them, or consent even to the suspension of the delights
   which they afford, during the remainder of my abode here.

   2. I would humbly hope, through the divine blessing, that the hours you
   have spent in the review of these plain things, may have turned to some
   profitable account; and that, in consequence of what you have read, you
   have been either brought into the way or life and peace, or been
   induced to quicken your pace in it. Most heartily should I rejoice in
   being further useful to you, and that even to the last. Now there is
   one scene remaining, a scene through which you must infallibly pass,
   which has something in it so awful, that I cannot but attempt doing a
   little to assist you in it: I mean the dark Valley of the Shadow of
   Death. I could earnestly wish, that, for the credit of your profession,
   the comfort of your own soul, and the joy and edification of your
   surviving friends, you might die, not only safely, but honorably too;
   and therefore I would offer you some parting advice. I am sensible,
   indeed, that Providence may determine the circumstances of your death
   in such a manner, as that you may have no opportunity of acting upon
   the hints I now give you. Some unexpected accident from without, or
   from within, may, as it were, whirl you to heaven before you are aware;
   and you may find yourself so suddenly there, that it may seem a
   translation rather than a death. Or it is possible the force of a
   distemper may affect your understanding in such a manner, that you may
   be quite insensible of the circumstances in which you are; and so your
   dissolution (though others may see it visibly and certainly
   approaching) may be as great a surprise to you as if you had died in
   full health.

   3. But as it is, on the whole, probable you may have a more sensible
   passage out of time into eternity, and as much may, in various
   respects, depend on your dying behavior, give me leave to propose some
   plain directions with relation to it, to be practiced, if God give you
   opportunity, and remind you of them. It may not be improper to look
   over the 29th chapter again, when you find the symptoms of any
   threatening disorder. And I the rather hope that what I say may be
   useful to you, as methinks I find myself disposed to address you with
   something of that peculiar tenderness which we feel for a dying friend;
   to whom, as we expect that we shall speak to him no more, we send out,
   as it were, all our hearts in every word.

   4. I would advise, then, in the first place, "that as soon as possible,
   you would endeavor to get rid of all further care with regard to your
   temporal concerns, by settling them in time, in as reasonable and
   Christian a manner as you can." I could wish there may be nothing of
   that kind to hurry your mind when you are least able to bear it, or to
   distress or divide those who come after you. Do that which in the
   presence of God you judge most equitable. and which you verily believe
   will be most pleasing to him. Do it in as prudent and effectual a
   manner as you can; and then consider the world as a place you have
   quite done with, and its affairs as nothing further to you, more than
   to one actually dead, unless as you may do any good to its inhabitants
   while yet you continue among them, and may by any circumstance in your
   last actions or words in life, leave a blessing behind you to those who
   have been your friends and fellow-travelers, while you have been
   despatching that journey through it which you are now finishing.

   5. That you may be the more at leisure, and the better prepared for
   this, "enter into some sermons review of your own state, and endeavor
   to put your soul into as fit a posture as possible for your solemn
   appearance before God." For a solemn thing indeed it is, to go into his
   immediate presence; to stand before him, not as a supplicant at the
   throne of his grace, but at his bar as a separate spirit, whose time of
   probation is over, and whose eternal state is to be immediately
   determined. Renew your humiliation before God for the imperfections of
   your life, though it has, in the main, been devoted to his service.
   Renew your application to the mercies of God as promised in the
   covenant of grace, and to the blood of Christ as the blessed channel in
   which they flow. Resign yourself entirely to the divine disposal and
   conduct, as willing to serve God, either in this world or the other, as
   he shall see fit. And sensible of your sinfulness on the one hand, and
   of the divine wisdom and goodness on the other, summon up all the
   fortitude of your soul to bear, as well as you can, whatever his
   afflicting hand may further lay upon you, and to receive the last
   stroke of it, as one who would maintain the most entire subjection to
   the great and good Father of spirits.

   6. Whatever you suffer, endeavor to show "yourself an example of
   patience." Let that amiable grace "have its perfect work;" (Jam. 1:4)
   and since it has so little more to do, let it close the scene nobly.
   Let there not be a murmuring word; and that there may not, watch
   against every repining thought. And when you feel any thing of that
   kind arising, look by faith upon a dying Savior, and ask your own
   heart, "Was not his cross much more painful than the bed on which I
   lie? Was not his situation, among blood-thirsty enemies, infinitely
   more terrible than mine amidst the tenderness and care of so many
   affectionate friends? Did not the heavy load of my sins press him in a
   much more overwhelming manner than I am pressed by the load of these
   afflictions ? And yet he bore all, as a lamb that is brought to the
   slaughter.'" (Isa. 53:7) Let the remembrance of his sufferings be a
   means to sweeten yours; yea, let it cause you to rejoice, when you are
   called to bear the cross for a little while, before you wear the crown.
   Count it all joy, that you have an opportunity yet once more of
   honoring God by your patience, which is now acting its last part, and
   will, in a few days, and perhaps in a few hours, he superseded by
   complete, everlasting blessedness. And I am willing to hope, that in
   these views you will not only suppress all passionate complaints, but
   that your mouth will be filled with the praises of God; and that you
   will be speaking to those who are about you, not only of his justice,
   but of his goodness too. So that you will be enabled to communicate
   your inward joys in such a manner as may be a lively and edifying
   comment upon those words of the Apostle, "Tribulation worketh patience;
   and patience, experience; and experience, hope; even a hope which
   maketh not ashamed, while the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
   by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us," (Rom. 5: 3-5)

