Ill 
 
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 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, 
 Princeton, N. J. 
 
 
 | Case, jj 
 
 | Shelf, SC< 
 
 V I'" 1 "'- I o 
 
 
 
TwervVv three sermons ' 
 J 
 
 Mpo-n +he 
 
 chief end arvr\a\r\ . 
 
 The divine authority ot 
 the Sacred Scrip+ures, 
 "tine beinqfcvrid attributes 
 oF Grcd^ and the doctrine, 
 or fhetriVu+y. 
 
 X «*M * *. 
 
 TYecvch'd a+Pk'ilcxctelphia 
 
 A.D.1^3. 
 
 by 
 
 Griloert lennent. 
 
 Philadelphia 
 Printed by W. Brcxdrord , 
 1744. 
 
P R E F A C E 
 
 Candid Reader, 
 
 EEING that Corrupt Principles tend to infect the Heart 
 and Practice, it is therefore highly neceflary to beware 
 of them j we read of damnable Herefies, as well as 
 damnable Practices, ( zPet. ii. i.) Seeing that the 
 main Doctrines of Religion, have, in a Meafure, the fame 
 Relation to Piety in Practice, ■ as a Foundation to a Super- 
 structure, it is therefore like building a Fabrick in the Air to 
 inculcate the one without having regard to the other. It is 
 doubtlefs a commanded and Important Duty to be Valiant 
 for the Truth upon the Earth, and to contend for the Faith 
 once deliver'd to the Saints : But how mall we be able to 
 comply with this divine Precept, unlefs we know the Truths 
 we are to be Zealous for ? And how can we expect to 
 know them without the Ufe of proper Means to that End, 
 fuch as Reading, Meditation, Prayer ? 
 
 We>are commanded to hold faji the Form of found Words t 
 2 Tim. i. 1 3.. The original Word Hypotopofs^ fignifies 
 a Scheme or Skeleton. This plainly intends not only the Re- 
 lation and Harmony of the great Truths of Religion to and 
 among each other, but theNecemty we lie under of ad- 
 hering to them j but how mall we do this without Know- 
 ledge ? To fuppofe that we need not know but a few Prin- 
 ciples, and that the Knowledge of many hinders our reli- 
 gion? Progrefs, is to reflect upon the Wifdomand Goodneis 
 
 § of 
 
The Preface 
 of God in revealing fo many in the Scriptures : And to fay 
 in other Words that the chief Part of the Scriptures is Vain, 
 or rather Prejudicial to our Souls benefit, which is an aw- 
 ful Pofition ! If the Doctrines of the Scriptures need not 
 be known, why have they been reveal'd ? Can they be of 
 Service to us without our Knowledge of them ; but poflibly 
 fome may Object that Paul affcrted, he defit'd to know 
 nothing among the Corinthians but Jesus Christ and him 
 crucify'd. I anfwerthat Place of Scripture is to be taken 
 comparitively, viz. That he defir'd to know nothing fo much 
 among them as Chrift and him crucify'd, he defir'd to 
 make Chrift in his Perfon, Natures, Offices, Relations, and 
 Sufferings, together with the Benefits thereby purchas'd, the 
 principal Subject and main Scope of his minifteral Labours. 
 He defir'd to make all his Sermons on every Subject tend 
 to promote the Knowledge of Christ, Love to him and 
 Faith in him. Neither is it unufual in Scripture to take 
 abfolute Expreflions in a comparative Senfe. Thus the 
 Almighty fayeth, That he will have Mercy and not Sacrifice^ 
 i. e. rather than Sacrifice. Now if we take the aforefaid 
 Scripture in another Senfe, viz. That Paid defir'd to know 
 nothing more than the Doctrine of Christ's Crucifixion: 
 This tends to caft contempt upon the chief Part of the 
 Scriptures and render them vain and ufelefs. And it is like- 
 wife contrary to the Apoftles Practice, for he preach 'd and 
 wrote by divine Infpiration many other Truths j and furely 
 he may be reafonably fuppos'd to know his own Litention 
 beft. 
 
 It is indeed cur Wifdom and our Duty to proportion the 
 Degree of our Zeal, for the feveral Truths of Religion to 
 their refpective Weight and Place in the Chriftian Syftem, 
 but without Knowledge and Judgment this is Impracticable, 
 We are enjoyn'd to continue in the Faith, grounded and 
 
 fettled 
 
The Preface, 
 fettled. Col. i. 23. But how can this be expected without 
 the Knowledge of the Doctrines of Faith, can we continue 
 in that which we know not ? Surely Ignorance is the 
 Caufe of Unfteadinefs in the Principles of Religion -, be- 
 caufe of this, fome are like Children tojjed to and fro, and 
 carried about with every Wind of Dodlrine, by the Slight of 
 Men and cunning Craftinefs, whereby they lie in wait to de- 
 ceive, (Ephef. iv. 14.) It is no new Thing for falfe Teachers 
 by good Words and fair Speaches to deceive the Hearts of 
 the Simple, [Rom. xvi. 18.) The falfe Apoftles enfnar'd the 
 Galatians by great Shews of Piety and Affection to them, as 
 well as by unjuft Reflections againfr. faithful Minifters. Gal. 
 iv. 17. They zealoujly a feci you, but not well, yea they would 
 exclude us that you might affec~l them. 
 
 Surely our Eftablimment in the great Principles of Re- 
 ligion, tends to the Glory of God and our own growth in 
 Goodnefs. This is our Excellency, and indeed it is one great 
 End of theGolpel Miniftry. (Ephef. iv. 1 1,- — ij.) Where-* 
 as the Contrary tends to the Dishonour of God and our 
 felves, and much Mars our Growth in Holinefs : For how 
 can a Plant thrive that is often mov'd ? Is it likely that thofe 
 will glorify God by fuffering for Truth who know knot? 
 Let us therefore abhor thefe Popi/h Principle's, viz. That 
 Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion, and that it is our Duty 
 to believe implicitely or limply. Surely without Know- 
 ledge the Mind cannot be good. Acquaintance with the 
 firft Principles of the Oracles of God enriches the Mind 
 and is a Lamp to the Feet. The Knowledge of divine Truths 
 in their due Series and Connection, much confirms our belief 
 of them, and thereby inflames our Love, and Influences 
 our Practice. To help forward that good Deflgn I have been 
 induc'd to offer the following Difcourfes to publick View ;: 
 and would entreat the Reader to perufe the whole before he 
 
 condemns 
 
The Preface, 
 condemns a Part, that fo he may have an Oppertunity of 
 judging for himfelf whether the Truths therein contain'd do 
 not harmonize among themfelves, and tend to promote the 
 Glory of God as well as the Creatures felf Abafement and 
 eternal Happinefs. And if they be found attended with 
 thefe Characters, are they riot worthy of Credit and Accep- 
 tance ? Surely the Doclrin.es of Religion mould not " be 
 judged of according to the prejudices of our Education or 
 corrupt ByarTes of PafTion, but calmly and impartially 
 weighed in the Scales of Scripture and Realon. For Truth 
 will not vary according to our Humour ; It is therefore un- 
 doubtedly our Inter eft to know it, whether we like it or not. 
 In the mean time we mould beware of retting fatisfy'd with 
 the Doctrinal Knowledge of Truth, without feeling the ef- 
 ficacious Influence thereof upon Heart and Life, for fuch as 
 know their Mafters Will and do it not^ mufl expeft to be 
 beaten with double flripes. Now that, the following Sermons 
 may be blefTed of the mofl high God, to the equal promo- 
 ting of Truth and Kolinefs, is the earned Defire and Prayer 
 of thy Servant for Christ's Sake* 
 
 Philadelphia, G. TENNENT. 
 
 June 23. 1744. 
 
Introduction, 29. 
 
 SERMON II 
 
 I. Corinthians x. 31. 
 Whether therefore ye eat or Drink, or whatsoever ye do, 
 do all to the Glory of God. 
 
 THE Heart is certainly the main Spring of practical 
 Religion ^ when that is fet right in its aims, then all 
 the Wheels of Motion keep their proper Distances 
 and Spheres, and anfwer a valuable End : But when 
 this main Spring is wrong fett, all is wrong ; the Motion of 
 the Souls Powers is irregular and vain, becaufe it tends to a 
 wrong Mark. 
 
 It is therefore of the laft necemty that we be careful in 
 yhufing of and fixing upon a right Mark in our Actions : 
 /And what can this be but God and bis Glory ? Let us there- 
 fore give him our Hearts, and make his Honour the chief 
 fcope of all we do : It will be but of little Service to us to 
 cleanfe the outiide of the Cup and Platter, if the infide be 
 neglected, and our aims be wrong. 
 
 Do not therefore think it flrange my Hearers, that I dwell 
 fo long upon this Subject, for indeed it is the very turning 
 Point and Foundation of all practical Godlineis. We our- 
 felves are furely fuch as 9>ur governing aims be. 
 
 You may remember that in the preceeding Sermon, I 
 obferv'd the following Point of Truth, viz. That the great 
 Mark at which wejlwuld aim chiefly, in &ll our Actions, whe- 
 ther 
 
3© The Labouring Point illujlr cited. 
 
 ther Natural^ Civil or Religious ', is the Glory of the mojl high 
 God. And that the Method I propos'd to purfue in the Pro- 
 iecution of it, was as follows, viz. ift. I was to fhew the 
 Kijids and Nature of God's Glory. 
 
 II. What is fuppos'd by and imply d in our aiming at God's 
 Glory. 
 
 III. I purpofed to fhew how we Jhould glorify God. 
 
 IV. Why we f/jould aim at his Glory, as our chief Mark in 
 all our Acdiom. 
 
 V. I was to Anfwer fome Objcclions to the contrary, and 
 then proceed to fome practical Improvement of the Whole. 
 
 The firft four general Heads I have difcourfed upon, that 
 which yet remains to be treated of, as the Subject of the pre- 
 fent Sermon, is the 5th general Head, namely to anfwer 
 Objections. 
 
 But before I proceed to treat directly upon the 5th Pro- 
 pos'd, Ifliall beg Leave to cite fome Sentences, extracted 
 from the writings of divers worthy Divine?, tending to con- 
 firm and illuflrate what has been already offer 'd. And here 
 I fhall firft mention, the GlofTes of fome Annotators upon 
 the Text I am difcourfing from. Mr. Pool in his Annota- 
 tions upon it, after having cited Prov. xvi. 4. The Lord hath 
 made all Things for himfelf obferves, " That it is impofiible 
 " itfhould be otherwise, for whereas every reafonable Agent, 
 " both propounds to himfelf fome Reafon of his Actions, 
 " and the beft End he can imagine ; it is impoffible, but 
 " that God alfo in creating Man mould propound to him- 
 " felf fome End, and there being no better End than his 
 " own Glory, he could propound no other to himfelf : The 
 " Glory of God being the End wfaieh he propounded to 
 " himfelf in creating Man, it muft needs follow that that 
 " muft be the chief and greateft End which any Man can 
 " propound to himfelf in his Actions. To confirm this 
 
 Glofs 
 
By the Teltimony of divers Dhir.es.. 3 1 . 
 
 Glofs, he in his Criticks cites Menocbius y Efiius, Gr otitis y 
 Meed> and Rabi Jonah, in his Book upon Fear, who fays, 
 " That we ought to belive in one God, and direct all our 
 " Actions to his Name, and that he who does not fo, is not 
 " like to receive a Reward.'' 
 
 Mr. Matthew Henery y upon the Words of our Text fays, 
 " That in all we do,, we' mould aim at the Glory of God, 
 " at pleafing and honouring him ; this is the fundamental 
 " Principle of all practical Godlineis j the great End of all 
 " practical Religion.- — -And upon Prov. xvL 4. he fays,. 
 " That God is the firft Caufe,. and laft End of all,, 
 M all is of him and from him, and therefore all is to him 
 " and for him. He defigns tofervehis own Purpofe bv all 
 " his Creatures, and he will not fail of his Deiign, the Wicked 
 " he is not glorify'd by, but will, be glorifi'd' upon. 
 
 Mr. Burkit upon the Words of our Text fayeth thus, 
 u The Apoftle directs us r to refer all our Actions in genc- 
 " ral, both natural, civil and religious to the Glory of God - 
 " to make that our fepream Aim, our ultimate End in all 
 " we do, in all we deiign, in all we defire. AChriftian 
 iC is to perform his natural Actions to lpiritual Purpofe;, and 
 " whilft he is feeding his Body at his own Table, muff, have 
 " an Eye at his ferving God, both with Soul and Body, 
 •* But efpecially and above all in our religious Duties, we 
 " mult propound the Glory of God as our principal Aim, our 
 * c chief Scope, Our fupream End. 
 
 Doctor Bates in his Harmony of the Divine Attributes, 
 p. 175,6. fays,. " That Godlinefs contains three Things, 
 " j ft. That our Obedience proceeds from love to God, as 
 " its vital Principle; this muft warm and animate the ex- 
 <c ternal Action, this, alone makes Obedience as delightful 
 " to us, fo pleafing to God. 2dly. That all our Converfa- 
 " tion be regulated by his Will as the Rule, jdly, That 
 
 the 
 
j2v The Labouring Point lilujirated 
 
 ™ the glory of God be the fupream End of all our Actions,. 
 " this Qualification muft. adhere not only to necelTary Du- 
 " ties, but to our natural and civil Actions, Our Light tnujl 
 " fififa* before Men, that they may fee: our good Works &c„ 
 " Matt. v. 1.6. i Cor., xh 31. A general Defignation of this 
 " isabfolutely necelTary. (1 Pet, iv. 1 1.) And the renewing 
 " our Intention in matters of Moment. For he being the 
 " fole Author of our Lives and Happinefs,. we cannot with- 
 " Out extream Ingratitude and Difobedience neglect to glori- 
 ** iy him in our Bodies,, and Spirits which are his. (1 Cor. 
 " vi.. 19.20.) This, religious Tendency of the Soul' to God, 
 " as the Supream Lord,., and our utmoft End ; fanctihes our 
 " Actions, and gives an excellency to them, above what is in- 
 " herent in their own Nature." 
 
 Dr. Manton'm his fecond Volumn of Sermons/*. 91 fay— 
 eth 1 " The Glory of God muft be regarded in the firft Place 
 ** 1 Cor. 10.3 1 . whether in eating or drinking Off. If in eating 
 " and drinking fayeth he, and the ufc of our ordinary Cbm- 
 " forts, much more in the Supream and' important Actions 
 " of our lives, fuch as we would make a Bufinefs of, God 
 <c muft be fpecially eyed therein ; God only is independent 
 " and felf fufficient of himfelf and from himfelf; but felf 
 u ieeking is monftrous and unnatural in the Creature! They 
 " are of him and by him, and for him. [Rom. xi. 36.) the 
 w Motion of the Creatures is circular, they end where they 
 ** began. 2 The faving of our own Souls, that muft be re- 
 " garded next to the Glory of God, for next to the Love 
 ** of God, Man is to. love himfelf and in himfelf. r Thebet- 
 " terPart; the great Errors of the World, come from mif- 
 <{ taking felf, and mifplacmg Self,. they mifplace Self, when 
 " they feat it aboveGod and prefer their Interefts before the 
 " ConfcienceoftheirDuty to him. Then they miftake Self, 
 " thinking felf is more concern'd as a Body than a Soul. 
 
 And 
 
By the Te/fimouy of divers Divines: $y 
 
 u And prefer the Satisfactions of the carnal Life, before the 
 " Happinefs of the Spiritual, and pag. 55. he adds, that the 
 w End ■ennobleth a Man, andftill the Man is according to his 
 " End, low fpirits have low Deflgns, Mat. vi. 22. The Light 
 " of the Body is the Eye, if therefore thine Eye be /ingle, thy 
 " -whole Body ft all be jull of Light y but if thine Eye be evil, 
 " thy whole Body flail be full of 'Darknefs.' 
 
 Dr. Thomas faylor in his Catechetical Excrcifes, approved 
 by twelve of the moil eminent London Minifters pag. 1 40 
 propoies this Queftion, viz. " What are we to learn that 
 " God created us, for his Glory in a fpecial Manner, a- 
 " bove other Creatures ? gives this Anfwer, to refer our felves- 
 " and all Things belonging to us, to his Glory as our chief 
 " End ; in Imitation of God, whole Glory isfo dear to himfelf, 
 " that he propoundeth it to himfelf, as the chief and prin- 
 " cipal End, of all his Decrees and Actions ; fo dear it 
 " mould be to us, as to propound it in our firft Intentions, 
 " as the Scope of all the Actions and Occurrences of our 
 " Lives.' 
 
 Dr. Ridgely in his Body of Divinity, pag. 1 fpeaking up- 
 on the Aniwer, to the firft. Queftion, in the JVeJlminJhr 
 Catechifm, viz.. that to glorify God and enjoy him, is the 
 chief and higheft. End, fays. ct If it be enquir'd with what 
 " propriety thefe may be cali'd chief and highejl, the An- 
 " fwer is eafy, viz. that the former is abfolutely fo, beyond 
 " which nothing more excellent, or delireable can be con- 
 " ceived, the latter is the higheft. and beft in its kind ; 
 " which notwithstanding is referr'd, as a Means leading to 
 " the other. And pag. 5 thus having confider'd, that it is 
 " our ■ indiipenfable Duty, to make the Glory of God, our 
 " higheft End in all our Actions, we denying him that Tri- 
 " bute of Praife, abufe our fuperior Faculties and live in 
 " vaiiv' 
 
 E^ E%. 
 
34 The labouring Point iJIuJf rated. . 
 
 Efq; Leigh in his Body of Divinity, pag, 244 fays " we 
 *' mould do all to him, and for him, etren to ftiew forth 
 '** our Apprehenfion of his Name, doing whatfoever Good 
 ■* e we do, and leaving whatfoever Evil we leave that we may 
 
 * declare our high Eiteem of him, and make it appear, 
 " that we judge him mofl wife -good, excellent.-- And what- 
 Ci foever is not thus done, with reference to the Name of 
 " God, wants fo much of Goodnefs, as it does of this Re- 
 " ference ! If we aim at only or chiefly, and be mov'd only 
 " or chiefly, by Temporal Benefits and Refpects of this 
 " Kind j looking to our felves ■; our Deeds are hollow and 
 c< feemingly £ood alone, not real; if we look .to ourfelves a- 
 " lone in refpect of eternal Benefits; and not above our 
 " felves to him and his Name, that alio is but Hypo- 
 " crily ; but this is Truth, to make our Ends and Motives 
 " the fame with God's, and to have an Eye frill above 
 " and beyond our felves even to God's Name. 
 
 Mr. JVatfon'm his Body of Divinity, pag. 3. hath thefe 
 Words " It is a glorifying God when we aim purely at his 
 " Glory : It is one Thing to advance God's Glory, another 
 " Thing to aim at it .; God mufl be the terminus ad quem y 
 " the ultimate End of all our Actions, thus Christ (John 
 c< viii. 50.') Its the Note of aHypocrite, he hath a Squint Eye, 
 " he looks more to his own Glory, than God's Glory; he 
 " cites this faying of Cyprian, quern nongula Philautiafuper- 
 u avit (i. e. Self-Love has vanquifhed even thole that have 
 " efcaped gluttenous Excefles) let us take heed of this tiu- 
 
 * tolatreia felf-worfhip, and aim purely at God's Glory.' 
 Mr. Dolittle in his Body of DHnity, approv'-d by 20 of 
 
 the mofl: famous of the London Miniflcrs, pag. 2 ^ueft. 7 lays, 
 " Am I not fuch as my chief End is ? If the World be my 
 " chief End, am I not a Worldly-Man ? If Pleasure be my 
 " chief End, am not I a voluptuous Man ? If Honours, am 
 
 <c not 
 
By the Te/fimony. of divers Divine?.. 55; 
 
 n not I an ambitious Man? If felf-intereft, am not I a ear- 
 " nal felfim Man I If God be my chief End, am not I a 
 " Godly Man? And pag.. 3. where there is a Subordination 
 " of Ends, wherein, that which is an End in refpect offome 
 " Means,, is it ieif a Means to fome farther End. Do not I 
 " ftop in any End till I come to. the chief and higher! End ? 
 " is not my reading the Scripture,, and hearng the Word 
 " preach' d,. a Means to my knowing God's Will as my 
 ** End ? Is not Communion, with him a Means to my En- 
 " joyment of him in Heaven, as my End ? Is not my En- 
 " joyment of God in Heaven, a Means to my glorifying 
 " him in Heaven, as my lafl and higheft End, beyond 
 " which. I cannot go ?. 
 
 Mr. Gurnal in his Chrifiian Armour , pag. 363. 4. fays, 
 <c look, thou propounded: right Ends, in thy defire of Re- 
 " conciliation with God; — It is lawful for thee to look to thy 
 c< own Safety ; God will give thee leave to look to thy felf } 
 * this thou mayft do, and yet not neglect him ; but- neves 
 ct was any Peace true or fure, where only Self-Love. made 
 " it; whether it be with God, or between Man and Man, 
 " thou feeft thou art undone, if thou keeper* thy old Side, 
 tc and therefore thou feekeft Peace with God, as the Kings 
 < f that ferved Hadarezer, 2 Sam. 10. 19, well this may be 
 {C all allow'd thee to come over to -God,, becaufe. his is the 
 " furer Side ) never any made Peace with God, but this 
 " Argument weighed much with them ; but take heed this 
 " be not all, thouaimeit at; or the Chief thou aimeft at, this 
 " thou. mayeit do and hate God as much as ever. Like thofe 
 < f who arefaid to yield feignedly to David's, victorious Arms, 
 " becaufe no help for it.. A Man taken in a Storm, may be 
 ** fere'd under the Pent-Houfe of his greatest Enemy for 
 5 Shelter j without any change of his Heart- or better Tho'ts 
 
 E »:-?■': •,*'. of 
 
~The labouring Point illiiftrated. 
 
 " of him, than before he was wont." And then proceeds ts 
 ebferve, " that we mu ft fir ft eye the Honour of God PL lxxix.9. 
 " And adds, Certainly if God could not be more glorified, 
 " in our Peace and Reconciliation, than in our Death and 
 " Damnation, it were a wicked Thing to defire it.' 
 
 Mr. Flavel in his firft Vol. pag. 676 fayeth, " There is 
 " two Ends in Duties, one fupream and ultimate, viz. the 
 " glorifying of God, which muft and ought to take the firfc 
 " Place of all other Ends. Another fecondary and fubor- 
 " dinate, viz. The Good and Benefit of our felves, to invert 
 " thefe, and place our own Good in the Room of God's 
 " Glory, is finful and unjufHfiable, and he that aims at 
 " himfelfonlv in Religion, is juftly cenfur'd as, a mercena- 
 '" ry Servant.' 
 
 Mr. Baxter in his Saints-Reft, pag. 18 9 fayeth, ?j He 
 " that maketh not God, his chief Good and ultimate End, 
 " is in his Heart a Pagan, and vile Idolater, and doth not 
 " take the Lord for his God.' 
 
 Mr. How in his whole Works, pag. 154. 5. fays, " That 
 " to pray to him, (meaning God) that he would do this or 
 " that, finally and ultimately for any thing elfe, than his 
 " own Name, is humbly to liipplioate him, that he would 
 ■* refign the Godhead, and quit his Throne to this or that 
 " Creature. 2. — That primitive Nature, was no doubt 
 " pointed upon God, as the laft End. Otherwife a Crea- 
 <£ ture had been made with an Averfion to him, and in the 
 < higheft pitch of Enmity and Rebellion j fince there can 
 " be no higher Controverfy than about the laft End. And 
 " adds, that the Defign of renewing Grace, is to reftore 
 " us to our original State, and fix us in that ablblute Subor- 
 " dination to God which was original and natural to us ; 
 " then he obferves, the Controverfy is taken up, which was 
 " about no lower Thing than the Deity ; who mould be 
 
 M God 
 
By the Tefti monies of divers Divines. 37 
 
 u God he or we ? Whether we fliould live and be For our 
 " felves, or him ? — The only proper genuine Breath of the 
 " New-Creature, — is to thee O Lord be all Things , may eft 
 " thou ever be All in All, let the Creation, and all Things be 
 il Nothing, other wife than in thee and for thee' 
 
 Mr. V/illard in his Body of Divinty, pag. 6. 7. fayetb, 
 *' That Man can have no other lafl End, but God and his 
 <i Glory, for then itmuft be either the Creature orhimfelf, a 
 >" third cannot be thought of; but it can be neither of 
 " thefe, as will appear.— 1. Becaufe the Creature is infe- 
 " rior to him, a Man's End is to be look'd for, above him- 
 " felf, and not beneath him ; but Man is iuperior to thefe. 
 " 2. Becaufe that Man is theCreatures next End, that t^ere- 
 " fore cannot be his lafl End, that that fhould be made 
 " for Man's Service, and yet that Man mould be to ferve 
 " that, implyeth a Contradiction. 3. Becaufe the Creatures' 
 •" cannot fatisiy him, Man's lafl End and objective Happi- 
 <{ nefs is the fame, {Eclef. i. 8.) 2. Neither can he be his 
 " own lafc End : For, u The End mufl be foinething 
 " better than the Means, that ferve to it. 2. There is a 
 " better being, than Man, and therefore he cannot be his 
 *' own chief End : The lafl End, and chief Good, are one 
 *< and the fame ; there is therefore no refling, until we 
 " come there. 3, A Man cannot be his own Happinefs, 
 '" and therefore not his own chief End. An End that can- 
 '■" not happify him, is not worthy of that Name ! Again 
 " he aiTerts, that Man's next chief End, to the glorifying 
 " of God is to enjoy him forever !' 
 
 Mr. Vincent alio in his Expofition of the Aflembly's Ca- 
 techiim, approv'd of by 40 Divines, is alfo of the fame Sen- 
 timent with the reft I have mentioned j as appears from 
 the Reafons he gives, why Men fliould chiefly defign the 
 glorifying of God in all their Adions; which are thefe, viz. 
 
 " becaufe 
 
y$ The labouring Point illuff rated.. 
 
 *' becaufe God has made them, preferves them, has re- 
 "" deem' d them, and given his Word and Spirit to direct 
 4< and affih?, and promiied his Kingdom to encourage them, 
 - to glorify him.' See pag,^. From the aforeiaid Words 
 it appears that Mr. Vincent look'd upon the Glory of God, 
 to be the End and Happinefe but as a Motive, exciting to 
 feek after it. I now proceed to the 
 
 5. General Head, which wastoanfwer Objections.. 03/Vr»- 
 1. " That which God promifes on his Part in his covenant 
 Dealings, with Man is Man's chief 'Good, or which is the fame, 
 Man's chief End-, but the Thing God promifes is Salvation, 
 ergo. Had God p-omis'd any Thing lefs, it would not he call d 
 the exceeding Riches of his Grace, and that Salvation ispro- 
 mifed by God in his Covenant Dealings with Man; is evident 
 from'Mark xvi.. 16. He that believeth, fhall be laved. 
 
 Anf If that which God only or chierly promiied, in. 
 the New-Covenant was Salvation, confider'd ftri&ly. and 
 fubjectively, or feparated from his Glory, then the Confe- 
 quence would avail,, otherwife not,, but God has no where 
 promifed, a Salvation feparated from his Glory, as appears 
 from what has been before obferved, to which I wiil add 
 one Place of Scripture, Pf. 1. 15. Call upon me in the Day 
 of Trouble y I wiil deliver thee, and thou Jhalt glorify me. 
 
 Object. 2. It is our frfl and mo/l deeply Fundamental Dir- 
 ty, to take the Lord for our God ; which mo/l ejj'entially in- 
 cludes our taking him, [the Enjoyment of him, and ?iot oicr 
 glorifying him, or his Glory) for our fupr earn Good, which is 
 acknowleag 'd by all to be our chief End. 
 
 Anf. The Notion of enjoying God, feparate from glo- 
 rifying him, or his Glory j is an antifcriptural ridiculous 
 Whim ! If it be a fundamental Duty, to take the Lord for 
 our God^ then it mull be a fundamental Error (in practical 
 Religion) to take our ielves for our God ; by prefering what 
 
 refpeexs 
 
Objections anfwered. ,g 
 
 refpects u"9, to his Honour, 'viz. our enjoying him, to his 
 Glory .: For here God is not regarded for himfelf, but only 
 as he refpects .us, it is true the Word-GOD is mentioned, 
 in enjoying him, hut that is only a Flam, a Blind : For its 
 ftill in Subordination to the fordid god-Self I 
 
 Does not that Faith which is included, in taking the Lord 
 for our God, draw »us out of ourfelves to Christ, and u- 
 nite us to his Perfon, before it gives us Communion in 
 his Benefits ? {Gal. ii. 20. Phil. iii. 8, 9.,) And does it not 
 excite us to- admire the Former more than the Latter ? [Cant, 
 ^v. 1 o.) Surely to thofe that believe, CHRIST is precious ! And 
 is it not the Sign of an Harlot, to do the contrary, viz. 
 to regard in Marriage, the Portion more than the Perfon ? 
 
 ObjecT:. 3. Is praifing God for BJefings, a greater Gcod than 
 ■the Bief lings for 'which they praife him? If Jo, the Saints havs 
 a hard Bargain, in giving a greater Good for a lejs, if not, 
 than the Enjoyment of God is a greater Good, than praifing 
 cf him, and Jo is our chief Good and laft End\ 
 
 Anf. I will be bold toaffert, that the Saints praifing God, 
 is (terminatively) .more noble, than the Benefits they offer 
 Praifes for, coniidered ftriclly ; becaufe of its near Relation 
 to the beft of Beings ; neither is the Confequence reafon- 
 ablc, that thus the Saints would have a hard Bargain, in 
 giving a greater Good for a Ids. The Force of this Conie- 
 quence, is built upon a fuppos'd Analogy, between civil 
 Bargains among Men and the Saints praifing God for 
 Benefits they receive from him, in the following Particu- 
 lars. 1 . In civil Bargains, the Commodity a Perfon gives 
 in exchange, for Good he deferves, he no ways owes be- 
 fore to the Perfon he deals with. 2. The Good he gives 
 is in his own Power, it is Jiis proper Right by Inheritance or 
 Purchafe, which he can difpofe of as he fees bell, to ad- 
 vance his worldly Intereft. 3. The Good exchang'd, is 
 
 profitable 
 
&o-< Objections anfweredT. 
 
 profitable, to tHe Receiver. 4. Tn this kind of Thick, whea 
 there is not fome Proportion in the Value of the Things 
 exchang'd, it's laid to be a. hard Bargain. If the Cafe was. 
 fo in God's Dealings with his People, there would be fome 
 Reafon for the aforefaid Confequence, otherwife none at all ! 
 Are not Mens Praifes a Debt they owe to God upon many- 
 Accounts, a Debt which they cannot pay, 'til Power be 
 given them of God, and that brought into exercife by his 
 gracious. Operations, a Power which they have no heredi- 
 tary Right to, nor are they able to purchafe it by their Do- 
 ings ; a Debt whicli when paid, profits not the Receiver, 
 for our Goodnefs extends not to God. Tho' Praile be the 
 Creatures Act, yet it is^God who works all our Works in us !. 
 And thus the Sophifm evanifhes. 
 
 Obj. 4. The End mid Scope of our Faith, is our chief 'End,., 
 for Faith is the greatefi Duty, we Give to God, and the Foun- 
 dation oj all the Re/?, yea it is the Gift cf God, and the 
 great eft Gift we can receive in this World ; it hence follows, 
 that the End of the greatefi Gift, and the great eft Duty, is 
 Man's chief End y but the End oj Faith, is Salvation 1 Pet. 
 i. 19.. Erg. 
 
 Anf That which is the final or fupream Scope of Faith- 
 is our chief End, no doubt, but what is only its interme- 
 diate or fubordinate Scope, is not ; neither does the Place 
 of Scripture aduc'd prove any more ! 
 
 Obj. 5. Man 's greatefi Motive to Duty, is his chief End, 
 but his greatefi Motive to Duty is his Saivatkn • Erg. the- Acti- 
 ons of a rationaiCreature, niufl have a Motive or incitement \ for 
 whoever aSh without a Motive , af'ts without Reafon: It is 
 the di/iingufiug Charofft r cf a rational Creature, to propo/h 
 to kimjdf an End, and then to pur f he \ din pre , 
 
 tUds j hehi » Logicians tell us, the End is fir/l in the Inten- 
 tisn v and laji in the Execution j which makes it evident, that 
 
 the 
 
Objections anfwered. 4 r 
 
 the Motive and the End arefynonimous, confequently the great- 
 ejl or chief * Motive, is the chief End. Now that Man's great- 
 eft Motive to Duty is his Salvation, appears from the follow- 
 ing Places of Scripture-, are we commanded to be faithful to 
 Death, what is the Motive Z Why thou malt receive a Crown 
 of Life, Rev. ii. to. are we commanded to walk uprightly, 
 and what is the Motive I Why the Lord will give Grace and 
 Glory ; andlafily are we commanded to Love the Lord our God, 
 with all our Heart and Soul, &c. And what is the Motive T 
 Why this do, and thou flialt live, Luke x. 28. 
 
 Anf. The Places of Scripture brought to confirm the a- 
 fcrefaid Objection, do only prove, that the Expectation of 
 obtaining Happinefs in the Way ofDuty, is a great Encou- 
 ragement to the Performance of it ; and that it is fo pro- 
 pos'd by God himfeif in his Word, but what is this to pur - 
 pofe ? The Thing to be prov'd is, that Salvation ftric~tly and 
 iubje&ively conndered, is the greatefl Motive to Duty : of 
 this there is not a Word in the preceeding Proofs. The 
 contrary thereto appears m the following Scriptures. (Mat,. 
 v. 16. John xv. 8.) And let me farther add, that the afore- 
 faid logical Maxim, ferves to prove the Glory of God, to 
 be the chief End, thus, if that which islaft in Execution, is 
 or ought to be the nrft: in Intention, then by confequence 
 God's Glory ought to be nrft intended by us, becaufe it is 
 laft in Execution, (Ephef. i. 6.) 
 
 Obj. 6. That which the Saints, of both the Old and New- 
 Teflament -made their great Motive to do and fuffer for God, 
 we ought to make our great Motive,, &c. And that this is as 
 aforefaid, our chief End, but the Saitits, Sec. made their Sal- 
 vation their great Motive, Sec. Erg. Its hard if we cannot 
 find one Saint in the Old or New-Te/rament that will direct 
 us, what we ought to make our chief End, and they all made 
 their Salvation their chief Motive ; For this Moles rcfyfid 
 
 F t>y 
 
42 Objections anfwered. 
 
 to be called the Son of Pharaoh 's Daughter, and chofe to fuf- 
 fer AffliSliom 'with the People of God 3 it is applicable to ali 
 thefe Heroes, mentioned in the xi. of the Hebrews, as appears 
 by the firft Verfe of the Chapter. Now Faith is the Sub- 
 jlance of Things hoped for ; what was it that animated Paul, to 
 j)refs towards the Mark, through all the Difficulties he met 
 with ? why the Prize of the high calling in Christ Je- 
 sus, Phil. iii. 14. What was the Motive, that enabled the 
 Hebrews to take joyfully the Jpoi ling of their Goods ? why be- 
 caufe they knew they had in Heaven a better and an enduring 
 Subftance, Heb. x. 3, 4. What enabled the Apo files to bear 
 with Patience, the AjfliSlions they fuff'erd but this ? that they 
 work'd out for them, a far more exceeding, and eternal 
 weight of Glory, 2 Cor. 4. 17. 
 
 Anf. The Scriptures adduc'd in the Objection, do not 
 prove the labouring Point, namely, that Salvation consi- 
 dered ftrictly, was the higheft Motive of thofe good Men 
 mentioned, and therefore the Argument does not conclude. 
 The Objeclors Opinion concerning all God's People, is much 
 what, with Satans concerning fob, as I humbly conceive j 
 which appears thus, after God himielf had given an ho- 
 nourable Character of fob, namely, that he was a fmcere 
 Man, one that feared God and efchewed Evil, which imply 
 an unfeigned Love to God's Majefty, and tranfcendent Re- 
 gard to his Glory. But Satan in Oppofition to the jufl 
 Encomium, that God himfelf had given of Job, fuggefts, 
 that fob was not fuch an upright Man, that his religious Ser- 
 vice did not fpring principally from Love to God, or Regard 
 to his Glory ; but was directed to, by, and felfim Ends ; and 
 therefore tliat he was but a Mercenary and a Hypocrite. Does 
 he fear God for Nought, fa id Satan, touch all that he hath, & 
 he will curje thee to thy Face. The Devil here insinuates, that 
 Job had no noble internal Principles of Love arid Holineis, no 
 
 fupream 
 
Objections cmfiverecf.. 43 
 
 fupream and endear'd Regard to the Divine Honour, but 
 that he was mov'd chiefly or only, by outward felfifh Ref- 
 pects j and that if thefe were taken away, he would quit his 
 Religion entirely, and curfe his Maker ; this is in Subftance 
 the lame with the Representation given by our ObjeBor, 
 of all the Saints of the Old and New Teftament, in the 
 Objection which I am now considering ; all the DifTeren- 
 ees between the Objector's and Satan's Opinion, are thefe„ 
 The Objector he holds, that the Saints eyed chiefly in all their 
 Actions, the Happinefs of the higher Part of felf, the Soul ; 
 but Satan the Happinefs of the lower Part of felf, the Body, 
 the Objectors Opinion, concerns the whole Army of the 
 Saints in all Ages, which is very uncharitable, but Satan's 
 only a particular Perfon, namely, job. I know not that we 
 have any Account in Scripture, that Satan has been fo 
 bold as to impeach all the Saints at once, with the aforelaid 
 Charge ! Again the Objector offers his Opinion as a Com- 
 mendation of the Saints, which is not fo fenfibie as could 
 have been wifh'd ; but Satan as an Accufation againit Job ! 
 Once more the Objector offers his Opinion, with a deal of 
 Confidence, and Airs of AfTurance j but Satan begins mo- 
 deflly, and holds it till juft the Clofe of his Speech -, but the 
 Objectors and Satans Opinion are the very fame in this 
 fubflantial Point, namely, in excluding that tranfcendent 
 Love to God for himfelf, and fupream Regard to his Glo- 
 ry, which are eflential to true Godlinefs, and conftituting 
 felfifh Confiderations in the Room tliereof. It is true the 
 Objector has the Advantage of Satan in this particular, name- 
 ly, in believing that the Saints had a chief Regard, to the 
 Interefts of the higher Part of felf the Soul, whereas Satan 
 was of Opinion, that Job eyed chiefly the Interelt of the 
 lower Part of Se/f the. body. But again it mufl be own'd, 
 that. Satan had the Advantage of the Objector, in other Par- 
 
 F 2 ticulars 
 
Jje Objections anfwered. 
 
 ticulars, viz. i In that he offer'd his Opinion as an Ac- 
 cufation and fo the God of infinite Wifdom took it. 2. In 
 that he did not accufe the whole Body of the Saints, by the 
 Lump, but a particular Perfon. 3. That he manag'd his 
 Argument with Modefty, for the moft Part, for he propos'd 
 and iniifted on his Allegation, .(moftly) by way of Query 
 does Job, faid he, fear God for nought ? Thus it is evident that 
 the Objector and Satan harmonize in Judgment fubftantially, 
 and differ only in the Cafe aforefaid, in fome Circumftances ; 
 which if compar'd and weigh'd it would be hard to deter- 
 mine, which had the better of it. But leaving the Decifi- 
 on of this to Perfons of greater Capacities, I proceed to ob- 
 ferve, that the Devils Accufation being offer'd, and the great 
 God himfelf having another Opinion of Job's Integrity, 
 puts the Matter to Iffue, and lets Satan try him with all 
 his Darts ; (only to fpare his Life) the Devil being full of 
 Rage, and Defire to make his Accuiation good, left he mould 
 be potted for aLyar or falfe Accufer, as indeed he well deferv'd ; 
 environ'd him with all his Terrors, and mot the mod: en- 
 venom'd Darts at him that he had in all his Hellifh Qui- 
 ver, he foon difrob'd him of all his Ornaments, and cruelly 
 bereav'd him of his maffy Wealth, dear Relations, Health 
 and Eafe, in a Hidden and tremenduous Manner ! And 
 left him nothing but a fcolding Wife, who was almoft as 
 great a Tormentor as himfelf, and fain would allure him 
 to make the Enemy's Impeachment good, by curfing his 
 God, whofe Language Sr. Richard Blackmore fets in jurt and 
 flaming Colours, in the following Lines. 
 
 Dofi thou not fee that thy Devotion's vain ? 
 What have thy Prayers procur'd but Woe and Pain ! 
 Haft thou not yet thine Inter eft underftood? 
 Pcrverfely righteous, and abfurdly good I 
 
 Thefi 
 
Objedtions anfwered 4; 
 
 7'heje painful Sores, and all thy Lo/fesjhow, 
 How Heaven regards the fooliflo Saint below 1 
 Incorrigibly pious can't thy God, 
 Reform thy fiupid Vertue with his Rod ! 
 
 But even when poor Job, was under a horrible Com- 
 plication of all manner of Mifery, that the fubtilty and 
 Malice of his formidable Enemy, could invent and inflidt 
 upon liis Mind and Body ; while in the mean Time, the 
 God he loved withdrew his beamy Smiles, and on the 
 contrary mot Arrows dipt in burning Vengeance, into his 
 perplexed Soul, and compafs'd him with the moft affrighting 
 Terrors ! I fay while Heaven it felf frown' d, and Earth and 
 Hell confpir'd to difrrefs and make that gallant noble 
 Soul, yet he remain'd, like a Rock impregnable amidfl all 
 the boifterous Billows, with which he was environ 'd round : 
 For notwithstanding fome humane Weakneiles, that drop't 
 from his troubled Soul, in the Height of his Anguim ; yet he 
 would never fpeak diihonourably of his God, or reproach- 
 fully of his Religion ! He kept firm to the divine Majefty, 
 in the midfl: of the terrible Tempeft ! And thus the Objec- 
 tor and Satan (refpecting the Opinion aforefaid) are folidly 
 confuted by the Book of Job. The Cafe now in contro- 
 verfy, has been fairly try'd and God himfelf the Judge of 
 Heaven and Earth, has brought in the Verdict in yob's Fa- 
 vour, Job. i. 21. in all this Job finned net, nor charged God fool- 
 lifily, and Chapt. xlii. y. Te have not fpoken of me the Thing 
 that is Right as my Servant Job hath ! 
 
 Obj. j. All the Works of God, were not made for one and 
 
 the fame End: For if they were, there had been Need of but one 
 
 fort of Beings only, if the Wicked are made for the Day of 
 
 Evil, ought that to be always in their Eye ? ought all their 
 
 Actions to tend to that, as their chief Go&d and loft End? 
 
 Ought. 
 
j^6> Objections anfwered'.. 
 
 Ought that to fire their AffecJions, raife their Defires,. 
 and actuate their Wilis ? Secret Things belong to God,. 
 Things reveal' d to us ! If there be a Covenant between 
 God and Man, the Principal aim cf both cannot be the fame I 
 In all Covenants there are two. contrasting Parties at leajt, 
 a Mediator is not a Mediator of one, there is alfo the 
 Thing covenanted fir, and the Confederation, or what each par- 
 ty expeBs of the ether, what God expefis from us, is that we 
 glorify him, and what he promifes-, is that he will be our God, 
 er fuprcam Good, which certainly can be nothing kfs than 
 the Enjoyment of him ! 
 
 Anf. The Different forts of Creatures, ferve indeed differ- 
 ent fubordinate or lower Endf, but what then ; can't they 
 in the mean Time ferve one and the lame higheft. End ? Do 
 not the brute Creation, while they ferve the Good of Mankind, 
 at the fame Time objectively declare the Glory of God's Wif- 
 dom, Power and Goodnefs in their Formation, Order and 
 Ufefulnefs ? The End which the Almighty had in View 
 in the Formation of all, viz. His Glory, is anfwered by all, 
 tho' in a different Manner : Rational Creatures do or ought to 
 glorify God ablively ; and for this they had a Capacity gi- 
 ven them and a command laid upon them, and if they do 
 it not aSlively, as it is their Duty, they^hall -pajjruely ; as the 
 Pialmift juffly obferves, The very Heavens declare the Glory 
 of God, and the Earth- Jkeweth his Handy Works-, the inani- 
 mate Creation offer Occafion to thinking Beings topraife God : 
 Now tho' the Glory cf God be differently cxpreis'd according 
 to their feveral Ranks of Exifcence, yet it is the fame prin- 
 cipal Defign that God lrath in all, namely his declarative 
 Glory; and it is the fame thing that is manifeffed by all, 
 tho' in a different Manner, viz. The Honour of the di- 
 vine Attributes, and indeed herein the unfearchable Riches, 
 
 and 
 
Objections mfwcred* 47 
 
 .and magnificence of divine Wifdom and Power are illuftriou£- 
 \y difplay'd, in conducting the various Orders of Beings 
 within the vail Circle of the fpacious Univerfe to one fu- 
 pream uniform End, worthy of his Councils ! 
 
 Now if Gods declarative Glory be his higheft End, in 
 the Creation of all, as both Scripture and Reafon demon- 
 ftate, then it muft be the Creatures laft End too, otherwife 
 thefe Abfurdities will inevitably follow, viz. ift. That God 
 will mifs his End, which would deftroy the divine Felicity, 
 and fo is Blafphemous ! And 2d. It wou'd be the Creatures 
 Duty <to contradict their Creator, which is monftrous Blaf- 
 phemy likewife ! Conformity to our Creator is equally our 
 Honour and Duty ! It is moil evident, that God requires a 
 great Part of our Submiiiion to his Sovereignity., and Obe- 
 dience to his Law in this very Thing, that we harmonioufly 
 concur with himfelf, in carrying on the fame great defign 
 with him, of his Glory, in that Way which beft fuits the 
 order of cur Being : And indeed when we- do otherwife, 
 we walk contrary to God, and may expect therefore, that, 
 fo continuing, he will walk contrary to us. Had Man ftill 
 continued in his original Integrity, he had ftill made it his 
 higheft defign to Glorify and Honour the Author of his 
 Being ! It is true we are now to confider Man in his fallen 
 Slate, wherein he is expoied to defer ved Punifhment for his 
 Tran fgremon, and therefore has juft Reafon to be anxioufly 
 concern'd about his efcaping the Wrath to come ; but the 
 TranfgrefTion of the Creature, does not cannot difolve his 
 Creators claim of right to his Love and Homage. And when 
 a Sinner is truly ianctified, he is again reftor'd to much of 
 that primitive rectitude which was loft by Sin, (Epbef. iv. 24) 
 and consequently makes that again his higheft aim and defign, 
 to which he was engag'd and inclin'd bv the Law of his 
 Creation. 
 
 Neither 
 
481 Objections anfivered.. 
 
 Neither fs it any Part of God's fecret Council, that he hath 
 made all Things for his Glory ; this Truth is as plainly reveal' d 
 as any in the Scriptures : Neither is it any part of God's 
 fecret Council, that it is our indifpenfable Duty to do all to 
 the Glory of God : To aim and defign chiefly that God in 
 all Things may be glorify'd, confider the following Places 
 of Scripture, Ifa. xliii. y. I have created him for my Glory,. 
 Pfal. 1. 15. Call upon me in the Day of 'Trouble ; I will deliver 
 thee and thou Jhalt glorify me. God's Secret Council 
 concerns fubordininate Ends or the Means which compais 
 the aforefaid great Ends, namely, Gods declarative Glorw 
 either actively or pafjively by the whole Creation. 
 
 The Que/Hon in the Objection is Sophiftical, viz. If the 
 Wicked are made for the Day of Evil,, ought that to be all- 
 ivays in their Eyes, &c. 
 
 AnfwePy No ! Here it is iniinuated, that thofe who hold 
 <God's Glory to be the chief End of Man imagine, or main- 
 tain, that what is God's fubordinate End, mould be Man's 
 principal End, which is falfe and unreaionable j they on- 
 ly hold that what God has made his chief End, mould be 
 ours j and we mould purine this, in that Way which is ac- 
 commodated to our reafonable Nature, and to which we 
 are under an Obligation by precept. The Damnation 
 of any Creature, was never God's chief End in making it ; 
 to imagine fo, is to reflect upon the Wifdom and Goodnefs 
 of the divine Nature, namely, in aiming at fomething below 
 himfelf, as his higheit End, and in delighting in the Mifery 
 of his Creatures as fuch ! Befides the method by which we 
 ought to purfue or profecute our chief End, (God's Glory) 
 is prefcribed to us, by the divine Precept, and that is by 
 Faith and Obedience, thereby feeking our own Happinefty 
 and that, principally, becauie God will be thereby more 
 Glorify'd, ti:an in our Damnation ! 
 
 But 
 
OBjetJions anfwered. 49. 
 
 But it is farther added in the Objection, That if there be 
 a Covenant between God and Alan, the principal aim of both 
 cannot be the fame. 
 
 Anfwer, The contrary is evident. God's aim m the Cove- 
 nant of his Grace, is both his own Glory, and his Peoples 
 Happinefs. (Ephef 1. 17.) And the aim of God's People 
 is the very fame, but the Glory of God is the principal Scope 
 of both: The feeming Strength of the aforefaid Argument, 
 flows from a falfe Foundation, viz. A ftric~t refembling of 
 the Covenant of Grace with human Covenants, which gives 
 Room to fufpedt thole that form or ufe it, to be tainted with 
 Ar mini an Errors. 
 
 Obj. 8. Mofes and Paul ceu'dnot aim chiefly at the Glo- 
 ry of God y or glorifying of him in thofe Expref lions, of being 
 blotted out of the Book that God had written ; and of defrring 
 to be accur fed from Chrift, &c. becaufe by their fuffering this, 
 they could not glorify God, neither could the Almighty glorify 
 himfelf in punijhing the Innocent, and f paring the guilty -, the 
 truth is, the Words are only hyperbolical Exprefjions of their 
 abundant Love to their Brethren, and Kinfmen according to 
 the Fief j, 
 
 Anfwer, The Inftanceas to Mofes, mention'd Ex, 32. I2> 
 is plainly this, That fuch was his Regard to the Glory of God, 
 that he would choofe Death rather than the Heathen Nations 
 mould infnlt the Almighty, and behave themfelves proudly 
 againft him, upon the Qccafion of his deftroying the People 
 in the Wildernefs y which he forefaw they would be apt to do,., 
 and therefore plead that Ifrael might be fpared, (See Num* 
 xiv. 13 to the iy) much after the fame manner God him- 
 felf expreffes his own Regard to his Glory. [Dent, xxxii. 26, 
 27.) As to the Inftance of Paul, I mall crave leave to cite 
 the Words of Mr. Matthew Hejiery upon it j which arc 
 thefe, " I could wifi y lie doth not fay I do wijh } for it was 
 
 G no 
 
^c. Objections anfivered, 
 
 <c no proper means appointed for fuch an End -> but if it were, 
 " I could wifh that 1 my f elf were accurfedfrom Chrifi T for 
 " my Brethren -, a very high pang of Zeal and Affection for 
 * c his Countrymen, he would be willing to undergo the grea- 
 <c teff. mifery to do them good : Love ufes to be thus bold 
 " and venterous, and felf denying,, became the Glory of 
 tf God's Grace in the Salvation of many, is to be prefer'd' 
 " before the Wellfare and Happinefs of a. fingle Peribm. 
 " Paul, if they were put in Competition, would be content 
 " to forego all his own Happinefs to purchafe theirs." thus 
 far he. Whither we underiland by the Word accnrfed, Ex- 
 communication, or temporal Death, with Chrijoflome and 
 Pool, or the lofs of eternal Happinefs, with EJlius, Toletus>, 
 Ludovicus dediufiaivin, Menochius -, yet it fhews a greatLove - r 
 what a rlefhly Love ? No, the Chapter will inform us, that 
 it was Love to their Souls, and a defire after their Happinefs,, 
 and confequently he had an Eye to God's Glory, which is 
 thereby manifested ! The Reafon orYer'd to confirm the 
 Objection, viz. That by fuffering thofe Things God could not 
 be Glorify d, &c, is anfwered by eonfidering,. that the deiires 
 of thofe holy Men were not abfolute and peremtory, but. 
 Hypothetical or Conditional, viz> that rather than God's 
 Glory iLcuid be eclips'd, they were willing to endure thofe 
 Things, if they were appointed Means to obtain fuch art. 
 End. To fuppofe that their Love was wholly Carnal, is to 
 confront the Context of the Places whence the aforelaid In- 
 fiances are borrow'd, and pafs an uncharitable Cenfure upon. 
 thofe Worthy's, as tho' they were Perlons of the moil fordid. 
 Difpofition and Character I 
 
 Obj 9. Afaph aclcd chiefly from filffh Principles, in 
 
 Religion, as appears from Pjal ixxiii. 12. 13. 14. Behold 
 thefe are the ungoldly who profper in the World. Verily I 
 have cleanied niyHeait in vain, and waihed my Hands in 
 
 Lmocency 
 
Objections anfwered. $u 
 
 Innocency, for all the Day long have I been plaug'd and 
 chaflned every morning. 
 
 Anjwer, Ajaph only tells us of a paft Temptation, what 
 a poling Difficulty it had been to him, to confider how that 
 the Godly had generally the hardeft Lot, as to worldly Com- 
 forts : This [arcanum or) fecret of divine Providence, had 
 io exercis'd him, that he, thro' the Corruptions of his Na- 
 ture and Temptations of the Devil, was like to have enter- 
 tain'd hard and unbecoming Tho'ts of Religion ; nay it ap- 
 pears that he had been guilty of this in fome degree, for his 
 Feet were almojl gone ! But in his more compofed frame, he 
 reflected upon the corrupt influences of thofe Temptations 
 with abhorrence ! He calls himielf a Fool and a Beajl on 
 that Account (as well he might) ver. 22. So joolijh was land 
 ignorant \ I was as a Beajl before thee. In a time of vi- 
 olent Temptation, he was drove to be pretty much of the 
 felnfh Opinion I am oppofing, viz. to think it was a poor 
 Thing only to ferve and glorify God, except it was attended 
 with other Advantages ; but afterwards when he grew more 
 calm, and got out of the violence of Temptation, he calls 
 himielf a Fool, an Ignoramus, and a Beajl ( or as the Word is 
 interpreted a great Bea ft) for it ; and acknowledges, that fuch 
 Speeches, would be an Offence againjl the Generation of God's 
 Children. See ver. 15. 
 
 Object. 1 o. It was PauPs Sentiment, that the chief if not 
 the only Motive to Obedie?ice, was the hope of eternal Life ', for 
 if the Dead arife not to receive their Reward, let us eat and 
 drink, walk in the Way of our own Heart, and in the Sight 
 of our own Eyes, and give a loofe to all our Defires ! If in 
 this Life only we have hope, we are of all Men moil; mhe- 
 1 able; what advantageth it me, that I have fought with Beafts 
 at Ephefus, if the Dead arife not, 
 
 G 2 A?ifwer 
 
5 2, Objections anfwered. 
 
 Anfwer^ The aforefaidPaffage of the Apoftle Paul's Wri- 
 tings (i Cor. xv.) are foreign to the labouring Argument; 
 for what he fays in them, is upon the Suppofition of no fu- 
 ture State at all after this Life ; and upon the Suppofition of 
 the confequent Falfehood of the Doctrines of the Golpel, 
 (ver. 14. 1 c r & feq.) Upon this Hypothecs he obferves, 
 that the Chriftians of that age were indeed the moft mifer- 
 able of Mankind, to expofe themlelves to fuch heavy 
 Perfecution for nothing, for an imporlure. Whereas in this 
 Argument, we com'ider a future State as moft certain and 
 the Doctrines of the Gofpel as moil: true and worthy of all 
 Acceptation ; and that there is an infeparable connection be- 
 tween believing Obedience in this Life, and complcat Hap- 
 pinefs in the Life to come : And fo the Qiieftion is, which 
 ought to be the chief and laft End of our Obedience, the 
 Glory of God, or the obtaining our own Happinefs meerly 
 conlider'd as fuch, without any reflect to the Glory of God, 
 or eternal glorifying of him in Heaven ? 
 
 Now if the aforeflud Expreffions of the Apoftle Paul, be 
 fuppofed to favour the latter of thefe Opinions, they muff, be 
 taken in the following Senfe, viz. That were his Obedience 
 to God nothing concern'd, with his future Happinefs -, but 
 that he could be fav'd without Holinefs, as well as with it, 
 that then he would be at no pains, or care to ferve God at 
 all ; but on the contrary give a loofe to all his vitious Incli- 
 nations. 
 
 But by this Senfe of the Words, theObjeetor makes (in his 
 Opinion) the Apoftle Paul, to be a Hypocrite, and an Epi- 
 cure ; for hereby it's neceffarily fuppos'd, that he had no Su- 
 pernatural Principles ot Action, fuch as divine Life, Love, 
 Holinefs ; but that on the contrary he had a iuperior Incli- 
 nation to live after the Flefh, but wasreftrain'd from acting 
 
 accord in 
 
Objections anfwered, 53 
 
 according thereto, meerly by the external Confideration of 
 Advantages, to be had by it in the next State J 
 
 Befides the bleffed Apoflle is condemned, as an "Epicure 
 by the Objector ; what has been already fa id gives Weight 
 to this, to which I may add, that of afcribing the Epicuresr 
 proverb to him as his fix'd Judgment, only that he was divert- 
 ed from acting accordingly by feliim Coufiderations. The 
 Proverb that was veryFamiliar among thcEpicurians, was this. 
 
 " Lude, hibas, come das, poft mortem nulla voluptas. i. e. play, 
 V eat, drink, for after Death there is no Pleafurej" and that 
 of Martial. 
 
 " Vita nimis [era eft, craft ina vive Ho die. 
 Life to-morrow is too late, live to day. 
 
 Now the Apoflle Paul ufed the aforefaid Epicurian Pro- 
 verb, namely, let us eat and drink, &a with a defign to 
 confute it, as appears from the 33 and 34 verfes of the 
 Chapter. PoiTibiy the Force of his Reafonings may be car- 
 ried thus far, viz. that fuppofing the Dead rife not, the E- 
 picuria?i Notion would be then more tolerable : But to fup- 
 pofe that he fpoke abfolutely here, is, in other Words, to fay, 
 that he believed there was no intrinfick Excellency in Hc- 
 lineis, or Comforts attending the fincere Practice of it in 
 this Life, but that it was only eligible, becaufe of the Advan- 
 tages enkiing upon it, in a future State. And is not this 
 the Sentiment of a felfifh fordid Soul ? But the Apoflle ap- 
 pears to be a Perfon of a very different Character by his Wri- 
 tings. See Rom. 6. 2. Howjhallwe (i.e. ho w can we) who 
 we dead to Sin, live any longer therein ? Thofe that are Re- 
 generated have an inward fix'd Principle, termed in Scrip- 
 ture, the Seed of God, which creates a habitual Averfion a- 
 gainfl Sin, and propeniity to Hoiinefs I 
 
 Obj, 1 1 . Self Love is the Foundation of all the Love, we 
 ©we or pay to God, what God is in hi mf elf we know not : The 
 
 onh 
 
54* Objections anfwered. 
 
 only thing to determhie our defre, love, and fear of God, is his 
 Attributes, as manifefted to us in Creation, Protection and 
 Redemption; its nothing to the Purpofe to tell how lovely a?id ex- 
 cellent God is in himfelf, abfolutely conjidered ; for tho y we con- 
 Jider him as cloth 'd with all pofjible Perfections, without hav- 
 ing to do with us, it will only raife our Admiration ; if we con- 
 fider him as able and willing to make us happy, this will raife 
 De/ire; if we confider him as jufl and powerful, and are un- 
 der Apprehenfons that he will punijh us, this raifes Fear ; 
 if realy punifhed by him, without hopes of releafe, this rai- 
 fes Averfion, &c. if we confider him as good and merciful, and 
 we are realy pojfefs'd oj it, this raifes Love, i "Joh. iv. 1 q. 
 We love him becaufe he firfl loved us. 
 
 Anfwer, The falfehood of the Poiition, contain'd in thea- 
 tove Objection, will appear by the following Considerations, 
 viz. 1 ft, Then we owe no love to God becaufe of his erlen- 
 tial Excellency, which is abfurd j for what is infinitely a- 
 miable is a proper Object of Love, and becaufe it deferves 
 it, it therefore demands in Reafon and Juftice our fupream 
 Affection. 2dly, The aforeiaid Poiition, deftroys entirely 
 the neceflity of fupernatural Principles of Action, infus'd by 
 Regeneration ; for if we muft love only for Benefits receiv'd, 
 and not for the fake of the Giver confidcred abstractly, than 
 there is no need of any thing but Nature, to excite to this. 
 The Pagans who had nothing but natures Light to direct 
 them, taught and practifed this. Lycurgus the Lacedemonian 
 Law-giver, would make no law againft Ingratitude, becaufe 
 -as he obferv'd, It was a prodigious Impiety, ?jot to repay a 
 Benefit : And Seneca, in his Book de Benifciis, fays, Not 
 to return one good Office for another, is inhuman ; but to return 
 evil for Good, is diabolical, p. 104. and in p. 54. 5. 6. he 
 lays, all benefits muft be gratuitous, a Merchant, fays he, fells 
 me Corn, that keeps me and my Family from farving, hut he 
 
 fold 
 
Objections anfwered* ^„ 
 
 fold it for his Interefl^ as well as I bought it for mine, and 
 
 fo I owe him nothing for it. This r fays he, is more properly the 
 
 driving of a Trade, then the cultivating of a generous Com- 
 merce j thus far he. Now tho' I believe that we may eye 
 our own Happinefs, in our religious. Service, yet when we 
 do this, above the divine Glory, it comes under Seneca's lam, 
 and is folidly confuted by him in the preceeding Lines. 
 
 3dly. The aforefaid Pofition, juftifies the Devils, and 
 damned's hating God, for they are pun ifhed by God, with- 
 out Hopes of releafe, and therefore may have an Averfion to 
 him, according to the preceeding Objection. And farther 
 if we are to love him only becaufe of the Love he expreffes to 
 us, then when he punifhes us, tho' moll juftly for our Often- 
 ees, and therewith deprives us of all hopes of Mercy, wc 
 may hate him Law-fully, (for there is no Medium between 
 love and hatred) that is, we may hate infinite Holinefs, 
 Juflice and Excellency, which is abfurd L 
 
 4. If we are bound to love God only, becaufe of the Be- 
 nefits we receive or hope for from him, then we are not bound 
 to love him at all j for the Refpecl we offer to him is not for 
 himfelf, but for the Benefits we receive, and thus true Love 
 to God, which is the Fulfilment of the Law, and Scope of 
 theGofpel, is deftroy'd entirely by this Notion. For accord- 
 ing to it, our Love ought to be wholly center'd upon the 
 Benefits we receive for our own fake, and fo upon ourfelves : 
 Even Seneca, the Pagan Stoick, could fay 3 this for that, 
 is rather a truck than a Benefit. 
 
 5. The aforefaid Pofition deftroy's the Creators Right to 
 the Creatures Love and Obedience,, when he does not per- 
 ceive them to be profitable to himfelf and therefore if a Per- 
 fcn in defpair, mould hate God, even in this Life, he is jufti- 
 £ed by the aforefaid Pofition in fo doing. But, 
 
 &,. The 
 
§6. Objections anfhvered".. 
 
 6. The aforcfaid Objection is inconfiftent with itfelf* for 
 while it allows, that a view of the divine Perfections, with- 
 out any Relation to our Benefit, may caufe Admiration, this 
 Oppofes the other Part of it, for what is Admiration, but a 
 high degree of Efleem, and is not this the Foundation of 
 all rational Love ? 
 
 y. The aforefaid Pofition contradicts the Experience of 
 true Believers, who even in the dark Hours of Deflertion, 
 when they think they are forlaken of and hated by God, 
 yet thro' that inward Principle of divine Life which is in- 
 fus'd into them by Converfion ; feel workings of Defire in 
 them after God, and Love to him : Jonah was an Inftance 
 of this, Jon. 2. A^.Then Ifaid, law cajloffout of thy Sight, yet 
 will I look again towards thy holy Temple. When AJaph fear'd 
 that God had forgotten him, and that hisMercy was clean gone 
 from him, yet he wou'd acknowledge his infirmity, remember 
 God, meditate upon his Works, and talk of his wondrous 
 Doings j and yob in his Diftrefs profefs'd,. that thd" God Jhould 
 Jlay him, yet he would truft in him, 
 
 8. The aforefaid Pofition denxoys the Reafonablenefs of" 
 loveing our Enemies of ' blejjing them that cnrfe us and doing 
 good to thofe that defpitefuily life us\ For if Self-Love, be the 
 Foundation of all the Love we owe or pay to God, then it 
 follows unavoidably that it is more fo of ail the Love we owe 
 or pay to Man, than the hating thofe that hate us, and curling 
 thofe that curfe us, &c. is in itfelf Rcafonablej for there is 
 no felfifh Motive if we confider thofe Things fimply to ex- 
 cite us to do otherwife. But does not this Notion exprefly 
 contradict the Gofpel ofCmusT as well as the true Inter- 
 efts of Society, and juftify the dreadful Pagan Principle of 
 batin? car Enemies ! 
 
 ^ T ••11 
 
 And as for the Text cited in the Objection, it will not 
 bear the weight that is laid upon it, for it fays not, that the 
 
 Saints 
 
Objections anfwered. §j 
 
 Saints of old, lov'd God either only or chiefly, for his love to 
 them, and yet this is the thing in Queftion ; the Tenden- 
 cy of the aforefaid Objection is to fap the Foundations of the 
 ■whole Go/pel, and to put natural Religion or Deifm in the 
 Room of it. 
 
 Obj. 12. The Difference between Hypocrify and Sincerity 
 may be known according to the Scheme of making Man's Jub- 
 fecJive Happi fiefs his lafi End thus, i . From their Works ; 
 Hypocrites do all to be fecn of Men, and confequcntly have 
 nothing, but outward Performances, but the fine ere Chriflian, 
 Glorifies God in Thought as well as in Word -and ABion. 
 
 Anf. This Proportion is indefinite and fo equivalent to 
 a univerfal, it is as much as to fay : every Hypocrite does 
 as aforefaid. And this is not true in fact j we have no Rea- 
 fon to believe thatPtf^/beforeConverfion did all to be fecn of 
 Men I Beiides if the Proportion were true, it would then 
 follow by the Law of contraries, that every one that 
 had, or hath good Thoughts and Refolutions, which are 
 Acts of the Mind and Will, or any Defires after his own 
 Salvation, muff be a fincere Chriftian : By this rule, Abi- 
 meleck the Pagan, Balam the Wizard, Saul the Tyrant, 
 Simon the Sorceror, and fudas the Traytor are dub'd for 
 good Men ! But a 2. Sign of Sincerity that is offer'd is this, 
 4 ' The Hypocrite doth it to obtain a corruptible Crown, 
 "" but the Sincere an incorruptible." 
 
 Anf. Both the aforefaid Signs are the fame, for both 
 reipeet the End of Action, & both refpect a temporal Reward ; 
 tho' there be iome Difference in Specie, yet the Genus or 
 Kind is the fame : What view to Honour or worldly In- 
 tereit, had the foolim Virgins or thole gracelefs Jews, 
 whom the Apoftle Paul fpeaks of {Rom. x. ) who had a 
 Zeal, but not according to Knohvedge ? But pray obferve 
 and fee if the Objector, does not prove himfelf to be a Hy- 
 
 II pocrite 
 
58 Practical Inferences. 
 
 pocrite by his own Signs ! Thus ; If he be a Hypocrite, who 
 makes the Intereft of the lower part of Self , the Body, in this 
 World his chief End ; will it not follow, that he is alfo 
 a Hypocrite, who makes the Interefts of the higher Part of 
 felf, viz. the Soul, (without regard to God's Glory) in the 
 next World his chief End ? Are they not both built on the fame 
 Foundation of immoderate Self-Love} all theDifference between 
 them is this, that the nrft refpec~f s the lower Part of Self, and 
 fo is more grofs ; and the Latter the higher Part of Self, and 
 fo is more fubtil and plaufible ; but is there any more Love 
 to God for himfelf, in the one than in the other ? 
 
 But I proceed to the Improvement of this Subject. And 
 
 1 . Methinks what has been faid, ferves to inform us of 
 the Difficulty of Religion 3 and of the great Danger we are 
 in of being deceiv'd, as to our State and Condition to- 
 wards God . Surely Jlr ait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way, 
 that leads to Life and few there be that find it, there is a 
 Generation that are pure in their own Eyes and yet are not 
 cleanfed from their Filthinefs ! 
 
 2. From what has been faid we may learn, the abfolute 
 Neceflity of the New Birth, in order to ferve God accept- 
 ably here, and enjoy him hereafter ! For without a Princi- 
 ple above nature, we cannot aim at Goi above our felves. 
 A Fountain may fend out Water upon a Level with it felf, 
 but not above the Level ; and thus all that is done by us, 
 while in a State of Nature, being done chiefly upon our 
 own Account j it is but (infomeSenfe) a ferving ofourfelves, 
 and therefore cannot be acceptable to God ; and hence the 
 Apoftle afferts that he that is in the Fief cannot pleafe God. 
 The Church of England in their Articles of Faith, juflly fry, 
 <f That Works done before the Grace of Christ, are not 
 " pleafihgto God, but have in them the Nature of Sin." 
 However tho' they be finful in reipect of their Manner of 
 
 Performance, 
 
Practical Inferences. 59 
 
 Performance, yet when v/e conform to the Command even 
 in Externals, the Matter thereof is good, becaufe command- 
 ed j and it is in thisConformity that unconverted Sinners can 
 only with Reafon expect fupernatnral Grace ; for "Jehovah 
 will be enquir' d of by the Houfe oflfrael to do it for them. And 
 
 3. We may therefore learn, the Neceflity of examining 
 ourielves ; whether indeed we do aim at the Glory of God, 
 in what we do ? Now we may know this by the following 
 Marks, viz.. 1. When v/e arc content to be cutmin'd by o- 
 thers in Gifts and Efleem if fo be God's Glory may be 
 thereby advanced. (Phil. i. 15.) 2. When we habitually 
 prefer God's Glory, to all other Things, that ccme at any 
 Time in Competition with it, fuch as Credit, Efrate, Relati- 
 ons. 3. "When in the General, we can be content, that 
 God's Will mould take Place, tho' it crois ours, (Mat. xxvi. 
 33. John x'n. 28)4. When the Reproaches that come upon 
 God's Name, by die Falls of Profeffors, & declining State of 
 Religion, dinrefs us more for the General than all our worldly 
 Concerns ! 5. When we find at Times hard grapling, to 
 come at this Difpofition, becaufe of the Oppofition of felfim 
 Corruptions. And can after experiencing the Work of Con- 
 verfion feel fometimes the witneillng of our Confcience that 
 in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity, we have had cur Converfa- 
 ticn in the World. 2 Cor. i. 12. ' 6. When we feel the Love 
 of Christ, fometimes fweetly conftraining us to Duty. 7 
 when we bewail over the Remains of Hypocriiy in us I 
 
 4. If we find the aforefaid Characters in us there is ground 
 of Hope and Comfort for us ; and tho' we have many 
 WeakneiTes to lament, yet we are compleat in Christ, 
 and he who hath begun a good Work in us, will carry it 
 on to the Day of the Lord Jesus, He that feeth infecret, 
 will by and by reward us openly, and make our Righteovf- 
 nefs Jline as the Light, and our Judgment as the Noon Bay. 
 
 Hz But 
 
00 Practical Inferences. 
 
 But alas how doleful and dangerous is the Cafe of all that 
 want the aforefaid Signs ! Their felfifh Services are rejected, 
 that God, who is a Spirit '; calls them back as Dung upon their 
 Faces, he will at laft tear off their Hypocritical Masks, and 
 condemn their Perfons to eternal Burnings, except they re- 
 pent ! O confider, with trembling thofe dreadful Words of 
 Christ, Mat xxv. Go ye accurfed into everla/ling Burnings, 
 prepared for the Devil and his A?igels ! What ihall become 
 of thofe who bring no Glory to God ? But are as Bernard 
 fpeaks (aut Peccaium ant Sterilitas ) either Sinfulnefs or 
 Barrenefs, an unprofitable Burden to the Earth, and Poifon 
 to the Air ! O let fuch think on thefe folemn Words of" 
 our Lord, Mat. xxv. 30. Cafl ye the unprofitable Servant in- 
 to utter Darknefs ! And how diimal is the Cafe of all fuch, 
 who by open Impieties bid Defiance to Heaven who declare 
 their Sin as Sodom and refiife to biufli ! Surely Indignation 
 #nd Wrath fl:dll be upon every Soul that doth Evil, upon the 
 ]ewfirfi and alfo upon the Gentile ! But what mall I fay of 
 thofe Monfters of impiety, who cafl inglorious Reflections 
 upon the very Work of God's holy Spirit, in convincing 
 and converting Sinners, and comforting Saints } And call ft 
 Hypocrify^ Mechanifm, Enthufafm and Dif order ! Woe to thefe 
 proud Potjlierds that thus contend with their Maker, that 
 like brute Beafts fpeak Evil of what they under fl and not I 
 O let fuch think on the Words of our Saviour to perfect- 
 ing Saul, Saul, why perfecutefi thou me, it is hard for thee 
 to kick againft the Pricks /This Oppofition is a dreadful Step, 
 'to the unpardonable Sin. 
 
 Li fine let us be all exhorted to aim at God's Glory and 
 to glorify him. For this is of abfolute necefiity, to obtain 
 true Comfort, in Life, at Death and throughout Eternity ! 
 
The manifold life of the Scriptures dejcrib\i 6 r. 
 
 2. TIMOTHY, iir. 16, 17. 
 
 All Scripture is given by In [pi ration of God, and is pro- 
 fitable for Doctrine, for Reproof for Correction, for 
 
 Inf ruction in Right eoufne(s. 
 That the Man of God may be perfect,, throughly fumified 
 
 unto all rrood Works*. 
 
 >-|r-^HE Apoftle having In the proceeding Verfes informed 
 
 1 Timothy of the Apoftacy of many from the Truth,, 
 -M- and exhorted him to conflancy in cleaving thereto, 
 in the Face of all Oppofition ; does in the Words be- 
 fore us, as a Mean and Motive, propofe an ample Comme?ida- 
 tion of the. Holy Scriptures, in which we may obferve^ 
 thefe Particulars, 
 
 1 ft. The Subject commended, all Scripture, (pa fa graph e) 
 i. e. all the Holy Scripture, not only the Old but the New 
 Teftanient, in all their Parts.. The Word Scripture figni- 
 fies Writing. And 
 
 2d. We have the Commendation, which rcprefents three 
 Things, viz, the original, ufe, and defgn, of the Scriptures, 
 
 And 1 ft. The Original, ifs given by Infpiration (tkeo 
 fncuflos) i. e. by the immediate and infallible guidance of . 
 the Holy Spirit, 2. Pet. i. 20, 21. Knowing this fir jl y that 
 710 Prophefy of Scripture is of any private Interpretation^ for 
 - 
 
62. The manifold life of the Scriptures defer itid. 
 
 the Prophefy came not in old Time fry the Will of Man, but Holy 
 Men oj old, fpake as they were moved to it by the Hc/y Ghvft. 
 
 2d. The life of the Koly Scriptures, they are profit able y 
 (ophilemos) which does not only fignify, a certain Conveni- 
 ency, as fome imagine, but their Neceffity, Sufficiency and 
 PerjecTion I Here a fourfold profitablenefs of the Scriptures 
 is mention'd, viz. iff. For Doctrine, (pros didafcalian) i. e. 
 as Mr. Pool obferves in his Synopfis, jor Infru&ion 
 in the fund Truths of the Chriftian Religion. The Original 
 Word is derived from a Verb, that iignin* es to teach ; this 
 Senie of the Word is conhrm'dRom. xv. 4. F.r whatfocver 
 "Things were written aforetime, were written for cur Learning, 
 that we thro' Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures might 
 have Hope ! Here obferve, that the firft Ufe of the facred 
 Scriptures, is to infrruct : And the firft Duty of thofe who 
 Minifter in Holy Things, is to Teach, and afterwards to 
 Exhort. 
 
 And thus we may fee, that every Religion that Is not 
 grounded upon Knowledge, is a falfe Religion ! And that, 
 all fuch who would work upon Men's Paflions, and exhort 
 them before they inftrnct their Minds, act contrary to the 
 holy Scriptures, and to right Reafon ! Such do but delude 
 Mankind, and build a Babel of Confufion, but God is a God 
 of Order, and not of Confufion ! But 2dly, the Scriptures 
 are proffi table for reproof, (pros elenchon) i.e. to convince and 
 confute Hereticks, and refel their Errors. This Word rcfpecTs 
 the polemical U'e of the Scriptures, to convince gain-layers 
 and flop their Mouths, Tit. i. 9, 1 1. Helling ff the faithful 
 Word as lc hath been taught, that he may be able by found Doc- 
 trine both to exhort and convince the Gain- fivers, whofe mouths 
 mujl be jlcp'd.— Here the Word Convince it, the fame in the Ori- 
 ginal, with that in the Text which is tranfkted Reproof, add 
 hereto, that a Principal ufe of the Scriptures, is to convince 
 
The manifold Ufe of the Scriptures defer ib'd. 63. 
 
 of Shi, of ' Right eonfnefi and 'of Judgment, Joh.'xvi. 8. 9. The 
 original Word translated Reprove, is the very fame with 
 that in our Text, and fignifies to convince demonstratively : 
 Now altho' the holy Spirit is the efficient Caufe of this, with- 
 out whofe energy the Word has no Influence upon Mens 
 Minds, yet the Scriptures are the Instrumental Caufe, for by 
 the j^aw is the Knowledge of Sin. Now that the Reproof in 
 the xvi. of John's Gofpel, before mention'd, refpects not only 
 evil Actions, but a State of Sin, appears from thefe Words 
 of our Lord in the 9th ver. of ^ Sin, be caufe ye have not believe don 
 
 me. 
 
 3dly, For Correction, (profs epanorthofm) Correction pre- 
 fuppofes Evil, and feeing that this is Two-fold, viz. either 
 of Sin or Puni foment, therefore Correction is alio two-fold : 
 By the one we are freed from the Evil of Sin, which is call'd 
 Rcprehenjion ; and by the other from the Evil of Sorrow, which 
 is call'd Conflation, Both thefe the original Word (epanor- 
 thofs) includes. 
 
 4thly, For Infruclion in Right eoufnefs, (profs paidei an eli- 
 te dicaiofune) the Word (paideia) fignifies both Instruction 
 and Diredion. The word Righteoufnefs, every moral Good. 
 This Phrafefeems to import the exhortatory Ufe of the holy 
 Scriptures, thole who have begun Well, the holy Scriptures 
 both direct and exhort to perfift in their pious Courfe ; and 
 therefore in thefe four Ufes all the Bufmefs of the Scriptures 
 is defcrib'd. 
 
 But 3 dly, we have in thefe Words the End and Scope 
 of the Scriptures, and that is, that the Man of God may be 
 perjeSf, and thoroughly f unified. Who are we to under- 
 Hand by the Man of God} 
 
 Anfwer, In general all pious People ; but efpecially Mini- 
 sters, of the Gofpel. The Word perfect (Artios) is explain'd 
 by the following Sentence, the holy Scriptures give Efficient 
 
 Direction 
 
64« Arguments to prove the Divine 
 
 Direction for all .Goodnefs of every kind, that may be call'd 
 Perfecl, which has all its Parts. It is the manner of the 
 Hebrews to ufe many Words in exprefiing that which they 
 have a mind to imprefs on their Readers ! 
 
 In difcourfing upon this Text of Scripture, I mall accord- 
 ing to the Order of it, 
 
 I. Labour to prove the divine Original of the hoh Scrip- 
 tures. And, 
 
 II. Speak of their Ufe. The 
 
 i ft. General Head ofDifcourfe, is the divine Original of 
 the Scriptures, or to prove that they have been given port h by 
 divine Infpiration, and are therefore infallibly true, and of 
 divine Authority. To this End let it be confidered, 
 
 i ft. That a divine Revelation is neceftary, feeing that na- 
 ture teaches that there is a God, or feme firft Being, from 
 whom are all things as their firft Principle, and to whom 
 all things tend, as their laft End, and who is therefore 
 above all. It is but reafonable that this fupream Being, 
 mould be worfhiped if he is above all, more excellent than 
 all, and we have received our All from him, (as it is incon- 
 teftibly evident j) then thefe Things mould be acknowledged 
 with due Reverence, and what is this but the Worfhip of 
 God ? Surely he from whom our Beings and all our Benefits 
 do proceed, has a juft Right to our Homage and Service. 
 And feeing he has made rational Creatures, to fome fort, 
 capable of it, is it not reafonable to conclude, that the fu- 
 pream Being, who always ads with the wifeft Defign, does 
 and will require that moral Service for which he has given 
 a Capacity ? the Cafe muft be fo, otherwife the Almighty 
 has given a Capacity to no Purpofe, which is unworthy of 
 his infinite Wifdom ! 
 
 Well, feeing the Almighty does require fome Worfhip 
 and Service of his reafonable Creature o ; may we not infer 
 
 from 
 
Autljorily of the Scriptures, 65 
 
 from his Infinite Goodnefs, that he has given them fome 
 certain and infallible rule, to direct them therein - y efpecial- 
 ly confidering, that there are fome things in Religion, which 
 cannot be known by the Light of Nature, viz. all thofe In- 
 stitutions which Spring from the meer Wilier good Fleafurc 
 of God, cannot be found out by the force of human Reafon- 
 ing, without fome fpecial Revelation from God. As Jeho- 
 vah makes Lis unatainted Purity manifeft in moral Laws, 
 fo the Glory of his Sovereignty appears in hispofitive Injuncti- 
 ons, relpecring which his Pleafure ccu'd not be known with- 
 out fome divine Revelation. And thus all that tribute of Ho- 
 nour, which redounds to his Sovereignity thereby, would 
 be entirely loft ; from all which Confiderations, the necefhty 
 of fome Supernatural Revelation, fome divine Law to direct 
 Mankind in the Affairs of Religion, is of the laft Neceflity. 
 
 Neither, 2diy. Is it impoflible that the Almighty mould 
 communicate his Mind and Will to his Creatures by imme- 
 diate Revelation : If a Creature can impart his Mind to a- 
 nother, much more the Creator ; for furely there is no excel- 
 lency in Creatures, but what is eminently in him. If it is 
 not inconfiflent with the Glory and Majefly of God to be- 
 hold ami be prcfent with all Things^ then furely it cannot be 
 injurious to his Honour to communicate his Mind to reason- 
 able Creatures : Nay, on the contrary, it is an Indication of 
 his Goodnefs and Wifdom, to favour intelligent Creatures 
 with fiich intimations of his Will, as are fuitable to tire Ca- 
 pacity he has given them, and fubfervient to promote their 
 Hap pine is. 
 
 Neither is it in any refpecl abiiird or impoflible for the 
 Almighty to communicate his Mind to Mankind by imme- 
 diate Revelation. Surely he that made the Soul can find eafie 
 accefs to the Work of his own Hands, and form what Impref- 
 fion-s on it he pleafes ! If a finite Spirit can communicate its 
 
 I Idea? 
 
66. Arguments to prove the droihe- 
 
 Ideas to the Soul of Man, as all confefs, except Sadduces,. 
 how much more can the Father of Spirits ? To deny the 
 reality of Inspiration, is not only to reject the credibility of 
 Scripture Hiftory, but to confront the avoved Sentiments of 
 the Pagan World, who all declar'd it to be agreeable to 
 Reafon ! 
 
 Having premis'd thefe few particulars, I mall proceed to 
 mention thole Characters of Divinity which are imprefs'd on 
 the Scriptures. And 
 
 i ft. Methinks the Antiquity of the Scriptures, is an Ar- 
 gument of their divine Authority : The Books of Mofes (next 
 to the Decalogue) are the moll ancient Writings in the World.. 
 This Jufiin Martyr, who liv'd in the fecond Centuary, and 
 Eufebius after him, make fully evident. But the Words of 
 Tertulian, in his Apology, are very memorable ! " Our Reli- 
 " gion, fays he, jar out does all that you can boajl of in that 
 " Kind 5 fir the Books of one of our Prophets only, viz. Mofes, 
 c: (wherein it feems God hath incks'd, as in a Treafury, all 
 ** the Chrifian Religion preceeding fo many Ages together) 
 " reach beyond the anticntejl you have ; even all your public k Mo- 
 '" numents, the Antiquity of your Originals, the efiablijhment of 
 • v vour E/iates, the Foundations of your Cities, all that are ad- 
 u vanced by. you in all Ages of Hi/lory and Memory of Times. — 
 <l I think I may fay more, they are older than your very Gods, 
 ■'" your Temples, Oracles, and Sacrifices ! Have you not heard 
 '" mention made of that great Prophet Mofes, he was cotem- 
 •" porary with Inachus, and preceeded Damus (the anticntejl of 
 ** all that have a Name in your Hi/lories) 393 Tears : lie lived 
 11 fome hundred Tears before the ruin of Troy ; and Homer the 
 4 < oldefl Writer among the Greeks ; lived, as Pliny fayeth, 
 * 250 7 ears after the Jubverfiion of that City. Every of the 
 ** other Prophets, fuccccded Mofes, and yet the lafi of them was 
 
 * of 
 
Authority of the Scriptures, 67 
 
 ** of the fame Age with your prime wife Men, Law-givers -and 
 M Hijlorians ! thus far he." 
 
 It is certain, that neither the Writings o£ Homer, Trifmegifus, 
 Pythagoras, Berofus, Plutarch, Cicero, Seneca, or any other can 
 vie with the Books of Mofes for Antiquity ! Nov/ is it not 
 Reafonable to believe, that to be the beft Religion which 
 was firit ? Is not Truth always the firft born ? Is it not ab- 
 furd to imagine that the moil early Notices of Religion 
 mould be counterfeit ? How can k confiii with the divine 
 Goodnefs to furTer Mankind to be thus impos'd upon, un- 
 der pretence of his Authority, in a Matter mat concerns 
 their everlafiing Intereft, without any Thing from him, ei- 
 ther before or lince, to detect the Fraud ? Certainly this 
 is unworthy of God, and contrary to the Reafon of Men ; 
 .and therefore the Scriptures, being the moit Antient, mufl 
 needs proceed from the God of Truth. But 
 
 2 . The Majejlick Stile oj the Holy Scriptures [peaks them 
 to be of a Divine Original. The Stile of the Scripture is ve- 
 ry different from all human "Writings, in it we find a flate- 
 ly plainefs, a majeltick Simplicity, commanding Reverence 
 from all intelligent Beings, who do without Prejudice at- 
 tend thereto. God is reprefented as fpeaking with a So- 
 vereignty, Grandeur, and Majefly, becoming the Dignity 
 of his Being and extent of his Government, e. g. Ifa. i. 2. 
 Hear Heavens ! And give ear O Earth ! For the Lord hath 
 fpoken. Iia. Ixvi 1. Thusfayeth the Lord, the Heaven is my 
 Throne, and the Earth my Foot-Stool! Ifa. x!. 12. 15. Who 
 ■hath meafured the Waters in the Hallow of his Hand, and 
 meeted cut the Heavens with a Span; and comprehended the 
 Lid of the Earth in a Meajure ; and weighed the Moun- 
 tains in Scales, and the Hills in a Ballance ; Behold the Na- 
 tions are as a Drop of a Bucket, and are counted as the fniall 
 Pujl cf the Ballance ! Behold he taketh up the IJles as a very 
 
 I 2 little 
 
68 Arguments to prove the divine* 
 
 little Thing, PL lxxvi. 12. He jhall cut of the Spirit of the 
 Princes, He is terrible to the Kings of the Earth, Pf. xcviL 
 1, 5. The Lord reign: th let the Earth re Joyce, let the Multi- 
 tude of I/les be glad thereof. Clouds and Darkncfs are round- 
 about him, Righteoufnefs and Judgment, are the Habitaih / 
 cf bis Throne,, a Fire goeth before him, and burneth up his E- 
 nemies round about y His Lightnings enHghtned the World, the 
 Earth faro and trembled, the Hills melt, alike Wax, at the pre- 
 sence of the Lord, at the prejence of the Lord of the while 
 Earth ! Here are no Apologies, begging Pardon of the 
 Reader, or any Arts us'd to insinuate into his good Opi- 
 nion as is common in human Writings. Aguftine fays, 
 " That the Holy Scriptures feem'd rude and unpolirli'd to 
 " him, becaufe he did not understand its inward Beauty ; 
 u but when converted to Chriilianity, he declar'd, that when 
 M he underftood them,, no writing appear'd more wile and 
 M eloquent." Gregory Nazianzen, a Man of great Learning, 
 when he became acquainted with the iacred Scriptures, 
 judged, " All the Ornaments of Literature among the Greek 
 " Philofophers, to be vaftly inferior to them." Illirieus ob- 
 ferves, " That altho' we find not in the Holy Scriptures, 
 " that delicate Itch of Words, that numeroiity of Sounds or 
 " thofe pleafing Trifles with which- the vain glorious O^ 
 " rators of Greece and Rome beautify'd their fim'd Ha- 
 w rangues, yet we find there a grave and maiculine Elo- 
 ** quence exceeding all others." Thus far he : 'Tis true a 
 great Part of the Scripture is deftitue of the Sweetnefs of 
 Sound, and Pomp of Diclion. But yet there is more Beau* 
 ty in that plainefs, than in all the Flowers of Ciceronian Rhe- 
 t'orick. Neither would it become the Majefty of Heaven, 
 to ufe the Philosophical Subtilties of Plato and Ari/lotle ! 
 A Pearl needs no painting — A Prince need not play the O- 
 rator ! Plajfleis weU becomes Royal Power and iMajefty in 
 
 the. 
 
Authority of the Scriptures. 6g-, 
 
 the Publicaion of Laws. In thefacred Scriptures, Commands 
 are iffu'd forth with Sovereign Majefty, and Obedience perem- 
 torily requir'd, and no other Reafon affign'd but the Legif- 
 lators Will. Here are Promifes to the Obedient, of all needful 
 Blerlings here,. & immortal Glory hereafter. Here are Threats 
 denounced againft the Diiobedient of every Order, from 
 the Prince on the Throne to the Beggar on the Dunghii ; 
 and that of no lefs than- eternal Miferies ! Here Injunctions are 
 introdue'd, with a thus faith the Lord! He that hath Ears 
 to hear let him hear. Where do we find any Thing like to, 
 this, in any human Writings ? 
 
 3. The Matters therein treated of ttzfojublime and tranf 
 cendenty that they could never be devis'd by a human Mind, 
 Here the eflential and pergonal Glory of the great Three 
 One, is renrefented in a furpriling Light. Here a rational 
 and confident Account is given of the Original Scarce of 
 that Depravity and Miiery, which taints and infeffs the whole 
 human Race ! viz. That both were cecafion'd by the 
 Apoftacy oi : Adam, the federal Head and Reprefentative oi 
 his whole Offspring. This the Pagans groan' d under, but 
 afcrib'd it to a Fabulous Caufe ! Here a Method of Cure is 
 open'd, every Way worthy of God, and every Way fuited 
 to all the Maladies under which our fallen Nature labours ! 
 namely, that the Son of God mould aiTume the human 
 Nature under its ruinous Circumftances, into an infeparable 
 Union with his Deity,, and therein mediate and fatisfy for 
 the Sins of Men, by his Suffering and Obedience ! What 
 finite Mind could invent a Scheme in which the Divine At- 
 tributes mine forth with fuch humble Beauty and harmo- 
 nizing Glory ? A Scene which gives Room for the dijpiays 
 of Sovereign Mercy, without infringing upon the unaliena- 
 ble Rights of Juftice ! Befides the facred Scriptures give us 
 a rational Account of the Origin and End of the World.. 
 
 The 
 
TO 
 
 Arguments to prove the divine 
 
 The infinite Grandeur of the Almighty is mofc nobly re- 
 prefented, in the Manner of the Worlds Formation ; he did 
 but fpeak and behold it exifted, his fingle fovereign Beck 
 caufed it to ipring in a Moment, from the Womb of empty 
 Nothing into Being ; and how awful and affecting is the 
 Representation which the Divine Oracles give us of the Re- 
 furrection of the Dead and the general Judgment ! And 
 where elfe can we find thefe folemn Scenes open'd, which 
 are ib terrible to the impenitent, and comforting to ail that 
 truly fear God ? 
 
 4. That Holinefs the Scripture inculcates, is an Argu- 
 ment of its divine Original The divine Oracles do not on- 
 ly recommend Holineis in Speech and Practice, but in the 
 inward Sentiments and Thoughts of the Soul: and that not 
 only by its Precepts, which are juft and equal, but by 
 Threatnings of the mod: dreadful kind, and Promifes of the 
 mofl important Good ; as well as by examples of moil un- 
 blemim'd Vertue and ftricteft Piety, The Words of Holy 
 Scripture are pure as Silver try'd in a Furnace and purify'd 
 feven Times. The moil fubiime univerfai and perpetual 
 Purity, is the golden Center to which ail th; Lines in the 
 Circumference of Scripture bend and terminate. And it 
 ought to be obferved, that the facred Scripture urges a He- 
 linefs, which fpringsfrom the nobleft Principle,*:'/^. LOVE; 
 and aims at the higheflEnd, viz. The Glory of God-, where- 
 as divers of the Pagans have held a multiplicity oigods which 
 is impcfiible in the Nature of Tilings, and obferv'd impure 
 Rites in their religious Wodhip, and allow'd of Revenge 
 and Self Murder ! Arid all their Motives to the Vertues they 
 recommend, are of a felfiih Nature. But the Scripture al- 
 lures 1:5 to tli c Love and Practice of Vertue and Goodnefs, 
 from the fubiime end endearing Coniideration of redeeming 
 Love ! I may add, that the Pagan Moralifts, viz. Socrates^ 
 
 Plato 
 
Authority of the Scriptures,- yj 
 
 Plato, Plutarch, Seneca, Tulfy y Arijlotle, are filent about 
 Heart Purity, fo far as I know, without which, a regular 
 Life has but a Shew of Goodnefs. As to the Mahometan 
 Religion it may be obferv'd, that is was propagated among 
 a barborous, rude and uncultivated People, and ipread no 
 farther than the Force of the Sword carried it. It is evident 
 that Mahomet ^the Author of the Aicoran, did nothing to prove 
 himfelfto be a Prophet: What Myileries did he reveal? 
 What Proprieties did he exprefs ? What Miracles did he 
 perform ? How many Things in the Alcoran, are contradict- 
 ory and ridiculous ? Beiides its Precepts indulge Mens fen- 
 fual Inclinations with Polygamy here, and its Prornifes flat- 
 ter Men's vain Hopes with the Propofal of a carnal Paradife 
 hereafter ; a Paradife more lit for Swine, than reafonable and 
 immortal Souls ! Well if the Scripture? be abfolutely and com- 
 paratively Holy, and tend to make us fo above all other Writ- 
 ings, is it not an Argument of their divine Original ? Surely 
 Satan, who is an impure Spirit, would not invent what is 
 fo prejudicial to his Kingdom, nor the Wicked who are un- 
 der his Influence : It can't be reafonably fuppos'd, that they 
 would, if they could, devife a Syftem of Doctrines and Laws 
 which directly controls their corrupt Inclinations, and dooms 
 them to perpetual Mifery for them ! Nor can Angels or good 
 Men be the Authors of the Scriptures, becaufe they would 
 be guilty Oi frequent lying, in afcribing to themfelves and 
 their Sayings a Divinity, which the Scriptures frequently at- 
 tribute to itfelf, therefore it muft derive its Original from 
 none elfe but God ! 
 
 The Necemty of fome Divine Revelation has been be- 
 fore obferved. And indeed he that denies this, does not on- 
 ly deny the Chrifrian and Jewim, but all Religion in gene- 
 ral, for all have alledged this as their Foundation ; and be- 
 fides he muil acknowledge, that the Almighty has left Man 
 
 in 
 
72 Arguments to prove the divine 
 
 in a worfe Condition than the meaneft Creature, to whom 
 he has given Efficient Mean?, to attain the higheft End of 
 their Beings : But fare this is incompatible with infinite Wif- 
 dom and Goodnefs i If any fhould fay, thatReafon may fuf- 
 fice, I anfwer no ! It is corrupt, and therefore cannot be the 
 Rule of Right, without a Revelation. The abfurd Opinions 
 of many who have the Help of a Revelation, fliows the in- 
 fufficiency of Reafon without it, to be our Guide in religi- 
 ous Matters; but if it be granted, that there is fome Reve- 
 lation, then furely it is the Christian, for this alone bears the 
 Character of Divinity • all the Reft carry the manifeft To- 
 kens of Impofture upon them, as has been before ob- 
 ferv'd. But 
 
 r. That Harmony and Agreement which fubfifts feetwen 
 all the Parts of the facred Scriptures, is another Proof of 
 their divine Authority. This blefled Book, was Sixteen 
 Hundred Years a writing ; it was written by a great num- 
 ber of Perfons of various Conditions, in different Tongues, 
 in different Ages, in diftant Places, and yet ell the Parts 
 whether Hiftorical, Prophetical, Perceptive, Promiibry, 
 Minatory, Typical, Doctrinal, fweetly harmonize and tend 
 to the fame noble End ! This could never be the lifue of 
 human Contrivance ; it muff needs be the Refult of infinite 
 Preference, and divine Guidance ! How often do uninfpir'd 
 Men contradict themfclves in their Writings, and how much 
 more would they contradict one another ? If many Perfons 
 of inferior Attainments, did at various Times and Places 
 write uponreligious Subjects, con fidering their natural 
 nefs in fuch Matters, and their lyablenefs to blunder, even 
 in reporting Matters of Feel; end indeed ii ; the Penmen of 
 the Scriptures had been left to themfclves, in the Cor 
 fure, the Bible won ve been but a I of Confu i- 
 
 on and Contradiction, But 6. Another 
 
Authority of the Scriptures. 73 
 
 6. Another Argument for the divine Original of the Scrip- 
 tures, may be taken from the Penmen thereof > and here it 
 may be alTerted, that they were Men of fuch blamelefs Lives, 
 that their Enemies could not fix fuch Charges upon them 
 as might juftly weaken the Credit of their Writings, It is 
 likewife evident, that they were Men of greatCandor and 
 Integrity, and that from their difcovering their own Faults, 
 Mofes Records his Backwardnefs to comply with the divine" 
 Call ofgoing to Egypt, his Infidelity, his Murmurings, [Num. 
 xi. 11, 15.) and Jeremy informs us, of his curling the Day of 
 bis Birth, Jer. xx. David makes mention of his Crime in the 
 Matter of Uriah, (PfaL li.) nay they do not only mention 
 their own Crimes, but thofe of their deareft. Relations ; which 
 carnal Policy would have inclin'd them to conceal ; thus 
 Mofes mentions his Brother Aaron's making the Golden-Calf 
 (Exod* xxxii 25.) They alio acquaint us, with the mean- 
 efs of their Extraction, thus Amos tells us that he was a- 
 mong the Herdfmen of Tekoah 5 the Evangelifts inform us- 
 that they were Seafaring Men, when call'dto be Difciples. 
 
 Neither were the Penmen of the Scriptures, defigning 
 Men, they fought not their own Honour, as appears from 
 what has been faid , neither did they feek their own Intereft. 
 Altho' Mofes had the Burden of Government, yet he did not 
 affect the pomp of a King, neither did he advance his Family 
 to that Wealth and Honour which was in the Power of his 
 Hand to confer ! No, the Laws he made, depriv'd his own 
 Tribe of kingly Government, and the higheft Honour of the 
 Priefthood he conferred on hisBrothersChildren r not his own! 
 Its certain that Inftead of Honour and Profit, many of the 
 Penmen of the Scriptures, expofed themfelves by their writ- 
 ing and preaching to great Contempt and Hardships ! 
 
 Befides many of the Penmen of the Scriptures, were of 
 fuel* Inferior Abilities that they were not able to form an 
 
 K Impofture., 
 
74 Arguments to prove the divine 
 
 Impoiturc and palm it on the World. And Tome of them 
 werje Kings, and fb above the fneaking MeanefTes of Lying 
 and Forgery ! And to conclude this Argument, I may far- 
 ther obferve that the very Writers of the Scriptures appear to 
 be under a Subjection to the Doctrines they delivered, which 
 argues them to be of a divine Original ! But 
 
 j. The exaB accomplijimient of Prophefies, proves the Di- 
 vinity of the Scriptures; to foretel Events that depend up- 
 on arbitrary Caufes, exceeds the reach of a human Mind, 
 and is the Prerogative of that God only, who is panophthal- 
 mos, all eye and has no Succeffion in Duration; but there 
 are many Inftances of this kind in Scripture, e. g. MofeS 
 and yof/.ua foretold the Idolatrous Apoflacy of Ifrael, {Dent. 
 xxxi. 29. jfcf. xxiii 15.) which the Book of Judges fhews 
 was accompliihed. Ifaiah and Jeremiah foretold the Babel- 
 lonijh Captivity, with the Time of its Continuance, and the 
 Deliverance from it by Cyrus, which accordingly came to pais, 
 as other Parts of the Old-Teflament do witnefs. The Pro- 
 phecy of a Reformation by Jofiah, and his burning the Bones 
 of the Idolatrous Priefts at Bethel, did exactly come ; to pais 
 three Hundred Years after. (1 Kin^sxm. 2. 2 Kings xxiii, 
 15, 16.) And many Propheiies reipecting the Time and 
 Manner of our Saviour's coming, his Birth, Life, Mira- 
 cles, and Death, are punctually fulfilled. It was near two 
 Thouiand Years, before that famous Prophiiy, {Gen. xlix. 
 10.) had its Accomplimment, Hircanus was the laft of the 
 Tribe of jtidah, who fway'd the Scepter of Government 
 over the People of Ifrael, and this Man Herod a Stranger, 
 an Idumean ilew ; and lb cut off the Line of Judah, and 
 ufurp'd the Government, as Jofephus tcftifies ; and then did 
 the Messias come. An ingenious Writer glolleth excellent- 
 ly upon the aforefaid Prophecy, in the following Manner. 
 The Jewifn Rabbins fayeth he, " do ?iot deny that by Shi- 
 
 loh 
 
Authority nf the Scriptures, yr 
 
 tc loh is meant the Messiah ; now at the "Time r/" Jacob's 
 tc uttering the/e Words, there was little Probability that a- 
 *' m of his PoJJerity Jlxuld have a Sceptre, — being poor, jew ^ 
 cc and in a f range Land y or if they fhould thrive Jo as to be- 
 ** come a Kingdom, why Jl.ould Judah have the Government^ 
 " Seeing there were three elder Brothers, viz. Reuben, Si- 
 ec meon, and Levi j nor was there any likelihood of this Pro- 
 " pheefs being accompli Oj 'd when Moles fet it down in Writ-. 
 " m g,r f or t' jcn h' s himfelfwho was of the Tribe of Levi was 
 ff in the actual PofeJJion of the Government, and put into it 
 tc by God himfclf, who appointed for hisfuccefor Joibua, not of 
 " the Tribe of Judah, but i^/'Ephraim, whence we have a no- 
 " table Evidence,, of the Truth and Sincerity of this Pre- 
 " diSlion : Tor had not Jacob really uttered it, we cannot 
 " imagine that Mofes would have put it in Writing, to the 
 " Dijparagement of his own Tribe T Thus far he. 
 
 We fee with our Eyes the ingathering of the Gentiles, 
 andDifperiion of the Jews ! But the Time would Tail to relate 
 the accomplishment of thofe numerous Propheiies that re_ 
 ipeei. our Saviour: I mult, therefore proceed to obferve. 
 
 8. That God himfelf has attefted the Divinity of the 
 Scriptures by Miraculous Works, and Rirely if we receive 
 the Witnefs of Men, theWitnefs of God is greater.. A Mira- 
 cle is an extraordinary divine Work, whereby fomething is 
 produe'd contrary to the common Courfe and fixed Laws 
 of Nature S Now that many fuch have been wrought by the 
 Prophets, by Christ, and the Apoflles, for the Confirma- 
 tion of the Divinity of their Miffion and Doctrine, we have 
 all the Evidence that fuch pail Fads will admit of, and 
 more cannot be reafonably defir'd. Elijah cxprcfly appcal'd 
 to God for the Determination of the Controversy be- 
 tween him and the Priefts of Baal, by a miraculous 
 Work,and our Lord appeai'd to the Miraculous Works 
 
 K 2. lie 
 
76 Argunientsfa prime the diving 
 
 he performed in Confirmation of his Million and Doctrine^ 
 as particularly in the Cafe of John Baptifl's Difciples, go 
 and tell him, fa id he, that the Blind receive their Sight, and 
 the Lame walk, &c. We have Information by many credi- 
 ble and difintereiled Witneflefs, that the Miracles which 
 our Lord wrought, were many in Number, beneficent in 
 Kind, that they were wrought before Multitudes of Enemies, 
 who, had there been any fraud, would furely have detected 
 it. They were wrought frequently in open Day, and of 
 this the Relators were Eye and Ear Witneffes. A Miracle 
 is certainly the broad Seal of Heaven, which could never be 
 given to a forgery ! And therefore, as Dr. Owen obferves, 
 " When am Do ft vine which is in itfelf Juch as be comet h Holi- 
 *' fiefs and Right eoujhefs\ is confirm d by a Miracle, there can 
 " no greater Affurance be given even by God him/elf of its 
 <c veracity! " Could the infernal Spirits imitate the miracu- 
 lous Works which our Saviour wrought ? Is it not utterly in- 
 confident with the divine Goodnefs to fuffer them to ufe the 
 Seal of Heaven in feducing Mankind, without giving fome 
 evident Notices of the Impofture, but this has never been 
 done in this Cafe : The Turks do acknowledge the Miracles 
 of our Lord, and the Jews alio ; but the latter afcribc them, 
 thro' Malice, to the Power of Magick ! But then, as our 
 Saviour juflly obferves, Satan would be divided again/I Satan, 
 and fo his Kingdom could not /land ! Satan would do that 
 which is contrary to His Intcrefl, which is nbfurd ! Irenius, 
 who lived fo the fecond Century, afhrmcth, " That the 
 <c the Dead were raffed to Life, and other Miracles wrought 
 *' in his time, by laving on of Hands." And Terhdian, in his 
 Apology, hath tlrefe Words, " Let v.ny cue be brought be- 
 u fore your Tribunal who is apparently fojfeffd With a Devil, 
 il that Spirit being commanded by any Chrijiian, Jlall confefs 
 lC himfelf to be a Devi I:' But to proceed, 
 
 Another 
 
Authority of the Scriptures fy 
 
 Another Argument of the Divinity of the Scripture?, is 
 their almofl miraculous Preservation for fo long a trad: of 
 Time, notwithstanding the rage of numerous, powerful and 
 politick Oppofers, while many other efleemed Compofures, 
 which never met with fuch Oppolition, have long fince 
 perifhed. Antiochus Epiphanes, in the Days of the Mac- 
 cubes, made diligent fearch for the Book of the Law, and 
 where ever he found it, burnt it, and threatned thofe that 
 conceal'd it with Death and Torture, And about the Year 
 of Christ 300, the Emperor Diockjian being determined to 
 root Chriftianity out of the World, us'd the fame Barba- 
 rities to deftroy the Scriptures. But the gracious God has 
 preferv'd them to this Day, maugre the combin'd rage of 
 Hell, and Earth ! yea to preferve them whole and entire, 
 fo that thole to whom they were committed, have not been 
 fuffered to corrupt them, altho' they fell into Opinions in- 
 confiftent with them, they have therefore fled to unwritten 
 traditions as the Patron of their erronious Opinions. The 
 Jews to their Talmud and Cabala, which, they lay, Mofes 
 delivered by Word of Mouth. And the Papifts to oral 
 Traditions, which they fay were delivered by St. Peter, But 
 I proceed to obferve. 
 
 That the early Succefs of the Go/pel notwithstanding of 
 all the Oppolition and Contempt which was made againh: 
 it, and caft upon it, gives aditional Force to what has been 
 before ofter'd. What lefs then Omnipotence cou'd make 
 fiich felf denying Doctrines, preach'd 'by illiterate Men, be- 
 come victorious over the Pride and Prejudice of multitudes 
 ofdivers Nations, and that without the Arts of Perfuafion 
 or Influence of civil Power .? 
 
 And indeed that divine Energy that does frequently attend 
 the Holy Scriptures, is a pregnant Argument of their divine 
 Authority. By thefe the Minds of Men are enlightned, their 
 Confidences alarm 'd, their Hearts comforted and renew'd, 
 
 having 
 
7 8 Arguments toprmre the divine*. 
 
 having their general Byafs turn'd towards God, and Heavenly 
 Obje&s, and their Lives reform'd! Thefe Effects which have^ 
 appear'd in Millions of Men, do furpafs the Force of Na- 
 ture, and muft therefore be aicrib'd to- an omnipotent Caufe.. 
 And is it confiftent with the Wifdom and Holinels of 
 God to ufe a forgery to produce fuch noble Effects, and 
 thereby to confirm an impofture ? no furely ! moil certainly 
 the Almighty ufes Inftruments adapted to the Effects pro- 
 duced. Tuly juftly complains, " That the Pagan Mora- 
 " lifts, wanted Authority to enforce their Sentiments and Pre— 
 Ci cepts, and that they were rather for Oft entation then Practice.. 
 
 And indeed the general Tendency and Scope of the fii- 
 cred Scripture, being to exalt God and abaje the Creature,. 
 is no inconnderable Argument of its divine Original.. Had 
 Men been the Contrivers, they would have fram'd a Scheme 
 more agreeable to their corrupt Inclinations ! They would 
 have reprefented it as an eafy Matter to be faved, and that the 
 Creature is not fo beholden to the. Almighty for his Hap- 
 pinefs as the Scriptures fignify,. 
 
 Like wife the conftant Te/Iimony bnth of the JewiJJj and 
 Chrijlian Church, to theTruth of the Scriptures, ferves to con- 
 firm and illuftrate our prefent Argument. Here let it be confi- 
 dered, that the Truth of Chriftianity depends much upon 
 certain Facts, fuch as the Miracles which Christ wrought, 
 and his Refurrection from the Dead. Thefe the ApofHes 
 were eye Witnelles of, and had there been any fallacy in them, 
 could have eafily difcover'd it ; for the Connexion we ob- 
 ferve in their Writings, proves that they had the regular ex- 
 ercife of their Rcafon. Now how can it be fuppos'd, that 
 Men in their Senfes would conftantly afTert what they knew 
 to be falfe, and that in the face of Danger, when they had 
 no Profpcct of Honour or Interefl by fo doing ? But on the 
 Contrary, of Reproach, Poverty and Pain, and at lafl Seal 
 
 k 
 
Authority of the Scriptures jg 
 
 it with their Blood ! To which let me add, the constant 
 Tcftimony of Millions of Men ever fince, many of whom 
 fuffer'd great Hardfhips, yea and Death itfelf, rather than 
 they would deny the Truth of the Scriptures ! 
 
 Befides ibme learned Men obferve, That divers Matters 
 of Fa £t recorded in Scripture, are alfo acknowledged by Hea- 
 then Hiftorians, e. g. " The Creation of the Worlds by Ovid 
 <c in his Metamorphofis. The long Lives of the Patriarchs, 
 <l by Manetho. The Floods by Berofus. Noah, by Herodo- 
 " tus, under the Name of Janus. The DedruSlion 0/~Sodom, 
 " by Pliny and Juflin. Circumcifon, by Herodotus, Strabo, 
 <c Diodorus, Siculus, and Tacitus. Ifraels departure out of 
 <c Egypt, by the antient Record of /^Egyptians, Phenicians, 
 " Qaideans, and Grecians. Mention is made of Solomon, 
 <e by Dionifius Cafius. Of the Slaughter of Senacherib, by 
 <c Herodotus. The famous Roman Hifiorian Tacitus, in his 
 " Annals, /peaking of Nero's Perfecuting the Chrifiians, un- 
 " der pretence of their burning the City of Rome, fays ex- 
 " prefiy, That the Author of that Name or Seel, was 
 " CHRIST, who when Tiberius was Emperor, was put to 
 " Death by Pontius Pilate, the then Procurator of Judea. 
 " The Appearance of the Star is mention' d by Calcidius. 
 " Herod' j Slaughter of the Children, by Marcrobius. The 
 " Eclipfe of the Sun at our Lords Crucifixion, by Dionifius 
 " the Areopagite' Tcrtulian, in his Apology, appeals to 
 the Roman Records for the certainty of it. And Jofephus in 
 his Hiftory, gives Teilimony to the Miracles of our Sa- 
 viour. 
 
