must needs be a great taking the Name of God in vain for any man or woman to have slight thoughts of such a mercy as pardon of sin is that comes through so many difficulties Secondly This may come with power upon our hearts if Gods mercy pass through so many difficulties for the pardon of thy sin thou mayst be content to indure much difficulty in seeking for the pardon of thy sin thou seest what an evil sin is and art more sensible of it than ever thou wert before well thou art seeking for pardon and thou camplainest thou hast waited long for pardon it may be a quarter or half a year or it may be twelve months and thou hast got little assurance of pardon and thou findest it much more difficult than thou thoughtest it would be temptations come stronger than ever and the Devil suggests more evil thoughts than ever thou findest duties hard to flesh and bloud and thou art wearied and tired with temptation these are some difficulties but yet art thou about that great work of seeking pardon of sin be contented to suffer some difficulties yea ten times more than thou hast if God see good to lay it upon thee for Gods mercies pass through difficulties to pardon thy sin and if thou get'st through though thou meetest with difficulties thou hast no cause to complain at all Why should not you be willing to pass through difficulties in seeking pardon when as Gods mercies pass through many difficulties to come to thy soul thou art going to God and seeking to him for mercies and there lies many difficulties in the way when God was coming to thee there lay many difficulties in the way and yet he past through them all therefore thou mayst be content though thou meetest with some difficulties in seeking the pardon of thy sins Thirdly This may make us willing to go through any services though they be hard if thou art in getting of pardon Suppose God set us about some hard work that hath many difficulties in it do not complain as if God were a hard Master when he sets you about any hard work for be it known unto you thou art never set about any such hard work in all thy life for God that hath so many difficulties in it as the work of God in pardoning thy sin hath there are more difficulties when God comes to pardon thy soul for sin than in any service whatever that Cod requires of thee thou look'st upon the service of God and there are many difficulties in it be contented do not complain for God past through many difficulties to pardon thy sin and this is another consideration the difficulties God passes through to pardon sin is a great Argument that that soul is blessed that hath his iniquities forgiven CHAP. VI. Of Pardoning Mercy coming from the Fountain of Gods Everlasting Love WHen God comes to pardon sin it is such a mercy as comes from the fountain of Gods Everlasting Love other mercies do not where this is not you cannot make them Evidences of Gods eternal love if God give you health of body good voyages at Sea and good comings in in respect of the world you cannot draw Arguments from hence that God bears eternal love to your souls But when he comes to pardon your sins it is a certain evidence that God hath set his love on thee from all eternity if there were a chain let down from Heaven and thou could'st take hold but of one link it would certainly bring thee thither both ends would come together Rom. 8.30 here 's a chain of many links let down and if thou canst catch hold of the link of Justification thou may'st certainly catch hold of Predestination for all hang together if thou art justified then know for certain that thou art a predestinated man or woman whom God hath set his heart upon from all eternity to do thee good and this is a great happiness for a poor creature while he lives in this world to know that God hath set his heart upon him from all eternity to do him good and indeed we can never be at rest until we come to this if thy heart be right thou can'st not be at rest in the enjoyment of such poor fare as God casts to Reprobates thou must have other comforts than any thing the world can afford if thy heart be right thou wilt never rest until thou come to know Gods thoughts in his eternal purposes towards thee it is no nicety nor vain curiosity for men and women to seek to know what were the thoughts of God towards them from all eternity it may be known and God hath revealed it especially in the times of the Gospel God hath opened his bosome to reveal unto his people the thoughts he had of them from all eternity and this makes a Pardoned sinner to be so blessed and this is more than any Malefactor can have from a Prince he may be perswaded to pardon him and yet even presently his heart may be as much set against him as against any man yet now having got his Pardon he thinks himself blessed and goes his way But now when God Pardons it is not an act of a day but such an act as God hath set his heart upon from all eternity to do it it is such an act as the infinite wisdom of God hath been set on work from all eternity to effect it if a Malefactor come to a Prince for pardon and the Prince say I have been setting my thoughts a work to pardon you ever since I heard of your crime this will bring some comfort But what is this to the comfort God brings to the soul that he pardons when God comes to a soul he does not only pardon he says not soul I pardon thee but know oh soul for thy comfort that this is a work that my wisdom and the councils of my will have been a contriving from all eternity to bring about thy pardon with my own honour and here it is for thee take it as a fruit of my eternal Councils therefore Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven because such purposes have been taken up in Gods eternal Councils to effect it CHAP. VII Of Pardoning Mercy being a work that all the three Persons in the Trinity are ingaged in BLessed is the man whose Iniquities are forgiven because as there is no one thing hath taken up the heart of God more than this so this is a work that all the three Persons in the Trinity are ingaged in nothing more God the Father Son and Holy Ghost as to instance 1. For God the Father in Isai 43.25 he challengeth this as his own glory I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my Names sake and will not remember thy sins it is his Prerogative I am he God glories in it as a peculiar belonging to none but himself Exod. 33.18 Moses desired to see the glory of God and
shine into your hearts than ever before the mysteries of God will be opened to you and you shall understand more than many of your fathers who have not had this mercy to be rightly acquainted with the Justification of a sinner and therefore you young ones that much desire knowledge the main thing to be acquainted with is this great Doctrine of Justification and pardon of sin as Luther said Three things Prayer Meditation and Temptations make a Divine so I say the right knowledge of Justification makes a Christian and they that have not a clear knowledge in this point do but bungle and are extream weak in all other points of Religion but when once the soul comes to be justified what a glorious light is let into the soul as you all know that have been made partakers of this grace And you young ones you may come to have sin pardoned as well as others and to have the knowledge of the mysteries of God revealed unto you 1 Joh. 2.12 compared with the 13. I write unto you little Children because your sins are forgiven for his Name sake even little children I write to you your sins are forgiven oh 't is a happy thing for young children to have faith wrought in them and to have their sins forgiven them betimes and then in the 13. verse I write unto you little Children because you have known the Father Oh what an admirable light springs up in the souls of little Children when their sins are pardoned they come to the knowledge of the Father and this is the reason why many great and learned men that are men of excellent understanding in the knowledge of natural things are not acquainted with the mysteries of godliness and think but meanly of them marvel not at it for the knowledge of the mysteries of godliness comes in by pardon of sin when God pardons sin and justifies a soul by faith in Christ then God opens the Covenant and all the glorious mysteries of it to such a soul A Prince reveals not the secrets of State to a Traytor that lies under bolts and chains but if a Prince please to pardon him and knock off his bolts and chains and raise him unto favour bring him into his Privy Chamber and open his whole heart and all the mysteries of the Kingdom to him here is a great change thus does God to poor sinners that he pardons A soul that lies under the guilt of sin is just for all the world like unto a Malefactor that lies in a dungeon that hath bolts and fetters on him the guilt of sin is like bolts and fetters on thy soul Well thou lyest there fast bound but when God comes in with pardoning mercy God sends to thee in this dungeon and knocks off thy bolts by pardon and not only so but calls thee into his Privy Chamber and opens his heart and bosome unto thee and reveals those things that were kept secret from the beginning of the world Princes do not always deal so with Malefactors if they pardon them they think they have done enough for them they may afterwards go and shift for themselves they are not call'd into the Privy Chamber to have the King open his secrets unto them but it is certainly so to every soul God pardons he pardons none but whom he calls into his Privy Chamber and reveals unto him the great Councels of his will and what has been the great thoughts of his heart for the good of that soul from all eternity though some souls have more light than others yet to no soul that is pardoned but God comes in with a great and glorious light and in respect of the light of Nature it may be call'd a glorious light there 's not the weakest and poorest creature in the world that is pardoned but he understands more of the light of Gods grace and Covenant than the greatest Doctors or Rabbins in the world and though he cannot speak or talk so much of these things yet he dares venture his soul on those thoughts he hath of Gods good will made known unto him in the Covenant no Rabbin in the world though he can talk much of these things yet he dares not venture his soul for the eternal welfare of it and his estate upon God to do with him as he pleases but a believing soul dares venture his Name his Estate his Life yea his eternal life on God he dares to put them all into his hands and to such a soul God will repeal his Covenant Psal 25.14 God will grant this mercy that he will reveal his Covenant and all the secrets of it shall be made known unto him you that complain of dulness of understanding you say you hear excellent mysteries and do not understand them there is surely much in them I see some weight and excellency in them to be found out and I hope God in time will discover them unto me but little I know for present you take a course to get understanding by attendance on the outward Ordinances it is good to use all means as reading and conferring with other Christians and pray over what you hear these are excellent But the great and special means to get saving understanding in the mysteries of the Gospel is this Cast down your souls at the footstool of God and cry for pardon of sin it may be guilt of sin is upon thy heart let that be thy work to get of the guilt of sin and cry for Gods justifying mercy in Christ guilt being removed God will let out to thy soul the Revelation of his Covenant in a glorious manner he will reveal his secrets to thee so that upon this there is a holy boldness a sinner comes to have in the presence of God Suppose a Malefactor come to Court under his guilt being not pardoned alas he dare scarce look in at Court-gate and when he comes he keeps in some out-room and dares not stir any further than he is call'd but take another that is pardoned he comes in boldly and goes from one room unto another yea into the very Presence-Chamber and there can open his mind fully to the King and speak out all his heart and this is a great difference between one under the guilt of sin and another that is pardoned one under the guilt of sin he dare scarce go to Prayer and thinks God casts away his person and his services and that nothing is regarded but when God comes to pardon he calls the poor sinner that was under trouble before to come and draw near to him and saith fear not open thy mind and heart to me Lam. 3.55 56 57. I called upon thy Name O Lord out of the low dungeon 57. In the day that I called upon thee thou drewest near and said'st fear not Every poor soul that is justified may say God knows when I was under the guilt of sin I was cast into the low dungeon and the chains of guilt were upon me
charge This is the second mystery in point of Justification thou a poor soul stands charged with thy sin and art in danger of eternal damnation rather than thou should'st eternally perish God is contented to pass over thy sins upon his own Son Now they must needs be blessed that God does so much for and know thou if ever thy sin be pardoned God does do so much for thee Of the third Mystery It is by Christ's Sufferings 3. Where ever sin is pardoned Christ stands charged not only with the sin but to suffer as much punishment for thy sin as if thou wer't eternally damn'd for them it is not such a pardon as that there is no punishment to be suffered but whosoevers sins are pardoned there is this agreement between God the Father and the Son that his own Son shall suffer as much punishment as if thou shouldst suffer eternally the wrath of God for thy sin there is this done for thee and surely that man is a blessed man for whom Christ is content to suffer so much as thy sins comes to or else thou must have been eternally damn'd this Religion and the Gospel teaches us that we can never come to be pardoned by any other way Of the fourth Mystery Where Sin is pardoned the Soul stands righteous before God 4. There is this mystery in it Where ever sin is pardoned God does not only pass by sin and forgive it but he makes the soul stand righteous before him every justified man stands righteous before the Lord. A malefactor may come to a Prince and be forgiven his fault and yet not accounted a righteous man he may be lookt upon as a wicked wretch still though out of free grace the Prince forgive him But God never forgives the offence of any one sin but that man is set righteous before the Lord this is done by an Act of Justification I speak not of Sanctification A Prince may forgive a Traytor but the Law is not satisfied but God when he forgives sin takes such a course as that the offence is not only forgiven but the Law comes to be satisfied and the soul stands before God as a righteous person and surely he that is righteous must needs be blessed Of the fifth Mystery This Righteousness is in another 5. This Righteousness is in another and it is a higher righteousness than ever that of Adam's was in Innocency this is a great mystery that a soul should stand righteous before the Lord and yet in the righteousness of another not of his own Phil. 3.8 9 10. St. Paul counted his own righteousness as dung that he might be found in him that is in Christ Not having my own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness of God that comes in by faith and so Rom. 5. latter end Christ is said to be our righteousness ver 19. As by the disobedience of one many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many shall be made righteous 't is a righteousness transferr'd upon us beyond our own Mark in forgiveness as our sins comes to be transferr'd and put upon Christ so the righteousnes of Christ is transferr'd upon a justified soul and that soul comes to be righteous before God surely then blessed is that man that comes to have the shining garments of Christs righteousness upon him Ahasuerus could not think of a better way than this to honour Mordica more than to cloath him with the Kings Royal Rayment and proclaim before him This shall be done to the man whom the King delights to honour surely that man or woman is honour'd indeed that God shall cloath with the shining Robes of the Righteousness of his own Son thou that wast cloathed with the filthy rags of thy own sin and wickedness and had'st no other garments to stand in in the presence of God now he puts on thee the Righteousness of his own Son and so thy iniquity comes to be covered Oh that is a glorious Garment all the Garments in the world bedest with Diamonds are but filthy Garments in comparison of the Garments of Christs Righteousness that is put upon a man when his sins are forforgiven Of the sixth Mystery A near Union is made between Christ and the Soul 6. When God comes to forgive sin the way God takes is this he brings a man into such a near Union with his own Son as makes thee to be one with â—â—m yea so to be one with Christ as no two things in the world are joyn'd so together as thou and Christ art the Soul God pardons he does it this way 't is not thou hast sinn'd and I will pardon thee 't is no such slight business as I may say in a sinners pardon No for when God forgives thee he makes thee one with his own Son so as no two things in the world are so near together as thou and Christ therefore the Scripture expresses it by the Union of Branch and Root Body and Members that is a near Union of bones and flesh in one body so also the Union between Man and Wife is a near Union but the Union between Christ and a justified Soul is nearer than any of these there is one expression in Scripture that Christ useth Joh. 14.20 You in me and I in you there are no two things so nearly united though the members be in the body the body is not in the members so the branch though it be in the root the root cannot be in the branch but the Union between Christ and us Is Christ in us and we in him He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit It is a spiritual Union and the Union of spiritual things is the nearest that can be Now Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven because by this means God brings the Soul and Christ to such a near Union that all natural Unions are but dark shadows of it Of the seventh Mystery It is by Faith yet boasting excluded 7. It must be by Faith and that is the most glorious work that ever God inabled a poor creature to do yet boasting must be excluded the Scripture excludes boasting from both not only from the Law of works but the Law of faith but you may say How can both be excluded both the law of works and the law of faith for works they may be excluded say some because works are our own but faith is the gift of God God inables us to believe therefore there can be no boasting of faith because it is the gift of God but works are our own this answer is but a fiction for if we be inabled for the performance of any work that is of God too the work of any grace is the gift of God as really and truly as faith is the gift of God all gracious works are performed by the grace and gift of God Adam could not do what he did in Innocency 〈◊〉 by the gift
though they be never so many and great But also such a Covenant upon my coming in that God will discharge all sins that shall be committed for time to come though I be ready to fall into sin dayly yet I shall not come into condemnation O what will so infinitely ingage a gracious and ingenious spirit as this does surely nothing like this Now if this be true that man that is forgiven is thus forgiven not only for time past but also for time to come Then blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven and whose iniquities are pardoned Of the tenth Mystery God pardons a sinner not because he is but that he might be chang'd 10. The tenth Mystery is this for I would endeavour to shew you what a mighty work Pardon of Sin is and raise up your hearts to have higher thoughts of it than ever you had before God does not pardon because a sinner hath his heart and nature changed but that he might be changed And thus the pardons of God differ from all other pardons a Prince pardons a Malefactor or a Father a Child but upon what terms a Prince expects his Subject should be changed as far as he can discern and a Father though never so tender will not pardon a Child unless he come in and manifest a change of his disobedient spirit and then he pardons God doth not pardon because we are chang'd but that we might be chang'd his Pardon comes first Rom. 4.5 a very strange place for this and may incourage any poor soul that is troubled for sin to come in and lay hold upon Gods mercy in Christ But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted unto him for righteousness Mark when God comes to justifie a sinner he looks upon him as ungodly he stays not till the sinner be made godly and then justifies him as a Prince stays till a Malefactors heart be changed and he become a loyal subject and then pardons him God is not so in justifying souls he justifies the ungodly one that is ungodly coming to him he justifies This is a mighty Argument I name it for this end because I would teach people that notwithstanding any sin or guilt that lies upon their spirits yet they have a liberty to come in and lay hold upon Christ for Justification do not say I am ungodly I am a great sinner and have a vile heart and I find not my nature changed and therefore How dare I lay hold upon Gods grace for mercy and pardon yea thou may'st because God justifies the ungodly though thy nature be not chang'd and sanctified as thou say'st take it thus Thou must lay hold of Gods grace for Justification that thou may'st be sanctified not only pardoned but sanctified Come but thus with thy heart affected to close with the grace of God that thou may'st be sanctified as well as pardoned though for the present thou feelest not any Sanctification yet thou may'st have right to lay hold upon Christ as well as any one whatsoever Will not this be presumption for a sinner thus to lay hold on Christ If faith were meerly a perswasion that Christ dyed for them or as many men think thus Well God is merciful and he will pardon me Christ having dyed there may be presumption in laying hold on Christ But now as Justification is a great mystery so is faith and faith is a mighty work of the Spirit of God in the soul that causes the soul to roul and cast it self on the free grace of God in Christ and venture it self and all its hopes for good and happiness on him there is not only a coming to Christ for pardon but for grace holiness light good and happiness here and for whatever it doth expect hereafter it looks for all from him Now when there is such a work of God upon the soul in casting it self on God in Christ though there be nothing at present but ungodliness in him appearing yet such a one may and hath right to come unto God for pardon for God justifies the ungodly Rom. 5.6 Christ died for the ungodly and vers 10. If when we were Enemies we were reconciled by the death of his Son when we were Enemies and had base hearts full of enmity against God yet then Christ died to reconcile us unto God thou may'st then venture to come to him for pardon and it is no presumption though thou seest no change in thy self yet he pardons that thou may'st be chang'd now here 's a glorious work of God in pardoning a sinner that God should pardon justifie and reconcile us when we were Enemies to him here is a glorious work of God for a sinner to be justified and reconciled and yet when the sinner was an Enemy unto him Of the eleventh Mystery God himself purchases the Pardon 11. When God pardons a sinner he himself is fain to purchase the pardon and this is different from the manner of pardons among men A Prince pardons a malefactor but the Prince himself doth not purchase the pardon and if one have offended you you pardon the offender but you that are offended do not purchase a pardon for the offender possible some friend may come and purchase a pardon at the Kings hands for an offender but the King himself doth not purchase it yet thus it is with God God doth not pardon any one sin but it costs God himself dear before he gets it therefore 't is not such a slight thing to be pardoned you must not think to go to God and cry mercy and that he will pardon 〈◊〉 thus in a natural way God never pardons sin but it costs God dear yea that which is more worth than all the world if that could have done it God would rather have dissolved Heaven and Earth than have given that that he did give What was that It was the bloud of his own Son God gave him up to death for the sin of mankind and for the purchasing a pardon for man But some may say What need God have purchast a pardon for man Could he not have forgiven him by his absolute Prerogative I answer there was need because of the satisfaction of Justice he did purchase it out of the hands of Justice God was fain to lay down a price to Justice before he himself could pardon one sin Justice must be satisfied before he could give out one pardon Well take all these together Christ must be our Surety take the debt upon himself and suffer as much punishment as we should have done in Hell to all eternity and to make the soul stand righteous before God yet this righteousness to be in another yea a near union is made between Christ and the Soul And yet further 't is by faith and yet boasting is excluded and God is infinitely merciful and yet infinitely just and when he pardons one sin he lays in a pardon for al
