Disciples hath but a small number of those that believe in him aright or according to the Reuelation which God hath given us of his Son as long therefore as they have an evil Heart of Vnbelief it will make them to depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 Secondly This Impenitency and Hardness which is occasioned by Unbelief is very provoking to God and admits of very great Aggravations under the Gospel because thereby Men shut their Eyes against the clearest and most manifest Light and harden their Hearts against the most importunate Calls and Invitation to Repentance The former times of Ignorance God winked at saith the Apostle Acts 17.30 that is God was willing to pass by and overlook in agreat Measure the Ignorance and Impenitence of the Heathen World in respect of what he doth now under the Gospel by which he commands all men every where to repent so that Repentance is become a more express Command and strictly enjoyn'd Duty now than formerly and therefore Impenitency is a Sin much more inexcusable and provoking in Christians than it was in Heathens considering what Means and Motives the Gospel affords to Repentance What helps and assistances it doth offer towards their Conversion and Amendment which the World was never made acquainted with before God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son c. Heb. 1.1 2. Him hath he sent as a Physician to call and invite you to Repentance and through him forgiveness is preach'd and promis'd to all that in good â—arnest repent of their Sins and endeavour to amend and live better for time to come Acts 5.31 Him hath God exhalted with his right Hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give Repentance to Israel and Forgiveness of Sins Nay the drawing us to Repentance in order to our Forgiveness is the main Purpose and Design of the Gospel and of all its Precepts and Commands Threats and Promises Now for any Man who believes the Gospel and understands the end and Design thereof to stop his Ears against so many gracious Calls and Invitations to harden his Heart against so much Love and Goodness to remain stupid and insensible under so many powerful Motives and Inducements as the Gospel affords him in order to his Repentance must needs be a high Aggravation of his Guilt and mighty Provocation to God It provok'd him so far against the Israelites that he swore in his Wrath they should never enter into his Rest Heb. 3.11 Impenitency therefore hath been always look'd upon as a very great and dangerous Sin insomuch as some have thought it to be the Sin against the Holy Ghost of which our Saviour saith it shall never be forgiven either in this World or in the World to come Matth. 12.32 But however 't is acknowledged by all to be equally fatal and dangerous to the Souls of Men for no Sin shall be pardoned unless it be throughly repented of and the longer any Man continues in a sinful State the less hopes he gives of his Repentance every day than other and consequently the further off from the hopes of Pardon To be sometimes overtaken with a Fault or surpriz'd against our Wills by a Temptation is the Frailty and Infirmity of humane Nature and may draw forth pity in God as well as Man but wilfully to run or fall into a Sin and when we are once fallen to lie and wallow in it as Swine do in the Mire when we have done amiss not to be sorry for it but to laugh at good Counsel and Advice or fly in the Face of those that shall admonish and reprove us for our Faults this is that which aggravates a Crime and adds mightily to the Guilt of it whereby Sin becomes as the Apostle doth express it exceeding or out of Measure Sinful This is that which provokes the Almighty and stirs up his Anger and Displeasure against his Creatures this makes him to whet his Sword and bend his Bow and prepare in readiness the Instruments of Death Had Judas repented throughly and in good earnest we have reason to think his Condition had been less desperate for the same most precious Bloud of the Crucified Jesus was able to atone for his Guilt that betray'd him as well as for theirs that murder'd and put him to Death but we read of the Repentance of the one and not of the other or if he repented it was without hopes of Pardon and purpose of Amendment which therefore ended in Death Christ dyed for all but only the Impenitent for no Sin in it self is too great for Pardon if repented off and forsaken in time but 't is impenitency which puts Venom into every Sin and makes the Sting so deadly and Mortal and binds us over to everlasting Punishment for except ye repent ye shall all Perish saith our Saviour Luke 13.3 and again Repent and be converted that your Sins may be blotted out saith St. Peter Acts 3.19 Implying that they that do not Repent shall certainly Perish and no hopes to have our Sins Pardon'd and blotted out unless we actually turn from them and forsake them in