God now commandeth all men every where to repent. Acts 17. 30. I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matt. 9. 13. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13. 5. God hath exalted Christ with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5. 13. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn. Zech. 12. 10. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Ezek. 36. 31. Give glory tothe Lord God, and make confession unto him. Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God, and thus and thus have I done. Josh. 7. 19, 20. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Prov. 28. 13. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Ps. 119.75. Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. 1 Sam. 26. 21. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us : for we have sinned against the Lord our God, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. Jer. 3, 25. O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Ezra 9. 6. I will arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants, And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, Luke 15. 18, 19, 20.

The Change of Heart and Life.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor adulterers, &c. shall inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Cor. 6., 10. There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie. Rev. 21. 27. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3. 3. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saveth us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Titus 3. 5. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom. 8. 6, 7, 8, 9. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2. 25. What fruit had you then in those things

whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. Rom. 6. 21. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together, with Christ. Eph. 2. 4, 5. That we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Luke 1. 74, 75. For thus saith the Lord, I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Ezek. 11. 19, 20. Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. Matt. 7. 17. 20. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life, Rom. 6. 22.

Prayer.

God satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. Ps. 107. 9---13. O remember not against us former iniqui. ties: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us, for we are brought very low. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die. Ps. 79. 8. 11. I will say unto God, do not condemn me. Show me where fore thou contendest with me. Job 10. 2. Think upon me, my God, for good. Neh. 5. 19. My prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered out of the deep waters. Ps. 69. 13, 14. God be merciful to me, a sinner. Luke 18. 13. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name. Ps. 142. 7. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. Ps. 126. 4. Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Lam 5. 21. ENCOURAGEMENT.---Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Ps. 50. 15. For the Lord hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death. Ps. 102. 19, 20. I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon, and thou hast heard my voice. Lam. 3. 55, 56. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65.24.

Submission.

Be still, and know that I am God. Ps. 46. 10. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Pet. 5. 6, 7. In the day of adversity consider. Ec. 7. 14. I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished. Jer. 46. 28. Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. Lam. 3. 39, 40. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ec. 7. 8. Thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neh. 9. 33. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. Ps. 3?. 9, 10. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me. Mic. 7. 9. It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good. 1 Sam. 3. 18. After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve. Ezra 9. 13. If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again; but if he thus say, I have no delight in thee: behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. 2 Sam. 15. 25, 26. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him. Ps. 43. 5.

Depression of Mind, and Encouragement.

Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day? Gen. 40. 7. God hath put away mine acquaintance far from me, and hast made me an abomination unto them; I am shut up and I cannot come forth. Ps. 88. 8. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. Ps. 31. 12. Mine iniquities are gone over my head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. Ps. 38. 4. 6. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. Ps. 69. 20. All my inward friends abhorred me; and they whom I loved are turned against me. Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Job 19, 19. 21. He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. Lam. 3. 9. I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause. Job 5. 8. ENCOURAGEMENT.-The Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Ps. 69. 33. The Lord said to Jeremiah, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, call upon me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jer. 33. 1. 3. It is of the

Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. For the Lord will not cast off forever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies; for he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Lam. 3. 22. 31, 32, 33. By this shall his iniquity be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin. Isa. 27. 9. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me; the Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: Ps. 138. 7, 8.

Sickness and Death.

See now, that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. Deut. 32. 39. I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Matt. 25. 36. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me; O Lord, for I am weak: O Lord heal me; for my bones are vexed. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? Ps. 6. 1, 2. 5. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Ps. 39. 11. I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins, Mic. 6. 13. I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. Isa. 38. 10. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be ⚫ healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Jer. 17. 14. I am the Lord that healeth thee. Ex. 15. 26. Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Ps. 39. 4. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. Job 30. 23. There the prisoners

rest together, they hear not the voice of the oppressor. ¡Job 3. 18. Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy: that they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it. Ps. 109. 26, 27. What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the band of the grave? Ps. 89. 48. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it, Ec. 12. 7.

Youth.

I spake unto thee in thy This hath been thy manner

Jer. 22. 21. Even a

The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Gen. 8. 21. Childhood and youth are vanity. Ec. 11. 10. prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. Prov. 20. 11. The days of his youth thou hast shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Ps. 89. 45. Say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice

of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. Prov. 5. 12-14. His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. Job 20. 11. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but, know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Ec. 11. 9. Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. Job 13. 26. Wherewithall shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Ps. 119. 9. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord. Ps. 25. 7. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Jer. 3. 4.

The Release from Bondage.

They shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in a pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Isa. 24. 22. The Lord looseth the prisoners. Ps. 146. 7. He bringeth out those which are bound with chains. Ps. 68. 6. These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth. Rev. 3. 7. And it shall come to pass, that in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve. Isa. 14. 3. For, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Jer. 29. 11. 14. If they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; then he showeth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded. He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. Job 36, 8-12. Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. Gen. 41. 14. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Ps. 90. 15. Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee. John &. 11. & 5. 14.

END.