Gospel Remission, Treatise · Chapter 16
CHAP. XVI. Of the ſeveral Miſtakes of Men about the Pardon of their Sins.
OUr work now is to ſhew who they are that have their ſins pardoned; for there is nothing in all the world ſo much concerns us, as to know how things ſtand with us in relation to God and our ſouls, whether we be pardoned or no; for a miſtake in this is a wonderful miſtake; and yet how many thouſands are there that venture the weight of this great buſineſs upon poor, weak, and ſlight grounds, yea rather on meer ſuggeſtions of their own hearts? and therefore we muſt firſt labour to convince men of their miſtakes about pardon of ſin; and then lay down ſome ſound Evidences of pardon, in which there may be true and ſolid peace. People are exceeding apt to miſtake in point of pardon of ſin, hoping that God has pardoned them, and that they ſhall not be laid to their charge, but upon very ſlight grounds that will deceive them; And therefore I deſire this day you would look upon your ſelves as arraign'd before the great God, as one day you muſt be: And let your hearts ſo hear, and attend to what we deliver, as if God ſhould ſpeak to you, and ſay, Thou ſinner, ſuch and ſuch things thou art privy to, and haſt been guilty of, What can'ſt thou ſay why the ſentence of everlaſting death ſhould not be paſt upon thee? why God ſhould not declare againſt thee according to his Law? I ſuppoſe, ſcarce any of you but have ſome hope that God will never proceed againſt you according to his Law; for indeed, if he do, you are undone for ever. But what are the grounds of your hopes; why you think God will not proceed againſt you for your ſins, but will paſs them by, and forgive you? let us a little examine the grounds of it, for it is of very great Conſequence; and certainly many people are now ſunk down into the bottomleſs pit of Hell, by reſting upon falſe grounds; I ſhall labour to diſcover the weakneſs of their ſtanding, that reſt on falſe grounds, the
Firſt, Is this many, think that God has pardoned their ſin, becauſe it is but little they have been guilty of, and for that they think there is a pardon in courſe; were I guilty of ſuch horrible wickedneſs, and notorious ſins, as many others are; then I think it would go hard with me; I ſhould be affraid, things between God and me were very grievous, but the ſins I have been guilty of, are no ſuch great ſins; I hope God will paſs them by: God forbid I ſhould think he were ſo ſtrickt as not to paſs by ſuch ſmall ſins as thoſe that I have been guilty of. For anſwer to this
Anſw.1 Know thou doſt not underſtand, what the evil and malignity of ſin means; If thou thinkſt the leaſt ſin does not make ſuch a breach between God and thee, as all created power in Heaven and Earth, can never make up again: if you do not beleive that all thoſe Sermons preacht unto you about the evil of ſin, are loſt unto you. But know, as a little Penknife may ſtabb you to death; as truly as a gaſh of the greateſt Sword, and a little ſhot out of a Piſtol may kill you as well as a Canon bullet; So a little ſin may prove your eternal ruine as well as a great one: and therefore that is no argument that God hath paſt by your ſins, becauſe they are little ones; and for that conſider this one thing I am further ſpeaking of:
2. Gods pardoning mercy is his own, to do with it what he pleaſes; and therefore that God may ſhew his prerogative, he will ſometimes to ſome, pardon their great ſins, and others he will damn for little ſins; you think your ſins are not ſo great as other mens, and therefore you think that God will forgive you; do not deceive your ſelves with this, God will do with his mercy what he pleaſes. What if he will pardon the moſt notorious groſs ſins in others, and damn thee for thy ſins in thoughts? what if he will pardon the moſt notorious uncleanneſs and murder in another, and damn thee for a wanton thought? he may do it, for his mercy is his own: For this take the example of David and Saul compared together, David committed many ſins, but eſpecially thoſe two of Adultery and Murder, and yet God pardoned him, but Saul committed far leſs ſins then thoſe, and yet God caſt him off for ever; the things on which God laid the caſting off of Saul were theſe two ſins.
1. He did not ſtay till Samuel came, when Samuel had appointed a time to come, he deferr'd it to the laſt minute, and Saul was in a great ſtrait, he tarry'd for him long, and he thought he muſt not go to war except he offer'd Sacrifice before, and he ventured to offer it himſelf, and did not ſtay out the full time; he ſtaid ſo long till he thought that Samuel would not come, and then that he did was but to offer Sacrifice to God, and yet God laies this very thing unto his charge as a cauſe why he would caſt him off. 1 Sam. 13.13. Samuel tells him that God had thought to eſtabliſh the Kingdom for ever unto him, But now he will not; you are gone Saul for this ſin: the 2. ſin in Scripture on which God layes his caſting off upon is this, God ſent him againſt the Amalekites, and bad him deſtroy all, but he ſpar'd the fat of the flock, and the King. Now the ſparing of the fat of the flock was done out of a good intention, he profeſſes it was that the People might have of the fatteſt to offer in Sacrifice to God, a good intention and yet for this God tells him, that he would rend the Kingdom from him, for that thing, 1 Sam. 15.28. True it is, that though Saul was guilty of other ſins, yet if you obſerve the ſtory, you ſhall finde that theſe were the two ſins for which God puts the caſting away of Saul upon. And yet David committed murder and adultery, and was not caſt off; why? Why if God will ſhew his prerogative, what hath the creature to reaſon with him for it, if he will damn Saul for his ſins that were leſs, and pardon Davids that were greater, what haſt thou to do with that? his mercy is his own: Thou think'ſt it may be becauſe thou couldſt put a man off with this reaſon, my ſins are ſmall, and therefore I may be forgiven them becauſe they are not ſo great as others: Grant it may be ſo, yet know that tis not ſo with God, he may pardon great ſins in others, and yet thou maiſt periſh eternally for the leaſt ſins of all, and therefore take this for a Concluſion; If thou haſt no other ground for the pardon of thy ſin; but becauſe they are little ones; I pronounce in the name of God againſt thee this day, thy ſins are not pardoned; But ſtand upon the file, and thou ſhalt externally periſh in them, if thou haſt no other ground then that, to ſhew for the pardon of them; and therefore never make that an argument, that they are pardoned, becauſe they are leſs then others.
