that is, as a God of mercy and pardon as the Son reveals him. Adam had an intimate acquaintance, according to the limited capacity of a creature, with the properties and excellencies of the nature of God. It was implanted in his heart, as indifpenfibly neceffary unto that natural worship, which, by the law of his creation, he was to perform; but when he had finned, it is evident, that he had not the leaft apprehenfion that there was forgiveness with God. Such a thought would have laid a foundation of fome farther treaty with God about his condition. But he had no other defign but of flying and biding himself, Gen. iii. 10. fo declaring that he was utterly ignorant of any fuch thing as pardoning mercy. Such, and no other, are all the first or purely natural. conceptions of finners, namely, that it is xar, the judgment of God, Rom. i. 32. that fin is to be punished with death. It is true, thefe conceptions in many are ftifled by rumours, reports, traditions, that it may be otherwife; but all thefe are far enough from that revelation of forgivenefs, which we are enquiring after.

Secondly, The confideration of the works of God's creation, will not help a man to this knowledge, that there is forgivenefs with God. The apoftle tells us, Rom. i. 20. what it is of God that his works reveal, even his eternal power and Godhead, or the effential properties of his nature, but no more; not any of the purposes of his grace; not any of the free acts of his will; not pardon and forgiveness. Befides, God made all things in fuch an eftate and condition, namely, of rectitude, integrity, and uprightnefs, Eccl. vii. 29. that it was impoffible they fhould have any respect unto fin, which is the corruption of all, or to the pardon of it, which is their reftitution, whereof they stand in no need. There being no fuch thing in the world, as a fin, nor any fuch thing fuppofed to be, when all things were made of nothing, how could any thing declare or reveal the forgiveness of it.

Thirdly, No works of God's providence can make this difcovery, God hath indeed born teftimony to himself

and

139 and his goodness in all ages, from the foundation of the world, in the works of his providence: So Acts xiv. 15, 16, 17. We preach unto you, that you should turn from thefe vanities, unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the fea, and all things that are therein; who in times paft fuffered all nations to walk in their own ways: Nevertheless, be left not himself without witnefs, in that he did good, and gave us rain from hea. ven, and fruitful seafons, filling our heart with food and gladness: x tupov iavlov apke, he left not himself without witness, that is, by the works of his providence there recounted, he thus far bore teftimony to himself, that he is, and is good, and doth good, and ruleth the world; fo that they were utterly inexcufable, who, taking no notice of thefe works of his, nor the fruits of his good nefs, which they lived upon, turned away after rà μáraiz, vain things, as the apoftle there calls the idols of the Gentiles. But yet thefe things did not difcover pardon and forgivenefs. For God ftill fuffered them to go on in their own ways, and winked at their ignorance: So again, Acts xvii. 23. 24, 25, 26, 27. Whom you ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world, and all things therein, feeing that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worthipped with mens hands, as though he needeth any thing, feeing he giveth unto all, life and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth where, by the way, there is an allution to that. of Gen. xi. 28. the Lord (cattered them abroad on all the face of the earth) and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, that they Should feek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, tho' he be not far from every one of us. By arguments taken from the works of God both of creation and providence, the apoftle proves the being, the properties of God. Yea, he lets them know with whom he had to do, that God defigned by his works. fo far to reveal himself unto them, as the true and living God, S 2

the

the maker and governor of all things, as that they ought to have enquired more diligently after him, and not to look on him alone as the unknown God, who alone might be known; all their idols being vain and nothing. But of the discovery of pardon and forgiveness in God, by thefe ways and means he speaks not; yea, he plainly fhews that this was not done thereby. For the great call to faving repentance, is by the revelation of forgiveness. But now, by these works of his providence. God called not the Gentiles to faving repentance. No, faith he, he fuffered them to walk ftill in their own ways, chap. xiv. 16. and winked at the times of their ignorance; but now, that is by the word of the gospel, commanded them to repent, chap. xvii. 30.

