Of l!.leflion. m"cy, I wdl give yoo whu fenf<s eirher.~r:, or ffil)' uc pm upon that~ p1tf1-ge to com fort you 111 this way ofappftc,uiotJ. And rhey an: n:duced un- Chap._2. y ro tnofe Three H.eads, which in rhe D octrinal part I have gone upon, ofGr,zce ~ in Gods'Di{pfllj;,rw,u, ofthe Grace in hu Pt~rpofes, and of th" Gr.Jce "'hi< N.uure, 1, The firfl fenfc may be, Take mercy as it fignifies the mercies g·veo from '" ueflowcd by God, difj>cnfnorily. Thou mayll,fay to this God, Heu the God ofa/1. the uurcit'S, tl?at a11y wa;• belong to me, or tlhH 1tv·e-r h;~ve 1recd of; Begin we there. Brethren, it is a wonderlul condefcention, tha t God fhould m2ke this an Attribute ofHimfelf,l am theGodof the merry ofewr;·p,;rtnuhr .. .Sawt of milu: That as he is thy God, the God of thee perfonall}, fo alfo of 1 hy Mercies, it notes out that He bath taken tll!S on him as an Of. fie:. When any one takes a Title upon hitn of a particular thing. it argues his ur.· derrakiog the charge thereof, ami that he puts himfelf under a trufl, and en– ters into the Bond of Faithfulnefs to perform it, as to fay, One is a Guardian of ,aChild, or Steward of ones Houfe, it betol<ens an Office, a trufl, and e 1gogtt h to fa ithfulnefs: For the great God to fay, I am 'D"u tr6i a m1jenrord,;,, I am the God o{all thy Mercies, it imports a devot ing himfelf to tJl<e care of all the mercies that fhall any way concern thee, And when God takes a title upon bim, it uecomes his Name, and God will not take bu own N.1me i11 vaw1 to be fure He Will perform his truil. That's one fenfe, and it is acomforta· ble one. 2. The fccond is this, That every Saint hath in purpofing grace a let and fufficienr portion for hith of grace and mercy let apart and allotted to him; which. be may call humerry, [My Mercy]: Suppofe thou flwuldfl net need all the mercy that is iA Gods nature for thtne own panicular, yet be fure God iri his Decrees, hath fer apart a portion big enough for thee, and that is Thy Mercy, a portion fo large, that it fl1all never be cxhaufled either l;>y thy fins or miferies, which is Gods meaning to the Apoflle, 2 Cur, r 2 M] Grarr rs fit{-, ficirn t for thu; And 'Pattls meaning in that fpeech of his. Piu/. l· [THAT] for wbJCh l waJ ,,pprebmdfdby Chrrj/, THAT is, TllATwh ich was allotted me by God for Chrifl to give forth to me, it was his portion; there is a Phrafe carrie~ it to this fenfe in P{al. 59· ro. The God of my merry jb.t!l or doth pre– vent me,or h.athprevented me. 1. If we read tt, He bath prtvented me, the meaning is, there is no kind of need I can have, httt tht God ofmy mere;· hath prevnued me 111 his purpojes from Etemny; As a careful Father, he lays up plaiflers ready fpread againfl: the time, knowing th.r his Children "ill cu t their fingers. In the Text ir i< fa id , God caret/; for )'Oil; tart is that wh :ch forecafls what will fa ll ou t, and orders what may prevent it. He hath made proviflon beforehand by hi· rr.er– cy for whatever! flJaiJ need ofony kind, and in that refped, He ut ht God vf my mercy, That's the firfl. · . . Or, 2ly. Hejha// or doth prevent me, I am in a diflrds and I.pray, and God oftenrimes prevmts me, and my Prayer. He comes in the Nick, in d"e time, as if he had laid in wait. I can no fooner pray, ) ea , often befcre I pray; hedoth the thing for me: Why? for he is tht G'od of"0' merry, He prcvenrs me. In the confidence ofwhtch, Verf 8, fays he, Godjhall /,mghat them, fpeaking of his Enemies deliverance from them, was the mercy he fpeaks at: Jfone flood on the top ofa Watch·Tower that belongs to a City (as in Holland they are wont) and faw an 1\rmv coming againfl that To" n, and withal faw a flronger army (as Eltjbadid ) that would certainly prevent tl·em, he would, h that cafe certainly l•ugh all the while to fee what a flir the one krpt, and what a do they made, and all in vain, and in the J.ke confidence hereof 'D.t· v1d concludes, he is the God of my dtftnce , the GDd of my mtrcy; for he hath prepared a defence for evety a!Tault ot the enemy; And the lame holds true of fpirirual enemies. . l· You may interpret it of the Mercy itt the 11ature of God, and in thai fenfe you m•y fay alithe merci(s that are itz God are my merciPS' ( ~r:y it, home with thee, In this fame Pfalm, }'Vu find him fayiog, 1 r&i/1 jing alvud Gg,. OF
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