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 PARDON OF SIN 
 
 ITS NATURE, NECESSITY, PROPER- 
 TIES, AND EFFECTS. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 NO. 2C5 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 The Scripture doctrine of the pardon of sin 
 is most important and interesting. It diffuses 
 itself, like the heart blood, through the whole 
 system of Christianity. It is the most promi- 
 nent, necessary, and consolatory, ingredient 
 in the religion of a sinner. Nothing short 
 of the belief of it can quiet the awakened 
 conscience, and nothing short of the posses- 
 sion can bless the transgressor with safety 
 and felicity. To render its exercise compati- 
 ble with the honour of eternal justice, the 
 Son of God became obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross, and the dispensa- 
 tion of grace, by which the guilty transgres- 
 sors of the divine law are made partakers of 
 it, is the most brilliant and pleasant gem in 
 Jehovah's crown of glory. He claims the 
 pardon of iniquity as his peculiar prerogative, 
 distinguishing him from all others, and this 
 is that crown of glory which he will not give 
 to another: and the more numerous and enor- 
 mous the iniquities pardoned, the brighter 
 
 3 
 
4 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 shines the glory of his pardoning mercy, and 
 the more rapturously the forgiven exclaims, 
 " Who is a God like unto thee that forgiv- 
 est iniquity?" In unfolding the nature, 
 necessity, properties, and effects of pardon, 
 the following observations, comprising the 
 amount of what the Scriptures deliver on 
 this subject, deserve and shall receive con- 
 sideration. 
 
 1. That pardon, in respect of its nature, is 
 a remission to the sinner of the penalty in- 
 curred by his crimes, releasing him from 
 suffering personally the punishment which 
 his transgressions of the law of God de- 
 served. Pardon is a blessing that every 
 man eminently needs, for we are all guilty, 
 dreadfully guilty. We are hereditary traitors. 
 As the descendants of rebel Adam, we are 
 by nature children of wrath, and disposed 
 from our youth to rebel, and, as soon as we 
 are able, unite with his enemies against our 
 righteous sovereign. Actuated with malig- 
 nant spite against God, from hatred of him 
 and love to iniquity, we engage with all our 
 powers in the service of sin, and willingly 
 embrace every opportunity to oppose him 
 and serve his enemies. This is the course 
 pursued by every one of our rebel family, 
 until w T e all accumulate transgressions infi- 
 nite in number, and many of them dreadfully 
 aggravated. We are chargeable not with 
 one but with innumerable crimes against the 
 Lord our God, and each of these deserves 
 his wrath and curse both in this life and in 
 
PARDON OF SIN. D 
 
 that which is to come. To this curse we 
 are all liable, and therefore eminently need 
 pardon. For the divine, like every other 
 law, is sanctioned with rewards and punish- 
 ments. It denounces death, the wages of 
 sin, against every transgression. Every 
 transgression, therefore, of the divine law 
 not only pollutes the transgressor, constitut- 
 ing him impure, unmeet for holy society, 
 services, and enjoyments, but also makes him 
 guilty — liable to sutler the punishment the 
 law denounces against the transgression with 
 which he is chargeable. This liability to 
 punishment is the guilt of sin, and precisely 
 that in sin which pardon respects and re- 
 moves. Pardon does not, indeed, dissolve 
 the connection between sin and' guilt, guilt 
 and punishment ; for the intrinsic damnability 
 of sin remains, and punishment and guilt are 
 inseparably connected, and never have been 
 and never will be separated. But though guilt 
 remains an essential ingredient in sin, and 
 though guilt and punishment are inseparable, 
 yet it is not essentially necessary that, in 
 every instance, the transgressor should per- 
 sonally suffer his own punishment. The 
 plan of salvation presents us with an instance 
 of the transfer of the guilt of the offender to 
 his surety, and of the escape, on this account, 
 from suffering personally the punishment his 
 crimes deserve. Sin is punished, and yet 
 the offender is exempted from enduring 
 it. This remission of the penalty, this 
 exemption from enduring it, because en- 
 
6 PARDON OF SIN 
 
 dured by Christ, his substitute, is the par- 
 don of sin which every sinner needs, and 
 which is so amply and deservedly celebrated 
 in holy Scripture, and forms one constituent 
 part of the justification of the ungodly. 
 
 The terms, phrases and allusions, employed 
 in the Bible to describe this pardon of sin, 
 contribute much to exhibit its genuine import, 
 and to enhance its importance. These are 
 taken from the aspects under which it is con- 
 templated. Viewed as an intolerable and op- 
 pressive burden, as it is found to be in truth 
 and in the experience of every awakened 
 sinner, pardon is the lifting up of this burden, 
 and removing it as far as the east is distant 
 from the west. When sin is viewed as a 
 putrefying carcass, as something exceeding 
 loathsome, pardon is the hiding and covering 
 of it with the blood of Christ, as that evil 
 and abominable thing which God's heart 
 hates, and his pure eye cannot behold. 
 11 Blessed is the man whose transgressions 
 are forgiven, and whose iniquities are cover- 
 ed." " Thou hast covered all their sins." 
 At other times, sin is regarded as an im- 
 mense debt of suffering we owe to the justice 
 of God: pardon is, then, the blotting it out 
 of God's book; it is his remission of the debt, 
 on account of its payment by our surety. 
 Being paid by him, its payment cannot in 
 justice be exacted from us : " Who shall lay 
 any thing to the charge of God's elect? It 
 is Christ that died." " There is, therefore, 
 now no condemnation to them that are in 
 
PARDON F SIN. 7 
 
 Christ Jesus." God, for his sake, hath free- 
 ly forgiven the iniquity of their sin, can- 
 celled their every obligation to punishment, 
 and they are passed from death unto life, and 
 shall not come into condemnation. Blessed 
 state ! Enviable privilege ! 
 
