strain, " Tliou hast wearied me with tliy iniquities, I am he that hh)t8 out thy iniqui- ties." So that the greatness of our sins should not dlscouraijo us from ffoin": to God for forgiveness. Though thou hast committed acts of impiety, yet God can come witli an act of indemnity, and say, • " I, even I, am he tliat blotteth out thy transgressions." God counts it his gh)ry to disphiy free-grace in its orient coh)urs, Rom. V. 20., " Where sin aboundeth grace did much more abound." When sin be- comes exceeding sinful, free-grace becomes exceeding glorious. God's pardoning love can conquer the sinnoi*, and triumph over the sin. Consider, thou almost despairing soul, there is not so much sin in man as there is mercy in God ; man's sin in com- parison of God's mercy, is but as a spark to the ocean : and who would doubt whe- ther a spark could be quenched in an ocean ?
Ob J. 3. But I have relapsed into the same sins, and how can I have the face to come to (rod for pardon of those sins which I have more than once fallen into ?
Ans. I know that the Novatians held that after a relapse no f(n*giveness by the church. But doubtless, that was an error; Abraham did twice equivocate, — Lot com- mitted incest twice, — Peter sinned thrice by carnal fear, — but these repenting, had their absolution. There is a twofold re- lapse, I. A wilful relapse, when, after a man hath solemnly vo\vo<l himself to God, he falls into a league witli sin, and returns back to it, Jer. ii. 2.)., " I have loved stran- gers, and after them will I go."
2. There is a relapse through infirmity, when the bent and resolution of a man's heart is against sin, but, through the vio- lence of temptation, and withdrawing of God's grace, he is carried down the stream against his will. Now, though wilful and continued relapses are desperate, and do vastare conscietUiam, (as TertuUian,) waste the conscience, aud run men upon tlie pre- cipice of damnation, yet if they are through infinnitv, and we mourn for them, we inav obtain forgiveness. A g»»dlv nian doth not march after sin as his general, but is led captive by it ; and the Lord will pity a captive-|»risoner. Christ commands us to orgive a trespassing brother, " seventy-
times seven," Mat. xviii. 22. If he bids us do it, mucli more will Ife forgive a re- lapsing sinner in case he repent, Jer. iii. 22., " Return thou backsliding Israel," for I am merciful, saith the Lord. It is not fall- ing once or twice into the mire that drowns, but lying there ; it is not once relapsing into sin, but lying in sin impenitently that damns.
Obj. 4. But God requires so much sorrow and hunuliation before remission, that I fear I shall neixr arrive at it.
Am. (iod requires no more liumiliation than may fit a soul for mercy. Many a Christian thinks, because he hath not filled God's bottle so full of tears as others, there- fore he is not humbled enough to receive a ])ardon. But we must know God's dealings are various: all have not the like pangs in the new-birth ; some are won with love, the sense of God's mercy abused, causeth ingenuous tears to flow ; others are more flagitious and hardened, and these God deals more roughly with. This is sure, that soul is humbled enough to receive a pardon who is brought to a thorough sense of sin, and sees the need of a Saviour, and loves him as the fairest of ten thousand ; therefore be not discouraged, if thy heart be bruised from sin and broken off from it, thy sin shall be blotted out. No sooner did Eph- raim fall a- weeping, but God's bowels fell a-working, Jer. xxxi. 20., " My bowels are troubled for him, I will surely have mercv upon him." Having answered these objec- tions, let me beseech you, above all things, labour for the forgiveness of sin ; think with yourselves how great a mercy it is ; it is one of the richest jewels in the cabinet of the new covenant, Ps. xxxii. 1., " Bles- sed is he whose transgression is forgiven." In the Hebrew it is blessedness. And think with yourselves, the unparalleled mis- ery of such whose sins are not forgiven. Such as had not the blood of the paschal lamb sj)rinkled upon their door-jK)sts were destroyed by the angel, Exod. xii. 7. : so they who have not Christ's blood sprinkled on them, to wash away the guilt of sin, will fall into the gulf «)f 'perdili«»n. And if vou resolve to seek after forgiveness, do not delay
Many say they will go about the getting
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OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.