fulfilling them is the only moving Cause and Christ's Satisfaction the only meritorious purchasing Cause of a People's Reformation being a Door of Hope to them it is not from any Worth or Merit in a returning reforming People as tho' they deserved Mercy at God's Hand or as if their Reformation was any part of their justifying Righteousness no that belongs only to the Righteousness of Christ Sin indeed is the true and proper deserving and meritorious Cause of God's Judgments on People and Persons and while the allowed Practice of them is continued shuts the Door of Hope against them but our Repentance and Reformation is no meriting Cause of God's Mercy or of opening a Door of Hope to us this is reserved as the Prerogative of the Satisfaction Merit and Righteousness of the dear Lord Jesus Repentance and Reformation Faith and Holiness God doth absolutely and peremptorily require and certainly work in all that he pardons and saves or in special Mercy vouchsafes even temporal Deliverance to and suspends the actual conferring of Saving-Mercy till these are at least seminally wrought in Men in Regeneration and effectual Calling to render them willing to accept of Christ and of Mercy from God through Christ to make Christ and the Mercy of God through him precious and to fit them rightly to improve Mercy when they receive it But he never intended these for justifying Righteousness therefore in pressing Reformation on our selves or others we must be very careful not to trust in it as our justifying Righteousness or the Cause of God's Mercy but to ascribe the opening of a Door of Hope to us only to the free Grace of God the Merit of Christ and the Faithfulness of God in making good his free and gracious Promises which he hath made to Faith Repentance and Reformation IV. A Fourth general Head to be spoken to in handling the Doctrine is what a right Reformation vigorously carried on opens a Door of Hope to a People of obtaining What such People or Persons may hope to receive from God of his free Grace and Mercy which Particulars may by way of Anticipation serve as Motives to every of us in our places to set upon and to our utmost forward a thorow Reformation in our own and others Hearts and Lives 1. When a People do sincerely and vigorously endeavour their own and others Reformation and God blesses these Endeavours so that they take effect there is a Door of Hope set open that God will remove and turn away his Judgments which by their Sins they have brought upon themselves Repentance and Reformation is a Door of Hope as it is a Means of God's prescribing to prevent Judgments feared and threatned and to remove such as are actually inflicted on and felt by a People thus in the often fore-quoted 7th of Joshua when Israel took away the accursed thing then God removed the Judgment that was upon them and now the Men of Ai fall before them whom till then they could not stand before 2. Sincere Attempts and vigorous Endeavours for thorow Reformation open a Door of Hope of God's vouchsafing his gracious Presence with a People even after he was departed from them for their Sins and his returning to them in Mercy and that both in Spirituals and Temporals 1. In succeeding their Attempts against God's and their Enemies either preventing them or turning their Hearts making them to be at Peace with them or giving them Success against them delivering them out of the Hands of their Enemies yea delivering their Enemies into their hands Prov. 16.17 Josh 7.12 and 8.1 2. tho' God said I will not be with you any more unless the accursed thing be taken away yet when that was done God saith to Joshua Fear not I have given Ai into thy hand 2. When a People are rightly and thoroughly reformed it opens a Door of Hope of God's Presence with them in blessing them with able wise and faithful Counsellours Rulers and Governours and blessing their Counsels and Government both for the temporal and spiritual good of such a People Isai 1.16 20 and ver 25 26. And this is a great Mercy 3. This Reformation opens a Door of Hope to a People that God will bless them with Peace Plenty and Success in their Undertakings so far as shall be for God's Glory and their good This second of Hosea proves this ver 17 18 21 22. When God takes away the Name of Baalim out of her Mouth he makes a Covenant for them with the whole Creation so Job 5.19 to the end 4. It opens a Door of Hope that God will continue the Gospel and Gospel Ordinances among them in Power Purity and Liberty and his Blessing upon them for they are the Sins of a People that provoke God to remove the Candlestick Rev. 2.5 I will remove it saith God there except thou repent which implies That if they did repent God would graciously continue it Isai 55.7 and 