   7. And now, my dear friend, "now is the time, when it is especially
   expected from you, that you bear an honorable testimony to religion."
   Tell those that are about you, as well as you can, (for you will never
   be able fully to express it) what comfort and support you have found in
   it. Tell them how it has brightened the darkest circumstances of your
   life: tell them how it now reconciles you to the near views of death.
   Your words will carry with them a peculiar weight at such a season:
   there will be a kind of eloquence, even in the infirmities with which
   you are struggling, while you give them utterance; and you will be
   heard with attention, with tenderness, with credit. And therefore, when
   the time of your departure is at hand, with unaffected freedom breathe
   out your joy, if you then feel (as I hope you will) a holy joy and
   delight in God. Breathe out, however, your inward peace and serenity of
   mind, if you be then peaceful and serene: others will mark it, and be
   encouraged to tread the steps which lead to so happy an end. Tell them
   what you feel of the vanity of the world, and they may learn to regard
   it less. Tell them what you feel of the substantial supports of the
   Gospel, and they may learn to value it more; for they cannot but know
   that they must he down on a dying bed too, and must then need all the
   relief which the Gospel itself can give them.

   8. And to enforce the conviction the more, "give a solemn charge to
   those that are about you, that they spend their lives in the service of
   God, and govern themselves by the principles of real religion." You may
   remember that Joshua and David, and other good men did so, when they
   perceived that the days drew near in which they should die. And you
   know not how the admonitions of a dying friend, or (as it may be with
   respect to some) of a dying parent, may impress those who may have
   disregarded what you and others may have said to them before. At least,
   make the trial, and die, laboring to glorify God, to save souls, and
   generously to sow the seeds of goodness and happiness in a world where
   you have no more harvest to reap. Perhaps they may spring up in a
   plentiful crop, when the clods of the valley are covering your body:
   but if not, God will approve it; and the angels that wait around your
   bed to receive your departing soul will look upon each other with marks
   of approbation in their countenance, and own that this is to expire
   like a Christian, and to make a glorious improvement of mortality.

   9. And in this last address to your fellow-mortals, whoever they are
   that Providence brings near you, "be sure that you tell them how
   entirely and how cheerfully your hopes and dependence in this season of
   the last extremity are fixed, not upon your own merits and obedience,
   but on what the great Redeemer has done and has suffered for sinners."
   Let them see that you die, as it were, at the foot of the cross:
   nothing will be so comfortable to yourself, nothing so edifying to
   them. Let the name of Jesus, therefore, be in your mouth while you are
   able to speak, and when you can speak no longer, let it be in your
   heart; and endeavor that the last act of your soul, while it continues
   in the body, may be an act of bumble faith in Christ. Come unto God by
   him: enter into that which is within the veil, as with the blood of
   sprinkling fresh upon you. It is an awful thing for such a sinner (as
   you, my Christian friend, with all the virtues the world may have
   admired, know yourself to be) to stand before that infinitely pure and
   holy Being who has seen all your ways, and all your heart, and has a
   perfect knowledge of every mixture of imperfection which has attended
   the best of your duties: but venture in that way, and you will find it
   both safe and pleasant.

   10. Once more, "to give you comfort in a dying hour, and to support
   your feeble steps while you are traveling through this dark and painful
   way, take the word of God as a staff in your hand." Let books, and
   mortal friends, now do their last office for you. Call, if you can,
   some experienced Christian, who has felt the power of the word of God
   upon his own heart, and let him bring the Scripture, and turn you to
   some of those precious promises which have been the food and rejoicing
   of his own soul. It is with this view that I may carry the good office
   I am now engaged in as far as possible, that I shall here give you a
   collection of a few such admirable scriptures, each of them "infinitely
   more valuable than thousands of gold and silver." (Psa. 119:72) And to
   convince you of the degree in which I esteem them, I will take the
   freedom to add, that I desire they may (if God give an opportunity) be
   read over to me, as I lie on my dying bed, with short intervals between
   them, that I may pause upon each, and renew something of that
   delightful relish which, I bless God, I have often found in them. May
   your soul and mine be then composed to a sacred silence, (whatever be
   the commotion of animal nature) while the voice of God speaks to us in
   the language which he spake to his servants of old, or in which he
   instructed them how they should speak to him in circumstances of the
   greatest extremity!

