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be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh; I was ashamed, yea, even confounded; because I did bear the reproach of my youth." This is the language of God's compassion, ver. 20.-"Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are troubled for him, saith the Lord." Yes, Sirs, God, for Christ's sake, keeps mercy in store for the chief of sinners who return to him.

Now, what effect had this kind behaviour on the prodigal? Did it make him suppress his intended confession? Did it prevent the humiliation he resolved upon? No; it rather increased his contrition and godly sorrow. An awakened sinner is affected and melted down with the discoveries of God's free, full, pardoning love in Christ Jesus, it appears so great, so undeserved, and so excellent.

"Law and terrors do but hardeu,
All the while they work alone;
But a sense of blood-bought pardon,
Soon dissolves a heart of stone."

The prodigal no sooner meets his father than he cries, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son" he was going on; he would have said more; but the father stopped him, and said to his servants, who with surprise had followed him, and gathered round to behold the affecting scene,-" Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." Ver. 22-24.

The prodigal was half naked; he is now clothed, and that with a robe; the dress of a prince rather than of a servant. He had the appearance of a wretched slave; the ornaments of a free man were put upon him. He was ready to starve; the most delicate food is prepared for him. He was almost overwhelmed with grief; cheerfulness and joy now fill his heart. Thus, the lower a penitent sinks in humility, the higher will God raise him, and heap upon him the greater benefits. The reconciled sinner shall be treated as a child; he shall be clothed with the garments of salvation, with the righteousness of Christ; he shall have the seal of adoption, and the graces of the Spirit enabling him to walk in the ways of God.

We have scarcely time to notice, in the IVth place, the behaviour of his ill-natured elder brother; suffice it to say, it was a picture of the Pharisees; and represents the character of many, "who value themselves on the regularity of their own conduct, and betray a strong aversion to the rich grace of the gospel, which is extended to the greatest sinners; they are offended that no peculiar compliment is paid to their excellence, and that others, whom they despised, are put on a level with them." Thus Christ reproves them.

CONCLUSION.

Men and brethren,-There are two things in this parable which I trust you will not forget the folly of sinners, and the compassion of God. Let each one of us consider, whether he has not ungratefully run away from God, disliked his restraints-been wise in his own conceit-indulged forbidden lusts-and abused the bounties of heaven? And yet, perhaps, totally insensible of the evil of such base conduct.

In the midst of prosperity there was not a thought of returning to God; and even in affliction, any other method was tried rather than that. But surely it is high time to bethink ourselves. May divine grace bring us all to ourselves, as the necessary means of bringing us to God. Let us resolve, without a moment's delay, to humble ourselves at his feet; and let us be encouraged to do so by the affecting account we have heard of God's kindness. "He sees afar off the returning sinners; he pities, he meets, he pardons, he embraces them. He arrays them with the robe of the Redeemer's righteousness; adorns them with the ornaments of sanctifying grace; honours them with the tokens of adopting love; and invests them with all the privileges of his dear children." Oh, that we may feel the charming force of these heavenly attractions! May there be joy in heaven and earth this day on our account; and may we, thus received into the house of God, abide there all the days of our life, admiring and adoring the sovereign, free, and everlasting grace of God: and saying, "Behold! what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!"

"The mighty God will not despise
The contrite heart for sacrifice;
The deep-fetched sigh, the secret groan,
Rises accepted to the Throne.

"He meets with tokens of his grace,
The trembling lip, the blushing face;
His bowels yearn when sinners pray,
And mercy bears their sins away.

"And now let us, who long have been
The wretched slaves of hell and sin,
Repent-made wiser by the rod-
Come to ourselves, and then to God."

I

SERMON XIX.

JOHN XIV. 6.

I am the way.

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F we believe that there is a future state of happiness, called heaven, and a future state of misery, called hell, there can be nothing of greater consequence to us, than to obtain the one and escape the other. If we have any serious thoughts of these things, we cannot but inquire, Which is the true way to heaven? Every thing that calls itself Religion pretends to be the way; but, as there are so many different ways, they cannot all be right: yea, we are bold to say they are all wrong, except one, and that one is declared in the text; "I am the way,' said Jesus; "no man cometh to the Father, but by me." Our Lord spake these words to his disciples when they were full of trouble because he was about to leave them. He comforts them by saying he was going to heaven, his Father's house, to prepare a place for them; and that he would come again, and receive them to himself; that where he was they also might be and then he adds, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." But Thomas, who was rather of a doubtful turn of mind, repliedLord, after all thou hast said, we are still at a loss about the place where thou art going, and how then can we know the way to follow thee? Jesus answered, I am the way; which is as if he had said, I am the Mediator between God and Man; I am the means of intercourse between heaven and earth; whatever

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comes from God to a sinner, comes through me; and whatever, of an acceptable kind, goes from a sinful man to God, must pass through my hands. In treating upon these very important and useful words, we

shall show

I. To what Christ is a way; and,

II. What sort of a way he is.

I. We are to consider, What Christ is a way to. Every way or road leads from some place to another; now, as he is pleased to call himself a way, in condescension to our mean capacities, we are to consider, what he is the way from, and what he is the way to. We are to remember that we are fallen, guilty creatures, in a state of sin, and liable to all miseries here and hereafter; and that we are far from God, from righteousness, and from heaven; now, if ever we are brought back to God and a state of grace here, and to a state of glory hereafter, it must be in and through Jesus Christ alone. We say, then, that Christ is the way to God and the way to heaven.

The first of these is directly expressed by our blessed Lord in the text: I am the way; no man cometh to the Father, but by me. When man was first created, he lived in a happy state of nearness to God; he knew God, and delighted in him as his chief good; but sin, cursed sin, soon made a dreadful separation; and now we come into the world " estranged from God," and we "go astray from the womb;" we desire absence from God: "he is not in all our thoughts;" but we seek happiness in sin and folly. Yet is the Lord our God pleased to invite us back to him, by the promises and blessings of his gospel, and by the ordinances of his house. And although multitudes despise these, and madly resolve to pursue the way of destruction, yet a happy few there are who hear the voice of the Son of God in his word; are made sensible that, being far from him, they must

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