them in the other I reckon saith St. Paul Rom. 8.8 that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us Particularly the Consideration of that glorious change which shall be made in our Bodies at the Resurrection ought to be a great comfort to us under all the Pains and Diseases which they are now liable to and even against Death it self One of the greatest burdens of Humane Nature is the frailty and infirmity of our Bodies the necessities which they are frequently prest withal the Diseases and Pains to which they are liable and the fear of death by reason whereof a great part of Mankind are subject to bondage against all which this is an everlasting Spring of Consolation to us that the time is coming when we shall have other sort of Bodies freed from that burden of Corruption which we now groan under and from all those Miseries and Inconveniences which Flesh and Blood are now subject to For the time will come when these vile Bodies which we now wear shall be changed and fashioned like to the glorious Body of the Son of God and when they shall be raised at the last day they shall not be raised such as we laid them down Vile and Corrruptible but Immortal and Incorruptible for the same Power which hath raised them up to Life shall likewise change them and put a glory upon them like to that of the glorified Body of our Lord and when this glorious change is made when this corruptible hath put on incorruption and this mortal hath put on immortality then shall come to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory and when this last enemy is perfectly subdued we shall be set above all the Frailties and Dangers all the Temptations and Sufferings of this mortal state there will then be no fleshly lusts and brutish Passions to War against the Soul no law in our members to rise up in Rebellion against the law of our minds no diseases to torment us no danger of Death to terrifie us all the Motions and Passions of our outward Man shall then be perfectly subject to the Reason of our Minds and our Bodies shall partake of the Immortality of our Souls How should this Consideration bear us up under all the Evils of Life and the fears of Death that the Resurrection will be a perfect Cure of all our Infirmities and Diseases and an effectual Remedy of all the Evils that we now labour under and that it is but a very little while that we shall be troubled with these Frail and Mortal and Vile Bodies which shall shortly be laid in the dust and when they are raised again shall become Spiritual Incorruptible and Glorious And if our Bodies shall undergo so happy a change what Happiness may we imagine shall then be conferr'd upon our Souls that so much better and nobler part of our selves As the Apostle reasons in another Case Doth God take care of Oxen Hath he this Consideration of our Bodies which are but the brutish part of the Man What regard will he then have to his own Image that spark of Divinity which is for ever to reside in these Bodies If upon the account of our Souls and for their sakes our Bodies shall become Incorruptible Spiritual and Glorious then certainly our Souls shall be endued with far more Excellent and Divine Qualities if our Bodies shall in some degree partake of the Perfection of our Souls in their Spiritual and Immortal Nature to what a pitch of Perfection shall our Souls be raised and advanced even to an equality with Angels and to some kind of participation of the Divine Nature and Perfection so far as a Creature is capable of them II. The Comparison which is here in the Text and which I have largely explain'd between the manifest Inconveniences of a Sinful and Vicious Course and the manifold Advantages of an Holy and Virtuous Life is a plain direction to us which of these two to chuse So that I may make the same appeal that Moses does after that he had at large declared the Blessings promis'd to the Obedience of God's Laws and the Curse denounc'd against the Violation and Transgression of them Deut. 30.19 I call Heaven and Earth to record against you this day that I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore chuse life that you may be happy in Life and Death and after Death to all Eternity I know every one is ready to chuse Happiness and to say with Balaam Let me die the death of the righteous and let my latter end be like his but if we do in good earnest desire the End we must take the Way that leads to it we must become the Servants of God and have our fruit unto holiness if ever we expect that the end shall be everlasting life SERMON IX Serm. 8. The Nature and Necessity of holy Resolution The First Sermon on this Text. JOB XXXIV 31 32. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement I will not offend any more That which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will do no more THESE words are the words of Elihu one of Job's Friends and the only one who is not reproved for his Discourse with Job and who was probably the Author of this ancient and most eloquent History of the sufferings and patience of Job and of the end which the Lord made with him Vol. 8. and they contain in them a Description of the temper and behaviour of a true Penitent Surely it is meet c. In which words we have the Two essential parts of a true Repentance First An humble Acknowledgment and Confession of our Sins to God Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement Secondly A firm Purpose and Resolution of amendment and forsaking of Sin for the future I will not offend any more if I have done iniquity I will do no more First An humble Acknowledgment and Confession of our Sins to God Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement that is have sinned and been justly punish'd for it and am now convinced of the Evil of Sin and resolved to leave it I have born chastisement I will offend no more Of this First part of Repentance viz. An humble Confession of our Sins to God with great Shame and Sorrow for them and a thorow Conviction of the Evil and Danger of a sinful Course I have already treated at large In these Repentance must begin but it must not end in them for a penitent Confession of our Sins to God and a Conviction of the evil of them signifies nothing unless it bring us to a Resolution of amendment that is of leaving our Sins and betaking our selves to a better Course And this I intend by God's assistance to speak to now as being the
intercourse with men There are other Virtues that are apt to oblige Mankind to us and to gain their Friendship and good Will their Aid and Assistance as Kindness and Meekness and Charity and a generous Disposition to do good to all as far as we have Power and Oportunity In a word there is no real Interest of this World but may ordinarily be as effectually promoted and pursued to as great Advantage by a Man that Exercises himself in the Practice of all Virtue and Goodness and usually to far greater Advantage than by one that is Intemperate and Debauch'd Deceitful and Dishonest apt to disoblige and provoke sour and ill-natur'd to all Mankind For there is none of these Vices but is to a Man's real hinderance and disadvantage in regard of one kind of Happiness or another which men aim at and propose to themselves in this World III. A Religious and Virtuous Course of Life doth naturally tend to the prolonging of our days and hath very frequently the Blessing of Health and long Life attending upon it The Practice of a great many Virtues is a great Preservative of Life and Health as the due government of our Appetites and Passions by Temperance and Chastity and Meekness which prevent the chief Causes from within of Bodily Diseases and Distempers the due government of our Tongues and Conversation in respect of others by Justice and Kindness and abstaining from Wrath and Provocation which are a great security against the dangers of outward Violence according to that of St. Peter 1 Epist 3.10 He that will love life and see good days let him refrain his Tongue from evil and his Lips that they speak no guile let him eschew evil and do good let him seek peace and ensue it And beside the natural tendency of things there is a special Blessing of God which attends good men and makes their days long in the land which the Lord their God hath given them IV. There is nothing gives a Man so much Comfort when he comes to die as the reflection upon an holy and good Life and then surely above all other times Comfort is most valuable because our frail and infirm Nature doth then stand most in need of it Then usually mens Hearts are faint and their Spirits low and every thing is apt to deject and trouble them so that we had need to provide our selves of some excellent Cordial against that time and there is no Comfort like to that of a clear Conscience and of an innocent and useful Life This will revive and raise a Man's Spirits under all the Infirmities of his Body because it gives a Man good hopes concerning his Eternal State and the hopes of that are apt to fill a Man with Joy unspeakable and full of glory The difference between good and bad Men is never so remarkable in this World as when they are upon their Death-Bed This the Scripture observes to us Psal 37.37 Mark the perfect Man and behold the upright for the end of that Man is peace With what Triumph and Exultation doth the Blessed Apostle St. Paul upon the review of his Life discourse concerning his Death and Dissolution 2 Tim. 4.6 7 8. I am now ready says he to be offered up and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finish'd my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge will give me at that day What would not any of us do to be thus affected when we come to leave the World and to be able to bear the thoughts of Death and Eternity with so quiet and well satisfi'd a Mind why let us but endeavour to live Holy lives and to be useful and serviceable to God in our Generation as this holy Apostle was and we shall have the same ground of Joy and Triumph which he had For this is the proper and genuine effect of Virtue and Goodness The work of righteousness is peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever All the good Actions that we do in this Life are so many seeds of Comfort sown in our own Consciences which will spring up one time or other but especially in the approaches of Death when we come to take a serious review of our lives for then mens Consciences use to deal plainly and impartially with them and to tell them the truth and if at that time more especially our hearts condemn us not then may we have comfort and confidence towards God V. An Holy and Virtuous Life doth transmit a good Name and Reputation to Posterity And this Solomon hath determined to be a much greater Happiness than for a Man to leave a great Estate behind him A good name says he is rather to be chosen than great riches Pious and Virtuous men do commonly gain to themselves a good Esteem and Reputation in this World while they are in it but the Virtues of good men are not always so bright and shining as to meet with that respect and acknowledgment which is due to them in this World Many times they are much clouded by the Infirmities and Passions which attend them and are shadowed by some affected singularities and morosities which those which have liv'd more retir'd from the World are more liable to Besides that the Envy of others who are not so good as they lies heavy upon them and does depress them For bad men are very apt to misinterpret the best Actions of the good and put false colours upon them and when they have nothing else to object against them to charge them with Hypocrisie and Insincerity an Objection as hard to be answer'd as it is to be made good unless we could see into the Hearts of men But when good men are dead and gone and the bright and shining Example of their Virtues is at a convenient distance and does not gall and upbraid others then Envy ceaseth and every Man is then content to give a good Man his due Praise and his Friends and Posterity may then quietly enjoy the Comfort of his Reputation which is some sort of Blessing to him that is gone This difference Solomon observes to us between good and bad men The memory of the just is blessed or well spoken of but the name of the wicked shall rot VI. And lastly Religion and Virtue do derive a Blessing upon our Posterity after us Oh that there were such an heart in them saith Moses concerning the People of Israel that they would fear me and keep all my Commandments always that it might be well with them and with their Children for ever And to this purpose there are many Promises in Scripture of God's Blessing the Posterity of the righteous and his shewing mercies to thousands of the Children of them that love him and keep his Commandments And this a great motive to Obedience and toucheth upon that Natural Affection which men
