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him, with boldneís and peace; why then doth nothing now but fear, flying, and hiding poffefs him? Adam had finned, the promife was not yet given, no revelation made of forgivenefs in God, and what other course than that vain and foolish one, to fix upon, he knew not; no more can any of his pofterity without this revelation. What elfe any of them hath fixed on in this cafe, hath been no lefs foolish than his hiding, and in moft, more pernicious. When Cain had received his fentence from God, it is faid, he went out from the prefence or face of the Lord, Gen. iv. 16. From his providential prefence he could never fubduct himself: So the pfalmift informs us at large, Pfal. cxxxix. 7, 8, 9 The very heathen knew, by the light of nature, that guilt could never drive men out of the reach of God.

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Quo fugis, Encelade, quafcunq; accefferis oras
Sub Jove femper eris.

They knew that Sixn (the vengeance of God) would not spare finners, nor could be avoided, Acts xxviii. 4. from God's gracious prefence, which he never enjoyed, he could not depart. It was then his prefence as to his worship, and all outward acts of communion that he forfook, and departed from; he had no difcovery by faith of forgiveness, and therefore refolved to have no more to do with God ror thofe who cleaved to him; for it refpects his courfe, and not any one particular action. This alfo is stated, Ifa. xxxiii. 14. The finners in Sion are afraid, fearfulness bath furprized the hypocrites; Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Who among us fhall dwell with everlasting burnings? The perfons fpoken of are finners, great finners and hypocrites; conviction of fin, and the defert of it was fallen upon them, a light to difcern forgiveness they had not, they apprehend God as a devouring fire, and everlafting burnings only, one that would not fpare, but affuredly inflict punishment according to the defert of fin; and thence is their conclufion couched in their interrogation,

and

that there can be no intercourfe or peace between him and them, there is no abiding, no enduring of his 'prefence. And what condition this confideration brings the fouls of finners unto, when conviction grows ftrong upon them, the Holy Ghoft declares, Micah vi, 6, 7. Wherewithal Shall I came before the Lord, and bow myfelf before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? will the Lord be pleafed with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands. of rivers of oyl? fhall I give my first born for my tranfgref fion, the fruit of my body for the fin of my foul? Senfe of fin preffeth, forgiveness is not difcovered, (like the Philiftines on Saul, Samuel not coming to his direction) and how doth the poor creature perplex itself in vain, to find out a way of dealing with God; will a fedulous and diligent obfervation of his own ordinances and inftitutions relieve me? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, and calves of a year old? Alas! thou art a finner and thefe facrifices cannot make thee perfect, or acquit thee, Heb. x. 1. Shall I do more than ever he required of any of the fons of men? O that I had thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil to offer to him! Alas! if thou hadst all the bulls and goats in the world, it is not poffible their blood should take away fins, ver. 4. But I have heard of them who have fnatched away their own children from their mother's breafts, and caft them into the fire, until they were confumed, fo to pacify their confciences in expiating the guilt of their iniquities; fhall I take this courfe? will it relieve me? I am ready to part with my firft-born into the fire, fo may i have deliverance from my tranfgreffions. Alas! this never came into the heart of God to approve or accept of. And as it was then, whilft that kind of worship was in force, fo is it ftill as to any duties really to be performed, or imaginarily. Where there is no difcovery of forgiveness, they will yield the foul no relief, no fupportment; God is not to be treated upon fuch

terms.

Greatness

Greatnefs and rarenefs of the difcovery of forgivenefs in God.-.--Reafons of it---Teftimonies of confcience and law against it, &c.

SECONDLY, This difcovery of forgivenefs in God is great, holy, and myfterious, which very few on gofpelground do attain unto.

All men indeed fay there is, moft men are perfuaded that they think fo. Only men in great and defperate extremities, like Cain or Spira, feem to call it into queftion. But their thoughts are empty, groundless, yea, for the most part, wicked, and atheistical. Elihu tells us, that to declare this aright to a finful foul, it is the work of a meffenger, an interpreter, one among a thousand, Job xxxiii. 23. that is, indeed, of Chrift himfelf. The common thoughts of men about this thing are flight and foolish; and may be refolved into those mentioned by the pfalmift, Pfal. 1. 22. They think that God is altogether like themfelves. That indeed he takes little or no care about these things, but paffeth them over as flightly as they do themfelves. That, notwithftanding all their pretences, the moft of men never had, indeed, a real difcovery of forgivenefs, fhall be afterwards undeniably evinced; and I fhall fpeedily fhew the difference that is between their vain credulity, and a gracious gofpel-difcovery of forgiveness in God. For, it must be obferved, that by this difcovery, I intend, both the revelation of it made by God, and our understanding, and reception of that revelation to our own advantage, as fhall be fhewed immediately.)