the Word which before terrified my Conscience yet now my sin being pardoned my soul is reconciled and the Word of God speaks nothing but good unto me and all those fears that before so terrified me are dispell'd But may not a pardoned man have these fears or somewhat of the nature of them resting on his spirit after he is pardoned Yea he may but the ground of them is dispel'd and gone it is not the work of Gods Spirit that causes these fears as it did before Rom. 8.15 You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the Spirit of adoption whereby ye cry Abba Father may be you may have some fears but being justified by faith you have not again received the spirit of bondage if hereafter you have any fears of Gods judgments and wrath against you it is not the spirit of bondage the Spirit of God that causes these fears your own selves may mistake the matter for those that once receive the spirit of bondage never after receive it you may have fears through your own mistakes but not by the Spirit of God as the spirit of bondage shewing us our bondage by our sins and working terrors on the soul for it these fears are dispell'd for in our peace with God in the pardon of sin the matter of enemity between God and the soul is taken away there is this in it which might have been added in the mysteries When a Prince pardons a malefactor he gives him his life and he is glad goes away but the Prince regards him not any more and possibly he may yet have enmity in his heart against the Prince still But God when he pardons a sinner not only is the enmity taken away but forthwith that soul is brought into the state of infinite friendship he receives the soul into his very heart so that there shall be a greater and more intimate love and friendship between his Majesty and that Soul than ever was between the greatest and dearest friends in the world this is wonderful and yet this is so for as when God comes to pardon sin there is not only taking away the guilt of sin but the soul is made actually righteous in Justification so also there is not only a taking away of the enmity between God and the soul that was there before but he receives the soul into infinite love and takes him into infinite friendship with himself Oh the sweetness and blessedness of that mans state whose sins are pardoned Reconciliation with God follows thereupon and he takes the soul into his bosome-love Further upon this there follows two things Peace in Conscience and with the Creatures being justified by faith he hath peace with God and as the immediate consequence thereof peace in Conscience and with all the Creatures 1. Peace in Conscience those fears and grating terrors that arose on guilt of Conscience are gone those dismal accusations of Conscience are still'd though 't is true a mans Conscience may trouble him after Pardon and Justification but it is through mistake the ground of all those troubles of Conscience are gone 't is with trouble of Conscience after pardon of sin as with the Sea you that are Marriners may see the wind at Sea raising the boisterous waves on high yet after the wind is quite down 't is a great while before they be still and quiet so in mens souls it is guilt of sin that causes woful disturbances but when God pardons sin he comes into the Soul as Christ in the Ship and bids all be still and though through our weakness after the sting and guilt is removed Conscience is troubled yet is God pleased to help the weakness of his People sooner or later not only to pardon sin in the Court of Heaven but in the Court of Conscience too and then all fears and troubles are gone certainly those that know what the burnings throbbings and ailings of an accusing Conscience means they know what a blessing it is to have Peace of Conscience a great blessing to have all well there because the Soul hath much to do with Conscience and Conscience hath much to do with God yea only to do with God and if all be well with that which hath so much to do with the Almighty it is a great blessedness blessed is the man that is thus pardoned 2. There follows this also Peace with the Creatures If I should meet with these in a full Text each of them might require a Sermon themselves to shew the excellency of a quiet Conscience and peace with the Creatures But I must but touch it here God is Lord of Hoasts and all the creatures stand armed ready to avenge Gods quarrel and not only do they stand in readiness but there is a kind of cry in the creatures to God to make them the Executioners of his wrath Shall I go and strike this Drunkard says one and shall I strike this Blasphemer says another All the creatures in heaven earth cry against thee every day But when God pardons thy sin all the creatures presently become thy friends when the Judge hath quitted a Malelefactor the under-Officers have nothing to do with him Conscience and the Creatures they are under-Officers and when God is at peace they are at peace too When Joab came and stab'd Absalom the ten young men that were his Armour-bearers did so too so if God come to a sinner unpardoned and give him a stab all the Creatures will be ready to stab him too but when God comes and pardons thy sin He makes a league with thee and the stones of the field as the Scripture speaks that is the first great mercy that flows in to the Soul upon pardon of sin and peace with God Of Gods Revealing his Secrets to those whom he Pardons 2. This follows upon pardon of sin God comes in a wonderful gracious way to reveal himself to that soul he comes to reveal his secrets to that soul he pardons and pardon of sin is the very ground of the Revelation of the Secrets and Mysteries of God by the Spirit to that Soul Jer. 31.33 among other particulars in the New Covenant God promiseth they shall be all taught of God in Heb. 8. that Text is quoted something more fully than in the Prophet vers 10 11. They shall not teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest Mark For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more Pardon of sin is made the ground of Gods teaching them his Covenant They shall know me from the least to the greatest you little ones and young ones if God please to bring you to Christ and pardon your sin a glorious light shall come into your souls God will shew himself in a glorious manner to you there shall be another manner of light
me is the Lord the world translated judgment in the Greek it is mans day Man has his day here and he thinks to weary out the People of God why says Paul I pass not for mans day he that hath the supream judgment in his hands he hath acquitted me and I am well enough Of the Foundation of Eternal Life laid in Pardoning Mercy 8. Blessed is the man that hath his iniquities forgiven for this is the foundation of eternal life whoever hath this mercy hath a certain pledge put into his hands of eternal life Rom. 8.30 Whom he predestinated them he called whom he called them he justified and whom he justified them he glorified thou who art justified and hast thy sin pardoned thou shalt certainly be glorified A Prince may pardon a man but he cannot assure him of eternal life though he give him his natural life But God if he pardon he makes it known to that soul that he shall live eternally with him in glory Oh blessed is he then that hath his iniquities forgiven for this is a pledge unto him of eternal life Of Pardon of Sin being the bottom of all true Comfort 9. Blessed is he that hath his sin pardoned for pardon of sin is the very bottom of all true comfort Be of good comfort your sins are forgiven if Christ speak but this word to a soul though he be never so much dejected it is enough to raise any drooping soul from the gates of Hell it self Be of good comfort oh soul thy sins are forgiven thee Isai 40.2 Speak you comfortable to her for her iniquities are pardoned God calls to comfort her when her iniquities are pardoned this is the foundation of all true comfort if you lay any other foundation to build your comforts on certainly that building will totter and come to nothing if this be not the foundation You would fain have comfort and you are every one looking out for comfort and indeed it is as natural for the soul of man to seek for comfort as it is for the fire to burn there 's no man but would fain have comfort now look to the foundation if you would not have the building totter lay a good foundation Many lay the foundation of their comforts in their sins and others in the creatures but thou must lay it in the pardon of thy sin in the free grace of God justifying thy soul and that building will hold lay it there and thou shalt be comforted here and for ever hereafter And thus we have done with that Particular That Pardon of Sin is a great mercy because it is a foundation and inlet to many other mercies Blessed is the man that hath his iniquities forgiven that hath such a grand mercy upon which many other mercies follow CHAP. V. Of Pardoning Mercy passing through a great many difficulties BLessed is the man that hath his sins forgiven for indeed it is a mercy that passes through many difficulties before it comes to the soul and that that passeth through many difficulties is strong and great indeed and therefore makes the man blessed because it is grace that doth pass through many difficulties it is an argument of a great deal of strength of grace when grace shall pass through many difficulties as it is an argument of the great strength of sin when sin passes through many difficulties to bring forth a soul being set upon sin there lies a great many difficulties in the way yet lust to that sin being strong it will break through all difficulties to get to it so in mercy when God comes with mercy to forgive a soul this mercy of God must go through abundance of difficulties before it gets to you which argues it to be wonderful strong mercy and therefore makes him blessed that partakes of it When God made the World it was done with a word speaking God said Let there be light and there was light But when God comes to pardon a sinner Heaven and Earth must be moved there must be a greater work of God in pardoning of a sinner than in making of the world certainly the work is greater and passes through more difficulties As First All the wrongs that ever thâ—u hast done to God stand betwixt thee and pardon never did any man in the world wrong another man as thou hast wronged God How sin wrongs God has in part been held forth to you in the evil of sin and how contrary sin is to the infinite holiness of God yet mercy breaks through that yea above all that great and difficult work of the satisfying the infinite justice of God yet mercy breaks through that and there stands in that 1. This difficulty that before thou canst be pardoned God must be made Man and yet must remain the same God he was before thou cryest for pardon of sin or thou art undone suppose now that Gods bowels of mercy did even yearn towards thee for to pardon thy sin yet before this is done there must be this great work done that God must be made man and yet remain the same God he was before here 's a mighty difficult work a greater work than making of the world and yet mercy breaks through this 2. Here 's this stands between sin and pardon That when God is made Man he must die and be made a curse and not only so but God the Father must do it he must take his own Son and stab him for thee he must himself take him and put him to death and himself must pour out his wrath upon his own Son before thy sins can be pardoned Now that God the Father should take his own Son the Son of his delight stab him to the heart and himself put him to death this is a mighty great work and yet this must be done before thou can'st be pardoned 2. There 's this difficulty stands in the way That before sin can be pardoned the blind dead wicked carnal sottish heart of Man must be raised up to perform the most glorious Act that ever any creature did which is an Act of believing yet says God that thy sin may be pardoned I will put forth my infinite power to effect it to raise that blind dead sottish carnal wicked heart of man so full of all wickedness to perform the greatest work that ever any creature did for so is believing Gods mighty power is put forth to effect this Now there is all these difficulties lying in the way and yet mercy passes through them all to pardon sin surely then that soul must needs be blessed that hath his sin pardoned that God sets his heart upon him so much that rather than he will not shew mercy unto him he will pass through all these great difficulties that lie in the way and truly on consideration of this before I pass any further there are three Meditations that may be collected hence and may come with a great deal of power upon all our souls First Then it
and he comes on purpose to enlighten you in this great point and to witness this great Truth unto you Heb. 10.15 Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness for after that he had said before this is the Covenant that I will make c. vers 17. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more as the Principal part of the Covenant and of this the Holy Ghost is a witness This great Truth of the forgiveness of Sins the Holy Ghost comes to bear witness of and seal this to thy Soul that thy sins are forgiven this is the great work of the Holy Ghost after believing to seal up the forgiveness of sin and this is one great reason why the Holy Ghost hath the Title of Comforter because as he comes to convince of sin so also to witness and seal up forgiveness of sin to the soul And indeed as it shews the excellency of the mercy of forgiveness because the Holy Ghost is so much in it so the greatness of it that must have so high a Person to witness it and indeed the Soul is not satisfied until it have this special witness of the Holy Ghost 't is true there may be probable arguments drawn by signs of Gods love unto us and the Holy Ghost may come in those signs but besides that there is the immediate witness of the Holy Ghost to limit him to witness by signs only is more than any man can have warrant for and this I say further that all the signs of Gods favour that we can have will not satisfie the soul until there be this special work of the Holy Ghost sealing and witnessing the favour of God unto us 1 Joh. 3. there are many signs of Gods favour in that Chapter Vers 9. He that is born of God doth not commit sin And Vers 19. Hereby we know we are of the Truth and shall assure our hearts before him and he that keepeth his Commandemenâ—s dwelleth in him and he in him that 's another sign and Vers 24 but the conclusion of all is this Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us it is the Holy Ghost must convince satisfie the soul of Gods love many there are that would fain have their sins pardoned and would fain have some signs of it and perhaps I may hereafter give some signs But now know that all the signs in the world will not serve to quiet the heart but that it may return again to its former doubts till God come to pacifie the spirit by the witness of the Holy Ghost for it is so great a matter where once the Soul understands the infinite breach made between God and it by sin that it must needs be more than an ordinary work to assure the Soul of Gods Reconciliation to it and nothing can do it satisfactorily but the Holy Ghost he must come to the Soul to assure it of this thing perhaps the case of a poor Soul is thus Suppose a Prisoner in Goal lies bound in fetters for some great offence against his Prince and some friend comes and tells him there is hope of pardon Oh says he 't is too good news to be true well another comes to the grate of the Prison and tells that he hears from the Court the King hath sealed Pardons and put such a ones name in this is some comfort but yet this frees him not from fears and doubtings But now suppose the Favourite of the Prince come from the King himself one that is of the Kings Bed-chamber and one to whom the King opens his whole soul and nothinâ—â—he King doth but he is acquainted with it he comes to this poor man and bids him be of good comfort I come from the King and bring you a Pardon from him shews it him and says there it is take it Oh this revives his spirit when such a special Messenger is sent unto him so in this case I may compare all signs to be like some friend or other that goes by the grate and speaks of the happiness of such a man that he is pardoned but the soul is under such blindness and fears by reason of the guilt of sin that God knows it is no easie matter to perswade it of pardon But now God for the comfort of those that he intends good will unto sends his own Spirit that lies in his own bosom and knows all his secrets to declare the mind of God and to say to such a soul Peace be to thee thy sins are forgiven now this satisfies the soul But it may be here objected How may I know it is the Spirit of God that witnesses and not my own fancies or delusions of Satan I answer as we know the Sun by its own light so we may know the Spirit by its own testimony and though there be may some ebbs yet it will rise again there is such a witnessing work of the Spirit by a kind of sweet and secret intercourse between God and the Soul whereby God over-powers all doubts and fears though I do not say every one hath it in a like sensible measure yet this I say when this full assurance comes although there may be doubts and many questions before in the soul for fear of being deluded for certainly many are deceived and deluded yet then the Spirit over-powers all doubts and fears and witnesses to the Soul it s own work Do not you say because some are deluded with fancies that there is no witness of the Spirit when as there is scarce any point in the Gospel the Scripture speaks more about than this of the witness of the Spirit indeed they that judge of the mysteries of the Gospel by Humane Reason and understand no further than that reaches too and that are little acquainted with those converses that are between God and a believing Soul they may slight this witness of the Spirit but you must know there is not any Soul that has assurance he shall go to Heaven but it is wrought on by a high supernatural and mysterious way and if there were no other way to evidence this to the Soul but by some signs this would be no higher evidence than by way of reason But we are to know as great is the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh so also great is the mystery of godliness God justified in the Spirit God justified in the Spirit is a great mystery Christs Incarnation is a great mystery so is a Believers Justification as well as Christs Incarnation so also the witness of Justification is a great mystery and therefore I beseech you look up higher than for such signs as Reason may reach unto and beg of God to reveal this unto you that thou may'st have the witness of the Spirit of God to testifie unto thee that thy sins are pardoned Now blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven seeing God the Father Son and Holy Ghost is so much in it CHAP. VIII
