the fear of man, the love of fame, and the things of this prefent life, feem at fometimes to have gotten quiet the upper hand; and if a defire after God remains at all, it appears so weak and enfeebled, that it is scarce perceptible. Yet remember, O thou feeble one, Jefus does not break the bruised reed, nor quench the fmoaking flax; thou doft not yet perhaps break forth into a flame of love for Chrift; but there can be fire without flame; it may be thou perceiveft no fire, for all is cold within; yet there may be fmoak where neither fire nor flame appear; and Jefus will not quench it. The feed fown in the heart, is like a spark dropt into the fea; but it is a fpark from Jefus, a fpark of heavenly love, and many waters cannot quench it. The feed fown in the heart is incorruptible; it is a living and life-giving principle, and although like a grain of muftard-feed, yet fhall it grow to a large tree in glory,

2d. The work of grace has appeared in fome in the firft ftages of life; they have longed for God, delighted in his word, and in every pious path; have bowed in fecret at his footstol, and fought where to weep before him in secret, and pour out the tender foul in fervent prayer at a throne of grace. Such a devout difpofition has appeared perhaps for many years, and after this, all has feemed cold and dead and entirely loft. Yet you must observe, where the foul is truly regenerate and born of the fpirit; conviction and remorfe, will still follow the foul, and imbitter all it's fweets; will frequently extort and force it to refolve to turn again to God. The confcience of fuch perfon, will never fail to vifit him when alone; if he runs all day from God, God's vice

gerent

gerent will be fure to meet with him at night; nor can the foul thus born of God go on in fin, but he will be wounded in the very act; nor will his bleeding confcience ever fuffer him to be at reft, 'till he is brought to bewail his fins, and humbly confefs his wickednefs, lying at the feet of the bleeding Jefus.

If you should ask a perfon in this ftate, how it is he can be pleafed with fin, and flight and neglect the fervice of the Lord? His answer would be, that he is fo far from taking pleasure in fin, that he hates it from his very foul; and is far from allowing that which he does; and although fays he "I confefs with fhame that I neglect the fer"vice of God, and hereby may feem to flight "it, yet, I delight in his law after the inner man ; "for faith he, it is not I that do evil, (inafmuch "as I condemn, and difallow it) but fin that dwel"leth in me."

3dly. When the heavenly wind breaths new life into the foul, it infufes a moft. excellent antidote for expelling that diabolical poifon of pride out of the heart; for fuch an one conceives himfelf to be the vileft creature upon earth; and many in this view of themselves could have been glad had it been poffible, to have changed their condition with the meaneft animal or vileft reptile. Holy David fays of himself, I am a very worm, and no man; bleffed Paul, I am the chief of finners; and the publican in the temple, from a conception of his own unworthinefs, would not fo much as life up his eyes to heaven; but fmote upon his breaft, faying, God be merciful to me a finner. Little do poor trembling finners think what gracious purposes of love, the Lord has at that

faw and to hot hd not

that time towards them, and what a foundation he is laying in their hearts for a glorious eternity.

How hard it is to perfuade thefe poor in fpirit, that theirs is the kingdom of God, whereas in fact, they are blessed, while they mourn that bleffing is fo far from them, and while they seem to feek an abfent God, God fets up his tabernacle with them, and in them. How full of confolation, and how pertinent to this, are the words of If. ch. lvii. 15. "I dwell, faith the Lord, in the

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high and holy place, with him also that is of a "contrite and humble fpirit." It is the property of grace to humble the haughtiness of man, and the higher a perfon rifes in the attainment of this, the lower he will always fink in his own esteem; it was wifely therefore faid of one, we "must go down to come at heaven," that is, down in our own eyes. I fuppofe while I am fpeaking thus, you are ready to afk, What was the publican then you have juft mentioned, and who manifefted fo great figns of humility, fuch an abundant partaker of grace? I answer, that he had grace cannot be denied, for without this he could not poffibly have feen his own deformity, for darkness discovers not darknefs, but whatfoever maketh manifeft is light. Again, it is certain he had more grace than the boasting pharifee, whofe haughty heart, a stranger to grace, difdained him for he went down to his houfe juftified rather than the other; but had both been deftitute of grace, there could have been no reason for preference. Again, as the publican was a partaker of grace, he must have been regenerate, fince all grace in action, is the effect of the fpirit's work upon the

foul,

foul, and there is no work of the fpirit, previous to the work of regeneration.

4thly, When the divine light fhines into the foul, and leads a finner to the knowledge of himfelf, he presently begins to fet at nought and loath his own righteousness, for, fays he, "I have it "is true, had a form of godliness, I have read "the fcriptures, and heard the word preached at "almost every opportunity; I also have prayed "with my family, and have been careful to fup

port a good character in the world; I have dif "charged my juft debts, and often relieved the "neceffitous. But continues he, I did all these "things from a principle of love to myself, and

not to God; I fhould at any time have been "glad he would have difpenfed with the fervices “I did; for I had no pleasure in the work, my eye was upon the wages; and could I have "been affured in any moderate degree, that hea"ven could have been obtained without this fhew "of holiness, I fhould prefently have relinquifhed .. a labour I had fo little love to." Befides, adds he, "I am now convinced, that if it had been poffible "my works could have been done in fincerity, and "with an eye to God's glory, the very best of them "would have been of no avail; feeing they were "not only defiled as proceeding from a nature fo corrupt, but were at best so exceedingly imper"fect and deficient; they might it is true carry an

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afpect of dignity, when in competition with my "fellow-worms, but when weighed in the balance “of the fanctuary, they would have been found altogether lighter than vanity." Thus a foul enlightened by the fpirit of God exclaims against all it's imaginary goodnefs, and felf-laboured work, where

wherein it has been exercised; for it now appears that all fuch righteouf effes were but filthy rags, and this apparent girdi efs was but like the morning dew. Such perfon is now led to trace back thefe ftreams of various action to the fountain head, an evil and corrupt heart; and then perceives, they must needs be all alike impure, for they had iffued from one fountain; which could not fend forth both fweet and bitter streams.

Here he makes a stand, and surveys himself by a light fhining from above, and fees his nature all corrupt, defiled and unclean; and that there is no found part, from the crown of the head, to the foles of the feet; there is nothing but wounds and bruifes, and putrifying fores, which have not at all been bound up, neither mollified with ointment. He now appears to himself to be at once a miracle of fin, and a miracle of mercy; he has nothing to plead in his own behalf, but being found guilty, is constrained to confefs, I have finned, what shall I do unto thee, O thou preferver of men. He can no longer think of repairing the breaches, because he fees himself altogether helplefs, and is constrained to own, I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwells no good thing.

Now how difficult it is to perfuade one in this cafe, that the feeds of immortality are really fown in his nature, and that these are the buddings of heavenly glory hereafter to be perfected in his foul; yet what can be more certain; he did not always fee himself in this condition, because he had no light whereby to fee; and unless it could be fuppofed, that the foul fees, and knows, and taftes, before it lives; all which is groíly abfurd, it follows, that fpiritual life is begun, fuch a foul