every day The Scripture gives an Account why Execution is respited The Lord is not slack as some Men count Slackness but is long-suffering to us ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance He waits to be gracious and spares Men in order to their Salvation 5. It appears that God is ready to forgive in that upon the first Suit of humble and penitent Believers he presently pardons them If we consider how long Men continue in a Course of voluptuous or profitable Sins how many Repulses to the Offers of Mercy they are guilty of it might justly be expected that God should with Disdain reject their Petitions or not be intreated without a long Exercise of Repentance and continued submissive and earnest Solicitations for his Mercy But the King of Heaven keeps no State the Throne of Grace is always open and accessible to humble Penitents When their Hearts are prepar'd his Ear is inclin'd to hear them David after his commission of very foul Sins and long continuing in a State of Impenitency yet upon his melting in the Sense of his Wickedness and Resolution to humble himself by a mournful Acknowledgment of it he was restor'd to the Divine Favour I said I would confess my Sins and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin Repenting Ephraim is an admirable Instance of God's relenting Bowels to Sinners I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a Bullock unaccustom'd to the Yoke Turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God Surely after I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my Thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did bear the Reproach of my Youth Is Ephraim my dear Son is he a pleasant Child for since I spake against him I earnestly remember him still therefore my Bowels are troubled for him I will surely have Mercy on him saith the Lord. The Prodigal upon his Resolution to return to his Father and debase himself as utterly unworthy of being received as a Son while he was in the way his Father saw him at a distance and ran to him fell on his Neck and kiss'd him and entirely forgave his past Rebellion The Soul-wounded Publican said Lord be merciful to me a Sinner and was justified rather than the proud Pharisee 6. 'T is a convincing Argument that God is ready to forgive Sin in that he affords Grace to Men to prepare them for his pardoning Mercy Repentance and Faith are sacred Plants that do not spring from our Earth but have their Roots in Heaven God gives Repentance unto Life Faith is not of our selves 't is the Gift of God In our corrupt State Sin is natural to Man and hath entirely possess'd all his leading Faculties The carnal Mind is Enmity against God and judges according to the carnal Affections which deprave it The Will is rebellious and strongly inclin'd to charming Lusts Temptations are so numerous and delightful that Sinners will venture to be miserable for ever to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin that die in the tasting 'T is true such are the inviolable Inclinations of the humane Nature to Happiness that no Man can love undisguised Death nor choose Damnation for it self yet the Affection to Sin is so over-ruling that they will not forsake it tho complicated with Death The Wisdom of God tells us Those that hate me love Death i. e. constructively Our Saviour compassionately reproves the Jews Ye will not come to me that ye may have Life This is the Cause of their remaining in a State of Guilt for ever Now such is the Mercy of God that he gives his Spirit to assist Men by his illuminating preventing restraining and exciting Grace to forsake their Sins that they may be saved and if they did faithfully improve the lower degrees of Grace tho they can claim nothing by right he would from his good Pleasure afford them more Grace but they are so averse from God and strongly bent to the present World that they so long resist the pure Motions of Grace in their Hearts till the Gales of the Spirit expire and revive no more according to that terrible Threatning My Spirit shall no longer strive with Man for he is Flesh. Besides the common Grace afforded to natural Men there is a Super-effluence of Grace bestowed upon some to convert them which infallibly obtains its end Those who are the Patrons of Free Will methinks should allow that God is Master of his own Will and the free Dispenser of his own Grace This special Grace works powerfully yet conveniently to the reasonable Nature There is no Charm so sweet no Constraint so strong as the Operation of it For the Understanding is convinc'd by so clear and strong a Light of our being undone for ever without God's pardoning Mercy that his Loving-kindness is better than Life and this is represented to the Will with that powerful Application that the Will certainly chooses it When there is a Wavering and Indifferency of the Will to a propounded Object 't is either from some Defects in the Object or in the Apprehension of it but when the supreme Good is so represented that it fills all the Capacities of the Soul the Will as certainly embraces it as one that is burnt up with Thirst and near a cool Stream stoops and drinks to quench it The Holy Spirit who knows the manner of his own Operations expresses the Efficacy of them in the Resemblances of the Creation and Resurrection wherein the Divine Power cannot be frustrate yet 't is so congruous to the Frame of Man's Nature that the Freedom of the Will is then in its most noble Exercise Men are drawn to Christ by the Teachings of God not by over-ruling Violence upon their Faculties but by Instruction and Perswasion sutable to them Now from hence 't is evident that all the Persons in the Godhead concur in bestowing this admirable Blessing the Pardon of our Sins they all willingly join in this undivided Work tho with different Operations The Father pronounces our Pardon from the Throne his Majesty shines without Diminution or Condescension of his Person in forgiving us The Son purchased our Pardon by the sacred Treasure of his Blood The Holy Spirit qualifies us and applies the Pardon of our Sins to us 3. I now come to the third general Head that God is abundant in Forgiveness This God has declar'd in Words so full and expressive as may exceedingly satisfy the most tender and fearful Spirits 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 For my Thoughts are not your Thoughts neither are your Ways my Ways saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth so are my Ways than your Ways and my
Nature of the Benefit Our Blessedness consists in the Forgiveness of our Sins David inspired from Heaven declares Blessed is the Man whose Iniquity is forgiven and whose Sin is cover'd The worst Effect of Sin is the Separation between God and the Soul In his Presence is Fulness of Joy in his Absence Fulness of Sorrow Go ye cursed is as terrible a Part of the Sentence as the everlasting Burning Hell is the Element of Sin and Misery wherein the Fire made fierce with Brimstone and the undying Worm of Conscience torment the Wicked Now the Pardon of Sin secures us from the Wrath of God the supreme Evil and the Cause of all other Evils Besides the Love of God that pardons us is our sovereign Good and is the productive and conservative Cause of all Good It bestows upon us celestial Happiness in comparison of which all the Degrees of worldly Honour and Power and Pleasure and Riches are but Dross and Dung The Pardon of Sin has inseparably annex'd to it the Privilege of Adoption and a Title to the Kingdom of Glory Our Saviour declar'd to the Apostle that the End of the Gospel is to open the Eyes of Men and to turn them from Darkness to Light that they may receive the Forgiveness of Sins and an Inheritance among them who are sanctified by Faith that is in me God permitted the Fall of Man to raise him to a more excellent and stable Felicity Adam was dignified with Dominion over the lower World and seated a Prince in Paradise but his Happiness depended upon his Obedience and that upon the Freedom of his Will which proved a dangerous Endowment by his Abuse of it He was foolish and fickle in the best State of Nature he affected an independent Immortality and being in Honour became like the Beasts that perish But the Pardon of Sin is the Foundation of eternal Happiness Those who are justified shall be glorified and made equal to the Angels who are constant in Good as the Devils are obstinate in Evil. The blessed State above is secure and unforfeitable the Saints are uncapable of sinning and dying 2. The Means whereby our Pardon is obtain'd I shall not dare to determine that God could not have pardon'd us by his Sovereignty without Satisfaction to his Justice but he has been pleased to save us in a way most honourable to himself and comfortable to us The Psalmist tells us according to the Name of God so is his Praise As his excellent Attributes are manifest in his Works understanding Creatures adore and celebrate them The Wisdom of God so gloriously appears in the way of our Salvation that the admiring Angels praise him for ever And the Goodness of God is so conspicuous in saving us by Christ that our exuberant Affections should be poured forth in Thankfulness The Remission of our Sins is by Redemption in his Blood It was an Expression of David's Piety that he would not serve God with that which cost him nothing but purchase the Sacrifice by a Price and it was the high Expression of God's Love that he would not save us with that which cost him nothing but with the sacred Treasure of Heaven the precious Blood of his Son Besides the guilty Conscience has so quick a Sense of God's revenging Justice that our Assurance would not be so entire in his Mercy without Satisfaction made by the Sufferings of our blessed Mediator In this we have the Advantage of David who had not so clear a Discovery of the Means of our Pardon but a general