deter thee from defpairing: For tho thy fins be great, yet this is the greatest of all other fins; other fins bind thee over to wrath, but this fin gives fire to the threat ning, and fets the foul on flame with extreme horror; ther fins wound the law, and the name of God thro' the fides of the law, but this fin wounds the gofpel, in that Fit is not willing to have the wounds healed which former fins have made; other fins have wronged God the Father in trefpaffing against him, but this fia will not let Jefus Chrift make fatisfaction for the wrong that by fin is done to the Father; other fins reflect on the name, or power, or justice, or holiness of God, but this fin fights against all his lovely attributes of goodnefs, mercy, love and grace, and Satan claps his hands to fee all the glorious attributes of God served alike, and divefted of their honour; other fins, tho' great, are pardonable, if not mixed with this, but the leaft fin envenomed by this of defpair, is wholly unpardonable. Hence we fay that Judas finned more, and more dishonoured God in despairing of his mer cies, than in betraying of his Son; and Cain more griev oufly offended in faying, My fin is greater than can be pardoned, than by murdering his brother. O tremble at de fpair! for this fin draws nearer to the fin of devils, and is of the complexion of the damned fouls in hell. 2. As to God's justice, confider, thou art not to look only on juftice, but on juftice and mercy, as meeting together, and kiffing each other. Thefe two are long fince reconciled, fo that now God knows how to be juft, and yet to fave thy foul. In that promife of God's betrothing himself to finners, it runs thus, I will betrothe thee to me in righteoufnefs, in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies, Hof. ii. 19. he will do it in justice and mercy, he will be righteous and gracious. If Satan object, Can the Lord be juft and fave fuch a finner as thou art? Yes, mayft thou fay, God tells me that he will marry me in righteousness as well as mercy; that is to fay, he will do it in Chrift, whose great undertaking was to bring juftice to kifs mercy, that there might not be a diffenting attribute of God in marrying of me. In this cafe, as I would wish finners have an eye on God's juftice to keep them from pre fumption, fumption, fo likewife to have an eye on God's mercy to keep them from defpair; or (which is all one) to think of Chrift who hath already paid the price for the pardon of fin; and therefore as it were against mercy to dama, fo it were against juftice to exact the debt of them for whom Christ had paid it. What fhould we think of that many who having a debt fully discharged by the furety, should prefs upon the principal for payment of the fame debe again? Surely it were a fearful difhonour to the righteous Judge of the world to conceive, that having received an exact and full fatisfaction for all thy fins by the heart's blood of his own dear Son, he fhould ever require them a gain at thy hands. If thou fayeft, But hath Chrift paid the debt for my fins? Yes, if thou wilt but accept of Christ on his own terms; come then poor foul, thou who art tof fed with the waves of defpair, think of justice interwoven with mercy; or if justice be it thou feareft, think of it as now thy friend in the Lord Jefus Chrift; it is juffice that acquits thee, it thou relieft on Chrift, and who then thall condemn thee? who then hall lay any thing to thy charge? 3. As to the law, look not upon that exact obedience which the law requireth, for theh Satan will attain his purpose, but go out of thyfelf, look upon Jefus, and re ject thy own righteoufnefs as altogether imperfect and in fufficient. Alas! who can exactly live up to the law? the law requires of us things that we cannot do; the law accepts of nothing but abfolute perfection in all that it re quires; the law looks that things fhould be done in a right manner, out of a right principle, and to a right end; yea, that all fhould be done in the perfection of degrees, to the attermoft that is required: Now if fouls pore on this, and look only on this, no wonder the devil tempt him either to loofenefs or defpair; the way therefore is to go out of thyfelf, and to rely upon the alone righteoufnefs and obe dience of Jefus Chrift, as being in itself all-fufficient for thy juftification and falvation: Thou canst not perform the duties of obedience which the law requieth, but Chrift hath done it, and God himself profeffeth that he is well pleased with him, and as contented with him and his obe dience for thee, as if done by thyfelf. Surely this is gof ple, pel, the glad tidings: O what courage and comfort mayft thou take at this news! 4. As to hell, with which the devil frights thee: Me ditate that hell is thy defert, but heaven is God's gift; and tho' Satan may hold thee over hell, yet he cannot turn thee into hell; if the Lord will fave thee, not all the devils in hell can poffibly damn thee: And is hell a place to be expected, or rather to be avoided? Tell Satan to his face, that thou wilt not willingly be his companion in tørments, and therefore thou wilt not fo far gratify him, nor be fo cruel to thyfelf, as to be led by him into that grilly gulph of defpair, which is the very next door to hell; no, Bo, thou wilt rather hope and wait on God in a way of toatentedness to be at his difpofal; fay, If the Lord will have mercy on me, I fhall live, or if the Lord will glorify bis power and justice in condemning me, which I have deserved, I must die, only I will hope and wait, and be contented still to be at the Lord's difpofal, and not at Satan's; and therefore