I. SER M. bounty of our Lord; that he is in difpofition very different from pettish and impatient man, who, fhould he have the reins put into his hands, and in his administration of things fhould be fo often neglected, croffed, abused, would foon overturn all things; and, being himself difcompofed with paffion, would precipitate the world into confufion and ruin. Things would not have fubfifted hitherto, and continued in their orderly course, but by the moderation of an immenfe goodness; by that Claud. 32. -magni cuftos clementia mundi. Lam. iii. It is by the Lord's mercies that we (we, the whole body of finful men, fo guilty of heinous provocations and rebellions against our Maker) are not confumed. And what again God in the Prophet fpeaks concerning Ifrael, he might have applied to the whole nation of Hof. xi. 8. men: How fhall I give thee up, Ephraim? how fhall I deliver thee, Ifrael? how shall I make thee as Admah? how fhall I fet thee as Zeboim? I will not execute the fierceness of my anger, I will not return to deftroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man. The reafon (for I am God, and not man) is observable; implying (upon parity of reason in the cafes, concerning that one nation, and concerning the body of men) that it is an indulgence and forbearance above, if not contrary to the temper of man, and even beyond human conceit, whereby the state of things here doth fubfift, and is preferved from ruin. Thus nature, and thus Providence do bear witnefs concerning the difpofition of God. As for Scripture, there is nothing either in way of pofitive affertion more frequently inculcated, or by more illuftrious examples fet forth, and made palpable, than this attribute of God. When God would impart a portraiture, or defcription of himself to his dearest friend and favourite, Moses; the first and chief lineaments thereof are feveral forts, or feveral inftances of goodness; he expreffes himself Merciful and gramcious, long-fuffering, and abundant in goodness: (Mer Exod. xxxiv. 6. אל I. ciii. 8, &c. ciful: El rachum) a God of pitying, or strong in pity; SER M. that is, most apt to commiferate, and to fuccour those who are in need or diftrefs. Gracious, that is, ready both freely to forgive wrongs, and to difpenfe favours. Long-fuffering, or longus irarum, that is, not foon moved, or apt eafily to conceive difpleasure; not hafty in execution of vengeance, or venting his anger in hurtful effects. Abundant in goodness, that is, not fparing as to quantity or quality, either in the multitude or magnitude of his favours, but in all refpects exceedingly liberal; conferring willingly both yery many, and very great benefits. Such did God Pfal. represent himself to Mofes, when he defired a fuller xxxvi. 5. knowledge and nearer acquaintance with him, than ordinary means afford. The fame character in fubftance we have often repeated; and fometimes with advantage of emphatical expreffion, well deferving our obfervation and regard; as when the prophet Joel faith, that God is penitent, or forry, for evil in- Joel ii. 13. flicted; and Micah, that he delighteth in mercy; and Micah vii. when Nehemiah calleth him a God of pardons; and Neh. ix. when Isaiah reprefents him as waiting (or feeking oc-17: cafions) to be gracious: and all this in the Old Tefta-18. ment, where God feems to look upon man with a lefs ferene and debonair afpect. Indeed, as that difpenfation (fuitably to the nature and condition of things under it) doth fet out God's mercy and goodness, with efpecial relation to this prefent world, or temporal eftate; fo the New one more abundantly difplays his more excellent care and love of our fouls; his great tenderness of our fpiritual and eternal welfare. It is all of it in its nature and defign but as it were one entire declaration of the rò xensov Tou sou, (the be- Rom. ii. 4. neficial difpofition, the benignity, or bountifulness of God, as St. Paul telleth us ;) it is a rare project of divine philanthropy; an illuftrious affidavit of God's wonderful propenfity to blefs and fave mankind; manifefted by the highest expreffions and inftances of love and goodness that were poffible. (For his not 18. Ifai. XXX. Rom. v. 21. SER M. not fparing his own Son, the exprefs image of his fub1. fance, the deareft object of his infinite love, the partaker of his eternal nature and glory, but delivering him up a facrifice for our offences; his moft earnest wooing our baseness and unworthinefs to reconciliation with him, and admiffion or acceptance of his favour; his tendering upon fo fair and eafy terms an endless life in perfect joy and blifs; his furnishing us with so plentiful means and powerful aids for attaining that happy ftate-how pregnant demonftrations are these, of unspeakable goodness toward us! whence) The ordinary titles in this difpenfation attributed unto 2 Cor. xiii. him, are, the God of love and peace, of hope, of patience; of all grace, of all confolation; the father of pities, rich Jam. v. 11. in mercy, full of bowels; love and goodness itself. Thus 1 John iv. doth the Scripture pofitively affert God's goodness; thus it directly reprefents and describes his gracious difpofition toward us. And as for examples, (which must serve as to illuftrate and explain, fo alfo to verify and affure matters of this nature,) if we carefully attend to God's ordinary proceedings with men there recorded, we shall find this difpofition very confpicuous in them. Who can recount the number, or 35. For he fet out the value of those instances wherein God's the unthank goodness is expreffed toward fuch as loved him? Of ful, and to his admirable condefcenfion in drawing them to him; II. i. 3. Eph. ii. 4. 