fion, from the mercy of God, to be yet more vile, and go on in ways of finning against him. What is it, to be refolved to fin against God? Is it not, to be refolved to disbonour him and to rebel against him? And is not this to be refolved to bate God? But what an aggrava. tion of fin is this? And how provoking muft this needs be to God, to make that an inducement to hate him, which is the most powerful inducement to love him? 0 the defperate wickedness of man's heart, to be more full of enmity against God, because he appears to them full of mercy and grace towards us! Such are ungodly men, arrived to the height of impiety, who thus turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. (Jud. ver. 4.) And they may juftly fear, whether he that made them, will have any mercy upon them. And if you mifs af God's mercy, vou must abide under his wrath. And who knows the power of his anger? If God's thoughts and ways are above ours, in refpect of pardoning mercy; lo are they likewife in respect of revenging justice. His thoughts of anger and his ways of vengeance tranfcend ours, as much as his thoughts and ways of mercy do. Who may stand before bim, when once be is angry? Let us take heed then, that we don't abufe his mercy, left we bring on ourselves fwift deftruction, and a wrath unto the uttermoft

USE 2. Of Encouragement to finners, that are seeking to God for pardon, in the way of gospel repentance: Be encouraged to expect mercy from God. When you are thinking of repenting and returning to God, you may have difcouragements caft in your way: you may be tempted to think, that all your labour will be to no purpose that your fins are greater than will be forgiven, &. But do not hearken to any fuch temptations ; do not give place to the Devil. Hold, and execute, your refolutions of returning to God; and despair not of finding mercy with God.-To this end, confider here three or four things.

1. Confider, you have to do with GOD, and not with man. Had you to deal with men, you might fear, that

your

in

your repenting, and asking forgiveness, might prove vain. So averfe are men to pardon, fo apt to be im placable, fo high in their demands of fatisfaction, as that sit is a most difficult thing to get them fully reconciled to us. Now, because we find it thus to be with men, we are apt to think it is thus with God likewife; and fo difcourage ourselves from feeking to God for the forgiveness of our fins. It is very common for finners to fake meature of God, by themfelves, or other men. Sometimes they think, God is like themselves, in loving and conniving at fin; and this makes them go on securely in their fins. But when they come to be awakened, and to have all their fins fet in order before their eyes, and to fee the holiness and juftice of God fet against their fins, then they are ready to think, that God is like an incensed man, who will by no means be pacified; and this sends to drive them to defpair, and keep them away from God. But, O remember, God is not as man. He can

moderate his anger, though men cannot theirs. He will readily be appeafed, though men provoked will not. He is GOD, and not man; and therefore can and will pardon and spare like a GOD. Hof. xi. 9. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to defroy Ephraim; for I am GOD and not man. O think how great God is in grace, mercy, and kind. nefs, beyond what any men are or can be. You may find fome men that are of a very forgiving fpirit, and you may be ready to think, if you had to do with them, you could hope for pardon from them: but you doubt, whether you may hope for any fuch thing from God. O remember, all that mercy and compaffion, which is lodged in the moft tender hearted man, is but as a drop to the ocean, compared with that mercy which is in God. The mercies of God, are far greater than the mercies of men, or angels. Be then encouraged to feek to God for mercy.But further,

2. Confider, the pardoning mercy of God infinitely exceeds all your conceptions. His mercy, not only exceeds

Ff4

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the mercy of men, but far exceeds all the imaginations of the hearts of men. It is far above all human or angelical conceptions. No words or thoughts can reach the greatness of God's pardoning mercy. It is in itfelf inconceivable and incomprehenfible. And that you may fee the furpaffing glory and greatness of it, confider in what lofty phrases it is reprefented unto you in the holy fcriptures.