avaunt devils, be gone, I am of Paul's mind, we are troubled on every fide, but not diftreffed; we are perplexed, but not in defpair, 2 Cor. iv. 8. Object. One objection here must be removed: The foul now in fear, or fenfe of mifery, is advised for the avoiding of despair to look on justice as its friend in Christ, and to look on Chrift as having paid the price for the pardon of its fin, and to rely on the obedience of Chrift as allfufficient for its falvation, and to hope, and wait, and to be content to be at God's difpofal: Now how should the foul do thus that is in a ftate of nature? All these are the props and peculiar works of believers, and not of the unregenerate; what can they do to be faved? Or what can they do to refift Satan in order to converfion? I answer, 1. Mẹn, tho' unregenerate, may yet be in the use of means, duties and ordinances; and if ever the Spirit comes into the hearts of people, it is ufually this way: Nay, 'I Thall fay more, that befides the rational acts of meditation, application, &c. which are common to men, the Spirit of God doth always in a general, but fometimes in a fpecial way draw out thofe acts, fo as may be moft for God's glory and our good. For example, it is in the power of na ture ture to go to church, and to hear the word; yet that I go at fuch a time, (it may be against my own inclination) and that I obferve the word, and lay it up, and meditate on it more than others, this is the Spirit's special influence, by way of gifts for in all this there may be no grace nei• ther. 2. The men 1 am fpeaking to, I do not look upon as wholly unregenerate, nor as yet regenerate, they are just as embryos in the womb before they have any perfect fhape; neither are they as they were, nor as they must be, but imperfect creatures of God's Spirit, that will, if the womb mifcarry not, be children of God Now in this cafe I fuppofe thou mayft go farther than a mere natural man; as for inftance, thou mayft hope, and if thy hope be not the grace of hope, yet grace may be feminally in it, and may first appear by it. Mr. Ford, a reverend divine, gives us the diftinction of a gracious hope, and a rational or moral hope, whereby the foul comes up to a firm af fent of this propofition, Tho' my cafe is fad, yet it is not defperate: Now altho' grace doth not always attend or ac company this hope, yet the Spirit of God doth ufe it, as it doth all other preparatory works, to difpofe the foul for grace: Nay, faith my author, I know not, but if that the foul follow this moral hope, with a conftant ufe of all means and ordinances, and in them refolve to caft himself upon Chrift, to be faved by him in his own way: I fay, I know not but this hope may be the immediate ground, if not the vehicle or chariot of the very first act of justify. ing faith; wherefore let this hope produce waiting, and let this hope and waiting in the ufe of means produce endeavours and refolutions to believe in Chrift, and then to look on justice as thy friend in Chrift, and to look on Chrift as having paid the price for the pardon of thy fin, and to rely on the obedience of Christ as all-sufficient for thy falvation. This for the defeature of the first assault. 3. To that affault of felf-murder, I almost tremble to name it, yet if Satan injects fuch thoughts, let the poor foul confider, this fia above other fins is against God, and Chrift, and the Spirit, and thy neighbour, and thy own felf. 1. Against 1. Against God, in breaking his pure and perfect law, Thou (balt not kill. If it be an horrible crying fin to kill another, if it stain the face of a whole kingdom with such a bloody brand, that it cannot be razed out but by the blood of him that fhed it, Numb. xxxv. 33. furely it is much more execrable and villainous to kill a man's felf, for not only God's law, but his majesty, crown and dignity are ftruck at by this fin. hath he not bought thee Why then fhouldst thou Hath he not invited thee 2. Against Jefus Chrift, for with his dearest heart-blood? murder another man's fervant? to come in and close with him, and told thee that the union fhould be near, as near might be, betwixt thy foul and him: Why then shouldst thou offer violence, maiming, deformity, to his myftical body? If any fin be a crucifying of. Chrift, this must needs be one: Hearken then to the voice of Chrift from heaven, Saul, Saul, why perfecuteft. thou me? I am Jefus of Nazareth whofe image thou defaceft, and whom thou killeft. 3. Against the holy Spirit, whofe office it is to fanctify us, to dwell in us, to reveal unto us the mercies of God, the merits of Chrift, the power of the word, the fweetnefs of the promises, to beget id us affurance, and hope, and affiance, and patience, and Chriftian fortitude: But that thou layeft violent hands on thyfelf, contrary to all thefe holy operations, thou defileft thyfelf with thy own blood, thou ruineft the house and habitation of the Spirit, and thrufts him out of his lodging; thou trampleft upon the truth of all these glorious difcoveries of the Spirit of grace, and for his promises of affurance, hope, patience, fortitude, thou neglecteft and rejecteft them all. Oh what a fin is this! 4. Against thy neighbour; for hereby the church is of fended, the land is defiled, thy friends, kindred, wife, children, parents, are grieved and afhamed; yea, the very name, houfe, pofterity, are ftained and branded; or if: all this be little in thy eyes, confider how the mouths of God's enemies are thereby opened, and the profeffion of religion is hereby vilified: Is it not ufual for worldlings in this cafe to cenfure thy over-much studying of the fcripF |