is not spiritual; such was that of the slothful servant; and the same is found in hypocrites and devils; but this is no part of duty, but rather of punishment. God does not require it either of saints or sinners. That which he requires is of a holy nature, such as is expressed in the passages before quoted, which is spiritual, and has the promise of spiritual blessings. It resembles that of a dutiful child to his father, and is therefore properly called filial; but though none are possessed of it but the children of God, yet it is because none else are possessed of a right spirit. F Repentance, or a godly sorrow for sin, is a spiritual exercise; for it abounds with promises of spiritual blessings. But repentance is a duty required of every sinner.-Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand-Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out-Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye· double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. t-The hardness of heart which our Lord found in the Jews, and which is the opposite of repentance, grieved him, which it would not, had it not been their sin. Finally, a hard and impenitent heart treasures up wrath against the day of wrath: but impenitence could be no sin, if penitence were not a duty.‡ * Luke xix. 21. James ii. 19. James iv. 8-10. † Matt. iii. 2. Acts iii. 19. Mark iii. 5. Rom. ii. 5. Repentance, it is allowed, like all other spiritual exercises, has its counterfeit, and which is not spiritual but neither is it that which God requires at 'the hands of either saints or sinners. What is called natural, and sometimes legal repentance, is merely a sorrow on account of consequences. Such was that of Saul and Judas. In order to evade the argument arising from the address of John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, who called upon the Jewish people to repent and believe the gospel, it has been alleged, that it was only an outward repentance and acknowledgment of the truth to which they were exhorted, and not that which is spiritual, or which has the promise of spiritual blessings. But it will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that such repentance and faith are any where required of sinners, or that it is consistent with the divine perfections to require them. An outward repentance, and reformation of manners, as distinguished from that which consists in godly sorrow, is only repentance in appearance. Whatever sorrow there is in it, it is not on account of sin, but its consequences: and to suppose that Christ, or his servants, required this, would be doing them infinite dishonour. It is no other than supposing them to have betrayed the authority of God over the human heart, to have sanctioned hypocrisy, and to have given counsels to sinners, which, if taken, would leave them still exposed to everlasting destruction. The case of the Ninevites has been alleged as furnishing an example of that repentance which is the duty of men in general, and which Christ and his apostles required of the Jews. I do not know that the repentance of the Ninevites was genuine, or connected with spiritual blessings: neither do my opponents know that it was not. Probably the repentance of some of them was genuine, while that of the greater part might be only put on in conformity to the orders of government, or at most, merely the effect of terror. But whatever it was, even though it should none of it have been genuine, the object professed was godly sorrow for sin: and if God treated them upon the supposition of their being sincere, and it repented him of the evil which he had threatened, it is no more than he did to Pharaoh, Abijah, Ahab, and others.* It is a very unjust conclusion to draw from his conduct, that their repentance was such as he approved, and the whole which he required at their hands. So far from it, there might be nothing in any of them which could approve itself to him as the searcher of hearts: and though for wise reasons he might think it proper, in those instances to overlook their hypocrisy, and to treat them on the supposition of their repentance being what they professed it to be; yet he might still reserve to himself the power of judging them at the last day according to their works. * Exod. viii. 8, 9. 2 Chron. xiii. with 1 Kings xv. but to The object of John the Baptist was not to effect a mere outward reformation of manners; turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Such was the effect actually produced by his ministry, and by that of Christ, and the apostles. The repentance which they called upon sinners to exercise, was such as entitled those who possessed it to christian baptism, and which had the promise of the remission of sins.t It is plainly intimated by the apostle Paul, that all repentance except that which worketh in a way of godly sorrow, and which he calls repentance to salvation, NEEDS TO BE REPENTED OF. It is the mere sorrow of the world, which worketh death.‡ But that which requires to be repented of cannot be commanded of God, or constitute any part of a sinner's duty. The duty of every transgressor is to be sorry at heart for having sinned.. Humility or lowliness of mind, is a spiritual disposition, and has the promise of spiritual blessings.. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly-He giveth grace to the humble-Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven: § yet this disposition is required as the duty of all.-Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and pu * Luke i. 17. + Mark i. 4. Acts ii. 38. 2 Cor. vii. 10. § Psalm cxxxviii. 6. James iv. 6. Matt. v, 3... * rify your hearts, ye double-minded, Be afflicted and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Humility doth not consist in thinking less or more meanly of ourselves than we are. The difference between one that is lowly, and one that is proud, lies in this: the one thinks justly of himself, and the other unjustly. The most humble Christian only thinks of himself soberly, as he ought to think.t All the instances of humility recorded of the godly in the scriptures, are but so many examples of a right spirit, a spirit brought down to their situation. Carry back the ark of God into the city, says David: If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it and his habitation: but if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I; let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. This was very different from the spirit of his predecessor, when he was given to expect the loss of the kingdom; yet it was no more than was the duty of Saul as well as of David; and all his proud and rebellious opposition served only to increase his guilt and misery. The spirit of the publican was no more than was becoming a sinner, and would have been becoming the pharisee himself. Finally if whatever has the promise of spiritual blessings be a spiritual exercise, every thing that is * James iv. 8-10. † Rom. xii. 3 |