The danger of impenitence, where the gofpel is preached.

MATTH. xi. 21, 22.

Woe unto thee Chorazin, woe unto thee Bethfaida; for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in fackcloth and afhes. But I fay unto you, it fhall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

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FTER our bleffed Saviour had instructed, and fent forth his disciples, he himself went abroad to preach unto the cities of Ifrael; particular

ly, he spent much time in the cities of Galilee, Chorazin, and Bethfaida, and Capernaum, preaching the gospel to them, and working many and great miracles among them; but with little or no fuccefs: which was the caufe of his denouncing this terrible woe against them, ver 20. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin, &c.

In which words our Saviour declares the fad and miferable condition of thofe two cities, Chorazin and Bethfaida, which had neglected fuch an opportunity, and refifted and withstood fuch means of repentance, as would have effectually reclaimed the moft wicked cities and people that can be inftanced in any age, Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom; and therefore he tells them, that their condition was much worse, and that they fhould fall under a heavier fentence at the day of judgment, than the people of thofe cities, whom they had always looked upon as the greateft finners that ever were in the world. This is the plain meaning of the words in general; but yet there are fome difficulties in them, which I shall endeavour to clear, and then proceed to raise fuch obferVOL. VIII. vations

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vations from them, as may be inftructive and useful to

us.

The difficulties are these :

1. What repentance is here spoken of; whether an external repentance, in fhew and appearance only, or an inward, and real and fincere repentance.

2. In what sense it is said, that Tyre and Sidon would have repented.

3. What is meant by their would have repented long ago.

4. How this affertion of our Saviour's, that miracles would have converted Tyre and Sidon, is reconcileable with that other faying of his, Luke xvi. 31. in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, that those who believed not Mofes and the Prophets, neither would they be perfuaded, though one rofe from the dead.

I. What repentance is here fpoken of; whether a mere external and hypocritical repentance, in fhew and appearance only, or an inward, and real and fincere repentance.

The reafon of this doubt depends upon the different theories of divines, about the fufficiency of grace accompanying the outward means of repentance, and whether an irrefiftible degree of God's grace be neceffary to repentance; for they who deny fufficient grace to accompany the outward means of repentance, and affert an irrefiftible degree of God's grace neceffary to repentance, are forced to fay that our Saviour here speaks of a mere external repentance: becaufe, if he fpake of an inward and fincere repentance, then it must be granted, that fufficient inward grace did accompany the miracles that were wrought in Chorazin and Bethfaida, to bring men to repentance; becaufe what was afforded to them, would have brought Tyre and Sidon to repentance. And that which would have effected a thing, cannot be denied to be fufficient; fo that, uniefs our Saviour here speaks of a mere external repentance, either the outward means of repentance, as preaching and miracles, must be granted to be fufficient to bring men to repentance, without the inward operation of God's grace upon the minds of men, or else a sufficient degree of God's grace must be acknowledged to accompany the outward means of repentance.

Again, if an irresistible degree of grace be neceffary to true repentance, it is plain, Chorazin and Bethfaida had it not, because they did not repent ; and yet, without this, Tyre and Sidon could not fincerely have repented : therefore our Saviour here muft speak of a mere external repentance. Thus fome argue, as they do likewife concerning the repentance of Nineveh, making that alfo to be merely external, because they are loth to allow true repentance to heathens.

But it seems very plain, that our Saviour does fpeak of an inward, and true and fincere repentance; and therefore, the doctrines that will not admit this, are not true : for our Saviour fpeaks of the fame kind of repentance, that he upbraided them with the want of, in the verfe before the text. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein moft of his mighty works were done, because they repented not; that is, because they were not brought to a fincere repentance by his preaching, which was confirmed by fuch great miracles. It is true, indeed, he mentions the outward figns and expreffions of repentance, when he fays, they would have repented in fackcloth and afhes; but not as excluding inward and real repentance, but fuppofing it, as is evident from what is faid in the next verfe, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day. of judgment than for you: for though an external and hypocritical repentance may prevail with God to put off temporal judgments, yet furely it will be but a very small, if any, mitigation of our condemnation at the day of judgment: fo that the repentance here fpoken of cannot, without great violence to the fcope and defign of our Saviour's argument, be understood only of an external shew and appearance of repentance.

