The Practice of Repentance, Chapter 41
CAP. 41. Motiues to Repentance from ones selfe.
THe fourth Motiue to Repentance may be drawne from thy selfe. And here looke on thy person, and thy selfe; both whole, and parts, will call on thy selfe to hasten thy Repentance.
1. Thy soule: Was it redeemed with gold, siluer, or any corruptible thing? or rather, with the precious bloud of Iesus Christ? and wilt thou basely sell it again for gold, or siluer, or corruptible things, or any sinfull pleasure? will the winning of the whole world recompence the losse of thy soule?
2. Thy bodie is, or should be a Temple of the holy Ghost, else art thou none of Christs: and wilt thou prophane thy body with filthy sins and lusts, to vexe the spirit, and make him weary of his lodging? Is it nothing to prophane a Temple? to turne it into a Tap-house by drunkennesse, into a stewes by vncleanenesse? Is it nothing to make thy fathers house a den of theeues, by vniustice & falshood?
3 Thy selfe was a slaue and vassall of Satan and sinne, and set free by Iesus Christ: wilt thou runne into bondage againe? Art thou now a Christian? then thou art in vnion with Christ, the Spouse of Christ; and wilt thou behaue thy selfe as a strumpet, and be led away with eueryevery alluring harlot, to the dishonour and high displeasure of so louing a husband?
2 Cast thine eyes vponupon thy sinnes, and see it high time by Repentance to renounce them. As,
1 How hatefull eueryevery sinne is to God, as for which he abhorreth his most excellent creatures, Angels and men: nay, so perfectly hated by God, as hee could not chuse but punish it in his deare Sonne, while he sustained our persons, and bare our sins.
2 What an extreame folly sinne is! who but a foole, hauing light, sight, and reason, would walke vponupon rockes and quicksands, and bolt on into pits and ponds, being warned of the danger? for all these cannot threaten such danger to the body, as sinne doth to the soule.
Who but a foole being warned that theeues and murtherers lye in such a way, and such and such they hauehave robbed & slaine, and that they lye in waite for himselfe, and if he goe on, hee cannot auoid present death, yet will be bold and foole-hardy to goe on after such warning? But thy sinnes are so many theeues and robbers that lye in wait to destroy thee, and if thou goest on in that way, thou canst not auoid euerlasting perdition.
Who but a mad man would stirre vp the wrath of the King against him, and run daily into the lurch of the Law? as the sinner doth, who maketh God his enemy, stirreth vp a Lyon against himselfe, maketh the Law of God but a cobweb, as if no execution waited the transgressor.
What a folly is it to offend, and not seeke to satisfie? nay, a frenzie farre beyond that, for a traytor going to execution, and hauing a pardon brought him for accepting, scorneth the pardon, breaketh the seales, tramples the writing, reuiles the Prince, the messenger, and iustifieth his treasonable practices still. The sinner committeth high treason against the crowne and dignity of the God of heauen, and is daily drawing neerer his execution; a pardon is offered freely in the Gospell, grace and mercy are offered; but hee by impenitency, thrusteth away the word of life, scorneth the messengers, iustifieth and defendeth his sinne: here is a spirituall madnesse and frenzy.
What a folly is it, whereas a man will doe nothing to make his finger ake, he would not be hyred to hold his finger in the flame of a candle a moment, for any money or gold: hee will scarce tast a bitter potion for recouery of health? yet this man maketh no bones of that which will bring endlesse torment in hell fire: he sticketh not to drink vp a cup of poyson, the nature of which is, the further it goeth, the more incurable it is▪ hee nourisheth a serpent in his bosome, which hath teeth and sting, and poyson enough: hee carryeth eueryevery day a fagot to burne himselfe. Oh now will not all this bring the sinner backe with Dauid to say, Oh I hauehave done very foolishly? The stung Israelites looked to the brasen serpent, and liued; they needed not be bidden: but wee hauehave need to bee vrged to lo…ke vponupon Christ lifted vp vponupon the pole of the Crosse, and yet will not doe so little for our selues and cure. What a folly is it for a man to fall and not offer to rise? no man in his sense would lye still. Oh then remember whence thou art fallen, and doe thy first workes, and repent.
