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O let a

name and a praise, both in time and to eternity, in this world and that which is to come. fense of his goodness to you, and of your unfuitable returns, humble your hearts before him, and quicken you to diligence, watchfulness and circumfpection, through the whole of your remaining days!

Dear Saviour, when my thoughts recal
The wonders of thy grace;

Low at thy feet afham'd I fall,

And hide my blushing face.

Shall love like thine be thus repaid?
Ah, vile, ungrateful heart!

By earth's low cares detain'd, betray'd,
From Jefus to depart.

From Jefus, who alone can give

True pleasure, peace, and rest:
When wand'ring from my Lord, I live
Unfatisfy'd, unblest.

But he, for his own mercy's fake,
My ftraying foul restores;

He bids my mourning heart partake
The pardon it implores.

No. IX. 2,

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Oh! while I breathe to thee, my Lord,

The penitential figh,

Fresh vigour to my foul afford,

And raise my thoughts on high.

Then fhall the mourner at thy feet,
With fervour feek thy face;
And grateful own how kind, how sweet
Is thy reftoring grace.

ར་་་་་་་་རབར་ར་་ར་བ

CHAP. ΧΙ.

The Subject improved by Way of Examination.

IF the favour of God be the life of his people, it furely becomes us to inquire, with seriousness and folemnity, whether we ourselves are interested in this great privilege or not. Oh that this weighty concern might be cleared up to the fatisfaction of every attentive and folicitous reader! The inquiry of fuch will be, "How fhall I know that I am in a ftate of acceptance and favour with God?" In order to affift you a little in this cafe, through the divine bleffing, I would beg leave to ask you a few plain questions.

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Have you ever been awakened to a fenfe of God's difpleasure against you, because of your offences? Have you ever been brought under deep conviction, that the Judge and Governor of the world is juftly angry with you, as tranfgreffors of his holy laws? Has the horrible nature of fin ever been opened to your view; fo that your fouls have been afflicted on account of it? Has the guilt of fin ever laid on your confciences, as a burden too heavy for you to bear? And have you ever been brought to exclaim with the prophet Isaiah, "Woe is me, I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips."

When David poured out his penitential confeffions before God, he spake of a broken heart, and complained of the anguifh he felt, as being like that occafioned by broken bones. The arrows of the Almighty fuck fast in him; there was no reft in his bones because of his fin; he even roared. by reason of the difquietness of his fpirit. Our Lord represents the condition of poor fouls, who come to him, as a weary and burdened one. "Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft." Job complains, that the terrors of God fet themselves in array against him. Peter's hearers, when God gave them repentance, were pricked to the heart. Paul had the law opened

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to him in fuch a manner, that his fins revived, and he died; his delufive hopes and comforts were at an end; and the law, which was originally ordained to life, he found to be unto death.

The law is our fchool-mafter, to bring us unto Christ; its terrors are usually seen and felt, in some degree, before we experience the grace and comforts of the gofpel. An apprehenfion of divine wrath commonly precedes the discoveries of pardoning love; and fin is made bitter to us, before we taste that the Lord is gracious. We receive not the confolation arifing from God's favour, generally speaking, till we have feen ourselves in danger of his everlasting displeasure. The poor finner perceives that he is in a state of condemnation and ruin,. and owns that it is of the Lord's mercy he is alive, and not fent to that place of punishment which his crimes have deferved. His mouth is ftopped by the consciousness of his guilt, so that he is convinced it would be just in God to caft him off for

ever.

I am far from having any design to fix a standard for the degree of penitential difquietude. The convictions of fome are attended with much more terror than those of others. I am farther ftill from having any intention to fuggeft, that a long course of time is neceffary for these discoveries. Peter's hearers

hearers were brought to a fenfe of their fins, and to discoveries of pardoning mercy on the fame day, in the fame place, if not under the same fermon. The jailor at Philippi faw himself a loft finner, and rejoiced in the falvation of Jesus the fame night.

But I do not find any inflance in the word of God, of a man's being filled with the comforts of divine love and favour, who has never had any sense of the evil of fin, or of his own miferable and undone state. That faith does not appear to be of the faving kind, which is not accompanied with repentance from dead works. It is ufual for poor finners to have their minds enlightened to see the nature and number of their crimes, and to be filled with awful apprehensions of the dreadful malignity of fin, before they are brought to rejoice in God's favour and pardoning love. "In that day thou shalt fay, O Lord I will praise thee; for though thou waft angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comforteft me. Behold God is my falvation; I will truft, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my ftrength and my fong; he is alfo become my falvation."

I would ask you farther, Have you been convinced that the whole world cannot procure you. an interest in the divine favour? That neither angels

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