that all should be as they are Shall Error be set for a Rule If one be born deformed or wanting some of those integral parts which make up a Body would any that is in his Wits be willing to be conform'd to that unnatural Idea If a man had a Child born defective in any Limb blind lame or any way mishapen would he not think it a great favour if it might be granted to him to have this Child born again in a handsom form and restored to a beautiful proportion Wise men have ever thought that it is a greater monstrosity to be mishapen in Soul the Mind corrupted the Affections corrupted with Lust and so made dishonourable to the state of Human Nature The Holy Scripture doth very justly call this a Corruption of Human Nature for every thing deserves that name when it hath lost that power which is the proper Excellency of its Nature and by which it is fitted to its End This Degeneracy is so great that the Holy Scripture saith Men are degraded by it into the condition of brute Beasts 2 Pet. 2. 12. and in other places The Philosophers saw it by the Light of Nature and have spoken more highly in the case Arrian calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. the most unhappy among Beasts and adds that if there be any thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more wretched and abject a man depraved with sin is that The Poets meant the same when they spoke of the Transformation of Vlysses his Companions who by Debauchery were turned into Swine grunting in Circe's Prison and there thrusting out their Snouts through the Grates in which they were kept Slaves So monstrous is the state of the Soul when it is made to truckle under every ungoverned Passion Second Motive This is enough to have shown the reasonableness of Repentance and I might now add the danger which a sinner incurs by Impenitence for he makes himself liable to that Vengeance which God will take for the contempt of his Orders But before I speak of that I shall discourse of my second Motive to Repentance which is taken from the Goodness of God who is willing to forgive the Penitent sinner and that is so great an Encouragement to this Duty that the Apostle says it leads us to Repentance That it doth so will be seen plainly in the Account which I shall give of it in six Particulars 1. The first Encouragement is that Declaration which God hath made concerning his own Nature that it is not implacable but that he is willing to forgive those who have sinned if they repent of their sins This Goodness of the Divine Nature God made to pass before Moses when he desired to see the the glory of the Godhead when God proclaimed himself to be the Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiveing iniquity transgression and sin This glorious Name was given as that by which God was willing to be known to the World and it doth give us notice of that which doth most concern us to know of the Deity God by his Royal Prerogative hath power to forgive if he please By right of Creation he is the Sovereign Rector of the World He who made all things must need have authority to give them Law it is fit that all Creatures should obey him who gave them their Being As he hath power to give Law so also to threaten in case of Disobedience and so he only is Dominus poenarum the punishment of sin is solely at his appointment for whatsoever mischief sin may do in the Consequences of it to others it is his Law which is violated by it it is his Authority which is affronted But as God hath only right to punish so if he please it is his Prerogative not to punish His Threatnings are Conditional and so in themselves capable of Relaxation He may depart from his Right if he will and forgive us what we are not able to pay He may pass by those wrongs for which we can never make him amends as indeed we cannot for one Sin For as Daniel said To the Lord our God belong Mercies and Forgiveness though we have rebelled against him As it his Royal Prerogative that he can forgive so it is his Divine Benignity that he is willing to do it The goodness of God for which we constantly adore him is a voluntary propension of the Divine Nature to do good to his Creatures according to their several Capacities and he hath a particular Love to Mankind which makes him willing to promote their Happiness and as sin is the only hindrance of that he hath declared his love by his willingness to prevent the mischievous effects of it by forgiveness Here the Divine goodness doth magnifie it self against our wickedness the Divine Wisdom finds a way to save the Offender from the ruin of his own Folly and God's Justice shows it self wise and good not reaching after that satisfaction which cannot be had to wit not requiring that the Offence be undone for that cannot be nor yet seeking the utmost which may be had which is that the sinner be destroyed but is content with such a Reparation as may be made of the Divine Honour by Repentance by which sin is extirpated and the sinner saved I have spoken of this Particular more largely to fix a right Notion of the temper of the Deity in mens Souls It is no small comfort to us that we know God is not necessitated to execute his Threatnings and that he is of so Benign a Nature that he is willing to part with his Right rather than ruin his Creatures This is a mighty Encouragement to Repentance and should make every sinner say as the Prophet did Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his Heritage He retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy Art thou so good though I have been so bad I will rebel no more I hope in thy Mercy I will return We read that Benhadad and his great Army invaded Israel and when they were beaten the very Report that the Kings of Israel were merciful made them come with Sackcloth upon their Loyns and Ropes about their Necks Suing for Pardon with all the signs of Penitence and Submission We are told also in the Story of Augustus Caesar That there was one Corocotta a Spanish Thief so famous for doing Mischief that the Emperor promised Ten thousand Sesterces to him that should bring him alive into his presence Here upon Corocotta fearing his danger if he continued his Course and having heard of the generous temper of Augustus carried himself to him It could not be the hope of the price set upon his head that could make him do so for what pleasure can a man take in telling money when he is going to