Now, the grounds of the difficulty intimated, confift partly in the hindrances that ly in the way of this discovery; and partly, in the nature of the thing itself, that is difcovered; of both which 1 fhall briefly treat.

But here, before I proceed, fomewhat must be premifed to fhew what it is, that I particularly intend by a difcovery of forgiveness. It may then be confidered two ways; 1. For a doctrinal, objective difcovery of it in its truths. 2. An experimental, subjective discovery of its

power.

power. In the first fenfe, forgiveness in God hath been difcovered ever fince the giving out of the first promife: God revealed it in a word of promife, or it could never have been known, as shall be afterwards declared. In this fenfe, after many leffer degrees and advancements of the light of it, it was fully and glorioufly brought forth by the Lord Jefus Chrift in his own perfon; and is now revealed, and preached in the gofpel, and by them to whom the word of reconciliation is committed; and to declare this, is the principal work of the minifters of the gospel. Herein ly thofe unfearchable treafures and riches of Chrift, which the apostle esteemed as his chiefeft honour and privilege, that he was intrufted with the declaration and difpenfation of, Eph. iii. 8, 9. I know by many it is defpifed, by many traduced, whofe ignorance and blindness is to be lamented. But the day is coming which will manifeft every man's work of what fort it is. In the latter fenfe, how it is made by faith in the foul, fhall in its proper place be further opened and made known. Here men may miftake and deceive themfelves; because it is fo in the book, they think it is fo in them alfo; because they have been taught it, they think they believe it. But it is not fo; they have not heard this voice of God at any time, nor feen his fhape, it hath not been revealed unto them in its power: To have this done is a great work. For,

First, The conftant voice of confcience lies against it. Confcience, if not feared, inexorably condemneth, and pronounceth wrath and anger upon the foul that hath the leaft guilt cleaving to it. Now it hath this advantage, it lieth clofe to the foul, and, by importunity and loud fpeaking,it will be heard in what it hath to fay,it will make the whole foul attend, or it will speak like thunder. And its conftant voice is, that where there is guilt there must be judgment, Rom. ii. 14, 15. Confcience naturally knows nothing of forgiveness; yea, it is against its very truft, work and office, to hear any thing of it. If a man of courage and honefty be intrufted to keep a

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garrifon

garrifon against an enemy, let one come and tell him that there is peace made between those whom he ferves and their enemies, fo that he may leave his guard, and fet open the gates, and ceafe his watchfulnefs: how wary will he be, left under this pretence he be betrayed? No, faith he, I will keep my hold, until I have exprefs order from my fuperiors. Confcience is entrusted with the power of God in the foul of a finner, with command to keep all in fubjection with reference unto the judgment to come. It will not betray its truft in believing every report of peace: no, but this it fays, and it fpeaks in the name of God, Guilt and punishment are infeparable twins, if the foul fin, God will judge. What tell you me of forgivenefs, I know what my commiffion is, and that I will abide by, you fhall not bring in a fuperior commander, a crofs principle into my trust, for if this be fo, it seems I muft let go my throne, another Lord must come in, not knowing as yet how this whole bufinefs is compounded in the blood of Chrift. Now, whom fhould a man believe, if not his own confcience, which, as it will not flatter him, fo it intends not to affright him, but to speak the truth as the matter requireth. Confcience hath two works in reference unto fin; one to condemn the acts of fin, another to judge the perfon of the finner, both with reference to the judgment of God. When forgivenefs comes, it would fever and part thefe employments, and take one of them out of the hand of confcience, it would divide the spoil with this ftrong one. It fhall condemn the fact, or every fin; but it fhall no more condemn the finner, the perfon of the finner, that fhall be freed from its fentence. Here confcience labours with all its might to keep its whole dominion; and to keep out the power of forgivenefs from being enthroned in the foul. It will allow men to talk of forgivenefs, to hear it preached, though they abuse it every day, but to receive it in its power, that ftands up in direct oppofition to its dominion, in the kingdom, faith the confcience, I will be greater than

thou;

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