1. (1.) A cleejJ sense of the evil of sin, of the guilt of man's own sin, is no way inconsistent with gospel assurance of acceptance with God through Christ, and of forgiveness in him. By a sense of the guilt of sin I understand two things : — First, A clear conviction of sin, by the Holy Ghost saying unto the soul, " Thou art the man ;" and, Secondly, A sense of the displeasure of God, or the wrath due to sin, according to the sentence of the law. Both these David expresseth in that complaint, Ps. xxxi. 10, " My life is sj^ent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." His iniquity was before him, and a sense of it pressed him sore. But yet, notwithstanding all this, he
Ver.4.] NATUEE OF GOSPEL aSSUKANCE. 549
had a comfortable persuasion that God was his God in covenant: verse 14, "I trusted in thee, O LoRD: I said, Thou art my God/' And the tenor of the covenant, wherein alone God is the God of any person, is, that he will be merciful unto their sin and iniquity. To whom he is a God, he is so according to the tenor of that covenant ; so that here these two are conjoined. Saith he, " Lord, I am pressed with the sense of the guilt of mine iniquities; and thou art my God, who forgivest them.'' And the ground hereof is, that God by the gospel hath divided the work of the law, and taken part of it out of its hand. Its whole work and duty is, to condemn the sin and the sinner. The sinner is freed by the gospel, but its right lies against the sin still ; that it condemns, and that justly. Now, though the sinner himself be freed, yet finding his sin laid hold of and con- demned, it fills him with a deep sense of its guilt and of the dis- pleasure of God against it ; which yet hinders not but that, at the same time, he may have such an insight as faith gives into his per- sonal interest in a gospel acquitment. A man, then, may have a deep sense of sin all his days, walk under the sense of it continually, abhor himself for his ingratitude, unbelief, and rebellion against God, without any impeachment of his assurance.
(2.) Deep sorroiu for sin is consistent with assurance of forgive- ness; yea, it is a great means of preservation of it. Godly sor- row, mourning, humiliation, contriteness of spirit, are no less gospel graces and fruits of the Holy Ghost than faith itself, and so are consistent with the highest flourishings of faith whatever. It is the work of heaven itself, and not of the assurance of it, to wipe all tears from our eyes. Yea, these graces have the most eminent promises annexed to them, as Isa. Ivii. 15, Ixvi. 2, with blessedness itself, Matt. V. 4 ; yea, they are themselves the matter of many gracious gospel pro- mises, Zech. xii. 10: so that they are assuredly consistent with any other grace or privilege that we may be made partakers of, or [any that] are promised unto us. Some, finding the weight and burden of their sins, and being called to mourning and humiliation on that account, are so taken up with it as to lose the sense of forgiveness, which, rightly improved, would promote their sorrow, as their sor- row seems directly to sweeten their sense of forgiveness. Sorrow, absolutely exclusive of the faith of forgiveness, is legal, and tendeth unto death ; assurance, absolutely exclusive of godly sorrow, is pre- sumption, and not a persuasion from Him that calleth us: but gos- pel sorrow and gospel assurance may well dwell in the same breast at the same time. Indeed, as in all worldly joys there is a secret wound, so in all godly sorrow and mourning, considered in itself, there is a secret joy and refreshment; hence it doth not wither and dry up, but rather enlarge, open, and sweeten the heart. I am per-
550 AN EXPOSITION UPON PSALM cxxx. [Ver.4.
snaded that, generally, they mourn most who have most assurance. And all true gospel mourners Avill be found to have the root of assur- ance so grafted in them, that in its proper season, — a time of trouble, — it will undoubtedly flourish.
(3.) A deep sense of the indwetling poiuer of sin is consistent with gospel assurance. Sense of indwelling sin will cause manifold perplexities in the soul. Trouble, disquietments, sorrow and anguish of heart, expressing themselves in sighs, mourning, gToaning for de- liverance, always attend it. To Avhat purpose do you speak to a soul highly sensible of the restless power of indwelling sin concerning assurance? " Alas," saith he, " I am ready to perish every moment. My lusts are strong, active, restless, yea, outrageous ; they give me no rest, no liberty, and but little success do I obtain. Assurance is for conquerors, for them that live at rest and peace. I he grovelling on the ground all my days, and must needs be uncertain what will be the issue." But when such a one hath done all he can, he will not be able to make more woful complaints of this matter than Paul hath done before him, Rom. vii. ; and yet he closeth the discourse of it with as high an expression of assurance as any person needs to seek after, verse 25, and chaj). viii. 1. It is not assurance but enjoy- ment that excludes this sense and trouble. But if men will think they can have no assurance because they have that without which it is impossible they should have any, it is hard to give them relief. A little cruse of salt of the gospel cast into these bitter waters will make them sweet and wholesome. Sense of the guilt of sin may consist with faith of its pardon and forgiveness in the blood of Christ. Godly sorrow may dwell in the same heart, at the same time, with joy in the Holy Ghost, and gi'oaning after deliverance from the power of sin with a gracious jjersuasion that " sin shall not have dominion over us, because we are not under the law, but under gTace."