The most Reverend D r. IOHN TILLOTSON late Arch-Bishop of Canterbury The Remaining DISCOURSES ON THE Attributes of God viz. His Goodness His Mercy His Patience His Long-suffering His Power His Spirituality His Immensity His Eternity His Incomprehensibleness God the first Cause and last End By the Most Reverend Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON Late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Being The SEVENTH VOLUME Published from the Originals By Ralph Barker D. D. Chaplain to his Grace LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Churchyard 1700. THE CONTENTS SERMON I II III IV. The Goodness of God PSAL. CXLV 9 The Lord is good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works Page 1 25 51 81. SERMON V. The Mercy of God NUMB. XIV 18 The Lord is long-suffering and of great Mercy p. 145. SERMON VI VII The Patience of God 2 Pet. III. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise as some men count slackness but is long suffering not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance p. 143 179. SERMON VIII IX The Long-suffering of God ECCLES VIII 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the Sons of men is fully set in them to do evil p. 193 239. SERMON X. The Power of God PSAL. LXII 11 God hath spoken once twice have I heard this that power belongeth unto God p. 265. SERMON XI The Spirituality of the Divine Nature JOHN IV. 2 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth p. 299. SERMON XII The Immensity of the Divine Nature PSAL. CXXXIX 7 8 9 10. Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend 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 uttermost parts of the sea even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me p. 331 SERMON XIII The Eternity of God PSALM XC 2 Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God p. 355 SERMON XIV The Incomprehensibleness of God JOB XI 7 Canst thou by searching find out God Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection p. 377 SERMON XV. God the first Cause and last End ROM XI 36 For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be Glory for ever Amen p. 403 SERMON I. Vol. VII The Goodness of God PSAL. CXLV 9 The Lord is Good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works THE Subject which I have now proposed to treat of is certainly one of the Greatest and Noblest Arguments in the World the Goodness of God the Highest and most Glorious Perfection of the best and most Excellent of Beings than which nothing deserves more to be considered by us nor ought in Reason to affect us more The Goodness of God is the cause and the continuance of our Beings the Foundation of our Hopes and the Fountain of our Happiness our greatest comfort and our fairest Example the chief Object of our love and praise and admiration the joy and rejoycing of our hearts and therefore the Meditation and Discourse of it must needs be pleasant and delightful to us the great difficulty will be to confine our selves upon so copious an Argument and to set bounds to that which is of so vast an extent the Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works Which words are an Argument which the divine Plalmist useth to stir up himself and others to the praise of God At the 3. v. he tells us that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised and he gives the reason of this v. 8. and 9. from those Properties and Perfections of the Divine Nature which declare his Goodness the Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy the Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works where you have the Goodness of God declared together with the amplitude and extent of it in respect of the Objects of it the Lord is good to all In the handling of this Argument I shall do these four things First Consider what is the proper Notion of Goodness as it is attributed to God Secondly Shew that this Perfection belongs to God Thirdly Consider the Effects and the Extent of it Fourthly Answer some Objections which may seem to contradict and bring in question the Goodness of God First What is the proper Notion of Goodness as it is attributed to God There is a dry Metaphysical Notion of Goodness which only signifies the Being and essential properties of a thing but this is a good word ill bestowed for in this sense every thing that hath Being even the Devil himself is good And there is a Moral Notion of Goodness and that is twofold 1. More general in opposition to all Moral evil and imperfection which we call sin and vice and so the Justice and Truth and Holiness of God are in this sense his Goodness But there is 2. Another Notion of Moral Goodness which is more particular and restrained and then it denotes a particular Virtue in opposition to a particular Vice and this is the proper and usual acceptation of the word Goodness and the best description I can give of it is this that it is a certain propension and disposition of mind whereby a person is enclined to desire and procure the happiness of others and it is best understood by its contrary which is an envious disposition a contracted and narrow Spirit which would confine happiness to it self and grudgeth that others should partake of it or share in it or a malicious and mischievous temper which delights in the harms of others and to procure trouble and mischief to them To communicate and lay out our selves for the good of others is Goodness and and so the Apostle explains doing good by communicating to others who are in misery or want Heb. 13.16 but to do good and to communicate forget not The Jews made a distinction between a righteous and a good man to which the Apostle alludes Rom. 5.7 scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man one would even dare to die The righteous man was he that did no wrong to others and the good man he who was not only not injurious to others but kind and beneficial to them So that Goodness is a readiness and disposition to communicate the good and happiness which we enjoy and to be willing others should partake of it This is the Notion of Goodness among men and 't is the same in God only with this difference that God is originally and transcendently good but the Creatures are the best of them but imperfectly good
from it nor does he feed himself with any imaginary content and satisfaction such as vain-glorious persons have from the fluttering applause of their Creatures and Beneficiaries God is really above all blessing and praise It is great condescention and goodness in him to accept of our acknowledgments of his benefits of our imperfect praises and ignorant admiration of him and were he not as wonderfully good as he is great and glorious he would not suffer us to sully his great and glorious Name by taking it into our Mouths and were it not for our advantage and happiness to own and acknowledge his benefits for any real happiness and glory that comes to him by it he could well enough be without it and dispense with us for ever entertaining one thought of him and were it not for his goodness might despise the praises of his Creatures with infinitely more reason than wise Men do the applause of Fools There is indeed one Text of Scripture which seems to intimate that God made all Creatures for himself as if he had some need of them Prov. 16.4 The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil Now if by God's making all things for himself be meant that he aimed at and intended the manifestation of his Wisdom and Power and Goodness in the Creation of the World 't is most true that in this sense he made all things for himself but if we understand it so as if the Goodness of his Nature did not move him thereto but he had some design to serve Ends and Necessities of his own upon his Creatures this is far from him But it is very probable that neither of these are the meaning of this Text which may be rendered with much better sense and nearer to the Hebrew thus God hath ordained every thing to that which is fit for it and he wicked hath he ordained for the day of evil that is the Wisdom of God hath fitted one thing to another punishment to