   11. Can any more encouragement be wanting, when he says, "Fear not, for
   I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen
   thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right
   hand of my righteousness?" (Isa. 41:10) And "he is not man that he
   should lie, or the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, and
   shall he not do it ? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"
   (Num. 23:19) "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
   The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psa.
   27:1) "This God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even
   unto death." (Psa. 48:14) Therefore, "though I walk through the valley
   of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy
   rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psa. 23:4) "I have waited for thy
   salvation, O Lord." (Gen. 49:18) "O continue thy loving-kindness unto
   them that know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright in heart! For
   with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light."
   (Psa. 36:9,10) "Thou wilt show we the path of life; in thy presence is
   fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore,"
   (Psa. 16:11) "As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness: I
   shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." (Psa. 17:15) "For I
   know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep
   what I have committed to him until that day." (2 Tim. 1:12) "Therefore
   my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in
   hope." (Psa. 16:9) "For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again;
   those also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." (1 Thess.
   4:14) "I give unto my sheep eternal life," said Jesus, the good
   Shepherd, "and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them
   out of my hand." (John 10:28) "This is the will of him that sent me,
   that every one that believeth on me should have everlasting life; and I
   will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40) "Let not your heart be
   troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house
   are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you: I go to
   prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I
   will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye
   may be also." (John 14:1-3) "Go tell my brethren, I ascend unto my
   Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." (John 20:17)
   "Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I
   am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; that the
   love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them."
   (John 17:24,26) "He that testifieth these things saith, "Surely I come
   quickly; Amen: even so come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:20) "O death, where
   is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who
   giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:55,57)

   12. Thus may that God, who "knows the souls of his children in alt
   their adversities," (Psa. 31:7) and in "whose sight the death of his
   saints is precious," (Psa. 116:15) cheer and support you and me in
   those last extremities of nature! May he add us to the happy number of
   those who have been more than conquerors in death! And may he give us
   those supplies of his Spirit which may enable us to pour out our
   departing souls in such sentiments as those I would now suggest, though
   we should be no longer able to utter words, or to understand them if
   they were read to us. Let us, at least, review them with all proper
   affections now, and lay up one prayer more for that awful moment. O
   that this, and all we have ever offered with regard to it, may then
   "come to remembrance before God!" (Acts 10:4,31)

   A Meditation, or Prayer, suited to the case of a Dying Christian.

   "O thou supreme Ruler of the visible and invisible worlds! thou
   Sovereign of life and of death, of earth and of heaven, blessed be thy
   name, I have often been taught to seek thee. And now once more do I
   pour out my soul, my departing soul unto thee. Bow down thy gracious
   ear, O God! and let my cry come before thee with acceptance.'

   "The hour is come, when thou wilt separate me from this world, with
   which I have been so long and so familiarly acquainted, and lead me to
   another, as yet unknown. Enable me, I beseech thee, to make the
   exchange as becomes a child of Abraham, who being called of thee to
   receive an inheritance, obeyed and went out,' though he knew not
   particularly whither he went: (Heb. 11:8) as becomes a child of God,
   who knows that, through sovereign grace, it is his Father's good
   pleasure to give him the kingdom.' (Luke 12:32)

   "I acknowledge, O Lord! the justice of that sentence by which I am
   expiring! and own thy wisdom and goodness in appointing my journey
   through this gloomy vale which is now before me. Help me to turn it
   into the happy occasion of honoring thee, and adorning my profession!
   and I will bless the pangs by which thou art glorified, and this mortal
   and sinful part of my nature dissolved.

   "Gracious Father! I would not quit this earth of thine, and this house
   of clay, in which I have sojourned during my abode upon the face of it,
   without my grateful acknowledgments to thee for all that abundant
   goodness which thou hast caused to pass before me here: (Exod. 33:19)
   with my dying breath I bear witness to thy faithful care: I have wanted
   no good thing.' (Psa. 34:10) I thank thee, O my God! that this guilty,
   forfeited, unprofitable life, was so long spared; that it hath still
   been maintained by such a rich variety of thy bounty. I thank thee that
   thou hast made this beginning of my existence so pleasant to me. I
   thank thee for the mercies of my days and nights, of my months and
   years, which are now come to their period: I thank thee for the mercies
   of my infancy, and for those of my riper age; for all the agreeable
   friends which thou hast given me in this house of my pilgrimage, the
   living and the dead;' for all the help I have received from others, and
   for all opportunities which thou hast given me of being helpful to the
   bodies and souls of my brethren of mankind. Surely goodness and mercy
   have followed me all the days of my life,' (Psa. 23:6) and I have
   reason to rise a thankful guest from the various and pleasant
   entertainments with which my table has been furnished by thee. Nor,
   shall I have reason to repine, or to grieve at quitting them; for, O my
   God! are thy bounties exhausted? I know that they are not. I will not
   wrong thy goodness and thy faithfulness so much as to imagine, that,
   because I am going from this earth, I am going from happiness. I adore
   thy mercy, that thou hast taught me to entertain nobler views through
   Jesus thy Son. I bless thee with all the powers of my nature, that I
   ever heard his name, and heard of his death; and would fain exert a
   more vigorous act of thankful adoration than in this broken state I am
   capable of, while I am extolling thee for the riches of thy grace
   manifested in him, for his instructions and his example, for his blood
   and his righteousness, and for that blessed Spirit of thine which thou
   hast given me, to turn my sinful heart unto thyself, and to bring me
   into the bonds of thy covenant,' of that covenant which is ordered in
   all things and sure,' (2 Sam. 23:5) and which this death, though now
   separating my soul from my body, shall never be able to dissolve.

