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Grace Defended. A CENSURE ON THE Ungodliness, By which the Glorious GRACE of GOD, is too commonly Abused. A SERMON Preached on the Twenty fifth Day of December, 1712. Containing Some SEASONABLE Admonitions of Piety. And Concluded, with a brief DISSERTATION on that CASE, Whether the Penitent Thief on the Cross, be an Example of one Repenting at the LAST HOUR, and on such a Repentance received unto Mercy?

By Cotton Mather, D. D.

Isai. lviii. 1.
Cry aloud, Spare not.

BOSTON Printed by B. Green, for Samuel Gerrish, at his Shop in Marlborough Street. 1712.

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Grace Defended. On the Twenty-fifth of December, 1712. BOSTON-Lecture.

JUDE 4.‘Ungodly Men, turning the Grace of our God into Wantonness.’

WHat? And so Early, such Unhappy Men and Things Creep into the Churches of God! It seems Christian Churches cannot Easily be too much cautioned against Sly-Adversaries, and Swift-Apostasies. OURS, I am sure, are Old enough to be so; In Age gone be­yond those who were now immediately Written to. And it is to be done, as with a mighty Thun­der from a flaming Mountain!

I take the Writer of this Epistle, to be, not that Jude the Apostle, who was in the Syriack Dialect called Thaddaeus, and from the Place to which he belong'd, Lebbaeus: but the Jude, who was one of the Four, that are called, The Brethren of our Lord: The Sons of His Mother, from whom He Suffered [Page 2] the Grievous Humiliation of being treated as an Alien, till probably His Resurrection from the Dead, brought them into the Number of Believers on Him. He now presumes not on such a Style, as that of, A Brother; but he takes one, than which the Highest Archangel in Heaven knows none more Glorious; A Servant of JESUS CHRIST. Behold him now doing a Service, very proper for, very worthy of, such an One. Behold him Warning and Arming the People of God, against the Errors which began betimes to infest the Churches of the Lord.

The Antinomians made a very Early Appearance, I see, among the Depravers and Subverters of the Faith once delivered unto the Saints. There are in­deed very few New Errors broached in our Later-Dayes; the most of them, which now disturb the Churches of the Faithful, are only from I scarce know what Enchantments, raising the Ghosts of such as were Dead and Damn'd many Ages ago.

The Impious, and Mischievous Men, against whom the Inspired Writer is now Engaged, have their Impiety here declared. First, The Ungodly Men stand charged with Filthiness. They were, that I may use the most agreeable Term, which the French Translation Leads me to, A very Disso­lute Generation. I take notice by the way, that the Greek Term, here used for, Lasciviousness, or Wantonness, is derived from the Name of the Town Selga; a Place infamous for such Dissolute Practices. It makes me wish, that no Town of ours, may in our Dayes, have any Vice abounding in it, so as with a lasting Infamy to derive a Name unto it. I am lothe here to Explain my self too particularly! I go on with my Remarks, and [Page 3] say; That I would not be so unacquainted with Church-History, [...]n [...]to think, the Gnosticks to be the Ungodly Men peculiarly intended here, tho' a well-known Interpreter, with an Oddity not unlike many more in him, with which he has most shame­fully injured the Sacred Scriptures, ridiculously enough runs every where upon it. There were Other and Older Hereticks, which this Iniquity might be charged upon. And indeed, it is well known, and from Authority much better than Epiphanius, that the Hereticks of those Dayes were noted for Indulged Impurities. But then, secondly; To our Astonishment, we find, what it was, that the Ungodly men, made the Encouragement o [...] their Filthiness. Astonishing! It was the Grace of God, which they turned into Wantonness. by the Grace of God, is meant, the Revelation which is in the Gospel brought unto us; what we have, in [Act. XX. 24.] The Gospel of the Grace of God: A Reve­lation wherein, Grace! Grace! the Glorious Grace of God, shines in its Meridian Glory, and with an amazing Splendor on the Children of Men When it is said, They Turned it; there is a Word used, that signifies, they [...]rested it, they Wronged [...], they Transferred it from the right use of it, they horribly Abused it. I am stop'd a little. Whose Grace? We are told, The Grace of OUR God. Sirs, If we have any Sense of an Interest in GOD, and if we re­joyce in Him as OUR God, we shall have a Zeal for Holiness boiling in our Souls. If we care not whether Holiness flourish or no, we want a Good Mark, that the Holy God is OURS A [...], Lord▪ If thou [...] OUR God, we shall be lothe to see [...] Gospel abused with any unholy Practices.

[Page 4] But you must now attend unto a DOCTRINE, that calls for a very Serious Attention with you.

To turn the Grace of God into Wantonness, [...], Wantonly to Abuse the Grace of God, is the Common Custome, and the Cer­tain Symptom, of Ungodliness.

There is a great Number of Criminals, who are to Stand this day Indi [...]ed before the Bar of the Glorious GOD. I shall have Time to do little more, than just call over their Names, and let them know, That they have not the Fear of God before their Eyes.

I am now to Enquire; Who are the Ungodly Ones, by whom the Grace of God is turned into Wantonness?

In brief; All they that are not by the Favour of God, brought the more to Love so Gracious a God, by whom they are so favourably dealt with­al. In Sum; All they that are the Worse, because they have so Good a God for to deal withal: These are they, to every One of whom it may be said, Thou art the Man!