Plea.Secondly, Others it may be will plead, my ſins are not many; we are all ſinners, but I have not multiplied and increaſed my ſins as others have done. I ſhall anſwer to that briefly, know that one ſin is enough to damn thee, Anſw.as fully as a Million of tranſgreſſions reiterated again, and again; One chain is enough to hold thee in everlaſting darkneſs, and God may damn thee for one ſin, as well as for never ſo many thouſands, as you have heard, he did the Angels for their firſt, and but one ſin; and therefore though thy ſins are not many, that is no argument at all. Further, we may obſerve in the way of Gods pardoning mercy; he pardons ſome that have gone a long time on in their ſins, and makes quick worke with others that have been but a little time in ſin, and that we may ſee in the example of Manaſſes and Amon; compare thoſe two together, in the example of Manaſſes you ſhall finde that he raigned ſome 55 years; he was a notorious vile ſinner againſt God; and yet he raigned a long time in it, his converſion was but late. 2 Kings 21.1. He was 12. years old, when he began to raign, and he raigned 55. years in Jeruſalem; and almoſt all this time he went on in committing moſt notorious abominations, and yet God pardoned him. But now mark, his Son Amon comes after him, and perhaps he might reaſon thus, my Father lived thus and thus, and for a long time had his luſt and deſires, and why may not I venture to do as my Father did; and ſo he went on in his Fathers wickedneſs; but now mark, God comes preſently upon him, and lets him live but two years, and theres an end of him. Manaſſes continued 55. years, and his Son comes after him, and he would go on in his Fathers ſteps, and God preſently cut him off; ſo though ſome may continue in whoredom, and in other abominations, and perhaps live in Outward proſperity many years, 40 or 50 years, yet God may paſs them by, and then if thou ſinn'ſt after their example, he may come upon thee for the firſt or ſecond act, cut the off, and ſend thee down preſently to Hell; and therefore do not ſay, my ſins are but few, and therefore God will paſs them by, that is no argument at all.
Thirdly, The third falſe ground that others apprehend their ſins are pardoned is this, becauſe the guilt of them does not lie upon their Conſciences; they think they are not guilty of their ſins, and ſay, they were committed a great while ago, and a long time hath paſt, and they heard not of them; and therefore they think they ſhall never hear of them more, God hath quite paſt them over, becauſe they were committed a long time ſince, and they have not heard of them. Anſw. Do not deceive your ſelves in this, for the ſins that you have committed twenty, fourty, or ſixty years ago, though thou never heard'ſt of them ſince, it is no argument that they are pardoned; for they may be on the file in Heaven, ſtand there upon Record, and lie as a debt againſt you all, though they were committed eighty years ago; 'tis no argument a Malefactor is pardoned, becauſe the Aſſize is not to morrow, or next day; 'tis true, God will have his Aſſize for ſome ſooner; but for you he hath reſerved it till another time; and therefore 'tis you hear not of you ſins, Exod. 32.34. In the day when I viſit, I will viſit their ſin upon them: God has his day, and perhaps his day is not come to viſit; and therefore thou thinkeſt thou art diſcharged, becauſe the day of Gods Viſitation is not come to thee. And Secondly, know further, that though thy ſins were committed a great while ſince, yet in regard of Gods Eternity, they are to him as if they were committed this morning before thou cameſt to the Aſſembly, although you committed them fourty or fifty years ago, yet to God they are but as a ſin committed yeſterday; it may be you think your Conſciences would fly in your faces, if you were drunk yeſternight, and ſhould come to the Sacrament this morning; and certainly he muſt be a deſperate wretch, a monſtrous notorious villain, that ſhould dare to come to the Sacrament this morning that was drunk the laſt night, the laſt week, and never made his peace with God, his Conſcience may fly in his face if he were not a Monſter: but now, your ſins that were committed fourty or fifty years ago, know they are to God as if they were committed but this morning; for Gods eternity conſiſts not in paſſing and coming; but in this, that there is no ſucceſſion with God, no time paſt, nor time to come with God; all time to God is as a perpetual now: and therefore all thy ſins that thou haſt committed in time paſt, is in the eye of God as if they were committed this very hour; there's a great deal of need to underſtand this rightly, for the humbling of men and women, by cauſing them to look back upon their ſins, and to lay them to heart; for they are thus preſented before God, as if they were committed this very moment, Job 14.16, 17. Doſt thou not watch over my ſin? my tranſgreſſion is ſealed up in a bag, and thou ſoweſt up mine iniquity: God watches over your ſins, and will come upon you for them; they are ſealed up in a bag: ſometimes when I have ſeen the Clerk of the Aſſizes draw out his Indictments, ſuch a one for murder, and ſuch a one for Felony; it put me in mind of this Text; thoſe Indictments againſt men were put up in the Clerk of the Aſſizes bag, it may be a good while before: and now at the Aſſizes they are drawn out and read openly in the face of the Court; ſo are thy ſins all put in a bag, and God in the day of Viſitation he pulls them out, and reads them openly before Men and Angels. We have an example in Scripture, how God did come on men for ſins committed a long while before, as the example of Joſeph's Brethren, who ſold him, and after this they went on and never heard of it till a long time after; it appears not that their Conſciences were troubled till two and twenty years after they had committed that ſin; till they came into Egypt, and were in affliction, and then their Conſciences began to fly in their faces; for the ſin they committed againſt their Brother: Joſeph was ſeventeen years old when he was ſold, and when he ſtood before Pharaoh he was thirty, there's thirteen years; and then ſeven years of plenty, and two years of famine before they came into Egypt; there's two and twenty years, before their Conſciences did fly in their faces for their ſin againſt their Brother: Take heed what you do; for the ſins of your youth may be a torment to your old age: it may be you little think of it; but remember, when you are old God may come and reckon with you for the ſins of your youth: 'tis and ſhould be a great argument to make people to take heed of ſin; for thoſe ſins thou committeſt now may do thee a miſchief fourty or ſixty years hence; as in the natural body, many young men though they feel no diſtempers in their bodies for the preſent, and ſo care not for their diet, nor how to avoid Surfits: yet after they grow old, then they feel their diſtempers in their joynts and bones, which is no other than their drunkenneſs and intemperance when they were young; ſo 'tis in regard of the ſoul, many in their younger years do greatly follow after wickedneſs, and becauſe they hear not of it, they go away and never are troubled; but afterwards in their old age, God comes upon them for the ſins of their youth: Joab when he was young committed ſin, but when his hoary head was on him, God then came to him in wrath for it; and therefore think not all thy ſins are pardoned, becauſe 'tis a great while ago ſince they were committed; but rather reckon up thy former ſins and bewail them, and do not reſt on this ground, becauſe 'tis long ſince they were committed, 'tis not to be built upon, you muſt look for other grounds, or elſe you are undone for ever, for this will certainly fail you.
