A Discourse of the Two Covenants, Book 3 · Chapter 2 · Section 2

A Discourse of the Two Covenants · Book 3 · Chapter 2 · Section 2

p. 265SECT. II. God in the Covenant has made over all his Attributes.

§. 1. LET us now come unto the firſt thing to be conſidered in God, and that is his Divine Eſſence: there is a twofold diſcovery, a double manifeſtation of God that the Scripture ſpeaks of, the face and the back parts of God: Gods face is his Eſſence; Exod. 33.20, 21. 1 Joh. 1.2. 1 Cor. 13.12.Exod 33:20Exod 33:211 John 1:21 Cor 13:12for that is to ſee him as he is, we ſhall ſee him face to face, which is the viſion that the Saints and Angels have of God in Heaven; for their Angels behold the face of your Father in Heaven, Mat. 18.10. And this is that in which the happineſs of rational creatures doth conſiſt, it is this which deſtroys ſin, and perfects grace, and makes the creature impeccable: our conformity unto God in holineſs and happineſs is grounded upon our viſion of him, p. 2661 Joh. 3.2. We know that when he ſhall appear we ſhall be like him, for we ſhall ſee him as he is: and it's true, that this is alſo promiſed by God unto his people in this promiſe, to be their God in fruition, as will afterwards appear; for this promiſe is never fully accompliſhed till we come to Heaven,Job 11.7.Job 11:7 and yet even then we ſhall not find out the Almighty to perfection; for an infinite Being can never be comprehended by a finite underſtanding. It's the happineſs of God to know himſelf to perfection, We ſhall know him ſufficiently for our perfection, but we ſhall never be able to know him according unto his perfection; but the knowledge of God in his Eſſence doth not agree unto a mans preſent ſtate, the imperfection whereof is ſet forth by a threefold ſimilitude, 1 Cor. 13.12. (1) of a glaſs, (2) of a riddle, (3) it is anſwerable to the knowledge of a child, of the things of a man. Therefore the knowledge that we have of God in this life is not of his eſſence or his face, but of his back parts, non ſicut eſt, ſed ſicut vult, non as he is, but as he wills. Bern. And the back parts of God are thoſe Attributes that he is pleaſed to expreſs of himſelf in the Scripture, by which he is made known, either viâ negationis, in a way of negation, as he is infinite, immortal, incomprehenſible, inviſible, unchangeable; or elſe viâ cauſalitatis, in a way of cauſality, as he is holy, and merciful, and juſt, and wiſe, &c. Theſe being excellencies in the creature are attributed unto God, as being wrought by him; and therefore muſt needs be in him in a more glorious and tranſcendent manner, than they can be in any creature. This is a knowledge of God ſuitable unto this life, and it is an intereſt in God that is attainable in this life, God has made over himſelf to his people in all his Attributes.

Doctrine. Obſerve hence, That the Lord in the Covenant of grace has made over unto his people all the Attributes of his Divine Nature. Here for the opening of it we muſt ſhew, (1) That it is ſo, that Gods Attributes are made over; (2) That this is peculiar to the ſecond Covenant, and is the Saints priviledge or portion; (3) The manner of making them over, how they are in God, and how a man may conclude that they belong to us. (4) To what end they are made over unto the Saints. (5) What a glorious revenue ſuch have who have an intereſt in the Attributes of God, and how infinitely more it is than a mans intereſt in all the promiſes of God, and all the creatures of God for his inheritance. Laſtly, the application of all unto our ſelves.

1. That the Lord has made over all his Attributes unto the Saints. And that will appear by theſe arguments or demonſtrations. 1. The Lord is ſaid in Scripture to be the portion of his people, their lot, and their inheritance: ſo the Church, Lam. 3.24. The Lord is my portion, foreignſays my ſoul. And it is the ſame claim, and in the ſame way that Chriſt made unto God, Pſal. 16.5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. The word ſignifies to divide into parts, as the land of Canaan was divided by ſeveral lots, and every man had his ſhare: and thus it is here, there is a diviſion and a diſtribution made, all ungodly men have their portion out of God,Pſal. 17.14.Ps 17:14 becauſe they are not in Covenant with him, and they have their portion in this life and in the things of this life: Son remember that in thy life time thou hadst thy good things; but in this a Saint is not ſatisfied, he will not be put off with this worlds goods: as Luther ſays, Valde proteſtatus ſum me nolle ſic ſatiari, I greatly proteſted I will not be ſo ſatisfied. Gen. 15.1.Gen 15:1And the Lord ſays, I am thy exceeding great reward: the word in the Original doth ſignifie praemium laboris, foreignthe reward of thy labour, &c. and the Hebrews having no Superlatives, do expreſs them by an Adjective and an Adverb; and ſo it is here foreign exceeding great, and it's as much as to ſay, thy greateſt reward. There are variety of rewards that God gives unto all his labourers, even in this life; though it be true, as Manaſſe Ben Iſrael has obſerved, That this life is mundus laboris, the world of labour, and the world to come retributionis, of reward; yet the reward is begun in this life. There is no man that ſhall labour for God in vain, no man ſhall ſhut his door, or open it for nothing; but yet God doth give many things as a reward unto thoſe to whom he doth never give himſelf, becauſe there are many that do work for God, that do never give themſelves unto God: and therefore Jehu ſhall have a Kingdom, and Nebuchadnezzar ſhall have Egypt for his hire, &c. they have their reward from God, but yet the Lord himſelf is not their reward. And even the people of God have many great bleſſings from the Lord, as the reward of their ſervices;1 Cor. 3.21.1 Cor 3:21 for the Apoſtle Paul ſays, All things are yours: but yet the greateſt of all their rewards, and that without which all the reſt were nothing, lies in this, that the Lord is their God. Now how doth God become the portion and reward of his people in this life, but as he has revealed himſelf. There is a diſcovery of God that is beyond the capacity of grace in this life, and the people of God by virtue of this promiſe may rejoyce in the hope of it, as Rom. 5.2. but yet they cannot poſſeſs it in this life; but as the Lord has revealed himſelf to his people in this life, ſo he hath made over himſelf unto them. Now the great diſcovery of God being in the Attributes of the Divine Nature, it's in thi… that he has made over himſelf unto his people: this is the portion Chriſt p. 267had, and his reward, and ours alſo, by virtue of the ſame Covenant.

2. This will appear alſo if we conſider the Promiſes are, that we ſhall have all in God; He that overcomes ſhall inherit all things, I will be his God; the Lord is his Inheritance,Revel. 21.7.Rev 21:7 and he that has God he doth inherit all things, he ſhall have a hundred-fold more in this life,Mark 10.30.Mark 10:30 that forſakes any comfort of it for God, in this preſent time: Now a man cannot underſtand this formaliter, formally, but eminentèr, eminently, he ſhall have that in God that ſhall exceed all this, if they were a hundred times multiplyed; and ſo the Lord is a Sun, and a Shield,Pſal. 84.Ps 84 and how is all this to be underſtood, but that we have all in God? It's true, that a Chriſtian has all things in promiſes, but yet the promiſes are not the root of his inheritance, but there is ſomething that is a root, and is the foundation of all the promiſes, and that is the Attributes of the Divine Nature, and the goodneſs and faithfulneſs of God, &c. which I conceive alſo is the meaning of that, Iſai. 2.6. and laſt: Come my people, enter into your Chambers, &c. it's refer'd unto the mind and the ſtate of the Soul, and ſo it doth ſignifie pacatum animi ſtatum, the quiet ſtate of the mind: But I conceive this is not all the meaning,Calvin. that the Soul is quiet as in its Chambers of refuge, in the time of the greateſt trouble and unquietneſs, but as Forer hath it, Ne ſolliciti eſſetis de rerum viſibilium viciſſitudine, ſed de Deo, &c. be not ſolicitous about viſible things, but about God: And the Chambers in which the Soul only reſts, are the Chambers of Promiſes, and of Providences; For upon all the Glory there ſhall be a defence; but the Attributes of God are the ſecrets of his preſence in them both, ſo that the people of God have all in him, as there are attributes in him that anſwer unto all their conditions.

3. So much the ſeveral relations in which God ſtands to his People do imply; the Lord is ſaid to be unto them a Father, I will be their Father, and they ſhall be my Sons and Daughters; 2 Cor. 6.16. Iſai. 54.5. James 2.23.2 Cor 6:16Isa 54:5Jas 2:23and he is ſaid to be their Husband, Thy Maker is thy Husband; and their Friend, as he was Abraham's Friend, and he was called the Friend of God; and the terms of friendſhip are mutual; and it is the ſweeteſt relation; a true friend is as a mans own ſoul. Now what do all theſe relations import amongſt the Creatures, but this, that anſwerably to the Wiſdom and the Power, and the Mercy, and the Love that is in me, ſaith God, ſo will I lay them all out for you, as the duties or offices of my relation do require; and we know amongſt men, relations are great obligations, and they do carry with them vaſt affections; they are maxima efficaciae, of greatest efficace, as the School-men ſpeak: therefore though it be leſs to ſay, I will be thy Father, thy Husband, or thy Friend, than it is to ſay, I will be thy God, becauſe this imports an Infinite Being; yet it is as much, he being a God to ſtand in theſe relations, as if he ſhould have ſaid, I will be thy Father, and Husband, and Friend, after the manner of a God, whatever there is in infinite wiſdom, and in infinite power, and in infinite goodneſs or holineſs, to diſpenſe, it ſhall be laid out for thee, ſuitable unto the relation in which I ſtand unto thee; for though men in their relations act weakly as men, yet in the relations which God ſtands in to his People he doth act infinitely, and as it becomes a God.

4. It will appear alſo by the expreſſions in Scripture, that the Saints have intereſt in ſeveral Attributes of God, and from their intereſt in ſome of them, we may conclude their intereſt in all, for God is not divided; Integram ſalutem à Deo diviſo ſperare non poſſumus, we may not hope for an entire ſalvation from a divided God, Pſal. 59.10. he is call'd not only the God of Mercy, as he is commonly, but the God of my Mercy; ſo of all the Mercy that was in God, David lays claim to it as his Mercy; it's in God indeed ſubjectivè, but yet it is mine, even all the Mercy that is in God, and he is the God of my Mercy:Pſal. 84.5. Epheſ. 6.10.Ps 84:5Eph 6:10 Bleſſed is the man whoſe ſtrength is in thee; and the Apoſtle's exhortation is, Be ſtrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; the meaning is, that very Omnipotence that is in God, is by the Covenant on Gods part, ſo made over unto his people, that it becomes as effectually theirs unto all the ends and intents thereof, as if they themſelves were the ſubjects of it; and the meaning of the Apoſtle doth ariſe unto this height, that they ſhould take unto themſelves as great confidence in the overcoming of enemies, be they never ſo powerful, and in performing of duties alſo, be they never ſo difficult, as if they had Omnipotence in their own hand, to exerciſe and put forth according to their own deſires, and for the effectual procuring of their own happineſs; and on this ground it is, that the Saints are ſaid to glory in God, and make their boaſt of him all the day long,Hab. 3.18.Hab 3:18 and they triumph in the God of their ſalvation, becauſe they do look upon all things, as having the attributes of God ingaged unto them, and by this means the Soul treads down ſtrength, for what can be too intricate for infinite wiſdom? and what can be too hainous for infinite mercy, or too difficult for infinite power, &c? and ſo the Soul does laugh at all oppoſitions, and all the power of man to ſcorn, becauſe he looks upon himſelf with all the Saints to be intereſſed in all the Attributes of God, and fortified by them.

p. 2685. The great end of Chriſt's coming into the world was to bring us unto God: and that was not only,1 Pet. 3.18.1 Pet 3:18 that all the Attributes of God ſhould work for us, as they did for Chriſt, which becauſe we had forfeited, therefore they all acted againſt us, and ſhould have done for ever; but that Chriſt by bringing us to God, might give us alſo an intereſt in them all, that they ſhould all become ours, as they were his; for Chriſt is but the way, as he himſelf ſaith, I am the way, the truth and the life: and therefore Aquinas hath well branched Divinity into theſe heads, De Deo & de Chriſto prout via eſt nobis tendendi in Deum, Of God and of Christ, as he is the way tending to God. Chriſt came to reconcile all the Attributes of God unto Man, and the great purchaſe of the death of Chriſt was not an intereſt in all the Creatures, but an intereſt in all the Attributes of the Divine Nature, that they ſhould be ours, and ſhould act for us.

