God renews his mercies every day. His mercies fail not,' Lament, iii. 22. His mercies are renewed continually upon us.
So he is Father of all kind of mercies; privative* mercies, in freeing us from ill ; and positive mercies, in bestowing good. Pardoning mercies, healing mercies, preserving mercies, all mercies come from this Father of
I will not stand to unfold them in particular ; for indeed every thing that comes from God to his childi-en, it is a mercy. It is as it were dipt in. mercy before it comes to us. It is a mercy, that is, there is a freedom iu it, and a pity to his creature. For the creature is alway in some neces- sity and in some dependence. We are in a state of necessities in this life, in some misery or other, and that, as I said, is the object of mercy.
Besides, we are dependent for the good we have. It is at God's mercy to continue or to take away any comfort that he gives us. Every thing is a mercy. And in every thing we take from God we ought to conceive a mercy in it, and to think this is a mercy from God. If we have health, it is a mercy; if we have strength, it is a mercy; if we have deliverance, iti is a mercy. It comes in the respect and relation of a mercy, all that comes from God. He is not said to be the father of the thing ; but the ' Father of mercies.' There is a mercy contained in the thing. They come from- the pity and love of God, and that is the sweetest. Therefore, he is said to be the ' Father of mercies.' .
* That is, = ' negative.' — G.
2 COEINTIIIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 31
Quest. What use may v,'c make of this, that God is the ' Father of mercies ' ?
Atu. It is a point full of sweet and comfortable uses, to those that are not in the state of grace, and to those that are in the state of grace.
Use 1. To those that are not in the state of grace, they should nee here a haven to fiee to ; a city of rcfiujc to flee unto. Do but consider, thou wretched Boul, how God is styled a ' Father of mercies' to thee, a God of bounty. All is to allure thee to repentance, to allure thee to come in. He is not merciful by accident, but he is naturally merciful in himself. He hath bowels of mercy in himself. ' Mercy pleaseth him,' Micah vii. 18.
Therefore, despair not, thou drooping soul, whosoever thou art that are iinder the guilt of sin ! come to the Father of mercies ! cast thyself into this sea of his mercy ! hide thyself in these bowels ! be not an enemy to thine own mercy ! As Jonah saith, * Eefuse not thy own mercy,' Jonah ii. 8, that is oflered. There is mercy pressed upon thee, mercy with threatening if thou believe not mercy, now thou art called to receive it. The wrath of God hangs over thee as a 'weight, or as a sword ready to fall upon thee. As Christ saith, ' The wrath of God hangs over us,' John iii. 36, if we do not receive mercj' oflered us.
Allege not thy sins against mercy. Thy sins are the sins of a creature ; God is the ' Father of mercies.' He is infinite. Christ thy Saviour hath made an infinite satisfaction, and thy sins are finite, and in that respect there is mercy for thee if thou wilt come in, if thou apprehend and receive mercy.
' One deep calls upon another deep,' Ps. xlii. 7. The depth of thy sins and misery draws unto it, and calls upon the depth of mercy. ' The mercy of God is above all his works,' Ps. cxlv. 9. It is not only above all his works to cover them all, and under them to uphold them, but it is beyond them all. His mercy exceeds all other attributes to the creature. It is above his works, and upon his works, and. under his works, and it is above thy works too. He is more glorious in his mercy than in any other attri- bute. He doth all for the glory of his mercy, both in the creation and in the gospel. His mercy, therefore, is above his own works, and above thy works if thou come in.
Oil is of a kingly nature. It swims above all other liquids. So the mercy of God, hke oil, it swims above all other attributes in him, and above all sin in thee, if thou wilt receive it.
' Father of mercies.' In a coi-rupt estate the special mercy is forgiving mercy. If it were not for forgiving mercies, aU other gifts and mercies w^ere to little pui-pose. For it were but a reserving of us to eternal judg- ment, but a feeding the traitor to the day of execution, a giving him the liberty of the prison, which is nothing unless his treason be pardoned. So the forgiving mercy leads to all the rest. Now these forgiving mercies, they are unlimited mercies, there is no bounds of them. For he being the Father of Christ, who is an infinite person, and having received an infinite satisfaction from an infinite Person, he may well be infinitely merciful ; and himself is an infinite God. His mercies are like himself. The satisfaction whereby he may be merciful is infinite. Hereupon it is that he may par- don, and will pardon all sin without limitation, if they be never so great, never so many.