as to pray that God would create the world, and incarnate his Sonne,

I answer,there is difference between an act done, and an act continued, when the World was made by God, God had finished that work. And when Chrift took our flesh upon him, the act was done, but the forgivenesse of fin is a continued act, which holds to day and to morrow, and world without end. God is pleafed not to impute thy finnes, but cover them; Now this covering is no conftant act. I may cover a thing now, and uncover it again, now forgiveneffe of finne being an act not complete, but continued, and continued world with out end and therefore we fay the Saints in heaven are juftified by imputative righteoufneffe, Gods continu ance of his act of mercy.) The point then is this; As long as we continue in the world, and by contrary acts of disobedience continue to provoke God to difcontinue his former acts of mercy, and our finnes being but covered, therefore fo long muft we pray for forgiveneffe. When the fervant had humbled himself before his Lord, it is faid, The Lord of that fervant loofed him, and forgave him the debt, but though he forgave him, yet he did another act that caused his Lord to difcontinue his pardon, Matth. 18.33. Shouldeft not thou alfo have had compassion on thy fellow-fervant, as I had pity on thee? He had pity on him, yet fince he doth another act, which turns his Lords heart againft him, therefore he is now caft into prifan, and he must not come out thence till he hath paid the utmost farthing. He had forgave him to day and to morrow, and would have continued his forgiveneffe if he had not thus provoked him; we must pray to God to continue his

a&s

acts of mercy, because we continually provoke him by new acts of rebellion. Adde to this, The King grants a pardon to a man; In all Patents of pardon there is a claufe that the man muft renew his Patent, If forgiveneffe may be renewed, then those things are to be renewed again, by which the renovation of my remiffion may be wrought. God would have me renew my acts of faith; and if of faith, why not of repentance, and of prayer? There is a fingular place in Ezek. 36.29,35,37. that makes it plain, That though God intends to do the thing, yet he appoints this to be the means. Thus faith the Lord God, I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Ifrael, to do it for them; (i.e.) though I have done it, and intend to do it, yet will I do it by the means of prayer. Howfoever that God had promifed Eliah, that raine should come upon the face of the earth; yet he goes upon the Mount, and faw no fhew of a cloud. The Text faith not what he did, but he put his head between bis knees, Saint Fames faith, he prayed, and he opened heaven, and brought down raine. It was an humble fecret gefture. A man may be more free in private, than in publick. He prayed, and the heavens opened. God had promised it, and would do it, but yet he would be fought too. So we fee the mediate caufe is prayer; fo though the Lord will do this, yet for all this he will be enquired of: It is not with God as with men who have promifed, would be loth to be fued to not to break their promife; they account that a dishonour to them, but it is not fo with God, God hath promised, yet thou shalt have no benefit of it, untill thou fue him for it; therefore thon must go to

God

God and fay, Lord fulfill thy promife to thy servant, wherein thou haft caused me to trust. God loves to have his bond fued out. Lord,make good this word, performe that good word that thou haft fpoken. God would have his bond thus fued out. And as thy faith, repentance, prayer is renewed, fo is thy pardon renewed. When God will make a man poffefle the finnes of his youth, when a man is careleffe this way, it pleaseth God to awaken him. Thou writeft bitter things against me, and makest me to poffeffe the iniquity of my youth, Job 13. 26. When a man forgetteth the iniquities of his youth, and reneweth not his repentance, and hath not new acts of faith and petition, then God maketh him to poffeffe the iniquities of his youth; he makes his fins ftand up and cry out against him,& by this means his old evidences are obliterated, When a man hath a pardon, and its almoft obliterated, the letters almoft worne out,that they cannot be read, he would be glad to have it renewed, to have a new exemplification. Every finne it puts a great blug upon thine old evidence that thou canst not read it. I may be firme in heaven, and yet perhaps be blur'd that thou canst not read it, and therefore if thou wouldst get them clear'd again, thou must go to God by prayer, and renew them again, fo that whether our evidences be blur'd, or whether it be that God will make us poffeffe the iniquities of our youth, it is neceflary to pray for the forgiveneffe of thofe finnes which have been before forgiven.

But now you will fay, when I have finned afterward, how come I then to be juftified? Then a man would think repentance only doth it, and without repentance a man cannot be justified.

But

But you must underftand, repentance is not an inftrument at all; faith only is the inftrument, faith juftifyeth me from finne hereafter as well as before. The cafe is this, faith brings life. The righteous fhall live by his faith, as the Prophet Habakkuk speaks.

What doth then new finnes do?

4

There are two forts of finnes; one of ordinary incurfion, which cannot be avoided; these break no friendship betwixt God and us; these only weaken our faith, and make us worfè at ease. But there are other finnes which waste a mans confcience; A man that hath committed murder, adultery, and lives in covetousneffe, which (in the Apostles) is Idolatry; as long as a man is in this cafe, he cannot exercife the acts of faith; we must know faith justifieth not as an habit, but as an act applying Chrift to the comfort of the foul. Nowa wafting finne it ftops the paffage of faith, it cannot act till it be opened by repentance; Phyfitians give inftances for it. Thofe that have A-. poplexies, Epilepfies, and the Falling fickneffe, are thought to be dead for the time, as it was with Ens tichus, yet faith Saint Paul, his fpirit was in him. Every one thought him dead, yet his fpirit is in him however in regard of the operation of his fenfes it did appear he was dead. So, if thou art a careleffe man, and look ft not to thy watch, and to thy guard, but art overtaken in fome groffe and grievous finne, thou art taken for dead. I fay not,a man can lose his life that once hath it; but yet in the apprehenfion of others, and of himself too, he may appear to be fo. As in Epilepfies, the nerves are hindred by obftructions fo finne obftructs the nerves of the foul, that there

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cannot

cannot be that life and working till these finnes be removed. Now what is repentance? why, it clears the paffages, that as faith could not act before, now it gives him difpofitions unto it.

As a man in a

fwound, cannot do the acts of a living man, till he be refreshed again, fo here its repentance which clears the fpirits, and makes the life of faith paffe throughout. Now when repentance clears the paffages, then faith acts, and now there is a new act of faith, faith juftifies me from my new finnes, faith at firft and at laft is that whereby I am justified from my fins which I commit afterwards.

But this forgiveneffe of finnes, what doth it free us from?

In finne, we must confider two things; the fault and the punishment. Now confider finne as it is in it felf,and as it refpects the finner,as acted by him, as refpecting the fault of the finner, it is avquía, a transgreffion of the Law The punishment is death; as it refpects the finner,it is guilt. The fin is not guilt,but the guilt the finners, For inftance, a man that hath told a lye, or fworn an oath, the act is paft, but a thing remains which we call the guilt. As if a man commit murder or adultery, the act is paft, but yet if he fleep, or walk or wake, the guilt follows him. If he five an hundred years, he is a murderer ftill, and an adulterer till, the guilt follows him, and nothing can takea way the murder or adultery from the foul, but the blood of Chrift applyed by faith..! and

Firft, God takes away the punishment. There is now (faith the Apostle) no condemnation to them that are in Chrift Fefus, who walk not after the flesh,but after

the