forgiven thee. If a friend should come to a malefactor, on his way to the gal- lows, put a sweet posy into his hands, and bid him be of good cheer, smell on that ; alas! this would bring little joy with it to the poor man's heart, who sees the place of execution before him. But if one comes from the prince with a pardon, which he puts into his hand, and bids him be of good cheer ; this, and this only, will reach the poor man's heart, and overrun it with a sudden ravish- ment of joy. Truly, anything short of pardoning mercy is as inconsiderable to a troubled conscience, towards any relieving or pacifying it, as that posy in a dying prisoner's hand would be. Conscience demands as much to satisfy it as God himself doth to satisfy him for the wrong the creature hath done him. Nothing can take off conscience from accusing, but that which takes off God from threatening. Conscience is God's sergeant, which he employs to arrest the sinner. Now the sergeant hath no power to release his prisoner, upon any pri- vate composition between him and the prisoner ; but listens, whether the debt be fully paid, or the creditor fully satisfied ; then, and not till then, he is dis- charged of his prisoner. Well, we have now only one step to go further, and we shall bring this demonstration to a head ; from what quarter comes this good news, that God is reconciled to a poor soul, and that his sins are pardoned ? surely from the gospel of Christ, and no other way besides. Here alone is the covenant of peace to be read between God and sinners ; here the sacrifice by which this ^^ardon is purchased ; here the means discovered by which poor sinners may have benefit of this purchase ; and therefore hei'e alone can the accusing conscience find peace. Had the stung Israelites looked on any other object, Ijesides the brazen serpent, they had never been healed. Neither wiU the stung conscience find ease with looking upon any, besides Christ in the gospel-promise. The Levite and the priest looked on the wounded man, but would not come near him ; there he might have lain and perished in his blood for all them. It was the good Samaritan that poured oil into his wounds. Not the law, but Christ, by his blood, bathes and supples, closeth and cureth the wounded conscience. Not a drop of oil in all the world to be got, that is worth anything for this purpose, besides what is provided and laid up in this gospel-vial. There was abundance of sacrifices ofiered up in the Jewish church ; yet put all the blood of those beasts together, which was poured out from first to last in that dispensation, and they were not able to quiet one conscience, or purge away one sin. 'The conscience of sin,' as the apostle phraseth it^ Heb. X. 2, that is, guilt in their conscience, would still have remained unblotted,. notwithstanding all these (if severed from what was spiritually signified by them). And the reason is given, ver. 4 : ' For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.' There is no proportion betwixt the blood of beasts, though it could swell into a river, a sea, and the demerit of the least sin. Man's sin deserves man's death, and that eternal, both of soul and body in hell. This is the price (rod hath set upon the head of every sin. Now the death of beasts, being so far beneath this price, which divine justice demands as satisfaction for the wrong sin doth him, it nuist needs be as far beneath pacifying the sinner's conscience; which requires as much to satisfy it, yea the very same, as it doth to satisfy the justice of God himself But in the gospel, behold joyful news is brought to the sinner's ears of a fountain of blood there opened, which for its preciousness is as far above the price that divine justice demands for man's sin, as the blood of bulls and beasts was beneath it; and that is, the blood of Jesus Christ, who freely poured it upon the cross, and by ' it obtained eternal redemption for us,' Heb. ix. This is the door by which all true peace and joy comes in to the conscience; here we are directed to bottom our confidence, and draw out comfort here, and nowhere else, Heb. x. 22: * Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assui'ance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience:' mark that, ' sprinkled from an evil conscience.' Conscience, by oflice, is appointed to judge of a man's actions and state ; whether good or bad, pardoned or unpardoned. If the state be good, then it is to acquit and comfort; if evil, then to accuse and condemn him: therefore the evil conscience here, is the accusing conscience. From this evil conscience we are said to be sprinkled, that is, freed by the blood of Christ sprinkled on us ; it is sin the evil conscience accuseth of, and wrath (the duQ
,'376 T"^ GOSPEL OF PEACE.