Secondly. This branch is mentioned, because this was the most inviting motive to bring the creature to submission, and to comply with God's other ends. To understand this reason, consider —
1. Among the benefits which we have by Christ, some concern our fehcity, others our duty; some concern our privileges, others our service, qualities, rights. The internal qualities and graces are con- veyed and wrought in us by the sanctifying Spirit ; the rights and privileges are conveyed to us by deed of gift, by the covenant of grace, or new testament charter or gospel grant. As the one frees us from a moral evil, which is sin ; the other from a natural evil, which is misery. Of the one sort is holiness, and all those divine qualities which constitute the new nature, inherent graces ; of the other sort are pardon of sins, adoption, right to glory, adherent rights and privileges. Now God offereth the one to invite us to the other by the gospel as a deed of gift, or special act of grace ; God offereth the one upon condition we will seek after the other, which deed of gift cannot take effect till we fulfil the condition ; we cannot have remission of sins till we have repentance. It is true he givetli the qualification as well as the privilege, repentance as well as remission of sins, Acts v. 31 ; but he giveth it this way ; he giveth repentance offering remission ; that is the natural way of God's working, the appointed means to draw man's heart to the per- formance of the condition. As the Spirit doth work powerfully within, so he useth the word without. Well then, if we would have the benefits by Christ, we must have all or none — repentance as well as remission, faith as well as adoption, and justification and holiness as well as a right to glory; for Christ in all the dispensations of his grace
VeR. 19.] SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. 273
looketli at God's glory, as well as our interest ; therefore if we come rightly to the covenant, and expect grace by our Eedeemer. we must ' come with a true heart, in full assurance of faith,' Heb, x. 22.
2. The one is the first inviting and powerful motive to the other. Partly, our desires of happiness, which even corrupt nature is not against, are made use of, and apt to gain upon us to a desire of happi- ness. God would leave some inclination and desires to happiness in the heart of man, that might direct us in some sort to seek after him- self: Acts xvii. 27, 'That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him.' Nature catcheth at felicity ; we would have impunity, peace, comfort, glory ; we are willing as to our own benefit to be pardoned and freed from the curse of the law, and the flames of hell ; we are naturally willing of justification, but naturally unwilling to deny the flesh, and to renounce the credit, profit, or pleasure of sin, and to grow dead to the world and worldly things ; but these other suit with our desires of happiness ; therefore God would, in reconciling the creature, go to work this way ; promise that which we desire, on condition that we will submit to those things which we are against. As we sweeten pills to children, that they may swallow them down the better; they love the sugar, though they loathe the aloes; so here, God would invite us to our duty by our interest, and therefore in reconciling the world to himself, he would first be discovered as not imputing their trespasses to them. Partly, because of our fears, as well as our desires of happiness, God taketli this way. The grand scruple which haunteth the creature is, how God shall be appeased, and quit his controversy against us by reason of sin : Micah v. 6, ' Wherewith will he be appeased, and what shall I give for the sin of my soul ? ' There is a fear of death and punish- ment, which ariseth from these natural sentiments which we have of God: Kom. i. 32, 'Knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death.' The dread of a God angry for sin is natural to us, and the ground of all our trouble. Man is afraid of death, and some misery after death which is likely to come upon him, Heb. ii. 14; and till the forgiveness of sin be procured for us, this bondage sticketh close to us, and we know not how to get off it. God is an holy God, and cannot endure iniquity, and by his law will not suffer the guilty to go free. The justice of the supreme governor of all the world requireth that sin should be punished ; all mankind have a general presumption that death is penal ; these fears make pardon a very inviting motive to them. These fears may be a while stifled in men, but they easily return and can no way be appeased, but by pardon and reconciliation with God, carried on in such a way, as they may be exempted from these fears ; therefore ' God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.'