until the truth itself has been all mixed up with error, so as to produce the same practical effect with error, and the gospel that is preached has been another gospel, or no gospel at all.

4. You can understand what is meant by healing slightly the hurt of the daughter of God's people, and the danger of doing it. It is very easy, when sinners are under conviction, to say something that shall smooth over the case, and relieve their anxiety, so that they will either get a false hope, or will be converted with their views so obscure, that they will always be poor, feeble, wavering, doubting, inefficient Christians.

5. Much depends on the manner in which a person is dealt with, when under conviction. Much of his future comfort and usefulness depends on the clearness, and strength, and firmness, with which the directions of the gospel are given, when he is under conviction. If those who deal with him are afraid to use the probe thoroughly, he will always be a poor, sickly, doubting Christian. If converted at all, he will never do much good. The true mode, is to deal thoroughly and plainly with a sinner, to tear away every excuse he can get up, and show him plainly what he is, and what he ought to be, and he will bless God to all eternity, that he fell in with those who would be so faithful to his soul. For the want of this thorough and searching management, many are converted who seem to be stillborn. And the reason is, they never were faithfully dealt with. We may charitably hope they are Christians, but still it is uncertain and doubtful. Their conversion seems rather a change of opinion, than a change of heart. But if, when a sinner is under conviction, you pour in the truth, put in the probe, break up the old foundations, and sweep away his refuges of lies, and use the word of God, like fire and like a hammer, you will find that they will come out with clear views, and strong faith, and firm principles, not doubting, halting, irresolute Christians, but such as follow the Lord wholly. That is the way to make strong Christians. This has been eminently the case in many revivals of modern days. I have heard old Christians say of the converts, These converts were born men and women, full grown, they never were children, but have, at the very outset, all the clearness of view, and strength of faith, of old Christians. They seem to understand the doctrines of religion, and to know what to do, and how to take hold, to promote revivals, better than one in a hundred of the old members in the church."

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I once knew a young man who was converted, away from home. The place where he lived had no minister, and no preaching, and no religion. He went home in three days after

he was converted, and immediately set himself to work, to labor for a revival. He set up meetings in his neighborhood, and prayed and labored, and a revival broke out, of which he had the principal management through a powerful work, which converted most of the principal men of the place. The truth was, he had been so dealt with, that he knew what he was about. He understood the subject, and knew where he stood himself. He was not all the while troubled with doubts, whether he was himself a Christian. He knew that he was serving God, and that God was with him, and so he went boldly and resolutely forward to his object. But if you undertake to make converts, without cutting up all their errors, and tearing away their false hopes, you may make a host of hypocrites, or of puny, dwarfish Christians, always doubting, and easily turned back from a revival spirit, and worth nothing. The way is, to bring them right out to the light. When a man is converted in this way, you can depend on him, and know where to find him.

7. Protracted seasons of conviction are generally owing to defective instruction. Wherever clear and faithful instructions are given to sinners, there you will generally find that convictions are deep and pungent, but short.

8. Where clear and discriminating instructions are given to convicted sinners, if they do not soon submit, their convictions will generally leave them. Convictions in such cases are generally short. Where sinners are deceived by false views, they may be kept along for weeks, and perhaps months, and sometimes for years, in a languishing state, and at last, perhaps, be crowded into the kingdom and saved. But where the truth is made perfectly clear to the sinner's mind, and all his errors are torn away, if he does not soon submit, his case is hopeless. Where the truth is brought to bear upon his mind, and he directly resists the very truth that must convert him, there is nothing more to be done. The Spirit will soon leave him, for the very weapons he uses, are resisted. Where instructions are not clear, and are mixed up with errors, the Spirit may strive even for years, in great mercy, to get sinners through the fog of false instruction. But not so, where their duty is clearly explained to them, and they are brought right up to the single point of immediate submission, and have all their false pretences exposed, and the path of duty made perfectly plain. Then, if they do not submit, the Spirit of God forsakes them, and their state is well nigh hopeless.

If there be sinners in this house, and you see your duty clearly, TAKE CARE how you delay. If you do not sub

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DIRECTIONS TO SINNERS.

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mit, you may expect the Spirit of God will forsake you, and you are LOST.

8. A vast deal of the direction given to anxious sinners amounts to little less than the popish doctrine of indulgences. The pope used to sell indulgences to sin, and this led to the reformation under Luther. Sometimes people would purchase an indulgence to sin for a certain time, or to commit some particular sin, or a number of sins. Now, there is a vast deal in protestant churches, which is little less than the same thing. What does it differ from this, to tell a sinner to wait? The amount of it is, telling him to continue in sin a while longer, while he is waiting for God to convert him. And what is that but an indulgence to commit sin? Any direction given to sinners, that does not require them immediately to obey God, is an indulgence to sin. It is in effect, giving them liberty to continue in sin against God. Such directions are not only wicked, but ruinous and cruel. If they do not destroy the soul, as no doubt they often do, they defer, at all events, the sinner's enjoyment of God and of Christ, and he stands a great chance of being lost for ever, while listening to such instructions. O, how dangerous it is, to give a sinner reason to think he may wait a moinent, before giving his heart to God.

9. So far as I have had opportunity to observe, those conver sions which are most sudden have commonly turned out to be the best Christians. I know the reverse of this has often been held and maintained. But I am satisfied there is no reason for it, although multitudes, even now, regard it as a suspicious circumstance, if a man has been converted very suddenly. But the Bible gives no warrant for this supposition. There is not a case of protracted conviction recorded in the whole Bible. All the conversions recorded there, are sudden conversions. And I am persuaded there never would have been such multitudes of tedious convictions, and often ending in nothing after all, if it had not been for those theological perversions which have filled the world with cannot-ism. In Bible days, they told sinners to repent, and they did it then. Cannot-ism had not been broached in that day. It is this speculation, about the inability of sinners to obey God, that lays the foundation for all the protracted anguish and distress, and perhaps ruin, through which so many are led. Where a sinner is brought to see

what he has to do, and he takes his stand at once, AND DOES IT, he generally does so afterwards, and you generally find that such a person will hold out so, and prove a decided character. You will not find him one of those that you always have to

warp up to duty, like a ship, against wind and tide. Look at those professors who always have to be dragged forward in duty, and you will generally find that they had not clear and consistent directions when they were converted, and most likely they will be very much "afraid of these sudden conversions."

Afraid of sudden conversions! Some of the best Christians of my acquaintance were convicted and converted in the space of a few minutes. In one quarter of the time that I have been speaking, many of them were awakened, and came right out on the Lord's side, and have been shining lights in the church ever since, and have generally manifested the same decision of character in religion, that they did when they first came out and took a stand on the Lord's side.

LECTURE XIX.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CONVERTS.

TEXT.-"Feed my lambs."-JOHN xxi. 15.

You, who read your Bibles, recollect the connection in which these words are found, and by whom they were spoken. They were addressed by the Lord Jesus Christ to Peter, after he had denied his Lord, and had professed repentance. Probably one of the designs which Christ had in view, in suffering Peter to sin so awfully as to deny his master, was to produce a deeper work of grace in him, and thus fit him for the peculiar duty to which he intended to call him, in laying the foundations of the Christian Church, and watching over the spiritual interests of the converts. It needed a peculiar work of grace in his soul, to fit him to lead others through those scenes of trial and temptation to which the early Christians, in particular, were exposed.

It is evident, that, though Peter had special natural qualifications for such a work, yet he was quite a superficial saint. He was probably converted before this, but he was weak, and there was left so much of his natural roughness and turbulence of temper, that he was still ready to bristle up on any occasion, and take offence at every thing that crossed him, so that he was still quite unfit for that particular work to which he was destined. Christ designed him for such a peculiar service, that it seems something was indispensable to fit him for it, and make him. such a saint, that future opposition would not irritate him, nor difficulties dishearten him, nor success and honor spoil him, by lifting up his heart with pride. And, therefore, Christ takes the effectual method recorded before us, of dealing with him once for all, to secure a thorough work in his soul.

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He asked him this question, to remind him, in an affecting manner, at once of his sin and of the love of Christ, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me more than these?" Strongly implying a doubt whether he did love him. Peter answers, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." He said unto him, "Feed my lambs." He then repeated the question, as if he would read his inmost soul, "Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me ?" Peter was still firm, and promptly answers again, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus still asked him the question