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soul about to destroy itself.-It was the Apostle of our salvation, preaching in bonds.—It was the subduer of the heart, the omnipotent God, repressing the efforts of the devil, and depriving him of his prey.

think. Great God! thou decidest the destiny | of my immortal soul, plunge it into hell, if the sentiments of my heart are not conformable to the words of my tongue." Hence, when St. Peter disavowed his knowledge of Jesus Christ, it was saying in fact, "Yes, Great God! if I know this man, of having connexion with whom I am now questioned, to be my Master; if I have heard celestial voices, saying, "This is my beloved Son;" if I have seen him trans-ed the passion of Jesus Christ. A wound is the figured on the holy mountain; if I have heard his sermons; if I have attested his miracles; if that indeed be true, may I be the object of thy everlasting abhorrence and revenge."

The sixth circumstance is the period at which St. Peter disowned Jesus Christ. At the instant Jesus Christ displayed the tenderest marks of his love, St. Peter requited him with the most cruel ingratitude. At the moment Jesus Christ was about to redeem St. Peter, this apostle disowned his Master. At the moment Jesus Christ was about to lay down his life for St. Peter, at the moment he was going to endure for him the death of the cross, this apostle refused to confess him.

Ah! human virtue! how feeble thou art, whenever the breath of the Almighty, by which thou art sustained, comes to be resumed! And if the Lots, the Moseses, the Davids, the Josiahs, and so many more;-if these pillars of the church have been shaken, what shall not these frail foundations be!-If these suns, irradiated "to shine in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation," have sustained eclipses, what shall it not be with the smoking flax! If the cedars of Lebanon have been almost rooted up, what shall it not be with the hyssop of the wall!

But let us no longer leave our apostle in the sad situation in which he has been considered. Among the difficulties opposed to the perseverance of the saints, the sins to which they are liable seems to be the strongest. Which side soever we embrace, we apparently fall into error. "Will he for ever precipitate in hell, the man for whom the availing sacrifice of the cross has already been presented? But also will he ever receive into paradise, a man contaminated with so foul a crime? Will he resume his grace after it is once given? But will he continue it with him, who renders himself unworthy?" Here Providence removes the difficulty which theology cannot solve. It extends to the fallen a gracious hand. That St. Peter the friend of Jesus Christ should be excluded from his grace, seems impossible. That St. Peter should ever be readmitted to his favour seems not less inconceivable. Jesus Christ came to his aid, and enabled him to recover from his crime. Here is the solution of the difficulty. Then, adds our evangelist, Jesus Christ turned toward St. Peter, and looked attentively at him. This is the second part of my discourse.

II. My brethren, how expressive was that look! How eloquent were those eyes! Never was discourse so energetic! Never did orator express himself with so much force! Jesus looked on Peter.-It was the Man of griefs complaining of a new burden, added to that, under the pressure of which he already groaned. It was the compassionate Redeemer, pitying a

1. It was the man of griefs, complaining of a new burden, added to that, under the pressure of which he already groaned.—We cannot doubt but the denial of St. Peter, augment

more severely felt, in proportion as the inflicting hand is dear to us. We are not astonished to see an enemy turn his rage against us; the case is common. But when we find perfidy, where we expected fidelity, and where we had cause to expect it; and when it is a friend who betrays us, the anguish of the thought is difficult to sustain. So it was with Jesus Christ. That the Jewish populace were armed against him, was not surprising; they knew him not. That the Pharisees should solicit his death is less astonishing; he had exclaimed against their sins. That the Roman soldiers should join the Jews, is not surprising; they considered him as the enemy of Cesar. That the priests should accelerate his condemnation, is no marvel; they thought they were avenging Moses and the prophets. But that St. Peter, who ought to have supported him in his anguish, should aggravate it;—that he, who ought to have attested his innocence, should deny him;-that he, who ought to have extended his hand to wipe away his tears, should, in some sort, lend his arm to assassins;-it was this which pierced the Saviour's soul, and caused this reproachful glance of his eyes on St. Peter.

2. It was the compassionate Redeemer, pitying a soul on the verge of destruction. One trait we cannot sufficiently admire, that during our Saviour's passion; that amid the severest sufferings, he was less concerned for himself, than for the salvation of those for whom he suffered. Some days before his death, he was employed in supporting the disciples against the scandal of the cross. In the admirable prayer, addressed to the Father, he in some sort, forgot himself, and prayed solely for them. In the garden of Gethsemane, amid the most tremulous conflicts, which he sustained against the Father's justice, he interrupted the supplications for divine assistance, to go and exhort the disciples to watchfulness and prayer, and to arm them against the devil. On the cross, he prayed for his murderers; and would have shed his blood with pleasure, if he might have rejoiced over those who shed it, and obtained for them forgiveness and salvation.

More affected with the wound received by his disciple, than with what concerned himself, his soul dissolved in compassion: he seemed to say, "Simon, son of Jonas, I devote myself in sacrifice without reluctance, if it may obtain thy salvation. I submit with pleasure, to the justice of my Father, if thy restoration may be obtained. But when I see thee, at the moment of my death, withdrawing thyself from that mercy, the whole of whose treasures I have opened; when I see thee 'accounting the blood of the covenant,' I am going to shed, an unholy thing;' when I see that I die, and die in vain with regard to thee, if thou shouldst not recover from thy fall, my passion becomes the

more severe, and the anguish of my death is redoubled."

This leads us to a third reflection. The look of Jesus Christ discovered an upbraiding aspect, by which the Saviour would reclaim the sinner. Hence, on casting his eyes upon him, he selected the circumstance of the crowing of the cock. The crowing of the cock, was as much the signal to realize the prediction of Jesus Christ, as to remind St. Peter of his promise; and Jesus looked in that moment, that Peter might recollect his vows, his oaths, his protestations; he looked to claim his promise, or at least to confound him for his defect of fidelity.

Such, on some occasions, is the imbecility of the human mind, as neither to resist a temptation to sin, nor to endure the recollection of a former crime; and the same base principle which induces a man to sin, frequently excites despair, on the recollection of its turpitude. Judas wept with despair; he could not support the recollection of his crime; he saw, he felt, he confessed its atrocity; and having returned to the priests the thirty pieces of silver, the awful reward of his treason, he went out, and hanged himself.

The damned, on seeing the period of their repentance past, and the hour of vengeance come, shed tears of despair in hell. This is the "outer darkness, in which there is weeping and gnashing of teeth."

But the faithful while spared in the church, shed tears of repentance: of this sort were those of St. Peter.

You may first observe his anguish. He not only wept, but he wept bitterly. Forming imperfect notions of vice, as we mostly do, it is not surprising that we should think a repentance, superficial as ours, adequate to its expiation. But regarding it in a just light, considering the majesty of Him it insults, the awful cloud it interposes between God and us, the alarming influence it has in the soul of our neighbour, and the painful uncertainty in which it places the conscience; we cannot shed tears too bitter for the calamity of wilful transgression.

But, however just these explanations may appear, they do not fully unfold the sense of the text. There is something miraculous in the history: and the interpretations already given, offer nothing to the mind, but what might occur in a natural way. This look of Jesus Christ was, like the words of his mouth, "sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow," Heb. iv. 12. When the disciples were going to Emmaus, they found an unction in the discourse of Jesus Christ, which induced them to say, "Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures" Luke xxiv. 32. As if they had said, It is not necessary that our eyes should identify the person of Jesus Christ, to be assured he has appeared to us; it is not necessary that we should associate the testimony of the women, with the predictions of the prophets; it is not necessary to investigate the removal of the stone, the emptiness of the sepulchre, and the folding of the linen, to ascertain his resurrection. We have arguments superior to these: the ascendancy he obtained over our minds, by the power of his word, and the fire which kindled our hearts, are proof sufficient, that we have conversed with Jesus. Such indeed was this look. It was a flash of fire, which irradiated the eyes of the apostle, which forcibly re-thing for a man, who, when exhorted to revealed the knowledge of himself, which con- pent, replies, to-morrow, at a future period. I strained him to give glory to God; which dissi- fear every thing for such a man; I fear the pated all his terrors; which raised his drooping winds; I fear the waves; I fear affliction; I fear courage; which calmed all his fears; which con- the fever; I fear distraction; I fear the habit; I firmed his feeble knees; which reanimated his fear exhausting the treasures of patience and expiring zeal. long-suffering. St. Peter deferred not to a precarious futurity, the care of his salvation. As soon as Jesus Christ had looked on him, he perceived it; as soon as he called, he answered; as soon as the hand was extended, he

Hence you perceive the eloquence of the speaker, the intelligence of the hearer, the energy of the Saviour's looks, and the sensibility of St. Peter's heart. By this single glance of the Saviour's eyes, inexpressible anguish was excited in his soul; his recollection was restored, he came to himself, his heart expired, his countenance was appalled, a vapour arose in his eyes, which descended in a torrent of tears. Jesus Christ spake by his looks, St. Peter replied by contrition. This is the third part of iny discourse.

You may, secondly, remark the promptitude of the apostle's tears. "Then," says the evangelist, that is, "as soon as Jesus Christ had looked on him." The most laudable resolutions are doubtful, when they look solely at the future, and neglect to promote a present reform. In general, they are less the effects of piety, cherishing a desire to abandon vice, than the laxity of the flesh; which, by hope of repentance after indulgence, would prevent remorse from interrupting the pleasures we expect from a vicious course. I fear every

arose.

Observe, thirdly, the precaution attendant on his tears; "he went out." Not that he was ashamed to acknowledge his Master, in the place where he had denied him, but distrusting himself; presumption having cost him too much, he made a wise use of his past temerity.

My brethren, would you know the true III. My brethren, the recollection of sin source of barrenness in your devotion; would causes grief of different kinds: three sorts of you find the cause of so many obliterated vows, tears it particularly causes to be shed. Tears so many sacred purposes vanished away, so of despair, tears of torment, and tears of re- many projects dispersed as smoke, so many pentance. Tears of despair are shed on earth, oaths violated, you will find them in the detears of torment in hell, and tears of repentance fects of precaution. The sincere Christian in the church. fortifies that place in his heart, whose weakThe anguish of despair is felt in this life.ness sad experience has discovered; he profits

by his loss, and derives advantage from his relapse. He says, that object was fatal to my innocence; I must no more look upon it; that company drew me into this sin; I must instantly withdraw; it was in the court of Caiaphas I disowned my Saviour, I must shun that place. In fine, adequately to comprehend the nature of St. Peter's repentance, we must discover all the effects a sight of his sin produced in his soul. Here I would have my hearers suspend the effects of fatigue; they are incapable of attention, too far prolonged, though we discuss the most interesting truths of religion. I would, authorized by custom, add another text to that I have read. It occurs in the Gospel according to St. John. Jesus said to Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest I love thee: He saith unto him, feed my lambs." What has been said of lawful love, that those whose hearts are united, never differ with the object of their affection, but it tends to augment the flame, may be said of divine love. This is obvious from the text we have cited; Jesus Christ and St. Peter alternately retaliated, for the eclipses their love had sustained.

It is true, the apostle replied only to part of the question of Jesus Christ. He was asked, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" On all other occasions, he would frankly have replied, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee more than these." Ah, Lord! I well know the allusion of thy words; I fully perceive that thou wouldst humble me, by the recollection of the promise I have made, and which I have basely violated; "Though all men should be offended with thee, yet will I never be offended." I am fully impressed with the mortifying history thou wouldst retrace. I am the least of all my brethren: there is not one to whom I can dare to give myself the preference.

If St. Peter replied with humility, he replied also with sincerity and zeal. If we wish a believer to be humble, we never wish him to be vain. If we do not require him to say, "I am conscious of being so established in grace, as never to be shaken;" we wish at least, that he should feel the cheering and reviving flame of divine love, when its embers are most concealed in the ashes. We wish him not to make an ostentatious display of piety, but to evidence the tender attachment he has for God, even when, through weakness, he has happened to offend him. This was the disposition of St. Peter, and his humility implied no defect of love. "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" "Lord! I can presume nothing of myself, the past makes me tremble for the future; the example of distinguished saints, and mine still more, humbles and abases my soul. Perhaps, like Job, I shall curse the day of my birth; perhaps, like David, I shall become guilty of murder and treason; perhaps, I shall deny thee again; perhaps, I shall be so vile, as to repeat these awful words, which will, to me, be a subject of everlasting regret, "I know not the man, I am not one of his disciples;" and if thou wilt condemn me, thou hast only to crush a worm, on whom no dependance can be placed. After all, Lord! amid

so many defects, so many offences, I feel that I love thee still; I feel that strong temptations can never eradicate a love, which is graven on my heart; I feel, when thy perfections are discussed, that they affect, penetrate, and fill my soul; I feel delighted that my Redeemer is invested with such abundant glory and strength; when thy gospel is preached, I feel my heart burn within me; and I admire and adore the God, who has revealed a scheme of salvation so grand, so noble, so sublime. I feel, notwithstanding this awful deviation, inconceivable sorrow, and inconceivable shame, which, to me, is an evident test, that the God I offend, is in reality, the God I love."

Can it be imagined, that St. Peter's avowal of his weakness, rendered his love less estimable to his Master? Can it be conceived, that Jesus Christ is less delicate in his attachment than man? Knowing the fidelity of a friend, having a thousand satisfactory tests of his attachment, do you cease to love him, when he has committed a fault, for which he is wounded the first? "The Lord knoweth whereof we are made." Our faults, howsoever glaring (if followed by repentance,) though they may suspend, for a period, the influence of his love, can neither change its nature, nor restrict its duration. St. Peter had no sooner said to his Master, "Lord, thou knowest that I love thee," than he was re-established in his ministry by his prompt reply, "Feed my sheep."

O how worthily did this apostle repair the offence he had given the church, by his devotion to its interests. Methinks I see him gathering, on the day of Pentecost, the souls which, perhaps, he had caused to stray! Methinks I seem to hear those pathetic addresses proceed from his mouth, which, like streams of lightning, enkindle every thing in their course; softening those very souls, which the cross of Christ was unable to move; extorting from them this language, highly expressive of compunction, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Methinks I see him flying from Pontus to Galatia, from Galatia to Bithynia, from Bithynia to Cappadocia, from Cappadocia to every province of Asia, from Asia to Rome, leaving all his course strewed with the wreck of Satan's power; with trophies of temples demolished, of idols dethroned, of pagans converted, correspondent consequences of a ministry, which, at its first commencement, had converted eight thousand men. Methinks I see him led from tribunal to tribunal, sometimes before the Jews, and sometimes before the Romans, every where loaded with the reproach of Christ, every where confessing his name; finally fixed on a cross, and saying, as he died for the Redeemer, who had died for him, 'Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee."

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Such was the repentance of St. Peter, and such may ours now be! May those eyes which still seek us, as they sought him, pierce our heart, as they pierced his; striking the conscience with sanctifying terror, and causing those tears of repentance to flow, which are so availing for the sinner.

They ought to produce those particular effects on you, my brethren, whose sin has had a sad conformity to St. Peter's; who having

favourable circumstances in which you may have been providentially placed. Remember St. Peter. He reposed the utmost confidence in his zeal; and, the first trial he made of his strength, he was convinced of his weakness. Had God smitten the shepherd in the midst of you, perhaps the sheep would have been scattered. Had you, as so many others, seen galleys equipped, dungeons opened, gibbets erected, fagots kindled, executioners armed, racks prepared, perhaps you would likewise have denied the Saviour.

seen (while in France) Jesus Christ delivered | fice to your net. Ascribe not to your courage 325 again into the hands of thieves, and hearing a felicity which, perhaps, is solely due to the the interrogation, "You, also, are not you his disciples" have answered as our apostle, "I know not the man, I am not one of his disciples." O! seek the eyes of Jesus Christ: see the looks he gives, hear what they say: Cowardly souls, are these the fine promises you made in time of peace? Is this the example you have set before the church? Was it not enough ..? But why do I open wounds, which the mercy of God has closed? Why do I recall the recollection of a crime, which so many tears, so many torrents of blood, so many sacrifices, have effaced? It is, indeed, less with a view that I name it now, to reproach the fault, than to remind you of the vows you made, when, all bathed in tears, you implored forgiveness; less to overwhelm you with a sight of your sin, than to comfort you with that divine mercy, which has done it all away.

by what we do in the time of peace, of what we Do I impose on my hearers? Do you judge should do in the time of tribulation? Let each here sound the depth of his own heart, and let him support, if possible, the dignity of Jesus Christ. How frequently, amid a slanderous multitude, who have said to us, "Are not you who make it a point of conscience not to menhis disciples? Are not you attached to those, tion the faults of your neighbours?" How often have we replied, by a guilty silence, "I know him not, I am not one of his disciples." How often in licentious company, when asked, "Are not you of that class? Are not you one of those, who restrict their appetites, moderate their pasasions, and mortify the flesh?" How often have of his disciples." How often when led away we answered, "I know him not, I am not one with the enemies of righteousness, who have said, "Are not you one of that company? Are not you one of those who pique themselves on primitive virtue?" How often have we answered by a cowardly conduct, "I know him not, I am not one of his disciples."