More particularly,

I. Ungodly Men they are, who from the Decree of God, Encourage themselves in the Neglect of their Duty to GOD. We believe a, Predestination to Life, wherein God with [...] Everlasting Purpose, has decreed by His Counsel, to bring those whom He hath Chosen in Christ out of Mankind, unto Everlasting [Page 5] Salvation. We can Subscribe this Article, [The Seventeenth of the Church of Englands famous XXXIX,] because we find the Sacred Epistles to the Romans and Ephesians, Expressly asserting it. And when we have Subscribed it, we shall not then Deny it, then Decry it, then Oppose it; We should Look on it, as a very Scandalous Treachery to do so. This Election of Some to Everlasting Life, which unavoidably implies a Rejection of Others, 'tis cal­led, Rom. XI. 5. The Election of Grace. Oh! Sovereign Grace! Why has our God, Chosen us in Christ before the Foundation of the World, and Predestinated us unto the Adoption of Children! The Praise of the Glory of His Grace, is design'd in it; is display'd in it. Why are Some Taken, to be Redeemed, Converted, Saved; when Others are not so! Tis, because, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, saith the Infinite GOD, who gives none Account of His Matters. Tis all from Unaccountable Grace. Tis, Even so, Father, because it pleases thee. Now, See what Ungodly Men will do! They will be at No Pains to Turn unto God; No Pains to get the Chains of Death Knock'd off their Souls; No Pains to lay hold on Eternal Life. Why so? Why,—Si Salvabor, Salvabor; If it be Decreed that I shall be Saved, say they, I shall be so, Let me do nothing at all about it, I shall yet be Saved, if it be Decreed, I shall. And so, they'l do nothing! Thus they turn the Grace of God into Wantonness, and Idleness. These Idle Words, a Severe Account must be given of them in the Judgment of God. But, O thou Slothful and Wicked Servant, It is Untrue what thou sayest. Thou shalt not be Saved, if thou dost not Work about thy own Salvation. We are directed, 2 Pet. [Page 6] I. 10 Give all Diligence, to make your Calling and Election sure. God has Decreed the End and the Means together. One Decreed for Life, will Strive to Enter the Strait Gate, and be in Agony lest he fall short of Entring into Life. The Man who will not give all Diligence to make his Cal­ling Sure, and in that way his Election so. can­not Inherit Eternal Life. There is no Decree of God, that will carry Such an One into His King­dom. Oh! Do not go on in a Sleepy Impeniten­cy, Lest you be found fore ordained unto—What is to be trembled at? A Damnation that Slumbers not.

II. Who but Ungodly Men are they, who from the Contrivance of their Salvation, Encourage them­selves, as if it gave them an Allowance for their Sinfulness. That we have Such a SAVIOUR as our IMMANUEL; Oh! the Riches of Grace dis­covered in it! Oh! the Unspeakable Gift! We may and must cry out, God SO Loved the World, and has been So gracious to us! The Motto to be written upon all that is done for us, in and by our Saviour, is in those Golden Letters; Eph. II. 5. B [...] GRACE YE ARE SAVED. But what is the Use that Some do make of this Grace▪ Because there is a Saviour, I will Venture to be a Sin­ner: This [...]s the Language, how foaming, and how shameful! of Ungodliness▪ The New Covenant is a Covenant of Grace. There is a shout of, Grace! Grace! to be made upon every stroke! But [...] shall see how this Grace is plaid upon. In this Covenant, we Merit nothing by doing any thing. Then sayes the Sluggard, I will do nothing. Self is to be Annihilated in this Covenant; the Perpe­tual Projection of it is, CHRIST is All! CHRIST [Page 7] is All! Then sayes the Sluggard, I have my self nothing to do. Tis not by our Own Works, that we attain to Righteousness; but in our Saviour we have our Justifying Righteousness. Then, sayes the Slug­gish Sinner, Tis no Matter, tho' I be Careless about the works of Righteousness. We can do nothing to any Good Purpose, except our Saviour do Quicken us, do Assist us, do Strengthen us. Then, sayes the Door upon its Hinges, I will stand still; I will never try to stir; Tis to no purpose at all for me to do any thing. Our Faithful Saviour, who is Able to keep us from Falling has engaged for the Preservation of the Saints; that they shall be Kept by His Mighty Power; that None shall Pluck them out of His Hand. Then sayes one of them that would be at Ease in Zion, Let me fold my Hands to Sleep; what need I to keep a Strong Guard, and a Strict Watch upon my self? I stand, and why should I take heed lest I fa [...]l? Ungodly Men, You stand in the way of a dread­ful Thunderbolt. It comes down upon you, from, Rom. VI. 1, 2. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in Sin, that Grace may abound? GOD FORBID. At this Rebuke, O F [...]ie from your Sloth­fulness; At the Voice of this Thunder, O Haste away from your Ungodliness. Let the Spirit of the New Covenant come upon you; and then Your Habitual, Your continual Inclination will be this; A Glorious CHRIST He who does all for me. Oh! Let me then Love Him, and Seek Him, and Glorify Him unto the Uttermost; and be alwayes afraid of disobliging Him.

III. Can they be any other than Ungodly Men, who from the Readiness of the Divine Mercy for the Pardoning of Sin, Encourage themselves [Page 8] to be the Readier in the Committing of Sin? Lord, Thou art READY TO PARDON! Who can hear such a Word, and the Grace of it not melt the Heart of Stone within him? The Grace of God, in Pardoning of Sin, 'tis Wonderful; 'Tis Wonderful! When we are Justifyed, it is, Freely by His Grace. It is the Name of our God, Exod. XXXIV. 6, 7. The Lord, the Lord God, Merciful and Gracious, and abundant in Goodness, Forgiving Iniquity, and Transgression, and Sin. For Monsters of Wickedness, to be made Monuments of Par­doning Mercy; For Monstrous Menassehs, and Mary Magdalenes, to be received into the Favour of God, and be favoured by a Reconciled God as much as if they had never Sinned against Him! For all manner of Sin and Blasphemy to be forgiven unto men; and a Fountain set open, to which the most abominable Creatures in the World, are invited, there to Wash and be Clean: What but Infinite Grace can do such a thing! You shall now, but Oh! do it not without Horror! See what Improvement Ungodly Men will make of such Grace: An Improvement which one would wonder that any but a Devil should presume upon! They will Venture to Sin, in Hope of a Pardon. Perhaps, they will be so Senseless, and Sottish, and Exceeding Sinful, as to flatter themselves, that a, God forgive me, or a, Lord, Have Mercy upon me, will at any time obtain a Pardon for them. This Emboldens them to Sin, with a Prodigious Obstinancy; to be Stout hearted, and far from Righteousness: They stick at no Abominations. There is a God that will have Mercy, and will abundantly Pardon; So they will hold on Sinning, and Sin abundantly. [Page 9] And because there have been Some called, at the Eleventh Hour, and then found Mercy with God; therefore they will Sin on, Sin with Ma­ny Transgressions and Mighty Sins, and put off till the Last Hour, the necessary Addresses to Heaven for Mercy. They Persist in Enmity and Rebel­lion against the Glorious God all their Days; they Presume, 'tis only to Ask and Have a Pardon at the Last. Hideous Ungodliness! We read, Psal. CXXXIV. 4 O Lord, There is Forgiveness with thee, that thou ma [...]st be feared. But now, to say; There is Forgiveness with God, therefore I will cast off His Fear, and Go on without His Fear; O Vile Perversion! To Sin from the View of a Pardon, one would think, it should be very near, very near! Sinning beyond the Reach of a Pardon.

