This also is stated, Isa. xxxiii. 14, " The sinners in Zion are afraid; feai'fulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among lis shall dwell with the devouring fire ? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The persons spoken of are sinners, great sinners, and hypocrites. Conviction of sin and the desert of it was fallen upon them; a light to discern forgiveness the}^ had not; they apprehend God as devouring fii'e and everlasting burnings only, — one that would not spare, but assuredly inflict punishment according to the desert of sin ; and thence is their conclusion, couched in their in- terrogation, that there can be no intercourse of peace between him and them,' — there is no abiding, no enduring of his presence. And what condition this consideration brings the souls of sinners unto, when conviction grows strong upon them, the Holy Ghost declares : Micah vi. 6, 7, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt- offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Sense of sin presseth, forgiveness is not discovered (like the Philistines on Saul, Samuel not coming to his direction) ; and how doth the poor creature perplex itself in vain, to find out a way of dealing with God? " Will a sedulous and diligent observation of his own ordinances and institutions relieve me? ' Shall I come
vol. VI. 25
38G AN EXPOSITION UPON PSALM cxxx. [Ver.4'.
before him with burat-offerings, with calves of a year old?' " Alas! thou art a sinner, and these sacrifices cannot make thee " perfect," or acquit thee, Heb. x. 1. " Shall I do more than ever he required of any of the sons of men? O that I had ' thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil' to offer to him!" Alas! if thou hadst all the " bulls and goats" in the world, " it is not possible that their blood should take away sins," verse 4. " But I have heard of them who have snatched their own children from their mothers' breasts, and cast them into the fire, until they were consumed, so to pacify their consciences in expiating the guilt of their iniquities. Shall I take this course? will it relieve me? I am ready to part with my 'first- born' into the fire, so I may have deliverance from my 'transgression.'" Alas! this never came into the heart of God to approve or accept of And as it was then, whilst that kind of worship was in force, so is it still as to any duties really to be performed, or imaginarily. Where there is no discovery of forgiveness, they will yield the soul no relief, no supportment ; God is not to be treated upon such terms.
Greatness and rareness of the discovery of forgiveness in God — Reasons of it — Testimonies of conscience and law against it, etc.
Secondly. This discovery of forgiveness in God is great, holy, and mysterious, and tuhich very feio on gospel grounds do attain tmto.
All men, indeed, say there is; most men are persuaded that they think so. Only men in great and desperate extremities, like Cain or Spira, seem to call it into question. But their thoughts are empty, groundless, yea, for the most part wicked and atheistical. Elihu tells us, that to declare tliis aright to a sinful soul, it is the- work of " a messenger, an interpreter, one among a thousand," Job xxxiii. 23 ; that is, indeed, of Christ himself The common thoughts of men about this thing are slight and foolish, and may be resolved into those mentioned by the psalmist, Ps. 1. 21. They think that " God is alto- gether such an one as themselves;" that, indeed, he takes little or no care about these things, but passeth them over as slightly as they do themselves. That, notwithstanding all their pretences, the most of men never had indeed any real discoveiy of forgiveness, shall be afterward undeniably evinced; and I shall speedily show the differ- ence that is between their vain credulity and a gracious gospel dis- covery of forgiveness in God. For it must be observed, that by this discovery I intend both the revelation of it made by Got! and our
Ver.4.] FORGIVENESS A GREAT MYSTEEY. SS7
understanding and reception of that revelation to our own advan- tage; as shall be showed immediatel}^
Now, the grounds of the diiiiculty intimated consist partly in the hinderances that lie in the way of this discovery, and partly in the nature of the thing itself that is discovered; of both which I shall briefly treat.
But here, before I proceed, somewhat must be premised to show what it is that I particularly intend by a discovery of forgiveness. It may, then, be considei'ed two ways: — 1. For a doctrinal, objective discovery of it in its truth. 2. An expeinmental, subjective dis- covery of it in its 2^oiver. In the first sense, forgiveness in God hath been discovered ever since the giving out of the first promise: God revealed it in a word of promise, or it could never have been known ; as shall be afterward declared. In this sense, after many lesser de- grees and advancements of the light of it, it was full}'- and gloriously brought forth by the Lord Jesus Christ in his own person, and is now revealed and px'eached in the gospel, and by them to whom the word of reconciliation is committed ; and to declare this is the j^rin- cipal work of the ministers of the gospel. Herein lie those unsearch- able treasures and riches of Christ, which the apostle esteemed as his chiefest honour and jjrivilege that he was intrusted with the declara- tion and dispensation of, Eph. iii. 8, 9. I know by many it is despised, by many traduced, whose ignorance and blindness is to be lamented ; but the day is coming which will manifest every man's work of what sort it is. In the latter sense, how it is made by faith in the soul, shall in its proper place be farther opened and made known. Here many men mistake and deceive themselves. Because it is so in the hooh, they think it is so in them also. Because they have been taught it, they think they believe it. But it is not so ; they have not heard this voice of God at any time, nor seen his shape. It hath not been revealed unto them in its power.