is a new creature Old things are past away and all become new Brethren by reason of the sin of man there is a curse upon the whole Creation and this old Creation must come to confusion therefore it is an evil thing for any man to seek his happiness in any thing here in the old Creation for there is a curse upon it and it will come to confusion But there is a new Creation of all in Christ of all spiritual things in Christ Now a sinner when he comes to have his sin pardoned and be justified he come's into a new state that comes in by the new Creation the happiness of the Children comes by and consists in the new Creation old things are done away and he comes to be seated in the new creation in Christ this is the first thing wherein a man or woman is blessed Negatively in being delivered from so great an evil 2. Of the Positive Blessedness of the Pardon of Sin Secondly Positively he 's a blessed man whose sins are forgiven if we consider the excellency of that mercy God makes that soul partaker of whose sins are forgiven Dan. 9.9 To thee Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses forgiveness is the fruit of glorious mercies Exod. 34.6 The Lord is merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving inquity Now I shall open this positively and shew the riches of mercy in forgiveness of sin When the Scripture applys mercy to forgiveness of sin it hath divers expressions sometimes calls it riches of mercy Ephes 1.7 sometimes plenteous mercy Psal 86.8 sometimes Gods fulness of compassion Psal 78.38 sometimes multitude of mercies Psal 51.1 I might give divers other places but those may suffice it is rich plenteous fulness of compassions and multitude of mercies When God forgives sin he shews mercies in all these expressions For the opening of it unto you I shall shew you what abundance of mercy God shows in the forgiveness of sin consider mery 1. in the Efficient 2. in the final cause of it 1. Of the Efficient Cause of Mercy in forgiveness of Sin First for the Efficient Cause there is abundance of mercy God manifests in the forgiveness of sin he abounds in his mercy there is a Sea an infinite vast Ocean of mercy in which the sins of the Elect come to be swallowed up though their sins be many and great and committed with many grievous aggravations yet when they come to an act of Justification to God to be forgiven I say God comes to the soul as an infinite Ocean of mercy that swallows up all the evil in sin attend unto it Look as in the mighty Ocean whether you cast in a load or a shovel full of earth the vast Ocean makes little difference of either so when a soul comes to God in Christ when it comes to Pardon and Justification whether sins be little or great 't is all one the mercy of God makes no difference at all take heed to what I say while I am speaking of forgiveness of sin I shall make known so much grace that if you abuse it it will be one of the most dreadful things that ever you did and therefore while I go along take heed of abusing it especially you that desire to hear of the pardoning mercy of God whether your sins be little or great when you come to pardoning mercy it is an infinite Ocean that swallows up all those that have not their sins pardoned whether their sins be little or great it makes no difference they are truly damn'd for little as well as great sins both sinks down into Hell and the infinite Ocean of wrath and horrour swallows up all so in point of Justification whether your sins be little or great it matters not pardoning mercy swallows up all 2. Of the Final Cause of Mercy in forgiveness of Sin Secondly but further as Mercy is an infinite Ocean that swallows up Sin so Mercy is the Final Cause It is to this end that God might manifest the riches of his grace when God forgives any one sin this forgiveness comes from Gods mercy and it is to this end That God may declare before Men and Angels to all eternity what the greatness and infinite riches of his grace is what the grace of God is able to do when God comes to pardon sin 't is for this end as if he should say Well I am about now to pardon thy sin and this work I am about to do it is for this very end that it may be known to Men and Angels to all eternity what the infinite riches of the infinite grace of God is able to do for poor sinners Now certainly that man is a blessed man if the man whose sins are pardoned hath such mercy shewed to him and such a blessed work upon him as is to that end that God may declare to all eternity what the glorious riches of grace of an infinite God is surely this is a great blessedness when God shall seperate a man or woman for this end it must be very glorious certainly therefore pardon of sin is no light and mean thing but it must be a most glorious work of God wheresoever it is And this Consideration is a mighty Argument to uphold a poor soul under trouble of sin and a great incouragement for him to come in for pardon Dost thou see O troubled soul Gods wrath against thee and dost thou stand quaking at the apprehension of the evil of sin let not thy heart sink come in and cast thy self on the free grace of God there is a possibility for the pardon of thy sin for when God comes to pardon sin the mercy God shews in pardoning of any one sin he does it to the end that he might magnifie the riches of his grace to all eternity and such mercy that serves to that end must needs be glorious And will not such mercy serve thy turn as must set out the infinite rich grace of God God is pleased to manifest thus much mercy for the forgiveness of thy sin and where a sinner is forgiven it is this mercy that is manifested when men judge of God by themselves they think slightly of him when they judge of Gods thoughts by their own What is the reason that makes sinners have such slight thoughts of sin but because they judge of God by themselves that he abhors sin no otherwise than man does and so hope they may do well enough measuring the infinite hatred that God hath to sin by their own so on the other side the sinner that is convinc't of the dreadful evil of sin is ready to dispair Why because he judges of God by himself as if the mercy of God were no other than the mercy of man not considering the mercy of God in pardoning sin is such mercy as is to shew his grace in the riches of it to all eternity Well then that man to whom
me is the Lord the world translated judgment in the Greek it is mans day Man has his day here and he thinks to weary out the People of God why says Paul I pass not for mans day he that hath the supream judgment in his hands he hath acquitted me and I am well enough Of the Foundation of Eternal Life laid in Pardoning Mercy 8. Blessed is the man that hath his iniquities forgiven for this is the foundation of eternal life whoever hath this mercy hath a certain pledge put into his hands of eternal life Rom. 8.30 Whom he predestinated them he called whom he called them he justified and whom he justified them he glorified thou who art justified and hast thy sin pardoned thou shalt certainly be glorified A Prince may pardon a man but he cannot assure him of eternal life though he give him his natural life But God if he pardon he makes it known to that soul that he shall live eternally with him in glory Oh blessed is he then that hath his iniquities forgiven for this is a pledge unto him of eternal life Of Pardon of Sin being the bottom of all true Comfort 9. Blessed is he that hath his sin pardoned for pardon of sin is the very bottom of all true comfort Be of good comfort your sins are forgiven if Christ speak but this word to a soul though he be never so much dejected it is enough to raise any drooping soul from the gates of Hell it self Be of good comfort oh soul thy sins are forgiven thee Isai 40.2 Speak you comfortable to her for her iniquities are pardoned God calls to comfort her when her iniquities are pardoned this is the foundation of all true comfort if you lay any other foundation to build your comforts on certainly that building will totter and come to nothing if this be not the foundation You would fain have comfort and you are every one looking out for comfort and indeed it is as natural for the soul of man to seek for comfort as it is for the fire to burn there 's no man but would fain have comfort now look to the foundation if you would not have the building totter lay a good foundation Many lay the foundation of their comforts in their sins and others in the creatures but thou must lay it in the pardon of thy sin in the free grace of God justifying thy soul and that building will hold lay it there and thou shalt be comforted here and for ever hereafter And thus we have done with that Particular That Pardon of Sin is a great mercy because it is a foundation and inlet to many other mercies Blessed is the man that hath his iniquities forgiven that hath such a grand mercy upon which many other mercies follow CHAP. V. Of Pardoning Mercy passing through a great many difficulties BLessed is the man that hath his sins forgiven for indeed it is a mercy that passes through many difficulties before it comes to the soul and that that passeth through many difficulties is strong and great indeed and therefore makes the man blessed because it is grace that doth pass through many difficulties it is an argument of a great deal of strength of grace when grace shall pass through many difficulties as it is an argument of the great strength of sin when sin passes through many difficulties to bring forth a soul being set upon sin there lies a great many difficulties in the way yet lust to that sin being strong it will break through all difficulties to get to it so in mercy when God comes with mercy to forgive a soul this mercy of God must go through abundance of difficulties before it gets to you which argues it to be wonderful strong mercy and therefore makes him blessed that partakes of it When God made the World it was done with a word speaking God said Let there be light and there was light But when God comes to pardon a sinner Heaven and Earth must be moved there must be a greater work of God in pardoning of a sinner than in making of the world certainly the work is greater and passes through more difficulties As First All the wrongs that ever thâ—u hast done to God stand betwixt thee and pardon never did any man in the world wrong another man as thou hast wronged God How sin wrongs God has in part been held forth to you in the evil of sin and how contrary sin is to the infinite holiness of God yet mercy breaks through that yea above all that great and difficult work of the satisfying the infinite justice of God yet mercy breaks through that and there stands in that 1. This difficulty that before thou canst be pardoned God must be made Man and yet must remain the same God he was before thou cryest for pardon of sin or thou art undone suppose now that Gods bowels of mercy did even yearn towards thee for to pardon thy sin yet before this is done there must be this great work done that God must be made man and yet remain the same God he was before here 's a mighty difficult work a greater work than making of the world and yet mercy breaks through this 2. Here 's this stands between sin and pardon That when God is made Man he must die and be made a curse and not only so but God the Father must do it he must take his own Son and stab him for thee he must himself take him and put him to death and himself must pour out his wrath upon his own Son before thy sins can be pardoned Now that God the Father should take his own Son the Son of his delight stab him to the heart and himself put him to death this is a mighty great work and yet this must be done before thou can'st be pardoned 2. There 's this difficulty stands in the way That before sin can be pardoned the blind dead wicked carnal sottish heart of Man must be raised up to perform the most glorious Act that ever any creature did which is an Act of believing yet says God that thy sin may be pardoned I will put forth my infinite power to effect it to raise that blind dead sottish carnal wicked heart of man so full of all wickedness to perform the greatest work that ever any creature did for so is believing Gods mighty power is put forth to effect this Now there is all these difficulties lying in the way and yet mercy passes through them all to pardon sin surely then that soul must needs be blessed that hath his sin pardoned that God sets his heart upon him so much that rather than he will not shew mercy unto him he will pass through all these great difficulties that lie in the way and truly on consideration of this before I pass any further there are three Meditations that may be collected hence and may come with a great deal of power upon all our souls First Then it
Of Pardoning Mercy being a Perfect Mercy BLessed is he whose iniquities are forgiven for this mercy is a perfect mercy that is where God doth pardon any sinner such a one stands as perfect before God in point of Justification as Abraham Isaac Jacob or any of the Prophets or righteous men that ever lived in the world thou poor Soul Man or Woman Youth or Servant if God come unto thee pardon any of your sins thou standest as fully justified as Abraham Paul Peter or any of the Apostles and Prophets though in Sanctification thou fallest short of them yet though art justified as perfectly as ever they were Justification is an act that is done altogether and at once therefore a perfect work and this is an Argument of infinite Consolation to the Saints of God that the great business between God and them in point of Justification is perfected Psal 51.7 David prays to God that he would purge him with Hysop and he should be clean that is that he might be cleansed by Justification by having the guilt of sin taken from his Conscience by a renewed act of pardon and then as it follows I shall be whiter than Snow the Saints of God though they be Sanctified they are not whiter than the snow in Sanctification but in Justification they are whiter than the snow no spot at all in them Ephes 5.27 Christ presents his Church unto himself without spot in point of Justification every believing soul is without spot before the Lord Numb 23.21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob that is though God knows there is iniquity there yet he sees is not to charge them with it or impute it to them all is done away in that regard by Justification it is observable to this purpose what we have in Cant. 4.7 Thou art all fair my love there is no spot in thee no spot in thee there are spots in respect of Sanctification yea but in respect of Justification it may be said of her There is no spot at all in thee Thou art all fair my Love it is the words of Christ he comes forth and says Thou art all fair my Love Alas when the Believer looks upon himself his own duties and performances he sees nothing at all but spots all besmear'd and bespatter'd all over why though thou lookest on thy self be spotted yet Christ looks upon thee without spot and God the Father looks upon thee through Christ without spot and says Thou art all fair there is no spot in thee thou thinkest it may be that if God should make a discovery of thy heart to all thy Christian friends and acquaintance thou would'st appear so foul that they would cast thee out of their society and never have to do with thee more yet for all this Christ says Thou art all fair there is no spot at all in thee Justification admits of no degrees no not in Heaven thou art not more justified there than thou art here thou art now as perfectly justified as ever and accepted of Christ as ever Sanctification is renewed day by day it being a work of God within us we increase in it dayly but Justification is a work of God without us and so is perfected at once and hence then this makes a pardoned soul blessed because pardon of sin is of such a nature that it is a perfect work Hence then I will but touch it Here is 1. Abundance of comfort to a pardoned soul though thou art weak in Sanctification and it troubles thee to think how far thou comest short of Abraham's David's Paul's Solomon's wisdom and Job's patience yet this know that thou art equal in Justification with Abraham Moses David and all the Prophets and this may be a mighty comfort to thee against the weakness of thy Sanctification 2. This should be a mighty ingagement upon thy spirit Has God made thee equal to them in Justification how should'st thou labour to be like to them in Sanctification think thus with thy self Is the mercy of God so rich and glorious come though I be a poor wicked wretched vile sinner that I should be made equal to the greatest Saints in Justification Oh how should I labour to follow hard after them and get as near to them as I can in point of Sanctification this Argument should come with power and strength upon our hearts to stir up all our endeavours to be like to them in point of Sanctification that are equal with them in point of Justification How should we imitate Moses his Meekness David's Love Paul's Zeal and Job's Patience CHAP. IX Of Pardoning Mercy being an Irrevocable Mercy BLessed are they that have their Iniquities forgiven for it is an irrevocable mercy when God pardons sin he never revokes it again it is true the soul that is pardoned may afterwards commit many offences that may provoke the displeasure of God against him yet he shall never so provoke God as to cause him to revoke this mercy of pardon to all eternity if thou art once pardoned thou art pardoned for ever It is not so with God in pardoning as it is with men a King pardons a Malefactor on condition of his good behaviour afterwards though it is true a Believer will be more careful of offending after he is pardoned than ever before But yet God does not pardon me so much on condition of my good behaviour as of his free grace therefore it abides He does not say to a poor soul I will pardon you but it shall be on this condition that you behave your self well and if you be found tripping in any one thing I will recal my pardon back again it is so with a Princes Pardon a man that is pardoned for his life if that man afterwards offend perhaps breaks the Peace which in another man would not be so great a matter for he could soon satisfie the Law for it but he that goes under pardon for his life if he break the Peace it costs him his life whereas another if he strike a man it is but an Assault and Battery in him but he that has his Pardon for his life for such a thing done by him his Pardon may be revok't again and it may cost him his life I hope you will not abuse this grace of God I know not how to open it to Believers but with a great deal of danger to others but how much danger soever it may be to others yet it must be opened and delivered to Believers it is Gods mind that his grace should be made known unto them he would have them to know it to the full that his Pardoning Mercy is irrevocable and therefore a Believer should not question his Justification upon every failing in his Sanctification this is a dishonour to the free and rich grace of God if on every failing we call in question that great work of the Justification of our souls either to say or think I indeed did hope before that