1

God's mercy is faid to be great unto the heavens. Pfal, Ivii. 10. Yea, great above the beavens. Pfal. cviii. 4, Thefe expreffions point to us the exceeding height of God's mercy. And what can we know of that which is as high as heaven, and higher? How does it furpafs our imagination ?-Again, it is said in Mic. vii. 19. Thou wilt caft all their fins into the depths of the fea. This attributes to the mercy of God an exceeding depth. 'Tis as the ocean for its depth. And who can fathom the ocean? Who can find out the depth, and reach the bottom, thereof?Again, it is faid, Pfal. ciii. 12. tis far as the eaft is from the west, so far haib be removed, our tranfgreffions from us. This denotes the exceeding breadıb. of divine mercy. It is as broad as from the eaft unto the west. And who can measure that breadth -Again, God's mercy is faid to be from everlasting unto everlasting. Pfal. ciii. 17. This denotes the exceeding length of God's mercy. And who can conceive that which extends itself to all eternity ?-There is then an height and depth, breadth and length, in the mercy of God, which paffes all human knowledge. The dimenfions of it lie out of the reach of our finite understandings.O let repenting finners think of these things, for the ftrengthening their hope in the mercy of God. Think again and again of the infiniteness and incomprehensiblenefs of the mercy of God. And when your thoughts have gone as far as they can poffibly reach, let your faith go yet farther. Believe more than you are able to conceive. For the pardoning mercy of God will do, for all repenting finners, exceeding abundantly above all. that they are able to ask, or to think.

3. Con

3. Confider, the multitude and greatness of your lins may afford you fomething of an argument with God in prayer for pardon. Thus David pleads with God, Pfal. xxv. 11. For thy name's fake, O Lord, I beseech thee to pardon mine iniquity for it is great. He makes the greatness of fin an argument for mercy. And fuch is the grace of the gospel, that it gives finners a liberty to use this as one argument in prayer to God for mercy. And fuch pleas may be gathered from thence, as may help to cherish our hopes of mercy, when they are used with a deep and humble sense of fin.

1. You may plead, that the glory of God's grace will exceedingly shine forth, in the pardoning your many and great fins. The apostle tells us, that where fin abounded, grace much more abounded, Rom. v. 20. The grace of God appeareth very glorious in the pardoning abundance of fin. And the apostle fpeaking of his own great fins, fays, that the grace of the Lord was exceeding abundant, in the pardoning of them, 1 Tim. i. 14. Divine grace was made very illuftrious,in forgiving his great fins. God's grace is glorious in pardoning any fin, though never fo fmall but 'tis far more glorious in pardoning many and great fins. We may therefore humbly plead it with God, that the riches of his glorious grace will be made manifeft, in cafe he will forgive our great and aggravated tranfgreffions. Thus David pleads with God, in forecited Pfal. xxv, 11. For thy name's fake (for the glory of thy mercy) O Lord, pardon mine iniquity. And we máy with the more encouragement make this plea, because the great defign of God is, to magnify his own special grace in the falvation of finners Eph 7. That in the ages to come be might shew the exceeding riches of bis grace, in bis kindness towards us, through Chrift Jefus When we therefore plead with God the magnifying his grace, we do clofe in with God's defign. And fo far we do well, and that which is approved of God. 3.5

2. You may plead, that the glorious excellency of Chrift's facrifice will be manifefted, in pardoning your many and

great

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great fins for the fake thereof. It is in confideration of the expiatory facrifice of Jefus Chrift, that God forgives fin. God having thereby received fatisfaction for fin, and accepted it as the meritorious price of pardon, does on the account of that, grant pardon of fin. And there: fore men are faid to be forgiven for Chrift's fake, Eph. iv. 32. Now the more and greater your fins have been, the more will the dignity of Chrift's facrifice appear, in God's pardoning them for the fake thereof. The more defperate the difeafe is, the more does the fkill of the Phyfician, and the vertue of the medicine, appear in effecting a "cure. Chrift is exceedingly glorified, when great finners are pardoned for his fake. This proclaims him one mighty to fave; one that has more honoured God by his death for fin, than the greatest finners have difhonoured him. We may then plead with God, that for the Lord's fake he will be merciful to us, (Dan. ix. 17.) That for the fake of the glory of Christ, that honour which will thereby redound to Chrift, he will forgive all our fins to us. Thus may the greateft finners pray, that God will glorify his grace, and his Chrift, in pardoning

their fins.

4. Confider, the keeping away from God by unbelief, will increafe and aggravate your fins. This makes your condition worse than ever; and brings you under much greater guilt than before. Yea, this evil beart of unbelief, in departing from God, difhonours God more, and puts you more out of the reach of mercy, than all your other fins. If you do not add final unbelief to them, they shall never prove damning to you. Tis this unbelief, that feals up finners, under the guilt of their fins and the wrath of God. (Job. ii. 36.) O then do not give way to unbelief; but go to God, and try whether he will not have mercy on you, for Chrift Jefus fake,

USE 3. Of Exhortation, to those that have experienced the tranfcendent mercy of God in the pardon of their fins: Let them ftudy to make fuitable returns to God, and

carry