Light from heaven discovering the fountain opened. Angels acclamations. Churches riches. Rich poverty. In…Light from heaven discovering the fountaine opened. Angels acclamations. Churches riches. Rich povertie. In…

³And on the contrary, there is another hindrance, that is, too much light, either want of light altogether, or too much light, when by the preaching of the word of God, awaking our conscience, and showing our sins so enormous, so transcendent, so odious, that we forget mercy in Christ, and so dishonour Christ, to set the sins of the creature, above the infinite mercy of the Creator, as those that doubt, and from doubting, proceed to despair of the mercy of God, seeing the vileness of their sins, in the true colours of them, and seeing, and feeling Gods anger, and wrath; together with their sins, in the conscience, here is too much light one way, and not looking to the other light; this excellent glorious, infinite light of Gods mercy, shining in the Gospel, they look not on God in the face of Christ, out of some stubbornness and pride, they flatter themselves, they will not believe, ⟨p. 241⟩they will not receive the consolations due to them, but dwell upon the consideration of their unworthiness and sins, and Satan holds them in that slavery and bondage.² This is a great hinderance of glorifying of God, when we lift up our sins, above the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, this is to take away God and Christ altogether: for if the mercy, and rich, and bountiful goodness of God, wherein, he will be infinitely glorious, were not greater then our sins, it were not the mercy and bounty of a God, God should not be glorious in it, be there are but few of these that miscarry, God usually shines upon them at the last. There are three ranks of men, some are in the first, profane, dead, loose Christians, that were never under the Law, that never understood the corruption of nature, nor themselves, some are brought from that, to understand themselves a little too much, that are under the Law, and feel the flashes of Gods wrath; and some in the third place, are brought from hence, to be under grace, that is, the only happy condition, to be under the grace of God in Christ:

³And on the contrary, there is another hindrance, that is, too much light, either want of light altogether, or too much light, when by the preaching of the word of God, awaking our conscience, and shewing our sinnes so enormous, so transcendent, so odious, that we forget mercy in Christ, and so dishonour Christ, to set the sinnes of the creature, above the infinite mercy of the Creator, as those that doubt, and from doubting, proceed to despaire of the mercy of God, seeing the vilenesse of their sinnes, in the true colours of them, and seeing, and feeling Gods anger, and wrath; together with their sinnes, in the conscience, here is too much light one way, and not looking to the other light; this excellent glorious, infinite light of Gods mercy, shining in the Gospell, they looke not on God in the face of Christ, out of some stubbornesse and pride, they flatter themselves, they will not beleeve,