and highest motive with God was and is his own Name his own glorious grace why he ever had a thought of good to an undone creature that there was no motive in the creature unless misery which is no glory but all is done given estated upon souls undone poor sinners freely for his own sake 3. Let it exhort souls to make use of this plea therefore and that with great though humble confidence It never failed poor souls since the world was that made use of it when they were low and helpless and eyed and pleaded mercy for mercies sake they had it and never went away but blessed Gospel-Justification The Second TREATISE WHEREIN The Souls emptying of all its own righteousness is further evinced and Gospel-justification stated how a poor sinner is made partaker of it and the evidences thereof laid down ROM 3.19 20. Now we know that what things soever the Law saith it saith to them who are under the Law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God Therefore by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in his sight c. HAving spoken as the Lord hath helped me as to the weight of the pardon of sin and the praevious way to it I now come to open the compleating this mercy in a poor souls cōpleat justification before God So it hath pleased the Wisdom of God to order the way of his glorious mercy to poor sinners that shall be saved that he doth not only let forth free grace for the remission of their sins merely pardon them but hath so blessedly ordered the matter to bring them in a state of Righteousness a compleat perfect righteousness as Adam in his perfect estate was in not by making the sinner perfectly holy righteous in himself in his own nature but by giving out his eternal Son Jesus Christ to fulfil all righteousness in their stead by satisfying keeping the perfect Law of righteousness which is imputed to the Believer as if he had fulfilled it were wholly righteous in his own person In which lies the great mystery of the Gospel I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ saith Paul c. for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith c. Rom. 1.16 namely that righteousness of Jesus Christ whereby God will justifie put in a state of righteousness made over to them by faith that shall be pardoned and saved To endeavour to evince and discover the necessity of such a justification and the nature of it and how a poor soul comes to be invested in it to have a right unto it is my design as the Lord shall graciously assist in this ensuing discourse Oh that I might do it in the simplicity of the Gospel plainly convincingly spiritually as I ought to speak In the prosecuting hereof I shall first shew that righteousness is not to be attained any other way not by the exactest keeping of the Law so as to commend us to God not by setting our selves to keep the Law of God as well as we can and so we hope God will accept of it which being naturally rooted in the hearts of all I find it the hardest piece of conviction and most hardly received of any other souls are a thousand times more easily beaten off grosse sins then beaten off the confidence of the good they think they do and so come as ☞ Nothing else but sinners to Jesus Christ want of this conviction makes all the Hypocrites in the world This is that part therefore I shall first begin with according to the Apostles method in this Epistle The Apostle layes down his doctrine which he was to prove in the 17. verse of the 1 Chapter The just shall live by faith to make way for which he first proves in the remaining part of the first Chap. that the Gentiles knowledge of God which they had by the things that are made The Creation of and Providence of God over the world left them in unrighteousnesse because they held the truth of the being of a God in unrighteousnesse even the wisest and learnedst of them such as professed themselves to be wise verse 22. and brake forth into Idolatry and all abominations for which cause God gave them up c. verse 26.28 At the 17th verse of the 2d Chap. The Apostle undertakes the Jew strikes off all his priviledges and at the 9th verse of the 3d. Chapter concludes both Jew and Gentile in the same condition as to the obteyning of such a righteousnesse by the Law that might commend either to God What then Are we who are Jews better then they who are Gentiles No in no wise for we have proved that Jews and Gentiles are all under sin As it is written there is none righteous no not one Which he further proves by severall Scriptures to the words of the text In which the Apostle prevents an objection namely that some might urge The Scriptures urged may concerne some few and grosly wicked persons and not all mankind in generall No such matter whatever the law saith it saith to them that are under the law which are all the Sons and daughters of Adam as in their naturall corrupt estate All under the law from whence the Apostle inserrs 1. That therefore every mouth is stopped 2. All the world is guilty before God 3. That no flesh within or without the Church can be justified by the Law From whence I draw these 4 plain observations to prove what is my main design viz. That no man can attain to such a measure of righteousnesse by all that ever he can do in his best keeping the Law as may commend him to God which 4 are these 1. Every son and daughter of Adam in their naturall estate are under the Law 2. That a transgressour of the Law hath nothing to boast in nor to excuse himself from his sin or the righteous judgment of God due unto him That every mouth may be stopped 3. Every soul in the world is under guilt and condemnation that all the world may be guilty before God 4. Every soul lies under an impossibility of reaching to such a Justification by the best keeping of the Law as for God thereby to accept of him I intend briefnesse in the opening of these and what plainesse also the Lord shall help me with This is a principle rooted in the hearts of all the Children of men That still there is a sufficiency in them to keep the law of God in such a measure as God will accept them for it This being heightned by the ignorance of times and darknesse of Gospell-light and of the New-Covenant of grace upon the spirits of this Generation they are most hardly beaten off it say poor souls If I keep Gods law as well as I can and worship God and do not harme my Neighbour God will accept me and pardon where I fail but to be convinced that all that
this Snare many of the Jewish Professours of Christ fell short as 't is clear from the Epistle to the Galathians and did frustrate the grace of God 3. A sinner hath a secret thought of making God satisfaction by his sorrow and amendment and so makes void the Free-grace of God 'T is the easiest thing in the World to put up legal sorrow and amendment of life to God as that which may make God amends yea to make an atonement of every Duty which is the closest and most desperate evil of the heart so did the Jew by his sacrifices and obedience which caused the Lord to pronounce of them That his soul loathed them Isa 1. 4. A sinner doth not savingly close with free grace from a secret pride of heart he would not be found so poor and helpless so unrighteous ungracious as to be beholden to free mercy for all Many persons will rather starve then beg then live upon another mans mercy 't is so between a sinner and the Lord till God humble him hee 'd rather venture Hell then come and acknowledge utter condemnation nothing but sin upon him and so stoop to free mercy 5. The sinner stands off from free-grace because he will make his own termes he will condition for his carnall ease his self-interest his bosome lust the love of the world and hopes God will allow him his termes which he proposeth to himself and herein he is ruined Now God hath drawn up the tenour of his free grace in the way of a Covenant and though there are no conditions left to the creature to make good on his part by his own power for that will easily imply a self-sufficiency in him and is absolutely derogatory from the grace of God in the Gospel-Covenant yet God hath drawn up as I may so speak what other good things he will bestow on the subjects of his free grace Namely The Law to be new written in their hearts the gift of the Spirit Newnesse of heart with the making good of all those promises in a degree that hold forth holinesse and new obedience which must accompany the free pardon of sins and make indeed the free grace of God more glorious Inasmuch as when he pardons them he will save them from the service of sin work his Image upon them bring them to a blessed conformity to himself which considered aright sweetens and heightens the free grace of God and makes the termes of it more blessed In a word Mercy and holinesse must go together A Saviour and Sanctifier which a sinner from the cursed love of ease and satisfaction to his lusts sticks at and so comes not up to Gods termes which are blessed and holy and so misseth of grace and mercy for ever because he chooseth sinne rather then holinesse 6. Yea a sinner and I speak all this while of such as pretend to an interest in free mercy misseth of this grace because he takes up the termes of God in his Covenant of grace in his own strength will repent and come up to new obedience before he comes to the promise to the free grace of God for it which is also a dangerous snare A sinner's first work being convinced as we have opened is to throw himself upon the free grace of God for all to give all to work all and so to follow God by vertue of promises of such good and grace as the tenour of the Covenant holds forth T is an usuall thing for poor souls first to think to convert themselves make themselves holy and then come to God and Jesus Christ this is an indirect course Oh! a poor soul must begin at the fountain of Gods free grace for Christ for pardon for the Spirit for conversion for holinesse for all as held out in promises and then the worke will be sure and prosper and nought shall hinder it 7. Sinners fail of this free grace of God from a neglect and sleighting of it Heb. 2.3 How shall you escape if you neglect so great a salvation Sinners do hear that though they are sinners and condemned in a damnable estate yet Jesus Christ will save them if they will come unto him fit them for heaven and do it himself for them and in them yet through a desperate folly security and careless temper the heart being in a dead sleep they wretchedly neglect it 8. From the power of unbelief which they are under and see it not Thus have I shew'd those speciall hinderances that cause poor souls that hear of Gospel-grace to withstand it and for ever to misse of it Oh that this word of the Lord might find you out and might be as a glasse to shew you your own hearts you who by a willfull obstinacy have withstood the Gospell-calls hitherto Oh! now fall down before the Lord and cry I yeeld I yeeld thou blessed God thy patience thy freest grace hath overcome me Lord take away a rebellious obstinate heart from me Ah Lord Thou hast waited to be gracious and Christ and Mercy and Heaven have been offered to so vile a Wretch freely Now Lord I throw my self at thy feet a thousand Hells are too good for me but if grace infinite grace be free there 's yet hope for me If there be not grace enough in Heaven for me let me go to the depth of Hell but Lord I take hold of thee I desire to do it Oh do thou take hold of me and I shall not perish You who have stood upon your terms and hoped you had Righteousness enough to cover you and God would look upon that and not upon your sin you are the most abominable in God's sight you who secretly in your hearts think your sorrowing and reforming makes God amends you who have wrapt your selves in these Cobwebs and through pride of heart will not lay them down Oh! if thou wilt have mercy thou must have all in a way of mercy and grace all freely or nothing at all see all thy righteousness made void by one sin against the Law and therefore cursed and condemned by it therefore thou hast no Plea but free mercy and grace Oh lay down all thy other Pleas they will never be heard in Heaven and now cry out Oh 't is of grace proud selfish Wretch that I have been 't is all of free grace if ever I am saved If God cannot pardon freely bestow Jesus Christ freely I am undone for ever Oh the wicked castings of my heart this way and that way Oh there 's nothing nothing but infinite mis ry to move mercy All my goodness is an accursed thing as from my self there 's an infinite Fountain of sin and self-righteousness in men Oh could I come to an infinite Fountain of grace Thus thou wilt come to God when he shall smite thy heart Which now look up unto him to do You who have been making your own terms of ease and lusts and world Oh render up your hearts to the gracious blessed holy
terms that God proposeth Why should'st thou not be willing to be made holy Why should not the Lord rather rule thee then sin and the Devil What more beautiful and glorious then the Image of God Oh accept of holiness with mercy through the Lord Jesus Christ Come unto him for both be willing to be set apart for God a Vessel purged and sanctified for his use and thou shalt behold the face of God shining upon thee and whatever is laid up in Christ in Promises in Heaven and glory shall be thine You who have thought to make your selves holy and then come to Christ to be justified be convinced of your great errour and now come as sinners to Jesus Christ to be justified and sanctified in him and see all grace laid up in Jesus Christ for such as come unto him Say Oh blessed Lord Jesus I cannot fit my self for thee If thou canst not accept me as a poor undone helpless sinner coming unto thee I never expect a blessing from thee And you who have sleighted this free and rich and glorious grace see what you have done and be abased for it see how you cast back mercy upon the face of God who would freely be reconciled with you pass by all the grievous injuries you have done him enter into a Covenant with you bestow his Christ upon you fit you for communion with himself here and for ever and all this you have sleighted and yet must unavoidably be for ever damned without it Sinner who can plead for thee when thou shalt go on to despise neglect sleight such grace To Hell without pitty of God Angels or Men when freest mercy and grace shall be sleighted I do therefore stand this day in the Name of Jesus Christ to acquaint you that he will save you freely if you will come unto him be your sins what they will so you come not as righteous but as sinners to him so you take his Righteousness to cover you and his Spirit of grace to unite you to him and make you holy and will give up your selves unto him All which he will help if you will come and cry to him yea if you cannot come he will draw you if you are unwilling he will make you willing if you have no heart he will give you heart What more Wretched man or woman that shall stand off one moment longer Is not Hell too good for thee if thou shalt now turn thy back upon such grace Let me have your Answers this day Let me know that sinner that will go home resolved to be as careless as he formerly hath been as well-opinioned of himself as much resolved against Holiness as thoughtless of being damned if he with-stand the Lord in his Free-grace one day more Oh! Will not your hearts stirre dead stupid soules Shall God's Free-grace his Christ go a begging this day and will not a sinner come up to his terms Old sinners that are going into the grave and Hell too will not you accept of Free-grace of Christ the Spirit this day that are upon the brink of the grave and everlasting burnings and have many a thousand sin yet unpardoned Is all this nothing to you but rest in a blind hope of mercy without coming to Jesus Christ without care of being made holy and fit for Heaven Oh you have been fast asleep in sin deceived by your own hearts abused by the Devil fourty fifty sixty years Is' t not time for you to bethink your selves to go and cry to the Blessed God Oh! grace pardon Christ Heaven upon any terms My righteousness I have trusted in are poor Cobwebs my Confidences vain Oh! for a drop of free-mercy and grace from that Ocean that is in God and 't were better then all I have done for Heaven yet Oh Lord Now now I come to thee Is there free-mercy and grace for one that hath sleighted it Yea though thou hast gone on frowardly in thy own heart yet he can heal thee Isa 57.17 18. And you that are younger 't is a desperate thing now in times of Gospel-Light when it glares upon your faces to shut your eyes to go on in the way of your own hearts to sleight Gospel-grace to harden your selves and cry Hereafter hereafter Alas thou knowest not what shall be on the morrow the Thread of thy Life is quickly cut with a stroke from God Beside to go on long from year to year against the loud and frequent Call of Jesus Christ against Convictions that thou shouldest do otherwise is the way to be given up to utter hardness and the Lord to move upon thy heart no more There 's a day of grace to every Soul which if he suffer to set and go down upon him he is irrecoverably lost for ever Look to it you younger men and maidens that have yet no work upon you that are the same you were under the means you have lived that have not the Spirit of grace and mourning upon you when others are praying and wrastling with the Lord and taking the Kingdom of Heaven by violence Oh up and be stirring the day of grace hath shined long upon you Hold out no longer Come come come you careless Sons and Daughters and the way is open to you the door of Free-grace is open Christs Arms are open you may be saved and blessed for ever if you come in now you are invited I can take no excuse Come or say I am resolved for Hell and to venture the utmost in the condition I am in Oh bold and fearless Atheist What shall I say to thee if that be thy Resolution But I cannot be so answered Say you sinners as if I should name you Are you for Heaven or Hell for Free-grace or your own patcht-up Righteousness for Carnal ease or any Pains for Heaven for your Lusts or for Holiness for Jesus Christ or the Devil Let thy Heart answer in good earnest this day Now shall I at last have this Answer Hold I am resolved for the Free-grace of God for the Lord Jesus Christ If all the sinners in the Congregation yea in the World should turn their backs upon him The Word of the Lord hath overcome Oh Lord Jesus may I come such a Wretch as I come Yea saith the Lord Jesus Rev. 22.17 Whosoever will let him come Grace is as free as ever it was Say then Oh Lord I come draw me and I will come Into the Arms of Free-grace I throw my self my Righteousness is an abominable thing Ah! a Christ upon any tearms Oh let let me creep unto thy Blessed Feet let me have the Lowest-Room in thy Heart Take what way thou wilt to purge me so I may but get well unto thee Now Lord as much Holiness as thou wilt let thy precious bloud wash me all over Well! go thus and acquaint the Lord Jesus with it from day to day Wait he will speak to thee love to hear more from him and of him in his Gospel and
