by his pardoning mercy, to ease the trouljled spirit of a mourning penitent. It is one rule lie gives his servants in their practice upon their spiritual patients, to beware of making too gi"eat evacuations in the souls of poor sinners by excessive humiliation, lest thereby the spirits of their faith be too much weakened. ' Sufficient to such a man is this punishment,' &:c. ; ' so that, contrariwise, ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest, perhaps, such a one should be swallowed up with over much sorrow,' 2 Cor. ii. 6, 7.
Secondly, Justify God in all the expressions of his displensui"e for thy sins. Thou dost perhaps carry the marks of his anger on thy flesh in some outward judgment, oi-, which is worse, the terrors of the Lord have taken hold of thy soul, and, like poisoned arrows, lie bm-ning in thy conscience, where they stick ; acknowledge him just, and all this that is come upon thee less than thy iniquities have deserved, Ezra ix. 13. The way to escape the fatal stroke of his axe, is to kiss the block; clear his justice, and fear not but his mercy will save thy life. Thou hast a promise on thy side, — ' If their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept of the punishment of their iniquity, then will I remember my covenant,' Levit. xxvi. 41, 42. David took this course, — ' I acknowledge my transgressions,' Psa. li. 3; and why is he so willing to spread his sins in his confession before the Lord ? see ver. 4, — ' That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.' Pie would have all the world know that God did him no wrong in the judgments that came upon him ; he takes all the blame upon himself.
Thirdly, Take heed thou prayest not with a reservation : be sure thou re- nouncest what thou woiddst have God remit. God will never remove tlie guilt so long as thou entertainest the sin. What prince will pardon his treason that means to continue a traitor? It is despicable folly to desire God to foi'give what thou intendest to commit. Thou hadst as good speak out, and ask leave to sin with impunity, for God knows the language of thy heart, and needs not thy tongue to be an interpreter. Some princes have misplaced their high favours to their heavy cost, as the emperor Leo Armenius, who pardoned that monster of ingratitude, Michael Balbus, and was, the same night he delivered him from prison, murdered by him. But the great God is not subject to any mistake in his government: a hypocrite never got pardon in the disguise of a saint. Ho will call thee by thy own name, though thou comest to him in the semblance of a penitent : ' Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam,' said the prophet. Hypocrisy is too thin a veil to blind the eyes of the Almighty. Thou mayest put thy own eyes out, so as not to see him, but thou canst never blind his eyes so that he should not see thee. And as long as God loves himself, he must needs hate the hypocrite ; and if he hates him, surely he will not pardon him. The pardoned soul, and the sincere, are all one : ' Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile,' Psa. xxxii. 2.
Fourthly, Make Christ thy plea. Pardon of sin is a favour not known in the first covenant. Do and live, transgress and die, were all its contents ; there was no room left for recovery by that law. The gospel covenant is the only plank by which we may recover the shore after our miserable wreck. This covenant is founded in Christ, who hath, upon an agreement with his Father, undertaken to answer the demands of the law, and happily performed what he undertook ; upon which the gospel is preached, and pardon promised to all tliat repent and believe on him :"' Him hath God exaUed with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour,' Acts v. 31. Him ' hath God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood,' Rom. iii. 25. As, therefore, when Christ intercedes for poor sinners, he carries his blood wi;h him, and presents it to God for them, so thou mayest bring the same blood in the hand of thy faith, when thou prayest for the pardon of thy sins, ' for without blood there is no remission,' Heb. ix. 22. This is the more to be heeded, because many out of ignorance, and some from a corrupt principle, apply themselves in their prayers to the absolute goodness and mercy of God for pardon : ask them why they hope to be forgiven, and they will tell you God is good, and they hope he will be merciful to them, seeing his nature is so gracious. But, alas ! they forget that he is just as well as merciful, and his mercy will not act but with the c<msent of his justice. Now, the only salve for the justice of God, is the satisfaction of Christ. ' God hath set him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness, — that
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Y22 AVITH ALL PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION.