Sermon 8. ~nd FAsTING. magnanimity that was in the FAthers ofourfaith ; (The ApoJJ!e beares themwimelfe, that to theirp01vers, nay, andbeyond thetrpowerschey fhewed themfdves willmg;) any , cor.l.j; never fo poorefmit would not content us. But we, neither to our power,nor a great dealc fl 10 rc ofit, cndevour our fdves : any never fo lleight, and llender will fcrve us \vell enough. . . . . •· Iwonderwhatwcthinke~ Doewethmhtopoll: GoD offw1thany, 1tsk1lsnot \vhat fmit? with rvind-fals, withworme-.eatenjfrejft? E s AY_ n sfowre grapes? Is R •· l!fay.p; " 1 ES rotten figges? Nodung c~mesarmlfe..H0ld weHmJ mfo vtle account, as any !O<em.,...,; is good enough for Him; it is well WlthHtm, 1fHe get any ~. t.Malachnellsus othe~- Mal.r.B. wle,Thathe holdsit ingreatfcorne: b1ds usgoe offer frech frzuts t~o11r Prmce: and fee1f He willtake it well. Zachary tells us fo ltkew.fe: Agoodly prtce(Calth he) they value mee zoe. u. 7 j'; at. Goodly fmit, is it not, thcyprefent me with~ Nay (Cure) we mull: havedignostoo. - SiJtJJe worththere would be. . Is' there any other wayeo take our dignos by? Compared with thelt1Jice o~Go o; · Notfo: NorwiththegreatHer~esofournature; Notfone1ther. Nor (md<:!cd) aretheyfaidworthy, ofeither ofthefe; bur how~ Only! fmits tvorthy ofrepentance: that is,fuch as may well befeeme perfons,as be trulypemtent. Referred notto ought, but to repentance it felfe. Laying byftn,as it is anaverjion from an injimt~g_ood: (For, foit is infinite ; admitS no meafrere or degree;) but,-con~dermg lt, as1t IS aconver. wnrothecre<tterc, and that more or lelfe: fo, it falls within compaffe ofmore or lelfc: worthy. Say I this ofmy felfe ~ Saith not GoDs Law the lame fectend#m mcnJNram .t:fli- Leviq. ,~; mationemque delifli, and pro menJurapeccati i Is it not·aclaufe there, repeated more .· thanonce Ifthere be ameafrtre ofthe one, fo is there ofrhc~ther : Ifananalogicof~::~~:~. faith, ofrepentanceroo, whynot~ And,co that,we to applyourfclves,mthe magii or · · – mimls dignos ofour fruits. This is once : Repent~tnce may be too much, one may goe toof.me in it: That, will be granted (I know.) And, iftoo much,' then too little;and we may fall too j1 1 erttheotherway _(that, I am Cure of.) Which part we 1hould offend on(tochoofe) iy•• m<i)"vd•1"'"Wlllfoonetea~hus, thatuwouldbeehom6.· rather, with themore then with theleff'e. In the Corinthian's cafe there it was too much; hee >Cor. i,:;; was in dangertobefwallowed"P with{orrow. In Miriam'sca[eagaine, it wasJoolitt!e: N - Fov, though fl1ewerenghtp1mtent for herfolly committed, yet becaufe thequa!tt; of um.~~·'f· heroffence required a large and moreworthy repentance, 1hewasJbut out oftlie hojt yet fevcn dayes longer,and rhen,and not before, received to pardon. Ifthere beanultro~ and acztra,rhen IS there a temu:[ftoo m11chand too little,then is thereafrefftcit,enough. , And, that, is thedignos we feeke for. . , Bur who fl1all tell us, this tenunvhat it-is ~ Who {hall fay S~efficit ? I thinkeJt is ·: ~ not bdho f.1y Jt to om felves ; ~t is not Cafe, that, We are like enough to give eare . topropztuu cflotzbz, to fpareand favom our felves, and to thinke_that worthy, that ~s Mat, , 1 , , 3 ; nor ·to d1fm1lfe the matter Withadoe no morefo, never to follow Jt to fenterace. Or,1f , ,· · we doe, torepnvcour felvcs, and ll:ay the ·execution. lt hatb been held no way·fafe ,, . for us, to make our owne a/Jelfwent : and as fafe a wa)7 as could bee, would ever ~ce r~kcnfor thefoule. Bmer,fome other body doe it: and, who fhaU that'other bo~ ybee~ . . ,, , hIn the Law,every man was not tefrto himfelfe. Theoffiringforfln (~vhich wasto ~-em afrrmof repentance)lt was rated cvcr,ever taxed,:l"ly:J by the Priell:. AccoiF- . . 10 gtohisordering, fo invent: he made theefiimate, -how much was enough, \vhar twt.pf, would ferve. And here now, in Saint John's time (whichwas the interval!or palfage as~twere, between the Lawand the Gojjell;) atthe ba'p·tifmeof John they knew not w at to doe,rhey were not fowell skilled; to Saint Iohn,they come with their qt~idfa· Pcm:' 1 "'? What lhall we do~ And what fl1all we doe~ All-three on~after another, the Lulq.t~: ,~· reo team rh s Id" - O [ ' e ou ters' the Common fort ; and they·had all their anfwers feverally : ••· ~e ~\wereferved not all: Several!kinds offin require feverall forts offruit. And, ~het t elGofPell, there (wef.Ce)fonheCO>·inthian,SaintPaulfaid Sllfjicitvirohuic: - c ". "' mt~e>" enough, thisfl1all ferve : bis"confciencemay be qui~t, I rell:ore him to ~ 2'·':--•' Z 3 the
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