   "I bless thee, O Lord! that I am not dying in an unregenerate and
   impenitent state; but that thou didst graciously awaken and convince
   me, that thou didst renew and sanctify my heart, and didst, by thy good
   Spirit, work in it an unfeigned faith, a real repentance, and the
   beginning of a divine life. I thank thee for faithful ministers and for
   gospel ordinances: I thank thee for my Sabbaths and seasons of
   communion at the table of my Lord; and for the weekly and monthly
   refreshments which they gave me. I thank thee for the fruits of Canaan
   which were sent me in the wilderness, and are now sent me on the brink
   of Jordan. I thank thee for thy blessed word, and for those exceeding
   rich and precious promises of it, which now lie, as a cordial, warm at
   my heart in this chilling hour: promises of support in death, and of
   glory beyond it, and of the resurrection of my body to everlasting
   life. O my God! I firmly believe them all, great and wonderful as they
   are, and am waiting for the accomplishment of them through Jesus
   Christ; in whom they are all Yea and Amen.' (2 Cor. 1:20) Remember thy
   word unto thy servant, on which thou hast caused me to hope.' (Psa.
   119:49) I covenanted with thee, not only for worldly enjoyments which
   thy love taught me comparatively to despise: but for eternal life, as
   the gift of thy free grace through Jesus Christ my Lord:' (Rom. 6:28)
   and now permit me, in his name, to enter my humble claim to it. Permit
   me to consign this departing spirit to thine hand; for thou hast
   redeemed it O Lord God of truth!' (Psa. 31:5) I am thine: save me, and
   make me happy' (Psa. 119:94)

   "But may I indeed presume to say I am thine? O God! now I am standing
   on the borders of both worlds, now I view things as in the light of thy
   presence and of eternity, how unworthy do I appear that I should be
   taken to dwell with thy angels and taints in glory! Alas! I have reason
   to look back with deep humiliation on a poor, unprofitable sinful life,
   in which I have daily been deserving to be cast into hell. But I have
   this one comfortable reflection, that I have fled to the cross of
   Christ; and I now renew my application to it. To think of appearing
   before God in such an imperfect righteousness as my own, were ten
   thousand times worse than death. No, Lord, I come unto thee as a
   sinner; but as a sinner who has believed in thy Son for pardon and
   life: I fall down before thee as a guilty, polluted wretch; but thou
   hast made him to be unto thy people for wisdom and righteousness, for
   sanctification and redemption.' (1 Cor. 1:20) Let me have my lot among
   the followers of Jesus! Treat me, as thou treatest those who are his
   friends and his brethren! For thou knowest my soul has loved him and
   trusted in him, and solemnly ventured itself on the security of his
   Gospel. And I know in whom I have believed.' (2 Tim. 1:12) The infernal
   lion may attempt to dismay me in the awful passage; but I rejoice that
   I am in the hands of the good shepherd,' (John 10:11,28) and I defy all
   my spiritual enemies, in a cheerful dependence on his faithful care. I
   lift up my eyes and my heart to him, who was dead and is alive again;
   and behold he liveth for evermore, and hath the keys of death and of
   the unseen world.' (Rev. 1:18) Blessed Jesus, I die by thine hand, and
   I fear no harm from the hand of a Savior! I fear not that death which
   is allotted to me by the hand of my dearest Lord, who himself died to
   make it safe and happy. I come, Lord, I come, not only with a willing,
   but with a joyful consent. I thank thee that thou rememberest me for
   good; that thou art breaking my chains, and calling me to the glorious
   liberty of the children of God.' (Rom. 8:21) I thank thee, that thou
   wilt no longer permit me to live at a distance from thine arms; but,
   after this long absence, wilt have me at home, at home for ever.

   "My feeble nature faints in the view of that glory which is now dawning
   upon me; but thou knowest, gracious Lord, how to let it in upon my soul
   by just degrees, and to make thy strength perfect in my weakness.' (2
   Cor. 7:9) Once more, for the last time, would I look down on this poor
   world which I am going to quit, and breathe out my dying prayer for its
   prosperity, and that of thy church in it. I have loved it, O Lord! as a
   living member of the body; and I love it to the last I humbly beseech
   thee, therefore, that thou wilt guard it, and purify it, and unite it
   more and more. Send down more of thy blessed Spirit upon it, even the
   Spirit of wisdom, of holiness, and of love; till in due time the
   wilderness he turned into the garden of the Lord,' (Isa. 51:3) and all
   flesh shall see thy salvation!' (Luke 3:6)

   "As for me, bear me, O my heavenly Father! on the wings of everlasting
   love, to that peaceful, that holy, that joyous abode, which thy mercy
   has prepared for me, and which the blood of my Redeemer has purchased!
   Bear me to the general assembly and church of the first-born, to the
   innumerable company of angels, and to the spirits of just men made
   perfect.' (Heb. 12:22,23) And whatever this flesh may suffer, let my
   steady soul be delightfully fixed on that glory to which it is rising!
   Let faith perform its last office in an honorable manner! Let my few
   remaining moments on earth be spent for thy glory, and so let me
   ascend, with love in my heart, and praise on my faltering tongue. to
   the world where love and praise shall be complete! Be this my last song
   on earth, which I am going to tune in heaven: Blessing, and honor, and
   glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne and to the
   Lamb for ever and ever.' Amen!"
     __________________________________________________________________

