and the Terrors of Conscience he will blow them up again Now any reigning Lust is a Viceroy of Satan's and keeps Possession for him and consequently excludes the Son of God from Admission into the Heart 3. He perswades Men that Religion in its Power and Strictness is not necessary the abstaining from enormous Crimes and the performance of some outward Service will be available for Salvation Hell is the Portion of the Devil and his Children and none are of his Race but incarnate Devils unclean Spirits in brutish Bodies He makes use of carnal Men under the pretence of Friendship to perswade those who make a Shew of Conscience to be less tender and vigilant by telling them this Strictness is superfluous 't will spoil you make you unsociable and odious the Wise and Learned that think to go to Heaven with the first take a greater liberty they will say Moderation is a Vertue and by the pretence of Temper cherish the loathsom Distemper of Lukewarmness that is as fatal as a deadly Coldness The Tempter will permit Men to make use of Religion as a Medicine a little in fainting Fits to relieve and recover them but not as our daily Food not to be their diligent and constant Practice The crafty Serpent will abuse the Words of the holy Spirit Be not righteous overmuch As Judas said of the precious Ointment poured upon our Saviour Why was this waste so carnal Men are apt to say Why these severe Restraints from satisfying the natural Appetites Why such Circumspection in our walking Why keep the Lord's-day so religiously Is it not enough to hear the Sermons May we not afterwards unbend and enjoy free Society and recreate our selves with carnal Contentments They do not believe that God is so strict in his Commands nor will be so exact in requiring an account for them fond Creatures to entertain such carnal Conceits of God to think him like themselves They are apt to say the Ministers will fetter them all by imaginative Rules of Holiness unprescribed in the Scriptures For Men would fain have the Light and the Law that regulates them to be sutable to their Appetites and Actions But are we not commanded to imitate and honour our Pattern to be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy in all manner of Conversation Are we not enjoined to work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling to cleanse our selves from all Pollutions of Flesh and Spirit and to perfect Holiness in the Fear of God to follow Holiness with the most zealous and unsatisfied Desires that if it were possible we might anticipate Heaven on Earth Can there be any Excuse for neglecting these holy Duties There are none more dangerously deceived than those that think they are holy enough and make no question of the Favour of God and their final Happiness They condemn profane outragious Sinners those who visibly come short of them they think will fall short of Salvation but to excel them they think is a needless Preciseness a Pride of Singularity a Mask of Hypocrisy 'T is one of Satan's Arts to conceal the Good that is in the Saints that they may condemn themselves and to conceal the Evil that is in the Unregenerate that they may flatter themselves How many fall as deep as Hell from such high Hopes for he that does not seriously desire and endeavour to be renewed into the unspotted Image of God was never truly renewed SERMON VIII LUKE xiv 23. The Lord said to the Servant Compel them to come in that my House may be full 3dly IF Conscience be not seared and senseless but awakens Sinners to reflect upon their Condition and to seek for the pardoning Mercy of God he deceives them with false Notions of Faith and Repentance and hinders their entire Compliance with the Terms of Mercy offered in the Gospel Final Unbelief and Impenitence utterly exclude Men from Salvation for the Death of Christ was not appointed to be a Sacrifice for those Sins There is no Salvation to be obtain'd without the Remission of Sin no Remission without the Blood of Christ no Application of that precious Blood without Faith This is the vital Qualification required in all justified Persons for it has a peculiar Efficiency in receiving Christ and Pardon and ascribes the Glory of it intirely to the Mercy of God and Merits of Christ. 'T is said To as many as received him he gave Power to become the Sons of God to those who believed on his Name Receiving is relative to God's Offer of Christ to the Condemned and Miserable and implies the taking him in all the Essentials of his Office as a Prophet to instruct us in our Duty and Happiness by his Word and Spirit as a Priest to atone the Divine Displeasure by his Propitiation and Intercession as a King to govern us by his Law and to bestow spiritual and eternal Blessings on us Faith receives whole Christ as a Kingly Priest and a saving Prince he is stiled a Priest upon a Throne a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins He purchas'd the Forgiveness of Sins as a Priest by his Sufferings on the Cross and pardons as a King upon the Throne from hence it necessarily