possession of the heart, the harder it will be to
drive it out. It is trne, if repentance were no∣thing,
but a present ceasing from the acts of
sin, the death-bed were fittest for it, for then
we are disabled from committing most sins,
but I have formerly shewed you, repentance
contains much more then so, there must be in
it a sincere hatred of sin and love of God.
Now how unlikely is it, that he which hath all
his life loved sin, cherisht it in his bosome, & on
the contrary abhorred God and goodness,
should in an instant quite change his affections,
hate that sin he loved, and love God, and
goodness, which before he utterly hated?
32. And secondly, The bodily pains, that
attend a death-bed, will distract thee, and
make thee unable to attend the work of re∣pentance,
which is a business of such weight,
and difficulty, as will employ all our powers,
even when they are at the freshest.
33. Consider those disadvantages thou
must then struggle with, and then tell me
what hope there is, thou shalt then do that,
which now upon much easier terms thou wilt
not. But in the fifth place, there is a danger
behind, beyond all these, and that is, that th••
repentance which death drives a man to, will
not be a true repentance, for in such a case it is
plain, it is onely the fear of hell puts him on
it, which though it may be a good beginning,
where there is time after to per••ect it, yet where
it goes alone, it can never avail for Salvation.
Now that death-bed repentances are often one∣ly