Knowledg of the Forgiveness of Sins yet that inspir'd such flaming Affections into his Breast that he begins the Eucharistical Psalm for that Mercy and concludes it with Bless the Lord O my Soul But we that have had Jesus Christ evidently set forth as crucified before our Eyes to reconcile God to us we to whom it is revealed that the Robe of our Salvation is woven out of his bleeding Bowels in the same Proportion as our Knowledg of this mysterious Mercy our Thankfulness should exceed his If any do not with the most ardent Affections acknowledg the Mercy of Forgiveness so dearly purchased 't is an unhappy Sign he has no Interest in it 3. The Circumstances of dispensing our Pardon I shall consider two that make the Divine Mercy more glorious and worthy of our Thankfulness 1 st That pardoning Mercy was dispensed to us notwithstanding our continued Rebellions against God A Prince is sometimes induced to pardon a Criminal by the Solicitations of his Friends and by his Prayers and Tears but the Divine Goodness was the sole Mover for us and interposed between Justice and our Offences Instead of appeasing God by humble and mournful Submission and ardent Addresses for Mercy we repeated the Provocations of his Displeasure every day How long did he with unwearied Patience wait to be gracious If after ten thousand Denials of accepting his Mercy he had forsaken us we had been as miserable as we are sinful But notwithstanding our being inflexible to the innumerable Calls of his Word impenetrable to the pure Motion of his Spirit and insensible of his excellent Goodness that leads Sinners to Repentance tho the Love of Heaven or Fear of Hell could not prevail with us to forsake our Sins when we were prepared for Wrath and averse and utterly indisposed for the receiving his Mercy then his Grace as free as omnipotent gave us Repentance unto Life and qualified us for Pardon and bestowed it upon us The Extenuation of our Sins is inconsistent with the Exaltation of Grace but the more humble we are in the deep Sense of our Guilt the more thankful for the Divine Clemency That God was pleased to crown us with Loving-kindness and Mercy when a killing Charge of innumerable Offences was levell'd against us O Goodness truly Divine and Infinite and should accordingly affect us with Admiration 2 dly Pardoning Mercy distinguishes between Sinners of equal Guilt and often saves those of greater Guilt when others die eternally This Comparative heightens God's Love and our Thankfulness How many are surpriz'd and cut off in a Course of Sin how many die without Repentance and are under a notorious Necessity of perishing yet we that were as bad or worse neither melted and made pliable by his Goodness nor better'd by his Judgments he spared and by his Grace cleansed and changed us that we might partake of Mercy In this Dispensation the Question of the Apostle may be put in its full Force Who made thee to differ Nothing within us nothing without us distinguish'd us from those that perish there were the same polluted Principles in our Hearts and the same rebellious Sins in our Lives only the Mercy of God that has no moving Cause but it self made the Difference Let the Comparison be contracted between us and our Associates in Sin and as the Sun-beams concenter'd in a Burning-glass it will more inflame our thankful Affections How many
and humbly accept of the Terms of Mercy 't is very pleasing to him We are assur'd by Jesus Christ who is Truth that there is Joy in Heaven over one Sinner that repents more than over ninety nine Persons that need no Repentance God himself declares with a solemn Oath that he delights not in the Death of a Sinner but rather that he should turn and live The Holiness and Mercy of God are two of his most Divine Perfections his peculiar Glory and Delight Now what can be more pleasing to that most pure and compassionate Being than to see a sinful Creature conform'd to his Holiness and saved by his Mercy If the internal Joy of God wherein he is infinitely blessed were capable of new Degrees it would rise higher in the Exercise of his forgiving Mercy There is a clear Representation of this in the Parable of the Prodigal At his Return his Father received him with a Robe and a Ring with Musick and a Feast the signs of Joy in its Exaltation But if Sinners are hardned in Obstinacy and notwithstanding God is so willing to pardon them are wilful to be damn'd with what Variety of Passions does he express his Resentment He incarnates himself in the Language of Men to make them understand his Affection to them Sometimes he expostulates with a tender Sympathy Why will ye die as if they were immediately falling into the bottomless Pit He expresses Pity mix'd with Indignation at their chosen Folly and Ruine How long ye simple ones will ye love Simplicity and Fools hate Knowledg What Reluctancy and Regret does he express against proceeding to exterminating Judgments How shall I give thee up Ephraim How shall I deliver thee Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zeboim Mine Heart is turned within me my Repentings are kindled together With what a melting Passion does the Son of God foretel the decreed Destruction of Jerusalem for rejecting their Saviour and Salvation When he came near he beheld the City and wept over it saying If thou hadst known at least in this thy day the things that belong to thy Peace but now they are hid from thine Eyes Like a mild Judg that pities the Man when he condemns the Malefactor Those who interpret some Expressions of Scripture that God laughs at the Calamity of the Wicked and mocks when their Fear comes and is inexorable to their Prayers in such a Sense as evacuates most gracious Declarations of God to induce Sinners to repent and believe for their Salvation they draw Darkness out of Light for those Threatnings are directed against obstinate Rebels that frustrate the most powerful Methods of Mercy and reject the Call of God in the Day of his Grace and by way of Retaliation their Prayers are ineffectual and rejected in the Day of his Wrath. And that he is so highly and irreconcileably provoked for their despising his Mercy is a certain Indication how highly he would have been pleased with their humble accepting it Let none then by a vile and wretched Suspicion that God's repeated Calls to Sinners to return and live do not signify his serious Will detract from the Glory of his Goodness and blaspheme his unspotted Holiness His excellent Greatness secures us of his Sincerity Why should the glorious Majesty of Heaven court despicable Creatures to be reconciled We are infinite Descents below him and no Advantage can accrue to him from us Temporal Princes may be swayed by Interest to send false Declarations to Rebels in Arms to reduce them to Obedience but what can the most High gain by our Submission or lose by our Obstinacy Counterfeit Kindness proceeds either from the Hope of some Good or the Fear of some Evil and of both God is absolutely uncapable We are all obnoxious to his severe Justice There is no occasion that he should intend by the gracious Offer of Pardon to aggravate the Sin and Sentence of those who refuse it Whosoever with Heart-breaking Sorrow and unfeigned Hatred of his Sins seeks for Pardon by the Mediator he shall find his Experience of sparing Mercy equal to the highest Expressions of it in Scripture and exceeding all his Thoughts 4. It appears that God is ready to pardon in that he is so slow to punish Tho all the Divine Attributes are equal in God and there is an intire Agreement between them yet there is a Difference in their external Operations St. John declares God is Love that signifies his communicative Goodness the Exercise whereof is more free and pleasing to him than the Acts of revenging Justice He does not afflict willingly the Children of Men. His Mercy in giving and forgiving flows as Water from a Fountain Acts of Justice are forc'd from him like Wine from the Grapes by the pressing Weight of our Sins In the first Day of Judgment a Saviour was promised before the Curse was threatned Notwithstanding sinful Men break his Laws and trample on them before his Face they resist and grieve and quench his Spirit yet he delays the Execution of Judgment that his Long-suffering may lead them to Repentance This will appear by considering that God's forbearing Sinners is not 1. For want of Discovery of their Sins Humane Justice may suffer a guilty Person to escape Punishment for want of clear Evidence but this Case is not incident to the Justice of Heaven God is Light with respect to his Purity and Omniscience His firy Eye pierces through the thickest Darkness wherein Sins are committed and all the Arts of Concealment used to cover them He sees all the Sins of Men with the Eye of a Judg All things are naked and open before his Eyes with whom we have to do Therefore 't is said God will require what is past and will observe what is to come in order to Judgment 2. 'T is not from a Defect of Power that the Wicked are spared Great Princes are sometimes hindred from the Exercise of Justice when the guilty Person is supported by a prevalent Party against them for the Power of a Prince is not in himself but in those who are his Subjects Thus David was constrained to spare Joab after the Murder of Abner because of his Interest in the Army the Sons of Zerviah were too hard for him he fear'd their rebellious Resistance But the Power of God is inherent in himself and depends upon no Creatures O Lord be exalted in thine own Power He fears none and is to be fear'd by all With one Stroke of Omnipotency he can destroy all his Enemies for ever He can with more Ease subdue the most stubborn Rebels than we can breathe His Strength is equal to his Authority both are truly infinite 3. The Guilty are spared sometimes from the vicious Partiality of Princes to their Favourites or a wretched Neglect of Justice But the high and holy King is without respect of Persons He hates Sin with a perfect Hatred and is angry with the Wicked