The most Reverend D r. IOHN TILLOTSON late Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Several DISCOURSES OF REPENTANCE viz. The Necessity of Repentance and Faith Of confessing and forsaking Sin in order to Pardon Of Confession and Sorrow for Sin The Unprofitableness of Sin in this Life an Argument for Repentance The Shamefulness of Sin an Argument for Repentance The final Issue of Sin an Argument for Repentance The present and future Advantage of an Holy and Virtuous Life The Nature and Necessity of holy Resolution The Nature and Necessity of Restitution The Usefulness of Consideration in order to Repentance The Danger of Impenitence where the Gospel is preach'd By the Most Reverend Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON Late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Being The EIGHTH VOLUME Published from the Originals By Ralph Barker D. D. Chaplain to his Grace LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard 1700. THE CONTENTS SERMON I. The Necessity of Repentance and Faith ACTS XX. 21 Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ Page 1 SERMON II. Preach'd on Ash-Wednesday Of confessing and forsaking Sin in order to Pardon PROV XXVIII 13 He that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy p. 29 SERMON III. Of Confession and Sorrow for Sin PSAL. XXXVIII 18 I will declare mine Iniquity and be sorry for my Sin p. 69 SERMON IV. Preach'd on Ash-Wednesday 1689. The Unprofitableness of Sin in this Life an Argument for Repentance JOB XXXIII 27 28. He looketh upon men and if any say I have sinned and perverted that which was right and it profited me not He will deliver his soul from going into the pit and his life shall see the light p. 101 SERMON V VI VII VIII The Shamefulness of Sin an Argument for Repentance ROM VI. 21 22. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is Death But now being made free from sin and become Servants to God ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting life p. 137 169 193 225 SERMON IX X XI The Nature and Necessity of holy Resolution JOB XXXIV 31 32. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement I will not offend any more That which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will do no more p. 271 299 327 SERMON XII XIII The Nature and Necessity of Restitution LUKE XIX 8 9. And if I have taken any thing from any Man by false accusation I restore him fourfold And Jesus said unto him This day is Salvation come to this house p. 353 385 SERMON XIV The Usefulness of Consideration in order to Repentance DEUT. XXXII 29 O that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end p. 417 SERMON XV. The Danger of Impenitence where the Gospel is preach'd MATTH XI 21 22. Woe unto thee Chorazin woe unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes But I say unto you It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you p. 443 SERMON I. Serm. 1. The Necessity of Repentance and Faith Acts XX. 21 Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ TO have seen St. Paul in the Pulpit was one of those three things which St. Augustine thought worth the wishing for And sure it were very desirable to have seen this glorious Instrument of God who did such wonders in the World to have heard that plain and powerful Eloquence of his which was so mighty through God for the casting down of strong holds Vol. 8. and the subduing of men to the obedience of the Gospel to have beheld the zeal of this holy man who was all on fire for God with what ardency of affection and earnestness of expression he persuaded men to come in to Christ and entertain the Gospel This were very desirable but seeing it is a thing we cannot hope for it should be some satisfaction to our curiosity to know what St. Paul preached what was the main Subject of his Sermons whither he refer'd all his Discourses and what they tended to This he tells us in the words that I have read to you that the main substance of all his Sermons was repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ The Occasion of the words was briefly this St. Paul being in his Journy to Jerusalem and intending to be there by the day of Pentecost that he might not be hindred in his Journy he resolves to pass by Ephesus and only to call to him the Elders of the Church to charge them with their duty and the care of the Church and to engage them hereto he tells them how he had carried and demeaned himself among them v. 18. with what diligence and vigilance he had watched over them with what affection and earnestness he had preached to them v. 19 20. And here in the Text he tells them what had been the sum of his Doctrine and the substance of those many Sermons he had preached among them and what was the End and Design of all his Discourses viz. To perswade men to repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ Testifying both to the Jews and Greeks c. I shall explain the words a little and then fix upon the Observations which I intend to speak to because I design this only as a Preface to some larger Discourses of Faith and Repentance For explication Testifying the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to testifie to prove a thing by testimony so 't is used Heb. 2.6 But one in a certain place testifyeth saying In heathen Writers the word is often used in a Law sense for contesting by Law and pleading in a Cause and from hence it signifies earnestly to contend or persuade by arguments and threatnings In the use of the LXX it signifies to protest to convince to press earnestly to perswade It is used most frequently by St. Luke in a very intense signification and is sometimes joyned with Exhorting which is an earnest perswading to a thing Acts 2.40 And with many other words did he testifie and exhort saying save your selves from this untoward generation and with Preaching Acts 8.25 And when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord and so Acts 18.5 Being pressed in spirit he testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ Being pressed in spirit signifies intention and vehemency in testifying to them that he did vehemently endeavour to convince them it seems to be equivalent to the expression v. 28. where it is said Apollos did mightily convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ that is did
use such Persuasions and Arguments as were sufficient to convince and to mention no more Acts 28.23 He expounded and testified the Kingdom of God perswading them concerning Jesus St Paul in his Epistle to Timothy useth this word in a most vehement sense for giving a solemn charge 1 Tim. 5.21 I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so 2 Tim. 2.14 charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words and so 2 Tim. 4.1 I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and here in the Text the word seems to be of a very high and intense signification because of the circumstances mentioned before and after he tells us before that he taught them at all seasons v. 18. publickly and from house to house v. 20. and afterwards at the 31. v. that he warned them day and night with tears so that testifying to the Jews Repentance and Faith must signifie his pressing and perswading of them with the greatest vehemency to turn from their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ his charging on them these things as their duty his pleading with them the necessity of Faith and Repentance and earnestly endeavouring to convince them thereof Repentance toward God and Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ What is the Reason of this appropriation of Repentance and Faith the one as properly respecting God and the other our Lord Jesus Christ I answer Repentance doth properly respect God because he is the party offended and to whom we are to be reconciled the Faith of the Gospel doth properly refer to the Lord Jesus Christ as the chief and principal Object of it so that by testifying to them repentance towards God c. we are to understand that the Apostle did earnestly press and perswade them to repent of their sins whereby they had offended God and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messias the person that was ordained of God and sent to be the Saviour of the world From the Words thus explained this is the Observation that doth naturally arise That Repentance and Faith are the sum and substance of the Gospel and that Ministers ought with all earnestness and vehemency to press people to repent and believe to charge them with these as their duty and by all means to endeavour to convince them of the necessity of them In the handling of this I shall do these Two things First Shew you what is included in Repentance and Faith that you may see that they are the sum of the Gospel And Secondly Shew you the necessity of them First What is included in these I. Repentance this properly signifies a change of mind a conviction that we have done amiss so as to be truly sorry for what we have done and heartily to wish that we had not done it To repent is to alter our mind to have other apprehensions of things than we had to look upon that now as evil which we did not before from whence follows sorrow for what we have done and a resolution of mind for the future not to do again that which appears now to us to be so evil that we are ashamed of it and troubled for it and wish we had never done it So that repentance implies a conviction that we have done something that is evil and sinful contrary to the Law we are under and those Obligations of duty and gratitude that lie upon us whereby God is highly provoked and incensed against us and we in danger of his wrath and the sad effects of his displeasure upon which we are troubled and grieved and ashamed for what we have done and wish we had been wiser and had done otherwise hereupon we resolve never to do any thing that is sinful that is contrary to our duty and obligations to God and by which we may provoke him against us These two things are contained in a true repentance a deep sense of and sorrow for the evils that are past and the sins that we have committed and a firm purpose and resolution of obedience for the future of abstaining from all sin and doing what ever is our duty the true effect of which Resolution is the breaking off the practice of sin and the course of a wicked life and a constant course of obedience II. Faith in Christ is an effectual believing the Revelation of the Gospel the History and the Doctrine of it the History of it that there was such a person as Jesus Christ that he was the true Messias prophesied of and promised in the Old Testament that he was born and lived and preached and wrought the Miracles that are recorded that he was crucified and rose again and ascended into Heaven that he was the Son of God and sent by him into the world by his Doctrine to instruct and by the Example of his life to go before us in the way to happiness and by the Merit and Satisfaction of his death and sufferings to appease and reconcile God to us and to purchase for us the pardon of our sins and eternal life upon the Conditions of Faith and Repentance and sincere Obedience and that to enable us to the performance of these Conditions he promised and afterward sent his holy Spirit to accompany the preaching of his Gospel and to assist all Christians to the doing of that which God requires of them this is the History of the Gospel Now the Doctrine of it contains the Precepts and Promises and Threatnings of it and Faith in Christ includes a firm belief of all these of the Precepts of the Gospel as the matter of our duty and the Rule of our life and of the Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel as arguments to our duty to encourage our Obedience and deter us from sin So that he that believes the Lord Jesus believes him to be the great Guide and Teacher sent from God to bring and conduct men to eternal happiness and that therefore we ought to hearken to him and follow him this is to believe his Prophetical Office He believes that he is the Author of salvation and hath purchased for us forgiveness of sins ransom from hell and eternal life and blessedness upon the Conditions before mentioned and therefore that we ought to rely upon him only for salvation to own him for our Saviour and to beg of him his holy Spirit which he hath promised to us to enable us to perform the Conditions required on our part this is to believe his Priestly Office And lastly He believes that the Precepts of the Gospel being delivered to us by the Son of God ought to have the authority of Laws upon us and that we are bound to be obedient to them and for our encouragement if we be so that there is a glorious and eternal Reward promised to us and for our terror if we be not there are terrible and eternal Punishments threatned to us to which Rewards the
is ingenuity because we are sensible that we have carried our selves very unworthily towards God and have been injurious to him who hath laid all possible obligations upon us For he hath made us and hath given us our beings and hath charged his watchful Providence with the continual care of us his bounty hath ministred to the necessities and comforts of our Life all the Blessings that we enjoy are the Effects of his meer love and goodness without any hope of requital or expectation of any other return from us than of love of gratitude and obedience which yet are of no advantage to him but very beneficial and comfortable to our selves For he does not expect Duty and Obedience from us with any regard of Benefit to himself but for our sakes and in order to our own Happiness Nay his kindness did not stop here but after we had abused him by our repeated provocations yet he still continued his care of us and when we had farther provoked him to withdraw his Love and to call in his abused Goodness and had done what lay in us to make our selves miserable he would not suffer us to be undone but found out a Ransom for us and hath contrived a way for the pardon of all our offences and to reconcile us to himself and to restore us to Happiness by the most stupendous and amazing condescension of love and goodness that ever was even by giving his only Son to dye for us And can we reflect upon all this and not be sorry and grieved at our very hearts that we should be so evil to him who hath been so good to us that we should be so undutiful to so loving a Father so unkind to so faithful and constant a Friend so ungrateful and unworthy to so mighty a Benefactor If any thing will melt us into Tears surely this will do it to consider that we have sinned against him who made us and continually preserves us and after all our unkindness to him did still retain so great a love for us as to redeem us from Hell and Destruction by the Death and Suffering of his Son and notwithstanding all our offences does still offer us Pardon and Peace Life and Happiness Such Considerations as these seriously laid to heart should one would think break the hardest heart and make Tears to gush even out of a Rock I proceed in the III. Place to consider the Measure and Degree of our Sorrow for Sin That it admits of degrees which ought to bear some proportion to the heinousness of our Sins and the several aggravations of them and the time of our continuance in them is out of all dispute For tho' the least Sin be a just cause of the deepest Sorrow yet because our greatest grief can never bear a due proportion to the vast and infinite evil of Sin God is pleased to require and accept such measures of Sorrow as do not bear an exact correspondence to the Malignity of Sin provided they be according to the capacity of our Nature and in some sort proportioned to the degree and aggravations of our Sins i. e. Tho' the highest degree of our Sorrow doth necessarily fall below the evil of the least Sin yet God requires that we should be more deeply affected with some Sins than others But what is the lowest degree which God requires in a true Penitent and will accept as it is impossible for me to tell so it is unprofitable for any body to know For no Man can reasonably make this enquiry with any other design than that he may learn how he may come off with God upon the cheapest and easiest terms Now there cannot be a worse sign