A53721:407
A practical exposition on the 130th Psalm
A practical exposition on the 130th Psalm wherein the nature of the forgiveness of sin is declared, the truth and reality of it asserted, and the case of a soul distressed with the guilt of sin and relieved by a discovery of forgiveness with God is at large discoursed / by John Owen.
London: printed by Robert White for Nathaniel Ponder, 1669
AN EXPOSITION UPON PSALM CXXX. › General Scope of the whole Psalm. › Verse 4 › Section
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.
3. God had newly declared in the sinning Angels what his Justice required, and how he could deal with sinning man without the least impeachment of his Government, Holiness or Goodness. See 2 Pet. 2. 4.
4. There was nothing without God himself that should move him in the least, so much as to suspend the execution of his wrath for one moment; he had not done so with the Angels. All things lay now under wrath, curse, confusion, and disorder: nothing was left good, lovely, or desirable in his eye. As in the first Creation, that which was first brought forth from nothing was [Greek or Hebrew] without form and void, empty of all order and beauty; nothing was in it to induce or move God to bring forth all things in the glory that ensued, but the whole design of it, proceeded from his own infinite Goodness and Wisdom; so was it now again. There was an Emptiness and Vanity brought by sin upon the whole creation. Nothing remained that might be a motive unto a merciful Restoration, but all is again devolved on his Sovereignty. All things being in this state and condition wherein all doors stood open to the Glory of Gods Justice in the punishing of sin, nothing remaining without him to hold his hand in the least; the whole creation, and especially the sinner himself lying trembling in Expectation of a dreadful doom, what now cometh forth from him? the blessed word which we have, Gen. 3. 15. The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head. It is full well known that the whole mystery of forgiveness is wrapped up in this one word of promise. And the great way of its coming forth from God by the blood of the Messiah, whose ⟨p. 141⟩heel was to be bruised, is also intimated. And this was the first discovery that ever was made of forgiveness in God. By a word of pure Revelation it was made, and so faith must take it up and receive it. Now this Revelation of forgiveness with God in this one Promise, was the bottom of all that Worship that was yielded unto him by sinners for many Ages. For we have showed before, that without this, no sinner can have the least encouragement to approach unto him; and this will continue to the end of the world, as a notable evidence of the truth in hand a firm foundation for faith to rest and build upon.