he removes them as far as the East is from the West and if that be not enough to satisfie thee Micah 7.19 He will cast them into the bottom of the Sea things that are cast into the bottom of the Sea are utterly thrown out of sight never to be lookt for again Well but though God cast them into the bottom of the Sea he may think upon them Therefore Fifthly mark another expression further to satisfie thee God says He will remember them no more they shall be so far from being thought upon that God says he will not remember them any more but you will say it is impossible for God but to remember them yea but when God pardons it shall be as Irrevocable as if God did never remember them there are divers Texts remarkable for this Isai 43.25 I will blot out thy transgressions and will not remember thy sins I may be not now thou may'st say But he will hereafter see what is said in Jer. 31.34 I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more neither now nor hereafter I will remember their sin no more Sixthly They shall be so forgiven as that there shall be no more mention of them there shall never be the least mention of a believers sins before God and for that see Ezek. 33.16 it is spoken of every godly man indefinitely that turns to God and is a Believer None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him by the way let men take heed how they upbraid the people of God for any of their former sins Perhaps you knew such a one in the times of his ignorance and you say he was a lyar a Drunkard but now God has reveal'd his mercy to him in the pardon of his sin and God says he will not mention them any more Take heed how you cast their sins committed in the times of their ignorance in their teeth saying oh you are so precise now I knew what you were a little before Shall the God of Heaven say he will not mention them any more and yet will you do it God will take it very ill at your hands this is admirable comfort to every Believer that God will not remember their sin any more he would have thee to remember them to humble thy soul for them and to renew thy repentance but he will not remember them to upbraid thee with them nor would he have others do it Beza speaking of himself when he was young He made some vain and sinful Poems which his Enemies upbraided him with afterwards and casts them in his teeth says he These men envy me the grace of God because God has vouchsaf't to me his grace they envy me and cast in my teeth the evil that I have formerly done Oh what a comfort and priviledge is this to thee Oh thou believing soul though thou wer 't never so wicked and abominable before yet I tell thee from God this day in whose presence thou standest that he will never remember thy sin any more and this may be a mighty encouragement for men and women to believe and turn from all their wicked wayes though thou hast been never so vile abominable and wicked yet be it known unto thee this day that if thou wilt come in and believe God will never mention any of thy wickednesses more they shall be so forgotten as they shall never be mentioned thou it may be art afraid that either here in this life or at the day of Judgment all thy sins shall be charged on thee well be not afraid perhaps there are many of you that are conscious to your selves of great sins committed and you would give a thousand Worlds to be discharged of them Oh say some there are such and such sins committed that are so great that they cannot be forgiven I may mourn and grieve for them but what shall I be the better the sins of my youth lie so heavy on me and God and my own Conscience upbraids me and what comfort can I have in my life when God and my own Soul upbraids me Well be of good comfort and be incouraged this day to come in and believe this blessed tidings that where God pardons sin he will mention them no more and he will take it very ill at the hands of any that shall mention them to upbraid thee for them Seventhly Yet further to set forth the fulness of this mercy when God pardons sin they shall be so done away as that they shall not be found Jer. 50.20 In those days 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 and if I pardon them then they shall be so done away as that they shall not be found Yet further the righteousness Believers have in Christ is called an everlasting righteousness and therefore abides for ever and cannot be afterwards taken away Dan. 9.24 Seventy weeks are determined to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness the righteousness that is put upon thy Soul by Christ in the pardon of thy sin it is an everlasting righteousness and will abide everlastingly Yet further Heb. 10.14 it is said That Christ by one offering hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified that is justified Justification being call'd by the name of Sanctification or them that are sanctified that is set apart to be made partakers of the great blessing of the new Covenant to have a share in the blood of Christ for Justification Christ by one offering has for ever perfected them that are sanctified therefore being perfected in Justification there is no recalling this mercy back again Once more this mercy is set out by the typical service of the Scape-Goat Levit. 16.20 On whose head they were to put all the sins of the People all their transgressions and all their iniquities and send him into the Wilderness or Land of forgetfulness amongst wild beasts never to be lookt after again so are the sins of all Believers laid upon Christ and carried into a Land of forgetfulness and shall never come to be charged any more So much for that particular of the Irrevocableness of Pardon of Sin which shews that blessed is that man or woman that hath their sins pardoned because they shall never be recall'd again CHAP. X. Of Pardoning Mercy being such a Mercy as is denyed to the fall'n Angels BLessed is the man that hath his iniquities forgiven for this is a mercy that God hath denyed to the fall'n Angels God in pardoning thy sin does more for thee than he would do for those thousand thousand millions of Angels it is a mercy that God has deny'd to those millions of Angels that sinned against him Suppose a poor wretched man be guilty of Treason against the King and as he is so a great part of the chief Nobility of the Land are
guilty also as well as he But now when the King comes to look upon them he sets his heart on this poor man that perhaps begg'd from door to door and says this poor creature shall be forgiven I will pass by his offence and not only so but advance him into high and great favour at the Court and condemns all the Nobles Now if this poor man shall see all the Noble men in chains that were guilty but of one offence and he perhaps hath been guilty for acting in a treasonable way 40 50 or 70 years and the Noble men guilty but for one offence and this poor wretched creature sees these Noble men in chains and knows that all they and every one of them are condemn'd to suffer most dreadful tortures to dye a most dreadful torturing tormenting death Now what a mighty aggravation is this of the mercy of the King that shall pardon the offence of this poor creature how will he stand amazed admiring at the greatness of it I that am guilty of the same offence yea more guilty than they and that I shall be pardoned and the chief of the Nobility of the Kingdom must die a most torturing tormenting death for their offence what a difference hath the Kings favour made between me and them certainly this is the case for all the world with any poor soul whose sins are pardoned God has done as much for thee to the full the Angels were the most glorious creatures that ever God made and thou art but a poor worm in comparison of them they sinned against him but once and thou art guilty of millions of transgressions and yet God sets his heart on thee and says I will do great things for thee though I pass by thousands millions of Angels I will magnifie my rich grace to this poor creature in pardoning his sin and advance him to high favour though I condemn them into everlasting chains of darkness now when a poor creature comes to see the infinite riches of Gods grace that hath made such a difference between him and the Angels how will he stand admiring of it me thinks this should mightily work upon the hearts of all poor sinners and make them to say What shall God pass by such excellent creatures as the Angels the most excellent creatures that ever God made and come to me a poor worm to set his heart on me and shew mercy to me Oh let me pass by all the excellencies of the creatures to perform my duty unto him Hath God past by the most excellent of his creatures that mercy might come to me Oh let me pass by all the glories and excellencies of any thing in this world that my Soul may come in in a way of duty and service unto him Shall God leave the glorious Angels to shew mercy to me and to do good for me and shall not I leave my base lusts for him Shall not I be content to leave any thing to serve him Shall I satisfie any base lust with the neglect of him God forbid This is another Argument that they are blessed that have their sins pardoned because God does that for them that he will not do for the faln Angels CHAP. XI Of Pardoning Mercy being given to a few FUrther Blessed is he that hath his iniquities forgiven because it is a mercy that is given but to a little handful of the world the whole world lies in wickedness as carrion in a ditch or as Prisoners under the chains of guilt of sin and yet that God should pull some of these out that lie as in a filthy Dungeon this is a wonderful mercy A Prince that hath many offenders usually pardons the most and executes the fewest But God usually executes the most and pardons fewest But how comes this to pass seeing God is a God of more mercy than any Prince how is it that a Prince should pardon most and execute the fewest and God do the contrary Answ 1. Because the execution of many that are guilty Answ 1 would be a troublesom and dangerous thing unto a Prince he cannot do it when the most have offended but God can easily execute thousands of thousands and all with one word speaking Further If a Prince should execute all that offend he Answ 2 should have a want of his Subjects But God wants not the creatures he has no need of us but a Prince may want his Subjects and therefore if there be any way in the world to preserve them and keep them in any way subject to him the Prince will not destroy them Besides the Prince executes the fewest and saves the most Answ 3 Because the execution of a few may be a means to bring others unto allegiance But when God comes to execute Malefactors the execution of some cannot be a means to work good on others especially at the great day 't is true in this world God is long-suffering and executes a few that it may be a means to work good on others But how is God said to be a God of rich and glorious mercy and yet pardons very few and executes most for all the world have been in Treason against him how is it that God pardons fewest and destroys most I hope to give you very good reason and satisfaction in shewing you how the infinite glory of the mercy of God appears and yet but few are pardoned yea rather the more because that few are pardoned God would thereby manifest the more his glorious mercy 1. It may well stand with the glorious riches of the mercy of God that many are destroy'd and yet but few pardoned thus Because that God would have a proportion between his Justice and Mercy you say he would have a proportion Is not be as merciful as he is just Then there must be as many pardoned as condemned No if God will observe a proportion between his mercy and justice and that he will have his Justice appear as well as his Mercy then more must be damned than saved How does that appear thus Because the glory of Gods Justice in damning twenty hundred is not so much as the glory of his Mercy in saving two you may conceive it by what is ordinarily used among men If the King save but two men that are Malefactors he magnifies his mercy as much in that as his justice if he hang up a hundred so if God save but two his mercy is as much magnified as his justice in damning twenty hundred the reason is this Because there is something in the creature that calls for Gods justice that requires that But there is nothing in the creature that requires his mercy when God manifests his justice he does such a work as is due to the Creature there is something in the Creature that challenges such a work from God but when God comes to manifest mercy there is nothing at all in us that should require such a work from God no his mercy is
were no evil of guilt or punishment yet an ingenious gracious spirit would never do it What shall I sin because God will pardon Shall I venture upon it no I will never do it grace reasons to a quite contrary end that is an excellent Scripture in Tit. 2.11 The grace of God that brings Salvation it is this grace that reveals the pardon of sin this precious grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men But to what end teaching us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts the grace of God that brings salvation it teaches us these lessons not such a wicked lesson that we should presume to sin on hopes that God may pardon it No But to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and that we should live soberly righteously and godly and not to take liberty to sin to lye steal be filthy and the like because God will pardon no it teaches other manner of lessons than these and then it follows looking for that blessed hope and appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ mark the Text there is a great deal in it when the grace of God that brings salvation and mercy and pardon of sin is revealed it teaches us these Lessons because of the grace and favour of God is revealed to us that we should deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and then we may with comfort look for the blessed hope and appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ but otherwise you can never look for that blessed hope let me speak to those that reason thus that they may venture on sin because of Gods pardoning grace Does the Revelation of the grace of God teach you to live ungodly and in worldly lusts Can you look for that blessed hope with comfort and expect the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ 't is impossible you cannot 't is not a blessed hope that you have but a cursed hope that all shall be well at last though you live ungodly and wickedly and for the appearing of the great God certainly it will be a terrible appearing to thee that made Christ who came to dissolve the works of the Devil to be a means to uphold the works of the Devil 3. Did ever any Child of God make use of Scripture to reason for sin in such a wicked way for to presume to sin because God is willing to pardon you cannot give me one example in all the Scripture of any of those that God hath shewed mercy to that reasoned after this manner I can give you examples to the contrary how the Saints have reasoned otherwise Psal 130.4 mark the reasoning of a gracious heart But there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared he reasons from the pardoning grace of God to draw up his heart to the fear of God as if he should say Lord I have heard much of the Doctrine of the pardon of sin and the great workings of thy grace to effect it and of thy readiness to forgive this is the end of it that thou mightest be feared this is the effect this doctrine works in a gracious soul and 't is a good sign if you reason after this manner but there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared If those Sermons you have heard of this Doctrine be a means to implant the fear of God in your hearts this is a blessed sign they have had a good effect upon you when you reason thus Because Lord I have had so much of thy grace and mercy in forgiving my sin through thy grace my soul shall fear thee more than ever before and fear to sin more than ever before those that have hearts answering this Text 't is a good sign that the Word has had a powerful efficacy upon them take another Text Psal 103.1 2 3. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Why who forgiveth all thy iniquities Mark it is a Psalm that David made of Gods mercy in forgiving of sin the consideration of which makes him call upon his soul and all that is within him to bless the Lord Do's God shew so much grace as to forgive sin then bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name 't is not reasoning thus God forgives iniquity and therefore O my soul take liberty thou need'st not be so strict But bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name those that have strength to do any thing for God this is an argument will stir up all within them to bless God when they see God appearing so infinitely gracious to them in the forgiveness of their sins they so reason that all they have or can do should be given unto him 4. You that think you may take liberty to sin because God is gracious and venture on it because you conceit that God will never punish think of this the example of the damned in Hell they are flying in the face of God because they know that God will never pardon and thou sinnest because thou hopest God will pardon which is the worst of the two the Devils and the damned are in such a condition as that they know that God will never pardon them and therefore they always curse God because they know he will not pardon but God offers pardon and tenders grace to you holds forth Jesus Christ to you and his blood and sufferings for the pardoning of you and you blaspheme because you think he will pardon of the two methinks you should judge the second sort worst you blaspheme because you hope God will pardon and the other blaspheme God because they know he will not pardon 'T is something worse to take liberty to sin because you hope God will pardon than they that sin because they are out of all hâ—pâ—s of pardon Thou that takest liberty on this ground to blaspheme the Name of God What thinkest thou will become of thee another day now thou dost blaspheme because thou hopest that God will pardon thee ere long thou maist come to that condition to blaspheme God eternally because he will not pardon thee As I make no question but many Swearers Drunkards unclean persons and the like have gone on in sin on this ground because they hoped that God would pardon them are now gone to their own place and blaspheme because they find that God will never pardon so that thou that blasphemest now it may be thou shalt blaspheme eternally but it will be otherwise thou dost it now on hopes that God will pardon thou shalt there do it because thou shalt have no hopes that he will ever pardon 5. Thou that sinnest now in hopes that God will pardon if God inlighten thy mind these things will be an intolerable burden to thee and if there be any thing that will indanger the sinking of thy soul into the bottomless gulf of dispair it is like
to be this you now give way to the reasonings of your own hearts to further sin from the consideration of Gods pardoning mercy the same reason that furthers sin in you now from the consideration of pardon will make you have further thoughts of despairing of Gods mercy Suppose thou goest on a great while and heapest up sin on this presumption Let me put this unto thee either God will inlighten thy Conscience or he will not do it if he never do it thou art eternally lost but if he do it if he come at length and awaken Conscience then what a load of anguish and trouble will lie upon thy soul that will make thee cry out O Lord I have not only sinned but now I come to seek for mercy my mouth is stop't with the thoughts of that mercy that I have abused Now nothing but free grace can do me good my Conscience tells me how I have abused this grace I have presumed on sin because of this I have made the thoughts I had of this grace a means to further me in sin and now with what face can I go to seek this grace and mercy these will be stinging thoughts to thee another day when a Minister shall come to apply the grace of God to thy soul thou wilt say there is mercy with God to pardon sinners but not for those that have abused the grace of God as I have done Manasseh and Paul 't is true they committed many great sins but did they ever commit any sin upon this ground in hope of pardon O look unto it let none go out from the presence of the Lord this day with thoughts to venture on sin because ye hope it may be pardoned to venture on sin on that ground is the most horrible cursedest thing that can be Tenthly A tenth way of dishonouring the grace of Gods pardoning mercy as to sin in hopes of pardon so to sin after pardon after God hath revealed this grace unto you then to sin this is a great dishonour to this grace Many that have been in trouble for their sins and in their trouble have cryed to God for mercy and God hath spoke peace to their souls and hath told them that their sins are pardoned and that he will cleanse their souls from the guilt of sin by the blood of his own Son and yet after all this they have again faln to their former sins I have spoke before of this degree of dishonouring Gods pardoning grace but now I am speaking of a further degree not only to fall into that sin you have sought for pardon of but to fall into that sin that you have some comfortable assurance of pardon of 1 King 11.9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord that had appeared to him twice remember hath not God appeared to some of you twice and given you assurance of his love and pardoning grace God came with sweet comforts and rejoyced your souls and what do you turn from the Lord after he hath appeared twice to you and said unto thee thy sins are pardoned this is a grievous thing Ezra 9.14 Should we again break thy Commandements Would'st not thou be angry with us should we again sin would'st thou not consume us so after God has delivered us from condemnation the guilt of sin and the spirit of bondage What to trespass again it is just with God to be angry with us Psal 85.8 The Lord will speak peace but let them not return again to folly if God speak peace O return not again to folly I appeal unto you hath God ever spoke peace to your souls Have you heard the voyce of gladness speaking in your hearts saying Son or Daughter be of good chear go in peace thy sins are pardoned Have you not heard this if you have not you had need to get it if you have then return not again to the same sin that God hath graciously pardoned 1. Return not to the same sin 2. Return not to any other sin 1. Return not to the same sin it is a question and a great case of Conscience Whether it be possible for a Child of God after God hath dealt unto him the pardon of sin whether he may commit that sin again some have denyed it I remember some antient Divines Origen and Tertullian upon those words in Heb. 6. For it is impossible for those that were once inlightened if they shall fall away to renew them by repentance he applies it to the sin of uncleanness and says he a second repentance is not promised in the Name of Christ to Adulterers and Fornicators thus I may boldly say we do not find any certain express example in all the Book of God of any Child of God that did fall into the same gross outward sins after an actual repentance and making up his peace with God for sin we find no express Scripture I do not say we find no example of the Children of God that have not committed the same sin again as Peter and Lot but we find no example of any gross sin that they have faln into mark it after their repentance and reconciliation what was done amiss was done before they came to have it laid home unto their Consciences and applyed unto their hearts for the humbling of their souls in making their peace with God True David committed Adultery but never the second time after he had his bones broken he fell not again and so Peter after he went out and wept bitterly he never denyed his Master again and so Abraham equivocated but we read not that after any actual renewal of faith and repentance that he committed that sin again a wound while it is open and not fully closed it may bleed again but when it is fully closed to bleed again is dangerous and so any of the people of God after the actual renewal of their faith and repentance you cannot give me an example that any of them have faln into the same sin again I do not absolutely deny it but I say it is a dangerous thing God hath not left an example he hath left examples that his Children have faln but not after they have renewed their faith and repentance that they have faln into the same sins again I speak not of inward thoughts I know that they after repentance will return again but for any outward gross actual sin after the renewal of faith and repentance they have not return'd again to commit the same sin when once a joynt is out or a leg broke and set usually that joynt or bone is stronger than before and so I mâ—ght shew you after they have sinned and been set again they have been stronger than before a Child of God falling into sin is just like the breaking of a bone Gal. 6.1 And you that are spiritual must restore such a one the word in the Original is put him in joynt again any godly man or member of a
