The Christian Warfare Part 1, Book 2 · Chapter 30
CHAP. XXX. Two letts which hinder worldlings from ſpeedy repentance remooued.
§. Sect. 1 ANd ſo much concerning theſe Motiues,whereby wee may bee perſwaded to ſpeedie repentance,The firſt let, is the miſaplying of Gods mercy and gratious promiſee. all which the worldly ſecure man wardeth and beareth of with a double fence, ſo as they can neuer beate him downe with true humilitie nor pearce his heart with vnfained ſorrow for ſinne; the one is by alleadging Gods mercy manifeſtly declared vntounto vsus in the ſweet promiſes of the Goſpel; the other by obiecting the example of the conuerted thiefe, who though hee had ſpent his whole life in ſinne and wickedneſſe, yet at the laſt hower was receiued to mercy.
For the firſt,Ezech. 13.32. & 33.11. Math. 9.13. Math. 11.28. hath not the Lord (will they ſay) proteſted in his word that he deſireth not the death of a ſinner, but that he turne from his way and liue? hath not our Sauiour tould vsus that he came not to cal the righteous; but ſinners to repentance? and doth he not inuite ſuch vntounto him as labour vnderunder the heauie burthen of ſinne promiſing that hee will eaſe them? And hath not the Apoſtle Paul taught vsus,1. Tim. 2.4. that Gods will is that all men ſhould be ſaued, and come to the knowledge of his trueth. Seeing therefore God is ſo mercifull why ſhould we doubt of our ſaluation? Why ſhould we feare to deferre our repentance & follow our pleaſures and delights for a time, ſeeing the Lord will receiue vsus to mercy whenſoeuer we turne vntounto him?
The firſt let remoued.I anſwere firſt, that though al this were certaine, true, and not to bee doubted of, yet it is a moſt vnthankefull part and horrible ingratitude againſt our gracious God and louing father to take occaſion of his merciemercy the more to offend him, as before I hauehave ſhewed. Secondly I anſwere, that as God hath ſhewed his mercy in the gratious promiſes of the Goſpell, ſo alſo he hath as plainely declared his iuſtice in the ſeuere threatnings of the law, and he is as true in the one as in the other: And therefore all the queſtion is who ſhal taſt of his mercy, and who of his iuſtice, ſeing that is promiſed to ſome, and this threatned againſt others; or rather in truth it is without all queſtion, for the Lord hath plainely ſhewed in his word that hee will extend his mercy to all repentant ſinners and to them onelyonly, and that he will declare his iuſtice in powring out his iuſt iudgements vponupon the wicked who liue in their ſinnes, and eſpecially vponupon thoſe who take occaſion of Gods merciemercy to continue in their vnrepentancie, deſpiſing the riches of his bountifulnes, his patience & long ſuffering; for hereby they heape vntounto themſelues wrath againſt the day of wrath and the declaration of the iuſt iudgmēt of God, as the Apoſtle ſpeaketh, Rom. 2.4.5. Though then there be neuer ſo many ſweet promiſes in the goſpel, yet they who continue in their ſinnes without repentance can reape no true comfort by them, becauſe they are not made to them but to repentant ſinners; and on the other ſide though there be neuer ſo many terrible threatnings denounced in the law, yet the paenitent ſinner need not to feare them, ſeeing they are threatned onelyonly againſt thoſe who continue in their impaenitencie; though God be of infinit mercy let not the wicked man who liueth in his ſinnes preſume, ſeeing it is ſufficiently declared in pardoning the ſinnes of repentant ſinners. Neither let him who is truly paenitent deſpaire becauſe God is of infinite iuſtice, ſeeing it is ſufficiently manifeſted in puniſhing the ſinnes of thoſe who continue in their vnrepentancie; let not him who is turned vntounto God from his wicked waies feare Gods iuſtice, for it is fully ſatisfied in Chriſt and therefore it ſhall neuer attach him, neither let him who continueth in his ſinnes without repentance hope in Gods mercy for it doth not belong vntounto him, nor yet in the ſweet promiſes of the Goſpell which though they be neuer ſo generall, yet are they alwaies to be reſtrained to the condition of the couenant of grace, faith, and repentance. And this is manifeſt in the places before alleaged which worldly men ſo much abuſe to nouriſh in them carnall ſecuritie; for whereas the Lord ſaith Ezech. 