Nom. But, sir, as I conceive, the Scripture holds forth, that the Lord has appointed repentance to go before faith; for is it not said, Mark i. 15, "Repent and believe the gospel?"

Evan. To the intent that you may have a true and satisfactory answer to this your objection, I would pray you to consider two things:

First, That the word "repent" in the original, signifies a change of our minds from false ways to the right, and of our hearts from evil to good; as that son in the gospel said, "He would not go" work in his father's vineyard; yet afterwards, says the text, "he repented and went," Matth. xxi. 29; that is, he changed his mind and went.

Secondly, That in those days, when John the Baptist and our Saviour preached, their hearers were most of them erroneous in their minds and judgments; for they being leavened with the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees, of which our Saviour bade his disciples take heed and beware, (Matth. xvi. 6, 12.) the most of them were of opinion, that the Messiah whom they looked for should be some great and mighty monarch, who should deliver them from their temporal bondage, as I showed before. And many of them were of the opinion of the Pharisees, who held, that as an outward conformity to the letter of the law was sufficient to gain favour and

66 Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of the true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth with grief and hatred of sin, turn from it unto God."-Shorter Cat.

"M. This is then thy saying, That unto the time that God hath received us to mercy, and regenerate us by his Spirit, we can do nothing but sin; even as an evil tree can bring forth no fruit but that which is evil, Matth. vii. 17. C. Even so it is."-Calvin's Cat. quest. 117. "He doth receive us into his favour, of his bountiful mercy, through the merits of our Saviour Christ, accounting his righteousness to be ours, and for his sake imputeth not our faults unto us."-Ibid. quest. 118. "Quest. What is the first fruit of this union?" (namely of union with Christ by faith.) A. A remission of our sins, and imputation of justice. Q. What is the next fruit of our union with him? A. Our sanctification and regeneration to the image of God."-Craig's Cat. q, 24, 25. Q. What is sanctification? A. Sanctification is a work af God's grace, whereby they-are-renewed in the whole man, after the image of God, having the seeds of repentance unto life, and of all other saving graces, put into their hearts."-Larger Cat. quest. 75.

"We would beware of Mr. Baxter's order of setting repentance and works of new obedience before justification, which is indeed a new covenant of works."— Rutherford's Influences of the Life of Grace, p. 346.

This is taken word for word out of the English Annotations on Matt. iii. 12; which are cited for it by our author under the name of the Last Annotations, because they were printed in the year 1645, about which time this book also was first published. How the author applies it, will appear anon.

estimation from men, so it was sufficient for their justification and acceptation before God, and so, consequently, to bring them to heaven and eternal happiness: and therefore, for these ends, they were very diligent in fasting and prayer, (Luke xviii. 12-14.) and very careful to pay tithes of mint, anise, and cummin, and yet did omit the weightier matters of the law, as judgment, mercy, faith, and the love of God. Matth. xxiii. 23; Luke xi. 42. And so

as our Saviour told them, Matth. xxiii. 25. "they made clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they were full of extortion and excess."

And divers of them were of the opinion of the Sadducees, Acts xxiii. 8. who held "that there was no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit;" and so had all their hopes and comfort in the things of this life, not believing any other.

Now our Saviour, preaching to these people, said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel." As if he had said, the time set by the prophets for the manifestation of the Messiah is fully come; and his kingdom, which is a spiritual and heavenly kingdom, is at hand; therefore change your minds from false ways to right, and your hearts from evil to good; u and do not any longer imagine, that the Messiah you look for, shall be one that shall save and deliver you from your temporal enemies; but from your spiritual, that is, from your sins, and from the wrath of God, and from eternal damnation; and therefore put your confidence no longer in your own righteousness, though you walk never so exactly according to the letter of the law; but believe the glad tidings that are now brought to you, namely, that this Messiah shall save you from sin, wrath, death, the devil, and hell, and bring you to eternal life and glory. Neither let any of you any longer imagine, that there is to be no resurrection of the dead, and so have your hopes only in this life but believe these glad tidings, that are now brought unto you, concerning the Messiah; and he shall raise you up at the last day, and give you an eternal life. Now, with submission to better judgments, I do conceive, that if there be in the book of God any repentance exhorted unto, before faith in Christ; or if any repentance go, either in order of nature or time, before faith in Christ, it is only such a like repentance as this. v

