In every Christian there is found a twofold man, opposed, like their fruits, to one another. This will more fully appear from the following statement:
| Adam, | Christ. |
| Old man, | New man. |
| Outward man, | Inward man. |
| Old birth, | New birth. |
| Flesh, | Spirit. |
| Nature, | Grace. |
| Reason, | Faith. |
| Darkness, | Light. |
| Tree of death, | Tree of life. |
| Evil fruit, | Good fruit. |
| Sin, | Righteousness. |
| Damnation, | Salvation. |
| Death, | Life. |
| Old Jerusalem, | New Jerusalem. |
| Kingdom of the devil, | Kingdom of God. |
| Seed of the serpent, | Seed of God. |
| Natural man, | Spiritual man. |
| Image of the earthly, | Image of the heavenly. |
The truth of this statement, the Scriptures, as well as experience, abundantly confirm. The former speak largely of the old man and the new, of the inward and outward man. See Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:9; 2 Cor. 4:16. They teach also that the Spirit of God is in us: Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13. And likewise Christ, Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 13:5. Experience, moreover, demonstrates the same. Hither may also be referred that striving and struggling of the flesh and Spirit, from which even the saints are not free. Rom. 7:23. Likewise there belong here the different fruits of the flesh and Spirit reckoned up by St. Paul. Gal. 5:19-23. This point is therefore clearly stated in Scripture, and too certain to be called in question by any Christian. It is the hinge, as it were, on which all the Scripture moves, and the foundation on which the true knowledge of man depends. Out of the same fountain issue true repentance, or the death of Adam, and the life of Christ in us. For no sooner does Adam die in us, but there perishes with him all that is originally derived from him; the old outward man, the old birth, the flesh, nature, corrupt reason, darkness, the tree of death, evil fruits, sin, death, damnation, the seed of the serpent, the natural man, the earthly image, the old Jerusalem, and the kingdom of Satan. But as long as Adam lives, there also live and reign with him the old man, and the carnal birth, the flesh, nature, corrupt reason, darkness, and the whole train of evils before mentioned, being all comprised under the kingdom of Satan, and subject to damnation, and to the curse everlasting. But if, on the other hand, Christ live in any one, then verily there live and reign with him the new and inward man, the new birth, the Spirit, grace, faith, light, the tree of life, good fruits, righteousness, life, happiness, the seed of God, the spiritual man, the heavenly image, the new Jerusalem, and the kingdom of God. All which proceed from the divine blessing, and tend to eternal salvation. Here is a matter of importance, namely, so to order one's life and conduct, that Christ the new or second Adam, and not the old Adam, may live and reign in us.
2. Therefore it is necessary for a man to watch, to fast, to pray, fight, and strive; and, as St. Paul expresses it, to examine himself if Christ be in him. 2 Cor. 13:5. He is to work out his salvation with fear and trembling. Phil. 2:12. He is to enter through the strait gate and the narrow way in Christ. Matt. 7:13. That is, man must now hate and deny himself, forsake all (Luke 14:26), and die unto sin. Rom. 6:2. This surely is not to be effected, as the delicate Christians of this age imagine, by any careless and slight application of mind, but by an inward and profound sorrow, contrition, and brokenness of heart, together with groans and tears that cannot be uttered. These inward exercises, and acts of devotion, are most feelingly set forth by David in his Penitential Psalms, which abound with expressions of this nature. Ps. 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143. The apostle calls it a crucifying of the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof. Gal. 5:24. Whoever attains to this state, in him verily Christ lives, and he reciprocally in Christ by faith. Then Christ conquers and reigns in man, whose faith is become “the victory that overcometh the world.” 1 John 5:4.
[pg 186]3. But since the world, which thou art to strive against, is not without thee, but within thee, it follows, that it is also to be conquered not without, but within thee. For what is the world, but “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life?” 1 John 2:16. As these are in thee, so in thee they are to be subdued, that thus thou mayest worthily bear the name and character of a true child of God. “For whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4); and if thou overcomest, and gainest the victory over thy great enemy the world, thou art then a child of light (Eph. 5:8), a member of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30), and the temple of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6:19. Thou art now a good tree (Matt. 12:33), that freely and without constraint, yea, with joy, love, and pleasure, bringeth forth fruit to the glory of God. Matt. 5:16.
4. But if thou livest in Adam, and Adam reigns in thee, then thou art not a child of God, nor born again of him. For since thou art overcome by the world, and since the prince thereof rules in thee by pride, ambition, and self-love, thou art on this very account to be numbered amongst the children of the devil. John 8:44. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Rom. 8:14. And, on the contrary, as many as are led by Satan, they likewise are his children; yea, they are the very members of Satan, sons of darkness, a habitation of unclean spirits, an accursed Babylon, full of impure and of abominable beasts; as it is represented by the ancient prophets (Isa. 13:21; Rev. 18:2); but particularly by the prophet Ezekiel. He being brought in spirit into the temple at Jerusalem, beheld two remarkable things: one whereof was, “every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about;” and secondly (which was still more detestable), “seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, worshipping these beasts and images, and offering them incense.” Ezek. 8:10, 11.
