The Necessity of Serious Consideration and Speedy Repentance, Part 2 · Section 1
SECT. I. No man can Repent too soon.
REpentance, is a turning from our own Sinful ways, into the ways of God's Commandments; out of the way of Death, into the way of Life; it is a leaving off to be bad, and a growing good: 'tis a change of the whole man for the better, both of the inward temper of his heart, and of the outward course of his Life and Conversation. And can it now be needful to prove, that this cannot be done too soon? Can one too early get out of danger and be safe? Can one too soon begin to grow Happy? Need I use arguments to convince us, that one cannot make too much haste to be a good man? And yet so strangely bewitch'd and blinded are Sinners, such an almost inncredible power hath Satan got over men, to blind their eyes, and darken their minds, that they dote on nothing so much as on their own foulness and deformity; and nothing is harder to convince them of, than that it is better for them to be clean than filthy, well than sick, good than bad, wise than fools, happy than miserable. Who would think, that a Reasonable Creature should be so Senseless? And yet almost all the work, and I am sure, the hardest part of that which the Ministers of Christ have to do, is to make men sensible of this, That a man cannot too soon be good; the thing which I am now to shew; and shew it I can, but to make men see and believe it, is the work of God alone; and we must Humbly and Earnestly in Fervent Prayer beseech Him to do it; I mean to make us effectually Sensible of these three things.
1. That we cannot too soon do, what is at all aimes our Duty to do.
2. That we cannot too soon do, what alone can set us in safety.
3. That we cannot too soon do that, without which our life is very uncomfortable.
1. We cannot too soon do that, which is at all times our Duty to do; and there is no part of our life, how early soever it be, that it is not our duty to Repent in it, and keep the Commandments of God. What we cannot do sooner than it is our Duty to do it, cannot be done too soon; and what it is our Duty always to be doing, cannot be begun too soon. We are always Sinners, therefore we cannot Repent too soon; because it cannot be sooner than we have Sins to be Repented of. Were Repentance no more, than what too many I fear take it to be, a being sorry that we have sinned; it could not be too soon; for so soon as we have Sinned, we have cause to be sorry that we have Sinned; and we have all Sinned even from our Infancy: And so soon as we have Offended God, it is our Duty to be sorry that we have Offended Him. Were it no more, but a hatred of Sin, a confessing of it, or resolving against it, yea, or any sort of actual forsaking it, and begging God's Pardon for it: nothing of all this could be done too soon; because it is our Duty to do all this so soon as we have Sinned; and we have always had Sins to be hated, confess'd, resolv'd against, pardon'd and forsaken. And yet, were this all that is meant by Repentance, though we could not but confess it very reasonable, that all this should be done so soon as we are sensible that we are Sinners; yet I fear we should not think it altogether necessary; but would rather flatter our selves, that it would be enough to do it in our last Sickness, or some few days or hours before we die; because all this, if we have but so much time, and so much sense and understanding left us as to think of it, may then be done; and I doubt not, but it is done by a great many, who yet do not Repent unto life, as will be shewn anon. But seeing Repentance is all this, and a great deal more than all this; even a through change of life, not for death, but for a more Holy life, and that, not in Heaven, but on Earth; seeing it is a leaving of Sin, not to do nothing, but to do our Duty; a turning from our own wicked ways unto God's Testimonies, and the keeping of his Commandments; it is a Duty, that we are always to be doing so long as we live, and can only be done whilst we live; and is in great danger not to be done at all if it be not soon begun; and cannot be done too soon, because the doing of it soon, even so soon as we can, is a part of the Duty. To make this plainer, let us First briefly consider what the Duty of Repentance is, as in the Holy Scripture it is described unto us; and Secondly, what time the same Scripture directs us to, for the doing of it; and by both we shall easily perceive, that we cannot repent too soon; because no sooner than it is our Duty.
First, Observe how the Duty of Repentance is described unto us in the Holy Scripture. Ezek. XVIII. 21. It is a turning from all our sins which we have committed, and a keeping of all God's Statutes, and doing that which is lawful and right. And v. 31. A casting away from us all our transgressions, whereby we have transgressed; and making us a new heart, and a new spirit. It is an amending of our ways and our doings, Jer. VII. 3. A returning every man from his evil way, and making our ways and our doings good, Jer. XVIII. 11. It implieth a godly sorrow for Sin, yet that godly sorrow is not Repentance; but worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of, 2 Cor. VII. 10. It implieth a hatred of every false way, Psal. CXIX. 104. A being ashamed, and confounded for our own ways; a loathing our selves in our own sight, for our iniquities, and for our abominations, Ezek. XXXVI. 31, 32. A confessing and forsaking our sins, Prov. XXVIII. 13. And yet all this is not the whole Duty of Repentance. But as we must cease to do evil, so must we learn to do well also, Isa. I. 16, 17. We must both eschew evil, and do good, 1 Pet. III 11. Neither is this to be thought a work, on which it may be enough to bestow some small part of our life, when it grows near to an end; for Repentance is thus express'd, Tit. II. 12. A denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Can we think the Apostle meant no more by these words, but that we should do this for some few years or days of our old age before we die? Certainly no man can be so foolish as to think so; but rather, that even so long as we live in this present World, and whilst we are a looking for that blessed hope mention'd V. 13. that is, so long as we live, we should do this, as Zacharias clearly expresseth it, Luk. I. 75. That we should serve God in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, Rom. II. 7. I am confident, that no body can now imagine, that such a Repentance as in these places of Holy Scripture is commended to us, can be the work of a dying man, or that it is not work enough for one's whole life, how long so ever. However 'tis plain, that it is our Duty in all the several ages of life, and at all times whilst we live, and therefore no point of our time can be too soon to begin it in; but every moment that we wilfully neglect it, we add to our Sins by leading so long an unholy life, contrary to the Command of God. But this will more fully be proved afterwards.
Secondly, Observe what time the same Scripture directs us to for the setting upon this Duty. And we shall hardly find, that it commends to us any other time but the present; there is no to morrow, that I know of, allow'd us to depend upon; not the least countenance or encouragement to procrastination or driving off to another time. Therefore now, saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me, Joel II. 12. Now it is high time to awake out of sleep, Rom. XIII. 11. Behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation, 2 Cor. VI. 2. To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, Heb. III. 7. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, Eccl. XII. 1. No part, no day of our Age too soon. We are always call'd upon to repent, presently, to day, just now; and not told we may stay till to morrow, or bid to do it sometime hereafter. Whenever therefore we are called to repent, and that is as soon soever as we are made to understand that we are sinners, and that Repentance is our duty; then is it our duty to set about it; and to put it off longer, is a violation of our duty, and a new sin; and therefore 'tis certain, we can never begin to repent too soon.
2. We cannot too soon do that, without the doing whereof we can never be in a safe condition; no man thinks he can make too much haste to be safe: And nothing can be plainer than this, That we are never in a safe condition, till we be sincere Penitents; therefore we cannot repent too soon, unless we can be safe too soon. Can any one think he hath too soon got out of the Lion's mouth, out of the snares of the Devil, and from the Borders of Hell? Can any one think it too soon to be within view of Heaven and Eternal Joys? Then indeed he may think it too soon to repent of his sins, and walk in the ways of God's Commandments. Did we but really believe, and well consider, That we are always in danger of Eternal Destruction; and every moment ready to fall into the bottomless Pit of Fire and Brimstone, out of which there is no Redemption, so long as we go on in any of the ways of sin; tho we had no sense of our Obligations and Duty to God, and tho we had no Love to him, which should constrain us to do any thing for his sake; and lest we should be wanting in our Duty to him; yet one would think the apprehension of the danger we are in of perishing, should make us afraid to go on, and fear should constrain us, for our own sakes, to change our course of life, lest we should be wanting to our selves and our own safety. Our Blessed JESUS, who came to save us from Death and Destruction, came to call us to Repentance, that we may be saved; that being the only door that God, for his sake, hath opened unto us to Salvation. He himself it was that said, Except ye repent, ye shall all perish, Luke XIII. 3. And when St. Iohn the Baptist saw the Pharisees and Sadduces coming to his Baptism, which was the Baptism of Repentance, he thus saluted them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance, Matth. III. 7, 8. Shewing them, That there is no other way of escaping the Wrath of God, which always burneth against sin and wickedness, but such a Repentance as brings forth the Fruits of Righteousness. Till we unfeignedly Repent of our sins, we are in a state of sin; and so long are we the children of wrath, Eph. II. 3. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness, Rom. I. 18. Whilst we know what is our Duty to God, and yet do it not, there are many stripes ready for us; and God hath declared both by many Threatnings, and by many Examples of his just Indignation, that his Wrath is kindled against us. God spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly. And turning the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly, 2 Pet. II. 5, 6. They suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, Jude 7. What safety can the impenitent Sinner promise himself, or whither will he fly, and take Sanctuary from the Fiery Indignation of provoked Justice and Omnipotence? Whilst we presumptuously continue in our sins, we heap up wrath against the day of wrath, Rom. II. Our Sins cry aloud to the Almighty, for his Vengeance upon us. His Judgments hang over our heads, like the naked Sword over the head of the Tyrant, by a single hair of Mercy; and if our sins once break that, we are suddenly cut off from the land of the living. God will wound the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses, Psal. LXVIII. 21. For 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 prepared for him the instrument of death, Psal. VII. 11, 12, 13. God hath made all things ready for the execution of his Wrath whensoever it pleaseth him; and no sinner knoweth how soon God will smite him down to Hell. If he stay yet a while longer, it is to give us time to repent; and if we repent not ere long, he is the mean while but whetting his Sword, and bending his Bow to its full bent, that whenever he pleaseth to take his own time for it, his Sword may pierce deep, and his Arrow flye home, and wound mortally. Indeed he hath declared himself to be very gracious, and slow to wrath; and our own daily experience assures us that he is so; and this wicked use we are too apt to make of it, That by his long-suffering and forbearance we embolden our selves to sin the longer, and to delay our Repentance, in hope of longer forbearance still. Yea, Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil, Eccles. VIII. 11. A strange and most unreasonable presumption this, as tho a man could be the safer, the longer he abused God's Patience, and turn'd his Grace into wantonness, and even dared him to do his worst. Oh that we would consider how unadvisedly we act for our selves! how ill we consult for our own safety! and what Fools we are to think we can be safe, whilst we are provoking God by our Sins, and by this Sin especially, of presuming he will yet forbear us longer, because he hath forborn much longer already than we deserv'd. Not considering the goodness of God in his forbearance and long-suffering, which should lead us to repentance; after our hardness and impenitent hearts, we treasure up unto our selves wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, Rom. II. 5. How foolishly secure soever we may be in our sinful courses, yet certain it is, we are never safe. Ionas may sleep, and fear nothing, but the Winds and Seas are not quiet for all that while; and he is in no less danger because he thinks not of it. Whilst we sin, God's Anger is pursuing us, and we know not how soon it will overtake us. Seeing therefore we are never safe till we repent, we cannot repent too soon, unless it can be too soon to be safe.
