sinceritie II. A great argument of Gods goodnesse and mercie is his forbearance and longanimitie he stretcheth out his hands all day long to a rebellious generation Why will you die O house of Israel As I live saith the Lord I will not the death of a sinner Many miracles did he work to turn Pharaohs heart sixscore yeares did he spend to bring the first world to repentance many Prophets did he send before he would destroy the Jewes he would have healed Babylon but she would not be healed he would have gathered Jerusalem as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings but she would not be gathered How loath was he to cut down the fig-tree though fruitlesse how loath was he to destroy his Vineyard though grapelesse how loath to overthrow the Jewes though gracelesse O Lord I confesse that thy forbearance in punishing me so great a sinner proceeds not from any liking thou takest in my sinning for thou art most good nor for any neglect in correcting for thou art most just nor for any ignorance that can be in thee for thou art omniscient nor for any impotencie that can befall thee for thou art omnipotent but onely out of thy goodnesse and mercie towards me who delightest not in any mans destruction but patiently waitest for the sinners conversion Lord I am more bound to thee for thy long forbearance then the Angels who sinned in Heaven and Adam in Paradise they had no sooner offended thee but they were rejected by thee I have oftentimes sinned and yet I am spared O let me not abuse thy long animitie by presumption but let it work in me a true and speedie conversion III. God sheweth his great mercie towards us in using so many meanes to call us when we are wearie he bids us come to him and he will ease us when we are thirstie he bids us come and drink that with these waters of life he may refresh us when we are hungrie he bids us come and eat for with his own body he will feed us when we have fought and got the victorie he will bid us come to receive the Crown of glorie which he hath laid up for us He calls us by his Spirit inwardly and by his Word outwardly Every good motion is a call and an inward knocking every Preacher is a Messenger every Sermon is a Summons every Scripture is a Love-letter by which he invites and calls us Besides every benefit that we receive from him is a Messenger to invite us to him every morning the sun riseth not onely to give us light but to invite us unto him who is the fountain of light every night the moon or stars appeare not only to lessen the darknesse of the aire but also to drive away the darknesse of the minde to call us both out of corporall and spirituall obscuritie Every drop of rain every flower in the field every eare of corne every grape in thy Vineyard every increase of thy flock every addition to thy stock are so many trumpetters of Gods mercie to stirre up and call thee Again every crosse and affliction he layes upon us whether sicknesse povertie banishment imprisonment or infamie are so many Heraulds sent to summon and call us Besides all these the horrour of hell-darkness which shall never be illightened of that fire which shall never be extinguished of that thirst which shall never be quenched of that worm that shall never be consumed of that weeping and gnashing of teeth which shall never be ended are proposed to us as so many sad Apparitors to summon us But lastly if none of these will prevaile with us then the joyes of Heaven are painted out unto us the light that knowes no darknesse the joy that knowes no sorrow the life that knowes no death the comfort of Gods countenance the beautie of the new Jerusalem the societie of holy Angels the companie of Christ and of all the blessed Soules the rivers of delight fulnesse of joy and pleasures for evermore O God how wonderfull is thy goodnesse which thou hast shewed to me in profering so many baites to catch and draw me out of the turbulent sea of this world unto the shore of eternall happinesse But I have not obeyed thy outward invitations nor inward motions I have not taken notice of thy benefits nor of thy chastisements not of thy threatnings nor of thy promises Lord I am so backward thou must not only call me but compell me thou must not only warne me but thou must draw me and then I will cheerfully run after thee IIII. The mercy of God appeares also in this that after our relapses he is ready to receive us his mercies are those sweet oyntments which make the Virgins follow him He came to call sinners to repentance to save that which was lost he rejected not that sinfull Mary Magdalene nor Matthew though a Publican nor the Canaanitish woman though a dog nor the Thief upon the Crosse nor Peter that denied him nor the Jewes that crucified him nor Paul that persecuted him that loving Father in the Gospel did not receive his prodigall Son when he returned nor the shepherd that sheep which went astray nor the woman her groat which she had lost with so much joy and gladnesse as he will us if we return to him by repentance O Lord I have gone astray like a lost sheep from thee I have like a Prodigall spent that patrimonie of grace which thou gavest me I have gone a whoring after this vain world and have forsaken thee O thou that art a carefull Shepherd a pitifull Father a loving Husband reject not thy lost sheep thy prodigall sonne thy disloyall wife Shall I dispaire to come unto thee whose armes are stretched out on the crosse to embrace me whose head bendeth downward to kisse me whose heart is