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A62638
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Several discourses of repentance by John Tillotson ; being the eighth volume published from the originals by Ralph Barker.
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Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing T1267; ESTC R26972
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169,818
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480
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so I might instance in all other sorts of Sins I say he that considers this well and wisely tho' there were no Law against Sin and if it were a possible case and fit to be supposed tho' there were no such Being as God in the World to call him to account and punish him for it yet out of meer Generosity and Greatness of Mind out of pure respect to himself and the Dignity and Rank of his Being and of his Order in the World out of very Reverence to Humane Nature and the inward Perswasion of his own Mind however he came by that Perswasion concerning the Indeceny and Deformity and Shamefulness of the thing I say for these Reasons if there were no other a Man would strive with himself with all his might to refrain from Sin and Vice and not only blush but abhor to think of doing a wicked Action 3. Sin will yet farther appear shameful in that it is so great a Reproach to our Understandings and Reasons and so foul a Blot upon our Prudence and Discretion Omnis peccans aut ignorans est aut incogitans is a Saying I think of one of the School-men as one would guess by the Latin of it Every Sinner is either an ignorant or inconsiderate Person Either Men do not understand what they do when they commit Sin or if they do know they do not actually attend to and consider what they know Either they are habitually or actually ignorant of what they do for Sin and Consideration cannot dwell together 't is so very unreasonable and absurd a thing that it requires either gross Ignorance or stupid Inadvertency to make a Man capable of committing it Whenever a Man sins he must either be destitute of Reason or must lay it aside or asleep for the time and so suffer himself to be hurried away and to act brutishly as if he had no understanding Did but Men attentively consider what it is to offend God and to break the Laws of that great Law-giver who is able to save or to destroy they would discern so many invincible Objections against the thing and would be filled with such strong Fears and Jealousies of the fatal Issue and Event of it that they would not dare to venture upon it And therefore we find the Scripture so frequently resolving the Wickedness of Men into their Ignorance and Inconsiderateness Psal 14.4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge intimating that by their Actions one would judge so And the same account God himself also gives elsewhere of the frequent Disobedience and Rebellion of the People of Israel Deut. 32.28 29. They are a nation void of counsel neither is there any understanding in them Oh! that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end Knowledge and Consideration would cure a great part of the Wickedness that is in the World Men would not commit Sin with so much greediness would they but take time to consider and bethink themselves what they do Have we not reason then to be ashamed of Sin which casts such a reproach of Ignorance and Rashness upon us and of Imprudence likewise and Indiscretion Since nothing can be more directly and plainly against our greatest and best Interest both of Body and Soul both here and hereafter both now and to all Eternity And there is nothing that Men are more ashamed of than to be guilty of so great an Imprudence as to act clearly against their own Interest to which Sin is the most plainly cross and contrary that it is possible for any thing to be No Man can engage and continue in a sinful Course without being so far abused and infatuated as to be contented to part with Everlasting Happiness and to be undone and miserable for ever none but he that can perswade himself against all the Reason and Sense of Mankind that there is pleasure enough in the transient acts of Sin to make amends for Eternal Sorrow and Shame and Suffering And can such a Thought as this enter into the Heart of a considerate Man Epicurus was so wise as to conclude against all Pleasure that would give a Man more Trouble and Disturbance afterwards against all Pleasures that had Pain and Grief consequent upon them and he forbids his Wise Man to taste of them or to meddle with them and had he believed any thing of a future State he must according to his Principle have pronounc'd it the greatest Folly that could be for any Man to