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
motion should be as swift as that of the light which when the Sun riseth darts it self in an instant from one part of the World to another over the Earth and the Sea the remotest parts of the World which are unknown to us yet would God be present to me in the motion and all along as I go must I be led and upholden by him so that all these Expressions do but signifie to us the Immensity of God's Essence that his Being is infinitely diffused and present in all Places In speaking to this Attribute of God's Immensity I shall First explain it to you a little Secondly Prove that it doth belong to him Thirdly Answer an Objection or two that may be made against it Fourthly Draw some doctrinal Inferences from it Fifthly Make some use and improvement of it First For the explication of it By the Immensity of God I mean that his Being hath no bounds or limits but doth every way spread and diffuse it self beyond what we can imagine so that you cannot define the presence of God by any certain place so as to say here he is but not there nor by any limits so as to say thus far his Being reacheth and no further but he is every where present after a most infinite manner in the darkest corners and most private recesses the most secret Closet that is in the whole World the Heart of Man darkness and privacy cannot keep him out the presence of another Being even of a Body which is the grossest substance doth not exclude him the whole World doth not confine him but he fills all the space which we can imagine beyond this visible World and infinitely more than we can imagine Secondly For the proof of it I shall attempt it I. From the natural Notions and Dictates of our Minds II. From Scripture and Divine Revelation III. From the inconvenience of the contrary I. From the natural Notions and Dictates of our Minds We find that the Heathen by the Light of Nature did attribute this Perfection to God Tully tells us De Nat. deor That Pythagoras thought Deum esse animam per naturam rerum omnem intentum commeantem That God is as it were a Soul passing through and inspiring all Nature And in l. 2. de leg that this was Thales his Opinion which he commends Homines existimare oportere deos omnia cernere deorum omnia esse plena That Men ought to believe that the Gods see all things that all things are full of them So Sen. Epist 95. Vbique omnibus praesto est He is every where present and at hand de Benef. L. 4. Quocunque te flexeris ibi illum videbis occurrentem tibi nihil ab illo vacat opus suum ipse implet Which way soever thou turnest thy self thou shalt find him meeting thee nothing is without him he fills his own work Not much differing from the Expression of the Psalmist here II. From Scripture and Divine Revelation I shall instance in some remarkable places 1 Kings 8.27 Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee Job 11.7 8 9. Can'st thou by searching find out God canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection Isa 66.1 Thus saith the Lord behold heaven is my throne and the earth is my foot-stool where is the house that ye build unto me and where is the place of my rest Jer. 23.23 24. Am I a God at hand saith the Lord and not a God afar off Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord do not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord Amos 9.2 3. Tho' they dig into hell thence shall mine hand take them though they climb up to heaven thence will I bring them down And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel I will search and take them out thence and tho' they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea thence will I command he serpent and he shall bite them Acts 17.27 28. Tho he be not far from every one of us For in him we live and move and have our being as certain also of your own Poets have said For we are also his off-spring III. From the inconveniences of the contrary And this is the most proper way of proving any of God's Perfections for as I have told you formerly there being nothing before God nor any cause of his being his Perfections cannot be proved by way of demonstration but of conviction by shewing the absurdity of the contrary The first and most easie Notion that we have of God is that he is a Being which hath all Perfection and is free from all Imperfection now if I prove that the Immensity of God's Essence is a Perfection or which is the same that the contrary is an Imperfection I do sufficiently prove the thing intended Now to suppose the Divine Essence to be limited or confined and his presence to be any where excluded doth contradict both this necessary Perfection of God his universal Providence and this necessary Duty of Creatures to worship and trust in him and the voluntary manifestation and appearance of God in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ 1. It contradicts the universal Providence of God The universal Providence of God supposeth many Perfections viz. infinite Knowledge and infinite Power his Omniscience and Omnipotence neither of which can be imagined without Omnipresence We find that all finite Beings have a finite Knowledge and a finite Power and it cannot be conceived how infinite Understanding and Power can be founded any where else than in an infinite Essence To have an infinite Knowledge of all things even those things which are most secret and hidden to be able to do all things to steer and govern the Actions of all Creatures and to have a perfect care of them seems to all the Reason of Mankind to require immediate Presence 2. It contradicts the necessary Duty of