follows that Faith receives Pardon from him in that Relation wherein he procur'd it and confers it The Apostle declares He died for our Sins and rose again for our Justification and thereby redeem'd us and acquir'd a Dominion over us then 't is clear and consequent that saving Faith receives him for all those Uses for which God did appoint him and accordingly purifies the Heart overcomes the World works by Love and Love is the Spring and Substance of every Duty the fulfilling of the Law Now Carnal Men are deceived in this Imagination that the single Act of resting upon Christ is sufficient to entitle them to the Promise of Salvation to all that believe in him they desire an Interest in Christ to quiet their Consciences and the World to satisfy their Affections They will rest on him as a Redeemer but reject him as a Lord they would enjoy his Salvation but will not endure his Dominion they will come to partake of the Festival-Entertainment the Pardon of their Sins but not for the Honour of the Bridegroom As if the Gospel were a free Charter to Sin and gave an impure Indulgence to the vicious Affections which is as inconsistent with it as the Darkness of the Night with Noon-day in the same Hemisphere for then it would foil it self and frustrate its own End Our Saviour first redeems from Sin from the vain Conversation then from Hell There can be no regular saving Trust on his Death without an unfeigned Resolution to live within the Compass of his Laws He is the Author of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him 'T is a blasphemous Conceit that he will save Men with their Sins If they will die in such a pleasing Dream who can prevent it
defers his Anger and loads them with his Benefits every day What is more astonishing than the Riches of his Goodness unless it be the perverse Abuse of it by Sinners to harden themselves in their Impieties But altho his Clemency delays the Punishment the Sacredness and Constancy of his Justice will not forget it when Patience has had its perfect work Justice shall have a solemn Triumph in the final Destruction of impenitent unreformed Sinners 3. The Consideration of the Evil of Sin so great in it self and pernicious to us heightens our Obligations to the Divine Mercy in saving us from our Sins and an everlasting Hell the just Punishment of them Our Loss was unvaluable our Misery extream and without infinite Mercy we had been under an unremediable necessity of sinning and suffering for ever God saw us in this wretched and desperate State and his Eye affected his Heart in his Pity he redeemed and restored us This is the clearest Testimony of pure Goodness for God did not want external Glory who is infinitely happy in his own Perfections he could when Man revolted from his Duty have created a new World of innocent Creatures for infinite Power is not spent nor lessened by finite Productions but his undeserved and undesired Mercy appeared in our Salvation The way of accomplishing it renders Mercy more illustrious for to glorify his Justice and preserve the Honour of his Holiness unblemish'd he laid upon his Son the Iniquity of us all This was Love that passeth all Understanding Our Saviour speaks of it with Admiration God so loved the World and hated Sin that he gave his only begotten Son to die for it that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting Life And how dear are our Engagements to Jesus Christ The Judg would not release the Guilty without a Ransom nor the Surety without Satisfaction and the Son of God most compassionately and willingly gave his precious Blood to obtain our Deliverance If his Perfections were not most amiable and ravishing yet that he died for us should infinitely endear him to us To those who believe he is precious to those who have felt their undone Condition and that by his Merits and Mediation are restored to the Favour of God he is eminently precious Who can break the Constraints of such Love If there be a spark of Reason or a grain of unfeigned Faith in us We must judg that if one died for all then all were dead and those that live should live to his Glory who died for their Salvation Add to this that in the Sufferings of Christ there is the clearest Demonstration of the Evil of Sin and how hateful it is to God if we consider the Dignity of his Person the Greatness of his Sufferings and the innocent Recoilings of his Human Nature from such fearful Sufferings He was the Eternal Son of God the Heir of his Father's Love and Glory the Lord of Angels he suffered in his Body the most ignominious and painful Death being nail'd to the Cross in the sight of the World The Sufferings of his Soul were incomparably more afflicting For tho heavenly meek he endured the Derision and cruel Violence of his Enemies with a silent Patience yet in the dark Eclipse of his Father's Countenance in the desolate state of his Soul the Lamb of God opened his Mouth in that mournful Complaint My God my God why hast thou forsaken me His innocent Nature did so recoil from those fearful Sufferings