The Practice of Repentance, Chapter 27
CAP. 27. Obiections from the conceit of the easinesse of Repentance.
Obiect. OThers conceiue Repentance so easie a thing, and soone done, as needeth no such care or time. A Lord hauehave mercy at death: and what need a man martyr himselfe all his life?
Answ. 1. These men that so sleight the remedy, neuer saw the danger of the disease. Is the disease but a little languishing of nature, as the Papists would make vsus beleeue? or rising out of a few sleight veniall sinnes, cured by a a Creed, or Aue, or a knocke on the breast? They deale with their Proselites, as the mother with an infant; if it hurt the finger, the mother bloweth it; and these babies beleeue presently, the blowing hath soundly healed it.
But he that measureth either the disease by the remedy, or the remedy by the disease, shall find it mortall enough, being the foulest and most contagious and incurable disease that appertaineth to man, compared in the law to the leprosie, which was not cured so easily, but required an infinite toyle to goe through the cure according to the law, & often proued inuincible and incurable. Naaman cured by miracle, must yet wash seuen times, to know the difficultie of the cure.
2 The whole power of nature cannot doe it, and yet a naturall man thinketh it easie: Is it easie for an Ethiopian to be washed white, or a Leopard to part with his spots? So easie is it for him to doe good, that is accustomed to euill, Ier. 13.23. Is it easie for an old man to become young againe? and so easie is it in nature for an old sinner to be renued by Repentance.
Is it easie for a dead man to be raised to life? it cost Christ himselfe teares and groanes to raise Lazarus, not because it was hard to him, but to shew the impossibility in Lazarus: and is it easie for a dead man to raise himselfe? and so easie is it for a man dead in sins & trespasses, to raise himselfe to Repentance, Ephes. 2.1.
3 Is it so easie, which the whole power of grace cannot conquer, while we are here below? All the grace in the world cannot cleane fetch out the soyle of sinne while wee are here. Is it easie to wash out a scarlet or crimson, to become white, which was dyed both in wooll and cloath? nay, the cloath will be torne to pieces first: and so easie is it euen to get out by Repentance, the deepe dye of our scarlet sinnes of our nature and practice.
4 Didst thou euer try how easie it was to turne away from some outward act of sinne, to which thou wast addicted? and yet a hypocrite by some restraining grace can doe it; he can for some reasons forbeare some acts of adultery, swearing. But this is another thing, it is the killing and mortifying of inward affections & lusts, as deare as members. Col. 3.5. Mortifie your earthly members: this is not the cutting off a washbow of sinne, but the stocking vp the roots, which is another manner of taske. A naturall man would offer any thing to God, but his beloued sin: he would rather come before the Lord with riuers of oyle, and offer the fruits of his body, than any one lust: and therefore it is not so easie, as many conceit.
5 Is it so easie? what maketh wicked men take on so at godly Preachers when they cal them to Repentance; dealing with them as some distempered patient, who feeling the smart of a drawing plaister, and corasiue, driueth away the Surgeon with rayling speeches, and casting bedstaues at him when he commeth to touch, and to cure his wound. Canst thou not abide a drawing playster to driue away corrupt bloud and humours? much lesse wilt thou finde ease in cutting off ioynts and members, and putting out eyes, which Repentance must doe. Thinke on these things, and then tell mee what an easie thing Repentance is.