u The word rendered repent, is, "To change one's mind, and to lay aside false opinions, which they had drunk in, whether from the Pharisees, concerning the righteousness of works, traditions, worship, &c.; or from the Sadducees, concerning the resurrection," &c.-Lucus Brugensis, apud. Pol. Synop. Crit. Matt. iii. 2.

That the reader may further see how little weight there is in the objection raised

Nom. But, sir, do you think that there is such a like repentance that goes before faith in Christ, in men now-a-days?

Evan. Yea, indeed, I think there is. As for example, when a profane sensual man (who lives as though, with the Sadducees, he did not believe any resurrection of the dead, neither hell nor heaven,) is convinced in his conscience, that if he go on in making a god of his belly, and in minding only earthly things, his end shall be damnation; sometimes such a man thereupon changes his mind, and of a profane man, becomes a strict Pharisee, or (as some call them) a legal professor; but being convinced, that all his own righteousness will avail him nothing, in the case of justification, and that it is only the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is available in that case, then he changes his mind, and, with the apostle, " desires to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, even the righteousness which is of God through faith," Phil. iii. 9. Now, I conceive, that a man that does this, changes his mind from false ways to the right way, and his heart from evil to good; and so, consequently, doth truly repent. w

Nom. But, sir, do not you hold, that although repentance, according to my definition, goes not before faith in Christ, yet it follows after?

Evan. Yes, indeed; I hold, that although it go not before, as an antecedent of faith, yet it follows as a consequent. For when a man believes the love of God to him in Christ, then he loves God because he loved him first; and that love constrains him to humble himself at the Lord's footstool, and to acknowledge himself to be less than the least of all his mercies; yea, and then will he "remember his own evil ways and doings, that were not good, and will

from Mark i. 15. I subjoin the words of two learned commentators on the text "Repent ye, turn from the wickedness of your ways and believe.-There is a repentance that must go before faith, that is, the applicative of the promise of pardoning mercy to the soul; though true evangelical repetance, which is sorrow for sin, flowing from the sense of the love of God in Christ, be the fruit and effect of faith."-Coutin. of Poole's Annot. on the place. "Faith or believing, in order of the work of grace, is before repentance, that being the first and mother grace of all others; yet is here and in other places, named the latter: first, because though faith be first wrought, yet repentance is first seen and evidenced," &c.-Lightfoot's Harmony, part. 3. p. 164.

4to.

w That is, his repentance is true in its kind, though not saving. There is a change of his mind and heart, in that, upon a conviction, he turns from profanity to strictness of life, and upon farther conviction, from a conceit of his own righteousness to a desire after the righteousness of Christ: nevertheless, all this is but selfish, and cannot please God while the man is void of faith. Heb. xi. 6.

loathe himself in his own sight for his iniquities, and for his abominations," Ezek. xxxvi. 31; yea, and then he will also cleanse himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, having respect unto all God's commandments." x 2 Cor. vii. 1; Psalm cxix. 6.

Nom. Well, sir, I am answered.

§ 5. Neo. And truly, sir, you have so declared and set forth Christ's disposition towards poor sinners, and so answered all my doubts and objections, that I am now verily persuaded that Christ is willing to entertain me; and surely I am willing to come unto him, and receive him; but, alas! I want power.