   DR. DODDRIDGE was born in London, June 26, 1709. He was of a
   consumptive habit from infancy, was brought up in the early knowledge
   of religion, and was left an orphan before he arrived at the age of 14.
   At 16 be made a profession of religion; at 20 commenced preaching the
   Gospel; and at 21 was settled over a small congregation, in an obscure
   village, where be devoted himself to the acquisition of useful
   knowledge with indefatigable zeal. At 27 he was removed to the pastoral
   care of the church in Northampton, where, for 22 years, amidst other
   diversified labors, he acted as an instructor of youth preparing for
   the ministry, having had under his charge, during that period, upwards
   of 200 young men. At the age of 37 and 38 he published two volumes of
   his Family Expositor; and about the age of 43 wrote "The Rise and
   Progress of Religion in the Soul." At 46 he published the third volume
   of the Family Expositor, and two Dissertations.--1. On Sir Isaac
   Newton's System of the Harmony. 2. On the Inspiration of the New
   Testament. In December, 1750, in the 49th year of his age, he went to
   St. Albans and preached the funeral sermon of his early patron and
   benefactor, Dr. Clark, in which journey he contracted a cold that laid
   the foundation for his death. In July, 1751, he addressed his flock for
   the last time from the pulpit; and having found all medical aid
   ineffectual, embarked, in October, for Lisbon, as the last resort in so
   threatening a disorder, at which place he died on the 26th of October,
   aged 49 years.

   He was not handsome in person; was very thin and slender, in stature
   somewhat above the middle size, with a stoop in his shoulders; but when
   engaged in conversation, or employed in the pulpit, there was a
   remarkable sprightliness in his countenance and manner, which commanded
   general attention.

   This volume is stereotyped and perpetuated, through the liberality of
   Col. Henry Rutgers and Col. Richard Varick, of New-York; Nicholas
   Brown, Esq. of Providence; and Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany.
     __________________________________________________________________

                                    Indexes
     __________________________________________________________________

Index of Scripture References

   Genesis

   [1]2:7   [2]6:3   [3]12:2   [4]18:14   [5]19:16   [6]19:17   [7]28:17
   [8]32:26   [9]49:18   [10]49:18   [11]49:18

   Exodus

   [12]11:4-6   [13]12:30   [14]31:3-6   [15]33:19

   Leviticus

   [16]6:13   [17]26:27

   Numbers

   [18]11:25   [19]15:30   [20]16:22   [21]23:19   [22]25:13

   Deuteronomy

   [23]4:21   [24]6:7   [25]19:19-20   [26]22:29   [27]26:17   [28]29:20
   [29]32:19   [30]32:22

   Joshua

   [31]1:7   [32]20:2-3   [33]24:12   [34]24:15   [35]24:15

   Judges

   [36]13:20

   1 Samuel

   [37]17:40-45   [38]26:21   [39]26:21

   2 Samuel

   [40]15:26   [41]23:5   [42]23:5

   1 Kings

   [43]19:4   [44]19:12

   2 Kings

   [45]1:14   [46]6:16   [47]6:27   [48]7:4   [49]17:19   [50]19:22
   [51]20:19

   1 Chronicles

   [52]29:14

   2 Chronicles

   [53]6:30   [54]7:22   [55]33:11-12

   Ezra

   [56]9:6   [57]9:6   [58]9:13   [59]9:13

   Nehemiah

   [60]8:10   [61]9:33

   Esther

   [62]4:11   [63]8:3

   Job

   [64]5:7   [65]6:4   [66]6:12   [67]7:20   [68]9:3   [69]9:20
   [70]10:15   [71]13:15   [72]15:4   [73]16:16   [74]19:2   [75]19:21
   [76]20:6   [77]21:14   [78]22:23   [79]22:26   [80]22:27   [81]23:3
   [82]23:8-9   [83]27:9   [84]29:2   [85]29:24   [86]31:17   [87]32:8
   [88]35:10   [89]35:10   [90]38:3   [91]42:2   [92]42:4

