lows. And if persons can give this credence to an earthly king, why cannot a believer have a sense of the pardon of his sins from God? If a person's reading this to me, telling me the king has pardoned me, has such an effect, why may not God's word, backed by his Spirit, be brought home with such power on my heart, that I may be assured God has pardoned me, as well as a criminal that his king has saved? If this is gospel, away with it, say some, who think we are not to be justified till we come to judgment. O blessed creatures! this is modern divinity; our reformers knew nothing about it. We are to be declared, if you please, justified, in the day of Jesus Christ, who will pronounce it before all mankind. But, my brethren, we are to be married to Jesus Christ in this world, and the marriage is to be declared in another; and I will insist upon it, though I will not pretend to say that all that have not full assurance are not Christians, yet I will say, that assurance is necessary for the well-being of a Christian; the comfortable being, though not for his very existence and I will venture to say, that a soul was never brought to Christ, but what had some ground of assurance of pardon; though, for want of knowing better, he put it by, and did not know the gift of God when it came. But, my brethren, "we shall be saved from all our sins." Here is "glad tidings of great joy" now come: Satan may hear that; and any of you here that are coming into the chapel as you pass along. I am glad to see poor creatures come, that I may tell them, "God is love." Believers, you shall be saved from all your sins, every one of them; they shall all be blotted out. Generally, when persons are convinced, the devil preaches despair; some great sin lies upon them; and, says the poor sinner, I shall be saved from all but that; had I not been guilty of such a crime, I might have hope, but I am guilty of such a sin, which is so awful, with such dreadful aggravations, I am afraid I shall never be pardoned. But, my dear souls, Christ is love; and when he loves to forgive, he forgives like a God; "I will blot out your iniquities, transgressions, and sins." "Come now, (saith the Lord,) let us reason together; though your sins are as scarlet, yet they shall be as white as snow." I am so far from being unwilling to save or pardon, that the angels, every time the gospel is preached, are ready to tune their harps, and long to sing an anthem to some poor sinner's conversion.

They shall be saved from the power of sin. Do not you remember that when Joshua was going on with his conquests, that there were some kings in a cave; and when he returned, he ordered them to bring the kings out for God's people to tread upon them. When I read that passage, I used to think these kings were like our corruptions hid in the cave of our hearts, and the stone of unbelief rolled to keep them in; but when we receive Christ by faith, and have pardon in him, our great Joshua takes away the stone, and says, "Bring out these kings, these corruptions, that have reigned over my people, and by faith let them tread on the necks of them. Our great

Master, when he gave the command in the text, says, "These signs shall follow them that believe in my name; they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them." These were things peculiar, in one sense, to the apostles; but in the power of faith, and as brought home to every believer, he casts out devilish lusts; and if they had drunk any deadly thing, as God knows we have, they may do by them as Paul did by the viper, through the power of faith cast them off, and by this means prove that Christ is God.

This is, my dear hearers, a present salvation. The wickedest wretch in the world will cry, I hope to be saved, though they have no notion of being saved but after their death; as a woman in Virginia told me once, when I said she must be born again; I believe you, sir, but that must be after I am dead. And by people's living as they do, one would suppose that they think they are not to be saved till they die, because they live so. But as I have told you, I tell you again, Christ's salvation is a great salvation; and all that Christ does for his people on earth, is but an earnest of good things to come, an anticipation of what he is to do for them in heaven. Our Lord says, "The kingdom of God is within you; the kingdom is come nigh unto you." You must not only believe on Christ, but believe in him: we are not only to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but we are to be baptized into the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; this is the baptism of the Spirit, and this is that salvation, which God grant we may all partake of.

