felt the fcourge of their iniquities to dishearten them from doing evil.

And yet neither the one or the other feemed ever able to make them either the wifer or better;-neither God's bleffings, nor his corrections could ever foften them;—they still continued a thankless, unthinking people,who profited by no leffons, neither were to be won with mercies, nor terrified with punishments, but on every fucceeding trials and occafions, extremely difpofed against God, to go aftray and act wickedly.

In the words of the text, the prophet's heart overflows with forrow, upon his reflexion of this unworthy part of their character;-and the manner of his application to God, is fo expreffive of his humble fenfe of it, and there is fomething in the words fo full of tenderness and shame for them upon that fcore,-as befpeaks the most paternal, as well as pastoral concern for them -And he said,-O my God, I am ashamed, -and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God.-No doubt, the holy man was confounded to look back upon that long feries of fo many of God's undeferved mercies to them, of which

they had made fo bad and ungrateful a use: -he confidered, that they had all the motives that could lay restraints either upon a confiderate or a reafonable people; - that God had not only created, upheld, and favoured them with all advantages in common with the rest of their fellow creatures,—but had been particularly kind to them;-that when they were in the house of bondage, in the most hopeless condition,-he had heard their cry, and took compaffion upon their afflictions, and by a chain of great and mighty deliverances, had set them free from the yoke of oppreffion.-The prophet, no doubt, reflected at the fame time, that befides this instance of God's goodness in first favouring their miraculous escape,-a series of fucceffes not to be accounted for from fecond caufes, and the natural courfe of events, had crowned their heads in fo remarkable a manner, as to afford an evident proof, not only of God's general concern, but of his particular providence and attachment to them above all people :-in the wilderness he led them like sheep, and kept them as the apple of his eye;-he suffered no

man to do them wrong,-but reproved even kings for their fake;-that when they entered into the promised land, no force was able to ftand before them;-when in poffeffion,-no army was ever able to drive them out;-that nations greater and mightier than they, were thrust forth from before them;-that, in a word, all nature for a time was driven backwards by the hands of God, to ferve them, and that even the fun itself had ftood ftill in the midst of heaven, to fecure their victories;that when all thefe mercies were cast away upon them, and no principle of gratitude or interest could make them an obedient people, -God had tried by misfortunes to bring them back; that when inftructions, warnings, invitations, miracles, prophets and holy guides had no effect,-he at laft fuffered them to reap the wages of their folly, by letting them fall again into the fame ftate of bondage in Babylon, from whence he had first raised them. -Here it is that Ezra pours out his confeffion. —It was no small aggravation to Ezra's concern, to find that even this laft trial had no good effect upon their conduct;-that all the

alternatives of promises and threats, comforts and afflictions, inftead of making them grow the better,-made them apparently grow the worfe:-how could he intercede for them, but with shame and forrow;-and fay, as in the text, O my God, I am afhamed and blush to lift up my face to thee,—for our iniquities are increased over our heads,—and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens ;-fince the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day.

Thus much for the prophet's humble confeffion to God for the Jews, for which he had but too just a foundation given by them;and I know not how I can make better use of the words, as the occafion of the day led me to the choice of them,-than by a ferious application of the fame fad confeffion, in regard to ourselves.

Our fathers, like those of the Jews in Ezra's time, no doubt have done amifs, and greatly provoked God by their violence; but if our own iniquities, like theirs, are increased over our heads ;—if fince the days of our fathers we have been in great trespass ourselves unto

this day,-'tis fit this day we should be put in mind of it ;-nor can the time and occafion be better employed, than in hearing with patience the reproofs which fuch a parallel will lead me to give.—

It must be acknowleged, there is no nation which had ever fo many extraordinary reafons and fupernatural motives to become thankful and virtuous as the Jews had ;-yet, at the fame time, there is no one which has not fufficient; (and fetting afide at present the confideration of a future state as a reward for being fo) there is no nation under heaven, which, befides the daily bleffings of God's providence to them, but have received fufficient bleffings and mercies at the hands of God to engage their beft fervices, and the warmest returns of gratitude they can pay-there has been a time, may be, when they have been delivered from fome grievous calamity,-from the rage of peftilence or famine,-from the edge and fury of the fword,-from the fate and fall of kingdoms round them;-they may have been preferved by providential difcoveries, and plots, and defigns against the well-being of their