 Once more, if the Scriptures were not of divine Autho- 
 rity, wherefore do wicked Men rage fo much againft them? 
 and why are we affayled with fo many Temptations from 
 Satan to doubt and object when we apply ourfelves to the 
 fcrious Study of them ? Would Satan fo much oppofe them 
 
 above 
 
So. Arguments to prove the divine 
 
 above all other Books, did they not come from God and 
 tend to deftroy his Kingdom ? No furely ! 
 
 But notwithstanding of all that hath been faid in order to 
 give us full Satisfaction, there is a neceffity of the internal 
 Testimony of the holy Spirit, whereby Perfons are made to 
 feel the Power of the Scriptures, forming holy Difpofitions 
 and fweet Senfations in them, anfwerabk thereunto, and 
 thereby enabling them to believe its divine Authority, and 
 hence it is laid, that thofe who believe have the Witnefs in 
 themfclves. 
 
 But I proceed to ipeak, and that but briefly, of the 2d. 
 General Head, which was to diicourfe upon the Ufe of the 
 Scripture* 
 
 And here I may fummarily observe, that the faered Scrip- 
 tures are the perfect and only Rule of our Faith and Practice, 
 Hence in our Text they are faid to make the Man of God 
 perfefi and thoroughly furnijh'd to every good Work; and 
 hence they are call 'd a Light to our Feet and a La?tipto our 
 Paths y and expreflly, a Rule, Gal. 6. 16. And as many as 
 walk according to this Rule T Peace be upon them r and 
 Mercy y and upon the IfraelofGod. From this we muft 
 not fwerve to the right or left Hand. Ifa. viiu 2 a. To the 
 Law and to the Te/limony, if they /peak not according t§ 
 this Word^ it is becaufe there is no Light in them. 
 
 And indeed the holy Scriptures, have o?ily the Nature 
 and Property's of a Rule, which are thefe following, ifh 
 a Rule ought to be pre/crib' d by God alone.. Mat. xv. 9. 
 A Religious Rule cannot be prefcrib'd by another than him 
 to whom the Perfons ruled belong. And indeed the Su- 
 blimity of the matter which fuch Rules concern, fufficiently 
 xnanifeft, that they cannot be well made by Creatures. 
 
 2dly, A Rule ought to be received and Publick y other- 
 wife how flail it determine Controveriies ? And thus it is in 
 
 refpect 
 
Authority of the Scriptures, Bi 
 
 re'fpect of the Scriptures, they have been prefcrib'd by the 
 publick Authority of God himfelf, and receiv'd by the 
 common Confent of the Chriftian Church, as has b-en 
 before prov'd j and hence the Church is call'd the Pillar 
 and Ground of Truth, i.Tim. hi. 15. 
 
 3 dly, A Rule ought to be clear and plain, otherwife how 
 can we know what we have to believe and do ? And fo are 
 the Scriptures, efpecially in the Explication of fuch Things, 
 as are of abfolute neceflity to Salvation, And hence they 
 are call'd a Li%h{, and laid not to be hid from us, Dut. xxx. 
 11. Where w r e meet with Obfcurity, this arifes from the 
 Sublimity of the Things treated of, or the Weaknefs of 
 our understanding rather than from the Scriptures themselves. 
 
 4thly, A Rule ought to be perfecl and adequate, or equal 
 to the Thing ruled, fo that it need never to be augmented or 
 diminifh'd in the leaft, otherwife it will be unfit to meafure 
 its Object. Such is the Holy Scripture, there is nothing 
 to be believ'd or done, but what it contains and prefcribes. 
 Now the Perfection of the Scriptures is two-fold, viz. in- 
 tegral or Syjlematical, and EJ/ential, the firft confifts in its 
 full Number of Books, which is now compleat and the Can- 
 nonSeaPd, (Rev.xxil 18. 19.) the latter refpects the Doctrine 
 contain'd in thofe Books .; and this moil certainly is com- 
 pleat, as our Text afferts, and many other Places. And 
 hence we are bound to the Scripture alone as our Guide, 
 by the ftri&eft Injunctions. (DcuU xvii, 18. Ifa. viii. 20.) 
 And forbid to add to it or detract from it, under the fevereft 
 Penalty's! [Dent. iv. 2. Rev. xxii. 18. 19.) And inform'd 
 that we /hall be at laft judg'd by it. John xii. 42. And 
 Reafon will inform n% that it mud be perfect, feeing that 
 it is the nth: Principle, and lafl Explication of our Faith. 2 
 Pet. i. 20, 21. If it were not fo, true and perfect Con- 
 ■clufions cou'd not be drawn from it, for the Erlect cannot be 
 
 X, • better 
 
82 Arguments to prove the Divine 
 
 better then its Caufe. The facred Scripture has all itseffen- 
 tiai Parts, viz. Matter and Form, and all its integral, viz. 
 Law and Gofpel, and is therefore Perfect. 
 
 ^thly. A Rule ought to be conftant and imoveable, ever- 
 more and everywhere like to itfeif, otherwife how can any 
 certain Mealure be rul'd by it, and fuch is the Holy Scrip- 
 ture, 2 Pet, l. 19. We have a more Jure Wordoj Prophefy, 
 {hebaioteron prophet icon logon.) 
 
 Now the aforefaid Characters cannot be iuftly afcrb'd to 
 any thing elfe, that is obtruded for a Rule either by Jews, 
 Papijls, Turks, Pagans, Dei/is, Quakers, Antino?nians : The 
 . Jewifh 'Talmud and Cabula are private Things, defritute of 
 divine Authority, full of Abfurdities, Falfehoods and Impi- 
 eties againir. God and Man, as Gallatinus and Sextus Seuenjis 
 have made evident. The oral Tradition of the Papijls is of 
 the fame Stamp, they are extreamly uncertain, for while fome 
 of the Fathers affert a particular Tradition to be Apoftolical, 
 others of them deny it. They are alfo contrary to the Writ- 
 ten Word, and many of them changed according to the 
 Circumftances of Times, Places, andPerfons. The Turk jh 
 Alcoran is alfo utterly deftitute of the aforefaid Characters ; 
 the Author of it was a Monfter of Lull:, having eleven 
 Wives at one Time, befides Concubines, a bafe Adulterer and 
 a cruel Robber, as Andreas Maurus in his Treatife agajnft 
 them, makes evident ; and he was alfo an encourager of 
 Robbery in his followers, as appears from the 1 9 and 7 1 Swat 
 of the Alcoran, and in many Things it contradicts the Scrip- 
 tures. The Pagan Moralifls are likewife abfurd and contra- 
 dict Oiy in many Things, as I have obferved before. Nei- 
 ther can Rea/bn be our Rule, as the Dei ft s and Sc aniens 
 dream; becaufe it is obfeure and imperfect, (1 Cor. ii. 14.) 
 And the abfurd and contrary Sentiments ofthofe who had 
 uo Other Guide, is a furlicient Confirmation of this. Befides, 
 
 fome 
 
Authority of the Scriptures. 8 3 
 
 fome Things in Religion are Sublime and Myfterious, and fo 
 tranfcend the reach of Reafon j yet they are not contrary to it : 
 But tho' on the one Hand, we difclaim the Socinian Opinion, 
 in making Reafon the fupream Rule of Faith and Practice ; 
 yet on the other we equally deteft the Foolry of Enthufiajh y 
 who reject it altogether in the Affairs of Religion. Surely 
 Pveligion is a reasonable Service ; Reafon may and ought to 
 be humbly us'd, in order to underfbnd the meaning of the 
 Rule God has given us. The fakers notion, of the Spirit 
 without the Word to be be our Rule, is a dangerous ignis 
 fatuous, which may lead Men any where. Neither is the 
 pretended new Nature and. Love of the Antincn-ians and 
 Moravians , while they reject the Blefied Law of God and 
 flight the Old Teflament, a whit fafer Guide then will 
 ivith the Wifp ! Chrift has net come to dejlroy the Law 
 as thefe Men pretend j neither does Faith make void the 
 Law ! 
 
 If it be enquired, whether the Old Teftament be abroga- 
 ted, or lefs neceffary to be read, and lefs ufeful than the 
 New ? It may be obferv'd, that the Manichean Hereticks, and 
 fome Anc-Raptifis rejected it altogether, the Former as 
 proceeding from a bad Principle and the latter becaufe we 
 are laid net to he under the Law, but under Grace j con- 
 founding the Law, considered as a Covenant of Works, and 
 the old Teftament top-ether, tho' Believers are not under the 
 Curie of the Law, yet by the Law is the Knowledge of Stn> 
 and the Law is Holy, Jujl and Good. The Heretical Soci- 
 jiians imagine alio, that the Religion of the New-Teflament, 
 differs efTentially from that of the Old, and therefore that the 
 Old is not necerTiry to be read. The enthuiiailical Mora- 
 •■;■.'. mi do alio flight the Old-Tcitament, and do endeavour 
 to invalidate all Arguments drawn from thence. On the 
 Contrary the reform' d Churches, believe that the divine 
 
 L 2 Authority 
 
S4 Arguments to prove the divine 
 
 Authority of both Telfaments is the lame and that there- 
 fore the Old is neceflary and profitable to be read as well as 
 the New : Their Reafons are thefe, ill. * The Books of the 
 
 * Old as well as the New are divinely inspired, this our Text 
 ' confirms ; and therefore both are of infallible Truth and Au- 
 1 thority.. 
 
 ' 2dly, Becaufe the Old as well as the New was given for a 
 
 * Rule of Faith and Practice to theChurch, Pfa. cxlvii 19. 20, 
 
 ' 3dly. We no where read in the New-Teftamcnt, that 
 c theOId was aboliilfd. But 
 
 1 4thly, On the Contrary it is confirm'd by the Precept and 
 1 Practice of Christ. {Job. 5. 39. Luk, 24. 17.) He directs 
 
 * us to the Old-Tellament, (Luk. xvi. 29.) and confuted his 
 ■ Adversaries by it. [Mat. iv. 7.) And the fame was done by 
 6 the Apoftles Peter and Paul. (A:h iii. 20. Acts xviii. 28.) 
 
 ' 5tb.lv, The whole Doctrine of the New, is contain'd in 
 6 the Old. The Apolfle Paul profefs'd, that he preach'd no- 
 : thing befides what the Prophets and Mofes did lay mould 
 
 * come. {Acts xxvi. 22.) The Beream were commended for 
 
 * examining the Doctrine of the New by the Old, {Acfs 
 
 * xvii. 11.) Ail the Prophets are laid to give Witnefs to Cliriit, 
 1 Luk. xxiv. 27. 
 
 * 6thly, The Old Testament is faid to be the Foundation 
 
 * of Faith, and of the Christian Church, {Epbef. ii. 20. 
 1 A#s xxiy. 14.) So that fuch as flight the Old-Tefbment, 
 
 * endeavour to overthrow, the Foundation of the Chriliian 
 4 Religion : For the New is confirm'd by the Old, and is a 
 
 * Fulfilment of the prophetical and typical Part of it.' 
 
 I proceed to a Word of Improvement. If the Scriptures be 
 of divine Authority, then let us love them with- a fincere 
 JLove from the Heart, with a fuferlaUve Love above any 
 Thing elfe, they mould be fweeter to our Tafle than Honey 
 from the Comb, and more precious than Gold, with a con- 
 
 jlant 
 
Authority of the Scriptures. 85 
 
 Rant Love, as it happens in Hunger and Thirfl. (Pfa. i. 2.) 
 with a univerfal Love extending it felf to the Law and its 
 Threats, as well as to the Gofpel and its Promifes, the Pfal- 
 mi/l glory'd in this, O bow love I thy Law, it is my Me- 
 ditation all the Ddy» Our Love, mould be effectual exciting us 
 to gratitude to God for fo excellent a benefit, which we 
 mould expreis with Words and Actions. Let us fear the 
 threatnings,- and if Gracious, depend upon the Promifes, and 
 whatever our State be, let us conform to the Precepts of 
 the divine Word ; if we have no Grace, this is the Way 
 to obtain it, and if we have, to increafe it. Let us read the 
 Scriptures with Care, and meditate frequently on them. 
 We may be excited to, the aforefaid Love, by considering the 
 Perfections of their Author, the Excellency of the Doctrines 
 contain'd in. them, with their Tendency and manifold Ufe, 
 They are the Wifdom and Power of God to Salvation. All 
 Scripture is given by hfpiration of God, and is profit- 
 able for DoBrine, for Reproof, for Correclion, for InfirucJion 
 in Righteoujhefs, that the Man of God may be perfeel, tho- 
 roughly fur nijhed unto all good Works. 
 
 SERMON 
 
86 The divine Exigence 
 
 SERMON IIIL 
 
 PSALM xiv. i. 
 
 The Fool hath /aid in his Heart there is no God. 
 
 HE Knowledge of the divine Exigence is the Foun- 
 dation of all Religion, without this we cannot 
 come to God,~tind fir c-rely feek his Favour ; where- 
 fore it appears by the Law of Contraries, that the 
 denial of a Supream Being muft needs be the fatal Source of 
 all Impiety and Perfidy. And this die Pfalmift confirms 
 Pfalm 10. 4. The Wicked through the Pride of his Coun- 
 tenance will not feek after God : God is not in all his Thoughts. 
 The Evidences of a fupream Being, are fo many and ma- 
 nifest, that it muft needs be an Inflance of the greateft fol- 
 ly and impiety to call it in Queftion : And yet this our Text 
 informs us is the Practice of fome, whofe Character and 
 Courfe we have therein a Defcription of, the Fool. This 
 ignominious Epithet or Character is frequently and juftly ai- 
 figned to wicked Men in Scripture ; for the Contraries of 
 true Wifdom realy belong to them, as appears thus, Wif- 
 dom directs to an End in the full Enjoyment of which we 
 are compleatly Happy, as well as to Means that directly 
 1 2nd thereto, and excites to the Improvement of the afbre- 
 faid Means in their proper Seafon j whereas ungodly Perfons 
 either propofe to themfelves an End which cannot yield 
 complcat Satisfaction, namely fome earthly Entertainment; 
 
 or 
 
Prov'd and improv'd. 8? 
 
 or if they propofe the Enjoyment of God in a future World 
 as their End; they purfue contrary Meafures to attain it, 
 'viz. Sin and Impiety, and poftpone the earned Ufe of pro- 
 per Means to fecure an Inteteft in the divine favour, until 
 the golden Seafons of divine Grace are el ajp feJ, It is cer- 
 tainly a property of true Wiidom, to exert principal Care and 
 Labour to fecure the moft valuable and enduring Good, and 
 to avert the greateft Evil : Whereas impenitent TranfgrerTors 
 on the Contrary, bend their principal Labour and Solicitude 
 in quell: of Trifles, which are of no Importance and Dura- . 
 tion ; while in the mean Time they are fiipinely and pro- 
 fufely Negligent of immence and immortal Good, and there- 
 by expofe themfelves to interminable ft Tilery, and intolerable 
 Vengeance ! But this methinks is one of the moft aftonifhing 
 Inftances of the folly of Impenitents, which our Text records, 
 namely, their qucftioning the Exiftenceofa fupream Being, 
 the Fool hath jaid in his Heart : • This Exprefiion Teems 
 to denote rather a Delire that there was no God, than a Be- 
 lief that there is none. When Perfons go on in a courfe of 
 crimfon Impiety, as it is laid of the Fool in our Text, they 
 are corrupt ^ they have done abominable M r orks. Then they 
 are difpofed to Queftion the Exiftence of an aveng- 
 ing Judge, that fo they may Sin without Controul or Re- 
 luctance : Doubtlefs fome refactory TranfgrerTors incerTanily 
 labour entirely to extinguifh the native Notices of a fupream 
 Being in their Minds, that fo they may give a lawlefs un- 
 bounded loofe to their fenfitlve Appetites, without the un- 
 eafy allay of a future Judgment. 
 
 In diicourfing on this Text I purpofe ill. To prove the 
 Being of a God by fome Arguments. And 
 
 II. To expofe the Atheifts folly in ^uejlioning it. 
 
 And i ft. Methinks the Subordination of Caufes which 
 we behold, and their Succeilion, manifeftly point to a firft 
 
 Cau/e 
 
88 The Divine Ext ' [fence 
 
 j 
 
 Caufe; there hath been for fome franding of Time, and 
 there yet is, a fucceflion of Creatures in the World : Now 
 thefe Creatures trannot make themfelves., for that which is 
 not, cannot act : Nothing cannot be the Caufe of fomething. 
 To fuppofe a Cre^ure could produce itfelf, involves a mani- 
 fell Abiurdity in it, viz. That it is, and is not at the fame 
 Time, and that it acts before it exifts, which is impomble : 
 As it produces it mult be, for nothing cannot act ; and as it 
 is produe'd, it mult, not be, and as thefe Creatures cannot 
 make themfelves, fo neither can they make each other, 
 for this Reafon, becaufe to create Something out of Nothing, 
 is a Work that requires infinite Strength, (the diftance be- 
 tween nothing and fomething being infinite) Now no Crea- 
 ture hath this Property of Almightynefs, therefore it cannot 
 act contrary to the fixed Laws of Nature in Creating : All 
 that a Creature can do is only, in a natural Way, to give 
 particular Forms to fit Materials, but the Matter itfelf he 
 cannot produce. If the Creature could make himfelf, then 
 it would follow, by a parity of Reafon, that he could preferve 
 himfelf, for the latter is no greater than the former. But 
 manifold Experience proves the latter to be falfe, and there- 
 fore the former is fo from which this proceeds. 
 
 But farther, upon the fuppofition of the Creatures making 
 himfelf snd- others, it may be enquir'd, why he has made 
 himfelf and thofe of the fame Species, lb Indigent and De- 
 pendant on other Creatures for Support ? Likewife how it 
 comes to pafs that he knows fo little of himlelf and others? 
 Surely he that makes Things mufr needs Understand them : 
 From all which it appears, that Man could not make him- 
 lelf and other Creatures. 
 
 But to bring tin's Argument reipecling the Succefiion of 
 Creatures, to a Crifis, it may be obferv'd, that one or other 
 
 of 
 
Proved and improved. 8(j. 
 
 of the k four Particulars refpecting it will hold good viz. 
 Either that the Succeflion is Infinite, or that the fame Thing 
 produces it felf, or that there is a Circulation of Caufes, viz. 
 That A fhould be the Caufe of B, B of C, C of A and D 
 of A again, or fome firft Being who proceeds from none, 
 whom we call GOD, there is not a fifth. Now the Three 
 firft Particulars cannot be admitted without Contradiction, 
 as for Example, an infinite Subordination or Succeflion of 
 Caufes, i ft. infers that while that continues nothing can ex- 
 iff, than which nothing can be more falfe: Now the Juftnefs 
 of the aforelaid Confequence appears thus, viz. nothing 
 can exift except by its next • Caufe, which produces the 
 Effect ; But if an infinite Number of Caufes mull preceed 
 the next Caufe, that next Caufe would never exift, for there 
 is no end to Infinity, and then it would follow, that there- 
 fore nothing now exifts, which is abfurd, and then 2dly That 
 which is infinite would be rendered more, inafmuch as to the 
 fuppofed infinity of Caufes we fee daily new ones added, and 
 thus there would be an infinite which was not Infinite, which 
 is abfurd; and further 3<ily That order of prior and pofte- 
 rior which is in fuccefhon would be deftitute of a firft, from 
 which all Flux or Motion in its own Nature exifts ; where 
 there is not a firft there cannot be a fecond or third, nei- 
 ther can there be a fecond or third, where there is not a 
 firft ; and hence there would be a Succeflion, which is not 
 a Succeflion ; which is abfurd : Therefore an infinite Suc- 
 ceflion can by no Means be allow'd ; neither can it be ad- 
 mitted without the greateft Abfurdity, that a Creature can 
 produce it felf for the Reafons aforefaid. If an Atheift 
 fhould object and fay, that according to our Opinion God is 
 of himfelf, we anfwer, it is true, He is of himfelf, yet he 
 has not produced himfelf, He is of himfelf negatively, in- 
 afmuch as he is produced by no other j but he is not of 
 
 M himfelf 
 
qq Ibe divine Rxiftence? 
 
 "himfelf pofitiveh\ fo as to produce himfelf; and if the afore- 
 faid Circulation of Caufes were admitted, then the fame: 
 Creature would indirectly and mediately produce himfelf, 
 inafmuch as^byB, C,and D> would be the Caufe of him- 
 felf If the Atheift againft the aforefaid Reafonings objects, 
 that we do not fee the Sun, Moon, and Stars to be produ- 
 ced by others,, to this it may be reply'd, that altho' we per- 
 ceive not by our Senfes that thofe have been produced, ne- 
 verthelefs by reafon we may certainly infer this, and that 
 from the following Topick, viz.. We obferve all thefe 
 Things to be finite, and feeing that nothing can limit itfdf 
 and its own Perfection, it is neceffary that it fhould derive 
 its Being and Limitations therein from another, But more- 
 j)articularly, A 
 
 2d. Argument to prove the Being of God is this, viz v 
 The World is created, therefore God exifts : Here we fup- 
 pofe what no Atheift will deny, viz. That the World ex- 
 ifts, well then this World that now exifts has either pro- 
 duced itfelf, or has been from Eternity, not produced or is* 
 produced by another, and that either of fomewhat pre-ex~ 
 ifting, or of Nothing : If the latter holds,, it is created,, 
 for Creation is but a Production of Something out of No- 
 thing. Now to enforce this Argument let us briefly confider 
 its Parts, and 1. that theWorld did not produce it felf appears 
 from what has been before obferved : For then it would be 
 and not be at the fame Time, which is impofiible from the 
 Nature of Things. And 2dly that it did not exift from E- 
 temity, the following Particulars demonftrate 
 
 1 ft. Eternity is an Infinity, which a finite World is unca- 
 pable of: If the Atheift affirms theWorld to be infinite, he 
 may be eafily confuted from the Parts of the World, which 
 are either infinite or finite ; if they be laid to be infinite, 
 
 then 
 
PrcrSd mid improved, 9 r \ 
 
 then there are many Infinites and by Confequece none, 
 which is abfurd j each Part would have all the Perfection, 
 of the Parts joyned with it, or not: If yea, then they would 
 not be different, but one and the fame, which our Eyes be- 
 holding the Parts of the World prove to be falfe, if nay, then 
 it would not be infinite, but finite, and if the Parts of the 
 World, be finite how can it felf be infinite, can finite Caufes 
 produce an infinite Effect ? No furely ! that is contrary to- 
 the Nature and Reafon of Things. 
 
 2. If the World exifted from Eternity, then an infinite- 
 Number of Years, which Eternity implies, muff neceffarily 
 have preceeded this Day, and feeing that Number could ne- 
 ver have been compleat, by confequence this Day could ne- 
 ver fucceed, but we fee it does fiicceed ; And 
 
 3. From the Supposition of the Worlds Eternity it would fol- 
 low, that Jomething can be added to what is infinite, & there- 
 fore that there is an infinite which is not infinite, which is 
 Ridiculous] For is not Eternity an infinite Duration, and 
 yet according to the aforefaid Hypothefis, Years, Months 
 and Days are added to it ; from which it follows, that infi- 
 nite can be more than infinite, inafmuch as the World which 
 was before one Thoufand Years agone infinite in Duration, 
 is now older, therefore it cannot be that the World mould 
 exifr. from Eternity. 
 
 4. The Corruptibility of the Parts of the World, proves 
 that it is not eternal, for what exifts externally exifts of it 
 felf, and fo exifts neceffarily, and thus is not liable to Corrup- 
 tion. That which borrows its Being of no other needs not & 
 fo depends not upon any other for the Continuation of its ex- 
 iftence, for that no other can deftroy. But we fee the Cafe 
 is contrarywife with the Parts of the World , and therefore it 
 is not eternal. It mujl neceffarily be acknowledged fays 
 
 M'2 " Lucretius. 
 
^2 The divine Exiftence, 
 
 " Lucretius, that the World had a Beginning, other wife thofe 
 " Things which are in their own Nature corruptible, had nc~ 
 " ver been able from all Eternit)\ to have held out againjl 
 " thofe forcible and violent Afaults, which in an ijifinitc Du- 
 " ration mujl have happened." I add, without the fuperintend- 
 ance of an Almighty Being. 
 
 5. If the World was eternal, cc How comes it to pafs, fays 
 " Lucretius, that the Poets fpeak of nothing before the Tro- 
 " jan and Theban Wars?" Was there nothing memorable 
 done in infinite Ages worthy to communicated to Poft.erity 3: 
 or could they find no Ways in that vaft Space, to effecl: 
 this till of late ? How improbable are thefe Things ? It is 
 certain that divers profitable Inventions have been of late 
 Years found out, iuch as Printing, the Gun, the Ver- 
 tue of the Load/lone, and divers other Particulars; what 
 mould be the Reafbn that no Genius in infinite Ages mould 
 luckily hit upon thefe before, if the World was Eternal I 
 Had not Men the fame Incitements to feek after fiich In- 
 ventions before as now ? And to lay that Men of late Ages 
 have more Wit than a fuppos'd infinite Number of Pre- 
 deceffors, is too great and groundlels a Compliment upon 
 the prefent Generation, and fome few that have preceed- 
 ed it. But a 
 
 3d. Argument is this, The W f orld is prefcrved to this 
 Day, therefore God exifts : For what is the Confervation of 
 the World, but a continued Creation ? with this Difference 
 only, that the one includes a newnefs of exiffing, which the 
 other excludes. If the Atheifl fhould deny that the World 
 is preferved, and fay, that it endures only, as we fay our God 
 endures, without anothers Support : In anfwer to which we 
 fay, that it endures indeed but by Prefervation, and that 
 becaufe it was produced by another, as has been before 
 proved ; And therefore the Difference between the Duration 
 
 of 
 
PrarSd and improved. 95 
 
 of God and theWorld is very vail 5 God is limply of himfelf, 
 and therefore the Firft, and fo an independant Being, who 
 needs not, and cannot reeeive Support from any other : 
 Whereas the World is from another, and therefore muft be 
 preferved by him to whom it owes its Original. The World 
 muft be either preferved by it felf or by another ; not by 
 it felf, that which could not give to it felf a Being, cannot 
 preferve the Being it has received from another ; and there- 
 fore it muft be preferved by another, and who can this o- 
 ther be, but he who gave it its Exiftence? But if it was any 
 other Thing that without doubt would be a Fart of the 
 World, and thus a Part would preferve the whole which is 
 abfurd! 
 
 Surely that which preferves a Fart muft needs preferve 
 the whole ; moreover feeing there are in the World divers 
 Parts which are not only of a different kind, but contrary 
 to each other, fuch as Fire and Water, &c. which do con- 
 tend againft one another with all their Strength, what could 
 keep them from deftroying each other, but the Power of 
 their Almighty Former r 1 A 
 
 4th. Argument for the Exiftence of a God may be drawn 
 from the Government of the World. Here we prefuppofe 
 what no Atheift will deny, viz. that the World confifts of 
 various Parts, not only different but contrary, and many of 
 them irrational, which neverthelefs harmonioufly concur to 
 promote their own particular Perfection,, and the general 
 Good of the whole Univerfe, and that without their De- 
 lign, and contrary to their Nature, of Neceliity therefore 
 they muft needs be governed, cither by thcmlelves or 
 another, not by thcmlelves, for many of them want Rea- 
 fon and cannot be their own Guides, thc-efore it muft be 
 by another, and who is he that is fit for fuch a fpacious and 
 important Province, but an omnipreient, omnicient, omni- 
 potent 
 
f/4- ¥hc divine Exigence, 
 
 potent and infinitely wife Being r When we behold the 
 various Wheels of a Watch mutually helping on one Defign, 
 by their contrary Motions which they know not, we preient- 
 ly conclude, that fome Workman has been there, and has 
 formed the Wheels and adjufted them to their proper Dii- 
 tances, and by a Spring has put the Whole in Motion. If 
 an Atheift mould lay, that the former Order refults from 
 the peculiar Nature of the Parts, we mayeaiily reply and fay, 
 but from whence is that Nature, Wifdom and Order ? When 
 we behold the Harmony and Subferviency of the feveral 
 Parts of the Creation to each other, we may juftly ufe the 
 Pfaimi/i's Exclamation, and fay, How manifold are thy Work* 
 O God, in Wifdom haft thou made them all 7 The Sun enlight- 
 ens and warms the Earth, which elfe would be but a me- 
 lancholy and barren Place. The pregnant Clouds ihed their 
 balmy Dews and gentle Drops, which prepare the Earth 
 to produce its Fruits, which would be mar'd if the Water 
 defcended from the Clouds in Torrents, which it naturally 
 tends to ! And what lefs than Omnipotence, can liipport 
 thofe vail Cifterns of Water, I mean the Clouds, without a- 
 ny Stronger Prop than the thin Air? Surely if they were left 
 to their natural Gravity only, they would foon innundate the 
 World with a fecond Deluge ! Dr. Bates obferves refpccling 
 the Situation of the Sun, " 'That if it was nearer the Earth 
 u it would fcorch its Surface by too near an Approach, and 
 " if farther off] it would be opprefed by fitch a multiplicity of 
 <c cold moid Vapours as would obflrucl its Fruitfufoefs" Its 
 alfo obfervable, that the Sun by its exhaling Vertue, fupplies 
 from the Sea and moifl: Places of the Earth the empty Bot- 
 tles of the viiible Heavens, that thus by this conftant Cir- 
 culation, the Earth being refreshed, the Meads may laugh, 
 the Fields be adorn'd with a grateful Verdure ; and indeed 
 the Winds are no lefs remarkable for their manifold Ufe- 
 
 fulnefs, 
 
Prov'd and improved. g^ 
 
 fulnefs, in carrying the ponderous Clouds to their Places, Vef- 
 fels to their Ports, and in refreihing the Earth and the various 
 Animals that live on its Surface, this ferves as a Fan to ai~ 
 fwage the fumrners fultry Heat I 
 
 And does not the natural Inftincl of acting in a different 
 Manner, which we behold in various Animals, give further 
 Light and Force to this Argument? e.g. The more fierce 
 and formidable, fuch as the Lyon, Bear, &c. who could 
 eafily devour Men, fly from them, and inhabit Defart 
 Places of their own accord, while the more ufefal Animals 
 fuch as tl>; Horie, die Ox, &c. being ignorant of their 
 Strength to refill:, are tame and eafily fubmit themfelves to 
 the Rule of weaker Men. With what furprifing Sagacity 
 does the Bird build her Neft, the Spider frame its Web, 
 the Bee form its numerous Repertories to receive and pre- 
 ferve the Sweets which with much Diligence he extracts 
 from the opening Flowers ? With what prudent careful Pro- 
 vidence, does the Ant lav up her Winter-Store before its 
 approach ? And likewife the Squirrels, and yet thefe Crea- 
 tures act without ReafoK or Defign, muft it not then necei- 
 farily follow, that there is a divine Government. 
 
 But methinks it It-ill illuftrates thisArgumenf, when we con- 
 fider that the Wants of all Creatures are fuppiy'd: Creatures 
 can no more provide for themfelves than they could make 
 themfelves, and who is equal to this Task, but an all fuf- 
 ficient infinite Being? If there was no Providence, how 
 could this be effected ? And can there be aProvidence without 
 a God ? Is it not owing to this all governing Providence, that 
 the weaken: Schemes are fometimes crowned with Succefs, 
 and the beft concerted prove abortive ? Is not the Wifdom of 
 the Wife fometimes deJiroyed y and the Under/landing of the 
 Prudent brought to nought t Surely the Race is not to the Swift r 
 nor the Battle to the Strong ! Surely Promotion comes neither 
 
 from 
 
96 ¥7jc divine Exiftence, 
 
 from the Haft, nor from the Weft, nor from the South ; hut God 
 is t]>e Judge, he putteth dov:n one and fetteth up another ! 
 
 How amazing is the Conduct of Providence, in implant- 
 ing in all Animals, rational and irrational, a ' natural Care 
 for the Proviiion of their Young Ones, which even the mod 
 Savage fort do fiirpriilnglv manifefl ? and do they not ge- 
 nerally bring forth their Young in the Spring ? A Seafon 
 when they are mod likely to be provided with Food for 
 their Support ! To what elfe than a divine Providence can 
 we afcribe the Provision of the Bread, the Udder with its 
 Milk for their Stidcnation ? with their natural Indincr. with- 
 out Indrnciion, to feek Nourishment that Way? And it 
 mould not be pafled over with Silence and Negligence, 
 that thole Things which are abfoutely necefTary for the 
 Support of Man's Life are common, and may be attained 
 by the poorer Sort by Labour and Indudry, while curious 
 Dainties, fit for the Support of Luxury, are codly and be- 
 yond their Reach. 
 
 Is it the Effect of Chance that fome of the Beads of the 
 Field have Weapons for their Defence ? And that others 
 have a natural Swiftnefs to Ay from Danger, and that there 
 be Caverns provided for their Security ? Is it meer Chance 
 that the Earth is feor'd with a variety of Medicines and 
 Man endued with a Capacity to ufe them for his Cure ? 
 
 If the Sea, as fome fay, be higher than the Earth, what 
 is it that puts Boundaries to its proud Surges and prevents a 
 fecond Inundation, but divine Providence ? And what but 
 this keeps the Elements about us, and Humours within us 
 in a due Temperature ? What but this that redrains the 
 Wrath of our Enemies and preferves us from Ruin ? If 
 Hurtful Infects were not deftoy'd by each other, or by the 
 Cold Seafon of the Year, would not they by their Num- 
 bers devour the Fruits of the Earth and deftroy us ? Now 
 
 what 
 
Proifd and improved. 97 
 
 what can we afcribe this Prevention to, but a fuper- 
 mtendant Providence ? 
 
 5. Another Argument for the divine Exigence may be 
 drawn from the vifible Heavens, which do declare the Glory 
 of God. With what inimitable Pomp and (lately Magnifi- 
 cence does the azure Canopy fparkle forth its various and a- 
 mazing Glories ! The Motion of the Heavenly Luminaries- 
 is fo regular and fteady,. that an Aftronomer may tell for a 
 Hundred Years to come their Eclipfes to a Minute ! But 
 from whence does this Order this Law-proceed, but from- 
 fome infinitely Wife and Almighty Legiflator ? 
 
 6. Another Argument may be deriv'd from both the Parts 
 of the Compound Man. And 
 
 1 ft. From the Body. How curious and beautiful is its 
 Structure ? Infinitely exceeding all Works of Art ! Sure!} 
 we an fearfully and wonderfully made ! While the Brutal 
 Herds have a prone and. grovelling Afpect, the Countenance 
 of Man • is- ■ erect, to contemplate the Heavens, where his 
 Creator has his chief Seat of .Residence ! To fignify as it 
 were, where his chief delight fhould be fixt, and that he 
 mould as much exceed the lower Creation in the noblencfs 
 of his Sentiments and Affections,, as he does in the natural 
 form of his Afpect ! This the Poet expreiles elegantly, 
 
 Os homini Sublime dedit, cclumq tuerl^ 
 
 fufit et ereclos, ad Sydera toller e vidtus. 
 The furprifing variety of Features in the fmall compafs of 
 the Face, where all the Parts are the fame,, maniiefls the in- 
 finite Wifdom of the Architect! Without- this we cannot 
 know each other : And thus all the fociai Offices on which 
 human Happinefs depends, muft forever expire and termi- 
 nate ! The rudeft Barbarities and Impieties muft eniue, and 
 Men degenerate into a Herd of Beafts ! 
 
 N. How 
 
o8 The Divine Exigence 
 
 How excellent are all the Parts of the human Body fitted, 
 by their Form and Situation for Beauty, and all the Ui'cs de- 
 fign'd by an intelligent Mind ? The miiplacing of any Part, 
 would make it as Monflrous as Ufeles! Ga/rnjuiWy obierved, 
 cc That if a Per foil ftudied an hundred Yean to place any Part 
 " of the human Body in a different Situation, that it could 
 " fist be done without marring its Beauty ana Service" But 
 there are fbme Parts of this Structure, which efpecialy chal- 
 lenge our Admiration ! The Brain in its mazy Labyrinths, 
 which is the Scat of the Nerves and ipping of Motion, 
 can enough admire or fufficiently explain ! The Eye' with 
 its various Coats, Humours and optick Nerve, by wh^ch 
 our Sight is form'd. The Ear, with its Tymponum or Daiai, 
 on which the diilurbed Particles of Air vibrate and Cauie 
 a diveriity of Sounds. The cuick and conihnt Circulation 
 of the Blood by the Diaftole and Syiloie of the. Heart, 
 through certain large Veins or openings and fhuttings of it, 
 Caufes Pulfation and preferves the statural Heat ! When 
 this grand Wheel is broken at the Ciftern, the Stomack 
 ccaies to digeft its Food, the whole Body grows cpld and 
 livid, and all the Offices of Nature fail. Jfow different 
 is that natural Heat which the Circulation or the B{o > I 
 promotes from all others? Firev/ill gradually confume jttfelt, 
 and all others which only have acquired Heat, v. 
 grow Cold j whereas the former is preierved rri; . / V 
 without Wafting the Parts of the Body ; and leaft the Heart 
 mould be over heated by its continual Motion, which would 
 be prejudicial to the whole frame, to preferve a due Tempe- 
 rature, does not the Lungs ferve as a Fan to cool and re- 
 frigerate it ? 
 
 Arid do not the Union of the Body with the Soul, ; 
 Being of a different Nature, def.rve our V> 
 manifeftiv j>oint to an infinitely Wife and Almig 
 
 it- 
 
Frov'd and improv'd. go 
 
 its Author ? And thus I am led to fpeak of the other Particular 
 before mentioned, or the other Part of the compound Man, 
 and indeed the moll noble, viz. the Soul, whole excellent 
 Powers and Capacities, if we do attentively furvey, we fhall 
 be obliged to conclude, that it is God that has formed the 
 Spirit oj Man within him. How railed and noble a Faculty 
 is the Human Mind, which can form Ideas of Things a- 
 bove its own Nature ? It reflects on Thirds pall, and this 
 incites either our Pleafure or Regret. It aims at the Prof- 
 peel; of Things to come, and thus it alarms our Fears or 
 iwells our Hopes ! It beholds the Connection between Caufes 
 and their Effects, Premifes and their Concluiion : It di'fcerns 
 the moral Beauty and excellency of Virtue and Religion ! 
 
 The Will, through the Aids of divine Grace, can chooie 
 what is Good and refufe what is Evil. The Soul by it^ 
 Reafonings evidently appears to be an Immaterial, and 
 therefore an immortal Subflance ; for it is impoiTibie from 
 the nature of Things, that meer Matter, however modified 
 and put in Motion, can produce rational Reflections : And 
 if fo, then it mull be formed by an All-wile and Almighty 
 Being who is God. 
 
 The Soul, by Reafon of its fpiritual and rational Nature*, 
 is capable of moral Government and Religion, it deiires after 
 God and indeed can be only Happy in the Enjoyment of 
 him. And the immenfe and boundlefs deiires of the Soul 
 evidently argue the reality of a Supream Being : All the En- 
 joyments of Senfe, in their greatell Affluence and Varictv, 
 ' do not fatwfy the cravings of our vail Deiires ! We ilil! reach 
 after a more immenfe and adequate Good ! Then either there 
 mull be an infinite Being, in whofe Embraces we may attain 
 the compleat Happinefs we in vain feek elfewherc, or elic 
 Nature has done fomething in vain, contrary to Arifiotle's 
 juft Maxim: And thus the moil noble Creature of this 
 
 N 2 lower 
 
io© The Divine Exiflence 
 
 lower World would be made in its primitive ConftitutioR 
 more miierable than the Brute-Creation, which is very ab- 
 lurd. 
 
 y. Another Argument to prove the Being of a God, may 
 be the exact Accomplishment of .certain Prophefies concern- 
 ing future contingent Events : This the Mind of Man can- 
 not perceive without the AiTiilance of Divine Revelation : 
 It's true we may judge that neceflary Caaifes will produce 
 Effects according to their Nature, but reipe.cting Arbitrary, 
 we cannot determine. Now that feveral fuch Prophe- 
 fies have come to pafs, the Scriptures aiTert, which ought 
 to pals for a credible Hiftory, till the Atheift proves the 
 Contrary. 
 
 8. The Miraculous Works that have been wrought, 
 ^ prove the Being of a God; for who but he can give .check 
 to the courfe of Nature, and controul it's fixed , Laws and Or- 
 der ? And that fuch have been wrought is not only evi- 
 dent from the Scriptures, but Prophane Writings. So that 
 he mull needs be a Scc-ptick, and deny all human Tefti- 
 mony that denies this Fact! But to proceed, 
 
 9. The Teftimony of Confcience proves the .Being of a 
 God. Are not Men iometimes terrified with the Dread of 
 Puniihment, becaufe of thole Evils which no human Eye 
 has feen them Commit, and which no human Law takes 
 
 -cognizance of? and thefe uneafmefles they are not able 
 totally to extinguish by all the Arts of Diveriion they can 
 invent ! Neither can any worldly Grandeur exempt there- 
 from, witnefs Nero and Caligula. And on the Contrary what 
 a fweet Calm poiTefles pious Bofooms in the Way of Du- 
 ty ? which make them fearlefs of evil Tidings ! add -to this, 
 that the univerfal Conient of all ages gives Teftimony to the 
 divine Exiflence. Tully and divers others afTert, cc That 
 ; ' tki-rc is no Nation fo barbarous but what has acknowledged :a 
 
 ■" SSat 
 
Proved and improved. 101 
 
 f ' Deity. Some indeed were verygrofs in their Idolatry, warjhip~ 
 " ing Leeks and Onions, as fuvenal m his Satyrs obferves. 
 Now altho' thofe unhappy Nations were miferably mif- 
 taken as to the Object of Worfhip, yet their unanimous 
 concurrence in paying divine Adoration to fomething, mews 
 their acknowledgment of a Deity. 
 
 Jf it be Objected, That Hiftory informs us of fome fpecu- 
 lative Athei/is that have been, and of fome Countries in Africa 
 and America that have no religious Worfiip. 
 
 Anfw. The Number of fuch who have been recond 
 speculative Atheifts has been very frnall, befides by the fear 
 they have fometimes difcovered, they have plainly inti* 
 mated, that they rather wifhed there was no God, than be- 
 lieved there was none ; and fuppofing they did, it will not 
 -weaken the Argument : Becaufe fome are born Fools will 
 it follow that Reafon is not natural to Man ? As to -"the o- 
 ther Particulars, the Facts are not fufheiently attefted, thofe 
 that have aiferted them have not had familiarity enough 
 with the Indians to know their Notions of a Deity : But 
 fuppofing fome fhould fo far degenerate into .Brutes, as t« 
 lay alide the Ufe of their Reafon in this Point, it cannot 
 conclude againft the Majority who act rationally, and ar- 
 gue from the Principles of Reafon they are endowed with, 
 the Exiftence of a Deity 1 
 
 If it be objected, that God is not becaufe he is not feen. 
 
 Anfw. This is fordid : Then the Soul is not, becaufe it 
 is not feen, and thus thefe Men are Brutes in their own 
 Account. 
 
 If it be again objected, That the Wicked are projperous 
 -And the Righteous affliSled. 
 
 Anfiv. What then, is not God a Sovereign, may not "he* 
 do what he will with his own ? But if it be further con- 
 
 fidered , 
 
103 
 
 The divine Exijtence proved 
 
 fidered, that outward Profperity does not prevent inward 
 Terror, and that good Men are made better by Af Hictions,. 
 that divine Joy is confiftent with them, and that there 
 will be a future judgment,, the Objection evanimes. 
 
 But fome do further Object, That the Notion of a God- is 
 apiece of State Policy, invented j or the Benefit of Civil Go- 
 vernment, propagated by Tradition, and fvpported by Fear. 
 
 Anf. But who was the Man, crfetof Men, that invented 
 this, and when and where did they live ? Or when was the 
 World without all Belief of a Deity ? Here the' Atheiil 
 is nonpluft ! If the great Men of the Earth had invented 
 the Notion of a God, is it reafon able to fuppofe that they 
 themfelves would be fubject to the Terrors of it, as others 
 have been ? And if the Belief of a God was a human In- 
 vention, how comes it to be fo univerfally received, and 
 that without the Methods of Force ? And why was the 
 impofhjre never difcovercd in to long a Tract of Time ? 
 
 It is likewife unreafonable to fuppofe that the Belief of a 
 Deity has been propagated only by Tradition, for it is bot- 
 tomed on the higheft Reafon, has univerially obtained,, 
 and. continued in all the Changes of Time and" Revolutions 
 of Nations ; whereas Notions received with implicit Faith 
 by Tradition, are not grounded on Reafon ; are not uni- 
 verially received, but liable to change and mnnuicn! 
 
 It's likewife equally abiurd to fuppofe, that the Fear 
 of Puniihment mould give rife to the Belief of a Deity ; 
 For why mould Men be afraid of Punifliment for fecret- 
 Crimes, if there was no God to punifh ? Surely their Fear 
 iuppofes a God, and is the Effect of this Perfwaiion. And 
 how. then. can the ErTec"); produce its Caufe ? Not to add that 
 the primary Notion we have of God is, that be is a good 
 tind lovely Being. The fearful Apprehenfions of his Ven- 
 geance are but fecondary and the Fruit of Guilt, 
 6 What 
 
The Atheift 's folly exposed. 103 
 
 What has been obferved /hews us the folly of Atheifim, 
 both Speculative and Practical ! But this appears more par- 
 ticularly in the inftanccs following ; how ridiculous is the 
 Epicurian Account of the Original of the World, viz, 
 'That this beautiful Structure flxuld fpring from the fortuitous 
 Concourfe of Atoms in an immenfe Space ! It is as likely, as 
 Tally obferves, " That all the Materials of a magnificent 
 " Edifice Jhozdd of their own accord meet and unite together" 
 " How long (lays a learned Man) might a Perfion jumble a 
 u fct of Letters together , or filing them on the Ground, be- 
 <c fire they would fall into an exac~l Poem ; yea or fib much as 
 cc make a good Dijcourfe inProfieV Thcfipeculative Atheift 
 nkewhe fhews his folly in requiring upon the one fide, 
 ni >re evidence for Things than they are capable of! He 
 alks mathematical Demonstration in moral and religious 
 Matters, which can only be proved bv moral Arguments and 
 credible Teflimony j their Nature admiting no other kind of 
 Proof : But on the other fide he labours to believe by im- 
 plicit Faith, again!! Reafon and Argument, that the Be- 
 iioi of a God has been only propogated by Tradition, but 
 cannot Account for his Notion. 
 
 Again the AtheihVs folly appears in this, " That he pre- 
 " tends to know certainly what no Man can be certain of, viz. 
 " that there is ?io God. If he is not certain, howfoolifij is it 
 " to deny and defpife finch a Being as God is I But how from 
 ' v the nature of Things can a Man be certain tf a meer Ne- 
 " gative, unlefs it implies a Contradiction, which the Being of 
 <c a God does not. To profiefis certainty here, is in other Words, 
 l ' to pretend to the Knowledge of all Things that are or can be-, 
 " which is joolijhly arrogant with a JVitnefis. 
 
 " Further, there is this great Contradiction in the denial 
 " l of a God, viz. II: after ts that to be impofijible which yet he 
 !t mu ft grant to be pqjjibk. For if there is no God already, 
 
 its 
 
i©4 The Atheiffs folly expos' d' 
 
 " us impoffible now there Jhould be One, becanfe Eternity is . 
 " effential to the Idea of a God. And yet the Atheift. mujl 
 " grant it pq/fible that there Jhauld be jach a Being, who 
 " hath all pojjible Perfection, whom we call GOD." 
 
 Again,. as Atheifm deprives a Man of Happinefs in the 
 next World, fo it robs him of Comfort in this. For as it is 
 inconteftably evident, " that Mail cannot be his own Happi- 
 " nefs, he cannot fatisfy his own Dejires or ward off /he E~ 
 " vils he is invirotid with -, Jo his principal Support amidjl the 
 il numerous Difquictudes of Life, is Hopes of Protec7.ion and 
 " Uappinefs from this Supream Being, This Atheifm cuts. 
 " entirely off, and fo futs up the chief efl Spring of Support 
 ■ c and Sweet nefs. . . 
 
 -■ Once more 9 the Atheift fiews his folly in contendmg a- 
 * gainfi the devout Man in this Jn fiance, upon unequal 
 " grounds, for he ventures his ever la/ling Inter efls ; whereas 
 " the religious Man ventures only the lofs of his Lufl and fome 
 11 Jl.wrt liv'd incojiveniencies. He is better in all Refpects 
 " without his, Lijls, they are but a difeafe which mar the 
 " the true Comfort oj Life \ and as for other i?iconve?iiences, . 
 ** the Peace of his Mind and Expectation of future Happi- 
 4C nefs will enable him to comport with them comfortably, fo 
 xi that he is at leafl upon. a par with the Atheiii as to the com- 
 " forts of this Life : And after Death he is as well of as the 
 " Atheift. if there be no God, but ij there be a God he is 
 1 infinitely better of. If the Arguments for and 'againfl the 
 41 Being of a God were equal, yet the Danger is Jo unequal 
 <c that Prudence would incline us to chooje the Affirmative, 
 " and make that the Meafure of Life. 
 
 I need not Mention how deftruclive atheiflical Princi- 
 ples are to all the Interefts of Society. They open the 
 Flood-gates of Injuftice and- Prophanenefs and incite Men 
 to fin without Controle ! As there are many Evils preju- 
 dicial 
 
The divine Exiftenee Improved. rb$ 
 
 dicial to Society, which no human Laws can fuffirierifly 
 provide againft. If the Restraints of Religion 'be r^riioveH, 
 we lie open to a thoufand Wrongs and Infults, efpeciaiiy 
 where the TranfgreiTor has hopes of fecrefy • and ; therefore 
 while the Atheifr. iuggefts that the Belief of a God is a TYid-: 
 of the State, he implicitly acknowledges, to the Honour, of 
 Religion, that it is neceflary to the <>ovefhn<ierii of Mail- 
 kind. And without Government, Reafon Will inform us 7 
 thatth'e wildeft Barbarities would be committed, arid Scene* 
 of Blood and Etefolation opened '! 
 
 But is not the prd&ical Atheijl ftill a greater Fbol t:han the 
 Speculative, if poilible, who pretends to believe a "God a v frt? 
 yet Iwes as if there was none ] Such Perfdns bid defiance to 
 Re*ibn and Confcience in Matters of the greatefl Confe- 
 quence. By their Lives they labour to confute their Faith v 
 and rum into Damnation with their Eyes open ! 
 
 Let us therefore Brethren be intreated to labour to get a 
 more full Perfualion and deep Senfe of the Exiftence of a 
 God upon our Minds, and of the Account which we muft 
 quickly render to him of our prefent Stewardship. To this 
 End let us think on the Arguments that have been offered. 
 Let us oppofe the Temptations of Satan to the contrary. 
 Let us behold thefe three great Leaves of the Volumn of Crea- 
 tion, viz, the Heavens, Earth and Sea with their Contents, 
 and coniider, their immenfity and admirable Structure! 
 
 Let us look into the facred Oracles, every Page of which 
 proclaims a God, by reading of which Junius was convinced 
 of his Atheifm. Let us look up to God by Prayer. Let us 
 carefully avoid whatfoevcr tends to Atheifm. Among others, 
 1-t us avoid thefe evil Principles, ift. That a Man maybe 
 faved in his Religion be it what it will : This the Apoftle 
 ipeaks againfl: Eph. iv. 14, 15. That we be not henceforth 
 toffed about with every Wind of Doclrine, and the Prophet 
 
 O Micab 
 
i o 6 The Divine Exi/ience Improved. 
 
 Micah iv. 5. And 2dly. That the divine Providence does 
 not watch over every Thing, yea even the moil minute, and 
 efpecially all the Actions of Men, punifhing the Evil and 
 rewarding the Good. And 3dly. That the Soul is not im- 
 mortal. 
 
 And as we mould avoid corrupt Principles, fo likewife 
 evil Practices, which tend to blind the Mind and harden the 
 Heart and provoke the Almighty to give up Perfons to be 
 deluded by the Devil : The Law of Sin, which is ftrengthned 
 by the Practice of it, inclines Perfons to hate the Law of 
 God, and by Confequence the Law-giver , and hence they 
 are inclined to quertion, difpute and deny his Being, from 
 all which may the good Lord deliver us all. Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
The Text explain' d. 2 07 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 EXODUS, iii. 13, 14. 
 
 And Mofes faid unto God, behold, when I come unto the Children 
 of Ifrael, and fhall fay unto them, the God of your Fathers 
 hath fent me unto you-, and they f jail fay to me, what is his 
 Name? What fhall I fay unto them ?. 
 And God faid unto Mofes, I AM THAT I AM : And he 
 J aid, thus f alt thou fay unto the Children of Ifrael, I AM 
 bath fent me unto you. 
 ■ 
 
 IN thcfe Words, we have an Account of three Things, 
 1 . Mofes 's undertaking an Embafry to Egypt : Behold 
 when I come unto the Children of Ifrael, and pall Jay unto 
 them, the God of Your Fathers hath fent me unto sou. 
 c< Tho' Mofes was fenfible, of his unworthmefs of the Ho- 
 " nouroffuch an EmbafTy, and of his inequality to the 
 " Task : He was well aware that he was not, Par negotio, 
 " yet being call'd of God, he ventures, and well he might, 
 " modefr. Beginnings are good Prefages." 
 
 2dly. We have an Account of a Difficulty that Mofes 
 ftarts, namely this, and they pall fay to me what is his N:;ne ? 
 They will enquire, either from Unbelief to pofe me, they will 
 be fcrupulous, and apt to cavil, and bid me produce my Com- 
 miTion ; or they will enquire out of carnal Curioflty, refpecting 
 the Divine Effence, for a Name that may reprefent it, or 
 they will enquire for Information, doubtlefs they are grown ig*- 
 
 z noraa* 
 
raft The Name \ AM explain d\ 
 
 norant by their hardBondage, want of Teachers, and Iofs of Sa- 
 baoths, and need to be told the firft Principles of Religion. 
 Now Mofes was anxious to know what he mould anfwer. 
 All that undertake any important Task, mould confider the 
 Difficulties before Hand, and endeavour to get fuitable In- 
 ftruclion to manage in them. Thus did Mofes. But 
 _x- 3d* We have an Account in our Text, of the Removal 
 1 of this Difficulty; and God /aid unto Moles, I AM THAT 
 1 AM; and he laid, thus- fait thou fay unto the Children of 
 lirael, I AM 1 hath fent me unto you. This explains his Name 
 Jehovah, and fignifies 1 . That God is incomprehenjible. Here- 
 by bold and curious Enquiry's after God's Being and ef- 
 fential Name, are cenfur'd. And in effecT: God fayeth, ask 
 nbt "after my- Name, feeing it is 'W&nderfnl, jud. xiii.. Do we 
 ask what is God ? Let it fuffice us to know, that he is what 
 he is, what he ever was, and ever will be, That he is faith- 
 ful and true to all his* Promifes, and not a Man that he Jhoud 
 lye, But 2. The aforefaid Name lignines, that God is Self- 
 txifting and independant, he has his Being of himfelf, and- 
 has no Dependence upon any other.. This the belt of Crea- 
 tures; cannot afcribe to itfelf, for it is by Grace that it is, 
 what it is. 34. God's Eternity is alfo. hereby figninedy for 
 the Words may be thus tranflated / fall be ivhat I AM, 
 and indeed God r s Eternity follows neceflarily- from his Self- 
 txifence. He that has borrow'd his Being from no other' 
 can never qeaie to be; for what is able to deflroy hh' Ex- 
 iff em? r And 4. The Immutability of God, is alfo n°;nined 
 by the aforefaid Words, I AM, THAT I AM. 1 flmll 
 - be what I am; I mail be, what I mail be, or I am what 
 I mail be. God is the Jatne Veflerday to Das and fir ever. 
 In difcourfing upon this Subject, I mall firit fpeak of the 
 Names of God, And,. 
 
 II 
 
General Confideratiom refpe cling the Names of God. 169 
 
 II. Of the particular Attributes, which are fignified by that 
 Name aflumedby the Almighty in our Text. And, 
 
 1 . I am to confider the Names of God. It is by the 
 Names and Attributes of God, that we come to an imper- 
 feci: Knowledge of his EfTence or Being,, indeed the Delign 
 of Names r is to give us ibme Idea of the Things they are 
 impos'd upon, they declare their Natures and peculiar Pro- 
 perty's, whereby they differ from others, which may be 
 more juftly apply'd to the Names of God than to any o- 
 ther, becaufe they have been devis'd not by ignorant Crea- 
 tures, but by an infinitely wife God, who only knows 
 himfelf perfectly. 
 
 It is true, the Ejjhice of God being incomprehenfble, can- 
 not be fully repreiented by any Name, and hence is Solo- 
 mons Query, Prov. xxx. 4. What is his Name, and ivhat is 
 his Sons Name if thou canji tell £ 
 
 And inafmuch as God is a moft lingular Being, by his 
 Nature moil diflincl; from all others ; therefore he needs 
 not an appelative Name, whereby Species in the fame Kind 
 are difringuifhed ; or a Proper Name, by which individuals 
 of the fame Species are diff inguifhed. Neverthelefs in Love 
 and Condefcention to our Weaknefs, he is pleas'd to afcribe 
 Names to himielf, that io we may be the better enabled 
 to diftinguim him from Creatures and falfe Gods, and, attain 
 clearer Notions of his Being and Perfections- 
 
 Now the Name of God in Scripture, Sometimes fTgttifirs 
 i.. Himfelf, (Pf v. 1 1.) 2. fometimes all that refpects God v 
 e. g. his Attributes, (Ex. xv. 3.) his Commands, (JDeut. xviiL 
 19.) his JVorf]jip,(AtJ.xxi. 13.) f yea CHRIST himfelf, who- 
 does not only carry the Name of God in him r but brings us 
 to the Knowledge of God the Father, (Ex. xxiii. 19. John v, 
 24.) but 3. It more properly denotes thofe Words,, by 
 which the EfTence of God, orfomething like it is reprefented., 
 
 Farther 
 
1 1 o Different Acceptations & Diftin&ions of God's Names. 
 
 Farther the Names of God, are either EJfential or PerfonaL 
 The EfTential are fuch as thefe, JehovaL\ Theos : The per- 
 gonal Elohim, Father, Son, Spirit.. Again the eflential Names 
 of God are either proper or figurative j, the latter are afcrib'd 
 to God, either metonimically, thus he is faid to be our Help, 
 Light, Strength, or metaphorically, when he is call'd our 
 Sun and Shields 
 
 The only proper and incommunicable Name of God is, 
 Jehovah, by this he will be known to all Generations, and 
 the Glory of this, he will not give to any Creature, the Mean- 
 ing of which has been before explain'd, in fpeaking upon the 
 Words I AM. 
 
 The Name Elohim is plural, from which fome argue a 
 Trinity of Perionsin the Godhead. " Seme think it is compomid- 
 " ed of Words, that fignify Strong, and has /wore becaufe God 
 " havingmade Men by his Strength, binds them to bi&Wbrjhif> 
 " as it were by an Oath" 
 
 The moft ufual Name of God, in the New Teftament is 
 Theos, which is (aid to. refer to Elohim " in the Old y and to ex- 
 " prefs its Meaning" This Word is deriv'd of Verbs, 
 which fignify to behold and difpofe, becaufe God beholds and 
 difpofes of all Things according to his own good Pleafure. 
 
 Here it may be obferv'd, that all the Names of God, 
 befides Jehovah, tho' in ftridt propriety^ they belong to- the 
 Almighty only, yet improperly, and by way of Analogy or 
 Refemblance, they are afcrib'd ta Creatures. 
 
 What has been faid upon this Head may excite us to be- 
 ware of prophaning the Names of God either in our Hearts 
 by Ignorance, or E'.rgetfulnefs, or by our Lips by a rafh and 
 irreverent ufe of them, or by our Lives thro' impiety. The 
 great God, has faid, that he will not hold them guilt lefs that 
 take his Name in vain ! Thofe that name the Name of God, 
 ought to depart from all Iniquity,. 
 
 On, 
 
'The general Nature and Kinds of Gods Attributes. tit 
 
 On the contrary, we fhould declare and profefs God's 
 
 Name call upon it, fear and reverence it, and confide in it. 
 
 Acls ix. 14. 2 Tim. ii. 19. Joel ii. 32. Pro. xviii. 10. The 
 
 Name of the Lord is a Jlrong Tower, the Righteous run to it 
 
 .and are fafe ! 
 
 But I proceed to the 2d, general Head, which was to diA 
 courfe, upon thofe particular Attributes of God, which are 
 fignify'd by the Name I AM or Jehovah. Here more general- 
 ly it may be obferv'd, that the Attributes of God are fo 
 call'd, becaufe we afcribe them to him ! They are the efjen- 
 tial Property's of God, by which we attain fo me Knowledge of 
 his Being : or in other Words, they are that one infinite 
 Perfection of God, which thro' the Weaknefs and Finitenefs of 
 our Under/landings , we conceive by various Acls, as % it were 
 by Parts, juft as when we would fee the whole Ho- 
 rizon, which is but one, we ufe various Acts of feeing, 
 looking to the Eaft, Weft, North, South, until we fee the 
 whole ! All the divine Attributes are in God, but one pure 
 and fitnple Act. It is impofiible that that Being, who is ab- 
 folutely the firft, mould be compos'd of different Things 
 for this would fuppofe a Compofer prior to the Firft, which 
 is impoftible ! Neither can an infinite Being confift of different 
 Things : For thefe Things muft be either infinite or finite. 
 Many infinites imply a Contradiction, neither can many 
 finite Caufes produce an infinite Effect : Neither can an im- 
 mutable and incorruptible Being confift of different Things, 
 for where one Thing is compounded with another it may 
 be feparated from it, and thus Change and Corruption would 
 enfue ! 
 
 Some Divines do diftinguifh the Attributes of God, into 
 thofe that are communicable & incommunicable, the communica- 
 ble Attributes of 'God are fuch as we find fome Shadow of in 
 intelligent Beings -, of this Kind, are his Holinefs, fufiice^ 
 
 Goodnejs 9 
 
112 
 
 Explanatory Confideratkm 
 
 Goodnefs, Truth. We find fomething like thefe in Creatures, 
 tho' with vaft Difproportion ! in God they are infinitely, but 
 in Creatures in a limited and finite Manner. 
 
 But the incommunicable Attributes of God, are fuch -as we 
 find no Shadow of in Creatures. Of this Kind are his hide- 
 pendency, Eternity, Immutability and Jncomprehenfibility. 
 Thefe fhew how infinitely diftant God is from all Crea- 
 tures in refpect of Dignity and Excellency, and how he is 
 oppos'd to every Imperfection in them. 
 
 Now to afiiil our Conception of the divine Attributes, 
 thefe Things following may be obferv'd. 
 
 i. That feeing all the Attributes of God conftitute but 
 one fimple Act, as has been before obferv'd, therefore no 
 Degrees of Inequality are to be admitted among them in- 
 wardly, and on God's Part, all and lingular ot them import 
 infinite Perfection, which admits not of more or lets, not- 
 withflanding it may be, that outwardly one Attribute may 
 extend itfelf to more Objects than another, in which Senfe 
 the Underftanding may be faid to be greater than the Will. 
 Or it may act with more Intenfenefs upon one Object than 
 another, in which Senfe God loves the Elect more than the 
 Reprobate. And, 
 
 2. Much lefs can any Contrariety be admitted among 
 them, if any fuch Thing feems to appear between Mercy 
 and vindicative Juftice, this is altogether in the Object, 
 about which the uniform Perfection of God, becaufe of its 
 own Infinity, is occupied various Ways, or it is to be afcrib'd 
 to our different Ways of conceiving of the divine Perfecti- 
 on. And, 
 
 *. When we think upon the Divine Attributes we muil 
 remove far from them, all that Imperfection, which cleave^ 
 to fuch like Properties in Creatures, and conceive that the 
 remaining Perfection is attended with the higheft Eminence 
 ip ( iod. 4. 
 
The general Theory of the Divine Attributes improved. 113 
 
 4. All the divine Attributes do truly belong to God, he 
 is not only in refpect of our Thought, but in Regard of the 
 Condition of his own Nature, wife, good, juft. And they 
 belong to him not in the concrete only as they do to 
 Creatures, but in the AbftrafH. He is not only wi(e y 
 jiift, good, but Wifdom, Jiiftice y Goodnejs. In Creatures 
 they are fecondarily, by way of Quality iuperaded to 
 their Being, but in him they are primarily without De- 
 rivation, and therefore his very Being it fclf. But here, 
 before I proceed to a more particular Coniideration of the 
 divine Attributes, I fhall offer a Word of Improvement, 
 from what has been laid. 
 
 Methinks the general Theory of divine Perfections 
 ferves to ft-rengthen our Faith exceedingly, in refped of the 
 Trinity : Seeing that the incommunicable Attributes of 
 God which coinceede with the divine Effence, are not only 
 afcrib'd to the Father, but to the Son and Holy Spirit. 
 
 And with what Firmnefs and Freedom may we truft in 
 God, and approach to his Throne of Grace ieeing there is- 
 iuch a Concourfe of Perfections in him,, viz. of Wifdom, 
 Power, Goodnefs, &c. of which every one is infinite, eternal, 
 and immutable! 
 
 What powerful Incitements do the -divine Attributes 
 Minifter to ourPraife, Reverence, and Obedience, of and to 
 the Sacred Trinity ? And how happy is that People who 
 have fuch a great and glorious God for their Portion and 
 Inheritance ? Well might the Pfalmiji hy y Ble/fed is that Peo- 
 ple wl hofe God is the Lord, PJal. xxxiii. 12. When God is 
 curs then all his Attributes are ours, and engaged to pro- 
 mote our Benefit (Rom. viii. 31.) And his immutability ai- 
 furesus, that he will remain Ours to all Eternity, {Mai. iii. 6.) 
 His Truth is inviolable, and therefore we may with uefhak- 
 en Confidence, reft on his Promifes, which cannot f i I 
 
 P HI; 
 
j 1 4. God's Inccmprehenfibility prov'd. 
 
 His Love and Goodnei's may calm us in all Adverfity, be- 
 caufe they will caufe it to iffue in our Benefit. His Wifdom 
 and Power enable him to do for us all that we need : and 
 his Mercy inclines him to forgive our Sins, and to exert the 
 other Attributes of his Nature in our Behalf. 
 
 But I proceed to a more particular Connderation, ofthefe 
 Attribute? of God which are fignified by the Name I AM, 
 the rlrii of which is his Incomprehenfibilify. 
 
 The Erlcnce of God as it is in itfelf, is inaccefiible to our 
 Understandings. The Israelites enquire of Mofes % and Mo* 
 fes of God, Concerning aName which might reprelent his Eft 
 fence, and while the Almighty anfwers, I AM THAT I 
 AM, reproving the Folly of the Qiieflion, what does it fig- 
 nify, but that his EiTcnce is incomprehenfible, and therefore 
 inexprefiible ! The fame Thing which Zopbar teaches his 
 Friend, in plainer Terms. Job. xi. 7, 8, 9. Cdnfl then by 
 fc arching find out Gcd? Canji then find cut the Almighty unto 
 Perfection f It is as high as Heaven, what canji thou do ? 
 Deeper than Hell, what canji then know f The Mcafure there- 
 of is longer than the Earth, and broader than the Seal And 
 hence he is faid to dwell in Light inaccefjiile, which no 
 Mortal Eye hath feen nor can fee. 1 lim. vi. 16. neither with 
 the Eyes of the Body, or of the Mind ; and hence he is cali'd 
 the invifible Gcd, 1 Tim. i. 17. Therefore the Almighty 
 deny'd to Mofes a Sight of his Face, while in the mean Time 
 he fhew'd him his back Parts. By all our Contemplations 
 - we rather know what the Effence of God is not than what 
 it is. Now the Reafons of the Point under our prefent Con- 
 fideration, arethefe following, viz. 1. The Being of God is 
 infinite and therefore cannot be comprehended by a finite 
 Mind. 2. The Divine Effence is a moft pure and Ample 
 Acl, void of all Compofition, and therefore cannot be po- 
 sitively conceiv'd of; and hence the Apoftie calls Jehnvah, 
 
 not 
 
God's Incomprchoifibility prcv'd. 115 
 
 not a SubAance Aiming in the Concrete, but Light in the 
 AbAract ; and therefore he is not, nor cannot be ihcn. 3. 
 The Being of God is moft Amply one, by which it is fo 
 different from all Creatures, that it agrees with them in no- 
 thing : and therefore no Idea of the divine Effence can be 
 borrow'd from them. And how then can a proper Defini- 
 tion thereof be formed by us. 
 
 But it may be objected againA what has been faid under 
 this Head, that the Scriptures informs us, that God has been 
 feen by many of the Saints, particularly by Abraham, Ifaac, 
 and Jacob, Mofes, Ifqiah, and others, Job was perfuaded 
 that with the fame Eyes he Jhouldfee God, and the ApoAle 
 Paul informs us, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. that here we fee darkly, but 
 then, meaning in Heaven, wejhallfee Face to Face. The a- 
 forefaid Places are to be underAood either of a fymbolical 
 Vilion, not of the Effence, but of the Operations of God, 
 under certain Signs, or of the more 'perfect Knowledge or 
 God, which will be attain'd in the Paradife of God ; which 
 in its Perfection Aiall imitate Sight or Knowledge by it, yea 
 exceed it ; but they do not infer the Yifion of his EfTence. 
 
 But that the Meaning of what has been offer'd, may be 
 the better underAood ; it is to be obferved that our Difcourfe 
 is not concerning God, but the ErTence of God as it is con- 
 ceiv'd dilfinct from his Attributes, or as it is conceived, as 
 fomething iubAracted or as the ArA Being, which the At- 
 tributes perfect. And 2. our Difcourfe is not concerning the 
 Effence of God that it is, for that is many Ways evident ; 
 but what it is in itfelf, and not in the Attributes. This our 
 Minds can have no apprehenAve or comprehenAve Know- 
 ledge of, for the Reafons before mentioned. And indeed 
 in this Refpedt we cannot know the Effence of Angels, or of 
 our own Souls I 
 
 P a Is 
 
1 1.6 God's Incomprehcnfibility improved. 
 
 Is the Divine EfTsnce incomprehensible, then i. this 
 mould reprefs carnal Curiofity which appears in Enquiries 
 about Things too high for us, and inaccefUble to us, and a- 
 bout Things we need not to know for Orientations lake, or 
 fome other mean End, or in bold Sayings about what we 
 underfland not j as for Example, when Perlbns fay that the 
 Divine Eflen'ce is but a Thought as the Cartefians, fuch Arc 
 wife above what is written, i. This vain Curiofity is for- 
 bidden by God himfelf, Ex. iii. 4, 5. God caWd unto Mo- 
 fes andfaid, draw not nigh hither. Ex. xix. 21. And the Lord 
 Jaid unto Moles go down charge the People, left they break thro* 
 unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them per if. 2. It is a 
 Piece of foolifh Pride to pretend to grafp Infinity. 3. For 
 looking into the Ark, Fifty Thoufand and Three/core and 
 Ten Men of the Bethfliemites were fain 1 Sam. vi. 19. 
 
 2. We mould be excited to labour to be mode ft, while we 
 think or fpeak about the Being or Ertentials of God, this 
 Modefly mould be expreffed in the following Particulars, 1. 
 Before we meditate on thofe Things, we fhould implore the 
 divine Direction and Illumination, according to David's 
 Example, Pf. cxix. 18. Open thou mine Eyes, that I may 
 behold wondrous Things out of thy Law. 2. We mould be 
 poflefs'd with pious Fear and Solicitude while we are oc- 
 cupy'd about fuch Things, in Imitation otAbram, who fpoke 
 to God with the deepefl Pveverence, (Gen. xxxi. 3.) Neither 
 mould we fpeak, without confulting the divine Oracles, in 
 Imitation of Mofcs in our Text, they fall fay unto me, \ 
 is his Name, and what fall I fay unto them? In Imitation 
 of Agure (Prov. xxx. 2, ^.) We mould confefs, that wc 
 are more brutifh than any Men, and have not attain'd the 
 Knowledge of the Ploly ! After the Example of the Angels 
 we mould as it were cover our Faces j this Modefly God 
 himfelf requires, Levit. x. 7. I will be fancTifed in them, 
 
 that 
 
God's Inco??jprehenfbility improved. ny 
 
 that come nigh me. And indeed the Nature of the Thing de- 
 mands it, that a poor Worm while he is occupy'd about 
 God and divine Things, mould fludy Modefty. If Mofes 
 out of Reverence to the Place whereon he Hood, becaufe it 
 was holy mull pull off his Shoes ! How much more than mould 
 we expreis Reverence for God himfelf with whom we have to 
 do. And indeed the Judgments of God that have been 
 inflicled upon thole who have treated divine Things with 
 Irreverence, mould excite us to Modefty. But who were 
 thefe ? I anfwer, Korah, Dathan and Abiram were fwallow- 
 ed up by the Earth alive, Num. xvi. 31, 32. Uzzah wasjlruck 
 dead, for touching the Ark 2 Sam. vi. 7. many of the Beth- 
 fhemites were fain for looking into it. 1 Sam. vi. 19. And 
 King Uzziah was J mitten with Leprofe,jor medling with the 
 Pr lefts Office, in offering Sacrifice. 2 Chron. xxvi. 16. 20. 
 It may be fome help to our exercifing the aforelaid divine 
 Vertue, if we compare the Majefly of God with our Vile- 
 nefs, and ferioufly confider the Infinite difrance of God and 
 divine Things, from Our weak Underitandings ! As alfo how 
 eafy and dangerous it is for us to miftake in Matters of 
 lb great Moment ? fob xlii. 7. And it was fo that after the 
 Lord had fpokcn thefe Words unto Job, the Lord jaid unto E- 
 liphaz the Temanite, my Wrath is kindled againft thee, and a- 
 gainft thy two Friends, for ye have not fpoken of me the Hhing 
 that is right, as my Servant Job hath. 
 
 But I proceed to confider the 2. Attribute of God, which 
 is fignified by the Words I AM, viz. his Self-Exiftence or 
 Independancy. The Almighty by thole Words, informs 
 Mofes that he was abfolutely in and of himfelf, not poftive- 
 ly, as tho' he had produced himfelf, but negatively, be- 
 caufe his Being and Perfections were deriv'd of no other ; 
 or in other Words, the Almighty by the aforefaid ExprefTion 
 declares himfelf, to be abfolutely the firil Being, and intire- 
 
 lv 
 
ii8 The Self-Exijlence of God proved. 
 
 Jy independent of any other prior Caufe, either Efficient by 
 whom he mould be ; or material of whom he mould be, or 
 for?nal by whom he mould be, what he is ; or final to whom 
 as an End he mould be directed. All Creatures live and 
 move, and have their Beings in and from God, but it is his 
 peculiar Glory, to derive his Being from none. 
 
 From the Firftnefs, Afeity, Self-Exigence, and Independ- 
 ance of the Divine EiTence or Being, naturally and necef- 
 ilarily follows, the Independance of ail his Attributes e.g. 
 
 1 . His Goodnefs is independent, he vouchsafes Benefits up- 
 on whom, and when he pleafes, his nicer Sovereignty alone 
 determines not only the Objects and Time of conferring his 
 Kindneffes, but alio the Kind x Meafure & Duration of them. 
 He hath Mercy upon whom he will have Mercy, nothing with- 
 out himfelf can influence, fir lefs con (train him: For this 
 would argue Imperfection and Dependance. 
 
 2. His Holinefs is independent, he hates Sin, not for 
 any Reafons without himfelf, but becaufe of the eternal Con- 
 trariety of his Nature thereto. 
 
 3. His Power is likewife independent, as he has derived 
 it from none, io he depends upon none in the Exerciie there- 
 of. And therefore cannot be control'd by Creatures in Ins 
 providential Proceedings. lie does what he plcafcs in the Ar- 
 mies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, and 
 who can flay his Hand, or fay to him what doe/i then ? 
 
 4. The Wifdom of God is independent, his Wifdom is 
 not in him, as a Quality added to his Being, as it is in 
 Creatines, but it is himfelf, he receives not his Ideas from 
 Objects without himfelf, as Creatures do, in which refpect. 
 they are dependant on them; but the Knowledge of God 
 was infinite , before any Creature had a Being. Hence the 
 Royal Prophet enquires with Beauty and Emphafis? Who 
 hath directed tie Spirit cj the Lord, with whom took he Ccun- 
 
 tily 
 
TheSelf-ExifienceofGodprcv'd. H9 
 
 cil, and iph& injlr acted him in the Path of Judgment? 
 Ifa. xl. 13, 14. 
 
 The Scriptures give Teftimony to the Self-Exiftence and 
 Independency of God, Rev, i. 8. lam the Alpha & Omega, the 
 Beginning and the Ending faith the Lord, which is, and which 
 was, and which is to ccme, the Almighty. The fame is re- 
 peated in the Book of the Revelations frequently. And 
 Reafon alfo confirms the aforefaid Truth. Seeing it is abfurd 
 to fuppofe, that any Thing mould be the Cauie of itfelf, 
 for then it mull be and not be at the fame Time ; and fee- 
 ing that an infinite SuccefTion of Caufes is impomble, for 
 then the next Caufe which produceth tHe Effect, would not 
 fubfift, becaule there is no End to Infinity : There mud of 
 necefhty be fome firft felf-exifting Being, which we call God. 
 Now from this Firftnefs or Self-Exiftence of God ; proceed 
 his Unity, Immutability, Infinity and Simplicity. And 1. 
 his Unity. What is abfoiutely the firft Being, muft needs be 
 one j for if more fuch be imagin'd, neither will be abfoiutely 
 the firft, becaufeit does not preceed the other. 2. Immuta- 
 bility ; If he is changed, he is changed by another, and that 
 other muft be before him, but what can be before him that is 
 abfoiutely the Firft ? 3 . His Infinity \ Whatfoever is limitted, 
 is limitted by another, for nothing can limit itfelf, and its own 
 Perfection, & that other muft be before it, but what can be be- 
 fore him who is abfoiutely the firft ? 4. His Simplicity. What- 
 foever is compos'd, is compos'd by one prior to itfelf; but 
 what can be before the Firft ? Again the Independance of God, 
 appears evidently from his producing all Things by his Pow- 
 er. Such Things as he has made muft needs depend upon 
 his Fewer and Pleafure for their Being and Support, now 
 if they depend on him, how can it be that he mould de- 
 pend on them ? To fuppofe the Gaufe and Effect to be 
 mutually dependant on each other, is to fuppofe they 
 are mutually deriv'd from each other, which is impoffible ! 
 
 Once 
 
I 20 
 
 The Sclf-Exiftence of God improvd. 
 
 Once more, if God be infinitely above the nobleft Crea- 
 tures, then he cannot depend on them, for dcpendance 
 argues inferiority. Now that God is above all created 
 Beings, is mod manifeft. The Nations are but as the Drop 
 of a Bucket, as the j ma II Dufl of the Balance, yea as no- 
 thing and lefi then nothing and Vanity, as- the Royal Pro- 
 phet obferves, with noble Pomp of Diction-. Is God in- 
 dependent, then 1 ft. Hence we may learn the Sin and 
 Folly of aicribing this divine Attribute to dependant Crea- 
 
 tures ! On the Contrary let us conclude that all our $r>nn 
 are in God, from him all our Bleffings flow ; he is tl 
 
 the 
 
 only Source of our Happinefs, the Foundation of our Hope, 
 the Author and finifher of our Faith. And 
 
 2dly. Our inability to lay the Almighty under any Obli- 
 gation by our Services, feeing he is independent, and fo : 
 compleatly Happy in himfelf, who hathfirft pven to lim, 
 fayeth the Apoftle Paul and it fall be recompenfed to hint 
 again ! for of him and thro' him and to him are all Tilings. 
 Our Goodnefs extends not to him, fays the Pfalmij}, 
 can a Man be profitable unto God, faith Eliphaz, as he that 
 is Wife may be profitable to himfelf, or is it any gain to 
 him that thou makeft thy Ways perfect ? J'cbxxu. 23. 
 
 3dly, We may hence learn the Sinfullnefs and Dan r 
 of oppofing God's Sovereignty, cither ift. Openly by wifl - 
 i'ng itaboliih'd, (Pfal 14. r, arid 10, 4.)' Or 2% inter- 
 pretatively, when Men in the Bufinefs of Prccleftination, 
 believe that the Grace of Gad is fufpended upon forefeen 
 Faith and Good Works. Such Peribns do deprive God 
 of his abfolute Sovereignty, and afcribe an Independance 
 to the Creatures Will ; and thus they jumble Heaven and 
 Earth together. Or 3UIV practically in the following Inftan- 
 ces, ift. When Peribns limit God, Pja, lxxviii 41. Pre- 
 ferring to him the Time, Manner, and Means, of Delive- 
 rance 
 
The divine Independency improved. 121 
 
 ranee, or in a greater or lerTer Degree diflrufc his Word 
 and Power. Numb. xi. 21, 23. And 2dly, When Perfons 
 by Diiobedience difpute the divine Dominion, and ftruggie 
 with him for Independency, after the example of Pha- 
 roh, (Exo. v. 2.) and other ungodly Perfons. {Job. xxi. 14.)' 
 And 3-dly, when Men will not acquiefs in the Decrees and 
 Providences of God, . but murmur againil him, {Rom. ix. 
 20.) All thofe Sorts of Perfons, I have now mention'd 
 do endeavour tho' in different Degrees and Modes, to dc- 
 i'lroy the Eifence of God, which coniifes in abfolute Inde- 
 pendance, and therefore are Atheifls, or at leaft partake in 
 an awful degree of Atheifm. All Mich mail find God to be 
 fuch, as they would not have him to be, except they re- 
 pent he mall be to them a fevere Judge, a conlurning Fire, 
 as a Bear bereav'd of her Whelps, They mall "find him to- 
 be fuch as Pharoh, the Ameiftof old, found him. Jer. 16... 
 ult. Therefore, bebo/d, I will this once caufe them to knew, 
 I will caufe them to know mine Hand and my might, and they 
 jl: all know that my Name is the Lord, But, 
 
 Athly, From hence we may learn the comfortable State 
 of thofe who have a covenant Jntereft in God. Amidftali 
 the Difficulties of this Prefent Life r do they want the 
 Goods of Fortune, Honour, Wealth, Relations ? Are they co- 
 ver'd with Reproach, and counted the oifcourings of the 
 World? Do they want the neceflary liipports of Life, and 
 are their dear Relations Dead ? Do they want the Goods of 
 the Body, Health, Peace, Liberty ? Are are plaug'd with E- 
 nemies, Perfecutors, and tafk Mailers ? Do they want the 
 Goods of the Mind, viz. neceflary Wifdom, fpiritual Light, 
 and Comfort ? And do their Enemies fometimes lead them 
 Captive ? What can in fuch Cafes and in ail others of the 
 like Nature, more effeciiially fupport and comfort us, then 
 to think, ill, That God is. By winch Argument the 
 
 Q J Almightjf 
 
122 The divine Independence improved ' 
 
 Almighty comforted the Ifraelites in our Text. And Afaph 
 himfelf^ Pja. lxxiii. 25. 26. TVho?n have I in Heaven but 
 hce ? a?id there is none upon Earth that I dejire befidcs thee. 
 My FIcfi and my Heart faiieth : But God is the Strength 
 of my Heart and my Portion for ever. 
 
 And adly, That God is eminently all being, he is omni- 
 cient and perfectly knows our wants, he is omnipotent, and 
 can eafily fupply them, in his Hand is Power and Might. 
 He is infinitely Gracious and Merciful, and fo will not finally 
 forfake his poor People, but is inclined to relieve them. 
 He is Ali-futficient, porTefiing every Thing that lerves to 
 fupply his Peoples Necefiitys, and remove their Miferies ! 
 He is a Su?z and Shield, a hiding Place from the Windy &c. 
 
 And 3 clly. That God is not only to himfelf, but to us All 
 in All, the Author of our Beings and Fountain of every of 
 our Blefiings ! 
 
 4thly. That he is a SeJf-Exi fling, and by confequence an 
 Independent and Eternal God ! whole Help does not depend 
 on Creatures or Inftraments, and whole Love will never 
 change in any vicifitude of Circumftance, or SuccefTion of 
 Duration. I AM THAT I AM, I (hall be THAT I 
 AM. From the afore faid Confiderations fpring fweet Sup- 
 port and Solace in every immergent, in cafe we do but clofe 
 heartily with God in Covenant, by which he may be- 
 come ou r G o d . "jcr. xxx i . 33. 
 
 But in the lafb Place. By what has been before obferv'd, 
 we mould be exhorted to perform the following Duties 
 lit, We mould put our Truft in God, and him alone, 
 feeing that he is that one I AM, by his Efience, who by 
 his fovereign and almighty Beck, can command Light to 
 fpring out of Darknefs, Order out of Confufion, and call 
 the Things that are not as tho' they were ! Curfed is the 
 Man that trujleth in Man or makeih Flejh his Arm, whofi 
 
 Breath 
 
The divine Independency improved* I 2 j 
 
 Breath is in his Nofrils, who is crufhed before the Moth, 
 who changcth with the Wind, and is lighter than Vanity I 
 The great I AM is only worthy of our entire Confidence,, 
 his Immenfity and Almightinejs are only equal to our valt 
 Defires : His Independent Excellency is only worthy of our 
 Jupream Love -, and his Eternity is only parallel to our inter- 
 minable Duration. He, he, will never fail the believing 
 Expectation of his People ! 2dly. Let us deny our Wifdom, 
 Will and Power, and lay with our dear Lord, thy Will be 
 done and not mine : Being always mindful that God only is- 
 independent and 'the fir ft mover ofsH. jdly. Let its humble cur- 
 fives before the great I AM, whofe Prerogative it is alone 
 to be abfolutely ; in Companion of whom we poor de- 
 pendent Worms are not, are nothing, and lefs than nothing, 
 as a drop of the Bucket compared with the vaji Ocean, and 
 as a little Duft in the Balance compared with the whole Globe 
 of the Earth ! 4. We mould receive the Word of God, and 
 Minifters of it, with due Pveverence and Re/peel. For this 
 End MofeSy in our Text, was furnimed with Credentials, 
 go to the People of Ifrael and tell them, that I AM hath 
 fent me unto you. Thole that defpife thefaithful Minifters 
 of Christ, defpife thro' them their Mailer, and mult; ex- 
 pec! to meet with their Reward in this or the next Life, 
 except they Repent ! No Employment on Earth is attended 
 with more Difficulty, and yet more poorly Rewarded in this 
 Life, than the Minilterial Office ! Many think their Tongues- 
 are their own, and that they may fcourge them with falfe 
 Inveclives as they lilt j and many, who leem to make Con- 
 fcience of their other Debts, think they are at Liberty t® 
 wrong them and rob them of their promis'd Maintahrace, 
 and act accordingly. But 
 
 5thly, and finally. Let us be excited to glorify God on 
 Account of his Independency, in Heart, Lip and Life. Let 
 
 Q^ 2 us 
 
124 Tbe divine Independency iinprcnSd. 
 
 us bow before the Sovereign God, and fubmit ourfelves to 
 his equitable Government and unerring Difpofals, with the 
 greater!: Readinefs and humbleft Reverence ! Let us extol 
 Jeho-vah the abfolute Lord of the whole Univerfe, witn 
 chearful Acclamations, inceffant and harmonious Hofanna's 
 on the Account of this very venerable Jewel of his Crown I 
 In this Way we may expecl to be owned by the Independent 
 Sovereign of Heaven and Earth here, and accepted by him 
 hereafter at the grand and important Advent of the Son of 
 God, when univeriai Nature difTolving in Agony and Con- 
 fufion, ihall open the moil amazing and tremendous Scene ] 
 
 SERMON 
 
Divers Acceptations of the Word Eternity. 125 
 
 . EXODUS, iii. 14. 
 And God find unto Mofes, I AM THAT I AM : And he 
 /'aid, thus ft alt thou fay unto the Children of Ifrael, I AM 
 hath fent me unto you, 
 
 IN Difcourfing on this Text you may remember, that in 
 the preceeding Sermon alter an Explication of it and 
 more general Obfervations upon the divine Attributes, 
 I proceeded to ipeak upon two particulars, namely, the 
 Incomprehcnfibility and Independency of God, which I appre- 
 hended were included in it. And moreover made mention 
 of two others, which I am now to difcourfe upon, viz. the 
 Eternity and Immutability of God. In fpeaking upon the 
 'Eternity of God, I mall endeavour to explain, confirm and 
 Improve this great Truth. And 
 
 1 ft. The Word Eternity fometi'mes fignifo, a long fpace 
 of Time that hath both a Beginning and End. Thus he 
 that ferv'd to the Year of Jubilee, is faid to ferve for ever, 
 Ex. xxi. 6. And fo the Ceremonial Laws are faid to be 
 forever^ Num. x. 8. 2dly. Sometimes it fignihes a Dura* 
 ■tion, which has a Beginning but no End. Thus it is with 
 the Angels and our own Souls. And ^dly. Sometimes it 
 iignifles a Duration without Beginning or End, which is ap- 
 plicable to God only, and diftinguifhcd from the other Sig- 
 nifications 
 
126 God's Eternity defer lb' d. 
 
 hifications by redoubling of the Words time, forever and 
 ever, from everlafling to everlajling. 
 
 Various Delcriptions are given by different Divines of 
 Eternity. " That is properly Eternal (hys.Petavius) which 
 " never had a Beginning nor never can ceafe to be" " Eter- 
 11 nity (fay Drexilius, Barlow, and Prideaux) is an ever 
 " p re J en t Duration, it is one perpetual Day, which pajj'cs not 
 M into what is pafl or future" ct That is Eternal (fays 
 M Zanchy) which wanting Beginning and Ending is flill the 
 "fame." Eternity (fzy$ Boetius) is a full and perfect Poffef- 
 " fion of interminable or everlafling Life together and at once" 
 
 But the moil eaiy and intelligible Deicription thereof is 
 this, viz. that it is an imcommuni cable Perfection or Property- 
 of the Deity, whereby his Duration is without Beginning, 
 Succejjicn and End. 
 
 And i ft. That the Duration of the Almighty was with- 
 out Beginning, is evident both from Scripture and Reafon, 
 Deut. xxxiii. 27. The eternal God is thy Refuge, and under- 
 neath are the ever la fling Arms ! Pfal. xciii. 2. Thy Throne 
 is eflabl/Jhed of Old, thou art from Everla/fing. And hence 
 the People of God are laid to be chofen before the Foundation 
 of the V/orld. And Reafon alio confirms the fame Truth,. 
 as follows, ift. If God created all Things in the Beginning of 
 Time, than he himfelf was before it, and ib by coniequence 
 from Eternitv. Time being in its Nature a fuccemve Dura- 
 tion, taking its rife from a certain Point or Moment, which 
 is termed a Beginning : The Duration which was before it 
 muft be Eternal, unlefs we fuppofe Time to begirt before it 
 did begin, which is a Contradiction . But God did create 
 all Things in the Beginning, as both Scripture and Re- ion 
 aflure us, Ergo. 
 
 2dly. The Eternity of God may be inferr'dfrom the Per- 
 fection of his Nature. His Duration is Perfect, and there- 
 fore 
 
God's Eternity pronfd tzy 
 
 fore Infinite ; for to begin to exift is an Imperfection, on 
 which Account Creatures are faid to be but of Tefterday t 
 which is a diminutive Character. If God was not from E- 
 ternity, what he is, he would not be God, becaufe God is 
 a moft perfect Being, u e. who has all Perfection which is 
 or can be : Now that which is deftitute of Exigence, is 
 deftitute of all that Perfection which is in Exiftence j yea 
 he would be diftitute of Eflence alfo, for Eflence and Ex- 
 iftence are in God one and the fame. 
 
 ^diy. If God was not from Eternity then Nothing would 
 exift. For if the Firft does not exift, a Second or a Third 
 cannot, as appears from the Subordination of Caufes. 
 
 4thly, If God was not from Eternity, there was a Time 
 when he was not, and than he would not be now. For 
 either he muft produce himfelf before he was, and fo be and 
 not be at the fame Time, or be produe'd by another, who 
 by Confequence muft be before the Firft ; both which are 
 equally abiiird : For it is efTential to God to be abfolutely the 
 firft Being and Self-exiftent. 
 
 5thiy. Seeing that the Almighty gave Being to all Crea- 
 tures, witch is imply'd in their being fuch, it will necenarily 
 follow, that he could not receive his Being from them, and 
 fo muft needs be from Eternity. And 
 
 2 dry. As the Duration of God is from Eternity, fo it is 
 without Succeffton. Years and Days cannot properly be 
 afcrib'd to him, no Times have paffed over him, he enjoys 
 himfelf in an everlafting now ! It cannot be properly laid, 
 he was, but that he is, and hence is his Name I AM. One 
 Day is therefore with him as a Thoufand Tears, and a Thou- 
 [and Tears as one Day. There can be no Sitcceinon in the 
 Duration of the Almighty, for the following Reafons, 
 
 i ft. Becauie it is Infinite. Now what is Infinite cannot 
 
 be 
 
X28 God's Eternity provd. 
 
 be meaiured by fucceffive Parts and Periods, for it Has 
 none. 
 
 2dly. The Duration of God is unchangeable, and there- 
 fore it hath no Succefiion. This the Pfaimijl confirm" 
 Pfal. cii. 27. Thou art the fame and thy Years fall have no 
 find. Now that which hath Succeiiion, is not the lame, for 
 every Moment adds fomething to it which it had not be- 
 fore. 
 
 But 3diy, As the Almighty has no beginning or Succejjion in 
 Duration, thus he is likewiie without End. Hence it is 
 faid, that he liveth for ever and ever, and that his Tears 
 fhall have 1:0 End, Rev. iv. 9, 10. Pfi. cii. 27. The fol- 
 lowing Arguments tend to eftablifh this Truth, viz. 
 
 ill. God is a moffc flmple Being, void of all Compofi- 
 tion, and therefore can never have an End from anynecei- 
 fity of Nature, there being no Tendency therein, to a Di- 
 folution. It is true, compounded Beings becaufe of their va- 
 rious Parts, are liable to a Diiblution, which ariies from 
 the contrariety of thofe Parts of which they are conftitutsd, 
 which tends to deffroy each other, and fo to difiblve the 
 Compound 3 but the Almighty hath, no Parts. 
 
 2dly. The Self-Exi/ience of God y which has been before 
 prov'd, (hews that as he could not begin to be, io neither 
 can he ceaib to be. For as Johcvah has deriv'd his Being 
 from none, fo he depends upon none for its continuance*. 
 And feeing all Creatures owe their ordinal to him, he has 
 no equal, much lefs iliperior, who can deprive him of his 
 Exiffence ! 
 
 3dly. Neither can the Almighty Defirc or Will his own 
 Deftruc~t.ion, for that is contrary to the Nature and Reafon of 
 Things. No wife Being penciled of compleat Plappinefs, 
 can Will the lofs thereof, becaufe Plappinefs is the proper 
 Objecft of deiire ! Now a Diflrudion of the Being, would ne- 
 
 cciiariiy 
 
The Nature of Time defcrifrd. 1 2 of 
 
 eerTarily deftroy the Happinefs poffefs'd by it ; and therefore 
 it cannot be defired by God. Well then, it' the Almighty 
 cannot ceafe to be from any neceflity of Nature, or by the 
 Will of another, or by any Act of his own, he mult needs 
 exiff. to Eternity. And , 
 
 4thly. Eternity is peculiar to God : Tho' fome Creatures 
 be Everlafling, as Angels and the Souls of Men, yet they 
 had a Beginning, have Succeffion in their Duration, and: 
 depend for its Continuance upon the Power and Will of 
 God ! and therefore their Duration is not neceifarv and 
 
 J 
 
 independant. Whereas on the Contrary the Duration of 
 God, as has been obferv'd had no Beginning, has no Suc- 
 ceilion, and neither mail have, nor can have an End. 
 
 But becaufe Contraries ferve to illurlrate each other, 
 let me obierve fome what concerning the Nature of Time : 
 This is as fome obierve, the meafure of the Creatures Du- 
 ration. It has no diftmct Being of its own, but is an Adjunct 
 or Quality that belongs to Creatures, which hastheie three 
 ingredients in it, namely, iff. A Beginning; that which once 
 was not, muft needs begin to be, if it ex ills at all : Thus 
 at the Creation of the World, we read of the Begin- 
 fng of Time, which mews that Creatures are the Gff- 
 fpring of it, and meafured by it. Time gives date to their 
 Exiftence. 
 
 2dly. Time hath Succeffion, it is not all at once, but flows by- 
 Degrees, it ffands not, but is flill in Motion, it coniifts of 
 divers Parts or Moments, which are in a continual Flux, 
 fucceeding each other conflantly, by thefe we calculate the 
 Space or Term of a Creatures Exiflence. 
 
 3dly. Time hath alio an End or Period, and this is rcfpect- 
 ing the Creature, when it ceafes to be. The aforefaid Par- 
 ticulars give Room for our dhtinguifhing Time into that 
 which is paft, prefent, and to come. Ti?nepaft is all the Space 
 
 R, or 
 
130 ^ more particular Defcription of God's Eternity. 
 
 or Duration, which the Creature has run thro' from its firfl 
 Exiftence to the prefent Point Gr Minute. Time prefent is 
 the Moment of Exiftence, which is now in being. Time to 
 come, is that which remains of the Creatures appointed Du- 
 ration, until it expires. Now it's impoflible to make thole 
 different Periods of Time to fubfift at Once. Whereas on 
 the contrary Eternity, as has been obfcrv'd, is aper- 
 petual Now, having no Beginning, Succeffhn or End. 
 
 That we may have fome Idea of the Eternity of God, 
 it will not be improper to reprefent to ourfelves, certain 
 temporal Spaces, and by thofe to compafs the divine Dura- 
 tion, as we cannot conceive of the divine Immenfity or 
 Omniprefence, without the Spaces of Place, fo neither can 
 we conceive of his Eternity without the Spaces of Time, but 
 w r e mould be cautious in the mean Time, that we do not 
 conceive thefe different Spaces to be real Beings, otherwifewe 
 mail conceive of many Eternals, And 2dly. That as in the 
 Spaces of Place, we admit not of Extention, or of the Di- 
 menfic-ns of Length and Breadth, fo in the Spaces of Time, 
 we admit not of Succeffton, or a Flux of Moments. 
 
 The Schoolmen truly defcribe Eternity, " to be an inter- 
 '" minable, indivi/ible, and independent Duration." It is in- 
 ter?ninable, becaufe it wants Beginning and End. Indivijible, 
 becaufe it has no Succeffton of Moments. Independent , be- 
 caufe it has no Imperfection or Change, nor any Poffibili- 
 ty thereof. 
 
 It is certain that the Almighty exifts with all the Periods of 
 Time, viz. part, prefent and future, immoveable and un- 
 mov'd, which the Antients did in fome fort fhadow forth 
 by a Circle, whofe Center remain'd unmov'd, notwithstand- 
 ing of various Agitations in the Circumference. And the 
 following Similitude may be ufed to the fame End, viz. 
 Of a Man fitting by the Bank of a River, he fees only the 
 
 Water 
 
A' more particular Defcription of God's Eternity, i 3 f 
 
 Water that is prefent, not that which is pair, or that which 
 is to come, but when he is lifted up on high, he lees the 
 whole River in its Spring, and Courie, and Outlet, &nd it is^ 
 prefent with him.. Hence it appears, that in God there- 
 is nothing pari, prefent, or to come, for thefe are but the 
 Afpe&s of Time, upon Creatures. Eternity admits of no 
 Divifions, all Things are prefent before God at once.^ 
 Things move in refpedt of themfelves, but not in refpedt 
 of God : He fees them all at once, both pair, prefent and 
 to come.. And tho' he is before, and in, and after all Time, 
 for he has made it, yet it caufes no Alteration in him, be- 
 caufe he is no Subject of Time, and has no Dependance 
 upon it. And for this Reafon God cannot wax old, Time 
 has no Relation to him, it cannot be the Meafure of his Ex- 
 iftence, becaufe it is Eternal. And therefore when in Scrip- 
 ture, he is. called the Antient of 'Days, it is only after the 
 Manner of Men, to fuit the Weaknefs of our Conception, 
 which cannot form an Idea of Eternity, but under the Notion 
 of an Infinite Space of Time. 
 
 But the nobleft Creatures, even the Angels, had a Begin- 
 ning, once they were not, They have likewife a Succejfion, 
 being finite, they cannot poflibly poflefs an Eternal now : 
 And therefore their Duration muff be progrefTive. And tho' 
 they have no Tendency to Mortality in their Natures, yet 
 are they dependant on their Creators Pleafure, who can fpeak 
 them to nothing by the Word of his Power in a Moment. 
 But an Objection may be offer'd againft what has been be- 
 fore afTerted, namely this, is not the Creation of the World 
 paft, with God, when he made it in Six Days, Anf. God's 
 Acts are Two-Fold, ift, Immanent terminated in himfelf. 
 (Ephef, L .9.) Thofe have no Succeffion, the Almighty 
 did not devife one Thing after another. 2dly Tran/ient, 
 in and upon tlie. Creature, fuch as Creation, Providence, 
 
 R 2> Vocation, 
 
1^2 The Creatures Vanity expos' 'J. 
 
 Vocation, 6cc. And here we miaft diftinguifh between the 
 Act it felf, and the Work produced by it. Gods Act in 
 creating is the Act of his Will, that luch a Creature mould 
 exift in Time, but if we confider the Work itfelf produe'd, 
 fo the .Creatures have a Being one after another. 
 
 Is God Eternal? Then thisj/faeyvs, ift. The Vanity and 
 Frailty of all Creatures, who are different from God, they 
 are the Offfpring of Time, but he is the Father of Eterni- 
 ty. They are of Yefterday and may foon ceaie to be, but 
 He, and He only, is from Everlafting to Everlafting ! What 
 if they mould fubfift a Thoufand Years, this Space compar'd 
 with Eternity is but as a Day, nay not fo much, for between 
 a Thoufand Years and a Day, there is fome Proportion, 
 but between a Thoufand Years and Eternity there is none ! 
 Yea if we confider the Duration of Creatures abfolutely, 
 without refpect to Eternity, feeing it confifts of a continual 
 Succefiion, they fubfift but for a Moment : For the Time 
 paft ceafes to be, and the Time to come has not begun to be, 
 and what then remains, but the prefent Moment ? How 
 foolifh is it therefore, for fuch as we are to be Proud, or 
 to promife our felves any thing ftable, any durable Satis- 
 faction, from any fleeting Creature Enjoyment, whether of 
 of Honour, Profit or Pleafure ? And how vain to let our 
 Hearts upon that which is not ? And on the Contrary how 
 prudent is it for us to fix our fupream Love upon an Eter- 
 nal God, and him alone, that he may be our Habitation in all 
 Generations ? And, 
 
 adly. This Subjecl affords great Comfort to all that are tru- 
 ly Religious, amidft all the Sorrows that ipring from the fluc- 
 tuating and uncertain State of Creature Enjoyments. Do our 
 dear Friends and Relations die, and are our Goods fnatch'd 
 from us by Force or Fraud, or otherwife remov'd ? Weil 
 this is our Comfort, that God live?, that he will remain 
 
 ever 
 
The Eternity of God improved. 1 3 3 
 
 forever and will never fail. Does Sin terrify us with its A- 
 gravations, Behold the Mercy of God endures for ever y Pfal. 
 ciii. \j. Are we in fpiritual Defertion, behold God is Eter- 
 nal, and his Love is like himfelf ! Whom he loves, he loves to 
 the End I For ajmall Moment helve Iforfahen thee,, but with 
 great Mercy will I gather thee ! In a little Wrath I hid my 
 Eacefrom thee ; but with ever la/ling Kindnefs will I have 
 Mercy 011 thee ', faith the Lord thy Redeemer ■-, Ila. liv. 7, 8. If 
 under the Terrors of Death, how fweet is it to meditate 
 on the Eternity of God, who makes Death the Way to his 
 Peoples enjoying eternal Life ! And whatever other Diffi- 
 culty we are under, how fweet is it to think, that thefe 
 light Afflictions, which are but for a Moment, do work for 
 us an exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory. In the Lord 
 "Jehovah is evcrlafti?ig Strength, and from him we mall re- 
 ceive everlafiing Love and Salvation ! And furely this is an 
 over Bal lance for all the Miferies of Life ! But 
 
 3dly This Subject opens a Scene of Terror to unbelieving 
 impenitent Sinners ! God's Being is eternal, and fo he will 
 ever live to punim you. He is the living God, the everlafling 
 King, at his Wrath the Earth Jl:all 'tremble ', and the Nations 
 /hall not be able to abide his Indig?7ation ! Pfal. xc. 11. His 
 Power is eternal; and thus he will be always able to make you 
 inexpreffibly miferable, his Juftice, Holinefs, Truth and 
 Wrath, which incline him to exercile his Power againft 
 you, are eternal \ Who knows the Power of thine Anger, lays 
 the Pfalmijl, According to thy Fearfo is thy Wrath, xc. 11. 
 It is a fear fid Thing to fall into the Hands of the living or 
 eternal God I Heb. :;. 31. Befides Sin, without a Pardon 
 thro' a Mediator, is Eternal ! The Sinner is likewife Eter- 
 nal \ The Prifon of Hell Eternal I The Fire of Hell kind- 
 led by the Breath of God like a River of Brimftone Eternal ] 
 The Puni/hment of Lois, viz. the Privation of an infinite 
 
 Good 
 
ry i The Eternity oj God improved. 
 
 Good Eternal ! The Punishment of Senfe, viz. the Worm, 
 of Confcience Eternal ! And all this for the momentary 
 Enjoyment of Sin. Should not all thefe Things incline us 
 to avoid and deteft Sin, and likewifeto bewail it, and ieek a. 
 Remedy. in him who has brought in everlafting Righteouf- 
 nefs ? 
 
 In fine, the Eternity of God fweetly invites to glorify God 
 on account of this divine Perfection, by high Thoughts of 
 God, and humble Acknowledgments of this adorable Ex- 
 cellency, as well as by earned feeking of God, and placing 
 our Happinefs in him alone, .and' not in the fleeting Enter- 
 tainments of Time. O let us believe, imdy, and live to 
 Eternity! 2 Cor. Ly.^1.8'.. While we look not at the Things 
 which are feen, but at the Things which are not feen : For the 
 'Things which are feen are Temporal, but the Things which 
 are not feen are Eternal ! Let us molt firmly believe the 
 Eternity of the, divine Being and Attributes,, as well as of a 
 future State of Rewards and Puniihments, which will much 
 influence our whole Life to Vcrtue and Goodnefs ! Let 
 ui daily fpend a little Time in meditating on Eternity, that 
 we may apprehend fomewhat of its awful Nature, and in- 
 expreriible Moment to us, either in our Salvation or Damna- 
 tion, and finally let us live to Eternity, let us think of it, , 
 fpeak of it, intend it, and labour for it, above any Thing 
 elfe. Let us work, and furTer, and pray for a happy Eter- 
 nity. This, this is only worthy of our fupream Affections 
 and vigorous Purfuits. If we are rifen with CHRIST, let us 
 fet our Aff'ccliofis on the Things above. 
 
 But I proceed to difcourfe upon the 4th divine Attri- 
 bute, which I obferv'd was included, in the Words I AM, 
 viz. The Immutability of God. In treating upon which, I fliall 
 
 I. prove this Truth, that God is immutable, 
 
 IL . Explain it. 
 
 tit; 
 
The Immutability of God prov'd, 1 3 5 
 
 III. Anfwer fome Objections 
 
 IV. Improve the Whole. And 
 
 1 ft. The Scripture proves this many Ways, ift. By re- 
 moving all Shadow of Change from God. Jam. i. 17. with 
 whom there is ?io Change or Shadow of turning. The Origi- 
 nal Words (parallage & tropes apofciafma) here us'd, are a 
 Metaphor borrow'd from the Sun, which as Aftronomers 
 fay, has its Paralaxes or various Afpects. It appears other- 
 ways at its riling in the Eaft, from what it does at its fetting 
 in the Weft, it likewife appears differently at Mid Day, it 
 hath alfo various Changes, fometimes it mines, and fome 
 times its clouded with an Eclipfe. It likewife change? 
 its Place moving from Eaft to Weft, from one Tropick to 
 another, fometimes it draws nearer to us, and fome Times 
 goes farther from us, cauiing a longer Shadow, but theApoftle 
 allures us, that the uncreated Father of Light has none -of thefe 
 Alterations. And 
 
 idly. Sometimes the Scriptures remove from God thofe 
 Things that imply a Change, e. g. Repe?itance Num. xxiiL 
 19. God is not a Man that he Jhould lie, meither the Son of 
 Man that he JJjould repent. 1 Sam. xv. 29. And alfo the Strength 
 of Ijrael will not lie, nor repent, for he is not a Man that 
 he jhould repent. 
 
 3<dly. Sometimes it afjerts his immutability exprelly, PfaL 
 cii. 27. But thou art the fame,, and thy Tears fl:all have no 
 End. Some of the antient Fathers have fpoken well upon 
 this Head, particularly thefe following viz. Proclus in a 
 Sermon concerning Faith fayeth, * c That the Deity remains 
 " Superior to all Mutability. Change is a Faffwn of a fluent 
 " Nature, but Immutability is proper to an Eternal Nature 
 cc that is always the fame." Hi liar ie in his Book concern- 
 ing the Trinity fays " I think not thatGod is changeable. Nei- 
 c ther Vice, Amendment, Progrefs, or Lojs, happens to theEter- 
 
 nal. 
 
} 3 6 'The Immutability of God prov'd. 
 
 " nalybut what he is he always is." Augaftine in the Preface- 
 of his fourth Book concerning the Trinity fayeth, cc that 
 " the dhi?ieEJ[ence, hath nothing mutable, either in his Eter- 
 " nity, Verity or Will." 
 
 And right Reafon likewife gives its fufFrage to the im- 
 mutability of God, as appears by the following Confiderati- 
 ons, viz. 
 
 i ft. God is a moft fimple Being, and therefore cannot 
 be chang'd : For Change, being an altering Viciffitude, would 
 deftroy his Being intirely, when that which is moft fimple 
 is changed, nothing remains of what it was before, and thus 
 it is deftrov'd entirely. Thus you fee, it is Atheifm to 
 afcribe Change to t\\Q Almighty. 
 
 2dly. God is a moft perfect, yea infinitely perfect Being, 
 and therefore cannot be chang'd, becaufe to that which is 
 perfect, no Good can be added. If God be chang'd, itmuft 
 be either into a worfe or better State, or into a Condition 
 equal to what he was before. But he can't be chang'd in- 
 to a worfe State, for then he would be imperfect' after the 
 Change, and fo no God. Nor into a better, tor then he would 
 be imperfect before the Change & fo no God. Nor can he pafs 
 into an equal State to what he was before, for this implies an 
 equal Proportion of Lofs and Gain, and thus there would be 
 more infinitely perfect Beings than one, and fo more Gods, 
 which is impomble, and blafphemous to imagine. 
 
 gtllyi Seeing the Almighty is abfolutely the firft Being, 
 he cannot be changed, for whatfoever is chang'd, is chang'd 
 by one prior to itfelf, but this in refpectofGod is impomble, 
 for none can be before the Firft. 
 
 4thly. Seeing the Almighty is incorruptible, he cannot 
 be chang'd : For what is a Change of the beft Being, elfe 
 but a Corruption of it ? 
 
 cthly. God is infinite and therefore cannot be changed 
 by adding any Thing to him or diminifhing any Thing from 
 
 him, 
 
The Immutability of God explained. \ 37 
 
 Mm ; for if he were capable of Addition, he muft be 
 finite before the Change ; and if of Diminution, he muft be 
 finite after it, and fo neither Ways the true God. For a? 
 Infinity is an eiTential Character of God, fothis is incapa- 
 ble of more or lefs : For then there wou'd be an Infinite 
 which was more than Infinite, and fo an Infinite which is 
 not Infinite ; which is ridiculous ! But I proceed to the 
 
 2d. Propofed, which was to explain the Nature of God's 
 Immutability. And here it may be obferv'd, that God's im~ 
 mutability may be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it is an efential 
 Perfection of the divine Nature, whereby the Almighty is 
 without nil po/Jibility of any Kind of Change. In order to 
 explain this Difcription, let the following particulars be 
 eonfiderecL 
 
 1 ft. That when we call God's immutability a Perfection, 
 we fuppofe his Goodnefs and Excellency, otherwife it would 
 be no Perfection ; but the Contrary to be immutable in Sin 
 and Miiery is the higheft pitch of both, which is the dole- 
 ful Caie of damned Angels and damned Souls ! 
 