Fourthly, Others reaſon that God has pardoned their ſins, not only becauſe they have been committed a great while ago; but they have had proſperity, it hath been well with them, and God has done them good; and certainly if God had not pardoned their ſins, God would never have let them thrive; I ſhall ſpeak but little to this, for theſe reaſonings are very vain, (there are others I ſhall more inſiſt upon; know this, thou makeſt it an argument of Gods pardoning mercy, it may rather be an argument of Gods eternal curſe, for God to ſuffer a man to proſper much after great ſins committed, it is a ſign that God hath given that man over to hardneſs of heart, which is the moſt dreadful curſe in the world; after God had rejected Saul, 1 Sam. 14, 15. Chapters you may read Saul had a great deal of ſucceſs in his way immediately after God had caſt him off; ſo though God have caſt off a man or a woman, yet that man or woman may have much ſucceſs in their way; you that are Marriners, you cannot draw an argument, that becauſe you have had a good Voyage, and have paſt ſuch dangers, (though you have committed many ſins,) that God is at peace with you, and that all your faults are paſt over; no, you may have many good ſucceſſes in in your Voyages, and yet periſh at length for the ſins you have committed in your Voyages; and ſo you may have good ſucceſs, as Saul had good ſucceſs in war, and yet was caſt off for all that.
Fifthly, Others ſay, we are not ſo vain to make outward proſperity an argument or ground that our ſins are pardoned: but we ſorrow for ſin, repent of them, and turn from them, and rely on Gods mercy through Chriſt that our ſins are pardoned, theſe are arguments of a higher nature than the former; and if there be true ſorrow, unfaigned repentance, reformation, and a truſting in Gods mercy through Jeſus Chriſt, they will be good arguments indeed: but now I ſhall ſhew you there may be all theſe, and yet ſin not pardoned; yea a relying on Chriſt at leaſt, ſo as people may think they rely upon Chriſt, and yet not ſin pardoned.
1. Though theſe things we mentioned laſt may ſeem to be hard, yet the tryal of them is a very ſafe and wholſome thing, becauſe if you miſtake in this, you are undone; you will examine Evidences for your Houſes and Lands; do ſo in the great matters between God and your ſouls: And for ſorrow for ſin, I ſhall make it plain, there may be a great deal of ſorrow for ſin, and yet ſin not pardoned; you know the example of Ahab, 1 King. 21.27, to 29. verſes, And it came to paſs when Ahab heard thoſe words, that he rent his clothes, and put ſackcloath upon his fleſh, and faſted, and lay in ſackcloath and went ſoftly; when God did but ſend the Prophet to tell him of his ſin, preſently upon the Prophets words he rent his clothes, which was a ſign of extream ſorrow in thoſe times, and then he put on Sackcloath: he put off his Princely Robes, his brave Apparrel, and put on Sackcloath, and that not for an outward garment, but upon his fleſh, and then faſted and lay in Sackcloath, and went ſoftly as a dejected man: the pride and ſtoutneſs of his heart ſeem'd to be ſo much abated, that God takes notice of it in the 29. verſe, Seeſt thou how Ahab humbleth himſelf before me; and becauſe he did ſo, the judgment was deferred for a while; yet certainly Ahab's ſin was not, or ever ſhould be pardoned, though he put on Sackcloath and humbled himſelf before the Lord: I appeal unto you this morning, Are not many of you hoping for pardon of ſin, and yet come far ſhort of Ahab? all you do in your repentance, is to ſay, God be merciful unto me, I am ſorry, Lord forgive me, and there's an end, all's done preſently; but Ahab went a great deal further, and yet his ſin was not pardoned: Take the example of Eſau, you know what the Scripture ſays of him, He ſought the bleſſing with tears, and yet found no place for repentance; and in being rejected of the bleſſing, it was a type of his rejection of Heaven; ſome carry it thus, to prove there may be tears, and yet no true repentance, that is a truth; Eſau was very much troubled, and ſhed many tears, and yet there was no true repentance: but I rather take the meaning of the Text thus; he found no place of repentance in his Father Iſaac; his Father Iſaac had given the bleſſing to Jacob, and would not call it back, though he ſought it with tears; there was no place for Iſaac to recal it any more, though he ſhed many tears, yet he went without it; ſo that there may be much ſorrow, and thou may'ſt ſeek the bleſſing with many tears, and yet God may be ſo turn'd againſt thee that there will be no place for repentance, that is, God will not call in that that is out againſt thee. And of Judas 'tis ſaid when he ſaw Chriſt was condemn'd, that he repented; 'tis ſaid he did repent, yet Judas was not pardoned; ſo that you ſee plainly, there may be repentance, and yet ſin never pardoned: Indeed, true repentance hath ever pardon going along with it; but the Scripture ſpeaks of a repentance that may be without pardon; therefore when thou ſay'ſt thou repenteſt, you muſt not look upon it ſo, becauſe you repent, therefore your ſins are pardoned, as if every repentance was true; for thou miſtakeſt in the work of repentance, thou thinkeſt this to be repentance to Salvation, for thee to be ſorry at the very heart for thy ſins; certainly thou may'ſt be ſorry at the heart, and yet periſh for all that; I make no queſtion but Judas was ſorry at his heart, and wiſht it had never been done, and if it were to do again, he would never do it; there is as much expreſt, he repented, and he brought the 30 pieces again; he was not only ſorrowful, but made ſatisfaction; he brought the mony back again that he had got in a wicked way: and therefore if you think this to be true repentance, you are mightily miſtaken, but wherein is it that we fail? It is not for me now to enter on the Doctrine of true Repentance, I am to ſpeak of it ſo far as to convince men, that it is not a ground for hope of pardon of ſin: Mark it, when 'tis thus with thee, thou repenteſt becauſe thou ſeeſt that ſin will bring thee into danger: Now, thou haſt had the pleaſure or the profit of it, and thou ſeeſt now it will bring thee into trouble and danger, thou art ſorry that ever thou did'ſt it: certainly, if God would be ſatisfied with ſuch kind of ſorrow, he might have enough of it in Hell; for there is yelling and ſorrow, becauſe of the troubles that ſin hath brought upon them: to ſorrow becauſe of the trouble that our ſins bring on us is meerly natural, and flows from nature it ſelf, and far from a ſaving work of repentance; therefore the repentance many hope to have, What is it? when we tell them of their ſins, they ſay, they