we are passed from death to life we know it says he And the Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God Rom. 8.16 There is a report and a testimony of the Spirit of God within and there is by the work of the Spirit and by the hand of the Spirit the discharge and the work of God in the discharge sealed upon the Soul of the Believer so as he knows as really as he hath known that he was a sinner that he is discharged from his sins Though a person may be discharged and not know it for the Spirit of God doth not alwaies witness the Spirit of God doth not alwaies seal Nay he may seal and his Seal may be hid he may make report and give evidence and this evidence may be lost Those that have had the assurance of the pardon of their sins may lose it again or it may be some considerable time after the Soul hath been discharged before he is able to read his discharge but the Spirit of the Lord first or last will be a Witnesser and Sealer to all those that have their discharge and they shall know it and have the comfort of it It is a real discharge Secondly It is a free discharge God doth all that he doth for his People gratis there is nothing in them that hath procured and bought in the blessing at the hand of the Lord. But when he comes to discharge a Soul he doth it for his own Names sake As Isa 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins I will blot them out says God not for thy sake for thou hast deserved no such thing at my hand but I will blot them out for my own sake I do all that I do freely and therefore says he Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his grace We are justified freely by the grace of God When the sinner deserveth the full and the effectual execution of the sentence that was denounced against him then comes the Lord in a way of free and soveraign grace and he discharges and he pardons As Hos 14.4 I will heal their backslidings I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from them I will love them freely and I will pardon freely and I will pass by and I will forgive freely So Col. 2.13 And you being dead hath he quickened together with him having forgiven you all trespasses So we read it But it may be read Having freely forgiven you all trespasses God freely forgives the trespasses of his People those that he takes unto himself and those that are in Christ therefore we are called upon by the Lord for to come unto him without money and without price Come ye says he that thirst to the waters such as have no money such as have no price come and hearken diligently and your Souls shall live Isa 55.1 2 3. Thirdly It is a full discharge which the Lord grants unto his People a discharge that takes off all their sins at once Psal 103.3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases They are not hundreds and thousands only but all that you stand guilty of All sins of omission and all sins of commission all sins against the first Table and all sins against the second Table they are all at once forgiven all secret sins and all open sins all heart-sins and all life-sins they are all forgiven Hezekiah he made Faith of this Isa 38.17 For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back The sinner when he returns to God comes with a load of sins upon him thousands of thousands of sins he brings with him a multitude of sins and the Lord when he receives this guilty Soul he forgives them all at once Isa 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his waies and the unrighteous man his thoughts Or the man of wickedness and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and unto our God for he will abundantly pardon Or as it may be read he will multiply pardons Sins have been multiplied in daies of ignorance and multiplied in daies of knowledge multiplied against all the strivings of the Spirit multiplied under many tenders of Christ multiplied under many of the beseechings of the Spirit multiplied in the clear Light of a Gospel-day But says he this shall not keep off for I will abundantly pardon God's pardon shall be as extensive as all his transgressions were Hereupon says the Apostle There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus There is no sin remaining to condemn him of all his repeated transgressions of all the thousands and ten thousands that he is guilty of there is no condemnation not one sin left upon the score to condemn him V. 33. Who shall lay any thing unto the charge of God's Elect it is God that justifieth Satan will heap up things against them but there shall not condemn them their own Consciences may bring in Indictment after Indictment against them but says he there is not any thing that shall stand in record against them not any thing that shall be laid to their charge to condemn them not any of their sins be they never so small not any of their sins be they never so great that shall remain against them Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect when God justifies Whereupon says the Prophet Jer. 50.20 The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the sins of Judah and they shall not be found for I will pardon them whom I reserve Their iniquity shall be sought for and there shall be none found why because the pardon of God reacheth every one Col. 2.13 Having forgiven you all trespasses And Heb. 8.12 I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more I will be merciful not to this unrighteousness or the other but to all their unrighteousnesses to their sins and to their iniquities It is spoken of in general terms that they might know it will reach every particular It is a full discharge in so much as the believer is counted righteous he is constituted righteous before God Heb. 11.4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice then Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous that is in his justification in Christ Jesus in which justification he had absolution and in the compleatness of his justification before God by Gods imputative act he was reckoned he was constituted righteous 4. The discharge that God gives out to those in Christ it is irrevocable It is such an act of grace as God will abide by as God will never recede from no not to eternity therefore he saies Jeremiah 31.34 I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more The believer he is afraid it may be that something may be brought
