and obliquity in the body and so is applied to the soul and doth denote perversenesse in him that sinneth and to this may answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not to be understood privatively onely but adversatively for a meer want of the Law may not be a sin alwayes but a repugnancy must necessarily be And thus the word is used 2 Thess 2.8 1 Tim. 4.9 The Hebrews also expresse sinne by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as a desection or falling off from God and answerable to this in the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a falling away from that integrity and purity we either once had or ought still to have As for the Latine word peccatum some have derived it from pellicare which is to commit adultery as if a sin were so called in the general from one kinde of it and others from pecus because a man in sin wanders like a beast or becomes like a beast yet many conceive the word peccare to be a theme it self and not derived from any other word As for the definition of sin What it is though there have been many disputes about it and Chemnitius wished for one publike definition of it to which all Churches should agree yet certainly that of John is full and comprehensive enough 1 Joh. 3.4 Sin is the transgression of the Law Answerable whereunto is that 2 Sam. 15.24 I have sinned for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord Only you must remember not to limit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to a meer want of the Law but as comprehending that which is against it Now this definition agreeth both to habitual and actual sins To habitual whether it be that innate and imbred of original sin or whether it be that habitual voluntarily contracted you have both the actual and habitual 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 excellently put together Rom. 6.19 As you have yeelded your members servants to iniquity unto iniquity where by the former iniquity is meant original and habitual sin by the later actual sin as the fruit of the former It hath been doubted how habitual especially original sin can be called truly sin because it is not voluntary for that voluntarinesse should be of the nature of sin is so universally acknowledged that neither Doctorum paucitas nor Indoctorum turba do dissentiâ—e neither the few learned men or the many unlearned did ever gain-say said Austin And besides All sin must be forbidden by a Law now how are we forbidden to be born without sinne Would not such a prohibition be ridiculous Again The commands of God seem to be for good actions not for the habits of good actions Now although it might fairly be maintained that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the transgression of a Law and not voluntariness is of the nature of a sin for the Apostle Rom. 7.15 saith He doth that which he would not do and there are many sins of ignorance which must necessarily be without any express act of the will yet we may with Austin call this sin voluntary taking voluntary as it comprehends the will of Adam that universal person and principle in whom we all willed And by this means though Infants are not in themselves capable of any precept much lesse before they were born which they were to accomplish in their own person yet they were bound up in a command even before they had an actual being in Adam in whose will they were to fulfill that command for that command was not given to Adam as a single person but as an universal Hence it is that habituall sin whether remote or proxime is forbidden by the Law of God which requireth not only good things to be done but also that they flow from a clear and pure fountain within even an entire perfection of the nature so that although infused habits of grace come not under a precept in respect of the infusing and ingenerating of them for that is Gods act and we are not bound to do that yet they are commanded both before they are infused and after Before by the Law which requireth of us that inward rectitude which is now lost and after they are infused to be diligent in those pious actions whereby those habits may be preserved and retained So that by this we may see a sin to be whatsoever doth transgresse the Law of God whether habitually or actually whether internally or externally whether by commission or by omission and from hence ariseth the curse which the Law pronounceth against sinners because its broken by them In the next place if we speak of sin as it relates to the person sinning so there is not required first That a man should not intend sin and will it as sin for that is impossible even as the understanding cannot assent to any thing false as false but as the object is either true really or apparently So neither can the will desire any thing that is evil as evil but as it is apparently good As the devil appeared in Samuels clothes so doth sin and evil alwayes under the notion of some good or other Hence the Apostle saith Lusts saves i. do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 entice a man as a Fisherman doth the silly fish by the bait upon the hook which the Apostle elswhere cals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a deceiving or putting a false Syllogism upon our selves So that they do not sufficiently vindicate the pure providence of God from sin who say God doth will the act but not the deformity or the evil of it for so neither doth man will expresly the evil of the act although in willing that act to which sin is necessarily annexed it be interpretatively to will the sin Neither secondly is to sin to produce sin as the proper and immediate terminus of our action for sin being a privation or at most a relation it cannot be the immediate effect of any action Sin is not indeed a meer pure privation such as blindenesse is but mixt and compounded such as sicknesse is which hath both the inordinacy and want of a good temperament and also the ill humours in it So that a man sinneth by producing or doing that action to which sin is annexed And herein neither do they sufficiently clear Gods concourse about sin in saying it goeth to the material act of sin but not to the immediate obliquity of it For so neither doth man and indeed sin being a privation or as some a relation it is impossible it should be produced any other way but by that act unto which it is joyned to as theft is committed by doing that material action to which that deformity is inseparably adjoined Therefore to sin is to do a thing deficiently from the Law of God so that God in all those several acts of his about sin whether they be permissive or ordinative is gloriously vindicated because
and gripes he had within because of sin and no wonder he did not confess it and bewail it before God If therefore God keeps thy heart in many doubts and fears giving thee no rest consider whether thou hast cast all that leaven out of thy house whether every Achan within thee be stoned or no. It is in vain to cure the wound as long as any splint of the poisoned arrow lieth within it or if thou finde no sin unrepented of search whether thy formal lazy duties be not the cause of all the blackness that is in thy heart We reade in the Canticles that the Churches laziness and her not opening the doors to Christ when he knockt was the cause of that spiritual desertion she was plunged into seeking up and down for her Beloved but not finding of him The standing pool begets the croaking Frogs not the running stream and it is the dull negligent Christian whose heart is filled with sad fears and doubts whereas the hidden Manna and white stone is promised to him that overcometh 3. Though thy soul walk thus in darkness yet exercise acts of dependency and recumbency upon Christ howsoever As David many times cals upon his soul to trust in God and not to be sinfully dejected How is that woman of Canaan commended for her faith who though our Saviour called her Dog and did in effect tell her she was excluded from pardon did yet earnestly pursue him and gave him no rest till he gave her rest And certainly this is the noblest act of Faith this is indeed to give glory to God when in the midst of all thy fears and guilt thou canst relie upon him for pardon as in wicked men who are filled with Satan as Ananiaâ— was there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a desperate boldness whereby they dare venture upon sin So in the godly there should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a confidence of Faith whereby maugre the devil and our consciences we dare throw our selves into the arms of a Promise Thus by frequent putting forth of strong fiducial applicative acts of Faith we shall at last enjoy obsignative Howsoever hereby thou wilt shew thy heavenly courage in enduring a kinde of spiritual Martyrdom As that Love is the highest Love which is carried out to enemies so those are the strongest acts of Faith which make us depend on God though he seem to kill us yea to damn us LECTURE XXIV MAT. 6.12 And forgive us our Debts ANother Question which is also of great use we are to dispatch at this time viz. Whether a Believer repenting and suing for pardon is to make any difference between a great sin and a lesse For if a man should be perswaded of the negative then would gross and notorious sins which Tertullian cals Devoratoria salutis whirlpools and gulfs wherein the party offended is plunged be no more then those sins which Austin cals Quotidiana levia daily infirmities which continually flow from the most sanctified person Again on the other side A Christian falling into such a gross sin may so far be swallowed up with sorrow as that he shall think the whole bond of friendship is dissolved between him and God that he is cast out of that spiritual Paradise he was in and that God is no more his Father nor he his childe It is therefore necessary to have a pillar of fire to guide us in this wilderness And that the whole truth of this matter may be understood observe these Propositions First Every sin even the least sin doth deserve eternal death As appeareth by those general places Cursed is every one that abideth not in all things the Law commands Gal. 3.10 Now every sin is a transgression of the Law This the Apostle speaks universally of all sin without any exception Rom. 6.23 The wages of sin is death And indeed this must needs be so if you consider the least sinne is an offence against an infinite God and in this respect because God is not a little but a great God so every sin is not little but a great sin Again if you consider the necessity of Christs bloud to expiate this no sinne can be thought little for if a man had no sin in the world but one of these little ones he could not escape eternall wrath without Christs mediation Therefore we cannot say any sin is venial either from its kinde and nature as Papists distinguish such they make to be officious or jesting lies or from the imperfection of the act such they make those that are committed indeliberately or out of ignorance without full consent or knowledge Or from the smalness of the matter as to steal a farthing or the like None of these sins are so small but that they deserve hell because they are the transgression of the Law of an holy and great God and our Saviour confirmeth this when he saith Of every idle word a man shall give an account Mat. 12.36 and that phrase of giving an account is not a diminutive but aggravative expression Our Saviour doth there argue from the less to the greater Thus If a man must give an account for every idle word much more for blasphemy against the holy Ghost Take we heed therefore how we bring down the weight and guilt of the sinne here also we may see why Paul found such a mountain upon him by sinful motions only arising in his heart There are two places that seem to import such a difference between sins as if some only deserved hell and others not The first is Mat. 5.22 where our Saviour speaking of three degrees of sin doth proportionably assign three degrees of punishment and the last only is guilty of hell fire But the clear Answer is That our Saviour speaks allusively to those three Courts of Judicature among the Jews the least punishment whereof was death so that the first Court punished with death the second death with a more grievous torment The third with a most grievous For that our Saviour doth only allude to these Courts and not speak of what faults the Courts punished is plain for none can think that the Court put any to death for calling his brother fool It was murder and such â—ins that they punished with capital punishments The other place is 1 Joh. 5.15 17. where the Apostle makes a difference between a sin unto death and a sin not unto death but that is clearly to be understood either of the sin against the holy Ghost which in those times when the spirit of discerning was frequent might easily be known or of such sin that did plainly discover obstinacy and impenitency accompanying of it otherwise no man might pray for another man that hath committed a mortal sin if by a sin unto death the Papist will mean every mortal sin Lay therefore this foundation That every sin is mortal in respect of its desert and guilt howsoever to the godly believing and repenting no sin is mortal
also Dan. 9.25 Zech. 13.9 Whereby you will presently judge of the mans bold ignorance But as for the place it self certainly the words are very emphaticall Count it implying a man in his choicest deliberation ought to do so all joy an Hebraism full perfect joy when ye fall the word is so fall that ye are compassed round about And lastly divers temptations By temptations Austin seemeth to have understood inticements or provocations to sin and whether such temptations may be desired or to give ground of a just joy is disputed by the Schoolmen but that is impertinent we see the Apostle speaketh of afflictions as appeareth by the word following and not all kinde of afflictions but such as are for Christs name certainly the Apostle writing to the Corinthians and speaking of the chastisements of God upon them for their sins he doth not bid them count that all joy but rather exhorts them to judge themselves that they be not condemned with the world He doth not then speak of all kinde of afflictions but some only and his meaning is not that under even those afflictions they should have no grief for he saith no affliction is for the present joyous but grievous but he giveth one respect why they should rejoyce because of the good work of their faith manifested thereby though in other considerations they may be humbled And I see not but even in those persecutions which befall the godly for the Gospels sake they may not some of them at least and sometimes be humiliations for the Godlies former sinnes as well as explorations of their Graces and more eminent glorifying of them here and hereafter I deny not but even in afflictions for their sins the people of God may take comfort to their souls from severall considerations but I think not that the Apostle doth refer to them in this place Let us now consider what dangerous Absurdities would flow from this doctrine of ours and first saith he this is to confound Law and Gospel together The Law should be preached only to secure sinners the Gospel to broken sinners only whereas if you tell the godly when they are afflicted that it is from their sinnes you preach Law to them But first Then the Apostle mingled Law and Gospel when he commands the Corinthians to judge themselves under Gods hand upon them and how legall was Peter when he said judgement must begin at the House of God 2. The Gospel and the Law are to be mingled in all spirituall administrations but for different ends As they must not in preaching be confounded so neither divided 3. The people of God have still sin pride and hardnesse of heart remaining in them and shall a Minister preach the Gospel to his pride shall we comfort them because their hearts are sometimes dull and froward Lastly Though we say they are afflicted for their sins yet this is not to make the crosses Legal but Evangelical for we do not say they are so for their sins as that thereby they must satisfie the justice of God in their own persons but for other considerations A second Absurdity will be say they hereby to make the Gospel unsufficient to abolish the old man unlesse it borrow help from the Law But first Observe his contradiction The Gospel doth abolish sin in the beleever how can that be when he holdeth there is no sin to be abolished certainly that which is not needs not to be abolished for it is not already Secondly If the Gospel be so powerfull to abolish sin why will he have the Law preached to obstinate sinners certainly by his rule the Gospel would sooner melt the tuffest and most Ironny sinner that is Thirdly That which he would have such an absurdity is an eminent truth the Law and the Gospel are mutually subservient to each other and are to be preached as conjoyned though not confounded one with another Another Absurdity for I cannot take them in order seeing he doth absurdly make one thing several arguments and so doth but tautologize This would be to deny Christs perfect righteousnesse and that we are not made without all spots or blemishes But first It doth not derogate from Christ that we are not freed from sin while here in this life for he himself holdeth the believers in the Old Testament had sin in them and God scourged them for it yet Christ bore their sins and took away their iniquities Secondly If this place prove any thing it would the Popish Tenet That we are inherently without sin and the Antinomian denieth that for he saith we are made perfectly holy not actively but passively whereas those places speak of an active holiness Thirdly If so be the sin remaining in us did not only bring temporal evils but eternal did not bring only a disease but hell also then this would evacuate the fulnesse of Christs death but now it doth not A fourth Absurdity he would fetch from an Argument of Bish Babingtons Ejus quod non est non est poena but sin when it is forgiven is not therefore to forgiven sin there is no temporal punishment I answer first If by that which is not should be meant that which hath a physical and natural existence then the Argument would prove that no sin whether forgiven or not forgiven could damn a man because no sin according to the received opinion hath any positive natural being therefore it must be understood of a moral being that is a desert of punishment Now when sin is said to be forgiven the reason is not at if remission of sin made sin no sin drunkennesse no drunkennesse or as if that sin did not deserve punishment for that is inseparable from the nature of it but forgivenesse of sins takes away the actual ordination of them to condemnation So then a sin though forgiven hath some kinde of being though not that of actual ordination to everlasting death when therefore sins are said to be thrown into the bottom of the sea and they shall be no more that is to be understood quoad hoc in respect of actual condemnation So Davids sin was forgiven viz. as to damn David yet though forgiven it was still viz. to afflict David and to make God angry with him A fifth Absurdity If you say the people of God are afflicted for sin this would trouble the consciences of Gods children exceedingly and make them fearfully to expect horrible temporal plagues every hour because the least sin is so infinitely distastfull to God But first It seemeth then a godly man though fallen into murder adulteries c. his conscience must not be troubled Peter if he denieth Christ must not weep bitterly Secondly we give many cordials and antidotes against despair while we say they are afflictions even for sin for we add further That they are all bounded within a due measure God considers our strength and
thee even as a Creditor doth forgive many thousands to a Debtor by his meer voluntary Act. Now we are apt to think according to the principles of Popery that our Justification is no better then our inherent holinesse is whereas any godly man may sit down and consider that he is not able to goe out with his five thousrnd against the Justice of God that comes against him with ten thousand Grace justifying takes away all guilt of sinne grace sanctifying doth not because as Bonaventure well observeth the remedy given by grace against originall sin is not ordained against it prout corrumpit naturam sed prout personam as it doth infect our nature for so it sticketh till death but as it doth defile the person measure not therefore the perfection of grace justifying by the perfection of grace sanctifying Thirdly This Scripture language doth infer That sin forgiven is as if it had never been now the troubled soul cryeth out Oh that I had never been thus done thus Why God when he doth pardon makes it as if it had never been do not fear the drowned Aegyptians will rise up and pursue thee again We may tell a David a Paul it is so with them as if no adultery murder or persecutions had been committed by them Fourthly As God doth indeed really thus remit so the Scripture commands the repentant sinner to believe this and with confidence to rest satisfied Oh what holy boldnesse may this truth believed work in the tender heart You may see a poor man though he hath much ado to live yet if his debts be discharged how glad he is he can go abroad and fear no Sergeant to Arrest him no writ issued out to attach him and thus it is with a sinner repenting and beleeving and if there be any whose heart is not ravished with this glorious mercy it is to be feared he never felt the burden of sin or else never strongly beleeved this gracious way of God Let not then any Antinomian say we put water into the beleevers wine or wormwood into their bread for who can rationally desire more then this doth amount to but to expect such a pardon such a justification as that God shall take no notice of sin to chastise or afflict for it is to say There is forgiveness with God that he may not be feared contrary to Davids expression LECTURE VII JEREMIAH 50.20 In those daies and at that time the iniquity of Iudah shall be sought for c. FIfthly From this Scripture-expression is gathered That gross sins are blotted out as well as sins of an inferiour nature Though there be sins that waste the conscience yet they do not waste the grace of remission how is the true repentant affected with slavish fears sometimes as if his sins did blot out Gods mercy like a thick cloud as if our transgressions had subdued his goodnesse and thrown it into the bottom of the Sea What a comfortable expression is that Isaiah 1.18 Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow c. It was wonderfull mercy that ever so horrid and bloudy sinners therefore their sins are said to be like scarlet should become so clear yet the grace of Justification doth as totally remit great sins as lesse sins as Christ did with the same easinesse cure several diseases Thus David also Psal 51. after he had wallowed in that mire he prayeth to be purged in an allusive expression with hysope which was the last thing used in their legal purifications and therefore doth imply the total and compleat cleansing by Christ and upon this David saith He shall be whiter then snow which phrase is neither with the Papist to be extended to sanctification as if such perfect clean righteousnesse were vouchsafed to him as that there were no sin in him nor with the Antinomian as if God did quite abolish sin from David out of his sight so as to take no notice of it or chastise him for it for after the pardon was past yet his childe was to die and much more evil to come to Davids house but in respect of final condemnation God having thus pardoned David through Christ would no more adjudge him to everlasting punishment then he would one that was innocent or without any spot of sin And this is to incourage great sinners ten thousand talents was a great summe of money yet how easily forgiven by that kinde Master Thus Exod. 34.7 God is described forgiving sins of all sorts and this he proclaimed when his glory passed by and how necessary is this for the contrite heart which judgeth his sins because of the aggravations of them to be unpardonable If they had not been of such a breadth and depth and length they would not fear overwhelming as now they do There are sins of all sorts described and which is to be observed God putteth no term or bounds to his mercy whereas he doth set some to his anger Let not therefore the greatness of sin be thought more then the greatness of mercy pardoning and Christs obedience suffering as it is hypocrisie to extenuate and make our sins lesse then they are so it is unbelief to diminish his grace and Gods greatness above us is as much celebrated in this his kindness as in any other attribute The sins of all the world if they were thy sins were but like a drop of water to his mercy no more then our essence or power is to his Majesty Take heed then of saying Such and such sins may be forgiven but can he forgive such as mine are also Lastly In that Honey Comb for we may say of these places if of any they are sweeter then honey this sweetness may be pressed out That all their sins though never so many shall likewise be blotted out The Sea could as easily drown an whole Hoast of Pharaohs men as twenty Souldiers The Apostle is excellent Rom. 5. in this making an opposition between the first Adam and second aggravating the superlative power of the gift by grace above the evil through sin Hence it 's called the riches of his grace rather then power or wisdome because of the plenty and abundance of it Who would not think that while Gods goodness in the Scripture is thus unfolded there should not be a dejected unbeleeving Christian in the world shall our sin abound to condemnation more then his grace to justification because sin is too strong for us is it therefore too much for the grace of God also you see by ths that we may drink wine enough in the Scripture Wine-cellars to make our hearts glad and yet swallow not down any dregs of Popish or Antinomian errors These things thus explained I come to confirm you with severall Arguments that God doth see sin so as to be offended and displeased with it in those that are already justified And the first rank of Arguments shall be taken from those places of Scripture where the godly do