baseness of sin that the Prophet Isaiah astonished at it cries out in Gods behalf Hear O Heavens give ear O Earth why what 's the matter I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me Why is that such a matter that God should resent it on that fashion Yes For as it follows it is a vileness so low that Beasts are not capable of it The Ox knows his owner and the Ass his Masters Crib and as they come for meat to their Masters so they serve in grateful return for what they receive But Israel doth not know my people doth not consider They neither have a sense of me their God nor of the Favours they have received from me nor consider the Obligation which is upon them to obey me nor how ungrateful they are in not obeying nor the baseness of their Ingratitude whilst they disobey So Ieremiah Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of darkness that they say we are Lords we will come no more at thee I thought I had been to them that Fountain of goodness at which they drank all their days I thought that by the constant Irrigations of Mercy I had made their souls like a watered garden But it was true of them which was said of Hezekiah He returned not as he received neither for his recovery from a deadly Sickness nor deliverance from the potent Army of the Assyrians Therefore the Penitent hath good reason to say I am ashamed O Lord I blush to think how many mercies I slight how many obligations I trample upon how basely unthankful I have been Doth Iesurun kick and forget it was undeserved mercy which made him fat Because thou art full dost thou sin and not remember that thou rebellest against him who fed thee O foolish people and unwise do you thus requite the Lord Or as the Prophet Dost thou not know that I gave thee thy Corn and Wine saith God and that I multiplyed thy silver and thy gold I will return and take away my corn wine and wooll and make thee know with what ingratitude thou hast forgot thy Benefactor and chief Patron The Penitent may do well to increase this shame in his soul by the consideration of some of the chief mercies by which God hath laid Obligations of Obedience upon him and that will make him say with Ezra Have I sinned having received such deliverance as this Was I delivered to do abominations O my God I am ashamed to look up to Heaven I blush and hide my face And to all considerations of Ingratitude add always this never to be forgotten the Love of thy Saviour in dying for thy sins and then thou wilt say Do I please my self with committing sin when my Saviour in pure love suffered so much pain with infinite amazements upon the Cross for it What am I so base as to trample under my feet the Blood of the Son of God and to scorn the prayers and tears of my Saviour Those whom this consideration doth not make ashamed now will be confounded with it for ever hereafter and beg Rocks to fall upon them that they may not come into the presence of that Friend whom they have so vilely abused not only because they see him now so great that he can take vengeance upon them but because they perceive themselves so base by Ingratitude that they highly deserve it 5. Lastly The Penitent hath great reason to be ashamed of sin as for the aforementioned Considerations so for this that he hath made them out of measure sinful by a horrid Perfidiousness He which sins at first breaks the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Oath which is interwoven with our being of which the Philosopher spoke God making no Creature but of which he takes an Oath by the Law of its Nature that it shall be obedient to him But he is perfidious also because he breaks those voluntary Promises which the sense of Obligations laid upon him engaged him to make to God Sure this will make the Penitent blush when he finds reason to say to his soul O my soul Art not thou only so vile as to consent to sin against God but also to do it when thou hast vowed not to do so and when those Vows were made upon most serious deliberation and for those Reasons which thou dost still acknowledge to be most weighty This is enough to have said to shew not only how necessary Confession of sin is to Repentance but also how fit it is that sorrow and shame for sin committed should be joyned to the Confession of it Yet this must not be understood so as if they were only applicable to some penitential solemn acts of Confession for they are to be continued through our whole life For a good man will always be sorry and ever ashamed that he had once sinned Though God forgive a true Penitent will hardly forgive himself A Heathen could say That if we believe there is a Providence he which hath sinned shall not be despised if he grow good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet he shall carry some marks of old displeasure For as another said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there remains in the souls of Penitents the marks of old sins as skars do in the flesh though the wounds be healed 2. To Confession the Penitent must add earnest Prayer for pardon This we learn from our blessed Saviour who hath taught us to put this into our Prayers as a chief petition Forgive us our Trespasses Shall God forgive such as do not entreat him to do so It is fit the sinner should fall upon his knees before the Eternal Father and beg pardon When Daniel understood by reading the Prophecy of Ieremiah that the time was at hand in which God had promised so to pardon the sins of the Jews as to return their captivity then he set himself to seek it of God by supplication and prayer Why so Because the promise was made upon condition that they should repent of their sins which carried them captive and pray for pardon and return For so we read I will plant that which was desolate and build the ruinous places I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them i. e. I will grant it to them when they pray for it Hereupon this holy man began in prayer to do his part and directed them to do theirs But as Prayer for Pardon is a Duty unquestionable so Fervency is a qualification so requisite that without it Prayer will not be accepted as it appears by what our Saviour hath taught us in his Sermons the Apostles in their Epistles sincere Penitents in their praetise and of which we are assured because it hath ever been made a condition of the Forgiveness promised It is usually expressed thus They shall find me if they seek me with their whole heart Accordingly they are said to have sought God with their
A Discourse CONCERNING REPENTANCE By N. INGELO D. D. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LONDON Printed by T. R. for Richard Marriott and sold by William Bromwich at the Sign of the Three Bibles in Ludgate-Street 1677. A DISCOURSE CONCERNING REPENTANCE PART I. LUKE 24. 47. That Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations WHen man came out of his Creators hands he was happy and so long as he kept the state of his Nature he continued such for he enjoyed his Makers favour he walked with God had a friendly Converse with him and as he continually made a thankful acknowledgment of his dependance upon his Goodness and perform'd due Obedience to his Will so he was always under the care of his Providence and the Influences of his Grace which was so great a felicity that his condition might well be signified by the name of the place in which he dwelt The Paradise of Eden i. e. The Garden of Delight But see the frailty of created Beings when they are a little trusted with themselves Man soon fell from his happiness He was not content with his Makers allowance he would provide better for himself some other way But so disregarding his Creators Laws he threw himself out of the Divine favour and with himself his Posterity treading in the same steps of Disobedience though they knew how dear it cost their Forefather by the miserable Inheritance which he left them The unhappiness of the Estate so bequeathed being so heavy that men when they considered it would rather never have been born than thrown under the weight of it The merciful Son of God with an unspeakable compassion interposed himself between them and the dreaded Ruin and interceded for their pardon The eternal Father was