 2. The pardon of iniquity originates in the 
 gracious nature of God, and is regulated, in 
 respect of exercise, by a sovereign purpose 
 of his heart. The fountain-head of the 
 stream of pardon is traced up, by God him- 
 self, to his very nature. When he would 
 show Moses his glory, disclosing to him the 
 divine nature as far as it was possible for 
 mortal to apprehend it, he proclaims his 
 name, composed of those remarkable titles, 
 " The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
 suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, 
 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving ini- 
 quity, transgression, and sin." This procla- 
 mation, by competent authority, informs us 
 that compassions flow in the merciful heart 
 of our God, that he is as essentially and 
 necessarily gracious as he is omnipotent, eter- 
 nal and independent. And had he not been so, 
 we would necessarily have perished for ever. 
 Had not mercy been one of his essential attri- 
 butes, even his Son dying for our sins, could not 
 and did not render him gracious, any more 
 than it constituted him God over all, blessed 
 for ever. The Saviour died, not to make 
 God gracious, but because he was essentially 
 so — to open up an egress for his grace flow- 
 ing forth to enrich miserable man : " God so 
 
8 PARDON OF SIN, 
 
 loved the world, that he gave his only begot- 
 ten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
 might not perish but have everlasting life." 
 Though angry at the ungrateful and rebel- 
 lious conduct of his wicked children; like an 
 affectionate father, while he detested their 
 wickedness, his heart yearned over them, his 
 paternal compassion sought out a method, 
 consistent with his character, to reinstate 
 them in his favour : " But he, being full of 
 compassion, forgave their iniquity." 
 
 But if pardoning mercy be as essential to 
 God as his omnipotence, eternity, and inde- 
 pendency, it will naturally occur to the re- 
 flecting mind, — why, then, is not every 
 transgression of sinning angels and men 
 pardoned ? The reply is obvious, and ought 
 to be satisfactory, for God himself has fur- 
 nished it. In reply to Moses' prayer, " I 
 beseech thee to show me thy glory," he said, 
 Ex. xxxiii. 29, " I will make all my goodness 
 pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name 
 of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious 
 to whom I will be gracious, and will show 
 mercy to whom I will show mercy." This 
 declaration evinces that it is no less essential 
 to God to regulate the exercise of his par- 
 doning mercy, by a sovereign purpose of his 
 heart, than to be gracious. He cannot but 
 be gracious ; but his own good pleasure 
 opens and directs the current of mercy. 
 
 In reflecting on the essential attributes of 
 God's nature, we are never to forget the 
 difference between these, as existing in him, 
 
PARDON OF SIN. U 
 
 and properties inherent in the works of his 
 hand. All natural causes necessarily operate 
 at all times according to the whole extent of 
 the derived powers they possess. The sun 
 shines and cannot but emit all the light, heat, 
 and influence it possesses. All that moral 
 agents possess is the gift of God, and they 
 are bound, from their dependence, to exert 
 themselves at all times to the utmost of their 
 ability to promote his pleasure by preventing 
 all the evil, and by performing all the good 
 they can. But this is not the case with God, 
 and his whole procedure demonstrates the 
 contrary. For it would be impious to assert 
 that he was unable to prevent the existence 
 of sin among his works, or that he has 
 always exerted all his powers to the utmost 
 in working. Though he was from all eternity 
 possessed of power, goodness and wisdom, 
 those attributes of his, for reasons known to 
 himself, were not exhibited till, about six thou- 
 sand years ago, he called creation into being. 
 and still upholds it. Even in creation his 
 mercy found no exercise ; it was not dis- 
 played before any species of intelligence ; 
 and when it was exerted, to show his sove- 
 reignty and that his mercy in respect of 
 exercise is not necessary, but regulated by 
 his will, that he is under no obligation to give 
 it scope, he has mercy <not on all the miser- 
 able, but " on whom he has mercy." To the 
 praise of the glory of his justice he consigned 
 over the angels that fell to everlasting misery, 
 and to the praise of the freedom of his grace 
 
10 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 he selected from among the sons of men 
 vessels of mercy to be prepared for himselC 
 Paul thus states the matter, Eph. ii. 4 — 7, 
 " But God, who is rich in mercy, for his 
 great love wherewith he loved us, even 
 when we were dead in sins, hath quickened 
 us together with Christ; (by grace ye are 
 saved ;) and hath raised us up together, and 
 made us sit together in heavenly places, in 
 Christ Jesus ; that in the ages to come he 
 might show the exceeding riches of his grace 
 in his kindness towards us, through Christ 
 Jesus." When pardoning mercy, then, is 
 traced up to its fountain, it is seen originat- 
 ing in the gracious nature of God, and regu- 
 lated in respect of dispensation by his good 
 pleasure. The saint ought to admire the free- 
 ness of divine grace, and the obstinate sinner 
 finding fault because Jehovah does what he 
 wills with his own, ought to be silent and 
 adore his sovereignty. 
 
