his paffions, inflamed by liquor, never broke out into any exceffes, never abufed his friend, revealed his fecrets, or blackened his reputation? Have none of the partakers of his tumultuous scenes been tranfported, in the heat of them, into any fuch exceffes? Let the drunkard endeavour in fome fober hour to answer these questions, and he will find a full reparation, a task already swoln perhaps beyond his power.

IMAGINE again the libertine, who makes it his bufinefs to corrupt female virtue. To win the confidence of a perfon by overtures of affection, to engage the partiality of a fond tender heart, to hold out the fairest pretenfions of unabated paffion, and lasting fidelity, and then, in fome fatal moment of unfufpicious fondnefs and innocent credulity, to take advantage of fleeping virtue and then -bafe affaffin ! - to caft her away, loft to fame, loft to the world,

world, to her friends, and to herselfto be hiffed at and marked out with abhorrence to be deprived of an honest and comfortable settlement in the world -nay, of common refuge and protection-obliged to end her days in poverirreclaimable prostitution, or an

ty, untimely impenitent death dreadful evils, horrid even in conception! - this is the crime of the libertine, which he calls gallantry, and the following of nature; but what reafon muft call in most cafes an irreparable crime, beyond the reach of reparation, that important, that effential part of repentance.

BUT if we proceed from hence to the more acknowledged characters of active vice, the unjuft fervant, the fraudulent dealer, the fecret thief or powerful oppreffor, whofe plan of life is to thrive and live by injustice; here frauds and villanies appear, exceeding even the power of memory to recollect.

IF therefore (that we may conclude

this head) reparation and reftitution be an effential part of true repentance, where our fins affect focial life; if moft of our fins have either directly or indirectly such a pernicious influence; and if, in a long progrefs, they accumulate and fwell into guilt beyond the reach of reparation, and even recollection; it becomes every man, who has any ferious intention of faving himself, to ftop immediately, before he brings himself into fuch inextricable difficulties, as he will wish for worlds to be clear of, and yet muft wish in vain.

III. BUT this forms not the worst part of a finner's diftrefs. His moral powers grow every day weaker by finful habits.

SIN tends to render the heart callous and infenfible to every good impreffion. It darkens the judgment, perverts the affections, enflaves the will. It wears away the natural reftraints of

fear

fear and fhame; it blots out of the mind the distinctions of right and wrong; the imagination is ftained and polluted with vicious ideas, the paffions are inflamed by a habit of commanding, and the reason base and fervile from a habit of obedience. Evil habits, by these means, infenfibly take a firm hold of man; one act brings on another, repetition renders the act familiar, familiarity begets a confirmed habit, and habit grows into a fecond nature. leopard, in the language of fcripture, can as foon change his fpots, as an inveterate finner, except in extraordinary cafes, change and alter the bent of a depraved difpofition. Like wounds in the body, unless timely prevented, fin fefters, corrupts, and mortifies by degrees, and diffufes its malignity over all the powers of the foul.

The

AT the fame time, that our moral powers are decaying, temptations continue the fame: the world will to mor

row present the fame riches, the fame pleasures, and honours to enfnare us, as it does to day. Though the temptations of youth decrease, the temptations of manhood and age continue. Though appetites fubfide and cool by time, the inclination may ftill furvive; the wishes of a corrupt heart may ftill encrease the guilt amidst the impotence of finking nature. For as refraining from fin through mere fear is not genuine virtue, fo ceafing from fin from want of ability or opportunity is not repentance.

A MAN will never repent, if he means to wait, till there be no temptations. While he amufes himself with one idle hope after another of certain better opportunities hereafter; life wears away, and the man is but juft where he was before. To morrow he will repent, and, in the mean time thinks, he may safely fin to day: to morrow comes, and he fins again. To morrow he will be more refolute,

and