upon this Occasion Which is further evident if we consider 2. That the degree to which God has exalted his Grace and Mercy in Christ the Second Adam is not inferior but rather above the pitch and degree whereto he exalted his Justice in condemning all in the first Adam Justice makes no more than All Sinners in the first Adam upon his transgression and Grace makes no less than All righteous in Christ Jesus or through his Righteousness imputed For Rom. 5.18 as by the Offence of one Judgment came upon all Men to condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free Gift came upon all Men to justification of Life If upon all that believe who have sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression then much more upon them who have not so sinned because the preheminence is given to the free Gift of Grace by Christ as Rom. 5.14 15. intimating that if Adam's Sin was efficacious enough to make all men Sinners the Righteousness of Christ which is God's own Righteousness is much more efficacious to make them righteous And truly with reverence we may demand How can God himself express the extent of his Kindness in terms more positive and intelligible than he doth here And I am very certain we neither have nor ever had any reason to suspect him as insincere or to call in question the truth of his Allegation No his Word is an exact draught of his Mind and what he says he means As we all believe Infants were condemned in Adam there 's as good reason to believe 'em justified in Christ and such to whom the Lord will not impute Sin Which will further appear if we consider 3. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in becoming a Propitiation for the Sin of Infants not only for actual but original Sin not only for the Sins of the Adult and Believer but of the Infant also Had Christ been said to be a Propitiation for the Sins of Believers only it might have struck our hopes into a staggering posture with reference to the eternal State of our dying Babes unless Foederal Holiness so much talked or by some or the Faith of immediate Parents could have reliev'd them against the condemning Sin of our remote Parents But if that were so the greatest part of Infants are and must be unavoidably miserable as they are the Off-spring of Unbelievers which the greatest part of the World are Nay it may on good ground be conjectur'd that one half of those who profess themselves Church-Members are but little better since our blessed Saviour compares the Kingdom of Heaven to ten Virgins of whom five were wise and five were foolish Mat. 25.1 But blessed be God we have a better Bottom to build our hopes upon as to the eternal State of dying Babes than such sandy Foundations as those viz. Christ's expiating and doing away the Sins of the World by the Sacrifice of himself And this John Baptist had an eye to when he saw Christ coming and pointed at him saying Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sin of the World enough sure to resolve all Doubts and to stop every mouth for ever from contradicting what we have alledged That God imputes not Sin to the eternal condemnation of dying Infants since Christ died for them for them indefinitely and without exception May we not as warrantably question whether Christ died at all as to scruple much less to deny that he took away the condemning guilt of Original Sin by the Oblation of himself since he is said thereby to take away the Sin of the World Is there any one actual Sin in the World that so generally and universally extends it self as to deprave and corrupt all Flesh Old and Young Saint and Sinner Christian and Pagan I confess with grief and sorrow profane Swearing is very rife Lying and Dissimulation is very common Pride Covetousness Envy and Hatred Whoredom and Uncleanness Violence Murder and profaning the Sabbath of the Lord is very predominant yet none of these things are universal that which is common with one is abhor'd by another as the covetous Man cannot endure the approach of Pride Luxury and Prodigality But were any or all of these Sins of a universal Extent so as to corrupt all capable of committing them of what Sex and of what Nation soever yet our Infant Race is safe and out of all possibility of being stained by them or being brought under the power of any of them from their utter incapacity to commit any of those things by which the Wrath of God is brought upon the Children of Disobedience and them only For if no Sin can be intended by the Sin of the World but Original Corruption then the Immaculate Lamb of God hath atoned for that and taken it away so that it shall never be of efficacy and power to condemn a dying Infant any more than it shall be of force to condemn a true Believer the same reason being rendred for the one as for the other by the Apostle John who speaking of Christ saith 1 John 2.2 He