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as God never did, nor ever will, reject. " O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days ! Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy ser- vants, and thy glory unto their children : and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us :" that is, Let us have such tokens of thy love, and such communi- cations of thy grace, as may carry us forward with com- fort, and prepare us for thy more immediate presence.
For the further elucidation of my text, I will en- deavour to shew, I. Wherein the beauty of the Lord our God consists —
But in attempting to speak on such a subject, I feel that I shall only " darken counsel by words without knowledge:" for " we cannot by searching find out God, we cannot find out the Almighty to perfection." Yet, as we are able, we must declare him unto you, and set forth his perfections,
1. As existing in himself — [We need only open our eyes and survey the visible crea- tion, to be assured of his eternal power and godhead. In this respect the most stupid heathens, in neglecting to worship him, are without excuse. The magnitude and number of the hea- venly bodies, all moving so exactly in their respective courses, and fulfilling the ends for which they were designed ; and the variety and beauty of the things existing on this terraqueous globe, all so adapted for their respective offices and uses, and all subservient to one great design, the glory of their Creator ; evince that his wisdom and goodness are equal to his power. I am not aware that philosophers have any advantage over those of less intelligence in things which are known only by revelation: because those things can be known only by the teachings of God's Spirit ; and the Holy Spirit can instruct one as easily as another, and does often " reveal to babes what is hid from the wise and prudent:" but in the things which are obvious to our senses they have a great advantage, because by their proficiency in different sciences they attain a comprehensive knowledge of many things, of which the generality of persons have no con- ception ; and consequently, they can discern traces of divine wisdom, and goodness, and power, which can never come under the view of one that is illiterate and uninformed.
If from the works of creation we turn our eyes to the dis- pensations of Providence, we shall see all the same perfections
653.] god's beauty imparted to his people. 127
illustrated and displayed to yet greater advantage ; because they shew how entirely every created being, however unconscious, or however adverse, fulfils his will, and executes his designs
But it is in the work of redemption that the perfections of God must be chiefly viewed ; because in that are displayed his justice, his mercy, and his grace : for the exercise of which there is, in the works of creation and of providence, compara- tively but little scope.
But, to discover these, we must view them,]
As displayed in the person of his Son —
[The Lord Jesus Christ is called " the image of the invi- sible Godc," because in him Jehovah, "who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen or can seed," is rendered visible to mortal eyes ; so that in him we see " the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person e." We know that "in his face all the glory of the Godhead shines ;" and that on that account the god of this world is so anxious to blind our eyes, and to hide him from our view*. See then in him, and in his cross, not some perfections only, but all, even all the perfections of the Godhead shining in their utmost splendour. Draw nigh to the garden of Gethsemane, or to Mount Calvary, and there take a view of your adorable Saviour. How awful does the justice of the Deity appear, when not one sinner in the universe could be received to mercy, nor one single transgression of God's law be pardoned, till an atone- ment should be offered for it, not by any creature, but by the Creator himself, whose blood alone could expiate our guilt, and whose righteousness alone could serve as a sufficient title for our acceptance before God. And how bright does mercy appear, in that, rather than man should perish after the example of the fallen angels, God vouchsafed to give his only dear Son to die for us, and to effect our reconciliation by the blood of his cross ! What wisdom too is displayed in this way of making the truth of God, which denounced death as the penalty of sin, to consist with the happiness and salvation of those who had committed it! as the Psalmist says, " Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other g." To make these perfections unite in the salvation of men, and to bring to every perfection far higher glory than it could have had if it had stood alone ; (for whilst each shines in its own proper glory, each has a tenfold lustre reflected on it by the opposite perfection with which it is made to harmonize ;) this required the utmost possible effort both of wisdom and grace ; and to all eternity will it form the chief subject of adoration and praise amongst all the hosts of heaven. Here is God seen as " forgiving