a learned and accurate discource concerning the guilt of sin, pardon of that guilt, and prayer for that pardon written many years ago by the reverend mr. thomas gilbert ; now published from his own manuscript left by him some years before his death with a friend in london. gilbert, thomas, 1613-1694. 1695 approx. 46 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 24 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a42736 wing g721 estc r23948 07933467 ocm 07933467 40513 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a42736) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 40513) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1207:5) a learned and accurate discource concerning the guilt of sin, pardon of that guilt, and prayer for that pardon written many years ago by the reverend mr. thomas gilbert ; now published from his own manuscript left by him some years before his death with a friend in london. gilbert, thomas, 1613-1694. l. r. [3], 40 p. printed for nath. hiller, london : 1695. preface signed: l.r. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng sin. forgiveness of sin. 2004-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-12 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-01 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2005-01 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a learned and accurate discourse concerning the guilt of sin , pardon of that guilt ▪ and prayer for that pardon . written many years ago by the reverend mr. thomas gilbert , minister of the gospel , lately deceased at oxford . now published from his own manuscript , left by him some years before his death , with a friend in london . london , printed for nath. hiller , at the princes armes in leaden-hall-street , over-against st. mary axe . 1695. the preface . the light held out in these papers is accounted so clear and so useful , that it hath been thought great pity it hath not been set up upon a candlestick . they have passed up and down in manuscript about thirty years , being much valued by those who were possessors of them . it is credibly reported that a very great and learned man ( whom for some reasons i will not name , though his commendation would have great weight with persons of different perswasions ) did upon the perusal of them , speak to the learned author to this purpose , that it was worth a mans living a great while , though he did nothing else but bring forth such a composure . the subjects treated on are so weighty and of such concernment , that any contribution of light therein ought to find acceptance , and be rejoyced in by all . the manner of this authors treating on them is succinct and plain , and wholly unoffensive . the differences and contests about these points , which have of late appeared among us , do further recommend them and the publishing of them as very seasonable at this juncture . the blessing of god go along with them . so prayeth l. r. a learned and accurate discourse concerning the guilt of sin , pardon of that guilt , and prayer for that pardon . the reader , least he should stumble at terms ( the most proper i could think of to express my notion ) is desired to observe , that in this discourse , i understand by legal 1. precepts , such as rigidly exact their observance for justification . 2. sins , the transgression of such legal precepts . 3. threatnings , such rigid unallay'd threatnings as being curses as well as threatnings , form obligation to legal punishment for such legal sins . 4. punishments , the execution of such legal threatnings as curses , as well as threatnings . legal guilt and legal pardon , are in the discourse expresly defin'd and in proportionable opposition to the former , i mean by gospel 1. precepts , mainly the same for substance with those of the law , but not exacting their observance with the same rigor , namely , for justification . 2. sins , the transgression of such gospel-precepts . 3. threatnings , mainly the same for substance with those of the law , but now such mitigated allay'd threatnings , as being threatnings only and not curses , form obligation only to gospel punishments ( or chastisements ) for such gospel sins . 4. punishments , the execution of such gospel-threatenings , which have therefore no more of curse in them , than such threatnings themselves . gospel-guilt and gospel-pardon are in the discourse expresly defin'd , and the sense wherein the distinction of legal and gospel-pardon proceeds , plainly enough declared . some considerations touching the guilt of sin , pardon of that guilt , and prayer for that pardon . wherein something is attempted towards the further clearing of the great , both speculative and practical truths in these so important points ; for the satisfaction of a learned and judicious friend . i. touching guilt of sin. three things in sin. 1. power to be subdued . 2 filth to be purged . 3. guilt to be pardoned . guilt of sin is two-fold . 1. fundamental , intrinsecal , habitual . which is desert of punishment . 2. formal , extrinsecal , actual . which is oblication to punishment . the first i call intrinsecal guilt , because arising from within , from the very nature of sin. and the second , extrinsecal guilt , because arising from without , from the penal constitution of god. as also the first , habitual , fundamental guilt , because the foundation of that penal constitution or threatning of god , which formeth the second , actual , formal guilt . as the punishment to which , and threatning according to which , sin binds ; so is the formal , actual guilt , or obligation it self , two-fold ; 1. legal . 2. evangelical . 1. legal guilt , according to legal unallay'd threatning , binding over to legal punishment , the mere wrathful dispensation of god , as a judge , aiming at the satisfaction of his justice . 2. gospel guilt , according to gospel allay'd threatning , binding over to gospel chastisement , a mixt dispensation of the justice and mercy of god , as a father , aiming as at the vindication of his fatherly authority and honour , so at the correction and amendment of his child . the 1. is the guilt of condemned prisoners out of christ the 2. is the guilt of justified persons in christ for one of these guilts , sin deriveth every where , and but one of them any where , according to the respective condition or state of the person , in whom it resides , or by whom it is committed . ii. touching pardon of guilt . as the guilt of sin , is its obligation to punishment , so is the pardon of sin , the dissolution of that obligation ; and as the obligation is two-fold , legal or evangelical , so also is the dissolution or pardon . the distinction of legal or gospel pardon , doth here manifestly proceed according to the distinction of the subject-matter , or thing pardoned , legal or gospel guilt of sin ; otherwise for the original or rise of it , all ( even legal ) pardon is of gospel grace . first , legal-pardon of legal guilt , which is the dissolution of legal obligation to legal punishment for legal sin , and is twofold . 1. fundamental in christ ( as a common person ) of all the elect before faith ; which lieth in christs making full satisfaction for their sins , meriting faith for them , and utmost advantage of such his satisfaction upon their faith. 2. actual of all the elect in christ upon their faith. this actual pardon , being nothing else , but the actual possession in their own persons , of their fundamental pardon in the person of christ. this actual pardon of the legal guilt of believers sins is twofold . 1. formal , of all their sins past , removing their legal guilt . 2. virtual , of all their sins to come , preventing their legal guilt . formal pardon takes off legal guilt , where once it was . virtual pardon keeps it off , where else it would be . formal pardon takes away all the actual legal guilt , contracted upon the person from all sin , whether inherent in , or committed by him , before his faith. virtual pardon , all capacity from the person upon his faith , not indeed of having in his nature , or committing in his actions , any more sin ( for then could there be no room for so much as virtual pardon ) , but of contracting any more such legal guilt from any sin , whether inherent in his nature , or committed by him in his actions , for time to come . and in this very point , lying the main stress of the controversie , consider briefly ( which will much help to clear it ) that ( not the nature , not the actions , but ) the person ( according indeed both to his nature and actions ) is the proper subject of all law-obligation , whether of the precept to obedience , or threatning to punishment for disobedience ; and therefore must be the proper subject also of all law-disobligation , or dissolution of law-obligation , whether for one end , or another . since then a person , while out of christ , is the unhappy subject of the most severe and rigorous obligation , as of the precept of the law to obedience for his justification , so of the threatning of the law to condemnation , and all legal punishment for his disobedience ; accordingly must a person , when in christ , be the happy subject of the most gracious dissolution of the severe and rigorous obligation , as of the same precept of the law to obedience ( not simply , but ) as to justification ; so also of the same threatning of the law ( not indeed simply , but ) as to condemnation , or any legal punishment for his disobedience . and as from this dissolution of the legal obligation of the threatning , is the actual , formal pardon or dissolution of the legal obligation of such a persons sins past ( for sin cannot be formally remitted , before it be formally committed ) so from hence must ( and cannot , but ) be also the actual virtual pardon , or dissolution of the legal guilt or obligation of such a persons sins to come . yet as the precept in the hand of christ still binds to obedience upon gospel-grounds , and to gospel-ends and purposes ( though not for justification ) so the threatning in the hand of christ , still binds ( though not to condemnation or any legal punishment , yet ) upon gospel-grounds , and for gospel-ends and purposes , to gospel-chastisements for disobedience in sins to come : which sins , when they come , as they derive a new gospel guilt ( though no new legal guilt ) upon the person ; so they need a new gospel-pardon ( though no new legal-pardon , nor indeed are capable of it ) therefore . secondly , gospel-pardon of gospel-guilt , is the dissolution of gospel-obligation to gospel-chastisement for gospel-sin . for as there is legal or gospel-obedience , according to legal or gospel-precepts ; so against such precepts is there legal or gospel-sin . the nature of this gospel-pardon will the better appear , in the manifold differences of it from legal pardon . such as these that follow . 1. gospel-pardon is an act of meer mercy of god as a father , only upon the intercession of christ , improving therein his merit with the father , for dealing with his members in this regard also as children ; gospel-guilt needing not for its gospel-pardon , any legal satisfaction . legal-pardon is a sentence of absolution from god as a judge , both from his justice and mercy , upon both the merit and satisfaction of christ , improved upon his intercession for condemned prisoners of law , but elect prisoners , to be so made his members and his fathers children . 2. gospel-guilt is sometimes wholly pardoned , sometimes but in part , partly remitted , partly retained . such was david's guilt of adultery and murder , and such its pardon ; partly remitted , the lord put away his sin ( the gospel-guilt of his sin ) so that he dyed not in his own person : and partly retained , so that he was chastened for it , in the death of his adulterous issue , 2 sam. 12. as well as otherwise by his son absolom , there also threatned . legal guilt is alway either wholly pardon'd , or wholly unpardon'd ; either all remitted , or not at all : that having place here , nil solvitur nisi totum . 3. gospel guilt may be remitted , as contracted , successively and often . legal guilt , however contracted , is remitted all together , at once , and but once . 4. gospel guilt , when , and so far as pardon'd , is alway pardon'd formally and in it self ; first by gospel-transgression redounding upon , and then by gospel-grace removed off from the person . legal guilt is pardon'd , partly formally , and in it self ; as in all sins foregoing justification ; partly virtually , and in the person ; as in all sins following justification . in those , their legal guilt so removed from , as if it never had redounded upon the person : in these their legal guilt so removed from the person , as it never can redound upon it : the person being now a priviledg'd person in jesus christ , and no more chargeable with legal guilt , than christ himself . for as personal vnion in christ , everlastingly prevents the resulting of its proper personality out of his humane nature so united , which out of all other natures not so united , immediately results ; so mystical vnion with christ everlastingly prevents the redounding of legal guilt upon the person so united , from his sinful nature and actions ; which from all other such natures and actions of persons not so united , immediately redounds . 5. faith is the only instrumental means , or causal condition of legal pardon : repentance ( godly sorrow for sin , and amendment of of life ) the consequents of this pardon , as the effect of that faith. repentance ( gospel-sorrow for sin , and return to child-like obedience ) as well as faith , the means of gospel-pardon , or dissolution of the obligation of gospel-threatning for gospel-sin , to gospel-punishment , i. e. fatherly chastisement : or ( in yet plainer english ) of avoiding the chastisements of god ( which are often very severe upon his children ) the main work and business of gospel-chastisement , being so done to the hand of god ; which is , by execution of gospel-chastisement upon them to reduce his children into that gospel-aw and order , wherein by the gospel-threatnings of them only , they would not be kept : and which gospel-chastisements he hath always in a readiness by him , in that variety , and with that severity , that legal punishments would be altogether as improper and useless to his mixt justice and mercy as a father , towards the compassing of his gospel-designs and purposes upon his children , as gospel-chastisements would be to his simple justice as a judge , towards the attainment of his legal aimes and ends upon his enemies . nor are those gospel-chastisements used by him towards his children , but when there is , nor further than there is need ( 1 pet. 1. 6. ) for the effecting of some such good , as in an ordinary way of his providence could not otherwise be brought about . some other differences might be offer'd , but these being the principal , will afford a sufficiently large prospect into both the necessity and nature of these two so different kinds of pardon . iii. touching prayer for pardon . the removal of the fundamental , habitual guilt of sin , the desert of punishment , is not to be prayed for by any , whether in , or out of christ. desert of punishment being of the very nature of sin it self , ( and not only by the constitution of god thereabout ) altogether inseparable from sin. those in christ are to pray to god to remove that sin from them , whose desert of punishment cannot be removed from it ; and to spread their sins before the lord in the highest sense of the deepest demerit of all legal punishment ; that so they may put the higher , both accent upon the free grace of god , and estimate upon the full satisfaction of christ , whereby their persons are so fully freed from all actual obligation to any of that legal punishment , the whole and utmost whereof their sins so deeply deserve . the removal of the actual formal guilt , or dissolution of its actual obligation to legal punishment , those out of christ are to pray for , acts 8. 22 , 23. and that both formal , of all their sins past , and virtual , of all their sins to come : there being as well promise upon their faith , of never coming into condemnation again , joh. 5 24. as of being freed from condemnation at present , joh. 3. 18. and even such their prayer , may prevail as prayer , though not as their prayer ; as gods ordinance , though not as their performance ; though not as a part of duty in persons out of christ , yet as a means of grace in the hand of christ. otherwise simon peter would never have given it in direction to simon magus , when in the bond of iniquity ; a perfect scriptural definition of the guilt of sin. this legal pardon it self , whether formal of sins past , or virtual of sins to come , those in christ are not to pray for , as that which is yet to be , or indeed now can be a-new granted to them , ( there being no possibility of the dissolution of an obligation , where is none of the obligation it self , so to be dissolved ) but they are to praise god through christ for it ; as that which is already , upon their first believing ( and thereby being ) in christ , fully granted to them , beyond all need of repetition , because beyond all possibility of intercision : especially when it is not more their duty in prayer , to take to themselves the due shame ( as of the remainders of the filth and power of sin still in their natures , so ) of the gospel-guilt of sin still on their persons ; then to give to god the due glory of his grace ( as in the initial purging of the filth of sin out of , and subduing the power of sin , in their natures , so ) in the perfect removal of the legal guilt of sin from off their persons ; which seems to have been the apostle's very frame and carriage , rom. 7. 24 , 25. and 8. 1. gods continuance indeed ( or non-revocation ) of such his gracious pardon ( even till his pronouncing the final sentence of it at the general judgment ) together with their own continual further renewed sense and assurance of such its both grant and continuance , those in christ are to pray for : there being need of , precept for , and promise to prayer for these latter ; none at all for those former , either formal , or virtual pardon to be repeated . gospel-pardon of sin , or dissolution of their gospel-obligation for gospel-sin to gospel-punishment , i. e. fatherly chastisement , those in christ are to pray for : ( as of that guilt or penal obligation , which can alone in that state be incumbent on them , and on them alone ) this not absolutely , but conditionally : and that not only upon condition of faith ( the only condition of legal pardon ) or only faith and repentance together ( the joynt ordinary , but not only condition of gospel-pardon ) . but upon such conditions also , if and so far as , it may be consistent with gods glory , their own , and others good , so far forth ( and no further ) it may be pardon'd ; i. e. that their heavenly father would no further chasten them his children for their sins , then may be conducing to the afore-mentioned ends : and so far sorth , as they have daily need of their own to seek , the precept of christ for seeking , and the promise of christ , for receiving gospel-pardon ; so also the spirit of christ so to seek , that they may receive it ; that is , not only with such child like fear of chastening , threatned by an offended father , but also with such godly sense of , and sorrow for their offences themselves , and such humble gospel-confidence ( upon the conditions specify'd ) of promised pardon from a gracious , though offended father , as those out of christ , do not , cannot seek legal-pardon withal : even as we see pardon , not with less earnestness , but with much other manner of affections and assurance , begg'd by a child from a father , than by a prisoner from a judge . iv. arguments proving directly the main , and by just consequence the whole of all this . the legal guilt of believers sins to come , is in the same capacity of being dis-imputed , and pardoned to them , as it was of being imputed to and discharged by christ. all the legal guilt of all the sins to come of all believers after christ , was legally imputed to , and discharged by christ. ergo &c. and if the legal guilt of both sins and persons , not yet in being , might be legally imputed to , and discharg'd by christ ; much more may the legal guilt of sins not yet in being , be legally remitted to persons already being , and being believers , virtually , and in such persons , though not formally , and in such sins themselves . the legal guilt of their sins may ( at least ) as well be virtually disimputed to believers , before committed by them , as the satisfaction of christ , formally imputed to believers , before wrought by him. this , before wrought by him , was formally imputed to all believers before christ. ergo , &c. reason of the major : for if the acts of moral causes may be morally put forth before such causes are themselves actually in being ( as it was in that case of christs satisfaction not then wrought , when putting forth its moral act , in its formal imputation to the formal pardon of the legal-guilt of sins past , to believers before christ ) much more may such moral impediments be laid in before such causes are in being , as shall effectually hinder the putting forth of such their acts , when such causes come actually to be ( as it is in this case of christs satisfaction now wrought , formally imputed to the virtual pardon of believers sins to come , effectually hindering the putting forth of their moral act , the deriving of any legal guilt upon such persons , when such sins are come ) or with any who conceive the satisfaction of christ , not yet formally wrought by him , could not be formally , but only virtually imputed to believers , before christ incarnate , let the argument run thus . that which , but virtually imputed , was efficacious to the formal pardon of the legal guilt of their sins past , who believed in christ yet to come , cannot , being formally imputed , be inefficacious to the virtual pardon of the legal guilt of their sins to come , who believe in christ already come . but the satisfaction of christ , &c. ergo , &c. and then let the reason in the form of argument before used , be accordingly applyed . the sins of believers are so remitted to them , as the satisfaction of christ for their sins was wrought by him and imputed to them . that was not wrought by him , and imputed to them , some parts of it for some , and other parts for other their sins ; but all of it together for all their sins . ergo , &c. for though the sufferings of christ were many , his satisfaction was but one , made up of all his sufferings : and as his sufferings , however severally and successively undergone by him , are yet all together in their legal satisfaction , at once imputed to believers ; so their sins , however ( in the acts of them ) severally and successively committed by them , are yet ( through that satisfaction of those sufferings so imputed ) all together in their legal guilt , at once remitted to believers . if a believers sins past before his justification needed not many particular legal pardons , but were in his justification all compriz'd in one general act of formal pardon ; neither do his sins to come after his justification , need many particular legal pardons ; but are in his justification ( as to their legal guilt ) all as well compriz'd in one general act of virtual pardon . but , &c. ergo , &c. nay to speak more accurately , formal and virtual pardon , are not indeed two different legal pardons , but only two different respects of one and the same general legal pardon , which as it respects sins foregoing , is formal ; as sins following justification , virtual pardon . where can be no new application of christ's legal satisfaction , there can be no new pardon of legal guilt . to the persons of believers can be no new application ( though there may to their consciences ) of christs legal satisfaction . ergo ( though there may to their consciences ) there can be to their persons no new pardon of legal guilt . proof of the minor. where by the first act of faith , the whole satisfaction of christ was wholly apply'd , and never after , either in whole or in part , again disapply'd , there can be no new application of it . but , &c. ergo , &c. in whose natures , sin can never any more recover its reigning power , upon their persons , it can never any more derive its legal guilt . in the natures of believers , sin can never any more recover its reigning power . ergo , &c. the minor is clear from the apostles assertion , rom. 6. 14. sin shall not have dominion over you . the major also clear from the reason of that his assertion there rendred , for you are not under the law , i. e. the rigorous unallay'd threatening of the law , ergo , not under legal guilt : but under grace , i. e. gospel-grace allaying the legal into a gospel-threatning ; ergo , under only gospel-guilt of sin. and this , if needful , may be thus further clear'd . the unsubdu'd power of sin in unbelievers , is a legal punishment : ergo , the guilt binding over to it , legal guilt . the subdued power of sin in believers , only a gospel-chastisement . ergo , the guilt binding over to it only gospel-guilt . ( both these enthymems proceed upon the reason of the 14th . argument ) . and yet further thus ; as the subdued power of sin in believers , considered under the notion of malum paenae , is only a gospel-chastisement , to which therefore only gospel-guilt obligeth ; so consider'd under the notion of malum culpae , it is only gospel-sin , deriving therefore only gospel-guilt , binding over only to gospel-punishment . so far as believers are freed from law-curse for their sins , so far are they freed from law-guilt of their sins . they are wholly freed from all law-curse for all their sins , even sins to come , as well as present and past sins , gal. 3. 13. ergo , &c. reason of the major : because the commination forming obligation to punishment ( as the command to obedience ) , a soul cannot be farther under the obligation of its commination , than under the commination it self . those who cannot be condemned with a sentence of law-condemnation for their sins to come , cannot be guilty with law-guilt of their sins to come . believers , joh. 5. 24. cannot be condemned , &c. compare psal. 32. 2. with rom. 4. 8. both translations and originals with rom. 8. 1. and joh. 5. 24. ergo , &c. reason of the major . because law-threatning , according to which sin derives law-guilt , or obligatito law-punishment upon any persons , is the rule of gods judgment or sentence , which accordingly he always exactly passeth and pronounceth touching such persons : he will by no means clear the guilty , exod. 34. 7. numb . 14. 18. nah. 1. 3. compared with the immediately before cited texts . the principal can no longer be under any thing of that law-obligation , which was fully satisfied by the surety , and that satisfaction fully apply'd to the principal . and so 't is between christ and believer in this point : ergo , &c. reason of the major . because principal and surety ( however physically or metaphysically distinct ) are legally ( or in law-construction ) but one and the same person . the curse of the law can have no more to do with believers in point of condemnation , than the command of the law in point of justification . the command of the law can have nothing at all any more to do with believers in point of justification ; ergo , &c. or thus . the threatnings in the hand of christ is temper'd and allay'd with as much of gospel-indulgence to believers as the precept : the precept in the hand of christ bindeth not to obedience for justification in any their duties to come . ergo , neither the threatning to condemnation , or any legal punishment , for disobedience in any their sins to come . the perfect satisfaction of christ imputed to believers , is no more consistent with any their future obligation to death and hell for their sins to come , than the perfect merit of christ imputed to believers is consistent with any their future forfeiture of heaven and glory , by their sins to come . but &c , ergo , &c. the satisfaction of christ imputed to believers is of as much force to prevent the legal guilt of their sins to come , as to remove the legal guilt of their sins past . but &c. ergo , &c. and if it do not keep off such guilt of their sins to come , from redounding , how doth it keep off such guilt of their sins past , from recurring upon their persons ! law-guilt can no more redound upon the persons of believers from any the acts of sin proceeding from them , than from all the habits of sin residing in them , and even original sin it self more deeply rooted in corrupt nature then the habits . but &c. ergo &c. nay the transient acts of sin proceeding from believers , have much less fundamental , habitual guilt or demerit in them , than the indwelling habits , or original sin , they proceed from : and therefore are much less able to derive any actual legal guilt upon their believing persons . and this was one main ground of comfort the apostle bore up his believing soul upon , under the trouble of all the habits of sin in his nature , rom. 7. 24. that they derived no legal guilt upon his person , rom. 8. 1. such as is the punishment of a believers sin , before formally pardoned , such is the guilt of his sin when committed . that is not ; ergo , this cannot be legal , but only evangelical . reason . because , guilt being a penal obligation , and penal obligation a relation of the person to the punishment , this relation must be such as its term , the punishment related to . a person cannot be under two cross and contrary sentences of god together . a sentence of justification adjudging him to heaven and glory upon the righteousness of christ ; and a sentence of condemnation adjudging him to death and hell for his own sins . but so should a believer be , could any legal guilt redound upon his person from his sins . the reason of the major in the 8th . argument , having its full force here also . an elect persons sins to come , are in a better posture and state of pardon to him in his own person upon his believing , than they were in the person of christ only , before his believing . they , before his believing , were fundamentally pardoned ; ergo , upon his believing pardon'd actually . actually-virtually , though not formally . otherwise something might be legally laid to the charge of god's elect , contrary to that of the apostle , rom. 8. 33. where the word elect is to be understood consequenter ( as they call it ) of elect believing ones . the main strength of all ( that any otherwise minded may have where-against mainly to oppose themselves ) lyeth here . all obligation to punishment , is from the threatning ( as all to obedience from the precept ) a threatning , whose own power of penal , legal obligation is dissolved , can no more give power of penal legal obligation to sins to come , then it can to sins past . so that in conclusion , these cannot be formally pardoned , where those are not pardoned virtually . the opposite opinion , unavoidably exposeth justification to infinite intercision : for if any , the greatest sin , of a justified person bring him under actual obligation to legal punishment ; every , even the least sin must do so too . and the answer , by distinguishing the act and state of justification , that the act of justification is subject to much , but the state to no intercision , will be found altogether incompetent , if we consider , 1. that the act of justification ( if we 'l speak properly ) being god's , and the state ours , the act cannot be rescinded , where the state of justification remains intire : because god alway exactly judgeth of things , accordingly as they are in themselves . 2. that the state of justification cannot remain intire , where the act is rescinded : because things are alwayes exactly in themselves , accordingly as god judgeth of them : insomuch , that whereas the truth of things is the measure and rule of our judgment , gods judgment is the rule and measure of the truth of things . 3. that god's act of justification , as well conserveth , as createth , our state of justification . and therefore so strict and necessary is the dependance of our justified state upon his justifying act , that the one cannot be more or less , either intire or rescinded , then the other . 4. that this answer provides not any salvo against the mischief of such intercision , as well ( if not as much ) by our less , as greater sins : less sins indeed do not waste the conscience , destroy its peace , and dead the sense of justification ( wherein the main of that peace lyeth ) as greater sins do . but if the greatest sins of a believer rescind his justification ( as they cannot but do , if they bring him under legal guilt , or obligation to legal punishment ) his least sins must do it no less than they . which , either as to state , or but act of justification , one would think no man should be forward to assert . plainly destroyeth much of the essential difference , not only between chastisement and punishment properly so called ; but even between the two estates in and out of christ , and the two very covenants themselves , of works and of grace . preserve but these two states under these two covenants , both in their due distinctions , and the following notion must in its full strength and evidence , irresistibly prevail to the final decision of this controversie . such as is the law a person is under , such is his transgression of the precept of that law , such the guilt according to the threatning of that law , redounding upon the person from that transgression ; such the punishment that guilt bindeth over to ; and such the pardon of that both guilt and punishment . if the law or covenant of works , the transgression , guilt , punishment , pardon , all legal . if the law of faith or covenant of grace , the law made up into gospel in the hand of a mediator ( for the law of nature , or moral law , is one and the same under both these distinct covenants ) , the transgression , guilt , punishment , pardon , all accordingly evangelical . two only considerable objections , i apprehend , may be made against this doctrine . this doctrine throws open a wide gap to all loosness and licentiousness of life , as throwing down the greatest mound and bar against sin , fear of contracting legal guilt , or obligation to legal punishment . ans. 1 this seems to be an objection of meer carnal men , who according to the meer , carnal , corrupt complexion and agreeable inclination of their own hearts , thinking with themselves what perverse use they should make of such pardoning grace , were they the subjects of it , make an estimate of others who are indeed so , by themselves judging they also cannot but do the like . but ans. 2 to whose persons the legal guilt of sin is thus pardon'd , in their natures the reigning power of sin is so dethron'd and broken down , as thenceforward they can only be guilty of sins of child-like infirmity ; as to which god stands in christ engaged , upon their gospel-repentance , to walk with them in a covenant of fatherly pardoning grace and mercy : insomuch , that whereas rom. 6. 12. the percept makes it their duty , that sin should not reign in their mortal bodies ; the promise ver . 14. makes it their priviledge , that sin should not have dominion over them , because not under the law , but under grace : and in ver . 15. the apostle urging this very objection , puts it off , as he doth else-where also , with the greatest abhorrence of a god forbid . ans. 3 those who pass under this relative change of the state and condition of their persons from a state of sin to a state grace , perfectly justified in the name of the lord jesus , i. e. by the satisfaction and merit of christ , imputed to them ; pass also at the same time under an absolute change of the meerly carnal , sinful complexion and disposition of their natures , to some degree of a spritual frame and temper , sanctified by the spirit of their god , 1 cor. 6. 11. put into them in habitual sanctification ; and as to actual sanctification , by his actual influences , rom. 8. 14. acting and leading them , as children of god , in all the good wayes of god their father . so that from the later of those changes , they have their principle and power ; and from the former , their argument and engagement , not to walk after the flesh , but after the spirit , rom. 8. 1. their dis-obligation to legal punishment , their obligation to gospel-obedience , and that a powerful constraining obligation also , 2 cor. 5. 14 , 15. ans. 4 among , and above other habits and principles of grace , gospel-faith , child-like love , and fear , have an especial influence upon , and sway in the souls of such changed ones ; to this purpose 1. faith , that instates in such pardoning grace , is the root of all their obedience , as infidelity is the root of all others disobedience : faith purifying their hearts , acts 15. 9. faith , whereby they believe , not only the promises of god , the grace and mercy bound up in them ; but the precepts of god also psal. 119. 66. the obedience and duty bound up in them ; that these precepts are holy , just and good ; and that duty and service they require , reasonable duty and service ; reasonable for god to enjoyn , and reasonable for them to perform . 2. love of christ , upon consideration of what he hath done and suffer'd to procure this pardon for them , which will make his whole law a law of love to them , and their observance of it , sweet and easie for them . and if the woman in the gospel , luke 7. 47 loved christ the more , the more sins he forgave her ; the virtual pardon of believers sins to come , being more , than the formal pardon only of sins past , will make them love more , and consequently sin less , and obey more . 3. child-like fear of fatherly chastisements , will impress and preserve more effectual dread of sin , upon the hearts of believers , than slavish fear of judiciary punishments , will do upon the minds of unbelievers : whereof much might be said here , if enough had not been said before . ans. 5 as formal pardon of sins past doth not less , but more affect with godly sorrow for such sins past ; so doth virtual pardon of sins to come , not engage to less , but more of godly watchfulness against sins , for the time to come . this doctrine will destroy prayer for pardon of sin , leaving neither need of , nor room for it , in believers . but this second objection hath been sufficiently answered in the third head of this discourse , where 't is made clearly to appear , that this doctrine is so far from being destructive of , that 't is instructive in , and about , prayer for pardon . finis . the righteousness of god through faith , upon all without difference who do beleive : in 2 sermons on rom. 3. 22. by nathaniel mather , preacher of the gospel . 1694. the conquests and triumphs of grace , being a brief narrative of the success which the gospel hath had among the indians in new-england . by matthew mayhew . 1695. batteries upon the kingdom of the devil . by mr. cotton mather authour of the late memorable providences , relating to witchcrafts and possessions , and of early piety exemplified . all printed for nath. hiller , at the princes-arms in leaden-hall-street overgainst st. mary-axe . 1695. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a42736-e210 drawn from 1. imputation of believers sins to christ before eommitted by them . 2. imputation of christs satisfaction , to believers before wrought by him. arg. 3. imputation of christs satisfaction as wrought for believers . arg. 4. proportion twixt sin foregoing and following justification , as to any need of many particular legal pardons . arg. 5. impossibility of christ's legal satisfaction being often applyed . arg. 5. proportion between the guilt and power of sin. arg. 7. believers exemption from the curse of the law. arg. 8. believers freedom from the sentence of the law according to the curse . arg. 9. law relation betwixt principal & surety arg. 10. proportion betwixt the commination and command of the law , incumbent upon believers . arg. 11. proportion betwixt satisfaction and merit of christ imputed to believers arg. 12. proportionable power of christ's satisfaction imputed against future and past sins . arg. 13. proportion 'twixt habits & acts of sin in deriving guilt . arg. 14. proportion betwixt guilt and punishment of sin. arg. 15. impossibility of being under two contrary sentences of god , together . arg. 16. different state of pardon of elect persons sins to come , before and after faith. obj. 1. obj. 2. answ. the right way to safety after ship-wrack in a sermon preached to the honourable house of commons, in st. patrick's church, dublin : at their solemn receiving of the blessed sacrament / by john, lord bishop of armagh. bramhall, john, 1594-1663. 1661 approx. 39 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 14 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a29204) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 103291) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1144:11) the right way to safety after ship-wrack in a sermon preached to the honourable house of commons, in st. patrick's church, dublin : at their solemn receiving of the blessed sacrament / by john, lord bishop of armagh. bramhall, john, 1594-1663. [3], 24 p. printed for john crook, dublin : 1661. imperfect: print show-through with loss of print. reproduction of the original in the huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -o.t. -proverbs xxviii, 13 -sermons. forgiveness of sin. sermons, english -17th century. 2003-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-03 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2005-03 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion 17. june 1661. ordered , that the undernamed persons , or any three or more of them , do repair unto his grace the lord primate of all ireland , and in the name of this house , return thanks unto his grace for his great pains taken yesterday in preaching and administring the holy sacrament of the lords supper unto the members of this house , and to desire his grace that he would cause the same to be printed . sir henry tichburne . sir theophilus jones . mr. of the wards . sir francis hamilton . sir robert forth . sir richard kirle . copia vera. ex. per philip ferneley cler. parl. the right way to safety after ship-wrack : in a sermon preached to the honourable house of commons , in st. patrick's church , dublin . jun. 16. 1661. at their solemn receiving of the blessed sacrament . by the most reverend father in god , john lord archbishop of armagh , primate and metropolitan of all ireland . dublin , printed by john crook , printer to the kings most excellent majesty : and are to be sold by john north , bookseller in castle-street . 1661. prov . 28. 13. he that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercy . in these words , two different ways , which sinners take to attain to happiness , are represented to us ; the one short and broad , but impassable , by reason of thieves and precipices ; he that covereth his sins shall not prosper : the other long and strait , but certain and secure , who so confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercy . or if you will , a common shipwrack , wherein two planks are presented to us , to save us from drowning ; the one painted , but rotten , which will undoubtedly deceive us , that is , the plank of dissimulation : he that covereth his sins shall not prosper : the other rugged , but sound , which will infallibly bring us safe to land , that is , the plank of repentance ; he that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercie . or lastly , we may consider herein the sore , the chyrurgery , and the success : the store is sin , the course of chyrurgery is double and different , the one by healing over , or binding up , the other by incision , or cleansing out ; the one with supple oyl , the other with sharp vineger ; the one by bathing , the other by lancing ; the one by covering , the other by confessing . the success is likewise double , and different , proportionable to the two ways of cure ; the one unprosperous , shall not prosper ; the other prosperous , shall have mercy . he that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercie . the sore is spiritual and epidemical , that 's sin , 2. chron. 6. when every one shall know his own sore . and more emphatically isa. 1. 6. it is styled a putrifying sore . so long as our first parents continued in the state of innocencie , roses grew without thorns , as st. ambrose observed . as there was no sin , so there was no sickness ; no sores in the world , either of soul or body . indeed it was not impossible for them to sin , so they should have been gods , not men ; but it was possible for them not to have sinned , which is as much as the angels in heaven can challenge to themselves : for many of them fell irrecoverably , because they found not a redeemer , and those , which stood , owe their conservation , as we do our redemption , to the cross of christ , col. 1. 20. but by the fall of adam the image of god became defaced in man , the rays of heavenly light eclipsed , the sparkles of divine grace cooled , the understanding infatuated , the will confounded , the affections disordered , and in place of these perfections , sin entered into the world as an hereditary contagion , a spirituall leprosie , with the consequents of it , all manner of sores and diseases , both of soul and body , which cannot be cur'd with all the balm in gilead , nor cleans'd with all the water in the ocean ; but onely by the blood of christ , and in order to that , by repentance ; which is the cure commended in my text. hence all those swarms of fevers , catarrhs , gouts , palsies , apoplexies , and the like , which do infest the body of man more than any other living creatures : we may be burned up with cholerick distempers , drowned with hydropick humours , choak'd with the fumes of a vitious stomack , and buried quick in the grave of melancholick imaginations . but the chiefest defects are those of the soul , as 1. ignorance , that in so thick a mist of errours and sects , we know not how to finde out the truth ; and that , which tops up our folly , is , that we are grown too wise in our own conceits . 2. concupiscence , that pestilence of the soul , whose cankered blossoms are still sprouting up in the most regenerate hearts ; this weakened the power of sampson , infatuated the wisdom of solomon , defiled the holiness of david . 3. self-love , an hidden poyson , the rust of the minde , the moth of holiness , the parent of envie , the original of all vices . 4. discontent , which makes up prize what we want , sleight what we enjoy , more sensible of sufferings than of blessings ; like little children , which for want of some toy which they affect , throw away all they have , and fall a crying : we follow contentment hard , but as fools do an ignis fatuus , always at a distance . 5. preposterous fear ; if we do ill , we fear magistrates ; if we do well , we fear detractors : if we be rich , we fear thieves ; if poor , creditors ; if we hate , we fear enemies ; if we love , corrivals . 6. distrust ; we all say , we trust god , but for the most part sooner with our souls , than with our estates , and hardly without a pawn , as usurers would trust a bankrupt . lastly hypocrisie : if there be a mote in the eye , there is a beam in the heart ; if there be a beam in the eye , there is a stack of mischief in the heart : we look one way , and row another way ; blow hot and cold with the same mouth , and have our hearts more double than our breath : we flatter for advantage , and we slander for advantage ; we serve god for advantage , and if need be , we serve the devil for advantage . then since we have all made shipwrack of baptismal grace by sin , since all without exception do stand in need of a second plank to save them from drowning , it remains that we make choice of one of the two presented to us in my text , dissimulation , or conversion ; covering , or confessing : that 's the next part : he that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy . there are three good covers of sin in holy scripture , 1. charity , 2. conversion , 3. pardon : the two first are mens covers , the third is gods cover . 1. charity , prov. 10. 12. hatred stirreth up strife , but love covereth all sins , and 1. pet. 4. 8. charity shall cover the multitude of sins ; charity thinketh no evil , charity suspecteth no hurt , charity interprets all things in the best sense ; charity doth not aggravate or exaggerate the faults of men , but seeks to extenuate them , imputing them to a good intention , or to ignorance , or to surprize , or to the violence of temptation : charity delights not in carrying about fardles of tales and calumnies , as pedlars do their packs , from house to house , nor to divulge the faults of men , as cursed cham did the nakedness of his father ; but to conceal them , and to suppress them , as joseph was not willing to make mary a publique example : charity is not vindictive , to write injuries in marble , but buries them in oblivion . he that wants this cover , is an unclean vessel ; he that hath not this wedding garment , is sure to be cast into outer darkness ; but he that hath it is blessed ; he shall prosper : judge not , and you shall not be judged . the second good cover is conversion , jam. 5. 20. he that converteth a sinner , shall save a soul , and hide a multitude of sins . just as he converts a sinner , and saves a soul , so he hides sins ; not primitively , but derivatively ; not principally , but subordinately ; not sovereignly , but ministerially . he converts morally , but grace , physically ; he by perswading , but grace by renewing . now conversion being an infallible way to remission , he that helps to convert , helps to cover sin ; that 's one way . 2. he that converts a man helps to amend him , and after amendment the shame of former sins is covered ; the memory of them is rather a badge of honour , than a note of ignominy ; like the scar of a souldiers wound , after it is healed . thus he hides the sins of his convert . but he hides his own sin likewise , that is , dispositively he renders himself more capable of gods pardon . blessed are the merciful , for they shall finde mercy : but those busie bodies , whose affections are stronger than their judgements , who labour with tooth and nail to spread abroad their erroneous dreams , must expect no share in this blessing : vvo be to you scribes and pharisees , hypocrites : for you compass sea and and land to make a proselyte , and make him two-fold more a child of hell , than your selves . the third kinde of covering of sin is the forgiving of it . psal. 85. 2. thou hast forgiven their iniquity , and covered all their sins : that is , covered them from the eye of thy justice ; as a wound is covered with a plaister , to cure it ; as a dead body is covered in the grave , to avoid the stench of it ; as the doors of the israelites were covered with the blood of the paschal lamb , to cause the destroying angel to pass by them . in the same regard elsewhere the remission of sins is called a forgetting of them , a casting of them behinde the back , a burying them in the bottom of the sea : of all covers , this is the best , psal. 32. 1. blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven , and whose sin is covered . but these are not the covers intended in my text , the first of which is down-right denial , as gehezi thought to have out-faced his master , and ananias and sapphira , st. peter . prov. 30. the harlot eateth and wipeth her mouth , and saith , what have i done ? men are too apt to forget the all-seeing eye of god ; like woodcocks , which thrust their heads in a bush , and think no man sees them , because they see no man. let the leprosie of gehezi , let the sudden death of ananias & sapphira warn us to take heed how we seek to cover our faults with lyes ; well may it advantage a man a little for the present , as a lye got st. peter his admission into the high priests hall , but it hath ever a foul ending , and within a while forfeits the whole stock of a mans credit and reputation : therefore the scripture saith , that a lying tongue is but for a moment ; and to god it is a very abomination , prov. 12. 22. then tell the truth , and shame the devil : when a fault is ingenuously discovered , the amends is half made . the second cover is mincing or extenuating of our sins , as the sluggard , yet a little sleep , a little slumber , and jonathan did but taste a little honey upon his rods end : but a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump , a few dead flies cause the oyntment of the apothecarie to stink , eccl. 11. he that clippeth a little of the kings coyn , is guilty of treason ; every little sand hath his weight ; and it is all one whether a man be pressed to death with an heap of sand , or a mass of lead , whether a ship be overwhelmed with one great wave , or drowned with many small leaks . more perish by the daily habitual presumptuous practice of lesser sins , than by one foul act of some greater sin . we detest that horrid paradox , that all sins are equal ; that he is as great a transgressor that kills a cock-chicken without a cause , as he that murthers a prince . but he that makes light of any sin , when he comes to make up his account with god , destroys himself ; yet this is often our condition : a mote in our neighbours eye , shews greater than a beam in our own . the third cover is that of excuses . saul pleads for a sacrifice to the lord , to excuse his own disobedience . gehezi pleads the necessity of the sons of the prophets for his bribery , judas alleageth the poor to palliate his covetousness . when the king of heaven invites men to his great supper , one hath married a wife , another purchased a farm , the third must go to prove some oxen ; many frame excuses to themselves with as much ease as the spider weaves her webs . every sin hath its cloak , malice and revenge pretends zeal of justice ; willful murther , i mean in our duellists , which cries to heaven for revenge , muffles it self up in the cloak of honour and reputation . these fig-tree leaves may serve to cover our sins well enough , whilst it is vacation ; but take heed of the term-time when it comes : when conscience begins to spit fire and brimstone in our face , when the devil pulls off the hood wherewith he hath blinded us ; then all these painted excuses vanish away , we hear nothing but hues and cries , we see nothing but evident destruction . the fourth cover is , transferring of our sins upon others ; as adam upon the woman , the israelites upon their fathers . the fathers have eaten sowre grapes , and the childrens teeth are set on edge ; as if the multitude of delinquents did lessen the offence ; nay rather , the more the transgressors , the nearer are the judgements of god. others accuse the times , and evil company of their faults . how should one stick say it remained unscorch'd in the midst of a flaming bundle ? 