sin the evil day to the evil doers 2. Nor can Necessity and Constraint have any place in God When there was no Creature yet made nothing in Being but God himself there could be nothing to compel him to make any thing and to extort from him the effects of his bounty Neither are the Creatures necessary effects and emanations from the Being of God flowing from the Divine Essence as water doth from a Spring and as light streams from the Sun If so this indeed would have been an Argument of the fullness of the Divine Nature but not of the bounty and goodness of it and it would have been matter of Joy to us thaâ— we are but not a true ground oâ— thankfulness from us to God aâ— we rejoyce and are glad that thâ— Sunshines but we do not give it any thanks for shining because it shineâ— without any intention or design tâ— do us good it doth not know thaâ— we are the better for its light nor diâ— intend we should be and therefore we have no reason to acknowledge its goodness to us But God who is a Spirit endowed with Knowledge and Understanding does not act as natural and material Causes do which act necessarily and ignorantly whereas he acts knowingly and voluntarily with particular intention and design knowing that he does good and intending to do so freely and out of choice and when he hath no other constraint upon him but this that his goodness enclines his will to communicate himself and to do good So that the Divine Nature is under no Necessity but such as is consistent with the most perfect Liberty and freest Choice Not but that Goodness is essential to God and a necessary Perfection of his Nature and he cannot possibly be otherwise than good but when he communicates his goodness he knows what he does and wills and chuseth to do so And this kind of Necessity is so far from being any impeachment of the Divine Goodness that it is the great Perfection and praise of it The Stoick Philosophers mistaking this do blasphemously advance their wise and virtuous man above God himself for they reason thus A wiseman is good out of choice when he may be otherwise but God out of necessity of nature and when he cannot possibly be otherwise than good But if they had considered things aright they might have known that this is an imperfection in their wise man that he can be otherwise than good for a power to be evil is impotency and weakness The highest Character that ever was given of a man is that which Velleius Paterculus gives of Cato that he was vir bonus quia aliter esse non potuit a good man because he could not be otherwise this applyed to a mortal Man is a very extravagant and undue commendation but yet it signifies thus much that it is the highest Perfection not to be able to be otherwise than good and this is the Perfection of the Divine Nature that goodness is essential to it but the expressions and communications of his goodness are spontaneous and free designed and directed by infinite Knowledge and Wisdom This is the first the second particular is that God hath made all Creatures very good considering the variety and order and end of them But this I shall reserve to another opportunity SERMON II. Vol VII The Goodness of God PSAL. CXLV 9 The Lord is Good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works IN the handling of this Argument I proposed to do these four things First To consider what is the proper Notion of Goodness as it is attributed to God Secondly To shew that this Perfection belongs to God Thirdly To consider the Effects of the Divine Goodness together with the large extent of it in respect of its objects And Fourthly To answer some Objections which may seem to contradict and bring in question the Goodness of God I have considered the two first and in speaking to the third I proposed the considering these two things I. The universal extent of God's Goodness to all his Creatures II. More especially the Goodness of God to man which we are more especially concerned to take notice of and be affected with The First of these appears in these four particulars 1. In his giving Being to so many Creatures 2. In making them all so very good considering the number and variety the rank and order the end and design of all of them 3. In his continual preservation of them 4. In his providing so abundantly for the welfare and happiness of all of them so far as they are capable and sensible of it The First of these I spoke largely to I proceed to shew in the 2. Place that the universal Goodness of God appears in making all these Creatures so very good considering the number and variety the rank and order the end and design of all of them His Goodness excited and set a work his Power to make
sometimes rewarded in this World and domineering and outragious Wickedness is very often remarkably checkt and chastised All which Instances of God's Providence as they are greatly for the advantage and comfort of Mankind so are they an effectual declaration of that Goodness which governs all things and of God's kind care of the affairs and concernments of Men so that if we look no farther than this World we may say with David Verily there is a reward for the Righteous verily there is a God that judgeth the earth I know this Argument hath been perverted to a quite contrary purpose that if goodness govern'd the World and administred the Affairs of it good and evil would not be so carelesly and promiscously dispensed good Men would not be so great sufferers nor wicked Men so prosperous as many times they are But this also if rightly considered is an Effect of God's goodness and infinite Patience to Mankind That he causeth his Sun to rise and his Rain to fall upon the just and unjust That upon the Provocations of Men he does not give over his care of them and throw all things into confusion and ruin this plainly shews that he designs this Life for the tryal of Men's Virtue and Obedience in order to the greater reward of it and therefore he suffers Men to walk in their own ways without any great check and controle and reserves the main bulk of Rewards and Punishments for another World So that all this is so far from being any Objection against the goodness of God that on the contrary it is an Argument of God's immense Goodness and infinite Patience that the World subsists and continues and that he permits Men to take their course for the fuller tryal of them and the clearer and most effectual declaration of his Justice in the Rewards and Punishments of another life Fourthly and Lastly The Goodness of God to Mankind most gloriously appears in the provision he hath made for our Eternal Happiness What the happiness of Man should have been had he continued in Innocency is not particularly revealed to us but this is certain that by willful transgression we have forfeited all that happiness which our Natures are capable of In this lapsed and ruinous condition of Mankind the Goodness and Mercy of God was pleased to employ his Wisdom for our Recovery and to restore us not only to a new but a greater capacity of Glory and Happiness And in order to this the Son of God assumes our Nature for the recovery and redemption of Man and the pardon of Sin is purchased for us by his Blood Eternal Life and the Way to it are clearly discover'd to us God is pleased to enter into a New and better Covenant with us and to afford us inward grace and assistance to enable us to perform the Conditions of it and graciously to accept of our Faith and Repentance of our sincere Resolutions and Endeavours of Holiness and Obedience for Perfect and Compleat Righteousness for his sake who fullfilled all righteousness This is the great and amazing goodness of God to Mankind that when we were in open Rebellion against him he should entertain thoughts of Peace and Reconciliation and when he past by the fall'n Angels he should set his Affection and Love upon the sinful and miserable Sons of Men. And herein is the love of God to men perfected that as he hath made all Creatures both above us and below us subservient and instrumental to our subsistence and preservation so for the ransom of our Souls from eternal Ruin and Misery he hath not spared