grace: "A new heart alfo will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will "take away the ftony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause ལ་ you to walk in my ftatutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them *.” We find the fame thing implored by penitent finners, as necffary to their recovery: "Create in me a cleah "heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within "me t." And we find the duty of returning penitents prescribed in the very fame terms:

Caft away from you all your tranfgreffions, "whereby ye have tranfgreffed, and make you 46 a new heart and a new fpirit; for why will "ye die, O houfe of Ifrael ."

Ifhall only further obferve, that we find in fcripture an integrity of heart required to real religion; that is to fay, that the love of God must be the commanding governing principle, that there must be no divided or rival affection fuffered to remain: For the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether you love the Lord your "God with all your heart and with all your *foul." The firft duty of the moral law runs in these terms: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy "God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, "and with all thy mind §:" which, as a pre

* Ezek. xxxvi, 26, 27. xviii, 31.

Deut. xiii. 3.
C 6

Pfal. li. 10.

Ezek. § Matt, xxii. 37.

cept

cept of the gospel, is explained by the following "He that loveth father or more than

paffage :

66

me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth "fon or daughter more than me, is not worthy "of me *." If, to any, the collecting of fo many paffages of feripture seem tedious, it is intirely owing to the abundance and commonnefs of them. It were eafy to have added ten times the number to those which have been already quoted, a circumftance to which I particularly beg the reader's attention, as it fets in the strongeft light the certainty and importance of this truth.

Having fo far confirmed and established the obfervation from the facred oracles, I would willingly illuftrate and apply it a little more particularly. And as truth feldom receives greater light from any thing than from a difcovery of the oppofite errors, I fhall point out by what means fometimes an apparent or imperfect change is produced, which is not inward and effential.This I apprehend will be effected by a view of the following characters, every where to be met with. 1. A character formed upon a well-conducted selfish principle. 2. One that is fupremely governed by reputation, and a defire of honour and refpect from men. 3. One that is influenced by a religious principle, in which a spirit of bondage and flavish fear chiefly predominates.

* Matt. x. 37.

In the first place, There is a character in the world which may be faid to be formed upon a well-conducted selfish principle. It may be faid indeed, in general, of every unrenewed perfon, that in such a heart God is dethroned, and felf, in one fhape or other, is exalted, is fet in his place, and reigns in his ftead: but what I have chiefly in view at prefent is, to point out the character of those who, in all thofe parts of their conduct which affume the name of religion or of virtue, are chiefly acted not by a sense of duty, but by an intention to promote their own prefent fatisfaction and comfort. It is the language of experience and found reafon, as well as of the word of God, "that the wicked worketh a de"ceitful work." There are many immediate and fenfible bad confequences of vice and wickedness. Some who have already fmarted under their effects, may, therefore, in many instances avoid them, without any due fenfe of the evil of fin, as against the law of God, or taking his fervice as their hearty and unfeigned choice.

Let us give some examples of this. A man may avoid intemperance and excefs, purely or chiefly, because it is hurtful to his health, and introduces fuch diforders into his frame as incapacitates him for relifhing even the pleafures of the world and of fenfe. A man may find from experience, that being injurious to others in word or in deed, nay, even refenting the injuries done to him

felf,

A

felf, raifes him up fo many enemies, and fo inflames every little incident, as greatly disturbs his peace. He may therefore be patient and forbeating, whilft it is not owing to any meek nefs af mind, or-government of his paffions from a fenfe of duty, but merely to the ftrength of his judgment, and his falling upon the fitteft way of promoting his own -ease. It is precifely this fort of men who may often be obferved to be reasonable, modeft, and felf-denied, in their deportment in the world in general, but favage and tyrannical, or peevifh and difcontented in their own families, where there are none upon equal terms with them, or able to make a formidable refiftance to them. wife man may, upon the whole, by reflection. discover, that what gives the highest relifh and poignancy to every fenfible enjoyment is, to habituate himself to fome degree of felf-denial, to conduct them with decency, and to use them with fobriety and moderation. When this conduct, as indeed is commonly the cafe, is the fruit of experience, it is fo fenfible a change, that it often paffes itself not only on others, but even on the perfon concerned, for a religious change. But if the change is not inward as well as outward, if the affections ftill flow in the fame channel, though they are better hemmed in, and preferved from impetuofity and excefs; if the fource of happiness is ftill the fame, though it is more fparingly or more wifely indulged, it is

plainly

plainly the old nature, and the person cannot be faid to be born again. He is outwardly regular, and comparatively lefs wicked than before, but cannot be faid to love and ferve God with all "his heart and with all his foul."

We may learn from this a very important leffon, to distinguish between human virtue and religion, between a decent and blameless carriage upon motives of present conveniency, and a new nature, or a gracious ftate. I know fome are highly diffatisfied at making any distinction of this nature; but is it not plainly poffible that fuch a character as is described above may exist? Is it not alfo plain, for reasons too obvious to be inafted on, that it cannot deferve the name of a new or fpiritual birth? And is it not therefore the duty of minifters of the gofpel to put men in mind of this, as well as every other fource of felfdeceit? Nay, the neceffity in one view is greatest, in such a cafe as this, that we may warn thofe of their danger who have a name to live while they are dead, that we may fhake the ftronghold of the presumptuous felf-applauding formalift, who is often more deaf and infenfible to the things that belong to his peace, than the most abandoned profligate.

Is there any ready to fay, Why do you take upon you to judge the heart, and afcribe what you must confefs to be excellent and amiable in itself, to wrong motives and an irreligious prin

ciple?