5. Behold, O man, a lively representation here given of thy depraved, brutish, and beastly heart! If thou wilt but enter into this temple of thy heart, thou shalt surely find therein vast numbers of foul, detestable creatures, images, and idols, fashioned and represented by all manner of corrupt and impure thoughts in the carnal mind, imagination, and memory. Moreover (and this is the greatest evil of all), though these idols and horrid abominations should be utterly banished from the heart, and this detestable evil, by which man is made the habitation of unclean and pestilential reptiles, should, by all means, be destroyed by repentance, by mortification of the flesh, and by penitential tears and humiliation; yet, instead of doing that, thou lovest these serpents, adorest these vile monsters, and servest and caressest them. Alas! thou but little regardest that Christ is cast out of thy soul by these abominations, and is utterly banished from thy heart; and that by this means thou deprivest thyself of the supreme and eternal Good, losing the Holy Spirit with all his excellent gifts and graces. O miserable man! thou exceedingly grievest when any outward trouble befalls thee, or when thou losest anything in the world that is dear to thee; why then is it, that thou art not at all concerned at the loss even of Christ himself, and at the deplorable state of thy soul and body, which are [pg 187] both become a habitation of malignant spirits!
6. If these things be seriously pondered and laid to heart, we shall soon understand what Adam and Christ are; and how they live and act in men. To this head we may also refer the following observations. First, In Adam we are all naturally equal, nor is one better than another; since we are all, both as to body and soul, equally polluted and corrupted, so that it is affirmed by St. Paul, not only of Jews and Gentiles, but even of all men in general, that “there is no difference.” Rom. 3:22. Hence it is also true, that in the sight of God, no man is better than the most profligate criminal. For though that perverse temper which is natural to all, does not equally in all break out into works, yet God judges all men by the inward state of the heart, that poisoned fountain of all sin. Nor is there any sin so heinous, which man by nature would not freely commit, were he not strongly restrained by divine grace. For by the bent of our nature we are but too much inclined to pollute ourselves with all manner of wickedness (Jer. 13:23); and if the inclination be not always attended with the external effect itself, it is wholly to be attributed to the grace of God, and not to any strength or prudence of our own. Gen. 20:6. This consideration should excite us to the practice of true humility, and to an unfeigned fear of God; and at the same time restrain us from rashly despising our fellow-creatures, lest, by reflecting on others, we ourselves split upon the dangerous rock of carnal presumption. Secondly, it is proper to observe, that as in Adam we are all equally bad with regard to the corruption of nature; so by Christ we are all made equally just and holy; no man receiving for himself any prerogative of a peculiar righteousness in the sight of God. For since Christ is our perfection, our “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30; 6:11), we, who in Adam are alike, are also alike in Christ. For as in Adam by nature we are all one man and one body, infected with the foul contagion of disobedience and sin, so all true Christians are as one man in Christ, and make up one body, completely purified and sanctified by faith, and the blood of Christ.
7. This truth is a remedy against spiritual pride, namely, that none should account himself better before God than others, though perhaps adorned with greater gifts, and endowments. For even these are no less bestowed on him of pure grace, than are righteousness and salvation themselves. Upon this principle of pure grace, be careful to keep thy mind constantly fixed. If thou dost so, then this grace shall protect thee against the dangerous snares of pride and arrogance; and as, on the one hand, it will convince thee of thy own misery and poverty in spirit, so, on the other, it will give thee a most lively insight into Christ, and into the exceeding riches of grace, offered through him to all mankind.
God, who is of infinite mercy, in order that he might the better soften our hard and stony hearts, and turn them from the world, ourselves, and the devil, unto himself (Acts 26:18), has, in his Word, variously represented and set before our eyes man's conversion and repentance.
2. Among other ways of impressing it on our minds, the two parables of the Lost Sheep and of the Prodigal Son (Luke, chap. 15), are exceedingly affecting, and are so abundant in divine consolation, that it is scarcely possible seriously to think upon them without tears. Therein our Saviour describes three different hearts. Of these the first is, the impenitent heart of a sinner; the second, the contrite heart of a penitent; the third, the heart of God, full of mercy and paternal affection.
3. The first he describes under the similitude of a degenerate son, wastefully spending his substance and inheritance, and at last reduced to such necessity, as to wish to fill his belly with the husks which the swine did eat. By this figure all mankind in their natural state are shadowed forth; who, as so many degenerate sons, have squandered away the heavenly inheritance by continual riot and wickedness. That is, they have lost their original righteousness, holiness, innocency, and the beautiful image of God, in which they were at first created (Eph. 4:24), and are now by their own fault become the bond-slaves of sin, of the devil, and of death. And to complete their ruin, finding no relief, rest, or comfort, in any human performances and laws (which answer to the husks in the parable) they must of necessity perish with endless famine and misery, unless they speedily have recourse unto the grace of their Heavenly Father.
