mercy

Be afbamed and confounded for your own ways, O boufe of Ifrael. But yet it is also true, that the infinite of God is more than equal to all our unworthiness, to all our difficulties, and to all our wants. There is forgiveness with God, that he may be feared and with him is plentecus redemption. And God is in Chrift reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trefpaffes. You fhould approach the presence of God, not only with a moft abafing fenfe of your finfulness, pollution, and unworthiness; and with most earneft importunity for the influences of his Spirit and grace; but also with an humble confidence in the riches of his infinite' mercy; and with a fupporting hope, that for his own fake and for his Son's fake, (though not for yours) he will accept, pardon, fanctify and fave you. While you are entertaining hard thoughts of God, giving into defponding frames, and nourishing your diftracting difcouraging fears, you are difhonouring God our Saviour, grieving the Holy Spirit, hardening your own heart, and going further and further from mercy. Come therefore before God, felf-loathing and felf-condemning, yet not with a distrustful dread: but come to him with expectation and dependance. Plead the merits of his Son; plead the riches of his boundlefs grace; yea, plead your own mifery and want before him; hope in his mercy, and wait for his falvation.

4. Review your paft life; and be as particular as you can, in your repentance towards God, as alfo in setting all things right with your neighbour. It is our duty particularly to confefs and lament our fins before God; thofe efpecially which are peculiarly aggravated, or have been willingly and cuftomarily indulged. It is our duty to make up all breaches with our neighbour, and to repair all injuries we have done him, as far as poffible. It is therefore neceffary, to call ourselves to an account for all the paft conduct of our lives, both toward God and man.

Look back then to your early age, and bring the fins of your youth to remembrance. Confefs them particularly, lament them before God, and lift up your ardent and frequent petitions to him, that he would not remember the fins of your youth, nor your tranfgreffions. Continue your view, to the fucceffive periods of your life. Confider what duties you have omitted, whether perfonal or relative;

what parts of inftituted worship you have neglected, or by a careless, hypocritical, and trifling performance, have flighted and profaned, whether in your clofet, in the family, or in the house of God. Confider what relations you have fuftained, and what have been your fpecial defects in each of them. Humble yourselves in the fight of God, on account of them all; cry to him for pardon, in the blood of Chrift; and for grace and ftrength to ferve him acceptably by a right discharge of your refpective duties, in each ftation and circumftance of life, as well as by a due performance of the feveral offices of devotion. Confider your many fins of commiffion, according to their refpective natures and aggravations. Confefs them before God; and confefs the innumerable multitude which were unobserved when committed, or forgotten fince. Endeavour to impress a juft fenfe of their number, enormity, and guilt upon your confcience, till you are forced to groan out that language of a repenting foul: innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, they are more than the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth me. Endeavour to bring then all (those which you can remember, by a particular enumeration; those which you cannot remember, by a gene ral confeffion) to the fountain fet open for fin and for uncleanness, pray for faith, and endeavour to truft in the infinite merits of the Redeemer's blood, and the infinite mercy of the God of all grace, for a free pardon of all your fins, how extenfive foever in their number, how great foever in their aggravations. Thus endeavour to have your paft account balanced by the blood of Chrift.

In like manner be careful to review the defects of the duties, and the violations of the precepts of the second table of the moral law. Confider whether there be none who have offered you injuries and indignities; and fee to it, that from your heart you forgive them their trespasses, and that you remember each of them at the throne of grace, feeking mercy for them, as for your own foul. Confider what differences and controverfies you have maintained with any man, and in the most kind and condefcending manner attempt all reasonable methods of reconciliation, committing the cafe to God by prayer. Confider whether in the courfe of your life you have not fome way or other

been injurious to your neighbour, by word or deed, in your commerce or converfation; and never rest till you have made reparation and fatisfaction, if any thing of that kind can be remembered. Confider whether there be no enmity or rancour of Spirit, no prejudice or ill will, harboured in your breaft againft any man; and never reft till you can feel an univerfal benevolence to every individual of the human race, and have that love in exercise, which is the fulfilling of the law. Confider whether you have learned of Christ to be meek and lowly of heart, to live in peace and kindnefs; and be excited by the gentleness of Chrift, to maintain the exercife of thofe fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentleness, goodnefs, meeknefs, temperance. Confider whether you have practifed fufficient liberality towards the poor and indigent; and confult how you may now fo caft your bread upon the water, as to find it again after many days. And in a word, feek pardon through the blood of Chrift for all your paft defects; and confult hew you may, for the future, render yourself the most extenfive bleffing to the world while you live in it.

