than to have wrong thoughts of God; thoughts that are narrow, and
that pinch and pen up his mercy to scanty and beggarly conclusions,
and rigid legal conditions; supposing that it is rude, and an
intrenching upon his majesty, to come ourselves, or to invite others,
until we have scraped and washed, and rubbed off as much of our dirt
from us as we think is convenient, to make us somewhat orderly and
handsome in his sight. Such never knew what these words meant,
"Begin at Jerusalem:" yea, such in their hearts have compared the
Father and his Son to niggardly rich men, whose money comes from them
like drops of blood. True, says such, God has mercy, but he is loath
to part with it; you must please him well, if you get any from him;
he is not so free as many suppose, nor is he so willing to save as
some pretended gospellers imagine. But I ask such, if the Father and
Son be not unspeakably free to shew mercy, why was this clause put
into our commission to preach the gospel? Yea, why did he say,
"Begin at Jerusalem:" for when men, through the weakness of their
wits, have attempted to shew other reasons why they should have the
first proffer of mercy; yet I can prove (by many undeniable reasons)
that they of Jerusalem (to whom the apostles made the first offer,
according as they were commanded) were the biggest sinners that ever
did breathe upon the face of God's earth, (set the unpardonable sin
aside), upon which my doctrine stands like a rock, that Jesus the Son
of God would have mercy in the first place offered to the biggest
sinners: and if this doth not shew the heart of the Father and the
Son to be infinitely free in bestowing forgiveness of sins, I confess
myself mistaken.

Neither is there, set this aside, another argument like it, to shew
us the willingness of Christ to save sinners; for, as was said
before, all the rest of the signs of Christ's mercifulness might have