A sovereign antidote against all grief extracted out of the choisest authors, ancient and modern both holy and humane : necessary to be read of all that any way suffer tribulation / by R. Younge ...

Section 6.

Objection. But I am not worthy the least mercy, I have so of•…•…en abused it, and so little profited by the meanes of grace.

Answer. I think so too, for if thou refusest the offer of mercy until thou deservest it, wo bee to thee: But if thou wilt take the right course; re∣nounce the broken reed of thine own free will, which hath so often deceived thee; and put all thy trust in the grace of Christ: The way to bee strong in the Lord, is to bee weak in thy sels, bee weak in thy self, and strong in the Lord, and through faith thou shalt bee more than a Conquerour. Leav tugging and strugling with thy sin, and fall with Jacob to wrestle w•…•…th Christ for a blessing; and though thy self go limping away, yet shalt thou bee a Prince with God, and bee delivered from Esau's bondage. But thou stand∣•…•…st upon thine own feet, and therefore fallest so foully: thou wilt like a

child, go alone, and of thy self, and therefore gettest so many knocks. And thou wouldest accept of a pardon too, if thou mightest pay for it: but Gods mercies are free, and hee bids thee come and buy without silver, and without price; or else he says, thou and thy money perish. Thou would∣est go the naturall Way to work, What shall I do to inherit eternall life? but it is impossible to inherit it by any thing that wee can do; for all our righ∣teousnesses are as filthy ragges, Isa. 64. 6. Yea, if our doings could have done it, Christ dyed in vain; whereas, if Christ had not died, wee had perished, every mothers child of us, 1 Cor. 15. 22. and 2 Cor. 5. 14, 15. Ephes. 2. 1. Colos. 2. 13. Ezek. 18. 4. Job. 11. 50. Rom. 5. 6. 8. and 14. 9. 1 Cor. 15. 3. Matth. 18. 11.

O fool? dost thou not know that our sins are his sins, and his righte∣ousness, our righteousness: Jer. 23. 6. Psal. 4. 1. and that God esteems of Faith above all other graces, deeds, or acts of thine? as what did our Sa∣viour answer, when the people asked him, What shall wee do that wee might work the works of God? The work of God is, that yee beleeve on him whom hee hath sent, Joh. 6. 28, 29. and yet thou talkest of thy worthiness, and thou takest this for humility too, but it is pride; for if thou wouldest deny thy self, and bee nothing in thine own eyes, renounce thine own righteous∣ness, and wholly and onely rest on thy Saviour Jesus Christ for thy salvati∣on; thou wouldest not hope the more in regard of thine own worthi∣ness, nor yet doubt in respect of thine own unworthiness: But thou wouldest first bee worthy, and deserve of God; and then accept of Christ, and deserve Christ at Gods hands, by thy good works, and graces: which pride of thine, and opinion of merit, is a greater sin then all thy other sins which thou complainest of: and except you do abandon it, and wholly r•…•…ly upon the grace, and free mercy of God for salvation, Christ shall profit you nothing, Gal. 2. 16. and 5. 1. to 7. Colos. 3. 11. for nothing is available to salvation, but faith, which worketh by love, Gal. 5. 6. whence it is called righteousness through faith, ver. 5. Faith is the staffe, whereupon wee stay our selvs, in life and death; by saith wee are blessed, Gal. 3. 9. by faith wee rejoice in tribulation, Rom. 5. 2. by faith wee have access unto God, Ephes. 3. 12. by faith we overcome the world, 1 Joh. 5. 4. the flesh, Gal. 5. 24. and this is the shield whereby wee quench the fiery darts of Satan, and resist his power, Ephes. 6. 16. Yea, whosoever seeks to bee justified by the Law, they are abolished from Christ, and •…•…aln from grace, Gal 5. 4. Stand fast therefore in the liberty, wherewith Christ hath made us free, and bee not tangled again with the yoke of bondage. And say, Lord wee are not wor∣thy to bee servants, and thou makest us sons; nay, heirs, and co-heirs with thee, of everlasting glory.

Objection. I grant the Lord is mercifull and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin: but hee is just, aswell as mercifull, and therefore hee will not acquit the wicked Exod. 34. 6. 7. but reward them according to their works, Revel. 20. 12. 13. and 22. 12.

Answer. Hee will therefore pardon all thy sins, (if thou unfainedly. •…•…∣pent

and wholly rely upon Christ for thy salvation by a lively saith) because hee is just: for as the Lord cannot in justice let sin go unpunished (for the wages of sin is death Rom. 6. 23. Death in the person, if not in the surety; and therefore hath punished the sins of all men, either in his Son, or will throughly punish them in the parties themselvs) so the same ju∣stice will not admit, that the same fins should be twice punished; once in our Saviour and again, in the faithful: or that a debt once paid, should be required the second time, 1 Joh. 1. 9. Now that Christ hath sufficiently sa∣tisfied for all the sins of the faithful, and paid our debt even to the utmost farthing, it is evident by many places of Scripture, as Isa. 53. 4. 5. 2 Cor. 5. 21. Heb. 9. 26. 1 Pet. 2. 24. Rom. 3. 25. 26. 1 Joh. 1. 7. 9. and sundry others.