IV. Will not all Heaven Pronounce those Ungodly Men, who because they take themselves delivered from the Condemning Power of the Law, Encourage themselves to shake off the Commanding Power of the Law? The Grace of God, has Delivered us from the Curse of the Law. It is a sweet Advice brought unto us: Gal. III. 13 CHRIST has Redeemed us from the Curse of the Law, being made a Curse for us. The Punishment, which by the Law of God be­longed unto us for our Sin, has been inflicted on our Saviour. Our Blessed Surety has Paid our Debt, by Suffering for us, the Curse which belong­ed unto us. The Law of God has now no De­mand upon the Believer, that the Divine Justice may be Satisfyed: Our [...] has given Satis­faction [...] Grace of i [...]comparabl [...] Sweetness. How Sweet, how Sweet, the [...] unto the Taste of Piety! But now, the [...], which Ungodly Men will [...] of [...] They suppose [Page 10] themselves rescued from the Curse of the Law. They make it an Advantage for their Escape also from the Rule of the Law. Silly Ones; An Escape, that is to say, into Chains of Darkness; into the most rueful Captivity in the World. This Law, Man; 'tis the Law of Liberty! 'Tis an Enlarged Soul, that is effectually in the Bonds and Wayes of this Law! But the Slaves of Sin; They will indulge themselves in gross Violati­ons of the Law; but still their In [...]ard Peace not Violated. No Breaches of the Law, will break the Peace into which they have dozed their Minds. They will flatter themselves into a Great Peace, tho' they do not Love the Law. Why, say the Hardened Wretches; We are not under the Law; We must not fetch our Peace from the Law; Christ has answered the Law for us! What an Affront is this, unto the Grace of God? We read; Rom. VI. 14. 15. Sin shall not have Dominion over you; for you are not under the Law, but under Grace. What then? Shall we Sin, because we are not under the Law, but under Grace? God forbid. Sirs, You are not yet under Grace, but under the Law, if you can be content, that Sin should still have Dominion over you. If you Sin, because you are not under the Law, it is very sure, you are still under it, in the worse sense of being so. The Law does Condemn you, if you won't let it Com­mand you. If you shake off that Everlasting Rule of Living to God, which His Law Prescribes, O Unholy and Unthankful ones, you shall still hear the Thunder of its Wrath Cursing of you.

V. Is it possible for any but Ungodly Men, from Gods Delayes in Striking of them, to En­courage [Page 11] themselves to Delay, their Seeking to Him, their Serving of Him. The Grace of God is very Bright, in His Patience towards the Provoking Children of Wickedness. The Psalmist observes, [VII. 11] God is a Righteous Judge, and is Pro­voked every Day; and has bent His Bow, and made it Ready. Yet such is His Grace, that He does not presently let fly His Arrows; Deserved Ar­rows, and Oh! how Destroying Ones! how tor­turous and worse than Lightning, to the Spirits, which they Light upon! A Patient God spares wicked men: He does not Strike them Dead; tho' they daily challenge Thunderbolts. O Peer­less Grace! Of a Provoked, a Righteous, an Al­mighty God; yet, Waiting to be Gracious. But now, the use that Ungodly and Ungrateful men make of this Grace. What can be more Ma­licious, what more Venemous, than that which you read! Eccl. VIII. 11. Because Sentence against an Evil Work, is not Executed Speedily; therefore the heart of the Sons of Men is fully set in them to do Evil. Horrible Stupidity! Because the Threat­ned Judgments of God, have not yet come upon them, for their Crimes, they fancy, they'l never come; the threatned folks, have still a long white to Live. Because they don't yet feel the Evil. that is Pursuing of Sinners, they comfort themselves, that such Evil will never overtake them. They Live; Yea, they Thrive. God Wounds them not; For that very cause they grow Secure, they grow Hardy, they go on still in their Trespasses. God has not yet Cut them down for the [...] Fruits they bear; He Lengthens out their Time They bear the more [...] Fruits for that; and the wicked men [...] worse and worse. God gives them a Space [Page 12] to Repent; They do, for that very cause Delay to Repent, and make it a Space to act more Wick­edness, and with more of Greediness. But, O Ye Bruitish among the People; What are you doing? Shake before that awful Thunderclap: Rom. II. 4, 5. Despisest thou the Riches of His Goodness, and Forbearance, and Long Suffering▪ not knowing that the Goodness of God Leads thee to Repentance? But after thy Hardness and Impenitent Heart, treasurest up unto thy self Wrath against the Day of Wrath? Impenitents; Know you not, That Abused Pa­tience will at Length be turned into Terrible Fury? and that, according to Speech usual in the Church of God. The Justice which has Leaden Feet, will at length find Iron Hands, to do its Executions? Oh! Turn to God in this Day of His Patience! Oh! Let the Long suffering of God, but make you Stay no longer from accepting His offered Sal­vation. Because God seems to Keep Silen [...]. Do you think, He is even Such an One as your selves, and approves your Doings? You will find it otherwise, when He shall come to Set your Sins in order before you; to tear you in Pieces, and there shall be none to deliver you.

