CHA P. V. Henry's account of the converfion and happy death of a country-gentleman, the great fortune heleft to his kept mifirefs, with her after virtuous life, and comfortable marriage with a gentleman in London. HEnry, in a continued feries of letters to his Fanny, entertains her with the following very pleasant story. "I told you formerly, that your account of the dying penitent was very agreeable to me; and that I confidered it as a fresh incitement to work out my own falvation with fear and trembling. I alfo told you, that I would inform you of another inftance of the glorious effect of the gracious power and rich grace of! God in the falvation of an unclean and ignorant finner. I shall now give you a circumftantial account of the whole affair, with the happy effects thereof toward several perfons deeply interested therein. "About two years ago, Mr; a gentleman of a pretty confiderable fortune in a neighbour-1 ing country, came to ftudy law in the fame inn with me, and with the very fame view, not as a profeffion, but an amusement, He did not ap-> pear to be very rakifh, except in the unaccount-' able practice of fwearing, and visiting fome of the women of the town. He was of an obliging and engaging difpofition, and he contracted an intimate acquaintance with me. We were often together; but I would not by any means accompany him in his lewd frolics, and often diffuaded him from them, but in vain. About a twelvemonthafter he came to town, he went to the country for a few days; and having had the addrefs to debauch, and carry off from her parents, fhop keepers keepers in a country-town. under a folemn promife of marriage, a very beautiful and amiable girl, aged about feventeen, he brought her to London, placed her in genteel lodgings, bought her many fine cloaths, gave her plenty of money, and kept her as his miftrefs, daily vifiting her, and, fo far as I can learn, was faithful to her, except in a few vagrant amours with fome of the moft celebrated courtezans. About a year after he brought this girl to town, he was feized with a flow fever, under which he languished for fome time, and then paid his debt to nature. Some days after he fell fick, he fent for me; and told me his cafe; that a phyfician he had employed, had expreffed his doubts of the iffue of his trouble, and that he himself was perfuaded it would. prove fatal to him. I exhorted him to make the beft ufe of his time, and to cry inceffantly to the Lord for pardon of all his fins. I reminded him, that I had frequently diffuaded him with great. carneftness from indulging fwearing and whoring, as they would be bitter in the end; but that he would not hear me. He answered, that it was too true; that he had been bred up in ignorance of religion, feldom going to church, or reading the Bible; that ever fince he was eighteen years of age, he had been exceffively addicted to women, and had debauched feveral country-girls, fome of whom had born children to him. He then gave me a particular account of his feducing his kept mistress; and then added, "I know I have. been a very great finner, and deferve nothing but hell and damnation. Though ignorant of Christianity, yet I derided it; I never read the Bible, but to mock it, and make it the subject of ridicule, but not in your hearing. I foolishly imagined, that my happiness lay in a free indulgence of my paffion for the female fex; and that there there was little harm in careffing a pretty girl. When I swore, I knew not what I faid, but confidered oaths as unmeaning expletives, and fometimes ornaments of fpeech. I lived without God in the world; and never once confidered, that I was made for higher purposes than those beaftly courses that I purfued. I have no good works to boast of, no charitable actions to fupport me in the view of death; but a train of impiety, profaneness, and fenfuality prefents itself to my view, which makes me abhor myfelf, and fear the vengeance of the Almighty. I remember, that the word of God exprefsly fays, that, because of fuch things as I have done, the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience; that thofe who do fuch things, are worthy of death; that no whoremonger hath part in the kingdom of God; and that no fornicator fhall enter into the new Jerufalem. What have I then to look for, but a fentence of condemnation, configning me over to eternal wrath and deftruction? I have heard, that God is merciful: but what have I to recommend me to his favour? If I had ever done any good thing, as you, dear Sir, I know, have done, perhaps I might now hope for divine compaffion; but my life from my infancy has been a continued tract of rebellion againft the Sovereign of heaven, who will, juftly indeed, debar me from his bleffed prefence for ever." I answered," The account you give of yourfelf, fhews you have been a great tranfgreffor, nay the chief of finners. You have hardened your neck againft reproof, and perfifted in a course of horrid impiety. God has not been in all your thoughts; and things facred and serious, instead of attracting your regard, have been the objects of your ridicule. God is angry with the wicked every day. Every one that is proud in heart heart is an abomination to that God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, or look upon fin. The wicked fhall be turned into hell, and every one that forgetteth God. What then fhall be your lot, who have been hardened in wickednefs, and never fet the fear of God before your eyes? Dreadful muft it be if you die in an unconverted and unjustified state. Yet there is hope in Ifrael concerning even you. We have heard that the Lord is very gracious, and full of compaffion. He is a Saviour as well as the just God. In him compaffions flow. What are you then to do? Why, your duty is to look to the mercy of God, manifefted to finners through the blood of Jefus. Mercy has mifery for its object, and never deals but with miferable finners. You are a miferable finner, and therefore a proper object for receiving the difplays of mercy. Worthleffnefs is the object of -grace; and on whom did it ever, on whom will it ever reft, but the wvile and unworthy finner? God is a fin-pardoning God; and has he any to pardon but finners? Come to the Lord Jefus then, under a deep fenfe of your vileness, mifery, and finfulness, and he will fave you. He came to feek and to fave that which was loft; even you that are loft to God, to religion, and every thing valuable. He fhed his blood for the vileft and most abominable finners, that he might wash and cleanse them. Q then believe in the Lord Jefus .Chrift, as made of God to you in particular wifdom, righteoufnels, fanctification, and redemp tion. He as a Prophet will teach you the my. iftery of God and of Chrift; he will enlighten your mind in the knowledge; of himfelf, in the great truths of revealed religion; and make you fee out of darkness. As a Prieft he hath already atoned for the guilt of all that come unto him; he he will clothe you with his righteousness, justify you by his grace, and give you faith to receive him as the Lord your righteoufnefs. He will implant a principle of life and purity in your foul, killing fin and corruption, and exciting in you love to God and Chrift. He will redeem you from all evil; he will fubdue your iniquities, and caft all your fins into the deeps of the fea; he will refcue you from the wrath to come, and save you from everlasting burnings. I obteft you then to be reconciled to God. Behold, Chrift calleth you, faying, I am God, and befide me there is no Saviour ; wilt thou come to me, that thou mayft be faved? Turn then to the ftrong hold of mercy in Chrift. Apply to the fountain opened for fin and uncleannefs. Receive Christ into your heart, and he will be your hope now, and the joy of your foul in pafling through the valley. of the fhadow of death. Thou art utterly unworthy; but worthy is the Lamb that was flain; he is worthy, on whofe account God fhould beftow mercy on thee. Thou haft done no good works, thou haft no merit, nor any amiable qualifications to recommend thee to the divine favour. But the Lord Jefus has merit enough for thee and me, and every finner that will by faith betake himfelf to him. He came not to call the righteous, people that pretend to merit, proud of their good deeds, like the felf-righteous Pharifees; but finners, to repentance; fuch as the publican, who had nothing to fay, but God be propitious to me a finner. If merit were the condition of falvation, not a finner of mankind could be faved. Every finner has merit enough to deferve hell, but none to procure heaven. We are faved by grace, through faith, which is the gift of God; and we are juftified by faith, without the works of the law. It is God that juftifieth, Ff |