should speak such Language to me as this Tho' for lying Vanities thou hast forsaken thine own Mercies yet return to me Tho' thou hast play'd the Harlot with many Lovers yet return Tho' thou hast turned a deaf Ear to many Reproofs yet thy Case is not desperate Tho' I offer my Son and Life by him He that hath the Son hath Life and ye would not This Offer was repeated Sabbath after Sabbath for many Years yet you would not hear it you would not stoop to the Terms yet return unto me I will pity and pardon you I will abundantly pardon Long since I might have sworn in my Wrath you shall never enter into my Rest I might have said Let them alone to be undone by their own Obstinate Foolish Choice I might have resolv'd never such an Offer should be made to you more Never any Sermon about it shall ever do you good more But I am God and not Man my Thoughts and Ways are not as yours I invite you again I beseech you turn and live do not go on and dye God speaks this Language to every one of you the worst of you who hear me this Day Let none therfore think or say 't is too late for him or her there 's now no more Mercy for me For Christ yet stands at the Door and knocks tho' you have refus'd formerly and shut the Door formerly yet now if you will open the Door he will come in and sup with you and you with him Rev. III. 20. Nay tho' he has not taken Possession of thy Heart he knocks at thy Door by his Spirit and is ready to enter tho' you refuse him he does not abandon you Tho' his Kindness and Love hath been slighted yet his Mercy is tendered still and his Patience prolonged And will you resolve to go on thus Will ye not return Are you content to perish rather than come to Christ for Life rather than give him the Glory of your Salvation Will you rather dye in your Sins than be beholden to him for your Forgiveness rather than apply to God for it when he hath provided an All-sufficient Saviour and offer'd you that Salvation freely which cost so dear to purchase After this for a poor proud Sinner to turn his Back upon this Grace of God to scorn this Saviour and disdain to be saved by him saying in Effect I will have none of your Christ none of his Grace none of his Mercy I had rather enjoy my Lusts continue in my Sin and put it to the Venture how provoking is such Guilt and how righteous will be the Condemnation of such obstinate Sinners Secondly Apply your self therfore to God in Christ by Earnest Prayer He hath the Words of Eternal Life he is a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance as well as Pardon The Spirit of Faith is the Spirit of Jesus Christ he can open thy blind Eyes and soften thy hard Heart he that commanded the Cripple to take up his Bed and walk at the same time gave him Power to obey There is a Divine Spirit and Power even the Spirit of Life and Power in Christ Jesus that accompanies the Preaching of the Gospel this may be hoped for this ought to be valu'd desir'd and begg'd You ought never to despair of God's Grace to enable you to believe when it continues to be your Duty to believe on Christ and it cannot but continue to be so unless the Gospel be repeal'd Therefore beg with all your Hearts that you may be enabled to look to him and be saved to come to him and find Rest to your Souls to believe on him and receive Remission of Sins For by beholding the Glory of God in the Face of Christ you may be changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory Beg an Understanding to know him that is true and with all your Hearts to believe on him that you may assent to his Word consent to his Covenant resign to his Will and trust in his Promise depending on his Readiness Willingness Power and Faithfulness to save you Saying Lord draw me and I will run after thee Lord thou art willing to receive Sinners make me willing to receive thee Lord thou hast received Gifts for Men even for the Rebellious O communicate of those Gifts of Grace to me I see my need of Christ and what Reason I have to come to him O lead me to him and work in me to will and to do of thine own good Pleasure Thirdly If you begin to find the Spirit of Christ breathing on your Souls that have been yet unperswaded if you have any Motions of the good Spirit of God by the preaching the Word or by any other means take heed you thankfully cherish and entertain them When you find your Souls begin to turn towards Christ if you find any Beams of Heavenly Light break in upon you any Inclinations started of applying to him besure to obey the Voice of his Spirit Open every Door of your Souls to receive his Light When he works any Conviction of Sin any sence of your need of a Saviour any Desires after him or Purposes of Heart to leave your Sins and give up your selves to God to be saved by Christ according to the Gospel for your Souls sake encourage such Thoughts cherish such Suggestions Beware how you turn them off but presently and thankfully strike in saying Lord I yield I am overcome I have long enough and too long refus'd thy Grace disobey'd thy Will and resisted thy Spirit Thou hast often knockt and I would not open O now enter thou Blessed of the Lord and take Possession of my Soul Let Christ dwell in my Heart by Faith and his Spirit form a Temple there and reside there as in his own Dwelling for ever Lord art thou yet willing after all my Provocations to show Mercy and abundantly to pardon Willing to be my God and my Saviour Blessed be God I am now willing to be thy Servant Thy powerful Grace hath made me willing Thy Spirit open'd my Eyes to see my self undone to see that Christ is able and willing to save me I hope I am now ready to receive him willing to embrace him as Christ Jesus my Lord. I come to thee O God as to the Fountain of Life to be quickned and cleans'd to be wash'd justify'd sanctify'd and sav'd from Sin and Hell by the Blood and Spirit of Jesus through the Free Mercy and Grace of God But to Conclude If after all there be any Such here as are not will not be perswaded to forsake their Evil Ways and turn to God in Christ Let them consider that the longer they continue in their Obstinacy and Unbelief under the preaching of the glorious Grace and Mercy of God to Sinners so much the more Danger they are in of being lost for ever For their Minds must needs be more blinded by sinning against the Light Their Hearts more hardned by misimproving that which should have softned
as long as His Word abides faithful and the Covenant of Grace is everlasting and unrepeal'd and the Offers of God's Grace are repeated as long as there 's a New Proclamation of Mercy made in the Name of Christ tho' all the former have been despised you may Now come in and find Mercy and be accepted Now. For every New Offer of God's Grace doth carry in it the Offer and Promise of the Pardon of all your former Refusals if you will Now consent The Promise is as free and the peformance of it as sure now as ever You may come in Now and be pardon'd and sav'd upon as free and gracious Terms as several years agoe 'T is still without Money and without Price Your Unbelief and Obstinacy so long does not raise the Price nor alter the Terms Therefore plead the Riches of his Free-grace and do it the more thankfully and humbly the Viler you have been saying Lord thy Mercy will be the more honour'd thy Free-grace will be the more magnify'd and exalted in the Conversion and Forgiveness of such a Wretch in the purging such a defiled Soul in the healing such a Leper in the pardoning so many and great Transgressions And 't is often Observ'd that such Sinners when they return to God have the Advantage of others upon several Accounts wherein God is more glorify'd by them As that usually they admire the Grace of God more than others love God and Christ more walk more humbly with God are more Charitable Tender and Compassionate to other Christians and are usually more watchful and circumspect for the Time to come and more afraid of falling And commonly they are more abundant in Service for the Honour of God more entirely devoted to him more zealous for his Glory more of a Publick Spirit more ready to do and to suffer any thing for his sake As this tends