THE DOCTRINE OF Repentance Useful for these Times By Tho. Watson Minister of the Gospel I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy Golden Candlestick out of his place except thou repent Revel 2. 5. Nemo potest bene agere poenitentiam nisi qui speraverit indulgentiam Ambrose de Poenit. lib. 1. LONDON Printed by R. W. for Thomas Parkhurst at the Sign of the Golden Bible on London-Bridge 1668. THE Epistle to the READER Christian Reader THE two great Graces essential to a Saint in this life are Faith and Repentance These are the two wings by which he flyes to Heaven Faith and Repentance preserve the spiritual life as heat and radical moisture do the natural The Grace which I am now to discuss is Repentance Chrysostome thought it the fittest subject for him to Preach upon before the Emperour Arcadius And Austin caused the Penitential Psalms to be written before him as he lay upon his Bed and he did often peruse them with tears Repentance is never out of season it is of as frequent use as the Artificers Tool or the Souldiers weapon If I am not mistaken practical Points are more needful in this Age than Controversal and Polemical I had thought to have smothered these Meditation in 〈◊〉 Deâ—…k but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be of great concern in thiâ—… 〈◊〉 of time I have rescinded my first resolution 〈◊〉 have exposed them to a critical view Repentance is Purgative fear not the working of this Pill Smite thy â—…oul saith Chrysostome smite it it will escape death by that stroke How happy were it if we were more deeply affected with sin and our eyes did swim in their Orb. The waters of Râ—…pentance though they are troubled yet Pure where we may clearly see the Spirit of God moving Moist tears dry up the rheumes of sin and quench the wrath of God Repentance is the Cherisher of Piety the Procurer of Mercy The more râ—…gret and trouble of Spirit we have at our first Conversion the less we shall feel afterwards The greater Fine is paid the less Rent Christians have you a sad resentment of other things and not of sin Worldly Tears fall to the earth but godly tears are kept in a bottle Pâ—…alm 56. 8. Iudge not holy weeping superfluous Tertullian thought he was born for no other end but to repent Either sin must drown or the scul burn Let it not be said Repentance is difficult Things that are excellent deserve 〈◊〉 Will not a man digg for Gold in the 〈◊〉 though it makes him sweaâ—… It is better to go with difficulty to Heaven than with â—…ase to Hell What would the 〈◊〉 give might they have an Hâ—…rauld sent to them from God to proclaim mercy upon their repentance What Vollies of sighs and groans would they send up to Heaven what floods of tears would their eyes pour forth but it is now too late They may keep their tears to lament their folly sooner than to procure pitty O that therefore while we are on this side the Grave we would make our peace with God To morrow may be our dying day let this be our repenting day How should we imitate the Saints of old who have imbittered their souls and sacrificed their lusts and put on sackcloth 〈◊〉 hope of white robes Peter baptized himself with tears And that devout Lady Paula of whom Hierom writes like a Bird of Paradise bemoaned her self and humbled her self to the dust for sin Besides our own personal miscarriages the deplorable condition of tâ—…e Land calls for a contribution of Tears Have not we lost much of our Pristine fame and renown Time was when we did sit as Princess among the Provinces God made the sheaves of other Nations to do obeysance to our Sheaf but is not our Glory fled away as a Bird Hos. 9. 11. We are become the shame of our friends and the scorn of our enemies And what severe dispensations are yet behind we cannot tell Our black and Hideous Vapours having ascended we may fear loud Thunder-claps should follow and will not all this bring us to our wits and excite in us a Spirit of humiliation Shall we sleep on the top of the Mast when the winds are blowing from all the quarters of Heaven O let not the Apple of our eye cease I will not launch forth any further in a Prefatory Discourse but that God would add a blessing to this work and so direct this arrow that though shot at rovers it may hit the mark and some sin may be shot to death shall be the ardent prayer of him who is May 25. 1668. The Well-wisher of thy Souls Happiness Thomas Watson Reader Be pleased to correct these mistakes of the Press PAg. 21. Marg. for Christi primogenito r. Christo primogenito p. 64. l. 11. for fleshly r. fleshy p. 72. l. 6. for canker r. cancer p. 82. Marg. r. aquila senscente tam curuum habet rostrum p. 110. l. 23. for Good r. God p. 131. l. 10. for 1 Sam. 30. 