8. Luke vi. . is kind unto the evil. Pfal. xxxvi. 6. of the affectionate tenderness, with which he conftantly embraced them; of his merciful indulgence toward them, when provoked by their untowardly behaviour; of his kind acceptance, and munificent recompenfing their endeavours to please him; of his deep compaffionating their fufferings; of his vigilant carefulness over them, and over all their concernments? Methinks the highest expreffions that language, affifted with all its helps of metaphor and refemblance, can afford, are very languid and faint in comparison of what they ftrain to reprefent, when the goodness of God toward them who love him, comes to be expreffed: As the heaven is high above the t the earth, fo great is his mercy toward them that fear SER M. I. it, but with fimilitudes far fhort of the truth. If any Pfal. ciii. will come near to reach it, it is that in Mofes and 11, 13. Zechariah, when they are compared to the apple of Deut. God's eye, that is, to the moft dear and tender part, zech. ii. 8. as it were, about him. xxxii. 10. 2 Chron. We find them often ftyled, and ever treated, as John xv. friends and as children; and that in a fenfe tranfcending the vulgar fignification of those words; for, xx. 7. what friendship could endure, could pafs over, could forget, could admit an entire reconciliation, and reeftablishment in affection after fuch heinous indignities, fuch infidelities, fuch undutifulness, as were thofe of Adam, of Noah, of David, of Peter? Who would have received into favour and familiarity a Manaffes, a Magdalen, a Paul? Who would fo far extend his regard upon the pofterity (upon fuch a pofterity, fo untoward, fo unworthy) of his friend, as God did upon that of Abraham, in refpect unto him? What great prince would employ his principal courtiers to guard and ferve a poor attendant, a mean fubject of his? Yet, The angel of the Lord en Pfal. campeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth xxxiv. * them; and many inftances we have of thofe glorious inhabitants of heaven by God's appointment stooping down to wait upon, and to perform service to the fons of men. But upon examples of this nature, being numberlefs, and compofing indeed the main body of the facred hiftory, (it being chiefly defigned to represent them,) I fhall not infift; I fhall only observe, for preventing or fatisfying objections, (yea, indeed, for turning them to the advantage and confirmation of that which we affert,) that even in those cases, where in · Ο Γίνεται φιλανθρωπία ἡ τιμωρία· ὕτω γὰρ ἐγὼ πείθομαι κολάζειν Θεόν. Naz. Orat. 38. 'Eyw I. SER M. in God's highest severity hath been exercised, when God hath purposed to exhibit most dreadful inftances of his juftice upon the most provocative occafions; we may difcern his goodness eminently fhewing itself that even in the greateft extremity of his difpleasure, in his acts of highest vengeance, Jam. ii. 13. mercy doth xaraxauxáca Ts neiews, (as St. James fpeaketh,) boaft itself, and triumph over juftice: that God, as the fun (to use Tertullian's fimilitude) when he feems moft to infeft and fcorch us, doth even then difpenfe ufeful and healthful influences upon us. Even, I fay, in the most terrible and amazing examples of divine juftice (fuch as were the ejecting and excluding mankind from paradife; the general deftruction in the deluge; the exfcinding and extirpation of the Amorites, together with other Vide Chryf. inhabitants of Canaan; the delivering Ifrael and JuTom. 6. Or. dah into the Affyrian thraldom, the final deftruction 8. p. 63. optime. of Jerufalem, together with the difperfion of the Jewish nation over the world, and its fad confequences) we may (not hardly) obferve particulars, more than favouring of great mercy and goodness. 1. That (in moft of thefe cafes, in all according to fome account) God was not moved to the difpleasure productive of those effects but upon very great confiderations. That he did not feek advantages, nor embrace all occafions; but was incenfed by fuperlative degrees of iniquity and impurity, (fuch in their own nature, and much aggravated by their circumftances,) fuch as rendered common life inconvenient, and infupportable to men; made the earth to stink Ἐγὼ τοσαύτην περιεσίαν εἶναι φημὶ τῆς τῇ Θεῖ κηδεμονίας, ὡς μὴ μόνον ἀφ ̓ ὧν ἐτίμησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀφ ̓ ὧν ἐκόλασεν ὁμοίως ἡμᾶς δύνασθαι τὴν αγαθότητα αὐτε δεικνύναι, καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν. Chryf. ανδρ. ζ'. Ὁ Θεὸς ἀπαθὴς ὢν, καν εὐεργετῇ, καν κολάζῃ, ὁμοίως ἐσὶν ἀγαθός. Ibid. Tunc maxime eft optimus, cum tibi non bonus; ficut Sol tibi etiam quando non putas optimus et utilis, &c. Tertull. in Marc. ii. 2. |