't is true , as fire begets fire , so doth sin ; evil manners corrupt good , though the operation be not always present : poyson must have a time of working : the more our familiarity grows with sin , the less the deformity thereof appears : after the musick is ended , the tune still remains in our ears . he that makes conscience of his ways , must avoid evil company as he would do poyson , or an house infected with the plague ; and write , lord have mercy upon us on the one door , as well as on the other . others make satan their cover , and cast their sins upon his score . the devil may sollicit us , but he cannot necessitate us : he could not thrust the apple by force down eves throat , nor push christ by violence down from the pinnacle : he hath a sleight of perswading , not a power of compelling : he blows the coals , but the fire is our own : he bites , but it is those which thrust themselves into his jaws : resist the devil , and he will fly from you . lastly , some make god himself the cover for their sins ; of all covers this is the worst : so adam , the woman which thou gavest me . such are they which make all things in the world , even sin it self , to come to pass fatally , inevitably , by virtue of a necessitating decree of god. such are they which make their redeemer their pack-horse ( be it spoken with reverence ) to bear their presumptuous sins : as if he had shed his precious blood to purchase our liberty , that we might turn libertines : deceive not your selves ; to whom christ is made redemption ; to them he is made righteousness and sanctification . this is the fourth cover , the transferring of our sins upon others . the fifth cover is hypocrisie . this was absalom's cloak for his rebellion : such covers were cain's sacrifice , esau's tears , jezebel's fast , the pharisees alms , the harlots vow , the traytors kiss . the world is full of such juglers and mountebanks in religion , of all sects , who cry , great is diana ; and magnifie the image that fell down from jupiter ; meaning nothing but their profit : who cry aloud , lord , lord ; and mutter to themselves , da mihi fallere , da jus●um sanctumque videri : give me grace to cheat and to delude the eyes of the world : painted sepulchres , very glow-worms , which have a counterte it light , without any heat ; pictures with double prospectives , that to the light , presents an angel , the other from the light , a devil : we have pulled down other pictures to set these up in our churches . nothing is more odious unto god , than to make a stalking-horse of religion : christ throws out seve● woes against hypocrites : other sinners may be converted , the hypocrite hardly , because he hath converted conversion it self into sin . such as devour widdows houses under a colour of long prayers , shall receive the greater damnation . the sixth and last cover is impudence to defend our sins , and glory in them , which is used by none but those who have already gotten one foot within the gates of hell. periisse puto cui pudor periit : past shame , past grace . st. austin bewails his youth , led in the streets of babylon , where when he heard his companions boasting of their lewdness , he was forced to feign those things he never did , least he should appear so much more vile , by how much he was more innocent . that which was his detestation , is now the onely garb for a gallant : such a gallant was cham , that gloried in the nakedness of his own father , whilst his more modest brethren covered it with their faces backward : such another gallant was caligula , who said , he liked nothing better in his own disposition than his impudence : a voice fitter for a hangman than an emperour . it was the height of israel's sin , that she had a whores forehead , and refused to be ashamed : shamefastness is the praise of nature , the harbinger of grace , the ensign of honesty , the seat of virtue , the witness of innocencie . but glorying in sin is the next link to damnation . they that use such vain covers as these , shall one day wish for another cover , even the mountains to fall upon them , and the hills to cover them from the presence of the lamb. so unprosperous is this course of concealing : that 's the next part , shall not prosper . first , he shall not prosper in his sin ; he shall not finde that happiness and content in it which he expects . amon was sick of love until he enjoyed thamar , that moment passed , his love was dogged with hatred and repentance . what a deal of conveniencie and hearts ease did ahab promise to himself in naboth's vineyard ; and the very first time he goes to take possession of it , he meets there with the tidings of the utter ruine of himself and family . herod violated all laws of god and man , burthened his conscience , waded through a sea of blood , all to settle the kingdom upon his son ; and he proves an unthrift ; offers half of it to a wanton minion for a dance . so goods ill gotten , are like a coal of fire in a thatch'd house . remember herod . before judas had fingered that beggerly sum of thirty pieces of silver , his desires were upon the rack ; he forgot his duty to god , his fidelity to his master , his care of his own soul. but when he once had it , he could not indure to look upon it , as being the cause of his bane ; he casts it away as an infectious rag ; he disgorgeth it in the very temple : his detestation of that poysonous morsel , was greater than his reverence to that holy place . when pharaoh's lean kine had devoured the fat , they were still no better favoured themselves . let us all but look back to our former excesses , and unlawful pleasures , and see if we may not sighing say with the apostle , what profit had we of those things whereof we are now ashamed ? so he shall not prosper in his sin . secondly , he shall not prosper in his affairs ; not in his temporal undertakings , jer. 22. 30. write this man childless , a man that shall not prosper in his days . israel could not prosper so long as the accursed thing remained hidden in achan's tent. the eleven tribes prospered not against benjamin , until they had humbled themselves by fasting . jonas prospered not in a ship until he had reconcile himself to god ; then he found safety in the belly of a whale . neither shall he thrive or prosper in spiritual graces : no man can serve both god and belial : these hidden sins do choak the seed of the word ; they hinder the efficacie of our prayers , they make the blessed sacrament to become poyson , and our fasts and humiliations , to be meer mockeries . the grace of god will not suffer mates , to be chamber-fellows , and fellow-commoners with her in the same heart . to ask for which of our sins things have succeeded unprosperously with us , were to seek a man in athens at noon day , with a candle and a lanthorn . the lord sanctifie our sufferings to us ; until then , we cannot prosper in our affai●s . thirdly , he shall not prosper in his concealment . god will bring it to light , 2 sam. 12. 2. thou didst it secretly , but i will do this thing before all israel , and before the s●n : — for nothing is covered , which shall not be revealed , luk. 12. 2. almost incredible are the ways which god useth for the discovery of crying sins ; especially of murther . whilst the earth is covered with snow , the ditches , and dunghills , and deformities thereof are hid ; but by the melting of the snow they are discovered : so the vi●lanous projects of dissemblers are so covered over with a shew of snow-white innocence and candor , that they are able like zeuxis his counterfeit grapes to deceive a piercing eye : but when time shall bring truth to light , their horrid ugliness will appear to the eye of the world : we may this day observe the footsteps of god's justice , how he brings the same troubles home to their doors who have been underhand the contrivers and fomenters of them among their neighbours : and now bellona begins to shake her bloody whip among them , as if god should say , thou didst it secretly , but i will do this thing before all europe , and before the sun. just art thou , o lord , and right are thy judgements . so he shall not prosper in his concealment . fourthly , he shall not prosper in obtaining pardon for his sin ; and then all his other advantages are too much to his cost : what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world , and lose his own soul. a damned spirit in hell may as soon hope for forgiveness at the hands of god , as that person who hides and cherisheth his sins privately in his heart ; this is to make god confederate with us in our wickedness and dissimulation : 't is in vain to skin over a sore , whilst dead flesh remains within ; the weapon must first be pull'd out , before the wound can be cured : the medicines of salvation profit not a wounded soul , until the firy darts of satan be drawn out by repentance . so he shall not prosper in his recovery . lastly , these words , he shall not prosper , are a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and signifie as much as he shall suffer , he shall smart for it . 1. he shall suffer in his conscience , those coeca vulnera , those blinde blows which no man knows but he , which feels worse than all the plagues of egypt , and botches of job . this made cain a runnagate upon the face of the earth . 2. the judgements of god shall pursue him both in this life , and the life to come . herod did not only not prosper in his aim , to entail the crown to his posterity , but the day came that paid for all , such a conglomeration of unmeasurable torments , as they are described by josephus , did hardly ever meet together in one man , and which is worse , these were but the fore-runners of greater : judas did not onely miss his contentment in the thirty pieces of silver , but he got thirty curses ; you may finde them psal. 109. the money perished , but the curses stuck by him until they brought him to an halter . envie not a murtherer that braves it upon the stage for the first or second act of a tragedy , nor an oxe , that is fatting for the slaughter , nor a thief that is riding in state to his execution : have patience and expect the catastrophe , eccles. 8. though a sinner doth evil an hundred times , and the lord still prolongeth his days , yet i know it will be well with them that fear the lord ; but it shall not be well with the wicked . thus every way he shall not prosper . and so i leave him lurking under a net , treasuring up to himself wrath against the day of wrath , to come to the true convert in the next words . but he that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercie . confession , with its requisites , contrition and amendment of life , which is here called forsaking , do make up a compleat repentance . which some fathers style a second table after shipwrack , others a baptism of pains and tears : yea , some of them doubted not to say , that confession did loose the bands of sin , and extinguish the fire of hell ; that is , not by way of merit , but by way of impetration ; not by paying , but by pacifying the wrath of god , and so averting his judgements . no , those blessed saints did never dream that the covenant of grace , whereunto we are admitted by baptism , was evacuated by a lapse into sin ; or that any new & different covenant was established by repentance , grounded partly upon the merits of christ , and partly upon our selves . let confession and repentance have their due , but let them not thrust christ out of the chair , from whose grace they flow , from whose acceptation they have their efficacy . thrice happy are they which use this plank aright , to bring them through the raging billows of this sinful world , to the haven of eternal bliss . confession is as ancient as our first parents , whom god himself did call to the performance of this duty . it was practised among the israelites , by divine precept , num. 5. 7. by those jews that repaired to the baptism of john , matth. 3. by those ephesian converts , acts 19. prescribed by st. james , jam. 5. confess one to another , and pray one for another . endowed with such ample privileges , as in the first epistle of st. john , if we confess our sins , he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins , and cleanse us from all unrighteousness . and here in my text , he that covereth his sins shall not prosper , but he that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercy . there is no better physick for a full stomach than a vomit ; nor for a soul replete with sin , than confession . bodily sores do oftentimes compell a man to put off natural shamefac'dness , and to expose his less honourable parts to the view of the chirurgion . ought not every one to be as solicitous for his soul ? we offend god three ways ; by the imaginations of our hearts ; by the words of our mouths ; by the actions of our lives . if we intend to please god , we must take a clean contrary course ; for evil thoughts of the heart , bring contrition of the heart ; for corrupt speaches of the mouth , bring confession of the mouth ; for wicked actions of our life , bring fruits worthy amendment of life . buy this means we bring glory to god , and shame to our selves ; and prevent that great confusion of face , which otherwise must fall upon us at the day of judgement , before god and angels and men. a contrite sinner stands not upon terms of reputation with god , or with his church . why should we be more affraid to confess , than we were to offend ? to make those the witnesses of o●● tears , who have been the witnesses of our faults to take away the scandal that we our selves have g●ven ? let the world take notice of our sin , so may likewise take notice of our repentance . 〈◊〉 great sickness often ushers in health , and a bet●●● habitude of the body ; a broken bone , when it is w●●● knit , grows the stronger : so the first shall be l●●● and the last shall be first . indeed innocence ( if t●● herb of grace were to be found ) is better than c●●fession : but there is more joy in heaven over one sin●●● that repenteth , than ninety nine just persons that need●● repentance , among the holy angels : da pater 〈◊〉 per eis gaudere de nobis , &c. grant , o father , t●●● they may always rejoyce over us , that thou ma●● always be glorified by them for us , that we and th●● together may praise thy holy name , o thou t●●● art the creator of men and angels . no man can doubt but the romanists have gro●● abused confession , by tricking it up in the robes ●● a sacrament ; by obtruding a particular and plen●● enumeration of all sins , to man , as absolutely ne●●●sary to salvation by divine institution , by mak●●● it with their commutations , a remedy rather for confessors purse , than the confitents soul , by in●●●sing ludibrious penances : as chaucer observed , knew how to impose an easie panance , where he l●●ed for a good pittance , by making it a pick-loc● know the secrets of states and families , scire 〈◊〉 secreta domus atque unde timeri , by absolving b●● ●hey enjoyn ecclesiastical satisfaction , by reducing to a customary formality ; as if it were but the ●oncluding of an old score to begin a new. so on ●he other side it cannot be denied that our protestant confessions are for the most part too general ; we ●onfess we are sinners , and that 's all , which signifies nothing : and a little too presumptuous : they that dare not trust their own judgement about their estates , without the opinion of a lawyer , nor about ●heir bodies , without the advise of a physician , are wise enough for their souls , without any other dire●tion : and a little too careless , as if we were telling story of a third person that concern'd not us : we ●onfess light errors willingly , which neither intrench ●pon our credit , nor threaten us with punishment ; ●ut greater crimes , where the discovery brings with fear of ignominy and disgrace , or suffering for them , ●e conceal and cover with as much art as may be . ●astly , even whilst we are confessing , we have too ●ften a minde to return with the dog to his vomit , and ●ith the sow to her wallowing in the mire ; what 〈◊〉 this but a plain mocking of god ? far from ●●y hopes of mercy : for though covering alone be ●sufficient cause of punishment , he that covereth ●●s sins shall not prosper : yet confession alone , with●●t forsaking , is not a sufficient cause of mercy ; but 〈◊〉 that confesseth and forsaketh , shall have mercie . not ●●rbears them in natural , or onely by an outward ab●●inence , but forsaketh them as a man would cast a ●nake out of his bosome , with detestation . an outward abstinence is not the true change of a christian : like a dog that is muzzel'd , or a thief that is manacled , which still retain their former dispositions : when the unclean spirit returns to his old habitation , and finds it swept and garnished , not throughly , but superficially cleansed by an outward reformation , without an inward renovation , he brings with him seven other spirits , and the latter end of that man is worse than the beginning . he that absteins from an old sin not for conscience towards god , but for fear of shame or punishment , is like that wolf whereof the father speaks , which came unto the sheepfold , to kill and to devour , the shepherd waking , the dogs barking scared him away indeed , but altered not his wolvish nature : lupus venit fremens , lupus redit tremens ; lupus est & fremens & tremens . so forsakes them , not forbears them . again , forsakes them , not conceals them : penetration of bodies , is a monster in philosophy : an heart inwardly replete with secret sins , hath no room for grace : a good lesson , or a good motion to it , is like a spark of fire falling into a vessel of water , presently extinguished ; or like good seed falling among thorns , soon choak'd . what fellowship hath light with darkness , or christ with belial ? in natural transelementation , there must be some affinity between the bodies , as fire and air , not fire and water ; for the too great contrariety : but in spiritual conversion , no disparity can hinder the change : the greatest sins do often produce the most signal conversions , as it was in saul , changed in the height of his fury from a persecutor to an apostle , from a wolf to a shepheard , from a pyrat to a governour . we cannot live as amphibians in two such contrary elements , as a resolved course of sin and of godliness ; such half converts , who have nothing but a few idle yawning desires , can expect nothing at the hands of god , but to be spewed out of his mouth for their luke-warmness ; the mouth of hell is full of such vain wishes and wishers , which use no serious means to gain them liberty , but onely thrust their heads out of the grate , to look about them . a man may break all the commandments of god , and be guilty of none , if it be against his resolution , if he be heartily sorry for it : it is not so much sin , as impenitence , for which men are damn'd : and on the other side , he that breaks but one commandment habitually , and resolvedly , is guilty of all . i fear this is many of our conditions , we rather cover our sins , or forbear them , than forsake them ; we desire rather to make a truce with god , than a peace ; we do with our sins , as servants do with their fires when they go to bed , put them not out , but rake them up ; so when we come to reckon with conscience , and to make up our accompts with god , we do not desire to take an everlasting farewell of our sins , ab hoc momento in aeternum , as st. austin saith , but onely a coverfen , to hide them in an heap of devotions , for the present , whilst we are doing some superficial duties to god , or whilst the blessed sacrament doth strike a kind of reverence into our hearts , with a purpose to re-assume them upon the first opportunity ; as the serpent doth her poyson , which she had left behinde her in her den. can any man think that such a fained show of forsaking our sins , can be acceptable to god ? o no! it is too hollow-hearted . that conversion which findes mercy , must be serious and sincere : gods forgiveness and our forsaking , go still hand in hand together : forgive us our trespasses , there 's the one ; and lead us not into temptation , there 's the other : turn thy face from my sins , o lord , there 's the former ; and make me a clean heart , there 's the latter : lord have mercie upon us , there 's forgiveness ; and incline our hearts to keep thy law , there 's forsaking : that brings me to the last part , shall have mercy . one might ask , which of all gods mercies ? the air we breathe , the light we behold , the ground we tread upon , the meat we eat , whatsoever we are , or have , or hope for , it is his mercie : by it we live , and move , and have our being : thou hast crowned me with thy mercie , saith david : it is a metaphor taken from a garland , which is composed of many and different flowers . gods mercie was the onely motive to our redemption ; his merciful grace preventing us and assisting us , is the onely means to apply this redemption ; the consideration of this mercie is that which incourageth us to repentance : as christ prayed father forgive them ; the poor thief grew bold , lord remember me . mercie is the end of our repentance , that we may finde forgiveness : mercie is our supporter in all our sorrows for sin , that we roar not out with cain , my sin is greater than that it can be forgiven ; nor betake our selves desperately , with judas , to an halter . mercie is our onely plea , when we do repent ; we cannot say we have done such and such good offices for the time past , we are too unprofitable servants , we dare not promise of our selves , to be more serviceable for the time to come , we are too desultory creatures : lord forsake not us , least we forsake thee . mercy is the object of our hopes , the total sum of our desires ; both grace and glory do depend upon mercy . so mercie is the beginning , the middle , the end of our happiness . but st. john will tell us what mercy this is ; if we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins : this mercy then is forgiveness of sin . that which is called mercy here , is called justice there : it is mercie to make a gracious promise , bus it is justice to keep it . without this mercy of forgiveness , all the other mercies of god are no mercies , but judgements : in this mercy true blessedness doth consist , blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven : what confort can a person sure to be condemned have , without hope of a pardon ? the best musick in the world , is , son , thy sins are forgiven thee , when god shall stretch forth the golden scepter of mercy , that is , to all those who for his love do mortisie their earthly members , and forsake their own lusts : for he that hideth his sins shall not prosper , but he that confesseth and for saketh them , shall have mercie . now among all the means ordained by god for the obtaining this saving mercy mentioned in my text , after baptismal grace , there is none more efficacious than the blessed sacrament of the body and blood of christ , the very conduit-pipe of grace to all worthy communicants , the manna of life and immortality , the precious antidote against the sting and infection of the infernal serpent , that inestimable love-token which christ at his departure left to his church , to keep in remembrance of him ; the true pool of bethesda , wherein we may be cured of all our infirmities . preparation of our selves is necessary before the performance of all holy duties , but especially before the holy sacrament . we ought to repair to the participation of this with as great care and anxiety , as if we were immediately to depart out of the world . it was death for an uncircumcised person to eat of the paschal lamb ; we must circumcise our eyes , our ears , our hands and our hearts ; and take heed how we come to this wedding feast , without the wedding garment . o lord , be merciful to all those who prepare their whole hearts to seek thee , though they be not purged according to the purification of the sanctuary . finis . the freeness of gods grace in the forgiveness of sins by jesus christ, vindicated. against the doctrine of mr. fergusson, in his sermon preached at the morning lecture, the fifth of august 1668. in a letter to a friend. by h. w. a lover of the truth that is according to godliness. h. w. 1668 approx. 46 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 11 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a67000) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 33714) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1940:13) the freeness of gods grace in the forgiveness of sins by jesus christ, vindicated. against the doctrine of mr. fergusson, in his sermon preached at the morning lecture, the fifth of august 1668. in a letter to a friend. by h. w. a lover of the truth that is according to godliness. h. w. 19, [1] p. printed for j. j. and are to be sold at william crooks, at three bibles near temple bar, and at peter parker's in billeter lane, london : anno 1668. "mr. fergusson" = robert ferguson, who replied to this tract in an appendix to: justification onely upon a satisfaction. the title of the sermon which provoked the controversy has not been traced. reproduction of the original in the exeter college library, oxford university. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng ferguson, robert, d. 1714 -controversial literature -early works to 1800. grace (theology) -early works to 1800. forgiveness of sin -early works to 1800. 2008-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-02 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-03 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2008-03 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the freeness of gods grace in the forgiveness of sins , by jesus christ , vindicated . against the doctrine of mr. fergusson , in his sermon preached at the morning lecture , the fifth of august 1668. in a letter to a friend . by h. w. a lover of the truth that is according to godliness . rom. 3. 24. being justified freely by his grace , through the redemption that is in jesus christ . col. 1. 14. in whom we have redemption through his blood , even the forgiveness of sins . prov. 12. 15. he that justifieth the wicked , and he that condemneth the just , even they both are abomination to the lord. london , printed for j. j. and are to be sold at william crooks , at three bibles near temple bar , and at peter parker's in billeter lane , anno 1668. my friend , being the other day in your company , you told me of your being the fifth instant at the morning lecture , where ( as you said ) a great company of well disposed people were assembled to hear : i was glad to hear it . then you gave me to understand that one mr. fergusson there preached at that time from heb. 2. 10. and you also gave me in writing an account of his sermon , desiring me to peruse it . sir , your paper i return with many thanks , and therewith also a few animadversions upon the sermon , which you may read when your leasure permits you . there are three faults inexcusable in a preacher , as all do acknowledge , for it is in it self most evident . first , to propose a text out of the holy scriptures , and thence to draw doctrines which are true in themselves , but which the text affords not . this is one way of prophaning the word of god , and of doing the work of the lord negligently . but , secondly , it is a greater fault , and much more to be lamented , when such doctrines or theses are grounded upon a text of scripture , which are so far from being rightly drawn from that text , that they are deducible from no other text , being such doctrines as contain not the truth in them , but are false , and therefore contrary to the scriptures of truth . but , thirdly , the fault is then greatest and most of all to be lamented , when the doctrines or articles proposed as from a scripture , are not meerly false , and errors of a mean import , but are false in matters of high concernment in faith or manners . these three things , sir , came to mind by the unhappy occasion of your preachers sermon , whom i may charge , though not with the first of those faults , ( for he was not so little unhappy , as to preach truth from a text that reach'd it not to him ) yet i may charge him with not onely the second ; but the third also : for alas ! ( i grieve to speak it ) he preach'd such a doctrine , which greatly reflects disparagement upon almighty god , in respect of his goodness , wisdom , and power , and therefore must needs have much of malignity in it , how devout soever the preacher may seem to be . now that you may not think me to be rash and inconsiderate in thus charging that gentleman , give me leave to evince by a few words the truth of the charge . i pray consider his text , and his doctrine grounded thereon . the words of the text are these , for it became him for whom are all things , and by whom are all things , in bringing many sons unto glory , to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings . his doctrine was this ; that there was no other way imaginable or possible , whereby god might forgive sins , but by a full and plenary satisfaction made to his justice by the death of his son. he branches this doctrine into three propositions ; which are these , 1. that it is not possible for god to pardon sin and save sinners , without satisfaction to his justice . 2. that it was impossible to obtain satisfaction by any other way but by christ . 3. that christ hath given god a full and plenary satisfaction , and thereby made way for the bringing of all those sons to glory that the father and he agreed about when he undertook this work . now consider ( i pray you ) seriously whether any man but one that is first prepossess'd with such an opinion , could have drawn such a doctrine from that text. the terms i am sure are at a vast distance . the text saith , it became him for whom are all things , &c. now suppose that to be in the text which is not , viz. that christ made satisfaction to the justice of god for mens sins , in mr. f's sence ; it will not follow from this , it became god , &c. first , that it was impossible to have been otherwise ; for mr. f. knows well enough , that though god cannot chuse good or evil , yet he may chuse this or that good ; so that when it is said , that such or such a thing becomes god , it doth not follow that the omission of that , and the chusing of another , might not also have become him . it did well agree with the wisdom and goodness of god , to make the captain of our salvation perfect through sufferings ; but what are we , poor silly worms , that we should hence conclude , that the wisdom of god could have found out no other way for his goodness to appear unto us in ! let us be thankful for this that he hath done , and admire his wisdom in it ; but let us not by our wisdom set bounds to the onely wise god. however , let us not do it , grounding upon a text that will not justifie us therein , as this preacher doth . but secondly , how doth it arise from this text , that christ made full satisfaction to the justice of god ? the text saith , — to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings . as if for god to make christ perfect through sufferings , and for christ to make satisfaction to the justice of god were all one . whereas , for god in bringing many sons to glory , to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings , seems plainly to imply no more but this ; to make the captain a perfect and compleat captain or leader . 1. by making him to be to his souldiers or followers , those believers he was to bring to glory , a pattern in doing , in suffering , and in receiving of glory . 2. by making him to have pitty and compassion towards them in all difficulties and sufferings , through having experience of the same himself . 3. and lastly , by giving him power to supply them in the way , and give them glory at the end , inasmuch as by his sufferings he came to sit down at the right hand of god. if any man of a more refined wit than ordinary , can draw any thing more from these terms , yet i perswade my self , that no man will ever be able to convince an impartial hearer , that christ's being made perfect through sufferings , is , christ's making full satisfaction to the justice of god. but if this proposition be not to be found in the text , much less the other two ; that it was not possible for god to pardon without a satisfaction , and that no other could do it but christ . now having shew'd you , that his doctrine is not in his text , nor deducible from it ; i shall shew you in the second place that it is false , and therefore not deducible from any text , but contrary to the scriptures . but to make good this charge , it would behove me to write a large volumn , if i should disprove all the frivolous arguments that are wont to be brought for the maintaining it , but i intend only a short letter , and therefore shall content my self , 1. to shew you the contradiction of this doctrine to it self , and to the holy scriptures . 2. to vindicate those scriptures , or the chief of them he brings for proof , from giving countenance to his doctrine . and , first , that it is contradictory to it self and the scriptures , observe two clauses in it ; one is , making full satisfaction to the justice of god ; the other is , god's forgiving sins . to make full satisfaction to the justice of god for sin , is in this preacher's sence , to bear all that punishment which is due to men for their sins in their stead . to forgive sin , is , according to the apostle paul , ( rom. 4. 7 , 8. ) not to impute sin , or to deal with the sinner as if he had not finned . but now every one may perceive that these two are contradictory ; as , to bear all the punishment due to sin , and to bear none of the punishment due to sin . to exact of the sinner or his surety ( as they speak ) all the punishment which he owes ; and , to exact neither of the sinner nor his surety any thing that he owes : for whether the sinner himself or his surety bear the punishment of his sin , sin is in that case imputed . if these be not flat contradictions , i know not what are ; for the terms in the affirmation and negation , are taken in the same sence and latitude : so that for any one to say , that god could not pardon mens sins till christ had made full satisfaction to his justice , is alike as to say , the king cannot pardon a rebel without punishing as the law requires ; forasmuch as to pardon , is , not to punish as the law requires . and this is so clear and evident , that in all other cases save in this , even the asserters of this opinion do easily perceive the absurdity : which of them having committed an offence , deserving death by the law of the land , would account himself pardoned , if all that punishment were exacted that the law required ? in debts of money , which may be transfer'd from one to another , which of them would account himself forgiven a debt of an hundred pounds , if he himself , or any other paid it in his name ? what an empty vain word would forgiveness be at this rate ? pay me all you owe me and i will forgive you , is either a senceless or cruel saying . what! must we be absur'd onely in our faith ? must absurdities there be reputed for mysteries ? why not believe the papists then , when they assert the bread to be flesh , and say it is a mystery ? nay , much rather believe them than these , for they have the words of scripture on their side , but these have not , save ill-forg'd premises . thus you may see this doctrine is contradictory to it self , as much as punishing and not punishing , exacting a debt and not exacting it , are flatly contradictory . that it is contrary to the scripture , is proved by the same labour , for every thing absurd , and contradictious to it self , must needs be contrary to the holy scriptures . but more particularly , 1. it is contrary to all those scriptures that speak of god's forgiving , or pardoning , or remitting our sins through jesus christ , or through his blood. and i think i need not tell you , the scriptures are full of such . will it not be impertinent to name a few among so great a number ? nay , is it not the main purport of the gospel , to shew that god forgives us our sins by jesus christ ? john baptist the fore-runner of christ , — preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins , luk. 3. 3. christ himself taught us to pray , forgive us our debts , as we also forgive our debtors , mat. 6. 12. & v. 14 , 15. for if ye forgive men their trespasses , your heavenly father will also forgive you . but if ye forgive not men their trespasses , neither will your father forgive your trespasses . will any man be beholden to us for forgiving his trespasses , when we have receiv'd full satisfaction , as much to a tittle as the law allows ? or , dare we say , we immitate god , when we do not pardon them any thing , except we have our due to a doit ? might not the servant in the parable ( mat. 18. ) have excus'd himself for his severity to his fellow-servant by this doctrine ? for his lord said , v. 32 , 33. o thou wicked servant , i forgave thee all that debt , because thou desiredst me ; shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant , even as i had pitty on thee ? might he not have replyed , lord , thou didst receive a full and plenary satisfaction for me , but i received no satisfaction for him , and therefore thy example is no argument in this case ? is not this to clude the most plain and excellent precepts and arguments in the gospel ? christ saith in the institution of his last supper , mat. 26. 28. for this is my blood of the new testament [ marg. covenant ] which is shed for many for the remission of sins . he doth not say , for the satisfaction of divine justice ; for the bearing the punishment of your sins : for what hath a covenant or testament to do with satisfaction , or punishment for sin ? and after his resurrection , he said unto them , [ the diciples ] thus it is written , and thus it behoved the christ to suffer , and to rise from the dead the third day : and that repentance and remission of sins [ not satisfaction for sins ] should be preached in his name &c. accordingly the preachings of the apostles and evangelists are full of this doctrine of remission of sins . see a few , act. 2. 38. ch . 3. 19. ch . 5. 31. ch . 10. 43. ch . 13. 38. 2. this doctrine of christ satisfying the justice of god by bearing the punishment due to their sins , is contrary to all those scriptures , that attribute our remission or salvation to the grace , mercy and kindness of god : for what is more contrary to mercy than punishing the miserable to the utmost ? what is more contrary to grace , than to give nothing but what one is paid for ? what more opposite to kindness or goodness , than exacting all that strict justice may require ? now the name of the lord is proclaimed , exod. 34. 5 , 6 , 7. the lord , the lord god , merciful and gracious , long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth , keeping mercy for thousands , forgiving iniquity , and transgression and sin ; ( here it follows , that i may take notice of it in my way , because the preacher urges it to prove that god cannot forgive sin without satisfaction ) and that will by no means clear the guilty . i pray friend , consider this text that is cited by us both , and that upon a contrary account , and see if it can possibly be meant by the lords not clearing the guilty , after his being merciful , gracious , &c. that he will indeed pardon sin , when he hath taken as much punishment as the law requires , but he wil by no means bate any thing of that . as if the lord were very gracious and merciful , because he takes no more than the law allows . o wonderful mercy , that this preacher attributes to the most merciful lord god! see psal . 103. 8 , 10. the lord is merciful and gracious , slow to anger and plentious in mercy . he hath not dealt with us after our sins , nor rewarded us according to our iniquities . but according to this gentlman , god must reward every one according to his iniquities ; for every one must bear the full punishment of his sins , either in his own person or in the person of another . see v. 13. like as a father pityeth his children , so the lord pityeth them that fear him . that is , if the lord can get any body to be punished in their stead , and make full satisfaction to his avenging justice , then they shall go free . see also jer. 3.12 . joel 2.13 . jona . 4.2 . or shall i transcribe a great part of the bible to this purpose . i cannot omit to mind you of our lords precept , luk. 6.35 , 36. where he saith , love ye your enemies , and do good and lend , hoping for nothing again : and your reward shall be great , and ye shall be the children of the highest : for he is kind unto the unthankeful and to the evil . be ye therefore merciful as your father also is merciful . is god kind to the unthankful and evil ? how comes it to pass ? according to this gentleman , either christ or some other made satisfaction for them , or else i know not how it could be . 2 cor 1. 3. god is called the father of mercies . in that prophesie , luke . 1. 77 , 78. to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins , through the tender mercy [ marg . bowels of mercy ] of our god. the great reason of the blessings of the new covenant is this : for i will be merciful to their unrighteousness , and their sins and their iniquities will i remember no more . heb. 8. 12. i would sain pass from this matter as obvious to every one , but that text in jam. 2. 13. will not let me go . for he shall have judgement without mercy , that hath shewed no mercy : and mercy rejoyceth against judgement . where you may observe that mercy is opposed to judgement or satisfaction of justice , and that gloryeth against this . whereas were this gentlemans doctrine true , judgement would glory against mercy . that this doctrine of full satisfaction to avenging justice ( i say ) is contrary to all those sriptures that attribute our remission or salvation to the grace of god : me thinks i should not need to cite texts in this case to such as profess to live under a covenant of grace , and commonly suspect every thing that is but said to lessen the grace or favour of god. but give me leave to mention one or two among a multitude . and that of the apostle to the ephesians , ( ch . 1. 7. ) doth first present it self , in whom we have redemption through his blood , the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace . here forgiveness of sins is ascribed to the riches of gods grace , though it comes through the blood of christ . would it have bin any such rich grace for god to let men alone after he had punished their sins to the utmost ? see col. 1. 14. a parallel place to this in eph. i. in both which you may note that redemption is expounded by remission of sins . see also rom. 3.24 . being justified freely by his grace , through the redemption that is in jesus christ . how justified by grace or savour , if by a full satisfaction ? o , you will say ; because god gave christ , and procur'd him to make this satisfaction . but suppose that could be ; how then justified freely or gratis by his grace , if he received a ful satisfaction ? can a man be said to deliver his imprisoned debtor freely or gratis by his grace out of prison , and from his obligation , though he procure another to pay him the mony ? sure mr. f. would not think so , if he were that captive debtor and so deliver'd . and this apostle in the next chap. rom. 4. 4. and 11. 6. argues the opposition between grace and debt , and grace and works , shewing that they mutually destroy each other ; so that if god received full satisfaction , he is obliged in justice , as this preacher saith , to take no more ; and our justification accordingly will be no longer of grace , but of debt . — thus this preacher doth unawares destroy the grace of god , while he preaches up a penal satisfaction of justice . now i might proceed to other scriptures and arguments to which this doctrine of satisfaction is contrary : but i am writing a letter , and perhaps i may have occasion to produce some of them by way of answer to some of his argumentations . and i shall as i go along , prove against him that which i proposed in the beginning , as the third and greatest fault in a preacher , namely , that his doctrine is not only false , but false in a matter of high comcernment in the faith of a christian . and first i take notice he argues from gods threatnings that there must be a satisfaction : but he allows this satisfaction to be made either by the criminal or by his surety . but i would fain have him to shew me that threatning of punishment , that may be satisfied either by the party offending or his surety . to adam he saith , in the day thou eatest — dying thou shalt die , gen. 1. 17. and , cursed is every one that continueth not in all things , &c. deut. 27.26 . & cal. 3.10 . the soul that sinneth it shall die , ezek. 18.4 . here is no mention of a surety . let him that addeth , or its surety , take heed of the curse denounced against him that adde●● or diminisheth &c , but perhaps he hath a surety that can and will bear it for him . 2. he argues from the congruity of it to the righteousness , wisdom and other attributes of god , to pardon sin upon a full compensation . he cites rom. 3 . 25 , 26. — that he might be just . but we have seen already in the 24. vers . of that chap. that the justice there meant , is such as consists with justifying gratis and therefore without a full compensation . 3. he argues from the holiness , purity and righteousness of the nature of god to the necessity of the punishment of every sin . but he doth here again take the boldness of adding a surety , for the bearing of this punishment . i beseech you my friend , make a stand , and tell me , supposing such a nature in god as obliges him to punish every sin , whether that nature can be satisfied with the punishment of another that is innocent instead of him that is guilty ? and again , whether that holy nature of god doth not oblige him as much not to punish the righteous , yea though he be willing , as to punish the guilty ? he saith , he cannot see how it was consistent with the righteousness of god , to punish an innocent , if he could have saved sinners without it . o wonderful righteousness of god , that obliges him to punish an innocent person , because he cannot pardon freely the least sin ! an innocent person did i say ? you must suppose that this person is of equal worth to a whole world of innocent persons ; and then you must suppose that god is necessitated from his nature to punish eternally this whole world of innocent persons , if he will save from eternal punishment a few guilty persons . this may seem strange , but if you consider it , you will find it full of truth ; for it is suppos'd , even by this preacher , that christ did as much in the bearing of the punishment of mens sins , as if the whole world of sinners should have been punished eternally . now it follows clearly , that if you suppose the surety to have been righteous men , and not jesus christ ; there must have been a whole world of such righteous men to have suffer'd eternally , to have done that which christ did in satisfying for mens sins . i know , they that receive this doctrine from the pulpit , are wont to consider the sufferings of christ as the sufferings of a few hours , but they ought to consider them as equivalent to eternal sufferings : they ought also to consider them , not only as the sufferings of a single person , but of as many persons as it is possible may be saved by him , or rather , of as many as they are of worth to save , which are , they say , all the world , and more if more there were : and then let them if they can ascribe such a nature as this to the most merciful and just god. o , whither doth error drive men ? here perhaps they will argue , that it was the single manhood only that suffered , it was the godhead that supported it , and gave weight and vallue to the sufferings ; but the god-head cannot suffer . but what is that to say , but either to confess the charge i have laid against that doctrine , or else to make the satisfaction childish and ludicrous . for if the satisfaction given by christ be real and something distinct from what god had before , then it contains all that horrible cruelty i have spoken of ; if it be not real nor distinct from what god had before such satisfaction given , then it is childish , giving with the one hand , and receiving with the other , or putting the thousands of pounds of his own godhead into the scale with the penny of the manhood , ( as i may so say ) to make up a full satisfaction or payment ; who that considers it can bear such a doctrine ? he goes about to prove the necessity of punishment of all sin from two considerations ; first , from the nature of sin to which punishment is due without any determination of god. that he that doth ill should suffer ill , is not so much ( saith he ) from the will of god , as from the nature of ill . but then , 1. how comes it to pass that this punishment is not inflicted upon him that doth the ill , but upon another ? doth not his bringing in a surety here , overthrow his reason ? if sin require to be punished , it is in him that doth the evil , not in another ? but , 2. suppose sin doth in its own nature deserve punishment , yet this doth not necessitate god to punish every sin : for we men , although we have a natural right to our limbs , and he that maim's us deserves punishment for so doing , if there were no positive law to that purpose , notwithstanding he that is so maimed may forgive him that offence . so he that sins , gives god a right to punish him , but god may dispense with his right , if he please , or else he were more impotent than we contemptible worms . he saith , we may observe throughout the bible that the principle by which god punisheth sin , is the righteousness of his nature , so that it is against justice in him not to punish : and he cites , 2 thes . 1 , 6 , 7. it is a righteous thing with god to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you , and to you that are troubled , rest . here we see it is as wel righteous to recompence to them that are troubled , rest , as to recompence tribulation to them that trouble . but is that also from the necessity of god's nature , and not from his gracious will , and merciful determination ? again , saith he , the necessity of sins punishment is argued from the heathens having a sense of it without divine revelation . but did not the same light in the heathens teach them , that god was merciful and gracious , pardoning sin without a satisfaction or full punishment ? the ninivites did not believe that god either by the necessity of his nature or threatning was oblig'd to punish . who can tell ( say they , notwithstanding an absolute threatning ) if god will turn and repent , and turn away from his fierce anger , that we perish not ? jonah 3.9 . and in vers . 10. it is said , and god saw their works , that they turned from their evil way , and god repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them , and he did it not . what ? did he inflict this evil upon some other that should bear it in their stead ? where is this necessity of his nature , or veracity of his threatnings , obliging him to punish every sin ? he saith , it would render all laws ludicrous , if the breach of them should not be punished . and will not all men hate and abhor that government as cruel and tyrannical , where every the least breach of the law must certainly be fully avenged ? do not all governors forgive offences which they might punish , and that with great applause of their clemency , and as that wherein they do most of all resemble god the great governour ? but are therefore all the laws in the world ludicrous ? but he will make us amends for this intollerable severity , by an execrable cruelty , and that is , by substituting one who is in respect of his worth aequipollent to so many , or so many hundreds rather of innocent persons as are needed for sureties , to suffer this punishment instead of the offenders . but how contrary is this to the reason of punishment , and to scripture ? which though it sayes that christ was made a surety of a better testament , ( heb. 7. 22. ) yet never our surety , much less to bear punishment in our stead . and here he cites ( indeed in a quite contrary sence to its true meaning , so strangely impertinent are his proofs ) gen. 18. 25. shall not the judge of all the earth do right ? for abraham urges this against god's destroying the few righteous with the many wicked ; but mr. f. urges it for the many righteous , or of one equivalent to many that a few wicked may go free . this is the natural righteousness of god the judge of all the earth , which he preaches . the phoenicians and carthaginians sacrificing a few men , or some of their children in the behalf of the whole people , seems to come short of this in cruelty and unrighteousness . now he comes to his second proposition , that it was impossible for satisfaction to be made any other way but by christ . but having made it appear that the satisfaction he talks of is inconsistent with the nature of god , with his righteousness , mercy and grace , as they are set forth in scripture , this proposition falls to the ground , and is impertinent . onely i may observe , that in rejecting of sacrifices , new obedience and sufferings , though he cites psalm . 51. 16. for the defectiveness of sacrifices , yet he takes no notice of the next verse , where the psalmist saith , the sacrifices of god are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart , o god , thou wilt not despise . so he cites psalm . 50. 12. to the same purpose , but waves that which follows in verse 14 , & 15. offer unto god thanksgiving , and pay thy vows unto the most high. and call upon me in the day of trouble , and i will deliver thee , and thou shalt glorifie me . he doth not reject slain beasts , and burnt offerings , that he may have slain men , or such as may be eternally or infinitely punished and tormented in the stead of the guilty ; but he requires in those places sincere and hearty obedience in things morally and truly good , in place of things ceremonial and only positively good . here he tells us , that the sufferings of men cannot satisfie , because they are not infinite in weight , for men are not capable of that . they are capable of infinite sufferings in respect of length and continuance ; but that is to be alwayes suffering without ever compleating satisfaction . thus we see that the punishment laid upon christ , is according to him equal to the sufferings of men for evermore . but these men if they had been sit sureties , must have been righteous men ; so the sufferings of christ are equal to the sufferings of millions of righteous men for evermore . but how dare we say , that god , who loved his own son more than millions of righteous men , much more than millions of sinners , should yet lay upon him the punishment due to sinners , and that which is equal to the eternal sufferings of millions of righteous men , for the saving of a lesser number of sinners ? would it not even grieve a man of ingenuity to be saved ( if it were possible ) at this rate ? he saith the satisfaction is alwaies spoken of , as having been done to reconcile god. but it will be very hard , i think impossible , for him to shew but one scripture that saith so , nay that saith but that christ dyed to reconcile god to us , which is far less . how ordinary is it for men to think the scriptures speak what they would have them speak ? it saith indeed , that — when we were enemies , we were reconciled to god by the death of his son , rom. 5. 10. and that god hath reconciled us to himself by jesus christ . and god was in christ reconciling the world unto himself , not imputing their trespasses unto them , 2 cor. 5. 18 , 19. what need of reconciling him that so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son ? &c. joh. 3.16 . we come now to his proof of the main matter , ( viz. ) that jesus christ hath given the father a full and plenary satisfaction , &c. here by the way , he saith , christ hath given the father satisfaction . i desire therefore to know who satisfied the son and holy spirit . or is the son and holy spirit of a more merciful and gracious nature , so that they will pardon sin without a satisfaction , though the father cannot ? for the clearing of this proposition he saith , 1. that christ underwent what we should have undergone . and this , he saith , was in point of feeling death and the curse , an infinite punishment as to weight , though it was but short as to time : as hanging is shorter than sitting in the stocks two or three hours . he did not only undergo the death which the law cursed , but all the curse which god could put into his death . thus far he . here he cites luk. 22.44 . mat. 26. 37 , 38. mar. 14. 33. heb. 5.7 . mat. 27.46 . joh. now my friend , i pray read all these texts consideratly , & as many more as ye please , and see whether all or any of them say , that christ underwent an insinite punishment , or all the curse which god could put into his death . whereas he saith , christ swett great drops of blood , luke saith , — as it were great drops of blood . but i would ask him a question or two hereupon . 1. whether it be not part of the curse that men must bear , to know clearly and to be deeply sensible that they have no interest in gods favour , and that they never shall have any , and that god hates them with an everlasting hatred ? 