vailed on you to your misery, if any unexpected trial has proved superior to your virtue; hasten to retrieve your misfortune, imitate the sheep that has just strayed from the flock, and returns at the first call of the shepherd. Let not the state of sin become supportable to you, by continuing in it; never let custom make it familiar to you; but take advantage of the uneasiness which you now experience, before it wear off by length of time; hasten to exchange it for that true peace which you enjoyed before you lost the joy of a good conscience by sin. Go, cast yourselves, without delay, at the feet of God's minister, place yourselves at this tribunal of mercy, and there becoming your own accusers, and sincerely repenting of your guilt, suffer your souls to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, and restored to their original purity. The recent wound is healed with ease; but if it be long neglected, the cure becomes difficult. It is not a work of such great difficulty to recover the grace of God, after the first transgression; but if the sinner neglect to rise with immediate alacrity, he soon becomes entangled in sin; he sinks deeper in the mire of vice; his sins are daily multiplied, and with them are multiplied the obstacles to his conversion. Do you not experimentally know the truth of what I assert? Have you not found, that having

offended God, and neglected to return to him, your love, nay, your fear of him diminished every day, the dread of sin grew less, the eternal judgements of God made less impression, you repeated the sin at which you at first trembled with horror, each time with less remorse; other sins, to which you were before strangers, were committed without terror, till, at last, you bowed down in willing subjection to sin, and became the passive slaves to the tyranny of your passions. Alas! I fear that some of you, my brethren, too well know the truth of what I say. Like the prodigal son, have you not gone into a distant country, far from your father's house, and endeavoured to obliterate the remembrance of his goodness, by indulging in every species of excess and guilt? But, oh! far as you may be from your paternal roof, far from that tranquillity which you once enjoyed, when innocence and virtue decked your souls; though you may have neglected and despised the riches of his grace, deprived yourselves of every spiritual and intellectual enjoyment, and bowed down your immortal souls to the indulgence of mere sensual and degrading pleasures; yet, if you turn to your God, the true shepherd of your souls, he will again receive you, take you into his arms, vest you again with the robe of inheritance, lead you to

his table with joy, and there feed you with the bread of immortality. But let your conduct exactly resemble that of the prodigal, recovering from that dream of dissipation which necessarily excludes all sobriety of reflection, enter into yourselves, and compare the misery of your state with the happiness which is enjoyed by the least of God's servants; arise without hesitation or delay; let not the view of difficulties, that may be met with, induce you to a dangerous deliberation; indecision will be fatal to you; but at once resolve; nor hearken to the voice of the passions, which will cry out, as the great St. Augustine tells us, they cried out to him; "will you then dismiss us for ever? shall we never more be indulged?" (Conf. l. viii. c. 11.) Regard them not; nor listen to the taunts, the railleries of the world, which will perhaps load you with ridicule and persecution, if you turn to God, while it was unconcerned at your guilty conduct. Yes; it often happens that the slaves of folly and voice will only smile at the irregularities or grosser crimes of the sinner, but if he turn to God, and lead a life of retirement and piety, they will affect a regard for virtue, and treat him with insulting sneers, and pretended abhorrence, as an enemy to virtue, a mere hypocrite. But let neither the world, the flesh, nor the devil, prevail over you; pray and sigh be

fore God; make a generous effort in his cause, and your own; follow the counsel of your spiritual guide, who will disclose to you the will of heaven; and soon will the road of repentance be smoothed beneath your feet, you will find that the grace of God can sweeten every sorrow, and render easy and agreeable that which appeared the most difficult and discouraging. Your heavenly Father will receive you to favor; pleased with your return to virtue and peace, he will heap his mercies upon you, and seem to confer upon you a share of affection, even beyond what is enjoyed by those who have never separated themselves from him. There shall be joy, &c. (Luke, xv. 7.) But perhaps amongst you, my christian hearers, may be some who, long rebellious to the calls of their shepherd, and hardened against his loving mercy, flee from him with unfeeling obstinacy: who, fast bound in the chains of sin, either wholly reject the graces of God, persuading themselves that their conversion is impossible, or determine to trust to the doubtful and dangerous experiment of a death-bed repentance. If any such there be amongst you, who now hear me, melancholy indeed is your situation; but would to God that you could be convinced of your misery! Will you still resolve, unhappy christians (for still you bear that honorable denomination), will you still

resolve to remain in sin, enemies of God, and exposed to the continual danger of falling a prey to the infernal tyrant, and of being sunk in eternal torments? Is it that you deem it impossible to recover the friendship of God? While it is your fixed resolution to persist in your evil course, it is indeed impossible; because you refuse the friendship of your God: but remember that he sincerely wishes to draw you to himself, and if you correspond with his wishes and graces, you will be converted. Your conversion, therefore, is not impossible: the word of God is express, to assure you that, were you even the most abandoned sinner that ever existed on the face of the earth, still will he assist you to return to him, and will forgive you your sins, if you have recourse to him with sincere repentance; and this change of heart he will give, provided you seek it with an earnest wish to obtain it. Your spiritual enemies may cry out "difficulty and impossibility," but believe them not; rather give credit to the express promises of God himself. When those, whom Moses sent to view the land of promise, informed the people that the country to which they were advancing, was a land that devoured its inhabitants, Joshua and Caleb encouraged them to intrepidity and enterprise, assuring them that those with whom they would have to