my design in the two foregoing dis to undermine that false confidence in Mercy of God, which an ignorance of the de nature of that divine Attribute, coupled with a love of sin, so commonly engenders in the minds of careless and inconsiderate men. I endeavoured to convince you, that there is no warrant in Scripture for that presumptuous hope of Pardon and Salvation, with which the impenitent, and unbelieving, and disobedient, too SERMON XI. PARDON PROMISED TO FORSAKEN SIN. ISAIAH, lv. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Ir was my design in the two foregoing discourses, to undermine that false confidence in the Mercy of God, which an ignorance of the true nature of that divine Attribute, coupled with a love of sin, so commonly engenders in the minds of careless and inconsiderate men. I endeavoured to convince you, that there is no warrant in Scripture for that presumptuous hope of Pardon and Salvation, with which the impenitent, and unbelieving, and disobedient, too readily delude their consciences, and quiet their fears; that the Mercy of God does not imply an indiscriminate forgiveness of all sin, as well that which is loved and cherished, as that which is repented of and forsaken; but that it is promised only to the humble, and penitent, and devout Christian, who in his heart deeply feels, and in his life anxiously strives to exhibit, his sincere hatred of the sins which render pardon necessary, and his pious gratitude to the bountiful hand, by which it is bestowed. But it is possible, that my arguments may have had the effect of exciting in some minds, fears as unreasonable, as the very presumption which they were designed to check. It is possible, that by speaking of the justice of God, and of the necessity of holiness, I may have awakened such apprehensions in the breasts, either of conscious sinners, or of timid and scrupulous persons, as may dispose them to despair of Salvation, and to cry out in an agony of alarm, "who then can be saved?" If God be so severe upon sin, if the Scriptures require such firm faith, such heart-felt repentance, such devout piety, such active charity, such purity of soul, se strict an obedience to "all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord," if Heaven is thus rendered so difficult of access, that "scarcely the righteous can be saved," oh! "where shall we appear, ungodly and sinners as we are? Let me remind you of an observation which I have before made, that the Scriptures are addressed both to the hopes, and to the fears of men, and that it is the duty of every faithful steward of God's mysteries, in his exhibition of the whole truth, to keep in open view, this twofold character of Revelation. This is absolutely necessary, on account of the different description of persons, of whom, it is probable, every congregation is composed; some are too secure and confident, others too fearful and desponding; some require to be alarmed by a representation of their sin and danger, others to be comforted by a declaration of God's mercy, and an assurance of their own capability of forgiveness. I thought it advisable to consider first, the case of the former, because presumption is the more prevalent error of the two. Many are fearless of the consequences of their sins, and build, without good foundation, on the Mercy of God; few comparatively are oppressed in conscience, and unnecessarily terrified at the contemplation of his justice and wrath. The minister of the gospel therefore is called upon to exercise great prudence and discretion, in distinguishing between these cases, lest he should, on the one N |