any

but the vifible approach of death; not love of God or goodness, but the fear of impending torment, has roused him for a moment from his lethargy, and awakened him to fome little tranfient fenfe of his condition? And that were the apprehenfion of danger removed, and his profpect of life lengthened, he would return with greediness to the iniquities of his youth, and lay afide his thoughts of religion and the grave together.

Far be it from a preacher of the gospel to teach, that any Sinner, who comes to God with repentance and faith, can be rejected. But habits of evil, by length of time rooted deeply into our frame, are not to be torn from us without fo many ftruggles, and fo much pain and trouble, as few or none, upon the trial, find themselves willing to endure.

What spectacle more melancholy, than that of an old finner, at laft fmitten with remorfe?

remorfe? beginning to be fenfible of the deformity and danger of the courfe of life he is in, yet unable almost, and not quite willing to forfake it; under a load that fits heavy on him, with just perhaps the power, and not the refolution to shake it off; fond of his old practices and companions, yet wishing a thousand times he had never known them; and afraid of the confequence, which he is going for ward ftill to meet: how hard is repentance, but death is dreadful: forgive, he tries to fay, and holds up his fhaking hands towards heaven: to be forgiven, I must repent: to repent, is to offend no more, what pain foever it may coft me, to repair all wrongs, reftore unfair gains, be brought perhaps to want, expofed perhaps to infamy. Alas! who that has done evil long, can at laft repent worthily? how eafy to be innocent! impoffible to become fo! how terrible is judgment! how bitter is a true and late re

pentance!

VOL. II.

K

Poor,

Poor, unhappy man! would you envy him his meditations? yet with these fruitlefs wishes, ineffectual efforts, diftracted apprehenfions, many pafs into eternity, who might once have been eminent faints with a part of that felf denial, which now only disturbs them in their fins, and avails nothing to their falvation.

These are the great arguments, it must be acknowledged, for an early piety; and they are fufficient furely to recommend it to the choice of every young person, that will reflect upon them as he ought.

Yet there is still remaining another motive befides thefe; which, though comparatively small, will have fome weight, if they who have indeed caft off the fear of God, have not loft alfo the fentiments and feelings of men, but remain ftill open to the impreffions of humanity and compaffion. How happy for both parties! if fome youth, careless, I confess,

but

but perhaps not cruel, could be induced to do good to himself for another's fake, and enter immediately on a fober and pious life, that his Father, or Mother, might have comfort in him: as it is written, A wife fon maketh a glad father, Prov. x. 1. but a foolish fon is the heaviness of his mother.

It is a well known obfervation, that if you fay of any person he is ungrateful, you give him the very worst of characters. Whoever is without gratitude, is devoid of all virtue. If a man can be fo infenfible and mean, as to forget the law of kindness, and break through the strong but liberal restraints of love, cunning he may be called, but can never be truly wife, or capable of any generous or virtuous action; and as little indeed of any real piety towards God, for he that loveth 1 John iv. not his brother, his benefactor, friend, fa- 20. ther, whom he hath feen; how can he love God, whom he hath not feen?

Now we may venture to affert, that if a man has any well withers, any benefactors on earth, to whom he is bound by indiffoluble ties of gratitude, his parents are the persons.

Indeed one is willing to think, that many of those young people whose behaviour is fo blameable, are not fenfible of the uneafinefs it occafions, nor at all aware how much anguish is endured on their account.

They run heedlessly forward in the broad and open path, and have no thought but of the pleasure they are pursuing.

Yet stop, young man, we beg, a little, to look towards thy poor parents. Think it not too much to bestow a moment's reflection upon thofe, who never forget thee. Recollect what they have done for thee. Remember all - all indeed thou canst not: alas! ill had been

thy