83 Gofpel Remifsion. upon them, and ilirs the Confcience and layes the guilt of fin home upon it : how long are they before they can have any affurance ofpardon ? and in juft judgement it is fo, becaufe they had flight thoughts before of the pardon of fin. I remem- ber it is ftoried ofPornpey,when one ofhis Captains came to him, and toldhim he wartedmen ; fayes he, l can but flarnp myfoot upon theground and bring forth fo many men prefently ; but when the Enemy carne, this Captain came to him again,and faid, where's your men now ? but then he could not get them when he was in diftrefs and had great need of them. As many think they can do great things with a word fpeaking, as if all muff be at their beck prefently, but when they come to ir, they fail and find it otherwífe ; fo many make it a (mall matter to get pardonoffin,they think to do it with a Lordha: e mercy upon us, at their death -bed, or the like ; but when they come to it in- deed, God makes them to know, It is the greatefl bufinefs that ever they had to do in all their lives ; there's nothing that God is fo jealous of as his honor, and fpecially about this great work, and certainly, were it not that God is very jealous of his ho- nour, and would cure the flight thoughts that men have of this great work ; there needs never be fo much humiliation and workings of the fpirit of bondage ; and certainly, did we but know the greatnefs of this work, how would fanners fnatch at any opportunity or hint ofGods favour appearing to them ? they would do as the fervants of Benhadad, i King.2o.3 3. diligently obferve if any thingwould comefrom him, and haftily catch at it, they watched that ifany thing did come from him, that did make any way to that which they fought after, anddid haftily catch at it ; To, did a foul underftand the pardon of fin, what a great work it is, he would be fo far from having flight thoughts of it, that he would come cloathed in Sackcloth, and every Sermon would be watching and enquiring , what bath God fpoke any word to my foul or no ? And ifany word fall from a Minifter concerning this great bufinefs, fuch a foul would catch greedily at-it, and lofe no opportunity to embrace it. Plat. 32. is very remarkable to this purpofe, David found it a very hard thing to get pardon of his own fin , ver. 4. and he ac- knowledged it, andGod forgave him, verf. 5. what follows? verf.
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