Vert 536 Chap. 13. 4t Expoion upon the Book of Jos. . 26. mercy to his) bitter after-fruits: Give God the poffeffìon, yea, thedominion of thy youth, left thou fay (as fob) he makes me poffefs the fins of my youth. Seek &fl the Kingdom ofGad,feek it fir(} in intentior~,;n the firft place, and with the bet of thy defires andendeavours : Seek it alto firft in time, let himhave the flower of thy youthful fer- vices, lef{ thou tafle the fruit of youthful fins. Thirdly, Obferve,'; That a godly man 'looks often upon prefent [offerings as the chaflenings ofhis former fins. God did not afiliEl fob for his former fins, for he told Satan ( Chap. 2,) ThoumoveF me againJI himwithout caufe, that is, without any Inch caufe as thou haft pretended and fuggefted, I find no affeEted unrighteoufnefs in him yet fob faith to God, Thoumake.Fb me to pofcfs thefins ofmy youth. He look'd back uponhis life, and faw fuch failings and corruptions as might call for the rod of this fharp and fevere corret ion. Whatfoever Gods aim is in affliuEling, it well becomes the bell of Saints to have an eye upon their fins when God hath them under his af- f'.ieions. They who are freeft from the fear ofGods revenging band for fin, are readiet to remember their fin when they feel his correcting hand. Fourthly, Obferve , Sinsformerly repented of, and pardoned, may be prefented to the foul as unpardoned. Some conceive fob underthat temptation, while he was un- der this affliElion. The tenour of the covenant of grace is, 1 willforgive their iniquities, and remember their fins nomore: and when their fins come to be rearched for, they ¡hall not be found, be- caufe 1 have pardoned them. God never revoked any of his gra= cious pardons, nor doth he ever re-charge pardoned fins : yet a godlyman may remember his old fins with new fears that they arenot pardoned. As it is one ofSatans devices tofill them with affurance of pardon who are under guilt, fo to fill thofe with doubtings that they are not pardoned who are acquitted from guilt:while it isan eale thing with a foul to fin,it is alto very eafy for that foul to believe the pardon of fin : But when once Chrift helps us to difpolîefsour fouls of the power of fin, how doth Satan labour topoffefs our fouls with the guilt of it,l yea, Godhimfelf may,fora time, or for our tryal, make us poffefs the
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