That Repentance is the duty of these daies Repentance is the unum necessarium for England Repentance is the primum maximum mandatum for England But now God commands all men every where to repent And there are two Reasons why that God commands England to repent now rather then ever before The first Reason is common to England with the Athenians The second reason is proper to England The first reason is Pauls reason The second reason is Englands reason The first reason why England should now repent and why this duty is now so necessary is because that now are the times of the Gospel and not only so but times wherein the Gospel is preached with more purity and power then ever and therefore God commands us all to repent now more then ever And there are divers reasons why that they that liue under the Gospel should repent more then other people and rather then other people 1. Because Repentance is one of the first lessons that the Gospel teacheth And therefore Iohn Baptist that was a harbinger to the Gospel came preaching the doctrine of Repentance and saying Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand Mat. 3. 2. And the first Sermon that Christ preached was a Sermon of Repentance Mat. 4. 17. From that time Iesus began to preach and to say Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand And the first lesson that Peter taught the Iews Act. 2. 28. was to repent And therefore it is called Heb. 6. 1. one of the principles of the doctrine of Christ And he must needs be an arrant dunce in the School of the Gospel that hath been twenty thirty or fourty years in the School of the Gospel and hath not yet learned the first lesson of the Gospel 2. Because Repentance is not only one of the first but one of the chiefest lessons of the Gospel For for this very end and purpose Christ came down from heaven and was made man that he might preach repentance as you may reade Luk. 5. 31. I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance 3. Because Repentance as it is one of the first and chiefest lessons of the Gospel so it is one of the chiefest purchases and priviledges of the Gospel As Christ came from heaven to preach repentance so he shed his bloud to purchase repentance And therefore he bids his Disciples to go and preach repentance in his Name that is as his purchase Luk. 24. 47. Repentance is a back-door to escape Gods wrath by made up of Christs bloud A door that the Angels had not nor Adam till Christ had purchased it for him The Covenant of Works admits not of it Repentance is the proper priviledge of the Covenant of Grace 4. Because Repentance is one of the chiefest gifts of the Gospel For as Christ became man to preach Repentance and shed his bloud to purchase repentance so he is also risen from the dead and exalted at Gods right hand to be a Prince and Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgivenesse of sins Act. 5. 31. Hence I gather That to be under the Gospel and to live impenitently is to sinne against the incarnation of Christ it is to sin against the bloud-shed of Christ it is to sin against the resurrection and exaltation of Christ it is to sin against the purchase and donation of Christ and against the chief priviledges of a Christian But then again God requires that you that live under the Gospel that you especially should repent more then other nations because the Gospel doth hold forth two powerfull Arguments and Motives to perswade you to repent such as no other Religion can hold forth The first Motive is The consideration of Gods infinite love to mankinde in sending Jesus Christ to die a cursed death to save all that beleeve and repent from hell and damnation This is in a kinde an omnipotent Argument to perswade a sinner to repentance Was Iesus Christ crucified for me and shall I crucifie him by my bloudy oaths and blasphemies c. Was the Lord Iesus Christ broken for me and shall not my heart be broken for my sins against him this is instar mille argumentorum There is a story that when Caesar was killed in the Senate by Brutus and Cassius Anthony the Senator took his bloudy Robe and carried it to the Market-stead and shewed it to the people Behold saith he the bloudy Robe of your quondam Emperour And thereby he did provoke them to the revenge of his death And certainly the contemplation of the bloud-shed of Jesus Christ is an unanswerable argument to constrain us to repent of our sins against Christ He that would repent aright of sinne let him go to Mount Calvary and there he shall learn two lessons that no other Religion can teach him First Mount Calvary will teach him that God is so displeased with sin that nothing but the death of a God could satisfie the wrath of God for sin Mount Calvary will teach him that all that Christ did there suffer must be suffered by him to all eternity if he doth not repent This is an omnipotent