his goodneß. I will only produce fome Vol. VII. of those many Texts of Scripture which attribute this Perfection to God. Exod. 34. 6. The Lord, the Lord God, gracious and merciful. Deut. 4. 31. The Lord thy God is a merciful God. 2 Chron. 30. 9. The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. Neh. 9. 17. Ready to pardon, gracious and merciful. Pfal. 25.10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy. Pfal. 62. 12. Unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy. Pfal. 103.8. Merciful and gracious. Pfal. 130. 7. With the Lord there is mercy. And fo Jer. 3. 12. Foel 2. 13. Jonah 4. 2. Luke 6. 36. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. The Scripture fpeaks of this as moft natural to him, 2 Cor. 1. 3. he is called the Father of mercies. But when he punifheth, he doth as it were relinquish his Nature, and do a Strange work. The Lord will wait that he may be gracious, Ifa. 30. 18. God paffeth by opportunities of punishing, but his mercy takes opportunity to difplay it felf; he waits to be gracious. To afflict or punish is a Work that God is unwilling to, that he takes no pleafure in; Lam. 3. 33. He doth not. afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. But mercy is a Work that he

de

delights in, Mic. 7. 18. He delighteth in mercy. When God fhews mercy, he does it with pleasure and delight; he is faid to rejoyce 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-fuffering, they fhew what God is in himself, and delights to be: those which declare his wrath and feverity, shew what he is upon provocation, and the occafion of fin; not what he chuseth 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 magnifie it. It fpeaks of the greatness of his mercy, Numb. 14. 19. According to the greatness of his mercy. 2 Sam. 24. 14. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are great. 'Tis call'd an abundant mercy, 1 Pet. t. 3. According to his abundant mercy. Pfal. 103. 8. he is faid to be plenteous in mercy; and rich in mercy, Eph. 2. 4. Pfal. 5. 7. he fpeaks of the multitude of God's

mer.

Vol VII.

Vol. VII.

mercies; and of the variety of them, Neb. 9. 18. In thy manifold mercies tho forfookeft them not. So many are they, that we are faid to be furrounded and campaffed about on every fide with them; Pfal. 103. 4. Who crowneth us with loving kindness and tender mer

cies.

And yet further to fet forth the greatnefs of them, the Scripture useth all dimenfions. Heighth, Pfal. 57. 10. Thy mercy is great unto the Heavens. Nay, higher yet; Pfal. 108. 4. Thy mercy is great above the heavens. For the latitude and extent of it, 'tis as large as the Earth, and extends to all the Creatures in it; Pfal. 109. 64. The earth is full of thy mercy. Pfal. 145. 8. His tender mercies are over all his works. For the length, or duration and continuance of it; Exod. 34. 7. Laying up mercy in fore for thousands of generations, one after another. Nay, it is of a longer continuance; Pfal. 118. 'tis feveral times repeated, That his mercy endureth for ever.

And to fhew the intense degree of this affection of mercy or pity, the Scripture useth several emphatical Expreffions to fet it forth to us. The

T

Scrip

blot out

Scripture speaks of the tender mercies of God, Pfal. 25. 6. Remember, O Lord, Vol. VIL thy tender mercies. Yea, of the multitude of these, Pfal. 51. 1. According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, my tranfgreffions. Fam. 5. 11. The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. They are called God's Bowels, which are the tendereft parts, and apt to yern and ftir in us when any affections of love and pity are excited, If. 63. 15. Where is the founding of thy bowels, and of thy mercies, are they reftrained? Luke 1. 78. Through the tender mercy of our God. So it is in our ' Tranflation; but if we render it from the Original, 'tis through the bowels of the mercies of our God. How doth God condefcend in thofe pathetical Expreffions, which he ufeth concerning his People? Hof. 11. 8. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? mine heart is turned within me, and my repentings are kindled together. Nay, to exprefs his tender fenfe of our miferies and fufferings, he is represented as being afflicted with us, and bearing a part in our fufferings; Ifa, 63. 9. In all their afflictions he was afflicted.

The

The compaffions of God are comì

Vol VII.pared to the tendereft affections among Men; to that of a Father towards his Children; Pfal. 103. 13. As a father pitieth his Children, fo the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Nay, to the compaffions of a Mother towards her Infant; Ifa. 49. 15. Can a woman forget her fucking child, that she should not have compaffion on the fon of her womb? Yea, fhe may, 'tis poffible, tho' moft unlikely but tho' a Mother may turn unnatural; yet God cannot be unmerciful.

In fhort, the Scripture doth every where magnifie the mercy of God, and speak of it with all poffible advantage; as if the Divine Nature, which doth in all Perfections excel all others, did in this excel it felf. The Scripture 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. 25. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy; as if in this World God had a defign to advance Iris mercy above his other Attributes. The mercy of God is now in the Throne, this is the day

of