would be comforted as they were Confess with them if we would have a sealed pardon as they had 4. In thus following them let us wait upon God believingly In this way strengthen our faith from their pattern encourage our Souls with this and these were as I am and thus they did and are now happy I will then trust in God and thus waâ— for his Salvation Forgiveness obtained in the way of Prayer DOCTRINE II. IT is the Duty of all and the disposition of every Gracious Soul to pray to God for as they hope to obtain forgiveness of him They that would have it must pray for it and they that have true Grace in them will so do There are two Propositions in the Doctrine 1. It is the duty of all that hope to be forgiven by God to pray to him for it That this is a duty is evident because God hath required it though God hath purposed to bestow a pardon on all his Chosen yet Prayer is a required medium in order to the obtaining of it Ezek. 36. 37. I will be sought c God therefore connects their Calling and his Hearing together Jer. 29. 12 13. But it â—t be enquired What dependance this forgiveness â—ath on our praying for it We may take this brief account of it 1. That Gods forgiveness is every way free to us â—e cannot deserve it by any thing of ours It is of the very nature of a pardon that it is free We must distinguish between the provision made â—n the Covenant of Redemption for our being pardoned in which we were bought and satisfaction was made to the Justice of God and the Dispensation of it to us in the Covenant of Grace in which it is freely bestowed and the meer mercy of God is celebrated Whatever Christ hath done to merit it for us we our selves never did not could do any thing towards the deserving of it So that our prayers cannot of their own nature oblige God to pardon us and therefore we are in them to confess our own unworthiness of it Luk. 15. 21. 2. Hence all the media by which we come to obtain any favour from him are his free gift He hath prescribed them as an order in which we are to come by his benefits yet not only the benefits themselves but also all the grace and help where by we are enabled so to wait upon him for them is from him He gives Repentance as well as Remission Acts 5. 31. He helps us to pray as well as pardoneth us on prayer Rom. 8. 26. So that his Grace doth equally appear in the one as in the other So that though he hath made promises to such conditions yet he must give them or we can never work them in our selves 3. That Faith in Christ is the great medium by which we apprehend Gods forgiveness We cannot merit it all that we have to do is to receive it which is only by an hand of Faith Hence Justification to which pardon belongs is in the Gospel restrained to believing Rom. 5. 1. But this hath been already insisted on 4. That our faith must be acted on Christ for our apprehension of this pardon I here dispute not whether the habit of Faith doth not put us in a safe state We are here only considering the order of the Oeconomy of the Divine dispensation to us As to Gods dealing with Infants it is dark to us We can readily conceive them Subjects as well capable of the Sanctification of the Spirit as of natural corruption though how they should exert acts of faith and repentance is beyond our conjecture But as to others we know that the habits of Grace are infused for action and to believe in Christ for life is an act of the Soul proceeding from such a principle and not meerly the principle it self though it presumes a power put into us else we could not take hold on Christ Now it is actual believing to which the Gospel promise is made Joh. 3. 16. And therefore it is called a coming to him Math. 11. 28. 5. That this faith is most suitably expressed in Prayer That prayer is a duty of Natural worship the light of Nature as well as the word of God informeth us that we should carry our wants to God in Prayer appears from the nature of it that all our Prayers are to be made in faith we are assured because such Prayers only is Effectual We must ask all in the Name of Christ we have no other way of access to God Now forgiveness is one of our great wants and that to pray in faith for it is most suitable will appear if we consider 1. Herein we testify our felt want of it It is sence of need that drives men to Prayer All formalities without this feeling are but idle strains of complement which God hath no regard for And indeed the end of Prayer is not to acquaint him with our necessities for He knows them before Math 6. 8. but to affect our selves with them God would have us know our need that we may put the better value on his kindness it is therefore upon felt want that we are advised to ask Jam. 1 5. 2. We herein also acknowledge God to be the author of our forgiveness This he expecteth of us It was one clause in his Prayer Dan. 9. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses And if we do not believe and acknowledge it to come from him why do we ask it of him and here is a double exercise of faith we believe that he can forgive and we believe that if ever we be forgiven it must come from him Psal 130. 4. Dan. 9. 