Evan. But tell me truly, are you resolved to put forth all your power to believe, and so to take Christ? y

Neo. Truly, sir, methinks my resolution is much like the resolution of the four lepers, who sat at the gate of Samaria; for as they said, "If we enter into the city, the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also; now, therefore, let us fall into the host of the Syrians; if they save us, we shall live, and if they kill us, we shall but die," 2 Kings vii. 4; even so say I in mine heart, if I go back to the covenant of works to seek justification thereby, I shall die there; and if I sit still and seek it no way, I shall die also; now therefore, though I be somewhat fearful, yet am I resolved to go unto Christ; and if I perish, I perish. z

r See note k, P. 279.

y His conviction of his lost and undone state was before represented in its proper place. After much disputing whether such a vile and sinful wretch as he had any warrant to come to Christ, he appears, in his immediately foregoing speech, to be so far enlightened in the knowledge of Christ, that he is verily persuaded that Christ is willing to entertain him; and to have his heart and will so overcome by divine grace that he is willing to come unto Christ: yet after all, he, through weakness of judgment, apprehends himself to want power to believe; whereas it is by these very means that a soul is persuaded, and enabled too, to believe in Jesus Christ. Hereupon the author waiving the dispute anent his power to believe, wisely asks him, If he was resolved to put forth the power he bad? forasmuch as it was evident from the account given of the present condition of his soul, that it had felt "a day of power," Psalm cx. 3. and that he was "drawn of the Father, and therefore could come to Christ," John vi. 44. For "effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ."-Short. Cut. "Savingly enlightening their minds, renewing, and powerfully determining their wills, so as they are hereby made willing and able."-Larg. Cat. quest. 67.

z See the foregoing note. This is the concluding point in this matter: the man being drawn by efficacious grace, though he is not without doubts and fears as to the event, yet is no more in doubt, whether to embrace the offer or not. And the inward motion of his heart breaking through the remaining doubts and fears, after a long

Evan. Why, now I tell you, the match is made; Christ is yours, a and you are his, "this day is salvation come to your house," (your soul I mean:) for what though you have not that power to come so fast to Christ, and lay such firm hold on him, as you desire; yet coming with such a resolution to take Christ, as you do, you need nor care for power to do it, inasmuch as Christ will enable you to do it; b for is it not said, John i. 12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name?" c O therefore, I beseech you, stand no longer disputing; but be peremptory and resolute in your faith, and in casting yourself upon God in Christ for mercy; and let the issue be what it will. Yet let me tell you, to your comfort, that such a resolution shall never go to hell. d Nay, I will say more; if any soul have room in heaven, such a soul shall; for God cannot find in his heart to damn such a one. I might then, with as much true confidence say unto you, as John Careless said to John Bradford, in a letter to him, "Hearken, O heavens, and thou O earth, give ear, and bear me witness, at the great day, that I do here faithfully and truly declare the Lord's message unto his dear servant and singularly beloved John Bradford, saying, John Bradford, thou man so specially beloved of God, I do pronounce and testify unto thee, in the word and name of the Lord Jehovah, that all thy sins, whatsoever they be, though never so many, grievous, or great, be fully and freely pardoned, released, and forgiven thee, by the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, the only Lord and sweet Saviour, in whom thou dost undoubtedly believe; as truly as the Lord liveth, he will not

struggle, unto Jesus Christ in the free promise, being in itself indiscernible, but to God and one's own soul, it is agreeably enough to one's way in that case: discovered in that expression of a conquered soul, Now am I resolved to go unto Christ, now am I determined to believe; the which cannot but represent to him who deals with the exercised person, the whole soul going out unto Jesus Christ. Hence the match may justly thereupon be declared to be made, as our author does in the words immediately following. Thus, Job in his distress expresseth his faith, Job xiii. 15, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Compare Acts xi. 33, "That with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord."

a In possession.

"And

"He

b That is, you need not, holding back your hand, stand disputing with yourself how you will get power; but with the power given, stretch forth the withered hand, and Christ will strengthen it, and enable you to take a firm hold. John xii. 32, 1, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Isa. xl. 29, giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." c The power here mentioned, seems rather to denote right or privilege (as the original word is rendered in the margin of our Bibles,) than strength or ability.

d See the preceding note, b