CXXXIL to him, being qualified for his favour, and for the SER M. enjoyment of him. As we are creatures of a finite power, and limited understandings, and a mutable nature, we do neceffarily want many of thofe perfections, which are the cause and ingredients of a perfect happiness. We are far from being fufficient for our own happinefs; we are neither fo of ourselves, nor can we make ourfelvés fo by our own power; for neither are we wife enough for our own direction, nor good enough for our own fatisfaction. All the happiness that we are capable of is, by communication from him, who is the original and fountain of it; by our being made "partakers of the divine nature," (as St. Peter fpeaks) by our refemblance of GoD in those perfections which are the most effential ingredients of happiness, his goodness, and righteousness, and truth, and holiness; thefe do immediately qualify us for the favour and friendship of Almighty God, and for the bieffed fight and enjoyment of him; and the favour of GOD, and the light of his countenance lifted up upon us, and his friendship and good-will to us, fupplies all the defects of power and wisdom in us: for Gon being our friend, we have an interest in all his perfections, and a fecurity, that, as occafion requires, they will all be employed for our benefit and advantage; fo that though we are "weak in ourselves," we are "ftrong in the "LORD, and in the power of his might," and are "able to do all things through him ftrengthning "us," and though "we want wifdom," we may have free recourfe to the fountain of it, and "afk "of Goo, who gives to all liberally, and upbraid"eth not." And it is next to have these perfections in ourselves, to know where to have them for C 3 afking, SERM asking, whenever we stand in need of them fo far CXXXII. as is neceffary to our happiness. So that though our happiness depend upon another, yet if we be careful to qualify ourselves for it, (and GoD is always ready to affift us by his grace to this purpose) it is really and in effect in our own power; and we are every whit as fafe and happy in GOD's care and protection of us, as if we were fufficient for ourselves. However, this is the highest happine's that the condition of a creature is capable of, to have all our defects fupplied in fo liberal a manner by the bounty of another, and to have a free recourse to the fountain of happiness, and at last to be admitted to the bleffed fight and enjoyment of him," in whofe prefence is fulness of joy, and at "whose right hand are pleasures for evermore." I have done with the three things I proposed to speak to. But to what purpose, may fome fay, is this long description and discourse of happiness? How are we the wifer and the better for it? I answer, very much, in feveral refpects. 1. This plainly fhews us, that atheism is a very melancholy and mischievous thing; it would take away the fountain of happiness, and the only perfect pattern of it; it endeavours at once to extinguish the being of GOD, and all the life and comfort of mankind, fo that we would neither form any idea of happiness, or be in any poffibility of attaining it. For it is plain, we are not fufficient for it of ourfelves; and if there be not a GOD, there is nothing that can make us fo. GOD is "the true light of the "world," and a thousand times more neceffary to the comfort and happiness of mankind, than the sun itself, which is but a dark fhadow of that infinitely more more bright and glorious being; "the happy and SER M. "only patentate" (as the apoftie defcribes him in CXXXII. the latter end of this epiftle)" who only hath in"mortality, dwelling in that light which no man "can approach unto, whom no man hath feen, nor "can fee," meaning in this mortal state. So that the greatest enemies, and most injurious of all others to mankind, are those who would banish the belief of a GOD out of the world; becaufe this is" to lay the ax to the root of the tree," and at one blow to cut off all hopes of happiness from mankind. So that he is a fool indeed, that " fays in his heart there is no GOD;" that is, that wifheth there were none; because it is poffible for a man to wish worse to himself, and more effectually to destroy his own happiness. 2. If the divine nature be fo infinitely and compleatly happy, this is a very great confirmation of our faith and hope concerning the happiness of another life, which the fcripture defcribes to us, by the fight and enjoyment of GOD. As we are creatures, we are not capable of the happiness that is abfolutely and infinitely perfect, because our nature is but finite, and limited; but the bleffed God, who is infinitely happy himself, can alfo make us happy according to our finite measure and capacity. For, as he that is the firft and original being, can communicate being to other things; fo he that is the fountain of happiness, can derive and convey happiness to his creatures. And we shall the more early believe this, when we confider that goodness, as it is the prime perc tion, fo it is likewife the chief felicity of the divine nature. It is his glory and delight to communicate himself, and shed abroad his goodness; and the highC 4 eft SER M. eft expreffion of the divine goodnefs, is to commuCXXXII. nicate happiness to his creatures, and to be willing that they should share and partake with him in it. Bafe and envious natures are narrow and contracted, and love to confine their enjoyments and good things to themfelves, and are loth that others fhould take part with them; but the most noble and most generous minds are most free and enlarged, and cannot be happy themselves, unless they find or make others fo. This is the highest pitch of goodness, and confequently the highest contentment, and the fupreme delight of the divine nature. Now it is natural to every body, to be most frequent and abundant in thofe acts in which it finds the greatest pleasures; to be good, and to do good, is the fupreme felicity of God himself; therefore we may easily believe, that he is very ready and forward to make us happy, by a'l the ways that are agreeable to his wifdom and righteoufnels; and that he is alfo willing to make us abundantly fo, and to advance us to the highest degree of felicity, of which our nature is capable, if we do not render ourselves incapable of such a bleffing, by an obftinate refufal of it, and utter indifpofition for it. This, I fay, is very credible, because the happinefs of GOD himself confifts in that propenfion and difpofition of nature, which tends to make others happy. And if there can be any acceffion to that which is infinite, GoD himself finds a new pleasure and felicity in the communication of his goodness to his creatures; and therefore is represented in scripture, as glad of " the converfion of a finner," because the finner hereby becomes capable of the happiness which GoD defigned for his creatures, and is always ready to confer upon them, whenever they they are qualified for it, and he can, with the ho- SER M. nour of his own perfections, bestow it upon them. There are two things which raife our hopes and expectation of good from any perfon; if he be able and willing to bestow upon us what we hope for from him. Now if any one can confer happiness upon us, it is he who is infinitely poffeft of it, and hath all the treasures of it in himself, and that GOD only is, who, as he is able, fo is willing to make us happy, if we be qualified for it; and it is no impairing of his happiness to make others happy; for even that goodnefs, which inclines him to communicate happiness to others, is a great part of his own felicity; fo that, as our SAVIOUR argues, "because "I live, you fhall live alfo," we may reafon in like manner, that " becaufe GOD is happy, we fhall be happy alfo," if we do but fincerely defire and endeavour to qualify ourselves for it. The goodness of God does ftrongly incline him to defire our happiness, and makes him willing and ready to bestow it upon us, whenever we are capable to receive it. 66 So that the goodness of GOD is the great foundation of all our hopes, and the firmeft ground of our afsurance of a bleffed immortality. It is the happinefs of the divine nature to communicate himself; and the communications of God's goodnefs to us are the cause of our happiness; and therefore, both for our example and encouragement, the goodness of GOD ought always to be reprefented to the greateft advantage, and we should endeavour to poffefs our minds with a firm belief and perfuafion of it, and to remove from the divine nature (which we all acknowledge to have infinitely more goodness than is to be found in any of the fons of men) whatever we would not attribute to a good man, and to vin CXXXII. |