VI. 'Tis a thing of an Ungodly Aspect, for Men, from such Liberties as are Lawful Ones, to En­courage themselves in taking such as are Un­lawful Ones. There are Great Liberties, which the Grace of God has granted unto Christians; Es­pecially now the Mosaic Yoke is taken off, by the Grace of a more Evangelical Dispensation. But what sayes the Law of CHRIST? 1 Cor. VIII. 9. But take heed, Lest by any means this Liberty of yours become a Stumbling Block, to them that are weak. [Page 13] Mind this; When things are so Indifferent, that there is no Necessity of them, and no Command­ment of God obliges to do them, we should think; Tis true, I may do this thing; But wont my do­ing of it, cause other People to Sin against my Saviour? In this Case we must forbear; Else we make a wrong use of our Liberty. Luther had an Holy saying; Omnia Libera per Fidam, S [...]rva per Chari­tatem. O Redeemed People of God; This is a Case that calls for a more Frequent, and Solemn Consideration, than it commonly finds among you! Thus, the Grace of God is also Trampled on, When we run into an Excess in the use of Lawful Things. The Christian has from the Grace of God, A CHARTER, for the whole Creation. I will show you my Charter. It runs in those Terms, 1 Tim. IV. 4 Every Creature of God is Good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with Thanks­giving. Well, But the Precepts of GOD, and the Maxims of a Godly and Sober and Righteous Life, must set Bounds to us, in our using of our Charter. A Man may Eat any thing: But yet he may not be a Glutton. A Man may Drink what he will; But for all that, he must not be Drunk. To be Slave unto the use of an Indian Weed, or any other Trifle, is beneath a Christian, who has Right Thoughts of Liberty. He may use it; but not so, as to be in Pain, if he be not alwayes at it. Any Civil Modes of Apparel may be fol­lowed: but Vanity and Luxury in Apparel; Ha­bits that are the Ensigns of a Foolish Mind; Im­moderate and Exorbitant Gaieties; The Disciples of the Humble JESUS, must put off such things. Liberty is turned into Slavery, when it runs into Extravagances. I never Sin, but I Enslave my self.

[Page 14] VII. 'Tis a Branch of Ungodliness, for Men, from the Relation they bear to the God of Hea­ven, to Encourage themselves in Miscarriages to­wards the Men on Earth, whom they stand Re­lated to. The Grace of God bestows mighty Priviledges, on them, whom He raises unto the Relation of His People, and His Children. But what sa [...]s the Apostle? 1 Pet. II. 16 As free, not using your Liberty, as a Cloke of Maliciousness, but as the Servants of God. Thro' the Grace of God, my Conscience is exempted from all Humane Empire; None but the Great GOD can Command my Conscience; I may not Complement any Man, tho' he were a greater Tyrant than him at Versailles, with a Subjection of my Conscience unto him. For all that, I must make Conscience of Sub­mitting to the Government, which is an Ordi­nance of God. Paul writing to the Romans, cauti­o [...]s them of this; That they should not on the score of their Christianity pretend an Exemption from the Jurisdiction of the Magistrate; in the Things for which God has Ordained him. So No­thing but the WORD of God, is to Order all things in the Church of God; Things are never done Decently there, but when done according to that Order. The Inventions of Men may not be imposed there; We are to Reject such Schis­matical Impositions; The Imposers, however Libe­ral they are in bestowing the Term upon others, are to be look'd upon as the true Schismaticks. For all this; the Church is to Pray for all that are in Authority; and its People are to Lead Pea­ceable Lives in all Godliness and Honesty. In the Church, the Pastors must not Lord it over the [Page 15] Heritage. The People must have the Choice of their own Pastors: The Pastors must proceed with the Consent of the People in things of com­mon concernment. This was the true State of Things in the Primitive Church, and so they continued for some hundreds of years, and un­til they were overwhelmed with the Usurpati­ons of Antichrist. It is an Obstinacy little short of a Miraculous Infliction, which they discover, who will at this time of Day, Contradict things that are so notoriously demonstrated. Sacred and Precious Liberties! But now, you [...]; Gal. V. 13. Brethren, Ye have been called unto Li­berty; Only use not your Liberty for an occasion to the Flesh▪ but by Love Serve one another. O dear Flocks of the Lord; You must not now forget that word; Obey them that have the Rule [...]ver you, and Watch for your Souls. Nor forget that word; Let the Elders that Rule well be counted worthy of double Honour: Nor for­get that word; Know them that are over you in the Lord, and Esteem them very highly in Love. The Grace of God should indeed cause [...] and People, to be always loading One another with Tokens of Mutual Affection. In our Fa­milies, Humanity goes a great way, and Christi­anity much further, in this; That a Servant becomes a Brother. But if the Servant shall now Despise his Master, Insult his Master, Disobey the Master, which the Fifth Commandment has bound him to; Let that Brother be beaten into better Matters; make him to know his Inferiour Con­dition a little better. He Saucily Pla [...]es upon the Grace of God; and should be chastised for it.

[Page 16] VIII. 'Tis a flaming Ungodliness, when from the Gifts of God unto Men, their Sins against God, are encouraged, are furnished, are nou­rished. The Grace of God, grants Gifts unto Men; Oh, why should it be said, Unto the Re­bellious! Ungodly Men, they make the Gifts of God unto them, only a Furniture and a Nourish­ment for them, in carrying on Rebellions against Him. Unrighteous Ones; They fall into the Fault of Jeshuru [...]; Deut. XXXII. 15. He waxed fat, and Kicked. Have they any Wit? Fools have the keeping of it; They are only, Wise to do Evil. Have they Health and Strength of Body? It only renders them the more Able, and the more Eager to Commit Iniquity. Are they Beautiful? They are Proud of it: And with it, they Tempt the Simple ones, and those that are void of Understanding. Do Riches increase up­on them? All goes to feed, the Lust of the Flesh, and the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life. They do but the more put their Trust in Uncertain Riches God has little Honour from their Substance. Are they put into Commissions; or advanced unto Stations and Places of some Dignity? It fills them with empty Conceits of themselves. They employ their Opportunities, not so much to Do Good in the World, as that they [...] be made Rich, and the Glory of their H [...]use increased. The XLVII Chapter of Genesis, [...] me Exhibits an Example of such an Abused Advancement, which I must own, I cannot with­ [...] Scandal, and Sorrow, and Wonder think [...] But how much imitated in our Later [...]? Marvellous Disingenuity! To fight [Page 17] against the Blessed God, with His Own Weapons, at such a rate▪ Thus to take His Corn, and His Wins, and His Wool [...]; and only Serve diverse Lusts with them! Thus to take His Talents, and only Trade for the Devil with them! With such Ungodly Men, how Suitably, how Pungently may we use that Expostulation! Deut XXXII. 6 Do ye thus Requite the Lord, O foolish People an Unwise! A Base Requital for the Grace of a Good God! On! Blush, and be Ashamed of it.

IX. I have one word more to speak; and I may the more freely speak it, inasmuch as the Cause of Godliness is Evidently Concerned in it. It is this, 'Tis an Evident Affront unto the Grace of God, for Men to make the Birth of our Holy Saviour, an Encouragement and an Oc­casion for very Unholy Enormities. The Grace of God never Shone out more Gloriously, than in that Occurrence upon which an Angel flew from Heaven to tell us, Behold I bring you good Ti­dings of Great Joy; That unto you there [...] born this Day a Saviour. But if such an Angel were this Day to Preach among you, do you think, He would not Thunder and Lighten Wonderfully against the Vicious practices, in which this Grace of God, and that Holy Saviour, is this Day Af­fronted by multitudes of Ungodly Men in the World I do not now propose any matter of Doubtful Disputation, but One, wherein I shall have [...] Godly Persons of whatever different Perswasions [...] things, Concurring with me. I do not [...] whether they who three or four hundred [...] after the Birth of [...] [Page 18] first began the Festival of his Nativity (I say, first began, for Vossius himself confesses it was not kept in the first and second Century, and Chem­nitius truly sayes, Apud Vetustissimos nunquam Legitur!) did not mistake the Time of it. For they who say, Thou hast given thy Son to be born this Day, know not what they say; The Day is concealed; yea, it is now beyond Contesta­tion proved, that not only the Month but also the very Year of it, has been Egregiously mistaken.* I do not now dispute, whether People do well to Observe such an Uninstituted Festival at all, or no. Good Men may love one another, and may treat one another with a most Candid Charity, while he that Regardeth a Day, Regardeth it unto the Lord, and he that Regardeth not the Day, also shows his Regard unto the Lord, in his not Re­garding of it. Tho' this I will take leave to say: If the Churches of NEW ENGLAND preserve the Religion of the LORDS DAY, it will in the Day of Reformation that must come on, be judg'd [...] Dishonour to them, that they have harmo­nized with their United Brethren in Scotland, in a Point for which the last of their peculiar Kings once applauded their Purity, even their not ha­ving a [...] observed among them. What I am [Page 20] going to animadvert upon, is a thing, which there can be no doubt about. And there are some things that render it highly Seasonable, to dispense those Admonitions of God our Saviour, unto our Children, which I am now to pour down upon them. The famous Perkins long since complained; That the Feast of Christs Nati­vity is spent in Revel [...]ing. Dicing, Carding, Masking, and in all Licentious Liberty, for the most part, as tho' it were some Heathen Feast, of Ceres, or Bac­chus. Yea, the zealous Martyr Latymer com­plained. That Men dishonour Christ more in the Twelve Days of Christmas, than in all the twelve Months of the Year besides. All the truly Reli­gious People in the World, still make the Com­plaint with Lamentation We also must Mourn in our Complaint, and make a Noise, upon it. My Concern is now, with our own Children; and for such as we must faithfully Admonish in our Ministry, as we shall answer the same unto GOD. Children, We lay the Charges of God upon you; That if any People take this Time, for any thing of a Riotous Tendency, you do not associate with them, in such Ungodliness. No, but let your Answer to those Children of Folly be, The Grace of God in Sending us a Great Saviour calls for more Pious Acknowledgments. Let your Own Conscience be appeal'd unto; the Preacher which every one of you has in his own bosome, hearken'd to! Can you in your Con­science think, that our Holy Saviour is honoured, by Mad Mirth, by long Eating, by hard Drink­ing, by lewd Gaming, by rude Revelling; by a Mass [...]it for none but a Saturn, or a Bacchus, or the Night of a Mahometan Ramadam? You [Page 21] cannot possibly think so! At the Birth of our Saviour, [...] A Multitude of the Heavenly Host was hear [...] [...] shall it be said, That at the [...] our Saviour for which we owe as High Praises to God as they can do, We take the Time to Please the Hellish Le­gions, and to do Actions that have much more of Hell than of Heaven in them? I must faith­fully tell you, This way of honouring the Bles­sed JESUS, who came to Redeem us from a Vain Conversation, received by Tradition from our Fathers, 'tis a practical Blasphemy upon Him; an High­handed Blasphemy upon Him! It is to outrage the Holy Son of God! It is to Expose your selves unto that Indignation of Heaven, which they who take the Name of the Lord our God in Vain, [...]ly open unto. If you will yet go on, and will do Such Things, I forewarn you, That the Burning Wrath of God, will break forth among you. All Persons, of any the least Godliness, will approve my Faithfulness, in what I have now Spoken; If any Man Dislike it, and Revile it, he only shows the Brand of an Ungodly Man, and a Contempt from every Citizen of Zion, accordingly belongs unto him.

Upon the Whole: The EXHORTATION that now calls upon us all, must be that: 2 Cor. VI. 1. We beseech you, that ye receive not the Grace of God in Vain. Oh! Don't Wanton­nize upon the Grace of God. But upon every Instance of Grace, make that Reflection. What shall I render to the Lord? In short, Remem­ber this; Obligations to Holiness, You are still to Read Them, in all that is ever done by [Page 22] the Grace of God for a Sinful World. If GOD be Gracious, My Friend, thy [...] from it must alwayes [...] must be Holy; O my God, make me so! [...] in the more, because of the Grace in our God; Verily, Tis the foulest Prophanity; An attempt it is, to call in the God who is of Purer Eyes than to behold Evil, and can­not Look on Iniquity, and render Him a Patron of all Evil, all Iniquity. Tis the grossest Ingratitude; Evil rendred for Good, in the most odious man­ner that ever was heard of: Evil will never de­part from the Doer of it. And, What will ye do in the End thereof? Endless, Endless Misery will be the End thereof! I must say unto you, It is the blackest Note of a Reprobate Mind; a Soul Forsaken of God! And it will pull down a Wrath unto the Uttermost. Sinner, If Grace it self become thy Foe, what Friend canst thou have in Heaven or Earth? To Wantonnize upon it, is the way to make it so.