his own Son but hath given him up to death for us him whom he hath commanded all the Angels of God to worship and to whom he hath made subject all Creatures in Heaven and Earth Him who made the World and who upholds all things by the word of his power who is the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person And after such a stupendious Instance as this what may we not reasonably hope for and promise our selves from the Divine Goodness So the Apostle hath taught us to reason Rom. 8.32 He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things SERMON III. Vol. VII The Goodness of God PSAL. CXLV 9 The Lord is Good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works IN handling this Argument I proceeded in this Method First To consider what is the proper Notion of Goodness Secondly To shew that this Perfection of Goodness belongs to God Thirdly I considered the Effects of the Divine Goodness under these Heads I. The universal Extent of it in the number variety order end and design of the things created by him and his preservation and providing for the welfare and happiness of them II. I considered more particularly the Goodness of God to Mankind of which I gave these four Instances 1. That he hath given us such noble Beings and placed us in so high a rank and order of his Creatures 2. In that he hath made and ordained so many things chiefly for us 3. In that he exerciseth so peculiar a Providence over us above the rest that tho he is said to be good to all he is only said to love the Sons of Men. 4. In that he hath provided for us eternal Life and Happiness There only now remains the Fourth and last particular to be spoken to which was to answer some Objections which may seem to contradict and bring in question the Goodness of God and they are many and have some of them especially great difficulty in them and therefore it will require great consideration and care to give a clear and satisfactory answer to them which undoubtedly they are capable of the Goodness of God being one of the most certain and unquestionable Truths in the World I shall mention those which are most considerable and obvious and do almost of themselves spring up in every Man's Mind and they are these Four the first of them more general the other three more particular First If God be so exceeding good whence comes it to pass that there is so much Evil in the World of several kinds Evil of Imperfection Evil of Affliction or Suffering and which is the greatest of all others and indeed the cause of them Evil of Sin Secondly The Doctrine of absolute Reprobation by which is meant the decreeing of the greatest part of Mankind to eternal Misery and Torment without any consideration or respect to their Sin or Fault this seems notoriously to contradict not only the Notion of infinite Goodness but any competent measure and degree of Goodness Thirdly The eternal Misery and Punishment of Men for temporal Faults seems hard to be reconciled with that excess of Goodness which we suppose to be in God Fourthly The Instances of God's great severity to Mankind upon occasion in those great Calamities which by the
the Divine Attributes are very awful but goodness is amiable and without this nothing else is so Power and Wisdom may command Dread and Admiration but nothing but Goodness can challenge our Love and Affection Goodness is amiable for it self tho' no benefit and advantage should from thence redound to us but when we find the comfortable Effects of it when the riches of God's goodness and long-suffering and forbearance are laid out upon us when we live upon that goodness and are indebted to it for all that we have and hope for this is a much greater endearment to us of that excellency and perfection which was amiable for it self We cannot but love him who is good and does us good whose goodness extends to all his Creatures but is exercised in so peculiar a manner towards the Sons of Men that it is called Love and if God vouchsafe to love us well may this be the first and great Commandment Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind 2. The consideration of God's goodness is likewise an argument to us to fear him not as a Slave does his Master but as a Child does his Father who the more he loves him the more afraid is he to offend him There is forgiveness with thee saith the Psalmist that thou mayest be feared because God is ready to forgive we should be afraid to offend Men shall fear the Lord and his goodness saith the Prophet Hosea 3.5 And indeed nothing is more to be dreaded than despised Goodness and abused Patience which turns into Fury and Vengeance despisest thou the riches of his goodness and long-suffering and forbearance says the Apostle and treasurest up to thy self wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God 3. The consideration of God's goodness is a powerful motive to obedience to his Laws and as the Apostle expresseth it to walk worthy of the Lord unto all well pleasing being fruitful in every good work This Argument Samuel useth to the People of Israel to perswade them to obedience 1 Sam. 12.24 Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart for consider what great things all he hath done for you And indeed the Laws which God hath given us are one of the chief Instances of his goodness to us since they all tend to our good and are proper Causes and Means of our Happiness so that in challenging our obedience to his Laws as acknowledgments of our obligation to him for his Benefits he lays a new obligation and confers a greater benefit upon us All that his Laws require of us is to do that which is best for our selves and does most directly conduce to our own welfare and happiness Considering our infinite obligations to God he might have challenged our obedience to the severest and harshest Laws he could have imposed upon us so that as the Servants said to Naaman Had the Prophet bid thee do some great thing wouldst thou not have done it how much more when he hath only said wash and be clean If God had required of us things very grievous and burthensome in love and gratitude to him we ought to have yielded a ready and chearful obedience to such Commands how much more when he hath only said do this and be happy In testimony of your love to me do these things which are the greatest kindness and benefit to your selves 4. The goodness of God should lead Men to Repentance One of the greatest aggravations of our Sins is that we offend against so much goodness and make so bad a requital for it Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise The proper tendency of God's goodness and patience to Sinners is to bring them to a sense of their miscarriage and to a resolution of a better course When we reflect upon the blessings and favours of God and his continual goodness to us can we chuse but be ashamed of our terrible ingratitude and disobedience Nothing is more apt to make an ingenuous Nature to relent than the sense of undeserved kindness that God should be so good to us who are evil and unthankful to him that tho' we be Enemies to him yet when we hunger he feeds us when we thirst he gives us to drink heaping as it were coals of fire on our heads on purpose to melt us into Repentance and to overcome our evil by his goodness 5. The consideration of God's goodness is a firm ground of trust and confidence What may we not hope and assuredly expect from immense and boundless goodness If we have right apprehensions of the goodness of God we cannot possibly distrust him or doubt of the performance of those gracious promises which he hath made to us the same goodness which inclined him to make such promises will effectually ingage him to make them good If God be so good as he hath declared himself why should we think that he will not help us in our need and relieve us in our distress and comfort us in our afflictions and sorrows If we may with confidence rely upon any thing to confer good upon us and to preserve and deliver us from Evil we may trust infinite goodness 6. The goodness of God is likewise an argument to us to patience and contentedness with every condition