1. Pet. 1.21.1 Pet 1:216. The higheſt object of faith is God, he is, Objectum ultimatum, the ultimate Object, Chriſt is but Mediatum, the Mediate Object: Now what is there in God that is revealed unto our Faith, but his Attributes? we know him no otherwiſe but by his back parts, and we know that every Attribute of God is an object of Faith in the Scripture, and whatever Faith lays hold on as its object, it makes it to become its own, in ipſo amplexu, in the very embracement. He that takes hold of Chriſt by Faith makes him his own; Thou art my Lord and my God, and if it lay hold of its promiſes, they become its own; and there is nothing that gives a propriety to the Soul, but its receiving of it, and appropriating it; he loved me, and died for me, and gave himſelf for me: Thus Faith argues and appropriates Chriſt and all his Benefits; and ſo it is in laying hold of every attribute of God, that doth appropriate it unto his perſon, and it becomes his own, reſts upon infinite wiſdom, and lays hold on infinite power, and relies upon infinite mercy, and holineſs, and grace, and all ſhall be thine: Believe Soul, and all ſhall be thine; for all the objects of faith are offered and propounded by God, and nothing is required to make them ours, but receiving them; as it's ſaid of Chriſt,Joh. 1.12.John 1:12 To as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the Sons of God, to them that believe in his Name; ſo it's of promiſes, and of attributes alſo, and if they be not ours, it's becauſe we receive them not; our intereſt lies in our application.

§. 2. This is peculiar to the Second Covenant, that the Lord ſhould make over unto his people the inheritance of all his Attributes. 1. It's true, that Adam had an intereſt in God, or elſe he could not have loſt it: But we have heard of Mans great miſery in the Fall, that it lay in his loſs of God,Epheſ. 2.12.Eph 2:12 and we know that if he had continued in that ſtate of Innocency, that Covenant would have brought him unto God; for death threatned upon his breach of it was eternal ſeparation from God in Hell, therefore the Life promiſed muſt be an eternal fruition of God in Heaven; but yet it was not ſuch an intereſt as the Saints have under the ſecond Covenant, for that was limited only unto one condition, that men if they did ſtand in their integrity, the Lord would be ſo unto them, but if they fell, the Lord would become their God no more, but now is become their enemy, &c. But there is this in the New Covenant, that the Lord is their God in all conditions whatever, and they have in all conditions an intereſt in all the Attributes; and they may expect that they ſhall be all imployed for them, and every Saint may conclude with the Pſalmiſt, ſurely goodneſs and mercy ſhall follow me all my dayes; which is more than the petra ſequens, that Rock that followed the People of Iſrael in the wilderneſs, in their long journey; they had wiſdom to direct them, and power to protect them, and mercy to pardon them, and grace to heal them; and ſo it is of all the other Attributes of God, they belong unto his People in all conditions, and though there be never ſo great changes in them, yet there is no change in the Lord.Iſai. 57.17, 18.Isa 57:17Isa 57:18 We read in Iſai. 57.17, 18. of a man in a wicked way, and the Lord corrects him, but he goes on freely in the way of his heart; now what ſhould the Lord do? Felix cui Deus dignatur iraſci, &c. Happy man with whom the Lord is angry: but if this avail not, caſts he him off, as he did the Devils, and the Angels that ſinned? nay, the Attributes are now ingaged, and though the man be unfaithful to God, yet the Lord has engaged himſelf to be his God, and therefore he ſays, I have ſeen his ways, and I will heal him, I am his God, and he is mine for all this, &c.

2. Under the Second Covenant there is a fuller and a more glorious diſcovery of all the Attributes than there was under the Firſt Covenant. As the Saints have a greater intereſt in the Attributes of God than the Angels have, ſo they are more fully revealed unto the Saints, than they were to the Angels; and therefore they are ſaid to go to School to the Church to learn;Epheſ. 3.10.Eph 3:10 for by the Church they are taught the manifold wiſdom of God: The Lord Chriſt as Mediator is a Glorious Stage, upon which all the Attributes do ſtrangely act their parts;Exod. 23.Exod 23 and therefore the Lord ſaith of Chriſt, My Name is in him, and he is therefore called,Coloſ. 1.15.Col 1:15 the Image of the inviſible God, becauſe all the Glory of God doth ſhine forth in him. (1.) Here are ſome Attributes that could never have been diſcovered under p. 269the firſt Covenant, and thoſe are [1] the mercy of God, as it reſpects miſery; for had the firſt Covenant continued, there had been no miſery, and therefore no place for mercy: [2] the love of God to mankind, when he did catch at man fallen, and did let the Angels go, as it is Heb. 2.6. [3] the patience and the long-ſuffering of God; for there had been no place for theſe, if the Lord had not been provoked by ſin againſt the ſinner; for it is it that hardens them in their impenitency, and magnifies this patience of God that he can bear ſo long with ſuch ſinners. (2) All the Attributes under the ſecond Covenant are diſcovered in a far higher way than they could have been under the firſt Covenant. [1] There was higher wiſdom diſcovered than in the Creation; indeed there was great wiſdom in making a World and in giving a Law, but there is a foreign, manifold wiſdom in this, Eph. 3.10. that the Angels that had ſtudied the wiſdom of God in the firſt Edition, ever ſince their Creation, now do deſire to look into this Myſtery,foreign. or they ſtooped and with great diligence and obſervation looked into it: but now there is ſuch a diſcovery of wiſdome as was never known to the world before; which is a ſecond Edition, and has put the Angels to School again; and therefore Aquinas ſays, There is a threefold knowledge of the Angels, 1. matutina, morning, that which they had of God in their Creation, 2. reſpectiva, reſpective, that which they did attain further of God rebus ipſis, from their own experience and obſervation, 3. the knowledge that they have of God in Chriſt, and that he calls meridiana, meridian knowledge. [2] There is a greater power under the ſecond Covenant than was under the firſt Covenant; for that was but to command a creature to ſtand up out of nothing, and it was done by a word; but now for the Godhead to joyn it ſelf into a perſonal union with the creature is much more: the power of God over a creature is not ſo much as the power of God over himſelf, for to forgive ſin is an act of power;Num. 14.17.Num 14:17 to ſupport a creature againſt himſelf, and his own revenging hand under the guilt of ſin, ſhews the depth of wiſdom and grace. [3] There is greater Juſtice under the ſecond Covenant; for the firſt Covenant being broken, Gods rejection of Adam was but rejecting of a creature; and the Angels they were but Gods Servants, and he might puniſh them for their ſin; but herein is higher Juſtice, when God will not ſpare his Son; and his ſtrong crys and tears moved him not, nay and God himſelf was to be his Executioner, and yet his Juſtice is pleaſed with it, It pleaſed the Father to bruiſe him, Eſa. 53. conterere, it ſignifies to grinde one to powder, for that is to make one contrite, &c. he hath put him to grief, and he was wounded for our tranſgreſſions, and was bruiſed for our ſins. [4] There was a greater diſcovery of Gods truth under the ſecond Covenant. Under the firſt Covenant the Lord had ſpoken the word, the day thou eateſt thou ſhalt dye; and the Lord was as good as his word, and had caſt off man, and Angels by it, but they were as clay in his hand, he had no need of them: but now if his Son will undertake it, ſurely one would think God would either abrogate his Law, or mitigate it; but the Lord will do neither, his truth ſhall ſtand rather than Heaven or Earth, and therefore if the Son of God be made ſin, he ſhall be made a curſe alſo.

3. Under the ſecond Covenant we have a firmer hold upon all the Attributes, than we could ever have had under the firſt Covenant: the Lord was the God of Adam, and alſo of the Angels; but yet ſo as he might by their Covenant become their enemy, if they were not confirmed by his grace, in the new Covenant: therefore the Angels are beholding to Chriſt for their confirmation, as well as men are for their reconciliation; but the Lord becomes the God of his people ſo under the ſecond Covenant, that he is their God for ever and ever, this God is our God for ever and ever. Pſal. 48.14.Ps 48:14The wiſdom of God is eternally thine, and ſhall never be turned againſt thee, as the manner of enemies is, they turn your own ammunition againſt you, many times. His mercy is everlaſting mercy, and his power is everlaſting power, and his loving-kindneſs is everlaſting.

§. 3. What is the manner how the Lord makes over all his Attributes unto his people? This Queſtion is of moment, that ſo we may know the tenure by which we hold ſo glorious an inheritance. Now the manner of it is this.

