fery, they would fain at once be at the top of their felicity. The foul, managed in this work by the Holy Ghoft, doth not fo. He converfeth with the law; brings his fin unto it. And fully hears the tentence of it. When the fin is thoroughly condemned, then he farther takes care of the finner. As ever you defire to come to reft, avoid not this entrance of your passion unto it. Weigh it well, and attend unto what the law fpeaks of your fin, and its defert, or you will never make a due application to God for forgivenefs. As ever you would have your fouls juftified by grace, take care to have your fins judged by the law.

Secondly, There is a refpect in it to the love of God, And this breaks the heart of the poor returning finner Sorrow from the law fhuts itself up in the foul, and ftrangleth it. Sorrow from the thoughts of the love of God opens it, and caufeth it to flow forth. Thoughts of finning against the love of God, managed by the Holy Ghoft, what fhall I fay? their effects in the heart are got to be expreffed. This made Ezra cry out, O my God I blush, and am ashamed to lift up my face to thee, chap. ix. 6. and ver. 10. What shall we jay after this? After what? why, all the fruits of love and kindaefs they had been made partakers of. Thoughts of love and fin laid together, make the foul blufh, mourn, be afhamed and confounded in ipfelf. So Ezek. xxxvi. Then shall you remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good; When fhall they do fo? when thoughts and apprehenfions of love thall be brought home to them; and, faith he, then ball you loath yourfelves in your own fight. The foul now calls to mind, what love, what kindness, what mercy, what grace, what patience hath been exercifed towards it, and whereof it hath been made partaker. The thoughts of all thefe now come in upon him as ftreams of water. Such mercy, fuch communion, fuch privileges, fuch hopes of glory, fuch taftes of heaven, fuch peace, fuch confolation, fuch joy, fuch communications of the fpirit, all to a poor, wretched, curfed, loft, forlorn finner;

and

and all this defpifed, neglected, the God of them all provoked, forfaken. Ah! faith the foul, whither shall I caufe my forrow to go? This fills him with fhame and confufion of face, makes him mourn in fecret, and figh to the breaking of the loins: And then,

Thirdly, The blood and crofs of Chrift is alfo brought to remembrance by the Holy Ghoft. Ah! faith the foul, have I thus requited the wonderful aftonishing love of my Redeemer? Is this the return, the requital I have made unto him? Are not heaven and earth aftonished at the defpifing of that love, at which they are aftonished? This brake Peter's heart upon the look of Chrift. Such words as thefe from Chrift, will, in this condition, found in the ears of the foul." Did I love thee, and leave my glory to become "a fcorn and reproach for thy fake? Did I not think my life and all that was dear unto me, too good for "thee, to fave thee from the wrath to come? Have I "been a wilderness unto thee, or a land of darkness? "What could I have done more for thee; when I had "nothing left but my life, blood and foul, they went "all for thee, that thou mighteft live by my death, be "washed in my blood, and be faved through my fouls "being made an offering for thee; And halt thou thus "requited my love? to prefer a luft before me, or by

mere floth and folly to be turned away from me; go " unkind and unthankful foul, and fee if thou canst find "another redeemer." This overwhelms the foul, and even drowns it in tears and forrow. And then the bitternefs alfo of the fufferings of Christ, are brought to mind. They look on him whom they have pierced and mourn, Zech. xii. 10. They remember his gall and wormwood; his cries and tears; his agony and fweet; his defertion and anguifh; his blood and death; the fharpness of the fword that was in his foul, and the bitternefs of the cup that was put into his hand. Such a foul now looks on Chrift, bleeding, dying, wrestling with wrath and curfe for him, and feeth his fin in the ftreams of blood that iffued from from his fide; and all

this increaseth that fenfe of fin whereof we fpeak. Alfo,

Fourthly, It relates to the communion and confolations of the Holy Ghoft, with all the privileges, and fruits of love we are by him made partakers of. The Spirit is given to believers upon the promife of Christ to dwell in them. He takes up their hearts to be his dwelling place; to what ends and purposes? That he may purify and fanctify them, make them holy and dedicate them to God; to furnish them with graces and gifts; to intereft them in privileges; to guide, lead, direct, comfort them; to feal them unto the day of redemption. Now, this Spirit is grieved by fin, Eph. iv. 30. and his dwelling place defiled thereby, 1 Cor. vi. 19. and iii. 17. Thoughts hereof greatly fharpen, the fpiritual fenfe of fin in a recovering foul. He confiders what light, what love, what joy, what confolation, what privileges it hath by him been made partaker of; what motions, warnings, workings, to keep it from fin, it hath found from him; and fays within itself, "What have I done, "whom have I grieved, whom have I provoked; what "if the Lord fhould now for my folly and ingratitude "utterly take his Holy Spirit from me? What if I "fhould have fo grieved him, that he will dwell in me "no more, delight in me no more? What difmal dark"nefs and difconfolation; yea, what utter ruin should "I be left unto? However, what fhame and confufion "of face belongs to me for my wretched difingenuity, "and ingratitude towards him ?”

