The Incomparableness of God, Treatise · Chapter 12
CHAP. XII. God incomparable in the Work of Redemption; He can do all things.
3. HE is incomparable in the Work of Redemption: And truly, this Work is his Maſter-piece, pure Workmanſhip; and indeed all his Works of Creation and Providence are ſubordinate to this: All his Attributes ſparkle moſt gloriouſly in this, Pſal. 102.16. All his Angels in Heaven admire and adore him for this, Revel. 4.10, 11. This is the Work of all his Works, which he is ſo mightily pleaſed with, and reapeth ſo much Glory and Praiſe from, Iſa. 42.1. Iſa. 43.21. No Angels, no Men, no not all together, could with all their united Worthineſs redeem one Soul: None of them can redeem his Brother, or give to God a Ranſome for him: For the Redemption of the Soul is precious, it ceaſeth for ever, Pſal. 49.9, 10.
None beſide God had pitty enough for mans miſery, or Wiſdom enough to find out a Remedy, or Power enough for his Recovery.
None had pity enough for mans Miſery; Boundleſs Miſery call'd for boundleſs Mercy; One deep for another: But where is ſuch Mercy to be found among the Creatures? Man was a Child of Wrath, had plunged himſelf into an Ocean of Evils and Fury, and this required an Ocean of Love and Pity, but Creatures at moſt had but drops; but the Creator had infinite Grace for infinite Guilt, and infinite Mercy for infinite Miſery, Ezek. 16.5, 6, 7, 8. In the day of thy Nativity, thou waſt cast out, to the loathing of thy Perſon; thy Navel was not cut, neither waſt thou ſalted with Salt, nor waſhed with Water. Here is miſery indeed, but what help or compaſſion from Creatures? truly none: No Eye pitied thee, to do any of theſe things unto thee; (who then had pity enough?) Then I paſſed by thee, and ſaw thee in thy Blood; Then was my time of Love, and I bid thee live; yea, when thou waſt in thy Bloud, I ſaid unto thee live. God hath great Mercy for great Miſery, Eph. 2.4, 5. Abundant Mercy for abundant Miſery, 1 Peter 1.3. A Plaiſter altogether as broad and as large as the Sore, John 3.16. 1 John 4.9. Eph. 3.19. Therefore the Holy Ghoſt obſerveth, Luke 1.7, 8. In the Work of Redemption, the tender Mercy of our God from on high hath viſited us.
None had Wiſdom enough to find out a Remedy: Had the Creatures had pity enough, and kindneſs enough, they had not wiſdom enough to make Juſtice and Mercy meet together, and Righteouſneſs and Grace kiſs each other. If God ſhould have offered Man his Pardon and Life, upon Condition, that he with Angels ſhould conſult, and find out ſome way to ſatisfie his infinite Juſtice, that was offended by Sin; Alas, poor man muſt of neceſſity have periſhed; what Creature was able to undertake the ſatisfaction of infinite Juſtice? It would have Bankrupt them all to ſatisfie for one of the ſmalleſt Sins. And who could have thought of God, the Creator to undertake it? who durſt have preſumed to entertain ſuch a motion in his Heart? Could it have entered into the mind of Men or Angels, that the Law might be fulfilled in its Commands and Curſe, the Glory of Divine Juſtice and Holineſs ſalved, and miſerable man eternally ſaved.
No Creature would have thought of a way to reconcile the Juſtice and Mercy of God, no Creature could have thought of any way for it, nay, no Creature durſt have thought of ſuch a way as God hath found out. No, He that made the World by his Wiſdom, Pſal. 104.24. when it had unmade it ſelf; new made it by his Wiſdom: Hence the Redemption of man is called foreign, the manifold, the curious, the embroydered Wiſdom of God; ſuch Wiſdom as paſſed the Knowledge of Angels, Epheſ. 3.10. And the Redeemer is called The Wiſdom of God, 1 Cor. 1.24. In this Work is infinite Wiſdom, becauſe in this Work infinite Juſtice and infinite Mercy do meet, Rom. 3.24, 25. Epheſ. 2.5, 7. 1 John 4.9, 10.