22. r. Isaiah 30. 22. THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE Acts 26. 20. That they should repent and turn to God and do works meet for Repentance CHAP. I. A Praeliminary Discourse together with the Proposition SAint Paul being falsly accused by Tertullus to be seditious chap. 24. 5. We have found this man a pestilent fellow and a mover of Sedition in this chapter he makes an apology for himself before Festus and King Agrippa Paul proves himself to be an Oratour He courts the King 1. By his Gesture He stretched forth his hands vers 1. as the custom of Oratours was 2. By his manner of speech ver 2. I think my self happy King Agrippa because I shall answer for my self before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused Paul treats of three things and that in so deep a strain of Rhetorick as he had almost converted King Agrippa 1. He discourseth of the manner of his life before his conversion ver 5. after the most strait Sect of our Religion I lived a Pharisee During the time of his unregeneracy he was zealous for Traditions and his false fire of zeal was so hot that it scorched all that stood in his way ver 10. Many of the Saints I shut up in prison 2. Paul discourseth of the manner of his conversion ver 13. I saw in the way a light from Heaven above the brightness of the Sun This light was no other but what shined from Christs glorified body And I heard a voice speaking unto me Saul Saul why persecutest thou me The body being hurt the head in Heaven cryed out At this light and voice Paul was amazed and fell to the earth ver 14. And I said who art thou Lord and he said I am Iesus whom thou persecutest ver 15. Paul was now taken off from himself all opinion of self-righteousness vanished and he did graft his hope of Heaven upon the stock
may leave sin for fear as in a storm the Plate and Jewels are cast over-board but the nauseating and loathing of sin argues a detestation of it Christ is never loved till sin be loathed Heaven is never longed for till sin be loathed When the soul sees an issue of blood runing he cries out Lord when shall I be freed from this body of death When shall I put off these filthy garments of sin and have the fair mitre of glory set upon my head Let all our self-love be turned into self-loathing We are never more precious in Gods eyes than when we are lepers in our own 2. There is an hatred of Enmity There is no better way to discover life than by motion The eye moves the pulse beats So to discover Repentance there is no better sign than by an holy antipathy against sin Hatred saith Cicero is anger boiled up to an inveteracy Sound Repentance begins in the love of God and ends in the hatred of sin But how may true hatred of sin be known 1. When a mans spirit is set against sin The tongue doth not only inveigh against sin but the heart abhors it So that let sin be never so curiously painted it is odious As we abhor the picture of one whom we mortally hate though it be exactly drawn Non amo te Sabidi Suppose a dish be finely cooked and the sauce good yet if a man hath an antipathy against the meat he will not taste it So let the Devil cook and dress sin with pleasure and profit yet a true penitent having a secret abhorrency of it doth disgust it and will not meddle with it 2. True hatred of sin is universal and that two waies In respect 1. Of the Faculties 2. Of the Object 1. Hatred is universal in respect of the Faculties That is there is a dislike of sin not only in the judgement but in the will and affections For many an one is convinced that sin is a vile thing and in his judgement hath an aversation from it but yet he tasts sweetness and hath a secret complacency in it Here is a disliking sin in the judgement and an embracing it in the affections Whereas in true Repentance the hatred of sin is in all the faculties not only in the intellectual part but chiefly in the will Rom. 7. 15. What I hate that do I. Paul was not free from sin yet his will was against it 2. Hatred is universal in respect of the Object He that hates one sin hates all Aristotle saith hatred is against the whole kind He that hates a Serpent hates all Serpents Psal. 119. 104. I hate every false way Hypocrites will hate some sins which do ecclipse their credit but a true convert hates all sins gainful sins complexion-sins the very stirrings of corruption Paul hated the motions of sin Rom. 7. 23. 