highly pleased with his Mediation and as for his sake he did not lock the door of Hope against the first Runagate so neither did he afterward shut up his disobedient Children in the irrecoverable misery of their Sin For though they have cast themselves out of the Mercies of the ancient Covenant by breaking the Conditions of it yet the Son of God was pleased to be the Angel of a new Covenant and brought it from Heaven and sent his Celestial Messengers at his Birth to proclaim the Good-will which was contained in it and seal'd it with his Blood which when he was going to die he said he would shed for the remission of Sins And having performed that Promise full of unspeakable kindness when he was raised from the dead he commanded his Servants whom he had made intimate with the design of his Mercy that they should publish it to all the World and in his Name preach Repentance and upon that promise forgiveness of sin and declare that God would now accept of Return to Duty instead of Obedience which had never fail'd and that all such of sinful Mankind as would run away from their disobedient Party acknowledge their Fault lament their Rebellion throw down their Arms yield to Mercy and return to their Allegiance should come to be as they were at first by Gods allowance be put into the way of Happiness again For by the forgiveness of their sins God restores them to his Favour a Grace denied to a higher sort of Creatures than we are Angels when by sin they flung themselves out of Heaven I have designed this Discourse to treat of the way which God hath been pleased to accept and our Saviour to declare for our escaping the misery of sin which is Repentance And of this I shall speak as I find it described in the New Testament where two words are chiefly used to express the nature of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Change of mind as to what is past 2. Better care for the future And these I shall explain as Holy Writ and the practise of Gods Church do direct 1. A change of mind as to what is past So Tertull. In Graeco sono Poenitentiae nomen ab animi demutatione compositum est which he said respecting the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He which repents must begin with a severe condemnation of his former course So Isidor Pelusiota l. 4. c. 60. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How can he repent of what he hath done who doth not condemn it as wicked This part of Repentance expresseth it self in two things 1. Humble Confession of Sin 2. Earnest Prayer for Pardon 1. Humble confession of sin which is both required in many places of Scripture and appears to have been the practise of Penitents He which confesseth and forsaketh finds mercy If we confess our sins he is faithful It is meet to be said unto God I have sinned He can never hope for pardon who will not confess his sin As Confession belongs to Repentance so if it be right it must have these two things joyned with it 1. Sorrow and 2. Shame 1. We must make our Confessions having in our souls a great sorrow for having offended God a great displeasure against our selves for our disobedience When the Apostle perceived the Corinthians to have fallen into a great sin he wrote a sharp Letter to them and the consideration of that and what they had done wrought in them the beginning of Repentance a godly sorrow or sorrow according to God which he doth require and will accept if it be sincere according to the nature of the sin committed It is fit that he who hath sinned should be grieved when he considers what he hath done and say as he did Eheuquà m ego totus displiceo mihi Poenitentia denot at paenam animi de re perper am gestâ sibi displicentis St. Peters Penitents were said to be pricked in their Hearts and the Scripture calls true Repentance a broken heart a contrite spirit And true Penitents usually expressed their sorrow in tears with which David is said to water his Couch and St. Peter upon consideration of his grand sin is said to have gone forth of the Company and to have wept bitterly He which truly considers what it is to have sinned would if he could wash away the stain with tears of blood When the weight of the sins of others began to sit close and heavy upon our Saviours shoulders it put him into such an Agony that it made clammy drops of thick sweat like viscous blood trickle from his Body to the ground Therefore Penitents of old to express their due grief used to gird themselves with Sackcloth and fit in Ashes For anciently in great mournings it was the custom to put on Sackcloth to cover their heads with Ashes and sit in the Dust. As we see in the Story of the King of Niniveh in that great affliction of soul which surprised him upon Ionas's denunciation of wrath against him and his people and in the case of Thamar in the astonishing grief which seized her upon the loss of her Honour So Iob when he
think himself well because he is not hanged as soon as condemned when the Judge hath set a day for his Execution Alas what small security is in that short respite Dost thou not know that the goodness of God leads thee to Repentance and yet wilt sin and so treasure up wrath to thy self by hardness of heart against the day of the Revelation of Gods just Judgment The Fool puts the Evil day far from him which how near it is God only knows 4. This is also one addition to this folly that he will sin when he hath been told not only that there is a set Day of Judgment and consequently of Punishment though delayed a while but also that a sinner by a course of impenitence may be shut up in a state inevitably obnoxious to the punishment of that Day a long while before the person dies and so comes to his particular Judgment One may so much grieve the Lord as the Israelites did in the Wilderness that he will swear they shall never enter into his rest They may sin so long that no place is left for Repentance and so no hope of Mercy It is a dreadful curse when God saith Let them fall from one wickedness to another that so often and the sins so great that they never come into his Righteousness Gray hairs are upon the foolish sinner and he perceives not that he grows old in sin and guilt My Spirit shall not always strive with men Pharaoh having hardned his heart against several miraculous Declarations of Gods Power and Anger was irrecoverably destinated to Ruin though God told him that he preserved him a while to show his power and anger upon him before he utterly destroyed him The sins of the Amorites were not at the full Who knows whether he hath filled up the measure which God will stop at yet fond sinners add to it daily When our gracious Saviour perceived Ierusalem to be in this case he wept over it and said O Ierusalem Ierusalem how oft would I have gathered thee O that thou hadst in this thy day seen the things which belong to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes We know that men by sin may grow so stupid as to their minds that they will pray for life to that which is dead and as to their Affections they may be given up to those which are so vile as that it is a shame to mention them and grow so base that they will sell Heaven as Esau did his Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage I have heard of a man who having been drunk overnight and passed over a