smiteth him so Moses was denied entring into the land of Canaan which was an heavy affliction to him because he spake unadvisedly with his lips Commentators are at loss to finde out what his sin was So Davids sin in numbring the people it s disputed wherein the transgression lay Elies heavy judgements that came so frequently one upon another were for a want of that measure of zeal which should have burnt within him Oh therefore consider that God doth not only see sins that are mountains but that are mole-hils comparatively He doth not only see the beams but the motes that are in us he doth not only take notice of our mire and vomit if we return to that but of the least spot and wrinkle how deeply maiest thou humble thy self under every Religious duty performed by thee How often do we fail in the manner of a command as Vzzah in the order How often out of pride and self-confidence do we number our earthly props and refuges relying upon them How unadvised are our thoughts and words now these hairs of sins as I may so call them both for number and seeming littlenesse are all numbred before God As the Lord is angry with these lesser sins and defects in graces so also for Errors in Judgements and false opinions How well would it be for the Antinomian if God did not see this sin in them that they hold he seeth no sin in Believers I fear me God seeth and taketh notice of their erroneous Sermons of their corrupt Doctrines and seducing Books There are indeed those who would make heresie almost innocency and that it is more to be pitied then punished but the Apostle Gal. 5. reckons heresies among gross sins such as exclude from the Kingdom of heaven and how severe Gods anger is to those who do erre though in less matters and although they keep the foundation appeareth in that notable place 1 Cor. 3.12 13 14 15. It is a difficult place and those that would build Purgatory out of it they are the Architects of that hay and stubble the text speaks of Not to join with that exposition of some who by hay and stubble do understand evil works nor with Beza who denieth it to be meant of false doctrine but only of the manner of preaching He makes the building of gold and silver c. to be the pure and sincere doctrine of Christ the hay and stubble to be the vain affecting of eloquence and words but I rather go along with those that interpret the place of false doctrines but not such as do overthrow the foundation only they build superfluous unsound doctrine upon the true foundation which is as uncomely as if you should see a royall palace which hath gold for the foundation and precious stones for the wals yet have the covering of straw and stubble what deformity would this be yet so it is with the best preachers that are who yet adde some errors to the sound Doctrine they deliver Now for the opening of the place it is wholly Allegorical The preachers of Gods word are builders and they are to raise up a stately palace the materials are compared to gold and silver to precious stones The place is an allusion to Isa 54.12 I will make thy windows of Agats and thy gates of Carbuncles and all thy borders of pleasant stones it is a description of the precious Graces and Doctrines which the Ministers of God are cloathed with and this sheweth with what esteem and high price all the truths of Christ ought to be received by you The Ark Ex. 25.3 4 5 6. was to be made of gold silver and other precious materials this is the nature of true Doctrine Now false Doctrine though it be not in fundamentals but in meer accessories is called hay and stubble and he that preacheth these shall come to a severe trial Every mans work saith the Text shall be made manifest where you see the spreading of false Doctrine is called the work of a man as in the second Epist of John it s called evil deeds and this evil work hath a two-fold effect First it makes the owner to suffer losse that is all that labour and pains he hath taken shall bring him no profit whereas if he had imployed himself in the truth his reward would have been great The lucrum cessans is as great a losse as the damnum emergens Oh! what a fearfull thing will it be for false teachers who have made it their whole business to spread new opinions to lose all their labour The other effect is that though he be saved yet it shall be so as by fire that is he shall be in extream danger and he shall have sad tribulations and miseries falling upon him see the like phrase Jude 23. pulling them out of the fire That which thou comfortest thy self with and gloriest in as if it were persecution it may be is nothing but part of the fire in the Text which is to afflict thee that thy drosse may be purged out let therefore all false teachers though belonging to God expect a fire of burning great afflictions and tribulations And if Antinomians have trouble for their Doctrine they are bound to believe God chastiseth them for this very opinion that he doth not chastise for sin I have bin the longer on this place because of the multitude of hay and stubble that is built every where God will have his day when a fire shall rise to consume it all and the true Doctrine will only continue The Apostle speaks as terribly afterwards v. 17. If any man defile the temple of God him shall God destroy where the Apostle calleth the Corinthians The temple of God now this is not so much true of every single Christian as when collected together in a Church or body and the Spirit dwelling among them is much more admirable then his presence in the Ark and he defileth this Temple who by any false Doctrine and error corrupts that society now the greatness of this sin is seen by the words following The Lord will destroy him for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that as God destroyed Athaliah and Beltashazzar for prophaning the Temple and the offerings or gifts of the Temple no lesse punishment unlesse they repent shall fall upon those who pervert the Doctrines of Christ I come to the second demonstration of Gods anger to believers when sinning and that is in spiritual and internal things now they are of two sorts first the consolations of the holy Ghost with the light of Gods favour secondly the flourishing and sprouting of the graces of sanctification In both these you shall finde the godly man after sin much withered What anger in the first sense after sin the godly may feel David will abundantly tell you Ps 11. he cals it the breaking of his bones you know how terrible and grievous that is and in the
in Christ yet not for Christ Christ is the meritorious cause of Justification and Glorification but not of predestination that is meerly from his own self so that if Gods act of predestinating us be enough to instate us into all this favour and love what need is there of an atonement by Christs bloud and thus we may urge a Doctors Argument upon himself All the elect of God are justified but all the elect of God are elected antecedently to Christs merits therefore they are justified before Christs merits 7. If because it s said Ephes 2. That while we were dead Christ gave himself for us And Rom. 5. That he died for the ungodly it followeth Our sins are pardoned before we believe then it will also follow that all mens sins are pardoned For the Texts that speak thus of his dying for the ungodly and for enemies make no distinction of one from another And thus a Judas as well as a Peter is bound to believe his sins are pardoned Those that argue against all qualifications and say God requireth nothing of thee though lying in thy bloud must needs hold an universal promiscuous pardon of all and that such a sin as presumption is not possible for if I believe that Christ died to take away my sins though I walk in all disobedience yet that is not presumption but a duty It is true the Orthodox call upon those who lie groveling in their swinish lusts to come unto Christ and to believe in him but what is that faith Not a faith that sins are already pardoned but a faith relying on him for pardon which faith also at the same time cleanseth and purifieth the heart Therefore let us take those general Texts which speak of Christs dying to take away the sins of enemies and let any Antinomian give a true reason why one mans sin is pardoned rather then another and although to evade this they fall into another error holding Christ died for all yet that will not serve the turn unlesse they hold That all men shall actually be saved and none damned for those Texts speak of a benefit that is actually obtained for those in whose behalf he died And thus I have produced seven Arguments for the antecedency of our Faith and Repentance to our Justification as many in number as the fore-quoted Author brings against it Other grounds may be pleaded to this purpose when we shall demonstrate that all sins are not pardoned together Use Of Exhortation To avoid all presumption whether it be wrought in thee by thy own carnal heart or corrupt Teachers and that is when thou believest pardon any other way then in Scripture-bounds there is a Pharisaical presumption or Popish and there is an Antinomian or Publican presumption The former is when we hope for pardon partly by Christ and partly by our own works and merits The other is when we expect it though living and walking in sin Now it is hard to say whether of these is more derogatory to Christ The one sins in the excesse the other in the defect Be not therefore a Pharisee excluding Christ either in whole or in part from the cause of pardon Tutius vivimus quando totum Deo damus we live more safely when we give all unto God and take nothing unto our selves In the next place be not a Publican Think not to have Christ and Belial together expect not pardon for sin without repentance of it The world is filled with these two kinde of presumers some limit Gods grace and associate their performances with it Others extend it too far and conjoyn their lusts with it But as the Apostle saith If of works and of the Law then there is no grace So we may if of lusts and prophane impieties then there is also no grace We are therefore both to avoid sins and carnal confidence in our own righteousnesse if we would have Christ all in all In vain did Peter and Mary Magdalen pour out their souls with so much bitternesse if pardon of sin may be had without this It is Hieroms observation That in all Pauls Salutation Grace goeth before Peace for till Gods grace hath pardoned our sins we can have no peace and God doth not pardon but where he gives repentance Labour therefore for that which is indeed the good of thy soul viz. Pardon of sinne When the rich man in the Parable speaking of the corn in his barns said Soul take thine ease thou hast much good laid up for thee He spake as if he had porcinam animam the soul or life of an hog for what good is corn and wine to a mans soul Forgivenesse of sin and reconciliation with God that is the connatural and sutable good and happinesse for the soul LECTURE XXI MAT. 6.12 And forgive us our debts IT hath been proved That God doth not justifie or pardon a man till he doth believe and that the wrath of God abideth upon such an one It is necessary in the next place to answer those Objections which are propounded by the Adversaries because some of them carry a specious pretence with them And indeed the Antinomian with those Arguments he fetcheth from some places of Scripture is like David in Sauls Armour not able to improve them the weapons being too big for him But before I enter into the Conflict its worth the enquiry what the judgement of the Orthodox is in this point The Remonstrants Acta Synod p. 293. bring severall places out of our Authours Lubertus Smoutius Piscator and Others wherein they expresly say That God doth blot out our sins before we either believe or amend our lives and that this pardon doth antecede our knowledge of God Faith Conversion or Regeneration of the heart Thus also D. Twisse in the place before quoted Pemble also to this purpose pag. 24. The Elect saith he while unconverted they are then actually justified and freed from all sin by the death of Christ and so God esteems of them as free and having accepted of that satisfaction is actually reconciled to them But the falshood of this will appear in Answer to the sixth Argument When Grotius had distinguished of a two-fold remission a full remission and a lesse full remission holding this later kinde of remission to be given to impenitent sinners abusing two places of Scripture for this purpose Rom. 5. 10. 2 Cor. 5.19 Rivet confuteth him making it a sure truth That sins are not actually remitted but to those that repent and saith Quinam sunt ii qui volunt actu remissa peccata cuiquam ante conversionem certè nobis sunt ignoti Who are they that say sins are actually pardoned before conversion Certainly they are unknown to us Although we acknowledge the price of reconciliation and redemption to have been prepared for the elect from all eternity or in Gods purpose and intention remission of sins to have been ordained for them even as conversion which in his time by
that controversie The opponent it may be knoweth that there are some who say Christ or the Spirit of Christ is first in us by way of a moving or preparing principle and afterwards as a principle inhabiting and dwelling in us That as some say Anima fabricat sibi domicilium the soul makes its body to lodge in it works first efficiently that afterwards it may formally so they say Christ doth in us As the silk-worm prepareth those silken lodgings for her self to rest in So that according to the judgement of these men Christ or his Spirit doth efficiently work in us the act of believing by which act Christ is received to dwell in us And in this way Christ hath no union with us till we do believe He worketh indeed in us before but not as united to us Now according to this opinion the answer were easie That we are not in Christ till we do beleeve Though Christ be in us as working in us and upon us Yea faith would first be wrought and then Christ with his benefits of justification c. would be vouchsafed to us but there are Reasons why it is not safe to go this way And indeed that Charta magna or grand promise for regeneration doth evidently argue the habits or internall principles of grace are before the actions of grace Ezek 36.26 God takes away the heart of stone and giveth a new heart an heart of flesh which is the principle of grace and afterwards causeth them to walk in his Commandments which is the effect of grace But secondly which doth fully answer the Objection It is true our being ingraffed into Christ is the root and fountain of faith and of Justification too but yet so that these being correlates faith and Justification they both flow from the root together though with this order that faith is to be conceived in order of nature before Justification that being the instrument to receive it though both be together in time Therefore the major Proposition should be thus regulated He that is in Christ doth believe and is justified or believing is justified for Justification as our Glorification though it flow from Christ yet it is in that order and time which God hath appointed Neither is it any new thing in Philosophy to say Those causes which produce an effect though they be in time together yet are mutually before one another in order of nature in divers respects to their severall causalities Christ is in us and we in Christ Christ is in us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of gift and actual working and we are in Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of receiving and both these are necessary as appeareth Joh. 15.5 and both are together in time yet so that in order of nature Christs being in us is before our being in him and the ground of all our comfort and fruit is not because we are in him but he in us even as the branch beareth fruit not because it is in the Vine but because the Vine is in it communicating efficacy to it Thus also faith and Justification are together yet so as one is produced by the other we are not justified and therefore believe but we believe and are therefore justified Lastly This may be retorted upon the opponent who as was alleadged before denieth any actual reconciliation till we do believe But may not we strike the adversary with his own reason in this manner He that is in Christ is actually reconciled But we must be in Christ before we do believe Therefore we must be actually reconciled before we do believe I pass over the third and reserve the fourth and sixth Argument being all one for the next Lecture because in them is matter worthy of a large consideration I come therefore to the fifth Argument which is taken from the collation between the first Adam and second out of Rom. 5.18 19. From whence is argued As in the first Adam we are accounted sinners before any thing done on our part so in the second Adam we are to be justified before any thing wrought in us This the opponent doth much triumph in but without cause as the answer will manifest And in the first place we cannot but reject those Expositors of that text fore-quoted who understand us to be sinners in Adam only by imitation or by propagation meerly as from a corrupted fountain but we suppose it to be by imputation Adam by Gods Covenant being an universal person and so as Austin said Omnes ille unus homo fuerunt All were that one man And therefore these do not rise up to the full scope of the text who parallel Christ and Adam only as two roots Origens or fountains for there must be a further consideration of them as two common persons for our immediate fathers are a corrupted root and we are corrupted by them yet their sins are not made ours as Adams was Hence the Apostle laieth the whole transgression upon one as by one mans disobedience c. Those that deny imputation of Adams sin as the Pelagians of old and Erasmus with others of late do not relish that translation of those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in whom all have sinned but prefer the other Forasmuch as all have sinned in him but both come to the same sense and howsoever Erasmus say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a dative case must be understood causally yet that is not universally true for Mar. 2.4 there is mention made of the bed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in which the paralytique lay it would be ridiculous to translate that inasmuch So Act. 2. Be baptized 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the name Heb. 9. Those ordinances consisted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in meats We therefore grant That Adams sin was ours by imputation before we had any actual consent to it In which sense Bernard called it Alienum nostrum anothers sin and ours yea it is so farre from being ours by consent that if a man on purpose should now will that Adams sin should be his this would not make Adams sin imputed to him it would be a new actual sin in the man it would not be Adams sin imputed to him Now although all this be concluded upon yet it followeth not that therefore we are justified in Christ before we believe I acknowledge some eminent Divines have pressed this comparison but there is a vast difference in this very act of imputation and the ground of it for supposing the Covenant at first made with Adam all his posterity by a naturall way are involved in his guilt and so whether they will or no antecedently to their own acts they are obnoxious to this guilt Hence all men none excepted that are propagated in a natural way are thus corrupted but in Christ we are by a supernatural way and none are made his but such as beleeve in him and he doth not represent any to God as his members till
THE True Doctrine OF JUSTIFICATION Asserted and Vindicated FROM The Errours of PAPISTS ARMINIANS SOCINIANS and more especially ANTINOMIANS In XXX LECTURES Preached at Lawrence-Iury London By Anthony Burgess Preacher of Gods Word The second Edition Corrected and Revised LONDON Printed by A. Miller for Tho. Vnderhil at the Anchor in Pauls-Church-yard near the little North-door 1651. TO THE Right Honourable EDWARD Earle of Manchester Vicount Mandeville Baron of Kimbolton My Lord THE many favours your Honour hath vouchsafed unto me altogether undeserving may justly command a publike acknowledgement thereof to the whole world But that which doth especially encourage me to seek for your Protection in the publishing of this Treatise is your unfained love of and stedfast continuance in the Truth So that those two things which Pythagoras said made a man compleat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to doe good to others and to embrace truth may without flattery be affirmed to be in your Lordship And as for the latter Paul speaks it as a great commendation that the true faith did dwell in Lois which denoteth a stable and firm permanency as the Apostle elsewhere saith Sinne dwelleth in him In some mens breasts Truth is only a sojourner and their assent to it passeth away as the Psalmist speaks of our life like a tale that is told Now herein Christ speaks of a peculiar priviledge to the Elect that it is not possible for them to be deceived by false Prophets if it were possible to deceive the very Elect which is to be understood of a totall and finall seduction Thus also when the Apostle had mentioned the Apostacy of Hymenaeus and Philetus he interposeth by way of comfort to the godly neverthelesse the foundation of the Lord standeth sure having this Seal the Lord knoweth who are his and no wonder if the truths of Christ are worthy of all hearty acceptation seeing they are wholly by supernaturall revelation in which sense some say Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word because he revealed the will of his Father to us but in another respect are we to take heed how we decline from the truths of God because they are the inlet and first instrument of our Sanctification and Salvation God would have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth Sanctifie them by thy truth thy Word is truth and our regeneration is described paâ—tly by the renewing of our minde so as corrupt distillations from the head are apt to putrifie the vitals so Errours and false Doctrins do quickly corrupt our practâ—ce One thing more I make bold to recommend to your Lordship that besides the bare receiving of the truth there is as the perfection of knowledge the acknowledgement of truth after godlinesse and the learning of truth as it is in Jesus Christ which is when the truths we beleeve have a savoury and powerfull effect upon us and nothing causeth our abode in the truth so much as the experimentall efficacy of it upon our hearts It is good saith the Apostle to have the heart established with grace and not with meats One would have thought the Apostle should have said it is good to have the heart established with sound Doctrine because he exhorteth them not to be carried aside with every winde of Doctrine but he saith Grace rather then knowledge because this is the choicest Antidote against falshoods Tantum scimus quantum operamur we know no more viz. favourily clearly and stedfastly then we have powerfull practice of Now of all supernaturall truths the doctrine of Justification hath no mean excellency this is the article which Luther said reigned in his heart In this is a Christians treasury of hope and consolation and because the Antinomians whose opinions may be stiled as those of Epicurus were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inticing Syrens of a mans fleshly minde have put their dead flies in this precious Box of ointment I have endeavoured to select this precious Gold from their drosse Though the matter I handle be in part controversall yet it is also in a great measure practicall The greatest mercy I can wish to your Lordship is this glorious priviledge of Iustification in which only and not in riches honours or any earthly dignity consisteth true and perfect blessednesse as David a King doth heartily and with much affection acknowledge Psal 32.1 and Paul by vertue of this Iustification Rom. 8. triumphs over all adversity and trouble whatsoever Of which glorious happinesse that your Lordship may be made partaker is the Prayer of Your Lordships most humble Servant in the Lord ANTHONY BURGESS TO THE Christian Reader Christian Reader WEre I not already ingaged I know not how in this publike way of Controversies I should wholly decline such service partly because of that ill fate if I may say so which doth accompany books through the various Palates of those that reade them whereby they are unwilling agnoscere quod Dei est or ignoscere quod hominis est partly because of expectation which is an heavy prejudice all men judging it reasonable that now in these latter times there being the advantage of all the abilities of those who went before us a man should not so much libros as thesauros scribere write not Books but rich Treasuries as the heathen said partly because this controversall way doth so possesse the intellectual part that the affectionate part is much dulled and made remiss thereby Even a Papist Granada in his way of Devotion said A Learned man that was busied in such kinde of imployment should reckon himself in the number of those wretched Captives that are ad metalla damnati Though all the day long they dig up Gold yet they are not any whit inriched by it but others for whom they work And Rodericus as I remember relateâ—h of Suarez that he was wont to say He esteemed that little pittance of time which constantly every day he set apart for the private examination of his own conscience more then all the other part of the day which he spent in his voluminous Controversies The Apostle speaks of doting about questions but the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to be sick and languishing which doth declare the nature of needlesse disputations that they fret away and make to consume the true power of Godlinesse God once only spake out of a thorny bush and as the Israelites were to go out of the military Camp to gathâ—r manna so must a man shuntedious disputes who would injoy the fat and marrow of Christian Religion But notwithstanding these dâ—scouragements yet the Apostle with a vehement obtestatâ—oâ— cals upon Timothy and in him all faithfull Ministers to preserve that good thing committed to their Charge so that it is the duty of Ministers not only by Preaching but otherwise as occasion serveth to see that the golden treasure deposited in the Church be not debased