to the Honour of God so it may be pleaded in Prayer Object But before I close this I must obviate or answer an Objection or two more I may suppose some will say That after all there 's no finding Mercy and Forgiveness with God without Faith in Jesus Christ and I can't for my Heart believe in Christ that he will receive me I cannot perswade my self that such a one as I should be accepted What shall the Invaluable Purchase of the Death of Christ belong to me be bestowed on me if you 'd give me all the World I can't believe that such a Wretch as I have been shall find Mercy You don't know how I have affronted dishonour'd despis'd and disobey'd him I have abus'd his Grace at that dreadful Rate that you cann't imagine the Aggravtion of my Sins or the Sadness of my Case I can't believe that he will ever forgive me receive me justifie me and glorifie me I can't believe it and if I can't believe in Christ I can't be saved by him Answ I Answer Don't mistake the Nature of saving Faith You say you can't believe and you have no Faith Whereas at the bottom you mean no more than this that as yet you are not certain of Salvation you have no Assurance But are you willing to receive Christ Jesus as offer'd in the Gospel Hath the Spirit of God so far convinc'd you of your sinful miserable state that you heartily consent to be saved by Christ in his own Way and upon his own Terms Are you willing to take him as your Teacher Saviour and Lord Are you brought to depend and trust entirely upon the Mercy of God in Jesus Christ as the only Mediator between God and Man To relye upon his Sacrifice and meritorious Righteousness as your only Refuge and Hope Desiring to be found in him alone to be accepted of God only in the Beloved and are truly willing and as far as you know your own Hearts are resolv'd to follow him as the Captain of your Salvation where ever he shall lead you in hope of his purchased and promised Grace and Glory This is Faith and dare you say that there 's nothing of this that appears in the Temper of your Spirits Secondly If you can't with any Confidence say this yet the Case is hopeful if you are in the number of convinced awakened sensible Sinners Are you sensible of your Ignorance Poverty Guilt Impurity Bondage Unrighteousness c. and that you need Christ as a compleat Saviour to be made of God unto us Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption to expiate Sin by his Blood and to subdue it by his Spirit to reconcile us to God and begin that blessed Union and Communion here which shall be compleat in Heaven And this comprehends our whole Salvation Christ is the Saviour of Sinners and of such who are lost who apprehend themselves to be so without his help that feel their Sins and their Wants he came not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance And is a Physitian not to the Whole but to the Sick He calls and cures not the Proud but the Humble not the Full but the Hungry not the Rich but the Poor not the Free but the Captive who are sensible of their Bonds not the Righteous but Sinners And he makes you by his Spirit thus humble empty hungry and sensible of Sin that you may look to him as the great Reconciler sensible of the need of Pardon If it be thus you may then look for Redemption through the Blood of Jesus even the Forgiveness of Sins Feeling your need of Sanctification you may look to be wash'd and cleans'd and sanctify'd in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by his Spirit feeling your want of Strength to do and suffer the Will of God you may look to Christ to enable you to do all things Now one that is not fully satisfy'd and assur'd that Christ will save him may yet be brought to this frame How is it with you as to this Thirdly Let me ask you further under the Sense of being Vile and Hainous Sinners are you brought earnestly to desire the Mercy of God in Christ and diligently to seek after him Tho' you sometimes fear he will not accept you yet do you not neglect to pray to him What would you not give that you might be interested in God's pardoning Mercy and accepted in Christ Are not your greatest Fears and Concern with respect to this lest he should reject you Are not the strongest Desires of your Souls after this that he would receive you And is it thus not only at a Pinch in Affliction and Trouble as to Outward Affairs or on a sick Bed but in Health and Prosperity Is this the Language of your Souls I have Health and Friends and Money and Credit and many Outward Blessings beyond others I want nothing for my Body or for my Comfortable Passage through this World But I am yet a miserable Creature if I am under the Guilt of Sin if God be not reconcil'd to me O that I were clear as to this what would
I give to be at peace with God and to have an Encouraging Sense of it c. Fourthly Are you sensible of your past Unkindness to this Merciful God and Gracious Saviour so as to bewail it Is it now the ground of your Fear and Trouble not only that you have sinn'd against the Light of Nature tho' it may be you were first awaken'd by the sense of some such Transgression but now you are troubl'd for the Contempt of the Gospel for your Neglect of Christ the Saviour of Sinners for refusing him when he hath call'd and invited you And are ready to say within your selves O with what Earnestness did he call me to accept his Mercy How freely did he offer to forgive me He would have been my Saviour but I would not receive him with what Folly and Obstinacy did I harden my Heart and stop my Ears and turn my Back upon him and resisted him both in his Word and Spirit Doth this greive and trouble you as well as the gross Pollutions of the World which Natural Light will condemn Fifthly Your Case is hopeful notwithstanding the sense of your Vileness and Fears on that Account if you yet resolve to follow on in seeking Mercy and Forgiveness of God by Jesus Christ 'till you obtain it Do you resolve you will wait and pray and wrestle and persevere therein 'till it shall please God to cast an Eye of Pity and Compassion on your miserable Souls That you will continue in the Use of God's appointed Means where he communicates his Spirit and conveys Grace and where he is wont to vouchsafe his Presence That you will enquire of every Body that may assist you how you may be one of those Happy Souls whom God will abundantly pardon Can you say this That tho' I fear and doubt yet I seek and strive and will not give over I will not desist I will not depart from his Door I am undone if he refuse me and if I perish and dye in my Sins and be damned for them it shall be in seeking Mercy and begging Mercy for Christ's sake And if you can say this truly you may be assur'd you shall not perish but find Mercy Can you say and is it the real Language of your Heart Nothing in all the Word shall content and satisfie you or is ever like to do so 'till you have some good hope through Grace of finding Mercy with God You search the Scriptures and search your Hearts and go to Ministers consult Friends and attend Ordinances with this Desire and Design and you pray before you come to hear that some seasonable powerful Word may drop and reach your Case Alas I use to hear formerly after another manner and with other Thoughts judging the Minister passing Sentence on the Sermon or considering only how it concern'd others of my Acquaintance But now I apply all to my self now I look for my own Portion and watch for that which principally concerns me And by the Grace of God I will thus attend and wait and watch at the Posts of Wisdoms Door that I may find Life Prov. VIII 34. Though I I have but a very little Hope and a great many Fears considering what a Vile Sinner I have been yet I do not utterly despair I am told I must not despair and that Despair is a Sin and Hope a Duty And therfore I will yet hold on and wait upon the Lord and seek his Mercy Tho' I can't pray with Confidence I will yet look up tho' I can't say I believe yet I 'le not utterly despair tho' I have sinned against the Grace of the Gospel and the Blood and Spirit of Christ yet I hope not above and beyond the Help and Benefit of his Grace