   Psalms

   [93]2:12   [94]3:3   [95]4:6   [96]4:6-7   [97]4:6-7   [98]4:7
   [99]4:8   [100]9:17   [101]10:4   [102]13:5   [103]15:2   [104]15:4
   [105]16:3   [106]16:9   [107]16:11   [108]16:11   [109]16:11
   [110]17:2   [111]17:2   [112]17:7   [113]17:7   [114]17:15
   [115]19:5   [116]19:10   [117]22:2   [118]22:9   [119]22:14
   [120]23:4   [121]23:4   [122]23:5   [123]23:6   [124]23:6   [125]26:2
   [126]27:1   [127]27:4   [128]27:11   [129]28:9   [130]31:3
   [131]31:5   [132]31:5   [133]31:7   [134]34:10   [135]34:20
   [136]35:3   [137]35:27   [138]36:9   [139]36:9   [140]36:9-10
   [141]37:6   [142]37:8   [143]37:34   [144]38:5   [145]39:3
   [146]39:3   [147]40:12   [148]40:12   [149]40:12   [150]41:4
   [151]42:2   [152]42:4   [153]42:7   [154]47:4   [155]48:14
   [156]49:7   [157]50:5   [158]50:21   [159]51:1   [160]51:4
   [161]51:5   [162]51:8   [163]51:8   [164]51:8   [165]51:9   [166]51:9
   [167]51:10   [168]51:12   [169]51:13   [170]51:13   [171]51:15
   [172]55:6   [173]56:8   [174]57:1   [175]59:1   [176]63:5-6
   [177]63:8   [178]65:4   [179]65:4   [180]65:5   [181]69:5   [182]69:5
   [183]69:5   [184]69:22   [185]69:22   [186]71:16   [187]75:8
   [188]77:3   [189]77:7   [190]77:7   [191]77:9   [192]78:20
   [193]78:41   [194]81:10   [195]84:2   [196]84:7   [197]85:13
   [198]90:15   [199]90:17   [200]94:9-10   [201]94:10   [202]94:12
   [203]95:11   [204]97:1   [205]97:11   [206]97:12   [207]102:24
   [208]104:29   [209]108:4   [210]109:7   [211]109:18   [212]112:1
   [213]113:8   [214]116:7   [215]116:15   [216]119:18   [217]119:24
   [218]119:25   [219]119:49   [220]119:59-60   [221]119:63
   [222]119:71   [223]119:72   [224]119:94   [225]119:111   [226]119:119
   [227]119:120   [228]119:122   [229]119:122   [230]119:128
   [231]119:176   [232]123:3   [233]125:1   [234]125:5   [235]130:1
   [236]130:5   [237]130:6   [238]130:8   [239]132:16   [240]139:8
   [241]139:15-16   [242]139:17-18   [243]139:23   [244]139:23-24
   [245]139:23-24   [246]139:24   [247]141:2   [248]142:2   [249]143:2
   [250]189:23-24

   Proverbs

   [251]1:10   [252]1:10   [253]1:23   [254]2:6   [255]3:27   [256]4:18
   [257]4:18   [258]6:4   [259]6:4   [260]6:10   [261]6:10   [262]6:11
   [263]7:23   [264]13:20   [265]14:14   [266]15:19   [267]17:24
   [268]20:5   [269]23:17   [270]23:17   [271]23:17   [272]23:17
   [273]23:32   [274]28:26   [275]29:1   [276]30:6   [277]30:12

   Ecclesiastes

   [278]5:2   [279]7:6   [280]7:20   [281]8:4   [282]9:4   [283]10:10
   [284]12:3-4   [285]12:4   [286]12:6   [287]12:7   [288]12:14

   Song of Solomon

   [289]1:8

   Isaiah

   [290]1:1   [291]1:2   [292]1:3   [293]1:10   [294]1:15   [295]1:16-17
   [296]2:22   [297]6:9-10   [298]9:6   [299]9:13   [300]14:11
   [301]26:13   [302]28:10   [303]28:17   [304]28:29   [305]29:13
   [306]29:13   [307]30:10   [308]30:28   [309]30:33   [310]32:8
   [311]33:14   [312]33:18   [313]34:5   [314]36:6   [315]37:10
   [316]38:10   [317]40:17   [318]40:18   [319]40:29   [320]40:30-31
   [321]40:30-31   [322]41:10   [323]42:15   [324]45:7   [325]45:15
   [326]45:22   [327]45:24   [328]47:3   [329]50:6   [330]50:7
   [331]50:11   [332]50:12   [333]51:3   [334]51:17   [335]52:7
   [336]53:5-6   [337]53:7   [338]53:10   [339]54:7-8   [340]55:8-9
   [341]59:1-2   [342]59:2   [343]59:2   [344]60:8   [345]61:3
   [346]61:3   [347]61:10   [348]62:1   [349]63:15   [350]64:7

   Jeremiah

   [351]2:19   [352]2:25   [353]3:5   [354]3:13   [355]3:22   [356]3:22
   [357]6:16   [358]7:8   [359]7:10   [360]8:2   [361]8:22   [362]12:5
   [363]12:15   [364]13:23   [365]17:10   [366]17:10   [367]23:20
   [368]24:6   [369]27:10   [370]29:23   [371]31:20   [372]51:9
   [373]51:9   [374]52:3

   Lamentations

   [375]3:22   [376]3:40   [377]31:32

   Ezekiel

   [378]2:7   [379]16:63   [380]18:4   [381]22:14   [382]22:14
   [383]32:27   [384]33:8-9   [385]33:9   [386]34:26   [387]39:29

   Daniel

   [388]5:22-23   [389]5:23   [390]5:27

   Hosea

   [391]4:7   [392]6:1   [393]6:4   [394]7:9   [395]8:12   [396]11:9
   [397]13:9   [398]13:9   [399]13:9   [400]13:9   [401]14:2   [402]14:2
   [403]14:2

   Amos

   [404]4:11   [405]4:11   [406]4:12   [407]8:7

   Jonah

   [408]1:6   [409]2:2   [410]2:4

   Micah

   [411]2:10   [412]6:6   [413]6:6-7   [414]6:7   [415]6:9   [416]7:9

   Habakkuk

   [417]3:18

   Zechariah

   [418]10:5   [419]12:10   [420]12:10   [421]12:10   [422]12:10
   [423]12:10   [424]13:6   [425]14:7

