both but then they are not two but one Master so long as the Commands of one do not cross but promote and further the Commands of the other In this case God and the World may both be loved So long as our love to the world doth not exceed those bounds which God hath set and we love them no farther than as they further us in his service For instance friends may help us forward towards Heaven and quicken us to our duty and friends may incumber discourage and hinder us in our obedience to God The first sort one may and must love for that very end the second sort we ought to slight and despise so far as they are such a snare to us Do not I hate them O Lord that hate thee and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee I hate them with a perfect hatred I count them mine Enemies saith David though it may be some of them might be his friends by birth and Alliance or pretence Psal 139.21 22. Not but that we own some kind and degree of love even to such as these but not a love of Complacency which is the most proper sort of love and the highest degree we may look upon them with a love of Benevolence and Compassion desiring their Repentance and Reformation if they are such Enemies of God as are curable And the reason is because there is some mixture of good with all their wickedness and this we must love them for So we should examine all other worldly comforts and see how far they kindle and how far they extinguish the love of God in you and so far you must love or hate them Well in the exercise of Consideration you must still have one eye to this affection of love and see that it grow stronger and stronger and another upon every thing that you seem to love too much whether it be meat or drink or apparel or friends or credit or health or life it self to disparage them and lessen your esteem of and affections to them and think what a vast difference there is between any worldly comfort here on Earth and God the Author of that and all other comforts I mean no other disparagement than such a one as makes them know their place and keep their rank and lays them at the feet of him that ought to be a thousand times dearer to us And so the Apostle counted all things dung and dross in comparison with Christ but not otherwise Phil. 3.8 Now the more distinct and certain knowledge you have of God the more you are like to love him for he is such an Object that if he be once thoroughly known he cannot but be loved Nature and Reason it self will sufficiently assure you that his Word is the highest Demonstration of the truth of any thing he affirmeth and cannot possibly be false The more therefore you are perswaded that the Scripture or Bible is his Word wherein he hath made the plainest Discoveries of himself the more clear and certain apprehensions of God you are like to have It will be therefore very subservient to the love of God to confirm and strengthen your assent to the Truth or Divine Authority of Scripture and to make that sometimes the immediate design and business of your Meditations to which end you must have Arguments at hand to prove Scripture to be the Word of God and to enforce your assent Hereby also you will have some considerable advantage to the exercise of all those other affections that must help to kindle and encrease the love of God in you such as are Repentance and Faith in Christ for there you have the fullest discoveries of the odiousness of Sin and the necessity of Repentance and the Excellency of Christ and Faith in him who took our Flesh and died for this very end that he might reconcile God to us and us to God and recover our affections to him that the world had abus'd and drawn away and as the exercise of Repentance will promote the love of God in you by mortifying that which is contrary to it so Faith in Christ much more for the more we love and subject our selves to him who is the Wisdome of the Father and the highest pledge of his love to sinful man the more we are like to love the Father himself that both sent him and accepted the satisfaction that he offered to him in our behalf And then lastly the more we are exercised in the praises of God the more we are exercised in love it self for this is an immediate effect of love So that it should be one end of Consideration to exercise and quicken those affections viz. 1. Assent to the truth of Scripture 2. Contempt of the world and all its pleasures as it fights against God 3. Repentance for all former sins and present unfitness to the love and service of God 4. Faith in Christ 5. Love to God directly 6. Praise and thankfulness to him Not that I exclude other simple or mixt affections but because I intend anon to give you some help for the better exercise of these particularly which I intended at first for my own private use Secondly As it must be the end of Consideration so to actuate and strengthen these or some other holy affections towards God and so to advance him in your heart so it must be your last end to strengthen your resolution of obedience to him both active and passive and so to advance him in your life and practice This should and would be the last end of your daily Consideration if it be right As it is Gods end when he requireth the Heart that he might have the Life also for he knows that the life and practice will be suitable to the heart which is the great Principle of them so it must be our end also in the exercise of our Meditations to promote the Kingdom of God in our heart that we may the better honour him in our life Remember