 3. That this pardoning mercy of God flows 
 to sinners only through the blood of Christ the 
 Mediator. " In whom we have redemption 
 through his blood, even the forgiveness of 
 sin. God has set him forth to be a propitia : 
 tion through faith in his blood, to declare his 
 righteousness for the remission of sins." 
 Though God is essentially compassionate and 
 gracious, prone to ^forgive iniquity, trans- 
 gression, and sins, he can do so only in con- 
 sistency with the honour of his justice, faith- 
 fulness, and holiness. For in vain are the 
 omnipotence and sovereignty of God resorted 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 11 
 
 to, and the cry raised, that to assert that 
 without the shedding of blood there is no 
 remission of sins is limiting the Holy One of 
 Israel, and reducing him below the level of 
 man, whose glory it is to pass by a transgres- 
 sion. They that thus speak and write forget 
 that Jehovah is both the just God and the 
 Saviour. They overlook the fact that no 
 one perfection of his nature can be exercised 
 at the expense of another, and that he has 
 never said, determined, or done any thing 
 without a respect had at once to his every 
 perfection, and to every part of the works 
 of his hands. His justice and faithfulness 
 were pledged for the punishment of sin, and 
 till vindicated rose higher than the heavens 
 against pardon. Without outraging the 
 claims of justice and denying himself, God 
 could not remit sin without the shedding of 
 blood ; and his government furnishes not one 
 instance of his having done it. His justice 
 has taken hold on sinning angels, and be- 
 cause no satisfaction has been made for 
 their transgressions, it retains them in prison 
 till the last farthing is paid. It is only in 
 Christ that God is reconciling sinners to 
 himself, not imputing to them their tres- 
 passes. This was explicitly taught the 
 church under the ancient economy. For 
 it was because of the substitution and accept- 
 ance of the ancient sacrifices in room of the 
 guilty offenders, that their offences were re- 
 mitted, and where no sacrifices were appointed 
 for certain sins the transgressors were cut 
 
12 PARDON F SIN. 
 
 off without remedy. In no instance could 
 the transgressor be admitted to divine fellow- 
 ship till the appointed victim was offered. 
 And in the assembled judgment, every one 
 who is not washed from his sins in the blood 
 of Christ will be consigned to everlasting 
 destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
 and from the glory of his power. God is 
 merciful, and delivers from going down to 
 the pit, only because he has found the ran- 
 som. For while the sinner continues in his 
 guilt, and the demands of the law against 
 him remain unsatisfied, he can have no 
 communion with God, and divine mercy can 
 find no honourable egress to benefit him. In 
 the obedience and sufferings of Jesus Christ, 
 however, all the demands of law and justice 
 are fully answered, every obstacle to the 
 egress of divine mercy is removed, God is 
 pacified and delights in pardoning the guilty. 
 In him the guilty have redemption, even 
 the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches 
 of his grace. 
 
 4. The pardoning mercy of God is revealed 
 only in the Scriptures, offered to all in the 
 dispensation of the gospel, and embraced by 
 faith wrought in the heart by the agency 
 of the Holy Spirit. Though the invisible 
 things of God, from the creation of the world, 
 are clearly seen, being understood by the 
 things which are made, even his eternal 
 power and Godhead, and though the heavens 
 declare his glory and the firmament showeth 
 forth his handy works ; they have no tongue, 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 13 
 
 no voice to announce with distinctness and 
 certainty his pardoning mercy. It is too 
 deep to be sounded by the short line of rea- 
 son, too vast to be comprehended in its nar- 
 row span. From imperfect traditions and 
 dubious inferences, from the patience and 
 goodness of Deity, conjectures might be 
 formed, but no certain information attained, 
 respecting the remission of sin. Nature, 
 whether fallen or upright, rather lifts up its 
 testimony against it. Law and conscience 
 proclaim, " cursed is every one that con- 
 tinued! not in all things, written in the law, 
 to do them:" they know nothing of pardon. 
 Hence, Adam, tainted with guilt, instead of 
 humbly confessing his iniquity, in hope of 
 pardon, previous to the revelations of mercy, 
 was horribly afraid, and sought to hide him- 
 self from the presence of the Lord, among 
 the trees of the garden. The devils never 
 conceived any hope of pardon, and therefore 
 never sought it. Sullen despair and malig- 
 nant hatred of God continually actuate them. 
 Neither would man have supplicated pardon, 
 submitted to God, and engaged in his ser- 
 vice, unless he " had proclaimed his name," 
 " the Lord God merciful and gracious, 
 forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin." 
 David, when he asserts, " But there is for- 
 giveness with thee, that thou mayest be 
 feared," distinctly intimates that the hope of 
 pardon is the sole ground of, and encourage- 
 ment to religion, with the guilty. 
 
 This hope of pardon constituted the good 
 
14 PAEDON OF SIN. 
 
 news announced in Paradise, and which was 
 developed in subsequent revelations of mercy, 
 and has proved the solace and support of the 
 guilty in every age and place. Now, for- 
 giveness of sin is preached unto all nations, 
 in the name of Jesus. He is exalted as a 
 Prince and Saviour, to give repentance and 
 the remission of sin. From his high throne 
 he is proclaiming with all the benignity and 
 authority of a sovereign, " Let the wicked 
 forsake his way, and the unrighteous man 
 his thoughts, and let him return unto the 
 Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and 
 to our God for he will abundantly pardon." 
 To sinners of every description, he is offer- 
 ing the remission of sin. He thus addresses 
 even the stout hearted, and far from right- 
 eousness, " Come, and let us reason together; 
 though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be 
 white as snow; though they be red as crim- 
 son, they shall be as wool." 
 
