The Practice of Repentance, Chapter 28
CAP. 28. Obiections from the vnseasonablenesse of Repentance, that it is yet too soone, or else it is now too late.
4 OThers obiect against themselues the vnseasonablenesse of their Repentāce. And this hath two branches: some conceiue it is yet too soone, others that it is too late.
1 It is yet too soone, I may inioy my sweet sinne a while; for sinne is like his father, is loath to bee tormented before his time.
Answ. 1. No man will reason so senselesly for his body. I hauehave a wound or gash, but it is not yet time to looke to it; I will let it rot, and gangrene, and then I will looke to it; but then it is too late and incurable. Or I hauehave a thorne in my foot, it is not yet time to pull it out. We know all delayes in bodily diseases dangerous, much more in the soule: neither will a man be so void of common reason for his goods. My house is on fire, but it is not yet time to quench it; why should this be admitted for a good reason, where the losse is incomparable?
2 If this day be so soone, to morrow may be too late; the Commandement is to seeke the Lord while hee may be found: implying, that he who may bee found to day, will not perhaps to morrow: Feare therefore the iust reuenge of GOD, who if thou deny him to day, may iustly deny thee to morrow. See we not many that would not Repent young, that cannot repent old? Gods iustice being now deafe at those, who were deafe at his mercy: he knocked, and they would not heare, and they shall cry and knock, and he will not heare, Prou. 1. Esau reiecteth the blessing while he may hauehave it, and after would hauehave it, and cannot get it, though he howle after it.
Obiect. But did not the penitent theefe repent at last, and why not I?
Answ. 1. Thou bringest an example without a promise of God; bring me a promise that thou shalt repent at last, or thou promisest thy selfe that which God promiseth not. If he promise mercy, if thou repent at last, he promiseth not the mercy to repent at last.
2 Thou bringest an instance which was a worke of wonder, and eueryevery way extraordinary and miraculous, wherein Christ pleased to honour the ignominy of the Crosse, and to manifest his glory, and power in his lowest abasement; and therefore is set among those wonderfull works of God; raysing the dead, earthquake, darkning of the Sun, &c. And therefore thou maiest as well exspect a second crucifying of Christ, and the darkning of the Sun, and raising of dead bodies out of their graues, as such a conuersion.
3 Thou bringest but one instance without a second; and of one particular, wouldst make a generall; and from an extraordinary, draw an ordinary direction: whereas thou hast infinite millions of instances, that hauehave dyed as wickedly as they liued. Sometimes a Prince pardoneth a malefactor on the Gallowes; but shall eueryevery malefactor trust to that? Our Lord Iesus now entring into his Kingdome, pardoneth a great offender, as Princes in their coronation: should any therefore imbolden himselfe to the like offence? as if any should goe and commit a robbery, in hope there may be a Coronation betweene the fact and his execution.
4 Thou bringest an instance which will not hold in thy case.
1 The theefe he did not desperately and wittingly deferre his Repentance; nor thrust off the remedy till the last moment; for then in likelihood it had neuer beene offered; but thou dost.
2 He was saued without all meanes; he had neuer heard of Christ nor Religion before; and therefore did not refuse them: for if he had, saith Augustine, it is like he had not beene last among the Apostles in number, who was before them all in the Kingdome. But thou reiecte… the meanes, despisest the voice, and wilt not come in to Christ: his conuersion was vponupon the first opportunity, and canst thou wrest it to slippe all opportunities?
3 He was not saued at the instant, without expression of sauing faith, sound louelove of God, of men; care of his owne soule, confession of his sinnes, and a rare confession of Christ in that instant, when all the world forsooke him; yea, euen all the Disciples fled from him. But thou lookest at the end, ouer-leaping all the meanes; and thou not for the louelove of God, but feare of hell; nor for hatred of sinne, but auoiding punishment; meanest at last to dissemble a Repentance. Was this the case of the happy theefe?
Obiect. …ut was not hee that was hyred at the eleuenth houre, as well allowed, and rewarded with the same penny, as he that came into the work at the third?
Ans. 1. Thou that meanest to repent at the eleuenth houre; how knowest thou, thou shalt come to the eleuenth houre? what if thou beest cut off at the fourth, sixth, or eighth?
2. The Scope of the Parable only teacheth, that men that are later called, and hauehave the meanes later than others, may be saued as well as others; and is not to be stretched beyond: So as an olde man that hath long wanted the meanes, may now in the means comfortably lay hold of saluation.
3. Yet the Parable fully answereth the Obiection, seeing those that were hired at the eleuenth houre came in so soone as any came to hire them: and will not iustifie their presumption, that being called in the third houre, will not come in till the eleuenth.
Others thinke it too late to repent. I hauehave lost my time and tide, and hauehave put off my Repentance so long, that my sinnes are risen to an infinite multitude, and an vnconquerable strength, I may now striue and neuer the nearer.
Ans. 1. To stay long maketh Repentance more difficult; but not desperate. As to goe far out of a mans way, maketh him more labour in returning; but proueth it not impossible.
2. The time of Repentance for hope and possibilitie, is the whole time of thy life, that is the day wherein thou must worke, Iohn 9. As Mannah for possibilitie was to bee gathered any of the sixe daies, that was a type of Christ; and they found it, that went out to seeke it in the sixt day as in the first.
3. The more time thou hast lost, the more hast thou neede to bestir thee in redeeming the residue, and in sparing at the bottome. And the stronger thy sinne is grown by continuance, the more hast thou need to take it in hand to weaken it; vnlesse thou thinkest it will weaken with age, and grow feeble of it selfe. But the body of sinne, is vnlike the body of the sinner; this groweth old and weak with age, but that by age groweth stronger: as leauen, the older, the stronger and sowrer.
4. If thou comest against the huge army of thy sins in thine owne strength▪ thou art too weake for the least: but come in the strength of God. He can easily make an Aethiopian white, and him that is accustomed to euill: he can soften the hardest hearts, and shake the rocks: he can adde strength to the feeble, and make thee daily so much the stronger, as thou findest the washing & weakning of thy sin.