1. Man by the Fall having departed from God, and thereby loſt and forfeited his intereſt in him, and become to him wholly a ſtranger and an enemy,Col. 1.21.Col 1:21 there was no way to reſtore a man to a title in God again, unleſs ſin, which was the cauſe of enmity, were taken away, as that which did take God off from man; as if ever a mans inheritance in the creatures were reſtored, that muſt be taken away which did deprive man of them; therefore the great buſineſs that God had to do, and which was the great thing in his eye by Chriſt was foreign, Heb. 10.5. to take away ſin, to prepare him a body, that he might bear the iniquity of us all, &c. and therefore he is ſet forth as a propitiation for the remiſſion of the ſins that are paſt, through the forbearance of God, Rom. Heb. 10.Heb 103.25. and as the Lamb of God to take away the ſins of the world. Joh. 1.John 1Therefore the Lord cannot p. 270become our God immediately,Gal. 3.19. Job 9.33.Gal 3:19Job 9:33 no not ſo much as by Law, but in the hand of a Mediator, that is Miniſterio, by the intervention of a Mediator, who is as it were a days-man, to lay hold upon both parties. Now the Lord therefore becomes Chriſt's God in Covenant, and makes over all his Attributes unto him,Joh. 20.17.John 20:17 and therefore ſaith Chriſt, I go to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God; and therefore ſays the Apoſtle, Eph. 1.3. The God and Father of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and it's that which Chriſt lays hold of for himſelf and his people,Pſal. 22.1. & 89.26. Phil. 2.7.Ps 22:1Ps 89:26Phil 2:7 My God, my God, &c Now how doth the Lord becomes Chriſt's God? as he is the ſecond Perſon? no, that he cannot, for ſo he thinks it no robbery to be equal with God. One perſon cannot be ſaid to be a God to another, having all of them the name of God given to them, and all of them having one and the ſame Eſſence or Divine Nature. But as Chriſt is Mediator, as he is God-man, as the Word is made fleſh, ſo the Lord is become Chriſt's God by the Covenant that he did enter into with his Son, when he did poſſeſs him in the beginning of his way, Prov. 8.21. foreign Pſal. 2.6.Prov 8:21Ps 2:6that is, of all his goings forth towards the creature, and therefore did anoint him and ſet his King upon his holy hill, which is the ſame word as is uſed Pſal. 2.6. And by this Covenant the Lord did wonderfully manifeſt his love to his Son, by ingaging himſelf that all the Attributes of the Divine Nature ſhould work for him:Joh. 3.35. Joh. 5.20.John 3:35John 5:20 the Love of God ſhould work for him; for the Father loveth the Son, and ſhews him all things, and gives him all things into his hand; and the Power of God works for him, Eſa. 42.6. I will hold thee by the hand, and I will keep thee: and the Juſtice of God works for him, that when he had paid the debt, he ſhould be releaſed out of priſon; and therefore after he had lain three days in the grave, to ſhew forth the truth of his death,Eſa. 53.8.Isa 53:8 the Lord ſent an Angel as a publick Miniſter of Juſtice; for he was taken from priſon and from judgment: and the Faithfulneſs of God is alſo ingaged for him: Thus ſaith the Lord, Eſa. 49.7.Isa 49:7to him whom man deſpiſeth, and the nation abhors, to a ſervant of rulers Kings ſhall ſee and ariſe, Princes alſo ſhall worſhip becauſe of the Lord that is faithful, and he ſhall chuſe thee, &c. And we may ſee what it is in verſ. 8. In an acceptable time have I heard thee, in a day of ſalvation have I helped thee, I will preſerve thee, and give thee for a covenant to the people to eſtabliſh the earth, &c. So that Chriſt has a double inheritance, (1) in God, all that is in God is his, and all works for him: for the Lord is become his God.Heb. 1.3.Heb 1:3 (2) In the creatures; for he is appointed heir of all things. Now all the Attributes being in this manner made over unto Chriſt by the Father, and he given as a Covenant to the Nations, and as primus foederatus, the firſt federate in the Covenant, and that covenanting being not only for himſelf, but as a ſecond Adam for us; hence it is, that whatever is made over unto Chriſt by his Covenant, is made over unto us alſo, he being our head, and ſo we come not only to have the ſame claim to the creatures that Chriſt had, and can ſay all things are ours,1 Cor. 3.21. Joh. 17.23.1 Cor 3:21John 17:23 but the ſame claim alſo unto God that Chriſt has; for we can ſay, that whatever is in God is ours, becauſe he is become our God; and therefore he is ſaid to love us as he loved Chriſt: and a great ground of a Chriſtians conſolation comes in by it, that they may know that thou haſt loved them, even as thou haſt loved me, and that the love wherewith thou haſt loved me may be in them, that is, that this love in the apprehenſion and aſſurance of it, may be ſhed abroad in their hearts abundantly; and that under this notion, that it's the ſame love that God bears unto us, that he did bear unto the Lord Chriſt, as Mediator; it is to be underſtood of an as of ſimilitude, not of equality; it was ſuch a love as made over not only all creatures unto Chriſt, but all Attributes unto Chriſt, and it was a love that gave Chriſt an union and an unction; and ſuch a love it is unto us in both: but conſider it is but pro modulo, according unto our condition, ſo as the Lord Chriſt in all things may have the preheminence.

2. The Lord hath made over all his Attributes to Chriſt as Mediator, that they ſhall all of them work and be employed for us, according unto the neceſſity we are in. For Chriſt did not only as Mediator make way for all the Attributes to work, and to be put forth for us, that ſo no Attribute might ſtand in the way of mercy and goodneſs towards us; and ſo Chriſt came in as cauſa removens prohibens, &c. but all the Attributes thus made over to Chriſt in covenant, are all of them to be acted and exerciſed by Chriſt as Mediator; as the government of all the creatures is committed to him, ſo alſo the diſcovery and the exerciſe of all the Attributes of God are committed to him; and therefore it's ſaid, My Angel ſhall go before thee; Exod. 23.21.Exod 23:21and that Angel that God ſent and led his people in the Wilderneſs was Chriſt, called therefore the Angel of his preſence, or of his face, becauſe in him the face or the glory of God is diſcovered,Mat. 18.10.Matt 18:10 and not only becauſe he doth behold his face, for ſo do the other Angels: it cannot be ſpoken of Chriſt as God, for ſo he is not the Angel, that is, the Meſſenger of God ſent forth from God; and it's ſaid of this Angel, that the name of God is in him. Now the name of God is whatever God is made known by; and therefore when the Lord doth publiſh his Attributes he ſaith, he will proclaim his name, p. 271Exod. 33.19. and therefore all the Attributes of God are in him, and by him to be acted and exerciſed; for the Father judgeth no man, but has committed the adminiſtration of all things to the Son, to this end, that all men may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father: and therefore Col. 1.15. he is ſaid to be the image of the inviſible God. Joh. 5.22.John 5:22All the glorious Attributes of God do ſhew forth themſelves in Chriſt, he it is that acts them all: the love of God to the Saints is exerciſed by Chriſt, and all the grace of God is diſpenſed by Chriſt, and the wrath of God againſt his enemies is executed by Chriſt; and therefore we read of the wrath of the Lamb: for it's he that ſhall give every one of them their portion. Now if it be ſo, that all the Attributes be in the hand of Chriſt to exerciſe and act, then the Lord raigne, therefore let the earth rejoyce. Chriſt Jeſus exerciſeth all the Attributes of God for his people in another way than ever they could elſe have been acted by God immediately. Now if we be in Chriſt, and by a myſtical union make up one body with him, then as he doth exerciſe and act all the Attributes of God, as the Soveraignty of God is given to him, and he ſits upon the Throne of God in the adminiſtration of all things; ſo they ſhall be all laid out for us, for the Church which is the body of Chriſt, and the fulneſs of him that fills all in all.

3. Though all the Attributes be made over unto us in this manner, yet it's after a certain order in the Attributes: the Attribute that the ſoul doth firſt cloſe with is the mercy and the free grace and love of God; and by that a man comes to have an intereſt in all the reſt; and the Attribute that is ingaged for all is the faithfulneſs and truth of God. (1) The attribute that the ſoul firſt cloſes with is his love and mercy and free grace, which are the attributes that the Lord doth mainly exalt in this life, and has moſt gloriouſly ſet forth, and therefore 'tis called riches of mercy, and the glory of God, the knowledge of the glory of God. It's this attribute in which the Lord doth mainly glory,2 Cor. 4.6.2 Cor 4:6 and therefore it's called his glory; and it's ſaid, that mercy rejoyceth over judgment; for in the time of this life under the offers of the Covenant of grace the attribute that God doth mainly exererciſe in the Goſpel is free grace, that God is in Chriſt reconciling the world, and has ſent abroad the miniſtry of reconciliation; and God ſo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. This is the great Load-ſtone that doth draw in the heart unto God,1 Tim. 1.14.1 Tim 1:14 God who is rich in mercy, out of his abundant love, &c. Now the ſoul being thus drawn in with a cord of love, the Lord giving a command unto loving kindneſs to fetch in ſuch a wandring ſoul unto himſelf, hence the ſoul at firſt coming unto God grounded upon his mercy, by cloſing with him in this, is made partaker of all the attributes of God, and has an intereſt in them all; but ſo as the ſoul doth cloſe with mercy firſt, and with free grace. As it is in the offices of Chriſt, the ſoul doth cloſe with them all, and has an intereſt in them all; but yet ſo, as it doth take Chriſt as he is offered him by the Father, and that is, firſt as a Prieſt, as a ſurety for ſinners, and as one ſet forth to be a propitiation for ſin; and the ſoul having in this manner cloſed with Chriſt as a Prieſt, and having a title to the Prieſtly Office, now he has taken whole Chriſt, and ſubmits to him as his Prophet and King alſo: thus as the immediate object of faith that juſtifies is Chriſt dying and riſing, and as made ſin, and as made a curſe for us, &c. and then the ſoul having cloſed with Chriſt, it has an intereſt in whole Chriſt with all his Offices: ſo it's here alſo; though all the attributes of God are gloriouſly diſplayed in the ſecond Covenant, yet the attribute that mainly the Lord delights to honour is mercy and free grace; and the ſoul firſt cloſes with this, and ſo comes to have a title and an intereſt in all that is in God, in every attribute. (2) As his love is the firſt attribute that the ſoul cloſes with, and ſo comes to have an intereſt in them all; ſo it's his faithfulneſs that is ingaged for the exerciſe of them all, and therefore all our forgiveneſs is put upon his faithfulneſs: He is faithful and juſt to forgive us our ſins. Iſa. 49.7.Isa 49:7How do we know that the pardoning mercy of God ſhall be exerciſed towards us, when we have ſinned? God is faithful who has promiſed: 1 Joh. 1.2.1 John 1:2and he hath wholly made over himſelf unto us in every attribute, and the promiſe and the oath of God are both grounded in his faithfulneſs for the performance thereof; ſo that the faithfulneſs of God doth not only aſſure us that all creatures ſhall work for us, ſhall all work together for our good;Rom. 8.29.Rom 8:29 but that all the attributes of God ſhall work for us in their ſeaſon and in their order: as it is ſaid, That the ſtars in their courſes fought againſt Siſera, ſo there is an order for the working of all the attributes, and every one of them in their courſes work for the Saints, the faithfulneſs of God is ingaged for them ſo to do.

§. 4. What are the ends for which God has in Covenant made over the Attributes unto his people? They are many, and we ſhall beſt diſcover them by the uſe that the people of God have of all the attributes in the Scripture.

1. That they may be all diſcovered and made known unto the Saints: there is in all men a blindneſs of heart, and that ſpecially in reference unto God, from whom they are eſtranged p. 272through the ignorance that is in them.Eph. 4.18, 19.Eph 4:18Eph 4:19 Now they having an intereſt in them all, the Lord will proclaim his name, and cauſe his mercy and goodneſs to paſs before them, though not in that viſible manner as he did unto Moſes, Exod. 33.19.Exod 33:19yet in a more ſpiritual way they do behold the glory of God in the face of Chriſt Jeſus;2 Cor. 4.6.2 Cor 4:6 and therefore the great aim of God in all his works is the diſcovery of his attributes unto the Saints, and all his great works are done to that very end, and therefore he gives them a Law that he may manifeſt his Holineſs: To ſhew his power he has made a world, to manifeſt his love he has given Chriſt, to declare his grace he doth pardon ſin, and to ſhew his juſtice and wrath he has made Hell, and laid the foundations of the bottomleſs pit: and this is the firſt end why God has made over his attributes unto his people, it is that they may know them; and therefore the great thing the Saints look at in all Gods works, and his goings forth is, what attributes are diſcovered: I would ſee thy power and thy glory in the Sanctuary: Pſal. 63.2. Pſal. 10.6, 8.Ps 63:2Ps 10:6Ps 10:8He ſaved them for his name ſake, that he might cauſe his power to be acknowledged.