 This pardon of sin, revealed in the word, 
 and offered to all in the dispensation of the 
 gospel, is embraced by faith, wrought in the 
 heart by the agency of the Holy Spirit. 
 " Him hath God set forth to be a propitiation 
 by faith in his blood, to declare his righteous- 
 ness for the remission of sin. To him gave 
 all the prophets witness, that through his 
 name whosoever believeth on him shall 
 receive the remission of sins. Be it there- 
 fore known unto you, men and brethren, that 
 through this man is preached unto you the 
 forgiveness of sins ; and by him all that be- 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 15 
 
 lieve are justified." Such was the language 
 in which the first preachers of the gospel 
 addressed their hearers, and through its in- 
 strumentality the Holy Spirit convinced them 
 of sin, wrought faith in their hearts, and they 
 gladly accepted of pardon in the name of 
 Jesus. Such has been the mode according 
 to which the saved have entered into heaven. 
 Through faith in the blood of Christ, which 
 cleanseth from all sin, they have been par- 
 doned and washed, and thus have been made 
 meet to be partakers of the inheritance of 
 the saints in light. It is in the same way that 
 the guilty are still saved, and in the same 
 way all that will hereafter believe will be 
 saved. 
 
 5. The pardon of sin is altogether perfect, 
 worthy of God to bestow, and suitable for us 
 to receive. Such a pardon must be full, free, 
 and everlasting. 
 
 It must be full. It is so when it extends 
 to all sins, however numerous, and to all 
 their aggravations, however enormous. And 
 such is the pardon which God dispenses. It 
 liberates the guilty, not from some, but from 
 every indictment. It extends not only to 
 some, deemed trivial offences, but also to the 
 most complicated transgressions, attended 
 with every circumstance of enormity. With 
 delight God and saints expatiate on this pre- 
 cious truth. David, who had experienced its 
 reality, in transports of gratitude, thus sings, 
 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, who forgiveth 
 
16 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 all thine iniquities, and healeth all thy dis- 
 eases." Ps. ciii. 2, 3. In admiration of plenary 
 pardon, the prophet exclaims, "Thou wilt 
 cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." 
 Mic. vii. 19. In the 85th Psalm, verse 2, 
 the church sings — " Thou hast forgiven the 
 iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all 
 their sin." To show that the church and 
 individual believers, in their grateful confes- 
 sions of plenary pardon, have not outstretched 
 the truth, God himself comes forward and 
 declares, " I will cleanse them from all their 
 iniquity whereby they have sinned against 
 me, and I will pardon all their iniquities 
 whereby they have sinned, and whereby they 
 have transgressed against me." Jer. xxxiii. 
 8. "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall 
 be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy 
 against the Holy Ghost." If additional evi- 
 dence of this charming truth were needful, 
 it is at command. We have practical evi- 
 dence of it. A bloody Manasseh, a perse- 
 cuting Saul, and a dying thief, pardoned 
 and admitted to heaven, proclaim the fulness 
 of divine forgiveness, and forbid the most 
 guilty w r retch to sink into despair. And 
 truly, without this divine forgiveness extend- 
 ing to all sins, original and actual, of heart 
 and life, great and small, the condition of the 
 pardoned could not emphatically be pro- 
 nounced blessed. For, unless all his sins 
 were remitted, his condition would be de- 
 plorable, and his ruin certain. From the 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 17 
 
 guilt of one sin he could never redeem his 
 soul : its weight would sink him into the 
 ocean of divine wrath. 
 
 That all past and present sins are forgiven, 
 in justification, is generally conceded, but it 
 has been questioned by some, whether all the 
 future sins of the justified are also forgiven. 
 With few exceptions, this also has been con- 
 ceded. All difficulties on this subject seem 
 to vanish, when we distinguish between justi- 
 fication as passed in the court of God, and 
 as intimated to the forgiven. In the court 
 of God, justification is a simple act, and is 
 never repeated. It secures the person for- 
 given against all future punishment on ac- 
 count of sins to be committed, as against 
 those that have been already committed ; 
 and invests him with an absolute and uncon- 
 ditional title to eternal life. Both of these 
 are as perfect, the first moment of pardon, 
 and as certain, as they will be through all 
 eternity. Hence Paul declares that " there 
 is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
 Jesus ;" that " they are passed from death unto 
 life, and shall not come into condemnation." 
 And we perceive that this must be the result, 
 when we contemplate the ground of their 
 justification — the perfect obedience and suf- 
 ferings of Christ, their surety. Both are fully 
 imputed to them, and found a perfect title to 
 life. In respect of intimation, to the con- 
 science of the justified, of their forgiveness, 
 the case is very different. They may be 
 long haunted with doubts and fears, before 
 
18 PARDON OP SIN. 
 
 they are blessed with assurance, and this 
 assurance may be afterwards obscured and 
 lost, and the manifestations of it again and 
 again vouchsafed. This renders it proper 
 that every saint should pray daily for a re- 
 newed and increased evidence of pardon and 
 acceptance; and, also, that the sense of his 
 original pardon may be continued and aug- 
 mented all his days. It is vain to object to 
 this representation, that sins cannot be for- 
 given till they are actually committed. There 
 is no more impracticability in remitting sins 
 before they are committed, than there was 
 in Christ expiating, on the cross, the sins of 
 his people, that have been committed since 
 his death. In justification, all our sins, future 
 as well as past, are pardoned. It is always 
 spoken of as perfect. " There is no con- 
 demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." 
 In justification, the believer is clothed with 
 the perfect, imputed righteousness of Christ 
 his surety, and this covers all his sins, so 
 that God sees no iniquity nor perverseness 
 in him. He that is justified has eternal life, 
 in title and right; but without a full pardon 
 and acceptance this is impossible. 
 