free altogether from himself 't is his own work and proceeds from his own hearts love and nothing in us that may challenge it from him Now seeing there is that in the Creature that challenges justice and nothing at all that can require mercy therefore if God shew mercy but to a few it is as great a glory to his mercy as it is to his justice if he condemn a hundred but if he should save as many as he condemns the mercy of God would be beyond all proportion to his justice but because that cannot be hence it is that few are saved and many damned Answer 2. There are more damn'd than saved because God would hereby manifest his mercy the more to thee that art saved by suffering so many others to perish this is one end that God hath in it that their destruction might set out the excellency of the glory of his grace to thee When a Limner would draw a Scutcheon or a Picture in Or or any other curious colours he lays the ground-work in black and then the beauty of the other colours will thereby most appear thou oh soul that hast thy sin pardoned know that God lays the ground-work of thy mercy in the black dismal destruction of multitudes of ungodly sinners he gives them their due that that is their right but the ultimate aim of God in it rises to this that their destruction may make the brightness of his glorious grace appear the more gloriously to them that are saved that the Saints whose sins God hath pardoned may in Heaven have this argument to praise his grace so much the more because they are cull'd out of the mass and multitude of sinners that are damn'd this will mightily inflame the hearts of Saints in giving God glory in Heaven when they shall see so many thousands and millions of thousands cast down to eternal destruction that God should do this to set off the riches of his grace to them How will this inflame their hearts in giving God glory and this God aims at as the top of his glory that he might have a company to be the eternal objects of the riches of his grace and this shews the base and low account God hath of wicked men that he lets them perish eternally that he might magnifie the glory of his grace to Saints What an aggravation is it of the greatness of Gods mercy to Saints when he is content that so many thousands of others shall perish that his mercy to them may more gloriously appear As when a Prince hath a Child born that he might shew his honour to the Child in solemnizing the Christning of the Child it may be thousands of Oxen and Sheep shall loose their lives in the solemnizing of the joy the Prince hath in his Child If the Solemnity of the Joy the Prince hath in that little Infant may be the cause of thousands of creatures losing their lives this shews the dear respect he hath to his Child or else he would never let so many creatures go to the Shambles but that he might shew his respect to his little Infant So says God there is a handful of People that I have thoughts to do good too to all eternity and I have set my heart upon them and that I may manifest the greatness of my mercy to them I will let thousand thousands of others perish eternally to be but as a black ground for that glorious work that I intend to manifest in the riches of my grace in Christ in the pardoning of their sin thus you see it is a peculiar mercy and therefore blessed are they that have their iniquities forgiven for it is a mercy that is peculiar to them only Oh how ought they to bless God that he hath call'd them out of the multitude when he has left others to the sway of their own carnal sottish and malitious hearts to go on against the ways of grace and all because he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy CHAP. XII Of the Possibility of Pardoning Mercy how it would be prised by poor Souls now under wrath FUrther Blessed is he that hath his iniquities forgiven because the very possibility of it to thousands of creatures now under wrath would be prised more than ten thousand worlds to have but a possibility of it upon any terms those that are now damn'd in Hell and see the stroaks of Gods dreadful wrath against them for their sin that are now swallowed up in the gulf of misery and condemnation if they might have but any possibility to have their sins pardoned how would they prise it if such a Messenger were sent from God to Hell-gates to call there and to cry out O ye damned spirits behold a message from the Almighty I come unto you from him and this is the message to let you know That there is a possibility upon some terms that God will require that your sins may be pardoned and you delivered from that dreadful wrath you now lie under How would the damned spirits sing and rejoyce and look about them to attend this message What acclamations would there be in Hell in the mid'st of those fiery flames What holding up of hands and rejoycing would there be to hear of such a thing that there is a possibility on any terms they would not stand to enquire what the terms were whether hard or easie they would answer let them be what they will if there be but a possibility it is enough thinking every one it might be he Well then if the possibility of being saved would be received with such joyfulness by the damned in Hell What then is the Possession of it and glorious knowledge of it to a soul that is already pardoned if they would all cry out on supposition a message should be delivered of a possibility that some should be freed from Hell and have their sins pardoned They would all cry out Oh blessed blessed indeed is he that shall have his sins pardoned and be delivered from Hell if they would give this testimony let us give it much more Though there be a blessed difference between their condition and yours yet not long since there was not it may be for ought you know some of them might go to Church with you sit in the same Pew and hear those Sermons of the Evil of Sin which now they are gone to feel and are shut up in the bottomless pit beyond any possibility of pardon But this is granted to you all that are before the Lord this day In the Name of God I can boldly preach this unto you that if you come in and believe there is a possibility yea even for the worst of all they may come in and be pardoned Now if the damned in Hell would prise it so high if there were a possibility for them to be pardoned shall not you prise it as high as they as I remember in setting out the evil of sin that was
THese are to certifie all into whose hands this Book shall come that these Sermons contained in this Book on Psal 32.1 Blessed is he whose Transgression is forgiven and whose Sin is covered Entituled Gospel Remission and Printed for Dorman Newman Stationer are the painful and profitable Labours of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs and published by the best and most Exact Copy extant Jan. 17. 1668. Philip Nye William Greenhill William Bridge William Adderly Matth. Mead C. Helms There is now Re-printed The Christian Man's Calling with Directions to perform it in all religious Duties Natural Actions Particular Vocations Family Directions his own recreation In the Relations of Parents Children Husbands Wives Masters Servants and in all conditions in his dealings with all men in Company in Solitariness on a week-day from morning to night in visiting the sick and on a dying-bed by Geo. Swinnock M.A. late of Great Kimbal in Buckinghamshire GOSPEL REMISSION Or a TREATISE shewing that TRUE BLESSEDNESS CONSISTS IN Pardon of Sin Wherein is Discovered The Many Gospel Mysteries therein Contained The Glorious Effects proceeding from it The Great Mistakes made about it The True Signs and Symptomes of it The Way and Means to obtain it By Jeremiah Burroughs Being several Sermons Preached immediately after those of The Evil of Sin by the same Author And now Published by Philip Nye William Greenhill William Bridge William Adderly Matth. Mead C. Helmes The Inhabitant shall not say I am sick the People that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquities Isai 33. 34. London Printed for Dor. Newman and are to be sold at his Shop at the Chirurgions Arms in Little Brittain near the Hospital-gate 1668. To the READER Christian Reader THe provident care of God is manifested toward his People in the present Preservation of and provision for them To have the mouths of Lions stopped when we are cast into the mid'st of their Den the Waters to be a wall about us on the right hand and on the left which in their own nature and tendency would overwhelm us to have the Bush burning and not consumed are as evident tokens of the good will of him that dwelt in the bush of Gods presence with and owning of his afflicted People now as in the days of old yea to have Hony out of the flinty Rock Manna in the Wilderness a voice behind us Saying This is the way walk in it enforceth as great an obligation to admiration and thankfulness upon us as upon the Israelites of old Among'st the many English Prophets who are dead and yet speak the Reverend Author of the ensuing Treatise may challenge a place with the first Worthies His Works not my words are the best Orators to commend him That Scripture Encomium may be written upon his Stepney and Cripplegate-Lectures This and that man was born there For although many now living do through mercy enjoy able Teachers and Instructors yet do they owe to him the Name of Father as an Instrument of their Conversion I may boldly apply that saying to holy Burrough's which was once spoken of a Learned Divine beyond Sea Meruerunt viri docti etiam post funera vivere ac docere scriptis posteros quos infeliciter post eos nasci contigit in eo autem virorum ordine Burroughsium reponere nemo praeter eum qui propriae diffidit virtuti prohibebit These Sermons presented to thy view are with the help of an able Learned Divine who also heard these Sermons preached cast into that form of a Tract that now thou seest them in without any material Additions or Alterations The time when the Reverend Author preached them was next in order after those convincing Sermons of the sinfulness of Sin so that this Gospel Soul-Reviving Discourse was then a word spoke in due season In this Treatise thou hast Gospel Grace stated rightly the Justice of God cleared the Mercy of God exalted poor trembling Sinners incouraged to come to the Blood of Christ for Pardon presumptuous sinners awakened out of their deadly deluding Dreams of Heaven when they are ready to drop into Hell In a word here thou may'st take a view of the Love of the Father the Grace of the Son the Fountain opened for Sin and for Uncleanness Cordial Waters of Life for sinking and fainting sinners here thou may'st behold Sin Damning sin sin that God hates and cannot but hate Sin that God punisheth and cannot but punish taken off the poor believing sinner and laid upon his Surety sin condemned and punished in Jesus Christ and the Believing Sinner justified pardoned acquitted If therefore thou prizest peace with God through Jesus Christ Pray for light to direct thee into a distinct knowledge of this Gospel Truth and take up this Book and read it and the Lord give thee understanding in all things answerable to the Design of the Author and the Prayer of him who heartily wisheth thy Salvation and growth in the knowledge of God and of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ C. Helmes The Stationer to the Reader IT is now long since I undertook the Printing of this Book and as my Incouragements were many so I had obtained of one of those Reverend Divines that have given their attestation to it to peruse the Work and had his Testimony that he heard those Sermons preached and upon Perusal of them found not any thing Material left out of what the Author Mr. Jer. Burroughs delivered and knowing that Mr. Peter Cole who formerly Printed many of the Author's Works had long laid wait and endeavoured to get this Copy out of the hands of those that published the Author's Books offering as great Reward for the same but could not obtain it And now at last being so much wished thereunto by his friends being assured that as the whole is abundantly spiritual and lovely in its Matter and that wherein the very spirit and style of Mr. Burroughs is manifested so there are many things as I am informed were never so much as touch 't upon or handled by any other Writer and yet are of very great Importance to be known by all Intelligent and Sober-minded men I thought good having this assurance from them to certifie so much to the Reader Dor. Newman Some of the greater faults in Printing to be thus amended Page 2. line 17. for sorrow read terror p. 7. l. ult to children add of men p. 15. l. 26. for thee r. him p. 21. l. 32. for letter r. little p. 30. l. 1. to inlet of add all p. 36. l. 37. after the first word cry add but it may be p. 45. l. 9. after pardon add and. l. 14. after in add to l. 15. for run r. ran p. 56. l. 19. after how add then p. 60. l. 3. after seeing add the heart of ibid. after Holy Ghost r. are for is p. 81. l. 31. after horrible add evil p. 98. l. 6. for fourthly r. fifthly Gospel Remission PSAL. XXXII 1 Blessed is he whose Transgression is forgiven and
such mercy is shewn must needs be very blessed CHAP. III. Of the wonderful Mysteries of Godliness in forgiveness of Sin THirdly Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven because there is a glorious mystery of godliness in forgiving of sin the work of God in forgiving a sinner hath abundance of glorious mysteries in it the Argument stands thus That man or woman for whom God shall work such a work as hath multitude of glorious mysteries in it that man or woman is blessed But where ever sin is forgiven God works for that soul such a strange work the strangest that ever he did a work that hath so many admirable mysteries in it that in the opening of them will declare every way that this soul is blessed And this is the business I would now do to open the mysteries that are in the forgiveness of sin and it is to this end that as I might set before you the great work of God in pardoning sin so also that you might have higher thoughts of it than ever you had before for that 's it I aim at to raise up the thoughts of men to the right understanding of this great point of the Justification of a sinner that so you may sanctifie Gods Name by having such thoughts of it as the thing it self calls for Of the first Mystery it is by means of a Mediator 1. Where sin is forgiven it is by means of a Mediator between God and the Soul it is through the Mediation of the Son of God observe it for there is no point in all Religion is of greater use to understand than this point of the way of God in pardoning of sin because of the many mysteries of God contained in it I hope I shall make it appear it is no slight work and business Mark then when God pardons sin 't is always done through the mediation of the Son of God God never pardons any sinner as a Prince does when a Malefactor hath offended him he comes and humbles himself casts himself down at his feet and cryes I pray Sir forgive me and he says Well I will forgive you God never forgives any sin thus and yet it is thus with people when they come to God for pardon most of them never think of any other way Friends there must be a great deal more than so for whosoever hath his sins forgiven it must be by the vertue of the mediation and intercession of the Son of God he must stand up before the Father and mediate for thy soul if all the Angels in Heaven stood up to mediate it would not be sufficient but the Son of God alone must do it 't is as if a Malefactors condition was so that the mediation of all the Nobles could not prevail with the King for a pardon but there must be the mediation of the Prince himself to obtain it So I say poor soul thou mayst think it a slight business but know if ever thou art forgiven it must be by the mediation of the Son of God he must stand up to mediate for thee and plead Oh Father let such a poor soul that hath been a Sabbath-breaker a Lyer a Drunkard an Unclean person let his sins be forgiven and let him not be damn'd Father put in his Name for pardon I shall not speak of it how Christ mediates but that is and has been his work from all eternity to mediate and make intercession for those he saw before in the eternal Council of God should live in such times and whatever pardon of God is gotten it is through him and if thou poor man ever com'st to be pardoned know Christ hath been mediating to God the Father for thee Oh Father such a poor creature that dwells it may be in such a Cottage or in such an obscure place let his name be put in for forgiveness And now is not this a blessed thing that thou poor creature should'st have the Son of God to mediate for thy name to be put in for pardon this of a truth is so if there be any truth in the Divinity of the Word it is in this That all the forgiveness and pardon any creature hath it is by the mediation of the Son of God and his heart was upon it from all eternity surely here is abundance of grace in this one thing take heed of abusing it this is the first mystery you must not look for pardon of sin in a natural way to cry for forgiveness but you must go in the Name of the Mediator in this mystical way Of the second Mystery It is through Christs undertaking the Debt upon himself 2. The second mystery is this 'T is not Christs intreating the Father will serve the turn If ever any sin be forgiven I beseech you take notice of it for I speak in the Name of God and therefore must take heed of speaking any thing but the Truths of God unto you if any sin be pardoned it is not for the Prayer of Christ that will not do it But God the Father says Son if you would have the sins of poor souls forgiven you must take the debt upon your self you must be their Surety and you must enter into Bonds to pay everyfarthing of what debt the sinners owe you must pay all if you will undertake for them so it is for I will never come upon themselves for it but on you Certainly there are these transactions between God the Father and God the Son from all eternity about the pardoning of any sin however you commit a sin and think not of it and cry Lord have mercy upon me and so you have done with it there 's an end you think that is all But I say unto thee if thy sin be pardoned Christ must take the debt upon himself and be thy Surety 2 Cor. 5.21 He made him to be sin for us that knew no sin the way of pardon is by a translation of all our sins upon Christ Christ himself God blessed for ever the Delight of the Father must be made sin for the soul that hath sinned consider this all the sins thou hast committed if ever they be pardoned they must be by vertue of the Covenant between God the Father and the Son all thy sin must be transmitted on Christ all thy oaths drunkenness and wickedness must be put upon him and he must stand charged with them all Oh you that are so lavish in sin and take such liberty to do wickedly I say if ever thy sin be pardoned it must be laid on his shoulders run on as fast as thou wilt if ever thou be'st saved at the best yet thy sin must be set on him and charg'd upon his score I remember that expression of Nathan to David 2 Sam. 12.13 The Lord hath put away thy sin the words are to be read out of the Original The Lord hath made thy sin to pass over to pass over from thee unto his Son he hath laid them to his