2. God hath made over his attributes to his people, that they may take from them all grounds of faith, with an aſſurance that they ſhall be all exerciſed for them according unto their neceſſities:Pſal. 13.5.Ps 13:5 ſo the Mercy of God, I have truſted in thy mercy, my heart ſhall rejoyce in thy ſalvation. Here is mercy the object of faith, and an aſſurance that this attribute ſhall ſhew forth it ſelf in a work of ſalvation, and deliverance for him; I have truſted in the mercy of God, for the bringing me out of this and another affliction, and I have been delivered;Pſal. 52.8.Ps 52:8 therefore I will always exalt the mercy of God. So for the Power of God, the ſoul can argue from thence,Dan. 3.Dan 3 when men threaten, and Devils rage, and the fiery furnace may be heated ſeven times hotter to conſume the ſoul that has no help amongſt creatures, yet ſays Daniel and the three Children, the God whom we ſerve is able to deliver us. And the Lord encourages the ſoul from the aſſurance of his power, Is my arm ſhortned, that I cannot ſave, is any thing too hard for the Lord, is there any reſtraint to omnipotence? And ſo alſo Chriſt puts them upon it in this, With man it's impoſſible, but with God all things are poſſible; it's ſpoken in reference to a work of Sanctification, when the Diſciples ſaid, Who then can be ſaved? Eſay 26.4. Eſay 27.5.Isa 26:4Isa 27:5So for the Eternity of God, Truſt in the Lord for ever, for the Lord Jehovah is a Rock of Ages: and ſo men are ſaid to take hold of the ſtrength of God. And ſo of the Holineſs of God, I have ſworn by my holineſs, that I will not lye unto David: and therefore Pſal. 23.6. Surely goodneſs and mercy ſhall follow me all the days of my life. And ſo Abraham believed God was able to raiſe him up again from the dead, if it might ſtand with his glory; he did not queſtion his will, but that his power ſhould be put forth for the accompliſhment of his promiſe. We know that the ultimate object of faith is God through Jeſus Chriſt;1 Pet. 1.21.1 Pet 1:21 our faith and hope is in God: now the higheſt object of faith in God is the attributes of God, that he has diſcovered: for we can believe in him no otherwiſe than we know him, and as he has revealed himſelf; and the way of Gods revealing himſelf unto his people in this life, is only by his back parts, which are his attributes, and therefore this is the way of the acting of faith in this life, and all the promiſes of God, and the precepts and the threatnings of God are all of them founded on his attributes, and in theſe doth the ſtrength and ſtability of them lye, becauſe the Lord Jehovah is a rock of ages: As it is in ends, all intermediate ends work in the ſtrength and the power of the utmoſt end; ſo it is in objects alſo, Objectum mediatum fidei movet in virtute objecti ultimati, & ab eo perfectionem accipit, The mediate object of faith moves in the virtue of the ultimate object, and receives perfection from it.

Eph. 4.18.23.24.Eph 4:18Eph 4:23Eph 4:243. That from theſe the ſoul may receive all principles of grace: grace is called the Life of God; and the Divine Nature, the Image of God created in the ſoul it is foreign, according unto God. Now in an image there are two things required, (1) Proportion or ſimilitude and reſemblance. (2) There is a deduction or a derivation, it muſt be taken from it. As there is a reſemblance of the nature of God, ſo there is a derivation of it from God. Now though the incommunicable attributes of God are ſo called, becauſe there are in the creatures no footſteps or reſemblances, yet there are of the attributes that are communicable; from them the image of God is derived unto us, and we are made partakers of his holineſs, holy as he is holy, Heb. 12.10. Jam. 1.5.Heb 12:10Jas 1:5and merciful as he is merciful, and wiſe as he is wiſe: If any man want wiſdom let him ask it of God; as all of them ſhall be employed for man without him, ſo all of them ſhall work in man an image or a reſemblance of himſelf within him; that a man beholding the glory of the Lord, is transformed thereby into the ſame image. And this is to be made the rule to judge the meaſure of our graces by; for primum eſt menſura reliquorum, &c. The firſt is the meaſure of the reſt in that kind. So far as they do come ſhort of bearing a reſemblance with the communicable attributes of God, I ſay of bearing a reſemblance (for they are in God by nature, but in us by grace, and by new creation; they are nature in him, they are not ſo in us) ſo far we are to bewail the defects of our graces; p. 273and ſo far grace is the image of God in us but in part, a good work begun, and no more; and it is a diſcovery of his attributes, which are the original pattern that doth perfect his image in us, which is but the counterpane; and therefore we ſhall be perfectly like him, when we ſhall ſee him as he is, 1 Joh. 3.3.

4. God hath in Covenant made over his Attributes, that from theſe the ſoul may take all rules of duty: and as the higheſt objects of faith are in God, ſo from him are the higheſt rules of duty: and therefore Eph. 5.1. the exhortation is, Be ye imitators of God, 1 Pet. 1.15.1 Pet 1:15and be you holy in all manner of converſation, becauſe he is holy: and ſo from the Soveraignty of God it's the ordinary argument, thou ſhalt do thus and thus, for I am Jehovah thy God. And David takes his rule from this in the preparation he made for the Temple, the houſe muſt be exceeding magnificent; and therefore all his preparation, though the wealth of a Kingdom, was but an act of his poverty; for it is for the Lord, who is a great God; and dwells not in Temples made with hands, &c. And it's the argument that he himſelf uſeth as the rule unto them in their performances, Mal. 1.13. I am a great King, and my name is dreadful amongst the Heathen: As the ſoul is never rightly bottomed upon a promiſe, till it is carried out into that attribute upon which the promiſe doth depend; ſo the ſoul is never grounded in duty, till it looks beyond the precept, and ſees the attributes in God, which are the foundation of the duty; and this is properly to walk worthy of God, Col. 1.10. That ye may walk worthy, &c. It doth not note exactam proportionem, Daven.ſed quandam decentiam & convenientiam, not an exact proportion, but a certain decence and convenience; when a mans duties are done by rules taken from ſo great a God, and proportionable unto the nature, holineſs, and excellency of that God. God is a Spirit,1 Joh. 4.24.1 John 4:24 and therefore muſt be worſhipped in ſpirit and truth.

5. That the great motives unto duty, and the great reſtraints from ſin be taken from theſe. It's a matter of great conſequence, not only that we do the duties that God requires, but alſo what motives they are that fill the ſails in our performances. For a man to perform high duties upon low motives, argues a heart full of fleſh: to preach the Goſpel is a high ſervice, but to do it to ſerve a mans belly or his pride, to gather Diſciples after him, that he may have the credit of a Teacher of others, and be cryed up amongſt them; this doth in a great meaſure blaſt all his ſervice; therefore let men look to their motives in their performances. And ſo for ſin, it's not enough to abſtain from ſin, but a man is to have an eye upon the principle that lyes the reſtraint upon him, what it is; many a man may be kept from ſin for fleſhy aims, as Haman refrained himſelf till he came home, and ſo King Joaſh during all the days of Jehoiada: the fear of man will reſtrain luſt many times, where there is no fear of God. There are as it were ſeveral topicks from which the arguments and reaſonings of the ſoul are taken; for the Word of God is quick and powerful, &c. Heb. 4.12. the one refers to principles, for foreign is the ſeat of principles; and the other to the dianoetick faculty, a mans arguments and reaſonings from thoſe principles; and there are ſome high and noble motives ſuitable to the nature of grace, and there are ſome low and ſinful motives agreeable to the nature of fleſh; and the Word of God is a curious diſcerner of both, and it's a great matter from what topicks a man doth take the argument that does mainly act his ſpirit in duty; and as the higheſt rule of duty is to be found in the attributes of God, ſo the nobleſt motives unto duty are to be found in them alſo: Joel 2.13. Rent your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and gracious, he is long-ſuffering, ſlow to anger, and of great kindneſs, who knows if he will return and repent? And Gen. 17.1. I am God all-ſufficient, walk before me, and be upright. There are arguments enough to be taken from God, and thoſe of the higheſt kind, to quicken a ſoul in all duties required of him. And ſo it is alſo as to reſtraint from ſin, Hoſ. 3.5. They ſhall fear the Lord and his goodneſs: Heb. 12.29. Let us have grace to ſerve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a conſuming fire. Exod. 34.14.Exod 34:14Thou ſhalt worſhip no other God; for the Lord whoſe name is jealous, is a jealous God.

6. That they may be unto the Saints the ground of prayer; and that is in three things. (1) They deſire that God would manifeſt his attributes, it's ſomething of God that they would have diſcovered, therefore they cry out with the Pſalmiſt,Pſal. 57.3.Ps 57:3 O ſend out thy light and thy truth, ſend forth thy mercy and thy truth: it is the diſcovery and manifeſtation of an attribute, that is the great thing the people of God do beg in all their prayers:Num. 14.17.Num 14:17 Let the power of my Lord be great according as thou haſt ſaid. (2) It's the great argument that they uſe in prayer, the main argument of faith is from an attribute, and a mans intereſt therein: Remember me O Lord for this, and pardon me according to the greatneſs of thy mercy, Nehem. 13.22. Pſal. 115.1. 2 Chron. 14.11.Neh 13:22Ps 115:12 Chr 14:11for thy mercy and for thy truths ſake. And Aſa argues from the power of God, It's all one to thee to ſave with few, as with many. (3) They do come to God under ſuch an attribute ſuitable to the mercy that they beg, and their faith is ſtaid thereupon, and 'tis a great matter p. 274to look upon God under an attribute that anſwers our neceſſity; as Chriſt when he would ſpeak of Judgment,Mat. 11.24. Joh. 17. Num. 14.14.Matt 11:24John 17Num 14:14 and give God thanks for it, he call him righteous Father; and when he begs Sanctification for his people, he calls him holy Father: and ſo when Moſes prays for the pardon of ſin, he calls him the Lord merciful and gracious.

7. That they may admire and adore the Lord for the excellencies that are in his Divine Nature, and that they may give him the glory of every attribute. Glory is but the ſhining forth of an excellency, the foreign, Effulgence and brightneſs of it, Heb. 1.3. and our giving glory is but the reflexion of this excellency. Now we give God the glory of his works and of his going forth unto the creature; but we ſhould not only give him the glory of theſe, but alſo of the excellency of his own nature: there is none holy as the Lord, who is a God like our God, pardoning iniquity? If we had hearts truly ſpiritual, we would admire God more for the excellencies that are in himſelf, than for all his goings forth to the creature; and ſo the Saints and Angels in Heaven do.

8. That in the manifeſtation of every attribute and the working of it for his people, the Saints may rejoyce, and particularly give God the glory of that attribute, which he hath now ſo eminently put forth for them, and that they may glory in their inheritance thereby.Pſal. 21.13.Ps 21:13 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own ſtrength, ſo will we ſing and praiſe thy power. I will ſing of thy power, Pſal. 59.16, 17.Ps 59:16Ps 59:17and I will ſing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou haſt been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. To thee O my ſtrength will I ſing, for God is my defence and the God of my mercy: Rev. 4.8.Rev 4:8and ſo do all the Saints, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, and was, and is to come. The attributes of God are the laſt city of refuge that the Saints can flye unto,Prov. 18.10.Prov 18:10 even the Name of the Lord is their ſtrong tower: and when the Lord doth make bare his arm, and takes to himſelf his great power, and ſends forth his mercy, and relieves his people in their diſtreſſes, Oh! how then do the Saints triumph and rejoyce in him? The laſt refuge is in God, and the higheſt triumph is in God; and theſe are the glorious ends for which God has made over his attributes unto the Saints.