that with repeated Ardency of Affection he deprecated that bitter Cup Abba Father all things are possible to Thee let this Cup pass me He address'd to the Divine Power and Love the Attributes that relieve the Miserable yet he drank off the Dregs of the Cup of God's Wrath. Now we may from hence conclude how great an Evil Sin is that could not be expiated by a meaner Sacrifice than the offering up the Soul of Christ to atone incensed Justice and no lower a Price than the Blood of the Son of God the most unvaluable Treasure could ransom Men who were devoted to Destruction 4. The Consideration of the Evil of Sin in it self and to us should excite us with a holy Circumspection to keep our selves from being defiled with it 'T is our indispensable Duty our transcendent Interest to obey the Divine Law entirely and constantly The Tempter cannot present any Motives that to a rectified Mind are sufficient to induce a Consent to Sin and offend God Let the Scales be even and put into one all the Delights of the Senses all the Pleasures and Honours of the World which are the Elements of Carnal Felicity how light are they against the Enjoyment of the blessed God in Glory Will the Gain of this perishing World compensate the loss of the Soul and Salvation for ever If there were any possible Comparison between empty deluding Vanities and Celestial Happiness the Choice would be more difficult and the Mistake less culpable but they vanish into nothing in the Comparison so that to commit the least Sin that makes us liable to the forfeiture of Heaven for the Pleasures of Sin that are but for a season is Madness in that degree that no words can express Suppose the Tempter inspires his Rage into his Slaves and tries to constrain us to Sin by Persecution how unreasonable is it to be dismayed at the Threatnings of Men who must die and who can only touch the Body and to despise the Terrors of the Lord who lives for ever and can punish for ever Methinks we should look upon the perverted raging World as a Swarm of angry Flies that may disquiet but cannot hurt us Socrates when unrighteously prosecuted to Death said of his Enemies with a Courage becoming the Breast of a Christian They may kill me but cannot hurt me How should these Considerations raise in us an invincible Resolution and Reluctancy against the Tempter in all his Approaches and Addresses to us And that we may so resist him as to cause his flight from us let us imitate the excellent Saint whose Example is set before us 1. By possessing the Soul with a lively and solemn Sense of God's Presence who is the Inspector and Judg of all our Actions Joseph repell'd the Temptation with this powerful Thought How shall I sin against God The Fear of the Lord is clean 't is a watchful Sentinel that resists Temptations without and suppresses Corruptions within 'T is like the Cherubim plac'd with a flaming Sword in Paradise to prevent the Re-entry of Adam when guilty and polluted For this end we must by frequent and serious Considerations represent the Divine Being and Glory in our Minds that there may be a gracious Constitution of Soul this will be our Preservative from Sin for altho the habitual Thoughts of God are not always in act yet upon a Temptation they are presently excited and appear in the view of Conscience and are effectual to make us reject the
Tempter with Defiance and Indignation This holy Fear is not a meer judicial Impression that restrains from Sin for the dreadful Punishment that follows for that servile Affection tho it may stop a Temptation and hinder the Eruption of a Lust into the gross Act yet it does not renew the Nature and make us Holy and Heavenly There may be a respective Dislike of Sin with a direct Affection to it Besides a meer servile Fear is repugnant to Nature and will be expell'd if possible Therefore that we may be in the Fear of the Lord all the day long we must regard him in his endearing Attributes his Love his Goodness and Compassion his rewarding Mercy and this will produce a filial Fear of Reverence and Caution lest we should offend so gracious a God As the natural Life is preserved by grateful Food not by Aloes and Wormwood which are useful Medicines so the Spiritual Life is maintained by the comfortable Apprehensions of God as the Rewarder of our Fidelity in all our Trials 2. Strip Sin of its Disguises wash off its flattering Colours that you may see its native Ugliness Joseph's reply to the Tempter How shall I do this great Wickedness Illusion and Concupiscence are the Inducements to Sin When a Lust represents the Temptation as very alluring and hinders the Reflection of the Mind upon the intrinsick and consequential Evil of Sin 't is like the putting Poison into the Glass but when it has so far corrupted the Mind that Sin is esteemed a small Evil Poison is thrown into the Fountain If we consider the Majesty of the Lawgiver there is no Law small nor Sin small that is the Transgression of it Yet the most are secure in an evil course by Conceits that their Sins are small 'T is true