370 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. Sin-distressed souls wait for God with earnestness, diligence and expectation, from the redoubling of the expression. . Continuance in waiting until God appears to the soul, is necessary and prevailing; necessary, as that without which we cannot attain assistance; arid prevailing, as that wherein we shall never fail. Establishment in waiting on God where there is no present sense of forgiveness, yet gives the soul much secret rest and çomfort. The Psalmist having attained thus far, can now look about him, as in the closing verses, and begin to deal with others, and exhort them to an expectation of grace and mercy. And thus, though the soul be not absolutely in the haven of consolation where it would be, yet it has cast out an anchor that gives it establishment and security. Though it be still tossed, yet it is secured from ship- wreck, and is rather sick than in danger: waiting on God is a condition of safety. Hence he now turns himself to others, and on his discovery of forgiveness in God, and the establishment and consolation he found in waiting on him, he calls upon and encourages others to the same duty. ver. 7, 8. Our design in this treatise involves the consideration of all the above propositions; still, with respect to the state of the soul represented in the Psalm, many things that might justly be insisted on in the improvement of these truths have been anticipated in our former gene- ral rules. To them we must therefore refer, to avoid repetition. We shall notice the principal points with all possible brevity, yet so as not wholly to omit any directions here tendered to us as to the guidance of
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