through Jesus Christ grounded rooted establish'd upon and in a Scripture-Christ as the truth is in Iesus and abandon any other spirit but a Scripture-Spirit which blessed be rich grace hath hitherto kept you and led you in the way of life and peace Now the Lord of Peace himself give you peace alwayes by all means The Lord be with you all 1 Thes 5.16 Reader who ever thou art if thou art by grace helpt-on to Jesus Christ by what is here presented to thee or in the walk of the New Creature in Christ Give the Lord the glory and pray that he may do so also even in every thing who would gladly approve himself The servant of Christ and of all his A. P. Bourton on the Water 23 of the first Month 1657. THE GOSPEL New-Creature THE FIRST TREATISE Discovering The weight of the Pardon of Sin the Spirits Conviction of Sin and the Souls emptying and reducing into nothing in its self PSAL. 25.11 For thy Names sake O Lord pardon mine iniquity for it is great IN this Psalm you have David's sins laid-in with weight upon his Conscience and in the deep sense of their guilt pleading with God about mercy and pardon The sense of that one great sin in the matter of Uriah meant specially in the Text brought-in the sense of other sins of his youth upon him as is usually Gods way in humbling a sinner and at ver 7. you have him at the feet of God begging as for his life as to the remission of them all Remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions According to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness O Lord And here at the Text for thy Names sake O Lord c. That which I design to lay before you from the words is to open to you and presse upon you the weight and blessedness of a pardoned condition that you may be awakened to it while the day of mercy lasts and may indeed be in very good earnest about it till through infinite grace you may obtain it and live and dye in the sweet and blessed peace comfort of it through our Lord Jesus Christ That which I intend to give out from hence through the Spirit of grace assisting is but as praevious and preparatory to the opening of a justified estate and the New Creature in Christ That if God will your consciences may be brought to a thorough awakening a spiritual sight and conviction of sin and a self-emptyness which is the good and safe way of a Soul to Jesus Christ which from this Scripture take in these plain Observations Obs 1. That great and weighty concernment that should most of all take up the thoughts of the hearts of poor sinners is that their sins may be pardoned 2. Such who come to God by Jesus Christ to have their sins pardoned they look upon them as great sins for it is Great 3. The great reason of Gods pardoning a sinner and the Plea that a poor sinner hath with God is that God will pardon for his own Names sake 1. To begin with the first proposition viz. That great and weighty thing that should most of all take up the thoughts of the hearts of all the Children of men is that their sins may be pardoned This may be evinced from the frame of blessed David's spirit and other the pardoned ones of the Lord up and down the holy Scriptures exercised with such a violence and importunity with the Lord in this matter of the Pardon of their sins as if they had no other thing besides what conduced thereunto to beg of God in the world and all that God gave them in the world as indeed it is not were nothing without it therefore you have them thus wrastling with God about it According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions Psal 51.1 If there be any mercy in heaven let a poor guilty soul have a drop of it yea David layeth a kind of violence upon God Psal 65.2 As for our transgressions thou shalt purge them away thou shalt do it I cannot must not will not be denyed this thou shalt do it for me So Moses interceding for the people Exod. 39.9 If I have found grace in thy sight Oh Lord let my Lord I pray thee go amongst us for it is a stifnecked people and pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for thine inheritance with what vehemency of heart doth Moses cry if I have any favour with thee let it be layd out this way Oh Lord let my Lord c. Otherwhiles when the blessed sense of a pardoned condition is upon their hearts Blessed is he whose transgressions is forgiven Blessed man or woman as ever he was born Blessed He and onely blessed and fully blessed and for ever Blessed whose sins are pardoned And then admiring the blessed God in such riches of grace as to pardon sinners Who is like to thee a God pardoning iniquity Micah 7.18 Thou art a God ready to pardon gracious and merciful c. Neh. 9.17 Psal 103.1.2 3 10. Blesse the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me blesse his holy name why what had the Lord done see verse 3. Oh who forgiveth all thine iniquities who forgiveth and forgiveth All great sins as well as lesse sins of nature as well as life sins before conversion and sins since conversion sins of knowledge as well as of ignorance for David was under all these yet All All All forgiven and that freely too onely because the Lord is gracious verse 8. and so forgiven them as never to come before him any more As far as the East is from the West so far hath he removed our transgressions from us verse 12. I shall hint some Reasons of the Truth why it is that the pardon of sins doth or should so greatly take up the hearts of sinfull creatures Reasons 1. The pardon of sin should thus greatly take up the hearts of all that indeed expect pardon because t was the greatest thing if I may so speak that ever took up Gods heart how a sinner might be pardoned He laid forth more of his wisdome and goodnesse about it then in the making of the Heavens and the Earth The framing of the New Covenant the giving out of his eternall Son Jesus Christ God manifested in his flesh such a glorious way of reconciling justice and mercy through the death of Christ the choicest piece of divine wisdom that ever was brought forth they were all conversant about and their proper tendency was about this great and weighty concernment how and that a sinner might be pardoned when Moses had that blessed enterview and parley with the Lord Exod. 33. 34. and Moses getting nearer and nearer to God who was glimpsing out a ray of glory upon him breakes out Shew me thy glory I will saith God I will shew thee what way of glory I most design to my self among the Sons of men I
in the road-way of hell in a peace that will end in woes and sorrows of any soul in the world Oh wait for Gods appearance and every little sin will be great a hell of sin within thee though outwardly civil and sober wait for the Spirit in the Word and go and pray for it 'T is one thing to know sin by the Letter of the Law which commands this and forbids that and another thing to know see feel sin and the infinite evil of it the exceeding sinfulness and pollution of it by the conviction of the Spirit so as to see it most in the fountain in thy nature and there loath and bewail it because it makes thee unclean and unholy and unlike God and unfit for God and holy communion with him which is the way and most certain evidence of the Spirits saving conviction of sin as distinguishing from that which a hypocrite may have and carries a soul to the fountain opened Zach. 13.1 that its iniquity may be thoroughly cleansed Use 6. If sinners that come to God for mercy pardon see their sin as great then it will also follow that great sinners may be pardoned saved You that are great sinners old sinners Oh hearken to this you are yet within the reach of grace and mercy and pardon if you will come to Jesus Christ for it the greatness of your sin is no barr to you but if you fail of pardon 't is because you will not come to Christ for it and accept it upon Gospel-terms you will not have pardon with a new heart and new life or you make a slight matter of pardon or you think 't will come of course or you are afraid to enter into a serious review and debate with your selves because your sins are so great they will terrifie you or take you off your pleasure and peace of your minds and joy in the world Away away with any of these pleas though thou hast sinned much greatly long with all thy might come to Jesus Christ those great sins are no more before his blood to wash them away then the least sin if any be little that ever was committed and pardoned Esay 1.18 Do not hence say securely Oh 't is well that great sinners may be pardoned I ever thought so what need so much ado Do not thus harden thy self and make such a cursed use of so blessed a truth but therefore come in lay down thy weapons with which thou hast been fighting against God Wilt thou hold up rebellion and yet cry pardon Is it equitable thou shouldst expect it No fall down at the feet of that God against whom thou hast so greatly sinned in the posture hath been shewed thee and then though sin hath abounded yet grace doth much more abound Rom. 5. last Great sinners have become great Saints 1 Cor. 6.11 Such were some of you who were they Idolaters Adulterers Revilers Sodomites c. and such like You that have been such like God may have as much glory in your pardon as he hath had dishonour by your sin only be not such a Devil to thy self as to turn thy back upon it and when thou hast thus long rebelled to tell God he must stay thy leasure for thy acceptance of his pardon thy sins are too sweet to leave as yet I tell thee soul and I have shew'd it that Gods pardons cost him dear and are precious and if thou deal thus they may be lockt up in Heaven from thy wretched soul to all eternity Who but a desperate wretch but would take mercy and grace from Heaven that may make him blessed for ever when God offers it by his dear Son let thy sins be never so great why wretched man or woman Hast thou not done God wrong enough already but must thou stay yet longer in thy cursed sin and wrong him yet more Hast not done enough already to damn a thousand souls but wouldst do more and make as sure of hell as thou canst I beseech thee sinner great sinner young or old do not put me off nay do not put the Lord off with a pardon in his hand a promise of grace ready to be sealed by the Holy-ghost if thou wilt now from thy soul readily say why then be it so Lord Jesus I come to thee If the tearms be leaving all this deceitful sin and to be made like unto thee be it so I accept of it tear my lusts from my heart I have served them long enough too long Oh now if there be any mercy in Heaven let me have it save me not in but from my sins Oh Lord for they are great great indeed I will saith the Lord and he speaks it in Ezek. 36.29 I will save you from all your uncleanesses 't is as much as if the Lord should have now spoken it from Heaven mark every tittle in such a promise Now thou cryest Oh will will the Lord save I will saith the Lord Oh but will he save me from such uncleannesses yea from uncleannesses what from All yea from All thy uncleannesses fall down and Adore and cry out Oh grace free rich infinite glorious grace admire Angels Saints sinners Behold one of Gods wonders A great sinner saved Use 7. And so seventhly it may serve to exhort blessed souls brought into a state of peace and pardon still to keep an eye upon the greatness of mercy If mercy were not great how could any sin be forgiven Thus this blessed man David is breathing forth Blessed is he whose iniquities are forgiven Oh bless the Lord Oh my soul who forgiveth all thine iniquities Oh how great is thy mercy towards me and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell So should pardoned called redeemed souls see themselves call'd and taken out of hell it self out of a hell of abominations pollutions wrath under which they were fast held by the powers of darkness Say did ever such a soul get to Heaven shall I not be the wonder of Heaven and hell how I got to Heaven and escaped that wrath in which thousands that were better then I are now plunged there 's no other reason but because mercy is great greater then the greatness of sin with which I shall conclude the second Point namely When sinners come on to find pardon they see their sins great Obs 3. The great reason of Gods pardoning a sinner and the plea that a poor convinced sinner hath with God is that he will pardon for his own Names sake For thy Names sake Oh Lord pardon c. That is not for any worth that is in a poor creature not for my sake but for thy own glories sake thy mercies sake grace and mercy will be hereby glorified God gets himself a Name by the pardoning of a poor sinner that Name which he proclaims to Moses Exod. 34.6 The Lord merciful and gracious c. Now God hath given forth the ground of this plea in the New Covenant where his Name is
convey his grace to lost Sinners Iam. 5.22 23. That all men should honour the Son So the Apostle fully Col. 1.16 17 18 19 20. All things were for him And that in all things he might have the preheminence c. For by him and to him and for him are all things This honour the Father committed to the Son to bring about this great Contrivance of bringing Man back again unto God 4. God letting out his Grace by Iesus Christ renders his love more abundant and acceptable to poor sinners Ioh. 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his onely begotten Son c. So loved it that he could not give forth a greater manifestation of his love Now the Father purposed to render his love to sinners by the gift of his Son most full and glorious and therefore gave him out of his Bosome and all the Riches of his Love and Grace by him 5. This way of the Father's dispensation of grace by his Son Iesus Christ hath rendered the grace of God most sure and unchangeable to his own The Covenant of Grace being now establisht between the Father and Iesus Christ Iesus Christ being the Undertaker in it for all the Father gave him it is certainly founded upon a sure Bottome This was the Father's Promise Isa 42.6 I will give him for a Covenant to the People Iesus Christ as a common person did represent all the Elect in the Covenant as the first Adam in the first Covenant did represent all his and Iesus Christ did undertake to bring them to God to bring them into the Covenant and so to estate them in all the grace and mercy and blessing of it Therefore the mercies of the Covenant are stiled The sure mercies of David Isa 55.3 As a Type of Iesus Christ coming of the Seed of David wherein is set forth the excellency of the New Covenant the whole Transaction of it intrusted in the hands of Jesus Christ and therefore not one drop of the mercy of it can ever fail those that are taken into it 6. By the giving forth of Jesus Christ the whole of Gospel-Salvation is rendered more glorious The Wisdome Justice Holiness of God as well as mercy and love do shine forth in Jesus Christ And therefore the Gospel-mystery is styled The manifold Wisdome of God Ephes 3.10 Every Attribute of God is glorified in the giving out of Jesus Christ 7. Yea had not God taken this way of making out himself by Jesus Christ the World had dwelt in gross darkness of him Therefore Jesus Christ is styled The Image of the Invisible God Col. 1.15 The express Image of the Father The brightness of his glory Heb. 1. And in 2 Cor. 2.6 The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is said to shine in the face of Jesus Christ. The Creation is but a dark shadow of the glory of God as to what is revealed of God in the manifestation of Jesus Christ There are the Footsteps of God in the Creatures but his Character and Image in his Blessed Son Jesus Christ 8. There could not have been access to God but by Jesus Christ for through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father Eph. 1 18. How could polluted Dust draw nigh to the absolute majesty and glory of God had not he let forth himself in Jesus Christ as in our own Nature and so makes way for a poor sinner to come before him 9. Had God let forth mercy to sinners and not given out his Son Jesus Christ His justice must have been violated which is the main of all The word of the Lord was absolute In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye Gen. 2.17 which was meant of the Eternal Death of the Soul in its separation from the life of God as is clear in Rom. 5. last where grace unto eternal life by Jesus Christ is put in opposition to that death which was by sin which must therefore needs be meant of Eternal Death So Rom. 6. ver last Now this Death must be executed upon all the Posterity of Adam or else God must take some other way to satisfie his justice he will save the sinner which was upon his own son Jesus Christ as will further be evidenced in the following Discourse 10. The Blessed God took this way of letting out himself his grace by Jesus Christ that thereby Saints might have union with him which was a holy design of rhe Father in saving them That they may be one in us Ioh. 17.21 The deepest and most unconceiveable mystery in our Salvation Now Iesus Christ as the Eternal Son of God taking upon him our natures we became capable of being united to him through the Spirit and made one with the humane nature of Christ whereby we are also united to the God-head and so become one with the Father and the Son which is the top of the Saints perfection Use 1. Now what hath bin said as to the grounds and reasons of God in given out his eternall Son and letting forth all grace by him may serve to acquaint us with this rich and glorious Mystery as it is styled Col. 1.27 Namely God reconciling the word by Jesus Christ letting forth the knowledge of himself glorifying all his Attributes making such discoveries of his glory providing such a way of Mediation such a glorious Mediator laying the blessed project of a sinner's glorious salvation so sure rendring his love so acceptable and glorious making way for free accesse unto himself and how we might become one with him Oh! the depths of the wisdome and love of God which of them may we admire most well may Angels pry into this holy Mystery well may it be the astonishment of Heaven and Earth of the whole Creation How much more of a sinner for whose sake it was thus ordered Oh that we might fall upon our faces and adore the wisdom and grace of God in such a contrivance as this Oh! unmeasurable goodnesse unfathomed wisdom Eternity is but enough to admire it To behold God in Christ will be the vision which the souls of blessed Saints will be wrapt up into to all eternity 2. Oh! therefore what infinite mercy is it to be brought forth in new Testament-times when the Mystery hid in God hid from ages kept secret since the word began 1 Cor. 16.25 is brought to light and sparkling upon the darknesse of the world when the glory of God is risen upon the world Now If this Gospel be hid t is hid to them that are lost 2 Cor. 4.3 Woe unto them that close their eyes when the light shines round about them Oh! you that yet sit in darknesse and the shaddow of death Arise Awake look up that Gospel-light may shine into you Oh cry wait that your eyes may be opened to behold God coming forth in the Revelation of Jesus Christ in the glorious Gospel waite for the spirit and thar the Gospel in the preaching of it