of God and therefore to say boasting is excluded by faith because faith is the gift of God will not serve the turn therefore the mystery of Justification is a great mystery that notwithstanding faith is such a glorious work as it is one of the gloriousest works that ever any creature did yet that this should be excluded by this I cannot but be perswaded that there is more in the work of Faith than in any thing Adam ever had and that faith the power of believing was not in Adam in the state of Innocency Why Because it is now made such a grace as excludes all kind of boasting For were it but the stirring up of any power we had in Adam it would no more exclude boasting than if God stirr'd up any other grace as Love Hope Fear and the like But that it excludes boasting this may be the most satisfactory answer Works they could not exclude boasting Why though they were from the grace and gift of God yet they belong'd to mans nature for if God will make a rational creature he must give it those perfections that are due to that nature Now the Image of God was in some regard due to such a nature But now God when he comes to give faith he gives a higher thing than ever was due to the nature of man hence there is a greater mystery in faith than in any other grace and therefore it is a great mystery that God should justifie a man by faith and yet this excludes boasting more than any other thing I but the Scripture says God imputes faith for righteousness and when God inables us to believe Is it not our own Yea when we have it it is our own and when we are justified it is imputed to us for righteousness but mark what I shall say it will be useful for the understanding that Text in Rom. 4.22 Where it says faith was imputed to him for righteousness ye must not understand it thus that is that God did through the grace of Christ now accept of Abraham's faith as his righteousness whereby he should stand to be justified by it in the sight of God he did not thus accept of faith for righteousness no not through the mediation of Christ nor by vertue of any Covenant made by God with Christ God did never make any Covenant with Christ that whereas man did owe obedience to all the Law and that should have been his righteousnes had he continued in it but man now being unable to perform it that God would be now so favourable to him as that he would accept of faith for righteousness that is not the meaning of it for the word in the Original translated for righteousness it is thus it was imputed unto righteousness it is the same word used in Rom. 10.10 With the heart man believeth unto Righteousness and with the mouth Confession is made unto Salvation Now Confession with the mouth is not made Salvation it self but unto Salvation so faith is not the righteousness it self but unto righteousness that is by faith we come to get righteousness But why says the Scripture God imputed it unto righteousness I take it thus that forasmuch as faith is so glorious a Principle infused of God above any thing of our own God is pleased to account of it as if it were our own and so imputes it unto righteousness the truth is it is not our own no not so our own as other graces are our own but God in point of Justification is pleased to impute it as our own that we may come to have righteousness by it as if it were our own Now this is a great mystery that God in the work of pardon of sin should do it by the grace of faith and that this excludes all boasting and yet righteousness imputed to it as if it were our own Hence by the way let us take heed of the Opinion of those that say faith it self is imputed for righteousness and that God through Christ accepts of faith as the matter of our righteousness The Papists say we are justified by works and that God is pleased through Christ to accept not of Faith only but of Humility Fear Love Repentance Joy c. though they be imperfect yet he is pleased to accept of these for our righteousness says the other opinion faith is our righteousness though God might require exact obedience to the whole Law yet he is pleased to accept of faith both these Opinions are besides the truth and therefore there is the same danger in the one as in the other and therefore both to avoided Of the eight Mystery God is infinitely Just and yet infinitely Merciful 8. The eighth particular is this that shews pardon of sin is a great mystery because where-ever God pardons sin he is infinitely just and yet infinitly merciful there is an admirable reconciliation between Gods Justice and Mercy which shews it to be a great mystery There are three great mysteries in Religion 1. The great mystery of the Trinity that there should be divers Persons and yet but one God The second is that in the Person of Christ there should be two Natures and yet but one Person And then the third is the reconciliation of the mercy and justice of God in the forgiveness of a sinner Many people when they seek for pardon of sin they only think of Gods infinite grace and mercy but not of his justice But certainly who ever he be that comes to be pardoned God shews himself infinitely just as well as merciful that he is merciful that is clear to every one But how does it appear he is so infinitely just for that there is a clear Text for it Rom. 3.26 To declare at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus so that God in the justifying of him that believes in Christ is just as well as merciful Now then poor sinner lay these together that God should work so strangely in bringing about the pardon of thy sin in such a mysterious way as this is certainly it does demonstrate that thou art a blessed man I beseech you think of what hath been said and lay it in your breasts go away with this upon your spirits Lord I indeed heard much of the evil of sin and that it was a greater evil than ever I thought it to be and now I have begun to hear of the mighty work of God in pardon of sin I hope I shall for ever retain higher thoughts of it than before Brethren there is nothing in the world that people have slighter thoughts of than of the pardon and forgiveness of sin they think it a slight matter But if there were any work that ever took up the heart of God from all eternity and shews God to be a God it is this about the pardon of sin this is a great doctrine the doctrine of the work of God in
though they be never so many and great But also such a Covenant upon my coming in that God will discharge all sins that shall be committed for time to come though I be ready to fall into sin dayly yet I shall not come into condemnation O what will so infinitely ingage a gracious and ingenious spirit as this does surely nothing like this Now if this be true that man that is forgiven is thus forgiven not only for time past but also for time to come Then blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven and whose iniquities are pardoned Of the tenth Mystery God pardons a sinner not because he is but that he might be chang'd 10. The tenth Mystery is this for I would endeavour to shew you what a mighty work Pardon of Sin is and raise up your hearts to have higher thoughts of it than ever you had before God does not pardon because a sinner hath his heart and nature changed but that he might be changed And thus the pardons of God differ from all other pardons a Prince pardons a Malefactor or a Father a Child but upon what terms a Prince expects his Subject should be changed as far as he can discern and a Father though never so tender will not pardon a Child unless he come in and manifest a change of his disobedient spirit and then he pardons God doth not pardon because we are chang'd but that we might be chang'd his Pardon comes first Rom. 4.5 a very strange place for this and may incourage any poor soul that is troubled for sin to come in and lay hold upon Gods mercy in Christ But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted unto him for righteousness Mark when God comes to justifie a sinner he looks upon him as ungodly he stays not till the sinner be made godly and then justifies him as a Prince stays till a Malefactors heart be changed and he become a loyal subject and then pardons him God is not so in justifying souls he justifies the ungodly one that is ungodly coming to him he justifies This is a mighty Argument I name it for this end because I would teach people that notwithstanding any sin or guilt that lies upon their spirits yet they have a liberty to come in and lay hold upon Christ for Justification do not say I am ungodly I am a great sinner and have a vile heart and I find not my nature changed and therefore How dare I lay hold upon Gods grace for mercy and pardon yea thou may'st because God justifies the ungodly though thy nature be not chang'd and sanctified as thou say'st take it thus Thou must lay hold of Gods grace for Justification that thou may'st be sanctified not only pardoned but sanctified Come but thus with thy heart affected to close with the grace of God that thou may'st be sanctified as well as pardoned though for the present thou feelest not any Sanctification yet thou may'st have right to lay hold upon Christ as well as any one whatsoever Will not this be presumption for a sinner thus to lay hold on Christ If faith were meerly a perswasion that Christ dyed for them or as many men think thus Well God is merciful and he will pardon me Christ having dyed there may be presumption in laying hold on Christ But now as Justification is a great mystery so is faith and faith is a mighty work of the Spirit of God in the soul that causes the soul to roul and cast it self on the free grace of God in Christ and venture it self and all its hopes for good and happiness on him there is not only a coming to Christ for pardon but for grace holiness light good and happiness here and for whatever it doth expect hereafter it looks for all from him Now when there is such a work of God upon the soul in casting it self on God in Christ though there be nothing at present but ungodliness in him appearing yet such a one may and hath right to come unto God for pardon for God justifies the ungodly Rom. 5.6 Christ died for the ungodly and vers 10. If when we were Enemies we were reconciled by the death of his Son when we were Enemies and had base hearts full of enmity against God yet then Christ died to reconcile us unto God thou may'st then venture to come to him for pardon and it is no presumption though thou seest no change in thy self yet he pardons that thou may'st be chang'd now here 's a glorious work of God in pardoning a sinner that God should pardon justifie and reconcile us when we were Enemies to him here is a glorious work of God for a sinner to be justified and reconciled and yet when the sinner was an Enemy unto him Of the eleventh Mystery God himself purchases the Pardon 11. When God pardons a sinner he himself is fain to purchase the pardon and this is different from the manner of pardons among men A Prince pardons a malefactor but the Prince himself doth not purchase the pardon and if one have offended you you pardon the offender but you that are offended do not purchase a pardon for the offender possible some friend may come and purchase a pardon at the Kings hands for an offender but the King himself doth not purchase it yet thus it is with God God doth not pardon any one sin but it costs God himself dear before he gets it therefore 't is not such a slight thing to be pardoned you must not think to go to God and cry mercy and that he will pardon 〈◊〉 thus in a natural way God never pardons sin but it costs God dear yea that which is more worth than all the world if that could have done it God would rather have dissolved Heaven and Earth than have given that that he did give What was that It was the bloud of his own Son God gave him up to death for the sin of mankind and for the purchasing a pardon for man But some may say What need God have purchast a pardon for man Could he not have forgiven him by his absolute Prerogative I answer there was need because of the satisfaction of Justice he did purchase it out of the hands of Justice God was fain to lay down a price to Justice before he himself could pardon one sin Justice must be satisfied before he could give out one pardon Well take all these together Christ must be our Surety take the debt upon himself and suffer as much punishment as we should have done in Hell to all eternity and to make the soul stand righteous before God yet this righteousness to be in another yea a near union is made between Christ and the Soul And yet further 't is by faith and yet boasting is excluded and God is infinitely merciful and yet infinitely just and when he pardons one sin he lays in a pardon for al
sin for time to come justifies the ungodly pardons sin yet purchases the pardon These eleven Meditations about the Pardon of Sin make it appear to be a wonderful work of God put these together and then the result according to the point will be clear and full that Blessed is that man whose sins are forgiven And surely if there be such a mysterious and glorious work of God in pardoning sin that man for whom God shall work such a glorious work is a blessed man indeed And now having done with this Argument of the great mystery of Godliness in forgiveness of Sin I proceed to another and it is this CHAP. IV. That Pardon of Sin not only is a Mercy in it self but the Foundation of many other Mercies PArdon of Sin makes a mâ—â— blessed Why Because it is the Foundation of abundance of other Mercies it is an inlet to many other mercies therefore a great mercy it is a leading mercy it is as the Queen of Mercy that hath a great and glorious train of other mercies attending on her indeed it is the very foundation of all the mercies of the Covenant of grace 't is the principal mercy and the very foundation of all the mercies that are in the Covenant and the inlet and opening to them all the Covenant of Grace is a rich Treasury hath abundant store of mercy in it and this opens to them all The current of all Gods mercies was stopt by mans sin though God had an infinite Ocean of mercy yet the sourse and vent of all Gods mercies was stopt Now when God pardons sin he takes away the stop and opens the sluce that his infinite grace and goodness may flow forth plentifully and sweetly to the soul body and state yea to all that belongs to a believer You may conceive Gods mercy to be as an infinite stream of goodness running with a full current towards his creatures for God delights in the Communication of himself to his creatures But now mans sin made a dam and stopt the pipe that not one drop of mercy could come forth not a drop of all that mercy that in the eternal purpose of God he hath appointed in time shall come forth to such and such a poor creature but when he comes to Pardon and Justification he pulls out the plug and pulls up the flood-gates and sluces and then mercies come flowing in amain when sin is pardoned then the full streams of all the mercies in the Covenant of grace come flowing into the soul well then if it be thus that pardon of sin is an inlet to other mercies then he that hath his sin pardoned is a very blessed man I shall open this That Pardon of Sin is the foundation to and opens the sluce to let in all other mercies Jer. 31.31 Behold the days come that I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah here God opens his goodness and tells them he will make a new Covenant not like that he made with their fathers vers 32. but this shall be the Covenant vers 33. and he instances in some particulars I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me c. But what is the foundation of all this at the end of the 34. For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more I will make a new Covenant with them and put my law into their inward parts and they shall all know me I will come in with all my mercies and blessings Illumination and Sanctification he mentions these instead of the rest as in a grant of great things some particulars are mentioned but then he comes in with a general For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more As if it should be said Why Lord wilt thou come in thus to thy people in such an abundant way of mercy more than formerly and let in these graces of thy Covenant Why here 's the ground of all for I will forgive their iniquity so that forgiveness of iniquity is the special inlet of the mercies of the Covenant Now more particularly I shall shew you what are those special mercies Pardon of sin is an inlet to and that will further shew the blessedness of those souls that have their sins pardoned because pardon of sin is an inlet to many other mercies As Of Peace with God that Pardon of Sin is an inlet to 1. Peace with God Rom. 5.1 being justified that is pardoned through faith what follows we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ the ground of our Justification and Reconciliation it is not our Humiliation no nor our Sanctification Observe it the very bottom and foundation of our Justification and Reconciliation it is neither of these though we ought to be in the use and exercise of them but pardon of sin is through the free grace of God applyed by faith this is the ground of all our Peace and Reconciliation with God And thus men and women should seek their peace with God the main thing they should lay the waight of obtaining peace of God upon it is the work of faith applying the Righteousness of Christ for pardon rather than any work of Humiliation or Sanctification by the Spirit of God yet both these are sweet and comfortable when we found the bottom and main foundation of all our peace on the free grace of God pardoning our sin and justifying of us through faith in Christ Cod does not say you that are great sinners stay till you are humbled and are brought to hate sin and you shall have peace with God No you may be much troubled for sin and may leave it and reform in many things and live better lives than before and yet your peace not made up with God How then shall it be thus being justified by faith looking up to the free grace of God in Christ for pardon of sin we come to have peace with God and this is a great priviledge but if you consider on the other side a creature not reconciled cannot look upon the infinite Creator without terror and shakings and tremblings of spirit he cannot have any thoughts of God but he thinks of him as his Enemy and that all the excellencies of God are working misery and ruine to him this is a sad thing But when pardon of sin comes God is reconciled and all fears and terrors from the Almighty are gone those fears whereby the soul was afraid God was secretly working ruine to it are dispell'd and if any judgment of God come close and near and befal any in the sight and hearing of a guilty soul he would be thinking God is coming to me next But a justified soul may say though the judgments of God be never so terrible in the world and in