10 to the end 5. True Repentance and Reformation opens a Door of Hope and is an Evidence that God is and will be the God of such a People Thus Hos 2. v. 16. Thou shalt call me Ishi my Husband and v. 19 20. God would bettoth them to him in Loving-kindness and Faithfulness Their Maker will be their Husband Isai 54.5 and in the last Verse of this second of Hosea I will say to them Thou art my People and they shall say Thou art my God and you have heard very well on a like occasion to this that happy is the People whose God is the Lord such have a Door of Hope opened to them large enough as wide a Door and effectual as they need or can desire I now come to the 5th and last thing proposed viz. the Application And the only use I shall make of this Doctrine shall be of Exhortation To all that bear the Name of Christians Seeing when a People have brought themselves into a Valley of Achor by their Sins a thorow Reformation is a Door of Hope for obtaining God's gracious Presence and Blessing both in temporals and spirituals Be ye all prevailed with to set upon and promote this Work of Reformation both in your own Hearts and Lives and to the utmost of your power in the Lives yea in the Hearts of others every one of you in your places all joining Hearts and Hands in it 1. Magistrates must be exhorted in their places duly impartially and vigorously to put in Execution the Laws against Sin yea and to give all due Incouragement to all such as regularly endeavour to stem the strong Tide of Irreligion and Profaneness by bringing to Conviction and legal Punishments such as are guilty of Tipling Drunkenness Swearing Uncleanness Sabbath-Profanation and those things Persons and Places that are Occasions of and Provocations to such Sins If God stir up and spirit Magistrates to do their Duty in this Matter it will be a Door of Hope of God's continuing and further vouchsafing Mercy to
on is That when a People have sinned themselves into a Valley of Achor in regard of Trouble yet if it prove to them as the Valley of Achor did to Israel a means to bring them to Repentance and Reformation of Manners yea both of Heart and Life and that Work be throughly and effectually carried on it is and will be to them a Door of Hope of the restoring of God's gracious Presence and his bestowing temporal and spiritual yea and Eternal Blessings upon them Now in handling this Proposition I shall speak somewhat God assisting to these particulars I. Briefly shew what kind of Reformation of Manners that is which will render a Valley of Achor a Door of Hope and which all must endeavour to set on foot and carry on to the uttermost as they would have well-grounded Hopes that it will be so II. Prove from Scripture That the right endeavouring and much more the effecting such a Reformation will open a Door of Hope III. Give the Reasons of it IV. Shew what it will be a Door of Hope of and V. Apply it I. What kind of Reformation it is and what Attempts and Endeavours towards it are those that will prove a Door of Hope of God's gracious Presence with and Blessing upon a People 1. The Attempts and Endeavours after Reformation of Manners that will be a Door of Hope to those that ingage in such a Work whether Magistrates Ministers or private Christians and whether in Societies or single Persons they must be vigorous unwearied and persevering not giving over upon any Discouragements they meet with All that ingage in such a Work as the Reformation of the loose profane Manners of a degenerate debauched Age had need be furnished with holy Courage and Resolution to go on against all Discouragements Weak and faint Endeavours will never prevail against strong and rampant Sins and raging Corruptions Satan will rage and raise Opposition when he sees his Kingdom struck at and shaken and wicked Men will struggle hard e'er they will part with their beloved reigning pleasing profitable Sins that they have been long accustomed to and see them dethroned and restrained 2 Sam. 23.6 7. The Men of Belial are such as cannot be taken with Hands or gentle dealing but he that toucheth them must be fenced with Iron and the Staff of a Spear See therefore all you that ingage in this Work that you and your Endeavours for Reformation of Manners be and pray that they may be vigorous and unwearied 2. The Reformation that will be a Door of Hope and which you must endeavour to promote must be thorow both in Heart and Life not a Reformation by halves not only reforming the gross outward Acts of more than ordinary heinous scandalous Sins such as Swearing Drunkenness Uncleanness open Sabbath-Profanation and the like but even those that are lesser Sins in the Esteem of Men such as unruly Passions Covetousness Pride of Heart and Life c. These we