Go fpel Toni io/z. 157 faift God is merciful, true, or elfe thou hadft not been alive at this prefent : that thou fhouldft hear and fee, and have all thy members whole, and the ufe of all thy fenfes, and that thou fhouldft Rand here this day under the means of grace, and that thou fhouldft hear God call on thee to repent , and believe in his Son, while thou walk'ft on in thy fin,and art dead in fins and trefpaffes : he fends his fon and fpirit to thee, to tell thee that he would refcue thee, and give life unto thee; again, is not here rich mercy, perhaps thou haft had thy portion ofmercy already; that God intends for thee, yea fo much mercy, that all the Angels and Saints will give accla- mations toGod, for that mercy thou haft had , though thou perifh ; Godbath many ways íhew'd mercy to thee,in fo much as that the very Devils themfelves will acknowledge that God was very good to his poor creatures. Further, Thou f eakeft of mercy ; haft not thou abufed and turn'el mercy into wantonnefs ? perhaps the mercy thou fpeakeit of, now is at this very prefent pleading to God againft the ; faying, How have I been abufed by this wretched man ? the more my beauty and excellency bath been difplayed, the more wicked he bath grown ; what if mercy be now pleading a- gainft thee ? even thofe mercies that thou haft abufed ; and therefore thouhadft need to look for fomewhat elfe to fettle thy foul upon than this, to fay that God is merciful ; this is the fcrftt fort, thofe that aregrofly Ignorant. Secondly, There are others that mourn, pray and reform , and then have fome kindof reliance on God to pardon them , for his mercies fake; and therefore to them I (hall fay thus much : Know, themercy of God mutt be received after Gods own way ; he hash appointed the communications of it, and fo it muff be received ; otht,rwife it can never attain to fuck an effeft as the pardon of thy fin ., note this, that all the mercy in God confidered , as he is Creator of Heaven and Earth, and not let out through the Mediator Chrift jefus God-man, it never wrought to the pardon of any one fin, and therefore if you look upon the mercy . of God , and do not look to the right way of the conveyance of it, youmay molt dangerou(lymiftake : The ground and bottom of fáith, that X jufti-
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