Part III (continued, part 4)
off; we wonder at ourselves that God did not cut us off before this, when once our eyes are opened ; nay, then, cast your eyes over all the world, and stand amazed at God s forbearance towards it. Take the richest man that ever was, to have millions of men in his debt, it would undo him soon. All
the world are in God s debt, and run still in debt every day more and
more, and yet he breaks not, nay, breaks not them.
[3.J Nay, thirdly, to manifest this abundance yet more, consider not only the multitude he forbears, but the time he hath done it, to forbear much and
to forbear it long. He hath forborne and been out of purse from the begin ning of the world, since men were upon the face of the earth, five thousand
years and a half already, and how long it is yet to the day of judgment we know not. And yet ye see, he is as patient and as bountiful now in the
latter days of the world as he was at the first. Did that greatest convert
that ever was, that had not lived past thirty years in his sinful estate (for he was young when he held the stoners clothes that stoned Stephen), and
yet was the chiefest of sinners, did he yet, as himself says, think himself
a pattern of longsuffering, 1 Tim. i. 16, thought it a great matter God
should forbear so long ? What is the whole world then ? If he, being but one small, poor vessel, was so richly laden with the riches of God s
patience, how is this great bark of the world then fraught that hath gone
over so vast a gulf of time ? How much of these his riches have been
laden in it ?
[4.] And then, fourthly, add to this the expensive prodigality of all these
sinners in all ages ; every sinner spends something, and how lavish are men of oaths ?
* All the thoughts of men s hearts from their youth up,
they are evil, and only evil, and continually ; and how much then hath
every man spent him ? Every sin is a debt.
(2.) In the second place, this is a rich goodness and patience in regard of
the preciousness and usefulness.
[1.] First, Precious, in regard of what all these manifestations of his good ness and forbearance cost, even the blood of his Son, who as a Lord hath
bought and purchased all wicked men, their lives and their reprival, all that
AGAINST MERCY. 198
time that here they live ; and all the blessings and dispensations of good ness, which here they do enjoy. Christ s mediation so far prevails with God for all the world, that it puts a stop to the present proceedings of jus
tice, which otherwise had said of all, That day thou sinnest, thou diest. So that as Christ may be called the wisdom and the power of God, so also
the patience and the long-suffering of God. For, for his sake and through his means it is exercised. God would not shew a drop of mercy but for
his Son. Which, I take, strongly and clearly intimated, in that dealing of
his with the Jews, Exod. xxiii. 20, compared with Exod. xxxiii. 2, 3, 4, &c. Immediately after God had given the law, by the rules and threaten-
ings whereof God the Father in his government was to proceed, and after
they had transgressed it, he there declares that he could not go with them.
For, according to the rules of his government, he should destroy them ; but his angel he would send with them, even Christ, he might shew them
mercy, for he was the purchaser of it ; and that he was that angel appears in that God tells them, ver. 21, that his name was in him, who also would destroy them, if they turned not and repented, according to the rules
of his law, the gospel.
[2.] And precious, secondly, to us, in regard of the usefulness, this good ness and longsuffering tend and serve unto. This makes this stock of time
afforded you, by God s goodness, to be riches indeed, that it is space to
repent, Rev. ii. 21 ; not a time of reprival only, but to get a pardon in ; and this makes all the good things we enjoy to be precious indeed, that
they are means leading us by the hand to repentance. Eich it is, because
if your time be laid out as it ought, you may obtain those far surpassing riches of glory reserved for hereafter ; win and gain Christ by it, and all
his unsearchable riches. All things receive their worth and valuation from what they tend to, and from what depends upon them, and the use they might be put to. A bond, a man s will, which in itself, as it is a piece of
parchment, is not worth one shilling, yet an estate of many thousands may lie and depend upon them. And so time is not simply precious in
itself, but in regard of the opportunities of it. And accordingly, in those
ordinary passages of our lives do we more or less estimate and count time
precious, as the business allotted to it is of more or less consequence. When a matter falls out that concerns us, and requires despatch, and we
are cast into straits of time about it, we count every minute precious ; so
this time of ours, which is the chief and principal of that stock put into our hands by God s patience, being space to repent in, to gain and trade for heaven with, in this respect every minute of it is as much as heaven is
worth, and one hour of it may be as much as all the time you are to spend for ever, after this life ended, every minute hath an influence into eternity. And however you may account it, yet the balance of the sanctuary thus
* Why lay you out your money for what is not, &c., Isa. Iv. ii. ; that is, this precious day of grace, and the thoughts, cares, and endeavours which are brought forth and minted
estimates your time, calls it your money :
in this time allotted, these are your money you might purchase heaven by. And thus it hath been esteemed by holy and godly men, who yet had less need to value it, having done the main business it was allotted for. David, in the 39th Psalm, ver. 13, being brought very low, Oh spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go hence, and be seen no more. So Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii., how did he sue for, and when he had obtained
fifteen years, how did he ble^,: God ? ver. 20. Or if by this you judge not
so, think with thyself, what at the day of death thou wouldst account of an
VOL. IV. N
194 AGGRAVATIONS OF SINNING
hour, of a month, a year ? What others, who have lain gasping, would have given a world for time again, as I have heard one crying day and night,
* Call time again ; or if not then, Oh what in hell !
8. The third thing I am to shew is, that all this goodness, patience, and forbearance is afforded towards you as a means, and helps to bring you to
repentance. Acts xvii. 28, God (says the apostle there) hath allotted to men both their times to live, and also their places of abode and habitations, all
richly furnished with blessings to uphold their lives and beings. And to what end are both these thus afforded ? That they might seek the Lord,
* they might haply find him. But men being in the dark, and destitute of guides to bring them unto God, may yet be as far off finding him as ever. Therefore add but the words of my text to what the apostle says there, and we see that this
if by groping after him, even as men in the dark,
goodness of God takes us by the hand, and leads us to repentance, to turn from sin unto God, and so to find him. And thus led are you unto God by the help of these several guides, which each after other sweetly lead
you and point you out to this.