purchase the Pleasures and Happiness of a few Years at the dear rate of Eternal Misery and Torment So that if it be a Disgrace to a Man to act imprudently and to do things plainly against his Interest then Vice is the greatest reproach that is possible The 4 th and last Consideration which renders Sin so shameful to us is that it is our own Voluntary Act and Choice We chuse this Disgrace and willingly bring this Reproach upon our selves We pity an Ideot and one that is naturally destitute of Understanding or one that loseth the use of his Reason by a Disease or other inevitable accident But every one despiseth him who besots himself and plays the fool out of carelessness and a gross neglect of himself And this is the Case of the Sinner there is no Man that sinneth but because he is wanting to himself he might be wiser and do better and will not but he chuseth his own Devices and Voluntarily runs himself upon those inconveniences which it was in his Power to have avoided Not but that I do heartily own and lament the great Corruption and Degeneracy of our Nature and the strong Propensions which appear so early in us to that which is Evil but God hath provided a Remedy and Cure for all this For since the Grace of God which brings Salvation unto all men hath appeared under the influence and through the assistance of that Grace which is offer'd to them by the Gospel men may deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly righteously and godly in this present World For I make no doubt but since God hath enter'd into a new Covenant of Grace with Mankind and offered new Terms of Life and Salvation to us I say I doubt not but his Grace is ready at hand to enable us to perform all those Conditions which he requires of us if we be not wanting to our selves There was a way of Salvation established before the Gospel was clearly reveal'd to the World and they who under that Dispensation whether Jews or Gentiles sincerely endeavour'd to do the will of God so far as they knew it were not utterly destitute of Divine Grace and Assistance But now there is a more plentiful Effusion of God's Grace and Holy Spirit so that whoever under the Gospel sins deliberately sins wilfully and is wicked not for want of Power but of Will to do otherwise And this is that which makes Sin so shameful a thing and so
Arguments which the Gospel useth to persuade Men and encourage them to Repentance are greater and more powerful by so much is the Impenitence of those who live under the Gospel the more inexcusable Had we only some faint hopes of God's Mercy a doubtful Opinion and weak Persuasion of the Rewards and Punishments of another World yet we have a Law within us which upon the probability of these Considerations would oblige us to Repentance Indeed if Men were assur'd upon good grounds that there would be no future Rewards and Punishments then the sanction of the Law were gone and it would lose its force and Obligation or if we did despair of the Mercy of God and had good Reason to think Repentance impossible or that it would do us no good in that case there would be no sufficient Motive and Argument to Repentance for no Man can return to his Duty without returning to the love of God and Goodness and no man can return to the love of God who believes that he bears an implacable hatred against him and is resolved to make him miserable for ever During this Persuasion no Man can repent And this seems to be the reason why the Devils continue impenitent But the Heathens were not without hopes of God's Mercy and upon those small hopes which they had they encouraged themselves into Repentance as you may see in the instance of the Ninevites Let them turn every one from his evil ways and from the violence that is in his hands Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not Jonah 3.8 9. But if we who have the clearest Discoveries and the highest Assurance of this who profess to believe that God hath declared himself placable to all Mankind that he is in Christ reconciling the World to himself and that upon our Repentance he will not impute our Sins to us if we to whom the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men and to whom Life and Immortality are brought to Light by the Gospel if after all this we still go on in any impenitent Course what shall we be able to plead in excuse of our selves at that great day The men of Nineveh shall rise up in Judgment against such an impenitent Generation and Condemn it because they repented upon the Terror of lighter threatnings and upon the Encouragement of weaker hops And therefore it concerns us who call our selves Christians and enjoy the clear Revelation of the Gospel to look about us and take heed how we continue in an Evil Course For if we