Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689

2. Forsake all your Sins, if you would make Genuine your Confession of them. When you have once Vomited up your Sins by Confessing of them, O do not return to them, as, A Dog to his Vomit. Come to say, as in Job 34. 31. I will not offend any more; and study to Do what you say. As, The Burnt Child will dread the Fire, So let us Dread all the Sins which our ⟨p. 54⟩Souls have been scorched with; and let us not espouse any Way of wickedness. If any of us will go on still in our Sins, let us not forget what will come of it; no less truly than that in Psal. 68 21. God shall wound the Head of such an one, as goeth on still in his Trespasses. But O what horrible wounds are those which the Omnipotent Hand of the Great God shall be the Inflicter of! Do not venture to go on in any course of Sin; but be able to say, I hate every false way; and especially, be able to say, I kept my self from mine Iniquity. Albeit any Sin may have been as dear as a Right-eye, or a Right-hand unto you, nevertheless, Away with it! Whatever bad course you have heretofore been used unto, abhor it now, with a very hearty and zealous Detestation; and say, What have I any more to do with Idols? 'Tis a New Life that we are now to be studious of; and we may not promise a pardon to our selves, while we continue ⟨p. 55⟩in Sin. Tho' God at first Justify the Ungodly, yet he will not let a Justified man remain ungodly any more; no he teaches him to Deny all ungodliness, and Live Godlily, Soberly, and Righteously in this present Evil World.

2. Forsake all your Sins, if you would make Genuine your Confession of them. When you have once Vomited up your Sins by Confessing of them, O do not return to them, as, A Dog to his Vomit. Come to say, as in Job 34. 31. I will not offend any more; and study to Do what you say. As, The Burnt Child will dread the Fire, So let us Dread all the Sins which our ⟨p. 54⟩Souls have been scorched with; and let us not espouse any Way of wickedness. If any of us will go on still in our Sins, let us not forget what will come of it; no less truly than that in Psal. 68 21. God shall wound the Head of such an one, as goeth on still in his Trespasses. But O what horrible wounds are those which the Omnipotent Hand of the Great God shall be the Inflicter of! Do not venture to go on in any course of Sin; but be able to say, I hate every false way; and especially, be able to say, I kept my self from mine Iniquitie. Albeit any Sin may have been as dear as a Right-eye, or a Right-hand unto you, nevertheless, Away with it! Whatever bad course you have heretofore been us'd unto, abhor it now, with a very hearty and zealous Detestation; and say, What have I any more to do with Idols? 'Tis a New Life that we are now to be studious of; and we may not promise a pardon to our selves, while we continue ⟨p. 55⟩in Sin. Tho' God at first Iustify the Vngodly, yet he will not let a Iustified man remain ungodly any more; no he teaches him to Deny all ungodliness, and Live Godlily, Soberly, and Righteously in this present Evil World.

II. But there is a very particular USE of these things, to be Regarded by one among us, who is never to see the light of another Sabbath more. Tis Hugh Stone, that I am now more immediately concerned with; and therefore let him, as a man just come unto the very side of the black River of Death, give earnest heed, unto what shall now be said before we part.

Unhappy Man; you must now Die before your time, for your being wicked overmuch, and because you have been a Man of Blood, you must not Live out all your Days. I am a little to invert the Words of my Text, in my Speech •nto you, and say, Why don't you seek […] have your Transgression pardoned, and ⟨p. 56⟩your Iniquity taken away? For you shall sleep in the Dust, before this Week be out, and if we seek you next Friday Morning, you shall not be among us. Tis a great Favour of God unto you▪ that you have liberty to hear a Sermon or two; before the Execution which you are Sentenced unto; your Monstrous Hands hurried your poor Wife out of the World with a greater and more cruel Expedition. You may lament it with an inexpressible Bitterness, that you have no better improved those hundreds of Sermons which you have enjoyed heretofore. But I now beseech you, let not one more be lost. You are Hearing for your last; O let it be as for your Life: Look out for a Pardon before it be too late, and let not the Devils cheat you of a Never-dying Soul. Every Drop of that innocent Blood in which you have imbrued your merciless Hands has a Tongue in it; and it makes a fearful hideous Clamour in the Ears of the Great God, saying, ⟨p. 57⟩Vengeance, O Lord, Vengeance on the cruel Murderer! Methinks, you should be concerned for a Saving Interest in that Blood, that speaks better things Nothing but the Blood of the Lord Jesus, will drown the voice of that horrible Cry. This Blood speaks for, A Pardon, to them, whom it belongs unto […] O do you now speak for a Title to that Blood; I say again, Before it be too late!