the Creature which is to worship God to depend upon him for every thing and in every thing to acknowledge him Now all Worship of God is rendred vain or at least uncertain if God be not present to us to hear our Prayers to take notice of our Wants and receive our Acknowledgments it will much abate our Confidence in God and our Fear to offend him if we be uncertain whether he be present to us or not whether he sees our Actions or not 3. It contradicts a voluntary Manifestation and Appearance of God in the Incarnation of Christ He that supposeth God not to be every where present by his Essence must in all reason confine his Presence to Heaven and suppose him to be present elsewhere only by his Virtue and Power but if this were so how could the Divinity be essentially united to the Humane Nature of Christ which was here upon Earth How is God with us How does he pitch his Tabernacle among Men if his essential Presence be confin'd to Heaven Thirdly I
so our Saviour declares to us the particular Providence of God towards those Creatures Matth. 6.26 Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feedeth them V. 28.29 Consider the lillies of the field how they grow they toyl not neither do they spin And yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these And tho' all the Creatures below man being without understanding can take no notice of this bounty of God to them nor make any acknowledgments to him for it yet man who is the Priest of the visible Creation and placed here in this great Temple of the World to offer up Sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God for his universal goodness to all his Creatures ought to bless God in their behalf and to sing praises to him in the name of all the inferiour Creatures which are subjected to his Dominion and Use because they are all as it were his Family his Servants and Utensils and if God should neglect any of them and suffer them to perish and miscarry 't is we that should find the inconvenience and want of them and therefore we should on their behalf celebrate the Praises of God as we find David often does in the Psalms calling upon the inanimate and the brute Creatures to praise the Lord. 4. The universal Goodness of God doth yet further appear in providing so abundantly for the Welfare and Happiness of all his Creatures so far as they are capable and sensible of it He doth not only support and preserve his Creatures in Being but takes care that they should all enjoy that happiness and pleasure which their natures are capable of The Creatures endowed with Sense and Reason which only are capable of pleasure and happiness God hath taken care to satisfie the several Appetites and Inclinations which he hath planted in them and according as Nature hath enlarged their desires and capacities so he enlargeth his Bounty towards them he openeth his hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing God doth not immediately bring Meat to the Creatures when they are hungry but it is near to them commonly in the Elements wherein they are bred or within their reach and he hath planted Inclinations in them to hunt after it and to lead and direct them to it and to encourage self-preservation and to oblige and instigate them to it and that they might not be melancholy and weary of Life he hath so ordered the nature of living Creatures that Hunger and Thirst are most implacable desires exceeding painful and even intolerable and likewise that the satisfaction of these Appetites should be a mighty pleasure to them And for those Creatures that are young and not able to provide for themselves God hath planted in all Creatures a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a natural Affection towards their young ones which will effectually put them upon seeking Provisions for them and cherishing them with that care and tenderness which their weak and helpless condition doth require and reason is not more powerful and effectual in mankind to this purpose than this natural instinct is in brute Creatures which shews what care God hath taken and what provision he hath made in the natural Frame of all his Creatures for the satisfaction of the inclinations and appetites which he hath planted in them the satisfaction whereof is their pleasure and happiness And thus I have done with the First head I proposed the universal extent of God's goodness to his Creatures let us now proceed in the II. place To consider more particularly the goodness of God to men which we are more especially concerned to take notice of and to be affected with it And we need go no further than our own observation and experience to prove the goodness of God every day of our lives we see and taste that the Lord is good all that we are and all the good that we enjoy and all that we expect and hope for is from the divine goodness every good and perfect gift descends from above from the Father of lights Jam. 1.17 And the best and most perfect of his gifts he bestows on the Sons of men What is said of the wisdom of God Prov. 8. may be applyed to his goodness the goodness of God shines forth in all the works of Creation in the Heavens and Clouds above and in the Fountains of the great deep in the Earth and the Fields but its delight is with the Sons of men Such is the goodness of God to man that it is represented to us in Scripture under the Notion of love God is good to all his Creatures but he is only said to love the sons of men More particularly the goodness of God to man appears 1. That he hath given us such noble and excellent Beings and placed us in so high a rank and order of his Creatures We owe to him that we are and what we are we do not only partake of that effect of his goodness which is common to us with all other Creatures that we have received our being from him but we are peculiarly obliged to him for his more especial goodness that he hath made us reasonable Creatures of that Kind which we should have chosen to have been of if we could suppose that before we were it had been referr'd to us and put to our choice what part we would be of this visible World But we did not contrive and chuse this Condition for our selves we are no ways accessary to the dignity and excellency of our Beings but God chose this condition for us and made us what we are So that we may say with David Psal 100.3 4 5. 