his goodness every day, even to the most undeserving and ill-deserving creatures. This is work both pleasant and profitable. "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things; even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord."

That which is good is lovely-and amiable. Now, God is the chief good, perfectly good, infinitely good; therefore he is most worthy of your love, and should be loved with a superlative love, above all other things. His goodness renders him beautiful, and his beauty renders him lovely. Therefore both are joined together in my text, "How great is his goodness! And how great is his beauty!" You cannot love God as he deserves: but you should love him as you can, and lament that you love him no better. Prefer his glory above all that is dear to you; and be ready to part with all things for him. The blessings and benefits you have received from him solicit your love. There is an obligation on every man's nature to answer bounty with love. But you should love him especially for the goodness and excellency of his own nature. This is to love God for himself.

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THE PATIENCE OF GOD.

Patience is so necessary a perfection of God, that the glory of his other perfections would be much obscured without it. Were it not for his patience, how could his wisdom be glorified in bringing good out of evil, and so much good out of so great an evil as sin is? If he presently executed deserved wrath upon the enemies of the church, how would his power be glorified, in preserving his people in the hot furnace of affliction? And how would his wisdom in contriving, and his power in accomplishing their deliverance, be visible and conspicuous to the world?

And without the exercise of patience, how could the equity of his justice be manifest and unquestionable? If he were not patient toward sinners, he might seem to be cruel to them.

When God actually restrains his anger, and forbears deserved punishment, this is his patience in the exercise of it. Hence we may see a difference between God's patience and his mercy; patience spares the sinner, and mercy relieves him in his misery. So that patience comes in, as it were, between justice and mercy. 1. It silences justice. Hence is that expression, "I kept silence." I did not speak unto thee in my wrath. The justice of God is his sword, and patience is as it were the sheath of it. Therefore when the time of God's patience is expired, he is said "to draw forth his sword out of its sheath." 2. It ushers in mercy, and prepares the way for the exercise thereof. Therefore it is placed in the first rank: "The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy." There would be no place for mercy, if patience did not prepare the way. He "waits that he may be gracious." Patience spares the sinner, that mercy may relieve him.

Of all the other perfections of the divine nature, this perfection of patience hath the shortest time wherein to act its part. The power of God will be exerted in the world to come, in punishing the damned, in upholding the new heaven and earth, and the rational creatures in their beings. His goodness and mercy have a heaven, and his justice and holiness a hell, wherein to display themselves to eternity but his patience hath no other stage but this world whereon to act. After this world is at an end, it will remain shut up in the deity, without any further operation. The time of this life is the only time of long-suffering.

God exerciseth patience to manifest and show forth his gracious, merciful, and reconcileable nature.

For this end he exercised so much patience and long-suffering toward Paul, "that in him Christ Jesus might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." That is, that he might be a pattern of Christ's patience to other sinners; to let them understand, that neither the greatness nor the multitude of their sins should be a bar to his mercy and grace, if they would believe on his name. He exerciseth great patience toward sinners, to let them know that they may find grace in his sight on gracious terms, whatsoever their sins have been. His patience is a witness of his tenderness, and readiness to show mercy on terms of grace.

Admire the patience of God. It is matchless and incomparable.

1. Compare it with the patience of the holiest men on earth. Never was there a man like Moses, for meekness, patience, and long-suffering; yet he could not bear with the provocations of the Israelites : when they provoked his meek spirit, "he spake unadvisedly with his lips." O how impatient was he? "Ye rebels," says he, " must we fetch you water out of this rock!" And, in his passion, "he smote the rock twice." Again, though the apostles James and John were good men, yet how ready were they to call for "fire from heaven upon the Samaritans, because they refused to receive their Lord and Master! A slight affront, in comparison of what he receives from many among us. Mr. Bolton says, if the most tender-hearted man should sit but one hour in the throne of God, and look down on the earth, as God doth continually, and see what abominations are done in that hour, he would undoubtedly, in the next, set all the world on fire.

2. Compare it with the patience of angels. They could not bear with sinners as God doth. When God promised an angel to conduct the children of

Israel into Canaan, and to drive out their enemies, and gave this reason why he declined to conduct them immediately by himself, lest their stubbornness should provoke him to destroy them, it is said, that "the people murmured at these evil tidings." Why, what evil tidings were here? They knew, if God could not bear with their provocations, much less could angels; therefore, if a created angel be their guide, they must all perish. Hence it is, that as soon as God had proclaimed his name, gracious and long-suffering, Moses falls a-praying, “Let my Lord, I pray thee, go amongst us; for it is a stiff-necked people." What an argument was this? Because none but God had the patience to bear with them. As if he had said, Though thou shouldest send the most tender-hearted angel in heaven to conduct them, they would be a lost people.

3. Compare it with the patience of the glorified saints. Though their patience be perfect in its kind, yet it is not like God's. The souls under the altar are a clear instance of this: they " cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" It is true, here was no sinful impatience; yet a patience infinitely short of the patience of God. The glorified saints are not so able to bear the slow pace of justice against the enemies of the church, as Christ is. If the government of the world had been committed to them, it had been at an end long ere now.

THE MERCY OF GOD.

That we may be engaged to trust in God alone, it is necessary that we believe and consider his mercy as well as his power. The power of God alone is not a sufficient foundation for trust. Something more is

necessary to invite us to a dependence on him, than his bare power and ability to help us. There must be also a firm persuasion of the promptitude and readiness of his will to do what he is able: and this we have in the other attribute of his mercy. Though we are undeserving and ill-deserving creatures, yet he is a merciful God, not only able, but ready to help and succour poor miserable creatures, notwithstanding of their sins. This answers all objections from our sinfulness and unworthiness.

Mercy is the great wonder of the divine nature. Every thing in God is wonderful, but especially his pardoning mercy. It is not so great a wonder that he made the heaven and the earth, and rules the raging sea, and hangs the earth upon nothing; because he is infinite in power: but that he should be merciful to sinners, and infinitely merciful when he is infinitely just; this is the great wonder.

But how can God be most merciful, when he is most just? I answer, justice and mercy, as they are in God, are infinite and equal; but in respect of their exercise there is a difference: for mercy findeth no merit in the creature; but justice is not exercised but when it is deserved. Justice seeks a fit object, mercy only a fit occasion: justice looks to what is deserved, mercy to what is wanted and needed. Again, divine justice and mercy are not opposite to one another: for God never shows mercy contrary to justice, nor executes justice contrary to mercy. His mercy is never exercised unjustly, nor his justice unmercifully. He is righteous without being cruel, and merciful without being unjust. His mercy is righteous, and his justice merciful. He is infinitely just in executing vengeance on those that live and go on in sin, and infinitely merciful in pardoning and saving penitent believing sinners. And his mercy is exercised without prejudice to his justice, because justice hath a full satisfaction in the sufferings of