EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 135 that the prescription of repentance doth indeed evince that there is forgiveness with God. Secondly, that every one in whom there is repentance wrought towards God, may certainly conclude that there is forgiveness with God for him. 1. No repentance is acceptable with God but what rests on the faith of forgiveness. We have a cloud of wit- nesses to this truth in the Scripture. Many there have been, many are recorded, who have been convinced of sin, perplexed about it, sorry for it, who have made open confession and acknowledgment of it, who, under the present sense of it, have cried out even to God for deli- verance, and yet have come short of mercy, pardon, and acceptance with God. The cases of Cain, Pharaoh, Saul, Ahab, Judas, and others, might be insisted on. What was wanting, that made all that they did abomi- nable l Consider one instance for all : it is said of Judas, that he repented, Matt. 27 : 3 ; " he repented himself;" but in what did this repentance consist l 1. He was convinced of his sin in general ; " I have sinned," ver. 4. 2. He was sensible of the particular sin of which he stood charged in conscience before God : " I have be- trayed innocent blood ;" I am guilty of blood, innocent blood, and that in the vilest manner, by treachery. So that he comes, 3. To a full and open confession of his sin. 4. He makes restitution of what he had gained by his sin, " he brought again the thirty pieces of silver," ver. 3, all testifying a hearty sorrow. Methinks now, Judas's repentance looks like the young man's obedi- ence, who cried out, " All these things have I done : is there any thingyet lacking?" Yea, one thing was want- ing to that young man, he had no true faith nor love to God, which vitiated and spoiled all the rest of his per- formances. One thing is also wanting to this repent- ance of Judas, he had no faith of forgiveness in God : that he could not believe ; and therefore after all this
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