AN ANTIDOTE FOR Troubled Soules Or The Fruit of Repentance Taken out of the Word of God and Delivered to Thomas Jones of the City of Hereford who was many yeares afflicted both in body and in minde for violating or prophaning the Lords Sabbath day And thinking this Antidote to be part of the Talent which the Lord gave him since he repented for the same being commanded in his sleep to give an account thereof he hath thought it requisite to publish it for the good of all penitent Sinners Published with License Rom. 8.18 I account the afflictions of this present life not worthy of the glory which shall be shewed unto us 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for as a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory London Printed for John Wright at the signe of the Kings head in the Old Baily 1646. The Fruit of REPENTANCE Acts 2.38 Then Peter said unto them Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Iesus Christ for remission of sinnes and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost WE heard in the former verse the question of these pricked hearts to Peter and the rest of the Apostles Men and Brethren What shall we do Teaching us how much it imports every Soule to seek for the was and meanes to Salvation We proceed now to the answer given from the mouth of Peter prescribing the means of salvation in this verse now read unto you which are two first Repentance then Baptisme afterwards he perswades them to the practise thereof in the next verse At this time only of the first means of Salvation that is Repentance The Doctrine is That he that will be saved must repent Men and brethren say they what shall we do meaning to be saved as the Gaoler expresseth himelf Repent saith Peter as if he should say If ye repent ye shall be saved but if ye will not repent ye shall not be saved Except ye repent saith our Saviour ye shall all likewise perish Luke 13.3 The reason is First because we are all by nature sinners and consequently under the eternall wrath of God children of wrath and there is no means to avoid Gods eternall curse and wrath without repentance O generations of Vipers saith John the Baptist to the Pharisees Mat. 3.7 Who hath forewarned you to flee from the wrath to come bring forth therefore fruit meet for Repentance As if he should say You think your great holinesse that was shall save you but who hath taught you to escape the wrath of God thereby Let me teach you if you will escape the wrath to come trust not to your holy religion but see you make good your repentance Secondly on the condition of repentance God hath promised what Christ hath merited that is pardon of sin Esa 1.16 The Prophet exhorteth Wash you make you clean put away the evil of your doings cease to do evil learn to do well that is Repent And then in the eighteenth verse he promiseth Though your sinnes be as scarlet yet they shall be as white as snow though they be as red as crimson yet they shall be as wooll Act. 5.13 The Apostle saith They God of our Fathers hath exalted Christ to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgivenesse of sins Pardon of sin upon repentance So then without repentance there is no means possible to escape the wrath of God Vpon repentance God hath promised pardon of all sins even as Christ hath merited If any might be saved without repentance then Christs disciples might be saved but our Saviour tels them Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish And if any might not be saved with repentance then those murtherers of Christ would not be saved Yet Peter saith Repent and ye shall be saved Vpon this string all the Prophets harped Repent Repent This was John Baptists first Sermon this was the thing that Christ did preach first and this must be the burden of our song unto the end of the world Luk. 24.37 It is necessary saith our Saviour that repentance and remission of sinnes be preached to all Nations We preach nothing without repentance yea there is no salvation without repentance Now it will be necessary to shew what repentance is The nature of repentance is a large thing much hath been written of it I will give you therefore briefly the cheif part of repentance In repentance there is the work of God and the work of man Gods work is Regeneration a new creation which makes a man a new creature by taking â—way the stony heart and giving him a heart of flesh â—n the place of it and this is done by a two-fold grace First Preventing grace which pricks and breaks the heart Herein he is a meer patient Secondly Subsequent grace enabling a man to the practice of repentance Mans work in repentance stands chiefly in two things Mourning and Turning as the Prophet Joel expresseth it Joel 2.12 Turn to the Lord with fasting weeping and mourning rent your hearts and turn to the Lord. There are the principall parts of repentance expressed First then in repentance there must be a mourning of the heart with godly sorrow