and Gospel and Blood and Spirit I 'le therfore hold on and wait in Hope in the diligent use of all the Means of Salvation V. Fifthly I proceed to another thing observable from these Words Let him return and he will have Mercy and abundantly pardon Let him think of that and return believe that be encouraged to return I Observe That the great Motive and Encouragement to put a Sinner on forsaking his Evil Ways and returning to God is the sensible Apprehension that there 's Mercy to be had viz. that God will forgive and abundantly pardon the Penitent Returning Sinner I confess 't is not an easie matter to be perswaded of the Doctrine of the Forgiveness of Sin Whatever Guess and Conjecture Men may have about it from the Divine Patience and Forbearance to a sinful World in the Continuance of his Forfeited Mercy Yet * See Mr. Nathanael Taylor 's Preservative against Deism Octavo Lately printed without the Gospel Revelation we are at no Certainty about this The Gentiles had some Imaginations and Hopes that their Gods were placable and inclin'd to pardon and that was the Rise of their Expiations and Sacrifices but they had no assured Promise or Covenant to build upon They knew not the Mediator between God and Man by his own Sacrifice of himself to make Attonement 'T is the Language of the Law written on our Hearts that The Soul that sinneth shall dye 'T is the Voice of Natural Conscience that Guilt and Punishment are inseperable And were there not somewhat known of the Doctrine of Forgiveness by the Revelation of it which God hath made this would be the common Sentiment of Mankind I need not consider what particular Ways and Methods God may have to reveal this Pardoning Mercy unto any who are Strangers to the Written Word or whether he hath done so It belongs not to us to be Curious in enquiring about other Men who shall be judged by a Righteous God according to the Law they were under and the Light they had 'T is certain that even among those to whom the Gospel is preached whoever they are that are deeply convinc'd of Sin and Conscience awakened to apprehend the Holiness and Justice of God 't is one of the most difficult things in the World to perswade them that God will have Mercy and abundantly pardon It is one great Work of the Holy Spirit to satisfie the Soul of this There 's no serious Minister of Christ but hath abundant Experience of this in those that are awakened to any Concern for their Souls Salvation There 's Evidence sufficient of this in David's Frame Psal CXXX 3 4. If thou Lord should'st mark Iniquities O Lord who should stand but there is forgiveness with thee c. If God should mark Sin so as to proceed to punish it according to his Righteous Law who could stand who would escape Condemnation or when accused stand in the Judgment so as to be acquitted i.e. 'T is not my own Case alone that if God should be strict and severe with me I am an undone and lost Creature But 't is true of all the World The Holiest Saint on Earth can't be justify'd in his Sight and what then would become of me who have
such a Load of Guilt and so many hainous Crimes to acknowledge In this sense we find the Expression of standing us'd Rom. XIV 4. To his own Master he standeth or falleth that is shall either be acquitted or condemned of God 'T is of the same Import with Psal CXLIII 2. Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight no flesh living shall be justified Consider a little with what a Frame of Spirit doth David use such Language he seems to cry out in the View of his Hainous Sins as ready to Despair if not reliev'd by the Hope that there is Forgiveness with God Lord who can stand that is how justly may I be Condemn'd if I am try'd at thy Bar According to strict Justice I must be cast I cannot answer thee for one much less for all my Abominations I cannot stand in the Judgment This will be and is the Case of all Convinced Sinners of every one of us when we View our Sins and the Majesty of Heaven whom we have offended When we consider how we have affronted God and despised him and how easily he can crush us into Hell and how justly he might When we think how we have preferr'd a Lust a Trifle a Passion an Humour before him How we have slighted his Authority abus'd his Goodness defi'd his Power weari'd his Patience rejected his Grace and by numberless aggravated Transgressions incurr'd the Vengeance he hath threaten'd and made our selves lyable to his intolerable and everlasting Wrath. Under such a Sight and Sense of Sin what can relieve but the Consideration that there 's Mercy and Forgiveness with God and that He 'll abundantly Pardon returning Sinners This I say we are backward to believe There 's so much Ignorance and Blindness in the Minds of Sinners there 's such a proneness in Men to Judge of God by themselves and of his Thoughts and Ways by their own that because they could not Pardon such and such hainous Provocations so often repeated they imagine that God will not And there are so many Fears and Jealousies in our guilty Souls concerning God that without the Encouragement of such a Declaration of Grace as in this Text there could be no Repentance there would be no Returning to God You know what Benhadad's Servants told him 1 Kings XX. 31. We have heard that the Kings of Israel are Merciful Kings let us put Sack-cloath on our Loyns and Ropes about our Necks and go to the King of Israel peradventure he will save thy Life This gracious Method God us'd toward Israel Jer. III. 12. Go and proclaim these words toward the North saying Return O back-sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you for I am Merciful saith the Lord and will not keep anger for ever Only acknowledge thine Iniquity that thou hast Transgressed against the Lord thy God that is Let them not cherish any such hard Thoughts of me as if there were no Forgiveness let them not despair of my Mercy as if I would not receive them when they return This gives the greatest Encouragement to Convinced Sinners that here is a Plank to save them from Shipwrack a Remedy against Despair Here 's a ground for 'em to return to God with Hopes Here 's a Motive to seek Mercy that God hath proclaim'd his Readiness to forgive and abundantly to pardon And methinks 't is very plain that the Doctrine of Repentance would never have been preached if there were no Hope of Forgiveness The fallen Angels having no Mercy offer'd were never call'd to repent for let there be never so deep Conviction of Sin and Sorrow for it there could be no Repenting and Returning to God without believing that Mercy might be had All would end in Death and Desparation Repentance would never be commanded as a Duty nor urg'd upon Sinners as a Duty it could not if we believe the Wisdom Goodness and Faithfulness of God were it not for this Truth that If the wicked forsake his way c. But upon the Consideration of this Sinners begin to have good Thoughts of God many of their Scruples are remov'd many of their Objections answer'd and they are now encourag'd to seek the Mercy of God and prepare to receive it VSE To Conclude therefore Let the vilest and worst of Sinners receive these glad Tydings of God's Grace and not abuse them Don't despise this Message don't neglect it but consider how much you need this Mercy and go home and earnestly beg it Endeavour to welcome it as it is offer'd in the Gospel and then plead it and urge it for Christ's sake according to the Promise as it is Free-Mercy And stir up your Souls to hope in it as knowing that God takes pleasure in them that hope in his Mercy May I not therfore say that 't is from the Devil for whom there is no Mercy if there be any of you to whom this Doctrine is preached who will yet Conclude There 's no Mercy for you Since God hath told us that If the Wicked forsake his Evil Ways and Thoughts and turn to the Lord they may and ought in that Case most firmly believe that He will have Mercy and that He will abundantly pardon THE Second Sermon ISAIAH LV. 7. Let the Wicked forsake his Way and the Unrighteous Man his Thoughts and let him Return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly Pardon 'T IS of the