3. We cannot too soon do that, without which our life can never be comfortable to us. Comfort is the very life of life; and a life without Comfort, is worse than death. And truly a life of sin is a life without any true Comfort at all; and false Comfort is not worth the having, unless it can be worth ones while to go laughing into the Fire of Hell, which never shall be quenched: We cannot therefore too soon repent, except we can think it too soon to lead a comfortable life: And that the impenitent sinner can have no true Comfort, is plain enough from what was last consider'd, That he can have no safety; for certainly an unsafe condition is also a very uncomfortable condition; and I know not what can comfort him that sees himself every moment in greatest danger of perishing everlastingly. What? Can there be any place for Comfort in that man's breast, that knows himself to be at Enmity with God, and God to be incens'd against him? Can he find Comfort, who walks whereever he goes, under a full-charg'd Cloud of Vengeance, ready whenever God gives the word, to break upon his head? Can there be any Comfort in a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries? And yet this is all he hath any reason to look for, who sins wilfully, after he hath received the knowledge of the truth, and holds on without Repentance, Heb X. 26▪ 27. Indeed we see it too often, That the most abominable Sinners can so harden themselves in Sin, that they grow insensible of their danger: And not only so, but they can find much Pleasure, too (such as it is) in serving their lusts; nay, and whilst they do so, can flatter themselves with a foolish conceit that all's well enough with them. And just so may a man in a swoon, or in any stupifying Disease, be insensible that he is in danger of death; and a man in his sleep, may not perceive that the House over his head is on fire: Yea, he may have many pleasant Dreams in the midst of his danger; and a Mad-man may take pleasure in his madness, and yet he's as mad as he, that thinks such a Pleasure to be a Comfort. Such a comfort may an impenitent Sinner have in his wicked life, whilst his sins keep him too busie to think of his danger. But whenever he shall begin to think seriously, (which such a one is very unwilling to do, and which unwillingness of his is a manifest sign that he can find nothing Comfortable in his present state, else would he be more willing to think of it) he will find his pleasure quickly vanish. Let him apprehend himself in present danger of dying, and let him think whither Death is about to convey him, and what he can plead if he shall be called to the great Iudgment; and then even his uncertainty of what shall become of him, or what he shall find in another World, will soon detect the vanity of all his present Comforts. But now on the other side, how sweet and pleasant are the thoughts of that happy person, who hath repented unfeignedly of his Sins, and walks before God in the ways of his Commandments with a perfect heart! He lives in a constant friendship with the Father of mercies, and God of all consolation; with the Blessed JESUS in whom he is reconciled unto the Father: and who hath said unto his Disciples; Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you, John XV. 14. Hence was Abraham called the friend of God, Jam. II. 23. Now saith Christ, I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid, Luke XII. 4. This is the penitent man's comfort, he is at peace with God, and there is no condemnation to them that walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit, Rom. VIII. 1. Yea, he hath this comfortable Promise, v. 28. All things work together for his good. Were there no more in it but this, That the Penitent is freed from the fear of Eternal Punishment, and that his Sins are forgiven; that he is free from the stings and smartings of a guilty Conscience, which is now purified and healed; certainly this alone is so great a comfort, that no man of any sense can think he can get too soon into such a condition. Is it not an exceeding comfortable thing to a man, that he can go about his honest business, or lawful refreshments; and quietly, after all, betake himself to his rest, without the angry rebukes of his own Conscience, and without any dreadful apprehensions of God's being displeased with him? Is it not very comfortable to be confident of God's love and favour, of his fatherly blessing, and of his special care and providence? Is it not very comfortable to be able in the Psalmist's words, Psal. IV. 8. to say after all the hard labours and troubles of the day past, I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. Let it thunder and lighten, let the winds blow, and the waves beat, let all the World be in tumult and confusion, the Penitent is got into his safe Harbour, his strong Tower, his inviolable Sanctuary. Let mens Tongues be whetted like Swords, let the Devil and his suborned Tools bring thousands of Calumnies and false Accusations; his own Conscience still acquits him, and his rejoycing is this, the testimony of his conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity he hath had his conversation in the world, 2 Cor. I. 12. Let dangers and Enemies encompass him round about on all sides, his God is his Protector; and who, saith he, can hurt me, if I be a follower of that whch is good? 1 Pet. III. 13. Nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in CHRIST JESUS my Lord, Rom. VIII. 39. Finally; So long as he lives, he can rejoice in hope of the glory of God; yea, and glory in tribulation also, Rom. V. 2, 3. And when he comes to dye, he can without any disturbance take leave of this World, and triumph over Death; saying, O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? Blessed be God who hath given us the victory through JESUS CHRIST our Lord, 1 Cor. XV. 55, 57. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 2 Tim. IV. 7, 8. Is it now possible that any one can make too much haste to get into this comfortable Condition? No man that considereth aright his Duty, his Safety, or his Comfort, can think it at any time too soon to repent.