for sin chiefly because God is offended and Christ pierced otherwise it is not godly sorrow This the Apostle 2 Cor. 7.10 makes the first and chiefest whéel in the clock or the first mover to repentance Godly sorrow causeth repentance unto salvation not to be repented of If thy heart be first broken with godly sorrow thy repentance is from the heart else howsoever it doth appear it is but hypocrisie it tends to thy greater damnation Secondly after mourning there must be a turning Act. 3.19 Repent and be converted This conversion must be from sin to God First it must be from sinne Repent and turn your selves from all your transgressions saith the Lord Ezek. 18.3 Secondly this turning must be to God Repent and turn to the Lord saith the Apostle Act. 26.20 Now this turning or conversion must have thrée properties It must be 1 Inward 2 Outward 3 Universall First it must be an inward turning a change of the heart Joel 2.12 with all your heart Ezek. 18. Make you a new heart and a new spirit This inward change must be by mortifying our concupiscence by purging out corruption hiding the Word in our hearts cherishing the motions of the Spirit Truth in the inward part hating sin and delighting in holinesse Secondly it must be outward Cast away from you all your transgressions wherwith you have transgressed Ezek. 18 31. Thirdly this turning must be universall as with all the heart so likewise from all sinne As the Prophet requireth Ezek. 18.30.31 Turn your selves from all your sinnes and cast away all your transgressions Secondly it must be a turning to all good works Jam. 2.10 If a man keep the whole law and offend in one point he is guilty of all Thus you sée the hate of it
make good use of corrections to take notice of Gods end and hand in them and learn to see the cause of them which is our sinne That we sorrow for those sinnes which haue brought such correction upon us Secondly if we will repent we must labour for a through knowledge of our own estate What we are of our selues by reason of our sinnes and likewise the curse of God that is due unto us To that purpose we must examine our selues by reason of our sinnes our hearts and liues by the law of God and then we shall sée our sinnes the number of them and the hainous nature of them After I was instructed saith Ephraim that is after I came to the knowledge of my self I repented not till we be brought to the sight of our miserable estate till we be brought to this perplexity with these pricked hearts that we know not what to do can our hearts repent Thirdly labour for faith to apprehend the promises and mercies in Christ Iesus for though Repentance Faith grow together in time yet in nature faith is the mouing cause of repentance Faith and confidence in Gods mercy that he will receiue us is a moving cause of Repentance Till a man belieue the promises of God and apprehend the mercies of God in Christ by faith though he be terrified by iudgement yet he doth grow obstinate and neuer humbleth himself by Repentance Motives to perswade us to Repentance What néeds more then this He that will be saued must repent without repentance nothing can be expected but damnation more particularly consider 1. Motive First Gods mercy and loue God is a mercifull God and that should draw our hearts to repentance Joel 2.12 The Prophet useth this argument Turn unto â—he Lord with all your heart rent your hearts and not your garments c. for he is a mercifull and graâ—ious God There is mercy with thee that thou mayâ—st be feared saith David as if he should say if thou wert not a mercifull God to what end were it to â—epent But seeing thou art a mercifull God it is â—o some purpose to repent great is the mercy and â—oue of God to penitent sinners Let the gift of his â—nly begotten Son to the cursed death of the Crosse witnesse Is God so mercifull to us and shall we â—ffend him still by our sinne shall we be so hard â—nd unmerciful to our own souls to whom God hath â—éen so mercifull The second Motive is The consideration of Christs death and passion should moue us to Repentance Was he pierced for our sinnes did he suffer the curse of God for our sins How then should our sinnes that pierced him pierce our hearts with grief Zâ—ch 12.10 As he did those Beloded hath Christ suffered such things for us and shall we crucifie him afresh with our sinnes Shall we trample his blessed Body and Blood under feet and contemn so great a salvation The third Motiue may be taken from the means and gracious times wee enioy This argument Christ and Iohn Baptist in their preaching used to moue the people to Repentance This is the time of grace and saluation now is Gods grace plentifully powred out if these times and meanes will not moue thée it shall be easier for Tyre and Sydon at the day of iudgement then for thee The fourth Motiue may be taken from the consideration of the Cvils of impenitencie even in this life First Temporall Iudgement that God hath in store