III. God's appointment of repentance unto sinners doth re- veal that there is forgiveness in himself. I say, the prescription of repentance is a revelation of forgiveness. After the angels had sinned, God never once called them to repentance. He would not deceive them, but let them know what they were to look for at his hands ; he hath no forgiveness for them, and therefore would require no repentance of them. It is not, nor ever was, a duty incumbent on them to repent. Nor is it so unto the damned in hell. God requires it not of them, nor is it their duty. There being no forgive- ness for them, what should move them to repent? Why should it be their duty so to do? Their eternal anguish about sin committed hath nothing of repentance in it. Assignation then, of repentance is a revelation of forgiveness. God would not call upon a sinful creature to humble itself and bewail its sin if there were no way of. recovery or relief; and the only way of recovery from the guilt of sin is pardon. So Job xxxiii. 27, 28, " He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light." In the foregoing verses he declares the various ways that God used to bring men unto repentance. He did it by dreams, verses 15, 16; by afflictions, verse 19; by the preach- ing of the word, verse 23. What, then, doth God aim at in and by all these various ways of teaching? It is to cause man to say, " I have sinned, and perverted that which was right." It is to bring him to repentance. What now if he obtain his end, and cometh to that
438 AN EXPOSITION UPON PSALM cxxx. [Ver.4.
Avliicli is aimed at? Why, then, there is forgiveness for hirn, as is declared, verse 28.
To improve this evidence, I shall confirm, by some few obvious considerations, these two things: — 1. That tlie j^f^so'ijition of repentance doth indeed evince tJiat there is forgiveness ivith God. 2. That every one in luhoni there is repentance wrought towards God, may certainly conclude that there is forgiveness ivith God for him.
1. No rejJentance is acceptable with God but ivhat is built or leans on the faith of forgiveness. We have a cloud of witnesses unto this truth in the Scripture. Many there have been, many are recorded who have been convinced of sin, perplexed about it, sorry for it, that have made open confession and acknowledgment of it, that, under the pressing sense of it, have cried out even to God for deliverance, and yet have come short of mercy, pardon, and accept- ance with God. The cases of Cain, Pharaoh, Saul, Ahab, Judas, and others, might be insisted on. What was wanting, that made all that they did abominable? Consider one instance for all. It is said of Judas that he repented : Matt, xxvii. 3, Msra/^jXjj^s/s, " He re- pented himself." But wherein did this repentance consist? (1.) He was convinced of his sin in general: "lliMaprov, saith he, — " I have sinned," verse 4. (2.) He was sensible of the particular sin whereof he stood charged in conscience before God. " I have," saith he, " be- traj^ed innocent blood;" — " I am guilty of blood, innocent blood, and that in the vilest manner, by treachery." So that he comes, — (3.) To a full and open confession of his sin. (4.) He makes restitution of what he was advantaged by his sin, " He brought again the thirty pieces of silver," verse 3 ; — all testifying a hearty soitow that spirited the whole. Methinks now Judas' repentance looks like the young man's obedience, who cried out, " All these things have I done ; is there any thing yet lacking?" Yea, one thing was wanting to that young man, — he had no true faith nor love to God all this while; which vitiated and spoiled all the rest of his performances. One thing also is wanting to this repentance of Judas, — he had no faith of forgiveness in God; that he could not believe; and, therefore, after all this sorrow, instead of coming to him, he bids him the utmost defiance, and goes away and hangs himself.
Indeed, faith of forgiveness, as hath been showed, hath many de- grees. There is of them that which is indispensably necessary to render repentance acceptable. What it is in particular I do not dis- pute. It is not an assurance of the acceptance of our persons in general. It is not that the particular sin wherewith, it may be, the soul is perplexed, is forgiven. A general, so it be a gospel discovery that there is forgiveness in God, will suffice. The church expresseth
Vor.4.] EVIDENCE OF FORGIVENESS WITH GOD. 439
it, Hos. xiv. 3, "111 thee the fatherless fiiideth mercy;" and Joel ii. 14, "Who knoweth but he will return and repent?" "I have this ground," saitli the soul, " God is in himself gracious and merciful ; the fatherless, the destitute and helpless, that come to him by Christ, find mercy in him. None in heaven and earth can evince but that he may return to me also." Now, let a man's convictions be never so great, shaip, wounding ; his sorrow never so abundant, overflowing, abiding; his confession never so full, free, or open, — if this one thing be wanting, all is nothing but what tends to death.