be the case of every convinced sinner, when he is made the subject of the renewing grace of God.

But there is a plain reason, why such sinners are made the objects of divine mercy, when they have arrived at a complete view of their guilt, danger, and dependence on God for sanctification and deliverance, rather than while they were at ease in sin, and self-justified in their rebellion. In the latter situation, they were utterly unprepared either to feel, or understand, the nature and extent of the divine goodness in bestowing these blessings; and of course to be thankful, obedient, humble, and universally virtuous, to that degree, which is necessary to their effectual preparation for heaven, and which seems incapable of being accomplished in any other manner, than this, which I have described. A deliverance is both understood, and felt, in proportion to the greatness of the sense, which the person delivered has had, of his danger. A new moral character is welcomed, in proportion to the feelings which have been experienced in the debasement, and disadvantages, of the character previously existing. Universally, every benefit is realized, in proportion to the sense of our own necessity. Thus by the sense of his guilt, danger, and need of salvation, experienced under the conviction of his sin, the sinner is prepared with the utmost advantage to receive his sanctification, justification, and final deliverance from eternal ruin. This is what I call the fitness of the sinner for the reception of these benefits: a fitness, which seems indispensable; appearing, plainly, to render it proper, that God should give these blessings to a convinced sinner; when it would be wholly improper to give them to the same sinner, while unconvinced and insensible. Benefits are wisely conferred on those who are fitted thoroughly to understand, feel, and acknowledge them; and unwisely on those who are not; whose views are obscure, whose feelings are blunt, and whose acknowledgments, if made at all, are wrung from them by the hard hand of necessity. In the former case, the benefits may be said to be laid out well; in the latter, to little or no purpose.

These observations may possibly throw some light on a subject, which, hitherto, has been almost merely a topic of debate among theologians. This is, the true nature, and efficacy, of the prayers of such persons as are under conviction of sin. Some divines have strongly encouraged, and others utterly discouraged, convinced sinners from praying. Those of the latter class, founding their opinions on the declaration, that the prayers of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, observe, that the prayers of convinced sinners cannot be acceptable to God; that they cannot reasonably be expected to be either heard, or answered: and that, therefore, it is unjustifiable to advise such sinners, or any sinners whatever, to pray at all.

This subject will hereafter naturally offer itself for discussion. I shall now consider it only so far as my present purpose demands.

According to the opinion, which I have recited, no man can, with any propriety, pray for his regeneration. The sinner cannot pray for it, because his prayers are sinful and abominable. The saint cannot pray for it, with propriety, because he is already regenerated, and cannot possibly either need, or receive, it. Thus the greatest blessing ever given to man, and that on which all other blessings depend, cannot be prayed for by him who receives it; and stands, therefore, on a ground totally diverse from that, on which all other blessings rest; viz. on such a ground, that a man can never ask it for himself.

The prayers of convinced sinners, it is said, are insincere, and therefore abominable to God. In answer to this objection I observe, that a sinner, whether convinced or not, may undoubtedly pray with insincerity, in all instances; but there is no invincible necessity, that his prayers should always be insincere, notwithstanding he is a sinner. A sinner may, from a sense of his danger and misery, pray as sincerely to be saved from that danger and misery, as a saint. His disposition, I acknowledge, is still sinful; and his prayers are wholly destitute of moral goodness. But the mere wish to be saved from suffering, is neither sinful nor holy. On the contrary, it is merely the instinctive desire of every percipient being; without which he would cease to be a percipient being. That there is any thing hateful to God in this wish, whether expressed in prayer, or not, I cannot perceive; nor do I find it declared, either by Reason or Revelation. It may, indeed, be united with other desires, and those either virtuous or sinful; according to the prevailing character of the mind, in which it exists; and the whole state of the mind may be accordingly denomi nated virtuous, or sinful. Still this desire is neither morally good, nor morally evil; and, therefore, neither pleasing, nor displeasing, as such, in the sight of God.