opened to receive and entertain me V. Gods mercie is to be considered either as it is in him or as it is from him as it is in him it is his act or habit as it is from him it is his effect as it is in him it is immutable as it is from him it is changeable as it is in him it is necessarie as it is from him it is voluntarie for he will have mercie on whom he will as it is in him it is his * power as it is from him it is his †operation as it is in God it is God for nothing is eternall except God but his mercy is eternall from generation to generation saith David it is not lawfull to trust in any but in God yet David trusteth in Gods mercy doubtlesse then his mercy is himself and being it is so his mercy and justice are all one though the effects of his justice and mercy are different Lord as thy justice is seen in punishing sinners so is thy mercy manifested in sparing them as thy justice was unspeakeable in punishing thy Son for my sin so is thy mercy incomprehensible in pardoning my
holinesse the subject continued though this forme perished therefore for the soul renovation is sufficient but for those graces in the soul a new creation is required Lord by thy Image I excell the beasts by it I match the Angels by it I resemble thy self but the subject of this image is by sin decayed and by sin the forme is quite abolished O thou that in my Creation didst grace me with the breath of life now in my Regeneration breathe in me the life of grace the temple of God is decayed in me and the God of this temple is banished from me repaire this temple that thy image again may stand in it and renew thy image that this temple may be sanctified by it XLI Adams sin was committed after Predestination if we consider Adams actuall existence but it was before Predestination in respect of Gods prescience What madnesse is it to think that God sees not our sinnes which we commit secretly whereas he did foresee our sins before they were committed and that from all eternitie XLII In Predestination the preterition of some men was the punishment of those men and the deniall of felicitie was their miserie but punishment presupposeth sin and preterition as a punishment must come after the prevision of sinne If this doctrine be true that the prevision of sin was the cause of preterition sure it is most true that the commission of sin is the cause of condemnation XLIII Passive excaecation or the wilfull ignorance and spirituall blindnesse in man is both a sin and the cause of sin active excaecation as it is from man it is a sin as from God it is the punishment of sin It stands with thy justice O God to punish them with blindnesse who have with delight blinded themselves and to deprive those of light who love to walke in darknesse Why shouldest thou hold out the lamp of thy Word to those that despise it and cause thy sun to shine on them who wilfully shut their eyes against it Lord deale with me as thou didst with Saul I am blinded spiritually make me blinde corporally that by losing the sight of my body I may regain the sight of my soul I will gladly lose the light of the sun moon and other planets so I may behold the light of the Son of righteousnesse XLIIII Some say that the hearts induration is not the cause of Gods indignation but that God is first angry then hardneth I am sure God hath just cause to be angry with those who will be hardned and therefore in his just anger hardneth them I confesse Lord that I have hardned my own heart therefore thou mayest justly be angry with me and because my voluntary hardnesse hath provoked thy anger therefore may thy anger effect in me and that most justly a further degree of hardnesse XLV God who by his irresistible will decreeth the hardning of a sinner yet actually by his resistible will useth to harden that sinner Though none can resist the will of his decrees yet he permits us sometimes to oppose the actions of his will in the one he shewes himself the God of power in the other he shewes his mercy in suffring man to resist the power of God O thou that diddest wrestle with Jacob and gavest him strength both to resist and conquer thee when thou wrestlest with me by tentations give me so much strength as by mortification to subdue my self and then give me leave by faith and teares to vanquish thee XLVI There is in God a two-fold negative act the one of Providence the other of Preterition by the former God denyed to Adam the gift of Perseverance and so suffered him to fall by the other he denyeth to some men the gift of Faith and Repentance and so suffers them to remain in their fall God was not bound to give Adam perseverance seeing otherwise he furnished him with grace sufficiently nor is he bound to give to those faith and repentance who fell from their former grace willingly and oppose his Word and Spirit obstinately Lord I confesse that as thou wast not in Adams debt for perseverance so neither art thou in mine for any grace but if thou wilt be pleased to bestow on me so much grace as to attaine true happinesse I will impute it not to my deserts but to thy favour and goodnesse XLVII Some say that those whom God hath decreed for Salvation may be damned but that they shall not be damned that his decree hindreth the act but not the possibilitie I leave this nicetie for the Schooles But this use I will make of it that if I may be damned I will work out my salvation with fear and trembling if I shall not be damned I will not fear though I walk through the valley of death if I may be damned