hope to repent; What do they mean? Why? they would take the pleaſure of ſin, and when the puniſhment comes, they would be ſorry for it, and repent of it: the ordinary way to put men off from this plea, is to tell them How do you know you ſhall live, or that your hearts ſhall not be hardned? but ſuppoſe you do live, and that you have a heart to do as you ſay, yet your repentance may fail you; if your repentance be no other than that which comes for ſorrow of ſin, becauſe of the puniſhment, it will fail you; certainly that repentance that muſt go for current in Heaven is of another nature: poſſibly I may ſhew afterwards what is true and falſe ſorrow; but for the preſent I ſhall ſhew where the miſtake lies: Whoſoever therefore that builds their believing of the pardon of their ſin meerly on their ſorrow, and ſuch kind of ſorrow, they are like a man that would erect a great Building, and lay the foundation of it in a quag-mire, or on the ſand, as the Scripture ſpeaks, when ſtorms come the building falls; I ſhall ſpeak hereafter to thoſe that build on the Sand; but theſe build on a Quagmire, on a few tears, ſorrow and trouble of ſpirit they have upon the apprehenſion of puniſhment of ſin: this building will fall in time of ſtraights and danger; and this is the reaſon why people that depend upon ſorrow never have peace: for how can I tell the meaſure of ſorrow I am to have before peace be ſpoken, and then if they feel not ſorrow, they are queſtioning again: it is a dangerous thing to lay the hopes of pardon of ſin upon our own ſorrows; where or how then ſhall we lay our hopes? why, upon the ſorrows of Jeſus Chriſt, there you ſhall find the ſureſt ground (there may be ſome miſtake there too, but for the preſent I ſhall not ſtay on that) we muſt look ten thouſand times more at the ſorrows of Chriſt than at our own ſorrows; and therefore when your hearts are troubled, and you look for mercy, depend more ten thouſand times on the ſorrows of Chriſt than on all your own ſorrows; for your ſorrows for ſin cannot ſatisfie Gods Juſtice; and that that muſt be a ground of hope for the pardon of my ſin, muſt be ſomething that muſt ſatisfie the juſtice of God; for though there be never ſo much ſorrow, yet it will not ſatisfie Gods juſtice; and conſider further, True ſorrow rather follows the work of Juſtification then preceds it; as thus, I am not therefore pardoned becauſe I mourn; but becauſe I am pardoned, therefore I come to mourn; ſo ſtands the Truth in Divinity in point of Juſtification and Repentance: you pervert the order, if you think becauſe you mourn, and are a little ſorrowful, that therefore you ſhall be pardoned; the truth is, if your mourning and ſorrow be a work of true ſaving grace: you mourn and ſorrow becauſe you are juſtified; ſorrow of true repentance rather flows from pardon, then pardon from it; when God pardons ſin, he lets out the graces of his Spirit, and then comes ſorrow as a fruit or Evidence of Gods pardoning love and Reconciliation; for though God may give outward favours to a man that is not pardoned; yet God never gives his Spirit to work any ſaving grace in the heart till he is reconciled: 'tis a fruit of his pardoning grace and favour, and becauſe he has juſtified thee, he ſends his Spirit to work ſorrow and repentance: Many think Juſtification flows from ſorrow; but thou muſt come to ſorrow and repentance another way: know that all true ſorrow flows from Juſtification; all that ſorrow before Juſtification, it is but Legal ſorrow, and reveals ſomething that may hinder the ſoul from Chriſt, as ſin, and the terrors of the Law, and the wrath of God; but it does not intereſt the ſoul in Chriſt; this I affirm as moſt certain Divinity, that there is no ſorrow whereby any ſoul is intereſted and planted in Chriſt; the ſorrow that is wrought in them before Juſtification, in order of nature, may be a means to bring them to God, and make them enquire after Chriſt, and ſtir up their hearts to take away thoſe things that do hinder from Chriſt; but it does not intereſt the ſoul in Chriſt: you do not underſtand the way of the Goſpel, if you think that ſorrow intereſts the ſoul in Chriſt; no, that muſt be by faith laying hold on him for Juſtification, and then comes ſorrow of repentance after; thou may'ſt ſee thy ſelf an undone wretch for ſin, and loſt for ever, and nothing in the world can quiet thee; all this may be by the work of the Law: but then God comes and ſhews thee his grace in Chriſt, and enables thee to cloſe with it for Juſtification, and then comes in Evangelical ſorrow, mourning and melting ſorrow more than ever before: but now it comes in another way from the Spirit of God melting the ſoul, becauſe it hath ſinned againſt Jeſus Chriſt, who hath ſo graciouſly appeared to it in his pardoning mercy to the ſoul; ſo that now you ſorrow becauſe you are pardoned, for it comes as a fruit of faith laying hold of the pardoning grace of God; and then there is no ſuch argument in the world to melt the heart with ſorrow, as when faith tells the ſoul that ſin is pardoned; and though thy ſorrow was little before, and now is greater, thou need'ſt not be troubled, if God make thy humiliations greater for ſin after the knowledg of thy pardon; for the revelation of Gods grace in the pardon of thy ſin, is the moſt excellent means to humble the ſoul in the world: the ſorrows of Gods Children after pardon, as they work on their own hearts ſo on Gods heart too; God is mightily taken with it: when once thy ſins are pardoned, then God makes thy heart melt to him as his does to thee: but the ſorrow of one that is an Enemy to God does not ſoften Gods heart; there is a great deal of difference between the ſorrow of Gods Children, and the ſorrow of others; they make ſorrow the ground of pardon, this God accepts not: 'tis true, you may ſorrow for ſin, becauſe it may be a means to bring you to Chriſt; but that that juſtifies the ſoul is Union with Chriſt by Faith, and all that ſorrow that works Repentance to Salvation flows, from Gods grace in Chriſt, having juſtified you. Juſtification is the firſt thing that eſtates thee in bleſſedneſs; ſorrow does not firſt ſtate thee in a bleſſed condition, but is meerly a fruit of that bleſſedneſs thou art ſtated in: certainly theſe things are the Truths of God; ſo that when you look for bleſſedneſs any other way, you look for it meerly in a natural way, or as a Heathen may do; a Heathen knows he ought not to offend God, and he knows he had need to have mercy from God, and that he ought to be ſorrowful for his ſins; I might give you many examples for it, but I muſt haſten: thoſe then that ſeek after pardon of ſin this way, do but ſeek for it meerly in a natural way.