argument if God makes it effectual But besides this motive the Gospel holds forth as in a clear glasse a second motive which is The consideration of the eternall Iudgement This is an Argument that Paul brings in the verse after my Text But now God commands all men to repent because he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousnesse by that man whom he hath ordained c. There will come a terrible day of judgement and in that day if there be any one sin unrepented of the devils shall assoon be saved as you This is a mighty Argument to perswade you to repentance The least sinne will damn you in that day without repentance the greatest sin cannot hurt you in that day if you repent But besides these Motives the Gospel doth also afford two great Helps to work repentance which no other Religion can afford and therefore we that live under the Gospel we must repent rather then other The Gospel affords the help of Knowledge and the help of Grace First 1. The Gospel affords the help of Knowledge for God hath promised that in the times of the Gospel all men shall know him from the least to the greatest we that live under the Gospel know that Drunkennesse and Adultery and Swearing are the works of hell and will bring to hell we know this and therefore though God winked at the times of ignorance God will not wink at us if we be guilty of these sins We that live under the Gospel know that the worship of God the more spirituall it is the more beautifull it is in the eyes of God who is a Spirit And that the outward pomp of Gods service is an attire more fit for the Whore of Babylon then for the modest Spouse of Christ And
the Nation if it repents If the Repentance of England be nationall and sincere there is no doubt of it For we have three Texts that speak thus much in plain terms Ier. 18. 7 8. 2 Chron 7. 14. Lev. 26. 40 41 42. c. These Texts are the Charter of heaven to prove that Repentance if it be sincere and nationall is an infallible way to save a Nation from ruine What answer you to that Text 2 King 23. 26. where it is said That notwithstanding the Reformation in Josiah's dayes the Lord turned not from the fiercenesse of his great wrath c. because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withall I briefly answer three things First That the repentance that was in Iosiah's time was the Repentance of Iosiah and some few other but it was not nationall And therefore you may observe that it is punctually said almost in every verse of the 2 Kin. 23. That Iosiah put down the Idolatrous Priests and Iosiah defiled Tophet and read the law c. There is no mention made of the voluntary concurrence of his Princes and people as is expresly mentioned in the Reformation of Hezekiah 2 Chron. 30. 14 15 16 23 27. c. 2 Chron. 31. 1. And it is worth the noting that whereas Iosiah began to reign when he was eight years old 2 Chron. 34. 1. it is said that in the eight year of his reign he began to seek after the God of David his father 2 Chron. 34. 3. But yet it was four years after before he began to set upon the work of Reformation 2 Chron 34. 3. and it was ten years after before the book of the law was found as appears 2 Chron. 34. 8. which was a sign that in his first eighteen years there was but little reformation and therefore no doubt he met with great opposition from his people which is an argument that the repentance was not nationall Secondly But suppose it was nationall yet it is certain it was not sincere as appears plainly Ier. 3. 10. for Ieremy prophecied in Iosiah's daies and also 2 Chron. 34. 32. where it is said That Iosias caused the people to stand to the Covenant they had made which implyeth a kinde of forcing them to it But Thirdly I answer That this Repentance of what nature soever it was it did turn away the judgements of God for the present from Iudah and it did keep them from ruine As long as Iosiah lived and as long as the people continued in his Reformation so long they were preserved But after Iosiah's death wicked Kings arose and the people forsook the Lord and therefore God was forced to destroy them For this see 2 Chron. 34. 33. 2 Chron. 36. 14 17. c. So that it is plain notwithstanding this objection that Repentance is an infallible way to remove Englands misery if it be nationall c. But suppose the nation should not repent what good will my personall repentance do to the nation or to my self Much good every manner of way For first Personall repentance if right will alwaies save thy soul from hell Ezek. 18. 30 31 32. Secondly It will for the most part save thy body also from ruine even then when God is destroying the nation wherein thou art Ezek. 14. 14. Especially if there be four qualifications found in thee first If thou beest one of those that mourn for the abominations that are committed in the land Ezek. 9. 