If the Hand of God be severe and heavy upon us in any Affliction we may be assured that it is not without great cause that so much goodness is so highly offended and displeased with us that he designs our good in all the Evils he sends upon us and does not chasten us for his pleasure but for our profit that we are the cause of our own Sufferings and our Sins separate between God and us and with-hold good things from us that in the final issue and result of things all things shall work together for good to us and therefore we ought not to be discontented at any thing which will certainly end in our Happiness 7. Let us imitate the goodness of God The highest Perfection of the best and most perfect Being is worthy to be our Pattern This the Scripture frequently proposeth to us Math. 5.48 Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect How is that in being good and kind and merciful as God is But I say unto you says our Lord Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despightfully use you and persecute you that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven for he maketh his Sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust And then it follows Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is heaven is perfect The same Pattern St. Paul proposeth to us Eph. 4.32 and Ch. 5.1 Be ye kind one to
things and the End for which they were made The Proposition I shall speak to is that God is the first Cause and last End First I shall a little Explain the Terms Secondly Confirm the Proposition Thirdly Apply it First For the Explication of the Terms I. That God is the first Cause signifies 1. Negatively that he had no Cause did not derive his Being from any other or does depend upon any other Being but that he was always and eternally of himself 2. Positively that he is the Cause of all things besides himself the Fountain and Original of all Created Beings from whom all things proceed and upon whom all things depend or that I may use the expression of Saint John Joh. 1.3 which I know is appropriated to the Second Person in the Trinity By him all things were made and without him was nothing made that was made So that when we attribute to God that he is the first we mean that there was nothing before him and that he was before all things and that all things are by him II. The last End that is that all things refer to him that is the design and aim of all things that are made is the Illustration of God's Glory some way or other and the manifestation of his Perfections Secondly For the Confirmation I shall briefly according to my usual Method attempt it these two ways I. By Natural light The Notion of a God contains in it all possible Perfection Now the utmost Perfection we can imagine is for a Being to be always of it self before all other Beings and not only so but to be the Cause of all other Beings that is that there should be nothing but what derives its Being from him and continually depends upon him from whence follows that all things must refer to him as their last End For every wise Agent acts with design and in order to an End Now the End is that which is best which is most worthy the attaining and that is God himself Now his Being and Perfections are already and the best next to the existence of his Being and Perfections is the manifestation of them which is called God's Glory and this is the highest End that we can imagine to which all the Effects of the Divine Power and Goodness and Wisdom do refer And that these Titles are to be attributed to God is not only reasonable when it is revealed and discovered but was discovered by the Natural light of the heathens Hence it was that Aristotle gives to God those Titles of the first Being the first Cause and the first Mover and his Master Plato calls God the Author and Parent of all things the Maker and Architect of the World and of all Creatures the Fountain and Original of all things Porphyry calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first from whence he Reasons to this sense that he is the ultimate end and that all things move towards God that all motions center in him because saith he it is most proper and natural for things to refer to their Original and to refer all to him from whom they receive all Antoninus the Emperour and Philosopher speaking of Nature which with the Stoicks signified God hath these words which are so very like these of the Apostle that they may seem to be taken from him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of thee are all things in thee are all things to thee are all things II. From Scripture Hither belong all those places where he declares himself to be the first and the last Isa 41.4 Who hath wrought and done it calling the generations from the beginning I the Lord the first and with the last I am he Isa 43.10 Before me there was no God formed or as it is in the margin there was nothing formed of God neither shall there be after me Isa 44.6 I am the first and I am the last and besides me there is no God Isa 48.12 13. I am the first I also am the last my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth my right hand hath spread the heavens which is as much as to say he made the World and was the first Cause of all things Rev. 1.8 I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come But more expresly 1 Cor. 8.6 But to us there is but one God the father of whom are all things and we by him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and we to him and for him Acts 17.24 God that made the world and all things therein v. 25. He giveth to all life and breath and all things v. 28. In him we live and move and have our Being v. 29. For as much then as we are the off-spring of God Hither we may refer those Texts which attribute the same to the Second Person in the Trinity as the Eternal Wisdom and Word of God whereby all things were made Joh. 1.3 All things were made by him and without him was nothing made that was made v. 10. And the World was made by him 1 Cor. 8.6 And one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him Eph. 3.9 God who Created all things by Jesus Christ Col. 1.16 By him were all things Created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were Created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist Heb. 1.2 By whom also he made the Worlds And v. 3. Vpholding all things by the word of his power Thirdly and lastly to apply this Doctrine Vse First If God be the first Cause of all things who did at first produce all Creatures and does since Preserve them and Govern them and disposeth of all their concernments and orders all things that befal them from hence let us learn 1. With Humility and Thankfullness to own and acknowledge and admire and bless God as the Author and Original of our Being as the Spring and Fountain of all the Blessings and good things that we enjoy If we do but consider what these words signifie that God is the first Cause of all things we shall see great Reason to own and acknowledge to adore and praise him and that with the greatest humility because we have not given him any thing but have received all from him he is the Cause of all things who did freely and of his own good will and pleasure communicate Beings to us without any constraint or necessity but what his own goodness laid upon him Rev. 4.11 Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast Created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were Created We could not before we were deserve any thing from him or move him by any Arguments or importune him by intreaties to make us but he freely gave us Being and ever since we depend upon him