This is the first thing that appears in the returning foul's actings and frame; a fincere fense of fin on the account mentioned, wrought in it by the Holy Ghost. And this a foul, in the depths defcribed, muft come unto, if ever it expects or looks for deliverance, and a recovery. Let not fuch perfons expect to have a renewed fenfe of mercy, without a revived fenfe of fin.

SECONDLY, From hence proceedeth an ingenuous, free, gracious acknowledgment of fin. Men may have a fenfe

a fenfe of fin, and yet fuffer it to ly burning as a fire shut up in their bones, to their continual difquietment, and not be able to come off unto a free foul-opening acknowledgment. Yea, confeffron may be made in general, and mention therein of that very fin wherewith the foul is moft intangled, and yet the foul comes fhort of a due performance of this duty. Confider how the cafe food with David, Pfal. xxxii. 3. When I kept filence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. How could David keep filence, and yet roar all the day long? What is that filence which is confiftent with roaring? It is a mere negation of that duty, which is expreffed, ver. 5. that is intended; I acknowledged my fins unto thee, and mine iniquities I have not hid. It was not a filence of fubmiffion and waiting on God that he intends; that would not have produced a wafting of his fpiritual ftrength, as he complains this filence did; my bones waxed old; nor yet was it a fullen, stubborn, and contumacious frame that was upon him; but he notes, faith Calvin, and he fays well, Affectum qui medius eft inter tolerantiam & contumaciam, vitio & virtuti affinis ; an affection between patience and ftubbornefs bordering on the one and other: That is, he had a deep fense of fin; this difquieted and perplexed him all the day long, which he calls his roaring; it weakened and wearied him, making his bones wax old, or his ftrength decay; yet was he not able to bring his heart to that ingenuous, gracious acknowledgment, which, like the launcing of a festered wound, would have given, at leaft, fome eafe to his foul. God's children are oft-times in this matter like ours. Though they are convinced of a fault, and are really troubled at it, yet they will hardly acknowledge it. So do they: They will go up and down, figh and mourn, roar all the day long; but an evil and untoward frame of fpirit, under the power of unbelief and fear keeps them from this duty.

Now, that this acknowledgement may be acceptable unto God, it is required, firft, that it be free, then that it be full,

First, It must be free and fpiritually ingenuous. Cain, Pharaoh, Ahab, Judas, came all to an acknowledgment of fin, but it was whether they would or no; it was prcffed out of them, it did not flow from them. The confeffion of a perfon under the convincing terrors of the law, or dread of imminent judgments, is like that of malefactors on the rack, who speak out that, for which themfelves and friends muft die. What they say, though it be the truth, is a fruit of force and torture, not of any ingenuity of mind: So it is with merely convinced perfons. They come not to the acknowledgment of fin with any more freedom; and the reafon is, because all fin hath fhame; and for men to be free unto fhame, is naturally impoffible, fhame being nature's fhrinking from its felf, and the posture it would appear in. But now the returning foul hath never more freedom, liberty, and aptitude of fpirit, than when he is in the acknowledgment of thofe things whereof he is moft afhamed. And this is no fmall evidence that it proceeds from that Spirit which is attended with that liberty, for where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty, 2 Cor. iii. 17. When David was delivered from his filence, he expreffeth this frame in the performance of this duty, Pfal. xxxii. 5. I acknowledged my fin, and mine iniquities I have not kid; I faid, I will confefs my tranfgreffion. His mouth is now open, and his heart enlarged; and he multiplies one expreffion upon another, to manifeft his enlargement. So doth a foul rifing out of its depths, in the beginning of this addrefs unto God. Having the fenfe of fin, before defcribed, wrought in him by the Holy Ghoft, his heart is made free, and enlarged unto an ingenuous acknowledgment of his fin before the Lord. Herein he pours out his foul unto God; and hath not more freedom in any thing, than in dealing about that, whereof he is most afhamed.

Secondly, Full alfo it must be. Referves ruin confeffion. If the foul have any fecret thought, rolling a fweet morfel under its tongue, of a bow in the house of Rimmon, it is like part of the price kept back, which

makes