to tbe EPHESIANS. great Love wherewith he lov:d 111. And you fi1all find the like in many other places, ~ as in that Tit. 3· 4, 5· winch I quoted before, where havtng latd open our natuernt. X. ral condition, he comes in with the fame [but] that he cloth here : B~tt the ~ l<jndnefi and love of God our Saviour appeared, according to.his 11-fercy he h':>th faved 111. For Love, I fay, is the foundation in God of his fhewing mercy. That f may open and explain this to you, for it is a thing of much confideration and help to us. Mercy in God and Man difi'ers thus : That Mercy in Man, (go take the in• ward compailion of it, the inward affection in the Heart,) it always worketh, whether one love the Party, or not love him, fo that ifhe be in mifery, and it be in a Man's power to help him, and it be lawful to help him, there is a Pity within a Man llirs him, and cloth as it were command him to help that Man, draws it forth to do it : Homo mifirii:ors, ftmper mifiricors, And Mercy in Man, ifhe lbews mercy meerly out of mercy, and out of no other affecri~n joined with it, it works equally, is equally compailionate to Men m !tke conduton : But Mercy in God, you mufl: know, is drawn out ( tho it be his Nature) by his Will; he pardoneth whom he will: I will have mercy on whom1wiUbave mercy. Therefore he pardoneth great Sinners, when he lets others that are fmaller perifh. Nay, the compailion it felf cloth not necelfarily work in God, but it depends upon an atl: of his Will, tho Mercy be his Nature. If God had been merciful to no Sinner, but had damned all Men and Angels that had finned, and had done it with wrath "-nd revenge, yet he had been as merciful as now he is, take his Nature. So that our Salvation mufl: be refolved into fome other principle, than lim~ly his being merctful. And therefore by the way, when as we fay, that Mercy ts Nature in God, the meaning of it is this, That it is fuited to him, it is that which he cloth with the greatefl: delight, (as Men do aCtions ofNature) wherein he bath no re– luCtancy: The meaning is not, that this Mercr works naturally and necelfarily, for had not he fer hts Heart to love, had not Ins Wtll been fet upon it, not an Angel or a Man that finned, had ever had a drop of mercy fi·om him, rho he is thus full, and thus rich in mercy. So that tho God is rich in mercy, yet there mufl: be Love alfo as the foundation. That which moved him •to bej merci– ful to any, it was his Love pitched upon them; and having firfl: pitched his love upon them, then, he feeing them in mifery, love fl:irs up mercy. In that he did refolve to be merciful to any Creature, it is not fimply an aCt of his Nature, bur it doth depend upon his Will : Tho he had in his Nature this Riches of.Mercy, yet we had not been faved, if it had not been the good pleafure of his Will, and that Love had been added to all that Mercy ; all the Mercy that is in him, would never elfe have flown forth from him. But, 4- They both here come in, not only to fhew, that his Love was the caufe why he refolved to !hew Mercy; but that thofeto whom he meant to fhewmercy, his Love guides and directs him to it. His Love had firfl: lingled out certain Per– fans, whom he meant to fhew mercy to; ond Love did guide the channel, which way Mercy fhould run. And therefore you fhall find in Scripture, that EleCtion obtains it: Jacob have I loved, faith he. And that's the reafon why he fhews mercy to any, that the PmpoftofGod according to Elellionmight ftand, Rom.9.II. So as indeed Divines do make Mercy but the remote caufe ofSalvation, but Love ·to be the fundamental. And this is true, whether we hold, that he loved Men when they were confidered in the pure Mats of Creatures, or in the corrupt Mats, as they are conftdered fince; fl:ill, I fay, Love is that that did guide Mercy; why Mercy fhould be conveyed to thefe Souls, and not unto others, it was be· caufe he loved them, it was from his love firfl: pitched upon them. I fhall now come to fome Obfervations, for I fee I mufl: referve that of the Riches of this Mercy; and the Greatnels of this Love (to which fomething mu!t be fpoken ) to another Difcourfe. Firff ; You fee there is a Love which he bath fhewn us, which, I fay, is the ground of all his mercy to us, tho he is merciful in his Nature. The firfr Obfer· vation then that I make of it is this:
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