There is a general compassion in God, by which he proceeds in the dispensation of his providence, that is too hard for the apprehensions of men when they come to be concerned in it. Poor Jonah was angry that he was so merciful, chap. iv. 2, " I knew that thou wast not one for me to deal with : thou art so gracious and merciful, slow to anger, of such kindness, and repentest thee of the evil, that it is not for me, with any credit or reputation, to be engaged and employed in thy work and service." And if God be thus full of compassion to the world, which to- day is, and to-mori'ow shall be cast into the fire, is he not much more loving and tender unto you, " 0 ye of little faith?" Suit, then, the thoughts of your hearts, in your dealing with God, to this revelation which he hath made of his own nature. He is good, — love and kind- ness itself; fury is not in him, — he is ready to forgive, accept, em- brace. And, —
(3.) According to his name and nature, so are his dealings with us, and his actings towards us. From him who is so called, so disposed, we may expect that what he doth in a suitableness thereunto he will do with great readiness and cheerfulness, that so he may answer his
40 THE STRENGTH OF FAITH.
name, and express liis nature. " How, then, will lie show and manifest these things %" See Isa. lv. 7, He will have mercy : he is love, — he will have mercy; yea, " he will abundantly pardon." " But how will he do it?" Verse 8, Alas ! you cannot think how: his thoughts are not as your thoughts. You have poor, low, mean thoughts of God's way of pardoning; you can by no means reach to it, or comprehend it: raise your apprehensions to the utmost, yet you come not near it. Verse 9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your Avays, and my thoughts than your thoughts/' " But doth not God, then, pardon as we do ? — come hardly to it, through many persuasions, and at length do it sxojv a'sxovri ys Su/tw, — ' with an unwilling kind of willingness,' that ingenuous spirits had almost as willingly have our wrath as our pardon ?" No such thing. What he doth, he doth with his whole heart, and his whole soul, Jer. xxxii. 41 ; and rejoices in the doing of it, Zeph. hi. 1 7. He will have mercy, he will abundantly pardon ; he will do it with his whole soul; he will rejoice in his so doing, and rest in his love. I know not what we can desire more, to assure us of free acceptance with him. You will say, perhaps, that this is but sometimes; and it is well if we can come nigh him in that season. Nay, but he is acting herein suitably to his name and nature ; his whole soul and his whole heart is in it : and therefore he will take a course for the accomplishing of it. Isa. xxx. 18, He will wait to be gracious. His heart is set upon it, and he will take advantage to accomplish his desire and design. And if our stubbornness and folly be such as to be ready to wear out his patience, — to make him weary, as he contains, Isa. xliii. 24, and to cause him to serve beyond the limits of his patience, — he will be exalted, take to himself his great power for the removal of our stub- bornness, that he may be merciful unto us. One way or other he will accomplish the desire of his heart, the design of his grace.
For the farther clearing of this truth, take along with you these few considerations of God's dealing with us, and his condescension therein, that he may act suitably to his own nature and name: —
[1.] His comparing himself to creatures of the most tender and boundless affection, Isa. xlix. 15, 16. This is as high as we can go. The affection of a mother to a sucking child, the child of her womb, is the utmost instance that we can give of love, tenderness, and affec- tion. "This," says God, "you cannot think, you ought not to imagine, that a tender, loving mother, should not have compassion on ' a sucking child, the son of her womb.' Things will act according to their natures, — even tigers love their own offspring; and shall 'a woman forget her sucking child ?' But yet," saith God, " raise up your apprehensions to this, take it for granted that she may do so, — which yet, without offering violence to nature, cannot be imagined, — ' yet I
THE STRENGTH OF FAITH. 41
will not forget you;' — this will not reach my love, my affection." Were we as secure of the love of God to us, as we are of the love of a good, gracious mother to her sucking child, whom we see embracing of it, and rejoicing over it all the day long, we would think our estate very comfortable and secure. But, alas ! what is this to the love of God to the meanest saint on the earth ! What is a drop to the ocean ! what is a little dying, decaying affection, to an infiniteness, an eternity of love! See the working of this love in God, Hos. xi. 8, 9; Jer. xxxi. 20.