Address to doubting Christians. 195 were proud of their spiritual gifts, the apostle beats down their swelling plumes, by giving them a review of their accursed state, Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, 1 Cor. 12. 2. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, &c. When a convert frequently considers what he was once in his unregenerate state, he would not for all the honours, profits, and pleasures of the world, return to that state again; so great a delight he takes in the work of the new creature. The second branch of exhortation is to those that are in a doubting condition. The main objection such make, is the greatness of sin. Oh! there was never such a great sinner in the world as I am! If you rake all hell over, you will not find such another. Sure God will never pardon me; my sins are too great to be forgiven. Such language as this does sometimes drop from men, which they are partly urged to by the devil, to disparage that royal prince Jesus, that came to destroy his works, and to keep up an enmity between God and man, in making the creature have jealous thoughts of the Creator. And partly from a man's own conscience, which acting by those legal principles written in the heart by nature, which are directive, and upon non-observance condemning, but discover nothing of pardoning grace. This was the first act of natural conscience in Adam, after he had sinned; he had the least thoughts of forgiveness, for he studied nothing, but how he might fly from the presence of God. Such speeches as these discredit thy Creator, if they be persisted in, argues thee to be one of Cain's posterity, who indeed told God to his very face, that his sin was greater than could be forgiven, Gen. 4. 13. I will a little argue with such. But, 1, Art thou indeed the greatest sinner? I can hardly believe it. Didst thou ever sin after the rate that Paul did? or wert thou ever possessed with such a fury? Sure there have been some as great sinners as thou art, be as bad as bad can be. If thou were to look over the names of all those now in heaven, and ask them all what sins they were guilty of, before God showed mercy to them; I cannot think but thou wouldest find many that would mate thee, yea, and exceed thee too; and thou canst not charge thyself with any black circumstances, but thou wouldest meet with some or other that would cry out presently, Oh, I was in the like condition, and rather worse! What dost thou think of Christ's murderers, who resisted the eloquence of his sermons, and the power of his miracles? And when his death had darkened the sun, shook the earth, clave the rocks, rent the vail of the temple in twain; not one heart among that murderous crew had any saving relentings that we read of. And yet were not some of these converted by Peter's Sermon, and the pardon of them left upon record by the Spirit of God? Have not some of God's greatest favourites been the greatest sinners? Did not Adam draw upon him the guilt of all his posterity, and may in some sense be charged with the sins of all those that came out of his loins, even all mankind? Yet to this very person was the first promise of the gospel made, and that before he pronounced any sentence against him for his sin, Gen. 3. 15. 2. Suppose thou art the greatest, is thy staying from Christ the way to make all thy sins less? Art thou so rich, as to pay this great debt out of thy own revenue? Or hast thou any hopes of another surety? Did any man or angel tell thee, they could satisfy for thee? Can complaints of a great load, without endeavouring its removal, ease that back that bears it? 3. Are thy sins the greatest? Is not the staying from Christ a making them greater? Does not God command thee to come to Christ? and is not thy delay a greater act of disobedience, than the complaint of thy sinfulness can be of humility? Hast thou not load enough already, but wilt thou add unbelief, which is as black as all thy other sins put together? Address to doubting Christians. 197 Is not a refusal of his mercy provocative? Thou art mad if thou thinkest thy sin can decrease by trampling upon Christ's heart, and spurning at his compassion. Thou hast sinned against justice, against wisdom, against common providence: is not this enough, but wilt thou rob him of an opportunity to show the riches of his grace, by refusing the blood of his Son, which his wisdom contrived, and his love offers? Who is it persuades thee thus to keep off from Christ? Does God? Show me, where is his hand for it? Show me thy authority in God's warrant. But since thou canst not, I am sure it is thy own corrupt heart and the devil in league together. And mayst thou not say of him far better than Ahab did of Micaiah, Thou didst never prophecy good to me; no, he never did, nor ever will. What, wilt thou more black thyself, by following the devil's counsel, than obeying God's command? If thy sin be great, let it multiply thy tears, but by no means stop thy progress to Christ. 