That Saving drawes on a COROLLARY, which my Discourse may do well to Lodge in the Conclusion of it. If it be an Ungodly thing, and a Dangerous, to turn the Grace of God into Wantonness, You must Look on it, as the Same thing, to turn the Wrath of God into Ridicule. The Truth is, These Two Things go together. They who do the One, do the Other too. O you that are yet in your Sins; Unbelievers, that have not made your Flight by Faith unto the Only Saviour; You, you are they, of whom it is said; Joh. III 36. The Wrath of God abideth on them. Certainly, You Ridicule that Wrath, or you could not continue in your Sins; You could not but be in Agony, for a Deliverance from the [Page 23] Wrath to come. You make light of that Wrath, which throws down Rocks, and whereby Moun­tains are overturned: An Anger, which, O Lord, who knowes the Power of! Miserable Ones, yet walking in the Sinful Wayes for which your own Hearts condemn you; Wayes that have Destruction and Misery in them: Oh! Break off your Sins, and Accept and Embrace the JESUS who would Save you from your Sins. Other­wise, you will anon feel the Wrath of God, but find the Force of it Irresistible, the weight of it Insupportable, the Tortures of it in your Wounded Spirit, Intolerable. You will roar out the Words, which a late famous Protestant A­postatising to the Popish Idolatry, did in un­speakable Horror of Conscience, Dy withal; those words, Heb. X. 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God.

¶ It ought rather to be an Ingredient of this Discourse, than an Appendix to it, for me to treat you with yet another COROLLARY.

You have all this while seen the Word of God brandished against those Armies of the Aliens, who turn the Grace of God into Wantonness. We hope, We are better skill'd at making Inferences, than those Men, whose Transgression sayes, There [...] no Fear of God before their Eyes. I am sure, this is a Right One. For men from the Word of God it self to Encourage themselves in things very Contrary to that Holy Word; this is a very Wrong Thing. Yea, Let it come into the Catalogue; and make up the Decad of the Wayes, wherein [Page 24] Men turn the Grace of God into Wantonness. That we Enjoy the Word of God, wherein the Day spring from on [...] has Visited us, 'tis thro' the tender Mercy of our God. And it is, The Good Word of His Grace, which this Tender Mercy of our God has bestow'd upon us. Now, to fetch from this very Word of God, which is all of it Written that we may not Sin, the Plea's to Excuse, to Defend, to Embolden Sin; truly this is to Sin Impudently, and with peculiar Aggravations. 'Tis to do what we read, 2 Pet. III. 16 They wr [...]st the Scriptures unto their own Destruction. What else do they do, who because we read, Take no Thought for to Morrow, give themselves up to Slothfulness in their Business? What else do they, who because we read, If any man provide not for his own, he is worse than an Infidel, there­fore will out of that Provision, spare little or nothing for the Pious Uses directed of God? What else do they, who because we read, [...] that Eateth and Drinketh at the Table of the Lord Unworthily, Eateth and Drinketh Judgment unto himself, therefore Stay away Unworthily, and never Prepare to come thither, as they ought to do? But this Ungodliness is never more Exemplified, then in the Ungodly Inferences, drawn from the Scriptural Examples, of them who have Sinned grievously, while they have had the Grace of God asleep in their Souls, or have after Great and Long Sinning been thro' the Grace of God received unto Mercy. Noah Sinned, Lot Sinned, Abominable things were done by David, Peter did an horrible Thing. And, Why may not I venture to do so too? This was an Ungodliness [Page 25] of old run into; Si Noah, cur non et Ego? Si David, cur non et Ego? Alas, Children, These Examples are for our Admonition. Why do you misapply them for your Depravation? They are to make you Afraid of provoking the Holy One, to leave you unto your selves; Lest you Sin like them, and then Endure such Broken Bones, as made them to Roar by reason of the Disquietness of their Heart, under the Impres­sions of His dreadful Displeasure, when they did the things which displeased the Lord. While you hearten your selves to Sin, because these Men have Sinned, you wretchedly divert the Re­lation from the true Purposes, for which the Pens of God have Written it; and you Forget the Sad Hours, which the Sins of these Persons brought them to!

But of all the Examples in the Bible, there never was any wherein the Grace of God has been so abused, as that of the Thief on the Cross. The Cross of that Penitent Thief, has been a Stumbling-block to Millions of Ungodly Men. He it seems, put off his Repentance to the Last Hour, and then, he found Mercy with God. Therefore, sayes the Impenitent Sinner. I will do so too. I apprehend, it will be a Service to the Interests of Godliness, that this case be a little spoken to: and I will therefore, in a brief Dissertation, Conclude with it.

[Page 26]

A Few Thoughts on that QUESTION; Whether the Penitent Thief on the Cross, be not an Example of One Repenting at the Last Hour, and on such a Late Repentance received unto Mercy?

I Am far from a Perempto [...]y Denial of it. I cannot prove, that we have not such an Example here given unto us. Who can tell what Soveraign Grace may do? We cannot Limit the Holy One from doing such a Thing. 'Tis a Possible Thing; And the Glorious Lord may leave us in the Story a Room for such a Possibility, that the Sinful Children of Men overtaken by their Last Hour in their Sins, may not be abandoned unto a total Despair of Mercy. And that their Surviving Friends may not Sor­row as those that have no Hope, on their occasion▪ But at the same time, there are many things which render it Probable, that the Penitent now before us, will prove no such Example, and that the Impious Procrastination of Repentance, which is too commonly encouraged from this Example, will be found utterly spoiled of all its pretended Encouragement. It has been a Matter of just [Page 27] Resentment unto the Friends of Piety, that the Thief on the Cross, going a Villian thither, and at the Last Hour finding Repentance and Forgive­ness there, has been the Goliahs Sword, and a sort of Enchanted Spear, by which the cause of Persisting Impenitency, has been maintained in the World. I am willing to Disarm the Enemy of his boasted Weapon.