that all the World are become guilty before God that is justly chargeable with their Crimes and liable to his Judgment The Act of Sin is transient and the Pleasure vanishes but the Guilt if not pardoned and purged away remains for ever in the Records of Conscience The Sin of Judah is written with a Pen of Iron and with the Point of a Diamond it is graven on the Tables of the Heart When the Books of eternal Life and Death shall be opened at the Last Day all the unpardoned Sins of Men with their killing Aggravations will be found written in indelible Characters and shall be set in order before their Eyes to their Confusion The righteous Judg has sworn he will forget none of their Works According to the Number and Heinousness of their Sins a Sentence shall pass upon them No Excuses shall suspend the Judgment nor mitigate the immediate Execution of it The Forgiveness of Sins contains the Abolition of their Guilt and Freedom from the deserved Destruction consequent to it This is express'd by various Terms in Scripture Pardon relates to some Damage and Offence which the offended Party may severely vindicate Now altho the blessed God in strictness of speaking can receive no Damage by rebellious Creatures being infinitely above the Impression of Evil yet as our Saviour speaks of one that looks upon a Woman with an impure Desire that he has committed Adultery with her in his Heart tho the Innocence of the Woman be unstained so the Sins of Men being Acts of foul Ingratitude against his Goodness and notorious Unrighteousness against his Authority are in a Sense injurious to him which he might justly revenge upon them but his Clemency spares them The not imputing Sin is borrowed from the Accounts of Servants with their Masters and implies the Account we are obliged to render the supreme Lord for all his Benefits which we have so wretchedly misimproved he might righteously exact of us ten thousand Talents that are due to him but he is graciously pleased to cross the Book and freely to discharge us The purging from Sin implies 't is very odious and offensive in God's Eyes and has a special respect to the expiatory Sacrifices of which 't is said that without Blood there was no Remission This was typical of the precious Blood of the Son of God that purges the Conscience from dead Works from the deadly Guilt of Sin that cleaves to the Conscience of the Sinner By the application of his Blood the crimson Guilt is wash'd away and the pardoned Sinner is accepted as one pure and innocent 2. I shall next demonstrate that Forgiveness belongs to God This will be evident by the following Considerations 1 st 'T is the high and peculiar Prerogative of God to pardon Sin His Authority made the Law and gives Life and Vigour to it therefore he can remit the Punishment of the Offender This is evident from the Proportion of humane Laws For tho subordinate Judges have only a limited Power and must acquit or condemn according to the Law yet the Soveraign may dispense with it This is declared in Scripture by God himself I even I am he that blots out thy Transgressions for my Name sake He repeats it with an Emphasis He is proclaimed with this Royal Title The Lord gracious and merciful pardoning Iniquity Transgression and Sin 'T is a Dispensation of Divine Soveraignty to pardon the Guilty 'T is true God pardons as a Father according to that most gracious Promise I will spare them as a Father spares his Son that serves him but as invested with the Dignity of a Soveraign Our Saviour directs us in the perfect Form of Prayer dictated to his Disciples to pray to God for the Forgiveness of our Sins as our Father sitting in Heaven upon a high Throne from whence he pronounces our Pardon His Majesty is equally glorious with his Mercy in that blessed Dispensation His Royal Supremacy is more conspicuous in the Exercise of Mercy towards repenting Sinners than in the Acts of Justice upon obstinate Offenders As a King is more a King by the pardoning humble Suppliants by the Operation of his Scepter than in subduing Rebels by the Power of the Sword For in Acts of Grace he is above the Law and over-rules its Rigour in Acts of Vengeance he is only superiour to his Enemies 'T is the peculiar Prerogative of God to pardon Sin The Prophet challenges all the reputed Deities of the Heathens as defective in this Royal Power Who is a God like unto thee pardoning Iniquity Transgression and Sin The Pharisees said true Who can forgive Sins but God only for 't is an Act of Empire The judicial Power to pardon is a Flower inseparable from the Crown for 't is founded in a Superiority to the Law therefore inconsistent with a depending Authority A Creature is as incapable of the Supremacy of God in pardoning Sin as of his Omnipotence to create a World for they are both truly infinite Besides the Power of pardoning Sins necessarily implies an universal Knowledg of the Minds and Hearts of Men which are the Fountains of their â—ctions and according to their Ingredâ—â—ncy the moral Good or Evil of them rises The more deliberately and wilfully a Sin is committed the Sinner incurs a greater Guilt and is obnoxious to a more heavy Punishment Now no Creature can dive into the Hearts of Men They are naked and open to the piercing Eye of God alone Add farther the authoritative Power to pardon has necessarily annex'd to it the active Power of dispensing Rewards and Punishments Now the Son of God alone has the Keys of Life and Death in his Hands It may be objected That our Saviour declares that the Son of Man has Power to forgive Sins The Answer to this will be clear by considering there are two Natures in Christ the Divine Nature that originally belongs to him and is proper to his Person and the Humane Nature which is as it were adoptive and was voluntarily assumed Now the Divine Person is the sole Principle and Subject of this Royal Dignity but 't is exercised in its Conjunction with the humane Nature and attributed to the Son of Man As in the Humiliation of Christ the Principles of his Sufferings and the actual Sufferings are solely in the humane Nature but upon the Account of the personal Union they are attributed to the Divine Person 'T is said The Lord of Glory was crucified and the Blood of God redeemed his Church The Church of Rome with high Presumption arrogates to their Priests a judicial Power of forgiving Sins and by the easy Folly of the People and crafty Deceit of their Instructors exercise a Jurisdiction over Conscience To avoid the Imputation of Blasphemy they pretend there is a double Power of Forgiving supreme and subordinate the first belongs to God the other is delegated by Commission to the Ministers of the Gospel But this is an irreconcileable Contradiction for
Sin and renewing us into the Image of God are obtained by the Gospel The Law is called the Law of Sin and Death which must be understood not as consider'd in it self but relatively to our depraved Nature The Law supposes Men in a State of uncorrupted Nature and was given to be a Preservative of our Holiness and Felicity not a Remedy to recover us from Sin and Misery It was directive of our Duty but since our Rebellion the Rod is turn'd into a Serpent The Law is hard and imperious severe and inexorable the Tenor of it is Do or die for ever It requires a Righteousness entire and unblemish'd which one born in Sin cannot produce in the Court of Judgment Man is utterly unable by his lapsed Powers to recover the Favour of God and to fulfil his Obligation by the Law to Obedience But the Gospel discovers an open easy way to Life to all that will accept of Salvation by the Redeemer The Apostle expresses the Difference between the Condition of the Law and the Gospel in a very significant manner Moses describes the Righteousness which is of the Law that the Man that does those things shall live in them but the Righteousness which is of Faith speaks on this wise Say not in thine Heart Who shall ascend into Heaven that is to bring down Christ from above Who shall descend into the Deep that is to bring Jesus Christ again from the dead but what saith it The Word is nigh thee that if thou shalt confess with thy Mouth and shalt believe in thy Heart that God hath raised him from the Dead thou shalt be saved The meaning of the Apostle is that things in Heaven above or in the Depths beneath are of impossible Discovery and Attainment so 't is equally impossible to be justified by the Works of the Law The anxious Sinner seeks in vain for Righteousness in the Law which can only be found in the Gospel It may be objected that the Condition of the Law and the Condition of the Gospel compar'd relatively to our deprav'd Faculties are equally impossible The carnal Mind and Affections are as averse from Repentance and receiving Christ as our Lord and Saviour as from obeying the Law Our Saviour tells the Jews Ye will not come to me that ye may have Life and no Man can come to me unless the Father draw him Which Words are highly expressive of our utter Impotence to believe savingly in Christ. But there is a clear Answer to this Objection the Difference between the two Dispensations consists principally in this The Law requires compleat and constant Obedience as the Condition of Life without affording the least supernatural Power to perform it But the Gospel has the Spirit of Grace a Concomitant with it by whose Omnipotent Efficacy Sinners are revived and enabled to comply with the Terms of Salvation The Spirit of the Law is stiled the Spirit of Bondage from its rigorous Effects it discover'd Sin and terrified the Conscience without implanting a Principle of Life that might restore the Sinner to a State of Holy Liberty As the Flame in the Bush made the Thorns in it