2. We should entreat him to humble us in the dust before him —
[It is God alone who can " give repentance : " he alone can take away the heart of stone, and give us a heart of flesh. Who was it that made the difference between Lydia and the other hearers of St. Paul ? It was " the Lord, who opened her heart to attend to the things that were spoken by him." And it is the same power alone that can turn us from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God. And let us remember, that humiliation for sin is necessary : it is indis- pensably necessary for our acceptance with God. God himself has declared, that " whoso covereth his sins shall not prosper; and that he only who confesseth and forsaketh them, shall find mercy at his hands."]
3. We should look to our Lord Jesus Christ, as our only hope —
[If we conceive our sins to have been only light and venial, we shall easily persuade ourselves that we can make compen- sation for them by some works of our own. And it is owing to men's ignorance of their own hearts, that they so generally hope to establish a righteousness of their own by the works of the law. But that vain thought must be discarded with ab- horrence. We must renounce all hope in ourselves ; and " flee for refuge to that hope which is set before us, even to the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that he might atone for our sins, and effect a reconciliation for us with our offended God. Be assured, Brethren, that there is no other way unto the Father than by Christ. If you were to shed rivers of tears, you could never wash away one sin ; nor, if you could walk ever so holily in future, could you ever atone for the smallest sin. How then can you hope to wash away or make atonement for all your manifold transgressions, and your mighty sins ? Indeed, you must look to Christ as your only hope, and transfer to his sacred head the sins you have committed, exactly as Aaron transferred to the head of the scape-goat the sins of all Israel. It is in this way alone that they can ever be removed from your souls : and if not so removed, they will sink your souls into everlasting perdition.]
4. We should walk with all possible circumspection before God —
[Having so long exercised the patience of our God, we ought to determine, through grace, that we will offend him no more. However careful we may be, imperfection will pervade our very best services. But let it be imperfection only, and not wilful sin, that God shall see in us in future. Let there be no allowed guile in our hearts. Let us search out our duty