forgiven till it be committed it must be past before it can be forgiven But the Apostle might use this speech in reference to sins past before his coming to shew the efficacy and power of Christs death that it was not the bloud of Rams and Goats but that of Christ which could expiate our offences My intent is to speak of the benefit first and then the Causes the Benefit is Justification And for the better understanding of this consider the Propositions following which will be subservient to clear the nature of it although the more exact opening of the word and the nature of it is to be looked for when we come to speak of imputed righteousnesse First It is of great consequence to have this Doctrine kept pure Luther called it Articulus stantis aut cadentis Ecclesiae as if this were the soul and pillar of Christianity Pighius though a Papist calleth this the chief par◠of Christian Doctrine confessing that it had been obscured rather then cleared by their own Writers yea this Doctrine about Justification is that which discerneth the Orthodox from Pagans Papists Socinians and Arminians Now there are divers reasons why we should keep the Philistims from throwing in earth to stop up this pleasant spring As 1. because herein is the grace and good favour of God especially revealed Therefore the Gospel is called glorious because God did not so much exalt and manifest his excellency in creating the world as he did in providing of a Saviour and pardon for a poor sinner Hence it s called the riches of his grace rather then of power or righteousness We are therefore sollicitous whatsoever the Antinomians say to the contrary that the doctrine of Gods grace in Justification may be fully improved to the uttermost and that every broken heart may be put into a ravishment and admiration of it We bewail those times of Popery when the name and efficacy of Christ and his Grace were obscured by the works and pretended righteousnesse of men 2. It is very necessary to keep this pure because of the manifold truths that must fall if this fall if you erre in this the whole truth about Originall sinne Free-will and Obligation of the Law will likewise perish 3. It is of great influence into practice for what doth the heart smitten for sin and filled with the displeasure of God but run to this Doctrine as the City of refuge This is the water that their souls pant after this is the bread that their fainting stomacks would gladly feed on now if this water be turned into mud if this bread be made into stones by the corrupt Doctrines of men how must the soul perish for want of sustenance Secondly Satan hath endeavoured severall waies the corrupting of it You may judge of the preciousnesse and excellency of it by Satans malicious endeavours to suppresse it Herod not more diligently seeking to take away the life of Christ when he was in his Cradle then Satans instruments were busie to stifle this truth in the infancy Chemnitius relateth that he did saepè cohorrescere many times tremble when he thought of a speech which Luther would often say and it was ominous That after his death the Doctrine of Justification would be corrupted And indeed when those first Reformers had made the body of this truth in all the severall parts of it like that of Absalom comely and beautifull without any blemish there presently rose up many perverted in minde and set upon it as those theeves upon the man going to Jericho leaving it wounded and half dead There are errours about the very nature of it making it to be the infusion of righteousnesse in us for which God doth accept us Thus they speak of Justification as Aristotle would about Physicall motions Some take away the imputation of Christs Righteousnesse some take away the satisfaction of Christ some make Faith to be accounted for Righteousnesse some make such a Justification that thereby God shall see no sin in those that are justified whatsoever they do Thus in the nature parts instrument consequents and subject there are manifold errours and hereby Satan bringeth much mischief to the Church for by this means our lives are spent in disputing about this benefit when it were farre more comfortable to be enjoying of it And when Satan could not overthrow the truth by mingling of our works with the Grace of God as in Popery then he bendeth himself to errours on the right hand by setting it up in such a seeming way by amplifications of it that thereby all repentance and godly humiliation shall he quite evacuated Even as when he could not by his instruments the Pharisees disprove the Deity of Christ then he sets instruments on work to confess that he was the Son of God thereby to get in some errours Thirdly God in this way of Justification goeth above our thoughts And certainly when a Christian will set his heart to think about this truth he must lay this for a foundation that in this matter of Justifying Gods thoughts and his thoughts do differ as much as heaven and earth so that the doctrine of Christs hypostaticall union is not more above our thoughts and expectation in the truth of it to be believed then that of Justification is above our hearts in the goodnesse of it to be embraced It is in this case with us as with Sampson who found honey in the carkase of a Lion this could not be expected how it could come there had he found it in some holes of a Tree in the Wood where Bees will sometimes hive themselves there had been some probability but here is none Thus thinketh the soul troubled to finde this honey of Justification in the death of Christ how unlikely is it If I should look for it in the works I do in my holinesse and righteousnesse that is wrought by my own hands this were according to rules of righteousnesse And this is the ground of all that dangerous errour in Popery they look upon it as against the principles of reason that we should be accounted righteous any other way then by that which is inherent in us and this made Luther professe that when he did rightly understand the doctrine about free remission of sins yet he was exceedingly troubled with the word Justifie for that old opinion had much soaked into him that it must be to make righteous as sanctificare is to make holy or calefacere to make hot some positive quality to be brought into a man which he might oppose against the judgement of God And hereby you may see that it s no wonder if the people of God are so difficultly perswaded of their Justification if they be again and again plunged into fears about it because this way which God taketh is above our thoughts It is a great matter to deny our own righteousnesse and to be beholding to Christ only for pardon Fourthly As the
the godly are by way of tryal and temptation upon them and because of the good that is in them of these the Apostle James speaks when he bids them count it all joy when they fall into divers temptations of these Paul speaks when he saith he will rejoyce in his infirmities so that the persecutions and miseries which come upon them are an Argument of the good in them more then of the evils as the tree that is ful of fruit hath its boughs more broken then that which is barren and the Pyrates watch for the ship that is fraughted with gold And thus a martyr comforted himself That though he had many sins for which he deserved death yet he thanked God that his enemies did not attend to them but to the good that was in him and for that he suffered so then all the grievances upon the godly are not of the same nature Sixtly The afflictions for sins upon the godly do differ much from those that are upon the wicked This we also grant that when God doth punish the godly and the wicked for their sins though the punishment for the matter of it may be alike yet they differ in other respects very much as in the cause from which one cometh from a God hating their persons the other from anger indeed but the anger of a father Hence secondly they differ in the fittedness of these afflictions to do good God doth moderate these afflictions to his people that thereby grace may be increased but to the reprobate they are no more to their good then the flames of hell-fire are to the damned The Butcher he cuts the flesh far otherwise then the Chirurgion saith August Again in the end they differ All afflictions to the godly are like the beating of cloathes in the Sun with a rod to get out the dust and moths but it is not so with the wicked many other differences practical Divines prove out of the Scripture Seventhly Yet God doth in reference to the sins of his people though forgiven sometimes chastise them This is proved 1. From the Scripture that makes their sin the cause of their trouble Thus of David Because thou saith Nathan 2 Sam. 12.14 hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the childe also that is born of thee shall die Thus God speaks to all the godly in Solomon 2 Sam. 7.14 15. I will be his father and he shall be my son if he commit iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men but my mercy will I not take away In these places sin is expresly made the cause of those afflictions and it is a poor evasion to say this was in the Old Testament for was not the chastisement of the godly mens peace in the Old Testament laid upon Christ as well as in the New but their folly herein and their contradiction to themselves will be abundantly shewed in answering their objections 2. In the places that do assert Gods judging of his people and rebuking of them and they are divers 1 Cor. 11. For this cause many are sick and weak where again you have not only the affliction but the cause why viz. irreverent prophaning of that Sacrament Thus James 5.14 Is any man sick Let him call for the Elders and let them pray for him and if he have committed sins saith the Text they shall be forgiven him There is none but hath committed sins yet the Apostle makes such an if because he speaks of such sins that may provoke God to lay that sicknesse upon him Thus in the Old Testament Psal 99.8 Thou forgavest them though thou tookâ—st vengeance on their inventions Here the Psalmist cals the chastisements upon those whose sins were forgiven vengeance as in other places his anger is said to smoak against the sheep of his pasture but we must not understand it of vengeance strictly so called as if God would satisfie his justice out of their sufferings 3. From the incouragement to duties by temporal Arguments and threats of temporal afflictions If the godly have these goads then certainly as they may conclude their temporal mercies to be the fruit of their godlinesse which hath the promise of this life and the life to come so they may conclude that their afflictions are the effects of their evil waies which have the threatning of this life and the life to come only here is this difference that the outward good mercies are not from their godlinesse by way of merit or causality but their afflictions are so because of their sins Hence the Apostle urgeth the godly Heb. 12.19 with this that even our God is a consuming fire Thus 1 Pet. 3.10 11. He that will love life and see good daies let him eschue evil and do good So that the Scripture pressing to holinesse because of outward good mercies and to keep from sin because of external evils and pressing these to the godly doth evidently declare this truth and certainly the Apostle speaking of the godly Rom. 8.10 saith the body is dead because of sin for by body Beza doth well understand our mortal body and not the mass of sin as some interpret it 4. From the comparison God useth concerning his afflictions upon his people and that is to be a father in that act correcting of them Thus Heb. 12.6 7 8 9 10 11 12. compare this with Rev. 3.19 As many as I love I rebuke now rebuke is alwaies for some fault and this is further cleared because he makes this conclusion be zealous therefore and repent therefore sin was precedent Now in these places God compareth himself to a Father and beleevers to children and we all know that fathers never correct but for sin it would be ridiculous to say the father whips the childe from sin not for sin It is true he doth it from sin by way of prevention to the future yet for sin also The Antinomian saith this is spoken of many beleevers together where some were not converted but this is weak because the persons whom he reproveth God is said to love them and they are children not bastards Again he saith There is no sin mentioned therefore it was not for sin But I answer the very comparison of God with a Father correcting his childe doth evidently argue it was for sin though it be not expressed 5. From the command not to despise or to make little account of Gods afflictions but to humble our selves and search out our waies Why should this be spoken but because they are for our sins Heb. 12.5 Despise not the chastening of God neither faint when thou art rebuked of him Where two things may seem to be forbidden though some make them all one one not to faint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a metaphore from those who faint in the race through languor and dissolution of minde The other is in the other extream not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to despise or to
make little or nothing of it as it were a great fault in a childe to slight or make nothing of his fathers corrections Now let all the world judge whether the Antinomian Doctrine doth not open a wide gate to despise Gods afflictions this makes them cry down Fast-daies repentance humiliation and confession of sin yea they make it Popery and hypocrisie what is done this way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we may say with Homer 6. If God hath commanded Magistrates to execute outward evils upon some godly men that have hainously offended then its Gods will to afflict them for sin but he hath done so If a godly man being through the Dalilah of some corruption perswaded to have his hair cut off his spirituall strength gone and so he fall into the sin of murder is it not Gods will that the Magistrate should put him to death for this sin and what God would have the Magistrate do is it not as much as if God himself had done and must not all say this is a chastisement upon him because of his sin Thus have I brought reasons to prove that which I think was never denied before till this age which every day like Africa bringeth forth some Monster And certainly the Doctrine of afflictions upon the godly is so sweet and wholesome a truth that none but a Spider could suck out such poison from it as the Antinomian hath done LECTURE V. ROM 3.24 25. Being justified freely by his grace c. WE come now to consider how the Antinomian can make good that Paradox of his God chastiseth not believers because of their sins and indeed the Author forementioned doth much sweat and tug in bringing in severall absurdities which he conceives will follow upon the truth asserted by us But before we examine them let us take notice of the Authours great contradiction to himself in this point and that within very few Pages Falshood is not only dissonant from truth but also from it felf for whereas in the forequoted place he makes his assertion universal that Ged seeth not sin in persons converted and therefore there are no afflictions befall them because of sin Now see how flat contrary that same Authour speaks in the same book pag. 117. for there making an opposition between the condition of believers in the Old Testament and those in the new he expresly gives this difference God saith he saw sin in them as they were children that had need of a rod by reason of their non-age but he seeth none in us as being full-grown heirs and again God saw in them and punished them for it as they were under the Schoolmaster of the Law but he seeth none in us Hence pag. 99. he makes it peculiar to the time of the Law that Moses for an unadvised word was strucken with death and Vzzah and Jonah and Ely with others temporally corrected Therefore it was saith he came those terrible Famines whereby mothers were driven to eat their own children all was because they were under the severity of the Law that if they did but a little step awry they were sharply scourged for the same Now how great a contradiction is this to his other assertion for were not the godly under the Old Testament actually converted had they not Christs righteousnes made theirs were they not elected how cometh it about then that they were afflicted for sin and not believers under the New Testament when a man can bring the East and West together then may he reconcile these assertions but self contradiction is no strange thing in that book But I come to his Arguments The first place he urgeth is Ro. 5.1 2 3. Being justified by faith we have peace with God that is all beating blows and anger are ceased saith he and hence it is that we glory in our afflictions but now if they were for our sins we had no more cause to glory in them then the childe hath in his whippings for his faults For the opening of this place consider these things some ancient Commentators reade the word imperatively 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let us have instead of we have and thus they have interpreted it Being justified by Faith let us take heed how we sin again but preserve our peace with God The words taken this way would much confirm rather then debilitate our assertion but I doe not judge this so suteable to the scope of the Apostle in this verse we will take them as they are indicatively or assertively and first we may mean by peace either that reconciliation which is made with God or the sense and feeling of this which is nothing but tranquillity and security of conscience through the perswasion of Gods favour to us Now these may be separable one from the other a believer may be reconciled with God and in the state of friendship with him yet he not feel this or know this as many passages in Davids Psalms do witnesse even as the childe in the womb knoweth not the great inheritance and rich Revenues it shall be possessed of or as Agar did not see the well of water by her but thought she must perish till God opened her eyes There is a seal of the pardon of sin when yet the proclamation of it is not made in the conscience If we take peace in the first respect it is an absolute universal proposition and true of every justified person but in the latter sense it is true only of some persons and at some times for the sense of Gods favour is a separable priviledge from those that are in it If by peace we should understand the sense of Gods favour and the declaration of it in our consciences as by their arguments they must do then it proveth against their opinion as well as any others for they hold that a believer needeth to pray for pardon in the declaration or sense and feeling of sin though not for the pardon it self of sin now there cannot be at the same time a want of the feeling of pardon of sin and the tranquillity of conscience together so that this place must needs be a thorn in their side But 2ly the true and direct answer to this place is that there is a twofold peace one which is opposite to the hatred of God as he is a terrible enemy to sinners unreconciled with them in which sense he is often described in Scripture The other as it is opposite to that fatherly anger and displeasure whereby though for the main reconciled yet he may for some particular faults be displeased now the Apostle speaks of the former kinde of peace Being justified that is God being once reconciled with us in Christ he hath no more hostile enmity against us and if we do sin afterwards he will not become an enemy to us or satisfie his justice by punishing of us but as a father he may in his displeasure chastise us
the imperfection being done away by Christ But in their way as God takes no notice of Pauls sinfull motions to be offended at them so neither of all his labourings and sufferings in the Gospel way Lastly If the Spirit of God do only mortifie as to our feeling and not to Gods sight then when the soul departs into glory all that inherent purity must only be declaratively also but in heaven we are made holy perfectly in Gods sight and that without any imputed righteousnesse of Christ though Christ did purchase and obtain that for us Now what the Spirit of God doth finish and consummate upon the souls dissolution he had begun even in this life A third sort of Arguments is from those places which commend repentance humiliation and godly sorrow for sin for if God takes no notice of our sin be not offended at it we may indeed be sorrowfull for sin because of men but not because of God Shall I be sorrowfull because God is offended when he is not offended shall I weep because God is angry when he is not angry If you ask Peter why he weeps bitterly will he not say Because he offended God If you ask the Corinthians why they are so deeply humbled will not they say because by their sins they provoked God to bring temporal calamities upon them so that the poisonous nature of this Doctrine appeareth in nothing more then in this it taketh away all grounds of humiliation and repentance of sin in those that do believe Therefore mark it He that saith there is no sin in the Church of God now which is their express opinion he must likewise say There is no godly sorrow in the Church of God now For what is the reason there can be no godly sorrow in heaven there was none in the state of innocency but because there was no sin there and it must be thus now in the Church of God This error eateth into the vitals of godlinesse therefore beware of it Say I will have no such free grace as shall take away godly sorrow Remember the gracious Promise Zech. 12. where God promiseth a spirit of prayer and mourning for sin as well as to blot out sin he shall not obtain the promise for the later that feeleth not the promise for the former And certainly if this Doctrine were true why did Paul say Though I made you sorry I did not repent We Ministers ought to repent that ever we made you sorry and you are to repent that ever you have been sorrowfull A fourth kinde is from all those places where God is said so to take notice of the sins of justified persons as that he doth grievously afflict them for their transgressions This Argument doth properly and directly overthrow the whole Antinomian assertion but because I have largely proved this already I will not insist on it To make good their assertion that God seeth no sin they are forced also to hold that all the afflictions upon the godly are only trials of their faith preservatives from sin but not correctives for sin But did not God see sin in Moses when for his unbelief he kept him out of Canaan Did not he see sin in David though pardoned grievously chastising him afterwards Did he not see sin in Jonah who would fain have run from Gods face that he might not have seen him Did he not see sin in the Corinthians when many of them were sick and weak for abusing the Ordinances yet many of them were such that therefore were chastened that they might not be condemned of the Lord. There are more arguments but at this time I conclude with an use of exhortation to broken-hearted and contrite sinners again and again to meditate upon the great and glorious expressions which the Scripture useth about forgivenesse of sin Your fears and doubs are so great that only such great remedies can cure you Tell me ye afflicted and wounded for sin is not this the best oyl that can be poured into your sores Tell me ye spiritual Lazarusses that lie at the gate of God daily who is rich in mercy desiring the very crumbs that fall from this table of grace are you thankfull because God provideth food and raiment and not much rather because of a pardon how great is Gods goodnesse he might have removed us out of his sight and he hath done so to our sins he might have thrown us into the bottom of hell and he hath cast our iniquities into the bottom of the sea he might have blotted our names out of the book of life and he hath blotted out our sins from his remembrance LECTURE VIII JEREMIAH 50.20 In those daies and at that time the iniquity of Judah shall be sought for and it shall not be found c A Fifth rank of arguments is from those places of Scripture wherein the people of God in their petitions and supplications doe necessarily imply this truth that God seeth taketh notice and is angry with their sins Now all petitions use to be in a two-fold faith one applicative and fiduciall the other doctrinall and assertive which is the foundation of the former If a Papist pray for the deliverance of any out of purgatory it is a vain prayer because there is not a theologicall verity to ground his prayer upon thus a Socinian cannot truly pray to God in Christ because he hath not a dogmaticall or assenting faith to the truth of Christs divine nature and so cannot have a fiduciall faith in the same Thus it would be with the people of God how can they in their prayers entreat God to turn away his anger from them to hide his face from their sins if he were not indeed angry Now that the petitions of Gods people are for this end will appear by severall places I shall not here mention that petition we are directed to in the Lords prayer viz. forgive us our sins for that is a noble instance and deserveth a single consideration of its self but we have many other instances as Psa 51.9 Hide thy face from my sins It is plain by this praier Gods face and so his eyes were upon Davids sins though justified and that a godly man falling into grievous sins hath them not presently covered from Gods eyes for his meaning by this phrase is that God would not regard them to visit them on him the contrary whereof is Psa 119.15 Let their sin be continually before thee and this is observable that David doth again and again petition for pardon whereby is shewed how difficult a thing it is to obtain the favour of God after we have offended him by our sins Neither let that be replied that this is done by Believers in the Old Testament for Paul bringeth a proof from Psa 32.1 to shew what is the nature of Justification even under the Gospel And that I may once for all this dissolve this objection of theirs I shall handle distinctly this question