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy And as if this had not been enough the heart of the blessed God was so infinitely taken with it Chap. 34 5 6. The Lord comes nearer to him descended in a Cloud and stood with him there and as if meerly to have spoken what he had before said to Moses namely That he should have mercy had not been enough at verse 6 He proclaimes it and makes it as his proper Name and most glorious Title The Lord The Lord God Mercifull and Gracious c. verse 7. forgiving iniquity c. As if forgiving iniquity were the great design of glory he had upon the world his heart most affected and taken up with it This is the first reason poor sinners should have their hearts most taken up about the pardon of sins because the heart of the infinite wise and blessed God is most taken up about it 2. The pardon of sin should so greatly take up the heart of a poor guilty sinner because Nothing is a a Blessing to a man till his sins are pardoned but All a curse The Scripture is well known that proves it among many Deut. 28.15 16. If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do all his Commandments and his Statutes which I command thee this day that all those curses shall come upon thee overtake thee Cursed shall thou be in the City cursed shalt thou be in the field Cursed shall be thy basket thy Store Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body the fruit of thy Land the encrease of thy kin the flocks of thy sheep Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in cursed shall thou be when thou goest out the Lord shall send upon thee cursing vexation and rebuke in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do c. Now that soul that doth not hearken to the voice of God according to the tenour of the New-Covenant to come unto Jesus Christ to have his sins pardoned to have the spirit given him to walk before God in all his wayes is in an unpardoned condition and so liable to all these curses now under the old Testament God did more usually come forth in visible stroakes of punishment upon outward mercies but under the New Testament his judgements specially upon such as are under the Gospell are more spirituall as blessings to his people run in a more spirituall way as in cursing them with hardnesse and blindnesse of heart having resisted the truth but yet though such outward curses are not so visibly and frequently executed though sometime they are yet unpardoned unconverted sinners enjoy not their outward good things as a blessing but they serve but to further their damnation if their hearts are not through infinite grace made soft and turn unto the Lord that they may be pardoned Now to have outward mercyes and be hardned in an impenitent estate under them is a farr greater curse then to have them smitten or imbittered from the Lord though with the heaviest hand This is the 2d Reason of the point Every thing is a curse while such to an unpardoned sinner therefore t is of the greatest weight to have his heart taken up about it 3. The person of an unpardoned sinner is hated of the Lord therefore the weight of it is very great Psal 5.5 Thou hatest all workers of iniquity All be they what they will high or low rich or poor God hates them and while they are workers of iniquity they are certainly unpardoned what they may be in the decree of God is nothing to that sinner in this condition while he is a worker of iniquity he hath no ground for any other apprehension of God unles he turn in unto him Now what a dreadfull thing is it to be hated of that great and righteous God a drop of whose wrath is able to scortch the soul with unspeakable torment yet such is the condition of a wretched unpardoned sinner therefore t is his great concernment to look to it c. 4. While a sinner is unpardoned he is under the law What that is I shall if God will further discover He stands bound over to the most exact fullfilling of it under the penalty of Hell bound to make God satisfaction to the utmost upon the least breach and being under transgression of it is under wrath and condemnation if he abide so without remedy There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus but All condemnation to those that are out of Christ Jesus as all unpardoned sinners are therefore t is a condition above all others to be weighed and considered and not to be rested in one moment 5. Neither the Prayers nor Alms nor any other duty of an unpardoned sinner are at all accepted with the Lord. This wretched sinners will not admit of but think if they perform any duty to God he accepts of it and that indeed it makes an atonement for their sins Take that one eminent place in Esa 1.15 Though you make many prayers yet I will not hear you mark it you that think because you make or say as you style it many good prayers sure God hears you No saith God I will not hear why see verse 16. they were not washed from their sins therefore the Prophet calls them to come to the Lord that they might be pardoned verse 38. T is true when a poor sinner hath his heart smitten for sin and comes to the Lord upon the account of promises of grace and pardon through Jesus Christ with full purpose of heart to cleave unto the Lord and so begs for pardon and all things that do accompany pardon and salvation then God hears his cryes at the very first breathing of his soul Lam. 3.56 but not till then doth God regard the multitude of his Prayers Alms Worship Keeping conscience to men therefore certainly if nothing be accepted with God till in a pardoned condition such an estate requires great and deep thoughts of heart of it 6. Upon all this it will follow That an unpardoned sinner will have no other word from the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming but Go you cursed Everlasting darknesse and wrath and woes and all misery must be his portion for ever If he dye in his sins Joh. 8.29 his soul must be eternally damned without all Remedy Live and dye unpardoned and be damned unpardoned When Jesus Christ shall be come neither he himself nor Saint nor Angel will or can speak one word for a soul that dyes unpardoned though the soul screek out for a drop of mercy it will be answered with nothing but the Ecchoes of the screekings of other desperate souls ready to be hurled with it into the same everlasting burnings no eye to pitty there though Ministers and Saints did warn invite weep mourn pity when on this side the grave yet at the
great Judgment it will not be so No nothing but upbraidings of Devils for neglecting Gospel-grace and refusing the termes of pardon and for grosse security This will be the portion of every unpardoned sinner that neglects the day of his salvation Therefore the pardon of sins requires the deepest thoughts of heart and can never be made too sure to a poor sinfull Creature Use 1. If the pardon of sin be of so great and infinite weight how doth this meet with the wretched deplorable carelesnesse of a world of souls in this day that think of nothing lesse then whether their sins are pardoned that will hear of nothing that may call this great matter into question or way awaken them to it Oh how many poor souls I fear too many of you though so often and earnestly prest to it that were never before the Lord mourning after the pardon of your sins What a leight matter would it be to be pardoned if there should be no more in it not care about it then most sinners that call themselves Christians make about it Ah sinners why do you make no more ado no more matter of it why so sensless of that which is alone worthy all the thoughts of thy heart if thou shouldst live a million of years to dispatch this one thing to get thy sins all pardoned You that are Elderly people have a large reckoning specially upon your account of sinning against Gospell-light and grace make haste what you do do quickly lay hold on eternall life the sun is ready to let upon you and wo with you as ever you were men and women if you fail of a good and sure dispatch of this one corcernable thing your sins being pardoned And you that are younger take heed lest the day of grace set upon you and you be given up to your own hearts lusts and no word that is spoken from God or man shall ever reach you Oh tremble at tryfling with convictions and light but begin to honour the Lord Jesus and bow unto him and wait for the promised effusion of his spirit and the joy of the Lord shall be the joy of your youth and the love of the Lord will be very sweet and precious to you 2d Exhort Oh then let every soul of us be deeply affected with this weighty matter let your souls say within you Oh the dreadfulnesse of an unpardoned condition what tongue can expresse it to have all my store little or much house corn cattle all under a curse and enjoy it as a curse and onely to further my eternall damnation to be hated of the great God and not loved to be under all the condemnation of the Law where ever I read of wrath and wo it belongs to me to have not one of my prayers or any thing else accepted of the Lord to be in a condition of expecting nothing from Jesus Christ at his coming but go ye cursed when I shall see so many blessed souls that took paines for Heaven enter into the Kingdome and my self shut out Wo is me if I speak peace to my soul in such an estate one moment more Awake my soul Awake Away in to the blessed God for mercy pardon grace Christ his blood spirit holinesse eternall life I will go the Lord helping me and cry in the bitternesse of my soul for them all and if 't were possible to weary the Lord with the cryes of my poor soul I will do it till he have mercy upon me and bid me go in peace The gracious God shall as hardly deny me as ever he did any poor sinner that lay bleeding at his feet for mercy and grace from heaven to heale a poor condemned soul Oh what have I been doing in the world all this while get a little something and my sins unpardoned in daily danger of dying in them and so be lost without all remedy for ever Oh! such will be the great thoughts of heart about the pardon of sins when the Lord shall speak to a poor sinner and the Conscience shall be thoroughly awake about it Oh! let me yet in the name of the Lord argue out this matter with thee Be serious for once and ponder it in thy heart what is health or wealth what is it to have something about thee in the world lay up yearly thou go deeper in debt with the just God every day What if all the world be at Peace with thee and God thy enemy and hate thee as thou hast been shewed What if all the world say of thee Blessed if God and his holy Word of truth pronounce thee Cursed because thy sins lye upon thy soul and the Spirit of grace is not upon thee Ah! poor Creature Do not do not let thy sins lye upon thy precious soul any longer do not be contented to be a child of Gods wrath any longer Oh! do not thou poor carelesse soul if there be a spark of pity in thee Do not as the Devil flatters rest in this and say I hope better and I hope 't is better with me and I hope I am or shall be pardoned and so fall asleep till thou drop into hell You that think it an easie common matter to be pardoned know not what it is you have yet no part in this blessednesse Saith a poor convinced soul 1. 'T is a great matter that any sinner in the world is pardoned much more such a one as I if ever I attain to it 2. Souls that get pardon do make it their greatest care to be assured of it they do not leave the matter at sixes and sevens and put it off with bidding the heart hope well but they labour after a Gospel assurance of it 3. Such souls will labour to see that nothing be wanting that must accompany pardon of sin and a state of salvation Heb. 6.9 4. They try all their pretences to pardon and grace over and over and will take nothing upon trust from their hearts or the Devils flatteries or the flatteries of carnal Ministers but search and prove and lay their hearts under the Word and Spirit till it be sealed by the Holy Ghost and that they are wrought of God for this self same thing and that he hath given them the Earnest of the Spirit 2 Cor. 5.5 Well therefore say in thy heart in good earnest Oh! it hath not been so with me I have been carelesse I thought well of my self I nere questioned this weighty matter to purpose Oh! the Lord give me grace to take pains in the use of means to be violent for Heaven Oh! I will not rest Oh! let me not till I am assured indeed that my my sins are done away and Christ is mine Go and say and do it and the God of all grace and might be with thee in it But yet further to presse the weight of this matter upon thy Conscience that thou mayest go off thoroughly convinced and resolved to pursue effectually the compassing of this so
with them But say canst thou canst thou well be without the pardon of thy sins Canst thou well live and dye hated by the great and righteous God Canst thou well be where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dyes Say canst thou well miss the presence of the ever blessed God to all eternity Are damned screeking Spirits good company for ever and ever Away away sinner to the blessed God betake thy self put it not off an hour longer to crying repenting mourning to God for free pardon for Christ for the Spirit and look up to the Lord to give thee a heart to do it wait humbly and carefully on the Gospel of grace preached and yet though thou hast hitherto been idle thou mayest attain to this blessedness as well as the blessedst Saint in the world if thou wilt be serious diligent earnest as so weighty a matter requires about it The good Lord give thee a heart to do it 2 Do not rest in false evidences false hopes of pardon Many sinners might seem to have got pardon and gone well to Heaven if they had not vainly and foolishly hoped so Oh rest in nothing and never rest without it as I have pressed thee in love till thou canst say from a well grounded Gospel-evidence wrought forth with fear and trembling Now I have the blessedness that accompanies pardoned souls Now oh now rejoyce with me blessed souls I am I am a child of God I have access to the blessed God and my soul pleads with him every day Ah now God my God doth love me Now I am justified in a state of justification from which my God will never let me fall Ah my sins though great shall be remembred no more no more I shall be kept safely kept in all my waies If I fall the Lord will take me up and I shall not utterly fall however it is or may be with me as to the world and the things of it I am rich though poor worthless nothing in my self with all the riches unsearchable riches of my Christ I am an Heir of God I need nothing Oh the sweetness peace joy contentment Heaven of such a blest for ever blest condition Now tell me sinner and let it stick with thee till thou art got well to Heaven is not is not the pardon of thy sins the work of the greatest weight before thee on this side the grave which is that I first promised thee to prove to thy Conscience from the first Observation 3. I might from hence insist to stir up poor souls who have been awake for Heaven and have been and are crying and waiting for the pardon of your sins to be in this matter with all your might because you see 't is wonderfully weighty and concernable to you beyond all imaginations get your doubts and fears and misgivings of heart well removed see from whence your doubts do arise and follow them home to your hearts and then be with the Lord much and in his Word and Ordinances till the Lord make it clear day in thy soul and thou walk in a sweet spirit of Adoption before him 4. Let pardoned ones whom it hath cost much as to means to get it made good to you make much of your comfort and do not Triflle it nor sin it away and keep the sense of a pardoned condition warm and lively upon your spirits and then you will love the Lord much Luke 7.47 Lord thou hast forgiven much as much as to any Oh let me let me love love much very much Conviction of sin and self-emptiness THe second Consideration we observed from the words and proposed to be opened was this Obs 2. Such who come to God to have their sins pardoned they look upon them as great sins Pardon my iniquity for it is great c. The Original word as well signifies Many as Great my sins are great and many Many great sins lye upon me pardon Oh pardon them oh Lord c. Thus you have this blessed man David in several Psalms aggravating his sin Psa 38.4 Mine iniquities are gone over my head and are a burden too heavy for me to bear against thee only have I sinned Psa 51. So blessed Paul Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners whereof I am chief That sin by the Commandement might become exceeding sinful Rom. 7.13 So Peter at the first glimpse of Christ and a word from him falls upon his knees cryes out Depart from me for I am a sinful man c. Luke 5.8 So the Publican God be merciful to me a sinner a great vile sinner nothing else but a sinner So the Prodigal Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight c. Luke 18.13 ct 15.21 In the opening of this Point first I would shew Why such as come in a right way for pardon do look upon their sins as great sins 2. How they come to see them so 3. When a sinner may be said to have seen his sins so great as a pardoned soul should do First Sinners that come to God for pardon and find it do look upon their sins as great sins because against a great God great in power great in justice great in holiness I am a worm and yet sin and that boldly against a God so great for a worm to lift up himself against a great and infinite God Oh this makes every little sin great and calls for great vengeance from so great a God 2. Because they have sinned against great patience despising the goodness forbearance and long-suffering of God which is call'd treasuring up of wrath Rom. 2.4 5. Oh saith a poor abased sinner at Gods feet How have I wearied the patience of God I have not wearied thee saith God but thou hast been weary of me and hast made me to serve with thy sins and wearied me with thine iniquities Esay 43.23 24. Oh this is an humbling and heart-breaking word to a poor soul before the Lord this makes his sin appear great indeed I have wearied the blessed God with my sin and yet he calls upon me that he may pardon me ver 25. of the same Chapter This greatens sin to purpose to a poor soul that hath abused much patience 3. Sins do appear great because against great mercies Oh against how many mercies and kindnesses do sinners sin against and turn all the mercies of God into sin Oh saith a poor soul drawing near to God I turned all the mercies of the Lord against him took his mercies and fought against him with them and served the Devil and my lusts with them If God will come and account with me for them how shall I answer him 4. That which greatens sin in the eyes of poor sinners that cry for pardon is that they have sinned against great light light in the Conscience this heightens sin exceedingly specially to such as are under Gospel-means and is indeed the sin of all in this Nation there 's nothing more abaseth
