my

conscience. Do not forget to inquire, Is my conscience instructed and formed by the word of God? Perhaps you have not been in the habit of reading that sacred book, or of having it read to you. The neglect of it may occasion your eternal overthrow. But let me recommend a third question: Have any, or all pursuits, whether after natural or sinful enjoyments, ever yet afforded me satisfaction? The answer to this question is of importance; because, if they never have, there is no reason to conclude they ever will: and, if so, what have you been pursuing all this time? You have spent thirty, forty, fifty, or more years in the world, and, by a thousand different methods, have been seeking satisfaction; yet you have not found it. You thought, when you was young, to have found it in forbidden pleasures, and, perhaps, you gave a loose to appetite and desire; but you was disappointed. Guilt, infamy, and misery, were the fruits of those exYour own heart will tell you this, if you ask it. Since that time, having felt the effects of your former folly, it may be you have turned your attention to other things: you have settled; and now your object has been to raise yourself in the world. Saving money has seemed the one thing needful to render you happy Perhaps you have saved a little of this article; and are you happy? Ask your own heart, and it will tell you. No, you want to save a little more. Poor man! you are unhappy; and unhappy in this course you will be. Can you tell the reason? You have been trying to satisfy yourself with that which is not bread. Do you not know that God has created you with desires which it is not in the power of the whole creation to satisfy? Cæsar, those mighty monarchs, who each in his the world, were as far off from happiness as you are. is said to have wept because there was not another world to conquer; and the other, to have exclaimed, when in the full possession of empire, "Is this all ?"

cesses.

Alexander and day conquered The one

If you inquire, wherefore has God planted desires in your natures that it is not in the power of creation to satisfy. I answer, that you might be led to seek satisfaction where it is to be found. There is much meaning, and merciful meaning too, in those divine expostulations: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,

and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Harken diligently unto ME, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto ME: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Again: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto ME and drink! And again: Thou sayest I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel the to buy of ME gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

A fourth question I would recommend is this: will the course I am in do to die with? If it will, pursue it with all your might: but, first be well satisfied that it will. There is no way of answering this question but by comparing your character with the word of God. There you find our Lord declaring to his disciples; Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.-Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again, Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Do you understand these things by experience? Did you ever seriously think about them? They are subjects of no little importance. Some men, and even some preachers, may tell you, that all this signifies nothing more than your being baptized, or, at most, living a sober, regular life; but it is at your peril to believe them, against the solemn declarations of Christ. Nicodemus, a master in Israel, was ignorant of these things. Other teachers now may be the same; and, if blind themselves, no wonder that they lead others, equally blind, till both fall into the ditch. But, as you value your souls, remember who it is that has said, Ye must be born again.

If you have never experienced this change, you are, at present, strangers to yourselves, to God, to Christ, nod to the way of life;

exposed to the curse of almighty God; and, dying in your present state, must perish forever.

One question more let me recommend, and I will conclude this part of the subject: If I shonld die in an unconverted state, and perish forever, can I endure the wrath of an offended God? If you can; why, then, let every man help his neighbour, and every one say to his brother, Be of good courage; laugh at death; set judgment at defiance; and make a jest of an hereafter

not, pause and think.

.

but if

Who can forbear remarking the cowardice of wicked men ; how, even in this world, these bold spirits are cut down with a little affliction. Those who trifle most with hell, and whose lips are so full of damnation, that it becomes, in their mouths, a mere matter of bravado, how do they sink under the first touch of God's indignation. Gaal and his company could eat and drink, and curse Abimelech at a distance; but when Abimelech draws near, lo! they are covered with dismay.

Oh profane character! Can thine hands be strong, and thine heart endure in the day that he shall deal with thee? If you cannot tell how to endure the sufferings of life, what will you do in the hour of death? How, especially, will you grapple with the bitter pains of eternal death? If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou contend with horses? and if, in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, how wilt thou do in the swellings of Jordan? Such, or nearly such, my hearers, will be your own reflections, if, upon your bed, you commune with your own hearts to any good purpose.

But I proceed,

II. TO ENFORCE THE SUBJECT, BY CONSIDERING THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF A SERIOUS COMPLIANCE WITH IT. There is nothing more dreaded, by unconverted sinners, than solitary reflection; and therefore, nothing more necessary. They are like a person whose affairs are going to ruin, and who feels a strong reluctance to enter into a thorough examination of his accounts. And wherefore? Because such an examination would destroy his present peace, and he would be under the necessity of making a full stop. To avoid this, he puts far from him the evil day, and cherishes a

vain hope that things are not so bad as they appear. But, as in this case the longer a thorough examination is deferred, the deeper he sinks; so it is in the other. Let me request your attention to a few observations on this part of the subject.

1. There are things that you have doubted, or acted as if you doubted, which, if you would but retire aud converse with your own heart, you would find it to be true. You have acted, but in too many instances, as though you doubted whether you were accountable and immortal creatures; and as though an agreeable subsistence in the present world were the only thing that should concern you. But, if you be not accountable to him that made you, how is it that sin, which is unknown to every creature but yourself, should, nevertheless, be accompanied with remorse? Is there not a tribunal erected within your own bosom, that forebodes a judgment to come. If there were no hereafter, why that dread of death, and that fearful looking-for of judgment, in the hour of threatening affliction? Oh sinner! you shall not be able to plead ignorance at the bar of heaven: your own heart, depraved as it is, will bear witness against you.

2. There are things to which you are apt to object, in God's deal. ings with you, which, were you to commune with your own hearts, would be found to be unobjectionable. If you are told of the strictness of God's holy law, and that nothing short of truth in the inward parts can answer to its requirements, you think it hard, and feel disposed to complain of the grievousness of his yoke but ask your own hearts, would you be contented with any thing less from a fellow-creature?

Perhaps you are a parent, or a master; and what if your children or servants were, through fear, ever so assiduous; if you knew they had no love for you, would you be satisfied? Or, perhaps, you are a busband. If the partner of your life were alienated from you, and attached to another, though, through fear of your displeasure, she were studious to the utmost to oblige you in her outward deportment, would this satisfy you? Would you not disdain to accept of her services, unless you could have her heart with them? You must know that this is the truth. Out of your own mouth, therefore, will the Lord judge you.

:

Again If you are told of God's awful threatenings against sin, your spirits rises against him, and you are ready to accuse him of cruelty but ask your own heart, if you would spare one that had treated you as you have treated him? If you had a son, and, with all the tenderness of a father, nursed him, fed him, clothed him, and instructed him; and if, when he arrived at years of maturity, instead of behaving towards you with filial obedience and gratitude, he should prove undutiful, malignant, false, and do all he could to ruin you and your family, would you not give him up to his evil courses, and let him take the consequences of his behaviour? Or should you, from paternal pity, be disposed to pass over his transgressions; and should a common friend, with your approbation, intercede on his behalf, entreating him to beg your pardon, assuring him of your readiness to forgive the past; if, in addition to his former crimes, he continued to despise the overtures of mercy, what would you do with him? Or should he, when overwhelmed with troubles of his own procuring, affect to be sorry for what he had done, and write to you in the strain of humble confession, praying you to deliver him this once, and vowing how different his conduct should be towards you in future; if, as soon as his troubles had subsided, he were to return again to his former courses; what would you do with him? Alas, all this, and a thousand times more, have you done against the best of Fathers, the God in whose hands your breath is, and whose are all your ways! Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel, Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

3. One reason of your knowing so little of your heart-sins is, your communing so little with your hearts. You go on in a hurry of business, and the state and temper of your heart is overlooked; and, being naturally disposed to flatter yourself, you imagine it to be much better than it is. You may be governed by the love of this world, yea, and be very covetous; so much so, that all who know you may perceive it; and yet you do not perceive it yourself, but are ready to be offended with any person who tells you of it. You think yourself as good as your neighbours, and flatter yourself that your sin is not so very great. It is true,' say you, • I have my failings, as all men have, but, thank God, I never was guilty of