2. whether a stinging and guilty conscience , as having justly deserved the curse in their own persons , be not a main ingredient in the curse which men must bear ? and if these be parts of the curse , then let him tell me whether christ when he was in an agony in the garden , or when he was on the cross , or at any other time underwent either of these ? for did he not pray to god in the garden , and call him father ? did not god send an angel to comfort him ? did he not upon the cross invocate god , saying , my god , my god , though he had forsaken him in giving him up to the power of his enemies ? and did he not then comend his spirit into his father's hands ? luk. 23.46 . are these the actions , and this the state of a man under the greatest curse that god can lay upon him ? then be comforted ye damned , for it will not be so hard with you , as is imagined ? did christ think that god hated him , when he knew he was his wel-beloved son ? and that this obedience of his in dying , should be rewarded with eternal glory ? what doctrine is this , that brings in the holy one of god , despairing of gods favour , hated of god and tormented in his own conscience with sense of unpardonable guilt ! as it necessarily follows from his assertions . he saith , it would be to lessen the courage of christ , if his agony proceeded from a foresight of his death : not considering what his text saith , that , it became him for whom are all things , and by whom are all things , in bringing many sons to glory , to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings . how should christ be a compleat captain , if he did not experience as great trials , as any of the souldiers are like to meet with ? and do not many of the souldiers his followers , meet with such a sense of sufferings that are before them , as put them into an agony ? but what if he being to break the ice , to go first , to be a glorious example , met with with greater hardships and difficulties , than any of those that are to follow him ? is he not thereby the more fit to be their captain ? may there not from hence be given a good account of all the sufferings and the death of christ , that he was to be the captain of our salvation ? did it not well become the wisdom and holiness of god to give repentance and remission of sins through such a person , as should obtain this glory and power by an obedience accompanyed with the hardest sufferings ? he now goes on to tell us that christ underwent this curse in our stead . and here he cites dan. 9 . 26. rom. 4 . 25. 1 pet. 2. 24. isa . 53. which in my judgment are not the most probable prooss he might have brought for that purpose . but it being salfe that christ underwent the eternal curse , there is no place for his doing it in our stead . neither did he undergo , that which he did undergo , in our stead , but on our behalf , for our good , and that we should follow his steps . so saith the apostle peter : christ also suffered for us , leaving us an example , that ye should follow his steps , 1 pet. 2.21 . he that doth any thing in another's stead , doth it , that the other may not do it ; but christ suffered for our example , not to free us from suffering the like . christ suffered for us , so he entred into heaven for us ( heb. 6.20 . ) not in our stead , but for our good , to be a priest , and to interceed for us that we may come thither also . under this third particular , concerning what christ hath wrought for us , he talks of a price for grace , and that all grace is given by vertue of the satisfaction of jesus christ . he cites to this purpose , 2 pet. 1. 1. to them that have obtained like precious faith — through the righteousness of god , and our saviour jesus christ : whence he collects that god is bound in justice to give grace and faith , because christ hath bought it . it 's strange he should be unmindfull of the apostle paul's making grace and debt such opposites as destroy each other , and cannot have place in the same matter , of which i have soken something before . again he considers not the words he utters ; for faith is said in this text to be obtained by us , not only through the righteousness of god , but also through the righteousness of jesus christ . is christ obliged to give us faith because he bought it ? it is in the greek , faith in the righteousness of god , &c. so righteousness may be taken for the object of faith , and denotes here the saithfulness of god and christ , promising to us eternal life . these are the men that cry up the grace of god , the free grace of god : bat my dear friend , if you will be but at the pains to weigh the matter throughly , ( which alas few will ) you will perceive that their doctrine of grace rightly understood , doth quite overthrow grace . i have shewed you here how his doctrine of satisfaction is diametrically opposite to the grace of forgiveness of sins , which god did design before the world , to magnisie by jesus christ in the gospel . but he hath a pretty setch here , whereby he thinks to free himself of this charge ; and that is by telling us , ( as he doth in his application ) that the great mercy as well as justice of god , appears in this satisfaction ; because my friends ( saith he ) though god will have a satisfaction , yet he will procure it himself , be will be at the cost of it himself . o the wisdom of god in finding it out ! o that men would but consider what this means ! but men are mighty idle and popishly credulous in matters of faith. the meaning then is this : that god almighty is necessitated by his nature to execute the punishment due to all the sins of men ; for so he saith that by sin punishment became due , and being due , it became necessary to be executed ; so that god can no more pardon one sin without due punishment , than he can lie or deny himself . now it seems this necessity of his nature gave him liberty ( i know not how ) to execute this punishment upon others that were righteous , in case they had been sureties ( if any such there had been ) instead of the guilty . but there being none such , but only one , to wit , jesus christ his wel-beloved son , who was of so excellent a nature , that he could bear as much punishment in a few hours , as all the world deserved , and was not able to bear to eternity ; therefore he commands this son ( who would not disobey him ) to take upon him a humane nature , and therein to bear this infinite punishment , that so his avenging justice being satisfied , he might then justifie some part of those that had finned . this is god's procuring the satisfaction himself ; this is being at the cost of it . but let me argue with him a little : how can that be a true and proper satisfaction , which the creditor is at the cost of himself ? it is but a shew of satisfaction , when one receives but what he himself gives , or is at the cost of . and so this specious doctrine of satisfying justice , will be but a meer representation of a thing that is not real . if the creditor did receive what he did not give , then his mercy is just so much diminished . if he receiv'd all that was due , his mercy is nothing at all . you will say his mercy appears in this , that being at liberty to punish the sinner himself , or a righteous person in his stead , he chose to punish the righteous person and to let the sinner go free . this seems to have some little weight in it , but consider it narrowly . here is indeed some kindness shewn to the person of the sinner : but there is just as much unkindness shewed to the person of the righteous : but in respect to the sin , there is no mercy at all , for whether he punish the sinner or the righteous , the sin is fully avenged . and what good governour i pray , would not rather in such a case punish the sinner than the righteous ? but you will say , he rewarded the righteous for bearing this punishment . i answer , that is just as if one did owe me a thousand pounds , and i should procure another to pay me the money in his stead , and for his encouragement i tell him i will give him a thousand pounds value in somewhat else . — i say this is no real , but an imaginary and represented satisfaction . so that let him turn himself which way he will , he shall never be able to make full satisfaction to justice , and mercy in forgiveness to stand together . by all this it appears that his doctrine is false in a matter of great concernment , as that which obscures , lessens , disparages or overthrows the righteousness , goodness , mercy and grace of god in the gospel . having now finished what i intended , wherein i pray excuse me if i have been too long , and pardon the errors of haste , i will take my leave ; beseeching you to be very careful of receiving any doctrine you do not understand , especially if it seem to darken the wisdom , or any way lessen the grace of god : but cherish such principles as represent god and christ full of wisdom , grace and goodness , and so beget in you humility , love , and considence towards them . suffer not your self to be imposed upon by the bare name of mystery , nor by the multitude of those that profess any doctrine , but look whether you can find it in the holy scriptures . consider the great vanities , superstitions , yea and idolatries that have crept into the church , so that it is no great marvel if many err in this point also . let us pray that god would be pleased to vindicate the truth of the gospel from the inventions of men , that it may appear in its native beauty and loveliness . i hope you will not satisfie your self with only reading what i have wrote , but will weigh it seriously as a matter of great concernment . i shall much rejoyce to be serviceable to you in it , for i am , sir , your friend in the best bands . h. w. london , aug. 13. 1668. page 6. line 14. for impale , read impute . encouragements to faith drawn from severall engagements both of gods christs heart to receive pardon sinners. by tho: goodwin, b.d. goodwin, thomas, 1600-1680. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a85434 of text r200346 in the english short title catalog (thomason e307_18). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 71 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a85434 wing g1242 thomason e307_18 estc r200346 99834910 99834910 171544 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a85434) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 171544) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2429:11) encouragements to faith drawn from severall engagements both of gods christs heart to receive pardon sinners. by tho: goodwin, b.d. goodwin, thomas, 1600-1680. [2], 34 p. printed for r. dawlman, london : 1645. the words "gods christs" and "receive pardon" are enclosed in brackets on title page. also bound with some copies of wing g1229. annotation on thomason collection copy: "octob. 28th". appears also at reel 1886 as part of wing g1229. reproduction of original in: new college (university of edinburgh). library. eng faith -early works to 1800. forgiveness of sin -early works to 1800. sermons, english -17th century. a85434 r200346 (thomason e307_18). civilwar no encouragements to faith. drawn from severall engagements both of gods christs heart to receive pardon sinners. by tho: goodwin, b.d. goodwin, thomas 1645 13758 4 5 0 0 0 0 7 b the rate of 7 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-11 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-03 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2008-03 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion encouragements to faith . drawn from severall engagements both of gods christs heart to receive pardon sinners . by tho: goodwin , b. d. london , printed for r. dawlman , 1645. john 6. 37 , 38. all that the father giveth me , shall come to me ; [ and him that commeth to me , i will in no wise cast out . ] for i came down from heaven , not to do mine own will , but the will of him that sent me . a preface . there are two persons whom faith hath to deal withall in seeking of forgivenesse , and laying hold of salvation , god the father , and god the son ; the holy ghost being that person that sets the heart a work to seek out for salvation , and reveales the love of them both . and therefore it is , that grace and peace ( which are the object of faiths inquest ) are still wisht from god the father , and god the son ; so generally in all epistles , excepting that of the revelation , given immediately by word of mouth from christ himselfe . and accordingly when faith comes to treat with these two about the great businesse of salvation , the first and maine thing that it is inquisitive after , is , what their heart and mind is , and how they stand enclined towards the receiving and pardoning of sinners : it listens most to heare something of that : and when a mans heart , through faith is fully & throughly perswaded of it , then he is fully won . hence , because the scriptures were written for our comfort , and so , fitted to , and for the workings of faith ; therefore they were so written , as especially to bring down and lay before us the heart of god and of christ : and so the maine thing they hold forth , is , the full intent and purpose both of god and of christ to pardon and receive sinners : this is a faithfull saying , ( sayes paul with open mouth ) that christ came into the world to save sinners ; and this christ himself every where indigitates ; and to hold forth this , is the scope of these words uttered by christ himself . and such speeches do containe the very heart , marrow , and pith of the gospel . and though the heart of a sinner will never be fully satisfied , till a perswasion be wrought , that god and christ are purposed and willing to save a mans own self in particular , ( which perswasion is that which we call assurance ) yet when once there is a through perswasion setled upon the heart , but of so much indefinitely and in generall ; that god and christ are willing and fully resolved to save some sinners ( so that the heart does truly beleeve that god is in earnest ) this draws on the heart to come to christ , and is enough to work faith of adherence , such , as upon which christ will never cast us out ( as the text hath it . ) the great businesse then for the working faith in men , is to perswade them of gods good will and gracious inclination unto sinners , to beget in them good opinions of god and christ this way ; men naturally having hard and suspitious thoughts of both , as that speech of christ iohn 3. 17. implies , [ god sent not his son into the world to condemne the world , but that the world through him might be saved . ] christ would never have hinted such a jealousie , nor suggested such thoughts to mens minds , had they not been in them before , and this , to prevent and take off such jealousies . men are apt to think , that god had a designe upon them as upon enemies , and laid but an ambushment for their further condemnation , in his treaty of peace tendred to them by his son . an example of which we have in luther , who fell into such suspitions as these , for he misunderstanding some words he met with in the epistle to the romans , as they were rendred by the vulgar translation then in use , namely , these , that god sent his son to declare his righteousnesse ( as they are by us translated ) he thought the meaning of them to have been this , to declare and set forth his judgement on the world , ( so he interpreted [ adjustitiam suam . &c. ] ) the truth is , the jealousies of mens thoughts herein were those that have put god to his oath , [ as i live , i will not the death of a sinner , &c. ] so also heb. 6. 17. men do not so usually question the power of god , he is able enough to save them they think ; he is able to engraft them in ( as the apostle speakes to the jewes , rom. 11. 23. ) but all their doubts are about his will . gods will was the fountaine and spring of our salvation , in the contriving of which he wrought all things according to the counsel of his own will , ( as the apostle to the ephesians speaketh ) and in another place it is said , he will have mercy on whom he will , &c. and therefore the great queries in our hearts are concerning the will of god towards us . the words of the text opened . now these words of my text do hold forth the full willingnesse of both these two persons , both of god and of christ : 1. of christ , he here professeth himself willing to entertain all that will come to him , [ he that will come to me , i will in no wise cast out . ] which words are not to be understood , as if spoken only of casting out them that are already come unto him , as if they were only a promise against being cast off after being received ; and so intended against feares of falling away : but they are chiefly intended as an invitement to all that are not yet come , that they would come to him , and so , to expresse how ready and willing he is to entertain all commers , as one who sets his doores open , keeps open house , and beats back none that would come in , [ him that commeth to me , i will in no wise cast out . ] and though it may seem to be but a slender and sparing expression of his readines to entertain such , to say only [ i will not cast them out , ] yet though he speaks with the least , yet he will do with the most , he being abundant in goodnesse and truth , and one that is better then his word in the performance . as when he sayes , he will not despise a broken heart , is that all the esteem he will manifest to such a heart ? oh no , it is the most welcome thing , and endeared frame of spirit that can be in any creature . his meaning is to shew what he elsewhere sayes of a meek spirit ( which is all one with a broken heart ) that , with god it is of great price , for so in isaiah he expresseth himself , i that inhabit eternity , with whom will i dwell ? with a spirit that is broken and contrite . he useth also this expression of not casting them out , in relation , and for a more direct answer unto the feare which he knew usually possesseth the hearts of poor sinners when they are about to come to him ; they fear he may reject them , they know not their entertainment , their welcome . to meet with this scruple , he sayes , [ i will not cast such out ] choosing rather thus to remove the doubt that is in their hearts , then to expresse the fulnesse of his own : the scriptures speaking potius ad cor nostrum quam cor suum , rather unto our hearts , then fully what is in his own , ( which can never be done . ) and yet even in this diminutive expression , there is that inserted , which argues not only a willingnesse and readinesse , but a resolvednesse joyned with the greatest care and faithfulnesse that can be , [ {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} ] i will [ in no wise ] cast out . we may see his heart through this little crevis : he doth herein as a faithfull man , who to give the more full assurance puts in some binding word into his promise , as [ i will at no hand , or in no wise faile you . ] thus does god also in that known promise , heb. 12. 5. ( to the hornes of which sanctuary many a soule hath fled for refuge ) i will never leave thee , nor forsake thee , where there are no lesse then five negatives to bind and assure it , i will not , in no wise , ( &c. ) leave thee . now this willingnesse of his , on his part , christ shewes by two things : first , by that great journey he took , from heaven to earth , and that to no other purpose but to save sinners . for this ( sayes he ) did i come down from heaven . great actions of one who is wise , must answerably have great ends ; now this was the greatest thing that ever was done , that the son of god should come from heaven . and when there can be but one end of an action so great ; that end must needs be accomplished , or else the action is wholly in vain . now in comming down from heaven , he could have no other end but the saving of sinners , he could have no other businesse to do , that he did here ; therefore the scriptures put his comming into the world wholly upon this , to seek and to save that which was lost , and do attribute his taking upon him the likenesse of sinfull flesh to have been [ for sin ] so rom. 8. though other ends might be supposed , and were accomplisht by the assuming mans nature , yet he had no other end of taking fraile flesh , especially there could be no other end of his dying , but meerely and only for sin : iohn 12. 24. he sayes , if he had not fallen to the ground and dyed , he had then remained in heaven alone , and no sinners had come thither : that therefore they might ascend to heaven , he descends from heaven , i came down from heaven , &c. secondly , he demonstrates his willingnesse by this , that his father had sent him on purpose to receive and to save sinners : i come ( sayes he ) to do the will of him who sent mee : and iohn 8. he sayes [ i came not of my self , but ( my father ) he sent me ] and if he were sent by his father to this end ( as he affirmes he was , and as by the coherence appeares , for he makes it the reason why he will cast none out ) then certainly he will faithfully do the work he was sent for : in heb. 3. 1. he is called the apostle of our profession [ apostle ] that is , one sent , so the word signifies ; and what followes ? who was [ faithfull to him that appointed him . now upon these considerations , christ tells you that you may build upon him , that you shall certainly find him willing . 2. for his fathers willingnesse , he tels us we may be much more confident of it : for he puts his own willingnesse and all upon that : him ( sayes he ) that the father gives me , shall come to me ; and him that commeth to me , i will in no wise cast out . for i came down from heaven , not to do my own will , but the will of him that sent me : and this is the fathers will that hath sent me , &c. in which words you may observe both wherein he declares his father to be engaged , and how much . first , wherein : and that by two things : 1. that he sent him to that end , and so , it is his fathers businesse more then his own . so also luke 2. 49. he expresseth himself : [ shall i not do my fathers businesse ? ] as elsewhere in isaiah he is called his fathers servant in it , and iohn 5. 36. he makes it his fathers work . secondly , that he in a solemne manner gave unto him them whom he would have to be saved , with charge to lose none [ all that the father hath given me shall come unto me : ] and this is his will , that i should lose none , but give him an account of every soul of them at the last day . they are given him as jewels , and as his beniamins , to look to , and see to bring back and keep from destruction . now whom he so solemnly gave to christ to save , he will never cast away , when they shall come unto christ . then 2. he shewes how much , and how deeply , his father is engaged , and makes it his fathers will rather then his own : [ i come not to do my own will , but the will of him that sent me : ] the meaning whereof is , not to shew that he came unwillingly , or receives sinners unwillingly , but that his fathers will was first in it ( as i shall shew anon , ) and so much in it , that ( if you will resolve it into its first principles christs comming was principally to please his father . it is such a speech , as that in iohn 5. 22. [ the father judgeth no man : but hath committed all judgement to the son , &c. ] not that god is not a iudge as well as christ , ( for heb. 12. 23. he is termed the iudge of all men ) but because all judgement is visibly committed unto christ , therefore the father is said to judge no man . so here , because the fathers will is chiefe , and first in it , christ therefore sayes , he came not to do his own will , but the will of him that sent him . and so you have the meaning of the words . the maine observation out of the words : demonstrations of gods heart herein , from his engagements from everlasting : how his heart stood to sinners afore the world was . the observation , which i single out of these words to insist upon , is this , that both god the father , and iesus christ the son are fully willing , and resolved to save sinners . 1. for god the father , there are many demonstrations of his will herein , that may be taken ab extra from his oath , word , promise , &c. which i shall handle in another method : but those which i shall first hold forth , are more intimate and intrinsecall , and homogeneall to the argument which christ useth here in the text , which we have seen ) to be these , that it was gods will first , and christs , but because it was his , ( i come not to do mine own will , ) and that it was he that dealt with christ about it , and wrought him off to it , and made it his businesse ; ( but the will of him that sent me . ) so that the demonstrations which i shall pitch upon , shall be drawn from gods engagements , both from his transactions with christ from everlasting , before he came into the world , and those that now lie upon him from christs having fully performed what he sent him into the world for . and from either may be fetcht strong consolations , and confirmations to our faith , that gods will must needs continue most serious and hearty to save sinners . many other sorts of demonstrations of this point might be fetcht and drawn from the riches of his mercy , lying by him to bestow on some great purchase : & on what greater purchase could they be bestowed , to shew forth the glory thereof , then upon the salvation & pardon of sinners ? but these also i shal at the present let lie by untold , having elsewere counted them up , and set them forth , such demonstrations being only proper to this text , as argue an engagement of his will ; whereas all those riches of mercie that are in him ( although the moving cause of all ) might have for ever remained in him as his nature , without any determination of his will to save any man . when therefore a poor sinner shall heare ( besides the mercifull disposition of gods nature ) that acts and resolutions of his will have past from him , about the pardoning of sinners , so as his will hath engaged all the mercies of his nature to effect it , this brings in strong consolation . now the deepnesse of these engagements of his wil to pardon sinners , may be demonstrated , 1. from such transactions of his , as were held by him with christ from everlasting ; which hath both put strong obligations upon him , and also argue him fully and firmly resolved to save sinners . now all the particular passages of those treaties of his with christ , about the reconciliation of sinners from everlasting , i have elsewhere also at large handled ; and therefore it is not my scope now to enumerate them . i shall now onely draw demonstrations from some few of them , by way of corollary , to help our faith in this point in hand , namely , gods resolvednesse to pardon sinners . the first is drawn from this , that god the father had the first and chiefe hand in this matter of saving sinners ( as i then shewed ) the project was his , and the first motion his . 1. the project , he laid the plot of it , and contrived all about it , for the effecting of it . therefore john 5. 19. christ sayes the son can do nothing of himself , but what he sees the father do . 2. the first motion was his , i came not to do my own will , ( sayes christ ) but the will of him that sent him . both which ( project and first motion ) are shut up in that one sentence , ephes. 1. he worketh all things by the [ counsaile ] of his own [ will . ] now , for god thus to have the first hand in it , did put a great and deep engagement upon his will in it . we see among men , the projector and first motioner of a businesse is alwayes most forward in it ; because then it is most peculiarly his own ; and the greater will be his honour in the compassing of it . how many great affaires have been spoiled , because some men have not been the chiefe and first in them that affect the preheminence ? now this honour god the father may challenge , that he was the first in reconciling and saving sinners : it is therefore called gods wisdome , eph. 3. 10. and his purpose , ephes. 1. 9. gods righteousnesse , rom. 1. 17. and the pleasure of the lord , isa. 53. secondly , this project and motion did rise up in him unto a strong resolution and purpose , and to an unalterable decree to save sinners by christ : so eph. 1. 9. and 1. for his purposes , they are immutable . would not paul lightly alter purposes taken up by him , when i therefore was thus tamed ( sayes he , 2 cor. 1 , 17. ) did i use lightnesse ? or the things that i purpose do i purpose according to the flesh , that with me there should be yea , yea , and nay , nay ? would not paul ( i say ) alter his purpose because he preached the gospel , and will god ( think you ) alter them who gave the gospel ? no , it is the ete nall gospel , revel 14. 6. and god is of the same minde still , so it follows in that place to the corinths , but as god is true ( or varies not ) so was our word to you , which yet is his more then pauls , &c. 2. for gods decrees , ( whereof this was one , they are also immutable . the great monarchs of the earth , the persians , took to themselves the infallibility , that they would not alter the decrees which they made : ( therefore when a thing was unalterable , it was said to be as the lawes of the medes and persians ) which was to shew their greatnesse , and their wisdome , that they could so resolve , as no person or power whatsoever should be strong enough to cause them to change their resolutions : and yet , they were forced , though not to alter a former decree , yet to give countermands unto it , ( as ahasuerus did , and men do alter , because they cannot foresee all events , and so cannot make unalterable decrees without prejudice . therefore the pope , who takes on him the style of infallible , and so assumes to himself the highest prerogative that ever man did , yet of him it is said , papa nunquam l●gat sibi manus , that he never binds his own hands by any decree he makes , because he cannot fore see all inconveniences , notwithstanding what ever he assumes : but with god it is not thus , he is not a man that he should have cause to repent , for he knows and foresees all that can or will follow . now 1. this immutability of his counsaile he shews by two oaths ; the first made to christ , the second to us . 1. to christ , heb. 7. 21. this priest ( christ ) was made with an oath , by him that said unto him , the lord sware and will not repent , thou art a priest for ever , &c. and this was from everlasting ; for then it was that christ was first made priest : now then god foresaw that he could never have a relenting thought at the pardoning of sinners through him , this his son would so satisfie and please him : and thereupon he sware . 2. to us , heb. 6. 17 , 18. god willing more abundantly to shew unto the heires of promise the immutability of his counsaile , confirmed it by an oath : that by two immutable things ( in which it was impossible for god to lie ) we might have a strong consolation , &c. the thing i alledge this place for , and which i would have observed , is , that this oath is not mentioned as that now which makes god so immutable , ( though that be a truth ) but gods oath is here made that whereby god did declare unto us the immutability of his purpose formerly and from everlasting taken up , and so that immutability of his counsaile was the cause of his oath , and that was to pardon sinners : for it is the promise made to abraham and his seed , that is there specified . yea 3. god set his seale unto all , further to confirm it . he both sealed christ to the work , joh. 6. 27. and likewise sealed up in his decrees the persons of those sinners that shall be saved . 2 tim. 2. 19. the foundation of the lord remains sure , having this seal , the lord knoweth who are his . and if it were but a kings seal , it could not be reversed , but this is gods . yea , he hath sealed up their sins also by and through christ , dan. 9. 24. never to be remembred or lookt upon more . thirdly , god rested not in a decree only , but entred into covenant with christ to save sinners by him , if he would die . this covenant you have dialogue-wise set out , esay 49. frist , christ begins at the first and second verses , and shewes his commission , telling god how he had called him , and fitted him for the work of redemption , and he would know what reward he should receive of him for so great an undertaking : god answers him , ver. 3. and at first offers low , only the elect of israel . christ who stood now a making his bargain with him , thought these too few , and not worth so great a labour and work , because few of the jewes would come in , but would refuse him , therefore ver. 4. he sayes , he should labour in vain , if this were all his recompence : and yet withall he tels god , that seeing his heart was so much in saving sinners to satisfie him , he would do it however for those few , comforting himselfe with this , that his work was with the lord . upon this god comes off more freely , and openeth his heart more largely to him , as meaning more amply to content him for his paines in dying : it is a light thing ( sayes god to him ) that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of jacob , that is not worth the dying for , i value thy sufferings more then so , i will give thee for a salvation unto the ends of the earth . upon this he made a promise to christ , 1 tit. 2. and a promise is more then a purpose . a purpose may be in ones selfe , as ephes. 1. 9. but a promise is made to another . now god cannot lie in himselfe , but most of all , not to his son . a second sort of demonstrations . the engagements of gods heart to sinners , from , and upon christs having dyed at his request . a second sort of demonstrations are drawn from christs having already come and performed all this : for 1. christ is now to be satisfied for that his dying , as well as he by his death had satisfied god : he is now to have his reward . god never set any on work , but he gave them wages . thus unto nebuchadnezzar he gave egypt as his hire for his service at tyre , and to cyrus he gave hidden treasure . now it is not christs own glory that will satisfie him , for that he could have had , and never have dyed : there remains therefore nothing that can or will satisfie him , but to have the end of his death , to see his seed and be satisfied , and to see of the travaile of his soule : and to justifie many , as it is isa. 53. he dyed ( as himselfe speaks , iohn 12. 24. ) that he might not be alone in heaven : his desire is , that those whom he dyed for might see his glory . 2. if we consider the act it self , of delivering christ unto death , there was not , nor could there ever be any thing more abhorrent unto god ; no act ever went so much against his heart : for if he be afflicted in all our afflictions , and doth not willingly punish the sonnes of men , neither wils the death of a sinner that deserves it , much lesse would he will the death of his own son . now what was there to sweeten the death and sufferings of his son unto him , except his end in it ? ( for it is the end that sweetens and facilitates the meanes tending unto it ) now the end of christs death could be no other but to take sinnes away , and to procure the pardon of sinners , and so it must needs be infinitely delightfull unto him , and his heart strongly set upon it , seeing it did sweeten unto him an act otherwise so abhorrent , and of this end therefore it is impossible he should ever repent . now ephes. 5. 2. the very offering of christ is called a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour : and what was it that made it so , but even the end for which it was done , ( and which is there put upon it ) that it was out of love unto us , and out of a mind to have sinners pardoned ; for else in it selfe it must needs have been abominable unto him . agai 3. if at any time he would have repented him of his purpose , it would have been at the time of christs being crucified , when he came to bruise him : then his heart would have recoyled , and especially when christ poured out his soule with such strong cries and teares as he did . at other times in punishing but his children , we find , that when he comes to do it , his heart as it were fails him , as hos. 11. 8. [ how shall i give thee up ? ] the rod falls out of his hand , and his bowels yearn within him ; yet he relented not when he saw the soule of his ioseph in bitternesse , but still made an impossibility of it for him to avoid suffering , because his purpose was thereby to take sinnes away . therefore christs request was , father , if it be possible , let this cup passe : the necessity lay only in gods will in reference to his end , to forgive sinnes . if god would ever have relented or repented him of this purpose , it would have been then : we read of his repenting him of other of his works , but his mind is so fully carried to take away sins , that he did not then , or can ever repent of putting his own son to death , for the effecting of it : to pardon sinners is more naturall to him , then to kill his son was unnaturall . now his end and purpose being thus fully set to pardon and save sinners , if he should be frustrated of this his end , he would then indeed repent him of using his son as he had done . nay , it is not only said , that he repented not , but that it pleased him to bruise christ , in respect to that his end , which was so pleasant to him : so you have it isa. 53. 10. and therefore surely it pleaseth him much more , to pardon sinners , now he hath thus bruised him : and so indeed it followes there , the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand , it is spoken of his saving and justifying of sinners . it troubled god to heare a soul bemoan it self for its sin , ier. 31. 20. but we read not that it did so , when christ bemoaned himself in his sufferings ; and the reason was , because the work that christ was about to do , was a sweet sacrifice to him ; and it would trouble god more to condemn a sinner that christ dyed for , then it did to sacrifice christ for him . 4. upon that ancient agreement between god and christ : god pardoned millions of men under the old testament upon the bare word of christ , before he came into the world , or had paid one peny of the debt he must needs therfore be supposed to be much more willing now to do it , when christ has done all that was required , and failed not , and that at the due time , ( as it is said rom. 5. ) if christ had failed or come short but of a little of what he was to do , god might have denyed to let the world go upon trust any longer : but now jesus christ hath performed all , and is aforehand with him , and hath put in stock enough to pardon sinners to the end of the world . yet 5. now even justice it self will call upon him to discharge sinners , it will not let him rest in quiet till he has pardoned and shewed mercy unto poor sinners that come to christ , and hath given in their bond , and this , though we had no promise to shew for it , yea , though christ himself had nothing to shew for it : gods very justice would trouble him ( i may so speak with reverence , for he himself sayes , that he was troubled for ephraim , ier. 29. ) till he had given out an acquitance , because he knows the debt is paid , and also , that christs and his own intent was , that when christ had once dyed , sinners should thereby be justified : even as if an honest man had a bond for a debt that is discharged , lying still in his hands , of which payment , he whose debt it is , knowes nothing , although he or they that paid this debt were dead , so that there were no one left that were able to challenge an acquaintance from him , and a cancelling of that bond ; yet meer honesty would cause him to give it in . now jesus christ dyed , and god himselfe put him to death meerly to pay our debts , and says christ at his death ; let sinners require my blood , and the merits of it at thy hands , and have out in pardon . that was christs will which he made at his death , ( as you have it heb. 9. 16 , 17. where the apostle calls it heb. 9. 16 , 17. where the apostle calls it a testament confirmed by the death of the testator ) now there is nothing so sacred as the performance of the will of the dead . and now christ himself is alive again , and is ordained by god to be his own executor , and so lives to claime an acquitance ; therefore certainly god will never withhold it : in justice he cannot , he will not , have a bond lie by him that is discharged . hence it is said , that god is just to forgive our sinnes , 1 iohn 1. there are three things which do cry for justice , and all do meete in this . 1. the wages of a hireling ( if detained ) are said to cry . so in the 5. of iames it is said , the wages of hirelings detained , do crie in the eares of the lord of hosts : they cry wages being due in justice , and because gods justice is thereby provoked , and cannot be quiet till god hath avenged it . and so would christs satisfaction having been made for us ; it would restlesly cry to god , and not suffer his justice to be quiet , unles we were pardoned . for he was truly and indeed gods hired servant in this work : and god covenanted to give him the salvation of those he dyed for as his wages and reward , as isaiah often represents it , chap. 53. and elsewhere . so that if god be just , he must give forth salvation ; otherwise christs obedience would cry as the work of an hireling doth for wages . a second thing that cries for justice , is the will of one that is dead unperformed , who hath bequeathed legacies , & left wherewith to pay and discharge them . and this is yet a louder cry then the former . now christ before he dyed , did thus make his will , and bequeathed pardon of sin and justification , and that eternall inheritance in heaven , as legacies to those for whom he dyed , and to be given out by god after his death , as i observed even now out of heb. 9. 15 , 16 , 17. where it is said that christ was the mediator of the new testament , that by meanes of death they who are called might receive the promise ( or bequeathed legacie ) of eternall life . and thereupon ver. 16 , 17. the apostle calls this a testament , confirmed by his death , and which at his death began to be in force , so ver. 17. and of all things that in justice are held due , the performance of the will of the dead , hath ever been held most sacred . there is yet a third thing which cries for justice , and that is innocent blood spilt . and this cries lowder then all the rest . so genes . 4. 10. and the apostle heb. 12. 24. sets forth the cry of christs blood for us , by abels blood crying against cain . it may be notwithstanding this that god may put the bond in suit against a sinner to make him come to acknowledge the debt , ( as the apostle there speakes [ if we confesse our sins ] ) but if any soul doth say , i have sinned and it profited me not ; god then cannot withhold from throwing down his bond canceld , saying , deliver him , i have found a ransome , ( iob 33. ) god will not have innocent blood , such as his sons is , to ly upon him . if he should not pardon sinners , christs blood would be upon him , for it was for them only that christ dyed , being in himself innocent . 6. god mends not himself by damning those for whom christ dyed : now there were not only an injustice to christ and us in it , but god himself also would prove a loser . for the end of christs death was not simply to satisfie justice , so as without it justice could not have permitted a pardon , that might have been dispensed with , but it was chiefly to declare the glory of gods justice , which required such a satisfaction , ( as the apostle sayes rom. 3. 25. ) to [ declare ] his righteousnesse for the remission of sins that are past , through gods forbearance . is was we see the manifestation or declaration of the glory of his justice that he aimed at in it . so as if any one mans sin satisfied for by christ , should be left unforgiven , gods justice should lose so much glory . and if justice should think to get a greater glory out of the sinners , that could never be : for the sinner is unable ever to satisfie , and so to glorify gods justice by suffering as christ hath done . yea , and besides , god would be a further and a greater loser in the glory of his mercy also , which by his pardoning sinne is advanced . the second part of the observation . demonstrations of christs willingnesse to receive sinners that come to him . first how his heart stood from everlasting . — and so now i come to christs willingnesse , which was the second thing propounded in the doctrine , to be demonstrated . now though his will was not first in it , ( as was said ) yet we shall finde him to have been no lesse willing then his father . as christ in subsisting is the second person , and hath his personall subsistence from his father , so he is second also in order of working , and consequently , of willing too , yet he is not second to him in heartinesse of willing : but as his father and he are equall , so in all that his father willeth , his will is equall with his father , and so , is as much in this busines as his . in the demonstrating of this , i will take the same course that i did in the former : first , i will shew how hearty he was in this , to have sinners saved before he came into the world . and secondly , how willing he was since he came into the world , and since his death and going out of the world . and as a generall introduction to either , i shall premise this , which shall be as the corner stone in this building , joyning both parts of this discourse together , and is a consequent of what hath formerly been delivered . the thing to be premised is this : that if god the father be willing , then jesus christ must needs be willing also , and look how much the will of the one is in it , so much the will of the other must be in it also , for the father and he are all one ; and this will serve for our further assurance of the wils of either ; and we may make use of it both wayes , either to argue to our faith , that if the father be willing , christ must needs be so also ; and that if christ be willing , the father is so also . that whereas some mens thoughts have been more taken up about , and so more taken with the consideration of how much the fathers heart was in it , and how active and plotting he was about it : and again , others mens apprehensions have been carried more unto christs heart in the work : this demonstration which i have in hand shall be a help to the faith of either of these ; so that if your hearts have a door of faith , ( as the apostle speaks ) set open , or a window to see either into gods heart , or christs , you may raise a confidence of the one from the other , and so come to be sure of both . and this also i do first mention , because it is the most intrinsecall bottome-demonstration that can be made of christs willingnesse , and is the utmost reason of it . this demonstration i found upon joh. 10. 30. [ i and my father are one ] that whereas in this my text he shewes how his fathers will and his agree in one , he there gives the reason of it , for ( sayes he ) we are one : and the words there , as they stand in their coherence , are proper to the purpose in hand . for christ there alledgeth them , as the reason why his heart , and power , and all in him is so engaged for the salvation of his own , that if he have any power in him , and be able to do any thing , not one of them shall perish , because his father and he are one . for mark the occasion upon which he speaks this , it is the same that here in my text . he had been speaking of saving his sheep , and of his power and will to save them ; and concludes , that they shall never perish . and he sayes not only , that he will never cast them out , ( as here ) but that , neither shall any man pluck them out of his hand . and in that speech he shewes and utters the strength of his will , as much as of his power . for otherwise although his hand of power had been never so potent to have held them , against all opposition , yet if his will had not as strongly resolved to hold them in his hand , and so , if they were not as deep in his heart as they are fast in his hands , this speech of his had not been made good , that they shall never perish . and then he gives the reason both of this resoluteness of his will , and this prevalencie of his power , from his fathers both will and power , engaged as much as his own , in this fulnesse : my father ( sayes he ) that gave them me is greater then all , and none is able to pluck them cut of my fathers hands . he pleads here first his fathers will , [ he gave them me : ] and then secondly , his power , ( whom these jewes he spake to acknowledged greater than all , though him they did not ) he is greater then all ; none can pluck them out of his hands : and then argues to himself , [ my father and i are one : ] one in nature , therefore much more in will . two persons that have distinct essence , may yet be one in will , as the ten kings are said to be of one minde when they agreed in one thing , rev. 17. 13 , 17. so act. 4. 32. it is said , that they that believed were of one heart , and of one soule , that is , in judgement and consent of minde . but christ and god the father are one yet neerer ; one in nature , and therefore much more entire in will , for by nature they have but one will between them . and that place speaks at once in relation to both their willingnesse to save , as to both their powers to save sinners . and this is not only an argument that they did both agree , and were like to agree in it ; but that they can never disagree . two that essentially have two wills , though for the present agreeing in one ; yet it may be supposed that they may come to disagree , and not will the same thing : but if they essentially have but one will , it is impossible then but that they must ever agree . this great security therefore doth christ give for the salvation of sinners . you have not only two persons engaged , persons greater then all , but all that is in them engaged , both their power and will ; and what more can be desired ? and if the one holds his purpose , the other must also ; for they are one . you have the one-nesse of god and christ given you for security ; so that if they can never be made two , and wrought asunder , then sinners must needs be saved . till these two persons do disagree , you are sure enough ; and they must cease to be , ere they can cease to agree ; for they are one , and one in being . we have another testimony as full as this , 1 john 5. 7. there are three that beare record in heaven , the father , the word , and the holy ghost , ( we are yet surer here is a third person that comes in ) and these three are one . now what is the thing that these do witnesse unto ? ver. 11. it followes , this is the record , that god hath given to us eternall life , and this life is in his sonne . here their truth is pawned , as in that other place their power was : for the apostle alledgeth this as such a truth , as they all agree and stand in to make good . and to prove this , he sayes ( as in that other place , joh. 10. ) that these three are one : that is , one in nature , therefore one in will ; and so also one in witnesse to this truth . he sayes not only , they agree in one ; for you shall observe , that whereas there are three other witnesses mentioned to be on earth , there is this difference put between their concurrencie in their testimonies and that of these , that they agree in one , ( so ver. 8. ) but there is more said of these , namely , that they are one ; that is , in nature , and so in will or purpose ; and so must needs much more agree in one . now that thing which their wils , and testimonies , and all agree in , is ( as hath been said ) that god hath given us eternall life ; and this life is in his son , to all that shall come for it . so that for demonstrations of this , i need go no further . if there be any power , will , or truth in these persons , sinners shall be saved . this being premised , as the most bottome ground of christs being at first , and his continuing to be for ever willing to pardon sinners ; let us more particularly see , first , how his heart stood to the salvation of them before he came into the world : and then secondly , how it stood enclined unto it after he was come ; and what confirmations our faith may have from both . so that the thing that i am herein to speak to , is not so much his willingnes to the work of redemption it self , ( that i have elswhere handled apart ) but his willingnesse and readinesse to save sinners . 1. let us see how his heart stood to this before the world was , and before he came into it . and for this we find , that his delights were set upon it ; so prov. 8. 31. [ rejoycing in the habitable parts of his earth ; and my delights were with the sons of men . ] which words are more properly spoken of christ , then of god the father ; and therefore i produce them under this head . for they are said to be spoken by wisdome , that is , christ himself , he therein shewing how his minde stood towards us before the world began : for he speaks what he and his father did before the mountains were , &c. i was set up from everlasting , ver. 22. then i was by him , &c. ver. 30. and how did they passe away that long aevum ? ( as the apostle cals it ) in nothing but rejoycing and delights . he there speaks of nothing else that they did . and what was the matter of delight unto them ? 1. he and his father delighted one in another , ver. 30. 2. in the salvation of men , my delights were with the sons of men , so ver. 31. and he speaks of men as falne ; for it is said in the beginning of the same verse , that he rejoyced in the habitable parts of his earth ; which is spoken not of the jews only , but of the gentiles too , and of men all the earth over . now first , delights arise out of the strongest and choicest desires . men are pleased with many things in which they delight not . christs heart and desires must needs have been most on that which his delights are in . again , secondly , the greater the persons are , and the greater their minds are , the greater are their delights . things of great concernment are usually the objects which are the delights of kings , and which they take pleasure in . now the great god and jesus christ singled out the pardon and reconciliation of sinners for their chiefe delights . 3. their delight herein is mentioned , and in no other work of theirs : not the angels , nor the world , nor any thing in it . 4 this their delight is mentioned next to their delighting in each other . and fiftly , this delight he took aforehand , whilst his heart was only in the expectation of it , and his mind but laying the plot of it . he delights in it ere he doth it . and if all this joy of his be only in the thoughts of it , how much more will it delight him when he comes to do it ? all this argues how great a matter this was in his esteem , and how much his heart was in it , and that from everlasting . demonstrations from the disposition of christs heart , and his carriage upon earth . as also some engagements since his death . in the second place , when christ had assumed our nature , and whilst he remained upon earth , how did this disposition of his abound in him ? it were endlesse to give all the instances that his story and sermons do afford hereof . see but how welcome all sorts of sinners were at all times unto him : he cast out none that acknowledged him for the messiah : he turned none away that gave up their soules unto him to be saved his own way . he was indeed most reserved unto that rich young man of any other , yet he used him courteously , the text saith he loved him ; christ turned him not away , but directed him the right way to follow him : and he went away of himself , undervaluing christ to his possessions . and another time christ indeed seems to discourage the canaanitish woman , and put her away , calling her dog : but it was only in words ; for underhand he strongly drawes her heart to him by his spirit , and suggests thereby to her heart by way of answer , a consideration of the highest faith towards him , that dogs might partake of the crums that fall from their masters table . i instance in these , because i would prevent and remove any exception which might be taken from them . for otherwise christs professed entertainment of all sinners was so open and notorious , as it was turned into his disgrace and opprobry , that he was a friend to publicans and sinners ; which yet he ownes and glories in , professing that he came not to call the righteous , but sinners to repentance . and how glad he was when any such came in unto him , he sufficiently expresseth by those parables on purpose taken up , of the joy of the prodigals father for his returne , and of the rejoycing for the finding of the lost groat , and likewise of the lost sheep more then of the 99. we read of christs joy but seldome , and when it is at any time recorded , it is at the conversion of soules . he had little else to comfort himself in , being a man of sorrows : and he had nothing else on earth which he took delight or pleasure in . when he was converting the poor woman of samaria , ( which he doth as a pleasure and recreation to him ) he forgets his meat , ( although before he had been very hungry ) and tels his disciples that he had meat which they knew not of , which was indeed the saving that poor womans soul . in luke 10. 21. we read that jesus rejoyced in his spirit ; but observe the occasion : he had sent out his disciples to preach the gospel , and they had in his name and through his power cast out devils : he bids them not rejoyce in that , ver. 20. but shews them what they should rejoyce in , by his own example , and by what most comforted him . father ( sayes he ) i thank thee , that thou hast revealed these things unto babes . this in in the next words following recorded to be the matter of his rejoycing , he saw now an handsell , and an experiment of the fruit of his disciples ministery , and comforted himselfe before-hand , in that as their souls had , so others of the poorer and meaner sort should thus come in unto him . we finde him at another time in like manner rejoycing , namely in the story of his raising lazarus , iohn 11. 