'T is he that hath made us and not we our selves O enter then into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise be thankful unto him and speak good of his name for the Lord is good The goodness of God is the Spring and Fountain of our Beings but for that we had been nothing and but for his farther goodness we might have been any thing of the lowest and meanest rank of his Creatures But the goodness of God hath been pleased to advance us to be the Top and Perfection of the visible Creation he hath been pleased to endow us with Mind and Understanding and made us capable of happiness in the knowledge and love and enjoyment of himself He hath curiously and wonderfully wrought the Frame of our Bodies so as to make them fit Habitations for reasonable Souls and immortal Spirits he hath made our very Bodies Vessels of Honour when of the very same Clay he hath made innumerable other Creatures of a much lower rank and condition so that tho' man in respect of his Body be a-kin to the Earth yet in regard of his Soul he is allied to Heaven of a divine Original and descended from above Of all the Creatures in
this visible World man is the chief and what is said of Behemoth or the Elephant Job 42. in respect of his great strength and the vast bigness of his Body is only true absolutely of man that he is divini opificii caput the chief of the ways of God and upon earth there is none like him The Psalmist takes particular notice of the goodness of God to man in this respect of the excellency and dignity of his being Psal 8.5 Thou hast made him little lower than the Angels and hast crowned him with glory and honour And this advantage of our nature above other Creatures we ought thankfully to acknowledge tho' most men are so stupid as to overlook it as Elihu complains Job 35.10 11. None saith where is God my maker Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven 2. The goodness of God to man appears in that he hath made and ordained so many things chiefly for our use The beauty and usefulness of the Creatures below us their plain subserviency to our necessity and benefit and delight are so many clear Evidences of the Divine Goodness to us not only discernable to our Reason but even palpable to our Senses so that we may see and taste that the Lord is gracious This David particularly insists upon as a special ground of praise and thanksgiving to God that he hath subjected so great a part of the Creation to our dominion and use Psal 8.6 7 8. speaking of man Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands thou hast put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen yea and the beasts of the field the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas What an ininnumerable variety of Creatures are there in this inferiour World which were either solely or principally made for the use and service pleasure and delight of man How many things are there which serve for the necessity and support for the contentment and comfort of our lives How many things for the refreshment and delight of our Senses and the excercise and employment of our Understandings That God hath not made man for the service of other Creatures but other Creatures for the service of man Epictetus doth very ingeniously argue from this observation that the Creatures below man the brute beasts have all things in a readiness nature having provided for them meat and drink and lodging so that they have no absolute need that any should build Houses or make Cloaths or store up Provisions or prepare and dress meat for them for says he being made for the service of another they ought to be furnisht with these things that they may be always in a readiness to serve their Lord and master a plain evidence that they were made to serve man and not man to serve them And to raise our thoughts of God's goodness to us the Sons of men yet higher as he hath given us the Creatures below us for our use and convenience so hath he appointed the Creatures above us for our Guard and Protection not to say for our service Psal 34.7 The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and he delivereth them and then it follows O taste and see that the Lord is good And Psal 91.11 12. He shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways They shall bear thee up in their hands Nay the Apostle speaks as if their whole business and imployment were to attend upon and be serviceable to good men Heb. 1.14 Are they not all ministring spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation 3. The goodness of God to men appears in his tender Love and peculiar Care of us above the rest of the Creatures being ready to impart and dispense to us the good that is suitable to our capacity and condition and concerned to exempt us from those manifold Evils of Want and Pain to which we are obnoxious I do not mean an absolute exemption from all sorts and all