that a Man is not truly sensible of the great evil of Sin than this that he desires to be troubled for it as little as may be and no longer than needs must And none surely are more unlikely to find acceptance with God than those who deal so nearly and endeavour to drive so hard a bargain with him And therefore I shall only say this in general concerning the degrees of our Sorrow for Sin that Sin being so great an evil in it self and of so pernicious a consequence to us it cannot be too much lamented and grieved for by us And the more and greater our Sins have been and the longer we have continued and lived in them they call for so much the greater Sorrow and deeper humiliation from us For the reasoning of our Saviour concerning Mary Magdalene She loved much because much was forgiven her is proportionably true in this case those who have sinned much should sorrow the more And then we must take this Caution along with us that if we would Judge aright of the truth of our Sorrow for Sin we must not measure it so much by the Degrees of sensible trouble and affliction as by the rational Effects of it which are hatred of Sin and a fixt purpose and resolution against it for the future for he is most truly sorry for his Miscarriage who looks upon what he hath done amiss with abhorrence and detestation of the thing and wisheth he had not done it and censures himself severely for it and thereupon resolves not to do the like again And this is the Character which St. Paul gives of a Godly Sorrow 2 Cor. 7.10 that it worketh repentance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it produceth a real change in our minds and makes us to alter our purpose and resolution And tho' such a Person may not be so passionately and sensibly afflicted for Sin yet it appears by the Effect that he hath a deeper and more rational resentment of the evil of it than that man who is sad and melancholy and drooping for never so long a time and after all returns to his former sinful course the Degree of his Sorrow may appear greater but the Effect of it is really less IV. As for the outward expressions of our Grief and Sorrow The usual sign and outward expression of Sorrow is Tears but these being not the Substance of our Duty but an external Testimony of it which some tempers are more unapt to than others we are much less to Judge of the Truth of our Sorrow for Sin by these than by our inward sensible Trouble and Affliction of Spirit Some Persons are of a more tender and melting disposition and can command their Tears upon a little occasion and upon very short warning and such Persons that can weep for every thing else that troubles them have much more reason to suspect the Truth of their Sorrow for Sin if this outward expression of it be wanting And we find in Scripture that the Sorrow of true Penitents does very frequently discover it self by this outward sign of it Thus when Ezra and the people made Confession of their Sins to God it is said that they wept very Sore Ezra 10. Peter when he reflected upon that great Sin of denying his Master 't is said He
time I am heartily afraid that a very great part of Mankind do miscarry upon this confidence and are swallowed up in the gulf of Eternal Perdition with this Plank in their Arms. The common Custom is and I fear it is too common when the Physician hath given over his Patient then and not till then to send for the Minister not so much to enquire into the Man's condition and to give him suitable Advice as to Minister comfort and to speak Peace to him at a venture But let me tell you that herein you put an extream difficult task upon us in expecting that we should pour Wine and Oyl into the wound before it be searched and speak smooth and comfortable things to a Man that is but just brought to a sense of the long course of a lewd and wicked Life impenitently continued in Alas what comfort can we give to men in such a case We are loth to drive them to despair and yet we must not destroy them by presumption pity and good nature do strongly tempt us to make the best of their case and to give them all the little hopes which with any kind of Reason we can and God knows it is but very little that we can give to such Persons upon good ground for it all depends upon the degree and sincerity of their Repentance which God only knows and we can but guess at We can easily tell them what they ought to have done and what they should do if they were to live longer and what is the best that they can do in those straights into which they have brought themselves viz. to exercise as deep a Sorrow and Repentance for their sins as is possible and to cry mightily to God for Mercy in and through the Merit of our Blessed Saviour But how far this will be available in these Circumstances we cannot tell because we do not know whether if the Man had lived longer this Repentance and these Resolutions which he now declares of a better course would have been good And after all is done that can be done in so short a time and in such Circumstances of confusion and disorder as commonly attend dying Persons I doubt the result of all will be this that there is much more ground of fear than hope concerning them nay perhaps while we are pressing the dying sinner to Repentance and he is bungling about it he expires in great doubt and perplexity of mind what will become of him or if his Eyes be closed with more comfortable hopes of his condition the next time he opens them again he may find his fearful mistake like the rich Man in the Parable who when he was in hell lift up his eyes being in torment This is a very dismal and melancholy consideration and commands all men presently to repent and not to put off the main work of their lives to the end of them and the time of sickness and old Age. Let us not offer up a Carcass to God instead of a living and acceptable Sacrifice but let us turn to God in the days of our health and strength before the evil days come and the years draw nigh of which we shall say we have no pleasure in them before the Sun and the Moon and the Stars be darkned As Solomon elegantly expresseth it Eccl. 12.1 2. before all the Comforts of Life be gone before our Faculties be all ceased and spent before our Understandings be too weak and our Wills too strong our Understandings be too weak for consideration and the deliberate exercise of Repentance and our Wills too strong and stiff to be bent and bowed to it Let us not deceive our selves Heaven is not an Hospital made to receive all Sick and Aged Persons that can but put up a faint request to be admitted there no no they are never like to see the Kingdom of God who instead of seeking it in the first place make it their last refuge and retreat and when they find the Sentence of Death upon them only to avoid present Execution do bethink themselves of getting to Heaven and since there is no other Remedy are contented to Petition the great King and Judge of the World that they may be transported thither Upon all these Considerations let us use no delay in a matter of such mighty consequence to our eternal Happiness but let the counsel which was given to Nebuchadnezzar be acceptable to us let us Break off our sins by righteousness and our iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor if so be it may be a lengthning of our tranquillity Repentance and Alms do well together let us break off our sins by righteousness and our iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor especially upon this great occasion which his Majesty's great Goodness to those distressed Strangers that have taken Sanctuary among us hath lately presented us withal remembring that we also are in the body and liable to the like sufferings and considering on the one hand that Gracious promise of our Lord Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy and on the other hand that terrible threatning in St. James He shall have Judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy To conclude from all that hath been said let us take up a present Resolution of a better course and enter immediately upon it to day whilst it is called to day lest any of you be hardned through the deceitfulness of sin O that men were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end And grant we beseech the Almighty God that we may all know and do in this our day the things which belong to our peace for thy mercy's sake in Jesus Christ To whom with thee O Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory now and for ever Amen SERMON V. Serm. 5. The Shamefulness of Sin an Argument for Repentance The First Sermon on this Text. ROM VI. 21 22. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is death But now being made free from sin and become Servants to God ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the end Everlasting Life THERE are two Passions which do always in some Degree or other accompany a true Repentance viz. Sorrow and Shame for our Sins because these are necessary to engage men to a Resolution of making that change wherein Repentance does consist Vol. 8. For till we are heartily sorry for what we have done and ashamed of the evil of it it is not likely that we should ever come to a firm and steady purpose of forsaking our evil ways and betaking our selves to a better course And these two Passions of Sorrow and Shame for our Sins were wont anciently to be signified by those outward expressions of Humiliation and Repentance which we find so frequently mentioned in Scripture of being cloathed in Sackcloath as a testimony of our sorrow and mourning for our
Sins and of being sprinkled upon the head and covered over with filth and dirt with dust and ashes in token of our shame and confusion of Face for all our Iniquities and transgressions Hence are those Expressions in Scripture of Repenting in Sackcloath and Ashes of lying down in our shame and being cover'd with confusion in token of their great sorrow and shame for the manifold and heinous Sins which they had been guilty of Of the former of these viz. Trouble and Sorrow for our Sins I have very lately * Ser. 3. treated and of the latter I intend now by God's assistance to speak viz. Shame for our Sins and that from these Words which I have recited to you What fruit had ye then in those things c. In which Words the Apostle makes a comparison between an Holy and Virtuous and a Sinful and Vicious course of Life and sets before us a perfect enumeration of the manifest Inconveniences of the one and the manifold Advantages of the other First The manifest Inconveniences of a Vicious and Sinful course and the Apostle mentions these three I. It is unprofitable it brings no manner of present Benefit and Advantage to us if all things be rightly calculated and consider'd What fruit had ye then in those things Then i. e. at the time when you committed those Sins had you any present Advantage by them No certainly but quite contrary II. The reflection upon our Sins afterwards is cause of shame and confusion to us What fruit had you then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed III. The final issue and consequence of these things is very dismal and miserable The end of those things is death Let us put these things together and see what they amount to No Fruit then when ye did these things and shame now when ye come afterwards to reflect upon them and death and misery at the last Secondly Here is likewise on the other hand represented to us the manifold Benefit of an Holy and Virtuous Life And that upon these two accounts I. Of the present Benefit of it which the Apostle calls here fruit Ye have your fruit unto Holiness II. In respect of the future Reward of it And the end Everlasting Life Here is a considerable Earnest in hand and a mighty Recompence afterwards infinitely beyond the proportion of our best Actions and Services both in respect of the greatness and the duration of it Everlasting Life for a few transient and very imperfect actions of obedience a perfect and immutable and endless state of Happiness I shall begin with the First of the two general Heads viz. The manifest Inconveniences of a Sinful and Vicious course and the Apostle I told you in the Text takes notice of three I. It is unprofitable and if all things be rightly calculated and consider'd it brings no manner of present Advantage and Benefit to us What fruit had ye then in those things Then i. e. When ye committed those Sins had you any present Advantage by them No certainly quite the contrary as if the Apostle had said if you seriously reflect upon your former course of Impiety and Sin wherein you have continued so long you cannot but acknowledge that it brought no manner of advantage to you and when all accounts are truly cast up you must if you will confess the Truth own that you were in no sort gainers by it For the words are a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Apostle plainly intends more than he expresseth What fruit had ye then in those things i. e. The wicked course which ye formerly lived in was so far from being any ways Beneficial to you that it was on the contrary upon all accounts extreamly to your prejudice and disadvantage And this is not only true in respect of the final Issue and Consequence of a Sinful and Vicious course of Life that no Man is a gainer by it at the long run and if we take into our consideration another World and the dreadful and endless misery which a wicked and impenitent Life will then plunge men into which in the farther handling of this Text will at large be spoken to being the last of the three Particulars under this First general head But it is true likewise even in respect of this World and with regard only to this present and temporal Life without looking so far as the future Recompence and Punishment of Sin in another World And this would plainly appear by an Induction of these three Particulars 1. It is Evident that some Sins are plainly mischievous to the temporal Interest of men as tending either to the disturbance of their minds or the endangering of their Health and Lives or to the prejudice of their Estates or the blasting of them in their Reputation and good name 2. That there are other Sins which tho' they are not so visibly burdened and attended with mischievous Consequences yet are they plainly unprofitable and bring no manner of real Advantage to men either in respect of gain or pleasure such are the Sins of Profaneness and customary Swearing in common Conversation 3. That even those Sins and Vices which make the fairest pretence to be of Advantage to us when all Accounts are cast up and all Circumstances duly weigh'd and consider'd will be found to be but pretenders and in no degree able to perform and make good what they so largely promise before hand when they tempt us to the commission of them There are some Vices which pretend to bring in great profit and tempt worldly-minded men whose minds are disposed to catch at that bait such are the Sins of Covetousness and Oppression of Fraud and Falshood and Perfidiousness And there are others which pretend to bring pleasure along with them which is almost an irresistable temptation to voluptuous and sensual men such are the Sins of Revenge and Intemperance and Lust But upon a particular examination of each of these it will evidently appear that there is no such profit or pleasure in any of these Vices as can be a reasonable temptation to any Man to fall in love with them and to engage in the Commission and Practice of them But I shall not now inlarge upon any of these having lately discours'd upon them from another Text. I shall therefore proceed to the II. Inconvenience which I mentioned of a sinful and vicious Course viz. that the reflection upon our Sins afterwards is cause of great Shame and Confusion to us What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed And this is a very proper Argument for this Season * Preach'd in Lent because the Passion of Shame as it is the natural and usual consequent of Sin so it is a Disposition necessarily required to a true Repentance Most Men when they commit a known Fault are apt to be ashamed and ready to blush whenever they are put in mind of it and charged with it Some Persons indeed have
