Use 3d. To conclude : a word to the wick- ed, who march furiously against God and his people — Let them know, God's decree is unchangeable; God will not alter it, nor can they break it ; and while they resist God's will, they fulfil it. There is a two- fold will of God, voluntas pracepti et decretiy — the will of God's precept, and of his decree. While the wicked resist t]ie will of God's precept, they fulfil the will of his permissive decree. Judas betrays Christ, — Pilate condemns him, — the soldiers crucify him, — while they resisted the will of God's
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prece()ts, tliey fulfilled the will of his ])ci- missive decree, Acts iv. 28. Such as are wicked, God coniniiuids one thing, they do tl»e quite contrary; to keep the sabbath, they profane it : wJiiie they disobey his com- mand, they fulfil his permissive decree. If a man sets up two nets, one of silk, the other of iron, the silken net may be broken, not
the iron : God's commands are the silken net. AVhile men break the silken net ot God's command, they ai'e taken in the ij'on net of his decree ; while they sit backward to God's precepts, they row forward to his decree ; his decree to permit their sin, andl to punish them for their sin permitted.
OF THE WISDOM OF GOD.
THE next attribute is God"'s wisdom ; •which is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead, Job. ix. 4., " He is wise in heart." The heart is the seat of wisdom ; Cor in HebrcBO sumititr pro Jiidicio, Pineda. A- mong the Hebrews, the heart is put for wis- dom, Job xxxiv. 34., Let men of understand- ing tell me," — in the Hebrew, " Let men of heart tell me." God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise : L God is only \vise ; he doth solely and wholly possess all wis- dom ; therefore he is called, " the only wise God," I Tim. i. 17. All the treasures of wisdom are locked up in him, and no crea- ture can have any wisdom but as God is pleased to give it out of his treasury. — 2. God is perfectly wise; there is no defect in his wisdom. Men may be wise in some things, but in other things may betray im- prudence and weakness. But God is the exemplar and pattern of wisdom, and the pattern must be perfect, Matth. v. 48. God's wisdom appears in two things : 1st, His in- finite intelligence. 2dly, His exact working.
1st. His infinite intelligence. He knows the most profound, abstruse secrets, Dan. ii. 28. He knows the thoughts, which are the most intricate subtle things, Amos iv. 13., " He declareth to man what is his thought." Let sin be contrived ever so ])o- litically, God will pull off all masks and dis- guises, and make an heart-anatomy. He knows all future contingencies, ei ante in- tuita, all things are before him in one clear prospect.
2d. His exact curious working. He is wise in heart ; his wisdom lies in his works. Tliese works of God are bound up in tlnee great volumes, where we may read ids wis- dom.
1 . Tlie work of creation. Tlie creation, as it is a monument of God's power, so a looking-glass in which we may see his wis- dom. None but a wise God could so curi ously contrive the world. Behold the earth decked with variety of flowers which are both for beauty and fragrancy, — the heaven bespangled with lights; we may see the glorious wisdom of God blazing in the sun, twinkling in the stars. His wisdom is seen in the marshalling and ordering every thing in its proper place and sphere ; if the sun had been set lower, it would have burnt us; if higher, it would not have warmed us with its beams. God's wisdom is seen in appointing the seasons of the year, Ps. Lvxiv. 17., " Thou hast made summer and winter." If it had been all summer, tlie heat would have scorched us ; if all winter, the cold would have killed us. The wis- dom of God is seen in chequering the dark and the light ; if it had been all night, there had been no labour, — if all day, there had been no rest. Wisdom is seen in mixing the elements, the earth with the sea; if it liad been all sea, then we had A\anted bread ; if it had been all earth, then we liad want- ed water. The wisdom of God is seen in preparing and ripening the fruits of the earth ; the wind and I'rost prej)are the fruits, the sun and rain ripen the fruits, God s wisdom is seen in setting bounds to the scii, and so wisely contriving it, that though tlie sea be higher than the earth, yet it should not overllow the earth ; so that we may cry out with the Psalmist, Ps. civ. 24, " O, Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wis- dom hast thou made them all." There is nothing to be seen but miracles of wisdom. God's wisdom is seen in ordering things
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in the body politic, that one shall have need of another ; the poor need the rich man's money, and tlie rich need the poor man's lahonr. God makes one trade de- pend npon another, that one may be help- ful to another, and that mutual love may be preserved.