those that are godly and dear to him with the condition and punishment of Hypocrites and Apostates as Heb. 6. See another instance 1 Cor. 4.4 I know nothing by my self yet am I not thereby justified for it is God that judgeth me where the Apostle doth not speak of an Anabaptistical perfection as if Paul knew no sin by himself but his meaning is to be restrained to the faithfull dispensation of the office committed to him in which though he had not perfection yet his conscience did not accuse him of grosse negligence or unfaithfulnes but for all this he doth not think himself justified by any godlines in him and why so because God judgeth him who takes notice of and is offended with more sins then he understands by himself so that Paul doth acknowledge God to see sin in him and therefore he cannot be justified by any thing inherent and this made Bernard say excellently Tutior est justitia donata quam inhaerens Imputed righteousnes is safer to relie upon then inherent Think it therefore a small thing to be acquitted by Antinomian principles when it is God that judgeth and whatsoever the Adversary speaketh about a righteousnesse of Christ communicated unto us so that thereby God seeth no sin yet because they say he seeth no sin in us inherently they must conclude for some perfect inherent righteousnes Lastly Ps 19. David crying out Who can understand his errors prayeth thereupon Cleanse thou me from secret sins and this doth imply that there were many sins that David had which were loathsome and foul in Gods eyes though undiscovered by himself and therefore he would have God wash him and make him clean A seventh rank of Arguments shall be from those places wherein God hath commanded Ministers to binde and retain the sins of scandalous offenders and hath promised to ratifie that in heaven which they according to his will do on earth Experience witnesseth that a justified person may fall into some scandalous sin whereby the whole Congregation may be much offended and God highly provoked Now in this case God hath commanded the Ministers of the Gospel to binde to retain such a mans sins till he doth repent This binding is not by way of authority but ministerial declaration effectual application of Gods threatnings in his Word to such a person sinning and when this is done God hath promised that all this shal be ratified and made good in Heaven against that man Now how can God make good the Ministers threatnings applied to that godly man if he take not notice and be not offended with the person so hainously sinning The places that prove such a binding of sin and Gods ratifying of their sentence are Joh. 20.23 Mat. 16.19 Mat. 18.18 Can any man say that when a godly man is cast out of Gods family the seals of Gods grace denied him and he delivered up to Satan that God is not angry with him yea is not he bound then to apprehend God estranged from him when a godly man is excommunicated he is not only cast out from the externall Church-society but likewise there is a deprivation from internal communion with Christ not as if he were cut off from the purpose or decree of Gods election or as if the habitual seed of grace were quite extinct in him but only as the outward seals of Gods favour are denied him so also doth God being angry with him deny him any inward testimonies of his favour and it would not be faith against sense as the Adversary cals it but presumption against Scripture to say God was at that time well pleased with him yea Divines say Synopsis puri Theol. dis 48. that there is a conditional exclusion of the person so offending from future glory for the Church threatens him that as they judge him now and bid him depart from their society so if he do not repent Christ at the last day will command him to depart from his presence and the holy Angels according to that of Tertul. in Apologetico Summum futuri judicii praejudicium est si quis it a deliquerit ut à communicatione orationis conventus omnis sancti commeroii relegetur The eighth kinde of Arguments is from those places where Christ is said still to be an Advocate and to make Intercession for believers after they are justified which would be altogether needless if God did not take notice of their sins and were ready to charge them upon believers ' consider the places 1 Joh. 2.1 Heb. 7.25 In the former place John having said That Christs bloud cleanseth us from all sin a place the Antinomian much urgeth not considering that at the same time the Apostle ver 9. requireth confession and shame in our selves if we would have pardon in the first verse of the second Chapter he saith He writes these things that they should not sin all true doctrine about Christ and free-grace tendeth to the demolishing and not incouraging of sin but the Apostle supposeth such fragility that we will sin and therefore speaketh of a remedy If we sin we have an Advocate now this makes several wayes against the Antinomian First That sins committed after our Justification need an Advocate it is not enough that we were once justified our new sins would condemn us for all that were it not for Christ Secondly In that Christ is an Advocate it supposeth That though God be a Father to his people yet he is also a Judge and that he so taketh notice of and is displeased with their sins that did not Christ intercede and deprecate the wrath of God it would utterly consume them Thou therefore who sayest God the Father is not offended why then doth Christ perform the Office of an Advocate If thy sins be not brought into the Court what need any pleading for thee In the other place Heb 7.25 The Apostle acknowledgeth a two-fold function of Christs Priestly Office The one is The offering up of himself for our sins The second is The continual Intercession for us which the Apostle Chap. 9.24 calleth Appearing before Gods face in our behalf now we must not so advance Christs sufferings in the taking away of sin so as to exclude the other part of his Priestly Office which is continually to plead our cause for us for the Apostle makes Christ to stand before the face of God as some great Favorite before an earthly Prince to plead in the behalf of those who are accused so that the Doctrine which denieth God seeing of sin in his people doth wholly overthrow Christs Intercession and the efficacy of it Concerning the manner of Christs Intercession it is not to be conceived in that way as he prayed here upon the earth but it is his holy will and expresse desire of his soul that God the Father should be reconciled with those for whom he hath shed his bloud and truly that point of Divinity viz. Christs affections and sympathizing with
if he be a Beleever the wages due to his sin is only temporal chastisements but to a wicked man it 's eternal death I say this is not safe for although a Beleevers sin shall not actually damn him yet God hath made the same Law to both and repentance as a means is prescribed so that we may by supposition say If the wicked man repent his sin shall not damn him If the justified person do not his sin will damn him It 's true it is not proper to say of sin in the abstract it shall be damned no more then that grace shall be saved but we are to say the person shall be damned or saved Yet the guilt of the sin will cause the guilt of the person if not taken off by Christ as the meritorious and faith as the instrumentall cause The sins then of Beleevers and ungodly are both alike only that the guilt of them doth not redound upon the persons alike is because the one takes the way appointed by God to obtain pardon and the other doth not Not that the godly man makes himself to differ from the wicked but all is the work of grace In some respects the sins of godly men are more offensive to God then those of wicked men because committed against more light and more experience of the sweetnesse of Gods love and the bitternesâ—e of sin What is the cause Heb. 10.28 29 30. the Apostle maketh the condition of a wilfull Apostate to be so dreadfull but because of the excellency of the object in the Gospel above that in the Law If he that despised Moses his Law died without mercy of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy c. Observe that interposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 think ye do you not easily think that such sins offend God more Now although the truly sanctified can never fall into such a condition totally and finally yet their sins committed wilfully against the Gospel are gradually and in some measure of such a nature and therefore they fall terribly into the hands of the living God when they so sin against him and consider how that the Apostle speaks these things even to them of whom he hoped better things and things that accompany salvation Heb. 6. If therefore we see a godly man who hath tasted much of Gods favour play the prodigall walk loosely we may and ought notwithstanding Antinomian positions powerfully and severely set home these places of Scripture upon his conscience And observe how in the New Testament the Apostle alledgeth two places out of the Old Vengeance belongeth to me Deut. 32.35 and the Lord will judge his people Psal 135.14 To judge is to avenge so that the people of God have those considerations in their sins to provoke God which wicked men cannot have and therefore have the same motives to humble them as the Apostle argueth To which of the Angels said he Sit at my right hand c. so may we To what wicked man hath God poured out his love revealed himself kindly as unto the godly therefore do they neglect the greater mercies LECTURE X. JEREMIAH 50.20 In those daies and at that time the iniquity of Iudah shall be sought for c. LEt us in the next place consider the particulars wherein Gods eye of anger doth manifest it self upon his own children if sinning against him The effect of his wrath may be considered in that which is temporal or spiritual or eternal in all these Gods anger doth bring forth in one respect or other For the temporal objects take notice of these particulars first When they sin against God they are involved in the common and ordinary afflictions which do usually accompany sin in the wicked Thus 1 Cor. 11.30 for their unworthy receiving of the Sacrament and some even of those were godly as appeareth v. 32. many were weak and sickly weak were such as did languish and sickly is more such as had diseases on them now these were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strokes from God and therefore came from his anger for their sins Though the Lords Supper consist of a twofold bread the one earthly for the body the other heavenly the bread of life for the soul yet both body and soul did miserably decay because of unworthy receiving This Table being as Chrysostom said mensa Aquilarum not Graculorum food for Eagles not Jaies As therefore those children who have fainting diseases upon them and do secretly eat salt oatmeal c. though they have never such excellent food at their fathers table yet thrive not but look pale and consuming so it was with the Corinthians by reason of their corruptions they inclined to death though they fed on the bread of life Now that these bodily diseases are the common issue and fruit of sin appeareth Lev. 26.16 Deut. 28.22 grace therefore of justification can give no Supesedeas to any disease that shall arrest a believer offending but are the wicked in Consumptions Agues Feavers for their sins so are the godly yea the people of God are in these calamities before the wicked Amos 3.2 You only have I known of all the Families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities I have known you that is acknowledged ye for mine see what that is Exod. 19.5 A peculiar treasure unto me above all people The Hebrew word signifieth that which is dear and pretious and to be desired of all This is aggravated by what followeth for all the earth is mine that is seeing there are so many nations in the world over whom I have full power and dominion how great is Gods goodnesse in taking you for his above others now mark the Prophets reason because I have done this therefore I will visit you for your iniquities for to all your other wickednesses you adde an ingratefull heart So there is another place 1 Pet. 4.17 where God is said to judge them before others and this hath been a great offence to the godly It is time that is a seasonable opportunity by the decree and appointment of God for judgement that is chastisements for former sins which are called judgements because they are publique testimonies and manifestations of Gods anger against sins and are to put the godly in minde of their sins only it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the original The word is used even of the godly 1 Cor. 11.31 32. 1 Pet. 4.6 By the house of God he meaneth the true Members of the Church and whereas he saith it begins in them he thereby intimates that the godly in this life are more exposed to afflictions for sin then the wicked are and this made David and Jeremy so expostulate with God in this matter so that the godly in their afflictions ought to say as that widow of Sarepta 2 Kin. 17.18 This is to call my sin to remembrance It is thought the Apostle though he doth not
of Religion is kept up by acknowledging the fulness and perfection of the Scripture Both Papists and Illuminatists agree in this dangerous Error that they look for and expect a Doctrinal teaching immediately by Gods Spirit above and besides that of the Word Hence as the Papists make the Scripture but a sheath to receive any sword either of gold or iron words that will bear any sense you put upon them so do the Illuminatists that a godly man is above all books teachers writings and feels nothing but God working and acting in him We have therefore the greater cause to set up the Scriptures in their Divine authority and fulnes by how much the more others indeavor to diminish it This noble encomium of Gods word begineth v. 12. where you have the subject of the commendation the commendation it self The subject is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word of God Bellarmine and other Papists that they might depress the Authority of the Scriptures understand this of Christ who is often called the Word Their reasons are partly because Christ is in other places called so as Joh. 1.1 alibi and partly because this Word is spoken of as a person and therefore all things are said to be open and naked to his sight But these are not Cogent for although in other places Christ is called the word yet the context doth there clearly evince it whereas here the contrary will appear for having before exhorted them to receive the Gospel and to hearken to the voice while it cals to day among other Arguments he brings this from the nature of Gods word which is to be understood both of the Law and the Gospel and its further observed as a peculiar thing to John only in his Gospel and the Epistles to call Christ the word of God and although the Text speaks of the word of God as preached and not as written yet because the word written and preached differ not essentially but accidentally in respect of the manner therefore this Argument holds true of the Scriptures As for the second reason it is ordinary by a metonymy to attribute that to the Scripture which belongs to God speaking by the Scripture as Gal. 3.22 The Scripture hath concluded all under sin c. so the Scripture is said to speak Ja. 4.5 So that it is no wonder if here the word of God be spoken of as knowing all things because God by this doth discover and manifest every thing In the next place consider the commendation and that is 1. from the adjunct qualities 2. from the powerfull effects The adjunct qualities are quick and powerfull that is it is not dead or frustrated but puts forth its power and efficacy which our words cannot do It is thought to be an allusive expression to the fire which was on the altar of sacrifices that was not to go out Secondly It s commended from the effect it s sharper then a two-edged sword it s an Hebraism to give a mouth to the sword because it doth so devour but because a two-edged or two-mouthed sword doth divide more forcibly therefore is Gods word compared to that Such a sword they say the Levites in the Old Testament did use in dividing and opening the sacrifices in which Metaphor the Apostle continueth afterwards Now by this comparison two things are insinuated 1. That God knoweth all sin even the most hidden 2. This knowledge is not a meer bare knowledge but such as is of a Judge examining and punishing For as the sword doth pierce and hurt so Gods word doth see and punish therefore it is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is most exactly discerning and separating gold from drosse and judging accordingly so that the Text speaking not barely of an omniscient eye of God but an eye discerning judging and punishing doth in this consideration pertinently belong to the controversie We need not be curious in distinguishing between the spirit and the soul only the Scripture doth not confound these together nor between the things understood by the marrow and joints which are translated from the body to the soul This is intended in the general by the joints he means the minima the least things and by the marrow the intima the most secret and inward things Having thus described the efficacy of Gods word he layeth down two Propositions in my Text one negative the other affirmative Negative There is no creature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inapparent but he seeth thorow it Affirmative All things are naked and opened opened is more then naked Naked is that which is not clothed or covered Opened is that whose inwards are discovered and made conspicuous Much is said by Criticks concerning the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cameron thinks it translated from wrastlers who are said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their adversary when they so take him by the neck and turn him upside down so as to object him in every part to the eyes of the beholders some say the Metaphor may be taken from those who being before the Judge hold down their neck and face to the ground as not daring to behold his face but that which is most received and which is most consonant to the context is of those who take the word from those who begin at the neck and divide the sacrifice in the middle so that all the inwards do appear Thus you see how emphatical and full the Scripture is in describing of Gods omniscient eye of any sin wheresover it is and that not by a meer bare cognition but of judging so that the Observation is That seeing there is sin in justified persons Gods eye must needs see it and judge it To this it is answered very confidently by a distinction never heard of before That God indeed knoweth the sins of believers but he doth not see them Hon. Comb p. 67 68 69 70. and this distinction they plead so boldly for that they say although all men Devils and Angels would gain-say it yet it must stand for the opening of this silly distinction they expresse themselves thus That although to see and know be all one in the pure uncompounded nature of God yet they are not so to us even as justice and mercy are all one in God but not to us yea contrary and the Author giveth two strong reasons as he cals them to prove this first The Scripture saith he distinguisheth them now he argueth that as it is a sin to distinguish where the Scripture doth not and thereupon he instanceth in the distinction of the guilt of sin and the nature of sin making it a new distinction and suspecting it for a corrupter of the Gospel as if Christ had taken away the guilt of our sins and not the sins themselves so where the Scripture doth distinguish there it is a sin for us not to distinguish Now concerning the former that there is in the Scripture a distinction betweeen the guilt
that respect as he seeth and he doth not see in that respect he doth not know As for example God doth not see the floud now to be no more can we say he knoweth it now to be for that is false God doth not see the Leprosie upon Naaman no more doth he know it to be on him So God knoweth his people in Christ as well as seeth them in Christ and therefore if by Christ he seeth no sin in them he must likewise know none in them Now this error is grounded upon a dangerous conceit as if Gods seeing were limited to things existent and his knowledge to things past or future so that it 's inexcusable ignorance to say with this Author that God knew the Sun and Moon before he made them but he did not see them He did not indeed see them to be before they were no more did he know them to be before they were but when they were made his seeing and knowing of them were all one Sixtly If Gods seeing were to be explained oppositely to his knowing then nothing that had a present being were known by God But doth not the Scripture give to God the knowledge of all things and though the things be diversified by time past present and to come yet to God they are not so Consider that eminent place 2 Pet. 3.8 A thousand years with God are but as one day The Apostle alledgeth this place out of Psal 90. ver 4. with a little variation The Psalmist saith as yesterday when it is past The Apostle as one day The Psalmist saith in thy eyes O Lord The Apostle with the Lord. The Psalmists expression in the eyes of the Lord are very pregnant to our purpose Here is a description of eternity proving that God seeth all things with one intuitive cast of his eye and that although to us things are present past and to come yet to God all things are present and although we are not able to reach this with our understanding no more then a pigmie the Pyramides yet we must rest more upon this Scripture assertion then our own understanding Quicquid de Deo dici we may add cogitari potest eo ipso est indignum quia dici cogitari potest and again dignè Deum aestimamus dum inaestimabilâ—m dicimus The Schoolmen dispute whether those things which God did once know he still knoweth as for example God once knew that Christ was to die but now it is not true that he is to die and their resolution is that we cannot properly say God begins to know what he did or ceaseth to know what he did but rather that the thing it self beginneth to be known or ceaseth to be known so that the change is not in respect of Gods knowing but the thing known as when I see the Sun and afterwards it is hid in the cloud the change is not in my eye but in the Sun Hence they also resolve that God knoweth all things simul together that his knowledge is invariable that it admitteth not of increase or decrease that all things are present to him and that as the Sun is alwaies in actu lucendi so God in actu intelligendi So that this very Text doth briefly overthrow all that which the Antinomian in so many pages sweateth to prove and that the consideration of Gods eternal knowledge in this manner is of profitable use appeareth by that when the Apostle saith Be not ignorant of this one thing Seventhly If Gods seeing of things were limited in our capacity only to things present then all the by-past sins of ungodly men though unrepented of yet God doth not see them because they have no present being and so God shall not only not see sins in the godly but likewise not in the ungodly All the past sins of Judas and Cain God did not see at the day of their death for they were pâ—st away Here will be much comfort to unbelievers as well as Believers Eightly If therefore God doth not see a thing because it is past what need the Antinomian run to Christs merits taking away sin out of Gods sight for this would follow by natural consequence because the object is taken away Take their own instances God doth not now see the Floud that drowned the world The Leprosie upon Naaman The Israelites wound that is healed why so doth there need the bloud of Christ to remove these No it followeth naturally because the objects are removed and taken away and so it would be here Ninthly All these instances for Gods not seeing yet knowing are contrary to the doctrine they hold God doth not see the Floud that drowned the world he seeth not Naamans Leprosie why so because these things have no being but here is their grand absurdity that they hold sin hath still an objective existency in us to Gods understanding and yet he doth not see it They should have instanced in some thing that hath a being and yet for all that God not see it If Naamans Leprosie had continued on him still and yet God not see it then it had been to the purpose for they grant that we have truly sin in us and we are to judge so yet though it hath such a being in us God doth not see it Tenthly What an empty Cobweb is this distinction even for that very purpose they bring it Oh say they if God see sin he is of so pure a nature that he cannot be but horribly and infinitely displeased with us Those say they that hold God seeth sin in Believers consider not how loathsom even the least sin is in his eyes But will this comfort my conscience if they say at the same time though God doth not see it yet he knoweth it Alas God is of that pure nature that if he knoweth but the least sin by me he cannot but be infinitely displeased at it So that you see this distinction will no waies ease a Believer in point of the trouble of his conscience And thus have I laboured to break the heart of this false and ignorant distinction LECTURE XII HEBREWS 4.13 All things are naked and opened to him c. THe second answer made by the Antinomians to this Argument from Gods omnisciency is this For when we say how weak and absurd is it to hold God doth not see that which we see They answer Honey-Comb pag. 61. Here we oppose the power of God against his will for he seeth all things saving that which he undertakes to abolish out of his own sight that he may not see it so that by his mysticall cloathing of us with his sons righteousnesse he hath abolished it out of his own sight though not out of ours Now we told you that this answer is not universally to be slighted for our Divines Pareus and others as I mentioned before maintaining that remission of sin though it be the utter deletion of the guilt yet not the ful
