ad Theod.

ii. Judas (faith he

there) was capable of pardon.

SERM. entertain him kindly; that even a profane apostate, and XLVIII. a bloody oppreffor, (as Manaffes,) a lewd ftrumpet, (as Vid. Chryf. Magdalene,) a notable thief, (as he upon the cross,) a timorous renouncer, (as St. Peter,) a furious perfecutor, (as St. Paul,) a stupid idolater, (as all the Heathen world, when the Gospel came to them, was,) the most heinous finner that ever hath been, or can be imagined to be, if he be disposed to repent, is capable of mercy: those declarations and promifes are infallibly true; thofe instances peremptorily do evince, that repentance is never fuperannuated; that if we can turn at all, we shall not turn too late; that poenitentia nunquam fera, modo feria, is an irrefragable rule. Yet nevertheless delay is very unfafe; for what affurance can we have, that God hereafter will enable us to perform thofe conditions of bewailing our fins, and forfaking them? Have we not cause rather to fear that he will chaftife our prefumption by withholding his grace? For although God faileth not Rom. ii. 4. to yield competent aids to perfons who have not defpifed his goodness and long suffering, that leadeth them to repentance; yet he that wilfully or wantonly loitereth away the time, and fquandereth the means allowed him; whò refuseth to come when God calleth, yea wooeth and courteth him to repentance, how can he pretend to find fuch favour?

We might add, that fuppofing God in fuperabundance of mercy might be prefumed never to withhold his grace; yet feeing his grace doth not work by irresistible compulfion; feeing the worse qualified we are, the more apt we fhall be to crofs and defeat its operation; feeing that we cannot hope that hereafter we shall be more fit than now to comply with it; yea feeing we may be fure, that, after our hearts are hardened by perseverance in fin, we shall be more indifpofed thereto; we by delay of repentance do not only venture: the forfeiture of divine grace, but the danger of abufing it, which heinously will aggravate our guilt, and hugely augment our punishment.

We should do well therefore most seriously to regard Heb.iii. 13. the Apostle's admonition; Exhort one another to-day,

while it is called to-day, left any of you be hardened by the SER M. deceitfulness of fin. Now that we find ourselves invited to XLVIII. repent; now that we apprehend fo much reafon for it; now that we feel our hearts fomewhat inclined thereto; now that we have time in our hands, and are not barred from hopes of mercy; now that it is not extremely difficult, or not abfolutely impoffible, let us in God's name lay hold on the occafion, let us speedily and earnestly fet upon the work. Farther yet,

xiv. 5. vii.

1.

6. We fhould confider, that we are mortal and frail, and thence any designs of future reformation may be clipt off, or intercepted by death; which is always creeping toward us, and may, for all we can tell, be very near at hand. You fay you will repent to-morrow: but are you fure you fhall have a morrow to repent in m? Have you an hour in your hand, or one minute at your disposal? Have you a leafe to fhew for any term of life? Can you claim or reckon upon the leaft portion of time without his leave, who beftoweth life, and dealeth out time, and ordereth all things as he pleafeth? Can you anywife defcry the just measure of your days, or the bounds of your Job xii. 10. appointed time, without a special revelation from him, in whofe hands is your breath; and with whom alone the Pfal.xxxix. number of your months is registered? Boaft not thyself of Dan. v. 23. 1 to-morrow; for thou knoweft not what a day may bring Prov. xxvii. forth, faith the Wife Man; boast not of it, that is, do in das I not pretend it to be at thy difpofal, prefume not upon τέξεται ἡ ἐπι any thing that may befal therein; for whilst thou pre- ayyo Tà fumeft thereon, may it not be faid unto thee, as to the Baf.M.exh. rich projector in the Gospel, Thou fool, this night shall thy ad Bapt. foul be required of thee? Doth not, fecluding hidden de- 20. crees, every man's life hang upon a thread very flender and frail? Is it not subject to many diseases lurking within, and to a thoufand accidents flying about us? How many, that might have promifed themselves as fair fcope as we can, have been unexpectedly fnapt away?

m Qui pœnitenti veniam fpofpondit, peccanti craftinum diem non promiAt. Greg. in Evang. Hom, ix.

.4. XC. 12.

1.

μὴ σά.

Luke xii.

SERM. How many have been cropt in the flower of their age, XLVIII. and vigour of their ftrength? Doth not every day present

12.

experiments of fudden death? Do we not continually fee Ecclef. ix. that observation of the Preacher verified, Man knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds are caught in the fnare, fo are the fons of men fnared in an evil time, when it cometh fuddenly upon them? Old men are ready to drop of themfelves, and young men are easily brushed or shaken down"; the former visibly stand upon the brink of eternity, the latter walk upon a bottomlefs quag, into which unawares they may flump; who then can anywife be fecure? We are all therefore highly concerned to use our life, while we have it; to catch the first opportunity, left all opportunity forfake us; to cut off our finning, left ourselves be cut off before it; and that the rather, because by lavishing, or misemploying our present time, we may lose the future, provoking God to bereave us of it: for as prolongation of time is a reward of piety; as to obfervance of the commandments Prov. iii. 2. it is promised, Length of days, and long life, and peace, Shall be added unto thee; fo being immaturely fnatched hence is the punishment awarded to impious practice: so Pf. xxxvii. it is threatened, that evil men fhall be cut off; that bloody and deceitful men fhall not live out half their days; that Pfal. Ixviii. God will wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy fcalp of fuch an one as goeth on ftill in his wickedness: the very being unmindful of their duty is the cause why men Rev. iii. 3. are thus furprised; for, If, faith God, thou doft not watch, I shall come upon thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know Luke xii. when I come upon thee. And, If, faith our Lord, that fervant doth say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, &c. the Lord of that fervant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, &c.

9.

Pfal. Iv. 23.

21.

xvi. 15.

45, 46.

If then it be certain, that we muft render a ftrict account of all our doings here; if, by reason of our frail

» Τί γὰρ οἶδας, ἄνθρωπε ἁμαρτήσας, εἰ ἡμέρας ζήσεις ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ, ἵνα καὶ μετανοήσης, &c.

Ὅτι ἄδηλος ἡ ἔξοδός σε ἐκ τῶ βία ὑπάρχει, καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτία τελευτήσαντι μετάνοια in sui, &c. Conft. Ap. ii. 12.

nature and slippery state, it be uncertain when we fhall be SERM. fummoned thereto; if our negligence may abridge and XLVIII. accelerate the term; is it not very reasonable to obferve

13. xxiv.

42.

33.

thofe advices of our Lord; Watch, for ye do not know the Matt. xxv. day, nor the hour, when the Son of man cometh. Take heed to yourselves, left at any time your heart be overcharged Mark xiii, with furfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and Luke xii. fo that day come upon you unawares. Let your loins be 15, 35, 36. girded about, and your lamps burning, and ye yourselves like men that wait for your Lord: and to take the counsel

of the Wife Man, Make no tarrying to turn unto the Lord, Ecclus. v. 7, and put not off from day to day; for fuddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy fecurity thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of vengeance.

Thefe confiderations plainly do fhew how very foolish, how extremely dangerous and destructive the procrastinating our reformation of life is: there are some others of good moment, which we fhall reserve,

SERMON XLIX.

THE DANGER AND MISCHIEF OF DELAYING

REPENTANCE.

PSALM CXix. 60.

I made hafte, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. SERM. I PROCEED to the confiderations which yet remain to XLIX. be fpoken to.

φασις ἡ ἀνα

1. We may confider the caufes of delay in this cafe (as in all cafes of moment) to be bad and unworthy of a man: what can they be but either stupidity, that we do not apprehend the importance of the affair; or improvidence, that we do not attend to the danger of perfifting in fin; or negligence, that we do not mind our concern'Agyiaş rgó- ments; or floth, that keepeth us from roufing and beftirCoan. Simpl. ring ourselves in pursuance of what appeareth expedient ; or faintheartedness and cowardice, that we dare not attempt to cross our appetite, or our fancy? All which dif pofitions are very base and fhameful. It is the prerogaAnimal hoc tive of human nature to be fagacious in estimating the providum, worth, and provident in defcrying the confequences of fagax, &c. Cic. de Leg. things; whereas other creatures, by impulse of sense, do only fix their regard on present appearances; which liar excellency by ftupidity and improvidence we forfeit, degenerating into brutes; and negligence of that, which we difcern mainly to concern us, is a quality somewhat beneath those, depreffing us below beafts, which cannot be charged with fuch a fault; floth is no lefs despicable,

i. Cic. de

Offic. i.

pecu