   Malachi

   [426]3:5   [427]3:9

   Matthew

   [428]1:23   [429]3:9   [430]3:16   [431]3:17   [432]3:17   [433]5:6
   [434]5:8   [435]5:16   [436]5:18   [437]5:29-30   [438]5:29-30
   [439]6:6   [440]6:6   [441]6:13   [442]7:1-2   [443]7:12   [444]7:12
   [445]7:26   [446]8:11-12   [447]8:29   [448]9:18   [449]10:16
   [450]10:26   [451]11:17   [452]11:28   [453]11:28   [454]12:28
   [455]13:5-6   [456]13:22   [457]16:24   [458]16:24   [459]16:24
   [460]18:20   [461]19:24   [462]22:10   [463]22:38   [464]23:23
   [465]25:21   [466]25:32   [467]25:34   [468]25:34   [469]25:40
   [470]25:41   [471]25:41   [472]25:41   [473]25:41   [474]25:46
   [475]25:46   [476]26:35   [477]26:56   [478]27:29-44   [479]27:46
   [480]27:46   [481]27:46   [482]27:46

   Mark

   [483]8:34   [484]9:24   [485]9:44   [486]9:46   [487]9:48
   [488]10:21   [489]12:30   [490]12:30   [491]12:42-43   [492]14:31
   [493]16:15

   Luke

   [494]1:47   [495]2:10   [496]3:6   [497]3:8   [498]4:34   [499]4:41
   [500]6:22   [501]6:36   [502]7:47   [503]7:48   [504]9:23   [505]9:26
   [506]9:55   [507]9:55   [508]10:32   [509]10:42   [510]11:13
   [511]12:4   [512]12:8   [513]12:21   [514]12:32   [515]12:35
   [516]12:48   [517]13:7   [518]13:23   [519]14:26   [520]16:24
   [521]17:10   [522]18:13   [523]18:13   [524]19:9   [525]19:20
   [526]19:22   [527]21:19   [528]22:44   [529]22:61   [530]23:30
   [531]23:34   [532]23:42-43   [533]23:46   [534]24:35   [535]24:47

   John

   [536]1:16   [537]1:29   [538]1:29   [539]1:47   [540]3:20   [541]3:36
   [542]3:36   [543]4:24   [544]4:28   [545]4:37   [546]5:24   [547]5:40
   [548]6:27   [549]6:29   [550]6:35   [551]6:40   [552]6:53   [553]6:63
   [554]6:68   [555]7:37   [556]7:37-38   [557]8:24   [558]10:11
   [559]10:28   [560]10:28   [561]10:28   [562]10:30   [563]12:32
   [564]12:32   [565]14:1-3   [566]14:6   [567]14:6   [568]14:21
   [569]14:28   [570]15:24   [571]16:8   [572]16:14   [573]16:15
   [574]17:2   [575]17:4   [576]17:21   [577]17:24   [578]17:24
   [579]17:26   [580]18:11   [581]18:11   [582]19:17   [583]19:28-29
   [584]19:30   [585]20:17   [586]20:17   [587]20:17   [588]20:27

   Acts

   [589]1:9-11   [590]2:33   [591]3:15   [592]4:12   [593]4:12
   [594]4:12   [595]5:31   [596]5:39   [597]7:51   [598]9:4   [599]10:4
   [600]10:31   [601]13:26   [602]13:38   [603]17:27   [604]17:28
   [605]17:31   [606]18:6   [607]20:21   [608]20:35   [609]24:15
   [610]24:25   [611]26:22

   Romans

   [612]1:4   [613]1:16   [614]1:21-22   [615]1:32   [616]2:16
   [617]3:9   [618]3:16   [619]3:23   [620]4:20   [621]4:25   [622]5
   [623]5:3   [624]5:3   [625]5:5   [626]5:5   [627]5:20   [628]5:21
   [629]6:1   [630]6:6   [631]6:11   [632]6:13   [633]6:13   [634]6:13
   [635]6:15   [636]6:21   [637]6:28   [638]7:5   [639]7:18
   [640]7:23-24   [641]8:1   [642]8:2   [643]8:5   [644]8:6   [645]8:6
   [646]8:6   [647]8:7   [648]8:13   [649]8:14   [650]8:14   [651]8:15
   [652]8:19   [653]8:21   [654]8:26   [655]10:3   [656]10:6
   [657]10:6-8   [658]10:21   [659]11:8   [660]11:20   [661]12:1
   [662]12:1   [663]12:1   [664]12:6   [665]12:11   [666]12:18
   [667]12:18   [668]12:21   [669]13:4   [670]13:4   [671]13:9
   [672]15:3   [673]16:17

   1 Corinthians

   [674]1:2   [675]1:2   [676]1:20   [677]1:29-31   [678]3:16
   [679]4:3-4   [680]4:7   [681]4:9   [682]4:13   [683]5:7-8
   [684]5:11-13   [685]6:17   [686]6:19   [687]6:19-20   [688]7:20
   [689]9:25   [690]10:16   [691]10:17   [692]10:31   [693]11:24-25
   [694]11:26   [695]11:27   [696]11:31-32   [697]12:13   [698]14:13
   [699]14:14   [700]15:10   [701]15:26   [702]15:54   [703]15:55
   [704]15:57   [705]15:58   [706]15:58   [707]15:58   [708]16:13

