goodness enough to forgive such guilty, ill-deserving creatures; but they are still more apt to doubt, whether God can consistently with his justice pardon their iniquities, and save them from that eternal death which is their due, and which he has threatened in his holy law. God is infinitely just, as well as infinitely merciful, and he cannot exercise his mercy inconsistently with his justice. This Adam saw as soon as he had sinned, and it threw him into despair. He knew he had transgressed the law and deserved to die, and saw no possible way to escape the death threatened and deserved. He fled from the presence of the Lord to escape his avenging hand. Though he knew that God was infinitely good, and that infinite goodness was full of mercy; yet he could not see how even infinite goodness and mercy could save him from the punishment he had deserved, consistently with the holy, vindictive justice of God. But as soon as God brought the seed of the woman, the promised Saviour into view, his despondency died and his hope of mercy was kindled in his breast. He repented and returned to God, and found mercy through the redemption of Christ. Penitent, broken-hearted sinners are often in the same predicament that Adam was before a Saviour was revealed. They love God, and hate sin, and judge and condemn themselves, and therefore fear that God will judge and condemn them, and cast them off forever, until they discover the way of salvation which God has provided and proposed in the gospel. Penitent, returning sinners often speak out the real views and feelings of their minds. They acknowledge that the character of God is amiable, and his law is holy, just, and good, and that they ought to love both; yet they fear God cannot pardon and save them, because they are such great sinners. Such fear arises entirely from their not having clear and just views of the ground of pardoning mercy, which is the atonement of Christ. On this ground God can pardon the greatest as well as the smallest penitent, returning sinner, consistently with his justice. Christ by his sufferings and death on the cross completely displayed his justice. This the apostle taught the Romans to believe. "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness:—that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Every penitent, believing sinner shall be saved, notwithstanding all his unworthiness and guilt; for God is both willing and able to pardon and save such consistently with his love to holiness, and his hatred of sin, and disposition to punish it. While sinners in distress remain im

penitent, their only fear is, that God is not good enough to pardon and save them; but when they become truly penitent and broken-hearted, they are more apt to fear, that God cannot forgive and save them, consistently with his justice, nor of course consistently with his glory. And as they then love him supremely, they cannot desire, that he should forgive and save them inconsistently with his glory, for they regard his glory more than their own good. But when they realize that Christ has died the just for the unjust, they desire that God would pardon and save them for his sake.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. It appears from what has been said, that there is a wide difference between praying for pardoning mercy, and praying for regenerating grace. God has promised to hear the prayers of penitent, believing, returning sinners for forgiveness; but he has never promised to hear the prayers of impenitent, unbelieving sinners for a new heart or regenerating grace. Such sinners are destitute of grace, and so long as they remain destitute of grace, they cannot sincerely pray for grace. They are still dead in trespasses and sins, and are under the entire dominion of a selfish heart, which is disaffected to God, to Christ, and to the holiness and happiness of heaven. Though they ardently desire to be saved from punishment, yet they do not sincerely desire to become holy and saved from sin. They are destitute of love to God, of repentance for sin, and of faith in Christ, and therefore cannot sincerely pray for that love to God which they hate, nor for that repentance which they hate, nor for that faith which they hate, nor consequently for that regeneration, in which love, repentance, and faith consists. They cannot sincerely desire regeneration before they become regenerate; for the same reason, that they cannot sincerely desire grace, before they have grace. God never hears the prayers of them that hate him, for love; nor the prayers of the impenitent, for repentance; nor the prayers of the unbelieving, for faith; but condemns their prayers for those holy affections, which he knows they hate. But it is the universal practice of awakened and distressed sinners to pray for grace, rather than for pardon, for holiness, rather than for forgiveness, and for regeneration, rather than for justification. God nowhere requires unregenerate sinners to pray for regeneration. If you search the Bible from beginning to end, you cannot find a single command, or even encouragement to unregenerate sinners to pray for regen

eration or any holy affection; though there are a great many commands, encouragements, and promises made to praying for pardoning mercy. The text is a plain evidence of this. "Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found, call ye upon him, while he is near;" for what? for regeneration? no; but for pardon on the ground of repentance; for it follows, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." There is no command here to pray unregenerately or impenitently, nor any encouragement given to pray unregenerately or impenitently; but full assurance given to penitent, believing, returning sinners that they shall find pardoning mercy. This distinction between praying for pardon, and praying for regenera. tion or a new heart, it is of great importance for all to understand; for it is really the same distinction as that between praying penitently, and impenitently. If sinners pray for regeneration, they must pray impenitently, and consequently must be rejected and condemned. But if they penitently and believingly pray for pardoning mercy, they shall certainly be heard and accepted. The insincere prayers of the unholy, unregenerate are an abomination in the sight of God; and if they ever so anxiously seek the Lord, while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near, without forsaking their evil ways and sinful thoughts, and heartily returning to the Lord from whom they have revolted, and sincerely praying for pardoning mercy, they will certainly be rejected and continue under condemnation.

