perfuafion of forgiveness therefore, how comfortable or joyful foever, don't diftinguish the nature of that repen. tance, on which fuch a perfuafion is founded.

In short, it is not the deepest sense of fin or guilt, nor the moft diftreffing forrow on that account; it is not the fear of God's wrath, nor the greatest external reforma. tion of life; it is not the moft diligent external attendance upon all known duty; nor the moft quieting perfuafion of having made our peace with God; nor all thefe together that will denominate a man fincerely penitent. For all these may be, and have been, attained to by mere hypocrites; and often are found with the falfe as well as the true profeffor.

Having by way of precaution, given you these remarks, I now proceed directly to confider the important cafe And,

before us.

1. A legal repentance flows only from a fenfe of danger, and fear of wrath! But an evangelical repentance is a true mourning for fin; and an earnest defire of deliverance from it. When the confcience of a finner is alarmed with a sense of his dreadful guilt, it must neceffarily remonftrate against those impieties, which threaten him with deftruction and ruin. Thence thofe frights and terrors, which we fo commonly fee in awakened finners. Their fins (especially fome groffer enormities of their lives) ftare them in the face, with their peculiar aggravations. Confcience draws up the indictment; and fets home the charge against them. The law paffes the fentence; and condemns them without mercy. And what have they now in profpect? But a fearful looking for of fiery indignation to confume them! Now with what diftrefs will they cry out, of the greatness and aggravations of their fins? With what amazement will they expect the dreadful iffue of a finful courfe? How ready are they now to take up refolutions of a more watchful and holy life? Now they are brought upon their knees before God, to acknowledge their fins and to cry for mercy; and now confcience, like a flaming fword, keeps them from their former courfe of impiety and fenfual gratifications. And what is all this repentance, but mere terror and fear of hell? Let but confaience be pacified, and their fear blown over; and the

dog will quickly return to his vomit again, 'till fome new alarm revive the conviction of their fin and danger, and their former procefs of repentance. Thus fome will fin and repent, and repent and fin, all their lives; and yet ly open to eternal repentance after all. Or, if the diftrefs of confcience make fo deep an impreffion, and fix fuch an abiding awe of particular fins upon the mind, that there remains a visible and continuing reformation: yet their lufts are but dammed up by their fears, and were but the dam broken down, they would run again in their former channel with renewed force. It is true the law fometimes proves a school-mafter to drive finners to Chrift; and conviction of fin and a legal repentance is a neceffary preparative to a faving conversion; but this alone gives no claim to the promise of the gofpel. The house may be thus empty, fwept and garnished, but for the reception of seven worfe fpirits than were driven out of it; and a finner may thus escape the pollutions of the world, and yet have his latter end worse than his beginning.

If on the other hand, we confider the character of a fincere gofpel repentance, though fuch legal terrors may lead to its exercife, they do not belong to its nature: nor are they any part of its defcription. Sin itfelf, becomes the greatest burden and averfation to a truly penitent foul. I hate, fays the Pfalmift, every falfe way. O wretched man that I am, fays the apoftle, who shall deliver me from the body of this death. Thus the peni. tent, groans being burdened; not from fear of hell, fuch fear being no part of a true repentance, though it may fometimes accompany a fincere and godly forrow for fin. But this forrow arifes from an affecting, humbling, mourning fenfe of fin, from a view of the fin of nature, with the hardness of the heart, and univerfal depravity of the affections which flow from it; and from a view of the numerous fins of practice, with their fpecial aggravations. This is the grief, this the diftrels of a repenting finner. It is neceffary, from the nature of a true repentance, that it must have refpect both to the fin of nature and practice; though both of thefe are not at all times actually in the mind; and particularly thought of, and mourned for by the repenting finner. The lan

guage of a true repentance is fuch as that. I acknowledge my tranfgreffions, and my fin is ever before me. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head, as an heavy burthen, they are too heavy for me. Deliver me from all my tranfgreffions. Let not my fins have dominion over me. Innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, fo that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleafed, O Lord, te deliver me: O Lord make hafte to help me. As the true penitent longs for more and more victory over his cor. ruptions, fo is he most watchful, prayerful, and in earneft to mortify his lufts, and to cut off all fupplies of fin. He mourns for all, he hates all his lufts; and is willing to spare none, no not fo much as a right hand, or a right eye As there is nothing so grievous to him as fin, fo there is nothing which he fo earnestly defires and purfues, as a nearer approach to that bleffed ftate, where nothing can enter which defileth or worketh abomination.