is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but for the Sins of the whole World Mark not only for ours in which term he includes with himself all true Believers of what Rank soever high or low rich or poor respected or despised in the World whose Sins are done away by Christ's atoning for them But the Apostle adds for the Sins of the whole World Not of the whole World as it consists of habitual and voluntary Sinners as Swearers Drunkards Idolaters Adulterers and the like for such lie under the heavy charge and imputation of Sin until by Faith in Christ repentance from dead Works and obedience to the Gospel they shall by the Grace of God obtain Impunity Therefore the whole World consider'd in an Infant state and no other can be intended by the Apostle whereby the eternal blessedness of dying Infants is secured since God according to the Law of Grace through the Righteousness and Death of his Son hath acquitted and discharged Infant Man from the imputation of Adam's Sin so as that he shall not perish eternally for it But in case Man survives his Infant state and contracts Guilt by voluntary transgression in his own Person as you and I have done and be not renewed by Repentance from dead Works and justified by Faith in our Lord Jesus according to the Tenour of the Gospel then we must perish unavoidably and eternally not for Adam's Sin but for superadded Sins Sins of our own against the Law of Grace and the Love of a Redeemer Thus God is clear from the death of his Creatures and Sinners the alone Authors of their own destruction according to the Scriptures But for such Infants as survive not their Infant-state we conclude they are blessed because God will not impute Sin unto them as appears not only from the Law of Grace but 4. From the Law of Equity and Righteousness
weak and impotent as is certain from what our Blessed Saviour says to the Man sick of the Palsy Son be of good chear thy Sins are forgiven thee Mat. 9.2 Mark it 's not be of good chear for thou art made whole but thy Sins are forgiven thee This is enough to make the Lame to walk the Deaf to hear the Blind to see here 's that which is sufficient to turn our Weeping into Laughter our Mourning into Rejoicing our Death into Life and to settle us in a belief that he and he alone is blessed whose Sin is not imputed Now such are blessed 1. In Life as thereby God takes the Children of Men into a state of Grace and Favour with himself For God's not imputing Sin is the removal of that which begot the difference and hath maintain'd the distance betwixt him and his Creatures Isa 59.2 Of all Evils Sin is the greatest because it hath not the least mixture of Good in it to make it tolerable nor doth it produce the least good to any Creature It was Sin that turned the Angels out of Heaven that cast Man out of Paradise that brought the Curse upon the Creation and Wrath upon Sinners To be freed therefore from so great an Evil is one part of our Happiness and that which compleats it is God's taking us into Favour whose Favour is better than Life as the Psalmist says Psal 63.3 in whose Favour you may rest assured of all Advantages necessary to render you happy in this Life as the supply of your Wants Psal 34.9 10. Prov. 10.3 protection from Dangers Psal 33.18 34.10 guidance in all your Ways Psal 37.23 c. Prov. 3.6 strength against Temptation 1 Cor. 10.13 a sanctified use of Afflictions Rom. 8.28 and deliverance out of Trouble Psal 34.19 22. Such unto whom the Lord imputes not Sin may no less rest confident of Peace For being justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5.1 Which Peace of God will fill our hearts and keep us in peace when others are in trouble and quiet tho the World be in an uproar And tho many are hurried to and fro by cutting Perplexities fretting Disappointments and growing Fears God will make their Habitations quiet resting-places there is scarcely any thing that shall offend and molest them for Peace is always the sure Effect and Fruit of Righteousness to Justification as Isa 32.17 18. As they have Peace and Provision so they shall have every thing necessary to render them blessed in Life Psal 84.11 for God will withhold no good thing from them to whom he will not impute Sin 2. They are blessed also in Death because God's not imputing Sin is to dispoil Death of all Power that otherwise might render it hurtful to us Guilt which is Death's fiery Sting is taken away and he ceases to be a King of Terrors They fear him not how terrible soever he may be in his march towards them They whose Sin is not imputed are ready to receive and entertain him knowing that in this his last and most violent Effort he is like to go away with a poor Conquest the greatest execution he can do upon them is to cut the Thread of Life and send their frail brittle weak and sickly Bodies to the dust for a while to sleep in the Grave whilst blessed Angels wait the fatal