transgression of the law and shew what the sense of guilt is which few there are that have in a saving way Observ 3. Every soul in the world is guilty before God of the transgression of the Law And all the world may become guilty before God This hath been proved where we have shew'd that All have sinned and come short of the glory of God This guilt is threefold which is set home upon every sinners heart when convinc'd of sin by the spirit 1. The guilt of Adams sin which stands charg'd upon every sinner in the world while under the law Rom. 5.18 2. The guilt of the corruption of our natures sinne in the fountain as I have shewed which is likewise upon every Son or Daughter of Adam they are all corrupt Psal 14.1 wherein lies the exceeding sinfulfulnesse of sin 3. The guilt of actuall rebellion against God sinne brought forth and acted in the outward man against God Now under this threefold guilt is every sinner in the world while under the law the effect of which if not reconciled is punishment sutable to the guilt which is Thou shall surely dye And The wages of sinne is death eternall death Rom. 6. last Use 1. This may therefore inform and convince that every sin brings guilt upon the soul and so deserves death and everlasting wrath from God you that make light of sin to lye to profane the name of the Lord be in worldly discourses on the Lords day in any way of sin whatsoever weigh this in thy conscience There 's not the least sin but makes thee guilty before the tribunall of God God the law Angels Conscience are all witnesses against thee where 's the soul that will think to avoid this charge shall I prove every soul of you guilty and that before God If this were proved by the power of the word in the conscience I know what and I shall shew it you will be the effect of it lay your consciences to the Word and if thou art found guilty before the Lord this day go home with the sense of it upon thy soul and do as a guilty sinner should do 1. Consider first as to what concerns God immediately The Law requires Thou shouldst have no other Gods but him Exod. 20. Which Jesus Christ interprets is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul now Hath God had thy whole heart and soul darest thou say so Hath not the world had more of thy heart then God Dost not thou love the world and the things of it Do not thy affections thoughts desires of thy heart even day and night go after it yea you cannot but grant that 't is so Then God and Angels are witnesse that thou art guilty of the damnable sin of Idolatry And such a one shall not as such enter into the kingdome of God Eph. 5.5 Know by that Scripture A covetous heart may send thee to Hell as well as any sin in the world No Covetous man who is an Idolater shall enter into the kingdome of God read over the place every day and tremble at it Here 's guilt already enough to damn thee 2. Thou hast worshipped God superstitiously and idolatrously after the traditions and commandments of men you that are elderly people are all guilty here in a grievous manner in the time of your ignorance when superstitious Ceremonies were practised and the Common-prayer-Book worship was upheld when you polluted the Ordinances of Jesus Christ coming to Sacraments with sins upon your souls from which sins you are not converted and changed to this day which the Apostle calls eating and drinking damnation or judgment under which guilt you still lye and would heap up more of this guilt were not some more tender of your souls then your selves Here 's guilt to purpose who is free from it and how many unhumbled under it to this day Art thou not now ready to cry out Oh hold hold you need go no further my conscience is smitten oh guilt great guilt lyes upon me Oh that 't were the cry of many souls before the Lord how might it end in mercy that shall be for ever 3. But yet further to pursue thy conscience for that 's the nature of guilt doth not the Lord require in his law that thou shouldst not take his Name in vain Exod. 20.7 Now sinner stave off this guilt if thou canst How oft hast thou abused and profaned this great and dreadfull Name the Lord thy God by swearing or in thy by-words crying oh Lord oh God for Gods sake for Christs sake upon every foolish vain occasion with no more reverence of his Name then the most Common name in the world And some of you have as many dayes as you have lived since your childhood bin frequently guilty of this great evil which thou hast made a small matter of which if ever God pardon it it will appear to be odious guilt from the height of thy heart-Atheism How oft hast thou heard the word and thy heart bin after the world and thine eyes gazing up and down that t is easie to discern thou regardest not what is spoken from God to thee and the same in prayer how oft hast thou babled ore the Lords prayer like a charme with no reverence of Gods Majesty upon thy soul in thy bed it may be in a drowsie manner or if otherwise not understanding the words thou speakest much lesse thy heart affected with them or it may be saying over the Creed and the Commandements or some Service-book prayers as abundance do grievously profaning Gods Name and offering lip labour which his soul abhorreth yea know what hath bin often proved that thy prayers and all thy worship and good deeds as thou callest them are an abomination to the Lord while thou art in thy sin an unconverted and unholy person yea the way of thy worship in which thou placest thy greatest confidence hath bin the highest aggravation of thy sin in offering up to God that which his soul hateth Esay 1.11 12 13 14 15. When you make many prayers saith the Lord I will not hear you c. And as to the sanctifying the Sabbath which thou shouldest make a holy rest unto God thou hast made it a meer fleshly rest consuming the day upon thy lusts in vanity idlenesse carnall and worldly discourses in families in the streets to the high dishonour of the Name of God and hardening of thy heart against the truths of God rendring thereby the preaching of the Gospel wholly unprofitable to thy soul A carriage farr unlike a man that hath the grace of God upon him and a most invincible argument to thy conscience that thou makest not God his word ordinances sabbaths a holy delight and knowest not the excellency and sweetnesse of Communion with him Say sinner and lay thy conscience to this conviction is hearing and that with love praying praising meditating conferring of holy things the very heaven of thy
that is paid for the salvation of him from his sins the price of the blood of the eternal son of God How great was sin how sinful and damnable the nature of it in the eye of the righteous God when justice could not be satisfied but by such a way Oh saith a poor soul that comes for pardon what a damnable thing is sin which was once nothing to me that redemption from it is at such a rate God had no greater a price to give then what he layd down to save a wretched sinner from his sin Oh 't was great sin that must crucifie the Lord of life and glory therefore doth my soul hate it 13. Lastly This consideration also greatens sin in as much as a poor creature hath drawn and tempted others to sin with him specially such as have lived more vainly loosly it lies hard upon many a poor soul after thorough conviction Oh how many have I drawn to sin not only by my example but encouragement and perswasion that may be now in hell for such sins or are under a state of impenitency and hardned by me Oh this is an abasing consideration to a poor convinced humbled sinner when God smites his heart with it Use 1. Before we go further let us labour to apply this to the consciences of all I have shewed you the matter we are upon is the weightiest that ever took up Gods heart the pardoning of a sinner and therefore how should it swallow up the hearts of poor undone souls that are so infinitely concern'd in it I beseech you therefore lay to your hearts what hath been spoken as to the greatness of sin And consider If souls that come to God by Christ for pardon see their sins as great sins and 't is their great trouble that they cannot see them greater First then This may serve to take off that woful deceit of heart and delusion of the Devil of poor careless souls that dream of pardon and yet never in any measure thus saw their sins as great This shews the heart was never touched of God never smitten for sin as yet This is the way indeed of unpardoned sinners they are lessening their sins to God and themselves finding out circumstances to lessen them of others tempting them and the Devil and the like and many or most of men or women allow themselves in the same or they were overtaken or the like they think they can easily pacifie God again and that God makes not so great a matter of it thus a deceitful heart and a cheating Devil juggle together and sooth Conscience in a damnable peace And such souls call their great reigning sins their infirmity and God will not be so exact as some of the Preachers make him here 's a sinner riverted in a cursed estate But now take a soul whom God as I shall shew hath made sensible of sin and the weight of pardon and comes to the feet of the Lord for it 't is quite otherwise Oh my sins wretch that I was and am were little sins to me before but now they are great sins I called it my infirmity to lye swear profane the Sabboth allow my self in any excess but now I see 't was reigning sin soul-damning sin great oh great sin Oh that I am out of hell Oh the patience of God! Is there mercy for such a wretch What a wonder will it be if I get to Heaven How great will that mercy be that pardons me 2. Therefore in the second place examine how it is with you and whether you have had some such workings of heart Have you been before the Lord in David's posture Oh mine iniquity is great Oh I have sinned against a great God wearied great patience turned great mercies into sin Oh I have sinned against great light How shall I be pardoned Sins continued in and multiplyed from my youth up and these against serious purposes under the reign of it there 's an infinite fountain of all evil within me If I have been any way restrained no thanks to my own heart for it Oh saith a poor soul I was led by the Devil befool'd by the Devil served the Devil against God And now what can I challenge at the hands of God What belongs to me but wrath great wrath everlasting wrath infinite wrath If one sin deserves a thousand hells what do innumerable transgressions do If mercy be not infinite how shall I look up to God or how shall God look down upon me Oh I say let your Conscience answer hath it been thus in some good and real measure though not so deep as your soul desires I know there are degrees and I also know till God come to let out Himself in such a way as this that sin is ☞ great and greater in mine eye then ever we make but slight work of it in out spirits want of this makes many in these dayes run away with pleasant notions of Grace Christ Light though blessed be the Lord