Secondly, Others ſay, I am not only ſorry for my ſins, but I reform; and is not this a ground of pardon? Know likewiſe, that there may be a leaving of ſin, and yet ſin not pardoned; for that take the example of Herod, 'tis ſaid, He heard John Baptiſt gladly, and reformed in many things; he was a great deal the better for John's Miniſtry, and yet Herod was not pardoned: this is a notable example for you that come to hear Sermons, and ſeem to be much affected, let me ask you in the Name of God, and let Conſcience anſwer, What is it you reformed ſince you heard all thoſe Sermons of the Evil of Sin, and now of the Pardon of Sin? What Evils have you reformed in your families, and in your own hearts? I cannot but hope that many of you may ſay, through grace theſe and theſe evils were in my family before, but now I have reformed them; and theſe evils I did before, but now I have left them; I hope many can ſay ſo, and bleſſed be God for this fruit of our Miniſtry if any thing be reform'd, if Sabbaths be better kept, and Duties in family ſet up, and private Exerciſes of Religion performed; that you are not ſo proud, paſſionate, and froward as before: O that it may be ſaid ſo, 'tis worth our labour to reſtrain ſin, that God may not be ſo much diſhonoured, if there were no more done: but we preach for further and higher ends, that ſouls would not ſtay in reforming; for Herod heard John Baptiſt, and did many things; and Judas caſt away the money, he repented and would not keep the money, there was a kind of reformation in both Herod and Judas; but this is no ground to build upon for pardon of ſin; As thoſe that depended on their ſorrow for pardon, built on the quagmire; ſo thoſe that depend on their reformation, build upon the ſand; the one by his ſorrow and trouble for ſin, ſeems as it were to be in the work of humiliation, is like a man that digs deep for a foundation, but does not caſt out the old mould, but builds upon it; the other ſeems like one that not only digs deep, but caſts out the old rubbiſh, and brings in new mould, new earth: lays by and caſts away his former ſins, and does the contrary good; but now, though they go further than the former in caſting out the old rubbiſh, and bringing in of new earth, yet after all this is done they build upon it, and do not build upon the Rock Chriſt; they bring in the new earth of their own Performances and Duties, and this they build upon, and do not build upon the Rock Chriſt for the pardon of their ſins, and Juſtification of their ſouls before God, and here they fail, and this is their undoing, their miſtake in this; and yet it is moſt ſure, that every one of us would miſtake in this; if God did not reveal in the Goſpel another way to receive Pardon and Juſtification in his Son, we ſhould certainly all of us reſt here, and go no further; no man or woman in the world, that never heard the Goſpel went further than this, and ſo far one may go without the Goſpel; we may dig deep, caſt out the old rubbiſh, and bring in new earth; this we may do, and not hear of the Goſpel: And therefore we have a great deal of cauſe to bleſs God that we may hear the myſteries of the Goſpel opened unto us; for certainly we ſhould elſe go no further, and if we go no further, we ſhould certainly periſh; and therefore if we go but thus far, it is not building on the Rock Chriſt; hence the ground and bottom of faith for Juſtification cannot be in Reformation, or in any thing in the creature, it muſt be in ſomething above and without us, and yet by faith, (wrought in us) though without us; I mean the Rock Chriſt, and the Foundation that is laid for the forgiveneſs of our ſin in Chriſt, that muſt be the Foundation of our faith, and not in what we do our ſelves: For
1. Know, that all Reformation in the world will not ſatisfie for the evil that you have done for the time paſt; this I would convince you of, and be you willing to hear it, it may be of great uſe unto you; when we preach Chriſt and free grace, it is to bring you to Chriſt; our preaching down of works is not to keep you from doing of them, but from reſting in them: that which I aim at, is to bring you into an enquiring frame of ſpirit, a reſtleſs condition, that ſo we may bring you to that which is the true reſt; and we ſhall be as glad to bring you into the true reſt, as now to bring you into reſtleſneſs: Know, all Reformations for time to come, will not ſatisfie God for time paſt, it will not: amongſt men, if you have run into arrearages with your Landlord for Rent, and you bring him a quarters Rent when there's three or four quarters behind, or may be two or three years, if you ſhould think to pay the Rent of two or three years with bringing the laſt quarter, it would be accounted a fooliſh conceit; ſo would it be, if with God you ſhould think the duties you do at preſent, ſhould ſatisfie for all the arrearages you have run into for time paſt: you do not underſtand Gods way, if you think that God will be ſatisfied for all that is paſt by what you do at the preſent: Suppoſe what you do now were perfect, and for all time to come you never committed one ſin againſt God any more, yet all this would not ſatisfie for time paſt, this looks but at time to come, and does not at all take off any thing for the time paſt: Beſides, you may ſee matter enough in your beſt Reformations for God to condemn you, not only for your former ſins, but ſins in your reforming; but if there were no ſin in that, that would be no ſatisfaction for that which is paſt: Mark this, That which muſt be the ground of the pardon of thy ſin, muſt be that that muſt ſatisfie for thy ſin paſt, and for all thy ſins to come; and that was opened unto you in opening the myſteries of godlineſs in the Pardon and Juſtification of a Sinner.
