2. Now I come to my second consideration, that it is but a notion of repentance, not a real exercise of it, when we profess to return to God, and know not wherein we should return. What do you call returning to God.? Long harangues against sin in prayer? This may be done by hypocrites, who raise up a puppet of sin in their own fancies, and cudgel it with barren invectives, but yet regard iniquity as a darling in their hearts. Surely real repentance is when anything that was amiss before is mended. It is either the reformation of some particular disorder by which God was provoked, or a general fixing of the heart to God, that we may love him more and serve him better, that it may sensibly appear that we have gotten good by every serious act of humiliation before God. But to bring it to some head, no re- pentance is serious and real but what is honourable to God and profitable to us. Now the more particular it is, the more these ends are accomplished.
[1.] Solemn repentance honoureth God ; and therefore it is often said to be a giving God glory, Mai. ii. 2 ; Kev. xvi. 9, ' They repented not to give him glory ; ' Josh. xvii. 19, " My son, I pray thee, give glory to the God of Israel.' True confession and humiliation for sin under judgments doth especially give God a double glory — the glory of his truth, and the glory of his justice ; the one relates to his laws, the other to his providence. (1.) The glory of his truth: Hosea vii. 12, ' I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.' God herein showeth that his word shall take effect, that his threatenings are not a vain scarecrow, that men shall feel the danger which they would not believe. When he suits the judgment to the sin, according to the rule of the word, we are convinced of this, and so give God the glory of his truth. (2.) His righteousness. God loveth to be clear when he judgeth, Ps. li. 4, or to have the reason of his dispensation seen, that
324 A FAST SERMON-.
he may have the glory, and we may have tlie shame : Jer. ii. 17, ' Hast thou not procured this unto thyself ? ' and is not this thy ' way in the valley ? ' as we say to children, Is not this your eating green fruit ? This silenceth us, and honouretli God.
[2.] It is profitable to us to know what sin God aimeth at ; that God never afflicts but for a cause, is necessary to be known, for the honour of God ; and for what cause, that is necessary to be known, for our profit, that by the bitterness of the effects it may be made more odious to us ; for our knowledge is more by the eftect than the cause, Jer. ii. 19. By the evils we suffer God showeth us the evil which we commit, and that we may know what to redress : 1 Cor. xi, 30, ' For this cause many are weak and sickly among you.' Particular repent- ance respects particular sins.
Use 1. It informs us how difficult the work of conversion is, when the first work, and that which is but a common work, and may be lost, namely conviction, is so hard. Such is our blindness and par- tiality in our cause, our stupidity and hardness of heart in interpreting the word and provideuce, that when we are called upon to return to God, we know not wherein to return. Oh ! what ado is there to bring a man to a kindly conviction of sin ! The knowledge of the disease is but the first step to the cure ; but when, under deadly spiritual dis- tempers, we are heart-whole, and will not see our folly and filthiness, that we may turn to the Lord, and carry it so carelessly as if we needed no repentance — Ex j)cde Herculem — by this piece of the work judge of the rest —
Use 2. To exhort us to two things —
1. Take heed of the shifts whereby men beguile themselves, and if they do anything towards turning to God, it is but personated, a part acted for a day ; but God is not more glorified, nor are they ever the better.
[1.] Take heed of outfacing open crimes. We are so shameless, as to clear ourselves when our wickedness is evident: Jer. v. 19, ' And it shall come to pass, when ye say, Wherefore doth the Lord our God all these things unto us ? Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.' So Jer. xiii, 22, ' If thou say in thine heart, Wherefore are all these things come upon me ? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.' In our afflictions many thoughts boil up in our minds, and among the rest, about the cause of our troubles. Why doth God deal so severely with us ? And we are at a loss in apparent causes ; so wretched and sottish is our self-conceit, as if we were to be taught and told that which all the world can see. The foul blotches of our wickedness do appear, and yet we are loath to take notice of it, and bear it out as if we had done nought amiss ; like the whore in the Proverbs, Prov. xxx. 20, ' She wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.' An allusion to one that has eaten fat meat ; when the mouth is wiped all is clean. This is outfacing,