3. As the freeness of mercies, dispensed by providence, engageth praise; so the multitudes of mercy heaped this way upon us strongly oblige the soul to thankfulness. Thus David comes be- fore the Lord encompassed with a multitude of mercies to praise him, Psal. v. 7. We have our loads of mercies, and that every day, Psal. Ixvii. 19. O what a rich heap will the mercies of one day make, being laid together !
4. As the multitudes of mercies dispensed by providence oblige to praise ; so the tenderness of God''s mercy manifested in his providence, leaves the soul under a strong obligation to thankful- ness. We see what tender resentments the Lord hath of all our wants, straits, and burdens, Psal. ciii. 13. " Like as a father pi- *' tieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." He
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is full of bowels, as that word co>.j(rcr?way;/vog in James V. 11. signi- fies. Yea, there are not only bowels of compassion in our God, but the tenderness of bowels like those of a mother to her sucking child, Isa. xhx. 15. He feels all our pains as if the apple of his eye were touched, Zech. ii. 8. and all this is discovered to his peo- ple in the way of his providences with them^ Psal. cxi. 1, 2, 8, 4. O who of all the children of God hath not often found this in his providences ? And who can see it, and not be filled with thankful- ness ? All these are so many bands clapt by providence upon the soul to oblige it to a life of praise. Hence it is that the prayers of the saints are so full of thanksgivings upon these accounts ; it is sweet to recount them to the Lord in prayer ; to lie at his feet in an holy astonishment at his gracious condescensions to poor worms.
Tlie due observation of providence will endear Jesus Christ every day more and more to your souls. Christ is the channel of grace and mercy ; through him are all the decursus et recursus gratiarum^ all the streams of mercy that flow from God to us, and all the re- turns of praise from us to God, 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. All things are ours upon no other title but our being his.
Now there be six things in providence that are exceedingly en- dearing to the Lord Jesus Christ to his people : And these are the most sweet and delicious parts of all our enjoyments.
1. The purchase of all those mercies which providence conveys to us, is by his own blood : for not only spiritual and eternal mercies, but even all our temporal ones, are the acquisition of his blood *. Look, as sin forfeited all, so Christ restored all these mercies to us again by his death. Sin had so shut up the womb of mercy, that had not Christ made an atonement by his death, it could never have brought forth one mercy to all eternity for us. It is with him that Godi Jreely gives us all things, Kom. viii. 82. " Heaven itself, and " all things needful to bring us thither, among which is princi- " pally included the tutelage and aid of Divine Providence f :" so that whatever good we receive from the hand of providence, we must put it upon the score of Christ's blood ; and when we re- ceive it, we must say, it is the price of blood : it is a mercy rising up out of the death of Christ : it cost him dear, though it come to me freely : it is sweet in the possessio7i^ but costly in the acquisition : now this is a most endearing consideration: did Christ die that these mercies might live ? Did he pay his invaluable blood to pur-
* That is, their covenant title unto ihem, and the sanctified use of them. £ditor. f Poll Synopsis in loc.
TrtE MYSTEkY OF PIIOVIDEXCE. 451
clmse tliese comforts that I possess ? O what transcendent, match* less love was tlie love of Christ ! You have known parents that have laid out all their stock of money to purchase estates for their children ; but when did you hear of any that sj^ent the whole stock and treasure of tlicir blood to make a purchase for them ? If the life of Christ had not been so afflictive and sad to him, ours could not have been so sweet and comfortable to us : it is through his poverty we arc enriched, 2 Cor. viii. 9. These sweet mercies that are born of providence every day are the fruits of the travail of his soul.
a. The sanctification of all is by our union with Christ : it is hy virtue of our union with his person, that we enjoy the sanctified gifts and blessings of providence. All these are mercies additional to tliat great mercy, CHRIST, Matth. vi. 83. They are given with him, as in Rom. viii. f32. This is the tenure by which we hold them, 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23. Look, what we lost in Adam, is restored again with advantage in Christ : immediately upon the fall, that curse. Gen. iii. 17. seized upon all the miserable posterity of Adam, and upon all their comforts, outicard as well as inzcard; and this still lies heavy upon them : all that providence doth for them that are chnstless, is but to feed so many poor condemned ■wretches, till the sentence they are under be executed upon them : it is indeed bountiful and open-handed to many of them, and fills them with earthly comforts ; but not one special sanctified mercy is to be found among all their enjoyments ; these gifts of provi- dence do but deceive, defile, and destroy them through their own corruptions, and for want of union with Christ, Prov. i. 32. <' The " prosperity of fools shall destroy them."
But when a man is once in Christ, then all providences are sanc- tified and sweet, Tit. i. 15. " Untor the pure all things are pure. " A little that a righteous man hath is better than the treasures of " many wicked,'' Psal. xxxvii. 16. Now Christ becomes an head of injiucnce as well as of dominion ; and in all things he consults the good of his own members, Eph. i. 22.
3. The dispensation of all our comforts and mercies is by his di- rection and appointm'ent. It is true the angels are employed in the kingdom of providence, they move the wheels, i. e. are instrumen- tal in all the revolutions of this low^er world ; but still they receive directions and orders from Christ, as you may see in that admirable scheme of providence, Ezek. i. 25, 26, &c. ' Now what an endear- ing meditation is this ! Whatever creature be instrumental for any good to you, it is our Lord Jesus Christ that gave the orders and commands to that creature to do it; and without it they could have done nothing for you : it is your Head in heaven that con- sults your peace and comfort on earth. These be the fruits <^ his
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care for you. So in the preventions and restraints of evil ; it is he that bridles in the wrath of devils and men, he holds the reins in his own liands. Rev. ii. 10. It was the care of Christ over his poor sheep at Damascus that stopt the raging adversary who was upon the way designing to destrov them, Acts ix.