degrees of Evil and a perpetual tenor of temporal happiness and enjoyment of all good things this is not suitable to our present state and the rank and order which we are in among the Creatures nor would it be best for us all things considered But the Goodness of God to us above other Creatures is proportionable to the dignity and excellency of our Natures above them for as the Apostle reasons in another case doth God take care for Oxen and shall he not much more extend his care to Man To this purpose our Saviour reasons Mat. 6. Behold the Fowls of the Air they sow not neither do they reap and yet your heavenly Father takes care of them are not ye much better than they And v. 30. Wherefore if God so cloath the grass of the field shall he not much more cloath you And Chap. 10.29 Are not two Sparrows sold for a Farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father But the very hairs of your head are all numbred Fear ye not therefore ye are of more value than many Sparrows 'T is true God hath a special care of his People and Servants above the rest of Mankind but our Saviour useth these Arguments to his Disciples to convince them of the Providence of God towards them as Men and of a more excellent Nature than other Creatures And indeed we are born into the World more destitute and helpless than other Creatures as if it were on purpose to shew that God had reserved us for his more peculiar Care and Providence which is so great that the Scripture by way of condescention expresseth it to us by the name of Love so that what effects of Care the greatest and tenderest Affection in Men is apt to produce towards one another that and much more is the effect of God's Goodness to us and this Affection of God is common to all Men tho' of all Creatures we have least deserved it and is ready to diffuse and shed abroad it self where-ever Men are qualified for it by Duty and Obedience and do not obstruct and stop the emanations of it by their Sins and Provocations And tho' the greatest part of Mankind be evil yet this doth not wholly put a stop to his goodness tho' it cause many abatements of it and hinder many good things from us but such is the Goodness of God notwithstanding the evil and undutifulness of Men that he is pleased still to concern himself in the Government of the World and to preserve the Societies of Men from running into utter confusion and disorder notwithstanding the violence and irregularities of Mens Wills and Passions the Communities of Men subsist upon tolerable terms and notwithstanding the rage and craft of evil Men poor and unarmed Innocence and Virtue is usually protected and
another tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Be ye therefore followers of God as dear Children and walk in love We cannot in any thing resemble God more than in goodness and kindness and mercy and in a readiness to forgive those who have been injurious to us and to be reconciled to them Let us then often contemplate this Perfection of God and represent it to our Minds that by the frequent contemplation of it we may be transformed into the Image of the Divine Goodness Is God so good to his Creatures with how much greater reason should we be so to our fellow Creatures Is God good to us let us imitate his universal goodness by endeavouring the good of Mankind and as much as in us lies of the whole Creation of God What God is to us and what we would have him still be to us that let us be to others We are infinitely beholding to this Perfection of God for all that we are and for all that we enjoy and for all that we expect and therefore we have all the reason in the World to admire and imitate it Let this pattern of the Divine Goodness be continually before us that we may be still fashioning our selves in the temper of our Minds and in the actions of our Lives to a likeness and conformity to it Lastly The consideration of the Divine goodness should excite our praise and thankfulness This is a great Duty to the performance whereof we should summon all the Powers and Faculties of our Souls as the holy Psalmist does Psal 103. 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 And we should invite all others to the same Work as the same devout Psalmist frequently does Psal 106. O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever And Psal 107. O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of Men And we had need to be often call'd upon to this Duty to which we have a peculiar backwardness Necessity drives us to Prayer and sends us to God for the supply of our wants but Praise and Thanksgiving is a Duty which depends upon our gratitude and ingenuity and nothing sooner wears off than the sense of Kindness and Benefits We are very apt to forget the blessings of God not so much from a bad Memory as from a bad Nature to forget the greatest blessings the continuance whereof should continually put us in mind of them the blessings of our Beings So God complains of his People Deut. 32. Of the God that formed thee thou hast been unmindful the dignity and excellency of our Beings above all the Creatures of this visible World Job 35.10 11. None saith Where is God my Maker who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven the daily comforts and blessings of our Lives which we can continually receive without almost ever looking up to the Hand that gives them So God complains by the Prophet Hosea 2.8 9. She knew not that I gave her corn and wine and oyl and multiplied her gold and silver And is it not shameful to see how at the most plentiful Tables the giving of God Thanks is almost grown out of fashion as