15. and what was it for ? not that himself should be glorified by so great a miracle , ( even the greatest that ever he wrought ) but ( sayes he ) i am glad for your sakes that i was not there , to the end that you might beleeve . he rejoyced if any of his got a little more or further degree of faith . and on the other side , as sorry was he when men came not in . witnesse his tears over jerusalem , and those speeches of his , iohn 5. 34. these things i speake , that you might be saved . and thereupon in the ensuing verse he complainingly utters himself , you will not ( sayes he ) come to me , that you may have life . he speaks as one greedy of winning soules , and as sorry that any customers or hearers of his should passe by , and not turne in ; ( you will not come to me , &c. ) and he relieves himself with this , that there w●●e others that would , though they would not . so here in this place , when in the verse before my text he had complained of them , that they would not beleeve , he comforts himself with this in the words of the text , all that the father giveth me shall come unto me . and the like you have , ioh 5. 25 , 26. you beleeve not ; but my sheep , they heare my voice , &c. and then at his death , when he was upon the crosse , he then converts a thiefe that was crucified with him , and prayes for those that crucified him . and after his resurrection his last words recorded in luke 24. 47. are [ that remission of sins should be preached in his name , beginning at ierusalem , ] that so those whom he had prayed for ( though they had crucified him ) might be converted and saved . thus stood his heart all the while he was on earth , both before and after his death . and then ( in the third place ) now that he hath dyed and laid down that price which was to purchase the salvation of sinners , he must needs be much more willing ( if it were possible he should be ) then ever . many demonstrations there are from those obligations , which christs sufferings and death do put upon him , which i have already given in a treatise upon this very argument , the heart of christ in heaven , part 2. onely i have reserved one or two for this place . as , 1. it was the aim and utmost intent of christs soul , in his being crucified to have sinners saved , and saved effectually . it was that travaile which his heart was then big with . and certainly , christ would not that so many and so great sufferings , now that they are past and over , should be in vaine . the apostle makes a motive of it unto the galatians , gal. 3. 34. are ye so foolish , — have ye suffered so many things in vain ? to be sure christs death shall not be in vain : he will not lose the end of his sufferings , ( as the same apostle intimates but 4. verses before chap. 2. ult. ) a businesse that a man hath praied for much , how doth he long to see it accomplished and fulfilled ? and how glad is he when it falls out as he hath prayed ? and why , but because it is the fruit of his prayers ? now much more glad is christ to see the fruit of his death , the travaile of his soul , and thereby is satisfied , isai. 53. 10. ( a place i often quote to this purpose . ) i will add but this to it . when a woman hath been in travaile , she forgets all her paines for joy that a man-childe is borne , ( which is the fruit of that her travail ) and so doth christ . and then again , for that other word , that christ is said to be satisfied . satisfaction is the accomplishment of desire , or the fulfilling of ones longing . so in that speech of christ , blessed are those that hunger for they shall be satisfied . so that this doth argue and presuppose the most vehement desires and longings in christ for the salvation of souls , and his having dyed must needs encrease them . and 2. adde this engagement unto that former , that his death can be put to no other use then for the pardon of sinners . so as if he should not expend it that way , he should utterly lose the fruit of it , or let it lye uselesse by him . for divert it to any other use he cannot . and yet if he knew how to improve it to any other purpose ; yet his love ( he having intended it for the sons of men ) would not suffer him to do it . but besides , if it be not imployed and bestowed this way , it will be wholly in vaine ; for the good angels , though they stand in need of his personall mediation , to confirme them in grace ; yet his blood was not requisite thereunto . and for the bad angels , they are utterly excluded the benefit of it . and then christ himself he stands in no need of it , nor can he have any benefit by it ; all that personall glory which now he hath in heaven being due unto him by that hypostaticall union . so that his death serves for no end , if not for this . christ indeed hath an honour in heaven , besides the glory of the personall union : but then it ariseth to him from the salvation of sinners through his death , which salvation is the purchase of his blood ; as you have it . ephes. 1. which might afford a third engagement , in that christ should not only lose the fruit of his death , but that glory that is ordained him by the salvation of men . so that he should be a loser not only of his sufferings by-past , but of all that glory that is to come from the salvation of believers ; which is no small thing unto him . as officers in courts of law , or in universities , get the more fees , the more clients , and the more commercers there are : so it is the more for jesus christs gain , that many sinners get out , and are received to grace and mercy . some extrinsecall demonstrations of gods and christs willingnesse to pardon sinners . and unto all these secret engagements both of god and christ mutually to each other , and to us , we may adde all the professed publications of their minds herein unto us , which have been made upon all occasions and by all means possible . as , first , this newes hath been published by all three persons , first god the father he began to preach it to adam in paradise , and hath renued it again and again , as with his own immediate voice from heaven when christ was baptized , this is my welbeloved son in whom i am well pleased , heare him : which the apostle peter records and confirmes , as spoken a second time upon the mount , as a matter of highest moment to be known by us , which voyce he heard ( sayes he ) and is no fable , 2 pet. 1. 16 , 17. secondly , christ who is the faithfull and true witnes , rev. 1. 5. he came from the bosome of his father , and preached peace , ephes. 2. 17. yea and it was one of his first texts he preached upon , luke 4. 18. the spirit of the lord is upon me , because he hath anoynted me to preach the gospel , to preach deliverance to the captives . thirdly , the holy ghost he also herewith bearing witnesse , that god hath exalted christ to be a prince and saviour , to give repentance and forgivenesse of sinnes . acts 5. 31 , 32. and so heb. 2. 45. and these are these three witnesses in heaven , 1 john 5. 7. whose record as it followes is this , that there is life to be had in his son jesus christ , v. 11. secondly , god hath published this newes both by all creatures reasonable , and to all creatures reasonable . first , the angels they came and preached it , singing , peace on earth , good will towards men luke 2. 13 , 14. secondly , by men , and to that end he hath given gifts to men , powerfull and full of glory , ephes. 4. 8. &c. and a commission with those gifts , a most large and gratious one , and he hath committed to us the ministery of reconciliation , to wit , that god was in christ , reconciling the world to himself . 2 cor. 5. 20. yea and thirdly , he hath maintained this ministry in all ages , even to our times , all times have rung of the newes hereof , and the world is still full of his embassadors to treat with men about this peace , and they are to proclaime that he is fully willing ; and upon that ground to beseech men to be reconciled , and so long as leiger embassadors reside uncalled home , or not sent for away , so long the treaty of peace holds . fourthly , he hath proclaimed this by these this embassadors in all places ; he bad them go and preach it to all the world , to every creature , mark 16. 15. and his disciples did accordingly . now he would not have had it spoken so openly and generally , if he were not most serious in it . fiftly , adde to this , that he hath declared it by all wayes and meanes that do argue faithfulnesse and seriousnesse . first , not by bare word of mouth , but we have it under his hand , he hath left his mind in writing . this book which is dropt from heaven , the title of it is , the word of reconciliation . 2 cor. 5. 19. the main argument of it being reconciliation . in this book we find , proclamation sent forth after proclamation , book after book , line after line , all written to this end , that we sinners might have hope and strong consolation , as the apostle witnesseth . secondly , he hath added to this writing those seales of the sacraments , and further an oath to both , and that made advisedly with the greatest earnestnesse and deliberation that might be , heb. 6. 17. god willing ( the text sayes ) more abundantly to manifest this his intent , the immutability of his counsell , he confirmed that promise with an oath , that by two immutable things , his word and oath , we might have strong consolation . thirdly , if this be not sufficient , he hath pawned heaven and earth , the covenant of day and night in mortgage to forgive iniquity and pardon sinners . thus jer. 31. 34 , 35 , 36. this is my covenant ( sayes god there ) that i will forgive their iniquities , and remember their sinnes no more , so ver. 34. and then it follows ver. 35. thus saith the lord , who giveth the sun for a light by day , and the ordinances of the moon and stars for a light by night : if those ordinances depart from before me , then the seed of israel , &c. the like you have , chap. 33. 25 , 26. day and night we see stand still , and therefore this covenant holds good still ; but we have a greater pawn then this , the death of his son . and lastly , let his actions and courses , which he hath taken from the beginning of the world speak for all the rest , as satan hath been a murtherer from the beginning , so god hath been a saviour from the beginning , and christ is the lamb slain from the beginning of the world . god began with the first of mankind , even with adam and eve , the ringleaders , the heads of this rebellion , who drew all the rest of the world into that enmity , these were yet reconciled . kings usually hang up the heads and chiefe in treasons , for examples of their justice , though they pardon others ; yet these did god save and pardon as examples of his mercy , to all that should come of them ; and it is observeable that the first thing he did , after the world was fallen , was this act of mercy , both in preaching this gospel , and in pardoning them , he began to do that soon , which he meant to be alwayes a doing to the end of the world , it argues he delights in it , yea and according to christ last promise on earth , ( that he would be with us to the end of the world , ) god is to this day reconciling the world of men to himself . some that walk in your streets by you , live among you . and he will have thousands when you are gone , and what are these but as flags , and patternes of mercy , hung forth by god to toll and bring others in , as ephes. 2. 7. vse . what should the consideration of these things work in our hearts , but what the scope of the text it self puts men upon , even that they would come in unto christ , and beleeve on him , and give up their souls unto him ? he that beleeves shall in no wise be cast out . as christ therefore is willing : so should we , be a willing people . that which keepes men off , is , that they know not christs minde and heart , think it not to be an indifferent thing to him whether you beleeve , or no ; as if he came into the world to do this duty of dying for sinners , singly in obedience to his father , so that men might be rendred savable if they will : and that however , if they will not , he yet hath enough to satisfie and quiet himself with , even this that he shall be glorified in what he hath done , though few or none of the sons of men be saved . it is a prejudiciall doctrine this , to the salvation of men , and derogatory to christs free love . what , do we think that jesus christ is gone to heaven , there to complaine unto angels of the unkindnesse and hardnes of mens hearts , that will not turne to him notwithstanding he hath done so much , and to tell what he had done for them , and what they would not be perswaded to do for themselves ; and that so he can sufficiently please himself with such just complaints ? no surely ; our effectuall salvation concernes him more then so : and his heart is more fully bent upon it then thus to leave it , of what he hath bought he will lose nothing . the truth is , he is more glad of us then we can be of him . the father of the prodigall was the forwarder of the two to that joyfull meeting . hast thou a minde ? he that came down from heaven ( as himself saith , in the text ) to dye for thee , will meet thee more then half way ( as the prodigals father is said to do ) by his spirit ; he will send him from heaven to thee , and at the latter day himself will come again to fetch thee and receive thee to himself . if among the angels in heaven there be joy at the conversion of a sinner , how much more joy is there in christs heart ? if there be joy in the bed chamber men ( as iohn speakes ) what joy is there in the bridgrooms hearts ? or if among the standers by , when a man-child is borne into the world , how much more doth the mother that was in travaile for it ( as christs soul was , ) how much more doth she rejoyce ? o therefore come in unto him . if you knew his heart you would . as they that crucified him knew him not , so neither do those who beleeve not in him . if you had been on earth with him , or if he were now here , and had this day preacht these things unto you , and uttered these his own desires , and longings after you ; how would you in troopes go all thronging after him when the sermon were done , and each of you come about him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that had diseases did ) and beseech him to pardon and save you ; and not leave him till you have obtained some word of comfort and favour from him ! let me tell you , he had preacht this day , but that he had other busines to do for you in heaven , where he is now praying and intereceding for you , even when you are sinning ; ( as on earth we see he did for the jews when they were a crucifying him . ) now because he could not for this other busines come himself , he therefore sends us his ambassadours , and we in christ stead do beseech you ; and it is as if christ by us did beseech you : and we preach but such things as were first spoken by the lord himselfe , ( as it in heb. 2. ) and he sends his spirit , and continues to give gifts unto men to this very day : and in all these respects , when ever the gospel is preacht , he is said to spe●k from heaven , refuse not him that speaks from heaven , heb. 12. 23. and though you have not his bodily presence as they had who heard himselfe preach here on earth ; yet you may by faith have as free an accesse unto him , and know as surely that he heares you , as if he were in the same roome with you . retire therefore into your closet , and treat with him in private , and there presse these things on him ; say them all over again unto himself , and ask him if they be not true : get the match struck up between thy soule & him ; which if once made , will never be undone again . say unto him , lord , why may it not be made up now ? only let me adde this ; see you come not to him without a wedding-garment , and wedding-affections . take up a resolution to love him . for if thou comest to him , what dost thou come for ? pardon of sins ? and what is it in him that must procure that ? his having dyed for thee ; that was it . and what was it that moved him to die ? an infinite love ; such a love , as were the thing yet to be done , he would certainly do it , and die to satisfie god for thee . now then , seeing he hath already done it out of such a love with what face canst thou ask pardon of him , as the effect of such a love , and not love him again , and obey him in all things ? but to make short work with you , know this ; that if thou wilt not come in to him , thou wilt be damned . so saith christ , he that beleeves shall be saved ; but he that beleeves not shall be damned . and i could tell you another , and as large a story of christs wrath against those that refuse him , as i have told you of his love : the lamb can be angry ; for he is a lion also , o consider this therefore , lest he teare you in pieces , and th●●… be none to deliver you . finis . the reconcileableness of god's prescience of the sins of men with the wisdom and sincerity of his counsels, exhortations, and whatsoever other means he uses to prevent them / in a letter to the honorable robert boyle esq. howe, john, 1630-1705. 1677 approx. 133 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 87 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a44687 wing h3036 estc r18027 11742372 ocm 11742372 48507 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a44687) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 48507) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 535:16) the reconcileableness of god's prescience of the sins of men with the wisdom and sincerity of his counsels, exhortations, and whatsoever other means he uses to prevent them / in a letter to the honorable robert boyle esq. howe, john, 1630-1705. [6], 154, [11] p. printed for brabazon aylmer ..., london : 1677. signed: h. w. reproduction of original in cambridge university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng atonement -early works to 1800. forgiveness -religious aspects -church of england. 2004-10 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-10 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-11 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2004-11 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion imprimatur , hic liber , cui titulus ( the reconcileableness of god's prescience of the sins of men , with the wisdom and sincerity , &c. ) apr. 19. 1677. guil. sill. r. p. d. henr. epis. lond. à sacris domest . the reconcileableness of god's prescience of the sins of men , with the wisdom and sincerity of his counsels , exhortations , and whatsoever other means he uses to prevent them . in a letter to the honorable robert boyle esq . london : printed for brabazon aylmer , at the three pigeons , over against the royal exchange in cornhil . 1677. the reconcileableness of god's prescience , &c. sir , the veneration i have long had for your name , could not permit me to apprehend less obligation than that of a law , in your recommending to me this subject . for within the whole compass of intellectual employment and affairs , non but who are so unhappy as not at all to know you , would dispute your right to prescribe , and give law. and taking a nearer view of the province you have assigned me , i must esteem it alike both disingenuous and undutiful , wholly to have refus'd it . for the less you could think it possible to me to perform in it , the more i might perceiv of kindness allaying the authority of the imposition ; and have the apprehension the more obvious to me that you rather design'd in it mine own advantage , than that you reckon'd the cause could receiv any , by my undertaking it . the doubt , i well know , was mention'd by you as other mens , and not your own ; whose clear mind , and diligent enqiry leave you little liable to be encumb'red with greater difficulties . wherefore that i so soon divert from you , and no more allow these papers to express any regard unto you , till the shutting of the discourse , is only a seeming disrespect or indecorum , put in the stead of a real one . for after you have given them the countenance , as to let it be understood , you gave the first rise and occasion to the business and design of them ; i had little reason to slur that stamp put upon them , by adding to their ( enough other ) faults , that of making them guilty of so great a misdemeanour , and impertinency , as to continue a discourse of this length , to one that hath so little leasure or occasion to attend to any thing can be said by them . what there is of difficulty in this matter i cannot pretend to set down in those most apt expressions wherein it was represented to me , and must therefore endeavour to supply a bad memory out of a worse invention . so much appears very obvious , that , ascribing to the ever blessed god , among the other attributes which we take to belong to an every way perfect being , a knowledg so perfect as shall admit of no possible accession or increase ; and conseqently the prescience of all future events ( as whereof we doubt him not to have the distinct knowledg when they shall have actually come to pass . ) since many of those events are the sinful actions or omissions of men , which he earnestly counsels and warns them against ; this matter of doubt cannot but arise hereupon , viz. how it can stand with the wisdom & rity which our own thoughts do by the earliest anticipation challenge to that ever happy being , to use these ( or any other means ) with a visible design to prevent that , which , in the mean time appears to that all-seeing eye , sure to come to pass . so that , by this representation of the case , there seem to be committed together . either 1 st . gods wisdom with this part of his knowledg . for we judg it not to consist with the wisdom of a man , to design and pursue an end , which he foreknows he shall never attain : or 2 ly . the same foreknowledg with his sincerity and uprightness , that he seems intent upon an end , which indeed he intends not . the matter then comes shortly to this summe . either the holy god seriously intends the prevention of such foreseen sinful actions and omissions or he doth not intend it . if he do , his wisdom seems liable to be impleaded , as above . if he do not , his uprightness and truth . my purpose is not , in treating of this affair , to move a dispute concerning the fitnes of the words [ prescience ] or [ foreknowledg ] or to trouble this discourse with notions i understand not , of the indivisibility , and unsuccessivenes of eternal duration , whence it would be collected there can be no such thing as first or second fore-or after-knowledg in that duration . but be contented to speak as i can understand , and be understood . that is , to call that foreknowledg which is the knowledg of somewhat that as yet is not , but that shall sometime come to pass . for it were a meer piece of legerdem●in only to amuse enqirers whom one would pretend to satisfie . or to fly to a cloud for refuge from the force of an argument , and avoid an occurring difficulty by the present reliefless shift of involving one-self in greater . nor shall i design to my self so large a field as a tractate concerning the divine prescience . so as to be obliged to discourse particularly whatsoever may be thought to belong to that theological topick . but confine the discourse to my enjoyned subject . and offer only such considerations as may some way tend to expedite or alleviate the present difficulty . §. ii. ii. it were one of the greatest injuries to religion , a subversion indeed of its very foundations . and then by doing which , we could not more highly gratifie atheistical minds , instead , and under pretence of ascribing perfections to the nature of god , to ascribe to it inconsistencies , or to give a self-repugnant notion of that adorable being , the parts whereof should justle and not accord with one another . and yet eqal care is to be taken , lest while we endeavour to frame a consistent notion of god , we reject from it any thing that is truly a perfection , and so give a maimed one . whereby we should undo our own design , and by our over much caution to make our conception of him agree with it self , make it disagree to him . for to an absolutely perfect being , no other can agree than that , which not only is not made up of contradictions , but which also comprehends in it all real perfections either explicitely , or which leaves room for all , by not positively excluding any of them . which to do , and afterward , to assign that as the proper notion of god , were , it self , the greatest contradiction . we need therefore to be very warie , lest we pronounce too hastily concerning any thing , which to our most sedate thoughts , appeares simply a perfection in it self , that it carries with it a repugnancie to somewhat else , necessary to be ascribed to him . we are first to suspect ( as there is greatest cause ) and enqire whether the aile be not wholly in our own minds . which in this and such like cases , we certainly shall upon due reflection , find labouring under the natural defect of that incomprehensive narrownes , that is , in some degree , unavoidably followed with confusion and indistinctnes of thoughts . and may perhaps find cause to accuse them of the more culpable evils , both of slothfulnes , that withholds them from doing what they can , and self-conceit by which they imagine to themselves an ability of doing what they cannot . it cannot be unobserved by them that have made themselves any part of their own study , that it is very incident to our minds , to grasp at more than they can compass ; and then , thorough their own scantines ( like the little hand of a child ) to throw away one thing that hath pleased us , to make room for another , because we cannot comprehend both together . it is not strange , that our so straitly limited understandings , should not be able to lodg commodiously the immense perfections of a deity . so as to allow them liberty to spread themselves in our thoughts in their entire proportions . and because we cannoot , we complain , when we feel our selves a little pincht , that the things will not consist ; when the matter is , that we have unduly crouded and huddled them up together , in our incomprehensive minds , that have not distinctly conceived them . and tho this consideration should not be used for the protection of an usurped liberty of fastening upon god , arbitrarily and at random , what we please ( as indeed what so gross absurdity might not any one give shelter to by such a misapplication of it ? ) we ought yet to think it seasonably apply'd , when we find our selves urged with difficulties on one hand and the other ; and apprehend it hard , with clearnes and satisfaction , to ascribe to god , what we also find it not easie not to ascribe . nor would it be less unfit to apply it for the patronage of that slothfulnes wherein our discouraged minds are sometimes too prone to indulge themselves . to which purpose i remember somewhat very apposite in minucius felix , that many thorough the meer tediousness of finding out the truth , do rather , by a mean succumbency , yeild to the first specious shew of any opinion whatsoever than be at the trouble , by a pertinacious diligence , of applying , themselves to a thorough search . tho the comprehension of our minds be not infinite , it might be extended much further than usually it is , if we would allow our selves with patient diligence to consider things at leasure , and so as gradually to stretch and enlarge our own understandings . many things have carried the appearance of contradiction and inconsistencie , to the first view of our straitened minds , which afterwards , we have , upon repeated consideration and endeavour , found room for , and been able to make fairly accord , and lodg together . especially we should take heed lest it be excluded by over-much conceitednes , and a self-arrogating pride , that disdains to be thought not able to see thorough every thing , by the first and slightest glance of an haughty eye ; and peremptorily determines that to be unintelligible , that an arrogant uninstructed mind hath only not humility enough to acknowledg difficult to be understood . whence it is too possible some may be over-prone to detract from god what really belongs to him , lest any thing should seem detracted from themselves , and impute imperfection to him rather than confess their own . and may be so over-ascribing to themselves , as to reckon it a disparagement not to be endured , to seem a little puzzled for the present ; to be put to pause , and draw breath a while , and look into the matter again and again ; which if their humility and patience would enable them to do ; it is not likely that the author of our faculties would be unassisting to them , in those our enqiries which concern our duty towards himself . for tho in mattes of meer speculation , we may be encountred with difficulties , whereof perhaps no mortal can ever be able to find out the solution ( which is no great prejudice , and may be gainful and instructive to us ) yet as to what concerns the object of our religion , it is to be hoped we are not left in unextricable entanglements ; nor should think we are till we have made utmost trial . the design being not to gratifie our curiosity , but to relieve our selves of uncomfortable doubtfulnes in the matter of our worship , and ( in a dutiful zeal towards the blessed object thereof ) to vindicate it against the eavils of ill-minded men . §. iii. but if the unsuccessfulnes of often repeated endeavours make us despair of being able , with so full satisfaction , to reconcile some things which we have thought were to be attributed to god ; it will be some relief to us , if we find the things about which the doubt lies , are not of the same order , nor such as with eqal evidence and necessity are to be affirmed of him . and when we make a comparison , we may find our selves at a certainty concerning those his attributes which most commonly , and at the first view , approve themselves to every man's understanding . among which we little hesitate , ( as we are most concern'd not to do , ) about those which carry with them the import of moral goodness ; and which render the object of our religion , at once , both most venerable and lovely . for none do more naturally obtain for common notions concerning him ; so as even to prevent rationcination or argument , with whomsoever the apprehension of his existence hath place . every man's mind , it being once acknowledg'd that there is a god , refuses to conceive otherwise of him , than that he is holy , just , merciful , true , &c. and rejects with abhorrency the notion of an impure , unrighteous , cruel , deceitful deity . as for those that , by a long train of our own more uncertain and lubricous reasonings , we endeavour to deduce ; if we find our selves constrain'd any where to admit a diffidence , it were rather to be plac't here . for it is at first sight evident , since god is most certainly willing to be known of them that are sincerely willing to know him ; that what is a natural impression , stamped by his own hand on every man's mind , hath more of absolute certainty , than what depends on metaphysical subtlety ; whereof so very few are capable , and whereby divers pretenders thereto , do so freqently , ( and perhaps very dangerously ) ensnare themselves . and it is of far greater importance , such a notion of god be entertained , as whereby he may be rendered amiable , and an inviting object of love ( the very life and soul of all religion ) than such as shall be the result , and entertainment , only of scholastic wit. yet also since it is very manifest that man is now become a degenerate creature , and in an apostacy from god : he is very little to be trusted with the framing his own idaea of him ; being certainly most unapt to allow any thing a place in it , that would have an unfavourable aspect upon his vicious inclinations and his guilty state . and the contagion of man's sinfulnes having spread it self as far as he hath propagated his own nature ; so as no notion in his mind can be more common than the perversion and distemper of his mind it self ; the possibility and danger is very obvious , of mistaking a dictate of depraved nature for an authentic common notion . and tho these are not impossible to be distinguished , and in some cases very easie , as when men find it imposed unavoidably upon them , to apprehend and acknowledg some things which they are very unwilling should be true ( in which case their sentiments have the same right to be believed as the testimony of an enemy on the opposite partie 's behalf . ) we have yet no reason to neglect any other means , whereby we may be more certainly directed how to conceive of god , or what we are to attribute to him , and what not . §. iv. nor can we be at a greater certainty , than in admitting such things to belong to the blessed god as he plainly affirms of himself ; or any way , by his word , evidently discovers to belong to him . for as none knowes the things of a man , but the spirit of a man that is in him , so the things of god are known to none but the spirit of god. taking therefore his own word for our measure in the present case ( which i will suppose the reader not to think it unreasonable to appeal to ; and what is here said , is intended only for those that have that estimate of the writings wont to go under that name ) what it saies of him ( much more what it proves ) will no doubt be admitted for certain truth . though , if it say such things , as , to us , seem not so manifestly to agree with one another , our endeavour must be the more earnest and solicitous ( as also it ought to be the more modest ) to discuss , and remove the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or whatsoever semblance of disagreement . and whosoever concern themselves to peruse that venerable book , will find every where , on the one hand , proclaimed and magnify'd in it ( what our own minds cannot but have been prepossessed of ) the most exqisite wisdom of god , whereby he forms and contrives the methods of all his dispensations , and disposes them in the aptest subserviency to his own great and most important ends . that all his waies are judgment ; and that he worketh all things according to the counsel of his will. in summe , that all wisdom is appropriated to him , that he is celebrated in the style of god , only wise. nor are we therefore to think it strange , if , many times , we are not able to trace him out , or understand the reason of every thing he thinks fit to do . for the paths of the more perfect wisdom , must therefore be expected to be the more abstruse , and remoter from common apprehension . how often do we find our selves so far outgone by wise and designing men , as that we are sometimes constrain'd to confess and admire their great prudence and conduct ( when they have effected their purposes ) in those managements , which we have before beheld , either with silent ignorance , or perhaps , not without censure . how much less should the wisest of men regret it , to find all their conjectures exceeded by the infinite wisdom . in the contemplation whereof , we find the great apostle ( notwithstanding the vast capacity of his divinely enlightned understanding ) exclaiming in a transport . o the depths ! and when our eyes tell us , from so manifest stupendous effects , how far we are exceeded by him in power , it were reasonable to expect he should surpass us proportionably in the contrivances of his wisdom also . and whereas the conjunction is rare , among men , of deep political wisdom , with integrity and strict righteousness ; this proceeds from the imperfection and insufficiency of the former in great part , that they know not how to compass their designs , unless often , by supplying their want of wisdom , out of the spoil and violation of their justice and honesty . otherwise , these are things not so altogether out of credit in the world , but that men would rather accomplish their purposes by fair and unexceptionable means , if they could tell how . only the respect and deference they have for them is less , than what they bear to their own interests and ends . but besides the natural inflexible rectitude of the divine will , we are secured , from his all-sufficiencie , that we shall never be fraudulently imposed upon by any of his declarations unto the children of men . for there is nothing to be gained by it : and we cannot conceive what inducement he should have , to make use of any so mean and pitiful shifts for the governing of his creatures , whom he spontaneously raised out of nothing , and hath so perfectly within his power . unless we should be so most intolerably injurious to him , as to imagine a worse thing of him than we would of the worst of men , that he loved falshood for its own sake . and that , aginst his so constantly professed detestation of it , the declared repugnancie of it to his nature , and the even tenour of his word ( every where agreeing with it self herein ) so often describing him by that property , god that cannot lye . and , with the same positivenes , avowing his own uprightnes , and reqiring it , expressing his great love to it , and the high delight he takes to find it in his ( intelligent ) creatures . the righteous god loveth righteousnes , and with his countenance doth he behold the upright . nor is his testimony the less to be regarded for that it is laudatory , and of himself . for we are to consider the prerogative of him that testifies , and that if he were not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he were not god. besides that his giving us this , or any , representation of himself ( to whom it were enough to enjoy his own perfections ) is a vouchsafement , and done of meer grace and favour to us , that we may by it be induced to place with satisfaction , our unsuspicious trust and confidence in him . as also , that he saies , in all this , no other thing of himself , than what our own minds , considering him as god , must acknowledg most worthy of him , and agreeing to him with the most apparent necessity . this part , therefore , of the idaea of god hath so firm a foundation , both in the natural complexion of our own minds , and the report which his word makes of him , that on this hand we are hemm'd in as by a wall of adamant : and cannot have the thought of defending his prescience , by intrenching upon his wisdom and truth , without offering the highest violence both to him and our selves . §. v. on the other hand also , as it cannot but seem to us an higher perfection to know all things at once , than gradually to arrive to the knowledg of one thing after another ; and so proceed from the ignorance of some things to the knowledg of them ; and that nothing is more certain , than that all possible perfection must agree to god ; so we find his own word asserting to him that most perfect knowledg which seems to exclude the possibility of increase ; or that any thing should succeed into his knowledg . for how plainly is it affirmed of him that he knows all things . and even concerning such future things as about which our present enqirie is conversant , the affirmation is express and positive . i am god , and there is none like me , declaring the end from the beginning , and from antient times the things that are not yet done . nor is the affirmation naked , and unfortify'd . for , in the same sacred records , we have the same thing both affirmed and proved : inasmuch as we find , in a great part thereof , are contained things foretold by most express prophecy , unto which the events recorded in other parts ( and many of them in other unqestioned writings besides ) have so punctually corresponded , as to leave no place for doubt or cavil . instances are so plain and well known that they need not be mentioned . and surely what was so expressly foretold could not but have been foreknown . it seems then an attempt also eqally hopeles and unrelieving , as it were adventurous and bold , to offer at the protection of his wisdom and sinceritie , by assaulting his prescience or certain foreknowledg of whatsoever shall come to pass . and that their defence is not to be attempted this way , will further most evidently appear from hence , that it is not impossible to assign particular instances of some or other most confessedly wicked actions ; against which god had directed those ordinary means of counselling and dehorting men , and which yet it is most certain he did foreknow they would do . as , tho it was so punctually determined even * to a day , and was ( tho not so punctually ) † foretold unto abraham , how long , from that time , * his seed should be strangers in a land that was not theirs ; yet how freqent are the counsels and warnings sent to pharaoh to dismiss them sooner ; yea how often are moses and aaron directed to claim their liberty , and exhort pharaoh to let them go , and at the same time told , he should not hearken to them . nor indeed is it most seldome said that the lord hardened pharaoh's heart , lest he should . tho it may be a doubt whether those passages be truly translated . for the gentler meaning of the hebrew idiom being well known , it would seem more agreeable to the text , to have expressed only the intended sense , than to have strained a word to the very utmost of its literal import , and manifestly beyond what was intended . after the like manner is the prophet ezekiel sent to the revolted israelites . and directed to speak to them with gods own words , the summe and purport whereof was to warn and dehort them from their wicked waies lest they should die ; when as yet it is plainly told him , but the house of israel will not hearken to thee , for they will not hearken to me . unto which same purpose it is more pertinent , than necessary to be added , that our saviours own plain assertions that he was the son of god , the many miracles by which he confirmed it , and his freqent exhortations to the jews to believe in him thereupon , had a manifest tendency to make him be known and believed to be so , and conseqently to prevent that most horrid act of his crucifixion ( for it is said , and the matter speaks it self , that , if they had known they would not have crucify'd the lord of glory . ) notwithstanding that it was a thing which gods hand and counsel had determined before to be done . that is , foreseeing wicked hands would be prompt and ready for this tragic enterprise , his sovereign power and wise counsel concurred with his foreknowledg , so only , and not with less latitude , to define or determine the bounds and limits of that malignity , than to let it proceed unto this execution . and to deliver him up ( not by any formal resignation , or surrender , as we well know , but permitting him ) thereunto . tho the same phrase of delivering him , hath elsewhere , another notion of assigning or appointing him to be a propitiation for the sins of men , by dying ; which was done by mutual agreement between both the parties , him that was to propitiate , and him who was to be propitiated . in which respect our saviour is also said to have given himself for the same purpose ; which purpose it was determined not to hinder prepared hands to execute in this way . now if it did appear but in one single instance only , that the blessed god did foreknow , and dehort from the same act , it will be plainly consequent , that his warnings and dehortations from wicked actions in the general , can with no pretence be alledged as a proof against his universal prescience . for if the argument [ he dehorted from the doing such an action , therefore he did not foreknow it ] would be able to conclude any thing , it must be of sufficient force to conclude universally ; which it cannot do , if but a single instance can be given , wherein it is apparent , he did both dehort and foreknow . it can only pretend to raise the doubt which we have in hand to discuss , how fitly , and with what wisdom and sinceritie , he can be understood to interpose his counsels and monitions in such a case . §. vi. wherefore nothing remains but to consider how these may be reconciled , and made appear to be no way inconsistent with one another . nor are we to apprehend herein so great a difficulty , as it were to reconcile his irresistible predeterminative concurrence to all actions of the creature , even those that are in themselves most malignantly wicked , with the wisdom and righteousness of his laws against them , and severest punishments of them according to those laws . which sentiments must , i conceive , to any impartial understanding , leave it no way sufficiently explicable , how the influence and concurrence , the holy god hath to the worst of actions , is to be distinguisht from that which he affords to the best ; wherein such inherently evil actions are less to be imputed to him who forbids them , than to the malicious tempter who prompts to them , or the actor that does them , or wherein not a great deal more . and leave it undeniable , that the matter of all his lawes , in reference to all such actions that ever have been done in the world , was a simple and most strictly natural impossibilitie . nothing being more apparently so , than either not to do an action whereto the agent is determined by an infinite power ; or to separate the malignity thereof , from an intrinsecally evil action ; and that this natural impossibility of not sinning was the ineluctable fate of his ( at first ) innocent creatures . who also ( as the case is to be conceived of with the angels that kept not their first station ) must be understood irreversibly condemned to the suffering of eternal punishment , for the not doing of what it was ( upon these terms ) so absolutely impossible to them to avoid . §. vii . this too hard province the present design pretends not to intermeddle in , as being neither apprehended manageable , for those briefly mentioned considerations , and many more that are wont to be insisted on in this argument . nor indeed at all necessary ; for tho many considerations have been with great subtilty , alledg'd and urged to this purpose , by former and some modern writers , ( which it is besides the design of these papers severally to discuss ) these two , which seem the most importunate and enforcing , will , i conceive , be found of little force ; and then the less strength which is in others , will be nothing formidable ; viz : that it necessarily belongs to the original and fountain-being , to be the first cause of whatsoever being ; and consequently , that what there is of positive being in any the most wicked action , must principally owe it self to the determinative productive influence of this first and sovereign cause . otherwise it would seem there were some being that were neither primum , nor a primo . and again ( which we are more concerned to consider , because it more concerns our present subject ) that it were otherwise impossible god should foreknow the sinful actions of men ( many whereof , as hath been observed , he hath foretold ) if their futurition were a meer contingency , and depended on the uncertain will of the subordinate agent , not determined by the supream . but neither of these seem able to infer the dismal conclusion of god's concurring by a determinative influence unto wicked actions . not the former ; for it may well be thought sufficiently to salve the rights and priviledg of the first cause , to assert that no action can be done but by a power derived from it ; which , in reference to forbidden actions , intelligent creatures may use or not use as they please , without overasserting , that they must be irresistibly determined also , even to the worst of actions done by them . besides , that it seems infinitely to detract from the perfection of the ever blessed god , to affirm he was not able to make a creature , of such a nature , as , being continually sustained by him , and supplyed with power every moment sutable to its nature , should be capable of acting ; unless whatsoever he thus enables , he determine ( that is , for it can mean no less thing , impel ) it to do also . and except it were affirmed impossible to god to have made such a creature , ( that is , that it imply'd a contradiction , which certainly can never be proved ) there is no imaginable pretence why it should not be admitted he hath done it : rather than so fatally expose the wisdom , goodnes , and righteousnes of god , by supposing him to have made lawes for his reasonable creatures , impossible , thorough his own irresistible counter-action , to be observed : and afterwards to express himself displeased , and adjudg his creatures to eternal punishments , for not observing them . i am not altogether ignorant what attempts have been made to prove it impossible , nor again , what hath been done to manifest the vanity of those attempts . but i must confess a greater disposition to wonder , that ever such a thing should be disputed , that dispute so plain a case . and that a matter whereupon all moral government depends , both humane and divine , should not have been determined at the first sight . 