§. 3. See the glory of this inheritance: that of the creatures is indeed glorious, and that of promiſes is more, but the foundation of all and top of all lyes in attributes. It's of no ſmall concernment for a ſoul to know the glory of his own inheritance, partly becauſe there is a prophaneneſs of heart in all men that do undervalue ſpiritual things, as well ſpiritual priviledges as ſpiritual truths, or ſpiritual graces, with Eſau, who did deſpiſe the birth-bright, Heb. 12. and partly that the ſoul underſtanding it, may receive ſatisfaction, and ſee an all-ſufficiency in it;Ariſtotle. for godlineſs hath foreign, a ſelf-ſufficience going with it, as it is 1 Tim. 4.8. foreign, Perfect good ſeems to be ſelf-ſufficient: and for this cauſe the Apoſtle prays for a ſpirit of illumination, Eph. 1.18. That the eyes of their underſtanding being opened, they might know what is the hope of their calling, and the riches of this inheritance which God has prepared for the Saints; that God whoſe are all things, and of whom are all things, yet his portion is his people; they are of all people his peculiar treaſure: and what a glorious inheritance the Lord has choſen to himſelf in them, making up one glorious body with the Lord Jeſus Chriſt! Now if it be neceſſary the eyes of our underſtanding ſhould be enlightned to know the glory of Gods inheritance in us, how much more the glory of our inheritance in Gods attributes? that the ſoul may be able to rejoyce in the goodneſs of the Lord, and ſay, Thou art my portion, ſays my ſoul: that as Calvin obſerves upon that place, Zac. 9.12. Satis praeſidii in uno Deo, There's ſafeguard enough in one God, ſo it may be ſaid of all things elſe, there is wiſdom enough, and holineſs enough, and all to be had in him; and it is enough, if it be in him alone. There is a threefold inheritance that Chriſt hath ſtated upon his people, for Chriſt is heir of all things, (1) by Nature and Generation, (2) by Donation, as he was man; now the firſt belongs unto him alone, and he cannot communicate it; and the other he doth impart unto us, as we are one body with him: and as we partake with him in the ſame Sonſhip, ſo we do alſo in his inheritance,Eph. 1.14.Eph 1:14 and this inheritance of Chriſt the Saints have a treble benefit by, (1) foreign, as he is the Heir of all things, we have by him an inheritance of creatures; as Chriſt is God, he comes not under an act of Gods will, and therefore it's ſpoken of him as he was Mediator. (2) He has an inheritance of promiſes; for they are all made firſt unto him,Gal. 3.16. 2 Cor. 1.20.Gal 3:162 Cor 1:20 to him were the promiſes made, not of ſeeds, as of many, but as of one who is Chriſt; and therefore it's in him that all the promiſes are Yea and Amen: as we were choſen in him, he was firſt elected, and we in him; ſo the promiſes were firſt Yea, and then Amen in him, and by virtue of our union with him unto us. (3) There is a higher inheritance, and that is,Pſal. 16.5.Ps 16:5 that the Lord is the portion of Chriſt, The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup, Pſal. 45.7.Ps 45:7&c. Anſwerable unto this is the inheritance that Chriſt has made over unto the Saints, who as they are fellows with him in his Unction, ſo they are Coheirs with him in his Inheritance:Rom. 8.17.Rom 8:17 as they have an inheritance in creatures, for all p. 275all things are yours, whether life or death; and alſo in promiſes,1 Cor. 3.22.1 Cor 3:22 which is beyond what they have in any of the creatures; ſo they have an inheritance that is far beyond both theſe, and that is in God himſelf, Rev. 21.7. He ſhall inherit all things, I will be his God. Heb. 6.12.Heb 6:12Now if we conſider it, we ſhall ſee that there are great riches in this; to have all the attributes of God theirs, is greater than to have all the creatures and the promiſes of God made over to them.

1. The Attributes of God are nothing elſe but the tranſcendent perfections that are in God, the Divine Nature ſhadowed forth to us according to the capacity of the creatures, in which the Lord as in his back parts, that is, pro noſtro modulo, according to our capacity, makes known himſelf unto us, and cauſes his goodneſs to paſs before us; and if the Lord would take any ſoul of us, as he did Moſes, and in this manner diſcover himſelf, there is nothing in the world would affect the ſoul like unto it; for if theſe be the perfections of God, how infinitely muſt they needs exceed all things that are in the creatures? for they are all in him after the manner of a God, and therefore all the attributes may be predicated of God in abſtracto; he is Wiſdom, and Holineſs, and Mercy, &c. becauſe they are all of them the Divine Nature: all the excellencies that are in the creature are received from him; and therefore ſurely there is infinite more in himſelf. Thence the Saints have been more taken with the Divine Excellencies that are in the Nature of God immediately, than in all the bleſſings and benefits that come from him:1 Sam. 2.2.1 Sam 2:2 as Hanna after the bleſſing ſhe had received from him, ſhe admires his goodneſs and the excellency that is in him, there is none holy as the Lord, and who is a Rock ſave our God? and if the Saints did not do ſo, their love were not of a right kind,Auſtin. plus diligere attractum quàm ſponſum meretricius amor, to love the token more than the bridegroom is adulterous love.

2. This is the foundation of all our intereſt, and all the comfort of it, either in creatures or in promiſes. How comes it to paſs, that all things are yours, and promiſes yours? &c. but becauſe the Lord is our God; and therefore it's brought in as the foundation of all bleſſedneſs, having ſpoken of all creature-comforts in the higheſt, he adds this,Pſal. 144.Ps 144 Bleſſed are the people that are in ſuch a caſe, yea bleſſed are the people whoſe God is the Lord. There is a bleſſedneſs therein without the creatures, and the only foundation of bleſſedneſs in the creatures lyes in this. (1) In creatures; conſider this is the difference between the portions of godly men and wicked men, they may both poſſeſs the ſame thing, but with a different temper, and the one has only a title unto creatures, as a gift of God, but the other, as he has a title unto God; the one has them by a ſingle, and the other by a double title; and ſo a little that the righteous has, is better than great riches of many wicked, becauſe he has all that he has conveyed unto him from his intereſt in God, as the Original thereof. (2) In promiſes; it's true that their inheritance in them is very glorious, far beyond that of Adam in Paradiſe, but yet the foundation of all the promiſes is an attribute, and they muſt all lead the ſoul unto God, and his intereſt in him that did promiſe; for Faithful is he that has promiſed, and he will alſo do it. There is a promiſe of pardon of ſin, but ſtill it is to be reſolved into an attribute,1 Joh. 2.1.1 John 2:1 He is faithful and juſt that forgives us our ſins. As all the precepts of the Law are to be reſolved at laſt into the authority of the Law-giver, ſo all the promiſes of the Goſpel are to be reſolved into the power and faithfulneſs of him that made the promiſe; ſo that every promiſe is but a line to lead the ſoul into this centre, firſt unto Chriſt, unto whom the promiſes were firſt made, and through Chriſt unto God who made the promiſes. It's full of ſweetneſs, when a man can look upon all the creatures in the world, and can ſay all things are mine, all ſhall work together for my good; when he can look into the precepts and promiſes of the Word, and can ſay, I have claimed it as mine inheritance for ever, for it is the joy of my heart; but much more when the ſoul can look upon the attributes of God, which are as far above creatures and promiſes, as the Heaven is above the Earth, in compariſon, and can claim a propriety in theſe alſo; and therefore it's the Motto of the Saints, Tolle Deum, & nullus ero, Take away God, and I am nothing. If I had all the creatures in the world, and all the promiſes in the Word, yet if I have no intereſt in God, all theſe could be no good to me.

3. It's the laſt refuge of the Saints in this life: The name of the Lord is a ſtrong tower, Prov. 18.10.Prov 18:10and his name is his attributes, called the Memorial of God; it's the property of men to flye to the city of refuge that is next unto them, and at hand, and therefore in danger the Saints are apt to betake themſelves unto creatures, and think that their mountain ſhall ſtand ſtrong; but then God breaks all their hopes and expectation in the creatures, and the mans proviſion proves to be made of ſnow, and it melts away;Eſay 66.11.Isa 66:11 and being thus beaten off from creatures, now the Saints betake themſelves unto promiſes, and they ſuck theſe breaſts of conſolation. But when the ſoul looks upon himſelf, and finds his unſuitableneſs p. 276unto them and his title but baffled, he can find no ſweetneſs in them; now unto what ſhall the ſoul flye? it comes to Attributes, and under them it ſits down ſecurely, and can rejoyce in the Lord when creatures fail;Hab. 3.18, 19.Hab 3:18Hab 3:19 and when a man has not a promiſe that his ſoul can pitch upon, yet he can ſay, The Lord, the Lord merciful and gracious: and from thence, though he hath not a promiſe, yet he can gather as it were a half-promiſe, and that is, who knows if he will return and repent, &c. Joel 2.14. The Lord in this doth delight to train up the ſoul to an immediate dependence, and therefore doth often reduce a man unto ſuch extremities, that he may ſee the foundation upon which all his mercy is built; and therefore as he deals with comforts and ſigns in reference unto Chriſt, ſo he deals with creatures and promiſes in reference unto God. Now God gives unto his people the conſolations of the promiſe, and ſigns of his grace, to refreſh them in their way, that they may be unto them as grapes in the wilderneſs; but yet he will ſometimes hide the conſolations of his Spirit, and withdraw his light, and ſometimes will hide the light of a mans own graces from him, on purpoſe that a man may flye unto Chriſt, and ſee that it is in him only that we hold them, and from him we muſt fetch them alſo; the Lord will let his people enjoy the comfort of promiſes and of creatures, but ſometimes he will turn away from us as it were the comfort of them both, that our ſouls may retire unto him alone, in whom our happineſs and comfort doth conſiſt; ſo that a man that has for many years walked in the light of Gods countenance, and enjoyed the aſſurance of his love, yet ſhall be brought unto acts of recumbency again, and to lanch out into the fulneſs that is in Chriſt, and the all-ſufficiency that is in God, as if he were to begin all anew; and therefore Bernard, de Amore Dei cap. 2. has ſuch an excellent ſpeech of himſelf, who did daily ſtrive to ſee his intereſt in God: Manibus pedibúſ que ſurſum tendo ad te, ſed reſpiciens factum, ſum mihi ipſi de meipſo laborioſa & taedioſa quaeſtio, I do greatly tend upward to thee, but beholding the work, I am a tedious queſtion to my ſelf. Now he ſays his heart is filled with joy in his intereſt in God, Clamo, vociferor, Domine, bonum eſt nos eſſe hìc, ſed repentè cado in terram quaſi mortuus, & reſpiciens, nihil video & me ubi priùs eram invenio, in dolore ſcilicet cordis, & afflictione ſpiritûs, &c. I cry, Lord, it's good being here, but preſently I fall on the earth as dead, and looking back ſee nothing, &c. Now in ſuch withdrawments, bleſſed is the man whoſe God is Jehovah; and in the failing of all the reſt of his comforts, yet he can reſt and ſtay his ſoul upon this Rock of Ages.

