this purpose Exod. 34.7 keeping mercy for thousands forgiving inquity c. And is still as full as ever as the sun which hath influenced so many animals and vegetables and expelled so much darkness and cold is still as a strong man able to run the same race and perform by its light and heat the same operations When mercy shews it self in state with all its train it is but to usher in pardoning grace Exod. 34.6.7 not a letter not an attribute that makes up the composition of that name but is a friend and votary of mercy And that latter clause a learned man explains of Gods clemency He will by no means clear the guilty visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers c. which he renders thus He will not utterly cut off and destroy but when he doth visit the sins of the Fathers upon the Children it shall be but to the third or fourth Generation not for ever This name of God is urged by Moses Number 14.17 Now I beseech thee let the power of my Lord be great the Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy forgiving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity c. Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy Where Moses repeats this clause more particularly than he doth the other parts of his name which surely he would not have done and pleaded it as a Motive to God to pardon Israel if he had not understood it of God's clemency for otherwise he had dwelt more upon the argument of Justice than upon that of mercy which had not been proper to edg his present petition with Nay it is such pure mercy the genuine birth of mercy that it partakes of its very name as Children bear the name of their Father Heb. 8.12 I will be merciful to their iniquity which in the Prophet Jer. 31.34 whence the Apostle quotes it is I will forgive their iniquity That it is so will appear because 1. No attribute could be the first motive of pardon but this His Justice would loudly cry for vengeance and flame out against ungrateful sinners His holiness would make him abhor not only the embraces but the very sight or such filthy creatures as we are His power would attend to receive and execute the Commands of his justice and holiness did not compassion step in to qualify 2. Vnconstrained mercy Men pardon many times because they are too weak to punish But God wants not power to inflict Judgments neither doth man want weakness to sink under it Rom. 5 6. When we were without strength Christ dyed for us God wanted not sufficient reason to justify a severe proceeding both in the quality of sin every sin being a contrariety to the law Soveraignty work glory yea the very being of God now for God to pardon that which would pull him out of his throne hath blemished the creation robs him of his honour must be an act of the richest and purest mercy And in the quantity multitudes of sins of this cursed quality as numerous as motes in the Sun-beams 'T is impossible for the nimblest Angel to write down the extravagancies of men committed in the space of twenty four hours if he could know all the operations of heir Souls as well as their outward actions all those God doth see simul semel and yet is ready to pardon in the midst of numberless provocations 3. Resolv'd and designed mercy 'T is not through inadvertency and insensibleness of the aggravating circumstances of them God must needs know the nature and circumstances of all those sins he himself laid upon Christ Yea God hath an actuated knowledge of all when he is about to pardon Isa 43.22 God reckons up their sins of omissions They had been weary of him and had not brought to him their small Cattle had preferr'd their Lambs and Kids before his Service wearied him with their iniquities endeavoured to tire him out of the Government of the World What could one have expected after this black Scroul but Fire-balls of Wrath Yet he blots them out v. 25. though all those sins were fresh in his memory Nay the Name we have profaned becomes our Solicitor Ezek. 36.22 For my holy Names sake which you have profaned 4 Delightful and pleasant mercy He delights in pardoning mercy as a Father delights in his Children He is therefore called the Father of mercy Micah 7.18 he pardons iniquity and retains not his anger for ever because he delights in mercy Never did we take so much pleasure in sinning as God doth in forgiving Never did any penitent take so much pleasure in receiving as God doth in giving a pardon He so much delights in it that he counts it his wealth Riches of grace riches of mercy glorious riches of mercy no Attribute else is called his riches He sighs when he must draw his Sword Hos 11.8 How shall I give thee up O Ephraim But when he blots out iniquity then it is I even I am he that blots out your transgressions for my Names sake His delight in this is equal to the delight he hath in his Name This is pure mercy to change the Tribunal of Justice into a Throne of Grace to bestow pardons where he might inflict punishments and to put on the deportment of a Father instead of that of a Judge 4. The Act of his Justice Those Attributes which seem contrary are joyned together to produce forgiveness Yet God is not to be considered in pardon only as Judex but paternus Judex there is a composition of Judge and Father in this act Free Grace on God's part but Justice upon the account of Christ That God will accept of a satisfaction is Mercy that he will not forgive without a