a lid or cover to the ark, of the same dimensions with it, in which was the, aw, and prefigured Christ, as the covering of the transgressions of it by his people, from the sight of avenging Justice; and whose blood is the purple covering in the chariot of the covenant of grace, under which his people ride safe to glory; all their iniquities being out of sight; and whose righteousness is unto, and upon all, that believe; a garment that reaches to the feet, that white raiment with which being clothed, the shame of their nakedness does not appear; yea, being clothed with this robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, are as ornamented as the bridegroom and bride on the wedding-day; hereby their sins are covered, so as not to be seen any more, and they appear unblameable and irreproveable in the sight of God.

III. By a non-imputation of it; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity! Psal. xxxii. 2. does not reckon it, or place it to his account, or bring any charge against him for it, or punishes for it; but acquits him from it, having imputed it to Christ, placed it to his account, charged him with it, laid the chastizement of it on him, or the punishment of it on him, and received satisfaction from him for it.

·

IV. By a blotting of it out: In such language David prays for the forgiveness of sin; Blot out my transgressions and blot out all mine iniquities! Psal. li. i-9. and in the same way God declares his will to forgive the sins of his people; I, even I am he, that blotteth out thy transgressions! Isai. xliii. 25. which language is used, either in allusion to the crossing of debt-books, drawing a line over them; or to the blotting out a man's hand-writing to a bond or note, obliging to payment of money; hence the phrase of blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us, Col. ii. 14. Sins are debts, and these are numerous, and sinners poor, and unable to pay them; wherefore God, for Christ's sake, freely forgives, and draws the line of Christ's blood over them, and cancels the obligation to payment: or else to the dissipation of a cloud, by the sun rising or breaking forth through it; I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions; and as a cloud thy sins! Isai. xliv. 22. Sins may be compared to clouds, for their quantity, their number being many; for their quality, being exhaled out of the earth, and sea, and mount up to heaven, cause darkness, and intercept light; sin rises out of the earthly minds of men, whɔ mind earthly things, and who are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest; and the sins of some, like those of Babylon, reach up to heaven, and call for wrath and venge. ance to come down from thence; sin causes the darkness of unregeneracy, and is often the reason of darkness to such who have been made light in the Lord; it intercepts the light of his countenance, and of Christ, the Sun of righteousness: now as cloud is dispersed and dissipated by the breaking forth of the sun, which, overcoming the cloud, scatters it, so as it is seen no more: in like manner, through the rising of the Sun of righteousness, with healing in his wings, an application of pardoning grace is made for his sake; upon which, darkness is

dispersed, light and joy introduced, a serene heaven of peace and comfort tollow; and as a cloud is so dispersed, that it is seen no more, so sin is pardoned, in such sort as not to be seen any more; or to be set in the light of God's countenance unto condemnation; and though as fresh clouds may arise, so new sins may be committed, which yet are removed and cleansed from, by the blood of Christ, and the efficacy of it, for the continual pardon of it, through the repeated application of that blood.

v. By a non-remembrance of it; And their iniquities will I remember no more! Heb. viii. 12. Isai. xliii. 25. God forgives and forgets; having once forgiven them, he thinks of them no more; they are out of sight and out of mind; his thoughts are thoughts of peace, and not of evil; he remembers not former iniquities, but his tender mercies, which have been ever of old.

VI. By making sin, or rather sinners, white as snow; so David prays, Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow, Psal. li. 7. So the Lord promises; Thy sins shall be as white as snow, Isai. i. 18. Her Nazarites are purer than snow, Lam. iv. 7. Being justified by the righteousness of Christ, clothed with that fine linen, clean and white, washed in his blood, and their garments made white therein, and all their sins forgiven for his sake, and so all fair without spot or blemish.

III. What sins are pardoned; sins both with respect to quality and quantity. 1. For quality; they are called trespasses. Sin is a walking on forbidden ground, for which a man must suffer, unless forgiven: and transgressions of the law of God; a passing over and going beyond the bounds and limits prescribed by it: and iniquities, which are contrary to the rules of justice and equity: and sins, errors, aberrations, strayings from the rule of God's word: when God is said to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin, it takes in every kind and sort of sin; every sin is against God, though some are more immediately against him than others; they are contrary to his nature, which is pure and holy; whereas, nothing is more impure and unholy than sin is; and therefore it is abominable to him, and hated by him; and hence sins are called abominations; not that they are so to sinners, for they delight in them; but to God, to whom they are so very disagreable; there is an enmity in sin, and in every sinner's heart, to God; every sin is an act of hostility against him, it is a stretching out the hand against God, and a strengthening a man's self against the Almighty; it strikes at his Deity, and is a contempt of his authority; and yet he forgives it: it being. committed against him, an infinite Being, it is objectively infinite, and requires an infinite satisfaction; and without it, is punished ad infinitum. Sin is defined, a transgression of the law, 1 John iii. 4. a breach, a violation of it; which accuses of it, pronounces guilty for it, and curses and condemns; and is only forgiven by the Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Sins are sometimes represented as debts; because, being committed, they oblige to the debt of punishment, which God remits; the sinner owing more then ten-thousand talents,

and not able to pay, he frankly forgives all for Christ's sake; of which, the year of release from debts under the law was typical: sins, with respect to men, are called diseases, and they are incurable, but by the grace of God and blood of Christ; and pardon of sin is expressed by healing them; Who forgive all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, Psal. ciii. 3.

11. For quantity; all trespasses, sins, and transgressions are forgiven, Col. ii. 13. Psal. ciii. 3. Original sin, the sin of the first man, and the sin of all men in him, by which all are made, constituted, and accounted sinners: which is the source and fountain of all sin, and is the iniquity of us all, which was laid on Christ, and he satisfied for, and is forgiven for his sake; of all sin, it cannot be thought this should be left unforgiven: all actual sins, which springs from thence; the works of the flesh, which are many and manifest; some are more secret, some more open, some lesser, others greater, more daing and presumptuous; some sins of commission, others sins of omission; but all are forgiven; and not only daily failings and infirmities, but all backslidings, revoltings, and partial apostacics, and, indeed, every sin, excepting the sin of the Holy Ghost, Matt. xii. 31, 32 and why that is unpardonable, has been observed, Vol. 1. B. III. page 495.

IV. The causes of the pardon of sin.

1. The efficient Cause is God, and not any creature, angels or men.

1. It is not in the power of men to forgive sin: one man may forgive another an offence, as committed against himself; but not as committed against God; saints ought to forgive one another's offences that arise among them; as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven them, Eph. iv. 32. Col. ii. 13. Ministers can remit sin ministerially and declaratively, but not authoritatively; no man that goes under the name of a priest, or a minister of the word, has a power of absolution, or has authority to absolve men from their sins: all that a true and faithful preacher of the gospel can do, is to preach remission of sins in the name of Christ; and to declare, that whoever repent of their sins, and believe in Christ, shall receive the forgiveness of them; and which declaration of theirs God abides by and confirms; and whose sins, in this sense, they remit, they are remitted, John xx. 23. To assume a power to forgive sin, and absolve from it, is the height of antichristianism; it is with respect to this, that antichrist is said to sit in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is god, by taking that to himself which belongs to God only; namely, to forgive sin; this is one of the blasphe. mies, and a principal one, which his mouth is opened to utter, to dispense with sin, grant ndulgences of it, and pardons for it, 1 Thess. ii. 4. Rev. xiii. 5. 6. the highest angel in heaven cannot forgive, nor procure the forgiveness, of one sin; they could not for those of their own kind that sinned; nor can they for any of

the sons

of

men.

2. There is nothing a man has, or can do, by which he can procure the pardon of sin, either for himself, or for others: no man, by his riches, and the mul titude of his wealth, can give to God a ransom for himself, or for his brother,

