and a sacrifice to God,' Ephes. v. 2; suffering as willingly for us, as ever we sinned against liim ; and also from believing souls who now sing praises to the mercy and justice of God who redeemed them ; and will for ever in heaven. Now by how much the voluntary sufferings of Christ are better than the forced torments of the damned, and the cheerful praises of saints in heaven more melodious in God's ear than the extorted acknowledgments of damned souls in hell ; by so much the justice of God is more glorified by Christ's sufferings, than theirs. O what incomparable boldness may this send the soul withal to the throne of grace ! who when he is begging pardon for Christ's sake, may, without any hazard to his eternal salvation, say, Lord, if my damnation will glorify thy justice more, or so much as the death of Christ for me hath done, and the everlasting praises which my thankful heart shall resound in heaven to the glory of all thy attributes for my salvation will do, let me have that rather than this.
Thivdlj', Faith doth not only see justice preserved, yea, advanced in this act of pardoning mercy ; but it will tell the soul, that God cannot be just, if he doth not pardon the sins of a repenting, believing soul, how great soever they have been. One great part of justice consists in a faithful and punctual per- formance of promises: he is a just man that keeps his word. And can God be a just God, if he doth not ? The word is gone out of his mouth, that he will forgive such. Yea, he is willing to be accoimted just or unjust by us, as he makes performance thereof. See where he pledges his attribute upon this very accoiuit : 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess our sins, he is just and faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness;' he doth not say 'merciful,' but ' just,' as the attribute which we fear most should vote against us; this he would have us know, is bound for the performance of the promise. It was mercy in God to make the promise ; but justice to perform what mercy hath promised: Micah vii. 20, 'Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham.' God was not bound to make a promise to Abraham and his seed ; but having once passed his word to him, it was truth to Jacob, who was heir to that bond which God had left in his father's hand.
CHAPTER XX.
faith's second answer to Satan's argument, taken from the greatness
OF sin, to drive the soul to despair : WHERE faith OProSETII THE greatness of the PROMISES, AGAINST THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUl's SIN.
Secondly, Faith quenches this temptation to despair, drawn from the great- ness of sin by opposing the greatness of the promises. Faith can only see God in his greatness ; and therefore none but faith can see the promises in their greatness, because the value of the promises is according to the worth of him that makes them; hence it comes to pass, that promises have so little efficacy on an unbelieving heart, either to keep from sin, or to comfort under terror for sin. Promises are like the clothes we wear, which if there be heat in the body to warm them, then they will warm us ; but if they receive no heat from the body, they give none to it; where there is fai'h, there the promise Avill afford comfort and peace ; it will be as a strong cordial glowing with inward joy in the creature's bosom, but on a dead, unbelieving heart, it lies cold and ineffectual ; it hath no more effect on such a soul than a cordial that is poured down a dead man's throat hath on him. The promises ha\ e not comfort actually and formally as fire hath heat: then it were only going to them and we should be warm, taking them up in our thoughts, and we should be comforted ; but virtually, as fire is in the flint, which requires some labour and art to strike it out. Now none but faith can learn us the skill of drawing out the sweetness and virtue of the promise, which it doth three ways.
Section L— Faith leads the soul to the spring-head of the promise, where it may stand with best advantage, to take a view of their greatness and pre- ciousness. Indeed we understand little of things, till we trace them to their originals, and can see them lying in their causes. Then a soul will know his sins to be great, when he sees them in their spring and source, flowing from an envenomed nature that (eems with enmity against God. Then the sinner will
ABOVK ALL, TAKING TUE SHIELD OF FAITH. ^Q^