6.  Being the author and finisher of faith, and a prince to give repentance, he, by his Spirit, worketh up the soul to a renewing of its grips of himself by faith, and to a running to the death and blood of Christ for pardon and washing, and worketh godly sorrow in the heart, whereupon followeth pardon, according to the gospel constitution, though the believer as yet perceiveth it not; and sin being pardoned before God, conform to the tenor of the covenant of grace, the man is a living man, whatever fears of death he may be kept under for a time.

7.  He helpeth also to a justifying of God, and to a holy, submissive frame of spirit under that dispensation; so that they are willing to bear the indignation of the Lord, because they have sinned against him, Micah vii. 9; and to wait for an outgate in God’s own time, and to kiss the rod, and to accept of the punishment of their sin.

8.  When he seeth it fit for his own glory, and their advantage, he speaketh peace at length to the soul, and saith, “son (or daughter) be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee; and then is the soul restored to life.”

As to the fourth particular.  The soul that is wrestling with an angry God for sin, and would make use of Christ as the Life, should do these things: 

1.  He should look to Christ as standing under God’s curse in our room, and as satisfying justice for all the elect, and for all their sins.

2.  He should eye the covenant wherein new pardon is promised, upon the renewing of faith and repentance.

3.  He should eye Christ as the great Lord dispensator of both faith and repentance, and hang on him for both, and thus believe, that he may believe and repent, or lay his soul open to him, that he may work in him both repentance and faith.

4.  He should flee to the blood of sprinkling, “that speaks better things than the blood of Abel,” that he may be washed, and sprinkled with hyssop, as David did, Psalm li. 7.

5.  He should eye Christ as a prince to give pardon and remission of sins, and as exalted for this end, and should fix his eye upon him, as now exalted in glory for this end.

6.  He should close with Christ of new, as his only all-sufficient Mediator; and having done this, and repented of his sins, whereby God hath been provoked, he should conclude through faith, that a pardon is passed in the court of heaven, conform to the tenor of the gospel, and wait on Christ until the intimation come.

As for the cautions which I promised to speak to, in the last place, take those few: 

1.  Do not conclude there is no pardon, because there is no intimation thereof made to thy soul as yet.  According to the dispensation of grace condescended upon in the gospel, pardon is had immediately upon a soul’s believing and repenting; but the intimation, sense, and feeling of pardon, is a distinct thing, and may, for several ends, be long kept up from the soul.  Sure they go not always together.