very narrow Bridge which no sober Horsman durst attempt being brought the next day to see what danger he went through fell down in a swoon upon the sight of it But sinners are so besotted with the love of sin that they will on though they are shewed before that the Bridge they are going to is impassable and that the Lake of Fire and Brimstone is under it This is enough to have shown the folly of sin which whosoever is guilty of when he considers it will find reason enough to be ashamed of himself 3. The third consideration in this matter is that high Injustice of which he makes himself guilty that sins There is nothing in the world so due to any person as Obedience is to God That which is made by another ought to receive Law from him There is nothing more absurd in Nature than for a Creature to be its own This was the Root upon which the misery of Mankind grew at first that they would be sui juris their own Law-givers and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 still he which sins knows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but his own Appetites and this he declares in his Actions And sometimes it comes to that boldness that he says so in words too as those Miscreants Our lips are our own who is Lord over us Monstrous absurd It is not so unjust or shameful for Lacqueys to ride on Horseback and Princes to attend them on foot as for a Creature to think to be at its own dispose and to speak and do what it will No said those pious souls who understood their estate thou hast made us and not we our selves And therefore as the Apostle adds we should so speak and so do as those who shall be judged by the Creators Law and give an accompt to him who will pass a severe sentence upon the injustice of Disobedience Men are mightily concerned for their own dues and take it ill if any deprive them of their Right Shall not the God of heaven and earth regard what is due to him by a Right which is transcendent to all created propriety See what notice God takes of his wrongs A Son honoureth his Father and a Servant his Master If then I be a Father where is mine Honour If I be a Master where is my fear Art not thou ashamed who art by nature but a Servant to deny the homage which is due to the Soveraign Lord of the World and yet art very careful of those petty Rights which are only due to thee by his appointment Dost thou think it a shame for Creatures to do unjustly to one another and yet dost not blush to wrong thy God This is so strange a thing in Gods accompt that as the Prophet Malachi tells us God wonders at it Will a man rob God It is most unlikely yet you have robbed me God had bestowed the Land of Canaan upon them but reserved to himself as Lord Proprietor several Tithes and Offerings which he would have paid to him as an Acknowledgment of himself of whom they held what they enjoyed They pay'd not these Dues But God doth not care for it possibly Doth he not See what follows ye are curs'd with a dreadful curse because you have robbed me even this whole Nation He which truly repents turns with shame for the wrong which he hath done to his God and blushes as a penitent Thief when he brings back stollen goods As a Thief is ashamed when he is found so is the House of Israel And so we read in the Confessions of those good men which prayed to God for 'em when they made their Repentance publick they were ashamed and confounded when they considered the wrongs which they had done to God To thee O Lord belongs Righteousness but to us shame and confusion of face to us not only the men of Iudah and Inhabitants of Ierusalem but to our Kings and Princes because we have sinned against thee So Ezra and others 4. This shame is heightened by this in that he which sins against God is guilty of most hainous Ingratitude He which sins offends his most good God abuseth his best Friend Dost not thou who sinnest slight him in whom thou livest movest and hast thy being affront him who hath fed and clothed thee all thy days This Ingratitude is so great an aggravation of the
is necessary to forsake all sin It vvas the Prayer of the Psalmist That he might be found in Gods Statutes and so not be ashamed Hovv did he hope to attain this He tells us Then shall I not be ashamed then I shall be sound vvhen I have respect to all thy Commandments Then I shall have confidence that I am a sincere Servant of God when I indulge no sin vvhen I devote my soul to entire Obedience and knovvingly disregard no Law of his This cannot be more clearly represented than by that vvhich St. Iames hath said concerning this matter Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all If any say Hovv can vve keep the vvhole and fail in part vvhen the vvhole includes all the parts They may easily perceive that the Apostle means Whosoever keeps the greater part and fails in some particular disobeys some Lavv of Christ is guilty of all by sinning vvilfully against one he is guilty of all i. e. he vvhich sincerely respects the Authority of the Lavv-giver vvill shovv it in obedience to his vvhole Lavv for he vvhich slights it in one is guilty of the breach of the rest inasmuch as he contemns the Authority vvhich gave them all That this is his meaning vve are taught by verse 11. vvhich says thus For he which said Do not commit Adultery said also do not kill Now if thou commit no Adultery yet if thou kill thou art become a Transgressor of the Law and so art guilty of the breach of all i. e. shall be as liable to Condemnation as if thou hadst sinned against all Neither shall Obedience performed to some Lavvs save thee from the punishment vvhich is due to the breach of others He vvhich serves a Prince in many things and yet offends against some Capital Lavv vvill not find his partial obedience save him from the sentence of punishment which shall be passed upon him for that To this I may add that excellent saying of our Saviour to the Pharisees when they pretended to be worthy of acceptation because they had been very observant of some things though they neglected others How saith our Saviour These indeed you ought to have done no doubt of it but also you ought not to have left the other undone And since they pretended to obedience for all this Fools that you are saith our Saviour did not he which made that which is without make that which is within You pretend to please God with obedidience you should do so for he is the supream Law-giver What then will you do it with partial obedience Doth he expect that all his Laws should be obey'd or doth he give you leave to pick and chuse Did not God the great Former of all things who made the inside and outside expect that you should be pure in soul and body Do you think that external washings purifie the soul You are as foolish in these thoughts as he should be who thinks a Cup is clean when only the outside is washed Will any man drink in such a Cup You please God indeed with your Obedience when by sinning in some thing or other you plainly affront him He which thinks to be accepted of God for that partial regard show'd to some of his Precepts when he slights others can no more obtain it than a Lutonist can give content to such as have Musical ears when some Strings of the Instrument upon which he plays are out of Tune 4. Sincerity must continue to approve it self such by