HOM. XXXII. On Repentance. we must forthwith be packing, to be present before the judgment-seat of God, as he doth find us, according as it is written, Whereas the tree falleth, whether it be toward the south, or toward the north, there it shall lie.' Whereunto agreeth the saying of the holy martyr of God, St. Cyprian, saying, "As God doth find thee when he doth call, so doth he judge thee." Let us therefore follow the counsel of the Wise Man, where he saith, Make no tarrying to turn unto the Lord, and put not off from day to day. For suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord break forth, and in thy security shalt thou be destroyed, and shalt perish in the time of vengeance.' Which words I desire you to mark diligently, because they do most lively put before our eyes the fondness of many men, who, abusing the long suffering and goodness of God, do never think on repentance or amendment of life. Follow not,' saith he, thine own mind and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy heart, neither say thou, Who will bring me under for my works? For God the revenger will revenge the wrong done by thee. And say not, I have sinned, and what evil hath come unto me? For the Almighty is a patient rewarder; but he will not leave thee unpunished. Because thy sins are forgiven thee, be not without fear to heap sin upon sin. Say not neither, The mercy of God is great, he will forgive my manifold sins. For mercy and wrath come from him, and his indignation cometh upon unrepentant sinners. As if ye should say, Art thou strong and mighty? Art thou lusty and young? Hast thou the wealth and riches of the world? Or when thou hast sinned, hast thou received no punishment for it?' Let none of all these things make thee to be the slower to repent, and to return with speed unto the Lord for in the day of punishment and of his sudden vengeance; they shall not be able to help thee. Eccles. xi. v. And specially when thou art either by the preaching of God's word, or by some inward motion of his holy Spirit, or else by some other means called unto repentance, neglect not the good occasion that is ministered unto thee, lest, when thou wouldst repent, thou hast not the grace for to do it. For to repent is a good gift of God, which he will never grant unto them, who, living in carnal security, do make a mock of his threatenings, or seek to rule his spirit as they list, as though his working and gifts were tied unto their will. Fifthly, the avoiding of the plagues of God, and the utter destruction that by his righteous judgment doth hang over the heads of them all that will in no wise return unto the Lord: I will,' saith the Lord, 'give them for a terrible plague to all the kingdoms of the earth, and for a reproach, and for a proverb, and for a curse in all places where I shall cast them, and will send the sword of famine, and the pestilence among them, till they be consumed out of the land.' And wherefore is this? Because they hardened their hearts, and would in no wise return from their evil ways, nor yet forsake the wickedness that was in their own hands, that the fierceness of the Lord's fury might depart from them. But yet this is nothing in comparison of the intolerable and endless torments of hell-fire, which they shall be fain to suffer, who after their hardness of heart, that cannot repent, do heap unto themselves wrath against the day of anger, and of the declaration of the just judgment of God: whereas if we will repent, and be earnestly sorry for our sin, and with a full purpose and amendment of life flee unto the mercy of our God, and taking sure hold thereupon through faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ, do bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, he will not only pour his manifold blessings upon us Jer. xxiv. Rom. ii, HOM. XXXIII. On wilful Rebellion. here in this world, but also at the last, after the painful travails of this life, reward us with the inheritance of his children, which is the kingdom of heaven, purchased unto us with the death of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all praise, glory, and honour, world without end. Amen. Freedom from obligation to punishment is called Remission: freedom from accusation and condemnation is called Justification: and freedom from enmity and displeasure is called Reconciliation; all which the Believer enjoys the moment he heartily accepts of Christ for his only Lord and Saviour; which is termed justifying Faith. As God the Creator and Lord of all things appointed his angels and heavenly creatures in all obedience to serve and to honour his Majesty, so was it his will that man, his chief creature upon the earth, should live under the obedience of his Creator and Lord and for that cause, God, as soon as he had created man, gave unto him a certain precept and law, which he (being yet in the state of innocency, and remaining in Paradise) should observe as a pledge and token of his due and bounden obedience, with denunciation of death, if he did transgress and break the said law and commandment. And as God would have man to be his obedient subject, so did he make all earthly creatures subject unto man, who kept their due obedience unto man, so long as man remained in his obedience unto God: in the which obedience if man had continued still, there had been no poverty, no diseases, no sickness, no death, nor other miseries, wherewith mankind is now infinitely and most miserably afflicted and oppressed. So here appeareth the original kingdom of God over angels and man, and universally over all things, and of man over earthly creatures which God had made subject unto him, and withal the felicity and blessed state, which angels, man, and all creatures had remained in, had they continued in due obedience unto God their King. For as long as in this first kingdom the subjects continued in due obedience to God their King, so long did God embrace all his subjects with his love, favour, and grace, which to enjoy is perfect felicity; whereby it is evident, that obedience is the principal virtue of all virtues, and indeed the very root of all virtues, and the cause of all felicity. But as all felicity and blessedness should have continued with the continuance of obedience; so with the breach of obedience, and breaking in of rebellion, all vices and miseries did withal break in, and overwhelm the world. The first author of which rebellion, the root of all vices, and mother of all mischiefs, was Lucifer, first God's most excellent creature, and most bounden subject, who, by rebelling against the Majesty of God, of the brightest and most glorious angel, is become the blackest and most foul fiend and devil; and from the height of heaven is fallen into the pit and bottom of hell. Here you may see the first author and founder of rebellion, and the reward thereof; here you may see the grand captain and father of rebels, who persuading the following of his rebellion against God their Creator and Lord, unto our first parents Adam and Eve, brought them in high displeasure with God, wrought their exile and banishment out of Matt. iv. 9. Matt. xxv. 41. John viii. 44. 2 Pet. ii. 4. Apoc. xii. 7. Gen. iii. 1, &c. Wisd. ii. 24. Gen. ii. 8, 9, &c. 17, 23, 24. Paradise, a place of pleasure and goodness, into this wretched earth and vale of misery: procured unto them sorrows of their minds, mischiefs, sickness, diseases, death of their bodies, and which is far more horrible than all worldly and bodily mischiefs, he had wrought thereby their eternal and everlasting death and damnation, had not God by the obedience of his Son Jesus Christ repaired that, which man by disobedience and rebellion had destroyed, and so of his mercy had pardoned and forgiven him: of which all and singular the premises, the holy scriptures do bear record in sundry places. Thus do you see, that neither heaven nor paradise could suffer any rebellion in them, neither be places for any rebels to remain in. Thus became rebellion, as you see, both the first and the greatest, and the very root of all other sins, and the first and principal cause both of all worldly and bodily miseries, sorrows, diseases, sicknesses, and deaths; and which is infinitely worse than all these, as is said, the very cause of death and damnation eternally also. After this breach of obedience to God, and rebellion against his Majesty, all mischiefs and miseries breaking in therewith and overflowing the world, lest all things should come to confusion and utter ruin, God forthwith by laws given unto mankind, repaired again the rule and order of obedience thus by rebellion overthrown, and besides the obedience due unto his Majesty, he not only ordained that in families and housholds, the wife should be obedient unto her husband, the children unto their parents, the servants unto their masters: but also, when mankind increased, and spread itself more largely over the world, he by his holy word did constitute and ordain in cities and countries several and special governors Rom. v. 12, 19, &c. Gen. iii. 17. Gen. iii. 16. Job xxxiv. 50. & xxxvi. 7, |