Ps. XXXII. 1, 2.] THE FIRST SERMON. 18?
of tlie new life ; and remission of sins, as the foundation of all our future mercies. There are two chief blessings offered in the new covenant, pardon and life, reconciliation with God, and the everlasting fruition of him in glory ; and the one makes way for the other : Acts xxvi. 18, ' To open their eyes, and to turn them from Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among the saints.' When we are pardoned, then we are capable to look for the blessed inheritance ; the impediment is taken out of the way that excludes from it.
And thus you see ' the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven, Avhose filth is covered, and unto whom the Lord will not impute his sin.'
A WORD OF APPLICATION.
1. Let us bless God for the Christian religion, where this privilege is discc»vered to us in all its glory, and that upon very commodious terms, fit to gain the heart of man, and to reduce him to God : Micali vii. 18, ' Who is a God like unto thee among all the gods, pardoning the transgressions of thine heritage ? ' The business of religion is to provide sufficiently for two things, which have much troubled the considering part of the world ; — a suitable happiness for mankind, and suitable means for the expiation of sin. Happiness is our great desire, and sin is our great burden and trouble. Now these are fully made known and discovered to us by the Christian faith. The last is that we are upon, — the way how the grand scruple of the world may be satisfied, and their guilty fears appeased ; and that we may see the excellency of the Christian religion above all religions in the world, it offers pardon upon such terms as are most commodious to the honour of God, and most satisfactory to our souls ; that is, upon the account of Christ's satisfaction and our own repentance, without which our case is not compassionable. The first I will chiefly insist on. The heathens were mightily perplexed about the v;ay how God could dispense with the honour of his justice in the pardon of sin. That man is God's creature, and therefore his subject ; that he hath exceedingly failed and faulted in his duty and subjection to him, and is therefore obnoxious to God's just wrath and vengeance, are truths evident in the light of nature and common experience ;/ and therefore the heathens had some convictions of this, and saw a need that God should be atoned and propitiated by some sacrifices of expiation ; and the nearer they lived to the original of this tradition and institution, the more burdened and pressing were their conceits and apprehensions thereof. But in all their cruel superstitions there was no rest of soul ; they knew not the true God, nor the proper ransom, nor had any sure way to convey pardon to them, but were still left to the puzzle and distraction of their own thoughts, and could not make God merciful without some diminution of his holiness and justice, nor make him just without some diminution of his mercy. Somewhat they conceived of the goodness of God by his continuing forfeited benefits so long : ' God left them not without a witness ;' but yet they could not recon- cile it to his justice or will to punish sinners; and all their appre- hensions of the pardon of sin were but probabilities, and what was
188 THE FIRST SERMON. [Ps. XXXII. 1, 2.
Avroug^lit to procure merit was ridiculous, or else barbarous aud un- natural, j^iviiiijj ' their iirst-bora for the sin of their soul,' Micah vi. 7. And all those notions they had about this a})prehended expiation were too weak to change the heart or lile of man, or to reduce him to God. Come we now to the Jews. The Jews had many saciifices of God's own institution, but such as ' did not make the comers thereunto per- fect, as pertaining to the conscience,' Heb. ix. 9 ; and the ransom that was to be given to provoked justice was known but to a few. Tliey saw much of the patience and forbearance of God, but little of the righteousness of God, and which was the great propitiation. Till ' God set forth Jesus Christ to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justitier of him that believes in Jesus,' Rom. iii. 2.5, 2G. Tlieir ordinances and sacrifices were rather a bond acknowledging the debt, or pre-signifying the ransom that was to be paid, aud their sacrifices did rather breed bondage ; and their ordinances were called ' an handwriting of ordi- nances that were against them.' The redemption of souls was then spoken of as a great mystery, but sparingly revealed : Ps. xlix. 3, 4, ' My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable, I will open my dark sayings upon the harp.' What was that wisdom ? What was that dark saying ? ' The redem^jtiou of souls is precious ; it ceaseth for ever.' As it lies upon mere man's hand, ' none can give a ransom for his brother.' Eternal redemption by Christ was a dark Ra}'ing in those days, only they knew no mere man could do it. And in more early times, in Jobs time, he was ' an interpreter, one of a thousand,' that could bring this message to a distressed sinner, that God had found out a ransom. This atonement, then, that lies at the bottom of pardon of sin, was a rare thing in those days. Let us bless God for the clear and open discovery of this truth, and free offer ol grace by Jesus Christ.