9. When we go no whither else but to him for it we give him the glory of it 3. We herein declare that he is a free Agent when he forgiveth us The very asking a pardon if sincere implies that we acknowledge our Guilt otherwise we could not know what we want a pardon for And when we seek to have Guilt removed in way of a pardon we signify by it that we have no satisfaction of our own to make for the offence but it must come from the benignity and compassion of him whom we have offended So that Gods free Grace is fully asserted in our Praying for forgiveness and that it is at his liberty It is therefore asked in his Name Psal 25. 11. 4. Hence this puts us into the best posture to receive it God will magnify his mercy in pardoning our Sin and what posture better becomes us to take it of him than lying prostrate at his feet resigning to his mercy sensible of our own unworthiness Justifying him in his severity against us imploring him to look upon us in tender pity and all this belongs to the very frame of a right praying to God God is most honoured by taking us off from the ground where we ly before him in our shame thus is the Prodigal represented Luk. 15. 21.
refers to some trouble that he met with after his Conversion and yet he tells us how sadly he was oppressed with it That the sense of Guilt is terrible to him that hath the impressions of it on his Spirit we have already observed That therefore which is here only to be enquired is How a true Convert who is a Justified consequently a pardoned person comes to be distrest with Guilt which is removed by Forgiveness And this is a Case worthy our looking into For the right stainâ— and explaining whereof I may offer these Conclusions 1 It is certain that in the forgiveness of Sin the whole Guilt of it is removed A Pardon hath 〈◊〉 proper respect unto Guilt it makes not the 〈◊〉 not to have been nor takes away the merit of it but it removes the obligation of it that bound the Sinner to Dy a pardon doth not take away a part and leave a part but it dischargeth all it doth not remit the fault and retain the punishment nor doth it abate the Eternal Punishment and reserve the Temporal but it altogether dears the man from the Law sentence against him for this reason it is said to be blotted out c. God indeed forgives as a Judge and corrects as a Father but this respects not the Law but the Gospel and the Correction is to heal the person it is not an act of Revenging Justice but Parental Discipline Jer. 10. 24. 2. That Justification in which Sin is pardoned is not an eternal and immanent but a temporary and transient act They that talk of an Eternal Justification mistake the Scripture notion of it True in the Eternal Compact between God the Father and Son there were those given to the Son whom he was in due time to Redeem and Justify Isa 53. 11. And so this was secured for them and when Christ Rose from the Dead he was as our Sureâ—y Justified 1 Tim. 3. 16. And so there was a â—ustification taken out for us Rom. 4. 25. But the â—ctual application of it to us is upon our believing Rom. 5. 1. There is an act of God which passeth upon the Sinner whereby his Guilt is taken off â—rom him and this is part of that which the Scripâ—ure calls Justification And therefore before that we are counted Children of Wrath Eph. 2. 3. The â—hing was made sure before but we must be in Christ before we pass from Condemnation Rom. 8. 1. 3. There is a double consideration to be had 〈◊〉 the forgiveness which is applied to the Sinneâ— viz. 1. In respect to his Person and State The naturaâ— state of every Child of Adam is a state of Condemnation as he stands Guilty of the Imputatioâ— of the First Transgression and as he is Born undeâ— the power of In dwelling Original Sin by verâ— whereof his State is a State of Guilt Now 〈◊〉 state is removed in Justification in which theâ— are two things done for the person viz. He is 〈◊〉 free from Guilt and Condemnation and adjudged to Eternal Life called a passing from death 〈◊〉 life 1 Joh. 3. 14. The man is removed from under the Law and put under Grace Rom. 6. 〈◊〉 And by this the mans state is secured for Eternity he is for ever out of the reach of the Law threaâ—ning 2. In respect to his actions A pardoned justifiâ— man is not presently got rid of the Body of Death but is sometimes carried Captive by the Law 〈◊〉 his Members and hence he may and sometimâ— doth do the things that are displeasing to God Sam. 11. ult And this must be by sin for nothinâ— else can properly displease him and there is farther consideration to be had on account 〈◊〉 these which we may observe in that which folloâ— 4. That there is a sort of Guilt that cleaves to 〈◊〉 sinful actions of the Children of God If we look Guilt in a strict legal sense as that which binâ— â—he person over to suffer the vengeance of the Law so there is none can befal a justified Believâ— Rom. 8 1. The person is by the justifying act but beyond this danger God hath said Deliver him from going to the pit I have found a ransom he hath imputed Christ's Righteousness to him and it stands for him and cannot cease so 〈◊〉 do But yet there is something that may beâ—al a Justified person that the Scripture puts such name upon David was such an one before he â—urdered Uriah and yet prays to be cleared from â—uilt Psal 51. 