he is not justified Gal. 3.22 The Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith on Jesus Christ might be given to those that believe All concluded under sin all under the sentence of condemnation every Child that is born into the world is concluded under sin concluded under the sentence of condemnation by reason of sin But now the promise of Salvation is by faith on Jesus Christ the promise of salvation and forgiveness the promise of righteousness and peace this is given unto them that believe So as when the sinner is translated when he is brought over to Christ when he hath faith wrought in him on the Lord Jesus Christ then is he pardoned And upon the loss of your pardon I mean the sense of it upon the renewal of faith and the stirring up of fresh acts of faith is the sense of the pardon returned and consolation and joy upon the pardon returned Use 1. In the first place If that God do thus discharge sinners in Christ then this calls upon all of you to study this discharge of the Gospel more fully that so you may understand this wonderful proceed of Gospel grace Sirs this point is a fundamental point it is one of the foundational truths and principles of the Gospel and therefore whatever you neglect do not neglect the study of this mystery There are other truths that are of great concernment There is no truth no principle of the Gospel but is worth your enquiring into But this is one of the main and if you be out here you are out in all and the more you know of this the more savingly you understand this priviledge the more will you be led into others and the higher will your consolation be This is even a Benjamin as I may so call it When Joseph came to serve his Brethren Gen. 43.34 He sent Messes to them from his board and Benjamin 's Mess was five times as much as any of the other Truly the importance and concernment of this truth is such that you had need study this point five times more than some others so much hath a dependance upon it Says the Apostle 1 Joh. 4.9 In this was the love of God manifested to provide a propitiation and atonement to provide a blood through which forgiveness of sins should be dispensed in this is the love of God manifest and you should study this truth that you may understand something of the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of God manifested unto you herein Dive into this mystery Use 2. Labour to clear up your own discharge unto your own Souls Many are the doubts and the fears that Believers labour under and they do arise from their darkness in this point Could they but make faith of this That there is no condemnation for them their fears would vanish their doubts would be answered and their Souls would be filled with the joy of God their Salvation Now there are some waies whereby this may be cleared up As 1. There is the Witness of the Spirit of God and this is a satisfying testimony unto all that have it It puts all out of doubt and answers a thousand scruples at once when once the testimony of the Spirit comes within all fears they vanish all mists and clouds that were about the understanding they all flee away and are scattered 2. It is evidenced by a lively faith in the promise of forgiveness and from thence the Soul is enabled to take in the comfort of the discharge And 3. Sometimes our Justification is cleared up unto us from our Sanctification But truly that satisfaction that comes in to a Soul through his searches into the work of Sanctification in the Soul that satisfaction it is but small it is coming going because the work of grace upon our hearts is under so much weakness and oftentimes cloudy and dark that a Believer many times can hardly tell whether he hath any grace or no in his heart but now that that comes in by the help of the Spirit of God through the actings of faith upon the promise of forgiveness that which comes in through the immediate testimony of the Spirit of God in our hearts this is far more refreshing and more satisfying to the Soul Well labour after the assurance of this discharge that you may know that you have a part in the promise of forgiveness Use 3. You that are forgiven you whom the Lord hath thus discharged you ought to walk thankfully and to live in the admiration of that grace that is glorified in this act of God towards you Psal 116.12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits We should say so upon all our common mercies though never so small What shall I render to the Lord I will take up the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. This is that we should say for ordinary mercies but what shall we say to the Lord for greater mercies Thou hast been brought up in a Land of Vision it may be under a religious education and hast sat under a powerful Gospel Ministry where thou hast been told of thy sins and invited and called to return to God and exhorted to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and yet it may be thou wentest on in a way of sinning against God ten twenty thirty years before God laid hold upon thee and after such a long course of rebellion and after that thou hadst run out in all manner of extravagancy or at least in thy heart didst commit all manner of iniquity and hadst it in thy heart to do a great deal more than the preventing grace of God would suffer thee and after all this disobedience and rebellion in a moment as it were God comes and pardons all The Prodigal a great rebel and yet received and embraced in his Father's arms and not one word objected against him but received as if he had never grieved his Father embraced as if he had never crost his Father as if he had never gone out of his Fathers house what wonderful grace is this Sirs it is stupendious grace for God to make his approach to a poor Soul and to press forgiveness upon it for God as a thick cloud to blot out thy transgressions as Isa 44. v. 22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions The Lord hath blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions and hath caused the Sun of his love to break through and to scatter all at once You should admire the greatness of God's grace that so many treasons should be forgiven at once that so many years transgression against God should be forgiven at once I remember when the sufferings of Jesus Christ were spoken of when he saw what a cup of wrath there was in his Fathers hand it is said he was amazed and astonished when he saw all the wrath that was to be poured out upon him And was