Who can ascertain the extent of mercy? Who can find language sufficiently strong, and figures sufficiently pure, noble, and sublime, for its adequate illustration? To what sinner did it ever prohibit access? What wounded and contrite conscience was ever repulsed at its bar? This immensity of mercy has forgiven Nebuchadnezzar and Manasseh, the one monster in nature, the other a monster in religion. It has forgiven St. Paul for persecution, and St. Peter for apostacy. It has forgiven you, who have imitated this weak disciple; it has readmitted you into the fellowship of the church, who had so basely abandoned it. Happy those apostate protestants, if Jesus Christ should deign to cast his eyes upon them, as he has on you. Happy if, on quitting the court of Caiaphas, in which they have, like our apostle, denied their Master, they should weep like you.

O God! if we are permitted to address thee, though but "dust and ashes," is it for the confirmation, or the confusion of our faith, that, on this subject, thou seemest inexorable; and a subject on which we will never cease to pray. On this head, has the mighty God "forgotten to have compassion?" No! I cannot persuade myself that God has for ever abandoned so large a portion of his church. No! I cannot persuade myself that God has ceased to watch over the consciences of those our unhappy brethren, whom Satan has so long detained in security and slumber. No! I cannot persuade myself, that God should permit so many children to perish for the sins of their fathers; and to be for ever separated from the church, to which they materially belong. Let our part be done, and God's shall surely be accomplished. Let us be afflicted for the affliction of Joseph. Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let the calamities of the church be ever on our mind. They are ever before the eyes of God; they excite him to jealousy; they cause him to emerge from that cloud, in which he has so long been concealed for the exclusion of our prayers.

APPLICATION.

I address myself to you, my brethren, whose characters have never been defiled with so foul a blot: offer not incense to your drag, nor sacri

with which we daily commit this sort of sins, In defiance of all the composure and apathy conscience sometimes awakes and enforces rejust at hand. A crowded audience is expected formation. One of those happy occasions is here on Wednesday next. in Zion; a solemn assembly is convoked; a fast is proclaimed. But shall I tell you, my breA trumpet is blown thren? After excepting the small number who will then afflict their righteous soul, and no doubt, redouble their devotion; after excepting the small number, and after examining the nature of our solemn humiliations, that I am less afraid of your sins, than of your fasts for national reform?

of Israel, whose love of holiness is infinite as Before the great God;-before the Holy One himself, we shall appear on Wednesday next, with minds still immersed in the cares, and agitated with the pleasures of the preceding day; we shall appear with dissipation, with a heart neither touched, nor broken, nor contrite: we shall each appear, and say, "I have sinned;" scene of voluptuousness, a seat of slander, a or in other words, "I have made my house a haunt of infamy: I have trampled my brethren under my feet, and this opulence, with which God has invested me to support, I have employed to oppress the wretched: I have amassed exorbitant gains on the right hand, and the left; I have sacrificed every thing to my private inI have sacrificed friend, pupil, widow, orphan; terest, the only god I worship and adore." On this great God, who discovers the most latent

ST. PETER'S DENIAL OF HIS MASTER.

foldings of the heart, whose "sword divides |
asunder the soul and spirit, the joints and mar-
row;" in whose presence "all things," the mind
and heart, the secret thoughts, the concealed
crimes, the dark designs, "all things are naked
and manifest;"- -on this great God we presume
to impose by the exterior, by the tinsel of de-
votion, by covering ourselves with sackcloth
and ashes, by bowing the neck to the yoke, and
afflicting the soul for a single day; even, if we
should put on sackcloth and ashes; if we should
bow the neck to the yoke, and afflict the soul
for a single day. But this very exterior, of
which God says, "Is this the fast I have chosen?
Callest thou this a fast, a day agreeable to the
Lord?" Isaiah lviii. 5. This mere exterior is not
even found among us: we have only to open our
eyes to admit the propriety of the charge.