't is not hard for a good wit to have somewhat to say for any thing . but to dispute against the common sense of mankind , we know before hand , is but to trifle ; as the essay to prove the impossibility of local motion . the notion of the goodnes and righteousnes of god , methinks , should stick so close to our minds , and create such a sense in our souls , as should be infinitely dearer to us than all our senses and powers . and that we should rather choose to have our sight , hearing , and motive power , or what not besides , disputed , or even torn away from us , than ever suffer our selves to be disputed into a belief , that the holy and good god should irresistibly determine the wills of men to , and punish , the same thing . nor is it difficult to urge more puzzling sophisms against the former , than for this latter . but the efforts of a sophistical wit against sense , and more against the sense of our souls , and most of all against the entire summe and substance of all morality , and religion , at once , are but like the attempt to batter a wall of brass with straws and feathers . nor is the assault , on this part , more feeble and impotent , than the defence is wont to be of the other . for i would appeal to the qick refined sense of any sober and pious mind , after serious , inward consultation with it self ; being closely urged , with the horrour of so black a conception of god [ that he should be supposed irresistibly to determine the will of a man to the hatred of his own most blessed self , and then to exact severest punishments for the offence done ] what relief it would now be to it , to be only taught to reply , [ that man is under the law , and god above it . ] a defence that doubles the force of the assault . what! that god should make a law , and necessitate the violation of it ! and yet also punish that violation ! and this be thought a sufficient salvo , that himself is not subject to any law ! will a qick-sented , tender spirit , wounded by so unsufferable indignity , offered to the holy god , be any whit eased or relieved , by the thin sophistry of only a collusive ambiguity in the word [ law ? ] which sometimes signifies the declared pleasure of a ruler to a subject , in which sense any eye can see god can be under no law , having no superiour . but not-seldome also , an habitual fixed principle and rule of acting after one steady tenour . in which sense how manifest is it , that the perfect rectitude of god's own holy gracious nature is an eternal law to him , infinitely more stable , and immutable , than the ordinances of day and night ! or what relief is there in that dream [ of the supposed possibility of god's making a reasonable creature with an innocent aversion to himself ? ] for what can be supposed more repugnant ? or what more impertinent ? if innocent , how were it punishable ? a law already made in the case , how can it be innocent ? but whatsoever strength there may be in arguments , and replies , to and fro , in this matter . that which hath too apparently had greatest actual efficacy , with many , hath been the authority and name of this or that man of reputation ; and the force of that art of imputing a doctrine , already under a prejudicial doom , to some or other ill-reputed former writer . i profes not to be skill'd in the use of that sort of weapons . and what reputation ought to be of so great value with us , as that of god and religion ! tho if one would take that invidious course , it were easie to evince , that such a predeterminative influx to the production of all whatsoever actions , is the dearly espoused notion of one , of as deservedly an ill character , as ever had the name of a christian writer . and whether he would not take that name for a dishonour to him , i pretend not to know . but let us take this sober account of the present case , [ that in this temporary state of trial , the efficacious grace of god is necessary to actions sincerely good and holy ; which therefore all ought undespairingly to seek and pray for . but that in reference to other actions , he doth only supply men with such a power , as whereby , they are enabled , either to act , or , in many instances ( and especially when they attempt any thing that is evil ) to suspend their own action . and surely it carries so unexceptionable a face and aspect with it , that no man , that is himself sober , will think the worst name , of whosoever shall have said the same thing , were a prejudice to it ; or should more oblige him to reject it , then we would think our selves obliged throw away gold , or diamonds , because an impure hand hath toucht them ; or to deny christ , because the devils confest him . tho also , if any should impute the so stating of this matter , to any authour , that hath been wont to go under an ill name and character , in the christian church ; there were a great oversight committed ( to say no harder thing of it . ) for the writers whose names would be supposed a prejudice , have neither said the same thing , nor with the same design . they would have this indetermination of the power afforded to the creature , to be so universal , as to extend eqally to evil actions and to good . and have asserted it with a manifest design to exclude efficacious grace , in reference to the best actions . whereas this account would make it not of so large extent . ( as it were very unreasonable any should ) for tho it may well be supposed extendible to many actions , besides those that are intrinsecally evil , or to any that are not spiritually good , yet nothing enforces ( nor can it be admitted ) that it should actually , and alwaies extend so far . for who can doubt but god can over-rule the inclinations and actions of his creature , when he pleases ; and , as shall best consist with his wisdom , and the purity of his nature , either lay on , or take off his determining hand . nor is it here asserted with any other design , than to exempt the blessed god , as far as is possible ; from a participation in the evil actions of his creatures : in the mean time entitling him , most entirely , to those that are sincerely good . tho it must be left imputable to men themselves ( it being thorough their own great default ) if they have not the grace , which might effectually enable them , to do such also . and as for the latter . this supposed indetermination of the human will , in reference , especially , to wicked actions , is far from being capable of inferring , that god cannot therefore foreknow them ; or any thing more , than that we are left ignorant of the way , how he foreknowes them . and how small is the inconvenience of acknowledging that ? yea and how manifest the absurdity of not acknowledging the like , in many cases ? since nothing is more certain , than that god doth many things besides , whereof the manner , how he does them , we can neither explicate nor understand ! for neither is it difficult to assign instances , more than enough , of actions done by our selves , of the manner whereof , we can give no distinct account , as those of vision , intellection , with sundry other . some have been at great pains we well know to explain the manner of god's foreknowledg of these futurities , otherwise than by laying the foundation thereof in his ( supposed ) efficacious will or decree of them . they that can satisfie themselves with what thomas and scotus have attempted , and the followers of them both ; that can understand what it is , with the one , for all things to be eternally present to the divine intellect in esse reali , and not understand by it , the world to have been eternal . or what , with the other , that they be all present only in esse representativo , and not understand by it barely that they are all known , and no more , ( which seems like the explication of the word invasion , by invasion ) let them enjoy their own satisfaction . for my own part i can more easily be satisfied to be ignorant of the modus or medium of his knowledg , while i am sure of the thing ; and i know not why any sober-minded man might not be so too . while we must all be content to be ignorant of the manner , yea and nature too , of a thousand things besides , when that such things there are , we have no doubt . and when there are few things , about which we can , with less disadvantage , suffer our being ignorant ; or , with less disreputation , profess to be so . it cannot therefore be so affrightful a thing , to suppose god's foreknowledg of the most contingent future actions , well to consist with our ignorance , how he foreknows them , as that we should think it necessary , to overturn and mingle heaven and earth , rather than admit it . §. viii . wherefore waving that unfeasible , unnecessary , and unenjoyned task , of defending god's predeterminative concourse unto sinful actions ; our encounter must only be of the more superable difficulty , to reconcile his prescience of them , with his provisions against them , i. e. how fitly the wise and holy god can have interposed his precautions and dissuasions , in their own nature , aptly tending to withhold and divert men , from those evil actions , which he yet foresees they will do . and it is , in the first place , evident , there can be no pretence to alledg , that there is any such repugnancy in the matter , as shall amount to a contradiction , so much as vertual , or which the things signify'd , on the one part and the other , can be understood any way to import , that indeed there should be a direct and explicite contradiction between foreknowing and dehorting , we may , at first sight , perceive the terms cannot admit ; for there is nothing enuntiated ( affirmed or denied ) in either . but let the sense of both be resolved into propositions , capable of being confronted to one another , and all that can be made of the former , will only come to this ] you will do such a thing ] and of the latter , no more but this [ you ought not to do it ] these are at as great distance , as can be imagined , from grating upon , or jarring with one another . and wherein is the indecorum of it , that both these effata should proceed from the same mouth , viz. of a governour , or one that hath authority over others . we will , for discourse sake , suppose a prince , endowed with the gift or spirit of prophecy . this , most will acknowledg a great perfection , added to whatsoever other his accomplishments . and suppose we this his prophetic ability so large , as to extend to most events that shall fall out within his dominions . is it hereby become unfit for him to govern his subjects by lawes ? or any way admonish them of their duty ? hath this perfection so much diminisht him as to depose him from his government ? it is not indeed to be dissembled , that it were a difficulty to determine , whether such foresight were , for himself , better or worse . boundless knowledge seems only in a fit conjunction with as unbounded power . but it is altogether unimaginable that it should destroy his relation to his subjects . as what of it were left , if it should despoil him of his legislative power , and capacity of governing according to lawes made by it ? and to bring back the matter to the supream ruler . let it for the present be supposed only , that the blessed god hath , belonging to his nature , the universal prescience whereof we are discoursing ; we will , surely , upon that supposition , acknowledg it to belong to him as a perfection . and were it reasonable to affirm that by a perfection he is disabled for government ? or were it a good conseqence [ he foreknowes all things , he is therefore unfit to govern the world ! ] §. ix . and , that we may consider the matter more narrowly ; would the supposition of such foreknowledg , in god , make that cease to be man's duty , which had otherwise been so ? and take away the differences of good and evil ? would it nullifie the obligation of god's law , and make man's own inclination his only rule ? or , if it be said , because it is foreknown , man will do such a thing , therefore he may , where is the connection ? for what influence can foreknowledg have , to alter , or affect , any way , either the nature of the thing foreknown , or the temper of the person that shall do it ; any more than the present knowledg of the same thing , now in doing ? which knowledg none would deny to god : and which , when it occurs to a man , is no more understood to make an evil action innocent , than the action makes the eye guilty , of him that beholds it only , and detests it at once . surely what is , in its own nature , whether , good , or evil , can never not be so , be it foreknown or not foreknown . but if what was otherwise man's duty , be still his duty , what can make it unfit that it be declared , and made known to him to be so ? and how is that otherwise to be done , than by these disputed means ? yea ( for this is the case ) what can make it less fit , than it would be that god should cease to rule over the world ? and qit the right of his government to his revolted creatures , upon no other reason , than only that he foresees they have a mind to invade it ? it may now , perhaps , be said , all this reasoning tends indeed to establish the contrary assertion , [ that notwithstanding god do foreknow man's sin , it is however necessary he forewarn him of it ] but it answers not the objected difficulty . viz. how reasonably any such means are used for an unattainable end . as it is manifest , the end , man's obedience , cannot be attained when it is foreknown he will not obey . §. x. it may here , before we proceed further , not be unseasonable to consider ( a matter , as is known , wont to be much vexed in the schools ) how god may be said to act for any end at all . and it appears very certain , that he , who is so every way absolutely perfect , and happy , cannot be thought to intend , and pursue an end , after the same manner as we are wont to do . we being conscious to our selves of indigency , or , at the best , of obligation to the authour of our beings , are wont to design this or that end for the relieving of our selves , or the approving our selves to him . and , our satisfaction depending upon the attainment of it , we solicitously deliberate about the fittest means to attain it ; and are tos't with various passions , of desire , and hope , and fear , and joy , and grief , according as the end is apprehended more or less excellent , or likely to be attained ; varying often our course upon new emergencies , as this or that may probably promote , or hinder the success of our pursuit . in short , we pursue ends , as being both impatient of disappointment , and uncertain of their attainment . the blessed god , being indigent of nothing , nor under obligation to any one , cannot be supposed to propound an end to himself as that whereupon his satisfaction depends , which were inconsistent with his already-compleat felicity , and would argue him but potentially happy . but acting alwaies from an immense self-sufficient fulnes of life , and of all perfections , doth ever satisfie himself in himself , and take highest complacency in the perfect goodnes , congruity and rectitude of his own most holy will and way . and again , as he doth not seek a yet-unattained satisfaction , in any end he can be supposed to propound to himself ; so nor can he be thought to deliberate , as we are wont to do , concerning the means of effecting any . for deliberation would imply doubtfulnes and uncertainty , which his absolute perfection cannot admit ; nor doth need , the whole frame and compass of things intended by him , in their distinct references and tendencies , being , at once , present to his all-comprehending view ; so that there can be no place for any intermediate knowledg with him , or for any new resolves thereupon . known to the lord are all his works from the beginning of the world. this being premised ; it is now further to be considered , that howsoever one end oftentimes is not attained , unto which the publicly extant declarations of the divine will have a visible aptitude , viz. the obedient compliance of men with them ; another , more noble end was , however , attainable , not unbecoming the designment of the divine wisdom , and which it was every way most worthy of god to be more principally intent upon . it is fit the mention of this be prefac't with an obvious remark ; that the misapprehension of the state of things between god and man doth , in great part , owe it self , to our aptnes to compare unduly , the divine government with that of secular rulers ; and our expectation to find them in all things agreeing with each other . whereas there cannot but be a vast difference , between the constitution , and end of god's government over ( his creatures , and more especially ) mankind , and that of man over his fellow creatures of the same kind . the government of secular , humane rulers , can never be , in the constitution of it , altogether absolute , nor ought , in the design of it , primarily to intend the personal advantage of the ruler himself , who as much depends upon his subjects , and hath ( at least ) as great , need of them , as they can be understood to have of him . but as to the blessed god the matter is apparent , and hath its own triumphant evidence , that since he is the original and root of all being , that all things are meer dependencies upon his absolute pleasure , and entirely of him , and by him , all ought to be to him that he alone might have the glory . wherefore , it must be asserted , and cannot fail of obtaining to be acknowledged , by every impartial , and sober considerer of things , that there is a much more noble and important end , that all god's public edicts , and declarations to men ( the instruments of his government over them ) do more principally aim at , than their advantage , viz. the dignity and decorum of his government it self . and that he may be found in every thing to have done as became him , and was most worthy of himself . and what could be more so , than that he should testifie the aversion of his own pure , and holy nature , to whatsoever was unholy and impure , his love of righteousnes and complacency to be imitated herein , together with his steady , gracious propension to receive all them into the communion of his own felicity or blessednes ( for the redeemer's sake ) who should herein comply with him ? nor are we to understand that he herein so designs the reputation of his government , as men are often wont to do things out of design for their interest , in that kind , that are otherwise , against their ( over-ruled ) inclination . but we are to account these his declarations ( altho they are acts of an intelligent agent , and the products of wisdom and counsel , yet also ) the spontaneous emanations of his own holy , and gracious nature , such as wherein he most fully agrees , and consents with himself . and is it now to be expected , that , because he foresees men will be wicked , and do what shall be unworthy of them , he must therefore lay aside his nature , and omit to do what shall be worthy of himself ? §. xii . and hereupon it may be expected , the more ingenuous , and candid , will allow themselves to think the matter tolerably clear , in reference to the former part of the proposed difficulty ; i. e. will apprehend this way of dealing with men not imprudent , or inconsistent with the divine wisdom , since , tho one end , in a great part , fail , yet another , more valuable , is attained . but yet , as to the latter part , the difficulty may still urge , viz. how it can stand with sinceritie , whereas that end also which failes , seems to have been most directly intended , that the blessed god should seem so earnestly intent upon it . since it is hardly conceiveable , that the same thing should be , at once , seriously intended as an end , and yet , at the same time , give the eye , which seems to design it ; no other prospect , than of a thing never to be brought to pass . wherefore we are next to consider , that we may proceed gradually , and not omit to say what is in it self considerable ; tho it is not all ( which cannot be said at once ) that is to be said ; that the public declarations of the divine will , touching man's duty , do attain that very end [ his obedient compliance therewith ] in great part , and as to may ( altho it be foreknown they will prove ineffectual with the most ) and are the no less successful , than the apt means of attaining it . nor , certainly , if it were foreknown the world would be so divided , as that some would obey , and others not obey , was it therefore the fittest course , that these two sorts should , by some extraordinary act of providence , be carefully severed from each other ; and those be dealt withal apart from the rest : but rather , that the divine edicts should be of an universal tenour , and be directed to all as they are ; the matter of them being of universal concernment , and eqally sutable to the common case of all men . §. xiii . neither yet was it necessary , that effectual care should be taken , they should actually reach all , and be apply'd to every individual person . since it is apparently to be resolved into the wickednes of the world , that they do not so ; and that there is not an universal diffusion of the gospel into every part . for it being evident to any ones reflection , that men are in a state of apostacy and defection from their maker and common lord , and therefore subject to his displeasure ; whereas the merciful god hath done his own part , and so much beyond what was to be expected from him ; issued out his proclamations of peace , and pardon , upon so easie and indulgent terms , as are expressed in his gospel ; if , hereupon , men also did their part , behaved themselves sutably to the exigencie of their case , and as did become reasonable creatures , faln under the displeasure of their maker , ( whereof their common condition affords so innumerable , so pregnant proofs ) the gospel , wheresoever it should arrive , would have been entertained with so great a transport of joy , and so ready and universal acceptance , as very soon to have made a great noise in the world : and being found to be of an universal tenour and concernment , and that what is saies to one nation , it eqally saies the same to every one ; it could not but be , that messengers would interchangeably have run from nation , to nation ; some to communicate , others to enqire after those strange tidings of great joy unto all people , lately sent from heaven ; concerning the emmanuel , god with us ; god , again upon his return to man , and now in christ reconciling the world to himself . and thus how easily , and even naturally , would the gospel soon have spread it self thorough the world ? especially the merciful god having so provided , that there should be an office constituted , and set up ; a sort of men , whose whole business it should be , to propagate , and publish those happy tidings . but that men should so indulge their sensual , terrene inclination , as not at all to use their understandings , and considering power , about other matters than only what are within the sight of their eye , when by so easie and qick a turn of thoughts they might feel and find out who made them , and was the original of their life and being , and that things are not right , and as they should be , between him and them ; and so by what is within the compass of natural revelation , be prepared for what is super-natural . and not that only , but to that stupidity , by which they are unapt to enqire after , and receive , to adde that obstinate malignity , by which they are apt to reject , and oppose the merciful discoveries , and overtures of their offended , reconcileable creatour , and lord : how manifestly doth this devolve the whole business , of the little , slow progress of the gospel in the world , upon themselves only ! as suppose we a prince of the greatest clemency , benignity , and goodnes , from whom a whole countrey of his subjects have made a most causeless defection ; hereupon to send , to the whole body of the rebels , a gracious proclamation of free pardon , upon their return to their allegiance , and duty ; and it only from hence comes to pass , that every individual person of them , distinctly understands not what the message from their prince did import ; because , they that heard it would not , many of them , allow themselves to consider and regard it ; and others of them , with despiteful violence , fell upon the heraulds , barbarously but chering some of them , and ignominiously repulsing the rest . who would not say , that prince had fully done his part , and acqitted himself answerably to the best character , tho he should send to the rebels no further overtures . much more , if , thorough a long tract of time , he continue the same amicable endeavours for their reducement ; notwithstanding the constant experience of the same ill success ? who would not cast the whole busines of the continued ill understanding , between him , and the revolters , upon themselves . and reckon it impossible , any should be ignorant , of his kind and benign inclinations and intentions , if an implacable enmity , and disaffection to him , and his government , were not their common temper ? tho , so infinitely do the mercies of god , exceed those of the most merciful prince on earth , as well as his knowledg and power ; that wheresoever there are any exempt cases , we must conceive him , eqally able , and inclined , to consider them distinctly . and so vastly different , may we well suppose , the degrees of happines and misery to be , in the other world ; as that there may be latitude enough , of punishing and rewarding men , proportionably to the degrees of light they have had , and the more or less malignity , or propension to reconciliation , was found with them thereupon . §. xiv . nor again was it at all incongruous , or unbecoming , that the blessed god , this being the common temper , and disposition of all men , to reject his gracious tenders , should provide , by some extraordinary means , that they might not be finally rejected by all . for what can be more appropriate to sovereignty ( even where it is infinitely less absolute ) than , arbitrarily , to design the objects of special favour ? who blames a prince , for placing special marks of his royal bounty , or clemency here and there , as he thinkes fit ? or that he hath some peculiar favourites , with whom he familiarly converses , whom he hath won , by some or other not-common inducements , and assured their loyal affection : tho there be thousands of persons in his dominions besides , of as good parts , dispositions , and deserts as they ? it belongs to sovereignty , only so , to be favourable to some , as , in the mean time , to be just towards all . yea and it must be acknowledged , such are the dispensations of the holy god towards the whole community of mankind , as import , not only strict righteousness , but great clemency and mercie also . tho they might easily understand themselves to be offenders , and liable to the severities of his justice , they are spared by his patience , sustained by his bounty , protected by his power , their lives and properties are fenced by his own lawes . and whereas they are become very dangerous enemies to one another : and each one his own greatest enemie ; it is provided by those laws , even for the worst of men , that none shall injure them , that all love them , and seek their good . he interposes his authority on their behalf ; and , if any wrong them , he takes it for an affront done to himself . by the same lawes , they are directed to industry , frugality , sobriety , temperance , to exercise a government over themselves , to bridle and subdue their own exorbitant lusts and passions , their more immediate tormentours , and the sources of all the calamities and miseries , which befal them in this world. by all which evidences of his great care , and concern for their welfare , they might understand him to have favourable propensions towards them , and that , tho they have offended him , he is not their implacable enemy ; and might , by his goodnes , be led to repentance . yea and moreover ; he hath sent them a redeemer , his own son , an incarnate deity , who came down into this world , full of grace and truth , upon the most merciful errand . ( and they have some of them been in transports , when they have but fancy'd such a descent , for the doing them , only , some lighter good turn ; as upon the cure of the creeple . the gods ( say they ) are come down in the likeness of men ! ) he being filled with the glorious fulnes of the godhead , hath been a voluntary sacrifice for the sins of men ; and if they would beleive and obey him , they would find that sacrifice is accepted , and available for them . and tho they are disabled to do so , only by their own wicked inclination , even against that also they have no cause to despair of being relieved , if they would ( which they might ) admit the thoughts of their impotency , and the exigencie of their case , and did seriously implore divine help . xv. now with whom these methods succeed well , there is no suspicion of insinceritie ; let us see what pretence there can be for it , with the rest . it is to be considered , that , as to them , he doth not apply himself to every ( or to any ) person immediately , and severally , after some such tenour of speech as this , i know thee to be a profligate , hopeles wretch , and that thou wilt finally disregard whatsoever i say to thee , and conseqently perish and become miserable . but however ( tho i foresee most certainly thou wilt not , yet ) i entreat thee to hear , and obey , and live . indeed sending a prophet to a promiscuous people , he foretells him of such ill success * . but it is not told him he should succeed so ill universally , and it is imply'd , he should not . † but the course the great god takes , is only to apply himself to these ( as hath been said ) in common with the rest . for if it be said he also applies himself to them by the private dictates of his spirit ; he doth not , by it , make formed speeches to men . but as to those its common motions , whereby it applies it self unto them , doth only solicite , in a stated manner of operation , in and by their own reason and consciences ( as he concurres with our inferiour faculties , and with the inferiour creatures , sutably to their natures and capacities ) speaking no other , than their own language , as they are instructed out of his word , or by other means . which he usually continues to do , till , by their resistencies , they have sealed up their own consciences , and conseqently ( according to its more ordinary fixed course , and lawes of access and recess ) shut out the holy spirit both at once . nor is it more to be expected , he should universally alter that course ; than that he should alter the courses of the sun , moon , and stars , and innovate upon universal nature . so that what is endeavoured for the reducement of such , as finally refuse to return , by particular applications to this or that person , and beyond what is contained in the public declarations of his written word , is by substituted ministers , and inferiour agents , that know no more of the event , than they do themselves . and that this was the fittest way of dealing with reasonable creatures , who , that will use his own reason , sees not ? §. xvi . that our disqisition may be here a little more strict , we shall enqire both , what may be supposed possible to be alledg'd out of god's word , in reference to them that persist in wickedness till they finally perish , which it can be thought not consistent with sinceritie to have inserted , upon the supposed foresight of so dismal an issue . and what more convenient course we can think of , which sincerity ( as we apprehend ) would have reqired . as to the former . it may , perhaps , be alledg'd , that he professes to will the salvation of all men . not to desire the death of him that dyeth . yea and professes himself grieved that any perish . now these things , compared with his public declarations , and tenders , directed , in an universal tenour , to all men , carry that appearance and shew with them , as if he would have it believ'd , his end were to save all . wherewith his foresight of the perdition of so many , seems ill to agree . for , how can that end be seriously intended , which it is foreseen will not be brought about ? and how can it be thought to consist with sincerity , that there should be an appearance of his having such an end , unto which , a serious real intention of it doth not correspond ? wherefore we shall here examine , what appearance such expressions as those above recited , can , by just interpretation , be understood to amount unto . and then shew that there is really with the blessed god , what doth truly and fully correspond to that appearance . and very agreeably too , with the hypothesis of his foreseeing how things will finally issue , with very many . and first , that we may understand the true import of the expressions which we have mentioned , and others of like sound and meaning . we are to consider , that ( tho being taken severally and apart , they are not capable of a sense , prejudicial to the cause , the defence whereof we have undertaken , which we shall afterwards more distinctly evince , yet ) it were very injurious , to go about to affix a sense , unto a single expression , without weighing the general design of the writings , whereof it is a part . it were qite to frustrate the use of words , when a matter is to be represented , that is copious , and consists of many parts and branches ; which cannot be comprehended in one , or a few sentences , if we will pretend to estimate , and make a judgment of the speakers full meaning , by this or that single passage , only , because we have not patience , or leasure , to hear the rest ; or perhaps have a greater disposition to cavil his words , than understand his meaning . if a course resembling this should be taken , in interpreting the edicts , or lawes of princes , and states ( suppose it were a proclamation of pardon to delinqent subjects ) and only this or that favourable clause be fastened upon , without regard to the inserted proviso's and conditions ; the ( concerned ) interpreters might do a slight , temporary , and easily remedible wrong to the prince ; but are in danger , more fatally , to wrong themselves . the edicts of the great god , that are publicly extant to mankind ( the universal publication whereof , they partly withstand , and which they too commonly deprave , and perversly mis-interpret , where they do obtain ) carry no such appearance with them , as if he had ever proposed it to himself , for his end , to save all men , or any man , let them do what they please , or how destructive a course soever they take , and shall finally persist in . if that were supposed his design , his so seemingly serious counsels , and exhortations , were as ludicrous , as they could be thought , if it were as peremptorily determined all should perish . for what god will , by almighty power , immediatly work , without the subordinate concurrence of any second cause , must be necessarily . and it is eqally vain , solicitously to endeavour the engaging of subordinate agents , to do that which without them is absolutely necessary , as it were to endeavour that , by them , which is absolutely impossible . §. xvii . that which his declarations to men do amount unto , is , in summe , thus much , that , whereas they have , by their defection , and revolt from him , made themselves liable to his justice , and very great conseqent miseries ; he is willing to pardon , save and restore them to a blessed state , upon such terms as shall be agreeable ( the recompence due to his injured law , being otherwise provided for , at no expence of theirs ) to the nature of that blessednes they are to enjoy , the purity of his own nature , and the order , and dignity of his government . that is , that they seriously repent , and turn to him , love him as the lord their god , with all their heart and soul , and might , and mind ; and one another as themselves . ( being to make together one happy community , in the participation of the same blessednes ) commit themselves by entire trust , subjection and devotednes to their great and merciful redeemer , according to the measure of light , wherewith he shall have been revealed and made known to them ; submit to the motions and dictates of his blessed spirit , whereby the impression of his own holy image is to be renewed in them , and a divine nature imparted to them ; and carefully attend to his word as the means , the impressive instrument or seal , by which , understood and considered , that impression shall be made , and the very seed out of which that holy nature , and the entire frame of the new creature shall result and spring up in them ; so as to make them apt unto the obedience that is expected from them , and capable of the blessednes they are to expect . that if they neglect to attend to these external discoveries , and refuse the ordinary aids and assistances of his good spirit , and offer violence to their own consciences , they are not to expect he should over-power them , by a strong hand , and save them against the continuing dis-inclination of their own wills . nor ( whatsoever extraordinary acts he may do upon some , to make them willing ) is there any universal promise in his word ; or other encouragement , upon which any may reasonably promise themselves that ; in the neglect and disuse of all ordinary means , such power shall be used with them , as shall finally overcome their averse disaffected hearts . §. xviii . 't is true that he frequently uses much importunity with men , and enforces his lawes with that earnestnes , as if it were his own great interest to have them obey'd ; wherein , having to do with men , he doth like a man , solicitously intent upon an end which he cannot be satisfy'd till he attain . yet withal , he hath interspersed , every where in his word , so frequent , god-like expressions of his own greatnes , all-sufficiency and independency upon his creatures , as that if we attend to these his public declarations , and manifests of himself entirely ; so as to compare one thing with another , we shall find the matter not at all dissembled ; but might collect this to be the state of things , between him , and us ; that he makes no overtures to us , as thinking us considerable , or as if any thing were to accrue to him from us . but that , as he takes pleasure in the diffusion of his own goodnes , so it is our interest to behave our selves sutably thereunto , and , according as we comply with it , and continue in it , or do not , so we may expect the delectable communications of it , or tast , otherwise , his just severity . that , therefore , when he exhorts , obtests , intreats , beseeches that we would obey and live ; speaks as if he were grieved at our disobedience , and what is like to ensue to us therefrom ; these are merciful condescentions , and the efforts of that goodnes , which chooseth the fittest wayes of moving us , rather than that he is moved himself , by any such passions , as we are wont to feel in our selves , when are pursuing our own designs . and that he vouchsafeth to speak in such a way as is less sutable to himself , that it may be more sutable to us , and might teach us , while he so far complies with us , how becoming it is that we answerably bend our selves to a compliance with him . he speaks , sometimes , as if he did suffer somewhat humane , as an apt means ( and which to many proves effectual ) to bring us to enjoy , at length , what is truly divine . we may , if we consider , and lay things together , understand these to be gracious insinuations ; whereby , as he hath not left the matter liable to be so mis-understood , as if he were really affected with solicitude , or any perturbation concerning us ( which he he hath sufficiently given us to understand his blessed nature cannot admit of . ) so nor can they be thought to be disguises of himself , or misrepresentations , that have nothing in him corresponding to them . for they really signifie the obedience , and blessednes of those his creatures that are capable thereof , to be more pleasing and agreeable to his nature , and will ; than that they should disobey and perish . ( which is the utmost that can be understood meant , by those words , god will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledg of the truth ) but withal , that he so apprehends the indignity done to his government , by their disobedience , that if they obey not ( as the indulgent constitution and temper of his law , and government now are , in and by the redeemer ) they must perish . and that he hath also such respect to the congruity and order of things , as that it shall not be the ordinary method of his government over reasonable creatures , to over-power them into that obedience , by which it may come to pass that they perish not . all which may be collected from those his own plain words , in that other recited text ( and many besides of like import . ) when , with so awful solemnity , he professes , that as he lives he takes no pleasure in the death of sinners , but that they may turn and live ; and adds , turn ye , turn ye , why will you die ? that is , that their repentance , and consequent welfare , would be more grateful to him , than their perdition , upon their persevering in destructive waies . but yet , that if they were not moved to repent , by these his pleadings and expostulations used with them , they should die , and were therefore concern'd , to attend and hearken , to such his reasonings and warnings , as the apt means to work their good ; not expecting he should take extraordinary courses with them , in order to it . and that the real respect he had thereunto , should never induce him , to use any indecorous course , to bring it about ; but that he had a more principal respect to the rules of justice , and the order of his government , than to their concernments . and that he , notwithstanding , expresses himself aggrieved that any finally perish ; if we consider and recollect , what notices he hath furnished our minds with , of the perfections of a deity , and what he hath remonstrated to us of his own nature , so plainly , in his word ; we cannot understand more by it , than the calm dispassionate resentment and dislike , which most perfect purity , and goodnes have , of the sinfulnes and miserable ruine , of his own creatures . in all which we have a most unexceptionable idaea of god , and may behold the comly conjuncture of his large goodnes , strict righteousnes , and most accurate wisdom all together . as we are also concerned , in making our estimate of his waies , to consider them . and not to take our measure of what is sutable to god , by considering him according to one single attribute only ; but as they all are united , in his most perfect being . and in that blessed harmony , as not to infer with him a difficulty what to do , or what not . which sometimes falls out with men , where there is an imperfect resemblance of those divine excellencies , not so exactly contempered together . as it was with that spartan prince and general in plutarch , when , finding a necessity to march his army , and taking notice of one , for whom he had a peculiar kindness , that , thorough extream weaknes , was not possibly to be removed , he look't back upon him , expressing his sense of that exigencie , in those emphatical words , how had a matter is it at once 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to exercise pity and be wise ! god's own word misrepresents him not , but gives a true account of him , if we allow our selves to confer it with it self , one part of it with another . nor doth any part of it , taken alone , import him so to have will'd the happines of men , for any end of his , that he resolved he would , by whatsoever means certainly effect it ; as we are wont , many times , with such engernes to pursue ends upon which we are intent , as not to consider of right or wrong , fit or unfit in our pursuit of them , and so let the cost of our means , not seldom , eat up our end . nor did that belong to him , or was his part as our most benign , wise , and righteous governour , to provide that we should certainly not transgress , or not suffer prejudice thereby ; but that we should not do so , thorough his omission of any thing , which it became him to do to prevent it . §. xix . it may therefore be of some use further to take notice , that a very divers consideration must be had , of the ends which shall be effected by gods own action only , and of those which are to be brought about ( in concurrence , and subordination to his own ) by the intervenient action of his creatures . especially ( which is more to our purpose ) such of them as are intelligent , and capable of being govern'd by lawes . as to the former sort of these ends , we may be confident they were all most absolutely intended , and can never fail of being accomplisht . for the latter , it cannot be universally said so . for these , being not entirely his ends , but partly his , and partly prescribed by him , to his reasonable creatures , to be theirs . we are to conceive he alwaies , most absolutely , intends to do , what he righteously esteems congruous ▪ should be his own part ; which he extends and limits , as seems good unto him . and sometimes , of his own good pleasure , assumes to himself the doing of so much , as shall ascertain the end ; effectually procuring , that his creature shall do his part also . that is , not only enacts his law , and adds exhortations , warnings , promises , to enforce it , but also emits that effectual influence , whereby the inferiour wheels shall be put into motion , the powers and faculties of his governed creature excited and assisted , and ( by a spirit in the wheels ) made as the chariots of a willing people . at other times and in other instances , he doth less , and meeting with resistence , sooner retires ; follows not his external edicts and declarations , with so potent and determinative an influence ; but that the creature , through his own great default , may omit to do his part , and so that end be not effected . that the course of his oeconomy towards men on earth is , de facto , ordered with this diversity , seems out of qestion . manifest experience shews it . some do sensibly perceive that motive influence , which others do not . the same persons , at sometimes , find not that , which at other times they do . his own word plainly asserts it . he works in us to will and to do , of his own good pleasure . where he will , he , in this respect , shews mercy ; where he will , he hardeneth , or doth not prevent but that men be hardened . and indeed , we should be constrain'd to rase out a great part of the sacred volume , if we should not admit it to be so . and as the eqity and fitnes of his making such difference ( when it appears he doth make it ) cannot without profanenes be doubted , so it is evident , from what was before said , they are far removed from the reach and confines of any reasonable doubt ; since he forsakes none , but being first forsaken . nor have men any pretence to complain of subdolous dealing , or that they are surprisingly disappointed , and lurcht of such help , as they might have expected ; inasmuch as this is so plainly extant in god's open manifests to the world , that he uses a certain arbitrarines , especially in the more exuberant dispensation of his grace ; and is inserted to that purpose , that they may be caution'd not to neglect lower assistences ; and warned , because he works to will and to do of his own pleasure , therefore to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling . whereupon , elsewhere , after the most persuasive alluring invitations . turn ye at my reproof , i will pour out my spirit to you , i will make known my words to you , it is presently subjoyned , because i called and ye refused , i stretched out my hand and no man regarded . but ye have set at nought all my counsel , and would none of my reproof ; i also will laugh at your calamity , i will mock when your fear cometh . from all which it is plainly to be understood , that the general strain and drift of god's external revelation of his mind to man , in his word , and the aspect of even those passages , that can , with most colour , be thought to signify any thing further , do amount to nothing more than this , that he doth so far really will the salvation of all , as not to omit the doing that which may effect it , if they be not neglectful of themselves , but not so as to effect it by that extraordinary exertion of power , which he thinks fit to employ upon some others . nor is it reasonably to be doubted , ( such a will being all that can be pretended to be the visible meaning of the passages before noted ) whether there be such a will in god or no. and so somewhat really corresponding ( the next thing promised to be discoursed ) to the aspect and appearance hereof , which is offered to our view . for what should be the reason of the doubt ? he , who best understands his own nature , having said of himself what imports no less ; why should we make a difficulty to believe him ? nor indeed can any notices we have of the perfections of the divine nature be less liable to doubt , than what we have of his unchangeable veracity ; whence , as it is impossible to him to lye , it must be necessary , that he be really willing of what he hath represented himself so to be . i must here profess my dislike of the terms of that common distinction the voluntas beneplaciti , et signi in this present case . under which , such as coyned , and those that have much used it , have only rather , i doubt not , conceal'd a good meaning , than expressed by it an ill one . it seems , i confess , by its more obvious aspect , too much to countenance the ignominious slander , which profane and atheistical dispositions would fasten upon god , and the course of his procedure towards men ; and which it is the design of these papers to evince of as much absurdity and folly , as it is guilty of impiety and wickednes : as tho he only intended to seem willing of what he really was not ; that there was an appearance to which nothing did subesse . and then why is the latter call'd voluntas ? unless the meaning be he did only will the sign , which is false and impious ; and if it were true , did he not will it with the will of good pleasure ? and then the members of the distinction are confounded . or , as if the evil actions of men were , more truly , the objects of his good pleasure , than their forbearance of them . and of these faults the application of the distinction of god's secret will , and revealed , unto this case , tho it be useful in many , is as guilty . §. xxi . the truth is ( unto which we must esteem our selves obliged to adhere , both by our assent , and defence ) that god doth really and complacentially will ( and therefore doth with most unexceptionable sincerity declare himself to will ) that to be done and enjoy'd by many men , which he doth not , universally , will to make them do , or irresistibly procure that they shall enjoy . which is no harder assertion , than that the impure will of degenerate sinful man is opposite to the holy will of god ; and the malignity of man's will to the benignity of his . no harder than that there is sin and misery in the world , which how can we conceive otherwise , than as a repugnancie to the good and acceptable will of god ? methinks it should not be difficult to us to acknowledg , that god doth truly , and with complacencie , will , whatsoever is the holy righteous matter of his own lawes . and if it should be with any a difficulty , i would only make this supposition . what if all the world were yet in innocencie , yielding entire , universal obedience to all the now extant laws of god , which have not reference to man as now faln ( as those of repentance , faith in a mediatour , &c. ) would it now be a doubt with any , whether god did truly and really will , and were pleased with the holines and righteousnes which were every where to be found in the world ? surely we would not , in this case , imagine the creatures will more pure and holy than the divine ; or that he were displeased with men for their being righteous and holy . now again suppose the world revolted , what then is that holy will of god changed ? will we not say it remains the same holy will still ? and stands the same rule of righteousnes and duty that it was ? doth the change of his rebel-creatures infer any with him ? or do only the declarations of his former will remain to be their rule , and keep them still obliged , his will it self being become another from what it was ? surely he might as easily have changed his lawes . and if we say his will is changed , how should we know it to be so ? if we know it not , surely such a thing should not be said or thought . if we know it , how should those yet-extant lawes and declarations continue to oblige , against the law-givers known will ? and then the easie expedient to nullifie the obligation of a law , that were thought too restrictive , were to disobey it . and men might , by sinning once , license themselves to do the same thing ( tho then we could not call it sinning ) alwaies . and so the creatures should be the supream , and ruling will. nor had it been a false suggestion , but a real truth , that man , by becoming a sinner , might make himself a god. or , if it shall be thought fit to say , that the divine will would not , in that supposed case , be said to be changed ; but only , that now , the event makes it appear not to have been , what we thought it was ; that were to impute both impuritie and dissimulation to the holy blessed god , as his fixed attributes . and what we thought unfit , and should abhorre , to imagine might have place with him one moment , to affix to him for perpetuitie . §. xxii . and whereas it may be thought to follow hence , that hereby we ascribe to god a liablenes to frustration , and disappointment . that is without pretence . the resolve of the divine will , in this matter , being not concerning the event what man shall do , but concerning his duty what he should , and concerning the connection between his duty , and his happines . which , we say , he doth not only seem to will , but wills it really and truly . nor would his prescience of the event , which we all this while assert , let frustration be so much as possible to him . especially , it being at once foreseen , that his will , being crossed in this , would be fulfilled in so important a thing , as the preserving the decorum of his own government . which had been most apparently blemisht , beyond what could consist with the perfections of the deity , if either his will concerning man's duty , or the declarations of that will , had not been substantially , the same that they are . we are , therefore , in assigning the object of this or that act of the divine will , to do it entirely , and to take the whole object together , without dividing it , as if the will of god did wholly terminate upon what indeed is but a part ( and especially if that be but a less considerable part ) of the thing willed . in the present case , we are not to conceive that god , only , wills either man's duty or felicity , or that herein his will doth solely and ultimately terminate . but , in the whole , the determination of god's will is , that man shall be duly governed , that is , congruously both to himself , and him . that such and such things , most congruous to both , shall be man's duty , by his doing whereof , the dignity and honour of god's own government might be preserved , which was the thing principally to be design'd ; and in the first place . and , as what was secundary thereto , that hereby man's felicity should be provided for . therefore , it being foreseen a violation would be done to the sacred rights of the divine government , by man's disobedience , it is resolved , they shall be repaired and maintained by other means . so that the divine will hath its effect ; as to what was its more noble and principal design , the other part failing , only , by his default , whose is the loss . and if yet it should be insisted , that in asserting god to will what by his lawes he hath made become man's duty , even where it is not done , we shall herein ascribe to him , at least , an ineffectual and an imperfect will , as which doth not bring to pass the thing willed . it is answered , that imperfection were with no pretence imputable to the divine will , meerly for it s not effecting every thing , whereto it may have a real propension . but it would be more liable to that imputation , if it should effect any thing , which it were less fit for him to effect , than not to effect it . the absolute perfection of his will stands in the proportion , which every act of it bears , to the importance of the things , about which it is conversant . even as , with men , the perfection of any act of will is to be estimated , not by the meer peremptory sturdines of it , but by its proportion to the goodnes of the thing willed . upon which account , a meer velleity ( as many love to speak ) when the degree of goodnes in the object claims no more , hath unconceivably greater perfection in it , than the most obstinate volition . and since the event forbids us to admit that god did ever will the obedience and felicity of all , with such a vvill as should be effective thereof ; if yet his plain word shall be acknowledged the measure of our belief , in this matter , which so plainly asserts him someway to will the salvation of all men , 't is strange if , hereupon , we shall not admit rather of a will not-effective of the thing willed , than none at all . the vvill of god is sufficiently to be vindicated from all imperfection , if he have sufficient reason for all the propensions , and determinations of it , whether from the value of the things willed , or from his own sovereignty who wills them . in the present case , we need not doubt to affirm , that the obedience and felicity of all men , is of that value , as whereunto a propension of will , by only simple complacency is proportionable . yet , that his not procuring , as to all ( by such courses as he more extraordinarily takes with some ) that they shall , in event , obey and be happy , is upon so much more valuable reasons ( as there will be further occasion to shew ere long ) as that , not to do it was more eligible , with the higher complacency , of a determinative will. and since the public declarations of his good will , towards all men , import no more than the former , and do plainly import so much ; their correspondency to the matter declared is sufficiently apparent . and so is the congruity of both with his prescience of the event . for tho , when god urges and incites men , by exhortations , promises , and threats , to the doing of their own part ( which it is most agreeable to his holy gracious nature to do ) he foresee , many will not be moved thereby ; but persist in wilful neglect , and rebellions till they perish : he , at the same time , sees that they might do otherwise , and that , if they would comply with his methods , things would otherwise issue with them . his prescience , no way , imposing upon them a necessity to transgress . for they do it not because he foreknew it , but he only foreknew it because they would do so . and hence he had , as it was necessary he should have , not only this for the object of his foreknowledg , that they would do amiss and perish . but the whole case in its circumstances , that they would do so , not thorough his omission , but their own . and there had been no place left for this state of the case ; if his public edicts and manifests , had not gone forth , in this tenour as they have . so that the consideration of his prescience , being taken in , gives us only , in the whole , this state of the case , that he foresaw men would not take that course , which he truly declared himself willing they should ( and was graciously ready to assist them in it ) in order to their own well-being . whence all complaint of insincere dealing is left without pretence . §. xxiii . nor ( as we also undertook to shew ) could any course ( within our prospect ) have been taken , that was fit , in it self , and more agreeable to sincerity . there are only these two waies to be thought on , besides . either that god should wholly have forborn to make overtures to men in common . or , that he should efficaciously have overpow'red all into a compliance with them . and there is little doubt , but , upon sober consideration , both of these will be judg'd altogether unfit . the former ; inasmuch as it had been most disagreeable to the exact measures of his government , to let a race of sinful creatures persist , thorough many successive ages , in apostacy and rebellion , when the characters of that law , first written in man's heart , were in so great measure outworn , and become illegible ; without renewing the impression , in another way ; and reasserting his right and authority , as their ruler and lord ; to the holines of his nature , not to send into the vvorld such a declaration of his will , as might be a standing testimony against the impurity , whereinto it was lapsed ; to the goodnes of it , not to make known upon what termes , and for whose sake , he was reconcileable ; and to the truth of the thing , since he really had such kind propensions towards men in common not to make them known . that it had , it self , been more liable to the charge of insinceritie , to have concealed from men what was real truth , and of so much concernment to them . and he did , in revealing them , but act his own nature ; the goodnes whereof is no more lessened , by mens refusal of its offers , than his truth can be made of none effect by their disbelief of its assertions . besides the great use such an extant revelation of the way of recovery , was to be of , to those that should obediently comply with it , even after they should be so to do . §. xxiv . and the latter we may also apprehend very unfit too ; tho , because that is less obvious , it requires to be more largely insisted on . for it would seem that if we do not effect any thing which we have a real will unto , it must proceed from impotencie , and that we cannot do it , which who would say of the great god ? herein , therefore , we shall proceed by steps . and gradually offer the things that follow to consideration . as , that it were , indeed , most repugnant to the notion of a deity , to suppose any thing , which includes in it no contradiction , impossible to god , considered according to that single attribute of power , only . but yet we must add , that this were a very uneqal way of estimating what god can do , that is to consider him as a meer being of power . for the notion of god so conceiv'd , were very inadeqate to him , which taken entirely , imports the comprehension of all perfections . so that they are two very distant qestions , what the power of god alone could do ; and , what god can do . and whereas to the former the answer would be , whatsoever is not in it self repugnant to be done . to the latter , it must only be , whatsoever it becomes , or is agreeable to a being every way perfect to do . and so it is to be attributed to the excellencie of his nature , if amongst all things not simply impossible , there be any , which it may be truly said be cannot do . or , it proceeds not from the imperfection of his power , but from the concurrence of all other perfections in him . hence his own word plainly affirms of him , that he cannot lye . and by common consent it will be acknowledged , that he cannot do any unjust act whatsoever . to this i doubt not we may with as common suffrage ( when the matter is considered ) subjoyn , that his wisdom doth as much limit the exercise of his power , as his righteousnes or his truth doth . and that it may with as much confidence , and clearnes , be said and understood , that he cannot do an unwise , or imprudent act as an unjust . further , that as his righteousnes corresponds to the justice of things , to be done or not done , so doth his wisdom to the congruity or fitnes . so that he cannot do what it is unfit for him to do , because he is wise ; and because he is most perfectly & infinitely wise , therefore nothing that is less-fit . but whasoever is fittest , when a comparison is made between doing this or that , or between