stroak to take the fleeting Soul into their embraces and with Wings extended carry them swiftly into the happiness of Abraham's Bosom I confess there is reason enough for the Man whose Sin and Guilt is bound upon him to dread the approach and tremble at the sight of such an Enemy arm'd with nothing but Terrors and ready to wound the Soul with his flaming and siery Sting ready to cut the thin-spun Thread of Life which when done he is violently seized by some of the Infernal Crew and hurried unavoidably to the Confines and Region of utter Darkness to suffer the Pains of Eternal Fire O that Sinners would timely consider of this to break off every vicious Course by Repentance laying hold on the Righteousness of Christ by a lively Faith exprest by sincere obedience to the Commands of the Gospel lest their Sin hasten Death and in death proves their ruin But Death is so far from being hurtful to the Man whose Sin is not imputed that it is truly necessary as the only means by which blessed Souls are conveyed from sojourning in these tottering houses of Clay to live for ever with their Saviour in that house and building not made with hands eternal in the Heavens This made holy Paul chuse rather to die than live that he might be with Christ which was best of all Phil. 1.23 and 2 Cor. 5.1 2. So that the Man to whom the Lord imputes not Sin is blessed in Death and not only so but in the 3d place Such are blessed after death in that death lands them safe on that shore where they shall for ever rejoice in celebrating the Memory of the Grace of God in not imputing Sin unto them Their entrance into Heaven is made sure and every thing removed that otherwise might obstruct it who shall there be blessed and happy in the highest degree if we consider First The perfect freedom they shall have in Heaven from all Evil. On Earth holy Souls have often the greatest share of Affliction and Trouble as one Link follows another in the Chain or as one Wave another so deep calleth unto deep Psal 42.7 Here with Lazarus they have their evil things Poverty Pain Sickness Sores Crosses Troubles Temptations Afflictions Diseases and Death but all these evil things and more shall be left behind them in death and in Heaven they shall have no sense of them For God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away Rev. 21.4 Tho it will be quite otherwise with the Wicked who here on Earth had their good things but shall then have their evil things they shall no more enjoy the precious things their Souls lusted after and the things that were dainty and goodly being departed they shall find them no more at all Rev. 18.14 no not one drop of Water to cool their flaming Tongues Such as affect Sin here tho God so earnestly sollicites them to the contrary must for their contempt of his Grace be content to lie down in everlasting burnings where without relief they must roll in tormenting flames and shall have no rest day nor night Rev. 4.8 The Wicked then shall have their evil things but the Godly their good things who shall be for ever raised above the sense of any thing afflicting and in this respect they are blessed Secondly The Man whose Sin is not imputed is blessed after Death considering he is then put into such a condition as renders it utterly impossible for him to
forfeit this Grace or to lose so desirable a Happiness as that of Heaven is Serious and devout Souls on Earth are or at least ought to be fearful of nothing more than of losing the Favour of God or that they receive not his Grace in vain O the Fears and Tears the Cares and Prayers the Watchings and Strivings of the truly pious all which speak forth the possbility of it as well as the many sad Instances we have upon Record to the end we may not lust as they lusted 1 Cor. 10.6 but avoid the Rocks on which they split But such is the state of the Godly in Heaven after Death that it renders their Abiding certain stable and unalterable There is no Evil there much less any Sin not a Temptation to incline the Will to offend no both Will and Power will be wanting in Heaven to make a forfeiture of it There is a Gulf fixed betwixt the saved and the damned which makes it impossible for them to change their Stations or to pass from one place to the other Luke 16.25 26. But Thirdly That which compleats the Blessedness of the Man to whom the Lord will not impute Sin after Death is the Happiness he shall actually and for ever enjoy in his Person in Heaven There he shall behold the Face of God and the Lamb there he shall partake of the Fulness of God's Glory be satisfied with the delights of his Presence and the Pleasures and Treasures that be at his right hand There the Righteous shall not only hear the Holy Quire of Blessed Angels and Saints triumphant warble forth the Praises of God but shall join with mouths full of Hallelujaths to God and the Lamb in a grateful memory of that