II. WE come now, fecondly, to confider the bleffing, that comfort promis'd to the religious mourner. In doing which we will run through the feveral objects of chriftian forrow propos'd before, and fee what comfort is provided for us by Christ in every of those inftances. (1.) As to the lofs or want of that unfinning purity and righteousness which Adam had, the distance this has bred between God and us, and the fears and backwardness in us to approach him, arifing from a sense of his moft perfect holiness, and of our own depravity and guilt; Chrift has provided comfort for us. 1. As he himself has in fome measure repaired the difgrace of our nature, by becoming man (the fecond Adam, as he is call'd,) and in that nature fulfilling all righteousness and the whole will of God, with an unfinning innocence. It is fome comfort to a man, that though he cannot in his own perfon attain to any great eftate or quality in the world, yet fome of his family and relations have, his blood is ennobled by the honour it enjoys in them, their wealth is both a credit and a relief to him. And thus, though we indeed are miferably defective in righteousness, decayed and fallen from the innocence our nature once enjoy'd, into a wretched ftate of corruption and depravity; there is one of our own line we ftill may boast of, a man like our felves, the man * Chrifl Jefus, wha is entirely free from all taint of fin. 2. EVEN we our felves, if we take care to live fo as the † Gofpel has prescribed to us, fhall, when we come to heaven, be alfo perfectly purify'd from all that corruption which we now lament, and be for ever reftor'd to that unfinning purity we long for. And, 2 Cor. v. 21. tz Pet. i. 4. 1 John i 2. 3. CHRIST as our Mediator has made up the breach between God and us. *In him we have boldness and access with confidence; are freed from + the Spirit of bondage, and have received the fpirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. We have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jefus, and therefore may draw near to God, in full afurance of faith, without those fervile fears and trembling, which are the effects of our original guilt, if we come but with a true heart, a fincere and honeft mind. AND all thefe, though I fhall not here enlarge upon them, are furely very full and very proper comforts, with refpect to that first object of religious mourning. (2.) THE fecond, which was the want of power and fufficiency in our felves to come up to the terms of the new covenant in Chrift Jefus, to believe, repent, and obey the law of God for the future, has alfo that which may be a fuitable comfort in this following confideration; that Chrift by the merit of his fufferings, has obtained for us the affiftance of divine grace, the gift of the holy Spirit of God to help our infirmities; by which Spirit we are ftrengthned with might in the inner man; we are regenerated and born anew, with new principles and feeds of life, with fresh powers and faculties for the fervice of God; fo that though we be weak in our felves, through him we may be able to do all things: his grace is fufficient for us, his strength is made perfect in our weakness. And that which is particularly obfervable to this purpose, is, that this holy Spirit of God is promifed by Chrift under the express term of a +Comforter. (3.) As to the third, the publick divifions and breach of charity, the heats and factions that prevail fo lamentably in the Church of God, we have this to comfort us, that though even fome good men may disagree with too much warmth and paffion, in their opinions here, the Church triumphant in heaven (and they when they come to be members of it there) fhall be in perfect peace, and love, and unity; and as our understandings fhall be then enlarged, our charity fhall be fo too. And as to the disturbance of the Church in general, by fuch divifions in this present ftate of things, we may be the better fatisfy'd by this, that God knows how to bring good out of evil, and first or last he will be glorify'd in all. (4) A fourth occafion of religious forrow are our fins of infirmity; but as to thefe, it is undoubtedly a great and fufficient comfort to confider, that where they are fincerely difallow'd and ftrove againft, they fhall not be imputed to us to our condemnation. For Chrift has obtained for us, not only the gift of the holy Spirit to affift us in our christian warfare, but the acceptance alfo of what that holy Spirit works in us, though it be not fo compleat in this life as it fhall be in the next. We are called indeed to perfection in holiness and in every good work, but we fall fhort of it, in numberlefs inftances; we are liable to many weaknesses and disorders, to many escapes and errors; and if all these were to be remember'd against us, we could hope for no deliverance from the wrath of God if he were ftrict tot mark iniquities who could ftand? but there is mercy with him that he may be feared. He will not break the bruifed reed, nor quench the fmoaking flax. He will accept of honeft and fincere endeavours, and where we unwillingly fall fhort ; * Matth. v. 48. † Pfal. cxxx. 3, 4. # Ifai. xlii. 3. of of perfection, our furety fhall make it accounts with God. (.) In the fifth cafe, that of wilful, grofs, and beinous fins, our comfort is, that even thefe fhall be forgiven upon a true repentance and amendment. *When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall fave his foul alive; Though his fins be as fcarlet they shall be white as fnow; though they be red like crimson, they Phall be as wool. And these comfortable promifes are purchas'd for us by Chrift, who came into the world to fave even the chief of finners, and thro' the merit of his fufferings and death has procur'd a pardon for them. 'Tis true, the obftinate and harden'd finner can expect no comfort, the Gospel of Chrift defigns him none, but the repenting finner may; and what more proper comfort can he have, than the affurance of being receiv'd to mercy? But this is not all the encouragement and fupport he has under the difcipline of a fevere repentance, for through the power of Chrift working in him, by his holy Spirit implanting new principles, and an oppofite inclination to that of fin, (which is at large difcours'd of by St. Paul, in his fixth chapter to the Romans,) the body of fin fhall be defroyed, the iron fcepter of that tyrant broke, it thall no longer have dominion over him, except he tamely and voluntarily fubmit himself to a fecond flavery under it. It will be folely his own fault if fin have any empire or command within; for grace fufficient is promised him (if he will faithfully use it) to preserve his freedom. And furely a just sense of this muft needs infpire him' with exceeding joy and comfort. * Ezek. xviii. 27. * Rom. vi. Ifai. i. 18. 1 Tim. i. 15. (6.) THE (6.) THE next occafion of grief to a religious mourner, was the fins of others; and in this cafe alfo, comfort is provided for him. For as there are many wicked men about us who difhonour God, and break his laws in a very infolent and provoking manner; fo, on the other hand, there are fome good ones, who are as the falt of the earth, to preserve it from a total corruption. Had Sodom and Gomorrah enjoy'd but ten fuch righteous Perfons as juft * Lot within their walls, who dwelling there, mourned for their iniquities, and +vexed his righteous foul from day to day with their unlawful deeds, the flames from heaven had not confumed them, but they might have ftood, perhaps, and flourished to this hour. It is fome farther comfort too, that notwithstanding vice prevails fo generally in point of practice, yet virtue has not loft its reputation, even with wicked men themselves; who cannot but commend and fecretly approve the good and virtuous, the juft, the merciful, the meek, the fober man. Another fatisfa ction the religious mourner has, (and 'tis a very great one) the teftimony of his own good confcience, bearing witnefs within him of the work and power of God's grace, which has enclined him to fuch an abhorrence and deteftation of fin, that he is not able to look upon it in others without grief and trouble: for this fhews his love of God to be fincere and generous, his sense of religion rooted in his judgment and affections, as well as intereft, and that he hates fin as fin whereever he finds it; and all this is a happy argument to him of his own Integrity. (7.) MUCH might be faid upon the laft head of temporal fufferings, either as they affect our felves, or other men; but I fhall contract it into as little Gen. xviii. 32 † 2 Pet, ii. 8. E room |