4. The second heart, which is that of a repenting sinner, is set forth in these words: “How many hired servants of my Father have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee; and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” In this account we have a very moving description of true repentance. By the Prodigal's coming to himself, is signified sorrow for sin; that is, when a man, on the one hand, reflects upon his own misery, and considers how, from being a child of God, he is become, as it were, a brute beast (2 Pet. 2:12), an unclean swine, a man void of reason, earthly and sensual; and, on the other, mindful of his divine origin, turns his thoughts entirely upon his Father, repents, acknowledges his offences, and says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee;” and have offended both God and man. [pg 189] This he immediately confirms by a sincere contempt of himself, expressed in these words: “and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” Moreover, faith, which is the other part of repentance, is exhibited to us in his actual arising and returning to his father's house. He assumed confidence to repair to his home, and firmly persuaded himself that his father would receive him, if not as a son, at least as one of his hired servants. “For,” says he, “I am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants.” This plainly shows the sure hope he entertained, that his father would yield to his entreaties, and receive him into his favor.
5. And now I come, thirdly, to draw the character of the paternal heart of God, set forth in the parable.
I. When the son was yet a great way off, his father saw him. Behold the prevenient mercy of our Heavenly Father, who graciously looks for his prodigal children. Ps. 79:8; Isa. 30:18, 19; Ps. 32:8.
II. And was moved with compassion. Hereby is represented his mercy waiting to be gracious to us.
III. And ran and fell on his neck. Here is mercy receiving into favor.
IV. And kissed him. This exhibits mercy ready to administer consolation to the returning sinner. Micah 7:19; Isa. 66:13.
V. Bring forth, says he, the best robe, and put it on him (Isa. 61:10). This has relation to Christ, and points out his righteousness, and justifying grace. Rom. 8:33.
VI. And put a ring on his hand. Hereby is signified the Holy Spirit, the pledge of sonship (Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:5), the seal of intimate favor and union; and it also represents to us the espousing mercy of the Lord.
VII. And shoes on his feet. This denotes a new and holy walk in Christ, resulting from the Divine power, and the grace of the Holy Spirit; which are the peculiar effects of preserving mercy. 1 Peter 1:5; Ps. 84:11.
VIII. Bring hither the fatted calf. By this feast is represented the joy of angels, or rejoicing and crowning mercy, described by the holy Psalmist, and the prophet Isaiah. Ps. 63:5; 103:5; Isa. 65:13.
6. What strong and endearing arguments are here offered by the goodness of God inviting us to sincere repentance! Let us, then, seriously consider some of the main inducements to true repentance, of which seven shall be proposed at present.
I. The boundless mercy of God.
II. The kindness of Christ, and his inestimable merit.
III. The awful threatenings and punishments that are laid before us.
IV. Death.
V. The last judgment.
VI. Hell. And
VII. Everlasting joy.
I. THE MERCY OF GOD.
7. “If thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God); he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware unto them.” Deut. 4:29-31. What tender affection, as of the heart of a father, have we here presented to us! And how just and reasonable is it, that it should move us to repentance! For how numerous and great soever our [pg 190] sins may be, the mercy of God is still greater, according to the words of the Psalmist: “With the Lord there is mercy; and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Ps. 130:7, 8. And again: “According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.” Ps. 51:1. Nor are our sins so filthy and abominable, but God can make them white as snow. “Though your sins,” says the prophet, “be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isa. 1:18. And the Psalmist says: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Ps. 51:7. Neither are they so various and manifold, but that they are surpassed by the riches of divine grace, according to the apostle: “In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Eph. 1:7. And what we read in Exodus teaches the same: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin.” Exod. 34:6, 7. Nor are they so strong and powerful, but God can destroy them, and throw them into the depth of the sea, as he did unto Pharaoh and all his host. “He will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19. Nor, finally, are they so mortal and pestilential, but God can heal them, as the prophet assures us: “The wicked shall not fall by his wickedness in the day that he turneth from it.” Ezek. 33:12.
II. THE KINDNESS OF CHRIST.
8. How kindly and affectionately Christ Jesus receives sinners, he himself abundantly declares in the Gospel: “They that be whole,” says he, “need not a physician, but they that are sick. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matt. 9:12, 13. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. Of this gracious bounty of Christ towards returning sinners, the prophets have left us many predictions. “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel,” saith Ezekiel, “who have not sought that which was lost: but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd. Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock, in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.” Ezek. 34:2, 4, 12, 16. And the prophet Isaiah says, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.” Isai. 40:11. Nor should only the gracious nature of Christ move thee to repentance; but more especially his extreme sorrow, and most innocent blood shed on thine account. For consider within thyself:
(1.) That he laid down his life, not for heaven or earth, but for thy soul. And wilt thou, by sin and impenitence, wantonly cast away so great and valuable a treasure?
