as it doth most naturally flow from the fenfe of Sin, and of a Pardon impetrated by Chrift, fo by the Divine Inftitution it is required to apply that Pardon actually to the Soul; and it is a high Mercy of God to grant it for the asking; and an Argument of a Proud unbelieving Heart to think to have it without: and whenfoever the Spirit and the Word of God hath wrought in a Man a belief of and in the Sacrifice of Chrift, the fame Spirit doth work in the Heart a defire of it, which is nothing else but the Prayer of the Mind; for it maketh interceffion according to the Will of God, Rom. 8. 27. And herein we therefore fee two things: 1. Our Duty. Our Sins are many, and daily, even after we have given up our Names to Chrift. If we fay we have no Sin, we deceive our felves, 1 John 1. 8. And though meritoriously Chrift hath fatisfied for thofe very Sins, yet we are to have often recourfe to this Sacrifice, fetch our cure and our cleanfing in the actual application of this Sacrifice unto us. Had a Man been bitten by a fiery Serpent he might look upon the brazen Serpent and live; and had he been bitten again, he muft have looked again, or elfe he had died: it is fo with us, only here is the odds; the Man that had been once cured, if bitten again, might perchance not have looked again upon the Serpent, and fo have died: but it is otherwife here; the fame Principle of Life, that abiding Seed, I John 3. 8. that did at firft make him to feek and fue to Chrift for his first actual Pardon, will after a fall, a renewed Sin, fend the Soul to this Fountain for a new act of application of that cleanfing and pardoning: he cannot commit Sin, that is, lye in it, without recourse to God for Pardon, because bis Seed abideth in him, 1 John 2. 8. 2. Our Privilege. If any Man Sin, we have an Advocate, 1 John 2. I. an Advocate that knows the mind of our Judge, and out of that knowledge hath taught us,, as often, as we beg our Bread, to beg our Pardon, and that with affurance that we shall be heard, if we do it in Faith and Sincerity; 1 John 1.9. He is Faithful and KK 4 Just Just to forgive. It is the Proclamation of his Name, Exod. 34. 7. Forgiving Iniquity, Tranfgreffion, and Sin. It is his Promife, Jer 31. 34. Jer. 33.8. I will forgive their Iniquity, and remember their Sin no more; Even to a revolting and backfliding Creature, upon true Repentance: Ifaiah 56. 7. Let the wicked forfake his way, and the unrighteous man bis thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Jer. 3. 12. Return thou backfliding Ifrael, and I will not caufe mine anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, faith the Lord, and will not keep Anger for ever; only acknowledge thine Iniquity. Chrift came into the World to restore in Man the loft Image of God. And when Peter asked him, Matth. 18. 21. How oft fhall my Brother fin against me, and I forgive him? till feven times? Jefus (aid unto him, I fay not unto thee, till feven times, but till Seventy times feven times. And furely that Mercy that Chrift required in a poor mortal Man, is infinitely fuller in the merciful God, who delights in Mercy and Forgivenefs: Only remember, 1. To take heed of Prefumptucus Sins, Premeditated Sins, Sins against knowledge, and against convictions, Sins with a prefuppofition of Pardon, Deut. 29. 19. That Shall bless himself in his beart, faying, Ifhall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart. The Lord will not fpare him. Thefe, though they cannot exceed the Mercy of God to Pardon them, they many times fhut and feal up the Soul against Pardon, hard'ning the heart to a great difficulty, if not a final impoffibility of Repentance; and by that means the Soul is difabled with any comfortable ground or affurance to beg Pardon, without the great Mercy of God to foften that heart again. 2. Make a frequent and serious Examination of thy paft Actions; measure them by the Rule of the Word of God; and find out that accurfed thing, whatfoever it be, that is difpleafing to him: fo that, as much as may be, thou may'ft diftinctly, and with reference to particular fins, or faults, or failings, pray over this Petition. There is not a day, but by a wary obfervation thou wilt not only 511 find a general indiftinct diftemper, which is to be the fubject of this request; but particular, special, eminent Evils, that deferve a particular reflection upon them, in the repetition of this Petition. Let us Search and try our ways, and turn to the Lord our God: And to this end, 3. Endeavour to keep thy Confcience always Wakeful, Vigilant, Tender; be content to liften to her Chidings; fhe feldom quarrels without a caufe: but fuppreffing, checking, and ftifling the language of Confcience, makes her at laft either fullen, or fenflefs, or outragious. A vigilant Confcience will prevent thee from many fins; but if it do not, it will tell thee of them, and bring thee прon thy knees, and make this Petition feasonable, and a Pardon gotten thereupon acceptable and comfortable. For how can that Man, with any fenfe beg Pardon for a fin, when he scarce finds himself fenfibly guilty of any? This Petition is delivered up but carelefly, and coldly, and fruitlefly, by fuch a perfon. 