First, All this goodness bears witness to your hearts of a gracious hand
that extends itself in all these ; therefore in that 17th of the Acts, he sub
* God is not far off any of us. That there is a good God bestows all
joins,
things on you, is a thought lies at next door of all his blessings not far off.
* do bear witness of him, though they went on in their own ways,
Yea, they all, says the apostle to the same Gentiles, Acts xiv. 16,
* yet, says he there,
* God left not himself without witness; that is, an impression on
their hearts that his good hand bestowed all on them when he filled their
hearts with food and gladness.
Secondly, His goodness having brought thus God to men s thoughts, then
your own consciences take you, and lead you down into yourselves, and bear witness that you by walking in your own ways do nothing but provoke and offend this good God. So Bom. ii. 15. And then, thirdly, there is an indelible principle common to all men to
love those who love them ; which after the two former have brought you
hitherto, point you to repentance as the conclusion. Shall we go on to sin
against this good, so good ? return evil for good ? Is not this a natural,
necessary consequent out of these, to say as they, Let us therefore fear
the Lord, who giveth us the early and the latter rain, as it is, Jer. v. 24. And though men are said not to know this in the text, yet the meaning is,
they do not throughly and effectually consider thus much, so as thereby to be brought to repentance ; yet, however, there is such a witness of all
this in all men s hearts, and thus are they led on unto repentance, would
they see their way and follow their guide.
The use shall be an use of expostulation, as here the apostle carries it, with men sinful and impenitent, for going on to sin against all this mercy,
j together with an aggravation of their sinfulness hereby. Men, if young, do usually take the advantage of this their precious time, which of so much
<
longsuffering is vouchsafed them, and of all those precious opportunities
; and blessings they enjoy, to improve them only in reaping and gathering in to themselves the pleasures of sins, making the time of youth their
j harvest of sinning, and yet think to escape by repenting afterwards ; and ! then when old, after they have already enjoyed a long and a fair sunshine
day to turn to God in, and to have sown much seed to the Spirit, the comfort whereof they might now have reaped, yet, as they have altogether neglected so
to do all their youth, so they go on to do so still, whilst they see they have.
AGAINST MEECY. 195
any day left, be it never so near the setting, and do choose rather despe
rately to venture their estate in the world to come upon the riches of his
mercy pardoning, though without all care and endeavour to change their
hearts or lives, upon the experience they have had of the riches of his mercy
forbearing them in this world, thinking to find him the same in both. With
all such, let me reason a little, and from the riches of God s goodness,
patience, &c., spent upon them, at once expostulate with them, for their
impenitency, and aggravate to them their sinfulness, and also, if possible,
prevail with them to go on to despise it thus no longer. And if there be any
principle of common ingenuity, any spark (I do not say of grace, but of
goodness of nature) left unextinguished, methinks it should affect you, and do some good on you ere I have done.
And to that end, consider a little, and compare together God s lovingkindnesses towards you, and your unkind dealings towards him.
To begin at the beginning of thy being. How much riches of goodness were there laid and buried in thy foundation ? when the first corner stone was laid, when thou wert made a man (besides the cost which hath been
spent upon this building since), and, cursed as thou art, even that very foundation was laid in bloody iniquities, in which thou wert conceived ; and
the very materials of soul and body thou consistest of, being tempered with
* like the stone in the wall, and beam out of the timber, Hab. ii. 10, 11,
sin,
* Haze it, raze it, even to the very ground, Ps. cxxxvii. 7. Consider how but the other day thou wert mere nothing, and when an
cry out every moment to God against thee, as Edom did,
infinite number that never were nor shall be were in as great a possibility of being as thou ; for when he made this world, he could have laid it aside
wholly, and created millions of other worlds, yet he chose thee to have a room in this but one world, for he means to make no more ; and this world
could have stood without thee, and did before thou wert, and shall do when thou art gone ; yet he called thee forth out of nothing, and by his almighty power bade thee stand forth when there was no need of thee. I say, he
chose thee to have a being ; for as there is an election of things that are to
salvation, so out of things that were not unto being. And, wretch that thou
art, if thou repentest not, thou destroyest what God hath made, and hadst
better have kept nothing still, and never have peeped out, or else to skulk
into thy first nothing again, for thou art lost, better never to have been
born.
Secondly, Consider yet more goodness. Thou mightest have been ad
mitted into the lowest form of creatures, have been a worm, a flea, a fly, which we men filip and crush to death at pleasure ; but to be made a man, created one of the states, barons, lords of the world the first hour, admitted
into the highest order, crowned a king in the womb, as David says of man, Ps. viii. 5, made a little lower than the angels, but crowned with glory and
honour, made to have dominion over all the works of his hands. The one half of thee is more worth than a whole world, thy soul, as Christ says, that went to the price of souls ; upon which God hath bestowed an eternity of being, and made it the picture of his face, his image, when other creatures do wear but his footsteps. And the body, the other piece, and indeed but
the case, the sheath (as Daniel s phrase and the Chaldee hath it, Dan.
vii. 15), of thee, what a curious workmanship is it ! wonderfully and fear
fully made, as David says, Ps. cxxxix. 15, curiously wrought in the lower
parts of the earth. So there he calls the womb ; because as curious work men, when they have some choice piece in hand, perfect it in private, and
196 AGGKAVATIONS OF SINNING
then bring it forth to light for men to gaze at, so God out of a tear, a drop, he hath limned out the epitome of the whole world, the index of all the crea
tures. Sun, moon, stars, are to be found in thee, Eccles. xii. 2. And yet, wretch as thou art, thou art withal the epitome of hell, and broughtest into
the world with thee the seeds and principles of all the villanies that have been acted in the world ; and if thou repentest not, thou hadst better have been a toad or serpent, the hatefullest of creatures, and wouldst change thy condition with them one day.
Thirdly, Being a man, hast thou all thy members that belong unto a man ?