there is a vast difference between Sins in their Nature and Circumstances there are insensible Omissions and accusing Acts but the least is damnable Besides the allowance and number of Sins reputed small will involve under intolerable Guilt What is lighter than a Grain of Sand you may blow away a hundred with a Breath And what is heavier than a heap of Sand condens'd together 'T is our Wisdom and Duty to consider the Evil of Sin in its essential Malignity which implies no less than that God was neither wise nor good in making his Law and that he is not just and powerful to vindicate it And when tempted to any pleasant Sin to consider the due Aggravations of it as Joseph did which will controul the Efficacy of the Temptation I shall only add that when a Man has mortified the Lusts of the Flesh he has overcome the main part of the infernal Army that wars against the Soul Sensual Objects do powerfully and pleasantly insinuate into carnal Men and the Affections are very unwillingly restrain'd from them To undertake the Cure of those whose Disease is their Pleasure is almost a vain Attempt for they do not judg it an Evil to be regarded and will not accept distasteful Remedies 3. Fly all tempting occasions of Sin Joseph would not be alone with his Mistress There is no Vertue so confirmed and in that degree of Eminence but if one be frequently ingaged in vicious Society 't is in danger of being eclips'd and controul'd by the opposite Vice If the Ermins will associate with the Swine they must lie in the Mire if the Sheep with Wolves they must learn to bite and devour if Doves with Vultures they must learn to live on the Prey Our surest Guard is to keep at a distance from all engaging Snares He that from Carelesness or Confidence ventures into Temptations makes himself an easy Prey to the Tempter And let us daily pray for the Divine Assistance to keep us from the Evil of the World without which all our Resolutions will be as ineffectual as Ropes of Sand to bind us to our Duty 5. The Consideration of the Evil of Sin is a powerful Motive to our solemn and speedy Repentance The remembrance of our Original and Actual Sins will convince us that we are born for Repentance There are innumerable silent Sins that are unobserved and do not alarm the Conscience and altho a true Saint will neither hide any Sin nor suffer Sin to hide it self in his Breast yet the most holy Men in the World have great reason with the Psalmist to say with melting Affections Who can understand his Errors O cleanse me from my secret Sins discover them to me by the Light of the Word and cover them in the Blood of the Redeemer There are Sins of Infirmity and daily Incursion from which none can be perfectly freed in this mortal State these should excite our Watchfulness and be lamented with true Tears There are crying Sins of a Crimson Guilt which are to be confest with heart-breaking Sorrow confounding Shame and implacable Antipathy against them and to be forsaken for ever Of these some are of a deep die in their Nature and some from the Circumstances in committing them some are of a heinous Nature and more directly and expresly renounce our Duty and more immediately obstruct our Communion with God As a Mud-Wall intercepts the Light of the Sun from shining upon us 2. Some derive a greater Guilt from the Circumstances in the commission Such are 1. Sins against Knowledg for according to the Ingrediency of the Will in Sin the Guilt arises Now when Conscience interposes between the Carnal Heart and the Temptation and represents the Evil of Sin and deters from Compliance and yet Men will venture to break the Divine Law this exceedingly aggravates the Offence for such Sins are committed with a fuller Consent and are justly called Rebellion against the Light And the clearer the Light is the more it will increase the disconsolate fearful Darkness in Hell 2. Sins committed against the Love as well as the Law of God are exceedingly aggravated To pervert the Benefits we receive from God to his Dishonour to turn them into occasions of Sin which were designed to endear Obedience to us to sin licentiously and securely in hopes of an easy Pardon at last is intensive of our Guilt in a high degree This is to poison the Antidote and make it deadly There is a Sacrifice to reconcile offended Justice but if Men obstinately continue in Sin and abuse the Grace of the Gospel there is no Sacrifice to appease exasperated Mercy 3. Sins committed against solemn Promises and Engagements to forsake them have a deeper Die for Perfidiousness is join'd with this Disobedience The Divine Law strictly binds us to our Duty antecedently to our Consent but when we promise to obey it we increase our Obligations and by sinning break double Chains In short any habitual allowed Sin induces a heavy Guilt for it argues a deeper root and foundation of Sin in the Heart a stronger Inclination to it from whence the repeated Acts proceed which are new Provocations to the pure Eyes of God Accordingly in repenting
