rv/n Expojition of the E;pi{Ue ~ 3· The Exc•llency of Gpce appears in thij, that it cloth fubdue, and it fh~ws Serl1z.XIX· Favour notwithfl:anding all a~ufes ofFavour and ofMercy whatfoever. As God ~ is faid to be kind unto.the Evtl and Unth~nkful, fo he tsfatd to be gracipus even unto them that abufe hiS Grace: and herem hes the fitperexcellency of his Grace In 2 Sam. 12. 8.. when Davidhad run into thole great Sins of Murther and Adul~ tery, what faith God to him? I gave thee thy Maffers Houfe, md thy Maflers Wivu into thy 'Bofom, and I gave thee the Houfe oflfrael andofludah, and if tbat had bean too.,i/1/e, I lvould moreover havegiven theejitch and jitch tbingJ. Wherefore hafT tho 11 dejpiftd the Commandment ofthe Lord? why haft thou defpifcd my Favour, and a– hufed the Mercy and Grace I have !hewn thee? And yet for all this, ver. 13. T!Je Lord bath put away thy Sin. Here is exceeding Riches of Grace, that even pardon– eth turning of Grace it felfinto Wantonnefs. When God's Heart is wounded • brpken with unkindnefs? ~et he healeth fuch a Sou!;. this is.~ fuperexeellecy i~ Gface. Ifyou w1ll take 1t m the Importance of It, 1t ISa Stram beyond Mercy it is Grace, it is the exceeding Riches ofGrace. Again, . ' · 4· The excellency ofhis Grace lies not only in forgiving, and in giving, and in the freenefs ofboth, but m a condefcendmg alfo to the nearefr and mofl: intimate Relations, and Unions, and Fellowfhip, with thole whom he hath fet himfelf to Ibve. Were not this fupereminent Grace in a King, that.not only forgives Murther :ind Treafon, yea Obfl:inacy, Abufes of Pardon, and Grace it felf, and not only gives Gifts to the half, to the whole of hts Kmgdom; but more than all this takes up him whom he thus favours into the moll intimate Familiarity and Friood– !hip, into his Bofom, into all forts ofRelation ?•God cloth fo. And this Favou~: my Brethren is more than all he giveth, or than all he forgiveth, that he is pleafed over and above all, to become a Father, and a Hu!band, and a Friend, and a Brofher, and infinitely more tranfcendently than thefe Relations are found to be amongfr Men. This is Riches ofGrace indeed. When Saul had advanced Da– tJid to be his Son-in-Law; to have that neer Relation to him; David accounted it more than all the refl: ofthe Favours !hewn him. Now,we have Fellowfhipand Communion with God, under all Relations whatfoever. Our FeUowfhip, faith the Apofl:le, iJ witb the Father, and witb hi1 Son Jefm ChriJI, I Joh.I.j. and therefore faith he, cbap. 3. ver. I. Behold what manner of Love, the Father hath bejlowed upon m, that we Jbol!!d be caUed the Sons of God; to h>ave fo near a Relation to him. This is exceeding Riches ofGrace, this is more than Heaven it felf, my Brethren. La/1/y, The Grace ofGod is [o eminent and fuperexcellent, that it contents not it.fcl{in giving and in forgiving, in enving into all thefe·Relations, and to do all thefe freely too: But it will be at the Cofl:,at an extraordinary Cofr to purchafe all that .which it means to give, and which it might give without that Purchafe. This is1 ~ fl:rain and the highefl: fl:rain that can be thought of fupeJeminent and fuperex– cdlent Grace; meerly becaufe he would !hew forth the fupereminent and fuper– e~cellent Grace. When .A'rmmahdid offer )lnto Davi<l Oxen and Sheep to facri- • fi£e,' in 2 Sant. 2 4· 2 4. Saith David, Nay, But I will jim!J buy it of thee at a price, 11tjther will] offer Burnt-Ojfiringf unto the Lord "'l God ofthat 1rhicb dotb coff me no– thing. Re fpake this, becaufe he knew, that would be more accepted by God t<f ~ake it a free-will-Offering, not to offer that which was given him, but which he mull pay for. So it is with God, faith God with himfelf, I could have faved theft Men, and broHght them to Heaven, I could have entred into all thefe Rdatlons, I could have given them my Son to become a Redeemer, and a Head for them,and fci i might have become their Father ; I could have given them my Spirit, and have given them Grace and Glory, I could have done all this immediately without any Gofl:. No, faith he, I wiU be at a price, lwillnotjhew Favrmr unto theft Men, OHI oftbat whichj1Ja!l co.fl me nothing. He would need.sgive his Son to. Death to pur· chafe all that w,hicl) Grace it feff could hove befrowed, and befl:ow.ed without the Death of his Son. And this he did meerly, that he might !hew forth the more G'race ; why? ll~c,au~ it is his own prop~r Coil ;md Charges he cloth it at: and h~ triumpheth more tbaf tqe Gra~7 ?e befl:o\}'eth cofl: him thus much, th~n m .the G1fts themfelves,wbich he cafl:eth out ofFavour upon the Creature. God dtd thtck, it t'oolitt\e to give thefe t\~iags immediately. A~when he wquld humb1e the Grea• tlire, to have th'e'Crcatures humbled limply-as Creatures, in that Confideration, in \r ' · * ' the
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