There are two things which are conspicuous in it; the first is, a sinner's _weakness_; the second is, a sinner's _blindness_.--It shows how long and how often I attempted to cleanse my own heart. I made the effort under all the variety of circumstances I have mentioned, but all in vain. I acted under all the motives I could collect from a sense of the glory, goodness, justice, and general mercy of God, as displayed in the works of creation and providence; and also from what I had learned from the Bible of the requirements of the moral law, which was often like a fire in my conscience; and from a fear of hell and eternal judgment, and a desire of heaven and eternal life; and from a sense of mercy to myself in being so often protected when in imminent danger, delivered out of trouble, and brought back from the very jaws of death in answer to my prayers for mercy:--yet all these put together were insufficient to keep me from breaking the commandments of God, and being guilty of what I condemned in my own conscience.--And thus it will be with every sinner, that sets himself to perform the same task. I do not refer to my experience, as an exclusive proof of this; but I refer to it as an instance of the truth of God's word, which declares that sinners are "_without strength._" Rom. v. 6. Let any sinner undertake the same task, and I can assure him from the word of God, that he will come no better speed. He may attempt it again and again; but every new attempt will only show his weakness and blindness; and, as he proceeds, he will find that he was not aware of the ten thousandth part of the extent and difficulty of the task. If he persevere in it, he will find it necessary, after endeavouring to reform his outward conduct, to look _within_, and there he will discover work he was not at first aware of. He will find it absolutely indispensable to watch over his _heart_ if he means to reform external conduct: for it is the heart that first yields to temptation. And, let his resolutions be ever so strong, and his intentions ever so sincere, he will find that the slightest temptations are sufficient to overcome him. Nor will he be in danger from outward temptations only; for although he were in the retirement of a hermit, and totally secluded from the world, he would find temptations to sin rising spontaneously out of _that very heart_ which had formed the resolution not to commit it; he would find himself led like a captive to the commission of it, and that in the face of the clear light of duty, and in spite of the strongest remonstrances of conscience; thus giving him the most convincing evidence, if he had eyes to see it, that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;" (Jer. xvii. 9.) that "he that committeth sin is the servant (or slave) of sin;" (John viii. 34,) and that "he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." (Prov. xxviii. 26.) So long, however, as a sinner has any