forgive Sins This saith St. Paul is a faithful saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief 1 Tim. And if the chief be saved others have no cause to fear The blood of Iesus Christ saith St. Iohn cleanseth from all sin 1 Joh. i. This is that Fountain which was opened to the House of David and to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem for Sin and Uncleanness The Reason why Jesus can ease us of the Burden of Sin and take away the Guilt and free us from the Punishment of it is because he hath in his own Person born our Sins and satisfied for them he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our Iniquities and by his stripes we are healed and God laid on him the Chastisement of us all Isa. liii The Iust died for the Unjust and he who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God through him In the next place as Jesus Christ taketh away the guilt and burden of our Sins so he freeth us from the fear and terrour of Death For asmuch saith the Apostle as the Children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the power of Death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of Death were all their life time subject to bondage Heb. ii 14 15. Jesus Christ hath brought Life and Immortality to Light he hath discovered a Life far better than this a State in which there is fulness of Joy and Rivers of Pleasure for evermore a Life which admits neither Hunger Thirst Nakedness Cold nor Heat and where all Tears are wiped away And he hath made Death the necessary Passage to this blessed State so that instead of fearing Death Men desire to Depart And whereas before it was reckoned a loss to die now it is counted gain O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ 1 Cor. XV. 55 c. He hath purchased to himself the Keys as of Hell and Death so of Life and Immortality and has Power to admit whomsoever he pleaseth It is he that hath the key of David that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day saith Christ. And again I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me tho' he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die But Thirdly Jesus Christ not only giveth rest to the Soul and ease to our Minds by begetting in us a lively hope of future Bliss but also he greatly refresheth us at present by settling our Minds in Peace and giving them a secret Pleasure which cannot be uttered The Happiness of a Christian is not all in Reversion he has some in hand that the deferring of his hope may not make him faint he has a present Possession given him which yields abundant Satisfaction to stay the longing of the Soul and to prevent its languishing That Contentment which Men do in vain seek among the Creatures is only to be found in him therefore St. Paul counted all things but loss and dung to the knowledge of Iesus Christ He is a Fountain of living Waters and none but he can quench or satisfie the thirst of the Soul Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up to eternal life said he in his Conference with the Woman of Samaria Joh. iv 13. My flesh saith he is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed that is true Meat and Drink which both nourish and satisfie for it is proper and well suited to our Natures Every Creature has its proper Food nothing but that can satisfie it when that is wanting it languisheth So our Souls which are of a spiritual and heavenly Nature cannot feed upon earthly things nothing can be Food to them but that bread which came down from Heaven The Contemplation of Christ and his Doctrine can only cheer them up These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full which St. Peter saith is a joy unspeakable and full of glory Lastly Jesus Christ giveth his Disciples rest under Afflictions Indeed he doth not promise them an exemption from Trouble and Affliction nay on the contrary they are forewarned to look for this more than others but he makes them very light and supportable by the Strength and Instruction which he gives He doth not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able and with every temptation sends a way by which they may escape that they may be able to bear it 1 Cor. X. he abates the Grief and Molestation which Troubles and Afflictions were wont to procure by clearing the Divine Oeconomy in disspensing them by shewing the Nature and Use of them and by giving Rules how to improve them to our Perfection and Happiness So that what was wont to fright Men is now become matter of Joy and Gladness Count it all joy saith St. Iames when ye fall into divers temptations Thus you see what a blessed and desirable Rest may be expected by coming to Christ. O fortunatos nimium O happy we if we knew our own Happiness Here is the place where we may put off all that burden which lieth heavy upon us Here is an opportunity of being eased of all the Misery which we are born to Bodily or Spiritual Temporal or Eternal Here we may refresh our wearied Minds and get that perfect rest we would be at there is nothing to let or hinder us there is nothing to obstruct this Happiness but our own carelesness and contempt We are freely invited and shall we refuse Do we sit still unconcernedly Will we delay so great Happiness Shall we be so ungrateful to him who makes the offer as to slight it Shall we be so cruel to our selves as to neglect rest when it may be had Will ye thus requite the Lord O O foolish people and unwise O ye sons of men how long will ye love vanity and seek after leesing How long will ye spend your Labour for that which profiteth not How long will it be e're ye have pity on your own Souls Turn ye turn ye why will ye die Why will ye weary your selves in a vain and dangerous Chace The World where you have been all this while hunting is a dry and barren Wilderness in which you may perish before
of those Sublunary and perishing things How much should we despise and undervalue those empty and fading Vanities seeing we have such infinitely better things prepared for us and waiting upon us Doth he who is called to a Kingdom mind Sticks and Straws Trifles and petty inconsiderable things Remember O Christian what thou art and what thou art called to keep up the Decorum that is suitable to the dignity of thy Person and walk worthy of the Vocation whereunto thou art called Do not creep upon thy Belly and lie groveling upon the Ground lift up thy Head and let thy Heart be where thou seest thy Treasure is Be not like the foolish Indians who sell their Gold and their Pearls and other precious things for Brass and Iron and Glass Beads Do not seek to fill thy Belly with Husks when thou mayst have fulness of Bread in thy Father's House Do not grasp so fast but let go those painted Vanities those mere shadows of Delight and make sure to thy self that fulness of Joy and those Rivers of Pleasure which are at God's Right hand for ever and ever Secondly Consider those things that thou mayst have Comfort in thy Afflictions that thou mayst bear up with a chearful Spirit under all the Crosses that are laid on thee The hopes of Heaven do lighten the burthen of Affliction they take away the heavy pressure thereof How light should we consider our Affliction which is but for a moment seeing it is followed by a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory Look unto Iesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God Now if we suffer with him we shall be also glorified together with him And I reckon saith St. Paul that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us Thirdly Consider what a mighty Encouragement this Blessed life is and what a powerful inducement it should be to Prayer Meditation to all Holy Duties and in a word to a hearty compliance with the whole Gospel We are not commanded those things in vain for naught all the pains we are at this way shall be well rewarded Do we toil and sweat for the Bread which perisheth And shall we not labour for that which endureth to Eternal Life Do Men venture upon Merciless Seas Do they throw themselves upon the Points of Swords and before the mouths of Cannons for a little Gain or some small piece of Honour And shall we refuse to walk Circumspectly to live Soberly Righteously and Godly for Heaven and Eternal Life Be ashamed O Christian of thy Sloth and Laziness blush to see some taking more Pains for Earth than thou art for Heaven for Perishing thant hou art for Eternal Riches You see your Labour is not in vain be stedfast therefore and immoveable and always abounding in the Work of the Lord run with Patience the Race that is set before you and run so that you may obtain Do not faint and weary in well-doing but persevere therein to the very End Be thou faithful unto the death saith Christ and I will give thee a Crown of life Finally Let what hath been said raise your Appetite and stir up in you a Holy and Sincere Desire of this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which strengthens your Faith cherishes your Hope gives you the Encrease of Grace here and is to you a sure Pawn and Pledge of Glory hereafter For this Holy Sacrament is the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus not the Sacred Symbols and Representations thereof only but the conveyance of the Merits of his Death and Sufferings also Now Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ye have no life in you Eat therefore O Friends Drink yea Drink abundantly O Beloved that your Souls may be satisfied and live for evermore Now unto him who hath loved us and given himself unto the Death for us and who hath opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers even unto Iesus Christ with the Father and Blessed Spirit the Glorious and Incomprehensible Trinity be all Praise Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON VIII ON EASTER-DAY 1689. 1 COR. XV. 19. If in this Life only we have Hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable WHAT the Church Commemorates in this great Festival of Easter solemnly celebrated by all Antiquity St. Paul evidently proves in this Chapter viz. That important Article of our Creed the Resurrection of our Lord Iesus Christ. And from this necessarily he deduceth another most material Point which is the Certainty of our own Resurrection The firm Belief of both these Points are not only absolutely Necessary but also the serious and frequent Consideration of them is most useful that we may be strengthened and encouraged in our Temptations comforted in our Troubles and animated to a chearful Labouring in every work of the Lord. The certainty of an after state as well as the Quality thereof is only known by the Gospel it is Iesus Christ only who hath brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel The Heathens had some knowledge thereof but it was very faint It was only as a Dream and Imagination for when our Apostle taught it at Athens he was counted a Babler and was mocked there even by the Philosophers themselves And among the Iews there was the Sect of the Sadducees who believed neither Resurrection nor Spirit St. Paul attacks these Epicurean and Sadducean Principles in this Chapter for it would seem that some of the Church of Corinth were corrupted with them and said That there is no Resurrection of the Dead though the belief of this point be so essential to a Christian that he ceases to be one who denies it The words of our Text are one of those Arguments St. Paul makes use of for evincing the Truth and certainty of our Resurrection and it is an Argument taken ex absurdo which is accounted a demonstration even in the strictest Science for there be many Propositions of the Mathematicks which cannot be otherwise demonstrated than by shewing the absurd Consequences of their being false I shall endeavour to demonstrate the strength and force of this Argument of St. Paul for another Life But first let us consider the Truth of his Assertion here that we that is Good and Sincere Christians would be of all others the most miserable if there were no more expected than what this Life doth afford St. Paul saith here that if Christians had no hope but in this Life they would be of all Men most miserable He doth not say they would be the only miserable Persons whereby he clearly insinuates that others as well as they are liable to Misery in this World As some Ignorant and Unjust Men charge
to eat the forbidden Fruit and was the Occasion of all that Misery which came upon them and us both But behold we are now to become as God in a higher better and truer sense than what they aimed at or could have come to by any Fruit tho' it had not been forbidden Behold what manner of Love is this wherewith the Father hath loved us that we should be called the Sons of God! What ineffable Glory What high Dignity is this that Man is now exalted to Lord what is Man that thou art so mindful of him And the Son of Man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him but a little lower than the Angels here in this World and hereafter thou designest to make him equal to them yea like unto thy self How astonishing are the Thoughts of this What Admiration may they breed Especially when all this Glory and Honour is not for a Day a Month or a Year but to all Eternity The Duration of this State is another Reason why the Apostle calls it Life What is short and momentany deserves not the Name of Life and therefore our Life in this World is reckoned in Scripture but as a Breath a Vapour it is to be esteemed but as a Puff of Wind. But that Life above suffers no Changes it is unalterable it never hath an end it lasts not only a thousand thousand Years but for ever and ever Here we think much if we have a few Days Peace and Contentment But they who are in Heaven are eternally happy Thus we see what sort of Life it is our Text speaks of If you ask to whom are we indebted for it Look to the preceeding Verse and there you will find it This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son It is to Jesus Christ only that we owe the Obligation it is by him and through him and for him that we come to Life for he only is the Discoverer of it he only is the Author of it and only hath the disposing and giving of it First he is the Discoverer thereof he hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel Before the Gospel was published Men were ignorant of this Life neither the Certainty nor Nature of it were known The Wise Heathens indeed had some Notion of a Life after this they judged it reasonable that the Soul should survive the Body But however all they talkt were mere Conjectures they had no Assurance of the Truth And tho' it be certain that the Jews had the Promise of Eternal Life as well as temporal good things and that all the pious and holy Men among them lived in Expectation of it yet it was so darkly revealed even to them that you know there was one Sect amongst them who denied the Resurrection altogether and even those who believed it had no very right and worthy Thoughts thereof or else they might have soon refuted the Sadducees gross Apprehensions But whatever Knowledge either Jews or Heathens of old had of another Life it is to be ascribed to Christ for he is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World And now he hath put this Matter clearly out of Doubt Neither the Resurrection from the dead nor the Life hereafter needs now be disputed as doubtful Problems for Jesus Christ hath given evident Demonstrations of the Truth of them by his plain Assertions and express Promises and his own Resurrection But Secondly Christ is not only the Discoverer of Eternal Life but the Author thereof also There was more required to the attaining this than the mere Discovery of it This was above humane reach It was too great a height for Man of himself to climb to If any had attempted this trusting in his own worth he had been certainly baffled and defeated His Boldness as it served to be laught at so it should have been punished But as Christ hath shewed us this so he hath purchased it for us It is the Merits of Christ which have opened the Kingdom of Heaven and it is by his Strength that we perform the Conditions of entering into it And when we have performed the Conditions it is even he himself who bestows it on us for he is that holy one who hath received the key of David who openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth It is he who putteth on us the Crown of Life When we have done our Work it is from him that we receive Reward and this Reward is promised to all who believe Which leads us to the last particular namely to shew That all who have the Son have Life This is a Point we need not stand much upon for it is so clear and evident not only through this Epistle but the whole New Testament there is not the least shadow of pretence for the doubting of it Verily verily I say unto you saith Christ he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into Condemnation but is passed from death unto life And again it is said he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God Believers have full assurance of Eternal Life for their Faith unites them to Christ. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood that is believeth in Christ dwelleth in me and I in him See also Chap. xvii Now Christ and his Members will not be divided where the one is the other will be also Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me And we are sure the Father heareth the Son Believers also have good ground to hope for Eternal Life for Faith is the very Seed and Principle from which it flows The Life of Faith is the beginning of the Life of Glory the one is but the Perfection and Completion of the other Blessed is he therefore who believeth for there shall be a Performance of those things which are told him from the Lord. It is Faith then and Faith only which giveth us a title to Eternal Life such a Faith I mean as was formerly described He that so believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him They who do not and will not embrace Christ here shall not be Embraced by him hereafter They who refuse his Yoke in this World shall in the World to come be cast out of his glorious Kingdom and thrown to that place of darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Now that we may draw to a close what an Influence should these Considerations have upon our Souls What a holy disdain should they work in us
Justice nay abundant Mercy which maketh God to pass over so many and so great Offences and not only to spare us but to be willing to make us happy Thus we see how free God's Love is to usward and that nothing but his own abundant Mercy could move him to set his Heart upon us and to do us good which partly encreaseth the Obligation of his Benefits though they be in themselves too as great as can be as will appear by taking a View of this Summ of them that St. Peter gives us here Which was The Third Point proposed The Apostle designed not to give a Catalogue of all God's wonderful Works to us the Children of Men this would have swelled his Epistle much beyond what it is He passeth by the many Thousand Mercies he hath done and daily doth for our Bodies and bodily Life and only takes notice of what he has done for our Souls because on their Welfare our Happiness mainly depends The good of the Body and present Life would yield small Content if the Soul were lost And if the Soul be saved if it have those things which are agreeable to it and which perfect it there is abundant Matter of rejoicing tho' the Comforts of the Body be much wanting Wherefore we see the Apostle here teacheth those to whom he writes who were Strangers scattered abroad and often persecuted to rejoice notwithstanding because through the abundant mercy of God they were begotten again to a lively hope c. The first Benefit reckoned up here is that we are begotten again and indeed it is the Foundation and Beginning of all our Happiness without this it were simply impossible to make us not miserable Now by this is meant the giving us a New or Second Birth a putting us into another State than what we are in by our present natural Generation If any ask what needed this Were we not well enough before It might suffice to answer That there was great need for it seeing God thought fit to do it and that his doing it is made an Instance of his great Mercy for Deus Natura nihil faciunt frustra But if this satisfie not the Necessity of this and the Greatness of the Benefit will evidently appear to such as view the Wretchedness of our State by ordinary natural Generation I say ordinary natural Generation and not our first Creation for Man as he came first out of the Hands of God was in a good State he was like his Maker Wise Holy Pure and Innocent If he had kept this State there would have been no need of renewing it or of making him over again But he kept not this first State but fell into a State of Sin and