 This pardon is not only full, but also 
 divinely free. Though it cost Christ, the 
 Prince of life, his heart's blood, it is to us as 
 free and unconditional as grace can make it. 
 Over the gate of mercy, where all the bless- 
 ings of the gospel are exhibited, refreshing 
 as water, nourishing as milk, and exhila- 
 rating as wine, the inscription is written 
 
PARDON OF SIN, 19 
 
 in legible letters, " Without money and with- 
 out price." It is a market, but a market 
 of free grace. The blessings sold there are 
 above all created price. And, had any been 
 exacted, they never would have found pur- 
 chasers, nor come into our possession. For, 
 what have we to offer to the Lord as an 
 equivalent for his salvation? And had they 
 been sold, they would not have been of grace, 
 the manifestation of which is the ultimate 
 end of their bestowment. In bestowing this, 
 the Lord reigns as a sovereign, dispensing 
 gratuitously the richest favours, and disdain- 
 ing every equivalent. " We are justified 
 freely by grace, through the redemption that 
 is in Christ Jesus." " In him we have re- 
 demption through his blood, even the forgive- 
 ness of sins, according to the riches of his 
 grace." The praise of pardon is to the glory 
 of grace. Human merits and deserts, all 
 conditions and prerequisites, all good done or 
 to be performed, are entirely set aside as of 
 no value nor influence in our pardon. Saith 
 God, " I, even I am he that blotteth out thy 
 iniquities for my own name's sake, and will 
 not remember thy sins." The history of re- 
 demption attests the truth of these declara- 
 tions. What but grace procured the pardon 
 of the adulterous woman of Samaria, or of 
 the crucifiers of the Lord of glory] What 
 worth was found in the thief on the cross, 
 casting reproaches on Christ, or in Saul, 
 breathing out slaughter against the church, 
 to deserve the forgiveness of their sins I 
 
20 PARDON OP SIN. 
 
 Credulity, legality, and human pride them- 
 selves, can fix on no meritorious act inter- 
 vening between their crimes and pardon. 
 And these were set up, not as peculiar monu- 
 ments of pardoning grace, but patterns of all 
 that should believe — directing and encour- 
 aging the most guilty and hell-deserving to 
 betake themselves to divine mercy, and to 
 cry, " Pardon my transgression for thy 
 name's sake, for if is very great." 
 
 This pardon is not only full and free, but 
 also utterly irreversible, even everlasting. 
 This is its crowning property, and constitutes 
 the most essential ingredient in the blessed- 
 ness of the pardoned. For if they might be 
 to-day in a state of favour and pardon, and 
 to-morrow relapse into sin and be cast into 
 hell, where would be their blessedness ? But 
 they are left to no such dreadful danger ; for 
 all their sins are remitted, and shall never be 
 revived or imputed to them to their condem- 
 nation. This is enforced by the word, pro- 
 mise, and oath of Jehovah himself, and em- 
 braced with exultation by the pardoned 
 believer. " I will be merciful to their un- 
 righteousness, and their sins and iniquities 
 will I remember no more." This is not 
 merely the word, but the covenant-promise 
 of him that cannot lie. And that we might 
 have strong consolation in the belief of it, 
 the Redeemer has confirmed it by his oath. 
 "As I have sw T orn that the waters of Noah 
 shall no more go over the earth, so have I 
 sworn that I will no more be wroth with 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 21 
 
 thee, nor rebuke thee ; for the mountains 
 shall depart and the hills be removed out of 
 their place, but my kindness shall not depart 
 from thee, neither shall the covenant of my 
 peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath 
 mercy on thee." Resting on this oath 
 David declares, " As far as the east is from 
 the west, so far hath he removed our trans- 
 gressions from us." When these opposite and 
 most distant points meet, then, and not be- 
 fore, will pardoned sins return for our con- 
 demnation. Resting on the same oath, and 
 exulting in the perpetuity of forgiveness, the 
 prophet asserts — "Thou will cast all their 
 sins into the depths of the sea." What is 
 cast into the river, or even the shallows of 
 the ocean, may be found, but the most pon- 
 derous works, with all their burdens, if cast 
 into the depths of the sea, would utterly dis- 
 appear; and though sought for, could never 
 be recovered. In like manner, when our ini- 
 quities are sought for, they shall not be 
 found. 
 
