conversion-they themselves should remain in the same cold, dead, worldly state, in which they had before been contentedly living. The more, therefore, they have seen meek and gentle persons privately persécuted on account of their religion, the more have they desired to know what it was to be converted; for they have found, upon a candid reading of the Holy Scriptures, that this was not a fanatic or sectarian expression, but that it was frequently used by our Saviour and his Apostles, and used so emphatically, that our Lord says, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." They desire to know, therefore, what conversion is;--a desire which often much increases, from the fears they entertain that this should not be their state.

I conceive, therefore, that I cannot more properly follow up my late discourse for dif fusing the religious principles of the Reformation, than, First, By explaining WHAT CONVERSION IS Secondly, By giving SOME MARKS OF IT: Thirdly, IMPROVING THE SUBJECT.

I. To understand the term properly, we must refer to man's original state.

It pleased that God, who through eternity had existed in his own incomprehensible essence,

to create man, Of his own rich and free grace, he formed him out of the dust of the earth; breathed into his soul the breath of life; made him in his own image; adorned him with beauty both of mind and body; placed him in a paradise where there was every thing to delight him; and said to him, in effect, this one word, Love, and live:' for the command, not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was only a test of love, since it could not be broken without a breach of love both to God and his neighbour.

This, my friends, is the short history of man's creation. When man, therefore, cut the cord of love, he committed an act of suicide: he fell from his high and happy state into that misery in which the world now is;-a misery which cannot be more feelingly described than by this, that self reigns instead of love; that, naturally, each asks, How shall I please myself? instead of asking, How shall I shew love to God and love to my fellow-creatures? It is a selfish world, and consequently a miserable world.

But the superabundant goodness of God left not the world in this state. By another act of his free bounty, an act of far richer grace, he provided another dispensation. The first was a dispensation for a creature formed in his

likeness: Love, and lives The second was a dispensation suited to a sinner: Come, and be saved. In accordance with this, he sent his Son as a Saviour; and by his death, resurrection, and ascension into glory, provided him with every thing needful to make a sinner happy,—pardon of sin, reconciliation with himself, a Divine nature, grace suited for every time of need; wisdom for the ignorant, strength for the weak, purity for the unholy, immortality for the dying, and incorruption for the corruptible. This is all treasured up in his Son; and this bestowed so freely, that, as our first parents had only to stretch forth their hands and take of the fruit of every tree of the garden; so any sinner, however great his transgressions may have been, may come to the Lord Jesus Christ; may take from Him, the real Tree of Life, pardon, peace, adoption, holiness, grace, and glory and all with this view, that man may finally be restored; or rather, raised to a higher state than he was in before the Fall, a state of bliss eternal.

This, my friends, is the present dispensationa dispensation as free as the first, only varied according to the circumstances of man: That, suited to a perfect creature; Love, and live: this, suited to a fallen sinner; Come, and be saved.

Now, if we can suppose, ere our first parents fell, that from some circumstance they had

turned away from the tree of life-that tree upon which the fruit hung which was to preserve their immortality-we may easily see that it would be necessary that they should turn again towards the tree, before they could take of its fruit. That which was to be their preserver, was in the tree of life: their faces were turned from it; and, consequently, they must turn again before they could take of the fruit and enjoy its sweetness.

This will give us a simple idea of what conversion is. "God is love:" Jesus is the tree of life, upon which the fruit of love hangs: mercy to sinners, pardon to transgressors, the grace of the Holy Spirit, present peace and future glory, and an entrance into his eternal kingdom, all are to be found in him. They hang in thick clusters, with this gracious invitation; "Whosoever will, let him come *:” “ Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved †:" "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else t."

But, my friends, we have each of us turned away from our Saviour. This blessed Lord, who, as we were baptized into his name, ought to have been, from the earliest dawn of our

* Rev. xxii. 17.

+ Cant. v. 1.

Isa. xlv. 22.

reason in our eye, as the Saviour by whose precious blood we are to obtain pardon, and by whose intercession we are to receive the Spirit, and at whose coming eternal glory is promised to us, has been practically forgotten. I scarcely need prove this; for all, who are acquainted with the general state of society, know it to be a fact. Take these proofs of it:-How many merchants are there, do you suppose, in this city, who, when they begin the ordinary business of life, assemble with their clerks in their countinghouses, to thank God for the privileges of the past Sabbath, and to entreat his guidance and blessing, as Christians, upon the business of the week; that they may buy as Christians, sell as Christians, and as Christians transact their affairs? Or, in how many of the parties of pleasure, which were going forward during the last week, were those who were present saying, “Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us : "I will go unto God, my exceeding joy?" I believe, my friends, we should all agree in giving the answer, "I fear but very few; at least I know not any." Christ is equally neglected by grave men of business and by the gay sons and daughters of pleasure. But let me ask, Would there be any thing unwise, unchristian, unscriptural in such a recognition? May we not believe, that had our first

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