God as a thing melted in heart-melting confessions at least the poor soul mourns over the hardnesse of its heart oh that I have thus sinned and yet my heart will not break blessed be every stroak and every word of God and every Ordinance that though grace breaks my heart more A sincere soul sets a high price upon brokennesse and yet rests not in it c. 5. Such confession that hath the promise is accompanied with soul-abasement He that humbleth himself shall be exalted Luke 18.14 spoken upon the Publicans acceptance with God in his confession under brokenesse smiting upon his breast and deep abasement not lifting up his eyes to heaven So that great promise 2 Chron. 7.14 If my people shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked wayes then will I hear from Heaven will forgive their sins This a work of the narrowest search of any other I intend if the Lord will to speak to this more distinctly and fully in another discourse Only now a word of such a humiliation as is joyned with such confession that hath the promise of pardon which is the scope we drive at 1. When the soul is in confession and under the Lords humblings in order to pardon The poor Creature acknowledgeth himself infinitely unworthy that ever the Lord should cast a look upon him or give out mercy and pardon to him This conclusion is fixed upon the soul and the soul falls down abased in the sence of it what ever the Lord do with me I will lay my mouth in the dust I am worthy of nothing from the Lord but a thousand Hells this quiets the heart in some measure what ever the pleasure of the Lord be towards him 2. As the poor sinfull Creature is worthy of nothing so he will give glory to God if God never pardon God is never the lesse righteous or holy wise or good if he never let out one drop of mercy upon so vile a Creature yet he is a God blessed for ever Thou art holy saith David Psal 22.3 But I am a worme and no man verse 6. A worm sit for God and man to tread upon and yet must not rise up against God nor say to him what dost thou no Man I have un-man'd my self with sin I am dust and vanity it self vile dust that 's my make my frame oh I must give glory to his justice though I perish for ever 3. The poor Creature hath no good no not the least to procure pardon or to move God to pardon Psal 14.3 Saith a poor humbled soul treating for pardon if mercy and pardon must come forth upon termes of my good having or doing any thing but what hath infinitely sin enough in it to damn me for ever assuredly to Hell I must No sin enough to send a world of souls to Hell but not a drop of good to move the Lord to mercy If God give our mercy upon a sight of good I exspect not a drop from him 4. It followes from hence when a sinner comes humbled he comes as nothing else but a sinner Luke 18.13 God be mercifull to me a sinner one that 's nothing else but a wretched sinner for so the Publican means it as in a contrary frame to the Pharisee who thanks God that he was not so bad as many were though the Pharisee no doubt would acknowledge some sin but now the Publican is All a sinner in as bad a condition as any sinner in the world ☞ Here 's a touchstone poor souls in these dayes they hope they have not so much need of Christ as many great sinners they be not nothing else but sinners they have or do some good The discussion of this will be the next discourse only now a word more Know sinner that one sin strikes off all thy pretended good as shall at large through mercy be proved to thee stick to one drop of good in thee or from thee when thou comest for mercy and pardon and thou losest all oh to be wholly condemned wholly unrighteous wholly a sinner is a great work t is the most distinguishing conviction of any other While a man hath any thing to live upon he is not fit to beg so while a soul hath a drop of any thing that in his own sense may the more admit him to pardon he cannot have it Take it thus If one came to your doors and beg and he hath good Cloaths on his back and he should say I have good Cloaths on my back I have something of my own therefore I pray Give me would you not answer if you have something of your own are pretty well cloathed why should you beg t is not for you to come and ask almes But if a poor naked wretch come and say cry oh I am a poor creature a poor naked destitute creature I have nothing all 's gone I have lost all pray cover me pray feed me out of great pity you will look upon such a poor wretch and do something for him if you have any bowels So if a sinner as that Pharisee did come and say Lord I have done this and this I have not been so wicked as many I do some good therefore pardon that therefore will make the Lord send thee away without mercy no saith God live upon what thou hast if thou hast any thing Oh sinner thou art not fit to beg to beg mercy and pardon till thou hast just nothing of thy own which the naturall pride of thy heart will very hardly come off to 5. In the way of mens tribunalls of Justice and Courts of life and death If a Malefactor be condemned by the Law and he yet plead Though I am proved a thief or a murderer yet I have kept the rest of the Law I have broken no Law of the Nation that deserves death beside shall not this rather justify me then this crime condemn me No saith the Judge That 's nothing to us though thou hast kept the Law in other things thou must dye by the Law as a trangressour of it for this thou hast done why then saith the condemned person I must plead all mercy Just so it is at the tribunal of God comes a poor soul that is convinced he hath sinn'd oh but saith he in his heart I have kept the Law in many or most things will not that commend me to God will not God look upon my good more then my evil No saith God in his word thou hast broken the Law and thou art cursed therefore the Law can shew thee no mercy I can take no notice of any of thy pretended keeping of it in any other thing oh then must a poor sinner say then it must be all all of mercy if I am ever pardoned this may be enough to discover such a humiliation that follows confession that hath the promise of pardon and doth also further evidence the main point which is to set forth
when a Sinner so sees his sin as great sin in order to pardon 6. One thing more which I shall but mention such a confession of sin as hath the promise of mercy is accompanied with a firm resolution through grace to forsake sin every sin in heart and life He that confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy Prov. 28. as before Mark well that famous promise Esay 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon here 's forsaking wayes and thoughts sins of heart and life and not a forsaking or leaving of some great sins but forsaking and warring against a sinfull disposition sinfull thoughts and not onely a mere leaving of sin but a returning to the Lord which he cannot do if held under the love of but one sin and a turning to God only upon the account of free mercy and then God abundantly pardons A good word suited to a poor soul under the sense of sinning abundantly therefore need of abundance of mercy and pardon Use 4. Therefore the next Use will be of Examination Have you bin under such a trouble as before opened about sin and the pardon of it such a trouble that would not be quieted but by clasping about Jesus Christ hath the Lord smitten you with the deep sense of a particular sin your bosome sin and thereby bin brought to a deep sense of the evil of all sin Have you been upon your knees your faces in as particular a confession as your could hating loathing sin and your selves in it Oh have you driven sin to the root the fountain oh there 's a Hell of it within Say do you know what it is to have broken hearts under the weight of sin and the sense of the patience grace and love of God held forth to you in Jesus Christ Do you know what soul-abasement is acknowledging in confusion of face that you are worthy of nothing from the Lord for ever not so much as a glimpse of mercy a good look from him because you have so sinned against him Have you glorified God though he never pardon you and is he holy and blessed though you are banished from him for ever Have you been so reduced to see that there 's not the least atome of good to commend you to the Lord and so layn down as nothing else but a sinnerr before him Thousands of sins to damne thee but not a drop of righteousnesse to cover thee and so creep to the seat of mercy infinite free mercy yea hast thou seen and felt the difficulty of such a self-emptines that thou wouldst rather part with all thy sinne then thy righteounesse yea rather be righteous and holy than be humble and empty ☞ A poor soul would take up from sin upon conviction of the damnablenesse of it and be more righteous and holy but to be reduced first to Nothing nothing else but a poor vile unrighteous weak empty creature and so to Christ here the pride of heart sticks Now soul be narrow and close in the search of this for faile here and fail in all But I intend a larger discourse to further this Conviction Use 5. Let it exhort you that have never bin under any trouble about your sin and the pardon of it that you do dot ward off and get from under such convincing searching words that may trouble you many poor sinfull Creatures resolve they will never hearken to such a word as shall trouble them and cannot bear such preaching as would trouble their consciences One word with you Why soul Hast thou bin dishonouring God abusing his patience and mercy transgressing his holy Commands slighting his grace and yet thou must not be troubled for it wilt thou have thousands of sins upon thy soul unpardoned and tread upon the brink of Hell every step thou goest and not be troubled about it It seems then thou resolvest not to trouble thy self much about that petty businesse as thou makest it of being damned for ever or saved for ever No nothing about sin guilt pardon heaven and hell must trouble thee Alas poor deluded creature what a care is there to get to hell peaceably for never any one got to heaven so that was never troubled about getting his sins pardoned Away away with such a cursed peace and let it now trouble thee that thou hast put off this work so long that sin and thy soul have bin at such a peace so long Be now at a professed war against it and take part with the Lord and his word that is teaching thee how yet to arive at the blessed haven of peace not with sin but with the blessed God against whom thou hast so greatly sinned Oh look unto him to smite a hard secure heart to strike at a bosome hellish lust for whose peace thou hast so long and so foolishly contended yea go in secret and fall down before the great God particularly confessing and shaming thy self haring loathing humbling till thou cry out as David here Oh pardon what a great matter t is for any poor soul to be pardoned Now great mercy for a great sinner or I am lost for ever Out-sinned pardon thou hast not if thou comest in this posture to God for it But you may further enquire how doth God bring a poor soul to this passe to such a deep sense of sin such a sight of himself so as to be thus before the the Lord in self-loathing and abasement I intend also if God will a fuller and set-discourse as to this matter Only now a word 1. When a soul is brought to this passe God lets out an appearance of himself in measure upon a poor creature such a glimpse of light and purity that makes the creature fall down and cry out oh I am vile vile as the dust I tread on 2. God gives out his spirit in the word which convinceth and searcheth the soul shewes it its condition state sin the damnablenesse and pollution of it the greatnesse of it as was shewed The spirit opens the holiness and spirituality of the Law Rom. 7.9 and shewes the sinner as in glasse what he is The spirit gives a sight of Jesus Christ peirced with the sins of such as will come unto him Zach. 12.10 These do cause loathing and bitternesse upon the soul of a poor sinner drawing near to the Lord for pardon Therefore 't is great wisdome to be where God speakes where God appeares where God gives out his spirit which is usually in the word preacht powerfully among the Saints meetings or setting thy self in secret to muse and ponder about an eternall condition or when the afflicting hand of God is upon thee do not say I am not so great a sinner as to make so much a do about pardon or heaven if that be thy temper thou art the most likely to be
thus made most glorious And when He had given forth a brief and blessed draught of the tenour of the New Covenant Ezek. 36.21 c. The Lord gives out this as the great reason often mentioned why he would take such a way of making another Covenant where in he wills all undertakes all does all works all as resolved it should be a Covenant and a way of grace that should surely hold he gives out this I say as the ground of all I had pity for mine own holy Name ver 21. Thus saith the Lord God I do not this for your sakes but for mine holy Names sake ver 22. I will sanctifie my great Name ver 23. And when the Lord had shewed what he would do for the poor Jewes in special and so for all sinners taken into Covenant with him that he would sprinkle clean water upon them cleanse them from their sins give them a new heart put his Spirit upon them write his Laws in their hearts and so take them to be his people he again concludes with the same ground as before that all this was still for his own Name ver 32. Not for your sakes do I do this be it known unto you c. And yet that he would as certainly and fully do it as if all the engagements from man in the world had been upon him as undoubtedly make good every part and article of the Covenant he adds ver 36. I the Lord have spoken it and I will do it you may safely abide by it Neither should his grace and power come hardly from him as poor doubting souls surmise as if 't were as much as ever the Lord could do to give out mercy and grace to poor sinners but saith the blessed God in another place upon the same account having given out the promises of grace in the New Covenant Jer. 32.37 and so on He subjoyns I will do it with my whole heart and my whole soul mark it poor souls with my whole soul will I pardon you love you never turn away from you to do you good and never suffer you to turn away from me If poor weak souls for whose sake I put it should here ask What is this Covenant what do you mean by it I have at large opened this to you only a word here God at first when he made man agreed with man to be his God to give him life for ever upon these tearms that man would keep the Law that God gave him which God also writ in his heart and 't was a Law that would have given all glory to the Creator preserved the creature in a holy and blessed order and been a blessing to the whole Creation but man transgressing here the blessed God from his own good pleasure for his Names sake gives out another Agreement or Covenant provides in it tearms of reconciliation for the first breach of the first Covenant sends his eternal blessed Son Jesus Christ to be a Mediatour of this new agreement gives him Commission to offer it to all and that freely and to let the World know that if any sinner in the world never so great come and put up his plea make his claim enter his claim accept of this Covenant and new agreement with God accept of the tearms of it give up himself mutually to God back again then will God be his God and that upon better tearms then before with Adam pardon own love blesse unite to himself never suffer him to fall mercy built upon an unmoveable foundation The foundation of God standeth sure 2 Tim. 2.19 This briefly is the meaning of the New Covenant upon which all our mercy is built now from first to last from the first to the top stone of it from Election to Glory all is done and made good for the Lords own glorious Names sake Souls elected the Covenant transacted between God and Christ Jesus Christ sent the sinner called forgiven justified sanctified adopted kept glorified All for his Names sake See the promises running thus in most places Esay 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions Why for my own sake Purge away our sins for thy Names sake Psa 79.9 This is the bottome of all Now because the further clearing of this blessed truth is my design through grace in the next discourse I shall speak but a word more by way of use only Use 1. If it be thus that what ever God gives out to poor souls is for his own Names sake that this is the plea a poor sinner hath let it then be for your information and instruction that you have no other plea to be heard in Heaven but this the plea of Jesus Christ being upon the same bottom Dont make a sorry pile of carnal duties and works and say for the sake of these Lord do me good and pardon where I have failed the Lord may send fire from Heaven to consume thee and them because of their pollution and that 't is a cursed offering but never hear thee and blesse thee upon such a plea No no say in thy soul and that from full conviction If ever I have any thing from God on this side hell it must be for his own Names sake I expect I plead I wait upon no other ground Use 2. If the Lord's Names sake be the only plea for grace then let poor sinners drawing near to God by Jesus Christ be perswaded that 't is a good plea and most acceptable before the Lord. Now this is the way of the heart of poor creatures from rooted self-love pride we think if God could give out good unto us for our sakes it were something if there were any thing to be beheld in us that were commendable to the Lord I could go with some confidence but seeing 't is thus that I am nothing else but vile before him how can I go to him with what face or how can he give out unto me Sinner be as low as thou wilt or canst but reason not so with thy self If God can as freely as fully do thee good all good for his own Names sake and hath thereby the more glory by it Why shouldst thou so stand upon thy tearms with God and not be as willing as contented to accept of mercy all mercy for Gods own Names sake as well as for thy sake 'T is thy pride be it known unto thee sinner as humble as thou thinkest thou art and not thy lowliness know for thy comfort God can more readily easily do thy soul good upon the tearms he now is for his own sake and so the thing be done thy soul pardoned blessed saved and all shall end in everlasting love upon thee let the Lord have all the glory though thou hast nothing to boast of for thy own sake And yet also know that when the Lord saith he doth it for his own sake he doth not exclude that he hath no respect and love unto thee but that the great
