thou; and in many, in the moft, it keeps its poffeffion, and will not be depofed. Nor indeed is it an eafy work fo to deal with it. The apoftle tells us, that all the facrifices of the law could not do it, Heb. x. 2. they could not bring a man into that eftate, wherein he fhould not have any confcience of fin, that is, confcience condemning the perfon; for confcience in a fenfe of fin, and condemnation of it, is never to be taken away. And this can be no otherwife done but by the blood of Chrift, as the apoftle at large there declares. It is then no eafy thing to make a difcovery of forgiveness unto a foul, when the work and employment which confcience, upon unquestionable grounds, challengeth unto itself, lies in oppofition unto it. Hence is the foul's great delire to establish its own righteoufnels, whereby its natural principles may be preferved in their power. Let felf-righteoufnefs be enthroned, and natural confcience defires no more, it is fatisfied and pacified. The law it knows, and righteoufnefs it knows, but as for forgivenefs, it fays, Whence is it? Uuto the utmost, until Chrift perfects his conqueft, there are on this account fecret ftrugglings in the heart against free pardon in the gofpel, and fluctuations of mind and fpirit about it; yea, hence are the doubts and fears of believers themselves, they are nothing but the strivings of conscience to keep its whole dominion, to condemn the finner as well as the fin: more or lefs it keeps up its pretenfions against the gofpel, whilft we live in this world. It is a great work that the blood of Chrift hath to do upon the confcience of a finner, for whereas, as it hath been declared, it hath a power, and claims a right, to condemn both fin and finner; the one part of this its power is to be cleared, ftrengthened, made more active, vigorous and watchful, the other to be taken quite away: It fhall now fee more fins than formerly, more of the vilenefs of all fins than formerly, and condemn them with more abhorrency than ever, upon more, and more glorious accounts than formerly; but it is alfo L 2 made made to fee an interpofition between these fins, and the perfon of the finner, who hath committed them, which is no fmall or ordinary work. Secondly, The law lies against this difcovery. The law is a beam of the holinefs of God himself, what it fpeaks unto us, it speaks in the name and authority of God; and I fhall briefly fhew concerning it thefe two things. ft, That this is the voice of the law, namely, that there is no forgivenefs for a finner. 2dly, That the finner hath great reafon to give credit to the law in that affertion. It is certain that the law knows neither mercy nor forgivenefs. The very fanction of it lies wholly against' them. The foul that finneth fhall die. Curfed is he that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them, Deut. xxvii. 26. Hence the apoftle pronounceth univerfally without exception, that they who are under the law, are under the curfe, Gal. iii 10. and, faith he, ver. 12. The law is not of faith. There is an inconfiftency between the law and believing, they cannot have their abode in power together. Do this and live, fail and die; is the conftant immutable voice of the law. This it speaks in general to all, and this in particular to every one. 2dly, The finner feems to have manifold and weighty reafons to attend to the voice of this law, and to acquiefce in its fentence. For, } 1. The law is co-natural to him, his domeftic, his old acquaintance; it came into the world with him, and hath grown up with him from his infancy; it was implanted in his heart by nature, is his own reafon, he can never shake it off, or part with it; it is his familiar, his friend, that cleaves to him as the flesh to the bone; fo that they who have not the law written, cannot but fhew forth the work of the law, Rom. ii. 14, 15. and that because the law itself is inbred to them, and all the faculties of the foul are at peace with it, in fubjection to it; it is the bond and ligament of their union, harmony, harmony, and correfpondency among themselves, in all their moral actings, it gives life, order, and motion to them all. Now, the gofpel that comes to controul this fentence of the law, and to relieve the finner from it, is foreign to his nature, a ftrange thing to him, a thing he hath no acquaintance or familiarity with, it hath not been bred up with him, nor is there any thing in him to fide with it, to make a party for it, or to plead in its behalf. Now, fhall not a man rather believe a domeftick, a friend, indeed himself, than a foreigner, a ftranger, that comes with uncouth principles, and fuch as fuit not its reafon at all? I Cor. i. 18. 2. The law fpeaks nothing to a finner, but what his confcience affures him to be true; there is a conftant concurrence in the teftimony of the law and confcience. When the law fays, this or that is a fin worthy of death, fays, it is even fo, Rom. i. 42. And where the law, of itfelf, as being a general rule, refts, confcience helps it on, and fays, this and that fin, fo worthy of death, the foul is guilty of; then die, faith the law, as thou haft deferved. Now, this must needs have a mighty efficacy to prevail with the foul to give credit to the report and teftimony of the law, it fpeaks not one word, but what he hath a witnefs within himself to the truth of it. Thefe witneffes always agree, and fo it seems to be established for a truth, that there is no forgiveness. 