satisfaction is Justice Mercy forgives it in us though Justice did punish it in Christ Christ by his death paid the debt and God by the Resurrection of Christ discharged the debt and therefore the Justice of God is engaged to bestow pardon upon a Believer God set forth Christ as a propitiation that he might be just and therefore a justifier of him that believes Rom. 3.26 Either the debt is paid or not if not then Christ's Death is in vain if it be then God's Justice is so equitable as not to demand a second payment Therefore another Apostle joyns faithful and righteous it might have been faithful and merciful faithful and loving but faithful and righteous or just takes in the Attribute which is most terrible to man 1 John 1.9 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isay joyns both together a just God and a Saviour Isa 45.21 So that here is unspeakable comfort That which engaged God formerly to punish man engageth him now to pardon a Believer That which moved him to punish Christ doth excite him to forgive thee 5. The Act of his Power 'T is a sign of a noble and
he was their Saviour It seems to refer to the deliverance from Aegypt Shall I have so little regard to the League I have entred into with their Fathers as to be unconcern'd in their misery There is hope in Israel till God forgets his Covenant and Christ strip himself of the name of a Saviour Christ hath his Priestly habit in Heaven for his People but Eyes as flames of fire quick and piercing to consume the very hearts of his Enemies and Feet like fine Brass to trample upon them Rev. 1.13 14 15. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to tear his Enemies as well as a Lamb slain to expiate the sins of his People He hath meekness for his Friends and terrible Majesty for his Enemies Psal 45.4 In thy Majesty ride prosperously because of meekness His kindness to his People makes him ride in Majesty against the others God will not be at rest till he hath revenged the Cause of his People Aegypt will be drowned Babylon will fall Rev. 18.2 Christ can have no satisfaction without it The Executioners of his Judgments in the North Country which was Babylon lying Northward from Jerusalem do quiet his Spirit both as tending to the glory of his Justice and the manifestation of his Mercy to his People Zach. 6.3 Christ will stain his garments in the blood of Edom and Bozra Isa 63.2 3. Edom the Posterity of Esau Bozra a City of Moab Types of the Churches Enemies The Jewish Doctors by Edom in the Prophets understand Rome Christ sits in Heaven till his Enemies be made his footstool All the time of his sitting God is acting and preparing things for a final Issue There is a strong cry of Blood and a file of Prayers the one will be revenged and the other will be answer'd Their own pride and cruelty witness against them God hath a noise of Petitions every day for a full end a combin'd importunity will prevail But clouds now hang over us a gloomy storm seems to threaten us God may indeed blow over the cloud Our Saviour hath the command of the storms and winds in Heaven as well as he had upon the Earth the Pillar of the cloud which hath hitherto conducted us may be our Guardian in the Rear to defend us But yet if he doth suffer them to prevail they shall be but as Whisks to brush off the dust wisps of Straw to cleanse the filthy Pot. You know what is to be done with them when their work is done Their Language indeed is Let Sion be defiled but they understand not the counsel of the Lord who in time will make the Horn of Sion Iron and her Hoofs Brass Micah 4.11 Though the Beasts that ascend out of the bottomless Pit do kill God's People Rev. 11.7 yet even in this Victory of theirs Satan himself shall be overcome As when Christ was taken out from among the living by Satans means it was but for a time but himself was cast out for ever so after this Victory the Church shall overcome Rev. 11. and God shall break the head of the Leviathan in the waters and when he doth by his wisdom contrive waies of salvation he will by his power execute them and save in such a way as may most glorifie himself and witness that the salvation was the immediate work of his arm Hos 2.7 I will save them by the Lord their God 2. Remember former deliverances in time of straits In our plenty of mercies we should not be unmindful how near we were to the Pit nor let the impression of God's power wisdom and mercy wear off from our hearts The Israelites were apt to forget the most signal mercies though they had seen them and had more sensibly tasted the sweetness of them than their Posterity God therefore often puts them in mind of them The Lord that brought them out of the Land of Aegypt out of the Iron Furnace Deut. 4.20 Hos 12.9 I the Lord your God from the Land of Aegypt Ezek. 23.3 It was the more fit to be remembred by them because many of them were fitter subjects for God's wrath with the Aegyptians than for his delivering-kindness since she committed whoredoms in Aegypt in her youth i. e. had been guilty of the Aegyptian Idolatry Unmindfulness of former experiences may make you hopeless of future deliverances The remembrance of former mercies is a ground of confidence in God for the like mercies for the future God recalls to his Peoples minds in their afflictions the memorable defeat of the Moabites by his sole power in the time of Jehoshaphat's Reign they should from that deliverance hope for as great from the hands of God in their straits And Zech. 10.11 God would have them consider their deliverance at the Red Sea as a ground of hope in the time of their distress 3. Thankfully remember former deliverances If we have not some praise for God we may suspect our selves * Lightfoot Temple cap. 3. p. 9. 