Serm. CXVII. of Reftlitutlon. and tryingmightily, tbey decree that Every one fbould furnfrom theevil of his ways, and from the violence that was in their Hands, ut rapins manusvacuefaciat, ¢; rapta refiituat, fine quo non eft vera ptenitentia, fo Grat.'upon the place, That he emptyhis hands ofthe fpailsof Rapine and Oppreffion, that is, that he make Reftitution, with- out which there can be no Repentance: And upon their doing this, tis Paid, that God (pared them, Ver. to. And God few their works, that they turnedfrom their evil way. 'Tis not Paid, that he faw their fa ling and fackcloth, but Hefair their works, the real Fruits and Effe&s of theirtiRepentance ; and upon this it was that God repentedofthe evil he faid he would do to them, and he did it not. And elfe- where we find, that God (peaks with great Indignation of the molt folemn Repen- tance, which is not accompanied with this Fruit, Ifa. 58. 3, 4, 5, 6. ThePeo- ple tell God how they had failedand afli1ed their Soul, andmade their voice to be heardon high: but God defpifeth all this, becaufe it was not accompanied with this Fruit of Repentance. Is itfilchafait as I have chofn ? &c. There is fo much of natural Juftice and Equity in Reftitution, and it is fo proper a Fruit.of Repen- tance, that as Grotinsobferves, it is not only the Do&rine of the jam and Chri- flians, but of Heathens and Mahumetans, that the Repentance which does not produce this Fruit is feigned, and will never avail with God for Pardon and Mer- cy. Thus much for Confirmationof this Marine. TheThird and laft thing I propofed was to perfwade to the Pra&ice of this Duty; and this may ferve by way of Application of the Do&rine of Reftitution. The ufe we (hall make of it is, Firi, To perfwade Men to the Praíticeofthis difficult Duty. I doubt not but the Arguments I have ufed are (efficient to convince us of the Equity and Necef- fìty of Reftitution ; but what Arguments (hall I ufe to perfwade to the Pra&ice and Exercifeof it ? When we preis Men to their Duty, tho wehave force Advan- tages on our fide, yet we have alto great Diladvantages. We have this advan- tage, that we have the Reafon and Confciences ofMen on our fide: but then we have this difadvantage, that we have to contend either with the Lulls or Intereft of Men, or both: now that thefe are ufually more powerful, is evident in that the Lull and Interefts of Men do fo frequently byafs and draw them to do things contrary to Reafon and Confcience. When we perfwade Men tobe jull, and to make Reftitution to thofe whom they have injur'd, 'tis true we have not tocon- tend with the Lulls of Men, with any corrupt and vicious Inclination of Nature. There are force Sins that have their rife from Mens natural Tempers, as Paffron and Luft, and thofe fenfual Vices that abound in the World : but there's nothing in any Man's natural Temper and Difpofition that inclines him to be unju(l, no Man's Complexion doth particularly difpofe him to lie or Real, to defraud his Neighbour, or detain his Right from him; it is only the Interefts of Men that prompt them to thefe things; and they are upon this account the more inexcufa- ble, becaufe noMan is inclined to thefe Sinsfrom particular Temper and Conlli- tution ; fo that an unjufl Man is in ordinary Cafes and Circumltances a greater Sin- ner, than a Drunkard or a Luftful Man, becaufe no Man can pretend to behurried away by the ftrongPropenfion and Inclination of his Nature, tocheat his Brother; but altho when we perfwade Men to be juft, we have not the Lulls of Men to contend withal, yet, we have another powerful Adverfary, and that is the Interefts of Men, which is one of the Chief Rulers and Governours of this World; fo that when we preis Men to Reftitution, we touch them in their Intereft, which is a very touchy and tender thing; when we tell them that without Reftitution no Man can repent and be faved, they think this to be a very hard flying, and they know not how to bear it. But certainly it hath all the Reafon and Equity in the World on its fide. If it be fo hard for them to reftore that which is another Man's, is it not much harder for him whom thou haft injured, to lore that which is his own? Make it thine own Cafe; wouldit thou not think it much harder to have thy right detained from thee by another, than for another to part with that which is not his own? But I am fenfible how little it is, that Reafon will fway with Men again(( their Inrerell; therefore the heft Argument that I can ufe will be to fatisfy Men, that upon 93
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