visible without consuming them so the firy Law discovers Mens Sins but does not abolish them But the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus i. e. the Gospel has freed us from the Law of Sin and Death I will more particularly consider the gracious Terms prescribed in the Gospel for the obtaining Pardon Repentance towards God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The requiring of them is not an arbitrary Constitution but founded in the unchangeable Nature and Congruity of things Repentance signifies a sincere Change of the Mind and Heart from the Love and Practice of Sin to the Love and Practice of Holiness upon Evangelical and Divine Motives The principal Ingredients in it are Reflections with Grief and Shame upon our past Sins with stedfast Resolutions of future Obedience 'T is a vital Principle productive of Fruits sutable to it 'T is call'd Repentance from dead Works Repentance unto Life 'T is the Seed of new Obedience Repentance in order of Nature is before Pardon but they are inseparably join'd in the same Point of Time David is a blessed Instance of this I said I will confess my Transgressions to the Lord and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin The Sum and Tenour of the Apostles Commission recorded by St. Luke is That Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preached in the Name of Christ to all Nations That a repentant Sinner only is qualified for Pardon will be evident in considering 1. That an impenitent Sinner is the Object of revenging Justice and 't is utterly inconsistent that pardoning Mercy and revenging Justice should be terminated upon the same Person at the same time in the same respect 'T is said The Lord hateth all the Workers of Iniquity and his Soul hates the Wicked The Expression implies the intense Degrees of Hatred In the glorious Appearance of God to Moses when proclaim'd with the highest Titles of Honour The Lord God gracious and merciful pardoning Iniquity Transgression and Sin 't is added he will by no means spare the Guilty i. e. impenitent Sinners We must suppose God to be of a changeable flexible Nature which is a blasphemous Imagination and makes him like to sinful Man if an impenitent Sinner may be received to Favour without a Change in his Disposition God cannot repent of giving a holy Law the Rule of our Duty therefore Man must repent of his breaking the Law before he can be reconciled to him The Truth is Man consider'd merely as a Sinner is not the Object of God's first Mercy i. e. of Pity and Compassion for as such he is the Object of God's Wrath and 't is a formal Contradiction to assert that he is the Object of Love and Hatred at the same time and in the same respect But Man consider'd as God's Creature involv'd in Misery by the Fraud of the Tempter and his own Folly was the Object of God's Compassion and the Recovery of him from his forlorn wretched State was the Effect of that Compassion 2. Tho Mercy consider'd as a separate Attribute might pardon an impenitent Sinner yet not in Conjunction and Concord with God's essential Perfections Many things are possible to Power absolutely consider'd which God cannot do for his Power is always directed in its Exercise by his Wisdom and limited by his Will It would disparage God's Wisdom stain his Holiness violate his Justice to pardon an impenitent Sinner The Gospel by the Promise of Pardon to such would foil it self and frustrate its principal End which is to purify us from all Iniquity and to make us a People zealous of good Works 3. If an impenitent Sinner may be pardoned as such he may be glorified for that which qualifies a Man for Pardon qualifies him for Salvation and the Divine Decree establishes an inseparable Connexion between them
Whom God justifies he glorifies If a Sinner dies immediately after his Pardon is past nothing can intercept his being received into Heaven Now this is utterly impossible the exclusion of such is peremptory and universal for without Holiness no Man shall see God The Admission of an impenitent Sinner into Heaven would pollute that holy Place and unconsecrate the Temple of God wherein his Holiness shines in its Glory It is objected by some that the requiring Repentance to qualify the Sinner for Pardon eclipses the Grace of the Gospel I willingly acknowledg that a religious Jealousy lest the Freeness and Honour of Divine Grace in our Pardon should be lessen'd is very becoming a Christian but 't is ill-grounded and ill-guided in this Matter This will be evident by considering 1 st Repentance is an Evangelical Grace the Gift of the Redeemer Him has God raised to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Forgiveness of Sin The Law did not allow of Repentance nor promise Pardon The Design of it was to keep us in the Favour and Communion with God but afforded no Means of Reconciliation after our offending him Repentance was no Degree of Perfection before Man's Fall but is a Relief of his Imperfection after it The Law call'd the Righteous to Obedience the Gospel calls Sinners to Repentance 2 dly There is no Causality or Merit in Repentance to procure our Pardon The Mercy of God for the most precious Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ is the only Cause of Pardon A Flood of repenting Tears an Effusion of our Blood are of too low a Price to make any Satisfaction to God to deserve a Return of his Favour The most sincere Love of Holiness and stedfast Resolution to forsake Sin which is the principal part of Repentance can be no Satisfaction for our past Offences for 't is the natural Duty of Man before the commission of Sin Repentance is only a vital Qualification in the Subject that receives the Pardon 3 dly The Grace of God is very conspicuous in dispensing Pardon according to the Order of the Gospel to repenting Sinners For first Repentance renders the Divine Mercy most honourable in the Esteem of those who partake of it Our Saviour tells us The whole need not a Physician but those who are sick He that feels his Disease and is strongly apprehensive of its Danger values the Counsel and Assistance of a Physician above all Treasures The repenting Sinner who is under the strong Conviction of his Guilt and his being always obnoxious to the Judgment of God and eternal Misery the Consequent of it he values the Favour of God as the most sovereign Good and accounts his Displeasure as the supreme Evil. Repentance inspires flaming Affections in our Prayers and Praises for Pardon The repenting Sinner prays for Pardon with as much Fervency as Daniel pray'd in the Den to be preserved from the devouring Lions or as Jonah pray'd out of the Belly of Hell for Deliverance He addresses not with faint but fainting Desires for Mercy Give me Pardon or I die The insensible Sinner that is secure in the Shadow of Death may offer some verbal Requests for Pardon but his Prayer is defective in the Principle for he never feels the Want of a Pardon he prays so coldly as if unconcern'd whether he be accepted or no. And with what a Rapture of Admiration and Joy and thankful Affections doth the pardon'd Penitent magnify the Divine Mercy The Christian Niobe that was melted into repenting Tears loved much because much was forgiven her 2. This Establishment that Repentance qualifies a Sinner for Pardon is most beneficial to Man and consequently most illustrates pardoning Mercy We must observe that Sin does not only affect us with Guilt but leaves an inherent Corruption that defiles and debases the Sinner and strongly inclines him to relapse into Rebellion Now Repentance gives the true Representation of Sin in its penal Consequences the Anger of the Almighty the Terrors of Conscience and makes it evident and odious to the Soul David had a piercing Conviction what a foul Sin Adultery was when his Bones were broken Repenting Sorrow strikes at the Root of Sin the Love of Pleasure This makes us fearful to offend God and to fly all the alluring Temptations that will betray us to Sin This makes us obedient The melted Metal is receptive of any Form Contrition is join'd with Resignation Lord what wilt thou have me to do was the Voice of repenting Saul It may be objected that we read God justifies the Vngodly but the Answer is clear The Apostle does not intend by the Ungodly an impenitent Sinner but makes the Opposition between the Ungodly and one that perfectly obeys the Law and is consequently justified by Works and in this Sense the most excellent Saints here are ungodly Besides the Apostle does not assert that God absolutely pardons the Ungodly but qualifies the Persons To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifies the Vngodly his Faith is counted for Righteousness Now justifying Faith and Repentance are like Tamar's Twins Repentance is first felt and then Faith exerts it self in applying the Merits of Christ's Death for our Pardon It is replied by some that all Grace is communicated from Christ as our Head and supposes our Union with him of which Faith is the vital Band and consequently the first Grace by which all other Graces are derived to us To this I answer there are two Means of our Union with Christ The principal is the quickning Spirit descending from Christ as the Fountain of the supernatural Life and a lively Faith wrought in us by his pure and powerful Operation that ascends from us and closes with him 'T is said the second Adam was made a quickning Spirit and he that is join'd to the Lord is one Spirit As the Parts of the natural Body are united by the vital Influence of the same Soul that is present in the whole so we are united to Christ by the Holy Spirit that was given to him without measure and from his Fulness is derived to us 'T is clear therefore beyond all Contradiction that Faith is not antecedently requisite as the means of conveying all Graces to us from Christ. 2. There are two Acts of Faith the first respects the General Offer of Pardon in the Gospel to all repenting believing Sinners The second is the Application of the Promise of Pardon to the Soul The first is antecedent to evangelical Repentance The second is clearly consequent in the Order of Nature for the Promise assures Pardon only to the weary and heavy laden that come to Christ for Rest. In short there is a perfect Agreement and Sympathy between Reason and Divine Revelation in this Doctrine that God pardons only the repenting Sinner The contrary Assertion is an Impeachment of the Rectitude of his Nature and directly contrary to the Design and Tenour of the Gospel If a Man be justified as
