accept of us living, dying, and for ever, for the sake of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. 66 Sinner, O why so thoughtless grown? Wilt thou despise eternal fate, CHAPTER XIII. FIRST SCRIPTURE PORTION. 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, Jer. For thine arrows stick fast in For I xxxi. 18, 19. me, and thy hand presseth me sore. many iniquities have gone over my head, as a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, and go mourning all the day long. For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin, Ps. xxxviii. 2, 4, 6, 18. Innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth me, Ps. xl. 1, 2. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplication of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God. We lie down in shame, and our confusion covereth us, for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, Jer. iii. 21-25. And the publican standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner, Luke xviii. 13. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise, Ps. li. 17. For thus saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones; for I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wrath, for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wrath, and smote him. I hid me, and was wrath, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him. To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word, Isa. lvii. 15-18, and lxvi. 2. And (Manasseh) when he was in affliction, besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto him, and he was intreated of him and heard his supplication, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son; (and) in that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness, Zech. xii. 10 and xiii. 1. (For) him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins, Acts v. 31. SECOND PORTION. uke xv. 11-32. Psa. li. Exek. xxx. 43, 44. Jonah iii. 5-9. THIRD PORTION. Encouragement to Penitents. Hosea xiv. 1, 2, 4. Joel ii. 12-14. Jonah iii. 10. Micah vii. 18-20. Matt. xi. 28, 29. Luke vii. 35-50; XV. 3-10. John i. 29; vi. 37. Acts xiii. 38, 39. Rom. viii. 34. 2 Cor. vii. 11. Heb vii. 25;viii.12. 1 Pet. iii. 9. Rev. xxii. 17. ADDRESS. PART I. Nothing can be more suitable in a season of affliction, than tenderness of conscience and penitence of soul. The Holy Spirit has produced these in you, which ought to call forth your gratitude. He has set before you your sins, in all their countless number and awful aggravations. You feel that you have sinned, and deserve eternal destruction. It is indeed a mercy, that though so late, you feel convinced that you are lost without the mercy of God, and the salvation of Christ. You have been a great sinner, and you must expect to feel almost overwhelmed, by a sense of your past transgressions. This affliction has proved the greatest blessing you ever experienced, if it has led you to mourn over sin, and seek pardon for it. . What would your condition have been, if God had taken you away from the world, in the midst of your guilt? If you had been, as many are, cut off suddenly without a moment's warning, without one opportunity of repenting of your sins. Alas! though you might have been spared some of the bodily sufferings you now endure, you would have been at this moment, in the regions of darkness and despair, where mercy never comes. Doubtless you are thankful that at last your eyes have been opened to see your condition as a sinner; and you think but lightly of the pains of your body, so that you are brought to a state of contrition, on account of your past life. You are chastened, and you repent. A diseased body, through God's grace, has led to a broken heart. The foundation stone of real religion is laid in this affliction. So far you should feel the highest satisfaction. But perhaps your sense of guilt is so great, as almost to overwhelm you. You probably may think that your iniquity is greater than may be forgiven. Satan, the great enemy of your soul, may tempt you to despairing thoughts. You think that you have lived so long in sin, that you have slighted so many merciful invitations from God, that though convinced of your guilt, that you shall die, before you are forgiven and accepted. You feel that your poor body is fast sinking into the grave, and you know there is no pardon there. But to the truly convinced and penitent, there is no ground to despair. If this knowledge of sin, and sorrow for it, be the result of the Spirit's influence upon you, you may be assured that mercy will be extended to you. Pardon was never |