time In a word Repentance is all along in the Gospel made the chief condition of Forgiveness without which no Sin can be Remitted no hopes of Salvation given to the Sinner whether living or dying Thirdly Let me in the next place disswade you from this great Sin of Impenitency and Hardness of Heart and thereby reinforce the exhortation of the Holy Ghost in the Text by shewing you the great and absolute necessity of a Timely Repentance or of redeeming the present time to that purpose and my request is that every one that reads this would apply it home to his own Soul and Conscience and make a particular Application thereof for his own Use and Benefit in as serious a manner as if God himself should address to him by Name as he did to Job out of the Whirlwind Job 38.1 or as Christ did to Saul upon his Journey to Damascus Acts 9.4 For the exhortation is the Holy Ghost's and therefore to be lookt upon as the Advice of God rather than Man First Now my Advice in Conjunction with that of the Holy Ghost's in the Text is this That you would no longer stop your Ears nor harden your Hearts against the Calls of God or Voice of his Ministers when they exhort you to repent and turn from the evil of your ways and to amend the wickedness of your Lives but that you would find some time to bethink your Selves of your Spiritual Estate in order to that which is Eternal and to secure the interest of your immortal Souls by making a timely provision for them which can be done no other way than by setting about the great and necessary work of Repentance and good Living which through Faith in the Merits of your Blessed Redeemer is the
astonishing will the approach of it be then and fill you with dreadful Agonies and Convulsions of Soul beyond what I am able to express or 't is possible for you to conceive at present Sometimes the Despondencies and Misgivings of heart which have siez'd Good men at their Death have been very great and apt to fill them with Fears and Apprehensions O how Frightful and Intolerable then must those Horrours and Confusions be which the Consciences of wicked men usually feel at the approach of Death Conscience I say when throughly rowz'd and awaken'd in the sense of their former Guilt and approaching Punishment the Anguish thereof in some Men and Women hath been so great that they have thought themselves in Hell already and that their condition could not well be worse in the very Place of Torments Therefore Sirs think often think seriously of these things before hand call to mind your latter End and prepare for it in good earnest before it comes and that may be one way to prevent the bitterness of Death and take away the Sting of it For without a timely Repentance and Preparation for it 't is not a saying God be merciful to me a Sinner Luk. 13.25 or Lord Lord open unto us Matth. 7.21 that will gain us admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven 'T is not a little outward Grief or forc'd Sorrow that can supply the want of Repentance or be accepted by God in the stead thereof No no To Repent is to be so heartily Troubled and Sorry for your Sins as to grow out of Love with them and to Resolve immediately to Leave and Forsake them to Repent is to Amend and Reform whatever you see amiss in your selves 't is to become Wiser and Better for the future and to lead your Lives according to the Directions of the Gospel and Precepts of your most Holy Religion And he that doth not endeavour to do this in good earnest knows not what true Repentance means he is a stranger to the Grace of God and is not yet arrived to the condition of Life or terms of Salvation and consequently not in a capacity of being sav'd Now we cannot but think and therefore ought to let you know as much that it will be too late to do this when you are Sick and Dying you will want time and opportunity for it when life is drawing to an end and Death with all his Terrours and Affrightments is hastning toward you O then what would you give for a little of that Health and Strength which you have formerly mispent in Sin and Folly in gratifying the lusts of the Flesh in complying with the Pride and Vanity of the World and running your selves into the Snares and Temptations of the Devil what would you not do to gain a little more of that time and leasure to go through with your Repentance and Preparations for Eternity which you have wretchedly abus'd and thrown away upon your Excesses and Debaucheries upon your Lusts and Pleasures in a Vain Sinful and Unprofitable manner what Fruit will you then have of those things whereof you will be asham'd For the end of those things is Death Rom. 6.21 6. Then you will see that the least hour of your mispent time will be worth more than a whole Age of Folly and Vanity you will wish then whatever you may think of it now that the greater Portions of your life had been spent in the Closet at your Private