all do sin and transgresse this law of God therefore they are under the penalty and condemnation of it this argument the Apostle brings to prove the same thing verse 9. of this 3d. of the Rom. For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin and verse 12. They are all gone out of the way they are together become unprofitable there is none that doth good no not one Threfore seeing all do sin they are bound to answer the law as you use to phrase it and are subject to whatsoever the law pronounceth against the transgressours of it 3. All the partiall keping of the law will not deliver a soul from that penalty that belongs to the breach of the whole keep me all or none as to your deliverance from the curse saith the law But this I am further to prove when I speak to the next verse The impossibility of a sinners being accepted by his best keeping of the law Use 1. Are all men and women in the world young and old naturally under the law bound over to the most exact and rigorous fulfilling of it under a curse and are indeed under all the curses and threanings it pronounceth and bound to make God satisfaction in your own persons while you are under it oh let every poor sinner be convinced of it what a state is this for any poor soul to rest it self satisfied in who is the man or woman that is not a transgressour of it and therefore see to it and that before the execution of judgment come upon thee without remedy Sinner If thou wast condemned by the law and under a sentence of death how wouldst thou beg for a reprieve and beg all thy friends to interpose for thee what an amazing word would it be to thee Thou art condemned to dye Ah sinner t is the case of thy precious soul Thou art condemn'd to eternall death by the law of God the sentence is pronounced from the righteous Judge of Heaven Away sinner with all speed to a Mercy seat Acknowledge thy condemnation just by the law Go to the great and potent Advocate of heaven Jesus Christ the righteous put thy case into his hand tell him thou hast none else to make to and that thou hast heard he hath helped many a condemned sinner in the same case as thou art and that thou hast heard he hath layd down a price for such as thou art to redeem them from the curse of the Law follow him and if he speak but a word to the just and great God for thee the sentence of the Law is remitted a pardon of grace comes forth and at last the Holy Ghost shall be sent from the father and the Son to witnesse it and seal it in thy own conscience and that blessed word shall be thine Therefore there is now No condemnation c. who shall condemn me since Jesus Christ hath cleared me and hath made the Court of Heaven for me Go and ponder in thy soul every day and say Is' t nothing to be under a Curse condemned by a Law to be damned for ever shall I let my poor soul lye in such a case one hour longer specially when a way I hear is opened to me to get from under it Say what satifaction can I wretched creature make to the righteous God None but by suffering what infinite justice will lay upon me which is no lesse then infinite punishment Oh get in upon thy conscience what it is to be condemned by the great God to lye under guilt to have no plea or excuse by the law left thee which I will labour to prove to thy conscience and then further urge thee which is the import of the next point Observ 2. A transgressour of the law as he hath nothing to boast in so he hath nothing to excuse himself for his sin or from the righteous judgment of God due unto him which is drawn from these words That every mouth may be stopped c. This the Apostle intimates Rom. 2.1 Therefore thou art inexcusable ô man c. speaking to the Jew who went about to free himself And the judgment of God is according to truth against them which do such things verse 2. Reason 1. A poor sinner hath nothing to excuse himself for sinning against the law of God because the law is good and righteous Rom. 7.12 Therefore the law is holy and the Commandement holy just and good saith Paul when he was under such a conviction of sinning against it as we are pressing So 1 Tim. 1.8 But we know that the Law is good c. T is a law that containes glory to the Creatour and all good and blessednesse as in its self to the creature A law that 's full of all wisdome and blessednesse takes care for the good blessing peace order of the whole Creation that man might not sin against his maker nor in the least harme nor think to do so his fellow creature so that its proper end is goodnesse preservation to all Now what excuse for a creature most concern'd in the good of it for sinning against such a law what hath a creature to say for himself how inexcusable is he before God Angels and men 2. God writ this holy and blessed law in the heart of Adam as he was a publique person whereby he and in him all mankind had power to keep it therefore the sinner hath no excuse before God He gave man a power though he did not lay a necessity upon his will but left him to the liberty of it but man corrupted himself Gen. 6.12 whereby he disabled himself from keeping the law Now if a man disable himself it can be no rationall excuse for neglecting the duty so that his mouth is stopped as to any plea or excuse before the Lord. 3. Though man had blurred and defaced the fair and originall Copy of this holy and good law written in his heart yet God gave it forth again by Moses in Legible Characters one end wherefore was to leave all mankind without excuse thereof this strikes off all plea for the sinner specially to such to whom it is revealed 4. There is a remnant of this law yet in the heart of Adam which though not sufficient to enable him to an exact performance of it yet enough to leave him without excuse so Paul Rom. 2.15 to prove this point we are now upon speaking of the Gentiles Which shew the workes of the Law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witnesse and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another There is enough of the law remaining in every mans heart to accuse him when he doth evil and excuse him so far as he doth right though man by habituall sinning doth much stifle it so that this also helps to aggravate his sin and to leave him without all plea or excuse 5. There is that to be known of God in the creatures that
may and doth leave a sinner without all excuse for sinning against him this the Apostle argues as to this very purpose Rom. 1.20 For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternall power and god-head so that they are without excuse c. The creatures could not say we will make our selves thus and thus and subsist in such an order and harmony therefore there was one first Infinite being who made all things and by the same power doth uphold them to which first Being all the creatures must owe their homage and conformity Now though such a glimmering of light can never suffice to lead a soul to the true worshipping of God as the Apostle there argues yet it leaves the creature without excuse which is that I am proving from it 6. All the Children of men do sin presumtuously willfully and obstinately against the Law of God mans sin being not so much from his weaknesse to obey the law though weak he is but from the rebellion of his will against God and his law As it is in the case of disobeying the call of the Gospel also Now whatsoever a man doth presumptuously willfully it leaves him without all excuse And this is it that is charged upon the Children of men by the holy Ghost in the word that their sin was obstinate rebellion against the great God From all these the truth of the assertion doth appear that every transgressour of the law is without all excuse before God 7. As the creature hath no excuse for his sin so it followes he hath no pretence against the righteous judgment of God we are sure the judgment of God is according to truth Rom. 2.2 and Chap. 3.4 That thou mayst be justified in thy sayings and clear when thou art judged that is what ever any sinner may dispute to the contrary God is righteous when he judgeth If the Law be just and holy and good once written in his heart and had a power to have kept it that God hath given out this law again to him the remnants of it in his heart so much to be known of God in the creatures and that he sins presumptuously and wilfully against God and so blessed a law made for his own good certainly must every sinner conclude The Lord is righteous when he judgeth and every mouth must be stopped Use 1. If it be so that no sinner in the world hath any justifiable excuse for his sin then let this truth come in into your consciences and strike off all vain pretences and wretched excuses when you have sinned against the Lord which usually are such as these when sinners break forth into this or that rebellious way they cry Oh t is my nature my naturall disposition and then they think that excuseth or allayeth the matter whereas it aggravates for we ourselves corrupted our natures Saith another I have bin so accustomed to such a way to drink to excesse sometimes to swear to use the Lords name vainly and as a by-word whereas the custome of sinning is the greatest and most grievious aggravation of it Saith another 't is my company that drawes me or the example of others or 't is my temptation when they are under the Spirit that worketh in the Children of disobedience Or that they do keep the law as well as they can and think this will excuse whereas nothing no plea that ever a sinfull deceitfull heart put up or that the Devil suggests can before God excuse any sinner in the world rich or poor knowing or ignorant from the exact and perfect keeping of the law if they are yet under the law but upon one transgression of it the law doth most justly condemn and curse them Nothing is more naturall to fallen man under sin then when having sinned to devise an excuse and thinks and surmiseth that because such an excuse will be taken by his own blinded conscience therefore God will also accept of it so flatters himself in his own eyes till his iniquity be found to be hatefull Psal 36.2 Thus Adam as assoon as he had sin'd he thought how to excuse the matter puts it off to the woman and the woman to the devil which trade sinners have well learnt and have driven it on ever since to their own damnation Observe this If every sinner yet under the law and the power of sinne had not some vain pretence and excuse to ensilence conscience and foolishly thinks to insinuate unto God he or she must needs fall down before the Lord see all their pretences and coverts to be damnable flatteryes and soul-cheatings and so Judge themselves and pronounce God most righteous if he damn them for ever Oh therefore sinners Away with all your pretences no more excusing but judging and go to the great God and fall down at his feet crying out oh I am a transgressour the law condemns me no excuse will be taken my mouth is now stopped what ever God do with me he is most holy and righteous If I were going to Hell I must justifie God and cannot say unto him why doest thou thus Thus t is with a poor soul when the Lord by his word and spirit opens sin reveales the law layes it in upon the conscience discovers the holinesse and exactnesse of his justice that the law shewes no mercy but cryes out for fulfilling or pronounceth absolute condemnation then I say a sinner cryes out Oh I am cast by the Law I am gone by the Law All my pleas are found too light All my endeavour to keep it is worth nothing if guilty in the least while I am under the law I must find out a righteousnesse else where another way or condemnation just condemnation is my portion for ever Here 's the first stroke of a convinced sinner when God is outing him from himself and all his coverts or excuses and brings him naked to put on the righteousnesse of his Son Jesus Christ freely held out in the gospel which is the work in hand 2. If no excuse can be heard or taken for the transgression of the law for but one breach of it but every mouth is stopped how much lesse will any excuse be taken for withstanding the gospell of grace by Jesus Christ saith our blessed Lord. If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin that is not so great sinne and condemnation but now they have no cloak nor excuse for their sinne If a righteous law leave all the world without excuse much more a gospel that offers free grace and pardon and righteousnesse by Jesus Christ to any sinner condemn'd by the law that will come in as so condemn'd and accept of the free gift of righteousnesse by him But that I may yet a little further labour to bring in the sense of guilt upon the soul I shall prove every soul guilty before God of the
transgression of the law and shew what the sense of guilt is which few there are that have in a saving way Observ 3. Every soul in the world is guilty before God of the transgression of the Law And all the world may become guilty before God This hath been proved where we have shew'd that All have sinned and come short of the glory of God This guilt is threefold which is set home upon every sinners heart when convinc'd of sin by the spirit 1. The guilt of Adams sin which stands charg'd upon every sinner in the world while under the law Rom. 5.18 2. The guilt of the corruption of our natures sinne in the fountain as I have shewed which is likewise upon every Son or Daughter of Adam they are all corrupt Psal 14.1 wherein lies the exceeding sinfulfulnesse of sin 3. The guilt of actuall rebellion against God sinne brought forth and acted in the outward man against God Now under this threefold guilt is every sinner in the world while under the law the effect of which if not reconciled is punishment sutable to the guilt which is Thou shall surely dye And The wages of sinne is death eternall death Rom. 6. last Use 1. This may therefore inform and convince that every sin brings guilt upon the soul and so deserves death and everlasting wrath from God you that make light of sin to lye to profane the name of the Lord be in worldly discourses on the Lords day in any way of sin whatsoever weigh this in thy conscience There 's not the least sin but makes thee guilty before the tribunall of God God the law Angels Conscience are all witnesses against thee where 's the soul that will think to avoid this charge shall I prove every soul of you guilty and that before God If this were proved by the power of the word in the conscience I know what and I shall shew it you will be the effect of it lay your consciences to the Word and if thou art found guilty before the Lord this day go home with the sense of it upon thy soul and do as a guilty sinner should do 1. Consider first as to what concerns God immediately The Law requires Thou shouldst have no other Gods but him Exod. 20. Which Jesus Christ interprets is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul now Hath God had thy whole heart and soul darest thou say so Hath not the world had more of thy heart then God Dost not thou love the world and the things of it Do not thy affections thoughts desires of thy heart even day and night go after it yea you cannot but grant that 't is so Then God and Angels are witnesse that thou art guilty of the damnable sin of Idolatry And such a one shall not as such enter into the kingdome of God Eph. 5.5 Know by that Scripture A covetous heart may send thee to Hell as well as any sin in the world No Covetous man who is an Idolater shall enter into the kingdome of God read over the place every day and tremble at it Here 's guilt already enough to damn thee 2. Thou hast worshipped God superstitiously and idolatrously after the traditions and commandments of men you that are elderly people are all guilty here in a grievous manner in the time of your ignorance when superstitious Ceremonies were practised and the Common-prayer-Book worship was upheld when you polluted the Ordinances of Jesus Christ coming to Sacraments with sins upon your souls from which sins you are not converted and changed to this day which the Apostle calls eating and drinking damnation or judgment under which guilt you still lye and would heap up more of this guilt were not some more tender of your souls then your selves Here 's guilt to purpose who is free from it and how many unhumbled under it to this day Art thou not now ready to cry out Oh hold hold you need go no further my conscience is smitten oh guilt great guilt lyes upon me Oh that 't were the cry of many souls before the Lord how might it end in mercy that shall be for ever 3. But yet further to pursue thy conscience for that 's the nature of guilt doth not the Lord require in his law that thou shouldst not take his Name in vain Exod. 20.7 Now sinner stave off this guilt if thou canst How oft hast thou abused and profaned this great and dreadfull Name the Lord thy God by swearing or in thy by-words crying oh Lord oh God for Gods sake for Christs sake upon every foolish vain occasion with no more reverence of his Name then the most Common name in the world And some of you have as many dayes as you have lived since your childhood bin frequently guilty of this great evil which thou hast made a small matter of which if ever God pardon it it will appear to be odious guilt from the height of thy heart-Atheism How oft hast thou heard the word and thy heart bin after the world and thine eyes gazing up and down that t is easie to discern thou regardest not what is spoken from God to thee and the same in prayer how oft hast thou babled ore the Lords prayer like a charme with no reverence of Gods Majesty upon thy soul in thy bed it may be in a drowsie manner or if otherwise not understanding the words thou speakest much lesse thy heart affected with them or it may be saying over the Creed and the Commandements or some Service-book prayers as abundance do grievously profaning Gods Name and offering lip labour which his soul abhorreth yea know what hath bin often proved that thy prayers and all thy worship and good deeds as thou callest them are an abomination to the Lord while thou art in thy sin an unconverted and unholy person yea the way of thy worship in which thou placest thy greatest confidence hath bin the highest aggravation of thy sin in offering up to God that which his soul hateth Esay 1.11 12 13 14 15. When you make many prayers saith the Lord I will not hear you c. And as to the sanctifying the Sabbath which thou shouldest make a holy rest unto God thou hast made it a meer fleshly rest consuming the day upon thy lusts in vanity idlenesse carnall and worldly discourses in families in the streets to the high dishonour of the Name of God and hardening of thy heart against the truths of God rendring thereby the preaching of the Gospel wholly unprofitable to thy soul A carriage farr unlike a man that hath the grace of God upon him and a most invincible argument to thy conscience that thou makest not God his word ordinances sabbaths a holy delight and knowest not the excellency and sweetnesse of Communion with him Say sinner and lay thy conscience to this conviction is hearing and that with love praying praising meditating conferring of holy things the very heaven of thy
man in their obedience of the law as to place their acceptance in it Adde to this the reasons of it why the hearts of all the sons and daughters of Adam are naturally apt to rest upon the law and their own doings and to hope for peace by it 1. Every naturall man hath something of the remaines of the law which God at first wrote in the heart of our common Father Adam Rom. 2.14 15. which being a little drawn forth by the Letter of the Law it makes a poor creature set himself to endeavour to keep the law and hopes to attain to such a degree as to be accepted with God for it Now there is no such thing as any remote profession in the heart to come to Christ or to have righteousnes in another therefore a soul sets himself to the law and endeavours more or lesse the keeping of it naturally 2. Man would faign make up the breach he hath made with God upon his own account As a man had naturally rather do a thing himself then be beholding to another therefore upon conviction of guilt he sets himself to make up the breach to satisfie God by some atonement or other that his own heart can contrive his sorrowing and repenting he hopes may pacifie God or some new sacrifice of more performances or being better for the time to come thus the heart workes secretly and upon his own account God letting forth some mercy as he thinks where he failes he hopes to make up any breach that sin hath made between God and his soul and thus he is still upon the Old Covenant under the law 3. A sinner is more apt to keep to the law then go to Christ from a secret pride of heart he would not be found at a totall losse with God to be wholly undone and unable to do any thing towards his own peace and salvation A soul naturally had rather part withall sin and have his nature made perfectly holy then be quite undone in himself and come to have all his righteousnesse in another in Jesus Christ And here it is that most souls stick in the coming off their own bottoms to be justified in Iesus Christ In a word man had rather do any thing then come a poor destitute sinner to Jesus Christ for all 4. Because t is not sutable to the light of naturall reason that a soul should satisfie God or become righteous any other way then by his own endeavour To be righteous in another is of divine Revelation which till a soul hath he cannot let go the principle of self-justification The next thing to be considered will be this If all men are under the law and the curse of it under the guilt of the whole law without all excuse before God under an impossibility of attaining righteousnesse or acceptance with God by the best keeping of the law and yet a natural and strong aptitude to rest upon the law and that a soul may reforme and take up be strict in obedience and yet still be under the law how then may a soul know whether in the way of his obedience he be yet under the law and not under grace Some Discoveries I shall lay down at present reserving a fuller discussion of this And by the way know and consider that though thou art under the profession of the Name of Jesus Christ and pretendest salvation by him yet practically and really thou mayest be still under the law 1. If thou hast never bin convinc'd of this close evil in thy heart of resting on thy praying and repenting and endeavouring to keep the law as well as thou canst I say if the spirit of the Lord hath not convinced thee of it and of the great danger of it and so humbled thee and brought thee off it thou art certainly under the law as yet 2. If thou doest not watch against this evil and doest not find a great difficulty not to rest upon a performance of any duty to God thou doest then certainly rest upon it 3. If thou art well satisfied that thou art kept from outward grosse sins and the sin of thy nature is not thy greatest burthen mourning under the weight of it then thou must know that thou art yet under the law 4. If thou thinkest God will accept of the will for the deed if thou doest as well as thou canst in every duty so as to accept thee thereby as if it had bin done perfectly this also bespeakes thee under the Law 5. If thou canst not experience how the Lord by the light and working of his word and spirit hath brought thee off thy legall foundation thou wast building upon and shew'd thee that such things as thou didst account gain became but losse unto thee for Jesus Christ Phil. 3.7 6. If thou art not troubled about the Hypocrisie of thy heart and not abased for it even in thy best performances then thou art yet upon the bottome of the law and restest in it 7. If thou art not mostly troubled about believing and doest not find it the most difficult work of thy soul If no complaint to God of an unbelieving heart then thou art indeed a Hypocrite and under the law 8. If thou art not humbled to God for the sinfull mixtures of thy dutyes the deadnesse distraction of them and so seest thy acceptance cannot be in them but in Jesus Christ then thou restest in them 9. If thou dost not give up thy self to the leadings of the Spirit and doest not find that in the main of thy course thou art led by the Spirit then thou art under the law Gal. 3.18 But if ye are led by the spirit ye are not under the law 10. If thou art not troubled about thy inward growth in mortification of all sin and more holy Communion with God then thou art also under the law One under the law that is somewhat strict and consciencious may grow in the bulke of outward dutyes but not in inward holinesse 11. If thy care be not to live in the sense of thy justification by grace through Jesus Christ and to preserve the light and peace of a justified state which thou hast bin called to by grace then thou livest in self-justification 12. If thy great care be not if thou findest it not thy greatest difficulty to be kept a poor empty creature in thy self and live in the fulnesse of Christ If self-fulnesse self-exaltation be not the great evils thou watchest against at least in some measure thou art sensible of the roots of them then thou art yet under all I have bin proving the law guilt and a curse and all thy duties and doings as I have shew'd abhorred of God Examine thy heart by these particulars over and over and if by these thou canst not make out that thou hast bin through rich grace brought off from thy own foundation upon the law and so come with much difficulty to the Gospel-grace and righteousnesse by Jesus Christ
shewed you may be under the Law condemned for one transgression and what can you be more then be condemned Neither doth all this as in it self any more prepare you for Jesus Christ And therefore let all the Convictions Arguments Demonstrations we have produced from the clear Light of the Word of the Lord at last prevail with you that you who thus satisfie your selves because you are baptized believe the Scriptures frequent the service of God are just and sober therefore it is well with you and you will trouble your selves no further in the matter of your salvation that the estate of your soules is as unsafe and desperate how secure soever as the profoundest Drunkard in the Countrey Therefore let this Conviction have force upon your Conscience that you must come anew to Jesus Christ as a mere sinner having nothing to commend you to him Say from the Light of the Word Though I have thus satisfied my self pleas'd my self in these Duties and outward Priviledges yet there 's no difference between me and the vilest sinner in order to my acceptance with Jesus Christ Nay if this Conviction take upon thee thou wilt say to the glory of God and thy own confusion If there be any difference 't is that thou art the greatest sinner having mocked the Lord rested in out-side service dealt hypocritically with the jealous God offered him abominable sacrifice and therefore fit to be abhorred of the Lord for ever Oh! that this might be the posture of thy Soul and so thou mayest come and lye prostrate at the feet of Jesus Christ crying Oh! no more no more a righteous person but a sinner a guilty sinner a condemned sinner a poor blind naked sinner nothing else but a sinner Away with all my former confidences tear them from my heart Lord. Now Lord Jesus I cast my self upon thee Oh! let me creep unto thy blessed feet Oh! I come to thee not because I am righteous for I would abhor my self for ever in the thought of it but as a poor perishing sinner the worst of sinners an hypocritical sinner Oh! that I could take hold of thy righteousness to cover my naked Soul I expect it onely upon the account of thy Free-Grace Oh Lord I come unto thee do not do not reject me And thus have I been endeavouring to lay the sinner before Jesus Christ in such a posture having proved him under the Law excuseless in his transgressing of it guilty before God under an impossibility of reaching to an acceptance with God by the best keeping of the Law laboured to beat him off such props and confidences that the Heart naturally cleaves to and stript him of all naked as Adam when he had sinned before the Lord as nothing else but a sinner which is that I have driven at I now come to speak of the way of a poor Souls justification and acceptance with God by Jesus Christ as the Lord shall assist to the capacity of the weakest ROM 3.24 Being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ I Am now come to open the Gospel-righteousness wherein a poor sinner finds acceptance with God which in ver 21. of this 3d of the Romans is said to be now manifested that is more fully manifested by the Revelation of Jesus Christ in the Gospel being witnessed before by the Law and the Prophets Even the righteousness of God which is by the Faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe ver 22. called the righteousness of God namely that whereby God doth onely justifie and accept of a sinner wrought forth by the obedience of Jesus Christ and made over and imputed to a poor Soul that doth embrace it by Faith whether Jew or Gentile outwardly righteous or profane all that ever come to God must come this way and stand before him in this righteousness or perish for ever which I shall begin to open from ver 24 25. 1. Being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ 2. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through Faith in his bloud c. We have endeavoured in the former Discourse to go along with the Apostle in proving that by all the Deeds of the Law all the best Obedience that a sinner can reach unto he cannot be justified before God neither in part nor in whole that your good deeds will not procure pardon nor poise down your sins but all by the Law equally under condemnation Of what importance then is it for poor condemned soules to be well acquainted with and really and practically invested in that way of justification that God in infinite wisdome mercy and love hath set forth in the Gospel which is that I now design The Apostles arguing is thus If all fall short of righteousness and acceptance with God by their own obedience If all have sinned and come short of the glory of God then are all and that equally condemned If so condemned then acceptance with God and justification and remission of sinnes must come in another way The Rise and Fountain of which must necessarily be Gods free mercy and grace If made righteous it must be in the righteousness of another wrought forth by another Justice must be satisfied by another a price paid to God for a sinners redemption by another which is Jesus Christ blessed for ever From the words then I shall first lay down this plain Observation viz. Observ Gods free mercy and grace is the first Fountain of any sinners salvation or 'T is upon the account of ' Gods free grace that any sinner is saved Thus runs the current of the whole Gospel the main design of the Gospel being to glorifie the riches of Gods free grace by Jesus Christ Among many other Scriptures the Apostle doth most convincingly discourse in Rom. 5. from the 15th to the end letting the free grace of God unto justification in opposition to a sinners condemnation But not as the offence so also is the free gift for if through the offence of one many be dead much more the grace of God and the gift by grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many To the same import run the rest of the verses The free gift of many unto justification much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ All of grace and of free-gift abundance of grace from first to last That as sin reigned unto death so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord vers last So the Apostle in that Epistle to the Ephesians wherein the Doctrine of grace is blessedly given forth drives all the spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ mentioned Chap. 1.3 c. to this blessed Fountain Chap. 2.4 c. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were
dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ for by grace ye are saved so ver 7. That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace and ver 8. For by grace ye are saved it is the gift of God Therefore the invitation of the Gospel to sinners runs upon this score Ho Every one that thirsteth come to the Waters of Life Isa 55.1 And Whosoever will let him come to the Water of Life freely Revel 22.17 I might illustrate this in all the particulars of a sinners salvation God's fore-ordaining and choosing any to salvation 't was to the praise of the glory of his grace Eph. 1.5 6. The gift of his Eternal Son Jesus Christ from free love and grace John 3.16 The New Covenant and all the Promises of it freely given out for his own Names sake Ezek. 36. Effectuall Calling from free grace 2 Tim. 1.9 The gift of Faith actual Justification Tit. 3.7 Sanctification Perseverance Eternal Life and Glory all flowing from the same Fountain of Free-grace Some Reasons of the Design of the Blessed God in this may be gathered from the Scriptures The Free-grace of God is the Fountain of all in any sinners salvation 1. Because There is nothing in the Creature that may move God to save him Nothing at all All we know or do could not move God to mercy Deut. 7.7 8. The Lord did not set his love upon you because you were more in number then any people but because he freely loved you c. Not for your sake do I do this c. Ezek. 36.32 2. As God saw nothing in him so the sinner is able to bring nothing to God to draw out mercy of his own Therefore saith the Lord Isa 55.1 let him come without his price As the sinner lost all his good so he can procure none a new to bring to God that may in the least move the heart of God to give out more to him 3. If it were not all of grace then the Creature would have occasion of boasting but the Lord in infinite wisdome so laid the Project of a sinners Salvation that no Creature should have the least ground of boasting So the Apostle having given out the Doctrine of grace in this Scripture we are upon draws this conclusion ver 27. Where is boasting then It is excluded c. So in the 1 of Cor. 1.29 the Holy Ghost lays down this as the main scope of God in the Gospel That No Flesh should glory in his presence Therefore Salvation is all of grace of Free-grace 4. If it were not so The glory of God would not be so great in the Salvation of a sinner 'T is now so laid that all might be to the praise of the glory of his grace Ephes 1.6 It being the highest piece of glory that the Wise and Blessed God did ever design unto himself that his free rich abundant infinite grace might be made known in the Salvation of a Sinner That he might make known the riches of his glory on the Vessels of Mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory Rom. 9.23 Vse 1. If Gods Free-grace be the Fountain of all in a poor sinners Salvation then let it establish our judgments in this Doctrine Therefore God had no respect to any fore-sight of Faith or Works in the Creature God had no respect to the freenesse of his Will for he knew he had none God had no respect to any conditions to be wrought in us but all he did and doth was from absolute Independing-grace Nothing moved him but his own Free-grace The same Free-grace that pardons gives and workes all in us All from the same Fountain 2. If all be of Free-grace then there is no meritorious-procuring Cause in us that moves the Lord to mercy Now the contrary is naturally rooted in our hearts poor Soules are most apt to conceive that if they can grieve for their sins repent and reform this will sure move God to mercy and pardon A most dangerous snare from which a Soul after much conviction is hardly wrought off Now though God in the way of a Sinners Salvation hath promised to give Repentance Act. 5.31 and a Spirit of mourning for sinne yet a poor Soul must take heed that he make not this a procuring cause of Pardon Many a Soul sticks here before emptyed of himself even of his very repenting and so come for grace and mercy upon the account of the Free-promise onely How many a Sinner might have been saved if he would have been saved freely 3. If God hath so laid the Design to save a Sinner freely then how great how just is the Condemnation of guilty sinners that will not hasten in unto it how could the Lord have laid it more freely then he hath Oh that any sinner for ever condemned to Hell without it should withstand it Why sinner Shall the Blessed God that might have much glory in condemning thee to all Eternity be willing to save thee freely and wilt thou not come and bow unto him accept of it All the contempt of God in all his Holy Commands is not like this to turn the back upon Free-Mercy Free-Salvation This will be the Worm that never dyes to any of your Soules that shall not come into and rightly accept of Gospel-salvation that you might have been saved freely have had grace remission of sins Jesus Christ the Spirit Eternal Life freely and yet turned your backs upon it But you may demand How is it that any sinner doth so What is it that causeth any Soul to forego Free-grace and mercy when held out unto him that we may beware of such hinderances I will therefore shew you such Hinderances that keep Soules from accepting of Gods free grace in Jesus Christ when held out unto them 1. Wilful Obstinacy Joh. 5.40 Ye will not come unto me that you might have life Ye will not such is the stubbornness rebellion of the heart of a sinner that he will not as we speak because he will not to such a height hath sinne raised the heart of the rebellious children of men for every natural man till made sensible of unbelief thinks he hath Power of himself though he hath not but his Rebellion lyes in his Will I would have gathered you and ye would not Mat. 23. last 2. A sinner doth not accept of Free-grace because he stands upon his self-justification as we use to speak he will not be perswaded he hath so much need of all Free-grace as the Gospel discovers as hath been shewed at large though he hath sinned yet also he hath obeyed and so he puts one against the other his obedience against his sin and so hopes to get that mercy he hath need of And upon this ground more sinners even that profess the Name of God do miss of Heaven then any other in the World 'T is not so easie a matter to submit to Gods Free-grace alone as many do imagine Upon
