534 The AO-fofficiency of Chrift gument is \'ery forcible and prevalent, Lcrd.,_pardon me, becaufe I have fi nncd-;r~~t-; ly; th?u fpeakeft more reafon by. far than It thou Ihouklft fay; Thy fi ns are grc.~t and hemons, and thetefore there ts no hope of pardon for them. Now Chrift 's A ll~ fufficicncy to favc thcgreateft and thcworftoffinncrsappearsin thefc fo\low ingPnu~ culars. 1. In that he if able to (ave tlJt oldefi and moft accuft_omcd Sinner; and to make the Iafr ~our of his Life the ti !·ft of his Et.ernal Happinefs, and in t his, if any thing, t he Allmghty Power of Chnft to fave IS madc.mofrwondcrfully Glorious. When an old finner thJ.t hath t rudged on apace to Dell:ratl:ion, and hath arrived even to the very Brink of Hell, whea there was but a few fl:eps between him and Eternal Deffth. :Nay, when he ll:uck there, and there was nothing to recover him, for Chr ifr then to give hi ~n a lift over th~t v~ft. Gtdp.h, and then give him anoth~r li f~ o~cr to Everillj1ing Life· What can be fatd m thts ca fe but what the Pfalnuft: fa tth m Pfat. 89. 13. Thou haft a m~.{hty .Arm : flrong i& thy Hand ? Such a Man s condition is very fad and dangerous ; and if any thing were too hard for .Ail-fujjicjenc)' to atchieve it were altogether defperate. Now there arc fcvcral things \'\'hie!! advanceth the power of Chrifr in faving Old Sinners. As, I. That the Devil's poffeffion of an old overgrown finner is mightily confirmed· both in Strength and Title; Strength, in that he hath had time to fonifie C\'cry ftrong hold o( Iniquity, and to make them impregnable. In Title, becaufe through long pofiCllion the Devil pleads right by prefcription, and time out of mind, over the Soul, fo that it feems almoft a vain attempt to refcuc t hat Soul from fin. And · though all things were made by and for God, yet here you fee God's Title feems as it were to fail, . and the Dev il 's takes pl~ce; for by a long cuftom in fin, fi1ch ontfrand the offi:rs cl. Grace, abnfc the patience ofGod, and provoke him to give them up judicially to hardnefs ofH ea r t; by long delay, they more ftr engthcn the Devil's Title, and make their Salvatiori the more difficult and hazardous. 2· Ola SinnerJ are fo foalud and drenched in the Cares and OmccmmentJ ofthis World ; that by a ftrange {ottiflmefs, the nettrer they approach to the evil Day , the further they put it ojffrrnn. them, never thiding of Eternity until thejare irrecoverabLy [wallowed 11p in it. As thofe that work in dee_p Mines fee not the Sun, and know not how the Day paffeth away, fo thofe Earth-worms that toil and drudge to load themfelves with t hick Clay out of the Bowels of the Earth, never confider how far their Day is fpcnt, nor how near their Sun is to fetting, never confider oncse how the Day goes over their Heads, hut Jti\1 work deeper and deeper till they have opened a pafl3ge through E:lrth inro HeR, into which at !aft they fall headlong. , 3· Old SinncrJ they have long built up and fupported themfelves with falfe and flatter ing hopes, either prcfhmptuous Conccits of God's Mercy, or proud Concei t" of their own Merits, or fome fuch rotten Principle or other; and becaufe with t)lefc they have worn out many ftorms of Confcience, and many powerful ConviCl ions, they will not forfake their Hopes, nor let go their vain Confidence, but cry out peace, peace to themfelves, till they and their Hopes perifl1 together. 4· By a long courfe offinning incorrie ibly, in which they h::~vc wearied out Divine: Patience, and all the fl: rivings of the BleJTed Spirit of God, till :lt laft they have provoked the Lord to pronounce a Curfe, and a judicial Hardncfs upon thefe Old Sinners. , And bccaufe they would not be purged when he would have purged them, therefore they fhal l never be pur~ed from their Iniquities till Wra th feizeth 11pon them, and feals them, and fets them afide for the Devit. The condition therefore of Ottl Sinners is very dangerous and deplorable, and very feldom arc fuch converted and favcd. ' · Bnt yet this is not the caufe ; the oldnefs or cunomarinefs of their fins m:tkes... them not unpardonable, nor fets them out of the reach of Chrift's All-fu fficiency to favc, but becaufe t hat they are fo tough and ftubborn that they will not come to God through Chrill:, that they may be faved by him; but notwithflanding their cafe is thus forlorn and dcfperat e with them, yet the All-fuffi.ciency of Chrift may be extended unto fuch as tl1efe, to bring them to Salvation, and to cure, and he:tl them, and fave them from thofe fins that would deprive them o( it. Poor finners did yon never read .that Chrifi: frencht an ljfue qf Blood that run Twelve Years? M.1t. S· 7· and how he frraitned a Woman that was bowed together Eighteen Years? Yea, how he healed an impotent M::~n that had an Infirmity Thirty Eight Years? 7ohn 5· S· And lhall a Miti!Cle of Power be able to cure an Old Difeafe, and not a Miracle of · Grace
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