CONTENTS.

OF THE

ADDRESS.

I. REFLECTIONS on the nature and depth of penitential

sorrow.

II. DIRECTIONS proper for an half-awakened sinner, who desires to be truly convinced of his guilt and danger.

III. CAUTIONS against many false ways of healing a conscience wounded by sin.

IV. The evangelical method of a sound cure.

V. A scriptural testimony of God's children concerning the excellency of this method.

VI. Scriptural invitations and exhortations, to encourage a desponding penitent to try this never-failing method. And,

VII. The happy effects of such a trial.

AN

ADDRESS

ΤΟ

THE SERIOUS READER, &c.

HAVING taken my leave of the thoughtless and gay, who regard an appeal to their reason, as little as they do the warnings of their conscience; I return to thee, * serious and well-disposed reader. I am two much concerned for thy soul's welfare, to lay down my pen, without shewing thee more perfectly the way to the kingdom of heaven, by testifying to thee, repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thou art happily weary of feeding upon the husks of earthly vanities. I have a right therefore, as a

*This address is only calculated for serious persons, who cordially assent to the doctrine established in the rational demonstration of our fallen and lost estate. As other readers have been dismissed with the portion of truth that belongs to them, they are desired not to meddle with this, lest their cavils confirm St. Paul's observation, We preach Christ crucified to the self-righteous jews a stumbling block, and to the self-conceited greeks foolishness.

steward of the mysteries of God, to bring out of the divine treasury, the pearls of evangelical truth; and I gladly cast them before thee, persuaded, that far from awakening thy anger, they will excite thy desires, and animate thy languid hopes.

Instead of ridiculing, or dreading an heart-felt conviction of thy lost estate, thou now seest it is a desirable. privilege, an invaluable blessing. Ready to mourn, because thou canst not mourn, thou complainest, that thou hast only a confused view of thy total depravity. Thou wantest the feelings.of the royal penitent, when he said, Behold I was shapen in iniquity, &c. I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me; but conscious thou canst not raise them in thy heart by natural powers, thou desirest some scriptural directions suitable to thy case. Give me leave to introduce them by a few

PRELIMINARY REFLECTIONS

On the nature and depth of penitential sorrow.

I. Thou knowest, that except thou truly repentest, thou shalt surely perish, and that there is no true repentance, where there is not true sorrow for sin. I re-. joice, says St. Paul to the Corinthians, that ye were made sorry after a godly manner; For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Hence it appears, that there are two sorts of sorrow springing from opposite scarces; God and the world; the one a godly sorrow, and the other the sorrow of the world. Learn then to distinguish them by their various causes and effects, so shalt thou avoid the danger of mistaking the one for the other.

The sorrow of the world, which many cover with the cloak of religion, arises from fear of contempt, dread of poverty, secret jealousy, revenge dissatisfied, love disappointed, baffled schemes, loses in business, un

kindness of friends, provocation of enemies, or the death of some idolized relative. Nay, this sorrow may sometimes spring from a mixture of self-righteous pride and slavish fear. Some cannot bear to be robbed of their fond hopes of meriting heaven by their imaginary good works: They lose all patience, when they see their best righteousness brought to light, and exposed as filthy rags: They are cut to the heart, when they hear, that their apparent good deeds deserve punishment as well as their black enormities: Or like condemned malefactors, they dread the consequences of their crimes, while they feel little or no horror for the crimes themselves.

Exceedingly fatal are the effects of this sorrow in the persons whom it overcomes: Their indignant hearts, unable to bear either disappointment, contradiction or condemnation, rise against second causes, or against the decrees of Providence; fret at the strictness of the law, or holiness of the Lawgiver; and pine away with uninterrupted discontent. Hence, spurning at advice, direction, and consolation, they wring their hands, or gnaw their tongues with anguish ; impatience works them up into stupid sullenness or noisy murmuring; they complain, that their punishment is greater than they can bear; and, imagining they are more severely dealt with than others, they hastily conclude, Behold, this evil is from the Lord, why should I wait for him any longer? Thus black despair seizes upon their spirits, and if grace does not interpose, they either live on to fill up the measure of their iniquities, as Cain, Pharoah and Haman, or madly lay violent hands upon themselves, as Ahitophel, and Judas.

This sorrow cannot be too much guarded against, as it not only destroys many persons, but does immense hurt to religion. For those who are glad of any pretence to pour contempt upon godliness, taking occasion from the instances of this sorrow, harden their own hearts, and prejudice all around them against the blessed, godly sorrow, which every minister of the gospel