I. A solemn oath —
" Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord speaketh," yea, sweareth ; and, " because he can swear by no greater, he swears by himself," even by his own life and immortal perfections. But what is it which Jehovah condescends to confirm in this solemn manner ?
1. That he hath no pleasure in the death of a
sinner —
[What ? was this a matter so doubtful, that it was neces- sary to remove our doubts in such a way? Me thinks, we need no further proof of this than our own continuance in the land of the living. Should we, should any of us, have been here, if God had taken pleasure in our death ? Have we not provoked God in ten thousand instances to cut us off, and would he not long since have consigned us over to perdition,
if he had not been slow to anger, and rich in mercy ?
Would God moreover have given his only dear Son to die for us, and his blessed Spirit to convert and sanctify us, yea, would he wait so long to be gracious unto us, and, notwith- standing our obstinacy, follow us every day with invitations, entreaties, promises, and expostulations ; would he act thus, I
say, if he had pleasure in our death? Surely it was not
any uncertainty respecting this truth itself, but our backward- ness to believe it, that gave occasion for such an astonishing vindication of it.]
2. That he has pleasure in the conversion and sal- vation of sinners —
[This is not at all less obvious than the foregoing truth : and the same observations which confirm the one, will esta- blish the other also. But we may farther refer both to exist- ing facts, and most explicit declarations, in support of this assertion. We cannot conceive more atrocious guilt than that which David had contracted, guilt aggravated a hundred-fold by his past professions and experience. But no sooner did he acknowledge his transgression, than the prophet who had been commissioned to denounce the heaviest judgments against him, was inspired to reply, The Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not dieb. In what beautiful colours is the mercy of our God painted in the parable of the lost sheep, and the return- ing prodigal ! Is it possible for words more fully to describe how much " he delighteth in mercy ?" Let us marvel then at the condescension of our God in confirming such declarations
b 2 Sam. xii. 13.