3. True hatred is against sin quatenus sin An holy heart detests sin for its intâ—…nsick pollution Sin leaves aâ—…ain upon the soul. A regenerate person abhors sin not only for the curse but the contagion He hates this Serpent not only for its sâ—…ing but its poison He hates sin not only for Hell but as Hell 4. True hatred is implacable it will never be reconciled to sin any more Anger may be reconciled hatred cannot Sin is that Amalek which is never to be taken into favour again The war between a child of God and sin is like the war between those two Princes 1 King 14. 30. There was war between Rehoboam and Ieroboam all their daies 5. Where there is a real hatred we do not only oppose sin in our selves but in others The Church of Ephesus could not bear with them that were evil Rev. 2. 2. Paul sharply censured Peter for his dissimulation though he were an Apostle Christ in an holy displacency whipt the money-changers out of the Temple Ioh. 2. 15. He would not suffer the Temple to be made an Exchange Nehemiah rebuked the Nobles for their Usury Neh. 5. 7. And their Sabbath-prophanation Neh. 13. 7. A sin-hater will not endure wickedness in his family Psal. 101. 7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell in my house What a shame is it when Magistrates can shew height of spirit in their passions but no heroick spirit in suppressing vice Such as have no antipathy against sin are strangers to Repentance Sin is in them as poison in a Serpent which being natural is delightful 1. How far are they from Repentance who instead of hating sin love sin To the godly sin is as a thorn in the eye to the wicked it is as a crown on the head Ier. 11. 15. When thou dost evil then thou rejoycest Loving of sin is worse than committing it A good man may run into a sinful action unawares but to love sin is desperate What is it makes a Swine but loving to tumble in the mire What is it makes a Devil but loving that which opposeth God To love sin shews that the will is in sin and the more of the will in a sin the greater the sin Wilfulness makes it a sin not to be purged by sacrifice Heb. 10. 26. O how many are there that love the forbidden fruit They love their oaths and adulteries they love the sin and hate the reproof Solomon speaks of a generation of men Eccles. 9. 3. Madness is in their heart while they live So for men to love sin to hug that which will be their death to sport with damnation Madness is in their heart It perswades us to shew our Repentance by a bitter hatred of sin There is 〈◊〉 deadly antipathy between the Scorpion and the Crocodile such should there â—…e between the heart and sin What is there in sin that may make a peâ—…itent hate it Sin is the cursed thing* the most mis-shapen Monster The Apostle useth a very emphatical word to express it Rom. 7. 13. That sin might become exceeding sinful or as it is in the Greek hyperbolically sinful Now that sin is an hyperbolical mischief and deserves hatred will appear if we look upon sin in a fourfold notion 1. Look upon sin in the original of it whence it comes it fetcheth its pedigree from Hell 1 Ioh. 3. 8. He that commiteth sin is of the Devil for the Devil sinneth from the beginning Sin is the Devils proper work 'T is true God hath a hand in ordering sin but Satan hath an hand in acting it Now how hateful is it to be doing that which is the peculiar work of the Devil nay which makes men Devils Ioh. 6. 7. 2. Look upon sin in its nature and it will appear very hateful See how the Scripture hath pensiled it out 1. Sin is a dishonouring of God Rom. 2. 23. 2. Sin is a despising of God 1 Sam. 2. 30. 3. It is a fretting of God Ezek. 16. 43. 4. It is a wearying of God Isa.
our hearts accuse us of must be confessed as ever we hope for mercy It reproves them who do in their confessions mince and extenuate their sins A gracious soul labours to make the worst of his sins hypocrites make the best of them they do not deny they are sinners but yet do what they can to lessen their sins they indeed offend sometimes but it is their nature and it is long of such occasions These are rather excuses than confessions 1 Sam. 15. 24. I have sinned I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord because I feared the people Saul layes his sin upon the people They would have him spare the Sheep and Oxen. 'T was an Apology not a self-indictment This runs in a blood Adam acknowledgeth he did taste the forbidden fruit but instead of aggravating his sin he translates it from himself to God Gen. 3. 