Providence of God have in several Ages either befaln Mankind in general or particular Nations and here I shall confine my self to Scripture Instances as being the most certain and remarkable or at least equal to any that are to be met with in History as the early and universal degeneracy of Mankind by the sin and transgression of our first Parents the destruction of the World by a general Deluge the sudden and terrible destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Cities about them by Fire and Brimstone from Heaven the cruel extirpation of the Canaanites by the express command of God and lastly the great Calamities which befel the Jewish Nation and the final ruin and perdition of them at the destruction of Jerusalem These are the Objections against the goodness of God which I shall severally consider and with all the brevity and clearness I can endeavour to return a particular Answer to them The First Objection which I told you is more general is this If God be so exceeding Good whence then comes it to pass that there is so much Evil in the World of several kinds 'T is evident beyond denyal that Evil abounds in the World The whole World lies in Evil says St. John 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lies in wickedness so our Translation renders it is involved in Sin but by the article and opposition St. John seems to intend the Devil We know says he that we are of God and the whole World 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is subject to the evil one and under his power and dominion Which way so ever we render it it signifies that Evil of one kind or other reigns in the World Now can Evil come from a Good God Out of the same Mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing Doth a Fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter This cannot be as St. James speaks in another case But all Evils that are in the World must either be directly procured by the Divine Providence or permitted to happen and next to the causing and procuring of Evil it seems to be contrary to the Goodness of God to permit that there should be any such thing when it is in his power to help and hinder it Answer To give an account of this it was an ancient Doctrine of some of the most ancient Nations that there were two first Causes or Principles of all things the one of good things the other of bad which among the Persians were called Oromasdes and Arimanius among the Egyptians Osiris and Typhon among the Chaldeans good or bad Planets among the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Plutarch expresly says That the good Principle was called God and the bad Demon or the Devil in conformity to which ancient Traditions the Manichees a sad Sect of Christians set up two Principles the one infinitely good which they supposed to be the original cause of all good that is in the World the other infinitely evil to which they ascribed all the evils that are in the World But besides that the Notion of an infinite Evil is a contradiction it would be to no purpose to suppose two opposite Principles of equal power and force That the very Notion of an infinite Evil is a contradiction will be very clear if we consider that what is infinitely evil must be infinitely imperfect and consequently infinitely weak and for that reason tho never so mischievous and malicious yet being infinitely weak and ignorant and foolish would neither be in a capacity to contrive Mischief nor to execute it But admit that a Being infinitely mischievous were infinitely cunning and infinitely powerful yet it could do no evil because the opposite Principle of infinite Goodness being also infinitely wise and powerful they would tie up one anothers Hands so that upon this supposition the Notion of a Deity would signifie just nothing and by virtue of the eternal opposition and equality of these two Principles they would keep one another at a perpetual Bay and being an equal match for one another instead of being two Deities they would be two Idols able to do neither good nor evil But to return a more distinct and satisfactory Answer to this Objection there are three sorts of Evil in the World the Evil of Imperfection the Evil of Affliction and Suffering and the Evil of Sin And 1 st For the Evil of Imperfection I mean natural Imperfections these are not simply and absolutely but only comparatively evil now comparative Evil is but a less degree of goodness and it is not at all inconsistent with the goodness of God that some Creatures should be less good than others that is imperfect in comparison of them nay it is very agreeable both to the Goodness and Wisdom of God that there should be this variety in the Creatures and that they should be of several degrees of Perfection being made for several Uses and Purposes and to be subservient to one another provided they all contribute to the Harmony and Beauty of the whole Some Imperfection is necessarily involved in the very nature and condition of a Creature as that it derives its Being from another and necessarily depends upon it and is beholding to it and is likewise of necessity finite and limited in its Nature and Perfections and as for those Creatures which are less perfect than others this also that there should be degrees of Perfection is necessary upon supposition that the Wisdom of God thinks fit to display it self in variety of Creatures of several kinds and ranks For tho comparing the Creatures with one another the Angelical Nature is best and most perfect yet it is absolutely best that there should be other Creatures besides Angels There are many parts of the Creation which are rashly and inconsiderately by us concluded to be evil and imperfect as some noxious and hurtful Creatures which yet in other respects and to some purposes may be very useful and against the harm and mischief whereof we are sufficiently armed by such means of defence and such antidotes as reason and experience are able to find and furnish us withal and those parts of the World which we think of little or no use as Rocks and Deserts and that vast Wilderness of the Sea if we consider things well are of great use to several very considerable purposes or if we can discern no other use of them they serve at least to help our dulness and to make us more attentively to consider and to admire the perfection and usefulness of the rest at the worst they may serve for Foils to set off the wise order and contrivance of other things and as one expresseth it very well they may be like a Blackmoor's Head in a Picture which gives the greater Beauty to the whole Piece 2 dly For the Evils of Affliction and Suffering and these either befal brute Creatures or Men endow'd with Reason and Consideration 1 st For those which befal the
will be in a more especial manner severe towards those who take encouragement from his Mercy to disbelieve and despise his threatnings And this God hath as plainly told us as words can express any thing Deut. 29.19 20. And if it come to pass that when he heareth the words of this curse he bless himself in his heart saying I shall have peace tho' I walk in the imagination of my heart to add drunkenness to thirst The Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against that man and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven What ever right and power God hath reserved to himself about the execution of his threatnings he hath plainly declared that of all others those who encourage themselves in a sinful course from the hopes of God's Mercy notwithstanding his threatnings shall find no favour and mercy at his hand whatever he may remit of his threatnings to others he will certainly not spare those who believe so largely concerning the Mercy of God not with a mind to submit to the terms of it but to presume so much the more upon it 4. God hath not been wanting to shew some remarkable Instances of his severity towards Sinners in this World As he is pleased sometimes to give good Men some fore-tastes of Heaven and earnests of their future happiness so likewise by some present stroke to let Sinners feel what they are to expect hereafter some sparks of Hell do now and then fall upon the Consciences of Sinners That fear which is sometimes kindled in Men's Consciences in this life that horrible anguish and those unspeakable terrors which some Sinners have had experience of in this World may serve to forewarn us of the wrath which is to come and to convince us of the reality of those expressions of the Torments of Hell by the worm that dies not and the fire that is not quenched That miraculous Deluge which