profit should we have if we pray unto him?" Job xxi, 14, 15. Poor wretches, little do they think how soon the world will pass away; how soon their pleasures will destroy them; or how soon that God will call them to an account, whose frown is more to be dreaded than death itself!

But men, when confirmed in evil habits, are so far from thinking on these things, that they generally sink into a state of senseless stupidity, and hardened insensibility. Arrived at this pitch of wickedness, their bodies are frequently emaciated; their understandings beclouded; and all their feelings blunted. They are cloyed with sinful pleasures, and yet pursue them; and though they have lost the power to enjoy the world, yet they hanker after it. "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cord of his sins. He shall die without instruction: and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray." Prov. v, 22, 23.

What is worse than all, the Lord frequently leaves such men to perish in their sins. "Ephraim is joined to his idols: Let him alone." Hos. iv, 17. This is the worst state a man can be in out of hell. For, when the Lord withdraws the influences of his Spirit, the sinner feels no remorse; no good purposes; and no thought of turning from his evil ways. Forsaken of God, his case has no remedy; but his damnation is sure. As long as God strives with a sinner, there is hope; but, when he ceases to strive, there is no hope.

But there are some, whose bad habits are not absolutely confirmed. Though those habits are of long standing, and have acquired such strength, that the unhappy man can no more conquer them, by his own power, than an Ethiopian can change his skin, or a leopard his spots ; yet he has neither lost a fear of punishment, a sense of shame, nor a desire to return to God. He is not quite stupid and senseless; nor has the Spirit of God wholly departed from him. He feels remorse of conscience, and attempts to rise up out of his wretched state; but his impotency, made evident in successive ineffectual struggles, drives him almost to despair. His habits appear to him to be fixed and unalterable. Every attempt, in his own strength, to break the chains by which he is bound, proves the utter impossibility of success. Thus, long habits of doing evil mock the feeble power of man, and bid defiance to his fine resolutions. Who can describe the gloomy horrors of such a state? Is it possible, on any plan, for the miserable offender to return? "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" With men this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible. This shall lead us to the Third part of our subject:

III. REMEDIES FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN INTO THIS SNARE. Before any thing can be done, to rescue a man from the power of bad habits, he must be made truly sensible of his awful situation; for, while he imagines all is well, he goes on in his old course, and hardens himself more and more. Who can be expected to flee when danger does not appear? Who prepares for battle without an enemy? Bad habits are our greatest enemies. Let us see them, and prepare to fight.

It is not enough to see an evil habit; its evil must be felt; and the

sinner must weep and mourn before God. A bare view of an evil, which does not affect our feelings, will never lead either to reformation or conversion. But when we feel the evil of sin, and experience true contrition of heart, we may hope for mercy; for the Lord has said, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Isai. lxvi, 2.

At the same time, every idea of saving ourselves, by any exertions of our own, must be given up. Such ideas feed our pride, and keep us at a distance from the Lord. Convinced of our utter helplessness, and inability to do any thing as of ourselves, we should cry out, in the language of the woman of Canaan, "Lord, help me." Matt. xv, 25. Thus, when a sinner feels his helplessness, he applies for Divine help, and his application is not in vain; for the Lord pities him, and sends him help from his holy hill.

When we are truly humbled before God, we must direct our thoughts to the Saviour of Sinners, who is both able and willing to deliver us. He died that we might live; and, "if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John ii, 1. When we look up to him, by an eye of faith, and direct our prayers to the Father of mercies, we obtain salvation. Thus, when the trembling jailer, at Philippi, inquired, "What must I do to be saved?" the apostles said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts xvi, 30, 31.

Having obtained salvation by Jesus Christ, we must begin, without delay, to use the grace which he has given. By that grace our hearts are renewed, and we feel new powers to obey God. Then the Ethiopian has changed his skin, and the leopard his spots; and the sinner has received power from on high, to break through every snare. Before, he cried out, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" But now he says, "Thank God through Jesus Christ." Rom. vii, 24, 25.