12. The woman whom thou gavest me she gave me of the Tree and I did eat If I had not had this woman to be a tempter I had not transgressed inscripsere deos sceleri That is a bad sin indeed that hath no excuse as it must needs be a very course Wooll which will take no dye How apt are we to pare and curtail sin and look upon it through the small end of the perspective that it appears but as a little cloud like the bigness of a mans hand 1 King 18. 44. It reproves them who are so far from confessing sin that they boldly plead for it Instead of having tears to lament it they use Arguments to defend it If their sin be passion they will justifie it Ionah 9. 4. I do well to be angry If it be covetousness they will vindicate it When men commit sin they are the Devils Servants when they plead for it they are the Devils Attorneys and he will give them a fee. 2. Let us shew our selves penitents by sincere confession of sin The Thief on the Cross made a confession of his sin Luk. 23. 41. We indeed suffer justly And Christ saith to him This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Which possibly might occasion that speech of Austin that confession of sin shuts the mouth of Hell and opens the gate of Paradise That we may make a free and ingenuous confession of sin let us consider Holy confession gives glory to God Iosh. 7. 19. My Son give I pray thee glory to God the God of Israel and make confession unto him An humble confession exalts God What a glory is it to him that out of our own mouths he doth not condemn us While we confess sin Gods patience is magnified in sparing and his free-grace in saving such sinners Confession is a means to humble the soul He that subscribes himself an Hell-deserving sinner will have little heart to be proud with the Violet he will hang down his head in humility A true penitent confesseth he mingles sin with all he doth therefore hath nothing to boast of Uzziah though a King yet having a Leprosie in his forehead he had enough to abase him 2 Chron. 26. 19. So a child of a God though he doth any good yet acknowledgeth much evil to be in that good this layes all his feathers of pride in the dust Confession gives vent to a troubled heart When guilt lyes boiling in the conscience confession gives ease It is like the lancing of an Imposthume which gives ease to the Patient Confession purgeth out sin Austin calls it the Expeller of vice Sin is a bad blood confession is like the opening of a vein to let it out Confession is like the dung-gate by which all the filth of the City was carryed forth Nehem. 3. 13. Confession is like pumping at the leak it lets out that sin which would else drown Confession is the spunge that wipes off the spots of the soul. Confession of sin endears Christ to the soul. If I say I am a sinner how precious will Christs blood be to me When Paul had confessed a body of sin he presently breaks forth into a gratulatory triumph for Christ Rom. 7. 25. Thanks be to God through Iesus Christ If a debtor confess a Iudgement yet the creditor will not exact the debt but appoint his own Son to pay it will not the debtor be very thankful So when we confess the deâ—… and that though we should for ever 〈◊〉 in Hell we cannot pay it that God should appoint his own Son to lay down his blood for the payment of our debt how is free-grace magnified and Jesus Christ eternally loved and admired Confession of sin makes way for pardon No sooner did the Prodigal come with a confession in his mouth I have sinned against Heaven but his Fathers heart did melt towards him and he kissed him Luk. 15. 20. When David said I have sinned the Prophet brings him a box with a pardon The Lord hath put away thy sin 2 Sam. 12. 13. He who doth sincerely confess sin hath Gods bond for a pardon 1 Ioh. 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins Why doth not the Apostle say if we confess he is merciful to forgive our sins no but he is just because he hath bound himself by promise to forgive such He who confesseth sin and comes with a penitent heart by faith in Christ Gods truth and justice is ingaged for the pardoning of that man How reasonable and easie is this command that we should confess sin 1. It is a reasonable command For if one hath wronged another what more rational than to confess he hath wronged him We having wronged God by sin how equal and consonant to reason is it that we should confess the offence 2. It is an easie command What a vast difference is there between the first Covenant and the second In the first Covenant it was If thou committest sin thou diest In the second Govenant it is If thou confessest sin thou shalt have mercy In the first Covenant no surety was allowed under the Covenant of Grace if we do but confess the debt Christ will be our Surety What way could be thought of more ready and facile for the salvation of man than an humble confession Ier. 3. 