That God pities sinners, as mere sufferers, will not be doubted: otherwise he would not have sent his Son, to redeem them from sin, and misery. That he pities them more, when strongly affected with a sense of their guilt, and misery, than when at ease concerning both, will, I think, be readily believed. The sinner is certainly not less an object of compassion, but much more, when feeling the evils, in which he is involved; and I can see no reason, why he may not be more an object of divine compassion, on that account, as well as of ours. The cries of the sinner for mercy are not, therefore, in themselves sinful; and there is nothing to make the sinner less, but much, apparently, to make him more, an object of the divine pity.

As the sinner knows, that regeneration is the only possible mean of escape, and safety; so he may, and plainly will, feel, in the same degree, the necessity of regeneration to him, as of safety. For regeneration, then, he will cry with the same ardour, and the same

freedom from sinfulness in this prayer, considered by itself, as for salvation, or deliverance from suffering.

That the prayers of unregenerate men are not virtuous, must undoubtedly be admitted: for nothing can be virtuous, which does not proceed from a heart, good in the Evangelical sense. That they are sinful, so far as they are of a moral nature, must also be admitted, at least by me. The declaration of Solomon, that the prayers of the wicked are an abomination, appears to me, together with others of the like import, to be a description of the prayers of wicked men, as they are in their general nature; and not as the mere cries of a suffering creature for mercy. In these, considered by themselves, I see nothing of a sinful nature. They are not indeed objects of the divine Complacency; and the sinner, who offers them, is clearly an object of the divine anger. But I see no evidence, that the prayers of such a sinner may not be objects of the divine Benevolence, and regarded by the Infinite Mind with compassion. To that compassion only are they addressed. The cries of a profligate vagrant in distress render him more properly, and more intensely, an object of compassion, and more especially entitled to relief, although he is still profligate, from a good man, than he would be, were he to continue insensible and hardened under his sufferings, and thus utterly unfitted to have any proper views of his need of relief, or the kindness of his benefactor in furnishing it. I see no reason, why God may not regard suffering sinners in a similar manner. That he does, in fact, thus regard them, is, I think, unanswerably evident: Regeneration regularly following such prayers, and being regularly communicated to the subjects of them, in the course of God's Providence, whenever it exists at all. That this is ordinarily, nay, that it is almost always, the fact, cannot, I think, be questioned. All sinners under conviction pray; and of such sinners all converts are made. To convinced sinners, crying to God for mercy, Regeneration is communicated by the Spirit of God; and we are not, I think, warranted to conclude, that it is given to any others. As, then, the whole number of regenerated persons is formed of those, who have been convinced of sin, and who have been diligently employed in prayer, while under conviction; it is plain, that their prayers are not abominable, in such a sense, as to prevent the blessing, prayed for, from descending upon them; and therefore, not in such a sense, as rationally to discourage them from praying.

The prayer of the Publican is, in my view, a clear and strong illustration of the justness of these remarks. There is no proof, nor in my opinion any reason to believe, that this man was regenerated. On the contrary, he declares himself, in his prayer to God, to be a sinner. As this declaration is put into his mouth by our Saviour; it must, I think, be considered not only as a sincere declaration, but a correct one; expressing with exactness the precise truth. He was, also, a convinced sinner; as is evident from VOL. II.

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his own words, and from the whole tenour of the parable. Yet he was justified rather than the Pharisee. The Pharisee came before God with a false account of himself; with a lofty spirit of selfrighteousness; and with an unwarrantable contempt for other men; particularly for the publican. The Publican came with a strong and full conviction of his sin, and his supreme need of deliverance. With these views, confessing himself to be a sinner merely, he earnestly besought God to have mercy on him. His sense of his character was plainly just; and his prayer, being the result of his feelings, was of course sincere. Thus far I consider him as justified, and no farther. If he was regenerated in consequence of his prayer, and justified in the Evangelical sense; the parable becomes completely decisive to my purpose; and furnishes all the encouragement to convinced sinners to pray, which can be asked. But this I will not at present insist on; because it is not expressly declared; although, in my own view, it is fairly and rationally inferred from the strain of the parable.

