might redeem us from it,
fancying a possibility of living in sin, and escaping wrath, and so
abusing the tender of grace to promote licentiousness;--others, again,
apprehending the wrath of God, and their just deservings, abusing the
notion of God's justice, and the perfection of his holiness, to the
prejudice of the glory of his grace and mercy, and their own salvation.
This is certainly the cunning sleight of Satan, with the deceitfulness and
ignorance of our own hearts, that leads men, and sometimes one and the
same man, at diverse times, to contrary misapprehensions of divine truths.
The wind of temptation gets fires to one corner of the house and then to
another, and sometimes over-persuades the notion of mercy, and another
time overstretches the apprehension of his justice; and yet in effect
there is no true persuasion of any of them, but a cloud or shadow is
apprehended instead of them.

Now I say, there is one cure for both these,--the right apprehension of the
gospel in its entire and whole sum, the right uptaking of the light which
shines in a dark place, and is given to lead us to our place of rest--to
have a complete model, and a short summary of the gospel, always in our
heart and eye. For truly it is the apprehending of parcels of divine
truth, which leads men into such opposite mistakes and courses. To remedy
this, we have some brief comprehensive models of the gospel set down by
the Holy Ghost, and none in better terms than this here: "This is his
commandment, that ye believe," &c. You have it in two words, faith and
love. This is the form of sound words which we should hold fast, 2 Tim. i.
13. This is the mould of doctrine delivered by Christ and his Apostles. It
is the separation of these two in some men's fancy, that leads too many in
such paths of destruction. Truly they can as little be divided as the
sun's light and heat, but the motions and shadows of them may, and it is
the following the shadows of some of them which shipwrecks souls. Now not
only the common multitude of the hearers of the gospel are in hazard of
this, but even God's own children, who have believed in him.

The taking up of these things apart, creates the heart much trouble and
perplexity, and occasioneth much sin and stumbling. I do think it is the
ignorance and advertency of this conjunction, that makes our case both
more sad and sinful than otherwise it would be. And these two indeed have
a mutual influence upon one another,