SERMON I. Of the Goodness of God. PSALM CXlV. 9. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are TH I. HE goodness of God is a frequented theme; s ER M. to many perhaps it may feem vulgar and trite; fo that difcourfe thereon, like a ftory often told, may be nauseous to their ears: but in truth neither can we speak too much upon this moft excellent fubject, nor ought we ever to be weary in hearing about it; for it is a fign that the palate of our mind is diftempered, if we do not with delight and affection relish any mention of divine goodness. Yea, the obfervation of men's common practice would induce us to think, that either this point is not fo well known, or but little believed, or at least not well confidered and applied. For how could we be fo void of love to God, of gratitude toward him, of faith and hope in him, were we throughly perfuaded, did we seriously confider, that he is fo exceedingly good toward us? How can we be fo infenfible of the benefits we enjoy, so distrustful of finding fuccours I. SER M. and supplies in our need, fo diffatisfied and difcontented with what befalls us, if we conceive and weigh, that all things do proceed from, are guided and governed by immenie goodness? How alfo, if men have fuch an opinion of God impreffed on their minds, comes it to pass that they are fo little careful to resemble and imitate him in kindness, bounty, and mercy to one another? How is it, in fine, that the most powerful argument to all manner of good practice, and the mightiest aggravation of fin, if well known and pondered, hath fo little force and efficacy upon us? From experience therefore this argument may seem scarce fufficiently inculcated. We may add, that discourse upon this attribute* (which above all other attributes doth render God peculiarly admirable and amiable) hath this special advantage beyond other discourses, that it doth, if our hearts conspire therewith, approach most nearly to the formal exercife of the most high and heavenly parts of devotion, praise and thanksgiving; that it more immediately conduces to the breeding, the nourishing, the augmenting in us the best and nobleft of pious affections, love and reverence to God; truft and hope in him; willing refolutions to please and serve him; whence it is confequent, that we cannot too much employ our thoughts, our words, or our attention upon this point. Befides so much reafon, we have alfo good example to countenance us in fo doing we have the precedent of the holy Pfalmift refolving to make it his conftant and continual emPal. lxxxix. ployment: I will fing (faith he) of the mercies of the Lord, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulPfal. cxlv. 2. nefs to all generations. And, Every day will I bless thee, J. and I will praife thy name for ever; (that bleffing and praifing God, the context fhews to have confifted efpecially in the declaration of God's great goodness :) * Θεὸς, ὦ πολλῶν ὄντων, ἐφ ̓ οἷς θαυμάζει, ἐδὶν ὅτως ὡς τὸ πάντας εὐεργέτειν ἰδιωταιόν. Naz. Orat. 26. and, 2. I. and, It is a good thing (faith he again) to give thanks S E R M. unto the Lord, and to fing praises unto thy name, O thou moft High; to fhew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Such were his in- Pfal. xcil. 1, tentions, and fuch his judgment about this practice; and we find him in effect true and answerable to them; every fong of his, every meditation, every exercife of devotion chiefly harping upon this ftring; and he earnestly wishes that others would confent and confort with him therein; he earnestly exhorts and excites them thereto : O that men would praise the Pfal. cvii. 8. Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Praise the Lord, O give thanks unto Pfal. cvi. 1. the Lord; for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. That one example might fufficiently authorize this practice; but we have innumerable others, and those the highest that can be, to encourage and engage us thereto; even the whole choir of heaven, whofe perpetual business and happy entertainment it is to contemplate with their minds, to celebrate with their voices the immenfe goodness of God; They have (as Apoç, iv. 8. it is in the Revelation) no reft day or night, from performing this office. Such is the fubject of our dif courfe; the which our text moft plainly and fully expreffes; afferting not only the goodness of God, but the univerfal and boundless extent thereof; The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies (or his bowels of affection and pity) are over all his works. And that God indeed is fuch, we fhall firft endeavour to