CXLVI. a Gon, and be glad of any argument to prove it, SERM. and rejoice to find it true; as children are glad of a kind and tender father, and as fubjects rejoice in a wife and good prince.. 66 The goodness of God gives us a lovely character. of him, makes him fo good a father, so gracious a governor of men, that if there were no fuch being in the world, it were infinitely defirable to mankind that there should be: he is fuch an one, qualem omne cuperent, fi deeffet," as, if he were wanting, all men ought to wish for." The being of GOD is fo comfortable, fo convenient, fo neceffary to the felicity of mankind, that (as Tully admirably fays) Dii immortales ad ufum bominum fabricati penè videantur, "if GOD were not a neceffary being of himself, he might almost seem to be made on purpose for the "use and benefit of men:" fo that atheism is not only an inftance of the most horrible impiety, but of the greatest stupidity; and for men to glory in their difbelief of a GOD, is like the rejoicing and triumph of a furious and befotted multitude, in the murder of a wife and good prince, the greatest calamity and confusion that could poffibly have befallen them. ་་ If the evidence of God's being were not fo clear as it is, yet the confideration of his goodness ought to check all inclination to atheism and infidelity; for if he be as good as he is reprefented to us; both by natural light and divine revelation, (and he is fo, as fure as he is) if he tender our welfare, and defire our happiness, as much as we ourselves can do, and ufe all wife ways and proper means to bring it about, then it is plainly every man's intereft, even thine, O finner! to whom, after all thy provocations, he is willing to be reconciled, that there should be fuch a 7 being CXLVI. SFRM being as GOD is; and whenever thou comeft to thy felf, thou wilt be fenfible of thy want of him, and thyfoul will thirft for God, even the living GOD, "and pant after him as the hart pants after the wa"ter brooks;" in the day of thy affliction and calamity, "when diftrefs and anguish cometh upon "thee," thou wilt flee to God for refuge, and fhelter thy felf under his protection, and wouldeft not, for all the world, but there were fuch a being in it to help and deliver thee. Deos nemo fanus timet (fays Seneca) furor eft metuere falutaria; " no man "in his wits is afraid there is a GOD: it is a mad"nefs to fear that which is fo much for our benefit "and advantage." Human nature is confcious to itfelf of it's own weakness and infufficiency, and of it's neceffary dependance upon fomething without itself for it's happiness, and therefore, in great extremity and diftrefs, the atheist himself hath naturally recourse to him; and he who denied and rejected him in his profperity, clings to him in adversity, as his "only support and present help in time of trou"ble." And this is a fure indication, that these men, after all their endeavours to impose upon themselves, have not been able wholly to extinguish in their minds the belief of GOD, and his goodness; nay, it is a fign, that at the bottom of their hearts they have a firm perfuafion of his goodness, when, after all their infolent defiance of him, they have the confidence to apply themselves to him for mercy and help, in time of need; and therefore our hearts ought to rife with indignation against those who go about to perfuade the belief of a thing fo prejudicial to our intereft, to take away "the light of our eyes, " and the breath of our noftrils," and to rob us of all the comfort and fupport, which the belief of an infinite power, conducted by infinite wisdom and s ER M. goodness, is apt to afford to mankind. II. Wefhould take great care of perverting and abufing this great goodness by vain confidence and prefumption. This is a provocation of an high nature, which the scripture calls, "turning the grace of GoD "into wantonnefs;" making that an encouragement to fin, which is one of the strongest arguments in the world against it. God is infinitely good and merciful but we must not therefore think, that he is fond and indulgent to our faults; but, on the contrary, because he is good, he cannot but hate evil. So the scripture every where tells us, that " he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; that the face of the "LORD is against them that do evil: he is not a "GOD that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall " evil dwell with him: the foolish fhall not ftand "in his fight; he hateth all the workers of iniquity." He is ready to fhew mercy to those who are qualified for it by repentance, and refolution of a better courfe: but as long as we continue impenitent, GoD is implacable, and will deal with us according to the tenor of his laws, and the defert of our doings. Despair is a great fin, but prefumption is a greater; despair doubts of the goodness of GOD, but prefumption abufeth it; defpair difbelieves, but prefumption perverts the best thing in the world to a quite contrary purpose from what it was intended. III. The confideration of GoD's goodness is a mighty comfort and relief to our minds, under all our fears and troubles. Great are the fears and jealoufies of many devout minds concerning God's love to them, and their everlasting condition; which are commonly founded in one of these two causes, a melancholy temper or mistaken notions and apprehenfiVOL. VIII. T ons CXLVI. SERM ons of GOD; and very often these two meet together, and hinder the cure and removal of one another. CXLVI. Melancholy, as it is an effect of bodily temper, is a difease not to be cured by reafon and argument, but by phyfick and time: but the mistakes which men have entertained concerning God, if they be not fet on and heightened by melancholy, (as many times they are) may be rectified by a true reprefentation of the goodness of GOD, confirmed by reason and fcripture. Many good men have had very hard and injurious thoughts of GoD inftilled into them, from doctrines too commonly taught and received; as if he did not fincerely defire the happiness of his creatures, but had from all eternity decreed to make the greatest part of mankind, with a fecret purpose and defign to make them miferable, and, confequently, were not ferious and in good earneft in his invitations and exhortations of finners to repentance; and it is no wonder if fuch jealoufies as these concerning GOD, make men doubtful whether GoD love them, and very fcrupulous and anxious about their everlasting condition. I have already told you that these harsh doctrines have no manner of foundation, either in reafon or fcripture; that God earnestly defires our happiness, and affords us fufficient means to that end; that he bears a more hearty good-will to us, than any man does to his friend, or any father upon earth ever did to his dearest child; in comparison of which, the greatest affection of men to thofe whom they love beft, is "but as the drop of the bucket, as the very small duft "upon the balance." If we have right apprehenfions of God's goodness, we can have no temptation to defpair of his kind and merciful intentions to us, provided we be but careful of our duty to him, and CXLVI. do fincerely repent and forfake our fins. Plainer de- SER M. clarations no words can make, than those we meet with in the holy fcriptures, that " GOD hath no plea"fure in the death of the wicked, but rather that he "fhould turn from his wickedness and live;" that "he would have all men to be faved, and to come "to the knowledge of the truth;" that "he is long "fuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should "perish, but that all should come to repentance;" that he that confeffeth and forfaketh his fin, shall "have mercy:" that "if the wicked forfake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, "and return unto the LORD, he will have mercy, " and will abundantly pardon." As for outward calamities and afflictions, the confideration of GoD's goodness is a firm ground of confolation to us, giving us affurance, that GOD will either prevent them by his providence, or fupport us under them, or refcue us out of them, or turn them to our greater good and happiness in this world or the next. St. Paul fpeaks of it as the firm belief and perfuafion of all good men, that, in the iffue, all afflictions should prove to their advantage. "We know (fays he) that all things fhall work to gether for good to them that love God." And one of the greatest evidences of our love to Gon, is a firm belief and perfuafion of his goodness: if we believe his goodness, we cannot but love him; and if we love him, "all things fhall work together for our good." And this is a great cordial to those who are under grievous perfecutions and fufferings, which is the cafe of our brethren in a neighbouring nation, and may come to be ours, Gop knows how foon. But though the malice of men be great, and backed with a power not to be controlled by any vifible means, |