(2.) Remember, that thou couldest not have been redeemed by any other or less price than the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:19). Why shouldest thou deprive thyself of a ransom so inestimable as the Redeemer has paid for thee?
(3.) Call to mind, that Christ has [pg 191] redeemed thee from the world, from sin and the devil. And dost thou desire to continue longer in the service of so hard and cruel a master?
(4.) Be assured, that without unfeigned repentance, the merit of Christ will avail thee nothing; yea, that thou tramplest under foot his blood, and dost “despite unto the Spirit of grace.” Heb. 10:29.
(5.) Lastly, consider how sharp and cruel were the sufferings which thy Saviour underwent on thy account! How he wept and sorrowed, trembled and feared! Heb. 5:7. How grievously he was wounded for thy transgressions (Isa. 53:5), and, at last, as a worm (Ps. 22:6), and cursed (Gal. 3:13), hung upon a tree! How loudly this mournful scene calls on thee to repent!
III. THREATS OF TEMPORAL PUNISHMENT.
9. “God judgeth the righteous,” saith the Psalmist, “and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword: he hath bent his bow, and made it ready: he hath also prepared for him the instruments of death: he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.” Ps. 7:11-13.
10. This wrath and revenge, no man will ever be able to escape, as the prophet Amos affirms: “He that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they climb up to heaven, thence I will bring them down: and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them. Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth.” Amos 9:1-3, 8. “Their blood shall be poured out as dust,” saith Zephaniah, 1:17, 18, “and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver, nor their gold, shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy.” Such terrible threatenings as these should lead us to unfeigned repentance; this being the only means by which to prevent impending desolation, and the total destruction of nations and cities; as evidently appears from the example of Nineveh. Jonah 3:5, 10. “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.” Jer. 18:7, 8.
IV. DEATH.
11. God has concealed the time of our death from us, that thereby we may be kept in the daily and uninterrupted practice of true repentance, as not knowing which hour may be our last. “The whole life of a man is given him for repentance,” saith St. Bernard. And this repentance is a Christian's daily cross and tribulation. Thus it is said in the Psalms: “I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.” Ps. 38:17; 73:14. God has promised grace to the penitent, but he has not promised to sinners another day in which to repent. “It is appointed unto men once to die; but after this the judgment.” Heb. 9:27. Such as God shall find thee, as such will he judge thee: wherefore, live in such a manner as thou wouldest wish to have done, when thou art dying. Consider seriously in thy mind, where they now are, who but a few years ago wasted [pg 192] their lives with lust and vanity, and freely enjoyed the “good things” of this world? Luke 16:25. They are all gone to their own place, where they wait for the day of judgment. Wherefore, “come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev. 18:4.
V. THE LAST JUDGMENT.
12. For after death, there is neither place nor time for repentance. It is in this world that eternal life is either lost or obtained. Those that repent betimes, shall not be condemned in judgment; but the impenitent will hear the awful sentence: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.” Matt. 25:41. “Behold, therefore, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor. 6:2), which will be followed by the day of judgment in the other world. “To-day, therefore, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation; lest I swear in my wrath, that ye shall not enter into my rest.” Ps. 95:7, 8, 11; Heb. 3:7, 8, 11. “For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Cor. 5:10. Those, therefore, who here repent, “shall have their sins covered” (Ps. 32:1), and “they shall no more be mentioned unto them,” as the prophet declares. Ezek. 33:16. Lay hold, therefore, on the offer of mercy betimes, know and confess thy sins, O man, that they may be remitted and forgotten.
VI. ETERNAL PAINS OF HELL.
13. With this present life, the season of the mercy of God closes. It will then be said: “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things.” Luke 16:25. Thy life is now over. Thou art now dead! Dead to God forever, to whom thou didst refuse to live in time! There is no redemption from hell. Ps. 49:14-20. How can the damned enjoy the goodness of God, to which they were dead whilst they were alive, and to which they will now continue dead to all eternity! Remember, therefore, that now is the only time for mercy, and the hour of visitation to repent; whereas, there the damned so die, as, notwithstanding, always to live; and so live, as yet to die eternally. All the senses will there suffer torment. The sight shall be punished with eternal darkness; the ears shall be filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth; the smell with stench of fire and brimstone; the taste with the bitterness of eternal death; and the feeling with a sense of endless tortures and miseries.
VII. THE JOY OF ETERNAL LIFE.
14. Is it not a very high degree of folly, to prefer a short perishing pleasure to an eternal joy; and a worthless trifle, to the glorious presence of God? Now none shall enter into this, but he who has thoroughly washed himself, and “made white his robes in the blood of the Lamb.” Rev. 3:14. “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Rev. 22:15. None of those, who, having been here invited to the feast of Christ, yet refused to come, “shall taste of his supper.” Luke 14:24. The highest joy of eternal life, will consist in “seeing God as he is.” 1 John 3:2. To see God, is all in all, and an eternal reward. “Ye shall see me,” says our Lord, “and [pg 193] your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man taketh from you.” John 16:19, 22. This sight of the face of God is the joy of the angels; it is their life, and the invisible food by which they are sustained. Now as this vision of God creates the most exalted joy, so to be banished from it, is to suffer the greatest, the most terrible, and the most severe torment, and eternal misery.
