SERMON XVI.

Enforcing the general Exhortation, by a feventh Motive drawn from the first Benefit purchased by CHRIST.

EPH. i. 7.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of fins, according to the riches of his grace.

IX great motives have been prefented already from the titles of Chrift, to draw the hearts of finners to him; more are now to be offered from the benefits redounding to believers by Chrift; effaying, by all means, to win the hearts of men to Chrift. To this end I fhall in the first place, open that glorious privilege of gospel-remiffion, freely and fully conferred upon all that come to Chrift by faith," in whom we have redemption by "faith," &c.

In which words we have, first, a fingular benefit, or choice mercy bestowed, viz. redemption, interpreted by way of appofition, the remiffion of fins: this is a privilege of the first rank, a mercy by itfelf; none sweeter, none more defirable among all the benefits that come by Christ. And therefore,

Secondly, You have the price of this mercy, an account what it coft, even the blood of Chrift, in whom we have redemption [through his blood:] precious things are of great price; the blood of Chrift is the meritorious caufe of remiffion.

Thirdly, You have here alfo the impulfive caufe, moving God to grant pardons at this rate to finners, and that is faid to be the riches of his grace: where, by the way, you see that the freeness of the grace of God, and the fulness of the fatisfaction of Christ, meet together without the leaft jar in the remiffion of fin, contrary to the vain cavil of the Socinian adverfaries: "In whom we have "redemption, even the remiffion of fins, according to the riches "of his grace."

We

Fourthly, You have the qualified fubjects of this bleffed privilege, viz. Believers, in whofe name he here fpeaks, [we] have remiffion, i. e. We the faints and faithful in Chrift Jefus, ver. 1. whom he hath chofen in Chrift before the foundation of the world, and predeftinated unto the adoption of children, ver. 4, 5. We that are made accepted in the beloved, ver. 6. It is we, and we only, who have redemption through his blood. Hence observe,

Doct. That all believers, and none but believers, receive the remiffion of their fins through the riches of grace, by the blood of Jefus Chrift.

In the explication of this point three things must be spoken to. 1. That all that are in Christ are in a pardoned state.

2. That their pardon is the purchase of the blood of Chrift. 3. That the riches of grace are manifested in remiffion. First, That all that are in Christ are in a pardoned state: where I will first fhew you what pardon or remiffion of fin is.

Secondly, That this is the privilege of none but believers.

Firft, Now remiffion of fin is the gracious act of God, in and through Chrift, discharging a believing finner from all the guilt and punishment of his fin, both temporal and eternal.

It is the act of God; he is the author of remiffion; none can forgive fins but God only, Mark ii. 7. Againft him only, i. e. principally and especially, the offence is committed, Pfal. li. 4. To his judgment guilt binds over the foul; and who can remit the debt but the creditor? Matth. vi. 12.

It is an act of God, difcharging the finner; it is God's loofing of one that stood bound, the cancelling of his bond or obligation, called therefore remiffion or releasing in the text; the blotting out of our iniquities, or the removing of our fins from us, as it is called in other scriptures; fee Pfal. ciii. 11. Micah vii. 18, 19.

It is a gracious act of God, the effect of pure grace, done for his own name's fake, Ifa. xliii. 25. difcharging us without any fatisfaction at all by us: there is much grace in that; and providing a furety for us every way able to pay our debt, there is more grace in that.

It is the gracious act of God in and through Chrift: the fatiffaction of Chrift is the procuring caufe of our remiffion, and so God declares himself juft in the remiffion of our fin, Rom. iii. 25 "Gracious is the Lord and righteous," Pfal. cxvi. 5. Juftice and mercy meet here, and embrace each other; " in whom (faith the "text) we have remiflion:" no other price could purchase this pri vilege, Micah vi. 6, 7. not rivers of oil, or of human blood.

And this gracious act of God difcharges the pardoned foul both from guilt and punishment. Guilt is nothing elfe but the force and power that is in fin, to oblige the finner to undergo the penalty due to fin; therefore finners are faid to be guilty of hell-fire, Matth. v. 22. Guilty of eternal judgment, Mark iii. 29. To be under the judgment of God, Rom. iii. 19. Remiffion takes away both guilt and punishment together; it takes away all guilt, Acts X. 38, 39. and all punishment. And fo much of the first thing to be opened, namely, what the remiffion of fin is.

Secondly, Now that this remiffion of fin is the privilege of believers, is moft apparent, for all the caufes of remiffion are in conjunction to procure it for them: the love of God, which is the impulfive caufe of pardon; the blood of Chrift, which is the meritorious caufe of pardon; and faving faith, which is the inftrumental cause of pardon, do all co-operate for their remiflion, as is plain in the text.

Befides, all the promises of pardon are made to tliem, Jer. xxxi. 34. Micah vii. 18. And, laftly, all the figns of pardon are found in them, and in them only, that love God, Luke vii. 47. Mercifulness to others, Matth. vi. 14. A bleffed calmnefs and peace in the conscience, Rom. v. 1. So that it is a truth beyond controverfy, that all that are in Chrift are in a pardoned state.

Secondly, Next I will fhew you, that the pardon of believers is the purchase of the blood of Chrift: nothing but the blood of Chrift is a price equivalent to the remiffion of fin, for this blood was innocent and untainted blood, 1 Pet. i. 19. the blood of a Lamb without fpot this blood was precious blood, blood of infinite worth and value, the blood of God, Acts xx. 28. It was prepared blood for this very purpose, Heb. x. 5. Prepared by God's eternal appointment; prepared by Chrift's miraculous and extraordinary production by the operation of the Spirit; prepared by his voluntary fequeftration, or fanctification of himfelf to this very ufe and purpose.

The blood of Jefus is not only innocent, precious, and prepared blood, but it is alfo blood actually fhed and facrificed to the juftice of God, for the expiation of guilt, and procurement of our difcharge, Ifa. liii. 5. To conclude, the fevere juftice of God could put in no exception against the blood of Chrift; it is unexceptionable blood, being, (as before was noted), untainted by fin, and dignified above all eftimation by the perfon whofe blood it was. Juftice required no lefs, and could demand no more; and this is the price at which our pardons are purchased, and without which no fin could be pardoned; for "without fhedding of blood, (fuch "blood as this) there is no remiffion," Heb. ix. 22.

Thirdly, The last thing to be opened is, That God hath manifefted the riches of his grace, in the remiflion of our fins. So fpeaks the apoftle, Rom. v. 20. "Where fin abounded, grace did "much more abound:" And, 1 Tim. i. 14. "The grace of our "Lord (viz. in the pardon of fin) was exceeding abundant." Which will appear, if we bring our thoughts clofe to the matter, in feveral particulars.

First, From the nature of the mercy, which is the richest of all mercies, except Chrift the purchaser of it: No mercy sweeter than a pardon to a condemned finner; no pardon like God's par

don to a man condemned at his bar; all the goodnefs of God is made to pass before our eyes in his pardoning acts of grace, Exod. 7 xxxiii. 19.

Secondly, The very riches of grace muft needs be in the pardon of fin, if we confider the method in which pardons are difpenfed, which is, as the text fpeaks," through his blood." Herein "God commends his love to us," Rom. v. 8. He commends it more than if he had pardoned fin without fuch a facrifice; for then he had only difplayed his mercy, but not caufed mercy and juftice to meet and triumph together.

Thirdly, The riches of his grace fhine forth in the peculiarity of the mercy. Remiffion is no common favour; it is never extended to the fallen angels, nor to the greater part of the children of men, but only to a little flock, a fmall remnant of mankind, Luke xii. 32. John xvii. 9.