These observations I have made of the present time, because the subject could scarcely fail of occurring to your minds; and because difficulties could scarcely fail of attending it, in the view of some persons at least, which it must be desirable to remove. Allow me, however, to observe, that divines, so far as I may be permitted to judge, have insisted on the metaphysical nature of this and several other subjects in such a manner, as rather to perplex, than to instruct, those who have heard them. To unfold, or to limit, exactly, the agency of moral beings, seems to be a task, imperfectly suited to such minds as ours. What the Scriptures have said concerning this subject we know; so far as we understand their meaning. We also know whatever is clearly taught us by Experience. Beyond this our investigations seem not to have proceeded very far: and almost all the conclusions, derived from reasonings a priori, have failed of satisfying minds, not originally biassed in their favour.

From this digression, which I hope has not been wholly without use, I now return to the general subject.

When the sinner has come to this state of discernment and feeling, in which his character, danger, and necessity of deliverance, are thus realized; and has thus cast himself, as a mere suppliant for mercy, at the footstool of divine grace, God, as has been already observed, gives him a new and virtuous disposition; styled in the Scriptures a new heart; a right spirit; an honest and good heart; the good treasure of a good heart; and by several other names, of like import. That Act of the Spirit of God, by which this disposition is communicated; that is, the act of regenerating man, and the Disposition itself which is communicated, I cannot be expected to describe. Neither of these things can in the abstract, be known, or even contemplated, by such minds as ours. Not a single idea would ever be formed concerning the nature, or existence, of

either, were they not discovered by their effects; or, as they are called in the Gospel, their fruits. It may, however, be useful to repeat, that what I intend by this disposition is the cause, which in the mind of man produces all virtuous affections and volitions; the state, in which the mind is universally possessed of a tendency to the Evangelical character, or the tendency, itself, of the mind towards all that, which in the character is morally excellent. The existence of this disposition is proved by its effects; and in these only can it be seen. As these are new, and before unknown; it follows irresistibly, that the cause is equally new. This is, also, abundantly taught by the Scriptures; in which the disposition itself is called a new heart; the man, who becomes a subject of it, a new creature ; and the life, proceeding from it, newness of life.

The first great effect of this disposition is the exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The convinced sinner, as I have repeatedly observed, deeply feels his own utter inability to atone for his sins; to satisfy the demands of the divine law; and to reconcile himself to God.

All this, however, Christ informs him in the Gospel, he is able, willing, and faithful to do for him. In this situation, the sinner, for the first time, confides in these declarations of the Redeemer; and in that Moral Character, which furnishes the evidence of their truth. The scheme of saving himself, either wholly or partially, he has now given up; and is satisfied, and delighted, to be saved by Christ alone. His self-righteousness, so dear and delightful to him before, he now discerns to be nothing, but gross spiritual pride; and so far from being praiseworthy, as to be the foundation of nothing, but guilt, and shame. Now he quits all designs of exalting, and gratifying, himself in this work; and becomes highly pleased with exalting Christ by cheerfully rendering to him all the honour of his salvation. With these emotions, he receives Christ with all the heart; and confides in Him for acceptance with God, as the only, and at the same time the most desirable, Atonement for sin. Now, if he could save himself, he would not choose to be thus saved; but sees a beauty and glory in the salvation of sinners by Christ, with which his heart wholly accords, and with which his soul is exceedingly delighted. He surrenders himself, therefore, into the hands of this divine Redeemer, confidentially, to be his here and for ever; to be governed by his choice, and to do all his pleasure.

The next effect of this disposition is that, which in the Scriptures is called Repentance unto life; and in theological discourses, Evangelical Repentance.

It has been already observed, that the convinced sinner is, of course, deeply affected with a realizing sense of his sins, as being guilty, deserving the wrath of God, and the sources of ruin to himself. After he is regenerated, he, for the first time, begins to hate his sins, as odious in their very nature; as injurious to God, his