declare, then fhall briefly apply the confideration thereof to practice, That God the Lord, and Maker of all things, is of himself, in regard to all his creatures, especially to us men, fuperlatively good, that is, difpofed never without juft or neceffary cause to harm us, and inclinable to do us all poffible and befitting good, the univerfal frame of nature, and the conftant courfe of Providence do afford us fufficient reason to conceive, and moft frequent, moft exprefs teftimonies of holy Scrip I. SER M. ture do more fully demonftrate. There is no argu ment from natural effects difcernible by us, which proveth God's exiftence (and innumerable fuch there are, every fort of things well ftudied may af ford fome), the which doth not together perfuade God to be very kind and benign; careful to impart to us all befitting good, fuitable to our natural capacity and condition; and unwilling that any confiderable harm, any extreme want or pain fhould befall us. (I interpofe fuch limitations, for that an abfolute, or univerfal and perpetual exemption from all kinds, or all degrees of inconvenience, an accumulation of all forts of appearing good upon us, doth not become, or fuit our natural ftate of being, or our rank in perfection among creatures; neither, all things being duly ftated and computed, will it turn to beft account for us.) The beft (no lefs convincing than obvious) arguments, afferting the existence of a Deity, are deduced from the manifold and manifeft footsteps of admirable wisdom, skill, and design apparent in the general order, and in the particular frame of creatures; the beautiful harmony of the whole, and the artificial contrivance of each part of the world; the which it, is hardly poffible that any unprejudiced and undiftempered mind fhould conceive to proceed from blind chance, or as blind neceffity. But with this wisdom are always complicated no lefs evident marks of goodness. We cannot in all that vaft bulk of the creation, and numberless variety of things, difcover any piece of mere pomp, or dry curiofity; every thing feems to have fome beneficial tendency; according to which it confers fomewhat to the need, convenience, or comfort of those principal creatures, which are endued with fenfe and capacity to enjoy them. Moft of them have a palpable relation to the benefit (to the fubfiftence or delight) of living creatures; and especially in an ultimate relation to the benefit of man; and the reft, although their immediate ufe be not to our I. 5. cxix. 64. cviii. 4. Pfal. lxv. dim fight fo difcernible, may therefore be reasonably S ER M. prefumed in their natural defignation to regard the fame end. Wherefore as upon confideration of that ample provifion, which is made in nature for the neceffary fuftenance, defence, and relief, for the convenience, delight, and fatisfaction of every creature, any man, who is not careless or ftupid, may be induced to cry out with the Pfalmift: O Lord, how Pfal. civ. manifold are thy works? In wisdom haft thou made them 24. xxxiii. all: fo may he with no lefs reafon and ground af- lvii. 10. ter him pronounce and acknowledge; The earth is Pfal. civ. full of the goodness of the Lord: The earth, O Lord, is 10, &c. full of thy mercy. Thy mercy is great unto the heavens : 11, ciii. 4. Thy mercy is great above the heavens. It is indeed becaufe divine goodness is freely diffufive and communicative of itself, because effential love is active, and fruitful in beneficence; because highest excellency is void of all envy, selfishness, and tenacity, that the world was produced fuch as it was; thofe perfections being intrinsical to God's nature, difpofed him to beftow so much of being, of beauty, of pleasure upon his creatures. He openeth his hand, they are filled with Pfal. civ. good: it is from God's open hand, his unconfined bounty and liberality, that all creatures do receive all that good which fills them, which fatisfies their needs, and fatiates their defires. Every pleafant object we view, every sweet and favoury morfel we taste, every fragrancy we fmell, every harmony we hear; the wholfome, the cheering, the useful, yea, the innocent and inoffenfive qualities of every thing we do use and enjoy, are fo many perfpicuous arguments of divine goodnefs; we may not only by our reafon collect it, but we even touch and feel it with all our fenfes. The like conclufion may be inferred from the ob fervation of divine Providence. Every fignification, or experiment, whence we may reasonably infer that divine power and wifdom do concur in upholding, managing, and directing the general state of things, 28. |