Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n
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A60135
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God's thoughts and ways above ours, especially in the forgiveness of sins in several sermons upon Isaiah LV. 7,8,9 / by John Shower.
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Shower, John, 1657-1715.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing S3671; ESTC R38912
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83,543
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185
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of Nature was made a ground of Trust by the Psalmist as an Adorable Evidence and Instance of his Faithfulness and Truth Psalm CXIX 89. Thy Word is settled in the Heavens and thy Faithfulness to all Generations And yet some Atheistically abus'd it 2 Pet. III. 4. saying All things continue as they were Where is the Promise of his Coming The Apostle says The Time is short and the Fashion of the World passeth away therfore let them that have such and such Relations Possessions and Employments in the World carry it as if they had none Whil'st others abuse this and say the Time is short Let us cat and drink for to morrow we may dye So here God is ready to show Mercy to returning Sinners therefore Let the wicked forsake his way c. Others turn this Grace of God into Wantonness and will venture the more boldly upon Sin because God is ready to forgive These things saith the Apostle John I write unto you that ye sin not But if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father There 's a vast difference between the Remission of Sins past and an Allowance of Sin for the future We may take Comfort in the abounding Grace of God and his Readiness to forgive though we must dread the Thought of venturing on Sin that his Grace may abound in the Forgiveness of it This is contrary to all Gratitude and Ingenuity and to the true Nature of Faith and Repentance And there can hardly be a more dangerous Symptom of damnable Ungodliness than for any to presume to sin upon this Consideration That they hope they shall be forgiven The Apostle Jude ver 4. speaks of some such Who turn the Grace of God into Wantonness denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ and he saith of them that They were ordain'd of old to Condemnation For the Grace of God that brings Salvation ought to teach us to deny Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts c. This sinning against God because he will abundantly pardon is in some respects more Aggravated than the Sin of Devils who will curse God and fly in his Face because there 's no hope of Pardon But God offers Pardon to you and declares that he is ready to forgive And will you dare to sin the more If ever you are awakened to a Sense of Sin this of all others will be most likely to sink you into Despair that you ventur'd to sin in hopes of Pardon For what can relieve a convinced awakned Soul but the Free-grace of God in the Forgiveness of Sin Whereas such a One may say Lord this very Mercy I have abus'd I have sinn'd the more because of this Grace And if we should mention to such a one the Instances of Manasseh Paul c. who after great Sins were pardoned he will be ready to reply that they never sinned in hope of Forgiveness or turn'd the Grace of God into Wantonness as I have done There 's Forgiveness with God that he may be fear'd served loved and obey'd But will any say there 's Forgiveness with God that he may be slighted and neglected rebell'd against and disobey'd His abused Goodness will turn to the more intollerable Wrath against all such as presume on his Mercy apprehending that they shall find an Easie Pardon tho' they continue in their Sins 'T is to sin against the very Nature and End of God's Grace to cut off their own Plea for it and the general Ground of their Hope in it 'T is without a Promise and against a Threatning for any to expect Forgiveness if they wilfully continue in sin 'T is to pervert the whole Gospel to imagine that God will justifie the Ungodly while they remain in their Vnbelief and Vngodliness Is not Unbelief a part of Vngodliness as contrary to the most express Command of God to believe on his Son If ever God show Mercy unto any and abundantly pardon them he always gives them Repentance unto Life and Faith unfeigned And let such remember that as God promiseth Mercy and Forgiveness to Returning Sinners and that his Thoughts are far above ours as Heaven above the Earth in this Matter so his Thoughts of Anger Wrath and Fury against Obstinate Wilful Presumptuous Impenitent Sinners are also above our Thoughts as far as the Heavens are above the Earth He will tear in pieces and none shall deliver he that made them will show them no mercy and who knows the power of his Anger he will laugh at their Calamity and mock when their fear cometh He will wound the head of his Enemies and the hairy Scalp of such a one that goes on still in his Trespasses Psal LXVIII 21. Prov. I. latter end II. Secondly Take heed of abusing this Doctrine of God's Grace by admitting slight Thoughts of Sin so as to encourage you to delay seeking after Forgiveness or to seek and expect it any other way but only through Faith in Jesus Christ As to the Matter of Delay the Uncertainty of Life and the Uncertainty of God's giving Grace hereafter to them that refuse it now is sufficient to be said here if duly consider'd That which I now aim at is to discourage any Hopes of obtaining Forgiveness with God but only through the Blood Sacrifice and Righteousness of Christ There is no other Saviour no other Mediator between God and Man If ever you are reconcil'd to God and find Mercy with him it must be through Jesus Christ The Way and Method is fixt and publish'd and declar'd to be unalterable There is no other Name under Heaven but his by which any Man can be saved If God be gracious to any and deliver them from going down to the Pit 't is because he hath found a Ransom Job XXXIII 24. The Absolute Mercy of God is not to be rested in for he hath told us in what Way and Method he will dispence his Mercy and how we shall partake of it That we must honour the Son as we honour the Father receive him as Christ Jesus the Lord the only Mediator between God and Man and that If we believe not that Jesus is he we must dye in our Sins 'T is not enough to cease to do Evil and make Restitution where you have injur'd and wrong'd any which yet is a necessary Fruit of Repentance 'T is not a little outward Reformation or the Performance of some Duties of Religious Worship that before were neglected that will be sufficient if you overlook Jesus Christ and lay the stress of your Hope for Acceptance with God on any thing else If you should fast and pray and weep and mourn and wear Sackcloath and give all you have to the Poor and continue a Life of Austerity and Mortification for many Years this will not avail if you think to pacifie God herewith and substitute this in the room of the Blood and Righteousness of Christ in order to Forgiveness You will but provoke God and dishonour the Redeemer and deceive