We are to be saved, my brethren-from what? Why, from the fear of death. "He came to deliver them who, through the fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage." What, are there no children of God, but those that have full assurance? You never heard me say so; yet I am apt to speak a little fast, but at the same time I would choose not to speak so fast as to speak contrary to the word of God. There are a great many good souls, that at times may doubt of the reality of this work upon their souls; a relaxed habit of body, a nervous disorder, you may say what you please, will make a weak child of God doubt of what God has done in them, and that hurts the mind, as it has such a close connexion with the body; but then a believer is low, God's people are low persons; as the greatest geniuses are most liable to lowness of spirit, for the scabbard is not strong enough for the sword, and persons that talk much must wear out in time: but this I stand to, it is our privilege to live above the fears of death. We do not live up to our dignity till every day we are waiting for the coming of our Lord from heaven; and I am persuaded of this, though I believe there may be some exceptions, that the reason why we do not live more above the fear of death is, because we keep in so much with these nasty earthly things. You may have the best eyes in the world, and only put your hands before them, you

will find the sun hid from you; and so you may have a large fire, but throw some earth upon the fire that is in your parlour, or drawing-rooms, and you will find the fire damped. And how can people have much of God or heaven, when they have so much of the earth in their hearts? It is our privilege to live above the fear of death, though we are not to be saved from dying; and I am sure a believer would not be saved from dying for a million of worlds; it would be death to him not to die; but a soul touched with the love of God, even in sickness, in the midst of a burning fever, in the midst of a fire that will burn a thousand bodies up, convulsed with tortures and pains in every limb; a believer is enabled sometimes to say, "O my God, O my God, thou art love; I am ready to come to thee in the midst of all." Blessed be God, I need not go far for example; yonder, under the gallery, lies the remains, the carcase, of a dear saint, who was for twenty-five days together burned with a fever, enough to scorch any creature up; yet one filled with love and power divine, blessed be the Lord Jesus; though she cried out, If I were not supported, the agony of my body would make me impatient; yet never said a murmuring word, but in the midst of all cried out to those about her, "God is love! O my joys! O the comforts that I feel!" and in her very last moments cried out, "I am a-coming; dear Lord, I am a-coming;" and so sweetly slept in Jesus. If this is enthusiasm, God give us a good share of it when when we come to die! These are dying and yet living witnesses that "God is love! She was in raptures when Mr. Sheppard went to visit her: she desired me to tell you, that "God is love;" desired me to tell you in the chapel pulpit, that she was called about four years ago. I think Mr. Lee was the instrument of her conversion. Now her body is to be put to bed at noon; but her soul is crying, O the joys! the joys! the joys! of being saved by a blessed Emmanuel! Now will any one dare to deny this evidence? Do you see worldly people work themselves up into that frame when they die? Visit them when they are near death: ah, dear! they are in the vapours; they are so afraid of dying, that the doctor will not suffer us to come near them, no, not common clergymen, for fear we should damp their spirits; till they find they are just gone, and then they give us leave to say the farewell prayer to them: but they that are born from above, that are made new creatures in Christ, feel something that smiles upon them in death. She told them," she believed God would let her go over Jordan dryshod" that was her expression. If this is salvation on earth, what must it be in heaven? If in the midst of the tortures of a burning fever, a raptured soul can cry, O the joys! O the comforts! Lord, I am coming! I am coming! what must that be when enclosed in a Redeemer's arms? In order to which, the glorious angels stand at the top of the ladder, to take a poor wearied pilgrim home. Lord, give us not only such a frame when we are dying, but while we are living; for if it is comfortable to die in such a frame, why not to live in it? to live in

heaven on earth. O, say you, I thank God I walk by faith; I have got the promise. Well, thank God you have the promise, but, with the promise, learn to walk by that "faith which is the evidence of things not seen," which brings God down, brings heaven near, and gives the soul a heart-felt experience, that "God is love." Here is a salvation worthy of a God! here is a salvation worthy of the Mediator's blood! for this he groaned, for this he bled, for this he died, for this he arose, for this he ascended, for this he sent the Holy Ghost, and for this purpose he now sends him into the hearts of his people.