doing and not doing , that the perfection of his nature renders necessary to him , and the opposite part impossible . again , that this measure must be understood to have a very large and most general extent unto all the affairs of his government , the object it concerns being so very large . we , in our observation , may take notice , that fewer qestions can occur concerning what is right or wrong , than what is fit , or unfit . and whereas any man may in a moment be honest , if he have a mind to it ; very few ( and that by long experience ) can ever attain to be wise . the things about which justice is conversant being reducible to certain rules , but wisdome supposes very general knowledg of things scarce capable of such reduction . and is , besides , the primary reqisite , in any one that bears rule over others . and must therefore most eminently influence all the managements of the supream ruler . §. xxv . it is moreover to be considered , that innumerable congruities lie open to the infinite wisdom , which are never obvious to our view or thought . as to a well-studied scholar , thousands of coherent notions , which an illiterate person never thought of . to a practic 't courtier , or well-educated gentleman , many decencies and indecencies in the matter of civil behaviour , and conversation , which an unbred rustic knowes nothing of . and to an experienced states-man , those importancies , which never occur to the thoughts of him who daily follows the plough . what government is there that hath not its arcana , profound mysteries and reasons of state that a vulgar wit cannot dive into ? and from whence , the account to be given , why this or that is done or not done , is not , alwaies , that it would have been unjust it should be otherwise , but it had been imprudent . and many things are , hereupon , judged necessary not from the exigencie of justice , but reason of state. whereupon , men of modest and sober minds , that have had experience of the wisdom of their governours , and their happy conduct , thorough a considerable tract of time ; when they see things done by them , the leading reasons whereof they do not understand , and the effect and success comes not yet in view , suspend their censure ; while as yet all seems to them obscure , and wrapt up in clouds and darknes . yea tho the course that is taken have , to their apprehension , an ill aspect . accounting it becomes them not , to make a judgment of things so far above their reach , and confiding in the tried wisdom of their rulers , who , they believe , see reasons for what they do , into which they find themselves unable to penetrate . with how much more submiss , and humble veneration , ought the methods of the divine government to be beheld & adored , upon the certain assurance we have , that all things therein , are managed by that vvisdom , which could never in any thing mistake its way . vvhereas , there was never any continued administration of human government , so accurate and exact , but that , after some tract of time , some or other errours might be reflected on therein . again , it may further be said , without presuming beyond due bounds , that tho infinite congruities must be supposed to lye open to the divine understanding , which are concealed from ours , yet that these two things in the general are very manifestly congruous to any sober attentive mind , that directly concern , or may be apply'd to the case , under our present consideration , viz. that the course of god's government over the vvorld , be , for the most part , steady , and uniform ; not interrupted by very freqent , extraordinary and anomalous actions . and again , that he use a royal liberty , of stepping out of his usual course , sometimes , as he sees meet . it cannot but appear to such as attend , highly incongruous , should we affirm the antithesis to either of these ; or lay down counter-positions to them , and suppose the course of the divine government to be manag'd agreeably thereunto . §. xxvi . for , as to the former ; what confusion would it make in the world , if there should be perpetual innovations upon nature ; continual , or exceeding freqent impeditions , and restraints of second causes . in the sphere of nature , the vertues and proper qalities of things , being never certain , could never be understood , or known . in that of policy , no measures , so much as probable , could ever be taken . how much better is it , in both , that second causes , ordinarily follow their inclinations ? and why is it not to be thought congruous , that , in some degree , things should be proportionably so , in the sphere of grace ? ( whereto by and by we shall speak more directly . ) we pray , when our friends are sick , for their recovery . what can be the sober meaning and design of such prayers ? not that god would work a miracle for their restitution , ( for then we might as well pray for their revival after death ) but , that god would be pleased so to co-operate , in the still and silent way of nature , with second causes , and so bless means , that they may be recovered , if he see good . otherwise that they , and we may be prepared to undergo his pleasure . and agreeable hereto ought to be the intent of our prayers , in reference to the public affairs , and better posture of the world. and we may take notice the divine wisdom laies a very great stress upon this matter , the preserving of the common order of things ; and cannot but observe a certain inflexiblenes of providence , herein . and , that it is very little apt to divert from its wonted course . at which weak minds are apt to take offence . to wonder , that , against so many prayers and tears , god will let a good man die ; or one whom they love ; or that a miracle is not wrought to prevent their own being wrong'd at any time ; or , that the earth doth not open and swallow up the person that hath done them wrong . are apt to call for fire from heaven , upon them that are otherwise minded , and do otherwise , than they would have them . but a judicious person would consider , if it be so highly reasonable that my desires should be comply'd with , so extraordinarily , than why not all mens ? and then were the vvorld filled with prodigies and confusion . the inconveniencies would soon be to all , eqally discernable , and intolerable ( as the heathen poet takes notice , should jupiter's ear be over-easy ) yea and the impossibility were obvious of gratifying all , because of their many counter-desires . and for the other , it were no less incongruous , if the supream power should so tie its own hands , and be so astricted to rules and methods , as never to do any thing extraordinary , upon never so important occasion . how ill could the world have wanted such an effort of omnipotencie , as the restriction upon the flames from destroying shadrach , meshach , and abednego ? or the miracles wrought in our saviour's and the next following daies ? such things are never done ; but when the all-comprehending wisdom sees it most congruous . and that the cause will over-recompense the deflection from the common course . if no such thing did ever fall out , what a temptation were it to mankind , to introduce into their beleif an unintelligent fate instead of a deity ? besides that the convincing testimony were wanting , which we see is so necessary for the confirmation of any particular revelation from god , which comes not within the compass of natures discovery ( upon which account , also , it is as apparently necessary such extraordinary works should not be over-frequent , for then they become ordinary , and useless to that special end ) so that here the exertions both of the ordinate and absolute power god ( as some distinguish ) have their so appropriate , and so visibly apt , and congruous uses , that they are discernable to a very ordinary understanding , how much more to the infinite wisdom of god! §. xxvii . now hereupon we say further , there is the like congruity , upon as valuable ( though not altogether the same ) reasons that , in the affaires of grace , there be somewhat correspondent . that , ordinarily , it be sought and expected , in the use of ordinary means . and that , sometimes , its sovereignty shew it self in preventing exertions . and in working so heroically , as none have , before hand , in the neglect of its ordinary methods , any reason to expect . and we may fitly add , that where sovereignty is pleased thus to have its exercise and demonstrate it self , it is sufficient that there be a general congruity , that it do so sometimes , as an cedent reason to the doing of some such extraordinary things , but that there should be a particular leading congruity or antecedent reason , to invite these extraordinary operations of grace , to one person more than another , is not necessary . but it is most congruous , that , herein , it be most arbitrary . most agreeable to the supremacy of god ; to the state of sinful man , who hath infinitely disoblig'd him , and can deserve nothing from him ; yea , and even to the nature of the thing . for , where there is a parity , in any objects of our own choice , there can be no leading reason to this , rather than that . the most prudent man , that is wont to guide himself by never so exquisite wisdom , in his daily actions , where there is a perfect indifferency , between doing this thing or that , is not liable to censure , that he is not able to give a reason why he did that , not the other . wisdom hath no exercise in that case . but that the blessed god doth ordinarily proceed in these affairs , by a steady rule , and , sometimes , shew his liberty of departing from it , is to be resolved into his infinite wisdom , it being , in it self , most fit , he should do both the one , and the other ; and therefore to him most necessary . whereupon , the great apostle saint paul , discoursing upon this subject , doth not resolve the matter into strict justice , nor absolute sovereignty ( both which have their place too , in his proceedings with men , as the sacred writings do abundantly testifie ) but we find him in a transport , in the contemplation of the divine wisdom , that , herein , so eminently shines forth . o the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of god! how unsearchable are his judgments , and his waies past finding out ! §. xxviii . to summe up all , we conclude it obvious to the apprehension of such as consider , that it was more congruous the general course of gods government , over man , should be by moral instruments . and , howsoever it were very unreasonable , to imagine , that god cannot in any case , extraordinarily oversway the inclinations , and determine the will of such a creature , in a way agreeable enough to its nature , ( tho we particlarly know not , as we are not concerned to know , or curiously to enqire in what way ) and highly reasonable to admit that in many cases he doth . it is notwithstanding manifest , to any sober reason , that it were very incongruous , this should be the ordinary course of his conduct towards mankind , or the same persons at all times . that is , that a whole order of intelligent creatures should be moved , only by inward impulses ; that gods precepts , promises and comminations , whereof their nature is capable , should be all made impertinencies , through his constant overpow'ring those that should neglect them ; that the faculties , whereby men are capable of moral government , should be rendered , to this purpose , useless and vain ; and that they should be tempted to expect , to be constantly manag'd as meer machines , that know not their own use . nor is it less apprehensible , how incongruous it were also , on the other hand , to suppose that the exteriour frame of gods government , should be totally unaccompanied with an internal vital energie ; or exclude the inward motions , operations , and influences , whereof such a creature is also fitly capable . or that god should have barr'd out himself , from all inward access to the spirits of men , or commerce with them . that the supream universal , paternal mind ( as an heathen call'd it ) should have no way for efficacious communications , to his own ofspring , when he pleases ; that ( so unsutably to sovereignty ) he should have no objects of special favour , or no peculiar waies of expressing it . it is manifestly congruous that the divine government , over man , should be ( as it is ) mixed or composed of an external frame of lawes , with their proper sanctions , and inforcements , and an internal effusion of power , and vital influence , correspondent to the several parts of that frame ; and which might animate the whole , and use it , as instrumental , to the begetting of correspondent impressions on mens spirits . that this power be put forth , not ( like that of a natural agent ) ad ultimum ( which if we would suppose the divine power to be , new worlds must be springing up every moment ) but gradually , and with an apt contemperation to the subject , upon which it is designed , to have its operations , and withal , arbitrarily , as is becoming the great agent from whom it proceeds , and to whom it , therefore , belongs , to measure its exertions , as seems meet unto him . that it be constantly put forth ( tho most gratuitously , especially the disobligation of the apostacy being considered ) upon all , to that degree , as that they be enabled to do much good , to which they are not impelled by it . that it be ever ready ( since it is the power of grace ) to go forth in a further degree than it had yet done , wheresoever any former issues of it have been duly comply'd with . tho it be so little supposable that man should hereby have obliged god thereto , that he hath not any way obliged himself ; otherwise , than that he hath imply'd a readines , to impart unto man what shall be necessary to enable him to obey , so far as , upon the apostacie , is reqisite to his relief : if he seriously endeavour to do his own part , by the power he already hath received . agreeably to the common saying , homini facienti qod in se est , &c. that , according to the royal liberty , wherewith it works , it go forth , as to some , with that efficacy , as notwithstanding whatever resistance , yet to overcome , and make them captives to the authority and love of christ. §. xxix . the universal continued rectitude of all intelligent creatures had , we may be sure , been willed , with a peremptory , efficacious will if it had been best . that is , if it had not been less congruous than to keep them , some time ( under the expectation of future confirmation and reward ) upon trial of their fidelity , and in a state wherein it might not be impossible to them to make a defection . and so it had easily been prevented , that ever there should have been an apostacie from god , or any sin in the world . nor was it either less easie , by a mighty irresistible hand , universally to expel sin , than prevent it ; or more necessary or more to be expected from him . but if gods taking no such course , tended to render his government over the world more august , and awful , for the present , and the result , and final issue , of all things more glorious at length , and were consequently , more congruous ; that could not be so willed , as to be effectually procured by him . for whatsoever obligation strict justice hath upon us , that congruity cannot but have upon him . and whereas it would be concluded , that whatsoever any one truly wills , they would effect if they could , we admit it for true , and to be applied in the present case . but adde , that as we rightly esteem that impossible to us , which we cannot justly do , so is that to him , not only , which he cannot do justly , but which , upon the whole matter he cannot do , most wisely also . that is , which his infinite wisdom doth not dictate , is most congruous and fit to be done . things cohere , and are held together , in the course of his dispensation , by congruities as by adamantine bands , and cannot be otherwise . that is , comparing and taking things together , especially the most important . for otherwise , to have been nicely curious about every minute thing , singly considered , that it might not possibly have been better ( as in the frame of this or that individual animal or the like ) had been needlesly to interrupt the course of nature , and therefore , it self , to him an incongruity . and doth , in them that expect it , import more of a trifling disposition , than of true wisdom . but to him whose being is most absolutely perfect to do that , which , all things considered , would be simply best , i.e. most becoming him , most honourable , and god-like , is absolutely necessary . and conseqently , it is to be attributed to his infinite perfection , that , unto him , to do otherwise , is absolutely impossible . and if we yet see not all these congruities which , to him , are more than a law ; it is enough that they are obvious to his own eye , who is the only competent judge . yet , moreover , it is finally to be considered , that the methods of the divine government , are , besides his , to be exposed to the view , and judgment of other intellects than our own , and we expect they should to our own , in another state . what conception thereof is , already , received and formed in our minds , is but an embryo , no less imperfect than our present state is . it were very unreasonable to expect , since this world shall continue but a little while , that all god's managements , and waies of procedure , in ordering the great affairs of it , should be attempered , and fitted to the judgment , that shall be made of them in this temporary state , that will so soon be over : and to the present apprehension and capacity of our ( now so muddied and distempered ) minds . a vast and stable eternity remains , wherein , the whole celestial chorus shall entertain themselves , with the grateful contemplation , and applause , of his deep counsels . such things as now seem perplex , and intricate to us , will appear most irreprehensibly fair , and comely to angelical minds , and our own , when we shall be vouchsaf't a place amongst that happy community . what discovery god affords of his own glorious excellencies , and perfections is principally intended to recommend him , in that state ; wherein he , and all his waies and works , are to be beheld with everlasting , and most complacential approbation . therefore tho now we should covet the clearest and most satisfying account of things , that can be had ; we are yet to exercise patience , and not precipitate our judgment of them before the time : as knowing our present conceptions will differ more , from what they will be hereafter , than those of a child , from the maturer thoughts of the wisest man. and that many of our conceits , which we thought wise , we shall , then , see cause to put away , as childish things ▪ the disorder ( sir , ) of this heap ( rather than frame ) of thoughts and discourse , as it cannot be thought more unsutable to the subject , than sutable to the author ; and the less displease , by how much it could less be expected to be otherwise , from him , even in the best circumstances ; so it may lay some claim to your easier pardon , as having been , mostly , huddled up in the intervals of a troublesome , long journey . wherein he was rather willing to take what opportunitie the inconveniencies and hurry of it could allow him ; than neglect any , of using the earliest endeavour to approve himself ( as he is your great admirer ) most honored sir , your most obedient humble servant , h. w. contents . sect. i. the proposal of the difficulty to be discus't . disqisition concerning the words prescience , or foreknowledg waved . pag. 1. sect. ii. great care to be taken lest we ascribe to god inconsistencies , under the pretence of ascribing all perfections . eqal care , lest we deny to him any perfection , upon the first appearance of its not-agreeing with somewhat else , which we have found it necessary to ascribe . our own minds to be suspected . and endeavour'd with to the utmost , before we conclude what is , or is not to be ascribed to god ; if we meet with a difficulty . p. 5. sect. iii. such divine attributes as agree to the deity by the common suffrage of all considering men , to be distinguisht from those that are only concluded to belong to him upon the subtile reasonings of but a few . yet the danger to be carefully avoided , of mistaking any dictate of corrupt affection , for a common notion . p. 11. sect. iv. his own word , therefore , our surest measure , by which we are to judg what belongs to him , and what not . which plainly asserts both his wisdom , and sincerity . as our own minds do also naturally suggest to us . p. 16. sect. v. it also seems plainly both to assert and prove his universal prescience . particularly of such things from which he dehorts . whence his dehorting is no proof of his not foreknowing . p. 24. sect. vi. these therefore to be reconcil'd . which not so difficult as to reconcile his dehortations from sinful actions , with his predeterminative concurrence thereto . this undertaking waved as not manageable . p. 31. sect. vii . nor necessary . the principal arguments that are brought for it , not concluding . that every thing of positive being must be from god. that otherwise he could not foreknow such actions . the former considered . how we are to satisfie our selves about the latter . p. 34. sect. viii . the undertaken difficulty weighed . nothing in it of contradiction . nothing of indecorum . p. 50. sect. ix . gods supposed foreknowledg of contingent actions , alters not the natural goodnes or evil of them . p. 54. sect. x. & xi . how god may be said to act for any end ? his public declarations to men have a more principal end , than their obedience , and felicity . which is attained , tho this fail . the difficulty , therefore , concerning the divine wisdom vanishes . p. 57. & 60. sect. xii . that , concerning the sinceritie of god considered . that other end , man's obedient compliance , attained in great part . p. 64. sect. xiii . god not obliged to procure his publisht edicts should reach every individual person . 't is owing to the wickednes of the world that they generally do not so . p. 67. sect. xiv . he shewes special favour to some nations herein without being injurious to others . yea expresses much clemency , and mercy to all . p. 74. sect. xv. where his gracious methods succeed not , to be considered he only applies himself to them in common with the rest . p. 78. sect. xvi . proposed to be enqired ; what can be alledg'd out of his word , that seems less-consistent with sincerity , towards them with whom things do not finally issue well ? what fit course could be thought of more consistent therewith ? as to the former , what appearance such alledg'd passages can be justly said to have ? propounded to be ( afterwards ) shewn ; that the truth of the thing corresponds to that appearance . p. 81. sect. xvii . what his declarations to men amount unto ? what they are , by them , encouraged to expect ? p. 87. sect. xviii . expressions of passionate earnestnes , how to be understood ? p. 90 sect. xix . the ends to be brought about by god's own action only ; and those which should be brought to pass by the intervenient action of man , to be distinguished . god's word represents him not as so willing the salvation of all men , as that it shall be effected whatsoever course they take . p. 99. sect. xx. such a will as it represents him to have of man's welfare we ought to believe is in him . the distinction of his will of good pleasure , and of the sign . of his secret will , and revealed ( as apply'd to this matter ) animadverted on . p. 105. sect. xxi . god truly wills the matter of his own laws , and their welfare for whom he made them . p. 108. sect. xxii . is not made liable to disappointment hereby . nor can hence an imperfect will be ascrib'd to him . pag. 112. sect. xxiii . the 2 d head ( proposed sect. xvi . ) discussed ; that no other fit course could be taken , that can be pretended more agreeable to sincerity . two only to be thought on . to have pnblisht no written word . to have overpow'red all by strong hand into compliance therewith . the former not fit . p. 121. sect. xxiv . the latter unfit also . the congruity of things makes them necessary , with god. the incongruity , impossible . p. 123. sect. xxv . innumerable congruities obvious to the divine understanding not perceivable by ours . two things manifestly congruous , to our apprehension . that the course of god's government be , for the most part , steady , and uniform , that he sometimes vary . p. 128. sect. xxvi . both these many waies represented congruous , in reference to matters within the sphere of nature , and policy . p. 132. sect. xxvii . eqally congruous , that matters be in some degree correspondently manag'd , within the sphere of grace . p. 138. sect. xxviii . the congruity of both these in the matters of grace more distinctly expressed . p. 141 sect. xxix . the conclusion . p. 147 finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a44687-e270 1 cor. 2. deut. 32. eph. 1. rom. 16. ult . rom. 11. 33. ps. 11. 7. isai. 46. 9 , 10. with ch. 41. 22 , 23. * exod. 12. 41. † gen. 15. 3. * what there is of difficulty or doubt about this prophecy , see fully cleared in the late letter to the deist . exod. 4. &c. ch. 3. v. 4. 1 cor. 2. act. 4. 28. tit. 2. 14. acts 15. ro. 11. act. 14. * ezekiel . ch. 3. 7. † v. 21. 1 tim. 2. 4. ezek. 18. 32. ps. 81. 12 , 13. ezek. 33. phil. 2. 12 , 13. prov. 1. rom. 11. 33. see to the same purpose , c. 16. 25 , 26 , 27. and eph. 1. 5 , 6 , 7 , with the 8. sermons upon psalm cxxx, ver. 4 but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared / by william bates. bates, william, 1625-1699. 1696 approx. 150 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 65 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26806 wing b1124 estc r25865 09268917 ocm 09268917 42566 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26806) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 42566) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1300:11) sermons upon psalm cxxx, ver. 4 but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared / by william bates. bates, william, 1625-1699. 123 p. printed by j.d. for brabazon aylmer, london : 1696. caption title: sermons of the forgiveness of sin. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -o.t. -psalms cxxx -sermons. forgiveness of sin -sermons. sermons, english -17th century. 2004-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-10 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-11 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2004-11 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion sermons upon psalm cxxx . ver. 4. but there is forgiveness with thee ; that thou mayst be feared . by william bates , d. d. london , printed by j. d. for brabazon aylmer at the three pigeons , over against the royal exchange in cornhill . 1696. sermons of the forgiveness of sins . psal. cxxx . 4. but there is forgiveness with thee , that thou mayst be feared . the psalmist , in the first and second verses , addresses to god with earnest desires for his saving mercies : out of the depths have i cried to thee , o lord : lord , hear my voice : let thine ear be attentive to my supplication . he humbly deprecates the severe inquiry of divine justice ; ver . 3. if thou , lord , shouldst mark iniquities : o lord , who shall stand ? if god should with an exact eye observe our sins , and call us to an account , who can stand in judgment ? who can endure that firy trial ? the best saints , tho never so innocent and unblameable in the sight of men , tho never so vigilant and watchful over their hearts and ways , are not exempted from the spots of humane frailty , which according to the rigour of the law , would expose them to a condemning sentence . he relieves and supports himself under this fearful apprehension with the hopes of mercy : but there is forgiveness with thee , that thou mayst be feared . 't is in thy power and thy will , to pardon repenting and returning sinners , that thou mayst be feared . the fear of god in scripture signifies the humble holy reverence of him , as our heavenly father and soveraign , that makes us cautious lest we should offend him , and careful to please him . for this reason the fear of god is comprehensive of all religion , of the whole duty of man , to which it is introductive , and is a principal ingredient in it . the clemency and compassionate mercy of god is the cause of an ingenuous filial fear , mix'd with love and affiance in the breasts of men. other attributes , his holiness that fram'd the law , justice that ordain'd the punishment of sin , power that inflicts it , render his majesty terrible , and cause a flight from him as an enemy . if all must perish for their sins , no prayers or praises will ascend to heaven , all religious worship will cease for ever : but his tender mercy ready to receive humble suppliants , and restore them to his favour , renders him amiable and admired , and draws us near to him . there are two propositions to be considered in the verse : 1. that forgiveness belongs to god. 2. that the forgiving mercy of god is a powerful motive of adoration and obedience . i propound to discourse of the first , and to touch upon the second in the application . in managing the point with light and order , 't is requisite to consider ; 1 st . what is contain'd in forgiveness . 2 dly . the arguments that demonstrate that forgiveness belongs to god. 1. what is contained in forgiveness . this necessarily supposes sin , and sin a law that is violated by it : the law implies a sovereign law-giver , to whose declared will subjection is due , and who will exact an account in judgment of mens obedience or disobedience to his law , and dispense rewards and punishments accordingly . god by the clearest titles is our king , our law-giver and judg : for he is our maker and preserver , and consequently has a full propriety in us , and absolute authority over us : and by his sovereign and singular perfections is qualified to govern us . a derived being is necessarily in a state of dependance and subjection . all the ranks of creatures in the world are order'd by their maker : his kingdom rules over all . those in the lowest degree of being are order'd by power . sensitive creatures are determin'd by the impulses of nature to their actions ; for having no light to distinguish between moral good and evil , they have no choice , and are incapable of receiving a law. intelligent creatures , endowed with judicious and free faculties , an understanding to discern between moral good and evil , and a will to choose or reject what is propounded to them , are capable of a law to direct and regulate their liberty . to man a law was given by the creator , ( the copy of his wisdom and will ) that has all the perfections of a rule : 't is clear and compleat , injoining what is essentially good , and forbidding what is essentially evil . god governs man conveniently to his nature : and no service is pleasing to him but the result of our reason and choice , the obedience of our supreme leading powers . since the fall , the light of the understanding compared with the bright discovery it afforded of our whole duty in our original state , is either like the twilight of the evening , the faint and dim remains of the light of the day , when night draws a dark vail over the world , or like the dawning of the morning , when the rising sun begins to scatter the darkness of the night . the latter comparison i think is more just and regular ; for 't is said , that the son of god enlightens every man that comes into the world. the innate light discovers there is a streight line of truth to regulate our judgment , and a streight line of vertue to regulate our actions . natural conscience is a principle of authority , directing us to choose and practise vertue , and to avoid vice ; and according to our neglect or compliance with its dictates reflects upon us . 't is hardly presumable that any are so prodigiously wicked , as not to be convinc'd of the natural rectitude in things : they can distinguish between what is fair and what is fraudulent in dealings , and acknowledg in the general , and in judging of others , the equity of things , tho they elude the force of the conviction in the application to themselves . now since common reason discovers there is a common rule , there must be a common judg to whom men are accountable for the obliquity or conformity of their actions to that rule . the law of god is revealed in its purity and perfection in the scripture . the law binds first to obedience , and in neglect of it to punishment . sin is defin'd by st. john to be the transgression of the law. the omission of what is commanded , or doing what is forbidden , is a sin. not only the lusts that break forth into action and evidence , but inward inclinations , contrary to the law , are sin. from hence results a guilt upon every sinner , which includes the imputation of the fault , and obligation to punishment . there is a natural connexion between the evil of doing , and the evil of suffering : the violation of the law is justly revenged by the violation of the person that breaks it . it is an impossible imagination , that god should give a law not enforc'd with a sanction . this would cast a blemish upon his wisdom , for the law would cancel it self , and defeat his ends in giving it : it would reflect a high dishonour upon his holy majesty , as if he were indifferent with respect to vertue or vice , and disregarded our reverence or rebellion against his authority . the apostle declares , that all the world are become guilty before god ; that is , justly chargeable with their crimes , and liable to his judgment . the act of sin is transient , and the pleasure vanishes ; but the guilt , if not pardoned and purged away , remains for ever in the records of conscience . the sin of judah is written with a pen of iron , and with the point of a diamond ; it is graven on the tables of the heart . when the books of eternal life and death shall be opened at the last day , all the unpardoned sins of men , with their killing aggravations , will be found written in indelible characters , and shall be set in order before their eyes , to their confusion : the righteous judg has sworn he will forget none of their works . according to the number and heinousness of their sins , a sentence shall pass upon them : no excuses shall suspend the judgment , nor mitigate the immediate execution of it . the forgiveness of sins contains the abolition of their guilt , and freedom from the deserved destruction consequent to it . this is express'd by various terms in scripture . pardon relates to some damage and offence which the offended party may severely vindicate . now altho the blessed god in strictness of speaking can receive no damage by rebellious creatures , being infinitely above the impression of evil : yet as our saviour speaks of one that looks upon a woman with an impure desire , that he has committed adultery with her in his heart , tho the innocence of the woman be unstained ; so the sins of men , being acts of foul ingratitude against his goodness , and notorious unrighteousness against his authority , are in a sense injurious to him , which he might justly revenge upon them , but his clemency spares them . the not imputing sin is borrowed from the accounts of servants with their masters ; and implies the account we are obliged to render the supreme lord for all his benefits which we have so wretchedly misimproved : he might righteously exact of us ten thousand talents that are due to him , but he is graciously pleased to cross the book , and freely to discharge us . the purging from sin , implies 't is very odious and offensive in god's eyes , and has a special respect to the expiatory sacrifices , of which 't is said , that without blood there was no remission . this was typical of the precious blood of the son of god that purges the conscience from dead works ; from the deadly guilt of sin that cleaves to the conscience of the sinner . by the application of his blood the crimson guilt is wash'd away , and the pardoned sinner is accepted as one pure and innocent . 2. i shall next demonstrate , that forgiveness belongs to god. this will be evident by the following considerations . 1 st . 't is the high and peculiar prerogative of god to pardon sin. his authority made the law , and gives life and vigour to it , therefore he can remit the punishment of the offender . this is evident from the proportion of humane laws : for tho subordinate judges have only a limited power , and must acquit or condemn according to the law , yet the soveraign may dispense with it . this is declared in scripture by god himself : i , even i am he , that blots out thy transgressions for my name sake : he repeats it with an emphasis . he is proclaimed with this royal title ; the lord , gracious and merciful , pardoning iniquity , transgression and sin. 't is a dispensation of divine soveraignty to pardon the guilty . 't is true , god pardons as a father , according to that most gracious promise , i will spare them , as a father spares his son that serves him ; but as invested with the dignity of a soveraign . our saviour directs us , in the perfect form of prayer dictated to his disciples , to pray to god for the forgiveness of our sins , as our father sitting in heaven upon a high throne , from whence he pronounces our pardon . his majesty is equally glorious with his mercy in that blessed dispensation . his royal supremacy is more conspicuous in the exercise of mercy towards repenting sinners , than in the acts of justice upon obstinate offenders . as a king is more a king by the pardoning humble suppliants by the operation of his scepter , than in subduing rebels by the power of the sword : for in acts of grace he is above the law , and over-rules its rigour , in acts of vengeance he is only superiour to his enemies . 't is the peculiar prerogative of god to pardon sin. the prophet challenges all the reputed deities of the heathens as defective in this royal power : who is a god like unto thee , pardoning iniquity , transgression and sin ? the pharisees said true , who can forgive sins but god only ? for 't is an act of empire . the judicial power to pardon is a flower inseparable from the crown : for 't is founded in a superiority to the law , therefore inconsistent with a depending authority . a creature is as incapable of the supremacy of god in pardoning sin , as of his omnipotence to create a world : for they are both truly infinite . besides , the power of pardoning sins , necessarily implies an universal knowledg of the minds and hearts of men , which are the fountains of their ●ctions : and according to their ingred●●ncy the moral good or evil of them rises . the more deliberately and wilfully a sin is committed , the sinner incurs a greater guilt , and is obnoxious to a more heavy punishment . now no creature can dive into the hearts of men : they are naked and open to the piercing eye of god alone . add farther , the authoritative power to pardon , has necessarily annex'd to it the active power of dispensing rewards and punishments . now the son of god alone has the keys of life and death in his hands . it may be objected , that our saviour declares , that the son of man has power to forgive sins . the answer to this will be clear by considering , there are two natures in christ ; the divine nature , that originally belongs to him , and is proper to his person ; and the humane nature , which is as it were adoptive , and was voluntarily assumed . now the divine person is the sole principle and subject of this royal dignity , but 't is exercised in its conjunction with the humane nature , and attributed to the son of man : as in the humiliation of christ , the principles of his sufferings ▪ and the actual sufferings , are solely in the humane nature , but upon the account of the personal union , they are attributed to the divine person . 't is said , the lord of glory was crucified , and the blood of god redeemed his church . the church of rome , with high presumption , arrogates to their priests a judicial power of forgiving sins : and by the easy folly of the people , and crafty deceit of their instructors , exercise a jurisdiction over conscience . to avoid the imputation of blasphemy , they pretend there is a double power of forgiving , supreme and subordinate ; the first belongs to god , the other is delegated by commission to the ministers of the gospel . but this is an irreconcileable contradiction : for the power to pardon is an efflux of supremacy , and incommunicable to the subject . a prince that invests another with an absolute power to pardon , must either relinquish his soveraignty , or take an associate to share in it . this pretence of the papists is such a lame evasion , as that which they are forced to make use of to clear themselves from the charge of idolatry in their worship of angels and saints : their excuse is , that their worship of angels and saints is inferiour in degree , and imperfectly divine ; as if there could be different degrees in divine worship , which is absolutely and necessarily supreme . the ministers of the gospel have only a declarative power , as heralds or embassadors , to propose the terms of the gospel for the obtaining pardon , and to apply the promise of pardon to those who appear qualified for it . but to pronounce and dispense pardon , they have no judicial authority : for 't is not presumeable that the wise god should invest men with that authority which they are utterly incapable to exercise . 2 dly . god is ready to forgive . the power to pardon without an inclination to it , affords no relief in the agonies of an accusing conscience , and the terrors of eternal judgment . the merciful will of god declared in his word , is the foundation of our blessed hope , and encourages us in our requests before his throne : for thou lord art good , and ready to forgive , and plenteous in mercy unto all that call upon thee . the attribute of which pardon is an emanation , is usually exprest by grace and mercy . 't is said , the grace of god that brings salvation has appeared unto all men : we are saved by grace . grace implies free favour . there is in this respect a difference between love and grace . love may be set upon an object worthy of it . the primary object of god's love is himself , whose excellent and amiable perfections are worthy of infinite love. the love of parents to children is a duty most clearly natural , and duty lessens the desert of performing it ; but grace is exclusive of all merit and dignity in the subject , and of all obligation in the person that shews it . god's most free preventing grace is exercised without any motive in us that deserves it . the grace of god may be consider'd as exercised in our creation and our redemption . in the creation it was absolutely free : for angels and men were in the state of nothing , there was only a possibility of their being . now there could be no attractive merit before their existence . 't is true , goodness is glorified and crown'd by communicating : the world is a bright efflux of the divine glory ; but this does not lessen the free goodness of the maker . there was no constraint upon god to make the world for his declarative glory : for his essential glory is truly infinite , and wants no external appearance to make it compleat . the universal church pays humble homage to the great creator ; acknowledging , that for his will and pleasure all things were created . the divine goodness to angels and man in their original purity , was grace : for altho the image of god shining in them was attractive of his approbation and acceptance , yet they deserved no benefits from him : there is such an infinite distance and disproportion between god and the creatures , that they cannot by a common right claim any thing as due from his majesty . besides , he is the productive and conservative cause of all their active powers , and the efficacy of them . the creating goodness of god is eclips'd in the comparison with his saving grace . the first supposes us without any deserts of his favour , but this supposes our exceedingly bad deserts : the first was free , but this is merciful and healing grace . mercy revives and restores us when deservedly miserable . this grace and mercy is of so pure a nature , that the most tender humane inclinations to relieve the afflicted , are mix'd with self-interest , compared with the mercy of god towards us . our bowels relent , and affections are melting at the sight of persons in deep misery . but there is an inward and unvoluntary constraint of nature that excites such feeling resentments : and our compassion is moved by reflection upon our selves , considering that in this open state we are liable to many disasters and wounding sorrows : but god is infinitely free from all disturbing passions , and exempted from all possible evils . to represent the immense love and mercy of god in its endearing circumstances , and to demonstrate his readiness to forgive , we must consider what he has done in order to his pardoning sinners . 1. if we consider god as the supreme lawgiver and judg of the world , as the protector of righteousness and goodness , and the revenger of all disorders in his moral government , it became him not to pardon sinners without the punishing sin in such a manner as might satisfy his injur'd justice , and vindicate the honour of his despised law , and declare most convincingly his hatred against sin. now for these great ends he decreed to send his son from his bosom , to assume our nature , and to suffer the contumelious calamity of the death on the cross , to make a propitiation for our sins . this was the contrivance of his high wisdom , which the most enlightned angels had no presaging notions of . now can there be a more clear evidence and convincing reality , that god is ready to forgive sins , than the giving his only begotten son , a person so great and so dear , the heir of his love and glory , to be a sacrifice , that he might spare us ? in this dispensation love was the regent leading attribute , to which his wisdom , justice and power were subordinate : they were in exercise for the more glorious illustration of his mercy . we have the strongest argument of god's love in the death of his son , for our pardon was the end of it . from hence 't is evident , that god is more willing to dispense his pardoning mercy , than sinners are to receive it . 2. god's readiness to forgive appears in the gracious and easy terms prescribed in the gospel for the obtaining pardon . there are two ways of justification before god , and they are like two ways to a city : one is direct and short , but deep and unpassable ; the other lies in a circuit , but will bring a person safe to the place . thus there is a justification of an innocent person by works , that secures him from the charge of the law ; and a justification of a sinner by faith in our all-sufficient saviour . the first was a short way to man in the state of integrity : the second , such is the distance of the terms , takes a compass . there is a shorter passage from life to action , than from death to life . there is no hope or possibility of our legal justification . the apostle saith , that which the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh , god sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh , and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. the expiation of sin , and renewing us into the image of god , are obtained by the gospel . the law is called , the law of sin and death : which must be understood not as consider'd in it self , but relatively to our depraved nature . the law supposes men in a state of uncorrupted nature , and was given to be a preservative of our holiness and felicity , not a remedy to recover us from sin and misery . it was directive of our duty , but since our rebellion the rod is turn'd into a serpent . the law is hard and imperious , severe and inexorable , the tenor of it is , do , or die for ever . it requires a righteousness entire and unblemish'd , which one born in sin cannot produce in the court of judgment . man is utterly unable by his lapsed powers to recover the favour of god , and to fulfil his obligation by the law to obedience . but the gospel discovers an open easy way to life , to all that will accept of salvation by the redeemer . the apostle expresses the difference between the condition of the law and the gospel in a very significant manner . moses describes the righteousness which is of the law , that the man that does those things shall live in them : but the righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wise , say not in thine heart , who shall ascend into heaven , that is to bring down christ from above ; who shall descend into the deep , that is to bring jesus christ again from the dead ? but what saith it ? the word is nigh thee , that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth , and shalt believe in thy heart , that god hath raised him from the dead , thou shalt be saved . the meaning of the apostle is , that things in heaven above , or in the depths beneath , are of impossible discovery and attainment , so 't is equally impossible to be justified by the works of the law. the anxious sinner seeks in vain for righteousness in the law , which can only be found in the gospel . it may be objected , that the condition of the law , and the condition of the gospel , compar'd relatively to our deprav'd faculties , are equally impossible . the carnal mind and affections are as averse from repentance and receiving christ as our lord and saviour , as from obeying the law. our saviour tells the jews , ye will not come to me that ye may have life : and no man can come to me unless the father draw him . which words are highly expressive of our utter impotence to believe savingly in christ. but there is a clear answer to this objection : the difference between the two dispensations consists principally in this : the law requires compleat and constant obedience as the condition of life , without affording the least supernatural power to perform it . but the gospel has the spirit of grace a concomitant with it , by whose omnipotent efficacy sinners are revived , and enabled to comply with the terms of salvation . the spirit of the law is stiled the spirit of bondage from its rigorous effects : it discover'd sin , and terrified the conscience , without implanting a principle of life that might restore the sinner to a state of holy liberty . as the flame in the bush made the thorns in it visible , without consuming them ; so the firy law discovers mens sins , but does not abolish them : but the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus , i. e. the gospel , has freed us from the law of sin and death . i will more particularly consider the gracious terms prescribed in the gospel for the obtaining pardon ; repentance towards god , and faith in the lord jesus christ. the requiring of them is not an arbitrary constitution , but founded in the unchangeable nature and congruity of things . repentance signifies a sincere change of the mind and heart from the love and practice of sin , to the love and practice of holiness , upon evangelical and divine motives . the principal ingredients in it are , reflections with grief and shame upon our past sins , with stedfast resolutions of future obedience . 't is a vital principle productive of fruits sutable to it : 't is call'd repentance from dead works , repentance unto life . 't is the seed of new obedience . repentance in order of nature is before pardon , but they are inseparably join'd in the same point of time. david is a blessed instance of this : i said i will confess my transgressions to the lord , and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. the sum and tenour of the apostles commission recorded by st. luke is , that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in the name of christ to all nations . that a repentant sinner only is qualified for pardon , will be evident in considering , 1. that an impenitent sinner is the object of revenging justice ; and 't is utterly inconsistent that pardoning mercy and revenging justice should be terminated upon the same person at the same time , in the same respect . 't is said , the lord hateth all the workers of iniquity ; and his soul hates the wicked . the expression implies the intense degrees of hatred . in the glorious appearance of god to moses , when proclaim'd with the highest titles of honour , the lord god , gracious and merciful , pardoning iniquity , transgression and sin , 't is added , he will by no means spare the guilty , i. e. impenitent sinners . we must suppose god to be of a changeable flexible nature , ( which is a blasphemous imagination , and makes him like to sinful man ) if an impenitent sinner may be received to favour without a change in his disposition . god cannot repent of giving a holy law , the rule of our duty , therefore man must repent of his breaking the law before he can be reconciled to him . the truth is , man consider'd merely as a sinner , is not the object of god's first mercy , i. e. of pity and compassion : for as such he is the object of god's wrath ; and 't is a formal contradiction to assert that he is the object of love and hatred at the same time , and in the same respect . but man , consider'd as god's creature , involv'd in misery by the fraud of the tempter , and his own folly , was the object of god's compassion ; and the recovery of him from his forlorn wretched state , was the effect of that compassion . 2. tho mercy consider'd as a separate attribute might pardon an impenitent sinner , yet not in conjunction and concord with god's essential perfections . many things are possible to power absolutely consider'd , which god cannot do : for his power is always directed in its exercise by his wisdom , and limited by his will. it would disparage god's wisdom , stain his holiness , violate his justice , to pardon an impenitent sinner . the gospel by the promise of pardon to such , would foil it self , and frustrate its principal end , which is to purify us from all iniquity , and to make us a people zealous of good works . 3. if an impenitent sinner may be pardoned as such , he may be glorified : for that which qualifies a man for pardon , qualifies him for salvation : and the divine decree establishes an inseparable connexion between them ; whom god justifies he glorifies . if a sinner dies immediately after his pardon is past , nothing can intercept his being received into heaven . now this is utterly impossible ; the exclusion of such is peremptory and universal , for without holiness no man shall see god. the admission of an impenitent sinner into heaven , would pollute that holy place , and unconsecrate the temple of god wherein his holiness shines in its glory . it is objected by some , that the requiring repentance to qualify the sinner for pardon eclipses the grace of the gospel . i willingly acknowledg , that a religious jealousy , lest the freeness and honour of divine grace in our pardon should be lessen'd , is very becoming a christian ; but 't is ill-grounded and ill-guided in this matter . this will be evident by considering ; 1 st . repentance is an evangelical grace , the gift of the redeemer : him has god raised to be a prince and a saviour , to give repentance and forgiveness of sin. the law did not allow of repentance , nor promise pardon . the design of it was to keep us in the favour and communion with god , but afforded no means of reconciliation after our offending him . repentance was no degree of perfection before man's fall , but is a relief of his imperfection after it . the law call'd the righteous to obedience , the gospel calls sinners to repentance . 2 dly . there is no causality or merit in repentance to procure our pardon . the mercy of god for the most precious merits and mediation of jesus christ is the only cause of pardon . a flood of repenting tears , an effusion of our blood , are of too low a price to make any satisfaction to god , to deserve a return of his favour . the most sincere love of holiness , and stedfast resolution to forsake sin , which is the principal part of repentance , can be no satisfaction for our past offences , for 't is the natural duty of man before the commission of sin : repentance is only a vital qualification in the subject that receives the pardon . 