therefore in the daily exercise of this Duty that you grow more resolved for Obedience For as love to God will be the fruit of your Meditations if they be serious so Obedience will be the fruit of your love if it be sincere And as you are never like to do or suffer the Will of God with chearfulness and to grow in Obedience unless you grow stronger in deliberate purpose and resolution so you are never like to grow in resolution if you do not grow in the love of God I am next to give you some assistance towards the daily exercise of the Six forementioned Affections one whereof belongs to the Understanding the other to the Will FINIS Books Printed for and sold by Jacob Sampson next Door to the Wonder Tavern in Ludgate-Street POlitical and Military Observations of the Court and Camp of France during the late Wars in Flanders Germany c. Sacramental Meditations upon divers select places of Scripture wherein Believers are
endeavoured to suppress them They had certainly perished in the Flames long before now if God had not walked in the midst of Fire with them How did the Jews on the one hand and the Heathen Emperours on the other conspire both to root out the Men and the Doctrin which they published and taught You know what General Persecutions there have been at once of all the Christians throughout the World and how many Thousands have been slaughtered by the Roman Emperours Commands I need not tell you that there were Ten of these General Persecutions and yet all would not do Julian strictly prohibited all Christian Schools thinking by that Means to root Christianity out of the World and yet the Success was not answerable to his Malice Antiochus Epiphanes commanded all the Holy Writings should be burnt as the History of the Maccabees will inform you 1 Macc. 1.59 yet God preserved them And Dioclesian Author of the Tenth Persecution commanded by Proclamation the Holy Scriptures to be burnt where ever they were found throughout the Roman Empire as Euseb relates l. 8. c. 3. If the Scriptures had not been the Word of God they had never surviv'd so much Malice and the vigilant Endeavours of so many subtil and potent Enemies to destroy them out of the World nor escap'd the combined furious Attempts both of Jews and Gentiles to blot them out of the Memory of Mankind Moreover If all that were hitherto produced were not enough to demonstrate the Divine Authority of Scripture and to satisfie and confirm the Mind in this weighty Truth I might add by way of Accumulation other Proofs from the Majesty Purity and Efficacy of this Word which so far excels all Humane Writings in these particulars And also from the Profession of Men and Martyrs that did and were ready to dye for it Men of great Parts and Integrity that would not have parted with their Lives without a sufficient Cause As also from the destruction of the Grand Opposers of it And the Consent of so many Men in all Ages and those that had the greatest Advantages throughly to scan and know the Truth and the Assent of very Adversaries All which do prove ex super abundanti that the Scriptures are the most Sacred Word of God and Written by Divine Inspiration To conclude therefore with some little Exhortation in a Point of such Weight and Moment Remember in your Meditations to strengthen this Intellectual Grace which lies in the Firm and Active Belief of the Divine Authority of Scripture Get and keep such Clear Evidence and Demonstration of its Divinity that may satisfie your Soul and enforce the most practical Assent That you may read the Threatnings with Reverence and a suitable Fear as those that God will certainly make good and execute upon those that fall under them That you may read the Promises with full perswasion of their Accomplishment to those that have their part and interest in them and so feel the forcible power of them to quicken you to your Duty That you may read the Precepts not as idle Storys but as the Commands of God Look that you evidently see the Name of God upon the Doctrin and History thereof and it will have another Effect than a bare opinionative or implicit belief grounded upon the bare word of Man could produce Your Assent will be suitable to your Evidence and the Effect and Influence it hath upon your Heart and Life will be suitable to your Assent It 's time well spent to read over and consider those Treatises that convince the Divine Authority of Scripture The better the Ground-work is laid the more firm will the Superstructure be When once thou art solidly and throughly perswaded that God is the Author of the Scriptures thou wilt expect a Treasure there that is not to be found in any Humane Writings any farther than they contain this Doctrin in them If you delight in Falshood and Lyes and love Darkness rather than Light search not here nor expect that Scripture should gratifie you But if thou art a Lover of Truth a Lover of Wisdom then come hither and dig into these Mines and God that was the Author will open thine Eyes if thou truly desire to be informed Some Considerations to help on the daily Exercise of Faith in Christ or Subjection to the Sovereignty of our Redeemer Scriptures that require Faith in Christ and shew us its Nature 1 John 12. As many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name John 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting Life Verse 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God Verse 36. He that believeth on the Son hath Everlasting life that is quo ad jus or Inchoative And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him John 5.40 Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life Luke 19.27 Those mine Enemies that would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me Heb. 5.9 And being made perfect he became the Author of Eternal Life and Salvation to all them that obey him Matth. 