Unhappy Man; you must now Dy before your time, for your being wicked •vermuch, and because you have been a Man of Blood, you must not Live out all your Dayes. I am a little to invert the Words of my Text, in my Speech •nto you, and say, Why don't you seek 〈…〉 have your Transgression pardoned, and ⟨p. 56⟩your Iniquity taken away? For you shall sleep in the Dust, before this Week be out, and if we seek you next Friday Morning, you shall not be among us. Tis a great Favour of God unto you▪ that you have liberty to hear a Sermon or two; before the Execution which you are Sentenced unto; your Monstrous Hands hurried your poor Wife out of the World with a greater and more cruel Expedition. You may lament it with an inexpressible Bitterness, that you have no better improved those hundreds of Sermons which you have enjoyed heretofore. But I now beseech you, let not one more be lost. You are Hearing for your last; O let it be as for your Life: Look out for a Pardon before it be too late, and let not the Divels cheat you of a Never-dying Soul. Every Drop of that innocent Blood in which you have imbrued your merciless Hands has a Tongue in it; and it makes a fearful hideous Clamour in the Ears of the Great God, saying, ⟨p. 57⟩Vengeance, O Lord, Vengeance on the cruel Murderer! Methinks, you should be concerned for a Saving Interest in that Blood, that speaks better things Nothing but the Blood of the Lord Jesus, will drown the voice of that horrible Cry. This Blood speaks for, A Pardon, to them, whom it belongs unto 〈…〉 O do you now speak for a Title to that Blood; I say again, Before it be too late!

I am to tell you, First, That your Slit is very Great. The Sin, for which you now stand Condemned, is, a sin of a deep & bloody Dye▪ Murder is the most Barbarous and Devilish, among all the Crimes that are Iniquities to be punished by the Judge. Will a Wolf kill a Wolf? no, and the very Bears agree among themselves. But shall a Man than be worse than a Wolf unto a Man? If, He that loves ⟨p. 58⟩another fulfils the Law, 'tis easy to tell what he does, that Murders another. The most Wretched Pagans have observed of the Murderer, That Vengeance will not suffer him to Live. But your Murder is one hardly to be paralleled in an Age! 'Tis said, No Man (if he have but the Heart of a MAN in him) ever hated his own Flesh. What then are you, that have Murdered yours? Find a Name for yourself, if you think it possible! You have Murdered Her whom you should have Loved above all the world; Her whom you should have Cherished with all the Kindness and Goodness of an Holy Conversation; Her whom you should have been willing even your self to have Died for the preservation of. And with Her 'tis said, you have Murdered an Infant, which never saw the Light. This is your Sin. And Doubtless, they were not few or small Sins, for which God left you unto This. You ⟨p. 59⟩had long before, been guilty of those Impious both Omissions and Commissions, which gave the Devil at last a very entire Possession of you. O Consider of them all; a•d especially Trouble your own Soul, for your Unbelief in Rejecting the Saviour of it. You have sat long under the Gospel; but you have Refused, yea you have Crucified the blessed Redeemer, who therein besought you to be Reconciled unto God. How should the Remembrance of this be to you, as the Wormwood and the Gall, and cause your Soul to be Humbled in you.

I am to tell you, First, That your Slit is very Great. The Sin, for which you now stand Condemned, is, a sin of a deep & bloody Dye▪ Murder is the most Barbarous and Divelish, among all the Crimes that are Iniquities to be punished by the Iudge. Will a Wolf kill a Wolf? no, and the very Bears agree among themselves. But shall a Man than be worse than a Wolf unto a Man? If, He that loves ⟨p. 58⟩another fulfils the Law, 'tis easy to tell what he does, that Murders another. The most Wretched Pagans have observed of the Murderer, That Vengeance will not suffer him to Live. But your Murder is one hardly to be parallel'd in an Age! 'Tis said, No Man (if he have but the Heart of a MAN in him) ever hated his own Flesh. What then are you, that have Murdered yours? Find a Name for yourself, if you think it possible! You have Murdered Her whom you should have Loved above all the world; Her whom you should have Cherished with all the Kindness and Goodness of an Holy Conversation; Her whom you should have been willing even your self to have Dy'd for the preservation of. And with Her 'tis said, you have Murdered an Infant, which never saw the Light. This is your Sin. And Doubtless, they were not few or small Sins, for which God left you unto This. You ⟨p. 59⟩had long before, been guilty of those Impious both Omissions and Commissions, which gave the Divel at last a very entire Possession of you. O Consider of them all; a•d especially Trouble your own Soul, for your Unbelief in Rejecting the Saviour of it. You have sat long under the Gospel; but you have Refused, yea you have Crucify'd the blessed Redeemer, who therein besought you to be Reconciled unto God. How should the Remembrance of this be to you, as the Wormwood and the Gall, and cause your Soul to be Humbled in you.