Reflections our Sorrow should be most afflicting our Humiliation deeper our Selfcondemnation most severe for those Sins which have been most dishonourable to God and defiling to us Not that we can make any Satisfaction for our Sins tho we should fill the Air with our Sighs and Heaven with our Tears but it becomes us to have our Sorrows inlarged in some proportion to our Unworthiness And this mournful Disposition prepares us for the Grace of God The Law does not allow Repentance but exacts entire Obedience 't is the Privilege of the Gospel that repenting Sinners are assur'd of Forgiveness without this Qualification 't is inconsistent with the Majesty Purity and Justice of God to extend pardoning Mercy to Sinners for they will never value nor humbly and ardently seek for Mercy till they feel the woful Effects of Sin in their Conscience only the stung Israelite would look to the brazen Serpent And this is requisite to prevent our relapsing into Sin for the Dominion of Sin being founded in the Love of Pleasure the proper means to extinguish it is by a bitter Repentance the Heart is first broken for Sin and then from it To conclude Let us renew our Repentance every day let not the Wounds of our Spirits putrify let not the Sun go down upon God's Wrath let us always renew the Application of Christ's Blood that alone can cleanse us from Sin SERMON III. 1 JOHN V. 2. By this we know we are the Children of God if we love God and keep his Commandments OF all the Marks that are useful in the Trial of our Spiritual State in reference to Eternity there is none affords a more clear and comfortable Assurance of God's special and saving Mercy than Love to the Saints This has often resolved the Doubts and quieted the Fears of afflicted enquiring Souls when other Graces have not been so apprehensible in their Operations But there is no Mark which the deceitful Heart does more securely rest upon through the mistake of Natural Human Love for that which is Spiritual and Divine It is therefore most worthy our serious Thoughts the Deceit being so easy and infinitely dangerous to shew what is the unfeigned genuine Love of the Brethren to which Salvation is annex'd to confirm the humble sincere Christian and undeceive presuming Hypocrites The great Design of St. John in this Epistle is to excite and enflame in Christians the Love of God and of their Brethren the two comprehensive Duties and bright Sum of the Law our principal Perfections in Heaven and Earth These he recommends by the most affectionate and obliging the most warming melting Perswasives the superlative Love of God to us and our Communion with the Saints in Nature and Grace In the former Verse the Apostle argues from the reality of the Effect as an Evidence of the Cause Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ that is the Saviour of the World foretold by the Prophets and expresses the Truth of that Faith in a sutable Conversation is born of God and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him Grace is not less powerful in producing tender reciprocal Affections between the Off-spring of the same Heavenly Father than the subordinate Endearments of Nature The Pretence is vain of Love to God without loving his regenerate Children And in the Text he argues from the knowledg of the Cause to the discovering of the sincerity of the Effect By this we know that we love the Children of God with a holy Affection if we love God and keep his Commandments There is but one Difficulty to be removed that the Force of the Apostle's reasoning may appear 't is this a Medium to prove a thing must be a clearer Evidence than what is concluded by it Now tho a Demonstration from the Cause be more noble and scientifical yet that which is drawn from the Effect is more near to Sense and more discernable And this is verified in the Instance before us for the Love of God who is absolutely spiritual in his Being and Excellencies doth not with that sensible Fervour affect and passionately transport us as Love to his Children with whom we visibly converse and who are receptive of the most sensible Testimonies of our Affection Accordingly the Apostle argues He that loves not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen As the Motives to love our Brethren from our Conjunction in Nature and familiar Conversation are more capable to allure our Affections and more sensibly strike the Heart than the invisible Deity who is infinitely above us by the same reason we may more easily judg of the truth of our Love to them than of our Love to God To this the Answer is clear the Apostle doth not speak of the Love of God as a still silent contemplative Affection confined to the superiour Faculty of the Soul but as a burning shining Affection like Fire active and declarative of it self in those Effects that necessarily flow from it that is voluntary Obedience to his Commands and thus it becomes manifest to the renewed Conscience and is a most convincing Proof of the Sincerity of our Love to the Saints The Text being cleared affords this Doctrine Doct. The