In short, repentance without faith would degenerate into the horror of the damned, and our sorrow for sin would be tormenting rather curing to us. And then faith would be a licentious and presumptuous , confidence without repentance : unless it be accompanied with this hearty consent of living in the love, obedience, and service of God, with
Ps. XXXII. 1, 2.] THE SECOND SERMON. 195
a detestation of our former ways, it would be a turning tlie grace of God into wantonness. Therefore these two always go together. Which is the first, I will not enter upon ; but the one cannot be without the other.
[2.] Let me show you wherein they difi'er : the one respects God, the other Christ.
(1.) Repentance towards God, While we live in sin, we are not only out of our way, but out of our wits. ' We were sometimes foolish and disobedient, serving divers lusts and pleasures/ Titus iii. 3. We live in rebellion against him against whom we cannot make our party good ; and withal contenting ourselves with a false transitory happi- ness instead of a solid and eternal one, we never come to our wits again till we think of returning to God. As the prodigal, when ' he came to himself,' he thought of returning to his father ; and Ps. xxii. 27, ' They shall remember, and turn to the Lord.' So long as we lie in our sins, we are like men in a dream, we consider not from whence we are, nor whither we are going, nor what shall become of us to all eternity ; but go on against all reason and conscience, pro- voking God, and destroying our own souls. Man is never in his true posture again, till he returns to God as his sovereign Lord and chief happiness : as our sovereign Lord, that we may perform our duty to him ; and our felicity and chief good, that we may seek all our happi- ness in him. And none do repent but those that give up themselves to obey God and to do his will, as he is the sovereign Lord : 1 Peter iv. 2, ' That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God ; ' and look upon him as their chief happiness, and prefer his favour above all the sensual pleasures of the world, that they may be able in truth to say, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth I desire besides thee,' Ps. Ixxiii. 25. This is repentance towards God.
(2.) There is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This grace is neces- sary, that we may own our Redeemer, and be thankful to him, as the author of our deliverance : Rom. vii. 25, ' 0 wretched man that I am ! But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.' And also faith is necessary, that we may trust ourselves in his hands. We are to take Christ as our prophet, priest, and king ; to hear him as our pro- phet : Mat. xvii. 5, ' This is my beloved Son, hear him.' We are to receive him as our Lord and King : Col. ii. 6, * As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.' We are to consider him as the great high priest of our confession : Heb. iii. 1, ' Let us con- sider the Lord Jesus, the great apostle and high priest of our confes- sion/ Hear him we must as a prophet, that we may form our hopes by his covenant, and frame our lives by his holy and pure doctrine. Receive him we must as a king, that we may obey him in all things. Consider him as a priest, that we may depend upon the merit and value of his sacrifice and intercession, and may the more confidently plead his covenant and promises to God. Now without this there can be no commerce between us and Christ. Who will learn of him as a prophet, whom he takes to be a deceiver ? obey him as a king, who doth not believe his power ? or depend upon him with any confidence or hopes of mercy, if he doth not believe the value of his merit and
19G THE SECOND SERMON. [Ps. XXXII. 1, 2.
sacrifice? Herein these things differ — repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ; the one respects the end, God ; the other tlie means, Christ. Ecpentance more especially respects our duty ; faith, our comfort. Repentance, newness of life for the future, and returning to the primitive duty, the love of God, and obeying his will ; faith, pardon of what is past, and hope of mercy to come. In short, to God we give up ourselves as our supreme Lord ; to Christ as Mediator, who alone can bring us to God : to God, as taking his will for the rule of our lives and actions, and preferring his love above all that is dear in the world ; to Christ as our Lord and Saviour, who makes our peace with God, and gives the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, that we may for ever live upon him as our life, hope, and sti-ength. Thus I have briefly showed you how repentance respects God, and faith our Lord Jesus Christ.