Arg. 1. From the perfection of his goodness and blessedness ; God is optimus maximits, the best and chiefest good, and in that sense, " There is none good but one, which is God," Mark x. 18. From whence it is thus argued. If there be any change in God, that change must either be for the better, or for the worse, or into a state equal with that he possessed before.
' But not for the better, for then he could not be the chief good ; nor for the worse, for then he must cease to be God, the perfection of whose nature is perfectly exclusive of all defects ; nor into an equal state of goodness with that he possessed before ; that notion
%vould involve Polythe'ism, and suppose two first and equal beings ; besides the vanity of such a change would be absolutely repugnant to the wisdom of God.
Therefore with the Father of lights can be no variableness nor shadow of turning.
Arg. 2. The unchangeableness of God may be evinced from the purity, sincerity, and uncompoundedness of his being, in which there neither is, nor can be the least mixture, he being a pure act. From whence it is thus argued ;
If there be any change in God, that change must be made either by something without himself, or by something within himself, or by both together.
But it cannot be by any thing without himself; for in him all created dependent beings live and move, and enjoy the beings they have ; and all the changes that are among them, are from the plea- sure of this unchangeable Being, he changeth them, but it is not possible for him, upon whose pleasure they so entirely and absolutely depend, both as to their beings and workings, to suffer any changes himself from, or by them.
Nor can any such change be made upon God by any thing within himself: for that would suppose action and passion, movens et motum, a mixture and composition in his nature, which is absolutely re- jected and excluded by the simphcity and purity thereof; seeing therefore it can neither be from any power without him, nor any mixture within him, there can be no change at all made on
Arrr. 3. That is by no means to be ascribed to God, which at once eclipses the glory of his name, and overthrows the hopes and comforts of all his people.
But so would the supposition of mutability in God do, this would level him with the vain changeable creature ; whereas it is a principal part of his glory, that " He is not a man that he should " lie, neither the son of man that he should repent," Numb, xxiii. 19. This also would overthrow the hopes and comforts of all his people, which are built upon this attribute as upon their stable and sohd foundation : Among divers others we find three principal privileges of the people of God, built upon his immutability, viz.
1. Their perseverance in grace.
2. Their comfort in the promises.
3. Their hopes of eternal life.
1. Their perseverance in grace is built upon the foundation of God's unchangeableness ; one main reason why Christians never repent of their choice of Christ, and the ways of godliness, is, be- cause the gifts and callings of God are without repentance, Rom.
THE RIGHTEOUS MAN^S REFUGE. 377
\i. S9. Should God but once repent of the gifts of his grace he hath bestowed on us, and alter in liis love towards us, how soon would our love to God, and delight in God vanish, as the image in the glass doth, when the man that looked upon it hath once turned away his face ?
2. All their comfort in the promises is built upon God's un- changeableness. The promises are the springs of consolation ; should they fail and dry up, the whole world could not afford them one drop of spiritual comfort to refresh their thirsty souls; the strength of our consolation immediately results from the stability and firmness of the scripture promises, Heb. vi. 18.
8. Their hope of eternal life depends upon the unchangeableness of God that hath promised, Tit. i. % " In hope of eternal life, " which God that cannot lie promised before the world began." Take away the immutability of God, and you at once darken and eclipse his glory, and overturn the perseverance, consolations, and hopes of all his people ; but blessed be God, these things are built upon firm foundations.
1. His nature is unchangeable, " Thou art the s,ame for ever." Psal. cii. 27. The heavens, though they be the purest, and there- fore the most durable and unchangeable part of the creation, yet they shall perish and wax old, and be changed as a vesture; but our God is the same for ever.
2. His power is unchangeable ; Isa. lix. 1. " The Lord's hand " is not shortened." Time will enfeeble the strongest creature, and cut short the power of the hands of the mighty, they cannot do in their decrepit age as they were wont to do in their youthful and vigorous age ; but the Lord's hand never is, nor can be shortened.
3. The counsels and purposes of his heart are unchangeable, Psal. xxxiii. 11. " The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the " thoughts of his heart to all generations."
4. The goodness, truth, and mercy of God are unchangeable, Psal. c. 5. " The Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his " truth endureth to all generations."
5. The word of God is unchangeable. Though all flesh be as grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field, yet the word of our God shall stand for ever ; all the promises contained therein are sure and stedfast : Not yea and nay, but yea and Amen for ever, 2 Cor i. 20.
6. The love of God is an unchangeable love, Jer. xxxi. 3. " Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love."
7. In a word, all the gracious pardons of God are unchangeable; as they are full without exceptions, so they are final pardons with- out any revocation. " I will be merciful to their unrighteousness^
378 THE RIGHTEOUS MAN^S HEFUGS.
" and their iniquities and sins will I remember no more,'"' Hel;, viii. 12. And thus much briefly of God's unchangeableness abso- lutely considered in itself.
Sect. II. Let us next consider, and briefly view the unchange* ableness of God in its respect and relation,
2. To his providences.
1. The immutability of God gives down its comforts to be- lievers through the promises, there is no other way by which they can have a comfortable admission into this chamber or attribute of God ; and there are six sorts of promises in the word, by which it is highly improveable to their support and comfort in an evil day. For,
1. The unchangeable God hath engaged himself by promise to be with his people at all times and in all straits, Heb. xiii. 5. " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." The life, joy, and comfort of a believer lies in the bosom of that promise, the con- clusion of faith from thence is sweet and sure : If I bhall never be forsaken of my God, let hell and earth do their worst, I can never be miserable.