Permit me now to ask, my friends, whether any of you are saying this? Are there any present, who are deterred from seeking salvation by nothing but discouragement and despondency; any who are saying in their hearts, We would attend seriously to religion, did we not fear that it will be to no purpose? If any such there are, they are the very persons whom we now address. You have heard, my irresolute, desponding friends, how sinful, how dangerous, and how unreasonable it is to say, There is no hope. Why then will you say it? why should you think that it will be vain for you to attend to religion? Will you say, I fear that, though God is merciful, there is no mercy for me? You have heard that there is mercy for the vilest, if they will repent. Will you say, I fear that I am not one of those whom God means to save? If you are determined to persevere in unbelief aud despondency, you have reason to fear this; but if you begin sincerely to seek after God, you will have reason to hope that he means to save you; and if you repent and believe the gospel, you may be sure that he does. Will you say, I know not how to begin; if I study the Bible, it appears dark and difficult to understand; and when I listen to the preached word, it is the same? This is because you do not look to Christ for wisdom and instruction. He is able and willing to give us his Spirit to lead our minds into all truth. Will you say, I have often resolved and endeavored to be religious; but my resolutions have been broken; my endeavors have been vain; and I fear that, should I make another attempt, it would avail nothing. But your resolutions and attempts were made in dependance on your own strength. It was therefore to be expected that they would fail; for Christ says, Without me ye can do nothing. But make another attempt depending on his strength, and looking to him for assistance, and it will not be unsuccessful. Will you say, My will is so stubborn, my heart is so hard, and my mind so entangled by the love of the world and the fear of man, that I dare not hope for success? But did not Christ come

to deliver us from this world, to preach deliverance to the captives, to set at liberty them that are bruised? Has he not done this for thousands already; and is he not equally able to do it for you? Will you say, I have difficulties and temptations to encounter, such as no other person ever had; and therefore, I fear there is no hope? Even if this is the case, it affords no reason for despondency; for Christ is able to remove all difficulties, and overcome all temptations? Have you not heard that nothing is too hard for him? Will you say, I know Christ is able to save me; but I have so often grieved his Spirit, so long neglected his invitations, that I fear he will now afford me no assistance? But is he not even now bestowing upon you many blessings, notwithstanding this? Is he not preserving your life, permitting you to hear the gospel, and inviting you by his ministers, to come and receive salvation? If your unworthiness does not prevent him from bestowing these favors upon you, why should you fear that he will withhold his assistance in subduing your sins? Has he not said, Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out?

And now, my desponding friends, what more will you say to justify your despondency? What more indeed can you say? What can you say of yourselves more discouraging than this, that you are entirely sinful, and guilty, and poor, and wretched, and blind, and naked? True you are so, Christ knows that you are so; and his language is, I counsel thee to buy of me gold, tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed. Will you say, I have nothing to buy with? Christ bestows them without money or price. price. Permit me to remind you of the value of what he thus bestows. Let me bring down from heaven that reward which he offers to those who embrace him. In this world it is pardon of sins, peace of conscience, peace with God, the restoration of his image, joy unspeakable, support under trials, victory over all enemies including death and the grave; in a word, all good things. In the world to come, it is perfect holi

ness, full enjoyment, everlasting life, an eternal weight of glory, an immoveable throne, an unfading crown, a state of complete, never-ending, perpetually increasing glory and felicity. Such, my friends, are the rewards set before you. It is yet possible; nay, there is yet reason to hope, that you may obtain them. And are they not desirable? Are they not worth pursuing ?Arise, then; we call upon you in the name of God, arise, and in the strength of Christ, pursue then. Lose no time in despondency. Say not, There is no hope. We have shewn that you have no reason to say this. If you will persist in saying it, it is only an excuse; an excuse for neglecting that religion, which you are unwilling to embrace. It is not for want of encouragement, it is for want of a disposition, that you refuse to pursue the one thing needful. Let none then, after this, complain that there is nothing to encourage them. God has given them every thing necessary for their encouragement; every thing calculated to rouse them from despair. If then any persist in despair, and perish, God will be guiltless, their blood will be upon them.

But while we are attempting to justify God, and leave sinners without excuse; and while we would do every thing in our power to encourage the desponding and support the weak, it is also necessary to guard against the perversions of such as would derive from it encouragement to hope for heaven while they continue in sin. It is possible that some present may be hardened in their presumption by the very means which have been employed to keep others from despair. They may say, since there is so much reason to hope, and since it is so wrong to despair, we will hope for the best, and not despair of salvation, though we should continue a little longer in sin. If any are saying this, if any are thus poisoning themselves with the waters of life, I do most solemnly protest against this perversion, this abuse of the grace of God, and warn them of its danger. This is what the apostle calls making Christ the minister of sin, and turning the grace of God into wantonness; and the

end of those who are guilty of it will be according to their works. They can derive no excuse for doing this from what has been said; for not a syllable has been uttered which tends, if rightly understood, to afford the smallest hope or consolation to those who persist in impenitence and unbelief. If any such still pretend, from what has been said, to hope in God's mercy, I would remind them of the words of the apostle; Whosoever hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as Christ is pure.

SERMON XII.

The Stubborn Sinner submitting to God.

JEREMIAH XXXI. 18, 19, 20.

I HAVE SURELY HEARD EPHRAIM BEMOANING HIMSELF THUS; THOU HAST CHASTISED ME, AND I WAS CHASTISED, AS A BULLOCK unACCUSTOMED TO THE YOKE : TURN THOU ME, AND I SHALL BE TURNED; FOR THOU ART THE LORD MY GOD. SURELY, AFTER THAT I WAS TURNED, I REPENTED; AND AFTER THAT I WAS INSTRUCTED, I SMOTE UPON MY THIGH; I WAS ASHAMED, YEA, EVEN CONFOUNDED, BECAUSE I DID BEAR THE REPROACH OF MY YOUTH. IS EPHRAIM MY DEAR SON? IS HE A PLEASANT CHILD? FOR SINCE I SPOKE AGAINST HIM, I DO EARNESTLY REMEMBER HIM STILL: THEREFORE MY BOWELS ARE TROUBLED FOR HIM; I WILL SURELY HAVE MERCY UPON HIM, SAITH THE LORD.

THESE verses, my friends, may be considered as an epitome or abridgment of the book from which they are taken. The obstinate wickedness of the Israelites, the dreadful calamities which it brought upon them, and the happy effect of those calamities in leading some of them to repentance, and thus preparing them for pardon, are here briefly, but clearly and most affectingly described. In this description, my friends, we are deeply interested; for since the human heart, the nature and effects of repentance, the character of God and the methods of his proceedings, are ever essentially the same, it is evident that every thing which is recorded in Scripture respecting these subjects must be in a greater or less degree applicable to us. In our text each of these subjects is more or less distinctly brought into view. It describes three things, with which it is necessary that we should be