II. The next difficulty to be cleared, is, in what fenfe it is here faid, that if the mighty works which were done by our Saviour among the Jews, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented.

Some, to avoid the inconvenience which they apprehend to be in the more ftrict and literal fenfe of the words, look upon them as hyperbolical, as we fay, "Such a thing would move a ftone,' or the like, when we would exprefs fomething to be very fad and grievous;

fo here, to aggravate the impenitence of the Jews, our Saviour fays, that they refifted thofe means of repentance, which one would think fhould almost have prevailed upon the greatest and most obdurate finners that ever were; but not intending to affirm any fuch thing.

But there is no colour for this, if we confider, that our Saviour reafons from the fuppofition of fuch a thing, that therefore the cafe of Tyre and Sidon would really be more tolerable at the day of judgment than theirs, becaufe they would have repented, but the Jews did not.

Others, perhaps, understand the words too ftrictly, as if our Saviour had fpoken according to what he certainly foreknew would have happened to the people of Tyre and Sidon, if fuch miracles had been wrought among them. And no doubt but, in that cafe, God did certainly know what they would have done; but yet I fhould rather chufe to understand the words as fpoken popularly, according to what, in all human appearance and probability, would have happened, if such external means of reFentance, accompanied with an ordinary grace of God, had been afforded to them of Tyre and Sidon. And thus the old Latin interpreter feems to have understood the, next words, If the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, uvav av, forte manfiffent, it wonld perhaps have remained to this day, in all likelihood it had continued till now. Much the fame with that paffage of the Prophet, Ezek. iii. 5, 6. Thou art not fent to a people of a strange fpeech, and of a hard language, but to the houfe of Ifrael: Surely, bad I fent thee to them, they would have hearkned unto thee: that is, in all probability they would; there is little doubt to be made of the contrary. And this is fufficient foundation for our Saviour's reafoning afterwards, that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judg ment than for them. And if we may judge what they would have done before, by what they did afterward, there is more than probability for it: for we read in the 21ft chapter of the Acts, ver. 3. and ver. 27. that the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon received the gofpel, and kindly entertained St Paul, when the Jews rejected them both. The

III. Thing

III. Thing to be cleared is, What is meant by long ago: they would have repented long ago.

Some underftand this, as if our Saviour had faid, they would not have ftood out fo long against fo much preaching, and so many miracles; but would, at first, have repented, long before our Saviour gave over Chorazin and Bethfaida for obftinate and incorrigible finners; they would not only have repented at laft, but much fooner, and without fo much ado.

But this does not feem to be the meaning of the words; but our Saviour feems to refer to thofe ancient times long ago; when the Prophets denounced judgments against Tyre and Sidon, particularly the Prophet Ezekiel; and to fay, that if, in thofe days, the preaching of that Prophet had been accompanied with fuch miracles as our Saviour wrought in the cities of Galilee, Tyre and Sidon would in those days have repented.

The laft and greateft difficulty of all is, how this affertion of our Saviour, that miracles would have converted Tyre and Sidon, is reconcileable with that difcourse of our Saviour's, Luke xvi. in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, that those who would not believe Mofes and the Prophets, would not have been perfuaded though one bad rofe from the dead.

The true answer to which difficulty, in fhort, is this; that when our Saviour fays, if they believe not Mofes and the Prophets, neither will they be perfuaded though one rofe from the dead; he does not hereby weaken the force of miracles, or their aptnefs to convince men, and bring them to repentance, but rather confirm it, because Mofes and the Prophets had the atteftation of many and great miracles; and therefore there was no reafon to think, that they who would not believe the writings and doctrines of Mofes and the Prophets, which had the confirmation of fo many miracles, and was owned by themfelves to have fo, fhould be wrought upon by one particular miracle, the coming of one from the dead, and Speaking unto them; or, however this might move and aftonith them for the prefent, yet it was not likely that the grace of God fhould concur with fuch an extraordimary means, to render it effectual to their conversion and repentance,

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