a sin in him Thirdly The Object or Matter of Petition Our debts that is as Luke 11 expounds it sins Fourthly The Condition or Qualification of those who are to expect pardon As we forgive our Debtors which words are not to be understood causally and meritoriously of Justification nor as if we did hereby teach God to imitate us Therefore those expressions of the Ancients intimating that in other things we imitate God but here God doth us are not rigidly justifiable Cassianus Collat. 9. cap. 23. reproveth some that would not forgive others but yet lest they should lie in their prayer they would leave this part out of the Petition But our Saviour maketh this a necessary qualification for remission of sin whether we expresse it or not Lastly There is the Particle of order And so that the very connexion of it to the Petition for daily bread doth teach us first that our hearts are not to stay long in prayer for temporal things but presently to return to spiritual As some Fowls of the air suddenly catch their prey off from the ground but dare not abide lest they should be insnared so ought we to do in our affections about heavenly things many times the Bee is drowned in its own honey Hence we have but one Petition for earthly things and two for spritual things belonging to our selves this and the Petition following In this we pray for remission of sin in the folâ—owing for sanctification which are the sum of the new Covenant Besides this order doth well teach us That although we have all bodily necessaries yet if our sins are not forgiven we cannot take any delight in any worldly advantage whatsoever I shall begin with the Object of the Petition which is in the Text Debts Sins are so called to aggravate the nature of them and make us more fearfull and cautelous how we run into them As Solomon speaks of Suretiship for another Deliver thy self like the swift Roe the same is much more to be applied to our sins which are debts of a more terrible nature Now when sins are called Debts or said to be forgiven it s a Metaphor from pecuniary Debts as the Debtor was said luere when he did pay his money and it is generally used of any that are obnoxious to punishment so the Grecians say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Latines Poenas debere So the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used both for Debts and Guilt Dan. 1.10 Ezech. 18.7 as also for Sin Exod. 32. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is applied to a Sinner Jam. 2.20 is also frequently used of Punishments as Mat. 5.21 22. The Observation Sins are Debts This is excellently described Mat. 18.24 where our sins against God are not only compared to a Debt but a debt of a vast sum ten thousand talents which there is no hope for us ever to discharge so that the aggravation of a sin lieth in this that it is against God therefore observe that offence which man doth against man is compared to an hundred pence only but that which we do against God to ten thousand talents O that men therefore who account it such a misery and slavery to be in money-debts would bemoan their condition of sin-debts As sins are debts so God is said to have a debt-book wherein he writeth all our transgressions hence is that phrase of blotting them out and of cancelling the hand-writing that is against us This hand-writing in the Scripture should as much appale and astonish us as that on the wall did Belshazzar So that phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to reckon or impute is taken from accounts in debts But to open the Point 1. Let us consider What in sin is a Debt And 2. Why sins are called Debts In sin there is the obliquity and dissonancy from the Law of God and this is not called a Debt for we do not owe this to God but the contrary obedience and holinesse In sin there is a guilt and obligation unto eternal punishment and this is properly a Debt but yet in this Petition we must not limit it to the latter respect only but include both the deformity and demerit of sin that God would forgive both What it is in sin that doth denominate a sinner will in time be discussed Secondly Consider Why they are called debts and that may be in these respects First Because upon our sin we owe God his honour his glory yea his very deity again which as much as lieth in us we by transgressions have taken away Omne peccatum est quasi deicidium say the Schools Every sinne doth as it were deprive God as much as lieth in a sinner of his Godhead and blessednesse so that if God were capable of misery and grief thy sins would bring it upon him Hence are those expressions of being pressed by our sins as a cart is under sheavs Amos 2.13 And the Prophet Ezekiel his lying so many daies on one side and then on the other to his great pain and trouble was as some think to represent how much God was affected with the Israelites sins and how great his patience was to endure them so long If then they said to David Thou art worth ten thousand of us how much rather may we say to God Thy honour thy glory it is worth ten thousand thousand of us it is fitter for us to be damned or annihilated then the least glimpse of his glory obscured For this is such a debt in sin as we are never able to make up again If a mean Peasant should defame a great King and reproach him he were never able to make satisfaction in way of Honour to him how much rather is this true of us seeing there is no proportion between that which is finite and infinite Secondly He is a debtor to Gods Justice to satisfie that and hereby it is that Christ gave himself a price for our sins and reconciled God to us for we were not in that condition as to say with the servant in the Parable Mat. 18. Have patience and I will pay thee all I owe. They have low and narrow thoughts of sin which think any externall or internall humiliation for sin can be satisfactory to Gods Justice Hence the godly do not as the Antinomians charge them put any such meritorious efficacy and causality in them They attribute not that to their tears which belongs to Christs bloud they do not judge their crucifying sin to be equivalent with Christ crucified they do not in practice that which some have done in opinion say they are the Messias or Christ and certainly if the Psalmist say we cannot ransome our selves from the grave much lesse can we from hell Now this debt of Gods Justice is in every sin the least idle thought or word we may say of every sin pardoned here is the price of bloud even of Christs bloud Thirdly Being not able to
That men in debt and distresse followed him hoping thereby to be freed from their Creditors hands so let us follow Christ who only is able to take off this heavy burden from us and know the longer we lie in our debts the more they will encrease upon us Now in two respects spiritual debts do exceed wordly debts 1. In the danger of non-payment Suppose the highest punishments that we reade of in Histories against perfidious debtors yet that doth not amount to the punishment of our spirituall debts In some Laws they were bound to sell their children yea themselves to become slaves Exodus 21.7 Exodus 22.2 2 Kings 4.1 Thus God commanded in the Jewish Laws This was very miserable to have children sold for parents debts Valentinian the Emperour would have such put to death that were not able to pay their debts but above all that Law in the 12. Tables that who was in debt the Creditors might take him and cause him to be cut alive in as many peeces as the Creditors pleased This cruelty saith Tertullian was afterwards erased out by publike consent Suffudere maluit homini sanguinem quam effundere but what is this to that Mat. 18.30 His master was wroth and delivered him to the tâ—rmentors till he had paid all that was due so then chains and imprisonments are the worst of worldly debts but the eternall wrath of God falleth upon spirituall debtors 2. In the impossibility of escaping this punishment In these debts death will free a man but then is the beginning of our misery by spirituall debts So Mat. 5.26 Thou shalt by no means come out till thou hast paid the utmost farthing and because we are never able to do that therefore must our condemnation be eternall We pity the indebted prisoners that out of their grates cry Bread bread But how more doleful is that cry of Dives out of hell for a drop of water and none giveth unto him This is some mitigating consideration to the worst troubles here that they are not eternal and it is the aggravation of the least in hell that they are eternal Therefore in that the Scripture cals our sins by these names and we have an innumerable heap of them let us mourn under the weight of them and bewail their burden aud this is to be done with all speed not knowing how soon justice may take us by the throat saying Pay that thou owest The use may be of instruction to the godly that notwithstanding their Justification and forgivenesse of sins past yet they run into debt daily and such debts as for the pardon of them they must renew daily sorrow and confession as also sue out continual pardon for certainly our Saviour did not direct us to say this Petition humiliter only for humility sake as some of old thought but also veraciter truly and if it be true then we are not in a cold customary way of luke-warmnesse to beg this pardon but with the same deep sense conflict and agony of spirit as we see malefactors importune the Judge for a pardon Now if there were a malefactor that thought the Judge saw no crimes nor matter of death in him but on the contrary that he was altogether righteous and free how could this man with any deep remorse and acknowledgement bewail himself so that this Petition containeth excellent Doctrine as well as practice Tertullian called the Lords Prayer Breviarum Evangelij a breviary or sum of the Gospel for legem credendi adde operandi lex statuit supplicandi said another The Law or Rule of Prayer teacheth the rule of faith and practice and this is very true in this Petition which teacheth both Doctrine and Practice against the Antinomians It is true they make glosses upon this Text but such cursed ones as do wholly corrupâ— it do not therefore think that Justification giveth thee such a quietus est that new sins daily committed by thee should be no matter of humiliation or confession certainly our Saviours command is That we should desire this forgivenesse as often as we do our daily bread LECTURE XIV MAT. 6.12 And forgive us our debts WE have already considered the object in this Petition viz. sins which according to the Syriak Idiotism are called debts as alms are called righteousnesse ver 1. in an Hebraism The next thing to be treated of is the Petition it self forgive us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this word is most commonly used by the Apostles to signifie pardon of sins they have it about seven and twenty times but more of this when we shew what remission of sins is The work I have for the present to do is to shew how comprehensive this Petition is and what it is we pray for herein Bellarmine opposing the Doctrine of the Protestants holding a special and peculiar faith appropriating pardon of sin mistaking the question as if we maintained justifying faith to be that whereby we believe our sins are certainly forgiven us in Christ chargeth this absurdity upon us lib. 1. de Just c. 10. That we take away this Petition in the Lords Prayer For saith he If I be bound certainly to believe my sins are forgiven already it would be as absurd to pray that God would forgive us our sins as to pray Christ might be incarnated seeing we believe he was incarnated already And l. 4. de notiâ— ecclesiae c. 11. He makes this opinion of the Protestants holding we are righteous before God for Christs sake and the believing of this with a special faith to be comparable with any Paradox in the world as not being above or besides but plainly contrary to all reason and as that which makes it impossible for us to say Forgive us our sins unlesse we lye It is true according to the Antinomian Divinity which saith there is no sin now in the Church this Prayer doth no more belong to us then to the Angels in heaven therefore the Antinomian makes not the meaning of this Prayer to be as if we prayed for the forgiveness which we had not before but only for more full and rich assurance of it Honey-Comb p. 156 But the Sequel will shew the falshood of both these assertions Obser It is the duty of justified persons to pray for the forgivenes of their sins To understand this we will shew first what is the expresse meaning of this Petition and then what is the implied sense of it In the first place our meaning in this Petition is That God would not require of us the payment and satisfaction of his justice for our sinnes We have a Parable Luke 16.8 Of an unjust Steward who called his Lords debtors who bid him that owed an hundred measures of oyl set down fifty but if God should condescend thus far to us instead of millions of sins we owe to set down but an hundred yea should we come down as low in the number of sins as Abraham of
noble and acceptable The first cleanseth the latter pacifieth the first is of meer faith and obtaineth much of God the latter is of experience more and takes off from the excellency of faith for as that is the best manifestation of love when it is carried out to an enemy so is that of faith when relying upon God though feeling terrours and an hell within us God useth the first kinde of pardon to more heroical Christians The latter to those that are more infirm An instance of this two-fold remission we have in Mary Magdalen the former when Christ turned his back on her and told Peter Much was forgiven her the other when he turned towards her saying Thy sins are forgiven thee go in peace Now in our prayer we must not be limited but as in the Law every Commandment is spiritual and hath a great latitude in it so in prayer every Petition is spiritual and hath much in it let us therefore inlarge our hearts and open them wide when we seek to God for pardon of sin The priviledge is exceeding great and many are the dignities that do depend on it If thy sins be pardoned thou becomest a favourite of Heaven there is no contrariety between God and thee The devil showed the glory of the world and falsly said All this is mine but thou maiest shew all the glory of the Gospel and promises yea all the glory of Heaven and say All this is mine Yea there is a full reconciliation made between God and that person notwithstanding all former enmity as appeareth in the example of the Prodigal son he hath all love favour and honour Again insomuch that such come not into judgement Joh. 5.24 There is no condemnation to them Rom. 8.1 yea there is not so much as any charge or indictment against them What devil what conscience what law may accuse thee when God justifieth thee Now in this Petition we desire that not only pardon of sin but all these blessed fruits of it may be vouchsafed to us Oh therefore the congealed and icie temper of men who are no more inflamed in prayer about this There are many that can heartily and feelingly pray the former Petition for the necessaries of this life but how few for the grace of God in pardoning in a spiritual manner Hearken then O man to what Christ hath said is good for thee to importune and seek after Philo. lib. de Somniis saith and it was also the opinion of Philosophers That the Heavens make such an harmonious melody that if the sound and noise of it could reach to our ears it would make men leave off all their inferiour and sublunary labour and profit attending to that only Certainly this Doctrine of remission of sin which is revealed from Heaven only hath such excellent harmony in it of Gods Justice and his mercy of Gods satisfaction and our happinesse that it may justly make us forget to eat our bread or delight in other comforts meditating of and being ravished with his excellency Let this then instruct thee concerning that necessary duty of seeking out the pardon of thy sins this belongs to every one though a Paul though a Moses though in the highest form of Christianity It is a great comfort that all voluntary sins after grace received are not unpardonable as well as that against the holy Ghost How often do we sin voluntarily and willingly after we are inlightned And then the sins of infirmity and ignorance are more then the sands of the sea-shore Is it not therefore necessary that thou shouldest be continually begging for pardon Know then that these indulgences are not like the Papal to be bought by money but they are purchased by the bloud of Christ Peter thought it a great matter to forgive a brother seven times a day but if God should not forgive us seventy times seven a day our condition would be damnable Those that look to have pardon by their meritorious works and penal satisfactions cannot look up to God Whereas all Nations used to look up to Heaven for rain In Aegypto saith Seneca nemo aratorum aspicit Coelum c. No Husbandman regards the Heavens but Nilus only from which they have rain so in Popery Christ is neglected and Angels or Saints set up as those that can give pardon Men therefore look upon their Pilgrimages their Penance as if they were to forgive their sins to their own selves LECTURE XV. MAT. 6.12 And forgive us our Debts WE come to shew what is implied in this Petition and this may be reduced to three heads First What is implied in the subject who doth pray Secondly What in the object or matter that is prayed for Thirdly What in respect of the person to whom we do pray For the first There are many things supposed in those who are to pray thus As 1. That all men though never so eminently sanctified yet have sins in them And this hath been generally urged by Antiquity against Pelagians who have dreamed of perfect righteousnesse in this life as if we might be sons of light without any spot in us and that evasion is ridiculous that we speak this humiliter for humility sake not veraciter truly for if we had no sin this hypocrisie were enough to make it in us and 1 Joh. 1.9 putteth it out of all doubt If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us He doth not say we extol or lift up our selves and there is no humility in us but we deceive our selves and there is no truth in us Now this the Apostle saith immediately upon those words The bloud of Christ cleanseth us from all sin So that whether this cleansing of Christ be understood in regard of the filth or guilt of sin it s not compleatly fulfilled till we come into heaven So true is that of Ambrose Qui semper pecco debeo semper habere medicinam I who sin alwayes need forgivenesse alwayes And whereas the Apostle saith We all have sin that is to be understood partly in regard of the vicious affections and inordinate concupiscence which is in every one and partly in regard of the guilt which doth accompany them neither may we limit this to some for the Apostle puts himself in the number of those who ought to say so Neither may this be restrained as some would have it to sins past in our former conversation only although the Apostle speak vers 10. in the preterperfect tense for he saith we so sin as that if we confesse our sins God is faithfull to forgive therefore he speaks of sins which are yet to be pardoned and not of those that are past only I acknowledge it is one thing to say Every man hath sin and another thing that he sinneth in every good action he doth and if this place did not demonstratively prove it yet other places do It is good to observe the danger the Apostle makes to come from
this opinion That we have no sin in us we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us and then which is worst We make God a liar who in his Word doth testifie of us as having sin in us So that this opinion argueth those that maintain it neither to understand or firmly believe the Scriptures and this is to be extended to those who hold no sin in us as to Gods eye by reason of Christs righteousness For the Scriptures do equally overthrow both The most material Answer that I have observed by any given to this Argument from our duty of praying for pardon of sin is given by Castalio de Iustif p 63. It is this This prayer is not so prescribed us saith he that we should alwayes pray so and we never reade that any in the Scripture used these prescribed words Nay saith he we never reade that the Apostles praied for remission of sinnes no nor Christ never praied for pardon of them Therefore the meaning of this Petition must be to pray for pardon as oft as they need it not that they need it alwaies Therefore he compareth this Petition to such places Love your enemies Agree quickly with your adversary Honour your father and mother that is when you have enemies or adversaries when you have a father and mother so here Pray for pardon that is when you have sinned But this very answer needeth a pardon because it s fraughted with much falshood for first although we reade not that they praied those expresse words yet in their very addresse to Christ to be instructed how to pray and our Saviour teaching them to pray thus as one Evangelist or after this manner as another hath it it had been hypocrisie and mockery never to have conformed to it Besides our Saviour supposeth they have need of pardon when he tels them Except ye forgive one another neither will my heavenly Father forgive you vers 15. which implieth their need of pardon Hence Mat. 7.11 he cals them evil If ye then being evill which is not to be understood comparatively in respect of God only for so the Angels are Joh. 4.18 but inherently because of the remainder of that corruption in them Hence as you heard the Apostle John puts himself in the number here If we say we have no sin c. certainly the Apostle Paul was farre from these thoughts 1 Tim. 1.18 where he cals himself the chiefest of all sinners that is one in the rank of those whose sins had a scarlet hue and he saith this in the present tense not of whom I was chief but I am chief for although Cajetans Exposition be very probable that makes this relate not meerly to sinners but to sinners saved thus Christ came to save sinners of which saved sinners I am chief yet the former is not to be rejected and certainly in some sense every man is bound to think of himself as a greater sinner then others As the Pharisee said I am not as other men adulterers covetous c. The godly man on the contrary thinketh he is not holy zealous sincere as other godly men are When Paul Rom. 7. complaineth of that evil in him and law of sinne can we think he never desired the pardon of it And when our Saviour Joh. 17.17 prayeth God to sanctifie his Disciples what is that but to set them apart for their office by forgiving their sinne even as Isaiah was purified by a live coal from the altar As for his parallell places and duties it is a most absurd comparison for he may as well say That the Kingdom of God and hallowing his Name are not constantly to be prayed for but upon occasion only Certainly those places of Scripture which make originall sinne to cleave to us even as Ivy to the Oak and which is as leven in us sowring every thing we doe in some measure And those places which speak of such a perfection in the Law that we are never able to perform it argue a constant abiding principle of sin in us we may conclude then that this Petition doth suppose a worm in our best fruit drosse in our purest gold and many spots in our choisest beauty Neither may we dream of such an imputed righteousnesse as shall take away the necessity of this praying not that the godly are therefore to be denominated sinners because we call them godly though sinne be in them because godlinesse is the most noble quality in them as we call that a field of corn which yet hath many weeds in it A second thing implied is feeling of sinne a burden and weight upon us For none can heartily and with feeling experience importune God for this pardon but such who are sensible of a pressing load by sin Hence the Hebrew word Nasa doth signifie as you heard the taking of a weight and burden So the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used of deliverance from bonds Luke 4.18 where what was literally true of the Jews that were in captivity and prisons is applied to us spiritually and the Gospel of Christ is said to preach deliverance to the captives so that hereby is declared that as a captive Jew in Babylon was wearied with his estate and did vehemently expect deliverance no lesse doth a man burdened with sin desire a freedom and relaxation Therefore the time of the Gospell is expressed allusively to the year of Jubilee vers 19. as that was proclaimed with the sound of a Trumpet so this by the mouth of the Apostles How many are there then who pray this prayer but want much feeling and zeal within Now sinne hath a double weight one of punishment the other of offence and displeasure to God and in this later we ought especially to groan under it Cam felt a burden of his sins and David also felt a pressure by them but the tears of these two differed much The one was meerly because of punishment the other because it was against God Against thee onely have I sinned This inward disposition is that which putteth an excellent relish and high prize upon Christ and his benefits Hence the word to trust signifieth also to roul and cast our burden upon the Lord As a man who beareth an heavie weight upon his back being ready to break under it rouls it upon the next stall he meets with to ease himself Psal 55.22 Consider therefore what thou feelest within what pressures upon thee while thou desirest this forgivenesse Art thou as the poor prisoner bound in his chains and irons longing for a releasment Art thou as one ashamed in the presence of so glorious a God Quidni totis artubus contremiscat ranuncula è palude accedens ad thronum Regis Why should not the Frog coming out of the lake to the Kings Throne altogether tremble 3. It implieth godly sorrow and spiritual mourning of heart For we may not think this is appointed as a meer complement to use to God but our hearts ought