33.11. That he will not the death of a ſinner, he addeth in the next wordes, but that he turne from his way and liue, ſo that the Lord ſpeaketh not of all ſinners but of thoſe who turne vntounto him from their wicked waies. So our ſauiour Chriſt ſaith Math. 9.13, that hee came not to call the righteous, that is thoſe who are iuſt & righteous in their owne conceipts, but ſinners to repentance, ſo that whoſoeuer are called vntounto Chriſt that in him they may hauehave ſaluation are called alſo to repentance. And Math. 11.28. our ſauiour doth not call all ſinners vntounto him without difference, but thoſe onelyonly who are wearie and heauy laden, that is who find their ſinnes irkſome and grieuous vntounto them, and deſire nothing more then to be freed of this vnſupportable burthen. And the Apoſtle Paule likewiſe 1. Tim. 2.4. doth not ſay ſimply that God would hauehave all men to beſaued, but that he would alſo … hauehave them come to the knowledge of the truth, that is to the knowing, acknowledging, & beleeuing of the principles of Chriſtian religion cōcerning God, themſelues, and the worke of redemption wrought by Chriſt. Let therefore no carnall ſecure man take occaſion to preſume vponupon Gods mercy in regard of the ſweet and gratious promiſes of the Goſpell, for vnleſſe they turne vntounto God from their euill waies and truely repent them of their ſinnes, vnleſſe they are wearie and heauie laden, deſiring nothing more then to be eaſed of their heauie burthen; vnleſſe they come out of their blind ignorance and attaine to the knowledge of the truth, the gratious promiſes of the Goſpell do not appertaine vntounto them.
§. Sect. 2 Secondly,whereas they alleadge the example of the thiefe conuerted at the hower of death we are to know that this is but one particular act of Gods mercy,The 2. let is preſumption vponupon the example of the conuerted thiefe. and therefore we can make thereof no generall rule, eſpecialy ſeeing to this one we may oppoſe many thouſands of thoſe who hauing deferred their repētance to the laſt hower, hauehave beene taken away in their ſinns and impaenitencie. It is true indeed that if with this thiefe we truelyturne vntounto the Lord by vnfained repentance, and ſhew our faith by the like liuely fruites he wil pardon our ſinnes and receaue vsus to mercy according to his gratious promiſes, but this faith and repentance are not in our owne power, but the free gifts of God which hee very ſeldome beſtoweth on thoſe at the hower of death who hauehave neglected & contemned them their whole liues: ſometimes indeed hee calleth and conuerteth ſome at the laſt hower to ſhew the infinite riches of his mercy, but moſt commonly he leaueth thoſe who hauehave deferred their repentance to die in their impaenitencie that they may be examples of his iuſtice. And to this purpoſe Auſtine ſpeaketh well; there is (ſaith hee) mention made in the Scriptures of one whome the Lord receaued to mercy that none might deſpaire, and but of one that none might preſume. It is the maner of princes to ſend their gratious pardon ſometimes to thoſe who are led out to execution, but if any will wilfully offend in hope hereof, or hauing offended wil deferre to ſue for his pardon to the laſt hower, ſurely he is well worthy to be hanged, both for his offence; and alſo for his preſumption, ſo the Lord mercifully pardoneth ſome few when death is ready to ceaſe vponupon them, and to tranſport them into the eternall torments of hell fire, to ſhew the riches of his grace, but if any ſhall take occaſion hereby the more to offend againſt his maieſtie, or hauing offended deferreth to ſue for pardon by powring out the teares of vnfained repentance vntill his laſt hower, hee is vndoubtedly vnworthy of any grace and mercy, and in all likelihood he ſhall be deliuered vp to ſuffer eternal torments. Moreouer as this act of mercy in receiuing