* he wrote them all in his book, Ps. cxxxix. 16, if he had left out an eye in his commonplace book, thou hadst wanted it ; is not that a
It is because
mercy ? Ask the blind. If thou hadst wanted those windows to look out
ut, thy body would have been a dungeon, the world a prison ; if a tongue, which is thy glory, or an ear, thou hadst lived among men, as a beast among men. And yet when God gave thee all these, what did he but put weapons into an enemy s hand. For hast thou not used all these as weapons of
unrighteousness ? Rom. vi. 18, insomuch as the tongue, but one member,
* a world of iniquity by the apostle ; and if thou repentest not, thou hadst better, as Christ says, have entered into the world without an
is called
eye, an ear, a tongue, than with these go for ever into hell.
Fourthly, When thou wert taken out of the womb (where thou didst
remain, but whilst thou wert a-framing), what a stately palace hath he
brought thee into, the world, which thou findest prepared and ready furnished with all things for thy maintenance, as Canaan was to the children
of Israel ; a stately house thou buildedst not, trees thou plantedst not, a
rich canopy spangled, spread as a curtain over thy head ; he sets up a taper for thee to work by, the sun, till thou art weary, Ps. civ. 23, and then it
* knows its going down, ver. 19 ; then he draws a curtain over half the world, that men may go to rest,
goes down without thy bidding, for it
* Thou
causest darkness, and it is night, ver. 20. An house this world is, so
curiously contrived, that to every room of it, even to every poor village,
springs do come as pipes to find thee water. So Ps. civ. 10, 11. The
pavement of which house thou treadest on, brings forth thy food, ver. 14.
* Bread for strength, wine to cheer thy heart, oil to make thy face to shine, ver. 15. Which three are there synecdochically put for all things needful
to strength, ornament, and delight. The very chambers of that house (as David calls them), drop fatness, and water the earth, ver. 13. He wheels
the heavens about, and so spins out time for thee, every moment of which time brings forth some blessing or other, and no one is barren. Therefore, Ps. Ixv. 11, the year is said to be
* crowned with goodness, a diadem of
goodness encircles it round ; and yet thou hast filled this world thou thus
art brought into, with nothing but rebellions, as he hath done with bless
ings, and hast piled up sins to heaven, and thou hast pressed all these armies of blessing thou findest the world filled with, to fight against their
Maker, under the devil s banner, whom thy wickedness sets up as the god of this world. And as the year is crowned with goodness, so thy years with wickedness, and no moment is barren ; but all thy imaginations are
evil continually. Yea, thou hast sinned against heaven and earth, and sub
jected the whole creation unto vanity, laden the earth, and filled it so with
wickedness, that it groans, the axle-tree of it is even ready to crack under
thee, and the ground thou treadest on to spew thee out.
Fifthly, Since thou earnest into the world, what a long time hath God
suffered thee to live in it ; he hath not spared thee three years only (as he
AGAINST MERCY. 197
did the fig-tree), but thirty, forty. And when thou first madest bold to
thrust forth thy traitorous head into the world, death (which thy sin brought into the world with it) might have arrested thee, and told thee this world was no place for thee, for hell is only our own place, Acts i. 25, thou shouldest have been executed the first day. And is not so much time of
ease from punishment infinite mercy ? Cast but your thoughts upon the
angels that fell, that have been in hell from the moment of their sinning ; do but think with yourselves what they would give to have so much time cut out of that eternity they are to run through, and to have it set apart for ease, and to be void of torment. If the rich man in hell made it such a
great suit, and counted it so great a favour to have but one drop of water, which could but for a little while, scarce more than a moment, have cooled and eased, not his whole body, but the tip of his tongue only, how much more would he have thought it mercy, to have lived so many years again as he had done free from torment ! What is it then for thee to live so many years free from the falling of the least drop of that wrath, whereof the
full vials should have been poured out many years ago
! The same law was out against us which was out against the angels, That day thou
eatest, thou shalt die the death ; what put the difference ? The apostle tells us, his longsuffering to usward, 2 Pet. iii. 9 ; not to them, for in
chap. ii. ver. 4, he had told us that he spared not the angels which fell, but posted and threw them into hell as soon as they had sinned.
Sixthly, But further, in the sixth place, is this all? Hath it been barely a time of ease given thee, a time of reprival ? No, it hath been more,
space to repent, and so to obtain thy pardon in, Eev. ii. 21. And as it hath been more than ease of torment unto thee, so also consider it hath been more than slackness in him that hath afforded it to thee, as the apostle there doth tell us. It is not that he hath took no notice of thy offending him, but he is sensible of every idle thought, of every oath, vain word, and
* he is pained at the very heart, in somuch as he repents that ever he made thee. He is angry with thee
as the Scripture tells us, Gen. vi. 6, 7,
every day thou risest, every time he looks on thee ; whenever he meets
thee going into the tavern to be drunk, the whorehouse to be unclean ; when he meets thee reeling in the streets, he hath much ado to forbear kill
ing thee, as he had to forbear Moses when he met him in the inn. He is
ready to have a blow at thee, and it should not need be any great stroke or
fetching his arm about ; if he did but blow on thee, thou wert consumed. To suffer thee to live, doth therefore cost him much riches of patience, but
to cut thee off need cost him nothing ; he can do that with ease. But
further, all is joined with a willingness that thou shouldest repent and not
perish, as that place tells thee.