for ever for the more glorious Revelation of all these but I speak of abuses but sin was never great by the appearance of God and so they wanton with such notions which at last weare off and so they come to nothing but a reproach to the Gospel 3. In the third place therefore let it serve to exhort sinners to look back upon your lives even from your youth up you may find one more of the discoveries mentioned of the greatnesse of sin that you will fall under specially such as have bin given to the profanesse and vanities of the age you live in lying swearing profaning of the Sabbath to riot ungodly pastimes and sports reviling the godly or other more secret wickednesses and pollutions any of which may be speak thee in a state of sin and wrath joyned with thy living in the neglect of known duties upon which neglect God hath pronounced a curse as the neglect of secret or Family-prayer Jer. 10. ult Or if thou hast not been engaged in grosse sins but hast bin sober and well carriaged from thy youth up yet thou mayst be still in a state of sin but go a little more soberly to hell and in more danger of being damned in thy civill sober carriage then great sinners with which thou art apt to compare thy self and seeing thy self not so bad as them thinkest all is well But remember well what hath bin proved that sin is greater in the Fountain then the streames though it make a greater noise or shew to others in the streame of ones life thou hast a Hell in thy nature an infinite fountaine of any wickednesse that ever any of the Sons or Daughters of men did commit An Idolater An Adulterer A Murderer A Sodomite A devil in thy heart and whole frame thy nature In a word one sin which thou callst little reigning but in thy heart and cherished there is enough to send thee to hell as if thou wert the veryest reprobate living
a word of Exhortation to you to look to your Thoughts saith the Wisdome of God Prov. 23.7 As he thinketh in his heart so is he A Soul is before the Lord according to the thoughts of his heart Oh take heed of giving way to and feeding vain unclean unholy Thoughts of any kind and let me press it upon you with these Motives 1. Consider that such thoughts are your sins lay that to heart God may justly damn a Soul for unholy Thoughts Know thou mayst commit Adultery or Murder in thy Heart though it break not forth actually If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thy self or if thou hast thought evil lay thine hand upon thy mouth Prov. 30.32 This will help to keep thy Heart in awe 2. That God's Eye is strictly and continually upon the Thoughts of thine Heart Psal 139.2 and therefore David cryes out to God to search his Heart for them Oh did a gracious Soul still consider this that the jealous Eye of God is upon every Thought and Motion of his Heart to sinne it would make him look closely to the Thoughts of his Heart 3. Consider that evil Thoughts and Musings of sin are the beginning of all open wickedness Jam. 1.15 Then when Lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sinne and such Thoughts are usually set on fire by the Devil 4. They do defile the soul Mat. 15.20 Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts c. These are the things which defile a man Which defilement unfits the soul for communion with God they make a filthy puddle in the soul and what a case is a poor Creature in to come to God in Duty in such a pickle 5. Evil Thoughts do pervert the Heart from God which should be fixed upon him they draw away the strength of the Heart from God they suck up the juice and marrow of the Heart which should be spent in Spiritual things in Jesus Christ 6. Such Thoughts do grieve the Spirit Nothing more the Spirit cannot delight to teach and comfort when the Heart is mostly acted by foolish and unholy Thoughts 7. When such Thoughts are acted in the Soul God may leave you to the power of them to break out to some grievous fall and so may shipwrack your peace and comforts for a great while and go with broken bones and it may cost you much bitterness before you are healed 8. If vain carnal Thoughts are not resisted at first but given way to they are hardly checkt and subdued and turned upon other Objects and therefore to watch the first Risings of them Now not one of these Considerations but may make a Child of God to tremble how he lets forth his heart into vain carnal idle defiling-thoughts and musings which do so much waste a gracious spirit and lay him open to such woful dangers as these are To help a Child of God in this Spiritual Work of looking to and a holy ordering the Thoughts of his Heart 1. Be deeply humbled to God with abhorring and loathing for Atheistical unclean proud vain foolish worldly thoughts that croud in upon you when you make them your burden you will be the sooner eased 2. Delight thy self much in the Word of God not onely in Publique Hearing but Daily Reading and not onely Reading but getting some good word upon thy heart that may season thy Thoughts and Affections saith David I hate vain thoughts but thy Law do I love Psal 119.113 The love of the Word of God made him be so far from cherishing vain Thoughts that he did hate them It doth appear this was a special part of David's exercise of Spirit to get some blessed Word upon his heart and be thinking of it and so it did tu n into the sweet and wholesome nourishment of the New-Creature Oh how I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day Blessed and holy practise worthy a gracious Saint indeed you have one word specially that David had much on his heart out of the Books of Moses for we know not whether any other Scriptures were then extant 't is that of Exod. 34.6 where the Lord saith he will proclaim his Name and Glory The Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering abundant in goodness and truth which you have in Psal 103.8 Psal 86.15 145.8 Happily one of those sweet words which he often magnifies how hath a single word dwelt upon the heart of a Child of God and hath kept the heart savoury for Christ 3. The next Remedy against such Thoughts is Much Prayer diligence fervency powring out the heart to God till the heart melts and runs forth sweetly spiritually and is engaged with God and hath a sight of him and a divine impression of God's Majesty left upon the Soul 4. Get more and more brokenness of heart for sin when the Heart hath been broken 't will not so easily get into Vanity again At least a Child of God should take care that it should not when the Heart is broken and mourning the Spirit doth wonderfully in that work refine the Heart All the sleightness vanity defilement distraction that comes upon the New-Creature is mostly for want of this 5. Mortification of that Corruption that is most apt to stirre doth much cure our thoughts Inordinate Affections are the Saints greatest Evils and do bespeak an unmortified heart as to what a Child of God should still be pressing after even to be dead and crucified with Christ Those that are Christs have crucified their Affections and Lusts Gal. 5.22 6. Contending for a Spiritual Heart So far as the Heart is spiritual it acts spiritually 'T is the carnality of Heart that works-up all those frothy distempers that defile us Paul's corruption was much let out upon him when he cryes out of the carnality of his Heart Rom. 7. which should be the daily complaint of God's poor children 7. A great help to the preserving the Thoughts of the Heart according to the New-Creature will be to consider How precious the thoughts of God are to his People Psal 139.17 How precious also are thy thoughts O God unto me How great is the sum of them If I should count them they are more in number then the sand c. David in v. 2. was considering how God's Eye was upon his Thoughts and 't was a means to rectifie them and then David's thoughts run forth in the sweet and blessed apprehension of the preciousness of God's thoughts to him from all Eternity and in the ways of his Covenant towards him If God's thoughts to us be holy and precious and ever towards us the thoughts of his servants should be so also and as little common and unsavoury as may be More particularly let us yet consider what blessed and excellent and glorious things such as are New-Creatures in Christ have to exercise their thoughts about 1. Gracious Soules have the Attributes of God to exercise the thoughts of their Hearts in the Infiniteness of God his Greatness Holiness Glory
through Jesus Christ grounded rooted establish'd upon and in a Scripture-Christ as the truth is in Iesus and abandon any other spirit but a Scripture-Spirit which blessed be rich grace hath hitherto kept you and led you in the way of life and peace Now the Lord of Peace himself give you peace alwayes by all means The Lord be with you all 1 Thes 5.16 Reader who ever thou art if thou art by grace helpt-on to Jesus Christ by what is here presented to thee or in the walk of the New Creature in Christ Give the Lord the glory and pray that he may do so also even in every thing who would gladly approve himself The servant of Christ and of all his A. P. Bourton on the Water 23 of the first Month 1657. THE GOSPEL New-Creature THE FIRST TREATISE Discovering The weight of the Pardon of Sin the Spirits Conviction of Sin and the Souls emptying and reducing into nothing in its self PSAL. 25.11 For thy Names sake O Lord pardon mine iniquity for it is great IN this Psalm you have David's sins laid-in with weight upon his Conscience and in the deep sense of their guilt pleading with God about mercy and pardon The sense of that one great sin in the matter of Uriah meant specially in the Text brought-in the sense of other sins of his youth upon him as is usually Gods way in humbling a sinner and at ver 7. you have him at the feet of God begging as for his life as to the remission of them all Remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions According to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness O Lord And here at the Text for thy Names sake O Lord c. That which I design to lay before you from the words is to open to you and presse upon you the weight and blessedness of a pardoned condition that you may be awakened to it while the day of mercy lasts and may indeed be in very good earnest about it till through infinite grace you may obtain it and live and dye in the sweet and blessed peace comfort of it through our Lord Jesus Christ That which I intend to give out from hence through the Spirit of grace assisting is but as praevious and preparatory to the opening of a justified estate and the New Creature in Christ That if God will your consciences may be brought to a thorough awakening a spiritual sight and conviction of sin and a self-emptyness which is the good and safe way of a Soul to Jesus Christ which from this Scripture take in these plain Observations Obs 1. That great and weighty concernment that should most of all take up the thoughts of the hearts of poor sinners is that their sins may be pardoned 2. Such who come