3 All sinne remaineth in full power, and condemning force vponupon the soule without Repentance, Ioh. 9.41. Now you say you see, your sinne remaineth, in the guilt, in the staine, in the domination and reigne, in the damnation of it. Thou wast a swearer, an adulterer, a hater of God, and an enemy to grace, a persecutor of Christ; and thou art so still if thou hast not repented. Sinne hangeth like a burre on the impenitent person, it parteth not in life, nor in death, but lyeth downe in the dust with him, and riseth with him; it goeth to iudgement with him, and is sent to hell with him; the wrath of God abideth on him, because his sinne abideth with him.
4 Of all sinnes, impenitency is the greatest and nearest to iudgement. Reuel. 2.20. Iezabel had time to repent giuen her, but repented not, and therefore was cast into a bed of sorrow. This was noted in Saul, 1. Chron. 10 13. Saul dyed for his transgression, but what was his transgression? First, hee disobeyed the commandement: secondly, hee sought to a Witch: thirdly, hee sought not to the Lord, and therfore the Lord slue him. True it is that eueryevery sinne is damnable, but no sinne actually condemneth, but impenitency, and therefore the greatest of sinnes, is not to repent of sinne. Let it not be said of thee, as of Herod; yet he added this aboue all, that thou being so great a sinner, hast not yet repented.
3 Looke vponupon thy selfe in respect of thy good duties.
1 None can be good in thee, till thou hast repented; first, the tree must be good, and then the fruit: first, Abels person was accepted, and then his sacrifice; but to Caine, and his sacrifice, he had no respect.
2 Nay, in the best, euen the best duties must bee begun and fin…shed with Repentance, without which the best seruice is vnprofitable, and sinfully defectiue. Nehemiah in building vp the wall, in commanding the Sabbath to bee kept, desireth to be remembred in goodnesse, and pardoned. Neh. 13.12. Repent and pray; repent and be baptized; repent and receiue the Sacraments, else sinne will hinder.
4 Looke on thy selfe in thy estate and condition, both in respect of sinne, and of change, and Repentance.
1 Looke vponupon thy estate of corruption for time
Past,
Present,
To come.
1 What hath thy whole life past, been before grace? Col 1.21. Paul wisheth them to consider, that in times past they were strangers and enemies, hauing their mindes set on euill works; and 1. Pet. 4.3. It is sufficient that we hauehave spent our time past in the lusts of the Gentiles, in wantonnesse, lusts, gluttony, drunkennesse. So dost thou see thy sinnes for number, and weight as the sands already: and for the manner of committing them against such light and meanes, so out of measure sinful; and dost thou not say, It is sufficient?
2 What, is thy whole present course without grace?
1 To goe on in sin, is wilfully to perish and murther our owne soules: the case being worse with vsus, than that mans that fell among theeues; we lye not halfe, but wholly dead. God sendeth his Sonne the good Samaritane, to binde vp our wounds, to temper a remedy of his owne heart bloud, when no herbe or simple was left in heauen or earth for our cure: Now we in stead of thankefull acceptance, and application of this remedy by going on in sinne, we tread vnderunder foote this pretious bloud: nay, we make our wounds larger and bigger eueryevery day than other.
2 EueryEvery man is eueryevery day nearer his end, his death and iudgement: we are going before Gods tribunall, and to the barre of his iudgement: and shall we be so mad, as euen in the way, to multiply our misdemeanours? A malefactor going to the barre, or to execution, if he should cut a purse by the way, would not eueryevery one thinke hanging too good for him? This is the case of eueryevery impenitent person liuing in the practise of sinne, euen in the way to his execution.
