The safety of appearing at the day of judgement, in the righteousness of Christ

That the law of God leaves as much room for the pardon of great fins as of little ones: lesser sins and greater sins are all mortal by the law, by the sentence of the law, one sin is as certainly destructive as a thousand: The wages of sin is death, Rom. 6.23. and the Law does allow of the pardon of multitudes as well as of one: the Law allows of the pardon of sin; provided there be satisfaction, the Law stands upon it to have punishment, but it does not stand for personal punishment; in case of great sins no more than in case of little sins the Law makes no distinction: ⟨p. 322⟩but it gives as much liberty for the pardon of great offenders as of lesser, there is no tittle that way in the covenant of works, that great sinners must dye in their own persons: the thing that the Law looks at is, that sin be punished according to the demerit thereof, that the Justice of God be vindicated, but God does not bind up his own hands, that he may not forgive great sinners, he reserves that liberty to himself in the law of punishing any sins in a surety, and so of pardoning them: the law admits of the pardon of any sin if there be satisfaction: the reason that the sin against the Holy Ghost is unpardonable, is not from any thing in the covenant of works, but because God when he provided a surety, made an exception of that sin: but if sin be punished, the law is satisfied: the law does not forbid the pardon of great sinners: that is evident, because God does pardon great sinners, Luk. 7.47. her sins which are many are forgiven.

2: Jesus Christ has satisfied for great sins and great sinners as well as lesser: when God sent Jesus Christ it was in his liberty to appoint him to dye for what sins and sinners he pleased: Christ Jesus was capable of satisfying for one as well as for another, for he was so worthy a person that he was capable by his sufferings to expiate the greatest sins: his short sufferings were sufficient to satisfy for the greatest offences: and God did put that work upon him to satisfy for great sins: and he has discharged it: he has satisfied for great offenders, Christ has payed a price of redemption for the greatest sins, one excepted: therefore generally in Scripture it is said that he has made reconciliation for sins without any exception; he bare our sins,