4. This ſhall be the only happineſs of the Saints in glory, when this promiſe ſhall be perfectly fulfilled; for there will come a time when both creatures and promiſes ſhall ceaſe, for the earth and all the works thereof ſhall be burnt up, when the Heavens do ſhrivel together as a ſcroll, and then the good things of thy life-time will take their leave for ever; for God did but ſet up the ſtage of this world to be as the wilderneſs through which the Saints ſhould paſs into Canaan; but the ſtage of this world ſhall be taken down, and all the promiſes of God ſhall come to an end, for they ſhall all of them ſpeak in their due time, and not lye: there is a time for the finiſhing of the whole Myſtery of God;Rev. 10.7.Rev 10:7 and the Decrees of God ſhall bring forth in mercy, or in wrath, and the promiſes ſhall be delivered of all the bleſſings that are in them, and the threatnings ſhall be eaſed of all the plagues that are in them. Now when both theſe inheritances ſhall ceaſe, what has a Saint then to live upon? Now he has a higher inheritance, and that is of Attributes; for then God ſhall be all in all, and in him alone ſhall the happineſs of the creature conſiſt;1 Cor. 15.28.1 Cor 15:28 and it is obſervable, that then our perfect happineſs begins in God, when creatures and promiſes are come to an end; and therefore the ſoul that has his intereſt in him, can take his leave with delight of all creature-comforts, as never to have uſe of them more, as Elijah did part with his mantle when he was taken up into Heaven, becauſe they ſee that it ſhall be infinitely made up in God, though it come not in in this low way, as it did unto his people in times paſt, ſuitable to their low eſtate, while they walked as ſervants upon the earth.

5. Creatures and promiſes could never make a man happy, if a mans intereſt in them were never ſo clearly diſcovered to him; for it could never put his ſoul into a fruition of the chiefeſt good, it would only make all to be faith, and we ſhould rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God;1 Pet. 1.9.1 Pet 1:9 and it is true, that this is a joy unſpeakable and glorious, Fruitio eſt actus voluntatis circa finem, & importat quietationem & delectationem anima in amato, Fruition is an act of the will about the end, and it imports the quietation and delectation of the ſoul in its beloved. Medin. But the ſoul would be for ever unquiet, and always full of reſtleſneſs, ſtill tending towards God,Heb. 12.23.Heb 12:23 therefore it enjoys him as the end of faith and hope, and thence ſouls in Heaven are made perfect, not only becauſe their image is perfected by the beatifical viſion, but alſo becauſe they are put into a fruition of that which was the higheſt and ultimate object of their faith and love, and fruitio eſt nobiliſſima actio voluntatis, the moſt p. 277noble act of the will; and it's this act upon the higheſt object that doth perfect the will, and the perfection of the will is the perfection of the man, as the act of the will is the act of the man.

Ʋſe 1 §. 4. From hence ſee the miſery of all thoſe that are out of Covenant with God, they have all the Attributes of God againſt them, and they have no inheritance in him; thou mayſt have large revenues amongſt the creatures, (for God doth give Kingdoms unto the baſeſt of men) but it is but mica canibus projecta, a crum thrown to a dog, as Luther ſpeaks of the Turkiſh Empire; and in them all thou ſhalt but inherit the wind,Prov. 11.29.Prov 11:29 for thou haſt no inheritance in the Lord, he is no God to thee, tolle meum & tolle Deum, take away my and take away God; it is unto thee as if there were no God. And here it's good to conſider,

1. If a man had all the creatures armed againſt him for his deſtruction, as all men out of Covenant have, for the Creation groans under their ſervice, that is the bondage of corruption ſpoken of Rom. 8.21. but alſo they are very ready to make war upon thee; for when a man is taken into Covenant with God, there is a league made with the beaſts of the earth, the ſtones of the field, and the creeping things of the ground, And God will hear the Heavens, and the Heavens ſhall hear the Earth,Hoſ. 2.21.Hos 2:21 and the Earth ſhall hear the corn, and the wine and the oyl, and they ſhall hear Jezreel; and I will ſow her unto me in the earth, and will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy, &c. All the creatures ſhall work together for their good; and yet if God arm the meaneſt of the creatures againſt a man, they ſhall deſtroy him. Pharaoh the great King of Egypt that durſt preſume to war againſt God, cannot contend with Flyes, nor with the Lice and the Frogs, he cannot fight a pitcht battel with the waves. Now if a man cannot ſtand out a battel with the ſmalleſt of the creatures, how can he fight againſt God? Therefore I would a little reaſon with you, as God doth with his people: if thou haſt run with the footmen,Jer. 12.5.Jer 12:5 and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou contend with horſes? and if in a land of peace they have wearied thee, what wilt thou do in the ſwellings of Jordan? if thou canſt not ſtand it out againſt creatures, how wilt thou be able to endure when the Lord ſhall riſe up, and all his Attributes ſhall be armed againſt thee? For as this is the great comfort of the Saints, and their laſt refuge, ſo it's the great terrour unto wicked men, and their laſt deſtruction.

2. Conſider if it were but a threatning, what a miſerable thing it is to lye under any evil aſpect thereof: the Lord has ſpread out the Expanſum of his Word over the rational world, and the Lord rules all by it, and according to it he will judge them all,Zac. 1.6. Did not my word overtake your fathers? for the Decree will ſurely bring forth, it will not always carry the judgment in the womb of it; and if it be ſo terrible a thing to be under the power of any one threatning of God,Zeph. 2.2.Zeph 2:2 what is it to lye under the evil aſpect of all the threatnings of God; that there is not a word in this book but ſpeaks terrour unto the man? much more under the evil aſpects of all the Attributes of God.

3. This is the happineſs of the Saints, that they have ſomething in God to plead for them, they have as it were a threefold Advocate, (1) within themſelves, and ſo the Spirit pleads the cauſes of the ſoul: (2) without them, and ſo Jeſus Chriſt is an Advocate with the Father: (3) they have ſomething in God himſelf, I ſay not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himſelf loves you, &c. So here is the miſery of wicked men, not only the Spirit pleads againſt them, and will ſtrive with them no more, but becomes unto them a ſpirit of bondage in themſelves, and binds them over unto wrath; and Chriſt pleads againſt them; as Luther tells a ſtory of one Doctor Kranſ. in a Tract of his, De Faſcina ſpirituali, in Gal. 3. Ego Chriſtum negavi, ideo ſtat coram Patre, & accuſat me; illam cogitationem tam fortiter conceperat, ut nullâ adhortatione, aut conſolatione ſibi pateretur excuti, at que ita deſperavit, & ſeipſum miſerrimè occîdit, &c. I denied Chriſt, and therefore he ſtands before the Father, and accuſeth me, &c. The learned do for our underſtanding frame a holy kind of conflict between the Attributes of God, according to the liberty allowed them in Scripture, ſpeaking of God after the manner of men, in the work of our Redemption, as if the Lord were reduced into ſome ſtraights by the croſs demands of ſeveral Attributes, Juſtice calling for vengeance upon ſinful and curſed creatures, and with Juſtice the Truth of God doth joyn to make good his threatning, the day thou eateſt thereof thou ſhalt dye, and mercy on the other ſide pleads for compaſſion towards miſerable and ſeduced man; and this ſets infinite wiſdom on work to reconcile the different pleas of the Attributes of God in mans redemption: but what a miſery will that man be in, that ſhall have no Attribute of God to plead for him; but they ſhall all joyn in their pleas and demands againſt him, not only thoſe terrible Attributes that the ſoul is afraid of, as Juſtice, and Truth, and Holineſs, but alſo the Attributes in which a mans hope is? Men cry out God is merciful, Oh but mercy is ſet againſt thee, O ſinner, and thou haſt no intereſt p. 278in his mercy, he is not the God of thy mercy, and his patience and long-ſuffering thou haſt no claim to; but all theſe Attributes ſhall joyn alſo with Juſtice in their pleas againſt thee: what is there that can ſtand in the way to hinder the fulneſs of wrath from falling on ſuch a ſoul?

4. The perfection of this miſery thou wilt never know, till thou comeſt unto Hell, as the fulneſs of this promiſe can never be known by the Saints till they come to Heaven: here you may enjoy your inheritance in creatures and promiſes, but thou that art a Saint ſhalt enter one day upon the inheritance of Attributes more fully than can be enjoyed here, there where they all ſhall be ſet forth gloriouſly for thee, in their full luſtre, to make thee happy in the Lord: ſo alſo it ſhall be a mans utmoſt miſery when he comes to Hell, that all the Attributes of God ſhall be in his utmoſt extremity turned againſt him for ever, and thou ſhalt know God to be perfectly an enemy unto thee, and all that is in God; as he is the God of his people, all that is in him is for them, ſo all that is in him is againſt thee. And then every Attribute ſhall act to the full for ever. Here in this life Juſtice doth not act its utmoſt, and God does not ſtir up all his wrath; there is by the Kingdom of Chriſt not only a benefit comes upon all the creatures, for they all ſtand and continue in their being by it; but there is a ſuſpenſion upon the workings of all the Attributes of God towards wicked men, that though they have an evil eye at them from day to day, as 'tis ſaid, God is angry with the wicked every day, yet he does not immediately break forth againſt them; but when the Kingdom ſhall be given up unto God the Father, and God ſhall be all in all, this reſtraint upon the Attributes in the actings of them ſhall ceaſe, and every Attribute ſhall have its perfect work againſt thee for ever, and then he will ſhew his power upon the veſſels of wrath fitted to deſtruction.

Ʋſe 2 2. Take comfort in the Attributes of God, look upon theſe as the main of thy inheritance, and ſhelter and ſhrowd thy ſelf under them from day to day, for this is your ſtrong hold, you are priſoners of hope, and this is the deſire of the Saints. As Bernard, de Amore Dei cap. 1. ſpeaks in reference unto Chriſt, he would not only touch him with Thomas, and put his finger into his ſide, &c. ſed totus intrem, uſ que ad ipſum cor Jeſu, &c. in ſanctum ſanctorum, I would enter wholly, even into the very heart of Jeſus, &c. into the holy of holies. So ſhould the ſoul wholly hide it ſelf in theſe Chambers, this ſecret of his Pavilion. 1. In the middle of all creature-comforts, and inward conſolations of thy Spirit, let thy heart riſe from them, and ſay, Surely this is not my portion; there is indeed a great deal of ſweetneſs in this, but yet there is much more in that which is my portion: a gracious heart ſhould riſe in this manner, and pleaſe it ſelf with thinking, if there be ſweetneſs on Earth, much more in Heaven, Si adeò ſplendeat terreſtris Roma, ſaith Fulgent. So we ſhould riſe from our priviledges and comforts below, and our inheritance in them to that in God; and ſo as Chriſt comforts himſelf in this,Pſal. 16.5.Ps 16:5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance.

2. If at any time God takes away the creatures from thee, retire unto him and ſay, Lord, my portion was not in them, I can ſtand upon the ruines of the world, and can ſay I have loſt nothing; for the time will come when God will put an end unto all creature-comforts, and he will ſupply all immediately in himſelf; and therefore ſo he give thee more of himſelf, it's no matter what thou doſt loſe of all things elſe, Chriſt ſays Mat. 21.22. that man hath a treaſure. Now where there is ſo, there are ſome Exchequer-days when the Treaſure comes in: a worldly man that has his treaſure and portion in this life, when God takes away the creatures his ſoul dyes within him, that's the beſt day to him that brings in moſt of that treaſure; but he that has his portion in the Lord can rejoyce in his income that way, even when he is deprived of the creatures: and it's a diſparagement unto God not to rejoyce in him alone, as if there were not enough in him, as Elkanah told his wife, Am not I better to thee than ten ſons? Cannot all my comforts be ſupplied in thee?

