2. "To the broken-hearted I shall speak of God's readiness to pardon and to forgive. It is his name, Neh. ix. 17, ' But thou art a God ready to pardon.' It is his glory, Exod. xxxiii. 18, compared with Exod. xxxiv. 7. It is his delight, Micah vii. 18. The case of any sin- ner is not desperate ; a pardon may be had, Isa. Iv. 7, 8, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon ; for my thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor my ways as your ways, saith the Lord.' A sensible sinner, his condition is hopeful. Mat. ix. 13, with 28, ' Christ
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came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ; ' and, * Como unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' To a repenting sinner it is conditionally certain, 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess and forsake our sins, he is just and faithful to forgive us our sins.' To those who seriously address themselves to this work, God sometimes vouchsafeth notable experiences, Ps. xxxii. 5. To those who have verified the sincerity of their faith and repentance, it is act- ually certain, evident and comfortable : Pro v. xxviii. 13, ' He that confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy.' If they fulfil their covenant consent, confess sin so as to hate it and leave it, it is certain to them in foro cceli, and in foro conscientice ; and the more they come to God by Christ, and acquaint themselves with him, it groweth more firm : Job. xxii. 1, ' For I know that my redeemer liveth; ' and Kom. v. 1, ' Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.' Then their reconciliation is secured to them by renewed evi- dences and assurances ; habitual and familiar converse with him, as one friend doth with another, maketh it grow up into an holy security and peace ; for the good and advantage of waiting upon God is better discerned when men have persevered in it, than when they first began.
3. The excellency of the privilege. Let me speak to the actually par- doned to admire the privilege, and get their hearts more affected with it.
[1.] In the general : This way of reconciling us by Christ that our trespasses may not be imputed to us, was the product of God's eternal wisdom and goodness. As when there was a search for wisdom, ' The depth saith, It is not in me ; the sea saith. It is not with me,' Job xxviii, 14 ; so when there is an inquiry for a satisfactory way of recon- ciling the creatures to God, so as may suit with C -d's honour, and appease our guilty fears, go to the light of nature : il „aith, It is not in me ; to the law, It is not in me ; only the gospel revealeth it, and there it is learned and discovered. The light of nature apprehendeth God placable, for he doth continue many forfeited mercies to us, and doth not presently put us into our final estate, as the fallen angels are in termino presentl}^ upon the fall. It apprehendeth that God is to be appeased by some satisfaction ; hence those many inventions of lancing and cutting themselves, and ofiering their children, et solo sangicine liumano irani deorum immortalium placari posse. The law that discovered our misery, but not our remedy, it showeth us our sin, but no way of deliverance from sin and acceptance with God. The law can do nothing for sinners, but only for the innocent ; it doth only discover sin, but exact obedience, and drive and compel men to seek after some other thing, that may save them from sin, and afford them a righteousness unto salvation ; when man was once a sinner, the law became insufficient for those ends : Kom. viii. 3, ' It became weak through our flesh.' It was able to continue our acceptance with God in that condition in which we were first created, but after that man by sin became flesh, and had a principle of enmity in him against God, the law stood aside as weakened, and insufficient to help and save such an one. But' then, the gospel yieldeth full relief, propounding such a way wherein God is glorified and the creature humbled, and due provision made for our comfort without infringing our duty, that we might be in a capacity comfortably to serve and enjoy God, who
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otherwise had neither had a mind to serve him, nor a heart to love him. Thus mercy and justice shine with an equal glory; so do also his wisdom and holiness. Our necessity is thoroughly remedied, and God's love fully expressed. When we were lost children of wrath, under the curse, and no hand that could help us, then he set his hand to that work which none could touch, and put his shoulders under that burden which none else could bear. If John mourned when none was found worthy in heaven or earth to open the book of visions, and unloose the seals thereof, how justly might the whole creation mourn, because none was found worthy in heaven or in earth to repair this disorder, till the Son of God undertook it, and made himself an offer- ing for sin. Oh ! Let us give due acceptance and entertainment to this wonderful love and blessed privilege.