for the impenitent and hard-hearted persons that go on in their wickednesse Rev. 2.21 22. I gave her space to repent and she repented not What then Behold I will cast her in a bed and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation except they repent of their deeds And look thou impenitent heart for the like This I will do saith the Lord Amos 4. And because I do thus unto thee prepare thy heart to meet thy Lord O Israel The second evil of impenitencie in this life is either hardnesse of heart or horror of conscience For an impenitent person when hee hath much offended his conscience with long custome of sin must needs be filled with great horror As Cain and Iudas which made them desperately cast away themselues And if he bee not thus filled with horror yet he is possessed with great hardnesse of heart which is the greatest iudgement that he can have inflicted upon him in this life And it followes in the third place why thou after the hardnesse of thy impitent heart treasurest up for thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath The more sin thou committest the longer thou livest in sin and impenitency and the more wrath dost thou treasure up for thy selfe The fifth motive is taken from the benefit of Repentance in this life first it obtaines an assured pardon of all sin which is the cheifest happinesse in this life thy sins shall be washed away by the blood of Christ Thus saith Christ to the penitent woman that washed his féet with her teares Thy sinnes are forgiven Of the penitent Publican he saith This man went home justified So the penitent person ever obtains pardon and remission of all his sinne and is iustified in the sight of God The second benefit is the removall of all afflictions Jer. 18.7 8. I will speak suddenly against a Nation or against a Kingdom to pluck it up and destroy it but if this Nation shall turn from their wickednesse I will repent of the Plague I thought to bring upon them If thou repent God will repent of the evil Thus Ninive found by experience When wicked Ahab did but hypocritically humble himself before the Lord the Lord was pleased to deferre the Iudgement threatned How much more when a man applies with a sincere heart to repent of his sins before God Yâ—a it will remove Iudgement already fallen This the Lord promiseth Chron. 7.4 If God hath smitten thée in thine estate or otherwise for thy sinne yet humble thy self and the Lord will pardon thée and heale thoo or at least if he remove not thine affliction suddenly it shall be for thy good for he will sanctifie them unto thée Thus did God to David when he had afflictions which because they were scandalous could not be easily and suddenly removed yet saith he it was good for me that I have been afflicted 3. It is a means to obtain temporall blessings Joel 2. The Prophet exhorteth them to repentance adds in the 14. verse who knoweth if God will return and leaue a blessing behind him The Prophet seems to make it doubtfull yet it is without all doubt all question and in the 18. verse he saith If they repent he will be iealous of their land and pitty his people yea behold I will send you Corn Wine and Oyle and ye shall be satisfied therewith and I will make you no more a reproach among thâ— Heathen So repentance is a means to obtain temporall blessings in this life for the
the Definition is this Repentance is the work of the Spirit of God whereby a sinner mourns for his sin and turns to God in all holy and hearty obedience The use is first for trial Thou hopest to be saved â—nd who doth not But if thou wilt be saved thou must repent Art thou regenerated Hast thou releived the Spirit of grace Art thou become a new â—reature Hast thou mourned in secret with godly â—orrow for sin Is there no sin that thou lovest or â—…lowest Is there no sin but thou hatest no duty but thou doest or desirest to do Then thou hast â—epented else no repentance no hope of salvation The second Vse is for reproâ—â—e and terror to all â—mpenitent persons who had never the grace to mourn for their sinnes or turn from them to God Do we not see that the most live in abominable sins â—wearing drunkennesse whoredome fraud lying â—osenage contempt of Gods word prophaning of the Sabbath drinking iniquity as the Axe drinks waâ—er thinking they shall never have enough And â—ow few of these repent If without repentance â—o salvation what will become of these wretches that live in open practise of abominable sins Others â—hink themselves in a good estate because they are not so bad as others they are honest civil men needâ—ng no repentance they know no hurt they have done what shall they repent of they do no man wrong â—hey keep the Church are good natured bountifull But what are all these but splendida peccata And what is their reward but the wrath of God Others are so pure in their own eyes that they think themâ—elves past repentance so clean as they need no repentance But Publicans and sinners shall