The Lord, whose mercy is infinite, by no means seeks our destruction, but rather our life and happiness. He best knows the wretched and deplorable condition into which we are fallen by sin; and he is also desirous to reclaim us from that dangerous state, and to preserve us from everlasting ruin. It is for this reason, that he so earnestly invites the soul to repentance, and engages us to the same by many strong and powerful motives.
2. Sometimes God is pleased to stir us up by terrible threatenings. “Behold,” says he, “I will bring evil upon this people; because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.” Jer. 6:19. Again, “And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; therefore, will I cast you out of my sight.” Jer. 7:13, 15. This dreadful proclamation of both temporal and eternal calamities, should strike fear and terror into us: for the threatening of God is not an empty voice, nor a sound that vanishes into nothing, but it is accompanied with many terrible effects, and consuming wrath, as will in its time more fully appear, and which we even feel already by sad experience; since miseries and calamities, like a flood, seem to carry all before them. Nay, they will undoubtedly multiply upon us, and exert themselves with the utmost fury and fierceness, except we betimes prevent them by a sincere repentance. Thus the wrath of God shall be poured forth in wars, famines, pestilence, fire, and inundations, till he has at length destroyed our very foundations, as he did once to the city of Jerusalem. Lam. 4:11.
3. But if the proclamation of wrath and judgment cannot prevail upon us, yet ought God's abounding goodness, attended as it is with so many endearing marks of love, to melt our hearts, and to soften them into true and earnest repentance. For thus hath the Lord spoken by the prophet: “Return, thou backsliding Israel, and [pg 194] I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God.” Jer. 3:12, 13. In these words, God makes a free offer of his grace, entreats and adjures us to return to him again, for he is willing to accept our repentance.
4. The passages that have been quoted, are a convincing proof that God, by his grace, mercy, patience, and clemency, strongly invites us to true repentance. There are chiefly three things in those scriptures, which deserve a more particular observation: namely, the nature of repentance, or what it is to repent; that is, to turn unto the Lord:—the manner in which repentance is to be wrought out; that is, by fasting, weeping, and mourning:—the motive to engage us in so holy an exercise, which is the paternal goodness of God; “for I am merciful.”
As to the first, we know that to repent, is nothing else but to be led, through the law of God, to acknowledge the natural blindness of our hearts, and that detestable impurity which lurks within. Next, we ought to regard this as the very source whence all other sins proceed, and whereby we depart from God, the supreme and eternal Good, deserving not only various punishments here, but also his everlasting wrath in hell hereafter. All this ought to awaken in us sorrow and distress, not so much by reason of the threatened punishment, as rather on account of the heinousness of the many provocations offered to a merciful Father, who in his very nature is love and kindness. This being done, we may then raise again our souls by virtue of the Gospel, and with a well-grounded faith, rely on the favor of God, and on the sure remission of sin promised in Christ Jesus. This must necessarily be attended with a serious amendment of life, with a constant purification of the heart by faith, with a mortification of all evil desires, and with a sincere abnegation of our own will, so opposite to that of God. In a word, it will be accompanied with a new life acceptable unto God in Christ, and with fruit worthy of repentance; suitably to what God enjoins by the prophet: “Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:16, 18.
5. But alas! here is the difficulty! These things are much more easily said, than reduced to practice. The reason is, because hardly any will earnestly engage in so weighty a work, or search into the true original cause of the many dreadful disorders that appear in our lives and conduct. Man flatters himself with a confident opinion of his own goodness, and cherishes the affection of the old man. There are few who care to see their hearts in their inward and native depravity; or to be made sensible of that vein of evil nature which runs through all their actions, even the best and most shining. And thus Christ himself, and the grace of God, manifested by him, are wantonly disregarded.
6. And yet Joel (2:12) requires us to “turn unto God with all our heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Hereby he intimates that we are turned away from God; have forsaken the fountain of living waters (Jer. 2:13); and are now unable to attain life and happiness again, unless we “search our ways,” and “return” [pg 195] unto him from whom we are gone astray. Lam. 3:40. It is for this purpose that the Prophet charges “backsliding children” to return, with the promise annexed, that the “Lord will heal their backslidings.” Jer. 3:22. For this verily is the will of God, that we should see and confess our misery, in order that he may compassionately heal it.