if Men were ashamed to own from whence these Blessings came When thanks is all God expects from us can we not afford to give him that Do ye thus requite the Lord foolish people and unwise It is just with God to take away his Blessings from us if we deny him this easie tribute of Praise and Thanksgiving It is a sign Men are unfit for Heaven when they are backward to that which is the proper Work and Imployment of the blessed Spirits above Therefore as ever we hope to come thither let us begin this Work here and inure our selves to that which will be the great business of all Eternity Let us with the four and twenty Elders in the Revelation fall down before him that sits on the throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever and cast our crowns before the throne that is cast our selves and ascribe all glory to God Saying thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast made all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created To him therefore the infinite and inexhaustible fountain of goodness the father of mercies and the God of all consolation who gave us such excellent Beings having made made us little lower than the Angels and crowned us with glory and honour who hath been pleased to stamp upon us the image of his own goodness and thereby made us partakers of a divine nature communicating to us not only of the effects of his goodness but in some measure and degree of the perfection it self to him who gives us all things richly to enjoy which pertain to life and godliness and hath made such abundant provision not only for our comfort and convenience in this present life but for our unspeakable happiness to all eternity to him who designed this happiness to us from all eternity and whose mercy and goodness to us endures for ever who when by willful transgressions and disobedience we had plunged our selves into a state of sin and misery and had forfeited that happiness which we were designed to was pleased to restore us to a new capacity of it by sending his only Son to take our nature with the miseries and infirmities of it to live among us and to die for us in a word to him who is infinitely good to us not only contrary to our deserts but beyond our hopes who renews his mercy upon us every morning and is patient tho' we provoke him every day who preserves and provides for us and spares us continually who is always willing always watchful and never weary to do us good to him be all glory and honour adoration and praise love and obedience now and for ever SERMON V. Vol. VII The Mercy of God NUMB. XIV 18 The Lord is long suffering and of great Mercy I Have considered God's Goodness in general There are two eminent Branches of it his Patience and Mercy The Patience of God is his goodness to them that are guilty in deferring or moderating their deserved punishment the Mercy of God is his goodness to them that are or may be miserable 'T is the last of these two I design to discourse of at this time in doing which I shall inquire First What we are to understand by the Mercy of God Secondly Shew you that this Perfection belongs to God Thirdly Consider the degree of it that God is of great Mercy First What we are to understand by the Mercy of God I told you it is his goodness to them that are in
of it Psal 29.1 Give unto the Lord O ye mighty give unto the Lord glory and strength So likewise it should take Men off from relying upon their own strength which at the best is but an arm of flesh as the Scripture calls it for the weakness of it Do we not see that many times the battel is not to the strong That things are not done by might and by power but by the spirit of the Lord. When he appears against the most potent their hearts melt within them and there is no more spirit left in them as 't is said of the mighty Inhabitants of Canaan Josh 5.1 Thirdly We should make this Omnipotence of God the Object of our trust and confidence This is the most proper use we can make of this Doctrine as David does in this Psalm and this was used for a form of blessing the People in the Name of God Psal 136.3 The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee And David when he magnifies God's deliverance of his People from the multitude of their Enemies resolves it into this Our help standeth in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth Thus did the great Pattern and Example of Faith incourage and support his confidence in God in a very difficult tryal he staggered not at it because he believed God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things that be not as tho' they were therefore against hope he believed in hope c. Rom. 4.17 c. This gives life to all our Devotion to be perswaded that God is able to do for us exceedingly above what we can ask or think and that his is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory I shall only caution two things as to our relyance on the Power of God I. Labour to be such Persons to whom God hath promised that he will engage and imploy his Omnipotence for their good If we hope for any good from the Almighty we must walk before him and be perfect as he said to Abraham Good Men have a peculiar interest in God's Power hence he is called the strength of Israel and the mighty one of Israel If we do what God requires of us we may expect that he will put forth his Power and exert his Arm for us but if we disobey we must expect he will manifest his Power against us Ez. 8.22 When we do well we may commit the keeping of our souls to him 1 Pet. 4.19 II. Our expectations from the Omnipotence of God must be with submission to his Pleasure and Goodness and Wisdom we must not expect that God will manifest his Power when we think there is occasion for it but when it seems best to him he will so imploy his Omnipotence as to manifest his Goodness and Wisdom And with these two Cautions we may rely upon him in all our Wants both Spiritual and Temporal for his Divine Power can give us all things that pertain to life and godliness 2 Pet. 1.3 We may trust him at all times for the Omnipotent God neither slumbereth nor sleepeth the Almighty fainteth not neither is he weary trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength SERMON XI Vol. VII· The Spirituality of the Divine Nature JOHN IV. 24 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth THese are the words of our Saviour to the Woman of Samaria who was speaking to him of the difference between the Samaritans and the Jews concerning Religion v. 20. Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain but ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship Christ tells her The time was coming when the worshippers of God should neither be confined to that mountain nor to Jerusalem but men should worship the Father in spirit and in truth when this carnal and ceremonial and typical Worship of God should be exalted into a more spiritual a more real and true and substantial Religion which should not be confined to one Temple but should be universally diffused through the World Now such a Worship as this is most agreeable to the Nature of God for he is a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth In the words we have First A Proposition laid down God is a spirit Secondly A Corollary or Inference deduced from it they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth I shall speak of the Proposition as that which concerns my present Design and afterward speak something to the Corollary or Inference deduced from it together with some other Inferences drawn from this truth by way of Application First That God is a spirit This expression is singular and not to be parallell'd again in the Scripture indeed we have often mention made in Scripture of the spirit of God and the spirit of the Lord which signifies a Divine Power and Energy and of the holy Spirit signifying the third Person in the Trinity God is call'd the God of the Spirits of all flesh Numb 16.22.27.16 much in the same Sense as he is call'd the Father of Spirits Heb. 12.9 that is the Creator of the Souls of Men but we no where meet with this expression or any other equivalent to it that God is a spirit but only in this place nor had it been used here but to prove that the best Worship of God that which is most proper to him is spiritual so that the thing which our Saviour here intends is not to prove the Spiritual Nature of God but that his Worship ought to be spiritual nor indeed is there any necessity that it should have been any where said in Scripture that God is a spirit it being the natural Notion of a God no more than it is necessary that it should be told us that God is good or that he is infinite and eternal and the like or that the Scripture should prove to us the Being of a God All these are manifest by the Light of Nature and if the Scripture mention them it is ex abundanti and it is usually in order to some further purpose For we are to know that the Scripture supposeth us to be Men and to partake of the common Notions of Human Nature and therefore doth not teach us Philosophy nor solicitously instruct us in those things which are born with us but supposeth the knowledge of these and makes use of these common Principles and Notions which are in us concerning God and the immortality of our Souls and the Life to come to excite us to our Duty and quicken our Endeavours after Happiness For I do not find that the Doctrine of the immortality of the Soul is any where expresly delivered in Scripture but taken for granted in like manner that the Scripture doth not solicitously instruct us in the natural Notions which we have of God but supposeth them known to us and if it mention them it is not so
to be what it is and it would much abate the duty of the Creature we could not have that assurance of his promise and that security of the recompence of the next life if the continuance of his Being who should be the dispenser of them were uncertain Now these Absurdities and inconveniences following from the denyal of this Perfection to God is sufficient evidence that it belongs to him for I told you the Perfections of God cannot be proved by way of demonstration but only by way of conviction by shewing the Absurdity of the contrary II. From Scripture and Divine Revelation There are innumerable places to this purpose which speak of the Eternity of God Directly and by Consequence By Consequence those words 2 Peter 3.8 One day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day which words however Interpreters have troubled themselves about them being afraid of a contradiction in them yet the plain meaning of them is this that such is the infinite duration of God that all measures of time bear no proportion to it for that this is the plain meaning appears by this 90 Psalm out of which they are cited for a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night that is as the time past as a few hours slept away for that is the meaning of a watch in the night that is as nothing now St. Peter's conversion of the words one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day only signifies this that the longest duration of time is so inconsiderable to God that it is as the shortest that is bears no proportion to the Eternity of God But Directly the Scripture frequently mentions this attribute He 's called the everlasting God Gen. 21.33 The Eternal God Deut. 33.27 and which is to the same purpose he that inhabiteth Eternity Isa 57.15 And this as it is attributed to him in respect of his Being so in respect of all his other Perfections Psal 103.17 the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting Rom. 1. 