to hold faft our iniquities: for "the Son "of God was manifested for this very pur"pofe, that he might deftroy the works of "the devil." And in vain do we plead the merit of his death, unless we follow the example of his life, and fubmit to the government of his laws and Spirit; for "he is the "author of eternal falvation only to them. "that obey him."

But it may be, you hope to make all up by repentance; and though at present there are fome fins you are unwilling to part with, yet you propose to do it afterwards, with a refolution never to return any more to folly. Well, finners, this at least is a plain confeffion that you are self-condemned creatures in the mean time. You admit that repentance is neceffary, and that you are undone without it.-And now

let me display to you the folly of your conduct. -Should you die this night, what would become of you? and what af furance have you that you fhall be alive to-morrow? Were not Zimri and Cofbi cut off in the act of fin? and have not many others been carried off by a fudden death,

without leifure afforded them to cry for mercy? Your fin, and confequently your mifery, is prefent and certain: your repentance only future, and therefore altogether uncertain; for who knoweth what a day may bring forth? -Befides, is it not egregious folly to do that deliberately which needeth repentance? Would he not be justly accounted mad, who fhould drink a deadly poifon, merely to try the ftrength of an antidote?-Though you could repent at pleasure, and had a leafe of life to any term of your own choofing, which you well know you have not; yet, even upon this fuppofition, your conduct would be foolish and irrational. But I have fomething to add that is ftill more alarming. Repentance is the gift of God; it is a grace that can only be produced in your hearts by that divine Spirit, whom now you grieve; And is grieving him the way to obtain his affiftance? muft God wait your time, and patiently endure all your affronts, and then bestow upon you a pure favour, to which you can plead no title, whenever you fhall deign to afk it? No,

finners.

finners.There are fuch awful words in your Bibles as thefe: " My Spirit fhall

not always ftrive with man" and, " Be"caufe when I called, ye refused; when I "ftretched out my hand, ye did not regard me; therefore will I laugh at your ca

lamity, and mock when your fear co"meth." Go, think upon these, and get you to your knees, and beg of God, for Christ's fake, that he may pardon what is past, and restrain you from fuch prefumptuous fins for the future. This brings me to the

LAST thing I propofed; which was, to direct you how to put up this prayer to God, Keep back thy fervant from presumptuous fins.

In the 1st place, You must do it fincerely, with an unfeigned and earnest defire, that God may hear and grant your request. We are very apt to impofe upon ourselves in this matter. Confcience being galled and irritated by prefumptuous fins, may grow fo turbulent and clamorous, that something must be done to still and pacify

it. By this means, we may be forced into the closet, and obliged to use the words of my text; nay, to apply them to thofe particular fins for which confcience upbraideth us. But, alas! our prayers are oft-times falfe and hypocritical; we hate not the fin, but the remorfe that follows it; and we wish not fo much to be delivered from the fin, as from the fierce challenges of the awful reprover within us.Have you not dif covered fomething of this hypocrify in the time of praying? Have you not felt a fecret love to the fin you professed to renounce; nay, fome degrees of fear left God fhould take you at your word, and render that fin bitter and unpleasant to you? Need I tell you, that fuch prayers are an abomination to the Lord, and inftead of diminishing, aggravate your guilt? Ta pray, is not to offer up words, but deires, to God: I therefore said, that in ufing this petition, you must do it with a fincere and earnest defire, that God may hear and grant your request. It was for this purpose I fet before you the heinous nature and fatal effects of prefumptuous fins,

that

that you might view them as deadly foes, and long to be rescued from their tyranny; for till your hearts are brought to this, in vain do you utter the words of David; your prayers are hollow and infincere, whatever drefs you put them into; and are themselves more prefumptuous than any of thofe fins against which you pretend to use them.

2dly, We must put up this request, from a humble sense of our own weakness, with a lively hope of the mercy of God, and a ftedfaft reliance upon the efficacy of his grace. These qualifications are absolutely neceffary: for till we feel our inability to overcome our impetuous and headftrong paffions, we shall not be very importunate with God to restrain them; and we fhall foon grow weary in our addreffes to him for aid, if we either call in question his good-will to bestow it, or doubt of its fufficiency to answer our neceffities. We must neither pray proudly nor despairingly; we affront God equally both ways. If we go to him merely in a complimental way, as if we did him honour by asking

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