 2dly. Immutability, in ftrict propriety, belongs only to 
 "God. Hence it is faid, that he only hath Immortality, 1. Tim. 
 vi. 16. His immutability is underiv'd and independent, 
 whereas the immutability of all Creatures is dependent be- 
 •caufe deriv'd. It is borrowed from the Power and meer 
 Pleafure of God, and therefore its Duration is entirely and 
 perpetually Subject thereto ! The vifible Heavens of all in- 
 animate Beings feem to be the moft free from Corruption, 
 and even thefe are lyable to it. Pfal cii. 25- 26. Of Old thou 
 thou hajl laid the Foundations of the Earth and the Heavens 
 are the Work of thy Hands, they fiall per if j, but thou fhalt 
 endure, yea all of them Jhall wax old as a Garment. Yea 
 the moft noble Creatures in Heaven it felf are fubject to 
 change j the Angels are capable of new Additions to their 
 
 S Happinefs 
 
138 The Immutability of God explained. 
 
 PJappinefs, for new Object 'nay be offer'd to incite their 
 Praife, and this tends to increafe their Felicity. The Angels 
 doubtlefs know more now concerning the Myfteries of the 
 GofDe), than before the Incarnation of our Saviour: hence 
 
 X...'. ... 
 
 they are faid to know, by the Church, the manifold Wifdom 
 of God, Eph. iii. 10. and to defire to look into thefc Things, 
 1 Pet. i. 11, 12. The Happinefs of all Creatures admits 
 of Degrees, and fo of Change, becaufe they are finite : But 
 God is Infinite and fo peculiarly immutable f 
 
 3dly. Creatures may be chang'd two Ways, either ift. 
 Outwardly, in refpect of Time and Place : Things that are 
 the Off-fpring of Time, are febject to it and changed by it 
 outwardly, they grow older : They are like wife chang'd 
 outwardly when they move from Place to Place. 2cliy. Crea- 
 tures are likewife liable to change in refoedt of their Being 
 •and Faculties ; but the Almighty is capable of neither of 
 thele nor any other Change, as will appear by the following 
 Induction of particulars. And ift. The Almighty is not 
 chang'd in refpecl: of Place, becaufe he is Immenfe and In- 
 finite, and cannot be meafured by Space. Nor 2.dly. In re- 
 ipect of Time, becaufe he is Eternal, and 'fo no 'ihhjeet of 
 Time, as has been before obferv'd. Nor 3dly. Can the Al- 
 mighty be chang'd in refpecl: of Accidents, beCaufe they are 
 not applicable to him, on account of the Simplicity of his 
 Being. Hence every Thing that is in God is himfelf, lie is 
 true, juft, wife, Sec. by his Effence. ' Neither 
 
 4thly. Can the Almighty be chang'd in refpecl: of his 
 Effence. For this fuppos'd Change mufl be either effected by 
 himfelf or another : not by himfelf, becaufe there is no 
 tendency in his Nature to a Change, it being void of all 
 Composition ! Neither can it be reafonably fuppos'd that an 
 infinitely Wife and perfectly Happy Being would Will a 
 Change in his own Happinefs, feeing there is no NccefTity 
 
 for 
 
The Immutability of God explain' d. 139 
 
 for fuch a change, were it poffible. Neither can 
 another change the divine EJJ'ence, feeing that all are 
 inferior to God ; for he that changes another inuft be fupe- 
 rior to him whom he changes. Nor 5thly. Is the Almighty 
 ehang'd in his Perfections or Faculties which are indeed in 
 him the fame with his Ejjhice, altho' in our manner of con- 
 ceiving of them they are diftinguifh'd, to which God is 
 pleafed to accommodate himieif in his Word, by afTuming 
 to himfelf an Underjianding, Will, Affections, all which be- 
 ing himfelf are by confeqaence immutable. And 
 
 lit. God is Immutable in his Underjianding. A Change 
 of Sentiments implies Weaknefs ; to increafe in Knowledge 
 fuppofes Ignorance, and to decline in Knowledge is to re- 
 turn to a ftate of Ignorance, both which are equally incon- 
 iiftent with the Perfection of the divine Mind ! 
 
 The Knowledge of God is not deriv'd from outward Ob- 
 jects, as that of Creatures is, and io is not dependent on 
 them, and by confequence not altered by their Changes. 
 
 Again, the Knowledge of Creatures is fomething dhlinct, 
 from the Faculty receiving, and fo may be increas'd or di- 
 miniih'd : But in God it is himieif or his Being, it is no o- 
 ther than God knowing : And therefore if this were changed, 
 the Being of God muft be ehang'd alfo, which is im- 
 pofiihle. 
 
 The facred Scriptures afiiire us, : that Gods Under/landing- 
 is Infinite, Pfal. cxlvii. 5. And if fo, it mufh be unchang- 
 able, for what is Infinite admits of no degrees. More it 
 cannot be, for Nothing can be greater than Infinite ; nor 
 lets, for than it would not be Infinite. God knows all 
 Things in Eternity in himfelf with one glance. Hence lie 
 is call'd the only wife God, 1 Tim. i. 17. and that all his 
 Works are known to him from the beginning of the V/orld, 
 Aft. xv. 18. 
 
 S 2' where' 
 
T4{& The Creators Immutability confirm* J. 
 
 2cily. God is unchangeable in his Will, altho' his Will is- 
 free, it is neverthelefs Constant and Eternal.. He is in one 
 Mind and who can turn him, iayeth j^-Chap. 23 , 13. and elfe- 
 where, tho' there be many devifes i?i Man's Heart, yet the 
 Council of the Lord that jhall Jland.~ Now the Truth of 
 this will farther appear, if we conlider the following Particu- 
 lars, viz. 
 
 1 ft. If the Will and Purpoje of God were chang- 
 able, than the State of the beft Men would be render'd' ex- 
 ceeding precarious and miferable ; for then the fpeeial Gifts 
 of God vouchsafed at one Time, might be remov'd at a- 
 nother, and then the Condition of the moft Devout would 
 be as perilous as tha* of Rope-Dancers, who are every Mo- 
 ment in danger of breaking their Necks. But the iacred 
 Scriptures allure us, that the Gifts and Calling of God are 
 without Repentance, Rom. xi. 29. And 
 
 2dlv. If the Will of God were not unchangable y than he 
 would neither be the Object of Truft or Fear j, for then, 
 from the mutability of his Nature,, both his Promifes and 
 Threats might be revers'd^ and lb the former would not 
 merit our Confidence, nor the latter our Dread ! And thus 
 Hope and Fear, the great Springs of Religion, would be de— 
 ftroy'd. 
 
 3dly. Inafmuch as the Will of God is really himfelf, and: 
 is diftinguifhed from his Effence only in our Conception,, 
 (modaly) then if his Will was changed, it would follow 
 neceffarily, that himfelf was chang'd, which cannot be, for 
 the R eafons before mention ' d . An ( \ , 
 
 4thly. Seeing that the Almighty Wills and Purpofs with, 
 infinite Wifdom and Council, upon a lure and unalterable 
 Foundation, whatfcever (hall come to pals, it cannot be that 
 his Will mould Change. But to make this more Plain and 
 Evident, let me offer thefbllowing indu&ion of Particulars 
 
 to. 
 
The Creatures mitt ability expos d 141 
 
 to prove that none of thofe Things that induce Men to 
 change their Purpofes, can be apply'd to God. And, 
 
 1 ft. Sometimes Men are compel!' d to change their Purpo-* 
 fes by the Threats of Superiors, or by fome other mea- 
 fure of coertion s But none is God's equal, much leis his 
 fuperior, and therefore no conftraint can be laid upon him ! 
 Ifa. xiv. 27, For the Lord of Ho jls hath purpofed and who 
 (hall difanul it ?. And his Hand is Ji ] retched out : , and who jl; all 
 turn it back f. Pfal. cxv. 3 , But our God is in the Heavens, 
 he hath do?te whatfoever he pleafed. 
 
 2dly, Sometimes Men change their Purpofes for want of 
 Power to compais them, this has rendered many well con- 
 certed Schemes abortive ! But the Defigns of God cannot 
 be mar'd thro' Impotency, becaufe he is infinite in Strength. 
 
 3cily, Men fometimes alter' their Purpofes, becaufe ibme- 
 thing unforefeen and unexpected happens, which giv r es fuch 
 a turn to the Scene of Affairs, as makes an Alteration ne- 
 ceflary. But to afcribe this to God, is to deftroy his Hap- 
 pinefs and the infinity of his Knowledge - y and fo by Con— 
 fequence to deny him to be God. 
 
 4thly,. Men change their Purpofes fometimes through a' 
 natural Ficklenefs and Inftability, which makes them in a 
 little fpace of Time for and againfh a Thing, and proceeds 
 partly from Ignorance, and partly from the moveablenefs of 
 their Affections 5 none of which can cle afcrib'd to God, he 
 being; immutable in his Nature, muii be fo alio in his Purpofe 
 or Will. 
 
 5thly. Men change their Purpofes in promiiing, and not 
 fulfilling what they promife, from the Corruption of their 
 Nature :- But God is invioably Holy, and therefore cannot 
 Change in this refpect. 
 
 6thly. Men fometimes change their Purpofes becaufe they 
 wererafhly made, without a thorough Knowledge of Things 
 
 and. 
 
142 Objections anfwered. 
 
 and due Confideration upon them : But neither of theie can 
 be afcrib'd to God, for as he is Infinite in Knowledge, fo he 
 Works all 'Things after the Council of his Will, as the 
 Apoftle obferves, Eph. i. 11. But I proceed to the 
 
 3. Propos'd, which was to anfwer fame Objetlions. And 
 1 ft. The Pelagians, Sermpelagians, Jefuits, Arminians and 
 Remon/irants, object, That by the aforejaid Immutability cur 
 Free- Will would be dejlrofd. 
 
 Anfw. No ! By no Means, becaufe the freedom of our 
 Will conlifts in a freedom from Force or Co-action, and fa- 
 culty of acting by Council or with rational Complacency, and 
 not in any independent indifferency to contraries, which is not: 
 hurt by the Immutability of God, but rather cftabiifhed. 
 For God has purpofed that every Agent mail act according. 
 to his Kind. Natural Agents neceflarily (aclidtimum fui 
 pofije) to the extent of their Power ; thus Fire burns, and 
 Water wets as much as they can. And rational Agents, 
 voluntarily or freely. If Liberty confuted in indifferency to 
 contraries,, then God himfelf, Angels and glorified Saints, 
 would be depriv'd of it, for they have an eternal contrariety 
 to Sin, and an eternal propensity to Hoiinels ! And to iiippoie 
 Creatures independent in Willing or Acting, is to fiippofe 
 them to be Gods, becaufe then they would not be under the 
 Government of the Almighty. A Creature may as well 
 exift of itfelf as act of itfelf. Second Caufes muft needs 
 depend on the firft in Being and Acting, for in him we (he, 
 move and have our Being. And as Divines juitly obferve, 
 [operari Sequitur effe) Action follows the Kind of the Being 
 it proceeds from. Independent Action follows an indepen- 
 dent Being; and dependent Action, a dependent one, other- 
 wife the Effect would exceed the Vertue of the. producing. 
 Caufe, which is ablurd ! A 
 
 2d. Objection. 
 
QbjeSiions anfwered. 143 
 
 2d. Objection is this, That by the aforefaid Immutability, 
 God himfelf would not have a free Will, becaufe according to 
 it, he could not alter a conceived Re/olve. 
 
 Anf. God Almighty Wills, what he Wills, of rational 
 Complacency, and therefore Wills it freely. He acts accord- 
 ing to his Nature, and therefore freely. To fuppofe that God 
 can't Act freely without crofting his Nature, is to deftroy 
 the Happinefs and Simplicity of God, and fo by confequence 
 his very Being, and to afTert, that Liberty confifts in con- 
 ftxaint, which is a Contradiction. A 
 
 3d. Objection is, God threatens [owe Things which come 
 not to pafs, as in the Cafes of Hezekiah and Nineveh, 
 (2. Kings xx. i. Jonah m. 4.) 
 
 Af God difpenfeth his abfolute Purpofes to his Creature* 
 by conditional Promifes and Threatnings ; and tho' the Con- 
 ditions of Faith and Repentance be not always exprefTed, 
 yet they are imply'd.. Jer. xviii. 7, 8. If I [peak concerning 
 a Nation to deftroy it, if that Nation againjl whom I have 
 pronounced, turnfro?n their Evil, I will Repent oj the Evil 
 Itho't to do unto them. 
 
 Objection 4. God is (aid to repent, 
 
 Anf It's elfe where faid, that he is not a Man that he 
 fhould repent, i. e. He can't repent as Men do by chang- 
 ing his Purpofe, and in being forry for what he has done. 
 All that looks like Repentance in God, is an Alteration of 
 the Courfe of his Providence towards his Creatures, and 
 this is a change of the Work, not of the Workman, and 
 its only on this Account that Repentance is afcrib'd to 
 God. 
 
 Objection 5. God Wills and makes mutable Thi?igs. 
 
 Anf He does fo, but after an immutable Manner, even 
 as by his Eternity, which is deftitute of all Succeftion, he 
 directs fucceftlve and mutual Things. Its true the Revela- 
 tion 
 
j 44 Objections anfwered 
 
 tion of God's Will may be changed, whereby that may 
 be rendered a Duty at one Time which is not at another, 
 as appears from the Ceremonial Law : But thefe Changes be- 
 ing before determined by God, make no Alteration in 
 his Will, as Aquinas obferves, " Its one Thing to 
 cc change the Will a?id another to Will a Change" As St. 
 Augujline fayeth, " The Cloange is in us, not in God, as 
 " Hcufes and Trees feem to move to thofe that are in a Ship, 
 " but the Ship moves and they ft and firm. 
 
 Objection 6. The fecond Perfon of the Trinity was made 
 Man in Time, which he was not before \ and fo was changed. 
 
 I anfwer with Wciideline, " He ajfumed the human 
 " Nature, but was not changed 'into it, and this was but ac- 
 M xording to an Ail; of his Will from Eternity, and therefore 
 " he was wot changed, for all pofitive chajige is by fujfer'mg. 
 
 Objection 7. God isjaid to fufj'er Death. Act. xx. 28. 
 
 Anf. 'He did fufTer it, but not in himfelf, but in the af- 
 fumed human Nature, and fo is not chang'd. 
 
 Objection 8. God created the World in Time, which he did 
 ?iotfrom Eternity, 
 
 Anf. He did fo, but by that Power which is Eternal 
 and Immutable. Creation is nothing elfe but an Act of 
 God's Will from Eternity that the World iliould exift in 
 Time. Here the Creature is altered, but not the Will of 
 God. Neither dees any Thing accrue to God by the Crea- 
 tion but a meer Relation, which infers 110 change in him ! 
 
 Object. 9. What God Wills is not always done. 
 
 Anf. Yes, what he Wills is done, but in the Manner 
 he Wills. If he Wills only by commanding that the Thing 
 Commanded be our Duty, then that is done : If he Wills 
 by decreeing that any Thing mould exift., then it does exifr. 
 
 Object. 10. God loves feme Men whom he before hated, viz. 
 the EkB that are called, and therefore he is changed. 
 
 Anf 
 
Qbje&iom anfwered. y*r 
 
 Anf. Rational Affections are but Acts of the Will 'or its 
 Pcfturesto an Object, and thele are ever the fame in God. 
 Love or Hatred, as they are PaiTions, can't be properly 
 afcrib'd to God, for fuch would deftroy his Happinefs, Sim- 
 plicity and Perfection, and therefore they intend no more 
 but his Purpofe to confer Benefits upon his Creatures in 
 Time, or to punifh them together with the Execution thereof, 
 which is no more than an Act of his Will from Eternity,, 
 together with his Providence purfuant thereto in Time : Or 
 they intend that Perfons who were before expofed to the 
 Curfe of the Law, are now according to God's eternal 
 Purpofe delivered therefrom, which makes a Change in the 
 Creatures State but not in God, 
 
 Object. 1 1 . The Scriptures reprefent the Almighty as hav- 
 ing Complacency in his People. 
 
 Anf. Its true ; but this (hews only the Creatures confor- 
 mity to God's Nature, and therefore fignifles a Change in it, 
 but not in him. The Sun which was troublefome to fore 
 Eyes, is pleafant to them, being heal'd : Here the Sun is 
 not chang'd. but the Eyes. 
 
 Object. 1 2. If God be immutable, then what fgni fie s Prayer, 
 or the Life of any other Means ? 
 
 A?ifiz\ The Defign of Prayer, is not to move God, but 
 our felves, to exprefs our Allegiance to him, and get Pre- 
 paration for the Mercies he offers. A4oreover it may be 
 obferved, that Prayer is a mean in the Ufe of which God 
 is wont to confer Mercy. Now he immutably Wills the 
 Mean, as well as the End. But I proceed to the Improve- 
 ment. Now from what has been faid, we may learn, iff. 
 The Vanity and Emptinefs of all Creatures. God alone is 
 immutable, every thing under the Sun befides him, is frail 
 and fleeting, and hath no abiding ! The World is a roling 
 Wheel, and every thing in it, is fubject to change and mu- 
 
 T tation 
 
146 God's Immutability improved. 
 
 tation 5 yea even thofe Things, that feem moil Specious 
 and Stable, are in a continual Whirle-pool of Change, viz. 
 Nobles, Princes, Kings common Wealths, Kingdoms and 
 Empires : Both Scripture and Hiftory inform us, of the 
 Catairrophes, or Defolations, every of thofe is Subject to ! 
 Riches make to themfelves Wings oftentimes and fly away -, 
 Honour is but an instable blaft, often times conferr'd with 
 as little Judgment as it is remov'd j and Pleafure has no 
 liability : As for the Love of Friends, it often changes with 
 the Wind : How foolifh is it therefore to over love or con- 
 fide in fuch changeing Shadows of Good ? God is the only 
 Object worthy of our Love and Confidence ! Let us there- 
 fore life thefe things as tho' we ufed them not, with due 
 Weanednefs and Moderation, and acquiefs in the immutable 
 God only. And 
 
 2dly. Hence we learn the great ground of the Saints Perfeve- 
 rance. Is it any Thing in them, or any Thing refolved or done 
 by them? No, they are but Creatures, their Grace might fail, 
 as appears from the fall of the Angels, andof our firfr. Parents, 
 and their Refolutions might alter ; but the immutability of God 
 cannot. And this is the Ground of the Saints Perieverance. 
 Mai 3. 6. I am the Lord I change not, therefore the Sons 
 of Jacob are not confumed. God has fix 'd his everlafling Love 
 upon them, he has made an everlafting Covenant with them, 
 and given his unchangeable Promife to them, that he will 
 never leave them, and will he, can he go back, and fuffer his 
 Faithfulnefs to fail ? No, its impofiible. 
 
 odly, Hence we may learn, the awful Cafe of the fi- 
 nally impenitent. That God is unchangable, who hath 
 threatned to curie and deftroy them, and this they mull 
 everlaftingiy endure. After the Day of his Mercy expires, 
 he will be inexorable to all the Cries and Importunities of 
 the Wicked ; their dreadful Doom (hall never be reverfed ; 
 th-ir intolerable and inexprelTible Plagues, mail be immuta- 
 ble 
 
God's Immutability improv'd +aj 
 
 ble and eternal ! God is in every refpect Immutable, viz, 
 in his Effence, in his Attributes otju/lice, Wrath, and Ha- 
 tred againrl: Sin and Sinners ; in his Threatmngs as well as in 
 the Execution of them, which mall have no Remiffion in 
 Degree, and know no End ! O, mould not thefe iblemn 
 Considerations frighten Impenitents from Sin and Security, 
 to God and Goodnefs ! 
 
 4thly, Hence we learn alfo the great Ground Believers 
 have to trull and rejoyce in God in every Immergent. 
 God is the only Obj eel worthy of our Trull;, for he always 
 remains the fame, and will never fail them. He is the im- 
 moveable Rock, the unmaken Foundation upon which his 
 Church is Built ; againft which the Gates of Hell mall ne- 
 ver prevail. When we are perplex'd with a Sight and 
 Senfe of our own Treachery and Weaknefs, compar'd with 
 the Strength and Policy of our Enemies, or with a view of 
 the many Viciffitudes, Wars, Confufions, Calamities, Dif- 
 ceafes, and Deaths, which ma nkind are involv'd in and 
 expos'd to. What is a fvveeter Support than to think God 
 is a Rock, whofe Foundation {lands lure - y the Lord knows 
 who are his : That his faving Gifts are without Repentance, 
 and that Jehovah in the midft of thofe Changes, will be 
 unmov'd to his own, and prefent with them by his Strengh, 
 that they may not be mov'd, that he will remain Immuta- 
 ble in his Love and Grace, in his Purpofe and Promiies, 
 which are fo many and fo great ! And why then may we 
 not with the pious Prophet triumphing fay, yllthd' the Fig 
 Tree fhall not Blofom, neither jhall fruit be in the Viiies, the 
 Labour of the Olive Jhall fail, A?2d the Field f:all yield no 
 Meat, the Flock fall be cut off from the Fold, and there fall 
 be no Herd in the Stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord and 
 joy in the Gcd of my Salvation I What tho' all beneath the 
 Sun, were in a tumultuous Uproar: Our Rock Jehovah is 
 unmov'd^ and therefore let us trufl: and joy in him ! 
 
 T 2 Bu.: 
 
j 4 8 Goifs Immutability improved. 
 
 But in the laft Place, let us be exhorted to glorify the in- 
 corruptible and immutable God by our Thoughts, Speech 
 and Practice. Let us think highly, andfpeak reverently of this 
 venerable Attribute of God, lean: with the GentilePhilofophers,. 
 while we profefs our felves to be wife, we become Fools, 
 and change the Glory of the incorruptible God 1 But efpe- 
 cially let us glorify God in life by avoiding all inconstan- 
 cy in our pious Purpofes and Promifes made in the Co- 
 venant entred into at our Baptiim, and renew'd at the Lords 
 Supper : And O let us not be unliable in our PrcferTion of 
 Christ 'sTruth ! Or in love to him, or in the Practice of Piety ! 
 For by Levity and Inconftancy we contradict the Example of 
 the immutable God, in imitation ofwhom our Perfection con- 
 iifls. Let us therefore be Stedfaft in all the Duties we owe 
 to God and Man: And particularly let us be immoveable in 
 our adhering to the Truths of Go J, which are the Ground of all- 
 rational Religion* Without this, nothing remains but Confu- 
 fion, Enthuiiafm and Nonfenfe ! O Let us not be as Chil- 
 dren to fed about with every Wind of Doctrine, thro'' the 
 Craft and fugling of thofs thai he in wait to deceive ! O let 
 us beware of Wolves in Shceps clothing! This is a Time of 
 great Danger, the Moravian Foxes are trying with all fub- 
 tilty to defray the tender Grapes : Let us be as impregnable 
 Rocks againit thole Deceivers : It's Perfeverance Crowns all,, 
 if we be afhamed of Christ's Truths in this adulterous 
 Generation, of us will he beaihamcd at lair, when he comes 
 in his own and his Fathers Glory to judge the World : Flow 
 will daitardly Fugitives from the Camp of Christ Tremble 
 &C be Confounded, when they behold the incarnate God, the 
 Sovereign Lord andfuprcam Judge of Quick and Dead, feated 
 on his Saphire Throne, environ'u with Miriads of Angels 
 aray'd m all the Pomp of God, bearing all the Enfigns of 
 the moft fpapMhg and alloniming Majefty, the moil; blazing;; 
 and awful Glory!. 
 
The Spirituality of God, 149 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 JOHN, iv. 24. 
 
 God is a Spirit, and they that worjhip him, mujl worjhip him 
 in Spirit and in Truth. 
 
 HE SE Words are Part of our Lord's Anfwer to 
 the Woman of Samaria, concerning what fhe had 
 iaid refpecling worshipping God upon a particular 
 Mountain, by which our Saviour informs her, and 
 us by her, that the Ceremonial and Typical Sanctity or Ho- 
 liness of Places, which obtain' d under the Jewim Difpen- 
 fation, is now under the New-Teftament remov'd ; and that 
 fincere Service or Wormip, is accepted of by God every 
 where, without any refpect. had to the Place where it is per- 
 form' d. 
 
 Now the Text we are confidering contains three Things,, 
 1 ft. A general Defcription of God, viz. that he is a Spirit '; 
 God is call'd a Spirit, ift. negatively, becaufe he is not a 
 Body, 2<%. Analogically, " becaufe there are many Excel- 
 " lency's in fpi 'ritual Subjlances, which do more fiadow forth 
 " the Divine Nature, than any Bodily Thing can." As Dr„ 
 Ames obferves in his Medulla. 3dly. God is call'd a Spi- 
 rit properly and eminently,, inafmuch as he is moil remote 
 from all manner of Composition.. And altho' Angels and 
 the Souls of Men, have a kind of Simplicity, yet the Al- 
 mighty infinitely exceeds them therein 1 For whatsoever is 
 
 arfirm'd 
 
jfo The Spirituality of God. 
 
 afHrm'cI of God, which is communicable to Creatures, 
 the fame muft be underflood to be in him, in a more ex- 
 cellent and lingular Manner, and in an infinitely greater De- 
 gree. The third Perfon of the Trinity is not only calPd a 
 Spirit, hypofeahcally y and by Way of Appropriation, becaufe 
 of his Proceffion from the Father and the Son by a cer- 
 tain ineffable Breathing, but alfo every- Perfon of the facred 
 Trinity, is cail'd Spirit, cffentialfyy becaufe they all have the 
 fame immaterial Effence. 
 
 But 2dly. We have in the Text before us, a Defer ip- 
 tion of that JVorfeiip which is only acceptable to God, and 
 this confifts of two Parts, Spirit and Truth, ijjt. We mufl 
 worfepip Gcd in Spirit, i. e. Our Worfhip mufl proceed from 
 our Spirit, or inward Parts. Pfeal. 11. 6. Behold thou defer -eft 
 Truth in the Inward Parts Row. i. 9. For Gcd is my Wit- 
 nefs whom I fee rue with my Spirit, in the Gofepel of his Son. 
 That Worfhip which confifts only in Profemon and Exter- 
 nals, is far from being fpiritual. And zdly. We mufl wor- 
 feip God in Truth, not feeignedly by Hypocrify, but in the 
 Sincerity of our Heart, with the unleavened Bread of Sinceri- 
 ty and Truth. 1 Cor. v. 8. Not typically by Shadows and 
 Ceremonies, being in Bondage to Places and Times : For 
 the Law y the ceremonial Law, was given by Mofes, but 
 Graced Truth came by Jesus Christ. Johni. 17. Ana jdly. 
 we have in our Text the Necejvty of he aforefaid JVcr 
 reprefented, mufl worfl.ip him, &c. Bec.uifc God is a Spirit, 
 therefore he is delighted with the Spirit and fpiritual Tilings. 
 thefe are agreeable to his Nature : As alio becaufe God re- 
 jects the ceremonial Shadows under the New Te (lament, 
 and now efpeeialiy requires that fpiritual Worfhip, which 
 was prefigured by them. 
 
 In difcourfing upon this Text, I mall in the 
 I. Place offer fomewhat to confirm this Truth, viz.. 
 That God is a Spirit,. IL 
 
Explained and improved. x * 2 
 
 IL Shew the Analogy or Refemblance, between the Al- 
 mighty and created Spirits. 
 
 III. The unliknefs between them, 
 
 IV. Open the Nature of that fpiritual Wor/hip, which 
 we ought to perform to God. And 
 
 V. Proceed to ibme Improvement. And 
 
 ift. That God is a Spirit, appears from both the Old and 
 New Teftament, Judg. hi. 10. And the Spirit of the Lord 
 came upon Mm, Ezek. xi. 24. 2 Cor. iii, iy. Now the Lord 
 is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is 
 Liberty. And Reafon afTures us like wife, that God is a Spi- 
 rit. 
 
 1 ft. Becaufe a Spirit is the beft, higheft and pureft Nature, 
 it many Ways exceeds a Body, now God being the moft 
 perfect and excellent Exiftence, muft needs be a Spirit. 
 
 2dly. That God is a Spirit, may be juftly mferf'd from 
 his Infinity, which cannot confift of finite Parts as Bodies 
 do. Befides, 
 
 3dly. Bodies are dependant upon their Members, and 
 corruptible becaufe compounded ; but theie Things cannot 
 confift with the independancy , Jimplicity and incorruptibility ©f 
 the Supream Being. But the 
 
 2d. General Head of Difcourfe, was to mew the Ana- 
 logy or Refemblance, between the Almighty God and c?~eated 
 Spirits And 
 
 ift. Spirits are impalpable, they cannot be felt, they are 
 inaccemble to our Senfes, which require a Bodily Ob- 
 ject. The Reaion is this, that which is felt, muft be 
 more grofs than our Animal Spirits, which feel it. But 
 Angelical Subftances are much finer than our lenfi- 
 tive Spirits, which are made of the Coarfe Elements, 
 and therefore cannot be felt by them. Here our Lord con- 
 vinced 
 
i ^2 The fpirititality of God prov'd. 
 
 vinced his Difciples by this Argument of Senfe, that he 
 was no Spirit. Luke xxiv. 39. Behold my Hands and my Feef, 
 that it is I my Self, ha?idle me and fee, for a Spirit hath not 
 Flefh and Bones as ye fee me have. And God himfelf is 
 much more impalpable. And hence the Apoftle Paul ob- 
 ferves in his Epiftle to Timothy, vi. 16. That the Lord of 
 Lords only hath Immortality, dwelling in the Light, which no 
 Man can approach imto. Tho' we live and move in God, and 
 have cur Being from him, yet we are infenflble of his ejjenti- 
 al Prejcnce. 
 
 2dly Spirits are invifible Sub fiances, ift. They are Sub- 
 fiances net Accidents, for Accidents are but Qualities clea- 
 ving to a Sub/lance, which are therefore variable and Depend- 
 ant, as for Example, Whitnefs in the Wall : Whereas Spi- 
 rits are Exigences by themfelves, and God who is the Fa- 
 ther of Spirits, Exifts of himfelf abfolutely, 2dly. Spirits are 
 invifible, as well as intangible, and the Reafon is, becaufe 
 what is feen, muft be groifer than the Medium of Air, thro' 
 which we fee, and groffer than the Animal Spirits by which 
 v/e fee ; but Angelical Subfances are finer than both, and 
 therefore invifible to us. Neither does their affuming in 
 Antient Times human Bodies, or fome grofs Matter in the 
 Form of them, and appearing to Abram and others, in the 
 leafc contradict this : For it was the Body aflum'd that was 
 feen, and not they. And how much more is G^d himfelf 
 invifible, who infinitely exceeds all created Spirits, in fub- 
 lime Excellency. Hence he is call'd the King, Immortal, 
 Eternal, Invifible. 1 Tim. i. 17. And that he dwells in the 
 Light, which no Man can approach unto, which no Man hath 
 feen cr can fee. 1 Tim. vi. 16. And hence it is, that the 
 Almighty is faid to dwell in Jeer et. Mat. vi. 6. 
 
 3dly. Spirits are in their Nature Immortal, having nothing 
 in their Confutation tending to change or Corruption, be- 
 caufe 
 
The Spirituality of God explain d. \ 53 
 
 caule they confift not of various Parts, as Bodies do, which 
 may be difunited y and thus have their Form alter'd. Nei- 
 ther are Spirits, becaufe of the Subtilty and rlnenefs of their 
 Nature, fo lyable to Imprerlions by inferior Beings, as Bodies 
 are, but ftill they are fubject to the Controle of him, who- 
 gave them Being. But God himfelf is absolutely incorrup- 
 tible. Mai. in. 6. I am the Lord, I change not. 
 
 4thly. Spirits are the moft perfecl and ^excellent Beings. 
 The Souls of Men and Angels, are much more noble than 
 Bodies, and all Beings purely Material, and how infinitely 
 does the blehed God exceed the fublimeft Seraphims, in 
 Excellency and Perfection ? 
 
 5thly. Spirits are the firongejl of created Beings, hence 
 they are cali'd Principalities and Powers 'and faid to ex- 
 eel in Strength. Pfa. ciii. 20. Blefs ye the Lord his Angels, 
 that excel in Strength. And hence the Weaknefs of Flem 
 is oppos'd to Spirit. I/a. xxxi. 3 . And is net Jehovah wife 
 in Heart, and mighty in Stre??gth ? Who has hardened him 
 felf againjl God and'prefpered? The combin'd Strength of 
 all the Angels, together with the whole Pofle of created 
 Beings, is no more in Comparifon of the Power of God, 
 than a Drop to the great Ocean, or a little Duft in the Bal- 
 lance with the whole Earth. The Almighty takes up the Ijles 
 as a very little Thing, and all Nations before him are as No- 
 thing, and they are counted to him lefs than Nothing, and Va- 
 nity Ifa. xl. 15, 17. 
 
 6thly. Spirits are the moft nimble in their Motions, and 
 unwearied in their Actings, of all created Beings. One of 
 them is faid fly from the third Heaven to the Earth in a 
 few Hours (Dan. xxi. 22.) Now feeing God himfelf is a 
 pure Act, muft he not of Confequence, be the moft agile and 
 active of all Beings, hence he is figuratively reprefented 
 by the Pfalmift, to ride upon a Cherubim, and fly upon the 
 
 U Wings 
 
i j 4 *The Spirituality of God explain' d. 
 
 Wings of the Wind, Pf. xviii. 10. And hence Ifaiah obferves, 
 that the Creator of the Ends of the Earth fai?iteth not y neither 
 is weary. If a. xl. 28. 
 
 ythly. Spirits are endow' d with Vnderftandings and Wills, 
 & are capable of putting forth Actions agreeable thereto, which 
 Beings purely Material, have no Capacity for. e. g. The 
 Sun tho' it be a Beautiful Creature, becaufe material, is not 
 capable of Tho't or moral Action, both which Angels and 
 die Souls of Men can exert. And hath not God himfelf an 
 Underftanding that is Infinite, and a Will which no created 
 Power can control ? 
 
 But tho' there be fome likenefs between Godand the Crea- 
 tures in fome Things, yet it muft. be frill remembred, that 
 he infinitely tranfcends their nobleft Excellency's and in ma- 
 ny Things is unlike them Pfal. cxlviii. 1^. Let them Praije 
 the Name of the Lord, for his Name alone is excellent, and 
 his Glory is above the Earth and Heaven. This leads to the 
 
 3d. General Head which was to fhew the DifTimulitude 
 or Unlikenefs been God and created Spirits, even of the 
 higheft order, which appears in the following Instances, viz. 
 
 1 ft. The Excellencies of created Spirits are derivd from 
 him to whom they owe their Beings, who is therefore 
 ftil'd the Father of Spirits, and the God of the Spirits of all 
 FleJJj, Heb. xii. 9. But as the Almighty had no Beginning 
 of Exiftence, consequently his Perfections muft be undc- 
 riv'd and Eternal. 
 
 2dly. The Excellencies of created Spirits, are but com- 
 parative, viz. that they excell the beft of material Beings 
 in their Nature and Properties, whereas the BlefTed God ex- 
 cells both material and immaterial. 
 
 3dly. The Beings and Excellencies of created Spirits 
 are limitted, their being Creatures proves them to be finite. 
 He that made them muft needs give Bounds to their Beings, 
 
The Spirituality of God explain' d. 155 
 
 ib that they cannot fill all Places at once. And Infinite 
 Excellency's cannot be pofifefs'd by any Thing that is in its- 
 Nature finite. But as the Being of God is felf-exiftent, and 
 therefore unlimited, fo his Perfections are infinite. 
 
 4thly. The Excellencies of created Spirits are dependant 
 & alterable, becaufe deriv'd from another, they muft depend 
 on him who form'd them. Angels themfelves, who are 
 the nobleft of created Spirits, inafmuch as they once were 
 not, are capable of returning to their former Nonentity : 
 They are alio capable of the Impreffions of Happineis and 
 Mifery ; fome of them have fallen from their original State of 
 Holinefs &Happineis -, but none of thefe Things are applica- 
 ble to God, he is far from the Shadow of Change, an inde- 
 pendant God. Who tho' he is happy, can neither be made 
 happy or miierable. He only hath immortality. 
 
 £thiy. Angels are under the Dominion of God, they muft 
 needs owe Subjection and Homage to him, who gave them 
 their Exiftence. And this their very Name A?igel or Mef- 
 fenger imports. But it is the unalienable and incommuni- 
 cable Prerogative of Jehovah alone to be fupream and above 
 all Control. 
 
 But I proceed to the 4th general Head which was to 
 open the Nature of that fpiritual Worfhip, which we ought 
 to perform to that God, who is a Spirit, &c. 
 
 ift. It imply's fpiritual Principles, viz. Experimental 
 Knowledge of God and our Selves, fuch as affects and humbles 
 us, and makes us judge our felves, with holy Paul, to be 
 lejs than the Leaf of all Saints. , Without Knowledge, fays Solo- 
 mon, the Mind cannot be good. And Indeed we cannot love 
 rationally without fome Knowledge of the Object we love. 
 
 adly. Another Principle of fpiritual Wcrfiip, is Love, 
 tranfeendent Love to God in Christ, becaufe of his un- 
 parallePd and inexprefiible Excellency, whereby we choofe 
 
 U 2 God 
 
J 5 6 Spiritual Worfhip explained. 
 
 God as the only Portion of our Souls, and his Worship a< 
 our moft agreeable Entertainment. (Jof. xxiv. 15.) 
 
 3<ily. Another Principle of fpiritual Worjhip is Faith in 
 the eternal God, Father, Son and Spirit, even fuch Faith as 
 renews the Heart, and reforms the Practice : For he that 
 comes to God muft believe that he is, and that he is a Re- 
 warder of thoje that wif eigne dly Jeek him, But 
 
 2dly. Spiritual Worfiip implies a fpiritual End, notour 
 own Credit or worldly Intereft, with the Pharifees of Old ; 
 but God's Glory, and in Subordination thereto, our own and 
 our Neighbours Spiritual Good and Edification. This is to 
 ferve God with our Spirits, as the Apoftle Paul exprefles 
 it [Rom. i. 9.) If we fhould refer all our natural and ci- 
 cil Actions to the Glory of God, how much more our Reli- 
 gious ? Whether in eating or drinking, or whatfoever we do 
 we Jhoidd do it all to the Glory of God. See Col. iii. 22,23. Not 
 with Eye Service, fuch as MenPleafers, but in finglenefs of 
 Heart fearing God. And whatfoever ye do, do it heartily, as 
 to the I,ord and ?iot unto Men. 
 
 3 dly. Spiritual Worflnp, implies a fpiritual Rule, not the 
 Cuftoms of the Age we live in, or the Inventions or Tra- 
 ditions of Men, but the written Word of God, tills is furM- 
 cient to make the Man of GodPerfecf, and thoroughly furni (lied 
 to every good Work. To thofe that walk according to this 
 Rule, Peace be on the?n and on Ifrael of God. lo the Law and 
 to the Teflimony, iftheyfpeak not according to this Word, it is 
 becaufe there is no Light in them. Ifa. viii. 20. As God on- 
 ly knows what Worfhip will be acceptable to him, fo he 
 only has a Right to prefcribe Acts of Wnrfhin, being the 
 Creator and Lord of all, and therefore when Men add to 
 the divine Institutions, as they abridge their fellow Creatures 
 of the Liberty God has gracioufly given them, lb they u- 
 furp the divine Prerogative, and injurioufly reflect upon the 
 
 Wifdom 
 
The Spirituality ofGodimprov'd. \ §j 
 
 WiiUom and Fidelity of the great Legiflator. Our Lord 
 charged the Pharifees, with vain Worjhip becaufe they 
 taught for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. 
 
 4thly. Spiritual Worship, implies a fpiritual Manner of 
 Performance, And this is when the Heart joyns with the 
 outward Man in God's Service, when we do it out of 
 Choice. (Jofi.vxlv. 15.) When we long for anabfent God, Pf. 
 xlii. 1. When we heartily lament his Abfence, with fob. 
 O that I knew where I could find him ! When we rejoyce in 
 his Prefence ! [Phil. iii. 3.) When under a Senfe of our 
 Inability to perform Duty aright, without the Help of the Spi- 
 rit thro' Christ, and our Unworthinefs of that Help, 
 we rely upon the Lord Jesus for Strength. Thus the Spoufe 
 is faid to come out of the Wildemefs, leaning on her Beloved* 
 But I proceed to the Improvement of this Subject. And 
 
 ^ift. From the fpirituality of God, or from his Being a 
 Spirit, we may infer his Simplicity. A Spirit, as all acknow- 
 ledge, is an immaterial Being, and therefore a fimple one. 
 If it be objected, that Angels and the Souls of Men are 
 called Spirits in Scripture, and yet they are not altogether 
 fimple. Anf. They are fo only in a diminitive Senfe, by 
 Way of analogy, becaufe they come neareft of all to the 
 Spirituality of God. But God himfelf is moft properly & per- 
 fectly a Spirit. The Holy Scriptures teach this Simplicity of 
 God, fo often as it reprefents him not in compounded or in 
 concrete Terms, but in fimple and abftract ones. e. g. When 
 he is therein call'd Love. 1 John iv. 8. He that Loveth not, 
 kncwcth not God, for God is Love. 2dly. God is call'd Life. 
 1 Joh. v. 20. This is the true God and eternal Life. 3dly He 
 is faid to be Light in which there is noDarknefs at all, 1 John 
 i. c. /. e. His Godhead has nothing of a different kind, 
 which is not pure Godhead. 
 
 And 
 
I 58 The Divine Simplicity 
 
 And indeed the Simplicity of God, follows necefiarily from 
 many other of God's Perfections, e. g. ift. From his Self- 
 Exi/lence, by which he is abfolutely the firft Being, if by Com- 
 pofition there were different Things in God, then there would 
 be many firft Things, of which none would be abfolutely 
 the firft, becaufe not before the Parts join'd with it : More- 
 over if God were compounded, there muftbe one to com- 
 pound him, who muft exift before the firft, which is im- 
 portable. And zdfy, The Simplicity of God follows from 
 his Independency: For on the contrary, what is compound- 
 ed cannot be Independent, for then the whole depends upon 
 the compofing Parts, and the Union of thole Parts depends 
 upon the Compofer. 3dly, God is immutable and therefore 
 a fimple Being, for whatsoever is compounded, is liable 
 to be difolv'd into the Parts of which the Compofition is 
 made, and thus it is changeable. /j.thly. The Eternity of 
 God proves him to be a fimple Being, for whatibever has had a 
 Beginning may have an End ! To this we may farther add, 
 Wis Infinity and Perfections. And ift. If God be Infinite, 
 as the Scriptures afTerts when it informs us, That he fills the 
 Heaven and Earth, and that the Heaven of Heavens cannot 
 contain him, than he is a fimple Being : For whatibever is 
 compounded is finite, the Parts compofing muft needs be 
 finite, becaufe they are lefs than the Whole. And it is im- 
 pofiible for a Number of finite Parts to produce Infinity, 
 adly. If God be a moft Perfect Bei?ig as the Scripture after ts 
 Mat. v. 48. Be P erf eel as your Heavenly Father- is Per feel t 
 then he is a fimple one. Becaufe not only all Men acknow- 
 ledge that it is more Perfect to be Wifdom itfelf, than to be 
 Wife, to be Goodnefs it felf, than to be Good : But alio the 
 Notion of a Part involves a manifold Imperfection, inafmuch 
 as it has not the Perfection of the Whole, and pre-requires 
 a Compofer, 
 
 Now 
 
Proved and Explain' d \ $ 9 
 
 Now the Simplicity of God is a divine Property whereby he 
 is void of all Composition, Mixture and Divifon, being all 
 Effence, Jo that whatfoever is in God, is God. The Almighty 
 by his Simplicity is free from all Kinds of Compofition, by 
 which different Things unite. As particularly, 
 
 1 ft. From a Compofition of quantitative or bulky Parts 
 which belongs to Bodies ; but God is a Spirit, as has been al- 
 ready made evident. 
 
 2dly, Of efj'ential Parts, fuch as Matter and Form, thefc 
 belong only to Bodies-, but God is immaterial. 
 
 3 dly, Of Subjlance and Accident. Seeing that all Acci- 
 dents are judg'd more imperfect than the Subftances to 
 which they belong, and are liable to change, as Whitenefs 
 in the Wall, they are therefore incOnfiftent with the divine 
 Perfection. 
 
 4thly. Of Effence and Exifience, feeing that Exigence 
 is but an Act of the Effence, and nothing different from it, 
 which might infer a Compofition. 
 
 4thly. Of G etuis and Difference, which every Species 
 contains : God is a Being above Being, in nothing he agrees 
 with others, but in all Things he differs from all. But on 
 the Contrary, every Creature is fubject to Compofition, and 
 confequently to Divifion. All Things which are created* 
 are made by joining together into one, more Things than 
 one, and fo they confift of divers Things. Some have a 
 more grofs Compofition of Parts, both Effential and Inte- 
 gral. As a Man, of Soul and Body 5 and the Body of Flefh, 
 Blood and Bones. Some have a finer Compofition, e. g. 
 an Angel is compounded of Subjlance and Accidents that 
 cleave thereto. His Subftance or Effence, his Faculties 
 and Qualities are different Things. His Life is one Thing } 
 his Will, Power, Wifdom, Agility, or Nimblenefs other 
 Things. And the fame may be laid of his Goodnefs, which 
 
 the 
 
t6o The Spirituality of God improved. 
 
 the Scriptures inform us, fome Angels have loft and yet retain 
 their Beings. And thus the Soul of Man and all other 
 Creatures are made up of many Things joined together. 
 
 But God is ablblutely Simple, without Parts or Accidents j 
 his Eflence and Attributes are all one Thing in him, tho' 
 differently conceiv'd of by us ! But here let it be carefully 
 obferved, that Simplicity, as it is oppos'd to Wifdom, which 
 is fometimes the Senfeof the Word in Scripture (Pro. i. 22.) 
 cannot without the greateft Blafphemy be aicrib'd to God. 
 It is therefore Simplicity only, as it is oppos'd to Mixture and 
 Competition, that is to be afcrib'd to God. " That is pre- 
 " perly called Simple (fays Zanchy) which is not compojed of 
 " different Things. And by how much the lefs any Thing is 
 " compounded, fo much the more Simple it is, and is 
 u caWdr But 
 
 2dly. Is God a Spirit? Then we mould frame no refem- 
 blance of him in our Thoughts as tho' he were a material 
 Being or had a Body ! And far lefs mould we form Ficlures 
 and Images of God, cither for Decency or Devotion. It is 
 Folly with a Witnefs to pretend to draw the Lineaments or 
 Form of an immaterial and invifible Beino;. And indeed it 
 is an idolatrous Practice, which theAlmighty ftriclly caution'd 
 the People of Ifrael againft, Dent. vi. 12, j 5, 1 6. .And the 
 Lord [pake unto you out of the mid/l of the Fire, ye heard the 
 Voice of the Words but faw 110 Jimilitude ; take therefore good 
 Heed unto your/elves, for ye faw no manner of Similitude in 
 Horeb, left ye corrupt your] elves and make you a graven 
 Image, the Similitude of any Figure, the lihenejs of Male 
 or Female. But 
 
 odly. Is God a Spirit? Then he is the moft fuitable Good 
 to our Souls, which are Spirits. As he is a ipiritual" Being, 
 he fuits their Nature and can communicate himfelf to them , 
 And> as he is All-fumcicnt, lie can fully fat-iffy their moft 
 
 extenfivfc 
 
Spiritual Worfhip apply 'd. i 6 i 
 
 sxteniive Defires. But on the Contrary, tho' earthly Enter* 
 tainments may gratify our ienfhal Appeties, yet, becaufe of 
 their grofs and elementary Nature, they cannot fatisfy, and 
 do not fuit our Souls, neither in reipect of their Nature 
 and Dignity, or their Defires -and Duration. It was there- 
 fore exceeding fbolifh in the rich Man to lav to his Soul, 
 in refpect of fuch Things, that it had much Goods laid up for 
 many Tears. Such Entertainments can no more fatisfy the 
 anxious Soul, than Hufks, Gravel-Stones, or the Eaft Wind 
 can fatisfy the cravings of our Stomach ! And it is with 
 great Juftice that the Scriptures afcribe fuch ignominious 
 Epithets to all earthly Good, to fignify in the ftrongeft. Terms 
 its infufficiency to content the Mind. 
 
 4thly. Is God a Spirit'? This fhews us then the ne- 
 neceffity of Spiritual Wormip. This indeed is plainly ex- 
 prefs'd in our Text. Such a Wormip is fuitable to the Na- 
 ture of God, and will be only accepted by him. The jufmefs 
 of this inference fome of the Pagans difcovered by the Dint 
 of Natures Light. Cato Jtpeaka excellently about it in his 
 Difticks, in the following Manner. 
 
 Sideus ejlanimus iiobis ut carmina dicunt. 
 Hie tibi precipue fit pur a mente colendus, i. e. 
 
 If God is a Spirit, as the Poets inform us, then cur cheif 
 Care, mould be to wormip him with a pure Mind. 
 
 And feeing this fpiritual Wormip is the Touch-Stone of 
 true Chriftianity, we mould be hereby enduced to exa- 
 mine ourfelves with all Speed and Serioufnefs, whether we 
 perform it or not, and that by an impartial and deliberate 
 Application of what has been faid concerning it, in the 
 doctrinal Part of this Difconrfe. N'owifupon Tryal we 
 find the aforeiaid Characters of fpiritual Worship in us, we 
 may and ought to rejoyce in Chrift Jefus, notwithstanding 
 our many defects, becaufe we are compleat in him; Sincere 
 Intentions are accepted for Performance^, efpecially when an- 
 
 X opportunity 
 
i 6 2 7&<? Spirituality of God Improved. 
 
 opportunity for Action does not prefent it felf. Thus it was 
 in David's Cafe, altho' lie did not actually build the Tem- 
 ple, yet becaufe he honeftly purpofed to do it, the Almigh- 
 ty look'd upon it as done. 
 
 But fuch as are deftitute of the aforelaid Characters who 
 worfhip God who is a Spirit, without Spirit ; who draw near 
 to God with their Lips, while their Hearts are far from him j 
 who reft in a dead Form of Devotion j who content themfelv'es 
 with bodily Exercife, which profits little, and in the mean 
 Time with their Minds ferve themfelves, all iiich are in a 
 doleful Cafe, their fpecious Worfhip bein:2; deftitute of 
 Spirit and Soul, is dead, and ftinks before God as a dead 
 Corps that is putrify'd does in our Noftrils ! Such Services 
 fehovah cajh as Dung upon their Faces, Mai. 23. Such 
 in the Judgment of God are Hypocrits, and fuch he pronoun- 
 ces a Woe upon, Mat. xxiii. 25, 26. Wo unto you Scribes 
 and Pharifees, Hypocrits, for ye make clean the out fide of 
 the Cup and Platter ■, but within they are Jul I of Extortion 
 and Excefs. 
 
 5thly, Is God a Spirit ? Then let us purify our Spirits or 
 Hearts more and more from all fpiritual Wickednds, and 
 devote them to God. Now the Defires or luftsof the Mind, 
 which War againft it, and ought to be pureed away, are 
 thefe, viz. Ignorance, fpiritual Blindnefs, Pride, I;:fU-l : iy, 
 Hypocrify. We mould be enduced to oppoie fpiritual Evils 
 by the following Considerations, ift. Becaufe they make us 
 molt like the Devils, who are fpiritual WickednefTes. 
 
 2dly. Becaufe Sin is ftrongeft in the Spirit, as its Foun- 
 tain. 
 
 3dly, Becaufe God who is a Spirit, as he is pleafed with 
 fpiritual Services, fo he is principally offended with ipirituai 
 Abominations ! Befides, thofe Evils are especially contrary to 
 the Perfection of the fpiritual Law of God. Now we mould 
 
 endeavour 
 
The Spirituality of G W Improved. 163 
 
 endeavour to purge our Hearts from the aforefaid Evils, by 
 Watchfulnefs in oppoling the firft evil Motions, by medita- 
 ting on the divine Word, by repeated Ads of Faith upon 
 Christ, and by earneft Prayer. And we mould be incited 
 to give our Hearts and our Spirits to God by coniidering 
 ift. That he requires it, my Son give me thine Heart. 
 
 2dly, He lias the beft Right to it, for he h&s made it, he 
 is the Father of Spirits. 
 
 3<ily, He bell deferves it alio in Point of Gratitude, 
 on Account of his preferving,. providing, and redeeming 
 Love. 
 
 4thly, It ought to be given to him alfo in point of Inte- 
 reft, for he can only fatisfy it with fuitable and enduring Good ! 
 Let us there commit our Spirits into his Hands, that he may 
 iujiijy them by the Blood and Obedience of his Son, and 
 faiiSlify them by his Spirit, and at laft receive them into his 
 Kingdom. 
 
 Is God a fimple Being? Then let us glorify him upon the 
 Account of this Attribute, by which he is fo much exalted 
 above all changeable and Compounded Beings ! and let us 
 with iimplicity entirely depend upon him in all ad- 
 verfity ! He is Light to dired: us, Power to fupport us, 
 Love to refrefh us, yea he is our Life and Salvation ! His 
 iimplicity makes him an Object worthy of Truft and Con- 
 fidence, for he will not deceive the Expectations of the 
 Poor. And fliould not we Endeavour to imitate the Sim- 
 plicity of God in Heart and Converfation ? Let us ferve God, 
 not with a double Heart, as Hypocrits, who look two con- 
 trary Ways; but with Simplicity, which includes theie Things 
 in it, viz. Purity, Sincerity, and Co?iJfancy. . ift. With Purity? 
 of Heart, Hence our Saviour pronounces a bleiiing upon 
 thole who are pure in Heart, i. e. Who love, lone for 
 
 A 2 and 
 
164 &&* divine Simplicity Improved. 
 
 .and labour after Holinefs in Heart, and do not habitually 
 indulge the Contrary.! 
 
 2dly, Sincerity, and that is when a Perfon by one direct 
 Line, aims at God's glory in the general Courie of all their 
 Actions, Natural, Civil, and efpecially Religious. Hence 
 our Lord informs us, that if our Eye be Jingle our whole Body 
 is full of Light, Mat. vi. 22. And 
 
 3<dly, That this pure and fincere Heart contends towards 
 its Mark, with a Conjlant and as much as may be uniform 
 Endeavour, the want of which makes Perfons injlable in all 
 their Ways, Jam. i. 8. And we mould alio be iimple in 
 Co?iverfation, after the Example of the Apoftles., avoiding all 
 Deceit, Faljhood and Guile, 2 Cor. i. 12. This is our rejoycing 
 even the Teftimony of our Conferences, that i?i fmplicity and 
 godly fincerity, not with flefily JVifdom we have had our Con- 
 versation in the World. We mould be excited hereto by 
 the following Motives, ift. Becaufe hereby we imitate God 
 in his primary Perfection, which is the greaten: Excellency 
 of the reafonable Creature. 2dly. Such are BleiTed by our 
 Lord (Mat. v. 8.) 3dly. Simplicity is the Foundation of 
 Conftancy, as a double Mind is of Inconftancy. 4thly. The 
 double Minded are abhor'd by God, and muff, (o continu- 
 ing, expect perpetual ruin. (Pfa. xiij 
 
 SERMON 
 
The divine Immenfity and Omniprefence proved. 1 65 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 PSALMS cxlv. 3. 
 Great 1 s the Lord, and greatly to be praifed\ and his Great- 
 nefs. is imfearchable. 
 
 THIS Text represents to us the Infinity of God's Ef- 
 ience or Being, and the Necefiity of Honouring 
 him on this Account. And iff. we have a Re- 
 prelentation of the Infinity of the divine Being, 
 more generally in thefe Words, great is the Lord 'or Jehovah r 
 Here God, denominated by his ErTence, is faid to be great : 
 For the Name Jehovah intends his ErTence Or Being, that 
 thus we might know his ErTence is Infinite. TheWord great 
 muft either refer to Quantity or Quality, if to Quantity, 
 then either to Number or Magnitude ; in refpect of Num- 
 ber God is one, but fo one, as eminently to include yea ex- 
 ceed all ! In -refpect of Magnitude, God is great withoutQuan- 
 tity, as he is good without Quality, i. e. As his Good nefs 
 is not any Thing added to his Being, as it is in Creatures ; 
 but is the fame with it, fo his Greatnefs does not confift 
 in the Bulk or Dimenfions of Bodys, fuch as Heigth, Depth, 
 Breadth, &c- 
 
 But if the Word great, be apply'd to Quality, then it 
 denotes the Excellency of a Thing or Perfon, together with 
 an eminent Degree of that Excellency. And thus it is 
 
 with 
 
1 6 6 The divine Immenjity, 
 
 with God, he exceeds all others in Excellency ; but we 
 have in the Words of our Text, a more Particular Deli, r'p- 
 tion of the Infinity of the divine Being, in theie Words. 
 And his Greatnefs is nnfe arch able, or as the Words are in- 
 terpreted by others, has no End, as that which is finite 
 may be fearched, lb on the contrary that which is un- 
 fearchable muft needs be Infinite, 'Job. 5'. 9. Which doth 
 great Things and unfearchable, marvellous Things without 
 Number. Rom. xi. 33. the Depth of the Riches, both of 
 the IVifdom and Knowledge of God, how unfearchable are his 
 Judgments, and his Ways pa/f finding out I Which is empha- 
 tically exprefs'd by comparative Terms, whereby God is 
 laid to be greater than all other Gods. 2 Chron. ii. 5. And 
 the Houfe which I build is great, for great is our God above 
 all Gods. Pfal. exxxv. 5. For I know that the Lord is great , 
 and that our Lord is above all Gods. i. e. Not only above 
 Emperors, Kings, Princes and Magiftrates, who are call'd 
 Gods, becauie they bear ibme Image of the divine Sove- 
 reignty, by their Superiority and Power of Government ; but 
 alfo above all faife Gods, who are great in the Opinion ot 
 their Worfhippers. The Number of which in the Time of 
 Hefiod, was above Thirty Thouiand, to every of which was 
 afiign'd fome peculiar Perfection j without doubt then, he 
 who is greater than all thofe mult needs be infinite, and 
 ought to be praifed as iuch j which is the 2d. Particular 
 our Text contains. Great is the Lord 'and greatly to be prais 7/. 
 God fhould be greatly honour'd by cair Minds, and highly 
 extol'd by our Lips and Lives. lie fhould be prais'd in the 
 fuperlative Degree, more than any, more than all, becauie he 
 is greater and more excellent than all, in his Being and Per- 
 fections. In diicourfing upon this Text, I /hall 
 
And Omniprefence opened i6j 
 
 I. Endeavour to prove that God is infinite in his Eflence. 
 
 II. Labour to explain the Nature thereof, And 
 
 III. Speak of his Immenfity or Omniprefence, which re- 
 fults therefrom, andfo proceed to the Improvement. And 
 
 i ft. The Scriptures afTert the Infinity of God's Effence, not 
 only in thofe Places already mentioned, but alfo in thefe 
 following viz. Jobxxxvl. 26. Behold God is greats and wc 
 know him not, neither can the Number oj his Tears be fear ch- 
 ed out, Job. xi. 7, 8, 9. Can ft thou by fe arching find out God, canfi 
 thou find out the Almighty unto Perfection, it is high as Heaven, 
 what canfi thou do, deeper than Hell what canfi thou know? The 
 Meafure thereof' is longer than the Earth, and broader than 
 the Sea. AndReafon alfo confirms the fame Truth, as appears 
 by the following Particulars, viz. 
 
 ift. If God's Being and Perfections are incom'prehenfi- 
 ble, as has been proved in this, and in a preceeding Sermon, 
 then certainly they are infinite. The great Reafon why 
 Men and Angels cannot grafp the Knowledge of the di- 
 vine Being is, becaufe it is too vail: an Object for their fi- 
 nite Capacities to compafs. 
 
 2diy. There is nothing in Creatures that argues an End 
 or Defect, either in their Being, Power, Prefence, or Dura- 
 tion ; for which they are call'd finite, which is not very alien 
 or remote from God, and therefore he is Infinite. 
 
 3dly. He created tat World out of nothing, which re- 
 quir'd infinite Power, becaule of an infinite Diftance which 
 was to be overcome, between nothing; and fomethino". 
 
 4thly. Seeing the higheft Perfection, is neceflarily includ- 
 ed in the Notion of a God, and this the Scriptures confirm, 
 by calling him the mo/i High, Pfal. xviii. 13. Then his Be- 
 ing and Attributes are Infinite : For fomething higher and 
 
 more 
 
i 6$ The divine Immenfty, 
 
 more excellent than finite may be conceiv'd, viz. lbme- 
 thing that is Infinite. And 
 
 5thly. Seeing he is abfolutely the firft Being lie mrrft of 
 Neceflity be Infinite, for thus there can be none before him, 
 to limit his Being and Perfections. If his Being had any 
 Bounds, it could not be abfolute. The Reafon why Crea- 
 tures are finite is, becaufe they are made by another, who 
 has circumfcrib'd their Beings within certain Limits. Now 
 that God is abfolutely the firft Being, exifting of himfelf. 
 has been already prov'd in a preceeding Sermon. 
 
 6thly. Forafmuch as all the various Perfections of Crea- 
 tures, both Angelical and Human in Heaven and Earth, 
 are borrow 'd from God. He who is the unexhauited Foun- 
 tain, from which they all flow, mu(t be Immenfe and In- 
 finite : For furely the Giver rnuft be greater than the Recei- 
 ver. Hence is that' notable Scripture. Rem. xi. ^5, 36. 
 Who hathfrjl given to him and itjjball be reaompenfed 'ttnta ■■* 
 him again, for of him, and thro' him, and to him arc all 
 Things. I proceed to cenfiderthe 
 
 2d, Propos'd which was to explain the Nature of God's 
 Infinity, efpecially in hisEJfhicc j which may be thirs defcrib'd, 
 viz. That it is an incommunicable Property of- Jehovah. 
 whereby he is without all Bounds and Limitations in his- Be* 
 ing and Perfections. The Infinity of God rriny be faid to 
 reipecl, either his Attributes or his Being ; as it relpecls his 
 Attributes, thus hisjuftice, Power, Wii'dom, Holinefs, Grace, 
 Mercy, and Duration, are laid to be Infinite in Scripture. 
 that is without Bounds, Limits; or End. As it refpects his Be- 
 ing, it fignifics that it neither is, or can be bounded, neither 
 outwardly by an cncompafTing Body, as material Things 
 are, nor inwardly, by proper Limits, as created Spirits. All 
 Creatures both Human and Angelical as well as others are 
 
 bounded 
 
And Omniprefence opened.. 169 
 
 bounded by their Effences, the Form acting upon the Mat- 
 ter limits it within its own Confines. But God is unlimited, 
 and can't be fearched out to Perfection, yob. xi. 7. And in- 
 deed this is applicable to all that can be laid of him I 
 Hence fays the Pfalmift bis underftanding is infinite. And 
 indeed infinity is the peculiar Glory of God, whereby he is 
 diftinguifh'd from and far advanced above all fecondary 
 Being?. 
 
 God is infinite not according to the Etimology of the 
 Word, which refpects an End only, for he is without Be- 
 ginning and End. Zanchy obferves, " That a Thing is caWd 
 " privativly Infinite, which indeed hath not an End, but 
 t: can have it. This is applicable to the noblejl Creatures 
 s: even to Angels and the Souls of Men. 
 
 " And 2-dly. That that is negatively infinite, which neither- 
 " has nor can have any End.''' In this Senfe God only is 
 infinite, yet when we fay that God is negatively infinite,, 
 a pofitive Perfection is thereby intended. " Infinity (faith 
 " Gomarus) is an abfolute property of the EfTence of God, 
 " which is not limitted or circumfcrib'd by any Terms, or 
 K Bounds of Caufe or Meafure." To explain this, let it be 
 obferv'd, that every Creature hath a fourfold Limitation, viz.. 
 Gf the Kind of Being, Degrees of Being, of Ti/ne and Place. 
 
 And. iff. Creatures are limitted as to their Kinds of 
 Being, fome are of one Kind, and fame of another 
 fome are fimple, fome compounded, fome have Bodies, 
 fome not, fome have Life, fome none, fome have Senfe 
 fome none. The great Creator hath fix'd them in their fe- 
 veral Kinds and Orders, that fo the whole Frame of Things 
 may be beautify'd with variety. But God himfelf is not li- 
 mited to any kind of Being. He hath in himfelf all Kinds, 
 not fubjectively, but eminently. 
 
 2diy. Creatures are limited to Degrees of Being and 
 Gocdncf, or Excellency, fome have higher and fome lower 
 
 Y Degrees, 
 
i 7 o The divine Immenfty and 
 
 Degrees, but the Being of God is abfolute perfect and infinite 
 and fo beyond ail Degrees and Meafures ; and thus are all 
 his Attributes which fpring from his Being, and on- 
 ly differ therefrom in our Manner of conceiving. 
 
 3cily Creatures are limited as to Time ovDuration_ they have 
 a Beginning either with or in Time, and a Succeflion in Du- 
 ration, and either have or may have an End. But God is 
 Eternal an Everiafting Now, without Beginning;, Succeflion, 
 or End. 
 
 4thly. Creatures are limitted as to Place, they are includ- 
 ed in a Place, and cannot be every where at once, but God 
 is Immenfe and Omniprefent. And thus I am led to fpeak 
 upon the 
 
 3d, Propos'd, viz. the Immenfty and Omniprefcnce of 
 God. Thefe Words reprefent the lame Thing after a diffe- 
 rent Manner. Infinity, as it cannot be meafured by Place, 
 or any other Dimenfions of Length, Breadth, Depth, Height, 
 iscall'd Immenjity. As it exfifts with every Creature, it 
 is calPd Omniprefcnce ; and as it co-ex ids every where, it 
 is cali'd Ubiquity. This Attribute of God may be thus de- 
 fcrib'd, viz. That it is the Infinity of the divine Efience, as 
 that exijls with all Space. By Space, we are to underftand 
 nothing more than where a Creature does or may exift, and 
 therefore it is two Fold, viz. ift. either a vacuum or void, 
 where a Creature can exift, or a Place where it actually 
 does exifr. Therefore Space is properly no Being, much lefs 
 a Body, for then when a Body is in a Place, one Body would 
 be in another. Neither is it the fame with a Body which 
 iscontain'd in a Place, for when a Body is remov'dthe Place 
 containing- remain's. Nc idler are Breadth and Length, and 
 other fuch like Dimenfions, properly in Space; but in the 
 Bodies which are or may be contain'd therein. Now the 
 Almighty is not extended together with Space, or diffus'd 
 thro' it, for thefe Things only belong to Bodies. Jehovah 
 
 bein? 
 
Ommiprefense operid. 171 
 
 being without Matter or Parts, muft be without Extenlion -, 
 and having no Matter he can have no Form, which belongs 
 to Mutter, and gives it the Dimensions of Weadth and 
 Length, 5cc. The Almighty only exifts" together with all 
 Space, not by Multiplication of himfelf, for he is one ; nor 
 by Divifion by Parts, being partly in Heaven and partly on 
 Earth, for he is molt Simple and cannot be divided : Nei- 
 ther can the Almighty be circumfcrib'd or bounded bv 
 Space, becaule he is a Spirit j or limitted to a certain Place, 
 becaufe he is Infinite. God exifts with all Space by filling 
 of it. Jer. xxiii. 24. Do not I fill Heaven and Earth, Jayeth 
 the Lord. The Almighty indeed dees not fill Space as Bo- 
 dies do, becaufe his Being there does not exclude the Crea- 
 ture : Whereas two Bodies cannot occupy the fame Place in 
 the lame Inftant of Time. But Jehovah fills all Places in 
 the following refpects. 
 
 1 ft. So as not to be included in any Place or encompafied, 
 for then he mult be finite : But the Heaven of Heavens can- 
 not contain him. And 
 
 2dly, So as not to be excluded out of any Place -, and 
 hence it is laid, Act. xvii. 27. That he is not far from every 
 one of us. Even the Heathens, by the Light of Nature, 
 could lay, " Jovis omnia plena • all Things are full of 
 cc Jupiter." 
 
 3diy, So as to be without Motion from Place to Place : 
 And therefore, when the Scriptures fpeak of his defending 
 from Heaven to Edrth, his riding on a Cherub, and on the 
 Wings of the Wind, it is only a form of Speech accom- 
 modated to our weak Way of conceiving of God and di- 
 vine Things, importing lome fpecial Manifestation of God 
 in his Works of Providence. And 
 
 Y 2 4 thly, 
 
172 The divine Jmmenjky and 
 
 4thly, So as to be beyond all Place ; for what is Place but 
 the Limit of created Beings? It muff therefore be finite 
 how vaft fbever it be, and therefore cannot contain the infinite 
 God. 
 
 The Holy Scriptures afTert in ffrong Terms, the Omnipre- 
 fence of God, Pja. cxxxix. from the 7th to the 1 oth Verfes, 
 Whether fl: all I go from thy Spirit, cr whither flail I Jlee 
 from thy Prefence f If I ajfend up into Heaven, thou art there, 
 If I make my Bed in Hell, behold thai art there. If I take 
 the Wings of the MGrning and dwell in the uttermoji Parts 
 of the Sea, even there fall thy Hand lead me, and thy right 
 Handfiall hold me. Act. xvii. 28. For in him we live and wove 
 and have our Being. And indeed the Qmniprefence ofGod ne- 
 ceffarily follows from his Infinity, which we have before con- 
 iidered : For what is Infinite in EfTence, cannot be reflricted 
 to any Place. It is contradictory to fuppcfe that that which 
 is boundlefs, mould be bounded j it is juft in other Words to 
 fay, that that which hath no limits, nor pofTibly can have 
 them, yet that it hath them ; which is abfurd ! 
 
 Befides, to be retrained by any to a Place, is as incon- 
 iiftent with the Independency of God, as Motion from Place 
 to Place is with his immutability or unchangablenefs ! 
 
 It likewife follows from the Almightynefs of God, that he 
 can Work every where, which could not be if he were 
 limited to any Place. 
 
 And how can we fuppofe, that a perfect Being, who is 
 pofTefs'd with all Perfection, can want that of Omniprefence, 
 without a manifeif. Contradiction ? And that the various 
 Perfections of God admit of no Degrees or Meafures, fol- 
 lows neceiTarily from his Simplicity. Compounded Beings 
 admit of Degrees and Dimeniions, but fiich as are Simple, 
 have none : Sweet Things have their Degrees, but Sweet- 
 nefs itfelf is above all Degrees ! 
 
 But 
 
Omniprefence opeifdl x y \ 
 
 But before I proceed to the Improvement of this Subject, 
 I would have it obferv'd, that altho' the Immenfity and Om- 
 niprefence of God, does in thefirft place, concern his Eflence, 
 yet that it doth alfo reipect his Knowledge, his Operations, 
 his Providence, by his Effence. Hence all Things are faid 
 to be naked and open nnto the Eyes of him with whom we have 
 to do, Heb. iv. 13. And hence God is faid to uphold all 
 Things by the Word of his Power, Heb. i. 3 . Now in re- 
 fpecl of God's Operations^ he is faid to be varioufly prefent 
 with Creatures. 
 
 1 ft. In Heaven, he is prefent by his Glory : There he makes 
 his divine Majefty and Glory, peculiarly manifeft to the equal 
 Admiration and Delight of Saints and Angels ! Hence that 
 blefTed Place is call' d the Throne of God, Ifa, lxvi. 1. And 
 his dwelling Place, 2 Chron. vi. 21. 
 
 2d. On Earth, God is prefent by his Grace, enlight- 
 ning, adopting, fanctifying and comforting his People ; 
 hence the Spirit is promis'd for thefe Ends, yah. xvi. 8. 9. 
 3d. In Hell, God is prefent by lys Jujlice, Pfa. cxxxix. 
 8. If I make my Bed in Hell, lo thou art there: There in 
 that awful Vault of Horror and Mifery, are dreadful difplay's 
 of divine Vengeance upon damned Angels and damned Souls, 
 without Intermilllon and without End ! I might alfo obferve 
 that the Almighty is prefent after an inexprefhble Manner, 
 with the human Nature of Christ, by the Hypoftatical 
 Union, Col. ii. 9. For in ht 'm dwells all the fullnefs of the God- 
 head bodily. God was alfo prefent with the Prophets after 
 an extraordinary Manner, by Wifdom and Revelation 1 Pet. 
 i. 11- And fo with the Anoftles, by whom he wrought di- 
 vers Miracles 3 and the Almighty may be faid to be in a 
 general Way prefent with all the Works of his Hands, fup- 
 portingall Creatures by his Power, and Governing all their 
 Motions by his Providence to his own Glory, and hie Peoples 
 
 Good- 
 
i 74 Th* divine Immenfty and 
 
 Good. I proceed to the Improvement of this Subject. And, 
 i ft. The ferious Conflderation of the Greatnefs and In- 
 finity of God, compar'd with the Nothingness of Mankind, 
 may juftly make us afham'd of cur Pride, and humble us 
 before him ! With what becoming abafednefs did Abram of 
 old fpeak to God upon this Account, Gen. xviii. 27. Be- 
 hold now I have taken upon me to fpeak to the Lord, who 
 am but Dufi and AJhes ! And do not the Angels, thofe No- 
 bles of the Court of Heaven, for the very fame Reafon 
 vail their Faces before him ', Ifa. vi. God is Infinite in his 
 Being and all his Attributes; and what are we but Shad::, s, 
 Worms, Loafs, drops in the Bucket^ a little Dufi in the 
 Balance, yea as Nothing and lefi than Nothing. For what 
 Proportion is there between what is finite and infinity ? How 
 juftly may we therefore ufe the Pfalmifts Exclamation, 
 Pfal. viii. 4. What is Man that thou art mindful of him ? 
 
 2dly, The Conflderation of the Infinity of God, mould 
 incline us to Modefly in our Thoughts of divine Myfteries, 
 iuch as the facred Trinity, the hypoftatical Union of two 
 Natures in the Perfon of Chriit, and any other Difficulties we 
 meet with in Scripture, to which our weak Underftandings 
 are not equal. In this Cafe it would be of excellent Ufe, 
 humbly to call to Mind the Words of our Text, Great is 
 the Lord and greatly to be praifed, his Greatnefs is unfearcka- 
 ble. As well as the faying of Zophar, Job xi. Canfi thou 
 by fe arching find out God, canjl thou know the Almighty to 
 J ■■(-;- feci 'ion, it's higher than Heaven, what canfi thou do f 
 
 In refpect of thele Things we mud ufe the Apoffle's ad- 
 miring Exclamation, Horn. xi. 33. Of the Depth of the 
 Riches, of the Wifdom and Knowledge of God, how unfear cha- 
 fe his Judgments) and his Ways pi ngoutf 
 
 3cl]y, Is Jehovah infinite in his Being and Attributes. 
 Then how worthy is he of our highefl Love, entireft 
 
 Confidence, 
 
Qmniprefence apply d. 175 
 
 Confidence, and freefl Choice ? As Excellency is the pro- 
 per Object of Love, fo by Confequence an Infinity of it 
 muil needs demerit our deareft and moft fupream Refpects ! 
 And how fafely may we repofe our whole Truft in a Be- 
 ing, who is infinite and immutable in Wifdom, Power 
 and Goodnefs ? Who would not then make choice of fo glo- 
 rious a Being, for his Portion and Inheritance ? For furely 
 as the Pialmift obfervcs, Happy is the People who are infuch 
 a Cafe, yea Happy is that People whofe God is the Lord, Pja. 
 cxllv. ult. The Excellency's of poor Creatures are variable 
 and limitted, and while here, ftain'd with many Defects and 
 Blemimes, they often deceive our Expectation ! Hence the 
 Perfon is curs'd who truft eth in Man, or maketh FleJJj his 
 Arm! Sometimes they cannot, and fometimes they will not 
 help us in extremity. Let us therefore difclaim all Depen- 
 dance on them, all immoderate Love to them, and make the 
 infinite Jehovah the only Foundation of our Religious Trull, 
 the only Object of our tranfcendent Refpect and Love ! But 
 4thiy. Is Jehovah great ? Then he is greatly to be prais'd, 
 this is the Pfalmiffs inference in our Text. If it be proper 
 to make Panegyricks or commendatory Orations in thePraife 
 of temporal Princes, on the Account of their Greatnefs, how 
 much more fo muft it be to praife the King of Kings and 
 Lord of Lords ! Lie, and He only, is abfolutely great! 
 Great of himfelf, independently Great, invariably Great: As his 
 Greatnefs depends upon none, fo it is Subject to no Altera- 
 tion : Likewife the Almighty is comparetivly and fuperla- 
 tively Great : Great above all Gods, yea infinitely and inex- 
 peffihly Great ; Great without Bounds, and beyond all Ex- 
 preftion and Conception. Wh&reas the greatnefs of the moft 
 puiiTant Monarchs on Earth, is derived, dependent, variable, 
 and finite. Nov/ we mould Praife the great God. ift. In 
 our Hearts, by thinking great Things of him, vea the great- 
 eft 
 
{ 7 6 The divine Immenjity and 
 
 eft, feeing "Jehovah tranfcends the higheft flight of an Angels 
 Thought ; by a great Efleem of him above all others and of 
 his Prefence,, Love^, Promifes, Worfhip. By a great and 
 infatiable Defire after a Senfe of his Love, and conformity 
 to his Nature, as well as after the Manifeftation of his Glory 
 and the Promotion of his Kingdom, PiaL lxxxiv. 1,2. How 
 amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Ho/Is ! My Soul long- 
 ethj yea even faint eth for the Courts of the Lord, and my 
 Fie (J) cryeth out for the living God ! And farther we mould 
 Praife God in our Hearts,, by Delight and Complacency in him r 
 and in all his Ways of dealing towards us, as well as by ex- 
 pecting to receive great Things from a great God ! How 
 condefcending and amazing is that Place of Scripture men- 
 tioned by the Royal Prophet Ha. xlv. 11. Thus faith the 
 Lord the Holy one of Ifrael, afk me of things to come con- 
 cerning my Sons y a?id concerning the Work of my Hands y com- 
 mand ye me. Jehovah delights to manifeft the dazling Glo- 
 ry of his Greatnefs and Infinity, in comparing great Salva- 
 tion for his People ! And therefore as we may freely afk 
 s;reat Mercy's from God, fo we may iafely expect them !' 
 For who can control Omnipotence, or {tt bounds to Infinity ? 
 and therefore when in our thoughts, we Queftion hisAlmigh- 
 tinefs, we turn back from God and tempt him, and limit 
 the holy one of Ifrael, (Pfil 78. 41 .) 
 
 2dly, We fhould praiie God with our Lips, by decla- 
 ring among others with a loud Voice, his infinite Great nets 
 and Excellency, and' exciting others to do the fame, (Pfal. 
 eiii. 8, 20, 21.) And, 
 
 odly, We fhould praiie the great God by our Lives } 
 by a profound Reverence of his Majefty, and fear of offend- 
 ing him, even in the fmallefl Things, byancarncfl: Endea- 
 vour to obey and pleafe him, and by an infinite defire, 
 and fteadv tare to enjoy him here and forever ! But, 
 
Qmniprefence apply* d.- ijj 
 
 5thly, Is Jehovah Infinite ? Then we may hence learn 
 the dangerous Cafe of thole who flight God ; but who are- 
 they, and what is their Mifery ? 
 
 Anfw. 1 ft. All inch as lay in the Pride of their Hearts 
 with Fharaeh, who is the Lord that I fioidd obey him ? Ex. ii. 
 Or like thole whom Job fpeaks of, job xxi. 14. 'They fay un- 
 to God \ depart from sri, for we dejire not the Knowledge of thy 
 Ways ; what is the Al?nigh.ty that wejhuld ferve him & 
 
 2dly, All Inch as abuie the Kindnefs and Long-fufrering" 
 of God. Rom. 11.4, 5. Or dejpife/t then the Riches of his 
 Gocdnejs and Forbearance, not knowing thai the Goodncjs of 
 God leadcih to repentance, &c. 
 
 3dly, Thole flight Jehovah, who flight Ins EmbafTadors,, 
 (Lukex. it.) And 
 
 4thly, Thefe who prefer any Thing in this World be- 
 fore him, 2 Tin:, in. 4. Lovers of ! n mere than Lovers 
 cf God. How dreadful is the Cafe of ail flich, feeing; they 
 have an innnite Godagainft them? How can they endure 
 his infinite Wrath, and which Way can they efcane it ? 
 Not by Craft, for he is infinite in Wifdorn and Knowledge ; 
 not by Might, for he is infinite in Power. When he but 
 touches the Mountains they fmoke^ yea the Hills tremble at his 
 irrejence ! Not by Flight, for he is ever/ where Prefent. 
 If they take I gs of the Morning and fly to the utmofl 
 s of the Earth, if they afcendiheTop tif Carmel or defcend 
 into the Deeps of the Ocean, yet they cannot efcapethe Cog- 
 nizance of God : s Eye, or the reach of his Arm ! He is 
 :'fhiy in Strength, who hath hardned him- 
 felf age: and prcjfered? 
 
 6thly. We fhouid be excited by the confideration of 
 God's infinite Greatnefs, to be bold and magnanimous in the 
 Service of God, particularly in undertaking ours, for 
 
 God. and in encotwtering great Difficulties and Dangers in 
 
 Z the 
 
178 Ihe divine Immenfity and 
 
 the Way of Duty, feeing that God will be to us at laft, 
 as to Abram of old, an exceeding great reward. And far- 
 ther we mould exprefs magnanimity m a generous Contempt 
 of all worldly Gain and Grandeur, when compared with 
 God and his Service. And in a frequent Meditation upon, 
 and vigorous Profecution of divine and heavenly Objects ! 
 We are the Sons of a great Prince, born to a great Inheri- 
 tance, and we are redeemed by a great Price, no lefs than 
 the Biood of the Son of God : Seeing that the great God 
 is our Shield and Buckler, let us defpife the Threats of 
 Worms, that are crum'd before the Moth ! But 
 
 7tlily. Is God Immenfe, and every where Prefent ? This 
 opens a Scene of fweet Confolation to God's People in c- 
 very Danger and Difficulty, becauie he is prefent with them, 
 not only with his Ellen ce, but by his Grace. What then tho' 
 they mould walk thro'' the Valley and jladow cf Death, yet 
 they need fear no Evil,ycr God is with them, and his Rod and 
 Staff* fiall comfort than ! Particularly if they are in Solitude, 
 Banimment, in Prifon, under Perfecution, the Power of 
 Deceafes, or any other Calamity. Plow fweet is it to think 
 that God is at their right Hand, yea as a Wall of Fire about 
 them ! And therefore it may be faid to them as Julius 
 Co; far fpoke to the Ship-Mailer in the Time »rm, 
 
 " Truji to fortune, faid he, for Julius is in i . ." And 
 
 as Alexander to a Soldier, " While I am prefent, faid he, 
 " fear the Arms of no Aduerfary, tho' you ymrfehes be un- 
 " arm'd." And as Auguftine, " What Man fhouldefl thou 
 " fear who art flac d in the Bofom of God," This is well 
 exprefs'd in the following Stanza, 
 
 Sic uhi Chriftus adeft, nobis velaranea murus. 
 
 Sic ubi Chriftus abeft, vel mums aranea fiet. 
 
 i. e. When Christ is prefent, Cobwebs as Walls we fee. 
 
 But when he's abfent, Walls as Cobwebs be 1 
 
 O! 
 
Omniprefence apply d. i J'f 
 
 O ! how refreshing is it to think that God is not only 
 with his People, prefect by his E fence, but prefent by his 
 Wifdom, Power and Providence I to conduct, fupport, protect 
 and revive them in every Difficulty, and to fanctify them to 
 them. How careful mould we be therefore, that this great 
 omniprefent God, mould be ours in the Covenant of his 
 Grace, by embracing the Mediator of the Covenant by a 
 living Faith, and living to him that died for us. We may 
 be feparated from our earthly Friends very far, but God is e- 
 very where : He was with Daniel in the Den of Lyons ; 
 with Jonah in the Water ; with the three Children in the 
 Fire; with Paul andSikx in Prifon, and with John in the 
 Retirements of Paimos I If we live humbly and watchfully, 
 no human Art or Violence can feperate him from our Em- 
 braces ! Well might the PialmifT fry of him, that he is a 
 prejent Help in the Time oj Trouble.- 
 
 8thly, Is God Omniprefent ? Then his Eye is continually 
 upon us, in our inch: retir'd RecefTes. This Confideration 
 mould excite us to detc ft and avoid ail fecret Sins, becaufe 
 a holy God, a jufr. Judge, and righteous Avenger of Sin 
 continually beholds us ! and is ©relent with us in our rnoft 
 obfeure Retreats ! The Darknefs hides not from him, but 
 the Night mines as the Day. Hence the Lord himfeif 
 commanded the IJraelites to remove every filthy Thing 
 out of their Camp, becaufe he walk'd in the midfl thereof 
 leafl he mould turn away from them, Dent, xxiii. 14. The 
 atheiftical Imagination that God is far off, and takes no Cog- 
 nizance of human Actions, is the fatal Source of Sin and 
 Security ! Hence fome are indue d to commit thofe Evils in 
 Secret, which they dar'ft not do, in the Prefence of the 
 meaneft Witnefs, not eonfidering that Confcience is as 
 a Thoufand Witneffes, and that God is infinitely greater 
 tkan our Hearts, and knoweth all things, 1 Job. iii. 20, 
 
 Z 2 A. 
 
i 80 ''The divine hxuntn/kf and 
 
 A Senfe of God's Omniprcfence and Qmnifc-ience, is a 
 m oft excellent Defensive againft iecret Impiety, it was by 
 this, that gallant and vir&ipus Jc/eph, warded off^he formida- 
 ble Aifault of his lascivious Mii'treis, Gen. xxxis- 9. How 
 can I do this great ' Inefi, and Sin agai .7 And 
 
 by this job repeli'd Temptations to Idolatry, job xxxi. 
 26, 27, 28. If I beheld the Sun when it jhind, or the Moon 
 walking in Brightness.) and my Heart hath been jeer etly en- 
 ticed, or l. y mouth hath kifsed my Hand, this a/jo were an 
 Iniquity to bepunijhedby the judge j for I jhould have del 
 the God that is above. The following Council of a F\ 
 is worthy of Remark, '* Turpe quod aclurus te fine 1 
 i. e. If thou, art about to do any Thing Bene or Ignoble, 
 be afraid of your felf, tho' there be no Witnejs. It • 
 Iikewiiea noble Anfwer of a Chriftian to a heathen Philofb- 
 pher, who being aili'd where his God was, reply -d, " Let 
 '" me jirjl under jland from you where he is not" But, 
 
 Qthly, Is God Immenje and Qmn/pre/ent ? Then we mould 
 be hereby excited to iecret Duty, and all manner of Since- 
 rity. The Lord is every where Preterit with us, " For 
 " God is all Eye, and continually beholds us-, he is all Ear 
 " and incejfantly hears us," as Augujline obferves. He 
 bottles all our Tears, and records all our iecret Sighs and 
 Groans, none of our Wreft lings will be loft ! For that God 
 who now fees in Secret, will by and by reward openly. 
 Surely Solitarinefs mould neither embolden us to Sin, or 
 hinder us from Duty. Mr. Leigh in his Body of Divinity, 
 tells the following Story of two religious Men, who took 
 two contrary Courfes with two leud Women in order tore- 
 claim them, " The one came to one of the Women as defirous 
 <c of her Company, fo it ,;, ght be with Jeer e/y, and when flee 
 " had brought him to a cloje Room that none could pry into, 
 " then he told her that all the - and Bars which were, 
 
 " could 
 
Omniprefence apply' d. I 8 1 
 
 Si could hot keep God out. 'The other dcfired to accompany 
 " with the other Woman openly in the Street , whisk when 
 " fie rejected as a mad requeft, he told her it was better 
 xc to do it before the Eyes of a multitude than of God. 
 
 In fine let us be exhorted to labour to walk fmcerely with 
 God evermore, and every where as prefect with us ; in 
 Imitation of Enoch, Gen. v. 24. And Enoch walked with 
 God: Of Noah Gen. vi. 9. Noah was .ajufl Man and per- 
 feci; in his Generations, and Noah walked with God : Of 
 Abram, Gen. 17. 1. This the Holy Scriptures many V/ays 
 require, when it urges us not only to walk with God, but to 
 walk before him, after him in his Name, and by his Spirit. Let 
 us therefore obandon all Hypocrhy, walk with Fear and Re- 
 verence as under the Eye of God; on the one Hand abftaining- 
 from every Evil, becaufe of a prefent God ; and on the o- 
 ther Hand embracing every opportunity to do prefent Good, 
 without delay and without difguife, not with Eye Service as 
 Men pleafers, but in Jingle nefs of Heart fearing God, that we 
 may have the Teftimony of our Confciences here, and be ac- 
 cepted of by the great Omniprefent and Omnifcient God 
 hereafter 3 which may God grant for Christ's fake. 
 
 SERMON 
 
1 8 2 The Text explain' aX 
 
 I A. 
 
 ROMANS xi. 33, 54. 
 //><? Depth of the Riches both of the Wifdom and Knowledg e 
 
 of God ! How unfearchable are his 'Judgment 's } and his JVays 
 
 paft finding out. 
 For who hath known- the Mind of the Lord, or who hath be< n 
 
 his Counfellor. 
 
 HIS Text contains an admiring Exclamation, re- 
 flecting the tranfcendent Knowledge and Wifdom 
 of God, more efpecially apparent in the Buiinefs of 
 Redemption and Predeftination, in which we may 
 obferve three Things viz. ifl. The Perfon exclaiming, Paul 
 an Apoflle, yea one of the moil eminent cf that Order.. 
 A Perfon of a piercing Genius, and polite Learning, bred at 
 the Feet of Gamaliel, a Perfon of great Advances in Grace 
 and divine Knowledge, a Perfon peculiarly famous for un- 
 wearied and extent! ve Labours to promote the Good of 
 Mankind, and moreover one whom the Almighty was plea- 
 fed to infpire after an extraordinary Manner, to communicate 
 the Knowledge of himfelf in his Son to aloft World! Yet 
 here we may behold this excellent Perfon maz'd and non- 
 plus'd, and that in a Matter belonging to bis own Pro- 
 vince, a Matter which he made the fubject of his careful En- 
 quiries ! Tins leads to a 2d. Particular in the Exclamation, 
 
 viz,. 
 
The Text explain' A, i 8 ^ 
 
 mz. The Particle Of which is the Manner of it. This 
 reprefents the Strength and vehemence of the Apoftles 
 pious Patfion, in this and in the two preceeding Chapters, 
 he had Ipoken of many profound Myfteries, and aniwered 
 many critical Queftions. But here he makes a Paufe, and 
 falls into an Admiration of God, in refpecl: of his Wifdom 
 and Knowledge ! He feems like a Man who wades in deep 
 Waters, till he loofes Ground, and then cries out, O the 
 Depth ! And fo proceeds no farther. Mr. Pool in his Sy- 
 nopfis juftiy obferves, " That the Words of our Text are an 
 
 Epilogue or Conclufion of the whole preceeding Difputation, 
 1 by which he teaches that he had aduced fome Reajons of 
 
 Eleclion and Reprobation, but that he neither knew them 
 " nor had taught them perfectly. As if he hadfaidlhave ex- 
 " pounded thefe Things as I could ; but lam Jwallow'd up 
 " in the ^byfsof the Councils of God, which cannot be fearched 
 " to Perfection, but mujl be adored r Now the 
 
 3d. Particular in the Exclamation, or Outcry is the Mat- 
 ter of it viz. The Depth and Unfearchablenefs of the 
 Riches of God's Wifdom and Knowledge, in his 
 Judgments and Ways. By the Judgments of God, the 
 Context leads us to underftand, his Decrees and Purpofes ! 
 And by his Ways, the Execution of them in General, and 
 more eipecially that Inltance thereof which appear'd in the 
 Rejection of the Jews, and calling in of the Gentiles to 
 their Priviledges. The Apofile declares concerning both, that 
 they are Unfearchable i. e. they cannot be fully underflood, 
 and perfe&ly found out by any Creature, however intellieent 
 he be, efpeciaiiy in this World " It's a Metaphor (fays JW 
 
 in his Annotations) taken from Hounds, who have no Scent of 
 
 the Game which they purfue. Nor can Men trace the 
 lCi Lord, or find out the Re of on of his Providential Actings 
 
 " and 
 
j 84 The Text explained. 
 
 " and therefore Jbould forbear cenfuring them." Tho' great 
 Wifdom and Knowledge attend the divine Purpofes and 
 Providences, yet it is fuch a Depth, as cannot be founded 
 thoroughly by the Line of human Reafon. And this the 
 Apoflle affures us of In the Text, which is under our 
 prefent Confideration. O the Depth ! The Wifdom and Know- 
 ledge of God exceed all Dimenjions, as Zophar elegantly ob- 
 ferves, fob xi. 8, 9. It is higher than Heaven, deeper than 
 Hell, longer than the Earth and broader than the Sea ! The 
 Word Riches fignifies an excefs of Wealth, by which a Per- 
 fon has more than he needs. And therefore here it intimates 
 the exceeding Abundance, and transcendent Eminence and 
 Affluence of the divine Wifdom and Knowledge, which we 
 we can neither ipeak or think highly enough of! Al 
 God's Wifdom and Knowledge be One and the lame in him- 
 felf, yet in our Manner of conceiving of them they are dif- 
 tinguifh'd : For Knowledge is meerly fpecmiative, and be- 
 holds Things limply as they are ; but Wifdom difpoies them 
 in a certain order to fome valuable End. 
 
 From the Text thus expiain'd, two Proportions c 
 themfelves to our Confideration, viz; ift. That the 
 
 Proportion 
 
 ledge be put after Wtfdm in our Text, (perhaps by the 
 Figure call'd hy/iercn j.rolcron) yet in the Order of Nature 
 it feems to be before it : For we firft behold Things, be- 
 fore we difpofe them in any Order to a certain End. Now 
 in difcourfing upon this Subject, I mall labour to profecute 
 the following Order. 
 
 I. Prove the Infinity of the divine Knowledge. 
 
 II. Shew the Kinds thereof. 
 
 iir 
 
The divine Omnifcience pfsrf'di i 8 5 
 
 III. Speak of the Properties of God's Knowledge. 
 
 IV. Point to its various Objects, and iaftly improve the 
 whole. And 
 
 1 ft. The facred Scriptures fully ailert this Truth, Pf.cxxxix. 
 0, 10. If I take the Wings of the Morning, and dvjell in the 
 titer mofl Parts of the Sea y even there Jl. all thy Right Hand 
 lead me. 1 Sam iL 3. The Lord is a God of Knowledge, and by 
 him Aft ions are weighed. Pro. v. 2 1 . The Ways of a Alan 
 are before the Lord and he ponder eth all his Paths. Pro. xv. 3. 
 The Eyes of the Lord are in every Place, beholding the 
 Evil and the G&od. Job xxxiv. 21, 22. For lis Eyes are 
 upon the Ways of Men, and he feeth all their Goings. There 
 is no Darbiejs iur Shadow of Death, where the Workers of 
 Iniquity may hide themfelves. Heb. iv. 1 g . Neither is there 
 any Creature that is not mar&peft in his Sight, tut all Things 
 are 'naked and opened unto the Eyes cj him,, with whom we have 
 to do. 
 
 And right Reafon afTures us of the fame Truth. For 
 
 lit. Seeing to know and under&md is an Excellency 
 involving no Imperfection in it, it cannot without a Con- 
 tradiction, be deny'd to an infinitely perfect being. And 
 
 2diy. Plow can the iiiprearn Being be without Knowledge, 
 feeing he is the Fountain and Original of all that Know- 
 ledge, which intelligent Beings poflefs ? It is in his Light, 
 that they fee Light. Shall net he that planted the Eye fee, 
 and he that form 'd the Ear hear ? And without Knowledge 
 what would the Almighty be but an Idol of whom it is 
 faid, Pf. cxv. 6, 7.- That they have Eyes and fee not, Ears 
 and hear not. But thus to imagine of God, is the bafeit 
 Blafphemy ! Now the infinite Extent of the divine Know- 
 ledge, is evident from the following Confederations, viz. 
 
 lit. Became it is the fame with his Being, which his 
 Simplicity allures us of. Now the Being of God has been 
 
 A. a prov'd- 
 
i 86 The divine Omnifcience prov'iL 
 
 prov'd to be infinite in a preceeding Ser-moa, and there- 
 fore his Knowledge muft needs be Co, which coincides 
 with it. And 
 
 2dly. Seeing -God bas given Being to all Things at Firft,, 
 'it cannot without a Contradiction be fupuos'd, that he 
 ifliould be ignorant of the Effects of his own Power. Mufl 
 not a Workman know has Work ? Befidcs 
 
 3clly. As jfehovah by his Almiahtinefs bas brought the 
 whole Uniyerfe out of Nothing into Being, fo he conti- 
 nually fupports the fame, otherwise it would immediatley 
 return to its primitive Non-Entity or Nothin gnefs : For it is 
 in.him r d>.e.lwe m&ve /ind have our Bihig. As we could not 
 at firft begin to exile without God, fo neither can we fob- 
 ml a Moment, or think, or (peak, or act without him, 
 who is the great Source of Being and Spring of Mo- 
 tion ! And 
 
 Athly. As God upholds every Thing by his Power, fb 
 he governs. All by his fovtrcign wife and unerring Provi- 
 dence in the bgit Manner, and to the nobleil End. •: 
 His own Glory* Surely then the .End and Means conducing 
 thereto, mint be known by him ; and indeed if the Kingdom 
 of God did not rule over all, as the Scriptures aifert, all 
 Nature would be in CoDiufion, the difcordant Elements 
 would immediately break their prefent Harmony, and jum- 
 ble into the wildeft Chaos, ■ and consequently dliibive in a 
 tumultuous ail i c tenfive Ruin! The Innocenfe, the Lives, 
 the Goods of intelligent Creatures would in itly be made 
 an eafy Prey to n pacious Lnfts and refiirieis Violence ! The 
 whole Globe would groan with a rain of 
 
 fuccemye Tragedi , and ioon be ting'd with a crimfon 
 Eloocl ! 
 
 hly. Seeing the Almighty hath fixed a Deputy in our Bo- 
 
 n , I mean C ce 3 wh< - sit is to I and 
 
 \3 
 
The Kinds of divine Knowledge. i 8 7 
 
 regilTer our whole Behaviour,, whole company we cannot fhun,, 
 wliofe Cognizance we cannot efcape ! How much more then 
 mufl the Almighty be acquainted with all our Ways? For he is 
 greater than our Hearts, and knoweth all Things,, as the A- 
 poftle John obferves. Again 
 
 6thly.- Methinks the Confideration of the general Judg- 
 ment, gives additional Evidence to the afore faid. Truth, for 
 how can Jehovah judge all, uniefs he knows all? The A- 
 poftle anures us,. Rom.- ii. 16. That God will bring every 
 J Fork into Judgment,, with every fecret Thing, whether it be 
 Good, or whether it be Evil. Yea, Hifrory both facred and 
 prophane inform us, ofGotTs briagingjfco publick Light 
 crimlbn Evils, before vaii'd with the (Sustains of obfeureft 
 Secrefy ! But I proceed to the 2d. propos'd y . which was to 
 fpeak of the Kinds of divine Knowledge. And here I may 
 obferve, that as it refpecls Creatures,, it is two Ibid, and: 
 Either intuitive, or approbativc, or as ethers phrafe it, gene- 
 ral or ipecial. Now God's general Knowledge, or his Know- 
 ledge of Intuition is. that Property of the Almighty, where- 
 by he only knows, or beholds all Things. In this Senfe 
 it is faid Acts xv. 18. That known unto God. are all his 
 Works from the Beginning of the World.- And 
 
 2aly. God's approbativc or fpecial Knowledge, is that 
 divine Perfection, whereby Jehovah knows fo, as to ap- 
 prove of, and delight in what lie knows ! Hence our Lord, 
 ■'. vii. 22. commands the Wicked to depart from him, 
 and tells them that he never knew them, that is fo as to 
 approve of them. But I pais on to the 
 
 3d. Propos'd, which was to fpeak of the Properties of 
 God's Knowledge- And 
 
 iff. The Knowledge of God is mod Simple, inafmuch as- 
 he beholds at once all Things in himfeif, without the Uie 
 o£ any of thole Methods, whereby human Knowledge is ac~ 
 
 A a 2. quir'd,. 
 
i 8 8 tfke Properties cf divine Knowledge. 
 
 quir'd, viz. The Compofition of Things of the fame Kind, 
 the 'Separation of Things of a different Kind, the compa- 
 ring oi one Thing with another, and the inferring of one 
 Thing from cnothcr. Hereby the human Mind proceeds gra- 
 dual!) - in a Way of reafoning, from the Knowledge of 
 Things more known, to the Knowledge of Things le!s 
 known, but it is the Weaknefs of cur Undeiftandings, that 
 renders thofe Meaiures neceilary, and therefore they cannot 
 conflil with the Perfecton of the ilipream Being. If a Suc- 
 ceflion in Duration be an Imperfection, .as was prev'd in a 
 preceeding Sermon concerning -the Eternity of God, a Suc- 
 ceflion in Knowledge mud be io likewiie : For as it ne- 
 ceflarily infers Increaie of Knowledge by Observation and 
 Experience, lb it as evidently fappoies preceeding Ignorance, 
 which to afcribe to the Almighty is deteflabie Biai- 
 phemy. And 
 
 2d'iy. The Knowledge of God is 'Indepmdenft, becaufe it 
 is not in him as an Accident, ^nalily., or Idea, different and 
 feparable from his E iler.ee, as it is in Creatures : For then he 
 would be compounded of different Things, as Creatures are, 
 and ib might in Time ceafe to be. No, his Simplicity ai- 
 fures us, as I cbferv'd before, that his Knowledge is the 
 very fame with his E fie nee, it is no other than God knowing, 
 and therefore muft needs be independent. That the Ef- 
 fence oi : God is independent, has been already proved in a 
 preceeding Sermon. But to proceed 
 
 3uly. The Knowledge of God is Eternal* inafmuch as he 
 neiir r begins, or ceafes to know, as the Things known 
 by him begin or coaie to be in themielves. The 1-lcafon 
 of which is, becaufe lie knows all Things by his own Ei- 
 iencc or eternal Purpofes, and not by receiving Species, 
 or Images, or Ideas from Objects without himieii', as 
 Creatures do. Here obferve that two Things are required to 
 
 conilitute 
 
The Properties cf divine Knowledge* i % a 
 
 xonftitute the Knowledge of Creatures, viz. ift. The images 
 or Ideas of Things. And idly, the Speculation of them, 
 which implies the receiving of thole Ideas thro' the out- 
 ward Senies by the Fancy and Contemplation cfthem be- 
 ing receiv'd, which coniiirs partly in the Companion of 9L 
 Compoiition, Diviiion, Affirmation, or Negation ; and part- 
 ly in Deductions, or Reafonings, whereby we proceed front 
 Things more known to Things lefs known. The Method 
 of human Knowledge is by comparing, compounding, di- 
 viding and ilibitraeting the Images of Things receiv'd } 
 as alio by confidering their Connection and Dependance. 
 and infering one Thing from another. But the Ideas of 
 God are not borrow'd from outward Object s ? For if ib, Crea- 
 tures mufl exiPc, before the divine Knowledge ; and then it 
 would be temporary and finite, this cannot be without the 
 Detraction of the divine Eifence. Two Things indeed are 
 neceffary to the divine Knowledge in our Apprehenfion dis- 
 tinct, viz. The Prelence of Ideas and the Perception of them, 
 io that it may be thus defcnb'd to be a perfect Intuition of 
 himielf or his own Ideas, but without any receiving of them 
 from without, and without any Comparifon, Compoiition, 
 Diviiion, or Inferences, as was obferv'd before, refpecting 
 the Knowledge of Creatures, for all inch Things, do manifeilv 
 involve Imperfection. Amefins in his Medulla faycth, " 'That 
 u the Idea cf Gad, is no other than his very E fence, as 
 " it is under food by him to be imi table, in the Creature, or fo 
 " that the Image of that Perfection, may after fome fort be 
 " twfrefs'd in Creatures." The Idea in a Man, is deriv'd 
 from the Things themfelves, and therefore the Things mufl 
 riric exiil in themfelves, then they approach our Senfes, 
 and from thence to our Underiianding, where they confti- 
 tute fome Idea to direct a following Operation; but the 
 Idea of the Almighty is the Model or Pattern, which firft 
 
 exiil s 3 
 
i q o The Properties of divine Knowledge, 
 
 exifts, according to which, Things in Time are exactly 
 form'd, which Idea as it is abfoloutelv considered in Rela- 
 tion to God, is but one, becaufe it is his Eflence 3 but as it 
 is confidered reflectively,, it is manifold, becaufe it denotes 
 many refpecls to the Creatures, fo that the Idea of one 
 Creature, is not the Idea of another, Tims it appears that* 
 Things are known by God as they are, and that there is 
 a Connexion and Dependance among the divine Ideas. 
 Whence fprings the Order of Prior and Poflerior, which we- 
 obferve in Predestination and Providence ? It is doubtlefs 
 on the Account of the Man ifeldnefs of the divine Idea, in 
 the former Senfe, that his Knowledge receives various- 
 Names j. in refpedt of the Truth ofTihifagsy; 'tis call' & Know- 
 ledge, m refpedt of its Extent, 'tis call'd Qmnifciencc, in ref- 
 pecl: of Paji Things 'tis calld Remembrance. (PJaf. xxv. 6, y.) 
 In refpedt of apEefent/ Things Sig&t. [Heb. iv. 13.) In rei- 
 pect of future Things Fere-Knowledge. (Rc;n. viii. 29.) In 
 refpeel of the divine ordering of Things to a good End] f k'i9 
 called Wifibm^ in refpedt. of the. Knowledge of the moil fit 
 and proper Seaibns for all Things, it is cali'd Prud:nce. But 
 
 4thly. The Knowledge of God is mmtkahlejh& knows not- 
 one Thing mere than another^ neither does he know Things 
 more now than formerlv, or more formerly than now ; be- 
 caufe he beholds ail Things in his immutable EiTcnce or Pur- 
 pofes, and in his Eternity, by which he exifts without any 
 Succefhon in Duration., altogether unmov'd in all the differ- 
 ent Periods of Time. 
 
 $thly. The Knowledge of God' is Infinite perfect and' 
 diftindf, he knows all Things without Sufpicion of Igno- 
 rance or Error. His Knowledge is dtfti'nd: and particular, 
 not confus'd and general. Hence it is laid, that when he 
 had finished the Works of Creation, that he faw every 
 Thing, and behold it was very good, that 'is, flii'ted to anfwer 
 
 the 
 
The OhjeB of divine Knowledge. 191 
 
 the End intended for them, agreeable to the Idea or 
 Plan refpediing them, which was from Ever! ailing in -his 
 own Mind. Be/ides the Knowledge of God is certain and 
 '.infallible^ without any Heiitation or Poflibility of Miftake : 
 And therefore exceedingly differs from the Knowledge of 
 Creatures, who can but guefs and conjecture at Things to 
 come, according to the prefcnt Appearances, and probable 
 Tendency of Things. This kit Property oftheJivine Know- 
 ledge naturally leads to the 4th propos'd, which was to point 
 to the various G.bjecls of the Knowledge of -God, the Con- 
 lideratibn of which will be a farther Confirmation of it's in- 
 finite Extent, by .an Induction of Particulars. And 
 
 iff. God knows himfelf and his own infinite Mind. viz. 
 What he has done, can do, or will do. Rom. xi. 34. For 
 who hath known the Mind of the Lord, and who hath been his 
 'Counjciior, or who hath fir ft given to him f Here it is fup- 
 pos'd, that tho' Creatures know not the Mind of God, yet 
 he does himfelf, and of himfelf, without AfTiftance from 
 others. Seeing it is an Excellency in an intelligent Crea- 
 ture to know himfelf, tho' but in an imperfect Degree, 
 therefore felf Knowledge in tho hipdieft decree of Eminence, 
 mull be afcrib'd to the Almighty, who is infinitely perfect, 
 and if io, then the Almighty muft needs know all Things, be- 
 caufe they are included in his Power and Purpofe. 
 
 2cl!y. God knows all Things pofible. As the Power of 
 >d is unlimited, he certainly can do infinitely more than 
 he does, or will do. This extent of his Power he muft 
 needs know, becauie he knows himfelf, the Almighty can 
 -do ail Things that do not involve a Contradiction, e. g* 
 He could create, if he pleafed, Millions 01 Worlds, and 
 Millions of more Orders of Creatures in them than there be 
 in this ! We ourfelves, as tree Agents, can do more than we 
 do, and as intelligent Agents we know the Inflanccs where- 
 in. 
 
 G 
 
192 ''The Obi eels of divine Knowledge: 
 
 in : And how much more muft this be afcrib'd to God, 
 who is infinite in Power, and calls the Things that are not 
 as tho' they were ? When David enquired of God i Sam. 
 xxiii. 12. Will Saul come down, and will the Men c/'Keilah 
 deliver me up f The Almighty anjwered they will. Which 
 fignifies that t,he Almighty knew they would, except they 
 had been prevented by his Providence. This Knowledge 
 of Things poflible, is call'd by Zanchy and others " The 
 *' Science of Jimp k Intelligence." 
 
 3dly. The Almighty knows all Things that have been,, 
 are, or fhall be.. This is call'd the Science of Vifon, which 
 refpects the Exigence of Things, And 
 
 ifi\ The Almighty knows all Things p aft , for they were 
 once prefent, nay they may be faid, in propriety of Speech, 
 to be now prefent to God, becaufe he has no Succefiion in 
 Duration, one Day is with him as a Thoufand Years, and a 
 Thoufand Years as one Day. To fuppofe that the Almighty 
 forgets any Thing, is in other Words to fay that his Know- 
 ledge is leis perfect than it was, which cannot confifi: with 
 infinite Per fed ion. And 
 
 2d!y. God knows all Things prefent, which the Reafen? 
 before offered to prove the Infinity of his Knowledge iurri- 
 ciently confirm. Seeing all Things depend upon his Power 
 and Providence, they mr.il be known by him, for his Know- 
 ledge and Power cannot be fbparated. 
 
 3dly. God likewile knows all things future, or to come, 
 whether they are produced by a necefLry Caufe, fuch as 
 Fire or Water; or a voluntary Caufe, fuch as Men who 
 act by rational Complacency, or a contingent Caufe, which 
 by its Nature, or in it Self, is not determin'd to this or that 
 Effect. The many Proprieties of the Prophets concerning 
 Events, many Ages before they came to pals, fuflicienfiy 
 confirm this Truth. It was well obferv'd by Tertullian 
 
 againft 
 
The ObjecJs of divine Knowledge I 93 
 
 again ft Marc ion y " That the fore Knowledge of God, has as 
 M manyWitnefes, as he has made Prophets." Was not Ju- 
 das's betraying our Lord an Effect of a voluntary or free 
 Caufe ? And yet this was prophefied of. (John vi. ult. Acts 
 iv. 28.) Of the like nature was Ifraels Oppreflion in Egypt, 
 and yet this was foretold Four Hundred Years before it 
 came to pais. (Gem xv. it,.} Was not Jofcpb's Advancement 
 a contingent and very improbable Event, and yet it was 
 made known feveral Years before it came to pais by his 
 Dream. (Gen. xxxvii. 5.) What could be more contingent 
 than Abafrs Death by a Random-mot, and yet this was 
 foretold before lie- entred the Field of Battle, r Kings xxii. 
 ly, 34. Things are faid to be contingent and accidental, 
 becaufe they happen or come to pafs unexpectedly to us,, 
 without our Defign or Knowledge, and becaufe the Caufes 
 that produce them, are not in themfelves neceilarily deter- 
 min'd to produce iuch an Effect ; but nothing can come to 
 pafs without fehovah's Cognizance, and Purpoie. And hence 
 the Scriptures inform us, that the moil minute Events, fall 
 within the Care and Compafs of his Providence, which ex- 
 tends it felf to themoft inconfiderable Creatures, a Sparrow 
 cannot jail to the Ground, without our Fathers Permimon.,, 
 and the very Hair s of our tie ad are numbered. Mat. x. 2-9, 10. 
 The Time would fail, if I mould relate all the Prophefies 
 mentioned reipectingCiiRisT. I (hall therefore rather choofe to- 
 obferve, in Addition to what has been faid, that Almighty 
 God knows all that concerns intelligent Beings in particular,. 
 as may appear by the following Instances, viz,. 
 
 ift. He knows all their Anions Pf. cxix. 168. For aUmf 
 Ways are before thee. There is r.o Darknefs or Shadow of 
 Death r where the Workers of Iniquity may hide themfelves.. 
 