Corruption he lost the Favour of God incurred his Wrath and Displeasure and became liable to his Wrath and Curse and all the Miseries of this present Life and that which is to come And as all Mankind are descended from those first Parents since they fell from their original Righteousness and Purity and have been propagated in a State of Sin and Corruption so all are generated Sinners filthy and corrupt The sinful Leprosie of Adam is inherent in all his Children and the Curse he brought on himself is entailed on all his Posterity Behold saith David I was shapen in Iniquity and in sin did my Mother conceive me Psal. li. 5. And our Saviour tells us That which is born of the flesh is flesh for if the Fountain be corrupt what flows from it must be corrupt too who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one It is said Gen. v. that Adam was made after the Image of God but that he himself begat a Son in his own Likeness viz. in a State of Sin and Corruption And as this befalls all of us for Sin is an inseparable Consequent of ordinary natural Generation so that it renders us most ugly and loathsome Sin is the Disease of the Soul and causeth as great Deformity and Vileness to the Soul as the worst of Diseases to the Body If any be not sensible of this it is because it is so common and ordinary and is in a manner natural to them for so we see long Custom and Familiarity will lessen the Horrour of things which ought to be abhorred But whatever they think whose Senses are benumm'd with Sin yet others nauseat and abhorr Sin as the worst of Evils Sin is so abominable in God's Sight that his Eye cannot behold it Saints and such as are begotten again complain heavily of this Defilement of their Nature and look upon it with Grief and Indignation David sets it forth under the Similitude of a most filthy bodily Disease Psal. xxxviii and Ezek. xvi This our natural State is elegantly compared to an exposed Infant of wretched Parents lying wallowing in its Blood and natural Pollution and wanting those good Offices which are necessary to make it live But as there is Filthiness in this State so likewise much Pain and Misery All the Anguish and Trouble of our Spirits proceed hence from this Corruption and Depravation of our Natures come those inward Torments and Vexations of Mind which we feel were it not for this we could draw Contentment and Satisfaction from any external Condition as a Man in perfect Health can sleep soundly upon any Bed And if one be pained with the Gout Stone or other Disease how unreasonable were it to cast the blame of his Trouble and Uneasiness upon the Bed he lies or the House he dwells in So the Cause of our Grief and Trouble is more within than without us it is more to be ascribed to the Disorder of our Minds by Sin than to the outward Inconveniences of our external Condition in the World But besides the inward Pain of Sin which is the Result of its Nature it is loaded with external Misery for it is prosecuted by the Wrath of Almighty God and his Displeasure falls heavy upon it Upon the wicked he shall rain snares fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their cup Psal. ii 6. Now this Wretchedness of our first natural Generation shews both the Necessity and Advantage of being regenerated How happy a thing is it to be washen from the Guilt and cleansed from the Filth of Sin to be delivered from the Punishment and freed from the Power and Dominion thereof That is to be begotten again in the Language of the Text for all that is implied in these Words Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered Blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose Spirit there is no guile Psal. xxxii 1. But though this be considerable ye 〈◊〉 it is not all God hath not only delivered us from the Miseries of a sinful State but he hath also designed for us greater Glory and Felicity than what we lost by Sin The actual Possession hereof is not till hereafter for
that it answered every Man's Taste that is it relish'd according to each Man 's particular Appetite affording every one that Satisfaction in his Taste which pleased him best So the Joy afforded us upon the gaining this Spiritual Victory shall be most ravishing it shall fully answer all the Desires of our Souls and shall yield us that full Satisfaction they would be at wherefore it is called a Joy unspeakable and full of Glory and our Lord tells us that they who taste thereof shall not hunger or thirst any more Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of this water that I shall give him shall never thirst Moreover as there was Plenty of Manna so we shall not have this Heavenly Joy in narrow and scanty Measures but it shall flow and abound beyond all Expression Therefore it is said in Scripture to pass all understanding that is the heighth and greatness thereof can never be sufficiently comprehended Finally as Manna was permanent it lasted all the while the Children of Israel were in the Wilderness that is so long as they needed it neither was it possible for their Enemies to hinder it so this Joy shall never cease our Enemies Malice and Power cannot reach it but it abideth for ever All earthly Goods are liable to Rapine and Violence our