453 0 F THE p A R D ON I, even l AND SERMON x. IsAIAH xliii.25. am he that blotteth out thy Tranf!p{fions {or my fake, and wiO not remember thy Sins. own IN the foregoing Ve:fe$ w~ have a heavy Charge drawn up ag~inft the Peo-!ntrodufJJ.t ple of the Jews, m wh1ch they fiand charged both With Sms of Omiffion on. and of Commiflion: By the one,. they fhewed themfelves weary of God ; and by the other, God be~ame weary ot them_. Thou h~ff not ca.,Ued upon me, nor brought me th? burnt-offermgs, nor honoured me w;th thy [acrifices, but thou haft been 1veary of me, 0 I{rad, as it is in Verfe 22, 2 3· Thou rhoughc'ft my Commands grievous, and my Service bunhenfome; and rho', as r~ou art my fworn Servant I might compel thee to work, yet I have born wtth thy Sloth, and fuffered my Work to lie undone . 1 have not caufed thee to [tr'Ve with offiring1 , noY' wearied ~hee 'vith incenfe, at it is in the 24th Verfe: Nay, as if fo be rejecting my -Se rvice, had not been Indignity enough, thou haft even brought me into a kind of Servitude, even me, thy L~rd and Mafter; thou haft wearied my Pa~ tience, thou haft loaded my Ommpotency; Thort hafl m1ule me [er'Ve ,vith thy fins, tbon hat1 7vearied me with thine iniJuities,_ V er. 24. And wha.t could we now in reafon expeCt fhould be the Clofe of fo heavy an Accufi1t10n, but only as heavy a Doom and Se~ttence ? Thou haft brought me no Sacrifices, therefore I will make thee a Sacnfice to my \Vrath; thou haft not called upon me, and when thou doftcall, I will not anfwer; thou haft wearied me with thy Sins, and I will weary thee with my Plagues: Bur there is no fuch expected Severity follows hereupon; but I)e-uen I am be _that klotteth out thy tranfgrej]iom formyown{alfe, and 7vi0 not remember thy fins. The ltke parallel place we ha\'C concerning Ephra~ im,lfa.5I.1 7,t8. He went on fro7vardly in the wayof hit own heart. Well, (faysGod) I have iCcn hisWays, and whar,wirh the Frowardfhalll!hew my felffroward? No, but'! havefeen his 7vays, anrl I will heal him. ~-!ere's the.Prerogarive of Free Grace, to infer Pardon there, where the Gullry rhemfelvcs can infer only their own Execution and Punilhmenr. It is the Guife of Mercy, ro make ftrange and abrupt Inferences from Sin to Pardon. The Words arc a gracious Proclamation of Forgivcnefs, or an Aa of Pardon paired on the Sins of Men, and contain in them three things : Firft, He1·e if the l'er~u tki!t givrs out thu Pardon, and th!lt is Got!; accented here by a vchemem Ingemmatlon, I, tven I am he. Secondly, Htre is tbt Pardon it {elf; which for the great Confirmation of our Faith and Hope, is redoubled : I, t'7.1tn I am he that blottetb 0111 thy tranfgref!ums and 7viiJ not remtmber thy ji1JJ, ' Thirdly, Htre are the M otivu, or impuljiveCat~Je, that prt'Vailcd with God thus to proclaim Pardon tmto guilty Malifaflou, and that is for hi s own fi1ke; I am he rh.1t blottethout tbJ Tran[[;!'Cj}ioiJS for m; ()Wn fake. r. As
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