20. his eternal power 1 Tim. 1.17 the King eternal Those Doxologies which the Scripture useth are but acknowledgments of this Attribute Blessed be the Lord for ever and ever Neh. 9.5 To whom be glory and honour and dominion for ever and ever Gal. 1.5 and in many other places Hither we may refer all those places which speak of him as without beginning Psal 93.2 Thou art from everlasting Mich. 5.2 Whose goings forth have been from everlasting Hab. 1.12 Art not thou from everlasting O Lord And those which speak of the perpetual continuance of his duration Psal 102.24 25 26 27. Thy years are throughout all generations of old thou hast laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the work of thy hands they shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old like a garment and as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end And those which speak of him as the first and the last Isa 43.10 Before me there was no God formed neither shall there be any after me I am the first and I am the last and besides me there is no God And to mention no more those which speak of his Being as coexistent to all difference of time past present and to come Rev. 1.8 I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come Thirdly I shall from hence draw I. Some Doctrinal Corollaries II. Some Practical Inferences I. Doctrinal Corollaries that you may see how the Perfections of God depend one upon another and may be deduced one from another 1. Corol. From the Eternity of God we may infer that he is of himself That which always is can have nothing before it to be a cause of its Being 2. Corol. We may hence infer the necessity of his Being 'T is necessary every thing should be when it is now that which is always is absolutely necessary because always so 3. Corol. The Immutability of the Divine Nature for being always he is necessarily and being necessarily he cannot but be what he is a change of his Being is as impossible as a cessation Therefore the Psalmist puts his Immutability and Eternity together Psal 102.27 But thou art the same and thy years shall have no end II. By way of Practical Inference or Application 1. The consideration of God's Eternity may serve for the support of our Faith This Moses here useth as a ground of his Faith Lord thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth c. Psal 62.8 Trust in him at all times ye people His Immensity is an Argument why all should trust in him he is a present help to all and why they should trust in him at all times his Eternity is an Argument Deut. 33.27 The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms There are two Attributes which are the proper Objects of our Faith and Confidence God's Goodness and his Power both these are Eternal the goodness of the Lord endureth for ever as it is frequently in the Psalms And his Power is Eternal the Apostle speaks of his Eternal Power as well as Godhead Rom. 1.20 Isa 26.4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength Isa 40.28 The everlasting God the Lord the creatour of the ends of the earth fainteth not neither is weary We cannot trust in men because there is nothing in man to be a Foundation of our Confidence his good will towards us may change his Power may faint and he may grow weary or if these continue yet they that have a mind and a power to help us themselves may fail therefore the Psalmist useth this consideration of mens mortality to take us off from confidence in man Psal 146.3 4. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help his breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish Isa 2.22 Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils for wherein is he to be accounted of The greatest of the Sons of Men are but lying refuges to the everlasting God they are but broken reeds to the rock of Ages And this may support our Faith not only in reference to our own condition for the future but in reference to our posterity and the condition of God's Church to the end of the World When we die we may leave ours and the Church in his hands who lives for ever and reigns for ever The enemies of God's Church and those who have the most malicious designs against it what ever share they may have in the affairs of the World they can but domineer for a while
are above the understanding of any of his Creatures it is only his own infinite understanding that can frame a perfect Idea of his own Perfection God knows himself his own understanding commprehends his own Perfections But he is Incomprehensible to his Creatures Indeed there is nothing more obvious than God for he is not far from every one of us in him we live and move and have our Being there need no great search to find out that there is a God An eternal power and Deity are clearly seen in the things which are made as the Apostle tells us but the manner of the Being and Proproperties and Perfections of this God these cannot be comprehended by a finite understanding I shall prove the Doctrine and then apply it First For the proof of it I will attempt it these three ways I. By way of instance or induction of particulars II. By way of conviction III. By giving the clear reason of it I. By way of instance And I shall give you instances both on the part of the Object and of the Subject or the persons who are capable of knowing God in any degree 1. On the part of the Object The Nature of God the Excellency and Perfection of God the Works and Ways of God are above our thoughts and apprehensions The Nature of God it is vast and infinite Job 36.26 God is great and we know him not Job 37. 