13. Only acknowledge thy iniquity I do not ask for sacrifices of Ramms to expiate thy guilt I do not bid thee part with the fruit of thy body for the sin of thy soul Only acknowledge thy iniquity Do but draw up an Indictment against thy self and plead guilty and thou shalt be sure of mercy Methinks all this should render this duty amiable Throw out the poison of sin by confession and this day is salvation come to thy house Let this suffice to have spoken of our confession of sin to God Only there remains one case of conscience Whether we are bound to confess our sins to men The Papists insist much upon
Lord the â—…ail shall be taken away The vail of ignoâ—…nce which was drawn over the Jews â—…yes by Repentance should be taken â—…way Repentance inflames love Weepâ—…g Mary Magdalen loved much Luk. 7. 47. â—…od preserves these springs of sorrow in â—…e soul to water the fruits of the â—…pirit 8. Repentance ushers in temporal â—…lessings The Prophet Ioel perswading â—…e people to Repentance brings in the â—…romise of secular good things Ioel 2. â—…2 19. Rent your heart and not your garâ—…ent and turn unto the Lord and the Lord â—…ill answer and say to his people Behold I â—…nd you Corn and Wine and Oyl When â—…e put water into the Pump it fetcheth â—…p only water but when we put the waâ—…er of tears into Gods bottle this fetcheth up wine I will send you wine and oyl Sin blasts the fruits of the earth Hag. 1. 6. Ye have sown much and bring in little But Repentance makes the Pomgranate bud and the Vine flourish with full clusters Fill Gods bottle and he will fill your basket Iob 22. 23. If thou return to the Almighty thou shalt lay up gold as dust Repenting is a returning to God and this brings a golden harvest 9. Repentance staves off judgements from a Land When God is going to destroy a Nation the penitent sinner staies his hand as the Angel did Abraham's Gen. 22. 12. ' The Ninivites Repentance caused God to repent Ionah 3. 10. God saw that they turned from their evil waies and God repented c. An outward Repentance hath adjourned and kept off wrath Ahab who sold himself to work wickedness yet upon his fasting and rending his garments saith God to Eliah I will not bring the evil in his daies 1 King 21. 29. If the rending of the clothes did keep off judgement from the Nation what will the rending of the heart do 10. Repentance makes joy in Heaven The Angels do as it were keep holy-day Luke 15. 10. There is joy in the â—…resence of the Angels of God over â—…ne sinner that repenteth As â—…raise is the musick of Heaven so Repentance is the joy of Heaven When men neglect the offer of salvation and freeze in sin this delights the Devils but when a soul is brought home to Christ by Repentance this makes joy among the Angels 11. That which may cause tears to distill from our eyes is to consider how dear our sins cost Christ. Christ is called the Rock 1 Cor. 10. 3. When his hands were pierced with nails and the spear was thrust in his side then was this Rock smitten and there came out water and blood And all this Christ endured for us Dan. 9. 26. The Messiah shall be cut off but not for himself We tasted the Apple and he the Vineger and Gall We sinned in every faculty and he bled in every vein Cernis ut in toto corpore sculptus amor And can we look upon a suffering Saviour with dry eyes Shall we not be sorry for those sins which made Christ a man of sorrow Shall not our enormities draw tears fâ—…om us which drew blood froâ—… Christ Shall we sport any more with sin and so rake in Christs wounds Oh thaâ—… by Repentance we could crucifie our sins afresh The Jews said to Pilate Ioh. 19. 12. If thou let this man go thou art not Cesars friend If we let our sins go and do not crucifie them we are not Christs friends 12. This is the end of all the afflictions God sends whether it be sickness in our bodies or losses in our estates that he may awaken us out of our sins and make the waters of Repentance flow Why did God lead Israel that march in the wilderness among fiery Serpents but that he might humble them Deut. 8. 2. Why did he bring Manasseh so low changing his Crown of Gold into fetters of Iron but that he might learn Repentance 2 Chron. 33. 