his better days; languifhing out life under the moft abject form of mifery; pining under poverty; funk into fervitude; feeding swine, and himself defiring to partake with them in their husks; miferable without, but more miserable within; a spirit wound ed by remorse, a heart torn by reflection on itself, an accufing confcience, which told him that he merited his fate, and which held up to him his past life in its blackest colours of folly and guilt. Astonished at himself, startled at his own image, which, in its true colours, he had never feen before, he was a fhamed of his conduct, and came to a better mind. Such were the effects of confideration, and fuch will ever be the effects of confideration to those who duly exercise it. Why does the finner go forward in the error of his ways? Because he does not confider. "Hear, O heavens; give ear, O earth: the "ox-knoweth his owner, and the afs his master's "crib; but my people do not confider." Confid er your ways, is the voice which God addreffes to mankind in every age; and unless you confider, the calls of the gofpel and the offers of grace are made to no purpose. The world which is to come has no existence to you but what you give it yourfelves; the eternity that is before you, the happiness of heaven and the pains of hell, are no more than dreams, unless you realize them to yourselves, unless you give them their full force, by bringing them home to the heart. When a man reviews the error of his ways, nothing is wanting to a further reformation but reflection and thought. Think, and the work is done. "I have confidered my ways," faith the Pfalmift. What was the consequence? * I turned my feet unto thy teftimonies."

The fecond step in the return of the prodigal, is ingenuous forrow for fin, accompanied with faith in the Divine mercy. "Father, I have finned against

*Heaven and before thee."

We are formed by the Author of our being to feel contrition for the offences we commit. This pungent sense of infirmities, this penitential forrow for errors and defects, is a beauty in the nature of man. It is an indication that the sense of excellence exifts in its full vigour, and the mark of a nature that is not only improvable, but that alfo is making improvements. When a man seriously confiders that the tenor of his life has been irregular and disorderly; that much of his time has been mifemployed, and great part of it spent altogether in vain; that he has walked in a vain fhow, unprofitable to himself or others, an idler upon the earth, a cumberer of the ground; that by his negligence and perverfion of his powers he has been loft to the world which is to come, has marred the beauty of his immortal spirit, and stopt fhort in the race which conducts to glory, honor, and immortality; when he further confiders that his offences have extended to his fellowmen, that by his conduct he has been the cause of mifery to others, has difturbed the peace of fociety, done an injury to the innocent, fuch reflections in a heart that is not altogether callous, will awaken contrition and forrow.

This penitential forrow will be increased when he confiders against whom he has offended; that he has finned against infinite goodness and faving mercy and tender love; that he has refifted the efforts of that arm that was lifted up to fave him; that he has

rebelled against the God who made, and the Saviour who redeemed him. This is one of the characteriftics of true repentance. The penitent does not mourn for his fins as being ruinous to himself, fo much as for their being offenfive to God. The returning prodigal, in the addrefs he makes to his Father, dwells not upon the mifery he had brought upon himself, upon the ruin to his character, his fortune and his expectations in life. "I have finned against "Heaven and in thy fight." What grieves me most is, that I have offended thee; that I have finned against goodness unfpeakable; against that goodness to which I am indebted for the care of my infant years; against that goodness to which I owe my pref ervation; against him who visited me while I was flying from his prefence; who fupported my powers while they were employed against him. It is my Benefactor whom I have offended; it is my beft Friend that I have injured; it is my Father himself against whom I have rifen in arms.

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This forrow for fin is accompanied with faith in the Divine mercy. To wicked men labouring under the agonies of guilty mind, the Deity appears an object of terror. They figure to themselves an angry tyrant, with his thunder in his hand delighting to punish and deftroy. Like Adam when he had finned, they are afraid, and flee from the prefence of the Lord. But from the mind of the penitent these terrors vanish, and God appears, not as a cruel and malignant power, but as the best of beings, the Father of mercies and the Friend of men, as a God in Chrift reconciling the world unto himself. Encour aged by these declarations, the penitént trufts to the!

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Divine goodness, and flies for refuge to the hope set before him. It is the wicked man only that defpairs. Horrors of confcience and forebodings of wrath affright and overwhelm the fons of reprobation. Such horrors felt Cain and Judas lfcariot. But the penitent never defpairs. He finks indeed in his own eyes, and throws himself proftrate on the ground, but ftill throws himfelf at the footstool of mercy, not without the faith and the hope that he will be taken into favour. The language of his foul is, "Though "I am caft out of thy fight, yet will I look again to "thy holy temple. I will arife and go to my Father, "for though I have offended him, he is a Father fill. "He now fits upon a throne of mercy, and holds a fceptre of grace. At thy tribunal former offenders "have been forgiven, and former finners have been "taken into favour. To thy ears the cry of the pen"itent has never afcended in vain. Thou art ever "nigh to all who call upon thee in fincerity of heart. "When we tend to thee, at the first step of our re"turn, thou ftretcheft out thy hand to receive us." So different is that repentance which is unto life from the forrow of the world which worketh death. Different as the look of melancholy upon the face of the virtuous mourner, is from the unkindly glow which burns the cheek of fhame: different as the tender tears which a good man fheds for his friends, are from those bitter drops which fall from the malefactor at the place of execution.

The third step is a refolution to return to a sense of duty. I will arife."

Without determined purposes of amendment, contrition is unavailing and ineffectual. The Deity is

not delighted with the fufferings of man. Sorrow for fin is fo far pleafing, as it foftens the heart, and makes it better. It is the refolution of amendment, the purposes pointed to reformation, that make the broken heart and the contrite spirit an acceptable facrifice; such is the nature of true repentance; it flows not so much from the fenfe of danger as from the love of goodness.

In true repentance, there is not only a change of mind, but a change of life. When the day-spring from on high arifes on him who is in darkness, when God fays, Let there be light, the fcales fall from his eyes, a new world breaks upon his fight, futurity be comes prefent, and invifible things are feen; then first he beholds the beauty which is in holiness, and taftes the joy which flows from returning virtue. In that happy hour he forms the pious purpose, and feals the facred vow to be holy for ever. Then he prefers the peace which flows from virtue, and the joy which arifes from a good confcience, to every confideration. Then the fervants of God appear to him the only happy men, and he would rather rank with the meaneft of these, than enjoy the riches of many wicked. "Great God, withhold from me what thou pleasest, "but give me to enjoy the approbation of my own "mind, and thy favour. I would rather be the hum"bleft of thy fons than dwell in the tents of wicked"nefs." None fhall enter into the New Jerufalem, and fit down at the right hand of the Father, but they who prefer the testimony of a good conscience, the fmiles of Heaven, and the fentence of the juft, to all the treasures of the world.

Had the penitent not been in earnest, false fhame