Mat. 18.23 c. The Lord there gives us a Parable of a Servant The Lord had compassion on him and forgave him the debt and the same servant went out to his fellow-servant that owed him an hundred pence and he took him by the throat saying pay me that thou owest me c. Here is set forth the spirit of the children of men they would have forgiveness from others but they will not forgive themselves Well but when Peter came to Christ and said Lord how often shall my Brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times Jesus saith unto him I say not unto thee until seven times but until 70 times 7. As often as he doth offend so often thou shalt forgive Use 6. Again This Doctrine calls for an abhorrence of all Papal Masses as propitiatory Sacrifices for sin You that have heard any thing of the grace of God in the forgiveness of the New Covenant do you detest and defie the Idolatry and the abominations of the Church of Rome who would pretend to forgive sins What is this but to wrong the grace of God What is this but to trample upon the blood of the Covenant as an insufficient thing No pardon of sin doth not come in at so cheap a rate as to be bought with money but it comes in at the door of free Grace through the blood of Jesus Thousands of Rams ten thousand of Rivers of Oil the first-born of the body for the sin of the Soul will not satisfie for they and their money will perish together that would buy pardon of sin with such a price Bless God that you know better and let it raise up in you an abhorrence of that Religion that would thus corrupt you Quest Ay But some poor Soul will be saying Ah! But how shall I come to get God's discharge sealed upon my Soul O! had I but the evidence and witness of this all would be well Ans 1. In the first place Come before God with confessions in thy mouth Bewail and spread thy transgressions before him Psal 32.5 Says David I acknowledged my sin unto thee and my iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin I confest says he and I said I would confess He came and judged himself before God he came and lamented his sinful condition and his sin-guiltiness before God he lamented and bewailed he poured out his confessions before God and the Lord he came and visited his Soul with pardon with the sense of forgiveness 2. Plead with God for his pardon and urge his promise for forgiveness This is that which the servants of the Lord have done when they have wanted the sense of pardon Psal 51.1 Have mercy upon me O God! according to thy loving-kindness according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions When sin lay against Israel God began to threaten Moses steps up and pleads with God for pardon that God would pardon their sin So the Servants of the Lord have all along pleaded with God for pardon in the want of it Do you do thus and urge God with his promise of forgiveness 3. Have your Eye upon Jesus Christ Pardon comes through his blood it is merited it is purchased by Jesus Christ look unto him and put forth renewed acts of faith upon him and in the renewing of thy close with him and in the resignation of thy self by faith to him thou mayest come to have thy pardon sealed 4. Wait upon God in sealing Ordinances It may be thou hast wronged thy Soul to this day that thou hast walked at so great a distance from God in his sealing Ordinances if thou hadst gone thither and attended upon God it may be thou hadst had some hint of his pardoning love to thee that would have more satisfied thy Soul I remember what God said to Gideon I only allude to it Judg. 7.10 11. Go and listen says he and thou shalt hear something that will strengthen thee So I say wait upon God in those Ordinances where God gives out strengthening grace and where God seals up his love to his People and there thou mayest have something that may be a feast to thy Soul there mayest thou meet with something that may confirm this love of God to thy Soul and put all out of doubt more to thee than ever And you that have the sense of God's discharging love in your hearts I have two or three words to leave with you 1. Improve it improve the sense of it unto an influence to all duties and to all obedience to God Let the sense of his kindness to you be so improved and wrought upon your hearts as it may constrain you to devote and dedicate your selves to God in your whole course to lay out your selves in all duties of obedience to God more than ever And know that you can never serve this God enough you can never do for this God enough that hath done so much for you labour to do more for him than ever and to serve him with a better heart and with a better spirit to pray more in your prayers to pray with more fervency and to confess with more sincerity and to walk with God in more exactness lay out your selves to the utmost in this work 2. Extend your pity and compassion unto those that are yet in a condemned state Your Souls should mourn over those that are yet in their sins You know what it is to be under sin and you know what it is to be under grace and therefore your hearts should be full of compassion to those that are yet in that state that by grace you are delivered from Ebedmelech's compassion and tenderness to the Prophet is recorded Jer. 38.11 That he took men with him and went into the house of the King under the Treasury and took with him old cast clouts and old rotten raggs and let them down with Cords into the Dungeon to Jeremiah O Sirs your bowels should work towards those that are yet in their sins I remember what David promiseth to God Psal 51.12 13. Restore to me the Joy of thy Salvateon and uphold me with thy free Spirit then shall I teach transgressors thy waies and sinners shall be converted unto thee He would then make it his business to turn sinners to God he would make it his business to convince and awaken and draw others out of their sinful state that is to labour with them if by any means the Spirit of God may work upon them be you full of compassion to others in a state of condemnation And 3. And lastly Keep up a humble sense of your great transgressions that God hath forgiven you I say keep up and walk under a humble sense of those transgressions that God hath forgiven you Sirs though God hath forgiven your sins yet you should remember them you should remember them so as to walk humbly and softly before God all your daies that you did ever provoke so gracious a God by such heinous provocations and inormities FINIS A Catalogue of Books Printed for and are to be sold by Edward Giles Bookseller in Norwich near the Market place A Discourse of Divine Providence A Word in Season Defensive Armour A Discourse of the Ordinary Matter of Prayer Sermons upon the whole first and second Chapters of the Canticles Allen's Way of the Spirit in bringing Souls to Christ The Glories of Christ set forth with the Necessity of Faith in several Sermons By Thomas Allen late of Norwich Several Sermons of Timothy Armitage late of Norwich Lougher's Precious Promises the Portion of Overcommers The Saint's Ebenezer By Francis English late of Norwich Directions for the Learned to Spell English right The History of the Protestant Reformation as it was begun by Luther The Dead Saints Speaking A Sermon Preached upon the Death of Mr. Newcomb The English Presbyterian