kindness the Lord shewed them in not imputing Sin unto them There they shall be set upon stable and fixed Thrones their Heads crown'd with unfading Diadems and their Faces shine with rays of unconceivable Glory with greater luster and brightness than the Sun in the Firmament In a word it is a Blessedness too great to be expressed by the Tongue or to be conceiv'd by the Heart of man 1 Cor. 2.9 The most raised Imagination cannot reach it Thus we have shewed you that he and he alone is blessed whose Sin is not imputed If this be the assured Happiness of such unto whom the Lord will not impute Sin and more as is suggested it may be worth our inquiry how we may come to know certainly that we have obtained Impunity that this Act of Grace in the High Court of Heaven is past for us that our Names are there inrolled that we are the Men and Women to whom the Lord imputes no Sin and are consequently blessed Sirs 'T is certain there are Properties and Characters common to such as are thus privileged and among many I will name four which we shall find common to all on whom the Lord charges no Sin The First is sincere Love and Affection to God As it is the Fruit of Divine Love to be freed from the Imputation of Sin so 't is the property of every blest Soul to love the Lord. The Law of his Mouth is the Law of Love and Kindness his Soul is delighted in the contemplation of God's Love to him and accordingly goes forth with strong and hearty Love to him again A Man sensible of the greatness of that Wrath from which he is delivered and the greatness of that Happiness to which he is intitled cannot but express with hearty Affection the kind and respectful sentiment he hath of such Grace and Favour From hence it was that David ingages himself to love the Lord and declares his resolution therein Psal 116.1 I will says he love the Lord because he hath heard the Voice of my Supplication He hath now put me into the injoyment of that which I have long often and earnestly sued unto him for and which is in truth the answer of many Prayers therefore I will love him I cannot but love him his Love constrains me to love him because he loved me first 1 John 4.19 And this is further evident from what our Blessed Saviour says in the Parable to Simon the Pharisee telling us That Mary loved much because her Sins which were many were forgiven her Luke 7.47 God is in himself the only worthy Object of our Affection as he is perfectly amiable and altogether lovely were we not under an Obligation flowing from his Kindness in taking away our Sin but where a Soul is under this Obligation there will be a care to make some sutable return of Love and indeed our Love must be very great if it bears any proportion to the Love of God exprest in his not imputing Sin unto us But Secondly Obedience to his Commands without which 't is not possible to know our selves to be privileged Persons nor shall we ever be able to read our Names written in the Roll of Heaven There is no other way wherein we can express the truth and strength of our Love to God than by obedience to his Commands John 14.23 24. All love not so evidenced is nothing but dissimulation and mere pretence neither is there any Command that a Man will boggle at to whom the Lord imputes not Sin A sense of this Grace will wonderfully incline and quicken us to do his Will Isaiah's Lips were no sooner touched with a Coal from God's Altar importing the purging and taking away his Sin but it presently disposes him to God's Service When the Voice said Who shall go for us immediately the Prophet presents himself saying Here am I send me I am now ready for any Errand to ingage in any business for thy Glory Isa 6.7 8. If God is so kind to break our Fetters and to unloose the Cords that bound us and so set us at Liberty it is not that we should use our liberty as an occasion to the Flesh Gal. 5.13 and sin with a higher hand against God whose Grace abounds Rom. 6.1 2. but that we should love the Lord our God and serve him Deut. 10.12 which St. Paul did with all readiness not once conferring with Flesh and Blood He demur'd not nor was discouraged by those floods of Troubles Tumults Perils Distresses Afflictions and Persecutions that he might raise up against himself none of these things hindred him from a vigorous ingaging in the Work of God's Service but he was obedient to the Heavenly Vision Acts 26.19 And as it is thus evident that Obedience is the Property of such as are in truth thus privileged with the Grace of God so I doubt not but we who have some good ground to hope that we are blessed upon God's not imputing Sin unto us have oftentimes avowed our selves to be the Lord's Servants and to render him the Service he calls for at our hands Which is 1. Sincere Obedience Obedience without Sincerity is no more that which God calls for than a stinking Breath flowing from corrupt Lungs is naturally