SECONDLY, Whereas there had been one fignal act of God's providence about fin, when man firft fell into the fares of it; it was fo far from the revealing forgiveness in God, that it rather feverely intimated the contrary. This was God's dealing with finning angels. The angels were the first finners; and God dealt first with them about fin. And what was his dealing with them, the Holy Ghoft tells us, 2 Pet. ii 4. ayyirwv åμapryGavтav ix ipccare, be spared not the finning angels. He ipared them not, is the fame word which he ufeth, where he fpeaks of laying all our iniquities on Chrift, he unde going the punishment due unto them, Rom viii. 32. Ex iqeoaro, be spared him not; that is, he laid on him the fuli punishment, that by the curfe and fanction of the law, was due unto fin. So he dealt with the angels that finned; he fpared them not, but inflicted on them the punishment due unto fin, fhutting them up under chains of darknefs for the judgment of the great day. Hitherto then God keeps all thoughts of forgiveness in his own eternal bofom. There is not fo much as the leaft dawning of it upon the world. And this was at first no small prejudice against any thoughts of forgivenefs. The world is made, fin enters by the most glorious part of the creation, whofe recovery by pardon

might feem more defireable, but not the leaft appearance of it is difcovered. Thus it was hid in God from the foundation of the world, Eph. iii. 9.

THIRDLY, God gave unto man a law of obedience immediately upon his creation; yea, for the main of it, God implanted it in him, by, and in, his creation. This law, it was fuppofed, man might tranfgrefs. The very nature of a law prefcribed unto free agents, attended with threatnings and promifes of reward, requires that fuppofition. Now, there was not annexed to this law, or revealed with it, the leaft intimation of pardon to be obtained, if tranfgreffion fhould enfue. Gen. ii. 17. we have this law, In the day thou eatest, thou shalt furely die: Dying thou fhalt die; or bring upon thyfelf affuredly the guilt of death temporal and eternal. There God leaves the finner under the power of that commination. Of forgivenefs, or pardoning mercy, there is not the least intimation. To this very day, that law, which was then the whole rule of life and acceptance with God, knows no fuch thing. Dying thou shalt die, O finner, is the precife and final voice of it. From these previous confiderations, added to what was formerly fpoken, fome things preparatory to the ensuing discourse may be inferred: As,

First, That it is a great and rare thing to have forgiveness in God difcovered unto a finful foul. A thing it is, that, as hath been fhewed, confcience and law, with the inbred notions that are in the heart of man about God's holinefs and vindictive juftice, do ly against. A matter whereof we have no natural prefumption; whereof there is no common notion in the mind of man. A tning which no confideration of the works of God, either of creation or providence will reveal, and which the great inftance of God's dealing with finning ar gels, renders deep, admirable and myfterious. Men who have common and flight thoughts of God, of themfelves, of fin, of obedience, of the judgment to come, of eternity, that feed upon the afhes of rumours, reports,

ports, hearfays, traditions, without looking into the reality of things, may, and do take this to be an ordinary and acknowledged truth, easy to be entertained, which, upon the matter, no man disbelieves. But convinced finners, who make a trial of these things as running into eternity, have other thoughts of them. And as to that which is pretended every one believes, we have great cause to cry out, Lord, who hath believed our report, to whom hath this arm of the Lord been revealed?

Secondly, That the difcovery of forgivenefs in God, being a matter of fo great difficulty, is a thing precious and excellent, as being the foundation of all our communion with God here, and of all undeceiving expectation of our enjoyment of him hereafter. It is a pure gofpel truth, that hath neither fhadow, footstep, nor intimation elsewhere, the whole creation hath not the leaft obfcure impreffion of it left thereon; fo that,

Thirdly, It is undoubtedly greatly incumbent on us to enquire diligently, as the prophets did of old, into this falvation; to confider what fure evidences faith hath of it, fuch as will not, as cannot fail us. To be flight and common in this matter, to take it up at random, is an argument of an unfound rotten heart. He that is not ferious in his enquiry into the revelation of this matter, is ferious in nothing wherein God or his foul is concerned. The Holy Ghost knows what our frame of heart is, and how flow we are to receive this bleffed truth in a gracious faving manner. Therefore doth he confirm it unto us with fuch weighty confiderations, as Heb. vi. 17, 18. God willing more abundantly to fhew unto the heirs of promife the immutability of his counfel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impoffible for God to lie, we might have strong confolation. It is of forgiveness of fin that the apoftle treats, as hath been made evident by this defcription of it before given. Now, to give evidence hereunto, and to beget a belief of it in us, he firft engages a property of God's nature in that business. He with whom we deal, is ----as Tit. i. 2. The God that cannot lie, that

cannot