A39660:1001
Englands duty under the present gospel liberty from Revel. III, vers. 20
Englands duty under the present gospel liberty from Revel. III, vers. 20 : wherein is opened the admirable condescension and patience of Christ in waiting upon trifling and obstinate sinners, the wretched state of the unconverted, the nature of evangelical faith ..., the riches of free grace in the offers of Christ ..., the invaluable privileges of union and communion granted to all who receive him ... / by John Flavell ...Englands duty under the present gospel liberty from Revel. III, vers. 20 : wherein is opened the admirable condescension and patience of Christ in waiting upon trifling and obstinate sinners, the wretched state of the unconverted, the nature of evangelical faith ..., the riches of free grace in the offers of Christ ..., the invaluable priviledges of union and communion granted to all who receive him ... / by John Flavell ...
London: printed for Matthew Wotton, 1689
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Thirdly, There are sometimes representations of the goodness and mercy of God made unto the Souls of his people. When these produce an ingenuous thaw and melting of the Heart into an humble, thankful admiration of it, and an answerable care of pleasing him in the ways of obedience; then have men communion with God in his goodness: The goodness of God runs down to men in a double channel; his goodness to their bodies, in external providences; his goodness to their Souls, in spiritual mercies. When the goodness of God either way draws forth the love, and gratitude of the Soul to the God of our mercies; then have we real communion ⟨p. 406⟩with him: Thus Jacob, Gen. 32. 9, 10. And Jacob said, O God of my Father Abraham, and God of my Father Isaac; which saidst unto me, Return unto thy Country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two •ands. Ah, Lord, I see a multitude of mercies round about me, and the least of them is greater than I: So David, 1 Chron. I7. I6, I7. And David the King came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God, &c. what can David speak more to thee? You see in these instances what effects the goodness of God even in inferior outward mercies, useth to produce in sanctified hearts. But then, if you come to spiritual mercies, and ponder the goodness of God to your Souls, in pardoning, accepting, and saving such vile sinful creatures as you have been; this much more affects the heart, and overwhelms it with an holy astonishment; as you see in Paul, 1 Tim. 1. 16. The grace of our Lord was abundant. I was a persecutor, a blasphemer, yet I obtained mercy. So Mary, that notorious sinner, when pardoning grace appeared to her, into what a flood of tears, into what transports of love did the sight of mercy cast her Soul! She wept and washed her Saviours feet with tears of joy and thankfulness, Luke 7. 44. No terrors of the Law, no frights of Hell, thaw the heart like the apprehensions of pardoning mercy.