Church that falls into sin is as a bone out of joynt and you that are spiritual must set it again if once you have a bone out of joynt the longer you let it go the more painful it is so if you fall into any sin the longer you let it go the more unweildy you will be No marvel you cannot go about your business handsomely when you have a bone out of joynt but has God been so merciful as to put you into joynt again you know what Christ said to the man Thou art made whole c. so I say to you you that have sinned and God has pardoned you set you in joynt again Go your way you are made whole take heed of sinning again least a worse thing befal you 2. A second sort that dishonour the grace of God are such that though they fall not into the same gross sins again after pardoning mercy yet are negligent in the wayes of God loose slight vâ—in sensual carnal dead-hearted in their conversation and do not answer the grace of God revealed to them but are more drossie in their spirits than before It may be for the time wherein they were seeking this grace of God they were strick't in their conversation in their wayes conscientious and in every thing walk't close with God durst not for their lives omit a known duty attended on the Word with a great deal of patience their hearts closed with it and it was as meat and drink unto them and in their conversation they were very fruitful in the places where they lived But now having had some comfortable assurance of Gods mercy pardoning them after this they are grown slight vain loose and dead hearted this is a very grievous evil where ever it may be charged It is a very great evil for any to abuse Gods general Bounty Patience and Long-sufferance and the good we receive from God in the use of the creature but far worse to abuse the grace of God in Christ manifested in pardoning mercy I shall shew this to be a great evil and shall labour to convince you of it 1. Consider and call to remembrance what the dayes of old were How in former times it was with you when you were seeking the pardoning grace of God then you thought if ever Gâ—d come in to my soul and give me any assurance of pardon of sin How infinitely should my soul be ingaged to bless God and how shall I for ever be bound to give up my self soul and body what I am and what I can do to live to the praise of the grace of God if God come in to my soul and pardon this sin of mine the guilt whereof lies so heavy upon my spirit I appeal unto your own Consciences Did not you think in your own thoughts that it was impossible that ever you should come to live as you do certainly if the thoughts of many people might this day appear they cannot but say Time was when I was seeking after the mercy of God to pardon my sin that lay upon my Conscience I thought with my self thus he is a blessed man indeed that has assurance of this and if ever I had peace spoken to my soul I thought my life would have been such that in my apprehension I thought it was impossible that I should have grown to this dulness deadness slightness and vanity that now I see I am then now as Paul said to the Galatians Where is the blessedness you spake of time was you said the pardoning mercy of God it was a blessed thing where is that blessedness you spake of that after you have received it you should grow wanton loose and slight What have you not a mightier Argument to draw your hearts to God after he hath spoke peace than ever you had before The apprehension of guilt danger and trouble of spirit for sin that was an Argument to keep you from sin before but if God have spoken peace in applying this pardoning grace Have you not Arguments of another nature than these which are far more poweâ—ful Certainly those that know the grace of God in Christ know that there is no such powerful argument as the grace of God in Christ in pardoning sin to keep up the heart to God and to keep from sin as this no such argument in the world that is like to this the eyeing of Gods grace is a special thing to quench and keep down lust whereas those that sin after this mercy whose lusts and corruptions overcome the power of this pardoning mercy they are deprived of the best and most special spiritual helps that can be to keep from sin Phil. 4.7 The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus the word in the Original is very significant shall guard your hearts this is the emphaticalness of the phrase as if the Apostle had said The sweet peace of God is such as passeth understanding and shall guard your hearts as indeed the peace of God that comes to flow out from the sweetness of the pardoning grace of God is such as passeth understanding but yet after all this there will be many dangers and you are to be involved with many temptations but this peace of God will be a guard to your souls to keep you from sin and temptation The soul of a Believer that hath peace spoken to it is there compared to a Captain in War or a Prince that apprehends himself in some danger sets a strong guard about his Person to keep him from danger Now what is the guard that keeps the soul of a Believer from temptation and danger It is the peace of God that is the greatest and strongest guard in the world if you complain of sin and temptations and that you are afraid that sin will surprize you What guard would you have to keep you The peace of God is the best guard that can be Now after this hath been a guard unto you if thy sin break in upon thee as fully and as freely as if there were no guard at all thy condition is very sad 2. Let me further speak to súch that sin after the pardoning grace of God and do not walk answerable to that grace that was let forth in witnessing the pardon of sin 't is a thousand to one thou wilt loose thy evidence 't is true it is irrevocable in Gods heart yet thou may'st carry it so that by thy loose walking thou may'st loose the evidence of it in thy own soul and it may be as sad with thee as if thou wer 't not at all pardoned we are to know that when an Evidence is given in concerning pardon of sin every renewed act of sin is a blot to that Evidence A man that having Evidences of Lands or an Estate will keep them fair but if he should suffer them to be blotted one blot after another perhaps so blotted as neither he nor any one else is able to
very low thoughts thou hast of the pardoning mercy of God and what Christ hath purchased and what God hath intended from everlasting in the Covenant of grace to those souls for whom he intends good and though for his intentions he keeps them to himself and would not have thee meddle with that till he manifest them in the work of grace yet in the mean time having revealed no further but that thou maist have it as well as any other he expects from thee that thou shouldst venture thy self upon his grace through his Son Jesus Christ and though thou saist thou art vile unworthy and after the use of means that thou art unprofitable vain full of wandring thoughts and deadness and therefore thou canst not expect grace know that thou hast but mean thoughts of the grace of God that sett'st such things as these against it these are poor low unworthy things to set against the grace of God and they do lower the grace of God too much that set such things as these against it A Schollar would think it a dishonour to him for one to come to reason with him and bring nothing but poor low weak objections that are not worth the answering he would think it a disgrace to him certainly it is a dishonour to the grace of God to set such things as these against it thou look'st upon it in a natural way and dost not consider it is the great designe of God above all things in the World to magnify his grace in pardoning of sin certainly were this understood these things would be counted too low and unworthy to be set against such a designe when it is the greatest God hath to magnify his name in Secondly Thou judgest of God according to thy own thoughts and this God will take exceeding ill as they Psal 50.21 Because I kept silence thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thy self 'T is a great evil to measure God by our own thoughts and there are two waies of dishonouring God by it 1. The way of the carnal secure sinner he measured God by his own thoughts he thinks God is not so strickt to be angry for every fault and if thou offendest that if we go and cry him mercy he will be pleased again We think it an easie matter to please God and because God is silent we think he do's not hate sin as he doth that 's one way of dishonouring God A Second way is when a man comes to be troubled for sin and conscience enlightened then we think slightly of God another way It may be thou hast a hard heart and wouldst not pardon one that provokes thee again and again thou wouldst not pass by such and such offences and thou thinkst God is so too thou thinkest God to be like thy self and that he cannot bear with thee in such and such things because thou canst not bear with others This is to judge God by our own line but know that the thoughts of Gods pardoning grace are as far above ours as the Heavens are above the Earth and therefore we must not measure God by our own thoughts Thirdly Thou dishonourest the pardoning grace of God by haveing low thoughts of it because it is contrary to the Scriptures For the main scope of all the Scriptures is to magnifie the pardoning grace of God and to set it out in its greatness to to thy soul and thou mak'st it thy main work to under-value it Luther sais the scope of the whole scriptures are but this that we might know and acknowledge God to be a gracious and merciful God and a greater then Luther speaks this that is a notable Text of Scripture in the Acts of the Apostles 10.42 43. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testifie it is he that was ordained of God to be the Judge of Quick and Dead To him give all the Prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins Marke to him give all the Prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins So that it is the scope and intention of all the Prophets to witness this to a poor soul that whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sin You will say whosoever believes on him but there is all the Question but thou hindrest thy self of believing thou wouldst have assurance before thou dost believe thou must believe that thou mayest have it that is thou must venture and cast thy soul upon this grace of God all the Prophets witness this that whosoever believes on him shall receive remission of sins therefore by thy sitting down in these sullen discouraging thoughts of thy heart thou givest a lye to all the Prophets of God thou giv'st not a lye only to our preaching for certainly so it is God sees it so but to all the Prophets of God now when God makes it the work of all the Prophets to witness forgiveness of sins by Christ wilt thou make it thy work to object against it Again Know that thy reasonings are quite contrary to the Scriptures for thou reasonest that pardoning mercy will not be thine because thy sins are so great Psal 25.11 David cries to God to pardon his iniquities for they are great he makes the greatness of his sins an argument to drive him too God not from God and this is Gods own argument Gen. 8.21 I will not again curse the Ground any more for mans sake why for the imaginations of Mans heart are evil from his youth one would have thought it should have been thus the imaginations of mans heart are evil and therefore I will do nothing else but curse the ground No saies God I will not because the imaginations of mans heart are evil from his youth as if he should say if I should never leave cursing till man leave sinning I should alwayes be cursing so saies God If I should never pardon sin till mans sins are less I should never pardon at all So in Hosea 2.13 14. You have God reasoning there like to this here She went after her lovers and forgat me sais God 14 v Therefore will I allure her and bring her into the Wilderness and speak comfortably unto her For she had forgotten me and went after her lovers see how the Scripture makes that an argument of Gods mercy Take another Text in Isaiah the 57.17 For the iniquity of his covetousness I was wroth and smote him I hid me and was wroth and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart Marke what followes I have seen his wayes and will heal him and will restore comfort to him and to his mourners he went on frowardly in the perverseness of his Spirit saies God I have seen his ways and will heal him thus God expresses himself to the end of the Chap. to incourage the hearts of those that are sencible of their sins and would be sensible of the evil
Clerk of the Assizes bag it may be a good while before and now at the Assizes they are drawn out and read openly in the face of the Court so are thy sins all put in a bag and God in the day of Visitation he pulls them out and reads them openly before Men and Angels We have an example in Scripture how God did come on men for sins committed a long while before as the example of Joseph's Brethren who sold him and after this they went on and never heard of it till a long time after it appears not that their Consciences were troubled till two and twenty years after they had committed that sin till they came into Egypt and were in affliction and then their Consciences began to fly in their faces for the sin they committed against their Brother Joseph was seventeen years old when he was sold and when he stood before Pharaoh he was thirty there 's thirteen years and then seven years of plenty and two years of famine before they came into Egypt there 's two and twenty years before their Consciences did fly in their faces for their sin against their Brother Take heed what you do for the sins of your youth may be a torment to your old age it may be you little think of it but remember when you are old God may come and reckon with you for the sins of your youth 't is and should be a great argument to make people to take heed of sin for those sins thou committest now may do thee a mischief fourty or sixty years hence as in the natural body many young men though they feel no distempers in their bodies for the present and so care not for their diet nor how to avoid Surfits yet after they grow old then they feel their distempers in their joynts and bones which is no other than their drunkenness and intemperance when they were young so 't is in regard of the soul many in their younger years do greatly follow after wickedness and because they hear not of it they go away and never are troubled but afterwards in their old age God comes upon them for the sins of their youth Joab when he was young committed sin but when his hoary head was on him God then came to him in wrath for it and therefore think not all thy sins are pardoned because 't is a great while ago since they were committed but rather reckon up thy former sins and bewail them and do not rest on this ground because 't is long since they were committed 't is not to be built upon you must look for other grounds or else you are undone for ever for this will certainly fail you Fourthly Others reason that God has pardoned their sins not only because they have been committed a great while ago but they have had prosperity it hath been well with them and God has done them good and certainly if God had not pardoned their sins God would never have let them thrive I shall speak but little to this for these reasonings are very vain there are others I shall more insist upon know this thou makest it an argument of Gods pardoning mercy it may rather be an argument of Gods eternal curse for God to suffer a man to prosper much after great sins committed it is a sign that God hath given that man over to hardness of heart which is the most dreadful curse in the world after God had rejected Saul 1 Sam. 14 15. Chapters you may read Saul had a great deal of success in his way immediately after God had cast him off so though God have cast off a man or a woman yet that man or woman may have much success in their way you that are Marriners you cannot draw an argument that because you have had a good Voyage and have past such dangers though you have committed many sins that God is at peace with you and that all your faults are past over no you may have many good successes in in your Voyages and yet perish at length for the sins you have committed in your Voyages and so you may have good success as Saul had good success in war and yet was cast off for all that Fifthly Others say we are not so vain to make outward prosperity an argument or ground that our sins are pardoned but we sorrow for sin repent of them and turn from them and rely on Gods mercy through Christ that our sins are pardoned these are arguments of a higher nature than the former and if there be true sorrow unfaigned repentance reformation and a trusting in Gods mercy through Jesus Christ they will be good arguments indeed but now I shall shew you there may be all these and yet sin not pardoned yea a relying on Christ at least so as people may think they rely upon Christ and yet not sin pardoned 1. Though these things we mentioned last may seem to be hard yet the tryal of them is a very safe and wholsome thing because if you mistake in this you are undone you will examine Evidences for your Houses and Lands do so in the great matters between God and your souls And for sorrow for sin I shall make it plain there may be a great deal of sorrow for sin and yet sin not pardoned you know the example of Ahab 1 King 21.27 to 29. verses And it came to pass when Ahab heard those words that he rent his clothes and put sackcloath upon his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloath and went softly when God did but send the Prophet to tell him of his sin presently upon the Prophets words he rent his clothes which was a sign of extream sorrow in those times and then he put on Sackcloath he put off his Princely Robes his brave Apparrel and put on Sackcloath and that not for an outward garment but upon his flesh and then fasted and lay in Sackcloath and went softly as a dejected man the pride and stoutness of his heart seem'd to be so much abated that God takes notice of it in the 29. verse Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me and because he did so the judgment was deferred for a while yet certainly Ahab's sin was not or ever should be pardoned though he put on Sackcloath and humbled himself before the Lord I appeal unto you this morning Are not many of you hoping for pardon of sin and yet come far short of Ahab all you do in your repentance is to say God be merciful unto me I am sorry Lord forgive me and there 's an end all 's done presently but Ahab went a great deal further and yet his sin was not pardoned Take the example of Esau you know what the Scripture says of him He sought the blessing with tears and yet found no place for repentance and in being rejected of the blessing it was a type of his rejection of Heaven some carry it thus to prove there may be tears and yet no true
