8. If thou doft seriously, and in good earneft repent of all thy fins, it will be a great foundation of comfort to thee in time of distress. If the Devil, in time of temptation, or the hour of death, thall bring thy fins to thy remem. brance, and charge them upon thy Conscience, to drive thee to despair; O what a comfort will it be, if thy Confcience can then truly answer, though I have been guilty of fuch and fuch fins, yet through the riches of Gods Grace, I have in time of my health, particularly humbled foul for them, I have retracted and undone them my again by a serious repentance? Believe it, he that has truly repented of all his fins, and has the bent of his heart turned towards God, and is walking in a new course of life, a steady course of Godlineffe; has a furer foundation of comfort in his own foul, than if an Angel fhould come from Heaven, and tell him he should be faved. Upon all thefe confiderations, let me advise thee (begging the affiftance of the Spirit of God) to fet upon the peedy practife of this, fo great, fo neceffary, yea, to comfortable a duty. Let not the deceitfulneffe of fin, the cunning of Satan, the hope of long life, a vain prefumption on the Mercy of God, or any mistakes, or prejudices against the Doctrine of repentance keep the off: but laying afide all pretences, excufes, demurs whatever, fet upon it feriously, and speedily, and thou wilt find thereby through the bleffing of God)ibundance of eafe, comfort,fatisfaction, and fettlement to thy Mind and Confcience. Pfal.32.5. I acknowledged my fin unto thee, and mine iniquity bave I not hid, I faid, I will confeffe my tranfgreffion unto the Lord, and thou forgaveft the iniquity of my fin. Prov.28.13. He that covereth his fins shall not profper: but whoso confeffeth and for faketh them, Thall have mercy. 1 John 1.8. If we fay, that we have no fin, we deceive our felves, and the truth is not in us. V.9. If we confeffe our fin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our fins, and to cleanse us from unrighteoufneffe. all Pfal. 19.12. Who can understand his errours? cleanfe thou me from fecret faults. Pfal.90.8. Thou haft fet our iniquities before thee, our fecret fins in the light of thy countenance. Jam.3.2. For in many things we offend all. Job 13.26. For thou writeft bitter things against me, and makeft me to poffeffe the iniquities of my youth. Pfal.38.4. For mine iniquities are gone over my head,as an heavy burde they are too heavy for me. Job.34.32. That which I fee not, teach thoume, if I have done iniquity, I will do no more . Pfal.5 1.1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindneffe, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my tranfgreffions. V.2. V.2. Wab me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanfe me from my fin. V.3. For I acknowledge my tranfgreffions, and my fin is ever before me. V.5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in fin did my mother conceive me. V.7. Purge me with hyfop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than fnow. V.9. Hide thy face from my fins, and blot out all mine iniquities. V.10. Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me. V.11. Caft me not away from thy prefence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. V.16. Thou defireft not facrifice, elfe would I give it thou delighteft not in burnt offering. V.17. The facrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thon wilt not defpife. See more Scriptures concerning repentance, pag.102. CHAP. III. of Faith in Christ. Pon serious confideration of the evil and Udanger of thy fins (renouncing all Cenfi. 1 3 dence dence in thy felf, or any thing thou canft do, to procure thy pardon and peace with God) deliberatly, and advifedly betake thy felf unto Chrift Fe fus, the only Mediatour and Peace maker between God and man; who once offered up himself, a facrifice on the Croffe for fin, and is now in Heaven, making interceffion, and prefenting the Merits of his obedience, Sufferings, and Death in the behalf of all fuch, who being loft and undone in themselves, do flie to him for help and relief, and take him for their only Lord and Saviour. With judgment and underslanding give up thy felf to this Saviour: Caft thy penitent foul at his feet: Reft and rely on him wholly and alone, to be justified, acquitted, and difcharged of all thy fins by his Merits, to be fanctified by his Spirit, to be commanded and disposed of by him, and to be enabled by his Grace to perfevere in the waies of Truth and Holinesse all thy daies, and at last, to be brought to Eternal life. Intruft all thy hopes of pardon only on him: Enter into a real Covenant with him, to be for ever his, refolving to live and die his faithful Difciple, and fervant. And because really to close with Chrift, and favingly to believe on him, is a matter of fuch exceeding high Concernment I shall, 1. Explain the Nature of it. to it. 2. Lay down fome Conclufions about it. Know Know therefore, there is a two-fold Act of Faith. 1. of Adherence. 2. of Affurance. 1. When a poor finner doth caft himself wholly on Chrift crucified for pardon and life, (upon the warrant of the promife) although he hath no affurance in himself, how the Lord will dispose of him. This is commonly called Faith of Adherence, or Recumbency. II. When a foul that hath thus cast himself on Chrift, reflects upon what he hath done, and comparing it with the Gospel promifes, becomes (by the affiftance of the Spirit, bearing witneffe with his Spirit) confidently perfwaded of his intereft in Christ, and that he fhall be faved by him. This is call'd Faith of Affurance. Now the former is that Faith which is the Condition of the new Covenant, by which a finner is freely acquitted of all his fins, and accounted as a righteous and juft perfon in Gods fight. To this Faith, there are these fix things required. 1. A real, firm belief of the truth of the Gospel, a true historical Faith, concerning Chrifts perfon, undertaking, and performance, and that he came to be a Mediatour and Peace maker between God and mán. 2. A deep fense and feeling of the heavy burden ot fin, with true forrow and humiliation thereupon. The foul is brought to fee its undone 14 condition |