to God by Jesus Christ to have their sins pardoned they look upon them as great sins for it is Great 3. The great reason of Gods pardoning a sinner and the Plea that a poor sinner hath with God is that God will pardon for his own Names sake 1. To begin with the first proposition viz. That great and weighty thing that should most of all take up the thoughts of the hearts of all the Children of men is that their sins may be pardoned This may be evinced from the frame of blessed David's spirit and other the pardoned ones of the Lord up and down the holy Scriptures exercised with such a violence and importunity with the Lord in this matter of the Pardon of their sins as if they had no other thing besides what conduced thereunto to beg of God in the world and all that God gave them in the world as indeed it is not were nothing without it therefore you have them thus wrastling with God about it According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions Psal 51.1 If there be any mercy in heaven let a poor guilty soul have a drop of it yea David layeth a kind of violence upon God Psal 65.2 As for our transgressions thou shalt purge them away thou shalt do it I cannot must not will not be denyed this thou shalt do it for me So Moses interceding for the people Exod. 39.9 If I have found grace in thy sight Oh Lord let my Lord I pray thee go amongst us for it is a stifnecked people and pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for thine inheritance with what vehemency of heart doth Moses cry if I have any favour with thee let it be layd out this way Oh Lord let my Lord c. Otherwhiles when the blessed sense of a pardoned condition is upon their hearts Blessed is he whose transgressions is forgiven Blessed man or woman as ever he was born Blessed He and onely blessed and fully blessed and for ever Blessed whose sins are pardoned And then admiring the blessed God in such riches of grace as to pardon sinners Who is like to thee a God pardoning iniquity Micah 7.18 Thou art a God ready to pardon gracious and merciful c. Neh. 9.17 Psal 103.1.2 3 10. Blesse the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me blesse his holy name why what had the Lord done see verse 3. Oh who forgiveth all thine iniquities who forgiveth and forgiveth All great sins as well as lesse sins of nature as well as life sins before conversion and sins since conversion sins of knowledge as well as of ignorance for David was under all these yet All All All forgiven and that freely too onely because the Lord is gracious verse 8. and so forgiven them as never to come before him any more As far as the East is from the West so far hath he removed our transgressions from us verse 12. I shall hint some Reasons of the Truth why it is that the pardon of sins doth or should so greatly take up the hearts of sinfull creatures Reasons 1. The pardon of sin should thus greatly take up the hearts of all that indeed expect pardon because t was the greatest thing if I may so speak that ever took up Gods heart how a sinner might be pardoned He laid forth more of his wisdome and goodnesse about it then in the making of the Heavens and the Earth The framing of the New Covenant the giving out of his eternall Son Jesus Christ God manifested in his flesh such a glorious way of reconciling justice and mercy through the death of Christ the choicest piece of divine wisdom that ever was brought forth they were all conversant about and their proper tendency was about this great and weighty concernment how and that a sinner might be pardoned when Moses had that blessed enterview and parley with the Lord Exod. 33. 34. and Moses getting nearer and nearer to God who was glimpsing out a ray of glory upon him breakes out Shew me thy glory I will saith God I will shew thee what way of glory I most design to my self among the Sons of men I
great Judgment it will not be so No nothing but upbraidings of Devils for neglecting Gospel-grace and refusing the termes of pardon and for grosse security This will be the portion of every unpardoned sinner that neglects the day of his salvation Therefore the pardon of sins requires the deepest thoughts of heart and can never be made too sure to a poor sinfull Creature Use 1. If the pardon of sin be of so great and infinite weight how doth this meet with the wretched deplorable carelesnesse of a world of souls in this day that think of nothing lesse then whether their sins are pardoned that will hear of nothing that may call this great matter into question or way awaken them to it Oh how many poor souls I fear too many of you though so often and earnestly prest to it that were never before the Lord mourning after the pardon of your sins What a leight matter would it be to be pardoned if there should be no more in it not care about it then most sinners that call themselves Christians make about it Ah sinners why do you make no more ado no more matter of it why so sensless of that which is alone worthy all the thoughts of thy heart if thou shouldst live a million of years to dispatch this one thing to get thy sins all pardoned You that are Elderly people have a large reckoning specially upon your account of sinning against Gospell-light and grace make haste what you do do quickly lay hold on eternall life the sun is ready to let upon you and wo with you as ever you were men and women if you fail of a good and sure dispatch of this one corcernable thing your sins being pardoned And you that are younger take heed lest the day of grace set upon you and you be given up to your own hearts lusts and no word that is spoken from God or man shall ever reach you Oh tremble at tryfling with convictions and light but begin to honour the Lord Jesus and bow unto him and wait for the promised effusion of his spirit and the joy of the Lord shall be the joy of your youth and the love of the Lord will be very sweet and precious to you 2d Exhort Oh then let every soul of us be deeply affected with this weighty matter let your souls say within you Oh the dreadfulnesse of an unpardoned condition what tongue can expresse it to have all my store little or much house corn cattle all under a curse and enjoy it as a curse and onely to further my eternall damnation to be hated of the great God and not loved to be under all the condemnation of the Law where ever I read of wrath and wo it belongs to me to have not one of my prayers or any thing else accepted of the Lord to be in a condition of expecting nothing from Jesus Christ at his coming but go ye cursed when I shall see so many blessed souls that took paines for Heaven enter into the Kingdome and my self shut out Wo is me if I speak peace to my soul in such an estate one moment more Awake my soul Awake Away in to the blessed God for mercy pardon grace Christ his blood spirit holinesse eternall life I will go the Lord helping me and cry in the bitternesse of my soul for them all and if 't were possible to weary the Lord with the cryes of my poor soul I will do it till he have mercy upon me and bid me go in peace The gracious God shall as hardly deny me as ever he did any poor sinner that lay bleeding at his feet for mercy and grace from heaven to heale a poor condemned soul Oh what have I been doing in the world all this while get a little something and my sins unpardoned in daily danger of dying in them and so be lost without all remedy for ever Oh! such will be the great thoughts of heart about the pardon of sins when the Lord shall speak to a poor sinner and the Conscience shall be thoroughly awake about it Oh! let me yet in the name of the Lord argue out this matter with thee Be serious for once and ponder it in thy heart what is health or wealth what is it to have something about thee in the world lay up yearly thou go deeper in debt with the just God every day What if all the world be at Peace with thee and God thy enemy and hate thee as thou hast been shewed What if all the world say of thee Blessed if God and his holy Word of truth pronounce thee Cursed because thy sins lye upon thy soul and the Spirit of grace is not upon thee Ah! poor Creature Do not do not let thy sins lye upon thy precious soul any longer do not be contented to be a child of Gods wrath any longer Oh! do not thou poor carelesse soul if there be a spark of pity in thee Do not as the Devil flatters rest in this and say I hope better and I hope 't is better with me and I hope I am or shall be pardoned and so fall asleep till thou drop into hell You that think it an easie common matter to be pardoned know not what it is you have yet no part in this blessednesse Saith a poor convinced soul 1. 'T is a great matter that any sinner in the world is pardoned much more such a one as I if ever I attain to it 2. Souls that get pardon do make it their greatest care to be assured of it they do not leave the matter at sixes and sevens and put it off with bidding the heart hope well but they labour after a Gospel assurance of it 3. Such souls will labour to see that nothing be wanting that must accompany pardon of sin and a state of salvation Heb. 6.9 4. They try all their pretences to pardon and grace over and over and will take nothing upon trust from their hearts or the Devils flatteries or the flatteries of carnal Ministers but search and prove and lay their hearts under the Word and Spirit till it be sealed by the Holy Ghost and that they are wrought of God for this self same thing and that he hath given them the Earnest of the Spirit 2 Cor. 5.5 Well therefore say in thy heart in good earnest Oh! it hath not been so with me I have been carelesse I thought well of my self I nere questioned this weighty matter to purpose Oh! the Lord give me grace to take pains in the use of means to be violent for Heaven Oh! I will not rest Oh! let me not till I am assured indeed that my my sins are done away and Christ is mine Go and say and do it and the God of all grace and might be with thee in it But yet further to presse the weight of this matter upon thy Conscience that thou mayest go off thoroughly convinced and resolved to pursue effectually the compassing of this so