I acknowledge Lord it is through my own wickednesse if I shall not be damned it is out of thy unspeakable goodnesse XLVIII It is the doctrine of many in these dayes that as God by his revealed will saves none but such as beleeve in him so he decreed by his secret will to save none but such as he foresaw would beleeve in him I am confident God could foresee nothing thing in me but what he was pleased to bestow upon me if he foresaw my faith he foresaw the fruit of his preventing grace if he foresaw my perseverance he foresaw the effect of his subsequent grace XLIX Election say some is Gods decree to justifie the faithfull others say 't is Gods decree to save man as he is man and to that end to make him faithfull In the one opinion I finde faith the meanes of Justification in the other of Salvation meanes I say but not the cause Lord the cause of my happinesse is in thee the meanes in me but the efficacie of this meanes both in my justification and salvation is only from thee L. If the decree of preterition went before the act of sin but not before the prevision of that sin I am confident the act of preterition cannot much lesse can the act of condemnation precede the act of sin Therefore how injurious are some to the God of mercy in daring to accuse him of crueltie who is so far from condemning any man but for sin committed that he would not decree mans condemnation but for sin foreseen LI. There was injoyned to Adam the law of abstinence from the forbidden fruit and the law of obedience the former was particular to Adam the other was common to him and his posteritie it was not for the breach of the former which was personall but for the breach of the other which was universall that we are condemned not Adams act of eating but his disobedience was our bane for we sinned in him sin is a transgression of the law but the law could not have been transgressed by us had it not been in him given to us Lord we have great cause to admire and respect thy mercy in saving us
for the second Adams obedience but we have no cause to suspect thee of crueltie in condemning us for the first Adams disobedience LII Punishment was prepared in Gods decree as well for the sin of Iacob as of Esau both having sinned alike in Adam but it was pardonable in the one unpardonable in the other which difference proceeded from grace not from nature Lord I confesse thou couldst see no more originall sin in Judas then in me yet thou wast pleased to punish him and to spare me if thou hadst condemned us both thou hadst done justly but in sparing the one thou hast magnified thy mercie LIII There is a two-fold grace the one of Creation the other of Election the one was the gift of God without Christ the other was the gift of God in Christ the one was the image of God the other was the renovation of that image the one was lost in Paradise the other shall never be lost in Heaven Lord thou hadst no other inducement but thine own goodness to create me to thy image but now thou hast another inducement to wit thy Sons merits to renew in me that decayed image the one thou mightst not have done the other thou canst not but doe for though thou wast not bound in the creation to bestow thy image on me yet now thou art bound by thy Sonnes satisfaction to repaire this image in me LIIII Adam could have abstained from the externall act of touching by naturall grace only but in him could not be the inward and permanent affection of obeying without supernaturall grace also Lord if Adam could not yeeld constant obedience to thee in his estate of integritie how shall I be able to persevere in obedience without thy speciall grace being now in the estate of iniquitie LV Though the habit of justice as it is the essence of God be necessarily in him yet the actions of justice which are not his essence are not necessarily performed by him He is necessarily just but a voluntarie agent He doth necessarily hate injustice but freely and voluntarily he punisheth it and decreed punishment for it Lord what should become of me and of all the other wretched sonnes of Adam if it were as necessarie for thee to punish as it is to be just But my comfort is that as justice is so necessarie in thee that thou canst not be unjust so thy actions are so free and voluntarie that thou canst pardon my sin and yet notwithstanding thou canst not be but just LVI There was no necessitie why God should manifest his justice in punishing sinners seeing he had power to manifest that in punishing his own Son for sinners In the one he shewes himself to be a God of mercy not of revenge in sparing his enemies in the other he shewes himself a God of justice in punishing his beloved Son who became suretie for his enemies LVII There is a two-fold cause of predemnation the one is sin the other is Gods decree the one is necessarie the other voluntarie sin is the cause why God may condemne all Gods decree is the cause why he will condemne but some he looks on sin as it is pardonable in some unpardonable in others the one eye by which he lookes is justice the other is mercie Lord thou didst look upon my sin with justice and severitie when thou punishedst it in thine own naturall Son therefore look on it as it is in me with meeknesse and mercy and pardon it in me that am thy adopted son LVIII Every man is not a reprobate that falls into sin but he that finally perseveres in sin for all men fell into sin by the permission of providence but wicked men only continue to the end in sin by the permission