instructive Inference in the Text There is Forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared that is with a Fear of Reverence for his amiable Excellencies for the Attractives of his pardoning Mercy and of Caution lest by abusing we should make a deadly Forfeiture of it If God should appear as an irreconcileable Judg arm'd with Terrour against all Offenders the Apprehension would produce Hatred and a dreadful Flight from him it would make Men boldly wilful and harden them in their Rebellions for if they cannot be pardoned for their past Sins and can be but damned for their Continuance in them they will give Licence to their roving and impetuous Appetites and commit Iniquity with Greediness Now God has appointed a Way for the Pardon of Sin wherein there is a bright and equal Discovery of his Greatness and Goodness his Purity and Righteousness that his Law may be more sacred and inviolable more remembred and obeyed by us He has declared in the Death of his Son wherein the equal Extreams of Ignominy and Torment were combin'd what an Evil Sin is that requir'd such a mighty Expiation We may from the Depth of his Sufferings conceive the Excess and Height of our Provocations We may understand the deadly Guilt of Sin that can only be wash'd away in the Blood of Christ the Fountain of Remission To turn the Grace of God into Wantonness to be more loose and secure in committing Sin is to turn the Antidote into Poison and defeat his blessed End 'T is a main Article of our Reconciliation The Lord will speak Peace to his People but let them not return to Folly We may conceive that God speaks to the pardon'd Sinner what our Saviour said to the Man whom he miraculously heal'd Go away sin no more lest a worse thing befal you 'T is both the Duty and Disposition of those who have received the Pardon of their Sins to fear the Lord and his Goodness There is no Principle more clearly natural and sensible than this Dependance includes Observance the receiving Benefits obliges a Person to the Benefactor Accordingly the Psalmist expresses the Affections of the humane and the holy Nature What shall I render to the Lord for all his Benefits and breaks out in an Extasy of Thankfulness O Lord truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant thou hast broken my Bands The repenting Believer receives Pardon from God with joyful Admiration that fastens his Mind in the Contemplation of his glorious Mercy the serious Thought of it kindles a sacred Fire in his Breast as 't is said of Mary Magdalen Much was forgiven her for she loved much Love to God that results from his pardoning Love to us is singular and supreme and necessarily produces an ardent Desire to please and glorify him and an ingenuous grateful Fear of offending him The Soul that has felt the Terrors of the Lord as the holy and righteous Judg of the World and afterward has been revived by the Light of his Countenance and has tasted how good the Lord is how is it possible to resist such dear and immense Obligations How prodigious to turn the strongest and sweetest Ingagement to Reverence and Obedience into an Encouragement to do that which is odious and offensive in his Sight To sin against Light heightens a Sin into Rebellion but to sin against revealed Love makes it above-measure sinful This is so contrary to natural Conscience and super-natural Grace that 't is the Leprosy of the Wicked not the Spot of God's Children Do you thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise The upbraiding reduces them to a defenceless Silence and covers them in black Confusion When Divine Grace pardons our past Sins it cures our depraved Inclinations to future Sins The clearest Discovery of the Heart is by Reflections on God's Mercy The Fear of God's Justice is natural the reverent Regard of his Goodness is a spiritual Affection There is a great Difference between filial Fear of the divine Goodness that is so becoming the Breast of a Christian and so congruous to our present State and servile Fear that is the proper Character of one in the Bondage of Sin The Filial Fear of God is an ingenuous voluntary Affection flowing from Love and freely exercis'd and esteem'd the Treasure of the Soul Servile Fear the Sequel of Guilt is a judicial Impression from the sad Thoughts of the provoked Majesty of Heaven and if the Offender could dissolve the Bands of Conscience he would throw it off Filial Fear is mix'd with Joy 't is the Preservative of God's Favour to us it makes us more circumspect but not less comfortable it opposes Security but establishes the Assurance of Faith the Fear of the Lord and Hope in his Mercy are united Graces Servile Fear has Torment 't is an Alarm within that disturbs the Rest of the Sinner 't is a fretting Fire that secretly torments him in his most luscious Fruitions Filial Fear restrains from all Sin in the Heart and Life because it dishonours and displeases God it denies the carnal Appetites with Sweetness and Satisfaction to the Soul it excites us to obey God with Choice and Complacency Servile Fear induces an Abstinence from some Sins which fly in the Face of Conscience and which the Sinner loves and urges to the outward Performance of Duties which he hates The slavish Spirit is afraid to burn not to sin he is fearful to be damn'd not to displease God Filial Fear is a serious and habitual Constitution of the Soul inseparable from it in all Times and Places 't is influential into the whole Life Servile Fear is a sudden Passion and transient sometimes a sharp Affliction a piercing Sermon awakens a secure Wretch into a Fit of Terror Filial Fear keeps the Soul close to God makes it solicitous lest any Sin should intercept the Light of his Countenance and obstruct Communion with him which is the Paradise of a Saint 't is the gracious Promise of God to his Children I will put my Fear into their Hearts and they shall never depart from me Servile Fear makes the Sinner shy of God's Presence and as unwilling to find him as a Saint is to lose him He is not pleased with Solitude lest the guilty Conscience should have time of Recollection and should look to the Judg above He takes no Delight in the Society of the Saints and the Enjoyment of the Ordinances because God is peculiarly present there and above all things he is afraid to die because then the Spirit returns to God that gave it In short the filial Fear of God ascends with the Soul to Heaven and is the eternal Respect that the blessed Spirits continually pay to his adorable Perfections Servile Fear attends the Sinner to Hell and settles into Despair for ever 2 dly The Doctrine of Divine Forgiveness affords strong Consolation to those who are wounded in Spirit in the Sense of their Sins Those only who feel the intolerable Burden of
Guilt will come to Christ to find Rest and only those our Saviour invites and promises graciously to receive A tender and timorous Conscience does often impute the Guilt of Sin when 't is abolish'd a seared Conscience does not impute it when it abounds God has revealed his Mercy in so full a manner as to answer all the Allegations of a repenting Sinner against himself He objects his Unworthiness of Pardon but this cannot exclude him from it for the Grace of God springs from within and has no original Cause without it self 'T is like celestial Fire that feeds it self God declares his sovereign Pleasure in the Exercise of Mercy I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew Mercy to whom I will shew Mercy If Mercy were bestowed only upon the worthy none could be saved for all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God The humble Penitent urges against himself that he has been a singular and extraordinary Offender that none is like him in sinning but we are assured none is like God in pardoning The Number of our Sins is terrifying This so affected the Psalmist that he fainted with desponding Fear My Sins are like the Hairs upon my Head therefore my Heart fails me But the Multitude of God's Mercies incomparably exceed our numerous Sins They are renewed every Moment of our Lives Stupendous Infinity they are over all his Works and over all his Attributes God is Love and Love covers a Multitude of Sins The killing Aggravations of our Sins strike us through but there is not so much Evil in Sin as there is Goodness in God Our finite Acts cannot preponderate his unlimited Essence He declares I am God and not Man therefore ye are not consumed We hardly forgive a few Pence he forgives ten thousand Talents He is God infinite in Mercy and as liberal as infinite Delight in Sin is an aggravating Circumstance but God delights in Mercy Continuance in Sin inflames the Guilt but his Mercy extends to Eternity I shall add for the Support of returning Penitents some Examples of God's forgiving great Sinners recorded in Scripture He charges the People of Israel Thou hast made me serve with thy Sins and wearied me with thine Iniquities It might be expected that the next Words should have been I will revenge your dishonouring of me according to the Glory of my Majesty and the Extent of my Power but he promises Pardon I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions for my Name sake and