such a Load of Guilt and so many hainous Crimes to acknowledge In this sense we find the Expression of standing us'd Rom. XIV 4. To his own Master he standeth or falleth that is shall either be acquitted or condemned of God 'T is of the same Import with Psal CXLIII 2. Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight no flesh living shall be justified Consider a little with what a Frame of Spirit doth David use such Language he seems to cry out in the View of his Hainous Sins as ready to Despair if not reliev'd by the Hope that there is Forgiveness with God Lord who can stand that is how justly may I be Condemn'd if I am try'd at thy Bar According to strict Justice I must be cast I cannot answer thee for one much less for all my Abominations I cannot stand in the Judgment This will be and is the Case of all Convinced Sinners of every one of us when we View our Sins and the Majesty of Heaven whom we have offended When we consider how we have affronted God and despised him and how easily he can crush us into Hell and how justly he might When we think how we have preferr'd a Lust a Trifle a Passion an Humour before him How we have slighted his Authority abus'd his Goodness defi'd his Power weari'd his Patience rejected his Grace and by numberless aggravated Transgressions incurr'd the Vengeance he hath threaten'd and made our selves lyable to his intolerable and everlasting Wrath. Under such a Sight and Sense of Sin what can relieve but the Consideration that there 's Mercy and Forgiveness with God and that He 'll abundantly Pardon returning Sinners This I say we are backward to believe There 's so much Ignorance and Blindness in the Minds of Sinners there 's such a proneness in Men to Judge of God by themselves and of his Thoughts and Ways by their own that because they could not Pardon such and such hainous Provocations so often repeated they imagine that God will not And there are so many Fears and Jealousies in our guilty Souls concerning God that without the Encouragement of such a Declaration of Grace as in this Text there could be no Repentance there would be no Returning to God You know what Benhadad's Servants told him 1 Kings XX. 31. We have heard that the Kings of Israel are Merciful Kings let us put Sack-cloath on our Loyns and Ropes about our Necks and go to the King of Israel peradventure he will save thy Life This gracious Method God us'd toward Israel Jer. III. 12. Go and proclaim these words toward the North saying Return O back-sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you for I am Merciful saith the Lord and will not keep anger for ever Only acknowledge thine Iniquity that thou hast Transgressed against the Lord thy God that is Let them not cherish any such hard Thoughts of me as if there were no Forgiveness let them not despair of my Mercy as if I would not receive them when they return This gives the greatest Encouragement to Convinced Sinners that here is a Plank to save them from Shipwrack a Remedy against Despair Here 's a ground for 'em to return to God with Hopes Here 's a Motive to seek Mercy that God hath proclaim'd his Readiness to forgive and abundantly to pardon And methinks 't is very plain that the Doctrine of Repentance would never have been preached if there were no Hope of Forgiveness The fallen Angels having no Mercy offer'd were never call'd to repent for let there be never so deep Conviction of Sin and Sorrow for it there could be no Repenting and Returning to God without believing that Mercy might be had All would end in Death and Desparation Repentance would never be commanded as a Duty nor urg'd upon Sinners as a Duty it could not if we believe the Wisdom Goodness and Faithfulness of God were it not for this Truth that If the wicked forsake his way c. But upon the Consideration of this Sinners begin to have good Thoughts of God many of their Scruples are remov'd many of their Objections answer'd and they are now encourag'd to seek the Mercy of God and prepare to receive it VSE To Conclude therefore Let the vilest and worst of Sinners receive these glad Tydings of God's Grace and not abuse them Don't despise this Message don't neglect it but consider how much you need this Mercy and go home and earnestly beg it Endeavour to welcome it as it is offer'd in the Gospel and then plead it and urge it for Christ's sake according to the Promise as it is Free-Mercy And stir up your Souls to hope in it as knowing that God takes pleasure in them that hope in his Mercy May I not therfore say that 't is from the Devil for whom there is no Mercy if there be any of you to whom this Doctrine is preached who will yet Conclude There 's no Mercy for you Since God hath told us that If the Wicked forsake his Evil Ways and Thoughts and turn to the Lord they may and ought in that Case most firmly believe that He will have Mercy and that He will abundantly pardon THE Second Sermon ISAIAH LV. 7. Let the Wicked forsake his Way and the Unrighteous Man his Thoughts and let him Return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly Pardon 'T IS of the Sixth Observation from these Words that I would now speak without so much as repeating the other five viz. That Pardoning Mercy to Penitent Sinners is Mercy indeed the most valuable and seasonable Mercy This I shall endeavour to manifest by several Considerations and then Apply it First There 's nothing more suitable to the Case of a Guilty Sinner who hath any Thoughts of returning to God Consider the Perplexities of one that is awakened to a Sense of Sin and is under a Spirit of Conviction His bitter Complaints and loud Cryes tell us that he knows not what to do nor how to be rid of his Burden He apprehends his Danger from unpardoned Sin and feels the want of this Forgiveness He is wounded and nothing but the Voice of Pardoning Mercy can heal him I have greatly sinn'd said David and his Heart smote him 2 Sam. XXIV 10. And now I beseech thee O Lord take away the Iniquity of thy Servant Nothing else could give him Ease and Quiet from an Accusing troubled Conscience The Inhabitant shall not say I am sick the People that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquity Isa XXXIII 24. The meer Patience and Forbearance of God without Forgiveness will not answer the Exigence of his Case Tho' he be yet out of Hell he knows not how long it shall be so or how soon he may there have a Miserable Portion 'T is the Sense of Unpardon'd Sin that breaks his Bones and dryeth up his Marrow