Sixth Observation from these Words that I would now speak without so much as repeating the other five viz. That Pardoning Mercy to Penitent Sinners is Mercy indeed the most valuable and seasonable Mercy This I shall endeavour to manifest by several Considerations and then Apply it First There 's nothing more suitable to the Case of a Guilty Sinner who hath any Thoughts of returning to God Consider the Perplexities of one that is awakened to a Sense of Sin and is under a Spirit of Conviction His bitter Complaints and loud Cryes tell us that he knows not what to do nor how to be rid of his Burden He apprehends his Danger from unpardoned Sin and feels the want of this Forgiveness He is wounded and nothing but the Voice of Pardoning Mercy can heal him I have greatly sinn'd said David and his Heart smote him 2 Sam. XXIV 10. And now I beseech thee O Lord take away the Iniquity of thy Servant Nothing else could give him Ease and Quiet from an Accusing troubled Conscience The Inhabitant shall not say I am sick the People that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquity Isa XXXIII 24. The meer Patience and Forbearance of God without Forgiveness will not answer the Exigence of his Case Tho' he be yet out of Hell he knows not how long it shall be so or how soon he may there have a Miserable Portion 'T is the Sense of Unpardon'd Sin that breaks his Bones and dryeth up his Marrow
with what Bowels of Pity and Compassion should we consider the Case of such And treat them with the Spirit of Meekness and Gentleness Christ is the Saviour of Sinners but He is none of mine they say for I heard his Gospel Grace declared but did not accept it I outstood my Day of Grace and the Things of my Peace are hid from mine Eyes He call'd me but I would not come and 't is now too late O 't is now too late He knock'd and I would not open and now the Door is shut against me I am given up to a Hard Heart c. The very Thought of Heaven and the Happiness of the Saints doth but terrifie them because they think they have lost it and shall never come there As well as the Thoughts of Hell which they reckon their Deserved Portion and that e're long it will be so And that Word Everlasting Everlasting Destruction cuts them to the Heart And well it may if they believe it belongs to them and that they shall fall under the condemning Sentence of the Judge to pass into Everlasting Fire And in several such Cases the Devil strikes in and aggravates their Distress He insults over them What think ye now of Sin Where 's the Pleasure and Advantage of it now To what purpose hath been all your Praying Hearing attending on Ordinances Coming to the Lord's Table c. You are fit indeed to come to the Lord's Table you have come Vnworthily you have seal'd your Damnation by it you have eat and drank Judgment to your selves by it again and again And such is their Darkness and Perplexity they know not what to Answer but conclude They are lost and the Gospel hid from them that Christ is not their Freind and will not be their Saviour Some of them will tell you they are as sure of it as if they were in Hell already 'T is as true they say as if they had heard his Condemning Sentence He hath shut up his Bowels and his Tender Mercy for ever from them And there 's nothing remains but a fearful Looking for of Wrath and Judgment Tribulation and Anguish And that all their present Darkness is but the Forerunner of Eternal Darkness And what they feel now is nothing to what they fear And if they be in such Agonies now O what will it be to lye in the Flames of Hell Wretched Miserable Creatures they know not how to live and they dare not dye lest Death should open the Door to Eternal Damnation And these Fears are heighten'd when ever they meet with those Christians who have any Hopes of Heaven because they say Christ saveth Others but will not save them Do not such as these deserve our Compassion And there be many such in this City Though Natural Melancholy and Bodily Indisposition give some Occasion at least to heighten such Terrors and Distress in several yet the sense of past Guilt and the Temptations of Satan must not be overlookt What I have to say on the Third General of God's Thoughts not being as ours will be suitable to their Case But before I proceed to that let me mention something for the Tryal and Examination of our selves whether we are interested in this Forgiveness or no Would you know whether your Sins are forgiven whether you are interested in this Promise of multiply'd Pardon Consider in the General and Examine your Repentance towards God and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ Acts II. 21. * See the Sermons of the Forgiveness of Sin by the Reverend Dr. Bates 8vo Where the whole Doctrine of Pardon is more accurately laid down The Essential Acts of Repentance are Godly Sorrow for all our known Sins and a sincere Purpose of Heart to turn from all Sin to God with Answerable Endeavours of Universal Holiness The three Acts of saving Faith in Christ are 1. An Assent of the Mind to Scripture-Revelation concerning Christ 2. The Consent of the Soul embracing and receiving him upon his own Terms 3. A Relyance and Trust on him for Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life More particularly I. You may Consider your Repentance and enquire how you stand affected to Sin Have you been under any deep Conviction of the Evil of Sin as to cause not only some Sorrow but Hatred and Detestation of it Have you seen your selves lost and undone by reason of Guilt so as absolutely to need pardoning Mercy Is the Heart of Stone taken away and a Heart of Flesh given What Humiliation for Sin and Self-abasement in the Apprehension of your Vileness have you ever had Have you been disquieted and burden'd under the Sense of Sin so as to condemn your selves and see that you are lost without the Free-Mercy of God in Christ Owning the Righteousness of God if he should cast you off and yet looking up to God through Jesus Christ with Hope 'T is true there is a great Difference in the Expressions of Sorrow and Humiliation for Sin which some make beyond others but all are made to see the Evil of Sin so as to be cur'd of the Love of it to humble themselves and acknowledge their Vileness Have you thereupon been brought to an Ingenuous Confession of Sin Psal XXXVIII 18. with Earnest Prayers to God for Forgiveness when you remember the peculiar Aggravations of many of your Crimes How long continued in against how many Helps and Warnings Calls and Counsels and Obligations to the contrary How small the Temptation how frequent the Repetition and yet how much Wilfulness notwithstanding the various Methods of God's Grace and Providence to reclaim you Such a Conviction cannot long be conceal'd and hid Enquire therfore what Effects it hath had to bring you into the Presence of God there to confess and bewail your Folly O what a Beast what a Fool what a Wretch have I been thus and thus have I sinn'd against Heaven How low should I abase my self in the Presence of God How unworthy am I to lift up mine Eyes to the Throne of his Glory How wonderful is his Patience that I am yet alive If you have a serious Sense of Sin you will not be able to keep Silence for that is contrary to the Confession of Sin mentioned Psal XXXII 5. I acknowledg'd my Sin unto thee and mine Iniquity have I not hid While he kept silence or did not confess his Sin his Bones were vex'd his Heart was disquieted But upon a free and full Confession to God his Spirit was calm'd and he could look through his Penitential Tears with Hope to God's Mercy-Seat God requires this Confession in order to Forgiveness Jer. III. 12 13. Return O backsliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine Anger to fall upon you for I am merciful saith the Lord only acknowledge thine Iniquity c. And if we confess our sin the Apostle tells us God is faithful and just to forgive them 1 John I. 9. And the more free and particular we are in our