shine into your hearts than ever before the mysteries of God will be opened to you and you shall understand more than many of your fathers who have not had this mercy to be rightly acquainted with the Justification of a sinner and therefore you young ones that much desire knowledge the main thing to be acquainted with is this great Doctrine of Justification and pardon of sin as Luther said Three things Prayer Meditation and Temptations make a Divine so I say the right knowledge of Justification makes a Christian and they that have not a clear knowledge in this point do but bungle and are extream weak in all other points of Religion but when once the soul comes to be justified what a glorious light is let into the soul as you all know that have been made partakers of this grace And you young ones you may come to have sin pardoned as well as others and to have the knowledge of the mysteries of God revealed unto you 1 Joh. 2.12 compared with the 13. I write unto you little Children because your sins are forgiven for his Name sake even little children I write to you your sins are forgiven oh 't is a happy thing for young children to have faith wrought in them and to have their sins forgiven them betimes and then in the 13. verse I write unto you little Children because you have known the Father Oh what an admirable light springs up in the souls of little Children when their sins are pardoned they come to the knowledge of the Father and this is the reason why many great and learned men that are men of excellent understanding in the knowledge of natural things are not acquainted with the mysteries of godliness and think but meanly of them marvel not at it for the knowledge of the mysteries of godliness comes in by pardon of sin when God pardons sin and justifies a soul by faith in Christ then God opens the Covenant and all the glorious mysteries of it to such a soul A Prince reveals not the secrets of State to a Traytor that lies under bolts and chains but if a Prince please to pardon him and knock off his bolts and chains and raise him unto favour bring him into his Privy Chamber and open his whole heart and all the mysteries of the Kingdom to him here is a great change thus does God to poor sinners that he pardons A soul that lies under the guilt of sin is just for all the world like unto a Malefactor that lies in a dungeon that hath bolts and fetters on him the guilt of sin is like bolts and fetters on thy soul Well thou lyest there fast bound but when God comes in with pardoning mercy God sends to thee in this dungeon and knocks off thy bolts by pardon and not only so but calls thee into his Privy Chamber and opens his heart and bosome unto thee and reveals those things that were kept secret from the beginning of the world Princes do not always deal so with Malefactors if they pardon them they think they have done enough for them they may afterwards go and shift for themselves they are not call'd into the Privy Chamber to have the King open his secrets unto them but it is certainly so to every soul God pardons he pardons none but whom he calls into his Privy Chamber and reveals unto him the great Councels of his will and what has been the great thoughts of his heart for the good of that soul from all eternity though some souls have more light than others yet to no soul that is pardoned but God comes in with a great and glorious light and in respect of the light of Nature it may be call'd a glorious light there 's not the weakest and poorest creature in the world that is pardoned but he understands more of the light of Gods grace and Covenant than the greatest Doctors or Rabbins in the world and though he cannot speak or talk so much of these things yet he dares venture his soul on those thoughts he hath of Gods good will made known unto him in the Covenant no Rabbin in the world though he can talk much of these things yet he dares not venture his soul for the eternal welfare of it and his estate upon God to do with him as he pleases but a believing soul dares venture his Name his Estate his Life yea his eternal life on God he dares to put them all into his hands and to such a soul God will repeal his Covenant Psal 25.14 God will grant this mercy that he will reveal his Covenant and all the secrets of it shall be made known unto him you that complain of dulness of understanding you say you hear excellent mysteries and do not understand them there is surely much in them I see some weight and excellency in them to be found out and I hope God in time will discover them unto me but little I know for present you take a course to get understanding by attendance on the outward Ordinances it is good to use all means as reading and conferring with other Christians and pray over what you hear these are excellent But the great and special means to get saving understanding in the mysteries of the Gospel is this Cast down your souls at the footstool of God and cry for pardon of sin it may be guilt of sin is upon thy heart let that be thy work to get of the guilt of sin and cry for Gods justifying mercy in Christ guilt being removed God will let out to thy soul the Revelation of his Covenant in a glorious manner he will reveal his secrets to thee so that upon this there is a holy boldness a sinner comes to have in the presence of God Suppose a Malefactor come to Court under his guilt being not pardoned alas he dare scarce look in at Court-gate and when he comes he keeps in some out-room and dares not stir any further than he is call'd but take another that is pardoned he comes in boldly and goes from one room unto another yea into the very Presence-Chamber and there can open his mind fully to the King and speak out all his heart and this is a great difference between one under the guilt of sin and another that is pardoned one under the guilt of sin he dare scarce go to Prayer and thinks God casts away his person and his services and that nothing is regarded but when God comes to pardon he calls the poor sinner that was under trouble before to come and draw near to him and saith fear not open thy mind and heart to me Lam. 3.55 56 57. I called upon thy Name O Lord out of the low dungeon 57. In the day that I called upon thee thou drewest near and said'st fear not Every poor soul that is justified may say God knows when I was under the guilt of sin I was cast into the low dungeon and the chains of guilt were upon me
great vanity of men and women that look after pardon of sin but 't is only at such times as God takes away all other comforts from them as thus they think to satisfie themselves with the creatures while they can enjoy them while they can go up and down amongst friends eat good chear and have all coming in but when God takes away all these as on a sick-bed then they will cry for pardon Oh mercy Lord oh mercy I am a wretched miserable sinner oh mercy Well now you would have mercy Why now and not before before you had other things and you quieted your hearts with them and why not now were not they mercies but I know not whether they were out of love or hatred Well yet you quieted your hearts with them and now they are all going Do you now think it a fit time to cry for mercy Oh how infinitely wast thou mistaken that thou did'st not cry for mercy before thou think'st it now a fit time to cry for mercy why thou had'st no mercy that thou could'st take the comfort of as a mercy unless thy sins were pardoned and therefore thou hast now cause to cry for pardon when sickness comes and God takes away this and the other mercy thou think'st thou art left naked if you knew all you are naked now and therefore would you live a comfortable life in this world and have your House Estate and all Relations mercies to you never be at rest till you have got your sins pardoned and forgiven this considered might be a mighty argument and means to draw the hearts of men to get pardon that all their outward things might be sweetned to them 2. If all outward good be not a mercy unless sin be pardoned then what good wilt thou or any one get by the increase of sin thou think'st it to be a good Why all thou hast now is not a good is not a mercy and dost thou think to get good by the increase of sin when a temptation comes to draw thee to sin think thus I have heard this day that all I have is not a mercy unless my sin be pardoned and therefore I can never get any mercy by the increase of sin Certainly did men and women understand themselves they would easily answer the Devil by this kind of reasoning Of Pardon of Sin making all afflictions easie to be born Where-ever sin is pardoned there follows this that any thing that befals that man or woman is very easie to be born an easie matter it is for any one that hath his sin pardoned to bear any affliction and this is a great blessedness or rather take it thus That either such a one may be assured that afflictions shall be removed or otherwise made easie to be born for pardon of sin delivers us from abundance of afflictions that otherwise might befal us in this world though it is true God lays many afflictions on his people after their sins are forgiven yet it is more than they know but that if their sins had not bin forgiven they might have had other manner of miseries than they do now meet withal perhaps you meet with some now and more than you did before but for ought you know those miseries you meet with now might have been seven-fold more than now they are and another manner of wrath than you now think of Isai 40.2 Cry her warfare is accomplished for her iniquity is pardoned where iniquity is pardoned there warfare is accomplished if afflictions be not quite removed yet they are made very easie to be born and that upon two grounds First Because the greatness of the good that there is in pardon of sin makes the bitterest and saddest evil that there is in affliction to be as nothing as to instance suppose a Malefactor that is condemn'd to some greivous and hideous death should have a friend at Court to sue for pardon or he comes up up to get pardon Well he comes and is admitted to come into the Kings Presence and he receives him graciously pardons him freely quits him fully of all his guilt and puts him fully out of all the danger he was in perhaps as he is coming from the King he loses his Glove or Handkerchief Would not that be an unseemly thing for a man that after he has got his Pardon yet because he has lost his Glove should whine and wring his hands because of the loss of his Glove would not that be an unreasonable thing Certainly there is as much unreasonableness for any man or woman that hath the pardon of their sin for them to wring their hands and whine and keep a stir as though they were undone because they are afflicted For the greatest affliction that can befal any in this world compared with the good of pardon of sin is not so much as the loss of a Glove for the saving of any mans life by the Kings Pardon though your afflictions may be more than the loss of a Glove yet your pardon of sin is greater than any Kings pardon in the world put these together and know hereby thy unreasonableness and when to check thy self having any assurance of pardon of sin that thou should'st be so troubled at any affliction and have so much good from God in the pardon of thy sin Further for those that are troubled at afflictions I would put this to them either they are pardoned or not pardoned if ye are pardoned why are ye so troubled if ye are not pardoned then you had need to spend the strength of your spirits by waving your grief for afflictions to seek pardon of your sins Secondly Pardon of sin will make afflictions easie because the soul may be assured that the evil of affliction is gone he that has his sin pardoned may be assured that there can nothing befal him in this world but that if he knew all he himself would be willing with all his heart it should be so And is not this a blessed condition for any man while he lives here in this world in which there is abundance of evil yet to be in such a condition as that we shall certainly know that there shall nothing befal us as long as we live in this world but that which if we knew all we our selves would chuse it and account it to be a better condition than any other this is a blessed estate to be in such a condition as this is for God to testifie from Heaven unto us that it shall not be in the power of any creature in the world to do us any hurt for certainly so it is when once a man or woman is justified God does as much as speak from heaven to that poor soul saying Soul now you are safe be certainly assured that there is no creature in all the world can do you any hurt Psal 116.7 thou may'st say as David there Return unto thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee God
he removes them as far as the East is from the West and if that be not enough to satisfie thee Micah 7.19 He will cast them into the bottom of the Sea things that are cast into the bottom of the Sea are utterly thrown out of sight never to be lookt for again Well but though God cast them into the bottom of the Sea he may think upon them Therefore Fifthly mark another expression further to satisfie thee God says He will remember them no more they shall be so far from being thought upon that God says he will not remember them any more but you will say it is impossible for God but to remember them yea but when God pardons it shall be as Irrevocable as if God did never remember them there are divers Texts remarkable for this Isai 43.25 I will blot out thy transgressions and will not remember thy sins I may be not now thou may'st say But he will hereafter see what is said in Jer. 31.34 I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more neither now nor hereafter I will remember their sin no more Sixthly They shall be so forgiven as that there shall be no more mention of them there shall never be the least mention of a believers sins before God and for that see Ezek. 33.16 it is spoken of every godly man indefinitely that turns to God and is a Believer None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him by the way let men take heed how they upbraid the people of God for any of their former sins Perhaps you knew such a one in the times of his ignorance and you say he was a lyar a Drunkard but now God has reveal'd his mercy to him in the pardon of his sin and God says he will not mention them any more Take heed how you cast their sins committed in the times of their ignorance in their teeth saying oh you are so precise now I knew what you were a little before Shall the God of Heaven say he will not mention them any more and yet will you do it God will take it very ill at your hands this is admirable comfort to every Believer that God will not remember their sin any more he would have thee to remember them to humble thy soul for them and to renew thy repentance but he will not remember them to upbraid thee with them nor would he have others do it Beza speaking of himself when he was young He made some vain and sinful Poems which his Enemies upbraided him with afterwards and casts them in his teeth says he These men envy me the grace of God because God has vouchsaf't to me his grace they envy me and cast in my teeth the evil that I have formerly done Oh what a comfort and priviledge is this to thee Oh thou believing soul though thou wer 't never so wicked and abominable before yet I tell thee from God this day in whose presence thou standest that he will never remember thy sin any more and this may be a mighty encouragement for men and women to believe and turn from all their wicked wayes though thou hast been never so vile abominable and wicked yet be it known unto thee this day that if thou wilt come in and believe God will never mention any of thy wickednesses more they shall be so forgotten as they shall never be mentioned thou it may be art afraid that either here in this life or at the day of Judgment all thy sins shall be charged on thee well be not afraid perhaps there are many of you that are conscious to your selves of great sins committed and you would give a thousand Worlds to be discharged of them Oh say some there are such and such sins committed that are so great that they cannot be forgiven I may mourn and grieve for them but what shall I be the better the sins of my youth lie so heavy on me and God and my own Conscience upbraids me and what comfort can I have in my life when God and my own Soul upbraids me Well be of good comfort and be incouraged this day to come in and believe this blessed tidings that where God pardons sin he will mention them no more and he will take it very ill at the hands of any that shall mention them to upbraid thee for them Seventhly Yet further to set forth the fulness of this mercy when God pardons sin they shall be so done away as that they shall not be found Jer. 50.20 In those days the Iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the sins of Judah and they shall not be found for I will pardon them whom I reserve and if I pardon them then they shall be so done away as that they shall not be found Yet further the righteousness Believers have in Christ is called an everlasting righteousness and therefore abides for ever and cannot be afterwards taken away Dan. 9.24 Seventy weeks are determined to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness the righteousness that is put upon thy Soul by Christ in the pardon of thy sin it is an everlasting righteousness and will abide everlastingly Yet further Heb. 10.14 it is said That Christ by one offering hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified that is justified Justification being call'd by the name of Sanctification or them that are sanctified that is set apart to be made partakers of the great blessing of the new Covenant to have a share in the blood of Christ for Justification Christ by one offering has for ever perfected them that are sanctified therefore being perfected in Justification there is no recalling this mercy back again Once more this mercy is set out by the typical service of the Scape-Goat Levit. 16.20 On whose head they were to put all the sins of the People all their transgressions and all their iniquities and send him into the Wilderness or Land of forgetfulness amongst wild beasts never to be lookt after again so are the sins of all Believers laid upon Christ and carried into a Land of forgetfulness and shall never come to be charged any more So much for that particular of the Irrevocableness of Pardon of Sin which shews that blessed is that man or woman that hath their sins pardoned because they shall never be recall'd again CHAP. X. Of Pardoning Mercy being such a Mercy as is denyed to the fall'n Angels BLessed is the man that hath his iniquities forgiven for this is a mercy that God hath denyed to the fall'n Angels God in pardoning thy sin does more for thee than he would do for those thousand thousand millions of Angels it is a mercy that God has deny'd to those millions of Angels that sinned against him Suppose a poor wretched man be guilty of Treason against the King and as he is so a great part of the chief Nobility of the Land are