great a blessing of getting thy soul in a pardoned estate Do but weigh with me the matchless blessedness of such a condition and me-thinks thy heart should not but be taken with it 1. Consider Pardoned souls become the dear Children of God see Eph. 1.5 c. Having predestinated us unto the Adoption of Children by Jesus Christ unto himself according to the good pleasure of his Will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have Redemption through his blood the forgivenesse of sins c. The glorious grace of Adoption comes in upon the forgivenesse of sins therefore Chap. 5.1 the Apostle further hints this so blessed a priviledge Be ye followers of God as dear Children and Gal. 4.5 the Apostle gives it out as the great and blessed fruit of Redemption that we might receive the Adoption of Sons Oh! to be translated from being amongst the children of wrath to be numbred among the dear Children of God to come under the protection care tender love of God as a Father What soul would not be restlesse till he attain unto it 2. Pardoned souls have access to God Eph. 2.18.3.12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him Heb. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need This is the blessedness of pardoned souls they have free accesse to God as a Child to a Father to speak and plead to the Lord As soon as ever they come before the Lord they are admitted into his presence and God's eye and ear is towards them and they must have their errand either in kind or as good or a better thing given to them This is another inestimable good of blessed pardoned souls 3. As they are Gods dear Children and have free access to him so when once he hath freely and fully pardoned them he loves them with an infinite unmixt unchangeable Love Behold what manner of love is this c. 1 John 3.1 The Lord can as freely let out love full love to his pardoned ones as if they had never sinned because he never looks upon them out of Christ when God takes a poor sinner to himself he doth not barely and meerly pardon him and save him from wrath and no more as earthly Princes pardon many whom they love not but God sets his Love upon them and it can never enter into his heart to hate them He that loveth me saith Christ shall be loved of my Father Joh. 14.21 And if God afflict them 't is to make them better more like unto himself to bestow more grace upon them Heb. 12.10 and Gods Love to his blessed children is like himself Infinite unmixt everlasting This is another infinite blessing of pardoned souls to be thus loved by their God 4. Pardoned souls are brought into a justified state from which they shall never fall Thus runs the tenour of the New Covenant the bottome of all this blessedness I will remember their sins no more Heb. 8.12 No more Words of a sweet and blessed sound to whom they are spoken by the Holy Ghost that when poor souls that have come to Jesus Christ in a Gospel way for pardon and have pleaded and taken hold of promises of grace for that end and yet sometimes unbelief is stirring Oh! will not God one time or other call back to remembrance all my former iniquities and charge them upon me No saith the Lord it shall never enter into my heart I will remember them No More Blessed words and blest condition indeed Ah! who would be without it 5. Pardoned souls shall be kept in the hand of the Lord in all their wayes 1 Pet. 1.5 His Love Fear Lawes Power Spirit shall be in their hearts that they shall not fall from him Jer. 32.40 And I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me He preserveth the souls of his Saints He keepeth the feet of his Saints Psal 97.10 1 Sam. 2.9 yea he will keep them from evil and nothing shall befall them but for their good Rom. 8.28 And if they fall the Lord humbles them heals them takes them up again puts new strength into them and his kindness must not depart from them 6. Pardoned souls are Gods Heirs Gal. 4.7 Rom. 8.15 c. Heirs of God through Christ and joynt-heirs with Christ Heirs of all his Promises of an incorruptible inheritance that never fadeth away reserved in Heaven for them 1 Pet. 1.9 Though the Lord give them no inheritance of earthly possessions yet they are his special Heirs of the heavenly inheritance Not the poorest believer in the world but may say with a heart full of blessed and humble rejoycing Though I am worthless in my self and am so accounted in the world yet through infinite grace I am one of the richest Heirs in the world a Co-heir with Christ of an exceeding eternal weight of glory Use 1. If such and more then is or can be named be the blessedness of pardoned souls Ah! what poor secure sinner that must also be everlastingly damned without it would miss of it Say sinner instead of being cursed hated damned and that for ever for ever for as is mercy and love to pardoned ones so is wrath to such as miss of it for ever I say instead of that which any heart but what is plagued with hardness would melt and tremble at to become a dear child of God and have free access to God be loved of God for ever justified no sin for ever remembred against thee every thing befall thee for good and be an Heir of God and be even as blessed as God can make thee and that for ever Ah! where 's the sinner that would be without this Who would sleight that word of the Lord that would teach you and lead you to this blessedness Who would despise or neglect the day of grace now while within the reach of it Who would run a dreadful hazzard of being given up of God if you thus trifle with a Gospel of salvation Ah! the good Lord pity you that do thus you are fit to be mourned over had we hearts to do it with tears of blood Yet once more Awake awake you careless ones before bodies drop into the grave and souls into hell Oh! do not do not take pleasure in soul-murder do not put off the one only main necessary work and leave it undone till it may be impossible to have it done Tell me in good earnest Canst thou well be without the pardon of thy sins here and for ever Soul thou mayst well enough be without much Land and much mony and many great friends and yet be well exceeding well contented nay better if thou hast Christ and grace then
a soul then this nothing makes it more difficult to believe pardon when humbled for it therefore 't is that many poor souls fear they have sin'd the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost because they have sinned against knowledge and light which though while they are humbled before the Lord it cannot be that they have so sinned unpardonably yet in as much as 't is the sin that borders next upon the sin against the Holy Ghost it much greatens sin to a poor soul under the sense of it Such a sinner is said to reproach the Lord Numb 15.30 31. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is sin James 4. last To him it is sin that is great sin of which God will take the severest account Therefore such as have the profession of Christianity and the knowledge of the Word in some measure and yet go on unpenitently in sin they are the greatest sinners in the world will have the greatest damnation And this circumstance in sin makes or should do so such souls that never lived in notorious sins be under deep abasement because though their sins were not so gross as many others yet they were against great light and knowledge which makes every little sin continued in great in the account of God and great in the account of the sinner when he comes before the Lord in the sense of it Oh I pleased my self in sins that I knew to be sins and was convinced by the word of God of them yet I went on and loved them 5. Continuance in sin much greatens sin to a poor soul that is after pardon specially such as are not very early converted God will wound the hairy scalp of such a one that goeth on still in his trespasses Psal 68.21 Oh I added sin unto sin saith a poor soul spending the choise time of my youth in sin when I might have been getting the knowledge of Jesus Christ and honouring of God This lay close upon David's spirit as appears in this 25th Psa 7. Oh remember not the sins of my youth c. Yet we do not find that Davids youth was notoriously sinful but in as much as he spent not his youth to get knowledge and to serve the Lord fully 't was his burden and complaint before the Lord much more such whose youth was spent in nothing but vanity prophaness lying swearing prophaning of the Sabbath sports pastimes excess of riot and the like when God layes it in upon their consciences must be grievous and abominable to their souls 6. Multitudes of sins do make sin appear great this made David cry out for multitude of mercies Psa 51. and Psa 40.12 Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more then the hairs of my head therefore my heart faileth me One sin but a sinfull thought is worthy of a thousand hells much more multiplyed numberless infinite sins in thought words walkings calling worship in all I have done I did nothing else but sin therefore the least sinner in the world is a great sinner when God lays his account before him 7. Another thing that greatens sin is that it was against purposes and resolutions of forsaking such and such sins and yet all broken sometimes against solemn vowes against prayers this consideration upon many a poor soul sticks hard and layes low and makes his sin grievous indeed that against purposes vowes prayers he should return to his sin this makes him cry out Oh my sin is great great indeed Doth will the Lord pardon such a wretch c. 8. Sin appears great when seen by a poor soul because it was reigning sin Rom. 5. 6. Sin reigned to death c. Oh saith a poor humbled sinner I did not only commit sin but I was the servant and slave of sin I obey'd sin as a lord and that willingly I obey'd it in the lusts thereof where God Christ his Spirit Word Law should have dwelt and reigned there sin and lusts bore sway and had the command of my soul A little sin when a reigning sin is a great sin All that sin can do is but to rule the sinner and so it doth the least sinner that is under it though it break not forth into grosse notorious actings against the Lord and this doth much greaten it 9. Sin in the fountain makes it great As it may be said there is more water in the fountain then in the pools and streams it makes because there is a continual issuing and flowing out of it which is able to make far greater streams so sin in the nature in the heart is there as in the fountain and therefore 't is more there than in the breakings forth of it in the outward man so that though a sinner in his youth hath been restrained from many great sins yet in as much as sin in the fountain was as full as in any sinner in the world though restrained pent in which the sinner was not beholding to his own heart for it renders him a great sinner before the Lord when savingly enlightned The want of this consideration makes outwardly righteous persons not look upon themselves as great sinners they see and feel not sin infinite in the fountain of it which mostly greatens it above all the actings of it in life 10. A sinner drawing nigh to God for pardon sees his sin as great because thereby he was led captive by the Devil at his will He that committeth sin is of the Devil 1 John 3.8 comitteth sin so as in a state of sin under the power of sin and not born of God why such a one is of the Devil under the power of the Devil of the Devil and not of God and this because of sin which gives this dominion to the Devil Oh saith a poor Creature I that was the creature of God and should have lived to him lived to the Devil and the service of him and took part with him against Christ his Word his Saints and was an enemy to them this greatens my sin before the Lord. 11. Sin appears great because great is the wrath of God against sin sinners are said to heap up wrath Rom. 2. and they are called the Children of wrath God to manifest his displeasure against sin is fain to powre out everlasting wrath upon an unpardoned sinner to leave the sinner under endless torment of soul and body God hates nothing but sin and for sin and so hates it that infinite endless wrath must be the vengeance of it Oh when God gives a sinner a glimpse of this Oh the greatness of every little sin to deserve such wrath How shall I flee from and escape the wrath to come who can stand before such wrath who can bear it 12. The way of any sinner's deliverance from such wrath shews sin to be exceeding great in the price and ransome
