arguments as moved the Son of God to undertake their redemption. The ignorant, the unenlightened finner has right to plead all thefe arguments in his own behalf his is the common cause of mankind and nature, with unutterable groans, cries for him and all her children before her great Creator.

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If the penitent received the first knowledge of Christ upon the crofs; yet how much more had he to fay for himself, than the Chriftian, who comes to make his peace at the hour of death? He might thus plead his unhappy caufe: "Lord, I am one "of those finners, for whom thy Son now expires upon the cross; I was conceived in fin, and brought forth in iniquity; I have wandered in ignorance and darkness, without the light of thy "Gospel to direct me, without the help of thy Spirit to protect me: why was all my life fo "dark, and these few laft minutes only bleffed "with the knowledge of thy Son? Lord, accept "the poor remains of life, fince it is all I have left "to offer: my latest breath shall confefs my own

guilt, and my Saviour's innocence: and fince thy "wifdom has united me to him in this cross, let "me never more part from him; but as I am

joined with him in his death, fo let me be like"wife in his life for evermore." But what fhall the dying Chriftian fay, after an hardened life of fin and impenitence? What words fhall we put in his mouth to appeafe the anger of his injured Redeemer? You may spend your time in lamenting your paft folly; but with what language will you approach to God? You have neither ignorance nor weakness to plead; you were enlightened with his

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word; and his Holy Spirit was ever ready to affift you, had you been ready to endeavour after holiness. What will you then fay, when frightened and amazed you call for mercy at your laft moments? May not the Lord then say, "How long "have I waited in vain for these prayers, and these fighs? how have I spoken to you by your con"fcience within, and by the miniftry of my word "from without; and how have my calls been defpifed? The gates of mercy were always open to you, but you shut them against yourself: but "though you could fly from the mercy of God, yet his juftice will overtake you." Confider but this calmly with yourselves, and you will find that the wicked Chriftian's cafe is fo much worse than the penitent's upon the crofs, that there can be no reafon for you to encourage yourselves upon this example; or to hope for the fame mercy, when your cafe will be greatly different. Thefe are fuch circumstances as enter into the nature of the cafe, and will make it always unfit, and oftentimes impoffible, to be imitated by a Chriftian. But there are other circumftances fit to be observed, which render a death-bed repentance very insecure and dangerous, though we should allow it all the hopes which have been raised from the cafe before us.

As, firft; He that fins in hopes of repenting at laft, may fin fo far, as to grow hardened and obdurate, and incapable of repentance when the time

comes.

This reflection is grounded upon the cafe of the impenitent thief; who was crucified with our Saviour; who, though he had certainly all the outward advantages which the penitent had, yet he

made no step towards repentance, but died reproaching Chrift, and joining with those who crucified him, in that bitter jeer, If thou be the Chrift, come down from the crofs. Or, if you want more evidence, this example may be backed by many more in our own time; it being no uncommon thing to see malefactors die ftupid and senseless, and go out of the world as wickedly as they have lived in it and what can this be attributed to, but to the desertion of God's Holy Spirit, which will not always ftrive with finners, but fometimes leaves them to perish in the hardness of their hearts? So that the man who fins in hopes of repenting, can never be sure of this laft retreat; because by purfuing the first part of his defign, that is, to enjoy the pleasure of fin, he may foon grow incapable of the last, which is repenting. I question not but that those who referve themselves to these last hopes of repenting, mean fincerely to do it when the time comes; for hardly can I think that any man means to fuffer for his fins: but then those who enter upon fin with these tender regards to their own fouls, foon grow above fuch mean thoughts, and would fcorn to own themselves in the number of those who are candidates for repentance: they contract a familiarity with fin, and, with Solomon's fools, learn to make a mock of it, till by degrees their consciences are hardened, and not to be touched by those soft impreffions which at the first fetting out they felt from the languishing remains of grace. And from hence it comes to pass, that when these finners lie down upon a fick bed, they often want both the will and the power to ask forgiveness; and,

by an habitual neglect of all parts of religion, become unable to perform any, even that in which all their poor hopes are concluded, to repent of, and afk pardon for, their fins. Nor is it in your own power to fin to what degree you please, or to preserve a sense of religion, amidst the pleasures of iniquity if it were, poffibly the danger in this respect might be less: but habits grow infenfibly; there is a kind of mechanism in it, as in the growth of the body; and he that gives himself up to fin can no more refolve how great a finner he will be, than he that is born a man can refolve how tall, or how fhort, of ftature he will be. To the truth of this experience daily witneffes: happy are those who want this fatal experience! With how much pain and uneafiness do men bring themselves to do the things which in a little time they glory and take pride in, or at least grow easy and contented under ? And thus the man, who with great tremblings of heart, and mifgivings of mind, brings himself to taste the pleasures of fin, with refolutions of an after repentance, comes at laft to be fo well reconciled to his fins, as not to think repentance neceffary for them. The moment you give yourself up to fin, you give yourself out of your own power; you lay the chains upon the neck of reason, and fet the paffions free: confcience, which used to be your advance-guard, and give you early notice of every approaching evil, falls into the power of luft and affection: and when reason and conscience are destroyed, the triple cord is broken, and religion muft foon follow after; and how, in this general rout, one poor refolution, to repent of all this ini

quity, fhould escape, is more than can be eafily conceived: and yet when you lose that, you lose your felf; it is your laft, your only hope. Upon the whole, there is much more reason to fear, that fin, if once you indulge it, fhould get the better of and destroy your resolution of repentance, than that your refolution to repent fhould ever conquer and destroy the confirmed powers and habits of fin. And I wish thofe who have not yet put it out of their own power to reafon calmly upon these things, would enter into this debate with their own hearts, and confider what danger they are in a few moments cannot be too much to spend in so weighty an affair: and whenever you retire to these cool thoughts, may the Father of mercies influence those moments of your life, upon which all eternity depends!

But, fecondly, could you preferve your refolutions of repentance, yet ftill it is not in your own power to fecure an opportunity to execute them. The thief upon the cross died a violent death, by the hand of juftice; happy in this at leaft, that he knew how long he had to live; and had no ground to flatter himself with the hopes of many years to come. He had no pretence to defer his repentance, in profpect of a farther opportunity; nor was his heart to be allured by the foft and entertaining pleasures of life, when life itself was fo near expiring. From the like death God defend us all! and yet, without it, which of us can hope for fuch favourable circumftances for repentance? Whenever the finner thinks of repentance, he will find that he has a work of great forrow and trouble upon his hands; and this will make him unwilling