Unto me, it seems not at all Improbable, nay, there appears an high Probability for it; That the Malefactor now Repenting on the Cross, brought thither the Saving Dispositions of Repen­tance with him, and had before now begun upon him a Work of that Repentance, which is unto Salvation. For,

First, there is nothing in the Sacred History, to brand this Poor Man with the Character of an Unrepenting Sinner, at the Time of his being brought forth to his Execution. Two of the Evangelists, Matthew, and his Follower and A­bridger Mark, indeed Speak in the Plural Num­ber, as if both of the Thieves at first joined in the Reproaches of our Saviour. And if it were so, it may remain a Quere, How far a true Penitent heartily bewayling of all his Wickedness, and believing in the Sacrifice of the Promised Messiah for the Pardon of it, might yet be so circumstanced, as to be kept Invincibly Ignorant, that our Blessed JESUS, was this Messiah? But then I concur with those more Judicious Writers, who do by no means allow, that the Thief whom we now have our Eye upon, did himself Reproach our Saviour. Drusius is displeased at them who make this objection of the Plural Number, and sayes, Apagi [...], qui non didicistis Liter as Hebraicas. [Page 28] They are ignorant of the Hebrew Style. [See Judg. XII. 7.] It is also observed as a peculiar, but perpetual way, taken by the Evangelist Matthew, in his Writing, That where Several Persons are joined, and One Speaks, and it is either in the Name of the rest, or the rest are Silent at it, he refers the Speeches or Actions of that One, unto the whole Number present, [A Notable Example, see Matth. XX. 30 with Mar. X. 46. And another, Matth. XXVI 8. with Joh. XII. 4.] Thus, we read of Things Written in the Prophets, when only One of the Prophets wrote them. Glassius will further satis­fy you. Tis a frequent Synecdoche. This is in­deed an Ancient Observation: and it leaves us cause to Suspect, as very Learned Expositors have conjectured, That the other Thief alone Reproached our Saviour, as Luke relates it, and this was wholly Silent at the First, until the Violence of his Companions Language, and the consideration of the astonishing Accidents than in his View, compelled him at once to rebuke his Companion, and Confess his Redeemer. I am far from thinking the Apostolical Constitutions, to be of that Antiquity and Authority which a famous Arian in our Dayes would assign un­to them. Yet some things in them, are of such Antiquity, as to deserve that Reverence and Re­ception with us, which is due to the Opinion of the Ancients. And it is a little Confirmation of my Opinion in this case, that the Apostolical Constitutions do favour it. Jerom also and Austin are of the same Opinion. A Syllepsis here, sayes Jerom; An Enallage, saith Austin.

But then,

[Page 29] Secondly; Without having Recourse to the Judgment of the Great Voetius, That this Trans­gressor had the Beginning of a Regenerate State, before he was left unto his Capital Transgres­sions; It is an Easy thing to Suppose, and there is little Reason to question the Supposal; That this Thief had Opportunity, in the Prison, for some while before his Execution, to come unto a Serious Repentance of his Ungodly Life. His Miserable Condition, would naturally lead him to Consider of his Wayes. There were also Some Godly Men in the Town, whose Charity might lead them to Visit him with their Instructions. We still have some Footsteps of the Care, which the Godly among the Jews took of, The Con­demned. They would not Scourge, much less, would they Hang a Criminal, without Instructing him from the Sacred Scriptures. He might also be long before Instructed in those Truths of Re­ligion, which the Spirit of God might here bring home unto his Mind, with a Sanctifying Efficacy. 'Tis very possible, and more than so, that this Man, might while in the Gaol, and many Weeks before his Death, be brought, bitterly to Lament, and sincerely to Abhor, all his wicked Courses, and heartily to Prefer a Life devoted unto the Service of God, and rely on the Offering of the Son of God then Expected, for his Recon­ciliation to the Glorious One, in whose Favour is Life; and be truly desirous to Know and to Do the whole Duty of a Repenting Sinner. Yea, there is nothing to hinder, but that he might have heard so much concerning the Fame of the Wisdom of God in our Blessed JESUS, with his Ears, that the Destruction and the Death to which [Page 30] he was near, might find him exceedingly dis­posed for the Faith of this our JESUS too.

And;

Thirdly, that which very much Countenances the Conjecture, that it might be so, is; The Wonderful Readiness of the Thief, at all the Ex­pressions of this Repentance, as soon as you see him exposed on the Cross. Every thing looks as if he came thither Prepared with the Grace, which he so readily, and so notably Expresses there. We have not the least Intimation of any Pains taken there to Enlighten him, and Admonish him; Nor do the Torments then upon him, and the Clamours of the People about him, seem to allow the Words of the Wise, then to do much, at reaching of him. And yet the Grace Exer­cised by this Penitent, was of so Various and Marvellous an Application, that one may say, He does in a few Hours the work of some Years; and in a few Minutes runs thro' the whole Race of Christianity! It looks as if he brought hi­ther with him, a Broken and a Contrite Heart; and the Humble Sense of his having deserved not only Death from the hand of Man, but much more Hell from the hand of God, whereof he made now such a Ready Acknowledgment. We Suffer justly; we receive the due Reward of our Deeds! The words are dictated from an Heart, that seems to have been some time deeply af­fected, with the sense of what is uttered in them. And, as Grotius notes, Ma [...]n [...]m est P [...]nitentiae Sig­num, in Paena sua acquiescere. It looks also as if he brought hither with him, a pretty clear and strong Perswasion, of Things concerning the Messiah, which it is plain from the Gospel of John, [Page 31] the Church in those dayes did more thoroughly believe, than some too disaffected unto true Christianity in our Dayes, are willing to allow of. He is perswaded, of a Future State; That in the World to come, the Children of Men shall be Raised from the Dead: That the Messiah shall have a Kingdom in that World: That there must be Two Comings of the Messiah: And that the Messiah will do those things for His People, when He Comes in His Kingdom, which can be done by none, but One who is God as well as Man. All these, and more than these Illustrious Arti­cles, are professed in the Faith of this Penitent. But what Opportunity could he have to be Taught these Things, after he was Nailed unto the Tree? The Spirit of God, it is true, now Excited the Exercise of his Faith, on these Articles, after a Wonderful Manner. But shall we say, that the Idea's and Impressions of the Things in these Articles were now, and never till now, purely by an In­ternal Irradiation, produced in his Mind? This would indeed Multiply the Miracles in this matter; but surely, Citra Necessitatem! And it may be also said, Contra Utilitatem. There is no Need of such an Imagination; and some have thought, the Good of it, has been as little.