Sincerity of our Love to the Children of God is certainly discovered by our Love to God and Obedience to his Commands For the Illustration and Proof of the Point I will briefly shew I. Who are described by this Title The Children of God II. What is included in our Love to them III. What the Love of God is and the Obedience that flows from it IV. How from Love to God and willing Obedience to his Commands we may convincingly know the Sincerity of our Love to his Children To explain the first we must consider that this Title The Children of God is given upon several accounts First By Creation the Angels are called the Sons of God and Men his Off-spring The reason of the Title is 1. The manner of their Production by his immediate Power Thus he is stiled The Father of Spirits in distinction from the Fathers of the Flesh. For tho the Conception and forming of the Body be the Work of his secret Providence yet 't is by the hand of Nature the Parents concurring as the second Causes of it but the Production of the Soul is to be entirely ascribed to his Power without the Intervention of any Creature 2. In their spiritual immortal Nature and the intellectual Operations flowing from it there is an Image and Resemblance of God from whence this Title is common to all reasonable Creatures and peculiar to them for tho Matter may be ordered and fashioned by the Hand of God into a Figure of admirable Beauty yet 't is not capable of his Likeness and Image so that neither the Lights of Heaven nor the Beasts and Plants of the Earth are called his Children Secondly By External Calling and Covenant
2. Men are miserably deceived about Repentance This is indispensably required not only by the Command but as a Disposition that qualifies the Sinner for pardoning Mercy For altho the Majesty and Supremacy of God be illustriously visible in pardoning Sinners and 't is most evident that his Authority is above the Rigor of the Law and his Mercy is infinitely free yet they are always exercis'd correspondently to his essential and unchangeable Perfections his ruling Wisdom his unspotted Holiness and governing Justice From hence it follows that a Sinner remaining in the Love and under the Power of his Sins is not a capable Object of pardoning Mercy Who can conceive that a wise Prince should send forth a Proclamation of Pardon to Rebels without their Consent to return to their Allegiance John the Baptist the Forerunner of the Rising Sun of Righteousness the Morning-Star of the Gospel preach'd the Baptism of Repentance for the Remission of Sins Even our Saviour begins his preaching the Gospel with this Repent ye and believe the Gospel St. Peter directed those who were anxious and inquiring about their Salvation Repent and be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Remission of Sins He repeats this Doctrine in Acts 3. 19. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your Sins may be blotted out when the Times of refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord. And he gives Testimony of the Resurrection of Christ Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance to Israel and Forgiveness of Sins According to this unalterable Tenor of the Gospel Repentance is the Condition that qualifies the Subject without which no Man is pardoned Some are strangely scrupulous of using this word Condition tho 't is authorized by the full Current of the Reformed Divines and I know none more convenient to express the necessity of it in a pardon'd Person Our Saviour tells his Disciples Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you Are not those words a Conditional Assertion upon what Terms they possess that inestimable Privilege of being his Friends Thus when God invites Men to come out from the Pollutions of the World and to touch no unclean thing and I will receive you and I will be your Father and you shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty Are not these Conditional Promises And upon the Performance of the Terms the Blessing will be bestowed and not otherwise 'T is objected that the asserting Repentance to be the Condition of Pardon lessens the Grace of the Gospel but this is a great Mistake for Repentance is an Evangelical Duty and Grace The Law requires Innocence and perfect Obedience or condemns without Mercy the Gospel commands and accepts Repentance This Grace was purchas'd by our Saviour and is wrought in us by the holy Spirit and join'd with Faith are the first Fruits of the returning Sinner to God When 't is exercis'd in the most eminent degrees it has not the least Merit nor Causality in the obtaining Pardon If a repenting Sinner could fill the Air with his Sighs and Heaven with his Tears if all his vital Springs were open'd and Streams of Blood flow'd out they cannot be satisfactory to God's injured Justice The unreconcilable Hatred of Sin the ardent Love of Holiness and stedfast Resolution to follow it which are Ingredients in sincere Repentance tho they are pleasing to God yet are the Duty of the reasonable Creature before