People the pardon of their sins Brethren the King does not use to set his Broad Seal to trifles and toys and fancies but unto things of great concernment and consequence they must be such that shall have the Broad Seal so here because pardon of sin is such a blessed thing the Broad Seal of Heaven is ordained to seal it and when the Sacrament is administred rightly it is no other but the Broad Seal of Heaven to Seal up the pardon of thy sin and so should men and women come to receive the Sacrament they should think this day is a sealing-day as in Courts of Justice they have their Sealing-days and 't is usually said such a day is a Sealing-day so a Sacrament day is a sealing-day sealing up to you the the great blessedness of forgiveness of sin a Soul thinks thus I am a poor wretched vile sinner before the Lord woe unto me thus and thus have I done woe is me But I have heard of the riches of Gods grace in pardoning my sin and this day God calls me to come in and have the pardon of my sin sealed with the Broad Seal of Heaven that my soul may be assured and I may go away in peace and be comforted and quieted in the great business that lies upon me those sins of mine that have so grated on my Conscience and for which I have had dreadful apprehensions of the Clouds of Gods displeasure hanging over my head this day I am to go to have the sealing of a pardon of them all Thus should men and women come to the Sacrament with such thoughts upon their hearts as an Ordinance appointed and ordained by Christ for the sealing up the pardon of their sins 3. The third Ordinance is the Ordinance of Discipline whose sins soever you remit they are remitted Joh. 20.22 and those who are cast out of the Church and then received in again find it to be an Ordinance of Christ to assure them of remission of their sins It casts out those that are scandalous and when they repent it receives them in again and thereby assures them of the pardon of their sins A Transition to the Application Having done with the Explication if you would run over and make some recollection of what has bin delivered of the glorious blessedness of this mercy of forgiveness of sins you might see the effects following thereupon I have shew'd you the abundant grace of God that is declared in the forgiveness of sin I have shew'd you the many mysteries that there are in it and that it is an inlet to many other mercies I have shewed you the great difficulties it passes through and how much the heart of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost was in this mercy I shewed you it was a perfect and an irrevocable mercy a mercy denyed to Angels and shewed but to a few of mankind compared to those that are past by I have shewed it is a mercy the very possibility of it would make the damned to rejoyce and it is a mercy that is the end of all Ordinances And now having come to some period of the Explication methinks that Scripture comes presently into my mind that notable place in Rom. 8.31 If these things be so if God thus gloriously appear in the riches of his grace for the pardon of sin What shall we then say to these things the Apostle after he had spent some time in opening the Doctrine of free Justification for the working it upon the heart of the Romans and his own heart too says What shall we say to these things the holy Apostle stood as a man amazed at the wonderful richness of the grace of God in pardoning of sin in the verse before having said Moreover whom he did predestinate them he called and whom he called them he justified and whom he justified them he also glorified And having spoken much to the point of Justification in this Chapter he concludes at vers 31. Now what shall we say to those things as if he had said Lord how does thy glory appear in the Justification of a sinner and pardoning his sin through Jesus Christ that we cannot but stand amazed at the greatness of thy glory appearing herein that we know not what to say there is so much of thy glorious grace appears that our mouths are stopped What shall we say to these things So now after we have heard of these glorious things of the glorious Revelation of the grace of God in and through his Son working in such a glorious and mysterious way of godliness for the justifying of a sinner and pardoning of his sin if we could now sit down as men and women amazed and astonished as having our hearts so fill'd with the glory of these things as being not able to express our selves but even sit down amazed at the brightness of the glory of them it would be an excellent fruit of our attendance in hearing those things we should sanctifie the Name of God in it and t' would be very happy for us but if not while we are here together yet get into your Closets and look into this mystery of godliness and recollect what you can of that which you have heard and let this consideration lie warm upon your hearts and thoughts O Lord what shall we say to these things that God should have such thoughts of such mercy and grace in the pardon of sin as we have heard What shall we say to it and though for the present your hearts be not able to express more yet by meditation sure the fire will kindle and bring forth some admirable expressions in glorifying the Name of God or in singing some Psalm to his praise or in doubbling and trebbling that blessed acclamation with the heavenly Host Luk. 2.14 Glory to God in the Highest on Earth peace good will towards men O here is the good will of God towards poor wretched vile men Glory be to God in the Highest Lord What is man that thou should'st be so mindful of him thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels nay as you have heard this day God has set him above those Angels that sinned against him Christ would not shew mercy to them they could not be pardoned this is for poor sinners in the world a generation of those that seek him that have this great mercy of pardon and forgiveness of sin revealed to them What shall we say to these things the Apostles expression may help us to make way to the Application and as I have told you we should sanctifie the Name of God in standing amazed at the wonderful grace of God that gloriously appears in the Justification of a sinner as we have opened in many Particulars And now we have many things to say in the Application of these things for the answer to that question What shall we say to these things attend in the fear of God and you shall hear in the Application what
and witnesses affixed to it but we use to take an Oath Well says God I will swear and take an Oath to make my Covenant of grace sure to your souls Heb. 6.13 when God made a Promise to Abraham because he could swear by no greater he sware by himself and this is in the 18. verse an admirable Text of Scripture That we might have strong Consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us there is hope of Gods grace through the Reconciliation of Christ Jesus and this hope the soul runs to as to a City of Refuge when his guilt like the persuer of blood follows him Well says God this poor soul notwithstanding will have doubts of my grace now that it might have strong consolation I have swore that I might make my mercy sure to such a soul that 's a fourth way but is there any thing else you use to make things sure between one another Yea Lord Fourthly we put our Seals to it an Oath taken may soon pass over but a Seal that abides says God I will do that too I will give you Seals and there are divers sorts of Seals there 's first the Broad Seal of Heaven What is that that is nothing else but the very Printing of the Image of God on the Soul that is the Broad Seal of Heaven And as the Broad Seal of England hath the Picture or Image of the King stampt upon it so the Broad Seal of Heaven is nothing else but the Image of God stamp't or imprinted on the Soul 2. There is the Privy Seal of the Holy Spirit of God which is the perswading and assuring of the soul of its interest it hath in Christ and God the Father In 2 Tim. 2.19 you have Gods Privy Seal The Lord knows them that are his and they having his Privy Seal know themselves to be the Lords Cant. 6.2 I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine so Paul Gal. 2.20 being sealed with this Seal saith of Christ He loved me and gave himself for me he was perswaded and assured of salvation 2 Tim. 1.12 Rom. 8.38 39. This Privy Sealing is like the New Name Revel 2.17 Which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it And to this you shall have a third Seal Baptism and the Supper of the Lord that is to assure you that the end of the Sacrament is to Seal up Pardon of sin God saw that his People would be very solicitous and therefore added all these wayes of assurance to them when you therefore come to the Sacrament you should come with a sense upon your souls of the great need you have of the grace of God in pardoning sin and come to it as to a Sealing-day you have many fears and doubts come so as that you may have the grace of pardon seal'd to your souls take heed of coming so as to have your condemation sealed for certainly all Ordinances if they work not for that end that they are appointed they turn to another and quite contrary as the Word if it be not the savour of life it is the savour of death and so the Sacraments if they seal not the pardon of thy sins up unto thee they seal up the sentence of death and condemnation therefore look to it as oft as you come unworthily to the Sacrament you have so many Seals of death and condemnation set upon your souls Take heed you do not come to take another Seal of death 't is much to be feared many in this place come to take the seal of eternal death upon their souls but those that come worthily though administrations be not in that due order as they should yet God may be present with his own Ordinance to give them comfort from it and help their Evidences by it I must conclude this those that content themselves with slight Evidences about this great work dishonour the grace of God you would have us preach of mercy and indeed it is a blessed Argument which our souls delight much to be preaching of because we find so much sweetness in it and for which our souls shall expatiate themselves in glorifying God to all eternity but we are withal jealous of your dishonouring of God in this mercy and therefore it is that we labour so with you after the laying open of this mercy that you may not abuse it for certainly my Brethren there is nothing in the world God takes to heart more than the dishonour that is done to his pardoning mercy and nothing more aggravates the sin of People than to have slight thoughts of this great work Seventhly This is a great dishonour to Gods pardoning mercy for men to put off the seeking of it to the worst times that possible can be Is it not the ordinary way of most people to put of the seeking of the grace and favour of God Pardon of sin and Reconciliation till the time of sickness and the time of death they go on all their life time in sinning against God but when they are lying upon their sick-beds and death-beds Lord have mercy upon me pardon me forgive me a wicked wretch that I have been these kind of words we hear from men at that time O that God would forgive and pardon such and such sins and then perhaps they will tell some particular sins if they think they shall die they will open themselves to the Minister or to some faithful Neighbour in the disclosing of their particular sins and beseech them to pray to God for mercy but if they have any hopes to escape they will keep them in and be loath to rip open the sins of their lives This I say for any to put off the seeking unto God for his pardoning grace till that time it is to put a great dishonour upon God for it is a putting of it off to the worst time that possible can be And that makes much to the dishonour of God For First Those men seek pardon of sin when sin is leaving them or they must leave sin whether they will or no when you have served your own turn of sin after you have had as much supposed pleasure as you can then you think to be delivered from the guilt and punishment of sin what is there but a meer selfish spirit in seeking God now and God sees it so it is not seeking after pardon of sin that you may honour God in his infinite grace for then you would seek after it now and the honour of God would be dear to you now but you seek it at such a time meerly out of respect to your selves this is a great dishonour to God It is the first born of Gods glory to pardon sin and for God to see men and women have no higher ends in seeking pardoning grace but meerly to save their own skins How may God look upon them with disdain What shall I magnifie the riches of my grace so wonderfully in this work of
my pardoning mercy And shall my creatures seek after it for no other end nor higher aims but meerly to save their own skins you bring down the grace of God that that is the top of his infinite Majesty and Glory you put to a low and base end therefore put not off seeking it to the last 't is a great dishonour to his grace 2. It is the worst time because you come to seek after pardoning grace when it is the time of Gods wrath Prov. 11.4 the time of affliction and trouble sickness and death is call'd the day of wrath Riches avail not in the day of Gods wrath Riches avail for comfort at present but in the day of wrath they will not God hath his day of affliction and his day of wrath he hath his time to come to visit men for their sins Now then for people to come to seek to have the pardon of their sins when Gods time is to visit for sin that must needs be the worst time that possible can be I reason thus and consider of it if God does deny his mercy in the day of mercy is it likely that he will grant mercy in the day of wrath while you are alive and have liberty health and opportunity to come to hear the Doctrine of the Justification of a sinner and forgiveness of sin opened you are to know it is the day of Gods grace Now is the acceptable time now is the day of Salvation and of grace when God gives liberty and oppertunity thus to have the mysteries of the Gospel opened unto you this is the day of Gods grace Now if God deny you grace in this day of mercy that you are not so much as inlightned your souls melted and your hearts stirred Do you think that now you are upon your sick-beds or death-beds which is a day of wrath unto you for so it is to those that have not their sins pardoned before it is a day of wrath and Gods time of visiting for sin Is it likely that God will now shew thee mercy I beseech you consider the usual way of Gods working on men is according to his Ordinance Now the ordinary way of Gods conveying grace is by the Ministry of the Word Did God ever appoint any other way to convey Christ and grace to thy Soul give me a Text for it Where do you find a Text in Scripture of any other way as an Ordinance appointed by God for the conveying of his pardoning grace in Christ to any Soul No it is in the Ministry of the Gospel and by faith that lays hold of the pardoning grace of God by coming to hear the Word preached Now if God come not in that time to work upon thee and to bestow mercy in his own appointed way it is not likely he will come any other way I remember in a Treatise of Mr. Bolton's he has this expression Let any one give me an example that ever any one that lived under a powerful Ministry and not savingly wrought upon that way was ever wrought upon any other way many he says may be stirred but for his part he knew none that was so stirred by affliction to the conversion of their souls if God had not before in the Ordinances of grace wrought upon them then it must needs be the worst time that can be to seek pardon of sin in a day of trouble or affliction because that is usually a time of Gods wrath visiting for sin 3. The work of the Soul in seeking after Gods pardoning mercy and applying of it to himself as it is the excellentest work that ever a creature did perform so it does require the most exquisite work of the Spirit that ever was required or that ever any creature was set about it is the most intensive work of the spirit of man the applying of the grace of God in Christ and the closing with it for Justification it is the highest most exquisite most glorious and most admirable work of the spirit of man that ever was in the world and it requires the greatest intensness and strength of a mans spirit that ever any work did Now then to put this off till such a time as a mans strength is gone and he through diseases unfit for any thing and when as all the strength he hath will be little enough to help him to bear his pain this must needs be the worst time you are mistaken if you think the applying of Gods mercy in Christ is but in saying Lord have mercy upon me No it is Gods putting the heart of man to do the most glorious work that hath the greatest operation in it that ever he did I remember it related of one that lived wickedly and divers sought to reclaim him says he come when I am upon my sick bed that is time enough and afterwards he being sick was put in mind of it you said you would do it then but then he swore a great Oath saying What is this a time to repent in because he then felt so much trouble and anguish that took up his thoughts that he was stirr'd with indignation to be put upon repenting then in a time when he felt so much dolour of spirit by the pains that were upon him Is this a time to repent in if that be not then do it betimes 4. It is the worst time because God shall lose a great part of his end in pardoning sin for when God pardons sin it is to this end that his poor creatures might honour and worship him in â—his world and do him service but now to seek for Gods pardoning grace when thou can'st do him no more service in this world How can'st thou think that he will accept thee then He came to redeem us that we might serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives and he knows there is no such way to ingage the heart of man to serve him as pardoning grace for when once a soul sees it self delivered from those Enemies of sin and of the Law that would destroy him his heart will be mightily set to honour God and serve him in holiness and righteousness all his days and therefore to seek for pardon when thou can'st do God no more service in this world must needs be the worst time for how knowest thou that he will accept thee then I beseech you observe one Text of Scripture that is abused by many people for I suppose that I am speaking to a great many very ignorant in the ways of God and therefore I desire to speak plainly unto you there is one place though misapprehended and mistaken that is the main prop of many carnal hearts as it is read in some Books At what time soever a sinner repents c. I know no such Text of Scripture it is true there are Scriptures tending that way that do not limit the time but no Scripture does express it so many people run away with that
