Ver.4.] EXHORTATIONS UNTO BELIEVING FORGIVENESS. 519
ceptable year of the Lord ? And tliis is done in the tender of terms of peace with God in this matter. Do not put it off; this belongs unto you ; the great concernment of your souls lies in it. And it is a great matter; for consider, —
5. That when the angels came to bring the news of the birth of our Lord Jesus, they say, " We bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people," Luke ii. 10. What are these joyful tidings? what was the matter of this report? Why, "This day is born a Saviour, Christ the Lord," verse 11. It is only this, ''A Saviour is born; a way of escape is jDrovided," and farther they do not proceed. Yet this they say is a matter of " great joy ;" as it was indeed. It is so to every burdened, convinced sinner, a matter of unspeakable joy and rejoicing. Oh, blessed words ! " A Saviour is born ! " This gives life to a sinner, and opens " a door of hope in the valley of Achor," the first rescue of a sin-distressed soul. Upon the matter, it was all that the saints for many ages had to live upon ; and that not in the en- joyment, but only the expectation. They lived on that word, " The seed of the woman shall break the serpent's head ; " that is, a way of deliverance is provided for sinners. This with all " diligence they inquired into," 1 Pet. i. 10-12; and improved it to their eternal ad- vantage. As of old, Jacob, when he saw the waggons that his son .Joseph had sent to bring him unto him, it is said his spirit "revived;" so did they upon their obscure discovery of a way of forgiveness. They looked upon the promise of it as that which God had sent to bring them unto him ; and they saw the day of the coming of Christ in it, and rejoiced. How much more have sinners now reason so to do, when the substance of the promise is exhibited, and the news of his coming proclaimed unto them ! This, then, is a great matter, — namely, that terms of peace and reconciliation are proposed, in that it is made known that there is forgiveness with God. Upon these con- siderations, then, we pursue that exhortation which we have in hand.
If any of you were justly condemned to a cruel and shameful death, and lay trembling in the expectation of the execution of it, and a man designed for that purpose should come unto him and tell him that there were terms propounded on vfhich his life might be spared, only he came away like Ahimaaz before he heard the parti- culars;— would it not be a reviving unto him? Would he not cry out, " Pray, inquire what they are ; for there is not any thing so dif- ficult which I will not undergo to free myself from this miserable condition?" Would it not change the whole frame of the spirit of such a man, and, as it were, put new life into him? But now, if, instead hereof, he should be froward, stubborn, and obstinate, take no notice of the messenger, or say, " Let the judge keep his terms to himself," without inquiring what they are, that he would have no-
520 AN EXPOSITION UPON PSALM cxxx. [Ver,4.
thing to do with them ; — would not such a person be deemed to perish deservedly? Doth he not bring a double destruction upon himself, — first of deserving death by his crimes, and then by refusing the honest and good way of delivery tendered unto him? I confess it oftentimes falls out that men may come to inquire after these terms of peace, which, when they are revealed, they like them not, but, with the young man in the gospel, they go away sorrowful : the cursed wickedness and misery of which condition, which befalls many convinced persons, sliall be spoken unto afterwards; at present I speak unto them who never yet attended in sincerity unto these terms, nor seriously inquired after them. Think you what you please of your condition and of yourselves, or choose whether j^ou will think of it or no, — pass your time in a full regardlessness of j'our present and future estate, — yet, indeed, thus it is with you as to your eternal concerns: you lie under the sentence of a bitter, shameful, and everlasting death ; you have done so in the midst of all your jollity, ever since j'ou came into this world ; and 5'ou are in the hand of Him who can, in the twinkling of an eye, destroy both body and soul in hell-fire. In this state and condition men are sent on purpose to let you know that there are terms of peace, there is yet a way of escape for you ; and that you may not avoid the issue aimed at, they tell you that God, that cannot lie, hath commanded them to tell you so. If you question the truth of what they say, they are ready to produce their warrant under God's own hand and seal. Here, then, is no room for tergiversation or excuses. Cer- tainly, if you have any care of your eternal estate, if you have any drop of tender blood running in your veins towards your own souls, if you have any rational considerations dwelling in your minds, if all be not defaced and obliterated through the power of lust and love of sin, you cannot but take yourselves to be unspeakably con- cerned in this proposal. But now, if, instead hereof, you give up your- selves unto the power of unbelief, the will of Satan, the love of your lusts and this present world, so as to take no notice of this eiTand or message from God, nor once seriously to inquire after the nature and importance of the terms proposed, can you escape ? shall you be delivered? will your latter end be peace? The Lord knows it will be otherwise with you, and that unto eternity.