To The Greatness Of Sin, Faith Opposes A VIEW OF THE GREAT GOD 1/2

           First.  Faith gives the soul a view of the great God.  It teacheth the soul to set his almightiness against sin’s magnitude, and his infinitude against sin’s multitude; and so quencheth temptation.  The reason why the presumptuous sinner fears so little, and the despairing soul so much, is for want of know­ing God as great.  Therefore, to cure them both, the serious consideration of God under this notion is pro­pounded.  ‘Be still, and know that I am God,’ Ps. 46:10.  As if he had said, ‘Know, O ye wicked, that I am God, who can avenge myself when I please upon you, and cease to provoke me by your sins to your own confusion.’  Again, ‘Know ye, trembling souls, that I am God, and therefore able to pardon the greatest sins; and cease to dishonour me by your un­believing thoughts of me.’  Now faith alone can thus show God to be God.  Two things are required to the right conceiving of God.

1. In order to the right conceiving of God, we must give him the infinitude of all his attributes;that is, conceive of him not only as wise—for that may be a man’s name—but infinitely wise; not mighty, but almighty, &c.
2. This infinitude which we give to God, we must deny to all besides him, what or whosoever they be.Now faith alone can realize and fix this principle so in the heart that the creature shall act suitably there­unto.  Indeed, none are so wicked who will not say, if you will believe them, that they believe that God is infinite in his knowledge, and omnipresent—at their heels wherever they go; infinite in his power, needing no more to effect their ruin than his speaking it.  But, would they then in the view of these go and sin so boldly?  They durst as well run their heads into a fiery oven, as do it in the face of such a principle.  So others; they believe God is infinite in mercy.  But, would they then carry a hell flaming in their bosoms with despair, while they have infinite mercy in their eye?  No, it is plain God appears not in his true greatness to such.  Despair robs God of his infinitude and ascribes it to sin.  By it the creature saith his sin is infinite and God is not—too like those unbelieving Israelites: ‘They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea,’ Ps. 106:7.  They could not see enough in God to serve their turn in such a strait; they saw a multi­tude of Egyptians to kill, and multitude of waters to drown them, but could not see multitude enough of mercies to deliver them.  Thus the despairing sees multitude of great sins to damn, but not an infinitude of mercy to save him.   Reason, alas! is low of stature, like Zaccheus, and cannot see mercy in a crowd and press of sins.  It is faith alone that climbs the prom­ise; then and not till then will the soul see Jesus. Faith ascribes mercy to God with an overplus, ‘He will abundantly pardon,’ Isa. 55:7—multiply to pardon, so the Hebrew.  He will drop pardons with our sins which are most.  ‘He will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea’. This is faith's language; he will  pardon with an over­flowing mercy.  Cast a stone into the sea, and it is not barely covered, but buried many fathom deep.  God will pardon thy greatest sins, saith faith, as the sea doth a little pebble thrown into it.  A few sins poured out upon the conscience—like a pail of water spilt upon the ground—seems like a great flood; but the greatest poured into the sea of God’s mercy are swal­lowed up and not seen.  Thus, when ‘the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,’ the Scripture saith, ‘and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found.’ And why so?  ‘For I will pardon,’ Jer. 50:20.  There is the reason.