134 .Gopl Temilsion. in failing, and in the Arc of Navigation, if one vilifie your work, and find fault will you there, 'tis as if one touch'd your free-hold , you cannot bear it ; Why ? becaufe you ac- count it your excellency; fo it is between us and God , if we wrong Go d in that which he accounts his excellency, he can- not bear it : Now the pardoning mercyof God is that which God counts his excellency and glory, Exod. 39,. when God defcended to pen Morshis glory, his Pardoning Mercy was one of the great Mafter-peces, wherein God accounted his glory to confift , more than in the making of Haven and Earth : Now for God to be contemn'd in that wherein his glory confills, muff needs be a great difhonour to him ; the mercy of God comes from the bowels of his compaffons; Now if you ftrike one on the arm or Moulder, it is not fo much as if you ftrike him on his Bowels ; when you difhonour the pardoning grace of God, you do as it were fpurn at the Bowels of God and Chrift, and he accounts it fo : certain- ly you that can hear this, and negleci it, and prize and pre- fer every bare tuft before it, you do as it were go up and down kicking and fpurning at the bowels of God ; and that Child that fhould fpurn at his Mothers bowels is not fo much to be blamed as thou art that goeft on in fin after thou haft beard the pardoning grace ofGod opened to thee, thy going on in fin is a fpurning at the very bowels of God. Secondly, This aggravates thefinoffilchmen above the fns of the Heathen ; their fins are nothing in comparifon of thofe that live under the Gofpel, and have the graceof God open- ed unto them ; at the Day of Judgement, when thou heareft them condemned for fns a-;ainft the Light of Nature, they may fay,Lord,What fhallbecome ofthefe ? we never heard of fuchgrace and pardoning mercy in Chrift as you heard of, that have lived in filch and fuch a place, and have had the pardoning mercy of God opened to you ; if they do not plead againf}you , yet it will be made known before all Men and Angels what you have heard, and what has been preach- ed unto you, and what God has done for you and for you to continue in fin , your fins will thereby be aggravated, and your condemnation heightned. Thirdly,
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