7. But since, by nature, we are so blind as to be utterly unable of ourselves sufficiently to discover our own wretchedness; God has been pleased to afford means, with a view to bringing us to a sound knowledge of ourselves. This is done by his holy Word and the Sacraments, which are always accompanied with his grace and Spirit. By these the Father draws, allures, and calls us to himself, as so many lost and wandering sheep. John 6:44. For as a straying sheep cannot of itself return, but must of necessity be sought and brought back to the fold by the shepherd, so we would forever go astray in the wilderness of sin and error, did not God himself carefully seek us; and this the examples of Peter and Paul abundantly confirm. Therefore the prophet says: “Turn thou me, O Lord, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.” Jer. 31:18. “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.” Jer. 17:14. “For it is God,” says the apostle, “which worketh in us, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13.
8. When, therefore, the Lord graciously awakens us by these means, and invites us to repentance, it is our part, not to withstand his grace and Spirit; (as it is said, “To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”) (Ps. 95:7, 8); but to confess the sin which he thus reproves in us, and by no means make light of the grace offered to us in the Gospel. Then God will assuredly have mercy upon us, as he himself declares: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa. 55:7.
9. Upon this account the work of conversion, though it is entirely a work of God's grace, is yet in one respect ascribed to us; namely, as we give up ourselves to the Lord, and to his operations, and do not wantonly resist his Spirit, despise his grace, and cast it from us; or, as the apostle expresses it, do not put his Word from us, nor stop our ears against it, as did the Jews of old. Acts 13:46; 7:57. On the contrary, when the severity of the law has laid open our spiritual diseases, and we have felt the bitterness thereof; let us avail ourselves of the Gospel as a healing remedy, and suffer our heavenly Physician to restore us to health.
10. An image of this we have in a straying sheep. If it but hear at a distance the voice of the shepherd, it starts back immediately, and returns to him. And how willingly would the lost sinner follow the voice of his Shepherd, if sin had not so perverted him, as to reduce him lower than the very beasts in stupidity and dulness! Of this indeed the prophet complains: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” Isa. 1:3. “Shall they fall,” asks another prophet, “and not arise? Shall he turn away, and not return? The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle, and [pg 196] the crane, and the swallow, observe the times of their coming: but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.” Jer. 8:4, 7.
11. We ought, therefore, most fervently to implore the Lord, not to withdraw from us his gracious assistance, without which we must certainly go astray. For since sin and the old Adam constantly abide in our corrupt flesh and blood, we have need of daily, yea, hourly supplies of grace, for repressing the tyranny of sin, and for nourishing the life of God within us. The grace of God is the life of our soul, as the soul is the life of the body. And as the life of the body, without the free enjoyment of the air, must soon be extinct; so the vital flame of the inward life will speedily languish, without a daily supply of grace to support it. For this reason Solomon prayed: “The Lord our God be with us; let him not leave us, nor forsake us; that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways.” 1 Kings 8:57.
12. This is a lesson which ought not to be learned in a light and general manner, but by a close and practical application be brought home to every one in particular. Let, therefore, every one look into his own heart and seek its renewal, that so all may be reformed in time. Let us remember that comfortable exhortation, and the promise annexed thereto: “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near.” Isa. 55:6. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart, saith the Lord.” Jer. 29:13.
13. But in order to true repentance, it is not enough to refrain only from gross sins, and foul visible transgressions; but the heart, whence all those evils proceed, is to be changed and purified; that so inward pride, covetousness, and lust, with all sinful affections, may be mortified at last. For whilst the heart is unchanged, unreformed, and unrenewed; that is, whilst our own corrupt temper, our inward malice, wrath, hatred, enmity, revenge, lying, and deceit, are quietly suffered within us; all our boasts of, and pretences to, and formalities in, religion, are but mere show and hypocrisy. God requires no less than a new heart, and “a new creature in Christ Jesus.” 2 Cor. 5:17. No one is so holy, so good, and so thoroughly cleansed, but he will still find something in his own heart to be thrown out, or to be amended and rectified. “As a fountain casteth out her waters, so Jerusalem casteth out her wickedness.” Jer. 6:7. This is the first head, relating to the nature of repentance, of which more has been said in Book I.
14. Let us now consider, in the second place, the manner of our returning to God: “with all the heart,” says the prophet, “with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Wretched mortals can weep floods of tears for empty and perishing goods, whilst they stand unmoved at the miserable state of their souls, and at the loss of an eternal and incorruptible inheritance! In this they are altogether unlike David, who, by his example, sets a most shining pattern of sincere and unfeigned repentance before us. See Ps. 6, and Ps. 38. “For the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7), and “trieth the heart and reins.” Ps. 7:9.