perseverance This I shall explain as I find it expressed in two or three places of Sripture I will hear what God will speak to his servants begging mercy of him and what doth he say He will speak peace to his people he will receive their prayers and pardon their sins if they repent sincerely of them but let them not return to folly This he requires as a Condition of their Forgiveness that they do not return to folly which I have sufficiently demonstrated sin to be they must not relapse into their former courses which if they should they will add to their former sottishness and instead of approving themselves sincere Penitents show that they are most stupid Fools and vile Hypocrites When our Saviour healed the Paralytick he bad him sin no more and knowing by his Divine Wisdom what he had done 38 years before which occasioned his weakness bad him take heed of doing any such thing again assuring him if he did that he should be worse punished as a Contemned of the pardon now bestowed So when the same merciful Jesus forgave a very bad woman a sin great enough he dismissed her not carelesly but with this severe Injunction added That she should make her Repentance sincere by sinning no more He did not say Go go thy Accusers are as bad as thy self live as thou wilt I accept thy Repentance I will save thee from punishment now and hereafter No but charged her to be sincere in her Repentance and as a Testimony of it to sin no more By these Instances we may see what our Saviour takes for a proof of sincerity and it seems that he expects it of all for he prescribed the same method without alteration to both A sincere Penitent is one that knows sin to be so base a thing that nothing but Infinite Goodness can forgive it and is so sensible of the vile stain which it leaves upon his soul that he would if he could wash it off with Tears of Blood and can he easily go and commit it again He is convinced that the same wickedness and danger is in it though set off with an agreeable Tentation as was before in it when his Conscience was gall'd with reflexion upon the commission of it and knows that he hath as much need to sin no more after he hath repented of it as he had to vow he would not when he did repent Can Damnation be made plausible in any dress Will any man drink Poison because he sees it sweetned with a great quantity of Sugar The ancient Fathers in their pious Discourses concerning Repentance did usually inveigh against those which they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and rejected those Penitents who sinning and repenting but repenting and sinning still checked their life all along with one and the other and affirm'd that such Converts differ'd nothing from lame Unbelievers except in this that those false Penitents knew they sinn'd and so were worse and pronounced peremptorily that those who sinned pretended to be sorry but sinned still had only a vain show of Repentance and that the true Penitent had such a sense of the nature of sin that he abhor'd to commit it any more The Author to the Hebrews calls it Repentance from dead works of which words what St. Chrysostom said is a very good Exposition He which repents 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lactantius lib. 6. said That to
repent is to profess and affirm that we will sin no more The Son of Sirach tells us what sense of old the Church of the God had concerning the contrary sort of Repentance in these words If a man wash himself from the dead and toucheth it again what good shall that washing do him The Jews having touched any dead body were unclean by the Law given Num. 19. 11. and they were commanded to take it off by water of Purification as it is called but if they had washed and touched it again what good would that washing do So he that repents and fasts too as they did in the days of solemn Humiliation and then goes and does the same things again who will hear his prayer and what good shall his humiliation do him He which bewails what is passed and hath no care to mend for future deplores his sin and commits it again is like one who washeth an unburnt Brick the more water he pours on the fowler it is It was the saying of an ancient Writer and what he said was warranted by one ancienter than he St. Peter who in his second Epistle hath defined that it is better never to have known the way of Righteousness which is the Gospel than having known it to turn from it And he there compares that Repentance which keeps not a man from returning to sin to the Dogs returning to his Vomit and the washed Sows tumbling again in the next mire I shall close this with those words of our Saviour which he spake to such as believed on him that they might assure themselves and not mistake for what they saw in themselves at present If you continue in my words i. e. the obedience of my Doctrine you shall be my Disciples indeed If that which hath been said concerning Sincerity happen to raise doubts in any soul concerning his estate and he begins to say That either the Conditions of Salvation are very hard or I am no true Christian. I must answer That if those things which I have said were not true Christs Gospel would not be that which it most certainly is the Mystery of Godliness i. e. the Doctrine of Holiness and that it cannot be denied but that Christ doth accept his Servants to mercy though they do not perform perfect unsinning Obedience therefore I would speak something more to determine this matter so as not to encourage Hypocrisie which is confessedly the worst of sins nor yet to discourage any that is sincere because he is not perfect Therefore I will show what God requires of us and what he will accoount sincerity I will give the Measures of it in five Particulars which I will endeavour to adjust according to the standard of the Sanctuary the Infallible Rule which is the Word of God 1. The Gospel requires great honesty of Intention and simplicity of heart in our Return to God So the Prophet of his Penitents I will be their God for they shall return to me with their whole heart having taken it quite off from their former Idolatries and the Indulgence which they had for their old sins It was said of the Tribe of Zabulon who came to restore David to his Throne that they were not of a double heart pretending outwardly great love to David but hankering in their minds to the House of Saul Just as the Israelites set their faces towards the Holy Land and journeyed towards it but in their hearts turned back to Egypt They kept the steme of the Flesh-pots in their phansies and had the rellish of the Onions in their memories and long'd after them and so went not toward the promised Land with a full heart but would have been glad of an opportunity to have return'd to Egypt So I remember the Philistines Cows went when they carried the Ark to Bethshemesh they went but they lowed as they went and had more mind to return to their Calves than to go forward Singleness of heart is necessary for all who come unto God and therefore the Son of Syrach warned all such to take heed of approaching him with a double heart Which counsel St. Iames repeats Draw nigh to God but first purifie your hearts you double minded whose Souls are partly for God partly for Sin which the Author to the Hebrews calls drawing near with true heart