11.28 29. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my Yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest to your souls John 5.22 23 24. For the Father judgeth no Man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son That all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which sent him Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting Life and shall not come into Condemnation but is passed from Death to Life BEfore I come to the Motives that should animate us to the frequent and delightful Exercise of Faith which must be daily kept in the Mind and Thoughts or some of the like Nature it 's necessary that we well understand the Nature of that Faith which is of such daily Use and unspeakable Advantage in the whole Christian Life For the better and more distinct Understanding whereof we must take notice that in the Word of God we are informed of a Twofold Kingdom of God 1. The First as Creatour 2. The Second as Redeemer And both these have their different Constitution and Administration Whilst Man stood in his Integrity he was under the Laws and Government of his Creatour and then Faith in God as his Creatour and Sovereign was the Radical and Fundamental Virtue which whilst it did continue firm and inviolate he was happy in the Favour of God and never
they cannot want instruction if they will go for it to almost every Church about them or to their knowing Neighbours and desire to be instructed It 's one of these two or both that undoes all the World uncatechised Head and an unmortified Heart He that hath an honest Heart and a willing Mind cannot want the knowledge that is necessary to Salvation and wo to them that want this knowledge for the Lord Jesus shall shortly be revealed from Heaven in flaming Fire to take Vengeance on all that know not God Shun Ignorance therefore for he that knows not God cannot Remember him Thirdly Flee Inconsideracy for next to Ignorance this is the great impediment to this Remembrance and your own Happiness Wherefore hath God given thee a Faculty to consider and bestowed Reason on thee Wherefore hath he set his Word and Works before thee Doth he not mean to draw forth thy thoughts thereby that thou mayst consider and reap the benefit and give God the Glory The most concerning weighty truth will do no good and never affect thy Heart unless they be considered Though you know and believe that God is the Spring-head from whence all your Mercies come and that he hath redeemed you by his Son and offereth to save you by his Spirit and Word if you will but come unto Christ by Faith yet if you consider not these things no wonder if you make light of Christ no wonder if you trample his Blood under your Feet and go your â—way one to his Farm another to his Merchandize and take the happiness the World will afford you though it be at the Plow and Cart in rising early and sitting up late and in the hardest Toyl and Labour rather than believe in the Son of God or spend an hour in Prayer or reading the Word of God that you may Remember him that hath made all things and to whom all the World is but a shadow Though you believe that the wicked shall be turned into Hell and all that forget God and that all that die in impenitency shall be sentenced to the Eternal Flames yet if you shut these thoughts out of your minds and will not consider them what wonder if you live as if there were no such things What though you believe that the hour is coming in which all that are in the Grave shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and come forth they that have done good to the Resurrection of Life John 5.28 29. yet if you consider not what God hath prepared for them that love him no wonder if you be weary and faint in the way Consideration openeth the Eye and softneth the Heart and maketh you feel the force and power of truth If you shut your Eyes by inconsideration the most taking Objects will never move you and the most fearful sight will never fright you Though it is impossible to perswade a Man whose Eyes are open to run into the Fire or Water or throw himself down a Precipice yet going on and shuts his Eyes will not long escape one mischief or another you will go with the Ox to the slaughter and with the Fool to the correction of the Stocks if you consider not that it is for your Life O how many are now roaring in the unquenchable Fire that would never have come there if they had but considered O how many forget God and their own Souls day after day that would not that could not do so if they did but seriously consider What madness hath filled the Heart of Man that he should be backward to nothing more than to consider whilst it may do him good and when every thought will cut his Heart he will follow the work close and do nothing else but reflect upon and bewail his misery As consideration if it be timely followed and wisely managed is the best and usual instrument on mans part to bring a foolish careless senseless sinner to his wits again So Consideration when it is too late is the greatest instrument to put him quite out of his Wits and to fill his Heart with raging down-right madness for ever You will not be perswaded to consider now what you are