must pray and endeavour to our utmost the Reformation of first of all in our selves and then in others as ever we would open a Door of Hope for thorow Mercies especially spiritual and eternal ones There must be Endeavours to promote a Reformation in our selves and others of Sins of Omission as well as of Commission To bring our selves and press others to the conscientious Performance of Family-Worship of constant daily reading the Word and Prayer Morning and Evening frequent instructing and catechising Children and Servants strict Sabbath-Sanctification as well as reforming gross Sabbath-Profanation and the Performance of secret Duties It is true we cannot reform others secret and Heart-Sins the Laws of Men do not reach these but we must earnestly pray for and press this Reformation Nor can we compel Men by the Laws of Men to Family and secret Duties but we must exhort to these Duties Those Governours of Families that are known to live in the Neglect of these Duties may as justly be kept from Sacraments as Persons guilty of outward Acts of Sin till they give Evidence of their Repentance and Reformation I grant that even upon the Reformation of Manners as to outward Acts of gross and scandalous Sins God may suspend the Execution of temporal Judgments for a time and may vouchsafe some temporal Mercies as we see exemplified in Ahab's Humiliation and Nineveh's Repentance and present Reformation but these were but Reprieves both in the Case of Ahab who afterwards was cut off by an untimely and violent Death 1 King 22.34 35 and so it proved with Nineveh as the Prophecy of Nahum doth emphatically shew It is only thorow Reformation that can open a Door of Hope to obtain thorow Mercies especially spiritual ones this therefore you should be sure to labour after your selves and pray for press and endeavour to promote in others yea carry on outward Reformation in order to promoting this 3. That Reformation of Manners which will be an effectual Door of Hope of obtaining thorow Mercies especially spiritual ones must be a sincere unfeigned Reformation such an one as hath the Heart ingaged in it so as that Sin is not only left but loathed Duties not only performed but loved and delighted in Sin forsaken and Duty performed from Principles of Faith and Love When Judah returned not with her whole Heart but feignedly Jer. 3.10 out of Complyance with or Fear of the Laws of Men Judgment was suspended for a time during the Life of a good Josiah but was executed upon Judah after his Death Therefore if any of you be reformed from gross Sins see it be not only from Fear of Men or their Laws or to procure their Favour but that your Reformation be sincere and unfeigned as ever you would have it to be a Door of Hope of obtaining spiritual Mercies or lasting temporal Mercies 4. That Reformation that will be a Door of Hope of obtaining God's gracious Presence and spiritual Mercies yea temporal Mercies in Mercy must proceed from and be accompanied with Faith in Christ Men must not only come off from the allowed Practice of Sin to the Performance of formerly neglected Duties but they must come thorowly home to Christ so as not to trust in their Reformation as their justifying Righteousness but trust in Christ and his Righteousness alone for their Justification trust in him and him alone as the Lord their only Righteousness and their only Strength Isai 45 24. so as by Faith to fetch Strength from Christ to forsake Sin do Duty and exercise Grace and be able to say as 2 Cor. 6.13 I have believed and therefore have I spoken I have forsaken such Sins done such Duties not only for Fear of Punishment by the Laws of Men or to please Friends gain Credit among Christians or stop the Mouth of Conscience but because I believed the Precepts Threatnings and Promises in the Word yea do believe in and rest upon Christ for my Justification Sanctification and Salvation and rely upon him for Strength
against Sin and unto Duty and the Exercise of Grace It 's true such a Reformation we cannot produce in others no nor in our selves neither for Faith is the Gift of God but this you may and should pray for both for your selves and others and this you should press And Ministers should in all their Exhortations of People to Reformation press them not to rest in any thing short of Christ Faith in him Union to him and Communion with him as our Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption and let us all see that we take up in no Reformation short of this A Reformation in our selves and others thus qualified will be a great and effectual Door opened to you of Hope of obtaining spiritual and eternal Mercies yea and temporal too so far as shall be for God's Glory and your real good II. The second General