A Pr·arJical Expojition cau~e God pa~dons freely ~. No, the G~acc ?fGo~ obl i g~:rh ot~erwife-, rhe Love of Chnft ?>nfiramer.h otherwife, . rhe_ filial D1fpofioon. of rhe Ne;~ Cre::arure enclineth orherwife, Gramude and Rembunon engage otherwtfe. Bur 1f thd~ Morives be too refined and ingenious for thy ford id and fhv ifhSpirit i and if thouwilr fiil! go 00 in rhe Prcju111prion oftby lieart, crying, Peace, Peace, t o rhyfi!f a! though thou cominueft adding one Iniquity to another, know, 0 Vile Wretch, /hdt the Lord will not fpare thee, but tbc Anger of the Lord and hi$ Jealoujie /half jmoke agninjltbee . and all the Cuifes tbat arc w6uen in his Book /hall .come upon thee, and rbe Lord willhlotout thy 1\ramefromunder Heaven, Deut. 29. 19, And thus I have done with the general Confideration ofGod's 1mdoning Sin, b~ld forth to us in this Petition, Forgive us our Debts or T1'tfpqges. ' Now in thiS Petition we pr.ay not only for the Pardon of Sin bur likcwife for <11! Things that are antecedently neceffiry to obtain ir : As, ' Firlt, We pray that God would difcover ro ~s the hGrrid , odious, Nature of Sin· that he would convince us of the wo~ul, miferable, E(tue that we are in by J:-Jarure; and how much more wretched and m1ferable we have ma~e our fdves by our finfut Lives ; that he would f~r Home the Terrors ofSin upon our ConfCi ences, to our Humiliation, and make us defp~ir in our felves, that we might fly umo Chrifi, and lay hold on that Help and Kefuge he hath fet before us, Secondly, We pray that God would bumble us under the Sight and Senfe of ou r manifold Tranfgreffions, that as our Sins have made us vik in God's Eye, !0 1hey may make us vile in our own, to loa th curfdvts in Dutt and AlheS fvr them. Thirdly, We pray rhat God would give us his Spi rit to enable us to confefs our Sins cordially, and fincerely to pour forth our Heart!! before him, and to adnowledge our manifold Provocations with Shame and Godly Sorrow, upon which God pro· mifed ro gram us Pardon and Forgh'enefs, Prov. 28. 13. He tbat covercth his SitJ /hall not prujper, but he that confoJ!eth and fo-fo~etb them PMII find A'lmy, And the Apoftle tells us, If we confcft Of!r Sms, God 1s Fa11b[ul nnd ] 11/ to forgive us o~tr Sins, and to clcanJc us from all Unngbttoufnejs, 1 John 1. 9· Fourthly, We beg a more clear Underftanding of the Sacrifice and Atnnemenr made by Jefus Chrift, through which alone all Pardon is purchafecl and procured, tO know both what iris, and why ordained; and likewife the Knowledge of God's Rich and Free Mercy, and rhe ConjunEHon of this Sacrifice; and Mercy togelhl r, in lll'-gteat :My fiery of the Freenefs of Di\•ine .Grace, and the SnbfaEHon of J~fus concurring to the Remiffion of our Sins, and the Salvation of cur Souls. , Fifthly, We pray that we may have a high Efltem of Chri!t, and may Hunger 2nd Thirfi: more after him and his Rigbteoufnefs, 1hrough "ham alone ParCon ofour Sins Is to be obtained, Sixthly and laflly, We pray that we may be brough: over to clofe with the Lord Jefus :Chrifi by a lively Faith; that his H.ighteoufnefs thereby m.1y be made ours, and we by that Righreoufnefs may obtain Pardon ofour Sins, and an 1 nheril_ance.among them that are Santlified, For though Pardon be procuted by the Death of Chti!l, yet the 11pplication of it to the Soul i~ only by _Faith, uniting_ ~s unto him, and mak!ng us one with him. For all that Chnll hath enher done or iuflered for rhe Redempoon of the "'arid would be altogether in vain, as to our pJrticular Benefit and Advantage, were it not ;hat Fa~lh entitles us ~mo ir, and mak_es that Salisfa8:ion. which be bath given to Divme Jufhce to be Myflrca!lyour AQ, as It wa<> Pcrfonally Jus. And thus I have confidered the Petition hfelf; forgive us o~;r Deb1s. I now proceed to the Condition or Plea annexed, As wefortJve 011r Deb1ors. And here we have, • Firft, The ACt, Forgive. Secondly The Obj etl, Debtort, Thirdly, 'The Limitation of this ObjeEt, ou!· Debton. . . Fourthly, The Proponion or Refemblance m the Pa:ttcle as, .AJ wefurgz-r:e our Deb1ors. . I fhall begin with the Objetl, Debt on As all Men !land ind>hted to God in a TwofOld Debt) a Debt ofObedience, and a Debt of PumChment: So One Man may he a Debior to another Two Ways, either by owing to him a De~t otD.lty, or tl!e a Debt of Satisfatlion, , ' firft Some Men ftand indebted to others in a Debt ofDu~y. And indeed I might wellha~e fa id this Debt is Recipr<><al between Man ard Man, Thus Cbtldren owe Parous
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