swallowed up the old World that Hell which was rained down from Heaven in those terrible showers of Fire and Brimstone to consume Sodom and Gomorrah the Earth opening her mouth upon Corah and his seditious company to let them down as it were quick into Hell these and many other remarkable Judgments of God in several Ages upon particular Persons and upon Cities and Nations may satisfie us in some measure of the severity of God against sin and be as it were Pledges to assure Sinners of the insupportable Misery and Torments of the next Life 5. The Argument is much stronger the other way that because the punishment of Sinners is delayed so long therefore it will be much heavier and severer when it comes that the wrath of God is growing all this while and as we fill up the measure of our sins he fills the vials of his wrath Rom. 2.5 And according to thy hard and impenitent heart treasurest up to thy self wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God God now keeps in his dis-pleasure but all the while we go on in an impenitent course the wrath of God is continually increasing and will at last be manifested by the righteous Judgment of God upon Sinners God now exerciseth and displayeth his milder Attributes his Goodness and Mercy and Patience but these will not always hold out there is a dreadful day a coming wherein as the Apostle speaks God will shew his wrath and make his power known after he hath endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction All this long time of God's patience and forbearance his wrath is kindling and he is whetting his glittering sword and making sharp his arrows and this long preparation doth portend a much more dreadful Execution so that we should reason thus from the long-suffering of God God bears with us and spares us at present and keeps in his anger therefore if we go on to provoke him time will come when he will not spare but his anger will flame forth and his jealousie smoak against us This is but reasonable to expect that they who in this World forsake their own mercies the mercy of God in the next should forsake them 4. Another false conclusion which Men draw from the delay of punishment is that because it is delayed therefore it is not so certain the Sinner escapes for the present and tho' he have some misgivings and fearful apprehensions of the future yet he hopes his fears may be greater than his danger 'T is true indeed we are not so certain of the misery of wicked Men in another World as if it were present and we lay groaning under the weight of it such a certainty as this would not only leave no place for doubting but even for that which we properly and strictly call Faith for faith is the evidence of things not seen But sure we have other Faculties besides Sense to judge of things by we may be sufficiently certain of many things which are neither present nor sensible of many things past and future upon good ground and testimony we are sure that we were born and yet we have no remembrance of it we are certain that we shall dye tho' we never had the experience of it Things may be certain in their causes as well as in their present existence if the causes be certain The truth of God who hath declared these things to us is an abundant ground of assurance to us tho' they be at a great distance The certainty of things is not shaken by our wavering belief concerning them Besides the very light of Nature and the common Reason of Mankind hath always made a contrary inference from the long-suffering of God and the delay of present punishment Tho' Men are apt to think that because Judgment is deferr'd therefore it is not certain yet the very light of Nature hath taught Men to reason otherwise that because God is so patient to Sinners in this life therefore there will a time come when they shall be punisht that because this life is a time of tryal and forbearance therefore there shall be another state after this life which shall be a season of recompences And by this argument chiefly it was that the wisest of the Heathen satisfied themselves concerning another state after this life and answer'd the troublesome Objection against the Providence of God from the unequal administration of things in this World so visible in the afflictions and sufferings of good Men and the prosperity of the wicked viz. That there would be another state that would adjust all these matters and set them streight when good and bad Men should receive the full recompence of their deeds The 5 th and last false conclusion which Men draw from the long-suffering of God and the delay of Punishment is this that it is however probably at some distance and
clearly and certainly foresee all future Events even those which are most contingent such as are the arbitrary actions of free and voluntary Agents This I know hath been deny'd but without reason since it is not only contrary to the common apprehensions of Mankind from the very light of Nature that God should not fore-know future Events but to clear and express Scripture and that in such Instances for the sake of which they deny God's fore-knowledge in general of the future actions of free and voluntary Agents I mean that the Scripture expresly declares God's determinate fore-knowledge of the most wicked actions as the Crucifying of Christ who is said according to the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God to have been by wicked hands crucified and slain 4. That the bare fore-knowledge of things future hath no more influence upon them to make them to be than the sight and knowledge of things present hath upon them to make them to be present I may see or know that the Sun is risen without being the cause of its rising and no more is bare knowledge of future Events the cause that they are when they are And if any Man ask how God can certainly fore-know things which depend upon free and arbitrary causes unless he do some way decree and determine them I answer that this is not a fair and reasonable demand to ask of Men who have but finite Understandings to make out and declare all the ways that infinite Knowledge hath of knowing and of fore-seeing the actions of free Creatures without prejudice to their liberty and freedom of acting However it is of the two much more credible to reason that infinite Knowledge should certainly fore-know things which our Understandings cannot imagine how they should be fore-known than that God should any ways be the Author of Sin by determining and decreeing the wicked actions of Men. The first only argues the imperfection of our Understandings but the other lays the greatest blemish and imperfection that can be upon the Divine Nature So that this difficult Controversie about the fore-knowledge of God is brought to this point Whether a Man had better believe that infinite Knowledge may be able to fore-know things in a way which our finite understanding cannot comprehend or to ascribe something to God from whence it would unavoidably follow that he is the author of Sin The 〈◊〉 is only a modest and just acknowledgment of our own ignorance the lost is the utmost and greatest absurdity that a Man can be brought to and to say that we cannot believe the fore-knowledge of God unless we can make out the particular manner of it is more unreasonable than if an ignorant Man should deny a difficult proposition in Euclid or Archimedes to be demonstrated because he knows not how to demonstrate it 5. And consequently fore-knowledge and liberty may very well consist and notwithstanding God's fore-knowledge of what Men will do they may be as free as if he did not fore-know it And Lastly That God doth not deal with Men according to his fore-knowledge of the good or bad use of their liberty but according to the nature and reason of things and therefore if he be long-suffering toward Sinners and do not cut them off upon the first Provocation but give them a space and opportunity of repentance and use all proper means and arguments to bring them to repentance and be ready to afford his Grace to excite good resolutions in them and to second and assist them and they refuse and resist all this