they are bound to serve, that there is a God whom they have offended, and who will judge them.

But when the hour of reflection arrives-when some dispensation of Providence, some powerful call of God's Spirit, arouses the sinner; should he yield to the warning, and seriously meditate on his sinful condition, the dangerous ease of impenitence will be succeeded by the lively emotions of contrition. He will, in bitterness of spirit, acknowledge that he has violated the laws of his God, laws reasonable and good; that he has sinned against the Author of his being, the Preserver and Benefactor of his life, the merciful Redeemer of his soul; and that, in thus offending the greatest and best of Beings, he has disregarded the strongest dictates of duty, of gratitude, and of interest-" God be merciful to me a sinner."

But the penitent beholds still further aggravations of his guilt: he has neglected the mercy of his Saviour.

In his state of careless impenitence, this consideration would not have affected him. Perhaps, indeed, he had never doubted the divine mission of Jesus Christ, and always acknowledged his spotless character, and the benevolent object for which he came into the world. But as to the deep concern which he had in the great salvation proclaimed by Jesus Christ; as to the necessity of his securing an interest in the merits of this Saviour, in order to avert the just displeasure of the Almighty Being whom he had offended; as to the divine and exalted offices of Christ, as his Instructor, his Intercessor and Saviour, and his Almighty King, so powerfully demanding homage, gratitude, and love -on these points the impenitent sinner has been

wholly insensible. Alas! he has daily renewed those offences which rendered it necessary that the Son of God should suffer; thus crucifying him afresh, and putting him to an open shame. The invitations of this Saviour, proclaimed by the word, the ministry, and the ordinances of the church, he has daily heard, but he has daily neglected them. No real, no permanent sentiments of gratitude for that infinite love which purchased the favour of God and the glories of heaven for him who was the servant of sin and the heir of perdition, have been cherished in his bosom. Swayed only by his sinful passions, and occupied solely by his sensual pursuits, he is insensible to the guilt which he incurs, in neglecting and despising the riches of God's mercy in Jesus Christ.

But when he is awakened from this criminal insensibility, and is convinced of his lost and dangerous condition as a sinner, his contrition is heightened by the reflection that he has so long neglected the Saviour whose love has been so long exercised upon him, and he has despised it; who, by his agony and bloody sweat, by his cross and passion, besought him to turn from his sins; but he continued in them, trampling under foot the Son of God, counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing-" God be merciful to me a sinner."

But the awakened penitent perceives that he has also corrupted his own soul.

Formed to contemplate and to imitate the divine perfections, and to obey those laws which are the transcript of divine holiness snd purity, the soul cannot violate this law of her nature without being disgraced and corrupted. Every violation of the love, the duty, the gratitude which man owes to

the holy and gracious Author of his being, corrupts the heart, weakens its sensibility to goodness, and at length confirms it in the service, in the habits, and in the love of sin. Every violation of the virtues required by the relations of life or the ties of society, weakens some amiable sentiment of our nature, strengthens some criminal or unworthy passion, and finally extinguishing in cold selfishness every benevolent affection, fits man to be the scourge and the curse of his fellow-man. Every departure from those laws of self-government-of temperance, of purity, of contentment-which reason and the command of God impose, disorders the soul, and finally enslaves her to those passions which degrade the high nature of man to a level with the brute creation. Thus corrupting is sin, transforming the soul, created in the image of God, into the image of the fallen angel whom God has cursed; making the soul, instead of the abode of purity and peace, like "the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt."* While the sinner, deluded by the phantoms of false pleasure, and ruled only by his passions, eagerly followed the path of sensual indulgence, he had neither the leisure nor the inclination to contemplate the odious nature of sin. But when, yielding to some merciful call of God's providence, and to the awakening and enlightening influences of his Holy Spirit, he is led to sober reflection, he strips sin of the false charms with which his imagination and his passions had decked her: he contemplates her in the light of reason, of conscience, and of the word of God; and he is overwhelmed with shame

and confusion for having cherished an object so corrupting, so dishonourable and base. Not only have I offended and contemned my God and Saviour, (is his sorrowing language,) by my iniquities, but I have deeply corrupted, by them, my own soul, and have rendered her tributary to passions disgraceful and degrading. Miserable man! I have rendered my immortal spirit, destined to live for ever in the presence of God, fit only to dwell with the devil and his angels-" God be merciful to me a sinner."

But the aggravations of his guilt rest not here. He has contributed to corrupt the souls of others. How many have his solicitations or his counsel allured from the paths of virtue! How many, who had just entered on the ways of iniquity, has he confirmed in the course that leadeth to destruction! The early glow of piety has been chilled by his The resolutions of more mature virtue have been checked by his ridicule or persecution. The timid he has discouraged, the feeble he has ensnared, and even the strong in virtue have not been unmoved by his assaults.

sneers.

But, admitting that he has not been thus engaged in the impious work of making proselytes to wickedness, how pernicious has been that influence of his example, which must have been increased with the elevation of his talents, his character, or his station! In this view, the corrupting effects of sin are incalculable. The vicious example of one individual extends to thousands, each of whom becomes a centre, from which corruption spreads in every direction, multiplying its victims without number, and without end.

When the sinner, then, is awakened to reflec

tion, how heavy does the guilt of having corrupted others rest upon his soul! How many have been induced to blaspheme their God, to neglect his ordinances and worship, to violate his laws, to indulge in sensuality and sin, through his solicitation, or through his example! He sees that he has not only corrupted his own soul, but the souls of others; and the burden of their iniquities lies heavy upon his conscience-" God be merciful to me a sinner."

These are the views which excite and heighten the contrition of the penitent: he has offended his God-be has neglected and contemned his Saviour -he has corrupted his own soul-he has contributed to corrupt the souls of others. Under the penetrating conviction of guilt, his awakened conscience would lead him to despair, were not his contrition enlivened by views of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. So that the language of contrition is also the language of FAITH.

Between the evangelical graces there is an inseparable connexion; and the state of penitence implies not only the exercise of sorrow for sin, but of faith in God's mercy through Jesus Christ for the pardon of it. Repentance would be hopeless, if there were no mode revealed, by which the righteous Governor of the universe could, consistently with his holiness, his justice, and his divine authority, extend mercy to the sinner. But in every exercise of contrition the truth is present, to cheer and to comfort us, that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses and sins. The view of God's mercy to sinners, through his only-begotten and well-beloved Son, while it increases the pungency of remorse for having offended that gracious Sove