purg'd from all Hypocrisie because the God with whom we have to do loves Truth in the inward parts and can take no pleasure in such as are double minded i. e. fluctuate between a pretence of being vertuous and a Law of sin called halting between two opinions leaning one while one way and one while another as those who halt do It was not a piece but all which was meant in that Demand My Son give me thy heart for so our Saviour inculcating a Rule long before given says Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with thy whole heart The contrary is so odious to God that he declared plainly that he hated the Jews aforementioned because their heart was not whole with him they did not follow him fully as was said of Ioshuah who had another spirit but turn'd aside like a deceitful bow you may as well make a crooked Bow carry an Arrow directly to the Mark as present any thing acceptable to God with a false heart Therefore our Lord in his excellent Parable of the Sower hath told us plainly that his Gospel will grow in no soyl but a good and honest heart So St. Paul told the Corinthians that they could present no fruit as an acceptable Sacrifice to God except with unleavened bread of sincerity for Hypocrisie sour's the person and his actions The true Convert endeavours to bring himself to that pass that he can say truly He loves God above all things which cannot be if he retain still the love of any sin in his soul. That man is just as religious as the Assyrian Samaritans mention'd 2 King 17. 33. who blending their Heathen Ceremonies with Jewish Rites made a Mungrel Worship and serv'd the Lord and their own God's too They did not know that the Law given was Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve It was good counsel of the old Philosopher 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be one thing deal plainly with God Dost thou pretend to make over thy soul to God by a Deed and art so weak as not to know that it will be abhor'd when thou hast spoil'd the Grant which preserves and maim'd it with a power of Revocation Deal fairly God will not be mocked The true Penitent must bid an Eternal farewel to all his former sins and that he may practise them no more must cut off all affection to every sinful way as the wise General when he had landed his men in the Country which he designed to Conquer burnt the Ships which brought him thither that so his Souldiers might not upon occasion
be performed but when the Case is otherwise we shall forfeit our sincerity and for not preparing our selves to do our Master's Will be beaten with many stripes God is so gracious that he hath mercy upon our Ignorance and pities our invincible infirmities and forgives that sin which we could not possibly or probably avoid and he helps our weaknesses but still requires that we should always stand upon our guard watch always against surprises as well as abhor voluntary Transgression desiring and endeavouring nothing so much as to please God and so much the rather because we perceive that the Master whom vve serve is so gracious that he acaccepts vvhat vve have done heartily and sincerely though it vvas not the most vve could have done nor done in the best manner that possibly vve could 4. Sincerity also supposeth that vvhich Christ vvill require in every true Disciple of his a good attainment a competent proficiency in the state of Vertue It vvere a mean business if the sincerity of Christian Religion should be contracted into a few cold Wishes and the attainment of its Professors should not exceed the faint Wouldings of Hypocrites especially since the Christian Religion is the most Noble in its Design and vvorks vvith the highest Principles and yet improve the progress of its Disciples but into such a motion as a Door hath upon the Hinges and so leave them in the sad condition of those Hypocrites vvhom the Apostle reproacheth who were always learning but never came to the knowledge of the Truth vvho vvere alvvays learning came to those places vvhere the Gospel vvas taught but vvere never able to come to experience the Truth of it in themselves What vvas the Reason Because they gave heed to the Heretical Doctrine of some seducing Teachers and so nourished their Hypocrisie in Errour but if they had received the Truth of the Gospel in the love of it and resign'd themselves to the government of it vvith sincerity it would have made them another kind of people For this hear our Saviour You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free If you receive my Gospel vvith sincere Faith it vvill shovv it self in its effects upon you it vvill make you free From vvhat from the slavery of sin from all habitual sin and also from the acts of gross sins every one of vvhich is damnable which as Tertullian said a Child of God cannot do or must cease to be the Child of God if he do them as Murder Adultery Perjury Idolatry c. And if the true Penitent have been formerly given to any sin he vvill forsake that too So David I kept me from mine Iniquity yes vvhen he had repented and if he had not he could not have had any testimony of sincerity The attainment of a sincere Christian is to have goodness habitual to the soul to be pleased vvith doing his Duty For this see 1 Iohn 5. 3. This is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not grievous For whosoever is born of God overcometh the World and this is the victory that overcometh the World even our Faith The sincere Christian shovvs his Love in Obedience and not only so but delights to do his Duty God's Commands are not grievous i. e. as our Saviour said before his yoke is easie and his burden is light and being born of God he overcometh the World by the Spirit of Faith vvhich is in him vvhich is stronger than the Spirit that is in the World This our Saviour expects as vve see in the promise vvhich he made after his Ascension to him that overcometh not to him vvhich fights only no but to him that overcometh and this he might vvell do because he gave povver not only to fight but to overcome and said long before that to whom much is given of them more shall be required that is such improvement as may ansvver the bestovving When our Saviour compared himself to a Vine and his Servants to the Branches of it supposing that he gave them sufficient vital Juyce for the purpose he told them that they vvere to glorifie his Father by bringing forth much fruit and then they should be and appear plainly to be his Disciples By which it is manifest that our great Shepherd would have his Flock to be such Sheep as those which Epictetus mentions who were not to bring their Hay and Grass and lay it before their Shepherds to let them see how much they had eaten but having well digested their Food were to bring it forth in Milk and Wool and so to approve themselves to him who sed them So sincere Christians are not to declare what they are in words or profession much less in vain ostentation or to make excuses for what they are not but having concocted our Saviour's Doctrine in their souls do as St. Iames teacheth Shew out of a good conversation their works with meekness of wisdome Here I think it not unfit to admonish every one who would have the Testimony of their Conscience concerning their sincerity that they should take heed of excusing themselves to God