106 An Expojition of the Epiflle ~ This is tne rcafon of it,faith God, My Attributes they are mine, and they arc J'er. Vll r. yours, they are mine for my own glory, butthey a~e yours for }Ol•r benefit; all ~the riches of my grace, take them to your ufe, \. nches you know are for ufe,) all the riches that arc in me take them as they are nches, as they may be tm– ploy ed to the good of the Creature take them, tlwy are yours as much as mine, only the glory !hall be mine. He bath J'redejluwted us to the pratjeoj the glory of his grt~ce, but he forgiveth fins accordtng to the ncha of his grtlce. And why riches of grace? It is to help your unbelief.When you come and fee ) our fins told out before you, fet in order before you, and piled up as high as Heaven, and as low as Hell; thinks the poor foul, where is the wealth, ":here are the riches'· where is that that !hall forgive all thefe Sins? Here 1t 1s, here IS nchesof grace told out before you, here is the blood of the Lord Jefus Chnll: mamiclled to you. Riches of grace: Thou needell: not bring one penny, God is rich enough, what ihoulde!t thou bring thy duties or any thing to the forgivenefs of Sins? Here is riches of grace cloth it, not a penny of ours; get but faith, it is the key to un– lock this treafure,and to poffefs thee of thefe riches. There arc multitudes of fins, here are multitudes of mere1es; nches tmpheth mulmudes, abundance, ./lccordwg to the riches oj hugrt~ce. There is one difficulty I mull: open, and I have done with this verfe; I !hall be then over the greatell: difficulty that I know in this chapter or Epifile. ihall do it in a word. There is this one Objection or fcruple. How doth God forgive tins according to the riches of his grace when,he receiveth a price for it? Doth a man forgive freely, when he is paid for it? This ll:umbles the Socinimt's. Indeed, the Gofpel is made,up fay they, with nothing but contradictions; God is paid for what he cloth, and yet it is done free– ly; God choofeth men to life and falvation, and it isdone immutably; ordaineth what the.ir wills !hall do, and yet they work freely ; thefe are contradictions, we could name many more, amongll: the reil: this is one. It is Anlwered, Firll, Tt is true, Jull:ice had a fatis faction, but who called Chrill: to give this fatisfadion? Not Ju{\ice, but it was Grace did it. Junice indeed {\ood upon it, kept her own dill:ance, I will be fatisfiod, faith Jull:ice. But who fpake to Chrill: to pay this? Grace did. So that here is one reconciliation of it, it is according to the riches of his grace, becaufe grace did move Chrill: to do all this for us. Secondly, The Merits of Chrill:, though they be a price of themfdves, if Chn!l had offered, I will die for my people now they are ftnners, Goc.l might have refufed it. 0!Jmdo a!iudoffertttr, (§c. It.is a LawMaxime,Whe11 tlflother thi1;g s; offered thm what u i11 the 06/igatioll, the fatisfaCltoll ?nil)' 6e refufed. The meaning is this, as if God lhould fay, I will be paid by them that tinned, I will not take your offer, it's true your Merits are worth it,but I am at my liberty whe– ther I will take them or no; Now here is grace, I will take m} Son, I will facri– fice him and accept of that fatisfadion. Again Thirdly, you mull: know this, that it is to God that Chrill did all he die!, he calls himfelf his fervant, my E/efl,faith he, my fervant; I came dow11, faith he, Job. 6. 110t to do mi11e ow11 will, 611t the willo( htm that fent me. He did it all upon his Father's coil:, meerly upon that motion; Hence then becaufe that the very death of Chrill: was the gift of God, as he is called, Job: l· t6. Hegave hu oNe!y begottm So11, hence to us it is free grace. . And then in the Fourth place, That God lhould accept thee and me through Ius Soli, and forgive us our fins through his Merits, it is free grace. Thou art bought without any of thy mony;it is free to thee ;though it coil Chrif\'s foul dear, it col\ thee nought, as the phrafe is,lfa.p.J. You havefold) 'Our fe!ves }or nought, 1t 1s free to us. Thus you fee grace and Cbrif\'s merits arc reconciled; God takes a price,and yet he doth it freely. ' And
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