very reproachful to us that we destroy our selves by our own folly and neglect of our selves and become miserable by our own choice and when the Grace of God hath put it into our Power to be wise and to be happy I should now have proceeded to the Second thing I proposed which was to consider Sin in relation to God and to shew that it is no less shameful in that respect than I have shewn it to be with regard to our selves But this I shall refer to another oportunity SERMON VI. Serm. 6. The Shamefulness of Sin an Argument for Repentance The Second Sermon on this Text. ROM VI. 21 22. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is death But now being made free from sin and become Servants to God ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the end Everlasting Life IN these words the Apostle makes a comparison between an Holy and Virtuous and a Sinful and Vicious course of Life and sets before us a perfect enumeration of the manifest inconveniences of the one Vol. 8. and the manifold advantages of the other I began with the First of these viz. to shew the manifest inconveniences of a sinful and vicious course I am upon the Second inconvenience of a sinful course viz. That the reflection upon it afterwards is cause of great Shame and Confusion of face to us and that First in Relation to our selves Which I have dispatch'd and proceed now in the Second Place to consider Sin in respect of God against whom and in whose sight and presence it is committed and upon examination it will appear to be no less shameful in this respect than the other There are some Persons before whom we are more apt to be ashamed and blush than before others as those whom we reverence those to whom we are greatly oblig'd and those who are clear of those faults which we are guilty of and those who hate or greatly dislike what we do especially if they be present with us and in our company if they stand by us and observe and take notice of what we do and are likely to publish our folly and make it known and have Authority and Power to punish us for our faults we are ashamed to have done any thing that is vile and unworthy before such Persons Now to render Sin the more Shameful God may be consider'd by us under all these Notions and in all these respects 1. Whenever we commit any Sin we do it before him in his presence and under his eye and knowledge to whom of all persons in the world we ought to pay the most profound reverence I remember Seneca somewhere says that There are some Persons quorum interventû perditi quoque homines vitia supprimerent that are so awful and so generally reverenc'd for the eminency of their Virtues that even the most profligate and impudent sinners will endeavour to suppress their Vices and refrain from any thing that is notoriously bad and uncomely whilst such Persons stand by them and are in presence Such an one was Cato among the Romans The People of Rome had such a Regard and Reverence for him that if he appeared they would not begin or continue their usual sports till he was withdrawn from the Theatre thinking them too light to be acted before a Person of his Gravity and Virtue And if they were so much aw'd by the presence of a Wise and a Virtuous Man that they were ashamed to do any thing that was unseemly before him how much more should the presence of the Holy God who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity make us blush to do any thing that is lewd and vile in his sight and fill us with shame and confusion of face at the thoughts of it Now whenever we commit any Sin God looks upon us and he alone is an ample Theatre indeed That he observes what we do ought to be more to us than if the Eyes of all the World besides were gazing upon us 2. He likewise is incomparably our greatest Benefactour and there is no Person in the World to whom in any degree we stand so much oblig'd as to him and from whom we can expect and hope for so much good as from him the consideration whereof must make us ashamed so often as we consider and are conscious to our selves that we have done any thing that is grievous and displeasing to him We are wont to have a more peculiar Reverence for those to whom we are exceedingly beholden and to be much ashamed to do any thing before them which may signifie disrespect and much more enmity against them because this would be horrible ingratitude one of the most odious and shameful of all Vices And is there any one to whom we can stand more obliged than to him that made us than to the Author and Founder of our Beings and the great Patron and Preserver of our lives And can there then be any before whom and against whom we should be more ashamed to offend When the Prodigal in the Parable would set forth the shamefulness of his Miscarriage he aggravates it from hence that he had offended against and before one to whom he had been so infinitely obliged Father says he I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight 3. We are ashamed likewise to be guilty of any fault or crime before those Persons who are clear of it or of any thing of the like nature themselves Men are not apt to be ashamed before those who are their fellow-Criminals and involved with them in the same guilt because they do not stand in awe of them nor can have any reverence for them Those who are equally guilty must bear with one another We are not apt to fear the censures and reproofs of those who are as bad as our selves but we are ashamed to do a foul and unworthy Action before those who are innocent and free from the same or the like Sins and Vices which we are guilty of Now whenever we commit any Sin it is in the presence of the Holy God who hath no part with us in our crimes whose nature is removed at the farthest distance from Sin and is as contrary to it as can be There is no iniquity with the Lord our God And therefore of all Persons in the World we should blush to be guilty of it before him 4. We are apt also to be ashamed to do any thing before those who dislike and detest what we do To do a wicked Action before those who are not offended at it or perhaps take pleasure in it is no such matter of shame to us Now of all others God is the greatest hater of Sin and the most perfect Enemy to it in the whole World Hab. 1.13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on iniquity i. e. with patience and without an infinite hatred and abhorrence
and heinous Provocations of the Divine Majesty which many of us have been guilty of in the long course of a wicked Life together with the heavy Aggravations of our Sins by all the circumstances that can render them abominable and shameful not only in the Eye of God and Men but of our own Consciences likewise we have great reason to humble our selves before God in a penitent acknowledgment of them and every one of us to say with Job Behold I am vile what shall I answer thee I will lay mine hand upon my mouth I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes and with Ezra O my God! I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God for our iniquities are increased over our heads and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens And now O my God what shall we say after this for we have forsaken thy commandments and with holy Daniel We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly O Lord Righteousness belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of face Thus we should reproach and upbraid our selves in the Presence of that Holy God whom we have so often and so higly offended and against whom we have done as evil things as we could and say with the prodigal Son in the Parable Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son If we would thus take shame to our selves and humble our selves before God he would be merciful to us miserable Sinners he would take away all iniquity and receive us graciously and so soon as ever he saw us coming towards him would meet us with joy and embrace us in the Arms of his Mercy And then II. As we should be heartily ashamed of the past Errours and Miscarriages of our Lives so we should firmly resolve by God's Grace to do better for the future never to consent to Iniquity or to do any thing which we are convinc'd is contrary to our Duty and which will be matter of Shame to us when we come to look back upon it and make our Blood to rise in our Faces at the mention or intimation of it which will make us to sneak and hang down our heads when we are twitted and upbraided with it and which if it be not prevented by a timely Humiliation and Repentance will fill us with Horror and Amazement with Shame and Confusion of Face both at the Hour of Death and in the Day of Judgment So that when we look into our Lives and examine the Actions of them when we consider what we have done and what our Doings have deserved we should in a due sense of the great and manifold Miscarriages of our Lives and from a deep Sorrow and Shame and Detestation of our selves for them I say we should with that true Penitent described in Job take Words to our selves and say Surely it is meet to be said unto God I will not offend any more That which I know not teach thou me and if I have done iniquity I will do no more And thus I have done with the second Inconvenience of a sinful and vicious Course of Life viz. that the reflection upon it afterwards causeth Shame What fruit had you then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed SERMON VII Serm. 7. The final Issue of Sin an Argument for Repentance The Third Sermon on this Text. ROM VI. 21 22. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is death But now being made free from sin and become Servants to God ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the end Everlasting Life THESE words are a Comparison between an Holy and Virtuous and a Sinful and Vicious Course of Life and set before us the manifest Inconveniences of the one Vol. 8. and the manifold Advantages of the other I have enter'd into a Discourse upon the First of these Heads viz. The manifest Inconveniences of a sinful and vicious Course And the Text mentions these three I. That it is Unprofitable II. That the reflection upon it afterwards is matter of Shame These Two I have spoken largely to I shall now proceed to the III. And last Inconvenience which the Text mentions of a sinful and vicious Course of Life viz. That the final Issue and Consequence of these things is very dismal and miserable The end of those things is Death No Fruit then when ye did these things shame now that you come to reflect upon them and Misery and Death at the last There are indeed almost innumerable Considerations and Arguments to discourage and deter men from sin the Unreasonableness of it in it self the Injustice and Disloyalty and Ingratitude of it in respect to God the ill Example of it to others the Cruelty of it to our selves the Shame and Dishonour that attends it the Grief and Sorrow which it will cost us if ever we be brought to a due Sense of it the Trouble and Horror of a guilty Conscience that will perpetually haunt us but above all the miserable Event and sad Issue of a wicked Course of Life continued in and finally unrepented of The Temptations to sin may be alluring enough and look upon us with a smiling Countenance and the Commission may afford us a short and imperfect Pleasure but the Remembrance of it will certainly be bitter and the End of it miserable And this Consideration is of all others the most apt to work upon the generality of men especially upon the more obstinate and obdurate sort of sinners and those whom no other Arguments will penetrate that whatever the present Pleasure and Advantage of sin may be it will be Bitterness and Misery in the end The two former Inconvenieces of a sinful Course which I have lately discoursed of viz. That sin is Unprofitabte and that it is Shameful are very considerable and ought to be great Arguments against it to every sinner and considerate Man and yet how light are they and but as the very small dust upon the balance in comparison of that insupportable weight of Misery which will oppress the sinner at last Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil This this is the sting of all that the end of these things is death It is very usual in Scripture to express the greatest Happiness and the greatest Misery by Life and Death Life being the first and most desirable of all other Blessings because it is the Foundation of them and that which makes us capable of all the rest Hence we find in Scripture that all the Blessings of the Gospel are summ'd up in this one word John 20.31 These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have Life through his Name 1 Joh. 4.9 In this was manifest the love of God towards us because God sent his only begotten
