gal received ftronger and more fenfible demonftrations of the father's love, than the elder brother ever did in a long courfe of obedience. True: but this put him not upon a level with his brother; it deprived not the latter of his better claims. "I want (cries the fond "but discreet father) only to indulge a parent's joy, over a recovered child 66 recovered from deftruction-reco"vered,-when dark defpair gave him 66 over as loft. Hence this gush of "tears they fpring not from partiality: they are the fweet overflowings "of a tender heart, convulfed by unhoped for rapture, but embracing both alike. For all that I have "is thine: thy inheritance is not leffen"ed: his future good behaviour must "work out his own portion: And it "is meet that thou should'ft rejoice "with me upon fo happy, fo delightful 66 66 you "an event.". IN fhort, to repeat what cannot be inculcated inculcated too often, happiness under the Gospel, as it must in all true religion, depends upon the morality of our lives. Let the finner repent when he pleases, he must be wholly changed, affume a virtuous bent of difpofition, before he can be a chriftian, and his future reward will be in exact proportion to the degrees of his proficiency.. II. WHAT now, fhall we think of the various contrivances, invented by corrupt men, to defeat the falutary purpofe and defign of repentance? SOME, you fee, live with much complacency in vicious habits, under the falfe comfort of an outward fuperficial communion exact in the ceremonial of religion, they join the church in her confeffions, and the world in all its favourite pollutions. Some comfort themselves with the tranfient regret and compunction of serious intervals: temptation returns; they use no care to avoid it; appetite revives; and they relapse into the fins they deplored before. Others intend not to repent, until they are fairly tired and fatiated with their fins they confider GOD as a good-natured fort of being, whom they can fatisfy when they please: they think that their appetites will cloy, paffions exhaust themselves, and that repentance, and ceafing from fin under a debility of nature while the heart is ftill unregenerate, are the same thing. And thus, in the mean time, they fin on fecurely, fufficiently fatisfied with the diftant prospect of this mistaken fort of repentance. BUT if we attended only to the fimpleft first notions of truth, it would be impoffible for men of the commoneft understanding to entertain fuch crude imperfect conceptions of human duty. ONE of the firft ideas, which we conceive of GOD, is, that of a MORAL It is confeffed then that he GOVERNOR, he has, in his revealed will, offered terms of acceptance to a finful world. LET us now apply fome of our commonest notions of order. When a prince publishes terms of mercy to rebel fubjects; do we confider this as an approbation of their disobedience, and not rather as a means of recalling them to their duty and allegiance? When a father forgives an offending child, does he mean by his indulgence to encourage him in his fault, and not rather to win him over, by the ties of gratitude, as well as duty, to better behaviour? What is the reason we can judge aright in these common cafes, and yet put the groffeft conftructions upon the indulgence of Divine forgiveness? Why, our judgments are warped by our corruptions; otherwife, we muft fee, that Gon means only by his mercy to call us back to our original duty of fubjection to his laws. MORAL MORAL laws were appointed by him in his first creation and constitution of things. What a being of unerring wifdom appoints, he appoints as the best: and what he appoints as the best, he can no more alter, than he can alter his own nature. To change belongs to creatures liable to error and misapprehenfion. THE Deity indeed may in fome refpects vary his measures, according to the irregularity of free will; but his main design muft ever be the fame: his particular deviations and indulgencies must have this in view, and will be used no farther than they serve to promote it. Thus the privilege of repentance, and the affiftances of grace are fupernatural indulgences. But they are adapted only to the fallen ftate of man; they cannot be meant to fuperfede the original duty of virtuous obedience. A difcreet parent, (to refume my former instance,) may try the different expedi ents |