must be the Foundation of our faith and not in what we do our selves For 1. Know that all Reformation in the world will not satisfie for the evil that you have done for the time past this I would convince you of and be you willing to hear it it may be of great use unto you when we preach Christ and free grace it is to bring you to Christ our preaching down of works is not to keep you from doing of them but from resting in them that which I aim at is to bring you into an enquiring frame of spirit a restless condition that so we may bring you to that which is the true rest and we shall be as glad to bring you into the true rest as now to bring you into restlesness Know all Reformations for time to come will not satisfie God for time past it will not amongst men if you have run into arrearages with your Landlord for Rent and you bring him a quarters Rent when there 's three or four quarters behind or may be two or three years if you should think to pay the Rent of two or three years with bringing the last quarter it would be accounted a foolish conceit so would it be if with God you should think the duties you do at present should satisfie for all the arrearages you have run into for time past you do not understand Gods way if you think that God will be satisfied for all that is past by what you do at the present Suppose what you do now were perfect and for all time to come you never committed one sin against God any more yet all this would not satisfie for time past this looks but at time to come and does not at all take off any thing for the time past Besides you may see matter enough in your best Reformations for God to condemn you not only for your former sins but sins in your reforming but if there were no sin in that that would be no satisfaction for that which is past Mark this That which must be the ground of the pardon of thy sin must be that that must satisfie for thy sin past and for all thy sins to come and that was opened unto you in opening the mysteries of godliness in the Pardon and Justification of a Sinner 2. Know this that God accepts of duties not for the duties themselves but because he accepts of the person that performs them God does not accept of the duties and then of the person that is not Gods way but he accepts first of the person and then of the actions God never accepts of what we do till he accepts of our persons As Abel God had regard to Abel 's person first and then to his offerings so God has first regard to the person of any man and then to his Offerings thou thinkest thou art a poor wretched creature and then thou thinkest it may be if I had such and such parts and could do thus and thus then God would accept of me I tell thee all thy parts and performances are cast away till God accept of thy person St. Paul was blameless according to the Law and yet he accounted all loss for Christ for he knew that when God revealed the Gospel to him that he could not be accepted for his righteousness but his person must first be accepted and then his righteousness So that the way of new Obedience and the work of Sanctification are the qualifications of the man that is justified but not the conditions required for the Justification of his person 't is not that that justifies the soul the Justification of the soul comes not through these but these flow from Justification and until a soul understands this he never rightly performs duties Therefore further to conclude this though good Works and new Obedience are good Nurses unto Faith yet if you make these the Mother of your Faith your faith is but a Bastard faith these are not the right Mother of Faith if your faith be begotten out of your Duties and Performances and your faith have no other Mother than these then your faith is illegitimate and not true born it has not the right Mother The right Mother of Faith is the manifestation of the freeness of Gods grace in the Covenant of the Gospel shewed unto the Soul through the mediation of the Son of God this laid open to the eye of the soul by the mighty work of the Spirit of God raises and creates faith in the soul this is the generation of true saving faith the faith of Gods Elect as the Scripture speaks Duties and Performances cannot be the Mother of it it is of a higher birth than that birth that arises out of Parts Duties or Performances whatsoever thy faith will not inherit if it be base born through faith we come to inherit the Promises and if thy faith hath no other foundation than thy sorrows and reformation thy faith is illegitimate and not that that shall inherit 't is not of the right kind that will bring thee unto Salvation thus you see what mistakes there may be in this great Point of the Justification of a Sinner and in being made blessed and therefore we had need look to it to be sure that what we rest upon will hold least when we come to lay claim and make challenge of blessedness our hold deceive us Many think the main matters of Religion to be nothing but believing in Jesus Christ and crying God mercy you see by these things that I have spoken that there had need be much workings of spirit in the way of Religion and mighty strong teachings of the Holy Ghost to lead the soul for there may be many mistakes and to prevent and remove those mistakes that lie in the way to get peace with God 't is a matter of great concernment and not a slight business to be done suddenly 3. Others say we trust in the mercy of God and in this I am to speak to two sorts First Those that are most grosly ignorant that have no other ground to hope for pardon of sin but because they hear that God is a merciful God Know thus much that notwithstanding what you hear of God that he is merciful and not willing that men should perish yet the Scripture reveals clearly to us that notwithstanding God is gracious and merciful yet the greatest part of the world perish in their sins there is nothing more clear then this that most people in the world do perish and therefore to say God is merciful is not enough you may be sorry for sin reform and say God is merciful and yet perish if these three were enough what needed the son of God to come and take our nature upon him and be made a curse for Mans sin lay down his life and shed his precious blood why might not these three have been joyned together and so Christ never have come for though Christ had never come I
pardon sin yet it does not work thus viz. You have sinned and my law requires such and such obedience to be performed on such tearms or else you must perish but I through my mercy will remit something of the rigour and strictness of the Law And most people confess that by the strictness of the Law they are condemn'd but they hope the mercy of God will grant some remission of the Law as it is with men if all Penal statutes should be executed it would be very hard but there is a Chancery to abate something of the rigour and strictness of penal statutes and thus men think to come to have pardon and deal with God after the manner of men you think the crying to God for mercy wil abate something of the strictness and severity of the Law but you mistake in taking this way to get peace and reconciliation with God to look upon Gods mercy to lye in this to remit something of the strictness and severity of the Law No but the work of Gods mercy lyes in this to finde out a surety for you and to transact the debt upon him Further Consider the work of Gods mercy in justification of a sinner when faith layes hold upon it faith must not lay hold upon it as a meer single Act but look at all the concomitants of the work of Gods grace in making way for the justification of a sinner The mercy of God workes many waies and faith must exercise it self on Gods grace according to the multiplicity of the work of it in bringing about the justification of a sinner as thus you have sinned and you cry to God for pardon but the mercy of God does not work thus to pardon you as t is a single act but the mercy of God works thus to mankind First he is pleased to enter into a second covenant with mankind after he had broken the first A second work of Gods mercy is to set his wisdom on work to finde out a way how mankind should be reconciled unto him and his sin pardoned and yet that God should be no looser this was the work of his infinite wisdom And Thirdly when this is found out this can be done no other way but only through the Son of God taking mans nature upon him and suffer for him then here 's the mercy of God to be willing to send his Son to mediate for poor creatures and then a further mercy in giving thy soul to his Son he sent not his Son that all might be pardoned but a certain number that God the Father had given to his Son from all eternity now there 's a great work of Gods mercy in passing by others and giving thee to his Son And further It is a work of Gods mercy in the powerful Ministry of the Gospel to reveal this And then further It is a work of Gods mercy to draw thee to close with his Son and thereby to unite and marry thee to his Son And then further It is a work of Gods mercy to assure thee of the pardon and justification of thy soul 't is a great deal more for faith to look upon God in this manner than to come in such a way as this God is merciful and I trust in his grace that he will pardon me we mistake mightily about the mercy of God when we do not look upon it in an Evangelical way as it is revealed in the Gospel Further know thus much that if Gods mercy will work so far for thee as to pardon thy sin and save thy soul certainly it will work so far as to take away the power of sin and let thee not live in the filth of thy sin Many think Gods mercy will do great matters hereafter but nothing now in comparison of what he will do hereafter they think he will give them outward blessings now but keep spiritual things till hereafter Certainly this is an infallible truth If Gods mercy work not so powerfully here in this world as to bestow spiritual good things on thee thou may'st be assured that it will never work so powerful on thee as to save thy Soul in the World to come Can it be thought a Prince pardons a Malefactor that he shall not be hang'd and yet suffer him to lie in Prison and rot in the Dungeon this were but a poor pardon a half pardon to be delivered from the Gallows and rot in the Prison Certainly whatever a Prince may do God never pardons a sinner so to shew him mercy to save him from Hell and yet to lie rotting all his life long in sin no God when he pardons he delivers and shakes off the fetters as we shall see further therefore thou that say'st thou hopest in Gods mercy that he will pardon thee let me ask What hath he done for thee if thou thinkest that Gods mercy will work so strongly hereafter to save thy soul certainly it will be as strong for thee here to sanctifie thee if it work not so strong on thee now as to sanctifie thee certainly it will never work so strongly for thee hereafter as to save thee 4. Others say in the last place we are not only sorry for sin and reform and trust in Gods mercy but we relie upon Gods mercy through Christ and therefore we hope we shall be pardoned this I might speak much too we must rest there but there is a mistake there too the relying on Christ is not relying on him by acting of some transient thoughts that passes over but it is an abiding thing when men hear there is no way to be saved but by Christ and they cannot deny it and because they are loath to think they are such as cannot be saved they are loath to have such ill thoughts of themselves hearing this is the way and no other therefore they will perswade themselves that they shall find mercy through Christ Now what great work is this so to rely on Christ the work of faith is a mighty work it is not a short transient work a few thoughts upon thy heart to be saved by Christ No wheresoever faith is right and a true reliance on Christ it is a mighty work of the Spirit of God working this grace in raising the soul higher than it self and carries it through and above all difficulties when it brings the soul to relie upon God there may be great mistakes when People say they rely upon Christ and therefore take this for conviction Relying on Christ is not barely to think my sins are pardoned by Christ but it is a receiving of Christ a possessing of Christ a coming into Christ a living in Christ and a bringing Christ to live in me 't is eating of the flesh of Christ and drinking of his blood and so finds nourishment and strength from him as really as the body by the meat and drink it takes that abides with it is strengthned by it so does faith to the soul therefore faith is
not a slight notion like water running through a Pipe that leaves nothing behind it for so the thoughts of most People are but it is such a thing as brings Christ into the soul and the soul into Christ and so feeds and lives upon him this is relying upon Christ for pardon so as to have the concomitants and comforts of pardon continually going along with it Now you have heard these things go away and beseech God to settle things aright in your souls say to your hearts Lord I see that setling of the heart aright upon Christ for justification and pardon of sin is another manner of business then I was aware of and I am perswaded that if I had died before I should certainly have dyed under some of these mistakes Lord settle my heart aright in this great business Do not go away with such thoughts as these the Minister speaks of such mistakes but I hope it is far otherwise do not venture to put off what we say with such slight thoughts when we speak unto you we speak in the Name of God and it is a horrible taking of the Name of God in vain if we examine not what we say unto you by the Word And therefore know you are charged this day in the Name of God to look to it and examine your hearts what grounds you go upon for the pardon of your sin that you may not mistake in which we shall give you some further help in laying down some positive grounds that you may rest upon for the pardon of your sin CHAP. XVII Of the true Evidences of Forgiveness of Sin BUt if it be asked Who are they that have their sins pardoned surely they are not many this Text puts it in the singular number Blessed is he that hath his sin pardoned and by that which hath been delivered about the mistakes it appears there are not very many but yet some there are and this is the work of this day in the Name of the Lord to declare to some poor souls this day their sins are pardoned this is the message from the Lord I am to speak to them I hope divers in this place as from Christ Son and Daughter be of good comfort thy sins are pardoned And blessed is that man and woman that this day shall hear that joyful sound in their hearts and that shall have the Spirit of God witness unto their spirit that as I have heard so I have felt this day that what signs of forgiveness of sin have been delivered I have felt them in my own soul Well then What are they to insist upon them The First is that the Apostle gives in Rom. 8.30 Moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also justified Justification consists especially in the remission and pardon of sin Now the Holy Ghost says whom he hath called them he hath justified would you know that you are justified and that your sins are pardoned the Spirit of God shews you it is not a note of mine but it is that which comes from the Holy Ghost whom he hath called them he hath justified Vocation is a certain Evidence of Justification this Vocation or Calling is the second link that does unite those two links of that golden chain together mentioned in that place the first link is the foreknowledge of God Gods Predestination and then there is Vocation the next after that Justification and then Glorification the first chain in the link is that God from all Eternity predestinates some persons to have their sins pardoned but there is Vocation comes in between Predestination and Justification and after that Glorification so that while I am giving Evidences of Justification here in this Text I shall give Evidences of Predestination and Glorification too for these are linkt altogether Many People look only after Justification they hope their sins are pardoned but they look not to any other link of the chain as Calling and Vocation whom he hath called them he hath justified but the question then is What is this Calling What do you mean by that how shall we know whether we be called or no in 2 Pet. 1.10 he bids them there to give diligence to make their Calling and Election sure Mark as here Predestination and Calling are put together so their Calling and Election says he Give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure Election is first sure in respect of God but Vocation is first in regard of our selves make that sure and then you make Election sure Justification sure and Glorification sure too then what is Vocation for answer to the Question Know there is an outward call and an inward call when God sends the Ministers of the Word to reveal the Gospel and the way of Salvation that is no other but Gods calling mens souls from the ways of sin and death to come into the ways of life all that come to hear the sound of the Gospel preacht unto them let them know that is Gods call to sinners to come in and repent God calls to the Drunkard the Unclean person and all others that live in sin to repent when you come to hear the Word God calls you and God requires of you as you would have God to hear your cry when you are calling for mercy in the day of your distress hear my call now I call and cry in the Ministry of the Word Would you have me to hear you when you cry to me do you hear me now I am calling to you O that People would understand the Ministry of the Word that it is the call of God for sinners to return and repent of their sins that they would look beyond man and know that it is the voyce of God by them and therefore it is a dangerous thing for People to neglect resist or rebel against the Ministry of the Word and there is some good hopes that God hath some souls in such a place that he intends everlasting good will unto where he sends the Ministry of the Word God do's not use to send the call of the Gospel to a place but there are some souls to be called And therefore Secondly Besides the Outward Call there is an Inward Call and that is it the Apostle speaks of Many have the Outward Call of the Word to Faith and Repentance and yet they perish eternally But those whom God intends to save and hath love to indeed he comes to them with an Inward Call and this Inward Call of God is on this wise God beholds the poor wretched sinner going on in the ways of sin death and perdition and he comes to him by a secret and powerful voyce speaking to his very heart O Sinner consider where thou art What art thou a doing Whither art thou a going What is the end of thy way like to be thou art going from God from happiness and life to woful misery and blackness of darkness to the infinite
gulf of eternal Perdition O turn turn O sinner out of these vile abominable dangerous ways or else thou art undone for ever Behold here is the way of life set before thee behold my Son sent into the world for the Propitiation of thy sin and to bring thee into the ways of godliness which is the way to eternal life O turn sinner into these wayes Now this voyce of God calling to the Soul of a man or woman it comes with power it hath an over powering strength in it to prevail upon the heart it is much like that secret voyce mentioned in Isai 30.21 And thy Ears shall hear a word behind thee saying this is the way walk in it when you turn to the right hand or to the left 't is a Promise of Gods mercy unto his People to convert them unto himself those that were only in an Outward Profession says God you shall hear a voyce behind you saying this is the way turn in unto it and so 't is when God calls a sinner from the ways of death and destruction such a sinner hears a voyce behind him it may be he has come many times to Sermons and heard a voyce many times without him and before him but never before a voyce within him and behind him an inward secret voyce speaking to the soul O sinner turn out of thy sinful ways Why wilt thou die and perish eternally for God to come thus secretly and to reason with the soul by a voyce behind it and 't is not bare reasoning but a voyce that hath a power and efficacy from God going along with it that carries on this work in the soul and causes the heart to listen and to yield unto God when God calls to the Soul to come into the ways of life the Soul answers Lord I come and with a trembling frame of heart cries out with Saul at his Conversion Lord What wilt thou have me to do No more now what sin will have me to do and what this and that and the other lust will have me to do No now I see the ways of Life and Salvation are the only blessed ways Now Lord What would'st thou have me to do Now Salvation is come to that Soul and Reconciliation with Jesus Christ For whom he hath called them he hath justified Observe the efficacy of that call spoken of in Isai 30.21 Thine Ears shall hear a word behind thee c. and then follows the fruits of it and ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven Images with Silver and the ornament of thy molten Images of Gold thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous Cloth and shall say unto it get thee hence the sins they before lived in was Idolatry and their hearts were much taken with their brave Images over-laid with Silver and Gold but when they heard the voyce behind them they look't upon those things they so much delighted in that was so brave in their eyes before but as menstruous cloathes which are the most filthiest things that can be and cast them away as filthy rags with indignation saying get thee hence as one that takes a rag in his hand and looks on it and sees it all filthy and defiled presently he throws it away with abomination and says get thee hence so this is the call of God when the Soul hears behind it a secret voyce that many hear not it may be many thousands hear the outward voyce of the Minister telling them of the evil of sin and their abominations and a poor Servant or a poor Youth that stands in the midst of the crowd he hears a voyce behind him that others do not a secret voyce besides the general voyce which is a prevailing voyce that the soul falls down and yields presently before he goes out of the Church and says Lord this day thou hast convinc't me of the evil of sin and thou hast this day shewed me the way of life and salvation Lord I come unto thee though he saw nothing and though no body else hear that voyce yet there is a secret voyce of God unto the soul though he stand in the midst of the crowd and no body else hear it yet at that instant pardon of sin came to that soul and reconciliation by Jesus Christ now when this comes into the soul he will not let such and such sins be there any longer but says Get you hence I will have no more to do with such and such beloved lusts and Idols that I set my heart upon Get thee hence and those men that God calls to himself certainly when they hear this voyce behind them though they now plead for Idolatry and Superstition and why should not we do as our forefathers did yet if once they come to hear this secret voyce of God and God shew them the way of his Worship in the purity and beauty of it they will say get thee hence to those things as vile things get ye hence I will have no more to do with you this is the way in the ordinary call of God and though God sanctifie some from the womb yet afterwards by a mighty work of the Spirit he discovers unto them what the soul is by nature there is somewhat like this even in those that are sanctified from the womb though God in an extraordinary way draw the soul out from sin into the ways of life but generally there are in the ordinary way of Gods working these three or four voyces calling to the soul 1. Says God to the soul O soul thou art made for God and for Eternity 2. O soul thou art now in the ways of Hell and of eternal perdition and must of necessity perish in it 3. O soul behold here are the ways of life and salvation reveal'd unto thee and set before thee in the Gospel of my Son And lastly O soul come in and thou shalt have favour and acceptation in my Son these are the four voyces in Gods call I do not say every one hears them plainly and distinctly yet they do for the substance of them in the ordinary way of the dispensation of Gods grace Every soul that God justifies they are thus called of God and 't is a prevailing call that brings them in to submit unto it Again concerning this call of God because the Scripture speaks much of it I shall shew a little further mark it That soul that once hears the call of God to bring it into the ways of life that soul will evermore depend upon Gods call in all other things if God hath called me out of the ways of death into the ways of life in obedience to that call that my soul hath yielded too I shall be evermore under the power of Gods call in all other things let God call me to what he will to what service he pleases to whatsoever difficulties and sufferings he shall think meet my soul is content and says Here I am Lord speak thy