with more Particular Relation to God's pardoning Mercy I. First They are Different and Unlike My Thoughts are not as your Thoughts There 's an Expression to this purpose in the Book of Proverbs to set out this Difference in General Prov. XIX 21. There are many Devices in the Heart of Man but the Counsel of the Lord shall stand What is said by the Prophet of God's Thoughts is affirmed by the Wise Man of God's Purposes that they are not as ours Ours are vain and uncertain his are certain fixt and stable He makes a Threefold Difference First In the Name Ours are but Devices God's are Counsel Secondly He expresses them in a different Number ours are in the Plural Number with an Expression of Multiplicity there are many Devices in the Heart of Man but God's Purposes are One Regular Vniform Council Thirdly A different manner of Existing is implyed our Purposes are conceiv'd in the Heart we can't bring them forth nor give them a Being out of our own Minds We may contrive and plot design and resolve but still the Devices are in our own Hearts 'T is not in our Power to accomplish and bring them to pass to make them firm and fast against Opposition But the Counsel of the Lord and every part of it shall stand So great is the Difference between God's Purposes and ours God's Thoughts and Ours But that which the Text refers to is the Dispensation of God's Grace and Mercy to Returning Sinners We must not measure God's Thoughts and Purposes by our own The Holy Scriptures represent them to be beyond our Fathom such as cannot enter into our Hearts to conceive 2 Cor. XI 9. And here I shall show the Difference be-between God's Thoughts and Ours as to two remarkable Instances among others 1. As to other Mens Sins and Offences against us and ours against God 2. As to our Afflictions and Sufferings from the Hand of God In both respects our Thoughts are very Vnlike God's very Different from his I. First We must not judge of God's Pardoning Mercy to us by our Thoughts and Carriage towards Others who have offended us For First We are easily suddenly quickly incens'd and provok'd to Anger Upon every little Affront and Injury Thoughts of Revenge are apt to rise in our Hearts We can bear very little with one another We must have other Thoughts of the Patience Forbearance and Long-suffering of God When the Disciples would have called for Fire from Heaven upon the Samaritans Luke IX 54. Our Lord told them Ye know not what Spirit ye are of 'T is not a Divine Spirit 't is not the Spirit of God that appears being so easily and presently provok'd Tho' God be offended and affronted by the Wicked every day and hath always Power to execute his Vengeance yet he bears with much Long-suffering and Patience even the Vessels of Wrath fitted for Destruction His Thoughts are not as ours in this Respect He hath reveal'd himself to be slow to Anger and of great Long-suffering and Patience Let us not Conclude that he cannot will not bear with us because we cannot bear with one another Secondly When we are injur'd and offended by Others we are not easily reconcil'd not ready to forgive don't seek after Peace Whereas the Blessed God whom we despise and provoke by multiply'd Crimes he waits to be Gracious and invites us to Return beseecheth us to be reconcil'd He freely offers to forgive us and assures us he will abundantly pardon 'T is true the Divine Spirit so far as it obtains and is communicated to any makes them easie to be entreated forward to forgive willing to be at peace with those that have injur'd 'em and not to return Evil or refuse Terms of Reconciliation But ordinarily it is manifest that our Temper and Carriage to other Men is quite Different And we should have very wrong Thoughts of God if we apprehend him to be as unwilling to forgive us as we often are to pardon those that have offended us Let us think of it with shame as to those that may have trespass'd against us What though they did begin the Quarrel and gave us just Occasion of Anger what though they have been unthankful and we have obliged them and deserv'd to be otherwise treated Shall we yet retain Anger let the Sun go down on our Wrath and discover an implacable Spirit How Different is this from the Divine Spirit and how unlike are our Thoughts to God's Thoughts You are not to think of God in this Particular according to what you find in your selves Thirdly Our Thoughts towards Others who have injur'd us are straitned and limited Possibly we may pardon once or twice pass by two or three Offences but if the same Person trespass again and again several times we think he hath no Right to be forgiven nor are we oblig'd to pardon him even tho' he should repent But our Lord hath told us otherwise Mat. XVIII 21. that if we will be like our Heavenly Father we must not only forgive seven times but seventy times seven We have but a little Pity our Bowels are straitned we can pardon but a few Offences but God doth abundantly pardon and show Mercy to a Thousand Generations and forgive Ten thousand Sins He hath a multitude of Mercies Psal V. 7. A multitude of Loving Kindnesses Isa LXIII 7. He is Rich in Mercy and Abundant in Goodness He can and doth forgive not only Sins before Repentance but Backslidings afterward His Compassions do not fail his Mercy endureth for ever therefore we are not consum'd You must not measure God by your selves nor his Thoughts by your Thoughts in this Particular Fourthly If we forgive those that Injure us we are backward to do them Good to treat them with Kindness and shew them Favour It may be we won't revenge our selves we 'll do them no Harm But we avoid them are shy toward them we will not be kind to them But God's Thoughts are not as ours in this Respect He follows us Rebels with continued Tokens of his Favour loads us with his Benefits every day of our Lives tho' we load him with our Sins He heaps Coals of Fire upon our Heads takes care of us supports supplies provides for us and is constantly kind to us even while we affront him And after he has forgiven us he takes us to be his Friends and Favourites and Children All the Mercies of thy past Life all thy present Enjoyments are from him against whom thou hast sinned Thou hast depended on his Providence ever since thou hadst a Being for daily Breath and daily Bread He saves thee from a thousand Deaths and Dangers thy Estate thy Health thy Credit thy Liberty thy Usefulness thy Comfort in Relations and whatever good thou hast he gave thee And he hath offer'd to give thee his Son his Spirit his Grace his Glory Himself to be thy All-sufficient Portion and God in Covenant And all this while thou hast been
Unfaithfulness of one Party in all Covenants disobliges the other Party In Answer to this I say He 's God and not Man His Thoughts are not as ours Among Men in all Covenants this is true but God's Thoughts and Ways are above ours Therfore if I yet return and take hold of his Covenant I may argue I am within the Bond of it and he will not utterly cast me off but forgive me upon Repentance I have read of one in Despair whom the Devil perswaded it was in vain to pray to God or serve him for he must perish he should be damned and go to Hell when he dy'd who yet went to Prayer and begg'd of God that if he must go to Hell when he dyed yet that it would please him to let him serve him while he liv'd Upon which his Terrors vanish'd being clearly convinc'd none could pray that Prayer or make such a Request who was guilty of the Unpardonable Sin or had sinn'd the Sin against the Holy Ghost Object 3. Some may say further But I have had many Fears and some Hopes for a time and I thought I was in Favour with God and had an Interest in this Forgiveneis But I have often heard it and I believe it that God never pardons Sin where he doth not subdue it Justification and Sanctification go together If the Guilt of Sin be forgiven the Power of it is broken But I find Corruption is strong evil Inclinations are still stirring and raging I never imagin'd there was such a Hell of Wickedness in my Heart as I now find There 's so much Impurity Carnality Pride Worldliness c. yet remaining in my Soul that I can't think my Sins are forgiven and that God will abundantly pardon me or hath done it because Sin is not mortified and subdued Answ God's Thoughts and yours are very