3. Do not unworthily fear the fear of man; it is true that they do ſpeak high, and they will threaten much, and the people of God are apt ſinfully to fear, becauſe of the fury of the oppreſſor, as if he were ready to deſtroy, and ſo by and by are apt to ſay a confederacy with the wicked: O! ſhould you fear who have infinite wiſdom and infinite power of your own, either to diſappoint or to reſiſt, it doth plainly argue, that you are not acquainted with, and do not make uſe of your intereſt in the Attributes of God in Covenant, Should ſuch a man as I fear, and ſhould my heart quail, and fear in the evil times? Let us never profane the name of the Lord our God in this manner:Mark. 8.17, 18.Mark 8:17Mark 8:18 ſays Chriſt, Why reaſon you becauſe you have no bread? perceive you not, have you your hearts yet hardned, when I brake the five loaves, &c? It's the moſt unworthy thought that could lodge in you, after ſo much experience of my power and proviſion for you, to think you ſhould want: conſider, you have had ſo much experience of my power and infinite wiſdom that has wrought p. 279for you, when your own reaſon was at a non plus, and infinite power, when your hands did hang down, and your knees feeble: conſider the ſetting forth of every Attribute of God, and delight your ſouls in it, Hoſ. 13.3. He will ſcatter them as ſmoak out of a chimney. A man ſhould look upon them, and laugh them to ſcorn, from a high aſſurance,Luther. that vincet mea audacia in Chriſto: this raiſeth in the ſoul only true courage, and a holy greatneſs of mind.

4. Look upon the Attributes as having an intereſt in them; and as in a ſtrait you eye a promiſe, and expect its accompliſhment, do the ſame with attributes alſo, and thereby honour them by taking hold of them: if thou ſin, eye mercy, the Lord merciful and gracious, pardoning iniquity, tranſgreſſion, and ſin: if thou want wiſdom, look on him as the Father of lights; and if power, be ſtrong in the Lord, and the power of his might, &c. And ſometimes thou mayſt have no creatures, no hills to look to, then look towards God: when thou knoweſt not what to do, it may be there are no promiſes that thy ſoul can faſten upon, yet there is an attribute left which will be tabula poſt naufragium: now expect the goodneſs of God to appear for thy ſuccour in his putting forth of an attribute; for none of them ſhall fail in their ſeaſon: there are no graces in the Saints but there is a ſeaſon for their working, Phil. 4.10. Your care for me, ſays the Apoſtle,Phil. 4.10.Phil 4:10 foreign doth reviviſcere, it doth flouriſh, or wax green again; ſo that graces have their opportunity of working, there is a ſpring-time. Now we do not ſay, that a tree is dead that bears not fruit always, but that which doth not bring forth in the Summer, which is the ſeaſon of fruit, and therefore I cannot but look upon it as an act of Soveraignty, that of Chriſt's curſing the fig-tree, Mark 11.13. for the Text ſays, The time of figs was not yet come. Mark 11.13. foreign.Mark 11:13Some ſay that the fig-tree in this country did bear fruit all the year; but that this word foreign will not bear: for it is plain there was a ſeaſon of the fruit of this Tree, as well as of other trees. Some ſay, that the time of the ripening and the gathering of fruit was not yet, but there might be expected green figs; but there was no fruit, nor hope of fruit, for the Tree had leaves only. Innuit Chriſtum hoc facto altius quid ſignificâſſe, ficum ſcil. ſymbolum eſſe populi Judaici, Kem. Chriſt hereby ſignified the Jewiſh Church, from whom the Lord expected always fruit, becauſe the ſeaſon of it was always, and this was an act of abſolute Soveraignty over the creature, and he that created it might curſe it at his pleaſure; but the Lord does never expect fruit but in the ſeaſon of fruit: at the ſeaſon he ſent to the Husband-men, that they ſhould give him of the fruit of his Vineyard;Luk. 20.10.Luke 20:10 for that grace is not idle that doth not act at all times, but Quae non operatur quando dabitur foreign, That which doth not act when a ſeaſon ſhall be offered. So alſo there is a ſeaſon, an opportunity for the exerciſe of every attribute; and as the Lord expects the one of us in its ſeaſon, ſo ſhould we, and we may with boldneſs and comfort expect the other from him in the ſeaſon. The Hebrews ſay, In the mount will the Lord be ſeen. If thou haſt ſinned at any time, then expect that pardoning mercy ſhall be put forth; ſay, The Lord is the God of my mercy, now pardon me according to the greatneſs of thy mercy. And if thou be at any time aſſaulted with temptation, expect that the Power of God ſhall be put forth for thee, and that the Lord ſhall ſay, My grace is ſufficient for thee. If thou be at any time perplexed with difficulties, and thou knoweſt not what to do, now look up unto infinite Wiſdom, The Lord knows how to deliver the juſt out of adverſity; though I know not which way to ſcape, yet ſay, deliverance ſhall come from ſome other hand, as Mordecai ſaid; though I cannot ſee from whence it ſhall come, and I cannot in my wiſdom ſee a way of deliverance, yet it ſhall come; now is the ſeaſon for ſuch an attribute to ſhew forth it ſelf; and therefore now I can look for the acting of it with comfort, as having an intereſt in it, God is a help found in the time of need, he is a help promiſed before,Pſal. 46.1.Ps 46:1 but he is never found ſo to be before the ſeaſon; when the ſoul is in trouble, then he puts forth himſelf, and makes bare his arm; and therefore as the Apoſtle ſays, He is as having nothing, 2 Cor. 6.10.2 Cor 6:10and yet poſſeſſing all things. So the Saints, they have them not in poſſeſſion, but they have them in their right of inheritance, and for their uſe, as their occaſions and neceſſity do require; that if it were poſſible for them to ſtand in need of the ſervice of the whole Creation, all the creatures ſhould work for them, and wait upon them in their neceſſity; and look what experiences the ancient Saints have had thereof, they in the like caſes and neceſſity may expect, if it ſtand with Gods glory, and their beſt good: the Moon ſhall ſtand ſtill, and the Sun ſhall go back, and the Lyons ſhall ſtop their mouths, the fire ſhall ceaſe to burn, and be a defence, the Ravens bring meat, the Heavens ſhall rain bread, the Rocks ſhall give water, &c. and whatſoever attributes the Lord has at any time exerted and put forth for the Saints in the ſeaſon of their need, that you may expect, grounded upon the ſame Faithfulneſs, the ſame Covenant and Oath that was performed unto them; and it's the higheſt priviledge and happineſs of the Saints, to have the Attributes p. 280of God lye as a reſcue for them,Zac. 1.8. as the Angels did behind the Myrtle-trees, in the bottom, when there can be an expectation from nothing elſe in the world; as David ſpeaks of his enemies,Pſal. 6.2, 5.Ps 6:2Ps 6:5 They did imagine miſchief, and conſulted how to caſt him down from his excellency, whom God had exalted, but ſays he, My ſoul wait thou on God only, my expectation is from him alone. He can now look up to God, and expect ſalvation from him, when he can ſee no hope any other way. As we are not the fountain of our own grace, but it is laid up in Chriſt,1 Joh. 5.11.1 John 5:11 and we can expect that all the grace that is in Chriſt ſhall be put forth anſwerably unto our neceſſity in the ſeaſon of it, and therefore our grace ſhall abound as our trials and occaſions do increaſe; for ſuitable unto them ſhall our ſupplies of the Spirit be, Phil. 1.19. ſays the Apoſtle, For I know that this ſhall turn to my ſalvation through your prayer, and the ſupply of the Spirit of Jeſus Chriſt: So the fountain of all our happineſs is not in our ſelves, but in our God; and all the attributes that are in him, ſhall be managed and put forth for us, as our neceſſity ſhall require, according to the Love, Wiſdom, and Faithfulneſs of a God; ſo that if thou couldſt ſtand in need of infinite wiſdom, and infinite power, and grace, and mercy, all of them ſhould be put forth and exerciſed for thee; not only a conſpiracy and combination of all the creatures, but alſo of all the Attributes of God, all of them ſhall work together for thy good.

5. Is not this a mighty ground of aſſurance, that all the creatures ſhall be given you, and that the Lord here will deny you nothing that may be for your good? He that gives the greater, will he deny the leſſer? He that makes over all that is in himſelf, will he deny any thing that is in any of his works? Surely it was a good ſaying of Bernard, for the things of this life, Qui dabit regnum, non dabit viaticum? &c. He that gives a Kingdom, will he not give a viatick or livelihood? And alſo of the Apoſtle Paul, He that ſpared not his Son, ſhall he not with him freely give us all things? There is a higher inheritance, a greater gift of God, than giving Chriſt as our Mediator, which is this, in giving us himſelf, that is the Fountain of it. Now if it be a good argument that he will deny us nothing that may be for our good, he that gives the greater, will he deny the leſs? He has given us his Son; much more becauſe he has given us himſelf will he give us all things. Every wiſe Builder doth build anſwerably unto the foundation; he doth not lay a foundation of Marble, and ſet upon it a mud-wall, and cover it with a roof of ſtraw. Now the Lord that has laid ſo glorious a foundation as this in the giving of himſelf, ſurely he hath thought nothing too much or too dear for the Saints. O! what heart can but admire his love! The love of the giver may be ſeen in a very ſmall gift; and ſo there is unto the Saints peculiar love ſeen even in temporal favours,Chryſanthes. a ſmall token may be magni amoris indicium, an argument of great love; but much more the greatneſs of love is ſeen in the greatneſs of the gift. Now of all other this is the greateſt; and therefore to diſtruſt God for mercies and bleſſings of an inferiour nature, of meat and drink, deliverance and preſervation, it is the moſt unworthy thought that can enter into the heart of a Saint; for if the Lord hath, like a God, beſtowed himſelf, it is a principle of the baſeſt unbelief and jealouſie of ſpirit to doubt, whether he will not beſtow all things elſe.

Gen. 17.1.Gen 17:16. Hereby the Saints may ſee wherein their all-ſufficiency lyes, I am God all-ſufficient, and the all-ſufficiency of God lyes in the Attributes of God, which he has made over unto his people: and hence it comes to paſs, that there is unto the Saints an foreign, ſelf-ſufficiency, as there is in God an foreign,foreign. Phil. 4.12.Phil 4:12 All-ſufficiency, 1 Tim. 4.8. Godlineſs is profitable to all things: and it is foreign, a perfect good, I know how to be abaſed, and I know how to abound, every where, and in all things I am inſtructed: I can do all things through Chriſt that ſtrengthens me. Prov. 14.14. foreignProv 14:14It muſt needs be a perfect good that makes a man ſelf-ſufficient, that he can want nothing elſe; and therefore it's ſaid, A good man ſhall be ſatisfied from himſelf, it notes full and abundant ſatisfaction.Eſay 1.11. foreignIsa 1:11 I am full of the burnt-offerings of Rams, and the fat of fed beaſts. Now how is Self conſidered here? not in oppoſition to God, for ſo there is in a mans ſelf no ſatisfaction; for there is nothing but emptineſs; but it is ſelf in union with God, for tolle meum, & tolle Deum, take away my, and take away God: and ſo there is ſatisfaction in a mans ſelf, for Deus eſt intimior intimo noſtro, he is as the utmoſt end, and our chief good, nearer to us than our ſelf, and as it were more one with us, than we are with our ſelf; therefore it is in the all-ſufficiency of God that the ſelf-ſufficiency of a Saint doth lye.