is not

make atonement and satisfaction for sin, and obtain the pardon of it; Riches profit not in the day of wrath: when God comes to deal with men for their sins, and pour out his wrath upon them for them, bags of gold and silver will be of no avail. Nor is pardon of sin to be obtained by works of righteousness; could it, it would not be of grace; for grace and works are opposed to each other; men would be saved by works, contrary to the scriptures, since pardon is included in salvation, and that is by grace, and not works: besides the blood of Christ would be shed in vain; for as if righteousness, or justification, came by the law, then Christ died in vain; so if pardon of sin came by the works of the law, and obedience to it; in like manner Christ must have died in vain. Once more, the best works of men are due to God; he has a prior right unto the.n, and therefore cannot be meritorious of pardon; nor is there any just proportion between them and pardon, and eternal life; one debt cannot be paid by another; or the debt of punishment be remitted by the death of obedience. Nor is pardon procured by repentance; they are both gifts of grace; and though given to the same persons, the one is not the cause of the other; at least, repentance the cause of remission; for true, evangelical repentance, flows from, and in the exercise of it, is influenced by the discovery and application of pardoning grace; see Ezek. xvi. 63. brinish tears will not wash away sin; notwithstanding these, it will remain marked before God; the tears the woman, a sinner, shed, and with which she washed Christ's feet, were not shed to procure the pardon of her sins but flowed from a sense of pardoning love manifested to her, Luke vii. 37-47Nor is pardon procured by faith, as the cause of it; faith does not obtain it by any virtue of its own; but receives it as obtained by the blood of Christ, Acts x. 43. Nor is it procured by a submission to the ordinance of water-baptism,; baptism neither takes away original sin, nor actual sin; not as to the guilt thereof, as the case of Simon Magus shews; for though the three thousand are directed to be baptized in the name of Christ, for the remission of sins; and Saul was advised by Ananias, to arise, and be baptized, and wash away his sins, yet the meaning is not, as if remission of sins was to be obtained by baptism, or sinners to be cleansed from them by it; but that by means of this ordinance, they might be led to the sufferings, death, and bloodshed of Christ, represented in it; for whose name's-sake remission of sins is granted, and whose blood was shed for it, and cleanses from it.

3. God only can forgive sin; it is his sole prerogative; it belongs to him and to no other, Mark ii. 7. And this appears from the nature of sin itself; it is committed against God; and none but he against whom it is committed, can forgive it; it is a breach of his righteous law; and none but the Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy, can remit it, or free from obligation to punishment for it. Besides, if there was any other that could forgive sin, then there would be one equal to God; whereas, Who is a god like unto Him, that pardoneth iniquity? Mic. vii. 18. and it may be observed, that saints in all ages, under the Old and under the New Testament, never made their application to

any other but to God for the forgiveness of sin; nor are they ever directed to any other for it.

4. Yet all the three Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, have a concern in it. God the Father made an early provision of this blessing of pardon in his heart, in his purposes, in his council and covenant; and sent his Son to be the propitiation for it, and for the remission of it, through faith in his blood; and does bestow it for his sake; in which he shews, not only his grace, but his justice and faithfulness; for upon the bloodshed of his Son for it, he is just and faithful to forgive sin; just, in that the blood of Christ is a sufficient atonement for it; and faithful to his counsels, covenant, and promises, concerning it. Christ as God, and the Son of God, has power to forgive sin, even as Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, and when he was here on earth; of which he gave proof, by another act of his divine power, bidding a lame man take up his bed and walk, Matt. ix. 2, 6. As God-man and Mediator, his blood was shed for the remission of sin; and by it, it was obtained; as the Advocate of his people, he calls for it, and demands and requires the application of it, when it is wanted; and as the exalted Saviour, he gives it, and in his name it is preached, according to his orders, by the ministers of the gospel. The holy Spirit of God

has also a concern in it: he convinces men of sin, and of their need of the pardon of it; he makes it manifest; he takes the blood of Christ, and applies it to the conscience, which speaks peace and pardon; he pronounces the sentence of it, in the conscience of a sinner; he is the holy Spirit of promise, and he seals up the pardon of sin in a promise; and witnesses to the spirits of God's people, that they are pardoned ones.

II. The impulsive moving cause of pardon, is neither man's misery nor his merits; not any works of righteousness done by him; nor even any of the graces of the Spirit in him; but the sovereign grace and mercy of God, through Christ, Eph. i. 7. Luke i. 77, 78.

III. The meritorious cause of it, is the blood of Christ, which was shed for it, has obtained it, and for the sake of which God forgives sin; which virtue it has from the human nature being in union with the divine Person of the Son of God; Heb. ix. 14. 1 John i. 7.

V. The effects of pardon, that is, when applied; for the effects of it are not sensibly perceived, unless applied; which are,

1. Peace of conscience; when sin is charged upon the conscience, and there is no sight and sense of pardon, there is no peace; but no sooner is there a view of interest in justification, by the righteousness of Christ, and pardon by his blood, but there is peace, which that blood speaks and gives; and which the world cannot take away; a peace that passeth all understanding, and is better experienced than expressed.

11. Chearfulness of spirit: when sin lies as an heavy burden, without a view of pardon, the mind is depressed; it is filled with gloominess, and melancholy apprehensions of things, if not with despair, as in the case of Cain; a spint,