Are we bound to perform perfect obedience to the Law? hee performed it for us: were wee for disobedience subject to the sentence of condemna∣tion, the curse of the Law, and death of body and soul? hee was condem∣ned for us, and bore the curse of the law; hee died in our stead an ignomi∣nious death; did wee deserve the anger of God? hee indured his fathers wrathfull displeasure, that so he might reconcile us to his father, and set us at liberty. Hee that deserved no sorrow felt much, that wee who deserved much might feel none: and by his wounds wee are healed, Isa. 53. 5. Adam eat the Apple, Christ paid the price. In a word, whatsoever wee owed, Christ discharged; whatsoever we deserved, he suffered; if not in the self same punishments: (for hee being God could not suffer the eternall tor∣ments of Hell) yet in proportion, the dignity of his person (being God and Man) giving value unto his temporary punishments, and making them of more value and worth, than if all the world should have suffered the eternall torments of Hell: for it is more for one that is eternall to die, than for others to die eternall. Therefore was the Son of God made the Son of man, that the Sons of men might bee made the Sons of God; and therefore was hee both God and man: lest being in every respect God, he had been too great to suffer for man; or being in every respect man, hee had been too weak to satisfie God.

Seeing therefore our Saviour Christ hath fully discharged our debt, and made full satisfaction to his Fathers justice: God cannot in equity exact of us a second paiment, no more than the Creditor may justly require that his debt should bee twice paid; once by the Surety, and again, by the Principall.

Again secondly, it is the Lords Covenant made with his Church, and committed to writing, Jer. 31. 34. Heb. 10. 16, 17. Psal. 32. 10 Isa. 55. 7. Ezek. 18. 21, 22, 23. and 33. 11. Mal. 3. 17. Confirmed and ratified by his seals, the Sacraments; together with his Oath, that there might be no place left for doubting: for, God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of promise, the stableness of his counsell; bound himself by an oath, that by two immutable things, wherein it is impossible that God should lie, we might have strong consolation, as the Apostle speaks, Heb. 6. 17. 18.

And •…•…est the aff•…•…icted conscience should object, that hee entred into co∣venant,

and made these promises to the Prophets, Apostles, and holy men of God; but not to such hainous and rebellious sinners, who have most justly deserved, that God should pour out upon them the Vialls of his wrath, and those fearfull punishments threatned in the Law: All the promises made in the Gospel are generall, indefinite, and universall, excluding none that turn from their fins by unfained repentance, and beleeve in Christ Jesus, resting on him alone for their salvation, as appears, Isa. 55. 1. Ezek. 33. 11. Mark. 16. 16. Joh. 3. 14, 15, 16. 36. and 6. 37. 40. Act. 10. 43. 1 Joh. 2. 1. Neither is there any limitation or exception of this or that sin; for bee they never so grievous and manifold, yet if wee perform the condition of faith and repentance, they cannot debar us from receiving the benefit of God's mercy, and Christ's merits, as appears, Isa. 1. 18. Titus 2. 14. 1 Joh. 1. 7. 9.

And therefore unless thou conceivest of God, that hee is unjust in his dealing, untrue in his Word, a covenant-breaker; yea, a perjured person▪ (which were most horrible blasphemy once to imagine,) thou must un∣doubtedly assure thy self, that hee will pardon and forgive thee all thy sins, bee they in number never so many and innumerable; or in nature and quality never so hainous and damnable: if thou turnest unto him by un∣fained repentance, and laiest hold upon Christ by a true and lively faith. For consider, doth the Lord say hee will extend his mercie unto all that come unto him? doth hee invite every one? doth hee say I would have all men saved, and none to perish? and dost thou say, nay, but hee will not extend his mercy unto mee, hee will have mee to perish, because I am a grievous sin∣ner? What is this but in effect, and at a distance to contradict the Lord, and give the lye to truth it self.

Indeed God says not, Beleeve thou John, or Thomas, and thou shalt bee saved; but hee says, Whosoever beleeveth, and is baptized, shall bee saved, which is as good. And yet thou exceptest thy self, hee excludes none; and dost thou exclude one, and that one thy self? Hee would have all men saved, and thou comest in with thy exceptive, All but mee; Why thee? a precious singularity, but beware of it: For whereas others that beleeve not the threatnings, flatter away their souls in a presumptuous confidence; thou by not beleeving the promises, wilt cast away thine, in a sullen prodigious desperateness, if thou take not heed. For infidelity on both sides is the cause of all, of presumption in them, of despair in thee, of impiety in every one.

But bee better advised, beleeve the Lord who never brake his Word with any soul. Thou wilt give credit to an honest man's bare word, and hast thou no affiance in the mercifull promises of God, past to thee by Word, Oath, Seals, Scriptures, Sacraments, the death of his own Son, and (I presume) the Spirits testimony, if not now, yet at other times: take heed what thou dost, for certainly nothing offends God more, then the not taking of his Word.