dying day, the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, are your declared enemies, and you must expect to find trouble in resisting them. You must resolve upon this, or else you do not purpose to lead a Christian life. III. The Word of God assures us, and by experience we find, that all our good purposes and designs will come to nothing, unless the spirit of God be with us, to encourage, to support, and to strengthen us. Consider the blessing of being under the government of the Spirit of God: for then no temptation can overcome you; the Devil cannot hurt you, for greater is he that is with you, than he that is against you. You will, by his assistance, learn to despise this world, and set your affections upon a much better. You will be enabled, by that same Spirit, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, that you may live, -live as free from sin as may be here, and for ever in Heaven. For this good Spirit will enlighten your mind with saving truths; when you go astray will pull you back; when you grow careless will awaken you; when you want help will assist you; when you want comfort will rejoice your heart; when you do well will encourage you; and, when you do amiss, will correct and chasten you, until he brings you to Heaven, when all your frouble and your danger will be over; and, for the short trials you have undergone in this life, you will be made happy for ever and ever. IV. And now you will desire to know, by what means this good Spirit is to be secured,—how you may attain the end of your faith and Christian profession; namely, the salvation of your souls; which was the last particular we proposed to speak to. The Holy Psalmist set himself, as he tells us, this rule: "I set God always before me, therefore I shall not fall." That is, he endeavoured to have these thoughts ever in his mind,-that God saw all his actions, heard all his words, and knew the very thoughts of his heart;-that he might not offend God, he therefore took care of his thoughts, words, and actions. But if at any time he had the misfortune to fall, his way was not to continue in rebellion: "I made haste," saith he, "and delayed not to keep thy commandments." And thus must you do, if you hope for the continuance of God's grace, must strive to live in the fear of God, remembering his judgments upon wilful sinners, frequently cal ling to mind the vows that are upon you, calling upon him in all your wants, and giving him thanks for every blessing you receive. By this means, the knowledge of God will be ever present with you, and the Spirit of God will delight in you, and lead you in the way wherein you should go :-And if at any time you go astray, he will by the methods of his providence bring you back, that you may in the end be saved. In the second place, be sure not to neglect any opportunities of improving yourselves in Christian knowledge and the grace of God, remembering, that to profane the Lord's day,-to neglect the Holy Sacrament, to despise the advice and admonitions of your spiritual man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. guides, is to despise the Lord; and I need not tell you what they are to expect that do so. Be sure to let no day pass without begging God's pardon and blessing;-for to neglect this duty is a sure way to lead you into an indifference for God and goodness.-WILSON. HYMN. And is this life prolong'd to me? In vain these moments shall not pass, Now cleanse my soul from every sin Let me no more my soul beguile With sin's deceitful toys: My thankful lips shall loud proclaim 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, C 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. d 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repent ance. 8¶Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it ? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had 2 And the Pharisees and lost. scribes murmured, saying, This 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. a Mat. ix. 10.-b Acts xi. 3. Gal. ii. 12.-c Mat. xviii. 12-d 1 Pet. ii. 10, 25.-e ch. v. 32.-| Drachma, here translated a piece of silver, is the eighth part of an ounce, which cometh to sevenpence halfpenny; and is equal to the Roman penny. Mat. xviii. 28 READER. The Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. It is true, and ought to be a matter for unceasing thankfulness, that the Lord Jesus came "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He came not to call such persons as think they have righteousness enough of their own to serve their turn, for such persons think they have no need of him, and therefore it would be in vain to call them; but he calls sinners, such as may, perhaps, be as righteous as the others, but they do not think themselves to be so, but look upon themselves as undone for ever, unless they have something else to trust to, than their own good works, and obedience to the moral law. Such persons, therefore, Christ came to call, and if they come to him, they cannot but find rest and righteousness in him. And if any of us desire to go after Christ, so as to be his disciple, we must be sure to look upon ourselves as sinners, as deserving nothing but wrath and vengeance for whatsoever we have done :-we must renounce all our own righteousness, and be so far from depending upon it as to think we have none to depend upon,-for so really we have not. And when we have laid aside all thoughts of our own righteousness, as to the matter of justification before God, then, and not till then, shall we be rightly qualified to embrace another's, even that righteousness which is by faith in Christ.