SER M. This I obferve, to prevent a kind of bold and faucy CLXXIII. objection, which fome would perhaps be apt to make;

if Tyre and Sidon would have repented, had fuch miracles been wrought among them, as our SAVIOUR wrought in Chorazin and Bethfaida, why were they not wrought, that they might have repented? To which it is fufficient answer to fay, that GOD is not obliged to do all that is poffible to be done, to reclaim men from their fins; he is not obliged to overpower their wills, and to work irresistibly upon their minds, which he can easily do; he is not obliged to work miracles for every particular man's conviction; nor where he vouchfafeth to do this, is he obliged always to work the greatest and most convincing miracles; his goodnefs will not fuffer him to omit what is neceffary and fufficient to bring men to repentance and happiness, nay beyond this he many times does more; but it is fufficient to vindicate the justice and goodness of GoD, that he is not wanting to us, in affording the means neceffary to reclaim us from our fins, and to bring us to goodnefs. That which is properly our part, is to make use of thofe means which GoD affords us to become better, and not to prefcribe to him how much he fhould do for us; to be thankful that he hath done fo much, and not to find fault with him for having done no more.

III. I obferve farther from our SAVIOUR's dif courfe, that the external means of repentance which GoD affords to men, do fuppofe an inward grace of GOD accompanying them, fufficiently enabling men to repent, if it be not their own fault; I fay a fufficient grace of GoD accompanying the outward means of repentance, till by our wilful and obftinate neglect and refiftance and oppofition of this grace, we provoke GOD to withdraw it from the means, or

elfe

CLXXIII.

elfe to withdraw both the grace and the means from SERM. us; otherwise impenitence after fuch external means afforded, would be no new and fpecial fault. For if the concurrence of God's grace with the outward means be neceffary to work repentance, then the impenitence of thofe to whom this grace is not afforded, which yet is neceffary to repentance, is neither any new fin, nor any new aggravation of their former impenitence. For no man can imagine that the juft GOD will charge men with new guilt, and increase their condemnation, for remaining impenitent in fuch circumstances in which it is impoffible for them to repent.

IV. I obferve from this difcourfe of our SAVIOUR's, that an irrefiftible degree of grace is not neceffary to repentance, nor commonly afforded to those who do repent. GOD may where he pleaseth, without injury to any man, over-power his will, and ftop him in his course, and hinder him from making himself miserable, and by an irrefiftible right convince him of his error and the evil of his ways, and bring him to a better mind: But this GOD feldom does; and when he does it, it is very probable it is not fo much for their own fakes, as to make them inftruments of good to others. Thus by a fecret but overpowering influence he over-ruled the difciples to follow our SAVIOUR, and to leave their calling and relations, and all their temporal concernments to do it. But one of the most remarkable examples of this extraordinary grace of GoD, is St. Paul, who was violently stopt in his courfe of perfecuting the Chriftians, and convinced of his fin, and brought over to christianity, in a very extraordinary and forcible manner. And of this miraculous and extraordinary conversion, God himself gives this account, “ that he "was a chofen veffel unto him, to bear his name "before

SER M. terial difference between the cafe of Chorazin and CLXXIII. Bethfaida and Capernaum, and of ourselves in this

city and nation, who enjoy the clear light of the gofpel, with all the freedom, and all the advantages that any people ever did. The mercies of GOD to this nation have been very great, especially in bringing us out of that darkness and fuperftition, which covered this western part of the world; in refcuing us from that great corruption and degeneracy of the chriftian religion which prevailed among us, by fa early and fo regular a reformation; and in continuing fo long this great bleffing to us. The judgments of GOD have been likewife very great upon us for our fins: "God hath manifested himself by "terrible things in righteoufnefs;" our eyes have feen many and dismal calamities in the space of a few years, which call loudly upon us to repent and turn to GOD. GOD hath afforded us the most effectual means of repentance, and hath taken the moft effectual courfe of bringing us to it. And though our bleffed SAVIOUR do not fpeak to us in perfon, nor do we at this day fee miracles wrought among us, as the Jews did; yet we have the doctrine which our bleffed SAVIOUR preached, faithfully tranfinitted to us, and a credible relation of the miracles wrought for the confirmation of that doctrine, and many other arguments to perfuade us of the truth of it, which thofe to whom our SAVIOUR fpake had not, nor could not then have, taken from the accomplishing of our SAVIOUR's predictions, after his death; the fpeedy propagation and wonderful fuccefs of this doctrine in the world, by weak and inconfiderable means, against all the power and oppofition of the world; the deftruction of Jerufalem, and the difperfion of the Jewish nation, according to our SAVIOUR's pro3

phecy;

1

г

CLXXIII,

phecy; besides many more that might be mention- SERM.
ed. And which is a mighty advantage to us, we are
free from those prejudices against the perfon of our
SAVIOUR and his doctrine, which the Jews, by the
reverence which they bare to their rulers and teach-
ers, were generally poffefs'd withal; we are brought
up in the belief of it, and have drunk it in by edu-
cation; and if we believe it, as we all profefs to do,
we have all the obligation and all the arguments to
repentance, which the Jews could poffibly have from
the miracles which they faw; for they were means of
repentance to them no otherwife than as they brought
them to the belief of our SAVIOUR's doctrine, which
called them to repentance.

So that if we continue impenitent, the fame woe
is denounced against us that is against Chorazin and
Bethfaida; and we may be faid with Capernaum,
"to be lifted up to heaven," by the enjoyment of
the most excellent means and advantages of falvation,
that any people ever did, which if we neglect, and
still continue wicked and impenitent under them, we
may justly fear, that with them "we fhall be thrown
"down to hell," and have our place in the lowest
part of that dismal dungeon, and in the very center
of that fiery furnace.

Never was there greater cause to upbraid the impenitence of any people, than of us, confidering the means and opportunities which we enjoy; and never had any greater reafon to fear a feverer doom, than we have. Impenitence in a heathen is a great fin; elfe how fhould GoD judge the world? But GOD takes no notice of that, in comparison of the impenitence of Chriftians, who enjoy the gofpel, and are convinced of the truth, and upon the greatest reafon in the world profefs to believe it. We Chrftians VOL. IX.

U

have

SERM. have all the obligations to repentance, that reason CLXXIII. and revelation, nature and grace can lay upon us.

Art thou convinced that thou haft finned, and done that which is contrary to thy duty, and thereby provoked the wrath of GoD, and incenfed his juftice against thee? As thou art a man, and upon the ftock of natural principles, thou art obliged to repentance. The fame light of reafon which difcovers to thee the errors of thy life, and challengeth thee for thy impiety and intemperance, for thy injuftice and oppreffion, for thy pride and paffion; the fame natural confcience which accufeth thee of any mifcarriages, does oblige thee to be forry for them, "to "turn from thy evil ways, and to break off thy "fins by repentance." For nothing can be more unreasonable, than for a man to know a fault, and yet not think himself bound to be sorry for it; to be convinced of the evil of his ways, and not to think himself obliged by that very conviction, to turn from it and forfake it. If there be any fuch thing as a natural law written in mens hearts," which the apoftle tells us the heathens had, it is impoffible to imagine, but that the law, which obligeth men not to tranfgrefs, fhould oblige them to repentance in cafe of tranfgreffion. And this every man in the world is bound to, though he had never seen the bible, nor heard of the name of CHRIST. And the revelation of the gofpel doth not fuperfede this obligation, but adds new ftrength and force to it and by how much this duty of repentance is more clearly revealed by our bleffed SAVIOUR in the gospel; by how much the arguments which the gospel ufeth to perfuade men, and encourage them to repentance, are greater and more powerful; by fo much is the impenitence of those who live under the gospel the more inexcufable.

Had