Page images
PDF
EPUB

The other is gracious, merciful and tender; whence so many things are fpoken of his mercifulness, and faithfulness, to encourage us to expect forgiveness from him.

This alfo adds to the myfterious depths of forgivenefs; and makes its difcovery a great matter. The foul that looks after it in earnest, must confider what it cost. How light do moft men make of pardon? What an easy thing is it, to be acquainted with it? And no very hard matter to obtain it. But to hold communion with God, in the blood of his Son, is a thing of another nature than is once dreamed of by many, who think they know well enough what it is to be pardoned. God is merciful, is a common faying, and as common, to defire he would be fo for Chrifl's jake. Poor creatures are caft into the mould of fuch expreffions, who know neither God, nor mercy, nor Chrift, nor any thing of the mystery of the gofpel Others look on the outside of the cross, to fee into the mystery of the love of the Father, working in the blood of the Mediator, to confider by faith the great tranfaction of divine wisdom, juftice, and mercy therein, how few attain unto it? To come unto God, by Christ, for forgivenefs, and therein to behold the law ffuing all its threats and curfes in his blood, and lofing its fting, putting an end to its obligation unto punishment, in the crofs; to fee all fins gathered up in the hands of God's juftice, and made to meet on the Mediator, and eternal love fpringing forth triumphantly from his blood, flourishing into pardon, grace, mercy, forgivenefs. This the heart of a finner can be enlarged unto, only by the Spirit of God.

FOURTHLY, There is in forgiveness, free condonation, discharge, or pardon, according to the tenor of the gofpel; and this may be confidered two ways.

First, As it lies in the promise itself; and fo it is God's gracious declaration of pardon to finners, in and by the blood of Christ his covenant to that end and purpose; which is variously proposed, according as he

knew

knew needful for all the ends and purposes of ingenerating faith, and communicating that confolation which he intends therein.

This is the law of his grace, the declaration of the mystery of his love, before infifted op.

Secondly, There is the bringing home, and application of all this mercy to the foul of a finner by the Holy Ghost, wherein we are freely forgiven all our trefpales, Col. ii. 13.

Gofpel-forgiveness, I fay, refpects all these things, thefe principles, they have all an influence into it. And that which makes this more evident, wherewith I fhall close this confideration of the nature of it, is, that faith, in its application of itself unto God about and for forgiveness, doth diftin&tly apply itfelf unto, and close with, fometimes one of these severally and fingly, fometimes another, and fometimes jointly takes in the confideration of them all exprefly. Not that at any time it fixes on any or either of them exclufively to the others, but that eminently it finds fome fpecial encouragement at some season, and fome peculiar attractive from fome one of them, more than from the reft; and then that proves an inlet, a door of entrance, unto the treasures that are laid up in the rest of them. Let us go over the feverals by instances.

ft, Sometimes faith fixes upon the name and infinite goodness of the nature of God, and draws out forgivenefs from thence. So doth the pfalmist, Pfal. lxxxvi. 6. Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive He rolls himself, in the purfuit and expectation of pardon, on the infinite goodnefs of the nature of God. So Neh. ix. 17. Thou art a God of pardons, or ready to forgive; of an infinite, gracious, loving nature, not fevere and wrathful; and this is that which we are encouraged unto, Ifa. l. 10. to stay on the name of God, as in innumerable other places.

And thus faith oftentimes finds a peculiar sweetness and encouragement in and from the confideration of God's gracious nature. Sometimes this is the first thing

that

that it fixes on, and fometimes the last that it refts in; and oft-times it makes a stay here, when it is driven from all other holds: It can fay, however it be, yet God is gracious, and at leaft make that conclufion which we have from it, Joel. ii. 13, 14. God is gracious and merciful, who knoweth but he will return. And when faith hath well laid hold on this confideration, it will not eafily be driven from its expectation of relief and forgivenefs, even from hence.