15. What the prophet says of fasting, is to be understood of a general fast enjoined by the prophet to all the people. In such a fast the whole body of a nation were wont to be concerned. [pg 197] They publicly confessed their sins; they deplored and bewailed them; and thus humbling themselves before God, fasted both inwardly and outwardly. And in this order they begged remission of sin, and deprecated the judgments of God gathering over them. Such a general fast and public repentance as this, such sincere conversion, prayer, faith, confession, and supplication, are the most effectual means to appease the wrath of an offended God, and to avert his judgments from whole kingdoms and nations. This plainly appears from the history of the defeat of the other tribes of Israel, by that of Benjamin; in which the former having in two battles lost forty thousand men, all went up and came before the Lord, with weeping and mourning, and there fasted the whole day, from morning to night. Judges 20:26. A similar illustrious example is recorded of the fast of the Ninevites (Jonah 3:5, 10): and of the children of Israel, who, being beaten by the Philistines, kept a fast for seven days together, after Saul and Jonathan were slain in the battle. 1 Chron. 10:12.
16. Such solemn penitential fasts were also in use in the primitive Church, when the Christians met together, and in any great public calamity humbled themselves before the Lord. Not, surely, to obtain remission of sin by such performances, as so many meritorious acts of devotion; but by a contrite, sober, and humble heart, to deprecate the judgments that were ready to break in upon them. And such fasts might with propriety still be observed.
17. Fasts such as these, accompanied with true repentance, would prove an impregnable wall and fortification against all our enemies; a sovereign medicine in all pestilential diseases; and a safeguard about all our estates and possessions. An example of this we have in Job, who, whenever his children had spent any day in mirth and feasting, “offered up unto God prayers and sacrifices for them” (Job 1:4, 5); and thus, as it were, fortified his house by prayer against the insults of wicked men and devils.
18. In great public calamities the Lord looks out for such men as may, like a bulwark, oppose his wrath when ready to make a breach. “I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them, I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.” Ezek. 22:30, 31. We may also remember, on this occasion, the intercession of Abraham. Gen. 18:23.
19. Thus the prophet Daniel was a wall of defence when he made confession to God of the sins of all the people. Dan. 9:4, 5, etc. And the prophet Joel, in very moving terms, describes such a penitential fast: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” Joel 2:15-17.
20. Such public fasts ought to be celebrated by the whole multitude, without hypocrisy, with ardent zeal [pg 198] and devotion; for it is the will of God, that every one readily confess his sins. He requires true humility, sincere repentance, and a turning to him with our whole heart. Hence the prophet commands the “heart, and not the garments,” to be rent. The Jews, at the hearing of any sad or terrible evil, were accustomed to rend their clothes, in order to evidence thereby the inward sorrow with which they were affected. This, however, like their fasting, was often a mere formality, and their grief was only pretended. Wherefore, the prophet reproves them, saying, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” Isa. 58:5-7.
21. These words explain the nature of a true fast; which is then only kept, when, on the one hand, we abstain from sin, subdue the wanton lusts of the flesh, and keep the old man, with all his members, under constant restraint and subjection: and, on the other, when we are fervent in works of charity, in the practice of patience and mercy, and of the other virtues springing up from a contrite, sincere, and penitent heart. And it is with regard to these inward acts of humiliation, that the prophet bids us rend our hearts. For as the wounds of the heart must necessarily be very painful; so the grief occasioned by our sins should affect us, as if our very hearts were bruised and crushed. And this “broken spirit,” this “contrite heart,” is that sacrifice which is so highly acceptable to God. Ps. 51:17. Such a heart has, by faith, obtained a due fitness to receive the influence of the grace of God, the consolations of the Holy Spirit, and the merit and blood of Jesus Christ. As a hard and massive stone cannot be penetrated by the oil or water poured upon it, until it be broken to pieces; so the sovereign balm of God's grace and consolation cannot comfort and quicken the heart, except it be first broken and softened into humility, that so by faith it may partake of the merit of Christ. “Not the whole, but the sick, have need of a physician.” Matt. 9: 12. Let no one think that he belongs to Christ, unless he has first “crucified the flesh, with its affections and lusts.” Gal. 5:24. The blood of Christ will be of no profit to any except to those who embrace it with a contrite, afflicted, penitent, humble and believing heart.
22. As for the motives to repentance, which make up the third head, they are thus expressed by the prophet: “Turn unto the Lord, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” Joel 2:12, 13. He lays down in these words, a gradual display of the manifold mercies offered to returning sinners. As if he had said, “If you think it a small thing that I am gracious, then know that I am merciful also: if this be not enough, I am likewise patient and slow to anger: if this will not yet suffice, then I am, moreover, of great kindness. If, after [pg 199] all, you still require something more, then understand, that I easily repent of intended punishments; yea, even when my avenging hand is lifting up, I am ready to let fall the rod, upon your serious repentance.”
