2. Wherefore, all the revenue of glory that God loill receive hy his ^uorslii]) depends merely on his oimi voluntary choice and ajjpoint- ment. All worship, I say, depends now on the sovereign will and pleasure of God. It is true there is a natural worship due from rational creatures by the law of their creation. This was indis- pensably and absolutely necessary at first. The very being of God and order of things required that it should be so. Supposing that God had made such creatures as we are, it could not he but that moral obedience was due unto him, — namely, that he should be be- lieved in, trusted, and obe^^ed, as the first cause, last end, and sove- reign Lord of all. But the entrance of sin, laying the sinner abso- lutely under the curse of God, utterly put an end to this order of things. Man was now to have perished immediately, and an end to be put unto the law of this obedience. But here, in the sovereign will of God, an interposition was made between sin and the sentence, and man was respited from destruction. All worship following hereon, even that which was before natural, by the law of creation, is now resolved into an arbitrary act of God's will.
And unto this end is all worship designed, — namely, to give glory unto God. For as God hath said that " he will be sanctified in all that draw nigh him," — that is, in his worship, — and that therein "he will be glorified," Lev. x. 3; and that "he that ofifereth him praise," — that is, performeth any part of his worship and service, — " glorifieth him," Ps. 1. 23 : so the nature of the thing itself declareth that it can have no other end. By this he hath all his glory, even from the inanimate creation.
3. Consider that God hath not prescribed anyivorship of himself iinto the angels that sinned. They are, indeed, under his power, and lie useth them as he pleaseth, to serve the ends of his holy provi- dence. Bounds he prescribes unto them by his power, and keeps them in dread of the full execution of his wrath; but he requires not of them that they should believe in him. They believe, indeed,
Ver. 4.] EVIDENCE of forgiveness with god. 463
and tremble. They have a natural apprehension of the being, power, providence, holiness, and righteousness of God, which is inseparable from their natures ; and they have an expectation from thence of that punishment and vengeance Avhich is due unto them, which is insepar- able from them as sinners; and this is their faith: but to believe in God, — that is, to put their trust in him, to resign up themselves unto him, — God requires it not of them. The same is the case with them also as to love, and fear, and delight, — all inward affections, which are the proper worship of God. These they have not, nor doth God any longer require them in them. They eternally cast them off in their first sin. And where these are not, where they are not re- quired, where they cannot be, there no outward worship can be pre- scribed or appointed; for external instituted worship is nothing but the way that God assigns and chooseth us to express and exercise the inward affections of our minds towards him. He rules the fallen angels " per nutum providentise," not " vei'bum pragcepti." Now, as God dealt with the angels, so also would he have dealt with man- kind, had he left them all under the curse, without remedy or hope of relief As he doth with them, — he eternally satisfies himself in that revenue of glory which ariseth unto him in their punishment, — so also he would have done with these, had there been no forgiveness with him for them. He would not have required them to fear, love, or obey him, or have appointed unto them any way of worship whereby to express such affections towards him; for to what end should he have done it? What righteousness would admit that service, duty, and obedience should be prescribed unto them who could not, ought not to have any expectation or hope of acceptance or reward? This is contrary to the very first notion which God requires in us of his nature: for "he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him," Heb. xl 6 ; which would not be so should he appoint a voluntary worship, and not propose a reward to the worshippers. Wherefore, —
4. It is evident that God, by the prescription of a worship unto sinners, doth fully declare that there is forgiveness luith him for them; for, —
(1.) He manifests thereby that he is willing to receive a neio reve- nue of glory from them. This, as we have proved, is the end of worship. This he would never have done but with a design of accepting and rewarding his creatures ; for do we think that he will be beholding unto them? — that he will take and admit of their voluntary, reasonable service, according to his will and command, without giving them a reward, yea, and such a one as then' obedience holds no proportion unto? No such thing would become his infinite self-sufficiency, goodness, and bounty. This the wife of Manoah well