2. Know this, that God accepts of duties, not for the duties themſelves, but becauſe he accepts of the perſon that performs them; God does not accept of the duties, and then of the perſon, that is not Gods way: but he accepts firſt of the perſon, and then of the actions: God never accepts of what we do, till he accepts of our perſons; As Abel, God had regard to Abel's perſon firſt, and then to his offerings; ſo God has firſt regard to the perſon of any man, and then to his Offerings: thou thinkeſt thou art a poor wretched creature, and then thou thinkeſt it may be, if I had ſuch and ſuch parts, and could do thus and thus, then God would accept of me; I tell thee, all thy parts and performances are caſt away, till God accept of thy perſon; St. Paul was blameleſs according to the Law, and yet he accounted all loſs for Chriſt; for he knew, that when God revealed the Goſpel to him, that he could not be accepted for his righteouſneſs; but his perſon muſt firſt be accepted, and then his righteouſneſs: So that the way of new Obedience, and the work of Sanctification, are the qualifications of the man that is juſtified; but not the conditions required for the Juſtification of his perſon; 'tis not that that juſtifies the ſoul, the Juſtification of the ſoul comes not through theſe, but theſe flow from Juſtification; and until a ſoul underſtands this, he never rightly performs duties. Therefore further, to conclude this, though good Works and new Obedience are good Nurſes unto Faith; yet if you make theſe the Mother of your Faith, your faith is but a Baſtard faith; theſe are not the right Mother of Faith: if your faith be begotten out of your Duties and Performances, and your faith have no other Mother than theſe, then your faith is illegitimate, and not true born, it has not the right Mother; The right Mother of Faith, is the manifeſtation of the freeneſs of Gods grace in the Covenant of the Goſpel, ſhewed unto the Soul through the mediation of the Son of God: this laid open to the eye of the ſoul, by the mighty work of the Spirit of God, raiſes and creates faith in the ſoul; this is the generation of true ſaving faith, the faith of Gods Elect, as the Scripture ſpeaks; Duties and Performances cannot be the Mother of it; it is of a higher birth than that birth that ariſes out of Parts, Duties, or Performances whatſoever; thy faith will not inherit, if it be baſe born: through faith we come to inherit the Promiſes; and if thy faith hath no other foundation than thy ſorrows and reformation, thy faith is illegitimate, and not that that ſhall inherit; 'tis not of the right kind that will bring thee unto Salvation: thus you ſee what miſtakes there may be in this great Point of the Juſtification of a Sinner, and in being made bleſſed; and therefore we had need look to it to be ſure, that what we reſt upon will hold, leaſt when we come to lay claim, and make challenge of bleſſedneſs, our hold deceive us: Many think the main matters of Religion to be nothing but believing in Jeſus Chriſt, and crying God mercy: you ſee by theſe things that I have ſpoken, that there had need be much workings of ſpirit in the way of Religion, and mighty ſtrong teachings of the Holy Ghoſt to lead the ſoul; for there may be many miſtakes, and to prevent and remove thoſe miſtakes that lie in the way to get peace with God, 'tis a matter of great concernment, and not a ſlight buſineſs to be done ſuddenly.
3. Others ſay, we truſt in the mercy of God, and in this I am to ſpeak to two ſorts. Firſt, Thoſe that are moſt groſly ignorant, that have no other ground to hope for pardon of ſin, but becauſe they hear that God is a merciful God: Know thus much, that notwithſtanding what you hear of God, that he is merciful, and not willing that men ſhould periſh: yet the Scripture reveals clearly to us, that notwithſtanding God is gracious and merciful, yet the greateſt part of the world periſh in their ſins; there is nothing more clear then this, that moſt people in the world do periſh; and therefore to ſay God is merciful, is not enough; you may be ſorry for ſin, reform, and ſay, God is merciful, and yet periſh: if theſe three were enough, what needed the ſon of God to come, and take our nature upon him, and be made a curſe for Mans ſin, lay down his life, and ſhed his precious blood, why might not theſe three have been joyned together, and ſo Chriſt never have come? for though Chriſt had never come, I might have been ſorrowful, and I might have reformed and ſaid God is merciful, though Chriſt had never come: thoſe that never knew Chriſt, nor heard of him yet, they may be ſorrowful, reforme, and ſay God is mercifull. I beſeech you conſider this note, I can never be pardoned and ſaved, in ſuch a way, as it might be done, though Chriſt had never come; I can then never be pardoned and ſaved by all the means I take for pardon and Salvation, if thoſe things might be done though Chriſt had never come; and if you have nothing elſe but them to reſt upon, then you can never be ſaved; put this to your hearts, what have I wrought in my heart, that I might not have had, if Chriſt had not come into the world; certainly the moſt things that moſt people have to reſt upon, for pardon and ſalvation; they might have had though Chriſt had never come into the world. Further, Thou ſaiſt God is merciful, True, the mercy of God is ſweet and a bleſſed argument, and our ſouls much delight to open the grace and mercy of God; and I have endeavoured to open to you what is revealed in the Goſpel; yet Gods mercy is free, though he delight to glorifie his mercy: and he hath thouſand thouſands of Subjects, to glorify his mercy in, though thou periſh eternally. Though thou periſh eternally, yet God may be glorious in the bleſſedneſs of his mercy: God hath others to magnifie his mercy unto beſides thee: a beggar comes and asks an almes of a man, and he gives him none, that is not an argument the man is not merciful, for he hath other objects, that are more ſuitable and fit; though he give not to every one, tis no diſhonour to his compaſſion; ſo it is with God, he hath thouſands of objects to beſtow his mercy on; though thou periſh. Further, Thou ſaiſt God is merciful, and thererefore thou hop'ſt for pardon: Why? God is and hath been merciful to thee beyond all that thou canſt conceive, God hath ſhew'd his mercy to thee already: thou ſaiſt God is merciful, true, or elſe thou hadſt not been alive at this preſent: that thou ſhouldſt hear and ſee, and have all thy members whole, and the uſe of all thy ſences, and that thou ſhouldſt ſtand here this day under the meanes of grace, and that thou ſhouldſt hear God call on thee to repent, and believe in his Son, while thou walk'ſt on in thy ſin, and art dead in ſins and treſpaſſes: he ſends his ſon and ſpirit to thee, to tell thee that he would reſcue thee, and give life unto thee; again, is not here rich mercy, perhaps thou haſt had thy portion of mercy already, that God intends for thee, yea ſo much mercy, that all the Angels and ſaints will give acclamations to God, for that mercy thou haſt had, though thou periſh; God hath many waies ſhewd mercy to thee, in ſo much as that the very devils themſelves will acknowledge that God was very good to his poor creatures.