3 dly . the grace of god is very conspicuous in dispensing pardon , according to the order of the gospel to repenting sinners . for first , repentance renders the divine mercy most honourable in the esteem of those who partake of it . our saviour tells us , the whole need not a physician , but those who are sick . he that feels his disease , and is strongly apprehensive of its danger , values the counsel and assistance of a physician above all treasures . the repenting sinner who is under the strong conviction of his guilt , and his being always obnoxious to the judgment of god , and eternal misery the consequent of it , he values the favour of god as the most sovereign good , and accounts his displeasure as the supreme evil. repentance inspires flaming affections in our prayers and praises for pardon . the repenting sinner prays for pardon with as much fervency as daniel pray'd in the den , to be preserved from the devouring lions ; or as jonah pray'd out of the belly of hell for deliverance . he addresses not with faint but fainting desires for mercy ; give me pardon , or i die . the insensible sinner that is secure in the shadow of death , may offer some verbal requests for pardon , but his prayer is defective in the principle : for he never feels the want of a pardon ; he prays so coldly as if unconcern'd whether he be accepted or no. and with what a rapture of admiration , and joy , and thankful affections , doth the pardon'd penitent magnify the divine mercy ? the christian niobe that was melted into repenting tears loved much , because much was forgiven her . 2. this establishment that repentance qualifies a sinner for pardon , is most beneficial to man , and consequently most illustrates pardoning mercy . we must observe , that sin does not only affect us with guilt , but leaves an inherent corruption that defiles and debases the sinner , and strongly inclines him to relapse into rebellion . now repentance gives the true representation of sin in its penal consequences , the anger of the almighty , the terrors of conscience , and makes it evident and odious to the soul. david had a piercing conviction what a foul sin adultery was , when his bones were broken . repenting sorrow strikes at the root of sin , the love of pleasure . this makes us fearful to offend god , and to fly all the alluring temptations that will betray us to sin. this makes us obedient . the melted metal is receptive of any form. contrition is join'd with resignation : lord , what wilt thou have me to do ? was the voice of repenting saul . it may be objected , that we read , god justifies the vngodly , but the answer is clear . the apostle does not intend by the ungodly , an impenitent sinner , but makes the opposition between the ungodly and one that perfectly obeys the law , and is consequently justified by works : and in this sense the most excellent saints here are ungodly . besides , the apostle does not assert that god absolutely pardons the ungodly , but qualifies the persons : to him that worketh not , but believeth on him that justifies the vngodly , his faith is counted for righteousness . now justifying faith and repentance are like tamar's twins : repentance is first felt , and then faith exerts it self in applying the merits of christ's death for our pardon . it is replied by some , that all grace is communicated from christ , as our head , and supposes our union with him , of which faith is the vital band , and consequently the first grace , by which all other graces are derived to us . to this i answer , there are two means of our union with christ : the principal is the quickning spirit descending from christ as the fountain of the supernatural life , and a lively faith wrought in us by his pure and powerful operation , that ascends from us and closes with him . 't is said , the second adam was made a quickning spirit : and he that is join'd to the lord is one spirit . as the parts of the natural body are united by the vital influence of the same soul that is present in the whole ; so we are united to christ by the holy spirit that was given to him without measure , and from his fulness is derived to us . 't is clear therefore beyond all contradiction , that faith is not antecedently requisite , as the means of conveying all graces to us from christ. 2. there are two acts of faith : the first respects the general offer of pardon in the gospel to all repenting believing sinners : the second is the application of the promise of pardon to the soul. the first is antecedent to evangelical repentance : the second is clearly consequent in the order of nature , for the promise assures pardon only to the weary and heavy laden that come to christ for rest. in short , there is a perfect agreement and sympathy between reason and divine revelation in this doctrine , that god pardons only the repenting sinner . the contrary assertion is an impeachment of the rectitude of his nature , and directly contrary to the design and tenour of the gospel . if a man be justified as ungodly , the evangelical command of repentance for the remission of sins is useless and unprofitable . what a pernicious influence upon practice this doctrine may have , is obvious to any that consider it . i shall only add , if god pardons men as ungodly , how shall he judg the world ? 't was prophesied by enoch , behold the lord comes with ten thousand saints to judg all that are ungodly for their ungodly deeds , which they have ungodlily committed . now as st. james argues against the perverseness of men , when from the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing ; doth a fountain send forth sweet water and bitter ? this instance is incomparably more strong with respect to god than to men. 't is more consistent and conceiveable that a fountain should send forth fresh water and salt , than that the holy and righteous god , in whose nature there is not the least discord , should justify some as ungodly , and condemn others as ungodly for ever . 2. faith in the lord jesus christ is the evangelical condition of our obtaining pardon . this will appear by considering the nature of faith. saving faith is an unfeigned perswasion of the power , and desire of christ to save sinners , that induces the soul to receive him , and rely on him , as he is offer'd in the gospel . we are assur'd of his all-sufficiency , and of his compassionate willingness to save us ; he is able to save to the utmost all that come to god by him . our saviour declares , whoever comes to him , he will in no wise cast out . faith is seated in the whole soul , and according to the truth and transcendent goodness of the object , produces the most precious and sacred esteem of it in the mind , and the most joyful consent and choice of it in the will. accordingly a sincere believer imbraces entire christ as a prince and a saviour , and is as willing to be govern'd by his scepter , as to depend upon his sacrifice . acceptance and reliance are the essential ingredients of justifying faith. this is the doctrine of the everlasting gospel . the angel declared this to the shepherds : behold , i bring you tidings of great joy , which shall be to all people ; for to you is born this day , in the city of david , a saviour , which is christ the lord. this is a faithful saying , and worthy of all acceptation , that jesus christ is come into the world to save sinners , of whom i am chief . faith is indispensably necessary to our obtaining forgiveness . faith is the channel wherein the precious issues of his blood and sufferings are conveyed to us . to make more evident how necessary and gracious a condition faith in the redeemer is , for our pardon , i will briefly consider the foundation of the covenant of life in the gospel . after man had plunged himself into damnation , god having decreed , that without satisfaction there should be no remission of his sin ; and the sinner being utterly incapable of enduring such a punishment in degrees , as might be truly satisfactory , it necessarily followed , he must suffer a punishment equivalent in duration . to prevent this , there was no possible way but by admitting a surety , who should represent the sinner , and in his stead suffer the punishment due for sin. a threefold consent was requisite in this transaction . ( 1. ) the consent of the soveraign , whose law was violated , and majesty despised : for as there is a natural distinction between persons , and between the actions of persons , so there must be between the recompences of those actions : consequently the sinner is obliged to suffer the punishment in his own person . from hence 't is clear , that the punishment cannot be transferr'd to another without the allowance of the soveraign , who is the patron of the rights of justice . ( 2. ) the consent of the surety is requisite : for punishment being an emanation of justice cannot be inflicted on an innocent person , without his voluntary interposing to save the guilty . a surety is legally one person with the debtor : otherwise the creditor cannot exact , by the rule of right , the paiment from him , which is fixt by the law upon the person of the debtor . ( 3. ) 't is as clear , that the consent of the guilty is requisite , who obtains impunity by the vicarious sufferings of another . for if he resolves to bear his own guilt , and wilfully refuses to be freed by the interposing of another between him and the punishment , neither the judg nor the surety can constrain him to it . now all these concur in this great transaction . as the creation of man was a work of solemn counsel , let us make man , so his redemption was the product of the divine counsel . i may allude to what is represented to us in the vision of the divine glory to the prophet isaiah : i heard the lord saying , who shall i send , and who will go for us ? then said i , here i am , send me . thus the rise of our salvation was from the father . he makes the inquiry , who shall go for us , to recover fallen man ? the son interposes , here i am , send me . the father from his sovereignty and mercy appointed and accepted the mediator and surety for us . it was no part of the law given in paradise , that if man sinned , he should die , or his surety ; but it was an act of god's free power as superiour to the law , to appoint his son to be our surety , and to die in our stead . and the aspect of the law upon a sinner being without passion , it admits of satisfaction by the sufferings of another . 't is said in the gospel , god so loved the world , so above all comparison and comprehension , that he gave and sent his only begotten son into the world , that the world through him might be saved . the son of god , with the freest choice , did interpose between the righteous god and guilty man for that end . he willingly left his sovereign seat in heaven , eclips'd his glory under a dark cloud of flesh , degraded himself into the form of a servant , and submitted to an ignominious and cruel death for our redemption . when he came into the world , he declared his full content , with a note of eminency : sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not , but a body hast thou prepared me : then said i , lo i come to do thy will , o god. upon this consent of the father and the son , the whole fabrick of our redemption is built . 't is the resultance from it , that the execution of justice on christ is the expiation of our sins , and by his sufferings the full price is paid for our redemption . there is a judicial exchange of persons between christ and believers , their guilt is transferr'd to him , and his righteousness is imputed to them . he made him to be sin for us , who knew no sin , that we might be made the righteousness of god in him . his active and passive obedience , his doing and dying are as truly accounted to believers for their acceptance and pardon , as if they had meritoriously wrought out their own salvation . the sinner must give his consent to be saved by the death of christ upon the terms of the gospel . this constitution is grounded upon the eternal articles between the father and the son in the covenant of redemption . our saviour declares , that god gave his son , that whosoever believes in him , should not perish , but have eternal life . notwithstanding the full satisfaction made for our sins , yet without our consent , i. e. an applicative faith , no benefit could accrue to us . he dwells in our hearts by faith : and by that vital band of our union we have communion with him in his death , and as entire an interest in all the blessed benefits purchased by it , as if whatsoever he did and suffered had been for us alone . he is a propitiation by faith in his blood. of this full consent of the sinner , there is an excellent example in the apostle : he expresses it with the greatest ardency of affection ; i count all things but dung that i may win christ , and be found in him , not having mine own righteousness , which is of the law , but that which is through the faith of christ. like as a poor insolvent debtor , ready to be cast into a perpetual prison , longs for a surety rich and liberal , to make paiment for him : thus st. paul desir'd to be found in christ , as an all-sufficient surety , that he might obtain a freedom from the charge of the law. the establishment of the gospel , that faith be the condition of our pardon , so that none can be justified without it , is from pure grace . the apostle assigns this reason why all works are excluded , those performed in the state of nature , or by a principle of grace , from being the procuring cause of our salvation , that it is to prevent vain-glory in men that would result from it . you are saved by grace , through faith , and that not of your selves : it is the gift of god. the pardon of sin is a principal part of our salvation . he positively declares , that justification is therefore of faith , that it might be by grace . if justification were to be obtain'd by a condition of impossible performance , it were no favour to offer that blessed benefit to us : but it being assur'd to a believer that humbly and thankfully accepts of it , the grace of god is exceedingly glorified . to make this more clear , faith may be considered as a productive grace , or a receptive : as a productive , it purifies the heart , works by love ; and in this consideration we are not justified by it . faith hath no efficiency in our justification , 't is the sole act of god : but faith as a receptive grace , that embraces christ with his precious merits offer'd to us in the promise , entitles us to pardon . and in this way divine grace is exalted : for he that entirely relies upon the righteousness of christ , absolutely renounces his own righteousness , and ascribes in solidum the obtaining of his pardon to the clemency and favour of god , for the sake of the mediator . 3. that god is ready to forgive , is fully proved by many gracious declarations in his word , the infallible expression of his will. we are commanded to seek his face for ever , his favour and love : for the countenance is the christal wherein the affections appear . now all the commands of god assure us of his approving and acceptance of our obedience to them : it follows therefore , that 't is very pleasing to him , that we pray for the pardon of our sins , and that he will dispense it , if we pray in a due manner . when he forbad the prophet to pray for israel , it was an argument of decreed ruine against them : pray not for this people , for i will not hear thee . to encourage our hope , god is pleased to direct us how to address our requests for his mercy : he directs israel , that had fallen by iniquity , to take words , and turn to the lord , and say unto him , take away all iniquity , and receive us graciously ; so will we render the praise of our lips. to this is added a solemn renouncing of those sins that provoked him to anger . his gracious answer follows , i will heal their backslidings , i will love them freely . if a prince draws a petition for an humble suppliant to himself , 't is a strong indication that he will grant it . god joins intreaties to his commands , to induce men to accept this mercy . the apostle declares , now then we are embassadors for christ : as tho god did beseech you by us , we pray you in christ's stead be reconciled to god. astonishing goodness ! how condescending , how compassionate ! the provocation began on man's part , the reconciliation is first on god's . that the king of heaven , whose indignation was incens'd by our rebellions , and might justly send executioners to destroy us , should send embassadors to offer peace , and beseech us to be reconciled to him , as if it were his interest and not ours , is a mercy above what we could ask or think . with commands and intreaties he mixes promises of pardon to encourage us to come to the throne of grace : whoever confesses and forsakes his sins , shall find mercy . this promise is ratified by the strongest assurance : if we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins , and to cleanse us from all vnrighteousness . the pardon of a repenting sinner is the effect of most free mercy , but 't is dispensed to the honour of god's faithfulness and justice , who is pleased to engage himself by his promise to do it . and tho the word of god be as sacred and certain as his oath , for 't is impossible for him to change his will , or to deceive us in the one as well as the other : yet to overcome the fears , to allay the sorrows , and satisfy the desires of repenting sinners , he was pleased to annex his oath to the promise , which is the most infallible character and note , that the blessing promised is unchangeable . he adds threatnings to his invitations , that fear which is an active and strong passion , may constrain us to seek for his mercy . our saviour said to the jews who did blind and harden themselves in their infidelity , if ye believe not that i am he , the promised messiah , and come to me to obtain life , ye shall die in your sins . the threatning implies a state final and fearful , beyond all expression ; for they who die in their sins , shall die for them to eternity . hell is the sad mansion of lost souls , fill'd with extreme wrath and extreme despair : and where despair is without remedy , sorrow is without mitigation for ever . from hence we may be convinc'd , how willing god is to pardon and save us , in that knowing how we are intangled with pleasant sins , he reveals to us what will be the eternal consequence of sins unrepented and unforgiven , a punishment above all the evils that are felt or fear'd here , and above all the patience and strength of sinners to endure . if men yield themselves to the call of his word without , and of his spirit within , and humbly accept of the terms of mercy , 't is very pleasing to him . we are assur'd by jesus christ who is truth , that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents , more than over ninety nine persons that need no repentance . god himself declares with a solemn oath , that he delights not in the death of a sinner , but rather that he should turn and live . the holiness and mercy of god are two of his most divine perfections , his peculiar glory and delight . now what can be more pleasing to that most pure and compassionate being , than to see a sinful creature conform'd to his holiness , and saved by his mercy ? if the internal joy of god , wherein he is infinitely blessed , were capable of new degrees , it would rise higher in the exercise of his forgiving mercy . there is a clear representation of this in the parable of the prodigal : at his return his father received him , with a robe and a ring , with musick and a feast , the signs of joy in its exaltation . but if sinners are hardned in obstinacy , and notwithstanding god is so willing to pardon them , are wilful to be damn'd , with what variety of passions does he express his resentment ? he incarnates himself in the language of men , to make them understand his affection to them . sometimes he expostulates with a tender sympathy , why will ye die ? as if they were immediately falling into the bottomless pit. he expresses pity , mix'd with indignation , at their chosen folly and ruine ; how long ye simple ones , will ye love simplicity , and fools hate knowledg ? what reluctancy and regret does he express against proceeding to exterminating judgments ? how shall i give thee up , ephraim ? how shall i deliver thee , israel ? how shall i make thee as admah ? how shall i set thee as zeboim ? mine heart is turned within me , my repentings are kindled together . with what a melting passion does the son of god foretel the decreed destruction of jerusalem , for rejecting their saviour and salvation ! when he came near he beheld the city and wept over it , saying , if thou hadst known , at least in this thy day , the things that belong to thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes . like a mild judg that pities the man , when he condemns the malefactor . those who interpret some expressions of scripture , that god laughs at the calamity of the wicked , and mocks when their fear comes , and is inexorable to their prayers , in such a sense as evacuates most gracious declarations of god , to induce sinners to repent and believe for their salvation , they draw darkness out of light : for those threatnings are directed against obstinate rebels that frustrate the most powerful methods of mercy , and reject the call of god , in the day of his grace ; and by way of retaliation , their prayers are ineffectual , and rejected in the day of his wrath. and that he is so highly and irreconcileably provoked for their despising his mercy , is a certain indication how highly he would have been pleased with their humble accepting it . let none then by a vile and wretched suspicion , that god's repeated calls to sinners to return and live , do not signify his serious will , detract from the glory of his goodness , and blaspheme his unspotted holiness . his excellent greatness secures us of his sincerity . why should the glorious majesty of heaven court despicable creatures to be reconciled ? we are infinite descents below him , and no advantage can accrue to him from us . temporal princes may be swayed by interest to send false declarations to rebels in arms , to reduce them to obedience : but what can the most high gain by our submission , or lose by our obstinacy ? counterfeit kindness proceeds either from the hope of some good , or the fear of some evil : and of both god is absolutely uncapable . we are all obnoxious to his severe justice : there is no occasion that he should intend by the gracious offer of pardon , to aggravate the sin and sentence of those who refuse it . whosoever with heart-breaking sorrow , and unfeigned hatred of his sins , seeks for pardon by the mediator , he shall find his experience of sparing mercy equal to the highest expressions of it in scripture , and exceeding all his thoughts . 4. it appears , that god is ready to pardon , in that he is so slow to punish . tho all the divine attributes are equal in god , and there is an intire agreement between them , yet there is a difference in their external operations . st. john declares , god is love ; that signifies his communicative goodness , the exercise whereof is more free and pleasing to him than the acts of revenging justice . he does not afflict willingly the children of men. his mercy in giving and forgiving flows as water from a fountain : acts of justice are forc'd from him ( like wine from the grapes ) by the pressing weight of our sins . in the first day of judgment a saviour was promised before the curse was threatned . notwithstanding sinful men break his laws , and trample on them before his face ; they resist , and grieve , and quench his spirit : yet he delays the execution of judgment , that his long-suffering may lead them to repentance . this will appear by considering that god's forbearing sinners is not , 1. for want of discovery of their sins . humane justice may suffer a guilty person to escape punishment for want of clear evidence , but this case is not incident to the justice of heaven . god is light with respect to his purity and omniscience . his firy eye pierces through the thickest darkness wherein sins are committed , and all the arts of concealment used to cover them . he sees all the sins of men with the eye of a judg ; all things are naked and open before his eyes with whom we have to do . therefore 't is said , god will require what is past , and will observe what is to come , in order to judgment . 2. 't is not from a defect of power that the wicked are spared . great princes are sometimes hindred from the exercise of justice , when the guilty person is supported by a prevalent party against them : for the power of a prince is not in himself , but in those who are his subjects . thus david was constrained to spare joab , after the murder of abner , because of his interest in the army ; the sons of zerviah were too hard for him , he fear'd their rebellious resistance . but the power of god is inherent in himself , and depends upon no creatures : o lord , be exalted in thine own power . he fears none , and is to be fear'd by all . with one stroke of omnipotency he can destroy all his enemies for ever . he can with more ease subdue the most stubborn rebels , than we can breathe . his strength is equal to his authority , both are truly infinite . 3. the guilty are spared sometimes from the vicious partiality of princes to their favourites , or a wretched neglect of justice : but the high and holy king is without respect of persons : he hates sin with a perfect hatred , and is angry with the wicked every day . the scripture gives an account why execution is respited : the lord is not slack , ( as some men count slackness ) but is long-suffering to us ward , not willing that any should perish , but that all should come to repentance . he waits to be gracious and spares men in order to their salvation . 5. it appears that god is ready to forgive , in that upon the first suit of humble and penitent believers he presently pardons them . if we consider how long men continue in a course of voluptuous or profitable sins , how many repulses to the offers of mercy they are guilty of , it might justly be expected , that god should with disdain reject their petitions , or not be intreated without a long exercise of repentance , and continued , submissive , and earnest solicitations for his mercy . but the king of heaven keeps no state , the throne of grace is always open and accessible to humble penitents : when their hearts are prepar'd , his ear is inclin'd to hear them . david , after his commission of very foul sins , and long continuing in a state of impenitency , yet upon his melting in the sense of his wickedness and resolution , to humble himself by a mournful acknowledgment of it , he was restor'd to the divine favour . i said i would confess my sins , and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. repenting ephraim is an admirable instance of god's relenting bowels to sinners : i have surely heard ephraim bemoaning himself , thou hast chastised me , and i was chastised as a bullock unaccustom'd to the yoke : turn thou me , and i shall be turned ; for thou art the lord my god. surely after i was turned , i repented ; and after that i was instructed , i smote upon my thigh ; i was ashamed , yea even confounded , because i did bear the reproach of my youth : is ephraim my dear son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since i spake against him , i earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are troubled for him ; i will surely have mercy on him , saith the lord. the prodigal upon his resolution to return to his father , and debase himself as utterly unworthy of being received as a son , while he was in the way , his father saw him at a distance , and ran to him , fell on his neck and kiss'd him , and entirely forgave his past rebellion . the soul-wounded publican said , lord be merciful to me a sinner , and was justified rather than the proud pharisee . 6. 't is a convincing argument , that god is ready to forgive sin , in that he affords grace to men to prepare them for his pardoning mercy . repentance and faith are sacred plants that do not spring from our earth , but have their roots in heaven . god gives repentance unto life . faith is not of our selves , 't is the gift of god. in our corrupt state sin is natural to man , and hath entirely possess'd all his leading faculties . the carnal mind is enmity against god , and judges according to the carnal affections which deprave it . the will is rebellious , and strongly inclin'd to charming lusts : temptations are so numerous and delightful , that sinners will venture to be miserable for ever , to enjoy the pleasures of sin that die in the tasting . 't is true , such are the inviolable inclinations of the humane nature to happiness , that no man can love undisguised death , nor choose damnation for it self : yet the affection to sin is so over-ruling , that they will not forsake it tho complicated with death . the wisdom of god tells us , those that hate me , love death , i. e. constructively . our saviour compassionately reproves the jews , ye will not come to me that ye may have life . this is the cause of their remaining in a state of guilt for ever . now such is the mercy of god , that he gives his spirit , to assist men by his illuminating , preventing , restraining and exciting grace , to forsake their sins , that they may be saved : and if they did faithfully improve the lower degrees of grace , ( tho they can claim nothing by right ) he would from his good pleasure afford them more grace : but they are so averse from god , and strongly bent to the present world , that they so long resist the pure motions of grace in their hearts , till the gales of the spirit expire , and revive no more ; according to that terrible threatning , my spirit shall no longer strive with man , for he is flesh. besides the common grace afforded to natural men , there is a super-effluence of grace bestowed upon some to convert them , which infallibly obtains its end . those who are the patrons of free will , methinks should allow that god is master of his own will , and the free dispenser of his own grace . this special grace works powerfully , yet conveniently , to the reasonable nature . there is no charm so sweet , no constraint so strong , as the operation of it : for the understanding is convinc'd by so clear and strong a light of our being undone for ever without god's pardoning mercy , that his loving-kindness is better than life ; and this is represented to the will with that powerful application , that the will certainly chooses it . when there is a wavering and indifferency of the will to a propounded object , 't is either from some defects in the object , or in the apprehension of it : but when the supreme good is so represented , that it fills all the capacities of the soul , the will as certainly embraces it , as one that is burnt up with thirst , and near a cool stream stoops and drinks to quench it . the holy spirit , who knows the manner of his own operations , expresses the efficacy of them in the resemblances of the creation and resurrection , wherein the divine power cannot be frustrate ; yet 't is so congruous to the frame of man's nature , that the freedom of the will is then in its most noble exercise : men are drawn to christ by the teachings of god ; not by over-ruling violence upon their faculties , but by instruction and perswasion sutable to them . now from hence 't is evident that all the persons in the godhead concur in bestowing this admirable blessing , the pardon of our sins : they all willingly join in this undivided work , tho with different operations . the father pronounces our pardon from the throne : his majesty shines without diminution or condescension of his person in forgiving us . the son purchased our pardon by the sacred treasure of his blood. the holy spirit qualifies us , and applies the pardon of our sins to us . 3. i now come to the third general head , that god is abundant in forgiveness . this god has declar'd in words so full and expressive , as may exceedingly satisfy the most tender and fearful spirits : 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 . for my thoughts are not your thoughts , neither are your ways my ways , saith the lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth , so are my ways than your ways , and my thoughts than your thoughts . the distance is so great between the heavens and the earth , that the sun , so vast a globe of light , seems to be of a small circumference ; and the stars of the first magnitude , tho many times bigger than the earth , appear like glittering points of light. this comparison is so convincing , as may assist us in our contemplation of his mercy . the apostle saith , god is rich in mercy . 't is not said , that he is rich in substance , tho the earth be the lord's , and the fulness thereof . he is rich in his own perfections , not in external things . 't is not said , god is rich in power , tho he is almighty ; nor in justice , but in mercy : this signifies , that of all the divine perfections , none do shine so radiantly as his mercy . this reflects a lustre upon his other attributes . his goodness is the foundation of his glory . he pardon'd ten thousand talents to the servant that was insolvent , and his treasure is unwasted . i will consider the extent of his pardoning mercy , and the entireness of it . 1. the extent of it , with respect to the number and quality of the sins that are pardoned . 1 st . the number of them . david , after an attentive consideration of the purity and perfection of god's law , breaks forth in a very great anxiety , who can understand his errors ? who can enumerate the many defections from that strait rule of our duty ? in many things we offend all . we are obliged perpetually to obey and glorify god : yet in every action , even in our religious duties , there are many defects and defilements that want pardon . how many swarms of vain and unprofitable thoughts , of carnal , covetous , proud , envious , and revengeful thoughts and desires lodg in the hearts of men ? what a torrent of idle , sensual , vain-glorious and passionate words flow from their lips ? how many thousand sinful actions proceed from them ? when the inlightned conscience seriously reflects upon our sins of omission and commission , how astonishing is their vast number ? what a mountainous heap appears ? they reach as low as hell , and rise as high as heaven . it would tire the hand of an angel to write down the pardons that god bestows upon one penitent believer . 2 dly . divine forgiveness extends to sins of all kinds and degrees , habitual and actual . tho no sins are absolutely small , being committed against the majesty of god , yet comparatively , with respect to their quality and circumstances , there is a manifest difference between them . some are of a weaker tincture , some are of a deeper die : some slightly wound the conscience ; some waste it , and let out its vital blood : some do as it were whisper against the sinner , some cry for vengeance . sins of ignorance and infirmity , sins of sudden surreption , that steal upon us without observing , sins by surprise of the passions , when there is no time to deliberate , have extenuating circumstances : but sins against light , wherein there is more of the nature of sin ; sins against mercies , which in the language of the apostle , are a despising of god's goodness ; sins against solemn vows , wherein men break double bands , the law of god and their sacred ingagements ; sins committed habitually and presumptuously , as if god were ignorant , or indifferent and unconcern'd , or impotent and without power to punish offenders : these sins derive a greater guilt , and expose to a more terrible punishment . now a gracious pardon is offer'd in the gospel to all sinners , whatever the quality and circumstances of their sins be , if they apply and address themselves to the father of mercy through the compassionate mediator , and forsake their sins . of this we are assured from the most solemn declaration of god to moses , the lord is merciful and gracious , long-suffering , and abundant in goodness and truth , keeping mercy for thousands , forgiving iniquity , and transgression , and sin. the promise is comprehensive of all sorts of sins , how manifold and mighty soever . besides , to encourage us to repent and believe , god promises pardon for sins of the fiercest provocation . judah had violated the marriage-covenant with god by their impure idolatries , yet he offers to receive them . thou hast played the harlot with many lovers , yet return again to me , saith the lord. relapses into rebellious sins argue a strong propensity to them , and exceedingly aggravate their guilt ; yet god promises pardon for them : return ye backsliding children , and i will heal your backslidings . there are eminent instances of god's pardoning mercy recorded in the scripture . the apostle having enumerated many sorts of sinners guilty of enormous crimes , idolaters , adulterers , abusers of themselves with mankind , tells the corinthians , and such were some of you , but ye are washed , but ye are sanctified , but ye are justified in the name of the lord jesus christ , and by the spirit of our god. there is one sort of sinners excepted from the general promise of mercy , those who sin against the holy ghost . the reason of the exception is not , that the holy spirit is superiour in dignity to the father and the son , for they are all coeternal and coequal , but from his operations , i. e. the revealing the truth and grace of god in the gospel . now the obstinate malicious contradicting the truth of the gospel shining in the minds of men , and the perverse despising the grace of the gospel , is unpardonable to infinite mercy . those who are guilty of that sin , have transform'd themselves into the image of the devil , and salvation cannot save them . but no others are excluded from repentance and pardon . 2. as the extent , so the intireness of pardon offer'd to sinners declares god's abundant mercy . 1 st . the pardon is as full as free , according to his excellent goodness : the imputation of the fault ceases , and the obligation to punishment is abolish'd . we have clear evidence of this from the scripture . god assures those who repent and reform , tho your sins be as scarlet , they shall be as white as snow : tho they be red like crimson , they shall be as wool. pardon is more than a reprieve or suspension of judgment , 't is a perfect freedom from it : a repenting believer is as clear from the charge of the law as an innocent angel. there is no condemnation to those that are in christ jesus , who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . our cleansing from the defilements of sin is imperfect , therefore we must be always purifying our selves , till we attain to absolute purity : but our pardon is perfect . 't is irrevocable ; we are assured , that as far as the east is from the west , god removes our transgressions from us . as soon those distant points may be united , as guilt may be fastned upon those whom god has pardoned . the prophet declares , that god will subdue our iniquities , and cast them into the bottom of the sea : from whence they can never rise . god promises , i will forgive their iniquities , and remember them no more . pardon is compleat and final . 't is the misery of the wicked , they are condemned already ; they live by a reprieve and suspension of judgment : 't is the blessed security of believers , they shall not fall under condemnation . there is such an inconstancy in the nature of men , that they often repent and revoke the favours and privileges they have bestowed ; they like to day , and loath to morrow the same persons : but the blessed god is not subject to change or contingency . his love , his purpose , his promise to his people , are unalterable . from the sense of god's pardoning mercy , conscience is freed from those just terrors that are the consequents of guilt . the blood of christ purges our conscience from dead works : from the deadly guilt of sin that cleaves to the conscience . a temporal prince may pardon a murderer ; and conscience with a countenance of despair may summon him to appear and be accountable for his bloody crime before the high and everlasting judg : but those who are justified by faith , have peace with god. when the original bond is cancell'd , the counter-part has no force ; conscience is subordinate to god , and when he justifies , has no authority to condemn . when god blots out the iniquities of his people as a thick cloud , there is a clear sky , a divine calm and serenity in conscience . it may be enquired how the compleat pardon of sin is consistent with the temporal evils inflicted upon the children of god for their sins . the answer is obvious and easy . temporal evils inflicted on the children of god , are declarative of his holy displeasure against sin , but are not for satisfaction to vindictive justice : this would be derogatory to the love of god , and the meritorious sufferings of our saviour , who did not compound with god , but made full and absolute satisfaction for our sins . in the 12 th chapter to the hebrews , where the apostle so divinely and accurately treats of this argument , there is a clear account of the cause , the nature , and the product of the temporal sufferings of god's children . the cause of them is the love of their heavenly father displeased for their sins : whom the lord loves he chastens , and scourges every son whom he receives . earthly parents in their various fits of folly , sometimes chasten their children only for their pleasure , and sometimes spare the rod to their ruine : but our heavenly father is equally wise and compassionate , and uses such discipline as is requisite for their profit , to prevent their continuance in sin , that would be destructive to them . believers are chasten'd of the lord , that they may not be condemned with the world. and the wisdom and love of our father and physician mixes such bitter ingredients , and in that proportion , as are requisite for the quality of the disease , and the strength of the patient . he corrects them in measure ; he will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able . their afflictions are deliberate dispensations . the nature of them is signified in the word chastisement : the correction of a child is in order to his amendment : they are medicinal , and have a main relation and prospect to the future , to make us more fearful to offend god , and careful to please him . they are more lively and sensible lessons of our duty , than the instructions of the word , and are of the same order . the product of the chastisements of god's children , is the pleasant fruit of righteousness to them who are exercised thereby : that is , the sanctifying graces of the spirit , repentance , faith , hope , patience , self-denial , contempt of the world , resignation to the divine will , are exercised , illustrated , and increas'd in those christians who with unfainting perseverance endure affliction . in short , death that was the penal effect of sin , ( for the first man while innocent was immortal ) tho continued , yet the sting is taken away , the quality of it is changed : the issues of it are vastly different to the saints and the wicked : to the saints 't is the period of their fears and sorrows , the final remedy of all their miseries ; to the wicked 't is the beginning of their woe . the saints pass through the darkness and corruption of the grave into the kingdom of glory : the wicked pass to the blackness of darkness for ever . 2 dly . the intireness of this great benefit is evident in that god restores his love and forfeited favour to all that are pardon'd . princes sometimes pardon offenders , but never receive them into their favour . absalom was recall'd from banishment , but for two years was not admitted to see the king's face . but god does magnify and manifest his love to those whom he pardons . he does not distinguish them from the angels that always obeyed him . he forgives our sins as entirely as if they had never been committed , and is reconcil'd as if he had never been offended . we have the most clear discovery of this in the parable of the prodigal . it might have been expected , that his father should have reproach'd him for his obstinate deserting his house , his wasting his portion in lewdness and luxury , and that bitter constraint forced him to return : no , he dearly embraces him , and cancels all the debt of his past offences with a most affectionate kiss : and whereas the poor penitent presum'd only to be received as a servant , he was restor'd in the most affectionate manner to the dignity and relation of a son ; and universal joy was diffused through all the family for his return . if our saviour had not made this relation with all its endearing circumstances , our narrow hearts durst never presume and promise to us such compassionate love of god to repenting sinners . but whoever imitates the prodigal in his return , shall find the reality to exceed the representation . i shall add some examples of this love of god to those who repent . mary magdalen had been guilty of foul sins , yet our saviour graciously received the tender expressions of her grief and love , to the astonishment of simon : she wash'd his feet with her tears , and wiped them with the hair of her head , and kissed them : and after his resurrection appeared first to her as his endeared favourite . 't is recorded by the evangelist , with an infinite emphasis of his love , that he first appear'd to mary magdalen , out of whom he had cast seven devils . peter , in whose denial of christ there was such a mixture of infidelity , ingratitude , and impiety , he promised he would die with him or for him ; yet being questioned not with terror by an armed magistrate , not surprized by a subtle examiner , but at the question of a maid renounc'd him , yet he was restor'd to the honour of his office , and the affection of his master . 't is very observable , that when he appeared to mary magdalen , he directs her to tell his disciples and peter of his resurrection ; he particularly mentions peter , to raise his drooping spirit by this new assurance of his love. this happy privilege belongs to all penitent believers , for whomsoever god pardons he prefers , and adopts into his family , and makes them heirs of heaven . the first beam of mercy shines in the pardon of our sins , which is an infallible assurance of freeing us from the punishment of sin in hell , and of our obtaining the joys of heaven . our saviour has by his meritorious and voluntary sufferings paid our ransom from eternal death , and purchased for us a right to eternal life : accordingly whom god justifies he glorifies . the formal effect of justification is the restoring us to the forfeited favour of god , and from that fountain all blessed benefits flow . god declares concerning his people : they shall be mine in the day that i make up my jewels , and i will spare them as a man spares his son that serves him : which two acts of the divine mercy are inseparable . the application . the first use shall be of caution , lest men abuse carelesly and contemptuously the doctrine of divine forgiveness . many sin freely , as if they believed the permission of sins , or presumed upon a ready remedy , and are without fear of judgment to come . this is the language of their actions , tho not of their tongues . there are not a worse sort of sinners out of hell. if that which should soften and reclaim sinners hardens them , the case is desperate and incurable . to correct the vile conceits men have of obtaining an easy pardon of their sins , tho habitually committed upon that account , let them consider , 1. the angels who were the first and brightest offspring of the creator , for one sin were decreed and doom'd to an exclusion from the glory of heaven for ever . mercy did not suspend the sentence : their mighty numbers , and the nobility of their nature , did not incline the judg of the world to spare them . they are now in the chains of powerful justice , and have perpetual hell within them . and shall rebellious men , who are but dust in their original composition and final resolution , expect to escape vengeance ? if we should see a hundred noble men executed in a day , the sight would strike us with terror : how much greater reason is there awfully to adore the inflexible judg , for such a dreadful execution and example of justice upon an innumerable company of angels ? 2. to pardon sin is an act of greater power than to create the world : if we consider the distance of the terms , and the difficulty of the means , there is a wider distance between a righteous god infinitely provoked by sin , and the guilty creature , than between a state of not being , and the actual existence of the world. one powerful word rais'd this great world from its native nothing . but to accord the divine attributes between which there seem'd a repugnance , and reconcile god to sinful men , cost the dearest price . the anxious sinner makes inquiry , shall i give the first-born of my body for the sin of my soul ? that is too mean an offering : no less than the first-born of the almighty could by the sacrifice of himself make an atonement for our offences . 3. vengeance belongs to god as well as forgiveness . the wrath of god is reveal'd from heaven against all vngodliness and vnrighteousness of men. it was decreed in heaven , 't is denounced in his word , and shall be executed by his just power in its season . there is a time to pardon , and a time to punish . god is stiled the god of patience : in the present world his patience has its perfect work. but in the next world justice will gloriously appear against the wicked who are devoted to destruction . forbearance is not forgiveness . the last day will close the accounts of the judg of the world with sinners , and a terrible arrear will be exacted of them for all the treasures of his goodness and clemency wasted by them . 4. those who indulge themselves in a course of sin upon the presumption of an easy pardon , are the most unworthy and uncapable of the divine mercy . they sin against the nature and end of grace : and by an immediate and direct opposition to it in the proper notion of grace , cut off all their pleas for it . 't is true , god is very merciful , and easy to be intreated by those who sincerely repent and reform their lives : but he is inexorable to all those who harden themselves in their sins by the false and presumptuous hopes of his mercy . he declares in his word , that when sinners despise the curse threatned against them , and bless themselves in their hearts , that they shall have peace , tho they walk in the imagination of their own hearts , to add drunkenness to thirst ; the lord will not spare them , but then the anger of the lord and his jealousy shall smoke against them , and all the curses written in this book shall lie upon them without mitigation or intermission . no less punishment than eternal damnation is equal to their sin. they resist and renounce mercy by their abusing it to the worst ends , yet are confident of their interest in it . what a prodigious contradiction is there between the hopes of presumptuous sinners and their practices ? they kindle his anger every day , and inflame anger into wrath , and wrath into vengeance , and yet strongly fancy they shall find mercy . what a diabolical wonder is it , as astonishing as extraordinary miracles , but that 't is commonly seen , that men without a promise , and against the threatning , should expect the favour of god , that is the portion of his children , and continue in high and actual rebellion ? if a spark of reason or grain of faith were shining in their breasts , they would be restless in the apprehension of his firy displeasure . the tempter over-reaches their minds by a double delusion , that they shall have time and grace to repent , and over-rules their wills , that the most terrible threatnings and divine disswasives are not effectual to make them forsake their sins . they are secure , tho not safe one hour : for 't is in the power of their judg , and they have reason to fear in his purpose , to destroy them suddenly , and without remedy . the presumptuous conceit of immense mercy has so fully possess'd their minds , that like a powerful opiate it makes them sleep securely upon the brink of ruine : but conscience is of an immortal nature , and tho it may be stupified , it cannot be extinguish'd . in the present life sometimes a sharp affliction awakens it into a furious activity ; and then presuming sinners that have been indulgent to their lusts , despair of pardon : for when mercy , that is our only advocate in his bosom to avert wrath for sins against the other attributes , shall turn our accuser , and solicite justice to revenge its dishonour upon those who have abused it , there remains no shadow of hope to refresh their sorrows . but suppose the charm be not unbound , and the self-deceiver continues his evil course to the end of life , and perishes pleasantly with the vain hopes of mercy , yet immediately after death his conscience will be irresistibly convinc'd of his outragious provocations of the righteous god , and be more tormenting than the hottest flames of hell. let us attend to the instructive inference in the text , there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared : that is , with a fear of reverence for his amiable excellencies , for the attractives of his pardoning mercy ; and of caution , lest by abusing we should make a deadly forfeiture of it . if god should appear as an irreconcileable judg , arm'd with terrour against all offenders , the apprehension would produce hatred , and a dreadful flight from him : it would make men boldly wilful , and harden them in their rebellions : for if they cannot be pardoned for their past sins , and can be but damned for their continuance in them , they will give licence to their roving and impetuous appetites , and commit iniquity with greediness . now god has appointed a way for the pardon of sin , wherein there is a bright and equal discovery of his greatness and goodness , his purity and righteousness , that his law may be more sacred and inviolable , more remembred and obeyed by us . he has declared in the death of his son , wherein the equal extreams of ignominy and torment were combin'd , what an evil sin is , that requir'd such a mighty expiation . we may from the depth of his sufferings conceive the excess and height of our provocations : we may understand the deadly guilt of sin , that can only be wash'd away in the blood of christ , the fountain of remission . to turn the grace of god into wantonness , to be more loose and secure in committing sin , is to turn the antidote into poison , and defeat his blessed end. 't is a main article of our reconciliation , the lord will speak peace to his people , but let them not return to folly. we may conceive , that god speaks to the pardon'd sinner what our saviour said to the man whom he miraculously heal'd , go away , sin no more , lest a worse thing befal you . 