It were much mercy for a traitor to be reprived, to have a lease of
his life for twenty years, though there were no hope nor means of obtain
ing his final pardon after that time spent, and this also, though but for one
treason, and though all that time of his reprival he carries and behaves himself never so obediently. But unto thee, this time hath been more than a longer day of life, and putting off the execution, which for the guilt of that first rebellion should have been acted on thee in the womb ; it hath been time to repent in. And yet hath not this time of thy reprival made thee so much the more rebellious ? And hast not thou spent all this time
in making up the measure of thine iniquity full ? And hath it been willing ness only in God that thou . "houldst not perish? Yea more, joined with
waiting also, when it should once be, thinking the time long, as longing
198 AGGRAVATIONS OP SINNING
and desiring that thou wouldst repent, that he might pardon thee. Thus, Jer. xiii. 27, God expresseth himself,
* When shall it once be ? Yea, arid consider how many days of payment have been set, arid how many pro mises made and broken all by thee, and yet still he waiteth unto wonder ment. Thou receivedst press-money at thy baptism, when thou didst pro mise to forsake the devil and all his works, and to begin to serve him, when thou shouldst begin to discern between good and evil. But no sooner did the light of knowledge dawn in thy heart, but thou begaunest to fight
against him, and thy first thoughts to this day have been only and con
tinually evil. And then, haply, in thy younger years, before thou hadst
tasted of the pleasures of sin, he gave thee an inkling, by means of thy education, of his goodness towards thee, and of that happiness to be had
in him, and thou hadst the first offer of him, ere thy tender years were
poisoned by the world, and ho hath dealt with thee again and again, both
by his word and spirit, not waited only, but wooed thee, and hath been a
suitor to thy heart long ; and I appeal to your hearts how many promises you have made him, of turning from all your rebellions to him, after such a sermon, which was brought powerfully home : in such a sickness, and
in such a strait, thy conscience knows full well. And still God hath made
trial of thee and given theo longer day; and though thou hast broke with him again and again, yet he hath forborne theo again and again, and hath waited this twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty years, when thou shouldst come in and be as good as thy word, and still thou hast failed him. And
yet behold and wonder, and stand confounded at the riches of his long-
suffering, that after so many years expense and promises broken by thee,
expectations failed in him, and many mockeries of him, after all this ho is yet
willing to accept of the remainder, if thou wouldst spend the rest of the time left theo in the flesh according to his will, as the apostle speaks, 1 Pet. vi. 2, even to lose principle, use, and all, for what is past, and requires but the same composition was propounded the first day ; yea, and not only
so, but with promise to become a debtor unto thee, to bestow further riches on thee than ever yet thou sawest or art able to conceive ; yea, and all this when he could have his pennyworths out of thee another way, and lose not
one farthing by thee, but by punishing thee in hell, recover all to the
utmost.
Neither, seventhly, hath it been barely and simply an act of patience and forbearance, though joined with this willingness thou shouldst not
perish, or merely a permissive act of sullmng theo to live. Uut God shews forth yet more riches of goodness joined with this longsufferingi
. In him ye live, and move, and have your being ; and dost thou live in him only ? Nay, thou livest on him also, upon his costs and charges ;
* I
* from my mother s womb. And con
have hung upon thee, says David,
sider what thy life is, that of so small a bottom he should spin out so long a thread ! Had he not drawn it out of his own power, as the spider doth her web out of her own bowels, it had been at an end the second minute ; to
maintain that radical moisture, that oil that feeds the lamp and light of thy
life, that radicals balsamum, this is UK great a miracle as the maintaining the oil in the cruse of the poor famished widow. And further yet, haiJi he maintained thee only ? Nay more, hath he not defended thee, took thy
part, protected theo, took thee under his wing as the hen doth her
chickens, to shelter from those many dangers thy life hath been exposed unto ? Otherwise, how many ways, ere this, hadst thou been snatched
away out of the land of the living ? Is thy case the case of the fig-tree
AGAINST MERCY. 199
* Cut it down, another cried, Spare it ? But there have been many have cried, Cut thee
only, which before we mentioned, that when God cried,
down, and God hath cried, Spare thee : there is never a minute but the
devil would have had a blow at thy life, as he longed to have had at Job s. That thou, a poor lump of flesh, shouldst walk through, and in the midst
of such an host of fierce and cruel enemies, whose hearts are swelled with
malice at thee, and God should say to them all concerning thee, as he did
to Laban concerning Jacob, Touch not this man. And yet if thou wert
not liable to their malice and power, yet consider how many dangers and
casualties, besides, thou hast been kept in and from ; as falls, drowning,
killing many ways, how often have the arrows of death come whisking by
thee, took away those next thee (haply of thy kindred, brother, sister, yoke
fellow, of the same house, family with thyself), and yet have missed thee ? And if we look no farther than these days of mortality we have lived in, two great plagues in this kingdom, how have the most of us all here
survived, and now the third is increasing and growing upon us ! To have
our lives in such dear years of time, when to have our life for a prey is
mercy enough, as Jeremiah told Baruch ! That these arrows should fly round about us, over our heads, and miss us ; that God s arrests should
seize upon men, walking, talking with us, and spare us ! How often, many other ways, hath thy neck been upon the block, and the axe held over, and
yet hath fallen besides ! To go no farther than thy own body, the humours
thereof, if God should not restrain them, would overflow and drown it, as
the waters would the earth, if God should not say to them, Stay your proud waves. And when in a sickness they have been let out, yet God
hath kept a sluice, that so much should break forth, and no more, which
should purge and wash the body, and make it more healthful, as the over
flowing of Nilus doth. And when then thy body hath been brought low and weak, and like a crasy, rotten ship in a storm, taking in water on all
sides, so that all the physicians in the world could not have stopped those
leaks, he hath rebuked wind and sea, hath careened, mended thee, and
launched thee into the world again, as whole, as sound, and strong as ever ; and God hath said, as Job xxxiii., that thou shouldst not die. In a word,
