EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 127 things, may, and do take this to be an ordinary and ac- knowledged truth, easy to be entertained, which no man disbelieves. But convinced sinners who make a trial of these things, as running into eternity, have other thoughts of them. And as to that which it is pretended every one believes, we have great cause to .cry out, " Lord, who bath believed our report l to whom hath this arm of the Lord been revealed 1" 2. The discovery of forgiveness in God, being a mat- ter of such great difficulty, is a thing precious and excel- lent, as being thefoundation of all communion with God here, and of all undeceiving expectation of our enjoy- ment of him hereafter. It is a pure gospel-truth, that has neither shadow, footstep nor intimation elsewhere ; the whole creation has not the least obscure impression of it left thereon : so that, 3. It is undoubtedlygreatly incumbent on us to inquire diligently, as the prophets did of old, into this salvation; to consider what sure evidences faith has that will not, cannot fail us. To be superficial in this matter, to take it up at random, indicates an unsound and rotten heart. He that is not serious in his inquiry into the revelation of this matter, is serious in nothing in which God or his soul is concerned. The Holy Ghost knows what is our frame of heart, and how slow we are to receive this blessed truth in A. gracious, saving manner. Therefore loth he confirm it to us with such weighty considera- tions, as, Heb. 6: 17, 18, "God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immu- table things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation." It is of forgiveness of sin that the apostle treats, as has been already shown. Men may think that possibly God will not fulfil his pro- mises of mercy : No, saith the apostle, it is spoken by God, and it is impossible he should he. Yea, but upon
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