Sect. 9. 275 make our pardon hopeless, and our hope fruitless. He that refolves to live well when a danger is upon him, or a violent fear, or when the appetites of luft are newly fatisfied, or newly ferved, and yet when the temptation comes again, fins again, and then is forrowful, and refolves once more against it, and yet falls when the temptation returns, is a vain man, but no true penitent, nor in the state of grace; and if he chance to die in one of thefe good moods, is very far from falvation: for if it be neceffary that we refolve to live well, it is neceffary we should do fo. For refolution is an imperfect Act, a term of Relation, and fignifies nothing but in order to the actions: it is as a Faculty is to the Act, as Spring to the Harveft, as Eggs are to Birds, as a Relative to its Correfpondent, nothing without it. No man therefore can be in the state of grace and actual favour by refolutions and holy purposes, thefe are but the gate and portal towards pardon: a holy life is the only perfection of Repentance, and the firm ground upon which we can caft the anchor of hope in the mercies of God through Jefus Chrift. 7. No man is to reckon his pardon immediately upon his returns from fin to the beginnings of good life, but is to begin his hopes and degrees of confidence according as fin dies in him, and grace lives; as the habits of fin leffen, and righteousness grows; according as fin recurns but feldom in ímaller inftan ces and without choice, and by furprise without deliberation, and is highly dif-relifhed, and presently dafhed against the Rock Chrift Jefus by a holy for row and renewed care and more strict watchfulness. For a holy life being the condition of the Covenant on our part, as we return to God, fo God returns to us, and our state returns to the probabilities of pardon. 8. Every man is to work out his falvation with fear and trembling; and after the commiffion of fins his fears muft multiply; because every new fin, and every great declining from the ways of God is ftill a degree of new danger, and hath increased God's anger, and hath made him more uneafie to grant pardon: T 2 and Dandum interftitium and when he does grant it, it is upon harder terms both for doing and fuffering; that is, we muft do more for pardon, and, it may be, fuffer much more, For we must know that God pardons our fins by parts; as our duty increases, and our care is more prudent and active, fo God's anger decreases; and yet it may be the laft fin you committed made God unalterably refolved to fend upon you fome fad judgment. Of the particulars in all cafes we are uncertain; and therefore we have reason always to mourn for our fins that have fo provoked God, and made our condition fo full of danger, that it may be no prayers or tears, or duty can alter his fentence concerning fome fad judgment upon us. Thus God irrevocably decreed to punifh the Ifraelites for Idolatry, although Mofes prayed for them, and God forgave them in fome degree; that is, fo that he would not cut them off from being a people: yet he would not forgive them fo, but he would vifit that their fin upon them; and he did fo. 9. A true penitent must all the days of his life pray for pardon, and never think the work complepœnitentiæ. ted till he dies; not by any Act of his own, by no Tacit. Act of the Chich, by no forgivenets by the party & i debiti injured, by no reftitution. These are all instruments of great ufe and efficacy, and the means by which it is to be done at length; but ftill the fin lies at the door ready to return upon us in judgment and damnation, if we return to it in choice or action. (4) peccati And whether God hath forgiven us or no, we know fon fempre not, (a) and how far we know not; and all that we piu di qu have done is not of fufficient worth to obtain parche fi crede. don therefore ftill pray, and still be forrowful for ever having done it, and for ever watch against it; Tessos and then those beginnings of pardon which are workesiv eusio- ing all the way, will at last be perfected in the day xe Bonn- of the Lord. * Tí sv μας τὸ ἐν 10. Deferr not at all to repent; much less mayft vanov - thou put it off to thy Death-bed. It is not an easie S. Ar thing to root out the habits of fin, which a man's rian. whole his hath gathered and confirmed. We find work Mortem ve work enough to mortifie one beloved luft, in our very best advantage of ftrength and time, and before it is fo deeply rooted as it must needs be fupposed to be at the end of a wicked life: and therefore it will prove impoffible when the work is fo great and the ftrength fo little, when fin is fo ftrong and grace fo weak for they always keep the fame proportion of increase and decreafe, and as fin grows, grace decays: fo that the more need we have of grace, the lefs at that time we shall have; because the greatness of our nientem nefins which makes the need, hath leffened the grace mo hilaris of God (which fhould help us) into nothing. To exc pit, nifi which add this confideration, that on a Man's Death- qui ad eam bed the day of Repentance is paft: for Repentance pofuerat. being the renewing of a holy life, a living the life of grace, it is a contradiction to say that a man can live a holy life upon his Death-bed: especially if we confider, that for a finner to live a