4. Were thy sins less than they are, thou mightest not so easily believe in Christ, as now thou mayest. If thou wilt not believe while thy sins are great, and thy heart naughty, I dare assure thee, if thy heart were not naught, and thy sins little, thou wouldst not believe; for thou wouldest be apt to believe in thy own heart, and trust in thy own righteousness, rather than believe in Christ. Great sins and a bad heart felt and bewailed, is rather an advantage; as hunger is an incentive to a man to seek for meat. If men had clean hearts, it is like they would dispose of them otherwise, and rather think Christ should come to them. Men's Men's poverty should rather make them more importunate, than more modest. To say, I will not come to Christ, because I have great sins, is as if one should say, I will never have any thing to do with happiness if offered, because I have great misery: I will go to no chirurgeon, because my wound is so great: I will eat no bread, be cause I am so exceeding hungry, and like to starve. This is ill logic; and so it is with thee, to argue, because I am unclean, therefore I will not go to the fountain to be washed; or to think to be sancti fied before believing. Now since thou hast, as thou confessest, no righteousness to trust in, methinks thou shouldest be the more easily persuaded to cast thyself upon Christ, since there is no other way but that. If therefore thou art afraid of drowning under these mighty floods which roll upon thee, methinks thou shouldest do as men ready to perish in the waters, catch hold of that which is next them, though it be the dearest friend they have; and there is none nearer to thee than Christ, nor any such a friend; catch hold therefore of him. 5. The greatness of thy sin is a ground for a plea, Turn thy sins into arguments, as David doth; for it is great, Psal. 25. 11. Some translate it, Though it be great; and the Hebrew word will bear both, The psalmist useth two arguments, God's name, and the greatness of his sin. And both are as good arguments as they were then. Thou mayest go to God with this language in thy mouth; Lord, my impurity is great, there is more need therefore of thy washing me; my wound is deep, the greater is the necessity of some plaister for a cure. What charitable man in the world would not hasten a medicine, rather than refuse to grant it? What earthly physician would object, the disease is great, therefore there is no necessity of a cure; therefore there is no room left for my skill? And shall God be less charitable than man? Dogs may lay claim to crumbs that fall from the master's table. Thou mayest use also the argument of God's name. Sinners may plead for grace upon the account of God's glory; viz. the glory God will have by it. His wisdom is eminent in serving his own ends by his greatest enemy. His power in conquering sin, his grace in pardoning. Show him Infinity of God's Mercy. 199 his own name, Exod. 34, and see if he will deny any letter of it. If thy disease were not so great, Christ's glory would not be so illustrious. Pardon of such sins enhanceth the mercy and skill of thy Saviour. The multitude of devils which were in Mary Magdalen, are recorded to show the power of that Saviour that expelled them, and wrought so remarkable a change. Are thy sins the greatest? God that loves to advance his free grace in the highest manner, will be glad of the opportunity to have so great a sinner follow the chariot of it, and to manifest thereby its uncontroulable power. Use David's argument, Psal. 37. 12, when ver. 8, he prayed, that God would deliver him from his transgressions, ver. 12, he useth this argument, that he was a stranger. I know no reason but it may be thine, for if thy sins be great, thou art more alienated from God than the ordinary rank of men: Lord, thou dost command us to show kindness to strangers, to love our enemies; and wilt thou not use the same mercy to a stranger, that thou commandest others to use, and show the same love to so great an enemy as I am? The greater my enmity, the more glorious will be thy love. Plead therefore, 1. The infiniteness of God's mercy. It is strange if thy debts should be so great, that the exchequer of the King of kings cannot discharge them. Why should the apostle say, God was rich in mercy, Eph. 4, and call it great love, if it were spent only upon little sins, and if any debts could exhaust it: for surely an infinite God cannot be finitely rich. If God be rich in mercy, he is surely infinitely rich: thou canst not think that any that have got to heaven before thee, have drained his treasures, for then it had been finite, not infinite. They were not unsearchable riches, if the sins of all the world could find the bottom of them. God looks upon his grace as the greatest part of his estate. He calls it his riches, which title he gives |