4. Give God the Honour of his Juftice, even when thou fueft for the benefit of his Mercy, in aggravations to thy fins to the due height; in owning damnation and utter rejection as the juft reward of every fin, humble thy Soul truly and deeply for it. This will make thy Prayer earneft, and thy Pardon dear; it gives to God the Honour of his Juftice, and the Glory of his Mercy, which is all the Tribute thou canst pay unto him for his free Goodness, in giving thee that Pardon, without which thou wert eternally loft. 5. Give thy Mediator the Honour and End of thy Redemption. Thy Saviour died, it is true, to obtain thy Pardon; But wilt thou continue in fin, that Grace may abound? fin, that thou mayeft be pardoned? and renew thy fins, that God may renew his Pardon? God forbid. Thou doft, as much as in thee lyeth, difappoint the End of Chrift's Death, who therefore died, that he might redeem unto himself a Peculiar People, zealous of Good Works. Let the Begging of thy Pardon be ever accompanied with a refolution not to offend again; otherwife God, that fees thy heart, looks upon thy asking of Pardon, Pardon, as a higher, and more impudent, and prefumptous fin, than that which thou feemeft to beg the forgiveness of. 6. Upon the discovery of any particular Sin, which in a fpecial manner concerns thee, beware of these things; 1. Sleeping in it, without recourse to God for Pardon for it; or flipping over it in the Prayer without a particular Animadverfion upon it. Be content to open this Sore: the longer it is kept covered, the worse it is. Thou mayeft know that every fin is writtten before God with a point of a Diamond; and though thou art contented to forgive it, or by incurfion of time to wear out the remembrance, or at least the horror of it; yet it is -written, and thou fhalt be fure to hear of it; and the longer it continues, the harder thy heart grows; and the deeper doth the Canker and Stain of that Sin work and fpread into thy Soul; and the more difficult is thy Pardon obtained, and yet the lefs earneftly fought. It is a fecret Curfe in thy Bofom, that makes all thy Services to God unacceptable and unfavory; and who can tell when the Decree may come out, when this fin will ripen into an eminent Judgment? Therefore clear thy account with God betimes; let not the guilt of a Sin lye long upon thy Confcience, but make thy Peace betimes; fue out thy Pardon speedily. Thou knoweft not what a day may bring forth. 2. Yet after Sin freshly committed, fall not prefently to beg thy Pardon, till thoù haft humbled thy Heart, and put it into a fit frame to come into the prefence of God; till thou haft got a fense that it is an evil thing and a bitter to depart from him; till thou haft crept to thy Saviour's Feet for his Blood to wash thee, and for his Righteousness to cover thee, and for his Mediation to bring thee, otherwife a defiled, polluted Creature, into his Father's prefence, under his Patronage; till thou haft mourned over him whom thou haft pierced; and been afhamed before him of thy mifcarriage; and acted thy Faith upon his All-fufficient fatisfaction; till thou haft taken up Refolutions of future amendment: and then then in the Name and Mediation of thy Saviour fall upon thy knees, and beg thy Pardon. As we forgive our Debtors, Luke 12. For we forgive our Debtors. Here we Learn, 1. That it is our Duty to forgive others, Matth. 18.21, 22. upon their repentance: Luke 17. 4. If be trefpafs against thee feven times in a day, and feven times in a day turn to thee, faying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him: and that upon thefe Confiderations: 1. From that conformity that is or fhould be in our Nature to the Nature of God: he is flow to anger, and of Great Mercy, Pfalm 145. 8. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and paffeth by the tranfgreffions of the remnant of his heritage He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in Mercy, Micah 7. 18. And Chrift coming to renew the broken Image of God in Man, and to renew him after the Image of him that created him, doth injoyn and imprint this part of the Divine Image, Luke 6. 36. Be ye merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful. And Mercy in the Heart is that excellent habit from whence forgiveness proceeds. And hence it is, that where the Spirit of Chrift comes, it affimilates the Nature to that dif pofition, Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the Spirit is Long-fuffering, Gentleness, Meekness. 2. From that great Commandment enjoyned by God in the Moral Law, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy felf. And much more inforced under the New Covenant, even to the Love of our very Enemies, Matth. 5. 44. I say unto you, Love your Enemies; and confequently forgive your Enemies, for Love is that affection that produceth Pardon; and this injunction lyes upon us under the fame obligation whereby we are bound to love our Brethren; for the Love we owe to God is that grand Obligation that binds to whatsoever he commands, John 14. 15. If ye love me, keep my commandments; Therefore if ye love me, love, and pity, and pardon your Enemies. 3. From that great Equity and Reafon, the proportion of God's dealing with us, Matth. 18.22. Ifor gave thee all that debt because thou defiredft me; shouldeft not thou |