Yet more;

It was not only a True Faith, which the Pe­nitent here Exercises; but he looks like one grown Strong in Faith, in giving such Glory to God. My Calvin sayes truly upon it. Cert [...] vix a Mundo condito magis rar [...]m et memorabile [...]idei Exemplum unquam [...]xtitit. Perceiving our JESUS to be that Son of God, on whom he had Believed, he now makes a most Marvellous Confession of His Glory. [Page 32] He ascribes to Him the Glory, which belongs unto the Promised Messiah, and that Seed that was to bruise the Head of the Angel of Death. And, as it was of old remarked, A Latrone victi sunt Apostoli, qui tun [...] credidit, quando illi defecerunt; He was the only Apostle our Saviour now had cleaving unto him; I had almost said, The only Visible Believer, in the World, at least, the only Thorough paced One. He supplied the Room of Judas, (who was a Thief;) He Preached Him on the Cross, whom Judas betray'd to the Cross. Yea, he was, as one calls him, The A­postle of the Apostles. He declared his Faith, when it could afford no Temporal Advantage at all unto him; He did it, when it would rather augment the Shame and Scorn, which was now heaping upon him; He did it, when as Austin sayes, His Confessing of a Crucified Christ, was in a Man­ner, (quantum si fuisset pro Domino Cruci­fixus,) as much as if he had been himself Cruci­fied for Him, whom he Confessed.

Finally; The Labour he uses to convince his Companion of his Impiety, and Reclame him from it, and Quicken the Fear of God in him; it looks as if he came thither armed with a Zea­lous and Intense Desire to Propagate a Sense of God in the Hearts of others. A Repentance has usually made a little Progress, before it Comes into this Operation. One does not Per Saltum, come to this Degree. Methinks, All these Things conspire, to Proclaim a Saving work of Repentance begun in this Penitent, before his Last Hour came upon him. However, This I am sure they do; and this is what I mainly aim at: they utterly [Page 33] destroy all the Assurance, which any Presuming Sinner has, that this Man did not Repent until his Last Hour was arrived unto him. They leave him therefore without any Assurance, that ever any One in the World, who disobey'd calls to Repent until the Last Hour, did it then Effectu­ally, and found Mercy with God.

I do not affirm that my Arguments, for the more Early Repentance of my Penitent, are ab­solutely Decisive, and infallibly Conclusive; but yet, I think them enough to retund the Confi­dent Prof [...] of them, who encourage the Delay of their Conversion to God, from the Pattern of the Thief, Repenting and Accepted on the Cross. And it may be further observed unto them, that the Holy and Worthy Divines, who take up with the common Opinion, and Glo­rify God, in the Highest Apprehensions of Mi­racle in the Sudden Producing and Ripening of this Repentance, do still with mighty Energy Thunderstrike, that Profane Abuse of the Exam­ple. They tell you, Ye Fools, That if it be a Pattern, yet it is a Pattern without a Promise. And as One of the Ancients Expresses it, Ad Consequendam Fidem non fuit illi Extrema Hora, s [...]d Prima; they tell you, That it might more properly be said, He came in at the First Hour, than at the Last Hour; for he had not Enjoy'd the Means of Grace before, nor Sinn'd against them, as they do, who embolden themselves to Sin, from what was done for him. They tell you, The most you can make, if the Example be granted you, is, One Example in all the Bible. [Page 34] But then Mr. Greenham smartly upbraids the Rashness of them who hope for the like: You may as well Spur an A [...]s to make him Speak, because Balaam's once did Speak with the Voice of Man. They also tell you, That the Con­version of this Penitent was at a Season, the like to which will never again occur in the World; It was an Extraordinary Time. As Mr. Fenner notes, The Day of a Kings Coronation, sets Ma­lefactors at Liberty, which at another Time could not escape the Death which belongs unto them. The most astonishing Expression of the Divine Mercy, that ever was given to the World, was now Exhibiting. It is Congruous enough, that there should now in One Penitent be a most astonishing Monument of it. Our Penitent stood close by the Great Sacrifice. If there should be an Uncommon Experiment of the Vertue in the Balsom, just as it was Preparing, it is not with­out some Congruity. Our Great Redeemer was now Triumphing openly over the Powers of Darkness. If in the Field of Battel, he actually rescued a Prey from the Mouth of the Adversary; the Con­gruity was yet more beautiful. Mr. Beverly speaks well upon it. No Sinner in the World, will ever see such a Time again! Briefly, It was a Time fill'd with Miracles. One utters his Mind after this awful manner, on this occasion; You may as well Expect Christ to be Crucified again, as Expect such another Instance of such unusual Mercy I would not say, quite so. But certainly, to put off Repentance upon an Expectation of being received at the Last Hour, because One once in such rare circumstances was so; 'tis to do Presumptuously, and to reproach the Lord

[Page 35] In fine; I should be as much offended, as the Martyr Bilney, to hear any one discouraging an Old Penitent, from Hopes of Pardoning Mercy. But it is as great an offence, to hear the folly and madness, and Egregious Nonsense of a Sinner Delaying to become a Penitent, because there was a Thief, that at the Last Hour found a Pardon. I break off with Saying. That if this Penitent might from the Paradise where our Saviour has Lodg'd him, now Preach unto us, we should certainly hear him saying, I desire, that among them who delay their Conversion to God, my Exam­ple may no more be for their Ungodly Purpose in­sisted on!

FINIS.
[Page]

This Vacant Page will be well-filled, with an Hymn of my excellent Friend Mr. WATTS, Entituled, A Complaint of Ingratitude.

IS this the Kind Return,
And these the Thanks we owe?
Thus to abuse Eternal Love
Whence all our Blessings flow?
To what a Stubborn Frame
Has Sin reduc'd our Mind?
What Strange rebellious Wretches we,
And God as Strangely Kind?
On us He bids the Sun
Shed His Reviving Rays,
For us the Skies their Circles run
To Lengthen out our Dayes.
The Brutes obey their God,
And bow their Necks to Men:
But we, more base. more bruitish things,
Reject His easy Reign.
Turn, Turn us, Mighty God,
And Mould our Souls afresh,
Break, Sovereign Grace, these Hearts of Stone,
And give us Hearts of Flesh.
Let Old Ingratitude
Provoke our Weeping Eyes,
And Hourly as new Mercies fall
Let Hourly Thanks arise.
THE END.
[Page]

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