of preterition Lord that sin which was voluntary in Adam is necessary in me but although in thy just judgements there is a necessitie that I should be tainted with originall contagion yet there is no necessitie why I should lye still and persevere in actuall transgression without thy providence I could not fall without thy assistance I cannot rise as by thy providence thou hinderest not my falling because the glory of thy justice was thereby manifested so I pray thee further by thy assistance my rising again that the glory of thy goodnesse may be thereby magnified LIX In Gods externall actions there is neither naturall nor coactive necessitie for both nature and coaction exclude libertie the fire burnes naturally the bullet flyes upward violently therefore both necessarily but Gods internall actions on himself are naturall therefore necessarie the Father begot his eternall Son neither willingly nor unwillingly but naturally and necessarily so because Gods attributes are naturall and essentiall to him they are necessarily in him he is necessarily not voluntarily good because he cannot be but good he doth voluntarily not necessarily make man good because he can forbeare if he would to make him good Lord I confesse that the more free Agent thou wast in the work of my conversion the lesse free am I but the more necessitated to praise thy goodnesse and wisdome for how can I choose but honour and obey thee who couldst have chosen whether thou wouldst have redeemed and saved me LX Faith is both an habit and an action if it justifie as it is an habit I will not dispute this I know that it justifieth as it is an action for Abraham beleeved and so was justified The life then of Religion consisteth in action not onely of the outward works of the hand but also of the inward work of the heart for this is the work of God that we beleeve in him O Lord faith is thy work and it is mine too it is thy work to infuse it it is my work to apprehend Christ by it let thy work be first performed in me and then I know my work if thou assist shall be performed by me LXI Though we are not actually free from sin in this life yet there is a possibilitie that we may be free if either we consider the power of God who can mightily effect it or the will of a regenerate man who doth so earnestly affect it Lord in that I may be free from sin it argues thy omnipotencie but in that I am not free from sin I must blame my own impotencie There is in me a desire to be freed from this body of death and in thee there is power to free me who art the Lord of life LXII There was in Adam a directive light of the minde while he was falling to let him see his danger but there was not in him that perswasive light which might powerfully restrain him from danger that light had kept him from falling had he followed it and this light had kept him from falling had he received it Lord though thou didst not give Adam this light thou art unblameable seeing thou didst give him so much of that light as made him inexcusable LXIII In what facultie of the
tentations wrestles with us as the Angel did with Iacob but we must not despaire though we halt he that strives with us all the night will give us a blessing in the morning and he that commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son will send an Angel to Abraham to rescue his son though Satan seek to winnow us yet we have a supporter of our faith a Saviour who prayes to his Father for us Feare not drowning though these billowes of tentations shake our ship so long as we have Christ with us in the ship though our tentations are unpleasing for a wounded spirit who can bear though all the waves and stormes of the Almightie goe over our head though from our youth up we suffer his terrours with a troubled minde though he give us vinegar and gall to drink and feed us with the bread of teares in a word though he would slay us yet with Iob let us trust in him he will lay no more on us then we can beare he can make the same rod that beats us support and comfort us and though the vinegar which he powres into our wounds be sharp yet he will temper it with oile he can sweeten our corrupted potage with meale as well as our corrupted waters with salt What though the gall of tentations be bitter what though the spitle and clay of afflictions be unpleasant so long as he can by them recover our spirituall eye-sight which we by pride have lost Give the Physician leave to lance and scarifie so long as by such meanes he can cure thee of thy maladie O great Physician of my soul I will not refuse to swallow the bitter Aloes of afflictions if by them thou canst purge out the rank humours of my sickly affections If I cannot obtain the Crown but by fighting in this bloudie field if I cannot attain the haven of Heaven but by sailing through this stormie sea be thou my Pilot to conduct me my Captain to lead me and my King to reward me or rather thy own worke in me O my God if these waters of tentation doe at any time over-flow their banks like Iordan let the presence of the true Ark of the Covenant drive back these waters that I may passe safely through them to the land of eternitie let the rod of thy passions divide this red sea of tribulations and let the long robe of thy righteousnesse which farre exceeds Elijah's mantle in vertue and largenesse make me a way through this Iordan to the Kingdome of true happinesse VII 1. God in his severe Justice doth often punish a multitude for the sinnes of one man one Achan