3. The law, tho' it fpeaks against the foul's intereft, yet it fpeaks nothing but what is fo juft, righteous, and equal, that even it forceth the foul's free confent. So Paul tells us, that men know this voice of the law to be the judgment of God, Rom. i. 32. They know it, and cannot but confent unto it, that it is the judgment of God, that is, good, righteous, equal, not to be controuled. And, indeed, what can be more righteous than its fentence? It commands obedience to the God of life and death, promiseth a reward, and declares, that for non-performance of duty, death will be inflicted. On thefe terms the finner cometh into the world, they are good, righteous, holy, the foul accepts of them, and knows knows not what it can defire better, or more equal. This the apostle infifts upon, Rom. vii. 12, 13. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment hely, and just and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid; but fin, that it might appear fin, working death in me, by that which is good; that fin by the commandment might become exceeding finful. Whereever the blame falls, the foul cannot but acquit the law, and confefs that what it fays is righteous and incontroulably equal, and it is meet things fhould be fo. Now, though the authority and credit of a witnefs may go very far in a doubtful matter, when there is a concurrence of more witneffes it ftrengthens the teftimony; but nothing is fo prevalent to beget belief, as when the things themselves that are spoken are juft and good, not liable to any reasonable exception. And fo it is in this case: Unto the authority of the law, and concurrence of confcience, this is alfo added, the reasonablenefs and equity of the thing itself propofed, even in the judgment of the finner, namely, that every fin fhall be punished, and every tranfgreffion receive a meet recompence of reward. 4. But yet farther. What the law fays, it fpeaks in the name and authority of God; what it fays then must be believed, or we make God a liar. It comes not in its own name, but in the name of him who appointed it : You will then fay, Is it fo indeed? Is there no forgivenefs with God? for this is the conftant voice of the law, which, you say, speaks in the name and authority of God, and is therefore to be believed. I, anfwer briefly with the apostle, What the law fpeaks, it fpeaks to them that are under the law. It doth not fpeak to them that are in Chrift, whom the law of the Spirit of life bath fet free from the law of fin and death; but to them that are under the law it fpeaks, and it fpeaks the very truth, and it fpeaks in the name of God, and its teftimony is to be received. It fays there is no forgiveness in God, namely, to them that are under the law; and they that fhallatter themselves with a contrary per fuafion, fuafion, will find themfelves greatly mistaken at the great day. On thefe and the like confiderations, I fay, there feems to be a great deal of reafon, why a foul should conclude, that it will be according to the teftimony of the law, and that he fhall not find forgivenefs. Law and confcience close together, and infinuate themselves into the thoughts, mind, and judgment of a fianer. They ftrengthen the teftimony of one another and greatly prevail. If any are otherwife minded, I leave them to the trial: If ever God awaken their confciences to a thorough performance of their duty, if ever he open their fouls, and let in the light and power of the law upon them, they will find it no fmall work to grapple with them. I am fure, that eventually they prevail fo far, that, in the preaching of the gofpel, we have great caufe to fay, Lord, who hath believed our report? We come with our report of forgivenefs, but who believes it? by whom is it received? Neither doth the light, nor confcience, nor converfation of the moft, allow us to fuppofe it is embraced. Thirdly, The ingrafted notions that are in the minds of men, concerning the nature and juftice of God, ly against this discovery alfo. There are in all men by nature indelible characters of the holiness and purity of God, of his juftice and hatred of fin, of his invariable righteousness in the government of the world, that they can neither depofe nor lay afide. For notions of God, whatever they are, will bear fway and rule in the heart when things were put to the trial; they were in the heathens of old, they abode with them in all their darknefs, as might be manifested by innumerable inftances. But fo it is in all men by nature: Their inward thought is, that God is an avenger of fin, that it belongs to his and government of the world, his holiness and righteoufnefs, to take care that every fin be punished. This is his judgment, which all men know, as was observed before, Rom. i. 32. They know, that it is a righteous thing with God to render tribulation unto finners. From rul thence |