SERMONS of the Forgivenejs of SI;:-;s. Glory of my Majeily, and the Extent of my Power: but he promifes Pardon; I even f am he, that ./;lotteth ~ut tly lran.[i;rej{rons for. my Name fal.·e, ant! tvi!l .'Jot remem/;er thy Sins. By rhe CompaniOn of thctr Sms, he Ill uflrares the Glory of ht s Mercy. L ot, guilty of Incefl: with his Daughters; JJ_truid, of Murder ~nd Adultery; f!J~naf[eh,, a Sorcerer and Idolater, that burnt his Cluldrcn alive in Sacnficc to the Dent and fill d Jerufalem with inno~cnr Blood; .. friary Magdalen, out o~ whom i C~'cn Devils .wcr~ catl; Peter, who was fa falllt-hcarted and falfe-hcarrcd, that wtth ExecratiOns he dcmcd hts Mafier; Paul, that was a bloody PeriCcutor; arc the Jnfl~nccs of t:hc afl:oni01ing Ornnipo~ent Mercy of God, who can as e·aft.ly pa rdon d1.e grcat~fl: Sms <~ s the lcafr,, and ma.kcs no Dtffcrence when our Rcpenrancc is fincere, and om Fatt h unfctgncd : tho accordmg to the degrees of their Guilt ConfCicncc fl1ould be afkc1cd. How nuny pardon'd Sinners, Miracles of the Divine Mercy, are in Heaven happy in the LoYe of God, and glorious in Holinefs, who were as deeply guilry and polluted as any that uow mournfully fee k the FaYour of God ? ThefC arc Examples of Grace fo excellenr and fO divine, ro encourage us in our Addrclfcs for Pardon. The ApoO:Ie Paul tells us, 7~hat for tl;is Caufe be oltained 1 Tim ' · Mercy, that in me Jefos Chrifl might jhew all Long.filfferingfor a Pattmr to them wbo jhd!l heretifter beline on him to e-verlajling Life. There t S the fame .t.1otivc 111 God; he forgives Sins for his Name fake : The Treafures of his Merey are not wailed by communicating: There is the fame Merit in Chrifl: his precious 13lood fhcd upon the CroiS is pleaded in Heaven, .l-Ie e1Jer lives to make lntercej/ion for us: and if we obtain tbe fame precious Faitb, we fl1all have the fame AcccptJnc~ .. In fl10rt, let thofe who arc overwhelmed with Fear confider, 'tis not only our Pnv1lcgc, but Duty to trull in the Divine Mercy : 'Vc arc commai~ded .to believ~ in t!;e 11.1ediat~r : ~cfpair is ~ore dilh~nourablc ro God than Prcfumpuon, m that 'ns a Sm d1rectly agamll. a fupertour Attnburc, the Exerci!C of whi eh is his Delighr and dcareil Glory. !diy. Let us be excited to leek rhe pardoni ng Merey of God with Hw11iliry, with Fear and all pofiiblc Diltgenee, lcil we lhould not obtain lt. Our Hearts fiwuld be fet upon this with the mofi: intcnfc Zeal , for 'tis our Life. Every inlpcnitcnt Sinner is Uf?.- dcr the condemning Sentence of the Law, and there is but a ftep between him and Death: rhe only Hope is, that 'tis not yet ratified by the Judge, nor inflicted, bur 'ris reverfible by fuing out a Pardon in t he fuperiour Court of the Gofpel. Now 'tis ail6nifiJing, that when the Danger is fo great and prefent, ( for 'tis '!S morally imp6ilible to be fUre of time to come, as to recal time pafl:) that Men fhottld be fo unconcerned and fccure, and negleCt the main Work fot which they arc fparcd by the admirable Patience of God. Time is certainly fhort, and liriccrtainly continued ; and when the Oil that feeds the Lamp of Life is ipcnr, the next Stare is the Blackncfs of Darknefs for ever ro all m1pardoncd Sinners : Now the Scepter of Grace is extended to us, we are within the Call of pa~doning Mercy; God waits to be graciozts: but there is a fad Affin:an·c~, if ~vc do .not fue out dtlr ~ardon in the prefcnr Life, rh~ time of _our Reprieve, Death i3 llllmedtatcly attended With eternal Judgment; the Beltef 9f wluch makes the Prince of Darknefs, with the mofi: fiubborn Spirits of Hell, to tremble : yet Men cominlle in the Guilt of their unrcpcntcd Sins without Fear, and wretchedly deceive themfcl ves wirh a vain Prefim1ption that the Door of Mercy _will be open wh ~n they leave th·e World; or b~ar up themfclves by the numbetlefs Mu ltttude of fiupid St nners, and make a refolure Reckoning they fl1a ll do as well as the moH. They are iludious and contrivrng, acti,·c and ardent about the Affa~rs of tlus low Ltfc, and carclefs of being reeonctl'd to God, a Matter of the h1ghefr Conccrnment and eternal Confequence.. Prodigious Folly, never enough lamented! though Vengeance from above is reJdy to fall upon rhcm and Hell below with its dark Horrors is open to fwallow them up, yet they are ilupid an.:! fcarlefs: The Remembrance of th1s wtll rack and torment then'!. for ever; for when cx- ;;i:';;-~1[olly is the Caufe of extreme M ilery, the Sufferer is the moll cruelEnemyro N~~~G~Jh~ff[:;~le~::J~nL;~~h~'~;~a::rtffn!~~~l~t ~;ift 'l;~!bi~ 6~~n~~i:~- ;h:sg;:~;~ ous 1 erms propofed in the Gofpcl for our obtaining it. Befidcs what has been laid of Faith and Repentance, I will more partieularly confider what God requires of guilty Creatures m order to their Pardon. Firf/, The _Confellion of our Sins is indi fpenfibly required ,to qualify us for Pardon'. The Promtfe tS exprefs and fu ll , He tbat confeffes andforfakes Sin, ]hall find Mercy. That P<ov. 28. '3· :ve may nor be dec~tVcd 111 rhe Apphca~10n o~ rlus Prom1fe, I will briefly confid~r_wh ~t IS preparatory to th1s Duty, the Propertws of tt, and rhe ConneCtion of PardOn W1th tt. A a a z 1j/. The
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