The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

Thirdly, every believer accepted and justified in and through Christ by the Father, yet he is bound thus far to charge his sin upon his own soul, and lay them so much upon himself, as to maintain in his own heart a sense of the need that he hath of Christ, as well as to continue our respect and acceptation with God, as to bring us at first into the love and favour of God: Indeed if we could quit our selves, and clear our hands of any sin committed by us, it were something, then we would be ready to say as the people to Jeremiah, We are holy, we are lords, we will come no more at thee: No it is necessary, seeing Christ is yet in the work of the mediatorship, that we should see a daily need of him; this is the reason of that great complaint of David, Psal. 51.1.2. ⟨p. 188⟩a man would think that he would have been comforted, and gone away cheerfully, having the pardon of his sins: but mark how he cries, Have mercy upon me oh God, according to the multitude of thy compassions, wash away all my transgressions: wash me throughly from all my transgressions, and purge me from my sin. He had not only need of Christ before his conversion to justify him, but he had need of Christ now to continue the assurance of his justification; it is not a drop, but a bucket full of mercy; not a little mercy, but a whole ocean: Lord, I have had a great deal of mercy for the sins of my youth, and I have need of a great deal of mercy still to wash away the guilt of my sins: this the Law required of every man that did offer sacrifice, as they were to offer their daily sacrifice, so we have daily need of Christ, and therefore we must have a daily recourse to Christ: therefore the sacrificer was to lay his hands upon the head of the sacrifice: Even so do thou lay thine hands upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and rest upon him, and thou shalt find acceptance with him, this is that which sometimes cheers up the drooping heart, and bears it up in the midst of all the waves of wickedness, when he sees the vanity of his mind, and the deadness of his heart, and frothiness of his speech, and now sin, and then sin, and in every thing sin, as you cannot but see and confess it:

Thirdly, every beleever accepted and justified in and through Christ by the Father, yet hee is bound thus farre to charge his sinne upon his owne soule, and lay them so much upon himselfe, as to maintain in his owne heart a sense of the need that he hath of Christ, as well as to continue our respect and acceptation with God, as to bring us at first into the love and favour of God: Indeed if we could quit our selves, and cleare our hands of any sin committed by us, it were something, then we would be ready to say as the people to Ieremie, We are holy, we are lords, we will come no more at thee: No it is necessary, seeing Christ is yet in the worke of the mediatourship, that we should see a dayly need of him; this is the reason of that great complaint of David,