if thou consider but what thy life is, and the dangers it is subject to, thou
wilt acknowledge it is as great a wonder to preserve it, as to see a glass that
hath been in continual use, gone through many hands, and hath had many knocks and falls, to be kept for forty, fifty, sixty years whole and unbroken. God hath carried thy life in his hand, as it were a candle in a paper lanthorn in a strong windy night, and kept it from being extinct, whenas we often see in many, that a little cold comes but in at a little cranny, and
blows their candle out, as Job speaks. And, eighthly, how have these years and hours of thy time been filled up with goodness ? and with how many comforts ? For a traitor to live,
though but upon bread and water all his days, what favour is it ! And so
hadst thou lived all this time, never so miserably, though all thy days thou hadst eaten thy bread in darkness, and hadst had much sorrow with
thy sickness, as Solomon speaks, Eccles. v. 17. Some there are who, as Job speaks, die in the bitterness of their souls, and never eat with plea
sure, Job xxi. 25, scarce seeing a good day ; and if this had been thy case,
yet this is infinite mercy. Even whatsoever is on this side hell is mercy. Lam. iii. 22, say they in the worst estate the church was ever on earth,
It is thy mercies, not mercy only, but multitude of mercies are shewn us, that we are not consumed, because his mercies are renewed every mom-
200 AGGRAVATIONS OF SINNING
ing. If at the brink of hell, and not in, it is mercy. But hath he not all
this while filled thy heart with food and gladness, as the apostle speaks ? Acts xiv. 17. It were infinite to go over the particular kinds of common
comforts which God vouchsafes men here ; not half the riches of his good ness is yet told, it would require an age to make an inventory of them. Hast a house in the world to hide thy head in, and keep thee from the
injuries of the weather (which was more than Christ had) ? God he is thy landlord (though it may be thou payest him no rent) ; he it is that builds
the house, Ps. cxxvii. 1. Hast a bed to lie upon ? He makes it, especially in thy sickness, Ps. xli. 3. Hast thou sleep (which is the nurse of nature
the parenthesis of all thy cares and griefs) ? He rocks thee asleep ever}
night ; and as he gives thee a house, so he gives thee rest, Ps. cxxvii. 2
It is God keeps off those gnats of distracting cares, and griefs, and thoughts, and terrors of conscience, would buz about a man, and keep one continually waking. And when thou sleepest, is thy sleep pleasant to thee ? Goc makes it so, Jer. xxxi. 26. Hast thou clothes to cover thy nakedness ? Read old Jacob s indentures, Gen. xxviii. 20, and thou shalt see by them whose finding they are at : if
* thou wilt give me raiment, that is one o
* keep thee warm ? Even
his conditions mentioned. Yea, do thy clothes
this is attributed to him, Job xxxvii. 17. He fills thee, feeds thee, spreads thy table, serves thee, fills thy cup, as David describes his goodness, Ps
xxiii. 5, and gives thee thy meat in due season ; and hath not failed thee a meal s meat, but thou hast had it at thy appointed time, as Job speaks And hast thou health (which is the salt to all these blessings, without which thou wouldst say thou hadst no pleasure in them) ? He is the God of thy
health, and keeps off diseases, Exod. xv. 26. I will put none of those
diseases on thee ; I am the Lord who healeth thee ; that is, preserve thee from them which else would seize on thee. And these mercies he vouch
safeth unto you that are the poorest, and loadeth you with these and the
like benefits every day.
But hast thou riches added to these, and abundance ? The blessing of God maketh rich, Prov. x. 22. Though thou hadst them by birth, ye he made those friends and parents of thine but feoffees in trust for thee
they were no more, it was God who bequeathed them, Eccles. ii. 26. Or whether thou hast got them since by thine own industry, it is he gives thee power to get wealth, Deut. viii. 18 ; Prov. xii. 24 ; and out of
* a
small estate maketh men great, Job viii. 8. It is he by his providence hath stopped the secret issues and drains of expense, at which other men s
estates run out ; hath stopped that hole in the bottom of the bag, as the
prophet speaks. And with these riches hath he given thee a heart to use them ? This, as it is a farther mercy, Eccles. v. 19, and chap. vi. 2, so
also from him, as it is noted there. Or hast thou credit, which is better than riches ? So says Solomon, Prov. xxii. 1. It is God who gives it, not thy wisdom, parts, or worth.
Eccles. ix. 11, Favour is not always to men of skill, that is, not accepta tion of what they do, without a farther blessing from God. Therefore, besides the gift of wisdom, he gave a further promise of honour also unto
Solomon, 2 Chron. i. 11. It is God who fashions men s opinions. The
apostle prays to God his service might be accepted of the saints, though no
service was like to be more acceptable, for it was the gathering and bringing in of alms and relief to them. It is he rules men s tongues, bids men bless, as well as he bade Shimei curse ; and he hath kept thee from such gross sins, which as flies would have putrefied the ointment of thy good name, who also
AGAINST MERCY. 201
conceals those thou hast committed, and hides thee from the strife of
tongues, Job v. 21. Hast thou friends, or do any love thee, wherein much of the comfort of our lives consist ? And therefore David says of Jonathan, 2 Sam. i. 26, Thou wert pleasant to me. It is God who gives favour in men s eyes. So he did Joseph, Gen. xxxix. 21. If any man or creature doth thee a
kindness, he toucheth their hearts, as it is said of the men who clave to
Saul, and visits for thee. He made the Egyptians, beyond all reason, the
Israelites friends, gave them favour in their eyes, as the text tells us. And
hence, Gen. xxxiii. 10, Jacob says, He saw the face of God in reconciled Esau s face, for God s favour appeared in his look. He put you into your
callings, ranks, and stations, gives you all your skill, success in them. The meanest of trades, to sow, and plough, and thresh, they are from the Lord, who is wonderful in working, Isa. xxviii. from the 23d to the end, even as
well as the skill of the most curious engraver, limner, or embroiderer ; as
of Bezaleel, the Scripture says God was his master, taught him. Hast thou enlarged parts and gifts for higher employments ? It is not thy birth
or age hath acquired them unto thee. Job xxxii. 8, 9, Great men are not always wise ; therefore, it goes not by birth. Nor have the aged always understanding. It goes not only by experience, but it is the in
spiration of the Almighty. And hast a calling answerable to thy parts, to be a scholar, and have thy mind enriched and ennobled with the best and
choicest jewel the world hath, wisdom and knowledge, whereby the mind is
elevated as much above other men s as they are above beasts ? God hath been thy great tutor.