My brethren, what say you to this? I hope it is enough to make you cry out, "Lord, let my latter end be like hers." This may comfort you that are mourners about her corpse, this may comfort a fond husband, whose beloved is now taken away by a stroke. What a mercy is it, sir, that you was instrumental to bring her under the word! She was once averse to coming here: "What, leave my parish church!" said she; "what, go to a conventicle, to a tabernacle of Methodists!" he advised her again and again to come: at last, one day as they were going to St. Giles's, she says, Well, come put up your walking-stickif it fall towards St. Giles's, I will go there; if to the chapel, I will go there the stick fell towards the chapel, she came, and was converted to God. O with what joy must her husband meet her again in the kingdom of heaven! and O happy day, in which she was encouraged to seek after God. Last week, another was buried in the like circumstances; and, blessed be God, in yonder burying-ground are the remains of many precious souls, that in the day of judgment will let the world know whether this chapel was built for God, or not.

O what an awful word is that in the latter clause of the text, "He that believeth not shall be damned." Pause: I will give you time to think a little; if you would have Christ as good as his word of promise, remember he will be as good as his word of threatening. You hear the necessity of preaching the gospel, because upon believing or non-believing, our salvation or damnation will turn. What, will you laugh at the minister that cries out, Lord, help you to come, come, come; do you think that we have nothing else to say, and are at a loss for words, when we cry come, come, come, to fill up our sermons? No, it is part of our commission, it is one great part. And, my fellow-sinners, we are come to tell you, that our Master has a two-edged sword, as well as a golden sceptre; and if you will not come under the sound of the word, and do not feel the converting power of it, you must feel the confounding weight of it. I repeat it again to you, "He that believeth not, shall be damned;" the very word is terrible, God grant that you may never know how terrible it is. You are condemned already; he that believeth not, is so, John iii. 18. why? "Because he hath not believed on the name of the Son of God." It is not his being a whoremonger or adulterer that will damn him, but his unbelief is the damning sin; for this he will be condemned; for ever

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banished from the presence of the ever-blessed God: and how will you rave, how will you tear, and how will you wring your hands, when you see your relations, your friends, those whom you despised, and were glad they were dead out of your way, I see them in Abraham's bosom, and yourselves lifting up your eyes in torment!" O my dear hearers, do let me plead, let me entreat you; if that would do, I would down on my knees; if that would do, I would come down from the pulpit, I would hang on your necks, I would not let you go, I would offer myself to be trodden under your feet; I have known what it is to be trodden under the foot of men thirty years ago, and I am of the same temper still: use me as you will, I am a poor sinner; and if I were to be killed a thousand ways, I suffer no more than my reward as an unprofitable servant of God: but do not trample the dear Jesus under foot; what has he done to you! Was it any harm to leave his Father's bosom, come down and die, and plead for sinners? See him yonder hang on the tree! behold him with his arm stretched out! see him all of a bloody gore, and in his last agony preaching love! Would you give him a fresh stab? Are there any of you here that think the sword did not pierce him enough? that they did not knock the briers and thorns into his head deep enough? And will you give him the other slash, the other thorns? and will you pierce him afresh, and go away without believing he is love? I cannot help it; I am free from the blood of you all. Oh that you may not damn your own souls! Do not be murderers; nor, like Esau, "sell your birth-right for a mess of pottage." God convince you; God convert you: God help those that never believed, to believe; God help those that have believed, to believe more; that they may experience more and more this salvation, till faith is turned into vision, and hope into fruition; till we have all, with yonder saint, and all that have gone before us, experienced complete salvation in the kingdom of heaven: even so, Lord Jesus. Amen and Amen.

SERMON LXII.

REPENTANCE AND CONVERSION.

Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.-Acts iii. 19.

WHAT a pity is it that modern preachers attend no more to the method those took who were first inspired by the Holy Ghost, in preaching Jesus Christ! the success they were honoured with, gave a sanction to their manner of preaching, and the divine authority of their discourses, and energy of their elocution, one would think, should have more weight with those that are called to dispense the gospel, than all modern schemes whatever. If this were the case, ministers would then learn first to sow, and then to reap; they would endeavour to plough up the fallow ground, and thereby prepare the people for God's raining down