Jigainft 'Defpair; When t/;e .day of. Grace u pajl. be the condition. He that faith, AU fin Uforgivrn to them tbJt beliwe and repeHt, and no otber doth plainly import, that 1JOt-be!icving and not·rtprnting is not forgiven, while it continueth; no; any other fio to fuch. Bu~ to penitent believers or confemers, all tin is pa~doned: \Vhich made the Ancients fay that aU fin u wajht away in Bapti[m, fuppoGng the ptrfon Baptized to be a meet Subje[l and to have the CouditioJt of the Coven>~nt which is by Bapti[m fcaled and deliver– ed to him. Dirt/J. 4· 9·.10· Direct. 4• Mifimdtrjland not the <xcepttd fin ogaiujl the Holy Ghnfi; rvhich u no otb<r, than Though the an aggrawo~ted Non-performance tJnd refufal rf the condition of the Coveltant; viz. whtn Injidcl.r are fo }~~~b~~~lfor obfti11at~ in tbeir !nfidelity, that they w~U .rather impute the Miracfct of the J:lo.lJ,Gh1ft tu the Devil, than a larorr Dif- tbey wtll be convmced bytbem tb:tt Chrift u the true Meffi;r or Savtour. Th1s JS the true nature of the fin coud':; of this againfl the Holy Ghoct, ofwhich I have written the third Part of my Treati{e again]! Infidelity, So that fi~? yet havu~g no one hath the fin againfi the Holy Ghofi: that confcil'cth that Jefus is the Chrifi, ~nd Saviour; or wfmcr :T7t· that confeffeth the miracles done by Chrifi and his Apofiles were done by the Holy Ghofi, or that con– %o~rher~1~e fefTeth the Gofpef is tme; or that cloth not jufiifie l·1is fin and infidelity. He mu(\ be a profiffid InfiJtl ~~~io1.u in re.~ againfi confetTed Miracle; that comrnirs this fin. And yet many deftair becaufc they feat they have cmng w:~a\ ts committed this fin, that never underOood what it is, nor have any reafon but bare fear, and fame the~cfal ablatpbemozu temptations which they abhor to make them imagine that this fin is theirs. But rhe truth m Y· is, in their fearing condition, if.any other fin had been as terribly fpoken of, they would have thought it is theirs. Dire/1. 5· Obj.l· 9· I lo DireCt. s~ Vnderftandtbe Time to wbicbtbe condition of tbe Gotpel dotb extend, namely, to tbt end of our life on earth: 7'be dJy of this grace bath no jhorter end. For the Gofpel fairh not, He that believetb tbHyear or tbeJJtXtjhaUbe favcd: But abfolutely without limitation to any time lhort ofdeath, He tbat btiievethfoall bt faved: fo that to doubt whether true Repentance and faith will be accepted at any time before death, is but CO be ignorant of the Gofpcl, or to doubt whether it be true. And therefore for a deffiairing foul to fay, If I did rcpwt, it Utoo l<Jte becau[e the day of GraceU paft, is but to contradict the Gofpd-covenant it felt; or to fay he knows not what. God never refufed a foul tbat truly Repented and believed before death. 9· 12. Obj. J, But ( they'll fay ) do not fome Divints fay that Jome meni day of Grace. u faomr pajl, and Godbatb forfak_m them, artd it Utoolatc, becaufe they came not in in timel Anfw. An[w. They that underHand what they fay, mufl fay but this: that this word [the day of Grace J When the day hath divers fcnfes. I· Properly by the day of Grace, is meant, 7be 1in}e in r:Phich according to the of Grace is tenour of the GoJPel, God JVill pardon and accept tbu[t that repent : And in this fenfe the time of lift, pa!t is the time of Grace: whenever a Gnner repenteth and is converted he is J-lrdoned. 2. Sometimes by the [day of Grace) is meant the time in which tbr mtan1 of grace H co11tinutd to a Nation or • Ptrfon : And thus it is true, that the day of grace is quicklyer pali with fomeCountreysthan others: that is, God fometimes taketh away the Preachers ot his Gofpd from a people that rejeCfthcm, and fo by Preaching offertth them his grace no more. · But in this fenfe a man may eafily know whether his day of f!,race be pajf or nol that is, whether Bibles and Books and Chrillians and l)reachers be all gon(', o·r not~ (And yet if they were, he that receiveth Chtill: before they are gone is fafe) No man in his wits can think tbU day of grace is pafi with him while Chrifi is offered him, or while there is a Bible or Preacher or ChriOian about him. 3· Sometime by the day of grace, is rntant, 1he certain time which we are Jure of M our owJt,· And fo it is only the prefent minute that is the timeof grace: that is, We cannot before hand be fure of another minute; But yet the next minute when it ·is come is as much the time of grace as the former was. 4· Sometime by the day of graee is meant the 1'ime in which God a{ireaUy worJ.>.stb andgivtth gract ; and that is no more than tht day of our Convtrfion. And in this fenfc to have the day of grace pall: is a happinefs and comfort, that is, that the day is paft in which we were converted. 5· And fometime by the day of grace is meant that day in which God mo– veth the heart/ of the.impenitmt more jlrongly towards converlion than formerly he did ; And this is ~ it lhat Divines mean when they talk of the: day of Grace bei11g patl: with men before their death: that is, Though £Uch have never a day of effectuial grace, yet thtir motion; r:rcrt ftronger to– ward/ it, than hereafter they fhall be, and they were fairer for Convetfion, than after when they are gone further from it. This is true, and this is all: And whats th!s to a foul that 1s willing to come in, and ignorantly queflioncth whether he 01al1 be accepted, bccaufe the day of grace is pafl ? Obj. >. An[w• Obj. :y. 9· I3· Obj. 2• But Cbrijl faith, Luk. 19· 42· If tbouhadft l(,nowJtinthutby d,y_ • An[w. That was the day of the Offm•f Grace by Preacbing: we grant that Nations have but their day ofenjoying the Gofpcl which they may !horten by !inning it away. 9· 14. Obj. 3• But in faid of Efau that afurward when he would have inherited the bltffing be WM rejtlledfor he found 110 place of rtptntance though be fought it carefuUy witiJ ttari, Heb. 12. '7· It{eems then that Repentance in thii life may be too late. , Anfi•· An[w. It's true that Efau'J time for the Blelling was pafl as foon as Ifaac had given it to Jacob. h feerncth to When he had fold his birtb-rigbt it was too late to recall it, for the right was made over to h1s Brother: be Jfaac's and it was not Repent~nee and cryes and tears that could rtcal the light he had fold, nor r_ecal t~e Rq?em:mce words that Ifaac had fpoken; But this doth not prove lhat our day of grace doth not contmue till ~~;1~'n:/"1 :" death, or t_hat any. man Repenting before his ~eath (hall be rcjeCle? as Efau's repcntat~ce was : The for: Bn: ;f Apofile neither fa!!h nor meancth any fuch thmg : The fenfe of hiS words are only tlus much [TaP$ it bcfvoken >f rhe' unlcc!pt:ablcntfs of his own Repcm:mcr, wh(!n it vus too late, it lignifieth r.O! th.:n ;my mlns i$ too late in this life as to :::t!vatJon. bted
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