soul and so longest for such exercises as the joy and strength of thy heart Nothing lesse Thy own conscience being Judge but hear drowsily and negligently it may be despisingly revile the preacher speak evil of the word out of thy grosse ignorance and hatred to be reformed speak vainly carnally worldly with such as are like thy self Here 's guilt enough to send thee to a thousand Hells if God smite not thy heart for it and thou turn not unto him for pardon and a better heart to be given to thee Adde to all this an unthankfull and unholy use of Gods good Creatures it may be thou hast bin betrayed by the devil thy own ready heart to some secret sins which thou thinkest enough if thou canst hide from man not considering the judgment of God that hangs over thee But if not so yet a heart full of uncleannesse envy wrath malice which our Lord Jesus Christ in his opening the law in its spirituality Mat. 5.21.22 27 28. convinceth to be murder and adultery which it may be thou hast never considered of so thou hast not bin an actuall adulterer or murderer In a word There 's not a vain thought in thy heart the first rising of it but brings thee under the guilt of condemnation of the law and as thou art under the law as if a transgressour in thought word and deed of the whole Law This may seem strange to thee but see it proved James 2.10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all But it hath bin proved that thou art guilty of the breach of every Commandement of God from thy youth up But see further sinner that some word of God or other may hit thee this law could not condemn thee wouldst thou have bin convinced of guilt and made in to grace by Jesus Christ but thou art under the guilt of Gospel Contempt Come sinner saith Jesus Christ and see what I can and will do for thee I le save thee from this condemning Law I le take away the curse I le remove all thy guilt blot out all the charge that is against thee I le put a righteousnesse upon thee I le bestow my spirit upon thee I le give thee a heart to love God and his law and in the inward man to delight to walk in it and then take thee to Heaven and fill thee with glory for ever All this Heaven of mercy and free grace thou hast sleighted and sinned against and brought thy self under greater condemnation than by the law And yet by the way Jesus Christ will do as much for thee still as I have spoken of and more though thou hast thus sinned against law and gospel if thou wilt come a poor undone guilty soul unto him which is that I aime at in thus pressing upon thee And were the sense of guilt indeed upon thy soul thou wouldst seriously hearken to me Therefore yet futher bear with me Take home this guilt to thy conscience And say Oh guilty guilty of all that hath bin this day charged from the righteous God upon me Oh may the Lord find thee out this day and lay-in the fresh sense of the guilt of sins even of such thou hast long since committed Do not justifie nor excuse thy self any longer for that 's the naturall way of thy heart as thou hast bin shewed Never did guilty prisoner at the barre find more shifts more subtle pleas then the proud and shamelesse heart of a sinner will do till God himself pronounce guilt in the conscience and then the guilt of one sin laid-in brings in the guilt of all other and they sometimes come in like waves and billowes upon thy soul oh let the sense of thy lying swearing profaning the Sabbath slighting the word refusing Jesus Christ out of thy secret hatred of holinesse reproaching the people of God because in their practise they condemne thee or thy being guilty of the blood of the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. 11.27 a crying sin indeed Oh let this any all seize upon thee and fly not from it but go and lye low before the great God in it judging charging condemning thy self and say God and his word hath found me out this day and I go home with an arrow of God in my conscience I am the man or woman that am found the guiltyest soul in the Congregation how to be delivered and saved from it that 's my businesse now Blessed be the advice and counsell now which formerly I despised of any good man that speakes in the name of the Lord unto me and will shew me There is yet hope for so wretched a Creature as I am Particularly these are the effects of the sense of the guilt of sin wrought by the holy Ghost upon the conscience of a poor soul in order to his salvation 1. Fear of wrath to come more or lesse possesseth the heart Can a man be guilty and not fear if truly sensible of it This was upon Adam after he had sinned and heard Gods voice which struck him with sense of guilt Gen. 3.10 I heard thy voice and was afraid so when guilt came upon Belshazzar his thoughts troubled him Dan. 5.6 Felix trembled Acts 24.25 The Jaylour came trembling Acts 16.29 The fear of wrath the fear of a mis-carrying soul the fear of eternity seizeth upon the spirit of a poor creature and then t is an infinite weighty matter with a poor soul to be saved 2. Shame is another effect of guilt brought in upon the conscience so Adam likewise was ashamed and hid himself because he was naked Gen. 3. What fruit had you in those things whereof ye are now ashamed Rom. 6.21 So Ezek. 16. last That thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done sayth the Lord See also Ezek. 43.10 11. Oh how is a sensibly guilty soul ashamed before God Angels men of such wayes and carriages in which he impudently before delighted himself and lyes down in his shame and confusion of face even covering his face before God and ashamed to look up unto him 3. The soul walkes up and down with a burthened spirit those creature-comforts delights contentments which before would still the spirit now will not sense of guilt eates out the heart of them the soul must now have something else than wind and vanity for so are Creatures become to such a poor soul It may be the deceitfull heart carryes a poor creature to this thing and that but finds no satisfaction there the burthen stills remaines the arrow that God hath shot sticks fast till Jesus Christ pluck it forth and heales all with his blood and spirit 4. Guilty souls make out for deliverance sue to heaven are enquiring how the law may be satisfied how guilt may be removed how atonement may be had how bondage taken off in a
terms that God proposeth Why should'st thou not be willing to be made holy Why should not the Lord rather rule thee then sin and the Devil What more beautiful and glorious then the Image of God Oh accept of holiness with mercy through the Lord Jesus Christ Come unto him for both be willing to be set apart for God a Vessel purged and sanctified for his use and thou shalt behold the face of God shining upon thee and whatever is laid up in Christ in Promises in Heaven and glory shall be thine You who have thought to make your selves holy and then come to Christ to be justified be convinced of your great errour and now come as sinners to Jesus Christ to be justified and sanctified in him and see all grace laid up in Jesus Christ for such as come unto him Say Oh blessed Lord Jesus I cannot fit my self for thee If thou canst not accept me as a poor undone helpless sinner coming unto thee I never expect a blessing from thee And you who have sleighted this free and rich and glorious grace see what you have done and be abased for it see how you cast back mercy upon the face of God who would freely be reconciled with you pass by all the grievous injuries you have done him enter into a Covenant with you bestow his Christ upon you fit you for communion with himself here and for ever and all this you have sleighted and yet must unavoidably be for ever damned without it Sinner who can plead for thee when thou shalt go on to despise neglect sleight such grace To Hell without pitty of God Angels or Men when freest mercy and grace shall be sleighted I do therefore stand this day in the Name of Jesus Christ to acquaint you that he will save you freely if you will come unto him be your sins what they will so you come not as righteous but as sinners to him so you take his Righteousness to cover you and his Spirit of grace to unite you to him and make you holy and will give up your selves unto him All which he will help if you will come and cry to him yea if you cannot come he will draw you if you are unwilling he will make you willing if you have no heart he will give you heart What more Wretched man or woman that shall stand off one moment longer Is not Hell too good for thee if thou shalt now turn thy back upon such grace Let me have your Answers this day Let me know that sinner that will go home resolved to be as careless as he formerly hath been as well-opinioned of himself as much resolved against Holiness as thoughtless of being damned if he with-stand the Lord in his Free-grace one day more Oh! Will not your hearts stirre dead stupid soules Shall God's Free-grace his Christ go a begging this day and will not a sinner come up to his terms Old sinners that are going into the grave and Hell too will not you accept of Free-grace of Christ the Spirit this day that are upon the brink of the grave and everlasting burnings and have many a thousand sin yet unpardoned Is all this nothing to you but rest in a blind hope of mercy without coming to Jesus Christ without care of being made holy and fit for Heaven Oh you have been fast asleep in sin deceived by your own hearts abused by the Devil fourty fifty sixty years Is' t not time for you to bethink your selves to go and cry to the Blessed God Oh! grace pardon Christ Heaven upon any terms My righteousness I have trusted in are poor Cobwebs my Confidences vain Oh! for a drop of free-mercy and grace from that Ocean that is in God and 't were better then all I have done for Heaven yet Oh Lord Now now I come to thee Is there free-mercy and grace for one that hath sleighted it Yea though thou hast gone on frowardly in thy own heart yet he can heal thee Isa 57.17 18. And you that are younger 't is a desperate thing now in times of Gospel-Light when it glares upon your faces to shut your eyes to go on in the way of your own hearts to sleight Gospel-grace to harden your selves and cry Hereafter hereafter Alas thou knowest not what shall be on the morrow the Thread of thy Life is quickly cut with a stroke from God Beside to go on long from year to year against the loud and frequent Call of Jesus Christ against Convictions that thou shouldest