come into the Church but how they crept in cunningly the Saints of God were not aware of them they crept in amongst them here by the way we may take notice that in a Church there ought to be none admitted Members but such as there may be some testimony of godliness in them for if any be ungodly they are such as creep in unawares the Church of God should keep them out such as creep in unawares should be kept out many cry out they will not have communion with any Church because there are some wicked men in it and others say while there is a Church on Earth the tares will be among the corn and chaff will be among the wheat be not deceived I know none in the world that does think there is any Congregation so pure but that some ungodly one may creep into it but consider to have some evil ones in the Church is one thing and the Church to have power to cast them out that is another thing 't is true they will creep into the Church but when they are crept in and appear to be ungodly ones we must do our duty tell them of their faults and if they will not hear us we must tell it to the Church and if the Church have power and will not deal with them it need not at all hinder our communicating with them but here lies the case Whether we should withdraw because evil ones are among them or Whether we can joyn with that Church wherein there is no power to keep them out and after they are crept in to cast them out they will creep into the Church they came in unawares but the state of the Church should be such that they should suffer no evil men to come in and if they do come in it is unawares to the Church by making a Profession of Religion for the Church can go no further then what does outwardly appear unto them if men make a Profession of Religion and have a conversation agreeable to it the Church can go no further but for a Church to admit al if they be no swearers no adulterers of gross livers in any other sin although they make no Profeson nay if they do but hire a House in the Parish it is enough to make them members of the Church and when they are in there is no power to cast them out if a power heretofore the remedy was worse than the disease it was such a power as was never ordained of God Whether we should joyn with such a Church or no or whether we should withdraw because there is some evil ones among them is questionable surely none can imagine there should be such a pure Church in the world as that there should be no tares among them But if there be a power in every Church to admit of none but such as have an appearance of godliness and if after being crept in they proving otherwise that there is a power to cast them out let these things be granted and then though many ungodly ones will unawares creep in yet it is no hinderance at all to joyn with them in all the Ordinances of God that is the first thing said of them they creep in 2. He says they were such as were ordained of old to condemnation those that turn this grace of God into wantonness that is abuse this pardoning grace of God by taking liberty to sin surely they are such as should be kept out of the Church and if they creep in they should not be accounted members but should be cast out when they appear to be such as were of old ordain'd to condemnation then those that abuse the grace of God to wantonness and think they may take liberty to sin because God is merciful to forgive sin the Scriptures says they are of old ordained to condemnation Thirdly They are ungodly men such that have no godliness at all in them but are meer carnal and worldly men it is a terrible thing for a Minister to say to any of you out of the Word of God thou art an ungodly man or woman Hast thou not turn'd the grace of God into wantonness and abused it when thou heardest that God was merciful Hast thou took liberty to sin thou art an ungodly man for thou turnest the grace of God into wantonness The blessed grace of God that should be the chief means to keep men from sin thou makest it an advantage to further sin And mark further Fourthly Thou denyest our Lord Jesus Christ thou talkest of Gods mercy in Christ but thou deniest the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ What a heap of expressions are here to set forth the condition of such men that turn the grace of God into wantonness 1. They creep in 2. Were of old ordained to condemnation 3. They are ungodly And 4. they deny the Lord Jesus Christ Methinks this one Text should daunt the heart of every one that is before the Lord this day never to presume upon acting of such horrible wickedness to sin because of Gods pardoning grace for there is so much evil in this to presume on sin because God is willing to forgive sin that those that understand the glory of Gods grace their hearts cannot but stand amazed and rise with indignation against it Rom. 6.1 What shall we say then Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound some there were that did abuse the grace of God to sin How does the Apostle rise with indignation against that abominable wickedness he does not grant it but reject it with a horrible indignation God forbid What to sin that grace may abound God forbid What to make use of the grace of God to further sin Shall we stand to answer these men in the horrible reasoning of their hearts No they are to be cast of with detestation and rejection with a God forbid that there should be any of such vile and wicked hearts thus to abuse the pardoning grace of God Suppose you forgive one servant a fault and another servant should say well my Master hath forgiven him I will do so too upon that ground if thou commit the same offence he will not forgive thee because thou offendest presumptuously which is a most horrid thing Let me a little further reason the case 1. It is an argument of an abominable heart that hath no way to keep it from sin but only guilt and fear of wrath and Hell Thou makest not the grace of God an argument to keep thee from sin nor the evil of sin in it self which is a great dishonour and wrong to God there is more evil in sin it self setting a side the consideration of the guilt and punishment of it there is ten thousand times more evil in sin it self than all the punishment in Hell will countervail and thou hast no way to keep thee from sin but only the guilt and punishment it is an argument of a base wicked heart 2. Suppose there
were no evil of guilt or punishment yet an ingenious gracious spirit would never do it What shall I sin because God will pardon Shall I venture upon it no I will never do it grace reasons to a quite contrary end that is an excellent Scripture in Tit. 2.11 The grace of God that brings Salvation it is this grace that reveals the pardon of sin this precious grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men But to what end teaching us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts the grace of God that brings salvation it teaches us these lessons not such a wicked lesson that we should presume to sin on hopes that God may pardon it No But to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and that we should live soberly righteously and godly and not to take liberty to sin to lye steal be filthy and the like because God will pardon no it teaches other manner of lessons than these and then it follows looking for that blessed hope and appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ mark the Text there is a great deal in it when the grace of God that brings salvation and mercy and pardon of sin is revealed it teaches us these Lessons because of the grace and favour of God is revealed to us that we should deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and then we may with comfort look for the blessed hope and appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ but otherwise you can never look for that blessed hope let me speak to those that reason thus that they may venture on sin because of Gods pardoning grace Does the Revelation of the grace of God teach you to live ungodly and in worldly lusts Can you look for that blessed hope with comfort and expect the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ 't is impossible you cannot 't is not a blessed hope that you have but a cursed hope that all shall be well at last though you live ungodly and wickedly and for the appearing of the great God certainly it will be a terrible appearing to thee that made Christ who came to dissolve the works of the Devil to be a means to uphold the works of the Devil 3. Did ever any Child of God make use of Scripture to reason for sin in such a wicked way for to presume to sin because God is willing to pardon you cannot give me one example in all the Scripture of any of those that God hath shewed mercy to that reasoned after this manner I can give you examples to the contrary how the Saints have reasoned otherwise Psal 130.4 mark the reasoning of a gracious heart But there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared he reasons from the pardoning grace of God to draw up his heart to the fear of God as if he should say Lord I have heard much of the Doctrine of the pardon of sin and the great workings of thy grace to effect it and of thy readiness to forgive this is the end of it that thou mightest be feared this is the effect this doctrine works in a gracious soul and 't is a good sign if you reason after this manner but there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared If those Sermons you have heard of this Doctrine be a means to implant the fear of God in your hearts this is a blessed sign they have had a good effect upon you when you reason thus Because Lord I have had so much of thy grace and mercy in forgiving my sin through thy grace my soul shall fear thee more than ever before and fear to sin more than ever before those that have hearts answering this Text 't is a good sign that the Word has had a powerful efficacy upon them take another Text Psal 103.1 2 3. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Why who forgiveth all thy iniquities Mark it is a Psalm that David made of Gods mercy in forgiving of sin the consideration of which makes him call upon his soul and all that is within him to bless the Lord Do's God shew so much grace as to forgive sin then bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name 't is not reasoning thus God forgives iniquity and therefore O my soul take liberty thou need'st not be so strict But bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name those that have strength to do any thing for God this is an argument will stir up all within them to bless God when they see God appearing so infinitely gracious to them in the forgiveness of their sins they so reason that all they have or can do should be given unto him 4. You that think you may take liberty to sin because God is gracious and venture on it because you conceit that God will never punish think of this the example of the damned in Hell they are flying in the face of God because they know that God will never pardon and thou sinnest because thou hopest God will pardon which is the worst of the two the Devils and the damned are in such a condition as that they know that God will never pardon them and therefore they always curse God because they know he will not pardon but God offers pardon and tenders grace to you holds forth Jesus Christ to you and his blood and sufferings for the pardoning of you and you blaspheme because you think he will pardon of the two methinks you should judge the second sort worst you blaspheme because you hope God will pardon and the other blaspheme God because they know he will not pardon 'T is something worse to take liberty to sin because you hope God will pardon than they that sin because they are out of all hâ—pâ—s of pardon Thou that takest liberty on this ground to blaspheme the Name of God What thinkest thou will become of thee another day now thou dost blaspheme because thou hopest that God will pardon thee ere long thou maist come to that condition to blaspheme God eternally because he will not pardon thee As I make no question but many Swearers Drunkards unclean persons and the like have gone on in sin on this ground because they hoped that God would pardon them are now gone to their own place and blaspheme because they find that God will never pardon so that thou that blasphemest now it may be thou shalt blaspheme eternally but it will be otherwise thou dost it now on hopes that God will pardon thou shalt there do it because thou shalt have no hopes that he will ever pardon 5. Thou that sinnest now in hopes that God will pardon if God inlighten thy mind these things will be an intolerable burden to thee and if there be any thing that will indanger the sinking of thy soul into the bottomless gulf of dispair it is like
to be this you now give way to the reasonings of your own hearts to further sin from the consideration of Gods pardoning mercy the same reason that furthers sin in you now from the consideration of pardon will make you have further thoughts of despairing of Gods mercy Suppose thou goest on a great while and heapest up sin on this presumption Let me put this unto thee either God will inlighten thy Conscience or he will not do it if he never do it thou art eternally lost but if he do it if he come at length and awaken Conscience then what a load of anguish and trouble will lie upon thy soul that will make thee cry out O Lord I have not only sinned but now I come to seek for mercy my mouth is stop't with the thoughts of that mercy that I have abused Now nothing but free grace can do me good my Conscience tells me how I have abused this grace I have presumed on sin because of this I have made the thoughts I had of this grace a means to further me in sin and now with what face can I go to seek this grace and mercy these will be stinging thoughts to thee another day when a Minister shall come to apply the grace of God to thy soul thou wilt say there is mercy with God to pardon sinners but not for those that have abused the grace of God as I have done Manasseh and Paul 't is true they committed many great sins but did they ever commit any sin upon this ground in hope of pardon O look unto it let none go out from the presence of the Lord this day with thoughts to venture on sin because ye hope it may be pardoned to venture on sin on that ground is the most horrible cursedest thing that can be Tenthly A tenth way of dishonouring the grace of Gods pardoning mercy as to sin in hopes of pardon so to sin after pardon after God hath revealed this grace unto you then to sin this is a great dishonour to this grace Many that have been in trouble for their sins and in their trouble have cryed to God for mercy and God hath spoke peace to their souls and hath told them that their sins are pardoned and that he will cleanse their souls from the guilt of sin by the blood of his own Son and yet after all this they have again faln to their former sins I have spoke before of this degree of dishonouring Gods pardoning grace but now I am speaking of a further degree not only to fall into that sin you have sought for pardon of but to fall into that sin that you have some comfortable assurance of pardon of 1 King 11.9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord that had appeared to him twice remember hath not God appeared to some of you twice and given you assurance of his love and pardoning grace God came with sweet comforts and rejoyced your souls and what do you turn from the Lord after he hath appeared twice to you and said unto thee thy sins are pardoned this is a grievous thing Ezra 9.14 Should we again break thy Commandements Would'st not thou be angry with us should we again sin would'st thou not consume us so after God has delivered us from condemnation the guilt of sin and the spirit of bondage What to trespass again it is just with God to be angry with us Psal 85.8 The Lord will speak peace but let them not return again to folly if God speak peace O return not again to folly I appeal unto you hath God ever spoke peace to your souls Have you heard the voyce of gladness speaking in your hearts saying Son or Daughter be of good chear go in peace thy sins are pardoned Have you not heard this if you have not you had need to get it if you have then return not again to the same sin that God hath graciously pardoned 1. Return not to the same sin 2. Return not to any other sin 1. Return not to the same sin it is a question and a great case of Conscience Whether it be possible for a Child of God after God hath dealt unto him the pardon of sin whether he may commit that sin again some have denyed it I remember some antient Divines Origen and Tertullian upon those words in Heb. 6. For it is impossible for those that were once inlightened if they shall fall away to renew them by repentance he applies it to the sin of uncleanness and says he a second repentance is not promised in the Name of Christ to Adulterers and Fornicators thus I may boldly say we do not find any certain express example in all the Book of God of any Child of God that did fall into the same gross outward sins after an actual repentance and making up his peace with God for sin we find no express Scripture I do not say we find no example of the Children of God that have not committed the same sin again as Peter and Lot but we find no example of any gross sin that they have faln into mark it after their repentance and reconciliation what was done amiss was done before they came to have it laid home unto their Consciences and applyed unto their hearts for the humbling of their souls in making their peace with God True David committed Adultery but never the second time after he had his bones broken he fell not again and so Peter after he went out and wept bitterly he never denyed his Master again and so Abraham equivocated but we read not that after any actual renewal of faith and repentance that he committed that sin again a wound while it is open and not fully closed it may bleed again but when it is fully closed to bleed again is dangerous and so any of the people of God after the actual renewal of their faith and repentance you cannot give me an example that any of them have faln into the same sin again I do not absolutely deny it but I say it is a dangerous thing God hath not left an example he hath left examples that his Children have faln but not after they have renewed their faith and repentance that they have faln into the same sins again I speak not of inward thoughts I know that they after repentance will return again but for any outward gross actual sin after the renewal of faith and repentance they have not return'd again to commit the same sin when once a joynt is out or a leg broke and set usually that joynt or bone is stronger than before and so I mâ—ght shew you after they have sinned and been set again they have been stronger than before a Child of God falling into sin is just like the breaking of a bone Gal. 6.1 And you that are spiritual must restore such a one the word in the Original is put him in joynt again any godly man or member of a
you my sons to do thus and thus against me I remember 't is reported of Caesar when many with their Poinyards came about him and stab'd him in the Senate-House at length comes Brutus whom he had done much good for he comes and gives him a blow he look't upon him and cries out What thou my son Brutus wilt thou give me a blow and stab It went nearer to the heart of Caesar to have Brutus come and give him a wound and stab than for all the other that came round about and stab'd him so Christ may look upon thee for whom he has purchas 't pardon shed his blood and laid down his life for What thou my son wilt thou sin against me for wicked wretches that are strangers to him no marvel if they sin against him but for you that are his sons his redeemed ones that have received such pardoning grace and mercy for you to sin this goes to the heart of Christ more than the sins of the ungodlyest wretch in all the Parish And would you not be loath to do more against Christ than the vilest wretch in the Parish you that have received so much mercy from Christ Further other mens sins anger God but no mens sins grieve the Spirit of God so as the sins of those that have received pardon they go to the heart of God and greive the Spirit by which they are sealed the Spirit of God that hath sealed to your souls the pardon of your sins let not that Spirit be grieved 't is a greater sin to grieve the blessed Spirit of God than you are aware of Further yet once more you bring a disgrace upon the Doctrine of Assurance of Pardon We preach that a man may not only have some good hopes that his sins are pardoned but we say God hath revealed such a fulness of riches of grace in the Gospel that a man may have certain and full assurance of the pardon of his sin as if he heard a voyce from Heaven speaking to him by name thy sins are pardoned or as if when Christ in the days of his flesh said to any one son go in peace thy sins are pardoned certainly there may be as full assurance of pardon of sin by the witness of the Spirit of God as if such a voyce came from Heaven But our Adversaries say open but that gap and 't is an open way for men to take liberty to commit any sin What need men care what sins they commit when they know they are pardoned that has been objected against us but now we say there is such a vertue in the grace of God going along with pardoning of sin that heals the soul as well as comforts the soul we answer it thus but you take away our answer and digrace that blessed Doctrine of Pardon of Sin for wherein does it appear there is such a healing power in the assurance of the pardon of sin if it be so then you would walk more strictly than any man in the world can do in the time of the greatest horror of Conscience that possible can be and this would bring an honour to the Doctrine of Assurance but you by sinning after pardon How do you disgrace this blessed Doctrine and take away the answer out of our mouths So much for the present to be spoken to those that dishonour the pardoning mercy of God by sinning after pardon CHAP. XV. Of the Dishonour done to the Grace of God by not resting on it 2. Of the Evil of it THere is one sort more that are great dishonourers of the