happy as to miss of that blessing in your younger years, you have the more occasion for a close application to all the means of knowledge, which the providence of God now gives you. You should be very diligent in reading and hearing the word of God. "Faith usually comes by hearing," Rom. x. 17. which is peculiarly the sense of discipline and instruction, and at the same time an attendance on God's special ordinance the ministry of reconciliation. If you do this with an intention and desire to learn the mind of God, and to become wise unto salvation, you may take encouragement from such a declaration as that, Prov. ii. 1, &c. "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding: Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding: if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God."

2. They should often turn in upon their own minds, and seriously consider how the several truths, with which they are acquainted concern themselves, and are applicable to their own case. Personal application gives life and force to every truth; and for want of it, the general knowledge which most people receive, makes little or no impression. What they read or hear, they know it not for themselves, and therefore not for their good, Job v. 27. But if you would frequently bring the word of God and yourselves together, there might be hope of a good effect.

You know for instance, the large extent of God's commands, and the spirituality of his law, as Christ hath explained it. Bring this home, and say, 'O my soul, what obedience have I paid to this law? Have there been no open violations of it? Or, though I should be able to say, "All these have I kept from my youth up," so as to escape gross sins; yet in how many things have I offended in word? and in how many more in thoughts of foolishness? I am then a sinful creature; and I know the soul that sinneth, is liable to die. But the gospel brings the joyful news of a Saviour; and have not I, as a poor sinful dying wretch, absolute need of him? Yet I find none intitled by the gospel to the salvation he brings without faith in him, and repentance towards God: Can I then lay claim to him as a penitent believer?' This is the apostle's ex

hortation, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith: prove your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves; how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" that is, that he dwells in you by his Spirit, and so has his holy resemblance formed in you, unless you are yet in a state of disapprobation and non-acceptance with God? If sinners would be persuaded to turn their own face to the glass of the gospel, it might be hoped under the common influences of the Spirit, to produce convictions in their minds, of their miserable state, which would be a promising step.

When you read or hear of the unspeakable blessings that come by Christ, of the happiness of those who are in him, and the promises for time and eternity, which are made to them: if you would but turn inward and think how much happier a creature should I be than now I am, or than all this world can make me, if I were but a Christian indeed; this would kindle some desire after a change of condition.

Do you hear of the riches of divine grace, of the goodwill of God to men, or the monuments he hath made of his grace in others? Would it not yield some reviving hope to animate your endeavours, if you would apply the thought to your own case, and say, why should I despair, as if there were none of the same grace for me?

When you hear the particular subject I am upon discoursed of; so kind and effectual a provision, as the grace of the Spirit, discovered for the relief of human weakness and corrup tion; his readiness to take sinners under his charge; and the blessedness of being filled with him: think how you are concerned in it. I am one of those who greatly need his grace; if I had it, it would be sufficient for me; and how happy would my soul be, would he but take up his residence there, and dispossess the sinful thoughts and irregular inclinations and feverish passions which govern me; and fill me with his own train of graces! Have I reason to despair of it? No, he has cured souls as distempered as mine; the gospel reveals him as the physician of souls, without discouraging the greatest sinners from applying to him for help, indeed with strong encouragements to all who hear of him, to seek his kind offices; I will therefore wish, and hope, and try, and wait. Have I not had many kind motions from him in my breast already? Fool that I was, not to attend to them, and fall in

with them! But while I am yet making this reflection, it is a sign he is still striving with me; he has put me upon it: And shall I not then pursue the motion with farther humble applications to him?' Was but this thy frame, O sinner, he who heard and regarded Ephraim bemoaning himself, Jer. xxxi. 18. might be hoped to hear and regard thee.