will not remember thy Sins By the Comparison of their Sins he illustrates the Glory of his Mercy Lot guilty of Incest with his Daughters David of Murder and Adultery Manasseh a Sorcerer and Idolater that burnt his Children alive in Sacrifice to the Devil and fill'd Jerusalem with innocent Blood Mary Magdalen out of whom seven Devils were cast Peter who was so faint-hearted and false-hearted that with Execrations he denied his Master Paul that was a bloody Persecutor are the Instances of the astonishing Omnipotent Mercy of God who can as easily pardon the greatest Sins as the least and makes no Difference when our Repentance is sincere and our Faith unfeigned tho according to the degrees of their Guilt Conscience should be affected How many pardon'd Sinners Miracles of the Divine Mercy are in Heaven happy in the Love of God and glorious in Holiness who were as deeply guilty and polluted as any that now mournfully seek the Favour of God These are Examples of Grace so excellent and so divine to encourage us in our Addresses for Pardon The Apostle Paul tells us That for this Cause he obtained Mercy that in me Jesus Christ might shew all Long-suffering for a Pattern to them who shall hereafter believe on him to everlasting Life There is the same Motive in God he forgives Sins for his Name sake The Treasures of his Mercy are not wasted by communicating There is the same Merit in Christ his precious Blood shed upon the Cross is pleaded in Heaven He ever lives to make Intercession for us and if we obtain the same precious Faith we shall have the same Acceptance In short let those who are overwhelmed with Fear consider 't is not only our Privilege but Duty to trust in the Divine Mercy We are commanded to believe in the Mediator Despair is more dishonourable to God than Presumption in that 't is a Sin directly against a superiour Attribute the Exercise of which is his Delight and dearest Glory 3 dly Let us be excited to seek the pardoning Mercy of God with Humility with Fear and all possible Diligence lest we should not obtain it Our Hearts should be set upon this with the most intense Zeal for 't is our Life Every impenitent Sinner is under the condemning Sentence of the Law and there is but a step between him and Death the only Hope is that 't is not yet ratified by the Judg nor inflicted but 't is reversible by suing out a Pardon in the superiour Court of the Gospel Now 't is astonishing that when the Danger is so great and present for 't is as morally impossible to be sure of time to come as to recal time past that Men should be so unconcerned and secure and neglect the main Work for which they are spared by the admirable Patience of God Time is certainly short and uncertainly continued and when the Oil that feeds the Lamp of Life is spent the next State is the Blackness of Darkness for ever to all unpardoned Sinners Now the Scepter of Grace is extended to us we are within the Call of pardoning Mercy God waits to be gracious but there is a sad Assurance if we do not sue out our Pardon in the present Life the time of our Reprieve Death is immediately attended with eternal Judgment the Belief of which makes the Prince of Darkness with the most stubborn Spirits of Hell to tremble yet Men continue in the Guilt of their unrepented Sins without Fear and wretchedly deceive themselves with a vain Presumption that the Door of Mercy will be open when they leave the World or bear up themselves by the numberless Multitude of stupid Sinners and make a resolute Reckoning they shall do as well as the most They are studious and contriving active and ardent about the Affairs of this low Life and careless of being reconcil'd to God a Matter of the highest Concernment and eternal Consequence Prodigious Folly never enough lamented though Vengeance from above is ready to fall upon them and Hell below with its dark Horrors is open to swallow them up yet they are stupid and fearless The Remembrance of this will rack and torment them for ever for when extreme Folly is the Cause of extreme Misery the Sufferer is the most cruel Enemy to himself Let us therefore seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near Now God offers his Pardon to the greatest
Efficacy with God than a Torrent of natural Sorrow Repenting Sorrow is an indispensable Qualification in order to our Pardon not merely from the Will of the Law-giver as the Reason of our Duty but from the Congruity of the thing it self 'T is observable that 't is the Wisdom and Kindness of the God of Nature that the Food that preserves Life is pleasant to our Taste to invite us every Day to eat and renew our Strength but Physick that is necessary for the Recovery of Health is very distastful that our Aversion from it may make us circumspect to prevent all Excesses that are the Causes of Diseases Thus the sorrowful Confession of Sin which is medicinal to the Soul is very afflicting it wounds the Spirit and breaks the Heart that we may be jealous of our selves lest we eat of the forbidden Fruit that requires so bitter a Remedy Godly Sorrow tho it be very afflicting to Nature yet the Exercise of it is more satisfying to a sincere Penitent than all the Pleasures of Sin In two cases Grief is pleasant when 't is upon the account of a Person dearly loved a Parent indulges his Sorrow for the Death of a Child that was the Life of his Life Or when Pain is beneficial and an Advantage as in the Application of a Plaister we are pleased with the Pain it causes that being a Sign and Effect of its healing Operation Now both these Considerations are mix'd with repenting Sorrow for it principally arises from the Reflection upon Sin as that which has so dishonour'd and displeased the blessed God our Maker Preserver and Redeemer that we have preferr'd the pleasing our corrupt and licentious Appetites before the obeying his holy just and good Will The repenting Sinner declares his Love to God by his Grief for offending him and voluntarily remembers his past Sins and is pleased in overflowing Sorrow for them And this Sorrow is preparative for Peace Vnutterable Groans are introductive of unspeakable Joys the Holy Spirit that convinces of Sin is the blessed Comforter 2. The Confession of Sin must be mix'd with Shame All the just Causes of Shame Guilt Turpitude Folly and Disappointment are complicated in Sin The repenting Sinner by Consciousness and Reflection upon Sin that induces so heavy a Guilt that defiles the Soul with so deep a Pollution that no Ray of its Original Purity remains that debases it infinitely below its heavenly Descent mourns with Tears of Confusion for what he has done Repenting Ephraim bemoans himself that he had been rebellious against the Methods of God's Mercy like a refractory Bullock unaccustom'd to the Yoke and his recoiling Thoughts made him to smite on his Thigh to be ashamed to the degree of Confusion for his Disobedience How affecting an Object he was in God's Eye the immediate Answer declares Is Ephraim my dear Son is he a pleasant Child for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still therefore my Bowels are troubled for him I will surely have Mercy upon him saith the Lord. The Psalmist reflecting upon his being almost vanquish'd by a vexatious Temptation degrades and vilifies himself so foolish was I and ignorant and like a Beast before thee Ezra in the Confession of the Holy Seed's mixing with Heathen Idolaters saith O Lord I blush and am ashamed at the foul Deformity of their Sin The Apostle upbraids the Romans with a stinging Reproach What Fruit have you of those things whereof ye are now ashamed the End whereof is Death When a foolish Choice is made and the Folly is detected and Experience disappoints the Expectation the natural Consequent is Shame At the last Day when the Filthiness and Folly of Men shall be publish'd before God and all the Angels and Saints how much rather would they be hid in the Darkness of their Graves than be clothed with Confusion before that glorious and immense Theatre The sorrowful Confession of Sin with deep Shame here will prevent the exposing the Sinner to publick Shame hereafter 4. Confession must have Concomitant with it the judging our selves as unworthy of the least Mercy and deserving severe Punishment The Apostle assures us If we would judg our selves we should not be judged He does not say if we are innocent we shall not be condemn'd for then who can appear before the high and inlightned Tribunal of Heaven but if we acknowledg our Guilt and the Righteousness of the Sentence to which we are obnoxious we shall be spared We cannot satisfy God's Justice but we must glorify it In this the admirable Mercy of God appears Suppose a Court on Earth wherein the Rule of Judgment were that all the Faults which the Guilty confess and condemn themselves for should be pardoned and only those they conceal should be deadly to them how willingly and humbly would those who are conscious of many capital Crimes and are summon'd to appear accuse themselves In the Court of Heaven if we are faithful to God and our own Souls in the confessing our Sins and passing Sentence upon our selves we prevent his Sentence against us 5. Prayer for Pardon must be joined with the Confession of Sin The Lord is good and ready to forgive and plenteous in Mercy unto all that call upon him God who is rich in Mercy has appointed Prayer as the Means of our receiving it it being most honourable to him that we should have a serious Sense of our Wants and Unworthiness and our absolute Disability to supply them and by our Desires we should glorify his Power and Love whereby he is all-sufficient and ready to bestow upon us his Blessings Prayer for Pardon must have these Ingredients 1 st Humility is the most becoming Qualification of a Suppliant to the high Judg of the World to reverse the Sentence of eternal Death The deep Apprehension of our Guilt will humble us before his dreadful Tribunal 2 dly Fervency which is the Life of Prayer A cold Prayer the spiritless Motion of the Lips is so far from inclining the Divine Mercy to pardon us that it increases our Guilt and provokes God's Displeasure If our Apprehensions were as real and quick of our spiritual Wants as of our temporal our Prayers would be as ardent for Supplies Our Desires should be raised in the most intense degrees in some proportion to the Value of the Blessing they should be strong as our Necessity to obtain it The Pardon of our Sins is the Effect of God's highest Favour of that Love that is peculiar to his Children 't is the Fruit of our Saviour's bloody Sufferings without it we are miserable for ever and can we expect to obtain it by a formal superficial Prayer It deserves the Flower and Zeal of our Affections How solicitous and vehement and unsatisfied should we be till we have the clear Testimony that we are in a State of Divine Favour Only fervent Prayers are regarded by God and recorded in Heaven We disvalue his Pardon by our