Further, Thou ſpeakeſt of mercy; haſt not thou abuſed and turn'd mercy into wantonneſs? perhaps the mercy thou ſpeakſt of, now is at this very preſent pleading to God againſt thee; ſaying, how have I been abuſed by this wretched man? the more my beauty & excellency hath been diſplayed, the more wicked he hath grown; what if mercy be now pleading againſt thee? even thoſe mercies that thou haſt abuſed; and therefore thou hadſt need to look for ſomewhat elſe to ſettle thy ſoul upon then this, to ſay that God is merciful; this is to the firſt ſort, thoſe that are groſly Ignorant.
Secondly, There are others that mourne, pray and reform, and then have ſome kinde of relyance on God to pardon them, for his mercies ſake; and therefore to them I ſhall ſay thus much: Know, the mercy of God muſt be received after Gods own way; he hath appointed the communications of it, and ſo it muſt be received; otherwiſe it can never attain to ſuch an effect as the pardon of thy ſin; note this, that all the mercy in God conſidered, as he is creator of Heaven and Earth, and not let out through the Mediator Chriſt Jeſus God-man it never wrought to the pardon of any one ſin, and therefore if you looke upon the mercy of God, and do not look to the right way of the conveyance of it, you may moſt dangerouſly miſtake: The ground and bottom of faith, that juſtifies is not meerly to caſt ones ſelf on the mercy of God, (for there is none, but in a natural way know that God is a merciful God) but the main ground of Juſtification, or of juſtifying faith, is the free grace of God through Jeſus Chriſt; That God is merciful through a Mediator: Otherwiſe the ground of your faith is but on a meer confuſed notion of the mercy of God, which will certainly faile you; a heathen may have as much to be the ground of his faith, that the great creator of Heaven and Earth, pitties thoſe that are in miſery, and I am a poor creature in miſery; Ile cry to him, and ile reform my life, and ile relye on him; thus far a heathen may go: but the ground and bottom of faith is not the mercy of God in general, but the mercy of God in and through a Mediator; obſerve a little further, the ground of juſtifying faith is not thus, that God for Chriſts ſake will forgive me for what Chriſt hath done to purchaſe my pardon, but there is another work of faith in the ſouls of believers, though the ſoul apprehend it not; tis not the work of faith in juſtification, to believe that Chriſt hath paid ſo much as my debt comes to; but thus, the work of faith is to bring the ſoul unto Chriſt, and to pitch it upon the perſon of Chriſt, to be made mine firſt, and then the righteouſneſs of Chriſt to be mine: Tis not thus, I believe this is my debt, and there is ſo much money to pay it; but this is the work of faith, to bring thee to be marryed to ſuch a perſon; and ſo the debt is tranſacted on him to whom thou art marryed, and he will diſcharge the debt, becauſe thou art marryed to him; ſo that the ground of faith is not to look unto God meerly through his ſon that ſo I may have pardon; but thus, I muſt come to have Chriſt to be mine; I muſt be marryed with Chriſt, and ſo through my union with the perſon of Chriſt, I come to have all that Chriſt hath done and ſuffered to be made over to me; and therefore when I come to look upon the riches of the grace of God in the mediation of his ſon; I muſt come with an eye of faith, to be marryed unto Chriſt, and Chriſt with me, the riches of Gods grace in Chriſt was opened before; we now make uſe of it as a trial to ſhew the danger of falſe grounds in relying upon God for pardon.
Further, Though it be through the mercy of God to pardon ſin; yet it does not work thus, viz. You have ſinned, and my law requires ſuch and ſuch obedience, to be performed on ſuch tearms, or elſe you muſt periſh, but I through my mercy will remit ſomething of the rigour and ſtrictneſs of the Law: And moſt people confeſs, that by the ſtrictneſs of the Law they are condemn'd, but they hope the mercy of God will grant ſome remiſſion of the Law; as it is with men, if all Penal ſtatutes ſhould be executed it would be very hard; but there is a Chancery to abate ſomething of the rigour, and ſtrictneſs of penal ſtatutes; and thus men think to come to have pardon, and deal with God after the manner of men; you think the crying to God for mercy wil abate ſomething of the ſtrictneſs, and ſeverity of the Law; but you miſtake in taking this way to get peace and reconciliation with God; to look upon Gods mercy to lye in this, to remit ſomething of the ſtrictneſs and ſeverity of the Law: No but the work of Gods mercy lyes in this, to finde out a ſurety for you, and to tranſact the debt upon him.
