A treatise of delighting in God from Psal. xxxvij. 4. Delight thy self also…

Wherefore beware of contenting your selves with the mere hope, that upon your having admitted a conviction, and felt some regret in your spirits for former strangeness to God, you shall be pardoned; so as thereupon never to design a redress, but run on the same course as before: And when you have hereby contracted a new score, and the load of your guilt begins to be sensibly heavy upon you, then betake your selves to God for a new pardon. What presumptuous trifling is this with the Lord of Heaven and Earth! And what do you mean by it, or seem to expect? Is it not, that God should instead of remitting your sin to you remit your duty; cancel the obligation of that very supreme universal fundamental Law of Nature it self, and excuse you quite from ever loving, delighting in him, or setting your heart upon him at all? Think not forgiveness alone then will serve your turn; it will signify as much as a pardon will do to a Malefactor just ready to dye of a mortal disease; he, poor man! as much needs a skilful Physician, as a merciful Prince; And so do you. And your matter is nothing the worse (sure), that the person of each is sustained by the same Jesus, and that both parts can be performed by the same hand. And know, that a restored rectitude ⟨p. 304⟩of Spirit Godward, a renewed healthiness and soundness of heart, with your actual delighting in God thereupon in your future course, stands in nearer and more immediate connection with your final perfect delightful rest and blessedness in him, than your being perpetually forgiven the not-doing of it; if this were supposed possible without that; But it is not indeed supposable, for if God would not therefore hereafter banish you his presence (as now he does not), you would for ever banish your selves, as now you do.

Wherefore beware of contenting your selves with the meer hope, that upon your having admitted a conviction, and felt some regret in your spirits for former strangeness to God, you shall be pardoned; so as thereupon never to design a redress, but run on the same course as before: And when you have hereby contracted a new score, and the load of your guilt begins to be sensibly heavy upon you, then betake your selves to God for a new pardon. What presumptuous trifling is this with the Lord of Heaven and Earth! And what do you mean by it, or seem to expect? Is it not, that God should instead of remitting your sin to you remit your duty; cancel the obligation of that very supream universal fundamental Law of Nature it self, and excuse you quite from ever loving, delighting in him, or setting your heart upon him at all? Think not forgiveness alone then will serve your turn; it will signifie as much as a pardon will do to a Malefactor just ready to dye of a mortal disease; he, poor man! as much needs a skilful Physician, as a merciful Prince; And so do you. And your matter is nothing the worse (sure), that the person of each is sustained by the same Jesus, and that both parts can be performed by the same hand. And know, that a restored rectitude