to the E P H E S I AN S. 143 I will mak! all my Goodnefs pafs before thee: So he begins to him; his !cope was, ~ to !hew what love he did bear unto :il1oftJ, by the effell: of it, and that pro- ~ portioned to its original in God, and he would have his heart taken With 1t; how cloth he begin? I have, faith he, all goodnefs in me, and I mean to communicate it unto thee : And whaj:follows ? l wiU be graciouJ 1mto whom I will ve gracio~H, (be pitcheth upordkrfons, as in Moft/s Inflance appears, and_ love upon thofe Perfons:) And thofe, faith he, whom rhus I relolve to be graciOus unto, they fhall have all this goodnefs ; I have cart out of my Goodncfs, my Love and Grace on thee, and therefore 1 will cauft all my Goodnefs to pafs before thee : He that bath my love, he hath all my goodnefs ; and the rife of all is rhot his goodnefs and the manifeflation of it. Now as Love thus arifeth from .Goodnefs, and thedefireofcommemorating ofit; fo Mercy arilerh from Love: for what follows? I will be merdfulunto whom I w!/l be mercijit!. Firfr, be.fays, I ~ill be graciouJ to whom I will begraci01u; there 1t 1s taken for £wour and acceptanon freely: And if they be fallen into Mifery, I will be mercifitl, my Mercy !hall do as great wonders as my Love. In Eph. 3· 18. he prays, that they may be able to comprehwd what H- the breadth, and length, and depth, ancl height; ancl to k_now the Love of Chrift, which pa.J!ith lt,powledg: And what folk>ws ? And be filled with all the ful"'fi of Gcd : Why ? For whoever God bath pitch'd this love upon, all the fulnefs that is in God is coming upon that Soul; for it is the love of the Great God, it is a love proportionable to his Goodnefs, they have and !hall have all his Goodnefs, all his Fnlnefi. To caufe us therefore to fet a value on th\s: Ofall difpofition~, good Nature, (as we call it) and Love, in whomfoev,erit is, is the bert, and God himfelf va– lues it moft as in himfelf; he takes more unkindly the delpifing of his Love, than he cloth the llighting of hi• Wifdom. And Love, in whomfoever it is, it is the moft predominant of all difpofition$; whatfoever is ,good, and whatfoever is excellent in any, Love bath t\:le command of it; and fo it bath in God. All his Goodnefs, the whole Train of it, murt pafs before Moft,, becaufe.God had loved him, and refolved to be gracious to him. So th:.t now, look how great the great God is, fo great his love mull needs be ; for, as I may fo fpeak with reve– rence, it commandcth all in this great God. In ']ohn 10. 29. faith Chri!t, My Sheep, 1io Man fball pl11ck.. them o11t of my lw1d; for, faith he, it ir the Will of my Father that gave them me, that they fha/1 be .f<vcd; and he iJ gredler thmz all. He bath fet fuch a love upon them, that all the Greatnefs in this great God is inte– re(l:ed in it. It harh commanded, and .fet on work all in God ; it bath fer on work all the Perlons, Father, Son, and Holy-Ghort, to bear fevera\ Offices in our Salvation. It bath fet on work all Attributes, Mercy, Jurtice, Power, Wifdom Wrath it fdf to fall upon our Lord and Saviour Chrift, his only Son; why? becaure Love is the mort predominant, where ever it is, it commandeth all ; and that which commandeth all that is in God, murt needs be great, In other Difpo– fitions, he !hews forth but one or two Attributes : if be throw Men into Hell, he !hews his Jurtice, and the Power of his Wrath; but where he loveth, he draweth forth all. The Poets themfelves faid, that .Amor Derl17l gubemat, that Love governed God. And, as Na'Zianzen well fpeaks, this Love of God, this Julm TyranntH, this fweet Tyrant, did overcome him, when he was upon the Crofs: There were no Cords could have held him to the WhippiRg;-Po!1-, but thofe of Love ; no Nails have fartened him to the Cro!S, but rhofem Love. And hence (to confirm this Notion more to you, that Love is the predominant thing that commandcth all,) you !hall find, that God is every Attribute of his, he is his own Wifdom, his own Juftice, his own Power, &c. Yet you have him peculiarly called Love. It is not faid any where of God that I know of, that he is Wifdom, or Juflice, or Power, &c. Chrifl indeed, he is called the Wifdom and Power of God, that is, manifeflatively, as he is Mediator. It's true indeed, all God's Attributesare himfelf; but ·yet Love in a more peculiar manner carries the Title of him : God iJ Love, faith he, in 1 ']ohn 4- 8. And he faith it again, v. 16. Let us expound the words a little, becaufe we are now upon them : 'Beloved, faith he, v. 7. Love;, of God: He is the fountain of ir, and if the Foumain will love, if be that is Love it felf will love, how great will that Love
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