Words will not do it till you make it appear that the Grace of God that hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel hath taught you to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts. This is the way to promote the Doctrine of Justification by Faith alone You that are built upon the right Foundation had need be careful and circumspect The House is not yet finished we do all of us lie open more or less to Storms and Tempests here below though they cannot throw down the house yet they may shake the house the rain may beat into the house may soak through every room of the house may foul the house may greatly incommode us and distress us Therefore keep your Souls in good repair keep them as tite as you can against Wind and Weather And for your Comfort I would have told you that Heaven will mend all the Errors in the Superstructure if the Foundation be right God will then take away and separate all those weaknesses and sinful mixtures that now run along with all our Graces all Cracks and Flawes the sinkings and failings the bendings and leanings this way and that way in any part of the building Heaven will mend all will set all right and straight when we are Sanctified throughout and the Top-stone is laid FINIS A DISCOURSE OF REPENTANCE SHEWING The Difference between Legal and Evangelical Repentance AND The Necessary Connection between Evangelical Repentance and Saving Faith. By Thomas Cole Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for Thomas Cockerill at the Three Legs over against the Stocks-Market 1689. A DISCOURSE OF Repentance MARK 1. 15. Repent ye and believe the Gospel THE summe of the Gospel lies in Faith and Repentance which alwayes go together and cannot be separated though they may and ought to be distinguished one from the other I have chosen this Text to show the necessary connection that is between Faith and Repentance that I may be the better understood I shall observe this method 1. Distinguish between Legal and Evangelical Repentance 2. Shew the nature of Evangelical Repentance what it is and wherein it does consist how it rises our of faith what its use and end is 3. Shew the necessary connection that is between Evangelical Repentance and saving Faith. 4. The real difference that is between them notwithstanding this necessary connection 5. Inquire into the true cause and reason why the Professors of this Age who are so much for Faith do mind Repentance so little 6. Apply all First Distinguish between Legal and Evangelical Repentance You see the Repentance and Faith spoken of in the Text have both of them a reference to the Gospel Repent and believe the Gospel We shall better understand the nature of Evangelical Repentance by comparing it with Legal Repentance observing as we go how they differ from each 1. Legal Repentance is the work of the Law i. e. The work of the Spirit by the Law for the Law works but faintly under the influence of meer Natural Light unless the Spirit awaken the Conscience and set home the Law little will be done such a work of the Law you have Rom. 2. 15. letting in a Spirit of Bondage upon the Conscience accusing us for what we have done against the Law and leaving us so convicted without any plea for our selves Evangelical Repentance is the work of the Gospel sweetly melting the Heart by Arguments drawn from the Love of God and his free Grace in Christ towards Sinners it encourages a trembling Soul to plead with God for Mercy as the Publican Lord be Merciful to me a Sinner 2. Legal Repentance is all terrour and no hope it rises from the revelation of Gods Wrath against Sinners 't is a despairing Repentance without any hope of pardon the Curse of the Law lies hard upon a Man he knows not how to get from under it but lives in a fearful expectation of fiery indignation to devour him he is a terrour to himself But Evangelical Repentance leaves not an affrighted sinner altogether without hope as I shall shew under the next head 3. Legal Repentance is from worldly sorrow not so much for the sin as the penalty incurred thereby the apprehension of which is very dreadful to a convinced sinner he is more affected with the evil of punishment then with the evil of sin in it self 't is not for Gods sake but his own that he repents of sin he could love it well enough if it did not damn him Though I do not deny but a Repentance purely legal may have some sense of the evil of sin as sin not only as malum prohibitum but as malum in se as evil in its own nature where common notions of good and evil are not utterly extinguished it must needs be so especially under a higher conviction from the Spirit of God that gives us a farther discerning of the evil of sin then the meer light of nature under its greatest elevation can possibly do It was so in Iudas Matt. 27. 34. he was convinced not only that he had broken the Law of God but that he had sinned in so doing I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood He knew he had a hand in murdering a Man a good Man a great Man who was more then Man no doubt all this came up into his mind concerning Christ yet the knowledge of Christ that Iudas had did not reach so far as to beget the least hope of Mercy from him and here lay the legality of his Repentance it was a despairing Repentance he conversed only with the Law and so sunk under the wrath of God and the curse of the Law he had none to accuse him but his own Conscience the Rulers and chief Priests were for him had set him a work and rewarded him but seeing him under such horror of Conscience he had done their business what care they see thou to that unconvinced sinners do slight the convictions of others they may go hang themselves for all them they have no pity for them I speak this to shew that legal Repentance may take in something of the evil of sin in it self as well as the destructive nature of it to us though these legal convictions of the evil of sin in it self are far short of those more through convictions that accompany true Evangelical Repentance Though the sorrow that is in legal Repentance be but worldly yet 't is very pungent it pierces us thorow and pretends to some Devotion too as if it were for Gods sake when self is only at the bottom Pharaoh confessed his sins and desired the Prayers of Gods People Exod. 9. 27 28. Saul wept for his sins 1 Sam. 24. 16. The effects of Gods wrath are very dreadful upon convinced sinners may draw Tears from their Eyes when they see what mischief they have brought upon themselves they repent but how Not of the sin but of the punishment Alas What does that signifie how ineffectual