 B h 2 dly;. 
 
1 94 ^ oe Ofy e ff s °f divine Knowledge. 
 
 2dly. He knows all our Words, Plal. cxxxix. 4. For 
 there is not a Word in my Tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou 
 knoweji it altogether, 
 
 3dly. He knoweth our Hearts, this he claims as his pe- 
 culiar Prerogative, ifau. iL 23. And all the Churches Jl: all 
 know that I am he that fearcheth the Reig?zs and Hearts. 
 He knows the Thoughts of the Heart : Hence he is faid to 
 know them afar off, i. e. From Eternity ^ as Divines gene- 
 rally interpret -, and hence he is likewife faid to tell unto 
 Alan his Thoughts, Amos iv. 13. He knows the Imaginati- 
 on of the Thoughts of the Heart. Gen. vi. 5. And God 
 faw that the Wickednefs of Man was great on the Earth, 
 and that every Imagination of the thoughts of his Heart was 
 only Evil continually. By the Imagination of the Thoughts, 
 we may underfland Thoughts in their Embryo not fully 
 form'd. He knows the Intention of the Heart, Heb. iv. 
 12. And is a difierner of the Thoughts and Intents of the 
 Heart. He knows the Bent of the Heart, Hof. 1 1 . j. 
 And my People are bent to Back-fiiding from me, though 
 they call'd them to the mojl higl\ none at all would exalt 
 him. And the Knowledge God hath of what has been 
 mention'd, and of every thing elfe, is certain and evident. 
 Hence Zanchy pertinently obferves. " That Knowledge by 
 " the Underflanding, is either Opinion, Faith or Science. 
 " Opinion, faith he, is neither a certain or evident Knowledge \ 
 " but Jo affents to the affirmative or negative Fart that it 
 " Doubts concerning the other. Faith, lays he, is a certain, 
 " but not evident Knowledge ! (Heb. xi. 1.) but Science is 
 <l both a certain and evident Knowledge, this there] ore up- 
 " on both Accounts is truly and properly afcrib'd to God." 
 
 But againft. what has been offer'd in Confirmation of 
 the Infinite and univerfal Extent ofGods Knowledge, the 
 Pelagians and Socinians objecf, ifl. That God is laid to 
 
 be 
 
Objections againftthe Knowledge of God. ig.ir 
 
 hegriev'd, Gen. vL 6 y y. That he expected good Grapes 
 of his Vine* Iia. v.. 2. That he tryed the Faith and Obe- 
 dience of Abraham, and in refpedl of it faid, now I know 
 that thou fear eft God. Gen . xxiL 12. To this weanfwer, 
 with. At han aft us,. et Thai thofe and fuch like Places of Scrip- 
 " tare, are fpoken after the Maimer of Men,, but fiould be 
 " imder flood fo as to confift with the divine Perfection." They 
 are delign'd to repent the exceeding Contrariety of Evil 
 to the Purity of the divine Nature, and the Agreeablenefs of 
 what is Good thereto. 
 
 ObjecJ. 2.. It is faid concerning the inhuman Barbarities 
 which the People of Judah committed in the Valley 
 of Hi/mom,, that it came not into the Heart of God,, Jer. 
 vii. 31. 
 
 Anfw. The whole Verfe confidered together explains it- 
 felf: There we have thefe Words, which I commanded them 
 not : So that the meaning of the Scripture appears to be 
 no more than this, that it never came into the Almighty's 
 Heart to command or approve of the Wickednefs of Ifrael, 
 in facrihcing their Children to Moloch., 
 
 ObjecJ. 3. Future Contingencies have no determm'd Cer- 
 tainty. 
 
 Anfw. It's true they have not in themfelves, but they 
 have in the Decree of God,, who does all Things after the 
 Council of his own Willy Eph. i. 11, But I proceed to the 
 Improvement. And 
 
 lft. The Consideration of God's Omnifcience mould def- 
 ter us from fecret Sins. Impenitent Tranfgrefibrs are apt 
 to fpeak in the Language of Eliphaz, How doth God know ? 
 Can he judge thro* the thick Cloud I Thick Chuds are a co-- 
 Bering to km, that he fieth not, and he walketh in the Cir- 
 cuit of Heaven. But it is vain for Men to encourage 
 themfelves thus in finning by hopes of Secrefy ; For there 
 
:o6 'The Omnifcience 
 
 is no Darknefs or fiadow of Death where the Worker* 
 of Iniquity may hide themjelves. The Darknefs is as the 
 Light to God, and the Night mines as the Day. As 
 Auguftine obferve?, " Jehovah is all Eye.," he not only 
 beholds fecret Impieties with ju ft Indignation, but records 
 them in order to the laft Judgment. Then will be made 
 manifeft the hidden Councils of Sinners Hearts : Then fhall 
 they be expos'd to all that Shame and Miiery, which their 
 dilguifed Impieties deferve ! And 
 
 2dly. The Confederation of God's Omnifcience iliould 
 powerfully incite us to fecret Duties, feeing our heavenly 
 Father who feeth in fecret will reward openly, Mat. vi. 4. 
 Hypocrites love much outward Show and Orientation, as 
 the Pharifees of old, who made Broad their Philacleries.— 
 But truly pious Souls incline to fcrene much of their De- 
 votion from others Observance, by a Vail of Modefty. 
 How comfortably does our Lord fpeak to his Church in her 
 Retirements. Cant. ii. 14. O my Dove, that art in the 
 Clifts of the Reck, in the jeer et Places of the Stairs, let me 
 fee thy Countenance, let me hear thy Voice 5 for jweet is thy 
 Voice, and thy Countenance is comely, 
 
 3 dry. This Subject alfo invites "us to be fincere both in our 
 fecret and publick Duties, and in all manner of Conver- 
 fation after David's Example, 1 Chron. xxv. 17. / know 
 cdfo my God that thou tryeft the Heart, and haft Plea fare 
 in Uprightnefs. Seeing that the molt retir'd Recefles of 
 our Souls are open to the All-penetrating Eye of God, let 
 us watch our Hearts diligently arid chiefly labour to ap- 
 prove our felvestohim, who principally requires the Heart, 
 without which all outward Service is but a ipecious Kind 
 of Mockry. And 
 
 dthly. The Consideration of the divine Omnifcience mould 
 make us amam'd of our Ignorance ; furelv we are but 
 
 of 
 
of God improved X gy 
 
 of Ycilerday, and know nothing comparatively. What 
 Reafon have we to lament with Agur, that we are as brute 
 BcaJIs bejore God, and have not attain 'd to the Knowledge 
 of the Holy ? If we have a little Knowledge, let -us beware 
 that we be not puff'd up with it ; for the highefr. acquired 
 Attainments in Knowledge here, are as nothing compared 
 with what we are Ignorant of 5 and lefs than nothing when 
 compared with the infinite Mbyfs of divine Knowledge. If 
 we have received any Thing from God, why mould we 
 boafr. as tho' we had not received it, eipecially coniidering 
 that by thole Talents we are more deeply indebted to God 
 ,as Stewards under him, who mull give an Account. And, 
 5thly. Is God Omnijcient ? Then if we are fincere, we 
 may hope and rejoice in him in every Difficulty, whether 
 Perfonal or Publick ! Are we reproached by our fellow Crea- 
 tures ? Whattbm ? Let us fpeakin the Apoitle's Language, 
 2 Cor. i. 1 2 . For our rejoycing is this, the Tejlimony of our 
 Confcicnce, that iiz fmplicity and godly fmcerity, not with 
 flejUy Wifdow, but by the Grace of God, we have had cur 
 Ccnverfation in the Worlds and more abundantly to ycu-wards. 
 Are we in Poverty and Want ? our heavenly Father know- 
 ■eth that we need Support* (Mat. vi. 31.) Are we per] ecu- 
 led f our Father beholds the Mi f chief and the Spite ', and 
 will requite it with his Hand, as the Pfalmijl expreffes it. 
 Are we in Defertion, and ready to jay that God hath for- 
 gotten us F How iupporting is it in fuch a Cafe to think 
 upon that fweet Paifage, Ifa. xiix. 15. Can a Woman for- 
 get her fucking Child F And that of the Apoftle, 2 Tim. 
 ii. 19. Ihe Lord knoweth who are his. What tho' we 
 be environ 'd with Trouble, fo that we can't fee the fmall- 
 cft Pailage open for an Efcape 5 yet God knows how to de- 
 liver his People : He can with the Temptation, fend a Door 
 of Deliverance ! And what tho' the poor Church be co- 
 vered 
 
io8 flfe Omnifcience of God. improved'.. 
 
 vered with Clouds and Darknefs, and every way eneonr— 
 pafs'd with Enemies. and. Diftrefles, fo that a human Un- 
 derftanding is quite nonplus'd and cannot fee how Relief 
 mould come ? Then it's comfortable to think that 
 all Things are open to the Eye of God, and that he 
 who fits in Heaveiv derides the Councils of his Enemies,. 
 (Pfal. ii.) and will bring them to Nought in his own Time, 
 and that no Weapon, form'd againfl Zion mall profper.. 
 In fine let us glorify God on the Account of his Know- 
 ledge,, and cry out with the Apoftle in our Text, O 
 the Depth of the Knowledge of God ! And let us labour 
 to imitate this divine Perfection* left we be as Brutes, in 
 whom there is no Understanding, (Pfal. xxxii. 9) without 
 divine Knowledge the Mind cannot be Good, as Solomon ob- 
 ferves.. It was a pertinent Obfervation of Bifhop Be-vcridge, 
 in his Thoughts on Religion, " That as God would not ac- 
 :t cept. of blind Sacrifices under the Law \ jo wither will he 
 u of blind Services under the GofpcW Religion is a Rea- 
 ionable Service and therefore it muff be attended with. 
 Knowledge (Rom. xii. 1.) The Almighty complains by the 
 Prophet, that hisPecple were dejlroyd for lack of Knowledge. . 
 Hof. iv. 6, Hence, the. Almighty promifes to fend Pajlors 
 after his own Hearty which fhould feed the People with Know- 
 ledge and Under/landing Jer. iii. 15. Hence the Friefts Lips 
 are faid to preferve Knowledge. But on the contrary its laid 
 of the Pharifees, that they took away the Key of Knowledge, 
 Luk xi. 52. And that the Ignorant and Inftable wreft the 
 Scriptures to their own Deftruction. Therefore let us earnehz- 
 ly feek the Knowledge of God in the ufe of all proper Means,., 
 for this is the Foundation of all reafonable Religion.. 
 
 SERMON. 
 
The Nature of divi?ie Wifdom opened* 199 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 ROMANS xi. 33, 
 
 O the Depth oj the Riches both of the Wifdom and Knowledge 
 of God ! How unfearchable are his Judgments, and his Ways 
 pajl Jindifig out. 
 
 YOU may remember that in the preceeding Difcourfe, 
 after an Explication of the Text, I obferv'd thefe 
 two Proportions from it, viz. That the Kjiow/edge 
 of God was Deep, Unfiarchable, and Infinite. And 
 2dly, That the Wifdom of God was fo alfo. The firft of 
 which has been already difcours'd upon ; the 2d, therefore 
 comes now to be confidered. In Relation to which it will 
 be necelTary to fpeak upon thefe four Particulars following, 
 viz. 
 
 I. The Nature of the divine Wifdom* 
 
 II. It's Kinds, 
 
 III. It's Properties or £>ualities* 
 
 IV. Its Difplays. And laitly improve the whole. And. 
 1 ft. The divine Wifdom may be thus defcrib'd, viz* 
 
 'That it is that pecular Virtue or Perfection of the divine Mind % 
 whereby the Almighty knows by what Methods he can bejl 
 compafs and illuftrate his own Glory in all his Works , whe- 
 ther of Creation, Redemption, or Providence. There is a 
 twofold A£t of Wifdom, and both eminent in God. The 
 lirft is Knowledge in the Nature of Things, which is call'd 
 
 Science. 
 
2O0~ The Nature of d'rcine Wifdom opened. 
 
 Science. The 2d. is Knowledge how to order and difpojr 
 cf Things in the befl Manner, and to the befl End, which 
 is eail'd Prudence. Tho' Wifdom neceiTarily fuppofes 
 Knowledge, yet it contains mors than Knowledge ; for 
 there may be but little Wifdom where there is much 
 Knowledge, tho' there can be no Wifdom without Know- 
 ledge ! " Knowledge ', as Dr,. Ridge/y well obferves, is as it 
 " were the Eye of the Soul, whereby it apprehends or fees 
 " Things in a true Light, and jo it is opposed to Ignorance ',; 
 ** or not knowing Things ; but Wifdom is that whereby the 
 " Soul is directed in the Jkilful Management of Thi/igs, or 
 " in ordering them for the befl.. And this is opposed not Co 
 " much to Ignorance or Error of fudgment, as to Folly, or 
 ** Error in Conduct, which is a defect of Wifdom" In Wifdom 
 therefore there are thefe four Ingredients, , viz. ifl. & fixing 
 upon the noblefl End. 
 
 2dly, A. Choice of the ht&Means^ viz.. Suclr as diveCtly 
 conduce to attain the End defign'd. 
 
 3dly, An alioting of the fttejl Seafon for the Uie of the 
 aforefaid Means, together with the Obfervation thereof. 
 
 4thly, A Forefght of and Provifion again ft all fuch Occur- 
 ences, as may mar cur Attainment of the End proposed, or 
 offer Occafion for uneafy Senfations, on the Account of 
 Mifmanagement \ Now every of the aforefaid Ingredients are 
 truly applicable to fehovah : For ifl. he hath flx'd upon 
 the belt End in all his Works, viz. His own Glory. Hence 
 it is faid that he made all Things for him fc If Pro. xvi. 4. 
 But here it maybe enquired, what is the Glory of God ? 
 And how does it appear to be the befl End ? 
 
 Anfw. The Glory of God may be thus defcrib'd, viz. 
 That is the Bright?iefs of his infinite Eminence known and 
 wanifejled. But how does this appear to be the befl End ? 
 
 Anfw. 
 
The Ingredients ofWifdom applfdtoGod. 201 
 
 Anfw. As God himfelf is the heft Being, the Manifefta- 
 fion of himfelf, muft by Confequence be the moft excellent 
 and noble End ! And what is this but his declarative Glo- 
 ry ? Seeing that Creatures are deriv'd from him as their 
 producing Caufe, it is but reafonable that they mould be 
 referr'd to him, or his Glory as their End. Hence faith 
 the Apoftle, for of him, and thro' him, and to him are all 
 Things I But feeing that God is of himfelf, he can have 
 no other final Caufe but himfelf. If he had any other 
 Supream End but his own Glory,, he would aim ultimately 
 at ibmething below himfelf, which is abfur'd, and depend 
 on Ibmething beiides himfelf, which is impofiible. From 
 what has been {aid it is evident, that the fir ft Character or 
 Ingredient ofWifdom, viz. a fixings upon the nobleft End, 
 is juftly applicable to Almighty God. I proceed to the 
 
 2d. Which was the Choice of the beft Means directly con- 
 ducing to attain the End delign'd. Now that this is ap- 
 plicable to God, will appear by the following Particulars. 
 1 ft. Jehovah hath made his Glory manifeft or viiible, by 
 engraving large and legible Characters thereof in his Word 
 and Works, in both which we may eafiy difcern many Foot- 
 fteps or Signatures of his adorable Attributes I Now with- 
 out this Manifestation, however Infinite and Tranfcendent, 
 the eilential Emminence or Perfection of God might be, t 
 yet it would not be perceived or celebrated by Creatures. 
 And, 
 
 adly, God hath made intelligent Creatures capable thro' 
 his Affiftance and Influence to perceive, acknowledge, and 
 honour his Excellency and Glory, manifefted as aforefaicl. 
 Tho' irrational and inanimate Creatures may object iveiy glori- 
 fy God. In this refpect it is faid that the Heavens and Earth 
 do fiew forth God's Glory, i. e. They oifer Occafion to in- 
 teligent Beings to magnify God's Name, by ftiewing the 
 
 C c Powev* 
 
20£ The Ingredients of Wifdom apply* d to God. 
 
 Power and other Perfections of God apparent in their Pro- 
 duction. Rom. i. 20. For the invijible Things of him, 
 from the Creation of the World are clearly Jeen, being under- 
 food by the Things that are made-) even his eternal Power 
 and Godhead - y fo that they are without Excufe. Yet none 
 but intelligent Creatures can actively and with Defign, 
 Glorify God. And 
 
 3 dl y, Becaufe fome are either fo Stupid or Negligent, that 
 they cannot or will not, in a way of reasoning, infer his 
 Perfections from his Works j therefore the Almighty has 
 implanted a Monitor in Mens Boloms to inform them of 
 their Duty, and reprefent the Danger of Neglect in the moft 
 convincing Manner. Hence it is faid that the Heathens 
 not having the Law, /". e. The moral Law written, were a 
 Law unto themfelves : Their Confciences in the mean 
 Time accufmg or excuiing one another. And 
 
 4thly, To add Light and Force to the Inftructions and 
 Admonitions of Confcience, and to enlarge our views of 
 his Attributes, more obfcurely repreiented by his Works ! 
 Jehovah has added his Word, which he hath magnified above 
 all his Name. But to proceed, the 
 
 3d, Ingredient ofWifdom is likewfe applicable to the 
 Almighty, for he hath appointed to every thing its Time 
 and Seafon, and made them beautiful therein : All his 
 Ways are Judgment, calculated in every of their Circum- 
 ftances with the deepeil Penetration ! (Deut.xxK.ii. 4.) And 
 
 4thly, He hath guarded againfl all adverle Occurrences, 
 by his eternal and unalterable Purpofes ; his Almighty 
 power and fovereign Providence, which prefide over all 
 Events : So that the Wrath of Man fliall be confTrain'd 
 to praifehim. He will in the Iffue get himfelf Glory from 
 all his Creatures, either in an objeblive, Aclive, or pafive 
 Way. His Mercy or Juftice will have a Tribute of Honour 
 
 from 
 
The Kinds of divine Wijdom. 203 
 
 from all the intelligent Creation, either in their Salvation- 
 or Damnation I But I proceed to the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, which was to fpeak of the Kinds of divine 
 Wifdom : Now the Wijdom of God is twofold, viz. Effen- 
 tial and Perfonal, the perfonal Wifdom of God is our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, he is cail'd the Wifdom of God, by way 
 of Appropriation, on Account of his mediatorial Office i 
 Becaufe herein the divine Wifdom has been moil marve- 
 loufly manifefted, In him, as Mediator for his Peoples 
 Benefit, are hid all the Treafures of WifdGm and Knowledge^ 
 Col. u\ 3. The efjhitial Wijdom of God is what is Common 
 to all the Perfons of the facred Trinity, and is the Subject 
 of our prefent Difcourfe. I pais on therefore to the 
 
 3d. Propos'd, which was to mention the Properties or 
 Qualities of divine Wifdom. And 
 
 1 ft. It is Infinite as our Text aiferts, O the Depth of the 
 Wifdom and Knowledge of God, hew unfearchable arc his "Judg- 
 ments, and his Ways pajl finding out ! It muft of neceility 
 be Infinite, bscauie it is him (elf 
 
 2dly. Or iginal Wifdom, of this the Royal Prophet fpeaks 
 in bold and noble Strains, Ifa. xl. 12, 13. Who hath mea- 
 fured the Waters in the Hollow of his Hand, and meted out 
 the Heavens with a Span, and comprehended the Dufl of the 
 Earth in a Meafure, and weighed the Mountains hi Scales, 
 and the Hills in a Ballance ? Who hath directed the Spirit 
 of the Lord, or being his Counfellor hath taught kirn f He 
 is the great Fountain from which all created Beings derive 
 their Streams ; yea he is wifdom it felf in the Abflract, 
 which his Simplicity proves ! And 
 
 3dly. He is univerfal Wifdcm, John xxi. iy. Lord thou 
 hzowefl all Things, thou hiowejl that I Love thee. And 
 
 C c 2 4th ly 
 
204 ^ oe Properties of divine Wifdom. 
 
 4thly. He is interring and infallible Wifdom j this then 
 is the Meflage which we have heard of him, and declare 
 unto you that God is Light, and in him is no Darknifs at all, 
 
 5thly. He is immutable Wifdom, and hence he is call'd 
 the Father of Lights, with whom there is no Fariablenefs ncr 
 Shadow of turning. 
 
 6thly. He is incommunicable or unparalle? d Wifdom, and 
 hence he is call'd the only Wife God, Rom. xvi. 27. He is 
 like wife {aid to be wonder full in Council, and excellent in 
 Working, Ifa. xxviii. 29. There is indeed ibme faint 
 Shadow of the divine Wifdom in Creatures, but the effential 
 Wifdom of God cannot be communicated. The Wifdom of 
 all Creatures put together, is but as a llngle Drop compar'd 
 with the inimenfe Ocean, of Wifdom in God. But the 
 
 4th. Propos'd comes now to be confidered, which was 
 to lpeak of the Difplays of God's Wifdom in his Works. 
 And 
 
 ift. The Wifdom of 'God appears with much Beauty, in the 
 Works of Creation : How noble is the Harmony that fublifls 
 among the numerous Parts of this vaft Machine, notwith- 
 standing of the difcordant Elements ot which they are 
 form'd ? How amiable and amazing is the Order of Sub- 
 ferviency among its Parts, together with their general Ten- 
 dency to promote the Good of the whole Frame ? Hof. ii. 
 21, 22. I will hear, faith the Lord, I will hear the Heavens, 
 and they fall hear the Earth. And the Earth jhall hear the 
 Corn, and the Wine, and the Oil, and they fall hear Jczrecl. 
 The regular and ffeady Motion of the heavenly Bodies-; 
 together with their Situation and Influence upon trie Earth ; 
 as well as the Support, Conveyance, and diilblving of the 
 Clouds in Rain, and Dews fo neceffiirily to rerrefh and 
 render Fruitful 1 the parch'd Surface of this lower World; 
 manifeft the Depth of divine Wifdom, and juflly challange 
 
 our 
 
The Displays of divine Wijdotfh 20£ 
 
 our Admiration. Job. xxxviii. 31, 32, 33,44. Canft thou 
 bind the fweet influences of Pleiades, or loofe the Bands of 
 Orion ? Cdnjl thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his Seafon, or 
 canft thou guide Ardturus with his Sons f Knowefi thou the 
 Ordinances of Heaven ? Canft thou fee the Dominion thereof 
 in the Earth ? Canft thou lift up thy Voice to the Clouds, 
 that abundance of V/aters may cover thee ? How curious 
 is the Structure of that little World the Body of Man, in 
 refpect of the Form, Number, and Situation of its Parts, 
 both for Beauty and Service ? Of this the Pfalmift admiring 
 lays, 7" a?n fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are 
 thy Works, and that my Soul knoweth right well. " The 
 " Heathen Annatomiil (fays Mr. Willard) read a God in 
 " it, and was, tranfported to fmg his Prazfe." Is it not ad- 
 mirable that among that vaft Variety of Parts, which com- 
 pofe the World, that not one is Defective, not one Su- 
 perfluous, or Redundant, even the fmaileft Infect loudly 
 proclaims the Wiidom of it's Former ? For what lefs than 
 infinite Wiidom cou'd comprize all the Springs and Organs 
 of Life, Senfe, and Motion in fo fmall a Compafs ? How 
 jufcly may we Ufe the Prophet Jeremiah's, and the Pfal- 
 mift s Language ? He hath made the Earth by his Power, 
 he hath . ejiabliffd the World by his Wifdom, and ftrech'd out 
 the Heavens by his Difcrction. Lord how manifold are thy 
 Works, in Wiidom haft thou made them all. And 
 
 2dly. Is not the Wifdom of God difplafd in the Work 
 of Redemption moft glorioufly, even to thejufl Aftonimment 
 of Men and Angels ? Flence the Apoftle calls it the mani- 
 fold Wifdom of God, Eph. iii. 1 o. (polupocilos Sophia) This 
 the Angels defire to look into ! Divine Wifdom has found 
 out a Way to fatisfy divine Juftice, which was wrong'd by 
 the Creatures revolt from God, thro' the Sufferings of a 
 Mediator in their Room; a Way to magnify the Law, and 
 
 make 
 
i.o5 the Difplays of divine Wifdom. 
 
 make it honourable by the perfect Obedience of the 
 Son of God in the TranfgrefTors Place : Hereby both the 
 Precept and Penalty of the Law are fully anfwered, and 
 a Door opened for the Manifestation of rich, pure and 
 glorious Grace, in the Remiflion and Salvation of fallen 
 Mankind, without infringing upon the Rights of Juftice,, 
 Truth and Holinefs : Surely fuch a Devife as this, would 
 have nonplus'd all the Creation. What Ids than infinite 
 Wifdom could bring the greateft Glory to God, and tic 
 greateft Good to Mankind out of the greater! Evil, viz. 
 Sin ? Both which are directly contrary to the Nature of it \ 
 And this indeed is the true State of the Cafe ; for as it is 
 certain that Believers are now upon a more lure Founda- 
 tion, refpecling their Happinefs, than our iirit Parents were 
 before the Fail ; becauie their Stock is now in the Hands 
 of the Mediator, which was before in their own, fo we 
 cannot fee how the Grace and Mercy of God could have 
 had fuch marvelous and bright Difplays, had not Sin been 
 in the World ! Thus out of the Eater divine Wifdom hath 
 brought forth Meat, and out of the Strong, Sweetnefs. It 
 might be here iikewife obferved, that the deferring of the 
 Meilias coming; in the Flefh for a Ions: Space of Time, is 
 no inconfiderable Difcovery of divine Wifdom : For hereby 
 Pvoom was given for the Tryal and Exercife of the Faith 
 jind Patience of God's People, in depending on his Word, 
 and waiting for the Accompliihment thereof ; for thus was 
 Jehovah glorify 'd, Heb. xi. 13. Thefe all died in Faith, not 
 having received the Promifes, but having feen them afar off] 
 and n rre per/waded of them, ana ! embraced them, and con- 
 fe fed that they were Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earth. 
 And indeed the Time of our Lords coming was moll 
 feafonable j for then the Darknefs of Impiety moil dread- 
 hilly prcvail'd, and real Religion languiih'd, and had al_ 
 
 mort- 
 
The Dijplays of divine Wifdom, SO7 
 
 moft totally expir'd. It was proper therefore that then 
 the Day fpring fro7ii on High (fjould vijit a benighted World \ 
 and the Sim of Right eovfnefs arife upon them to tur?? 'away Un- 
 godlinefs from Jacob ! 
 
 3 dl y. The Wifdom of God is alfo wonderfully difplayd 
 in his Works of Prividence ! in Relation to the World in 
 general, and to his Church and People in particular. 
 
 The infenfible Parts of the Creation are conducted by 
 divine Providence to an End which they know not. The 
 Sun obferves his ftated Periods of rifmg and letting, and 
 runs his wonted Round to enlighten and animate this low- 
 er Globe, and the Stars with exact Order atten'd their 
 feveral Motions, many irrational Animals act with a Dis- 
 cretion, like that of intelligent Beings, Jer. viii. 7. ; The 
 Stork in the Heaven knoweth her appointed Times, and the 
 Tnrtk ', and the Crane, and the Swallow obferve the Time of 
 their coming. The Ant by prudent indujiry, lays up her 
 "Winter Store before ifs Approach ! 
 
 What elfe than a wife and watchful Providence keeps 
 the whole Syftem of Things in its proper Situation, fo 
 that the Elements do not break Loofe and deftroy each 
 other ? And what but this bounds the Wrath of favage 
 Men, and makes it turn to the divine Praife ? But more 
 particularly in Relation to the Church of God, how mar- 
 veloufly has the Wifdom of God appear' d in his Provi- 
 dence ? 
 
 In the Time of the Patriarchs, while Men liv'd a 
 long Space, God was pleafed to inftruct his People by 
 immediate Revelation and Tradition j but when the Lives 
 of Men were much contracted, and there was Danger, 
 on that Account of the Corruption of Tradition, it pleafed 
 God to communicate his Mind and Will to his People by 
 Writing ; wliich is a Method lefs liable to the aforefaid 
 
 Inconvenience ? 
 
£0v> 
 
 *±he Difplays of divine Wifdom y 
 
 Inconvenience. Moreover in the written Word, the Almigh- 
 ty inftructed his Church gradually in the Knowledge of the 
 Gofpel, firft more obfeurely by Types and Shadows j and 
 afterwards more plainly by a clearer Revelation : Thus 
 the Almighty treated them like Children,, as they were able 
 to bear it ! 
 
 And doubtlefs the harder and more coftly Services re- 
 quired, under the feivifj Oeconomy y tended to make Men 
 long for, and more eagerly embrace an eafier Dilpenfation ! 
 
 But the Wifdom of God in his Providence towards his 
 Church, has appear'd in nothing more eminently than in 
 baffling the Contrivances and Attempts of her Enemies, 
 and in turning them to her Advantage ! A noble Inftance 
 of this we read of in the Book of EJler y when Haman had 
 cruelly devis'd the utter Ruin of the Jeiviflj Church and 
 Nation, and had brought his malicious Plot almoft to 
 the fatal Period of Execution ! How admirably was it 
 fruftrated, and the Tables turn'd in his own overthrow ?.' 
 While poor Mordecai, the Mark of his ambitious Rage, 
 was honour'd and protected,, and the Church eftablinYd ! 
 The Incident that led to thisfurprizing Revolution of Af- 
 fairs, was truly aftonifhing, viz.. The King's Reftleisneis 
 one Night, and reading in the Book ofthe Chronicles of 
 Mordecai's Services to the Kingdom ! 
 
 And indeed in all Ages it has plcas'd the all-wife God 
 to make Perfecution of Service to his Church, fo that there 
 is good Ground for that antient and common Proverb, 
 that The Blood of the Martyrs, is the feed of the Church'. 
 But in Particular the Perfecution at fcrufalcm is a memora- 
 ble Inftance of this Kind, for the Chriftians being thereby 
 difpers'd, were Means of fpreading the Gofpel fir and 
 wide ! And did not Ifrael's Opprefilon in Egypt, prepare 
 die Way for their happy Deliverance,, by making them 
 
 more 
 
The Difplays of divine Wifdom 209 
 
 i more defirous after it, and more ready to embrace the Call 
 of God, in abandoning their Captivity ? 
 
 And that I may fay many Things in one, was not Satan 
 and his Instruments overfhot, in their own Bow, in re- 
 fpect of the Cruciflction of Chrift ? What they defign'd for 
 Evil, has not God's Wifdom turn'd to the gr-eateft Good? 
 By Death, Life is brought to Believers, by the bittereft Fain, 
 the fweeteft Fleafure, and by the bafefi Ignominy, the higkcji 
 Honour] 
 
 An immemorial Inftance of the Wifdom of God, in his 
 Providence in comparing a noble End, by contrary Means, 
 we have reflecting fofeph his being; fo Id to the TflomaUtes, 
 and imprifon'd in Egypt, were Occafions introductory to his 
 exalted Dominion over that Nation -, and this the Occafion 
 of his Father's Family coming and refiding there, and fd 
 of the fulfilment of the Prophefies, relpecting Ifraels abode 
 in Egypt, and Deliverance out of it, in after Time. The 
 Wheels of Providence are full of Eyes, It may be truly 
 laid of them, that- ; (iVo« ceco impetu volvunterrote.) the Wheels 
 of Providence are not govern'd by blind Chance. But the 
 Time will not lerve to relate any more Inftances. I there- 
 fore proceed to the Improvement of this Subject And 
 
 1 ft. The Confideration of the divine Wifdom mould ex- 
 cite us to Modefty in our Meditations upon the Difficul- 
 ties which we fometimes meet with in God's Word and 
 Works ! Tho' the Myfteries of Faith do not contradict 
 human Reafon, yet they in fome Inftances tranfcend its 
 Reach ! And there be fometimes obfcure Texts in the Pro- 
 vidence of God too difficult for us to folve. The Almigh- 
 ty walks fometimes in the great Deep, and his Footfleps are 
 not known,, he makes Darknefs his Pavilion, and hides the 
 Face of his Throne I In this Cafe let us confider, that the 
 Foolijlnefs of God is wifer -than Men, and cry out with the 
 
 D d Apoftlf 
 
2, 1 o The Wijdom of God improved. 
 
 Apoftle in our Text, the Depth of the Riches of the Wij- 
 dom and Knowledge of God, how anfearchable arc his fudg- 
 ments, and his Ways pajl finding out t Let us beware of call- 
 ing the divine Wifdom to the Bar of our Reaibn, with the 
 Socim'ans, i Cor. iii. 18. If any Man among yen feemeth to 
 be wife in this World, let him become a Fool that he may 
 be wife. Not a Fool really, with Fnthufiajls, who reject 
 all ufe of Reafon in Religion, but a Fool in his own Eyes, 
 i. e. Let him be humble under a Senfe of his Folly and 
 Wcaknefs, and reject all Dependance upon his own Under- 
 ftanding. And 
 
 2dly. This Subject learns us the Reafonablenefs of Con- 
 tentment in every change of Circumftance, feeing the In- 
 finitely wife God knows beff what is beft for us. If we 
 were left to our own Choice, we fhould certainly min our- 
 felves r with what calm Confidence mould we then com- 
 mit our Way to God, that he may bring it to pais. And 
 
 3dly„ The Wifdom of God offers Food for cur Faith, 
 and Comfort to our Souls under the darkeft Appearances of 
 divine Providence refpecting the Church. We are l'ure that 
 he is the Ruler, and that he rules in Wifdom, nothing hap- 
 pens befides his Purpofe, or without his Providence. He 
 can make the moll contrary Things promote his Kingdoms 
 Good, as was obferv'd before, and he has promis'd that he 
 will do fo. (Rom. viii. 28.) And elfewhere he has faid, that 
 no Weapon form 'a I again jl Zion, Jha 11 pro/per. Then let us 
 refign our Wifdom and Wills to God, letusbelievingly com- 
 mit the Affairs of God's Kingdom into the Mediators 
 Hands, and expect the fulfilment of his Word. 
 
 4thly. Is God's Wifdom difplay'd in his Word and 
 Works? Then let us meditate on them, with more fre- 
 quency and Care, and aicribe to God the Glory of that 
 
 Wifdom 
 
The Wifdom of God improved. 2 1 1 
 
 Wii'dom which appears in them, in the Sentiments of our 
 Minds, by the Speeches of our Lips, and the Actions of our 
 Lives. It is a juft Obfervation of the Pfalmift, That the 
 Works of the Lord are great, fought out of all thofe that have 
 Pleafure therein. 
 
 ^thiy. Is God Infinite in Wifdom? Then ift. Let us 
 mk Wifdom of him who giveth to all Men liberally and up- 
 braideth not, and it fhall be given us. Jam. i. 5. And 2dly. 
 Let us according to our Meafure imitate the divine Wifdom. 
 
 ill:. By fixing upon an End, in the Enjoyment of which 
 we may be compleatly happy, viz. God's Glory and the 
 Enjoyment of him. And 
 
 2diy. By the Choice of proper Mea?7s tending to that 
 End, fiich as Faith, Repentance and Holinefs, as God is 
 Holy; fo thofe that expect to enjoy him, muft be like him. 
 
 3 dly. By improving the prefent Seafons, in the ufe of the 
 aforefaid Means. This is the Command of God, 2 Cor. vi. 
 1 , 2 . We then as Workers together with him, befeech you 
 alfo that ye receive not the Grace of Go din vain. [For 
 he faith, I have heard thee in a Tune accepted, and 
 in the Day of Salvation have 1 fuccoured thee : Behold, now 
 is the accepted Time; behold now is the Day of Salvation.) 
 
 To this we mould be excited like wife, by confidering 
 the Shortnefs and Uncertainty of our Time and its Op- 
 portunities, together with the vaft Moment that depends 
 upon the Improvement thereof. And 
 
 Athly. We mould guard againft every Appearance of 
 Evil, that tends to obftruct us in the Purfuit of our chief 
 End. The very contrary to the aforefaid Particulars, 
 confKtutes the Folly of the ungodly World. They either 
 fix upon fome Enjoyment here as their chief End, or if 
 
 D d 2 thev 
 
2ia 
 
 The Wijdom of God improved. 
 
 they pretend a higher End, take contrary Meafures to at- 
 tain it. They neglect the prefent Seafons of Mercy, with 
 the Fool they have a Price in their Hand r but no Heart to it. 
 They likewtfe ru[h into Places of Tempt ation y and fo are eafily 
 enjnared } and fell their Salvation for a Thing oj Nought. 
 
 SERMON: 
 
The Text explained, 1 1 
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 GENESIS, xvii. r. 
 A?id when Abram was Ninety Tears old and Nine, the Lord 
 appeared to Abram, and J aid unto him, lam the Almighty 
 God-, walk before me, and be thou perfect, 
 
 IN the Words of our Text, we have a Summary of the 
 Gracious Covenant, God was pleas'd to make with 
 Abram of old, containing thefe two Things following, 
 which deferve our Notice, viz. 
 i ft. What God's Covenant People may expect him to be 
 to them, in thefe Words, / am the Almighty God. (Lljlmdai) 
 " This is the Name of God, (fays Mr. Henery in his Annota- 
 " tions) that is mofily us'd throughout the Book of Job, at 
 " leaf thirty Times in the Difcourfes of that Book, in which 
 " Jehovah is us'd but once." This Name (as Mr. Poole in 
 his Synopfs, and other learned Men obferve) fignihes the 
 Strengtli & Sufficiency of God, " It /peaks (fays Henery) the 
 <c Almighty Power of God, either as an Avenger, or as a Bene- 
 " factor, but it Jhouldbe especially taken in the Latter Senfe." 
 as Drufus and others obferve. In which it fignifies God's 
 SelfSufficiency, and All-Sufficiency. He is able to perform all' 
 that he hath laid, refpecting his People, he hath enough in. 
 himfelf, and of himfelf, for himfelf and for them ;. he hath 
 all Things, and needeth nothing to compleat his own. 
 Perfection and BlefTednefs, and is able to confer on us a Hap- 
 
 pinefs, 
 
214 ^° e ^ ex ^ explain* d. 
 
 pinefs, as large as our Defires. and as lafting as our Souls. 
 And therefore this Word, feems to be better rendred in the 
 old Englifh Verjion, than in the prefent : For there it is thus 
 cxprefs'd. I am God all fujjicient. But 
 
 2dly. The Words of our Text inform us, what God ex- 
 pedis or requires his People to be to him. And this is ex- 
 prefs'd in two Particulars, viz. Walking before him, and in 
 being perfect. Walk before me. This Word by a Metaphor 
 intends Men's Lives and Actions, (Pf. i. i.) Becaufe there 
 is fome Analogy or Refcmblance between them, and a na- 
 tural Way. Bejore me, i. e. Under a continual Senie of 
 rny Prefence and Cognizance, as a Servant before his 
 Lord. And be thou per j eel. Simmachus renders the Word 
 perfecl, blamelefs, but according to the moll of Interpreter;-, it 
 fignifies, Sincerity or Freedom from Deceit and Guile ; 
 in this Senie it is afcrib'd to Abram, Noah, David and j'c- . 
 (Gen. vi. 9. PJ. xviii. 23. Job i. 1.) That is perfect in the 
 Apoftle Paul's Judgment, which hath all its Parts, tho' it 
 be not perfect in Degrees. 2 Tim. iii. 17. That the Man of 
 God, may be perfetl thoroughly furnijled to all goedf 'Arks. And 
 fuch as are more advane'd in Knowledge and Holinefs than 
 others, are call'd perfect comparatively. Phil. iii. 15. Let us 
 therefore as many as be perfecJ, be thus minded, God Al- 
 mighty therefore does not covenant with Abram, for an en- 
 tire Perfection of Degrees, as the Papifts dream, who are 
 herein follow'd by the whole Tribe of Enthiiiiafts ; but' 
 he requires a Perfection of Parts, or Sincerity, viz. That he- 
 mould endeavour to conform his Practice, to all Parts of the 
 divine Law, without Guile or referve. " 1 ~'hi r Av m Religi- 
 " on (Jaid excellent Mr. Mathew ' Henery) btit Sincerity." 
 
 In difcourfmg upon this Text I fhai! iceak upon the three 
 
 following Heads, viz. 
 
 L 
 
The Nature of God's Sufficiency. ti 5 
 
 I. The Sufficiency of God. 
 
 II. Walking before him^ 
 
 III. Sincerity. 
 
 And then apply the whole. The 
 
 1 ft. General Head ofDifcourle is God's Sufficiency, or 
 All Sufficiency, which may be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it 
 is a Perfection of the divine Nature whereby fohovah hath 
 enough in himfelf, for himfelf and for his People in every re- 
 fpecl. Thisrefuits from his Infinity in particular, as well as 
 from his other Attributes in general, becaufe he exifted not 
 by the Will of another, therefore he is independent and in- 
 finite in his Eflence and in all his Attributes and Being, 
 fo he muft be confequently perfect and allfufficient. As his 
 Simplicity allures us, that he can admit nothing of ano- 
 ther Kind, to perfect his Being, fo his Eternity informs us, 
 that he was happy in himfelf, when there was none befides 
 him. And feeing all the Excellencies of Creatures arc 
 deriv'd from him, he muft poiTefs the fame eminently in him- 
 felf, otherwife he could not confer them upon others. Hence 
 is that Beautiful Pafiage of the Pfalmift, Pf. xxxvi. 10. 
 With thee is the Fountain of Life, and in thy Light (Imll we 
 fee Light. TbeophilaB glofieth pertinently upon this Place 
 of Scripture in the following Manner. " As the Sun (lays he) 
 " is always beheld full, and never lefened as the Moon, fo 
 :< God always cxifts perjeB, full of Wijdom, Power, Immor- 
 " tallity and all other good Things." And the Scriptures ai- 
 fert elfewhere, that God is perfecJ, Mat. v. 48. P erf eel 
 in JVijdom, Power, Beneficence, and that he needs Coun- 
 cil or Help of none. Job. xxii. 2, 3 Rom. xi. 34, 35. 
 
 But that the aforefaid Defcription of God's Sufficiency 
 may be the better understood, let the following Particulars 
 be confider'd, 
 
 A 
 
2 1 6 The Properties of God's Sufficiency . 
 
 i ft. That the general Nature of this Attribute is Fullnefs y 
 or enough of Excellency and Good. This is a Perfection 
 oppos'd to Emptinefs and Defect, and is attended with the 
 following Properties, viz. 
 
 i ft. It is an under iv'd Fullnefs Rom. xi. 35, 36. Who 
 hath fir (I given to him, and it ftjall be recompcnfed to him again, 
 for of him, and through him, and to him are all Things. 
 
 2dly. It is an independent Fullnefs : He hath no Depend- 
 ance upon Creatures, neither can he receive any Good 
 or Excellency from them, becaufe they have deriv'd 
 their All from him. Now a Circulation of Caufes and 
 Effects is in the nature of Things impomble. Our Gocd- 
 nefs extends not to him, neither is it any Gain to the Almigh- 
 ty that we are righteous, fayeth Job. Who hath made thee 
 to differ from another, fayeth the Apoftle Paul ? And what 
 haft thou that thou didjl not receive? It was a noble faying 
 of the Pagan Lucretius, relpecting the divine Nature. 
 
 Ipfa fuis valens opibus ?ton indiga Noftri. Which may be 
 thusEnglilhed. 
 
 Jehovah's Wealth, docs fully him furlice, 
 Nor needs he, of his Creatures, a fupply. 
 3dly. It is a compleat and perfect Fullnefs, and that in 
 three refpects, viz. In regard of the Kinds, Degrees and 
 Duration of all poffible Excellency and Good. And ifh 
 the Fulnefs of God is Perfect in refpect of the Kinds 
 of Excellency, for the Almighty hath in him, not only all 
 thofe Excellencies, the Shadow of which is in created Be- 
 ings, fuch as Wifdom, Power, Holinefs, Juftice, Goodncfs, 
 Truth. But he hath alio fuch Excellency's in his Nature 
 as there are no Footfteps or refemblance of in Creature?, 
 e. g. Simplicity, Immutability, Infinity, Incomprchcnftbility, 
 and Self -exigence. Which are therefore term'd by lome 
 Divines incommunicable Attributes ! And 
 
 2dly 
 
The Properties of God's Sufficiency. 
 
 I *7 
 
 2dly. The Fullnefs of God is compleat and perfect in. 
 Degree, becau/e Infinite. The Excellencies of the noblefl 
 Creatures are limited, and finite ; but thofe of Jehovah are. 
 without Bounds. The Almighty PorTeiTes all the Excel- 
 lencies of created Beings in a more fublime and exalted 
 Degree, than can poflibly be attain'd by them, becautb' 
 of their finite Natures. But 
 
 3<dly. The Fullnefs of God is compleat and perfect in 
 refpect of Duration, the Excellencies of Creatures are Qua- 
 lities diffinct from, and added to their Beings, and may 
 be therefore feperated and extinguiflied, while their Beings 
 are preferved, as appears by the doleful Apoftacy of the 
 Angels and our nrft Parents. If their Beings themfelves, 
 becaufederiv'd and dependant, maybe deflroy'd, how much 
 more the good Properties that cleave thereto ? But the Full- 
 nefs of God is the very fame with his Being, and there- 
 fore infeparable and eternal ! He and he only is, Wifdom 3 , 
 Jujlice, Goodnefi, and Truth. But to proceed 
 
 4thly. The Fullnefs of God is Itpvuriabfe^, equally unpa- 
 pable of Addition or Diminution, he can receive nothing 
 from without, becaufe he is already Infinite,, and to that 
 nothing can be added. And from whom mould he re- 
 ceive any Addition, it muft be from Creatures if at all;, 
 but they can give him nothing but what is his own, no- 
 thing but what they received from him, A<3s xvii. 25. 
 Neither is he worfriped with Men's Hands, as tho' he needed 
 any Thing, Jeeing he giveth to all Life, and Breath, and 
 all Things ! And as the Fullnefs of God cannot be increafed, 
 fo neither can it be impair'd by the fordid Violence of 
 Creatures ! For as our Goodneis does not extend to God 
 to benefit him, fo neither can cur Impieties do him a- 
 ny real Injury, Job xxxv, 6, 7, 8, If thou fnneft, what doe ft 
 thou cigciinjl him? Or if thy Tranfgrejjions be multiply' d r , 
 
 E e- whatz 
 
2 i 8 The Extent of God's Sufficiency* 
 
 what dojl thou unto him ? If thou be Righteous what giveft 
 thou hi tn ¥ Or what receiveth he of thine Hand $ Thy JVicked- 
 nefs may hurt a Man, as thou ai't, and thy Right coufnefs 
 may profit the Son of Man ! 
 
 5thly. The Fulhiefs of God is Overflowing and Tmmenfe : 
 He has more than enough for all created Beings, the 
 Riches and Affluence thereof, not only exceeds all their 
 Neceflities, but even their Thoughts and Defires ! Eph. 
 iii. 20. New unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly 
 above all that we afk or think. Pial. xxxvi. 8. TheyfijalJ 
 be abundantly fatisfyd with the Fatnefs of thy Houfe, and 
 thou fait make them drink of the River of thy Pie a fur es. 
 
 6thiy. The Fulhiefs of God is Everflowing and Inexhaufla- 
 ble : The Citterns of created Good may be drawn dry ; 
 but God is a Fountain that cannot be exhaufted : He is the 
 Alpha, and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending from 
 Everlafting to Everlafting, God. When Millions have drank 
 of this Fountain the Streams are never the Leis. 
 
 But the '/pedal Nature of Gods Sufficiency appears in 
 thefe two Particulars following, viz. jit. In that Jehovah 
 hath enough in himfelf for himfelf, or his own Happinefs ; 
 In -this reipedl he is call'd Self-Sufficient. That God is 
 Happy, appears from the Character of BlcJ'ed frequently 
 afcrib'd to him in Scripture. What is Happinefs but the 
 Enjoyment of a fufficient Degree of Good, fuited to the 
 Nature of the Being that enjoys it ? Now it is certain the 
 Almighty hath this, for he neither needeth, delireth, or 
 can receive more than he has. Dependant Creatures need 
 a foreign Support to fumiin their borrow'd Beings ; but 
 he is independent and hath Life of himfelf, (Job. v. 26) 
 And therefore needs them not, neither doth he deflre more 
 Happinefs then he hath j for than he would be imperfeel: 
 and fo no God. Before the Worlds Foundations were laid 
 
 he 
 
The Extent of God's Sufficiency. 219 
 
 lie had Complaifance in his own Glory and Perfection ; 
 neither did he make Creatures to increafe his own Hap- 
 pinefs, but of meer good Pleafure : And as for Creatures 
 acknowledging of his Excellency with Honour, it adds no 
 more thereto than commending the Sun adds to its Lull-re, 
 or praifing a Fountain would increafe its Streams, neither 
 can the Almighty pofiibly receive any more Happinefs 
 than he hathbecaufe of his Infinity. To confirm and il- 
 luftrate what has been now obferv'd let the following 
 Places of Scripture be confidered, Pf. 1. 9, 13. I will 
 take no Bullock out of thy Houfe, nor He-Goats out of thy 
 Fold : For every Be aft of the For eft is mine, and the Cattle 
 upon a thou [and Hills. If I were Hungry J would not tell 
 thee, for the World is mine and the Fullnefs thereof. And 
 2dly. The Almighty hath enough for all his Creatures 
 to make them compleatly Happy : / am the Almighty 
 God. Mr. Pool in his Synop/is obferves " The Original 
 " Wcrd is deriv'd of a Root that fignifies a Breaft, becaufe 
 " he nourifhes all, for the fame Reafon the Heathens re~ 
 " prefented their Diana, IJis and Ceres after the fame 
 " Manner." The Ability of God to make all his Crea- 
 tures Happy, is juftly tcrm'd by Divines, his All-Surhci- 
 ency, and this in. Relation to good People is fet forth by 
 feveral fignificant Emblems or Similitudes. Hence he is 
 call'd a Sun (Pfa. lxxxiv. 12.) As the Sun difiipates the 
 Gloom of Night by his enlightning and warming Rays, and 
 thereby fheds a Gladnefs over the Face or Things ; thus 
 the Almighty refrefheth his Peoples Hearts. The Lord 
 islikewife call'd his Peoples Shield, Pla. lxxxiv. They are 
 expos'd in this tumultuous Scene to a thick ■ Suceeiiion of 
 Dangers 'and Confli&s ; but the Almighty protects them 
 as by a Shield, He covers their Head in the Dav of Battle. 
 He that dwelleth in the fecret Place of the mo ft High, ft all 
 
 E e z ahidi. 
 
22o The Extent of God's Sufficiency. 
 
 abide under the Shadow of the Almighty. The Almighty 
 is call'd his Peonies Rock. Strength and Delherer. He 
 bellows all Manner of fpiritual and temporal Good upon 
 them, (Ephef. 1. 3.) He abundantly recompences all their 
 Services and Sufferings for him.; and hence he is call'd 
 tin exceeding gre&t Rei&ard 3 Gen. xv. i. Phil. iv. 19. My 
 God Jhall fupply all your Nefd* according to his Riches in 
 Glory by Jesus Christ. Particularly- 
 lit. There is enough in God to fupply his Peoples Wants 
 here : Enough r ft for Protection, Zech. ii. 5. For I, faith 
 the Lord, will be a Wall of Fire unto her, round ah: at, 
 ■and will be the Glory in the midjl of her. Zech. i-x. 1 2. 
 Turn ye to the fir on g Flold, ye Prijoners of Hope. Pia. Ixiii. 
 y. Becaufe then haft been my Help therefore in the Sha t 
 of thy Wings will I rejoyce : Hence the Lord- bids his 
 People, not to fear for I am with thee, be not difmafd for 
 1' am thy God: I will fir eng then thee, yea I will Ipeip fbee^ 
 yea I will uphold thee with the right Hand of my Rightecuf 
 
 uefs, Fear not thou Worm Jacob, a?id ye Men of Ifrael, 
 
 / will help thee fayeth the Lord, Ifa. xli. 10 1.±. And 
 
 does not fehovah promife, thatwa Evil jhall come nigh their 
 -dwelling, Pia. xci. And was it not in Confidence of this 
 Almighty Protection that the triumphant Pfalmijl fays, 
 Pied. xlvi. and elfewhere, That tbtf Mountains were tofs\i 
 into the rnidjl of the Sea^ and ten Thou/and rcfe up 
 againft him, he would not be afraid. But 
 
 2diy. There is enough in God for Provi/ion, Pfa. xxiii. 
 The Lord is my Shepherd I fall net want. Plence the 
 Almighty gracioudy promifes to make his Peoples Bread 
 and Water iure. 
 
 3d;}'. Enough for Honour, Pia. iii. 3. But thou Lord 
 art a fhieldfor me, my Glory and the lifter lip of mine Head. 
 God is the Fountain and Original of ali true Honour. 
 
 4thly, 
 
The Extent of God's Sufficie?icy. 
 
 4thly. Enough for Pleafures, for his loving Kindneis, isa<- 
 Marrow and Fatnefs that yields a rational and fubftanthd 
 'Delight, yea be is far better than Life itfelf, Job xxii. 26. 
 For then fait thou have thy Delight in the Almighty, and 
 fialt lift up thy Face unto God. 
 
 5thly. Enough for Guidance, Pfa. xxxii. 8. / will in- 
 frucl.thee and teach thee in the Way which thou jlmlt go, I 
 will gui4e thee with mine Eye. Is not Jehovah Wifdom it- 
 Jelf and wonderful in Council, as well as excellent in Work- 
 ing? (lia. xxviii. 29.) 
 
 6th]y. Enough for SancTification, for with him is the 
 Refidue of the Spirit. Enough for Society, 1 John i. 3. 
 That which we have feen and heard, declare we imto you, 
 that ye alfo may have Fellow fip with us : And truly our Fel- 
 lowjhip is with the Father, and with his *&w Jesus Christ. 
 Enough for Example, Ephe. v. 1 . Be ye therejore Followers 
 of God as dear Children. Enough for Reward, Gen. xv. 
 3. Fear not Abram, I am thy Shield, and exceeding great 
 Re-ward. But 
 
 2dly. There is enough in God to iatisfy the De/ires of 
 his People here and hereafter, Jer. 31. 14. And I will 
 Satiate the Soul of the Priefls with Fatncjs, and my People 
 fall be fatisfied with my Goodnefs, fayeth the Lord. Pia. 
 xvii. ult. As for me J will behold thy Face in Righteou(- 
 nejs, I/hall be fatisfied when I awake with thy Likenejs. Je- 
 hovah makes over himfelf in Covenant to his People as All- 
 fufficient, thus he did to Abram in our Text. Hence it is 
 laid, Pfal. xxxiv. That tho' the young Lyons may fiuffer Hunger, 
 yet thefe that fear the Lord fall not lack any Good. Hof. 
 xiv. 5, 6, y. I will be as the JDep unto Jfrael, he (l:all 
 grow as the Lilly, and cajl forth his Root a$ Lebanon. 
 His Branches jhall fpread, and his Beauty fall be as the 
 Olive Tree, and his fmell as Lebanon. They that dwell 
 
 under 
 
222 "the Extent of God's Sufficiency-.. 
 
 under his Shadow, Jkall revive as the Corn, and grow as 
 the Vine. Ihe Scent thereof f hall be as theWi?ie of Lebanon. 
 The People of Ifrael in the Wildernefs had neither Bread 
 nor Water, Proviiion nor Protection, yet having an all 
 fufficient God they wanted none of thole Thing?, Deut.. 
 
 xxxiii. 26, 28. There is ?ione like the God of Jemurun 
 
 who rideth upon the Heaven in thy Help r and in his Ex- 
 cellency on the Sky :■ The eternal God is thy Refuge and Un- 
 derneath are the Everlafting Arms. Iirael then fall 
 
 dwell in fajety alo?ie,. the Fountain of Jacob fall be upon 
 a Land of Corn and Wtne\ alfo his Heavens fall drop down 
 Dew. Happy art thou O Iirael, who is like unto thee O Peo- 
 ple faved by the Lord r the Shield of thy Help, and who is 
 the Sword of thy Excellency. But I proceed to the 
 
 2d. General Head- which was to difecurf upon the Al- 
 lure of walking before God, which may be thus defcrib'd, 
 viz. That it is a friendly Converfation with God : Now this 
 is exprefTed by different Phrafes in Scripture, ibmetimes it 
 is call'd a walking before God , as in the Text, to iignify 
 the Senfe that we mould always have of God's Prelence 
 upon our Minds. Sometimes a walking after God to im- 
 port our Need of imitating his Example, and of ac- 
 commodating ourielves to his various Dealings with us,, 
 whether Comfortable or Afflictive, (Deut. xiii. 4 J Some 
 times it is call'd a walking with God, thus it is faid of Enoch, 
 that he walked with God-, this Phrafe efpecial'y intends that 
 fweet Familiarity which paries between God and holy Souls. 
 Sometimes it is called a Walking in the Name of God, (Mica.. 
 iv. 5.) to fignify that in all our religions Practice, we mould 
 have the divine Prcfcription for our Ride, and the divine Glo- 
 ry for our Mark. Sometimes a Walking in the Spirit, (Gal. 
 v. 16.) importing the Senie we mould always have of our 
 Need of the Guidance and Amfbnce of the Holy Gliofl to 
 
 the 
 
The Nature of walking with God. zz\ 
 
 ■the Performance of acceptable Service, as well as our intire 
 Dependance thereupon. But more particularly 
 
 Walking before or with God, fuppofes and implies thcfe 
 Things following, viz, 
 
 i ft. Reconciliation to God by accepting the Mediator 
 through Faith : For how fiall two walk together except they 
 J?e agreed ? 
 
 2dly. It fuppofes fpiritual Life, infus'd by Regeneration, 
 for a dead Man cannot walk. 
 
 ^dly. It fuppofes the Exercife of Life or Grace, by the 
 quickning Operations of the Holy Spirit. A Man cannot 
 walk that is afleep. / will run the Ways of thy Command*- 
 merits faid the PJalmift, when thou hafl enlarged my Heart. 
 
 4thly. It fuppofes a Way in which, and this is twofold 
 viz. either of God's Commands, or of his Providence, we muft 
 obey the Former and accommodate our felves to the Latter, 
 /. e. When the Almighty frowns by Afflictions, we muft 
 mourn, and when he fmiles by Comforts communicated we 
 muft rejoyce. And 
 
 5thly. It fuppofes an End to which, and this ought to be 
 ever the fame with what Jehovah intends, viz. The Mani- 
 feftation of his Glory ; and in Subordination thereto our 
 own and our Neighbours Happinefs. Whether in eating or 
 drinking or whatfoever we do, we Jhould do it all to the Glory 
 of God, But 
 
 2dly. Walking before or with God implies thefe follow- 
 ing Particulars, viz. 
 
 i ft. Faith, he that Walks with God, as well as comes to 
 him, muft believe that he is. In walking with God, Faith is 
 neceffary in three Refpects. ift. As an Eye to behold 
 the great Prophet of the Church, the Guide of our Way, 
 without whofe Command we muft not move a Foot, ii imi- 
 tation of the Israelites .in the Deiart who ftopp'd when the 
 
 Pilla 
 
22-4' Tfo Nature of walking with God.' 
 
 pillar of a Cloud and of Fire did not %o before them. 2dly, As 
 a Conduit to convey Proviiion and Refrelhment in our Jour-. 
 ney, without which, we muft needs travel flow ly 
 and heavily. 3dly. As a Hand to help us to lay hold ofj and. 
 lean upon the dear Redeemer in our Walking. Hence it 
 is with Admiration obferv'd concerning the Church, Cant.. 
 viii. 5. IVIjo is this that cometk out of the Wilder nefs leaning 
 upon the Beloved. .Except we rely upon the Strength of God, 
 we r cnnnot walk with him. But 
 
 2dly. Walking before God, implies Fear, our iMinds 
 lhould be continually poffefTed with an awful Reverence 
 of God's Majefty, as remembring the infinite Diftance 
 between him and us, in point of Dignity. Likewife we 
 mould be ever afraid of offending God, and humbly jea- 
 lous of our own Hearts. Hence we are bid to ferve God 
 acceptably with Reverence & Godly Fear. Heb. xii. 28, 29. . 
 And hence is that divine Expoflulation. JSdah'i. 6. If I be a 
 Ma/ler where is my Fear ? And 
 
 3dly. It implies Love to God, and Familiarity with Kim 
 thereby. Such as behold by Faith the Amiablenefs of the 
 divine Maiefl-y, and talte hie Love, love him again with a 
 fupream and tranfeendent refpecl: ! As Fear ballances Love 
 ib Love fweetens Fear. " Fear without Love would oe a 
 " s painful Pajicnfss Dr. Bates Juftly obferves) and Love 
 *' without Fear would. degenerate into an effeminate Fondnejs." 
 Now that- Familiarity which fubhTrs between God and Be- 
 lievers by Love, contains in it thele Things following, iff... 
 /ratal Vffits, as God viiits his People by his Grace, \o they 
 vifit him with Repentance, Prayers andTears. (ja?n. iv. 2.) 
 Mutual Embraces, (Cant. i. 2, 3.) A mutual Communication 
 cf Secrets. God opens fecret Things to them. Hence the 
 Secret of the Lord is faid to be with thofe that fear him, 
 (Pf. xxv. 14.) And the People of God on the other Hand^ 
 
 come-- 
 
Wloat walking with God implies. 225 
 
 come to him, as a Father, and fob after him Abba Fa- 
 ther^ and open to him all their Hearts. (Pf. xlii. 4.) A 
 mutual Defire of Union and Cohabitation. Hence Christ ac- 
 cofts his Bride in the following Strains. Come with me from 
 Lebanon my Sifter my Spoufe, look from the Top of Amana, 
 from the Top of Shcniv and Hermonfrom the Lyons Dens and 
 from the Mountains of Leopards. And the Spouie on the o- 
 ther Hand fays, Come Lord Jesus come quickly j I de- 
 fire to he diffohfd and to be with Christ which is jar better. 
 $thly. Ajriendly Confultation for Advice and Direction. 
 Hence the dear Redeemer is call'd his Peoples Ccnnfellor, be- 
 caufe he leads them by his Council, (I/d.ix.O.) But 
 
 4-thly. IFalking before or with God implies Pains and 
 Labour, natural Walking, to which this alludes, is not with- 
 out them, efpecially if it be for a coniiderable Space. And 
 hence we are bid to ftrive to enter in at the ftrait Gate, and 
 work out our Salvation with jear and trembling. 
 
 £thly. It implies Progrefs, thofe that walk in a natural 
 Road make Progrefs, and thus thofe that walk with God 
 grow more humble, more weaned from this World, and 
 more refign'd to God's Will, .and it is doubtlefs in general 
 their chief Defire, and endeavour to grow in Grace, and 
 when they find not thus, it is their principal Grief. 
 
 6thly It implies Perjeverance, for walking is not a fin- 
 gle Act, but aCourfe and Series of them, a continuance in 
 our religious Diligence, untii we come to the End of our, 
 Race, it is thole only who perjevere to the End, that jhall 
 be faved. We fijould run fo as to obtain. But I proceed 
 to the 
 
 3d. General Head of Difcourfe, viz. Sincerity, which 
 may be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it is a dhitie Vertue, wherer 
 by we really are, what we (eetn to be. Here an appearance 
 
 F f of 
 
2 2 b i hv Mature of Sincerity explain' d. 
 
 of Goodnefs is fuppos'd, and thefe Things following are in- 
 tended, which conftitute Sincerity, viz. 
 
 i ft. That a'Perfon labours to avoid all mixture of Cor- 
 ruption and evil Intention ; this is by our Lord call'd a Jingle 
 Eye, and when Perfons have this, then their whole Bodies 
 are full oj Light, i. e. they are in a gracious and comfortable 
 State. 
 
 2dly. When Perfons habitually labour not only outward- 
 ly, but chiefly inwardly, to be Holy contrary to the Practice 
 of the Pharifees, who cleanfed the cut/ide of theCup and V lat- 
 ter while the Injide was negleBtd. And 
 
 3<ily. When Men endeavour to be Holy, not only before 
 Men, but chiefly before God, -Co/of. iii. 22. Not with Eye 
 Service as MenPleafers, but with jinglenefi cj Heart j earing 
 G&d, 
 
 4thly. When Men do not habitually neglect known Duty, 
 and expect not their Reward from Men, but from God, 
 thus it is laid of Zachariah and Elizabeth, That they walk'd 
 in all the Commandments of God blamelefs. It is like wife re- 
 corded of Mofes, (Heb.xi. 27.) That by Faith he forfook 
 Egypt, not fearing the Wrath of the King, for he endur'd* 
 as feeing him who is invifible. 
 
 Now Sincerity is twofold, viz. Moral or Spiritual. 'Moral 
 is that which Springs from Nature, poiifhed by a religious 
 Education, together with reftraining Grace ; and principal- 
 ly aims at our own Intcreft. Such an Integrity had the Pa- 
 gan Abimelech, and altho' this be not laving, yet it is the 
 Way to obtain Mercy, and is of great Ufe in civil Society. 
 It were to be wifh'd that more meant as they fpoke than do : 
 But fpiritual Sincerity follows after Converfion, & aims chiefly 
 at the Glory of God, above all. And it is either Imperfect, 
 or Perfect. The Former is when, for the moft Part Upright- 
 nefs hath the Afcendant, tho' attended with Struggle and 
 
 Combat. 
 
GodtJ fufftcitncy apply' d. 227 
 
 Combat. The Latter is when we are entirely free from 
 all corrupt Intention, which is the Priviledge of the Coun- 
 try^ and not of the Way, when that which, is Perfect i& 
 come, then that which is in Part fhall be done away. 
 
 But it will not be improper to add to what hath been 
 faid, the following Marks of Sincerity r , viz. 1 ft. If we do 
 not cover and hide our Sins, v but confefs them and forfake 
 them. 2dly. If we avoid all appearance of Evil, both as 
 to Principle and Practice. 3<Jly. If in Profperity, as well 
 as in Adverfity, we cleave inviolably to the Truths and Du- 
 ties of Religion. 4thly. If in the Abfence as well as 
 Prefence of Spectators, we endeavour to be Holy, 5thly. 
 If we have the Light of God's Word, and are willing to have 
 our States and Actions tried th r.jby. 6thly. If we are ifek* 
 iible of, and bewail the Remains of Hypocrify that are in 
 us, as the poor Man that cried Lord, I believe, help my 
 Unbelief. But I proceed, to the. Application of this Di£- 
 courfe. And 
 
 1 ft What has been faid concerning- God's Sufficiency, 
 ferves to inform us, how great the Portion of every Belie- 
 ver is. It exceeds in Worth and Dignity, Millions of Worlds. 
 The Lord himfelf is the F'ortimv of their Inheritance and of 
 their Cup ! Their Lines have fallen. to them in pleafant Pla T 
 ces, they have a goodly Heritage /In having God they have 
 more than all befides him, yea infinitely more. " If the 
 " great ell Princes fiould. bring all their Treafures, (fays 
 " Bimop Hopkins) the poor eft Chriflian can produce a For- 
 " tion, that will beggar them ail." Juftly then may the 
 Church glory in him, Lam. hi. 24. The Lord is my Por- 
 tion fayeth my Soul, therefore will I hope in him I This is my 
 Beloved, and this is my Friend I O Daughters of Jcru/alem. 
 
 2dly. The All-Sufficiency of God, may convince us of 
 she In-fufficiency and Vanity of all Creatures, Eckf.i. f. 
 
 Ft 2 Vanit-:. 
 
228 The divine Sufficiency applfd. 
 
 Vanity of Vanities faith the Preacher, Vanity of Inanities all 
 is Vanity! If God only be abtblutely Perfect and All- 
 Sufficient, then every Creature is of it Mf imperfect, and 
 vain, becaufe of itielf it has no Perfection, by which it can 
 fuffice itfelf or others, Jer. ii. 13. They are all broken Cif- 
 t ems that can hold no Water I And if the Creature had any 
 Sufficiency, it could be of no Service, unlefs apply'd and ex- 
 cited by the firft mover : If the Cafe be fo, why fhould we 
 doat upon them, or confide in them ? Or why fhould we 
 fear them, or immoderately bewail the lofs of them ! And 
 
 gdly. We may hence learn the Folly of iiich, who for- 
 fake God for the Creature. Jer. ii. 13. Mv People have 
 committed two Evils, they have for faken the Fountain of li- 
 ving Waters, and hewn out to then/ j 'elves Cifrns, broLen 
 Cijlerns, that can hold no Water ! Surely iiich as purfue ly- 
 ing Vanities, forfake their own Mercies! And this thev 
 muil expect, as their Reward, to be difappointed in their 
 Expectations, to be fnar'd in the Work ot their own Hands, 
 and at laft to lye down in Sorrow \ But 
 
 4thly. The All-Sufficiency of God minifcers ftrong Con- 
 folation, to all that are fincere, and walk with God. Now 
 whether we be indeed fuch, we may know by comparing 
 our felves diligently and impartially with what has been 
 before obferv'd, on thefe Heads. What tho' we cannot fuf- 
 fice ourielves, and what tho' all the World can't fuffice us, 
 this is no great Wonder : For the Soul of Man is endowed 
 with an infatiable Defire : Well, but there is an All-Suffici- 
 ent God, who can fuffice both himfelf and us ! And this 
 is, or fhould be, all our Salvation, and all our Defire. The 
 Consideration of God's All-Sufficiency may be a iweet Sup r 
 port to us in all Manner of DiflreiTes, whether of Mind, 
 Body or Eflate. Whether of Spiritual or Temporal Ene- 
 mies, God is our Sun, our Shield and Buckler, who fuffices 
 
 himlelfj 
 
"The divine Sufficiency apply 'd. 229 
 
 himfelf, and therefore can much more fatisfy us, who need 
 not ib great Perfection. This Almighty God hath made 
 many and gracious Promifes, that he will be every where 
 and evermore pre lent with his People, and efpecially in the 
 Mount of Difficulty ! Of whom then, or of what mould 
 we be afraid ? What is the Want that All-Sufficiency cannot 
 iupply, what is the Strait, that Jill-Sufficiency cannot fur- 
 mount ? David took encouragement from this Attribute, 
 when he was in fore Diftrefs at Ziglag, when the Town 
 was fack'd, his Wives taken Captive, and himfelf like to be 
 ftaned to Death (1 Sam. xxx. 6.) And it was this that en- 
 couraged Abram againft all human Probability, to expect 
 the Fulfilment of the divine Promife, concerning a nu- 
 merous Poflerity. (Heb. xi. 19.) And 
 
 5thly. The aforefaid Subject, ferves to reprove all thole, 
 who practically deny theAIl-Suffciency of God ; which is done 
 ifl. Ey the Prophane, who having abandoned the Almigh- 
 ty, ferve divers Luffs and Pleafures (Mai. 3. 14.) 2dly. 
 Secret Hypocrites, who tho' they abound in outward Acts 
 of Obedience, yet will not give to God their whole Hearts, 
 and that for this Reafon, becaufe there be fome Things 
 which they look upon as neceffary and profitable which thev 
 don't expect from God, and them they are refolv'd to have 
 from Creatures either Right or Wrong. (Hcf. ii. 4, 5.) And 
 ^dly. Even the Regenerate themfelves are liable to this Evil, 
 of denying practically, the All-Sufficiency of God. Now this 
 is done in the following Inflances. 
 
 1 ft. When we ufe unlawful or deceitful Meafures to 
 attain what we think we can't get from God by lawful 
 ones. An Example of this Kind we have in "Jacob, refpect- 
 ing the Birth-Right. And 
 
 2dly. When we ufe unlawful Methods to efcape immi- 
 nent Dangers. Thus David feign'd himfelf mad before King 
 
 Achi/h 
 
^yo Inftnnm of denying God'^s Sufficiency, 
 
 jfchijh, and Abram and Ifaac denied their Wives for fear 
 tfoey mould b>e flain on their Account. And 
 
 3dly. When we inordinately love Creatures, and imagine 
 fomething to be in them which is not in God, on this Ac- 
 count Covetoufnefs is call'd Idolatry. (Eph.v. 9.) 
 
 4thly. When we vainly confide in Creatures, and pro-. 
 jpife ourfelves fomething from them, which we fnppoie the 
 Almighty either cannot or will not confer, fpf.h'ii. 9, jo-) 
 
 5thly i When, we murmur at ourprefent Condition, and 
 defire it to be otherwile than God has alotted it ! This 
 Diicontent was the Qccafion both of the fall of the An- 
 gejs and our fir ft Parents. 
 
 o.thly. When we diftruft God's Power, Promifes, or Pro- 
 vidence, with Mofes, Num. xi. 13, 14. Whence Jlould I 
 bav$,FJeflj to give wiio all this People? With £)avid 1 Sam 
 xxvii. 1, Who laid in his Heart, that he fkculd one Day pe- 
 rijh by- the Hand of Saul. With Sarajj, Gen. xviii. 12. Who 
 when fhe was told that ihe mould have a Child in old Age, 
 laughed through diftruft, which was difpleafing to God, be- 
 caufe it reflected upon his. All-Sufficiency v. 13, 14. And the- 
 Lord ' Jaid unto Abram, wherefore did Sarah laugh, is any 
 Thing too hard for the Lord ? With Gideon, who tho' he 
 had the exprefs Command of God to war with the Midia- 
 niteSy and a promife of Victory over them, yet hefitating fays, 
 jfudg. vi. 15. O Lord wherewith frail Jfave them, J or my 
 Family is poor in ManaiTeh ; and therefore he asked a 
 Sign And 
 
 7thly. When we decline great Services, being thereto 
 call'd by God, on account of pretended Unfitnefs, — With 
 Mofes ; Ex. iii. 1 j. And Moles /aid unto God, who am I that 
 Ifl.ould go unto Pharaoh f — And: bring firth the Children of 
 Ifrael out oj Egypt. And with "Jeremiah, who being call'd to 
 publick Service, for God ; excus'd himlelf thus, behold I cannot 
 
 fpeak 
 
* The divine fufficiency 'further apply" d< 1 3 i 
 
 /peak for I am a Child. Now the aforefaid pra&ical Deni- 
 al of Gods All-Sufficiency involves in it Idolatry, and forrie 
 degree of " Apoftacy ; for thereby we turn from him to them, 
 and expect from them, what we fuppofe is not in him ; li% 
 this Evil obstructs the Courie of God's Favour to us, fo-it 
 expofes us to the dreadful Judgments of God. Hence it is 
 laid, that Jesus could do no mighty Works among a certain 
 People, becauie of their Unbelief. And hence we read (2 
 Kings vii. 17.) of a Lord who would not believe Eli/ha's 
 Prophefies of Pienty in Samaria, and was troden to -Death in 
 the Preis'l And was not Mcfes and Aaron upon this Ac- 
 count depriy'd of the PofTeffion of Canaan} (Num. xx. 12.) 
 
 Now from the Confideration of God's All- Sufficiency, we 
 mould be exhorted to the following Duties, viz. 
 
 lift. To glorify God on this Account, with all our Souls, 
 ieeing that this is the Foundation of all his GI02 y and Ma*- 
 jefty. If we mould glorify God, becaufe of every of his Attri- 
 butes, how much more on the Account, of this which com- 
 prifes them all.- And 
 
 -sdly. To enter into Covenant with him, by accepting 
 of Christ, the Angel of the Covenant by a living 
 Faith, Who is the Way to his Father, in whom We have 
 Boldnefs of accefs with Confidence by the Faith of him. Itl 
 him all the Promifes are Tea and Amen. And thus the 
 All-Sufficiency of God will be ours, and without this it will 
 profit us nothing ; but on the contrary be engag'd againft «> 
 us. This Duty of Covenanting with God, our Text and 
 Context points to. / ant the Almighty God, walk before me 
 and be thou per feci •> and I will make my Covenant between 
 me and tfjee. And 
 
 ^dly. We mould be exhorted to ton tentednefs with our 
 Lot, and to Beneficence towards others^ in Imitation of the 
 All-Sufficiency of God, in which oiir chief Excellency cdn- 
 fifts. 4thly. 
 
232 T.he divi?ie Sufficiency farther itnprcnfd. . 
 
 4th ly. We mould love the All- Sufficient God above all, 
 purfue after him with the ftrongeft Defire, and reft in him 
 with the fweeteft. Complacency ! feeing he is enough for 
 us, and infinitely more than ib in all refpects ! Pf. xviii. j, 
 2, 3. I will love thee O Lord my Srength, my Rock, my Fori- 
 rejs a?id my Deliverer ■, my Buckler and the Horn of my Sal- 
 vation. 
 
 5thly. We mould put our entire Confidence in him, be- 
 caufe he alone is All in All, Light to the Mi;: J, Goodnefs 
 to the Will, Order to the Affections, Gladnefs to the Heart, 
 and Joy to the whole Soul, and Beauty and Immortality to 
 the Body. 
 
 6thly. We mould hope in this AU-Sufjicient God in all 
 Adverfity, whether perlbnal or pubiick, what tho' Clouds 
 and Darknefs hang over the Horizon of the viiible Church, 
 and the Hand of Pride {batters her Afomb'.ics, fund ftajris her 
 Glory, yet we muft not faint or fear, feeing fhe has an All- 
 Sufficient Protector. Surely me is built upon a liable Rock, 
 againfi which the Gates of Hell (hall net prevail. God tn 
 his own Time will make Edom deiolate, and Yerufakm a 
 praife in the Earth. And 
 
 7thly, While we compare our Emptinefs with the Al- 
 mighty's Fullnefs we mould be humbled in the Duft, and 
 lay with Eliphaz, Jcl> iv. 17, 19. Shall Mortal Man be 
 more juji than God, fl:all a Man be more pure than his Maker, 
 behold he put no Trujl in his Servants, and lis Angels he charg- 
 ed with Folly, how much lefs on them^ who dwell in Houfes of 
 Clay, whofe Foundation is in the Du/l, who are cruJJ:ed before 
 the Moth ! It is a noble faying of Gregory " That cur Righ- 
 " teoitfnefs brought to the Tryal of fu/lice, is Unrighteoufnefs % 
 '* and that ffays lie) which fl.nne in the Opinion of the Worker, 
 ** is loath/bme in the Sight of the Judge." And mould we not 
 obey diligently and wormip reverently that All-Sufficient 
 
 God r , 
 
Divine Sufficiency farther improved. 233 
 
 God, who will be to us an exceeding great Reward Gen. 
 xv. 1. and efpecially Let us be entreated to walk 
 with God, or before him, as our Text directs ; to which 
 we fhould be mov'd by confidering, 1 ft. The Dignity of I 
 this Practice, what can be more Honourable than to be the 
 Friend of the King of Kings, and daily toconverfe with him. 
 If the Face of Mojes fo fhin'd with Beauty and Majefty 
 after he had been fome Time on the Mount with God, 
 that the Ifraelites could not behold him, how much 
 more the Soul that walks continually with God? 2dly. 
 As this is the molt Honourable, fo it is the moft Plea- 
 fant Way of Walking : Hereby the Soul is fatisfied with 
 a fuitable and All-fufficient Good, and pleafed with the 
 noble profpect of enduring felicity ! Here the Good is a- 
 greable to the Nature of the Soul, and equal to its vail 
 Deiires and moft diftant Hopes ! 3 dly . This is the moft 
 profitable Way of Walkings for hereby an eafy accefs is ob- 
 tain'd to the King's Ear, which is the moft important Pri- 
 viledge, for furely he will not deny his Friends requefts ! 
 4thly. This is likewife the moft/^/c Way. For he that dwells 
 in the Secret of the moft High, Jhall abide under the Shaddow 
 of the Almighty ! From God, who is the beft of Friends, 
 we may expert not only Pity and Help in Adverfity, but a 
 fure Defence ! For as he is Love itfelf, fo his All-fufficiency 
 has all Creatures at it's Beck and Contrqle. And ^thly. 
 It is a plain Way, Ifa. xxxv. 8. And an high Way fhall be 
 there, — it Jhall be calf d the Way of Holinejs, the unclean (hall 
 not pafs over it ; but it Jljall be jor thoj'e, the Way faring 
 Men, tho' Fools Jhall not err therein ; but the Ways of Sin 
 are Crooked and Intricate. 
 
 Finally, dear Brethren, let us be exhorted to be fincere 
 in Heart, Speech and Practice, Walk before me and be thou 
 perfecl. Sincerity is the QuintefTence the Life, the Soul of 
 
 G 2 all 
 
2 71. Divine Sufficiency farther improved. 
 
 all Vertue and Goodnefs ! Without this neither our Per- 
 fins or Services can find acceptance ! From this, under God, 
 fprings our Peace, Joy and Security, and every other Blef- 
 fing. Now may the All-fufficient God enable us to walk 
 before him, and to be Sincere, that fo we may be approv'd 
 of by him here, and admitted into his Kingdom hereafter, 
 thro' the exceeding Riches of divine Grace in Jesus 
 Christ onr Lord, to whom with the Father and BlefTed 
 Spirit, be eternal Glory afcrib'd by Men and Angels. A- 
 men, Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
The Text explain' d> 235 
 
 SERMON XII 
 
 JEREMIAH xxx ii. 17. 
 Ah Lord God, behold, thou haft mad? the Heavens and the 
 Earth by thy great Power, and (ir etched out Arm, 
 and there is ?iothing too hard for thee. 
 
 WE have in thefe Words, the beginning of the Pro- 
 phet Jeremiah's Prayer, the Occafion of which 
 was the Difcoveries which Jehovah had made to 
 him of his Purpofe, to pull down the Nation, by 
 putting it under the Jurifdiction of the Babyloni/lj King. The 
 pious Prophet was imprifoned for declaring this Truth, a- 
 greeable to the divine Direction, the City was in the mean 
 Time befieged by Nebucadnezar's Army : A difmal Cloud 
 cover'd the whole Face of Affairs ! The poor Prophet be- 
 ing a faithful IntercerTor for that People, was exceedingly 
 diftrefTed to behold the impending Stroak, the approach- 
 ing Ruin of his beloved Nation, he therefore knowing 
 God to be infinite in Power and Mercy, takes his Flight 
 to him in the aforefaid gloomy and perplex'd State of Things, 
 and puts up an intercerTory Supplication for them ; which 
 begins with a Recognition of God's infinite Power, made 
 manifeft in his Formation of the Heaven and Earth : Thefe 
 vaft Bodies being produced by a Word, and in a Moment, 
 are inconteflible Demonftrations of an Almighty Caufe or 
 Efficient, God himfelf us'd this Initance, Chap, xxvii. 5. 
 
 G g.,2- to 
 
236 The Text explain d. 
 
 to confirm his Peoples Faith in his Ability, to do what he 
 pleafed. It is probable that the Prophet makes Mention 
 of God's Omnipotence in the Inftances before related, and 
 farther expounds upon it by faying, That nothing was too 
 hard for him, (in the beginning of his Prayer) with a Three- 
 fold Defign, iff. To affect his own Heart with an awful 
 Senfe of the divine Majefty. And 2dly. To liipport his 
 Faith in expecting the Mercies he prayed for. And 3dly. As 
 an Argument to excite, as it were, Omnipotence to exert 
 it felf in the Deliverance of Ifrael from the threatn'd De- 
 ftruction. God isaprefefit Help in Trouble, yea and a pow- 
 erful one, nothing is two hard for him, that does not im- 
 ply fome Weakneis or Contradiction. It is therefore our 
 wifeil Courfe, in Imitation of the Prophet Jeremiah's Ex- 
 ample, to make fpeedy and affectionate Supplication to him 
 in all dim'efiing Imergents, either refpecting our felves 
 or the Church of God ! The Particle Ah ! in the beginning 
 of our Text, denotes the Depth and Vehemence of 
 the Prophets mournful Paffion ! And indeed our very Bow- 
 els mould bleed for poor Zio?is Tragedies, and our Lips 
 move in the Prophets Strains ; for ferufalems fake I will 
 not hold my Peace, afidjor Zion's fake I will not be Silent, 
 until the Right ecu fnefs thereof go forth as B right nefs, and 
 the Salvation thereof as a Lamp that burneth. But to re- 
 turn : The Text I have read, considered abftractly, prefents 
 to our Meditations the Power of God. in difcourfing 
 upon which I mail confider its Nature, Kinds, Properties 
 and Effects, and then apply it. And 
 
 iff. God \y Power may be thus defcrib'd, viz. " That 
 " it is his effential Property whereby he can do all Things." 
 Thus excellent Mr. Vincent explains it. Or in other Words 
 thus, That it is that divine Vertue, whereby Jehovah does what 
 he Wills, and has ability to do what he IV ills not. And hence 
 
 it 
 
The Nature and Kinds of divi?te Power. '237 
 
 it appears, that the Power of God is twofold, viz. Abfolute 
 and Ordinate. The abfolute Power of God, is that whereby 
 he can do all Things that are pofiible, even fuch Things 
 as never came to pafs, of this mention is made, Matt, 
 iii. 9. God is able of thefe Stones to raife up Children unto 
 Abram : This, according to our Conception, preceeds the 
 Will of God, and coinceeds with the All-furhciency of his 
 Effence. Ephef. iii. 20. Rom. xi. 23. And they aljo if 
 they bide not fill in unbelief , Jhall be graffed in, for God is 
 able to gr off them in again. 
 
 2dly. The ordinate Power of God, is that whereby Je- 
 hovah effects what he Pleafes j and therefore follows his 
 Will, Pia. cxxxv. 6. Whatfoever the Lcrd plea fed that did 
 he in Heaven and Earth, in the Seas and all deep Places. 
 God's ordinate Power relates to his Efficiency, or to the 
 Effects which he has, does or mail produce. It is not 
 realy different from the former, but the former confi- 
 der'd as limitted by the divine Decree, which certainly 
 fixes the Boundaries between what is meerly poffible, and 
 what is Future. Hence it is faid that our Lord could not do 
 many Miracles, in his native Country, becaufe of their 
 Unbelief, and that the Almighty could not deftroy Sodom 
 till Lot was out of it. The Power of God was bounded 
 or limitted by his Purpofe, which he could not counteract. 
 Neither is it any Imperfection in the Almighty, that he can- 
 not contradict his own Nature j but on the Contrary, it is 
 the high eft Perfection ! 
 
 Nor are we to fuppofe, that Power belongs to God 
 as diftinguifhed from Act ; for then he would be at one 
 Time idle, and at another employ'd in Labour, and fo ruffer 
 a Change. No ! the Almighty is a moft pure Act. ' The 
 aforefaid Diitinction is only afcrib'd to God on the Account 
 of Creatures, becaufe they undergo an Operation of God in 
 
 Time 
 
238 2%* Infinity of God's Power 
 
 Time, which before they did not undergo, e, g. when 
 Men are warm'd by the Sun now, who were before cold, 
 the Change is not in the Sun, but in them. 
 
 It mould likewife be confidered, that the aforefaid Dif- 
 tinction of God's Power into abfolute and ordinate, is only in 
 refpect of our Conception ; for in God himfelf.it is mod 
 Simple, and therefore but one, becaufe it is his ErTence. 
 
 But I proceed to confider the Properties of' God's Power, 
 which was the third general Head. And 
 
 1 ft. The Power of God is Infinite, -and. that in three 
 refpects, viz. The Agent, Objects, Effects. The Agent 
 God is Infinite in his Being, and with this his Power co- 
 inceeds, or is the fame. The Objects are likewife innumera- 
 ble, which can be produe'd by him, and therefore Infinite, 
 in fome Senfe. And as Wendeline well obferves, " God 
 " never produces an Effect Jo Excellent, but he can produce 
 " a more Excellent.'" The facred Scriptures confirm the 
 Infinity of God's Power, various Ways, ift. Symbolically 
 and Figuratively, when it afcribes to him a flrong Hand, a 
 fir etched out Arm, 1 Chro. xxix. 12. In thine Hand is 
 Power- and Might. Our Text afcribes to God, a ftretched 
 out Arm, and intimates, that thereby the Heaven and Earth 
 were made, 2dly. Negatively, when it denies any Thing to 
 be Difficult to him. Gen. xviii. 14. Is anv Thing too hard 
 for the Lord. At the Time appointed will I return unto thee, 
 according to the Time of Lije, and Sarah fiall have a Sou. 
 Agreeable hereto are the Words of our Text, and there is 
 Nothing too hard for thee. 3dly. Effectively, when it a- 
 fcribes the greater! Effects to God's Power, fuch as the Pro- 
 ductions of the Heavens and Earth, as the Text we are con- 
 fidering doth, Ah Lord God! behold thou haft, made the Hea- 
 vens and the Earth by thy great Power I And likewife when 
 
 it 
 
'The Properties of divine Pvwer r 239 
 
 1' 
 it witneffes that God can do all Things. Luk. xviii. 27. 
 
 And he [aid the Things that are impojfible with Men, are 
 
 pojjible with God. 4thly. Affirmatively, when it afcribes great 
 
 Power to him, as in the Words of our Text, and exprelly 
 
 calls him the Almighty. (Rev. i. 8.) It is obferv'd by fome, 
 
 that God's Almightinefs, or infinite Power, is aflerted 
 
 no lefs than Seventy Times in Scripture. Yea, no 
 
 lefs than Thirty one Times in one Book, viz. fob. 
 
 And does not Reafon likewife eftablifh the fame Truth ? 
 For feeing Power is a Perfection, how can it be deny'd to 
 him who is infinitely Perfect. And iorafmuch as Creatures 
 derive all the Power they porTefs from God, as the firft 
 Caufe, then furely he himfelf muft poflefs eminently and 
 infinitely what he communicates to others ! Neither was 
 there any before him, to limit this, or any other of his At- 
 tributes, and therefore it is Infinite. If God were not Infi- 
 nite in Power, his Determinations would be precarious and 
 trifling, like thofe of his Creatures : And his Promifes and 
 Threatnings in rewarding or punifhing, would neither de- 
 ferve our Trufl or Fear : For then he could not fay as he 
 does, Ifa. xlvi. ij. I havejpokeji it, I will alfo bring it to 
 pals, I have purpofed it, I will alfo do it. And 
 
 2diy. The Power of God is independant, he can Work 
 by Means, without Means, and contrary to Means. 1 Sam. 
 xiv. 6. There is no refraint to the Lord, to Work by many or 
 by few. Dan. iv. 34, 35. And all the Inhabitants of the 
 Earth are reputed as nothing, and he doth according to his 
 Will in the Armies of Heaven and among the Inhabitants of 
 the Earth, and none can flay his Hand, or fay unto him, what 
 doft thou ? " The PleaVure of God, (as Mr. Flavel 
 " oblerves) is the only Rule according to which divine 
 " Power exerts itfeif in the World." 
 
 But 
 
240 The Properties of divine Power. 
 
 But the Power of God is 3<ily, Unparallel'd: Jehovah not 
 onlyequals, but infinitely exceeds all created Beings inStrengb, 
 Job xl. 9 . Haft thou an Arm like God, or canjl then Thim- 
 der with a Voice like him. Men are wont to mew their 
 Strength by their Arms •> and hence Anns are metaphori- 
 cally afcribed to God. And even thofe Things that are 
 weak in us, when afcrib'd to him exceed the comb in 'd 
 Force of the whole Creation. How weak is one of our 
 Fingers, yet God is faid by his Finger to cafl out Devils ! 
 Luk. xi. 20. Yea by his Finger, to make the Heavens. Our 
 Words, our Breath, our Frowns, are trifling! But by a 
 Word God made a World! PfaL xxxiii. 9. He [pake and it- 
 was done j Ijc commanded and it flood fa ft ! The Almighty 
 f mites the Earth with the Rod oj his Mouth, and with the 
 Breath of his Lips he ft ays the Wicked, a fid they perift) at the 
 Rebuke \ of his Countenance. PfaL lxxx. 16. So that, as the 
 Apoftle obferves,. the JVeaknefs oj God is flronger than Man. 
 t Cor i. 
 
 4thly The Power of God is irreftftible and fupream, the 
 whole PofTe of Men and Angels, were there Millions more 
 than there be, if their Strength was united cannot with- 
 ftand Omnipotence ! Job xxiii. 13. But he is in one Mi7id 
 and who can turn him, and what his Soul deftrcth even that 
 he doeth. The Almighty challenges the whole Creation to 
 obftruc~t his Providence, or defeat his Councils ! Tfa. xliii. 13. 
 I will work and who ftmll let it. If a. xiv. 27. For the Lord 
 of Hofts hath purpofed, and who ftiall difanul it, a?id his 
 Hand is ftr etched out, and who ft:all turn it back? All Hu- 
 man Power is deriv'd from the Power of God, and is 
 therefore dependant on it, and limittcd by it. It was 
 God that gave Nebuchadnezzar that proud and potent Prince 
 his Kingdom and his Power (Dan. ii. ^y.) It is the Pow- 
 er of God that retrains the Wrath of Men and Rage 
 
 o£ 
 
The Properties of divine Power. 241 
 
 of Devils, and keeps them within proper Limits, otherwifc 
 they would deftroy all before them. Pf. lxxvi. 10. And the 
 remainder of Wrath Jloalt thou refrain. Rev. iii. 10. Satan 
 jhall cafl Jo me of you into Prifon and ye flj all have Tribula- 
 tion Ten Days. The Devil if he had his full Scope, would 
 have cafl: them feme where elfe, viz. into the Grave or 
 Hell j and if they mufl go to Prifon, he would have it Ten 
 Years, yea their whole Lives. The Angels whether Good or 
 Bad, are powerful Beings, and hence call' d Principalities and 
 Powers ; one of them is able to vanquish all the Strength 
 of Flefh and Blood - 3 yet are they fubject to the Controle 
 of Omnipotence. And 
 
 5thly. The Power of God is incomprehenfble, it not only 
 exceeds human Power, and human Probability, but fur- 
 paff.s the Words and Thoughts of Men. The Power of 
 God reaches the very Heart, which he turns as Streams 
 in the South to anfwer his own eternal Purpofes, i. e. 
 fuddenly. The Lord fills the Noife of the Sea, the 
 Noife of the Waves, and theri Tumult of the People Pf. Ixv. 7. 
 How foon did Jehovah turn die Heart of Angry Efau, into 
 kind Refpect? When all human Help fails, and there is 
 none fhut up or left, then does the Lord exert his Omni- 
 potence, In the Mount of the Lord it Jlmll be feen ! Gen. xxii. 
 14. i.e. In extreme Diftrefs when all human Probability of 
 Relief expires, then the Power of God appears ! And who 
 is able to paint in human Language, the Iniinitenefs of the 
 Strength of God, or form Ideas in his Mind equal to it; not 
 one ? (Ephef. iii. 20.) God is able to do exceeding abun- 
 dantly above what we are able to ask or think. The fee- 
 ble Flight of our moft exalted Thought fills infinitely mort 
 of the vaft extent of the divine Power. Hence is that fa- 
 mous PalTage in Ifaiah's Prophefy (lv. 8, 9.) As jar as the 
 Heavens are above the Earth, Jo are my Thoughts above 
 your Thoughts, and my Ways higher than xour Wavs. The 
 
 H h Lord 
 
242 The Properties of divine Pcwer. 
 
 Lord often exceeds his Creatures Hopes, both in Tempo- 
 rals and Spirituals. / had not Thought to fee thy Face faid Ja- 
 cob to Jofeph, audio God hath pew d me thy Seed. Gen. xlviii. 
 1 1 . The Debtor only defir'd Patience, and the Creditor 
 forgave the Debt. (Mat. xviii. 26, 2j.) The Prodigal de- 
 fir'd but the State of a Servant, but lo he is treated as a 
 Son, with the greateft Refpect ! His ungrateful Carriage is 
 notfo much as once mentioned, the fatted Calf is kill'dforhis 
 Entertainment, his Ears are delighted with mufical Sympho- 
 nies, while Shoes are brought for his Feet, a Ring for 
 his Finger, and the beft Robe for his Back. But 
 
 6thly. The Power of God, is a jufl and rightful Power. 
 Power and Right in Creatures, are often feparated, they 
 do that which they have no Right or Authority to do; but 
 in God they are one and the lame, what he can do, lie has 
 a Right to do, and what he has a Right to do, he can do. 
 This Right is founded upon the Tranfcendant Eminence, 
 and infinitely fuperior excellency of his Godhead ; as well 
 as upon his creating, preferving, providing and Redeeming 
 Goodnefs. On thefe Accounts he hath a right to Rule over 
 the Work of his Hands according to his lbvereign Pieafure ; 
 and to difpenfe his Gifts upon whom, when, and in 
 what manner he pleafes : For he is our Potter, and we but 
 Clay in his Hands, which he may make to Honour or Dis- 
 honour, as feems good in his Eyes. And 
 
 7thly. The Power of God is Eternal, Rom. i. 20. For the 
 i?ivifble Things of him , from the Creation of the World are 
 clearly feen y being nnderjlood by the Things that are 
 made, even his eternal Power and Godhead. Albeit God 
 from Eternity, did not produce Effects without himfelf, nc- 
 verthclcfs he poffefs'd Power from Eternity, by which, when 
 he pleafed he created the World ; and by this he could 
 have created the World from Eternity, if the World could 
 
 have 
 
The EffeSts of divine Power. 243 
 
 have exifted from Eternity ! And as God's Power was from 
 Eternity, (o it will continue to it. Hence it is laid Ifa. xl. 
 28. That the Creator of the Ends of the Earth Jainteth not, 
 neither is weary, and that his Arm is not flwtned. Ifa. lix. 
 1. This the Church uies as an Argument, in petitioning 
 for Deliverance. VjCli. 9, 10. Awake, awake, put on Strength 
 O Arm of the Lord, awake as in the Anticnt Days, in the 
 Generations of old, art thou not he that cut Rahab in Pieces, 
 and wounded the Dragon ? But I haften to the 
 
 4th General Head, which was to difcourfe upon the Ef- 
 fects of divine Power. And ift. The Power of God is con- 
 ipicuous in the Creation of the World, what Almightinefs 
 was neceffary to produce the vail Expanfe over our Heads, 
 and this MaiTy ponderous and prodigious Globe we tread 
 upon, and that by a Word and in a Moment, out of no 
 pre-exifting Matter ? And afterwards out of the rude and 
 indigefted Chaos, to form the various Ranks of Beings, which 
 both the Heavens and Earth contain, and to Beautify them 
 with fuch Endowments as proclaim their Creators Glory ! 
 The very nobleft Creature within the wide compafs of the 
 Univerfe, cannot produce the fmalieft Particle, of Matter out 
 of Nothing ; much lefs endow the various Species of Being, 
 with thoie Capacities in which they excel each other ; No ! 
 To the Produ&ion of thefe Things, infinite Strength mufl 
 concur. Thus the Things that are made are a plain and 
 fenfible Demonftration of the eternal Power, and Godhead 
 of their Former. 
 
 2dly. The Almightinefs of God is no lefs vifible in the 
 Works of Providence, viz. in fupporting the ftately Fabrick 
 of the Univerfe, and in directing all the Beings it contains, 
 in their various Motions, fo as to anfwer his own eternal 
 Purpoles. Many furprizing and improbable Events and Re- 
 volutions are brought to pafs, which- nothing but divine 
 
 H h 2 Power 
 
244 Th e Effects of divine Power. 
 
 Power could Effect. By the Courfe of Providence we often 
 fee that Scripture verify'd, that the Battle is not to the Strong 
 7ior the Race to the Swift. 
 
 The Almighty Power of God is marvelou/ly apparent in 
 the Prefervation of theChnfian Church, who comparatively 
 are final 1 in Number, and for the moft Part weak, in refpedt 
 of Power and Policy, amidft numerous, politick, potent 
 and malicious Oppofers : And that for fo long a Tract of 
 Time, againft all the malignant Efforts of Hell and Earth ! 
 How does the Glory of divine Power appear in preferving 
 a few Sheep, amidft vaft herds of cruel Wolves, in preferv- 
 ing the burning Bum from being con fumed with the 
 devouring Flames, with which it is encompafs'd. And 
 
 3<ily. The infinite Power of God is likewife d f cover d 
 in Works of divine Grace. 
 
 I ft. The exceeding Greatnefs of God's Power and migh- 
 ty working of it muft be exerted to form Faith in any Heart, 
 (Ephef. i. 19.) Nothing but Almighty Strength can over- 
 come the ftrong Man arm'd, and pluck Sinners out of his 
 Snare. And 
 
 2dly. The fame Power is neceffary to preferve Grace, 
 after it isform'd, from Being quite deftroy'd bv the un- 
 wearied Aflaults of Enemies, both inward and outward. 
 Hence God's People are faid to be preferv 'd by the Power 
 of God, thro' Faith unto Salvation, 1 Pet. i. 5. The Pre- 
 fervation of divine Grace, as Bifhop Hopkins obferves, " Is 
 " like the Prefervation of afpark of Fire upon the Ocean, 
 <c amidji turbulent Waves, and boyferous B la/is." 
 
 The Almighty Power of God was made manifeft, and his 
 Arm reveal'd, in the early Propagation of the Gofpel, thro' 
 a great Part of the World, and that in a little Time, by il- 
 literate Men ! That a Svftem of Doctrines, contrarvto Men's 
 corrupt Inclinations, and not recommended by the Arts of 
 
 Perfuafion, 
 
Obje&iom againft the divine Power prevented. 245 
 
 Perfuafion, or Inflence of civil Power, or any View of Ho- 
 nour or Advantage in this World, mould be cordially cm- 
 brae'd by Multitudes in the politeft Nations, and adher'd to, 
 in defiance of all Kinds of Ignominy and Suffering even to 
 Death, cannot be reafonably accounted for, otherwife than 
 ty afcribing it to Almighty Power I 
 
 Neither does it in the leaft derogate from the Greatenefs 
 of God's Power, that he cannot do luch Things as are 
 imperfect and contradictory. Here obferve, 
 
 1 ft. God cannot Lye or Sin in any refpect, (Heb. vi. 18.) 
 or change his Mind j thefe Things are not the Object of 
 Power, but the ErTeds of Weaknefs ; and therefore it's God's 
 Glory to be incapable of them ! Nor 2dly. Can the Almigh- 
 ty do thofe Things that imply a Contradiction, or are im- 
 poffible in the Nature of Things. God cannot make a 
 Contradiction true, for this would overthrow the very Na- 
 ture of Things, and fo deftroy his own Wifdom therein 
 Aparent ! He cannot make a Creature equal to himlelf, 
 for then it would not be a Creature : God indeed can 
 do what is impoffible to Nature, i. e. he can exceed its 
 ftated Bounds and Limits, as appears by the miraculous 
 Works he has wrought : But he cannot do what is 
 impojjible in Nature. Now that is impoffible in Nature 
 which involves a Contradiction, either on the Part of God, 
 when the Work implies an Imperfection, in a moft per- 
 fect Worker, or on the Part of Things, when they over- 
 throw themfelves. Now both this Kind of Contradiction 
 is impoffible to God, becaufe it would infer that God 
 ihould deny himfelf ( 2 Tim. ii. 13) or that he mould fay, 
 that he is not God. A Contradiction feeing it cannot be, 
 a Being cannot be a Work of Power, or the Object of 
 Power. But I proceed to the Improvement of this Sub- 
 ject. And 
 
 ift. 
 
34-6 The Power of God improved. 
 
 I ft. The Power of God fpeaks Terror to all impenitent 
 Tranfgreftbrs ! What do thefe by their Prefumptious Ini- 
 quities, but as it were enter the Lift with Jehovah, and 
 bid Defiance to Omnipotence ! This Eliphaz, the Temanite, 
 exprefles in beautiful Language, Job. xv. 25, 26. For he 
 Jiretcheth out his Hand againji God, and flrengthneth him- 
 Jelf againji the Almighty. He runneth upon him, even on 
 bis Neck, upon the thick Bojj'es of his Bucklers. But iball 
 Briars and Thorns contend with the devouring Flames ? 
 How unequal is the Combat ? Do we provoke the Lord 
 to Jealoufy ? Are we Stronger then he r Haft thou an Arm 
 like God ? Or canft thou thunder with a Voice like him ? 
 Who when he touches the Mountains they Smoke, yea 
 the Hills tremble at his Prefence ! At his Reproof the 
 Pillars of Heaven {hake, the Perpetual Hills do bow, and 
 the everlafting Mountains are lcattered ! Who is able to 
 Serene your guilty Souls from the wrathful Strokes of 
 the Arm of Omnipotence ? Truly in vain is Salvation hoped 
 for from the Hills, and from the multitude of Mountains. 
 God is Wife in Heart, and Mighty in Strength : Who has 
 hardened him felf againji him, and hath pro/per ed ? Jcb.'ix. 4. 
 When they jhall fay, Peace and Safety, fuddain De- 
 flruclion cometh upon them, as travail upon a J Toman with 
 Child, and they (l:all not Efcape, 1. Thcf. v. 3. 
 
 How will ye be able to bear the Weight oVJehovalf* 
 angry Arm, the Reach of which ye cannot avoid. Is it 
 not a fearful Thing to fall into the Hand of the living God ? 
 Can thine Heart Endure, or thy Hands be Strong in the 
 Day that God deals with you ? Surely he will magnify his 
 Power in your Deftruclion, Rom. ix. 22. What if God, 
 willing to flew his Wrath, and to make his Power known, 
 mdur'd with much Long-fuffering, the Veffels of Wrath fitted 
 to De/lruclicn ? Now conjider this, ye that forget God, leaf 
 
 he 
 
The Power of God imprcv'd* 24.7 
 
 he tear you in Pieces, and there be none to deliver. Pfa. 
 1. 22. God will meat you as a Lyon, or a Bear bereav'd 
 of her Whelps, and will rend the Caul from your H^eart ! 
 He will break you with Breach upon Breach, and run upon 
 you like a Giant, he will cry, yea roar, he fiall prevail againf 
 his Enemies J But 
 
 2dly. The Power of God fpeaks Comfort to all penitent 
 Believers in all their Troubles, of whatfoever Nature they 
 be. Are you encompais'd with many Enemies and Dan- 
 gers, well God's Power is your Sanctuary, which is able to 
 Protect you againft the moft formidable Foes, // God is 
 for you, who jhall be againjl you ? The Name of the 
 Lord is a throng Tower, the Righteous run to it, andare fafe ! 
 What tho' your Enemies be many and Mighty, one God 
 is an overmatch for them all, Men and Devils can go no 
 farther then the Length of their Chain : They can have no 
 Power againft us, except it be given them from above, 
 as our Lord obferved to proud Pilate, when he boafted 
 that he had Power to crucify or releafe him, (John xix. 1 o .) 
 The Power of God can foon put a Hook in their Jaws, 
 and lead them by a Way they came not. When our 
 Heart and our Strength fails, God is the Sn*ength of our 
 Heart and our Portion forever. How reviving is that Word 
 of God by the Prophet, Ifa. xli. 10. Fear thou not for 
 I am with thee, be not difmafdfor I am thy God -, I will 
 Jlrengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will uphold thee, 
 by the right Hand of my Right 'eoujhefs. Tho' we be redu- 
 ced exceeding Low and have none on Earth to help us, 
 God alone can deliver us, Ifa. lix. 16. He wondered that 
 there was no Inter ceffor, therefore his Hand brought Salva- 
 tion unto him, and his Rigbteoufnefs fu/lained him. The 
 King of Zion can command Deliverance for Jacob, and 
 turn his Captivity fuddenh as Streams in the South ! Tho' 
 
 God's 
 
24^ The Power of God improved. 
 
 God's People, as to outward Appearance, be in a hopelefs 
 Cafe, as it were buried in their Graves : Divine Power can 
 foon caufe a Refurrection ! Ezek. xxxvii. 12. For the Eyes 
 of the Lord run to and fro thro 1 the Earth to Jffcew him- 
 felf Strong in behalf of them, whofe Heart is Perfect towards 
 him y 2 Chron. xvi. 9. God keeps his Vineyard, Night and 
 Day, leaft any hurt it, (Ifa. xxvii. 3.) Thofe Things may 
 revive us, both in refpect of our own, and the Churches 
 Troubles ! Are we almoft difcourag'd becaufe of the Pow- 
 er of our inward Enemies ? Let us remember that God's 
 Grace is fufficient for us, and that his Strength is made per- 
 fect in Weaknefs, (2 Cor. xii. 9.) Turn ye therefore to 
 your Strong Hold ye Prifoners of Hope ; for as Calvin ob- 
 serves, " There is Defence enough in one God /" But 
 
 3<ily. The Confideration of God's Power mould invite 
 us to truft. in God, in every Difficulty, even when hu- 
 man Succours fail, we mould glorify God with Abram, by 
 hopetng againjl Hope, i. e. againft the prefent Appearances 
 of Things, when we have the Word of a God to 
 hope upon. Truft in the Lord forever, for in Jeho- 
 vah is everlajiing Streitgth. Ifa. xxvi. 4. At what Time 
 foever we are afraid, let us determine with the Pfalmifl, 
 to truft in God, it grievs the Almighty when his People 
 queftion his Omnipotence, as appears from the Ihftance of 
 Mofes (Num. xi. 21, 22, 23) And as we fhould beware of 
 queftioning God's Power, in a Way of Duty which is a prac- 
 tical Denial of it. So we fhould with equal Care avoid pre- 
 fuming upon it in a neglect thereof: For this is alio a Deni- 
 al of it, becaufe for all thefe Things God will be enquir'd 
 of the Houfe of Ifrael. 
 
 4th. Has God a rightful Power over us, then let us 
 fubmit ourfelves to his Government, and devote ourfelves to 
 his Glory and Service, and that freely, unrefervedly, fled- 
 
 faftly 
 
The Power of God improv'd. 249 
 
 tartly and faithfully. We are his, on all Accounts, his 
 Workmanfhip, the Clay his Fingers have from'd, the Price 
 of his Son's Blood ; the Monuments of his providential 
 Care, Kindnefs, and Forbearance ; we are his People by 
 Profeflion, and outward Dedication, and mall we break thro' 
 all thefe Ties, to rebel againft him, and ruin our own Souls, 
 God forbid ! Befides if we will not fubmit to his equitable 
 Government, we muft expecl to feel his Almighty Ven- 
 geance : For as Agujlifje obferves, " God is ofimmerife Pcw- 
 " rr, and therefore, there is no Place in which one can hide 
 " hiwftlj, nor Time when one canjly, ?wr Power by which he 
 ■ ci can rejift." Therefore let us refign ourfelves and our All 
 to our rightful Lord, intending his Glory in all our Actions, 
 of every kind, that whether living or dying, we may be the 
 Lords, Rom. xiv. 7. Let us beware of the vilefh Sacriledge, 
 and render to God the Tlmigs that are Gods. 
 
 5thly. Let us acknowledge readily the abfolute Power 
 and Sovereignty of God over us. Particularly that God can- 
 not be our Debtor, on any other Account, except by his 
 own gracious Promife, for our Goodnefs extends not to 
 him, we are his Poffeffion and Property; and therefore 
 whatibever he purpofes concerning us, or does to us, he does 
 us no Wrong, for he is our Potter, and we the Clay he has 
 form'd. This Consideration mould make us more patient 
 in Adverfity and more thankful for Profperity. And 
 
 6thly. Let us glorify God on Account of his Power 
 and Kingdom, which ruleth over all. Let us inwardly ad- 
 mire the van: extent of his Right, and Strength, the large- 
 nefs of his Kingdom, and the Power of its Adminihxation ! 
 And let us extol it openly ! Rev. xv. 3 . And they Jung the 
 Song of Mofes the Servant oj God, the Song of the Lamb, 
 faying, great and marvelous are thy Works, OLord God Almigh- 
 ty, jujl and true are thy Ways, thou King of Saints ! And 
 
 I i finally 
 
2 r o The Power of God imprvo y d. 
 
 finally let us imitate the independant Power of God, by 
 
 fubmitting to God only in Matters of Confcience. Let us 
 
 ft and f aft in the Liberty wherewith Chrift by his Bloody has 
 
 made us free. Gal. v. i. Only being careful that we don't 
 
 abufe it, or ufe it with offence. Let us be ftrong in the Lord, 
 
 a?id in the Power of his Might, that we may be able to do all 
 
 Things, thro* Chrift jlrengthning us. O let us dwell in the 
 
 Secret of the mod High, that we may be conftantly kept 
 
 under the Shadow of the Almighty ; and be preferved 
 
 by his Power, thro' Faith unto Salvation, which may God 
 
 grant for Christ fake, Amen, Amen* 
 
 SERMON 
 
The Text explain' d, 251 
 
 SERMON XIII 
 
 LEVITICUS xix. 2. 
 Speak unto all the Congregation of the Children of Tfrael 
 and jay unto them, ye flail be Holy : For I the Lord 
 your God am Holy. 
 
