and afhes; and, with the penitents in the antient church, fhould (t) put on fackcloth, and cover ourselves with afbes, and caft our felves down in the midst of the congregation; fhould punish ourselves with fafting and wailing, and all forts of mortification; fhould fall down to the faithful, and embrace their knees, and kifs their feet, and feek by all means poffible to obtain their prayers in our behalf : should we do all this, and a thousand times more by way of penance, for our abuse of fo good, fo gracious a Redeemer, we could never duly bewail the heinousnefs of fuch iniquity. So that if we confider only the wickedness of our fins, and the horrid guilt contracted by them, we have all abundant caufe to lament and bemoan them, and to fhew forth the greateft abhorrence and deteftation of them. And yet have we still more reason to do it, if hereto be added the mifchievous effects of them in relation to ourfelves, as they are the only means of robbing us of God's favour, and expofing us to his juft indignation, and thereby of bringing down his heavy judgments upon us here in this world, and of delivering us over to his eternal vengeance in the other, to be fentenced from bis prefence, and the glory of his power, and be caft inso outer darkness, where will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth for evermore, and have our part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the fecond death, and the fharpeft and the most intolerable, as well as the most lafting, of all punishments. Wherefore fuch being the guilt, and the terrible fruit, of our fins, every one that is not wilfully blind must neceffarily fee, what indifpenfable obligations all are under, to abominate and deteft them, and loath themfelves because of them, and earnestly fue to the throne of grace for mercy and forgiveness, and ability to walk more holily for the future. This is the first part of repentance, a hearty forrow for fin, and an abhorrence of it, and of ourselves because of it. The

(1) Tertul. de Pænit. c. 9. & de Pudic. c. 5. B. Cyprian. Epift. 65. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. 1. 5. c. 28.

next is a firm and steady purpose of forfaking it. And nothing is more natural, than to refolve to flee from, and avoid, what we know to be not only bad in itself, but deftructive also to all that indulge themfelves in it. They whofe hearts are fo harden'd, and their eyes fo blinded, as not to difcover the evil of fin, may fenfelefly chufe to live in it. But all others must be felf-condemned, if they do not unfeignedly refolve upon a fpeedy renunciation of it, and take care moreover to put fuch their refolution in practice. To this, common prudence, and a defire of our welfare, direct, as we would not ruin ourselves beyond recovery. The checks of our own confciences alfo recommend it, reprehending us for what we have done amifs, and reminding us how much it is our duty to live in the exercife of the contrary virtues. And this the Holy Scriptures from time to time inculcate with the greateft earneftness, and under the feverest penalties; requiring (u) to deny all ungodliness and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, righteously, and godly, in this prefent evil world; (w) to cease to do evil, and learn to do well; (x) to repent and be converted, that our fins may be blotted out; (y) to caft off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light; and, in a word, (z) to repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. And, in truth, without this, all our forrow for our fins, and the fight and fenfe we have of them, instead of atoning, will aggravate our guilt, and increase our condemnation, and will intitle us to the dreadful fate of that obftinately disobedient fervant who knows his Mafter's will, but for not doing it, as he is convinced he ought, (a) fhall be beaten with many ftripes. The clearer apprehenfion any have of their fins, the more deplorable is their condition, and the greater fhare of torments they must expect in the other life, if they ftill continue in them. And this therefore is the other part of our repentance, that

(a) Tit. ii. 12.

(y) Rom. xiii. 12.

(w) Ifaiah i. 16, 17. (x) Acts xxvi. 20.

(a)

(x) Acts iii. 19.

Luke xii. 47.

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to our fight of our fins, and forrow and humiliation because of them, we add alfo a fubfequent care to refrain from them, and walk in all refpects as becomes good Chriftians. Without this, our repentance, how penfive and affecting foever, is nevertheless incomplete, and will never ftand us in any stead.

Timoth. You have been like yourself, Theophilus, very kind and obliging, in giving yourself thus much trouble at my intreaty: and, which is an unequal return for it, you have hereby embolden'd me to pray a farther favour from you; which is, that you would in like manner inform me how a refolution of amendment is to be form'd, so as that it may hold out in time of temptation, and may really produce the amendment intended by it.