23. Touching the Almighty we cannot find him out Psal 145.3 His greatness is unsearchable The Excellencies and Perfections of God his Immensity 2 Chron. 2.6 The heaven of heavens cannot contain him The Eternity of his duration from everlasting to everlasting he is God We cannot imagine any limits of his presence nor bounds of his duration The infiniteness of his knowledge Psal 147.5 his understanding is infinite When we think of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God our best way is to fall into admiration Rom. 11.33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! Where the Scripture speaks of those Perfections of God which the Creatures do in some measure and degree partake of as his Goodness and Power and Wisdom and Holiness and Immortality it attributes them in such a peculiar and Divine manner to God as doth exclude and shut out the Creature from any claim or share or title to them Matt. 19.16 17. Why Call'st thou me good there 's none good but one that is God 1 Tim. 6.15 16. Who is the blessed and only potentate who only hath immortality 1 Tim. 1.17 The only wise God Rev. 15.4 For thou only art holy In so inconceivable a manner doth God possess these Perfections which he Communicates and we can only understand them as he Communicates them and not as he possesses them so that when we consider any of these Divine Perfections we must not frame Notions of them contrary to what they are in the Creature nor must we limit them by what they are in the Creature but say the Goodness and the Wisdom of God are all this which is in the Creature and much more which I am not able to comprehend the transcendent degree and the singularity of these Divine Perfections which are communicable is beyond what we are able to conceive The Works of God they are likewise unsearchable the Works of Creation and of Redemption Job 5.9 Which doth great things and unsearchable marvelous things past finding out And then he instanceth in the Works of God Job 26.14 Lo these are part of his ways But how little a portion is heard of him and the thunder of his voice who can understand So that he tells us expresly we cannot find out the Works of God we do but know part of them The question which he puts Job 37.16 Dost thou know the wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge can only be answered by the words of the Psalmist Psal 104.24 O Lord how wonderful are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all The work of Redemption In this there shines forth such Wisdom Mercy and Love as our understandings cannot reach this work is called the Wisdom of God in a mystery hidden Wisdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 2.7 The Mercy and Grace and Love of it is called the riches of Gods mercy the exceeding riches of his grace Eph. 2.4 7. Now Riches is when you cannot tell the utmost of them pauperis est numerare Eph. 3.18 19. That ye may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and heighth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge When we have the largest apprehensions of this love so that we think we comprehend it and know it it passeth knowledge yea the Effects of God's Power and Love which he manifests in believers are unspeakable for he is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or think according to the power which worketh in us Eph. 3.20 The Peace which guards their souls passeth all understanding Phil. 4.7 Those Joys which fill their hearts are not to be expressed 1 Pet. 1.8 We read of Joy unspeakable and full of glory The Happiness which they hope for is inconceivable 't is that which eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath entred into the heart of man which God hath laid up for us The Ways of God's Providence they are not to be traced Psal 77.19 Thy way is in the sea and thy paths in the great waters and thy footsteps are not known Eccles 3.11 No man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end We are but of yesterday and know nothing When we look upon Gods Providence we take a part from the whole and consider it by it self without relation to the whole series of his Dispensation we cannot see the whole of God's Providence at one view and never see from the beginning of the Works of God to the end therefore our knowledge of them must needs be very imperfect and full of mistakes and false judgments of things we cannot by our petty and short-sighted designs judge of the Works of God and the Designs of Providence for our ways are not as his ways nor our thoughts as his thoughts but as the heavens are high above the earth so are his ways above our ways and his thoughts above our thoughts Isa 55.8 9. The ways of God's Mercy Psal 103. As the heavens are high above the earth so great is God's mercy Psal 139.17 18. How precious are thy thoughts unto me how great is the sum of them If I should count them they are more in number than the sand And the ways of God's Judgments the severity and greatness of his Judgment is not known Psal 90. Who knoweth the power of thy anger And who may stand before thee when thou art angry And the Reasons of his Judgments are unsearchable Psal 36.6 Thy Judgments are a great deep Rom. 11.35 How
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