offends and all the host of Israel suffers 2. Oftentimes he punisheth the children for the parents to the third and fourth generation 3. Sometimes he punisheth the good for the sinnes of the bad Mordecai Daniel and the three Children are punished with captivitie for the Jewes rebellion and iniquitie 4. Oftentimes for mans transgressions he destroyes the dumb creatures Man sinned and the earth with the beasts are destroyed In this God is not unjust though his judgements be occult for if the Chirurgion can strike the arme for the infirmitie of the head why may not God punish one for the offence of another if by punishing the one he can cure the other 1. It was no injustice in God to punish a multitude for the sin of Achan because the multitude was guiltie of other sinnes though not of the sinne of Achan 2. It is no injustice in God to punish children for the sin of their parents because they are parts of their parents 3. Neither is it injustice in God to punish the good for the offences of the wicked because no man is so good that can say he is no wayes wicked 4. It is no injustice in God to punish the creatures for mans transgression seeing it was Gods goodnesse to make the creatures for mans use and recreation thus as God can justly punish a whole nation for the sinnes of a wicked Prince so as justly can God punish a good Prince for the sinnes of a wicked nation O Lord if harmelesse Infants who have not sinned but in their pareâ—ts are not exempted from thy justice how shall I who to the stock of my parents sinnes have added such an increase of actuall transgressions think to escape And if the dumb creatures which know not sin are punished for mine iniquitie doe not I deserve to be punished both for mine own sins and for subjecting the creature unto vanity VIII Gods Justice appeares in punishing the wicked in releeving the oppressed in rejecting the bribes of rich men in refusing to accept the persons of any men in pronouncing just judgement and putting the same in execution towards all men and in tempering his justice with mercy towards the most wicked men He drowned the first world for their abominations he relieved the Israelites from their oppressions he spared not kings and rich men for their wealth and greatnesse and yet in sparing some when he drowned the world he shewed his mercy and goodnesse O thou righteous Iudge of the world look with the eye of Iustice upon the oppressions of thy Church and remove them and with that same eye of Iustice look on her oppressors and destroy them but yet with the other eye of mercy look upon such of her persecutors as thou wilt save and in time reclaime them DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON Gods Mercie I. AS there is in God no passion so consequently no compassion yet he is truly the God of Mercie because there is in him a promptitude to help those that are in miserie This mercy he extends not only to the good that love him but also to the bad that hate him 1. That they who are bad by their own perversenesse may be made good by his love and kindnesse 2. As no man is so bad in whom there is not some goodnesse and no man so good in whom there is not some wickednesse so God is not so unjust as to suffer the one to goe unpunished nor is he so mercilesse as to suffer the other to goe unrewarded 3. As he sheweth mercie to the bad and to those by whom he is hated he will teach us by his example how to carrie our selves to those by whom we are persecuted He healed the eare of him that came to apprehend him he forgave Peter that denyed him he made Paul a vessell of mercy though he persecuted him he prayed for those that crucified him and he died for those sheep that went astray from him he causeth his sun to shine upon the good and bad his rain to fall upon the just and unjust O my God I acknowledge thy goodnesse and mercie towards me a wretched sinner who am sold under sin and laden with iniquitie O let this thy goodnesse be a forcible meanes to reclaime me from the course of sinne that I may henceforth walk before thee in truth in righteousnesse and in
sin by the punishing of thy Son VI As Christs active and passive obedience is the meritorious cause so is Gods free mercy and grace the impulsive cause of our Justification and Salvation And although God was bound in justice to pardon our transgressions having received full satisfaction by his Sonnes death and mediation yet was he not bound in justice to send his Son into the world or to make him an attonement for our prevarications to send a Mediatour who by his obedience might make satisfaction and consequently save us was an act of his free grace and mercie to which he was not tied but having sent a Mediatour who by his obedience hath made satisfaction it is an act of justice now to save us and to this he is necessarily tied O my God how much am I bound to love and honour thee who hast bound thy selfe to justifie and save me I pray thee as thou hast divested thy self of thine own libertie in condemning me and hast freely subjected thy self to necessity that thou mightest save me so debarre me from all libertie in offending thee and impose on me this necessitie that all my dayes I may love and serve thee VII To shew mercy and to pardon sin are not of equall extent for God shewes mercy to all that are in miserie but he only pardons their sinnes whom he meanes to glorifie he is mercifull to the wicked in causing his sun to shine and his rain to fall and in bestowing of many outward blessings