Theoph. This is a very pertinent inquiry, and which deferves the serious confideration of all that would repent to purpofe; fo as not to deceive themselves with a name to live, whilft they are dead, and useless as to the proper purposes of living; and therefore I shall make no difficulty of giving you the clearest answer I can to it. It is certain too many refolve with themfelves to amend and live well, whofe refolutions stand them in no stead, because not founded upon a found bottom; either not made from a right principle, or not duly confidered, together with the temptations that may arife to the contrary; whereby they are prefently fhaken, and fo they become like the morning cloud, and like the early dew, that goeth away. For the cure of which mischief, we muft fee, that our refolutions be fix'd and well-fettled, that they be our deliberate choice, and what we are fully bent upon adhering faithfully to, whatever the confequence be as to this life. They must be like that of Jofbua, who had fet his heart to ferve the Lord, and had his mind fo fix'd upon it, that he would constantly cleave to him, tho' none else fhould. For thus he bespeaks the children of Ifrael, like a faithful fervant of the true God, and who was zealously defirous, that all

fhould

hould fer themselves to ferve him aright, but would do it himself, though he should have none but his own family to join with him in it. (b) Now therefore fear the Lord, and ferve him in fincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers ferved on the other fide of the flood, and in Egypt, and ferve ye the Lord. And if it feem evil unto you to ferve the Lord, chufe you this day whom you will ferve, whether the gods which your fathers ferved, that were on the other fide of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my boufe, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD. Or like that of Job, (c) Till I die, I will not remove my integrity from me. My righteousness I will hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. And again of Elibu, to the fame purpose, (d) I will not offend any more: that which I fee not, teach thou me; and if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. Where you fee he refolutely declares against all known fin, I will not offend any more; and if he had miscarried through ignorance, and done what he ought not, he defires to be better inftructed, with a promise never to offend again in the like manner. That which 1 fee not, teach thou me; and if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. Thus muft every penitent ftedfaftly, and pofitively fix his refolution of ferving God fincerely and uprightly, without a referve for any beloved vice, or any trouble or difficulty, lofs or disappointment, it may bring upon him. And to this end, the following rules are to be carefully obferv'd, in order to a right method of forming our refolutions, and the lafting effect and benefit of them. First, they must be serious and hearty. And we must not only abhor all hypocrify, in promifing what we never intend to perform; but must take care moreover, that we be not faint and indifferent in them. We must not be like St. Auguftin in his youth, who afterwards penitently profeffes of himfelt, that (6) Josh. xxiv. 14, 15, (c) Job xxvii. 5, 6. (4) Ibid. xxxiv. 31, 32. when

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(e) when he was young, he begg'd of God to endue bim with chastity, faying, Give me chastity, but not yet; fearing to be beard in fuch bis request, and be presently bealed, whilft in truth ke wanteth to have his lufts ftill farther fatisfied, rather than extinguished; nor like Pharaoh, (f) who whilst God's hand lay heavy upon him, made fair promifes to Mofes and Aaron, that he would detain the people no longer; and perhaps he had fome thoughts of doing as he faid, for the present; yet did not mind to perform his promife when again at ease, but exercised his wonted feverity towards them. We muft rather fet ourselves to imitate Zaccheus, (g) who, to fhew the fincerity of his repentance, immediately offer'd to give largely to the poor, and to make a fourfold reftitution to all he had wrong'd. We must (b) turn to the Lord with all our heart, and with all our foul; must deal clearly and uprightly with him, and not feek to deceive, either him or ourselves, with fair promises of what we are not much concern'd whether we perform or no; and must see to undertake nothing but what at the fame time we are fully purposed to fulfil, to the utmost of our power. Which that we may do as we ought, a fecond rule that I would recommend in the forming our holy refolutions is, that they be built upon fuch foundations as will hold at all times, and in all cafes. They muft not be made upon any contingent particular reasons which may vary, and fo may fail us; and upon the failure whereof we may be in danger of relapfing into our former evil courfes. We must not renounce a fin, only because it is fhameful, or difadvantageous to our temporal welfare; because fo we shall be apt to be drawn into it, when it may be committed with privacy and impunity; nor only because we are fick, and apprehend ourselves like to die; because then if we recover, the main occafion of our refolution will be removed for the prefent, and fo we

(e) B. Aug. Confef. 1. 8. c. 7. (f) Exod. viii. 8, 15, 28, 32. -ix. 28, 35. x. 24, 27. (g) Luke xix. 8. (5) Deut. xxx. 10.

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