CONSIDERATION OF THE NATURE. OF GOD, 343 exposed unto. Now, this ariseth from the consideration of the infinite grace, mercy, and love of God, as they are proposed in the dispensation of the word: for it may be said unto us, and like enough it will, consider- ing the frame of mens minds in the days wherein we lge, Do not you yourselves, who thus press unto boll= ness, and the necessity of it, from the consideration of the nature of God, preach unto us every day the great- ness of his mercy towards all sorts of sinners, his readi- ness to receive them, his willingness to pardon them, and that freely in Christ, without the consideration of any worth, merit, or righteousness of-their own? And do you not herein invite all sorts of sinners, the worst and the greatest, to come unto him by Christ, that they may be pardoned and accepted? Whence then can arise any argument for the necessity of holiness, from the consideration of the nature of this God, whose ines- timable treasures of grace, and the freedom of whose love and mercy towards sinners, no tongue, as you say, can express. Sect. 33.Answ. (l.) This objection is very natural unto carnal and unbelieving minds, and therefore we shall meet with it at every turn. There is nothing seems more reasonable unto them, than that we may live iu sin because grace bath abounded. If men must yet be holy, they can see no need nor use of grace. And they cannot see that God,is gracious toany purpose, if, not- withstanding men may perish because they are net holy. But this objection is raised, rejected, and condemned by our apostle, in whose judgment we may acquiesce, Rom. vi. 1. And, in the same place, he subjoins the reasons, why, notwithstanding thesuperabounding grace of God in Christ, there is an indispensible necessitythat all believers should be holy. (2.) 'God himself path obviated this objection. He proclaims his name, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. " The Lord, the Lord God, gracious and merciful, abundant in " goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgressions, and sin."` Hadhe stood here, and neither in this, nor in any other place of scripture, further declared his nature and unchange- able purposes concerning sinners, some colour might have been laid on this objection. But he adds imme- diately, and that will by no means clear the guilty, that is, as it is explained in places ofscripture innumerable, such as go on in their sins, without regard unto obeli- the truth in love, Eph. iv. 15. Our apostasy from God was eminently from him as the God of truth, byan op- position to which attribute we sought to dethrone him from his glory; we would not believe that his word was truth. And sin entered into the world by and with a long train of lies. And ever since, the whole world, and every thing in it, is filled with them, which represents him and his nature, who is the father of lies and liars. Hereby doth it visibly and openly continue in its epos- tacy from the God of truth. I could willingly stay to manifest how thewhole world is corrupted, depraved,and sullied by lies of all sorts, but I must not divert there- unto. Wherefore truth and sincerity in words, forthat at present I confine myself unto, is an effect of renova- tion of the image of God in us, and a representation of him to the world. No duty is more frequently pressed upon us: Put awayfalse speaking, lie not one to another, speak the truth in lave. And the consideration hereof is exceeding necessary unto all those who, by their course oflife, are engaged in trading, and that both because of the disreputation, which, by the evil prac- tices ofsome, of many, that I say not of the most, is cast upon that course of life, and also because failures in truth are apt a thousand ways to insinuate themselves into the practices of such persons, yea, when they are not aware thereof. It is naught, it is naught, saiSis the buyer, but when he goeth away, he boasteth: and it is good; it is good, saith the seller; but when he hath sold it, he boasteth, or is well pleased with the advantage, which he bath made by his words. But these things have the image of Satan upon them, and are most opposite to the God of truth. Another occasion must be taken, further to press this necessary duty: only, at present I do but intimate, that where truth is not universally observed, according to the utmost watchfulness of sin- cerity and love, there all other marks and tokens of the image of God, in any persons, are notonly sullied, but .refaced, and the representation of Satan is most preva- lent. And these things I could not but add, as natu- rally consequential unto that first principal argument for the necessity of holiness, which we have proposed and insisted on. Sect. S2.Having dispatched this first argument, and added unto it some especial improvements with re- spectunto its influence unto our practice, it remains on- ly, that we free it from one objection which it seems
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