Shall not the fudge of all the Earth do right? The fame we might justly apply, if God communicated the Rewards of just Men, fuch as Pardon of Sins, and Hope of future Happiness, to impenitent Sinners. But far be it from us to imagine any fuch uneven Conduct in God; who from the invariable Distribution of Pardon to Penitent, of Punishment to unrepenting Sinners, raiseth the Proof of his own Juftice, Ezek. xviii. 25, 26, 27. Hear now O houfe of Ifrael, Is not my way equal, are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and dieth in it; for his iniquity that he hath done he fall die. Again when the wicked turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right; he fball fave his foul alive. Therefore I will judge every one according to his ways, faith the Lord God: Repent and turn your felves from all Tranfgreffions; fo iniquity shall not be your ruin.

your

I have been fo long upon this Head, that I have little Time left to fpeak of the Second; which is, the Ufefulness of Repentance; in that, if it be perfect, fincere and rightly applied, it averts the Punishment due to Sins: Not through any intrinsick Merit of its own, but through the gracious accep tance of God, who hath promifed Pardon upon true Repentance. That we may not be deceived therefore in the Nature of Repentance; we may reflect upon the Reasons

for.

for which Repentance is fo acceptable to God, who, as he is a most perfect Being, doth nothing without most evident Reason.

God therefore, whenfoever he taketh the Soul of Man to himself, and calleth it to Judgment, judgeth it according to the prefent. Difpofition of it. If a Man hath formerly lived up to his Commands, but did afterwards Apoftatize from them, and gave up himself to the Direction of his Lufts, and died in that corrupt Habit of Mind; he thall be judged according to it. If he formerly neglected his Duty, but before his Death, had changed all the Habits and Difpofitions of his Soul into firm Refolutions of Obedience to God, into a perfect Hatred of Sin, and a Love of Piety, and dieth in them; God will reward him according to that prefent Difpofition.

Such a Repentance then, which God will accept, muft be an entire Change of the very Frame of the Mind; not a flight Sorrow for paft Sins, nor even a bitter Sorrow for them; if founded only upon the profpect of the Pu nishment attending them, it proceeds not to change the Habits of the Soul: For with fuch a Sorrow a Love of Sin may well confiit. Nor even if this Sorrow fhould proceed to a careful difcharge of Duty for many Days together, and often break out into ar dent Ejaculations of Devotion; yet will not this avail; unless the Will be firmly settled in Refolutions of continuing the Work fo well begun,

begun, and taken off from all Complacency in Sin. As the Body of Man is not to be accounted found or healthful, although it hath now and then fome intervals of Health; unless the whole Crafis of it be ftrong and uncorrupted.

That every one may judge of himself herein, let him propofe to himself the greatest Temptation, which he knoweth can affect them; let him imagine himself fecure fron being difcovered in this World, and not being immediately fnatcht away to Judgment; then let him impartially examine himself, whether in those Circumstances he fhould preferr his Duty before the Pleafure of Sin. If he be well affured of his Refolution therein, he may then hope well of his own Condition. But becaufe Men in fuch Examina. tions will be partial to themselves; let him take a View of his latest Actions; in which if he can find any Sin committed deliberately, after Confideration, in cool, Blood, and the Suggestions of his own Confcience to the contrary; then let him affuredly conclude, that the State of his Soul is depraved; that the whole Frame of it must be changed by Repentance, before God will extend any Mercy to him; and that without fuch Repentance he is for ever loft.

For in every fuch deliberate Sin Man really choofeth Damnation to himself. In the precedent Deliberation of it, his Confcience ets before him Life and Death; on the one

Hand

Hand the Command of God, the Authority of his Command, and the Promises of Obedience; on the other Hand the Guilt of Sin, and the Punishments affixed to it: If notwithstanding all this his Will be over-ruled by the feeming Pleafures of Vice to embrace it, and violate the Laws of God; Man doth therein make an abfolute Choice of Damnation for himself; and doth as truly renounce Obedience to God, as if he made an open and formal Abjuration of him. A Mind therefore fo corrupted can by no means be faid to be well difpofed or fitted to receive the Favour of God.

Other Sins there are, which may confift with fuch a pious Habit of Soul as is required; namely Sins of Ignorance and Infir mity. The firft fort arife from an Errour of the Understanding; when a Man offends againft his Duty, because he knows it not. The fecond fpring from the diforder of the fenfual Appetite; as when a Man through a fudden Fear or Paffion is hurried on rafhly to commit a Sin, before he well confiders what he doth; before he hath time to reflect upon his Duty, or to confider with himself what he fhould, or fhould not do. But a wilful Sin, or Sin of Prefumption arifeth from a corruption of Will, and proceeds upon deliberate Choice and advised Refolution. I will illuftrate all these by Examples. St. Paul perfecuted the Church of God, not knowing it to be his Church; although

though he was all the while ready to receive and obey the Truth, as foon as it fhould be manifeft to him. This was a Sin of Igro rance; for which he faith of himself that be received Mercy, because he did it in unbelief. If this Ignorance fhould be affected, because Men will not inquire after Truth, or will not attend to it; the miscarriages founded upon it cease to be Sins of Ignorance, and become wilful Sins. Of Sins of Infirmity. St. Peter is a great Example; who through a fudden fear of Death or Punishment, was betrayed to deny his Mafter: Although he had before fully refolved against it, and as foon as the violence of his Fear was over, and his Mind returned to the former Freedom; as foon as he thought of it, He wept bitterly. Of wilful Sins that of David a gainst Uriah is an eminent Inftance; where the Sin of Adultery and Murder was, after long Deliberation and a Contrivance of many Days together, at laft put in Execution by him. And for this it was that Nathan told him he had deferved to die; this created to him that lafting and vehement Sorrow, which we often find defcribed in the Book of Pfalms; and this stuck as an indelible blot to his Memory, when leffer Offences were paffed by. And therefore it is faid of them, 1 King. xv. 5. That David did that which was right in the fight of the Lord, and turned not afide from any thing which he commanded bim, all the days of his life, fave only in the

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