no access to obedience of the command, and
no acceptance either. A sinner must first satisfy the curse, for the fault
done, before ever he can be in a capacity to perform new obedience on the
terms of acceptation of it with God. Now the first would have taken up
eternity, so that there can be no place of entry to the second; therefore,
if Christ had not found out a way of free pardon of the sins that are
past, and assurance of forgiveness for the time to come, the commandments
of God would be wholly frustrated. "But there is forgiveness with thee,
that thou mayest be feared," Psalm cxxx. 4. The word is also "worshipped."
Truly, my beloved, this is the foundation of all religion,--free
forgiveness. There had been no religion, no worship of God, no obedience
to his commands throughout all eternity; there should never have been any
fear, any love, any delight in God, any reverence and subjection to him,
if he had not forgiveness,--a treasure of mercies with him to bestow first
upon sinners. And this makes access to stand and serve in his sight. The
cloud of our transgressions is so thick and dark, that there never could
have been any communion with God, if he had not found out the way to
scatter and blot it out, for his own name's sake. Religion, then, must
begin at this great and inestimable free gift of imputed righteousness,--of
accounting us what we are not in ourselves, because found so in another.
It begins at remission of sins. But that is not all. This hath a further
end, and truly it is but introductive to a further end; that so a soul may
be made partaker of the gift of holiness within, and have that image of
God renewed in holiness and righteousness. I would have you once persuaded
to begin at this, to receive the free gift of another's righteousness,
(Rom. v. 17,) and another's obedience, to find your own nakedness and
loathsomeness without this covering, and how short all other coverings of
your own works are. O that we could once persuade you to renounce
yourselves, to embrace this righteousness! Then it were easy to prevail
with you to renounce sin, to put on holiness. I say, first, you must
renounce yourselves, as undone in all you do, as loathsome in all that
ever you loved, and come under the wide and broad skirt of Christ's
righteousness, which he did weave upon the earth, for to hide our
nakedness. You must once have the righteousness of the law fulfilled
perfectly by another, before you can have access t