do otherwise is the way to be given up to utter hardness and the Lord to move upon thy heart no more There 's a day of grace to every Soul which if he suffer to set and go down upon him he is irrecoverably lost for ever Look to it you younger men and maidens that have yet no work upon you that are the same you were under the means you have lived that have not the Spirit of grace and mourning upon you when others are praying and wrastling with the Lord and taking the Kingdom of Heaven by violence Oh up and be stirring the day of grace hath shined long upon you Hold out no longer Come come come you careless Sons and Daughters and the way is open to you the door of Free-grace is open Christs Arms are open you may be saved and blessed for ever if you come in now you are invited I can take no excuse Come or say I am resolved for Hell and to venture the utmost in the condition I am in Oh bold and fearless Atheist What shall I say to thee if that be thy Resolution But I cannot be so answered Say you sinners as if I should name you Are you for Heaven or Hell for Free-grace or your own patcht-up Righteousness for Carnal ease or any Pains for Heaven for your Lusts or for Holiness for Jesus Christ or the Devil Let thy Heart answer in good earnest this day Now shall I at last have this Answer Hold I am resolved for the Free-grace of God for the Lord Jesus Christ If all the sinners in the Congregation yea in the World should turn their backs upon him The Word of the Lord hath overcome Oh Lord Jesus may I come such a Wretch as I come Yea saith the Lord Jesus Rev. 22.17 Whosoever will let him come Grace is as free as ever it was Say then Oh Lord I come draw me and I will come Into the Arms of Free-grace I throw my self my Righteousness is an abominable thing Ah! a Christ upon any tearms Oh let let me creep unto thy Blessed Feet let me have the Lowest-Room in thy Heart Take what way thou wilt to purge me so I may but get well unto thee Now Lord as much Holiness as thou wilt let thy precious bloud wash me all over Well! go thus and acquaint the Lord Jesus with it from day to day Wait he will speak to thee love to hear more from him and of him in his Gospel and
thou poor formal out-side Professour who never didst feel the vertue healing life and warmth of the bloud of Christ upon thy heart Oh rest not in good thoughts of it onely but come believingly to it as thou hast been exhorted Say and that with thy heart Now Lord I would know the power and efficacy of this Redemption upon my poor soul Wash me Lord wash me I renounce all but the blood of this Christ as to making way to God for me Oh! let it pacifie my conscience and purge my conscience and I shall be clean If the Spirit of the Lord shall work thy heart to come as a guilty helplesse unholy sinner in thy self to this blood of Jesus and make thy approaches to God daily and argue for grace and remission upon it and purging thy soul these inestimable blessings will be the issue of it which I will but name to thee 1. Thou shall Certainly find forgivenesse of thy sins In whom we have redemption through his blood the forgivenesse of our sins Ephes 1.7 God will remember them no more against thee and thou shalt have peace with thy God for ever 2. God will let forth an infinite unchangeable love upon thee Rom. 5.5 which love he bore thee from eternity but will now manifest it to thee and estate thee in it for ever 3. Thou shalt have boldnesse of accesse to God Rom. 5.2 even into his intimate presence to speak with God face to face and ask of God what thou wilt according to his will Heb. 10. 4. All the promises of mercy grace and all blessings here and for ever shall be thine made over sealed in the blood of Christ 5. Thou shalt rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 with all Saints and see thy self an heir of heaven 6. Thou shalt be still a washing and purifying and fitting for Heaven till thou shalt be taken up unto God and live in the Ocean of his love to all eternity Now if ease in thy sin and the world can do better for thee than this that I have named then keep in but if not as most certainly it cannot Arise and come to this blessed Redemption and get thy part and portion in it and thou shalt say Blessed be thy counsell and advice for evermore But now upon this Redemption of Iesus Christ how is a sinner said to be justified that is to be put into an actuall possession of the Redemption of Iesus Christ through the free grace of God 1. When the Compact was made between God the Father and Iesus Christ as to the salvation of those that the Father gave to Iesus Christ and Iesus Christ undertook the fulfilling of the Condition of the Covenant ☞ God did purpose in himself to justifie them from eternity and look't upon them as in Christ 2 Tim. 1.9 Ephes 1.4 So they were justified as to the purpose of God from all eternity 2. When Iesus Christ performed the condition of obedience in his dying and paid unto God what he required at his hands for the sinners redemption then did God as in the Court of Heaven discharge the sinner though not in the court of Conscience and when Christ arose and came to Heaven the Father gave him in an absolution of them all from the guilt of sin and obligation to death and so at the death of Christ all the Elect were meritoriously justified inasmuch as the price was paid and accepted of the Father Rom. 5.10 3. When according to the purpose of God through the purchase of Iesus Christ a sinner is called by grace hath faith given him as purchased also for him to embrace Iesus Christ in the Promise to receive him as offer'd in the Gospell and with him all spirituall blessings then is the soul put into the actuall possession of what God in his purpose and love determined to give him and Iesus Christ by the purchase of his blood gave him a right to before and so there is an Act of Gods pardoning mercy passeth upon the sinner he hath an actuall discharge given in unto his Conscience hath the obedience of Iesus Christ imputed to him and so is lookt upon by God not as a sinner under guilt but as righteous in the righteousnesse of Christ which bespeakes him Justified that is made just and righteous before God by the imputation and making over Christs righteousnesse to him as if righteous in his own person upon which Act of God there is a full remission of sinne as in the Text and the believer is put into another state a state of justification unto life through Iesus Christ Rom. 8.18 who before was in a state of death and condemnation Before I speak of that faith which through grace puts a soul in his pardoned and justified state I will breifly apply this to the Capacity of the weak 1. It may informe and instruct you in this great Mystery that any sinner that is saved must be thus justified made righteous by the obedience of Iesus Christ he must come to see the justice of God made up his sin satisfied for a price paid unto God and this to be actually made over to him as we shall presently shew Most of sinners 't is to be feared do not consider this that speak of mercy and pretend they hope in mercy but are never convinc'd of the righteousnesse of Iesus Christ and what it is to passe from a state of guilt to a state of righteousnesse by Iesus Christ from a state of condemnation to a state of justification without which there can be no salvation Oh be convinced sinners of this great matter of the necessity of the righteousness of Christ his obedience in fulfilling the Law to be made over to you to be brought into a justified state or you can never have pardon of sin and be accepted with God you can never stand before God but in the righteousness of Iesus Christ Say If I do not get the righteousness of Christ made mine If I do not get thus justified I must never expect pardon of my sin and acceptance of my poor soul at the great day of the Lord. This is the Work of the Spirit to be savingly convinced of this Ioh. 16.8 Oh look up to the Father for the Spirit thus to convince you not onely of sinne and the damnableness and sinfulness thereof but of your infinite need to get not onely some general hope of mercy and pardon but the righteousness of the Son of God to bring you into a state of pardon reconciliation peace with God 2. It may further clear unto you that your justification before God is not within you but without you wrought forth by Iesus Christ for such as are or shall be called by grace and imputed to them not inherent or wrought in them 'T is not grace in you that doth or can justifie you though renewing grace shall be wrought in all that are so pardoned and justified Therefore though thou must be
dispenced forth in his Son Iesus Christ Ioh. 5.21.26 The Son quickneth whom he will for as the the Father hath life in himself So he hath given to the Son to have Life in himself Because I live ye shall live also Iohn 14.19 Now naturally all sinners are dead in the old Adam and utterly unable to beget life in themselves who can make alive his own soul but when they were New-born as new Creatures they are said to be quickned in Christ Ephes 2.5 As God breathed life into man at first and so he became a living soul so in the new Creation the soul is said to be created into Christ Eph. 2.10 and to be made Alive in him Rom. 6.11 2. If there were not a reall union of the soul with Christ life if it should be given without it would not be preserved in the soul Thou holdest our soul in life Psal 66.9 As the branch through it was once quickned cannot preserve it life if cut off from the root And therefore a continued supply of life from Jesus Christ to the soul is necessary as to all its spirituall actings as a new Creature 3. By being in Christ the soul is made partaker of the divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 by which the regenerate part all gracious habits are infused in the soul whereby the New-Creature is formed up in believers Hence it is that all grace and holinesse is infused into the soul as distinguish'd from Common grace that at last withereth John 15.6 If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered c. therefore a necessity of being in Christ 4. Without being in Christ the power and raign of sin the body of sin will not be destroyed no destroying the body of sin by any possible endeavors but by the influence of the death of Iesus Christ and a reall fellowship therewith which cannot be attained but by being planted into Christ Rom. 6.5 6. For if we have bin planted together into the likenesse of his death we shall be also in the likenesse of his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin be destroyed that hence forth we might not serve sin All the proper mortifying power that believers have of the body of sin is drawn from fellowship with the death of Iesus Christ which fellowship ariseth only from being one with him 5. The Image of God cannot be renewed upon us but in Christ As we have born the Image of the Earthly we shall also bear the Image of the heavenly 1 Cor. 15.19 So Rom. 8.29 we are made