Ʋſe 3 3. It's a Uſe of Direction, and that unto two ſorts.

1. Unto all the ungodly of the earth, who are ingaged againſt the Saints, and confederate againſt them that are of a contrary party; the men of this world; for the Lord Chriſt ſaith, If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Here is a double direction to you. (1) Let fall your deſires, and ceaſe your hopes of prevailing againſt the Saints; for all the Attributes of God are ingaged for them, beat your ſwords into plowſhares, p. 281&c. It's the miſery of all ungodly men, and they have ſo much of the Devil in them, that though they be fruſtrated, and ſee that they labour in vain never ſo long, yet their hopes are born up, and they think, ſurely if that plot did not take againſt the children of God, yet this will; as men that are deluded in the Philoſophers ſtone, they try this and that experiment; but that did fail by a miſchance, now they'l try another, and then they have great hopes, but all comes to nothing: for ſo it's with the Devil himſelf, and it's his envy blinds him, and it doth ſo beſot him, that though he hath conſpired againſt God and his people ſo often, and ſees that he cannot prevail, but ſtill his own weapons are turned againſt himſelf, and that which he thinks ſhall be for the ruine of the Church, that ſtill tends to its advancement; yet he is a reſtleſs and an indefatigable Spirit, he conſtantly walks about as a roaring lyon ſeeking whom he may devour. Now if men would be perſwaded to lay down their hopes, all their endeavours would immediately ceaſe; but the deluſion that Satan has upon their ſpirits is, that he feeds them ſtill with new plots and freſh hopes, that they cannot ſay, Eſa. 44.20. Is there not a lye in my right hand? And if they conſider duly, this doctrine muſt needs bring down all ſuch hopes: has the Lord given unto them, thinkeſt thou, an intereſt in all his own Divine Excellencies to this very end, that they may be food unto thy malice, and that they may periſh by thee? what conceit can be more vain?Zac. 12.1, 2. It's true they are a people that are injuriis opportuni, expoſed to injuries, the worm Jacob, that every man is ready to tread upon, lyes to every ones mercy, as the complaint is, They eat my people as they eat bread, and they are as a cup in their hand, it's as eaſie to deſtroy them as to drink; but yet do not promiſe thy ſelf much that way, for thou wilt never prevail, becauſe all the Attributes of God are made over unto them for their ſuccour and their portion the Lord Jehovah is a man of war, though he may never appear till the day of battel,Exod. 15.3.Exod 15:3 and then he will fight for them againſt all their enemies, and ſhall certainly be victorious, and lead captivity captive, &c.

(2) Let this be a means to raiſe up your fears in the way that you go; for he that lifts up his hand againſt theſe anointed ones of the Lord, all the Attributes of God are ingaged for them againſt him. It was good counſel given by Gamaliel, Act. 5.39. Refrain from theſe men, and let them alone, leſt you be found fighters againſt God: and did ever any man fight againſt God and proſper? Haſt thou a counſel able to out-plot infinite Wiſdom, and a power that does exceed the holy arm of the great and terrible God? &c. There is no ſuch way for a man to ingage the Attributes of God againſt himſelf, as to ingage againſt thoſe that have an intereſt in the Attributes of God; for the Covenant that God hath made with his people is offenſive and defenſive, and the Lord will ſurely appear for them; it's therefore a deſign that did never proſper in the hand of any that did undertake it, nay be ſure thou wilt periſh under the power of thoſe attributes: there is no ſuch way to turn the edge of them all againſt thee, as this is: as it was ſaid of Canaan, It's a land that eats up the inhabitants; ſo we may ſay of this, it's a work that devours the workers, the Lord will rebuke Kings for their ſakes, if they touch his anointed; and there is no vengeance like unto that of the Temple, thou wilt ſurely periſh in thy own oppoſition; for it doth arm all the Attributes of God againſt thee, and they do arm the Church againſt thee, and therefore the worm Jacob muſt threſh the mountain; Iſa. 41.Isa 41and when the ſtrength of the Churches enemies is greateſt, and their hopes higheſt, when they are folded up as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards,Nah. 1.10.Nah 1:10 they ſhall be devoured as ſtubble fully dry; and in the ſame place where they did expect the deſtruction of the Church, they ſhall be ſure to find their own.Mic. 4.11.Mic 4:11 Now alſo many nations are gathered againſt thee that ſay, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Sion; but they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither underſtand they his counſel, for he ſhall gather them as the ſheaves in the floor. Ariſe and threſh, O daughter of Sion, for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs braſs, and thou ſhall beat in pieces many people, &c. They are to the world as a burdenſom ſtone, all men will be lifting at them, till they be broken in pieces by them; it's their own folly to daſh and fall upon them, percuſſum è pectore ferrum.

2. It's a Uſe of direction to the Saints that have an intereſt in God, as their God in Covenant, and ſo are intitled unto all the Attributes of God. (1) Exerciſe faith upon every attribute, and thereby make it to be your own in the uſe and improvement thereof: Be ſtrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, that is, let your faith take hold of the ſtrength of God, and thereby let it riſe unto ſuch a height of confidence, as if you had almighty power in your own hand to exerciſe; if thou be in any ſtreight, and doſt want wiſdom to direct thee in thy way, be thou wiſe by the wiſdom of God, and let thy faith raiſe thee up unto that height of confidence, that it is as impoſſible for Satan to out-wit thee, as it is to go beyond infinite Wiſdom; and ſo if thou ſin at any time, queſtion thy pardon p. 282no more than if thou hadſt infinite mercy in thy own hand, and wert able to pardon thy ſelf; for it's all made over to thee in this one promiſe, I will be thy God for that which is originally and eſſentially in God, that by our dependency becomes ours, as truly as if we were the ſubjects in which it doth reſide.

(2) It ſhould raiſe up in a man a holy greatneſs of mind ſuitable unto ſuch a priviledge: and it's a thing of no ſmall concernment, that the people of God ſhould be raiſed up to ſuch a holy greatneſs; for it would free them from thoſe vain hopes and fears, and thoſe low imployments that now they are buſied about, for foreign, there is nothing great here below: a man ſhould look upon all things with the eye of God, to have all the Attributes of God made over to him: if dangers offer themſelves, the ſoul is not ſurprized; for as God ſits in Heaven, and laughs them to ſcorn, when the workers of Babel did build a Tower to their own confuſion; ſo do the Saints alſo, the virgin, the daughter of Sion doth laugh thee to ſcorn, &c. If wiſdom ſhew it ſelf, and a man hath to do with the policy of an Achitophel, he fears it no more than folly, and believes it ſhall be as he prays, Lord turn it into folly, and he laughs at the plot. And if the guilt of ſin riſe up in his conſcience, he can ſay, Though I have ſinned, and am a ſinner, yet God is in Chriſt reconciling the world unto himſelf, and grace is free, Jeſus Chriſt is aſcended up into Heaven, and ſits at the right hand of God: for it's a fault in the Saints, they think when they ſin it's their duty to queſtion their eſtates, their intereſt in God: and it's good to queſtion it for tryal and examination, but not by way of diffidence unto a mans dejection; for the way to increaſe a mans ſanctification is not to weaken his faith in the point of juſtification: and if the power of ſin do prevail, yet a man goes forth againſt it in the ſtrength of the Lord, and he ſaith, Though it be to … impoſſible, yet it is poſſible with God, and his power is ingaged for my perfection; and this were to live the life of God, as grace is called, Eph. 4.18.

(3) Sing unto God the praiſes of every Attribute; for as we ſhould look through all that is in Chriſt, that our hearts might take in whole Chriſt, and the Church doth ſo, Cant. Pſal. 21.13.Ps 21:135 and Paul, Phil. 3.7, 8, 9. ſo ſhould we of all the Attributes of God alſo: Be thou exalted in thy own ſtrength, O Lord, ſo will we ſing and praiſe thy power: and I will ſing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou haſt been my defence and refuge in the day of trouble. Obſerve the attributes that at any time God diſcovers to thee, in thy ſtraits ſpecially, and unto thoſe ſing praiſes: it's all that the Lord expects as a return for all that his attributes work for you, that you ſhould give them glory: and the way to ingage any Attribute of God for you again, is to give it the glory of any of the former diſcoveries thereof, and the way to diſingage an attribute is to neglect to give that attribute its glory, when it has been put forth: Ceſſat gratiarum decurſus ubi ceſſat recurſus, &c. Where the recurſe or return of graces ceaſeth, the decurſe or flowing forth of freſh graces ceaſeth. For the Lords aim under the new Covenant is the glory of the attributes of his nature, as well as the glory of the perſons, that they all of them may have their due place and order in our hearts; and as the Lord doth diſtinctly put them forth in their order for a man, as his neceſſity does require, ſo he does expect that we ſhould take them as our portion, and rejoycing in the Lord therein give unto them in our hearts their particular and diſtinct honour; for the Lord is not a God of confuſion, he loves to have every thing done diſtinctly, he cannot delight in a general confeſſion of ſin, becauſe generals do not affect nor afflict; neither can he take pleaſure in a general thankſgiving and bleſſing of his Name, but he delights to be honoured by diſtinct apprehenſions in the ſoul; and as it brings the greateſt honour unto God, ſo it will ſurely bring the ſweeteſt conſolation unto the creature.

Eph. 4.24.Eph 4:24(4) Get a reſemblance of every Attribute ſtampt upon thy heart. There is a double image that we read of; that of God after which we were created, and that of Chriſt according to which we are renewed, Rom. 8.29. Now as we muſt get an impreſſion of all the graces that be in Chriſt, receiving of his fulneſs grace for grace, that we may be conformable to the image of Chriſt; ſo we muſt alſo of all the Attributes of God, that we may be made conformable to the image of God: there is ſomething in grace that doth foreign, make us God-like, as Nazian. And he that is a Chriſtian, ſaith Ignatius, is foreign, a man that carries God with him whereſoever he goes, he has an image of the Omnipotency of God, and may ſay, I can do all things through Chriſt that ſtrengthens me: and alſo of the Eternity of God, he doth all things upon eternal principles and unto eternal ends; and of the Immutability of God, his heart is eſtabliſhed and will not ſhrink, he is not changed with ev…ry wind, but he is ſteddy in his courſe, as the Sun going forth in its ſtrength. [1] This is the only ground of aſſurance, that thou haſt an intereſt in that attribute; for if it work no reſemblance of its ſelf in thee,2 Cor. 3. ult.2 Cor 3 it is none of thine: For beholding would transform p. 283thee into the ſame image: if thou wouldſt know whether thou haſt an intereſt in any of the graces of Chriſt, look into thy own heart and on the prayer of Chriſt in Heaven, look into the workings of thy own heart, and ſee if there be any reſemblance between Chriſt and thee, and then thou maiſt conclude it; ſo it's here alſo, if thou haſt an intereſt in any Attribute, there is a reſemblance wrought in thee. [2] This will give thee a ground of aſſurance, that it ſhall be put forth for thee, or elſe it will be exerciſed againſt thee; he that ſhews mercy ſhall attain mercy; and on the contrary, he ſhall have judgment without mercy that ſhews no mercy; and therefore it's of great concernment to the Saints, that they may have in themſelves an image and reſemblance of every Attribute; for though their portion lye not in that, but in God, yet in that is a great ground of their aſſurance that it's theirs, and ſhall be acted for them in its ſeaſon.