S rm CV. Repentance and Faith. ly and forthwith to repent ; the Sinner faith 'ts time enough, and it may fafely be deferr'd to Sicknefs or Death ; thefe are important Coutroverfies, and matters taf moment. But Men do not alfeEt common Truths ; whereas . thefe are molt neceffary : And indeed whatever is generally ufeful and benefi- dal, ought to be common, and not to be the lets valued, but the more eftee- med for being fo. And as thefe Doarines of Faith and Repentance are never unfeafonable, foare they more peculiarly proper when we celebrate the Holy Sacrament, whichwas inftituted for a folemn and ltanding Memorial of the Chriftian Religion, and is one of the molt powerful Arguments and Perfwafives to Repentance anda. good Life. The Faith of the Gofpel doth more particularly refpe& the Death of Chrift ; and therefore it is call'd Faith in his Blood, becaufe that is more efpecially the Obje61 of our Faith the Blood of Chrift, as it was a Seal of the Truth of his Doarine, fo it is all'o a Confirmation of all the Blefiings and Benefits of the New Covenant. And it is one of the greateft Arguments in the World to Repentance. In the Blood of Chrift we miy fee our own Guilt, and in the dreadful Suf- ferings of the Son of God, the juft defert of our Sins ; he bath born our Griefs, and carried our Sorrows, he war wounded for our Tranfgreons, and bruifed for our Iniquities ; therefore the Commemoration of his Sufferings fhould call our Sins to remembrance, the Reprefentation of his Body bro- ken, fhould melt our Hearts and fo often as we remember that his Blasd was flied far us, our eyes fhould run down with rivers of Tears ; fo often as we look upon him whom we have pierced, we fhould mourn over hint. When the on of God fuffer'd, the Rocks were rent in (under; and (hall not the conft- deration of thofe Sufferings be effeEtual to break the moft ftony and obdu- rate Heart ? What can be more proper when we come to thisSacrament, than the renew- ing of our Repentance ? When we partake of this Paffover, we fhould eat it with bitter Herbs. Themolt folemn Expreffions of our Repentancefall fhort of thofe Sufferings which our ble(fed Saviour underwent for our Sins. If our head were Waters, and our eyes Fountains oftears, we could never £ufhcïently la- ment the curfed Effelts and Confequences of thofe Provocationswhich were fo fatal to the Son of God. And that our Repentance may be real, it muff be accompanied with the Re- folution of a better Life ; for if we return to our Sins again, we trample under foot the Son of God, and prophane the Blood of the Covenant, and out of the Cup ofSalvation we drink our own Damnation, and turn that which fhould fave us into an Inftrument and Seal of our own ruin. SER
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