tendency. But mere legal penitents have only the feelings of fhame and disgrace, a remorfe of confcience and fears of the wrath of God. Thefe are confequences of fin for which they forrow, the fhame and contempt, pain and mifery, which may follow to them. This is the general distinction which the word of God makes between faving and legal repentance; but it requires an illuftration in two particulars.

they truly penitent, and their fins ever fo much concealed from the view and knowledge of men, and known only to the heart fearching God, they would equally loathe and abhor themselves as finners.

There is alfo a remorfe of confcience in the unregenerate, which is altogether different in its nature from faving repentance. Allmen have natural confciences, which, when rightly informed, dictate what is right and what is wrong. Thefe, if not feared, may give them poignant remorfe on the commiffion of fin, and fill their their fouls with diftrefs and anguifh. Confcience in most men, is in a great measure lulled to fleep; but fometimes God caufes it, as he did that of Judas, to awake, and speak to them in moft tremendous accents. The vile traitor proceeded refolutely until he had betrayed his Lord and mafter; but then confcience awoke in his breast, and filled him with horror. He returned the reward of iniquity, confeffed he had betrayed innocent blood; and when he faw that Chrift was condemned, he went away and hanged himself in awful defpair. This

1. In faving repentance, the fubjects loathe and abhor themfelves as finners. These were the feelings and language of Job, who felt himself vile, abhorred himself, and repented in duft and albes, of Ifaiah who confeffed himself to be a man of unclean lips, and Daniel, whofe comelinefs was all turned into corruption in his own view. This repentance of thefe holy faints accords with that which God himself defcribes of the Jews, on their converfion to chriftianity and return to the land of Ifrael. “And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein have been defiled, and ye ye fhall loathe yourselves in your own fight for all your evils that ye have committed." But the unregene-legal repentance which Judas had, rate in their legal repentance, have nothing of this genuine self-abase ment. They may have the feel ings of fhame and difgrace, and a remorse of confcience; but these do not arife in them from a juft view of the odious nature of fin. Perfons who have been guilty of certain crimes and public fcandals, on being detected, are often borne down, and unwilling to fhow their faces, under the difgrace and fhame, which they feel; when at the fame time, if their conduct were not known, they would have none of this peculiar forrow and

attended with high remorse of conscience, fome awakened finners often experience under deep convictions. God lets light into their minds, and wakens up conscience to do its office; and they are cut with the ftings of remorfe as with a fword piercing through their very vitals. But thefe legal convictions which unregenerate men have in the prefent life, are nothing different in their nature, from thofe, which the wicked will experience to eternity. Confcience, with the remorfe which it produces, is fuppofed to be the worm, that will never die within

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Thofe, who have felt fhame and difgrace, and the lashes of an accufing confcience to ever fo great a degree, but have not at the fame time had any true loathing and abhorring of themselves, as finners, have never experienced any thing different from this legal repentance, of which we have been fpeaking. They have had no different feelings and exercifes from thofe, which the wicked in mifery and defpair, now have, and once had here in the body. While in this world, they had thefe fame feelings of fhame and remorfe; and all the wicked will awake to fill greater fame and everlasting contempt, and will experience thefe ftings and horrors of a guilty confcience more and more fevere and dreadful through eternity.

The

count of perfecuting the church of God and wafting it. threatening and flaughter, which

them in the lake of fire and brim ftone, into which they will be caft. It will prey upon their fouls like the vulture, and give them no refthe breathed out against the disciday nor night, forever and ever. ples, he felt to be against Christ It is a punishment peculiarly fui- himself, when the melting accents ted to the foul, as that of fire is to from the Lord reached his heart, the body. How fitly may this "I am Jefus whom thou perfecuhorror of confcience be reprefent- teft." But mere legal penitents ed by the worm, which dieth not! have nothing of thefe feelings and "The spirit of a man will sustain exercises in their repentance. his infirmity; but a wounded fpir- They look, little, or no further, it who can bear!" than the awful confequences of fin, the everlasting pain and mifery, to which it exposes them. If thefe could only be averted from them, they would no longer have any of their prefent fears and diftrefs, but would indulge in fin without restraint. This is the real cafe with all perfons under ever fo great convictions. If they are even brought, as they often are, to fee that their fins are directly against God, yet their being, a gainft him, as a holy being, will not be the ground of their high anxiety and trouble, but the evils and wrath, which they apprehend he will inflict upon them. And the more light is let into their minds, and the more they underftand of his true character, the more will they rife in enmity against him, and will often even 2. In evangelical repentance, curfe and blafpheme him in their the fubjects forrow and mourn for hearts. In this refpect it is, with fin on account of its being com- them, in certain ftages of convicmitted against a holy God, and tion, fomething as it is with the t because of its own evil nature and damned in hell. They are contendency. David when repenting vinced that their fins are against for his fin of adultery and mur- God, and they know more of his der, confidered it to be against true character; and what is the God, and exceedingly evil. "A-effect of it in their hearts? They gainst thee, thee only, have I finned, look upward, and curfe their God and done this evil in thy fight, that and their King. And fo the fin that thou mightest be juflified ner in this world, under an apprewhen thou fpeakeit, and be clear henfion of the wrath of God, and when thou judgeft." The Apof- feeing more of his real character, tle Paul, had the fame views and may have his heart rife in still feelings in his repentance on ac- greater and greater oppofition, un¬

