better, than in the words of Chrift himself, for whofe fake alone we fhall have any favor fhewn us. Afk and ye shall have, feek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Here is a manifeft CONDITION held out, whereby we may hope to obtain the gift of repentance, as well as of every other needful grace. No perfon, at least no believer, will pretend to fay, he is dead to any sense of the neceffity of divine affiftance. The light of our own reafon and inward confcience, (thofe general gifts to men) ftrengthened by revelation, lead us to a different decifion, and carry us thus far on the way; and by ufing this light and increase of grace as we ought, God will vouchfafe us more grace. He will work in us both to will and to do ftill greater things, as our cafe requires. It is therefore both our intereft and duty, earneftly and continually to pray unto the ever living God our heavenly Father, that he will vouchfafe us his Holy Spirit, to ftir up a pure and unfeigned repentance in our hearts, that after the painful toils and manifold vexations of this life, we may dwell eternally with his Son Jefus Chrift, to whom all power is given in heaven and earth, both to help and reward thofe who humbly truft in him; and to whom therefore, as is moft due, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be all praise and glory for ever and ever. Amen. DIS DISCOURSE XXV. SECOND PART. Homily on Repentance continued. TH Same Text. HIS being a fubject of all others, of the greateft confequence to the eternal interefts of mankind, it is impoffible to be too full, or clear in the management of it. But as it concerns, in an effential degree, the peace of the most miferable defcription of mankind, the doubting and the deSponding finner (both here and hereafter) it will be proper to dwell minutely upon every particular it prefents, as expedient for their information and comfort. In the two former parts of this difcourfe upon repentance, you have had very plainly proved to you, how pofitively neceffary this doctrine is to all men, especially the unconverted*, and how earn * In truth, our whole life requires to be influenced by this grace: for as the very beft, do continually offend in fome degree, it is neceffary they fhould daily be renewed by repentance. And if profitable to experienced chriftians, it must be ftill more highly expedient for those who may be faid to be walking in the fhadow of death; upon this principle, that unless we repent, we shall all like, wife perish. eftly eftly God urgeth it throughout the scriptures, by the mouth of his Prophets, no lefs than by our Savior Chrift, and his Apoftles. And because it confifts in the converfion, or turning again, of the whole man unto God, from whom we are departed through fin, forcing him thereby to forfake us; therefore four effential points have been explained to you, viz., 1. From what things we must return. 2. Unto whom we must return. 3. By whofe means alone, it can be done, in order to render it effectual. And 4. in what manner we should go about it, in order that it may prove really profitable, and that we may attain the end we have in view by it. Further, it hath alfo been fhewn you, that as the opinion of those who deny the benefit of repentance to fuch as fall into any grievous offence, after they have tafted the grace of God through Jefus Chrift, is equally falfe and dangerous; fo it is proper, we fhould beware not to encourage a thought that we are able of ourselves, or by our own mere power to return unto the Lord our God whenever we please, after we have wilfully and perverfely provoked him by our manifold fins and wickednefs; for this would be as dangerous an error as the former, in that it would be giving a licence to offend upon a wicked and mifgrounded prefumption, that we could repair the mifchief at any time. "It remains now for your further inftruction on this most important fubject, that you should be informed of how many parts this grace of repentance doth confift. And what great cause there is to move us to repent without lofs of time. Repentance then, in the true fenfe of the word (as before obferved) is a fincere converfion or turning unto God, whereby men entirely forfake their It may alfo very properly be termed a returning unto God; because in fact, all mankind, through the degeneracy of their nature, are departed from the upright ftate in which God. at first created them, and therefore must be confidered as turned from him, but by repentance they are faid to return into the way appointed, in order to receive his favor, evil courfes, and with a lively faith receive, love, and worship the true living God only, by devoting themselves to all manner of good works, which God's word declares to be acceptable to him. But for the easier inftruction of the most unlearned and ignorant, it may be useful to divide repentance into four parts, fteps, or degrees, which being regularly placed in order, may be compared to a fhort ladder, whereby men may climb from the bottomlefs pit of deftruction (into which we are daily hurrying ourselves by our continual and grievous offences) up to the caftle of eternal falvation. The first step then, to this bleffed manfion is CONTRITION, or true forrow of heart. We must be wounded in the most fenfible manner for our fins; and we must constantly, and unfeignedly lament, that we have fo grievously offended our most bountiful and merciful God, who loved us fo tenderly, as to fuffer his only begotten Son to die a most cruel death, and fhred his moft precious blood for our redemption and deliverance. Now if this inward grief for our manifold trefpaffes and ungrateful conduct, proceeds really from the heart, and affords undeniable proof of its fincerity; the holy Prophet doth affure us, that it is a pleafing facrifice to God. The facrifice of God is a troubled fpirit, a contrite and broken heart O God, thou wilt not defpife. But how to foften, and break' this hard and stubborn heart, is the queftion, fince we are told it is not only defperately wicked by nature, but deceitful above all things. In order to this, (as both reafon and conscience informs us) when we pray, we must pray to experience a real concern for having thus offended God. And whenever we feel any thing approaching this penitent concern,by whatever accident, or inftrument this bleffed work takes place, we must humbly and gratefully attribute it to the permiffion or tender mercy of the Lord, who alone can touch the heart fo as to produce any real change of life. And VOL. II Ꮓ another another thing we fhould obferve, as being particularly calculated to bring about this very work, is to give diligence in reading the holy Scriptures, and in conftantly attending at God's houfe, where we have the word of God explained to us; for in them our natural corruption, and ingratitude, and the great danger of a finful life are fo ftrongly painted, as to alarm, and to prevent men from going on in their wickednefs. Every one must be fenfible, that if we have not a thorough feeling of our fins, it is impoffible we can be truly forry for them. And this is very clear from the cafe of king David himself. Before he heard the word of the Lord by the mouth of the Prophet Nathan, he fhewed no concern for the foul adultery and murder he had committed*. And why? Because he was wholly devoted to the indulgence of his filthy and carnal appetites. He had forfaken God by this bafe preference, and the Lord had fo far deferted him, as to let him fall from righteousness, And he might truly be faid to have slept in his own fins, had not God out of tender compaffion for the deplorable cafe of his fervant, (who was in danger of continuing in his polluted courfes) fent his holy Prophet to roufe and fting his heart, that he might recover from his finful lethargy, and return to the right way. We also read in Acts iv. that when the people heard St. Peter's fermon in which he attacked their particular trefpaffes fo ftrongly, they were pricked in their hearts. Now that would not have happened at that time, if that faving difcourfe had not been delivered to themt. And thus re * His reafon was blinded by pride, vanity, and luft, and Iris confcience feared as with a bot iron, so as to let neither of them affift in checking him in his evil defigns. In fhort, he had no longer the fear of God before his eyes, and when that is the cafe, men are hurried into the commiffion of the fouleft tranfgreffions by the force of their inordinate appetites and violent paffions. + And this proves the great ufe of coming to church, and the be nefit people might receive from the inftruction and good will of their paftor |