He had Himself breathed into our nostrils, as if, I say, all these were no more than the freakishness and sport of children, not indeed to be praised, yet not worth any deep and serious repentance. It never can be right for a corrupt mortal man to make sport of corruption and mortality, or pass them by as things of course.

Especially considering the enemies you have to contend with: our adversary, the Devil, like a roaring lion, is for ever ranging round the fold, seeking who is wandering and whom he may devour. These sins of ours, which we treat as mere trifles, are the very things which he most rejoices to see; for he knows that they provoke Gon, drive away His HOLY SPIRIT, put us out of His heavenly protection, and lay us open to the craft and malice. of the Powers of Darkness. You cannot know at any moment whether any sin that you commit be not the fruit of the Evil Spirit himself, invisibly tempting and prevailing against you. Yet you feel no particular remorse at having had him so very near you, and having listened to his evil enticements: it seems to you natural, a thing to be expected and borne with. Can the Devil himself possibly wish for any thing to pass in your mind more likely to suit his purposes, and prepare you to be his slave, than this?

But further: the New Testament teaches the very serious nature of our sins in the most awful way of all, by shewing us CHRIST crucified for them. These, which we think matters of sport, are in GoD's sight of such deep and fearful consequence, that He parted with His only-begotten Son in order to make atonement for them. These lusts and passions and appetites of ours, these idle words and loose thoughts, which we account very tolerable frailties, cost the precious and innocent blood of the only MAN that ever lived pure from sin, the blood of HIM who is GOD Incarnate,—before Gon could forgive them. If you want to know what is the true nature of your sins, what sort of a person you are yourself in God's eyes, do not judge by your own heart and conscience, nor by comparison with other men, nor by what your fellow-sinners say of you; but look up to the Cross of your SAVIOUR, observe His wounds, His cries, His agony; endeavour to imagine what that guilt must be, which being laid on HIM as our surety caused HIM, the Beloved SoN, to cry out, "My God,

my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Fix your mind and heart there; use yourself to recollect very often what Scripture tells us of those unspeakable pangs; pray to have more and more practical understanding of that great and saving Mystery; and you will, by God's grace, be soon ashamed to think lightly of your own sins. You will keep them ever before you, in order that you may never cease to feel grateful in heart to that love unutterable, which caused HIм to endure such things for such vile and worthless persons.

When we feel deeply obliged to a friend, we do not readily excuse ourselves for past ingratitude or unkindness towards him. If you feel that CHRIST is your best friend, your only SAVIOUR and REDEEMER, you will be slow to admit any thought of excusing yourself for your ill behaviour to CHRIST: you will be jealous of your own heart, and of the false good-nature of your friends, when they would furnish you with reasons and pretences for not dwelling much and sadly on past transgressions.

And this so much the more, as you may plainly see, that thinking lightly of the past is the very way to hinder you from real improvement in time to come. For observe what is sure to happen to any man who is not industrious in keeping his sins, as did David, ever before him. No doubt, whoever you are, you have very many secret faults; very many ways of thinking and acting, which flow from a wrong and corrupt principle, and which therefore displease the unerring JUDGE, though, for want of due suspicion of yourself, you do not yet know them to be wrong. How many are there, for example, who speak ill and judge unkindly of their neighbour, out of a lurking pride of heart, without in the least blaming themselves for it, or feeling as if they had acted wrong! Now, this may to them be as yet a secret fault but if they go on in their present careless way, thinking much of their goodness and little of their sins, then this way of judging others will grow upon them more and more, and will become a presumptuous, habitual sin, drawing down GOD's severest judgment.

Again, let us suppose one of you far gone already in some habit which is plainly sinful; such, for instance, as common swearing. He, perhaps, is become so accustomed to it, that the oaths and curses come naturally out of his mouth, like the air

How is such a person

that he breathes, without his knowing it. as this ever to repent of his wretched and dangerous habit ? Evidently by learning to think much of his sins; by fixing his attention strongly on those parts of Holy Scripture which are most apt to make him afraid. His sin may be as shocking, as notorious as possible, it may stare every one else as it were in the face, and yet be a kind of secret to himself; unless he really try and endeavour to judge his own misdoings in time, that he may not be judged of the LORD.

