and carelessness; that upon this the freehold was
taken away, they lost their original strength, brightness, and
beauty, and were driven out into this strange country, where,
however, they had every opportunity given them of recovering their
original health, and the lord's favor and likeness; for they were
become so disfigured, and were grown so unlike him, that you would
hardly believe they were his own children, though, in some, the
resemblance was become again visible.

The lord, however, was so merciful, that, instead of giving them up
to the dreadful consequences of their own folly, as he might have
done without any impeachment of his justice, he gave them immediate
comfort, and promised them that, in due time, his own son should
come down and restore them to the future inheritance which he should
purchase for them. And now it was, that in order to keep up their
spirits, after they had lost their estate through the folly of their
ancestors, that he began to give them a part of their former
title-deed. He continued to send them portions of it from time to
time by different faithful servants, whom, however, these ungrateful
people generally used ill, and some of whom they murdered. But for
all this, the lord was so very forgiving, that he at length sent
these mutineers a proclamation of full and free pardon by his son.
This son, though they used him in a more cruel manner than they had
done any of his servants, yet after having _finished the work his
father gave him to do_, went back into the _far country_ to prepare
a place for all them who believe in him; and there he still lives;
begging and pleading for those unkind people, whom he still loves
and forgives, and will restore to the purchased inheritance on the
easy terms of their being heartily sorry for what they have done,
thoroughly desirous of pardon, and convinced that _he is able and
willing to save to the uttermost all them that come unto him_.

I saw, indeed, that many old offenders appeared to be sorry for what
they had done; that is, they did not like to be punished for it.
They were willing enough to be delivered from the penalty of their
guilt, but they did not heartily wish to be delivered from the power
of it. Many declared, in the most public manner, once every week,
that they were sorry they had done amiss; _that they had erred and
strayed like lost sheep_, but it was not enough to _declare_ their
sorrow, ever so often, if they gave no other sig