'T is observed that the City Shushan the Royal seat of the Persian Monarchy was pourtrayed upon the east gate of the temple not because of the Persian command or because of their fear of that King as some think but to have a thankful remembrance of the wonderful deliverance of Purim which was wrought in Shushan Esth 9.26 If it had been only by the Persians command it would have been defaced after the fall of that Monarchy which held but thirty four years after the building of the second Temple The 136. Psalm is a good Copy where is a threefold exhortation to thankfulness in the beginning and one at the end and in the record of every mercy the burden of every verse is his mercy endureth for ever How should we imitate the Psalmist He broke the teeth of the invincible Leviathan in 88 and sent a strong wind to disperse the Fleet for his mercy endureth for ever God prevented the dreadful blast of Gun-powder for his mercy endureth for ever God sent the light of the Gospel into England and freed it from the yoke of Antichrists tyranny for his mercy endures for ever God hath been a wall of fire about Ireland in the protection of it for his mercy endureth for ever Let mercy receive the praise of what our own wisdom and power could not effect The way to overcome the same Enemies we fear is to praise God for what he hath before acted against them The strength of a people consists in praises as well as praying Psa 8.2 Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength In the Evangelist thou hast perfected praise Mat. 21.16 The more Hallelujahs we put up the more occasion God may give us for them If we have any fears of the overflowing deluge God formerly delivered us from our non-improvement of those deliverances the fruits whereof we enjoy this day may strengthen our fears When Israel was Idolatrous in Jeroboams reign yet God delivered them from the Syrians because he
a look There is no need of an Arm a word and a look of Omnipotency will be efficacious both for the one and the other one Royal Edict from him will perform it Psal 44.4 Thou art my King command deliverance for Jacob. He hath Authority as a King Engagement as the Churches King As he hath right of Dominion so he hath an Office of Protection which the Church of right may claim and is it Jacob that wants deliverance be not afraid but sanctifie the Lord of Hosts himself Isa 8.12 13. To trust in his Power is to sanctifie his name and regard him as the Soveraign of all creatures and the Lord of Hosts If we sanctifie his name by relying on his Power he will sanctifie his name by engaging his Power 7. To this end study the Promises God hath made to his Church and what Predictions are upon Record 'T is a title of the faithful that they are such as keep the sayings of the Book of the Revelation Rev. 22.9 The Angel that came to John owns himself his fellow-servant and of the Prophets and those that keep the sayings of that Book See God's Bond and behold his witness compare the promise the prophecy and performance See his mercy in making them his truth in performing them let these be as the Hur and Aaron to support the glory of God in our Souls This will be a matter of praise and furnish us with Arguments to spread before God Daniel first looked into the Book for the set time of the Jews return from Babylon Dan. 9.2 and took his rise for pleas from thence You may have need of this food a Divine Promise is the best Cordial at a Stake or Gibbet or when a Sword is at your breast 8. When a time of straits comes wait patiently upon God Let not hope sink when reason is non-plust by storms and sees nothing but wracks Wait upon God in the way of his Judgments Isa 26.8 in his storms as well as calms God waits to be gracious and therefore we should wait to be gratified Not to wait is to be partners in that sin which brought destruction upon the Churches Enemies viz. pride It concerns God more in point of his glory to hasten deliverance in its due time than us in point of security but there is as much danger in coming too soon as too late By waiting we imitate the highest pattern who waits with patience for the Reformation of his Enemies and Christ who waits for the total Victory The longer God keeps the Church at any time under the Enemies Chains the sweeter will be his mercy to the one and the severer his Justice on the other The Israelites waited and God followed Pharaoh with Plagues as he followed them with burdens and took his time to cut off their Oppressors with most glory to himself and most comfort to them The Vision hath its appointed time Impatience will not make God break the Chains of his Resolves but Patience will bring down the blessing with great success and big with noble Births God is not out of the way of his wisdom and grace and we can never keep in our way but by patience in waiting By this we give him the honour of his wisdom by too much hastiness we check and controul him and will not let him be the Master and Conductor of his own blessings We many times get more good by waiting than we do by enjoying a mercy Such a