Further, Conſider the work of Gods mercy in juſtification of a ſinner, when faith layes hold upon it faith, muſt not lay hold upon it as a meer ſingle Act; but look at all the concomitants of the work of Gods grace, in making way for the juſtification of a ſinner: The mercy of God workes many waies, and faith muſt exerciſe it ſelf on Gods grace, according to the multiplicity of the work of it, in bringing about the juſtification of a ſinner; as thus, you have ſinned and you cry to God for pardon, but the mercy of God does not work thus to pardon you, as tis a ſingle act, but the mercy of God works thus to mankind. Firſt, he is pleaſed to enter into a ſecond covenant with mankind after he had broken the firſt. A ſecond work of Gods mercy, is to ſet his wiſdom on work to finde out a way how mankind ſhould be reconciled unto him, and his ſin pardoned, and yet that God ſhould be no looſer; this was the work of his infinite wiſdom. And Thirdly, when this is found out, this can be done no other way, but only through the Son of God taking mans nature upon him, and ſuffer for him; then here's the mercy of God, to be willing to ſend his Son to mediate for poor creatures; and then a further mercy in giving thy ſoul to his Son; he ſent not his Son that all might be pardoned, but a certain number that God the Father had given to his Son from all eternity: now there's a great work of Gods mercy in paſſing by others, and giving thee to his Son: And further, It is a work of Gods mercy in the powerful Miniſtry of the Goſpel to reveal this: And then further, It is a work of Gods mercy to draw thee to cloſe with his Son, and thereby to unite and marry thee to his Son: And then further, It is a work of Gods mercy to aſſure thee of the pardon and juſtification of thy ſoul; 'tis a great deal more for faith to look upon God in this manner, than to come in ſuch a way as this; God is merciful, and I truſt in his grace that he will pardon me: we miſtake mightily about the mercy of God, when we do not look upon it in an Evangelical way, as it is revealed in the Goſpel: Further, know thus much, that if Gods mercy will work ſo far for thee, as to pardon thy ſin, and ſave thy ſoul: certainly it will work ſo far as to take away the power of ſin, and let thee not live in the filth of thy ſin: Many think Gods mercy will do great matters hereafter, but nothing now in compariſon of what he will do hereafter; they think he will give them outward bleſſings now, but keep ſpiritual things till hereafter: Certainly this is an infallible truth, If Gods mercy work not ſo powerfully here in this world as to beſtow ſpiritual good things on thee, thou may'ſt be aſſured that it will never work ſo powerful on thee as to ſave thy Soul in the World to come▪ Can it be thought a Prince pardons a Malefactor that he ſhall not be hang'd, and yet ſuffer him to lie in Priſon and rot in the Dungeon? this were but a poor pardon, a half pardon, to be delivered from the Gallows and rot in the Priſon: Certainly, whatever a Prince may do, God never pardons a ſinner ſo; to ſhew him mercy to ſave him from Hell, and yet to lie rotting all his life long in ſin; no, God when he pardons, he delivers and ſhakes off the fetters; as we ſhall ſee further; therefore thou that ſay'ſt thou hopeſt in Gods mercy that he will pardon thee; let me ask, What hath he done for thee? if thou thinkeſt that Gods mercy will work ſo ſtrongly hereafter to ſave thy ſoul, certainly it will be as ſtrong for thee here to ſanctifie thee; if it work not ſo ſtrong on thee now as to ſanctifie thee, certainly it will never work ſo ſtrongly for thee hereafter as to ſave thee.
4. Others ſay in the laſt place, we are not only ſorry for ſin and reform and truſt in Gods mercy, but we relie upon Gods mercy through Chriſt; and therefore we hope we ſhall be pardoned: this I might ſpeak much too; we muſt reſt there, but there is a miſtake there too; the relying on Chriſt is not relying on him by acting of ſome tranſient thoughts that paſſes over, but it is an abiding thing; when men hear there is no way to be ſaved but by Chriſt, and they cannot deny it, and becauſe they are loath to think they are ſuch as cannot be ſaved, they are loath to have ſuch ill thoughts of themſelves, & hearing this is the way, and no other, therefore they will perſwade themſelves that they ſhall find mercy through Chriſt: Now what great work is this ſo to rely on Chriſt; the work of faith is a mighty work, it is not a ſhort tranſient work, a few thoughts upon thy heart to be ſaved by Chriſt; No▪ whereſoever faith is right, and a true reliance on Chriſt; it is a mighty work of the Spirit of God, working this grace in raiſing the ſoul higher than it ſelf, and carries it through and above all difficulties: when it brings the ſoul to relie upon God there may be great miſtakes, when People ſay, they rely upon Chriſt; and therefore take this for conviction, Relying on Chriſt is not barely to think my ſins are pardoned by Chriſt, but it is a receiving of Chriſt, a poſſeſſing of Chriſt, a coming into Chriſt, a living in Chriſt, and a bringing Chriſt to live in me; 'tis eating of the fleſh of Chriſt, and drinking of his blood, and ſo finds nouriſhment and ſtrength from him as really as the body by the meat and drink it takes; that abides with it, is ſtrengthned by it; ſo does faith to the ſoul: therefore faith is not a ſlight notion like water running through a Pipe that leaves nothing behind it; for ſo the thoughts of moſt People are; but it is ſuch a thing, as brings Chriſt into the ſoul, and the ſoul into Chriſt, and ſo feeds and lives upon him; this is relying upon Chriſt for pardon; ſo as to have the concomitants and comforts of pardon continually going along with it: Now you have heard theſe things, go away and beſeech God to ſettle things aright in your ſouls, ſay to your hearts, Lord I ſee that ſetling of the heart aright upon Chriſt for juſtification and pardon of ſin, is another manner of buſineſs then I was aware of, and I am perſwaded that if I had died before, I ſhould certainly have dyed under ſome of theſe miſtakes; Lord ſettle my heart aright in this great buſineſs: Do not go away with ſuch thoughts as theſe, the Miniſter ſpeaks of ſuch miſtakes, but I hope it is far otherwiſe; do not venture to put off what we ſay with ſuch ſlight thoughts; when we ſpeak unto you we ſpeak in the Name of God, and it is a horrible taking of the Name of God in vain, if we examine not what we ſay unto you by the Word; And therefore know you are charged this day in the Name of God to look to it, and examine your hearts what grounds you go upon for the pardon of your ſin, that you may not miſtake; in which we ſhall give you ſome further help in laying down ſome poſitive grounds that you may reſt upon for the pardon of your ſin.