 No blessing short of pardon, and of 
 such a full, free, and everlasting pardon as 
 this is, would have answered us. We were 
 guilty, and perdition or pardon must be 
 the issue. As guilty, God's heart was against 
 us, and his face was covered with the frowns 
 of anger, and all gracious communion sus- 
 pended. Our sins separated us from the foun- 
 tain of felicity, and the source of joy. Par- 
 don, the inlet to all blessedness, is opened, 
 and it flows into our souls in deep and re- 
 
22 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 freshing streams. " Blessed is the man whose 
 transgressions are pardoned, whose iniquity 
 is covered, and to whom the Lord imputeth 
 not his sins." Yea, pardon was not only in- 
 dispensable to our security and felicity, but 
 precisely such a pardon as the gospel re- 
 veals and offers ; for if it had not been full, we 
 would have remained under the condemna- 
 tion of some of our sins, and would thus have 
 perished. Had it not been entirely free, we 
 never could have attained an interest in it. 
 And had it not been irreversible, our souls 
 would have been tortured with perpetual 
 anxiety lest we should forfeit it and perish 
 for ever. But such is the pardon of the gos- 
 pel, that the sinner, conscious of innumer- 
 able crimes and utter worthlessness and help- 
 lessness, may approach the throne of the 
 eternal Sovereign, and implore and obtain 
 the full, free, and everlasting pardon of all 
 his sins according to the riches of divine 
 grace. 
 
 6. We are furnished with the most irre- 
 fragable evidences of the reality of this full, 
 free, and everlasting pardon. Nothing is 
 more easy or common than a notional belief 
 of pardon, when sin and divine wrath are 
 unfelt; while the enlightened and awakened 
 conscience, dreading damnation, finds no- 
 thing harder than a practical, influential 
 belief of it. The awakened sinner clearly 
 perceives that he deserves damnation, and 
 that justice will not consent to his escape, 
 but must offer him up as a victim to its un- 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 23 
 
 bending rigour. Aware of this, God has fur- 
 nished the most satisfactory evidences that 
 he forgiveth iniquity, transgression, and sin. 
 The whole gospel, from first to last, is a con- 
 tinued testimony that there is forgiveness 
 with God that he may be feared. Its amount 
 is, " Be it known unto you, men and brethren, 
 that through this man is preached to you the 
 forgiveness of sins." Hence the doctrine of 
 forgiveness sounds in the Bible not like the 
 drop in the bucket, but like many waters ; it 
 glimmers not like the light of the feeble taper, 
 but blazes as the sun shining in his strength. 
 Every acceptable prayer that has ascended 
 from the humble heart unto God, and every 
 sacrifice that has burned upon his altar, com- 
 bines with the gospel in attesting that Jeho- 
 vah delights in showing mercy. Prayer has 
 no place among fallen spirits, deprived of all 
 hope of pardon, and obtains among rebel 
 men, only because their sovereign has opened 
 to them the door of repentance and pardon. 
 The person, incarnation, life, death, and ex- 
 altation of the Mediator, attest Jehovah to be 
 a God that forgiveth iniquity. These are all 
 the result of his mercy and love, the blessed 
 channel through which pardon flows to the 
 guilty. Every fresh arrival from earth of a 
 soul to glory, attests to all the angels of 
 God, that he whom they serve forgiveth 
 transgressions and sins ; and multitudes of 
 believers on the footstool have the assurance 
 of their own pardon, which is to them the 
 
24 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 ground of their rejoicing in hope of the glory 
 of God. 
 
 7. That God taketh a sovereign, compla- 
 cential delight in the pardon of iniquity. It 
 is the delight, the refreshment of his heart. 
 He rejoices in it with joy and singing: the 
 shouts of the sons of God and the songs of 
 morning stars, heard when the corner-stone 
 of the earth was laid, never yielded him half 
 the satisfaction he feels in saying to the 
 trembling penitent, "Be of good cheer; thy 
 sins are forgiven thee." While the angels 
 rejoice at the return of man, their prodigal 
 brother, God the Father goeth forth to meet 
 him, freely forgives him, cordially welcomes 
 him, and in token of his complacency, arrays, 
 adorns, and feasts him. Because it is with 
 difficulty that we forgive our brother his 
 hundred pence, we suppose that God is 
 averse to remit our ten thousand talents, and 
 never does it without a grudge. We would 
 accept of it, if we could steal it unseen by 
 God, and thus obtain it without importuning 
 him unwilling to bestow it. Thus feeling 
 and acting, we forget that he is God and not 
 man. His thoughts and ways are happily 
 not as ours. He pardons, he multiplies to 
 pardon. All his heart is in it. He delights 
 to show mercy, and for this there are two 
 ample reasons. 
 
 (1.) The forgiveness of sin is the distin- 
 guishing prerogative of the God of Israel, 
 the exercise of w T hich is competent to him 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 25 
 
 alone. "Who is a God like unto thee that 
 pardoneth iniquity?" It is not more eminently 
 the incommunicable prerogative of Jehovah 
 to create and govern the world, than to for- 
 give the transgressions of his own law. He 
 is the alone lawgiver who can save or de- 
 stroy the transgressor. Combined creation 
 labours under both a physical and moral 
 inability to pardon a single violation of the 
 law of heaven. For to this there is required 
 a full comprehension of its enormity, a com- 
 prehension pertaining to him, who at one 
 intuitive glance perceives the full extent of 
 the transgressor's relations to himself, to his 
 laws, and to the w T hole creation. This, 
 therefore, must render every creature for 
 ever incompetent to dispense pardon to the 
 guilty. But granting it were possible to 
 attain a degree of knowledge qualifying for 
 this exercise, where is there a creature in- 
 vested with the moral right to cancel the 
 connection established by the Creator be- 
 tween the violation of his law and the per- 
 sonal endurance, by the transgressor, of the 
 punishment incurred? It would certainly 
 be presumption and usurpation for one 
 government to absolve the rebellious sub- 
 jects of another government, by an act of 
 indemnity from the punishment their rebel- 
 lion merits. If another invades my rights, 
 where is the third person authorized to in- 
 trude himself and shield the invader from 
 suffering the penalty due to his crimes'? 
 And where is the privileged person author- 
 
