hif. 3. If Christ be the consolation of believers, what a comfort- able life should all believers live in the world f Certainly, if the fault be not your own, you might live the happiest and comfortablest jives of all men in the world. If you would not be a discomfort to Christ, he would be a comfort to you every day, and in every con- dition, to the end of your lives. Your condition abounds with all the helps and advantages of consolation. You have the command of Christ to warrant your comforts, Phil. iv. 4. You have the Spi- rit of Christ for a spring of comfort ; you have the scriptures of Christ for the rule.1-, of comfort; you have the duties of religion for the means of comfort. Why is it then that you go comfortless ? If your afflictions be many in the world, yet your encouragements are more in Christ. Your troubles in the world have been turned into joy, but your comforts in Christ can never be turned into trouble. Why should troubles obstruct your comfort, when the blessing of Christ upon your troubles makes them subservient to promote your happiness? Rom. viii. 28. Shake off despon- dency then, and live up to the principles of religion. Your de- jected life is uncomfortable to yourselves, and of very ill use to others.
Inf. 4. If Christ be the consolation of believers, then let all that desire comfort in this world, or in that to come, embrace Jesus Christ, and get real union with him. The same hour you shall be in Christ, you shall also be at the fountain-head of all consolations : thy soul shall be then a pardoned soul, and a pardoned soul hath all reason in the world to be a joyful soul : in that day the conscience shall be sprinkled with the blood of Christ ; and a sprinkled conscience hath all the reason in the world to be a comforting conscience : in that day you become the children of your Father in heaven, and he that hath a Father in heaven, hath all reason to be the joyfullest man upon earth ; in that day you are delivered from the sting and hurt of death ; and he that is delivered from the sting of death, hath the best reason to take in the comfort of life. O come to Christ ! come to Christ ! till you come to Christ, no true comfort can come to you.
252 THE METHOD OF GRACE SERM. XVE
Ed forcing the general Exhortation, by a seventh Motive drawn from the first Benefit purchased by Christ.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riclies of his grace.
J5lX great motives have been presented already from the titles of Christ, to draw the hearts of sinners to him ; more are now to be offered from the benefits redounding to believers by Christ ; essaying, by all means, to win the hearts of men to Christ. To this end I shall in the first place, open that glorious privilege of gospel-remission, freely and fully conferred upon all that come to Christ by faith, " in whom we have redemption by faith,'1 &c.
In which words we have, first, a singular benefit, or choice mercy bestowed, viz. redemption, interpreted by way of opposition, the remission of sins : this is a privilege of the first rank, a mercy by itself ; none sweeter, none more desirable among all the benefits that come by Christ. And therefore.
Secondly, You have the price of this mercy, an account what it cost, even the blood of Christ, in whom we have redemption [through his blood :] precious things are of great price ; the blood of Christ is the meritorious cause of remission.
Thirdly, You have here also the impulsive cause, moving God to grant pardons at this rate to sinners, and that is said to be the riches of his grace : where, by the way, you see that the freeness of the grace of God, and the fulness of the satisfaction of Christ, meet together without the least jar in the remission of sin, contrary to the vain cavil of the Socinian adversaries : " In whom we have " redemption, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of " his grace."
Fourthly, You have the qualified subjects of this blessed privilege, viz. Believers, in whose name he here speaks, [we] have remission, i. e. We the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus, ver. 1. We whom he hath chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and predestinated unto the adoption of children, ver. 4, 5. We that are made accepted in the beloved, ver. 6. It is we, and we only, who have redemption through his blood. Hence observe,
SERM. XVI. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 253
Doct. That all believers, and none but believers, receive the re- mission of their sins through the riches of grace, by the blood of Jesus Christ.
In the explication of this point three things must be spoken to.
1. That all that are in Christ are in a pardoned state.
2. That their pardon is the purchase of the blood of Christ.
3. That the riches of grace are manifested in remission.
First, That all that are in Christ are in a pardoned state : where I will first shew you what pardon or remission of sin is.
Secondly, That this is the privilege of none but believers.
First, Now remission of sin is the gracious act of God, in and through Christ, discharging a believing sinner from all the guilt and punishment of his sin, both temporal and eternal.
It is the act of God ; he is the author of remission ; none can for- give sins but God only, Mark ii. 7. Against him only, i. e. prin- cipally and especially, the offence is committed, Psal. Ii. 4. To his judgment guilt binds over the soul ; and who can remit the debt but the creditor? Matth. vi. 12.
It is an act of God, discharging the sinner ; it is God's loosing of one that stood bound, the cancelling of his bond or obligation, called therefore remission or releasing in the text ; the blotting out of our iniquities, or the removing of our sins from us, as it is called in other scriptures; see Psal. ciii. 11. Micah vii. 18, 19.
It is a gracious act of God, the effect of pure grace, done for his own name's sake, Isa. xliii. 25. discharging us without any satis- faction at all by us : there is much grace in that ; and providing a surety for us every way able to pay our debt, there is more grace in that.
It is the gracious act of God in and through Christ : the satis- faction of Christ is the procuring cause of our remission, and so God declares himself just in the remission of our sin, Rom. iii. 25. " Gracious is the Lord and righteous," Psal. cxvi. 5. Justice and mercy meet here, and embrace each other ; " in whom (saith the " text) we have remission :" no other price could purchase this privilege, Micah vi. 6, 7. not rivers of oil, or of human blood.