thou biddest fair for Heaven yea there will presently be joy in Heaven for thee In a word I protest against you in the Name and Authority of God and the Lord Iesus Christ who hath sent me if you shall withstand the grace of God in Jesus Christ freely most freely offered you I shall be a Witness against you and if any sinners in the World shall be certainly damned you are they who neglect this great Salvation 'T is come to this I would saith Jesus Christ and ye will not What a do to have a sinner that 's sinking to Hell to come to the Lord Jesus Christ to be freely saved What should a guilty sinner do but come to a free Saviour to be saved and accept of his tearms which are so blessed with a thousand hearts if he had them Now say how am I straitned till I get to him I would go and weep my heart out to him had I a heart to do it Now I leave what hath been spoken to the good pleasure of God and the work of his Power who is able to send away every Soul trembling and resigning up themselvs to him Onely a word to any poor humbled doubting soul that thinks infinitely well of all this but saith in his heart All this grace is too good for me I have sinned against it and sleighted it I fear whether ever I may be accepted Oh remember and consider that Grace were not Grace if 't were no free God can save a sinner freely that 's enough to stay thee yea though thou hast sleighted grace as where is the Saint but did so before effectually called yea God will save a sinner freely that will come by Jesus Christ unto him He will What would'st have more Do not stand reasoning thus but If thou art a sinner undone without him cast off from thy own Confidences go to him in the Name of God and believe him upon his own word say I take thee Blessed Lord upon thy own word Thou sayest Whosoever will let him come and Lord therefore I come I durst not come were I not invited freely and if I must be saved freely if ever then thou art to bestow all work all begin and perfect all Oh blessed Lord I come unto thee for it go and do thus and thou shalt be comforted and rejoyce in his Salvation I might also here press blessed Souls who have been drawn to Jesus Christ and overcome by Free-grace to do it to live in the admiration of that grace and to be low and poor and empty in your selves in the abundant sense of it all your days Let your enjoyments and attainments be what they will be it known unto you that by grace ye are saved and you had and have as much need of it as any sinner in the World God's Design in saving you was to glorifie Grace and it must be your Design also here and for ever Having thus opened in some measure the grace of God to be the Fountain of a sinner's Salvation I shall now proceed to discover the way of the conveyance of this grace which is by Jesus Christ being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ though God resolved to bestow grace upon such as shall be saved freely yet in a way of his own most wise and blessed Designing by his Eternal Son Jesus Christ to whom this Dispensation of Grace was committed which I shall further open in this Doctrine Namely Doct. All that Grace and Mercy which GOD gives out freely to sinners is conveyed to them by his Eternal Son Jesus Christ I might be abundant in the proof of this See in that 5th of the Rom. v. 17.21 Much more they which receive abundance of Grace and of the gift of Righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ And vers 21. That as sinne hath reigned unto death even so might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord All the grace that should reign unto Life is given out by one Jesus Christ. The Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1.17 All the Treasures of Grace were laid up in him and therefore he saith of himself Matth. 11.27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father and none can come unto the Father but by me which he makes as the great Argument why sinners should come unto him vers 28. Now so far as the Lord hath revealed the wise and holy Counsels of his heart in his Word unto us let us inquire into the Reasons why he took such a way to give all his grace to the children of men Reason 1. The first is this That as mankind lost all in the Fall of the first Adam as he was a publique person representing all that came of him so it was the wisdome of God in the recovery of lost-man to bring forth another person that should be fully stockt with grace and righteousness as a publique person to represent all the Elect unto the Father upon which account Jesus Christ is called the Second Adam 1 Cor. 15. And the Apostle sets the first Adam in his offence unto Death and the grace and Righteousness of Iesus Christ as the second Adam one against the other Rom. 5.15 16 c. For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous And so the Apostle sets the Life Grace Righteousnesse of Iesus Christ as the Second Adam against the Death Condemnation Disobedience of the first man that sinned in the 7 last Verses of that Chapter And herein the Wisdome of the Father is most excellently set forth and the ground of Consolation to Believers laid upon a most sure Foundation That whatsoever they lost in the First Adam they recover with much more abundance in Iesus Christ for so the Apostle hath that much more in the Scripture mentioned three or four times that Saints may see how abundantly compleat they are in Christ Reas 2. All grace is conveyed by Iesus Christ because there needed a person to stand between GOD and Sinners as a Mediatour to work forth Reconciliation between them Now who was meet but the Lord Iesus Christ to undertake this He being the Eternal Son of God equal with God was near unto God A mere Creature was infinitely unfit for such an undertaking And he being also the Son of man cloathed in the nature of man he thus partaking of the nature of God who was to be appeased and of the Nature of Man who was to be reconciled he became a most meet Undertaker of so glorious a Work Whence he hath that blessed Title given him of Mediatour Jesus the Mediatour of a New Covenant Heb. 12.24 There is one God and one Mediatour between God and Man the Man Christ Iesus 1 Tim. 2.5 3. God resolved that his blessed Son Iesus Christ should have the honour in this blessed Transaction to
may become the ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 Oh! guilty world that so slight the knowledge of Jesus Christ and contemn the Ministration of it woe unto them 3. If God doth let forth no grace and mercy but by Jesus Christ It may serve to unbottom poor souls from a generall carnall hope of mercy not being acquainted with the way of grace by Jesus Christ nor coming as lost sinners in themselves to be found in Christ and justified by Jesus Christ this they utterly neglect having an empty notion of Christs dying but know not for what and upon what grounds and how a sinner gets to God by him Oh! let this reprove you for this grosse and damnable neglect and convince you that all your pretended hopes of mercy will vanish unless you learn the knowledge of Jesus Christ 4. And therefore If no way to the Father no interest in mercy no accesse to God but by Jesus Christ Let it serve to teach poor ignorant sinners yea all of us how to get to God to mercy into his Covenant Oh! No way but by Jesus Christ Oh! I can never come to the presence of Gods Majesty but by Jesus Christ who is appointed Mediator to bring a poor sinner to himself to make way for him into the presence of God to conveigh mercy and grace to a poor sinners Oh say that I could acquaint my self with Jesus Christ take hold of his skirts and he will bring me into the favour love covenant vision union of God This is the way for a sinner to come unto him Joh. 14.6 5. Let it call upon Saints that know Jesus Christ in the Spirit that they do not grow strangers to him that they neglect not Jesus Christ Oh! Neglect him not in his blessed Mediation grace love fellowship appearance ordinances 'T is a grievious thing and very apt are Saints to it to neglect Jesus Christ Oh still know and consider that as your accesse to God was by him at first so it is still His Mediation for you his love and grace and fellowship is as good as ever as precious as it ever was Therefore have high and precious thoughts of him of your blessed accesse to God by Jesus Christ The next thing that I come to open is how Jesus Christ wrought forth salvation and justification for a sinner so that the free grace of God might by him be freely let out upon a sinner Namely the work of his Redemption through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ verse â—4 I shall not insist upon the many difficulties that the wisdome of the flesh hath started about the word or worke of our Redemption but endeavour as I have promised to give it out in a plain Scripturall practicall manner for the use of poor sinners Redemption signifies a deliverance from captivity by a price or ransome laid down Man had sin'd himself into captivity and a just condemnation God from his own free mercy was willing he should be set at liberty but this should not be done but by a price or ransome being paid to God which was the intervening death of Jesus Christ who being the eternal Son of God came down from Heaven took upon him the nature of man was willing to stand in the room of sinners bearing their sins in the undergoing the punishment for them whereby God laid upon Jesus Christ the iniquities of all that shall be saved Esay 53.6 proceeded against him as if he had bin the sinner in a way of Justice executed his wrath upon him Thus he is said to dye for the sins of his own 2 Cor. 5.15 Heb. 9.15 and to give himself for us and to give his life a ransome for many which death of Jesus Christ is styled an expiatory sacrifice an atonement and propitiation All which do imply that by the death of Jesus Christ satisfaction was made to the infinite Justice of God as if the sinners that are saved by it had suffered the utmost of divine Justice in their own persons Thus much may serve briefly to open the nature of Christs redemption The Doctrine I shall lay down from the words will be this Doct. To the Salvation and Justification of a sinner in order to Gods letting out his free grace upon him there was required the death of Jesus Christ as a price laid down to the justice of God for his redemption I might urge many more texts besides what have bin named As 1 Pet. 1.18.19 redeemed not with silver and gold c. but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ Ephes 1.7 Col. 1.14 In whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgivenesse of our sins This was it which was typified by all the sacrifices in the Old Testament-dispensation as in the Epistle to the Hebr. at large specially in the 9th Chapter verse 12.13 14 22. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without shedding of blood is no remission From hence the reasons of divine wisdome thus proceeding so farre as revealed in the word will be clear Reasons 1. That the Justice of God might be glorified in the salvation of sinners as well as mercy Now there being atonement made to Justice by the death of Jesus Christ the Righteousnesse of God hath a share in the glory of mans salvation with the Grace and mercy of God 2. The purity and holinesse of Gods justice did require it which being violated by the sin of man it was most equall that satisfaction be made which no mere creature was able to do and therefore the eternall Son of God blessed for ever was appointed of the Father to it therefore 't is said verse 25. of this 3d of the Rom. That He might be just and the justifier of them that believe in Iesus given as a reason of Gods setting forth his Son to be a propitiation 3. The expresse word of the Lord did require it who pronounced to all mankind in Adam that the transgressour should surely dye Gen. 2.17 Therefore upon his transgression the sinner must either dye in his own person or another in his stead which God in his infinite wisdome might order as he pleas'd Now God being willing to glorifie his mercy chose to lay this punishment on his own Son Jesus Christ and not on the condemned sinner which Jesus Christ also voluntarily undertaking the word of the Lord was fully made good and Jesus Christ dying for the sinner being made a curse for him 't was all one as if the sinner himself had dyed 4. God gave out a holy and righteous Law written in the heart of Adam which Law was just and holy and good Rom. 7. Now this Law being broken God would not dispence with it in shewing mercy to the sinner unlesse his Law was satisfied which Jesus Christ undertook Rom. 8.3 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned
sin in the flesh that the righteousnesse of the Law might fulfill'd in us c. Gal. 4.4 But when the fulnesse of the time was come God sent forth his Son made of a woman made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law c. So that the Law was fullfilled by Iesus Christ as if the sinner had kept it fully in his own person by Christ's becoming obedient to the death of the Crosse and so suffering the punishment of the Law still in the stead and name in the sinner and by his keeping the Law in the pure originall righteousnesse of his nature 2 Cor. 5.21 and Heb. 7.26 27. and by his actuall obedience to it in the perfect observing of it Rom. 5.19 For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many were made righteous Namely by the obedience of Iesus Christ which he gave unto the Law Now all sinners being condemned by the Law the Law could not remit them till it was satisfied it call'd for punishment and full obedience which Iesus Christ gave unto it 5. God could not so freely to speak after the manner of men let out grace and mercy unlesse such satisfaction had bin given by Iesus Christ now it can come easily delightfully chearfully from the righteous and gracious God seeing his justice will not plead against it but for it being blessedly satisfied and Iesus Christ by his death did fully merit it and deserve it at the hands of God and laid down as much as God in infinite justice would require therefore t is now as well justice as mercy for God to remit a sinner that comes to God by Iesus Christ 1 Iohn 1.7 God is just to forgive us our sins Now hereupon God having ordained and accepted of such a way of atonement his justice glorified and satisfied his word that the sinner should dye made good his Law to the utmost satisfied what remaines but that the blessed God can remit the bondage guilt condemnation of the sinner having thus accepted of satisfaction what remaines but that he should pronounce as he doth Iob 33.24 Deliver him for I have found a ransome God can now pardon the sinner that comes believingly by Iesus Christ to him for it without any regreat his justice shall be glorified by it as well as his mercy God hath charg'd all upon another and accepted of full payment call'd himself to witnesse of it and will never repent of it Object If any should Object Wherein is free grace glorified if God have received full satisfaction to his justice Answ I answer 1. 'T was infinite free grace for God to give out his blessed Son Iesus Christ when there was no obligation upon him he gave him and sent him freely Iohn 3.16 from his own free love therefore there 's a world of free grace in mans salvation 2. 'T was infinite grace towards the sinner to accept of satisfaction by a Surety Heb. 5. and not on the sinner the party offending himself what abundant grace and love to lay the sins and guilt upon another specially the onely Son of his bosome who was without all sinne 2 Cor. 5.21 and not to condemn the poor helpless sinner for ever 3. 'T was infinite free grace for God himself to contrive the way of such a Redemption had it bin left to sinfull man to have found out a way how justice might be satisfied he could never have done it It could never have entred into the heart of Man or Angels to have offered to God a satisfactory way for the making up of his wronged justice but he must have perished for ever therefore this is a world of grace 4. The Father was at Liberty to impute this Redemption of Christ to whom he would to this sinner and not to another Rom. 9. He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy c. So that 't is indeed a debt to Christ but all of free mercy and grace to any Sinner that is saved Use 1. If then Salvation remission of sins came in this way by the death blood of Iesus Christ then it may discover to us the infinite hatred that God bears to sin that to make expiation atonement to his justice there could no sacrifice be found but the death of his eternall Son Iesus Christ Oh! that ever a sinner should delight in that which the holy God so much hates and abhorres 2. Let it be for convincement to poor sinners of the infinite necessity of this way of Redemption by Iesus Christ in laying down his life to satisfie the justice of God and of getting their part in it you have heard the case of a sinner condemn'd by the Law liable to eternall death subject to the rigour of divine justice no way able or in a Capacity to make satisfaction to God mercy as it were bound up by justice Oh! therefore what necessity of a Mediator of a Redeemer to work forth deliverance to lay down a ransome for sinners dye and undergo the curse and wrath of the great and dreadfull God fullfill the Law make satisfaction to the wronged justice of God to the utmost this Iesus Christ hath done for miserable sinners that will come to him Now the most of poor souls have but a notion of Christs dying but know not what is meant by Christ dying for me though sometimes in their mouths Oh! sinner for Christ to dye for thee if thou gettest a part in his death is to undergo the punishment and curse and death that thy soul was liable to which otherwise must have come upon thee to the utmost it was to be made sin and curse for thee to bear thy sins and stand in them Oh! that thou couldst really be convinced of the necessity of this Redemption that thou couldst never come to God without it and therefore to get thy poor soul stated in it 3. If satisfaction to Gods justice can onely be by the blood of Iesus Christ then let me again presse you that you take heed of performing your duties and repentings as if thereby you did satisfie and pacifie God for the sin of your souls This is the most dangerous snare upon poor souls that though they have sinned yet they hope God will be pacified with some praying and sorrowing and amendement now though this shall be in a spirituall manner upon every pardoned sinner and t is a capacity God puts the sinner into when he applyes the death of his Son and so gives out mercy and pardon yet you must most carefully take heed that you offer not up such duties as if they did make God amends and pacifie him for your sins but look above and beyond them as if they were not and so to cast your eye to the great sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ which Alone makes atonement to God and makes way for a poor sinner to come to him 4. That as sinners would learn the blessed Mystery of