had never been born or made in a lower Rank of Creatures uncapable of Damnation According to the Conviction of the Greatness of our Misery our Longings will be for Deliverance The Desire accomplish'd is a Tree of Life The Tree of Life was in the midst of Paradise the Centre of its Pleasures According to the Degrees of our Desires such is the Sweetness of Fruition Now when the Soul is overwhelm'd with the fearful Apprehensions of everlasting Death how ardent are the Desires of Pardon how unsatisfied without it and what Impressions of Joy are felt from the sealing its Pardon Solomon tells us That good News from a far Country is like cooling Water to one burnt up with Thirst. How much more refreshing is the Testimony of the blessed Comforter from Heaven to one fainting in the Estuations of Conscience that his Sins are pardoned David expresses his Valuation and earnest Longing for the Favour of God and his joyful Sense of it There be many that say Who will shew us any Good Lord lift up the Light of thy Countenance upon me Thou hast put Gladness in my Heart more than in the time that their Corn and Wine increased An inward cordial Joy that far exceeds the counterfeit Joy in the Countenance that ends in Heaviness Now the thankful Sense of a Benefit is correspondent to the joyful Sense of it and the joyful according to our languishing longing after it Fervent Prayer for the pardoning Mercy of God and a frozen Acknowledgment of it are utterly inconsistent There is no Joy in the World so sensible and affecting as the Joy of one saved from present Death A condemned Man values and rejoices more in receiving two Lines where his Pardon is contained than in the Conveyance of a Kingdom Hezekiah when under the Sentence of Death in his Sickness how passionate were his Addresses for Recovery how exuberant were his Joy and Thankfulness for his Rescue from perishing The living the living he shall praise thee as I do this day He resolves to renew the Praises of his gracious Preserver every day The Lord saved me therefore we will sing my Songs to the stringed Instruments all the Days of our Life in the House of the Lord. Had he so quick and warm a Sense of the Divine Mercy that saved him from the Grave how much more ardent should our Acknowledgments be for the saving us from Hell If we have the Feeling of Sin as we have of Sickness and are as duly sensible how much the Life of the Soul our excellent and immortal Part is to be preferred before the Life of the frail and perishing Body our Joy and Thankfulness would be in the highest Elevation in remembring forgiving Mercy This will be the Argument of the high and everlasting Praise of God in Heaven I shall conclude with this Advice Let us not content our selves with verbal Acknowledgments of this real and glorious Benefit Let our Thanksgiving be joined with Thanksdoing then we shall be accepted Of this we have the most comforting Assurance from God himself He that offers Praise glorifies me and to him that orders his Conversation aright I will shew the Salvation of God FINIS BOOKS writ by William Bates D.D. and sold by B. Aylmer THE Harmony of the Divine Attributes in the Contrivance and Accomplishment of Man's Redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ Or Discourses wherein is shewed how the Wisdom Mercy Justice Holiness Power and Truth of God are glorified in that great and blessed Work Considerations of the Existence of God and of the Immortality of the Soul with the Recompences of the future State To which is now added The Divinity of the Christian Religion c. The Four Last Things Death and Judgment Heaven and Hell practically considered and applied The Danger of Prosperity discovered in several Sermons The great Duty of Resignation in Times of Affliction c. A Funeral-Sermon on Dr. Thomas Manton who deceased October 18 1677. With the last publick Sermon Dr. Manton preached The Sure Trial of Uprightness opened in several Sermons upon Psal. 18. v. 23. A Description of the blessed Place and State of the Saints above on John 14.2 Preached at the Funeral of Mr. Clarkson The Way to the highest Honour on John 12.26 Preached at the Funeral of Dr. Jacomb The speedy Coming of Christ to Judgment on Rev. 22.12 Preached at the Funeral of Mr. Benj. Ashhurst A Sermon on the Death of the Late Queen Mary Ver. 3. Isa. 43. Mal. 3. Mic. 7. Psal. 86. Rom. 8. Rom. 10. Psal. 32. Luke 24. Rom. 8. Acts 5. Jonah 2. Jam. 3.10 Luke 2. 1 Tim. 1. Isa. 6. 2 Cor. 5. Phil. 3. Ephes. 2. Rom. 4. Jer. 7.16 Hos. 14. 2 Cor. 5. 1 John 1. Heb. 6.18 Joh. 8.24 Hos. 11.8 Prov. 1. Lam. 3. Acts 11. Ephes. 2. Rom. 8. Prov. 9. ult John 5. Gen. 6. Ephes. 2. Rom. 8. Psal. 103. Mich. 7. Jer. 31.34 Heb. 9.14 Cor. 11. Heb. 12. Mal. 3. Mic. 7. Rom. 1. Deut. 29. Prov. 29. Psal. 116. Exod. 33. Mic. 7. Hos. 11. Isa. 43.25 1 Tim. 1. Prov. 28.13 Alitur vitium vivitque tegendo Psal. 32.2 Gen. 3.10 Exod. 32. 1 Sam. 15.15 Jer. 31. Psal. 73. * Nam pro jucundis aptissimae quaeque dabunt Dii charior est illis homo quam sibi Juven Lev. 5.13 Gal. 5. Mark 11.25 26. Psal. 103.1 2. Psal. 32.1 Acts 26.18 Psal. 48. 2 Sam. 24.24 Isa. 33. ult Psal. 118. Psal. 5. Isa. 38.19 Ver. 20. Psal. 50. ult
a Reprieve and Suspension of Judgment 't is the blessed Security of Believers they shall not fall under Condemnation There is such an Inconstancy in the Nature of Men that they often repent and revoke the Favours and Privileges they have bestowed they like to day and loath to morrow the same Persons but the blessed God is not subject to Change or Contingency His Love his Purpose his Promise to his People are unalterable From the Sense of God's pardoning Mercy Conscience is freed from those just Terrors that are the Consequents of Guilt The Blood of Christ purges our Conscience from dead Works from the deadly Guilt of Sin that cleaves to the Conscience A temporal Prince may pardon a Murderer and Conscience with a Countenance of Despair may summon him to appear and be accountable for his bloody Crime before the High and Everlasting Judg but those who are justified by Faith have Peace with God When the Original Bond is cancell'd the Counter-part has no Force Conscience is subordinate to God and when he justifies has no Authority to condemn When God blots out the Iniquities of his People as a thick Cloud there is a clear Sky a divine Calm and Serenity in Conscience It may be enquired how the compleat Pardon of Sin is consistent with the temporal Evils inflicted upon the Children of God for their Sins The Answer is obvious and easy Temporal Evils inflicted on the Children of God are declarative of his holy Displeasure against Sin but are not for Satisfaction to vindictive Justice This would be derogatory to the Love of God and the meritorious Sufferings of our Saviour who did not compound with God but made full and absolute Satisfaction for our Sins In the 12 th Chapter to the Hebrews where the Apostle so divinely and accurately treats of this Argument there is a clear Account of the Cause the Nature and the Product of the temporal Sufferings of God's Children The Cause of them is the Love of their heavenly Father displeased for their Sins Whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every Son whom he receives Earthly Parents in their various Fits of Folly sometimes chasten their Children only for their Pleasure and sometimes spare the Rod to their Ruine but our heavenly Father is equally wise and compassionate and uses such Discipline as is requisite for their Profit to prevent their Continuance in Sin that would be destructive to them Believers are chasten'd of the Lord that they may not be condemned with the World And the Wisdom and Love of our Father and Physician mixes such bitter Ingredients and in that Proportion as are requisite for the Quality of the Disease and the Strength of the Patient He corrects them in measure he will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able Their Afflictions are deliberate Dispensations The Nature of them is signified in the word Chastisement The Correction of a Child is in order to his Amendment They are medicinal and have a main Relation and Prospect to the future to make us more fearful to offend God and careful to please him They are more lively and sensible Lessons of our Duty than the Instructions of the Word and are of the same Order The Product of the Chastisements of God's Children is the pleasant Fruit of Righteousness to them who are exercised thereby that is the sanctifying Graces of the Spirit Repentance Faith Hope Patience Self-denial Contempt of the World Resignation to the Divine Will are exercised illustrated and increas'd in those Christians who with unfainting Perseverance endure Affliction In short Death that was the penal Effect of Sin for the first Man while innocent was immortal tho