Ver.4. Senfe offn confßent with Affurance. 285 feem fo far to impeach a mans comfortable perfu'afion of his con- dition before God, as to leave him beneath the Affurance fought after. And, z. I (hall (peak fornewhat of its Nature : Efpecially as mani- fefting its felt by its Effedts. 1. A deep fenfe of the evil offin, of the guilt ofroans own fin, Senfe of fin is no way inconfffent with Gofpel affurance cf Acceptance with COnfiítent with Mu- God through Chrijf, and of Forgivnefl in him. By a fnfe ofthe rancr,, guilt of fin ; I underftand two things., ( I.) A clear conviRion of fin by the Holy Ghofi, laying unto the Soul, Thos art the man ; and (2.) A fenfè ofthe dif leafure of God, or the wrath due to fin, according to the fentenceof the Law. Both thefè David expreffeth in that complaint, Pfàl. 3r. io'. My life is /pent with grief, and my years with fighing, my ffrength faileth becaufe of mine Iniquity, and my bones are confirmed, His Iniquity was before him, and a fenfe of it pre(%d him fore. But yet notwithftanding all this, he had a comfortable perfwa(ìon that God was his God in Covenant, v. r 4. I miffed in thee O Lord, t Paid , thou art my God. And the tenor of the Covenant, wherein alone God is the God of any perfon is, that he will be mercifull unto their fin and iniquity. To whom he is a God, he is fo according to the Tenor of that Covenant ; fo that here thefe two are conjoyned. Saith he, Lord, I am preffcd with the fenfe of the guilt of mine Iniquities, and thou a. t my Cod who forgiveft them. And the ground hereof is, that God by the Gofpel hath divided the wort of the Later , and taken part of it out of its hand. Its whole work and duty is to condemn the fin and the fnn°r. The (inner is freed by the Gofpel, but its right lyes again(} the fin Rill , that it con- demns, and that jufily. Now though the f nner bimfelf be freed,. yet finding his fin layd hold of and condemned, it fills him with a dtep fènfe of its guilt, and of the d;fpleafare of God again(} it ; which yet hinders not, but that at the fame time, he may have fuch an infigbt as faith gives into his per- fowl intereft in a Gofpel acquitrnent. A man then may have a deep fenfe of fin all his daycs, walk under the fenfe of it continually, abhorr himíelf for his ingratitude, unbelief, Q o 3 and
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