posture keeps the Soul humble and believing whereas many times when we receive a mercy too hastily with one hand we let go faith and humility with the other Sincere Souls have the strongest and most heavenly raptures in a time of waiting Isa 40.31 They mount up with wings like Eagles 9. In times of such straits Be found only in a way of duty If our straits should ever prove as hard as the Israelites at the red Sea i. e. have something of a resemblance to their case let us follow Moses his counsel to them Exod. 14.13 Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Let us not anticipate Gods gracious designs if we will have our finger where God only will have his arm God may withdraw this arm and leave us to the weakness of our own fingers Let them that want a God to relieve them use sinful and unworthy shifts for their deliverance If any success be found out of the way of duty it may be attended with a curse and want that favour of God which only can Sanctify it We may purchase a present deliverance with a more durable plague at the end of it because we forfeit that favour which only can work a real freedom Sinful ways do not glorify God but disparage him our actions at such a time particularly should adorn the gospel not discredit it for it is by the Sword of his mouth that such enemies will be destroyed and every Sword cuts best when it is sharpest and cleanest not when it is blunt and rusty Not but that lawful means may nay they must be used Noah though he went into the ark by Gods command and was not to stir out without his order yet he sets open the windows and sends forth a Raven and a Dove to bring him notice when the waters were dryed up 'T is a foolish thing to offend God who only can help us in our straits and by our sin to hold his Sword in his sheath which upon our obedience would be drawn for our relief We know not how soon we may need him and our distress be such that none but he can bring Salvation let no sin be a bar in the way 10. Be much in prayer Israel cryed unto the Lord before God did relieve Exod. 14.10 The persecuted Church cryed travelling in birth and found a security both for her self and her off-spring Rev. 12.2 c. The distress of the time is an argument to be used Psal 123.34 Have mercy upon us Lord for we are exceedingly filled with Contempt When Enemies are high and access to God free 't is an high contempt of God not to use the priviledge he allows us and 't is to trust in an arm of flesh rather than an arm of Omnipotence to think him either inexorable or unable And for encouragement consider you have Christ arm'd against his Spouses Enemies and provided with merit to make her prayers successful Our prayers may at last be turned into praises And we may say with David Psa 9.6 Oh thou enemy destructions are come to a perpetual end A DISCOURSE OF Delight in Prayer Psal 37.4 Delight thy self also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart THis Psalm in the beginning is a heap of Instructions The great Lesson intended in it is plac'd in verse 1. Fret not thy self because of evil doers neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity 'T is resum'd verse 7 8. where many Reasons are alledged to enforce it Fret not 1.
reason to think that he would be careless of maintaining the honour of it in his promises and thereupon be filled with despondencies What comfort could we have in an unrighteous God The righteousness of God in inflicting punishment is but a branch of that essential righteousness of his nature which obligeth him to be righteous in the performing his promise too 'T is a mighty support to faith that the righteous God loveth righteousness 2. Obedience in a Believer hath a greater lustre by them It was the glory of Job that he preserved his Integrity under the smartest troubles To obey a God always smiling is not so great an act of Loyalty as to obey a God frowning and striking 'T is the crown of our obedience to follow our God though he visits us with stripes 'T is a noble temper to love that hand which strikes us and chearfully serve that Father which lasheth us Our obedience is too low when it must be excited by a succession of favours and cannot run to God unless he allures it by smiles 'T is then a generous and sincere obedience when we can embrace him with a sword in his Hand trust him though he kill us love him though he stone us and as the Persians did by the Sun adore him when he scorcheth as well as when he refresheth us Were these punishments wholly absent we should not have a rise for so heroick faith and love and our holiness in this state would want much of its lustre 3. Humility These punishments are left upon us to allay our pride and be our remembrancers of our deplorable miscrriage It had been an occasion of pride in us to be freed from punishment at the first appearance of a Mediator 'T is reasonable the Soul should have occasions to exercise it self in a grace contrary to that first sin pride which was the cause of the fall We affected to be Gods and punishment is left that we may know we are but Men which is the end of judgments Psal 9.20 Put them in fear O Lord that the Nations may know they are but Men we should otherwise think our selves Gods We are so inclin'd to sin that we need strong restraints and so swell'd with a natural pride against God that we need Thorns in the Flesh to let out the corrupt matter The constant