The renewed man quits all his bad habits at once. Those who recommend the conquest of bad habits by degrees, are strangers to the grace of God. On this plan we can do nothing; on the other we can do all things. In a moment, when renewed in righteousness, every evil is renounced for ever. In the case of bodily excesses, this may be thought extravagant; but a renewed man had rather the body should perish, than that it should be an instrument of sin. Having obtained mercy, he remembers the words of his Lord, to the woman who was taken in adultery, "Go, and sin no more." John xii, 11.

Finally, let us guard against bad habits ourselves; let us caution others; let us break them in our children; and let it be our principal care to form habits of goodness, mercy, and truth. By these principles may our lives be regulated and governed, until we are called up into a better world; and there may we unite in songs of everlasting praise, to him who has delivered us from the snares of sin and death! Amen.

SERMON LVII.

THE PRAYER OF HABAKKUK.

O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid; O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known: In wrath remember mercy. HABAKKUK iii, 2.

THE exact time when this prophet flourished, is not known; but it was previous to the Babylonish captivity. He foresaw that awful event, was afraid, and prayed for wrath to be mixed with mercy. In every similar case, the pious should wrestle with God in mighty prayer. If they succeed, their prayers are a blessing to the people; if they do not succeed, their devotions are a blessing to themselves. It is an encouraging reflection, to every man who loves devotion, that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James iv, 16.

In this discourse we shall consider, the grounds of Habakkuk's prayer; the blessings for which he prayed; the necessity of our offering up similar prayers; and the plan on which we may expect success. I. THE GROUNDS OF HABAKKUK'S PRAYER.

Habakkuk had heard an awful speech from the Lord. The first part of that speech related to the judgments which God was about to bring upon his people for their sins. "For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that are not their's." Chap. i, 6. "They shall come all for violence: Their faces shall sup up the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as sand." Verse 9. The second part of the speech relates to awful judgments, which God would inflict upon the Chaldeans, by the Medes and Persians. This takes up a considerable part of the second chapter. How God spake to the prophet, whether by an outward voice, or by the inward inspiration of his Spirit, is not said; but the matter of the speech proves clearly, that the sins of God's professing people were to be punished by the instrumentality of a fierce and violent nation; and that that nation, in its turn, would be punished by others as fierce and violent as itself. How wonderful are the judgments of God! Sinners are employed to punish sin; and, at length, they fall under deserved punishments themselves.

The Lord's speech to Habakkuk made him afraid. And who, placed in the same circumstances, would not have been afraid? The judg ments of God are fearful things! The prophet was not afraid on his own account; but he feared for his countrymen, and for the nations. Pious men have more fears for the wicked than for themselves. Knowing the veracity of God, in his awful threatenings, they believe his word, and dread its accomplishment. It is a mercy to the world, that these fears are excited in the hearts of good men; for, under their influence,

they give warning, use exhortation, and offer up prayer to God. By these means, some are alarmed and brought to repentance, and the rest are left without excuse. Habakkuk, when informed of the judgments which were about to come upon his people and upon the nations, immediately applied to a throne of mercy; and besought the Lord to "revive" his "work in the midst of the years;" in the midst of the years to "make" himself "known;" and "in wrath" to "remember mercy." This leads us to consider the Second part of our subject: II. THE BLESSINGS FOR WHICH HABAKKUK PRAYED. Habakkuk prayed that the Lord would revive his work. By his work, in this passage, we may understand the Jewish church; for he had created, formed, redeemed, and called that church by name. "But, now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine." Isai. xliii, 1. It was with great propriety that they were called his work; for he had separated them from the nations, had entered into covenant with them, had preserved them in imminent dangers, and had blessed them with unparalleled privileges. They were still considered as his work, though fallen by their iniquities; oppressed by their enemies; and degraded in the sight of the nations. Nor were they finally rejected, until they crucified the Son of God, and rejected the gospel of salvation.

