CXLVII. cc XXV. 10. SERM." your GOD is gracious and merciful.” Neh. ix. 17. Ready to pardon, gracious and merciful." Pfal. All the paths of the LORD are mercy." Pfal. lxii, 12. "Unto thee, O LORD, belongeth "mercy." Pfal. ciii. 8. "Merciful and gracious." Pfal. cxxx. 7. "With the LORD there is mercy." And fo Jer. iii. 12. Joel ii. 13. Jonah iv. 2. Luke vi. 36. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your father "alfo is merciful." The fcripture fpeaks of this as most natural to him; 2 Cor. i. 3. he is called "the "Father of mercies." But when he punisheth, he doth, as it were, relinquish his nature, and do a ftrange work. "The LORD will wait that he may "be gracious," Ifa. xxx. 18. GOD paffeth by op. portunities of punishing, but his mercy takes oppor tunity to display itself; "he waits to be gracious." To afflict or punish is a work that God is unwilling to do, that he takes no pleasure in; Lam. iii. 33. "He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the chil"dren of men." But mercy is a work that he delights in, Mic. vii. 18. "He delighteth in mercy." When GOD fhews mercy, he does it with pleasure and delight; he is faid to rejoice over his people "to do them good." Thofe attributes that declare God's goodness, as when he is faid to be gracious, or merciful, and long-suffering, they fhew what God is in himself, and delights to be: thofe which declare his wrath and severity, fhew what he is upon provocation, and the occafion of fin; not what he chufeth to be, but what we do, as it were, compel and neceffitate him to be. Thirdly, for the degree of it; that God is a GOD of great mercy. The scripture doth delight to advance the mercy of God, and does ufe great variety of expreffion to magnify magnify it. It speaks of the greatness of his SERM. mercy; CXLVII. Numb. xiv. 19. According unto the greatness "of thy mercy." 2 Sam. xxiv. 14. "Let me fall "into the hands of the LORD, for his mercies` are "great." It is called an abundant mercy; 1 Pet. i. 3. "According to his abundant mercy." Pfal. ciii. 8. he is faid to be "plenteous in mercy ;" and "rich in mercy." Eph. ii. 4. Pfal. v. 7. he speaks of the multitude of God's mercies ;" and of the variety of them, Neh. ix. 19. "In thy manifold " mercies thou forfakeft them not." So many are they, that we are faid to be furrounded and compaffed about on every fide with them; Pfal. ciii. 4. "Who crowneth thee with loving kindness, and "tender mercies." And yet further to fet forth the greatness of them, the fcripture useth all dimenfions. Height; Pfal. lvii. 10. "Thy mercy is great unto the heavens." Nay, higher yet; Pfal. cviii. 4. "Thy mercy is great "above the heavens." For the latitude and extent And to fhew the intenfe degree of this affection of mercy or pity, the fcripture ufeth feveral emphatical expreffions to fet it forth to us. The fcripture speaks of the tender mercies of GoD, Pfal. xxv. 6. "Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies." Yea, of the multitude of thefe; Pfal. li. 1. "According 66 unto SERM. CXLVII. unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my tranfgreffions." Jam. v. if. "The LORD is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." They are called God's bowels, which are the tenderest parts, and apt to yern and ftir in us when any affections of love and pity are excited; If. lxiii. 15. "Where is "the founding of thy bowels, and of thy mercies "towards me? are they restrained?" Luke i. 78. "Through the tender mercy of our God;" fo it is in our translation: but if we render it from the original, it is "through the bowels of the mercies of "our GOD." How doth GOD condefcend, in those pathetical expreffions which he useth concerning his people? Hof. xi. 8. "How fhall I give thee up, Ephraim how fhall I deliver thee, Ifrael? how "fhall I make thee as Admah? how fhall I fet thee "as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, and my repentings are kindled together." Nay, to exprefs his tender sense of our miseries and sufferings, he is represented as being afflicted with us, and bearing a part in our fufferings; Ifa. lxiii. 9. "In all "their afflictions he was afflicted." The compaffions of GOD are compared to the tenderest affections among men: to that of a father towards his children; Pfal. ciii. 13. "Like as a fa"ther pitieth his children, fo the LORD pitieth them "that fear him." Nay, to the compaffions of a mother towards her infant: Ifa. xlix. 50. "Can a woman "forget her fucking child, that she should not have "compaffion on the fon of her womb?" Yea, fhe may, it is poffible, though moft unlikely: but though a mother may turn unnatural, yet Gap cannot be unmerciful. In short, the fcripture doth every where magnify the mercy of GoD, and fpeak of it with all poffible CXLVII. advantage; as if the divine nature, which doth in all SER M. perfections excel all others, did in this excel itself. The fcripture speaks of it as if GOD was wholly taken up with it, as if it was his conftant exercise and employment, fo that, in comparison of it, he doth hardly display any other excellency; Pfal. xxv. 10. "All the paths of the LORD are mercy;" as if, in this world, God had a design to advance his mercy above his other attributes. The mercy of GOD is now in the throne; this is the day of mercy; and GOD doth display it, many times, with a feeming difhonour to his other attributes, his justice, and holiness, and truth. His juftice; this makes Job complain of the long life and profperity of the wicked; Job xxi. 7. "Wherefore do the wicked live, 66 yea, become old?" &c. His holinefs; this makes the prophet expoftulate with GOD, Hab. i. 13. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and "canft not look on iniquity: wherefore lookeft thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue?" &c. And the truth of GOD; this makes Jonah complain, as if GOD's mercies were fuch as did make fome reflection upon his truth, Jon. iv. 2. But that we may have more diftinct apprehenfions of the greatness and number of God's mercies, I will distribute them into kinds, and rank them under several heads. It is mercy, to prevent thofe evils and miferies that we are liable to: it is mercy, to defer thofe evils that we have deserved, or to mitigate them it is mercy, to fupport and comfort us when mifery is upon us: it is mercy, to deliver us from them but the greatest mercy of all is, to remit the evil and mifery we have deserved, by pardon and forgiveness, to remove and take away the obligation VOL. VIII. U to SERM to punishment. So that the mercy of God may be reduced to thefe five heads. CXLVII. I. Preventing mercy. Many evils and miferies. 1. which we are liable to, GoD prevents them at a great diftance; and when they are coming towards us, he ftops them, or turns them another way. The merciful providence of GoD, and thofe invifible guardswhich protect us, do divert many evils from us, which fall upon others. We feldom take notice of GOD's preventing mercy; we are not apt to be fenfible how great a mercy it is to be freed from those ftraits and neceffities, thofe pains and difeafes of body, thofe inward racks and horrors, which others are preffed withal, and labour under. When any evil or mifery is upon us, would we not reckon it a mercy to be rescued and delivered from it? And is it not a greater mercy that we never felt it? Does not that man owe more to his phyfician, who prevents his ficknefs and diftemper, than he who, after the weakness and languifhing, the pains and tortures of feveral months, is at length cured by him? II. Forbearing mercy. And this is the patience of Gon, which confifts in the deferring or moderating of our deferved punishment. Hence it is, that "flow to anger, and of great mercy," do fo often go together. But this I fhall fpeak to hereafter in fome particular difcourfes.. 66 III. Comforting mercy. 2 Cor. i. 3. "The father of mercies, and the Go of all comfort." The fcripture reprefents GoD as very merciful, in comforting and fupporting thofe that are afflicted and caft down: hence are thofe expreflions of putting his "arms under us, bearing us up, fpeaking comfort"ably, vifiting us with his loving kindnefs:" which fignify God's merciful regard to those who are in mifery and diftrefs. IV. His |