Gospel Remission, Treatise · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI. Of Pardoning Mercy being given to a few.
FUrther, Bleſſed is he that hath his iniquities forgiven, becauſe it is a mercy that is given but to a little handful of the world, 11. Argument.the whole world lies in wickedneſs, as carrion in a ditch, or as Priſoners under the chains of guilt of ſin, and yet that God ſhould pull ſome of theſe out, that lie as in a filthy Dungeon; this is a wonderful mercy. A Prince that hath many offenders, uſually pardons the moſt, and executes the feweſt; But God uſually executes the moſt, and pardons feweſt.
But how comes this to paſs, Object.ſeeing God is a God of more mercy than any Prince; how is it that a Prince ſhould pardon moſt, and execute the feweſt, and God do the contrary?
Anſw. 1. Becauſe the execution of many that are guilty, Anſw. 1 would be a troubleſom and dangerous thing unto a Prince; he cannot do it when the moſt have offended: but God can eaſily execute thouſands of thouſands, and all with one word ſpeaking.
Further, If a Prince ſhould execute all that offend, he Anſw. 2 ſhould have a want of his Subjects: But God wants not the creatures, he has no need of us: but a Prince may want his Subjects, and therefore if there be any way in the world to preſerve them, and keep them in any way ſubject to him, the Prince will not deſtroy them.
Beſides, the Prince executes the feweſt, and ſaves the moſt; Anſw. 3 Becauſe the execution of a few may be a means to bring others unto allegiance: But when God comes to execute Malefactors, the execution of ſome cannot be a means to work good on others, eſpecially at the great day; 'tis true, in this world God is long-ſuffering, and executes a few, that it may be a means to work good on others; But how is God ſaid to be a God of rich and glorious mercy, and yet pardons very few, and executes moſt; for all the world have been in Treaſon againſt him: how is it that God pardons feweſt and deſtroys moſt? I hope to give you very good reaſon and ſatisfaction, in ſhewing you how the infinite glory of the mercy of God appears, and yet but few are pardoned; yea rather the more, becauſe that few are pardoned: God would thereby manifeſt the more his glorious mercy.
1. It may well ſtand with the glorious riches of the mercy of God, that many are deſtroy'd and yet but few pardoned; thus, Becauſe that God would have a proportion between his Juſtice and Mercy; you ſay, he would have a proportion, Is not be as merciful as he is juſt? Then there muſt be as many pardoned as condemned. No, if God will obſerve a proportion between his mercy and juſtice, and that he will have his Juſtice appear as well as his Mercy, then more muſt be damned than ſaved; How does that appear? thus; Becauſe the glory of Gods Juſtice in damning twenty hundred, is not ſo much as the glory of his Mercy in ſaving two; you may conceive it by what is ordinarily uſed among men: If the King ſave but two men that are Malefactors, he magnifies his mercy as much in that as his juſtice if he hang up a hundred: ſo if God ſave but two, his mercy is as much magnified as his juſtice in damning twenty hundred, the reaſon is this; Becauſe there is ſomething in the creature that calls for Gods juſtice, that requires that: But there is nothing in the creature, that requires his mercy; when God manifeſts his juſtice, he does ſuch a work as is due to the Creature; there is ſomething in the Creature that challenges ſuch a work from God: but when God comes to manifeſt mercy, there is nothing at all in us that ſhould require ſuch a work from God; no, his mercy is free, altogether from himſelf, 'tis his own work, and proceeds from his own hearts love, and nothing in us that may challenge it from him: Now ſeeing there is that in the Creature that challenges juſtice, and nothing at all that can require mercy; therefore if God ſhew mercy but to a few, it is as great a glory to his mercy as it is to his juſtice, if he condemn a hundred; but if he ſhould ſave as many as he condemns, the mercy of God would be beyond all proportion to his juſtice, but becauſe that cannot be, hence it is that few are ſaved and many damned.
Anſwer. 2. There are more damn'd than ſaved, becauſe God would hereby manifeſt his mercy the more to thee that art ſaved; by ſuffering ſo many others to periſh: this is one end that God hath in it, that their deſtruction might ſet out the excellency of the glory of his grace to thee. When a Limner would draw a Scutcheon, or a Picture in Or, or any other curious colours, he lays the ground-work in black, and then the beauty of the other colours will thereby moſt appear: thou oh ſoul that haſt thy ſin pardoned, know that God lays the ground-work of thy mercy in the black diſmal deſtruction of multitudes of ungodly ſinners, he gives them their due, that that is their right; but the ultimate aim of God in it riſes to this, that their deſtruction may make the brightneſs of his glorious grace appear the more gloriouſly to them that are ſaved; that the Saints whoſe ſins God hath pardoned, may in Heaven have this argument to praiſe his grace ſo much the more, becauſe they are cull'd out of the maſs and multitude of ſinners that are damn'd; this will mightily inflame the hearts of Saints in giving God glory in Heaven, when they ſhall ſee ſo many thouſands and millions of thouſands caſt down to eternal deſtruction; that God ſhould do this to ſet off the riches of his grace to them: How will this inflame their hearts in giving God glory, and this God aims at as the top of his glory that he might have a company to be the eternal objects of the riches of his grace; and this ſhews the baſe and low account God hath of wicked men, that he lets them periſh eternally, that he might magnifie the glory of his grace to Saints; What an aggravation is it of the greatneſs of Gods mercy to Saints, when he is content that ſo many thouſands of others ſhall periſh, that his mercy to them may more gloriouſly appear? As when a Prince hath a Child born, that he might ſhew his honour to the Child in ſolemnizing the Chriſtning of the Child; it may be thouſands of Oxen and Sheep ſhall looſe their lives in the ſolemnizing of the joy the Prince hath in his Child: If the Solemnity of the Joy the Prince hath in that little Infant may be the cauſe of thouſands of creatures loſing their lives, this ſhews the dear reſpect he hath to his Child, or elſe he would never let ſo many creatures go to the Shambles, but that he might ſhew his reſpect to his little Infant: So ſays God, there is a handful of People that I have thoughts to do good too, to all eternity, and I have ſet my heart upon them; and that I may manifeſt the greatneſs of my mercy to them, I will let thouſand thouſands of others periſh eternally, to be but as a black ground for that glorious work, that I intend to manifeſt in the riches of my grace in Chriſt in the pardoning of their ſin: thus you ſee it is a peculiar mercy, and therefore bleſſed are they that have their iniquities forgiven; for it is a mercy that is peculiar to them only. Oh how ought they to bleſs God, that he hath call'd them out of the multitude, when he has left others to the ſway of their own carnal ſottiſh and malitious hearts to go on againſt the ways of grace; and all becauſe he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy.