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world-pleasure-cares-involved the mind, and all was gone like the cloud and the dew.

3d, A first sickness. How many, laid down on a bed of sickness, are made to look over the verge of the grave? They tremble as they think how unprepared they are to die; and now they begin to vow and resolve, if the Lord spare me, I will avoid evil companions, I will pray and read my Bible, &c.; but no sooner are they better than the resolutions are forgotten, like the cloud and dew.

4th, First death in a family. What a deep impression this makes on a feeling heart. That lovely circle is broken round the fire, and never will be whole again. Now they begin to pray-to turn to him that smites. Perhaps, kneeling beside the cold body, they vow no longer to go back to sin and folly. Or, following the body to the grave, while the big tear stands in the eye, they promise to bury all their sins and follies in the grave of their beloved one. But soon a change comes over them-the tears dry up-and the prayer is forgotten. The world takes its place again and reigns. Their goodness is as the morning cloud.

5th, In a time of awakening, many receive deep impressions. Some are alarmed to see others alarmed that are no worse than they. Many have their feelings stirred—their affections moved. Many are brought to desire conversion—to weep and to pray. Mr Edwards mentions that there was scarcely an individual in the whole town unconcerned; there were tokens of God's presence in every house. So here; and yet, when the time is past, how soon they sink back into former indifference. Their goodness is as the morning cloud.

Dear friends, ye are my witnesses. I do not know, but I believe I am not wrong in stating, that by far the greater number of you have been under remorse at some time or another, and yet God and your own consciences know how fading these impressions have been. Just as the morning cloud passes off the mountain's brow, and the dew is dried up from the rock, and leaves it a rock still, so your impressions have passed away, and left you a rocky heart still. So it is in those that perish. The way to hell is paved with good intentions, and hell is peopled with those who once wept and prayed for their souls. "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee ?"

3. Let us shew the steps of impressions fading away.— When a natural man is under concern, he begins to make a very diligent use of the means of grace.

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1st, Prayer-When a man is under the fear of hell, he begins to pray, and often he has very melting and sweet affections in prayer. As long as his impressions last, he may be very constant in his duty. But will he always call upon God? When his concern ceases, his praying in secret gradually ceases also. Not all at once, but by degrees he gives up secret prayer. Once he has been out in company, another time kept long at business, another time he is sleeping, and so by degrees he gives it up altogether. "O Ephraim,' &c.

2d, Hearing the word.-When a man is first awakened, he comes well out to the preaching of the word. He knows that God blesses especially the preaching of the word—that it pleases God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. He is an arrested hearer; he drinks in the words of the minister; he is lively in his attendance on the word; if there be preaching in the week-evening, he puts by his work in order to be there. But, when his concern wears away, he begins to weary first of the week-day service, then of the Sabbath, then perhaps he seeks a more careless ministry, where he may slumber on till death and judgment. Ah, this has been the course of thousands in this place. O Ephraim," &c.

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3d, Asking counsel of ministers.—When souls are under remorse, they often ask counsel of the under shepherds of Christ. "Going and weeping, they come to seek the Lord their God; they ask the way to Zion." They go to the watchman, saying, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? This is one of the duties of the faithful pastor, for "the priest's lips should keep knowledge; and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.” But when concern dies away, this dies away. Many come once, that never come again. "O Ephraim," &c.

4th, Avoiding sin.—When a man is under convictions, he always avoids open sin-flees from it with all his might. He reforms his life; his soul is swept and garnished. But when his concern dies away, his lusts revive, and he goes back like a dog to his vomit, and like the sow that was washed to its wallowing in the mire. If there was anything saving in the impressions of natural men, they would turn holier; but, on the contrary, they turn worse and worse. Seven devils enter into that man, and the latter end is worse than the beginning. "O Ephraim," &c.

II. Reasons why the impressions of natural men die away. 1. They never are brought to feel truly lost.—The wounds

of natural men are generally skin deep. Sometimes it is just a flash of terror that has alarmed them. Often it is the sense of some one great sin they have committed. Sometimes it is only sympathy with others fleeing because others flee. They are often brought to say, I am a great sinner; I fear there is no mercy for me. Still they are not brought to feel undone their mouth is not stopped-they do not cover the lip like the leper. They think a little prayer, sorrow, repentance, amendment, will do. If they could only change their way. They are not brought to see that all they do just signifies nothing toward justifying them. If they were brought to feel their utterly lost state, and their need of another's righteousness, they never could rest in the world again.

