An Expojition of tbe cpijlle ~ agailrfl tbe day ofWrath; that is, the Treafury ofWrath in hi~od reckons ~it alfo his, bccaufe it is a prey for his Jull:ice to feed upon, a~d to fetch a World of Glory out of it. But now you fball find !hll that R1ches 1s applied unto Mercy and if it be not only, yet this I am fure of, that it is mo!t frequently, and I think irdeed it may be laid only. The Scnpture fpeaks of Riches of Glory, Eph. 3 . 1 6. That he wonld grant you_accordrng to the Rrches of hrs Glory. Yet eminently Mercy i> there intended; for tt IS that wh1ch God bellows, and which the Apo!tle there prayeth for. And he calls his Mercy there his Glory, ast!fewhere he cloth as bc– ino- the mo!t eminent Excellency in God. Saith he, in Jer. 9· 24. Let bim th~t glori– etf. glory in this, that he •mderftandeth and /etoweth .:111e, that I am the Lord, which exercrfe Lovi11g-kjndmji', }ndgment and Righteollfoefs in the Em·t/i. Now to what cloth th~ Apottle apply this, in I Co~.L 30, 31? Unto God's giving ofJefus Chri!l out of hts abundant Mercy, to be Rtghteoufnefs, and Redemption, and all things for us. So that mdeed here ltes that wh1ch Go.d would have u~ to glory in, and wlllch he h1mfelf gl~mes m, .That we know H1m wh1ch exerc1feth Loving-kind– neCs, and makes Chrt!t our R1ghteoufnefs. You know Solomon faith, Pr.v. 19 . 11 . that it is the glory ofaMan to pajover aTranjgref!ion; herein lies the Glory ofGod. That irt Rom.9. 22, & 23 verfes compared, ts obfervable; In the 22th verfe where hefpeaksofGod's making known the Power of h~sWrath, faith he, GoiwWing to ]/Jew hrs Wrath, a11d mak.! hrs Power /etow11. But Ill ver. 23, when he comes to fpeak of Mercy, he faith, That he mightmak.! k..nown the Riches of his Glory; there Riches comes in. And what Glory cloth he mean? Certainly he means the Glory of his Grace in a more eminent manner, as appearcth by the denomination of the fubjeCl:, upo11 the Vejfelr ofMercy, faith he. And fo in Rom.lo. 12. where he is faid to be rich 1111to all that call upon him. By Riches there, the meaning is, he is rich in Goodnefs, he is (as I faid) good to a Riches, good to a Profufenefs, unto all that call upon him. So that indeed, my Brethren,it is that peculiar Attribute ofMercy that Riches is afcribed unto. There is one place, and it is in Rom. I 1. 33· where Riches is applied to the Wifdom and Knowledge ofGod: But believe it, the Apo· flle !peaks there of Electing Knowledge and Wifdom, that cOntriveth Mercy for m, as the very words before fbew, and as the conclufion ofall his difcourfe in the next Chapter, ver. 1. makes apparent; where having ended his difcourfe concern– ing God's having Mercy upon ]ew and G<Htile, he faith, I befeech )'ott b7 the Mer– cies ofGod. So that indeed Mercy carries away the nameofthefe Riches, at lea{(. wife mo!t frequently in the New-Teflament. , Now do but think with your U:lves, that I may quicken your Hearts a little : There is nothing could be more comfortable to us than this, that God !hould ac– count Mercy, of all things elfe, to be his Riche•, and himfelf to be rich in a more fpecial manner in Mercy. You may fee the Difference between God and Men in their Riches : Whil!t J(iogs and great Men account their Riches in other things, God accounts his Riches in being merciful. My Brethren, Mercy, if you con– fider it, what is it? Why, it is that which God himfelf bath no need of; and therefore, when we f.1y he is merciful, it wholly re!peers the Creature, and the Good of the Creature, and to deliver the Creature out of mifery. Ifhe had faid, God is rich in Love, that is unto himfelf, for he loves himfelf; bnt merciful he is not to himfelf, neither is he capable of Mercy from himfelf: Therefore, when he faith, he is rich i11 Mercy, what can be more comfortable unto us? That that which God accounteth his only, or at lea!t, his chiefe!t Riches, is that which tendeth to our Good and Salvation. He himfelf indeed bath a Glory oqt of it, therefore it is called, Riches vf Glory, v. 16. But yet take it as Mercy, and it is that which peculiarly concen1s us, and our Good. If his Riches lay in any thing elfe, we might not have fo much hope and com– fort, for he would employ thofe Riches for the good of himfclf, as we fee rich Men in the World do. Rich Men, tho they give away Crums from their Table, (as the expre!Iion is in the Parable, ) yet the chief of their Riches is all employed for themfelvcs, and their Children. But if any one's Riches fbould lie only in Mercy, and in Grace, and himfelf were in himfelf perfea:Jy happy, fo that he himfelfhath no need of all thofe Riches, furely this mull be all for poor Crea· tures, who are capable of Mercy, and are the ()bjeCl:s of Mercy, ~nd Sinners, they have the chiefdl !bar~ in it. It is an ..obfervable thmg, ,that m .!to"'• H>: * · where
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