continued yet the Sting is taken away the Quality of it is changed The Issues of it are vastly different to the Saints and the Wicked To the Saints 't is the Period of their Fears and Sorrows the final Remedy of all their Miseries to the Wicked 't is the Beginning of their Woe The Saints pass through the Darkness and Corruption of the Grave into the Kingdom of Glory the Wicked pass to the Blackness of Darkness for ever 2 dly The Intireness of this great Benefit is evident in that God restores his Love and forfeited Favour to all that are pardon'd Princes sometimes pardon Offenders but never receive them into their Favour Absalom was recall'd from Banishment but for two Years was not admitted to see the King's Face But God does magnify and manifest his Love to those whom he pardons He does not distinguish them from the Angels that always obeyed him He forgives our Sins as entirely as if they had never been committed and is reconcil'd as if he had never been offended We have the most clear Discovery of this in the Parable of the Prodigal It might have been expected that his Father should have reproach'd him for his obstinate deserting his House his wasting his Portion in Lewdness and Luxury and that bitter Constraint forced him to return no he dearly embraces him and cancels all the Debt of his past Offences with a most affectionate Kiss and whereas the poor Penitent presum'd only to be received as a Servant he was restor'd in the most affectionate manner to the Dignity and Relation of a Son and universal Joy was diffused through all the Family for his Return If our Saviour had not made this Relation with all its endearing Circumstances our narrow Hearts durst never presume and promise to us such compassionate Love of God to repenting Sinners But whoever imitates the Prodigal in his Return shall find the Reality to exceed the Representation I shall add some Examples of this Love of God to those who repent Mary Magdalen had been guilty of foul Sins yet our Saviour graciously received the tender Expressions of her Grief and Love to the Astonishment of Simon She wash'd his Feet with her Tears and wiped them with the Hair of her Head and kissed them and after his Resurrection appeared first to her as his endeared Favourite 'T is recorded by the Evangelist with an infinite Emphasis of his Love that he first appear'd to Mary Magdalen out of whom he had cast seven Devils Peter in whose Denial of Christ there was such a Mixture of Infidelity Ingratitude and Impiety he promised he would die with him or for him yet being questioned not with Terror by an armed Magistrate not surprized by a subtle Examiner but at the Question of a Maid renounc'd him yet he was restor'd to the Honour of his Office and the Affection of his Master 'T is very observable that when he appeared to Mary Magdalen he directs her to tell his Disciples and Peter of his Resurrection he particularly mentions Peter to raise his drooping Spirit by this new Assurance of his Love This happy Privilege belongs to all penitent Believers for whomsoever God pardons he prefers and adopts into his Family and makes them Heirs of Heaven The first Beam of Mercy shines
in the Pardon of our Sins which is an infallible Assurance of freeing us from the Punishment of Sin in Hell and of our obtaining the Joys of Heaven Our Saviour has by his meritorious and voluntary Sufferings paid our Ransom from eternal Death and purchased for us a Right to eternal Life accordingly whom God justifies he glorifies The formal Effect of Justification is the restoring us to the forfeited Favour of God and from that Fountain all blessed Benefits flow God declares concerning his People They shall be mine in the day that I make up my Jewels and I will spare them as a Man spares his Son that serves him Which two Acts of the Divine Mercy are inseparable The APPLICATION The first Use shall be of Caution lest Men abuse carelesly and contemptuously the Doctrine of Divine Forgiveness Many sin freely as if they believed the Permission of Sins or presumed upon a ready Remedy and are without Fear of Judgment to come This is the Language of their Actions tho not of their Tongues There are not a worse sort of Sinners out of Hell If that which should soften and reclaim Sinners hardens them the Case is desperate and incurable To correct the vile Conceits Men have of obtaining an easy Pardon of their Sins tho habitually committed upon that Account let them consider 1. The Angels who were the first and brightest Offspring of the Creator for one Sin were decreed and doom'd to an Exclusion from the Glory of Heaven for ever Mercy did not suspend the Sentence Their mighty Numbers and the Nobility of their Nature did not incline the Judg of the World to spare them They are now in the Chains of powerful Justice and have perpetual Hell within them And shall rebellious Men who are but Dust in their original Composition and final Resolution expect to escape Vengeance If we should see a hundred Noble Men executed in a Day the Sight would strike us with Terror How much greater Reason is there awfully to adore the inflexible Judg for such a dreadful Execution and Example of Justice upon an innumerable Company of Angels 2. To pardon Sin is an Act of greater Power than to create the World If we consider the Distance of the Terms and the Difficulty of the Means there is a wider Distance between a righteous God infinitely provoked by Sin and the guilty Creature than between a State of not being and the actual Existence of the World One powerful Word rais'd this great World from its native nothing But to accord the Divine Attributes between which there seem'd a Repugnance and reconcile God to sinful Men cost the dearest Price The anxious Sinner makes Inquiry Shall I give the First-born of my Body for the Sin of my Soul that is too mean an Offering no less than the First-born of the Almighty could by the Sacrifice of himself make an Atonement for our Offences 3. Vengeance belongs to God as well as Forgiveness The Wrath of God is reveal'd from Heaven against all Vngodliness and Vnrighteousness of Men. It was decreed in Heaven 't is denounced in his Word and shall be executed by his just Power in its Season There is a time to pardon and a time to punish God is stiled the God of Patience in the present World his Patience has its perfect Work But in the next World Justice will gloriously appear against the Wicked who are devoted to Destruction Forbearance is not Forgiveness The last Day will close the Accounts of the Judg of the World with Sinners and a terrible Arrear will be exacted of them for all the Treasures of his Goodness and Clemency wasted by them 4. Those who indulge themselves in a Course of Sin upon the Presumption of an easy Pardon are the most unworthy and uncapable of the Divine Mercy They sin against the Nature and End of Grace and by an immediate and direct Opposition to it in the proper Notion of Grace cut off all their Pleas for it 'T is true God is very merciful and easy to be intreated by those who sincerely repent and reform their Lives but he is inexorable to all those who harden themselves in their Sins by the false and presumptuous Hopes of his Mercy He declares in his Word that when Sinners despise the Curse threatned against them and bless themselves in their Hearts that they shall have Peace tho they walk in the Imagination of their own Hearts to add Drunkenness to Thirst the Lord will not spare them but then the Anger of the Lord and his Jealousy shall smoke against them and all the Curses written in this Book shall lie upon them without Mitigation or Intermission No less Punishment than eternal Damnation is equal to their Sin They resist and renounce Mercy by their abusing it to the worst ends yet are confident of their Interest in it What a prodigious Contradiction is there between the Hopes of presumptuous Sinners and their Practices They kindle his Anger every day and inflame Anger into Wrath and Wrath into Vengeance and yet strongly fancy they shall find Mercy What a diabolical Wonder is it as astonishing as extraordinary Miracles but that 't is commonly seen that Men without a Promise and against the Threatning should expect the Favour of God that is the Portion of his Children and continue in high and actual Rebellion If a Spark of Reason or Grain of Faith were shining in their Breasts they would be restless in the Apprehension of his firy Displeasure The Tempter over-reaches their Minds by a double Delusion that they shall have Time and Grace to repent and over-rules their Wills that the most terrible Threatnings and Divine Disswasives are not effectual to make them forsake their Sins They are secure tho not safe one Hour for 't is in the Power of their Judg and they have Reason to fear in his Purpose to destroy them suddenly and without Remedy The presumptuous Conceit of immense Mercy has so fully possess'd their Minds that like a powerful Opiate it makes them sleep securely upon the Brink of Ruine but Conscience is of an immortal Nature and tho it may be stupified it cannot be extinguish'd In the present Life sometimes a sharp Affliction awakens it into a furious Activity and then presuming Sinners that have been indulgent to their Lusts despair of Pardon for when Mercy that is our only Advocate in his Bosom to avert Wrath for Sins against the other Attributes shall turn our Accuser and solicite Justice to revenge its Dishonour upon those who have abused it there remains no Shadow of Hope to refresh their Sorrows But suppose the Charm be not unbound and the Self-deceiver continues his evil Course to the end of Life and perishes pleasantly with the vain Hopes of Mercy yet immediately after Death his Conscience will be irresistibly convinc'd of his outragious Provocations of the righteous God and be more tormenting than the hottest Flames of Hell Let us attend to the