5. Be very careful, faithfully to discharge the respective duties of the feveral relations you fuftain. God having placed you, Sir, in a station of public truft, he calls upon you in the language of Jehoshaphat to his judges: Take heed what ye do, for you judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment: therefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it. It would be arrogance in me, to pretend to direct you in the particular duties of your honourable station; and the particular methods of difcharging them. It is your concern, in the execution of your truft, to approve yourself a minifter of God to his people for their good; a terror not to good works, but to the evil, the patron and defender of the oppreffed and injured, and an impartial reftrainer and punifher of the vicious and immoral; a fhining pattern of a regular life; and one that feeks the welfare of your people. Allow me further to obferve,

As you are likewise remarkably bleffed in your conjugal relation, that a full compliance with the laws of Chrif tianity will greatly add to your mutual happiness. I do not mean by this, to recommend to you that love, tender

affection, and moft obliging kindness, which the word of God injoins upon all in that relation; and which is fo abfolutely neceffary to all fuch, in order to their prefent comfort or future happiness: fince in these things, you have practically declared to the world, that you ftand in no need of a monitor. But what I would particularly offer to your confideration, is, that the foul is the principal part of hu man nature; and confequently the principal object of love and regard, in that near and intimate relation. It fhould therefore be the chief care of those who are thus nearly united, to live together as fellow heirs of the grace of life, to affift, counsel, quicken and comfort one another, in the ways of God and godlinefs; and to confult all proper methods to promote each others fpiritual and eternal welfare. Thus the bands of union and motives of dearest affection will be more than doubled. This will render fuch perfons bleffings to each other indeed; and lay a foundation for joy to all eternity.

You are peculiarly favoured with regard to a pleafant and delightful offspring. And upon the birth of each of your children, the Lord does (as it were) fay unto you, as Pharaoh's daughter to Mofes's mother, take this child and nurfe it for me. You fhould accordingly take early care, to endeavour the forming their minds to the knowledge, fear, and fervice of God. You should not only teach them their catechifm, whereby a fummary of Chriftian doctrines may be laid up in their memories; but ftudy in a plain, eafy, and familiar manner, to adapt your initructions to their understandings, and endeavour to acquaint them with the great things of their eternal peace. You fhould endeavour not only to give them a doctrinal, but a practical acquaintance with the duties of Chriflianity; and as foon as poffible, put them upon ftated exercife of reli. gious duty. You thould in the moft kind and affectionate manner poffible, endeavour to restrain their vicious inclinations and practices, and inftill into them principles of reverence to the aged, of honour and gratitude to their parents, of kindnefs and love to one another, and of piety and mercy to the indigent and diftreffed. You fould with conftant and importunate ardour of foul, wrestle with God for their fpiritual welfare; and even travel in birth,

to fee Chrift formed in their fouls. This is the way to make them indeed bleflings in their generation, to make them happy while they live, happy when they die, and happy for ever. By this means therefore, shew that you love them indeed.

To this I must add, that you are under a like obligation to take care of the fouls of your fervants, as of your children; and in like manner to instruct them, and to imprefs upon their minds the vaft concerns of eternity. For you should always remember, that the foul of your meanest flave is of more value than this whole world.

I shall only fubjoin under this head, that you sustain the character of a neighbour, unto which are many duties annexed. The poor you have always with you, to whom you owe charitable and compaffionate relief. You have frequent occafions of converfation, which should be good to the ufe of edifying, that you may adminifter grace to the bearers. You have special intereft in and influence upon many this you should improve with care for their fpiritual advantage. You will find frequent occafion to exhort and to reprove others, which fhould be done with fuch unaffected seriousness and kindness, condefcenfion, and humility, as will both touch the confcience, and engage the affections; and thereby have a profpect of fuccefs. In fine, you should watch for opportunity to do what service you can, both to the bodies and fouls of your neighbours; and thereby fulfil the royal law of love.

6. Walk by rule, in an exact obfervance of stated devotions. We are exhorted to walk circumfpe&tly, redeeming the time; to be always abounding in the work of the Lord; doing the duty of every day, in its day; of every feafon, in its feafon. And to time things to beft advantage, to methodize things well, and be steady to fome certain rules of proceeding, will very much befriend a life of religion. We are counfelled, to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long; to pray without ceafing, and to meditate in God's law day and night. Nothing can be of greater importance to our prefent or future happiness than a careful compliance with thefe divine precepts.

You fhould therefore begin the day with GOD. When you awake in the morning, let God have your first thoughts. Lift up your heart to him, with thankfulness for the pre