* The mind of man is God s candle, and he maketh wiser than a man s teachers, as he did Moses in Egyptian learning, Daniel, David.
To conclude, Hast thou comfort in all these, in riches, learning, credit,
wife, children, meat, drink, &c. ? He puts in all the sugar, delight, and
pleasure ; that especially depends on him, even to fashion the heart to all
these. As air lights not without the sun, nor wood heats not without fire, so neither doth thy condition comfort thee without God. And therefore, Acts xiv. 17, it is said,
* He filled their hearts, as with food, so with gladness. And besides all these, consider the many peculiar passages and turnings of his providence towards thee for thy good, the working of things together ever and anon to do thee a good turn, the packing and plotting all for thee, better than thou couldst have plotted for thyself, as thy relief in many
etraits, success in many businesses. He works all our works in us and
or us, as Isaiah speaks, Isa. xxvi. 12. Hath he not taken such special care and providence of thee, as if he had regarded no man else in the world ?
And now, when thou hast considered all, bethink thyself withal a little
of thy dealings towards him ; what have been the effects and fruits of all
this goodness ? Hold up thy head, man ; look God in the face. It is well
yet that shame begins to cover thee. How hath that, his patience and
longsuffering, vouchsafing thee space to repent, wrought with thee ? How
nigh to repentance hath it brought thee ? Such is the perverseness of man s nature, as Solomon tells us, Eccles. viii. 11, that because sentence
against an evil work is not presently executed, therefore the hearts of the eons of men are fully set to do evil. Because God defers punishing, they defer repenting. Thou thinkest to spend the most precious of thy time and
strength in sinning, and give God the dregs, the bottom, the last sands, thy
dotage, which thy very self and friends are weary of ; and all these blessings and comforts which God hath vouchsafed thee, how hast thou used them
202 AGGRAVATIONS OF SINNING
against him ? This oil, which should have been fuel to thy thankfulness, hath increased the fire of thy lusts, and thy
* lusts have consumed them
all, James iv. 3. The riches he hath given, thou hast made idols of, and
sacrificed thy dearest, morning, daily thoughts and affections unto, as God
complains, Ezek. xvi. from the 15th, and so on. His meat, as at the 19th verse he calls it, thou sacrificedst to thy belly, which thou hast made thy God; thy strength to women; the wealth he hath given you, you have made use of but to live at a high rate of sinning, and to procure the sweetest bits, the daintiest and most costly sins. The edge of that sword of power God hath put into thy hand thou hast turned against him and his, haply both
his children and ministers ; so that God, by giving thee all these, hath but made thee more able to offend him, and hath strengthened an enemy, and by sparing thee thus long hath but made thee more bold to do it ; all his mercies have but fortified thy heart against him ;
* Do ye requite the Lord
thus, ye foolish people and unkind ? as Moses expostulates the case, Deut.
xxxii. 6. As Christ said to the Jews, For which of all my good works do
ye stone me ? So say I to you, For which of all his mercies is it ye sin
against him ? What, to fight against him with his own weapons ? to be
tray all he gives you into the devils, his enemies hands ? What iniquity did you ever find in him, thus to deal ? God will one day thus expostulate his cause with you, and
* heap coals of fire upon all your heads, if that
you turn not, because you have rendered him evil for good ; and all these mercies thus abused will be as so many coals to make hell fire the hotter. And to reason this point yet further with you out of the text, and what
arguments it will afford to work upon you, Consider, first, what it is thou doest. Whilst thus thou goest on thou art a despiser of the riches of his goodness
: that which is opposite to goodness must needs be transcendently evil. What, art thou evil because God is
good ? and so much the more evil by how much more he is good ? Surely there must needs be an unexhausted treasure of wickedness in thee, which
will also cause in the end a treasure of wrath in him. What ? and sin
against mercy, patience, longsuffering, added to goodness ? of all attributes the richest to the most glorious, for it is that he glories in in the abusing of which therefore he thinks himself most debased of all attributes the
tenderest. What, kick against his bowels ? So are his mercies called. Canst hit him nowhere else but there ? To despise a man s wisdom, power,
learning, is not so much as to despise his love. What canst thou imagine will become of thee when thou comest to die ? What is it thou wilt then come to plead and cry for ? mercy, mercy
! Why, wretch that thou art,
it is mercy thou hast sinned against. Eiches of mercy and patience abused turns into fury. I may allude to that speech, 1 Sam. ii. 25,
* If a man sin
against his brother, the judge shall judge him ; but if against God, who
shall plead for him ? So, hadst thou sinned against any other attribute, mercy might have pleaded for thee ; but if against mercy itself, who shall ?
Well, if thou goest on thus to do so still, thou hast a hard heart ; it
argues the greatest hardness of all other ; that is the second. You use
not, however it comes to pass, to deal thus with the worst of men, sinners
like to yourselves ; but to them that love you you tender love again, Luke
vi. 32. And will you deal so with God ? Is it a small thing to weary men, but you must weary God also ? says Isaiah, vii. 13. He thought it
infinitely less to abuse men than God ; but you carry yourselves as men to
men, but as devils towards God : herein ye have not the hearts of men in
you, not principles of common humanity, whereby ye differ from beasts.
AGAINST MERCY. 203
* cords of love are called the cords of a man, Hos. xi. 4. The spirit of man breaks, melts under kindness ; beasts indeed ye use to prick with
The
goads, but the cords of a man are the cords of love, no principle being more
* to do good to those who do
deeply engraven in men s hearts than this,
good to you, Mat. v. 46. Nay, would ye had herein yet the hearts of
beasts, The ox knows his owner, the ass his master s crib, but my people have rebelled against me. A sin so much against nature that he calls upon those creatures who have no more than mere nature in them, viz., the hea
vens, to stand astonished at it, Isa. i. 2. But as nature elevated by grace riseth higher than itself, so, being poisoned with sin, it is cast below itself,
sins against itself, and the principles which are begotten in and with itself.