the commission of Sin and therefore can deserve nothing of God But the ordaining an inseparable Connexion between Repentance and Pardon is honourable to God and very beneficial to Men for there is no State of Misery more miserable than for the Sinner to be hardned in his Sins But to return from this Digression The Scripture describes Repentance by a sincere Change and Renovation of the Mind the leading Faculty by the entire turning of the Heart from the love of Sin to the love of Holiness by the active lively Passions Sorrow Fear Shame Indignation Zeal that are principal Ingredients in it and by the Fruits worthy of Repentance and Works meet for Repentance 'T is called Repentance from dead Works and Repentance unto Life Now Men are willingly deceived with an insincere and ineffective Repentance either with a meer mental Change or with broken Resolutions instead of the intire Heart or with the leaving some Sins and retaining others that are sutable to their Humours and Lusts. They confess their Sins and condemn themselves for them sometimes they have flashing Thoughts melting Affections good Purposes to forsake Sin this they think to be sincere Repentance but when a Temptation appears they are easily overcome and live in the habitual Practice of their provoking Sins This Conceit of their being true Penitents is as unreasonable as if one that has a returning Ague should think himself freed from his Disease in the intervals of his Fits Now to quiet Conscience they readily apply to themselves the words of the Apostle What I do I allow not And since the best Saints while they are in sympathy with frail Flesh cannot be perfect but many Sins they unwarily and unwillingly commit which are Infirmities lamented by them and graciously forgiven by their Heavenly Father therefore indulgent Sinners take shelter under this Pretence that their Relapses are meer unavoidable Infirmities But what Weakness can be pretended for wilful habitual Sins Such Excuses do not cover their Guilt but discover their strong Affections to their Lusts They have not the Excuse of Ignorance to pretend the Flesh and the World are omnipotent Enemies that cannot be resisted is to blaspheme the Grace of the holy Spirit In short a new Life is inseparable from Repentance in its Reality Sad and serious Thoughts Sighs and Tears the sorrowful Confession of Sins and good Purposes against them are the Blossoms of Repentance ineffective without the substantial Fruits of it in a reformed Conversation 'T is one of the Arts of Satan to join things together that are inconsistent In Paradise he assured the Woman that she might take of the forbidden Tree and of the Tree of Life and he now deceives many with the hope that their indulged repeated Sins are consistent with Repentance But if Men do not forsake the foul Sins they lament their Sorrow will go with them to Hell and settle in the Worm that shall never die Fifthly The Tempter hinders Men from Compliance with the present Invitations of Grace by suggesting there will be time enough for accepting them hereafter and a future Repentance will be sufficient to redress all their Miscarriages By this Deceit he trains them on to Ruin By this he eludes the Force of present Convictions that without Repentance they must perish for ever and puts Men out of the Compass of Conversion 'T is clear by its own Light and needs no other Proof that present Obedience is due to the Commands of God To day if you will hear
his Voice harden not your Hearts Yet against all the Evidence of the Word without and of Conscience within Satan so strongly deceives Men that they rebelliously neglect their Duty till their Time and Life are expiring But how unbecoming how difficult how hazardous is a late Repentance How unbecoming is it to put off God till hereafter Such is his glorious Majesty we should with the most reverent Respect and humble Thankfulness obey his first Call If a Prince should invite a Subject to come to him for some great Favour would he so break all the Rules of Decorum as to delay his coming by saying Hereafter will be time enough And what is the greatest Majesty on Earth to the God of Glory no more than a More to the Sun and proportionably the Indignity arises to neglect the Offers of his Grace Besides how incongruous is it to give the Flower of our Time and Strength to our Lusts and to reserve the Bran for God To spend the Age of our vital and vigorous Actions in the Vanities and Business of the World and to allow only our languishing Age for the obtaining of Heaven That Men should content themselves with dead Affections in his Service who is their Life that were so lively in the Service of Sin that is their Death How difficult is a late Repentance Can you repent and believe at your pleasure Men think that in their Age after the ebbing and retirement of the carnal Affections they shall more easily forsake their Sins but 't is a pernicious Deceit The native Corruption of Mens Hearts alienates them from a dutiful return to God and contracted Corruption by habitual