14. What this is we must further â—nquire only in general observe that it cannot â—espect the mans state but his actions and the â—onsequents thereon in the Providence of God 5. That actual sins are not actually forgiven the â—an before they are committed Every Justified Beâ—ever is under the moral Law as a Rule though â—ot as a Covenant and so every neglect of or â—oing any thing against the Law is truly Sin â—nd stands in need of forgiveness and for this â—eason they are enjoyned to pray every day for 〈◊〉 Mat. 6. 12. This saith they want it else there â—ould be no occasion to pray for it and inâ—eed all the sins we commit after believing 〈◊〉 go to Christ's score else the Law would all foul on us This forgiveness must be taken 〈◊〉 after the sin is committed for if it were â—ctually applied before we need not go for it â—ery day God doth not as the Pope who â—etends to be Christ's Vicar give men Indulgenâ— for sins to be committed so many years hence all the Indulgence he affords us is if we sâ—n we have an Advocate by whom we may obtain forgiveness 1 Joh. 2. 1. Besides the way in which the Children of God come to obtain actual forgiveness of the sins they fall into is in the way of renewed Repentance and Faith and Godly Sorrow David repented and God forgave him and a particular repentance cannot be till there be the particular sin to be repented of 6. Hence Justification in this respect is a continueâ— Act. Divines rightly put that difference between Justification and Sanctification that the latter is a work but the former an act Now the Justifying act as it respects the person is at once and in aâ— instant at what time God imputeth the Righteousness of Christ to a Sinner and reckons it to him for his by this Imputation he is in the Law account a perfectly righteous person whence 〈◊〉 abstractively declared of him 2 Cor. 5. 21. And in this respect he is as Righteous in Gods account the first hour of his believing as he shall be in thâ— Day of Judgment But the actual forgiveness 〈◊〉 his particular sins is an effect or resultancy foâ—lowing from this Justification and it comes 〈◊〉 after the sins are committed and upon his Repeâ—rance and renewal of his Faith in Christ anâ— that must needs be succedaneous for it is conâ—dered not in respect of God in whose Eterniâ— there is no succession but of the Creature 〈◊〉 which
there is a succession of acts and accordingly receives mercy from God succedaneousâ— Forgiveness is said to be of Sins that are past Ro◠〈◊〉 25. Though it be secured in the Justifying act â—et it derives in this way and with such a conâ—exion 7. That a sin may be forgiven in the Court of Heaven and not in the Court of Conscience Divines do rightly and necessarily distinguish between these two Courts Every man is to be cited to answer for himself at both of these Tribunals and an act may pass in one of these when it hath not past in the other Conscience indeed is Gods Tribunal but yet many a man through the deceiâ—fulness of his heart and false opinion of himself pasâ—eth a wrong judgment on himself and sometimes brings in a Verdict of acquittance when he is indeed condemned before God And on the other hand God sometimes passeth the act of pardon on the Sinner as he ever doth on his believing on Christ and yet doth not immediately pubâ— it in the Conscience and so he may stand condemned within for the present though he be â—ally forgiven i. e. in his own apprehension â—or it is certain that a man may in a sense be 〈◊〉 not to have that which he doth not know that he hath i. e. He hath not the comfort of it 〈◊〉 is to him as if he had it not and so it may be with a pardoned one The King may have Signâ—l and Sealed a pardon for a Malefactor and so 〈◊〉 is really a pardoned man yet he is going to Execution and concludes that he must dy till it be â—roduced and read to him There may be a diâ—ect act of Faith by casting one self on Christ and yet the reflex act in a great measure be stopped 〈◊〉 50. 10. 8. Hence it follows that not only the person 〈◊〉 the sin too may be pardoned and yet the Conscience 〈◊〉 dened with it It is impossible but that awakeneâ— Conscience that hath a right apprehension of thâ— nature of Guilt and looks upon himself to 〈◊〉 under it must of necessity be in great anguish and none more sensible of it than they who haâ— grace in them having been savingly enlightened and thereby having a more lively sense raised 〈◊〉 them A particular forgiveness is applied upon particular Repentance and Believing and fouâ— say Can a man exert a particular act of faith 〈◊〉 repentance and not know it and if he doâ— know it he must know that he is forgiven because of the close connexion between these two but it may readily be answered that the 〈◊〉 may exert a gracious act and yet be at a 〈◊〉 whether it be gracious or no he may doubt whâ—ther his heart were right in it and so be afrâ— whether God hath accepted it yea be ready draw a conclusion against himself in this respect and the sin