different in this Matter For he attains Wise and Holy Ends by suffering us to feel Corruption and obliging us to continual Conflicts with it by sanctifying us gradually and not all at once by letting us see and feel more of Corruption stirring and striving after Conversion than ever we knew before Hereby he ingages us in constant Warfare all our days and makes it needful that we may apply to Christ continually as the great Physitian of Souls And I beseech you remember and believe this That No Sin no Corruption that is your Burden that you would rather be rid of than keep shall ever be damning to you It may be a Sign of more Grace that you sensibly complain of Corruption more than formerly If you faithfully oppose it 't is an Evidence your Hearts are softer Conscience more tender and you understand the Holy Law of God better Object 4. But after all some will say All this is good News to several but not to me I have nothing of the Spirit of Life and Power that accompanies Forgiveness I am dead in all my Duties I can't pray I have no such Liberty and Freedom and Liveliness in Prayer as others have I come to the Lord's-Table but I have no such Sealing no such Comfort no such Assurance no such Joy no such Foretasts of Heaven as I believe others have I keep on in a round of Duty but 't is not with me as with the Living Members of Christ Therfore I can't apply all this to my self with Comfort Answ God's Thoughts are not as yours in this Matter You object that you can't pray with such Life and Enlargement as others and as formerly But is it not your Burden Are you not dissatisfied with your selves about it Do you not beg the Spirit of Prayer and to have this ill Frame cur'd Do you not look up to Heaven with daily Sighs and Groans and beg Relief from Christ as weary and heavy laden under this Indisposition Let Conscience in the first place be faithful Is there not some great Guilt lately conctracted some Sin you have not repented of whereby you have griev'd the Holy Spirit of Christ and this stops your Mouths in Prayer and shames your Faces Or have you not rested too much in the Outward Performance of Duty and Attendance on the Ordinances of the Gospel You come to the Table of the Lord look upon it it may be as a Charm as too many make it on a Death-bed you expect it shall work like Physick in a Natural not in a Moral Way And by meer Coming whatever you have been or done before or however negligent you have been in your Preparatory Work you expect that it should be all one with you If you can charge your selves with any thing of this you must renew your Repentance If Conscience doth not accuse you in this Matter Consider God's Thoughts are not as yours He knows what is from the Weakness of the Flesh and what from the Willfulness of the Spirit He knows what Deadness and Distraction may arise from the Infirmity of the Body and what is the Sin of the Soul If upon all these Accounts you lose the Evidence of your Acceptance with God and fear the worst Yet when a Man hath lost his Acquittance for a Debt paid 't is a Comfort to him to consider that the Man he deals with is a merciful good Man tho' he cannot find his Discharge God is infinitely Gracious and is ready to restore what you complain you have lost It was David's Case Psalm 51. Yea if thou fearest thy Grace was never true thy Heart never right with God thy State never good there is Mercy enough in God to pardon all thy former Hypocrisie If now thou return and seek him with thy whole Heart There are Promises of Grace in such a Case to be pleaded that God will give an Heart of Flesh give a Spirit of Mourning put his Fear within thee and cause thee to walk in his Statutes Therfore do not fruitlessly bemoan thy self and sit down in Despondency but consult the Word of God and seek to the Throne of Grace with Hope whatever thy Objections and Temptations be Whatever you do take heed of dishonourable Thoughts of the Grace and Mercy of God and of the Security he hath given to perform every Word of Promise wherein he hath commanded us to hope To Conclude Since we are so near the End of this Year and many design and hope to renew their Covenant the next Lord's-day at his Table I beg you to consider and remember it for your Encouragement that God's Thoughts are not as yours Whatever Sins you have been guilty of the last Year whatever you can charge your selves with as to Unworthy Receiving the Lord's Supper for the time past yet if now you will seriously Examine your selves and humble your Souls and return to the Lord and apply to Christ and stir up your selves to be dispos'd as Penitent Believers to renew your Covenant-Vow and Engagement to be the Lord's this next time he will forgive the Sins of all your former Sacraments all the Sins of the last Year and
it the daily Burden of your Hearts that you inwardly sanctifie God no more and glorifie him so little in the World Are your Thoughts Desires Opinions and and Designs chang'd The Bent of your Souls and the Course of your Lives altered Can you say My Heart is inclin'd to keep thy Statutes always even to the end Psal CXIX 112. I esteem all his Commandments concerning all things to be right and am desirous to know the whole Will of God that I may do it And if in particular Instances by Temptation you turn out of the Way and contract Guilt are you restless and uneasie 'till you return to God Can you say with the Psalmist I have kept the Way of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from him for all his Judgments were before me and I did not put away his Statutes from me I was also upright before him and kept my self from mine Iniquity Psal XVIII 21 22 23. I confess as to Sins that by the Temperament and Constitution of the Body we are more inclin'd and tempted to than to other Sins a Total Victory is not to be expected so as in no Degrees to fall into such Sins after Repentance Take heed in such Cases that you rise again speedily by Repentance that you walk softly and humbly and that the principal Tendency of your Repentance and Prayer be against those Sins And you will gradually get Strength against 'em So as to say that no Iniquity hath Dominion over you that you are not the willing Servants of Sin so as to love it and deliberately to allow it but the Desire of your Soul is to be freed from it to have Sin subdu'd as well as forgiven III. What can you say as to the Receiving Loving and Prizing of Christ by whom we have Forgiveness Have you heartily Accepted of him in all his Offices as offered in the Gospel Assenting to his Doctrine as a Teacher sent from God and our great Prophet Relying on his Sacrifice and Mediation as our great High-Priest And subjecting to him as Lord and Ruler This is Receiving him as Christ Jesus the Lord. This is an Honour due to him for the Pardon and Salvation he hath procured for us And God hath made it necessary to our Interest in the Benesits of his Death Do we assent to the Doctrine of Salvation reveal'd and publish'd by Christ and attested from Heaven as certainly true That Jesus is the Christ of God and Whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have Everlasting Life Hereupon are we brought to trust to the Mercy of God in Christ in Hopes of his Salvation which is freely tendred unto Sinners in the Gospel Do we subject our selves entirely to him as one whom God hath exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins Resolving to be sway'd by his Authority and rul'd by his Direction and follow him as our Captain and Commander Guide and Saviour as long as we live Endeavouring in Heart and Life to be well pleasing in his Sight that whether we live or dye we may be His If your Sins are forgiven 't is for Christ's sake Consider what Application have you ever made to him for the cleansing Virtue of his Blood Since if you are washed if you are pardoned it must be through the Blood of the Lamb have you look'd to him whom you have pierced and mourn'd and been in Bitterness for him as one that is in Bitterness for his first born Zac. XII 10. Have you lookt upon a Crucify'd Saviour Bleeding Groaning Dying for Sin to reconcile us to God and turn us