   2 Corinthians

   [709]1:12   [710]1:20   [711]2:15   [712]4:6   [713]4:18   [714]4:18
   [715]5:1   [716]5:7   [717]5:7   [718]5:8   [719]5:9   [720]5:10
   [721]5:11   [722]5:15   [723]5:19   [724]5:20   [725]5:21   [726]5:21
   [727]6:1   [728]6:11   [729]6:16   [730]7:9   [731]8:9   [732]9:7
   [733]9:10   [734]10:3   [735]12:9   [736]12:9   [737]12:9   [738]12:11

   Galatians

   [739]2:20   [740]2:20   [741]3:1   [742]3:10   [743]3:28   [744]4:15
   [745]4:18   [746]5:14   [747]5:17

   Ephesians

   [748]1:6   [749]2:1   [750]2:12   [751]2:13-14   [752]2:19   [753]4:3
   [754]4:13   [755]4:13   [756]4:15   [757]4:23   [758]4:24   [759]4:24
   [760]4:29   [761]5:2   [762]5:8   [763]5:18   [764]5:18   [765]5:27
   [766]6:13

   Philippians

   [767]1:6   [768]1:19   [769]2:5   [770]2:5   [771]2:8   [772]3:1
   [773]3:9   [774]3:12-13   [775]3:21   [776]4:11   [777]4:15

   Colossians

   [778]1:13   [779]1:17   [780]2:2   [781]2:6   [782]3:1   [783]3:5
   [784]3:10   [785]3:12   [786]3:12   [787]3:12   [788]3:23

   1 Thessalonians

   [789]2:16   [790]3:10   [791]4:14   [792]4:14   [793]4:16   [794]4:16
   [795]4:17   [796]4:17   [797]5:14   [798]5:18   [799]5:22

   2 Thessalonians

   [800]1:7   [801]1:10   [802]1:11   [803]3:6   [804]3:14

   1 Timothy

   [805]1:15   [806]1:15-16   [807]1:17   [808]4:2   [809]4:8   [810]4:8
   [811]4:15   [812]6:10

   2 Timothy

   [813]1:12   [814]1:12   [815]1:12   [816]1:12   [817]1:17   [818]1:18
   [819]2:1   [820]2:3   [821]4:8

   Titus

   [822]1:16   [823]2:11-12   [824]2:12   [825]3:6   [826]3:6

   Hebrews

   [827]1:3   [828]1:3   [829]1:14   [830]2:3   [831]2:10   [832]2:18
   [833]3:18   [834]3:25   [835]4:12   [836]4:16   [837]4:16   [838]6:6
   [839]6:6   [840]6:9   [841]7:25   [842]7:25   [843]7:25   [844]8:12
   [845]9:36   [846]10:4   [847]10:31   [848]11:4   [849]11:8
   [850]11:13   [851]11:16   [852]11:34   [853]12:1   [854]12:2
   [855]12:4   [856]12:6   [857]12:9-10   [858]12:10   [859]12:22-23
   [860]12:28   [861]13:5   [862]13:8   [863]13:8   [864]13:8   [865]13:20

   James

   [866]1:4   [867]1:4   [868]1:4   [869]1:4   [870]1:20   [871]2:19
   [872]2:19   [873]4:14   [874]4:17   [875]5:9

   1 Peter

   [876]1:2-3   [877]1:3   [878]1:6   [879]1:8   [880]1:8   [881]1:8
   [882]1:8   [883]1:13   [884]1:15   [885]1:18-19   [886]1:23
   [887]2:2   [888]2:2   [889]2:3   [890]3:4   [891]4:11   [892]4:19
   [893]5:2   [894]5:4   [895]5:5   [896]5:5-6   [897]5:6   [898]5:9

   2 Peter

   [899]1:4   [900]1:4   [901]1:5   [902]1:11   [903]1:12   [904]2:4
   [905]2:8   [906]2:21   [907]3:8   [908]3:10   [909]3:10-12
   [910]3:12   [911]3:13   [912]3:18   [913]3:18

   1 John

   [914]2:6   [915]3:3   [916]3:18   [917]3:20   [918]3:20   [919]3:20
   [920]4:21

   Jude

   [921]1:3   [922]1:4   [923]1:6

   Revelation

   [924]1:5   [925]1:5-6   [926]1:6   [927]1:9   [928]1:18   [929]2:10
   [930]2:10   [931]3:14   [932]3:17   [933]4:10   [934]5:9   [935]5:9
   [936]6:16   [937]9:15   [938]18:5   [939]18:5   [940]18:5   [941]18:5
   [942]20:11   [943]20:11   [944]20:12   [945]21:4   [946]21:8
   [947]21:9   [948]22:3-4   [949]22:12   [950]22:17   [951]22:20
   [952]22:20
     __________________________________________________________________

            This document is from the Christian Classics Ethereal
               Library at Calvin College, http://www.ccel.org,
                   generated on demand from ThML source.

References

   1. file:///ccel/d/doddridge/rise/cache/rise.html3?scrBook=Gen&scrCh=2&scrV=7#iii.xxvi-p13.2
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