Fourthly, The riches of grace are manifested in remiflion, if we confider the fubjects of this privilege, who are not only equally plunged into fin and mifery with others by nature, Eph. ii. 3. but many of the Lord's pardoned ones have been actually guilty of a deeper-dyed abomination than many unpardoned ones, in the civilized world, are defiled with. "To me, (faith Paul), the great"eft of finners, one that was before a blafphemer, a perfecutor, " yet to me is this grace given; I obtained mercy," 1 Tim i. 15. "And fuch were fome of you, but ye are justified," 1 Cor. vi. 11. Yea, God fingles out the moft bafe, defpifed, poor, and contemptible ones among men, to be the fubjects of this glorious privilege, 2 Cor. i. 26. "You fee your calling, brethren," &c.

12.

Fifthly, More of the riches of grace ftill appear, if we view the latitude and extent of this act of grace. O how innumerable are our tranfgreffions! "Who can understand his errors?" Pfal. xix. "Yet the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all fin," I John i. 7. Small and great fins, open and fecret fins, old and new fins, all pardoned without exception. O the riches of grace! O the unfearchable goodnefs of God!" With the Lord there is mercy, "and with him there is plenteous redemption; and he shall re"deem Ifrael from all his iniquities," Pfal. cxxx. 7, 8.

Sixthly, and laftly, The riches of grace fhine forth in the irrevocableness and perpetuity of remiffion. As grace pardons all fins without exception, fo the pardons it beftows are without revoca tion: The pardoned foul fhall "never come into condemnation," John v. 24." As far as the eaft is from the west, so far hath he " removed our tranfgreffions from us," Pfal. ciii. 10. The eaft and weft are the two oppofite points of heaven, which can never come together; neither fhall the pardoned foul and its fins ever VOL. II. K k

meet any more. "Thou haft caft, (faith Hezekiah) all my fins "behind thy back." The penitent believer fets his fins before his face, but the merciful God cafts them all behind his back, never to behold them more, fo as to charge them upon his pardoned people. And thus you fee what the pardon of fin is, what the price that purchaseth pardon is, and what riches of grace God manifefteth in the remiffion of a believer's fins; which were the things to be explained and opened in the doctrinal part. The improvement of the whole you will have in the following uses.

Inference 1. If this be fo, that all believers, and none but believers, receive the remiffion of their fins through the riches of grace, by the blood of Chrift; What a happy condition then are believers in! Those that never felt the load of fin may make light of a pardon; but fo cannot you, that have been in the deeps of trouble and fear about it; thofe that have been upon the rack of an accufing and condemning conscience, as David, Heman, and many of the faints have been, can never fufficiently value a pardon. "Bleffed is the "man whofe tranfgreffion is forgiven, whofe fin is covered; blef«fed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity," Pfal. xxxii. 1, 2, or, O the bleffedness and felicities of the pardoned man! as in the Hebrew*. Remiffion cannot but appear the wonder of mercies, if we confider through what difficulties the grace of God makes way for it to our fouls; what strong bars the love of God breaks afunder, to open our way to this privilege; for there can be no pardon without a Mediator; no other Mediator but the Son of God: the Son of God cannot difcharge our debts, but by taking them upon himself as our furety, and making full payment, by bearing the wrath of God for us; and when all this is done, there can be no actual pardon, except the Spirit of grace open our blind eyes, break our hard hearts, and draw them to Chrift in the way of believing. And as the mercy of remiffion comes to us through wonderful difficulties, fo it is in itself a complete and perfect mercy: God would not be at fuch vaft expence of the riches of his grace; Chrift would not lay out the invaluable treafures of his precious blood to procure a cheap and common bleffing for us. Rejoice then, ye pardoned fouls, God hath done great things for you, for which you have caufe to be glad.

Inf. 2. Hence it follows, That intereft in Chrift by faith, brings the confcience of a believer into a ftate of reft and peace, Rom. v. 1. "Being juftified by faith, we have peace with God." I fay not that every believer is prefently brought into actual peace and tranquility of confcience; there may be many fears, and much trouble even in a pardoned foul: but this is an undoubted truth, that