servant hears Now for a soul to be so under God as to wait upon the call of God to any duty service and imployment that it dares not go about any thing but according to the call of God this is a good Evidence that such a soul hath been acquainted with that great call of God that powerful call of God to bring him off from the ways of sin into the ways of life and salvation Further those that have been acquainted with this call of God there is an answerable frame and disposition in their hearts to call upon the Name of God for assistance direction and a blessing on all they undertake they delight now to repair unto God and call upon him as God calls unto them so they call unto him for that is the way of God according to his work in the soul he puts a gracious frame into the soul answerable to it As in Election those whom he elects when God calls them home he puts a gracious disposition in their hearts for to elect him as God chooses the soul from the world so the soul chooses God above all things in the world the soul answers to God God sets his heart on the soul and says I will choose thee for me the soul again sets its heart upon God and says I will choose thee for my God as God calls the soul to come and live to him in the ways of grace while he lives in this world so the soul calls on God for his assistance that he would give his help in unto him on all occasions and therefore the Scripture gives us this expression for the whole worship of God Rom. 10.13 Whosoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved that soul that is acquainted with Gods call that soul calls on God again And by the way those that are thus called are fittest for Church-Communion I mention this because the word translated Church comes from a Greek word that signifies to call out that which in Scripture is usually called a Church signifies nothing else but this a Company of People called out of the ways of sin to the imbracing the ways of Godliness so that the Church should consist of People called out of the ways of sin by the powerful and efficacious voyce of the Spirit of God and they that are thus called have their sins pardoned you say you hope God hath justified you you read what God says and what hath been presented unto you they who are called they are justified then Calling in order of nature goes before Justification this you will find in your own hearts and if not this you must do when ever you come before God to hear the outward call you must come with a waiting frame of heart to hear the inward call and call upon God with such a disposition say Lord I have been taught that there is an outward call of thine in the Word and an inward call and I am going this day to hear thy Word calling me out of the ways of sin O that I might have together with that the inward call of thy Spirit when shall I hear that secret voyce this is the reason though I have been convinced many times at the hearing of the Word yet my sin hath prevail'd against me because that inward secret powerful voyce hath not come to my soul that is the first Evidence whom he hath justified them he hath called A Second Evidence is this Whomsoever God pardons he receives into Covenant with himself all pardoned sinners are Covenanters with God God pardons no soul but such an one as he brings into the Bond of the Covenant with himself that is the way of the conveyance of the grace of God for the pardon of sin to bring the soul into the Bonds of the Covenant the Scripture is evident in this that forgiveness of sin is made a special fruit of the New Covenant that is clear enough Jer. 31.33 Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel c. what is the special end of that Covenant I will forgive their Iniquities and remember their sins no more But how does that come in it comes in by way of Covenant I will make a New Covenant I will first receive them into Covenant and then they shall have the fruit of this New Covenant that their sins shall be forgiven and their iniquities remembred no more The New Covenant is a mysterie to most people and yet it is a certain truth the pardon of thy sin and thy eternal good depends upon it thou art one that God has brought into Covenant with himself if thou beest or ever shalt be pardoned as God will manifest to thy soul that he hath through his Son tyed and bound himself to thee to be thy God that whereas before thou wer 't departed from him and an enemy to him yet now he is pleased to call thee to enter into a second Covenant after thou had'st broken the first and wer 't cast off by reason of that breach God is contented to enter into a second Covenant with thee to be thy God in and through his Son thou art to come in and joyn in this Covenant for to a full Covenant there must be assent on both sides there must be a mutual ingagement of either parties when God reveals this to thy soul that though thou be by nature an Enemy to me and hast broken the first Covenant that I made with the Children of men and art cast off yet be it known unto thee O thou wretched soul I am content to enter into another Covenant with thee there is a second Covenant for life and salvation that I have made with poor man through my Son and I require that thou should'st come in and give up thy self in an everlasting Covenant to make me to be thy God and to close with me and my Son in whatsoever I call thee to in whatsoever thou hast or can'st do to give up thy self to the power of me and my Son this thou must ingage and tye thy self unto in the strongest Bonds that can be this is the nature of the Covenant we know there were two Covenants and all the good of mankind in the first Covenant depended on this his closing with the tearms of it Now the tearms of the first Covenant was Do this and live but that is broken and we have lost our ability Now the second Covenant is Believe and live and the soul that God pardons he brings into the Bond of the second Covenant it is brought to come and give it self up to the Lord and to be content to bind it self with all bonds unto God that he and he only shall be my God as I desire him to be mine and his grace and mercy to be mine so all that I have or can do shall be his I surrender up my self and ingage my soul to be his for ever my Estate Abilities
whatever I have or can do shall be his Now put this to your own souls you hope your sins are pardoned But hath God brought you into the Bonds of the Covenant Hath God ingaged himself to you by his Word to be your God and on the other side Are your hearts ingaged to him by the strongest Bonds that can be and if there be any other Bonds that are stronger to tye your souls to God Can your souls say the Lord knows I am content and willing to be ingaged and that you will account it your happiness to be tyed in the strongest Bonds that can be if it be so with thee Now peace be to thy soul thy sins are pardoned as on the one side God hath made a Covenant with thee so on the other side he hath brought thee to be in Covenant with him then be of good comfort thy sins are pardoned Thirdly Those whose sins God hath pardoned he hath translated them into the Kingdom of his Son the Scriptures express these things divers ways and they have a diverse consideration in them Now I ground this note out of Col. 1 13 14. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son mark what follows In whom we have Redemption through his Blood the forgiveness of sins forgiveness of sin is the end of Gods translating of us into the Kingdom of his dear Son in giving Redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of sin so that whosoever God hath given Redemption to through the Blood of Christ even the forgiveness of sin that is forgiveness of sin being the special part of the Redemption we have by the blood of Christ such an one is translated into the Kingdom of the dear Son of God What is that you will say 1. This notes a great change that there must be upon those that are pardoned because the Scripture expresses it thus they are translated into another Kingdom a Kingdom of the Son of God the dear Son of God it is dear mercy of God that translates a soul into the Kingdom of his dear Son it seems naturally we are in another Kingdom and have another King besides the Son of God and have another Soveraign 't is certain we are so naturally we are under the power of Satan and in his Kingdom but now when God comes to redeem a soul and grant forgiveness of sin he translates out of that Kingdom and such a soul refuses to be a subject to Satan any longer or a servant to his lust any longer but now Christ shall be my King the Son of God by whom I expect Reconciliation he shall be my King and his Laws shall rule in my heart and his Scepter shall sway in my soul now no more shall my own thoughts counsels opinions will and affections rule me but Jesus Christ shall be set up upon the throne of my soul and he shall be my King I before was led a poor vile ignorant wretch by the customs of others and example of others and what they required of me by their laws in the matters of his worship but now Christ shall be my King I will expect my law from him and all obedience I do to man it shall be in order to this Christ my King this is a translation into the Kingdom of God when the soul feels the power of Christ ruling in him and overswaying him and the soul looks up to Christ for its protection and provision and desires above all things in the world to set up Jesus Christ as his King in all the ways of his Government both in his own heart and the world too and longs to hear that voyce when it shall be said The Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and Saviour Jâ—sus Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever Thus those that have redempt on through the blood of Christ even the forgiveness of sins they are translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son and as the Scripture speaks They have the Kingdom of God within them that is an expression of the Holy Ghost in the Gospel Now this you are to examine your hearts upon What of the Kingdom of Christ you have within you Do you live and walk as one that hath the Kingdom of Christ within you Is Christ as King and Soveraign over your thoughts words and actions And do you look to him for the law of your thoughts words and actions and walk before him as your Soveraign Lord depending on him to know his will continually and fear and honour him as a King If the Kingdom of Christ be in you that is if the Gospel have an effectual work upon you for the Gospel in the power of it is ordinarily exprest by the Kingdom of Heaven when the Word comes to any place the Kingdom of Heaven is said to come it would take up a great deal of time to shew wherein the Holy Ghost calls the Gospel the Kingdom of Heaven but it is called the Kingdom of Heaven because it is the Kingdom of Christ that is Lord from Heaven and Christ rules in it by the preaching of the Gospel But now though it be the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingly power of Christ be in the preaching of the Gospel yet this does not prevail upon all sorts it is like a net that is cast into the Sea the meaning of it seems to be nothing else but that the preaching of the Gospel among a multitude of People is like a net cast into the Sea wherein some are catcht and others remain worldly filthy and good for nothing that is the meaning of the Text and not any warrant at all for mixt Communions but only thus where the Preaching of the Gospel is there are some fishes good and worthy to be received and others that are to be cast out Now as there is an external Kingdom so there is an internal Kingdom of Christ within our hearts Jesus Christ himself sets up his Throne in the hearts of every man and woman whose sins are pardoned that is a certain truth and this day in the Name of God I pronounce unto you that if your sin be pardoned Jesus Christ hath set up his Throne in your hearts and if you find any other Throne and Lord but Christ to rule you know from God that your souls are yet in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity and your sins are not pardoned but that soul who in the Preaching of the Gospel can say Blessed be God I have felt Christ come into my heart and prevailed upon me and now Christs Laws are the Laws I desire to be ruled by God knows I know but little of them but I will labour to understand them better therefore I come this day that I might know more of the Law of God and that Jesus Christ might rule more powerfully in me than ever he hath done if this be wrought
vile before yet being justified there is a lustre in their conversations that convinces Parents and Governours and makes them see an apparent difference between what they are now and what they were before though they contemn it yet they know that God will own that difference that he has made to be his own glory and will declare it one day that this was the thing that was glorious in his eyes And therefore now would you know whether you are justified Are you glorified What glory of God is come into your hearts and appears in your lives and conversations Can you say my life is so though I have many weaknesses yet I hope something of the glory of God appears in me for so it must be there is no soul God justifies but God inables him to live so as the glory of God shines in the conversation of such a one Now if these things be so what cause have you to fear you are not a justified person but for the present many times it doth not appear for most of you darken the glory of God in your lives you that are justified should shew it forth more in your conversation among all with whom you have to do and then what a beauty and Evidence of your Justification would it be unto you Sixthly Those whom God pardons he makes them know what pardon means thou hopest thy sins are pardoned Dost thou understand and know what hath been said about it certainly those whom God pardons he causes admiring thoughts in the soul of the excellency of this blessedness of the pardon of sin the soul is taken with the admiration of three things First It admires at the freeness and the riches of Gods grace Secondly At the price that was paid for pardon Thirdly It admires at the wonderful good it is brought into and that which the soul receives by this blessedness of the pardon of sin other things God may bestow on men and women and they know not the worth of them and do not mind God in them but when God bestows pardon of sin he makes the soul have admiring thoughts of it and to know what it is Jer. 33.9 And it shall be to me a Name of joy a praise and honour and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and prosperity that I procure unto it certainly if others shall do it much more themselves those whom God pardons he bestows such mercies upon as that the soul shall even stand amazed with a trembling heart and an amazed spirit to behold all the goodness that the Lord shews to it Now have your hearts been taken with it you may know much of your Evidences if your hearts have been taken with admiring thoughts of it for certainly when God pardons sin he doth it to magnifie his grace and set out to Men and Angels in the infiniteness of it what his grace can do to poor souls if this be Gods end as certainly it is then it must needs be that those whom God pardons he gives such grace as shall cause the soul that it shall have admiring thoughts of it Has thy soul seen so much of the grace of God that it admires at the greatness and goodness of it be of good comfort thy sins are pardoned Seventhly The more assurance God gives of pardon the more the heart melts before God in mourning for the sins that God has pardoned according to the manifestation of Gods mercy in pardoning so doth the soul by the work of Gods grace melt in holy mourning even for those sins that God has pardoned many think they must mourn for sin to get pardon but when they are pardoned Why should they mourn then I have spoken to that before that many mourn to get pardon but I say they mourn because they are pardoned I manifest it thus in this evidence I give of pardon of sin that according to the degree of knowledge the soul hath of pardon of sin the heart melts before God for all sins that are pardoned the 51. Psal is exceeding remarkable David laments his sin exceeding bitterly but mark the Title of that Psalm To the chief Musitian a Psalm of David when Nathan the Prophet came unto him after he had gone in to Bathsheba Now would you know what Nathan did when he came unto David you shall find if you read the story of David's Adultery and Murther 2 Sam. 12. Chap. it was to bring the news unto David of the pardon of his sin first Nathan convinces him of his sin that he should do it before Israel and before the Sun and having convinc't him he says further the Lord hath put away thy sin Now a secure heart might go away and say all is well I shall not dye God hath pardoned my sin I need not be troubled any more about that matter But mark the Psalmist how he cries out to God Have mercy O Lord upon me and blot out all my transgressions wash me purge me and then he prays for restoring mercies for his broken bones and then cries out for further assurance the very grace of God that Nathan brought to him of the pardon of his sin that very grace of God did melt and break his heart so much the more after God had sent to him the pardon of his sin he mourned more than ever before we never read that David was so much troubled for his sin as in this 51. Psal that was after Nathan had come unto him Now if you find that at that time when God is pleas'd to come unto you in the Ministry of the Word or in private to declare unto you the pardon of your sin and to give you the comfortable Evidence of it that then your hearts are most devoted to mourn for them and to melt before God Be of good comfort thy sins are pardoned Eightly Another note is this that according to the degree of pardon of sin so all other graces grow the knowledge and assurance of Gods love in Christ in the pardon of sin it causes all other graces to grow proportionably as you have it in Ephes 3.19 about the knowledge of the love of God in Christ mark the connection he desires That they might comprehend with all Saints what is the height and depth c. and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge and be filled with all the fulness of God What is the love of Christ the love of Christ is the procuring cause of the forgiveness of sin be-before God the Father and when you know this this will fill you with all the fulness of God Mark first It brings God in to the soul And secondly Fills the soul with God And thirdly Fills the soul with the fulness of God And fourthly Fills the soul with all the fulness of God when you come to know the love of God in Christ if any thing in the world will fill the soul with all the fulness of God this will many will say they
thee that although thou dost want the present sense of the work of God upon thee yet thy heart longs after God and thou art unsatisfied in this condition and 't is the greatest affliction that ever befel thee and there is nothing else that thou lets thy heart run out unto but thou art longing to get thy heart into that blessed frame that thou wast in heretofore then certainly peace be unto thee thou art to look back upon what thou hast had heretofore and wait upon God for his return again for he will come and thy soul shall rejoyce again in him As that Martyr Mr. Glover a little before he suffer'd the Spirit of God seem'd to leave him and he was in extream darkness and had no feeling of any Evidence of Gods love to him yet he was to dye the next day and all his Evidences were lost in his own apprehension yet his friends told him that God would appear and desired him to give them some sign if God did come unto him that night he was in darkness and until the Officers came to carry him to the Stake he had yet no sense or evidence of Gods love but when he was tyed to the Stake he cryed out He is come He is come so that you must not argue because you have no present sense that therefore you have no evidence of your good condition but if you have had it heretofore you may build upon it that your state is good although you have no present sense that is the second rule The third rule is this To help you how to make use of signs when you would put your selves on tryal you must take heed you do not cast your Estates for the tryal of your selves on times of temptations judg not of your estates by what you find and feel in times of temptation for they are very unfit times to determine your condition upon a tryal then as when temptations are exceeding strong and horrour and fear comes into the soul and perhaps some hear may know what I mean when I speak of horrour and fear coming in strongly upon them then it is a time that you had rather need to call upon God and fall down upon your knees to Prayer then to look to the tryal and examination of your selves at that time It is with many in this case as it hath been with some that have been struck with horrour of death before the Judge and have had the Book given them to read though they have been good Scholars and able to read before yet when the horrour of death hath been so upon them they have not been able to read one word and so it is with many of Gods children in times of strong temptations they are not able to read their Evidences as Children when their eyes are blear'd and blinded give them the Book and they cannot read thereon so when your hearts are under great temptations and afflictions this is not a time of trial then by the way if it be not for a godly man much less for a wicked man many wicked men put it off to the day of death and never so much as put themselves to trial till horrour of Conscience or fears of death put them upon it it is an ill time for Gods people to try themselves then Suppose you would weigh Gold you will not do it in a storm or wind the trial of our estate is like the weighing of gold for we are to weigh our selves by the ballance of the Sanctuary that we may know whether we shall be weight when God comes to weigh us for every soul must be weighed and wo be to those to whom God shall say as he did to Belshazzar when the hand-writing appeared upon the wall it was so terrible to him that his knees smote one against another But what was that Thou art weighed in the ballance and art found too light such a hand will many find one day Poor soul that thoughtest thy self in a good condition and that thy sins were pardoned thou art weighed in the ballance and art found too light therefore it concerns you now to weigh your selves in the ballance of the Sanctuary when you weigh gold you must not hold the Scales in the mid'st of wind storms and tempest that hurries the ballance up and down but it must be in such a place that you may hold them steadily that nothing may stir them for in the wind the lighter may be blown down and the heaviest uppermost but if you hold them in a still place you may try to a grain so the Soul of man is like the Scales in the wind in a time of temptation thou wilt have enough to come in to turn the ballance lift it up and make thee seem too light and therefore when you would weigh your condition do it when your hearts are composed and you are your selves when your hearts are quiet then lay your souls to the ballance many weigh their hearts in a time when trouble and affliction is upon their spirits but they cannot do it all they do then is nothing there are but two things then to be done either to open your condition to some or other that may help you or else fall down upon your knees in Prayer to God to get help from him to support you under and deliver you from the temptations that are upon you but then 't is no time for a man or woman to try themselves in times of strong temptations when it may be said a man or woman then is scarse themselves The fourth Rule for trial of your Estates is this That when you find the Word on your side in any thing never let go your hold of the Word when you are perswaded the Word speaks well of your side in such or such a thing never do any thing against it as we must not receive any comfort but by the Word so we must not reject any comforts but by the Word some may say I find something in the Word that makes for me but I am afraid I am not thus and thus qualified but do you find any thing in the Word that gives you ground to think so we must rest upon the Word both ways as we must not receive any thing to build our comforts on but it must be from the Word so we must not receive any thing to trouble us but it must be from the Word it must be the Word must wound men for the Consciences of men and women are under the power of no creature but the Word Now as there is no power in any creature in the world to raise a dejected soul and to comfort a troubled Conscience truly but the Word So the people of God are to know that they are so above the power of all other things that nothing in the World should trouble them but the Word only as they should account it a weak vain thing to rest in the opinion of others for the