3. They should carefully abstain from all the plain and known obstructions to his gracious influences. Such are gross sins, as intemperance and sensualities. In this sense we may consider what the apostle dehorts from, and what he exhorts to in the text, as directly opposite: "Be not filled with wine,” which leads to all excess, if you would desire to be filled with the Spirit. Nothing can be a greater impediment to the influences of the Spirit, or to the success of them, than drunkenness and the unbridled indulgence of appetite. The great aim of the Spirit is to lead us to spiritual-mindedness: while acts of sensuality directly feed and strengthen the carnal mind. If good men fall by the surprise of temptation into any such thing, they cause the Spirit eminently to withdraw. The Psalmist was sensible of this, when he came to himself out of his great sin he recollected the long stupidity and hardness into which that sin had cast him, which could not have been of so long continuance in one born of God, under such a lively and vigorous agency of the Spirit, as he had enjoyed in former times; and being convinced how justly the Spirit was provoked to leave him, he now cries "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me," Psal. li. 11. And as such sins are an unspeakable hinderance to the progress of saints, and indeed set them a great way back in the Christian life: so nothing can put sinners farther out of the way of the Spirit's first saving impressions. Any hopeful convictions, already excited in their minds, are shaken off and stifled; the actings of reason and thought are disordered: they are not fit to be applied to as men, and therefore most unlikely, to partake of sanctifying grace. Though mere sobriety, and temperance, and chastity, do not intitle men to the grace of God; yet certainly it must be said, that men of such a character are not so "far from the kingdom of God," in the usual methods of grace, as those who are openly dissolute. The spirit is more likely to be a monitor to those who shew themselves men; and they have their natural faculties more open to give him some hearing,

N

than men drowned in wine, and wholly carried away with the torrent of impetuous lusts. Now there are none of you, whose consciences must not tell you, that from these excesses.

you can if you will, abstain

4. It much concerns sinners diligently to observe and improve all tender seasons. All men, unless we must except some who have run prodigious lengths of sin, and so have their hearts hardened like the nether millstone, have some times of peculiar softness; when thoughts about their souls are stronger than usual, when conscience admonishes with some life and freedom, when convictions stare them in the face, when they are in a disposition to make some good purposes and resolu tions. Now these are happy gales of the Spirit, which if carefully attended to, might be improved to good purposes. Too many set themselves to shake them off by carnal diversions; others neglect them. When they have "beheld their natural face as in a glass, they go their way, and straightway forget what manner of men they were," Jam. i. 23, 24. But, as ever you would hope that the Spirit should carry on his work with effect, you should carefully watch these favourable opportunities, and endeavour so far to fall in with them, as not to rest till you can find the happy effect.

5. They should above all, earnestly and frequently pray to God for his sanctifying grace. It is indeed supposed to this, that the good Spirit has already proceeded so far with you under the light of the gospel, as to give you some sense, that a change of your present condition is highly necessary, that his grace is needful to produce that change, and that you have some encouragement to ask for it. What shouldst thou do, sinner, under these impressions, but lie at the footstool of his mercy, and resolve that if thou perish, thou wilt perish there. If thou art still afraid of success, let it be some revival to thy hope, that thou art certainly in the way of thy present duty; quite in another manner, than if thou wast bidding him defiance, contemning his grace, and endeavouring to stifle thy convictions. Thou art in the way, which he declares that he expects ordinarily to be taken before he accomplishes his designs of grace. It is observable, that after the most absolute promises of that grace, which we find in all the scriptures, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, &c. he concludes them with this solemn declaration, ver. 37. "Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for

this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them.": Thou art in the way, which Christ prescribed to his hearers, for obtaining the Spirit from the common Father in heaven, with strong encouragement to hope for success, Luke xi. 13.

Be not affrighted with such a declaration as that, Prov. xv. 8. "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.". As if, because you apprehend yourselves not yet to be thorough converts, therefore your prayers for converting grace are abomination to God. If you take the words in that sense, you utterly mistake them. Solomon speaks only of the professions of respect to God, made by men resolved in wickedness. But God forbid, that we should apprehend him, to place in the same class, the earnest prayers of men under. serious convictions for God's saving grace. These last are: acts of obedience to his command, which he puts them upon in scripture. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. call ye upon him, while he is near," Isa. ly. 6.

you

Where do find in the word of God any discouragements to sinners, when they made such applications? On the contrary, we have there many comfortable instances of success.. When such a prodigy of a sinner as Manasseh was, "besought the Lord, and prayed unto him, he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication," 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. When Ephraimbemoaned himself, confessed his past obstinacy, and put up this hearty prayer, "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God:" instead of a repulse, God declares, "I will surely have mercy on him," Jer. xxxi. 18, 20.: When the prodigal son bethought himself, made serious reflections, and resolved to arise and return to his Father, and with confession of his sin, to beg that he would "make him as one of his hired servants;" how pathetically is the grace of God represented upon that occasion, after the manner of men; Luke xv. 20. While he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." These things are certainly left upon record for the encouragement of convinced sinners, no longer to keep away from God, but earnestly to sue for his grace.

6. They should hereupon attempt an entire surrender of themselves to God in Christ, upon the terms of the gospel, not doubting of his grace to accompany them herein.

If you have endeavoured to pursue the first direction, that