Prayers or at Church in the Publick Worship and Service of God or in seeking and finding out opportunities of doing Good rather than in Dressing and going Fine in Gaming and Playing in Idle and Impertinent Visists in Censorious and unprofitable Conversation which engrosses so much of the time of our People of Quality both Men and Women many of whom are mightily guilty this way and are observ'd to spend their time the vainest of all others Nay some among them that are pleased to take up a shew and Profession of Religion give us too much reason to fear 't is rather for Custom and Fashion sake than out of Conscience because so very few are known to become any whit the better or more serious upon that account And for my part I do not see how 't is possible to reconcile the strictness of Religion and a Holy Life to which the greatest stand obliged as well as the meanest with those undue Liberties which our People of Quality do commonly take in many things and particularly in the instances before mention'd O my God! What account will they be able to give another day when all those Helps and Advantages both of Time and Leasure Riches and Honour Interest and Authority wherewith they might do a great deal of good to themselves and others and become Exemplary to their Inferiours shall yet be abus'd and misimploy'd in the worst manner that can be and to become matter of publick Scandal and Offence Is this to answer the end of their coming into the World or the way to prepare themselves for a happy Exit or departure out of it Is this to live like Christians or to spend their time like those that must be accountable to God for it But Death when it comes will open their Eyes though they shut them now and convince them of their errour and mistake though we cannot But then it may be too late and out of their power to retreive or amend it Remember you can never be too fit to die nor too careful and sollicitous in preparing your selves for it because it is a thing that can be done but once and Eternity depends upon the Well-doing of it He then that shall deferr his Preparations for Eternity till he comes to be sick unto Death and ready to go out of the World hoping that may be time enough for it will find himself very unfit for so great a Work and mightily deceiv'd and disappointed of his Hope For Experience tells us whatever is done in hast is commonly done by halves and hurry'd up in a slight and imperfect manner many things are wont to be forgotten and over lookt at such a time and therefore the Errours and Mistakes the Omissions and Oversights of a Repentance hudled up in hast when we come to die must needs be many and great the least whereof may prove Fatal and undo us for ever 'T is Wisdom therefore to set about it now while time and opportunity are before you while God offers you his Grace and stretches forth the Arms of his Mercy to welcome and embrace you as the Father did the Prodigal Son upon his Repentance and Return Do it to day while it is call'd to day for you know not what a day may bring forth Prov. 27.1 or what danger you may run to all Eternity by the least delay A day an hour nay a few Moments may pass you out of this life into the Regions of the shadow of Death and land you upon the Confines of the other World
grow rather worse than better We meet with too many instances daily for to confirm us in the belief of this Truth and I am sorry to think that there should be any among you of this Parish to make up the Number some of whom I have visited in their Sickness been witness to their Vows and Promises solemnly made to God of new and better Obedience who yet have started aside like a broken Bow and behaved themselves falsly in God's Covenant Psalm 78.37 57. Such I do earnestly desire and in the name of God seriously charge to remember from whence they are fallen to call to mind the many Vows and Promises made to God in the time of their Trouble and Distress and to make Conscience of the Performance thereof as considering that the bitterness of Death is not yet past and they know not how soon God may reduce them to the like or worse Circumstances lay his Hand more heavy upon them and fill their Souls with far greater Horrour and Amazement in the remembrance of their Vile Hypocrisie and abominable Dissimulation And how then can they hope God should hear their Cries and accept their Vows who have been already so false and treacherous to their Word and Promise the last Estate of such Men and Women 't is to be fear'd will be worse than their First Luke 11.26 Thirdly Consider further you that are apt to put off the thoughts of Death and of Repentance with it if you cannot endure the serious thoughts of dying now how will you be able to bear up under the near Approaches and feeling Apprehensions thereof when Death shall overtake and sieze you in good earnest and there shall be no hopes to escape or avoid it what Oh! what will you then do The Apprehensions of Death to a sick Man are very Awful and Terrible but much more so to one that finds himself unprovided for it to one that is unfit to give up his accounts to God or appear with Comfort before his Great and Dreadful Tribunal If the great and necessary duties of Repentance and Amendment Mortification and Self denial be judg'd so hard and troublesome to you now do you think the Trouble and Difficulties thereof will wear off and grow less by your delays or shall you be better able to master or overcome them when you shall want both Time and Strength to go through with them He that thinks seriously of Death and a future Judgment to ensue thereupon methinks cannot be so much forsaken of his own Sense and Reason as not to judge it necessary to make the best and most timely preparation for them that he can and to use all the helps and assistances of Religion for that end and purpose For God's Sake Sirs consider of these things in time and bethink your Selves in good earnest before the Evil days come and the Years draw nigh wherein you shall say I have no pleasure in them Eccles 12.1 and let the Advice of the Holy Ghost in the Text prevail with you though mine cannot To day if you will hear his Voice harden not your Hearts Remember your immortal Souls are in danger every hour every Moment that you live in any known wilful Sin and refuse to repent of it Life is short frail and uncertain Eternity is at Hand and hastens upon you apace Heaven and Hell are at the end of your Lives and stand ready to receive you according as you have fitted and prepared your Selves either for the one or for the other those Spirits which you carry in your Bosoms must live for ever for ever I say in perpetual Bliss or endless Woe and we have all but a little time before us to secure our Eternal State in therefore be sure to find time to endeavour and set about it whatever you neglect do not neglect the things that belong to your Everlasting Peace let not the Cares the Business and the Troubles of the World much less the vain and foolish Pleasures and Pastimes thereof misimploy your time and take you off from this one thing needful and most necessary You that are Poor and Mean in the World ought to do this you ought to find some time to make Provision for your Souls as well as for your Bodies and to labour as diligently for the Bread of Life as for the Meat that Perishes for according to the Apostle Meat is for the Belly and the Belly for Meat but God will destroy both it and them whereas the Bread of Life which comes down from Heaven is able to nourish your Souls unto Eternal Life so as never to hunger or thirst more Alas What signifies it for you to drudge and toyl and take pains to maintain your Bodies and in the end to lose your Souls for want of setting apart some time and bestowing some care upon them But especially you that are above the wants and necessities of the World and have so much time and leasure lying on your Hands that you complain thereof and know not well how to get rid of it or pass it away except it be by Drinking or Gaming by going to Plays and running into bad Company to divert your selves such as you be sure will be Inexcusable before God if instead of laying hold of the present Opportunity to make ready your Accounts against the Judgment of the great Day you shall swell and increase them by a Life of Sloth and Vanity Luxury and Profaneness To such as you therefore I address my self not as the Rich and Great ones of the World for as such commonly you are apt to Despise our Counsel and think your selves above Reproof but as Frail Dying Mortal Men who must shortly Die as well as others have your Dust mingled with that of the meanest and all your Pride and Greatness Niceness and Delicacy converted into Stench and Rottenness and the Dishonours of the Grave and moreover as having many more Talents to be accountable for than your Poor and Indigent Neighbours Is not the Day of your Death as certain as that of your Birth or present Life and tho' you are loth to think of Dying and willing to put off the Evil Day far from you as a melancholy prospect and Unwelcome entertainment as a Subject that is apt to damp your Mirth and unsuitable to your brisk and gay humours Yet consider the putting off the thoughts of Death will not prevent its Approach or make it less Terrible when it comes nay quite otherwise it will make the surprize thereof more dreadful and amazing and render you so much the more unfit to grapple and encounter with the King of Terrours Ecclesiasticus 41.1 O Death how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that lives at rest in his possessions unto the man that hath nothing to vex him and that hath prosperity in all things yea unto him that is yet able to receive meat The more unwilling you have been to think of and prepare for Death now the more