comfort of their souls that are in a good condition by what they find out of the Word so they should account it a vain thing to rest on their own conceits in time of trouble or in the saying of others besides what they have out of the Word the soul says I am affraid my state is not good But O my soul is there any thing in the Word that says thus that they that are thus and thus are not pardoned As I must not conclude I am pardoned but must bring something out of the Word that says it so I must not conclude my state is bad without the Word say so too but I find many distempers and many wandrings in my soul give me leave to ask you this where doth Gods Word say that such a man that hath a great many wandering thoughts is not justified where does the Word of God say that a heart that is under the remainder of some corruptions and the soul labours under them as much as under any burden in the world where does the Word say that that soul is not justified many people in the case of trouble of Conscience although they have some evidences and good ground out of the Word for them yet will have many fears and doubts because of the remainder of such and such corruptions in them but now the ground of their doubts is their own fears and nothing out of the Word and so when any speaks and applies the Word unto them they cannot say but it is suitable to their condition and that God hath shewn mercy unto them but so soon as you are gone the fears and suggestions of their own hearts prevail against them to take away all their comforts more than all the applications of the Word prevailed to uphold continue their comforts it is just with many that are gracious in the case of fears and doubts as it is with the wicked in regard of their hopes a wicked man hath the Word against him that he is not in a good condition but his own self-love and conceâ— incourage him to presume that he is in a good estate now he regards his own opinion and conceit and presumes upon that that his estate is good more than on whatsoever is said unto him out of the Word that it is not so so the people of God although they are in a good estate yet their own fears so damps their hearts that makes them question that it is not so but the ground of it is their own fears as the ground of the wicked in thinking their estate is good is from their own opinions so the People of God many times from their own conceit and opinions rather than from the Word think their estate is bad Take this Rule As you must receive no comfort but out of the Word so you must not receive any trouble but from the Word when you receive trouble any other ways you do not consider that God has laid your estates so high that all your troubles depend on nothing but the Word and therefore answer all with Scripture when the Devil casts temptations before thee bid him prove that thy estate is not good from the Word I have this out of the Word to prove it is so and thou hast nothing to the contrary in other things you will not be baffled as in your Evidences for your Estates suppose a man come and lay claim unto it although you cannot perhaps make out your title clear yet you will bid him prove the contrary and shew what grounds he hath to lay claim to it 't is not the clamours and talking of other men that will make you quit your hold or satisfie you that it was never rightly yours But let the Devil come and clamour against your souls and you are ready to joyn with him and say it is so indeed I am an hypocrite and I have no true grace nor spiritual life my soul is under the curse of the Law and dominion of Sin still how unworthy do you carry it to the blessed Spirit of God and all the grace and goodness of God that has been manifested and made known unto you concerning the pardon of your sins How unbefitting is it that on every clamour of Satan and stirring of corruptions in your own hearts that you should raze the foundation of all your comforts by calling all the work of God presently into question Many a poor creature that finds by Evidences out of the Word that their estate is good they go away chearful but if the next day there be any stirrings of corruption they let go all and raze the foundation of all their comforts walk not so unworthy of the grace of God depend upon the Word as for your troubles so for your comforts as you are not comforted with any thing but from what the Word of God speaks to you so be discouraged with nothing but where you find the Word of God against you The fifth Rule is this When at any time you are put to seek your Evidences and cannot find them the best way is rather to renew than to spend time in finding of the old as suppose any man or woman be searching out such Evidences for Salvation which they had before and cannot find them it may be they are poring upon their own hearts for such and such workings as they have had heretofore and cannot find them and so are ready to conclude that all is naught and lie down as people disconsolate because their condition is not good they cannot find such Evidences as heretofore they had now in this case the best way is if I cannot find my Evidences or the use of them I had before to renew them the time I spend in seeking and discouraging of my heart if I spent it in actings and workings of my heart after God for the renewing of my Evidences perhaps I might have renewed them in that time as in matters between men and women in this world they have Evidences that would clear the matters in differences but perhaps they cannot find them or they are grown so old that they cannot read them and they spend a great deal of time about them whereas possibly did they go to the Court of Roles they might have them renewed with less charge and time so it is with the soul when it cannot find such and such Evidences it spends a great deal of time and sits down in discouragement and disquietness of heart when as perhaps in less time thou mightest have renewed them as thus suppose thou art looking after this Evidence of thy Calling for God calls whom he justifies Now thou art looking after thy call and thou art troubled that thou dost not remember how God did work upon thy heart then or heretofore and a great deal of time is spent cannot you find how 't was with you then No then fall upon this course listen to what voyce of God thou hearest now in thy heart say to
thy soul Do not I now find the work of God in me do not I find him now drawing of my heart out of the world unto himself and does not my heart listen unto this call for the call of God is not only at first conversion but God is alwayes calling and drawing the heart from the world unto himself if thou can'st not make use of the work of God heretofore make use of his present work upon thee Again those whom God justifies they enter into Covenant with God for it was by way of Covenant as I told you they give up themselves to God in an everlasting Covenant But when did I come into Covenant with God I am afraid I am not the man or woman in Covenant with God I cannot remember any such work perhaps thy heart sinks down within thee because thou can'st not clear up this work of entring into Covenant with God heretofore Now the time that thou spendest in seeking after this work spend it in entring now into Covenant with God at this present time it will be no hinderance to thee that thou can'st not find what was heretofore if now at this present thou can'st surrender up thy self to God in an everlasting Covenant this is enough do it Now if you can find your hearts now come in and yield up your selves into Covenant with God you may have the comfort of this Evidence as fully as if you clearly remembred all the former transactions and the work of God upon you in your first entring into Covenant with God Again those that had their sins pardoned I told you were brought into the Kingdom of Christ but you will say I cannot remember how I was translated Take now upon you the Scepter of Jesus Christ many trouble themselves saying I never found such humiliations and troubles for sin as you speak of or as others have found How is it now with your souls Do you find sin now a burden to your souls Is it not the greatest affliction If you were put to your choice had you not rather suffer any thing in the world than sin against God and not only out of Convictions of Conscience but because you find a frame of spirit in your hearts suitable thereunto for an Hypocrite he may have Convictions of Conscience but the frame of his spirit is not suited thereunto in you there is a frame of spirit suitable to the convictions of Conscience within you though you cannot remember you have had such sorrows and troubles in convictions for sin as others have had while they were under the spirit of bondage yet you may be comforted by the present frame of spirit that you have and so in the like cases if you cannot find your old Evidences fall to work to renew your Evidences and do not spend time in lying down under the discouragements of your own hearts The sixth Rule is this When you examine your selves to find out your Evidences carry this thought along with you that you have to deal with God in the Covenant of grace and this will be of marvellous use unto you perhaps to some these are very dry things and they see but little in them and scarce know what they be but I hope there be many others that have knowledge of an eternal state to be between God and their souls I hope I speak things will be very precious to them yea I say unto many of you for while I am in this argument I am speaking to such as have had the fear of God faln upon their hearts and they have made it the great business of their lives above all things in this world to know how tearms are between God and their souls to know how it stands with them for their everlasting estates I know abundance of people scarce ever call these things in question to whom these Rules will be of little or no use at all but if I speak to some or any one troubled soul to help and direct them though I do no good to others I shall think my time well spent wherefore then in your examinations ever carry this with you that you have to deal with God in the Covenant of grace and not in a Covenant of works Certainly that many are so troubled in their Consciences about their eternal estates it is on this ground because they look upon God in the way of the Covenant of works if they find any corruptions stirring and breaking forth and temptations strong upon them they think presently all is naught and that God will never accept of them What is the reason If we had to deal with God in a Covenant of works the least stirring of corruption it is enough to cast the soul down into eternal horrour as Adam though he had never so much goodness before by the Image of God upon him yet one sin eternally cast him if there had not come in a Covenant of grace Now though people will acknowledge there is a Covenant of grace yet upon the stirring of their corruption they carry it as that it serves for no other use than if they had to deal with God in a Covenant of works and as if there were no Covenant of grace at all Now what a dishonour is this to the riches of Gods goodness in the Covenant of grace that tells us We are not to be judged for our eternal estate by the Covenant of works and tells us that he that must be our Judge for our eternal condition is our Advocate with the Father and tells us also that God accepts of the uprightness and the sincerity of the heart and that the want of perfection shall never damn thy soul He that stands before the Lord to make atonement and to be our Advocate to plead with the Father for us he it is that must be the Judge of our eternal estate and therefore when I set my self before the Lord I consider that I have to deal with him in a Covenant of grace Suppose I find and feel such and such corruptions and weaknesses in me Is it not possible that my estate is happy by the Covenant of grace Collect your selves and say Why do I determine of my everlasting condition Have I to deal with God in the Covenant of grace and cannot these imperfections stand with it Why do I make such conclusions that my state is naught because of the stirrings of such and such corruptions The doubts and fears of most Christians arise from hence because they have not a clear understanding of the difference between the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of works there is nothing in the world would so satisfie the Consciences of men and women so as a clear understanding of the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of works Many people cry out of the Preachers that they disquiet and trouble the hearts of people by their Preaching the truth is no Preachers occasion so much the trouble and perplexity of Consciences as those that
preach Morality and meerly the way of duty and never come to make them see clearly the difference between the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of works and I appeal unto you who are they that most quiet and settle your Consciences and satisfie your spirits Are they not those Preachers that open the difference between the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of works Certainly those Preachers that shew you what the Covenant of grace is are the only men that quiet and satisfie Conscience and 't is a truth that nothing can do it but that You that are Christians how should you then labour to get a further insight into the Covenant of grace and instead of other Discourses less useful let this be the subject of your discourse the difference of the Covenant of works and the Covenant of grace or the blessings of this Covenant and that this is the Covenant that we must depend upon notwithstanding our weaknesses And now I am speaking of this Covenant that weakness may stand with the Covenant of grace many that have carnal hearts may be ready to abuse it take notice how dear the comforts of your souls cost God and God will have his Ministers to comfort you though the revealing of such things will indanger many a mans soul God is content to hazard the damnation of other men to comfort you for certainly those things that we speak for your comfort will be the damnation of many others Think thus O Lord must the comforts of my soul cost so dear and that for my comfort many souls are hazarded who by taking occasion to sin abuse that grace that is reached forth to me and so are like eternally to perish O then what need had I to make good use of this grace that comes to me with the hazard of the souls of so many others If a man should bring some precious Balsom to apply to a wound and tell him there is not one drop of it but cost a thousand pound at least would not this be highly prized Now when we come and shew you any thing that may comfort your hearts and satisfie your souls we must reveal such things that not only cost much but the least dram of Gospel-comforts cost that which was of infinite worth and 't is valuable two ways first every drop of the Balsom of the Gospel cost the blood of Christ but besides this the very revealing of it must cost the damnation of many souls and yet God is content to venture that that you may be comforted We in the Name of God come and preach the grace of the Gospel and we think many will be hardned by it and grow more secure and abuse Gods mercy but then we satisfie our selves with this that the comforting of any broken troubled soul is so precious in the eyes of Jesus Christ that he is content to venture the hardning of many other souls if they will be hardned let them be hardned Christ is content to venture it and hereby we see how precious these comforts are therefore you had need to prize them and not cast them off as suppose a Captain for the saving of the lives of two or three men should venture the lives of a thousand men meerly to save the lives of two or three were not these mens lives very precious to him so Jesus Christ he ventures the hardning of the hearts of many for the comforting of a few therefore it shews your comforts are precious things you should not easily put them off for they cost dear The seventh Rule in applying Evidences is this That when you cannot see the work of faith reaching to Assurance yet labour to put forth the work of faith of Adherence there may be much of the workings of the faith of adherence where there cannot be the faith of assurance that is certain there may be true faith adhereing to Christ for the pardon of sin where the soul hath no certain assurance of it Many poor creatures are crying out and saying if I had faith of assurance and a full perswasion my sins were pardoned I could be comforted but because they have not attained to a full perswasion and assurance they think they have no grace at all but there may be faith in the pardon of sin where there is not a reflect act of the soul whereby I come to know it hath faith and that its sins are pardoned 1. Joh. Chap. 2.3 he shews there that there may be knowledge and yet not know they do know Hereby we know that we do know him if we keep his Commandements hereby we know that we do know him now knowing of Christ and knowing that we do know him is not all one there is a knowing and a knowing that we do know him so there is a beleiving and a knowing we do beleive there may be a true work of grace that I may know Christ and know him to salvation and yet not know that I do know him that is by a reflect act of faith a knowing that I do know him so then where there is not a faith of assurance there may be a faith of adherence that is when the soul sticks to Christ and can giue it self unto and venture it self upon Christ for pardon of sin life and Salvation that is faith of adherence suppose in seeking my Evidences many of them being taken from the effects and friuts of faith I cannot find them and so cannot put forth a reflect act of the soul which is faith of assurance yet I may at that time have a faith of adherence thou may'st feel thy heart stick to Christ and thou may'st venture thy soul on Christ that faith will save thee though you have not a faith of assurance that is though you cannot find such Evidences whereby you may draw up such a conclusion or make up such a judgment that you are pardoned yet if you have a faith of adherence that you can stick to Ghrist and venture your soules on him for life and Salvation and all that is good that faith will save you and therefore upon examination of your Evidences when you cannot get up to such acts of faith as assurance is live then by a faith of adherence stick to Christ say here I will resolve to live and dye venture on the grace of God in Christ Now for the soul to do this it is a mighty work of faith for if you can venture your souls on Christ you will venture your Estates on Christ your Names on Christ and all that you have on Christ and therefore remember if you have not a faith of assurance then venture your selves on Christ by a faith of adherence and comfort will come in that way Eightly If at any time you feel comforts from Evidences flow in upon your souls and that you are able to apply the comforts to your selves that the Lord hath spoken to you by such and such signs of a pardoned sinner take heed