 OSES is enjoy ned by Jehovah in thefirft Verfe 
 of this Chapter, and alfo in that out of which our 
 Text is taken, to deliver the fummary of divine 
 Laws to all the Congregation of the Children of 
 Ijrael. Mofes mufl make known God's Statutes, and pn> 
 claim them thro' the Camp, that fo every one might hear 
 and know his Duty, in order to practice the fame. And 
 hence we may learn, that the Devotion which fprings from 
 Ignorance, that that Religion which commends it, cannot 
 be of God -, becaufe it is directly contrary to the Method 
 which God has taken with his reafonable Creatures, res- 
 pecting the Affairs of Religion, in all the Ages of the Church, 
 both under the Jewifl and Gofpel Difpenfations ! Now 
 the Words of our Text contain two Things obfervable, 
 viz. A Command, and a Reafon enjorcing it. And 
 
 ifl. There is a Command, ye flail be Holy, " The Word 
 " Holy, fays Pool in his Synopfis upon the Place, and other 
 " learned Men, properly fignifies to feparate, i. e. from a 
 " Common to a Religious Ufe" And hence the Temple and 
 Tabernacle and many Things in both, were call'd Holy : 
 
 I i 2 and 
 
252 the Text explain d. 
 
 And likewife the whole People ofljrael, and many other 
 Things, which it is needlefs to mention : The Word here 
 fignifies, " not only a Sepation from all the Defilements 
 " before mentioned ; " as Mr. Pool obferves, both in his 
 Symopfis, and Annotations ; but alfo an inward Averfion to 
 all Impurity and Sin, together with a habitual Devoted- 
 nefs to all moral Purity. Ifrael's being diftinguifhed from all 
 other People, by peculiar Laws, was to teach them the ne- 
 cemty of a real Separation from the World and the Flefh, and 
 of an entire Devotednefs to God ; and this is likewife the 
 Law of Chrifr, 1 Pet. i. 15. 16. But as he who hath cal- 
 led you is Holy , fo be ye Holy in all manner of Conversation : 
 becaufe it is written, be ye Holy, for I am Holy. We are 
 the Followers of the Holy Jesus, and therefore mufl, ac- 
 cording to our Capacity, be confecrated to God's Honour, 
 and conform 'd to his Nature and Witt,. ye Jhall be Holy, 
 the Words are not a Propheiy or Promife, but a Precept 
 importing as much as this, be ye Holy. 1 Pet.'i. 15. Or ye 
 muft be Holy. It is as if God had laid, ye mud take Care 
 and Pains, to have the Habits or Principles of Holinefs, im- 
 planted in your Hearts, and to exercife and exprefs the fame, 
 in all your Speech and Practice ! But 
 
 adly. We have the Reafon enforcing this Command, and 
 that is twofold, viz. The Nature of God and his Relation to 
 them, for I the Lord your God am Hols. And lfl. God in his 
 Nature is Holy, yea Holinefs itfelf, the Fountain, Idea, and 
 Paternofall Holinefs, (IJa. lxiii. 15. Ezek. xx. 12.) It is 
 therefore every Way reafonable, that we mould feck Holi- 
 nefs of him, and conform ourfelves to his Example, feeing 
 it is in itfelf Reafonable and Noble, and without it we can 
 have no Complacence in him here, or Enjoyment of him 
 hereafter, (Heb. xii. 14. j But 
 
 zdly 
 
The Holinefs of Godprov'd. 253 
 
 2dly. The Almighty in this Text, incites the People 
 of Jfrael to Holinefs on Accout of the covenant Relation 
 which fubfifted between them : For I the Lord your God 
 am Holy. . as if God had faid, I have chofen you before 
 others, and given myfelf to you to be your God by Way of 
 fpecial Interefl, and. covenant Property ; and ye have chofen 
 me, and devoted yourfelves to me as your Guide, your God, 
 your Governor, your Portion, and your All ! And there- 
 fore you are bound by the Ties of Gratitude, and by cove- 
 nant Engagements, to obey my Precepts, and conform your 
 felves to my Nature in Holinefs !. 
 
 The Subject that offers it fell to our prefent Meditations, , 
 from the Text, which I have been labouring to explain, 
 is that venerable Attribute of the divine Nature, viz. 
 Holinefs : This is very frequently afcribed to God in the 
 facred Scriptures, thus he is call'd the Holy one, Ifa. xl. 25, 
 Likewife the Holy one oj Ilrael, above 30 Times, Ifa. xli. 
 20. He is call'd the Holy one of Jacob, Ifa. xxix. 23. The 
 mqfl Holy, or Holy of Holies, Dan. ix. 24. He is'cali'd 
 
 thrice Holy, Ifa. vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8. Or the Character of 
 
 Holinefs is three Times repeated. Holinefs is afcrib'd to all 
 the Perfons of the Trinity, the Father is call'd the Holy one 
 of Ijrael : The Son is call'd the moft Holy, Dan. ix 24, 
 The Spirit is call'd the Spirt of Holinefs, and the Holy Spirit, 
 Rom. i. 4. And indeed right Reafon allures us, that God 
 is Holy : For ifl. If we were not Holy, how could he be 
 the Author of that Holinefs, which is in his People ? 
 (John i. 19.) 
 
 2dly. Without Holme fs he could not^carry himfelf de- 
 cently, or as it is fit and proper to himfelf ; and fo by Con- 
 fequence, he could not behave himfelf fuitable to hisCreatures, 
 nor govern them Hoiiiy and Well If a King do not duly 
 
 TKrd ■ 
 
254 Th e Holinefs of God prov'd. 
 
 regard himfelf in his Royal Authority, he can never duly 
 govern his Subjects. And 
 
 3cily. Without Holinefs he could not be perfect in any 
 Attribute : For as Mr. Scudder oblerves, " Holincjs is the 
 " Beauty of all God's Attributes, without which his PVifdom 
 " would be Subtlety j his fuftice, Cruelty -, his Sovereignty, 
 Xi Tyrany, his Mercy foolijh Pity." 
 
 In coniidering this divine Perfection, I would 
 
 I. Enquire concerning its Nature. 
 
 II. Shew its Properties. 
 
 III. Reprefent it's Manifejlations or Difcoveries. 
 And laftly proceed to fome practical Ufes. 
 
 i ft. Then ieeing the Holinefs of God, us it is in him, 
 is fo Sublime and Tranfcendent, that it is inacceflible to 
 our weak and finite Minds ; it will be necerlary, firft to 
 behold it in its Emblem, or Effects, and from that to 
 proceed to the producing Caufe, or Prototype. Now the 
 Image or Effect of the Holinefs of God, is that Holinefs, 
 which Jehovah is pleas'd to form in intelligent Beings or 
 Creatures. Holinefs therefore in its general Nature, may 
 be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it is the moral Goodnefs of a rea- 
 finable Being. To underftand which, let it be obferv'd, 
 that Goodne/s is two-jold, viz. Phyfical and Moral, Phy/ical 
 Goodnefs is likewife two-fold, viz. either of Btirig or Ufe ; 
 a Thing may be call'd Good phyjicclly or naturally either 
 when its being is defireabie, or when it lerves to anfwer 
 the End defign'd for it. In both thefe Refects, all the ina- 
 nimate and irrational Parts of the Creation are call'd Good 
 by God himfelf, the beft Judge of Things. Gen. i. ult. And 
 God faw every Thing that he had made and behold it was 
 very Good! But moral Goodnefs, is that which is adorn'd, 
 with iuch Manners, as become a God ! and this is peculiar 
 to reafonable Creatures. Now the Holinefs of Creatures is 
 
 three- 
 
Created Holinefs opened. 255 
 
 three-fold, viz. Relative, Fedral, and Real, ift. Relative, 
 is that whereby Times and Places, and other Things are 
 call'd holy, becauie they relate to a Holy God, and are appro- 
 priated by him, being feparated from a Common, and de- 
 dicated to a Religious Uie by his Authority, which they 
 have a Tendency to promote. In this Senie the Sabbath, 
 the Temple, and many Things in it, were call'd Holy. 2dly 
 Federal Holinejs,. is that whereby Peribns are feparated ftorn 
 the World, to be God's peculiar People, in order to tfce 
 Study of Holinefs, when they profeis this, and by their Pro- 
 feflion are in the Judgment of a reafonable Charity, look'd 
 upon as Saints or Holy Peribns. Dent. vii.. 6. For thou art 
 a Holy People unto the Lord thy God, the Lord thy God lath- 
 chofen thee to be a fpecial People unto himftlf, above all People 
 that are on the Face of the Earth. Num. xv. 40. That ye 
 may remember, and do all my Commandments and be Holy un- 
 to your God. In thisrefpecl the Whole Nation of Ifrael, were 
 of old Holy to God (Ex. xix. 6.) They are therefore call'd 
 a Holy Nation. ( 1 Pet. ii. 9. Num. xvi. 3.) And Scores of 
 Times the whole Nation of Ifrael are call'd God's People 
 in Scripture. Ex. iii. 10. That thou mayjl bring J or th my 
 People the Children of Ifrael out of Egypt. In this Reiped 
 the Children of believing Parents are Holy. (\ Cor.vn. 14.) 
 But 3dly. Real Holinefs, confifts in the Exercife ancl 
 Growth of good Habits or pious Difpofitions infus'd, and is 
 therefore twofold, viz. Habitual and aclual. Habitual, con- 
 lifts in. the inward Purity of the Will, and Affections,, 
 whereby we are inclin'd to live to God j or it confifts, 
 in the Infulion of a Conftellation, or Train of Graces, into 
 the Soul, which, turns its inward and general Bent into a 
 fpiritual and Heavenly Channel I By this the Soul of Man, 
 is in fome Sort conform'd to the Nature of God ; ABual 
 Holinefs confifts in the Exercife of the aforefaid divine Ha- 
 bits 
 
256 The Nature of God's Holinefs. 
 
 bits, efpecially in our Speech and Practice, whereby, thro' 
 God's gracious Concurrence, they are increas'd. Hereby 
 the Life is conform'd to God's Will and Law : From 
 what has been obferv'd, it appears, therefore that Holinefs 
 contains the four following Ingredients, or Particulars, viz. 
 1 ft. A Separation from a common or profane Ufe, in which 
 Senie, Paid the Apoftle, is faid to be feparated to the Gofpel 
 of God. Rom. i. 1. And the Lord Jesus as Mediator, is faid 
 to be janBified. John x. 36. And 2dly. A Dedication to 
 a divine or religious Ufe, whereby we deliberately, umvL;-- 
 vedly, and relolutely devote ourfelves and our all to the Di- 
 vine Glory and Service. (Rom. xii. 1. 2 Cor. viii. 5.) Firft they 
 gave their own ieives to the Lord. And 3 d ly. It con- 
 tains a Reprefentation, of the Divine Holinefs, the Heart re- 
 fembling the Parity of the divine Nature, and the Life the 
 Purity of the Divine Law. And 4thly. Holinefs includes 
 a Detejiation of, and Flight from all Impurity. Pj. xcvii. 1 o. 
 Te that love the Lord hate Evil. 
 
 From the aforeiaid Image, or Emblem of Holinefs m 
 Creatures, we may gather this Defcription, of the Holineis 
 of God ! viz. That it is his Moral Excellency, whereby he is 
 feparated from every thing common or prophane, hereby he 
 is inclind to feek himfelf, and his Glory above all. {Pro. xvi. 
 4. Ephej.i. 11.) and is conform 'd exacrly to that Holinefs 
 which is exprefd in the Moral Law in his Thoughts, Words 
 and Deeds. And hence he often in his Word invites Men to 
 an Imitation of his Holinefs. (1 Pet. i. 15,16.) As God's 
 Power is opposed to all natural Weakneis, and his Wifdom to 
 Folly, fo his Holinefs is opposed to all moral Blemifies, or Im- 
 perfections, which we call Sin. Hab. i. 13. 
 
 Holinefs is a Difpoption, to feek the moil: excellent End, 
 in the highefl Degree, and to refer all to it. The beft 
 Good, certainly deferves to be the laft End ! Now Jc 1 .ovah 
 
 being 
 
The Nature of God's Holinefs, 257 
 
 being himfelf, the. beft Good, infinitely iuperior in Ex- 
 cellency, to all Creatures, he muft therefore confequently 
 be his own laft End ! Hence is that of the Prophet. J fa. xlii. 
 8. I am the Lord, that is my Name, and my Glory will I not 
 give to another, nor my Praife to Graven Images. And it ap- 
 pears farther to be reafonable, that God mould leek himfelf as 
 his own laft End, becaufe he is Self-exiftent, & from no other I 
 This Devctednefs therefore of the Almighty to feek his own 
 Glory, as his chief End, appears to be a very confiderable 
 Branch of the Holinefs of God. But for Creatures, who 
 are but an inferior Good, and borrow their Beings from a-- 
 nother to make themfelves, or any thing that concerns them 
 as fuch, their laft End, is a great Inftance of Impiety: The 
 very nature of Sin feems to conftft in this, viz. A 
 .Deviation or wandering in our Views, Defgns or Affecli- 
 ons from God's Glory, to fome other End, as Chief and Su- 
 pream. Seeing that all Things are from God, as a creat- 
 ing or producing Caufe, and thro' him alfo as a fupporting 
 Caufe, therefore all ought to be directed to him, as a final 
 Caufe. (Rom. xi. 36.) The Holinefs of God feems to be 
 the Harmony of his Attributes, as they are oppos'd to Sin ! 
 and therefore it's call' d the Beauty of the Lord! Pf.xxvn. 4.- 
 One Thing have I defird of the Lord, that will I feek after, 
 that I may dwell in the Houfe of the Lord, to behold the Beau- 
 ty of the Lord. — Holinefs feems to put a Luftre upon the 
 other Perfections of the divine Nature, without which, they 
 would be inglorious becaufe, impure ! 
 
 Now the Holinefs of God, is either efential or declarative.. 
 The efential Holinefs of God is nothing clfe but the tranfcend- 
 ant and incomprehenfble Eminence of the divine Nature or 
 Being, or his Purity and Glory. And hence he is laid to be 
 glorious in Holinefs. (Ex. xv. 11J The declarative Holi- 
 nefs of God confifts in the Difplays of the Former in God's 
 
 K k. Wonx 
 
2 $ti T/je Properties of God's Holinefs. 
 
 Word and Worhs y they are diftinguifh'd only in our manner 
 of Conception, and not in God. And thus I am led to dif- 
 courfeupon the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, which was to mew the Properties oj God's 
 Holinefs. Now the efTential Holinefs of God, has the follow- 
 ing Properties, viz. 
 
 1 ft. It is original Holinefs, it is the Source of all thofe 
 Stremes of Holinefs which appear in Creatures : It is the 
 Subftance and Prototype, their's but the Shadow and Co- 
 py borrow'd from it ! Jehovah has receiv'd it from none, 
 but created Beings derive all theirs from this, Rom. xi. 35 
 Who hathfirjl given to him ? 
 
 2dly. It is fwiple Holinefs, i. e. It is the very Being of 
 God, and not any Thing added to it : Hence God is 
 faid to /wear by his Holinefs, Pfal. Ixxxix 35. Whereas 
 Holinefs in Creatures is not their Nature, or Beinc% but 
 fome Diipofition or Quality added to it, and therefore 
 feparable from it; and hence they are only call'd Holy, 
 but not Holinefs : This laft Term fpeaks an Abftract, 
 fimple and uncompcunded Being ! And 
 
 3 dry. It is eternal Hdlinefs, and this it miift needs be, 
 feeing it is the fame with his ElTence ; which has been be- 
 fore pro v'd to be eternal, in a preceeding Sermon. As it is 
 impoiTible in the Nature of Things, that ever God mould be- 
 gin to be, fo it is equally impoiTible that ever he fhould 
 be without Holinefs, which is his Beauty and Glory, for 
 then he would be no God ; but a Being of a contrary 
 Character. Now as the Holinefs of God had no Beginning, 
 fo by Confequence it can have no End ! Whereas on the 
 Contrary the Beings of all Creatures, beginning with Time, 
 or commencing in it, are Temporary ; and their Holinefs, 
 which could not exift before their Beings, mull be of the 
 like Kind : As it had a Beginning fo it may have an End. 
 
 4thly. 
 
'The Proper ties of God's Holine/s. 2 c 9 
 
 4thly. Immutable Hclinefs : It is liable to no Change or 
 Alteration, for the Reafon aforefaid, viz. Becaufe it is him- 
 ielf : And hence it Is laid, Rev. xv. 4. That Go*/ 0/z/y is 
 Holy, i. e. He is holy lb as none elle befides him is j the Mo- 
 ral Excellencies of Creatures are liable to manifold Change, 
 yea they may be entirely Loll 5 witnefs the Apoftacy of 
 the Angels, and the fatal Fall of our firft Parents. Hereby 
 the Crown has fallen from our Heads, and we have come 
 Short of the Glory of God ! 
 
 5thly. Tranfcendent Holiiiefs, above all Degrees : It being 
 ablblutely Perfecl, can receive no increaj'e : The Holinefs 
 of all created Beings amafTed together, would be but as a. 
 Drop compar'd with the Infinite Ocean of Purity in God : 
 But the Holine/s of all Creatures is certainly Gradual on 
 Earth, and pofiibly lb in Heaven ; for if the Saints and An- 
 gels increafe in Knowledge, why may they not in Love, and 
 other good Difpoiitions ! Hence God is faid to Charge his 
 Angels with Folly, and that the Heavens are not clean in 
 his Sight ; by which, (by a Metonimy,) we may underftand 
 the Inhabitants of Heaven, whofe Holinefs when com- 
 par'd with God, may be call'd Impurity! 
 
 6thly, It is Infinite Hclinefs, it is without all Bounds, 
 and is therefore term'd Light and Love it felf. (1 Job. 
 i. 5. and iv. 8.) 
 
 Whereas the Angels, who feem to be the Purefi: of creat- 
 ed Spirits, vail their Faces in the immediate Pretence of 
 God, as being afham'd of their comparative Deformity j 
 while they behold that radiant Beauty and burnim'd Glory 
 which appears with furprizing Blaze and venerable Ma- 
 jefty in the Holifiefs of God ! But 
 
 2dly. The declarative Holinefs of God has the following 
 Properties, viz. It is ill. Perfecl, without the lead: Defect : 
 Hence we are bid to be the Sons of God without Rebuke, 
 
 K k 2 Phil. 
 
2 6 o The Properties of God's Holinefs 
 
 Phil. ii. 15. It is fmcere without Deceit ; for God is 
 not a Man, that he mould Lie, or the Son of Man that he 
 fhould Repent. 
 
 2dly. It is Exemplary : And hence we are bid to im- 
 mitate him, to be Holy as he is Holy ; to be Merciful as he 
 is Merciful : This demonftrates its fuperior Eminence ; for 
 the common Maxim is juft, that that which is the Firff. 
 and Beif in every Kind, is the Rule and Meafure of the 
 Red: ! (Primiun et Optimum in unoquoquc genere, eft rcgula, 
 & menfura ceterorum.) 
 
 3<ily. Univerfal: As God's Holinejs is diffused thro' all 
 his Attributes within himfelf, fo it appears in his Word, 
 -and all his Works without, and that free from the leaft 
 Intermiffion or Variation j the Truth of which will ap- 
 pear under the next general Head of Difcourfe, m, The 
 
 3d. Proposed, which was to reprefent the Manijeftations 
 or Dilcoveries of God's Holinefs : And here we may juftly 
 oblerve, with the PJalmift in General, That God is Holy in 
 rtll his Works, (Pfal. cxlv. \j.) But it is peculiarly Appa- 
 rent in thofe following, viz. 
 
 ill:. In his eternal Decrees refpecting his People: God 
 has therein from everlafting, purpos'd and fecured upon 
 a itrong and impregnable Foundation, the Holinefs of the 
 Elect, and hence it is kid, Ephef i. 4. That he hath cho- 
 fen us in him, before the Fowidation oj the World, that we 
 fould be Holy and without Blame before him ! 2 Thef. 
 ii. 13, Becaufe God hath, from the beginning, chofen you to 
 Salvation, thro' SancJiftcation of the Spirit ! And 
 
 2dly. The Holinefs of God, appears in the Creation of Man, 
 in making him after his own Image in Rightecufmfs and 
 Holinejs, (Ephef. iv. 25.) Tho' Man has fince found out 
 many Inventions to his Shame and Lolsj yet, as Solomon 
 obferves, he was made at firft upright ! A perfect and uni- 
 verfal 
 
The Difplays of God's Holi?iefs. 261 
 
 verfal Rectitude crown'd the human Nature in its primitive 
 State, together with a freedom of Will and Power to per- 
 fevere therein ! God's Fore-knowledge and Purpofe did 
 not bereave Man of his Liberty of acting, or lay him 
 under a natural Necefiity of finning ; for if (o y then God 
 would be the Author of Sin ; which is blafphemous to 
 Imagine ! And was it not the Defign of God in making 
 the irrational and inanimate Parts of the Creation, that 
 thereby intelligent Beings might be excited to admire and 
 adore the Perfections of their Former, and conform to 
 him ? 
 
 jdly. The Holi?iefs of God appears in his Works of Pro- 
 vide?ice, efpecially in his prefcribing to intelligent Creatures 
 a Law to direct them in his Service, and in enforceing 
 that Law by proper Sanctions of the mofl: defirable Rewards 
 and formidable Punijhments ! Hereby reprelenting before 
 them the unfpeakable Advantages of his fincere Service, as 
 well as on the Contrary, the dreadful Confequences of a 
 Neglect thereof! And has not Almighty God by his Pro- 
 vidence, in fome fignal Inflances, manifefted his holy Dif- 
 pieafure againft Sin, by executing upon TranfgrefTors, the 
 Threatnings annex'd to the Violation of his Law ? As the 
 Pfalmift obferves, Pfal. ix. 1 6. The Lord is known by the 
 ^judgments which he executeth : The Wicked is (naredin the 
 Work oj his own Hands ! It is true, Judgment is not always 
 fpeedily executed, and therefore the Hearts of the Sons 
 of Men are fully fct in them to do Evil ! And the Reafon 
 is, becaufe the prefent State of Things, is a Time of 
 Probation, and not of Recompence ; which fhews the 
 NecefTity of a future Judgment, when a righteous God 
 mall render Vengeance and Recompence ! However both 
 Scripture and Hiftory inform us, of fome dreadful Difplays 
 of divine Severity, againft obftinate TranfgrefTors, that the 
 
 World 
 
262 The Difplays of God's Holinefs. 
 
 World may know there is a God who detefb their Im- 
 pieties ! And 
 
 ■ 4thly. Has not the Holinefs of God had a moft furprizing 
 Difplay in the Work of Redemption? Rather then* Sin mould 
 pais unpunim'd, did not the Almighty Father punifli it in 
 his own Son ? His only begotten and eternally beloved Son ! 
 Did not his Sword awake againft the Man that was his Com- 
 panion ? The darling of his Soul ! And did he not afflict 
 him with all the Waves of his intolierable Vengeance, which 
 was due for the Sins of the elect World ? Our deareft Lord 
 trod the Wine Prefs of his Fathers Wrath alone!—— 
 The Chaftifement of our Peace was laid upon him, that 
 thro' his Stripes we might be healed. Our Redeemer under 
 the Agonies of Difertion for our Sins, referrs to the Holi- 
 nefs of God therein made manifeft, Pfal. xxii. 3. But then 
 art Holy O thou that hihabitefl the Praifes of Ifrael ! And 
 
 5thly. God's Holinefs appears in his Works of divine 
 Grace, whereby he prepares his People here, for the En- 
 joyment of Himfelf hereafter. Hence effectual Calling, is 
 term'd a Holy Calling. 2 Tim. i. 9. And we are faid to be 
 called, not unto Uncleanefs, but unto Holinefs. 1 Thef iv. 7. 
 And what is Regeneration, and Sa notification, but the re- 
 newing of the Image of God's Holinefs in Man ? And 
 what is Glorification, ? Does it not in a degree coniifl in the 
 perfecting of the aforelaid Image in the Redeem'd ? Then 
 that which is in part mall be done away, Then fall our 
 Lord prefent to himfelf a Church holy and glorious, without 
 Spot and Blemijh. Eph. v. 27. Again 
 
 2dly. God di [covers his Holinefs in his Word, every Page 
 of which proclaim s his Purity, and hence it is calt'd Holy j 
 by his Truth contain'd therein, we are fanSlified or mad,' 
 Holy. (John xvii. 17.) The Words of the Lord are pure Words, 
 as Silver tried in a Furnace of Earth , purified feven Times. 
 
 pi: 
 
The Difplays of God's Holinel's. 263 
 
 Pf. xii. 6. The Law of God is holy, and the Commandment jujl 
 and Good. Rom. vii. 12. And no Wonder, for it is the Image 
 of the divine Purity, a Tranfcript of the divine Nature, 
 as far as it is imitable ; hence it is likned to a Glafs. Jam. i. 
 In this we behold God and ourfeives, For by the Law is the 
 Knowledge of Sin. The Law of God, fays the Pfalmi/l, is 
 perfeel, converting the Son I. Pf. xix. 7. The Go/pel is Holy, 
 and hence it is call'd, a holy Covenant. {Luke i. 72.) The 
 great Defign of it, is to promote Holincfs, by laying Men 
 under more endearing and ingenuous Engagements there- 
 to. And 
 
 ;dly. God does not only di [cover his Holinefs in his Works 
 and Word-, but alfo in his Worjlnp ; hence the Ordinances of 
 Worjljip, viz. The Sacraments are call'd Holy, becaufe they 
 tend to promote Holinefs. andlikewife theTime and Place of 
 Worfkip, are call'd Holy. God is faid to hallow the Sabbaoth 
 (Ex. xx. 1 1.) The Temple of old was call'd Holy, and Ho- 
 linefs is faid to become God's Houje forever. (Pf. xciii. v. ) 
 On this Account it is faid to be the Place, where God's Ho- 
 nour dwells. (Pf. xxvi. 8.) The Miniflers, and Attendants 
 of Worfhip, are call'd Holy. Aaron was to wear on the 
 Front of his Mitre, a Plate of Gold, with this Motto en- 
 graven on it, viz. Holinefs to the Lord. Ex. xxviii. 36. The 
 Angels, thofe Attendants of Worfhip, are call'd holy. Luke 
 ix. 26. And is not Holinefs the great Defign, and Tenden- 
 cy of Religious Worfhip ? And Hence is that Word of God 
 to Mofes and Aaron, Ex. x. 3. Twill be fanftified in them, 
 that come nigh me. But it is Time to proceed to fome practi- 
 cal Ufes. And 
 
 1 ft. If God be Holy, as has been prov'd, then we may 
 hence learn, that he cannot be the Author of Sin, which 
 is fo contrary to his Nature, or of any Doctrines that tend 
 to promote it. Now the following Doctrines of the Papijls, 
 
 Antinomians, 
 
264 Practical Inferences. 
 
 Antinomians, and Enthufiafts are of this Sort, and there fore 
 fhould be rejected with Abhorrence, viz. 
 
 ifl. The Doctrine of Indigencies, or Pardons for Sin. 
 This was oppos'd by Swi?igliits- in ffelyetia^ and by Lather in 
 Germany, in the Year 1516. and being defended by Pope 
 Leo, became the Occafion of the Reformation. 
 
 adly. The Popifh Distinction of Sins into Venial and 
 Mortal. The Former thev fay do not deferv-e eternal 
 Punimment, contrary to Scripture, (Row. vi. 23.) 
 
 To thole I might add their gainful Doctrine of Purgatory. 
 And like wife their holding with the Pharifees of old, that 
 the Law refpects only outward Acts : Whereas the inward 
 Principle from which thofe flow, is more corrupt than any 
 Act that proceeds from it. As the aforeiaid Doctrines are 
 moil abfurd in thcmfelves : For how can it be iuppos'd 
 with any Appearance of Reafon, that any can forgive Sins, 
 but that God againfl whom they arc committed? I fay as 
 they are abfurd in themfelves, fo they have a manifefl Ten- 
 dency to promote impiety, and therefore are not of God. 
 
 To the Former Catalogue, may be added ibme Jlntinomi- 
 an Doctrines, which are not lefs unreafonable and perilous, 
 viz. Juflification from Eternity, or from the Time of Chrift's 
 Death. That the Law is no Rule of Life to Believers, that 
 there is no need of Repentance under the Gofpel ; that 
 Faith coniifls in fuch an AfTurance, as is fuccecded by no 
 Doubts. That there is no preparative (of order) that goes 
 before Faith. Thole Doctrines, open a Door to all Impiety, 
 They directly tend to make Chrift a.Miniiler of Sin, and 
 his Golpel an Infirument of Iniquity ; an 1 therefore canno'; 
 be fr<"vi God. It is an Inftance of the viielt Ingratitude, to 
 draw from the Doctrine of free Forgiveneis, an Argument 
 againfl Re-pentanoer! 
 
 And indeed the Armlman Doctrine. of Univetfal Redem- 
 
 tion, 
 
Pradiical Inferences. 265 
 
 tion, has an awful Tendency to make Men fecure in Sin. 
 Of the like Nature is the Doctrine of all Enthufiafts, in 
 oppofing the ftated Performance of Religious Duty. This, 
 whatever falfe Guifes is put upon it, tends to wear off the 
 Senfe of God and divine Things, and to prepare Men tor 
 Delufions in Principle and Iniquity in Practice. And 
 
 2dly. From what has been faid, in the Explicatory Part 
 of this Difcourfe, we mould be induc'd to examine ourfelves, 
 in order to know whether we be truly Holy or not ? Which 
 we may know by an impartial comparing of ourfelves, with 
 what has been already deliver'd on this Subject, to which I 
 mall add the following Characters of true Holinefs, which 
 duly confider'd may amtt the Examination of ourielves. And 
 
 lit. True Holinefs is Sincere ■, it Eyes God more than Man, 
 and aims at his Glory above all, in the general Courfe of 
 Action. And herein it is like the Holinefs of God himfelf, 
 inafmuch as it aims at the fame End with him. (Mat. vi. 
 i, —6. 1 Cor. x. 3.1.) 
 
 2dly. It is internal chiefly, as it begins in the Mind and 
 Heart, fo it takes more Care of that, than the Outfide. 
 (Pf. li. 6.) directly contrary to this were the Pharifees of old 
 in their Practice. (Mat. xxiii. 23.) 
 
 3<ily. It is Evangelical, proceeding chiefly from that Faith 
 in Christ, which is of the Operation of God, and work- 
 eth by Love. As God's People receive Strength from 
 Christ to perform Acts of Holinefs, by a believing De- 
 pendance on him, fo they are conftrained or influenced by 
 Love to him, to labour to be Holy. And their Attainments 
 and Labours in Religion, are attended with a humble Senfe 
 of their own Imperfection. Not as tbo* I had already at- 
 tain'd, faid holy Paul, or were already perfect, but I prefs 
 jorward. And 
 
 L I 4thly, 
 
266 The Characters of true Holinefs. 
 
 4th. True Holinefs is U?iiv:rfal y and that both in regard 
 of the Subject in which it is p/ac'd, and the Object about 
 which it is exercised. The whole Soul in all its Powers, is 
 in fome Meafure renew'd, the Mind is enlightned, the Will 
 bow y d, the Affections in their general Bent, and in the highejl 
 degree are turned towards God. And both Soul and Body 
 feparated from the habitually governing Love of the World, 
 and willingly devoted to God, together with all we pofTefs, 
 not referring to ourfelves any Thing with Ananias, and Sa- 
 pbira, and the young Pharifee. (Rom. xii. 12. 1 The/, v. 23.) 
 Some derive the Word Holy (bagios) from a Letter and a 
 Word which fignify to be void of Earth. Now as the Sub- 
 ject is univerfally alter'd, in reJpect of the whole Number 
 of its Parts, fo is the Object univerjal aljb. True Holinefs 
 includes in it, an Averiion not only to this or that impuri- 
 ty, with the Pharifees, but to all with every Appearance 
 thereof. (Tit. xi. 12. Jud. 23.) AndWkewife an Inclination to t 
 and endeavour after every good Work. Job.^Xn. 18. 
 
 5thly True Holinefs is continual, it endures to the End, 
 fuch as have it, aim at, and labour for Growth in Goodnefs, 
 and when they find not fatisfactory Signs thereof are 
 griev'd ! 
 
 Now all fuch who upon Examination find in themfelves. 
 the preceeding Characters of Holinefs, may take Comfort 
 to their Souls, whatever Circumftances of Difcouragement 
 they may be in, from within or from without. And that 
 for the following Reafons. ift. Becaufc it is not the Mea- 
 fure, but Truth of Grace th:,t evidences our Sanclification, 
 2dly. Becaufe our imperfect Holinefs, is accepted thro' 
 Chrift, in whom we are compleat. He is made of God to 
 us Wijdotriy Right eoufnejs, San&ification and ' Rede/nj 'lion. 3dly. 
 He that has begun a good Work in us, has promifed to car- 
 ry it on, to the Day of the Lord JESUS. God is Holy and 
 
 the 
 
Practical Inferences. 267 
 
 the Fountain of all Holinefs. God has promis'd to take a- 
 way the Stony Heart t and give us a Heart of Flefo, to give us 
 a new Heart and a new Spirit , and that he will caufe us to 
 walk in his Statutes. Ezek.xxxvi. 25, 27. 4thly. Whattho' 
 we at Times are afflicted with our Corruptions, it is no 
 more than the Saints of God have been before us ! Woe 
 is me, faith Iiaiah, for J am a Man of polluted Lips. I fa. vi. 5. 
 Yea this is the Language of the Church. If.Xx'w. 6. But we are 
 all as an unclean Thing and all our Right eoufneffes, are as filthy 
 Rags, and we all do Jade as a Leaf, and our Iniquities ,. like the 
 Wind have taken us away. ThePialmift complains of the fame 
 Difeafe, and yetHopes. Pf lxv. ^.Iniquities prevail agdinft me» 
 as for our Tranfgrejjions, thou /halt purge them away. And 
 thus did the Apoltle Paul. Rom. vii. 24. V/hofi: all deliver me 
 from this Body of Sin and Death 1 But God will blot out our 
 Iniquities, as a thick Cloud, and will remember our Sins Jiff 
 more, If. xl. 22^ CHRIST hath given hi mf elf for his Church,, 
 that he might fandlify it 7 by the wafmig of Water thro'' the 
 Word. Eph. v. 25, 26. And let us comfort ourfelves with 
 this, in all our Troubles,, that he who now fanctify's us,, 
 will by and by glorify us, (Rem. viii. 30.} 
 
 But on the contrary all fuch as want the aforefaid Cha- 
 racters, are in a doleful Cafe ! In the Gall of Bitternefs and 
 Bond of Iniquity. Such, fo continuing, can have no Commu- 
 nion with a Holy God here, nor enjoy him hereafter. ( 1 Joh. 
 i. 6. — Heb. xi. 14.) And efpecially how difmal is the Cafe, 
 how impious the Courie, of thofe who murmur at ftrictnefs 
 in Religion, and deride Holinefs. What do thefe in Effect,, 
 but rife up in Arms againit God himfelf, while they practi- 
 cally deny his Holinefs.. The Language of their Practice 
 is, that they would caufe the Holy One of Ifrael to ceafe 
 from among them. They would, if they could, deftroy the 
 Mivine Being y but by their impotent Malice, they will but 
 
 I* 1 2. fecure 
 
268 Practical Inferences. 
 
 fecure and heighten their own Ruin. But I proceed to a 
 Ufe of Exhortation. From the Contideration of Gods Holi- 
 nefs, we mould be exhorted, i ft. To glorify God on the Ac- 
 count of this divine Attribute after the Example of the Ho- 
 ly Angels. If a. vi. 3. — 2dly. Let us feek the Principles of 
 SanBtfication from God, in the earner! \3fc, of all appoint- 
 ed Means, paticularly by Meditation on its Excellency, 
 and NecerTity, by Prayer, reading and hearing the Word of 
 God, and converting with pious People. And 3dly. Let 
 us exercife thole Principles, in all Holinels of Converfatioru 
 Now we mould be excited to Holinels, by the following 
 Motives. 1 ft. God is Holy, yea Holinefs itfelf, and Wills our 
 Sanctification. 2dly. Holinefs is his principal and univer- 
 fal Perfection, and therefore by the Study of Holinefs we 
 refemble God in his chief Excellency. 3dly. He who is 
 Holy, is the Lord, or Jehovah, and fo able to compenfate 
 the Labours we ufe to be like him. 4thly. He is our God, 
 and fo has given himfelf to us, and we ourfelves to him 
 in Covenant, and therefore we are bound to be Holy, both 
 by Gratitude for his undeferved Love, &by our own Promife. 
 rthly. Holinefs is exceeding excellent, it exalts and eno- 
 bles our reafonable Nature, by conforming it to the Divine, 
 6thly. It is as neceffary as excellent, in a twofold refpect 
 "viz. Both of Command, and Mean. As God enjoyns it by 
 his fovereign Authority fo it appears to be of abfolute Ne- 
 cetiity, from the very Nature of Things. For without Con- 
 formity to God, we can have no complacence in him, and 
 fo no Communion with him, either in this or a future 
 World. And without Communion with God, there can be 
 no Enjoyment of God. See Heb.xu. 14. 7thly. It hpleafant. 
 Solomon juftly obferv'd, IhatWifdoms Ways are Way s of Plea- 
 fantnefs, and all her Paths Peace. Hereby Fellowship with 
 God is attain M, which is the moft fweet Entertainment ; 
 
 and 
 
Practical Inferences. 269 
 
 and our Hope of Glory confirm'd, which is the mod 
 fupporting Proipect. 8thly. Profitable, (Jer. ii. 31) Sure- 
 ly in ferving God there is great Reward. Farther what is 
 the great Defign of our eternal Election, next to the Glory 
 of God, but that we mould be Holy. Eph. i. And is not 
 this the Scope of our Saviours Death, and of the Office of 
 the Holy Spirit? Did not our Lord die to par chafe to him- 
 felj a peculiar People zealous of good Works t And to what 
 Purpofe, is our effectual Calling, but that we JJjould be holy in 
 all manner of Converfation ? As a holy Conversation is pleafing 
 to God, (Prov. xi. 20.) fo it hath a noble Tendency, to 
 promote his Kingdom among Men : Whereas the contrary 
 dimonours God's Name, grieves the Hearts ofthe Godly, and 
 hardens the Hearts of the Wicked. Is not the Defign of all the 
 Parts of God's Word, whteher Doctrinal, Hiftorkal, Percep- 
 tive, Promifory, Minatory, as well of the various Difpenfations 
 of Providence we meet with to promote Holinefs? And 
 are not all thefe loft to us, if this be not obtain'd, Afflicti- 
 ons and Comforts are loft ? Yea and the Ordinances, are 
 alfo loft to us. Our Profefiion and Prayers, yea and the 
 Eyes of God, Men and Angels that are upon us, oblige us to 
 be Holy. In this Way we may expect that God will 
 be our Sun and Shield, and will give us Grace and 
 Glory. jimeth 
 
j a The Text explain' d y 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY, xxxii. 4. 
 He is the Rock, his Work is Per- feci; : For all his Ways are 
 Judgment: A God of Truth, and 'without Iniquity >, Jujl 
 and Right is he. 
 
 ~M jfOSES introduces his Song in this Chapter with 
 ]%// the moft fblemn and commanding Magnificence, 
 JL fUL and yet with the foftefl Charms of Language ! 
 He fummones the Attention of the inanimate 
 Creation partly to reprove the Stupidity of Ifrael, and part- 
 ly to bear Witnefs to the Truth of what he was about to 
 deliver to them in the following Song, either for their In- 
 fraction or Warning, as well as to witneis to the Juftice 
 and Equity of the divine Proceedings againft that unhappy 
 Nation ! Give Ear O Heavens and I will /peak, arid hear 
 Earth the Words of my Mouth ! 
 
 In the 2d Verfe the devout Penman of this Song, wimes 
 that the Inftruc'tions contain'd in it, may be refreshing to and 
 effectual upon his beloved Nation, as the Rain and Dew 
 upon the Earth, my DocJrine fiall drop as the Rain, my 
 
 Speech Jhall di/lil as the Dew. Thefe Words may be 
 
 confidcrcd as a Prayer of Mofes, as if he had faid, O / That 
 it might do Jo j thus Bifhop Patrick underftands the Words. 
 In the next Verfe he fignifies his Intention to make known 
 the Glory of God, and therefore excites them to afcribe 
 Greatnefs to him y which Intention he performs in the Words 
 
 of 
 
The Text explain' d. 271 
 
 of our Text, wherein we have a Reprefentation of the di- 
 vine Glory and Greatnefs apparent in the Perfection of his 
 Works, and equity of his Government, in a Variety of 
 Particulars, viz. ill. He is call'd a Rock, to fignify the Sta- 
 bility of his Nature, the Firmnejs of his Councils, the im- 
 mutability of his Promifes, and Almightinejs of his Power ! 
 In all which Refpects he is a fecure Shelter and unfhaken 
 Foundation for our Refort and Confidence. 
 
 2dly. His Work is Perfect, " His Work of Creation was 
 <c Jo, all that he made in its original Conjlitution was very 
 " Good; his Works oj Redemption and Providence Jhall be 
 tc be Jo when the Myjlery of God is finijlied." God's Works 
 " are true, and cannot be blam'd, faith Ainfworth upon the 
 " Place, God never recalls his Councils, but perfects the?n. 
 " God's Work is call'd Perfect, becauje he has fulfill' d what 
 il he promised to the Fathers'" 
 
 3<ily. All his Ways are Judgment, i. c. fayeth Henery, 
 <c the Ends of 'his Ways are all Righteous, and he is Wife in 
 " the Choice of the Means in order to thofe Ends," By God's 
 Ways, we are to underftand all Gods Providential Admi- 
 niftrations towards intelligent Creatures, and by Judgment, 
 Prudence, and Juftice, (Hof. xiv. 9.) 
 
 4thly. He is a God of Truth, i. e. as Mr. Pool obferves in 
 his Synopfis, " Faithful in his Promifes ; whofe Word we 
 Ci may depend upon, j or he cannot Lie.* 
 
 5thly. Without Iniquity, he is perfectly Free from all 
 moral Blemifh and Defect. " He deceives none that con- 
 " fides in him, and wrongs none that apply for Juftice, and 
 " is hard upon none that cajl than] elves upon his Mercy'* 
 
 6thly. Jufi and Right is he : God is Holy and Equal in 
 his Diftributions ; as he is juif in himfelf, fo he is juft in 
 all his Dealings with Mankind, none can with Reafon 
 accufe him of Infmcerity, Unrighteoufnefs, or Levity. 
 
 Now 
 
2 7 2 ''The fufiice of God conjidercd. 
 
 Now that Attribute or Perfection of God which is prirr~ 
 cipally represented in our Text, by a beautiful variety of 
 Expreffions, is his fufiice ; this therefore is the Subject of 
 our prefent Meditations. That God is juff, the Scripture 
 proves many Ways, particularly iff. Metaphorically and Fi- 
 guratively^ when he is therein call'd a conjumtng, Fire, an 
 angry Lyon, a Man of War. (Dent. iv. 24. I/a. xxxviii. 
 
 ^ ' ; 
 
 zdly. Affe&ively, by attributing to him Zeal, Anger, 
 fealoufy y Fury. (Num. xi. 10. Exo. xx. 5. xxxii. 10 J 
 The aforefaid Affections fuppole fuftice in Creatures, and 
 tho' they be Paffions in them, they are in God but an Act 
 of i?ntnutable fufiice. 
 
 3dly. Effectively , by fhewing that he renders to every- 
 one according to his Works. (1 Sam. xxvi. £3.) 
 
 4thly. Negatively, by removing from him all Injuftice > 
 and Iniquity, all refpect of Perfons ; and in a Word all 
 the Caufes and Effects of Injujlice. (Job. viii. 3.^ Doth 
 God pervert fudgment, or doth the Almighty pervert Juflice? 
 (Dan. ix. 14. Rom. iii. 4.^. 
 
 5thly. Positively, by affirming and extolling his fufiice 
 by calling him a Revenger, Holy, Right, (fer, xii. 1 .) Pfi 
 xi. 7. For the Righteous Lord loveth Right eoufnefs, his Coun- 
 tenance doth behold the Upright. To thefe we may add the 
 Words of our Text, then which nothing can be more Full 
 and Exprefs, He is a Rock, his Work is Perfect, for all 
 his Ways are fudgmcnt : A God of Truth, and without 
 Iniquity, Jujl and Right is he : And alio that of the Pf a /- 
 mifi, Pfal. cxix. 137. Righteous art thou O Lord, and up- 
 right are thy Judgments. 
 
 And does not Reafon comfirm the fame Truth ? For 
 iff. If God be not Juff, whence is there any fufiice? 
 Either there would be no Jujlice at all, or if there was 
 
 any 
 
The Juftice of God conjidcred. 273: 
 
 any it would not proceed from God! Or if it did, it mud; 
 proceed from one who had none; each of which Parti- 
 culars is abfurd. Befides 
 
 2dly. Inafmuch as the Lord is Governor of the whole 
 Univerfe, he would degenerate into a Tyrant, if he was 
 not Juft. And 
 
 3dly. Seeing Jehovah is judge of all the Earth, how 
 could he judge a right without being juft himielf? Nei- 
 ther can it be otherwife but that God mould be juft, fee- 
 ing he is abiblutely Perfect : All confefs Juftice to be an 
 Excellency, involving no imperfection in it, and therefore 
 it cannot be wanting to that Being, who is abfolutely 
 and infinitely Perfect ! 
 
 In difcouding upon this divine Attribute of God's 
 Juftice, I purpoie to confider its Nature, Kinds, Properties, 
 Dijplays, and in the 5th Place to Aniwer fome Objections, 
 and then proceed to the Improvement. And 
 
 ift. Juftice in its general Nature may be faid to be 
 an Agreement with Right and Rule: It is oppos'd to Crooked- 
 nefs and Obliquity, by which any Thing declines from 
 its proper Rule. Crookednefs in Morals is the fame with 
 Sin; which the Apoftle John calls a Tranfgrejjion of the 
 Law. 1 John iii. 4. Or as the original Word, Anomia, 
 may be rendered a Being without the Law, or a wandering 
 from the Law. Juftice does therefore coincide with 
 Rectitude or Uprightnefs, Ecle. vii. 29. Lo this only I have 
 found that God hath made Man Upright:— — So that Juftice 
 includes two Things in it efpecially, viz. Right, and an 
 Agreement with that Right, r ft. I lay it includes Right or that 
 which belongs to every one,Luk. xx. 2 5. Render therefore unto 
 Ca^far the Things that are Cxfdv's, and unto God the Things that 
 are God's. Rom. i. 32. Knowing the Judgment of God 
 
 that they that dofuch Things are worthy of Death. It 
 
 Mm is 
 
574 y^e Jujlice of God ccnjidered. 
 
 is from this Right that the very Name of "Jujlice is deriv'd. 
 And 
 
 2dly. It includes an Agreement with this Right ; and 
 in this the Form of Jujlice coniifts : And the Contrary 
 to this viz. A Difagreement from Right, conftitutes the 
 Form of Injuftice. From this general Defcription it is evi- 
 dent that Juflice admits of no Degrees, for a Thing either 
 agrees with the Rule of Right or not, if the Former, it is 
 Jufl, if the Latter, it is Unjufl. 
 
 Undoubtedly the Jujlice of God, as well as of Crea- 
 tures confifts in an Agreement with Right, but with this 
 difference, that the Creatures have their Rule of Right 
 prefcrib'd by another j whereas the divine Nature is a Rule 
 of Right to the Almighty, But let me pais to the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, which was to fpeak of the Kinds cj 'Jujlice : 
 
 And here it may be obferv'dthat Juftice may be confi- 
 dered under a threefold View, viz. As relating to God's Will^ 
 Word, and Deeds. And 1 ft. Jujlice, as it relates to the Will 
 of God, is thus defcrib'd by Wendell ne, viz. " That it is 
 " that whereby Godisjujl in himfelj and without him j elf 'gives 
 " to every one their own by a conjl ant Will." * c Jujlice 
 " in Man, fayeth Mr. Leigh, is a Jet tied Will, to do Right 
 " in every Tiring to every Person." Thus God hath a let- 
 tied Will to do Right, mail not the Judge of all the Earth 
 do Right ? This eonflant Will of God, to render to every 
 one his own, Coincides with the divine Efience, and may 
 be calPd his ejjhitial Jujlice, and is no other but the eilen- 
 tial Rectitude of his Nature. And that Jujlice of God, which 
 refpects his Words and Deeds, maybe call'd his declarative 
 or relative' Jujlice ; becaufe it is a Manifeftation of the For- 
 mer, and refpects the Tranfactions of God with Creatures. 
 
 But 2dly. The Juflice of God, as it relates to his Words, 
 is call'd, Truth, Faithfulnefs and Conjlancy ; becaufe it a- 
 
 agrees 
 
The Jo/lice of God confider'd. 275 
 
 grees with the Rectitude of his Nature to fpeak fo and no 
 otherwife. Faithfulnefs may be well call'd Jujiice - } be- 
 caufe it is a doing Juftice to his Word. 
 
 3dly. The Jujiice of God, as it refpects his Deeds y is two- 
 fold, viz. Of Dominion and Jurifdiclion. And. 1 ft. God's 
 Jujiice of Dominion, or, as ibme Divines term it, his dijpo- 
 Jing Jujiice, is that whereby Jehovah, as the fole Monarch 
 and fupream Lord of all, difpoies and governs every Thing 
 in a juft Order ;. and in Particular he difpofes his own Acti- 
 ons, according to the Rule of Equity, requiring and prohi- 
 biting nothing but what is fit for intelligent Creatures, in 
 right Reafon to do and forbear. In a Word this Juftice of 
 Dominion confifts in governing reafonable Creatures, agrea- 
 ble to the original Rectitude of their Natures. 
 
 2dly. God's Jujiice of Jurifdiclion, confifts in prefcribing 
 to reafonable Creatures their proper due, and in governing 
 them accordingly : And this the Almighty doth by three 
 Things, 1 ft. By prefcribing Laws, which are Rules tending 
 to direct Mankind in their Duty to God and Man, agreea- 
 ble to his own Sanctity, attended with Rewards and 
 Punifhments. Jam. iv. 12. There is one Law-giver who is 
 able tojave and to deftroy. 
 
 2dly. By eftablifhing his Laws by proper Sanations of 
 Rewards and Punifhments promis'd and threatn'd. (Deut. 
 xxx. 15.) Now the Sanction confifts in Promifes and Threat- 
 nings.. And 
 
 3<dly. By Julfiiling the Sanclion,. and that both as to the 
 Reward and Puniihment, the former is call'd Remunerative? 
 and the latter Vindictive. And ift. " The Remunerative 
 " Juftice of God, is a 7710ft ready Will to perform Gods Pro- 
 " 7mjes." as Wendline obferves. When God rewards the 
 Obedience of his Creatures with a free Reward, proceed- 
 ing from his own pure and abounding Goodnefs, not for any 
 
 M m 2- Worth, 
 
276 The Juflice of God confidered. 
 
 Worth or Condign ity in his Peoples Works, as the Papi/ls 
 vainly Dream ; but for the Sake of his gracious Promife, 
 by which he makes himfelfa Debtor to them, Rom. ii. 6. 
 7, 8 . Who will render to every Man according to his Deeds j 
 to them who by patient Continuance in Well-doing, Jeek for 
 Glory , and Honour and Immortality ', eternal Life : But to 
 them that are Contentious and do not obey the Truth, Indig- 
 nation and Wrath. Luke xvii. 10. When we have done all 
 that is commanded^ we mujl fay, that we are unprofitable Ser- 
 vants, we have done that which was (but) our Duty to do. 
 Rom. xi. 35, 36. Or who hath firji } given to him ', and it fall 
 be recompenfed to him again ? For of him, a?id thro' him, and 
 to him are all Things. Altho there be no intrinfick Worth 
 in Man's Obedience, to merit the Glory or Reward promifed, 
 yet God having promifed it to the Creature, and having a 
 Right and Power to confer it, it is jufl and right in him to 
 perform his own Word. And certainly he would wrong his 
 Truth if he did not. When Happinefs in Scripture is re- 
 prefented as a reward, it is only to encourage or excite to 
 Obedience, by mewing the infeparable Connection between 
 Grace wrought in us, and Glory conferr'd upon us : It 
 cannot intend any merit in our Works ; for if we ourielves 
 be lefs then the leaft of God's Mercies, then the beft Acti- 
 ons put forth by us muft be fo : For as Doctor Ridgly 
 obierves, " The A5l ion cannot have more Honour afcrib\l to 
 " it then the A?ent." Beinsr God's Creatures wc have dcriv'd 
 all from him, and confequently can offer him no more than 
 his own. And Being corrupt Criminals, our Services are 
 Defective, and fo cannot merit Good at the Hand of God ; 
 nay on the Contrary, for our Tranfgreiiions we merit his 
 Wrath. And therefore in relpect of us, the Reward of Hap- 
 pinefs is wholly Gracious ; but indeed in Relpect of Chrift, 
 who has fully anfwered the Demands of Law for his Peo- 
 ple 
 
The yufiice of God confidered. 277 
 
 pie, by his Obedience and Suffering, and thereby according 
 to the Covenant Tranf action between his Father and him, 
 compleatly purchas'd for them everlafting Life, it may be 
 call'd an Atl oj divine Jnflice. Hence it is laid Rom. ii. 
 26. That he might bejnft, and the juftifer of him that be~ 
 li eves in fefus. But 
 
 2dly, The Vindictive fuftice of God, is the Almighty's 
 Will, to execute the Threatnings of his Law upon Tranf- 
 greffors, by punifhing or inflicting on them Evils of fuffer- 
 ing equal to their Crimes : This is call'd Wrath, Hatred, 
 Revenge and fudgment. It is likewife term'd God's vifiting 
 Iniquity, (Jer. 5. 9.) His fetting his Face againft a Perfon, 
 (Lev. xvii. 10.) Its call'd the Fire of God's Jealoufte, and 
 thofe that are expos'd to it, are faid to fall into the Hands 
 of the living God. Some Divines ufe the Terms of reward- 
 ing and Revenging Juftice, inftead of Remunerative and 
 Vindictive. 
 
 But here I would have it obferv'd, that there is a lefs 
 proper Senfe in which the Word Punifimcnt is ufed in Scrip- 
 ture. Thus when God corrects his People with his Rod, 
 this is often call'd Puni foment. (PJal. lxxxix. 30, 33). And 
 hence they are faid to bear the Indignation of the Lord, be- 
 cauje they have finned againft him. Mic. vii. 9. Thcfe Af- 
 flictions are call'd PwiiJJ.vnents, becaufe occafion'd by Sin, 
 and afflictive to Senfe : But they are not inflicted by God as 
 a Judge, with any Demand of Satisfaction, for that was 
 made by Christ, for thofe that believe in him ; and fure- 
 ly it is contrary to the Nature of divine Juilice, to require a 
 double Satisfaction for the fame Crimes ! No ! the Afflicti- 
 ons of God's People fpring from his Fatherly Love to them, 
 and are fent either to prevent or correct finful Diforders. 
 By thefe the Almighty humbles his People, by fhewing 
 them the Defert of their Impieties j and by thefe he brings 
 
 them 
 
2-78 "The Juftice of God considered. 
 
 them nearer to himfelf, and deadens them more to a, 
 vain World, and all it's varnifh'd but empty Entertainments I 
 Afflictions are the Medicines which, the great Phyiician 
 Ufes to cure his People's manifold Diforders. 
 
 But that what has been fa id, concerning the Nature of 
 divine Juftice, may be farther explain'd and illuftrated, let 
 thefe Things following be confidered. 1 ft. That Juftice 
 among Men is Two-fold, viz. Either Commutative or Dijiri- 
 butive. Commutative, refpects Trade and Bargains among 
 equals, and confifts in obferving the Rules of Equity and 
 Right therein,. Dijiributive, is that which is exercis'd by a 
 Superior towards his Inferiors, and confifts in the Confor- 
 mity of their Adminiftrations to rule and law, and therefore 
 comprizes thefe four Things in it, viz. iff. A Law to 
 which the Acts of Government mould be conform'd. A 
 Law, fays Mar -efius, " EJl facie?idorum& fugiendorum nor- 
 " ma, fub Ratione pramii et Pcetite. i. e. It is the Rule of 
 " Things to be done and avoided, on Conlideration of a 
 t{ Reward or Pun ifhment." All Juftice and efpecially Diftri- 
 butive, has refpect to a Law ; this is the Foundation on. 
 which it is Built, and_ Rule according to which it muftbe 
 fquar'd and accommodated. 
 
 Now the Law that is the Ground and Foundation of 
 Juftice among Men, mull: have the following Characters, 
 viz. 1 ft. It muft be bottom'd upon natural Equity, upon, 
 the Nature, Relation and Reafon of Things: Otherwife 
 it will be a crooked Rule, and fo unworthy of Obfervati- 
 on. No human Authority can alter the intrinfick Goodnefs 
 and Badnefsof Things ; and therefore bad Laws (in a moral 
 Senfe) are but a recommending and enforcing Iniquity by 
 human Authority. And 2dly. The Law muft be enaefed 
 by competent Power and Authority j becaufe Legiflation, as 
 well as the Execution thereof, are Acts of Government, 
 
 which 
 
\ 
 
 The Jujiice of God confidered. 279 
 
 -which thofe that exercife mould have a Right fo to do, 
 either originally or by Delegation ; The Contrary to which 
 tends to open a Scene of Confulion and Blood. And hence 
 it is well obferv'd by fome, that however juft any Act of 
 Government be in itfelf, yet it is unjuft for thofe to meddle with 
 it that have no Right thereto, e. g. For a Judge to condemn 
 one Guilty of a Capital Crime to Death is Juft ; but for 
 a private Perfon diverted of Authority to do it, is Murder ! 
 
 And 3dly. The Law muft be promulgated that it may 
 be known ; for where there is no Law there is no Tranf- 
 grejfion^ Rom. iv. 15. But the 
 
 2d. Particular that Civil Juftice, or Juftice among Men 
 includes, is Conformity to the Law in all Adminiftrationa. 
 When a Judge doth this, in all his Enquiries and Exami- 
 nations reipecting Cafes brought before him, he does his 
 Duty, and otherways he perverts the Ways of Judgment. 
 It is this Kind of Juftice among Men, that is an Emblem 
 or Shadow of the Juftice of God, and therefore I have fo 
 long dilcours'd upon it ! But to fhew the Similitude, let me 
 add a few Words more, and enquire what is God's Declarative 
 or Relative Juftice, but his Conformity to the Law, he has 
 given his Creatures in his Tranfactions with them. Here ob- 
 serve. 1 ft. That the Law which God gave to Man to direct 
 him in his Service is grounded on natural Equity, or the nature 
 and reafon of Things ; which appears by the Harmony of its 
 Precepts among themfelves, and their direct Tendency to 
 promote the Glory of God, and make the Creature happy 
 in his Service. The Contraries to which tend to difhonour 
 God, debafe our intelligent Nature, and deftroy our Hap- 
 pinefs. The moral Law is but a Tranfcript of the divine 
 Nature as far as it is imitable. And hence is the Apoftles 
 juft commendatory Encomium concerning it. Rom. vii. 12. 
 Wherefore the Law is Holy, and the Commandment Holy, and 
 
2 8 o The Juftice of God conjidered. 
 
 jufi and Good. And 2dly. That God had Authority to 
 enact Laws, appears evidently from his creating all. As his 
 infinite and eternal Excellency makes him worthy of ab- 
 folute Sovereignty and Dominion, fo his producing all by his 
 Almightinefs, gives him an irrefragable Right thereto. Hu- 
 man Power is deriv'd, delegated and limitted, but his is Ori- 
 ginal and Abfolute. And 3<dly. Almighty God having a- 
 nex'd the Sanction of Rewards and Punifhments to the 
 Law he has given his Creatures : His Truth ftands engag'd 
 to execute the fame upon fuitable Objects ; which is like- 
 wife necefTary to anfwer the Defign of Government. This 
 Execution therefore of the Sanction of the Law, or con- 
 formity thereto, in the Dealings of God with his Creatures,, 
 is his declarative Juftice,. and with this even all his Acts of 
 Sovereignty do really harmonize ; which appears by con- 
 iidering, 
 
 3dly. The Properties of divine Juftice, which are thefe 
 following, viz. 
 
 1 ft. Divine Juftice is impartial, with him is no Rcfpecl ofPcr- 
 fom in Judgment. 2 Cor. v. i o. For we mufi all appear before the 
 fudgme?it Seat of CHRIST, that every one may receive theThings 
 done in his Body, according to that he hath done whether it be Good 
 or Bad. Juftice will nor fpare for the lake of the Multitude, 
 Greatnefs, or Nearnefs of the Guilty. Did not Sodom and Go- 
 morha perifh by Fire, & was not the whole Antidiluvian World 
 drowned with Water ? And what vaft Multitudes of Peo- 
 ple may we fuppofe did the aforefaid Cities, together with 
 Zeboim and Adma contain ? And how much more the 
 whole World before the Flood ; and yet all were deftroy'd 
 by a fuddain and terrible Stroak of divine Juftice. And 
 when the Angels, thofe Spirits of excelling Dignity, finned, 
 did not divine Juftice caft them into an Abyfs of Woe ? 
 And does it not ftill confine them in Chains of Darkncfs, 
 
 to 
 
Tlje Jufiice of God conjidered. 2 8 
 
 2»r 
 
 to the Judgment of die great Day ? When Addm our feder- 
 al Head, had tranfgrened the Covenant, was he not banifh- 
 ed from that Paradife of Pleafure he before poffefs'd, and 
 kept out of it by a flaming Sword. Divine Juftice fcatter^ 
 Kings as Snow in Salmon ; and before its adverfe Edge their 
 pompous Armies flee apace \ (Pf. lxviii. 12, 14.) And were 
 not Mofes and David tho' fo near and dear to God punifhed 
 with awful Severity ? Hence is that lolemn and Soul arTecl- 
 Ing Saying of the Prophet, Amos iiu 1, 2. Hear this Word 
 
 that the Lord hathfpoken again/1 you, Children 0/Tfrael ! 
 
 You only have I blown of all the Families of the Earth, there- 
 fore I will punijlo you, for all your Iniquities^ But di- 
 vine Juftice is 
 
 2dly. Univerfal, fo that not one Sin can efcape fevere 
 Punifhment, either in the Sinner or Surety. Gal. iii. IO , 
 Curfed is every one that continueth not in all Things, that are- 
 written in the Rook of the Law to do them. 
 
 3dly. Divine Juftice is inexorable, no Importunities can 
 alter its Courfe. When once a Sinners Seafon of Mercy ex- 
 pires, Jehovah refufes to be intreated. Ezek. xiv. 18, 20. 
 Tho' Noah y Daniel, and Job were in it, As I live faith the 
 Lord God, they Jhall deliver neither Son or Daughter, they 
 (Jmllbut deliver their own Souls by their Right eoufnefs. This is 
 twice repeated In that Chapter to mew the Infallible Cer- 
 tainty, and. unfpeakable Importance of the Truth delivered. 
 The Almighty cannot be corrupted or brib'd. But that 
 which farther confirms this awful Truth, is the 
 
 4th.. Propos'd. vm. The Difplays of divine Juftice; and 
 here to be as brief as I can, I (hall only mention two In- 
 fiances thereof. The Firft of which, was the Sufferings our 
 Lord endur'd, when he flood in a Sinners Room and Place : 
 How unfpeakable were the Tortures he endur'd in his Ja- 
 cred Body, every Part of which was put to exquifite Pain! 
 
 N ** Deep 
 
2 8 2 tfbe Juftice of God confidered. 
 
 Deep Furrows were made in his facred Back by cruel Scour- 
 ges, and his beauteous Face expos'd to contemptuous Blows, 
 yea to Shame and Spitting, by the infulting Herd, his vene- 
 rable Temples were pierc'd by Thorns, his Side and Heart 
 by a Spear, the whole Weight of his Body, hung upon a 
 few Sinewy and fenfible Parts in his Crucifixion, and his 
 Name was treated with the greateft Ignominy and Scorn. 
 But as Mr. F/avel juiWy obferves, " The Soul of our Lord's 
 " Sufferings was his Suffer i figs in his Soul." When he who 
 knew no Sin, was made Sin for us. His Soul was made an Of- 
 fering for Sin, his Soul became forrowful even unto Death. 
 How unconceiveable muft be the Anguifh, which our Lord 
 ■endur'd in his Soul, when at one Inftant of Time, that 
 whole Weight of Diftrefs and Pain, which was due to di- 
 vine Juftice, for all the Sins of the elect World was laid 
 upon it ? And in the mean Time deferted by the Father in 
 refpect of his comfortable Prefence. This prefs'd a Bloody 
 Shower from all the Pores of our Lord's Body in the 
 Garden of Gcthfemane. This extorted that Heart-rending 
 Out-cry on the Crofs, E/oi, Eloi, lama Sabachthani ? My God, 
 My God, why haft thou jorjaken me ? No wonder the Earths 
 Foundations trembled, and the Dead awoke out of their long 
 and filent Slumbers, and the Sun himielf, that glorious Orb of 
 Light and Beauty, put on a funeral Robe of Darknefs 
 and Obfcurity, to teftify their Surprize and Sorrow on 
 io awful an Occafion, and to compleat the Train of Mourn- 
 ers. But ! 
 
 2dly. The vindictive Juftice of God, has a dreadful Dif- 
 play in the Torments of the Damned, who are punifh'd with 
 everlafting DeitructJon, from the Pretence of the Lord, and 
 from the Glory of his Power. As the Damned arc depriv'd 
 of all the Honours and Comforts of the Heavenly Paradife. 
 As thev are burnt in a Lake of Fire, which is kindled by the 
 
 Breath 
 
The Jufiice of God conjidered. 283 
 
 Breath of God, as by a River of Brimfcone ! So their into- 
 lorable Tortures by God's inflam'd Jealouiy, by their own 
 guilty Conferences, by wicked Men and Devils, will know 
 no Intermiffion and no End. The fmoke of their Torments 
 afcendeth up for ever and ever. But I haflen to the 
 
 5th. Propos'd, which was to anfwer fome Objections 
 offered againfl the Jufiice of God. And 
 
 ifl. It is objected by the Socinians^ that according to our 
 Doctrine God, punifh'd the Innocent in the Room of the 
 Guilty, namely our Saviour in the Place of Sinners. 
 
 Anf. Tho' our Saviour is:- as per -finally innocent, yet he was 
 with his own Confent, and by his Fathers Imputation , guilty. 
 And hence he is J aid to be made Sin for us, he willingly became 
 the Sinners Surety, andfo a/fumed their Guilt, in order toja- 
 tisfyjor it, and 'five them from Ruin, and to a willing Per Jon 
 who had a Right to difpofe of his own Life, cfpecially feeing Jo 
 valuable an End was anfwer ed by it, as the Salvation of Sin- 
 ners, 7io Injury was done, by his Father in pitting him ti 
 Death. 
 
 2dly. It is Objected that God fometimes puniflies the 
 Sins of the Parents in their Children. Ex. xx. 5, 
 
 Anf. God never punijhes the Si?js of the Parents in inno- 
 cent Children. As to the Sin of Adam he being the federal 
 Head, or covenant Reprefentative of his whole Offspring, they 
 finned in him. Hof. vi. 7. But they like Adam {as the Words 
 fljould be rendred) have tranjgre fed the Covenant. Rom. v. 12. 
 Wherefore as by one Man Sin entred into the World, and 
 Death by Sin, and fo Death pafled upon all Men, for that 
 all have finned (/. e. in Adam) And as to the Sins of private 
 Parents, they are not punijti d in Children, unlejs they be pro- 
 penfe to them, or imitate them. 
 
 3dly. It is objected that God is a Refpecter of Perfons in 
 the Affair of Predeflination, by diipenfing unequal Things 
 
 Nn z to 
 
284 ^he Juftice of God confidered. 
 
 to thofe that were in an equal State, choofing one, and re- 
 jecting another, without any Reafon but his own Pleafure. 
 
 Anf. To refpeB Perfons, is when in Matters of Judgment, 
 equal Things according to Law and Right are due to J ever al 
 Perfons, and yet we difpenfe unequal : But this is not the Cafe 
 with the Almighty. Who hath given \.o\\\m, fay eth the Apo{- 
 tle, and it fhall be repay'd, for of him are all Things. Rom. 
 xi. 36* As to God's Grace^ he owes it to no Creature as fuch. 
 He is Lord of his own Treafures, and may do with his own what 
 he pleafes. Rom. ix. 18, 21. And there/ore fuch as Favour 
 the Objection, do but reply againjl God, as the Apofile there 
 obferves. Predejlination is but an immanent Acl of God, 
 which produces nothing without himfelf and confequently dif- 
 jpenfes neither Good nor Evil, tho' it be the Pattern according 
 to which his Providence difpenjes all Things in Time. But if 
 we confider God's Providence, which difpenfes Solvation and 
 Damnation, that does not co?ifer unequal Things upon thoje that 
 are equal. But it confers unequal Things upon thofe that 
 are unequal, viz. Believers aiid Unbelievers. For CHRIST'S 
 Sake Salvation to the Former, and j or Sins Sake, Damnation 
 to the Latter. If a Prince of a Number of Rebels, who all 
 according to Law dcferve Death, purpofes and paffes an AB of 
 Pardon upon fome to few his Clemency, and lets the Law take 
 place upon others to few his Juftice, where is the Wrong ? And 
 that is the Cafe, for God in his Purpofes look'd upon Men as 
 fallen, and meriting his Difpleafure, he might have left the 
 whole Race to perifh for their Sins with the Devils, who after 
 their Fall had never an offer of Mercy. And becaufe Jehovah 
 has chofen fome, when he might have co?uienmed all, mall our 
 Eye be Evil becaufe God is Good ? 
 
 4thly. It is objected that God fuffers the Wicked to 
 profper, and the Pious to be afflicted and oppreiled. 
 
 Anf 
 
The Jufice of God apply' d. 2 8 5 
 
 Anf. This World is a Time of Probation, and not of Re- 
 compence. The Scales will turn at the Conclufion oj this jhort 
 Scene, this tranfient Drama ! Be/ides the Mifenes oj God's 
 People are necejjary Phyf.ck to cure their Maladies, to which 
 End they are fanclified by the Spirit of God. Rom. viii. 29. 
 They are alfo at Times fweeten'd with the Love of CHRIST, 
 ■and /hall foon expire, and then an ever lofting Sabbat i/m fall 
 commence. Whereas on the contrary, the abns'd Profperity of the 
 Wicked, tends but to fecure and encreafe their Dejlruclion. 
 But it is Time to proceed to the Improvement. And 
 
 ill:. This Subject fpeaks Terror, to all Ungodly and 
 Chriftlefs Sinners of every Kind. How deplorable is their 
 Cafe, Who mufi drink of the Wine of the Wrath oj the Almigh- 
 ty, which is pour' d out without mixture into the Cup of his 
 Indignation ? O ! Let the Secure and Impenitent Tranfgref- 
 for, think on the following Particulars, ifL That God up- 
 on the Account of his Juftice and Judgments, is call'd the 
 Great and dreadful God, Dan. ix. 4. likewife mighty and 
 terrible. Deut. vii. 22. With God, fayeth Job, is terrible 
 Majefly, Job .xxxvii. 22. 2dly. Th^Cthe Wages of every Sin is 
 Death, and that you have been guilty of a prodigious Multi- 
 tude, attended with awful Agravations : Sins againft Light & 
 Love, againft Law and Gofpel, Mercy, and Judgments, your 
 Iniquities for Number rival the Stars, & for Agravation are red 
 as Crimfon. And 3dly. That the Juftice of God will not, 
 cannot pais by one of them, except ye repent; but will fu rely 
 Proportion Pains equal to all their Number and Heinoulhels. 
 For as has been obferv'd, it is impartial, univerfiil, inexorable. 
 And now feeing every Imagination of the Thoughts of your 
 Hearts have been fince your Birth till now, only evil continu- 
 ally, and all your Words and Actions evil For a corrupt 
 Tree cannot bring forth good Fruit, neither can he that is in 
 the Flejl: pleaje God. How dreadful muft that Wrath be 
 which is proportion'd to them all ? Surely 
 
286 the Juflice of God apply' d. 
 
 Surely it is ift. Incomprehenflble Wrath ; the moft fearful 
 Imagination cannot fully reprefent it by its mofl gloomy I- 
 deas, Pfa. xc. 1 1 . Who knoweth the Power oj thine Anger \ 
 even according to thy Fear, jo is thy Wrath. 2cily. It's un- 
 avoidable Wrath. If we take the morning Wings and flee to 
 the utmofl Ends of the Earth, lo there God's a I feeing Eye 
 will dijeern ns, and his righteous Arm arrefl us. If we af- 
 fend the Top of Carmel, or defcendinto the Deeps of the O- 
 cean, or feek to conceal our fives with the Curtains of cbfeurity, 
 darknefs and retirement ! Even then our Perfons and Purpo- 
 fes will be open to the all penetrating Eye of God ! For the 
 Darknefs is as the Light to him, and the Night jhines as the 
 Day I Sinners ye cannot efcape by Policy, for God is Infinite 
 in Wifdom ; nor by Power, for he is Infinite in Strength, 
 as fob obferves, ix. 4. He is Wife in Heart and Mighty in 
 Strength, who hath hardened himjelf agaijfl God and prefper- 
 ed ? Nor can ye efcape by Flight, for Jehovah is Omnipreient. 
 ^dly. It is eternal Wrath, (Mat. xxv. ult.) It will con- 
 tinue as long as God endures, never, never, never mall it 
 know a Period ! O this gives it a dreadful and heart rend- 
 ing Accent ! And 4thly. It is intollerahle Wrath. If 
 the Redeemer, who was perfonally Innocent and fupported 
 by the Godhead, cry'd fo doloroufly under this Wrath : 
 How can yourHands be ilrong or your Hearts endure, when 
 a Jealous God deals with you, and pours out the Vials of 
 his unmix'd Wrath upon you, who are full of real and 
 crimfon Guilt, and ihall have none to fuccour you ! And do 
 you think that thatjuft God, who /fared net his own be- 
 loved Son, when he but flood in Sinners Place, but fmote 
 him dead by the Sword of his juitice, and made all the 
 Waves of his Almighty Vengeance beat 'upon him, and roll 
 over him, will fpare you who are cover'd all over with real 
 and Scarlet Guilt ? No 1 Friends, be not deceived, God is not 
 
 moctd 
 
The Juftice of God apply' d. 287 
 
 moclid, .that which a Man few s that flail he alfo reap ; he 
 that jbws to the Flefl, flail of the FlefJj reap Corruption ! 
 The Intollerablenefs of the divine Wrath, Anger and Hatred, 
 as well as its terriblenefs, is reprefented in Scripture by a 
 variety of bold and dreadful Images of thought ! I mall men- 
 tion a few of them, and in the Name of the great God, 
 charge the ungodly to think upon them. Deut. xxxii. 22, 
 23. For a Fire is kindled in my Anger, and Jhall burn to 
 the lowejl Hell, and flail confume the Earth with her increaje, 
 and Jet on Fire the Foundations of the Mountains. I will 
 heap Mif chiefs upon them, I will fptnd my Arrows upon them. 
 job. ix. 5, 6, 7. Which removeth the Mount ams and they know 
 it not, which overturneth them in his Anger. Which jhaketh 
 the Earth out of her Place, and the Pillars thereof Tremble. 
 Which coimnandeth the Sun and it rifeth ?iot, and fealeth up 
 the Stars. Pfa. xi. 6. Upon the Wicked he flail rain Snares, 
 Fire and Brimjlcne, and a horrible Tempejl, this Jhall be the 
 Portion of their Cup. Elfewhere Jehovah threatens to wound 
 the hairy Scalp of the Wicked, and to tear them in Pieces 
 when there flail be none to deliver them. That he will tear 
 and go away (Hoi. v. 14.) That he will be to them as a 
 Lyon and as a Leopard, and meet them as a Bear bereaved of 
 her Whelps, devour them like a Lyon, and rent the Caul of 
 their Heart, Hof. xiii 8. And with what Magnificence and 
 Grandeur of Diction, does the Prophet Nahum fpeak upon 
 
 this folemn Subject ? Nahum 1. 2,- 7. God is Jealous, 
 
 and the Lord Pevengeth ; the Lord revengeth, and is Furious. 
 The Lord will take Vengeance on his Adverfaries ; and he re- 
 Jervcth Wrath for his Enemies. — And will not at all acquit the 
 Wicked, the Lord hath his Way in the Whirlwind, and in 
 the Storm, and the Clouds are the Dufl of his Feet. He 
 rebuketh the Sea andmaketh it Dry, and dr yet hup all the Ri- 
 vers. Balhan languifleth, a?id Carmel and the Flower of Le- 
 banon 
 
2 88 I& >//V<? 0/ God apply* d. 
 
 banon langui/heib. The Mountains quake at bin/, and the 
 Hills melt, and the Earth is burnt at his Prefence -, yea the 
 World and all that dwell therein. Who can Jland before his 
 Indignation, and who can abide in the Fiercenefs of his Anger ? 
 His Fury is pour' d out like Fire,, and the Koch are thrown 
 down by him ! 
 
 Now as the Confideration ot God's Jufrice and Wrath, Mi- 
 nifters Terror to all the ungodly in General, fo efpecially 
 and particularly to thefe following, viz. iff. Epicures, who^ 
 indulge a fenfual Security, and put the Evil Day far from 
 them. Surely fuch treaiiire up to themielves Wrath, againft 
 the Day of Wrath, and the Revelation of the Righteous 
 Judgment of God ! Surely the Day of the Lord will be to 
 them, as the Prophet exprerTeth it, cruel with Wrath and 
 fierce Anger ! (Ifa. xiii. gj And 2dly. All unjujl Perfons 
 who are guilty of Fraud in Contracts and Dealings with 
 Men, or refpecting of Perfons in Judgment (Jer. xxii. 13). 
 Woe to him that buildeth his Houfe by Unrightecujhefs, and his. 
 Chambers by Wrongs — -Pfal lxxxiL 2, 5. 3^1y. All Hypo- 
 crites, fuch as are unjuft to God and their own Souls, they 
 cover their inward Injustice with an outward mew of Piety,, 
 fuch are an Abomination to God, and may expect to be 
 cut afunder by the Sword of divine Juftice. (Mat. 24. ult.) 
 4thly. All Murmerers, who call in Queftionthe Juftice of 
 God in his Judgments, and kick with the Heel againft the 
 moil Hifh, under Frowns of Providence. For this the 
 whole Congregation of Ifrael fell in the Wildernels, and 
 never faw Cannaan, two excepted. (Num. xiv. 2 7,-- -30 .) 
 Now the Ufe that I would advife poor gracelefs Sinners 
 of every Age and Order, to make of the Juftice of God, is 
 to be excited by it to fly to Chrift for Security and Defence.. 
 He is abiding Place from the Wind, and a Covert from the 
 Storm, (JJa, z^J He was made Sin for us, that we might be 
 
 made- 
 
The Juftice of God applfd. 289 
 
 made the Right 'eoufnefs of God in him. In him God the Fa- 
 ther has declared his Righteoufnefs, (Rom % iii. 25.) And 
 him he is willing to make Righteoufnefs to fuch as accept 
 of him. (1. Cot\ i. 30 J Well feeing divine Juftice muft 
 be fatisfy'd for the Wrong done by our Offences, either 
 by us or a furety in our Place, or eke we muft perifh eter- 
 nally : Then feeing we ourfelves cannot fatisfy, becaufe 
 we are poor, imperfect and finite Creatures, let us haften 
 to Chrift and receive him by Faith, as the Gofpel offers him, 
 that fo we may be juftified by Faith, and fecurely reft on 
 and rejoice in that JESUS, who has fuifiled the Righteouf- 
 nefs of the Law for his People, (Rom. viii. 3 J But 
 
 2dly. This Subject fpeaks Comfort to all Believers in 
 every of their Troubles : For from this they may fee that 
 they are afflicted lefs then their Iniquities deferve, that a 
 Fathers Love is the Spring of them, who chaftens them, 
 leaft they mould be condemned with the World : And 
 particularly we may draw Comfort from this Subject, under 
 Calumnies and Wrongs, when we think that we have a 
 Witnefs in Heaven, a j Lift Judge there, who will uphold 
 us in a good Caufc, and reward us according to our Righ- 
 teoufnefs,. and make it fooner or later to Jhine forth as the 
 Light, and our Judgment as the Noon Day, Pfal. xxxvii. 6. 
 yea in Troubles of Confcience God's Juftice yields Sup- 
 port, when we confider that it was once fatisfy'd by our 
 Lord, and that it is contrary to its Nature to require a double 
 Satisfaction. Hence is the Apoftles Query, Rom. viii. 34,. 
 Who is he that conde?nnetl\ it is Christ that dyed. 
 
 But there are thefe following Duties, which from the 
 Confideration of divine Juftice, we mould be exhorted to 
 perform, viz. 
 
 1 ft. That we beware of depending upon our own Righ- 
 teoufnefs, upon the one Hand with the Pharifee, (Lu&.xviiu- 
 
 Oo 11,) 
 
290 Vhe juftice of God apply' d* 
 
 11.) And of the Neglect of Duty on the other with the 
 Slugard, whofe Hands refiife to labour; for without Holinefs 
 no Man frail fee the Lord. Heb. xii. 14. 2dly. Let us walk 
 with humble Reverence andChild-like fear before the Righte- 
 ous God, as with a confuming Fire, avoiding every Ap- 
 pearance of Evil, and continually in all our religious Ser- 
 vice, eyeing Jesus the Mediator and IntercefTor, who is 
 only able to cover their Defects, and render them accep- 
 table to his Father by his abundant Righteoufnefs. In whom 
 alone we are compleat and fife from every impending Storm : 
 For when in him, the flaming Sword of divine Juftice, 
 which before kept us out of Paradife, guards and aiiifts our 
 Entrance into it! And 
 
 3dly. Let us glorify God on the Account of his Juftice 
 of every Kind, whether Efjential or Declarative, Govern- 
 ing, judicatory, Legifative, Remunerative, or Vindiclive ; 
 for tranfcendent Beauty mines therein. Let us fay with 
 the PJalmift, Pf. lxxxix. 24. juftice and judgment are the 
 Habitation of thy Throne. And with Paul, Rom. xi. 33. 
 O the Depth of the Riches of the JVifdom and Knowledge of 
 God, his judgments are uvfearckable, and his Ways p aft find- 
 ing cut! Such is the Strictnefs of divine Juftice in all his 
 Proceedings, that it is compar'd to Mountains and to the 
 Abyfs, Pf. xxxvi. 6. Thy Righteoufnefs is as the great Moun- 
 tains thy judgments are a great Deep. And let us join 
 with the Inhabitants of Heaven in celebrating the Juftice 
 of God, Rev. xix 1. 2. And after thefe Things I heard 
 a great Voice of much People, in Heaven, faying Haleluja, 
 Salvation, and Glory, and Honour, and Power unto the 
 Lord our God, jor true and Righteous are his judgments, 
 
 In fine, Let us labour to imitate the Juftice and Righte- 
 oufnefs of God, by feeking the Righteoufnefs of Christ to 
 our Juftifkation, in the manner before expreffed. Alio by 
 
 feeking 
 
The Juflice of God apply* d, 2 a i 
 
 feeking the Inherent Righteoufnefs which it pleafed God at 
 iirft to implant in our Natures by Creation (Eclef. vii. 29.) 
 which we have loft by Sin. I lay let us fervently and fre- 
 quently cry to God by humble Supplications, in the Name 
 of Christ, that he would be pleafed to implant or infufe 
 into our Souls, by Regeneration, the Habits or Principles of 
 that Righteoufnefs : And having the fame implanted, let us 
 exercife them in our whole Practice, ill. Towards God, by 
 rendering to him his Due, viz. our felves, and all that 
 Honour, Love x Trull and Service which he requires in his 
 Word. And adly. Towards our Neighbour % In all Matters 
 of Government, Judgment and Commerce, ruling without 
 Oppreflion, judging without refpecl of Perlons, and dealing 
 without Fraud, Falihood or Impolition. And 3dly. To- 
 wards ourfefoeSy in a right Improvement of the Seafons of 
 Mercy, thereby fecuring our Salvation. And alfo in not 
 lufferring ourfeives to be wronged in our temporal Interelt. 
 A great Part of the Image of God and Beauty of Religion, 
 confiUs in Jultice 3 and as the Blefhng of God rells upon 
 fuch here, fo they lhall receive from the jult Judge of 
 Heaven and Earth, a Crown of Righteoufnefs hereafter, 
 which fhall never fade away. That this may be the Happy 
 Lot of us all, may God grant for Christ Sake, Amcii^ 
 
 SERMON 
 
292 The Goodnefs of God reprefented and recommended. 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 HOSEA. iii. 5. 
 And Jhrtllfear the Lord, and his Goodnefs, in the latter 
 
 Days. 
 
 FTER the Prophet had in the Preceeding Verfe.s, 
 reprefented the bad Characters of the People of If- 
 rael, under the Similitude of an adulterous Wife, 
 as well as the low Condition, they mould be reduc'd 
 to on this Account, by their Captivity and other Inftances 
 of God's controverfy with them : He in the Words of our 
 Text, prophefies of a bleffed Reformation ; that mould 
 be wrought upon them in the latter Days. 
 
 By the latter Days we are to underftand the Days of the 
 Mejjiah, or the Time of the GofpelDifpenfation, and proba- 
 bly the latter Part of this Time : Then v/e are told, that the 
 Jews mould reverence God, becaufe of his Goodnefs. We 
 muft admire and adore the Goodnefs of God, as Mofes did 
 when this Name was proclaimed, (Ex. xxxiv. £.) u And 
 " fear the Guilt of unkind Returns^ The Confederation of 
 God's Goodnefs, mould make us afraid of offending him, 
 which lb grofly violates the Laws of Gratitude. And hence 
 the Pfalmift oblerves, that there is Forghcnefs with God, that 
 he may be fear d. Pf. exxx. 4. This Prophefy had its Ac- 
 complimment in the early Times of the Goipel, when thro' 
 the BlefTing of God, upon the Mininry of the Apoftles, 
 
 O o 2 great 
 
The Goodnefs of Godrtprefented and commended, 293 
 
 great Numbers both of Jews and Gentiles were brought to 
 believe in Jesus. And hereby to fear God, becaufe of his 
 Goodnefs, more efpecially apparent in the Redemption of 
 Mankind, by the Sufferings and Obedience of the Son of 
 God the fpiritual David! But fomedo probably (at leaft) ex- 
 pect a farther Accomplishment of this Prophefy, in Time 
 coming, agreeable to the Words of the Apoftle, When the 
 Fullnefs of the Gentiles is brought in, then all Ifrael fjall be 
 faved, 
 
 In diicourfing upon this Text, I fhall 
 
 I. Speak upon the Goodnefs of God, And 
 
 II. Upon the Fear of God. And then proceed to the Im- 
 provement. 
 
 That God is truly and fupreamly Good, the facred Scrip- 
 tures Teitify various Ways, viz. ill:. Effectively, when 
 it alTerts that all the Works of God are good. Gen. i. 3 1. 
 And God faw every Thing that he had made and behold it was 
 ve?~y good. 
 
 2dly. Figuratively, when it commemorates and commends 
 the Riches of his Goodnefs. (Rom. ii. 4.) 
 
 idly. Negatively, When it denies that there is any Evil 
 in him. Pf. xcii. r/5. He is my Rock and there is no Unrigh- 
 teoufnefs in him. (Deut. xxxii. 4.^ 
 
 4thly. Affirmatively, by exprelTly, aiTerting his Goodnefs. 
 Pf. xxv. 8. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will 
 he teach Sinners in the Way. 
 
 And Reafon iikewife confirms the fame Truth, by aiTerting 
 1 ft. That God is aBeing, and therefore Good: For Being and 
 G<Ware concertible Terms among Philofophers : Yea that he 
 is the firft and chief Being-, and therefore the firfl and chief 
 Good. Andadly. By aiTerting thatGod is perfect; and therefore 
 defirable and communicative, in which the Sum of Goodnefs 
 confiih. Befides asGod is theAuthor of all thatGood that is in 
 
 Creatures 
 
2 04 ^ je G°°d ne f s of God reprefented and recommended. 
 
 Creatures, (for none of them has his Goodnefs of himfelf.) 
 So he contains all the Kinds of Good in him, viz. Pleafant, 
 profitable, honeft, In refpect of pleafant Good, the Pialmift 
 bids us tajie and fee that he is good, Pf. xxxiv. And he tells 
 us that in his Prefence isfidlnefs of Joy, and at his Right 
 Hand Pieafuresfor ever more, Pj. xvi. 1 1. In refpect of pro- 
 fitable Good, he diffufes his "Kindnefs among his Creatures,, 
 and in pofTemng him we poflefs all befides him, and more 
 than all ! In reipecl: of honefl Good, God is by his Sanctity 
 the original Rule and Pattern, of all that Holinefs that is 
 in Creatures, Hence fayeth Auguftine " God only is im- 
 " mutably Good, he only is the Good, of all Good, he 
 " only is the Caufe of all Goodnefs, to all that are Good. 
 " There would be no communicable good Things (faid he} 
 " if there was not an incommunicable Good." And there- 
 fore God is Good in. three Refpects, viz. ift. By his E fence, 
 that is originally, the Foundation of Goodnefs, whereas Crea- 
 tures are only good by Participation, as Streams running from 
 the Fountain. 2dly. God is good by Efficiency, inasmuch 
 as he only can communicate Good independently, whereas 
 Creatures only fo far as they are amffed by his Power, and 
 excited by his Influence. 3dly. God is good by Exi/lence, 
 inafmuch as he only is a Good neceffarily exifting, whereas 
 all Creatures are but contingently good, and exift by the meer 
 Will and Pleafure of God. This Truth the Gentile Philofo- 
 phers acknowledged. " There is no good Mind without 
 ** God, iayeth Seneca." "• Vertue is not in us by Nature, 
 " but by divine Providence, fayeth Plato." The Jews were 
 likewife of the lame Sentiment.. Hence Philo, one is good 
 meaning God, who was wont to be call'd by them " one 
 * without Addition.''' 
 
 In difcourfing upon this Attribute of divine Goodnefs, I 
 (hall enquire into its Nature, Kinds and Properties, and con- 
 
 fiden 
 
The Gcodnefs of God reprefented and recommended. 295 
 
 fider the Force of fome Objections againft it, and then pro- 
 ceed to the Improvement, after fome brief Hints premis'd, 
 reipecfing the other general Head of Difcourfe, viz* The 
 Fear of God, And 
 
 j ft. Good according to Ariftctles Definition, is that which 
 all defire. But it is more accurately defin'd by others, thus, 
 viz. " That it is that which for the Perfection of its Na- 
 11 ture deferves to be defired ; and is communicative of itfelf." 
 So that three Things are included in it viz. ift. An effen- 
 tial Excellency or Perfection, for which it merits Defire and 
 puriuit. 2dly. A Faculty of communicating this Perfec- 
 tion to others, on this Account its call'd profitable. And 
 3(ily. The Relation of both the Former to the Appetite or 
 Defire, on which Account it is call'd defireable. And hence 
 fome learned Men obferve that Good is threefold, viz. Meta- 
 physeal, Fhy/ical, Ethical. Or in more plain Terms, it 
 may be call'd a Good of Being, Ufe and Manners. And ift. 
 Metaphyfical Good, or the Good of Being, is that Perfection, 
 which is communicated to every Being by its Caufe, or it is 
 that Excellency which every Being obtains, as it is a Being : 
 For which it may be defir'd. This has no Evil oppos'd to 
 it, and only fcrves to mew the Pre-eminence of Exiftence, 
 to Non-Exiftence, or Being to no Being. 2dly. Fhyfical 
 Good, or the Good of Ufe, is that Perfection or Excellen- 
 cy, by which any being defign'd for another's Ufe, is fit- 
 ted for it, whether the Ufe be General or Particular ! Every 
 Creature in its original Conftitution was fitted for this two- 
 fold Ufe, it not only ferv'd to compleat and adorn the whole 
 Syftem of Things, but alio for Food, or Medicine, or fome 
 of the Ufes of human Life : And in this Senfe all Things at 
 their Creation were call'd Good; and to this Kind of Good 
 is oppos'd, whatfoeveris Unfit, Unprofitable, or Hurtful. 
 3d. Ethical or moral Good, or the Good of Manners, confifts 
 
 ia 
 
296 The Goodnefs of God reprefented and recommended 
 
 in the Reclitude of a reafonable Creature, or in its Conformi- 
 ty to Rule and Law ; and to this Vice and Sin is oppos'd : 
 And hence we call a holy Man, a good Man : and on the 
 Contrary one who goes on in a Courle of Sinning a Bad-Man. 
 
 Having offer'd thefe few Hints concerning the Gene- 
 ral Nature of Good, I proceed to obferve more particular- 
 ly concerning the divine Goodnefs, that it is no other then 
 his Perfection, by which he can communicate himfelf, and 
 for which he deferves and ought to be deiir'd, and there- 
 fore it includes thefe three following Particulars in it, namely 
 ift. His infinite Perfection, which appears to us from all 
 his Attributes, by which he is fufficient for himfelf, and 
 his Creatures, and that to infinite BleiTednefs. (Gen. xvii. 
 I.) By this he is good in himielf, yea Goodnefs itfelf. (PJa. 
 Xxv. 8.) And free from every Evil. (Dent, xxxii. 4.) And 
 2dly. A Faculty to communicate himfelf when and how he 
 pleafes : Hence he is call'd Good and Bcneficient, (Pfa. 
 cxix. 68.) Thou art Good and doejl Good, teach me thy 
 Statutes. 3dly. A Relation or Suitable?iefs, which arifes 
 from the two former Particulars mentioned, for which the 
 Almighty deferves to be fought after, and defir'd by all in- 
 telligent Beings, with the utmoit Intenfenefs andVehcmence, 
 Pf lxiii. 1.2. O God thou art my God, early will Ifeek thee, 
 my Soul thirfteth fir thee. To fee thy Power and thy Glo- 
 ry as I have feen thee in the Santhiary. But I proceed to 
 confider the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, viz. The Kinds of divine Goodnefs. And 
 here it may be obferv'd, that the Goodnefs of God is Two- 
 fold, viz. Imanent, and Tra?ifie?it, or Ejfential and Rela- 
 tive. Now God's Imanent or efjhitial Goodnefs, is no o- 
 ther then his periec~t EfTence or Being. Whereas the 
 tranfunt Goodnefs of God, confifts in the Manifeftation of 
 the Former to, or in created Beings, and is Three- fold 
 
 viz,. 
 
The Goodnefs of God reprejentedand recommended. 297 
 
 viz, Univerfaf Common and Special. And ifr. The Uni- 
 verfal tranjient Goodnefs of God, is that whereby he cre- 
 ates, flipports, governs, and beautifies all Creatures, Pia.. 
 cxlvii. 8. 9. Sing unto the Lord with Thanksgiving, who 
 cover eth the Heaven with Clouds, who prepare fh Rain for 
 the Earth, who jnaketh Grafs to grow upon the Mountains. 
 He giveth to the Beaft his Food, and to the young Ravens 
 which Cry. Pfu xxxvi. 6,. 7, O Lord thai preferveft Man 
 and Beafl, how excellent is thy loving Kindnefs God ! 
 Therefore the Children of Men put their Truft under the 
 Shadow of thy Wings. 2dly,- God's Common Goodnefs con- 
 lifts in conferring common Benefits upon the Children of 
 Men without Diitinction, whether they be Elect or Repro- 
 bates : And hence God is call'd the Saviour of all Men, 
 efpecially of thofe that believe. (1 Tim. iv. 10. See alfa 
 Rom. ii. 4.) And ^dly. The fpecial Goodnefs of God 
 confifts in difpeniing laving Gifts upon the Elect. Ephef, i. 
 3, 4. Bleffed be the God and Father of our Lord 'Jesus Christ 
 who hath Bleffed us with all fpiritual Bleflings in heavenly 
 Places in Chrif, according as he hath chefen us in him r before, 
 the Foundation of the World, that we fould be Holy, ami 
 without Blame before him in Love. And hence we read 
 in Scripture of the Faith of God's Elect, and the Things- 
 that do accompany Salvation. The 
 
 3d. Propos'd comes next to be confidered, which was 
 to difcourfe upon the Properties of divine Goodnefs: Now- 
 the i?nanent,. or efjential Goodnefs of God, hath the fol- 
 lowing Properties, viz. 1 ft. It is Great, Nehe. ix. 25. So 
 they did Eat and became Fat, and,- delighted themfelves in thy 
 great Goodnefs. Whereas the Goodnefs of Creatures, is but 
 as the Drop of a Bucket, Ha. xl. 15. 2xfly. The Good- 
 nefs of God is Unlimited and Infinite, equally uncapable of 
 Addition, as of Diminution, tranfeending the utmoit Verge 
 
 P 2 °£ 
 
2 9 ^ The Goodnefs of God reprefented and recommended. 
 
 of our Speech or Thought ! Whereas the Goodnefs of all 
 Creatures is finite and limited. And hence the Love of 
 Christ is faid to />#/} Knowledge ; and he is laid to be able 
 to do abundantly above all that we ajk or think. Ephef iii, 
 19. 20. Pfa. lvii. 10. For thy Mercy is great unto the 
 Heavens, and thy Truth unto the Clouds. 3dly. The ima- 
 nent Goodnefs of God is without Beginning, Succefficn and 
 End: Whereas the Goodnefs of Creatures as it hath a Be- 
 ginning, fo it hath Succeiiion in Duration, and either has 
 or can have an End. 1 Chron. xvi. 34. O give thanks to 
 the Lord, for he is Good, for his Mercy endnreth forever ! 
 4th lv. The imanent Goodnefs of God is in off Simple, with- 
 out any Mixture of Imperfection or Defect, it is pure Good- 
 nefs without the leaft. Alay : And hence he is faid to be Light, 
 in which there is no Darknefs at all, 1 Joh. i. 5. Whereas 
 in Creatures there is no Goodnefs without Imperfection, 
 at leaft Comparative. 5thly. The Goodnefs of God is In- 
 dependant, becaufe it is his Being, and hence he is call'd the 
 Fountain of Life, Pfa. xxxvi. 9. Whereas the Goodnefs of 
 Creatures isfomething added to their Being, and fo acciden- 
 tal and feparable. God is Good originally by his own Good- 
 nefs ; whereas all Creatures are good by Participation : 
 They have but a deriv'd Dependant, and precarious Good- 
 nefs : They themfelves are like to Vanity, whofe Days are 
 as a Shadow, that pajfeth away, Pf. cxiiv. 4. And how can 
 their Goodnefs. which is but a quality fuperadcd to their Be- 
 ings, be more Stable then they on whom it depends ? But 
 
 2dlv. The Tranfient Goodnefs cfGW which is the Caufe 
 of all* that Goodnefs which exifts in Creatures, may be 
 faid to have the following Properties, viz. iff. It is Efficient, 
 inafmuch as every Creature receives its Goodnefs therefrom. 
 Jam. i. 17. Every good Gift, and every per feci Donation, 
 is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, 
 
 with 
 
The Goodnefs of God rcprefented and recommended, 299 
 
 with whom is no Variablenefs or Shadow of turning. 2dly. 
 The tratfient Goodnefs of God, is exemplary ; as it is the 
 Fountain from which all created Goodnels flows, fo it is 
 the Patern according to which it is to be regulated : And 
 hence we are bid to be Merciful as our heavenly Father is 
 Merciful. Jehovah reprefents his infinite Perfection as it 
 were by Parts in his Works ; as reafonable Creatures bear 
 its Image, Gen/i. 26. So even the irrational Creation car- 
 ry more oblcure Footfleps, as it were, thereof! 3dly. The 
 tranfent Goodnefs of God is Finals Pro. x.vi 4 The Lord 
 hath made alt "Things for himfclf lays Solomcn. Of ' him, and 
 thro' him, and to him are all Things, fays theApoflle, Rom, xi.. 
 36. All created Beings do either Labour after God, or 
 are directed to his Glory paiTively. But I pafs on to the 
 
 4th. General Head, which was to coniider fome Objections 
 againft this Attribute. And jit. It is objected, that God hath 
 faidhe will mew him felf fro ward with the Froward Pf.xvni. 
 26. Anf. theScope of the Place is only to fignify that God will 
 accommodate his Righteous judgments, to the perverfePracri- 
 cesof obflinate Traufgreflbrt. He will proportion Pains to their 
 Preiumptuous Impieties, and thus wherein they dealt proudly 
 he will be above them.. 
 
 2dly. It is objected, that God is not deiired by all, nay 
 that many labour to banifh the Thoughts of him out of 
 their Minds. Anf. It is true, but the Reafon why he is not 
 fought after by all intelligent Beings, is not any want of 
 Goodnefs in him, but the Blindnefs of Creatures, whereby 
 they difcern not his Tranicendenf, Amiableneis, or their 
 Guilt, whereby they fear and fhun him, as Criminals an 
 avenging Judge ! A 
 
 3d, Objection is this, That God does not impart his Good- 
 nefs to all, to R.ebrobates j whereas Goodnels is communica- 
 tive of itfelf. 
 
 P p 2 Anf. 
 
300 The fear of God confidered. 
 
 Anf. He does communicate his Goodnefs to all, but freely, 
 according to his own good Pleafure, in refpect of the kind 
 and degree of Good. He is Lord of his own Treafures, and 
 may do with them what he pleafes, without being account- 
 able to any. For as the Apoftle Paul obferves, Who hath 
 fir ft given to him 7 and it JJjall be recompensed to him again? 
 God is fo far Good to all, that he fupports, preferves and 
 nourifhes them io long as they continue, and confers upon 
 them whatever they enjoy, and that without their demerit. 
 But he is by his ErTence Good, and therefore cannot but be 
 averle to evil, and thofe that are under the Government of 
 it :^lnd therefore cannot have Fellowmip with them, while 
 thefPontinue fuch. But it is time to coniider the 
 
 2d General Head of Difcourfe, viz. the Fear of God. 
 Which may be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it is a Reverence of 
 God, arifing from a View of his Attributes, and a Senje of 
 his Love, difpo/mg us to honourable Sentiments of Jehovah in 
 our Minds, as well as to exprcfs the fame by our Lips, and 
 efpecially by the courfe of our Practice, to do thofe Things that 
 we kncnv are pleafing to him, and carefully to avoid the con- 
 trary. Here obferve, 
 
 1 ft. That there can be no true Fear of God without the 
 Knowledge of him. And this Knowledge muft be experi- 
 mental and practical, fuch as is formed in us by the Hoi} 
 Spirit's fpecial Concurrence, with the uie of proper Means. 
 Such as proceeds from Faith in God thro' a Mediator, and 
 has influence upon the Mind and Life ! When we have a 
 believing View of the infinite Excellency of the fupream 
 Being by Faith, then, and not before, we are inclin'd to 
 entertain high and becoming Thoughts of God, and to ex- 
 prefs the fame in our Speech and Behaviour. And •"!>.****' 
 
 2dlv. It fliould be obferv'd, that Loveis another Principle 
 of the true Fear of God. Our Love to God proceed; part! v 
 
 from 
 
The Fear' of God confident}. 301 
 
 "from a view of his Excellency, and partly from a Senfe of 
 his Love to us. Hence the Apoftle Joh?i obferves, that 
 we love him, becaufe he loved usJirJL Now a tranfcendent 
 Love to ■God, fwcetly conftrains us, by the ingenuous Bonds 
 of Gratitude, to fear God becaufe of his Goodnefs, as our 
 Text aflerts. But particularly in the 
 
 3d Place it may be obferv'd, that there be two ingre- 
 dients in the aforefaid Reverence of God, viz. a fear to of- 
 fend him by any Sin, and a care to pleafe him by every 
 Duty ; on which Account the whole Worfhip of God is 
 fometimes in Scripture fignify'd by the fear of God. Hence 
 it is faid of Job, that hejeared God, and efchewed Evil. .^ 
 
 Now the fear of God is twofold, viz. either Servile or 
 Filial. The Servile Fear of God, is when we are afraid to 
 offend God, chiefly becaufe -of the Pimijlmient confequent 
 upon it. And this, when it is attended with fame Hope 
 of Mercy, is profitable, as a preparative of Order to Con- 
 veriion, but when accompany'd with Defpair, it is hurtful 
 But a filial fear arifes from Love, and fweetly allures us to 
 ferve God. and makes us afraid of his Anger as ingenuous 
 Children. The Characters of this Kind of Fear, are thele 
 following, iff. It makes thofe that have it Confcientious in 
 the general Courfe of their Practice, to avoid every Evil, 
 iecret as well as open, final! as well as great, fafhionable 
 and creditable Evils, as well as thofe that are more fcanda- 
 lous! Yen. to avoid the very Appearance of Evil, and to feek 
 the Mortification of Sin in the Heart ; and all this from a 
 hatred of Shi, chiefly becaufe of its vile Nature, and con- 
 trariety to God. 2dly. It -makes thofe that have it, painful 
 in the Performance of good Works, and careful that they be 
 done in a right Manner, viz. from a right Principle, Love -, 
 to a right End, Gods Glory ; and by a right Rule, the 
 Word of Gtdj as well as-with/^nw/r and affection ! Befides 
 
 it 
 
io2 The divine Goodnefs improved.. 
 
 it makes Perfons that have it, to long after, and labour for 
 a Perfection of Holinefs : From purfuing which they will 
 not be deter'd by the Fear or Hope of any Creature, or of 
 any Evil !■ jdly. Thofe that fear God make mention of 
 his Name and Attributes with religious Reverence, and read 
 his Word with pious Solicitude. 4thly. The Fear of God 
 is not a tranfient Pang or fuddain flafh of Devotion, but a 
 fixed good Temper of Mind, a habitual Devotednefs to God 
 and his Service, which runs thro' the general Courie of our 
 Affections and Actions. 
 
 I proceed to the Improvement. 
 
 i ft. From the Goodnefs of God, we may learn the Evil 
 of Sin, which, in its Nature directly oppofes infinite Good- 
 nefs ; and, as far as it can, labours to dethrone the Almighty,, 
 and therefore it was call'd by the Antients Deicidc. For 
 Sin, poor Creatures are deferted by the Almighty, who 
 is the chief Good,, and that to all Eternity. (Mat. xxv. 41.) 
 It is Sin that robs the Soul of the good Image of God, 
 with which it was at firft adorn'd, and renders it evil and 
 indifpos'd to any good. It is Sin that inclines thofe that are 
 under its Government, to prefer the imaginary Goodnefs of 
 the Creature, to the true and infinite Goodnefs or the Crea- 
 tor ! It is by Sin, that we requite the chief good from whom. 
 all our good is deriv'd, with Evil ! Deut. xxxii. 6. Dove 
 thus requite the Lord O foolijh People and unwtfi ! Is he not 
 thy Father that hath bought thee, hath he not made thee, and 
 eftablified thee % By Sin Men flight the Treafures of divine 
 Goodnefs, and Treafure thereby to themielves Wrath againfl 
 the Day of Wrath ! fRom. ii. 4.) Should not therefore the 
 Confideration of divine Goodnefs, induce or lead us to Re- 
 pent of Sinspaft, and to hate and ihim every future Evil, 
 and to feek a remedy againft it in Christ Jesus, in whom 
 alone the lbecial Goodnefs of God is difplay'd to fallen Man- 
 
 land 
 
The divine Goodnefs improved. 363 
 
 kind. Pfal. ii. 12. Kifs the Son leafi he he Angry and ye 
 periJJj from the Way. 
 
 2dly. The Confideration of God's Goodnefs, offers Matter 
 of Support to the People of God, in all their Calamities ; 
 and arms them againft Poverty, and the Fear of Death itfelf. 
 For God by his Goodnefs will be our Portion and Inheri- 
 tance. (Pf. xvi. 5. 6.) He will fupply out of hisinexauftible 
 Treafures, all our Wants. Mat. vi. 33. But Jeek ye firfi the 
 Kingdom oj God, and his Right eoufnefs, and all other 'Things 
 Jhall be added unto you. And tho' we walk thro' the Valley 
 of the Shadow of Death, God's Rod and Staff mall comfort 
 us. " I am neither afhamed to live or afraid to die (faid 
 iC Ambrofe of old,,) becaufe we have a good Lord. Nee 
 <c pudet vivere, nee piget mori, quia bonum habemus Domi- 
 " num." What tho' we be environ'd by many and powerful 
 Enemies, God, by his Goodnefs will be to us ajlrong Tower, 
 a Shield and Buckler, Pf. xviii. If we are afflicted in Body 
 or Mind, he will heal our Dijeafes, and forgive our Trefpafjes, 
 for his Goodnefs Sake ! Pf. ciii. 3. Are we weak in oppo- 
 llng Sin, or under fpiritual Defertion, his Grace isfuffcientfor 
 us, and his Power is made perfeSi in Weaknefs. The Lord is 
 gracious and merciful, flow to Anger and plenteous in Mercy, 
 he will not always chide, nor keep his Anger forever . Pf. ciii. 
 8, 9. See Ifa. liv. 7, 8. For afmall Moment I haveforfaken 
 thee, but with great Mercy will I gather thee, in a little 
 IVrath I hid my Face from thee for a Moment, but with ever- 
 la/ling Kindnejs will I have Mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy 
 Redeemer. All our Afflictions mall furely work together 
 for our Good (Rom. viii. 28.) If we do but feek Relief in 
 him alone, and put our Truft in him, Lam. iii. 25. The Lord 
 is good to them that wait for him, to the Soul that feeketh him. 
 
 3<ily. The Confideration of God's Goodnefs mou Id in- 
 vite our Love, feeing it is the proper Object of Efteem and 
 
 Refpect. 
 
j a4 2^ divine Goodncfs improved, 
 
 Refpecl. If we. regard fmall Rays and Drops of the Divine - 
 Goodnefs in Creatures, how much more mould we regard- 
 the Sun itielf and love with all our Souls that infinite and 
 unexhausted Fountain of Goodnefs that is in God. " Love,. 
 " faith Anfelm, the one Good, in whom are all Good. 
 " Things, and it mall fuffice thee." Now our Love to 
 the good God mould exprefs itielf, in longing after Union 
 to, communion with, and the Enjoyment of God in this 
 and the next Life, as well as in acquiefcing in his Goodnefs, 
 as in our All, and only Good, not defiling the Almighty to be- 
 in any Refpecl otherwife than he is. Pf. lxxiii. 25. IVhom 
 have in I Heaven but thee, and there is none upon Earth that 
 I dejire befides thee. Our Love mould likewife difpofe us to 
 devote all our good to God, and employ it for him, as well 
 as to remove all moral Evil from his Sight, that fo he may 
 make all his Goodnefs pais before us. (2 Cor. viii.. 5. IJa. i. 
 16. Ex. xxxiii. 1 9.) And feeing Jehovah is truly Good, our 
 Love to him mould be fincere, not in Speech and Carriage 
 only, but in Heart, Love out of a pure Heart and Faith un- 
 feigned \ Love- in Deed and in Truths as the Apoftle 'John ex- 
 preffes it. For nothing but this will avail us at laft ; and 
 feeing God is the only Good, Juperlatively, independently, im- 
 mutably and efficiently Good. Therefore we mould neglect 
 and contemn every other Good, fo fir as it frauds in Com- 
 petition with him. Cant. viii. 7. Many Waters cajinot quench 
 Love, 7ieither can the Floods drown it. If a Man would- give all : 
 the Sub/lance of his Houfe for Love, it would be utterly con- 
 temned. And we muff love the fupciiativc Good iupeiia- 
 tively, or in the higheff degree, with allow SoulandStrengh y 
 above any Thing in Heaven or Earth,, becaufe Jehovah is 
 the chief Good infinitely tranfeending every other Good. 
 And mould not we love him independently, i. e. for 
 himfelf alone, and not. for any Thing elfe chiefly,, for— 
 
 . f.fmuch:. 
 
The divine Goodnefs improved, 305 
 
 afmuch as he is an independent Good, who has made all 
 Things for himfelf. Moreover mould not that good Be- 
 ing, be lov'd. conftantly with an invariable and unfailing Af- 
 fection ; who is himfelf far from the Shadow of Change ?. 
 And mould not our Love to Jehovah be operative and effec- 
 tual, not in Word and Tongue only, but in Deed and Truth ? 
 Seeing he is a good Communicative ofhimielf to his Crea- 
 tures 1 Now in order to obtain fuch a Love to God, as has 
 been hinted, it would be of fpecial Service, to meditate 
 frequently upon the Goodnefs of God, which fills the Earth 
 and reaches up to Heaven, which appears with wonderful 
 Luftre in the Works of Creation, Redemption and Provi- 
 vidence ? Is not the Mifers Love to Gold enflamed by a fre- 
 quent viewing of it ? And let us dear Brethren humbly pray, 
 and earneftiy labour to be more and more firmly fix'd, in the 
 believing Perfwalion of God's infinite Goodnefs; that fo 
 Christ may dwell in our Hearts by Faith, that being 
 rooted and grounded in Love, we may be able to comprehend 
 with all Saints, what is the Breadth, arid Length, and Depth, . 
 and Height, and to know the Love of CHRIST, which paff'es 
 Knowledge, that we /nay be filled with the Fullnefs of God. 
 Eph. iii. 17,-19. But 
 
 4thly The Meditation of God's Goodnefs, mould invite 
 us to feek all good in God, who is all furlicient, a Sun 
 and Shield to his People, yea an exceeding great Reward ! A 
 Fountain of Life in whofe Light we enjoy Light. From him 
 every good Donation defcends, and he it is that bleffes us, 
 with all Spiritual Blefjings in CHRIST. Therefore if we 
 want a profitable Good, the necenary Supports of Life, let us 
 ask it of God, who has a Sovereign Empire and abfolute 
 Controle, over all fecond Caufes. He hears the Heavens, 
 and they hear the Earth, and the Earth the Corn and Wine, and 
 the Corn and Wine hear Jezreel. Hof. ii. Surely it is in God 
 
 Qj3 we 
 
jo6 The divine Goodnefs improved. 
 
 we live, and move and are. Do we need pic a f ant Good, is if 
 not Jehovah, who thro' his Goodnefs, fills our Hearts with 
 Food and Gladnefs ? Gives us all Things richly to enjoy, and 
 crowns us with his- Goodnefs and tender Mercy. Pf. ciii. Do 
 we need Honefl and faving Good, Faith, Hope, Charity,^ 
 &c. Is not God the Father of Lights, from whom every 
 good Gift is deriv'd ? Let us not therefore dear Brethren, 
 turn to empty Creatures, and make to ourfelves Ci/lems that 
 can hold no Water, and fay, who Jhall Jhew us any Good ? But 
 to the living God, and from him let us labour to de- 
 rive all the Good we need for Life and Godlinefs, by 
 Faith in the Mediator, in whom all the Promifes are lea 
 and Amen, and likewife by earnerl: Prayer and humble Re- 
 verence as well as by a fweet Complacence in, or content- 
 ednefs' with the Good, that God is pleafed to difpence to 
 us, by the Courfe of his unerring Providence. In God's 
 Goodnefs our Happinefs is to be only fought : For indeed it 
 can be only found therein. Here we may behold our ob- 
 jective Happinefs, or that Good that makes us happy : Not a 
 created Good as fome Philofophers of old, have vainly dream'd. 
 No! But an uncreated, independent and infinite Good, who- 
 as 'a Shield can turn away all Evil from us, and as a Sun can- 
 communicate all Good to us. And here we may like- 
 wife behold our Formal Happinefs, which conlifls in Union 
 to, Communion with, and the Enjoyment of this chief and 
 infinite Good. Hence the Pfalmifl pronounces that People 
 bfeffed whoje God is the Lord. fPfal. xxxiii. 12.) And how 
 fweetly does devout Heman triumph, on this Account, Pfa. 
 lxxii. 25. Who have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none 
 upon Earth that I defire be/ides thee. The chief Good hath 
 certainly the chief Dignity and Excellency, and therefore 
 deferves the firft Place in our Thoughts, Defires and La- 
 bours, And is not fecuring of Happinefs the great Deiigtv 
 
 o£" 
 
The divine Goodnefs improved* 307 
 
 Life, next to the Glory of God, after which there is in all 
 a natural Defire. Now is it not evident from the very Na- 
 ture of Things, that that cannot -be found in any created 
 Good ? Becaufe it is grofs and limited, and fo unequal to 
 the Nature and Deiires of the Soul. Surely therefore all 
 the Lines of Life, that do not tend to God as their Center 
 are crooked, and befides the Mark. Let us then turn our 
 Eyes and Hearts from Creatures to the great and good God, 
 and feek for Reft and Happinefs in him alone ; his Good- 
 nefs can only yield the folid Satisfaction we in vain feek 
 and expect elfewhere. 
 
 ^thly. The infinite Goodnefs of God, affords Occafion of 
 glorifying him after the Example of many of his moft emi- 
 nent Servants, particularly of David, Pfa. cvi. 1. Praife ye the 
 Lord, O give 'Thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for 
 his Mercy endureth forever. Of Afaph, Heman, feduthun, 
 who with their Sons and Brethren, by Cymbals, & Trumpets, 
 and other Inftruments of Mufick, founded forth the Praiies 
 of the divine Goodnefs. 2 Chron. v. 12, 13. And it came 
 to pafs as the Trumpeters and Singers were as one, to make one 
 Sound to be heard in praifing and thanking the Lord, and when 
 they lift up their Voice with the Trumpets and Cymbals, and 
 praifed the Lord faying, for he is good for his Mercy en- 
 dureth for ever ; that then the Houfe was filed with a Cloud, 
 even the Houfe of the Lord. And is there not Reafon why we 
 mould praife God for his Goodnefs, when we confider that it 
 is a Property, whereby he efpecially communicates and com- 
 mends himfelf to Creatures, a Property which moft nearly 
 touches us,&therefore mould conftrain us to grateful Emotions. 
 Hence faith Auguftine, " Seeing that God is Good, and hath 
 " made all Things Good, and [feeing that he who made allThings, 
 '" is infinitely better than the Things which he made, you will 
 6i not be able to fay better of him, then that he is Good." 
 
jo8 The divine Goodnefs improved 
 
 To the fame effect fpeaks Bernard thus, " As there is not a 
 " Moment in which we enjoy not God's Goodnefs ; fo let there 
 11 be no Moment in which we do not remember God as pre- 
 " fent." Is not the Praifes of God for his Goodnefs the 
 fweeteft. Employment of the Saints in Heaven or Earth ? 
 Says Augufline " I am feiz'd with Sweetnefs while I think 
 
 " upon the good. God. If therefore we Praife any other 
 
 " Thing, we therefore Praife it becaife it is Good -, there ca?i 
 " be no greater, better or firmer Caufe of Praifng God, than 
 " becaufe he is Good." Now in order to glorify God, it is 
 necefcy that we know his Goodnefs, in its Nature, Kinds, 
 Degrees, Ejfccls. And likewiie that we tafie, behold and 
 admire the fame ! that fo what we feci in our Hearts, we 
 may exprefs with our Lips, in the PJalmifls. Language. PfaL 
 ciii, 2. Blefs the Lord my Soul, and forget not all his 
 Benefits ! 
 
 But in the next Place, let me intreat you, my. dear Bre- 
 thren, to imitate the Goodnefs of God. ThePfalmiit. gives 
 us a fummary of the divine Goodnefs, Pfal. cxix 68. Thou 
 art Good and doefi Good, i. e. Good by an intrinijek and 
 imanent Perfection, in which refped: God is lovely andlov'd 
 by himfelf, as well as communicative of himfelf, and fo to 
 be defired by all. Befides he does Good, he distributes his 
 Goodnefs among Creatures both Good and Evil, tho' in a 
 different Manner and Degree. Now let us endeavour to 
 imitate this noble Example, jit. By being Good, i. e. fit 
 for the ufe to which we were created ; and what was that 
 Ufe, but to hiGw, love and glerijy cur Creator here, in or- 
 der to enjoy him eternally ! And what does fitnefs for it con- 
 fift in, but in the Image of God, after which Man was at 
 firft created, viz. The Wiidcm of the Understanding, the 
 Holincfs and Righteoufnefs of the Will, ?>rA ILrmony of 
 the. Affeftions ! (Ephef. iv. 24) Now tins linage of God 
 
 or 
 
The fear of God inculcated. 309 
 
 or original R ighteoufnefs being loft, by our Violation of the 
 Covenant of Works, we are thereby render'd unprofitable 
 Servants, unfit for our Ufe, and Co altogether Evil. And 
 therefore before we can imitate God aright, we muff obtain, 
 by Regeneration, the Image of God, which we have loft by 
 Sin . And being Regenerated we muff more and more a- 
 ban don Evil, and learn to do Weil, by progreffive Sanclifi- 
 cation. 2aiy. After we are made Good, we mull endeavour 
 to do Good, agreeable to the Defign or Ufe of our Crea- 
 tion. Towards God, by fearing of him, trailing in him, 
 by Love and Obedience : Towards our Av/..\^ ;,•/-, by diffu- 
 sing our Goodnefs upon .all, Good and Bad, Friends and 
 Enemies, but not in a like Degree ■ Ey this Imitation of the 
 divine Goodnefs, we (hall mew curfelves to be the ge- 
 nuine Children of our Father which is in Heaven : By this 
 we mall have a certain Argument within ourfelves, of our 
 Refforation to the divine Image : And by this we mail 
 referable the bleffed God in his moil perfect Property, and 
 fo be made Partakers of the divine Nature ! By this we 
 fliall glorify Jehovah's Name, and many Ways promote his 
 'Kingdom : And by this, thro the gracious Promife of God, 
 our Comforts will be encreafed in this Life, and the De- 
 gree of our Flappinefs in that to come. 
 
 What was faid before concerning the Fear of God, moula 1 
 excite you my dear Brethren, to examine yourfelves impar- 
 tially thereby : for thus ycu will know your prefent State 
 towards God, whether it be good or bad, which ye cannot 
 but know is of great importance, both to your Comfort and 
 Safety. 
 
 I mini befeech you, Sirs, as a Meflenger of God, and 
 command you in his Name and by his Authority, to fear 
 Jehovah. To this ye may be excited by the following Mo- 
 tives, iff. It is equal and Reafonable : If Reverence and 
 
 Fear 
 
n i o The fear of God inculcated. 
 
 Fear belongs to any, furely much more to the greateft and 
 beft of Beings ! 2dly. It is Safe. He that fears God need 
 fear noneelfe ! 3dly. It is profitable : This is the Beginning 
 of faving Wifdom, as Solomon obferves, and the Root and 
 Spring of all Vertue and Goodnefs, To this the Promifes 
 of God are made, and to fuch his Mercy and Goodnefs is 
 extended ! 4thly. It is generous and grateful. Mis Good- 
 nefs muft induce us to fear walking unworthy cf it, if we 
 are not loft to all Senfe of Gratitude! Now the Means that 
 are helpful to the aforefaid Difpofition are thefe, ift. A fre- 
 quent Meditation upon the Majefty and Goodnefs of God. 
 2dly. Upon our Corruption and propenfity to Sin againft him. 
 3dly. Upon the Bafenefs of the Nature of Sin, and its 
 dreadful Confequences ! 4thly. Upon the Omnifcience, Om- 
 niprefence, Paver and Jufice of God, as an avenger of Sin. 
 O may it pleafe Almighty God to fullfil in us all the pre- 
 cious Promifes our Text contains, that we may fo fear the 
 Lord a fid his Goodnefs in the latter Days : That having ferved 
 our Generation according to the Will of God, during the 
 Space appointed for our Refidence in this Vale of Sorrow, 
 we may be at laft tranilated to that Kingdom of Peace, of*" 
 Love, of Light, of Purity, of Reft, where divine Good- 
 nefs appears in all its native Majefty, in all its inexpreiTible 
 Beauty, without an intercepting Glafs, that fo we may be 
 forever with the Lord. Amen, Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
The Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 $** 
 
 SERMON XVI 
 
 EXODUS xxxiv.. 6. 
 
 And the Lordpajfed by before him , and proclaimed, the Lor d y 
 
 the Lord God, Merciful and Gracious, Long-fuff erring. 
 
 IN the preceeding Verfes we are inform'd,. that the Lord 
 commanded Mojes to hew out two Tables of Stone, 
 like to the firft, which were broken, and to come to 
 Mount Sinai with them the next Morning. Mofes 
 readily obey'd the divine Injunction, and had a gracious in- 
 terview of God. No {boner had he reach'd the Top, the 
 fummit of Sinai 's Mount, but theLord defcended in a Cloud, 
 and proclaimed his Name ! The Cloud was doubtlefs fome 
 ~fenfible Symbol or Token of the divine Prefence ! Proba- 
 bly Jehovah made a Cloud his Pavilion in order to affect 
 Mojes with with an awful Reverence of his Maiefty and 
 Glory, and to let him know, that tho' fomewhat of 
 God was reveal'd to him, yet that much more was conceal'd 
 from him ! But from the whole we may learn this profitable 
 LefTon, viz. That it is only in the Way of Obedience that we 
 Gan reafonably expecl the Intimations of God's gracious Pre- 
 fence / In the Words of our Text it is more particularly ob- 
 ferv'd, that the Lord proclaimed his Name : Doubtlefs this 
 Repetition is to flgnify to us, the great Importance of the 
 Thing ipoken, Now in the Proclamation two Things may 
 
 be 
 
3 i 2 The Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 be taken Notice of, viz. the Manner and Matter of it. And 
 i ft. As to the Manner or Time, it was while the Lord pa fed 
 by before him. The Apprehenfions we have of God in this 
 World are fliort and tranfient, full and fixed Views are re- 
 ferv'd for a future State. But 2dly. The Matter of the 
 Proclamation contains a Reprefentation both of the Great- 
 nefs and Goodnefs of God. And iff We have an Account 
 of the Greatnefs of God in thefe Words, The Lord, the 
 Lord God. As God hath his Being of h and is the 
 
 Fountain of Being to all Creatures, fo he is a Strong God, 
 the great Original of all Power. This Declaration of God's 
 
 o o 
 
 Self-Ex iftence and Almightinefs, is pre fix ; d before the Dil- 
 play of liis Goodnefs, to excite a Fear and R.everence of 
 God's Majefty, and thereby to deter from an abufe of his 
 Mercy. In the 2d Place, we have an Account of God's 
 Goodnefs, in three noble Inftances, namely, of Me/rv, 
 Grace and Long-Sufferring. As Gcd's Greatnefs is men- 
 tioned to incite Fear, and prevent the abufe of his Good- 
 nefs : fo is his Goodnefs difplay'd to incite Hope, which 
 is the Spring of Action, and to allay the Terror of his Great- 
 nefs! The firft Manifeftation of divine Goodnefs here ex- 
 prefs'd is Mercy j he is Merciful^ this fpcaks his companio- 
 nate Tendernels over poor miferable Creatures, like that of 
 a Father to his Children. This is put firft, becaufe it is 
 the firft Wheel in all the Inftances of God's good Will to 
 fallen Man, whofe Mifery makes him an Object of Pity, 
 fud. x. 16. 2clly. He is Gracious-. This fpeaks the 
 Freenelsof God's Goodnefs to his Creatures, and that it 
 is vouchfif'd entirely becaufe of his own good Pleaiure, 
 and not for the Sake of any Thing in them. It is opposed 
 to the Pavment of a Price (Exo. xxi. 11.) as well as to 
 Juftice and Merit. (Pfal xxxv. 7, 19. 1 Sam. xix. ^.) 
 3dly. He is Long-Jhff'ering, this fpeaks the flownefs of Je- 
 hovah 
 
The Mercy of God unfolded. 313 
 
 hovah to anger, and his deferring the Execution of de- 
 ferved Vengeance upon Tranfgreflbrs. Thus God waits to 
 be Gracious to us, and wants to be exalted that he may- 
 have Mercy upon us ! The Almighty now perform'd what 
 he had but a little time before promifed toMo/es. Ex. xxiii. 1 8 
 And he J aid ', I bejeech thee to few me thy Glory, and he 
 faid I will make all my Goodnefs to pafs 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 fl:cw Mercy 
 on whom I will few Mercy. By which we may fee, that 
 God's Goodnefs is his Name and Glory ! that by which he 
 will be known by his intelligent Creatures, as Men are by 
 their Names, and that in which he Triumphs and has Com- 
 placency ! God had before made himfelf known to Mofes 
 in the Glory of his Self-Exiftance and Self-Sufficiency, by 
 the Name I AM THAT I AM ; and now he makes 
 himlelf known by the Glory of his Mercy, Grace and Long- 
 Juffering. 
 
 Now that I may difcourfe diftinctly upon thoie three 
 Attributes of God, which our Text contains, I mall begin 
 with the firft, which is his Mercy. 
 
 The Holy Scriptures frequently affert the Mercy of God, 
 Thus he is call'd the Father of Mercies, (2 Cor. i. 3.) He 
 is likewife faid to be abundant in Mercy, (1 Pet. i. 3.) Rich 
 in Mercy, (Eph. ii. 4.) Of tender Mercy, (Pf. xxv. 6.) 
 to have Bowels of Mercy, (Pfa. xl. 11. Luk. i. yS.) Seeing 
 that Mercy among Men, is among the Number of Ver- 
 tucs and Perfections, in which Perfons of a more generous 
 Mind and Temper generally excell ; it cannot with any 
 fhadow of P^eafonbe denied to God, who is not only in- 
 finitely Perfect in himfelf, but alio the Author of all that 
 Good, that Creatures PoiTefs ! If any mould object and fay 5 
 
 R r That 
 
2 1 4 The Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 That Mercy is opposed to Juflice y and therefore cannot be 
 afcrib'd to God. 
 
 Anf. I deny it, it is not oppos'd to Juflice, as the Verfe 
 following our Tex-t fhews, keeping Mercy for Thoujands, and 
 yet will by no Means clear the Guilty. God never fhews 
 Mercy contrary to Juflice, as he never exercifes Juflice 
 contrary to Mercy j yea the Almighty feldom or never ex- 
 ecutes Juflice without fome Preceeding Expenie of Mercy,, 
 and therefore by pitving the miferable, the Lord doth 
 not contradict his Juflice, but as it were exceed it. As if 
 a Creditor gave a Debtor a Hundred Pounds., who owes 
 a Thoufand. It is in this Senfe that the Apoflle James ob- 
 ferves, That Mercy rojoyceth again ft Judgment, (Jam. ii. 
 1 3. | 2dly. Some do object., That Mercy cannot be ajcrib'd 
 to God, becaufe it implies a Senje of another s Mifery. 
 
 Anf. Jt is true, Mercy is not in God, as it is in Men, by 
 Way of Quality or Paffion ! For then his Simplicity and 
 Happinefs would be deflroyed. However fuch a Knowledge 
 of the Mifery of -Creatures belongs to God, as inclines him 
 to relive them ! This Anfelm ipeaks pertinently upon in the 
 following Manner, " Thou art Merciful God according 
 " to us, and according to thee.——JVhen thou beholds cur Mi- 
 " feries we feel the Ejfetf of Pity, but thou doji not jeel the 
 " AffeBion of Pity j" 
 
 In difcourfing upon this divine Attribute of Mercy it will 
 be necefTary to fpeak upon its Nature, Kinds and Proptr- 
 ties. And 
 
 1 ft. Mercy, inrefpect of its Nature, may be thus de- 
 fcrib'd, viz. That it is the Gcodnefs of God, extended to the 
 Miferable. Here good and bad Angels are excluded. The 
 Good becaufe they are not milerable, and the Bad becaufe 
 they are wholly given up to Juflice, 2 Pet. ii. /.. But God 
 /pared not the Angels that fimjed, but calf, them down to 
 
 J'Jelf 
 
The Mercy, of God unfolded, %x c 
 
 Well, and delivered them into Chains of Darknefs to be re- 
 ferv'd unto "Judgment. Or the Mercy of God may be thus 
 defcrib'd, viz. That it is that Property oj the Supream Be- 
 ing whereby he is inclined to fuccour his Creatures in Mifery y 
 together with its kind Effects upon them. Here obferve 
 ift. That the fpecial Object of Mercy, is the Creature 
 in Mifery, and thus it is diftinguifh'd from other Attributes.. 
 Goodnefs confiders it's Object as Indigent, and fo commu- 
 nicates needed Benefits ; but Mercy confiders its Object 
 as Miferable, becaufe of Sin : And therefore tho' an 
 Innocent Creature be the Objecl: of divine Good- 
 nefs and Bounty, it's only a fallen and finning Creature, 
 that is the proper Objecl: of God's Mercy. Grace, is 
 Mercy, or Goodnefs freely di/pens'd, and therefore it confiders 
 its Object, not only as Miierable, but Unworthy ! Where- - 
 as Long-fufTcring confifts in the Sufoenfion of merited 
 Vengeance, and the Communication of immerited Benefits!" 
 Thus you may fee that all thefe Attributes of the Deity, 
 import the Communication of ibme Good to the Creature, 
 and are. only diftinguifh'd in Relation to the Objects upon 
 which they are exercis'd ! Mifery is the Foil of Mercy, 
 it can have no other Object; hence it is laid Jud. x. 16. 
 That his Soul was griev'd for the Mifery of 'Ifrael ! Un- 
 doubtedly the Vertue of Mercy was in God from all Eter- 
 nity, but there was no Room or Occafion for its Difplays, 
 till the Creatures fatal Fall from God and Mifery confequent 
 upon it, provided it an Object to be exercis'd upon. Man 
 by Sin robb'd himfelf of his Beauty and Happinefs, and 
 expos'd himfelf to all the manifold Miferies of this and the 
 next Life. All which are included in the Sentence of 
 Death annex'd to the Breach- of the firft Covenant.. As Man 
 by Sin had loft all Right to Happinefs, and on the contrary, 
 rendered himfelf lyable to all the Threats of the divine Law.- 
 
 R r 2- 
 
3 1 6 The Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 fo by this he likewife became altogether unprofitable, (Rom. 
 iii. 12 .) having loft all his original Power to glorify God 
 by active Obedience, and thus he had no ground from him- 
 ielf to expect the divine favour. 
 
 2dly. Seeing the Mifery of fallen Mankind is Two-fold, 
 viz. Of Sin and Punimment, coniequently the Operations 
 of Mercy confifl in affording fuitable Succours under 
 thefe Maladies. In refpecr. of Sin the Mercy of God fuc- 
 cours in the following Inftances. 
 
 i ft. In reconciling Sinners to himfelf, by the Blood of his on- 
 ly begotten Son z Cor. v. 18. For the Pur chafe of which Re- 
 conciliation, the eternal Father gave his beloved Son to Shame 
 Pain and Death. John iii. 16. And for the Application there- 
 of, he confers Faith upon the Elect, whereby they are ena- 
 bled to accept of and rely upon the bleffed Jesus as Medi- 
 ator and Reconciler. And 
 
 2dly. By renewing Sinners by his Spirit, hereby the 
 Tyranny and Dominion of Sin is broken, and the People 
 of God enabled to overcome Sin, and triumph over it. Rom. 
 vi. 12. Let not Sin reign in your Mortal Bodies, that ye f mild 
 obey it in the Lufls thereof Rom. vii. 25. I thank God thro' 
 JESUS CHRIST our Lord. 
 
 In refpect of Punimment, divine Mercy Succours in the 
 following Manner. 
 
 1 ft. By bearing with the Sinner for a Time before 
 
 Judgment is inflicted. Rom. ix. 22. What if God willing to 
 
 few his Wrath \ and to make his Power known, endurd with 
 
 much long fufering, the Veffels of Wrath fitted to Definition. 
 
 2dly. By threatning Punifhments againft the Impenitent, 
 in order to reclaim them from their Trefpaffes. God warns 
 before he wounds, and fends his Servants to flay Sinners by 
 his Word, before he flays them by his Sword/ 
 
 sdly. 
 
The Mercy of God unfolded, ^\y 
 
 3<ily. By pointing to a Remedy, whereby the impend- 
 ing Stroke of divine Judgment may be averted, Jer. xviii. 
 7, 8. At what Infant Ijhall fpeak concerning a Nation, and 
 concerning a Kingdom to pluck up, and to pull down, and to 
 dejlroy it, if that Nation again/1 whom I have pronounced 
 turn from their Evil, I will repent of the Evil I thought to 
 do unto them. If Sinners repent of the Evil of Sin, God 
 will avert the Evil of judgment, 
 
 4thly. By inviting of, and expostulating with Sinners to 
 accept of the Remedy propos'd. Ifa. i. 16. Come now and let 
 us reafon together, tbo' your Sins be as Scarlet, they Jhall be 
 as white as Snow, tbo' they be red like Crimfon, they fljall be as 
 Wool. Jer. ii. 5. Thus fayeth the Lord, what Iniquity have 
 your Fathers found in me, that they are gone jar from me, 
 and have walked after Vanity and become vain ? 
 
 5thly. By receiving into Favour thofe that comply with 
 the Remedy, how great foever their Trefpaffes have been, 
 by forgiving their Sins, fanctifying and fweetening their Sor- 
 rows, and fupporting them under them by his Spirit, Love, 
 Power. Pfal. ciii. 3. Who forgiveth all thine Iniquities, 
 who healeth all thy Difeafes. 2 Cor. xii. 9. And he J at 'dun- 
 to me, my Grace is fujfcient for thee. 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. Blef- 
 fed be God even the Father of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, the 
 Father of Mercies and the God of all Comfort, who comfort- 
 eth us in all our Tribulation. And 
 
 6thly. Such as do not accept of the Remedy offered, af- 
 ter the Almighty has fufpended the Execution of Juftice, 
 until there be no Remedy. When he begins to inflict de- 
 fended Judgment (in General,) he doth it by Degrees, firft 
 he fends lighter Calamities, and when thofe do not re- 
 claim the Sinner, he fends heavier. In the Day of God's 
 rough Wind, He ftays his Eaif. Wind. Firft. Rods are. 
 try'd, and if thofe do not avail, Scorpions may be expected. 
 
 Jehovah 
 
3r i 8 - The Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 Johovah does not all at once, ftir up all bis Wrath. Pjai. 
 lxxviii. 38. But the 
 
 2d. Propos'd was to fpeak of the Kinds of Mercy. Now 
 r 'the Mercy of God, may be faid to be Two-fold, viz. Ei- 
 ther common or I fecial- Common Mercy coniifts in confer- 
 ring without Diftinction, upon the Children of Men, the 
 Outward Comforts and Conveniences of Life, and hence 
 the Almighty is faid to caufe his Sun to rife upon the Evil 
 and the Good, and to fend his rain upon the Jufl and the 
 Unjuft. Mat. v. 45. But thcfpecial Mercy of God, confiftsin 
 conferring upon the Elect, fuch Things as do accompany 
 Salvation^ and that thro' Chriit, in the Channel of the New 
 Covenant,. Eph. i. ^..Bleffed be the God and Father of our 
 Lord JESUS CHRIST, who hath blefjed us with all fpiritual 
 Blefjings, in Heavenly Places in CHRIST. But I proceed 
 to the. 
 
 3d. Proposed,, which was to difcourle upon the Pro-- 
 perties of divine Mercy. And 
 
 1 ft. It is eternal, Pfal. ciii. 17. The Mercy of God is 
 from everlafting to everlafting. It is repeated Twenty-fix 
 Times in one Plalm, that his Mercy endureth forever. Pfal 
 exxxvh And this may juftly enhanfe our Efteem of it, and 
 defire after it. Tho' God may hide his Pace for a little 
 Moment T yet with everlafting loving Ejndnefs will he retun 
 to his People. And 
 
 2dly. God r $ Merey is great, and hence God is faid to be 
 plcntious in Mercy? Pial. lxxxvi. 5. Rich in Mercy, Eph. ii. 
 4. And in Pfal. Ii. 1. We read of the Multitude of his ten- 
 der Mercies, . And in (2 Sam. xxiv. 1 4.) his Mercies are ex- 
 prefly faid to be great. But methinks the greatnefs of God's 
 Mercy appears efpecially, by considering thefe two Things r 
 viz. What is the Sinners Due according to find: Juftice, and 
 :he Mitigation thereof, which he enjoys in this World. 
 
 Suf-'N 
 
"l&e Mercy of God un folded. gi^ 
 
 Surely the Wages of Shi is Death. Rom. vi. 23. which in- 
 cludes all the Miferies of this prefent Life, as well as the 
 Pains of Hell hereafter. Now, therefore every Mitigation 
 of thole Miieries, every Comfort the Sinner enjoys is Mercy, 
 it is what the Sinner has forfeited a Right to, it is what he 
 deferves not. 
 
 3<dly. The Mercy of God is incomparable, Jer. iii. 1. 
 They fay -if a Man put away his Wife, and fie go from him, 
 and become another Man' s, fall he return unto her again? — 
 But thou haft played the Harlot with many Levers, yet return 
 unto me faith the -Lord! The Merciful God exceeds his 
 Creatures both in giving and forgiving. And 
 
 1 ft. In giving : Our Donations are often extorted from 
 us, but he gives of his own accord, without any incentive, 
 but what is in his own Bofom. (Ifa. lxv. 1.) 
 
 2dly. We give but fmall Gifts, but he gives the greateft, 
 viz. Him/elf, his Son, his .Spirit, his Kingdom. Job. iii. 16. 
 
 3dly. We give to our Friends, but Jehovah confers ma- 
 ny Donations on his Enemies. (Mat. v. 45.) 
 
 4thly. We are ibon weary of giving, but ib is not God, 
 he is unwearied in his Mercy (to the Penitent) he giveth li- 
 berally and upraideth not, Jam. i. 5. And 
 
 2dly. The Merciful God exceeds his Creatures, in 
 forgiving, 
 
 1 ft. Men are revengful to thofe that wrong them, but 
 God is merciful and gracious, longfujfering, as our Text af- 
 ferts. How remarkable to this Purpofe are thefe Words 
 •of the Prophet Hof xi. 9. / will not execute the Fiercenefs 
 of mine Anger, I will not return to dcfiroy Ephraim, fir I 
 am God and not Man. 
 
 2cl!y. Men are difficultly drawn to forgive, and cannot 
 forgive often, God but is ready to pardon Neh. ix* 17. And 
 do.:s multiply Pardons, 
 
 3%- 
 
a 2 o 2"^* Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 odly. Sometimes Men forgive when it is not in their 
 Power to revenge themfelves, but Sinners are always under 
 God's Controle, and within the reach of his Arm. But 
 
 4th. The Mercy of God is fare, and infallible, If a. lv. 
 3 . Incline your Ear, and come unto me r hear and your Soul 
 Jhall live (and I will make an everlafting Covenant with you y 
 even the fur e Mercies of David. And hence it is, that the 
 Gifts and Calling of God are faid to be without Repent- 
 ance, and that the Foundation of God /lands fare. The Lord 
 knoweth who are his. God's fpecial Mercy to his People 
 is built upon the fure and invariable Foundation of his 
 Purpofes and Promifes, as well as the Satisfaction and 
 Interceflion of Christ. And 
 
 rthly. God's Mercy is free Ephef. i. 11. In whom al- 
 fo we have obtained an Inheritance, being predf mated ac- 
 cording to the Purpofe of him, who worketh all Things after 
 the Counfelofhis own Will. Albeit the Vertue' of Mercy 
 belongs to God, in refpect of his Being, yet the Difpenfation 
 of it depends entirely upon God's good Pleaiure, and hence 
 the Apoftle Paul informs us, That it is net ofhimthatwilletk y 
 nor of him that runneth, but of God that feweth Mercy and 
 that he hath Mercy upon whom he will have Mercy, and 
 whom he will he hardeneth, Rom. ix. 
 
 Now becaufe when fuch Things a? are really or feem- 
 ingly contrary, are put together, they ill u finite each other. 
 It may not be improper before I proceed to the Improve- 
 ment of this Subject to difcourie upon the Severity of God 
 in his Judgments, which is feemingly oppos'd to his Mer- 
 cy. Of this mention is made Rom. xi. 22. and in many 
 other Places of Scripture ; and of this there be many Ex- 
 amples upon facred Record, fuch as the Inftances of the 
 fallen Angels, our firft Parents, the old World, Pharaoh, 
 the Egyptians-, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Achan, Ananias^ 
 
 and 
 
The Mercy of God unfolded. 321 
 
 and Saphira, and many others. From which we may 
 gather, that God's Judgments which he exercifes by his 
 Severity, are no other than lingular Punimments inflicted for 
 lingular Offences. The meritorious Caule of them, is fome 
 agravated Iniquity, the Nature of which, is often pointed 
 out by the Punimment inflicted, which is not common but 
 lingular. Adonibezeck, who had cut off the Thumbs and 
 Great-Toes of Threefcore and Ten Kings, was ferved fo 
 himfelf. (Judges i. 6, 7.) And hence Samuel iayeth con- 
 cerning Agag, That as his Sword made Women Childlefs, fo 
 bis Mother Jhould be Childlefs among Women. 1 Sam. xv. 33. 
 Hence the Lord elfewhere threatens, that thofe who fled 
 the Blood oj others, jhould them/elves have Blood to drink. 
 Thus you fee that the Punimment does often refemble the 
 Sin that procur'd it. Now the Judgments of God, are of 
 various Kinds, viz. Spiritual or Bodily, Private or Pub- 
 lick. Spiritual Judgments are fuch as thefe, viz. A Famine 
 of the Word, Amos viii. 11, 12. Leanefs of Soul and Back- 
 JU dings. Rev. ii. 5. Errors in Judgment. 2 Thef. ii„ 10, 11. 
 And for this Caufe, God /hall fend them frong Delufion, that 
 they jhould believe a Lie. Corporal Judgments are War, 
 Peftilence, Famine, Drowth & the like. Now the procuring 
 Caufes of publick and epidemical Judgments, are fuch as 
 thefe following, viz. Ingratitude againfi God, Ifa. i. 3. Con- 
 tempt oj his Word, Ifa. xlii. 24. Who gave Jacob for a Spoil, 
 and Ifrael to the Robbers, did not the Lord, he aganfl whom 
 we have finned, : For they would not walk in his Ways, nei- 
 ther were they obedient unto his Lave. Another Caufe of 
 Judgments, is fighting of the Minifters of God. 2 Chroiu 
 xxx vi. 16. But they mocked the Me fingers oj God, and de- 
 fpis\l his Word, and mifus'd his Prophets, until the Wrath of 
 the Lord arofe againfi his People, til there was no Remedy. 
 Befldes Pride and Idolatry are procuring Caufes, of divine 
 
 S 5 judgments. 
 
322 The Mercy of God unfolded. 
 
 Judgments. Ifa, ii. 1 1 . The lofty Looks of Man Jhall be 
 humble a \ and the Hau^htinefs of Men fall be bro't down 
 Jer. ii. 13, 14. Likewife the following Evils againft our 
 Neighbour, are Caufes of divine Judgments, viz Opprefjion 
 of the Poor Ifa. iii. 1 4. The Lord will enter into Judgment 
 with the Antients of his People, and the Princes thereof : For 
 ye have eaten up the Vineyard, the Spoil of the Poor is in your 
 Houjes 2dly. Wronging the Widow and Father lefs Ifa. i. 
 23. They judge 7iot the Father lefs > neither does theCaufe of 
 the Widow come before them. 3diy„ Cheating the Labourer 
 of his Hire. Jer. xxii. 13. Woe unto him that huildeth his 
 Houfe by Unrighteoujnefs, and his Chambers by Wrongs that 
 ufeth his Neighbours Service without Wages, and giveth him 
 not for his Work. The Prophet Hofea mentions a Num- 
 ber of Caufes together in the Fourth Chap, of his Book, 
 r . & 2. verfes. Hear the Word of the Lord ye Children oj ' 
 Ifrael, for the Lora has a Controverfy with the Inhabitants 
 of the Land, becaufe there is no Truth, nor Merer, nor Know- 
 ledge of God in the Land. By fwcaring and lying, and kill- 
 ing, and jlcaling, and commiting Adultery, they break out, and 
 Blood touchcth Blood therefore fall the Land mourn. To the 
 aforefaid Caufes of divine Judgments I may add, Covetouf- 
 nef's and Hypocrify. Ifa. v. 8, 13. Woe unto them that joy n 
 Houfe to Houfe.— Therefore my People are gone into Captivity. 
 
 Ifa. x. 6. O Aflyrian, the Rod of mine Anger Imoillfend 
 
 him againjl a Hypocritical Nation. Here it may beobferv'd, 
 that Judgments are not always fent, except the aforefaid E- 
 vils become general, and are attended with Impudence, af- 
 ter various Warnings {Jer. v. 1. Ifa. iii. g.Pf.xcv. 10. 11.) 
 Now the Judgements of God are always juft, and fome- 
 times unfearchable and wonderful : For fometimes he not 
 only fends them on the Ungodly, but upon his own Peo- 
 ple. Yea as the Apofllc Peter obferves. Judgment begins 
 
 at 
 
The Mercy of Goa apply d 323 
 
 at the Houfe of God. The Lord threatned his People of old ; 
 that them only he had known of all the Families of the Earth, 
 and therefore he would punifo them for their Iniquities, Hence 
 David tells us, that his Fief trembled 'for fear cf God, and 
 that he was ajraid oj God's "Judgments. I it ay add, that the 
 End of God's Judgments, is the glory of God's Holinefs, 
 the Converiicn and Humiliation of ibme, and the harden- 
 ing of others. Witnefsthe Prodigal, Pharaoh and others: 
 But it's Time to proceed to the improvement of this Sub- 
 ject. And 
 
 iff. We mould be cautious of abufing God's Mercy, let 
 us beware that we fuck not Poifon out of th at fweet Flow- 
 er. To take encouragement to go on in Sin, becaufe of 
 God's Mercy, is the vilefr. Inftance of Ingratitude, and 
 juifly expopoies to an agravated Condemnation, abus'd 
 Mercy turns into enrag'd Fury and Vengeance, Deuf. xxix. 
 19. If' he hie/, hinff fixing, I fall have Peace, tho' I walk 
 after the Imagination of my Heart, to add Drunkenefs to 
 Thirfl. The Lord will not fpare him, hut the Anger of the 
 Lord and his Jeakufy, Jhallfmoak againfl that Man, and all 
 the Curfes that are written in this Book, fhaU lie upon him. 
 
 2dly. The Mercy of God offers Encouragement and Sup- 
 port to the People of God in all their Diftreffes, whether 
 outward or inward ! Are they iiffiicted with outward Straits? 
 The Merciful God who is their Shepherd, will not fuffer 
 them to want, but make their Bread and Waters fure ! He 
 that hears and feeds the Ravens, will iiirely hear and help 
 his Children ! Have they backfliden from God, and are 
 they labouring to be forrowfully fenfible hereof? Then may 
 they encourage themielves in this, that all Gods Hays are 
 Mercy and Truth, and that the Mercy of Jehovah endureth 
 pi ever ! He will begin and end with Mercv, and fuch as 
 are under the firft Convictions of Sin, m*ay take Encourage- 
 
 S s 2 mert 
 
324 ¥he Mercy of God apply' d. 
 
 ment from the Mercy of God, which is great above the 
 Heavens, and moll: freely difpenfed upon the vilefl Creatures ! 
 Mercy confiders not what one deferves, but what he needs ! 
 God is more inclin'd to Mercv than Wrath ; Ju/lice and 
 Judgment is his Jlrange Work, but Mercy is his Delight. 
 Mic. vii. iS. " 'If 's delightful to the Mother, fayeth Chry- 
 iC fofttme, to have her Breajls drawn ; fo it is to God, to 
 " have the Breafts of his Mercy drawn" The Almighty is 
 flow to Anger, but ready to forgive, Pial. lxxxvi. 5. Let us 
 therefore entertain honourable Thoughts of God's Mercy, 
 and truft in it forever, (Pial. lii. 8.) What greater En- 
 couragement can there be to believe, than the Mercy of 
 God. Mercy is one of the mofr. orient Pearls of the Crown 
 of God; he reckons it his Glory to beconferringPardons upon 
 penitent TranfgrerTors ! And therefore he invites poor Sin- 
 ners to come and lay hold on his Mercy, Rev. xxii. 1 7. IVho- 
 foever will, let him come and take of the Water of Life free- 
 ly ! Mercy woo's Sinners in the moft importunate moving 
 and condefcending Strains. Ifa. lv. 1. Ho roery one that 
 thirfteth, come ye to the Waters, and he that hath no Money 
 come ye, buy and eat -, come, buy Wine and Milk, without 
 Money and without Price ! And what Joy does the Al- 
 mighty exprefs when Sinners accept of the Propofals of 
 his Mercy, when the Prodigal Son rcturn'd from his 
 Wandrings how much did it pleafe the indulgent Father, who 
 made a Feaft to exprefs his Joy on that Occalion ? 
 
 We mould be induced to enquire into the State of our 
 Souls, in order to know whether we have an Intereji in 
 the fpecial Mercy of God or not ! For it will be miferable 
 and ruining to us in the IiTue, if wc content ourfelves 
 with common Mercies ! Now we may be hclp'd to de- 
 termine this important Point, by an Impartial comparing 
 of ourfelves with the following Particulars, viz. ift. Such 
 
 who 
 
The Mercy of God apply' d. 325 
 
 who have an Intereft in the fpecial Mercy of God, have 
 been (if of adult Age when converted) made fenfible of 
 their Mifery without it, and their unworthinefs of it, with 
 the Prodigal and Publican. 
 
 2diy. They have been ftir'd up to folicitous Enquiries 
 how they might obtain an Intereft therein, A6f. ii. 37. 
 
 3 dry. Such have deliberately and without Referve con- 
 fented to embrace Christ Jesus (the Fountain of Mercy) 
 in all his Offices and Relations, and refolv'd to bear his 
 Crofs, and obey his Laws. (yob. i. 12.) 
 
 4thly. And in Confequence hereof they find the gene- 
 ral Byafs of their Affections going towards God and a ha- 
 bitual Carefulnefs to do the Things that are pleafing to him. 
 Now thofe who upon Examination find themfelves desti- 
 tute of the aforelaid Characters, mould, in order to obtain 
 Mercy, ift. Think ferioufly upon all the KindnefTes of 
 Heaven towards them, together with their innumerable 
 Sins againft thofe Mercies, and the Dangers to which they 
 are thereby expos' d. 2diy Attend with Diligence upon 
 the preached Word ; for it is by the Foolifhnefs of preach- 
 ing, that God faves thofe that believe. 3dly. Bewail your 
 Sins againft the Mercies of God. Let the Goodnefs of God. 
 lead you to Repentance. 4thly. Try to reform your Lives, 
 Let the Wicked Man for fake his Ways, and the Unrighteous 
 Man his Thoughts, and turn unto God, for he will have 
 Mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly 
 pardon. And 5thly. Pray earneftly and frequently to God 
 for Mercy, in the Name of Christ with Fear and Hope. 
 
 And let me exhort thofe that have obtain'd the fpecial 
 Mercy of God, to walk worthy of it, ift. Praife God 
 for his Mercy in the Pfalmift's Language, Pfa. ciii. 1. 
 Blefs the Lord my Soul, and all that is within ?ne blefs his 
 
 holy 
 
$z6 The Mercy of God apply 'd. 
 
 holy Name. Such as have been Monuments of Mercy, 
 fhould be Trumpets of Praife. 
 
 2dly. Love God. Mercy is a powerful Excitement to 
 this, Pfa. xviii. i . / will Love thee O Lord my Strength, 
 Surely that Heart is harder than Marble andAdamant, which 
 Mercy will not melt. " I would hate my own Sari (faith 
 " Auftin) // / did not find it loving God* We mould love 
 God for outward Comforts, but much more for fpecial and 
 enduring Mercies. 
 
 3dly. Let us imitate the Mercy of God in mewing Mer- 
 cy to our fellow Creatures, God is the Father of Mercy, 
 fhew yourfelves to be his Children, by being like him. It 
 was a juft, Obfervation of Amhrofe, " That the Sum of'Re- 
 " ligion is to be rich in Works of Mercy." O let the Lamp 
 of our Profefhon be fiil'd with the Oyl of Mercy ! And to 
 this our dear Lord exhorts us, Mat. vi. 36. Be merciful as 
 your Father alfo is merciful, 
 
 But let the Defpifers and Abusers of Mercy, who go on in 
 a Courfe of any of the Evils before mentioned, which pro- 
 cure the Judgments of God, be intreated to repent and re- 
 form fpeedilv, other wife ye may expect the dreadful Effects 
 of divine Severity in fome or all of the Inftances thereof 
 before exprelfed ! By your ungrateful Returns for Mercies 
 receiv'd, You treafure up Wrath againft the Day of Wrath y 
 and the Revelation of the righteous Judgment of ' Gcd. Tho' 
 God be Gracious and Merciful^ Jlow to Wrath, yet he will by 
 no means clear the Guilty.. 
 
 SERMON 
 
The Grace of God. 327 
 
 SERMON XVIL 
 
 EXODUS xxxiv. 6. 
 
 And the Lord pa fed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, 
 the Lord God, Merciful and Gracious, Long-fuff erring. 
 
 OU may remember that in the preceeding Sermon 
 
 upon this Text, after the Explication of it, I dif- 
 
 courfed upon the Mercy of God. The next divine 
 
 Attribute that comes now, according to the .Order 
 
 of our Text, to be confider'd, is the Grace of God. The 
 
 Lord is Merciful and Gracious. 
 
 There is Nothing more frequently mentioned in Scripture, 
 than the Grace oj God. I mail mention but a few ParTages, 
 for if I mould take Notice of all, I mull tranfcribe a great 
 part of the Bible. Ephef. i. 6. To the Praife oj the Glory 
 of his Grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. 
 Pfal. cxii. 14. He is Gracious and ftdl of Compaff on. 2 Cor. 
 xiii. 14. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, a?td the 
 Love of. God be with you all. In fpeaking upon this Subject 
 I purpofe, 
 
 I. To explain its Nature. 
 
 II. Shew its Kinds. 
 
 III. Mention fome Confiderations, fervingto manifeil its 
 Sovereignty and Glory. 
 
 IV, 
 
328 The Grace of God explained 
 
 IV. Confider what is realy and feemingly opposed there- 
 to, and then proceed to fome Improvement . 
 
 I return to conliderthe firiT: proposed, which was to 
 explain the Nature of the Grace of' God. Now the Word 
 Grace lignifies fomething that is free, as was obferv'd in 
 the preceeding Sermon, and it is taken two Ways, either 
 for an Attribute of God, which is in God, or for the Gift 
 of God, which is from God. In the firft Senfe the Grace 
 of God fignifies his free and fovereign Benevolence, by 
 which he peculiarly favours and doth Good to his Crea- 
 tures, whence God is call'd Gracious as in our Text, i. e. 
 Endow'd with Grace. As from his Goodnefs he is cali'd 
 Goody and from his Juftice Juft. The Gifts of God, which 
 are the Effects of the Grace that is in him, are metoni- 
 micaly call'd Grace, efpecially fuch of them as are Peculi- 
 ar and Special, /'. e. Such as are confer'd upon fome, rather 
 than others. Hence fome Divines obferve, that the Word 
 Grace intends either ill. The Grace freely Giving, (Matt. 
 xi. 26.) Which they term (Gratiam gratis da fit em J or 
 the free Favour of God, or the Grace freely given, (which 
 they call Gratiam gratis datam.) And this imports any 
 Kind of Benefit which the Almighty confers upon his Crea- 
 tures, whether Good or Bad, which makes them not in the 
 leait the more acceptable to God. Or thirdly the Grace 
 which makes acceptable, (which they term Gratiam gratum 
 facientem) viz. All the faving Gifts of God, Faith, Hope, 
 Charity, by which we pleafe him. 
 
 Now the Grace of God maybe thus defcribed viz. That 
 is a Property oj the Deity, whereby he is inclind to difpenfe 
 undeferved Kindnefses upon his Creatures frei l\\ and in a fbve- 
 rcignWay* The Difpenfations of Grace have no Depend- 
 ance upon any Dignity, or Merit of Creatures upon whom 
 Benefits are confer'd. {Rom. xi 6.) But the. whole Rea- 
 
 ibn 
 
Tide different Kinds of Grace, j 2 9 
 
 Ion thereof is the good Pleafure of God's Will, (Mat. xi. 
 26.) which refpects ail Creatures, even to the noblefl An- 
 gels. Whatever any of thefe enjoy, they have it of Grace, 
 for who among all created Reings, has firft given to God v 
 and itjhallbe reotifpenfedto him again Rom. xi. 35. In the 
 mean Time, thefe Things are more properly and peculiar- 
 ly afcrib'd to Grace, which are different from Nature. Na- 
 ture and Grace mould not be confounded ; fuch Things as 
 by the kind Constitution of God, belong to every Creature 
 according to their different kinds, are not uiually call'd 
 Grace, becaufe, tho' they be undue, yet they belong to Na-- 
 ture. But to make this more plain, let us conilder the 
 
 2d. Proposed, which was to fpeak of the Kinds of Grace ; 
 and here it may be obferv'd, that Grace is Three-fold 3 . 
 viz. Univerfaly common,- and faying. And 
 
 1 ft. Univerfal Grace is that, whereby febovah difpenfes' 
 natural Things upon a/Ihis Creatures, and hence he is call'd 
 the Saviour of all Men. 1 Tim. iv. 10. And is laid to pre- 
 ffrve Man and Beafl, Pia. xxxvi. 6. He cauies his Sun to 
 rife upon the Fields of the Evil and the Goody and fends his 
 Rain upon the fuft and Unjufl ; He gives to Man Life, 
 Health, Strength, and all the Supports he enjoys therein, all 
 which being undeferv'd, may be call'd Grace - y but accord- 
 ing to the Ufage of Scripture^ and Antiquity,, they feldom 
 and lefs properly bear that Name, 
 
 2dly, Common Grace co/ififls in the Communication of 'mo-- 
 ral good Things upon Men promifcuoufy, whether they be good 
 or bad, eleSl or not elec~t, fuch as natural Wifdom 1 and Pru- 
 dence, and all the Train of moral Verities, in which- even fome 
 Pagans have excell'd, And to thefe we may add, all out- 
 ward religious Priviledgcs and Means of Grace 3 together ' 
 with thofe tranfient Effects which are fometimes produced,. 
 by them upon the Unregenerate, fuch as ibrne kind of Illu- - 
 
 T t sanation,* 
 
3 3 o The Nature of faving Grace. 
 
 mination, and Stirrings of religious Affection. In a Word 
 all thofe commonOperations of theHoly Spirit, which are not 
 follow'd by a habitual and faving Change, muft be aicrib'd 
 hereto. Of thefe mention is made Heb. vi. i. c, 6. and 
 alfo in the Parable of the Sower, Mat. xiii. 20, 21. But 
 he that received the Seed Into Stony Places, the fame is he that 
 hcareth the Word, and anon with Joy receiveth it, yet ',.. th 
 he not Root in himfelf hut dureth for a while, for when Tri- 
 bulation or Per (edition arifeth, becaufe of the Word, by 
 by he is offended. But 
 
 3 dry. Saving Grace is that undue or undeferved Lve of 
 God, whereby he confers upon the EleSi only, faving Benefits, of 
 his own meer good Pieafure. Here obierve 
 
 1 ft. That it is Love , or the kind Inclination or Propen- 
 iion of God's Will to communicate good to his Elec\ 
 
 2diy. It is indue, undeferved Love. The Objects of this 
 Love, eonfider'd ac Creatures, can merit no Good at the 
 Hand of God, feeing they have receiv'd their All from 
 him, furely they cannot put the Almighty in their Debt, 
 by giving him what is his own 3 and eonfider'd as Sinners, 
 who by their voluntary Tranlgreffiph, have fallen fhort of 
 his Glory, they deferve. his high and dread : ;> re. 
 
 3dly. It is diftinguijhing Love, manifefted to the Eleft 
 in a fovereign Way, according to the good Pieafure cfil :'s 
 Will. Ephef. i. 9. That is given to one winch is denied to 
 another, and only becaufe it is God's Pieafure. Herice 
 is that Querry of one of Christ's Difciples. John xiv. 22. 
 Lord how is that then wilt mamfefi thy felf to us^ and not 
 to the World And does not our Lord himfelf, thank his 
 eternal Father for the Difplays of his S ' in this 
 
 Refpecl, Mat. xi. 25, 26. I thank thee O Father, Lord of 
 Heaven and Earth, becaufe thou hajl hid thefe Thin 
 the Wife and Prudent, and revealed the in unto Babes, even ft 
 
 her. 
 
Flcd'iion of pure Grace. 331 
 
 Father, for fo it fecmed good in thy Sight. It is but a few, a 
 Remnant of the fallen Race of Mankind, upon whom God 
 is pleafed to vouchfafe, and in whom he is r leafed to glorify,, 
 his fpecjal Grace Lukexm. 24. Rom. ix. 2, 7. Eiaias cryeth 
 alfq^ concerning Ifrael, tho* the Number of the Children of \{~ 
 rael, be as the Sand of the Sea, a Remnant Jkall be jiaifed. 
 
 4thiy. It is efficacious Love, which confers faving Benefits^ 
 hence it is call' d the Grace of God, which bringeih Salvation* 
 Tit. ii. 11. And the Bleuangs it vouchsafes, are term'd Things 
 that accompany Salvation Heb. vi. 0. And hence the Pialmift 
 prays, Ff. cvi. 4. Rememh r me G Lord, with the Favour 
 that thou bear eft unto thy Feople. vifii me with thy Salva- 
 on f that I may fee the Good of thy CI /< n, that I may rejoyee 
 in the Gladnejs of thy Nation, that I may glory with thine 
 Inheritance. And here it may he neceflary to obierve par- 
 ticularly that divine Love confers freely upon the Elect,. 
 or Concerts, for them the following important Benefits, viz. 
 
 ift. Election, this is free and gracious, without Faith or 
 "Works fovcihen Ram. xi. 5. Even, fq then, at this prefent 
 Time aljh, there is a Remiuznt according to the Election of 
 Grace. Ephef. i. 5. Having f rede filiated us, unto the Adop- 
 tion of Children, by Jesus Christ to him f elf according to the 
 good F leaf' re of his Will. If it be by Grace it is no more 
 of Works, etherwife Grace would be no more Grace, and Works 
 d be no more Works. Rom. xi. 6. To the fame Effect the 
 Apcfile elfewhere obicrves That it is not of him ihatveiUeth, 
 nor cf him that runneth, hut of God ' that fieweth Mercy, Rom- 
 i::. 16. It is inconfiftent with the Independency and Immu- 
 tability of God, to fuppofe that any Thing without him* 
 mould alter or incline his WilL 
 
 2dly. Redt 1 is likewke oi Free Grace. The contri- 
 
 vance of this Scheme cf Happinefs, as well as the /ending of 
 the biefled Son of God id ericct it, by his Obedience and 
 
 T t 2. Sufferings, 
 
3 3 2 Redemption of pure Grace. 
 
 and Sufferings were marvellous Difplays of the Fathers 
 pure Affection to a miferable World ! i John vi. 10, 
 Herein is Love, not that we loved God, but that he loved 
 us, and fent his So?i to be the Propitiation for our 
 Sins. And to what elfe than Free Grace, can we afcrihe 
 ■God the Father's Acceptance, of the Surety/hip of Christ 
 in the Sinners Room and Place? Strict Juftice certainly 
 demands perfonal Satisfaction ; and does not the Love of 
 Christ pafs Knowledge, in that he who is over all God 
 .blefled for ever came into a State of the loweft Abate- 
 ment, voluntarily to fave worthlefs Duft from perpetual 
 Ruin ? How fweetly does the Apoftle Paul fpeak to this Ef- 
 fect ? 2 Cor. viii. q. For ye know the Grace of our Lord jE- 
 SUS CHRIST that tho' he was Rich, yet for your Sakes he be- 
 came Poor -, that ye thro' his Poverty might be Rich. Befides 
 it maybe here obferv'd, that Redemption by the Satisfacti- 
 on of Christ, is frequently in Scripture reurain'd to a cer- 
 tain Number, who are call'd the People of God, the Sheep 
 of Christ, and luch as were given to him by his Father 
 Mat. i. 21. John x. 15. xvii. 9. 
 
 Albeit the Blood of the Son of God be of infinite Value, 
 and therefore the Satisfaction made by it, may in this ret- 
 pect be faid to be univerfal 5 yet inafmuch as it was neither 
 the Defign of the Father, nor the Son, that it mould be 
 Jpent for all, fo as to be faved by it. It is therefore to be 
 referred to lingular Grace. Moreover 
 
 3<ilv. The Application of Redemption in all it's Branches, 
 is of Free Grace, as may appear by the following In- 
 duction of Particulars, viz. 
 
 lit. Effectual Calling, is faid to be according to God *j 
 Purpofe. Rom. viii. 29. 
 
 2dly. Faith is call'd the Gift of God, Ephef. ii. 8. For 
 by Grace are ye fav 'd 'thro' Faith, and that not of your feh s, 
 it is the Gift of God, odly. 
 
Jufif cation and Adoption ojfree Grace, 333 
 
 3 dly. Co fiver/ion is not of Fief ., or Blood ?ior of the Will of 
 Man but of God. None of thefe Graces which I have men- 
 tioned, are the Fruits of Free Will: For we are not fufficicnt 
 io think any Thing as of ourf elves, but our fuffciency isoj God. 
 .2 Cor. iii. 5. No they are all the Fruits of the Spirit. Gal. 
 v. 22. Who produces them not by moral Swaiion like 
 poor Creatures, but by an Almighty creating Power, taking 
 away the Stony FLeart, and giving a Heart ofFiefi. ( 1 Cor. 
 iii. 5, 6. Pf. li. ig. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27.) And 
 
 4thly. fufiification, whereby an elect Sinner is freed 
 from the Guilt of Sin, and hath a Right to eternal Happi- 
 mefs, is of free Grace. Rom. iii. 24. Being jujiifed freely 
 J>y his Grace, thro' the Redemption that is in Christ 
 Jesus. It is entirely without Works, Gal. ii. 16. Knowing 
 that a Man is not jufliff d by the Works of the Law, but 
 
 -by the Faith of Jesus Christ, For by the Works of the 
 
 Law fall ?70 Flejh be jujiifed ? 
 
 5tb.lv. Our Adoption or Right to the important Priviledges 
 •of Children, and joint Heirfhip with Christ is alfo of 
 pure Grace, Ephef. i. 4, 6, Having predcjlinated us unto 
 the Adoption of Children by Jesus Christ to himfelf, ac- 
 cording to the good Plcafure of his Will, to the Praife of 
 the Glory of his Grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in 
 the beloved. 
 
 6th!y. Our Salvation, in regard of the Right thereto, 
 is of Grace. And hence eternal Life is laid to be the Gift 
 of God, thro' Jesus Christ our Lord, Rom. vi. 23. And 
 eliewhere we are laid exprefiy to be fav'dby Grace, Ephef. 
 ii. 3. In the mean Time it mould be remembred, that 
 good Works are the Way to the Kingdom, tho' they be not 
 the Caufe of our reigning, as Barnard of old obferv'd. Tho* 
 our Right to Happinefs is of Grace, as was before obferv'd, 
 yet the Almighty hath by his gracious Conftitution, fo or- 
 dered 
 
334 ffl je Sovereignty cf Grace, 
 
 dered the Matter, that good Works are necefiary to the 
 PoiTcilion of it. (Mat. xxv. 21, 34, 35.) I proceed 
 to the 
 
 3d. Propos'd, which was to mention feme Confideraticns. 
 ferving to manifeftthe Sovereignty and Gkry of God's Grace. 
 And iff. Methinks the Glory of divine Grace appears 
 by confidering the Author of it, who is a Being infinitely 
 and invariable Happy in himfeif, as well as efientialiy and 
 eternally Glorious : And fo neither needs the Services of 
 Creatures, nor can be benefited by them. Our Goodnefs 
 extends not to him, neither is it any Gain to the Almighty 
 that we are Righteous. To acknowledge God's Glory, adds 
 no more to its Luftre than ipcukiner well of the natural 
 Sun adds to its Beauty. 
 
 It may be here alio oblcrv'd, that JebsvaB would h&vi 
 had Millions of Angels to celebrate his Praise and execute 
 his Pleaiure, altho' he had made Ins Juitice triumph m 
 the Ruin of the whole human Race j which certainly he 
 might have dene. Or he could have fc'rm'd innumera- 
 ble Creatures of a more noble Order, then any of the 
 Creation to celebrate the Glory of his Attributes, if k had 
 fo pleas'd his Majefty : For he is Almighty in Power,, 
 hath the refidue ofthe Spirit, end can rane up Children 
 even out ofthe Stones to Abrani. But 
 
 2dly. Let us ebfcfider the ObjeSf upon which this divine 
 Grace is conferrM, and we ihall find 
 
 1 ft. That it is Man, not Angels. Our Saviour took 
 not on him the Nature of Angels, but the Seed of .. 
 becaufe he deiign'd to fave the one, end to referve thofe 
 that fell ofthe other, in Chains under D&rknefi, unto 
 the Judgment cf the great Day. What is Man but Duft 
 and Ames ? A Worm that is cnifh'd bee; the Moth, al- 
 together unworthy of the kind Notice of the great a 
 
The Sovereignty arJ GJcry of free Grace, 3 3 e 
 
 rious God ! How amazing is the dillinguiming Grace of 
 God in palling by Creatures of a higher Order, and fixing 
 his Love upon Man ? 
 
 2dly. It is Sinners, upon whom divine Grace is confer 'd. 
 Man by Creation was but Dud, but by Sin he is become 
 polluted Dud, and 10 Odious and Loathfome, as well as 
 Wretched and Miferable ! And this doleful State he has 
 wilfully brought himfelf into, and wilfully continues in 
 again ft all the Remonstrances of Confcience, againfl all- 
 the kind Importunities of a condefcending God and Saviour ! 
 Man by Sin has. brought this twofold Mifcry upon him- 
 felf, ift. That he deferves no Good. And 2diy. That he de- 
 ierves all Evil ! How can thefe deferve Good at the Hand, 
 of God, whofe Perfons and Performances are cover'd 
 with Deformity and Pollution ? Indeed we deferve not the 
 leaft. common Mercy, how much lefs then can we merit 
 fpecial Benefits ? Gen. xxxii. 10. I am not worthy of the 
 leaft of all the Mercies •, and of all the Truth which thou haft 
 faew'd unto thy Servant ! Men in a State of Nature are un- 
 profitable Creatures, they are neither prepar'd to receive Be- 
 nefits, nor able to prepare themfelves, feeing they are dead 
 in Sins and Trefpafles. And by their multiply 'd Impieties 
 they deferve the divine Difpleafure, and provoke him to in- 
 fl-cl it. As they are Children of Wrath by Nature, fo 
 they weary the Almighty by continued Iniquities in Practice, 
 {Ephef. ii. 3. If a. xliii. 24.) And 
 
 gdly. The Perfons to whom divine Grace is given, are 
 Enemies to God, both in their Minds and Lives, Rom. 
 viii. 7. The Carnal Mind is Enmity againfl God, jor it is 
 not Suhjecl to the Law of God, neither indeed can be ! Now 
 Enmity imports a high Degree of fixed and implacable 
 Spite, O dreadful State ! This inward Enmity, unregene- 
 rate Sinners bewray by their Rebellion againfl God, in 
 
 Practice 
 
2?6 The Sovereignty and Glory of free Grace, 
 
 Practice and cruel Confederacies with his declared Enemies 
 Col. i. 21. And you that were fometime allienated, and Ene- 
 mies in your Mind by wicked Works, yet now hath he recon- 
 ciled. 
 
 4thly. It is generally the poorer and meaner Sort of Men,. 
 that are fwour'd with divine Grace, while the Rich, Ho- 
 nourable, and Great are pafled by. Many who make a 
 confiderable Figure in the World by the Keenefs of their 
 natural and acquired Endowments, and by the Splendor of 
 their outward Circumstances, who are entirely deftitute of 
 fpecial Grace, while others who are Poor and defpis'd are 
 favour- d therewith!. This Subject the Apoftle Pmd di£ 
 courfes largely upon,, i Cor. i. 26,-— 20. Not many Migh- 
 ty, not many Noble are call'd, but God hath ehofin the fcolifi 
 Things of the World, to confound the Wife, and the Weak 
 Things of the World,, to cojfoundthe Things that are Migh- 
 ty • and bafe Things of the World, and Things which are de- 
 fpis'd, hath God chofen • yea Things that are not, to bring to 
 nought Things that are, 
 
 rthly.Many of thofe to whom divine Grace is given, 
 were before Converfion notorious Sinners, fome Blafphemers, 
 Perfecutors, and Injurious : Thefe Things the Apofcle Paul 
 afcribes to himfelf, he fhut up many of the Saints in Pri- 
 fon, confented to their Death, Punifh'd them in every Sy- 
 nagogue, compell'd them to Blafphcme, and being exceed- 
 ing mad againft them, he perfecuted them to (frange Cities. 
 (Ac7. xxvi. 10. 11,. 1 Tim. i. 13, 15.) Some, before 
 Converfion, have been Idolaters, as the Ebhefans. Some 
 Fornicators, Adulterers,. Effeminate, Abufens, of themfehes 
 with Mankind, Thieves, Covetous, Drunkards, Rev//:rs. 
 Extortioners, fuch were fome of the Corinthians, and yet 
 they WQVGwaf b'd, fancli/i'd and ju/lifi'd 1. Cor. vi. 9. 11. 
 O. rich and glorious Grace ! How admirable is the Grace 
 
 ace 
 oi 
 
The Sovereignty and Glory of Free Grace. 337 
 
 of God, in the Inftance of Manajfth's Converfion ? Who 
 tho' a Conjurer a Murderer, and one who defpis'd God, 
 and bid defiance to Heaven in Profperity, yet when -in 
 Adverfity he humbled himfelf and made Supplication to Je- 
 hovah, was gracioully heard and accepted. {zChron. xxxiii. 
 9, 12, 13.) I mall only add the famous Inftance of Mary 
 Magdalen, who was a notorious Sinner. This poor Wo- 
 man loved much, becaufe much was forgiven her ; her 
 Heart was fo melted with a Senfe of divine Goodnefs, that 
 Ihe could warn our Lords Feet with her Tears \ (Lukevn.) 
 3clly. The Glory of divine Grace appears not only from 
 it's Author and 0bje5l y but alfo from the Seafon in which 
 it is vouchfaf'd. The Almighty bellows Benefits upon his 
 People, at fuch Sealons, when they are mofc fuitable. In the 
 Mount oj Difficulty and Di/irefs, the Lord isfeen, yea he is a 
 very prefent Help in Trouble. When Sinners have wearied 
 themfelves in the greatnefs of their Way, and thro' a Series 
 of Difappointments are brought to the kft Extremity, the 
 bleiTed God manifefts his Grace and Mercy ! And thus 
 when gracious Perfons are encircled with manifold Miferies, 
 outward and inward, and their forrowful Hearts are ready 
 to fink into Defpondency, with a long continu'd opprefiive 
 Weight of Woe, from which they can hardly fee any way 
 of Deliverance 3 they are defolate and afflicted, their Hearts 
 almoft overwhelm'd, then Jehovah lends Deliverance ! 
 (Pfa. xxv. 16, 17.) And they are as thofe that dream-- 
 ed. When the companionate Jehovah returns to his 
 People, after their finful Wandrings from him. O ! It 
 makes them admire the pure and glorious Riches of divine 
 Grace ! And truly the Lord teaches his People more and 
 more of this Doctrine, namely, the freenefs of his Grace, 
 while' they are in the World. And 
 
 U is 4thly,- 
 
33 8 7^* Sovereignty and Glory of Free Grace. 
 
 4thly The freenefs of divine Grace appears likewife 
 from the Manner in which divine Benefits are confer'd e.g. 
 we contribute nothing to the Change wrought upon us by 
 Converfion. The natural Byafs of our Wills is againft it, 
 and this Reluctance and Oppofition remains, until it be 
 overcome by the Almighty Power of God, who is hence 
 faid to make his People a willing People in the Day of his 
 Power. PfaL ciii. That Alteration of Difpofitions which 
 is imply'd in Converfion, is not defir'd by the Sinner be- 
 fore it j tho' unregenerate Sinners defire to be deliver'd 
 from Mifery, yet they do not defire to be deliver'd from 
 Sin the Caufe of it ! For that is as their right Eye, and 
 right Arm! Well then feeing thoie Benefits. whereby the 
 Soul is tancTtified are undeferv'd, undefir'd, yea oppos'd by the 
 unconverted, furely then they muff be freely vouchfar'd. But 
 
 5thly, The Riches of divine Grace appear from the 
 Nature of the Benefits confer'd 3 which are attended with 
 thefe two following Properties, viz. Freedom from the 
 greateft Evils, and a Right to, and Poffefjion of, the greateft 
 Good. Sinners while in a State of Unregeneracy are im- 
 mers'd in, and expOs'd to the greateff. Evils, both moral and 
 penal. They are under the Dominion of Sin, and all o- 
 ver tainted by it ; and by Reafon thereof they are expos'd 
 to the Curie and Wrath ofGod, in this and the next World. 
 They are in a Dungeon of Darknefs and Diftreis, in a Pit 
 in which there is no Water ! Bound and fhackled with the 
 heavy Curfc of God, void of Light and Beauty, and co- 
 ver'd with the baieft Deformity ! Now the Benefits of di- 
 vine Grace, bring the Sinner from this Depth of Woe, 
 loole his Shakles, and relcafe him out of Prifon ! Hereby 
 he is freed from the Guilt of Sin, thro' the Rightcoufhels of 
 Christ imputed to him, and hereby he is freed from 
 the Dominion of it, thro' the fanctifying Influences of the 
 
 Holy 
 
What is opposed to divine Grace, 339 
 
 Holy Spirit ; and as he is thus freed frrom the greateft E- 
 vils by divine Grace, io he is thereby entitled to, and made 
 a PofTefTor of the greateft Good, both Phyfical and moral, 
 being made a Partaker of the divine Love, and beautified 
 with the Divine Image, viz. Holinefs. By the former 
 he is refrefh'd, and by the latter adorn'd. And as he is un- 
 der the unerring Conduct and Almighty Protection of God 
 here, fo he is entitled to the perfect Enjoyment ot God 
 hereafter ; which is the greateft Good, that it is poftible 
 for a Creature to receive. I proceed to the 
 
 4th. Propos'd, which was to confider, what is really 
 and feemingly opposed to the Grace of God. Now the Things 
 that are oppos d really, arc thefe two, viz, Nature and 
 Merit. And 
 
 1 ft. Nature. Hereby we are Children of Wrath y being dead 
 in Trefpajfes and Sins, Eph. ii. 1, 3. By Nature we have blind 
 Minds, and ftony Hearts, neither diicern the Things that 
 be of God, nor are willing to be fubjecl: thereto, 1 Cor.. 
 ii. 14. The natural Man underjlands not the Thi?igs of the 
 Spirit of God, nither can he diicern them, becaufe they are 
 fpiritually difcemed, Rom. viii. 7. The carnal Mind is En- 
 mity againfl God r it is not fubjecl to the Law of God, neither 
 indeed can be. Nature in its prefent fallen and corrupted 
 State, fights againft the Grace of God, as long as it can. 
 And therefore the Citadel of Man's Heart, muft be taken 
 by Storm, if the King of Glory takes PoiTefiion of it. And 
 
 2dly The Papal Doclrine of the Merits of Works T in the 
 Bufinefs of Juftification, directly oppofes the Grace of God : 
 For Grace is undue and undeferved Love, as was mewn be- 
 fore Rom. iii. 28. We conclude that a J^Sin is juflified by 
 Faith, without the Deeds of the Law. If it be of Works, it 
 is no more of Grace, otherwife Works would be no raorcWorks y 
 ajid Grace would be no more Grace*. But to proceed, 
 
 U u 2 3dly 
 
34^ What divine Wrath includes, 
 
 3<ily. The Wrath of God is feemingly oppos'd to Grace. 
 Now the Wrath of God is no other, than his vindicative 
 Juftice, or Difpoiition to punifh the Guilty j which in- 
 cludes three Things in it. 
 
 i ft A Purpofe pf punijhing the Tr anfgreffor, Rom. i. 18. 
 For the Wrath of God is revealed Jrom Heaven, againjl all Tin- 
 go dlinefs and Unrighteoufnefs of Men, who hold the Truth in 
 Unrighteoufnefs. 
 
 2dly. It includes the Denunciation of the aforefaid Pur- 
 pofe by Threatnings Pf. vii. 11, 12, 13. God is angry 
 with the Wicked every Day, if he turn not he will whet his 
 Sword i he hath be?ithis Bow and made it ready. He hath al- 
 fo prepared for him the Injlrument of Death he ordaineth his 
 Arrows again/l the Perfect/tors, 
 
 3 dry* It includes the Execution of the Threat nings, by all 
 Kinds of Revenge and Judgments. Ephef. v. 6. Let no Man 
 deceive you, with vain Words, for becaufe thefe Things, comet h 
 the Wrath oj God upon the Children of Difobedience, i. e. Fruits 
 and Effecls of Wrath in divine 'Judgments. Sin wrongs the 
 Almighty by infulting his Sovereignty andLegiilative Autho- 
 rity, by contradicting his unfpotted Holinefs, and by flight- 
 ing the Riches of his Goodnefs. By Sin God is wrong'd, 
 and rob'd of that Tribute of Honour and Service which is 
 due to him, from all created Beings, by the ftxongcn 1 claims 
 of Right, viz. Creation, Prefervation, Provifion ; And 
 fome are under the additional Engagement of redeeming 
 Love. It is Sin therefore, that ftirs up the divine Wrath, 
 and becaufe there be various Aggravations of Sin, therefore 
 there are various Degrees of Wrath excited thereby, and 
 proportion 'd thereto. And hence the Scriptures fpeaking 
 after the manner of Men, make mention of God's hot Dil- 
 pleafure. Fury, and Rage, P/.vi. 1 . Eze k. yiii. 18. Therefore 
 will 1 alfo deaf in Fury, mine F.ve Jhall not fpare, neither will 
 
 I 
 
The good Tendency of divine Grace, 341 
 
 J have Pity, and tho' they cry in mineEars, with a loud Voice ^ 
 yet I will not hear them. Job xl. 1 1 , Caft abroad the Rage 
 of thy Wrath, Thefe Expreffions do not fignify any Tumult 
 of Paffion in God, for he is incapable of Paffion, being 
 fimple, immutable, and perfect ! They ferve therefore only 
 to reprefent the great contrariety of the Nature of God to 
 Sin, as well as the more dreadful Effects of his Wrath up- 
 on heinous Tranfgreilbrs ! But in the mean Time, it may 
 be obferv'd, that the Wrath of God in every Inftance of it 
 is terrible, and irrefutable ; becaufe it proceeds from an 
 infinite and Almighty God. And hence it's compar'd to a 
 burning Fire, and to a Whirlwind, that fweeps all before it. 
 Zeph. i. And except Repentance intervene, it will be con- 
 tinual and eternal. 
 
 Altho' the Doctrine of Free-Grace has been abus'd into 
 Licentioufnefs, by fome fordid Spirits, which the Apoftle 
 Paul mentions with great Abhorrence ! Pom. vi. i, 2. Shall 
 we continue in Sin that Grace may abound, God j or bid ! Yet 
 it's Defign and Tendency is to promote the Contrary. And 
 indeed nothing more powerfully incites an ingenuous Mind 
 to Holineis, than the Confideration of God's free and diftin- 
 guiming Grace. And here it is to be noted, that tho' Al- 
 mighty God, gives his Grace freely, that fo no Creature 
 Jljould have Occa/ion of boa/ling or glorying in his Prefence. 
 Yet ordinarily he vouchiafes it in the Ufe of appointed 
 Means ; that fo there may be no Umbrage for Negligence, 
 but on the Contrary, all that excitement to Duty, which can 
 confifi: with the divine Sovereignty ! Thefe Things are excel- 
 lently reprefented in the xxxvith chap, of Ezek. from the 
 xxvith to the xxxviith verie there. Tho' the Almighty 
 promifes to confer faving Benefits, yet he tells them, that 
 for all thefc Things, he will be enquired of by them. But it's 
 Time to offer a Word of improvement. And 
 
 rfi 
 
342 Practical Inferences. 
 
 i ft. From what has been faid we may learn, that all 
 thofe Doctrines which aicribe any Part of our Salvation, 
 to our Endeavours, as meritorious Caufes thereof, are very 
 derogatory to the Glory of God, and the Defign of his Gof- 
 pel; which is to magnify the Exceeding Riches of God's 
 Grace ! Ephef. i. Such who feek after Right eoufnefs as it were 
 by the Works of the haw are not like to attain it. Juftifica- 
 tion is not to be attain'd by a Dependance upon our Endea- 
 vours, we muft come to God as Beggars, and ask an Alms 
 of Free-Grace, otherwile we mail be rejected. 
 
 2dly. We mould examine ourlelves whether we are 
 Partakers of God's fpecial Grace, in the Inftances before 
 mentioned, of effectual Calling, Faith, Juftification, Conver- 
 iion, Adoption ; have we by thefe Things been brought to 
 a high prizing of Christ above all others, to a Child-like- 
 Familiarity with God,, to a habitual holy, humble, hea- 
 venly and loving Temper of Mind, and Courfe of Behavi- 
 our, if fo, let us rejoyce in Christ Jesus in all outward 
 DiftrerTes, let us ever admire the Sovereign and diftinguifh- 
 ing Grace of God •> and give to God the Glory of it in 
 Heart, Speech, and Practice- 
 But fuch of you as have not found the afbrefaid Experien- 
 ces, rejoyce not for foy, as other People, for ye have gone a 
 *t*horing from God ! Let your Laughter be turn' d into Mourn- 
 ing and your Joy ifito Heavinefs ! Cry frequently and ear- 
 neitly to God, for fovereign laving Grace, and reft in no 
 Duties or Ordinances fhort of it. 
 
 Is the Grace of God free ? Then the greateft Tranfgrel- 
 fors mould not defpair of God's Mercy, tho' your Iniquities 
 rival the Stars for Multitude, and in their Agravations are 
 red as Crimfon and Scarlet, yet Free Grace can ealily blot 
 them out, as a thick Cloud, and make them white as Snow ! 
 Therefore let fenfible Sinners, be encouraged to come to, 
 and believe in the God of Grace ; For where Sin has a- 
 
 j houndedi 
 
Trattical Inferences, 3- 4 3 
 
 founded) there Grace has much more abounded. The greater 
 your Tranfgreffions are, the greater Glory God will get 
 to his Grace in forgiving them ! The Pfalmift was aware 
 of this, and therefore plead with God, to pardon his Ini- 
 quities becaufe they were exceeding great. 
 
 And methinks the Doctrine of Free Grace fliould power- 
 fully induce us to Humility, feeing that it is God only, 
 who has made us to differ from others, and that we have 
 nothing but what we have receiv'd. We are his Debtors, 
 for all we have in Hand or Hope. The Nature of Grace 
 fuppofes the Object, upon whom it is vouchfaf d, unworthy 
 of it. A continued humbling Senfe of this, would as much 
 conduce to our Benefit, as Ornament. 
 
 And feeing the good God is pleas'd to heap many unde- 
 ferved KindnefTes freely upon us, why mould we not imi- 
 tate his Grace, by conferring Benefits upon our fellow Crea- 
 tures, without any regard to Dignity, or Hopes of a reward 
 from them : By this we mould glorify God and convince 
 •Others that we are his Children. 
 
 In fine, let me in the Name of the gracious God my 
 Lord and Mailer, earnestly befeech poor Sinners of every 
 Order to haften as for their Lives to that Fountain of Grace 
 that is in Christ. Think not to put the Almighty in 
 your Debt by your doings, for if Grace be not Free it is 
 not Grace, Sinners abufe not the Grace of God by Delays, 
 and other Impieties, or expect his inflam'd Wrath to a- 
 venge the Ingratitude I Let the wicked Man forfake his Way y 
 and the imrighteous Man his thofs y and turn unto God and 
 he will have Mercy on l:iw, and to our God for he will a- 
 bundanth Bardon. 
 
 I add no more at prefent, may the Almighty and gra- 
 cious God blefs his Word, that has been ofFer'd in his Name 
 to our fpecial and enduring Benefit, Amen. 
 
 SERMON 
 
;44 Divine Patience opetfd. 
 
 SERMON XVIIL 
 
 EXODUS xxxiv. 6. 
 
 And the Lordpajfed by kef ore him , a?id proclaimed \ the Lord » 
 
 the Lord God, Merciful and Gracious, Long-fuffering. 
 
 HAving in the preceeding Sermon dhcours'd upon 
 the Grace of God. The next divine Attribute that 
 offers it felf to our prefent Meditations from the 
 Text, is the Patience and Long-fujfering of God. 
 And this the iacred Scriptures frequently afcribe to him, 
 Nahum i. 3. The Lord is flow to anger and great in Power. 
 Pfa. ciii. 8. The Lord is Gracious and Merciful, Jlow to- 
 Anger, and plentious in Mercy. Iia. xxx.. 18. And therejore 
 
 nanll the Lord wait that he may be Gracious unto you. 
 
 In difcourfing upon this divine Attribute of Patience^, 
 or Long-fuffering, I fhall 
 
 I. Speak of its Nature*. 
 
 II. Of its Riches.. 
 
 III. Of its Rcafons, And 
 
 IV. Of its Confiftency with vindicative jfuflice. And then 
 proceed to the Improvement. I return to the 
 
 1 ft. Propos'd, which was to fpeak of the Nature of 
 divine Patience. Here it may beobicrv'd, that tho' Pati- 
 ence and Long-iufFering in Creatures differ realy, for the 
 former feems only to fignity our inability to punifhan Offen- 
 der, and the latter our Uhwillingnefs to do it, when in our 
 
 Power 
 
Divine "Patience open* a*. 345" 
 
 Power, but in God they are the fame, and can be only 
 diftinguiih'd, as to the Degree of Duration or Continuance. 
 Long-fufFering is only a Sufpeniion of Wrath for a longer 
 Time: This being the Cafe I mall .not therefore treat of 
 them diftinctly,- but proceed to. obferve^* that the Patience 
 of God may bethirs ..deferib'd, viz. ThatAt'.is-a Branch^qf 
 his Mercy whereby he- long defers deferred Wrath, and mo- 
 derates the Executions of .it. in this World towards guilty 
 Creatures. Here: obferve id. That the Object of God's 
 Patience, is guilty Creatures,;." An innocent Creature 
 " cannot be the Object of it, .becaufe avenging Juftice 
 " has no Demand upon him, he may be the Object of 
 " Goodnefs, but not of Long-fufferiiig and Forbearance t 
 " For Punifhment cannot be faid to be defer'd where it 
 " is not due." 2dly The Ac~fs of Patience, .are iff. God's 
 defering the Execution: of., deferv'd Wrath for a Time : 
 And this proceeds neither from the Want of Power or 
 Opportunity to punim TranfgrefTors : For they are always- 
 under the Cognizance of God!s Eye, and within the Reacts 
 of his Arm. He can in an Inftant fpeak them to nothing 
 by a Word, or ftrike them dead and damned at a Blow, 
 when and where he pleafes ! No, his Patience Is the Fruit 
 of his Goodnefs, or rather as the Scripture Terms it, a 
 Difplay of his Power. : And hence ;he is faid, to be flow 
 to Anger and great in Power y Nahum i. '3. and Rom. ix. 22. 
 God is (aid to make his Power known in enduring with much 
 Long-fu firing, the Veflels ofi Wrath fitted toDeflruBion. And 
 hence fome defcribe God's Patience y to be a Power of defer- 
 ing the Execution of his Wrath. - 2tlly. Artother Act . o£ 
 Patience confifts in the Moderation of Puniihments when 
 inflicted, 1 lb that they are not equal' to the defert- of' Sin, 
 Fial. ciii. 10. He hath not dealt 'with us- after our 'Sins nor 
 rewarded us according to our Iniquities. The Almighty ffirs 
 
 X x not 
 
2 46 Divine Patience opened. 
 
 not up all his Wrath at once, but punifhes gradually. He 
 flays his rough Wind in the Day of hi&Eaft Wind, and trys 
 Rods before he fends Scorpions. But 3<lly. The Place were 
 ■ God exercifes his Patience, is this World, which is a ftate 
 t of Probation or Tryal, : whereas the next is a ftate of. Rc- 
 * wards and. PunifhmentSc The Damned cannot be laid to be 
 the Objects of God's ^Patience, becauie they .endure the 
 Viols of- God's, Vengeance, .in. a degree proportioned to their 
 demerit And altho' the Devils are not expos' d to fo great 
 a Weight of Woe and Vengeance as they will be after, the 
 general 'Judgment -, which is intimated, by their being re- 
 ferred in chains under Darknefs to the 'Judgment of the great 
 Day. Jud. 6. As well as by their Queftion to our Saviour, 
 Mat. viii. 29. Art thou come to torment us before our Time? 
 Yet this lefs degree of Punifhment inflicted on them, has 
 no where in Scripture the Denomination of Patience-. It re- 
 mains therefore that Men are the only Objects , of it, and 
 that while in this World. ,But 
 
 4thly. The Time wherein Patience \s exercifed, is gene- 
 rally a long Duration, tho' not always: The jufr, God 
 makes quick Work with fome, and lets his terrible fe verity 
 fuddainly triumph in their ruin, as in the Cafe of KcraJj 
 and his Accomplices, Ananias and Saphira and others. 
 But for the rnoft Part Jehovah fufpends the falling Blow 
 for a confiderable Seafon, even till there be no remedy ! 
 In civil Courts of Judicature, there is uiually but a little 
 Space between the Sentence and Execution, and it is but 
 Jufl it fliould be fo. But Jehovah mercifully waits, and is 
 not fpeedyin coming out againit the Sinner. Ecclef. viii. 1 j. 
 Sentence agamfi an evil Work is not fpedily executed. The 
 Almighty expoflulates the Cafe and uies a variety of: Methods 
 to reclaim impenitent Tranfgreffbrs, before he lets his Ven- 
 geance light upon them to deftroy them. This is well re- 
 
 prefented 
 
The Riches of divine Tatience, 347" 
 
 prefented in the following Places of Scripture, Jer. ii. 5 
 Thus faith the Lord, what Iniquity have< your Fathers found 
 in me y that they have gonefo far from me, and have walked 
 after Vanity and become vain ? Jer. viii. 6. / hearkned and 
 heard, but they [pake not aright L , no Man repented him of his 
 Wickednefs, faying whqt have I done. Every one turned to his 
 Ccurfe, as the Hcr/e ru/heth into the Battle / I proceed to 
 confider the Riches of divine Patience y which was the 
 
 2d. Propos'd. Now the. following Particulars ferve as 
 Foils to iiluflrate the Greatnefs of God's Patience, in for- 
 bearing to execute his Vengeance upon Tranfgreilbrs, And 
 
 ifr. Let it be confidered, that God is Infinite and un- 
 fpoted in Holinefs, and inflexible in his JufHce, and there- 
 fore cannot but abhor Sin with an unalterable and eternaL-. 
 Antipathy, And 
 
 2dly. How great is the Offence committed aguinft God' : 
 by every Sin ? Seeing- that the Sinner hereby interpreta- 
 tively, prefers Creatures, yea his Lulls before the BlefTed 
 God! And therefore as much as in him lies, la~ 
 bours to dethrone ^the Almighty. . The exceeding contrarie- 
 ty of Sin . to the untainted Purity ■ of the divine Nature, is 
 fet forth in ffcrong Terms, accommodated to our Manner 
 of Conception in the following Places of Scripture, Amos 
 ii. 13. Behold I am prejs'd under you, as a Cart is prefs'd 
 thatisjull of Sheaves. Ezek. vi. 9. I am broken with their 
 whorijh Heart ; , which hath departed from me f 
 
 3dly. The Heighnoufnefs of fome. Sins above others, ferve • 
 to heighten our Conceptions of the divine Patience: All 
 Iniquities are not equally aggravated, fome are of a flighter 
 Tincture, and fome of a crimfon Hue ; a deep a double 
 Dye* (Ifa. i. 18.) Andfuch are Sins againft Light, Love 5 , 
 covenant Engagements, and Rebukes of Providence ; , and 
 more efpecially our flighting and neglecting of the Lord; 
 
 X x 2.- Jesus. 
 
3 4$ The Riches of divine Patience* 
 
 Jesus Christ. Hereby the deareft Love is undervalued 
 and the yearning Bowels of the mod companionate pity 
 fpurn'd again ft ; yea the precious Blood of the adorable 
 Imatniel trod under Foot, O aftonifhing monftrous Ingra- 
 titude ! And more amazing Patience-, that forbears executing 
 deferv'd Vengeance upon fuchTranfgreilbrs I And 
 
 4thly. What a prodigious Number of Sins are commit- 
 ted every Moment, yea' ofthe vileft Kind ? Surely innu- 
 merable Evils do' compais us about, ij the' Tongue be a 
 World of Iniquity, as th'e Apofrle 'James dbferves, "(Jam. iii. 
 6.) what '■'fhcri-'fk'all be faidof all the 'Members together • ; which 
 areas fo : many Fountains of Jmpiety? Who then can 
 uilderftahd his ^Errors ? If the moft Patient Man alive 
 was' to behold at once the Multitude of Evils" which Go j 
 beholds together with their Filthineis : Surely if it was In" his 
 Power 1 -the World would- ! not ftahd 'many Moments ! 
 Arid 'y*e"t' -the 1 '- Aii-knowing -/infinitely holy God forbears 
 bringing' -Julgirtcnt to the Piumet F I fay forbears' to fweep 
 obftinate ungrateful TranfgreiTors off the Stage of Time 
 into a deluge of endlefs Woe and Ruin, O aftonifh- 
 ihg Patience !- Patience -worthy of a God, and which none 
 but 'he can exerci'fe! Tho' Sinners as • it were ' fly in the 
 Face of- 'Jehovah, run upon the thick Bolter of hi's'Buck- 
 lers, bid Defienee to Omnipotence,, bafely trample upon his 
 Authority and his Love^ and by every impious Art try 
 to provoke a God to Arms, as if they were ftrongcr than 
 he : Yet notwithftanding all this, -Jehovah- forbears to give 
 the fatal ; Blow, behold and • be aftonim'd ye ' Heavens and 
 Earth at this ! And 
 
 ^thly. It adds Weight to this Argument, when we 
 coniider the Almicrhtinefs of the God of Patience,' how 
 caiily, fpeedily, and fully can he avenge all the Affronts 
 fhat are caft upon his Honour, all the Iiwafions that are' 
 
 made 
 
Whe Riches of divine Pati-ence. 349 
 
 made upon the Rights of Heaven ? It coft- him but a 
 Word to make the Heavens and Earth ex i ft, one Word of 
 Jehovah would fpeak the Offender Dead, or make him 
 ceafe to be ! The Lord has a Sovereign Empire over 
 the whole Univerfe* when he fpeaks all Nature trembies 
 before him, the Thunder of his Power who can under- 
 ftand ! Conjider this therefore ye that forget God, leafl he 
 tear you in Pieces when there fall be ?wne to deliver. Pf. 
 
 L 22i • - 
 
 ; 6thly. • Moreover the many Meafures .which divine Mer- 
 cy ufejs to reclaim -the ■ * Impenitent •• 1by the ' Word, ■ -Spirti 4 ? 
 Providence, 'in ; : its- profperous -'and-iadveffe' Aipeclts, -may* 
 help us to admire' the -ignore at that Patience, which' 'endured 
 the'Abufe 1 of all. 2. Cor. 1 v. '20V Now theii we^re-Ain^iiffa*^ 
 dors for Christ, as tho'-' God • 'did ''bejeech '.you- by ' us\ "i«w& r 
 pray you 4 n Christ r s /had, >be -ye recbnciPd to G&d'l\ "Arid" 
 7thly. We may add to what' has been faiid, ! the ifui-^ 
 merable Benefits which the indulgent God without any 
 Demerit oftentimes heaps upon the vilefl . TranfgreftbfsO 
 Pf. lxxiii. 12. Behold thefe are the imgodly wloo prolper -in- 
 the Worlds they ' increafe in Riches / Yea how Precious and ; 
 Important is the Treaflire of Time which is confer'd up- 
 on all ? Befides many other Benefits which the Seafon for' 
 thisexerciie would fail to innumerate ! Reflecting all which 
 we may accoft the impenitent Sinner in the Language of 
 Paul to the Romans xxiv. 5. Defpifeft .thou the -Riches of 
 his Goodnefs and Forbearance) not knowing that the Good- 
 nejs of God leadeth thee to Repentance. 
 
 Sthl'y. The quick Difpatchthat divine Juftice has made 
 
 with forne, witnels Uzza, Nadab, Abihu, Achan y Herod, and 
 
 divers others, who perhaps all Circumftances confidered 
 
 have not committed greater Evils than we, is a great Illuf- 
 
 Uation of God's Long-fuffering towards us, Rom. xi. 22. 
 
 Behold 
 
jf& Riches of divine Patience: 
 
 Bel old tfce Goodnefs and Severity of God on them ivhicL 
 fell Severity $ but towards thee, Goodnefs, if thou continue in 
 bis Goodnefs, otherwije thou alfofkaWt be cut off! 
 
 9thly. . Once more me thinks the Length of the Time 
 that Patience has been exercis'd towards us, is a pregnant 
 Argument of the Greatnefs and Riches of it. Has not Je- 
 hovah reftrain'd: the Execution of his Wrath, and waited 
 to be Gracious to fome of us, this twenty, thirty, Forty, 
 Fifty, or Sixty Years t While in the mean . Time we have 
 been trampling upon • his awful Authority, and flighting 
 the dear CarafTes of his manifold Mercy, O amazing Pa- 
 tience ! When the Angels iin'd, they were quickly caft 
 down to Hell, and made Monuments of divine Vengeance, 
 and behold, we who » have been Tranfgreflbrs from the 
 Womb are yet fpared. ! Surely, it had been nothing but an 
 Act of Juftice in God to have, caft -every Soul of us into 
 totter , Darknefs, many a. Year agone : And yet we are 
 alive 3 , and on this fide the burning Lake, and have the 
 Offers of Mercy and Salvation made to us, O the unpa- - 
 rallel'd: Patience, of God ! O may. his, Long-fuffering lead 
 TU3 to ■ Repentance, and be Salvation to us! 
 
 But: that' I. may farther illuftrate this Argument of the 
 Riches of divine Patience, it will not be a mifs to add the 
 following Diiplays thereof. . 
 
 When our flrft Parents had revolted from their Duty 
 and Allegiance to God, by Tranfgrefhng the Covenant 
 of Works, and we in them. Might not God in Juftice 
 have made them and their Off- fpring immediately and c- 
 ternally Miferable, without any Hopes of a Retrieve ? Yes 
 fiirely ! To what then can we afcribe the Delay of Juftice 
 and Expenfe of Goodnefs to them and us ; but to the di- 
 jine Long-fuffering ? 
 
 A. DC 
 
'The Riches of divine Patience. f$l 
 
 And after the fatal Shipwreck of our firft Parents, 
 when in fucceeding Time the Antediluvian World had 
 funk into fuch dreadful Degeneracy, that all Flefh had 
 corrupted their Way ; and the Almighty was hereby pro- 
 vok'd to threaten a Deludge of Judgment, as extenfive as the 
 moral Contagion that procur'd it : Yet before it was inflicted, 
 the God of Patience allowed them One Hundred arid. ^Twenty 
 Years warning/ by Noah a preacher of iRighteoufhes.j dur- 
 ing which Space the Long-fuffering of God waited on them* 
 (i Pet. 'iu. 20. 2 Pet. ii. 5,) And had not the Church of the 
 Jews great Experience of. the Patience of God ? Tho' the 
 Power and Love of God were marveloufly manifefted, in 
 delivering that . People from the moil: oppreflive Bondage 
 in Egypt, . as well as in preferving of them, and providing 
 for them in their Way to Canaan. The whole was effect- 
 ed by the mighty Hand, and outftretched Arm of God, by a 
 Series of moft aftonifhing Miracles ! Yet after all, what In- 
 fidelity, Idolatry, Murmurings and Perverfenefs, was that 
 People ib highly favoured guilty of, and yet were not de- 
 ftroy'd? Hence the Almighty is laid to fuffer their Manners 
 in the V/ildernefs forty Tears, ABs xiii. 18. And tho' their 
 Idolatries afterwards were fcandalous to the laft degree, yet 
 Patience was exercis'd, Deliverers many Times rais'd up 
 for them, and Judgments but flowly executed, and attend- 
 ed with a mixture of Mercy : And even after they had bro't 
 their crimfon Impieties to the moft horid Crifis, by crucifi- 
 ing the Son of God ! A Prodigy of Wickednefs, which the 
 Sun himfelf refus'd to behold ! An Impiety at which the con- 
 fcious Earth trembled with Horror and Regret ! Yet did 
 divine Patience fpare them for a confiderable fpaceof Time, 
 till they had the Offers of Life repeatedly made to them by 
 the primitive Preachers of the Gofpel, as well as repeated 
 Warnings of their juft and approaching Ruin ! It was a 
 
 -matter 
 
3 52 SB* Riches of divine Patience, 
 
 xnattcr of Forty Years after, that unhappy and ungrateful 
 Nation, had judged themielves unworthy of eternal Life, 
 by rejecting the Apoftolical Warnings and Invitations before 
 their Metropolis was fack'd, and themielves difpers'd and 
 almoft wholly deftroy'd by the Sword of Titus Vefpafan. 
 
 But the Jewifh Church and Nation, are not the- only 
 Sharers, of the rich Expence-ot divine Patience.- The Gentiles 
 alfo tho'- guilty of the moil infanduous Iniquities, directly 
 contrary to Natures Light, have had large Experience there- 
 of. And hence God is laid, in Time pajl to fuffer all Nati- 
 ons to walk in their own WaySy and to give than Rain from 
 Heaven, and fruitful Seajom, filing their Hearts with Food 
 end Gladnefs, Actsxiv. 16, 17. Yea and it is no inconfiderable 
 Inifance of the Long-luffering of God, that it has been ex- 
 tended to falfe Teachers, who have endeavour'd to feduce 
 and corrupt the. Church of God. Thefe likewife have hbd 
 a Space given them to repent \, tho' they repented not, Rev. ii. 
 2,1. But to proceed, 
 
 Methinks the Methods of the divine Proceedings, even in 
 inflicting of Judgments upon TranfgrefTors, if clofely attend- 
 ed to, may aifiit. our Conceptions of the Riches of God's 
 Patience. 
 
 • Before judgment is executed, the gracious God doth ge- 
 nerally give by his Servants, plain and frequent Warning, 
 And hence it is faid, that he hew'd the People of Ijraei by his 
 Prophets, and /lew them by the Words of his Mouth. He Jpeak- 
 eth once, yea twice, but Man perceiveth it not, that he may 
 withdraw Man from his pwpofe, and hide Pride from Man, 
 
 Job. xxxiii. 14,' if. 
 
 And when Sinners flight the divine Warnings, obflinate- 
 ly refufing to be recluim'd, and lo render the inflicting of 
 Judgment neceilary to vindicate the Honour of God's Go- 
 vernment. Behold the long-luffering God ufes a Gradation 
 
 herein. 
 
The Riches of divine Patience. 353 
 
 herein, by lending a SuccefTion of lefTer judgments, before 
 more awful Calamities are inflicied. And hence the Judg- 
 ments of God are compar'd to the Light that gceth forth -„ 
 that is the Morning Light, which by degrees increafes to a 
 perfect Day, the Morning Sun gradually afcends to his Me- 
 ridian Height, or to the Vertex of the Horiibn (Hofvi. 5.) 
 Thus the Prophet jlcel relates a Series of divine Judgments, 
 which were inflicted upon the People of lirael, (J'oel 1. 4.) 
 Firft the Palmer JFcrm, then the Locufl, after that the Can- 
 ker-Worm, and then the Caterpilkr devoured the Fruits of 
 the Earth,- And Amos obferves likewiie, that God fent firft. 
 a Famine, and -afterwards overthrew feme of than as Sodom 
 and Gcmrha, (Amas it. Bj 1 1,) 
 
 The Almighty in executing of his Judgments, doth ge~ 
 nerally moderate them, ih that they are not equal to the 
 Demerit of Sin. Of this the Prophet Ifaiah {peaks excel- 
 lently, I/a. xxv ii. 7, 8, Hath he f mitt en him. as he fmote 
 thefe that f mote him, oris he fain according to the Slaugh- 
 ter, of them that aref/ain by him ? In M^ajure thou wilt de- 
 bate with it : Hefiaveth his rough Wind in the Day of his 
 Eaft Wind, 
 
 And here it mould be with Amazement obferv'd, that 
 when the Execution of Judgment is rendered neceffiry, by 
 the continued Impieties of unrelenting TranfgrefTors, the 
 Almighty doth this ftrange Work, with a kind of regret and 
 reluctance, Hofea. xi. 8, 9. How pall I give thee up E- 
 phraim, how Jhall I deliver thee I/rael, How pall I make thee 
 as Admah, how pall I jet thee as Zeboim, mine Heart is 
 turned within me, and my Relentings are kindled together ? 
 When our companionate Redeemer, drew near to, and be- 
 held the City of Jerufalem, having in his view the defoliat- 
 ing Calamities which were to enfue, upon their ungrateful 
 Refufal of his gracious and infinitely important Propofab, 
 
 Y y he 
 
-3 54 %7 Je R? cl fe ns of divine Patience. 
 
 he wept over it ! faying, If thai hadfl knewn, or as fome 
 render the Words, that thou hadft known, in this thy Day, 
 the Things that concerned thy Peace, but now they are hid 
 from thine Eyes Luke xix. 41 But it's Time to con- 
 sider the 
 
 -;d. Propos'd, which was to fpeak of the Reafons of God's 
 Patience. And 
 
 1 ft. One Reafon is, God's good and beneficent Nature, 
 which is more prone to Me r cy than Judgment. The for- 
 mer is his Delight , but the latter is His itrange Work. And 
 hrnce it is Lid Lam. in. 23- That he affliBs not willingly, or 
 grives the Children of Men. Jet xxxi. 20. IsEphraimmy dear 
 Son? Is he a pfafari Child I For free I /fake againfljhim, 1 do 
 came fly remember- him liill, therefore my Bowels are troubled 
 for him. I mill furely have Mercy upon him faith the Lord. 
 God's Gocdnefs and Long-luffering are dotibtlcfs eminent 
 Branches of his nvan iterative Glory: For when Mofesdefircd 
 a Sight thereof, this Name was proclaimed. Ex. xxxiv. 6. 
 The Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, Iwgftjpepeing, and 
 abundant inGoodnefi. And theie the .-; Almighty claims as 
 his peculiar Prerogatives, as appears bv that famous Scrip- 
 ture, Hofx'i. 9. I will not execute the Fhrceucjs of mx An- 
 ger, for I am God ajid not Man. Man is impatient and 
 full of Relcntmcnt. It is a jure Obfervatinn of Mr. Bolton, 
 " That if -any tender Hearted Man, jhpuld fit one Hour in tie 
 " Throne of 'God Almighty, and look down upon the Eai~ih, 
 " ds God doth continually ; and fee what Abominations are done 
 " in that Hour, he would undoubtedly in the next ft all the 
 " World on Fire" But the Lord is God and not Man, his 
 Patience has no Parallel among all created Beings. 
 
 2dly. Another Reafon of divine Forbearance, is the Ma- 
 nifestation of God's Glory. Jehovah is not only, induced to 
 .Patience, by the Kindne/s of his Nature, but like wife bv the 
 
 Glory 
 
The Reafons of divine Patience. 3 5 £ 
 
 Glory of his Name. Ifa. xlviii. 9, 11. For my Name fake will 
 J defer mine Anger ; and for my Praife will I refrain from 
 thee, that I cut thee not off. For mine own Sake, even for mine 
 own Sake will I do it : For how fJjould my Name be polluted, and 
 I will not give my Glory to another. An Example of this we 
 have in Pharaoh, Ex. ix. j 6. And in very Deed for this 
 Caitfe have I rats' d thee up, for to jhew in thee my Power •,_ 
 and that my Name may be declared through out all the 
 Earth. And 
 
 3clly. The Lord cxerciles Long-imTering "becaufc of hm 
 Promife made to pious People, and their Offspring. Gen. 
 xvii. 7. And I will ejlablijh my Covenant between ?ne and 
 thee, and thy Seed after thee in their Generations, for an ever- 
 la fling Covenant to be a God unto thee, and to thy Seed after 
 thee. . 
 
 4thly. .Another Reafon of God's Patience is, that fom& 
 may be hereby induced to repent of their evil Ways. Rom a 
 ii. 4. Or defpi fe.fi then the Riches of his Goodnefs, Forbearance 
 and Long-fuffering, not knowing that the Goodnefs of God 
 leadeth thee to Repentance. And indeed Men are loft to all 
 Senfe of Humanity and Gratitude, if the Confidcration of 
 God's Goodnefs and Long-furTering, does not excite their 
 Sorrows for their Offences againft him. Memorable are the 
 Words of the Apoftie Peter upon this Subject. 2 Pet. iii. 9. 
 The Lord is not flack concerning his Promife, as feme Men 
 CAint S/acknefs, but is kng-fuffcring to usward, not willing thai 
 any fjould perijh, but that all fbculd come to Repentance. 
 
 5thly. The Almighty forbears to execute Vengeance be- 
 caule of the Mixture of good People with bad in this World, 
 and from the Regard he bears to the Prayers of the Former. 
 Gen. xix. 21, 22. And he j 'aid unto him, fee I have accepted 
 thee concerning this Thing alfo* that I will not overthrow this 
 City -, for the which thou haft fpoken 3 Hqfte thee efcape thi- 
 
 Y y 2 tber 9 
 
3 5° The Reafons of divine Patience. 
 
 j ther, for I cannot do any Thing till thou become thither ; there- 
 fore the City was called Zoar. The Holy Seed, /. e, pious 
 People, are the Subltance, the Support of Places where they 
 are. (I/a. vi. 13.) And hence it is laid, Ifa. xix. Except the 
 Lord oj Hefts had left unto ns a very /'mall Remnant, we 
 foquldbave been as Sodom,— and like unto Gomorah. 
 
 6thly. Another Reafon of God's Patience, is to continue, 
 and propagate his Church in the World. Rev. vi. 10, u. 
 A?id they cried with a loud Voice faying, how long O Lord 
 Holy and true", .do ft thou not judge and avenge t ur Bwod on them 
 that dwell on the Earth f — And it was [aid unto them, that 
 they Jhould reft, yet for a little Sea fon, until their fellow Ser- 
 vants and Brethren,— Jhould be fulfilled, i. e. until their 
 Number was compleated. The Church could not be con- 
 tinued from Age to Age, if God was fpeedy in the Execu- 
 tion of his Wrath. Many of the Elect are doubtiefs in the 
 Loyns of impious Parents, who are fpar'd for their 
 Sakes. Again 
 
 ythly. Patience is exercised, to render Sinners who con- 
 tinue in their Impenitence inexcufible j and to vindicate 
 the Juftice of God in their final Ruin. (Rem. ii. 1, 2, 4.) 
 The long continuance, and rich Expence of divine Patience 
 towards impenitent Sinners, bereave them of all Apology 
 in their own Favour ! This, this will make them wholly 
 fpeechlefs, before the Judgment Bar of the incarnate G >d ! 
 they will not be able to offer one Plea in their De- 
 fence. The 
 
 4th. Propos'd comes now to b~ fpoke upon, namely, the 
 confiftency of divine Patience, withGod's vindicative Juftice, 
 and this will appear by coniidermg the following Parti- 
 culars. 
 
 ill As there is an equal necemty of glorifying the Attri- 
 butes of Patience, as of God's other Perfections, fo there is 
 UQ Time for this but in the prelent W^rld. IN cither the 
 
 Sav'd 
 
The ccnjijhncy of 'divine Patience withy tiff ice. 3-5^ 
 
 Sav'd or Damn'd are Objects of Patience, the former need 
 it not, and the latter are pail it. Then either it muit be ma- 
 nifefted here or not at all ; but there will be iufficient Room 
 for the Terrible Difplays of Juftice in another World. 
 
 2dly. Seeing that the Defign of avenging Juftice is either 
 to manifeft God's Holinefs, or to fecure the Rights of his 
 Sovereignty, then if both thefe can be anfwered, notwith- 
 standing the Exercife of Patience, there is fiirely ' a Con- 
 nftency andHarmony between them, and that this is the very 
 Caie appears thus : God'sHolinefs is manifested in his Threat- 
 nings againflTranfgrefTors, the Execution of which his Truth 
 Stands engaged to fecure. TJie juft Jehovah has Said, That 
 he will rain upon Sinners Snares ', Fire, and Brimfrrone, 
 and an horrible Tempeft, and this fhail be the Portion of their 
 Cup ! For the Lord loveth Righteoujjiefs, Pfa.x'i. 6, 7. And 
 tho' this be a Time of Probation, yet in order to vindicate 
 God's Ploiinefsand Juftice, there be fome Executions of 
 Wrath. Hence the Lord is faid to be known by the Judg- 
 ments which he executes, and that the wicked are fnared in 
 the Work of their own Hands. 
 
