First, His first-repentance, or conversion to God. Fallen man can never come into a right state• till he return to God from whom he fell. A mans sinful state is a crooked, perverse, and wretched state; repentance or returning to God, is the bringing of a man right again, it brings him to his uprightness, even to that state, wherein he was first made; Lo this have I found (saith Solomon, Eccl: 7.19.) that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Solomon doth not discover the several branches and streams of mans sinfulness, but the root and spring of it he doth, the corruption of his nature by the ⟨p. 387⟩fall. For as he found that God made man upright, so mutable, subject to temptation, and as easily yielding to the temptation, as admitting himself to be tempted: and so, not resting in that way and means of happiness (as the Devil his tempter did not) which the wisdom and goodness of God had chalked out and allotted to him, but conceiting to himself a higher perfection, he then began and still continueth to seek out variety of means (called by Solomon, many inventions) as then to get more then he had, so now to regain some shadow at least of what he had. These inventions, are all those carnal shifts, whereby man hopes either to palliate his sin, or to pacify his conscience. But all prove vain inventions; there being no possibility now, for man to get out of sin, or to go back to God, and so to his first estate, but by repentance; That's Gods invention, and he hath concluded, that nothing without that shall bring man (the case of infants is another thing) to that state of uprightness, in which he was first made. And therefore the Apostle giving an account of his ministry, how he acted as a messenger, or an interpreter (He indeed was one among a thousand) saith (Acts 20.20, 21.) I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, &c. testifying both to the Jews, & also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, which is
First, His first-repentance, or conversion to God. Fallen man can never come into a right state• till he returne to God from whom he fell. A mans sinfull state is a crooked, perverse, and wretched state; repentance or returning to God, is the bringing of a man right againe, it brings him to his uprightness, even to that state, wherein he was first made; Loe this have I found (saith Solomon, Eccl: 7.19.) that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Solomon doth not discover the severall branches and streames of mans sinfullness, but the roote and spring of it he doth, the corruption of his nature by the ⟨p. 387⟩fall. For as he found that God made man upright, so mutable, subject to temptation, and as easily yeilding to the temptation, as admitting himselfe to be tempted: and so, not resting in that way and meanes of happiness (as the Devil his tempter did not) which the wisdome and goodness of God had chalked out and allotted to him, but conceiting to himselfe a higher perfection, he then began and still continueth to seeke out variety of meanes (called by Solomon, many inventions) as then to get more then he had, so now to regaine some shadow at least of what he had. These inventions, are all those carnall shifts, whereby man hopes either to palliate his sin, or to pacifie his conscience. But all prove vaine inventions; there being no possibility now, for man to get out of sin, or to goe back to God, and so to his first estate, but by repentance; That's Gods invention, and he hath concluded, that nothing without that shall bring man (the case of infants is another thing) to that state of uprightness, in which he was first made. And therefore the Apostle giving an account of his ministry, how he acted as a messenger, or an intepreter (He indeed was one among a thousand) saith (Acts 20.20, 21.) I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, &c. testifying both to the Jews, & also to the Greekes, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, which is