beginneft a holy courfe, and the longer thou continueft therein, thou haft reafon to expect a greater and more ample reward. Thou canst not by holding off,, hope to bring down pardon and mercy to lower rates, and to obtain these hereafter upon easier terms. No, the terms and conditions of God's mercy are already fixed and eftablished, fo as never to be altered.

So that whatever reason thou canft poffibly allege for taking up this refolution, it is every whit as forcible and powerful to perfuade thee to put it speedily in exe

cution.

And then there is this reafon befides, and that a very confiderable one, why thou fhouldeft immediately put this refolution in practice, and not delay for a moment. Thou mayest at prefent do it much more certainly, and much more easily. Much more certainly; because thou art furer of the present time, than thou canst be of the future. The prefent is in thy power, but not one mo ment more. And thou mayeft at prefent do it more eafily; for the longer thou continueft in fin, thy refolution against it will still grow weaker, and the habit of fin continually stronger. Thou wilt every day be more enflaved by the power of thy lufts, and thy heart will every day be more hardened through the deceitfulness of fin. All the change that time makes will ftill be for the worfe, and more to thy difadvantage. Sin will be as pleasant to thee hereafter, and thou more loth to leave it, than at prefent. Sin was never mortified by age. It will every day have more ftrength to bind thee and hold thee faft, and thou wilt have every day lefs to break loose from it. For by every fin thou dost commit, thou addest a new degree to the ftrength and force of it; and fo much strength as thou addeft to it, fo much thou takelt from thy felf, and fo much thou lofeft of thine own power and liberty. For a man and his lufts are like nature and difeafe; fo much ftrength as the difeafe gains, nature lofeth, and the man is hereby doubly weakened; for he does not only lofe fo much of his own ftrength, but the enemy gets it.

Nay, thou dost hereby likewife forfeit that auxiliary ftrength and affiftance which the grace of God is ready to afford to men, his reftraining and his preventing grace.

For

For as a man goes on in fin, and advanceth in an evil courfe, the grace of God draws off by degrees, and his holy Spirit doth infenfibly leave him; and when a finner is come to this, his beft refolutions will vanish like the morning cloud, and the early dew which passeth away.

So that it cannot be a true and fincere refolution of leaving our fins, if it do not take place, and have not its effect prefently. For there is no man that takes up a refolution, upon weighty and confiderable reasons, of doing any thing, but if the reafons upon which he takes it up urge him to do the thing at prefent, he will prefently fet about it; and that man is not refolved to do a thing, whatever he may pretend, who hath most reason to do it at prefent, and may best do it now, and yet délays it.

And thus I have opened to you the nature of this holy refolution of leaving our fins, and returning to God and our duty; and have fhewn what is neceffarily implied in fuch a refolution, if it be fincere and in good earnest; that it be univerfal; and that it be a refolution of the means, as well as of the end; and that it presently take place and be put in execution. And thefe are three the beft figns and marks that I know of, whereby a mah may try and examine the truth and fincerity of that refolution of amendment which we call repentance. If it be against all fin, and have an equal regard to every part of our duty; if when we refolve upon the end, that is, to avoid fin, and to perform our duty, we ate equally refolved upon the means that are neceffary to thofe ends; if the refolution we have taken up commence prefently, and from that day forward be duly executed and put in practice, then is our repentance and refolution of amendment fincere: But if there be a defect in any of thefe, our refolution is not as it ought to be.

SER

SERMON CLXVIII.

The nature and neceffity of holy refolution.

JOB XXXIV. 31. 32.

Surely it is meet to be faid unto God, have born chaftifement, I will not offend any more; that which I fee not, teach thou me; if I have done iniquity, I will do no

more.

T

The fecond fermon on this text.

Hefe words are the defcription of the temper and behaviour of a true penitent, and do contain in them the two effential parts of a true repentance.

First, An humble acknowledgment and confeffion of fin.

Secondly, A firm purpofe and refolution of amendment and forfaking our fins for the future.

And this latter is fo neceffary a part of repentance, that herein the very effence and formal nature of repentance does confift. In handling of this argument, I propofed to confider,

i. What refolution in general is.