when they are not such as they should be no though they may seem to have some places of Scripture on their side And for this I think it may not be amiss to relate to you what St. Chrysostome told his Church at Constantinople upon this occasion he had often reproved them for going to the Heathen shows which by their immodesty were offensive to the chaste and also odious by their cruel effusion of Humane blood After this some of his wandering Sheep had gone to them again and when he still continued his Reproof they answered That truly they did what they would not but thought that was no great matter since St. Paul made the same Defence for himself and so they were not more to be blamed than he since they disliked what they did This hypocritical pretext put the holy man into a fit of passionate Zeal and he fell thus upon them What says he do you not only serve sin but abuse the holy Scripture Do you satisfie your lusts and then reproach the honour of an Apostle I I every one that loves to sin desires to find out some excuse which might maintain his practise and now you fall foul upon an Apostle though I know it is not with an intent to reproach him but to make an Apology for your selves Then that they might not think that St. Paul spake those words in that Chapter of himself but in the person of one in conflict with sin but at present overcome by it and being sensible of his Danger cries out O miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death and that St. Paul himself was not now carnal sold under sin to obey what it commanded he adds Was St. Paul carnal in whom Christ lived who was governed by the Holy Ghost who had Christ always
their fault What could you not watch with me one hour in this my great Agony yet he mercifully both told them their Danger and how to avoid it and made some Excuse for them saying The Spirit is willing but the Flesh weak Besides this he plainly showed his good Temper when upon the Cross he deprecated the Vengeance of the Eternal Father and prayed it might not fall upon such as had sufficiently deserved it These Considerations do give vast encouragement to sinners to repent since by them they see how easily they may come to Mercy To which I shall only add one more which is That God hath declared himself highly pleased when sinners do repent and accept of his pardon For this take our Saviour's word I say unto you that there is great joy in the presence of the Angels of God over one sinner that repenteth This our Saviour further expresseth in the Parable of the Prodigal which follows in the same Chapter for when he came back from his vicious Course it is said there that his Father when he was afar off had compassion on him ran to meet him fell on his Neck and kissed him that is gave him all signs of Reconciliation expressed all decent Joy for his Return in killing the fatted Calf to make him a Feast and adding Musick and Dancing to make it pleasant Though these things are spoken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet we think worthily and rightly of God when by such Expressions we understand how acceptable our Repentance is to him and by that are moved to repent And now upon the forementioned Considerations how can the sinner but fall upon his knees and say O Lord I am sensible of my folly I am pain'd with my guilt I am so obnoxious to thy wrath that if thou shouldst mark my sin in order to punishment I know I should not be able to abide it but I see there is mercy with thee that thou mayst be feared thy goodness leads me to Repentance and I will follow its gentle conduct and return to thee And thus I make my Prayer O Lord though I most justly deserve to be condemned yet I beseech thee not to condemn me What profit is there in my Blood Behold I offer thee for my Ransom a better Life than my own that of thy dear Son and since thou didst commend thy Love to mankind that he should die for sinners O grant me part in that Love Since thou wast pleased to make to meet upon him the Iniquities of us all lay mine upon him I beseech thee It is easier for thee to pardon my sins than to have given thy dear Son to be a Sacrifice for them He hath more pleased thee by his Obedience than I have grieved thee by my Disobedience The voice of his Blood cries lowder for pardon than my sins for vengeance Since thy beloved Son died for our sins and rose again for our justification since thou hast reconciled me to thee by his death now much more let me be saved by his life And O blessed Jesus since thou didst not refuse to die for my sins I pray thee that I may not die for them too After thy Incarnation thou didst declare that thou camest not to be ministred unto but to serve others and O unexpressible kindness to give thy life a Ransom for many it is sufficient for the sins of all the World leave not mine out I beseech thee but let me be one of the Redeemed made happy by thee because thou madest thy Soul an Offering for their sins Thou wast pleased among thy Titles of Glory to take this of a Saviour and as thou didst not then despise that merciful Office so neither art thou yet weary of it Save me even me also I pray thee and say unto my Soul that thou art my salvation It is long ago that thou didst call to thee all such as are weary and heavy laden I am one of those O Lord my sins ly heavy upon me like a load of Sand and without thy help the Burden will grow intolerable I beseech thee according to thy gracious promise to take it off and give me ease O Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the World Thou wast pleased in the days of thy Flesh to pity the miseries of sinners Thy Compassion is not withered thy pity is not dried up it extends it self from Generation to Generation thou shewest mercy to thousands and savest to the utmost of all times all that come unto God by thee I come unto the Eternal Father hoping in thy mediation save me I beseech thee O Prince of pity Thou didst command thy Servants to preach Repentance and Remision of sins in thy Name and didst pray for such as should believe in thee through their Word I am one of those most merciful Jesus let the benefit of thy prayer reach me also Thou undertookest to make Intercession for sinners and didst beg their Release as well thou mightest for thou didst pay their Debt O pray for me also most merciful Advocate When thou wentest into thy Glory thou didst not leave the Remembrance of poor Souls behind thee but didst let them know before thy departure hence that thou wast going to appear in the presence of God for them remember me too now thou art in thy Kingdom O Lover of Souls who ever livest to make Intercession Before I proceed to the last Motive lest the former should miss their desired Effect I will stay here and briefly answer two Objections which without any just ground some have made to their own hinderance in this Affair 1. One saith That notwithstanding all which hath been discoursed concerning the goodnefs of God yet I do not know whether he intends any kindness towards me in his Declarations because he may be some secret will have debarred me from having any benefit by them 2. Another saith It may be God would pardon me if I did repent but what am I better for that since I find in my self no Power to repent 1. To the first After all that full Declaration which God hath made of his goodness dost thou doubt his Reality And though he hath affirmed his readiness to save doft thou think that by some hidden Will he hath resolved thy Damnation Let me then say to thee in the words of a late Divine of this Church O thou Hypocrite because thou hast two wills one in thy Words and another in thy mind dost thou think that God hath so too that he speaks one thing and means another That he hath a secret will contradictory to his revealed If it be secret how camest thou to know it No thou art wicked in making God a lyar and dissembler like thy self So he I will add That such blasphemous words without Repentance will be severely accounted for one day and that God will reprove thee and set this among thy other sins in order before thee Leave of these vile Imaginations and never let