The word revive, signifies to give new life, strength, and consolation. The Jewish nation, in the midst of the years of their captivity, were reduced, by long and deserved afflictions, to a lifeless, weak, and disconsolate state. A view of that state led the prophet to pray, that the Lord would revive them, by giving new life, strength, and comfort. This might be done, by cheering messages from their prophets; by kind providential interpositions in their behalf; and, especially, by those gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, which might restore them to a state of purity, obedience, and zeal for the Divine glory. It was necessary, on many accounts, that they should be revived: Without a revival they might have perished; the heathen nations might have triumphed; and the grand designs of God, in making them a people, might not have been accomplished.

That affliction of the Jews, which Habakkuk foresaw, was to continue seventy years. At the end of that long period, God promised to bring them back to their own land. "For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place." Jer. xxix, 10. But the prophet entreated the Lord to revive his work in the midst of those years. Long and painful afflictions cannot be borne without the enlivening and quickening influences of God.

Again, the prophet prayed that the Lord would make himself known in the midst of the years. He had justly hid his face from his people, and withdrawn his saving power, when the Chaldeans invaded their land. Hence the enemy, ignorant of his power, imagined that the Jews had no God to support and defend them. But, make thyself known, O Lord; be reconciled to thy people; and display thy saving power.

Then thy people shall rejoice, and the nations shall be afraid. Perhaps it was in answer to this prayer, that, about the midst of the captivity, the Lord made himself known, in the preservation of the three Hebrew children in the burning fiery furnace.

God had often mixed his judgments with mercy. Here the prophet prays that he would continue to do so: "In wrath remember mercy." God was justly provoked to wrath, and he might have consumed his people by his fiery judgments. Deeply impressed with this sentiment, and with grateful feelings for Divine mercy, Jeremiah said, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness." Lam. iii, 22, 23. Sinful men owe their safety to the mercy of God. They deserve to suffer his vengeance; but Christ has mercifully undertaken their cause. On this ground, mercy has frequently been mixed with judgment, from the time when God made the first promise to man. Let us pray, that God would remember mercy in all his dealings, with our families, with the church, and with the world. May our friends, our acquaintance, and our enemies, find mercy! We now proceed to consider,

III. THE NECESSITY OF OUR OFFERING UP SIMILAR PRAYERS.

The awful threatenings of God, which belong to us as professors, and those which belong to the nations around us, should stir us up to pray for those blessings, which Habakkuk asked at the hands of the Lord. Did he feel for his people? Did he feel for the nations? And shall we harden our hearts? The man who is not disposed to pray for those who are threatened with Divine judgments, cannot be said to possess the spirit of true religion. He may profess it before men; but his want of sympathetic feelings gives the lie to his profession. The dark clouds which hang over fallen churches and wicked nations, are truly alarming; and if they continue impenitent, those clouds will burst with awful vengeance on their heads. But let us earnestly pray, that the Lord would revive his work, and, in deserved wrath, remember mercy.

Religion is at a low ebb in the visible church of Christ. The work of grace, in the hearts of professors, languishes, droops, and dies. How few, in the Christian world, have a living faith! How few, amongst professors, love God with all their hearts! Private prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, family worship, and the means of grace, are shamefully and scandalously neglected. There is too much conformity to the world, in our dress, conversation, customs, and manners. These, and other things which might be named, are painful symptoms of spiritual decays. If we look at the church established by law in these realms; at the different denominations of dissenters; or at our own particular sect, we shall see great need to pray for a revival of religion. We all make high professions; but a mere profession is no proof that we are alive to God. We profess unbounded charity to men in distress, and we patronise and support various liberal institutions for the public good. We have our Sunday Schools, our Bible Societies, and our Missionary Societies; but, amidst all, we are too much like the Pharisees, "who loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." John