may we expect greater things of God Know then as we sinne daily so there are out-goings of pardon continually and the goodnesse of God doth like the Sunne rejoyce to run his race without any wearinesse Lastly In the Person to whom we pray there is supposed First That God only can forgive sins This is an incommunicable property of God Isa 43.1 and Exod. 34.7 It is there reckoned as one of his prerogatives Hence Matth. 9. this is made an argument of Christs Deity that by his meer command he forgave sin for this power to forgive sin is greater then to create Heaven or Earth or to work the greatest miracles Therefore a power to work miracles hath been vouchsafed to the Apostles but not of forgiving of sin unlesse declaratively onely When therefore our Saviour Matth. 9. asketh which is easier To forgive sin or to say Take up thy bed and walk intending by this miracle to prove that he did also forgive sin it is not spoken as if this later were greater then the former but only the curing of the paralytical man was a more visible sign to confirm the other for when they saw that which he commanded accomplished upon the mans body they might well conclude the other fulfilled in his soul Now when we say God only can forgive sin this is to be extended both to the forgivenesse in Heaven and to that in a mans own conscience for the former it is plain because the injury is done only against him when we sin and for the later it is clear because he is the Father of Spirits and so can command whatsoever peace and security he pleaseth in the conscience We see when Friends and Ministers do pour oil into a wounded soul they feel no benefit or refreshment till God speak to the heart This is notably asserted by Elihu Job 34.29 When he giveth quietnesse who then can make trouble and when he hideth his face who then can behold him O therefore with all humble thankfulnesse acknowledge this great mercy of pardon if thou art made partaker of it If the Lord should work miracles for thee he would not display so much power and mercy as he doth in this forgivenesse of thy sins Secondly It supposeth God doth see and take notice of sinne in us after we have believed For how can God be said to forgive that which he taketh no notice of If forgiving be covering of sinne and a blotting it out then it is seen and open to God and uncancelled till this be done Suppose our Saviour had used these words in this Petition Cover our iniquities as we cover the sins of others would not that expression have necessarily implied That God did see them and look on them till he covered them Certainly Joseph did upon a good ground abstain from sin when he said How can I do this and sinne against God That is who seeth me and beholdeth me in secret and will be angry with me But if God take no notice of my sinne how can I truly awe my self from sinne saying How can I do this evil in Gods eyes How can I provoke him to anger Let the Application then be to importune for this mercy of forgivenesse which makes all other things mercy Health riches learning peace are mercies if with these there be a pardon of all our sins especially be pressed to seek for it from this motive which I shall only mention at this time viz. That pardon of sin is the onely support and help in all miseries and calamities whatsoever This onely can sweeten thy pain thy poverty thy fears of death When the Apostle Rom. 5.1 had spoken of Justification by faith and the peace we have thereby with God inferreth from thence We glory in tribulation Alas there would be little glory if at the same time man be against us and God also So Rom. 8.33 34 37. when the Apostle had gloriously triumphed in this priviledge of Justification and that none could lay any thing to our charge then he concludeth We are more then conquerors Again 1 Pet. 3.16 17 18. exhorting the people of God to be ready to suffer for well-doing giveth this reason For Christ once suffered for sins the just for the unjust c. So that no misery or calamity can be joyfully undergone unlesse the Lord forgive our sins to us In these times of warre while we have been under continual fears of an enemie vvhat could rightly support us but remission of our sins To have men accusing and condemning of us but to have God clearing and absolving this can make an Heaven in the midst of an hell LECTURE XVI MAT. 6.12 And forgive us our debts HAving explained this Petition positively and practically we come to handle those Questions which may make to the clearing of that truth which is contained in the Text. And I shall pitch upon those that are usefull and necessary not on thorny and perplexed God indeed once spake out of the thorny bush but seldom doth truth discover her self in those thickets which the Schoolmen have made The first in order that should be discussed is What remission of sin is Or What is meant when we say God doth forgive sinne But before we can come to that another Doubt must be rouled out of the way and that is What sinne is and what are the proper effects of sinne For a man can never understand what it is to have sinne blotted out or taken away unlesse he be first informed What the nature of sinne is and what effects it hath wrought upon the sinner Of this therefore in the first place And first I shall speak of sinne abstractedly in its own nature Secondly Relatively to the person who sinneth Thirdly The proper effects of it Fourthly The weight or aggravation of every sin Let us begin with the former Sinne in the Scripture hath several names which do in some measure describe the nature of it The Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used commonly for sin and it doth in a proper signification wherein it is once used denote an aberration from the mark we shoot at Judg. 20.16 Every one could sling stones at an hairs breadth and not misse and from hence metaphorically is signified the nature of sinne for every mans action is to have an end which end is manifested by the Scripture and when a man reacheth not to this he is said to sinne answerable unto this word in the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to erre from the scope And another word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is going beyond the bounds and limits which are set us Though a learned Critick Dieu doth make 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to signifie beyond but by as if it did denote a negligent and carelesse passing by the commands of God Another word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which cometh of a word that properly signifieth crookednesse
he doth nothing deficienter as falling from that eternal and immutable Law of righteousnesse whereas the Angels and man did missing or coming short of the rule by which they were to be guided but because this Discourse is more remote to our present matter of Pardon of sin we come to that which doth more nearly concern it Therefore in the third place there is the proper effect and consequent of sin which is to make guilty and oblige to eternall wrath To omit the many things that are in sinne Divines doe acknowledge two things in every sinne the Macula or filth and the Reatus the guilt which guilt some do again distinguish into the guilt of sin which they call the inward dignity and desert of damnation which they make inseparable from sinne even as heat is from the fire and the guilt of punishment which they make separable For the present let us examine What is that effect of sinne whereby a man when a sinne is committed is truly denominated a sinner for seeing Remission is a taking away of sin in that respect whereby we are adjudged and accounted of as sinners it is necessary to know what that is which doth so constitute a sinner As for example David after his adultery Peter after his denial have contracted such a guilt upon them whereby they are accounted as sinners though the acts of their sins be gone and passed and in this condition they stand till remission or forgivenesse come which takes away their sins For the understanding of this consider this foundation That every sin committed by a man though the sin be transient and quickly passeth away yet it doth still continue and is as it were still in acting till by remission it be removed And this consideration is of great practical use A man is apt to look upon his sins committed a long while ago as those which are passed and are no more to be thought upon but you must know that there is something which doth remain after a sin is committed which is somewaies the same with the action of sin so that not figuratively but properly the sin it self is said to continue Thus the Scripture cals something by the name of sin that doth continue when yet the commission of the sin is past As David many moneths after he had sinned praieth God To blot out his sinne why where was his sin It was committed long before and it was a transient act but yet David by this doth acknowledge that there is something which doth continue that act of sin whereby David is as much bound up in his conscience as if he had been in the very commission of it Consider therefore that till there be a pardon of sin though thy sins have been committed fourty or fifty years ago yet they are continued still and thou art truly a sinner though so many years after as thou wast at the first committing of them Sin is not taken away by length of time but by some gracious act of God vouchsafed unto us How justly may it be feared that many a mans sins do still lie at his doors Thou art still in thy sins and looked upon as so by God though it may be thou hast left such sins many years ago Thy youthfull sins it may be thou hast left them along while ago yet thou art still in them and they are continued upon thee till by remission they are taken away It is not thy other course of life and abstinence from sin that makes a sin not to be but there must be some gracious act on Gods part removing of this Consider therefore of it that thy soul remaineth as polluted and guilty twenty years after a sin yea a thousand of years if thou couldst live so long as when it was in the very first act of sin Remember the action of sinne doth passe away but not the sinne you may therefore ask Wherein doth the sin continue still What is that which makes me still to be reputed of as if I were a sinner in the very act It is commonly out of the Schoolmen determined That after a sinne is committed there doth remain a Macula a blot in the soul and that continuing the sinner doth thereby remain obliged unto eternal wrath That there is such a filth and blot remaining because of sinne I see generally acknowledged by our Divines only that learned Wootton doth much oppose it and saith the Schoolmen have been five hundred years labouring to declare what it is and are not able to do it Indeed he grants That in Adams sin we may well conceive a blot remaining after the sin was committed because he was endowed with grace but now in a man grown up that hath grace no sinne that he commits takes away his grace and therefore he is not deprived of that beauty by the blot of sinne And as for wicked men they have no beauty at all in them and therefore how can sinne make such a blot in them There must be beauty in them by grace which is nitor animae the lustre of the soul before there can be Macula which is the deformity of it For the right conceiving of this know 1. That it is one thing to acknowledge such a defilement and impurity by sinne absolutely and another to acknowledge it so That justifying grace or remission of sin must take that blot away Herein the Papists erre That they hold sin leaveth such a stain which remission of sin taketh away whereas indeed there is such a filth by sin but that is taken away by sanctifying grace not justifying so that it is a dangerous errour to speak of such a defilement by sin and then to say God by pardoning takes it away This were to confound Justification and Sanctification But in the second place we may according to Scripture say not only in Adams sinne but in every sin we commit there is a blot and stain made upon the soul Matth. 15.20 These things that come from the heart defile a man Ephes 5.27 Sin is compared to a spot and wrinkle So Rom. 3.12 All by nature are said to become unprofitable The Hebrew word in the Psalm out of which this is taken signifieth corruption or putrefaction for such sin is to the soul not that you may conceive that the essence of the soul is naturally corrupted by sin as rust doth the iron and moths the garment but in a moral sense by sin the soul in its faculties is disenabled from doing its duty Thus the Apostle cals sins dead works Heb 9.14 not in that sense as if they did bring death to a man for that the Apostle expresseth otherwise killing us when he speaks of the Law but he cals them dead works because they defile man as dead carcases in the old Testament For the Apostle vers 1. spake of cleansing by the bloud of an heifer which was to be used when a man had toucht any dead thing which made him legally
unclean Thus saith he Christs bloud will cleanse from sin that contaminateth a man Neither is it necessary that grace must really have been in the soul before and then sin by depriving the soul of it so to stain it for it s enough that the soul ought to have grace in it though it were not present before as when a man doth not believe Gods Word though this unbelief do not deprive him of the beauty and grace of faith which he had yet it doth of that beauty of faith which he ought to have And thus as particular actual sins are multiplied so are particular stains and defilements also encreased we therefore must grant a stain by sin though this be not that which is removed by remission Therefore that which continueth a man a sinner in Gods account and is to be removed by remission is that obligation to eternall wrath appointed by God for as soon as a man hath sinned there doth accrue to God a moral right as we may speak with reverence and power being a Judge as thereby he may inflict vengeance upon a sinner and in this respect sin is called an offence because it doth provoke him who is a just Judge unto anger and vengeance This then is that which makes a sin to continue still as if it were in act because upon the sinne committed there is an obligation by Gods appointment to everlasting punishment and when this is taken off then is God said to forgive and till it be sinne is alive crying for vengeance as fiercely as if it were newly committed So that the act once committed that causeth the obligation to punishment and this obligation continuing God doth not forgive When a sinne is committed it may remain in Gods minde and in our minde In our minde by way of guilt and trouble as David said His sin was alwayes before him or else in Gods minde so that he doth will the punishment of such Now when God doth forgive he blots sins out of his minde and remembers them no more He doth not will the obligation of them to punishment being satisfied thorow Christ and the party believing in him By all this you may see That after a sin is committed there remaineth obligation in the will and minde of God to eternal punishment and God when he doth forgive cancelleth this debt or obligation This being cleared we may the easilier judge with what act God doth forgive sinne but of that hereafter Let us consider the aggravation of sin as it is an offence to God which may the more instigate us to pardon In sin we may consider two things First The deprivation of that rectitude which ought to be in every thing we do in which sense sin is a moral monster as there are natural monsters for the soul in sin doth not bring forth fruit answerable unto reason and the Law of God this consideration may much humble us but there is another thing in sin which doth more aggravate it and that is as it is a dishonour and an offence to God and by this means it becometh above our power ever to satisfie God for it Therefore in every sin besides the particular considerations look upon that general one which is in all viz. That peculiar deformity it hath as it is an offence against God Its disputed Whether sin have an infinite evil and deformity in it To answer this If a sin be considered in its kinde so it s not infinite because one sin is so determined to its kinde that it is not another sin as theft is not murder Neither secondly can sin be said to be infinite evil in respect of the being of it for it cometh from finite creatures who are not able to do any thing infinite and therefore sin is not infinite as Christs merits are infinite which are so because of the dignity and worth of the person though the actions themselves had a finite being Besides if sins were infinite in such a sense then no sin could be greater then another because that which is truly infinite cannot be made more or lesse Therefore thirdly Sins are said to have infinite evil in them in respect of the object or person against whom they are committed viz. God who is an infinite object For seeing the aggravation of a sinne ariseth from the worth of the person against whom it is committed if the person offended be of infinite honor and dignity then the offence done against such an one hath an infinite evil and wickedness in it So that the infiniteness of sin ariseth wholly from the external consideration of God against whom it is But of this more when we speak of the necessity of Christs satisfaction to Gods justice by his death Let the Use be to inform thee That every sin committed continueth as fresh to cry vengeance many years after as if it were but lately done till remitted by God Think not therefore that time will wear it out though they may wear out of thy conscience yet they cannot out of Gods minde Consider that of Job 14.17 Thou sealest up my transgression as in a bag and thou sowest up mine iniquity So that what the Apostle speaks of some 2 Pet. 2. is true of all impenitent sinners Their damnation slumbereth not nor doth it linger Therefore till the mercy of God hath taken off this guilt thou art to be in as much fear and trembling as if the very sins were still committed by thee LECTURE XVII MAT. 6.12 And forgive us our Debts THe next Question to be handled is What remission of sin is and how God doth forgive them And although the discussing of the former Question viz. What maketh a man a sinner doth make an easie and quick way of dispatching this because Justification doth take off that consideration and respect of a sinner from a man yet that the whole nature of it may be better understood I shall lay down severall Propositions all which will tend to give us much light in this great and glorious benefit of the Gospel And in the first place as we formerly considered some choice Hebrew words that set forth the pardon of sinne so now let us take notice of some Greek words in the new Testament that expresse this gracious act of God for the holy Ghost knoweth best in what words to represent this glorious mercy to us The word that is most frequently used by the Evangelists and Apostles is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the general is as much as to dismisse or send away to let alone to leave to permit or suffer in which senses the Scripture often useth it and certainly God in this sense doth pardon sin because he lets it alone he leaves it he meddles no more with it but handleth the person forgiven as if he never had been a sinner But commonly this word is used of absolving those who are accused as guilty which appeareth in that famous sentence of Agesilaus
may easily see which of these two Justification or Remission of sinne is The first and proper difference is this An immanent action is that which abides in God so that it works no reall effect without As when God doth meerly know or understand a thing but a transient action is when a positive change is made thereby in a creature as in Creation c. So that we may conclude of all Gods actions which do relate to believers only predestination is an immanent act of God and all the rest Justification Regeneration Glorification are transient acts for Predestination though it be an act of God choosing such an one to happinesse yet it doth not work any reall change or positive effect in a man unlesse we understand it virtually for it is the cause of all those transient actions that are wrought in time Howsoever therefore Justification be called by some an immanent action and so made to go before Faith and Repentance as if Faith were onely a declaration and signe of pardon of sinne from all eternity yet that cannot be made good as is to be shewed A second difference floweth from the other An immanent action is from eternity and the same with Gods essence but a transient action is the same with the effect produced Hence the Orthodox maintain That Gods decrees are the same with his nature Hence when we speak of Gods willing such a thing it is no more then his divine Essence with an habitude and respect to such objects Gods Decrees are no more then God decreeing Gods will no more then God willing otherwise the simpliciy of Gods nature will be overthrown and those volitions of God will be created entities and so must be created by other new volitions and so in infinitum as Spanheimius well argueth only the later part seemeth not to be strong or sufficient because when man willeth he doth not will that by a new volition and so in infinitum and why then would such a thing follow in God Besides its no such absurdity in the actings of the soul to hold a progresse in infinitum thus far that it doth not determinately pitch or end at such an act It is one thing to have things distinguished in God and another thing for us to conceive distinctly of them The former is false The later is true and necessary But with transient actions it is otherwise they being the same with the effects produced are in time And this is a perpetual mistake in the Antinomian to confound Gods Decree and Purpose to justifie with Justification Gods immanent action from all eternity with that transient which is done in time Whereas if they should do thus in matters of Sanctification and Glorification it would be absurd to every mans experience whereas indeed a man may as truly say That his body is glorified from all eternity as that his sins are forgiven from all eternity And certainly Scripture speaks for one as well as the other when it saith Whom he hath justified them he hath glorified By these two differences you may see That pardon of sin is a transient action and so Justification also partly because it leaveth a positive real effect upon a man justified he that was in the state of hatred is hereby in a state of love and friendship he hath peace with God now that once was at variance with him Now when we say There is a change made in a man by Justification it is not meant of an inward absolute and physical one such as is in Sanctification when of unholy we are made holy but morall and relative as when one is made a Magistrate or husband and wife partly because this is done to us in time whereas immanent actions were from all eternity and therefore it would be absurd to pray for them as it is ridiculous for a man to pray he may be predestinated or elected Some indeed have spoken of Predestination as actus continuus a continued act and so with them it is good Divinity Si non sis praedestinatus ora ut praedestineris If thou beest not predestinated pray that thou maiest be but this is corrupt doctrine and much opposeth the Scripture which doth frequently commend election from the eternity of it that it was before the foundations of the world were laid whereas now for pardon of sinne it is our duty to pray that God would do it for us This being thus cleared we come to answer the next Question depending upon this viz. Whether God doth justifie or forgive our sins before we believe or repent and our answer is negative That God doth not Although there are many who are pertinacious that he doth and so they make Faith not an instrumental cause to apply pardon but only a perswasion that sin is pardoned and thus repentance shall not be a condition to qualifie the subject to obtain forgiveness but a sign to manifest that sin is forgiven This Question is of great practical concernment and therefore to establish you in the truth consider these Arguments 1. The Scripture speaks of a state of wrath and condemnation that all are in before they be justified or pardoned Therefore the believers sins were not from all eternity forgiven for if there were a time viz. before his Regeneration and Conversion that he was a childe of wrath under the guilt and punishment of sin then he could not be at the same time in the favour of God and peace with him Now the Scripture doth plentifully shew That even believers before their Regeneration are detained in such bonds and chains of guilt and Gods displeasure Ephes 2.1 2 3. There the Apostle speaking to the converted Ephesians telleth them of the wretched and cursed condition they were once in and he reckons himself amongst them saying They were children of wrath and that even as others were So that there is no difference between a godly man unconverted and a wicked man for that present state for both are under the power of Satan both walk in disobedience both are workers of iniquity and so both are children of wrath It is true the godly man is predestinated and so shall be brought out of this state and the other left in it But predestination as is more largely to be shewed being an immanent act in God doth denote no positive effect for the present of love upon the person and therefore he being not justified hath his sins imputed to him lying upon him and therefore by the Psalmists argument not a blessed man This also 1 Cor. 6.9 10 11. The Apostle saith of some Corinthians That they were such as abiding in that state could not inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are justified Therefore there was a time when these Corinthians were not justified but had their sins abiding on them Likewise all the places of Scripture which speak of Gods wrath upon wicked men and that