Head is to prove the Point That the setting upon and vigorously and effectually carrying on a Work of Reformation opens a Door of Hope of God's Presence in and with and Blessing upon a Place or People It is abundantly proved out of this Chapter from many other Texts of Scripture but the Scripture-Proof I shall refer to three Heads 1. It appears That when a People are in a Wilderness-Condition in a Valley of Achor and brought into such a State by their Sins a right and thorow Reformation is the way to make the Valley of Achor a Door of Hope in that God doth in such Cases require it as a Duty and direct to it as a Means to open to a People a Door of Hope of God's removing Judgments from and bestowing Mercies upon a People Thus in the second Verse of this Chapter he calls upon the Children to plead with their Mother even private Christians are in their place to promote Church-Reformation and directs what should be done by Churches and particular Members to prevent or remove Judgments and obtain Mercies let her put away her Whoredoms out of her Sight as the way to prevent the Judgment mentioned in the following Verses 2. It appears That setting upon and carrying on thorow Reformation in the Hearts and Lives of Men is the way to make a Valley of Achor a Door of Hope in that God promises to send Afflictions on his People and vouchsafe a sanctified Use of them for this end Thus the 6th and 7th Verses of this Chapter look like and are delivered in the Form of a Threatning for the most part of them but they close with a precious Promise That her having her way hedged up with Thorns shall have this gracious Issue and Effect that she shall say I will go and return to my first Husband c. and this was to give her a Door of Hope so God promiseth Ps 89.30 36. He will not take away his Loving-kindness but bring Meat out of the Eater 3. It appears That God will make a Valley of Achor a Door of Hope when by their Afflictions they are brought to Reformation in that God hath made many gracious Promises That when a People return to him by thorow Reformation he will return to them in Mercy You have many such Promises in this Chapter and many other Scriptures thus in the Text when the Names of Baalim were taken out of her Mouth then God would give her her Vineyards she should sing in the Valley of Achor where before she was troubled and mourned and in the 18th Verse how many Blessings are promised God would betroth her to him in Righteousness and Judgments in Loving-kindness and Mercies and Faithfulness and in the end of the Chapter adds temporal Mercies too and closeth with the best at last So 2 Chr. 7.13 14. Isai 1.16 20 and 25 26. Jer. 3.12 13 14 15 and 22. Mal. 3.10 11 12. All these Promises and many more such hath God made to a Peoples thorow Reformation and Return to God 4. The Truth of the Doctrine appears from the Instances of God's dealing with his People and the Experiences of God's People to this purpose recorded in the Scripture What they by their Sins had made to themselves a Valley of Achor God when he hath brought them to Repentance and Reformation hath made a Door of Hope to them this is clearly proved from that fore-mentioned 7th of Joshua when Achan had sinned in the accursed thing that Valley which was a Door of Hope of their full possessing the Land of Canaan was turned into a Valley of Achor but when Israel reformed and executed Justice upon Achan the Valley of Achor became again a Door of Hope to them Another Instance of this you have in Judges the 10th Israel by their Sins had brought themselves into a Valley of Achor into great Distresses ver 6 10. and yet more when notwithstanding their Confession they received that cutting Answer from the Lord ver 10 15. yet when they not only confessed and prayed but heartily reformed and put away the strange Gods from among them and served the Lord then there was a Door of Hope opened to them and God's Soul was grieved for the Misery of Israel ver 16. But so much for the Scripture-Proof of the Doctrine III. The Third Head propounded to be spoken to in the handling of the Doctrine was the Reasons of it 1. One Reason why when a People that by their Sins have brought themselves and God for their Sins hath brought them into a Wilderness and a Valley of Achor into great trouble yet when Repentance and Reformation are set upon and vigorously and effectually carried on there is a Door of Hope opened them is because by true Repentance and right and thorow Reformation the deserving procuring Cause of God's Judgments and a Peoples Troubles are removed out of the way Now the Cause being removed the Effect ceases Sins unrepented of and unreformed are the Causes of God's Judgments on a People and the great hindrances of God's