Here you fee an apparent difference, between being ftruck with fear, restrained by terror, and driven from a course of finning by the lathes of an awakened conscience, between this (I fay) and loathing ourselves in our own fight, for all our iniquities and abominations, with a groaning after grace and Arength to conquer and mortify our corruptions, and be free from the empire of fin. That is merely the fruit of felf-love, which prompts the foul to fly from danger. This is the exercife of a vital principle, which feparates the foul from fin; and engages the whole man in a continued oppofition against it.

2. A legal repentance flows from unbelief: but an evangelical repentance is always the fruit and confequence of a faving faith. I have thewn you already, that a legal repentance is effected by fearful apprehenfions of hell and damnation. And whence is this amazing and distracting fear and terror? Has not the gospel provided a glorious relief for fuch diftreffes; and opened a bleffed door of hope for the greatest finners Is not pardon and falvation freely offered to all, that will accept a bleffed Saviour and his faving benefits? Is not the blood of Chrift fufficient to cleanfe from alf

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fins, however circumftanced, and however aggravated they may be? Why then do not they chearfully fly for refuge to this hope fet before them? Alas, they can fee no fafety in it! The law of God challenges their obedience; and condemns their disobedience. Conscience

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joins in, both with the precept and fentence of the law: and thence their only refuge is refolutions, reformations, duties, penance, or fome fuch felf-righteous methods to pacify God's justice, to quiet their confciences; and to lay a foundation of future hope. The defect of their endeavours and attainments, creates new terrors. Their terrors excite new endeavours. And thus they go on without attaining the law of righteoufnefs; because they feek it not of faith but as it were by the works of the law. They may, its true, have some respect to Chrift, in this their legal progrefs. They may hope, that God will accept them for Chrift's fake. They may use his name in their prayers for pardon, while they dare not depend upon the merits of his blood for the remiffion of their fins, and a freedom from condemnation. And what is all this, but a fecret hope, that the redemption of Chrift will add fuch merit to their frights and fears, reformations and duties, as to make them effectual to atone for their fins; and purchase the favour of God? So that all their penitential fhews and appearances are nothing but the workings of unbelief.

Let us now take a view of an evangelical repentance: and we fhall find the characters of it directly repugnant to what has been confidered. This must always be the confequence of a faving faith; and can never go before it. The finner must have a realizing apprehenfion of the purity and holiness of the divine nature, before he can loathe and hate his fins, on the account of their contrariety to God. He must have a feeling fenfe, that there is pardoning mercy with God for finners, before he can with courage and fincerity apply for forgiveness to a juft and holy God. He muft have a believing dif covery of the way in which God is acceffible by finners, before he can have access with boldness to the throne of grace. He muft fee and feel that there is fafety in venturing a guilty foul in the hands of Chrift and no where elfe, before he can look to his blood for cleanfing from

guilt; and to his grace and ftrength for victory over his corruption. He must be united to Chrift as a branch to the vine, before he can bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Without this he may be driven into defponding fears and to legal attempts for fafety: but he cannot fly for refuge, to lay hold on the hope jet before him. The true penitent therefore approaches God's prefence with a deep impreffion of his guilt, and unworthiness; and of his juft defert of an eternal rejection from God. But then he comes before a mercy-feat. Though he is forced to acknowledge that if God fhould mark iniquity, he could not ftand before him; he yet remembers, that with God there is forgiveness that he may be feared; and that with him there is plenteous redemption. The true, penitent looks to the blood of Christ, as what alone can cleanfe away his numerous and aggravated fins; and from thence he takes encouragement to mourn out the Pfalmift's language, wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanfe me from my fin. Purge me with by flop and I fhall be clean, wafb me and I fhall be whiter than the fnow. This is the profpect, which both encourages and invigorates his cries for mercy; and embitters his fins to him; and which makes him loath them all, and long for deliverance from them all. Is • God infinitely merciful and ready to forgive (fays the • penitent foul) and have I been fo bafely ungrateful, as to fin against fuch aftonishing goodness, to af ⚫ front and abuse fuch mercy and love! Is fin fo hateful to God, that he has fo feverely punifhed it in the per• fon of his own dear Son, how vile, how polluted and ⚫ abominable muft I then appear, in the eyes of his holinefs and juftice, that am nothing but defilement and guilt; from the crown of my head to the foles of my feet, nothing but wounds and bruifes and putrifying fores! Has the bleffed Saviour fuffered his Father's wrath for my fins! Have they nailed him to the cross, • and brought him under the agonies of an accurfed death; and fhall I be ever reconciled to my lufts any • more! and go on to crucify the Son of God afresh! Is there pardoning mercy to be had, and fhall I flight the blood of Chrift, fet light by the gracious offer, and perish in fight of a Saviour! May I obtain ftrength