2. They never saw the beauty of Christ.-A flash of terror may bring a man to his knees, but will not bring him to Christ. Ah! no; love must draw. A natural man, under concern, sees no beauty nor desirableness in Christ. He is not brought to look to him whom he pierced, and to mourn. When once a man gets a sight of the supreme excellence and sweetness of Christ-when he sees his fulness for pardon, peace, holiness-he will never draw back. He may be in distress and in darkness, but he will rise and go about the city to seek him whom his soul loveth. The heart that has once seen Christ is smit with the love of him, and never can rest nor take up with others short of him.

3. He never had heart-hatred of sin.-The impressions of natural men are generally of terror. They feel the danger of sin-not the filthiness of it. They feel that God is just and true—that the law must be avenged-that the wrath of God will come. They see that there is hell in their sins; but they do not feel their sins to be a hell. They love sin; they have no change of nature. The Spirit of God does not dwell in them; and therefore the impression wears easily away, like as on sand. Those that are brought to Christ are brought to see the turpitude of sin. They cry not, Behold I am undone, but, behold I am vile. As long as sin is in their breast, they are kept fleeing to the cross of Christ.

4. They have no promises to keep their impressions.— Those who are in Christ have sweet promises. "I will put my fear in their hearts." Jer. xxxii. 40. "Being confident that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it." Phil. i. 6. But natural men have no interest in these promises; and so, in the time of temptation, their anxieties easily

wear away.

III. Sadness of their case.

When Christ

1. God mourns over their case."O Ephraim ' It must be a truly sad case that God mourns over. wept over Jerusalem, it showed it was in a desperate case, because that eye that wept saw plainly what was coming; and accordingly, in a few years, that lovely city was a ruined heap, and multitudes of those then living were in hell, and their children vagabonds. When Christ looked round on the Pharisees with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, it shewed a desperate case; he would not grieve for nothing. So here you may be sure the case of natural men who lose their impressions is very desperate, from these words of God, "O Ephraim."

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2. God has no new method of awakening.—God speaks as even at a loss what to do, to shew you that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. You have heard all the awakening truths in the Bible, and all the winning, comforting truths. You have been at Sinai, and at Gethsemane, and at Calvary: what more can I do unto thee? These have been pressed home upon you by Divine providences, in affliction, by the bed of death, and in a time of wide awakening. You have passed through a season when it was tenfold more likely that you would be truly converted than any other time. You are sunk back. Ah! the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and you are not saved. God has no more arrows in his quiver, no new arguments, no other hell, no other Christ.

3. No good by your past impressions.-When the cloud is dried up off the mountain's brow, and the dew off the rock, the mountain is as great as before, and the rock as hard; but when convictions fade away from the heart of a natural man, they leave the mountain of his sins much greater, and his rocky heart much harder. It is less likely that that man will ever be saved. Just as iron is hardened by being melted and cooled again; just as a person recovering from fever relapses, and is worse than before.

1st, You are now older, and every day less likely to be saved; your heart gets used to its old ways of thinking and feeling; the old knee cannot easily learn to bend.

2d, You have offended the Spirit; you have missed your opportunity; you have vexed the Holy Spirit; convictions are not in your own power; the Spirit hath mercy on whom he will have mercy.

3d, You have got into the way of putting aside convictions. The eyelid naturally closes when any object is coming against

it, so does the heart of a practised worldling close and shut out convictions.

4th, When you come to hell, you will wish you never had had convictions, they will make your punishment so much the greater.

I would now entreat all who have any impressions not to let them slip. It is a great mercy to live under a gospel ministry; still greater to live in a time of revival; still greater to have God pouring the Spirit into your heart, awakening your soul. Do not neglect it, do not turn back-remember Lot's wife. Escape for thy life; look not behind thee; tarry not in all the plain. Escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed.

SERMON XIX.

"She hath done what she could; she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying."-MARK xiv. 8.

Doctrine.-Do what you can.

From the gospel of John (xi. 2), we learn that this woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha.

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We have al"She sat at

ready learned that she was an eminent believer the feet of Christ and heard his word." Jesus himself said of her, “Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Now, it is interesting to see this same Mary eminent in another way—not only as a contemplative believer but as an active believer.

Many seem to think, that to be a believer is to have certain feelings and experiences; forgetting all the time that these are but the flowers, and that the fruit must follow. The engrafting of the branch is good, the inflowing of the sap good, but the fruit is the end in view. So faith is good, and peace and joy are good, but holy fruit is the end for which we are saved.

I trust many of you, last Sabbath, were like Mary, sitting at the Redeemer's feet, and hearing his word. Now I would persuade you to be like Mary, in doing what you can for Christ. If you have been bought with a price, then glorify God in your body and spirit, which are his. I beseech you by the mercies of God

1. These are things which we can do.

1 We could love Christ, pray and praise more.-What this woman did, she did to Christ Jesus had saved her soul,

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