4. secondly If thou beest one of those that are vexed with the unrighteous conversation of those with whom thou livest 2 Pet. 2. 7 8 Thirdly If thou beest one of those that keepest thy self pure from those sinnes for which God destroyeth the nation in which thou livest Gen. 6. 9. Fourthly If thou beest one of those that appear for God in sinfull times then God will appear for thy deliverance in destroying times Jer. 39. 17 18. And for this very reason did God deliver Ieremy himself and gave him his life for a prey But because Gods people many times are ashamed of Gods cause in evil dayes and because they do not keep themselves unspotted from the sinnes of the times and because they are not vexed and do not mourn for the abominations of the land wherein they live hence it is that they are many times involved in the outward calamity that fals upon the nation Thirdly Personall repentance will sometime save a whole nation as we may reade in the example of Moses Who often stood in the gap to turn away the wrath of God from the people of Israel Psal. 106. 23. And the Prophet Ieremy bids us Run ye to and fro c. and if ye can finde a man if there be any that executeth justice that seeketh the truth and I will pardon it Jer. 5. 1. This also we reade Eze. 22. 30. Ec 9. 14 15. If there had been ten wheatears in Sodom God would have spared all the chaff for their sakes Gen. 18. 32. Fourthly Personall repentance though it doth not alwaies preserve thee from a temporall judgement yet it alwaies sanctifieth a temporall judgement and turneth it into a blessing It takes away the curse and the poison of a judgement And though the affliction be not bonum in it self yet it shall turn to thee in bonum As the same flail falls upon the corn and chaff but for different ends the one to be burnt the other to be laid up in the barn So the same judgement that is an utter ruine to an impenitent sinner shall be for the benefit and happines of a repenting sinner as is excellently set out by the parable of the good and bad figs Ier. 24 5 6 7 8 9 10. In a word There are four kinde of Arks that God provides for his children in times of publike calamities and one of these four Arks God will provide for thee if thou repentest First Either he will provide an Ark of prevention by death before the calamity comes Isa. 57. 1. Thou shalt rest in the grave as in thy Ark and shalt not see the evill that is coming upon the Nation And thy very dust will be precious in Gods sight For Christ cannot be perfect without it Eph. 1. 23. Or secondly he will provide an Ark of deliverance and preservation from the judgement when it comes as he did to Noah Lot Ieremy and will do to thee also if thou hast the four qualifications forementioned Or thirdly an Ark of supportation under the judgement and sanctification of the judgement Or fourthly an Ark of salvation by the judgement It is but winking as the Martyr said and thou shalt be in heaven presently This is all I shall say for the explication Only I shall make bold to put you in minde of an Ordinance of Parliament made by you Feb. 15. 1642. In which pious and religious Ordinance you call upon the whole Kingdom to practise that which I preach before
your fastings And then again Thirdly there is a great deal of Fasting but there is no Reformation a great deal of talk of reformation but there is no practice of reformation we have a great many Covenants of Reformation but there is no performance of our Covenants We swear to reform but we do not reform we fast one day and feast the devil all the moneth after many times Do we do as the King of Nineveh did and as his Nobles and people did they cried unto the Lord and turned every man from his evill way but because there is no such turning from sin amongst us because there is no reformation that is the reason why our fasting doth no more good Beloved in the Lord suffer me to speak my minde plainly Could I see the Parliament of England do as the King of Nineveh did and all the Nobles of Nineveh did could I see them all appear here and lying down in dust and ashes weeping and mourning and lamenting before the Lord and humbling their souls in good earnest and every man turning from his iniquity and from the violence in his hand such a fasting day would save the lives of three Kingdoms such tears would prevent the effusion of the bloud of thousands such a day would be loud musick in the ears of God The Lord make this day to be such a day Thus much I thought good to say in reference to the generall expression in the Text But now God commands All men Secondly But then it is added in the Text God commands all men every where that is another expression to repent If we must repent anywhere we must repent every where for First Because God fils every where If thou canst commit a sin where God is not there I 'le give thee leave not to repent but if God be every where we must repent