12 13. He humbled himself greatly before the God of his Fathers then Manasseh knew that the Lord was good One of the best waies to cure a man of a Lethargy is to cast him into a Feaver So when a person is stupified and his conscience grown lethargical God to cure him of this distemper puts him to extremity and brings one burning calamity or other that he may startle him out of his security and make him return to him by Repentance 13. The daies of our mourning will soon be ended After a few showers that fall from our eyes we shall have a perpetual sun-shine Christ will provide an handkerchief to wipe off his peoples tears Rev. 7. 17. God will wipe away all tears Christians shortly you shall put on your garments of praise you shall exchange your Sackcloth for white Robes instead of sighs you shall have triumphs instead of groans Anthems instead of the water of tears the water of life The mourning of the Dove will be past and the time of singing of birds will come Volitant super aethera cantus This brings me to the next 14. The happy and glorious reward that follows upon Repentance Rom. 6. 22. Being made free from sin ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life The leaves and root of the Fig-tree are bitter but the fruit is sweet Repentance to the fleshy part seems bitter but behold sweet fruit EVERLASTING LIFE The Turks phancy after this life an Eliziâ—…m or Paradise of Pleasure where they have all dainty dishes served in they have gold in abundance silken and purple apparel and Angels bringing them red wine in silver cups and golden plates Here is an Epicures Heaven But in the true Paradise of God are those astonishing delights and rare viands served in which eye hath not seen neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive God will lead his penitents from the house of mourning to the banquetting-house no sight there but of glory no noise but of musick no sickness unless of love There shall be holiness unspotted and joy unspeakable then the Saints shall forget their solitary hours and be sweetly solacing themselves in God and bathing in the Rivers of divine pleasure Flumina jam lactis jam flumina nectaris ibant Planaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella O Christian what are thy duties compared with the recompence of reward what an infinite disproportion is there between Repentance enjoyned and glory prepared There was a feast-day at Rome wherein they used to crown their fountains God will crown those heads which have been fountains of tears Who would not be willing to be a while in the house of mourning that shall be possessed of such glory as put Peter and Iohn into an extasie to see it but darkly shadowed and pourtrayed out in the transfiguration Matth. 17. This reward which free-grace gives is so transcendantly great that could we have but a glimpse of glory revealed to us here we should need
of Christs Righteousness 3. Paul discourseth of the manner of his life after his conversion He who before was a persecutor now became a Preacher ver 16. Arise for I have appeared unto thee to make thee a Minister and a Witness of those things which thou hast seen When Paul this vessel of election was savingly wrought upon he laboured to do as much good as before he had done hurt Before he persecuted Saints to death now he preacheth sinners to life God first sent him to the Jews at Damascus and afterwards enlarged his-commission to preach to the Gentiles And the subject he preacht upon was this in the text That they should repent and turn to God A weighty and excellent Subject deos Judaei Verum Deum sed non sicut oportebat I shall not dispute the Priority whether Faith or Repentance goes first doubtless Repentance shews it self first in a Christians life yet I am apt to think the seeds of Faith are first wrought in the heart As when a burning Taper is brought into a room the light shews it self first but the Taper was before the light So we see the fruits of Repentance first but the initials of Faith were there before That which inclines me to think that Faith is seminally in the heart before Repentance is this because Repentance being a grace must be acted by one that is living Now how doth the soul live but by Faith Heb. 10. 38. The just shall live by his Faith So that there must be first some seeds of Faith in the heart of a penitent else it is a dead Repentance and so of no value But whether Faith or Repentance go first sure I am Repentance is of such importance as there is no being saved without it After Pauls shipwrack he did swim to shore on planks and broken pieces of the ship Act. 27. 44. So in Adam we all suffered shipwrack and Repentance is the only plank left us after shipwrack to swim to Heaven It is a great duty incumbent upon Christians solemnly to repent and turn unto God Mat. 3. 2. Repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Act. 3. 19. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out Act. 8. 22. Repent of this thy wickedness In the mouth of these three witnesses this truth is confirmed Repentance is a foundation-grace Heb. 6. 1. Not laying again the foundation of Repentance That Religion must needs fall to the ground which is not built upon this foundation Repentance is a grace required under the Gospel Some think it legal but the first Sermon that ever Christ preached nay the first word of his Sermon was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Repent Mat. 4. 17. And his last farewell that he left when he was going to ascend was that Repentance should be preached in his Name Luke 24. 37. And the Apostles did all beat upon this string Mark 6. 3. They went out and preached that men should repent Repentance is a pure Gospel-grace The covenant of works admitted no Repentance There it was sin and die Repentance comes in by the Gospel Christ hath purchased in his blood that repenting sinners shall be saved The Law required personal perfect and perpetual obedience it cursed all that could not come up to this Gal. 3. 10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them It doth not say he that obeys not all things let him repent but let him be cursed So that Repentance is a Doctrine brought to light only by the Gospel CHAP. II. Shewing how Repentance is wrought THE manner how Repentance is wrought is 1. Partly by the Word Act. 2. 37. When they heard this they were pricked in their heart c. The Word preached is Gods Engine he useth to effect Repentance 'T is compared to an Hammer and to a Fire Ier. 23. 29. The one is to break the other to melt the heart How great a blessing is it to have the Word dispensed which is of such noble vertue And how hard will they find it to escape Hell who put out the lights of Heaven 2. Repentance is wrought by the Spirit Ministers are but the Pipes and Organs it is the Holy Ghost breathing in them makes their words effectual Act. 10. 44. While Peter spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word The Spirit in the Word illuminates and converts When the Spirit toucheth an heart it dissolves into tears Zach. 12. 10. I will pour on the Inhabitants of Hierusalem a spirit of Grace and they shall look on me whom they have pierced and mourn 'T is wonderful to consider what different effects the Word hath upon men Some at a Sermon are like Iosiah their heart is tender and they let fall tears others are no more affected with it than a deaf man with mufick Some grow better by the Word others worse The same earth which causeth sweetness in the Grape causeth bitterness in the Wormwood What is the reason the Word works so differently it is because the Spirit of God doth carry the Word to the conscience of one and not another One hath received the divine Unction and not the other 1 Ioh. 2. 20. Oh pray that the dew may fall with Manna That the Spirit may go along with the Word The Chariot of Ordinances will not carry us to Heaven unless the Spirit of God joyn himself to this Chariot CHAP. III. Discovering the Deceits of Repentance IT will next be enquired what Repentance is I shall first shew you what it is not There are several Deceits of Repentance which might occasion that saying of Austin That Repentance damns many He means a false Repentance A person may delude himself with a counterfeit Repentance 1. The first Deceit of Repentance is legal Terrour A man hath gone on long in sin at last God arrests him shews him what desperate hazard he hath run and he is filled with anguish within a while the tempest of conscience is blown over and he is quiet then he concludes he is a true penitent because he hath felt some bitterness in sin Be not deceived this is not Repentance Ahab and Iudas had some trouble of mind It is one thing to be a terrified sinner and another thing to be a repenting sinner Sense of guilt is enough to breed terrour infusion of grace breeds Repentance If pain and trouble were sufficient to Repentance then the damned in Hell should be most penitent for they are most in anguish Repentance depends upon a change of heart There may be terrour yet no change of heart 2. Another Deceit about Repentance is resolution against sin A person may purpose and make vows yet be no penitent Ier. 2. 20. Thou saidst I will not transgress Here was a resolution but see what follows under every green tree thou playedst the Harlot Notwithstanding