-Beveridge. "I say unto you that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." The Pharisees were much offended with our Lord for shewing so much concern for sinners as to keep them company in order to teach them their duty, and to convince them of their danger. Our Lord assures them by these three parables (of the lost sheep, the piece of silver, and the prodigal son,) that God is well pleased when sinners are converted; that the angels rejoice at it; and that such as are at the pains to bring back poor, ignorant, or wicked people, that have gone astray like lost sheep, do a work very acceptable to God, and God will reward them for it. In short, our Lord has by these similitudes discovered to us one of the most comfortable truths in the world, which is, that when men have offended God, yet if they become sensible of their sin and truly sorry for it, God will pardon what is past and take them into favour, as if they had never offended him. What is the reason that we can hear such Holy Scriptures as these without being moved? The reason is plain: we do not consider that we are sinners; we do not know what it is to be a sinner; we are not sensible that every sinner is liable to the anger of God, is as one lost and undone, until he repent and be restored to God's favour. Would you know the condition of a sinner, whose conscience is awake, and lets him see his sin and his condition? Look upon David, when he had been guilty of adultery and murder: hear how he expresses his grief, (Psalm xxxviii.) "My sorrow is continually before me; for mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me."-Look upon St. Peter, when he had denied his Lord, and thought upon it, you will find him weeping bitterly. See the Publican in the temple; he dares not so much as lift up his eyes, but smites upon his breast and cries, "God be merciful unto me a sinner." In one word, consider the penitent woman at the feet of Jesus washing his feet with her tears. What was all this for? Our Lord will tell you, "her sins were many;" Christ had forgiven her upon her repentance; and thus she expresses her love and thankfulness. She looked upon it as the greatest mercy in the world, to be restored to the favour of God, and she could not but shew it by her love and by her tears. And if we are not thus affected, when we consider how merciful God has been to us, it is because we are not truly sensible what it is to be out of his favour, what it is to be under his displeasure. In short, it is because our consciences were never well awake. They that are whole (or think themselves so) care not for a physician, but they that are sick. "Come unto me," saith our Lord, "all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." When once it is thus with men, they will hear these parables with delight, and receive the doctrines contained in them with cheerfulness. They will understand, for instance, with the greatest satisfaction imaginable, that by the Shepherd, who went to seek his lost sheep, is meant Jesus Christ, who came into the world to seek and to save sinners: when they hear what pains he took to find it; how he took it upon his shoulders; how he rejoiced that he had found it, &c., they will then apply this parable to themselves; they will see plainly that God desires their conversion; that if he desires it, he will afford them all the means of being converted; that their souls are dear in his sight, or else he would not have sent his own Son to seek and to save them; then they will see and acknowledge the tender love of this good Shepherd, who spared no pains to find his lost sheep; they will therefore love him, desire to please him, and not willingly do anything that may justly offend him. And when they hear again the parable of the Woman that had lost a piece of silver, what concern she had upon her, what pains she took to find it, what pleasure she had when she had found it, they will easily see that all this is matter of the greatest comfort to sinners; that if the angels rejoice upon the conversion of a sinner, it is because God is pleased with it, and because they know that God will not reject any that return to him. And they will be still more convinced of this, when they go on to consider the circumstances of the Prodigal Son. He left his father's house without his leave; that which his father gave him to maintain him decently he spent upon harlots; he never thought upon his father, nor the sad affliction he gave him, till he could live nowhere else: these are all instances of a vile behaviour; and yet, after all, the father receives him without upbraiding him, and treats him after such a manner as if he had never done amiss. And will God thus deal with sinners, that return to him after all their wanderings; who being sensible of their unhappy condition, desire his pardon and favour? Yes, thus God will deal with his unhappy creatures; unhappy because they have offended him, but happy in having such a father, so full of goodness, so ready to pardon. Will any sinner after this say, I would willingly return, if I could hope that God would receive and pardon me? A sinner may indeed say, I will not forsake my sins; I will not ask pardon; I will not return to my duty; but no man can say, if I should de but no man can say, if I should desire to return to God, he will not receive me.-WILSON. HYMN. Who can describe the joys that rise, Thro' all the courts of paradise, To see a prodigal return, To see an heir of glory born? With joy the Father doth approve, The Son looks down with joy, and sees The purchase of his agonies. The Spirit takes delight to view WATTS. § CCVI. CHAP. XV. 11—32. The parable of the Prodigal Son. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riot ous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, |