I am to tell you, Next, That your Case is very sad. Look round about, and say, Is there any Sorrow like your Sorrow? Your House; you have Troubled it, and it is turned upside down by what you have done; and, what Anguish, what Horror, have you filled the Hearts of your scattered Children with? Your Name; you have Blemished it, it must Rot, without ⟨p. 60⟩a Grave-stone among Civil People,& you must hereafter be known by this Description, The Man that Murdered his Wife. Your Body; it has undergone the pains of Chains and Gaols, & there is a little more pain reserved for it, before it feed the Worms. But above all, your SOUL, your Soul, is brought into Dangers too affrighting to be patiently thought upon. What is it that the Word of God, pronounces upon the Murderer? No Murderer has Eternal Life. It says, The Murderer shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God. It says, The Murderer shall have his portion in the Lake that burns with fire and Brimstone. Surely, Thy very Heart must be moved out of its place, to hear of such an End as this, which indeed will never have an End What think you of Changing your Fetters, for the Chains of Darkness, in the Dismal Vault below? What think you of changing your Prison, your Dungeon, for the Outer Darkness, in which there is gnashing of Teeth for evermore! ⟨p. 61⟩Truly, it becomes you to lay your self in the Dust, and cry out, Woe is unto me, that I have Sinned!

I am to tell you, Next, That your Case is very sad. Look round about, and say, Is there any Sorrow like your Sorrow? Your House; you have Troubled it, and it is turned upside down by what you have done; and, what Anguish, what Horrour, have you fill'd the Hearts of your scattered Children with? Your Name; you have Blemish'd it, it must Rot, without ⟨p. 60⟩a Grave-stone among Civil People,& you must hereafter be known by this Description, The Man that Murdered his Wife. Your Body; it has undergone the pains of Chains and Gaols, & there is a little more pain reserved for it, before it feed the Worms. But above all, your SOUL, your Soul, is brought into Dangers too affrighting to be patiently thought upon. What is it that the Word of God, pronounces upon the Murderer? No Murderer has Eternal Life. It says, The Murderer shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God. It says, The Murderer shall have his portion in the Lake that burns with fire and Brimstone. Surely, Thy very Heart must be moved out of its place, to hear of such an End as this, which indeed will never have an End What think you of Changing your Fetters, for the Chains of Darkness, in the Dismal Vault below? What think you of changing your Prison, your Dungeon, for the Outer Darkness, in which there is gnashing of Teeth for eevermore! ⟨p. 61⟩Truly, it becomes you to lay your self in the Dust, and cry out, Wo is unto me, that I have Sinned!

I may tell you Thirdly, That your TIME is very short. You may not Entertain the least Thought of having your Life now prolonged in the world; the very World, will be defiled if you continue in it. Were there a City of Refuge among us, which you were fled into, yet we ought to fetch you thence, and see you made a Sacrifice. The Great God has Required this concerning you; Let him hasten to the Pit, Let no man stay him; and you must before this Day S•'nnight be gone, thither, Whence you cannot Return. As it was said unto a better man than you, Set thy House in order, for thou shalt Die and not Live. Thus, I would say to you, that cannot possibly set your Desolate House in order any more, Set thy Soul in order, for thou shalt Die before this Week expire, Undone man, where shalt thou be ⟨p. 62⟩within a few Hours? Tho' this Day Sennight, you should Roar, Lord, Lord, One Sabbath more! or, Lord, Lord, One Sermon more, and one Season more! it will be in vain for ever and ever.

I may tell you Thirdly, That your TIME is very short. You may not Entertain the least Thought of having your Life now prolonged in the world; the very World, will be defiled if you continue in it. Were there a City of Refuge among us, which you were fled into, yet we ought to fetch you thence, and see you made a Sacrifice. The Great God has Required this co•cerning you; Let him hasten to the Pit, Let no man stay him; and you must before this Day S•'nnight be gone, thither, Whence you cannot Return. As it was said unto a better man than you, Set thy House in order, for thou shalt Dy and not Live. Thus, I would say to you, that cannot possibly set your Desolate House in order any more, Set thy Soul in order, for thou shalt Dy before this Week expire, Undone man, where shalt thou be ⟨p. 62⟩within a few Hours? Tho' this Day Se'nnight, you should Roar, Lord, Lord, One Sabbath more! or, Lord, Lord, One Sermon more, and one Season more! it will be in vain for ever and ever.

And yet let me tell you, Lastly, That there is a May be of Mercy for you. Tho' with Cain, you have been a Murderer; yet let not the out-cry of Cain be with you, My sin is greater than can be forgiven. You may be made a Manasseh, for Blessedness, as you have been such an one for Wickedness. A Pardon is to be had, if you slight it not; and how should that mel• your very Heart within you?