it self mean while stares him in 〈◊〉 face and terrifieth him and indeed if the Spiâ— do not afford his concurring Testimony and 〈◊〉 his seal to the truth of this the man will nâ— know what to make of himself knowing the dâ—ceitfulness and hypocrisy of his own heart aâ— whiles it is so needs must the terrours of 〈◊〉 Lord make him afraid the Sin cannot but 〈◊〉 very heavy and oppressing on his Conscience 9. Conscience wasting Sins do of their own natuâ— and by the righteous Judgment of God darken 〈◊〉 mans evidence of a pardoned state and expose him to the apprehension of Guilt Here observe 1. That a true Convert may fall into some Conscience wasting Sin He is not out of danger yea sometimes is so overtaken All the Sins of Gods Children are in a sense sins of Infirmity because there is a party in them that consents not but yet there are some that have more of boldness in them and do more nearly striek the Conscience which are presumptuous sins which he prays hard against Psal 19. 13. When prevailing Concupiscence hurries them to do things against the light of Conscience either to shut their eyes against it or to be born down by the force of a lust to commit it though Conscience saith it ought not to be this is a Conscience wasting sin and though it looks unlike the Spot of Gods Children yet sometimes when left to themselves they are thus entangled Davids Adultery and Murder were such and such was Solomons Building Idolatrous Houses 2. That God doth not ordinarily suffer his own to 〈◊〉 long under the insensibleness of such sins How â—ng he may is not for us to tell yet he is wont 〈◊〉 due time to awaken their Consciences and â—ve them the feeling of them He sends some â—essenger or other to rouse them some Prophet 〈◊〉 he did to David Either he meets them in an Ordinance and causeth some word to fasten on them or in a Providence as Josephs Brethren and thus God doth in faithfulness because whiles Conscience is thus wasted and stunned it can do its Office aright in nothing and so the mans graces are not exercised in vigour but miss their end which he will not suffer ever to be in such whom he hath planted his fear in 3. Such a sin of its own nature darkens the mans evidence to his good estate or state of pardon One main evidence we observed is our being without Guile it is by the fruits of the Spirit or the exercise of his graces that we are to prove our selves and the more life and activity there is of them the clearer evidence do they give that therefore which obstructs their activity must needs darken them what then must that do which binds them all up as such a sin doth when a man looks upon himself in this pickle he looketh to himself like a wicked man Conscience tells him thou hast despised me and put the fear of God from before thee and how shall he now discover that in him that may witness him to be a pardoned man 4. God now righteously withdraws the light of 〈◊〉 Countenance from him He witholds his Testimony he doth not speak peace in the man as some times formerly but is at least silent and lets hiâ— alone to the bitter remorces and reflections 〈◊〉 his own Conscience David was sensible of thâ— and that drew those petitions from him Psal 〈◊〉 11 12. And this is a very righteous judgment 〈◊〉 God the carriage of his Children calls for it is time for their Father to shew his displeasure 〈◊〉 he should seem not only to love their persons â—t approve their Sins 5. This must needs be attended with a fearful apâ—hension of Guilt He hath been arreigned and â—ed at the Bar of his own Conscience and there 〈◊〉 stands Convicted of Sin his former evidences 〈◊〉 comforts shrink away and look to him 〈◊〉 delusions his Conscience thundereth â—orrible menaces against him he looks upon God â—tting himself as an enemy and is ready to conâ—ude that he hath lied to him and Gods Wrath will certainly fall upon him and whiles
will not but rather farther it there is nothing that will more nourish Rejoycing in the Lord than a kindly mourning for sin that sorrow then that obstructs this joy is worldly sorrow Tho' it be a paradox in nature yet it is an experiment in the Grace of Gods people that the greatest mourners are the greatest rejoycers the tears of true Repentance are chrystal glasses in which a Child of God seeth his own sincerity and is thereby confirmed in his joy 2 Cor. 7. 9. 6. Gods Children have rejoyced in the most cloudy times that have past over them When to sense there hath been nothing but sorrow in their view they have not only held up from sinking but have broken forth into expressions of joy surely they herein testified that they had more within to solace them than there was without to depress them What made Paul and Silas to Sing after and under such cruel handling Acts 16. 23. They were not distracted nor was it irregular or unseasonable but they found that within that filled them with joy which they could not keep in what made him take up that resolution Hab 3. 