Son into the World that we might live through him So that under this Term or Notion of Life the Scripture is wont to express all happiness to us and more especially that eternal Life which is the great Promise of the Gospel And this is Life by waâ— of Eminency as if this frail and mortal and miserable Life which we live here in this World did not deserve that Name And on the other Hand all the Evils which are consequent upon sin especially the dreadful and lasting Misery of another World are called by the Name of Death The end of these things is Death So the Apostle here in the Text and 23. v. The wages of sin is Death not only a Temporal Death but such a Death as is opposed to Eternal Life The wages of sin is Death but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So that Death here in the Text is plainly intended to comprehend in it all those fearful and astonishing Miseries wherewith the wrath of God will pursue and afflict sinners in another World But what and how great this Misery is I am not able to declare to you it hath no more enter'd into the heart of man than those great and glorious things which God hath laid up for them that love him and as I would fain hope that none of us here shall ever have the sad experience of it so none but those who have felt it are able to give a tolerable description of the intolerableness of it But by what the Scripture hath said of it in general and in such Metaphors as are most level to our present Capacity it appears so full of Terror that I am loth to attempt the Representation of it There are so many other Arguments that are more Humane and Natural and more proper to work upon the Reason and Ingenuity of Men as the great Love and Kindness of God to us the grievous Sufferings of his Son for us the Unreasonableness and Shamefulness of sin the present Benefit and Advantage the Peace and Pleasure of an Holy and Virtuous Life and the mighty Rewards promised to it in another World that one would think these should be abundantly sufficient to prevail with men to gain them to goodness and that they need not be frighted into it and to have the Law laid to them as it was once given to the People of Israel in thunder and lightning in blackness in darkness and tempest so as to make them exceedinly to fear and tremble And it seems a very hard Case that when we have to deal with men sensible enough of their Interest in other Cases and diligent enough to mind it we cannot perswade them to accept of Happiness without setting before them the Terrors of Eternal Darkness and those amazing and endless Miseries which will certainly be the Portion of those who refuse so great an Happiness this I say seems very hard that men must be carried to the Gate of Hell before they can be brought to set their faces towards Heaven and to think in good earnest of getting thither And yet it cannot be dissembled that the Nature of men is so degenerate as to stand in need of this Argument and that men are so far engaged in an Evil Course that they are not to be reclaimed from it by any other Consideration but of the endless and unspeakable Misery of impenitent sinners in another World And therefore God knowing how necessary this is doth frequently make use of it and our Blessed Saviour than whom none was ever more mild and gentle doth often set this Consideration before men to take them off from sin and to bring them to do better And this St. Paul tells us Rom. 1.18 is one principal thing which renders the Gospel so powerful an Instrument for the reforming and saving of Mankind because therein the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men So that how harsh and unpleasant soever this Argument may be the great stupidity and folly of some men and their inveterate obstinacy in an Evil Course makes it necessary for us to press it home that those who will not be moved and made sensible of the danger and inconvenience of sin by gentler Arguments may be rous'd and awakened by the Terrors of Eternal Misery That the last Issue and Consequence of a wicked Life will be very Miserable the general Apprehension of Mankind concerning the fate of bad men in another World and the socret misgivings of mens Consciences gives men too much ground to fear Besides that the Justice of Divine Providence which is not many times in this World so clear and manifest does seem to require that there should be a time of Recompence when the Virtue and Patience of good men should be Rewarded and the Insolence and Obstinacy of bad men should be Punish'd This cannot but appear very reasonable to any Man that considers the Nature of God and is perswaded that he governs the World and hath given Laws to Mankind by the observance whereof they may be Happy and by the neglect and contempt whereof they must be Miserable But that there might remain no doubts upon the Minds of men concerning these matters God hath been pleas'd to reveal this from Heaven by a Person sent by him on purpose to declare it to the World and to the truth of these Doctrines concerning a future state and a day of Judgment and Recompences God hath given Testimony by unquestionable Miracles wrought for the Confirmation of them and particularly by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead whereby he hath given an assurance unto all men that he is the Person ordained by God to Judge the World in righteousness and to render to every Man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal Life but to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil So that how quietly soever wicked Men may pass through this World or out of it which they seldom do Misery will certainly overtake their Sins at last unspeakable and intolerable Misery arising from the anguish of a guilty Conscience from a lively Apprehension of their sad Loss and from a quick sense of the sharp Pain which they labour under and all this aggravated and set off with the Consideration of past Pleasure and the Despair of future Ease Each of these is Misery enough and all of them together do constitute and make up that dismal and forlorn State which the Scripture calls Hell and Damnation I shall therefore briefly represent for it is by no means desirable to dwell long upon so melancholy and frightful an Argument First The principal Ingredients which constitute this miserable State And Secondly The Aggravations of it First The principal Ingredients which constitute this miserale State and
ROM VI. 21 22. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is death But now being made free from sin and become Servants to God ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the end Everlasting Life I Have several times told you that the Apostle in these words makes a Comparison between an Holy and Virtuous and a Sinful and Vicious Course of Life Vol. 8. and sets before us the manifest Inconveniences of the one and the manifold Advantages of the other I have finish'd my Discourse upon the First Part of the Comparison the manifest Inconveniences of a sinful and vicious Course I proceed now to the other Part of the Comparison which was the Second Thing I propounded to speak to from these words viz. the manifold Benefits and Advantages of an Holy and Virtuous Course and that upon these Two accounts First Of the present Benefit and Advantage of it which the Apostle here calls Fruit Ye have your fruit unto holiness Secondly In respect of the future reward of it and the end everlasting life So that here is a considerable Earnest in hand besides a mighty Recompence afterwards infinitely beyond the proportion of our best Actions and Services both in regard of the greatness and duration of it everlasting life that is for a few transient acts of Obedience a perfect and immutable and endless state of Happiness And these Two the Apostle mentions in Opposition to the Inconveniences and Evil Consequences of a wicked and vicious Course What fruit had you then in those things c. But before I come to speak to these Two particulars I shall take notice of the description which the Apostle here makes of the change from a state of Sin and Vice to a state of Holiness and Virtue But now being made free from sin and become the servants of God intimating that the state of sin is a state of Servitude and Slavery from which Repentance and the change which is thereby made does set us free but now being made free from sin And so our Saviour tells us that whosoever committeth sin is the Servant of sin and this is the vilest and hardest Slavery in the World because it is the Servitude of the Soul the best and noblest part of our selves 't is the subjection of our Reason which ought to rule and bear Sway over the inferior Faculties to our sensual Appetites and brutish Passions which is as uncomely a sight as to see Beggars ride on Horse back and Princes walk on foot and as Inferiour Persons when they are advanced to Power are strangely Insolent and Tyrannical towards those that are subject to them so the Lusts and Passions of men when they once get the Command of them are the most domineering Tyrants in the World and there is no such Slave as a Man that is subject to his Appetite and Lust that is under the Power of irregular Passions and vicious Inclinations which transport and hurry him to the vilest and most unreasonable things For a wicked Man is a Slave to as many Masters as he hath Passions and Vices and they are very imperious and exacting and the more he yields to them the more they grow upon him and exercise the greater Tyranny over him and being subject to so many Masters the poor Slave is continually divided and distracted between their contrary Commands and Impositions one Passion hurries him one way and another as violently drives him another one Lust commands him upon such a Service and another it may be at the same time calls him to another Work His Pride and Ambition bids him spend and lay it out whilst his Covetousness holds his Hand fast closed so that he knows not many times how to dispose of himself or what to do he must displease some of his Masters and what Inclination soever he contradicts he certainly displeaseth himself And that which aggravates the Misery of his Condition is that he voluntarily submits to this Servitude In other Cases men are made Slaves against their wills and are brought under the Force and Power of others whom they are not able to resist but the sinner chuseth this Servitude and willingly puts his neck under this yoke There are few men in the World so sick of their Liberty and so weary of their own Happiness as to chuse this Condition but the Sinner sells himself and voluntarily parts with that Liberty which he might keep and which none could take from him And which makes this Condition yet more intolerable he makes himself a Slave to his own Servants to those who are born to be subject to him to his own Appetites and Passions and this certainly is the worst kind of Slavery so much worse than that of Mines and Gallies as the Soul is more Noble and Excellent than the Body Men are not usually so sensible of the Misery of this kind of Servitude because they are govern'd by Sense more than Reason But according to a true Judgment and Estimation of things a Vicious Course Life is the saddest Slavery of all others And therefore the Gospel represents it as a design every way worthy of the Son of God to come down from Heaven and to debase himself so far as to assume our Nature and to submit to the Death of the Cross on purpose to rescue us from this Slavery and to assert us into the liberty of the Sons of God And this is the great design of the Doctrine of the Gospel to free men from the Bondage of their Lusts and to bring them to the Service of God whose service is perfect freedom And therefore our Saviour tells us John 8.31 32. That if we continue in his word i. e. if we obey his Doctrine and frame our lives according to it it will make us free Ye shall know says he the truth and the truth shall make you free And if we observe it the Scripture delights very much to set forth to us the Benefits and Advantages of the Christian Religion by the Metaphor of Liberty and Redemption from Captivity and Slavery Hence our Saviour is so often call'd the Redeemer and Deliverer and is said to have obtained eternal Redemption for us And the publishing of the Gospel is compared to the Proclaming of the year of Jubile among the Jews when all Persons that would were set at Liberty Isa 61.1 2. The spirit of the Lord is upon me saith the Prophet speaking in the Person of the Messiah because he hath anointed me to Proclaim liberty to the Captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And it is probable that upon this account likewise the Christian Doctrine or Law is by St. James call'd the Royal law of liberty This is the great design of Christianity to set men free from the Slavery of their Lusts and to this end the Apostle tells us Tit. 2.13 that Christ gave
himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works and herein the great Mercy and Compassion of God towards Mankind appeared in that he sent his Son to rescue us from that Servitude which we had so long groaned under that being made free from sin we might become the servants of God and the servants of righteousness And this he hath done not only by the price of his Blood but by the Power and Purity of his Doctrine and the Holy Example of his Life and by all those Considerations which represent to us the Misery of our sinful state and the infinite danger of continuing in it and on the other Hand by setting before us the Advantages of a Religious and Holy Life and what a blessed change we make when we quit the Service of Sin and become the Servants of God It will not only be a mighty present Benefit to us but will make us happy to all Eternity and these are the Two Considerations which at first I propounded to speak to at this time First The present Benefit of an Holy and Virtuous Life which the Apostle here calls Fruit But now being made free from sin and become the servants of God ye have your fruit unto holiness Secondly The future Reward and Recompence of it and the end everlasting life First Let us consider the present Benefit and Advantage of an Holy and Virtuous Life which the Apostle here calls Fruit. If all things be truly consider'd there is no Advantage comes to any Man by a wicked and vicious Course of Life A wicked Life is no present Advantage the reflection upon it afterwards is shameful and troublesom and the end of it miserable But on the contrary the Advantages of an holy and good life are many and great even in this World and upon temporal accounts abstracting from the Consideration of a future Reward in the World to come I shall instance in Five or Six eminent Advantages which it usually brings to men in this World I. It brings great Peace and Contentment of Mind II. It is a very fit and proper Means to promote our outward temporal Interest III. It tends to the lengthning our days and hath frequently the Blessing of long Life attending upon it IV. It gives a Man great Peace and Comfort when he comes to die V. After Death it transmits a good Name and Reputation to Posterity VI. It derives a Blessing upon our Posterity after us And these are certainly the greatest Blessings that a wise Man can aim at and design to himself in this World Every one of these taken severally is very considerable but all of them together compleat a Man's temporal Felicity and raise it to as high a pitch as is to be expected in this World I. A Religious and Virtuous course of Life is the best way to Peace and Contentment of Mind and does commonly bring it And to a wise Man that knows how to value the ease and satisfaction of his own Mind there cannot be a greater temptation to Religion and Virtue than to consider that it is the best and only way to give rest to his Mind And this is present Fruit and ready Payment because it immediately follows or rather accompanies the discharge of our Duty The fruit of righteousness is peace saith the Prophet and the Apostle to the Hebrews speaks of the peaceable fruits of righteousness meaning that inward Peace which a Righteous Man hath in his own Mind A Man needs not to take pains or to use many Arguments to satisfie and content his own Mind after he hath done a good Action and to convince himself that he hath no cause to be troubled for it for Peace and Pleasure do naturally spring from it Nay not only so but there is an unexpressible kind of pleasure and delight that flows from the testimony of a good Conscience Let but a Man take care to satisfie himself in the doing of his Duty and whatever troubles and storms may be raised from without all will be clear and calm within For nothing but guilt can trouble a Man's Mind and fright his Conscience and make him uneasie to himself that indeed will wound his Spirit and sting his very Soul and make him full of fearful and tormenting thoughts This Cain found after he had committed that crying sin of Murdering his Brother Gen. 4.6 The Lord said unto Cain why art thou wrath and why is thy Countenance fall'n His guilt made him full of wrath and discontent fill'd his Mind with vexation and his Countenance with shame and confusion When a Man's conscience is awakened to a sense of his guilt it is angry and froward and harder to be still'd than a peevish Child But the practice of Holiness and Virtue does produce just the contrary effects it fills a Man's Mind with Pleasure and makes his Countenance chearful And this certainly if it be well consider'd is no small and contemptible advantage The peace and tranquillity of our Minds is the great thing which all the Philosophy and Wisdom of the World did always design to bring men to as the very utmost happiness that a Wise Man is capable of in this Life and 't is that which no considerate Man would part with for all that this World can give him The greatest fortune in this World ought to be no temptation to any Man in his Wits to submit to perpetual Sickness and Pain for the gaining of it and yet there is no disease in the World that for the sharpness of it is comparable to the sting of a guilty Mind and no pleasure equal to that of Innocence and a good Conscience And this naturally springs up in the Mind of a good Man where it is not hindred either by a melancholy temper or by false Principles in Religion which fill a Man with groundless fears and jealousies of the love and favour of God towards him and excepting these two cases this is the ordinary fruit of an holy and good course which is not interrupted by frequent falling into sin and great omissions and violations of our duty For in this case the interruptions of our Peace and Comfort will naturally be answerable to the inequality of our Obedience II. Besides the present and inestimable Fruit of Holiness the quiet and satisfaction of our own Minds it is likewise a proper means to promote our Interest and Happiness in this World For as every Vice is naturally attended with some Temporal Inconvenience of Pain or Loss so there is no Grace or Virtue but does apparently conduce to a Man's temporal Felicity There are some Virtues which tend to the health of his Body and the prolonging of his Life as Temperance and Chastity others tend to Riches and Plenty as Diligence and Industry in our callings others to the secure and peaceable Enjoyment of what we have as Truth and Fidelity Justice and Honesty in all our dealings and
bear to their Children so that if we have any Regard to them or Concernment for their Happiness we ought to be very careful of our Duty and afraid to offend God because according as we demean our selves towards him we entail a lasting Blessing or a great Curse upon our Children by so many and and so strong bonds hath God tyed our Duty upon us that if we either desire our own Happiness or the Happiness of those that are dearest to us and part of our selves we must fear God and keep his Commandments And thus I have briefly represented to you some of the chief Benefits and Advantages which an Holy and Virtuous life does commonly bring to men in this World which is the first Encouragement mention'd in the Text ye have your fruit unto holiness Before I proceed to the Second I shall only just take notice by way of Application of what hath been said on this Argument 1. That it is a great Encouragement to well-doing to consider that ordinarily Piety and Goodness are no hindrance to a Man's temporal Felicity but very frequently great promoters of it so that excepting only the case of Persecution for Religion I think I may safely challenge any Man to shew me how the Practice of any Part or Duty of Religion how the exercise of any Grace or Virtue is to the prejudice of a Man's temporal Interest or does debar him of any true Pleasure or hinder him of any real Advantage which a prudent and considerate Man would think fit to chuse And as for Persecution and Sufferings for Religion God can Reward us for them if he please in this World and we have all the assurance that we can desire that he will do it abundantly in the next 2. The hope of long life and especially of a quiet and comfortable death should be a great encouragement to an Holy and Virtuous Life He that lives well takes the best course to live long and lays in for an happy old Age free from the Diseases and Infirmities which are naturally procur'd by a vicious Youth and likewise free from the guilt and galling Remembrance of a wicked Life And there is no condition which we can fall into in this World that does so clearly discover the difference between a good and bad Man as a Death-bed For then the good Man begins most sensibly to enjoy the comforts of Well-doing and the Sinner to taste the bitter fruits of Sin What a wide difference is then to be seen between the hopes and fears of these two sorts of persons And surely next to the actual possession of Blessedness the good hopes and comfortable prospect of it are the greatest Happiness and next to the actual sense of Pain the fear of Suffering is the greatest Torment Tho' there were nothing beyond this life to be expected yet if men were sure to be possess'd with these delightful or troublesome Passions when they come to dye no Man that wisely considers things would for all the Pleasures of sin forfeit the Comfort of a Righteous Soul leaving this World full of the hope of Immortality and endure the vexation and anguish of a guilty Conscience and that infinite terror and amazement which so frequently possesseth the Soul of a dying Sinner 3. If there be any spark of a generous mind in us it should animate us to do well that we may be well spoken of when we are gone off the Stage and may transmit a grateful Memory of our lives to those that shall be after us I proceed now to the Second Thing I proposed as the great Advantage indeed Viz. The glorious Reward of a Holy and Virtuous Life in another World which is here called everlasting Life And the end everlasting Life by which the Apostle intends to express to us both the Happiness of our future State and the Way and Means whereby we are prepared and made meet to be made partakers of it and that is by the constant and sincere Endeavours of an holy and good Life For 't is they only that have their fruit unto holiness whose end shall be everlasting Life I shall speak briefly to these two and so conclude my discourse upon this Text. I. The Happiness of our future state which is here exprest by the name of everlasting Life in very few words but such as are of wonderful weight and significancy For they import the Excellency of this state and the Eternity of it And who is sufficient to speak to either of these Arguments Both of them are too big to enter now into the heart of Man too vast and boundless to be comprehended by humane understanding and too unweildy to be manag'd by the Tongue of Men and Angels answerably to the unspeakable greatness and glory of them And if I were able to declare them unto you as they deserv'd you would not be able to hear me And therefore I shall chuse to say but little upon an Argument of which I can never say enough and shall very briefly consider those two things which are comprehended in that short description which the Text gives us of our future Happiness by the name of everlasting Life viz. The Excellency of this state and the Eternity of it 1. The Excellency of it which is here represented to us under the notion of Life the most desirable of all other things because it is the Foundation of all other Enjoyments whatsoever Barely to be in being and to be sensible that we are so is but a dry Notion of Life The true Notion of Life is to be well and to be happy vivere est benè valere They who are in the most miserable condition that can be imagin'd are in being and sensible also that they are miserable But this kind of Life is so far from coming under the true Notion of Life that the Scripture calls it the second death Revel 21.8 it is there said that The wicked shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death And Chap. 20. ver 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second death shall have no power So that a state of meer misery and torment is not Life but Death nay the Scripture will not allow the Life of a wicked Man in this World to be true Life but speaks of him as dead Ephes 2.1 speaking of the sinners among the Gentiles You saith the Apostle hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins And which is more yet the Scripture calls a Life of sinful Pleasures which men esteem the only Happiness of this world the Scripture I say calls this a Death 1 Tim. 5.6 She that liveth in pleasures is dead whilst she liveth A lewd and unprofitable Life which serves to no good end and purpose is a Death rather than a Life Nay that decaying and dying Life which we now live in this World and which is allayed by the
mixture of so many infirmities and pains of so much trouble and sorrow I say that even this sort of Life for all that we are so fondly in love with it does hardly deserve the name of Life But the Life of the world to come of which we now speak this is Life indeed to do those things which we were made for to serve the true Ends of our Being and to enjoy the Comfort and Reward of so doing this is the true notion of Life and whatever is less than this is Death or a degree of it and approach towards it And therefore very well may Heaven and Happiness be describ'd by the notion of Life because truly to live and to be happy are words that signifie the same thing But what kind of Life this is I can no more describe to you in the particularities of it than Columbus could have described the particular Manners and Customs of the People of America before he or any other person in these parts of the World had seen it or been there But this I can say of it in general and that from the infallible testimony of the great Creator and glorious Inhabitants of that blessed place that it is a state of pure Pleasure and unmingled Joys of Pleasures more manly more spiritual and more refined than any of the Delights of sense consisting in the enlargement of our Minds and Knowledge to a greater degree and in the perfect exercise of Love and Friendship in the Conversation of the best and wisest Company free from self-interest and all those unsociable passions of Envy and Jealousie of Malice and Ill-will which spoil the Comfort of all Conversation in this World and in a word free from all other Passion or Design but an ardent and almost equal desire to contribute all that by all means possible they can to the mutual Happiness of one another For Charity reigns in Heaven and is the brightest Grace and Virtue in the Firmament of Glory far out-shining all other as St. Paul who had himself been taken up into the third Heaven does expresly declare to us Farther yet this blessed state consists more particularly in these two things In having our Bodies raised and refined to a far greater Purity and Perfection than ever they had in this World and in the consequent Happiness of the whole Man's Soul and Body so strictly and firmly united as never to be parted again and so equally match'd as to be no trouble or impediment to one another 1. In having our Bodies raised and refined to a far greater Purity and Perfection than ever they had in this World Our Bodies as they are now are unequally temper'd and in a perpetual flux and change continually tending to Corruption because made up of such contrary Principles and Qualities as by their perpetual conflict are always at work conspiring the Ruin and Dissolution of them but when they are raised again they shall be so temper'd and so refin'd as to be free from all those destructive Qualities which do now threaten their change and dissolution and tho' they shall still consist of Matter yet it shall be purified to that degree as to partake of the Immortality of our Souls to which it shall be united and to be of equal duration with them So the Scripture tells us 1 Cor. 15.52 53. That our dead Bodies shall be raised incorruptible for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality Our Bodies when they are laid down in the Grave are vile Carcases but they shall be raised again Beautiful and Glorious and as different from what