nefs can revive me. ་ར་ར་ In the fpring feafon, the Lord fends forth his Spirit, and renews the face of the earth; O that he would be graciously pleased to give me a happy spring season in my inner man; that he would renew and revive his work in my heart, and caufe the fruits of righteoufnefs to be produced in me, to his praife and glory! By my carelessness and floth, I have been cast into a deep fleep. By the idleness of my hands, my foul fuffers hunger, and is reduced to a starving condition. By the indulgence of fin, I have given wounds to my confcience, which nothing but his grace and favour can heal. Lord, return unto me, and have mercy upon me; heal my foul, for I have finned against thee. Deal with me according to thy word; O be mindful of the gracious promifes thou haft made to backfliding fouls. I will endeavour to recollect fome of them, and to plead them before thy throne of grace." "After two days will he revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his fight. I will heal their backfliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Ifrael: he fhall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches fhall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his finell as Lebanon. They that ........ that dwell under his fhadow fhall return, they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof fhall be as the wine of Lebanon." "Lord, remember thefe great and precious promises in my behalf, and give me to experience their full accomplishment, which will be to thy' poor fervant as life from the dead." The troubled backflider stands in need of the manifeftation of divine favour, to reftore peace and comfort to his foul. Let us fuppofe him in his retired moments, expreffing the language of his heart in the following foliloquy. "I have, by my own folly and perverfeness, loft that comfortable fense of God's favour which I once enjoyed. The Comforter that should relieve my foul, is withdrawn; O that I knew where I might find him! My foul is far off from peace; I forget profperity; yea, for peace I have great bitterness. I mourn like a dove, and afflict myself, but in vain. I remember God, and am troubled, when I think of the past experience I have had of his comforting prefence. These happy feafons are now enjoyed no longer. I fay within myself, Will the Lord caft off for ever? Will he be favourable no more? Hath he in anger fhut up his tender mercies? It is long fince I was favoured with the cheering light of his bleffed countenance. There is a great and .....4..4.. fad ftrangeness between God and my foul. Alas! what fhall I do to recover what I have loft? "I muft juftify God, and condemn myself, even though he should banish me from his bleffed prefence for ever. But is there no ground of hope, that he will be gracious unto me? Will he not return to the foul that feeketh him? O what a blessed season would it be, might I again taste those heavenly confolations which I once enjoyed! O that it were with me as in months paft, in the days when God preferved me; when his candle fhone upon my head, and when, by his light, I walked through darknefs! 66 Lord, I entreat thy favour with my whole heart; be merciful unto me, according to thy word. Hide not thy face from me, but restore unto me the joys of thy falvation. Grant me those heavenly fmiles which chear the hearts of thy dear children; deal graciously with me, as thou useft to deal with thofe that love thy name. O let me regain the sense of thy life-giving favour, for the fake of him who once cried, in agonies on the cross, My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me? If I am interested in the benefits of his redemption, if I am a child of thine, fuffer me not to pine away in dif.. confolation, for want of the tokens of a Father's love. Receive a returning prodigal to thy embracing bracing arms, and fay unto my foul, I am thy fal vation." Reader, if your cafe bears any resemblance to to that which I have been defcribing, let me entreat you to ponder in your heart the following gracious declarations.. "I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit before me would be overwhelmed, and the living fouls which I have made. Because of his iniquity, for a fhort time I was wroth; and I fmote him, hiding my face in mine anger. And he departed, turning back in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways; and I will heal him; I will be his Guide: and I will restore comforts to him, and to his mourners. * For a small moment have I forfaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer. For the mountains fhall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, faith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee." To add no more, as to this point, the returning backflider ftands in need of God's favour to secure him from future relapses. Alas!" fays he, “I 66 have Dr. Lowth's tranflation of Ifai. lvii. 16, 17, 18, 19. ....$4.4. have within me a heart bent to backflide, and prone to wander from God. And though I be now reftored in great mercy, I fhall certainly go aftray again, unless I am upheld and preserved by the favour of the Keeper of Ifrael. After God has spoken peace, I am ftill in danger of turning again to folly.* Thou, O Lord, fayest unto me, Go and fin no more; but, alas! thou knoweft my weakness and inconftancy. Hold thou me up, and I fhall be fafe, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Let thy favour furround me like a fhield; cause thy face to fhine, and I fhall be faved. So will I not go back from thee; quicken me, and I will call upon thy name. Lord, put underneath me thine everlasting arm, and let thy right hand uphold me. "I have many enemies without, and many within, and having had fuch mournful proofs of my own unspeakable weakness, and of the deceitfulnefs and treachery of my heart, I am jealous over "O to grace how great a debtor my |