I beseech you, consider of these things. ' Repent, for the kingdom of God is near,' saith the Baptist, Mat. iv. 17. "W'liat ! shall we therefore give carnal liberty to all looseness, as if Christ came to bring Christians liberty to licentiousness ? Shall we, instead of repenting, run further and further into guilt, and indispose ourselves to all goodness ? Is that the reasoning of the Scriptures ? No. ' Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.' Change your lives, for Christ and the fruits of the gospel are at hand. ' The grace of God hath appeared in Christ.' What ! to teach us to live as we list, and to be more disordered than at other times ? Oh no. ' To live soberly and justly,' Titus ii. 12, not to wrong any body, and holy and godly in this present world. This is the Scripture reasoning, and thus, if ever we look for comfort from God and Christ, we must reason too.
Let none think it too late to speak of these things now ; but those that have not had the gi'ace of God to keep them innocent, let them make use of the grace of God to repent ; and as the phrase of some of the ancients is, repentance is a board to escape to the shore, after we have made ship-
* In margin here, 'These sermons were preached at the feast of Christ's nativity.' — G.
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wreck, and done things amiss (d). Tlierefore, as I said, tliose that have not had the grace before to be innocent, let them make use of the gi'ace of God, that now invites them to repentance, or not presume to come to these holy things. I speak it, not only to free mine own soul, but to free you from contracting further guilt ; for do you think to make amends by coming to the sacrament, without repentance of what you have done before ? * What hast thou to do,' saith God, * to take my name into thy mouth,' Ps. 1. 16 — to take my saci'ament into thy mouth — ' when thou hatest to be reformed ?' God accounted his own service as the ' cutting oif a dog's head,' when they came indisposed and unprepared, Isa. Ixvi. 3. The sacrament is bane and poison to us, jf we come without repentance. What saith the apostle ? ' For this cause,' — because you come unreverently to the things of God — ' some are sick, and some weak, and some sleep,' 1 Cor. xi. 30. God struck them with death for it. And it is a great cause why many are hardened in their sins, and go on still ; because God executes these spiritual judgments for profaning these holy things, thinking to daub with God,* and to compliment with him in an easy performance.
I know those that belong to God are suffered sometimes to do things amiss, and to fall into errors and miscarriages, that they may know them- selves better. And indeed, much of our spiritual wisdom is gotten by the sight of our own errors. We gi'ow more stablished after, against the like temptations, for the time to come ; and we can say by experience. It is good that I know the foolishness of my own heart, &c. But he that God hath no delight in, he swells and rages against any admonition, though it be in love to his soul. I hope there are none such here. Therefore, those that have made their peace with God, let them come to these holy mysteries with comfort, notwithstanding any thing before ; for God hath prepared these things, not for angels, but for weak men, whose faith stands in need to be strengthened.
And let us not think that Christianity is a matter of compliment ; that because we are baptized, and come to hear the word, and receive the sacra- ment, all is well. For we may do all this, and yet be greater sinners than Turks, or Jews, or pagans ; for the most horrible sins are committed in the church. Where is the sin against the Holy Ghost committed ? sins against light and against conscience, but where the conscience and understanding is most enlightened ? There be the horrible, provoking sins, where there is more light and direction to live in another way. When the grace of God and the riches of Christ are opened, and yet men live in their sins, against conscience and the light of the gospel, so far is the outward performance from excusing in sickness and at the hour of death, that it aggravates our guilt and damnation when we make not a right use of the holy things of God.
That which I shall next stand upon, shall be to shew,
1. How we may know whether we glorify God for Christ or no ;
2. And then the hindrances that keep us from glorifying God for this excellent good ;
3. And the means how we may come to glorify God.
1. For the Jirst, of glorifijing God in general, I will not speak much. It would be large ; and the point of glorifying God is most sweetly considered, as invested in such a benefit as this, when we think of it, not as an idea only, but think of it in Christ, for whom we have cause to glorify God, and for all the good we have by him.