psalmist says, "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble:" and, "Lord, all my desire is before thee." And he knows all your wants and necessities, though you have not expressed them: Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

66

THE WISDOM OF GOD.

The wisdom of God doth chiefly appear in our redemption by Christ. When man had ruined himself by sin, the wisdom of men and angels could never have devised any possible way of salvation. But when this puzzled and nonplussed all finite understandings, infinite wisdom found out the way, to wit, that the eternal Son of God should assume our nature, and by his obedience and sufferings in that nature, satisfy divine justice, and purchase for us all spiritual and eternal blessings; and that we should be interested in all this by faith in him. Here is a conjunction of excellent ends and excellent means. As there cannot be a more noble end, than the glory of God in the salvation of lost sinners; so there cannot be a more admirable means than God manifest in the flesh. This is "the wisdom of God in a mystery:" a thing more sublime than all the secrets in the creation. Here death is made the way to life, and shame the way to glory, and the cross the way to the crown; so that the rare contrivance is admirable. The very angels desire to pry into this mystery. Yet are they not able to search it to the bottom, or to tell over the treasures of wisdom which are in it. Here the treasures of wisdom are opened. Hence, Christ is called "the wisdom of God." Here is a 66 hidden wisdom," and "wisdom in a mystery." The wisdom of God in redemption is truly mysterious and incomprehensible. The wisdom of men and angels is not

able to unfold it. It is a wisdom as manifold as mysterious. Hence it is called "the manifold wisdom of God." There is a variety in this mystery, and a mystery in every part of the variety. The word in the original rendered manifold, denoteth a thing that hath a curious variety in it, like a piece of embroidery. The wisdom of God in redemption is an embroidered wisdom, wherein there is all variety of rich and curious contrivances.

Get an interest in this God as your God. Let this commend him to you, that he is "the only wise God." O what a happiness will it be to have him for your God! When he is your God, he will then be yours in all the glorious perfections of his nature, and particularly in this of his wisdom. His wisdom will be yours, to conduct you through all difficulties, to out-wit all your spiritual enemies, to give you all that you need in due season, and to guide you safe to glory at last. If left to yourselves, you will ruin and undo yourselves: but, O what a happiness is it to be under the conduct and guidance of infinite wisdom? Therefore let it be your great business to get him for your God. And, for this end choose him for your God in Christ; for as he cannot be yours but by your own choice, so you cannot have him for your God but in and through the blessed Mediator. And if you would have the Lord for your God, you must be content to take him for your guide, and say to him, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth." As he will not be your God, so you do not own him as such, unless you take him for your guide. "For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death."

as

Study to be like God in wisdom. Our blessed Lord exhorts, "Be ye therefore perfect, even your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” We should study to resemble God in all his imitable perfections, and particularly in his wisdom. Seek true wisdom,

that you may be like God. But seek chiefly after holy and spiritual wisdom, that wisdom which is from above, heavenly wisdom, to be wise unto salvation, and wise unto that which is good. In this you will most resemble God. When you propose to yourselves the most noble and worthy end, the glorifying God and the enjoyment of him; and choose the most fit and proper means for attaining that end, taking God's word for your rule and directory; and are vigorous and earnest in pursuing the means for that end this is that holy and heavenly wisdom by which you will most resemble the infinitely wise God. That is true wisdom, to be diligent and laborious in the work of your salvation, to be careful and punctual in your obedience to God. Hence Moses exhorts the children of Israel, Keep therefore and do these statutes; for this is your wisdom." This is God's voice to the children of men, as Job hath told us : "And unto man he said, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." The preacher tells us, "That a wise man's heart is at his right hand." The right hand is the chief instrument of action: so that the plain meaning is, a wise man is hard at work, diligent and laborious in the great work that God hath given him to do.

66

How comfortable is it that "the only wise God" is your God? His wisdom is made over to you by covenant. Being infinitely wise he hath many ways for bringing to pass his gracious designs toward you. Particularly the consideration of God's infinite wisdom may comfort you in these cases.

1. In all your difficulties and perplexities, when you are at a loss in your own thoughts, and know not what to do, or what way to take. You have an infinitely wise God to direct and guide you. He hath engaged himself by promise so to do: "The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he

teach his way:" and, "the Lord shall guide thee continually." And as he hath promised to be your guide, so he hath infinite wisdom to fit and qualify him for it. There are rocks on every hand upon which you are ready to make shipwreck: but how comfortable is it that you are under the conduct of infinite wisdom!

2. Under afflictions. God's management of the rod is directed by infinite wisdom. He knows when to bring on affliction, and when to remove it again. He knows how to time your crosses, and how to measure out your comforts. And he is wise to make" all things work together for good" to you, and to extract good out of evil? He can make these afflictions which destroy your outward comforts, consume your inward defilements. He can bring the glory of your salvation out of the depths of a seeming ruin.

THE POWER OF GOD.

Power is an excellence belonging to the divine nature. Indeed it is essential to the conception of God: we cannot conceive him God, if we do not conceive him most powerful. He is not God, if he cannot do what he will. We cannot conceive God without a power suitable to his nature and essence: therefore his essence being infinite, he must also be infinite in power.

If we search our own hearts to the bottom, we shall find that it is the power of God we often doubt of, rather than his will; and seeming doubts of his will are but pretences to cover our shameful doubts of his power. A plain evidence of this is, that doubts do not haunt us but in cases of danger and difficulty. Further, it is certain that God knows our hearts much better than we do ourselves: now, in the holy scrip

tures he still represents men as doubting of his power. Sarah doubted of God's power to perform his promise, as is plainly implied in what the Lord saith to Abraham, "Wherefore did Sarah laugh?Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" Moses also doubted of God's power to give the people flesh to eat, when he says to the Lord, "Thou hast said I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them to suffice them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them?" And to this the Lord answers, " Is the Lord's hand waxed short?" So that even Moses was overtaken with this kind of unbelief, after all the experiments he had of God's miraculous acts: God's answer to him plainly shows that this was at the bottom. The children of Israel, in the wilderness, did also disbelieve the power of God; "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?' say they ; "Can he give bread? Can he provide flesh for his people?" And when Christ came to raise Lazarus from the dead, Martha says, Lord, by this time he stinketh : as if it passed the power of God to raise him up. From all which we see that even believers in Christ are apt to question the power of God in hard and difficult cases.

66

But let it be considered that it is a great sin to question the power of God. It is to deny or question his deity, and to pull him out of his throne. Therefore God takes it ill when men limit his power. He complains of this in the children of Israel, and for this he takes up Moses short. It is most dishonourable and displeasing to God, and deprives people of the favours he designed for them, as we see in the children of Israel, when they questioned his power; "The Lord heard it and was wroth; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel." And when in a time of great scarcity, the prophet foretold a sudden plenty in