The Soul's Conflict with Itself

That which Satan would use as an argument to drive us from God, we should use as a strong plea with him. Lord the greater my sins are, the greater will be the glory of thy pardoning mercy. David after his heinous sins, cries not for mercy, but for abundance of mercy, according to the multitude of thy mercies, do away nine offences: his mercy ¹is not only above his own works, but above ours too. If we could sin more then he could pardon, then we might have some reason to despair. Despair is a high point of Atheism, it takes away God and Christ both at once. Judas in betraying our Saviour, was an occasion of his death as man, but in despairing he did what lay in him to take away his life as God.

That which Sathan would use as an argument to drive us from God, wee should use as a strong plea with him. Lord the greater my sins are, the greater will be the glory of thy pardoning mercy. David after his hainous sinnes, cries not for mercy, but for abundance of mercy, according to the multitude of thy mercies, doe away nine offences: his mercy ¹is not only above his own works, but above ours too. If we could sin more then he could pardon, then wee might have some reason to despaire. Despaire is a high point of Atheisme, it takes away God and Christ both at once. Iudas in betraying our Saviour, was an occasion of his death as man, but in despairing he did what lay in him to take away his life as God.

1. 1Psal. 51.

When therefore Conscience joining ⟨p. 357⟩with Satan, sets out thy sin in its •ours, labour thou by faith to set out God in his colours, infinite in mercy and loving kindness. Here lies the art of a Christian; It is divine Rhetoric thus to persuade and set down the soul. Thy sins are great, but Adams was greater, who being so newly advanced above all the creatures, and taken into so near an acquaintance with God, and having ability to persist in that condition if he would, yet willingly overthrew himself and all his whole posterity, by yielding to a temptation, which though high (as being promised to be like unto God,) yet such as he should and might have resisted; No sin we can commit, can be a sin of so tainting and spreading a nature, yet as he fell by distrust, so he was recovered by trusting, and so must we by relying on a second Adam, whose obedience and righteousness from thence