every where because God is every where And then again Secondly Because some devil or other is every where I do not say that the devil is every where but some devil or other is every where and therefore we must repent every where because our Accuser is every where and our Judge is every where And then again Thirdly Because death will meet us every where If there be any place wherein thou art exempted from death I 'le give thee leave not to repent there but death will meet with thee every where and therefore God commands all men every where to repent And then again Fourthly Because we must give an account for all the Actions that we do every where God at the day of judgement will ask thee an account of that that thou hast done anywhere and therefore we must repent every where And then Fifthly Because we sin every where we sin in our Churches and therefore God cals for a Church-repentance We sin in our Parliament therefore God cals for a Parliament-repentance We sin in our Sacraments therefore God cals for a Sacrament-repentance We sin in our beds in our shops and therefore God cals for repentance in our shops and in our beds God cals to the Assembly of Ministers to repent of their sinnes God cals not only to the people at Oxford to repent but to the people at Westminster to repent God not only cals to the pretended Parliament at Oxford but the true Parliament at Westminster to repent God cals all men every where to repent And then again Sixthly Because Gods judgements are every where Gods judgements fill every Town every City every Countrey the Sword devours every where and therefore God commands us to repent every where Thus much for the second exhortation There is one Question yet behinde which must have an answer before I can conclude Some will say What is that Repentance which is the unum necessarium for England and which is The great Commandment of God for England Is there any man that doth not repent There is much talk indeed in the world and much dispute about Repentance and much profession of repentance And every man saith he repenteth But I fear that most people mistake the nature of true repentance and so are cheated of their salvation by a rotten and false repentance There is a threefold mistake of repentance First Some think it an ominous thing to repent and judge of repentance as some ridiculously judge of making their Wils who refuse to make their Wils in their health as thinking it an omen and presage of their death So many refuse to repent in health because they think it a work of sicknesse and if they should do it in health it would hasten their death This opinion is not worth confuting Secondly Some think it an easie thing to repent and therefore deal with repentance as one saith as countrey-people do with Physicians who never send for them till they be breathing out their last breath So many never think of Repentance till they be upon their death-bed and then they conceive that these five words Lord have mercy upon me are as efficacious to send them to heaven as the Papists conceit that their five words of consecration are able to transubstantiate the bread in the Sacrament into the body of Christ Most people think it very easie to repent It is but repenting saith the sinner But this But is a hard But It requires the omnipotent power of God to work repentance 2 Tim. 2. 25. Therefore it is called a rending of the heart Joel 2. 13. which is a hard work And it is likewise called a ploughing up of the fallow ground of our hearts It is a Transmutation a change of the whole man from sin to God which is no easie work Thirdly and especially Most people think they repent when they do not And I beleeve that the reason why so many goe to hell is not so much for want of repentance as for want of a right repentance We reade Act. 11. 18. of a repentance unto life and 2 Cor. 7. 10. of a repentance never to be repented on where note there is a repentance which is not unto life and a repentance to be repented on Repentance is a rare jewell But as there is no jewel but it may be counterfeit so there is no grace but it may be counterfeited As there is a counterfeit faith a dead carcasse of faith so there is a bastardly repentance poenitentia spuria non genuina or as Austin cals it Poenitentia infructuosa And as a counterfeit jewell is nothing worth no more is a counterfeit repentance And as many are undone by the buying of a counterfeit jewel so there are many in hell through the mistake of this jewel that yet thought it may be they had repented aright and so might all their friends possibly think likewise Now therefore the great question will be What is that repentance unto life that repentance never to be repented on which if I have I may assure my self that I am in the state of salvation For the answer to this I will briefly shew 1. What is not that repentance which is