3 What will bee thy case in time to come, going on in sin?
1 In the approach of death, Sathan will as…ayle with all his strength, that in the last combat, he may breake the necke of thy soule: and hee hauing the strength of a mans owne sinnes vnsubdued and vnmastered, he easily attaineth his purpose: then setteth hee eueryevery small sinne before the eye, in the magnitude of a huge mountaine, and the curse due vntounto it, to the breaking of the heart of a sinner. Now is the guilty conscience in a wofull case, stricken through with terror and torment. Now hee seeth that whereas hee thought to hauehave got out of sin at the furthest at his death, how weake and sicke his Repentance is; how strong, vnconquerable, and gyant-like his sinne is, and all concludeth with sathan against him: he seeth where the strong man hath long dwelt, he is not easily cast out, but as he hath liued, so he is likely to dye; for as the tree leaneth, so commonly it falleth; and as it falleth, so it lyeth.
2 If all this will not moue thee, consider what followeth after death: the time hasteneth wherein thou shalt bee naked before the Lord, the Iudge of all, in the sight of
Angels,
Men, and
Diuels.
Before thee a terrible Iudge to condemne thee, and with him, the Saints shall iudge the world, and giuegive witnesse against thy sin. On the one hand, Sathan who tempteth thee, shall now accuse thee: On the other, the Angels, ministring spirits, shall be ready, as a fagot to binde thee, and cast thee into hell: within thee, an accusing conscience, as a thousand witnesses against thee, shall bring to minde all sinnes, and circumstances long since forgotten: Beneath thee, hell ready to deuoure thee: none shall be admitted to speake for thee, and thy selfe shalt bee speechlesse, and canst not speake for thy selfe, so as sentence must needes passe against thee, and thou deliuered to the Deuill, whose will thou didst diligently execute here, that hee may now hauehave his will and delight in thy endlesse torment. Oh therefore vse meanes to preuent this ruful condition: come out of thy sin betime; hye thee apace out of Sodome; lay aside thine owne folly; now take Gods warning; heare the raps of Christ now knocking at the doore of thy heart, by the hammer of his Word, Spirit, Mercies, Iudgements. Now follow the Motion: let not Sathan or sin beguile thee any longer, to hold thee off from Repentance.
2. See thy happy change and blessed estate, by this grace of Repentance.
1. Of all gifts a broken heart is the rarest and happiest: the humble heart in stead of lodging foule sins and lusts, becommeth a lodge for the highest God, who pleaseth to dwel with a broken and contrite heart. What an happy change of a stony heart into flesh!
2. The very first act of Repentance bringeth pardon of sin. Psal. 32. I said I will confesse, & thou forgauest. 2. Sam. 12.13. Dauid no sooner said, I hauehave sinned, but Nathan said, The Lord hath put away thy sin: And the continuance of it, bringeth and continueth a sweet sense and assurance of remission in the heart. It is not with God, as in mens Courts, Confesse, and iudgement runneth against; but in Gods, Confesse, and the Law is satisfied. In mens Courts, Confession and Condemnation goe together; in Gods, Confession and Iustification. Iudge thy selfe, and preuent the iudgment of God.
3. What an happy and welcome change were it of age into youth? Nature cannot worke it, grace can: The old man is put off, the new man put on: Of old men wee become young, and smug againe, renewing our strength as the Eagle, Psal. 103.
And this change by grace forerunneth that great change by glorie, and is the beginning of it: When these base earthly bodies shall become spirituall bodies; and this very peece of clay shall shine as the Sun: when corruption shall put on incorruption; and these ignorant sinfull soules shall put on a perfect image of God…; and the whole man become like the Angels themselues. Whom these considerations cannot moue, I suppose nothing can.
Thus I hauehave somewhat largely intreated out of this Text, of the Practice of Repentance, in the Rules, Lets, Helpes, Markes and Motiues; I will conclude the Treatise with that of our Sauiour, If ye heare these things, blessed are yee if yee doe them; and end as I began with the words of the Text, If yee repent not, yee shall all perish. There is no greater miserie, than to bee without miserie, no greater sorrow, than to bee without the sorrow of sound Repentance.
FINIS.
End of the text · Thomas Taylor, The Practice of Repentance (1628)