Serm: CX. An Argrarrent forRepentance. 41 Now whenever we commit any Sin, it is in theprefence of the Holy Gótl, who hath no part with us in our crimes, whofe Nature is removed at the fartl'ie(i di fiance from Sin, and is as contrary to it ascan be There is no iniquity_ with the Lord our God. And therefore of all perlons in the World we Ihould blufa to be guilty of it before him. 4. We are apt allo to be afhamed to do any thing before thole who diflike and deteft what wedo. To do a wicked A&ion before thofe who are not of- fended at it or perhaps take pleafure in it, is no luck matter of flume to us. Now of all others, God is the greateft hater of Sin, and the molt perfe& Enemy to it in the wholeWorld. Hab. r. 13. Thou art of purer eyes, than to behold evil, and eanfl not look on iniquity, i e. with patience, and without an infinite hatred and abhorrence of it. Such is the unfpotted Purity and Perfe&ion of the Divine Nature, that it is not potfible that God fhould give the leaft countenance to any thing that is Evil. Pfal. 5 4, 5. Thou art not a God, fays David there to him, that haft Pleafure in iniquity, neither Pallevil dwell with thee : The wicked fhall not andin thy fight ; thou hatefl all the workers of iniquity. 5. We are afhamed likewife to do any thing that is evil and unfeemly before thofe, who we are afraid will publith our faults to others, and will make known and expofe the folly ofthem. Now whenever we fin, it is before him who will molt certainly one day bring all our worksof darknefs into the opervlight, and ex- pofe all our fecret deeds of difhonefty upon the publick Stage of the World, and make all the vileft of our a&ions known, and lay them open, IA ith all the fhameful Circumftancesof them, beforeMen and Angels, to our everlafting Shame and Confufion. This is the meaning of that Proverbial Speech, fo often ufed by our Saviour, There is nothing cover'd that(hall not be revealed, neither hid that!hall not be made manifefl. All the Sinswhich we now commit with fo much caution, in fecret and dark retirements, (hall in that great day of Revelation, when the fecrets of all hearts !hall be difclofed, be fet in open view, and in fo full and ftrong a light, that all the World (hall fee them; and that whichwas plotted and contrived in fo much fecrecy, and hardly whifper'd in thisWorld, (hall then be proclaimed aloud, and as it were upon the Houfe tops. 6. and Lailly, We are afhamed and afraid to commit a fault before that., who we believe will call us to an account for it, and punilh us feverely. AMan may fuffer innocently and for a goodCaufe 5 but all fuffering in that cafe, is by wife and good men e(ìeemed honourable and glorious, and tho' we are condem- ned bymen, we are acquitted in our own Confciences : But that which is pro- perly called Punifhment is always attended with Infamy and Reproach; becaufe it always fuppofeth fome fault and crime, as the ground and reafonofit. Hence it is that in this World, men are not only afraid, but afhamed to commit any fault before thofe, who they think have Authority and Power to punith it. He is an impudent Villain indeed, that will venture to cut a Purfe in the prefence of the Judge. Now whenever we commit any Wickednefs, we do it under the Eye of the great Judge of the World, who ftedfa(tly beholds us, and whole Omnipotent Juftice (lands by us ready armed and charged for our Deftru&ion , and can in a moment cut us off. Every Sin that we are guilty of in thought, word or deed, is all in the prefence of the Holy, and Juft, and Powerful God ; whofe Power enables him, and whofe Holinefs and Juftice will effe&ually engage him, one time or other, if a timely Repentance doth not prevent it, to inflict a terri- ble Punifbment upon all the Workers of iniquity. You fee then by all that bath been Paid upon this Argument, how fhameful a thing Sin is, and whatCenfufion offace the refle&ionupon our wicked Lives ought to caule in all of us. What fruit had ye then in thofe things, whereof ye are now alhamed ? If ever we be brought to true Repentance for our fins, it cannot but be matter of great fhame to us. We find in Scripture that Shame doth continually accompany Repentance, and is infeperable from it. This is one Mark and Charaaer of a tree Penitent, that he is afhamed of what he hath done. Thus Ezra, when he makes Confeffìon G of
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