First, There is much of justice in all God's judgments. I prove it : —
1. From Gods nature : Ps. cxix. 137, * Righteous art thou, 0 Lord, and upright are thy judgments ; ' his work is as his being is, holy and
294 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. LXXXIII.
righteous ; all his providences carry a condecency and becomingness with his nature. We presume it of a righteous man that he will do righteous things ; and shall not we believe so of the holy God ? We cannot be infallibly persuaded of a righteous man, for a righteous man may leave his righteousness, because the creature is mutable ; and the most righteous and innocent man hath mixed principles, and his rule is without him, and sometimes he may hit it, and sometimes swerve from it : but Grod is unchangeable, his will and nature is the supreme reason and measure of all things ; his acts are accordingly, he cannot err, A carpenter who hath a line in his hand may chop right or miss ; but if we could suppose a carpenter whose hand was his rule, he would always hit right. We maybe confident the judge of all the earth will do right ; his righteousness and the righteousness of men differ infinitely more than a candle differeth from the sun : Zeph. iii. 5, ' The righteous God in the midst of thee will do no iniquity.' God will not, yea, he cannot ; it is contrary to his nature. Abraham might seek to wriggle out of danger by a shift, Noah might fall into drunken- ness, Lot pollute himself with incest, Moses trip in his faith, David destroy his innocent servant Uriah, Jonah fall into fear and rash anger, the angels may depart from their rule, if the divine goodness should cease to support them for a moment ; but it is impossible that God, who is holiness and righteousness itself, can err and fail in any of his actions.
2. God never afilicteth or bringeth on judgment without a cause : ' For this cause many are sick,' 1 Cor. xi. 30 ; there is something done on the creature's part before punishment is inflicted. If we consider God as the Lord dispensing grace, he acts sovereignly, and according to his own will and pleasure : ' Even so. Father, because it pleaseth thee,' Mat. xi. 27, for he may do with his own as he pleaseth ; it is no wrong to show his grace to some, and pass by others. But if we con- sider God as a judge, he never punisheth without a foregoing cause on the creature's part. God, who is arbitrary in his gifts, is not arbitrary in his judgments : there is a rule of commerce between him and his creatures, stated and set forth, and allowed and appointed by him, and consented unto by us : the directive and counselling part is the rule of our obedience, and the sanction or comminatory part is the rule of his judicial process. In acts of grace, and in dispensing with the violations of his law, he sometimes maketh use of his prerogative, but not in punishing, there he keepeth to his law ; and therefore it is that the saints do give him the honour of his justice: Dan. ix. 7, '0 Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto as confusion of face ; for we have sinned, and done wickedly, and have rebelled in departing from thy precepts ; ' Neh. ix. 33, * Thou art just in all that is brought upon us ; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly : ' all our trouble is the penalty of his broken law justly inflicted on us. In short, the breach is first on our part, there is some violation of his law or contempt of his grace ; but God loveth us first, there he hath the precedency ; he beginneth in all acts of grace, but the reason of his judicial dispensations is first with us. We are first in the oflence, and provide fuel for his wrath before it break out upon us.
3. When there is cause given, God doth not presently take it, but
VeR. 75.] SERMOXS UPON FSALM CXIX. 295
giveth sinners time in his process against them, and doth not presently execute the sentence of his word till they are found incorrigible. He giveth them warning before he striketh ; he wooeth and soliciteth by many kind messages to return to their duty, and speaketh to them sometimes in the rough, sometimes in the still voice : ' He bringeth his judgment to light every morning,' as the prophet speaketh, Zeph. iii. 5 ; he doth so delight in mercy, and is so tender of the workmanship of his hands, especially his own people, that he never proceedeth to t-everity as long as there is some way unessayed to reclaim them, not yet made use of. As one that would open a door, and knows not the key ; he tries key after key, one dispensation after another; he doth not lake the sinner at first word, but followeth him with frequent warnings of his danger, with offers of advantage if he return ; yea, at last he is loath to give them up to severe judgments, even then when he can ^;ca^ce without imputation to his holiness forbear any longer : Hosea xi. 8, ' How shall I give thee up ? I am God, and not man.' Such expostulations and speeches are very frequent in the prophets ; and all these speeches do abundantly justify God when he judgeth : he would fain hold otf the extremity of judgments deserved by them; the Lord maketli a stand, and would fain be prevented before he proceedeth to his strange work.