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SERM. 1.7

INWARD WITNESS TO

CHRISTIANITY.

9

doubting,

till

we

arrive

at

full glory.

When

a

soul

is

made

sensible,

that

all its

iniquities are for ever cancelled,

that

God

will

never

avenge

any

of

his

crimes

upon

him,

when

he

knows

that

this

God,

who has

a right

to

punish

with everlasting revenge,

is

at

peace,

and

will

demand

no

more satisfaction for

his

sins;

this soul

then has

the

beginning

of

heaven.

This

is

a

part

of

final blessedness,

and

of

complete

eternal

life.

Now this

is,

in some

measure, found

in believers.

here

:

They

that

have

trusted

in the Son

of

God,

begin

to

find

'peace in

their

own consciences, they

can

hope.

God

is

reconciled

to

them

through

the

blood

of

Christ,

that their

iniquities are atoned

for,

and

that

peace

is

made betwixt God and

them.

This

belongs only to

the

doctrine of

Christ,

and

witnesses

it

to

be

divine

:

For

there

is

no religion

that

ever

pretended

to

lay

such

a

foundation

of

pardon and

peace,

as

the religion

of

the

Son

of God does;

for

he

has

made himself

a propitia-

tion; Jesus

the righteous

is

become

our

reconciler

by

becoming

a

sacrifice

:

Ram.

iii. 25.

Him hath

God

set

forth

for

a

propitiation

through

faith

in

his blood to

declare his righteousness

far

the

remission

of

sins

that

are

past,

that

he

might

be

just,

and

the

justifier

of

hint

that

believes

in

Jesus

:

Therefore

beingjusted

by

faith,

we

have peace

with

God, Rom.

v.

1.

Behold the Lamb

of

God,

that

takes away the sins

of

the

world!

was

the

language of

John,

who was

but

the

forerunner

of

our

religion,

and

took a

prospect of it

at

a little

distance:

And

much more

of

the

particular

glories and blessings

of

this

atonement

is

displayed

by

the

blessed

apostles the

followers

of

the Lamb.

Other

religions,

that

have been drawn from the

re-

mains

of

the light

of nature,

or

that

have been

invented

by

the superstitious

fears

and

fancies

of

men,

and ob-

truded

on

mankind

by

the

craft of their

fellow

-

creatures,

are

all

at

a

loss

in this instance,

and

can never speak

solid peace

and pardon.

1.

The

religion

of

the

Heathens, and

the best

of

phi-

losophers,

could

never assure

us,

Whether

God would

pardon

sin

at

all,

or

no.

The light of nature

indeed

would.

dictate thus

much,

that God

is,

in his own

nature,

gracious,

and compassionate, and

kind; but

whether