tions, Μετανοεῖτε ἤγγικε γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, (Matt. iii. 2.) which is rendered in our last translation, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." But much better, because freer from ambiguity, in the entrance to our Common Prayer Book, "Amend your lives, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." From hence, by the way, we may observe, that in the judgment of those holy and learned martyrs, repentance and amendment of life are all one: and I would to God, the same men, out of the same care of avoiding mistakes, and to take away occasion of cavilling our liturgy from them that seek it, and out of fear of encouraging carnal men to security in sinning, had been so provident, as to set down in terms the first sentence taken out of Ezek. xviii. and not have put in the place of it an ambiguous, and (though not in itself, yet accidentally, by reason of the mistake to which it is subject) I fear very often a pernicious paraphrase: for whereas thus they make it, "At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sins from the bottom of his heart, I will put all his wickedness out of my remembrance, saith the Lord;" the plain truth, if you will hear it, is, the Lord doth not say so, these are not the very words of God, but the paraphrase of men: the words of God are as follow: "If the wicked turn from all the sins which he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die;" where I hope, you easily observe, that there is no such word as, "At what time soever a sinner doth repent," &c. And that there is a wide difference between this (as the word repent usually sounds in the ears of the people) and turning from all sins, and keeping all God's statutes; that indeed, having no more in it but sorrow and good purposes, may be done easily and certainly at the last gasp, and it is very strange, that any Christian, who dies in his right senses, and knows the difference between heaven and hell, should fail of the performing it; but this work of turning, keeping, and doing, is (though not impossible by extraordinary mercy to be performed at last,) yet ordinarily a work of time, a long and laborious work (but yet heaven is very well worth it); and, if you mean to go through with it, you had need go about it presently. Yet seeing the composers of our Liturgy thought fit to abbreviate-turning from all sin, and keeping all God's statutes, and doing that which is lawful and right, into this one word, repenting, it is easy and obvious to collect from hence, as I did before from the other place, that by repentance, they understood not only sorrow for sin, but conversion from it. The same word, μerávola, (Matt. xii. 41.) is used in speaking of the repentance of the Ninevites: and, how real, hearty, and effectual a conversion that was, you may see, Jonah iii. from the fifth to the last verse: "The people of Nineveh believed God, and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them; for word came from the King of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he cast his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes; and he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh, by the decree of the King, and of his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands: who can tell, if God will turn and repent, and turn away his fierce anger, that we perish not?" Which words contain an excellent and lively pattern for all true penitents to follow, and whereunto to conform themselves in their humiliation and repentance. And truly, though there be no Jonah sent expressly from God to cry unto us, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed;" yet seeing the mouth of eternal Truth hath taught us, that a kingdom divided is in such danger of ruin and destruction, that, morally speaking, if it continue divided, it cannot stand; and seeing the strange and miserable condition of our nation at this time may give any considering man just cause to fear, that as in Rehoboam's case, so likewise in ours, "the thing is of the Lord," in tending to bring his heavy judgment upon us, for our great sins, and our stupid and stupendous security in sinning, and to make us instruments of his designed vengeance, one upon another; peradventure, it would be a seasonable and necessary motion to be made to our King and his noblesTo revive this old proclamation of the King of Nineveh, and to send it with authority through his Majesty's dominions, and to try whether it will produce some good effect: "Who can tell, if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" Who can tell, whether he that hath the hearts of King and people in his hand, and turneth them whithersoever he thinketh best, may not upon our repentance take our extremity for his opportunity, and at last . open our eyes, that we may see those things that belong to our peace, and shew us the way of peace, which hitherto we have not known? But this by the way for my purpose, I observe, that this repentance, which, when the sword of God was drawn, and his arm advanced for a blow, stayed his hand, and sheathed his sword again, was not a mere sorrow for their sins, and a purpose to leave them; nay, it was not only laying aside their gallantry and bravery, and putting on sackcloth, and sitting in ashes, and crying mightily unto God, of which yet we are come very short: but it was also, and that chiefly, their universal turning from their evil way, which above all the rest was prevalent and effectual with God Almighty for so it is written: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented him of the evil, that he said he would do, and he did it not." In the Gospel of St. Luke, (chap. xxiv.) the condition of the new covenant, to which remission of sins is promised, is expressed by the word METávola." Thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead, and that (ueTávola) repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name." Which place, if ye compare it with that in the Gospel of St. Matthew, "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all whatsoever I shall command you;" it will be no difficulty to collect that what our Saviour calls in one place μETávola, repentance; that he calls in another, observing all that he hath commanded; which, if repentance were no more but sorrow for sin, and intending 1 to leave it, certainly he never could, nor would, In which words, moreover, it is very considerable, as also in another place, (Heb. vi. 1.) where, among the fundamentals of Christianity, the first place is given to Μετάνοια ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν ἔργων; Ι say, it is very considerable, that though the word may not very absolutely be rendered repentance, yet we shall do much right to the places, and make them much more clear and intelligible, if, instead of repentance, we should put conversion, as it is in some of the best Latin translations: so, for example, if instead of " repentance toward God," (Acts xx.) and "repentance from dead works," in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which our English tongue will hardly bear, we should read "conversion to God," and "conversion from dead works;" every one sees it would be more perspicuous and more natural; whereas, on the other side, if, instead of repentance, we should substitute sorrow (as every true genuine interpretation may, with advantage to the clearness of the sense, be put in place of the word interpreted), and read the place "sorrow towards God," and "sorrow from dead works," it is apparent, that this reading |