but all venial Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus Therefore Musculus observes well That in this case the persons offending are to be considered whether they be believers more then the sins themselves A second Proposition Howsoever every sin even the least doth thus deserve eternal damnation yet there is a great difference between some sins and others And therefore sin is not a meer negation but a privation as diseases are and so as one disease may be more desperate then another so may one sin be more hainous then another The Stoicks thought all sins alike And Cyprian among the Ancients is reported by the Learned to have been of that minde But Scripture doth evidently confute this He that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin John 16.11 So you have the phrase no be worse then an Infidel 1 Tim. 5.8 Thus Ezek. 16.47 Israel is said to be more corrupted and to do more abomination then Sodom For although to sinne be to miss the mark yet some may shoot farre wider from it then others one sinne therefore may be more hainous then another divers wayes as Divines shew As 1. From the Person offending if he know the will of God or if he be in publick place or office 2. From the Object If it be sin against God immediately or man only as Eli said 1 Sam. 2.25 If one man sin against another the Judge shall judge him but if a man sin against the Lord who shall intreat for him 3. From the Matter about which If it be in the life of a man and not in his goods that thou wrongest him Some also may be aggravated from the disposition of the man the means he enjoyes to overcome sin from the frequency of it or defending of it and the like Hence some sins are compared to Camels others to Gnats some to Beams other to Moats some to Talents other to Farthings This then being clear let us consider what difference a true believer should make between these in matter of pardon and what difference he should not make And in the first place he is to make a vast difference about them when he sueth out for pardon As 1. He is to believe Gods wrath is more kindled against him and that his indignation burneth more hotly when such an iniquity is committed then in our daily infirmities Thus when Aaron had made the Idolatrous Calf how angry was God both with Aaron and the people How angry also was God with David after his murder and adultery David had continual infirmities but God did not break his bones for them he made not such a breach upon his peace conscience as he did in these sins Therefore it must argue high prophaneness of spirit if a man after the committing of gross and loathsom sins be no more troubled then for the continual motions and incursions which sinne necessarily makes upon us No as sins have a greater guilt in them so Gods wrath is stirred up in a more vehement manner against such 2. There is a great difference to be made in respect of Humiliation and the measure of godly sorrow for it For as the sin may exceed another as much as the Camel doth a Gnat so ought the sorrow as much as an Ocean doth a drop Thus Peter goeth out and weeps bitterly he did not so for every defect and spiritual imperfection in him as for this abominable Apostasie We reade also of the incestuous person as he committed a sin that was not so much as named among the Gentiles so he manifested such sorrow as was scarce heard among Christians insomuch that the Apostle was afraid of him lest he should be overwhelmed with too much sorrow Now if for every sin of infirmity there should be as much sorrow and humiliation as for these crimson and scarlet sins how would the whole life of man be but a continual trouble of soul and in what darkness would he live alwayes Although all thy continual failings ought to be matter of humiliation unto thee yet when such as these shall break out thy soul ought to set open the floud-gates of thy soul Neither may this be thought a low mercenary way as if the party so humbled did intend a compensation unto God But all places of Scripture must be regarded as those which speak of Christs glorious grace so also those which speak of our duties 3. The Spirit of God doth not only in his Word reveal a greater wrath against such sins but he doth also withdraw all those consolations and comforts which were in the heart before So that a man thus offending doth as it were bolt himself in a dark dungeon and shut out all the beams of the Sun against him Insomuch that although Assurance and the consolations of the holy Ghost may consist with the weaknesses and sinful infirmities of Gods people yet they do not with the gross impieties they plunge themselves into as appeareth in David Psal 51. who prayeth for the restoring of that salvation he had lost by his sin The Spirit of God is a Dove and that delighteth not in noisom buildings The Spirit of God may be grieved and quenched in respect of the fruits thereof So that a man thus wounded for sin feels a very hell in his heart admits of no comfort Neither can it be otherwise for when we refuse the Spirit of God sanctifying we presently repel it comforting If we have not the heat of this Sun neither shall we have the light thereof 4. In these gross offences the Spirit of God doth not onely forsake him in respect of Consolation but it s a Command laid upon the Church-Officers to cast such an one out of their society as 1 Cor. 6. neither may the people of God have any familiar communion or acquaintance with such now what horror and trembling may justly arise in such a mans heart who shall thus be cast out of all gracious Priviledges and that by Gods appointment What darkness must this work in his heart when he shall argue thus with himself Its Gods command I should not be admitted to the Seals of his love he hath given his Officers charge to pour no oil in my wounds how can I plead for the grace signified when he denieth me the Seals thereof God hath shut me out like the unclean leper and whither shall I go Now then if the Church of God make such a vast difference between him and others and that following the directions of Christ Ought not the person offending also to judge the same things about himself 5. In some kinde of grosse sins although there may be deep humiliation yet there are many other conditions requisite without which pardon of sinne cannot be obtained and that is in sins of injustice violence and fraud of others Thus Zacheus it is not enough for him to beleeve Christ the Messias and receive him into his house but he makes
satisfaction where he hath done wrong Thus our Saviour also Mat. 5. If thou remember any man have ought against thee leave thy gift at the Altar and go and be reconciled It is a known saying of Austin Non remittitur peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum The sinne is not remitted unlesse what thou hast unjustly taken be restored And it is a most wretched perverting of the sense which an Antinomian makes Reconcil with God pag 90. that this reconciliation is to be made of man to man but not true in respect of God to man and whereas the same Authour speaks of Zacheus that he did beleeve first and afterwards made restitution which pag. 91. he cals an example beyond all exception let him the second time consider Zacheus his expression and he will see it nothing to his purpose The words are in the present tense Luke 19.8 Behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have wronged any man I give him four-fold Now either Zacheus means this of his former life past or else he declares his ready and prepared will for the time to come and there are Interpreters of both sides and which way soever you expound it it overthroweth the adversaries tenent For if it be understood of his course of life formely past then it goeth clear against him If of his readinesse of minde for the future it makes nothing for him For although by this it will appear That Zacheus did joyfully receive Christ before he made actuall restitution yet not before he had a preparednesse and resolution of heart to do it And certainly Zacheus speaking thus to Christ Behold I give cannot but be understood that this penitent frame of heart was upon him before he said so If Zacheus speaks this of his former course of life then he doth manifest this not in a way of pride or oftentation but to see whether Christ would command him to do otherwise so that he might be thought to say this for instruction sake to be directed for the future 6. As there must necessarily be more sorrow and will be greater terrors from the Lord so there is also required greater and stronger actâ— of faith whereby pardon may be applied For the agony and temptation being greater the strength of faith also must proportionably be encreased Hence we see the incestuous person was almost overwhelmed so great a matter was it to exercise faith when God was apprehended thus angry and certainly if faith be a grace so difficultly put forth even for the least sin What conflicts must there needs be when nothing but mountains are in the way and great gulfs apprehended between pardon and him The mariner doth need more skill and strength in a tempest then in a calm and the souldier must shew more courage in the midst of a furious battell then when all things are quiet Thus you see wherein a great difference is to be made Now there are some particulars wherein a beleever repenting is to make no difference at all And that is in these things First There is no difference in respect of the efficient cause Gods grace in pardoning The godly man is not to think that God can more easily pardon lesse sins then great sins No all these are equally pardoned by him Even as in the earth though there be great and high mountains in respect of other hâ—ls yet both them and these are meerly as a paâ—ctum in respect of the heavens So although some sins exceed others in guilt divers waies yet all of them in respect of Gods grace are but as a drop before the Sun which is quickly dried up Hence when God proclaimeth himself in all his goodnesse he is described to be a God pardoning iniquity transgression and sinne And thus Isaiah 1. he can make sins as red as scarlet as white as snow So that compared to Gods grace there is no difference at all Nor secondly may any difference be made in respect of the meritorious cause which is Christs obedience and sufferings For that cleanseth away great sinnes as well as small And certainly when we consider of what infinite value and worth the sufferings of him who is God as well as man do amount to the beleeving soul need not wonder if Christ do away one as well as the other In the Red Sea the stoutest and most valiant Champion was drowned as well as the meanest souldier He is the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world and his bloud is said to cleanse us from all our iniquities Here is no difference made from one sin as well as another So that although thy great sins require greater humiliation yet not a greater Mediator then Christ is Thou must pour out more tears but Christ needs not pour out more bloud so that in respect of Christs righteousnesse applied the least and the greatest sinner are pardoned both alike neither is it blasphemy though the Papists judge it so to say Mary Magdalen and the Virgin Mary are both justified alike 3. Neither may we make any difference in the means of pardon thus farre as if our merit and satisfaction were to goe to the pardon of one and not of the other We are to shew greater sorrow more means are to be used yet we are not to judge these actions of ours as having any worth or dignity in them for reconciliation so that after we have done all we must confesse It's grace only that pardons And this is the more to be observed because it is hard not to do any thing extraordinarily in a way of pardon and not presently to rest upon this as if it had some worth in it But certainly if so be it be the goodnesse of God meerly to forgive us our farthings it is much more his liberality to pardon our pounds and if by our own strength we cannot remove a straw how shall we a beam But in the primitive times the Church being severe against grosse offenders appointed more solemn and extraordinary duties of humiliation for satisfaction to the Church of God in point of scandal and in processe of time these were taught to be satisfactory even to God himself 4. Neither may this difference be made as if lesse sins might consist with the grace of Justification but such grosse sins did wholly exclude out of that state For there are some who pleade for the distinction of mortall and veniall sins in this sense veniall are all those which may stand with the favour and grace of God to the person so failing but mortall are such which though a man hath been justified yet being committed will cast him out of this sonship Such a distinction Musculus acknowledgeth loc com de peccato and others but this supposeth a totall apostasie from grace which I have already disproved As the Ark was made of that wood which would not be corrupt or putrifie so is the Church of God in
things that are not as if they were but although it be thus with God yet we are not to conceive of things any other wayes then according to that manner of his dispensation whereby things decreed from Eternity are produced to act in time and certainly as sins future to us are present to him so Repentance also future to us is present to him And therefore Gods Decree for Remission was also for Repentance and both are present to him Thirdly This must be granted That although future sins are not pardoned before committed yet by the Covenant of Grace God will so preserve that as sins are committed so Grace will be dispensed that no sin shall actually condemn us And this may be the virtual Remission of future sins which some speak of So that although a justified person may not believe that his sins are pardoned which he shall commit yet he may believe that God will keep him by his power through faith to salvation and that if he fall in sin God will renew Repentance in his soul and our peace of conscience doth not simply arise from hence That God will pardon our sins but that he will so preserve us from evil and lead us into every good duty that so pardon may be vouchsafed unto us These things explained I come to lay down the Arguments Why none should presume that because of his Justification all future sins not committed or present sins not repented of are forgiven unto him The first ground is from those places which presume and necessarily suppose sinne to be committed before it is pardoned One place is brought by some learned men Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth a Propitiation to declare his Righteousness for the Remission of sins that are past Here say they Remission of sins through Christs bloud is restrained to sins past and upon this some argue Therefore future sins are not remitted Thus as I take it argue Peter Martyr Hiperius Domnam but it is more probable that by sins past are meant those committed before Christ came into the world And Beza who is followed by other learned men make 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to be pardon but connivance as if the sense were God did passe by the sins of our Fathers before Christs coming and did not manifest his wroth in a Sacrifice expiatory of their sins till Christ himself came and suffered upon the Cross So he makes this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here with that which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Act. 17.30 Therefore I leave this and urge one or two places more 1 Job 2.1 If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Here we see is intercession for sin and a way for Remission but how upon a supposition that sin is If any man Ezek. 18.22 speaking of a wicked man that turneth to God and now shall surely live he expresseth it thus All his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned to him Observe All that he hath committed not all that he shall commit A third place is eminently set down Jer. 33.8 Where God makes a glorious Promise of the pardon of sin but take notice to wâ—at sins he limits it even to those that have been committed I will cleanse them from all their iniquity wherby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me It s of what they have done not of what they shall do A second sort of Arguments is from the expressions Gods word useth about Pardon All which do suppose That sinne goeth before and that God doth not antidate his Pardon Such as these are Remember not iniquity Now although this be attributed unto God improperly yet the very sense of the word supposeth That sins were precedent and how God by his grace will remember them no more So the phrase to blot out supposeth sin was already registred in Gods book Men do not use to forgive Debts before they be Throwing them into the sea what doth this imply but that sins did appear before and that in a terrible threatning manner Covering of sin How can that be understood if sin be not with some loathsomnes Thus we might instance in all the expressions used by Scripture to represent Pardon Thirdly This truth may be proved from the necessary qualifications required in those that have Pardon which cannot be unless a man have already committed the sin as 1 Joh. 1.9 If we confesse our sins he is faithful to pardon Now confession is alwayes of a thing already extant How absurd would it be for a man to go and confess the sins he will commit This would rather be impudence then humiliation look over all the confessions made by the people of God for themselves or in the behalf of others as Davids Ezrahs Nehemiahs Daniels and you shall observe them all limited to sins that have been done never extended to what they shall commit Thus in the old Testament when any had sinned they offered sacrifices There was no sacrifice appointed for a future sin but only for that which was already committed Thus to pardon is required forsaking of a mans sin Prov. 28.13 Now how can a man be said to forsake that which is not to leave that which is future especially as you have heard repentance is commanded as the way wherein only pardon may be had now how can repentance be about that which is to come Can a man repent of any â—hing but what is past The two Greek words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be wise and understand after the fact is done and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reditus a turning again to those whom we have offended make it as clear as the Sun that there is no pardon of sin before committed Fourthly There is no promise in all the word of God made for the pardon of a sin before it be committed and repented of If therefore the Word of God give no such encouragement what presumption is it to make a faith that all sins are pardoned the Gospel-faith for grant that such a thing were true and to be beleeved viz. That all sins are pardoned yet that could not be the Gospel-faith for the Gospel-faith is justifying faith now the object of justifying faith is not ens complexum a proposition such as this is All my sins are pardoned but ens incomplexum a single object which is Christ himself received and applied by faith I am not justified by beleeving my sins are pardoned but by relying upon Christ for pardon But this by the way The strength of the Argument lieth in this God hath made no promise for the pardon of a sin before it be committed and repented of Therefore none may either beleeve or claim such a thing The grand charter or priviledge for pardon as it is laid down in the Covenant of Grace is contained in Jer. 31.34 which is also repeated Heb. 8.12 Now this
the same we can prove it is because of repentance future So that still no sin will be forgiven without repentance For suppose that were a true rule to stand upon Gods internal will to pardon is an immanent act and therefore from all eternity will it not as well follow Gods internal will to give repentance is an immanent act and therefore repentance is from all eternity If another be a true rule That God hath given us all pardon from eternity only we have the sense of it and manifestation in our own souls may we not then say that we had the grace of repentance from all eternity but it is declarative in time in our own souls For although justification be Gods act and repentance ours yet we are passive in the infusion of this as well as justification I speak not of repentance as an act which cannot so properly be said to be infused but of the frame of the soul If a third rule should be true That therefore sins are pardoned because the Covenant of Grace saith it will pardon all Doth not this hold also for repentance seeing in the Covenant God promiseth to give a repenting heart Lastly If God may be thought changeable because now he pardons and once he did not will it not as well hold because he now gives grace to such a man to repent and once he did not To conclude therefore it followeth with an equal necessity That if future sins are forgiven before they be committed That God also did accept of future repentance before it was practised or else if repentance be not received by God till actually performed so neither is sin forgiven till actually committed and repented of The result of this whole truth is by way of Use to admonish us That we make not any Doctrine about grace in the genious and natural consequence of it to encourage or harden to sin If the grace of God which hath appeared to teach thee to deny all ungodly lusts make thee love them the more If because you are under grace sin hath therefore dominion over you If there be goodness with the Lord and therefore you do not fear him then know all things work contrary to their nature and Scripture-directions All Gospel-grace is a cleansing purifying refining property it is fire to get out the dross it is water to wash away the filth it is oyl to mollifie the wounds of the soul it is wine to make the heart glad and rejoyce in God Do not while you promise your selves a liberty by grace therein become servants of corruption more especially let the children of God who have had sweet experience of the Covenant of Grace upon their souls take heed of fals and relapses If the Prodigal son after that reconciliation made with his father after all that glory and love vouchsafed to him had again wandered into far Countries prodigally consumed all his estate living with swine upon husks How unpardonable and unworthy would this fact have been No less guilty wilt thou be who hast had the ring put on thee who hast fed on the fatted Calf if after this thou provoke God by gross transgressions Some have disputed Whether it be possible for a godly man to be secure in sinning and more willing to offend because of Gods gracious Covenant which will infallibly rescue him out of that sin But what sin is not possible except that against the holy Ghost even to a regenerate man Take heed then lest thou love the Gospel because it hath alwaies glad tidings and thou canst not abide the precepts or threatnings because they speak hard things to thee There may be a carnal Gospeller as well as a Popish Legalist LECTURE XXIX ACTS 3.19 Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out THe Apostle Peter in this exhortatory discourse of his to the Jews deals like a wise Physitian First Discovering the danger of the disease Secondly Applying an effectual remedy The disease is that hainous sin the Jews were guilty of in killing of Christ the Prince of life Which sin is aggravated by a threefold antithesis 1. They delivered up and denied Christ in the presence of Pilate when he would have acquitted him 2. They denied him though he was an holy and just One 3. They desired a murtherer to be released rather then him This is their sin In the next place you have the remedy prescribed in two words Repent and be converted Repent that denotes a change in the heart and to be converted an alteration in the outward conversation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Howsoever it be generally received that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth only true and godly sorrow and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that imperfect and unsound grief which is upon hypocrites yet this is not universally true for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is applied to true repentance Mat. 21.19 32. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to an outward repentance meeerly Mat. 11.21 The other word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to be understood reciprocally Turn your selves or be turned This exhortation doth not suppose free-will in us it only denoteth our duty not our ability Neither is Grotius his assertion better then Semipelagianisme when he compareth the will of a man to the mother and grace to the father so that as children are named after the father and not the mother thus good actions are denominated from grace not free-will for in our conversion free-will is neither a totall or partiall cause preoperant or cooperant but the passive subject recipient of that Vim gratiae vorticordiam as Austin called it the heart-changing power of grace This duty of repentance is urged from the profitable consequent Piscator cals it effectu utili the effect of conversion which is that your sins may be blotted out It is not an inference of causality but of consequence Blotting out is as you heard from merchants that expunge their debts or the Scribe that raceth out those letters which ought not to be in the paper or the Painter that defaceth those lineaments which should not be in the Picture In the next place you have the time when these sins shall be blotted out that is when the times of refreshing shall come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used Exod. 8.15 Some do not understand this nor that expression The times of restitution of all things vers 21. of the day of judgement but of that preservation the elect should have when the destruction of Jerusalem should be Hence it is that they expound the day of the Lord so much spoken of in Peter and other places which is said to be coming upon the beleevers of that time when God came to destroy Jerusalem but there is no cogent reason to go from the received interpretation which maketh the day of judgement to be the times of refreshing to the godly for so indeed it is because then they are eased from all those troubles and oppressions they lay under in
