oufnefs of God, is (in the gospel) revealed from faith to faith. Nothing but faith hath any thing to do with it. It is that righteoufnefs of God whereof he fpeaks, that confifts in the forgiveness of fins by the blood of Christ, declared in the gofpel. And this is revealed from the faith of God in the promise, to the faith of the believer, to him that mixes the promife with faith. And again more fully, 1 Cor. ii. 9. Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. The ways whereby we come to the knowledge of any thing, are by the feeing of the eye, or the hearing of the ear, or the reatonings and meditations of the heart but now, none of thefe will reach to the matter in hand; by none of these ways can we come to an acquaintance with the things of the gospel that are prepared for us in Chrift. How then hall we obtain the knowledge of them? that he declares, ver. 10. God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. Now, it is faith only that receives the revelations of the Spirit; nothing else hath to do with them.

To give evidence hereunto, we may confider that this great mystery,

Firft, Is too deep.

Secondly, It is too great, for ought elfe to difcover: And,

Thirdly, That nothing elfe but faith is fuited to the making of this discovery.

First, It is too deep and myfterious to be fathomed and reached by any thing else. Reafon's line is too fhort to fathom the depths of the Father's love, of the blood of the Son,and the promises of the gospel built thereon,wherein forgivenefs dwells. Men cannot, by their rational confiderations, launch out into these deeps, nor draw water, by them, from thefe wells of falvation. Reason ftands by amazed, and cries, How can these things be? It can but gather cockle-fhells, like him of old, at the fhore of this ocean; a few criticifms upon the outward letter; and fo bring an evil report upon the land, as did

Р

the

the fpies. All it can do, is but to hinder faith from venturing into it; crying, Spare thy felf, this attempt is vain, these things are impoffible. It is among the things that faith puts off, and lays afide, when it engageth the foul into this great work. This then, that it may come to a discovery of forgiveness, caufeth the foul to deny itfelf, and all its own reafonings, and to give up itself to an infinite fulness of goodnefs and truth. Though it cannot go into the bottom of thefe depths, yet it enters into them, and finds reft in them. Nothing but faith is fuited to reft, to fatiate, and content itself, in myfterious, bottomlefs, unfearchable depths. Being a foul-emptying, a reafon-denying grace, the more it meets withal, beyond its fearch and reach, the more fatisfaction it finds. This is that which I looked for, faith faith, even for that which is infinite and unfearchable : When I know that there is abundantly more beyond me, that I do not comprehend, than what I have attained unto; for I know that nothing elfe will do good to the foul. Now, this is that which really puzzles and overwhelms reafon, rendering it ufelefs. What it cannot compafs, it will neglect or defpife. It is either amazed and confounded, and dazled like weak eyes at too great a light, or fortifying of itself by inbred pride and cbftinacy; it concludes, that this preaching of the cross, of forgiveness from the love of God, by the blood of Chrift, is plain folly, a thing not for a wife man to take notice of, or to trouble himself about: So it appeared to the wife Greeks of old, 1 Cor. i. 24. Hence, when a foul is brought under the power of a real conviction of fin, fo as that it would defiroufly be freed from the galling entanglements of it, it is then the hardest thing in the world to perfuade fuch a foul of this forgiveness. Any thing appears more rational unto it, any felf-righteoufnefs in this world, any purgatory hereafter.

The greatest part of the world of convinced perfons have forfaken forgiveness on this account; maffes, pen. ances, merits, have appeared more eligible. Yea, men who have no other defire but to be forgiven, do

chufe

chufe to clofe with any thing rather than forgiveness. If men do escape thefe rocks, and refolve that nothing but pardon will relieve them, yet it is impoffible for them to receive it in the truth and power of it, if not enabled by faith thereunto. I fpeak not of men that take it up by hearfay, as a common report, but of those fouls who find themselves really concerned to look after it; when they know it is their fole concernment, all their hope and relief; when they know that they muft perish everlastingly without it; and when it is declared unto them in the words of truth and foberness, yet they cannot receive it: What is the reafon of it? What ftaves off thefe hungry creatures from their proper food? Why, they have nothing to lead them into the myfterious depths of eternal love, of the blood of Christ, and promifes of the gofpel: How may we fee poor difeafed fouls ftanding every day at the fide of this pool, and yet not once venture themfelves into it all their days?