doing and whither you are going and why God hath made you and given you life and time but mark what a Prophet tells you that cannot be deceived 〈…〉 In the latter days you shall consider it perfectly and no tongue shall be able to perswade you to the contrary As corrupt Nature is backward to nothing more than consideration whilst the day of mercy lasteth so he is prone to nothing more after this day is past and gone and as he will not consider now so he shall not then avoid it Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed 〈…〉 If you would therefore Remember God to your comfort and not to your terror shun Inconsideracy and fill your Hearts with matter from the daily observation of Gods Word and Works to feed your consideration I might insist more largely upon the hindrances and shew you what impediments 1. Pride 2. Discontent 3. and Worldliness are to this Remembrance but I wave them and proceed to the positive Directions First If you would get a comforting worthy Remembrance of God into your Heart then get your Heart deeply affected with the mischief that sin hath done you and the love and compassion that Christ hath shewed to you If you understand not what God made you at the first and for what an honourable high and noble end and how much your Nature is distorted and though you could not help it that you took such a perverse Nature from your Parents yet you have too much given your Actual Consent in that you have not bewailed and lamented your case in any considerable measure to this day If you know not what ever sin deserveth nor see so much evil in it as that it should deserve the penalty that God hath threatned nor consider what number of sins you have been guilty of and to what a degree of guilt they have been aggravated by you and what a necessity there was that you should perish everlastingly unless God should deny himself which the Apostle tells us he cannot do â— Tim. 2.13 and suffer his Justice Wisdom and Holiness to lie under disgrace and reproach if Christ had not undergone the wrath of God and so stop'd the mouth of Justice vindicated the Law of God made Transgression odious and ingag'd to bring the sinners to Repentance that should partake of the Fruits of his Death and to humble them in the sense of their former wickedness and to restore the Image of God in them again and to bring them to the love of his service again which before their Repentance and Conversion they do naturally hate and abhor If you do not understand what Christ hath done for you already and what he will do by his Spirit to the changing of your Hearts If
did intentionally lay down his life for all yet none shall reap the fruit and benefit of his sufferings and satisfaction but such as are broken in heart for their iniquities and come believingly unto him to bind them up again and heal them 5. What more certain than the vanity of all things here below and their utter insufficiency to satisfie the Soul of Man and make it happy Every one that is not wilfully blind may see how ridiculous the Competition is between God and them The greatest Epicures and those that dote most upon the world and admire its glory will confess thus much when they come to die and their eyes are then opened for the most part whose very Reason and Understanding as well as their affections were wholly captivated to its deluding pleasures all their life-long Ask them now which is better the Favour of God or the Pleasures of the World and they will not then stick to tell you there 's no comparison between them you shall have a free and a full confession from them But yet though the World be such an empty thing and not worthy to be laid in the balance with the Favour of God and an Interest in Christ yet it is a great question whether it is so indeed in thy Estimation and Affections Let thy practice and the course and tenour of thy life decide the case Which doest thou study and endeavour to serve and please most Which doest thou labour most after the Food that perisheth or the Food that endureth Which doest thou make the most careful provision for this life or the life to come It concerns thee as much as the Salvation of thy Soul comes to to put this as much out of doubt as it is past doubt that the World is altogether vanity 6. How sure is it that Death will shortly come and part thy Soul and Body and give thee thy mortal wound and turn thy flesh into corruption Not a man but must shortly make his Bed in the Grave and be forgotten as a dead man out of sight and leave his substance to those that come after This is a clear truth and hath a sound confession from all the world the experience of all our Forefathers is a clear proof But yet though this truth is so fully attested by the confession of all the living and the experience of all the Dead yet it is a very great doubt whether thou dost remember and consider thy latter end and improve thy life as that which will not always last Wo to thee if this be not as certain as the other 7. Nothing more sure than that there is a Publick Audit at which all men must give up their Accounts a general day of Oyer and Terminer where every one must undergo an impartial Tryal and Examination But it is uncertain whether thou dost sincerely believe such a day and dost make answerable preparations and whether thou dost live as in the sight of thy Judge it behoves thee to consider 8. It 's matter of greatest certainty that there is a State of unspeakable happiness for Believers and that there is a State of endless and unsufferable misery to which Unbelievers shall he condemned and when men are arrived thither their condition is unalterable there 's no possibility that they should lose the one or ever be released from the other These are all matters of the highest certainty all the doubt is whether thou hast lived under the power of these Truths by frequent Consideration and whether they had such influence on thee as things of such certainty weight and worth should have You see what is certain and what is doubtful and uncertain in all these particulars and in both respects they will deserve thy attentive heedful thoughts and thy most impartial Consideration The things that are certain will never make their due impression upon thy heart nor operate according to their worth nor put thee upon answerable practice till they be again and again considered The things that are uncertain will never be resolved till they be frequently considered Men regard not the Judgment to come because they will not be brought to consider the certainty of it and how much it doth concern them Men slight the Torments of Hell and Joys of Heaven because they will not consider the certainty of them Would any one fall in love with the world if he did but consider how certainly it will deceive him Would men live so improvidently and spend their strength and time so impertinently if they did but seriously consider that they must certainly die and speed Eternally as they have lived Would men set up their own will for a Law and live to themselves and put the fear of God out of their hearts if they did but consider that God is certainly their Maker and Soveraign and that they owe perfect subjection to his Person and obedience to his Laws Would men live so absurdly and forget their main Errand in the world and the principal business of their lives if they did but consider that God certainly sent them into the world for this very end and purpose to serve him and live in love and obedience to him In a word would men wipe their mouths after so much Rebellion and Disobedience to God as if they were Innocent and be so impenitent and unaffected with their sins if they did but consider how certain it is that without Repentance there 's no hope of pardon and that they must smart for their sin here by Repentance or else hereafter in Eternal misery and desperation and that Christ will be a Saviour to none but those that thus smart for their sin and feel its intolerable burthen and fly unto him by Faith as their only refuge O if we did enough consider the great certainty of these things they would have another effect and operation on us than usually they have upon the best of us much less would they suffer us to live in such Atheism and contempt of Christ and Salvation as the most of men live As sure as thou sinnest now thou shalt be judged for it and that to Everlasting Condemnation if thy serious Repentance step not in between as sure as thou livest now thou shalt shortly die and as sure as thou treadest upon the Earth so sure shalt thou lie down in it e're long and be trodden under foot Look up and behold the Heavens above thee that glister with so many Stars of light as sure as they now hang over thy head so certainly shall they be under thy feet e're a few years more be past If thou hast laid up thy Treasure in Heaven I mean if thy chief joy and delight be there if there be any trust in the Lord any truth and certainty in his Word these things which I have recommended to thy frequent Consideration are Truths of the highest certainty and importance the flattering World may deceive thee thy false dissembling heart may deceive thee
health and strength and friends may prove treacherous and unfaithful all thy worldly hopes may become like a Spiders Web Job 8.14 The Heavens over thy head may turn into darkness and the Sun and Stars may refuse to give their light the Earth may fail under thy feet and reel to and fro and stagger like a Drunken Man and the Inhabitants thereof may be at their wits end but the Word of God will never fail thee it shall be accomplished in despight of all opposing power and the threatnings and promises thereof shall stand when all other things shall fall to the ground and be like water that 's spilt on it that cannot be gathered up again Heaven and Earth shall pass away but not one jot nor tittle of the Word of God shall pass till all be fulfilled Mat. 5.18 And Mat. 24.35 God that hath established the Earth so firmly though it hang upon nothing and it abideth and shall abide till the great Earthquake shall come he that hath fixed the Ordinances of Heaven and Earth and setled the appointed times and seasons of Spring and Summer Winter and Harvest Day and Night and they continue to this daâ— without variation according to his Decree for all are his servants Psal 119.90 91. and Gen. 8.22 will make good the word that is gone out of his mouth and it shall not return till it hath accomplish'd that which he hath spoken Isa 55.11 And therefore David acknowledgeth that he had magnified his Word above all his Name So much for the matter of our Consideration or the things that we should frequently consider I conclude with that in Psal 107.43 Who so is wise will consider these things and they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. I come in the next place to speak to the manner or to shew how Consideration shold be exercised First after you have lift up your heart to God for the heavenly Light and Assistance set your self seriously to the duty as in