5. It teacheth us a lesson of prayer, We must not give over the cause as hopeless, for we have to do with a good God, who aimeth not at our ruin, but the righting of his own glory. Moses prayeth to reverse the sentence, but in this case God would not do that, to preserve the harmony of his providence ; for Moses was only to lead them to the borders, but Joshua to bring them into Canaan, who was therein a type of Jesus Christ, who leadeth his people into the land of rest. But yet God gave him a sight, though not leave to enter ; there is a miti- gation. And David prayeth, Ps. vi. 1, ' 0 Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.' It is a mercy, if the judgment break not out in all extremity against us.
6. It teaches us a lesson of thankfulness, because eternal mercies are sure ; whatever liberty God taketh in the disposal of our temporal interests, we may still bless God for Christ and heaven. Ay ! you will say, if we could do so. I answer — Where God giveth a penitent and submissive spirit, it is a sign we shall not be condemned with the world.
SEMON UPON ACTS XVII. 30, 31.
And the times of this ignorance God ivinhed at ; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent : because he hath appointed a day, in the ivhich he tu ill judge the luorld in righteousness by that man ivhom he hath ordained ; ivhereof he hath given assurance tmto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. — Acts xvii. 30, 31.
The words are the conclusion of Paul's speech to the men of Athens, wherein, having disproved their idolatry, he cometh to show them the right way of returning from their sin and misery to their duty and happiness.
In them we have — (1.) An exhortation, ver, 30 ; (2.) An argument and motive to enforce it, ver. 31.
1. The exhortation, which consists of two parts — (1.) A censure of the past times ; (2.) The duty of the present time. Wherein, {\st.) The duty itself, repentance ; (2d) The universality of its obligation, He ' commandeth all men everywhere to repent ; ' that is, all without difference of nations, the call being now general.
2. The argument or motive to enforce it. The argument is — (1.) propounded ; (2.) confirmed.
[1.] Propounded, ' Because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.'
[2.] Confirmed, ' Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.'
To possess you with the full scope of this scripture, let me explain all these clauses.
I. I begin with the exhortation, which consists of two parts — (1.) The censure of the past times ; (2.) The duty of the present time.
First, In the censure of the past times two things are said of them — (1.) That they were times of ignorance ; and (2.) That God winked at them, or overlooked them.
1. That they were times of ignorance, and that easily leadeth into error. But now tllS light of the gospel was brought to them, God did more peremptorily insist upon his right, and commanded them to repent, and to turn from dead idols to the living God ; for the prac- tices of ignorance will not become a time of knowledge : 1 Peter i. 14,
39 S SERMON UPON ACTS XVII. 30, 31.
' As oljedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.' There was a time when we knew neither the terror, nor the sweetness of the Lord, hut securely lived in sin ; what we did then will mishecome us now. So Rom. xiii. 12, ' The night is far spent, tlie day is at hand ; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.' While they were heathens, they lived in ignorance of God and the way to true happi- ness, and in a profane godless course, and an utter carelessness and neglect of heavenly things. As in the night the wild and savage beasts go abroad foraging for their prey ; but, as the psalmist telleth us, Ps. civ. 22, 23, ' When the sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens, and man goeth forth to his work ; ' so in this spiritual night of ignorance, sin reigneth, and brutish affec- tions cany all before them, and a man is governed by sense and appetite, and not by reason and conscience ; but when the day dawneth, the man should show himself, and reason should be in dominion again ; and though before they neither minded God and their own souls, nor considered their danger, nor their remedy, yet now they should awake, and return and seek after God. Sins are more aggravated in times of more full gospel light ; for when light is come into the world, and men 'love darkness rather than light,' John iii. 19, then to our error there is added stubbornness and oljstinacy ; and what- ever connivance God used before, this will bring speedy ruin upon us.