you do not rest much upon Evidences but then at that very time think with your selves though now I have comforts I may loose them and God may call me to another condition God never granted these helps unto me for my Saviours that I should rest upon them they are but bladders to help me to swim and God may take away these and call me to live upon the meer actings of faith and not at all on sense that 's certain he may do it for when we bring these Signs and Evidences of grace as they come from faith and are effects and fruits of it they are but as bladders to help young swimmers that cannot swim without them and learn them to swim but those that have got the Art though the bladders be taken away they can swim but take them away from the others and they will sink so that these Evidences are for young and weak Christians that cannot live on primary acts of faith which a strong Christian can do when all other things are taken away and therefore when we feel the comfort of any signs depend not on this the Lord may take them away and because he delights in the meer actings of faith that is the reason why God withdraws himself from the souls of his people that they shall not have the use of Signs and Evidences as they had before because he would teach them to live on the more necessary acts of faith God loves the voice of Job though he kill me yet will I trust in him I will venture my soul upon him whatever becomes of me when there 's nothing else to rest on but God then to live by actings of faith merely on him he delights much in this and therefore take heed you do not rest so much on signs as if all your comforts were lost and you undone when you cannot have such use of them as you have had heretofore Ninthly when you have at any time lost the use of signs do not determine that all is gone and that you shall never have the use of them more this is that that mightily hinders many poor Christians that are in trouble of Conscience because they cannot find the evidence of the pardon of their sins and that God accepts of them in what they do what do they do presently they yeild to the horrible sentence of damnation against themselves Gods Spirit say they is now gone and he will return no more he will never come any more unto me take heed you do not fasten on any such kind of thoughts as those are to determine of your own estates or that Gods Spirit will not come again but do you humble your souls before the Lord and wait upon him Tenthly When at any time all Signs and Evidences fail you and you are ready to determine that all is gone yet even then keep up good thoughts of God As the Spouse in the Canticles when her Beloved was gone yet she prized him and said He is the chiefest of ten thousands in Cant. 5. when she was asked What is thy beloved says she he is thus and thus then concludes He is altogether lovely and this was at such a time as he was gone yet she retain'd good thoughts of him so 't is a good sign for any soul that when trouble of conscience is upon them or any other trouble that they retain good thoughts of God and Christ and the wayes of God when the soul says whatever become of me though I perish for ever yet God is good his Word his ways are good his Gospel and the Covenant in his Son is good and whatever troubles are upon me yet God is righteous and though God justifie not me yet I will justifie God if there be any soul that cannot find his Evidences or any of those signs before spoken of you may make use of this if you cannot find any other do what thou can'st to justifie God thou art afraid that God will not justifie thee do thou justifie him sometimes it is with many men as with some wretched servant that has dealt falsly with his Master and may be all the while he can make any advantage of his Master for his own ends he will speak well of him but if his Master turn him out of doors for his wickedness then he rails on him 't is ordinary for bad servants to do so when they are turn'd away for their wickedness and so it is with many when all goes well with them then they like well of the wayes of God but if they come to such a condition as that they think that God will cast them away indeed and that they are like to perish then they begin to have hard thoughts of God and by degrees they speak against God and his ways take heed of this although you want the Evidences of his love and mercy yet retain in your hearts good thoughts of God and of his ways and this will be a special help to bring into your souls the comfort and assurance of your Justification and now I have done with this argument I have shewed you who it is that hath his sins pardoned I have shewed the several mistakes and I have shewed you certain infallible grounds from Scripture Evidences of the pardon of sin and Rules how to make use of those Evidences and now upon what you have heard you have testimony and assurance of the pardon of your sins or you have not if you find your hearts do not answer to these Evidences or that you are afraid that your sins are not pardoned then take a use of Exhortation to put you on to seek after this blessedness CHAP. XIX Of Exhortation to seek after Pardon of Sin with Cautions and Rules how and what we are to do I Am now come to a use of Exhortation and it concerns us all either those that are not pardoned or those that have assurance of the pardon of their sins for there is none that have assurance but may make use of it Christ taught his Disciples to pray daily for the forgiveness of their trespasses as well as for their daily bread and what we are to pray for we are to seek after so that it concerns all blessedness is desirable to all it is as natural for man as a reasonable creature to desire blessedness as it is for the fire to burn only here 's the great mistake in the world all would have it but they look not for it in the right way Now after all that has been said that thou may'st not have slight thoughts of the pardon of sin and say I hope they are pardoned and the like I shall speak to awaken thee suppose thou wer 't now set on the brink of the infinite Ocean of Eternity and the bottomless Gulf were ready to devour thee and the Records of Heaven were opened and there shewed thee that thy sins were not cancelled but remain upon the file What thou would'st then do do
it now for this is our time and this is the great work of our lives not to cumber our selves about many things but about this one thing to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling this is the great work to seek to secure this blessing of the pardon of our sins which is the foundation of all in the obtaining of it we obtain all blessings it ought to be our chief care and we ought to lay out our chief strength and indeavours in seeking of it and if God would be pleased to put his hand to your hearts and turn the stream of your thoughts and indeavours the very turning of your hearts after this business is a great mercy there is so much blessedness in it as not only the obtaining of it but the very motion of the heart this way is worth all the world in Act. 2. we read there were many thousands that had their hearts pricked at hearing the Word preached and they cryed out men and brethren What shall we do to be saved O that there were a disposition in the hearts of men to cry thus we see it is our blessedness if we have it and if we have it not we are all cursed for ever What shall we do to get it Mar. 10.17 we read of one came running after Christ saying What shall I do to be saved O that your hearts were now in such a frame to come running after Christ saying What shall we do that our sins may be pardoned but before I come to any thing else it is necessary by way of caution or proviso to say three or four things First This that although I must seek after God for the pardon of sin yet know there is nothing in a natural man that is or can be acceptable all his endeavours have not that in them that can gain him acceptance with God But then to what purpose are we to endeavour to do any thing yes we must be striving after the pardon of sin although without Christ we can do nothing and a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit yet it is to purpose that we be doing for God likes well the exercise of the work of common gifts though they are not saving and to eternal life yet God likes the exercise of them so far as there is any thing good and commends them when that young man came to Christ Mar. 10.21 Christ look't upon him and loved him though not with such a love as to save him and bring him to eternal life yet God did discover love to such a one therefore it is to some purpose that a man should put himself on doing what he can if it be only for that 2. It is to some purpose that the heart be stirring after God and Christ because hereby we shall evidence that we are not so negligent of God and Christ and the things of eternal life as we were before 3. It is to some purpose for in the stirring of the common works of Gods Spirit God many times comes in with saving works for God works not upon men as upon stocks or stones but God puts them on by stirring up the common works of his Spirit and at that time when they are most in stirring it is Gods usual way to come in with the saving works of his Spirit therefore it is not to no purpose that we are putting on poor creatures to do what they can The second Caution is this That whatsoever any one doth in seeking after Christ before he has union with Christ it is not to be reckoned on as the condition of the Covenant of Grace or a Gospel-work there are no preparatory works for the receiving of Christ that are the condition of the Covenant of grace though they be such things as we must follow after yet they are not the condition of the Covenant of grace Now that that is the condition of the Covenant of grace sanctifies him that hath it and follows upon our union with Christ though God uses to carry on the soul in the way of legal terrors humiliations and the like yet these are not the work of the Covenant of grace and therefore this may help many a poor soul about terrors of Conscience and humiliations that are troubled that they never had those degrees as others have why as they do not prepare and fit thee for Christ so the want of them is no hinderance to the receiving of Christ The third Caution is this that follows on the other That though you put your selves upon the use of all means to the receiving of Christ yet take heed you do not rest in any of those preparatory works there 's a great deal of danger in that many souls mistake and it is to be feared it is in this the resting in something that they have done it may be God has awakened their Consciences and they fall upon working upon humbling and reforming themselves and here they rest but this is a mistake you must not rest until you find you are in Christ and until there be an union with Christ and your souls the work is not therefore done because you are humbled and reformed and run another course to what you did before for Rom. 9.16 'T is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy not of him that willeth that is that hath some good affections to it nor of him that runneth that is though his endeavours be never so strong yet 't is not of him neither many think they have peace in their souls upon their good desires and endeavours when their hearts are mightily stirr'd and they wonderfully inlarged then they make no question but all is done and they quiet their hearts with that and think there is no further work to be done but it is not so Not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy though we must will and we must run yet there may be running and striving to enter in and yet not enter this is a very great point to let us see all of us what need we have of the free grace of God in pardoning of our sin Fourthly Though God does not tie himself to come in to pardon upon these preparatory works going before yet it is worthy of the utmost endeavours of any soul in the world that there is a possibility of the obtaining of it though God tie not himself to give pardon on those works yet there is enough in it to require the utmost endeavours of any one to be laid out could we do ten thousand times more than we can even the very possibility of obtaining pardon is worth the calling forth of all our strength know that the very possibility of having sin pardoned is enough to set all your hearts a work to seek after it though God do not tie himself to come in then and pardon t is not thus that God would have his creature seek unto him and
against God that I know not that I cannot tell how to make up his glory for there is care taken for that already and therefore that need not discourage thee Tenthly There are as vile sinners now Triumphing in Heaven as any of you that are here be you never so black and vile and therefore be not discouraged at the greatness of thy sins for though they be very great yet that may not keep thee out others as vile as thou art are now in Heaven Eleventhly Make the utmost of thy sin thou can'st yet this need not hinder thee to come to God for for ought that either men or Angels know thou hast as much interest in Christ as any Saint in Heaven over had and if thou comest in and layest hold on Christ thy very laying hold on Christ will plainly shew thou hast a right unto him and therefore be not discouraged but come in Twelfthly Vpon thy closing with Christ thou wilt find such a change as was never wrought in any creature besides for though thou wer 't vile and filthy more vile and filthy than a child new born by original and actual sins ingendred in thee yet thou shalt be made cleaner than a child and more pure in the eyes of God than any child cleansed from his filthiness would not you do any thing to be pure in the eyes of God make use of what I say and you shall be clean when you hear the Ministers utter the threatnings of God you fall out with the man and say he preaches nothing but terror alas 't is our delight to preach the pardoning grace of God but we must shew the evil of sin and it is that you might come in and imbrace mercy for know we delight to preach mercy more than any thing else and know that if thou desirest that all thy thoughts ways and actions may be for Gods glory he will not upbraid thee for coming in unto him Joh. 6.37 He that cometh to Christ he will in no wise cast out though thou hast been never so great a sinner yet thou may'st come in and close with Christ for he that comes to him be he what he will he will in no wise cast out Thirteenthly Thou wilt fill Heaven with joy and there will be more melody in Heaven than at the coming in of any Prince to his Kingdom and I may say unto you even in this place if you come in the Angels will rejoyce at it for there are many Angels stand about you therefore take heed of your carriage for they come to see your behaviour have a special care your hearts be set upon the work you come about for they are here to see how you carry your selves Fourteenthly In obtaining pardon of sin and closing with Christ by faith thou art made heir of the whole world Rom. 4.13 How does many of you Marriners and others venture upon dangerous voyages to get great Estates in this world and you count them happy that are born to great Estates Why by closing with Jesus Christ by faith for remission of sins you are made heirs of the whole world I mean not of that to come but of this present world though none of you certainly desire more than may carry you to Heaven yet you are true and proper heirs of the whole world All is yours the Scripture is very clear in it but I cannot now stand to inlarge upon it 1 Cor. 3. latter end Fifteenthly For any thing thou knowest thou art one of Gods Elect and there is nothing thou art to do but God hath promised to inable thee to do it for there is such a transaction between God and Christ that he that shall be saved shall not have only savour vouchsaf't unto him but shall be inabled to do whatsoever God requires of him there shall be grace given to every one of the Elect of God And now if thou comest in and givest up thy self and all that thou art hast or can'st do to Christ How knowest thou but thou art one of those that art Elect and so shall be made for ever happy But if after all that has been said thou goest away with slight thoughts of this rich and transcendent grace of pardoning mercy and dost not set presently upon the work to obtain it Be thou for ever ashamed and confounded but let the pardoning mercy of God be for ever magnified FINIS A TABLE of the Principal Things contain'd in this Treatise CHAP. I. THe Text opened and the main Doctrine propounded viz. pag. 1 Doct. That the blessedness of a man or of any soul consists in the free grace of God forgiving of his sin 4 CHAP. II. Of the blessedness of the pardon of sin which appears 6 1. Negatively in the evil it frees us from ibid. 2. Positively in the good bestowed upon us therein consider 8 1 The Efficient cause of mercy in forgiveness of sin ibid. 2 The Final cause of mercy in forgiveness of sin 9 CHAP. III. Of 11 wonderful Mysteries of Godliness included in in the great mercy of forgiveness of Sin 10 1 It is by means of a Mediator 11 2 It is through Christs undertaking the debt upon himself 12 3 It is by Christs sufferings 13 4 Sin pardoned makes the soul stands righteous before God 14 5 This righteousness is in another ibid. 6 A near union is made between Christ and the Soul 15 7 It is by faith yet boasting is excluded 16 8 God is infinitely just and yet infinitely merciful 18 9 When God forgives sin at present he forgives all to come 19 10 God pardons a sinner not because he is but that he might be changed 25 11 God himself purchases the Pardon 27 CHAP. IV. Of Pardon of Sin not only being a mercy in it self but the Foundation of many other Mercies 28 1 Peace 1 with God 2 with 1 Conscience 2 Creatures 30 32 33 2 The Revelation of Gods secrets to them he pardons ibid. 3 It makes all other injoyments to be mercies which otherwise are not 38 1 By reason of guilt of sin 39 2 Not known whether they be given in love or hatred ibid. 4 It makes all afflictions easie to be borne 40 1 The great good of pardon makes the bitterest evil nothing 41 2 It assures the soul the evil of affliction is gone 42 5 Pardoning mercy brings healing with it into the soul 43 6 Comfort against death the effect of pardoning mercy 45 7 Security against the worlds reproaches 46 8 It is the foundation of eternal life 48 9 It is the bottom of all true comfort ibid. CHAP. V. Of Pardoning Mercy passing through a great many difficulties by reason of the wrong that man hath done to God by Sin 49 1 God must be made Man and yet remain the same God he was before 50 2 He must die and be made a curse ibid. 3 The dead heart of man must be raised to do the gloriousest work that any creature ever did 51 Hence 1
sin for time to come justifies the ungodly pardons sin yet purchases the pardon These eleven Meditations about the Pardon of Sin make it appear to be a wonderful work of God put these together and then the result according to the point will be clear and full that Blessed is that man whose sins are forgiven And surely if there be such a mysterious and glorious work of God in pardoning sin that man for whom God shall work such a glorious work is a blessed man indeed And now having done with this Argument of the great mystery of Godliness in forgiveness of Sin I proceed to another and it is this CHAP. IV. That Pardon of Sin not only is a Mercy in it self but the Foundation of many other Mercies PArdon of Sin makes a mâ—â— blessed Why Because it is the Foundation of abundance of other Mercies it is an inlet to many other mercies therefore a great mercy it is a leading mercy it is as the Queen of Mercy that hath a great and glorious train of other mercies attending on her indeed it is the very foundation of all the mercies of the Covenant of grace 't is the principal mercy and the very foundation of all the mercies that are in the Covenant and the inlet and opening to them all the Covenant of Grace is a rich Treasury hath abundant store of mercy in it and this opens to them all The current of all Gods mercies was stopt by mans sin though God had an infinite Ocean of mercy yet the sourse and vent of all Gods mercies was stopt Now when God pardons sin he takes away the stop and opens the sluce that his infinite grace and goodness may flow forth plentifully and sweetly to the soul body and state yea to all that belongs to a believer You may conceive Gods mercy to be as an infinite stream of goodness running with a full current towards his creatures for God delights in the Communication of himself to his creatures But now mans sin made a dam and stopt the pipe that not one drop of mercy could come forth not a drop of all that mercy that in the eternal purpose of God he hath appointed in time shall come forth to such and such a poor creature but when he comes to Pardon and Justification he pulls out the plug and pulls up the flood-gates and sluces and then mercies come flowing in amain when sin is pardoned then the full streams of all the mercies in the Covenant of grace come flowing into the soul well then if it be thus that pardon of sin is an inlet to other mercies then he that hath his sin pardoned is a very blessed man I shall open this That Pardon of Sin is the foundation to and opens the sluce to let in all other mercies Jer. 31.31 Behold the days come that I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah here God opens his goodness and tells them he will make a new Covenant not like that he made with their fathers vers 32. but this shall be the Covenant vers 33. and he instances in some particulars I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me c. But what is the foundation of all this at the end of the 34. For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more I will make a new Covenant with them and put my law into their inward parts and they shall all know me I will come in with all my mercies and blessings Illumination and Sanctification he mentions these instead of the rest as in a grant of great things some particulars are mentioned but then he comes in with a general For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more As if it should be said Why Lord wilt thou come in thus to thy people in such an abundant way of mercy more than formerly and let in these graces of thy Covenant Why here 's the ground of all for I will forgive their iniquity so that forgiveness of iniquity is the special inlet of the mercies of the Covenant Now more particularly I shall shew you what are those special mercies Pardon of sin is an inlet to and that will further shew the blessedness of those souls that have their sins pardoned because pardon of sin is an inlet to many other mercies As Of Peace with God that Pardon of Sin is an inlet to 1. Peace with God Rom. 5.1 being justified that is pardoned through faith what follows we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ the ground of our Justification and Reconciliation it is not our Humiliation no nor our Sanctification Observe it the very bottom and foundation of our Justification and Reconciliation it is neither of these though we ought to be in the use and exercise of them but pardon of sin is through the free grace of God applyed by faith this is the ground of all our Peace and Reconciliation with God And thus men and women should seek their peace with God the main thing they should lay the waight of obtaining peace of God upon it is the work of faith applying the Righteousness of Christ for pardon rather than any work of Humiliation or Sanctification by the Spirit of God yet both these are sweet and comfortable when we found the bottom and main foundation of all our peace on the free grace of God pardoning our sin and justifying of us through faith in Christ Cod does not say you that are great sinners stay till you are humbled and are brought to hate sin and you shall have peace with God No you may be much troubled for sin and may leave it and reform in many things and live better lives than before and yet your peace not made up with God How then shall it be thus being justified by faith looking up to the free grace of God in Christ for pardon of sin we come to have peace with God and this is a great priviledge but if you consider on the other side a creature not reconciled cannot look upon the infinite Creator without terror and shakings and tremblings of spirit he cannot have any thoughts of God but he thinks of him as his Enemy and that all the excellencies of God are working misery and ruine to him this is a sad thing But when pardon of sin comes God is reconciled and all fears and terrors from the Almighty are gone those fears whereby the soul was afraid God was secretly working ruine to it are dispell'd and if any judgment of God come close and near and befal any in the sight and hearing of a guilty soul he would be thinking God is coming to me next But a justified soul may say though the judgments of God be never so terrible in the world and in