Mercies to them these are they that bring them into a Valley of Achor and keep them there that shut the Door of Hope and keep it shut against them till they are removed by Faith Repentance and Reformation They are the Sins of a People that separate between them and their God Isai 59.2 and cause him to hide his Face from them that he will not hear therefore Israel could not stand before their Enemies Josh 7.12 Jer. 5.24 25 26. Hos 4.1 2 3. it is for unreformed Sins the Land mourns and God hath a Controversy with them these shut the Door of Hope but when these are removed by a right Reformation the Door is opened again 2. Another Reason of the Doctrine is drawn from the Free Grace of God the Satisfaction and Merit of Christ and the free and gracious Promises of the Gospel these are the only moving Causes the chief ground and reason why a People's Reformation opens a Door of Hope to them God's free Grace in making Promises to Repentance and Reformation and his Truth and Faithfulness in
that it may through God's gracious Blessing upon and setting in with it bring them to sound Conversion to Faith in Christ and a reform and change of the Heart this you should aim at pray for and press that outward Reformation may be a step in them to this thorow and inward Work and to the setting upon the Duties of Religion and getting rid of that Hardness of Heart which their profane Practices had so deeply riveted Tho' outward Reformation may remove at present some outward Judgments or at least reprieve from the present full Execution of them yet nothing can secure God's gracious saving Presence but Faith in Christ accompanied with and evidenced by Conscience of Duties of our general and particular Calling Exercise of Grace and Holiness of Heart In all your Attempts to amend the Manners of others endeavour to promote this thorow Heart-deep Reformation pray for this press to it And you that are reformed from or have not been guilty of those gross Sins of Swearing Drunkenness Uncleanness Sabbath-profanation and other such like enormous Crimes but are brought to Civility and moral Honeity yet see that you rest not in this no nor in any thing short of Christ an Interest in him by a true living Faith and a thorow Work of Grace and the Practice of Holiness in Heart and Life For tho' outward Reformation a civil sober Conversation and moral Honesty be commendable and your indispensible Duty without which you can have no Evidence of the Truth of Grace whatever your Profession and Performances may be yet if you go no further such a partial Reformation will never prove saving to your own Souls nay meer Civility Morality yea Gifts and external Performances rested in are like to prove hindrances of sound Conversion Hence Christ tells the Scribes and Pharisees Mat. 21.31 That Publicans and Harlots repenting and believing went into the Kingdom of God before them who stayed and trusted in their Pharisaical Righteousness Promote therefore outward Reformation but also to your utmost press and forward thorow conversion in others Let Ministers press this on People and let private Christians press this too in their places and you who are more particularly ingaged in this good reforming Work do you press on those Sinners you have to do with to this thorow Reformation to Faith in Christ the Practice of Religion and the Power of Godliness This is the way to make Reformation a Door of Hope of God's saving-Saving-mercy to your Souls and of his gracious Presence with the Land and the Churches of Christ in it 5. Endeavours for Reformation of Manners are a Door of Hope as the joining together of serious sober and religious Persons tho' differing in their Perswasions in some lesser Matters in this Work gives hopes of uniting them in Love and Affection one to another and so far as they have attained walking by the same Rule and minding the same thing Phil. 3.16 and bearing with each other where there may be some difference in Judgment and Practice while they agree in the main in all necessary things in Doctrine and Worship and the Practice of Holiness When Divisions are healed Animosities Censoriousness and Uncharit ableness laid aside there will be a Door of Hope opened that we shall enjoy the gracious Presence of God and his Blessing upon us in our personal and more private and in our National and Church-Capacity Now joining together in promoting Reformation is a likely Means to this desireable Christian-Union of Affections for one great Cause of differences is the Prejudices in Mens minds against one another occasioned by Strangeness and not conversing together but when sober Religious Persons join in promoting Reformation and see that they drive on the same good and holy ends it breeds better Thoughts of