this world Hence our Saviour cals it The day of our redemption upon the coming whereof they are to lift up their heads The Observation is That a compleat and full absolution from all sin is not enjoyed till the day of judgement The Beleevers have not a full discharge till then we are in this life continually subject to new sins and so to new guilt whereby arise new fears so that the soul hath not a full rest from all till that final absolution be pronounced at the day of judgement Before we shew the grounds whereby it may appear that the remission of our sins is not fully compleated till then we must lay down some Propositions by way of a grand work First The Scripture not only in this priviledge of remission of our sin but in others also makes the complement and fulness of them to be at the day of judgement Redemption is the totall summe as it were of all our mercies and we are partakers of it in this life Col. 1.14 Rom. 3.24 Yet the Scripture cals the day of judgement when we shall rise out of our graves in a peculiar and eminent manner the day of redemption Ephes 1.7 Ephes 4.30 because at that day will be the utmost and last effects of our redemption Adoption that also is a priviledge we receive in this life yea a learned man Forbes in his book where he handleth the order of Gods graces makes adoption as I take it to be the first and to go before justification yet the Apostle Rom. 8.23 calleth the last day the day of adoption Hence 1 Joh. 3.2 the Apostle though he saith We are now the sons of God yet he saith it doth not appear what we shall be because the glory God at the last day will put upon us is so farre transcendent and superlative to what now we are Thus Mat. 19.28 the last day is also called the day of regeneration unto the people of God yet in this life they partake of that grace but because then is the full perfection and manifestation of it therefore the Scripture cals it the day of regeneration Even as the Apostle Act. 13.33 applieth that passage of the Psalm to Christs resurrection This day have I begotten thee because then was such a solemn and publique declaration that he was the Son of God No marvel then if the Scripture do also call the day of judgement a time when sins shall be blotted out because then is the publique absolution of the godly and according to philosophy motions receive their names from the term to which they tend Secondly Howsoever Justification be said to consist in pardon of sin yet there is a great difference between the one and the other for Justification besides the pardon of sin doth connote a state that the subject is put into viz. A state of favour being reconciled with God Hence it is that this state cannot be reiterated often no more then a wife after that first entrance into the relation is frequently made a wife In this sense the Scripture alwaies speaks of it as connoting a state or condition the subject is put into as well as a peculiar priviledge vouchsafed to such It is true There are indeed learned men who think Justification may be reiterated as you heard Peter Martyr and Bucer Others call it a continued action as conservation But although there is a continuance of Justification and the godly are preserved in that estate yet we cannot say God doth renew Justification daily as he doth pardon of sin There are some that think the Scripture gives a ground for a second Justification or the continuing and encreasing of it and bring those places Tit. 3.5 6 7. Rev. 22.11 The learned and excellent Interpreter Ludovicus de Dieu in Cap. 8. of the Romans vers 4. largely pleadeth for a two-fold Justification The first he makes to be the imputing of Christs righteousness to us received by faith which is altogether perfect and is the cause of pardon of sins The second he makes an effect of the former whereby through the grace of God regenerating we are conformable unto that love in part and are day by day more and more justified and shall be fully so when perfection comes of which Justification he saith these texts speak Jam. 2.21 24. Revel 22.11 Mat. 11.37 1 King 8.32 This two-fold Justification he makes to differ toto coelo from the Papists whose first is founded upon the merit of congruity the second upon the merit of condignity But the discussing of this will be more proper in the other part viz. of imputed righteousness Austin seemeth to hold Justification a frequent and continued act lib. 2. contra Julianum cap. 8. When we are heard in that prayer Forgive us our sins we need saith he such a remission daily what progress soever we have made in our second Justification He speaks also of a Justification hujus vitae which he cals minorem the lesser and another plenam and perfectam full and perfect which belongs to the state of glory Tract 4. in Joannem lib. de spiritu lit cap. ultim But the more exact handling of this will be in the place above-mentioned It seemeth more consonant to Scripture if we say That Justification is a state we were once put into which is not repeated over and over as often as sin is forgiven neither can it admit of increase or decrease so that a man should be more or less justified for even David while he was in that state of suspension was not less justified though the effects of Justification were less upon him It is true in some sense learned men say Justification may increase viz. extensivè not intensivè as they express it by way of extension when more sins are pardoned not intensively in its own nature Even as the soul of a man in its information of the body admits of no increase intensively but it doth extensively the more the parts of the body grow the further doth its information extend But of these things more in their proper place Thirdly Howsoever an absolution shall be compleated at the day of judgement yet our justification shall not abide in such a way as it is in this life Now our Justification is by pardon of sin and a righteousness without us imputed to us which is instrumentally applied by faith but this way shall then cease for having perfect righteousness inherent in our selves we shall need no covering It is true the glory and honour of all this will redound upon Christ and he shall not be the less glorified because he hath then brought us to the full end of all his sufferings I know some may doubt whether any righteousness but that which is infinite can please God and therefore as some think the Angels were accepted of God through Christ though perfect so it may of the Saints in heaven but I see no ground for this This seemeth to be undoubted That the
way of Justification by faith in Christ ariseth because of our imperfection and sinfulness remaining in us and therefore is justificatio viae not patriae a justification of us in our way not when we come to our home Fourthly Although pardon of sin be compleated at that great day yet this is not to be understood as if Gods pardon of any sin were imperfect and something of sinne did still remain to be done away No those expressions of forgivenes of sin in the Scripture denote such a full and plenary pardon that a sin cannot be more remitted then it is But because we commit new sinnes daily and so need pardon daily Therefore it is that we are not compleatly pardoned till then As also because the perfect pardon we have here shall then solemnly and publikely be declared to all the world These things thus premised I come to shew the grounds or particulars wherein our pardon of sinne is thus compleated And first In our sense and feeling For howsoever God pardon a sinne perfectly yet our faith which receiveth it is weak This Jewell is taken with a trembling and shaking hand Hence it is that we have not full faith and confidence in our spirits We may see this in David though Nathan told him his sinnes were forgiven him yet his faith was not so vigorous and powerfull as wholly to apply this to his own soul and therefore he had much anguish and trouble of heart afterwards But now at the last day all these fears diffidence and darknesse will be quite removed out of our hearts There shall be no more disturbance in our souls then there can be corruption in the highest heavens we shall then have such a gourd as no worm can devour Our souls shall not then know the meaning of sitting in darknesse and wanting Gods favour There will then be no complaints Why hath the Lord forsaken me Well may Gods children be called upon to lift up their heads when such a redemption draweth nigh and well may that day be called the times of refreshment seeing the people of God are so often scorched with the fiery darts of Satan Secondly Pardon of sin will at that day be perfected Because all the effects of pardon will then be accomplished and not so much as any scars remain the wound will be so fully healed Although God doth fully pardon sin yet the effects of this are delaied many chastisements and sad afflictions are to be undergone howsoever death it self and the corruption in the grave must seize upon justified persons now these are the fruit of sin and howsoever the sting of these be taken away yet they are not wholly conquered till that last day Then therefore may we justly say Sin is pardoned when there shall be no more grave no more death no more corruption but all shall be swallowed up in immortality and glory Thirdly Then and not till then may we say remission of sins will be compleated because then shall no more iteration of pardon be Here in this life because the root of corruption abideth in us there are daily pullulant branches of sinnes and so frequent guilt is contracted whereby as we have daily sores so we need daily plaisters It is with originall corruption in us as in that Tree in Dan. 4.14 15. although the branches be cut off yet the stump is still in the earth and that sprouts out too fast by the temptations that are alwaies by it Hence it is that we alwaies pray Forgive us our sins and because of thâ—se failings the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.20 writeth to and exhorteth the godly Corinthians who were already reconciled to God to be further reconciled to him But then this Petition shall wholly cease then there will be no serpent to sting us nor will the eye of justifying faith to look upon the brazen serpent exalted be necessary any more The Lord will not only wipe away the tear of wordly grief but also of godly sorrow at that time Then and not till then will it be true That God seeth no sin in his children Then will the Church be without wrinkles or any spot within her In this respect it is the Church of God pâ—aieth so earnestly for the Bridegrooms coming For this it is They look for and hasten in their praiers that day Fourthly At that day will pardon of sin only be compleated if you consider the nature of justification For what is that but an overcoming the accusing adversary and clearing of us against every charge Now this is most eminently and fully done in those last assizes The Syriack word to justifie is also to conquer and overcome because when a man is justified he overcometh all those bils and indictments which were brought in against him now this is manifestly done in the day of judgement when God shall before men and Angels acquit and absolve his people and if the Apostle say in this life Rom. 6.7 of a godly man dead in Christ he is justified from his sins 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in respect of sanctification that sin doth not conquer him but he sinne how much more will this be true at that day when all the guilt and filth of sin shall be totally removed Oh what a glorious conquest will that be over sin hell and the devil when the Judge of the whole world shall pronounce them free from all sinne and command them to enter into his glorious rest Having thus cleared the Doctrine one Question may be briefly touched upon Whether the sins of Gods people shall be manifested at the day of judgement and God for Christs sake then acquit them There are learned men for the affirmative They shall be published and there are learned men for the negative Those that are for the affirmative they say indeed godly mens sins shall not be examined for their ignominy or confusion but only that the goodnesse and grace of God may be made the more illustrious For this they urge these Arguments First Those places of Scripture which speak of the universality of the reall objects and personal Of the reall as when it 's said A man must give an account of every idle word Mat 12.36 2 Cor. 5.10 an account must be made for every thing done in the body For the universality of the object personal 2 Cor. 5. We must all appear before the Tribunall seat Again They urge the opening of the book which shall be at that day and that is nothing but the manifesting of the consciences of men Furtther Many wicked mens sins and godly mens are mingled together and there cannot be a judgement of discussion preceding that of condemnation unlesse godly mens sinnes also be produced In summe They think this conduceth more to the setting up of Gods justice the exaltation of his mercy neither say they will this breed shame to the godly for in heaven they shall remember their sins committed on earth but without any grief
or trouble yea with joy and thankfulnesse to God because delivered from them Quandoque laeti recordamur dolorum said Gregory We may with joy remember by-past grief But those that are for the negative think this no waies suteable to Gods goodnesse that the sins of the godly should then be published for these grounds following First From the judicial processe where Christ cals the blessed of his Father to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them and then enumerateth only the good works they had done no question they had many sins and failings but God takes no notice of them Secondly This agreeth best they say with those expressions of Scripture concerning pardon viz. that God blotteth them out that they are thrown into the bottom of the sea Thirdly The godly are said not to come into judgement and there is no condemnation to them yea they have already life everlasting Lastly Christ is their bridegroom their friend their advocate and how ill becoming would it be one in such relations to account or lay open their sins Which of these opinions is truest is hard to say neither of them have cogent arguments and the Scripture doth not expresly decide the question yet the negative seems to have more probability on its side The Use is First Of comfort and glad tidings to the children of God howsoever in this life they have accusations from within and from without yet the day is coming when they shall have a glorious and publike justification from all objections Then Satan can no more accuse Joshua for the noisome rags upon him Then Joseph shall be brought out of the prison freed from all guilt and calumny and exalted to great glory and it may be therefore God suffereth thee to be exercised with much guilt and fear here that thou maist the more long for those daies of refreshment And as this truth is for their great consolation so also it demonstrateth their happinesse That that which is so terrible and dreadfull to wicked men should be such matter of rejoycing unto them when they through horrour should cry for the mountains and hils to cover them these shall desire the graves and the earth to deliver up her dead that they may enjoy their Bridegroom Certainly beleevers are not beleevers in this point as they should be what an heavenly contempt would it work in them of this present world what earnest desires that this Kingdom might at last come This is their marriage-day the day of coronation Then death hell grave sin and Satan are all conquered And if the joy and peace which remission of sin produceth in this life be so exceeding glorious what will that be when we shall have no more streams but that fountain 2. Use by way of contrary To terrifie and arouse wicked men for as the godly have but a glimmering a little pittance in this life in respect of that fulnesse of glory to be revealed hereafter so the wicked feel not the least part of that guilt torment shame and confusion which hereafter shall be poured upon them There are many mens sins lie asleep keep no noise either in their own consciences or before God but then these lyons these mastive dogs that lay tumbling at the door will rise up in rage and wholly devour Do not therefore take Gods forbearance for his gracious acquittance oh do not imbolden thy self with false encouragements and say The worst is over As the Apostle said these light afflictions were nothing to that eternal weight of glory so on the contrary may the wicked say These pangs and wounds of consciences which are felt here are nothing to that eternal weight of sin hereafter Bernard said descendamus in infernum viventes ne descendamus morienâ—es let us goe into hell while we are alive by a serious meditation and holy consideration that we may not go into it when we be dead by reall miseries As the Apostle saith we are the children of God but it doth not yet appear what we shall be there is more glory then they can conceive so wicked men are now the children of wrath but it doth not yet appear what they shall be Oh therefore that ungodly men were as wise as Jonah's mariners who in the midst of tempests seeing their ship necessarily sinking throw away the goods that were a burden knowing they and their safety could not consist together Thus are ye to do throw away thy sins those heavy burdens that put all into danger and so maist thou safely arrive at last in heaven LECTURE XXX LUKE 7.47 Wherefore I say unto thee Her sins which are many are forgiven her for she loved much THis Text is part of a famous history which may well be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of the three great things observable in it 1. Great sinnes 2. Great repentance and humiliation â— Great love and grace of God through Christ in pardoning And there is this one peculiar thing well observed about this woman in the history that whereas divers others addressed themselves to Christ for corporal mercies this only cometh for spiritual even for remission of her sins For the better understanding of the text let us briefly consider the history and first the woman is described by her quality inherent a sinner not in a common sense as all are but in a more notorious manner and therefore those that mitigate her fault out of some reverence or honour to her do not so much encrease her honour as Maldonat upon the place well observeth as detract from Christs honour for the Physicians skill is most commended where the disease is more desperate That she was a known great sinner appeareth in that the Pharisee wondred at Christ because he would have any commerce with her Whether this woman was Mary Lazarus his sister or no is hotly disputed by Commentators but impertinent to my scope In the next place you have her great repentance expressed wherein for the generall you may see the Apostles duty accomplished as she had given her members to be members of iniquity so now of righteousnesse insomuch that she is the true looking-glasse of an humble convert Her humiliation is described 1. In bringing of a box of oyntment to anoint his feet not his head say some because she thought her self so unworthy she brought indeed an outward visible box of ointment but she had another invisible and spiritual one even a contrite and broken heart 2. She stands behinde Christ as being loathsom in her own eyes and washeth his feet with her tears which must suppose that to be true in her which Jeremiah desireth viz. Her head to be a fountain of water but as long as her heart was such a fervent limbeck it was no wonder to see such precious distillations Chrysologus upon this fact of hers saith The Heavens are wont to water the Earth with rain but ecce nunc rigat terra Coelum here the earth watereth Heaven Lastly The debasement of
her self further appeareth in making her Hair heretofore the instrument of her pride and wantonness now a Towel to wipe his feet In the third place Christs love towards her is remarkable and in the general it is so great that the Pharisee puffed up with his own pride was offended at it not considering First That though she had been a sinner yet now she manifested Repentance And secondly That every commerce and communion with a sinner is not forbidden but that which is of incouragement or consent unto his sin but our Saviours was like the communion of a Physician with the Patient to heal and cure Hence our Saviour touched the leper whom he healed yet was not unclean because he touched him to restore him to health But as the people murmured because Moses married a Blackmore so the Pharisees grudged because Christ shewed mercy to sinners but Moses indeed could not make the Blackmore white whereas Christ doth purifie the defiled soul Now our Saviour doth aggravate his love to her First by a diligent enumeration of those several acts of service which she had exhibited to him not mentioning any of her former sins and all this he doth with an Antithesis or opposition to that carriage which the Pharisee had presented him with 2. To convince the Pharisee he declareth a Parable that so from his own mouth the Pharisee may judge her love to Christ to be greater then his In the last place his grace to her is further declared by pardoning her sins though so hainous which pardon is first declared unto the Pharisee in my Text and afterwards to the woman her self In my Text is the first promulgation of her pardon now because the words have some difficulty and the later part is brought to prove love to be a meritorious cause of Remission of sins two Questions are briefly to be resolved First When this womans sins were pardoned And the Answer is That as soon as ever she repented in her heart of her evil wayes and believed in Christ her sins were forgiven her for so God doth promise and this was before she came to Christ but she cometh to Christ for the more assurance of Pardon and not only so but that he should authoritatively absolve her from her sinne for Christ did more then declare her sins pardoned as appeareth by the standers by who with wonder made this question v. 49. Who is this that forgiveth sins also Whereas to declare the forgiveness of sin only any Minister may do as we read of Nathan to David 2 Sam. 12.13 So that her sins were pardoned by God before at the first time of her Faith and Repentance but now Christ as the Mediator doth particularly absolve her and that in her own conscience therefore he bids her Go in peace The second Question is Whether that expression Much is forgiven her for she loved much be causal as if her love were antecedent and a cause of her forgiveness or consequential only as an effect or sign of her forgiveness in this sense She loved much because God did forgive her many sins not she loved much and therefore God forgave her Here is a great and vast difference between these two many Papists are for the later the Protestants generally for the former and there is this cogent reason for it for that Christ doth not speak of Repentance or Love which should go before and be the cause of the pardon of sins is plain by the Parable he brings of a Creditor who forgave one Debtor more another Debtor less hereupon our Saviour asked the Pharisee Which of them will love him most Simon answered I suppose him to whom most was forgiven Now of such a love our Saviour speaketh when he mentioneth the woman which is clearly a love of Gratitude Because much was forgiven not an antecedent love of merit to procure pardon so that as from her actions of anointing and washing his feet by way of a sign or effect we gather her Faith and Love of Christ so by her Faith and Love as by a sign and effect it may be gathered that her sins are forgiven her But you may ask How could she come to know her sins were forgiven before Christ told her I answer By the promise of God made to every true Penitent and Believer though this assurance of hers was imperfect and therefore admitted of further degrees whereas then all this Repentance and Humiliation was not that sinne might be forgiven but from Faith that they were forgiven We may observe this That the sense and apprehension of pardon of sins already obtained doth not beget carnal security but a further mollifying and humbling of the heart in a gracious manner This is a practical truth of great concernment And for the opening of it take notice of this distinction as a foundation viz. That there is in Scripture a two-fold Repentance or Humiliation of the soul for sin the one antecedent and going before pardon and this the Scripture requireth as a necessary condition without which forgiveness of sin cannot be obtained of this Repentance the Scripture for the most part speaks Ezek 14.18 30. Mat. 3.2 Mark 6.12 Luk. 13.3 Act. 3.19 and generally in most places of Scripture In the second place there is an Humiliation of heart and brokenness of soul for sin arising from thâ— apprehension of Gods love in pardoning whereby we grieve that we should deal so unkindely with so good and gracious a God This though more rarely yet is sometimes spoken of in Scripture as first in this woman who out of the apprehension of Gods love in pardoning so much to her did pour out her soul in all wayes of thankfulness After this manner also was Davids Repentance Psal 51. for he was thus deeply affected after Nathan had told him His sin was taken away Although it doth appear by the Psalm also that he had not as yet that sense of pardon which did quiet his conscience This kinde of affection was also in Paul 1 Tim. 12 13 14 15 16. 1 Cor. 15.8 9. in which places the Apostle remembring his former sins confesseth them and acknowledgeth thereby his unworthinesse of all that grace and favour he had received so that the Apostle doth not there humble himself that he may obtain mercy but because he had obtained mercy The most eminent instance of this kinde of sorrow and shame is Ezek. 16.62 63. where God promiseth to establish his Covenant with them and then mark the event of this That thou mayâ—st remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee So then both these kindes of Humiliations are to be owned and practised and therefore it is a false and dangerous error to acknowledge no other kinde of Repentance then the later The Papists will not acknowledge this later Humiliation at all because they deny all Faith and Assurance that a believer may have of