hanging the Rod over us makes us lick the dust and acknowledge our selves to be altogether at the Lords mercy Though God hath pardon'd us he will make us wear the halter about our Necks to humble us 4. Patience Were there no punishments there would be but little occasion for patience This grace would not have had its extensive exercise its full formation without such strokes left upon the creature Resignation to God which is the beauty of grace would not come to its due maturity and stature without such trials So that in these reasons of the continuance we see they are rather advantages to Salvation than hindrances by promoting through the influence of God's grace those graces in us which are necessary to a happy state Use 1. See the infinite mercy of God who when upon the defection of our first Parents he might have burnt up the whole world as he did Sodom would upon the Redeemers account who stept in impose so light a punishment upon that sin 't is but light in comparison of what the nature of sin deserves every sin being a contempt of the Majesty of God and a slight of his Authority and that sin having greater aggravations attending it 'T is a merciful punishment it might have been an everlasting damnation God might have left us to the first sentence of the law and made no exchange of eternal death for temporal pains He might have been deaf to the voice of a Mediator and put his mercy to silence as he did Moses Speak no more of this matter but his Bowels pull his Justice by the Arm and hinder that fatal stroke and a Mediator by his interposition breaks off the full blow from us by taking it upon himself and suffers only some few smart drops to light upon us Oh wonderful mercy that our punishment should not hinder but rather further our everlasting happiness by incomprehensible grace Let not then our punishments for sin hinder our thankfulness Let our Mouths swell with praise while our Bodies crumble away by diseases and Relations drop from us by death Let us love God's glory admire his mercy while we feel his Arrows Whatever our punishments are there is more matter for praise than murmuring 2. How should we bewail original sin the first fall of man 'T is a great slighting of God not to take notice either of his judicial or fatherly proceedings As we are to lament any particular sin more especially when the judgments of God which bear the marks of that sin in their foreheads are upon a nation or person so though we are to bewail the sin of our nature at all times yet more signally when the strokes of God the remembrancers of it are most signally upon us A Child doth more particularly think of his fault when he is under the correcting rod for it We should scarce think of original sin if we did not feel original punishment All the pains of sin should be considered as Gods Sermon to us and we should under them be afflicted with that sin as we may suppose Adam and Eve were when they first heard the punishment denounc'd in Paradice when they had a sense of the flourishing Condition they had lost for a slight temptation To turn sorrow for pain into sorrow for our first sin is to spiritualize our grief and sanctify our passion 3. What an argument for patience under punishments is here The continuance of them doth not hinder our Salvation Shall a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sin For such a punishment that doth not hinder his eternal welfare but by the grace of God and the exercise of Faith rather promote it God promised as well as threatned both his mercy and righteousness directs him to that which is most for his honour and our good Let us not by any impatience charge infinite wisdom with blindness or unrighteousness They were punishments at first but by Faith in Christ the deportment of a judge is changed into that of a Father Drusius hath an observation Psal 56.10 In God will I praise his word in the Lord will I praise his word The first word Elohim is a name belonging to God as a judg the 2d word Jehovah is a name of mercy I will praise God whether he deal with me in a way of justice or in a way of mercy when he hath thunder in his voice as well as when he hath hony under his tongue Oh how should we praise God and pleasure our selves by such a frame When our distresses ly hard upon us we should justify Gods holiness So the Psalmist or rather Christ in the bearing our
against him 3. All the time thou livest unpardoned thy debts mount the higher Every new sin is an adding a figure to the former suns and every figure after the three first adds a thousand Every act of sin adds not only the guilt proper to that single act upon it but draws a new universal guilt from all the rest committed before because the persisting in any one sin is a renewed approbation of all the former acts of rebellion committed against God 4. 