it enter into thy mind to think that God hath declared one thing to men in his Word and hath decreed another concerning them in himself He is the God of Truth and therefore repent and trust in his mercy 2. To the other Who says he would but hath no power to Repent and so looks upon the goodness of God in forgiving the Penitent as not available to him I answer That it is true since our fall we cannot return to God by our own weak power but that is no Excuse for Impenitence because God is ready to supply that Defect with the Assiistance of his Grace God was pleased to make his dear Son a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins not only to pardon sinners upon their repentance but to give them grace to enable them to repent and so obtain pardon This grace may be had for asking He will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him It is the good pleasure of him who hath commanded us to will and do what we ought to enable us to will and do what we ought This assistance of the Divine grace I shall express in St. Augustine's words Non in eo divinitus adjuvamur ad operandam justitiam quod Legem Deus dedit plenam bonis praeceptis sed quod ipsa voluntas nostra sine qua operari bonum non possumus adjuvatur erigitur impartito Spiritu Gratiae i. e. we are not divinely assisted to the working of Righteousness in this that God hath given us a Law full of good Precepts but because our Will without which we cannot do good is helpt and erected by the Spirit of grace bestowed upon us It is a great favour that God hath been pleased to give us his Gospel which St. Paul calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saving grace It shows the way of Salvation to us by it we are made to understand the most important concerns of our souls that shows us the gracious conditions of our pardon and lays before us strong Reasons to convince us of the necessity of our complyance with what God hath propounded if we will be happy and demonstrates the reasonableness of Obedience But God is pleased also to invigorate his Gospel Methods with the gracious Operation of his benign Spirit which makes a Divine Light shine into the Mind clears up the mist of Ignorance which lay upon it before and makes us know the things which belong to our peace awakens our Consciences and makes us apprehensive of the danger of sin and affrights us with the truth of Divine Threatnings makes us consider heavenly Motives opens our hearts as it did Lydia's to attend to the things which are spoken to us and inclines us to comply with the reason of them it raiseth our wills out of sloth and languor by a secret ardor of life conveyed into our Souls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by ways which God knows as St. Basil saith and so puts into our minds good Desires and makes us begin to feel in our Souls a hunger after Righteousness it melts us with the Love of God and his dear Son makes us ashamed to sin any more and comforts us with the hope of Pardon and Restoration to the Divine Favour and so conjures us by potent Arguments to enter into the Bands of the Covenant and perswades us to submit thankfully to the terms of the Gospel Thus our blessed Saviour stands at the Door and knocks thus the heavenly Father draws us to his Son and the sinner should say I find the gracious Spirit of God leading me towards the Land of the Living I will resign my self to his Conduct I will be led by him I will follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes Doth my Saviour vouchsafe to knock at my Door I am infinitely beholden to him I will open to him I will let him in and give him the possession of my Soul This is the Divine grace and it is our Duty to make a careful use of it and then we shall have more to help us to perfect what is well begun A ready complyance with such merciful Assistance is highly requisite for if we resist God's kind Motions and slight the help bestowed we may frustrate the design of his Mercy against our selves and make that grace ineffectual which would have saved us if we had improved it with our concurrent endeavours We must not expect that God should pull us out of a state of sin and drag us into a state of vertue by an irresistible force God is pleased in Conversion to draw us towards himself by the Cords of a Man by such Arguments as we understand to be most reasonable and by such Motives as are apt to perswade such as will consider and by the gentle Swasions of his good Spirit with the Cords of Love and the Bands of Kindness We must not think that God should act upon us to the extent of his Omnipotence but according to his Wisdom He knows what help is sufficient for us and how fit it is that we should thankfully use what is enough without asking what is too much He takes what method he pleaseth in the dispensing of his grace which we are not to appoint but obeserve Our Duty is to accept of sufficient grace and use it that we may be converted and not teach God how to convert us God was always displeased with men when neglecting the kindness which he showed them they would prescribe him methods for the communication of his goodness When the Israelites were led through the Wilderness they were well enough provided for by God's care and should have been not only content but thankful they were neither but lothing the Bread of Heaven which God had appointed for them they would have Quails They had them but they had better have been without them for God was angry at their rude unthankfulness For the limited the Holy One of Israel They would not only be provided for but in such a way as they themselves should describe We have a very good account of this matter in that excellent Parable of Isaiah where God speaking of the Jewish people whom he calls his Vineyard saith That he planted it in a fat Soyl hedged it that is guarded it with his Providence set a Vine which was generous gave them excellent Laws the teachings of inspired men and the assistances of his grace and all sufficient means to promote their bringing forth Fruit answerable to his Care But after all instead of good Grapes they brought forth wild Grapes God was displeased and for the Justice of his Anger he appealed to the Judgment and Conscience of those who had slighted his Favours and said What could I have done more to my Vineyard than I have done I have done what I thought fit for me to do and bestowed what I thought enough for them to receive and because they have made me no answerable Returns I