to revenge themselves on all who had been concerned in bringing them to condign punishment. Does all this look like repentence in criminals for the crimes which they have committed? and would the government think of pardoning them on the ground of fuch a repentence? Does it then look like true repentence in finners towards the holy God, to be convinced of his juftice in dooming them to everlafting mifery, and yet be wholly unreconciled to it, | and in their hearts even curfe and blafpheme his holy name, in wiew of his executing it upon them? and can they indulge the hope that he will pardon and fave them, on their exercifing fuch a repentence towards him? Even the har

whofe hearts are humbled to accept the punishment of their fins, are not only convinced of the juftice of God in their condemnation, but they discover the moral beauty, amiableness and glory of it; and though they could not be pleased with mifery in itself, nor be willing to become enemies to God like the damned, yet they would be reconciled to his juftice, even if they themselves were to be caft down to hell. This it is conceived, is the effential difference between the views and exercises of gofpel penitents, and those who have only a legal repentance. With the former, vindictive juflice is an amiable, glorious attribute of the divine moral nature, and their being themfelves, the objects of it, would not alter their refig-dened Pharaoh had as good a renation to it. With the latter it pentence as theirs, while they are is the reverse; and their views unrefigned to the divine juftice and feelings with refpect to it, and enemies to the divine governare no better than thofe, which ment. During the plague of the hardened criminals have with ref- hail and thunder, he fent and calpect to the juftice of human gov-led Mofes and Aaron, and faid unWhen they are con- to them, "I have finned this time, victed, they doubtlefs fee the juf- the Lord is righteous and I and my tice of their sentence; but in their people are wicked. Intreat the Lord hearts, they are the more envious for it is enough, that there be no towards the government for in- more mighty thunderings and hail, flicting it upon them, and, even and I will let you go." He faw while they are fuffering a deferved the juftice of God plainly, but his punishment, will often break out heart was not humbled to accept in expreffions of their implacable the punishment of his fins. And malice and revenge. If they juf- had he had no expectation of the tified the government, and expref- judgment's being removed by the fed a reconciliation to the juftice intreaty of Mofes, he would have of their fentence, though they blafphemed God because of the could not be pleafed with the pun-plague of the hail, as thofe defcriishment itself, there would be evi- bed in the Revelation, on whom dence of penitence in them. But the vials of divine wrath were while they are unrefigned to it, poured out. But as foon as hẹ and envious and revengeful in their faw that the rain, and the hail, and hearts towards the government, thunders were ceased, he finned they can have no true repentence yet more, and hardened his heart. for the crimes of which they have And this was the cafe with him, been guilty. Were it only in from the first to the last of the their power, they would attempt many and grievous plagues, that

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fee the fmoke of their torment afcend for ever and ever. The fong of Mofes and the Lamb, in which they unitedly join, is the fong of God's juftice in his judgments on finners. The devils and the wicked in hell, are under as real obligations to praise God for his glorious juftice, as the holy inhabitants of heaven; and their being themfelves, the miferable objects of it, neither alters, nor leffens their obligations to praife him; fo that with refpe&t to justice, they ought to praise God because

were brought on Egypt, until it proved his temporal and eternal deftruction. Thus it was with the hardened Pharaoh, and thus it will be with all thofe, who have no more than a mere legal repentance. However they may be convinced of the juftice of God in the condemnation of finners, acknowledge the Lord is righteous and they are wicked, as he did; if they are not brought to difcern the moral beauty and amiableness of divine juftice, be reconciled to, and pleased with it, or what is the fame thing, be hum-he executes it upon them in their bled to accept the punishment of their iniquities, they have nothing of the nature of faving repentance, and must forever fink in the overwhelming wrath of God.

Some perhaps, may, be ready to object that this is faying the finner muft first be willing to be damned, before he can be faved. But it is thought, the subject has been fufficiently explained by diftinguishing between the penitent's being reconciled to the juice of God in his eternal condemnation, and his being difpleafed with the mifery itself, and unwilling to become unholy and an enemy to God. It is not poffible, that the true penitent fhould be pleafed with mifery in itself, nor that, while holy, he fhould be willing to become unholy, and an enemy God at heart, to look up and curfe his God and his King, as the damned in hell do; yet it is believed, that he must be brought, not only to fee the divine juftice

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in his own condemnation, but to feel reconciled to it, fo that he could juftify, and even praife God for his juftice, if he were to caft him off, and make him the veffel of his wrath. The redeemed in glory praife God for his juftice on the wicked in hell, while they

own eternal damnation. Though it is certain, that the gofpel penitent, who is brought to difcern the moral beauty and loveliness of God's juftice, and to feel fubmiffive and reconciled to it, will not be made the veffel of the divine wrath and indignation, yet this will not alter thefe views and feelings which he has, to the glorious juftice of a holy God. Let all then, be careful that they have this faving repentance, which is unto life eternal.