26 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 ized to dispense with the punishment incur- 
 red by any violation of the laws of heaven, 
 to say to the guilty, Thy sins are forgiven, 
 no punishment shall overtake thee 1 Minis- 
 ters may officially proclaim this, but God 
 alone, the author of the law and the avenger 
 of its infractions, can cut asunder the link 
 between sin and the personal suffering of the 
 transgressor. This is a part of his glory, 
 and he will not give it to another. The ex- 
 ercise of this prerogative as much distin- 
 guishes him from all called gods, and from 
 every part of the work of his hands, as the 
 creation and preservation of the universe. 
 
 (2.) The provision he has made for the 
 dispensation of pardon, yields him his richest 
 revenue of glory. Though all the works of 
 God's hand reveal his nature, character, and 
 perfections, each part contributes not equally 
 to his glory; there is a beautiful gradation 
 observable among them. The vegetable 
 rises above the inanimate, the animal above 
 the vegetable, and the rational above the 
 animal in the discovery of God. Angels 
 and men are his moral image, reflecting his 
 righteousness, knowledge, and holiness. In 
 every survey he took of creation, he pro- 
 nounced it "good;" but when adoring angels 
 poured in throngs around his throne, and the 
 grateful praises of man ascended before him, 
 with complacency he pronounced all "very 
 good." Now, a higher revenue of glory 
 accrued to the Creator from the new and 
 more extensive display given of the un-, 
 
PARDON OP SIN. 27 
 
 bounded perfections of his nature. But still 
 in the heart of God there remained other 
 perfections equally dear, and which required 
 an object for their display, an object not 
 found in all the creation which God had 
 made. No indication as yet existed of retri- 
 butive justice and mercy, and redeeming 
 love in which he delights, had not emitted a 
 solitary ray, discovering their existence, and 
 the mutual relations and distinct actings of 
 the persons of the adorable Trinity. Man 
 formed after the image of God, falls into sin 
 and the wretchedness of ruin. Retributive 
 justice now appeared demanding, and through 
 the substitutionary obedience and suffering 
 of the Mediator, obtaining satisfaction. Re- 
 deeming love and pardoning mercy now also 
 found a full and honourable vent, and a suit- 
 able object, and flowed forth in all their en- 
 riching plenitude. The love of the Father, 
 the grace of the Son, and the consolation of 
 the Spirit, shone forth in mild radiance of 
 glory, eclipsing the lustre of creation, till it 
 is thrown into the back ground, and hardly 
 noticed, but to shed its light on the work of 
 salvation. In it every divine perfection that 
 appeared in creation shines forth with in- 
 creased splendor, and others, which had not 
 all appeared, are exhibited in redemption in 
 the most attractive lustre. The angels of 
 glory find a new subject of inexhaustible con- 
 templation, and look intensely into it to learn 
 the manifold wisdom of God. The redeemed 
 from among men contemplate with admira- 
 
28 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 tion this pardon devised by the Father, pro- 
 cured by the Son, and applied by the Spirit, as 
 the chief of Jehovah's ways; and he himself 
 glories in being known by the name of the 
 God that pardoneth iniquity. "I will cleanse 
 them from all their iniquity whereby they 
 have transgressed against me. And it shall 
 be unto me a name of joy, and a praise, and 
 an honour before all the nations of the earth, 
 who shall hear all the good that I will do 
 unto them." This is the language of com- 
 placency, and as it is God's own in survey- 
 ing the pardon of his people, we may well 
 conclude that he glories in forgiveness as the 
 brightest and most distinguishing constella- 
 tion in his glory, and in hallelujahs of praise, 
 we may sing, " Who is like unto thee that 
 pardoneth iniquity ?" 
 
 8. God not only pardons our sins, but also 
 in one and the same act accepts and treats 
 us as righteous. David so far pardoned 
 Absalom that he allowed him to return and 
 reside at Jerusalem, but refused all personal 
 intercourse with him. The father of the 
 prodigal treated better his returning penitent 
 son. He accepted him, and treated him as 
 though he had never departed from his house. 
 So acts God in reference to returning peni- 
 tents. They come out of prison to rejoice 
 with him. He forgives all their sins and 
 imputes righteousness unto them without 
 works. He puts them among his children, 
 and gives them the goodliest of the heritage 
 of nations. 
 