his sight and presence Trifling with all matters of moment is inconsistent with the nature of such things and betrays our folly But it is the bane and poison of all Religion and a wicked disparagement both to that and our selves if whatsoever our hand findeth to do we should do it with our might Eccles 9.10 then much more should we rouze up our selves and put to all our strength when we have works of the greatest consequence in our hands we must not be slothful in such business as this is especially but fervent in spirit serving the Lord Rom. 12.11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain is a precept that extends it self to all Religious Acts and strictly forbids a slight and customary performance of them Thou art guilty of Irreverence and contempt of such sacred things and consequently of God himself to whom they are nearly related when thou medlest in them with a careless and wandring spirit and mayest expect that the anger of the Lord should wax hot against thee when thou art so cold in his service If God threatned to spew the Church of Laodicea out of his mouth because she was but lukewarm in his service Rev. 3.16 He will certainly deal worse with them that are stone-cold in their approaches to him The heart and soul of Consideration and all other Religious Acts are wanting when the heart and soul and strength are not imployed in them For when earnestness and serious intention of the mind and heart are deficient it not only turns Religious Acts into meer form but makes them utterly unsuccessful You will miss of your intended purpose when you come to God and seek for mercy in a careless and customary manner you will never obtain wisdom at the hands of God if you know not how to be importunate for it when you are shut up in affliction and misery and cannot get out if you cannot cry aloud and knock at the door of grace it will never be opened to you The Lord will give you a praying spirit fervent in supplication if ever he intend to give you the thing prayed for He will give you a heart seriously to Consider if ever he work the saving truths into your heart if you are not serious in the service of God you cannot be sincere and how well God will accept that service in which sincerity is wanting look into the word of God and Judge The Consideration I am pressing you to is a principal part of Gods Worship I speak not of that which is occasional and ordinary for such Consideration must accompany all your Actions both toward God and men if ever they be prudently managed but of that Consideration which is set and solemn and that requires some time to be set apart for it as well as Prayer and other Duty during which time we must no more intermix our thoughts with worldly matters then we must in Prayer and Hearing and Reading the Word of God But our Meditations must be tied to the most weighty saving truths till we begin to feel the power of them upon our hearts that so they may command our Lives 'T is such serious Consideration as this about the greatest and uncontroverted truths for some set time together till suitable affections and resolutions be kindled in us which is such an excellent part of Gods Worship because it inspires the Soul with Life and Fitness for all other Worship and Service and if you do not awaken and call up the powers of your Soul and seriously imploy them in this work of Consideration you are never like to see the beauty and excellency of these saving truths nor to feel the mighty power of them Ignorance and prejudice have so fast closed the eyes of your understanding that unless you rub hard they will never be opened and the affections are so backward to the most weighty things that unless they be set upon in good earnest and enforced by the evidence and mighty power of these truths they will not stir to any purpose nor ripen your Soul for Practice Secondly You must narrowly watch over your heart and keep it close to the work and when it refuseth you must use the Authority God hath given you over it to compel it Though the Soul hath not that absolute command over its own thoughts and affections which once it had before it rebelled against God yet it hath not quite lost its Soveraignty and power Experience doth sufficiently assure us that we can command our thoughts to this or that subject keep them on it if we will take pains with them even those that want the special Grace of God and are unsanctified in heart can yet bend their thoughts to think on God his Attributes and his Word and Works the Life to come the vanity of Creatures and make very pertinent moving discourses on them else none can Preach but such as are endued with saving Light and Knowledge much more may they command
2. Majesty 3. Glory 4. Lordship 5. Immutability Fifthly The Measure of all his Attributes is Infiniteness that is They have no Stint nor Measure As the Measure of his Being is Immensity Sixthly The Crown of all his Attributes is his Eternity Of these in order 1. His Bounty the Scripture thus expresseth Psalm 145.15 Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing Matth. 6.28 29. Consider the Lilies of the field they toil not neither do they spin and yet I say anto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these And Psal 104.27 28. These wait all upon thee speaking of the several living Creatures that thou mayest give them their meat in due season Thou openest thy hand and they are filled with good 2. His Justice in the Righteous Government of all things the Holy Ghost thus sets forth Psalm 89.14 Justice and Judgment are the Habitation of thy Throne And Psal 9.8 He shall judge the World in Righteousness and minister Judgment to the World in uprightness Jerem. 32.19 Thine Eyes are upon all the Ways of the Sons of Men to give to every one according to his Ways and according to the Fruit of his doings Gen. 18.25 Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right Rev. 15.3 Just and true are thy ways thou King of Saints 3. His Veracity is thus described Numb 23.19 He is not as a Man that he should lye Hath he said it and spoken it and shall it not be made good Rom. 3.4 God is true and every man a lyar Heb. 10.23 God is faithful who hath promised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is to be credited or believed Psalm 138.2 I will woriship towards thy Holy Temple and praise thy Name for thy Loving-kindness and for thy Truth for thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name Psalm 86.15 But thou O Lord art plenteous in Mercy and in Truth 4. His Mercy and Compassion to all Rational Creatures is thus expressed John 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord I have no pleasure in him that dyeth or in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways For why will ye dye 1 Tim. 2.4 There it 's said that God would have all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth Besides 1. All those Scriptures that express the Death of Christ for sinners without limitation serve to this purpose such as 1 Tim. 2.6 Who gave himself a Ransome for all Men c. 2. All those Scriptures that contain a Commission to Preach the Gospel to all the World without Exception magnifie this Attribute to the full and make it shine forth gloriously such as Matth. 28.19 Go ye therefore and teach all Nations c. 3. Likewise all those Scriptures that promise Pardon and Salvation upon the Conditions of Repentance and Faith not excluding any from these Terms are a lively demonstration of this lovely Attribute such as 1 John 12. As many as received him to them gave he Power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe in his Name 4. So likewise all those Scriptures that set forth the Patience of God towards sinners in general may be reduced hither and serve under this Head 5. Lastly All those Scriptures that insist upon the Common Providences of God towards wicked Men and his veriest Enemies in supplying all their Necessities and giving them such a large portion of these outward Comforts bear ample Testimony to this Attribute and do very much exalt it such as Matth. 5.45 where God is said to make the Sun to shine upon the Evil and upon the Good and to send Rain on the just and on the unjust 5. His Special Love to Believers the Holy Ghost thus describeth Deut. 33.29 The Lord is the shield of their help and the sword of their excellency Psal 94.14 God will not cast off his Saints nor forsake his Inheritance And Psal 149.4 The Lord taketh pleasure in his people and will beautifie them with salvation And Psal 1. last The Lord knoweth i. approveth the way of the Righteous Isa 49.16 There they are said to be graven on the Palms of his Hands and their Walls are ever in his sight And Vers 15. It 's said God cannot and will not forget them Moreover 1. All those Scriptures that entitle them to Pardon Reconciliation Adoption and Glory Comfort in all Conditions and a blessed Issue out of all their Troubles be they more or less and that entail a Blessing upon their Seed and Posterity are a sufficient proof of God's special Love to Believers and set it forth illustriously such as Psalm 97.11 Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Psal 37.37 Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace Eccles 8.12 13. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times and his days be prolonged yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God which fear before him c. Psal 102.28 The children of thy servants shall continue and their seed shall be established before thee Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus that walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Psal 125.1 2. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion which cannot be removed but abideth for ever As the mountains are round about Jerusalem so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth and for ever Rom. 8.28 All things work together for their good And Gal. 4.6 Because they are sons God will send forth the Spirit of his Son into their hearts 2. All those Scriptures that contain their special relations unto God and Priviledges founded thereupon do lively set forth God's special Love to them Sixthly His Almightiness the Scripture thus expresseth besides the places where he is expresly styled Almighty Ephes 3.20 He is able to do abundantly above what we can think or speak Job 26.14 The thunder of his power who can understand Prov. 21.30 There is no wisdom power nor understanding against him Jerem. 27.5 He hath made the Earth and all that therein is by his great power Isa 40.22 23. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as Grass-hoppers that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in That bringeth the Princes to nothing and maketh the Judges of the Earth as vanity Heb. 1.3 God is there said to uphold all things by the word of his power All those Scriptures that assert the Creation of the World or any part of it by God The Division of the Sea or other Waters miraculously The strange Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha