forgiven but upon this Condition alone, which we are now upon, a hearty and fincere Repentance for them. The Sins immediately forgiven us upon Account of the Son of God's fuffering on the Crofs for us,. are fuch Defects, in the very best Actions of Men, as fall fhort of that perfect Righteoufnefs, wherein God created Man at firft, or can't come up to the Holiness of his divine Laws; for fince the Fall of Adam, none of his degenerate Pofterity can attain to fuch Perfection of Nature, or fuch unfpotted Purity of Life here: and therefore to fatisfy the Justice of the Father for what the Apoftacy of our firft Parents made us fo incapable of doing, in order to be happy for evermore, as from the first Creation he intended us to be; the ever bleffed Son of God compaffionately undertook to make up for us, by a Mystery of Love and Sufferings, not to be thought of without Wonder, Praise, and Adoration, by all the Sons of Men. Nor did he barely answer for fuch impracticable Duties only, but purchased Grace befides (as you have heard before) to ftrengthen our infeebled Nature to the full, for the Performance of every Duty which is ftill requir'd of us, by that new Covenant of Grace he contracted with the Father for us; bringing them all within the Compafs of our own Power and Will; provided we will use the favourable Means he has prescribed to us, which are D

the

the very Conditions I am now explaining to you. And amongst them, none fhews the Merits and Compaffion of our Suffering Lord for our fakes, to be fo compleat and full, as this Condition of Repentance doth: For after bringing all within our own Power, and therefore leaving us without Excufe, if we would not purchafe Heaven, and escape Damnation, by doing all that we fhould and could do; ftill, being farther touch'd with a Feeling of our Infirmities, and knowing the World, the Flefh and the Devil, might by Surprife, Subtlety, or ftrong Temptations, betray, even pious and good Men, to fome Act or Acts of Sin, which in themselves are of a damnable Nature; and moreover, fome tender confcientious Sinners, willing to recover themfelves andreturn to God, might fear their numerous and notorious Sins could never be forgiven; for thefe Reasons our compaffionate Redeemer made Repentance one Condition of his Covenant with the Father for us, that neither good Men, overtaken by the Force of Temptations,nor even wickedMen for any Sins that are paft, fhould irrecoverably be loft, if they would but timely and fincerely repent, of what they have fo dangerously done on one Side, and fo defpeFately on the other.

And now, to make thefe Advantages of Repentance of happy Use to you all, I

fhall

fhall fhew you at large, in what Manner it is to be perform❜d.

And the first Step we take towards it is, Self-Examination; not a flight, fuperficial one, with a tranfient reflecting Thought or two, and so have done, it must be ftrict, folemn, ferious and often too. In every vacant half Hour, at leaft, ever and anon (either before the Business of our Calling begins, or when 'tis fairly over) we should retire, and afk our Memory and Confcie ences, this important Queftion, What have the remarkable Sins or Failings of our Life been? And that in Refpect of all our known Duties to God, our Neighbour, and ourfelves. As for Inftance, have we neglect, ed our daily Prayers at Home? Or the more folemn Worship of God, in his own House (the Church) when openly call'd upon to take Care of our own Souls, and honour him there? Whether his holy Word and Sacraments have been duly valued by us (as neceffary Means of Grace, and that, of his own Appointment, and without which, we hall have great Grounds to fear, that little of his true Grace will be in us;) for if we flight to feek him, where he has promifed to be found, 'tis no great Wonder if we live without him in the World.

Other Enquiries concerning our Duty to God fhould be made, when we examine our Confciences for the Difcovery of our Sins namely, whether we feel fuch a Be D 2

lief

lief and Fear within us of his terrible Judgments denounced against Sinners, as tó stand in Awe and tremble at the deliberate Commiffion of any known Sin against him? Or give fuch full Credit to his great and glorious Promises of everlasting Happiness to fuch as keep his Commandments, as to check our own Appetites, part with prefent Intereft, Pleasures, or Poffeffions in the World (if Providence calls us to it) in a full Affurance and steady Expectation of them? And divers fuch like Queries fall under this Head; all relating to the profound Reverence and Honour we owe to God, and all Things belonging to him, which your own Christian Principles will naturally fuggeft to you: and therefore I proceed,

2. To hint fuch Enquiries to you, as relate to your Duty to your Neighbour; namely, how fincere, juft, and upright you have been in all your Trade and Dealings with them? How charitable to help, fuccour and comfort them in all their Diftreffes, Wants or Troubles whatsoever, to the best of your Abilities? How tender of their Reputation and good Name, by not flandering, backbiting, or fpeaking evil of any, or giving eafy Credit to others that do fo? How dutiful to Parents, Mafters, Magiftrates, and all that God himfelf has fet over you in Church or State? How careful to breed up your Children,

and

and inftruct your Servants in the Fear and Nurture of the Lord? With fundry other obvious Duties of Love and Obedience; for which I choose to refer you to the excellent Catechifm of our Church; which in few Words, but every one of them of exceeding Weight and Moment to you, does teach you all to the full, And the like I may fay, of the

3. And laft Enquiry alfo, concerning our Duty to our felves; for there we are awfully admonish'd by the Church of God, of the ftrict Obligation our most holy Religion lays upon us all, to keep our Bodies in Sobernefs, Temperance, aud Chastity: And if any Christian Duty calls for a strict Examination of ourselves in order to Repentance, this may be faid more loudly to do fo, in these profligate and licentious Times of ours; wherein 'tis dreadful to observe and hear how the crying Sins of Drunkenness, Riot, and Intemperance; Wantonnefs, Adultery, Fornication, and the like, do openly (and well nigh in Boaft and Triumph, I may fay) abound and reign amongst Men: but fhould the Evidence of Confcience accufe any Christian of the Guilt of these Sins; the one only hopeful Way of Recovery and Pardon for them, before the Decree of God iffue out against him, is an immediate bitter Sorrow, Shame, Grief, and Self-Condemnation in his own Heart, at every Remembrance of them; for this D 3

may