sing to God; for you are " without strength," and "in your flesh dwelleth no good thing;" "they that are in the flesh cannot please God," and "without Christ you can do nothing." Here again, if left to yourself, your case would be hopeless. But further, the perfect justice of God requires a righteousness to deserve your acceptance and admission to the joys of heaven; for perfect justice consists in rendering in every case what the case deserves. Now of yourself, as a sinner, you deserve punishment, you cannot, therefore, at the same time deserve acceptance as righteous; and your own righteousness can never deserve this for you; for the Prophet tells us that "all our righteousnesses are but as filthy rags," utterly insufficient to cover us, and unfit to appear in before the presence of that holy God who is of purer eyes than to look upon iniquity, in whose sight the very heavens are unclean, and who chargeth even his angels with folly, Indeed, you are of yourself unable to

work any righteousness: being of yourself by nature only "carnal, and sold under sin;" "in the flesh," and unable in that state "to please God, and sold as a bondslave under sin, to follow its will, and do its work, without any power in yourself to effect your deliverance and become the servant of God. Now, I pray you, consider these things; reflect on your spiritual wants, on your own utter inability to supply them, and the consequent necessity of your going out of yourself entirely for salvation, and seeking it from some other source. You want a power to cleanse you from the guilt, and set you free from the dominion of sin; you want a Person to make atonement for your sin, to satisfy the demands of divine justice, to turn aside the divine wrath, to suffer in your stead the punishment denounced against your sins, and supply you with a perfect righteousness to deserve your ac, ceptance; you want a regenerating, renewing, strengthening, and sanctifying power, to quicken you with spi

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ritual life, renew you unto the image of God, strengthen you unto obedience, sanctify you unto holiness, and thus form you to a meetness for heavenly glory. Now the Bible sets before you Jesus Christ as able and willing to supply all your spiritual wants; for he "is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins," and all things necessary for the salvation of sinners, whom he came to save. to him may you look more and more, and experience more and more his allsufficiency unto your salvation; for "he is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him." Let us pray.

And

O Lord God of Hosts, most mighty, most glorious, most holy, before thee the very angels tremble and veil their faces, when they fall down and worship at thy footstool; grant us grace to draw near to thee with reverence and godly fear, and to fall down and worship before thee with deep humility and self-abasement, for thou art

in heaven and we upon earth, and we are much lower than the angels; they are holy, but we unholy; they are obedient, but we rebellious; they are ministering spirits, but we fallen helpless sinners. By thy word thou teachest us that in our flesh dwelleth nothing but sinfulness and weakness, and that we have no power of ourselves to help or save ourselves; teach us by thy Spirit to feel this more and more, that we may come with humble and earnest supplications to the Lord Jesus Christ, whose salvation is all-sufficient, and whose strength is made perfect in weakness. For his sake, O merciful Father, have mercy upon us miserable sinners; O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us; and though we be tied and bound with the chain of our sins, let the pitifulness of thy great mercy loose us; and may the power of the spirit of life in thee be unto us the power of life, and strength, and godliness, and work in us that true repentance,

conversion, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. Especially we would offer up our prayers in behalf of this person whom thou visitest in thy wisdom with this correction of bodily sickness; visit him in thy power with the blessings of spiritual health, and save his soul for thy mercies' sake. Lead him, by the guidance of thy word and Spirit, to reflect on his own spiritual wants, and his own utter inablity to supply them, that he may feel more and more that there is none other name by which he may receive health and salvation to his soul, but only the name of Jesus Christ: and may the sense of his own sinfulness and weakness, lead him, with selfrenunciation, penitence, and faith, unto Him who is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins. O heavenly Father, strengthen, support, and comfort him, that he may receive this thy fatherly correction with patience,