their wilful Obstinacy and Impenitency is as culpable and God's Goodness and Patience as much to be acknowledged as if God did not foresee the abuse of it because his fore-sight and knowledge of what they would do laid no necessity upon them to do what they did If a Prince had the priviledge of fore-knowledge as God hath and did certainly foresee that a great many of his Subjects would certainly incur the penalty of his Laws and that others would abuse his goodness and clemency to them yet if he would govern them like free and reasonable Creatures he ought to make the same wise Laws to restrain their exorbitancy and to use the same clemency in all cases that did fairly admit of it as if he did not at all foresee what they would do nor how they would abuse his clemency for it is nevertheless fit to make wise and reasonable Laws and to govern with equity and clemency tho' it were certainly foreseen that they that are governed would act very foolishly and unreasonably in the use of their liberty It is great goodness in God to give Men the means and opportunity of being saved tho' they abuse this goodness to their farther ruin and he may be heartily grieved for that folly and obstinacy in Men which he certainly fore-sees will end in their ruin and may with great seriousness and sincerity wish they would do otherwise and were as wise to do good as they are wilful to do evil And thus he is represented in Scripture as regretting the mischief which Men wilfully bring upon themselves O that they were wise O that they would understand and consider their latter end And this is sufficient to vindicate the goodness of God in his Patience and long-suffering to Sinners and to make them wholly guilty of all that befalls them for their wilful contempt and abuse of it I shall draw some Inferences from this whole Discourse upon this Argument I. This shews the unreasonableness and perverse disingenuity of Men who take occasion to harden and encourage themselves in sin from the long-suffering of God which above all things in the World should melt and soften them Thou hast sinned and art liable to the Justice of God Sentence is gone forth but God respites the execution of it and hath granted thee a Reprieve and time and opportunity to sue out thy Pardon Now what use ought we in reason to make of this Patience of God towards us We ought certainly to break off our sins by a speedy repentance lest iniquity be our ruin immediately to sue out our Pardon and to make our peace with God while we are yet in the way and to resolve never any more willingly to offend that God who is so gracious and merciful so long-suffering and full of compassion But what use do Men commonly make of it They take occasion to confirm and strengthen themselves in their wickedness and to reason themselves into vain and groundless hopes of impunity Now what a folly is this because punishment doth not come therefore to hasten it and to draw it down upon our selves Because it hath not yet overtaken us therefore to go forth and meet it Because there is yet a possibility of escaping it therefore to take a certain course to make it unavoidable Because there is yet hope concerning us therefore to make our case desperate and past remedy See how unreasonably Men bring ruin
distance by our reverence of the Divine Majesty we should best awe our hearts in a sense of the distance which is between his infinite Nature and Perfection and our finite apprehensions Worldly greatness will cause wonder the thoughts of Earthly Majesty will compose us to Reverence how much more should those excellencies which are beyond what we can imagine Isa 6. you have there God represented sitting upon his throne and the Seraphims about him which are described to us as having each six wings and with twain they cover their faces Creatures of the brightest understanding and the most exalted purity and Holiness cover their faces in the presence of God's glory they choose rather to venerate God than look upon him II. This calls for humility and modesty The consideration of God's unsearchable Perfections should make the haughtiness of man to stoop and bring down his proud looks and God alone should be exalted The thought of God's Excellency should abase us and make us vile in our own eyes it should make all those petty Excellencies that we pride our selves in to vanish and disappear Those treasures of wisdom and knowledge which are in God should hide pride from man It should hide those little parts and gifts which we are so apt to glory in as the Sun hides the Stars When we consider God we should be so far from admiring our selves that we should with an humble thankfulness wonder that God should regard such inconsiderable nothings as we are Psal 8.1 3 4. O Lord our God how excellent is thy name in all the earth who hast set thy glory above the heavens When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers the Moon and the Stars which thou hast ordained what is man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of man that thou visitest him He that considers the Glory of God and the greatness of his Works will think so meanly of himself that he will be astonisht that God should mind him or visit him This is a noble strain of humility in David by which he acknowledgeth that the greatest King of the Earth how considerable soever he may be in respect of men is yet but a pitiful thing to God When we speak to God we should do it with great humility Eccles 5.2 3. Let thy words be few for God is in heaven and thou upon earth We should say to God Job 37.19 Teach us what we shall say unto thee for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness And when we think or speak of him we should do it with great modesty we should not rashly pronounce or determine any thing concerning God Simonides being ask'd what God was desired one days time to consider then he desired two and then four The more we think of God the less peremptory shall we be in defining him He that considers that God is Incomprehensible will not pretend to know all the ways of infinite knowledge and the utmost of infinite Power and all the Reasons of God's Ways and Providences He that rightly values his own short understanding and the unlimited Perfections of God will not be apt to say this God cannot do this he cannot know such ways are not agreeable to his wisdom He that knows God and himself will be modest in these cases he will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 abstain from all peremptory pronouncing in these matters he considers that one man many times differs so much from another in knowledge and skill of working that he can do those things which another believes impossible but we have pitiful thoughts of God if we think the differerce between one man and another is any thing to the vast distance that is between the Divine Understanding and our ignorance the Divine Power and our weakness the Wisdom of God and the folly of men III. The Incomprehensibleness of God's Perfections calls for the highest degree of our affection How should we fear this great and glorious God! Psal 90.11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger even according to thy fear so is thy wrath Fear is the most infinite of all our passions and fills us with the most endless jealousie and suspicions God's wrath is greater than our fear according to thy fear so is thy wrath How should we love him when we are astonisht with admiration of God's goodness and say how great is thy goodness and how great is thy beauty Behold what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us How great should our love be to him What manner of love should we return to him This calls for the highest degree of our Faith With what confidence should we rely upon him who is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or think To conclude This requires the highest degree of our service How should our hearts be enlarged to run the ways of his commandments who hath laid up for us such things that eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor have entred into the heart of man SERMON XV. Vol. VII God the