If it were not so, how were it possible thou shouldst hate him who never
did thee hurt ? and go on to wound him who weepeth over thee ? and de
spise that in him most which seeks to save thee ? and load him with sins, Amos. ii. 18, who loads thee daily with his mercies ? Ps. Ixviii. 19. There is a third consideration the text suggests, to shew the fearfulness
of thy sin in this respect ; and that is, that thou goest on every minute
sinning and in impenitency, by despising his goodness, to treasure up wrath
against the day of wrath. To sin against mercy, of all other increaseth wrath ; thou must pay treasures for treasures spent. As thou lavishly spendest riches of mercy, so God will recover riches of glory out of thee. God will
not lose by thee, but will reckon with thee in wrath for every offer of patience spent ; for every sand of longsuffering that runs out he drops in a drop of wrath into his vials, and it will prove a treasure, such a treasure as shall
bring in an eternal revenue of glory unto God, of all his glory lost and
riches spent, with advantage ; such a treasure as will ask an eternity of time to be spent upon thee, and yet be never emptied or made less ; and
the longer thou goest on, the greater heap it will swell unto. And dost thou know and consider how fast this treasure fills, and how much the
longer thou goest on to add to it, still the more thou addest, still the last
year more than all the years before ? every minute s impenitency adding to
this heap and sum, as new figures added in a sum use to do ; the first is but one, the second makes it ten, the third an hundred, the fourth a thou sand ; and what a sum will this grow to ?
Ay, bat thou wilt say, Tush, I am in prosperity, in health, wealth, and
ease, and to-day shall be as to-morrow, and much more abundant, Isa.
Ivi. 12. Well, but fourthly, consider out of the text, that there will come a day at last, the morrow whereof will be a day of wrath. It is treasuring up now, but is not brought forth till the day of wrath, till which day thou
mayest go on and prosper, as Job, giving us the reason why wicked men
prosper here, says, chap. xxi. 30, they are reserved to the day of wraths, in the plural, because treasures are laid up against them ; thou art yet spared because thy sins are not yet full, and that treasure is not full, as the
sins of the Amorites were not, and all this thy present prosperity fits thee but for hell. So Horn. ix. 22, they are said to be vessels fitted for de
struction, by longsufiering. And so Nahum tells us, they are but as
stubble laid out in the sun a-drying, till it be fully dry, Nahum i. 10, that
it may burn the better ; and like grapes that are let to hang in the sun
shine till they be ripe, Rev. xix. 15, and so thou for the winepress of God s wrath.
But thy senseless heart may hap to say, I see no such thing, and these
are but threats, I think so ; therefore it is said in the text, that it is a trea
sure, which, as treasures use to be, is hid till that day comes, and then
204 AGGRAVATIONS OF SINNING AGAINST MERCY.
revealed, as the words have it. For though thou seest not this day a-coming, yet God, who sits in heaven, sees thy day a-coming, as David
says, Ps. xxxvii. 13, who is therefore said to see it, because himself sees
it not ; and it is coming faster than thou art aware of it. 2 Pet. ii. 3, Damnation slumbereth not, though thou dreamest not of it, lingereth not : as a hue and cry it is sent out, and is on its course, and will in
* as a thief
the end overtake thee, and that when thou least thinkest of it,
in the night, when thou art asleep, yet dreamest not of it, 2 Thess. v. ; when thou art least prepared for it, as in the old world, when they were
eating and drinking. As God watcheth when his child is at the best and
ripest, and then takes him ; so he will watch thee to take thee for thy
neglect at the worst, and give thee haply no time to prepare ; they go down
to hell in a moment, Ps. Ixxiii. 19,
ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAITH.
[ORIGINAL TITLE.]
Encouragements
TO FAITH.
Drawn from severall Engagements
GODS
J Eeceive
(Pardon f
By THO : GOODWIN, B. D.
L N D N.
Printed by J. G. for R. Dawlman, 1650.
ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAITH.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me ; and him that cometh 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. JOHN VI. 37, 38.
A Preface.
THEEE are two persons whom faith hath to deal withal in seeking of for
giveness 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 reveals the love of them both. And therefore it is that
grace and peace (which are the object of faith s inquest) are still wished 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
himself.
And accordingly when faith comes to treat with these two about the
great business of salvation, the first and main thing that it is inquisitive after is, what their heart and mind is, and how they stand inclined towards
the receiving and pardoning of sinners. It listens most to hear something of that ; and when a man s heart, through faith, is fully and throughly per suaded 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 main thing they hold forth is, the full intent and purpose both of God and of Christ to pardon and receive sinners. This is a faithful saying,
says Paul with open mouth, that Christ came into the world to save
dinners ; and this Christ himself everywhere indigitates ; and to hold forth
this is the scope of these words uttered by Christ himself. And such
speeches do contain the very heart, marrow, and pith of the gospel.
And though the heart of a sinner will never be fully satisfied till a per suasion be wrought that God and Christ are purposed and willing to save a man s own self in particular, which persuasion is that which we call
assurance, yet when once there is a thorough persuasion settled upon the
heart, but of so much indefinitely and in general, that God and Christ are
208 ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAITH>
willing and fully resolved to save some sinners, so that the heart does truly believe 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 business then for the working faith in men, is to persuade them of God s good will and gracious inclination unto sinners, to beget in them good opinions of God and Christ this way, men naturally having hard and suspicious thoughts of both, as that speech of Christ implies,
* God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, John iii. 17. Christ would never have hinted such a jealousy, nor suggested such thoughts to men s 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 design upon them as
upon enemies, and laid but an ambushment for their further condemna
tion, in his treaty of peace tendered to them by his Son. An example o which we have in Luther, who fell into such suspicions as these, for he
misunderstanding some words he met with in the epistle to the Romans, as
they were rendered by the vulgar translation then in use, namely, these
* God sent his Son to declare his righteousness (as they are by us
that
translated), he thought the meaning of them to have been this, to declare and set forth his judgment on the world (so he interpreted adjustitiam suam, &c.). The truth is, the jealousies of men s 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. vi. 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 speaks to the Jews, Rom. xi. 23 ; but al
their doubts are about his will. God s will was the fountain and spring o: 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 ivo-rds of the text opened.