one another Therefore labour to set open and keep open this Door of Hope viz. Union in the main among all that fear God tho' differing in some lesser Matters for truly there is nothing that shuts the Door of Hope against us more than the Divisions Heart-burnings and Animosities among those that agree in the Essentials and Fundamentals of Doctrine Worship and Christian Practice Oh then as you would have the Reformation that is set on foot be a Door of Hope pray for and promote the healing of the Divisions among Persons professing the same Truth and Godliness endeavour to preserve the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace speaking the Truth in Love Eph. 4.3 15. Speak the Truth and contend earnestly for the Faith Jude v. 3. yet speak it in Love Put not the worst Construction on Mens Words and Actions but put the best Interpretation upon doubtful Expressions and Actions that they will admit of especially when in other places and at other times they explain what was possibly at first delivered so as to be somewhat liable to Exception Fasten not upon Men Consequences of Doctrine which they never intended nor ever saw in them Men may shew the true Consequences of Doctrines but should not charge the Persons with intending and embracing those Consequences which they renounce Thus heartily desire and endeavour to reform and heal the lamentable sinful mischievous and very threatning Divisions among Professors of the same Religion and serious in their Profession of Godliness This would be a Door of Hope indeed 6. And lastly Endeavours for Reformation of Manners will be a Door of Hope when they do as to be sure they should excite all those that are God's People to be more eminent in the Profession of Religion and Godliness more lively in every Grace more ready to and in ever good Work when by seeing Sinners reformed from Acts of Profaneness true Saints are excited to more eminent Degrees of Holiness to greater Exemplariness of Conversation to repair their Decays in Grace to reform their Pride and their too great Conformity to the Spirit of the World then to allude to that passage 1 Cor. 16 9 a great Door and effectual of Hope will be opened upon us as to the Continuance of God's gracious Presence with us And this should be a sour to Saints to great Circumspection in their walk and greater Fruitfulness in every good Word and Work for truly the Unreformedness of Professours their Pride Formality Decays in Grace conformity to the world their covetous selfish frame of Spirit their losing their Zeal and leaving much of their first Love doth as much shut the Door of Hope as any other sins even the sins of profane Persons Rev. 2.5 Therefore all you that are Professours of more than ordinary Strictness in Religion while you would reform the Drunkenness Swearing Filthiness and Sabbath-profanation of gross Sinners and see them in some degree reformed For shame do you reform your Pride of Heart and Life your Conformity to the Customs the garish Fashions and Dresses of the world that Pride that testifies to the Face of many Professours both Men and Women Womens high Heads and Mens flanting Perukes that hide their Faces as if they were ashamed as well indeed they may in such effeminate Dresses to shew them and make them look as out of a Prison-grate so likewise the Worldliness and Selfishness of Professours is much to be bewailed and should be with the greatest Vigour reformed If you would do as the Church of Ephesus is by Christ directed to do Rev. 2.5 remember from whence you are fallen and repent and do your first Works it would be a Door of Hope If while you desire and attempt to break the Knots of Swearing Tipling revelling Companions you would also improve your Meetings together and your friendly Visits to spiritual Purposes to the sharpening and advancing Grace mutually to the provoking one another to love and good Works Heb. 10.24 to the exhorting one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin Heb. 3.13 to the lifting up of weak Hands and feeble Knees Heb. 12.12 to the building up one another in our most holy Faith this would open a Door of Hope indeed Be prevailed with therefore all of you especially such as profess strictness and such as ingage in this good and necessary Work of Reformation of Manners labour to follow these Directions and then tho your and others Sins may have brought us and the Nation in some respects into a Valley of Achor on account of Afflictions and Distresses yet if it thus prove a Valley of Achor in regard of Humiliation and thorow effectual Reformation above described and pressed it will be a comfortable blessed Door of Hope to us that God will yet dwell among us and be our God and that we shall be his People FINIS