Practice fastens them in Sin as their Centre In Youth when the Blood and Spirits are high and fierce the Body has a corrupting Influence upon the Mind but by Custom in Sin the Mind is so depraved that it heats the frozen Blood and corrupts the Body Suppose the exciting Grace of the Spirit be not totally withdrawn which has often been ineffectual Can it be expected that after Men have been hardened in the commission and continuance of Sin they should be more receptive of Heavenly Impressions A Disease neglected at first that stealingly slips into the Habit of the Body and gradually weakens Nature becomes at last uncontroulable and incurable How hazardous is it to neglect present Obedience to the Call of Divine Mercy Our Days in the Language of the Psalmist are but as an hand-breadth and can Men extend their Lives beyond their Span A vast Eternity follows without Dimensions an undivided Duration It is no more in their Power to continue Time to come than to recal Time past How many are surpriz'd by hasty Death in their Security and die in their unrepented Sins and perish for ever The wise Man alarms the Sluggard with approaching Poverty and his Expressions are very applicable to the Delayers of Repentance Death comes like a Traveller gradually by silent Steps and as an armed Man will irresistably arrest them and Damnation follows which they can neither repel nor discover till they are seiz'd by it O that deluded Sinners would consider that nothing so ripens them for Death and accelerates Judgment as the Presumption that the Season of Grace will continue notwithstanding their lavish and careless wasting it But suppose that Life be extended to the utmost Date can you expect that the holy Spirit should visit you that have been so long putrifying in the Grave and breath a new Life into you 'T is the most severe threatning My Spirit shall not always strive with Man and then their Case is desperate There is a fearful Example recorded in Scripture the old World was first drowned in Sensuality and resisted the holy Spirit till he was withdrawn and then the Deluge wash'd away those Swine in their Mire Can you expect that at last when the World and your Sins leave you God will accept and receive you You are commanded to seek him in your early Spring in the first Dawnings of his Light and Favour and is a poor Remnant of your Life sufficient for obtaining his Meroy The Harlots respected not the dead but contended for the living Child Satan and the World strive to have the prime and best part of your Lives and will God be contented with the dying Remains Or do you expect an easy Composition for all the Abuse of his Benefits because of his Patience Do you presume because he forbears so long he will readily forgive at last The Servant not call'd to an account till he was run into an irrecoverable Arrearage of ten thousand Talents was delivered to the Tormentors till he should pay all his Debt How are Men degenerated and fallen lower than the Brute Creatures The Stork in the Heaven knows her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but Men know not the Judgment of the Lord. This Consideration made our compassionate Saviour dip his Words in Tears He beheld the City and wept over it saying If thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things that belong to thy Peace but now they are hid from thine Eyes O wretched deceived Souls how long will you neglect a Saviour and Salvation How long shall he wait to be gracious and expect your lingering Repentance in vain Remember the time of Grace is limited if you refuse Obedience to the present Call do you know he will renew the Offers of his Grace Now is the accepted Time now is the Day of Salvation Will this New last for ever There is no Now of Favour and Hope in Hell 'T is true God is merciful and 't is one of his Royal Titles The God of Patience though Threatnings are denounced against Sinners and Judgments are ready to seize upon them he repents and stops his Wrath but there is no State more fearful in this World than when Men by neglecting Repentance make God weary of repenting When Patience has had its perfect Work towards the Unrelenting and Unreformed Justice succeeds before God cuts off a Sinner he cuts off all his Excuses Read with Fear the first of the Proverbs Because I have called and you refused I will laugh at your Calamity and mock when your Fear cometh God's Frown much more his Scorn is infinitely terrible and insupportable Those who delay Repentance till the Body is diseased all over and Death is printed in the Countenance and the languishing Lights are almost quench'd and the vital Frame is near a Dissolution yet presume a few Sighs will transport their Souls to Heaven How just and dreadful will their Disappointment be However they are deceived God is not mocked as a Man sows he shall reap SERMON IX LUKE xiv 23. The Lord said to the Servant Compel them to come in that my House may be full II. I Am now to consider the Means by which Men are wrought on to accept of the Invitations of