conformable to the Image of his Son By union a soul is made partaker of the fulnesse of Iesus Christ as all grace is laid up in him and of that fulnesse partakes by measure of every grace from him Iohn 1.16 And of his fulnesse have all we received and grace for grace that is grace according to the patern of Jesus Christ partaking of every grace in him according to the measure allowed to every member and branch in him 6. Without being in Christ no duty is accepted with God by being in Christ we are accepted in the righteousnesse of Christ whereby all the dutyes of a Child of God are accepted with the Father 1 Pet. 3.5 as performed by a principle of life from Iesus Christ and offered up to God in the name and righteousnesse of Christ otherwise let praying and all other dutyes be never so strictly frequently devoutly performed they find no acceptance with God and the soul is not bettered by them Without me ye can do nothing John 15. saith Jesus Christ 7. Without being in Jesus Christ there can be no holy fruit in conversation brought forth to God John 15.5 He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit All the fruit that is of our own stock comes to nought but the fruit that is brought forth in Christ from implantation into him is precious fruit unto repentance Reformation holinesse and righteousnesse and doing of any good unlesse it proceed from the life we have in Christ is Pharisaical and comes to nothing and will be burnt up in the day of the Lord wherefore sanctified believers are call'd the trees of righteousnesse Esay 61. as planted engrafted into Jesus Christ whereby they bring forth all their favory fruit unto God Use See now the great and weighty and indispensable necessity of getting into Christ of having union with him the main pillar upon which hangs all your Comfort Do what you will and be out of Jesus Christ and t is an accursed loathed sacrifice Do what thou wilt from thy own stock and 't is bitter fruit A dram of what is performed in Christ is of more worth then a mighty daily bulk of dutyes without it not hereby to lessen a believer as to muchnesse of duty but to shew the unacceptableness of all duties though never so many long devout till a poor soul performes all from a new principle and power of life in the soul from Iesus Christ and so a new Creature Oh! that poor souls were thoroughly convinc'd of this who so they perform dutyes never consider this Oh! lay to heart thy dead condition and the infinite necessity of getting into Christ No life in thy soul no preserving of life till Jesus Christ nothing of the divine nature upon thee no destroying of sin nothing of the Image of God upon thee that is saving no duty accepted no fruit unto God in thy conversation till thou hast the reall experience of this blessed Mystery in thy soul of being one in Christ through the spirit till thy soul knoweth what union fellowship with the Son of God meaneth Therefore souls that fall short here their knowledge profession conversation is lost labour is to the great matter of eternall life and salvation 2. If all that are truly and savingly New-Creatures are in Christ then a New-Creature any other way is but a semblance and appearance of it and not so indeed and reality If from our selves from the power of the Law upon the Conscience or upon any other account whatsoever And therefore I still say the more we consider of this matter of the more narrow enquiry do we find it to be There is a semblance and likenesse of being New-Creatures which is not really so a semblance of holinesse a holy fruit which is not truly so but will at last wither and hence all the withered professours in this day as we shall presently shew I shall not here speak of such as pretend to no manner of change inward or outward such as are in all things the same that ever they were as such as live in known grosse sins they have no appearance or pretence of claim to the Title and Character of the New-Creature By their own concession and acknowledgment they are still the same as ever they were therefore not so much as pretend to be made New
repentance and regeneration is and then think they have it themselvs because they can tell what it is and do believe it to be such There may be much knowledge in the head and yet no renewing grace in the heart That knowledge that is saving brings with it a power upon the soul to love delight in to experience the goodnesse vertue sweetnesse of what it knows It transforms the soul into the image of what is known 2 Cor. 3. last It is spirituall and it makes the heart the affections spirituall 8. A misconceit of the grace of love is also a false ground in this matter As that a poor soul will think that he loves God when he hath no knowledge of him nor delight in him nor Communion with him nor doth love his Image which is holinesse And that he loves All every one whereas much envy and malice reigns in the hearts if but a little provoked And for the people of God truly so called they hate them for Hypocrites Schismaticks and what not or if a little better thoughts of them t is not love to Christ and his Image in them that acts them which is the nature of the grace of love 9. So is patience humility meeknesse mistaken some natural dispositions are more patient and meek and these poor Creatures are apt to mistake for grace when 't is nothing but mere nature and more candid disposition And such Souls from naturall temper can bear much and it hath an appearance of grace But yet here may be no work of the Spirit all this while humbling meekning the soul in its own vilenesse no mortification of contrary lusts No humbling for pride of heart without which no true gracious humility No meekning by the Gospell and the power of Christs love upon their Spirits And yet upon this account you shall have poor carnall souls pretend much as I have often heard it urged by them to the fruits of Spirit mention'd Gal. 5.22 of love joy peace goodnesse patience temperance when t is nothing but disposition ingenuity or from civil education 10. As great a deceit there is about the fear of God many poor souls do fear the punishment and wrath of God which is all they do and then they think this is the fear of his servants The fear of the Lord which God promiseth to put in the hearts of his own people Jer. 32.40 is a fear of God because he is holy because he is gracious because he hath pardoned iniquity They shall fear the Lord and his goodnesse Hos 3. last which fear is mixt with a sweet and blessed love to God and consolation of the Spirit 11. A misapprehension of good workes causeth a mistake of the New-Creature many are convinc'd that workes of mercy and charity and Justice are to be done and so from a pittifull nature or from vain-glory or from a secrer thought to appease God or from Legall conviction at least they will be ready to do Charitable works things good in themselves and this they think discovers their Faith And herein lyes a common deceit in the vulgar professours of the people of England Now all the good works falsly so call'd done out of Christ are fleshly and not accepted with God A papist and many a carnall protestant even also for the sin of his soul doth much this way But good works properly so called do flow from a living faith from love to Jesus Christ and designe not a self-justification but the glory of God And gracious souls do find it very hard to performe them with holy ends 12. Mistake of a good conversation which may onely be a morall conversation civill sober righteous as to men but mindes not holinesse to God which is the speciall part of a Gospel-Conversation And yet the most of people go away with this that they are believers and in a good estate for heaven because they have a good conversation which they greatly mistake That which the word of God calls a good conversation as an evidence of faith is not onely a mere outward blamelesnesse which the Pharisees had but to walk with God from a Gospel-principle from Gospel-Grace and the love of God in the heart chiefly respecting holinesse to the Lord and the fear of the Lord upon the heart now a soul that hath nothing of this may be outwardly blamelesse a Jew and heathen may be so and nothing of the grace of God upon them Vse Now the Lord make this to be a convincing searching word to you you that have left some grosse sins from the word upon your consciences from afflictions from worldly advantages from age be it known unto you this you may do and more and be still the Children of wrath in an unpardoned condition and not the New-Creatures we are speaking of yea though thou hast taken up to new duties and makest conscience of many sins and many duties thou mayst still be out of Jesus Christ And you that call your daily sins which have dominion over you your infirmities when not humbled nor mourn for them nor cry for strength against them this your way is your folly and the Devil and your own hearts greatly deceive you yea you call such sins your infirmities meaning as if they were the infirmities of the Children of God that cannot consist with truth of grace such as common lying and common profaning the Lords name in your mouths and neglecting to sanctifie his Sabbaths and living in the neglect of secret spirituall prayer And such of you that have some striving in your consciences before and after the sin know it it may be so and yet not a drop of saving grace in you no regenerate part wrought forth in you And yet how many bear up themselves upon this score and think thence they allow not themselves in the sins they commit in Paul's sense look to this or you may for ever perish in this snare I have given some markes how you may know it Take you heed also that you take not that which is called Common-Grace which is Common to Reprobates for true grace There 's is a false faith a false Repentance a false Hope and so of the rest in which you may assuredly go to Hell you may have a harmelesse conversation and do some good works of Charity and yet perish for ever you may have nothing of the New-Creature in you and yet give all your goods to the poor In a word you may leave outward grosse sins have convictions of wrath to come have purposes such as they are to be better take up to New-Duties have common grace think you have faith repentance hope that you are humble patient have a good conversation and do good works and yet not be New-Creatures in Jesus Christ as we shall further evince I have yet one more deceit to discover and that is the mistake of a Scripture good conscience It is true that the Apostle in 1 Tim. 1.5 19. puts faith and a good conscience as