first Cause and last End ROM XI 36 For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be Glory for ever Amen HAving consider'd the more Eminent and Absolute Perfections of the Divine Nature as also that which results from the infinite Excellency and Perfection of God compar'd with the Imperfection of our Understandings I come in the last place to treat of such as are merely and purely Relative as that He is the first Cause and the last End of all things to which purpose I have chosen these words of the Apostle for the Subject of my present Discourse For of him and through him c The dependence of these Words upon the former is briefly this The Apostle had been speaking before in this Chapter several things that might tend to raise us to an Admiration of the Wisdom and Goodness and Mercy of God in the dispensation of his Grace for the Salvation of men both Jews and Gentiles and therefore would have us ascribe this work wholly to God the contrivance of it to his Wisdom and not to our own counsel v. 34. For who hath known the mind of the Lord and who hath been his counsellour and the bestowing this grace to his free Goodness and Mercy and not to any desert of ours v. 35. Or who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed to him again Yea and not only in the dispensation of Grace but of all good things not only in this work of Redemption but also of Creation God is the Fountain and Original and first Cause from whence every thing proceeds and the last End to which every thing is to be referr'd For of him c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from him the efficient Cause producing all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by or through him as the efficient conserving Cause of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to him as the final Cause of all
and have been preserved by him and cannot subsist one moment without the continued influence of the Power and Goodness which first called us out of nothing He is the Author of all the good and the Fountain of all those Blessing which for the present we enjoy and for the future hope for When he made us at first he designed us for Happiness and when we by our sin and wilful mascarriage fell short of the Happiness which he design'd us for he sent his Son into the World for our recovery and gave his life for the Ransom of our Souls He hath not only admitted us into a new Covenant wherein he hath promised pardon and eternal life to us but he hath also purchased these Blessings for us by the most endearing price the blood of his own Son and hath saved us in such a manner as may justly astonish us Upon these Considerations we should awaken our selves to the praise of God and with the holy Psalmist call up our Spirits and summon all the Powers and Faculties of our Souls to assist us in this Work Psal 103.1 2 3 4. c. Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thy iniquities who healeth all thy diseases who redeemeth thy life from destruction who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies 't is he that satisfies our Souls with good things and crowneth us with tender mercies and loving hindness that hath promised Eternal Life and Happiness to us and must confer and bestow this upon us Therefore our Souls and all that is within us should bless his holy name 2. If God be the first Cause that is orders all things that befall us and by his Providence disposeth of all our concernments this should teach us with patience and quietness to submit to all Events to all evils and afflictions that come upon us as being disposed by his wise Providence and coming from him We are apt to attribute all things to the next and immediate Agent and to look no higher than Second Causes not considering that all the motions of Natural Causes are directly subordinate to the first Cause and all the actions of free Creatures are under the Government of God's wise Providence so that nothing happens to us besides the design and intention of God And methinks this is one particular Excellency of the style of the Scripture above all other Books that the constant Phrase of the Sacred Dialect is to attribute all Events excepting sins only to God so that every one that reads it cannot but take notice that it is wrote with a more attentive consideration of God than any other Book as appears by those frequent and express acknowledgments of God as the Cause of all Events so that what in other Writers would be said to be done by this or that Person is ascribed to God Therefore it is so often said that the Lord did this and that stirr'd up such an Enemy brought such a Judgment And we shall find that holy men in Scripture make excellent use of this consideration to argue themselves into patience and contentedness in every condition So Eli 1 Sam. 3.18 It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good So Job he did not so consider the Sabeans and Chaldeans who had carried away his Oxen and his Camels and slain his Servants nor the Wind which had thrown down his House and kill'd his Sons and his Daughters but he looks up to God the great Governour and Disposer of all these Events The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. So David Psal 39.9 I was dumb and spake not a word because thou Lord didst it So our Blessed Saviour when he was ready to suffer he did not consider the malice of the Jews which was the cause of his death but looks to a higher hand the cup which my father gives me to drink shall not I drink it He that looks upon all things as coming from second Causes and does not eye the first Cause the good and wise Governour will be apt to take offence at every cross and unwelcome accident Men are apt to be angry when one flings Water upon them as they pass in the Streets but no man is offended if he is wet by Rain from Heaven When we look upon Evils as coming only from men we are apt to be impatient and know not how to bear them but we should look upon all things as under the Government and disposal of the first Cause and the Circumstances of every condition as allotted to us by the wise Providence of God this Consideration that it is the hand of God and that he hath done it would still all the murmurings of our Spirits As when a Seditious Multitude is in an uproar the presence of a grave and venerable person will hush the noise and quell the tumult so if we would but represent God as present to all actions and governing and disposing all Events this would still and appease our Spirits when they are ready to riot and mutiny against any of his Dispensations Vse the Second If God be the last End of all let us make him our last End and refer all our Actions to his glory This is that which is due to him as he is the first Cause and therefore he does most reasonably require it of us And herein likewise the Scripture doth excel all other Books that is doth more frequently and expresly mind us of this End and calls upon us to propose it to our selves as our ultimate aim and design We should love him as our chief End Mat. 22.37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind Thus to love God is that which in the language of the Schools is loving God as our Chief End So likewise the Apostle requires that we should refer all the Actions of our lives to this End 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink do all to the glory of God that we should glorifie him in our souls and in our bodies which are his He is the Author of all the powers that we have and therefore we should use them for him we do all by him and therefore we should do all to him And that we may the better understand our selves as to this duty I shall endeavour to give satisfaction to a Question or two which may arise about it First Whether an actual intention of God's Glory be necessary to make every Action that we do good and acceptable to God Answ 1. It is necessary that the glory of God either Formally or Virtually should be the ultimate end and scope of our lives and all our Actions otherwise they will be defective in that which in moral Actions is most considerable and that is the End If a man should keep all