17 18. Although the figtree blossom not c. Sure it was because he found enough in the God of his Salvation to satisfie him 7. Hence the people of God should always maintain a practical apprehension of the love of God to them which should keep them in a readiness always to rejoyce We may distinguish between the habit the disposition and the act the habit of every grace is kept alive in every believer else we must deny the perseverance of the Saints the act of every grace is not at all times exerted for we are finite creatures and cannot do every thing at once nor doth the Command necessitate us so to do but there is between the habit and act a disposition viz. a keeping of the habit in a next readiness and promptness to exert it self on all occasions when called for and this is aimed at in many precepts wherein constancy is required and so it is here Now this disposition is liable to decays and being off from us and then we are unready for our work but this is never without sin we should carefully keep the instrument in tune when God calls us to express our joy The Righteous should Rejoyce abundantly Conclu 6. THey should rejoyce abundantly The three words used in our Text set forth the exuberance of joy there should be both inward joy and a carriage suitable to it and this joy should outbid though not in the clamour yet in the intenseness of it all the joys of the men of the world which will appear if we Consider 1. It is proper to the Affections to be moved by the object They are powers put into the Creature being powers there must be something to bring them into act and this is by way of excitation and that which so excites them is the Object that is before them so that when they have no object to move them they have no motion Though man hath a power of love in him yet if there be nothing for him to love it doth not exert it self hence no affection is mentioned but with the object of it 2. Hence the motion of the Affections is according to the apprehension had of the Object Now this apprehension is either by the exercise of the senses as in bruits or of reason as in man for though the senses in man are helpful in the discovery of things yet they are subâ—ervient to his reason which hath in him the power of judging and determining of things that therefore which moves the affections is either the good or evil in the Object but not meerly as it is in it but as the man apprehends it so to be and so they may be led by mistake through a false opinion to call good evil and evil good act accordingly Isa 5. 20. 3. Hence also they are graduated according to the câ—nception of the degree of that which moves them in the object That there are divers measures in their operation is evident we do not rejoyce we do not grieve so much on one occasion as we do on another and there must be some reason for this It doth not only arise from the diversity of the Constitution but also from the diversity of the motive the same person on divers occasions is variously moved as he esteems the occasion to be smaller or greater which must needs be from the apprehension of the different reason of it in the object he thinks one thing to be a greater good and takes a proportionable delight in it another thing to be a greater evil and le ts out his grief accordingly and hence we read in the Word of God of greater or lesser occasions of joy sorrow 4. That the Object of the Righteous mans joy hath unconceivable good in it and for that reason affords the matter of exuberant joy The good in it is great beyond conception he is not able to fathom the height and depth the length and bredth of it Eph. 3. 18 18. It therefore is a ground of joy unspeakable 1 Pet. 1. 8. There is no comparison between what Godly men have to rejoyce in and that which the men of the world solace themselves withal their joy then may and ought to be more intense 5. The present good which Righteous men have from their object is beyond expression great There is not only a future good which they have in assured hope by which they may antedate their joys by the exercise of faith Heb. 11. 1. But there are the first fruits earnests of it which now they receive which are beyond their ability to describe outbid every thing in the world Psal 47. Eye hath not seen c. 1 Cor. 2. 9. Good Expositors apply this to what Believers have in hand and shall they fear rejoycing too much They should give highest expressions of their joy Conclu 7. THey ought to give highest expressions of this joy They should Shout for joy intimating that they should not only inwardly be glad but shew it outwardly we may here enquire 1. Why they ought thus to do A. This will be seen in the following Conclusions 1. It is the declarative glory of God that we are to advance We can add nothing to him nor make him better or essentially more glorious by all we do our concern is to shew forth his praise Isa 43. 21. i e. To endeavour what in us lies to make it appear that he is a glorious God which is done by expressing of his perfections and openly witnessing thereto and the more convincingly we give this Testimony the more do we answer serve to our end 2. Our whole man ought to be engaged in the glorifying of God Our faithful serving of him must begin at the heart and if that be away all the rest is Hypocrisy but it is to break out in our lips