from our Iniquities Have you been answerably affected with the Sufferings of Christ and improv'd thereby in your Hatred of Sin IV. What Thankfulness to God and what Love to Jesus Christ the Redeemer doth the Hope of Forgiveness excite in you You read how the Penitent in the Gospel Loved much because much was forgiven Luke VII 47. How did St. Peter appeal to Christ after the Forgiveness of his Sin Lord thou that knowest all things knowest that I love thee Your Love to Christ and every thing that relates to him will be a good Argument of the Forgiveness of Sin For having Peace with God the Love of Christ is shed abroad in our Hearts How have your Hearts been affected with Thankfulness to God for the Riches of his Grace in this Forgiveness For the Purchase of it for the Offer of it and for any good Hope of your special Interest in it What admiring Thoughts have you of the Height and Depth Length and Breadth of the Love of God in Christ to lost Sinners With what Thoughts do you Consider the Curse of the Law the Terrors of Death the Power of Satan and the Wrath of God From all which you are deliver'd by Christ With what Affection do you Contemplate the Innumerable Glorious Priviledges Benefits and Blessings that accompany this Forgiveness With what Admiring Love to the Redeemer do you from time to time review his Condescension and Humiliation How low he stoopt and how readily How great things he suffered and how willingly Even to drink the Dregs of that bitter Cup which but to taste of would have made Men and Angels stagger into Hell With what Frame of Spirit can you consider Christ offer'd upon the Cross for you making his Soul a Ransom for you When you Consider with particular Application to your selves He gave himself for me shed his precious Blood for me O my Soul 't was that I might escape Condemnation that I might be reconcil'd to God that my Crimson and Scarlet Sins might be pardoned that my Guilty Polluted Miserable Soul might be restor'd to the Image of God and Communion with him What Affections what Joy have you from such Thoughts Especially at the Lord's-Table when you consider his Body broken for you his Blood shed for the Remission of your Sins wounded for your Transgressions bruised for your Iniquities that by his Stripes you might be healed V. Moreover How are you affected with the Sins that you hope God hath pardon'd Do your Souls melt with a Godly Sorrow for those Crimes that you hope are forgiven What penitent Mourning doth the Psalmist express in Psal 51. which was penn'd after God assur'd him that his Adultery and Murder should be forgiven and after the Prophet had told him The Lord hath put away thy Sin O Lord have Mercy upon me and wash me and cleanse me and blot out my Transgression Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this Evil in thy Sight c. What Influence hath God's free Mercy in pardoning Sin upon you as to Shame and Sorrow for it Doth the Thoughts that after all thy Provocations God will be reconciled humble and shame thee the more To this purpose you know the Holy Spirit is promised in the Times of the Gospel Ezek. XVI 63. That thou may'st remember and be confounded and never open thy Mouth any more
because of thy shame when I am pacify'd toward thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord. Is this the Language of your Hearts He might have condemn'd me to Hell long agoe but through the Precious Blood of Jesus I have Hopes of Forgiveness O what an Ungrateful Wretch have I been What Love have I despised Against whom have I sinned How have I rebell'd against the God of Love and Grace and griev'd his good Spirit Against what Bowels of Mercy have I spurn'd I am astonished at the Mercy of God in Christ offer'd to such a Rebel as I am I am confounded at my own Vileness that such Hainous Iniquities should be blotted out that such numberless Iniquities should be forgiven that after I had so often and so long and so wilfully turn'd my Back upon him he should yet call after me and say I am he behold I am he that bletteth out thy Transgression for my own Name sake and will remember thy sins no more That when God saw me and might have punished me might have made me an Example of his Justice here or might have sent me quick to Hell or might have left me unto Hardness of Heart to treasure up Wrath against the Day of Wrath that he should freely forgive me all and be graciously reconcil'd to me and speak Pardon and Peace to my Soul O Wretch that I have been O Abominable Sinner I abhor my self in Dust and Ashes We find this Exemplify'd in the Temper and Spirit of those to whom the Mercy and Grace of God is discovered especially in the Apostle Paul He aggravates his Sin and owns himself the Chiefest of Sinners and never more so than when he is thinking and speaking of Christ's Coming into the World to save Sinners and how wonderfully he called him and show'd Mercy to him Read this at large 1 Tim. I. 14 15 16 17. And the sight of God's Mercy and Sense of his Pardon is in it self proper to raise an Admiration of Free Grace and to humble the Soul before God It is proper to encrease our Detestation of Sin and make us loath our selves That which raiseth our Love to God must needs raise our Hatred of Sin and Sorrow for it Now Faith will make us Love much in the Sence of having much Forgiven Besides the Inseperable Connection between Faith and Repentance will evidence this We shall never adore the Love of Christ as a Redeemer delivering us from the Curse if we are not burden'd with the Weight of our Sins Nor shall we ever give God the Glory of his Justice without judging and condemning our selves by true Repentance Yet the more we see and apprehend of his Grace and Love in Forgiveness the more broken and contrite the more humbled and ashamed shall we be of our Sins against him VI. Lastly What can you say as to the Love of your Enemies and forgiving those who have injured and wronged you There is no better Evidence of God's forgiveness of your Trespasses than that he hath given you an Heart to forgive Others who have trespassed against you If it be upon a right Principle because God for Christ's sake hath pardon'd you and obliged you to forgive Others Lord Was there ever such a Distance between my Brother and me as my Sins have made between God and me Were the Injuries I resented from Others comparable to the Affronts I have offer'd to God and hath he freely for Christ's sake forgiven me What Influence hath such a Thought to cure and overcome the Ruggedness and Roughness of your Temper and Spirit towards Others If God hath pardon'd thee go and do likewise as to thy Brother For if you forgive not Men their Trespasses your Heavenly Father hath not and will not forgive you yours Mat. VI. 14. If you have a Rancorous Bitter Malicious Revengeful Spirit and will not forgive those that have wronged you how can you expect Forgiveness from God Do you then forgive those that have injured you as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Heartily and without Dissembling Speedily and without Delay Frequently and Often without Limitation Even unto seventy times seven if our Brother offend that is so often as he doth And this Throughly and without Reserve without Exception or Equivocation without Remembring past Offences so as to bear them a Grudge This I grant is hard and difficult Work but the Spirit of Christ can enable us to do this 'T is the manifest Duty of such as are forgiven and it is a Sign and Evidence that they are so Hath God forgiven me my Scarlet and Crimson Sins and shall not I put up an Injury bear a Wrong endure a Reproach or an ill Turn from my Fellow Creature Shall I not in Obedience to Christ forgive him and pass it by By these things if Conscience be faithful you may be assisted to make a Judgment of your selves whether you are interested in this Forgiveness or no. And if your Sins have been many and great whether you may on good Grounds hope and say that God hath Abundantly Pardon'd THE Fourth Sermon ISAIAH LV. 9. For My Thoughts are not your Thoughts neither are your Ways My Ways saith the Lord. III. I Proceed to the Third General in this