Before this great God, whose power is infi-
nite, and who seems to have displayed it of late
years, solely to punish the crimes of men, and
to strike all Europe with terror and death, with
horror and despair;-before this God we shall
presume to ask, not to be involved in the gene-
ral destruction: we shall presume to offer up
this prayer, while each is resolved to insult him,
to devour one another, to adhere to our crimi-
nal connexions, to persevere in our unlawful
gains. Am I then extravagant in saying, that,
when I reflect on the nature of our solemn hu-
miliations, I am less afraid of our sins, than of
fasts we celebrate for national reform?

Not that this sort of fasts are always unavailing; the mercy of God sometimes gives them effect, and endeavours in some sort to overlook our hypocrisy. "When he slew them, then they sought him, and remembered that God was their rock. Nevertheless, they did flatter with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues, for their heart was not right with him. But he being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and many a time turned away his anger," Ps. lxxviii. 34-38. God has not only acted on these principles with regard to his ancient people, but even with regard to us. On the approach of death, when we have sought the Lord by solemn prayer, "When we have remembered our rock, when we have flattered with our mouth, and lied with our tongues," promising reformation, he has had compassion upon us, and has retarded our destruction. On that account we still live. On that account these hearers are still present in this temple, and the wicked among them have been precipitated into the gulf of Gehenna. But how long, think you, can this sort of fasts produce the effects for which they have hitherto availed? Weigh the words which follow the above quotation. "When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: so that he forsook the tabernacle in Shiloh, the tent he had planted among men. And he delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand," verse 59-62.

Holland! Holland! here is the sentence of thy destiny. God, after regarding our humiliations for a certain time, after "remembering that we are but flesh," after enduring the prayers of deceitful tongues, and the promises of feigned lips, he will finally hear the cry of our sins, he will abhor Israel, he will abandon his pavilion in

Shiloh, and this sacred temple in which he [SER. LXXXVIII. deigns to dwell with men.

alarm, to thunder? And shall we not adopt a My brethren, are we yet spared to sound the new mode of celebrating this fast, and endeavour to execute it?

have appointed this solemnity, let us apprize you And you, our senators and governors! who also of its appropriate duties. Come on Wednesday next: like modern Jehoshaphats, prostrate, at the footstool of God's throne, the dignities with which you are invested; and for which you must give so solemn an account. Come, and let all your glory consist in humiliation and repentance. Come, and surrender into his Omnipotent hands, the reins of this republic, and swear that you will henceforth goGod grant, may God indeed grant you, to set vern it by no maxims but his laws. And may so laudable an example before his church; and, having inspired you with the noble resolution, may he crown it with effect!

calls on Wednesday next to administer the
Ministers of Jesus Christ, whom Providence
word, your task is obviously great. With what
a charge are you intrusted! On you principally
devolves the duty of alarming and abasing the
wicked. On you principally devolves the duty
of stopping the torrent of iniquity, which is fol-
lowed by these awful calamities. On you prin-
cipally devolves the duty of quenching the
flames of celestial vengeance, enkindled against
But use your efforts, and expect the rest from
our sins. "Who is sufficient for these things?"
the blessing of God. Speak as ministers ought
to speak on like occasions.
up your voice like a trumpet, show Jacob his
transgressions, and Israel his sins." If you tes-
"Cry aloud, lift
tify the truth, what matter if they murmur
against your discourses. And may God, on
this solemn occasion, "teach your hands to
war, and your fingers to fight." May God in-
spire you with magnanimity of mind corres-
pondent to the mission with which you are in-
vested.

on Wednesday next? It is not only your pre-
And
sence in this temple,-it is not only hymns and
you, Christian people, what will you do
licit,-a fast should be signalized by more dis-
tinguished marks of conversion and repentance:
prayers, supplications, and tears, which we so-
these are restitution, these are mutual recon-
ciliation, these are a profusion of charities, these
are a diligent search for the indigent, who are
expiring as much through shame as want.
Here, here, my dear brethren, is what we re-
quire. And let me obtain this request! Let me
even expire in this pulpit, in endeavouring to
add some degree of energy to your devotion,
and effect to your fast! Our prayers shall sup-
ply our weakness. O Almighty God! O God!
who makest "judgment thy strange work," let
our prayers appease thy indignation! Resist
the throne of thy grace, and to move thy bowels
not a concourse of people, assembled to besiege
of paternal compassion! When our nobles, our
pastors, our heads of houses, our children, when
all our people, when all shall be assembled on
Wednesday next in this house, with eyes bathed
in tears, with hearts rent, for having offended
so good and gracious a God,-when each shall

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