this thiefe to grace was very extraordinary, ſo was it reſerued as being moſt fit for the time of Chriſtes paſſion; for as great Princes at the time of their coronation pardon ſuch notorious offences, the like whereof they wil hardly euer after remit, to the end that their clemencie and mercy may appeare to all, ſo our Sauiour Chriſt the glorious king of heauen and earth, being ready to lay downe the forme of a ſeruant and to take vponupon him the crowne of endleſſe glory and maieſty, gaue his gratious pardon to this greeuous offender, that his infinite mercy and goodneſſe might be manifeſted vntounto al men, that ſo they might breake of their ſinnes by vnfained repentance, and by a liuely faith come vntounto him, looking and expecting for life and ſaluation onelyonly in this their ſauiour and redeemer; and as cunning Surgeons hauing made a ſoueraigne ſalue, do vponupon the next occaſion make experiment thereof by curing ſome grieſly and deſperate wound, that ſo they may commend it to all who ſhal hauehave need to vſe it, ſo the Lord hauing made a pretious plaiſter and ſoueraigne ſalue to cure all ſoules; who being wounded with ſinne, will apply it vntounto them by a liuely faith, preſētly tooke occaſion of curing there with this poore theefe grieuouſly wounded with ſinne, that all others in his ſtate, ſeing the vertue thereof, might more earneſtly deſire it and more carefully ſeeke after, and apply it to their wounded ſoules. And therefore ſeeing the occaſion of this cure was altogether extraordinary, the action is not like to bee ordinarie, the occaſion being remooued, and the mercy of God and vertue of Chriſtes death and bloodſhed being ſufficiently manifeſted to al the world. Thirdly, we are to know that the eſtate of theſe men, is farre vnlike and much more deſperate then the ſtate of the conuerted theefe; for hee was in all likelihood neuer before this time called, and preſently he harkeneth vntounto the voyce of Chriſt, and willingly intertaineth the good motions of his ſpirit, but theſe men being often called, hauehave refuſed to come, and hauehave quenched the good motions of Gods ſpirit; he perſiſted in his ſin ignorantly, hauing not heard the doctrine of the Goſpell, whereby he might be inuited to come vntounto Chriſt by a liuely faith, and might turne vntounto God by vnfained repentance, theſe hauehave often heard theſe glad tidings, and hauehave neglected and contemned them; hee continued in his ſinnes through ignorance, neither did hee vngratefully reſolue to ſerue the diuell his whole life, reſeruing the time of his old age and ſickneſſe for the ſeruice of God, only for his own aduantage, but theſe men hauing bin oftē inſtructed in the law of God, and wayes of godlineſſe, notwithſtanding wittingly and wil fully perſiſt in their ſinns, preſuming vppon repentance and hope of mercy at the laſt houre, intending then to turne vntounto God, not for any louelove they beare him, but for feare of hel torments and eternall damnation, laſtly his repentance was moſt vnfayned and exceeding earneſt, and his faith brightly ſhined preſently after his conuerſion in ſingular fruits thereof. For he made a notable confeſſion of his ſauiour and redeemer, euen when all his diſciples for feare forſooke him. He iuſtifieth Chriſt when all men condemned him, and euen his Apoſtles doubted of him. He praieth feruently vntounto him, when the multitude mocked and reuiled him, hee humbly confeſſeth his owne ſinns, and louingly admoniſheth his fellow of his wickedneſſe, deſiring earneſtly that as they had bin fellowes, and copartners in ſinne, ſo they might be partakers in pardon, and in the benefitte of redemption wrought by Chriſt. Whereas moſt commonly their repentance is forced and diſſembled for feare of puniſhment, rather then for hatred of ſinne, or louelove of God: as they vſually make it manifeſt if they recouer of their ſickeneſſe. And therefore ſeing there is ſuch great diſſimilitude; and difference in their purpoſes, liues, and courſes, it is not probable that they wil euer bee like in their conuerſion, death, and ſaluation.