2dly, Sometimes the foul by faith addreffeth itself in a peculiar manner to the fovereignty of God's will; whereby he is gracious to whom he will be gracious, and merciful to whom he will be merciful, which, as was fhewed, is another confiderable fpring or principle of forgiveness. This way David's faith fteered him in his great ftrait and perplexity, 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26. If I fhall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again; but if he thus fay, I have no delight in thee, behold here am I, let him do unto me as feemeth good unto him. That which he hath in confideration is, Whether God have any delight in him or no? that is, whether God would graciously remit and pardon the great fin against which, at that time, he manifefted his indig nation. Here he lays himself down before the fovereign grace of God, and awaits patiently the discovery of the free act of his will concerning him; and at this door, as it were, enters into the confideration of those other fprings of pardon, which faith enquires after, and clofeth withal. This fometimes is all the cloud that appears' to a diftreffed foul, which after a while fills the heavens by the addition of the other confiderations mentioned, and yields plentifully refreshing showers. And this condition is a fin-intangled foul oft-times reduced unto, in looking out for relief, it can difcover nothing but this, that God is able, and can, if he graciously please, relieve and acquit him. All other fupportments, all fprings of relief are fhut up, or hid from him. The fprings indeed may be nigh, as that was to Hagar, but their eyes are withheld, that they cannot fee them. Wherefore,

Wherefore they caft themselves on God's fovereign pleasure, and fay with Job, Though he flay us, we will put our trust in him, we will not let him go. In ourfelves we are loft, that is unquestionable; how the Lord will deal with us we know not, we fee not our figns and tokens any more, evidences of God's grace in us, or of his love and favour unto us, are all out of fight. To a prefent fpecial intereft in Chrift we are ftrangers; and we ly every moment at the door of eternity; what courfe fhall we take, what way fhall we proceed? If we abide at a distance from God, we fhall affuredly perifh: Who ever hardened himself against him and profpered? Nor is there the least relief to be had but from and by him : For who can forgive fins but God? We will then bring our guilty fouls into his prefence, and attend the pleafure of his grace, what he speaks concerning us, we will willingly fubmit unto. And this fometimes proves an anchor to a toffed foul, which, though it gives not reft and peace, yet it faves it from the rock of defpair. Here it abides until light do more and more break forth up

on it

3dly, Faith dealing about forgivenefs, doth commonly eye, in a peculiar manner, its relation to the mediation and blood of Chrift. So the apoftle directs, 1 John 2. If any man fin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our fins. If any one hath finned, and is in depths and entanglements about it, what courfe fhall he tak, how fhall he proceed to obtain deliverance? why, be muft unto God for pardon: But what fhall he rely ut on to encourage him in his fo doing? Saith the apoftle, Confider by faith the atonement and propitiation made for fin by the blood of Chrift; and that he is ftill purfuing the work of love, to the fuing out of pardon for us, and reft thy foul thereon. This, 1 fay, moft commonly is that which faith, in the first place, immediately fixes on.

4thly, Faith eyes actual pardon or condonation. So God propofeth it as a motive to further believing, Ifa.

xliv. 22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy tranfgreffions, and as a cloud thy fins; return unto me, for I have redeemed thee. Actual pardon of fin is propofed to faith, as an encouragement unto a full returning unto God in all things, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. And the like may be faid of all the other particulars which we have infifted on. There is not any of them, but will yield peculiar relief unto a foul dealing with God about forgiveness, as having fome one fpecial concernment or other of forgivenefs inwrapped in them. Only, as I faid, they do it not exclufively, but are the fpecial doors, whereby believing enters into the whole. And these things muft be spoken unto afterwards.

Let us now take along with us, the end for which all thefe confiderations have been infifted on. It is to manifeft, that a real difcovery of gofpel-forgiveness, is a matter of greater confequence and importance than at first proposal, it may be, it appeared unto fome to be. Who is not in hopes, in expectation of pardon? who thinks not that they who know well enough, at leaft what it is, if they might but obtain it? But men may have general thoughts of impunity, and yet be far e nough from any faving acquaintance with gospel-mercy.

Forgiveness discovered, or revealed only to faith.---Reasons thereof.

[ocr errors]

For a close of this discourse, I fhall only add what is included in that propofition which is the foundation of the whole; namely, "That this difcovery of forgive"nefs is, and can be made to faith alone." The nature of it is fuch, as that nothing elfe can discover it, or receive it. No reafonings, no enquiries of the heart of man can reach unto it. That guefs or glimpfe which the heathens had of old of fomewhat fo called, and which falfe-worshippers have at prefent, is not the forgiveness we infift upon, but a mere imagination of their own hearts.

This the apoftle informs us, Rom. i. 17. The righte

oujnefs

« PreviousContinue »