Enemies may bereave us of them But they cannot take away the Consolations of the Spirit of God here these we may enjoy in the midst of Bonds and Imprisonment and Afflictions and much less can any stay that joy and those Pleasures which shall be bestowed hereafter And as these are the Reasons why the Joy prepared for those who overcome is called Manna so it is called hidden Manna alluding to the Pot of Manna laid up in the Ark or else because the Nature and Quality and Excellency of this Joy is without the reach of Sense Our bodily Sense does not discern it nor can humane Reason scan it Strangers do not intermeddle with this joy None understand it but they who possess it Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of Man the good things which God hath laid up for them that love him But I said by Manna are not only set forth the Nature and Quality of those Delights he who overcometh is to be feasted with but also the particular Entertainment which affords such excellent Joy and Delight is pointed at And therefore by Manna here we are to understand Jesus Christ himself for Manna was a Type and Figure of him and he is expressly called Spiritual Manna 1 Cor. x. 3. And as a Pot of Manna was laid up in the Ark so Jesus Christ is kept and reserved in the Heavens which were figured by the Ark and therefore he is called hidden Manna Now they who overcome shall have Christ to feast upon not after a corporal and carnal manner eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood as some senselesly dream they do in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper nor yet sacramentally as all true Believers do in this World in the Elements of Bread and Wine For hereafter in Heaven which is here pointed at there is neither place for nor need of Types Figures and Symbols which would not be suitable Entertainment for such a pure and perfect State But the meaning is they shall feast on everlasting Bliss the Purchase and Merits of his Blood the Fruits of his Incarnation Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascension and whatever he did or suffered to purchase Eternal Happiness for us There is no proper Food but this He who wants it is utterly miserable for nothing but the Enjoyment of Christ in Heaven can give Life or Pleasure to the Soul of Man And the Soul that is entertained in his beatifick Presence is entertained in the Fullness of Joy and cannot but be happy for there is no Grief or Sadness in that glorious Place where he is but perfect Delight Joy Pleasure and Satisfaction as will appear by what follows which is the effect of this Entertainment He who gets to eat of this hidden Manna shall also get a white Stone When St. Iohn had this Revelation he was in Patmos an Isle in the Egean or Egarean Sea and here he alludes to a Custom practised or well known there for in Asia and other Eastern Countries they were wont to give their Votes for acquitting or condemning such as were accused by casting white and black Shells or Stones the white as an Emblem of Innocency was for the Persons Absolution and Justification as the black betokened Guilt and declared for their Condemnation which Ovid has thus delivered Mos erat antiquis niveis atrisque lapillis His damnare reos illis absolvere culpa By the white Stone then is meant a Sentence of Absolution and so our Saviour here promiseth to absolve and justifie such as overcome from all that may be laid to their Charge He will take away their Guilt wash them from their Sins and deliver them from the Death that is due to them And O what a Happiness is this What matter of Joy is there in this Promise It is as Health to the sick Ransom to the captive and a Remission to him who is ready to be led forth to Execution If any be not affected herewith it is because they are not sensible of their Guilt and do not consider the heinous Nature of Sin or the Misery which attends it But they who have laid this to Heart will prize it exceedingly What would a troubled Conscience give for the least Assurance or smallest Hope of this Comfort O Who will deliver me from this Body of Death saith St. Paul and David who roared all the day long because of his Sin and on that Account found God's Hand Day and Night heavy upon him cries out Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose Sin is covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity Despair not because thy Sins are many and great for be they never so numerous or heinous Christ is able to take them away and here he promises to absolve thee Be of good cheer O Sinner thy Sins shall be forgiven thee for there is now no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit But there is here promised not only a white Stone the Sign of Absolution and a Deliverance from Death due to us but also something more which we could never deserve and which exceeds all Expression In the Stone there shall be a New Name which is still an Allusion to the Custom of these former times and Eastern Countries where Letters and Words used to be written also upon the Stones they cast into the publick Urn. What is the Importance of this New Name we will know when we have found out whose Name it is whether of him who gives it or of him who receives it