for humiliation, but not for discouragement. In our first con- version to God, we must come as the chief of sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in him as both able and willing to save us to the uttermost. And is there any other way for us to come to God at a subsequent period ? I know of none. Whether our sins be many or few, we may come as sinners, and we must come as sinners ; founding all our hopes, not on any righteousness of our own, but on the multitude of his tender mercies r. The mercy of God is our only hope, from first to last : and though xve may have changed, He changeth not : nor is the way of access to him through the Son of his love closed against us. Let me not be misunderstood, as if I meant by these observations to speak lightly of sin ; for sin, indulged and unrepented of, will infallibly destroy the soul : but we must be aware of a legal spirit; and guard against the idea, that the possession of any personal worthiness entitles us to God's favour, or that the want of it is a barrier to our acceptance with him. From first to last our hope is in Christ alone ; and his name, as it is our only plea, so shall it be effectual, if it be urged in humility and faith. Let this, then, be remembered by every mourning soul, that sin is a ground of humiliation, but not of discouragement. It is not possible for us to be too deeply humbled : but, on the other hand, it is not possible to hold fast too strongly our hope and confidence in God.]
2. What shall surely be effectual to remove it from the soul —
[Prayer, fervent and believing prayer, shall infallibly suc- ceed at last. Where do we find an instance of a weeping penitent spurned from the footstool of the Lord ? Never, never did a repenting sinner pour out his cries in vain. Only we must remember the requisites of acceptable prayer. It must be humble and contrite. We must " acknowledge our iniquity," and our desert of God's judgments on account of its. It must be fervent and persevering, like that of Daniel: " O my God, incline thine ear, and hear ! for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear ; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, hearken, and do ; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God1 !" It must be offered solely in dependence on God's promised mer- cies in Christ Jesus : " We acknowledge, O Lord, our wicked- ness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake ; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory ; remember, break not thy covenant
r Ps. li. 1. s Jer. iii. 12, 13, 25. l Dan. ix. 18, 19.