remain impenitent after all the Arguments which the Gospel superadded to the Light of Nature affords to us to bring us to Repentance it shall not only be more tolerable for the men of Nineveh but for Tyre and Sidon for Sodom and Gomorrah the most wicked and impenitent Heathens at the day of Judgment than for us For because we have stronger Arguments and more powerful Encouragements to Repentance than they had if we do not repent we shall meet with a heavier Doom and a fiercer Damnation The Heathen World had many excuses to plead for themselves which we have not The times of that ignorance God winked at but now commands all men every where to repent because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead FINIS Books Printed for R. Chiswell SCRIPTORVM ECCLESIASTICORVM Historia Literaria facili perspicua methodo digesta in 2 Vol. Fol. Authore GVL. CAVE S. T. P. His Primitive Christianity 5th Edit 8 o. His Dissertation concerning the Government of the Ancient Church by Bishops Metropolitans and Patriarchs 8 o. Arch-Bishop Tenison's Conference with Pulton the Jesuit His nine Sermons on several Occasions Eight Volumes of Arch-Bishop Tillotson's Sermons Published from the Originals by Dr. Barker Vol. 1 st of Sincerity and Constancy in the Faith and Profession of the True Ruligion 3 d Edition Corrected 1700. Vol. 2 d Of the Presence of the Messias the Glory of the Second Temple Of Christ Jesus the only Mediator Of the Nature Office and Employment of good Angels Of the Reputation of good men after Death c. The 2 d Edition Corrected 1700. Vol. 3 d Of the Sin and Danger of adding to the Doctrine of the Gospel Honesty the best Preservative against Dangerous Mistakes in Religion The Nature and Evil of Covetousness The Wisdom of Religion c. The 2 d Edition Corrected 1700. Vol. 4 th Of Natural and Instituted Religion c. Second Edition Corrected 1700 Vol. 5 th Proving Jesus to be the Messias c. Second Edition Corrected 1700. Volumes 6 th and 7 th Upon the Attributes of God Second Edition Corrected 1700. Volume 8 th Of Repentance Ten Sermons on several Occasions by Bishop Patrick His Hearts Ease or Remedy against all Troubles The 7 th Edition 1699. His Commentary on Genesis Exodus Leviticus and Numbers in Four Volumes His Commentary on Duteronomy 1700. Valentine's Private Devotions The 26 th Edition 1699. Wharton's Sermons in Lambeth-Chappel in 2 Vol. 8 o. With his Life The Second Edition 1700. Dr. Conant's Sermons in Two Vol. 8 o. Published by Bishop Williams Dr. Wake of Preparation for Death The 6 th Edition 1699. Dr. Fryer's Nine Years Travels into India and Persia Illustrated with Copper Plates Fol. 1698. Bishop Williams Of the Lawfulness of Worshipping God by the Common-Prayer With several other Discourses Mr. Tulley's Discourse of the Government of the Thoughts The 3 d Edition 12 o 1699. The Life of Henry Chichele Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in which there is a particular Relation of many Remarkable Passages in the Reigns of Henry V. and VI. Kings of England Written in Latin by Arthur Duck L. L. D. Chancellor of the Diocess of London and Advocate of the Court of Honour Now made English and a Table of Contents annexed 8 o 1699. The Judgment of the Ancient Jewish Church against the Vnitarians in the Controversy upon the Holy Trinity and the Divinity of our Blessed Saviour With a Table of Matters and a Table of Texts of Scriptures occasionally explained by Peter Alix D. D. Short Memoâ—â—â—s of Thomas Lord Fairfax Written by himself Published 1699. The Life of John Whitgift Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in the times of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. Written by Sir Geo. Paul Comptroler of his Grace's Houshold To which is annexed a Treatise intituled Conspiracy for pretended Reformation Written in the Year 1591. By Richard Cosin L. L. D. Dean of the Arches and Official Principal to Arch-Bishop Whitgift 8 o. 1699. An Exposition of the 39 Articles of the Church of England by Dr. Burnet Bishop of Sarum Fol. 1700. His Sermon to the Societies for Reformation of Manners March 25. 1700. A Practical Discourse of Religious Assemblies By Dr. William Sherlock Dean of St. Pauls The 3d. Edition 1700. A Treatise concerning the Causes of the present Corruption of Christians and the Remedies thereof 1700. In the Press The Fourth and Last Part of Mr. RVSHWORTH's Historical Collections Containing the Principal Matters which happen'd from the beginning of the Year 1645. where the Third Part ended to the Death of King Charles the First 1684. Impartially Related Setting forth only Matter of Fact in Order of Time without Observation or Reflection Fitted for the Press in his Life-time To which will be added Exact Alphabetical Tables