Ohs. 2. Whatever we have from above, we have it in the way of a gift. We have nothing but ' what we have received,' and what we have received we have received ' freely.' There is nothing in us that could oblige God to bestow it ; the favours of heaven are not set to sale. When God inviteth us to mercy, he doth not invite us as a host, but as a king ; not to buy, but to take : they are most welcome that have no money, Isa. Iv. 1 ; that is, no confidence in their own merits. Some divines say, that in innocency we could not merit. When the covenant did seem to hang upon w^orks, we could, in their sense, impefrare, but not TOerer^— obtain by virtue of doing, but not deserve. Merit and desert are improper notions to express the rela- tion between the work of a creature and the reward of a Creator ; and much more incongruous are they since the fall. Sin, bringing in a contrariness of desert, maketh mercy much more a gift ; so that now in every [fiving there is somewhat oi forgiving, and grace is the more obliging because in every blessing there is not only bounty, but a pardon. It was long since determined by the schools, that penitents had more reason to be thankful than innocents, sin giving an advantage to mercy to be doubly free in giving and pardoning, and so the greater obligation is left upon us. Oh ! then, that we were sensible of this ; that in all our actions our principle might be a sense of God's love, and our end or motive a sight of God's glory.
065. 3. That among all the gifts of God, spiritual blessings are the
llli AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. I. 17.
best : tliese are called liere jj^oocl and perfect, because these make us good and perfect. It is very observable tliat it is said, Mat. vii. 11, ' If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, much more shall your Father -which is in heaven give good things to tiieiu that ask him.' Kow in the parallel place in Luke xi. 13, it is, gi"- * the Holy Sjnrit to them that ask him ;' that is the giving of good gil't^, to give the Holy ^^llirit. yHiil bonum sine suinmo bono^ — there can be nothing good where there is not the Spirit of God: other blessings are promiscuously dispensed; these are blessings for favourites. The ' men of God's hand,' Ps. xvii. 14, may have abun- dance of treasure, that is, violent, bloody men ; but the ' men atier God's heart' have abundance of the Spirit. A man may be weary of other gifts , an estate may be a snare, life itself a burden ; but you never knew any weary of spiritual blessings, to whom grace or the love of God was a burden ; therefore, it is ' better than life,' Ps. Ixiii. 3. Well, then, they are profane spirits that i)refer pottage before a birthright, vain delights before the good and perfect gifts. David makes a wi.ser choice in his piayer, Ps. cvi. 4, ' Pvemember me, 0 Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people ; 0 visit me with thy salvation.' Not every mercy will content David, but the mercy of God's own people ; not every gift, but the good and perfect gift. The like prayer is in Ps. cxix. 132, ' Look upon me, and be- merciful unto me, as thou usest to do to those that love thy name.' Mark, not the mercies that he used to bestow upon the world, but the mercies he used to bestow upon his jjcople and favourites. No- thing but the best mercy will content the best hearts.
Obs. 4. That God is the Father of lights. Light being a simple and defecate quality, and, of all those which are bodily, most pure and spiritual, is often ])ut to decipher the essence and glory of God, and also the essences and perfections of creatures as they are from God. The essence of God : 1 John i. 5, ' God is light, and there is no darkness in him.' There light, being a creature simple and unmixed, is ])ut to note the simplicity of the divine essence. Ho also tlie glory of God: ' He dwelleth in light inaccessible,' 1 Tim. vi. 1(> ; that is, in inconceivable glory. So Jesus Christ, in regard he received his ])ersonality and subsistence from the Father, is called, in the Nicene Creed, (f>cb<i Ik <^Sno^, 0€o<i dXijOuv^ ck 6eov aXrjOivov, ' Light of light, and very God of very God.' So also the creatures, as they derive their })erfections from God, are also called lights; as the angels, ' Angels of light, 2 Cor. xi. 14; the saints, ' Children of light, ' Luke xvi. 8. Yea, reasonable creatures, as they have wisdom and under- standing, are said to be lights; so John i. i), ' This is the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world ; ' that is, with the light of reason: all the candles in the world are liglited at this torch. In short, reason, wisdom, holiness, happiness are often expressed by light, and they are all from God. As the stars shine with a borrowed lustre, so do all the creatures ; where you meet with any brightness and excellency in them, remember it is but a streak and ray of the divine glory. As the star brought the wise men to Christ, so should all the stars in the world bring up your thoughts to God, who is