pardoning grace of God and they are those that think they honour him and yet dishonour him exceedingly such as being apprehensive of the greatness of their sins the vileness of them and their own misery by reason whereof lie down in a sullen desperate discouraging mood under the wait and burden of them and are ready to turn against themselves saying certainly my condition is such as I must expect no other but to lie for ever under the burden of my sins and bear for ever the punishment of them I have heard much indeed of the riches of the pardoning grace of God but for my part my condition is such that little expectation I have of being made partaker of it certainly this kind of sullen discouragement in lying under our sins is a mighty aggravation of our sin and exceedingly dishonourable to the pardoning grace of God many that are thus let them hear never so much opened of the riches of the Gospel and the infiniteness of the grace of God all is nothing to them it raises them not from the sullenness of their hearts and the dicouragement of spirit that hangs upon them they are like to those in Exod. 6.9 that Moses spake unto but they hearkened not for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage God sent Moses to shew them the grace of God to deliver them from their bondage but says the Text they hearkened not to Moses only for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage so many People when God comes to awaken their Consciences there is so much anguish in the sense of their sin that they hearken not to what is said let them hear never so much in private or in publick they are just where they were the same complaints sullenness and objections as before you may answer all their objections against the grace of God that they know not what to say but go away for half an hour and they will have the same objections as if never any thing had been said unto them certainly there is more evil in this then you are aware of this limiting and determining of Gods grace t is true there is reason to judge your selves unworthy and that God may deny you but that God will deny you is another thing there is a great deal of difference in these some when they are put upon the use of means will confess they ought to attend upon them and that they will do it but yet when I have done all I have little hopes that God will deliver me but I shall dye and perish in my sins as that woman 1 Kings 12.17 saies she I am a poor Woman I have but a handful of meal in the barrel and a little Oyl in a Cruse and am gathering two sticks that I may eat it and dye so much as I have I am preparing and when I have eaten this I must dye thus saies many a soul I may go hear the word and pray but to little purpose But I will go and do them and then I must dye It is but little that I can make of Prayer when I have spoken two or three words I am presently distracted with wandring thoughts Two or three sticks I may lay together but when I have done that I must dye Now know and consider this day what from God shall be said unto you thou much dishonourest the pardoning grace of God First Know it is
might have been sorrowful and I might have reformed and said God is merciful though Christ had never come those that never knew Christ nor heard of him yet they may be sorrowful reforme and say God is mercifull I beseech you consider this note I can never be pardoned and saved in such a way as it might be done though Christ had never come I can then never be pardoned and saved by all the means I take for pardon and Salvation if those things might be done though Christ had never come and if you have nothing else but them to rest upon then you can never be saved put this to your hearts what have I wrought in my heart that I might not have had if Christ had not come into the world certainly the most things that most people have to rest upon for pardon and salvation they might have had though Christ had never come into the world Further Thou saist God is merciful True the mercy of God is sweet and a blessed argument and our souls much delight to open the grace and mercy of God and I have endeavoured to open to you what is revealed in the Gospel yet Gods mercy is free though he delight to glorifie his mercy and he hath thousand thousands of Subjects to glorify his mercy in though thou perish eternally Though thou perish eternally yet God may be glorious in the blessedness of his mercy God hath others to magnifie his mercy unto besides thee a beggar comes and asks an almes of a man and he gives him none that is not an argument the man is not merciful for he hath other objects that are more suitable and fit though he give not to every one t is no dishonour to his compassion so it is with God he hath thousands of objects to bestow his mercy on though thou perish Further Thou saist God is merciful and thererefore thou hop'st for pardon Why God is and hath been merciful to thee beyond all that thou canst conceive God hath shew'd his mercy to thee already thou saist God is merciful true or else thou hadst not been alive at this present that thou shouldst hear and see and have all thy members whole and the use of all thy sences and that thou shouldst stand here this day under the meanes of grace and that thou shouldst hear God call on thee to repent and believe in his Son while thou walk'st on in thy sin and art dead in sins and trespasses he sends his son and spirit to thee to tell thee that he would rescue thee and give life unto thee again is not here rich mercy perhaps thou hast had thy portion of mercy already that God intends for thee yea so much mercy that all the Angels and saints will give acclamations to God for that mercy thou hast had though thou perish God hath many waies shewd mercy to thee in so much as that the very devils themselves will acknowledge that God was very good to his poor creatures Further Thou speakest of mercy hast not thou abused and turn'd mercy into wantonness perhaps the mercy thou speakst of now is at this very present pleading to God against thee saying how have I been abused by this wretched man the more my beauty excellency hath been displayed the more wicked he hath grown what if mercy be now pleading against thee even those mercies that thou hast abused and therefore thou hadst need to look for somewhat else to settle thy soul upon then this to say that God is merciful this is to the first sort those that are grosly Ignorant Secondly There are others that mourne pray and reform and then have some kinde of relyance on God to pardon them for his mercies sake and therefore to them I shall say thus much Know the mercy of God must be received after Gods own way he hath appointed the communications of it and so it must be received otherwise it can never attain to such an effect as the pardon of thy sin note this that all the mercy in God considered as he is creator of Heaven and Earth and not let out through the Mediator Christ Jesus God-man it never wrought to the pardon of any one sin and therefore if you looke upon the mercy of God and do not look to the right way of the conveyance of it you may most dangerously mistake The ground and bottom of faith that justifies is not meerly to cast ones self on the mercy of God for there is none but in a natural way know that God is a merciful God but the main ground of Justification or of justifying faith is the free grace of God through Jesus Christ That God is merciful through a Mediator Otherwise the ground of your faith is but on a meer confused notion of the mercy of God which will certainly faile you a heathen may have as much to be the ground of his faith that the great creator of Heaven and Earth pitties those that are in misery and I am a poor creature in misery I le cry to him and I le reform my life and I le relye on him thus far a heathen may go but the ground and bottom of faith is not the mercy of God in general but the mercy of God in and through a Mediator observe a little further the ground of justifying faith is not thus that God for Christs sake will forgive me for what Christ hath done to purchase my pardon but there is another work of faith in the souls of believers though the soul apprehend it not t is not the work of faith in justification to believe that Christ hath paid so much as my debt comes to but thus the work of faith is to bring the soul unto Christ and to pitch it upon the person of Christ to be made mine first and then the righteousness of Christ to be mine T is not thus I believe this is my debt and there is so much money to pay it but this is the work of faith to bring thee to be marryed to such a person and so the debt is transacted on him to whom thou art marryed and he will discharge the debt because thou art marryed to him so that the ground of faith is not to look unto God meerly through his son that so I may have pardon but thus I must come to have Christ to be mine I must be marryed with Christ and so through my union with the person of Christ I come to have all that Christ hath done and suffered to be made over to me and therefore when I come to look upon the riches of the grace of God in the mediation of his son I must come with an eye of faith to be marryed unto Christ and Christ with me the riches of Gods grace in Christ was opened before we now make use of it as a trial to shew the danger of false grounds in relying upon God for pardon Further Though it be through the mercy of God to
pardon sin yet it does not work thus viz. You have sinned and my law requires such and such obedience to be performed on such tearms or else you must perish but I through my mercy will remit something of the rigour and strictness of the Law And most people confess that by the strictness of the Law they are condemn'd but they hope the mercy of God will grant some remission of the Law as it is with men if all Penal statutes should be executed it would be very hard but there is a Chancery to abate something of the rigour and strictness of penal statutes and thus men think to come to have pardon and deal with God after the manner of men you think the crying to God for mercy wil abate something of the strictness and severity of the Law but you mistake in taking this way to get peace and reconciliation with God to look upon Gods mercy to lye in this to remit something of the strictness and severity of the Law No but the work of Gods mercy lyes in this to finde out a surety for you and to transact the debt upon him Further Consider the work of Gods mercy in justification of a sinner when faith layes hold upon it faith must not lay hold upon it as a meer single Act but look at all the concomitants of the work of Gods grace in making way for the justification of a sinner The mercy of God workes many waies and faith must exercise it self on Gods grace according to the multiplicity of the work of it in bringing about the justification of a sinner as thus you have sinned and you cry to God for pardon but the mercy of God does not work thus to pardon you as t is a single act but the mercy of God works thus to mankind First he is pleased to enter into a second covenant with mankind after he had broken the first A second work of Gods mercy is to set his wisdom on work to finde out a way how mankind should be reconciled unto him and his sin pardoned and yet that God should be no looser this was the work of his infinite wisdom And Thirdly when this is found out this can be done no other way but only through the Son of God taking mans nature upon him and suffer for him then here 's the mercy of God to be willing to send his Son to mediate for poor creatures and then a further mercy in giving thy soul to his Son he sent not his Son that all might be pardoned but a certain number that God the Father had given to his Son from all eternity now there 's a great work of Gods mercy in passing by others and giving thee to his Son And further It is a work of Gods mercy in the powerful Ministry of the Gospel to reveal this And then further It is a work of Gods mercy to draw thee to close with his Son and thereby to unite and marry thee to his Son And then further It is a work of Gods mercy to assure thee of the pardon and justification of thy soul 't is a great deal more for faith to look upon God in this manner than to come in such a way as this God is merciful and I trust in his grace that he will pardon me we mistake mightily about the mercy of God when we do not look upon it in an Evangelical way as it is revealed in the Gospel Further know thus much that if Gods mercy will work so far for thee as to pardon thy sin and save thy soul certainly it will work so far as to take away the power of sin and let thee not live in the filth of thy sin Many think Gods mercy will do great matters hereafter but nothing now in comparison of what he will do hereafter they think he will give them outward blessings now but keep spiritual things till hereafter Certainly this is an infallible truth If Gods mercy work not so powerfully here in this world as to bestow spiritual good things on thee thou may'st be assured that it will never work so powerful on thee as to save thy Soul in the World to come Can it be thought a Prince pardons a Malefactor that he shall not be hang'd and yet suffer him to lie in Prison and rot in the Dungeon this were but a poor pardon a half pardon to be delivered from the Gallows and rot in the Prison Certainly whatever a Prince may do God never pardons a sinner so to shew him mercy to save him from Hell and yet to lie rotting all his life long in sin no God when he pardons he delivers and shakes off the fetters as we shall see further therefore thou that say'st thou hopest in Gods mercy that he will pardon thee let me ask What hath he done for thee if thou thinkest that Gods mercy will work so strongly hereafter to save thy soul certainly it will be as strong for thee here to sanctifie thee if it work not so strong on thee now as to sanctifie thee certainly it will never work so strongly for thee hereafter as to save thee 4. Others say in the last place we are not only sorry for sin and reform and trust in Gods mercy but we relie upon Gods mercy through Christ and therefore we hope we shall be pardoned this I might speak much too we must rest there but there is a mistake there too the relying on Christ is not relying on him by acting of some transient thoughts that passes over but it is an abiding thing when men hear there is no way to be saved but by Christ and they cannot deny it and because they are loath to think they are such as cannot be saved they are loath to have such ill thoughts of themselves hearing this is the way and no other therefore they will perswade themselves that they shall find mercy through Christ Now what great work is this so to rely on Christ the work of faith is a mighty work it is not a short transient work a few thoughts upon thy heart to be saved by Christ No wheresoever faith is right and a true reliance on Christ it is a mighty work of the Spirit of God working this grace in raising the soul higher than it self and carries it through and above all difficulties when it brings the soul to relie upon God there may be great mistakes when People say they rely upon Christ and therefore take this for conviction Relying on Christ is not barely to think my sins are pardoned by Christ but it is a receiving of Christ a possessing of Christ a coming into Christ a living in Christ and a bringing Christ to live in me 't is eating of the flesh of Christ and drinking of his blood and so finds nourishment and strength from him as really as the body by the meat and drink it takes that abides with it is strengthned by it so does faith to the soul therefore faith is
gulf of eternal Perdition O turn turn O sinner out of these vile abominable dangerous ways or else thou art undone for ever Behold here is the way of life set before thee behold my Son sent into the world for the Propitiation of thy sin and to bring thee into the ways of godliness which is the way to eternal life O turn sinner into these wayes Now this voyce of God calling to the Soul of a man or woman it comes with power it hath an over powering strength in it to prevail upon the heart it is much like that secret voyce mentioned in Isai 30.21 And thy Ears shall hear a word behind thee saying this is the way walk in it when you turn to the right hand or to the left 't is a Promise of Gods mercy unto his People to convert them unto himself those that were only in an Outward Profession says God you shall hear a voyce behind you saying this is the way turn in unto it and so 't is when God calls a sinner from the ways of death and destruction such a sinner hears a voyce behind him it may be he has come many times to Sermons and heard a voyce many times without him and before him but never before a voyce within him and behind him an inward secret voyce speaking to the soul O sinner turn out of thy sinful ways Why wilt thou die and perish eternally for God to come thus secretly and to reason with the soul by a voyce behind it and 't is not bare reasoning but a voyce that hath a power and efficacy from God going along with it that carries on this work in the soul and causes the heart to listen and to yield unto God when God calls to the Soul to come into the ways of life the Soul answers Lord I come and with a trembling frame of heart cries out with Saul at his Conversion Lord What wilt thou have me to do No more now what sin will have me to do and what this and that and the other lust will have me to do No now I see the ways of Life and Salvation are the only blessed ways Now Lord What would'st thou have me to do Now Salvation is come to that Soul and Reconciliation with Jesus Christ For whom he hath called them he hath justified Observe the efficacy of that call spoken of in Isai 30.21 Thine Ears shall hear a word behind thee c. and then follows the fruits of it and ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven Images with Silver and the ornament of thy molten Images of Gold thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous Cloth and shall say unto it get thee hence the sins they before lived in was Idolatry and their hearts were much taken with their brave Images over-laid with Silver and Gold but when they heard the voyce behind them they look't upon those things they so much delighted in that was so brave in their eyes before but as menstruous cloathes which are the most filthiest things that can be and cast them away as filthy rags with indignation saying get thee hence as one that takes a rag in his hand and looks on it and sees it all filthy and defiled presently he throws it away with abomination and says get thee hence so this is the call of God when the Soul hears behind it a secret voyce that many hear not it may be many thousands hear the outward voyce of the Minister telling them of the evil of sin and their abominations and a poor Servant or a poor Youth that stands in the midst of the crowd he hears a voyce behind him that others do not a secret voyce besides the general voyce which is a prevailing voyce that the soul falls down and yields presently before he goes out of the Church and says Lord this day thou hast convinc't me of the evil of sin and thou hast this day shewed me the way of life and salvation Lord I come unto thee though he saw nothing and though no body else hear that voyce yet there is a secret voyce of God unto the soul though he stand in the midst of the crowd and no body else hear it yet at that instant pardon of sin came to that soul and reconciliation by Jesus Christ now when this comes into the soul he will not let such and such sins be there any longer but says Get you hence I will have no more to do with such and such beloved lusts and Idols that I set my heart upon Get thee hence and those men that God calls to himself certainly when they hear this voyce behind them though they now plead for Idolatry and Superstition and why should not we do as our forefathers did yet if once they come to hear this secret voyce of God and God shew them the way of his Worship in the purity and beauty of it they will say get thee hence to those things as vile things get ye hence I will have no more to do with you this is the way in the ordinary call of God and though God sanctifie some from the womb yet afterwards by a mighty work of the Spirit he discovers unto them what the soul is by nature there is somewhat like this even in those that are sanctified from the womb though God in an extraordinary way draw the soul out from sin into the ways of life but generally there are in the ordinary way of Gods working these three or four voyces calling to the soul 1. Says God to the soul O soul thou art made for God and for Eternity 2. O soul thou art now in the ways of Hell and of eternal perdition and must of necessity perish in it 3. O soul behold here are the ways of life and salvation reveal'd unto thee and set before thee in the Gospel of my Son And lastly O soul come in and thou shalt have favour and acceptation in my Son these are the four voyces in Gods call I do not say every one hears them plainly and distinctly yet they do for the substance of them in the ordinary way of the dispensation of Gods grace Every soul that God justifies they are thus called of God and 't is a prevailing call that brings them in to submit unto it Again concerning this call of God because the Scripture speaks much of it I shall shew a little further mark it That soul that once hears the call of God to bring it into the ways of life that soul will evermore depend upon Gods call in all other things if God hath called me out of the ways of death into the ways of life in obedience to that call that my soul hath yielded too I shall be evermore under the power of Gods call in all other things let God call me to what he will to what service he pleases to whatsoever difficulties and sufferings he shall think meet my soul is content and says Here I am Lord speak thy