a

Secondly, It is too great for any thing elfe to difcover. Forgiveness is a thing chofen out of God from all eternity, to exalt and magnify the glory of his grace, and it will be made appear to all the world at the day of judgment, to have been a great thing. When the foul comes, in any measure, to be made fenfible of it, it finds it fo great, fo excellent and aftonishable, that it finks under the thoughts of it. It hath dimensions, length, breadth, depth, and height, that no line of the rational foul can take or measure. There is exceeding greatnefs in it, Eph. i. 19. That this is a great work which we have prefcribed, Eph. iii. 19. Even to know the love of Christ that paffeth knowledge. Here, I fuppofe, reafon will confefs itfelf at a ftand, and an iffue; to know that which paffeth knowledge, is none of its work. It cannot be known, faith reason, and so ends the matter. But this is faith's proper work,even to know that which paffeth knowledge. To know that, in its power, virtue,fweetnefs, and efficacy,which cannot be thoroughly known in its nature and excellency; to have, by be-lieving, all the ends of a full comprehenfion of that

P 2

which

which cannot be fully comprehended. Hence, Heb. xi. I. it is faid to be the risas of things not jeen; their subfiftence, though in themselves abfent, yet faith gives them a prefent fubfiftence in the foul. So it knows things that pafs knowledge, by mixing itself with them, it draws out, and communicates their benefit to the foul. From all which it is evident, what in the

Third Place was proposed of faith's being only fuited to be the means of this difcovery, fo that I fhall not need farther to infift thereon.

Discovery of forgiveness in God a great fupportment to fin-intangled fouls.----Particular affurance attainable.

There yet remains a brief confirmation of the pofition at firft laid down, and thus cleared, before I come to the improvement of the words efpecially aimed at. I fay then, this difcovery of forgiveness in God, is a great fupportment for a fin-intangled foul, although it hath no fpecial perfuafion of its own particular intereft therein. Somewhat is fuppofed in this affertion, and fomewhat affirmed.

FIRST, It is fuppofed, that there may be a gracious perfuafion and affurance of faith, in a man, concerning his own particular intereft in forgiveness. A man may, many do, believe it for themselves, fo as not only to have the benefit of it, but the comfort alfo. Generally all the faints mentioned in fcripture had this affurance, unless it were in the cafe of depths, diftreffes, and defertions, fuch as that in this pfalm. David expreffeth his confidence of the love and favour of God unto his own foul hundreds of times, Paul doth the fome for himself, Gal. ii. 20. Chrift loved ME and gave himself FOR ME, 2 Tim. iv. 8. There is laid up FOR ME a crown of righteousness, which God the righteous judge fhall give ME at that day. And that this boafting in the

Lord

Lord and his grace, was not an inclosure to himself, he fhews, Rom. viii. 38, 39.

Nothing can be more vain, than what is ufually pleaded to remove this fheat-anchor of the faints confolation; namely, that no man's particular name is in the promife: It is not faid, to this or that man by name, that his fins are forgiven him; but the matter is far otherwife. To think that it is neceffary, that the names whereby we are known among ourselves, and are dif tinguished here one from another, thould be written in the promife, that we may believe in particular every child of God is in the promife; and believing makes it very legible to him. Yea, we find by experience that there is no need of argumentation in this cafe. The foul, by a direct act of faith, believes its own forgivenefs, without making inferences, or gathering conclufions; and may do fo, upon the propofition of it to be believed in the promise. But I will not digrefs from my work in hand; and therefore fhall only obferve one or two things upon the fuppofition laid down.

First, It is the duty of every believer, to labour after an affurance of a perfonal intereft in forgiveness; and to be diligent in the cherishing and prefervation of it when it is attained. The apoftle exhorts us all unto it, Heb. x. 22. Let us draw near in full affurance of faith; that is, of our acceptance with God through forgiveness in the blood of Jefus. This he plainly dif courfeth of. And this principle of our faith and confidence, he would have us to hold faft unto the end, chap. iii. 14. It is no fmall evil in believers not to be preffing after perfection in believing and obedience. Oftimes fome finful indulgence to felf, or the world, or floth, is the cause of it. Hence few come up to gofpel affurance. But yet most of our privileges, and upon the matter all our comforts, depend on this one thing. A little by the way, to encourage unto this duty, I fhall defire you to confider, both whence this affurance is produced, and what it doth produce; what it is the fruit of, and what fruit it bears.

ift, It