thee to hell. Had Judas forsaken covetousness as well as other crimes, he had doubtless escaped both a halter and hell. I remember an old woman, who went to a juftice for an order to have relief from her parish, complaining that she had nothing to live on, who, gaining her requeft, was foon after feized with ficknefs, (which rendered that fort of relief unneceffary) in which she fell under great horror of mind for what she had done; for, as the truth of her complaint was fufpected, fhe was oppofed and put upon her oath. However, being poffeffed of a confiderable fum of money, and her confcience awaking, the roared day and night in racking defpair. In that deplorable condition, the took fome of her money, and faid to a perfon ftanding by, "Here, take this curfed money, "for it has ined me for ever!" She wifhed for death, and was for deftroying herself, as her terrors were infupportable. And after spending a few days. in the utmoft diftrefs, expired in the fame condition. Partial reformation will not de; it must be univerfal,` or, as well none at all. It is the fame thing whether a man be drowned in the middle of the fea, or near the fhore. So it is in effect the fame, whether a man die in many fins, or few; or, if he dies in one, he is undone, and he can but be fo, dying in many. Repent then fincerely, univerfally, and perfeveringly, that iniquity prove not thy everlafting ruin..

11. But art thou confcious of fin?, Does the guilt of it lie heavy on thy heart? If thou haft no sense of it, thou art afleep in Satan's cradle;, he has put out thing eyes, hardened thy heart, and rendered thee paft feeling. Awake, left thou drink at the Lord's hand the up of his fury; left he tear, thee in pieces, and there

be

be none to deliver. Know, that the Lord is jealous of his honour, and, if robbed of his right, will requite it. Confider, he may foon call thee before his bar, and witnefs against thee as a tranfgreffor of his law; and fay, "Depart thou worker of iniquity into. "everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his an'gels." If he begin, he will foon make an end! In the twinkling of an eye, he may deliver thee to the tormenters! Is it a time then to be unconcerned, when fo much depends on it? Surely, if ever, it is time to ftir when the next hour may be thy laft! Did you know what the damned endure, you would flee from fin as from the face of a ferpent; and yet they were once as fafe as you are. O what would they give to be upon their trial again! How have fome, at the approach of death, lamented their cafe, through diftrefs of foul! Others have roared too horrible to be heard! And truly mine own heart has felt more of this, than imagination can paint, or tongue declare. A thoufand tongues cannot tell the torments of a guilty con fcience. It made poor Judas run fwiftly into the arms of death and hell. And many poor wretches after felling CHRIST for profit, or pleafure, or honour, have died by their own hands; running from, one hell to another. Surely then it is time to awake out of fleep, for now is your damnation nearer than when you first finned. To be easy in fin, is like sleeping on the top of a maft, when the next blaft of wind may fend the fleeper to the bottom of the fea. Deplorable is the cafe of thofe who fleep on the brink of the pit. In death's uncertainty their danger lies. Death máy be at the door, ready to enter in. Some judgment. perhaps hangs over thy head. Thunder, or lightening, or earthquake, or peftilence, or other destructive thing

may

may be on its way, to bring thee to thy fenfes by fending thee to hell. But if no judgment hurry thee out of the world, old age, or infirmities will effectually do it. Yea, and by nature's law, what may be, may be now. By nature's law men die; by the fame law they may die now. And art thou in thy fins, and infenfible of thy danger? O fearful eftate! A blind man walking among pits, or on precipices, is in perfect fafety compared to thee. True, his mortal life is in. danger; but thy eternal life is at stake. His lofs, can be but the difcharge of a debt due to nature; but thine, the lofs of heaven and the gaining of hell.

But let

12. Wouldst thou know thy condition? See thy picture in a rebel against his prince, purfued by men commiffioned to flay him. And how foon may the Lord fay concerning thee, cut him down? Yea, his wrath is revealed, his threatening is gone forth; he hath whet his fword and bent his bow, and with these inftruments of death, thy life may be as one in the grave, and thy foul configned to hell, in a moment. the Lord be glorified. Yea, he will be glorified, whether thou art faved or loft. But let him be glorified in that which is moft agreeable to him, in thy falvation; not in thy deftruction, for he has no pleafure in the death of a finner. Art thou willing to be faved at the expence of all other things? Sit down and count the coft. Are thy fins, friends, good name, profits, pleafures, and life itself too much to give? What are they compared with thy foul? There is no comparifon. Better lofe all than that. The lofs of thy foul is all. Ten thousand worlds fo bought would would be too dear. Well, ait thou determined to fell all for CHRIST? Wilt thou facrifice thy fins? If

thou

thou wilt be faved, let thefe go. Shake thyfelf from the duft of devilish works. Stand difengaged from the works of darknefs, and there will be hope. Repent and reform, and thou art in the way with the Lord.

13. But will repentance and reformation fave thee? No, verily. Repentance is not remiffion, nor reformation regeneration. If thou repenteft of and reformeft from all thy fins, thou art but still in the state of a criminal; for repentance and reformation make no atonement for what is paft. Thou art in fimilar circumftances with a perfon who has contracted a debt which he cannot discharge; and though he adds nothing to it, yet the old debt ftanding against him, he lies at the mercy of his creditor. In like manner, if thou finneft no more, that will not free thee from the guilt of thy former fins. And if they never be forgiven, thou muft fuffer for them, and that will be the vengeance of eternal fire. It will certainly be fo; becaufe there is no medium betwixt being faved from, and fuffering for fin. But repentance for and reformation from fin, do not fave. They neither atone for, nor take it away. At moft they are but (and neither are they that) the discharge of present duty, and have no influence on paft life in fupplying its deficiencies, or pacifying GOD. Seeing then that reformation leaves the foul in the guilt of fin, and in danger of fuffering for it, it indicates its infufficiency, and the neceffity of another thing. More must be done before a confcious finner can be cleared in the court of his own confcience. And as it is not the merit of any thing of his own, whether paft or prefent, that can avail in this cafe, it remains to have recourse to another; even to God, who juftifies the ungodly."

But,

But, what shall a finner bring to pacify GoD and turn away his wrath, to render him propitious and obtain a pardon? Poor foul! Thou must now renounce selfdependence more than ever. Foreign help must be thy whole fupport, JESUS CHRIST alone can deliver thee. Help is laid on him. He is the way to the Father. He bore thy fins, and now intercedes for thee. He faves to the uttermoft them who come unto GOD by him. Go in his name, fay to the Father, I am a finner, and deferve hell for what I have done. I have nothing to plead but thy Son's paffion; it was for me, he died in my ftead. O Lord God Almighty, have mercy upon me for his fake alone. Do this in faith; believe that he will have mercy on thee, and wreftle till thou prevaileft.

14. Now is the neceffity of, the time for, and use of faith. Remember, juftification is by faith. And faith follows repentance. Thou believeft there is one GOD; and, Satan-like trembleft. Thou doeft well. But believe the promife of forgivenefs; believe that GOD pardons iniquity, tranfgreffion, and fin. Without wavering credit his word. This do notwithstanding thy fins; for the promife is to finners. And let not the number and nature of thy crimes, how many and malignant foever they be, hinder. The promise is to repenting believing finners without exception. Catch this rope, left thou should fink into despair and hell! Confider, unbelief may damn. Truft what GOD hath faid; I will, faith he, "be merciful to their un"righteoufnefs." And let this cord lead thee to GOD. He is near that juftifies. With thy heart truft in him. Turn thy will towards him. foul. He is on every fide;

He is the center of thy yea, at the door of thy

heart.