In an English Plantation, that is not far from New-England, a while ago, there were two or three Men• Condemned to D•, as I have heard, for Piracy. After their Condemnation they broke Prison, and fled into the Woods; from whence, after some weeks, they returned ⟨p. 63⟩of their own Accord, and Surrendered themselves unto the Authority, saying, We got away only that we might have time to make our peace with God, and get the pardon of our Sins assured unto us, which through' Grace, we have done, and now we tender our Lives, to satisfy the Justice of the Law. The Judges were so pleased with this Ingenuity, that first they bestowed a Reprieve on them, and then procured a Pardon for them▪

In an English Plantation, that is not far from New-England, a while ago, there were two or three Men• Condemned to D•, as I have heard, for Piracy. After their Condemnation they broke Prison, and fled into the Woods; from whence, after some weeks, they returned ⟨p. 63⟩of their own Accord, and Surrendred themselves unto the Authority, saying, We got away only that we might have time to make our peace with God, and get the pardon of our Sins assur'd unto us, which thro' Grace, we have done, and now we tender our Lives, to satisfie the Justice of the Law. The Iudges were so pleased with this Ingenuity, that first they bestow'd a Reprieve on them, and then procur'd a Pardon for them▪

For your part, you are utterly & for ever uncapable of a Pardon, from the Hands of Men; but were you in earnest about it, you might yet get a Pardon from the Hands of God without flying any whither, but unto the Horns of the Altar, the Lord Jesus for it.

One which Died of Bleeding had that Expression about the Blood of the Lord Jesus, One Blood kills me and another saves me. Truly, as the Blood of the person whom you have Murdered calls for your Death, so the Blood of ⟨p. 64⟩our dearest Jesus will bespeak no less than eternal Blessedness for you, if by impenitence you put it not away. Our Lord said once to one that was Hanging on a Tree, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise. You may go from the Gallows to a Kingdom, if after your abominable doings, you yet will but consent unto the Terms of the New Covenant.

But I must acquaint you, that the only Remedy for you, is to carry a distressed Soul unto the Lord Redeemer, who is Exalted to be a Prince & Saviour; O look unto him, whose call unto us is, Look unto me! Look unto Him, and Sigh, and say, Lord, grant unto me, both Repentance and Remission of sins.

But I must acq•aint you, that the only Remedy for you, is to carry a distressed Soul unto the Lord Redeemer, who is Exalted to be a Prince & Saviour; O look unto him, whose call unto us is, Look unto me! Look unto Him, and Sigh, and say, Lord, grant unto me, both Repentance and Remission of sins.

And while you are thus looking to Him, study to do some Remarkable Thing for the Honour and Glory of God, and for the warning of such as are walking in those ways, which ⟨p. 65⟩have brought you to this, That Men clap their Hands at you, and hiss […] of your place. This is the least you […] do by way of Gratitude unto Him […] has made you so capable of a Pardon […] you are.

And while you are thus looking to Him, study to do some Remarkable Thing for the Honour and Glory of God, and for the warning of such as are walking in those wayes, which ⟨p. 65⟩have brought you to this, That Men clap their Hands at you, and hiss 〈…〉 of your place. This is the least you 〈…〉 do by way of Gratitude unto Him 〈…〉 has made you so capable of a Pardon 〈…〉 you are.

I have done. But O that you ma• not be Hard-hearted any more! […] have the Name of STONE; God forbid, that you should have the qualities and properties of a Stone, in your obduration. May these Words […] as deep into your•heart as your […] did into the Throat of your […] Wife! may the God of […] therefore take away from you the […] of stone, and at the same time give you the white Stone of Absolution from […] many thousands of Sins, with which you stand charged in the Books of hi• Remembrance.

I have done. But O that you ma• not be Hard-hearted any more! 〈…〉 have the Name of STONE; God forbid, that you should have the qualilities and properties of a Stone, in your obduration. May these Words 〈…〉 as deep into your•heart as your 〈…〉 did into the Throat of your 〈…〉 Wife! may the God of 〈…〉 therefore take away from you the 〈…〉 of stone, and at the same time give you the white Stone of Absolution from 〈…〉 many thousands of Sins, with which you stand charged in the Books of hi• Remembrance.

And may the good God sanctify the condition of this Man unto us all; that ⟨p. 66⟩all of us may learn to Abhor and Avoid Sin, and be thankful for the Grace without which, Lord, what should th• very best of us all Degenerate unto!

And may the good God sanctifie the condition of this Man unto us all; that ⟨p. 66⟩all of us may learn to Abhor and Avoid Sin, and be thankful for the Grace without which, Lord, what should th• very best of us all Degenerate unto!

FINIS.