 Neither does a temporary Suipeniion of the full Executions 
 of Juftice, give any Occaiion to Sinners to infult the di- 
 vine Sovereignty; nay, to ingenious Minds, it is rather an 
 Inducement to fubmit to the divine Government, feeing he 
 is Co full of Clemency. Slow Proceedings in Judgment, and 
 Reprieves granted to Malefactors, are no Reproach; but an 
 Honour to civil Governments; and why mould the fame 
 mild Meafuresbereckon'd an Impeachment upon the Di- 
 vine ? But I haften to the Improvement of this Subject. 
 And id. We may learn from it the exceeding Precioufnefs of 
 .the Souls of Men. Our Lord, who is the bell Judge of 
 the Worth of Things, efteems one of them worth more 
 than the whole World \ Mat, xvi. 29. And this he has tcftiiy'd 
 
 •by 
 
35$ Divine Patience improved. 
 
 by the Price he has laid down for them, which was nolefs- 
 than his own moil: precious Blood, (i. Pet. i. 19.) As well 
 as by the importunate Methods he uies in order to apply 
 this Redemption, and particularly by the Expence of his 
 Patience in waiting to be Gracious to poor Sinners. And 
 why then fhould we not value our own Souls, and expreis 
 this by fuitable Solicitude, and Labouis to fecure their Hap- 
 pineis ? And 
 
 2dly. From the Patience of God we may learn thh 
 Lefibn, that it is better for us to be at the Mercy of God. 
 than of any Creature: Tho' Mcfes was meek above all 
 Men upon the Face of the Earth, yet the Impieties of the* 
 People ofJ/rael put him in a Rage againft them, fo that he 
 accofted them in the following Language at Merit a, Tiu 
 Rebels laid lie, muff I draw Water jor you cut of the Reek % 
 The Prophet Jbnah feem'd to be more concern 'd about 
 his Credit, than about the Lives of the great City Nini- 
 vJj j yea he was difpieas'd and very Angry at the Kindrtefs 
 of God. infparing that finfii] Piace upon their Reforma- 
 tion, and. acofted the Almighty in verv nndeccnt Language 
 on this Gccaiion : yea he relented the Kindnefs of Gcd to 
 that Place in fuch a Degree, that he choie Death rather than 
 Life on this Account ! O ftrange and unaccountable Conduct ? 
 [See yc?ia iv. 1. 2. 3.) But 
 
 2dly, Another Ufe that may be juftly drawn from 
 this Subject of divine Patience, is of Encouragement to all 
 Sinfick Souls; fuch lhould be indue'd hereby to cah: away 
 their defnonding Fear?, and to come to Jesus Christ 
 with Hopes of obtaining Mercy, To tin's he invites them 
 in a companionate Manner, Mat. xi. 28. Come unto me 
 all ye that labour and are heavy Laden, and I will give yen 
 Re/l : And furely our dear Lord will be as Good as his Word. 
 The Enemy of Souls labours to difcourage awakned Sinners 
 
 ia 
 
Divine 'Patience i??jprov*d, 35^ 
 
 in their Motions to Christ by many dreadful fcggeflions 
 iuch as thele following, viz. That they have committed the 
 unpardonable Sin ; but how can that be while they bewail 
 Sin and feek Deliverance from it ? Or by infinuating that 
 the Seafon of Mercy is pail, and that God is fo fevere that 
 he -wili have no Companion on them. But thefe are falfe 
 Suggeftions, how can the Day ot Mercy be paft when 
 God is enlightning the Mind and humbling the Heart 
 by his gmcious Influences ? No ! It is then a fpecial Sea- 
 fon of Mercy, the Door of Hope is yet open, and the 
 golden Scepter of Pardon and Peace is held forth by the 
 King ef Glory. God is not waiting for an Opportunity 
 to deftroy the Sinner, but for an Opportunity to exalt his 
 glorious Grace in ./hewing them Salvation : Poor Sinners, 
 ye arc going to a God of Mercy, Grace and Patience, 
 a God who glories in the Freenefs of his Love ! Surely if 
 his Patience bore with you in your obflinate Courfe of unre- 
 lenting Impieties, it will much more fo when you are 
 humbled under a Senfe thereof : Therefore be encouraged 
 to attend with Hope upon the Means of Grace, and to 
 venture your guilty Souls by believing on an all-fufficient 
 and companionate Redeemer, who is able to fave to the ut- 
 termoft all that come to the Father by him, and who has 
 himfelf affur'd us, that fuch as come he will by no 
 Means, caft out. But I proceed 
 
 ^dly. To a Ufe of Exhortation in the following Particulars 
 "And 
 
 iff. Dear Brethren, let us admire and adore the Patience 
 of God towards ourfelves. ! And to this we may be juflly 
 excited by conlldering ' the Number, Importance and 
 Long-continuance of the Favours of God towards us, toge- 
 ther with the inumerable and heighnous Iniquities whici 
 we have prefumptuoufly and ungratefully committed againft 
 
 aU 
 
360- Divine Patience improved. 
 
 all the dear Obligations of divine Love ! If God fhoulc' 
 mark Iniquities who could flan d before him? How juftly 
 therefore, and how eafily might the Almighty have made 
 us Miferable, beyond a Remedy long before now ? And 
 yet Jehovah's Patience waits. Sometimes Men defer the 
 Execution of their Anger, becaufe they are not able to ef- 
 fect it: This was King David's Cafe in fafpending jfoab's 
 Punifhment. The Sons of Zeruiab, as he himielf acknow- 
 ledged, were too hard for him, they had- got io great a 
 Party of the Nation upon their Side, .that it was perilous 
 to try to bring them fpeedily to publick Juftfce : But God 
 is Almighty in Power, and euii'y able at any Time, in 
 an Inflant, tofubdue the moll: Proud and Potent or' his 
 Enemies, It mayjuffly melt our Hearts into Admiration 
 and Gratitude, when we think how jufliy every Soul of 
 us here prefent might be this Moment enduring the Ven- 
 geance of eternal Fire, pail all Hopes of ever obtaining 
 Mercy 5 and that yet notwithstanding of all our crimfon 
 Provocations we are on this fide Ruin, and have the Of- 
 fers of. Salvation made to us. But in the 
 
 2d. Place let us beware that we abufe not the Patience of 
 God by taking Encouragement therefrom to perfift in finning 
 againfl him. This alas is the ungrateful U£e which fome 
 make of this adorable Attribute, Eclef. viii. 1 r. Becaufe 
 Sentence againfl an evil Work, is not fpeedily executed, there- 
 fore the Heart of the Sons of Men is fully Jet in them to do 
 Evil. The Bafenefs of which Ingratitude and Impiety, 
 no Tongue can exprefs, no Mind can conceive fully : And 
 iurely the Punifhment will be at laft proportioned to it, ex- 
 cept Repentance intercept the Stroke of J uft ice! How Jl.ull 
 ye e I cape who neglecJ jo great Salvation ? It Jlall he more 
 tolerable for Sodom and Gomorah in the Day of Judgment 
 than for you, Do not imagine Sinners that Forbearance is 
 
 Payment 
 
Divine Patience improved. o 6 1 
 
 Payment. Be not deceived, that which a Man fows that flail 
 he aljb reap, he that jbwetb to the Flejh, fiall cf the Flcfl) 
 reap Corruption. Confider folemnly and fpeedily thole 
 dreadful Words of God hirnfelf, Pfal. 1. 21, 22. Thy? 
 Things haft thou do?ie and I kept Silent, thou though fe/l that I 
 was altogether inch a one as thy Jetf, but I will reprove thee 
 and Jet them in Order bejore thine Eyes. Now confider this 
 ye that forget God, lea ft 1 tear you in Pieces and there be none 
 to deliver ! And how unjuit , as well as ungrateful, is the 
 Inference which fome impenitent TranigreiTors draw from 
 the expenfe of divine Patience, viz. that therefore there is 
 no Providence which prefides over human Affairs ; and 
 hence they deride all Religion! The Apoftle Peter long fince 
 prophecy'd of this herd of hardned Mortals. (2 Pet. iii. 4.) 
 But where is the Senfe of this Cavil, for will not Reafon 
 it (elf fuggeft, that there ihould be a Time of Probation 
 before that ot Recompence ? 
 
 But that I may come more clofely to the Confciences of 
 my Hearers, may I not fafely afTert, that all you 
 that neglect to improve the prefent Seafon of Mercy, 
 o to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, are abufersof God's 
 Patience ! Dear Friends, confider, that in fo doing ye defpife 
 t Q Goodnefs and Long-fufTering of God, and likewife fe- 
 cure and aggravate your own Ruin. {Rom. ii. 4.) Hear 
 with Trembling what God laid to his antient People, A- 
 mos iii. 3. You only have 1 known of all the Families of the 
 Earth, there] ore 1 will puni/h you Jor all you Iniquities! I 
 haften to the laft Ufe, which is of Exhortation, which is 
 ,t ireefold : Methinks the Patience of God invites us to im- 
 prove it, in Relation to God, our Neighbours, and ourfeives. 
 And iff. We mould improve it in Relation to our Behavi- 
 our towards God, in a Patient enduring of his fatherly 
 Chaftnings, which are fo much to our Advantage, and fo 
 
 -Z z mucfe 
 
%6& Divine Patience improved. 
 
 much lefs than our demerit. We mould likewife patiently 
 wait for the Anfvver of our Prayers, as well as for the Time 
 of our DifTolution j for God hathnotfaidto the feed of Jacob, 
 that they flmddfeek his Face in vain. The Time of our de- 
 parture is fixed, and cannot be reverted, let us therefore re- 
 iblve with yob,' to wait with Patience till our Change come, 
 
 2dly. In Relation to Men. Let us bear Injuries and Re- 
 proaches from them with Patience, without meditating Re- 
 venge, feeing the great God has fo long bore, with worfe 
 Treatment from us ! Let us patiently wait for the Conver- 
 iion of unconverted Friends and Relatives : God's Power is 
 great, his Grace is free, fome he Converts at one Time and 
 ibme at another! Jehovah waits and why mould not we 
 with Patience and Hope, 
 
 . 3-dly. In Relation to ourftlves. O for God's lake let us 
 improve, the prefent Seafon of divine Patience! Behold now 
 is the accepted Time, behold ?ww is the Day of. Salvation ! 
 Grieve the Spirit of God no more, and try his. Patience no 
 longer j for furely if ye perfift, divine Patience, towards you 
 will have its Period, and then ye are undone forever. Think 
 on thefe Words, Pro. i. 24, 25, 26. Becaufe I called and 
 ye reft/fed, I Jlr etched forth my Hand and no Man regarded^ 
 thcrejore will 1 laugh at your Calamities, and mock when your 
 fiar.cometbt.. 
 
The Truth of God explain *'d. 363 
 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 PSALM xxxi. 5„ 
 Into thine Hand 1 commit myfpirit : For thou haft redeemed 
 me O Lord God of Truth. 
 
 HIS Pfalm was compos'd either when David was 
 in great Diftrefs, or fometime afterwards in Re- 
 membrance of it, and of the Kindnefs and Truth 
 of God, apparent in delivering him therefrom. 
 The Matter of the Pfalm, which coniifta of Prayers and 
 Praifes, of Hopes and Fears, ieems to fuggeff. what has 
 been obferv'd to be Occaiion of it's Compofure j but we 
 can't certainly determine what thofe Troubles were to 
 which the Pfalmift refers herein. Some learned Men, 
 particularly Muis from David Kimchi, whofe Opinion Mr. 
 Pool in his Sy nop/is favours, do not improbably Conjecture, 
 that it was compos'd when David fled from Saul. Af- 
 ter the Pfalmiji had, in the preceeding Vcrfes, mention'd 
 iome Diftrefs he was in, fome difguis'd Contrivance which 
 his Enemy's had fecretly form'd to enfnare him, as well 
 as fpoken honourably of the divine Power in a Variety of 
 metaphorical Terms, and earneftly implor'd Guidance in 
 Perplexity, and Protection in Danger, he in confidence 
 thereof, doth in the Words of our Text, calmly commend 
 himfelf to the divine Care, being hereunto encouraged by 
 the Confidcration of what God had done for him in diffi- 
 
 Z z a £ultf 
 
j 64 T7:>e Truth of God explain' d. 
 
 culty heretofore, and believing God was engaged to do the 
 like for him in future Time. Into thine Hand I commit 
 my Spirit, for thou haft redeemed ??it\ Lord God of 
 Truth ! So that in thefe Words, we have two Things, 
 viz. An Account of the Pfalmift's Aft, together with the 
 Reafons of it. And ift. His Act was his committing: his 
 Spirit into the Hands of God. By Spirit we are 
 doubtlefsto underftand his Soul, it was in this Senfe that 
 cur Lord us'd thefe Words upon the Grafs. [Luk. xxxiii. 
 4.6.) By the Hand of God, we are to underftand his 
 Care and Cuftody, the metaphorical Expreiiion of Arm, 
 when apply 'd to God in Scripture, intends his Strength, 
 fo that to be taken into the Hands of God in a Way of 
 Mercy, fignines a Perfon's Being cover'd with Almighty 
 Protection ! Committing cur (elves into the Hai.ds of God, in- 
 cludes in it thefe three Things eipeciaiiy viz. iff. A re- 
 jecting all other Dependencies. 2dly. A firm Trull in God 
 that he can and will do all well for us. And ^dly. A 
 voluntary Reiignation of ourfelves intirely to his Care and 
 Kindnefs. But 
 
 zdly. The Reafons of the Pfalmiffs Act are thefe, viz. 
 1 ft, The Remembrance he had of God's Kindnefs to him 
 formerly, in delivering him out of Troubles : For thou haft 
 redeemed me. Ai.d 2dly. The Consideration of the Truth 
 of God's Nature and Word, O Lord God of Truth, as if 
 he had laid, thou haft prom i fed O Lord, that thou wilt be 
 prefent with thy People in Diftrefs, and help them ; and 
 iurely thou wilt be as good as thy Word, for thou art the 
 God of Truth, The Remembrance of paft Mercies and 
 Deliverances, both Spiritual and Temporal is of great Ne- 
 ceftity in our Chriftian Courfe, both to excite our Gratitude 
 to God, and encourage our Truft in him. If we do not 
 remember the Ibli-Mizar, the Tcnicls, the Pijgus, the 
 
 BokimSs 
 
The Truth of God explain 'd, 365 
 
 Bokims that we have met with, how mall we love our Be- 
 nefactors and hope in him ? And without Love and Hope 
 how can we perform the Duties required of us with Dili- 
 gence ? Encounter the Dangers we are inviron'd with, 
 without Courage, or fuftain the Difficulties we arc expofed 
 to, with Patience ? Was not our Lord offended with his 
 Difciples that they fo foon forgot the Miracle about the 
 Loaves ? How peircing and upbraiding was the reproof of 
 Christ on this Qccafion ? O ye Fools and flow of Heart to 
 believe, do ye not remember the Miracle oj the Loaves ?■ 
 
 The Subject that I purpofe • to difcourfe upon from the 
 Text, is, the Truth of God. This Attribute of Truth, is 
 frequently afcrib'd to God in Scripture. Hence ( 1 ) He is 
 exprefly laid to be True, Jer. x. 10. But the Lord is the 
 True God (2) It islikewiie laid, that he cannot lie or repent} 
 1 Sam. xv. 29. And aifh the Strength of Ifrael will not Um 
 or repent, for he is not a Man that hefou/d repent. Parti- 
 cularly (3) In his Words, he is True yea Truth itfelf. Joh. 
 xvii. 17. Santlify them thro' thy Truth, thy Word is Truth. 
 (4) In his Works, thus all the Ways of the Lord are laid to 
 be Mercy and Truth y unto fuch as keep his Covenant. 
 Pial. xxv. 10. 
 
 And it mud needs be that God is True, if we confider 
 the following Particulars, ifl. If God were not true, there 
 could be nothing True, or no Truth • for how can there be 
 a fecond Truth without a firft ? But there is fuch a Thing 
 as Truth,, therefore God is true. It is equally abfurd to 
 fuppcfe, either that the Creature has any Vertue, which it 
 has not deriv'd- from God the firft Catife of all Being and 
 Goodnefs, or that it mould derive it from one who had it 
 not. 2aly. All falfehood and deceit fprings from fome Im- 
 perfection, either of Ignorar.ce or perverie Intention. Men 
 often miilake thro' Ignorance or Inadvertency ;. they think 
 
3 6 6 The Truth of God explained. 
 
 of Things otherwife than they arc, either thro' want of -a 
 competent meafure of Knowledge or thro' neglect of due 
 Deliberation upon Things, neither of which are compatible 
 to that God who is infinite in Wifdom, and Acts by 
 Council, 
 
 Again Men deceive ethers of Purpofe, thro' an evil Dif- 
 pofitionof Nature, the Root of which is in all the Posterity 
 of Adam I But God is perfectly Pure and Holy, entirely 
 free from every corrupt Byais. And hence is that antitheiis 
 or contrariety between the divine Nature, and the Human 
 in its degenerate and fallen State ; which is mentioned 
 Horn. iii. 4. Tea let God be True, but every 'Man a Lyar j 
 as it is written, that thou might ejl be jujlijy d in thy fayings, 
 and might ejl overcome when thou judge ji. When therefore 
 God is faid to deceive the Prophet, Ezek, xiv. 9. It only 
 fignifies the Almighty's difappointing him by the Courfeof 
 his all-governing Providence, of the fond Expectations he 
 had from fecond Caufes, and his iliffcring the Prophet to 
 impofe upon himfelf by wrong Conjectures. Men may be 
 influenced by the vicious Propensities of their own Natures, 
 or by the Instigations of Satan to deceive. But it is directly 
 contrary to, and incompatible with the infinite untainted and 
 inviolable purity of the divine Nature to be any Ways ac- 
 ceilary to fuch abhored Impiety. It is impo/Jiblefor God to 
 lie, as the Author to the Hebrews juftly obferves, [Heb. vi. 
 
 18.) 
 
 Men do not always adhere with conftancy to their Purpo- 
 fes and Declarations, either, iff. Becaufe they were rafti- 
 ly and precipitantly made, without a juil View of Things, and 
 mature Deliberation upon them. Or 2dly. For want of Power 
 to put their Defigns into Execution, or ^dly. Becaufe of 
 fome unforefeen Changes that are brought to pafs by divine 
 Providence, which put their Affairs into a different Situati- 
 on 
 
The Truth of God explained. 36V 
 
 On from what they were before ; and from what theyfirft 
 had in View. But neither of thefe Imperfections can be 
 afcrib'd without Biafphemy to God. As his Wifdom is un- 
 fearchable, io his Power is Infinite, and his Happinefs in- 
 variable and eternal. All Futurity is open to his all pene- 
 trating Eye, and all Things pofTible are included within 
 the Compafs of his Aimightinefs. He is of one Mind and who ' 
 can turn him, and what his Sold dfreth even that he doeth. 
 Job xxiii. 1.3. No change of Affairs can be produe'd belides 
 his Purpofe or without the Interposition of his fovereign 
 Providence, and therefore' he cannot be thereby necemtated 
 to change his Purpofe, or fall from his Declarations. And 
 hence l J hi!o well obferves, " That all the Words of God -are 
 " Oaths " i. e. moft facred and certain. And Fulgent i us 
 fayeth truly concerning the fupream Being, viz. u That he 
 " is Truth without Fallacy, Goodnefs without Malice, and 
 :l Happinefs without Mifery" Pythagoras being ask 'd what 
 made Men like to God, anfwered, cum vera kquntur i. e, - 
 when they ipeak Things that are true. 
 
 In difcouriing upon this Subject, I purpofe to ipeak' 
 
 I. Upon the Kinds and Nature of divine Truth. And 
 
 II. To anfwer fome ObjccTions againft it, and then pro- 
 ceed to fome Improvement And 
 
 1 ft. It may be obierved, that Truth In its general Na- 
 ture, confifts in Agreement, and is Three-fold, viz, Phy Il- 
 eal, Logical, and Moral. Phyf.cal Truth, confifts in the A- • 
 greement, which fublifts between the Appearance of a Thing, 
 and the Thing itfelf, This kind of Truth is by fometerm'd 
 effential, and by others metaphyseal 
 
 2dly. Logical Truth is when we conceive of a Thing in 
 our Minds, as it really is in it felf. As the Former is oppos'd 
 to Paint, and all falfe Appearenccs, fo this is oppos'd to 
 Er- r or and Miftake in Judgement. - 
 
5 6 S The Truth of God explained. 
 
 3dly. Moral Truth con fids in fpeakihg as we think, this 
 is oppos'd to lying, the Nature of which confifts in going 
 againft the Mind, according to the old and true Saying, 
 raentire eft contra mentem ire. 
 
 Now each ofthefe Kinds of Truth, that I have mentioned 
 belongs to God truly and tranfcendentiy : For 
 
 ift. He has what appertains to true Godhead by his E£. 
 fence without any Diiguife. Johnxvu. p This is eternal Life, 
 to know thee the only trueGod, and JESUS CHRIST whom thou 
 haft fent. Jehovah hath a real Sublicence, and gives Bfeing 
 to all Creatures; whereas the falfe Gods of the Heathen, 
 have nothing divine, they only carry a deceitful Appearance, 
 or obtain it in the Minds of their Worfhippers. They are only 
 dumb Idols which have Eyes and fee not, Ears and hear not, 
 neither /peak they thro' their Throats I They are nothing but 
 Vanity and a Lie, They that wake them are like to them, and 
 Jo is every one that trufleth in them Pial. ex v. r, 8. And 
 
 2dly. The Mmd of God exactly agrees with the NaUre 
 of Things, becaufe he beholds all Things in himfclf. Nei- 
 ther is there any Creature that is not manijefl in his Sight, 
 hut all '1 hi tigs are naked and open unto the Eve of him, 
 with whom we have to do. Heb. iv. i 3 . 
 
 3dly. The Declarations of God's Word exactly agree with 
 the Conceptions of his Mind, and Refohitions of his Will, 
 in all the Parts thereof whether Hiftorical, Prophetical, 
 Promifory, Minatory, Perceptive. Hence the Word of 
 God is laid to be fur e, Pf. cxlx. 140. i.e. Its free from all Mix- 
 ture of Deceit and Falfhood. And hence it is likewife (aid to 
 be tryd, 2 Sam. xxii. 3 1. As for God his Way is perfect the 
 Word of the Lord is trv'd, he is a Buckler to all that truft in 
 him. Plal xii. 6. The Words of the Lord are pure Words, as 
 Silver tryd in a Furnace of Earth, purified feven-times. And 
 4thJy. All the Works of God exactly agree with his Purpofe 
 
 and 
 
The Truth of God explained. 369 
 
 and' Declaration, Dent, xxxii. 4. Tie is a Rock his Work is 
 perfeB for all Jois Ways are Judgment) a God of Truth and 
 without Iniquity jujl and right is he. And hence the Almighty 
 is laid to be faithful, iff. In the Works of Creation, 
 j Pet. iv. io. Wherefore Jet them that fiqfer according to the 
 Will of God commit the keeping cf their Souls to him in well 
 doing, as unto a Jai third Creator, zdly. In the Work of 
 Redemption, Heb. ii. 17. Wherefore in all Things it behoved 
 him to he made like unto his Brethren, that he might he a mer- 
 ciful and faithful high Prifi.- 3 clly. The Almighty is faith- 
 ful in the Works of Grace, and hence Grace and Truth are 
 faid to come by JESUS CHRIST, John i. 17. 4thly. He 
 is like wife faithful in the Works of Providence, mere eipc- 
 cially in the Prefervation cf his Church, Rev. xix. u. And I 
 jaw Heaven- opened, and behold a white Horfe, and he that fat 
 on him was called faithful and true, and in Right eoufnefs he: 
 doth judge and make War. 
 
 Now the Univerial Truth of God, that has been menti- 
 oned, entirely excludes, and is directly oppos'd to every 
 Error in Judgment,, as well as to all Falmood, and lying in 
 Speech and to all Hypocrify and Deceit in Praelice. And 
 therefore- Solomon- juftly obferves, Prov. vi. 16, 17,-19. 
 That fix Things the Lord Hates, yea that feven are an 
 Abomination unto him ! Among which he names a lying 
 Tongue, and a Jalfe Witnefs. Tit. i. 2 In hope of eternal Life 
 which God that cannot lie promifed before the World began. 
 
 But in order to open the Nature of divine Truth more- 
 fully, I think it may be thus deicribed, viz;- That it is that" 
 Property oj the divine nature whereby the Almighty confl ant- 
 hand inviolably adheres to his eternal Purpoje both in his 
 Word and Works. When God is in Scripture call'd the true 
 God, or the only true God, thefe'- Phrafes do not fi'gnify any' 
 diflincl Perfection of the divine Nature, but the whole God- 
 head, in Oppofition to all that are call'd God's, but are not 
 
 A. a a .{b- 
 
370 The Truth of God explained. 
 
 fo by nature. But when he is calPd the Gcd oj Truth, as in 
 our Text, it intends a particular Attribute or Perfection of 
 Jehovah, even fuch as has but now been defcrib'd. Which 
 Defer iption that it may be the better understood, let the 
 following particulars be confidered viz. 
 
 I ft. That God hath from everlafting purpofed or deter- 
 mined to permit or effect whatfoever comes to pafs in Time. 
 i. e. He has before all Time decred, to permit the 
 Evil that is done in Time, without winch it could not come 
 to pafs, except we deny the Omnipotence of God, which is 
 blaiphemous. And he has iikewife purpos'd to effect the 
 Good, which cannot be brought to pafs without his Aftift- 
 ance and Influence. And hence we are told A5ls xv. i 8. 
 That known unto God are all his Works from the Beginning of 
 the World. This Fore-knowledge necellarily fuppofes his Pur- 
 pofe, for what is not certainly determin'd, cannot be certainly 
 foreknown. But the Purpofe of God, which is no other than 
 an imanent or eternal Act of his Will, refpecting his Works 
 of Efficiency, is more exprefily fpoken. of, Ephef i. 1 1. In 
 whom alfo we have obtained an Inheritance being Predejli- 
 nated according to the Purpofe of him who works all TL ings 
 after the Council of his own Will. And as the Purpofe of 
 God is eternal, in reipecl: of its Rife and Orijnal, fo it 
 is abfolute and invariable in its Nature. The Conditi- 
 ons of Things in the decree, arc only therein confider'd as 
 Means determined to compafs the End defign'd, JRrov. xix. 
 21. There are many Devices in Mans Heart, never th el fs 
 the Council of the Lord that Jl:alljiand. Job xxiii. 13. But 
 he is in one Mi fid, and who can turn him, and what his Soul 
 dejireth even that he doeth. 
 
 2dly. God hath been pleas'd to reveal fome Part of his 
 eternal Purpofe in his Word. I fay fome Part, becauje 
 there are fecret Things which are known only to God. 
 
 The 
 
The Truth of God explained. 371 
 
 The Almighty has reveal'd as much of his Purpofe in his 
 Word, as his Wifdom judged neceifary for us to know. 
 
 Now the Revelation we have of God's Purpofe in his- 
 Word, appears eipecially in thefe Things following, viz. 
 
 1 ft, In the Hyftorical Part of it, that contains a true and 
 juft Relation of Matters of Fact, which have been brought 
 to pafs exactly agreeable to the eternal Plan of the divine 
 Purpofe. And 
 
 2dly. In Prophelies of Things to come,, many fuchare 
 contained in Scripture, both of a publick and perlbnal Na- 
 ture. And how glorioufly does the Truth of God fhine 
 forth in the punctual accomplifhment of many of them ? 
 Here I mail only mention a few, in Relation to our Lord 
 Christ. 'Jacob prophelied of the Time of his Birth, viz. 
 That itfhould be after the Scepter was departed from Judah. 
 Gen. xiiv. 10. And thus it happened, for Herod who lway'd 
 the Scepter at that Time, was of an Idumean Extraction. 
 The Prophet Micah. foretold, that the Place of his Birth 
 fhould be Bethlehem. Mica v. 2. But thou Bethlehem Ephra- 
 
 ta, out of thee Jball come forth, that is to be the Ruler hnif~ 
 
 raef, whofe Goings forth have ban from of old, from Everla/i- 
 ing< And thus it came to pafs. Mat. ii. 1. No-wwhen JE- 
 SUS was bom in Bethlehem of Judca in the Davs of Herod 
 the King. Ijaidh propherkd that his Parent ihould be a 
 Virgin, Ifa. vii. 14. Behold a Virgin jhall conceive and hear a 
 Son, andjhall call his Name Imanuel. And this the Event 
 anfwered. (Mat. i.) Zachcriah prophelied of the humble 
 Circumflances of his Life, m the ixth Chapt. of his Book,, 
 and the 9th Verie. Rejoyce greatly O Daughter of Zionjhout 
 O Daughter of Jerujalem, behold thy King cometh unto thee. 
 He is is jufl and having Salvation, loic/v, and riding upon an 
 uifs, ami upon a Colt the Foal of an Ajs I And do not the 
 Evangelifts allure us, that this was fulfilled to a Tittle ? Ijai- 
 
 A a a 2 ab- 
 
372 The Truth of God explained. 
 
 ah graphically delineates his miraculous Works, I/a. xxxv.. 
 56. Then the Eyes of the blind (hall be opened and the Ears 
 of the Deaf ft:>a!J be un/Jopped, then jhail the lame Man leap as 
 a Hart ; , and the Tongue 'ft all fing. And thefe Things we 
 are affur'd did come to pafs by all that Evidence of credi- 
 ble and harmonious Teflimony, which the Nature of fuch 
 paft Facts can admit of, and it is tim'eafbna&le iurely to de- 
 Tire more! Daniel foretells his Death in the ixth Chap, of 
 his Book, and 26th Verfe. The Meffiah'ftmll be cut off] but 
 not fir himfelf And the Pialmifl David foretels the Man- 
 ner of it fo particularly, as if he had flood at the Grofs and 
 beheld it. Pf. xxii 16,-19. The AJfembly of the Wicked 
 have inclosed me* they pierced my Hands and my Feet. 
 I may tell all my Bones, they look mid flare upon me, they part 
 my Garments among them, and cafl Lots upon my Vejiure. 
 And is not the Burial of our Lord in the Tomb of a rich 
 Man fpoken of by lfaiah f I/a. liii. 9. And he made his 
 Grave with the Wicked, and with the Rich in his Death. 
 Which was accordingly fulfilled. Mat. xvii. 59, 60. And does 
 not the Pialmifl prophecy of his Refurreciion, of which 
 Jonah was a Type? Pf. Ixviii. 18. Then haft afcended on 
 high, thou haft, led Captivity Captive, thou baft received Gifts 
 for Men. Of the accomplishment of which, the Evangelift 
 Luke informs us, {Luke. xxiv. 51.) Bat I proceed 
 
 3cily. The Almighty reveals his eternal Purpoles in his 
 Word, by Precepts j by thefe God /hews to Man his Duty 
 and the Way to obtain the divine Favour, in which his 
 Happinefs confifls ; and this the Almighty purpofed to do 
 from Eternity. And hence it is called the Council of 
 God. Adts xx. 27. 
 
 4th.lv. The Almighty likewife reveals his Purnofe in his 
 
 Word by Threatnings againfl his Enemies. Thefe are as 
 
 .fiery Barriers about his Law, to preiervc it from Contempt 
 
 and 
 
The Truth of God explain d, iy^ 
 
 and Infult ! As his unfpotted Holinefs is delineated in the 
 Precepts of his Law, lb his dreadful Jufticc is difplay'd in 
 the Penalties annexed to the Breach thereof, which render 
 Jehovah moft jtiirly an Object of Fear, as the Former of 
 •Love. Now the Threatnines- of God's Word, are no other 
 than a Revelation of thole Judgments, which God had de- 
 termin'd from everlafting to inflict, upon finally impenitent 
 Tranfgreflbrs Ifa. xxx. ult. For Tophet is ordain' d of old ; 
 for the King it is prcpar'd, he hath made it deep and large, 
 the Pile thereof is Fire and much Wood. The Breath of the 
 Lord like - a Stream oj Brimflone Aoth kindle it. And 
 
 cthly. God reveals his eternal Purpofe in his Word, by 
 Promiies of Spiritual and Temporal good Things to his Peo- 
 ple ; which he lincerely makes, and punctually performs ; 
 and on this Account, he is more efpecially call'd, the faith- 
 ful God, who keepeth Cove?mnt and Mercy with thofe that love 
 him and keep his Commandment s, to a Thoufand Generations. 
 Deut. vii. 9. As the Threatnings of God excite Fear, fo 
 his Promiies encourage Truff and Hope. Tho' God is a- 
 ble to make us happy, yet we have no Ground to expect his 
 •Goodnels except it be engag'd to us by Promife : For the 
 Almighty is under no natural Obligation, to magnify his 
 •Mercy upon us. But when he is pleas'd to engage his 
 Truth in our Favour by promife, it renders the Bleffings 
 oiomifed molt certain ; and fo minifters itrong Coniolation 
 to all that fear God, fo that they may reafonably rejoyce in 
 Hope of eternal Life, whatever Difficulties, and threatning 
 Appearances feem to obltruct their attainment of it. Now the 
 -Promiies of God either refpect Mankind in general, or the 
 Church in particular, or truly pious Perfons in fpecial. Some 
 Benefits promis'd to Mankind in general are thefe, viz. That 
 the World lhall be preferved to the fecond coming of our 
 Lord, from another Deluge by Water 3 the Sign of which 
 
374 Tfo ^utb c f G°d cxplaiji'd. 
 
 is God's Bow in the Clouds. And likewife that the mated 
 and regular Courfe of Nature, in refpect of Seed Time, 
 and Harveft, Cold and Heat, Summer and Winter, Day and 
 Night mall not ceafe. (Gen. ix. n.) The Promiies made 
 to the Church, refpect its Protection, Increafe, and the di- 
 vine Prefence, in their Religious Affemblies. Thus the 
 Almighty hath faid, that no Weapon form 'd egainfi Ztpn-Jkall 
 profper, and that the Gates cf Hell /la/I not prevail again/i 
 her. He hath alfo promifed, that to Shiloh or the Me/; as 
 Jhoald be the gathering cf the People. i. e. the Gentile?. Gen. 
 xlix. 10. And that he would multiply, them and they Jl.culd not 
 be [mall, Jer. xxx. 19. And Jehovah has promis'd, that in 
 all P has where he reeords his Name, he will come to his 
 People and blefs 0etfi\ Ex. xx. 24. The Almighty has al- 
 fo made gracious Promifes, inked to all the various Exi- 
 gencies of his People in particular, e. g. He has promifed to 
 guide them with his Eye and by his Council, tojupport them 
 by his Power and to refrejh them by his Love, Pi. xxxii. 8. It. 
 xli. 10. Fear thou not for I am with thee, be not dijmay d for 
 T am thy God, I will (irengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea 
 I will uphold thee by the right Hand of my Righteoufnefs. If. 
 Ivii. 19. I create the Fruit of the Lips, Peace, Peace to him 
 that is far off, and to him that is near fayeih, the Lord and I 
 will heal him. Moreover God has promifed, that tbofe 
 who wait upon him jleall renew their Strength, Pf. lxxxiv. 7.. 
 lfc\. xl. 31. and finally, obtain eternal Life. John x. 28. / 
 give unto them eternal Life, and they Jleall never per i/h. Now 
 every one of thefe Promiies has been fulfilled, the World 
 has been freed from a fecond Deluge, the fdccenlve Viciii- 
 tudes of the Year are continued, the Church preferved and 
 propagated, and particular Believers directed* fuppoited and 
 reliev'd, This leads me to A 
 
The Truth of God explained %y$ 
 
 3d. Particular, which is this, ifisu God's adhering to his 
 Purpofe, reveal'd in his Word by his Works. I have al- 
 ready obferv'd, that God hath determined all Things from 
 Eternity, and that he hath revealed this Purpofe or Deter- 
 mination in his Word, various JVays : I am now to mew 
 that God performs by his Works what he hath declared in 
 his Word : As there is a Truth which confifts in a Conformity 
 between the Heart and Tongue, which is cali'd Sincerity : 
 fo their is a Truth which confids in an Agreement between 
 Words and Deeds, which is cali'd Fidelity or Faithfulnefs. 
 The Almighty not only Purpofes to do what he declares, 
 but he adheres to and purines his Declaration with invio- 
 lable Conflancy. He does all Things that he hath fpoken, 
 and exadly as he hath fpoken : He does not in the leaft 
 come fhortofhis Word in his Works. Numb, xxiii. 19. 
 God is not a Man that he Jhculd lye, or the Son of Man that 
 be fould repent : Hath hefaid, and fall he not do it ? Hath 
 he fpoken, and 'fall he not make it Good t How exprefs and 
 Noble is the Teftimony of Mofes upon this Head? 1 King 
 viii. 56. Bk fled be the Lord that he hath given reft unto his 
 People Ifrael, according to all that he hath promifed, there 
 hath not fail' d one Word of all his good Prom if which he 
 promised by the Hand of Mofes his Servant. I have already 
 mewn how exactly the divine Prophefies and Promifes have 
 been fulfilled : And I may here add, that Jehovah has 
 often manifefted and magnified his Truth in the Executi- 
 on of his Threatnings. A.nd hence he is faid to be known, 
 i. c. In the Glory of his Truth and juilice, by the Judg- 
 ments which he executes. All the Inftances of divine 
 Judgment upon the old World, Sodom, Gomorha, Zeboim, 
 and Adma, and upon the Children of Ifrael which we have 
 upon Record in Scripture, are fo many Confirmations of 
 the Truth of God. I proceed to the 
 
 2d. 
 
376 Objections anfwered. 
 
 2(£ Propos'd, which was to anfwer feme Objections a~ 
 gainft the Truth of God. And 
 
 ift*. It is objected that Christ is faid to die for the whole 
 
 World. (Job. i. 29.) How doth this confifl : with the Truth 
 of God, feeing that elfewhere, (viz. Rom. ix. 22.) It is 
 faid that fome are Vefels of Wrath. 
 
 Anjw. The Word Worlds is taken either in a limited 
 Senfe, for the World of the Elect. Thus Christ is -faid to 
 take away the Sin of the World, John i. 29. Or in a more 
 large Senfe, for both Elect and Reprobates. And' thus 2dlv. 
 it may be obferv'd, that Christ dyed fufficiently for alj, 
 hut not intentionally and effectually, /. e. The Value of 
 Chrifts Blood was enough for all, but its Yertue was only 
 defign'd for, and is only apply'd to thole that believe. 
 Hence God is laid to. be the Saviour of all Lien, efpeci* 
 ally of thofe that believe. A 
 
 2d. Object, is, thattho' Godthreatned our lirft Parents. 
 that in the Day they eat of the forbidden Fruit they ffibuld; 
 furely dye; yet this threatning was not executed,, for. 
 Adam lived after this nine Hundred and thirty Years. 
 
 Anfw. They did die the fame Day in ieveral Refpects,. 
 viz, ill.. Legally, they were dead in Law, they were con- 
 demn'dby the Law they broke, to a temporal and eternal 
 Death: And this in a fcrenfick Senfe is often call 'd Death: 
 (See Rom, viii. io.) The Body is dead becaufe of Sin, i. e.. 
 It is expos'd to Death, as a Confequence of Sin, by 
 Reafonoftne Sentence of the Law againft TranfgrefTors, 
 not that it is actually dead. And 2.d!y our frit. Parents 
 died Spiritually the. fame Day : They immediately loft the 
 divine Image, and that Bleffed Confequence of it, Commu- 
 nion with God. And hence they are faid to cyme fhrt of 
 his Glory, Rom. iii. 23. And. they may be faid to die - 
 naturally the fame Day,, in fome Senfe viz. Not only be- • 
 
 caufe- 
 
Object ions an finer ed. 377 
 
 caufe they were under a Necemty of enduring, in after Times, 
 the Separation of the Soul from the Body, by Vertue of the 
 Sentence of the Law before mentioned, but alfo becaufe, in 
 all probability, the original crafis and jufb temperature of Hu- 
 mours in their Bodies being broke, there was a direct tendency 
 in this judicialDiforder of their very Frame, to aDiflolution. A 
 
 3d. Object, is, That tho' Niniveh was threatned to be 
 deftroy'd in forty Days ; yet the Threatning was not executed 
 till forty Years after. 
 
 Anfw. PofTibiy forty prophetical Day?, which are Years, 
 were intended, tho' Jonah underftood it not, and if fo 
 the Prophefy was exactly fulfill'd- : But in my Opinion 
 the following Anfwer is more fatisfactory, viz. That there 
 was a Condition imply'd in, and annex'd to the Threat- 
 ning which was intended to be published to the Ninivites -, 
 namely, that they mould be deflroy'd in forty Days, if 
 they did not repent. It appears by the Nini\ ' : mfcling 
 themfelves that they underftood the Prophet in this Senfe. 
 For if the Threatning had been abfolute, the Ufe of Means 
 would have been to no purpofe, either by the People or the 
 Prophet : But we fee that both did ufe Means, he 
 preach'd, and they humbled themfelves, and therefore there 
 was certainly a Condition annex'd to the Threatning : 
 And thus the Objection evanifhes. 
 
 Object. 4. The Pelagians, Papifis, Scci?iians, Armlnians^ 
 Remonjlrants and Lutherans fay, that the Doctrine of the 
 Qahimjis, reflecting the Decrees, argues God to be Un- 
 true and Infmcere ; becaufe while they Teach, that God 
 wills the Salvation of all, that yet notwitManding, he in 
 in the mean Time wills and decrees the Damnation of feme : 
 And that tho' God offers the Redeemer to every one, and 
 invites them bv many Arguments to accept him : vettb^t 
 he in the mean Time does not will that they mould be- 
 lieve, and repent, and be fav'd. 
 
 Ebb Anfw, 
 
378 Objections anjhvercd: 
 
 Aufw. The Gahinift's on the Contrary do fblemnly Pro- 
 
 teff. in the Prefence 6f God, that they believe God to be 
 True in every Thing, and that his Words do anfwer ex- 
 actly to, or agree with both the Things ipoken of, and his 
 own Mind, and therefore that God always wills what he 
 fays he wills j but after that Manner that he wills, i. e. If 
 he declares that he wills an Event, then that Event moft 
 certainly comes to Pais. If he declares that he wills that 
 this or that mould be our Duty % i, e. That we mould 
 do or omit this or that, then it certainly is our Dutx> whether 
 it be perform-'!! or not : To this Purpofe they diflinguim 
 the Will of God into LegiJIative and Decretive -, the 
 former they fay is that whereby he determines and wills 
 only concerning Right and Rule, viz. What we ought to 
 do or omit : but determines nothing concerning the Event : 
 The latter is that whereby God wills and determines 
 concerning- the Event which ihall be : but does not at all con- 
 cern Right and Rule refpecling what mould be. Upon 
 this Account they aficrt, that God wills many Things 
 by his Legislative Will which do not come to pafs, c. g. 
 Thus he will'd that Pharaoh according to Right, fliould 
 let the People of Ifrael go, /. e. He will'd that to be.Piw- 
 roh's Duty - y but this he did not will decretivelv or according 
 to Fadt, or in Refpccl of the Event; for iffo the Al- 
 mighty's Purpofe was fruitrate in that Pharaoh did not let 
 them go at the full Demand ; but this is impofiible, the 
 Council of God mall ftand. Now from what lias been 
 faid the following Anfwer may be given to the Objection. 
 viz. iff. That God does not will the Death of a Sinner 
 by a legiflativc Will, in as much as he really wills I A 
 there fliould be a Connection between the Conversion 
 of the Sinner and his Salvation, and therefore he fineere- 
 ly invites every one to Converfion : And to fuch as are con- 
 verted he promifes Life ; tho he does not in the mean Time 
 
 will 
 
Objections anfwered. 379 
 
 will decretlvely to give to all Grace and Salvation. 
 2diy. The Cahini/ls acknowledge that God wills all to be 
 iav'd in the Senfe of Aujlin -, who by the Word All, under- 
 ftood feme of ail Sorts, not every Individual: As in the 
 Ark God is laid to fave all the living Creatures ; but every 
 Bird and Beaft was riot iav'd, for many perifh'd in the 
 Waters: But All, that is, fome of every Kind, were iav'd;' 
 fo God will have ail to be fcv'd, that is feme of all Nations. 
 The Almighty wills Faith and Repenta&ee to be the 
 Duty of All and Singular, but he does net will decretively 
 the Salvation of All and Singular, for then they would' 
 be iav'd : But the Scriptures aiTure us, that but a few are 
 iav'd. Salvation is offer' d according to the Calvinijlical 
 Syftem, only to thofe that believe and repent,, and to them 
 it is given ;. and where then is the Infincerity ? If they replv 
 and fay, that Rich are invited to come to Christ, according 
 to our Doctrine, who are decreed to Deilruction ? 
 
 Anfic. What then ? feeing the Decree docs not force or 
 influence the Will. Are not inch invited to come to Christ 
 according to their Scheme, whom God foreknows iTu.il 
 Perifh ? Does not certain Fore-knowledge fix the Event as 
 much as the Decree ? Let them remove this Difficulty 
 which crefks their, own Scheme, and they will anfwer 
 their own Objection. . 
 
 Objeel. 5. Some Premises made to the People of God, 
 refpecting temporal andipirituai Bleilihgs, arc not perform' d $ . 
 namely, inch as reipect Growth in Grace, Comfort, Victory 
 over Temptation, &c. , 
 
 Anf'iO. 'The Lord may fomctimes delay the Performance : 
 of a Eromiic, but he will not deny. God's Promife 
 may lye a long Time, as Seed under Ground, but at laft it 
 will fpring up. The Vifion is for an appointed Time,tho' it 
 taries, wait for it, it will come it will not tary i. e. beyond God's 
 appointed Time. , God promifed to deliver Ifrael from the 
 
 B, b b ?, Egyptians 
 
380 Objections axfwcred. 
 
 Egyptian Bondage, but this Prcmife was Four Hundred 
 Years in Travail, before it brought forth the determin'd 
 Event. God promifed to Abraham a numerous Offspring, 
 but Twenty Years elapfed before he had a Son, and then 
 was commanded to flay him. How dark and dreadful was 
 this Providence ! But notwithftanding of the Delays and 
 contrary Appearances, the Promiie was accomplifh'd in its 
 appointed ieafon I 
 
 2d!y. God may change hisPromife, but he will not break 
 it : Pie may turn a Temporal Promife into a Spiritual. Pf. 
 Ixxxv. 12. The Lord Jfiali 'give that which is good. Tho' this 
 -be notfulfill'd in aTemporai, yet if it be in a Spiritual Senfe, 
 the Promiie is made good, yea the Almighty may be faid 
 to be herein better than his Word, when he gives that 
 which is greater in Worth, tho' not the fame in Kind, which 
 was expecled. 
 
 3 dly. There are no Promiies of God, but what are made 
 good in Kind in fome Initances. And this is a manifeft 
 Vindication of the divine Truth therein engag'd, feeing the 
 Benefits promifed are conferred on fome. And 
 
 4thly. God never promiies any Benefits in fucb a Manner 
 as to infringe upon the Rights of his Sovereignty. No, all 
 Bleffings are promis'd with this Referve, viz. That if God 
 thinks it neceffiry for his Glory and their Goo !, he will 
 compafs their Salvation another Way. The Almighty by 
 spiritual Defertions and Temptations, doth try the Faith and 
 Patience of his People, as well as humble them, and make 
 them prize Christ and his Comforts the more afterwards. 
 And thus thefe Things, yea and their very Blunders are 
 (contrary to their natural Tendency) over rui'd for their 
 •Good ; which is more than an equivalent for the Lofs of di- 
 vine joy and Comfort for a Time. And therefore there is 
 hereby no Occaiion given to reflect upon the Truth and 
 F aithiulncis of God. But 
 
 5 thly. 
 
Practical Inferences. 381 
 
 5thlv. All the Prom lies of God /hall be accompli/Tied in 
 the next World to the greateit Advantage. The Joys of 
 that glorious Paradife, will fufficiently compenfate our 
 prefent momentary and medicinal Sorrows and Miferies. 
 But it's Time to proceed to the Improvement of this Sub- 
 ject. And 
 
 lit. We may learn from what has been faid, the dange- 
 rous and dreadful Cafe of all impenitent Sinners in general, 
 and more particularly offuch, who are guilty (habitually) 
 of Lying, Falfhood, Equivocation, and Deceit of any Kind. 
 As they hereby directly oppofe the Nature and Law of the 
 God of Truth, as well as contradict the Genius of his Peo- 
 ple, who are Children that will not lie -, io they verge to the 
 Temper of the Devil, the fworn Enemy of God, who was 
 a Lyar and a Murderer from the Beginning, and abode not 
 in the Truth, who is a Lyar and the Father of it. All 
 fuch do exclude themfelves from Communion with God, 
 in this Lite, and the Enjoyment of him in the next ; and de- 
 vote themfelves to a dreadful and interminable Deitruction, 
 Rev. ii. 1, 27. And there fall in no wife enter into it, any 
 Thing that defilcthp neither whatloever Worketh Abomination, 
 cr maketh a Lye. Pf. v. 6. Thou JJ: alt defray them that [peak 
 leafing, the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful Man. 
 God is a God of Truth, and therefore will execute his 
 'Threatnings upon the whole Tribe of Impenitents. The 
 Threatnings are a flying Roll againft TranfgrefTors, in which 
 is written nothing but Mourning, Lamentation and Woe. 
 Jehovah hath faid, That he will wound the hairy Scalp, of 
 eVery one that goeth on jlill in his Trefpafes, Pf. lxviii. 21. 
 That he will judge Adulterers : That he beholds Mifchief and 
 Spite, to requite it with his Hand, Heb. xiii. 3.. Pf. x. 14. 
 That he will rain upon the Wicked Snares, Fire and Brim/ione, 
 and an horrible Tempef, & that ti. i ; fall be the Portion of their 
 Cup, Pf. xi. 6. And he will iureiy be as good as his Word. 
 
 Tbf 
 
g o 2 Practical Inferences. 
 
 The Heavem and Earth may pafs away, but not a Word that' 
 God hath fpoken, (hall pafs without its accomplii'hment. 
 Let not therefore unconverted Sinners prefume Or harden 
 themfelves in their Impieties, becaule Judgment is not 
 Jpeedily executed, for Delays are no Payment. Let therm- 
 not vainly conclude, that the Bitteniefs of Death is pajl, 
 becaufe their Hcufes are iafc from Fear, neither is the Rod 
 of God upon them. Notwithstanding of all this, they may 
 allure themfelves//?^ the Wicked are referved for the Day 
 of DeflruBion, they (hail be brought forth to the Day of Wrath, : 
 Job xxL 9, 30. Let any who expect Impunity in a Courie 
 of Rebellion againft the. great God, feriouily and fpeedily 
 conlider that dreadful Threatning. Deut. xxix. io> 20. And 
 it cometh to pafs, when he heareth the Words of this Curfe, that 
 he blcfs himfelf in his Heart, faying, J fall have Peace, the? 
 I 'walk in the Imagination of mine Heart, to add Drunkennefs 
 to Thirft. The Lord will not [pare him, but then the Anger 
 of the Lord and his Jealoufe /hall fmoke again'! that Man, 
 and all the Curfes that are written in this Book fall ly upon 
 him and the Lord flail blot out his Name from under Hea- 
 ven. I mall only mention one other Scripture, under this 
 Ufe, and it is Pf. 1. 20, 21, 22. Thou f tie ft and (peaked 
 againfl thy Brother, thru jlanderefl thine own Mother's Son, 
 thefe Things haft thou done, and I kept Silence, thou thought f I 
 that I was altogether fuch an one as thy felf, but I will reprove 
 thee, and ft them in order before thine Eyes. Now conlider 
 this ye that forget God, leaf I tear you. in Pieces, when there. 
 flail be none to deliver. But 
 
 2dly, The Truth of God fpe.iks touch Comfort to hio 
 People under all their Troubles. What tho' Jehovah hides 
 his Face, yet let not Believers deibond : For he will iiire- 
 ly return with everlafling Loving-kuninef. His Faith lulncfs 
 cannot fail, he will ever be mindful of his Covenant. Pf. cxi. 
 r. The gracious God hath made many orecicus Promifes 
 
 of 
 
Practical Inferences 2^3 
 
 of important Benefits, fuited to all the various Difficulties 
 which his People labour under in this Life, fome of which 
 have been already mentioned in this Sermon, every of 
 which his Truth ftands engaged to fecure. i Thefv. 24. 
 Faith fid is he .that calleth pu y who aljo will do it. Heb. vi. 
 18. That by two immutable Things , in which it was ifnpofji- 
 ble for God to lie, we might have jlrong Conflation, who have 
 fed for Refuge^ to lay hold on the Hope Jet before us, 1 Sam. 
 xvl. 25. And aljo the Strength of Ifrael will not lie or repent , 
 for he is not a Man that he fioufd repent. And hence the 
 Gifts of God are laid to be without Repentance, and his 
 Mercies are called, the jure mercies of David. (Rom. xi. 
 29. Ads xiii. 24. 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.) Althd' my Hon fe be not 
 jo with God, yet be hath made with me an everlajiing Covenant, 
 ordered in all Things, and fur e. As if he had faid, Tho' 
 I fail much in that Purity God requires., yet this is my Com- 
 fort, that God hath made an cverlafing Covenant with me. 
 Let us therefore be exhorted to the following Duties, namely, 
 ift. Let us truft in God, and expect from him the Ful- 
 filment of all his Promifes to the Church in general, and 
 to ourfeives in particular, (if we be his) what tho' Clouds 
 and Darknefs cover her Horizon, yet the faithful God has 
 promifed to be the Glory and Defence of Zion, and to make her 
 M Praife in the Earth. And what tho' ourfeives are op-., 
 prerTed with, and fometimes led captive by our Corruptions 
 God has promiied, to fubdue our Iniquities, Mic. vii. 10. 
 And furely the Truth of God in his Promifes is a fufheient 
 Foundation for our Faith. 2 Tim. ii. 13. If we believe not t 
 yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himjelf He is abund- 
 ant in Truth, Ex. xxxiv. 6. That is, he is Jo far from 
 coming ihort of his Word, that lie will be better than his 
 Word. " We are not, faith Cbryjofiome, to belive our 
 " Senies fo much as we are to believe the Promifes, for 
 ri they may fail u% but the Promifes cannot, being built 
 
 ** upon 
 
3 5 4 Practical Inferences, 
 
 " upon the Truth of God." And fiirely he that belicveth 
 not, has made God a Lyar : i e. He implicitly charges ly- 
 ing upon the God of Truth, i John v. 10. 
 
 2dly. Let us commit ourfehes to kirn in well doing, as unto 
 a faithful Creator ; i Pet. iv. 19. Or as our Text exprefTes it, 
 Let us cofnmit our Spirit into his Hand, for he has redeemed 
 us. What tho' we be encompaffed with DiftrefTes, let us 
 truft, that he who hath delivered, and doth deliver, that he will 
 deliver us, 2 Cor. i. 10. That he who hath begun a good 
 Work in us, will perform it, untill the Day of JesusChrist, 
 Phil. i. 6. Let us avoiding all diftrefiing Anxiety about fu- 
 ture Events, calmly and firmly reft upon the Promifes of a 
 faithful God. And finally let us imitate the God of Truth, 
 in Speech and Practice, hereby v/e mall be con form 'd to 
 the God of Truth, and evidence our being living Members 
 of the Church militant, which is the Pillar and Ground of 
 Truth. 1. Tim. iii. 15. As well as the certainty of our 
 being at laft admitted into the Church Triumphant. (Pia. 
 xv.) It is for a Lamentation that many who profefs Chrifti- 
 anitv, fall mort of Turks and Indians, in refpect of Truth 
 and Fidelity, and fo give Ground for this doleful Diftick.— — 
 
 Midtis annisjam peradiis, nulla fides e/l in pail is. 
 
 Mel in ore, verba laclis, fel in Corde, fraus in jaBis. 
 Which may be thus Englifh'd. 
 
 For many Years, no Faith in Covenants I've fou^d ; 
 
 Tho' Words be fweet, yet Heart?, yea Deeds with Gall 
 and Fraud abound. 
 
 And furely there is nothing more dishonourable to God, 
 and detrimental to the Interefts of Religion, than fuch 
 Practices 5 therefore let every one that nameth the Name of 
 God depart from them, 
 
The Onenefs of God. 385 
 
 SERMON XX. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY vi. 4. 
 
 Hear O Ifrael, the Lord our God is one Lord, 
 
 THIS Book of Deuteronomy contains a Repetition of 
 much of the Hiftory and Laws which were men- 
 tioned in the three preceeding Books, and therefore- 
 the Greek Interpreters, have juftly given it the 
 Name Deuteronomy ; which iignirles the fecond Law, or 
 the lecond Edition of the Law. This Repetition Mofes deli- 
 vered a little before his Death, not only by Writing, that 
 it might be the better preferv'd as a continual Memorial 
 and Director in all Time coming, but alio by Word of 
 Mouth, that it might have the greater Influence upon the 
 People's AfTe&ions for the Prefent. The Men of that 
 Generation, to whom the Law was firfr. given, were all 
 Dead, and a new Generation being fprung up in their Place, 
 it was neceffary that it mould be repeated to them by Mo- 
 fes, and efpecially a little before his Departure from them, 
 that it might make the deeper Impreffion on them, and 
 as they were juft going to take PofTeillon of the promis'd 
 Canaan, it was but necelTary they mould be told upon what 
 Terms they might expect to hold and enjoy that Land. 
 To this End Mofes tells them what they were to believe and 
 do, and among other Things of principal Importance he re- 
 commends to their. Attention, AfTent and Consideration, 
 
 G c c in 
 
3 8 6 The Unit v o f God cmfidered, 
 
 in the Words of our Text, that fundamental Article of Re- 
 ligion, viz. The divine Unity. Here O Ifrael //v Z,er^ car 
 Gft/ » c«f Lord. Here obferve i ft. That the Truth re- 
 commended, is the Unity of God. That Jehovah who is 
 our God in Covenant, is but one, one in hisEilence, or Be- 
 ing, and the only Object of Religious Worfhip, one in 
 Oppofition to many God's, j Cor. viii. 4, 5, 6, We know 
 that an Idol is nothing in the World, and there is none other 
 God but one : For tho 1 there he that are ca/i'd God's, whether 
 in Heaven or in Earth* as there be Gods many, and Lords 
 many, but to us there is hit one God. It is certainly of the 
 laft Importance to be rightly flx'd, as to the Object of Wor- 
 ship j for if this be not fuch as can make us Happy, our 
 Faith and Practice want a proper Foundation, and are there- 
 fore Vain. Altho' the Gentiles, by the Light of Nature, 
 .have been led to acknowledge, that the proper Object of 
 Wormip muft be a God ; yet how ftrangely have they 
 been miftaken, confus'd and divided in their Choice of him, 
 by their vain Imaginations ? They multiply'd Deities, and 
 fought to God's that cannot lave, they afcrib'd Deity to e- 
 very Tiling that did them Good, viz. To the Sun, Moon, 
 Stars, Rivers, Fountains, Element?, Brutes, Vegetables. 
 They had their City Gods their houfhold Gods, garden 
 Gods, Gods for particular Callings, Diicaies, Immcrgcnts, 
 &c. pjf which Varro reckons three Hundred, and Hefiod no 
 lefs then thirty Ihoufand. Prudentius (peaks truly of the 
 Practice of the Gentile World in this Matter, in the fol- 
 lowing Stanza. 
 
 tsftiick quid Humus, Pelagm, ceaelum mirabile Signant : 
 
 Id dixere Deos, Colles, Freta, Flumina, Flammas. 
 Which may be thus EnglihYd, 
 
 Whatce'r was wonderful the Heaven or Earth contained. 
 
 That Gods they call'd, tho' Hills, or Floods, or Flames. 
 
 And 
 
The Unity of God confidered. 387 
 
 And Juvenal fpeaks much to the fame Purpoie in the 
 following Lines, viz. 
 
 Porrum et cepe nefas violare et j "ranger r morfu : 
 
 Ofandias gentes, qui bus hec najcimtur in hortis humina ! i.e,. 
 
 The Onion-God's that in their Gardens grew; 
 
 Theyjudg'd Prophane to eat, and pay'd a Worihip too.. 
 O happy Nations that piofefs'd a God-head purchas'd at fo 
 cheap a Colt. Now in Oppbfition to the Politheifm of 
 the Gentiles, or to that Multiplicity of God's, which they 
 held. Mcfes m o\w Text recommends the Belief of the di- 
 vine Unity, or of the Onenefs of God. This Verfe the 
 Jewijh Church look upon to be one of the choicer!: Portions 
 of Scripture, they write it in their Philaclerfs, and think 
 themfelves, not only obliged to fay it at lead twice a Day, but 
 think themfelves very Happy in being fo obliged, having this 
 Saying among them,. Bit fed are we who every Morning and 
 Evening fay, hear O Ifrael the Lord our God is one Lord.. 
 This they have learn'd of an Antient Tradition ; and in- 
 deed there is nothing in the Law which they think worthy 
 of equal Reverence with thefe Words, concerning them 
 they triumph and glory in their Book of Prayers, in the 
 Manner before related, Blefed are we, &c. But rather Bief- 
 fed are thofe who duly conlider, rightly improve, and; 
 firmly believe the Truth therein recommended,. And this 
 is the 
 
 2d. Particular our Te7vt contains. Here Mofes not only 
 fummonfes their Attention, but demands their AfTent to 
 this Foundation Truth Hear, i. e. not only with the Ears 
 of your Body, but of your Mind : As if he had laid, attend: 
 to, confider, acknowledge,, believe, retain and improve the 
 TitBrtne of God's Unity as the Ground, and Foundation of all 
 Religion, But 
 
 C c c 2. 3dly 
 
«B8 TZtf Unity of God confidered 
 
 3dlyWc have an Account of the Perfons to whom the 
 aforefaid Truth and Duty are recommended, namely If- 
 raely not Ifraelites in the Plural Number, but Ifrael in the 
 Singular, to fignify that not only the Ifraelites in Com- 
 mon, but every individual Ifraelite in Particular, fhould 
 be careful to embrace and retain the aforefaid Truth. The 
 Word does not only intend the Carnal Ifrael, which Mofes 
 brought out of Egypt into the Wildernefs, and which 
 ycfiua introdue'd into Canaan, which is its moft ufual 
 Acceptation in Scripture, but that fpiritual Ifrael alfo, of 
 which Paul fpeaks, (Rom, xi. 21, 29.) The word Ifrael 
 refpects the Church of both Teftaments, to whom the 
 Doctrine of the Unity of God is recommended as a fun- 
 damental Article. It may be likewife obierv'd that the 
 Manner of Mofes's Recommendation is very folemn, as ap- 
 pears by the Note of Obfecration he ufes. O Ifrael ! much 
 Concern for divine Truth, and Zeal, and Tendernefs for 
 the Peoples Well-fare, is herein intimated. 
 
 In difcourfing upon this divine Perfection, viz. The U- 
 nity or Oncnefs of God, I would 
 
 I. Endeavour to prove the Truth of it. 
 
 II. Explain its Nature. 
 
 III. Improve it. And 
 
 1 ft. I am to prove the 7 ruth of the divine Onenefs. And 
 here I may oblerve, that the Scriptures afTert this different 
 Ways. 1 ft. By faying exprcfly that God is One. Zee. xiv. 
 9. In that Day Jhall there be one Lord y and his Name One. 
 Pfa. lxxxiii. 18. That Man may know that thou whofe Name 
 alone is Jehovah, art the mofl High over all the Earth. Pla. 
 lxxxvi. 10. For tkcu art great and dojl wonder ous Things, 
 thou art Good alone. And 2dly By aiferting that there is 
 no God befides him. Deut. iv. 35. Unto thee it was (hew 'd 
 that thou ynightefi know that the Lord he is God, and there is 
 
 none 
 
The Unify of God confident}. 389 
 
 none elfe be/ides him. Ifa. iv. 2. I am the Lord, that is my 
 Name, and my Glory will I not give to another, neither my 
 Praife to graven Images. Ifa. xliv. 8. Is there a God be- 
 jides me? There is no God, I know not any. Ifa. xlv. 5. / 
 am the Lord and there is none elje, there is no God bejldes 
 me. And the 21ft Verfe, There is no God elfe bejides me, a 
 juft God and a Saviour, there is none befides me. 
 
 Many of the Ancient Fathers have written largely in Con- 
 firmation of this Important Truth againft the Gentile Ido- 
 latries, particularly, Ignatius, Juftin, Tertullian, Cyprian, 
 Nazianzen, Bajil, Aujtin, Damafcen yea fome of the wife- 
 eft of the Gentile Sages, have given their fuffrage to the 
 Doctrine of the divine Unity. Socrates for afccrting this 
 loft his Life by the Fury of the Athenians ! And Plato in 
 one of his Letters to Diony/ius, fayeth thus, " Hinc inquit 
 M difcesfcribamego ferionecne cumferio, ordior Epiftolam, ab 
 " uno Deo, cum /ecus a pluribus." i. e. By this (fayeth he) 
 " You may know whether I write ferioufly or not, when 
 " I write ferioufly, I begin my Epiftle from one God ; when 
 " otherwife, from many." Likewife Sophocles hath thefe 
 Words, " Unus r ever a Deus eft, qui celum, fabrificavit et ter- 
 " ram — at nos mor tales verfutia decepti, flatuimus deorum ima~ 
 ■" gines—et hisfacrificia, et vanos conventus tribuendo, hoc 
 " modo nos pios effe reputamus. u e. Truly there is one God 
 if who hath made Heaven and Earth ; but we poor Mor- 
 "*' tals being deceiv'd by the Craft of fome, appoint Ima- 
 4< ges of the Gods, and by offering Sacrifices and vain Con- 
 ■" ventions to thofe, we reckon ourfelves pious." Both 
 LaBantius and Cicero acknowledged that their Gods were 
 but Men, who formerly lived in in the World : They 
 give an Account of their Birth and Parentage, as well 
 as of the Places where they lived, and Time when 
 they died ; and inform us, how fome of them ob- 
 tain'd the Honour they fuppos'd they were advanced 
 
 to 
 
j-go The Unity of God confidered. 
 
 to after Death, viz. As the Reward of Vertue, or in Com- 
 memoration of the Good, that they had done to the World 
 in their Life, either by the Invention of profitable Arts, 
 Succefles in Wars, or fome other kind of Service to their 
 Country. It is true, among the Romans, fome had the Ho- 
 nour of an Apotheojls or being reckon'd. among the Num- 
 ber of the Gods, at the Requeft, of their furviving Friends*. 
 And this was done after the Time of Julius Cafar by the 
 Decree of the Senate, who a'c the fame Time likewife ap- 
 pointed the Rites of Worfhip that mould be paid to 
 them. And indeed fome of the Emperors of Rome were 
 carried to that pitch of Vanity and Arogance, that they 
 obliged the Senate to deify them while they were alive, 
 Arijlotk difcovers his Belief of one fupream Deity, by feveral 
 PalTages in divers Parts, of his Works, to the following EfFecT:. 
 
 He arTerts, " That there is a God^ who is the firfl 
 " Caufe or Beginning of all Things, and that he was from 
 " Eternity, or in the Beginning, and that Time took its 
 " Rife from him, and that he is the Fountain of Life, and 
 ** the belt, of Beings. That he is Seif-fufficient, the chief 
 " Good, and ftands in no need of, or can receive any Ad- 
 " vantage from any, and that by him all Things confift." 
 
 Several of the Gentile Philofophers difcover their Belief 
 of the divine Unity, by afferting, <c That there was one 
 " fupream God, fuperior to all Others, whom they call the 
 " Father of the God's and of Men. Him they call the 
 cc Beginning, the End, and Author of all Things, who was 
 " before, and is above all Things." Mcrneus^ brings Quota- 
 tions of this Kind, from the Writings of P/otinus, Proclus ? 
 Phorphtry, Plutarch and others ; from all which it appears that 
 the wifer Sort among the Pagans, acknowledged the Unity of 
 the fupream Being. And therefore that what they fpoke 
 or did in Oppoiition hereto, was only from a fordid com- 
 pliance 
 
TJje Unity of God confiderecL 391 
 
 pliance with the prevailing Cuftom of their refpective 
 Countries, to prevent Afperiions on their Characters, or 
 Danger to their Perfons. It is probable that they paid only 
 an inferior Kind of religious Worth ip to their Gods, like to 
 what the Papifts give to their Saints. It is true, herein they 
 were Idolaters ; but this they were induced to, in order to e- 
 fcape popularOdium. I am not here labouring to extenuate 
 the Pagan Idolatry* ; but only to prove that a Number of the 
 more Judicious of them, were led by the Light of natural 
 Reafon to acknowledge the Unity of God. 
 
 Now that natural Reafon demonftrates this fundamental 
 Article of Religion, namely, the divine Unity, will more 
 fully appear, by the following Considerations, viz. 
 
 1 ft. Reafon teaches us, that in the Subordination of Things, 
 which we behold in the World, we muff proceed to fome 
 firft Caufe, which is of it felf, and abfolutely the firitj 
 before which Nothing could exift, and with which 
 Nothing could exift of the fame Nature : For then 
 it would not be firft. All Number begins in a Uni- 
 ty, and to fay there are two firft Beings, is a Contradiction 
 in the very Nature of Things. The Multitude of fecond 
 Beings proves that that there is a firft Being, otherwife they 
 could not exift : For they can't give Being to themfelves. 
 Where there is no firft, there is no Order, and where there 
 is no Order, there is no Goodnefs, except Confufion be io 
 called, which is abfur'd ; and where there is no Goodnefs, 
 there is nothing : For Being and Goodnefs are convertible 
 Terms. Now that Being which is firft is chief in refpect 
 of Dignity, and therefore he only is God, for Equality and 
 Priority, are inconfiftent to the fame Subject. The very 
 Idea of a God, implies a Supremacy in all poflible Ex- 
 cellency. 
 
 That there is but one Being, who is without Beginning, 
 and gave Being to all others^ appears thus. If there were 
 
 more 
 
39 2 The Unity of God conjidered 
 
 more Gods, they mull derive their Being from him, and 
 then they are a Part of his Creation, and confequently not 
 Gods : For God and the Creature are infinitely oppos'd to 
 each other. Well then feeing there is but one Self-exifting 
 independent Being, there can be but one God. 
 
 2dly. Reafon proclaims that God is infinite in all Per- 
 fections and that becaufehe is not limitted by a prior Caufe, 
 he muft therefore poflefs all Being and Goodnefs, either 
 formally or eminently. Now the very Idea of God's In- 
 finity not only fpeaks his own Perfection to be boundlefs, 
 but likewife that he bounds and limits the Perfections of all 
 others. And thus being limitted thev cannot be infinite and 
 lo the PoHelTors thereof cannot be God. 
 
 And as infinite Perfection implies in it all Perfection, fo 
 it cannot be divided among many, for then the Parts would 
 be lefs than the whole, and fo not infinite : Upon this Sup- 
 poiition there would be no God at all, becaufe infinite 
 Excellency is neceflkrily implied in the Idea of a God. 
 
 There is but one infinite Being and therefore but one God,. 
 jftr. xxiii. 24. Do net I fill Heaven and Earth fayeth the 
 Lord. If there be one infinite Being filling all Places at once, 
 how can there be any Room for anotherlnfinite to fubfift. ? 
 
 3<ily. Reafon demonftrates, that the firit Being is Al- 
 mighty in Power, and therefore there is no other God, 
 that can hinder or withltand his Operations. If they can, 
 then he is not Omnipotent, and fo not God ? If they cannot 
 then they are not Omnipotent and fo not God ? If there were 
 two Omnipotents, then we may reafonably fuppofe that 
 there would be a conteft. between them, that which one 
 would do, the other Power being equal, would oppofe, and 
 fo all Things would be brought into Confufion. But that 
 conftant and uniform Order which we behold in the Go- 
 ernment of the World, is a fufnxient Confutation of this, 
 
 and 
 
The Unity of God confidered'. 393 
 
 and Proof of the contrary, viz. That there is but one God. 
 If there were more God's than one, all of them muft be 
 faid to be able to do all Things, and then the fame indivi- 
 dual Power which is exerted by one muft be exerted by 
 all, which is abfurd and in the Nature of Things im- 
 porlible. 
 
 4tnly. Reafon llkewife teaches, that if there be moreGods 
 than one, then either they muft. be all equal to one another or 
 unequal, if equal then none of them can be the chief Good, 
 becaufe another is as good as he, and fo none of them 
 can be God ; becaufe to be the chief Good is an eflential Attri- 
 bute of God, which is by this fuppos'd equality deftroy'd. 
 If they are unequal then the Inferior cannot be God, be- 
 caufe he is imperfect and dependant. Supremacy is doubt- 
 lefs an unalianable Prerogative of God, he is over all God 
 bleiTed forever. 
 
 5thly> Abfolute Sovereignty, and univerfal Dominion are 
 erTential to a God, he being the Author and Original of 
 all other Beings, has by confequence a Right to give Laws 
 to all, but is llibject to no controle himielf, becaufe he is 
 Self-exiftent and independent, New if there were more 
 God's than one, then every one could net- have abfolute 
 Sovereignty and univerfal Dominion : They might com- 
 mand and forbid oppolite Things, and fo controle the Pow- 
 er of each other.. The fame Thing might therefore become 
 both Sin and Duty, in refpect of the Subjects, becaufe com- 
 manded by one and forbid by the other, and thus there 
 could be no certain Rule of Right, every Thing would 
 be confus'd. 
 
 6thly. We may farther obferve, that all the divine At- 
 tributes prove God to be one. If none be God but he that 
 hath all thofe Attributes which Scripture and Reafon ailisjn 
 to God : then there can be but one. Altho' there be fome 
 
 Ddd faint 
 
394 ^ je Unity cf God confiderecl. 
 
 faint Emblem of fome of God's Attributes in Creatures, as 
 particularly of his Plolinefs and Goodnefs, &c. yet Crea- 
 tures have them not abfolutely or in the higheft Degree, they 
 may be Good, Holy, but cannot be Holincfsand Goodnefs ; 
 and thus the Attributes which are calPd communicable, can 
 in their own Nature, properly and abfolutely, belong but 
 to one. And as to God's incommunicable Attribute.?, fuch 
 as his immenfity, &c. it is impoilible they mould bemul- 
 tiply'd, if there be two Immensity's, they mull ncceflarily 
 confine each other, and fo neither be immenfe. Once more 
 
 7thiy. Seeing that God is the Creator of all, it is bun 
 juit. and right that he mould be the End of all, of him and 
 thro' him, and therefore to him are all Things. As the 
 firft Being muff needs be the Beit, and in this Senfe de- 
 serves to be the laft End of all, fo he has a juft Claim of 
 Right to it, having produced ail by his Power, and pre- 
 ferved and fupported all by his Goodnefs ; and therefore 
 the Creature is under a natural and indifpenfable Obligation 
 to pay this Debt of Homage to his Creator, Preferver and 
 Benefactor, namely, to love him with fupream Refpecl, 
 and to make his Glory his lafl End in all his Action?, whe- 
 ther Natural, Civil or Religious, all which is utterly incon- 
 fiftent with a multiplicity of Gods : For we can give our 
 highefl Love but to one, and make his Honour our highefl: 
 Mark, which is the Natural Relbit of the Former. 
 
 In the mean Time it ought to be imintain'd, that thefe 
 Things following do not oppofe the Unity of God, viz. 
 
 i ft. A plurality of Na/nes, feeing they fignify no more 
 but one God. Nor 
 
 adly. A plurality of Attributes, feeing they do but repre- 
 fent the infinite Perfection of the divine Nature, which is 
 but one in it felf, in a Way accommodated to our weak and 
 inadequate Conceptions, Nor 
 
 ■?<fv 
 
The Unity of God conjidered. 395 
 
 3dly. A Trinity of Perfons, feeing that among the three 
 Perfons there is but one EfTence, and three Modes of lub- 
 fifting ; from which Refults not three Gods, but Three, 
 who are one God. This leads me to the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, which was to explain the Nature of the di- 
 vine Onenefi, And here it may be obferv'd that the Al- 
 mighty is one.. 
 
 1 ft. Not by a Unity of Subject and Accident, namely 
 fuch as belongs to all created Spirits, Angels and the Souls 
 of Men., Nor 
 
 2diy. By a Unity of compounded 'Par ts, in which Senie the 
 Soul and Body conftitute one Man. Nor 
 
 3dly. By a Unity of Species , which admits more Indi- 
 viduals of the lame Name and Nature. 
 
 But poflitively God is one by a J< •ngular Unity of Nature, 
 which excludes all Bornpofition- of every Kind: He is lb one 
 as to be undivided in himfelf, and indivifible into more of 
 the fame Name and Nature, and therefore the Unity of God 
 is not an Arithmetical Unity which is the Beginning of Num- 
 ber, but iHsan ejfentiai and tr an fcendent Unity, whereby 
 God is one in his Nature: And hence Bajil fayeth truly, 
 " Non unum inquit Deum nwnero fed Natura co?:fite?nur. 
 ** i. e. We confefs not a God one in Number, but in Na~ 
 " ture." And undoubtedly Oneneis isafcrib'd to God, in 
 Oppofiticn to the falfe God's of the Pagans, as has been be- 
 fore obferv'd, as well as in Contradiilinclion to all titular 
 God's. 
 
 King's are cali'd God's, becaufe their Royal Scepter is an 
 Emblem of his Power and Authority ; and judges are 
 likewife fo cali'd, becaufe they are fet in God's Place to do 
 Juftice ; but they arc dying God's. Pfa. Ixxxii. 5. y, I [aid 
 ye are Gods-, but ye Jhdll dye like Men. It is in this Senfs 
 that the Apoftle oblerves, that there are God\s mam and 
 
 D-d d 2 Lords 
 
396 *be Unity of God confident!. 
 
 Lord's many ; but to us fayeth he, there is but one Lord, 
 i Cor. viii. 5. 6. But that the Unity of the divine Na- 
 ture may be the better apprehended, let it be farther ob- 
 ferv'd. 
 
 1 ft. That the various Perfections of the Deity are not in 
 liim, as fo many Ingredients which conftitute his Being to- 
 gether j for then each would have but a partial Per- 
 fection, and there would be fomething in God lefs than 
 God, which is abfurd. Nor, 
 
 2dly. Are the divine Perfections different from each other 
 in him, as the Parts and Properties of Creatures are, e. g. 
 Wifdom in Men is realy different from Juftice. But the 
 fupream Being hath no Parts, and his Perfections are not fo 
 diftingui/h'd as the qualities of Creatures -, for if fo, there 
 would be as many diilinct infinite Beings in God, as there 
 are Attributes. Nor 
 
 3dly. Are any of the divine Perfections accidental to him. 
 No, they are all his very Being. That is laid to be acciden- 
 tal, which a Subftance can fubfift without. But to fuppofe 
 the Almighty bereav'd of any one of his Attributes, is to 
 fuppofe him Imperfect, and fo no God. Therefore 
 
 4thly. The divine Perfections are reprefented as many and 
 diftinct, becaufe of the different Objects which the divine 
 Perfection fixes upon, and the different Effects it produces 
 in Creatures, as well as m condefcention to their weak and 
 finite Minds, which can conceive of the divine Nature, but 
 as it were by Parts. But notwithftanding, it is evident from 
 both Scripture and Reafon, that the divine Nature is Simple 
 and Uncompounded, and that whatever is in God is God. 
 We fhould therefore be careful that while we compare the 
 divine Perfections with the faint Emblems thereof that be 
 jn Creatures, to affiil our Conceptions of them, that we do 
 
 ia 
 
The Unity of God improved. 397 
 
 in the mean Time feparate from them every Thing that 
 argues imperfection, 
 
 The Improvement of this Subject remains. And 
 1 ft. The Coniideration of the Unity of the fupream Be- 
 ing may juftly excite in us an Abhorrence of all Idolatry, 
 whether of a more crafs or fubtile Kind ; for by both the 
 divine Unity is deny'd. The Polytheifm of the Gentiles 
 is but a fpecious Sort of Atheii'm ; they that Worfhip 
 more than one God, do in Effect worfhip no God at all ; 
 becaule they give him not that fupream undivided Refpect 
 which is his due. 2 King xvii. 33, 34. They feared the 
 Lord , and ferved their own God's, after the Marnier of their 
 Nations. They fear not the Lord. How deteftable there- 
 fore is the Idolatry of the Papifts, who reverence with a 
 Religious Worfhip, Saints and Angels, yea Images" and 
 Relicts ? What Reafon have we to blefs God while we 
 live, that we are delivered from that Egyptian Bondage ? And 
 ■mould not the Unity of God incline us to deteft all fpiritual. 
 Idolatry, which confifts in giving our Hearts to, ' trufting in, 
 and ferving of divers Lufts and Pleafures, *biz. The Luft 
 of the Eye, the Luft of Flefh, and the Pride of Life. 
 Some make a God ofPleafure, 2 Tim. iii. 4. Lovers of 
 Pleafures more than Lovers of God. Moft certainly, whatever 
 we love more than God, we make a God : Others there 
 be that make Money their God, they make Gold their Hope, 
 and fay to the fine Gold, thou art my Confidence,, Job. xxxi. 
 24. Others make a God of their Belly, Philip iii. 19. 
 Whofe God is their Belly. Clemens Alexandrinus writes of a 
 Fifli " Ttoat hath its Heart in its -Betty." This Fifti is a 
 proper Emblem of Epicures, for their Heart may be faid 
 to be in their Belly; they cheifiy mind their Gratification 
 of their fenfual Apetite. This is the Evil which God 
 forbids in the firft Command 5 and which, in fome Refpect, 
 
 feems 
 
39S The Unify of God improved. 
 
 feems to exceed in Bafenefs all the Reft which are forbid 
 by the other Precepts : Whatever we put in the Room of 
 God, we may expect will prove a Devil to us. 
 
 2dly. If there be but one God, their can be but one 
 Religion, that is true in the World : And hence the ApoJIU 
 obferves, Ephef. iv. 5. That there is une Faith, one Lord, 
 one Baptifm, one God and Father of a//, who is above all, 
 and thro' all, and in you a/L If there weTe many God's, 
 there might be many Religions, every God would be wor- 
 mip'd in his own Way : But it is unieafonable to fuppofe 
 that that God, who is one in his Being, mould appoint : 
 feveral Religions whereby lie would be worshiped. The 
 Reafon of the Heathens different Rites, was their adoring 
 divers God's, whom they fuppofed they mujft Worfhip in 
 a different Manner : Tho' there be many Ways to Hell, 
 there is but one Road to Heaven, and that is the Path of 
 Faith and Holinefs, without which no Man mall enjoy God. . 
 It is as Dangerous to let up a Religion, fundamentaly Falle, 
 as to let up a falle God ; for indeed the one fuppofes the 
 other. But 
 
 3(lly. We fhould be excited to enquire, whether this one 
 God be ours in a Covenant Way ? Without which we 
 can realbnably take no Comfort in meditating upon this, 
 or any other, of his Attributes. Now this we may know ' 
 by the following Particulars, viz* 
 
 iff. , If we fear this one habitually more than all; be- 
 caufe he is infinitely Greater and Mightier than all. (Mai. . 
 
 2dly. If we defire him habitually more than all ; be- 
 caufe he is infinitely better than all b elides him (Pf. lxxiiL 
 
 $d\y. If we generally delight in him more than in nil 
 
 belidss 
 
The Unity of God improved. 299 
 
 'befides him, becaufe his loving Kindnefs exceeds all other. 
 Enjoyments, yea even the Sweets of Life itfelf. (Pfa. iv. p. y.) 
 ^thly. If we truft and hope in him more than all (ge- 
 nerally;) becaufe he excells all in Wifdom and Faith- 
 fulnefs, ^jofhua. xxiii. 14.) 
 
 5thly. Ir we from Love generally obey him before all ; 
 becaufe he is infinitely higher than all. The Sovereign 
 Lord, the everlaffing King, who fways the Scepter over the 
 whole Univerie, (AcJs iv. 19.) 
 
 6thly. If we bewail the Abfence of this one God more 
 then all other LofTes. Pf. xlii. 5. Why art thou cajl down 
 O my Set//, why art thou difquieted within me ? 
 
 ythly. If increafeof Conformity to him in Mind and Life 
 be the principal Object of our Defire, Care and Labour. 
 Philipi. iii. 13. 14. I prefs forwards towards the Mark ! 
 If upon enquiry we find in ourfelves the aforefaid Characters, 
 truly we have great Reafon to rejoyce, whatever outward 
 DiflreiTes we endure 5 becaufe in having one God for our 
 Portion,we have more then all befides him, infinitely more! 
 His Wifdom is Unfearchable, his Power Infinite, and his 
 "Gocdnefs Incomprehenfible \ As his Wifdom can cafily 
 devife a Way for his People's Deliverance in their moft 
 Perplexing Immergency's, fo his Power is able to effect it, 
 Maugreall Oppofition of Hell and Earth ! And his Gcodnefs 
 as well as Promife engages his Wifdom and Power in his 
 Peoples behalf. Add to this, that his Immutability fecures 
 their Safety upon an unalterable "Foundation ! Surely then 
 to ufe the Tjaimi/i's Language, Bkffcd are the People who 
 are in fuch a Cafe ; yea bleffed is that Peoples whofeGod h 
 the Lord ! Well then when our Minds are divided arid 
 diflrefs'd with a Variety ot Fears and Cares, arifine from 
 a View of- the Wars, Debates, and Coniur.onsin the Sta.e 
 arid Church, as .well as in Families and Neighbourhoods, 
 
 let 
 
40 •. The Unity of God improved, 
 
 let us bewail Sin, which has introduced all this Confuiion 
 into the World, by breaking that Bleffed Unity which once 
 fubfifted between God and us, and thence enfu'd a Breach 
 between Man and Man, between Man and himfelf. And 
 having lamented Sin, the Source of Difcord, let us give 
 our whole Heart to one God, . who is the Fountain of 
 Sweetnefs, Concord and Unity, and humbly rejoyce in him 
 as our All ! And earneftiy ails, of him, that according to 
 the Tenor of his gracious Covenant, he would be pleas' d 
 to give to his People every where one Heart, that they 
 may be one as 'Jehovah is one, and his Name one. (EzeL 
 xi. 19. Zecha. xiv. 9.) 
 
 But how doleful is the Cafe of all fuch who want the a- 
 forefaid Characters y as they are without God fo they are 
 without Hope, Poor, Blind, Miferable and Naked, (Ephef. 
 ii. 12. Rev. hi. 17.) without true Comfort, and without 
 Defence- in theFullnefs of theirSufficiency they are in Want; 
 yea all the Perfections of God are engag'd againft them. . 
 {Job ix. 4.) As thofe that have God for their Portion are 
 Happy in him, in Want of all other Things, fo thofe that 
 want this Portion are Miferable in the PoffeiTion of all befides 
 him. 
 
 Again from the Doclrine of God's Unity we may learn ■ 
 how Wicked the Practice of fuch is, who when they have 
 .loft Goods feek to Wizards and familiar Spirits how they may 
 get their Goods again, this is exprefly condemn'd by the 
 Law of God, [Dent. viii. xi.) There mall not be found a- 
 ny that confults with familiar Spirits. 2 Kings, i, 6. Thus 
 faith the Lord, is it not becaiife there is not a God in Ifrael, 
 that thou fendeji to enquire of Baal-zebub, the God of 
 Eckron. Such who go to the Devil for Council, renounce the 
 true God, and their baptifmal Dedication to him ! . 
 
 h 
 
The Unity of God impro-v'd. .'oz 
 
 Is there but one God ? What Reafon then have we to be 
 thankful that we have the Means of knowing him, while 
 Multitudes who are alike to us by Nature are periiliing 
 for Lack ofViiion? Our Lines have fallen to us in pleafant 
 Places, we have Line upon Line, and Precept upon Pre- 
 cept ! The Harbingers of God ' are frequently .proclaiming 
 in our Ears, Hear O Ifraeh the Lord thy Gcd is one Lord. 
 
 Is there but one God ? Then let us, reduce our Affecti- 
 ons from their- vain Wandrings, and divided Courfes, af- 
 ter other Lords and Lovers, and fix them in a united Chanel, 
 and with intenfe Vehemence upon the Blefied God as their 
 Center! Let Jehovah be the Object of our higheil Regard, 
 and the Foundation of- our Trull and Confidence ! Let us 
 devote ourfelves and our All to- his Glory and Service I 
 Suiely he has the beft right to our Love and Obedience who 
 is the Author of our Beings ! He belt deferves them who 
 is the Fountain of all our Benefits, and he is beil- able to 
 requite both, being infinite in Power and Goodnefs ! O let us 
 endeavour to pleaie the One -great and glorious God, by 
 loving, believing, un-iverfal and fleady Obedience ! For this 
 is the main Thing we have to mind in this prefent World ! 
 This reflects Honour upon our Profeffion, brings Comfort 
 into our own Minds, and tends to efUblim the Kingdom of 
 Christ among Men, 
 
 And finally, Brethren, feeing there is but one God, let 
 his People endeavour to be One as God is one : Let us 
 endeavour-to be One in Judgment and One in Affection : 
 And hence the Apoftle Paul exhorts the Corinthians, to be 
 allof one Mind, i Cor. h 10, And it is iaid, Actsiv. 32 = ? 
 That the Multitude that believed were cf one Heart and one 
 Sou!. Nothing is more amiable in it felf- and ierviceable to 
 the Church of God, then for Brethren to dwell together in 
 Unity, PiLh exxxiii. 1. This is like Hermans De~v and the 
 
 E e e - fra\:-' 
 
^02 The Unity vf God improvd. 
 
 fragrant Ointment pour'd on Aaron's Head ! This Unity was 
 what our Lord himfelf pray 'd for, John xvii. 21. That they 
 all may be One. Upon which Words Athanafus gloffeth 
 thus, " Even as (fays he) the Father and the Son are One 
 tc in Efence,fo we by feme imperfect refemblance are made One 
 <f while we behold him. One among ourfekes, by mutual 
 " concord of Mind and unity of Spirit." The Apoftle Paul 
 urgeth this Unity by various arguments, Ephef. iv. 4, 5,6. 
 Endeavouring to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of 
 Peace. We are all one my /Ileal Body, and every one of us 
 Members of it, among which what is more advantageous 
 than Harmony ? There is one Spirit by whole Afiiftance we 
 are baptifed into one Body, 1 Cor. xii. 12, 1 }.. There is 
 one Hope of our Calling, viz. eternal Glory and Happineis, 
 Heb. xii. 22, 2;. One Lord Jesus, one Faith in him, one 
 Baptifm, one God and Father of all. Let us therefore care- 
 fully avoid all fchifmatical Doctrines and Practices, which 
 are fo exceeding prejudicial to Religion. To this End let 
 us Labour to be of a humble, charitable and forgiving Tem- 
 per, Charity hopes all c Ihi?igs, it fujfers long, is kind, and is 
 not cafily provok'd. Let us earneftly pray to the great God, 
 that he would heal the Breaches of Zion, which are wide as 
 the Sea, and caufe his People to be one as he is one. A- 
 men. Amen, 
 
 SERMON. 
 
The Text explain' d. 403 
 
 SERMON XXI 
 
 JEREMIAH x. 10. 
 
 But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an 
 ever la/ling King : At his Wrath the Earth Jlall tremble 
 and the Nations jh all not be able to abide his Indignation ! 
 
 IT is probable that the Prophecy contain'd in this Chapter, 
 was delivered after the firft Babylonifh Captivity, becaufe 
 it has a double Reference ; the firft Part refpects thofe 
 that were carry'd Captive ; and the latter Part reipecrs 
 thofe that remain'd in the Land of Pale/line. 
 
 The Prophet in the Beginning of this Chapter, firft Ad- 
 dreifes thofe who were carry'd Captive into the Idolatrous 
 Country cf the Caldeans, and ferioufly cautions them againft 
 the Infection of it, verfe 1, 2. 1 hits fayeth the Lord, learn 
 not the Way of the Heathen. In the following Verfes the 
 Prophet expofes the Vanity of the Pagan Idolatry, by shew- 
 ing that inch fort oi: Gods were but the Work of Men's 
 Hands, and had neither Life nor Motion, lie therefore ad- 
 viies them in the jui verfe, to cleave to the God cf liraeJ, a- 
 gainfi all Temptation to the Contrary. This Advice he in- 
 ibrces in the Words of cur Text, by ^eprelentihff ionie of 
 his Perfections, in ©ppofition to the Idols of fcbje Meatmen, 
 But the Lord is the true Gcd. The God's of the Paeans are 
 vanity and a lye, counterfeit and impoi'lure; but Jehovah is tru- 
 ly and really God, as well as the God of Truth, ?. God who 
 
 E e e 2. cannot 
 
 c 
 
a 04 ' ^H ' Text explain ' d. 
 
 cannot lie or deceive. He is the living God. The 'Pagan 
 Idols are dumb dead Things, that have neither Life, Breath 
 or Motion : But Jehovah is the living Gcd, i. e. as Calvin 
 juflly explain?, " He himfelfis endowed with Life, and is to 
 " ethers the Fountain of Life" Pjal. xxxvi. 9. It is in 
 him iv e live, and move and have our Being. A3, xvii. 28. 
 God is Life it ielf, has Life in himfelf, and is the Original of 
 all that Life which Creatures enjoy. And an cverlafiing 
 King. He has a Right to rule, and has exercis'd Do- 
 minion from cverlafiing, and .will to everlafling ■; whereas the 
 Idols of the Heatbqpb ace hut of Yefcerday, and will foon 
 ceafe to be. — —At his Wrath the Earth Jlall tremble ; and 
 the Nations fall not be able to abide his indignation. The 
 Prophet had obferv'd in the 5th -Verfe of this Chapter, 
 that the Pagan. Idols could do neither Evil or Good, they 
 are poor impotent forry Shams, and Trifles of no Moment, 
 unworthy of either Love or Fear ! But on the Contrary the 
 Wrath of "Jehovah is dreadful, at this the Earth trembles, 
 his Angry frown makes the Worlds Foundations fhake 
 and the Pillars of Heaven tremble, and the Nation.-, were 
 all their Strength united, are as unable to reiift his Al- 
 mighty Indignation, as they are to endure it ! Jehovah is 
 the God of Nature, the Fountain of Being and Power 
 and therefore all Nature is at his Difpofe and Controlc, 
 his Empire is Univcrial, Abfolute, Eternal ; The Lord 
 jhall reign forever, thy God Zion to all Generations ! 
 The Subject I purpofe to fpeak upon from this Text is 
 the Life of God, he is the living God. In difcourfing up- 
 on which I defign 
 
 I. To prove the Life of God. And 
 
 II. To explain its Nature. 
 
 And then proceed to the Improvement, And 
 
 1 ft. 
 
The Lije of God prov" d 40? 
 
 1 ft. I am to prove that God lives. To this End it may 
 be obferv'd, that the facred Scriptures frequently afcribc 
 Life to God, and affure us, that he is the Author of Life 
 to all that poiiefs it : And hence he is call'd the living God. 
 (Jfa. xxxvii. 17. Dan. vi 34. Pfa. Ixxxiv. 2. Mat. xvi. 16.) 
 And in many other Places which it is necdlefs to mention. 
 The Almighty is like wife f \id-.to be Life it f elf . (Col. iii. 4. 
 1 John v. 20. And the Fountain of Life ; Jer. ii. 13. Ff. 
 xxxvi. 10.) In him we are laid to live, move, and have 
 our Being. (AJl.xvu, 2S.) The Oath which the Fathers 
 us'd, was the Lordliveth, (Jer, v. 2.) And Jehovah him- 
 felf fwears by nothing but by his Life and Holinefs : This 
 Oath is us'd fourteen Times in the Prophefy of EzekieL 
 
 Moreover Life is not only attributed to God effmtially, but 
 perf anally to each of the facred Three, to God the. Father , 
 John v. 26. For as the Father hath Life in bin f elf- p hath 
 he given to the Son to have Life in himfelf. , To God the Son, 
 Job. xiv. 19. Becaufe J live ye / hall live alfo. Hence he is 
 call'd the Prince of Life, and that not on iy becaufe he has 
 Life in himfelf, by the Father as Mediator, but is alio our 
 Life, and poffeffes the Power of an endleis Life (Joh. i. 4. 
 Ccl. iii. 4. Fleb. vii. 16.) Hence it is faid of him, Rev. 
 : 1. 17, j 8. that he is the frf and the lajl ; that he liveth 
 and imas dead, and behold he is alive forevennore ; and that 
 he hath the Keys of Hell and Death. Tho' his human Nature 
 (uttered Death to purchafe Life for his People, yet his divine 
 Nature cannot dye, but lives forever. Life is alfo attributed 
 to God the Holy Ghojl 2. Cor. iii. 3, And hence he is call'd 
 the Spirit of Life, Rom. viii. 2. 
 
 Reafon iikewife affures us of this Truth, that God lives,' 
 by the following Conliderations. 
 
 1 ft. It appears from the Effects of Life. "God under- 
 flands, wills, (eves, therefore he truly lives ; Thefe are the 
 
 . Effect 
 
r 
 
 40-6- The Life ofGodprov'd". 
 
 Effects of Life, and Effects demonflrate the Being and 
 Nature of their Cauie ; therefore Arijfefle juftly and fre- 
 quently concludes from this, " That becaufe God understands 
 " all Things, he therefore lives a Bleffed Lift." 
 
 2d\y. Thofe Things live, which move, and far them- 
 felves. Now God doth all Things of himielf, he is the 
 Firfr, and moft. perfect Caufe of all, he is moil Active 
 by his Effence, yea a iimple Act, he knows, difcerns, wills, 
 works, altogether of himfelf. and therefore mud needs live. 
 
 ^dly. Life is a certain Perfection, which involves no Im- 
 perfection in it. Thus thofe Things that live are reckon'd 
 more perfect than fuch as do not, and therefore it cannot 
 with any Shadow.of Reafon be deny 'd to a Being, that is 
 infinitely Perfect of, and in himfelf as jehovah is,. 
 
 4thly. God is the Fountain of Life i6 all living Creatures. 
 (Pfd. xxxvi. 10.) And this he could not be if lie had 
 not Life himielf j for what one has not he cannot give. 
 Here obfer've i ft. That God is the Author of the Life of 
 Nature ; and hence he is faid to breath into Mans Nofri's 
 the- Breath of Life. [Gen. ii. 7.) And in him we are laid 
 to live and move. (Ath xvii. 28.) And 2dly fehovah is 
 the Author of the Life of Grace. Ephei. ix. 10. Net of 
 Works leafl any Man (lould boall r For we are his Work- 
 manfhip, created in Christ Jksus nnto good Works,— — -jdly. 
 The. Almighty is likewiie the, Author of the Life of Glory-, 
 Rom. vi. z^.Forthel'/ugesofSinis Death, but tie gift 
 of God is eternal Life thro' Jesus Christ cur Lord. Again 
 
 rjthly. If God did not live,, all the reft of his Attribute-, 
 and he himfelf, would be Vain, and would not differ 
 from the Idols of the Gentiles, who have Eyes and fee not, 
 E rs and hear ?iot • and no wonder for they are dead. 
 What would avail all the reft of God's Perfections 
 
 wit 
 
 hout 
 
*The Li fe of 'God explain 'd. 407 
 
 without Life, feeing that without that, they cannot Act ? 
 I proceed to the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, which was to explain the Nature cf the 
 divine Life ; which may be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it 
 is an cfeniial Property of the divine Nature, 'whereby he is 
 able to perform an infinite Variety of ASfion to a certai?i 
 known and valuable End, with Council and Complacency. 
 Ephef. i. 11. Who worketh all things after the Council of 
 his own Will. That the aforefaid Defcription may be the 
 better iinderitood, let the following Particulars be con- 
 fidered, viz. 
 
 1 fl. That the Life of God is his Nature, Being or very 
 Effence ; and therefore he is cali'd Life, as was obferv'd 
 and prov'd before : Whereas Creatures are only living, their 
 Life is but a certain Faculty of their Being, and therefore 
 different from it -, but the Life of God co-inceeds with his 
 Effence. 
 
 2dly. The divine Life confirms in a Power of Action -with 
 Complacency : By a Power of Action we intend to fig- 
 nify an Ability in God to produce more Effects without 
 himfelf then he doth 3 and not that the Almighty is at any 
 Time Inactive. No, the Almighty is in continual Action, 
 otherwife he would fuffer a Change which is impoffible ; 
 and therefore divines generally and juftly obferve, that 
 the Almighty is afimple A51. This will farther appear by 
 confidering that thole Things are faid to live, who act of 
 themfelves without being acted, or mov'd either by fecond 
 Caufes, (in this fenfe Life belongs to Creatures) or without 
 any prior moving Caufe at all, and fo God himfelf Lives : 
 The Life of Creatures fprings from fome Compofition, e. g. 
 Natural Life from the Union of the Soul with the Body, 
 which being broke all Power of natural Action ceafes : 
 Spiritual Life from the Union of the Soul to original Righ- 
 
 teoufnefs 
 
4o8 The Life of Gcd explain' d. 
 
 teouihefs, which being broken all Power of working Spiri- 
 tually ceafes. Rom._vki. 8. Thofetbat are in the Flcjh can- 
 not pleafe Gcd.- And eternal 'Life fprings from a perfect 
 Union with God. as the chief Good : which being 
 broken the . Soul cannot enjoy God, or refoyce in him. 
 
 Moreover their is a fourfold Lite in Creatures, viz. Ve- 
 getative, Senfitive, ..Rational, and Mixt', lit. A Vegetative 
 Life is that whereby Things are able to do. that, which is 
 requiilte for acquiring and. conferving the full Strength of 
 their Nature, and the Propogation of their Kind • this is 
 the Life of Herbs, 2dly» A fenJitiveLife is that Faculty 
 whereby Creatures are. enabled to difcern Things that are- 
 hurtful to them, and Things that are good for them, and" 
 to mun the one and feck the other ; this is the Life of 
 Beads; Thefe are imperfect Kinds of Life which the meaneit 
 Beings enjoy, and therefore cannot be afcribed to God. But 
 -}dly. There is a more noble kind of Life cali'd Rational^' 
 by which the PolicfTor of it, is enabled to a<3 with Under*-; 
 ib.nd:ng_ and reasonable Complacency. And ^thly there 
 is a Mi'xi Life which refuks From the two ilrfl Kinds of 
 Life only, and this belongs to brute Animals, or from ail. 
 the Three and. Exifls in Men. 
 
 Now. we muff not conceive in God any fuch imperfecl ' 
 Thing -as Growth or Scnje } for he is a limplc, fpiritual, ima- 
 terial and perfect Being. The mod:, perjecf Kind of Life ' 
 muff therefore be. aferib'dto him, viz. Rational^ where- 
 by the Being of God is cdnceivi'd by us, as active Simply 
 of itfeif ; when in our Ideas of God we adjoin Re'ajbh and ' 
 Aclion y wehaveajult: Notion of his Life. 
 
 It may be here farther obferv'd, that -a Man hath four Kinds ' 
 of Faculties in theExercife of which he .livcth, and Life.in him 
 is' an Ability to exercife them : He hath an Underfiandihg, 
 WUh -dffecJicn^ and a Poivcr to move and.icw£ cutveard- 
 
 b 
 
The divine Lije explaitfd. 409 
 
 ly ; all thefe the Almighty afcribes to himfelf in his Word. 
 But 
 
 3dly. Another Particular, confiderable in the aforefaid De- 
 fcription of the Life of God, was this, viz. His adling to 
 Jome known and valuable End, this is but a neceflary Con- 
 fequent of acting rationally ; an intelligent Agent mud have 
 iome End in View, and Inch an End as is worthy of his 
 Choice. Now the End' that God propoies both Scripture 
 and Reafon inform us, is his own Glory,- or the Manitcfta- 
 tion of his divine Excellency. And hence Solomon obferves, 
 Pro. xvi. 4. That be made all Things fcr himfilf. This is 
 certainly the moir. noble End, Becaufe it moft nearly relates 
 the beft of Beings; and therefore it muff be fuppos'd to be 
 the End which the Almighty has chiefly in View in all his 
 Actions, feeing, ke ever ads with unerring Council. • 
 
 But tho' there be fome Analogy between the Life of God 
 and that of intelligent Beings, as has been obferv'd, yet they 
 differ in many Things very widely, as will appear by consi- 
 dering the following Properties of the divine Life, and com- 
 paring them with the Properties oi the Lives of Creatures-, 
 Now the Divirte Lite is 
 
 ifr, E//?nfial, viz. His Nature or Being, as has been ob- 
 ferv'd before, whereas the Life of Creatures is but a fepara-- 
 ble Prcpertv, of their Beinsr?,- And 
 
 idly. The Life of God is Nec?/fa?:% this relTilts cnavoid- 
 ably from die former Property,, if the Being of God exiffs 
 neceiTarily of it felf, as it certainly does, as the Name 
 Jehovah iignines, and truly- without this he could, not be 
 God, and- if the divine* Lite is the lame with it, (as has 
 been obferv'd) then it muff bo Neeejpiry alio ; and hence 
 the Almighty is. laid to have Life in himfelf : Whereas all 
 Creatures have but a borrowed precarious and dependant 
 Life communicated to them by God who is the Source of 
 EiifiL 
 
 F f f . . 3dly: 
 
4 i o The divine Life impro-tid, 
 
 3<ily. The Life of God is Per feB, he has the full and 
 perfect PoiTe/Tion of an interminable Life at once, where- 
 as the Life of Creatures is imperfect, growing by the Ad- 
 dition of Days, Months and Years, our Life glides away in 
 a continual Flux and SuccefTion of Moments; but the di- 
 vine Life is an cuerlafllng NOW, without any Succeffion 
 in Duration. 
 
 4th.lv. The Life of God is Infinite, without Beginning or 
 End, hence he is fiid only to have Immortality. ( i Tim. vi. 
 1 6.) The Immutability of the divine Nature, as w r ellas his 
 Self-exilic ncc, mew the impofhbility of his ibfkringa Change 
 by Death. But on the contrary, the Life of all Creatures 
 had a Besfinnincr, and in refoecl of the moft of them, it will 
 have an End. I proceed to the Improvement of this Sub- 
 ject, And 
 
 ifl the Subject that has been difcours'd upon, offers 
 Matter of Repioof to all fuch who behave towards God, as 
 if he were a dumb Idol, that neither iaw, heard or under- 
 ftood, or could reward or avenge what is done in the World, 
 and who therefore do not love, or fear, or worfiiip him, as 
 if he could neither do them Good or Hurt, Zephu i. 1 2. 
 And in their: Straits they are Co full of Diltruil and Dejecti- 
 on as if they believ'd there was no God in Heaven who 
 liv'd and iaw their Miferies, and was able to fend them Suc- 
 cours fuited to them ! What can fuch Perfons expeel who 
 thus make an Idol of God? But that by the Executions of 
 his Wrath, he will make them know to their dreadful Coft, 
 that he is the Lord. Ezek. :;xxv. o. But to proceed 
 
 2dly. Let us examine ourfelves, by' propofing the fol- 
 lowing Queftions, viz. 
 
 i ft. Do we content ourfelves with having a Name to 
 live when we are dead ? If fo our Cafe is dreaful ! Or 
 
 2div. 
 
The divine Life imfrcJ '„•/. 4 1 1 
 
 2dly. Hath the living God quickned us, ivben tve were dead 
 in Trejfaffes and Sins f Epef ii. 4, 5. 
 
 3dly. Does the fuppos'd ipiritual Lite in us, produce 
 Senie, Breath, Motion, Warmth ? Are we at Times fbrrow- 
 fuliy kniible of the inward Diforders of our Souls ? Does 
 our Unbelief and other Corruptions afflict us ? And do we 
 know what the Abfence of "God means, as well as his 
 Prefence, by our own Experience ; do we breath after God 
 in the General above all others ? (Pf Ixxlii. 25.) Is it our 
 chief Care and Study for the moil Part to grow ih Grace ? 
 And dees our principal Zeal and Warmth generally run in 
 a religious Channel ? 
 
 Athly. Do we generally labour to icrve the living God 
 in a living Way ? i. e. Not only with rais'd Affection?, but 
 approaching to him thro' Christ the new and living Way, 
 tie lVa\\ the Truth and the Life? Heb. x. 20. 
 
 5thly. Have we farrow 'd for the great Evil of fa-faking 
 the living God, the Fountain of living Waters, and running 
 to broken Ci ferns? Jcr. ii. 13. And do we watch over our 
 Unbelief that we depart 710 mere "j r rom li>n? Heb. iii. 12. 
 
 6thly. Is God the Foundation of our ii--;^ and Trull, 
 and nothing elfe fcefides him ? ( 1 Tin?, vi. iy.) 
 
 To fuch as can anfwer in the lAffirrrjative to the afore- 
 laid Queflions, (die hail excepted) this Subject minirters 
 Comfort in everyDiilrefs, being perfwaded that ourlledsemer 
 lives, and that he is the Strength of our Life, particularly 
 (iff) in the D{ fealties of a Natural Life, if Sickneis 
 threatens an End of it, if Poverty removes the Supports of 
 Life, if Enemies feek it, and lay Snares to deftroy it, if the 
 Fear of Death and Horror of PiUrifaciion and Pain perplex 
 us ? What yields a iweetcr Support, in thofe and fuch like 
 Cafes, than to think that our God and 'Redeemer lives,' 
 vea that he is Life it fdf. and the Fcuntain thereof; As he 
 
 F. f f 2 . has- 
 
412 T/je divine Life improved. 
 
 has given Life, fo he can preferve it in the in idit of all 
 Dangers, and againft the Force of all Enemies, yea he can 
 reflorc it when loft, for he is the RefurreBim and the Life I 
 Again, 
 
 2dly. In the Difficulties of the fpiritual Life, when 
 we find ourfelves cold and dead, unfit for, and unable to 
 perform the Duties of Religion, how {importing and fweet 
 is it to think that as the Father hath Life inhimfc!J\ fo hath 
 he given to the Son to have Life in himfclf that we might have 
 Life in hi?n. i John iv. 9. Tea that he is our Life. Col. 
 i;i. 4. And 
 
 3 dly. In the Difficidties of Eternal Life : When the 
 Fear of Death and the Body of Death pain us, fo that 
 wc are obiig'd to figh and lay, ivho fall deliver us? Men 
 and Brethren what (hall we do to inherit eternal Life ? In 
 this Cafe how fweet is it to think that God lives, and is 
 the great Source of Life 3 and likewife that the Redeemer 
 lives, and is our Lite ? Yea that to this End he was given 
 by his Father, that we Jhoiihl not fcrijb hut have eternal 
 Lije (To this Purpofe was his Death, that he might pur -chafe 
 Life for us) And alio that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of 
 Life who quickens ? (Jch. vi. 63.) 
 
 4thly. The Confidcration of the infinite or immortal 
 Life of God, may juflly humble us who carry our Breath, 
 our Life, in our Noftrils, and are liable to fuch a manifold 
 Death, viz. Temporal, Spiritual and Eternal, who may be 
 fpeedily depriv'd of Life by the meaneft Infects, the molt 
 inconfiderable Incidents, as both Scripture and Hiflory in- 
 forms us, and who have brought ourfelves into this mortal 
 State by Sin ! 2 Sam. xiv. 14. For we mufl needs .die, and 
 are as Water fpiit on the .Ground, which cannot be gathered 
 up again. Pial. cxliv. 3, 4. Lord what is Man that thru 
 takeji Knowledge of him,. Man is like to Vanity, his Days are 
 as a Shaddow that pajjeth away. Our Life is like a Flower 
 
 of 
 
The divine Life improved. 413 
 
 of the Orals, which flourifes in the Morning, but in the E- 
 "oening is cut down and withcrcth, Pfal. xc. 5. 6. What 
 as cur Life, faith the Apoftle James, but a Vapour which ap- 
 pears jor a little time, and then vanijheth. away. Man that 
 is born of a Woman, lays fob, is of few Days and full of 
 Trouble, he comet h jorth like a Flower and is cut down, h€ 
 jlecth alfo as a Shadow and continueth net. As Bernai"d ob- 
 ibrves, " In theje Words is defcrib'd the fortnefs, certainty, 
 " frailty and manifold Adverfity of our Life." How much 
 therefore may we be humbled, when we compare our Life 
 with the Life of God ? What are we but Duft and Ames ? 
 And if our Life be fo fhort and uncertain, how vain muft 
 all the Enjoyments of Life be ? Seeing they cannot be bet- 
 ter to us than that on which they depend! O therefore 
 let us be wean'd from the dying Things of Time and 
 Breath after Immortality ! Let us earneitly feek it in the 
 immortal God, that when our Heart and Flefh fails, -he 
 may be the Strength of our Heart, and our Portion for 
 Ever ! 
 
 5thly. The Confideration of the Life of God mould excite 
 us to glorify him in Imitation of the heavenly Hoft. Rev. 
 iv. 9. 10. When thofe Beads gave Glory and Honour a?id 
 Thanks to him, that fat on the Throne^ who liveth for ever 
 and ever. The Four and Twenty Elders fall down before 
 him that fat on the Throne, and worfiip him that liveth for 
 ever and ever, and cdfl their Crowns before the Throne. I 
 .{ay we mould glorify God, not only becaufe he has Life, 
 which is a Primary Perfection of Mankind, b(8fe by the 
 Help of which all their Faculties are actuated, and with- 
 out which they would be Vain : Thus the Life of God 
 actuates all his other Attributes, &c. But becaufe he is 
 Life it felf, yea fuch a Life as is Independent, Infinite, eter-; 
 nal Immutable, and the Author of all that Life which 
 
 every 
 
414" The divine Life improved. 
 
 every Creature enjoys : It's on theie Accounts that 
 God doth ib often glory of his Life, us well as fwear 
 by it, and thereby diftinguiih himielf from faife God's who 
 are but dead Idols, 
 
 And feeing that Jehovah is the original of cur natural 
 and fpiritual Life, and is to be f! j of our eternal likewite, 
 to purchafe v/hich he gave his only begotten Son to Deat&, let 
 us ever retain a grateful Senfe of this in our Minds, and cele- 
 brate the Prailes of God for it in Speech and Action ! 
 
 Finally, The Conlideration of the Life of God, mould 
 incline us to live to him ! Which confifts principally in the 
 following Particulars, viz, ill. In directing- all our ABioiis^ 
 whether Natural, Civil or Religious, to his Glory, as our 
 highefl Mark, i Cor. x. 31. Whether therefore ye Eat or 
 Drink, or what forcer ye do, do all to the Glory of God. sclly, 
 In conforming onr Actions according to his revealed Will, 
 .1 Pet. iv. 2. That he no longer fJmdd live the reft of his time 
 in the F/ef/j, to the Lufls of Men, but to the Will of God. 
 3dly. It confifts in living by the Power of God, i. e. when 
 we being fenflble of our inability to do what is plealing to 
 God, depend upon his Afliftance and Influence. (Gal ii, 
 19. 20.) Now the Life of God affords a manifold Argu- 
 ment of living to him. For iff. Our God lives, and in his 
 Life confiils his chief Perfection, and ours in Imitation of it. 
 2dly. Pie is the Author of our Life, and therefore it is but 
 reafonable it mould be referred to him. 3 dly . Our Re- 
 deemer has Lite in himfelf, is our Life, yea has diedfhtit we 
 might livw-, not to our j elves but to hi n that ha; dved for us : . 
 2 Cor v. 15. 4thly. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Life, 
 who quickens poor dead and fcupid Sinners, by Virtue of 
 his Oilice. (joh. vi. 63.) O ! therefore while we do live, 
 let us live to the living God, and labour to be fervent and 
 and lively in his Service ; in this Way we may expect, in 
 
 due 
 
An Alarm to the Secure 4 1 £ 
 
 due Time, to be trariflated thro' divine Grace, into a State 
 cf immortal Life and Glory. And fuch as are under the 
 Power of Spiritual Death, which you may know by your 
 being without fpiritual Senfe, Breath and Motion, I exhort 
 in the Language of Paul to the Ephejiaiis, chap. v. 14. 
 Awake thou ibatjkipefi\ arife from the Dead and Chriji fiall 
 ' -ht ! What mcanef 
 if fo be that he ti 
 you are thus fpi 
 neither Communion with the living God here, nor enjoy 
 him hereafter, but are under his Curfe and Wrath. The 
 Law you have broken condemns you, Gal. iii. 10. Curfed 
 is every one that contihUcth not in all Things that are writ- 
 ten in the Book of the Law to do them. The Gofpel alfo 
 which you believe not likewife rejecls you ! Mark xvi. 12. 
 Heaven is fhiit up againd you, and Hell is open to receive 
 you ! Your Services muft. needs be loathfome becaufe they 
 are Dead ! Poor, poor Sinners ! ye are every Moment in 
 Danger of everiafting Pvliferyj and how foon ye may be 
 cngulph'd m it ye know not ! And will ye be eafle and 
 unconderri'd in fuch a fttate of extream and inexpreffible 
 Danger ? God forbid ! O think frequently and folemnly of 
 your doleful Cafe and cry fe&vently and unweariedly to 
 the living God for fpiritual Life, without which you muil 
 eternally feel the Power of the fecond Death. 
 