holy life muft firft fuppofe him to have overcome all his evil habits, and then to have made a purchase of the contrary graces, Vby the labours of great prudence, watchfulness, self- Ovdiv Täv denial and severity. Nothing that is excellent can be uɛzánav wrought fuddenly. άφνω γίνε fe c II. After the beginnings of thy recovery,be infinitely. Arfearful of a relapfe; and therefore upon the stock of rian. thy fad experience obferve where thy failings were,and by especial arts fortifie that faculty, and arm against that temptation. For if all those arguments which God uses to us to preserve our innocence, and thy late danger, and thy fears, and the goodness of God making thee once to escape, and the fhame of thy fall, and the fence of thy own weakneffes will not make thee watchful against a fall, especially knowing how much it costs a man to be reftored, it will be infinitely more dangerous if ever thou falleft again, not only for fear God fhould no more accept thee to pardon, but even thy own hopes will be made more defperate, and thy impatience greater, and thy fhame turn to impudence, and thy own will be more eftranged, violent and refractary, and thy latter end will be worse than thy beginning. To which add this confideration, That thy Т.3 fin Heb. 7.15. fin, which was formerly in a good way of being pardoned, will not only return upon thee with all its own loads, but with the bafenefs of unthankfulness, and thou wilt be fet as far back from Heaven as ever; and all thy former labours and fears and watchings, and agonies will be reckoned for nothing, but as arguments to upbraid thy folly, who, when thou hadft fet one foot in Heaven, didst pull that back, and carry both to Hell. Motives to Repentance. I fhall ufe no other arguments to move a finner to Repentance, but to tell him, unless he does, he fhall certainly perifh; and if he does repent timely and intirely, that is, live a holy life, he fhall be forgiven and be faved. But yet I defire that this confideration be enlarged with fome great circumstances; and let us remember, 1. That to admit mankind to Repentance and pardon was a favour greater than ever God gave to the Angels and Devils, for they were never admitted to the condition of fecond thoughts; Chrift never groaned one groan for them; he never fuffered one stripe, nor one affront, nor fhed on drop of blood to restore them to hopes of bleffedness after their firft failings. But this he did for us: he paid the score of our fins, only that we might be admitted to repent, and that this Repentance might be effectual to the great purpoles of felicity and falvation. 2. Confider, that as it coft Chrift many millions of prayers and groans, and fighs, fo he is now at this intant, and hath been for thele 1600 years, night and day inceffantly praying for grace to us, that we may repent, and for pardon when we do, and for degrees of pardon beyond the capacities of our infirmities, and the merit of our forrows and amendment; and this prayer he will continue till his fecond coming? for he ever liveth to make intercession for us. And that we know what it is in behalf of which he intercedes, S. Paul may S. Paul tells his us defign. [We are Embassadours for Chrift, as though he did beseech you by us, we pray you in Chrift's ftead to be reconciled to God.] And what Chrift prays us to do, he prays to God that we may do; that which he defires of us as his Servants, he defires of God, who is the fountain of the grace and powers unto us, and without whofe affiftance we can do nothing. 2 Cor. 5.20 3. That ever we fhould repent, was fo coftly a purchase, and to great a concernment, and to high a favour, and the event is esteemed by God himself fo great an excellency, that our bleffed Saviour tells us, there fhall be joy in heaven over one finner that re- Luke 1s. s penteth: meaning that when Chrift fhall be glorified, and at the right hand of his Father make interceffion for us, praying for our Repentance, the Converfion and Repentance of every finner is part of Chrift's glorification, it is the answering of his prayers, it is a portion of his reward in which he does effentially glory by the joys of his glorified humanity.This is the joy of our Lord himself directly, not of the Angels; fave only by reflexion: The joy (faid our bleffed Saviour) fhall be in the prefence of the Angels; they fhall fee the glory of the Lord, the answering of his prayers, the fatisfaction of his defires, and the reward of his fufferings, in the repentance and confequent pardon of a finner. For therefore he once fuffered, and for that reafon he rejoyces for ever. And therefore when a penitent finner comes to receive the effect and full confummation of his pardon, it is called [an entring into the joy of our Lord] that is, a partaking of that joy which Chrift received at our converfion, and enjoyed ever fince. 4. Add to this, that the rewards of Heaven are fo great and glorious, and Chrift's burthen is fo light, his yoke is fo eafie, that it is a fhameless impudence to expect fo great glories at a lefs rate than fo little a fervice, at a lower rate than a holy life. It coft the heart blood of the Son of God to obtain Heaven for us upon that condition; and who fhall die again to get Heaven for us upon eafier terms? What would you do it T 4 God |