Congregation and in others where the Word is preached that he will pardon Mar. 10.46 The blind man hearing it was Christ that past by he cryed for mercy and many charged him to hold his peace but he cried the more and Christ stood still and called him unto him Now if thou seest thy sin and cryest for pardon Christ will call thee to give pardoning mercy to thee as he did Bartimeus Thirdly It may be thou art not only under the means of grace and the outward call but thou begin'st to feel an inward call there are some stirrings of Gods Spirit within thee thou could'st say before thou wonderedst what the matter was with people to run after Sermons but now thou begin'st to feel the effect of it And the glory of God appears to thee in this place when thou art hearing of his Word thou may'st hence reason as Manoa's wife Judg. 13.23 That certainly if God had intended to have killed us he would not have received a burnt Offering and a meat Offering at our hands neither would he have shewed us all these things so say to thy soul if God had intended to kill me he would not have been so willing to have drawn me after him neither would he have shewed me all these things and let that be an incouragement unto thee Fourthly The end why God continues this world in being is that he might give pardon to his Elect certainly this world had been dissolved long ago if it were not that he might bring pardon to his Elect and to those that see their sins this must needs be a great incouragement to a soul viz. to those that see their sins to come in when this pardoning work is done Christ will deliver up his Kingdom to his Father if a malefactor should come to sue out his pardon and one should say unto him 't is well Sir you are come for the King would not have kept his Court so long here but that you should come in were not this a great incouragement so say I were it not that men should come to get the pardon of their sins the Court of the world would have been broken up long before this time Fifthly The principal scope of the Scriptures is for this very end to reveal the pardoning grace of God you have here the heart of God laid open Christ wept and mourned that sinners would not come in that they might be pardoned and saved I have read a story that in Athens there was a Temple and in that there was a woman weeping and in one hand she had a bleeding Heart and with the other she was writing Pardons so Christ he stands weeping over you that you will not come in and he hath a bleeding heart bleeding for you in the one hand and with the other hand he is ready to write you a pardon Luk. 19.41 42. nay he does not only weep But the Sixth incouragement may be He sends his Ambassadors to woe you to come in and tells them they shall not take a denyal at your hands 2 Cor. 5.20 They intreat and beg as in his Name nay it is the beseechings and intreatings of God himself as if a King should send one of the Attendants on him to a poor condemned Prisoner and say go tell such a one that he must come for his pardon and tell him I beseech him and take no denyal of him I beseech him to come in would not this manifest the great willingness of the King to pardon God does so he sends his Ministers and beseeches you to come in and take a pardon 't is as certain God speaks thus by his Ministers as if you heard God speaking by himself this should move you to come in Christ begs and intreats you to be reconciled that his bloud might not be shed in vain seeing it is so that God begs of thee to come in why shouldest not thou come in and take pardon of thy sin Why can'st not thou come in and give up thy self and all thou hast and art to him Seventhly Know it is the great office and work of Christs mediatorship to bind up the broken hearts of wounded sinners Isai 61.1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and he hath anointed me he hath sent me to preach good tidings to the meek he hath seat me to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to the Captives and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound this in the New Testament is applyed to Christ Now this being the great work for which Christ came into the world to bind up the broken-hearted see whether thou canst not rely on Christ by an act of faith this should be a great incouragement Eighthly Consider that that God thou hast to deal withal his nature is mercy in the abstract and if so he is free in his mercy as the Sun shines because it 's the nature of it to shine so the mercy of God must needs work freely because it is his nature as the fire burns naturally Exod. 34. Mic. 7.18 God pardons because he delights in mercy thou say'st thou art a poor sinner well though it be so yet thou may'st say though God can see nothing in me yet seeing that he is a God that delights in mercy this may move me to come in For 1. He hath more delight in pardoning any sinner than in all the creatures of Heaven and Earth God delights in all the works of his hands but in this he delights in more than in all he delights in them all but not so much as in magnifying his grace in Jesus Christ for in this he magnifies his Son and therefore he hath more pleasure and takes more delight in pardoning a poor humbled sinner than in all the works of his hands besides 2. No one can take so much pleasure in the salvation of his own soul as God doth in pardoning of thy sin and the reason is because this is the greatest design that God hath which is the setting out of his glory in his pardoning mercy in Christ and therefore this may be a great encouragement 3. God is more delighted in the work of thy heart closing with free grace than in all the legal works of humiliation what says Christ this is the good will and pleasure of God and David was called a man after Gods own heart Why because he was a man that would do his will so that this is a great incouragement though many abuse this and pervert it to their own destruction yet God will have it taught that thou mightest have the comfort of it and therefore thou shouldest close with God and come in and take hold of his pardoning mercy Ninthly Though God hath taken such a way in mercy to pardon sin yet he loseth nothing in his justice Christ hath taken such order that his glory shall no way be diminished his justice shall be satisfied and therefore thou need'st not say thus I have so sinned
with God 169 3 They are translated into the Kingdom of his Son 171 4 They have much given unto them 173 1 The Spirit to inlighten them 174 2 God will write his law in their hearts ibid. 3 God will give them cleansing mercies ibid. 5 They have a glory put upon them 175 6 They are made to know what pardon means 177 7 They have melting hearts for sin ibid. 8 They have a growth in grace according to the degrees of pardon 179 9 They have an answerable work in their souls to the work of Gods grace in pardoning them 181 10 They have a merciful frame of heart to forgive others 182 CHAP. XVIII Of the Rules how to apply the Evidences of the Pardon of Sin 1 If you cannot find all yet if you find any one of them you may take comfort because all are there 185 2 Have recourse to Gods former workings 187 3 Try not your selves in times of temptation 189 4 What of the Word you find on your side keep close to that 191 5 Renew your Evidences if you cannot find your old ones 193 6 Remember you are to deal with God in a Covenant of Grace 195 7 When you want the faith of Assurance put forth the work of faith of Adherence 199 8 Rest not much upon Evidences 200 9 When you have lost the use of signs at present do not determine all is gone 201 10 Keep up good thoughts of God when you are at the lowest ibid. CHAP. XIX Of Exhortation to seek after Pardon of Sin with Cautions and Rules how to seek and what we are to do 1 Caution Know nothing in a natural man can be acceptable to God 204 2 What is done before Vnion with Christ is not to be reckoned on as the condition of the Covenant of Grace 205 3 Rest not on any Preparatory works ibid. 4 Yet such works are worthy of our utmost endeavours 206 Rules how to seek 1 Set your selves as in the presence of God 207 2 See it be such a seeking that may testifie thou prisest thy life here in this world for this end 207 3 It must be done so as that you never sought any thing in this world so us you seek this 208 4 Do it as apprehending that God is a going ibid. 5 So seek after it as that thou may'st testifie thou sanctifiest the Name of God in it 209 6 So seek as if you were now to answer for all your sins before the Lord. 210 7 Do it as thou thinkest in thy Conscience the damned souls in Hell would do it if they had a possibility granted them ibid. 8 Seek after it with a desire to bring as much glory to God as if he should damn you 211 Of what is to be done in seeking 1 Be sure to take the heart from all other imaginary blessedness ibid. 2 Let Conscience have free liberty to shew thee thy sins 212 3 Be willing to own all thy sins ibid. 4 Be willing to accept of the punishment of sin 213 5 Resolve to avoid sin whatever come of it ibid. 6 Cast out whatsoever is gotten by false wayes ibid. 7 Be sure thou be put of with nothing else but pardon of sin ibid. CHAP. XX. Of Encouragements to seek after Pardon of Sin 1 The time of your life is given you for this end 215 2 The means you are under argues that God intends mercy for you ibid. 3 From the stirrings of Gods Spirit thou may'st argue God intends thee good ibid. 4 The world is continued for this end that God may gather in his Elect. 216 5 The Principal scope of the Scriptures is for this end to reveal the pardoning Grace of God ibid. 6 God sends his Ambassadors to wo you 217 7 It is the great work of Christ's Mediatorship to bind up broken hearts ibid. 8 God whom thou hast to deal withal his nature is mercy in the abstract ibid. 1 He more delights in pardoning any one sinner than in all the Creatures of Heaven and Earth ibid. 2 He takes more pleasure in saving the◠than thou dost thy self 218 3 God more delights in the work of the heart closing with 〈◊〉 grace than in all Legal Humiliations ibid. 9 Christ hath satisfied Gods Justice ibid. 10 As vile sinners as thou art are now in Heaven ibid. 11 Make the utmost thou can'st of thy sin yet this need not hinder thee to come to God ibid. 12 On closing with Christ thou wilt find such a change as was never in any creature besides 119 13 Thy coming in will fill Heaven and Earth with joy ibid. 14 Thou art hereby made heir of the whole world ibid. 15 For any thing thou knowest thou art one of Gods Elect and so there is nothing that thou art to do but he hath promised to enable thee to do it 220 FINIS Prov. 25.11 Object Answ Object Answ Object Answ Object Answ 4. Argument Object Answ 2 Sam. 18.15 Job 5.23 5. Argument 6. Argument 7. Argument 8. Argument 9. Argument 10. Argument 11. Argument Object 12. Argument 13. Argument Quest Answ 1. Quest Answ 1. The Word 2. Writing 3. Witnesses 4. Oath 5. Seal Ob. Ans Quest Answ Answ Plea Answ * Note the signs were given forth in one Sermon O rich grace Quest Answ Simile
and he comes on purpose to enlighten you in this great point and to witness this great Truth unto you Heb. 10.15 Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness for after that he had said before this is the Covenant that I will make c. vers 17. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more as the Principal part of the Covenant and of this the Holy Ghost is a witness This great Truth of the forgiveness of Sins the Holy Ghost comes to bear witness of and seal this to thy Soul that thy sins are forgiven this is the great work of the Holy Ghost after believing to seal up the forgiveness of sin and this is one great reason why the Holy Ghost hath the Title of Comforter because as he comes to convince of sin so also to witness and seal up forgiveness of sin to the soul And indeed as it shews the excellency of the mercy of forgiveness because the Holy Ghost is so much in it so the greatness of it that must have so high a Person to witness it and indeed the Soul is not satisfied until it have this special witness of the Holy Ghost 't is true there may be probable arguments drawn by signs of Gods love unto us and the Holy Ghost may come in those signs but besides that there is the immediate witness of the Holy Ghost to limit him to witness by signs only is more than any man can have warrant for and this I say further that all the signs of Gods favour that we can have will not satisfie the soul until there be this special work of the Holy Ghost sealing and witnessing the favour of God unto us 1 Joh. 3. there are many signs of Gods favour in that Chapter Vers 9. He that is born of God doth not commit sin And Vers 19. Hereby we know we are of the Truth and shall assure our hearts before him and he that keepeth his Commandemenâ—s dwelleth in him and he in him that 's another sign and Vers 24 but the conclusion of all is this Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us it is the Holy Ghost must convince satisfie the soul of Gods love many there are that would fain have their sins pardoned and would fain have some signs of it and perhaps I may hereafter give some signs But now know that all the signs in the world will not serve to quiet the heart but that it may return again to its former doubts till God come to pacifie the spirit by the witness of the Holy Ghost for it is so great a matter where once the Soul understands the infinite breach made between God and it by sin that it must needs be more than an ordinary work to assure the Soul of Gods Reconciliation to it and nothing can do it satisfactorily but the Holy Ghost he must come to the Soul to assure it of this thing perhaps the case of a poor Soul is thus Suppose a Prisoner in Goal lies bound in fetters for some great offence against his Prince and some friend comes and tells him there is hope of pardon Oh says he 't is too good news to be true well another comes to the grate of the Prison and tells that he hears from the Court the King hath sealed Pardons and put such a ones name in this is some comfort but yet this frees him not from fears and doubtings But now suppose the Favourite of the Prince come from the King himself one that is of the Kings Bed-chamber and one to whom the King opens his whole soul and nothinâ—â—he King doth but he is acquainted with it he comes to this poor man and bids him be of good comfort I come from the King and bring you a Pardon from him shews it him and says there it is take it Oh this revives his spirit when such a special Messenger is sent unto him so in this case I may compare all signs to be like some friend or other that goes by the grate and speaks of the happiness of such a man that he is pardoned but the soul is under such blindness and fears by reason of the guilt of sin that God knows it is no easie matter to perswade it of pardon But now God for the comfort of those that he intends good will unto sends his own Spirit that lies in his own bosom and knows all his secrets to declare the mind of God and to say to such a soul Peace be to thee thy sins are forgiven now this satisfies the soul But it may be here objected How may I know it is the Spirit of God that witnesses and not my own fancies or delusions of Satan I answer as we know the Sun by its own light so we may know the Spirit by its own testimony and though there be may some ebbs yet it will rise again there is such a witnessing work of the Spirit by a kind of sweet and secret intercourse between God and the Soul whereby God over-powers all doubts and fears though I do not say every one hath it in a like sensible measure yet this I say when this full assurance comes although there may be doubts and many questions before in the soul for fear of being deluded for certainly many are deceived and deluded yet then the Spirit over-powers all doubts and fears and witnesses to the Soul it s own work Do not you say because some are deluded with fancies that there is no witness of the Spirit when as there is scarce any point in the Gospel the Scripture speaks more about than this of the witness of the Spirit indeed they that judge of the mysteries of the Gospel by Humane Reason and understand no further than that reaches too and that are little acquainted with those converses that are between God and a believing Soul they may slight this witness of the Spirit but you must know there is not any Soul that has assurance he shall go to Heaven but it is wrought on by a high supernatural and mysterious way and if there were no other way to evidence this to the Soul but by some signs this would be no higher evidence than by way of reason But we are to know as great is the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh so also great is the mystery of godliness God justified in the Spirit God justified in the Spirit is a great mystery Christs Incarnation is a great mystery so is a Believers Justification as well as Christs Incarnation so also the witness of Justification is a great mystery and therefore I beseech you look up higher than for such signs as Reason may reach unto and beg of God to reveal this unto you that thou may'st have the witness of the Spirit of God to testifie unto thee that thy sins are pardoned Now blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven seeing God the Father Son and Holy Ghost is so much in it CHAP. VIII