word of God to declare, that "if any man have finned," and confefs and forfake his fins, "we have an Advocate," one to plead in our behalf," with our heavenly Father, Jefus Chrift, the righteous;" who came down from heaven ; lived a comfortless life; fuffered a miserable and fhameful death, though without the leaft fpor. or blemish of fin; that, for the fake of what He fuffered for mankind, every repenting and returning finner might be pardoned and accepted with GoD. To qualify them for this mercy, He invited finners, in thefe affectionate terms, to turn unto Him, and be faved: "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy-laden,” with the burthen of your fins, " and I will give you reft." His firft exhortation, when he appeared with glad tidings of falvation to the world, was: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" making use of the very fame expreffions with which his fore-runner, St. John the Baptift, had opened his commiffion, as a preacher of righteousness, and an example of repentance. By this word REPENT, the difciples were to understand, "Return ye from your "finful ways; put away the iniquity of your "doings; ceafe to do evil; learn to do well." This is the true nature of repentance: it is a real change of the heart from the love of fin, to the love of GOD; a change, which only the fearcher of hearts can perfectly difcover, and which his Holy Spirit only can effect; a change, which they only can be fo happy as to expect,

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who

who, in the fincerity of humble prayer, befeech God to "create in them a clean heart, and to renew a right spirit within them.”

Hither then are you brought, to be perfuaded to 66 return unto God, that He " may return unto you:" Then, on the highest authority in the world, we venture to declare to you, that "though your fins be as fcarlet, they fhall be white as fnow; though they be red like crimson, they fhall be as wool."

In the mean time, and as the first step towards this happy amendment, let me recommend to you an humble, peaceful, quiet behaviour, fuch as is fuited to the nature of your fituation, and fuch as will entitle you to kindness from those that are fet over you: refiftance of that authority under which you are here placed, will be as unwife, as was the conduct which brought you to your wretched ftate. Above all, let me intreat you frequently to lift up your hearts to the GOD, against whom you have been living in habits of difobedience and rebellion; and implore thofe graces of patience and meeknefs, which your fituation particularly demands; and at all times, when you attend in this place of divine worthip, let me more efpecially exhort you to fhew a decent, humble, and devout behaviour: every other fort of conduct, on fuch folemn occafions, argues only the extreme of folly, as well as impiety and hardness of heart.

The moft ignorant among you, in a moment of serious reflection, can fay, " GOD BE MER

CIFUL TO ME A SINNER!" and we know, that: he who faid even this, in the fincerity of a penitent heart, and with a determination to forlake his fins, was heard, accepted, and juftified in the fight of GOD.

Refolve to begin here, whilst you are out of the reach of temptation, that course of life which it will ever afterwards be your duty and your intereft to purfue; and which you will foon find to be fo full of comfort and fatisfaction, that you will not eafily be prevailed with to depart from it, when you are restored to fociety.. You will then take a final leave of this place, renewed in the fpirit of your minds; eftablished in dili-gent and virtuous habits; ftrongly impreffed with a fenfe of your duty to God; and determined, by the aid of his grace, to live foberly, righteously, and godly, for the time to come.

Form in your minds the moft folemn refolu. tions to "love God and keep his commandments:" and that you may be enabled to fulfil thefe good refolutions, pray for his affiftance: every day in private, and on every Sabbath-day in the public congregation; honour His Holy Name; never profaning it, as you have hereto fore done, by blafphemous oaths and curfes in your common difcourfe; never flanding forth, by corrupt perjury, from motives of falfe friend-ship, to fkreen the wicked; nor, by malicious. perjury, from motives of refentment, to injureor destroy the innocent. Refolve henceforth to. be refpectful to your parents, loyal to your Sovereign,,

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Sovereign, and obedient to the laws; to keep your hands from acts of violence and plunder; your tongues from malicious flander and reviling; and your hearts from all uncleannefs and finful lufts: in a word, let it be feen, that you are renewed in the spirit of your minds; and that you are defirous to atone for your past misconduct, by dedicating the remainder of your days to the practice of virtue, to diligence, and fobriety that, when you are fummoned, as every one of us fhall be, before the judgmentfeat of Christ, that gracious declaration, long fince delivered to the world, as the most powerful incitement to repentance, may be confirmed by the sentence which you then fhall receive: that "when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he fhall not die eternally: all his tranfgreffions that he hath committed, they fhall not be mentioned unto him; in his righteousness that he hath done he fhall live." In that awful day, if you should then be fit objects of Divine Mercy, you will find, to your unfpeakable joy, that the all-righteous Governor of the world hath "no pleasure in the death of him that dieth in his fins:" His expoftulation is, "Make you a new heart, and a new fpirit; FOR WHY WILL YE DIE?" and He hath declared, in terms the most encouraging that can well be conceived, "That there is joy in heaven, in the prefence of the Angels of GOD, over every finner that repenteth."

May

you

May a lively faith and fincere repentance arm with confidence in the hour of death; and may you experience, through the infinite merits of your Redeemer, the full accomplishment of that most gracious promife, that "they who fow in tears" of penitential forrow, "fhall reap in joy" the harvest of a bleffed eternity!

Now to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, three Perfons, and one God, be all honour and glory, thanksgiving and praife, world without end. Amen.

SERMON II.

USE OF SOLITUDE IN PRISONS.

PSALM CII. 19, 20.

For be bath looked down from the height of his fanctuary: from heaven did the Lord behold the earth, to bear the groaning of the prifoner.

WHEN we confider the infinite diftance between the Creator of the univerfe and man, the work of his hands; when we reflect upon him, who is perfect in goodness, and then turn our eyes upon ourselves, who are the children of fin as well as of mifery, fhall we not hide our faces in the duft, and defire the "mountains to fall

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