 Poor Sinners ! Are not the plain Signs of Spiritual 
 Death upon you ? For is not your Eyes clofe fhut ? You 
 have no affecting apprehenfion of yourDifeafe and Danger, 
 nor of the Remedy a gracious God has provided for perill- 
 ing Souls ! 
 
 You hear not, to any purpofe, the dreadful Thunders of 
 the Divine Law, nor the gentler Wifpers of the Gofpel 
 of Grace and Salvation ! And as you have Eyes and fee 
 
 not 
 
jf 1 6 An Alarm to the Secure, 
 
 not, Ears and hear not the Things that belong to your 
 Peace, fo you have Hearts and feel not ! when the Heraulds,. 
 the Harbingers of God' denounce aloud the dreadful Curfes 
 of Jehovah againftyou from Ebai's Mount ! When we 
 unvail the Difmal Vault of Hell, and let it before you in 
 all it's flamingTerrors, yaunihg Wide, to devour you ! When 
 we reprefent the Vengeance of Omnipotence hanging over 
 your Guilty Heads, as a gloomy Cloud, Pregnant with 
 woe and Ruin, every Moment ready to break upon you 
 in a formidable reiifllefs Torrent, and drown you in De- 
 ftruction ! When we take the Sword of God and point it at 
 your Hearts, alas ye do not feel the Thruft, or grieve o- 
 ver your Mifery ! When we bend the legal Bow and moot 
 at your Bofoms, . the Arrows rebound as if they f truck on a 
 Wall of Marble, and make no abidding Impreffion ! 
 
 And when we fpeak in iofter Strains of the humble. 
 Charms of divine Grace and Love, and pronounce Blefnngs 
 upon all believing Penitents from the Summit of Gerefitn ! 
 Alas ye feel it. not, but are as infeniible as Stones, as dead 
 Corps ! As the former did not alarm your Fear, fo neither 
 does this incite your Love ! 'When we labour to open the 
 inexpremole Beauties of Jesus, of Holinefs, of Paradife, 
 and let them in their proper Light, alas ye are not affected !. 
 The Condefcention of the Son of God inafiumihg our Na- 
 ture, under its prefent ruinous Circumstances, his appear- 
 ing in the Form of a Servant, who was GcJ over, all Hefled 
 forever, his becoming poor, that we might be made nch„ 
 in a Word his being expos' d to all the Inftances of Hard- 
 ship, Ignominy and Contempt in Life, and at lafl'to a molf. 
 painful and fhameful Death, r is enough to affect any who 
 have the leaft Spark of Life ! But what lefs tkanAlmightinels 
 can effectually afea the Dead ?. 
 
 And 
 
An Alarm to the Secure. 4 1 7 
 
 And are there not fome among you, who find yourfelves 
 without Tafte and Savour of Spiritual Things, and con- 
 tent yourfelve? with a fpiritlefs Form or Round of religi- 
 ous Duty, without any Growth in Grace, you think you 
 have got as much as will do for Heaven, and are therefore 
 Satisfied ? O ! this is a plain Sign, that ycu are ftark blind, 
 and ftone dc^a. 
 
 Awake poor Sinners! in the Name of God cut of your 
 damnable Sleep, before your Cafe be pan: all Remedy, there 
 is no Hopes of your Converfion and Salvation, while ye re- 
 main in tins Sleep and Death ; ye muff be awakned or 
 damned, it is the Loft that Christ is only come to feek 
 and fave. The Whole need no Fhyj'.iian, but tie Sick. If ycu 
 ask what you Hull do to get awakened into this Life ? I an- 
 fwer, firft try by Examination to get a thorough Knowledge 
 of your dead and damnable State: For if you fail in this, 
 v u are never like to be deeply affected with the Miieries 
 of your Condition : Ye mould likewife think often with 
 the utmoil S:riouinefs, upon Death, yudgment, and Meli L 
 F/'re, in all the Forms of Terror, in which Scripture and 
 Reafon do reprefent them ! Attend dilii ;ehtly upon the 
 hjulty dlfpens'd '; for tins is a principal Mean of 
 divine Appointment of bringing the Dead to Lite. By the 
 Foolifhneis of Preaching God laves th6fe ffaat believCo 
 Eaith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. .• 
 Cry frequently and vehemently to God for the awaken'-- 
 ing Iniiuencies of his Holy Spirit, and beware of quench- 
 ing them by Sloth, prejumptuous Mopes, or fining agai : 
 Light. Ye ungodly Sinners of every Ao;e and Order, I 
 charge you in the Name of the living God, and adjure you 
 by his Authority j to awake, elfe you muff be burnt for 
 ever in the Flames of Hell 1 Don't think that your d 
 Devotion", unperfbrm'd Refoiutious, ineffectual Affections., . 
 
 G gg or 
 
4 1 S An Alarm to the Secure, 
 
 or external Priviledges, viz. Baptifm, and the Lord's Sup- 
 per, will ftand you inftead when arraign'd before the burn- 
 ing Bar of the dreadful God ! For neither Circumcifion 
 or Uncircumciiion, avails any Thing but the New- Crea- 
 ture. You that are in the Flefh cannot pleafe God by a- 
 ny Thing you do : A corrupt Tret, as our Lord obierves, 
 cannot bring forth vood Fruit, 
 
 Awake poorSinners ! for thcGuilt of all your Sins lies like 
 Mountains of Lead upon your wretched Souls ! And 
 consider I befeech you, that all ye have been doing finoe 
 ye were born, is in fomerefpect Sin, in a greater or ieiT.r 
 I)egree ; ye have been going aftray from the Womb like 
 wild Affes Colts, and every Imagination of the Tho'ts of 
 your Hearts have been only Evil continually ; ve have been 
 finning againft Light and Love, againft Law and Gofpel, a- 
 gainft Mercies and Judgments : Thus you may fee that your 
 Sins rival the Stars for Multitude, and are red as Crimfbn 
 in their Agravat'ons ; and you may allure yourselves, that 
 .God's Juflice will oblige him to Proportion your Pains 
 accordingly, O then ! How Inexprefiible and Exquiiirc 
 gnuft your eternal Tortures be, if ye continue in this impe- 
 nitent Security. Poor Sinners ! Me thinks the Songs, the 
 Shouts, the harminious Hofanahs of all the Hofts of Hea- 
 ven invite you to awake^ without which ye cannot be 
 admitted into their honourable and happy Society, and join 
 in their delightful Anthems with greatful Accents, befides 
 the dolorous Groans and hideous Scrieks of damned Men, and 
 damned Angels, in the flaming Furnace of Tophet, mayjuftly 
 ;..iarm you out of your accurfed Stupor: For after a few 
 Moments, ye m-uft roar with them, except ye repent ! 
 thing but the abus'd Patience of God and the flender 
 Thread of your Life, keen you from plunging dawn into 
 that flaming Lake, that burning Main ! And for what you 
 
 know 
 
An Alarm to the fecurr. 4 1 9. 
 
 know the Patience of God may expire towards you before 
 the next Mornings Light, and then you are undone ! un- 
 done ! undone forever ! O if the Thread of your Life breaks 
 while you remain in this dead State, ycu are gone pail: all 
 Hopes forever, Dead and Damned at once, yea Damned to 
 all Eternity ! And how many Accidents are you inviron'd 
 with ? Are not many carry'd off ipeedily and unexpectedly ? 
 And why may not this be your Cafe? Ibefeech you Friends 
 by all the Happineis of Heaven, by all the Torments of Hell y 
 for the Sake of God the Father, Son and Spirit, by all the 
 Regard you owe to your Deathlefs Soul?, your Realon, 
 your Confcience, as well as the Ambaffadors of Christ a- 
 mong you, that ye would aztfuie;. I befeech you as a Me£- 
 fenger of the great God,, as on my bended Knees, by the 
 Groans, Tears, and Wounds of Christ,, that you would 
 Awake. Yea I charge you by all the Cur.fes of the Law, 
 and Bleilings of the Gofpel, that ye would Awake. My 
 Friends, you are witneffes againff your felves, that I have 
 fet Death and Life before you, O choofe Life that ye may 
 live ! Let the wicked Man for fake his JVay y and the unrigh- 
 teous Man Ms Thought*, and turn to God and he will have- 
 Mercy upon hi/U, and to our God fir he will abundantly par- 
 don ! O Sirs ! confider thefe Things, as ye will anfwer it. af- 
 the Tribunal of Christ it the laft Dayj 
 
 sermon;. 
 
42« r Ihe Introduction. 
 
 SERMON XXII. 
 
 I. JOHN v. 7. 
 
 Fcr there are Three that bear Record in Heaven, the Fa: I 7 , 
 the Word, and the Holy Gho/f, and Tht/e three are One. 
 
 ►ijjj i'HE Doctrine of the Trinity, is undoubtedly of the 
 
 JS Pished Importance in ChrifFanitv : For the whole 
 *- Scneme of Redemption is hui:t upon this funda- 
 mental Point, nmieiy, That God the Father did 
 from ah 1 Eternity purpose to lend his only begotten Son in- 
 to the World to afTume l&uman Nn*ure, that tl ercin he 
 rnigWt fitisfy divine juftice, by his Suffering and Obedience. 
 That the Son of God in trie Faiheis of Time, did as Me- 
 diator, obey his Father's Injunctions, in enduring thatWeight 
 of Wrath, which was due for the Sins of the Elect World, 
 sMid that it is the Office of the Holv Spirit to make effectu- 
 al Application of the Purchale of Christ to them. Now 
 if the Diftinctioii or Perfcns in the Trinity be remov'd, 
 thefe Things cannot be confidently fupported : For it is ab- 
 furd to fuppofe, that the fame Per fon mould lend himfefj 
 and fatisfy himielf, Szc. And thus the whole Fabrick 
 Chriftianitv in refnedt of its grand Peculiars would fink, its 
 Foundation being deftroy'd, and the Religion of Nature 
 take Place of reveal'd. 
 
 But tho' the Doctrine of the Trinity, be of the Lit Im- 
 portance in the Chriftian Syftern, yet it is incomprehenfiblc ! 
 
 Neither 
 
The Introduction* ' 42 1 
 
 Neither mould this be wondred at, feeing there are di- 
 vers Things in Nature, which we cannot fully conceive of 
 or explain, fuch as the Reafon of the Growth, and different 
 Colours, as well as Shapes of Vegetables, and of the various 
 inftincls of brute Animals. Not to mention the Nature of 
 our own Souls, their Union with our Bodies, and Way 
 of acting upon them. If Things that are of a finite Njture 
 do thus poze and nonpluls our weak Underftandipgs, is it 
 flratige that the infinite Perfections or the divine Nature 
 fhqujd tranicend the Comprehenfion of a finite Mmd ? The 
 Diftance being io vafl between the -Object, and cur Fa- 
 culties. 
 
 Nether is it nnreaionable to b:Iieve, wont we have no 
 u 1 or adequate Ideas of, elfe we mud believe in none 
 of the divine Attributes: For every ofthofe furpafs the 
 higheft Flight, the utmoft Verge of a Crc .tures Thought. 
 e. g. Altho' natural Reafon allures ue, that there is a God, 
 that Self-exiftence is necefTarily included among the 
 Number of his unalienable Perfections, yet how imperfect 
 is the Idea we form of it ? We are likewife affured 
 by the cleared: Dictates of ui.bias'd Realon, that God 
 is immenie without Extention, and eternal without 
 SucceiTion in Duration. But what pofitive Image can cur 
 Minds form of fuch Things? Are not our Thoughts fwal- 
 lowed up and loft in Obfcurity when we try to grafp fuch 
 fublime and incomprehensible Objedts- ? We may be there- 
 fore truly faid to believe more concerning God, than wc 
 do or can comprehend ; other wife indeed, we do not be- 
 lieve the Being, of a God at all: For whatever our Under* 
 {landings grafp, cannot, but like it felf, be finite, and what- 
 ever is finite is not God. That there are certain Perfect. i- 
 ons" in God, both Scripture and Reafon inform us, but how 
 thefe are in God, we cannot fally conceive or exprefs ! 
 No doubt Faith fuppofes fome Idea or Knowledge of the Ob- 
 ject, 
 
122 2&? Introduction; 
 
 ^ect, but this Knowledge admits of various Degrees ; ibme- 
 times it reaches no farther than the Proof of the Exigence 
 of Things, together with fome negative Ideas or Appre- 
 henfion of what thev are not : and fometimes it extends to 
 the Manner of their Exiftence, and therefore it is fo far from 
 being abfurd,. that it- is neeeflary, for the- Reafon afbreiaid,. 
 to believe that there is fomething in God, which we can- 
 not grafp. 
 
 Seeing then the Doctrine of the Trinity, is 10 important 
 and intricate. It was well obferv'd by Auftine of old re- 
 flecting it, M That in nothing Men are apt to err more ea- 
 " lily and dangeroufly." (In nihilo facilius, ct periadofns 
 trratur) But how contrary to this, is the unreafonable Notion. 
 of fome Moderns, who plead for the innocency of Errors of 
 the grofeit Kindj at leafl of thofe that are fincere Enquirers 
 after Truth,, who are notwitbftanding far from it ? As tho' 
 their Endeavours would entitle them to Happinefs, with- 
 out the Knowledge of Fundamentals. 
 
 " Butfurely, it is not the Sincerity of our Enquiries after 
 " important Truths, but the Succefs thereof that is to be re- 
 " garded in this, as well as other Means that are us'd to 
 " obtain fo valuable an End, we may as well fuppofe, that 
 " fincere Endeavours to obtain many of thofe Graces that 
 " accompany Salvation, inch as Faith, Love to God, and? 
 " Evangelical Obedience, will fuppJy or attone for the 
 " Want of them, as aflert that cur mfbecefsful Enquiries af- 
 " ter the great Doctrines of Religion will excufe outTgno- 
 tl ranee thereof,, efpeciaily when we confider that Blindnefs 
 M of Mind, as well as hardnefs of Heart, is included among 
 ** thofe fpiritual Judgments, which are the Coniequcnce of 
 " ( ur fallen State. And alio that God difplays the Sp've- 
 M reignty of his Grace, as much in leading the Soul into all' 
 " neeeflary Truth, as he does in any other Things that rc- 
 
 " late 
 
The Introduction. 423 
 
 " late to Salvation. However it is not our Bufinefs to de- 
 " termine, the final States of Men, but rather to pray that 
 tc the Ignorant and Erronious may be brought to the acv 
 tc knowled.^ment of the Truth." 
 
 In the mean Time we may truly fay, that Errors in Doc- 
 trine, (efpeciaily when they touch the Foundation of Religi- 
 on) are very perilous, as well as Errors in Practice. And 
 hence we read of damnable Herefles. But how far Error 
 in Opinion may confiit. with a gracious State, we cannot 
 precifeiy and peremtoriiy determine. It is therefore extream- 
 iy ncceiiary. to attend with the utmofl Care and Caution to 
 what the iacred Scriptures relate concerning the Trinity, 
 and to beware of giving a lawlefs Loofe to our own Imagi- 
 nations : For it is better, as one well obferves " To be Ig- 
 " norant of the Depths of it, than not to retain the Limits 
 " of Truth concerning it. Melius eft nefcire Centrum, quarti 
 " S£ ncn tenere circuhim" 
 
 Now the Text I have chofen to difcourfe upon, gives us 
 an excellent Description of the important Point under our 
 pre lent Confideration in three Particulars ; for j ft. Here we, 
 have a Trinity of Perfons alTerted, mention is made of Three, 
 and a perfonal Action afcrib'dto them, namely, that of bear- 
 ing Witnefs ; There are Three that bear Record in Heaven. 
 Now the Matter of thisWitnefs or Teftimony is, that Jesus 
 is the Son of God, and the Memah promis'd, as appears 
 from the ]fc. cth. and 9th. Verfes of this Chapter, the 
 Manner rather than the Place of the Teilimony, is iignify'd 
 by thofe Words, in Heaven. The Sacred Three have and 
 do bear Witnefs in a rnajefiick and glorious Way to the 
 afbre,faid Truth: Thus the Father teffify'd of the Man 
 Jesus, by an immediate Voice from Heaven, at his Baptifm, 
 rhio is fny beloved Son hear ye him, the eternal Word own'd 
 it's perfonal Union with the aiium'd human Nature, on the 
 
 Mount 
 
£*4' The Parts of the Text explained. 
 
 Mount of Transfiguration, by that divine Glory wherewith 
 it was there cloth'd. Job. i. 14. And we beheld his Glory, 
 the Glory, as of the only Begotten of the Father full of 
 Grace and Truth. And the Holy Spirit likewife witnefied 
 by defending vifibly upon him like a Dove at his Baptifrn. 
 And 2dly. The Names of the facred Three are exprefs'd, 
 viz. the Father, Word, and Spirit, The firft Perfon of 
 the Trinity is call'd Father, to fignify Ins eternal Generation 
 of the Son. The Second Perfon is-call'd the Word in our 
 Text; and in other Places of Scripture. [See "John. i. 1. 
 1 John i. 1.) To exprifs not only his Ciiice in the Rerc 
 iicn of his Fathers. Will to usj (Mat. xi. 27.) but -alio . 
 ineffable Generation, as a Word is begotten in our Thoughts 
 and is the exprefs Image of them. e Third Pei < 
 
 the Trinity is cali'd .Ghojl or Spirit to fignify his Peribn 
 Property, which is to proceed from the Father and the Sor,. 
 the Manner of which feems to be fhadow'd forth by breath- 
 ing; for as much as the Word Spirit isderiv'd of a Verb, which 
 fignifiesto breath. (pnewmaa pneo*fpiro) Nowthe Bleffcd 
 Spirit is call' d Holy\ to fignifywhat is his peculiar Office 
 in the divine OE'cdficmy, relpecling the Salvation oi .' .el . 
 which is to make them Holy by J Influence . 
 
 Put before I proceed to difcourfe fart .. , ; on this Text, 
 I think it neceilary to offer' fomething concerning its divi 
 Original. It is trueieveral learned Men acknowledge, . th 
 itisnot found in divers ancient Manufc 1 Vcrficns 
 
 drawn from them. Bu .... und in many o- 
 
 I bts, as .' I (erves, Letter to Euftc- 
 
 ( ! us, 'i it. was a all tie Greek Copies cf his 
 
 T ;;:r y and corriplains tL . ice 
 
 cf the Lati '. Nov.' it is cej , 
 
 {;. e oi r ned of rs, in 
 
 L..: :s una Church Hifl ; -. ,■ is Text 
 
The divine Authority of the Text prov'd. 42 c 
 
 was omitted in Writings of the Fathers of the fourth Cen- 
 tuary, it might be wanting in the Copies they confulted, 
 and be in others notwithstanding : But mcthinks it is e- 
 nough to fatisfy us in this Point, that it is not only menti- 
 on 'd frequently by the Writers of fucceeding Ages, but al- 
 io by fome of the third Century, particularly by Cyprian 
 and Tertulian. Cyprian wrote before the Birth of Arius y 
 in the third Century, and endur'd Martyrdom in the Year 
 260 : And it is certain that he had not iuch an allegorical 
 or myftical Turn of Mind, as Or i gen and fome others, 
 and therefore his Teftimony is the more to be depended 
 upon. In his Epiftle concerning the Unity of the Church 
 he hath thefe Words, viz. The Lcrdfaycth, that I, and 
 the Father are' one ; and again it is written, concerning 
 the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, and thefe Three are one, 
 (dicit Domi?ms, ego ct Pater unum Sumus, et itrum de patre 
 et jilio. et fpiritu fanclo Scrip-turn eft, et hi tref unum 
 funt.) Now the moil antient Manufcript extant in the World, 
 which fome fay is at Alexandria, is not flippos'd by any to 
 reach fo far back as the third Century. It is likewife 
 thought by fome learned Men, that Tertulian in his Book 
 againft Praxeas, refers to this Text in thefe Word-, which 
 Three are one. (qui trei unum funt) To what has been faid, I 
 may add, that Mr. Pool obferves in his Synopfis, //kz/Athanaiius 
 " in his fir fl Book to Theophilus and Idacius who flour ifti d 
 " in the Tear 30'S under Theodofius, produced this Place of 
 " Scripture againft the kx\z\-\s" This Verfe might be omitted 
 in fome Manufcrips thro' the Careleineis of the Transcriber, 
 but could not be added without an evil Defign j which it is 
 unreafonable to fuppoie in this Cafe, becaufe it could not 
 be anfwered by iuch an Addition, feeing the Trinity is 
 elfewhere fully aiferted, as I ihall afterwards prove : It 
 is therefore much more probable, that the Arians have 
 
 H h h corrupted 
 
426 The divine Authority of 'the Text proved. 
 
 corrupted this Place of Scripture, than the Orthodox, 
 feeing that it fo directly overiets their Herefy ; whereas the 
 oppofite Doctrine is fufhciently confirm'd by other Places.; 
 and both Ambrofe (de fide) and Socrates in his eccleliafti- 
 cal Hifiory, do witnefs, that the Adrians -were Guilty of 
 this Kind of Fraud j neither was it difficult for them to 
 effect it, when fome of their Number, namely, Confiantius 
 and Falensi, poffes'd the imperial Throne and banim'd 
 the Orthodox ; and in the mean Time fix'd Arian Bifhops 
 almofl over the whole Chriilian World. I might add, if 
 it was neceflary, that the Genuinefs of this Text might be 
 •defended from it's Collection with the preceedingVerfes, and 
 the Scope of the Place. But it's Time that I mould pro- 
 ceed to prcpoie a Method of diicourfing upon the Subject 
 our Text contains, which ihall be as follows, viz. 
 
 I. I mall offer fome Considerations ferving to prove and 
 explain a Trinity in the Godhead. 
 
 II. I Shall labour to prove, by divers Arguments, their 
 Unity therein, or that each of the Jacred Three is truly and 
 
 properly God. 
 
 III. Anfwer the moft infpGtiant Gbjeclions. 
 
 And then proceed to the Improvement of the whole. 
 
 That there be Three m the Godhead the Scripture 
 teaches fo often as it makes mention of more who are God, 
 and this is done in all thole Places wherein the Almighty 
 fpeaks of himfelf in the plural Number. (See Gen. i. 26. 
 and iii. 22. and xi. 7.) Let us make Man, &c. Neither 
 is the Cavil of the modern Jews, refpecting thofe Places 
 of Scripture, of any Validity, viz. That God fpeaks to the 
 Angel?, or to the Heaven or Earth, or Elements, and 
 calls them to a Partnership in the Creation, or that he fpeaks 
 of himfelf alone after the Manner of great Men : But 
 how Ridiculous is it to iuppofe that Angels, or any other 
 
 Creature, 
 
A Trinity of Perfons prov eL 427 
 
 Creature, fhould be call'd to any Fellowship in Creation $ 
 which is a Work of Almighty Power, or that infinite Wis- 
 dom mould be nonplus'd, and need Council of Creatures! 
 Neither does the Stile of the Modern great ones fuit the 
 Scriptures, or Cuftom oftheeaftern Nations j it was two 
 late receiv'd by the weftern World to determine this Point ! 
 It may be further obferv'd, that the aforefaid Phrafe does- 
 not exactly agree with the Cuftom of the Moderns ; for 
 they fay not we Kings of England,, or we George's,, but we 
 George the King. 
 
 Befides -thofe Places of Scripture whereby Jehovah h 
 diftinguifh'd from jfebovab, do proclaim a Plurality of Per- 
 fons in the God-head (See Gen. xix. 24. Ex. xxxiv. 5.. 
 2 Sam. xii. 24. 25.) Surely Jehovah is not diftinguifh'd 
 from Jehovah by his EiTence, , ieeing there is but one God ; 
 I (Dent. vi. 4.) or by Accidents, for fuch do not belong to 
 the Almighty, and therefore the Diftin&ion muft be pergo- 
 nal. A Trinity of Perfons is likewife fignifi'd in thofe 
 Places of Scripture, where the Name of God is divers Times 
 repeated in the fame Sentence, which it would be Pro- 
 phane to fuppofe was Tautological. (See Dent. vi. 4. Exo. . 
 hi. 15. Ifa. vi. 3.) Holy, Holy, -Holy is the Lord of Tlofts ; 
 but in the New-Teftament this Truth is more, exprefly at- 
 ierted, Mai. iii. 16. 17. And JESUS when he was Bap- 
 tiz'd, went npjiraitway out of the Water , (or as the origi- 
 nal Word Apo, is elfewhere juftly rendc.M by the: fame 
 Interpreters /rev? the Water) and lo (he Heavens were cpeiid 
 unto him, and he Jaw the Spirit of God defending like a Dove 
 and lighting upon him, end lo a 'Voice jrom Hciven, (aytm 
 this is my b:l:vd Son in whom lam well pleas' d, . This Place 
 is fo exprels to the Point, that i it was a c ommon faying 
 amon~ the Antient Fathers, viz/. Go io Jordan and vv 
 fee the Trinity, Mat. xxvlii. 19. Go therefore tench all Nati- 
 
 H h h 2z om • 
 
428 A Trinity of Perfons prov'd. 
 
 ens in the Name of the Father ; of the Son, and of the Hoh 
 Ghoft. Surely we mould net be baptiz'd in the Name of 
 one who is not God. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. The Grace of our 
 Lord JESUS CHRIST, and the Lcve of God, and the Com- 
 munion of the Holy Ghoft, be ivith you all Ameri. Here 
 three diilinci BleiTings are deiir'd for the Corinthians, from 
 the facred Three in the God-head, namely, Love from 
 the Father, Grace from the Son, and Communion from the 
 Holy- Ghoft. Now that thofe facred Three are diftinct 
 Perfons, appears by the following Considerations, The 
 Word Hypofafis, lignites as much as Sublicence or Perfon, 
 and this is exprelly apply'd to the Father, of which the 
 Son is laid to be the exprefs Image, Heb. i. 3. And what 
 can this intend but that he is a Perfbn alio ? Now by a 
 a Parity of Reafon the fame muft be likewiie laid of the 
 Holy Gnofr. : But feeing the Father's perfonallity is not dis- 
 puted, it will be only neceifary to add fomewhat concern- 
 ing the Perfonalky of the Son and Holy-Ghoft. To this 
 End it may be obieiv'd, that perfonal Characters areafcrib'd 
 to the fecond Perfon of the Trinity : Hence he is call'd a 
 Son, which denotes a dinSncl Perfon from the Father. He 
 is likewiie laid to befent into the World by his -Father ; which 
 cannot, without the greateft Impropriety, be apply'd to a 
 mere Relation or Quality : He is likewiie calPd a Surety 
 &c. And three Offices areafcrib'd to him as fuch, by each 
 of which he is call'd. It may be alio farther obferv'd 
 thatfomeofthe afore laid Characters are never afcrib'd to a- 
 nyofthe other Perfons of the Trinity ; befides the Second, 
 the Father and Holy Spirt, are never call'd the Son, are 
 never faid to be made item,, or to become Sureties for perilh- 
 ing Tranfgreffors : Not to add that the perfonal Characters, 
 He, Thy," Thou, are apply'd to the Son. Pf ex. 7. He 
 jl:all drink of the Brook in the Way, Verfe 3. Thy People 
 
 fall 
 
A Trinity of Perfons prov'd. 429 
 
 flail be willing in the Day of thy Power. V. 4. tfbou art a 
 Priejl forever ', after the Order c/'Melchizedcck. 
 
 But to proceed, it appears likewife, that the Holy Ghofi: 
 is a divine Perlbn from the perfonal Properties alcrib'd to 
 him in Scripture, thus he is laid to acT by fcvereign Pleafure. 
 Acl.xv. 18. it feem d good to the Holy Ghofi and to us. He 
 is alfo faid to conflituie Officers in the Church of God. A5i. 
 xx. 28. Take heed therefore unto your fe Ives, and to all the 
 Flock, over the which the Holy Ghofi hath made you overfeers. 
 Pie is likewife faid to injlruB them. Mark xiii. 11. To fend 
 them. Acl. xiii, 4. To dwell in them. 1 Cor. vi. 19. See 
 that famous Place of Scripture, Job. viii. 16. 17. 18. What 
 tho' in the poetical Parts of Scripture fornetimes perfonal 
 Characters are alcrib'd to Things which are not Perfons. 
 It will not follow that many Hundreds of Places refpecting 
 the Trinity, where no lofty Exprefiion is us'd, mould 
 be taken without any Neceffity, without' any Notice from 
 the Context in the fame Senfe. Surely fundamentals in 
 Religion are plainly exprefs'd, and not perpetually immur'd 
 and vail'd in Tropes and Figures, and fo rendered inaccef- 
 fible to a vulvar Underftandine, otherwife we mould be left 
 to the greateff. Uncertainty in the moft important and momen- 
 tuous Points, notwithftanding of the Revelation given us, 
 which can hardly confift with the Divine Goodneis. If 
 perfonal Characters, when apply'd to Men and Angels, 
 are taken in a proper Senfe, why mould they not when ap- 
 ply'd to the facred Three, who tho' they have not diftinct 
 Beings, yet have an Underftanding and Will, and there- 
 fore are capable of Perfonal ity, and indeed to take the a- 
 forefaid Places of Scripture, and all the reft that relate to 
 the Perfonallity of the Son and Holy Ghofi in a figurative 
 Senfe, manifefily tends to overthrow the Perfonallity of the Fa- 
 ther, which is prov'd by the fame Method's. 
 
 But 
 
43® The Words Trinity, Eflence and Perfon explained. 
 
 But to make the Way more plain, for what may bc- 
 afterwards offered, it may be here obferv'd, that by the 
 Word Trinity, we mean no more, than that the divine Ef- 
 fence, which is one, is common to three Perfons, namely, 
 the Father, Son, and Spirit, who are diffinguifh'd by three 
 Manners of fubfiff'ing. Altho' the Word Trinity is not ex- 
 preffly mentioned in Scripture, yet what is thereby fignifi- 
 ed, is agreeable thereto, as appears from what has been, 
 and what may be (God willing) farther offered, and .therefore 
 its proper that the Term be retain'd, until a better be found 
 to fupply the Room thereof. By Effence we understand 
 what the Scriptures term the Nature of God, (Phu/is) Gah 
 vi. 8. the Form of God (Mcrphe) Phil. ii. the Godhead 
 (Theotes) Cokf ii. 9. In fhGrt the divine Effence is that 
 whereby God, is God : For that whereby any Thing is 
 what it is, is call'd its Effence. The Word Perfon or 
 Subfiftence (which is the fame) is a fcriptural Term, He!?. 
 i. 3. Our Text affirms that there are Three that bear Record 
 .in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghojl. Then 
 there are three Somethings in the Godhead, but what are 
 they, not three diftind: Subffances, or EiTences, otherwile 
 there would be unavoidably three Gods, which is blafphe- 
 mous to imagine - 3 not three Accidents, for thefe belong not 
 to God, becaufe of his Simplicity and Immutability, not three 
 Relations, for thefe cannot act or bear witnels. What 
 then can they be but Perfons ? If any don't like this fcrip- 
 tural Name, let them produce a better if they can. 
 
 The Word Perfon, fome defer ibe to be " a rational in- 
 <c communicable Subffance." And others, " an individual 
 <c Subfiflence of a rational Being." A Bead is an individu- 
 al, but without Reafon, a Soul hath Reafbn-, but is not an 
 individual j. and therefore neither of thefe can be a Perfon. . 
 Now every manner of Being makes a difl in 61 Perfon in 
 God, becaufe his Effence being indivifible muff be in every 
 
 of 
 
The Differences between a Divine and human Perfon 4 3 i 
 
 of them. An ingenious Writer reprefents a Perfon in the 
 Trinity thus. viz. '" That it is a fpiritual infinite Agent, 
 iC which mull: not be conlidered as abstracted from, but as 
 " truly fubfifting in the divine Nature, and as mutually, 
 " eternally, and infeparably related to the other co-effential 
 '" Perfons in the Godhead, from whom he is furricienfly 
 " and only diffinguifh'd by fome Perfonal, and as fuch in- 
 " communicable Properties." As this Defcription guards 
 againff the Herefy of Sabellius on the one Hand, who ima>- 
 gined a divine Perfon to be but a Quality or Accident. So it e- 
 quaily militates againff the Herefie of the Tritheifts who 
 dream that the Perfons of the Trinity are three abfolute Beings 
 that exiff feparately, Sc thus a Medium is opened, between two 
 dangerous Extreams. It is neceffary to retain the Word Per- 
 Jon refpecling the Trinity, in order to ward off" the Sabelli^ 
 an Error, which is, that the Diftinction among the facred 
 Three is only nominal, and that there is but one Per- 
 fon ; who becaufe of his different Operations, was fome- 
 times called Father, fometimes Son, and fometimes Hcly- 
 Ghojl. Yet in the mean Time, it muff be obferv'd, that 
 there is a wide Difference, between human and divine Per- 
 fons, in the following Refpects, namely 
 
 iff. Human Perfons proceed from each other in Time, 
 but whatever outward Order there be among the facred 
 Three, yet there can be no Firftnefs or Priority of Nature, 
 Time or Dignity among them, they muff be all co-equal 
 ;and co-eternal, otherwife they could not be God. 
 
 2dly. Human Perfons have their own proper Beings dis- 
 tinctly from each other, and from every other Creature, but 
 the Perfons of the Trinity have all one and the fame Being 
 or EfTence. The Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy- 
 Ghofl, is the very fame, otherwife there would be three Gods. 
 Tho' one human Perfon is of the fame Species with another, 
 
 or 
 
43 2 <d divine Per fin deferib'd. 
 
 or has a Nature like the reft of his own Order, yet it is not 
 the fame individual Nature which another porTerTes, other- 
 wife the Faculties and Exercife thereof would be the very 
 fame in two Perfons, which is certainly falfe. But in re- 
 flect of the Godhead, tho' each Perfon be diftinct from the 
 Other, yet each poffeifes the very fame individual divine Na- 
 ture, otherwife each C3uld not be faid to be truly and really 
 God. 
 
 3dly. Human Perfons are feparated from each other, one 
 might be, tho' the other lliould never exift : Created Beings 
 are deriv'd precarious and dependant, whereas on the con- 
 trary, the Peribns of the Trinity have an In-being in one ano- 
 ther, yohn. xiv. i o. Believeji thou not that I am in the Fa- 
 ther •, and the Father in me f And undoubtedly they have a 
 neceffary Exiftence, and independent Peribnality, otherwife 
 each of them could not be infinitely perfect, and fo not 
 God. 
 
 I mall here beg leave to mention Mr. Flaveh Defcripti- 
 on of a Perion of the Trinity, which I think is as fife and 
 intelligible, as any that I have met with, which is this, viz. 
 " That it is the Godhead diftinguifh'd by perfonal Pro- 
 " perties, each Perfon having his diftinct perfonal Proper- 
 " ties." (Heb. i. 3.) To explain which let the following 
 Particulars be confidcr'd. namely 
 
 1 ft, That all the ficred Three pofTefs the fame Godhead, 
 and hence they are faid to be One in our Text ; and elfe- 
 where, that they are in each other ■, as lias been but now 
 mentioned, they have a Communion in the fame EfTence : 
 Forafmuch as the divine EfTence is Infinite, it can be com- 
 municated to more than one, and hence they muft needs 
 have Commuion in the fame eflential Attributes, fuch as 
 Omnicience, Alrnightinefs, Eternity, Self-exiftence. What- 
 ever perfonal Seif-exiftence does peculiarly belong to the 
 
 Father 
 
l The Description explain d. 4^ 3 
 
 Father, [John v. 26.) Yet an elTential Self-Exiftence, mufl 
 belong to all the facred Three, that is, the Son and Spirit 
 muft be of themfelves,- as well as the Father, otherwife 
 they could not be God, and from this Communion in Ef- 
 fence and Attributes, necefiarily refu-lts a Communion in re- 
 ligious Worihip, which equally belongs to all. {John v. 23.) 
 
 2dlv. The Godhead is diftininiinYcL not divided, the di- 
 vine EfTence being fimple and ftmnke, is therefore indivifi- 
 ble into more of the fame Kind, but tho' it cannot be; 
 divided, yet it may be difiinguiijYd by perfonai Proper- 
 ties. 
 
 Now the Perfonai Property of the Father, is to beget the 
 Son , Pf. ii. y. I will declare the Decree, the Lord hath Jaid 
 unto me, then art my Son this JJav have I begotten thee; 
 Eph. i. 3. BleJJ'edbe the God and Father of cur Lord JESUS 
 CHRIST, who hath bkffed us with all fpiritual Blejjiugs, in 
 Heavenly Places in CHRIST. Begetting is not an ElTential 
 Act, otherwife it would be common to all, but we do 
 not find that it is common to all, .the Son is never faid in 
 Scripture to beget the Father, or the Holy Ghoft the Son 5 
 and therefore the Act. is Perfonai, on this Account aitho' 
 the Father cannot be called -properly the Fountain of the 
 Deity, yet he is by fome call'd the Original of the. Perfons. 
 
 That the Generation of the Son was eternal, is evident 
 from the following Places of ScriptuEe,: Ephef, iii. 14, jr. 
 For this Caufe I bow n;y Knees unto the Father of cur Lord 
 JESUS CHRIST, of, whom the. whole Family in -Heaven and 
 Earth is named, Prov. viii. 22, 24.. The Lord f offered me in 
 the Beginning of his I Fay, be/ ore lis Works of. Oiih / was 
 fit up from Evcrla!!ing.—Qr ever the Earth <wa% when there 
 was no Depths I was brought forth, while as yet he had not 
 made the Earth. Mic. v. 2. IVhofe. Goings forth lave Teen 
 J rem of Old, even from Everlajling. See a'ib Pf. ii. y. The. 
 
 Iii • eternal 
 
4 3 4* ^ Jc fftfonat Property of the Father. 
 
 eternal Generation of the Son is confirm'd bv the Titles gi- 
 ven to him in Scripture, thus he is call'd abiblutely the 
 Son of God (Mat. xvi. 16.) A Son begotten by God (A els iv. 
 25, 26.) His own Son. (Rom. viii. 32.) Thejlrft begotten 
 Son. (Hcb. i. vi.) The only begotten Son (John i. 14.) This 
 eternal Generation fome Godly and learned Divines fay, 
 " coniius in the Communication of the lame Eifence." 
 John v. 26. And others,, " in the Communication of Per- 
 " ibnolkv." Or in other Words, " That the Perfbn of 
 " tlie Father, begat the Perfon of the Son from Everlaft- 
 " ing, ineffably, but undividedly." Altho' it is exceed- 
 ing nccefiary inviolably to maintain the eternal Generation 
 of the Son, I it is aflerted by Scripture and Antiquity, 
 
 and the Denial of it feems to have a bad Tendency to weak- 
 en our Belief of the Doclrine of the Trinity, by opp. 
 the perianal Properties 01 the Father and Son, which are 
 the principal Ground of the Diilinccion between thofe di- 
 vine Perfons. Yet we muft confefs with Juftin^ and a Cloud 
 of other Witneifes, that the Manner thereof is incompre- 
 hennble, and inexprcmble. And hence the Antient Fa- 
 thers were wont to fay concerning it, ■" That it was incom- 
 " preheniible, without the Viciilitude of Time, without Se- 
 ct paration, and without Change or Pamon, either in the 
 " Father or Son." Prov. viii. 22, 23. Mic. v. 2. Co/of. i. jy. 
 John I. 1. & xiv. 10, 11. Which they exprefs'd in the fol- 
 lowing Words, acataleptooSy achronoos, achorifloos, apathoos. 
 
 Now the Second Perfon of the Trinity, is only the Son 
 of God, on the Account of his eternal Generation, altho' 
 his Sonihip be manifefted by his Incarnation, Rom. i. And 
 hence he is call'd the Brightnefs of his Fathers Glory, and ex- 
 prefs Image of his Perfon^ Heb. i. 3. Colol. i. 15. He is iiire- 
 ' iy the Son of the Father, in a Senfe different from any 
 •nicer Creature in Heaven or E^rth, other wife he could not 
 
 be 
 
*The perfonal "Property of the Son. 435 
 
 be call'd the only begotten Son of God, and equal to God. Phil, 
 ii. 6. And therefore it muft be by eternal Generation : He 
 had the Character of a Son before he affum'd human Na- 
 ture. (John iii. 16.) And therefore that AfTumptiori could 
 not be the Caufe of his Sohfliip, to firppofe that the Incarna- 
 tion of our Lord, is the Cau-fe of his Sonfhip, is to deftroy 
 the Paternal Relation of the hril Perfori to him : For thus 
 the third Perfon might be call'd his Father as well as the 
 Firft; and as to the fee mi ng Abfurd sties that are objected, it 
 may be in general replied, that thole take Place only in na- 
 tural Generations, not fupernatural. 
 
 But to proceed, the perfonal Property ofthe Son, is to be 
 begotten by the Father, Prov. viii. 24, 25. John i. 14. We be-* 
 held his Glory, the G/crv, as of the only begotten of the Father.- 
 Heb. i. 5. For unto which of the Angels faid he at any Ti?ne 9 . 
 thou art my Son, this Day have I begotten thee. As active Ge- 
 neration is the Manner of the Fathers (ubii-fting, fo paffive? 
 Generation is the Manner of the Son's, • 
 
 Again, the perfonal Property of the Holy Ghoft is, to pro- 
 ceed from the Father and the Son, John xiv, 26. But the Com-' 
 jorter which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will fend in 
 my Name, he fall teach you all Things. And chap. xv. 16, 
 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will fend unto you 
 jrom the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedetb 
 from the Father, he jhalltejlify of me. 
 
 And thus it appears that the facred Three are diftin-- 
 guifh'd by their perfonal Properties ; and by the Order of 
 lubhfting, and acting confequent thereupon; 
 
 The perfonal Properties (hew that they are fo dlfHnguifh'dj 
 that one cannot be the other,'. The Father cannot be the 
 Son, or the Son the Father, let he that hath feen the Son, 
 hath fen the Father aljo. John xiv. 9. As to the Order of 
 their fublifling, the Father is the firft Perfon, who fubfiits 
 entirely of hiinfelf, the Son the fecond Perfon, begotten by 
 
 I i i 2 the 
 
43° TTbe divine OEeonomy explained. 
 
 Father, the Spirit is the Third, who proceeds from both 
 the Father and Son. This Order lhould not be inverted, 
 tho' in the mean Time we mull: not conceive that there 
 is any real Priority, as to Nature, 'Time, or Dignity but of 
 order only, in refpect of their Original. The Father confi- 
 -der'd as fuch, is firft in order before his Son, but the Man- 
 ner of the Generation of the Son, and Procefllon of the He- 
 ly Ghoft, is to us, as has been before obferv'd, incom- 
 -prehenfible ! Hence is that of the Prophet, Ifa. liii 8, Who 
 Jhall declare his Generation. 
 
 Again the Peribns of the Trinity are diiHngulm'd, as was 
 before hinted, by their Order of acting, which is agreeable 
 to that of their ihhiifHng, the Father worketh of himfelf, 
 by the Son and Holy Ghoft, the Son from the Father, by 
 the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit from the Father and , 
 Son, by himfelf, "fchn xvi. 13. Howbeit when the Spirit of 
 *Truth is come, he will guide you into ail Truth, for he ft. 'all 
 not /peak of himfelf, but wbatjoever. he Jhall hear, that jhall he 
 J peak, John v. 19. Then anfwered J ejus and (aid unto him, 
 verily verily I fay unto you, the Son ca?i do nothing of himfelf 9 
 .but what- be Jeeth the Father do, for what Things focver he 
 doth, thefe aljb doth he Irkewife. Undoubtedly the .Power of 
 .workingas only .one, and therefore common toall the Three, 
 but the Order and Object of working is different; and 
 hence the firft Work, namely Creation, is afcrib'd to the 
 Firft Perfon ; and the fecond Work. viz. Redemtion to the 
 Second j and the Third Work, namely, San edification to the 
 third Perfon of the Trinity. This by many Divines is termed 
 the OEeonomy of the Peribns of the Godhead ; which may 
 .be thus defcrib'd, viz. That it is fuch an Order of acting, as 
 direcJly tends to man iff the per fatal Glory of the Father Sou 
 aud Spirit. 
 
 Tho' all the Works of God, are afcrib'd to every Perfon 
 of the Trinity, becaufe all the divine Attributes equally be- 
 
 - long 
 
Ext reams to be avoided, ^y 
 
 ■or.g to'them, and therefore every Work muft be equally 
 produc'd by them. Yet feeing there are diftinct Perfons 
 in the Godhead, it is but reafonable that their perfonal Glo- 
 ry mould be peculiarly Man ife lied. Now this the facred 
 Scripture Points to, by that different Order of acting, which 
 it afcribes to the facred Three. Hence the Work of our 
 Salvation in refpect of its Pj-ojeclion, is firft affign'd to the 
 Father, in regard of its Purchafe to the Son, and in refpect 
 
 . of its Application to the Holy Ghofh 
 
 It is of the laft necemty that under this Head, we care- 
 fully avoid Sabellianifm on the one Hand, which allows of 
 no Difiinction among the Perfons of the Trinity, but what 
 is meerly nominal, and afferts that one and the fame Perfon 
 
 ■ . becaufeofhis different Operations, is fometimes called Father, 
 fometimes Son, and fometimes Floly Spirit, and on the o- 
 ther, that we with equal Care avoid the Tritheifm of Valen- 
 
 ~ ti??us, who deem'd that there were Three eternal Spirits, 
 unequal to each other, and different in Effence, and fo by 
 confequence that there were three Gods : Some to avoid the 
 Herefy of Sabr/Iii/s, have held that the Perfons of the Trini- 
 ty differ from each other reall)\ but that feeming to verge 
 to Tritheifm, others to avoid that extream, have held that 
 they only differ modally, as one manner from another, but 
 fome thinking that the modal Diftinction, is too fuperficial. 
 and that it verges to SabcUianifm do obferve, that the Dif- 
 
 'tinction is real-Modafahis feems to guard beft againff both 
 Extreams. But if thofe fcholaftick Distinctions do not fatisfy, 
 
 . it will be enough to fay, that the Perfons of the Trinity dif- 
 fer as Three, or that they are fo difcinguifhed, by perfonal 
 Properties, that the one cannot be the other. 
 
 Here I mall beg leave to cite the Words of famous Mr. 
 How, in his Dilcourfe upon the Trinity, pag. 540 which 
 run thus, " Since therefore there is a Necemty apprehend- 
 1 ' ed, of acknowledging three fuch Somewhats in the God- 
 
 " head 
 
43 8 Ihe Gcdheadoftbe Son proved. 
 
 " head, both becaufe the Word of God, who bell: under- • 
 " ftands his own Nature, doth fpeak of three in it, fb plain— 
 " ly, that without notorious Violence, it cannot be under- 
 6i flood 'otherwife, and becaufe it affirms fome Things of 
 " one, or other of them, which it affirms not of the reft, 
 <e it will therefore be necefTary to admit a true Distinction 
 " between them, other wife they can't be three, and fafe to 
 fic - lay, there is fo much, as is requilite to found the diftinct 
 " Affirmations which we find in God's Word concerning 
 st this or that apart from the other, other wife we mall in 
 " Effect deny what God affirms j and modeft to confefs, 
 " that how great the Diftinction is, with precife and parti- 
 " cular Limitation, we do not know, nor dare we enquire 
 " or determine ; only that as it cannot be lefs then is iuf- 
 " ficient to fuftain iuch diftinct Predicates or Attributi- 
 il ons, fo it cannot be fo great, as to intrench upon the Uni- 
 : * ty of the Godhead." Thus far he 
 
 It may be here added, that the Perfons of the Trinity 
 are diftinguifh'd from the Effence, as one from Three, or 
 as that which is communicable from that which is incom- 
 municable. . I proceed to the 
 
 2d. Propos'd, . which was to prove the Unity of the fa- 
 vred Three, in the Godhead. And thefe 'Three are One, One 
 God equal in Power and Glory. There is no need of fpend- 
 ing Time in attempting to prove the Godhead of the Father, 
 feeing it is queftioned by none but Atheifts, . I mail there- 
 fore proceed to prove the Godhead of the Son ; which ap- 
 pears from this, that all the Peculiars of Divinity are afcrib'd 
 to him, as is evident from the following Induction of Par- 
 ticulars, viz, 
 
 ift. The Names of GWare afcrib'd to him : Thus he is 
 call'd God. Heb. i. 8. But unto the Son he fayeth, thy Throne 
 God is for ever and ever ^ likewife the mighty God. (Jfa. ix. 
 6 J The True God. (1 Job, v. 20 J , God Bkjfed forever. 
 
 Rom, 
 
The Name Jehovah afcrib'd to Christ 43^ 
 
 (Rom. ix. $.) The Lord of Glory. (1 Cor. ii. 8 .) Lord of 
 Lords, and King of Kings. (Rev. xvii. 14.) The Name Je- 
 hovah appears to be the peculiar Name of God. Pf. lxxxiii. 
 iS. That thou whofe Name alone is Jehovah, art the mofi 
 high ever ail the Earth. Exo. iii. 14 Thus fia It thou fay to 
 the Children of Ifrael, I AM (or Jehovah} hath fent me 
 unto you ; this is my Memorial unto all Generations. Now 
 that the Name Jehovah is afcrib'd to the fecond Perfon 
 of the Trinity, appears from the following Places of Scrip- 
 ture, viz, (.ISfumb. xxi. 5. 6. 7.) There the People, after 
 the awful Judgment of the fiery Serpents was fent among 
 them, confefs'd that they had fin'd againft. the Lord, or 
 Jehovah. Now this Paflage we find exprelly apply'd to 
 •CHRIST by the Apoflle in his Epiflle to the Corinthians. 
 f Epijl. x, 9. Neither let us tempt Chriji as fome of them alfo 
 tempted^ and id ere defrayed of the Serpents, If a. xl. 3. The 
 Voice of him that cryeth in the Wilder nefs, pepare the Way 
 of the Lord, or Jehovah, make fir ait in the De(art a high 
 Way for our God. (See this apply'd toChrift, Mat. iii. 3. 1 1.) 
 Another notable Place of Scripture to the fame Purpofe is, 
 Ifa. vi. 1. 2. Mine Eyes have feen the King the Lord, or 
 Jehovah : This is likewife apply'd to Christ, Joh. xii. 40. 
 41. Our Lord likewife affumes the Name Jehovah, as 
 appears by. his telling the Jews thus, before Abraham was, I 
 AM ; many other Proofs might be brought, but what 
 have been mention'd, if duly confider'd, may, I hope a 
 fuffice. But 
 
 2dly. The Attributes of God are afcrib'd to Christ, as 
 particularly, 
 
 (1.) Ommciency, John. xxi. 17. Lord thou knowefi all 
 Things. And eliewhere it is faid, that he knew from the 
 Beginning who they were that believed ?wt, and who fiould 
 betray him. John. vi. 64. and John ii. 24. 25, It is faid, 
 
 Jesus 
 
44-0 7Z^ Attributes of God afcrib'd to Christ. 
 
 Jesus did not commit himfelf unto them, becaufe he knew 
 all Men, and needed not that any Jhoiild tefiify of Man, for 
 he knew what was in Man.- Befides, Rev. ii; 23. He is 
 faid to Jearch the Reins and Heart. Such Knowledge as 
 this, is furely beyond the Reach of Men and Angels. 
 
 (2.) Omnipotency is afcrib'd to Christ, Rev. i. 8. I am • 
 the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and Ending, Jaycth ■ 
 the Lord, : which is-, which - was, which is to cane, the Al- 
 mighty. Philip, iii. 21. Whereby he is able to fab due ah 
 Things to himfelf : And hence he' is call'd the 'mighty God, 
 and laid to uphold all Things by his Power. (If.x'i. 6. Heir 1.3.) 
 
 (3.) Eternity is afcrib'd to Christ: And hence he is 
 call'd the Everla/ling- Father. {If ix. 6.) And laid to live- 
 forever a?td ever. [Rev. x. 6.) And that his goings forth* 9 
 have been from of Old, from Everla/ling. {Mic. v. 2.) 
 
 (4.) Omniprefence is likewife afcrib'd to Christ. Mat. . 
 xviii. 20. Where two or three are gather 'd together in my Name » 
 there am I in the midjl of them % this is a manifeft Evidence 
 of the God-head of cur Lord ; for furely a Creature cannot 
 be in two Places at once. To imagine that the afore fa id 
 Place of Scripture intends only the Preience of our Lords 
 Authority, is to fuppofe a Tautology in the Words which is . 
 abfurd ; for to be gathered together in lis Name, fignifies 
 his Authority : furely it is but reafonable to take this Place 
 of Scripture, in the fame* Senfc with that Parallel one, 
 Exo. xx. 24. In all Places where I record my Natne, I will 
 eome unto thee, and I will blefs thee. See likewife Matt, xxviii. . 
 ult. Lo I am with you always unto the End of the World. 
 
 (5.) Independency is afcrib'd to Christ. Rev. i. o. 17, . 
 Jam Alpha and Omega, the Bc<?i:i;: : ;ig and /•>... g /■'/'<-' 
 the Lord, which is, and which was, $nd which is to come. In- 
 dependency is likewife imply'd in the name Jehovah, which 
 is given to Christ; as has been prov'd before.. . 
 
The Attributes of God afcrib'd to Christ. 44?- 
 
 (6.) Equality with Goo* is like wife afcrib'd to Chrifl :'■ 
 And hence it is faid, that he was in the jorm of God, and- 
 thought- it no Rdbery to be equal with God. Philip, ii. 5. 6. 7. 
 For this Reafon he is juftly call'd the Fellow of God. Zee. 
 xiii. 7. 'And all that- the Father hath are faid to be his, 
 {Job. xvi. xv.) 
 
 (7.) Immutability in Ejfence is afcrib'd to our Lord. Pj\ 
 cii, 27, 2'8„ But thou art the fame and thy Tears fall have 
 no End, the Children of thy Servants flail continue, and theif^ 
 Seed fall be e/lablifh'd before thee,- Compar'd with Heb. i„ 
 1 2. As a P'efure thou /halt fold them up, and they fall be' 
 changed, but thou art the fame, and thy Tears fall not fail. 
 And in a Word there is no Attribute belongs to the Father 3 
 But what is alio afcrib'd to the Son. Again 
 
 3<ily the Works of Gcd are afcrib'd to< Christ, particu-* 
 
 (1.) The Work of Creation, Joh.-i. -3. All Things were 
 made by him, and without him was not any Thing made that* 
 was made. Col. i. 16. For by him were all Things created' 
 that are in Heaven and that are in Earth, vifble and invif- 
 ble. Now Creation is certainly a. Work which requires 
 Almighty Strength^ a Work which none but a God can 
 perform, • 
 
 (2.) The Work of Pro vidence is attributed to our Lord "; 
 And hence it is laid, that by him all Things mtfijl, and are'- 
 upheld by the Word of his Power. (Col. i. 17, and FLeb. i. 3. J - 
 Thefe words of our Lord to the Jews John v. 17. -are "• 
 applicable to the lame Purpofe, viz, My Father worketh' ■ 
 hitherto, and I work, 
 
 (3.) Miraculous Works are afcrib'd to Christ; John.- v, 
 2 1 . For as the Father raifeth up the Dead, and quickneth them^ 
 even fo the Son quickneth whom-ke will. An Inftance of this *ve 
 have John xi, 43, 44. Where we are told that our Lord com- • 
 
 K k k - ■ winded- 
 
442 The Works of God afcrib'd to Christ. 
 
 xnanded Lazarus to come forth, after he had been four Days 
 dead, and that this was immediately obey'd, the dead came 
 forth, bound Hand and Foot, -with grave Cloths. Our Lord 
 likewife rais'd himfeif from the Dead. {John x. 18.) Many 
 other Inflances might be produc'd, but I muft not periift. 
 
 (4.) Works of Grace are in like Manner attributed to the 
 Lord Jesus ; fuch as, 
 
 (1.) Election, John xiiL 18, IJpeak not of you all, I know 
 whom I have chofen. 
 
 (2.) jujlification, Ifa.lm. 11. By his Knowledge [J: all my 
 righteous Servant jujlify many. Mat. ix. 6. But that ye 
 . may know that the Son of Man hath .Power on "Earth to for- 
 give Sins. 
 
 (3.) Regeneration, Ephef. ii. 1. And you hath he quickned 
 who were dead in Trefpafjes and Sins. And hence Christ 
 is faid to be the Author and Finilher of Faith. 
 
 (4.) Salvation, 'Mat. i. 21. And fhall bring forth a Son, 
 and thou /halt call his name Jesus, for he/ball fave. his Peo- 
 ple from their Sins. ; Hence he is call'd the Captain of our 
 Salvation > and we are told that in his Name alo?ie Happinefs 
 is to be had, Acl.iv. 12. To what has been faid under 
 this Head, we may add our Lords Mijjion of the Holy-Spirit, 
 and Jnftitution of [acred Ordinances, Joh. xvi. 7. If I go not 
 away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart 1 
 will fend him unto you. Mat. xxviii. 18. 19. All Power 
 is given unto me in Heaven and Earth. Go therefore and 
 teach all Nations, baptizing them in the , Name of the Fa- 
 ther, Son and Holy-Ghofi. 
 
 4thly. The Worjhip due to God only is afcrib'd to Christ : 
 And hence Men are enjoyned to honour the Son even as 
 they honour the Father, Job. v. 22. 23. Particularly 
 
 (1.) We are enjoyn'd to adore him, Heb. i, 6. And when 
 he bringethin thefrjl Begotten into the World, he fayeth, 
 
 . and 
 
The WorJlAp of God afcrib'd to Christ* 44-3 
 
 "and let all the Angels. ofGodworJhip hi?n. (1 Cor. i. 12.) 
 Call'd to be Saints with all that in every Place, call up- 
 on the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs 
 and ours. 
 
 (2.) We are bid to truft in him and obey him, John xiv 
 1. Let not your Heart be troubled, believe in God, believe alfo 
 in me. Rom. x. 11. For the Scripture fayeth Whofo- 
 ever believeth in him jl: all not be aflam'd. Iff. n. 12. Kifs 
 the Son le aft he be Angry, atid ye perifi from the JVay. 
 
 (3.) We are to be baptised in his Name, as well as in the 
 Name of the Father. Mat. xviii. 19. 
 
 Again I add, that our Lord did affert his Godhead in 
 divers Conferences with the Jews. (See John v. 16. to -the 
 19th. Verfe.) The'.j^j fought to flay him, becaufe he 
 made himfeif equal with God. Now our Lord does not 
 in Anfwer hereto endeavour to clear himfelf of that Charge ; 
 which furely he would have done had he not been God, 
 otherwife he would be Guilty of the greatest Impiety. 
 When the People of ' Lyftra attempted to worfhip Paul and 
 Barnabas, they rent their Cloaths, and ran among them, cry- 
 ing out Sirs, why ■ do ye thefe Things f We alfo are Men of like 
 Pafjions with you, ' Ac~l. .xiv, 14. 1 t;. But our Saviour" in- 
 Read of rejecting the Charge, notwithstanding of fome Paf- 
 fages that reipeel his human Nature, aiTetts his Divinity, 
 by mewing that he qnickned- whom he pleas d, as well as the 
 Father % like wife that all Judgment was committed to hi???, 
 and that all Menflxuld honour hi?rrastbey honour the Father - 
 ihzthc had Life in him/elf* andjhculd r'aife the Dead at the- 
 laft Day. At another Time, JvhSym.- q. to 58. After 
 the Jews had enquir'd, art thou greater than cur Father 
 Abraham ?—- He repiy'd,:^^ Father Abraham rejoye'd 
 to- fee my Day, and he Jaw it and was glad. Then [aid the 
 Jews Urdo him, thou art not yet fifty 2h:rs Old, and ha ft 
 
 K k k 2 .. thou 
 
444 Christ averted his Godhead at divers Times. 
 
 then fecn Abraham : To this our Lord anfwered, before 
 
 Abraham was, I AM / At this Time the Jews were enrag'd, 
 
 .and took up Stones to throw at him, fuppoiing that he had 
 
 fpoken Biafphemy, in preferring himleif to Abraham, and 
 
 piaking himielf equal to God. It is certain that being 
 
 .iton'd to Death, was a Penalty denounced by the judicial 
 
 Law againft Blafphemers j the aforeiaid. Sentence of our Lord, 
 
 .feems .to he Parallel with that of the Prophet, respecting the 
 
 the Eternity of God, viz. I/a. xliii. 13. 7\a before the Day 
 
 Stias, I AM. he. 
 
 Another very memorable Conference we have, Mat. ix. 
 from the 2d. to the 6th. Verfe. Our Lord declar'd to one 
 rick of the Pally, t\v?£.bis Sins were forgiven him ; on which 
 Occailon the Scribes murmured, and charged him w r ith 
 Biafphemy, Jtesus knowing their Thoughts reply'd, where- 
 fore think ye Evil in your Hearts? For whether is itea/ier to 
 Jay t thy Sins be forgiven thee, or to fay arife and walk ; but 
 that ye may know /he Son of Man hath Power on Earth to 
 Jo r give Sins., he fayeth to the Perfon Sick of the Palfy, take 
 up thy Bed, and go. into thine Jloufe. Proving by this Mira- 
 cle his Divinity 3 which they oppos'd, and confequently bis 
 Power to forgive Sins. 
 
 Tho' Miracles do not argue the Divinity- of the Perfon 
 that Works them from any viable Circumftance .cohtain'd 
 in them ; vet they effectualy prove it, in Cafe this be the 
 Thing contefled, and an explicite Appeal be made to the 
 divine Power to confirm it by Miracles. 
 
 Our Lord had at the aforeiaid Conference as good an 
 Opportunity, and as loud a Call as could be deiir'd to dis- 
 claim ail Pretence to Divinity, if the Cafe was really fo ; but 
 inflead of this he afferts and proves his Godhead, maugre 
 the Jcwijlj Rage, winch Practice could' not conilfl with 
 Integrity if he were not God. 
 
 And 
 
Practical ■ Reflections. 44-e 
 
 And now I fiiaii proceed to offer a few practical Reflec- 
 tions, and lb conclude at prefent. And ifl. What has been 
 faid informs us of the following Particulars, viz. ift. Of the 
 true Order and Manner of worshiping God, and that is 
 in the Son and by the Spirit, Joh. xvi. 23. Whatfoever ye 
 Jkall afk the Father in my Name, he will give it you. Ephef. 
 vi. 18. Praying allways with all Prayer -and Supplication in 
 the Spirit. Surely it is by the Son, we mould come to the 
 Father in our Supplications, and hence Christ is call'd 
 the T-Fay, John xix. 6. And we are faid to have Boldnefs to 
 enter into the Holiefl by the Blood of Jesus by a new or liv- 
 ing I Fay, which he hath confe crated -for us, that is to fay his 
 Flrfl, Heb. x. 19, 20. Thole are therefore to-be fufpected 
 as Guilty of the Herefy of Sabellius, who do not according 
 to the Scriptures, ordinarily come to the Father by the 
 Son in their Prayers, but uiually addrels the Son, as tho* 
 he were the Father, and do not give to each of the facred 
 Three, their diStinct perfonal Glory in their Ads of Devo- 
 tion ; but fo frequently addrefsthe Son, as if. there were no 
 other Perfon but he in the Trinity, 
 
 2 : dly, How Happy k the State of all regenerate Perfons 
 who havethis three — one God, in all his Glory and Ex- 
 cellency for their fure Portion here, (Jer. xxxi. 33.) and 
 mall be continually delighted, with beholding the distinct 
 Benefits receiv'd from each of the facred Three hereafter. 
 Rev. i. 5. And from Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witnefs 
 unto him that lov'dus, and wajhed us from our Sins in his 
 Blood. And does it not increafe their Felicity, that the 
 Charter of the Holy Scripture, by which the aforefaid Por- 
 tion is made over, is confirm'd by the united TeStimony 
 ofthe (acred Trinity from Heaven, as our Text informs us, 
 There are Three that bear record in Heaven ', and thefe 
 Three are One. 
 
 3%« 
 
446 Practical Reflections. 
 
 3dly. How much mould our Souls be affected by thinking 
 on the Fathers Love, in giving his Son to be a Propitiation- 
 for our Sins. Herein is Love, indeed without Peer or Para- 
 lel, (Johniv. 10.) in that a Son was given for worthlets 
 Rebels, to Shame, Mifery and Death it felf, of the moft 
 hideous Kind ! A Son not by Creation as the Angels, nor 
 by Adoption as Believers, but by eternal Generation. His 
 own, beloved, dear, only begotten Son, in whom he was well 
 pleas' d. (Rom. viii. 32. Mat. iii. 17. Col. i. i>3^joh* i. 14. 
 18.) And that to prevent the eternal Rerifbing of poor Sin- 
 ners, (Job. iii. 16.) 
 
 And what mail we fay of the Kindnefs of the Son of God, 
 in (looping fo low to five guilty Worms from eternal Woe 
 and Ruin -, tho' he had the Form of God, yet he willingly 
 aifum'd the Form of a Servant, that we might be made the 
 Sons of God. He that had 1 the Heavens for his Throne, 
 was contented with a Manger for his Cradle ; tho' he was 
 Rich he became Poor, that we thro' his Poverty might be . 
 made Rich ; was crown'd with Thorns -, endur'dthe Death 
 of the Crofs, and was laid in the Boibm. of the Grave ; that 
 we might be crown'd with immortal Glory, deliver'd from 
 the fecond Death, and embrae'd in the Bofom of Abraham, 
 the Bofom of God. 
 
 And how much mould we be affected, likewife with 
 die Kindnefs of the Holy Spirit in enlightning our Minds, re- 
 newing and comforting our Hearts by his divine Influences, 
 without which we could . have no fpecial Benefit by the 
 Death of Christ, no Communion with God here, or En- 
 joyment of him in a future World. 
 
 But to proceed, mc thinks the Consideration of the Divi- 
 nity of the Son of God, is one. of the moil: pregnant and 
 powerful Incentives poiTible to Admiration, Love, Humili- 
 tfy .aid Obedience : How fublime the Theme r How fur- 
 prizing 
 
Practical RejleSliom. 447 
 
 '1 '.prizing the Thought that the eternal Father fhould give 
 his co-equal Son, the darling of his Soul, out of the Em- 
 braces of his Bofom, to bleed a Vicftom on the accurfed 
 Tree, to purchafe Peace, Pardon and Life for worthlefs Re- 
 bels ! O the amazing Heights, the interminable Depths of 
 this ftupenduous dear Affection ! This is Love infinitely fur- 
 palling the narrowBounds of human Thought or Language. 
 Love that none but a God is equal to 1 And how Strange,, 
 is it that the blefled God mould become incarnate, the 
 Antient of Days become an Infant of Time, the Majefty of 
 Heaven ftoop to affumethe Infirmities of Humanity ! O my 
 Brethren ! did not reft himfelf become weary to give the 
 weary Reft ? And the Fountain of Confolation become a 
 Man of Sorrows ^ to bring his People to unceaiing Joys and 
 Triumphs ! 
 
 When we contemplate upon the Dignity of the Perfon 
 of the Sou of God, together with the Depth and Defign of 
 his Abafure, 'what can more powerfully conftrain us to 
 Humility and Affection, both to God and Man ! For 
 therein we may behold the great God defending from his 
 Throne, to teach us thole amiable Vertues by his own Ex- 
 ample, ns well as the Excellency of univerfal Obedience 
 To the divine Law. The Godhead of Christ beautifies 
 all the Inftances of his Abafure with the moil tranfeendant 
 Charms, unrivald Ornaments, and amiable Atractives' ! 
 This -is the Object, of our Adoration and religious Reve- 
 rence ; this fires our Affections, and is the Foundation of 
 our Hopes j this, this ftrikes the Springs of our Ingenuity 
 and Gratitude, and raifes our admiring Thoughts into Ex- 
 tafy and Ravifhment ! While we with Attention view 
 the inutterable, unparallel'd, and incomprehenfible Prodi- 
 gy of divine Affection in the Mediation of the Son of God ! 
 J3ut if with the Sociniaru and Arians we deny his proper 
 
4.48 Practical Inferences. 
 
 Deity, our Admiration ceafes, our Love Langui/hes, ana- 
 our Devotion dies for the Gift ofa meer Creature : And his 
 Sufferings are inconfiderable Tilings, not worthy to be- 
 once mention'd, in Companion of the Gift, and Conde- 
 fcention of a God ! The Object of our Worihip is removed j 
 the Ground of our Hopes unhing'd, and the whole Scene 
 of the Gofpel deftroy'd at a Stroke. Dreadful Thought ! 
 
 Let us therefore be entreated equally to love, honour, 
 and obey each Perfon of the facred Trinity. Let ail 
 Men honour the Son, as they honour the Father, John, v. 
 23. Our Lord as Man obey'd his Father, and how much- 
 more mould we. {"Job. iv. 34.) Let us alfo kijs the Son- 
 leaft he be Angry, and <we perifijrom the Way ; and feeing ■ 
 the Spirit oj God 'hath made us. "Job. xxxiii. 4. Why ihould 
 not he be ador'd by us. 
 
 But the Time being elaps'd I mull: conclude, in the 
 mean while afcribing all Glory to the Trinity in Unity, . 
 and Unity in Trinitiy; the Three in One, and One in Three ; 
 the Father, Word and Spirit, let Men and Angels fay. 
 Amen. 
 
 SERMON. 
 
The Intrcdidlim. \\ty 
 
 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 I JOHN v. 7. 
 
 For there are Three that bear Record in Heaven, the Father y . 
 the Word, and the Hcly Ghojl* And thefe Three are One. 
 
 -^HE Doctrine of the ever bleffed Trinity, is purely an 
 Object of Faith. The Line of Reafon is too fhort 
 to fathom this Myflery, and therefore where Rea- 
 fon cannot wade, there Faith mud fwim, but tho* 
 this iublime Foundation Doctrine, be above Reafon, yet it is 
 not contrary to it This I think the learned Mr. How, has 
 made evident in his Difcourfe upon the Foffibiiity of aTrinity 
 in the Godhead. In my lafr. Difcourfe upon the Doctrine 
 of the Trinity, you may remember that I propos'd the follow- 
 ing Method, viz. 
 
 I. I was to offer fome Coniiderations fervihg to confirm 
 and explain it. 
 
 II. I was to prove by divers Arguments, the Unity of the 
 facred Three, or that each of them is truly and really 
 God, And 
 
 III. I propos'd to anfwer the moil: important Objections, 
 and then proceed to the Improvement of the Whole. 
 
 The firfl general Head was difcufs'd, and under the Se- 
 cond, I offered what Arguments I judg'd fufficient to prove 
 the Godhead of the Son. It remains now that I prove the 
 Godhead of the Holy Ghofi. 
 
 L 1 1 This 
 
450 5T& Holy Ghofl prcv'd to be God. 
 
 This I think is evident not only from his Being number'd 
 with divine Perfons, as one with them as our Text alTerts ; 
 but alfo from this Coniideration, that all the Peculiars of Di- 
 vinity are aicrib'd to him, as well as to the "Father and Son, 
 which will be manifest by the following Induction of Par- 
 ticulars, namely 
 
 lit. Divine Names are afcriVcl to him, thus he is ex- 
 preflly called God, Aci v. 3, 4. Peter /aid, Ananias, why hath 
 Sat an fill d ' -thine Heart to He to the Holy Ghoft, thou haft not li- 
 ed unto Men, but unto God. He is likewife called Lord-. Nov/ 
 the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is 
 there is Liber by, here it may be oblerv'd, that the Seventy 
 Interpreters generally render the Name Jehovah by that of 
 Lord (Kurios) he is alio called Jehovah as appears by com- 
 paring 'I/a: vi. H, <\. Alfo 1 * ard the Voice of the Lord faying, 
 and who, will gofer us, then /aid ' I, here am I, fend me, and he 
 Jdid go and tell this People bear ye indeed, but under/land not, 
 lee ye indeed, but perceive hot. Now it is plain, that it is 
 t e Lord or Jehovah that fpeaks in this Place of Scripture, 
 but this we find exprcflly apply'd to the Holy Ghoft AcIl. 
 xxviii. 25, 26. well /pake the Holy Ghoft, 3jy Elaias/i><? Prophet 
 unto our Fathers, Jayi?ig,go unto this People, and fax, hear- 
 ing ye jl all hear, and /hall not under/land, and feeing ye Jhall 
 fee and not perceive. The fame Truth appears by compar- 
 ing Ex. xvii. j. And he called the Name of the Place Ma/fah 
 andMeribah b'ecaufe they tempted the Lord, orfehovah, this we 
 find apply'd to the Holy Ghoft, Heb. iii. y, 8. Wherefore as the 
 Holy Ghoft /ayeth- -bar -Jen not your Hearts, as in the Provocati- 
 on in the Day of Temptation in ihelVihkrnefs, when yourFathers 
 tempted me, prov' d me and Jaw my Works. More Proofs of the 
 Name Jehovah afcrib'd to the Holy Ghoft, we have in the 
 following Places of Scripture, viz. Jer.. xxxi. 31. compar'd 
 with Heb. x. 15, 16. Levit. xvi. 2 compar'd with Heb. ix. 
 78.. 2dly. 
 
The Attributes of God afcrib'd to the Holy Ghoji. 4 5 x 
 
 2dly. The Attributes cj 'God are afcrib'd to the Holy Ghoft, 
 namely 
 
 1 ft. Omniciency, or all Knowledge 1 Cor. ii. 10. The 
 Spirit* f ear cheth all Things, yea the deep Things of God, The 
 Word fearcheth, denotes the Exqui/keneis of his divine 
 Knowledge Pf. exxix. 2 \ , 24. 
 
 2dly. Almightinefs and independent' Power, 1 Cor. xii. 
 4, 6, 11, M><a> there are diver fiiy of Gifts, bat the fame Spirit, 
 but it is the fame God which worketh all in all, but all thefc 
 worketh, that one- and the [elf fame Spirit] dividing to every one 
 fever ally as he will. Compare Luk. xi. 20. with Mat-, xii. 28. 
 But if I with Itbe Finger of God cajl out Devils, no doubt the 
 Kingdom of Cod is come among yen, but if I cafl cut Devils by 
 the Spirt op God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you. 
 
 3dly. Eternity is likewife ..afcrib'd to the Holy Gh off, Heh 
 ix. 14. Christ thro' the eternal Spirit, oferedhi.rflf without 
 Spot to God. Again 
 
 4th!} 7 . Immenfty is alfo afcrib'd to him, Pfal. exxxix. 7. 
 10. Whither fail I go from thy Spirit, or whither fhall I flee 
 from thy Pre/ence. If I afpefid up into Heaven, thou art there, 
 If I make my Bed in Hell, behold thou art there, If I take the 
 Wings of the Morning, and dwell in the uttermoft Parts of the 
 Sea, even there Jhall thy Hand lead me, and thy Right Hand 
 flail hold me. 
 
 ^dly. Divine Operations arc afcrib'd to the Holy Spirit, 
 luch as, 
 
 1 ft. Creation, Gen i. 2. 7 he Spirit of God mov'd upon' 
 the Face of the Heaters. By the Spirit of God, cannot 
 be meant the Air or Wind, as fome fuppcfe : For that 
 was not created till the fecond Day, when God made trie 
 Firmament, the aforefaid Place of Scripture is explain'd and 
 Illuftrated, by Job. xxxiii. 4. The Spirit of God hath ?nade nze. - 
 
 I> 1 1 2 .- zdly, • 
 
452 *lhe Works of God afcrib" d to the Holy -Ghoft. 
 
 2tlly. Miraculous Works are afcrib'd to the Holy Ghoft, 
 particularly the raifing of the dead, Rom. viii. 1 1 . But if 
 the Spirit of him that mi fed up Jesus from the dead, dwell 
 in ycu, he that raifed up Christ from the dead flail alfo 
 quicken your mortal Bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you, 
 likewife the Gift of healings Tongues, and Prophcfes, is at- 
 tributed to the Holy Spirit, r Cor. xii. to the 1 1. Now there 
 are diver fity of Gifts, but the fame Spirit, differences of Ad- 
 7niniflration, but the fame Lord, — diverjitys of Operations, 
 but the fame God which worketh all in all. 
 
 3<ily. The Unclion of our Lord by the Holy Ghoft is 
 another Argument of his Divinity, compar'd liai. Ixi i. 
 with Luk. iv. 1 8. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, 
 becaufe he hath anointed me to preach good Ty dings unto the 
 Meek. The Unction of our Lead, alludes to a L T iage which 
 obtain'd under the Jewifh OEconomy, namely, of anoint- 
 ing Kings, Prophets and Priefts with Oyl, to fignify their 
 Authority and Fitnefs, to execute their feveral Offices, and 
 therefore it plainly fignifies that our Lord was authoriz'd, 
 and qualified to perform the mediatorial Work, by the Ho- 
 ly Ghoft, which is no inconfiderable Argument of his Deity. 
 
 4thly. The fupernatural Works of Convidtion, Convern- 
 on, Sandtification, and Confolation are likewife afcrib'd to 
 the Holy Ghoft, John xvi. 8, 9. And when he is come he will 
 reprove the World of Sin, John iii. 5. Except a Man be born 
 of Water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the King- 
 dom of God. On the Account of fanctifying Influence, he 
 is call'd the Holy Spirit, and in refpect of his comforting 
 Influence, the Comforter. 
 
 ^thly. The Holy Spirit did likewife CommifTion Perfons 
 for the Miniftry, and in a iovereign Way order as to the 
 Places where they are to exercife it. Which is an unalia- 
 nable Prerogative of the Crown of Heaven, and therefore an 
 
 inconteftible 
 
The Holy Spirit the Objetl of religious Wbrjhtp. 453 
 
 inconteftible Evidence of his Deity. See A6l. xiii. 2. The 
 Holy Ghofl faid, feparate me Barnabas and Saul,yor the Work 
 ^hereunto I have called them, Actsxvi. 6, 7. They were for- 
 bidden of the Holy Ghoft, to preach the Word in Afia, they 
 e/Jayed to go into Bithinia, but the Spirit fuff red them not. 
 
 4thiy The Holy Ghoft is the ObjeSl of religious Worfhip^ 
 and hence Believers are faid to be his Temples, 1 Cor. iii. 16, 
 17. Becaufe they are devoted to his Worfhip, and baptized 
 in his Name, Mat. xxviii. 1 9. We are excited to worfhip 
 him, Pf. xcv. 6. compar'd with Heb. iii. 7, 9, And there 
 is a Sin peculiarly againft the Holy Ghoft, which is unpar- 
 donable, Mat. xii. 31, 32. Now it is certain that religious 
 Worfhip is due only to God, Mat. iv. 10. For it is written 
 thoujhalt worfhip the Lord thy God, and him only ft wit thou 
 Jerve. I proceed to the 
 
 3d. Proposed which was to Anfwer fome Objections. 
 1 ft. The Antitrinitariam Object againft the Godhead of 
 our Lord Jesus thus, namely " That the Son is faid to be 
 " lefs than the Father, John xiv. 28. andfubjecJ to him, 1 
 " Cor. 15. 28." 
 
 Anpiv. He is eliewhere faid to be equal to God, to be in 
 the Form of God, Phil. ii. 6. And hence equal Honour with 
 the Father is afcrib'd to him, (John v. 23.) From whence 
 we may eafily infer, that the Son is lefs than the Father, 
 and yet equal to him in different Refpects : He is equal to 
 God the Father in regard of his ErTence, and lefs than 
 him, not only in refpect of his human Nature, but like- 
 wife in regard of his mediatorial Office. By becoming 
 the Sinners Surety, he deriv'd their Guilt upon him, 
 and fo became Subject to the Father as a Debtor : He 
 is likewife reprefented in Scripture as a Servant of God, 
 on Account of his Mediation ; becaufe he undertook it 
 according to his Fathers Order, and is to be confider'd in 
 
 the 
 
.£54 Objections anfuverecT. 
 
 the whole of this as acting in Purfuancc thereof, and Sub- 
 ferviency thereto : To which fome add, " That he may be 
 C( faid to be lefs than the Father ', in refpeB of the Relation 
 " of Sonflrip, by which, in human Affair s, the Son. 
 " is faid to be lefs than the Father, a It ho', as to the Being 
 <c of Humanity, he be equal to him, yea, in Regard of Gifts, 
 " Wifdom, Goodnefs, &c. above him." 
 
 ObjecJ. 2. " The Lord Jesus is frequently cail'd Alan,. 
 and the Son of Man in Scripture. 
 
 Anfw. It is true, but the Delign thereof, is not to exclude 
 his Godhead, which has been already prov'd, but to fig- 
 nify its real inseparable and perfonal Union to the human 
 Nature: And hence it is faid John i. 14. That the Word: 
 was made Flefi, and dwelt among its, and we beheld his Glo- 
 ry, as the Glory of the only begotten Sen of God. And we 
 are told 1 Tim. iii. 16. That God was manifefl in the Flejh. 
 And elfewhere that God fent forth his Son, made of c 
 Woman, ?nade under the Law, Gal. iv. 4. 
 
 Objecl. 3. " TheSon calls the Father his God. 
 
 Anfw. It is true he doth 10, but- only on the Account. 
 oi his human Nature. 
 
 Object. 4 " The Father is only faid to be our God, (1 Cor. 
 " viii. 6.) and therefore the Son is not." 
 
 Anfw. As the Text which calls the Lord Jesus our only 
 "Lord, does not exclude theFatlier, fo neither does this, which 
 is parallel to it, exclude the Son : The Scope of the Place 
 mention'd in the Objection, is only to exclude falfe Gods 
 from a claim to Deity, and fovereign Dominion. 
 
 ObjeSl. 5. " The Father is cail'd the only true God" 
 Joh. xvii. 3. 
 
 Anfw. The Son is elfewhere calPd the true God. 1 Joh. v. 
 20. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given 
 us an underjl ending that we may know him that is True, and 
 
• Objections anfwered, 4 5 w 
 
 *we, are in him that is True, even in his Son Jesus Christ, 
 this is the true God and eternal Life. Now if he be the 
 •true God he can be but one; neither is the Father alone 
 exclufive of the Son, call'd the one true God, in the forecited 
 Scripture, but the Son is join 'd, that they may know thee 
 the only true God; to which is added, and whom thou hajl 
 ■fent Jesus Christ, namely to be the o?ie true God. 
 
 Oljecl, 6. " Christ himfelf has laid, that he is God 
 fi as Magi fir ate s are Gods, Joh. x. 35. namely by Rea- 
 Ci ion of Office, not of Eflence. 
 
 Anfiv. Christ had faid in the 30th verfe of the fame 
 'Chapter, I and the Father are one : And hence the yews 
 -charg'd him with Blafphcmy ; becaufe by this he declar'd 
 himfelf to be God. Our Lord anfwers from the Lefler 
 to the Greater to this Effect, namely, If Magijlrates on 
 Account of their Office are call'd Gods, how much more am I 
 really Jo, who am fent by my Father, who do his Works^ and 
 am in him, and he in me. joh. x.37, %8. 
 
 Object. 7. iC The Son is a made Lord, Heb. i. 4. Being 
 ' i: made jo much better than the Angels, as he hath obtain 'd a 
 " cc more excellent Name than they. See like wife to the fame 
 <( Purpofe, Heb. iii. 2. Who was jaithful to him that appoint- 
 ,c ed him ^ and therefore Christ is made God." 
 
 Anjw. To be Lord, and to be God, are not Terms of 
 the fame Import ; there are many Lords, who in the 
 ■mean Time are not God's. Here it mould be noted that 
 a twofold Dominion belongs to Christ, viz. Effiential and 
 Mediatorial ; the Firft belongs to him as God, and the Se- 
 cond as Mediator : In the firft Refpect he cannot be made 
 a Lord, and therefore its only in Regard of the Second 
 that our Saviour is fo call'd. As Mediator he is made Head 
 over all Things to his Church, which does not at all inter- 
 fere 
 
456 Objections a f if were d. 
 
 fere with his Godhead, or enential Government. (See EpB- 
 i. 22, Eph. iv. j 5. Col. i. 18.) 
 
 Objeft. 8. Againft the Argument for Christ's Deity, 
 drawn from his being the Object of Religious Worfhip, 
 it is alledg'd, " That if God commands us to worfhip 
 " a Creature, we muft obey him, and that he hath com- 
 " manded us to worfhip the Son, Heb. L 6. He fayeth 
 " let all the Angels of God worfiip him.'' 
 
 Anjiv. The Objection is grounded upon an impofiible 
 Suppofition. God can no more command us to worfhip a 
 Creature, than he can forbid us to worfhip himfelf j for 
 hereby he mould give his Glory to another, which cannot 
 be j this farther appears thus, viz. " Addoration is a fay- 
 
 * ing to a Perfon, who is the Object thereof, Then bajl 
 1 divine Perfections, and to fay this to a Creature is contrary 
 1 to Truth, and therefore cannot be commanded bv God :. 
 ' And if we confider Worfhip, as it is our addre/ling our 
 
 • felves to him, whom we worfhip in fuch a Way as 
 4 becomes a God. He cannot give us a Warrant lb to 
 1 do, for that would be to diveft himlelf of his Glory 5 
 c and it would alfo difappoint our Expectations, by put- 
 ' ing us on trufting one that cannot fave." 
 
 ObjeSt. 9. Some fay that " Honours, truly Divine, may 
 
 ' be given to the Son, as the Fathers Reprefentative, which 
 
 1 will terminate in theFather as an Ambaflador, who is con- 
 
 " fider'das fuftaining the Character of the Prince that fends 
 
 " himishonour'd, as pcribnating him whom he reprefents. 
 
 Anjw. Whatever Difference is fhewn to an Ambaflador, 
 
 there is a Diftinction made in the Expreffion thereof between 
 
 him and hisMafter, fignifying, that he is but a Subject, 
 
 and if the Cafe was otherwiie, the Prince would be jufliy 
 
 offended ; neither is there any Foundation in the facred O- 
 
 racles to aflert 3 that, religious Worfhip is twofold, namely, 
 
 Supreant 
 
Objections anfwered. 457' 
 
 Supream and Subordinate, and that the Latter does not 
 terminate in the immediate Object thereof, but in another 
 whom this reprefents : When our Lord informs us, that be 
 acled in his Fathers Name, fought his Glory, and refer d all 
 the Honour foewn him thereto. Thefe Forms of Expreffions 
 only fignify, that as Man and Mediator, he is inferior to 
 his Father, and acls as luch- by a delegated Authority from 
 him. (Tfa, . xlii. i.) But the Mediator confider'd as to his 
 divine Nature. i c co-equal andco-eternal with his Father j. 
 as has been prov'd before. 
 
 ObjecJ. 10. " Christ refus'd to have one of the divine 
 "' Perfections- afcriB'd to him. Mat. xix. 17. Why callefi 
 ** thou me Good, there is none good but one, that is God. 
 
 Aftfw. Some do not improbably underftand the Places of 
 Scripture mention'd in the Objection, as a Method which 
 our Lord us'd to convince the young Man of the Erroni- 
 oufnefs of the Doctrines of the Pharifees, of which Seel: 
 he was : It is as if our Lord had fpoke to the following 
 Effect, " Seeing you will not own me to be God, why 
 " calieft thou me Good f For there is none originally, 
 " effentially and absolutely Good but he : Either firn: ac- 
 " knowledge me to be a divine Perfon, or elfe do not afcribe 
 " divine Honour to me y for then by Confequence thou 
 " mightefl as well afcribe them to any meer Creature." 
 
 It may be farther obferv'd, that what our Lord fays 
 refpecling the Onenefs of God in the forecited Place of 
 Scripture, mould be underftood in the lame Senfe with 
 thofe Places which deny a Plurality of Gods. The Terms 
 one, only, do not except the Son from the fame Godhead 
 with the Father, as appears from the following Places of 
 Scripture. Mat. xi. 27. No One knoweth the Son but the Fa- 
 ther, nor any one the Father fave the Son. It would be abfurd 
 
 M m m to 
 
45 8 ''Objections an fiver ed. 
 
 to infer from the aforefaid Place of .Scripture, that neither 
 the Son or the Father know themfelves. 
 
 Mr. Pc<?/ observes in his Synopfis that there is another 
 reading of the aforefaid Text of great Antiquity, namely 
 this, " Why does thou afk me concerning Good, and ob- 
 " ferves, that Beza and Grotius read it thus, as well as the 
 cc vulgar latin Verrion, and three moil antient and correct 
 <c Copies, together with the Hi brew Verfion of Mathews 
 tc Gofpel, with which Origtn, Chryfoftom and Aujiin agree 
 ■" in many Things," Hat if we take the Words agreea- 
 ble to the Copies now in \Jie, they do not import any 
 abfolute Rejection of the Character of Good, for this our 
 Lord eliewhere afcribes to himfelf. Job. x. 14, 15, 28. 
 Jam the good Shepherd, I lay down my Life for the Sheep ; 
 and give unto them eternal Life. 
 
 I mail now proceed to anfwer fome Objections a- 
 gainft the Godhead of the Holy-Ghofl. And 
 
 ill. " It is objected that he prays for the coming of 
 - £C Christ to Judgment. (Rev. xxii. 17.) 
 
 Anfw. Moil certainly the Holy-Spirit prays efficiently in 
 Believers, he excites Deiires in them after Christ's fecond 
 coming ; but he prays not formally in himfelf: Or there is 
 perhaps a Figure call'd Hendiadis in the Place of Scripture 
 mention'd in the Objection, wnereby but one Thing is figni- 
 fy'd by thofc two Words, Spirit and Bride, namely the 
 fpiritual Bride, or Bride having fpirkual Dilpofitions. 
 
 Ob j eel. 2. " The Spirit is reprefented as the Gift of 
 cc God, {Luk. xi. 13.) and therefore he is not the Giver." 
 
 Anfw. The Confequence does not hold Good univerfal- 
 
 ly, as appears thus. A Perfon may give himfelf to another, 
 
 as God in the Covenant of Grace gives himfelf to his 
 
 ; own, when by a gracious Act of his Will he becomes their 
 
 tGod, Shield, and exceeding great Reward, Gen. xv. 1. Be- 
 
 fides 
 
Ob; eel ions anfwerea\ 4^9 
 
 fides it may be likewife obferv'd, that in feveral Places 
 of Scripture the Gifts, and Graces of the Holy-Ghofl, 
 and efpeciaily the extraordinary Gifts are thus term'd. See 
 Acls x. 44, 45. The Holy-Ghoji fell on all them- which heard 
 the Word. A 61. xix. 2. We have not Jo much as heard whe- 
 ther there be any Holy Ghoft. John vii. 39. The Hcly-Ghoji 
 was not given, becaufe Jesus was not yet glorify 'd. 
 
 Objecl. 3. il The Holy-Ghofl; is faid to be fent, Joha 
 "' xvi. 7. And therefore he ferves, and £o is not God." 
 
 Anfw. The Confequence of ferving does not follow from 
 the Premifes univerfally, neither can it be true in the 
 prefent Cafe, that he j'hould ferve to whom all the divine At- 
 tributes belong, All thofe Places of Scripture, which feem 
 to reprefent the Holy-Ghoftas inferior to the Father and 
 Son, may be underftood as fignifying a Subferviency of 
 the Works of the Spirit, which are metanomically term'd 
 himfelf] to the Works of the Father and Son, which im- 
 ports no Inferiority or Perlbns, 
 
 Objecl. 4. " It is alledg'd that the Holy-Spirit changes 
 "Place, and fo is not God, Luk. iii. 21, 22. The Holy 
 il Ghojl defended like a dove upon him. 
 
 Anfw. The Bleffed Spirit changes not Place really, but 
 fymbollically, as God the Father doth. Gen. xviii. 21. / 
 will go down. . The outward Symbols or Tokens of God's 
 Pretence, may move from PLce to Place 3 but his Being 
 is Omniprefent, and is infinitely beyond the Bounds of the 
 Creation. 
 
 Objecl. '$? " It is alledg'd that the Holy-Spirit hath a 
 " Will diftincl from the Will of God, becaufe he is laid 
 M to inter reed for the Saint s, according to the Will of God a 
 " (Rom. viii. 27.) 
 
 Anfw. The Manner of the Spirits interceeding, is re- 
 prefented in the preceeding Verfe which is this, Hejlirs.up 
 
 M m m 2 in 
 
',00 Objections anfwered. 
 
 in God's People by his efficiency, Groanings that cannot be u't- 
 fared. The Words cata, theon, or according to God, feem 
 only to import, that the Spirit helps pious People to pray 
 as it becomes, or in that Manner God requires. Here is 
 no Difference afferted between Gods Will and his, in which 
 the Force of the Objection lies. 
 
 Objecl. 6. " It is faid of the Holy-Spirit, Jchn.'xvi. 13. 
 tr 1 4. That he /hall not [peak oj himfelf, but wbatjoever he 
 " Jhall hear, that f jail he fpeak.-—~For he JJ:all receive of 
 u .mine, andjhewtt unto yen." 
 
 Anj. The aforefaid Text does not argue that the Spi- 
 rit has all the Ideas of Things imprefs'd on his Mind, 
 which he communicates, as Creatures have ; for this would 
 contradict what is eifewhere faid concerning him, viz. 'That 
 he knoiveth the deep 'Things of God : But probably it in- 
 tends this, that the Holy Spirit would communicate no 
 other Doctrines, than what Chrift had before reveal'd in 
 the Gofpel ; befides the aforeiaid Phrafes feem to fignify 
 that the Order of the Holy-Spirits acting, is agreeable to 
 the Order of his fubfiiting, namely, that as he proceeds 
 from the Father and the Son, fo he acts from them, but 
 without any Imperfection or Dependance in refpect of his 
 EfTence, Existence, or Action. 
 
 But I may add, that it is objected againft the Doctrine 
 of the Trinity in general, namely, " That it is contra- 
 tc ry to Reafon, and therefore ought not to be believ'd." 
 Anfw. That it is above Reafon we confefs, but that it is 
 contrary to it we deny. Now a Doctrine may be truly laid, 
 to be contrary to Reafon, when it contradicts fome of the 
 firft Principles of reafoning, which are felf Evident, and 
 univerfally acknowledged, fuch as that a Thing can be, 
 -and not be at the fame Time, that the whole is greater than 
 a Part, &c. A Doctrine cannot be truly call'd Unreafonable, 
 
 jneerlv 
 
Objections anficered. 46 r 
 
 meerly becaule it oppofes unjuft Deductions from firft 
 Principles j but we know not that the Article of the Tri- 
 nity contradicts any of thofe firft Principles before men- 
 tioned, or others Parallel to them. 
 
 It is alledg'd that this is an Inftance ofContradicti- 
 - on which fome fuggeft, namely, <c That while we aflert 
 that there is but one God ; in the mean Time we fay, that 
 " there are three Perfons in the Godhead, and that each of 
 < J thefe is God. 
 
 An',w. But herein there is no Contradiction, becaufe 
 we lay not that the facred Three are diftinct Gods; the 
 Diftinction refpects their Perfonality, and not their God- 
 head : And when we fay there are three Almighties we 
 mean not that thefe Perfections are diftinct, but the very 
 fame in them all. Neither is the Confequence valid from 
 human to divine Perfonality, /'. e. becaufe human Perfons 
 are diftinct Beings, that therefore the Divine muft be fo. 
 If indeed the divine Perfonality were finite, like that of 
 the Creature, then it might be reafonably requir'd that a 
 finite Mind mould account for it ; but fince it is not fo, it 
 muft therefore be incomprehenfible, and thus our not being 
 able to Grafp it mould be no Bar to our Belief of it. 
 Surely feeing Almighty God knows beft the Manner of his 
 own Exiftence, it is but reafonable we mould believe the 
 Account which he has given of it, in that Revelation which 
 bears the Characters of a divine Original. 
 
 But I proceed to the Improvement of this Subject:. 
 And 
 
 1 ft What has been faid ferves to inform us, of the un- 
 happy Cafe of all A?ititri?iitarians y whether fews, Turks i 
 Arians, or Socinians, when our Lord had prov'd his co- 
 equality with his Father, {John v.) by /hewing that he 
 was one with him, and did the fame Works. He there- 
 fore 
 
4.62 The Improvement. 
 
 fore juftly infers, that he that honour eth not the Son honour eth nc 
 the Father. See v. 23. The fame Truth is elfewhere aver- 
 ted, (ijoh. ii. 23.) Hence Paul concludes the Gentiles who 
 were without Christ to be Athei/h. [Ephef. ii. 12.) And 
 is not he an Athei/l who denys religious Worfhip to him 
 who is the true God. {Rom. i. 21.) And on the other 
 Hand is he not an Idolater who offers religious- Worfhip 
 to one whom he believes not to be God. What Hope can 
 we have of the Remiiiion of SinSj without Satisfaction be 
 made for Sin, equal to its Demerit, which muft be Infinite j 
 becaufe Sin is objectively fo 5 being committed againft a 
 Being oi infinite Perfection ? Now is it not utterly impof- 
 fible for a meer Creature, who is neceilarily finite, to per- 
 form this infinite Talk, To fuppofe Sin may be pardon'd 
 without equal Satisfaction, is to confront therectoral Juffice 
 of God as well as his Truth, which itands engag'd to 
 iiTue the Threats of the firit Covenant upon the Tranf- 
 grelfors thereof, either upon themfelves perfonally, or up- 
 on a Surety in their Room and Place : And without Par- 
 don what can enfue but utter and irreparable Ruin ? 
 And what Ground have we to expect the Regeneration 
 of Men who are dead in Sins and Trefpaiies, without the 
 Intervention of the Almighty Energy of the Holy- Spirit ? 
 And can this be exerted by one who is not God ? And 
 pray what is Religion without well grounded Hopes of the 
 Remimon of Sins, and Regeneration, but Prelumption, 
 Formality, and Defpcraticn ? From all which it evidently 
 appears, that the denial of the Godhead of the Son and i 
 Holy-Spirit, as well as of theFather, laps the very Founda- 
 tions of the Chriftian Religion, and exceedingly endangers 
 the Salvation of Mens Souls. 
 
 Mr. Vincent in his judicious Explanation, of The Affem- 
 blies (l:orter Catech/J/n, pag. 33. in an Aver to this Qaeflion, 
 
 namely, . 
 
The Improvement. 463 
 
 namely. What fiould we judge of them that deny that there 
 ttre three diftinB Per [ons in the Godhead? Sayeth, 
 
 Anfw. " We ought to judge them to be Blafphemers, 
 " becaufe they fpcak againft the ever glorious God^ who 
 <c hath fet forth himfelf, in this Diftindtion in the Holy 
 " Scriptures, adly. To be damnable Hereticks ! This 
 " Dodtrine of the Diftindtion of Perfons, in the Unity of 
 " EiTence being a fundamental Truth denied of old by the 
 tc Sabellians, Arians, Photim'ans, and of late by the So- 
 ■" cinianSy who were againft the Godhead of Chrift the 
 Ci Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, amongft whom the Quakers 
 " are alfo to be numbred, who deny this Diftindtion." 
 
 2dly. The Dodtrine of the Trinity fhews the Sufficiency 
 of the Almighty to fecure the Happinefs of fallen Crea- 
 tures, while each Perfon affumes his peculiar Task to this 
 End. The Firft decrees it, the Second pur chafes it, and 
 the Third applys and confers it. It is true indeed that every 
 faving Benefit we receive, is common to all the facred 
 Three, and therefore we find the fame Benefits expreffly 
 afcrib'd to them all complexly, and to each refpedtively, 
 (Rev. i. 4. ^.jchn vi. 45. Mat. xxiii. 10. John xiv. 26.) 
 Every Benefit belongs to each Perfon of the facred Trinity, 
 after his own peculiar Manner, namely, to the Father by 
 Original Authority, and hence they are affign'd to his good 
 Pleafure, (Mat. xi. 25, 26.) To the Son they belong of Right 
 and of Merit, inafmuch as he has purchafed them by his 
 Blood, that of his Fulnefs we might receive Grace for Grace, 
 (John i. 16.) To the Holy Ghoft they belong, by the imme- 
 diate Efficacy of Application. Rom.viii. 11. 
 
 3diy. The Dodtrine of the Trinity mould invite us to the 
 following Duties, namely, 
 
 1 ft. To endeavour after a diftindt Knowledge of this 
 important Point, without which we cannot worfhip God 
 
 arightj 
 
464 ¥J je Improvement. 
 
 aright. Religious Worfhip is certainly due to all the facred" 
 Three, as appears from what has been already laid before, 
 and unlefs we know this, how can we perform it, and 
 how can we expect FellowJUp with the Father, and with 
 the Son Jesus Christ, and the Communion of the Htly Ghoft\, 
 ( 1 John i. 3. 1 Cor. xiii.) except we know that there be fiich 
 Perfons? What can be of more Moment to us, than to be 
 fh'engthned in our Perfualion of the divine Original of the 
 Holy Scriptures ? And to this End is not our Knowledge of 
 the Three that bear Record in Heave?: peculiarly fer vice- 
 able? Surely to know the only true God and Jesus Christ 
 whom he hath fent it Life eternal John xviii. 3. And if any 
 Man have not the Spirit of CHRIST, he is none of his, Rom,, 
 viii. 9. 
 
 2aly. We fhould glorify the facred Trinity in Imitation 
 of the feraphick Doxology, Ifa t . vi. 3. Holy, Holy, Holy, is 
 the Lord of Ho/Is, the Heavens and Earth are full of the 
 Majefly of his Glory. Becaufe therein mines forth the un- 
 fpeakable Happinefs of the fupream Being, apparent in the 
 endear'd Fellowship, mutual Knowledge and Complacence 
 of the facred Three, (Prov. viii. 3©. Mat. ill. 17.) There- 
 in is likewife confpicuous the infinite Perfection of Jeho- 
 vah : For thus the Attributes of Three Perfons unite in one 
 Effence common to all, and are we not hereby taught, how 
 the Father, Son and Spirit do mutually glorify each other, 
 (John xvii. 4, 5, 22.) 
 
 But the Con fi deration of the Part which each Perfon of 
 the facred Trinity performs in compamng of our Salvation, 
 fhould efpecially invite our grateful Hofanna's, together 
 with that of the divine Goodnefs in revealing this Myftery 
 to us, which has been hid from Ages. (2 Cor. vii. 10.) 
 
 3<iiy. Let us feek with all carneftnefs, Communion with 
 the facred Trinity, feeing that this is an attainable and 
 
 mofl 
 
464 The Improvement. 
 
 molt important Priviledge, (2 Cor. i. 4.) in this is our chief 
 Excellency, our greateft Happinefs and Security. ( 1 John 
 ii. 2.) And hence the Priefr. of old was requir'd to blete 
 the People, after the Trinity was distinctly mentioned, (Num. 
 vi. 23, 24, 25.) No Comfort on Earth is equal to that of 
 Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit Now to ob- 
 tain this Communion, we rnuft. forfake Sin, which alienates 
 us from God, and by a living Faith accept the Redeem- 
 er-, that being thereby united to him, we may thro' him ob- 
 tain Communion with the Father, and Holy Spirit. He will 
 pray the Father for us, and he will give us another Comfort- 
 cr, that he may abide with us j or ever, even the Spirit of Truth. 
 (Johnxiv. 16, 17.) And having obtain'd Communion let us 
 perform. 
 
 4thly. The Offices we owe to the facred Trinity, fuch 
 as Worjhip and Obedience, being baptiz'd in the Name of 
 the Father, Son, and Holy GhoSt, let us keep our Cove- 
 nant Engagements. We mould expect every falutary Bleffing 
 from all the Perfons of the Trinity, feeing they all -by 
 Council and Office, equally confpire to promote our Hap-* 
 pinefs. (Num. vi. 24, 27.) Having obferv'd the Order of con- 
 ferring every Benefit, which is from the Father by the Son & 
 Spirit. {Ephef. ii. 18.) In the mean Time we mould ask the 
 Benefit peculiar to each Perfon, according to the divine 
 OEconomy, particularly of him, namely, Love from the 
 Father, Grace from the Son, and Communion from the Spirit. 
 And on the other Hand, let us faithfully render thatoecono- 
 mical Duty we owe to each Perfon, namely, to the Father 
 Reverence, to the Son Faith and Love, and to the Holy 
 Spirit, Obedience. And in all our Prayers and Praifes, let 
 us after the Example of the primitive Church make diftinct 
 mention ot all the Perfons of the Trinity; that fo their per- 
 fonal Glory may be fuitably manifefted by us. 
 
 N n n Finally, 
 
465 » The Improvement . 
 
 Finally tkatblefled Unity and Love, which fubfifts among 
 fbe facred, Three, invite our Imitation, let us tberejoe keep the 
 tlfity pftlpe^rti y in the Bond 6} Peace, becaufe hereby -we 
 fliall in j 6ur Meafure* in ' fome Sort refembie the- facred 
 Trinity. John xviiv zl.That, they all may. be One, as thou Fa- 
 ther artf in me. and Tin thee ; '..in this our greateft Glory con- 
 lifts, John xvii. ' And the Glory which thou gave ft me, I have 
 given them y that they maf tie one, even, a; we are. With- 
 out £ndeavckirs ;1 after Union to, and loving. Communion- with 
 -fuch whom, ; from their Principles and Practice, we have 
 Reafbn to think are the Saints of God, how can , we expecl: 
 'C^mmAnion^widi the. facred Trinity,. or to be one in them. 
 In a Word, t^eoBeau^, Strengtlf, , Increafe and Comfort of 
 religious Societies, depend upon their Union and Love, here- 
 by .they, evidence to the World that they are Difciples of 
 CHRIST indeed -'tet us- be therefore Followers of God as 
 dear Children, and. walk in Love, as Christ, alio hath lo- 
 ved us, and given h^im^lf 4br us^an, Offering and a Sacri-- 
 v jficc,tQGp4-Qf a fweet fuelling Savour. Now. to God the 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghbft, the facred and venerable Three 
 One, who ^ear Witnefs from Heaven, to the divine Original 
 .of that Religion vyeprofefs, be all Glory afcrib'd byMen and. 
 Angels, jhLrou|hout all Eternity. Amen and Amen\ . 
 
 errata; 
 
 PA«e 7 line 8 read Weight. Ibid 1. 1 8 read cupfilo; p. ££jb z* -.read, arc. 
 p. 52. 1 1 read P*{foges. p. 65 1. g read untainted p. 7 1 1. 26 read Scripture. 
 Ibid 1 27 read Attributes., p. 72J. 7 rtad.Jhow. p. 98 1. 1 read excellently. Ibid 
 •f: i3;readTyrparum Ibid. V 31. read does. p. 1 6 * 1. 4 re ad eicher. p. 169 
 1 j add, H material ! B:tng!». p iYo - 1. 19 resid SalVationr. I ^.-^^h^i^keuU 
 •we> p, zxyl ^'5 rewd t-hi* p 252 1 3 r tcad Shin.es. <p.:A4£ 1 . 19 read the 
 Tumult, i p. 247 read meet. . J>. ^69. 1. JLfc read whether, p 3 jS I. J 8 Vead 
 that it is, pr§49 1.13 read Inrrruments. Ibid 1. 17 read befcauHe of thefe.Tbjngs. 
 p 34S I. 94 read Defiance, p. 3,5,6 1 39 read Atrribute. p. 365 I 2 read Bene- 
 factor, p 370 1. 8 read decreed, p 388 li 28 read Men. p 389 1. 30 del* 
 in.' p: -397, 1. 7 read Polytheifm. p. 436 1. 1 read Qeapoomy. p. 452 I. 12 read 
 compare. I. 3a read were! p 455 h 2J. a m*!'*. Stmt Jeffer' Erraf4?tibu. ton #//>//*- 
 ptfTtnwtt*) wkub tu b»piJ tbt jw&Vfoiw ReHdtr vxt( Ctrriit,' - -\- " v 
 
C O N T E N T S. 
 
 SEJIM ON I. 
 I -CoR. x. 2 U Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or wha$- 
 
 i foever ye do, do all to the Glory of God, , (pag. 3) ' 
 
 S E R M O N. II. 
 
 The fame Text, (pag. 29) 
 
 SERMON in. ., > 
 
 '2 Tim. iiL 16, 17. All Scripture is given by Inspiration of 
 'God, and is profitable for DoSlrine. for Reproof', for Cor- 
 
 ■■' reclion\ for Inftruclion in Right emfnefs*. 
 
 Tim 'the Man i li of 7 God may be perfeS,. throughly furnifhed 
 
 ■ wiio all goodGood Works. - t X(pag. 61^) , 
 
 \ ' s e r mo n. ;iv. : ;~ ; 
 
 ;Ps a l m xi v, s i ,.. The Fool hath faid in his Heart there is Ufa 
 -* G °J- (Rag- *>&). 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 JExod. iii. 13, 14. And Moics faid unto God, 'behold, wbefi 
 T come unto the Chidren of Ifrael, and /hall fay unto them 9 
 the God [of your Fathers hath ft nt me unto ydu ; and they 
 JJ:all fay to me } what is his Name § What jhall I jay unfo 
 them? And God faid unto Moits, I AM THAT I AM* 
 And he faid y thus fait thou [ay unto the Children of Jfrael 9 
 JAM hath Jent me unto you. (pag. 107) - 
 
 S E R M O N VI, 
 
 &XQi>.,iiu 14. And God faid unto, Mbfc, I AM THAT 
 ; I AM: And he faid, thus jhaft thqu fay unto \th \ Children 
 tylfcel-i I AM hath fent me unto yctf . (pag. 125) 
 •'■'.' ^ ... . ' 
 
 S E R M O N VII. j 
 
 'joWi iv. 24^ ^Gcdfs a Spirit, and they tljat wyfhip him, 
 mufi worfijtp him-.liK Spirit. ' <tnd [in fruth.ffytfy 149) I^e 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 Psalm, cxlv. 3. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praifed % 
 and his Greatnefs is unfearchable. (p a g» 165) 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 Rom. xi. 33, 34. O the Depth of the Riches both of the Wif- 
 
 dom and Knowledge of God! How unfearchable are his 
 
 Judgments and his Ways pajl finding out. 
 For who hath known the Mind of the Lord x or who hath been 
 
 bis Coimfellor. (p a g- 182) 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 Rom. x. 33. O the Depth of the Riches both of the Wif dem- 
 and Knowledge of God ! How unfearchable are his Judg- 
 ments^ and his Ways paft finding out. (pag. 199) 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 Gen. xvii. 1 . And when Abram was Ninety Tears old and 
 JVme, the Lord appeared to Abram, and f aid unto him, I 
 am the Almighty God- walk before me, and be thou .per- 
 feci. . (pag. 213) 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 Jerem. xxxii. 17. Ah Lord God, behold, thou baft made the 
 
 . Heavens and the Earth by thy great Power, and fir etched 
 
 ait Arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. (pag. 235) 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 Levit. xix. 2. Speak unto all the Congregation of the Chil- 
 dren of Ifrael and fay unto them y yefall be Holy : For I the 
 Lord your God am Holy. (P a g« 2 5 1 ) 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 4. He is the Rock, his Work is Perfect: For 
 all his Ways are Judgment : A God of Truth, and with- 
 out' Iniquity > Juft and right is he. [pag. 270) 
 
TheCONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 Ho sea. iii. 5. And pall j ear the Lord, and bis Gooanefs, 
 in the latter Days (pag. 292) 
 
 SERMON XVI. 
 
 Exod. xxxiv. 6. And the Lord paffed by before him, and 
 proclaimed^ the Lord, the Lord God, Merciful and gracious, 
 Long-fuffering. (pag. 311) 
 
 SERMON XVII. 
 
 The fame Text. (pag. 327) 
 
 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 The fame Text. (pag. 344) 
 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 Psalm xxxi. 5. Into thine Hand I commit my Spirit : For 
 thou haft redeemed me O Lord God of Truth, (pag. 363) 
 
 SERMON XX. 
 Deut. vi. 4- Hear Ifrael, the Lord our God is one- 
 Lord, (pag. 385) 
 
 SERMON XXL 
 
 Jerem. x. ro. But the Lord is the true God, and an everlaft- 
 ing King : At his Wrath the Earth Jlmll tremble, and the 
 Nations jhall not be able to abide his Indignation ! (pag.403 ) 
 
 S E R.M O N XXII. 
 1 John v. 7, For there are Three that bear Record in Hea- 
 ven, the Father the Word, and the Holy Ghojl, and thefe 
 Three are One. (p a g- 420) 
 
 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 The fame Text. (pag. 449^ 
 
o