Again, None had Power to have gone through with the Work, if they had had Wiſdom to have found out a way: There was ſo much to be done in order to mans Recovery, that it would have undone all the World, if they had undertaken it. The Powers of Hell muſt be over-come, the Curſe of the Law, and Wrath of the Law-Giver, muſt be born; Sin that was ſo ſtrong and faſt in the Heart of Man, muſt be ſubdued, Grace and Holineſs, againſt which Man had an emnity, muſt be infuſed; and what Power leſs then Omnipotent could effect either of theſe? God who diſcover'd great Power in creating the World of nothing, diſcover'd much greater in redeeming the World when it was worſe then nothing. In the former he had no oppoſition, in the latter, his Law, Juſtice, the Devils of Hell; nay, Man himſelf did reſiſt and oppoſe him: It had been impoſſible for the Mediator to have born up, and held out under all thoſe conteſts with the Powers of Darkneſs, the Malediction of the Law, the Fury of his Father, if the Almighty everlaſting Arms had not been under him, Iſa. 42.1, 2. Behold my Servant, whom I upheld, Iſa. 49.8, 9. Therefore you read of Power, great Power, mighty Power, greatneſs of Power, exceeding greatneſs of Power, put forth in the Work of Redemption; Eph. 1.19, 20. And what is the exceeding greatneſs of his Power to us-ward? who believe according to the working of the mighty Power which he wrought in Christ, when he raiſed him from the dead. And the Redeemer is called The Power of God, 1 Cor. 1.24. The Arm of the Lord, Iſa. 53.1. His Strength, Iſa. 27.5. Once more we read, Thy Redeemer is mighty, the Lord of Hoſts is his Name, Jer. 50.34.
2. He is incomparable (not onelyonly in what he hath done, but alſo) in what he can do. He can do what he will, nay he can do much more then he will do.
He can do what he will; His Arm is as large as his Mind, and his Hand equal to his Heart. His will and pleaſure is the onelyonly boundary of his Strength and Power: Whatſoever the Lord pleaſed, that did he in Heaven and Earth, and the Seas, and in all deep Places, Pſal. 135.6. Pſal. 115.3. Can this be ſaid of Men or Angels? Can they do what they pleaſe? ſurely No. But the Lord doth what he hath a mind to do: He is of one mind, and who can turn him? and what his Soul deſireth, that he doth, Job 23.13. His Heart onelyonly can limit his Hands, and his Strength is determined by nothing but his will. It was the ſaying of a Prince, that he could bear a Circle about his Head (meaning his Crown) but he could not bear a Circle about his Feet, he would go and come at his own pleaſure, and do what he thought fit; but all the Princes in the World have Fetters about their Feet, and Chains about their Hands. They cannot go whither they pleaſe, Iſa. 37.33, 34. Zenacherib would needs go up to Jeruſalem, and bringeth an Army againſt it for that end, but his Feet were fettered: Thus ſaith the Lord concerning the King of Aſſyria, He ſhall not come into this City; by the way that he came, by the ſame ſhall he return. Neither can they do what they pleaſe: As they go (not whither they will, but) whither God pleaſeth; ſo they do (not what they will, but) what God pleaſeth, Acts 4.27, 28.
It's Gods incomparable Prerogative to go whither, and do what he will: God doth not do many things that he can, but he doth all things that he will: He can do more then he will. He cannot do what is ſinful, he cannot lie, Titus 1.2. He cannot deny himſelf, 1 Tim. 2.13. He cannot do that which implyeth a contradiction: He cannot make himſelf a Creature, or make a Creature a God, becauſe the doing of theſe things ſpeak weakneſs and imperfection, but whatſoever ſpeaketh power or perfection, that he can do: He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, Eph. 3.20. A man may ask much, this World, the other World, a thouſand Worlds after them, millions of Worlds after thoſe, better Worlds, greater Worlds; the Soveraignty and Dominion over them; the Command and Rule of them for Ages, for Generations, for ever: A man may conceive more then he can aſk, the Mind of Man is much larger then his Tongue: His apprehenſion doth far exceed his expreſſions, eſpecially of ſuch a man whoſe mind is enlightned and enlarged, (for of ſuch the Apoſtle ſpeaks) and not contracted and narrowed to ſublunary ſenſual Objects: But God can do more then we are able to ask or think, yea abundantly more; ſo much more, that we cannot think how much more; nay, exceeding abundantly more foreign, valde abundanter, above abundance.
Is any thing impoſſible to God, Luke 1.37. With God all things are poſſible, Math. 19.26. He is good at every thing that is good: Men are good, ſome at one thing, ſome at another thing, ſo are Angels; but no Man, no Angel, is good at all things; God only can do every thing, as God only can be every thing: He only that is univerſal in his Being, is univerſal in his doings. He can make millions of Worlds in a moment, and unmake them again as ſoon: He can kill and make alive in the twinkling of an Eye; He can build up, and pluck down, take Nature off its Hinges, and ſet it on again; make the Waters when they run never ſo violently, to ſtand ſtill; ſtop the Sun in its full career; keep the hotteſt Fire from burning, or ſo much as ſinging an Hair. Shall the Sun go backward (ſaith he) ten degrees or forward, 2 Kings 20.9, 10. Take either, it's all one to me; chuſe which thou likeſt beſt: To me both are equally eaſie.