repentance was only preached to the Jews; but after the resurrection of Christ. he gave his apostles an instruction and order that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, in consequence of which the apostles first exhorted the Jews and then the Gentiles to repent, and particularly the apostle Paul testified both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, as well as faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, Acts xx. 21.-3. Men are only subjects of repentance in the present life; when this life is ended, and the gospel-dispensation is over, and Christ is come a second time, the door of repentance as well as of faith will be shut, and there will be no place found for it; no opportunity no means of it; nor any subjects capable of it; as for the saints in heaven they need it not, being entirely without sin; and as for the wicked in hell, they are in utter despair, and not capable of repentance unto life, and unto salvation not to be repented of, and though there is weeping and wailing there, yet no repentance; hence the rich man in hell was so solicitous to have Lazarus sent to his brethren living, hoping that by means of one that came to them from the dead to wain them of the place of torment they would repent, as well knowing they never would if not in the present life, and before they came into the place where he was, and therefore repentance is not to be procrastinated.

IV. The Author, and cause, and means of repentance.. The Author and efficient cause of it is not man himself, but God; Then hath God also granted repentance to the Gentiles, Acts xi. 18. it is not in the power of man to repent of himself, for he is by nature blind, and has no sight and sense of sin; his understanding is darkened with respect unto it, and he is darkness itself till made light in the Lord; and until he has a sight and sense of sin he can never truly repent of it; his heart is hard and obdurate, his heart is an heart of stone, and he cannot really repent of sin until that stony heart is taken away, and an heart of flesh is given; and whenever he becomes sensible of his need of repentance, he prays to God for it, saying, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned: nor do exhortations to repentance suppose it in the power of man to repent of himself; since these are only designed to bring him to a sense of his need of it, and of his obligation to it, and of his impotence to it of himself through the hardness of his heart, and to direct him to seek it of God, who only can give it; for, -2. Though God may give men space to repent, yet if he does not give the grace of repentance, they never will repent. Thus he gave space to the old world, threatened with a flood which some think is meant by the one hundred and twenty years allow ed them, when the long-suffering of God waited in the times of Noah, while the ark was preparing, but without effect; so Jezebel, or Antichrist, is said to have space given her to repent of her fornication, and she repented not, Rev. ii. 21, and this God sometimes gives to the children of men to shew his sovereignty, that he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and give repentance to whom he pleases; and for the sake of his elect, not willing that any of them should perish, but that they should all come to repentance, and therefore his

long-suffering towards them is salvation; and this also he sometimes gives to shew his forbearance of the vessels of wrath, and to leave them inexcusable. 3. Though some men have the means of repentance, yet grace not being given them of God they repent not; the word, unless attended with power, is ineffectual; the most severe judgments inflicted on men are insufficient, as the plagues on Pharaoh, whose heart was the worse and more hardened under them, Exod. xi. 10. and though the children of Israel were smitten with famine, with the pestilence, and with the sword, yet they repented not, nor returned unto the Lord, Amos iv, 6-11. so the fourth and fifth vials poured forth on men, which will scorch and fill them with pains and sores, instead of repenting of their deeds they will blaspheme the God of heaven, and his name, Rev. xvi. 8-11. And on the other hand, the greatest instances of mercy and goodness to men, and singular deliverances wrought for them, which should, and one would think would, lead men to repentance, and yet they do not, Rom. ii. 4, 5. Rev. ix. 20, 21. yea the most powerful and awakening ministry that a man can sit under, has no influence on the minds of men to bring them to repentance, with out the power and grace of God; such as was the ministry of John the Baptist, who was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, preaching in a loud, vehement, and powerful manner the baptism of repentance; and yet though some publicans and harlots believed, the pharisees repented not afterwards that they might believe, Matt. xxi. 32. our Lord spake as one having authority, yet few believed; and many cities where he preached, and mighty works were done by him, yet repented not; and if one was to rise from the dead, and describe all the happiness of the blissful state of the saints in heaven he was capable of, or paint all the horrors of the damned in hell, it would have no effect, neither to allure nor frighten to repentance, or bring men to it, without the exertion of powerful and efficacious grace, Luke xvi. 31. -4. The sole efficient cause and author of repentance is God, Father, Son, and Spirit. God the Father, if God peradventure will give them repentance, 2 Tim. ii. 25. Christ, the Son of God, as mediator, is exalted to give repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins, Acts v. 31. and the Spirit of God reproves for sin, convinces of it, and works repentance for it, John xvi. 8.5. The moving cause of it is the free grace of God; it is a grant and favour from him, a gift of Christ, which he, as a prince and a saviour, bestows, Acts xi. 18. and v. 31. and an operation of the power and grace of the Spirit of God, and entirely flows from the sovereign will and mercy of God, who hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth, Rom. ix. 18. not giving grace to repent.-6. The usual means and instruments of repentance are the word, and the ministers of it; as faith, so repentance, comes by hearing the word; the three thousand were pricked to the heart, and were brought to repentance, through the ministry of the apostle Peter; and as all the apostles were ordered by Christ to preach repentance in his name among all nations, so they went forth every where, and God in and by their ministry commanded all men every where to repent; and when and where