faces that they have already outliv'd the most probable means of their own Conversion There is yet a possibility of it God calls some at the Eleventh hour and if it be that time of day with any that hear me this Morning and the hour of Conversion not yet come let them wait upon God with trembling for that blessed moment wherein his Arm may be revealed upon their hearts before they have quite done hearing and quite done living in this world if God do them good it must be by the Preaching of the Word which is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe As the Word is the means of Regeneration so of all after edification and growth in Grace If you want comfort more strength against corruptions more communion with God the Word is of excellent use to you in all these Cases 'T is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works CHAP. IV. The manner of Regeneration how 't is begun and carried on in the Soul. HERE lies the greatest difficulty of all the similitude by which the manner of Regeneration is set forth Verse the 8th shews us that it is incomprehensible and not to be understood therefore you may wonder why I undertake to speak of it Truly the whole Gospel is a mystery and all the chief points of the Gospel are deep mysteries they do not only pass our humane understanding as men but as to a perfect apprehension of them they pass the understanding of Christians in this world yet these things must be studied by all Saints they must be Preached by all Ministers Tho we prophesy but in part and know but in part yet who can tell but God may reveal to us the unknown parts of these known truths which we have some understanding of already This is visible edification a further increase of light a further discerning of the Truth as it is in Jesus As the wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goes i. e. No Man knows the certain point to which it will turn till it be turned so is every one that is born of God i. e. so to others not altogether so to himself so to a Natural Man who perceiveth not the deep things of God but not so to the Spiritual Man who judgeth all things So to others who are not privy to the inward workings of the spirit upon his heart not to himself who may understand something of what is done in him and upon him if he diligently commune with his own spirit He that hath the white Stone knows the new name that is written in it Regeneration is a supernatural work but the effects of it are sensible Regeneration is a great mystery we may be at a loss in tracing the footsteps of the Holy-Ghost throughout this work you must not expect rational demonstrations but sensible experiences and so far as any thing I shall say may fall under that head I know you will follow me If it happen otherwise pray take better aim by your own light that may exceed mine and judge for your selves I impose nothing The manner of Regeneration is not one and the same in all who are regenerated tho the thing it self when done be the same in all Elect Infants dying in their Infancy are regenerated after one manner and adult persons after another the difference lies here the Regeneration of Elect Infants is the sole immediate act of the Spirit of God without the Word it is indeed according to the Word and pursuant to the Covenant and Promise made to Abraham That God would be his God and the God of his Seed But it is not by the Word because Infants are not subjects naturally capable of being wrought upon that way You cannot expect I should look further into this great Secret it belongs to God only and not to Man to know this Therefore in my following discourse I shall confine my self to the Regeneration of adult persons and consider the manner of that as the Scripture has revealed it I describe it thus in general 'T is wrought by the Spirit of God as the principal efficient Cause not without the Word but by the Word as the instrumental Cause or outward means of Regeneration Before I enter upon this let me put this Question viz. I will put it without any positive solution only I will suggest to you my thoughts and leave the matter to your further consideration The Question is this viz. Whether any who live till they come to the use of Reason are Converted or Regenerated before they come to the use of Reason after the manner of Elect Infants dying in infancy I dare not deny but it may be so because of some Scriptures that look that way Iohn the Baptist is said to be filled with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers Womb Ieremiah to be sanctified from the Womb. Tho these Texts are capable of another construction 't is evident that Paul distinguishes his separation or sanctification from the Womb unto Office from his effectual calling by Grace in Conversion But admitting this that some now living may have been regenerated in their Infancy before they come to the use of Reason yet this I may say that such persons when grown up must needs be little acquainted with the manner of their Regeneration because 't was done before they knew it nothing can fall under their observation but the after effects of it manifested in their lives How 't was at first wrought is too hard a question to put to such I will venture to say this That I conceive it is usually otherwise viz. That those who live till they come to the use of Reason are not ordinarily converted before they come to the use of Reason Because God loves to be understood by us in all the acts of his kindness towards us therefore he will have some part of the known history of our lives to be a standing witness to us of our former unregenerate state Such were some of you I was before a blasphemer a persecutor but I obtained mercy He had undeniable proof and evidence of this in his own experience and within his own remembrance which made him so much admire the free-Grace of God towards him that put such a difference between him and others and between him and himself heretofore and now So that as the matter is cast I am only to enquire after the Regeneration of adult persons and to shew the manner of that My Text leads me to speak of such who are come to the years of discretion and understanding as Nicodemus was my Ministry leads me to it being sent to Preach to such My Auditory consists of such and therefore I shall apply my self to you and every one of you about the manner of your Regeneration
thou requirest of me so Paul Oh that God would so manifest himself to every one of your hearts this day that he would shew himself come up close to you look you in the face and say I am Jesus you could not withstand this mighty presence of God in Christ Jesus O speak Lord 't is but thy saying to each of us I am Jesus and we shall all be made to know the Lord from the least to the greatest I hope the quickning voice of the Son of God is now sounding in the Ears of your Faith while I am speaking to you and that you do receive the Word not as the word of Man but as it is indeed the Word of God quick and powerful sharper than a two-edged Sword in every one of your hearts The knowledge of the Truth as 't is in Jesus Eph. 4. 21. is one thing and the knowledge of the Truth as 't is in Ink and Paper is another they are the same Truths but as they are in the Scriptures they lie in the dead Letter as they are in Christ they are seen in their living root and principle from whence they spring meer Scriptural Knowledge is but Historical we look upon the things we read and hear rather as notions than realities till God fills up all expressions of Scripture concerning himself with a Divine Presence answerable thereunto we believe nothing that is said of him but such a presence of God in his Word captivates our hearts to the belief of it we must believe him to be such a God as the Word declares him to be before we shall count all his sayings true we must fetch strength from the name of God Rev. 2. 13. to support our Faith in all its actings upon any part of his revealed will and we never deny any Truth plainly revealed but we deny his name Rev. 3. 8. and question his Attributes some Truths bare more upon one Attribute some more upon another but all are founded in God and in the essential properties of his Nature from whence they have their verification and accomplishment so that till God appear and shew himself to the Soul all that is said to us out of the Scriptures in the name of an unknown God affects us not because it wants that which is the ground of its Credibility no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Spirit 1 Cor. 12. 3. he cannot say so and think so he cannot say so and believe what he says till the Father reveal his Son in him Paul by the Light of that Revelation of Christ in him knew all Gospel Mysteries and without such an inward spiritual manifestation of God to our Souls giving us a sight of him who is invisible 't is impossible we should ever be throughly convinced of the Divinity of the Scriptures all Divinity springs from God leads to him nay it looks him directly in the Face and can't be considered apart from him there is but one God and one Faith God must be in the view of our Faith whensoever we really act it Neither can we have that inward testimony of the Spirit convincing us of the Divine Authority of the Scriptures without this special Appearance of God in the Soul as a witness to the Truth of his Word While we are hearing the Word God has invisible wayes of access to our hearts he conveys himself through his Truth to our Souls his Divinity leads the way without some appearance of this the contents of the Word would have no place in our hearts but coming with so great a presence in so great a name and with so strong an impression God himself writing them upon the heart we cannot but receive his Testimony the Word comes into our Hearts suddenly before we are aware and seises them for God we cannot but think speak act and judge as God does the sense of the Word is the sense of our Souls so far as the Word is written in our hearts we read it without the least variation the Copy answers the Original Hence arises that habitual disposition or inclination to believe God creates this new heart I say this infused habit or principle of faith is antecedent to all acts of faith put forth by us and is in it self the sole act of God upon us in our first Conversion it is from this supernatural principle thus infused that the natural powers and faculties of the Soul of Man viz. the Understanding and the Will are enabled to take in things purely Spiritual and Divine Nature never acts above its sphere those inbred common Notions that are the Standards and Measures of Natural Truths in all their consequences will never lead us to grant or admit that which is supernatural when we do this 't is always from some higher Principle when we see men acting above themselves we may conclude they are acted by something higher than themselves which is the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them This special Appearance of God with those inward effects of it upon the Soul which I have been speaking of may be known to Believers they discern it in others Acts 11. 17 18. and do when they give a true reason of their faith see it in themselves that all springs from the Fathers revealing his Son in them they can give no other reason why they believe in Jesus 't is God that opens the door of Faith and makes it effectual Acts 14. 27. We are apt to be taken with any appearance of Man in a Sermon this we look after what words of Mans Wisdom how Man acquits himself in reasoning of this or that Point 'T is true there is some skill required in Planting and Watering but all the encrease comes from God your Faith consists not in the Wisdom of Man but in the power of God if God himself do not appear as a witness to his own Truth as the great undertaker of all that he has promised what we say will prevail little your faith must terminate in God himself and in that Ability that is in him to perform his word this was the ground of Abrahams faith Paul knew him whom he believed 2 Tim. 1. 12. and so must you if ever you believe to the saving of your Souls Did you go out of the Congregation after every Sermon you hear under a sight and sense of this appearance of God in his Word speaking to you from Heaven and shewing himself to your souls in some spiritual resemblance suited and adapted to that Word you are hearing how could you reject such a Word so full of God so exactly corresponding to what you see in God himself you must yield and cry out each of you who am I that I should withstand God This is the first way that God takes to work Faith in us by our hearing the Word Preached to us Secondly Faith is wrought by opening the heart enlightning the mind and perswading the will to a through closure with Christ upon Gospel Terms