on them but he pardoneth only the sins of them who by repentance turn from sinne to him and by faith lay hold on Christ that died for them And although God be mercy it self or mercifull in the highest degree yet without satisfaction he will not pardon iniquitie because pardoning is an act rather of his free will then of his mercy neither is it essentiall to his mercy to pardon for so he should pardon all to whom he is mercifull which is not true and though he is mercifull to all those whom he pardoneth yet the act of pardoning is not mercy but the effect of mercy for his mercie is essentiall immutable necessarie but to pardon is a free and mutable act therefore as Gods justice is not prejudiced by punishing one for the sinnes of another seeing that other undertook voluntarily to suffer punishment so neither is Gods mercy wronged by pardoning that sin for which satisfaction is made because the satisfaction was not made by the party that offended it was justice then in God to punish Christ for our sinnes because voluntarily he took upon him our sinnes so it was mercy in God to pardon that sinne for which Christ had fully satisfied It was justice in God the Son having become our surety to satisfie for us so it was mercy in God the Father to apply and impute his Sonnes satisfaction to us I confesse Lord that though thou art bound in justice to pardon my sinne for which thou art fully satisfied yet thou art not bound in justice to impute that satisfaction or to account it mine seeing by my personall righteousnesse thou hast not been satisfied I will admire thy justice in punishing thy Sonne for the sins which by him were not committed and I will magnifie thy mercie in forgiving my sinnes for which I have no wayes satisfied VIII The highest degree of Gods mercy was in sending of his only begotten Sonne into the world to be our Jesus to procure Salvation for us which he did not by shewing us the way of Salvation onely or by declaring his Fathers will unto us or by shewing us the example of his life and death but by paying the price of our Redemption for we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son Rom. 5. 10. we are redeemed by the precious bloud of that immaculate Lamb 1 Pet. 1. 18. his bloud was given for the remission of sins Matth. 26. 28. we are justified by his bloud Rom. 5. 8. he was made a curse to free us from the curse of the law Gal. 3. 13. by his death he hath abolished death c. Heb. 2. 14. the Son of man came to give his life for the Redemption of many Mat. 20. 28. his bloud cleanseth us from all sin 1 Ioh. 1. 7. by his stripes we are healed Isai. 53. 5. he made himselfe a sacrifice for sin Isai. 53. 10. therefore it is by his bloud by his sacrifice by his death by his stripes that we are saved expiated justified redeemed cleansed healed and it was for our sinnes that he suffered Rom. 4. 25. for our iniquities that he was bruised Isai. 53. 5. our transgressions he bore in his body on the tree and upon him was laid the iniquitie of us all Isai. 53. 7. neither did he undertake this wretched condition for us forcedly but freely nor was the death temporall but eternall in the intention and greatnesse of the torments neither was Christs death a bare manifestation but a just price of our Redemption for in him we have Redemption by his bloud remission of sins c. Eph. 1. 5. we are redeemed by the precious bloud of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus 1 Pet. 1. 18. which was represented by the Leviticall sacrifices save onely that the Leviticall Priest offered for his own sinnes and for the sinnes of the people but Christ had no sins of his own for which he should offer And as the Priests office was to offer sacrifice and to make intercession Christ performed the one upon the Crosse when by his death he made satisfaction and blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances but the other Christ performes in Heaven interceding for us and applying his death unto us for we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous 1 Ioh. 2. 1. whose Intercession must not be confounded with his oblation because this was once performed and cannot be iterated for he cannot die often Heb. 9. 25. and with one oblation he hath consecrated for ever those that are sanctified Heb. 10. 14. but his Intercession is performed daily for he is entered into Heaven that he might appeare in the sight of God for us Heb. 9. 24. by vertue of whose propitiatorie sacrifice we are not taught the way to offer and reconcile our selves to God but by him we are reconciled redeemed justified saved O my God who is able to comprehend the height depth breadth and length of thy unspeakable mercy In height it reacheth to the heavens in confirming the Angels in depth it reacheth to hell for thou deliveredst David from the nethermost hell in breadth it extends from East to West over all the world even over all thy works and the length thereof is from generation to generation Therefore there is none of thy Attributes so gracious and admirable as thy mercy for as there is nothing greater in thee then that thou canst so there is nothing better then that thou wilt have mercy on those that are in misery FINIS †Supralapsarians * Sublapsarians * Consequentiae * Consequentis * Quoad speciem actus †Quoad exercitium actus * Voluntas placiti †Voluntas signi †Amor benevolentiae * Amor amicitiae * {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} †{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}