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the command was attended with power it produced the effect; and so the apostle Paul declared to the Jews and Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance; and the hand of the Lord being with numbers every where believed and turned to the Lord,

him, great

V. The effects aud consequences of repentance; such effects as are evidences of it, and shew it to be genuine; and such consequences which are salutary, and show the blessings of grace are connected with it.

1. The effects of it, which prove it to be gennine; such as the apostle mentions as fruits of godly sorrow, 2 Cor. vii. 11. 1. Carefulness to exercise repentance in a proper way, and to bring forth fruits meet for it; carefulness not to sin any more in a like manner, or to live a sinful course of life, but to abstain from all appearance of evil; and carefulness not to offend God again, who had been so good aud gracious to them.2. Clearing of themselves; not by denying the fact, as Gehazi, nor by extenuating and palliating it as Adam, but by an ingenuous confession of it, praying it might be forgiven, and that they might be cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus; so clearing themselves from the charges of hardness of heart, impenitence, and ingratitude, and of neg. lect of repentance, when sin was discovered to them.-3. Indignations against sin, expressing their abhorrence of it, and of themselves for it, as Job did, saying, what have we to do with it for the future? being filled with a loathing of it, and with shame and confusion for it; see Hos. xiv. 8.-4. Fear; not of the punishment of sin, of the wrath of God, and of hell and damnation, which is the fruit of legal and not evangelical repentance; but a fear of offending God, and of his grace and goodness in forgiving their sins, and of him for his goodness sake, Hosea iii. 5.-5. Vehement desire; to be kept from sin, that they may not dishonour God, grieve their own souls, offend and stumble God's people, and bring reproach on his ways, doctrines, and ordinances; and that they might be indulged with nearness to God, communion with him and fresh discoveries of his love to them. 6. Zeal; for God and his glory, for his doctrines and ordinances, for the discipline of his house, and for the performance of all good works.7. Revenge; not on others, but on themselves, and on their sinful lusts and corruptions, and on all disodedience, that their obedience might be ful filled; striving against sin, acting the part of an antagonist to it, resisting even unto blood, not sparing but mortifving the deeds of the body, that they may live a holy life and conversation. But though these things are in a more peculiar fmanner applicable to the case of the Corinthians, yet they do more or less and in a great measure appear in every repenting sinner.

11. The consequences of repentance, even blessings of grace, which follow upon it, and are connected with it, being promised unto it, and what it issues in; by which it appears to be salutary, and answers some valuable ends, and is of the greatest importance; as, 1. The pardon of sin; for though this is not procured by tears of repentance, by humiliation for sin, and confession of it, but by the blood of Christ only; yet to those who repent of sin sincerely, and are

truly humbled for it, a manifestation and applicaton of pardoning grace and mercy is made; and these two, repentance and remission of sins, are joined together in the ministry of the word, to encourage repenting sinners to hope in Christ for the forgiveness of their sin, who has he gives the one gives also the other, Acts v. 31. none that ever truly repented of sin and confessed it, but had his sins pardoned; such as forsake their sinful ways and turn to the Lord, he pardons and abundantly pardons; his justice to the blood and sacrifice of his Son, and his truth and faithfulness to his word and promises, leave no room to doubt of it.2. True evangelical repentance, which is God's gift, and a grant of his grace, is repentance unto life, Acts xi. 18. It is not by repentance indeed by which men live spiritually, that is by faith in Christ; yet then men begin to live spititually when they are quickened by the Spirit of God, and have repentance from dead works given unto them; and though men by repentance do not procure eternal life, that is the free gift of God through Christ, yet true, special, spiritual and evangelical repentance issues in eternal life, and is inseparably connected with it; though all impenitent sinners shall certainly perish, who by their hardness and impenitent hearts treasure up wrath against the day of wrath and righteous judgment, of God; yet all that come to true repentance, none of them shall ever perish, but shall have everlasting life. - 3. Evangelical repentance, the work of godly sorrow, is repentance to salvation not to be repented of 2 Cor. vii. 10. it is not the cause of salvation; Christ is the captain, cause, and author of salvation; but the means through and by which God saves his people; as they are saved through faith, so through repentance, and through both as the gift of God, flowing from his sovereign grace, Eph. ii. 8. as he that believes with the heart unto righteousness, so he that truly repents of sin shall be saved.

OF THE FEAR OF GOD.

THE Fear of God has so great a concern in divine worship, that it is sometimes put for the whole of it, and a worshipper of God is frequently described in scripture by one that fears him; and particularly internal worship, or experimental religion, as distinguished from an external observance of the divine commands, is expressed by it; for, according to the wise man, the whole of religion, experimental and practical religion, lies in these two things, to fear God and keep his commandments, Eccl. xii. 13. and as worship itself is expressed by the fear of God, so the manner in which it is to be performed is directed to be in it and with it, for God is to be served with reverence and godly fear, Heb. xii. 28. concerning which may be observed,

I. The object of fear, not the creature, but God.

There is a fear due to men, fear to whom fear; that is, it should be rendered to whom it is due, there

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is a fear and reverence due to parents from their children, which is shewn by the honour and respect paid unto them, and the obedience yielded them, Eph. vi. 1, 2. and the argument from hence is strong to the fear and reverence of God the Father of spirits, Heb. xii. 9. i Pet. i. 14. 17. there is a fear and reverence in the conjugal state, due from wives to their husbands, 1 Petr iii. 5, 6. and rhis relation affords a reason and argument why the church should fear and serve the Lord her God, because he is her husband, Psal. xlv. 11. there is a fear and revérence which servants should show to their masters, Eph. vi. 6. and if such masters are to be obeyed with fear, much more our Master which is in heaven; and this is the argument the Lord himself uses, If I be a master, where is my fear? Mal. i. 6. there is a fear and reverence which ministers of the word should be had in by those to whom they minister, 1 Sam. xii. 18. this is one part of that double honour they are worthy of, to be esteemed very highly for the work. sake. Herod, though a wicked man, feared John, that is, not dreaded him, but respected him, for he heard him gladly, Mark vi. 20. There is a fear and reve rence to be rendered to magistrates, Rom. xiii. 7. and if earthly magistrates are to be feared and reverenced, much more the King of kings and Lord of lords.

But then men are not so to be feared by the people of God, let them be in what character, relation, and station soever, as to be deterred by them from the service of God; the fear of man too often brings a snare in this respect. God is to be hearkened to, served, and obeyed rather than men of the highest class and rank; they are not to be afraid of loosing their favour and esteem, and of gaining their ill will thereby, as the Pharisees, who, though convinced that Jesus was the Christ, confessed him not, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, loving the praise of men more than the praise of God: nor should they be afraid of the revilings and reproaches of men, and be intimidated by them from serving the Lord their God, but with Moses should esteem reproach for the Lord's sake greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; nor should they be frightened from a profession of religion, and from an attention to it, by the threats and menaces of men, and by all the persecution they may endure from them. They are not to be feared who can kill the body, but God is to be feared who can destroy both body and soul in hell, and such who fear men, so as to neglect the worship of God, are the fearful ones, who shall have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone, Matt. x. 28. Rev. xxi. 8. if God is on the side of his people, as he most certainly is, they have no reason to fear what man can do unto them.

God only is the object of fear, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, that is, him only, this is the principle thing God requires of his people, and they are bound in duty to render to him; Now, O Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God? this is the first thing, hence because he is so much the object of the fear of good men, he is called fear itself; so the fear of Issac is used for the God of Isaac, Gen. xxxi. 42. and by whom