at length lost the power, and even the desire, to reform and amend.

In this situation of things, the Almighty is introduced expostulating with his people: "Moreover "thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, "Shall they fall, and not arise? Shall he turn away, "and not return?" In the whole circle of common life, where men are usually guided by common sense, is there any instance to be found of a similar conduct ? Was it ever seen, was it ever heard, that when a man had experienced the misfortune of falling, he should not wish and endeavour to rise again; that when he had, by mistake, gone out of his way, he should not, upon better information, be desirous of returning into it?" Why then is this people of "Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding" -one that is never to cease, or have an end?

They hold fast deceit"-and knowing it to be but deceit for such every sinner well knows it to beyet, "they refuse to return."

God is next pleased to speak of himself (after the manner of men) as inclining his ear, and, with the affection of a parent, fondly listening to catch the first accents of sorrow and contrition that should break forth from the relenting heart of his offending child. "I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?"-No remorse, no reflection, no sensibility; hardened in vice, and regardless of danger, they pursued with fury and impetuosity their way to perdition; "every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle."

This earnest expostulation and tender complaint are succeeded by a beautiful apostrophe to the birds of the air, that species of them styled birds of passage. They by instinct return annually, at a set time, to the country they had left; whereas, by all the reasoning and all the exhortation in the world, obdurate man cannot be prevailed upon to forsake his iniquity, and return to God who made him. "Even "the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed "times; and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of their coming; but my "people know not the judgement of the Lord.

This is a method of instruction often pursued in the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament. "Ask the beasts, and they shall teach you:" "Behold "the fowls of the air, which sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns," yet can read a lecture to those who do. Thus the sluggard is sent for information and correction to the ant, the unthankful to the ox, the distrustful to the ravens; and here, the wilful impenitent is placed under the tuition of the stork and the turtle, the crane and the swallow. The dumb creatures are made to reprove the madness and folly of proud rationals; and the argument enters forcibly into the understanding, while the image under which it is conveyed delights the imagination.

The representation of the duty of repentance thus set before us by the prophet, seems peculiarly adapted to the present time of the year, and the solemn season upon which we have just entered, and therefore may suggest some useful considerations on the nature of

the duty, the motives to its performance, and the rules by which it should be conducted.

I. Respecting the nature of the duty; the similitude adopted in the text directs us to consider it as a return, a treading back our steps, as the birds of passage return, or come back, to the country from which they had departed. And this, indeed, is the idea generally employed in the Old Testament-" Re

turn, O backsliding daughter;" "Return from your "evil ways;" "Return unto the Lord your God;" “Turn thou us, and we shall be turned;" and the like. But the expression being figurative, it must be opened and explained in literal terms. In order to which,

it

may be observed, that the word chiefly used in the New Testament to denote the duty of repentance, signifies change of mind; and as practice flows from principle (for as a man thinks, so will he act), a change of conduct is naturally and necessarily impli ed; for we should with difficulty be brought to believe, in any case of moment, that he had changed the former, who did not, in consequence, change the latter also. Now the course of a man's thinking, speaking, and acting, by an easy metaphor, common to all ages and countries, is styled his way, in which he is therefore said to proceed, advance, return.

We may then define repentance to be, A change of mind, operating in a change of conduct. But we shall become still better acquainted with the nature of it, if we view its process, and resolve it into its several parts in due order.

The leading step in the process must of necessity be conviction; since he cannot be persuaded to repent

who is not first convinced that he has sinned: no man will think of returning into the right way, unless he be made sensible that he has wandered out of it. To produce this conviction, is not so easy a task as at first sight it may seem to be; since, when evil is pursued it is pursued under the appearance of good; by such appearance the sinner for a time is deceived, blinded, deluded, infatuated; and in this state sometimes continues to pass his life, through mere indolence, inattention, want of consideration; whence, in the Latin language, repentance is denoted by a word signifying, coming to oneself, coming to one's senses, growing wise again, as before the delusion took place. Conviction is produced gradually. Upon some hint given to a man, either from within or from without, he begins to suspect himself in the wrong; and then, if he be honest enough to prosecute the inquiry, discovers at length that he actually is so. Sometimes it is flashed upon the mind at once-He awakes, and the dream is at an end. Under the direction of that blessed Spirit, whose office, we are told, it is to "convince, or convict, the world of sin," it is produced by various means, by disappointments, by crosses, by losses, by sickness, by the death of a friend, by a passage in Scripture, or a discourse upon one, by the incidents of common life, or the changes that happen in the natural world; in short, there is hardly a circumstance of so trivial a nature, but that a kind Providence, in some instance or other, has been pleased to make it instrumental to this salutary purpose. On the brethren of Joseph, after an interval of more than twenty years, the conviction was wrought by the usage they experienced from him,

"We

when unknown, in Egypt. It put them upon reflecting, of what offence they could have been guilty in the former part of life, which might deserve to be punished in this particular manner. Conscience stepped forth, and gave the necessary information. "are verily guilty concerning our brother; therefore "is this distress come upon us." The case of David was of a more obstinate nature. A delineation of his crime under a parable was not sufficient to awaken him. Nothing could do this, but a direct, home, personal application-" Thou art the man."-He started from a deep sleep of ten months, and fell prostrate in the dust before his God-" I have sin

ned!'-Let every sinner, when tempted to despair, recollect the answer, and bless the gracious Being from whom it proceeded-" The Lord hath put away thy sin."

The next step to conviction, in the process of repentance, is sorrow.-The man who has offended his Maker, and is become thoroughly sensible that he has done so, and of the consequences of his having done so, cannot but be grieved to find himself in such a situation; for which reason, repentance, in the Greek language, is sometimes denominated by a word implying after-concern; indeed, our English term, I repent, in the general acceptation of it, is little more than equivalent to, I am sorry. If the sorrow arise merely from fear of punishment, it is called, in the language of the Schools, attrition, and is deemed the lowest and least honourable species of repentance a;

a See Priestley on the Corruptions, &c. and Burnet there referred to, ii. 223.