more apt we are to beleeve every thing he faith. Now the love of God in the Covenant of Grace is glorious in two things, and both of them help to quicken our faith. First in the freeness of his love. He I His Love is free, moved by nothing, but by it felf. He loves because he loves. For my names fake faith he,I have done this: I wil have mercy because wil have mercy, Rom. 9 18. He doth alto the praise I of the Glory of his Grace. Eph. 1. 6. So free is God, that he doth do good for evil. There is no preparation to the receiving of any thing from him which he works not. and therefore he hath a good wil and love to us although we be indifpofed. He doth do good becaufe he hath done good. He doth good often, because he hath done it once. looks neither for condignity, nor congruity, neither for any thing that is worthy of his love, nor for any thing that holds any kind of Moral fuit. ablenefs,or may be any kind of inducement to love. The meaner we are, the more pleafure he takes to do good to us. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, faith be, and be fent me to bind up the broken hearted, and to preach deliverance to the Captives la. 61. 1. He bath respect faith Mary to the Loto degree of his band-maid. Luke, 1.48. Now this freeness of the love of God, being without any ground in us, being without any relation to any thing that is done by us, or to be done by us, it is a mighty ground for to make a man beleeve at al times al things. What is the great stick of our Faith? that at which our feet in beleeving ftumble, but only this, that we are not meet for fo great mercy: we are great finR 2 ners ners under much guilt, infinitely beneath, and unfit for fuch comniunion and Favour with God. Or elfe we think that if we do receive mercy from, God, he wil require of us fuch obedience, which we fhal never be able to performe: and therefore we think we had better refufe the nercy; then be found guilty double through our disobedience afterward.Mark it, The unqualifiedness, and unfuitableness of our hearts to the promifès hinders our beleife of them, Come and tel a begger of being a Prince, and he cannot beleeve it, because it is a thing fo farr, above his prefent State. Come and tel one that you wil give him fo much Land, whenas he knows that land is conve yed by a price paid by purchase, & not by gift unto fuch as he is,who is no way of the kindred, and he cannot beleeve it. Now I beseech you confider it, it is juft the fame cafe. Who am I faith the foul?& what have I done? What is to be found in me,that the Lord fhould come thus to me, and thus do for me, and thus tender me? I beseech you confider it,it is not tendered nor offered for any thing that is in thee, but only because God wil: only I fay becaufe God wil. Lay down therefore thy reafonings from any fuch ground as thefe are, for fuch grounds come not into the confideration of God when he beftows his favor and love. Secondly, And as the love of God is glorious in this,that is free,fo it is glorious in this too that it is bountiful. The fcripture fpeaks you know of the riches of Grace. But I fhal open to you in this one place. Rom. 5. 20. Where fin abounds, there Grace fuperabounds. The Apoftle gives the reafon. why God gave the Law, not to be, that men might be juftified by it, but that fo the corruptions of mn might appear. For fin would take occafion by the the prohibition of the law,even as the water flowing grows the more ftrong by being dammed or by being ftopt in its courte. God gave the Law upon Mount Sinai faith the Apoftle to this end, that men might fee what corruptions were in them, that they would fin more because they were forbidden.It was alfo for this end that they might fee as in a glafs their corruptions in their proper magnitude ;that Sin feems but little, without the Law: But when the law comes and fhews the wisdom of God, and the majefty of God and authority and the Holinefs of God, which is defpifed in every fin, then fin abounds faith be. Now when fin abounds, then faith be, grace fuperabounds, God is more merciful then we are finful. He wil do more for us then we can do againft him, although we work to our uttmoft. He hath a greater treasure of goodness then we have of finfulness in us at that very time. At that very time when fin abounded, Grace fuperabounded. And God is exceeding bountiful that it may appeare that he hath no confiderations from men for any thing. Now this is an exceeding great meanes to quicken our faith. Why shouldeft thou not as wel beleeve that God is bountiful, as that God is powerful? that he wil do much for thee, as that he only can do for thee? It would be a difhonor to God, to give a little and therefore either look upon mercy and grace as aboundant in God, or else you do not view and confider it aright, Where men have to dɔ with liberal men they look for much: when one is bid to the table of one that is fumptuous and magnificent and Rich,. they look for great entertainnient. Its the duty of beleevers because they have to deal with a bountiful, God to look for more:not on. ly for that which wil fatisfy their hunger, but for a feaft. Beggars go the doore of him that is hofpitable and bountiful, and they doubt not to be re leived, thou wouldst not doubt neither if thou didft beleeve God was fo open handed. The end my beloved of the Covenant of Grace is not barely to repaire us in what we loft, to give us a ftock, and to fet us up again according to what we were created in and unto: but the end of the Covenant of Grace is to fhew us the fulness and the riches that is in God, the riches of Mercy. Now mark it. Thou fireft down and fayeft that it is not alitt le that fupply wil thy wants, it must be multitudes of mercies, as David fpeaks in Pful. 51. 1. Accor ing to the multitude of thy Mercies do away my transgreffions. Thou faieft it nuft be fo, as which must wath thee cleane: Mercies without bounds and bottoms. Let not that hinder thy faith, for God is bountiful. And he gives according to his own eftate, fo as becomes him to give that is fo Rich. Do but thou confider with thy felf whither thou haft more fin, or God more nercy. Can a finite creature do more evil than an infinite God can do good? Secondly, But befides that in the Covenant of grace, confider Gods ingagement. God is true and faithful of himself, but he hath bound himself. A covenant is a tie and obligation: and into that he hath entred. God hath enough to discharge al his promifes. Men that have enough, may become poor before the time of the difcharge of their promife comes: but the mercy of Godindures for ever, and there is no end of his goodneß, Pfal. 52. 1. Men that promife may be in fuch engagements to others before hand that they may be as poor and as unable to pay as if they had nothing. Al the promifes that God hath made unto others, are but only teftimonies of what he wil be unto us. The fcripture propounds what God hath done unto others, as the the ground of our faith, and therefore they have not exhaufted him, they have received from him. He is ftil rich notwithstanding al his communications. Men are carelefs of their promises, but God is ever mindful of bis covenant. Pfal. 111. 5. Now I beseech you my beloved confider how this is a meanes to a mans faith, and a help to readiness in it. Men do readily truft thofe that are able and careful of their words, when they give them a specialty or a bond. Now God hath done fo. Let me fpeak it w ich reverence, It is not free to God whe ther he wil give or not, what he hath spoken of in his word to a beleever that is weak in his Faith. It is not free to him. Free it is to him thus, because he doth it willingly but free it is not thus; It is not in his choice, because he hath fet led it and en tailed it, and he cannot cut it off. Meditate thou therefore upon thefe things. Keep the Covenant of Grace continually in thy thoughts, and fuffer nothing to take thy thoughts off from it. As when men goe into infectious places they put a piece of fom antidote into their mouth that may prevent the taking of the infection, or fent of the aire there. So do thou as an Antidote against thy queftioning and doubting of the fulfiling of the promifes, what ever they be, think of the bounty and freenefs of God in the Covenant of grace. The ufual head of reafoning that Satan hinders our faith by 5 that either we are not fit for fo great mercy Why God is free. L Or elfe that it is wel enough if fo be we may have but fo much as may fave us from wrath to come: Why God is bountiful.ow! Or elfe that Godhath caft us of: Why he is enga ged |