't is both the duty and disposition of those who have received the pardon of their sins , to fear the lord and his goodness . there is no principle more clearly natural and sensible than this : dependance includes observance ; the receiving benefits obliges a person to the benefactor . accordingly the psalmist expresses the affections of the humane and the holy nature , what shall i render to the lord for all his benefits ? and breaks out in an extasy of thankfulness , o lord , truly i am thy servant , i am thy servant , thou hast broken my bands . the repenting believer receives pardon from god with joyful admiration , that fastens his mind in the contemplation of his glorious mercy : the serious thought of it kindles a sacred fire in his breast : as 't is said of mary magdalen , much was forgiven her , for she loved much . love to god that results from his pardoning love to us , is singular and supreme , and necessarily produces an ardent desire to please and glorify him , and an ingenuous grateful fear of offending him . the soul that has felt the terrors of the lord , as the holy and righteous judg of the world , and afterward has been revived by the light of his countenance , and has tasted how good the lord is , how is it possible to resist such dear and immense obligations ? how prodigious to turn the strongest and sweetest ingagement to reverence and obedience , into an encouragement to do that which is odious and offensive in his sight ? to sin against light heightens a sin into rebellion , but to sin against revealed love makes it above-measure sinful . this is so contrary to natural conscience and super-natural grace , that 't is the leprosy of the wicked , not the spot of god's children : do you thus requite the lord , o foolish people and unwise ? the upbraiding reduces them to a defenceless silence , and covers them in black confusion . when divine grace pardons our past sins , it cures our depraved inclinations to future sins . the clearest discovery of the heart is by reflections on god's mercy . the fear of god's justice is natural , the reverent regard of his goodness is a spiritual affection . there is a great difference between filial fear of the divine goodness that is so becoming the breast of a christian , and so congruous to our present state , and servile fear , that is the proper character of one in the bondage of sin. the filial fear of god is an ingenuous voluntary affection , flowing from love , and freely exercis'd , and esteem'd the treasure of the soul. servile fear , the sequel of guilt , is a judicial impression from the sad thoughts of the provoked majesty of heaven ; and if the offender could dissolve the bands of conscience , he would throw it off . filial fear is mix'd with joy , 't is the preservative of god's favour to us ; it makes us more circumspect , but not less comfortable : it opposes security , but establishes the assurance of faith : the fear of the lord , and hope in his mercy , are united graces . servile fear has torment , 't is an alarm within that disturbs the rest of the sinner ; 't is a fretting fire that secretly torments him in his most luscious fruitions . filial fear restrains from all sin in the heart and life , because it dishonours and displeases god ; it denies the carnal appetites with sweetness and satisfaction to the soul : it excites us to obey god with choice and complacency . servile fear induces an abstinence from some sins , which fly in the face of conscience , and which the sinner loves , and urges to the outward performance of duties , which he hates . the slavish spirit is afraid to burn , not to sin ; he is fearful to be damn'd , not to displease god. filial fear is a serious and habitual constitution of the soul , inseparable from it in all times and places , 't is influential into the whole life . servile fear is a sudden passion , and transient : sometimes a sharp affliction , a piercing sermon , awakens a secure wretch into a fit of terror . filial fear keeps the soul close to god , makes it solicitous , lest any sin should intercept the light of his countenance , and obstruct communion with him , which is the paradise of a saint : 't is the gracious promise of god to his children , i will put my fear into their hearts , and they shall never depart from me . servile fear makes the sinner shy of god's presence , and as unwilling to find him , as a saint is to lose him : he is not pleased with solitude , lest the guilty conscience should have time of recollection , and should look to the judg above : he takes no delight in the society of the saints , and the enjoyment of the ordinances , because god is peculiarly present there ; and above all things he is afraid to die , because then the spirit returns to god that gave it . in short , the filial fear of god ascends with the soul to heaven , and is the eternal respect that the blessed spirits continually pay to his adorable perfections . servile fear attends the sinner to hell , and settles into despair for ever . 2 dly . the doctrine of divine forgiveness affords strong consolation to those who are wounded in spirit in the sense of their sins . those only who feel the intolerable burden of guilt , will come to christ to find rest : and only those our saviour invites and promises graciously to receive . a tender and timorous conscience does often impute the guilt of sin , when 't is abolish'd ; a seared conscience does not impute it , when it abounds . god has revealed his mercy in so full a manner , as to answer all the allegations of a repenting sinner against himself . he objects his unworthiness of pardon : but this cannot exclude him from it : for the grace of god springs from within , and has no original cause without it self . 't is like celestial fire that feeds it self : god declares his sovereign pleasure in the exercise of mercy : i will be gracious to whom i will be gracious , and will shew mercy to whom i will shew mercy . if mercy were bestowed only upon the worthy , none could be saved : for all have sinned and come short of the glory of god. the humble penitent urges against himself , that he has been a singular and extraordinary offender , that none is like him in sinning : but we are assured none is like god in pardoning . the number of our sins is terrifying : this so affected the psalmist , that he fainted with desponding fear ; my sins are like the hairs upon my head , therefore my heart fails me . but the multitude of god's mercies incomparably exceed our numerous sins . they are renewed every moment of our lives : stupendous infinity ! they are over all his works ; and over all his attributes . god is love , and love covers a multitude of sins . the killing aggravations of our sins strike us through : but there is not so much evil in sin as there is goodness in god. our finite acts cannot preponderate his unlimited essence . he declares , i am god and not man , therefore ye are not consumed . we hardly forgive a few pence , he forgives ten thousand talents . he is god , infinite in mercy , and as liberal as infinite . delight in sin is an aggravating circumstance ; but god delights in mercy . continuance in sin inflames the guilt ; but his mercy extends to eternity . i shall add , for the support of returning penitents , some examples of god's forgiving great sinners recorded in scripture . he charges the people of israel , thou hast made me serve with thy sins , and wearied me with thine iniquities . it might be expected , that the next words should have been , i will revenge your dishonouring of me according to the glory of my majesty , and the extent of my power : but he promises pardon ; i , even i am he , that blotteth out thy transgressions for my name sake , and will not remember thy sins . by the comparison of their sins , he illustrates the glory of his mercy . lot , guilty of incest with his daughters ; david , of murder and adultery ; manasseh , a sorcerer and idolater , that burnt his children alive in sacrifice to the devil , and fill'd jerusalem with innocent blood ; mary magdalen , out of whom seven devils were cast ; peter , who was so faint-hearted and false-hearted , that with execrations he denied his master ; paul , that was a bloody persecutor ; are the instances of the astonishing omnipotent mercy of god , who can as easily pardon the greatest sins as the least , and makes no difference when our repentance is sincere , and our faith unfeigned : tho according to the degrees of their guilt conscience should be affected . how many pardon'd sinners , miracles of the divine mercy , are in heaven happy in the love of god , and glorious in holiness , who were as deeply guilty and polluted as any that now mournfully seek the favour of god ? these are examples of grace so excellent and so divine , to encourage us in our addresses for pardon . the apostle paul tells us , that for this cause he obtained mercy , that in me jesus christ might shew all long-suffering for a pattern to them who shall hereafter believe on him to everlasting life . there is the same motive in god ; he forgives sins for his name sake : the treasures of his mercy are not wasted by communicating : there is the same merit in christ , his precious blood shed upon the cross is pleaded in heaven , he ever lives to make intercession for us : and if we obtain the same precious faith , we shall have the same acceptance . in short , let those who are overwhelmed with fear consider , 't is not only our privilege , but duty , to trust in the divine mercy : we are commanded to believe in the mediator : despair is more dishonourable to god than presumption , in that 't is a sin directly against a superiour attribute , the exercise of which is his delight and dearest glory . 3 dly . let us be excited to seek the pardoning mercy of god with humility , with fear and all possible diligence , lest we should not obtain it . our hearts should be set upon this with the most intense zeal , for 't is our life . every impenitent sinner is under the condemning sentence of the law , and there is but a step between him and death : the only hope is , that 't is not yet ratified by the judg , nor inflicted , but 't is reversible by suing out a pardon in the superiour court of the gospel . now 't is astonishing , that when the danger is so great and present , ( for 't is as morally impossible to be sure of time to come , as to recal time past ) that men should be so unconcerned and secure , and neglect the main work for which they are spared by the admirable patience of god. time is certainly short , and uncertainly continued ; and when the oil that feeds the lamp of life is spent , the next state is the blackness of darkness for ever to all unpardoned sinners ▪ now the scepter of grace is extended to us , we are within the call of pardoning mercy ; god waits to be gracious : but there is a sad assurance , if we do not sue out our pardon in the present life , the time of our reprieve , death is immediately attended with eternal judgment ; the belief of which makes the prince of darkness , with the most stubborn spirits of hell , to tremble : yet men continue in the guilt of their unrepented sins without fear , and wretchedly deceive themselves with a vain presumption that the door of mercy will be open when they leave the world ; or bear up themselves by the numberless multitude of stupid sinners , and make a resolute reckoning they shall do as well as the most . they are studious and contriving , active and ardent about the affairs of this low life , and careless of being reconcil'd to god , a matter of the highest concernment and eternal consequence . prodigious folly , never enough lamented ! though vengeance from above is ready to fall upon them , and hell below with its dark horrors is open to swallow them up , yet they are stupid and fearless : the remembrance of this will rack and torment them for ever ; for when extreme folly is the cause of extreme misery , the sufferer is the most cruel enemy to himself . let us therefore seek the lord while he may be found , and call upon him while he is near . now god offers his pardon to the greatest sinners that will humbly submit to the gracious terms proposed in the gospel for our obtaining it . besides what has been said of faith and repentance , i will more particularly consider what god requires of guilty creatures in order to their pardon . first , the confession of our sins is indispensably required to qualify us for pardon . the promise is express and full , he that confesses and forsakes sin , shall find mercy . that we may not be deceived in the application of this promise , i will briefly consider what is preparatory to this duty , the properties of it , and the connection of pardon with it . 1 st . the understanding must be enlightned by the divine law to discover sin. the law is the rule of our duty , and the obligation to obey it is immediately conveyed by conscience . while there is a cloud of darkness in the mind , there will be a silence in the conscience . paul declares , that he was once alive without the law , i. e. not understanding his guilt , he presum'd of his justification ; but when the commandment came in its light to convince him of the transgression of it , the apparition of sin in the clear glass of the law struck him dead . there must be a discussion of conscience , a comparing our actions with the rule , to discover their obliquity : for sins unknown and unconsider'd cannot be confest . some sins are notorious , and present themselves to our knowledg and memory : others are of a weaker evidence , inquiry must be made after them . 't is an unpleasant work to rake in the sink of a corrupt heart , but 't is necessary . 2 ly . the properties of confession are , ( 1. ) it must be free and ingenuous : that which is extorted by bitter constraint is of no value and acceptance . pharaoh , an obstinate rebel , upon the rack , acknowledg'd he had sinned . 't is true , the penal effects of sin may be the first excitation of sinners to consider their ways , but the holy spirit by that means so deeply affects them with the evil of sin , that they voluntarily confess them before the all-discerning judg. david declares , when i kept silence , my bones waxed old : i said , i will confess my sins , and thou forgavest them . he came to a deliberate resolution , i will confess them . ( 2. ) confession must be sincere and full , that our sins may be more evident and odious to us . the covering of sins is like the keeping a serpent warm , that will sting more fiercely . the concealing sin argues the love of it , and is a bar against pardon . blessed is the man unto whom the lord imputes no iniquity , in whose spirit there is no guile . 't is not said , in whose spirit there is no sin , but no guile , no reserved allowed sin. the sincere penitent pours forth his heart like water before the lord. of all liquids none are so clearly pour'd out of a vessel as water : wine or oil leave a tincture . we should in confession pour out all our sins , and leave no tincture of affection to them . if it be said , how can we confess our sins that are above our counting ? 't is true , but we must reserve none . we must confess the kinds of our sins , against the first and second table , that were both written with god's hand ; sins of omission and commission , and particular sins of greater guilt : we must wash off their deceitful colours , that they may appear in their hellish shape , and more deeply affect us . men are very averse from this duty , and apt to conceal or extenuate their sins . the art of concealing and excuses is learnt from the first transgressor . when god called to adam , where art thou ? tho his dread to appear before the divine presence was a tacit confession of his fault , and his hiding himself discovered his sin ; yet he does not acknowledg his sin , but alledges the consequence of it , his shame , to be the cause of his guilty fear . i heard thy voice , and was afraid , because i was naked . and to extenuate his offence , transfers his guilt on the woman , and constructively reflects upon god as the cause of it : the woman which thou gavest me , gave me of the fruit , and i did eat . the wicked excuse did infinitely aggravate his sin. the woman lays her fault at the serpent's door , the serpent beguiled me . aaron pretends that the people compell'd him to idolatry : and that the golden calf was not the effect of design and art , but of chance : i cast the gold into the fire , and there came out this calf . saul coloured his rebellion with the pretence of religion : he kept the best of the cattel for sacrifice . in short , as in sweating , 't is observed that a general sweat of the body is for its advantage , but the sweat of a part only is the symptom of a disease : so a clear unfeigned confession is for our profit , but a semi-confession is counterfeit , an indication of hypocrisy . ( 3. ) confession must be mix'd with sorrow and shame in the remembrance of our past sins . 1. a piercing deep sorrow from spiritual principles and perswasives is the ingredient of an acceptable confession . there is a natural sorrow proceeding from the impression of afflicting evils . sense is very tender and apt to resent what is oppressive to it . a sinner that has wasted his estate , blasted his reputation , shortned his life by his excesses , and hasten'd his damnation , may feel anguish in his breast for his sins , the procuring causes of his punishment . but this sorrow proceeds only from the sense of external evils , not from the melted heart for the intrinsick evil of sin : as marble pillars are wet , from the moisture of the ambient air. 't is the miserable man , not the miserable sinner that mourns . this sorrow is consistent with the love of sin ; and when the penal evil is removed , the sinner returns to the practice of it . carnal sorrow only respects a man's self as a sufferer : 't is in hell , in the extreme degrees , there is weeping for ever . there is a godly sorrow , of which the holy spirit is the spring . 't is the promise of god to his people , i will pour forth the spirit of grace and supplication upon the inhabitants of jerusalem , and they shall see him whom they have pierced , and mourn over him , as one mourns for the death of his first-born . the perswasive of our sorrow is answerable to its principle . the serious contemplation of our bleeding dying saviour , is a spiritual and powerful motive to melt us into the tears of repentance . how congruous is it , if the purchase of our pardon cost our saviour his bloody agony , that the applying of the pardon to us should cost us the most bitter sorrow ? divine grief is more from the memory of the evils we have committed against our heavenly father , than from the evils we suffer . carnal sorrow is barren and unprofitable . it may be said of it , what the wise preacher says of wild mirth , what dost thou ? only that sorrow that comes from heaven is accepted there : one spiritual tear is of more value and efficacy with god than a torrent of natural sorrow . repenting sorrow is an indispensable qualification in order to our pardon , not merely from the will of the law-giver as the reason of our duty , but from the congruity of the thing it self . 't is observable , that 't is the wisdom and kindness of the god of nature , that the food that preserves life is pleasant to our taste , to invite us every day to eat , and renew our strength ; but physick that is necessary for the recovery of health , is very distastful , that our aversion from it may make us circumspect , to prevent all excesses that are the causes of diseases . thus the sorrowful confession of sin which is medicinal to the soul , is very afflicting ; it wounds the spirit , and breaks the heart , that we may be jealous of our selves , lest we eat of the forbidden fruit that requires so bitter a remedy . godly sorrow , tho it be very afflicting to nature , yet the exercise of it is more satisfying to a sincere penitent , than all the pleasures of sin. in two cases grief is pleasant : when 't is upon the account of a person dearly loved ; a parent indulges his sorrow for the death of a child that was the life of his life . or when pain is beneficial and an advantage : as in the application of a plaister , we are pleased with the pain it causes , that being a sign and effect of its healing operation . now both these considerations are mix'd with repenting sorrow : for it principally arises from the reflection upon sin , as that which has so dishonour'd and displeased the blessed god our maker , preserver and redeemer ; that we have preferr'd the pleasing our corrupt and licentious appetites , before the obeying his holy , just , and good will. the repenting sinner declares his love to god by his grief for offending him , and voluntarily remembers his past sins , and is pleased in overflowing sorrow for them . and this sorrow is preparative for peace : vnutterable groans are introductive of unspeakable joys : the holy spirit that convinces of sin is the blessed comforter . 2. the confession of sin must be mix'd with shame . all the just causes of shame , guilt , turpitude , folly and disappointment , are complicated in sin. the repenting sinner , by consciousness and reflection upon sin , that induces so heavy a guilt , that defiles the soul with so deep a pollution , that no ray of its original purity remains , that debases it infinitely below its heavenly descent , mourns with tears of confusion for what he has done . repenting ephraim bemoans himself , that he had been rebellious against the methods of god's mercy , like a refractory bullock unaccustom'd to the yoke : and his recoiling thoughts made him to smite on his thigh , to be ashamed to the degree of confusion for his disobedience . how affecting an object he was in god's eye , the immediate answer declares : is ephraim my dear son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since i spake against him , i do earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are troubled for him ; i will surely have mercy upon him , saith the lord. the psalmist reflecting upon his being almost vanquish'd by a vexatious temptation , degrades and vilifies himself , so foolish was i and ignorant , and like a beast before thee . ezra in the confession of the holy seed's mixing with heathen idolaters , saith , o lord , i blush and am ashamed at the foul deformity of their sin. the apostle upbraids the romans with a stinging reproach , what fruit have you of those things whereof ye are now ashamed , the end whereof is death ? when a foolish choice is made , and the folly is detected , and experience disappoints the expectation , the natural consequent is shame . at the last day , when the filthiness and folly of men shall be publish'd before god , and all the angels and saints , how much rather would they be hid in the darkness of their graves , than be clothed with confusion before that glorious and immense theatre ? the sorrowful confession of sin , with deep shame here , will prevent the exposing the sinner to publick shame hereafter . ( 4. ) confession must have concomitant with it , the judging our selves as unworthy of the least mercy , and deserving severe punishment . the apostle assures us , if we would judg our selves , we should not be judged . he does not say , if we are innocent we shall not be condemn'd , for then who can appear before the high and inlightned tribunal of heaven ? but if we acknowledg our guilt , and the righteousness of the sentence to which we are obnoxious , we shall be spared . we cannot satisfy god's justice , but we must glorify it : in this the admirable mercy of god appears . suppose a court on earth , wherein the rule of judgment were , that all the faults which the guilty confess and condemn themselves for , should be pardoned , and only those they conceal should be deadly to them ; how willingly and humbly would those who are conscious of many capital crimes , and are summon'd to appear , accuse themselves ? in the court of heaven , if we are faithful to god and our own souls , in the confessing our sins , and passing sentence upon our selves , we prevent his sentence against us . ( 5. ) prayer for pardon must be joined with the confession of sin : the lord is good , and ready to forgive , and plenteous in mercy unto all that call upon him . god who is rich in mercy , has appointed prayer as the means of our receiving it ; it being most honourable to him , that we should have a serious sense of our wants and unworthiness , and our absolute disability to supply them : and by our desires we should glorify his power and love , whereby he is all-sufficient and ready to bestow upon us his blessings . prayer for pardon must have these ingredients . 1 st . humility is the most becoming qualification of a suppliant to the high judg of the world , to reverse the sentence of eternal death . the deep apprehension of our guilt will humble us before his dreadful tribunal . 2 dly . fervency , which is the life of prayer . a cold prayer , the spiritless motion of the lips , is so far from inclining the divine mercy to pardon us , that it increases our guilt , and provokes god's displeasure . if our apprehensions were as real and quick of our spiritual wants as of our temporal , our prayers would be as ardent for supplies . our desires should be raised in the most intense degrees , in some proportion to the value of the blessing ; they should be strong , as our necessity to obtain it . the pardon of our sins is the effect of god's highest favour , of that love that is peculiar to his children , 't is the fruit of our saviour's bloody sufferings ; without it we are miserable for ever , and can we expect to obtain it by a formal superficial prayer ? it deserves the flower and zeal of our affections . how solicitous and vehement , and unsatisfied should we be , till we have the clear testimony that we are in a state of divine favour ? only fervent prayers are regarded by god , and recorded in heaven . we disvalue his pardon by our indifferency and faint desires . in our petitions for temporal things , our affections should be temperate , always mix'd with resign'd submission to the will and * wisdom of our heavenly father , who knows what is better for us than we do , and loves us better than we do our selves : but in praying for the pardon of our sins our affections should be inflamed , we should as it were offer violence to the king of heaven , and be unsatisfied without it . what ardent and repeated addresses were made by david for this great blessing : have mercy upon me , o lord , according to thy loving-kindness , according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgression . wash me throughly from mine iniquity , and cleanse me from my sin. purge me with hyssop , and i shall be clean : wash me , and i shall be whiter than snow . deliver me from blood-guiltiness , o god , thou god of my salvation . he prays as if the ghost of vriah were always in his view , covered with blood , and reproaching him for his treacherous cruelty . the affairs and pleasures of his kingdom could not divert and calm his spirit , till he was restored to the joyful sense of god's saving mercy . if it be said , that david's complicated sins were of a crimson guilt , and justly terrified his conscience with the apprehension of vengeance : i answer , 't is true , but supposing that preventing grace has kept us from sins of a high nature , whereby we should have incurr'd greater guilt , and been exposed to greater punishment , yet even the best men are in infinite need of pardoning grace ; for the least sin makes us guilty of eternal death , and the infinite number of our sins , tho according to the carnal conceits of men small , would be over-whelming . what is weaker than a drop of water , yet the sea that is a collection of innumerable drops of water , does often by an irresistible inundation drown the land. the wind is a collection of many vapours , which singly are of no force , yet it often tears up the strongest trees , and overthrows the firmest buildings . if the numerous sins of one man's life were set in order before his eyes , he would sink into the depths of despair , were not the divine mercy superabundant to our abounding sins . we must renew our requests for pardon every day : 't is more necessary than to pray for our daily bread. we contract new guilt every day : and as our saviour tells us , he that is washed needs to wash his feet , i. e. the sins of frailty and daily incursion must be purged away by serious repentance , and the application of the blood of christ , and our earnest prayer for pardon . 't is the cruel character of satan , he accuses the saints before god day and night : he is an ardent accuser , and watchful always to find matter to provoke god's displeasure against us . 't is therefore a duty of daily revolution , to pray for our pardon . besides , the neglect of seeking for the daily pardon of our offences against god , argues the despising his anger , and consequently the despising his love , which is infinitely provoking . we are commanded not to let the sun go down upon our wrath , much less upon god's . repentance is not an initial act of sorrow , but must be renewed all our lives . god's pardoning us is not a transient act , but continued , as conservation is a continued creation . prayer for pardon must be mix'd with faith in our blessed advocate , who ever lives to make intercession for us . if we could fill the air with our sighs , and heaven with our tears , we could not incline the righteous and holy god to pardon us : his justice is inflexible , and his pardoning mercy a sealed fountain ; 't is by the precious merits and mediation of his son we are reconciled to him . jesus christ is the same powerful compassionate saviour , yesterday , to day , and for ever . his obedient sufferings are of infinite value , and everlasting efficacy . lastly , confession of sin is a relative duty , and must be joined with forsaking of sin. the sharpest sorrow , the most confounding shame for sin , the strongest desires for mercy , without the forsaking of sin , are ineffectual . there must be a renouncing of sin in our hearts , a resolution firm and permanent against it , an avoiding the appearance and approaches of sin , and an actual leaving it . if it be said , 't is impossible we should preserve our selves from all sin : st. john tells us , if any man saith he has no sin , he is a liar , there is no truth in him . i answer , we must distinguish between sins : there are some , which while we are united to flesh , that is a principle of weakness , and are in this open state , surrounded with temptations , we cannot absolutely be freed from . such are sins of ignorance and inadvertence , and of sudden surreption : for grace is not bestowed in such a degree of eminence to the saints here , whereby they may obtain a clear and final victory over them : but if we pray , and watch , and strive against them , and mourn for their adherence to us , god will spare us as a father spares his son that serves him . and 't is a certain sign of our sincerity , if we are gradually cleansing our selves from them . if they grow and increase , 't is a sad indication : as 't is said , if a scald in the head spreads , 't is a leprosy . but there are sins of a more heinous nature , the not forsaking whereof excludes from heaven : such are enumerated by the apostle , the works of the flesh are manifest , adultery , fornication , vncleanness , lasciviousness , idolatry , witchcraft , hatred , variance , emulations , wrath , strife , seditions , heresies , envyings , murders , drunkenness , revellings , and such like : of the which i have told you in time past , that they which do such things , shall not inherit the kingdom of god. besides , if the love of any sin remains in the heart of a man , he cannot be justified here , nor glorified hereafter . an indulged sin , tho small in the matter , is great in the disposition of the sinner . in short , god requires sincere repentance , express'd in the confessing of our sins , not to inform him , for neither the solitude or secrecy wherein sin is committed , can hide us from his all-discerning eye : tho there is no witness to accuse and give evidence , nay if the sinner could extinguish his conscience , yet god will set the sins of men in order before them , and convince the guilty , he needed not their confession to discover them : but the humble ingenuous and sorrowful confession of sin is required , that his mercy may be more illustrious in the pardon of our sins , and that the sinner may fear to return to folly. and this confession must be attended with the forsaking of sins , in order to our pardon , because of his immutable perfections . a malefactor may justly be condemned for his crimes , and tho he remains impenitent and obstinate in evil , may be pardoned , because a temporal prince is capable of various apprehensions and passions , and may deflect from the rule of justice : but the judg of the world is unchangably righteous and holy , and cannot pardon sinners to the disparagement of his majesty , his purity and justice . 2. our pardoning the offences of others is an evangelical condition of our obtaining pardon : we are commanded , when ye stand praying , forgive if ye have ought against any : that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses . but if you do not forgive , neither will your father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses . the command is peremptory and universal , frequently and severely urged upon us by our saviour . the reasonableness and congruity of it is most evident , if we consider the disparity of the object , or the number of offences . our sins against god are relatively infinite , for his majesty and authority are truly infinite , which are despised and abused by the transgression of his laws : they are against all the duty and motives of justice and gratitude that oblige reasonable creatures to obey their maker . now the offences and injuries done to us are incomparably less : for we are mean creatures , far less in comparison to god , than a worm is to an angel ; and by our sins are viler than the earth . besides , the obligation that should restrain men from being injurious to us , are of infinitely a lower nature . the disparity in the number is very considerable . our sins against god are like the sand upon the sea-shore , their number is astonishing : our imaginations have been continually evil , from the dawning of our reason : but offences against us are comparatively few : for the variety of objects in the world often divert the thoughts and passions of our enemies from us . we owe to the lord 10000 talents , a vast sum that can never be paid if it be not forgiven , and shall we be unwilling to forgive a few pence ? what is more becoming than that we who want a great pardon , should give a little one ? the divine mercy is proposed as a model for our imitation . we must pardon intirely , and take no revenge for injuries done to us , but return love for hatred , good for evil , for so god does to us . we must not only forgive , but forget injuries in the sense of love : not like those who pardon in words , but retain the memory of offences , and upon a slight occasion renew their resentments . we must forgive great offences as well as small , and renew our pardon as often as offences are repeated , unless we will set bounds to the divine mercy . we must rejoice more in pardoning than in revenging injuries , and seek to be reconciled to those who are averse from us , for that is according to our pattern . 't is pretended , that by bearing a single injury , we expose our selves to a double injury : but we must imitate our heavenly father : if we do not follow him in forgiving , he will follow us in retaining our sins . the psalmist tells us , with the merciful god will shew himself merciful , but with the froward he will shew himself froward : a holy and righteous punishment in retaliation of their sinful disposition . the pardoning injuries is contrary to corrupt nature , and the duty is difficult , but the reward is infinite . tho it seems to vilify us , as if defective in our minds , not to understand injuries , or in courage not to repay them , which makes men hard to forgive ; yet upon calm consideration we shall esteem it a duty easy and honourable : for it prevents the inflaming our passions , and the troubling of our selves and others : 't is an act of royalty , and makes us superiour to them : 't is the noblest victory , and often conquers and changes an enemy into a friend . and above all motives this should recommend it to us , it seals our pardon from god , and conveys the most clear and comfortable sense of it to us : for , as the psalmist excellently argues , he that planted the ear , shall he not hear : he that formed the eye , shall he not see ? if we are by divine grace inclin'd and enabled to pardon frequent offences against us , shall not the god of all grace be ready to pardon our many offences against him ? our saviour reasons from the love of natural parents ; if you that are evil know how to give good things to your children , how much more shall your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those that ask it ? the illation is as strong in forgiving love. if we who are of an unforgiving nature sincerely forgive those who injure us , and restore them to our favour , how much more shall god who is love , forgive our sins , and be reconciled to us ? 4. the divine forgiveness should be a powerful motive to thankfulness . david addresses to his soul in an ardent and lively manner ; bless the lord , o my soul , and all that is within me bless his holy name . he excites every faculty , the understanding to consider and value the mercies of god , the memory to register them , and retain a thankful sense of them , the affections to celebrate them . he repeats the call , bless the lord , o my soul , and forget not all his benefits . we are apt to forget favours , and remember provocations . benefits are written in the dust , injuries are engraven in marble . but strong affections will make indelible impressions of thankfulness . if we duly consider the greatness and goodness of god , and our meanness and unworthiness , that we are less than the least of his mercies , we must be convinc'd every benefit we receive from god deserves to be remembred and acknowleged with serious thankfulness . that god draws a curtain of rest about us in the night , provides for us in the day , regards us with a compassionate eye , and relieves us in our wants and sorrows , should cause such deep affections as flow into outward declarations of praise . 't is true , our most solemn recognition of his benefits is but a poor duty compar'd with his immense bounty to us : our thanksgiving is an echo to god's mercies , that repeats a few syllables : what can our fading breath add to his blessedness and glory , that are in the highest degree of perfection , and truly infinite ? but 't is most reasonable , that as all our blessings flow from his mercy , they should fall into the sea of his glory : and when our souls bless him , he accepts our sincerity , and does not despise our thanksgivings for want of perfection . in the recounting god's benefits , the psalmist mentions in the first place the pardon of sin , who forgives all thy iniquities , as the principal and foundation of all the rest . this in a most powerful way enter'd into his heart , and kindled a sacred fire there . i will briefly shew , that the pardon of sin is so divine a benefit , that it deserves our most solemn thankfulness , and that it inclines and disposes the soul to that duty . 1 st . that the pardon of our sins deserves our most solemn thankfulness , will appear by an evident light , if we consider the nature and quality of the benefit , the means by which 't is obtain'd , the circumstances in the dispensing it , and the consequents . ( 1. ) the quality and the nature of the benefit . our blessedness consists in the forgiveness of our sins . david inspired from heaven declares , blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven , and whose sin is cover'd . the worst effect of sin is the separation between god and the soul. in his presence is fulness of joy , in his absence fulness of sorrow . go ye cursed , is as terrible a part of the sentence as the everlasting burning . hell is the element of sin and misery : wherein the fire made fierce with brimstone , and the undying worm of conscience , torment the wicked . now the pardon of sin secures us from the wrath of god , the supreme evil , and the cause of all other evils . besides , the love of god that pardons us is our sovereign good , and is the productive and conservative cause of all good : it bestows upon us celestial happiness , in comparison of which all the degrees of worldly honour , and power , and pleasure , and riches , are but dross and dung. the pardon of sin has inseparably annex'd to it the privilege of adoption , and a title to the kingdom of glory . our saviour declar'd to the apostle , that the end of the gospel is to open the eyes of men , and to turn them from darkness to light , that they may receive the forgiveness of sins , and an inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in me . god permitted the fall of man , to raise him to a more excellent and stable felicity . adam was dignified with dominion over the lower world , and seated a prince in paradise ; but his happiness depended upon his obedience , and that upon the freedom of his will , which proved a dangerous endowment by his abuse of it . he was foolish and fickle in the best state of nature : he affected an independent immortality , and being in honour , became like the beasts that perish . but the pardon of sin is the foundation of eternal happiness . those who are justified shall be glorified , and made equal to the angels , who are constant in good , as the devils are obstinate in evil. the blessed state above is secure and unforfeitable : the saints are uncapable of sinning and dying . ( 2. ) the means whereby our pardon is obtain'd . i shall not dare to determine , that god could not have pardon'd us by his sovereignty without satisfaction to his justice , but he has been pleased to save us in a way most honourable to himself , and comfortable to us . the psalmist tells us , according to the name of god , so is his praise . as his excellent attributes are manifest in his works , understanding creatures adore and celebrate them . the wisdom of god so gloriously appears in the way of our salvation , that the admiring angels praise him for ever . and the goodness of god is so conspicuous in saving us by christ , that our exuberant affections should be poured forth in thankfulness . the remission of our sins is by redemption in his blood. it was an expression of david's piety , that he would not serve god with that which cost him nothing , but purchase the sacrifice by a price : and it was the high expression of god's love , that he would not save us with that which cost him nothing , but with the sacred treasure of heaven , the precious blood of his son. besides , the guilty conscience has so quick a sense of god's revenging justice , that our assurance would not be so entire in his mercy , without satisfaction made by the sufferings of our blessed mediator . in this we have the advantage of david , who had not so clear a discovery of the means of our pardon , but a general knowledg of the forgiveness of sins ; yet that inspir'd such flaming affections into his breast , that he begins the eucharistical psalm for that mercy , and concludes it with bless the lord , o my soul : but we that have had jesus christ evidently set forth as crucified before our eyes , to reconcile god to us ; we to whom it is revealed , that the robe of our salvation is woven out of his bleeding bowels , in the same proportion as our knowledg of this mysterious mercy , our thankfulness should exceed his . if any do not with the most ardent affections acknowledg the mercy of forgiveness so dearly purchased , 't is an unhappy sign he has no interest in it . ( 3. ) the circumstances of dispensing our pardon . i shall consider two that make the divine mercy more glorious and worthy of our thankfulness . 1 st . that pardoning mercy was dispensed to us , notwithstanding our continued rebellions against god. a prince is sometimes induced to pardon a criminal , by the solicitations of his friends , and by his prayers and tears : but the divine goodness was the sole mover for us , and interposed between justice and our offences . instead of appeasing god by humble and mournful submission , and ardent addresses for mercy , we repeated the provocations of his displeasure every day . how long did he with unwearied patience wait to be gracious ? if after ten thousand denials of accepting his mercy , he had forsaken us , we had been as miserable as we are sinful . but notwithstanding our being inflexible to the innumerable calls of his word , impenetrable to the pure motion of his spirit , and insensible of his excellent goodness that leads sinners to repentance ; tho the love of heaven or fear of hell could not prevail with us to forsake our sins : when we were prepared for wrath , and averse and utterly indisposed for the receiving his mercy , then his grace , as free as omnipotent , gave us repentance unto life , and qualified us for pardon , and bestowed it upon us . the extenuation of our sins is inconsistent with the exaltation of grace : but the more humble we are in the deep sense of our guilt , the more thankful for the divine clemency . that god was pleased to crown us with loving-kindness and mercy , when a killing charge of innumerable offences was levell'd against us , o goodness , truly divine and infinite , and should accordingly affect us with admiration ! 2 dly . pardoning mercy distinguishes between sinners of equal guilt , and often saves those of greater guilt when others die eternally : this comparative heightens god's love and our thankfulness . how many are surpriz'd and cut off in a course of sin ? how many die without repentance , and are under a notorious necessity of perishing ? yet we that were as bad or worse , neither melted and made pliable by his goodness , nor better'd by his judgments , he spared , and by his grace cleansed and changed us , that we might partake of mercy . in this dispensation the question of the apostle may be put in its full force , who made thee to differ ? nothing within us , nothing without us , distinguish'd us from those that perish ; there were the same polluted principles in our hearts , and the same rebellious sins in our lives : only the mercy of god that has no moving cause but it self , made the difference . let the comparison be contracted between us and our associates in sin , and as the sun-beams concenter'd in a burning-glass , it will more inflame our thankful affections . how many that were joined in the commission of social sins , of intemperance , uncleanness , unrighteousness , and the like , are dead , and without the reserve of pardoning mercy , and some were rescued from damnation , as due to them as to the rest . at the last day when there shall be an everlasting separation between those at the right hand , and those at the left hand of the judg of the world , we shall understand the riches of grace that distinguish between us and the partners of our guilt : as by seeing us justified and received into glory , their sad exclusion will be aggravated to extremity ; so by seeing them doom'd to destruction for ever , the saving-grace of god to us will be more glorious . ( 4. ) the consequents of pardon in the present life deserve our most affectionate thankfulness . 1. the pardon of sins gives us a regular title to all temporal blessings , and the truest sweetness in their fruition . god is the universal and absolute proprietary of all things in this world , being made by his creating power , and continued by his preservative power . by our rebellious sins we were under a just deprivation of them . now the pardon of sin takes off the deadly forfeiture , and restores the use and benefit of temporal blessings to us . 't is true , god by his general bounty affords supplies to his enemies ; the sun rises with his chearful light , and the rain falls upon the just and vnjust ; and wicked men have a civil right to their possessions : but they are not the gifts of his special love to them . the prodigal was first pardon'd , and then entertain'd with a feast . the love of god gives a chearful tincture to all his benefits . 't is emphatically said , god , even our own god , shall bless us . as he is pleased to value and accept the meanest service that is mix'd with our affections to him : a cup of cold water that comes from the spring of love , shall have its reward : so his love raises the price of every blessing . the psalmist having set forth the riches , and prosperity , and peace of a kingdom , breaks forth , happy is the people that are in such a case . but he presently revokes it , and ascends with a gradation of light and force ; yea , happy is that people whose god is the lord ; who are in a state of divine favour . temporal blessings , if they are not the gifts of god reconciled to us in the redeemer , are snares that alienate the hearts of men from god , and foment their lusts , and prepare them for final destruction . the rich man had his good things here ; and was tormented after his sensual fruitions . a rebellious sinner is spared for a time , and punished for ever . the king of sodom was rescued from captivity by abraham , and reserved for destruction by a shower of fire and brimstone . 2. the pardon of our sins allays and mitigates all afflictions in the present state. the conscience of guilt mix'd with affliction , is like the poisoning a sword that makes it wound more deadly . the spirit of a man may bear temporal evils ; that is , by counsel and constancy may support himself under them ; but a wounded spirit who can bear ? conscience in anguish by the feeling of god's wrath for our sins , and fear of the extremity of it hereafter , is an intolerable evil. let the affliction be a light touch upon the outward man , yet when the afflicted person considers , that 't is sent from god as an enemy , and 't is the beginning of his wrath that is a consuming fire , he is dispirited and sinks under the weight of it . how can frail man encounter with offended omnipotence , sinful man conflict immediately with the holy god ? the sense of guilt makes a man a terror to himself , and consequently makes afflictions to be more piercing and dolorous . whereas when the soul is establish'd in the peace of god , it finds consolation in his pardoning love , superiour to all kinds and degrees of external evils that can afflict us here . 't is the happy privilege of the inhabitants of zion , the holy city , they shall not say they are sick , for their iniquities shall be forgiven . the divine comforter fortifies their faith in the promises of the blessed issue out of all their afflictions : all things work together for the good of those who love god. our love to god is the reflection of his love to us , that is powerful so to order all evils , that they shall harmoniously conspire to our eternal happiness . the impression of this in the spirits of god's children , makes them patient and submissive with resignation under all afflictions . 't is certain the fastening of the mind in contemplation of an excellent object , may cause so strong a diversion , that bodily pains are much mitigated . the martyrs , by the powerful impression of the glorious reward , seem'd to be in an extasy , without feeling in the midst of their cruel sufferings . the prophet habakkuk triumphantly declares , altho the fig-tree shall not blossom , neither shall fruit be in the vines : the labour of the olive shall fail , and the fields shall yield no meat : the flock shall be cut off from the fold , and there shall be no herd in the stalls . tho all the supports and comforts of life fail , yet i will rejoice in the lord , i will joy in the god of my salvation . joy is the affection of prosperity ; but as the scalding drops of god's wrath upon the conscience turn all the comforts of a man into torment , so the cordial drops of his love change afflictions into consolations . 3. i will shew that the pardon of our sins produces an excellent temper and disposition of soul to praise god. love to the benefactor , and joy in the benefit , are the incentives of thankfulness . they tune the heart and tongue in the musick of praise . when they are raised to a flame , they have a kind of charm , of rapture and extatick force , and transport the soul above it self in expressions of praise . these holy affections in the angels and saints above are in their exaltation : and the circle of their employment is , to acknowledg and admire , to reverence and magnify god , for his absolute excellencies , and his relative benefits . love and joy are regulated by their objects and motives . exceeding love and joy , when terminated on worldly things , are exceeding folly : they are empty and vanishing , a sudden blaze that dies in a moment . but the pardon of our sins infinitely endears god to us , and produces a substantial permanent joy. his love , tho our hearts be as hard as a rock , as cold and dead as the grave , will melt us , and kindle a holy heat of affection , a love singular and supreme to god , according to the excellency of the benefit . love will ingeminate the praises of god : thou art my god , i will praise thee : thou art my god , i will exalt thee . our joy in the benefit will be according to our extreme want of it , and the strength of our desires to obtain it . without the pardon of our sins , it had been better for us we had never been born ; or made in a lower rank of creatures uncapable of damnation . according to the conviction of the greatness of our misery , our longings will be for deliverance : the desire accomplish'd is a tree of life . the tree of life was in the midst of paradise , the centre of its pleasures . according to the degrees of our desires , such is the sweetness of fruition . now when the soul is overwhelm'd with the fearful apprehensions of everlasting death , how ardent are the desires of pardon ? how unsatisfied without it ? and what impressions of joy are felt from the sealing its pardon ? solomon tells us , that good news from a far country is like cooling water to one burnt up with thirst. how much more refreshing is the testimony of the blessed comforter from heaven , to one fainting in the estuations of conscience , that his sins are pardoned ? david expresses his valuation and earnest longing for the favour of god , and his joyful sense of it : there be many that say , who will shew us any good ? lord , lift up the light of thy countenance upon me : thou hast put gladness in my heart , more than in the time that their corn and wine increased : an inward cordial joy , that far exceeds the counterfeit joy in the countenance , that ends in heaviness . now the thankful sense of a benefit is correspondent to the joyful sense of it , and the joyful according to our languishing longing after it . fervent prayer for the pardoning mercy of god , and a frozen acknowledgment of it , are utterly inconsistent . there is no joy in the world so sensible and affecting , as the joy of one saved from present death . a condemned man values and rejoices more in receiving two lines where his pardon is contained , than in the conveyance of a kingdom . hezekiah , when under the sentence of death in his sickness , how passionate were his addresses for recovery ? how exuberant were his joy and thankfulness for his rescue from perishing ? the living , the living , he shall praise thee , as i do this day . he resolves to renew the praises of his gracious preserver every day : the lord saved me ; therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life , in the house of the lord. had he so quick and warm a sense of the divine mercy that saved him from the grave , how much more ardent should our acknowledgments be for the saving us from hell ? if we have the feeling of sin , as we have of sickness , and are as duly sensible how much the life of the soul , our excellent and immortal part , is to be preferred before the life of the frail and perishing body , our joy and thankfulness would be in the highest elevation , in remembring forgiving mercy . this will be the argument of the high and everlasting praise of god in heaven . i shall conclude with this advice , let us not content our selves with verbal acknowledgments of this real and glorious benefit : let our thanksgiving be joined with thanksdoing ; then we shall be accepted . of this we have the most comforting assurance from god himself ; he that offers praise glorifies me : and to him that orders his conversation aright , i will shew the salvation of god. finis . books writ by william bates , d.d. and sold by b. aylmer . the harmony of the divine attributes , in the contrivance and accomplishment of man's redemption by the lord jesus christ : or discourses wherein is shewed , how the wisdom , mercy , justice , holiness , power , and truth of god , are glorified in that great and blessed work. considerations of the existence of god , and of the immortality of the soul , with the recompences of the future state. to which is now added , the divinity of the christian religion , &c. the four last things , death and judgment , heaven and hell , practically considered and applied . the danger of prosperity discovered , in several sermons . the great duty of resignation in times of affliction , &c. a funeral-sermon on dr. thomas manton , who deceased october 18 , 1677. with the last publick sermon dr. manton preached . the sure trial of uprightness , opened in several sermons upon psal. 18. v. 23. a description of the blessed place and state of the saints above , on john 14.2 . preached at the funeral of mr. clarkson . the way to the highest honour , on john 12.26 . preached at the funeral of dr. jacomb . the speedy coming of christ to judgment , on rev. 22.12 . preached at the funeral of mr. benj. ashhurst . a sermon on the death of the late queen mary . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a26806-e100 ver. 3. isa. 43. mal. 3. mic. 7. psal. 86. rom. 8. rom. 10. psal. 32. luke 24. rom. 8. acts 5. jonah 2. jam. 3.10 . luke 2. 1 tim. 1. isa. 6. 2 cor. 5. phil. 3. ephes. 2. rom. 4. jer. 7.16 . hos. 14. 2 cor. 5. 1 john 1. heb. 6.18 . joh. 8.24 . hos. 11.8 . prov. 1. lam. 3. acts 11. ephes. 2. rom. 8. prov. 9. ult . john 5. gen. 6. ephes. 2. rom. 8. psal. 103. mich. 7. jer. 31.34 . heb. 9.14 . cor. 11. heb. 12. mal. 3. mic. 7. rom. 1. deut. 29. prov. 29. psal. 116. exod. 33. mic. 7. hos. 11. isa. 43.25 . 1 tim. 1. prov. 28.13 . alitur vitium , vivitque tegendo . psal. 32.2 . gen. 3.10 . exod. 32. 1 sam. 15.15 . jer. 31. psal. 73. * nam pro jucundis aptissimae , quaeque dabunt dii : charior est illis homo quam sibi . juven . lev. 5.13 . gal. 5. mark 11.25 , 26. psal. 103.1 , 2. psal. 32.1 . acts 26.18 psal. 48. 2 sam. 24.24 . isa. 33. ult . psal. 118. psal. 5. isa. 38.19 . ver. 20. psal. 50. ult .