this Redemption and the necessity of it and how it makes atonement merits mercy and pardon procures peace and reconciliation with God so they would come and accept of it and fall down before the righteous God and plead it to him Thou hast heard the way of Gods letting out mercy to sinners and no mercy but in that way but by justice being satisfied by the death and blood of Jesus Christ whereby he becomes the Saviour of sinners Now this bloud is offered up to God the price is paid and accepted with God and in the Gospel of God t is revealed and preacht to the guilty world and t is freely offered to any poor sinner that will come and accept of it and make claim to it and plead for mercy and forgivenesse upon the account of it and will come to the termes of it which is to be accepted and pardoned alone by vertue of it to be washed and sanctified and actually deliver'd not onely from the guilt and condemnation of sin but the power and reign and pollution of it Oh Sinner be awakened and stirred up by the word of the Lord to get actuall deliverance from the guilt bondage reign service of thy sin go and cry to God offer him up the blood of his own eternall Son tell him thou seest he may let out justice upon thee to destroy thee and damn thee for ever of thy self thou hast no plea against it But aske the blessed God if it may not be more glory to him and his grace mercy glorified by it if he will accept of satisfaction by his own Son Jesus Christ plead to him that thou hearest he dyed in the room of guilty condemned sinners such as thou art ungodly Rom. 5.6 yea tell him with an humble adoration of his mercy and love in it that thou hearest in his blessed Gospel that 't is offered to any sinner that will come and accept it and that 't is proclaimed from heaven that there 's satisfaction made by the blood of a Iesus for the greatest sinner such as thou art Oh! cry unto him that therefore thou comest and beggst to be heard in thy plea and that it may be entred in Heaven that thou comest for all the ends of his death thou art weary of the service of thy lusts and the pollution of thy nature and therefore thou wouldst have thy nature cleansed thy conscience purged all which thou findest the bloud of Jesus Christ is able to do yea tell him and plead it with some humble boldnesse that thou art acquainted that Jesus Christ prayes in Heaven for such sinners that come and plead his bloud to thee and that he is heard in what he prayes and that therefore forgivenesse must be had yea say thou will hold on thy plea thou hast no other and art resolved against any other If thou shalt to Hell pleading the bloud of a Saviour be it so but I am resolved to plead it to the utmost yea tell him cry to him that it cannot repent him that he hath ordained the sacrifice of the bloud of his own Son and therefore why shouldst thou be rejected Yea Come to this issue through the Spirit of faith upon thee that if it can be that a sinner crying out for pardon upon the account of the death and bloud of Jesus Christ and for sanctification may go to Hell then thou wilt willingly lay thy hand upon thy mouth and open it no more but sinke under divine vengeance to eternity Oh! That every poor sinner might go home with this plea in his heart written there by the holy Ghost and pierce Heaven with his or her cryes and groanes and put the bloud of Jesus Christ before him and plead for mercy and holinesse to be pardoned and sanctified till God say Go in peace thou art pardoned redeemed and blessed for ever Yet a little to excite a poor drowsie sinner to this eternall Concernment 1. Consider thou art under the guilt of thousands of sins one whereof is enough to sink thee to Hell Guilt if continued is Hell begun and wants nothing but the execution of vengeance upon thee Oh what should a guilty sinner do but close with a Saviour and get an interest in Redemption from it 2. Specially considering that all the Duties and Obedience thou hast performed towards God or ever shall have not made nor ever will the least payment to God for thy sins thou art as much in debt to God as ever thou wast as much behind with him All the Items for the sin of thy Nature thy Thoughts Words and Actual Wickedness and thy sinful Neglects stand uncancelled all ready to be charged upon thee And nought will be accepted for payment but the death of Jesus Christ the onely Price that God will hearken to Nothing will cancel the Book where all thy sins are recorded Nothing will blot out the Hand-writing that is against thee but the blood of Iesus Christ Col. 2.13 14. 3. God is resolved never to forgive you the Debt till you have put in this Plea and it be recorded in Heaven and you have it in a Gospel-way No forgiveness of sins but by Redemption pleaded claimed possessed and sealed by the Holy Spirit Ephes 1.7 14. 4. Thou art yet under the Bondage and Reign of thy sin and therefore under condemnation the Law is gone out against thee thy Sentence pronounced Cursed is every one that transgresseth c. saith the Law And thou art in bondage yet and hast not procured actual deliverance from it If a Prisoner be condemned and lye in Fetters in a Dungeon and hears of a Ransome paid for him What 's this to him till he have his liberty So for a sinner to be in the Fetters of his Lusts held fast by them a Bond-man to the Devil hear of a Christ laying down a Ransom What is this to him unless he sue it out and get actual deliverance and liberty the liberry of the Sons and Daughters of God and have a Spirit of Adoption to cry Abba Father Gal. 4.4 5. That being made free from sinne the Reign and Power of it by the power of the Lord Iesus revealed in him you may become servants to God and have your fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting life 5. Consider as thou standest in thy filth and uncleanness of thy sins thou art unfit for God either to please him in any thing thou doest or to be with him in Heaven hereafter thy person and services are loathsome to the Soul of God therefore get washed and purified in the bloud of Iesus Christ Go on to cry and wait and beg a heart to do it and that in Faith till thou shalt feel peace coming in by thy constant Plea of the bloud of Christ till thou shalt feel cleansing vertue of it upon thy Soul till thou shalt experience the power of his death destroying sin in thee and so shalt finde thou hast fellowship with him and so a
part in this blessed Redemption we have been treating of 6. Now to encourage a poor sinner to this coming to God with the Plea of Christ's bloud in his heart and mouth and to draw forth the Faith of a poor humbled doubting soul Consider the All-sufficiency and worth of the price of the death of Iesus Christ to satisfie the justice of God and procure pardon and sanctification for a poor sinner which may appear from such like Scriptures The Apostle in the 7th of the Hebrews having been opening the excellency of Christ's Priesthood which is chiefly conversant in this Work of Redemption in the offering up of himself a Sacrifice concludes v. 25. of that Chapter Wherefore he is able to save them to the utmost that come unto God by him To the utmost that is with a perfect Salvation that nothing more can be desired to it So in the 9th Chap. v. 11. c. the Apostle reasoning from the Levitical Sacrifices to this of the bloud of Christ argueth the full perfection of it By his own blood he entred in once into the holy place namely into Heaven having obtained eternall Redemption for us and thence concludeth verse 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ purge the conscience c A much more upon that above all the Sacrifices that were offered up to God Which will appear 1. Because of the eternall God-head of Christs person by which he offer'd up his bloud unto his Father Heb. 9.14 Who through the eternall Spirit offered up himself without spot to God Which put an infinite value and efficacy upon the offering of his bloud Inasmuch as Jesus Christ was God as well as Man though he could onely dye in his humane nature yet the efficacy of his God-head had an influence upon the price of his dying which put an infinite worth upon it and so renders it full and perfect redemption 2. The price of the bloud of Jesus Christ did not onely give a bare satisfaction to the justice of God but it had an infinite merit in it a redundancy of merit whereby it deserved at the hands of God that sinners that are interessed in it should have remission of sins grace the love of God and glory to come spirituall blessings which the death of Christ purchased for the elect which being also by the free purpose and Compact of God there must necessarily arise an infinite merit in it 3. The all-sufficiency of the price of Christs blood is evidenced by his resurrection ascension into glory implying that he wrought forth full and perfect Redemption by his death therefore he is said to rise again for our justification Rom. 4. last and to be justified in the Spirit 1 Tim. 3. last that is God by raising him from the dead justified him in the atonement he had made by his death and that he did chearfully accept of satisfaction by it 4. The blood of Christ procures boldnesse of accesse to God therefore there is an infinite worth in the price of it Heb. 10.19 Having therefore Bretheren boldnesse to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus which boldnesse doth arise from the full satisfaction that is made to Divine justice in as much as God upon the acceptance of it hath nothing to charge upon the sinner himself no quarrell against him having charged his sins upon Christ and therefore the poor sinner may come with an humble boldnesse into the presence of God and this is that which puts boldnesse into the Conscience of a believer when he appears before God 5. From the experience of it the foulest sinners that have come unto it have bin washed from their sins by it as 1 Cor. 6.11 Idolaters Adulterers Sodomites Drunkards Revilers have bin washed and justified and sanctified by it The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin 1 John 1.7 6. It cleanseth and perfects them for ever therefore call'd eternall redemption once for all and for ever Heb. 10 10 19. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified once justified and for ever Now from this satisfaction merit all-sufficiency of the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus to cleanse a sinner to commend him to God how safely may a sinner venture his soul upon it which is the first act of faith A poor sinner when under conviction and the terrour of the Lord hath taken hold of him lyes trembling before the Lord whether God will let out justice or mercy upon him he is ready to give glory to the Justice of the Lord if he reject him for ever But now if a poor soul get a sight of the blood of Christ how it deales with the justice of God what full and all-sufficient satisfaction it hath made to God for the sins of such as plead it to him how God more delights in it then in the condemning of the sinner what a stay is this to the wavering doubtfull Spirit of a poor sinner when he can come to see justice to have its due and so God can freely let out remission to a poor soul upon the very first Act of a poor sinners closing with it though not presently evidenced in his conscience Oh sinner venture the issue of all upon this price of the blood of Jesus thou mayst see thou hast the greatest reason in the world to do so thou wilt never come to have a safe bottome for thy soul till thou comest thus to deal with the justice of God as fully satisfied by the blood of Jesus Christ thou wilt still be off and on about free mercy till thou come to fix here and be in some good measure establisht in it Be daily in exercising thy soul in such ventures and castings upon it and the spirit will at last witnesse peace and reconciliation to thy conscience In a word sinners you that have had no stay to your spirits for the forgivenesse of your sins but a blind hope of mercy look up look up to the Justice of God and see this way of accesse to God for you by the blood of Jesus Oh! let not any profane sinner trample it under foot cast it back upon the blessed face of God Say not in thy heart let God take the blood of his Son to himself I le not be washed from my sins I le not be sanctified I le rest as I am Desperate sinner Of how much sorer punishment shalt thou be thought worthy then any sinner under Heaven who rejectest the onely worthy price of a sinners salvation Know the great God will let out all his Justice upon thee to the utmost and Oceans of his death shall fall upon thee if thou thus a-abuse the blood of his Son a greater guilt then all thy ungodlinesse thou hast hitherto bin wallowing in from thy youth up Oh! Come thou despiser and cast thy soul under the droppings of this blood and it shall cleanse thee though thy soul were as black as Hell Zach. 13.1 And
thou poor formal out-side Professour who never didst feel the vertue healing life and warmth of the bloud of Christ upon thy heart Oh rest not in good thoughts of it onely but come believingly to it as thou hast been exhorted Say and that with thy heart Now Lord I would know the power and efficacy of this Redemption upon my poor soul Wash me Lord wash me I renounce all but the blood of this Christ as to making way to God for me Oh! let it pacifie my conscience and purge my conscience and I shall be clean If the Spirit of the Lord shall work thy heart to come as a guilty helplesse unholy sinner in thy self to this blood of Jesus and make thy approaches to God daily and argue for grace and remission upon it and purging thy soul these inestimable blessings will be the issue of it which I will but name to thee 1. Thou shall Certainly find forgivenesse of thy sins In whom we have redemption through his blood the forgivenesse of our sins Ephes 1.7 God will remember them no more against thee and thou shalt have peace with thy God for ever 2. God will let forth an infinite unchangeable love upon thee Rom. 5.5 which love he bore thee from eternity but will now manifest it to thee and estate thee in it for ever 3. Thou shalt have boldnesse of accesse to God Rom. 5.2 even into his intimate presence to speak with God face to face and ask of God what thou wilt according to his will Heb. 10. 4. All the promises of mercy grace and all blessings here and for ever shall be thine made over sealed in the blood of Christ 5. Thou shalt rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 with all Saints and see thy self an heir of heaven 6. Thou shalt be still a washing and purifying and fitting for Heaven till thou shalt be taken up unto God and live in the Ocean of his love to all eternity Now if ease in thy sin and the world can do better for thee than this that I have named then keep in but if not as most certainly it cannot Arise and come to this blessed Redemption and get thy part and portion in it and thou shalt say Blessed be thy counsell and advice for evermore But now upon this Redemption of Iesus Christ how is a sinner said to be justified that is to be put into an actuall possession of the Redemption of Iesus Christ through the free grace of God 1. When the Compact was made between God the Father and Iesus Christ as to the salvation of those that the Father gave to Iesus Christ and Iesus Christ undertook the fulfilling of the Condition of the Covenant ☞ God did purpose in himself to justifie them from eternity and look't upon them as in Christ 2 Tim. 1.9 Ephes 1.4 So they were justified as to the purpose of God from all eternity 2. When Iesus Christ performed the condition of obedience in his dying and paid unto God what he required at his hands for the sinners redemption then did God as in the Court of Heaven discharge the sinner though not in the court of Conscience and when Christ arose and came to Heaven the Father gave him in an absolution of them all from the guilt of sin and obligation to death and so at the death of Christ all the Elect were meritoriously justified inasmuch as the price was paid and accepted of the Father Rom. 5.10 3. When according to the purpose of God through the purchase of Iesus Christ a sinner is called by grace hath faith given him as purchased also for him to embrace Iesus Christ in the Promise to receive him as offer'd in the Gospell and with him all spirituall blessings then is the soul put into the actuall possession of what God in his purpose and love determined to give him and Iesus Christ by the purchase of his blood gave him a right to before and so there is an Act of Gods pardoning mercy passeth upon the sinner he hath an actuall discharge given in unto his Conscience hath the obedience of Iesus Christ imputed to him and so is lookt upon by God not as a sinner under guilt but as righteous in the righteousnesse of Christ which bespeakes him Justified that is made just and righteous before God by the imputation and making over Christs righteousnesse to him as if righteous in his own person upon which Act of God there is a full remission of sinne as in the Text and the believer is put into another state a state of justification unto life through Iesus Christ Rom. 8.18 who before was in a state of death and condemnation Before I speak of that faith which through grace puts a soul in his pardoned and justified state I will breifly apply this to the Capacity of the weak 1. It may informe and instruct you in this great Mystery that any sinner that is saved must be thus justified made righteous by the obedience of Iesus Christ he must come to see the justice of God made up his sin satisfied for a price paid unto God and this to be actually made over to him as we shall presently shew Most of sinners 't is to be feared do not consider this that speak of mercy and pretend they hope in mercy but are never convinc'd of the righteousnesse of Iesus Christ and what it is to passe from a state of guilt to a state of righteousnesse by Iesus Christ from a state of condemnation to a state of justification without which there can be no salvation Oh be convinced sinners of this great matter of the necessity of the righteousness of Christ his obedience in fulfilling the Law to be made over to you to be brought into a justified state or you can never have pardon of sin and be accepted with God you can never stand before God but in the righteousness of Iesus Christ Say If I do not get the righteousness of Christ made mine If I do not get thus justified I must never expect pardon of my sin and acceptance of my poor soul at the great day of the Lord. This is the Work of the Spirit to be savingly convinced of this Ioh. 16.8 Oh look up to the Father for the Spirit thus to convince you not onely of sinne and the damnableness and sinfulness thereof but of your infinite need to get not onely some general hope of mercy and pardon but the righteousness of the Son of God to bring you into a state of pardon reconciliation peace with God 2. It may further clear unto you that your justification before God is not within you but without you wrought forth by Iesus Christ for such as are or shall be called by grace and imputed to them not inherent or wrought in them 'T is not grace in you that doth or can justifie you though renewing grace shall be wrought in all that are so pardoned and justified Therefore though thou must be