23. First, then, the prophet calls God gracious (Ps. 103:8); that is, ready to be entreated and reconciled. God is easy to be prevailed with, forgives offences, deals not in strict justice and the rigor of the law, according to what we have deserved. And all these marks of mercy should lead us to repentance. There are many admirable promises, all tending to the same end. “If thou afflict them, they will cry unto me, and I will surely hear; for I am gracious.” Ex. 22:23, 27. “Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you. Thou shalt weep no more; he will be very gracious unto thee, at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.” Isa. 30:18. That is, the Most High is so rich in grace, that he waits for you. In him there is expecting grace, by which he readily receives those that truly return: prevenient grace, expressed by the Psalmist—“Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent (that is, meet, or anticipate) us” (Ps. 79:8): protecting grace, noticed by the same prophet; “He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about” (Ps. 32:10): preserving grace; “Surely,” says David, “mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Ps. 23:6. Of this we have given examples in the preceding chapter. With this agree also the words of Scripture: “With the Lord there is mercy; and with him is plenteous redemption.” Ps. 130:7. Wherefore, let the divine clemency and grace move thee to sincere and unfeigned repentance.
24. Secondly, the prophet declares that God is merciful. To be merciful, is to be easily moved by the miseries of another, and from the very heart to compassionate his case. This is to be seen in parents, who, not only with unfeigned tenderness love their children, but are at the same time so deeply touched with their misery and weakness, as to be willing even to die for them, if that were possible. Thus David, when he lamented the death of his son Absalom, mournfully exclaimed: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 2 Sam. 18:33. But these bowels of mercy, this ardent, cordial, and tender affection, are infinitely more conspicuous in God himself, who, from an abounding sense of love and kindness, has given up his Son to death, and thereby transcended all the affections of earthly parents. This is declared by the prophet: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Isa. 49:15. And by another, “Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.” Jer. 31:20. And again by another, “The Lord thy God is a merciful God; he will not forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware unto them.” Deut. 4:31. And David confirms it: “The Lord is merciful and gracious.” Ps. 103:8. And again, calling to mind this mercy, when of three punishments he had it in his power to choose which he pleased, he answered, “Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for [pg 200] his mercies are great.” 2 Sam. 24:14. Would to God that his paternal mercy might also allure us to unfeigned repentance! St. Paul himself refers to this most powerful inducement, when he beseeches us “by the mercies of God, etc.” Rom. 12:1.
25. The third appellation given to God by the prophet is, that he is patient, or slow to anger. He is not easily moved to wrath; he suffers many provocations offered him, and gives time for repentance and conversion. All which he has abundantly evidenced by many real demonstrations, powerful enough to convince us, that even in God himself, “Love beareth all things, endureth all things” (1 Cor. 13:7), even as parents bear with their children. To this purpose says St. Peter, “The Lord is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet. 3:9. And again, “Account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation.” 2 Pet. 3:15. And Paul wishes, that “the goodness of God may lead us to repentance.” Rom. 2:4. To this long-suffering of God it was entirely due, that he granted the old world a hundred and twenty years in which to repent; bearing all that time with their provocations, and waiting for repentance. Gen. 6:3. And O! how much time hath he given us to repent in, and to work out our salvation! But this divine grace is abused by those who only grow more wanton by mercies, and “turn even the grace of God itself into lasciviousness.” Jude, ver. 4. But by this they only hasten their ruin, and render more grievous the punishment which they deserve. If one, and then another of these many and provoking affronts, with which men offend an omnipotent God, were daily put upon a mere mortal, nothing certainly could be expected but the utmost severity of his resentment. How inconceivably great then must be the patience of God, who not only pardons offences so numerous and so heinous, but also returns all manner of kindness to the offender himself. O! that the inconceivable patience of the Lord might inspire us with a hatred of sin, and lead us all to repentance!
26. Fourthly, God is represented to be of great kindness; so great indeed, that no sin, how great soever, can surpass it. For as God is essentially and wholly good, so is he desirous to communicate himself wholly to men, provided they be willing to receive and admit him. Yea, by his nature he can be and do nothing but good. He takes a pleasure therein, and “rejoiceth over us to do us good.” Jer. 32:41. His mercy is as great as himself, that is, infinite. It extends to all mankind. “Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens.” Ps. 36:5. “As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” Ps. 103:11. And we read in the Lamentations: “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not: they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lam. 3:22. See, therefore, O man! that a goodness so inexpressible be no longer abused, but that it animate thee to sincere repentance.
27. And lastly, the prophet says of the Lord, “It repenteth him of the evil.” This is as if he would say: “It is the nature of God, to punish with reluctance; and when he is even constrained thereto, it is not for our destruction, but salvation, that we be not condemned with the world.” 1 Cor. 11:32. He then doth “his strange [pg 201] work” (of punishment), that he may bring to pass his own work (of mercy). Isa. 28:21. Thus he repented of the evil he had designed against Nineveh. Jonah 3:10. And, therefore, “it is good, that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. For the Lord will not cast off for ever: but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” Lam. 3:26, 31-33. Therefore, repent of thy sins.
28. For as soon as thou repentest of sin, and supplicatest the Lord in true faith, God will also repent of the punishment he intended to inflict. The words of the Lord to Jonah are very memorable: “Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons?” Jonah 4:9-11. This boundless mercy is still the same even at this day, and will continue so forever to penitent and returning sinners. Go, therefore, O man, and let this overflowing mercy of God lead thee to repentance!