2. What is the fpecial object or matter of this kind of refolution.

3. What is implied in a fincere refolution of leaving our fins, and returning to God and our duty.

4. To fhew that in this refolution of amendment, the very effence and formal nature of repentance doth confift.

5. To offer fome confiderations to convince men of the neceffity and fitnefs of this refolution, and of keeping stedfaft to it.

6. To add fome directions concerning the managing

and

Ser. 168. and maintaining this holy refolution. The three first I have spoken to, I now proceed to the

IV. To fhew that in this resolution the very effence and formal nature of repentance doth confift. A man may do many reasonable actions, without an explicit refolution. In things that are more eafy and natural to us, judgment and refolution are all one; it is all one to judge a thing fit to be done, and to refolve to do it. But in matters of difficulty, when a man is to ftrive against the stream, and to oppose ftrong habits that have taken deep root, there is nothing to be done without an explicit refolution. No man makes any remarkable change in his life, fo as to cross his inclinations and custom, without an exprefs refolution. For though a man's judgment be never fo much convinced of the reafonablenefs and neceffity of fuch a change; yet unless a man's fpirit be fortified and fixed by refolution, the power of custom, and the violence of his own inclinations will carry him against his judgment. Now there is no change of a man's life can be imagined, wherein a man offers greater violence to inveterate habits, and to the ftrong propenfions of his prefent temper, than in this of repentance. So that among all the actions of a man's life, there is none that doth more neceffarily require an exprefs purpose, than repentance does.

And that herein repentance doth chiefly confift, I fhall endeavour to make evident from scripture, and from the common apprehensions of mankind concerning repentance.

The fcripture, besides the feveral defcriptions of repentance, ufeth two words to exprefsit to us, pape and udvod. The former properly fignifies the inward trouble and difpleasure which men conceive against themfelves for having done amifs; which if it be nara Dagy zún, a godly forrow, it worketh in us μéfávorav åμsapè ANTOP, as St. Paul calls it, a repentance not to be repented of, that is, fuch a change of our minds, which as we thail have no cause to be troubled at, so no reason to alter afterwards. And what is this but a firm, stedfast, and unalterable refolution?

The fcripture likewise useth feveral phrafes of the like importance to defcribe repentance by; as forfaking and

turning

turning from fan, and converfion and turning to God. Forfaking and turning from fin. Hence it is called repentance from dead works, Heb. vi, 1. and turning to God, Acts xxvi. 20. I have fhewed to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, that is, from the worship of idols to the true God. And we have both thefe together in the defcription which the Prophet gives of repentance, Ifa. lv. 7. Let the wicked for fake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord. Now this change begins in the finner's refolution of doing this; and the unrighteous man's forfaking his thoughts, is nothing elfe but changing the purpofe of his mind, and refolving upon a better courfe. And thus Lactantius defcribes it: Agere autem pænitentiam nihil aliud eft, quam affirmare & profiteri fe non amplius peccaturum. "To repent is nothing else but for a man to declare and pro"fefs that he will fin no more." This is repentance before men. And repentance before God is a refolution anfwerable to this profeffion. And elsewhere faith the fame author, "The Greeks do moft fully exprefs repent"ance by the word lávo, because he that repents re"covers his mind from his former folly, and is troubled "at it:" & confirmat animam fuam ad rectius vivendum, and confirms his mind for a better courfe." And how is this done but by refolution?

And that this is the natural and true notion of repentance appears, in that the Heathens did confent and agree in it. Gellius gives this defcription of it. Panitere tum dicere folemus, cum quæ ipfi fecimus, ea nobis poftincipiunt difplicere, fententiamque in iis noftram demutamus. "We are faid then to repent, when those things which "we have done begin afterwards to difplease us, and we "change our resolution about them." And fo likewife one of the philofophers defcribes it; "repentance is the "beginning of philofophy, a flying from foolish words « and actions, κ της αμεταμέλητο ζωῆς ἡ πρώτη παρασκευή, and the first preparation of a life not to be repented of. It is true indeed, repentance fuppofeth the entire change of our lives and actions, and a continued state, as the proper confequence of it: But repentance is but the beginning of this change, which takes its rife from the purpose and refolution of our minds, and if it be fincere

and