If you suppose the man's sin to be a very fashionable and common one, this will make the case still worse, for he will always have an excuse ready at hand to encourage him in passing lightly over it. Why," will he say, "must I torment myself with watching against this sin, with repentance, and remorse, and consideration of God's judgments, every time I unhappily fall into it? I know it is a sin, but I know also that almost every one is guilty of it. Men remarkable for goodnature, greatly beloved by their acquaintance, very useful and benevolent men, are guilty of this sin: surely it must be a pardonable one." Is this a very uncommon way of thinking? can it be otherwise than deadly to the soul of a Christian who indulges it? and would it not be at once cured, if we would be as scrupulous in blaming ourselves for what has been wrong, as we are busy in finding out grounds of praise for what has been right in our former conduct?

On the whole, it is plain that the wholesome sting of conscience will be dulled and deadened in that man's mind, who refuses to think much of his sins. The warning voice of God's HOLY SPIRIT will fall on his ear faint and powerless. The very losses, and cares, and disappointments, which DIVINE PROVIDENCE sends in great mercy to rouse and awaken us to better thoughts, will lose their effect upon him, because he has accustomed himself to take all things lightly. There is danger that GOD will quite leave off correcting; that He will take off His hand, and leave that man to himself, as when He said, concerning the incorrigible Jews, "Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more." Nothing, to be sure, can be said worse, concerning men's way of refusing to attend to their own sins, than this: that it is the very way to make even the chas

tenings of the ALMIGHTY, the sicknesses and sorrows which He sends on them for their good, useless, and worse than useless, to them.

On the other hand, a tender conscience, a mind like David's, truly humbled, and resolved on principle never to shrink from the pain of looking at its own faults truly-such a mind as this is one of the greatest blessings, the most effectual means of improvement, which the SPIRIT of GOD bestows upon true Christians. Not to spare one's own faults, is the true, the manly, the practical way of looking at things: even if there were no express promise of Holy Scripture, one might be sure beforehand that it is the only way to improve.

Also, if you know at all what it is to love any one very dearly, you must know that the true love of GoD and of CHRIST will naturally make you very jealous over your own conduct towards them, and not easily satisfied with your past ways of serving and honouring them. Look at a truly dutiful and affectionate child : does he employ himself much in thinking how much he has done for his parent in times past, or is he not rather continually blaming himself for having forgotten this or that, for not having done his very best in every possible way for one whom he so tenderly regards and reverences? Where Christian Love is sincere, it will cause you to have the same sort of feeling towards GoD Himself as your FATHER. Your faith and affection will of course show itself by your being always discontented with what you have done, always begging pardon for not having done it better.

Then consider what a great safeguard such a tender conscience as this would prove, to those who by God's blessing have not yet swerved, materially and wilfully, from their first baptismal innocency. What traveller is so secure against erring from his way, as he who is continually observing the road, and very much afraid of forgetting the marks which have been told him? Just so it fares with a young and tender-minded Christian, in danger of losing his way in the journey of life. Let him, by God's grace, accustom himself early to have what the world would call a very nice and delicate conscience: let him every night of his life, when he lies down to rest, think over the faults of that day: and let him not spare himself, but endeavour honestly to see those

faults as they are, and beg of God to shew them to him, in some measure, such as they appear to HIM and His Holy Angels. By thus keeping your conscience active, you will prevent its growing hard and unfeeling, as it is otherwise sure to do. You will by GOD's special grace continue to be as much ashamed of a wanton word, or a burst of passion, as another man might be of adultery or open malice. You will preserve that greatest earthly blessing, which those who have lost, sooner or later, would give the whole world to recal—the bright and fresh character of youth, before it is corrupted by mixing with an evil world.

But this, alas! is advice and encouragement, which comes too late for most hearers. The world is so very near us, even in our early youth, and our own nature so very frail and corrupt, that few indeed, in any congregation, can be supposed to have preserved their baptismal innocence. But so much the more need have they to acknowledge their faults, and keep their sin ever before them. So much the more need to revive their lost tenderness of conscience, by earnest recollection of the many things in which they daily displease GOD, not only by doing, saying, and thinking what is against His commands, but also by leaving undone, unsaid, and unthought, what they know HE approves of. Do you sadly and earnestly endeavour thus to know the plague of your own heart, not only by general acknowledgments, or even passionate occasional feelings, that you and all men are miserable sinners, but much more by a sober and humble consciousness of your own particular faults and negligences. Thus GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT will accomplish for you gradually that great work-far above human power-of making your hardened and seared conscience young, tender, and active again. And thus, what is above all, daily knowing more of yourself, that is to say, more of your sins, you will be daily brought nearer and nearer to HIM who alone can save sinners, taught to rely altogether on HIM, and made to partake more and more of the pardon and holiness which is only to be found by the Cross.