they were before as the Heavenly Mansions in which they are to reside for ever are from that dark Cell of the Grave out of which they are raised and shall then be endowed with such a Life and Strength and Vigour as to be able without any change or decay to abide and continue for ever in the same state Our Bodies in this World are gross Flesh and Blood liable to be affected with natural and sensual Pleasures and to be afflicted with natural Pains and Diseases to be prest with the natural necessities of Hunger and Thirst and obnoxious to all those Changes and Accidents to which all natural things are subject But they shall be raised spiritual bodies pure and refin'd from all the dregs of Matter they shall not hunger nor thirst nor be diseased or in Pain any more These Houses of Clay whose Foundation is in the dust are continually decaying and therefore stand in need of continual Reparation by Food and Physick but our House which is from Heaven as the Apostle calls it shall be of such lasting and durable Materials as not only Time but even Eternity it self shall make no impression upon it or cause the least decay in it They says our Blessed Saviour who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that World and the Resurrection from the dead cannot die any more but shall be like the Angels and are the children of God i. e. shall in some degree partake of the Felicity and Immortality of God himself who is always the same and whose years fail not Nay the Apostle expresly tells us that our Bodies after the Resurrection shall be spiritual Bodies so that we shall then be as it were all Spirit and our Bodies shall be so raised and refined that they shall be no clog or impediment to the Operation of our Souls And it must needs be a great comfort to us whilst we are in this World to live in the hopes of so happy and glorious a change when we consider how our Bodies do now oppress our Spirits and what a melancholy and dead weight they are upon them how grievous an Incumbrance and Trouble and Temptation they are for the most part to us in this mortal state 2. The blessedness of this state consists likewise in the consequent Happiness of the whole Man Soul and Body so strictly and firmly united as never to be parted again and so equally matched as to be no trouble and impediment to one another In this World the Soul and Body are for the most part very unequally yoked so that the Soul is not only darkned by the gross Fumes and Clouds which rise from the Body but loaded and opprest by the dull weight of it which it very heavily lugs on and draws after it and the Soul likewise and the vicious Inclinations and irregular Passions of it have many times an ill influence upon the Body and the humours of it But in the next World they shall both be purified the one from Sin and the other from Frailty and Corruption and both admitted to the blessed sight and enjoyment of the ever blessed God But the Consideration of this as I said before is too big for our narrow apprehensions in this mortal state and an Argument not fit to be treated of by such Children as the wisest of men are in this World and whenever we attempt
apt to yield to them There are many who have had faint wishes and cold desires and half purposes of leading a new and better Life but having not taken up a firm Resolution in the Case having not determined themselves by a severe purpose a little thing sways them and brings them back to their former Course 't is no hard matter to divert them and engage them another way they are shaken with every wind of Temptation every little blast of Opposition and Persecution turns them back and carries them to the ways of Sin whereas Resolution fixeth a Man's Spirit and makes it most stedfast and unmovable and sets him upon a Rock which when the winds blow and the rain falls and the floods come abides firm against all impressions If I would give the most probable and useful advice to engage and continue a Man in a good Course I would commend to him a deliberate and firm Resolution David proved this way with very happy success Psal 119.106 I have sworn says he and will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments This was a security to him against all assaults and nothing could turn him from his Course afterwards not the dangers he was exposed to v. 109. My soul is continually in my hand yet do I not forget thy Law not the snares of wicked men that were laid for him v. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me yet I erred not from thy precepts By virtue of this Resolution he could rise up in defiance of all those that would have tempted him to any sinful action v. 115. Depart from me ye evil doers for I will keep the Commandments of my God When a Man is thus resolved upon a holy Course he is not easily diverted from it and is able to resist the importunity and flattery of Temptations and to say to them as men are wont to do when they are fully and firmly resolved upon any thing Let me alone I am not to be moved it is in vain to urge me I am resolved to the contrary Thus stiff and resolute men can be in other Cases where there is not near that Cause and Reason for it and if we would but take up a generous Resolution to break off our Sins and to live better Lives this would be the way to conquer that listlesness and unwillingness which hinders us from engaging in a good Course and is the cause of so many lame excuses and unreasonable delays It is the want of Resolution and the weakness of our Resolutions which is the true Reason why we are not more equal and constant and uniform in the ways of Religion but are religious only by fits and starts in a heat and during some present Trouble and Conviction of Mind The double minded Man is unstable says St. James in all his ways When a Man is of several Minds he is easily moved one way or other 6. And lastly Consider the infinite danger of remaining unresolved The evil day may overtake you while you are deliberating whether you should avoid it or not A state of Sin is liable to so many hazards hath so many dangers continually threatning it and hanging over it that it is the most imprudent thing in the World to linger in it It is like Lot's staying in Sodom when the Lord was going to destroy it when Fire and Brimstone were just ready to be rained down from Heaven upon it Whilst men are lingring in a sinful state if the Lord be not merciful to them they will be consumed Therefore it concerns thee Sinner to determine thy self speedily and to make haste out of this dangerous Condition to escape for thy Life lest some evil overtake thee and lest Death finding thee unresolved determine thy case for thee and put it out of all doubt and past all remedy How many have been cut off in their Irresolution And because they would not determine what to do God hath concluded their case for them and sworn in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest It may be thou promisest thy self the space of many years to resolve in Thou fool this night thy soul may be required of thee and whilst thou art unresolved what to do God is resolving what to do with thee and putting a Period to his Patience and long expectation of thy Repentance and thou knowest not how soon God may do this and make an immutable Determination concerning thee And wo unto thee when God hath resolved thus Suppose thou shouldst be snatched out of the World and hurried before the dreadful Tribunal of God in this doubtful and unresolved state And this is possible enough because thou hast no certain tenure of thy Life thou art at no time secured from the stroke of Death Nay it is probable enough because thou art every moment liable to ten thousand accidents any one of which may snap in sunder the thread of thy Life And suppose this should happen to thee what dost thou imagine would become of thee Wouldst not thou then wish a thousand times that thou hadst resolved in time How glad wouldst thou then be that it were possible for thee to retrieve and call back but one of those days without number which thou hast so vainly trifled away that thou mightest resolve upon the things of thy peace but thou wouldst not do it in that thy day which God afforded thee to this purpose thou hast let the opportunity slip out of thy hands and it will never be in thy Power again but the things of thy peace will be for ever hid from thine eyes Why wilt thou then be so foolish as to run thy self upon the evident hazard of losing Heaven and being miserable for ever Why wilt thou make work for a sadder and longer Repentance than that which thou dost now so carefully decline This was the case of the foolish Virgins in the Parable Matth. 25. who made account to be ready to meet the Bridegroom at his coming but took no care in time to get Oyl into their Lamps They thought the Bridegroom would tarry yet a while longer and therefore they slumbered and slept in great security but at mid-night when the cry was made Behold the Bridegroom cometh then they arose and in a great hurry and confusion went about trimming their Lamps they were resolved then they would have begged or bought Oyl and would have been at any pains and cost for it but then it was too late for the door was suddenly shut against them and no importunity could prevail to have it opened to them Canst thou be contented to have the Door shut against thee and when thou shalt cry Lord open unto me to have him return this answer Depart from me I know thee not If thou canst not resolve to prevent this in time Didst thou but see and know and feel what the miserable do in Hell thou couldst not linger thus thou couldst not continue so long unresolved Why the time
him as far as he can And indeed this is the Reason why things of great moment are said to be things of Consequence because great things depend and are likely to follow upon them and then surely that is the greatest concernment upon which not only the Happiness of this present Life but our Happiness to all eternity does depend and if the good and bad Actions of this Life be of that consequence to us it is fit every Man should consider what he does and whither the Course of Life he is engaged or about to engage in will lead him at last For this is true wisdom to look to the end of things and to think seriously before hand what is likely to be the event of such an Action of such a Course of Life if we serve God faithfully and do his Will what will be the consequence of that to us in this World and the other and on the other hand if we live wickedly and allow our selves in any unlawful and vicious Practice what will be the end of that Course And to any Man that consults the Law of his own Nature or the will of God revealed in Scripture nothing can be plainer than what will be the end of these several ways God hath plainly told us and our own Consciences will tell us the same that If we do well we shall be accepted of God and rewarded by him but if we do ill the end of these things is Death that indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish will be upon every soul of Man that doth evil but honour and glory and peace to every Man that doth good in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to the Gospel So that God hath given us a plain prospect of the different Issues of a virtuous and a wicked Life and there wants nothing but Consideration to make us to attend to these things and to lay them seriously to heart For while men are inconsiderate they go on stupidly in an evil way and are not sensible of the danger of their present Course because they do not attend to the consequence of it but when their Eyes are once opened by Consideration they cannot but be sadly apprehensive of the mischief they are running themselves upon If men would take but a serious and impartial view of their Lives and Actions if they would consider the tendency of a sinful Course and whither it will bring them at last if the vicious and dissolute Man would but look about him and consider how many have been ruined in that very way that he is in how many lie slain and wounded in it that it is the way to Hell and leads down to the Chambers of Death the serious thought of this could not but check him in his Course and make him resolve upon a better Life If men were wise they would consider the consequence of their Actions and upon Consideration would resolve upon that which they are convinc'd is best I proceed to the III. Thing I propounded which was that Consideration of the consequence of our Actions is an excellent means to prevent the mischiefs which otherwise we should run into And this is necessarily implyed in the wish here in the Text that if we would but consider these things they might be prevented For how can any Man who hath any love or regard for himself any tenderness for his own Interest and Happiness see Hell and Destruction before him which if he hold on in his evil Course will certainly swallow him up and yet venture to go on in his Sins Can any Man that plainly beholds Misery hastning towards him like an armed Man and Destruction coming upon him as a whirl-wind think himself unconcerned to prevent it and flie from it The most dull and stupid Creatures will start back upon the sight of present danger Balaam's Ass when she saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with his Sword drawn ready to smite her starts aside and could not be urged on Now God hath given us not only Sense to apprehend a present evil but Reason and Consideration to look before us and to discover dangers at a distance to apprehend them as certainly and with as clear a Conviction of the reality of them as if they threatned us the next moment and will any considerate Man who hath calculated the dangerous events of Sin and the dreadful effects of God's wrath upon sinners go on to provoke the Lord to jealousie as if he were stronger than he It is not to be imagined but that if men would seriously consider what Sin is and what shall be the sad Portion of sinners hereafter they would resolve upon a better Course Would any Man live in the Lusts of the flesh and of intemperance or out of Covetousness defraud or oppress his Neighbour did he seriously consider that God is the avenger of such and that because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the Children of disobedience I should have great hopes of mens Repentance and Reformation if they could but once be brought to Consideration for in most men it is not so much a positive disbelief of the Truth as inadvertency and want of Consideration that makes them to go on so securely in a sinful Course Would but men consider what Sin is and what will be the fearful consequence of it probably in this World but most certainly in the other they could not chuse but flie from it as the greatest evil in the World And to shew what Power and Influence Consideration will probably have to bring men to Repentance and a change of their Lives I remember to have some where met with a very remarkable story of one that had a Son that took bad Courses and would not be reclaimed by all the good Counsel his Father could give him at last coming to his Father who lay upon his Death-Bed to beg his Blessing his Father instead of upbraiding him with his bad Life and undutiful Carriage toward him spake kindly to him and told him he had but one thing to desire of him That every day he would retire and spend one quarter of an hour alone by himself which he promised his Father faithfully to do and made it good after a while it grew tedious to him to spend even so little time in such bad and uneasie Company and he began to bethink himself for what Reason his Father should so earnestly desire of him to do so odd a thing for his sake and his mind presently suggested to him that it was to enforce him to Consideration wisely judging that if by any means he could but bring him to that he would soon reform his Life and become a new Man And the thing had its desired effect for after a very little Consideration he took up a firm Resolution to change the Course of his Life and was true to it all his days I cannot answer for the truth of