Passage viz. The annex'd Reason Verse the 9th why we ought to be fully satisfy'd and perswaded that God will thus receive Returning Sinners and abundantly pardon them because His Thoughts are not as ours nor his Ways as ours c. And here you may Consider First How this is Discover'd and Express'd by a Double Comparison of God's Thoughts with ours and his Ways with ours Secondly How 't is strongly argu'd by a most significant Similitude As far as the Heavens are above the Earth c. Thirdly The express Assurance of the Truth of all this from the Divine Testimony that is added Thus saith the Lord. That no Doubt may be made about it The whole of this may be compriz'd in these Three Particulars First That the Thoughts of God especially in the Dispensation of his Grace and Mercy to Returning Sinners are very different from our Thoughts and Transcendently above them as far as the Heavens are above the Earth Secondly That the Ways of God are unlike our Ways and Transcendently above them Thirdly That God's Testimony concerning his Thoughts and Ways of Grace and Mercy to Sinners ought to be credited and depended upon and is a sufficient Ground of Faith Thus saith the Lord being added 'T is the first I principally design that the Thoughts of God are not as ours but very unlike them and Transcendently above them as far as the Heavens are above the Earth This I shall Endeavour to Prove Confirm and Apply And here are two Things will need a little Explication First How the Thoughts of God are Different from ours not like them Secondly How they are Transcendently above them as far as the Heavens are above the Earth The First I shall consider more Generally The Second
in Rebellion against him a Wretched Criminal against the Lord of thy Life and the God of thy Mercies O how unlike are God's Thoughts to ours in this Respect Considering what our Thoughts are to those who have injur'd and offended us II. Secondly Consider your selves under Affliction and Suffering from the Hand of God and how different God's Thoughts and yours are in that Respect also First We presently conclude that 't is all from Anger and Wrath whereas God says Whom he loves he chastens and that 't is for our good and that we are dealt with as Sons and not as Bastards Heb. XII 5 6. Psal CXIX 75. Secondly We are pettish and froward peevish and perverse under the Rod of Affliction while God's Thoughts are Thoughts of Peace toward us When For the Iniquity of his Covetousness I was wroth because he had no Heart to do good with what I lent him saith God concerning Ephraim and I sote him he went on frowardly in the way of his own Heart Nevertheless I have seen his ways I will heal him I will lead him and restore Comfort to him Isa LVII 17 18. Thirdly We often under Affliction take every hiding of God's Face for an utter Rejection of us whereas God hath no such Thoughts He hath us still in his Eye and bears us on his Heart hath our Names graven on the Palmes of his Hand loves us still tho' he rebuke us and will convince us of it by seasonable Comforts and Deliverance Jer. XXXI 18 19 20. Is Ephraim my dear Son I have heard him bemoaning himself saith God thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a Bullock unaccustomed to the Yoke turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God Is he my dear Son or rather is he not so is he a pleasant Child is he not so still to me For since I spake against him I do remember him still therefore my Bowels are turned for him I will surely have Mercy upon him saith the Lord. Fourthly God's Thoughts are not as ours in respect of Affliciton as t othe Continuance of the Rod. We are often ready to sink and be dispirited and overwhelm'd in a Time of Darkness as if it would never be Light We are ready to give up all for lost and conclude that God is gone for ever and will be Merciful no more Saying Our Bones are dryed up our Hope is lost we are cut off for our parts Ezek. XXXVII 11. Whereas God's thoughts are otherwise he 'll make those dry Bones live and fetch them out of the Grave of Affliction His Thoughts are Thoughts of Peace to give us a Desired End Jer. XXIX 11. How many have thought and said in their Despair that God's Mercy was gone for ever concerning whom he hath manifested that his Thoughts are not as theirs Fifthly God's Thoughts are not as ours as to the End and Design which he aims at in our Affliction We think he intends not to refine but ruine not to purifie but destroy Whereas in Faithfulness he afflicts where he knows we need it to purge away our Dross and take away our Tin and to produce the Peaceable Fruits of Righteousness By this shall the Iniquity of Jacob be purged and this shall be the fruit of all to take away sin Isa XXVII 9. Do but wait a little and you 'l see how you have been mistaken in your Apprehensions of God and how his Thoughts have been unlike to yours II. Let us consider in the Second Place that God's Thoughts are not only different from ours but Transcendently above them as far and as high as the Heavens are above the Earth First as to the Kind and Nature of them First His THoughts of Grace and Kindness are of an unsearchable Depth O the Depth of the Riches of the Wisdom and the Knowledge of God! whose Ways of Mercy as well as Judgment are unsearchable and past our finding out Rom. XI 33. There is a Depth in them beyond the Line of Men and Angels to measure Psal XCII 5. O Lord how great are thy Works and thy Thoughts are very deep In the Revelation of God's Grace and Mercy to Sinners by the Gospel we read of the deep thigns of God such as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither hath it entred in t othe Heart of Man to conceive 1 Cor. XI 1 Such Depths that amaze the very Angels to look into 1 Pet. I. 12. Secondly God's Thoughts of Love and Mercy are Absolute Soveraign and Independent 'T is all after the Counsel of his own Will and from the meer Good Pleasure of his Will This is the Source and Spring of all his Mercy and Forgiveness Thirdly God's Thoughts of Mercy are Faithful and Effectual ALl the Declarations of his Mercy shall be made good All the Promives of Grace shall be fulfilled All the Thoughts of his Love shall have their Effects O Lord I will exalt thee for thy Counsels of Old are Faithfulness and Truth Isa XXV 1. All his Ways are Mercy and Truth he keepeth Covenant and Mercy for ever Psal LXXXIX 28 29. Tho' he visit their Iniquities with the Rod yet his Loving Kindness will he not take from them nor suffer his Faithfulness to fail Therfore Fourthly It may be added that God's Thoughts are Vnchangeable but ours are Variable The Strength of Israel will not lye or repent He is not a Man that he should lye nor the Son of Man that he should repent 1 Sam. XV. 29. The Medicator of the New Covenant lives for ever to make Intercession for Sinners Fifthly His Thoughts of Mercy are infinitely Pure and infinitely Righteous We shall never fully understand the infinite Righteousness of God's Thoughts and Ways 'till the Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God He is Righteous in all his Counsels and in all his Works all his Ways are equal Righteous art thou O Lord when I plead with thee The Psalmist tells us that God will carry on his Thoughts of Mercy and perfect his Grace and make it thrive and grow To show that he is upright and there 's no Vnrighteousness in him Psal XCII last Secondly God's Thoughts of Grace and Mercy are transcendently above ours in the Way and Manner of his dispensing his Grace and Mercy The Dispensation of his Love and Grace to Sinners is that which passeth Knowledge as to the Manner of it And when this Love is shed abroad in the Heart there is a Peace resulting from it which is better felt than exprest Something may be conceived and spoken but there 's a great deal which is above the reach of Words for we have no Line to measure it by no Scale in all the World to weigh it in We have nothing to compare it unto but falls unspeakably short No Kindness no Love no Charity or Affection of one Creature to another by which we can set it forth The nearest and dearest among Men is as much below this as Earth is