and fetch your daily supplies from him Walk in the Spirit after the Spirit as much as may be and see that you keep close to Rule to the revealed Will of God and not to Delusions Be able to appeal to God Judge me oh God according to mine integrity Psal 26.1 that you may have this peace and comfort in all your ways Thou upholdest me oh Lord in mine integrity And see you walk humbly before GOD and Men and in love to all that profess love to Christ and they do in some measure really express it and carry it justly and compassionately towards all men Learn above all the Experience of the Life of Faith live not in or upon what you have received but live out of it upon the Fulness of the Lord as if you had received nothing Oh ply the Throne of Grace that you may be filled with the Spirit of Jesus Christ and to walk in this present World as near as may be after the Holinesse Patience Meeknesse Wisdome and Love of Jesus Christ which he shewed towards all men having your Hearts and Conversations in Heaven where your Treasure is 11. The New-Creature doth in all things labour its own perfection and is therefore still in conflicting with destroying crucifying purging out the old Creature the old man all of the Old Adam till it sits down in Victory in a full perfection of Holinesse and Glory which it shall have and not till then at the appearing of Jesus Christ Ephes 4.22 That ye put off concerning the former Conversation the Old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and be renewed c. Knowing this that our Old Man is crucified with Him that the body of sinne might be destroyed Rom. 6.6 This is the main Work of the New-Creature where it is really formed in Christ to destroy and purge out the Defilements and Dregs of the Old Man of Sin Self Corruption that it may be as a new Lump as a Vessel made meet for the Lord's use as formed up set apart anointed sanctifyed for God and his Use here and for ever AMEN To the Blessed God Alone be all the Glory FINIS A Catalogue of some Books Printed for and sold by Edward Brewster at the Crane in Paul's Church-yard 1 DR William's Right-way to the best Religion wherein at large is explained the principal Heads of the Gospel in Fol. 2 Dr. Jermin on the Proverbs Fol. 3 Mr. Stock upon Malachy Fol. 4 Mr. Elton on the 7th 8th 9th Romans Fol. 5 Mr. Hildersham on the 4th of John Fol. 6 Mr. Edward Leigh's Annotations on Job Psalms Proverbs Eccles and Cant. Fol. 7 The Largest Church-Bible Fol. 8 Consilia Decreta Leges Constitutiones in re Eccles Orbis Britannnici opera Studio Henrici Spelman Eq. Aur. Fol. 9 Briggs Trigonometria Brittannica Fol. 10 Mr. Birckbeck his Protestants Evidence taken out of good Records Shewing that for 1500 years next after Christ divers worthy Guides of God's Church have in sundry weighty Points of Religion taught as the Church of England now doth A most learned and judicious Work Fol. 11 Johnson's History of Birds and Fishes Fol. 12 Mr. Bentham's Christian Conflict Quarto 13 Mr. Calamy's Sermons quarto 14 Mr. Cawdrey his Inconsistency of the Independent way with Scripture and it self quar 15 His Answer to G. Firmin about Baptism quar 16 Canaans Calamity or The Destruction of Jerusalem quar 17 Mr. Cook of Infants Baptism quar 18 Mr. Dod on the Commandements quar 19 Mr. Elton on the Commandements and Lords Prayer quar 20 Mr. Collier's Treatise of the Sabbath and against free admission to the Sacrament quar 21 A Collection of several Sermons preached before the Parliament quar 22 The English Presbyterian and Independent reconciled quar 23 Several Sermons of Mr. Paul Bayn quar 24 Mr. Negus of Faith and Obedience quar 25 Mr. Newcomens Sermons preached before the Parliament quar 26 Mr. Jenkins his Sermons quar 27 Against John Goodwin in two Books quar 28 Galeni Opuscula varia Annot. D. Gulstoni Gr. Lat. quar 29 Spelmani Psalterium Saxonicum quar 30 Mr. Geer against Bishops quar 31 Against the Anabaptists c. quar 32 Mr. Randal on the 8th of Romans quar 33 On the Church quar 34 A short History of the Anabaptists of Germany quar 35 Mr. Rutherford of Church-government and Excommunication Quarto 36 Dr. Potter on the Number 666. quar 37 Mr. Stalham against Universal Redemption quar 38 Against the Anabaptists quar 39 Against the Quakers quar 40 Dr. Slater on Malachy quar 41 On the 4th of Romans quar 42 Mr. Udal on the Lamentations quar 43 The Vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministery quar 44 Mr. Whitaker's Sermons quar 45 Mr. Wheatly's New-Birth quar 46 Motives to a good life in Ten Sermons By Barton Holiday D.D. quar 47 Mr. Abbot against Brownists Octavo 48 Ball 's Catechism Octav. 49 Doctrine of the Bible Octav. 50 Masterson's Arithmetick Octav. 51 Baker's Arithmetick Octav. 52 Wingat's Logarithms Octav. School-Books 53 Danesii Grammat Lat. Quarto 54 Herodiani Historiae Gr. Lat. Octav. 55 Dux Grammaticas Duodecimo 56 Helvicus Colloques Duodecimo 57 Brinsley 's Translation of Corderius in Eng. Octav. 58 His Puerilis Confab Eng. Octav. 59 Farnaby on Marshal's Epig. Octav. 60 On Ovid Metamorph. Octav. 61 On Juvenal Octav. 62 Epigrammata Selecta Gr. Lat. Octav. 63 Geer's Troposchematologia Octav.
thou biddest fair for Heaven yea there will presently be joy in Heaven for thee In a word I protest against you in the Name and Authority of God and the Lord Iesus Christ who hath sent me if you shall withstand the grace of God in Jesus Christ freely most freely offered you I shall be a Witness against you and if any sinners in the World shall be certainly damned you are they who neglect this great Salvation 'T is come to this I would saith Jesus Christ and ye will not What a do to have a sinner that 's sinking to Hell to come to the Lord Jesus Christ to be freely saved What should a guilty sinner do but come to a free Saviour to be saved and accept of his tearms which are so blessed with a thousand hearts if he had them Now say how am I straitned till I get to him I would go and weep my heart out to him had I a heart to do it Now I leave what hath been spoken to the good pleasure of God and the work of his Power who is able to send away every Soul trembling and resigning up themselvs to him Onely a word to any poor humbled doubting soul that thinks infinitely well of all this but saith in his heart All this grace is too good for me I have sinned against it and sleighted it I fear whether ever I may be accepted Oh remember and consider that Grace were not Grace if 't were no free God can save a sinner freely that 's enough to stay thee yea though thou hast sleighted grace as where is the Saint but did so before effectually called yea God will save a sinner freely that will come by Jesus Christ unto him He will What would'st have more Do not stand reasoning thus but If thou art a sinner undone without him cast off from thy own Confidences go to him in the Name of God and believe him upon his own word say I take thee Blessed Lord upon thy own word Thou sayest Whosoever will let him come and Lord therefore I come I durst not come were I not invited freely and if I must be saved freely if ever then thou art to bestow all work all begin and perfect all Oh blessed Lord I come unto thee for it go and do thus and thou shalt be comforted and rejoyce in his Salvation I might also here press blessed Souls who have been drawn to Jesus Christ and overcome by Free-grace to do it to live in the admiration of that grace and to be low and poor and empty in your selves in the abundant sense of it all your days Let your enjoyments and attainments be what they will be it known unto you that by grace ye are saved and you had and have as much need of it as any sinner in the World God's Design in saving you was to glorifie Grace and it must be your Design also here and for ever Having thus opened in some measure the grace of God to be the Fountain of a sinner's Salvation I shall now proceed to discover the way of the conveyance of this grace which is by Jesus Christ being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ though God resolved to bestow grace upon such as shall be saved freely yet in a way of his own most wise and blessed Designing by his Eternal Son Jesus Christ to whom this Dispensation of Grace was committed which I shall further open in this Doctrine Namely Doct. All that Grace and Mercy which GOD gives out freely to sinners is conveyed to them by his Eternal Son Jesus Christ I might be abundant in the proof of this See in that 5th of the Rom. v. 17.21 Much more they which receive abundance of Grace and of the gift of Righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ And vers 21. That as sinne hath reigned unto death even so might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord All the grace that should reign unto Life is given out by one Jesus Christ. The Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1.17 All the Treasures of Grace were laid up in him and therefore he saith of himself Matth. 11.27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father and none can come unto the Father but by me which he makes as the great Argument why sinners should come unto him vers 28. Now so far as the Lord hath revealed the wise and holy Counsels of his heart in his Word unto us let us inquire into the Reasons why he took such a way to give all his grace to the children of men Reason 1. The first is this That as mankind lost all in the Fall of the first Adam as he was a publique person representing all that came of him so it was the wisdome of God in the recovery of lost-man to bring forth another person that should be fully stockt with grace and righteousness as a publique person to represent all the Elect unto the Father upon which account Jesus Christ is called the Second Adam 1 Cor. 15. And the Apostle sets the first Adam in his offence unto Death and the grace and Righteousness of Iesus Christ as the second Adam one against the other Rom. 5.15 16 c. For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous And so the Apostle sets the Life Grace Righteousnesse of Iesus Christ as the Second Adam against the Death Condemnation Disobedience of the first man that sinned in the 7 last Verses of that Chapter And herein the Wisdome of the Father is most excellently set forth and the ground of Consolation to Believers laid upon a most sure Foundation That whatsoever they lost in the First Adam they recover with much more abundance in Iesus Christ for so the Apostle hath that much more in the Scripture mentioned three or four times that Saints may see how abundantly compleat they are in Christ Reas 2. All grace is conveyed by Iesus Christ because there needed a person to stand between GOD and Sinners as a Mediatour to work forth Reconciliation between them Now who was meet but the Lord Iesus Christ to undertake this He being the Eternal Son of God equal with God was near unto God A mere Creature was infinitely unfit for such an undertaking And he being also the Son of man cloathed in the nature of man he thus partaking of the nature of God who was to be appeased and of the Nature of Man who was to be reconciled he became a most meet Undertaker of so glorious a Work Whence he hath that blessed Title given him of Mediatour Jesus the Mediatour of a New Covenant Heb. 12.24 There is one God and one Mediatour between God and Man the Man Christ Iesus 1 Tim. 2.5 3. God resolved that his blessed Son Iesus Christ should have the honour in this blessed Transaction to