7. It is not only the aim of the word, but of providence, and of all the dispensations of God to the creature, to represent him merciful. The whole world is a great volume, written within and without with characters and lines of mercy : Ps. cxlv. 9, ' His mercy is over all his works.' Every creature beareth the marks and prints of divine good- ness and bounty. Once more, the world is a great theatre and stage whereon mercy has been acting its part for these six thousand years. Justice is to have a solemn triumph at the last day. Now and then God hath kept a petty sessions, and given us occasion to say, ' Verily there is a God that judgeth the world,' as well as preserveth the world. But the greatest part that hath been acted upon the theatre of the world is mercy ; as you will easily see, if you consider — (1.) The black lines of providence. If God threaten, it is that he may not punish ; if he punish, it is that he may not punish for ever. In the sadder providences, though there be misery at the top, yet there is mercy at the bottom. Many times God threateneth, but it is to reclaim ; though he doth not change his counsel, yet he doth often change his sentence,!
^ ' Mutat sententiam sed non decretum.' — Bradwardine.
60 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [VeR. 2.
Jer. xviii. 7, 8 : when the message is nothing but plucking up and pulling down, free grace cometh in with a sudden rescue, and prevents the execution. Mercy, you see, is forced to use all methods, and to speak in the language of justice, that men may be more capable to receive it. Sometimes God punisheth, but with what aim H That he may not for ever punisli. It is we that make punishment to be a pledge of eternal damnation ; in its own aim it is a prevention, and so it proveth to the elect : ' We are judged of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world/ 1 Cor. xi, 32. So Hosea ii. 6, ' I will hedge up her way with thorns,' &c. We should soon grow worldly, and drowned in carnal business and projects, if God did not come now and then and blast our enterprises, and make us see our folly. We are puffed up, and God pricketh the bladder, 2 Cor. xii. 7. How sweet is this, when ' in the midst of judgment God remembereth mercy!' Yea, the very executions of justice are found to be one of the methods of mercy. In the middle of the first curse God dropped out a promise of the blessed seed; so often mercy overtaketh a judg- ment, and maketh it cease in the midway. Look, as there was a con- flict between the twins in Tamar's womb, Zarah did put out the hand, but Pharez broke out first ; so is there between God's mercy and justice : justice puts out the hand in a threatening, or some beginnings of a judgment, but mercy gets the start and brealceth out first. (2.) Consider the white lines of providence. He entreateth that he may do us good, and doth us good that he may do us good for ever. For his entreaties : It is not duty so much that is in the bottom of the exhor- tation as mercy. To glorify mercy is the last aim of God and his eternal purpose : ' He hath accepted us in the beloved, to the praise of his glorious grace,' Eph. i. 6. God receiveth no profit ; he entreateth us not that he may be happy, but that he may be liberal. See Prov, ix. 12, 'If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself ; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.' God dealeth with us as earnestly, as effectually, as if the profit were his own, but it wholly redoundeth to us. Again, he doth us good that he may do us good for ever. He trusteth us with mammon to prepare us for the true riches, Luke xvi. 11, and with the riches of grace to prepare us for glory. Look, as men, when they would put precious liquor into a vessel, first try it with water to see whether it leaketh or no, so doth God try us with com- mon mercies ; he giveth us an estate in the world, that, being moved with his goodness, we may look after an estate in the covenant and an interest in Christ, and so fit us for heaven. It is our wretchedness to make our table a snare and our welfare a trap. As the sea turneth all that it receiveth into salt water, the fresh streams, the influences of the heavens, &c., so do carnal men assimilate and corrupt their com- forts, and by little and little all their blessings are cursed ; for mercy can bear anything but a constant abuse and neglect of itself. Cer- tainly God's revealed will is otherwise ; that which cometh from God should lead us to God. See Eom. ii. 4, 5.
8. Consider in how many notions mercy is represented to us. God's mercy hath many names ; a distinct consideration of them yieldeth an advantage in believing ; for though they express the same thing, yet every notion begetteth a fresh thought, by which mercy is