enter into the Kingdome of heaven as soon as they and sooner too And by how much the more cleaner they are in their own eyes by so much more hatefull are their hearts to God Like Baalam they will cry O let me die the death of the Righteous but never let â—e live his life They will fast and put on mourning countenances in time of judgement they will seem to mourn but the oppressed feele no ease from them when the storm is past they are euen as Ahab more wicked then before Some talk of repentance but know no more then brute beasts what repentance means Some yea the most in time of sicknesse â—alk of it O if they should liue then they would become new men if they die then surely because of â—his they must go to heauen charity thinks the best But if they liue with the dog they return to their â—omit and with the swine to her former wallowing â—n the myre Some indéed will mourne and séem to â—epent and make restitution but remember Judas â—ll this he did yet he hanged himself It is either â—hame or to quiet a brawling conscience or the praise â—f men that makes them do sâ— They sorrow not for â—in because they haue grieued God they return from â—ne sin to another from prodigality to couetousnesse â—f such repentance which is but only a shew were â—rue repentance then we should haue many Repentants But who can find one true Repentant in his day-light of the Gospel But behold thou â—retched sinner the gate of hell opens for thee Gods â—urse hangs ouer thy head thy life iâ— short and Gods â—â—dgement sharp thy conscience shall be ransacked by thoughts and deeds laid open thy self accursed to the pit of Hell where thou shalt haue easelesse endlesse and remedilesse pains If one be rewarded with that curse if one sin deserves the curse what will all thy cursed sins deserue But God is mercifull and Christ died for sinners that is my comfort say many Answ Yea but God is iust likewise mercifull indeed to the Penitent but iust to the impenitent And Christ died only for the penitent God hath been mercifull unto thee he hath giuen thée means of repentance and called thée to repentance but if thou repent not the mercy of God which thou hast abused the blood of Christ which thou hast despised and the Word which thou hast neglected shall rise up in iudgement against thee and a thousand millions that haue not grace giuen to them as it hath béen offered to thée they shall rise up in iudgement against thee Therefore it is better if thou couldst to say Christ did not die for thée and God is not mercifull Know that thou treasurest up wrath against the day of wrath And if thou dost giue us the lie Moses proviseth Deut. 29.19 When he shall heare the words of this curse he shall blesse himself in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk according to the stubbornesse of mine own heart Thus adding drunkennesse to thirst the Lord will not be mercifull unto him but the wrath of God and his iealousie shall smoke against that man and euery curse that is written in this book shall light upon him and the Lord shall put his name out from under heauen The third Vse is to exhort us as we hope to be saued to apply our selues to the practise of repentance to mourn with hearty sorrow for sinne to returne from all sinne to God to the conscionable practise of all good works Doth not euery soul desire to eâ—cape the wrath of God without repentance if it were possible Quest But what shall we do to repent Answ It is God that works it in us Therefore seek to him for it Now the means that he useth in working is his Word his Spirit and correction By his word he teacheth and worketh repentance in the heart Thus Paul tels us that his preaching was to turn the Gentiles from darknesse to light The Word is a hammer to break the stony heart it is a fire to purge out drosse and corruption of force to conuert the Soule as David saith Psal 19. It regenerateth sanctifieth and quickneth the soul to newnesse of life Whosoeuer then will repent must lend 〈◊〉 diligent eare to the Word of God and they that despise it must neuer look to repent Did men consider this they would either giue off hope of their repentance or be more constant in hearing the Word then they be Secondly Gods spirit is the means whereby repentance is wrougyt in the heart Repentance is the work and gift of the Spirit Therefore while we hear Gods word we must pray sigh groan and cry unto him for his Spirit acknowledging we can do nothing of our selues but his Spirit must work euery grace in us Thirdly Gods corrections are an ordinary meane not of themselues but by the blessing of his Spirit whereby he works repentance in the heart Thus Manasses brought to chaines was brought to repentance Thus the Thief crucified with our Sauiour learned to repent Hos 6.1 Come say they let us return to the Lord he hath smitten us he hath torn us First therefore if we will repent we must be diligent in attending to the Word and praying for his Spirit so to