Now, these words of my text do hold forth the full willingness 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 intending against fears
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 express how
ready and willing he is to entertain all comers, as one who sets his doors
* Him
open, keeps open house, and beats back none that would come in,
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. And though it may seem
to be but a slender and sparing expression of his readiness to entertain
* I will not cast them out, yet though he speaks with
such, to say only,
* abundant in goodness and truth, and one that is better than his word in the performance. As when he says, he will not despise a broken heart, is that all the esteem he
the least, yet he will do with the most, he being
ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAITH. 209
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 says 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 liseth also this expression of not casting them out, in relation, and for a more direct answer unto the fear 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 entertain
ment, their welcome. To meet with this scruple, he says, I will not cast such out ; choosing rather thus to remove the doubt that is in their hearts, than to express the fulness of his own ; the Scriptures speaking potius ad
cor nostrum quam cor suum, rather unto our hearts, than fully what is in
his own, which can never be done.
And yet, even in the diminutive expression, there is that inserted, which
argues not only a willingness and readiness, but a resolvedness joined with
the greatest care and faithfulness that can be, 6v /^, I will in no wise cast
out. We may see his heart through this little crevice ; he doth herein as a faithful man, who, to give the more full assurance, puts in some binding word into his promise, as, I will at no hand, or in nowise, fail you. Thus does God also in that known promise, Heb. xiii. 5 (to the horns of which
sanctuary many a soul hath fled for refuge), I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee, where there are no less than five negatives to bind and assure
it, I will not, in no wise (&c.), leave thee. * , Now this willingness of his, on his part, Christ shews 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 (says 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 coming down from heaven, he could have no other end but the saving of sinners, he could have no other business
to do that he did here, therefore the Scriptures put his coming into the world wholly upon this, to seek and to save that which was lost, and do
attribute his taking upon him the likeness of sinful flesh to have been
* for sin ; so Rom. viii. 3. Though other ends might be supposed, and were
accomplished by the assuming man s nature, yet he had no other end of
taking frail flesh, especially there could be no other end of his dying, but
merely and only for sin. John xii. 24, he says, If he had not fallen to the
ground and died, 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 willingness by this, that his Father had
* I come, says^he to do the will of him who sent me ; and, John viii., he says, I come not of
sent him on purpose to receive and to save sinners :
myself, but my Father he sent me. And if he were sent by his Father to
this end (as he affirms he was, and as by the coherence appears, for he makes it the reason why he will cast none out), then certainly he will faith
fully do the work he was sent for. In Heb. iii. 1, he is called the apostle of our profession, apostle, that is, one sent, so the word signifies ; and what follows ? who was fpHhful to him that appointed him. Now, upon VOL. iv. o
210 ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAITH.
these considerations, Christ tells you that you may build upon him, that
you shall certainly find him willing.
2. For his Father s willingness, he tells us we may be much more con
fident of it, for he puts his own willingness and all upon that : Him (says he) that the Father gives me, shall come to me ; and him that cometh 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 Father s will, that he 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 Father s business more than his own. So also, Luke ii. 49, he expresseth himself, Shall I not do my Father s business ? as elsewhere in Isaiah he is called his Father s servant in it; and John v. 36, he makes it his Father s work.
(2.) Secondly, that he in a solemn 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 Benjamins, 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.
7 deeply, his Father was engaged, and makes it his Father s will rather than his own :
Then, 2, he shews how much, and how
* 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 Father s 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, Christ s coming was
principally to please his Father. It is such a speech as that in John v.
22, The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the
Son, &c. Not that God is not a judge as w
rell as Christ, for, Heb. xii. 23, he is termed the judge of all men, but because all judgment is visibly committed unto Christ ; therefore the Father is said to judge no man. So
here, because the Father s will is chief and first in it, Christ therefore says, 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 wain observation out of the words. Demonstrations of God s heart herein, from Ids 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 Jesus 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 ah 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 intiinsical, and homogeneal to the argument which
Christ useth here in the text ; which we have seen to be these, that it was God s will first, and Christ s 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 business but the will of him that
ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAITH. 211
sent me. So that the demonstrations which I shall pitch upon shall be drawn from God s engagements, both from his transactions with Christ from
everlasting, before he came into the world, and those that now lie upon him from Christ s having fully performed what he sent him into the world for. And from either may be fetched strong consolations and confirmations to our faith, that God s will must needs continue most serious and hearty to
save sinners.
Many other sorts of demonstrations of this point might be fetched and drawn from the riches of his mercy, lying by him to bestow on some great purchase ; and on what greater purchase could they be bestowed, to shew
forth the glory thereof, than upon the salvation and pardon of sinners ? But
these also I shall at the present let lie by untold, having elsewhere 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 mercy that are in him (although the moving cause of all) might have for ever re mained in him as his nature, without any determination of his will to save
any man. When therefore a poor sinner shall hear, besides the merciful
disposition of God s nature, that acts and resolutions of his will have passed 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 deepness of these engagements of his will 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 only draw demonstrations from some few of them, by way of corollary, to help our faith in this point in hand, namely, God s resolvedness to pardon sinners.
The first is drawn from this, That God the Father had the first and chief hand in this matter of saving sinners, as I then shewed ; the project was
his, and the first motion his.
[l.J The project ; he laid the plot of it, and contrived all about it, for
the effecting of it. Therefore, John v. 19, Christ says, 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 mine own will, says Christ,
* but the will of him that sent me. Both which (project and first
motion) are shut up in that one sentence, Eph. i. 11, He worketh all
things by the counsel 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 business is always most forward in it ; because then it is most peculiarly his own, and the