PARDON OF SIN. 29 
 
 Behold, then, the dreadfully dangerous con- 
 dition of unpardoned sinners. All ye that 
 are such, ponder seriously on it. You have 
 frequently and grossly violated the holy and 
 righteous law of your Sovereign, incurred 
 his wrath, and fallen under his curse. On 
 you, although you feel it not in your state of 
 infatuation, rests the guilt of accumulated 
 sins, and unless removed it will send you 
 into the depth of hell. The curse of the 
 broken law is on your persons and posses- 
 sions, poisoning all your enjoyments, and 
 will pursue you into the prison of eternal 
 death. The God of heaven has condemned 
 you already, and his wrath abideth on you. 
 It has separated you from all enjoyment of 
 his favour, which is better than life. You 
 have never had one smile of his reconciled 
 countenance. This curse has come in part 
 on your body and outward lot. The priva- 
 tions and sufferings which you now endure 
 are only the beginning of your future and 
 consummate sorrow. Be not deceived, these 
 are not empty words, but the true sayings 
 of God. His very nature and your constitu- 
 tion, the character of sin and of the divine 
 law infallibly secure the condemnation of 
 every impenitent and unpardoned sinner. 
 
 Awake, awake ! careless, thoughtless, hard- 
 ened sinner, before the day of acceptance 
 pass away, and Jehovah swear in wrath 
 that thou shalt not enter into his rest. Though 
 your condition be deplorable and dangerous 
 in the extreme, it is not utterly desperate. 
 3* 
 
30 PARDON OF SIN, 
 
 There is as yet hope concerning you. The 
 God of Jacob delights ,in pardoning mercy, 
 and is ready to forgive all that call upon 
 him in truth. However long you have con- 
 tinued in the commission of iniquity, though 
 you be doubly leagued by nature and prac- 
 tice with sin, he will cleanse you from all 
 your transgressions and pardon all your sins. 
 Awake, therefore, and attend to your appro- 
 priate work. Consider your ways. Carefully 
 review your whole past conduct, till you 
 ascertain and are affected with the number 
 and desert of your crimes. Confess them 
 unto the Lord and abandon them. He that 
 confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find 
 mercy. Let this confession be true and 
 ingenuous — sincere and full, mixed with sor- 
 row and shame. Judge yourself unworthy of 
 the least mercy, and deserving severe punish- 
 ment. Cry for pardon ; eternally renounce 
 the love and practice of sin, and live unto 
 the Lord with the whole heart. Give glory 
 to the God of Israel, by betaking yourself to 
 his mercy, in Christ Jesus; and let this be 
 your course, however others act. Seek the 
 Lord while he may be found, call on him 
 while he is near. Behold also the dreadful 
 -desert of sin, and the unbending rigour of 
 divine justice. Such are sin and law, that 
 where sin is committed, there is no redemp- 
 tion without the shedding of blood divine. 
 Had an inferior sacrifice satisfied the claims 
 of justice and expiated the guilt of sin, as- 
 suredly Jehovah, the source of wisdom, 
 
PARDON O F SIN. 31 
 
 clemency, and love, would never have given 
 up his Son unto death that we might have 
 redemption through him, even the forgive- 
 ness of sin. In this we see how inexorable 
 law is, and how dreadful is sin. Behold in 
 this glass both of these truths, and learn to 
 hate and detest all sin, to dread avenging 
 justice, and to take refuge in the pardoning 
 mercy of God. This is our only safe retreat, 
 and to it let us flee. 
 
 Let the forgiven also contemplate and duly 
 improve the pardoning mercy of God. Deep- 
 ly are you indebted to it, and it ought to 
 occupy your meditation by day and night, 
 and be the theme of your wonder and praise. 
 Remember how numerous, continued, and 
 provoking were your sins, and yet God 
 graciously forgave their iniquity. Others, 
 not worse than yourself, have been left under 
 the dominion of sin, while you have been 
 selected and forgiven. You have found that 
 he wouM have mercy on whom he would 
 have mercy, but beware lest you turn the 
 grace of God into lasciviousness. 
 
 Through carelessness and temptation have 
 you relapsed into sin, dishonoured your cha- 
 racter, defiled your conscience, offended fel- 
 low-worshippers, grieved the blessed Spirit, 
 insulted the Saviour, and provoked the in- 
 dignation of the God of Israel 1 In conse- 
 quence of all this, is your communion with 
 heaven suspended, your spiritual life be- 
 numbed in torpor; oris conscience in terror, 
 till joy has ceased and you are undergoing 
 
32 PARDON OF SIN. 
 
 severe chastisement? Betake yourself in- 
 stantly to the pardoning mercy of God in 
 Jesus Christ. Confess and forsake, and he is 
 just and faithful to forgive. Be familiar 
 with the penitential portions of the Bible. 
 Repair to the fountain of Christ's blood, 
 which cleanseth from all sin and healeth all 
 diseases. 
 
 Is a sweet sense of forgiveness refreshing 
 your soul ? Worship God in the beauty of 
 holiness. Walk circumspectly before him, 
 lest Satan again entice you and sin prevail, 
 and cast a black cloud over the serenity of 
 your joy. To increase this joy dwell much 
 on the nature, means, and consequents of for- 
 giveness. Remember that it delivers from 
 immense evil, and interests in incalculable 
 good; that it comes in the channel of Christ's 
 blood; gives you a covenant right to all tem- 
 poral good; secures all spiritual blessings, 
 exemption from penal evil, and the mitiga- 
 tion and sanctification of all afflictions. 
 
 As a testimony of gratitude, and an evi- 
 dence of your own forgiveness, forgive from 
 the very heart every one that transgresseth 
 against you. And having much forgiven, 
 love your forgiving God much, abounding in 
 all works of righteousness, and continually 
 stirring up your soul and all within you to 
 bless and magnify his holy name, who has 
 forgiven all your iniquities. 
 
 THE END.