2. It appears from what has been said, that it is not the first duty of sinners to pray for regeneration or any holy affection. It is very generally supposed to be the first duty of sinners to pray for regeneration, for love to God, for repentance of sin, for faith in Christ, for submission to divine sovereignty, and every other Christian grace. But this is contrary to reason, to conscience, and the whole word of God. Their first duty is to be regenerate, not to pray for regeneration; to love God, not to pray for love to him; to repent of sin, not to pray for repentance; to believe in Christ, not to pray for faith in him; to submit to God, not to pray for submission; to forsake their evil ways, not to pray that they may forsake them; to forsake their evil thoughts, not to pray that they may forsake them; to return to the Lord, not to pray that they may be turned; and to pray for pardon, not to pray that they may pray aright for pardoning mercy. Their duty to love God does not depend upon his making them willing to love him. Their duty to repent of

sin does not depend upon his making them willing to repent of sin. Their duty to believe in Christ does not depend upon his making them willing to believe in Christ. Their duty to submit to his sovereignty does not depend upon his making them willing to submit to his sovereignty. Nor does their duty to pray for pardoning mercy depend upon his making them willing to pray for it. But they endeavor to make themselves believe that their duty depends on his making them willing to do it; and desire and pray to be forgiven for not doing their duty, if he does not make them willing to do it. In this way they endeavor to evade their obligation to obey every divine command, and to cast the blame upon God, if he does not make them willing to obey him. That this is true, I will appeal to every impenitent sinner in this house, by reading the text as he would explain and understand it. Every impenitent sinner will acknowledge it is his duty "to seek the Lord, while he may be found," if he makes him willing to do it; "to call upon him, while he is near," if he makes him willing to do it; "to forsake his way," if he makes him willing to forsake it; to forsake his hard, selfish thoughts, if he makes him willing to forsake them; "to return unto the Lord," if he makes him willing to return unto him; and to seek and call upon his name for pardoning mercy, if he makes him willing to seek and pray for forgiving grace. But if he does not make him willing to do these things, he cannot do them, and it is not his duty to do them. I would now ask every impenitent sinner, whether it be not your secret opinion that your obligation to obey God depends upon his making you willing to obey him? In particular, do you not think your duty to awake out of stupidity depends upon God's awakening you? Do you not think your duty to love God depends upon his making you willing to love him? Do you not think your duty to pray for pardoning mercy, depends upon his making you willing to pray for it? And do you not justify yourself for the neglect of every duty, because God does not make you willing to do it? Thus sinners misconstrue and explain away the force and obligation of every command God has given them, in order to throw off all blame from themselves, and fix it upon him. These are the views, and feelings, and desires of impenitent sinners, when they pray either for regeneration, or for pardoning mercy; and must they not be extremely offensive to God, and can he hear them while they thus regard iniquity in their hearts?

3. It appears from what has been said, that it it is very dangerous to direct thoughtful, anxious sinners wrong in respect to duty. They are always disposed to direct themselves wrong.

They are desirous to be directed wrong. And many are disposed to direct them wrong. They are always solicitous to know what they must do to be saved; and especially what they must do in their present guilty, perishing condition. They know very well what the righteous must do. They must persevere in well-doing; but they want to know what sinners must do, who are unrighteous, unholy, and have not begun to do their duty. They imagine that they have some things to do before they love God, repent, and believe the gospel; and they want to know what those things are, for they feel ready to do anything and everything which will prepare them to love God, and comply with the terms of salvation, though they really hate God, and the terms of salvation which he has proposed in the gospel. It naturally occurs to them, that they must forsake their ways; that is, reform in respect to their external transgressions, and in respect to their neglect of external duties. But sensible there is still something wrong within, they begin to inquire of others, whether there is anything more for them to do than to reform externally. This they generally do before they make known their internal anxiety and distress, and inquire of others what they must do. They are generally told they must continue reforming, seeking, and striving. This is the very direction they desire, and for a time gives them some comfort, courage, and hope. But they soon get weary of seeking and striving without success, and begin to relax their exertions, and totally stifle all their fears and convictions, unless God revives and increases their distress; and then they are more anxious than ever to know what they must do. Their first directors now fail, and can say no more; and therefore it is evident that they have directed them wrong. But there is another and right way to direct them, and that is, not only to forsake their ways, and externally reform; but to forsake their hard, selfish, rebellious thoughts of God, and become cordially reconciled to his character, his law, and his government; to accept the punishment of their sins, and penitently and humbly accept of pardoning mercy through the atoning blood of Christ. If they dislike these directions, and say they cannot renounce their hard thoughts, nor become reconciled to God, nor cordially submit to the humiliating terms of the gospel, they must be told that unless they do submit, they will surely perish. This is the only proper and safe way of directing thoughtful, inquir ing sinners. It is directing them to do their duty, and nothing else. In this way the prophets, Christ, and the apostles directed those who anxiously inquired what they must do to be saved. They never directed them to do anything in an unholy and sin