the Story but for the Moral of it I will namely that Consideration is one of the best and most likely means in the World to bring a bad Man to a better Mind I now come to the IV. And last particular namely that the want of this Consideration is one of the greatest Causes of mens Ruin And this likewise is implyed in the Text and the Reason why God does so vehemently desire that men would be wise and consider is because so many are ruin'd and undone for want of it This is the desperate folly of Mankind that they seldom think seriously of the Consequence of their Actions and least of all of such as are of greatest Concernment to them and have the chief influence upon their eternal Condition They do not consider what Mischief and Inconvenience a wicked Life may plunge them into in this World what Trouble and Disturbance it may give them when they come to die what Horror and Confusion it may fill them withal when they are leaving this World and passing into Eternity and what intolerable Misery and Torment it may bring upon them to all Eternity Did men ponder and lay to heart Death and Judgment Heaven and Hell and would they but let their thoughts dwell upon these things it is not credible that the generality of men could lead such profane and impious such lewd and dissolute such secure and careless Lives as they do Would but a Man frequently entertain his Mind with such thoughts as these I must shortly die and leave this World and then all the Pleasures and Enjoyments of it will be to me as if they had never been only that the remembrance of them and the ill use I have made of them will be very bitter and grievous to me after all Death will transmit me out of this World into a quite different State and Scene of things into the presence of that great and terrible that inflexible and impartial Judge who will render to every Man according to his works and then all the evils which I have done in this Life will rise up in Judgment against me and fill me with everlasting Confusion in that great assembly of Men and Angels will banish me from the presence of God and all the Happiness which flows from it and procure a dreadful sentence of unspeakable Misery and Torment to be past upon me which I can never get reverst nor yet ever be able to stand under the weight of it if men would but enter into the serious Consideration of these things and pursue these thoughts to some Issue and Conclusion they would take up other Resolutions and I verily believe that the want of this hath ruin'd more than even infidelity it self And this I take to be the meaning of that question in the Psalmist Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge that is no Consideration intimating that if they had they would do better All that now remains is to perswade men to apply their hearts to this piece of wisdom to look before them and to think seriously of the Consequence of their Actions what will be the final Issue of that Course of Life they are engaged in and if they continue in it what will become of them hereafter what will become of them for ever And here I might apply this Text as God here does to the People of Israel to the publick Condition of this Nation which is not so very unlike to that of the People of Israel for God seems to have chosen this Nation for his more peculiar People and hath exercised a very particular Providence towards us in conducting us through that Wilderness of Confusion in which we have been wandring for the space of above forty years and when things were come to the last extremity and we seemed to stand upon the very brink of Ruin Then as it is said of the People of Israel ver 36. of this Chapter God repented himself for his servants when he saw that their Power was gone that is that they were utterly unable to help themselves and to work their own deliverance And it may be said of us as Moses does of that People Chap. 33.29 Happy art thou O Israel O people saved by the Lord the shield of thy help and who is the Sword of thy excellency Never did any Nation struggle with and get through so many and so great difficulties as we have several times done And I fear we have behaved our selves toward God not much better than the People of Israel did but like Jesurun after many deliverances and great mercies have waxed fat and kicked have forsaken the God that made us and little esteemed the Rock of our Salvation by which we have provoked the Lord to jealousie and have as it were forc'd him to multiply his Judgments and to spend his arrows upon us and to hide his face from us to see what our end will be so that we have Reason to fear that God would have brought utter Ruin and Destruction upon us and scatter'd us into corners and made the remembrance of us to have ceased from among men had he not feared the wrath of the enemy and lest the adversaries should have behaved themselves strangely and lest they should say Our hand is high and the Lord hath not done all this that is lest they should ascribe this just vengeance of God upon a sinful and unthankful Nation to the goodness and righteousness of their own Cause and to the favour and assistance of the Idols and false Gods whom they worship'd to the Patronage and Aid of the Virgin Mary and the Saints to whom contrary to the Will and Command of the true God they had offer'd up so many Prayers and Vows and paid the greatest part of their Religious worship but the Lord hath shewn himself greater than all Gods and in the things wherein they dealt proudly that he is above them for our Rock is not as their Rock even our enemies themselves being Judges And we have been too like the People of Israel in other respects also so sickle and inconstant that after great deliverances we are apt presently to murmur and be discontented to grow sick of our own Happiness and to turn back in our hearts into Egypt so that God may complain of us as he does of his People Israel that nothing that he could do would bring them to Consideration and make them better neither his mercies nor his Judgments Isa 1.2 3. Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth For the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children but they have rebelled against me The Ox knoweth his owner and the Ass his Masters Crib but Israel doth not know my People doth not consider And so likewise he complains that his Judgments had no effect upon them ver 5. Why should ye be smitten any more Ye will revolt more and more Well therefore may it be said of us as it was of them in the Verse before
the Text They are a Nation void of knowledge neither is there any understanding in them And the wish that follows in the Text is as seasonable for us as it was for them O that they were wise that they uaderstood this that they would consider their latter end And by parity of Reason this may likewise be applyed to particular Persons and to perswade every one of us to a serious Consideration of the final Issue and Consequence of our Actions I will only offer these two Arguments I. That Consideration is the proper Act of reasonable Creatures and that whereby we shew our selves men So the Prophet intimates Isa 46.8 Remember this and shew your selves men bring it again to mind O ye transgressors that is consider it well think of it again and again ye that run on so furiously in a sinful Course what the end and issue of these things will be If ye do not do this you do not shew your selves men you do not act like reasonable Creatures to whom it is peculiar to propose to themselves some end and design of their Actions but rather like Brute Creatures which have no understanding and act only by a natural instinct without any Consideration of the end of their Actions or of the means conducing to it II. Whether we consider it or not our latter end will come and all those dismal Consequences of a sinful Course which God hath so plainly threatned and our own Consciences do so much dread will certainly overtake us at last and we cannot by not thinking of these things ever prevent or avoid them Death will come and after that the Judgment and an irreversible Doom will pass upon us according to all the evil that we have done and all the good that we have neglected to do in this Life under the heavy weight and pressure whereof we must lie groaning and bewailing our selves to everlasting Ages God now exerciseth his Mercy and Patience and Long-suffering toward us in expectation of our amendment he reprieves us on purpose that we may repent and in hopes that we will at last consider and grow wiser for he is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance but if we will trifle away this day of God's Grace and Patience if we will not consider and bethink our selves there is another day that will certainly come That great and terrible Day of the Lord in which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up Seeing then all these things shall be let us consider seriously what manner of Persons we ought to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness waiting for and hastning unto the coming of the Day of God To whom be glory now and for ever SERMON XV. Ser. 15. The Danger of Impenitence where the Gospel is preach'd MATTH XI 21 22. Woe unto thee Chorazin woe unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes But I say unto you It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Judgment than for you AFter our Blessed Saviour had instructed and sent forth his Disciples he himself went abroad to preach unto the Cities of Israel particularly he spent much time in the Cities of Galilee Chorazin and Bethsaida Vol. 8. and Capernaum Preaching the Gospel to them and working many and great Miracles among them but with little or no success which was the cause of his denouncing this terrible woe against them ver 20. Then began he to upbraid the Cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not Woe unto thee Chorazin c. In which words our Saviour declares the sad and miserable Condition of those two Cities Chorazin and Bethsaida which had neglected such an opportunity and resisted and withstood such means of Repentance as would have effectually reclaimed the most wicked Cities and People that can be instanced in in any Age Tyre and Sidon and Sodom and therefore he tells them that their Condition was much worse and that they should fall under a heavier Sentence at the day of Judgment than the People of those Cities whom they had always lookt upon as the greatest sinners that ever were in the World This is the plain meaning of the words in general but yet there are some difficulties in them which I shall endeavour to clear and then proceed to raise such Observations from them as may be instructive and useful to us The Difficulties are these I. What Repentance is here spoken of whether an external Repentance in shew and appearance only or an inward and real and sincere Repentance II. In what Sense it is said that Tyre and Sidon would have repented III. What is meant by their would have repented long ago IV. How this assertion of our Saviour's that Miracles would have converted Tyre and Sidon is reconcileable with that other saying of his Luke 16.31 in the Parable of the rich Man and Lazarus that those who believed not Moses and the Prophets neither would they be persuaded tho' one rose from the dead I. What Repentance is here spoken of whether a meer external and Hypocritical Repentance in shew and appearance only or an inward and real and sincere Repentance The Reason of this doubt depends upon the different Theories of Divines about the sufficiency of Grace accompanying the outward Means of Repentance and whether an irresistible degree of God's Grace be necessary to Repentance for they who deny sufficient Grace to accompany the outward Means of Repentance and assert an irresistible degree of God's Grace necessary to Repentance are forced to say that our Saviour here speaks of a meer External Repentance because if he spake of an inward and sincere Repentance then it must be granted that sufficient inward grace did accompany the Miracles that were wrought in Chorazin and Bethsaida to bring men to Repentance because what was afforded to them would have brought Tyre and Sidon to Repentance And that which would have effected a thing cannot be denyed to be sufficient so that unless our Saviour here speaks of a meer External Repentance either the outward Means of Repentance as Preaching and Miracles must be granted to be sufficient to bring men to Repentance without the inward Operation of God's Grace upon the Minds of Men or else a sufficient degree of God's Grace must be acknowledged to accompany the outward Means of Repentance Again if an irresistible degree of Grace be necessary to true Repentance it is plain Chorazin and Bethsaida had it not because they did not repent and yet without this Tyre and Sidon could not have sincerely repented therefore our Saviour here must speak of a meer External Repentance Thus some argue as they do likewise concerning the Repentance of