'T is that God who would have pardon'd thee if thou wouldst have accepted of it who will condemn if thou dost utterly refuse it 'T is that God thou hast provoked offended and dishonoured That power which would have been manifested in forgiving thee will be glorified in condemning thee That Justice which would have signed thy absolution if thou hadst accepted of its terms will sign the writ of execution upon thy refusal of them Nay the mercy that would have sav'd thee will have no compassion on thee The Law condemns thee because thou hast transgressed it and mercy will reject thee because thou hast despised it The Gospel wherein pardon was proclaimed will acquit others but condemn thee God would be false to his own word if after thy slighting so many promises of grace and threatnings of wrath thou shouldest be spar'd 2. Use Of comfort Pardon of sin may make thee hope for all other blessings Hath God done the hardest and will he stick at the easiest Hath he overthrown mountains and shall mole-hills stop him 'T is an easier thing to waft thee to Heaven than it was at first to remit thy guilt Rom. 5.10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life To this the death and resurrection of the Son of God was necessary and there was to be composition and agreement made between mercy and justice But since this is compleated the Redeemer saves thee by his life since he hath dyed for thy remission there is no need of his dying for thy further Salvation Seeing he hath made manifestation of his pardoning grace unto thee he will not cease till he hath brought thee into a perfect state For to what purpose should the Creditor forgive the smaller part of the debt and cast the debtor into prison for an unpayable sum 1. If once pardoned thou will be always pardoned For the first pardon Christ paid his blood for the continuance he doth but plead his blood and we cannot be without a pardon till Christ be without a plea He merited the continuance as well as the first remission Will our Saviour be more backward to intercede for pardon than he was to bleed and pray for it on earth Would not our dearest Saviour let sin go unremitted when he was to contest with the Fathers wrath and will he let it go unpardoned when he is only to solicite his Fathers mercy Thou shalt not want the daily renewals of it since he is only to present his blood in the most holy place seeing an ignominious and painful death did not scare him from the purchase of it upon the Cross As Gods heart is more ready to give than we are to ask forgiveness so is Christs heart more ready to plead for the continuance of it than we are daily to begg it for he Loves his people more than they can Love him or Love themselves Our praying is according to self Love but Christs intercession is according to his own infinite Love with a more intense fervency 2 Thou art above the reach of all accusations Shall the law condemn thee No. Thou art not under the law but under grace And if grace hath forgiven thee the law cannot sentence thee Shall conscience No. Conscience is but the Eccho of the law within us That must speak what God speaks Gods Spirit and a believers Spirit are joint witnesses Rom. 8.16 For the Spirit it self bears witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God Conscience is sprinkled by the blood of Christ which quite changeth the tenour of its Commission Will God condemn thee No. That were to lose the glory of all his pardoning mercy hitherto conferred upon thee that were to fling away the vast revenue grace hath all this while been gathering for him yea it were to deny his own covenant and promise Shall Christ condemn thee No. That were to discard all his offices to undo his death and bely his merits did he sweat and bleed pray and dye for thee and will he now condemn thee Hath he been pleading for thee in Heaven all this time and will he now at the upshot cast thee off Shall we imagine the severity of a Judg more pleasing to him than the charity of an Advocate since his primary intention in coming was to save the world not to condemn it No. It would not be for his honour to pay the price and to lose the purchase 3. There will be a solemn justification of thee at the last day Thou art here pardoned in Law and then thou shalt be justified by a final Sentence there is a secret grant here but a publick manifestation of it hereafter Thy Pardon was past by the Spirit of God in thy own Conscience it will then be past by the Son of God in thy own hearing That Saviour that did merit it upon his Cross will pronounce it upon his Throne The Book shall be laid out of sight there shall be no more writing in the Book of God's Omniscience to charge thee or of thy Conscience to affright thee His fatherly anger shall for ever cease and as all disposition to sin so all paternal correction for it shall be for ever abolisht and forgiveness be fully compleat in all the glorious effects of it 4. Faith doth interest us in all this though it be weak The grant of a Pardon doth not depend upon the strength of Faith though the sense of a Pardon doth A weak Faith as a Palsy person may not so well read a Pardon though it may receive it As a strong Faith gives more glory to God so it receives more comfort from him Christ made no difference in his Prayer John 17. between the feeblest and stoutest Believer His Lambs as well as Sheep were to be fed by his Apostle with Gospel-comforts and even those Lambs Isa 40.11 he himself carrys in his bosom Strong Faith doth not intitle us to it because it is strong or a feeble Faith debar us from it because it is weak but it is for the sake of a mighty Saviour that we are pardoned 'T is the same Christ that justifies thee as well as Abraham the Father of the faithful 'T is the same Righteousness whereby thou art justified as well as Paul and the most beloved Disciple 3 Use Of Examination Consider whether your sins are pardoned Will you examine whether your Estates are sure and will you not examine