Serm. XC. The Goodnefs of God. 685 living thing. God doth not immediately bring Meat to the Creatures, when they are hungry ; but it is near to them, commonly in the Elements wherein they are bred, or within their reach, and he hath planted Inclinations in them to hunt af- ter it, and to lead and dire them to it, and to encourage felf- prefervation, and to oblige and inftigate them to it ; and that they might not be melancholy and weary of Life, he hath fo ordered the nature of living Creatures, that Hunger and Thirft are moft implacableDefres, exceeding painful, and even intolerable ; and likewife that the fatisfì &ion of thefe Appetites fhould be a mighty pleafure to them. And for thofe Creatures that are young, and not able to provide for themfelves, God bath planted in all Creatures a sofyrl, a natural Affe&ion towards their young ones, which will effe&ually put them upon feeking Provifions for them, and cheriíhing them, with that care and tendernefs which their weak and helplefs condition doth require ; and reafon is not more powerful and effe&ual'in Mankind to this purpofe, than this natural inflinll is in brute Creatures ; which thews what care God hath taken, and what provifion he bath made in the natu- tal Frame of all his Creatures, for the fatisfa&ion of the Inclinations and Appe- tites which he bath planted in them ; the fatisfadion whereof is their Pleafure and Happinefs. And thus I have done with theFirfl Head I propofed, the uni- verfal extent of God's Goodnefs to his Creatures ; let us now proceed in the II. Place, to confider more particularthe Goodnefs of God to Men ; which we are more efpecially concerned to take notice of, and to be affe&ed with it. And we need go no farther than our own obfervation and experience, to prove the goodnefs ot.God every day of our lives, we fee andtafle that the Lord is good, all that we are, and all the good that we enjoy, and all that we expe& and hope for, is from the Divine Goodnefs, .every good andperfell gift defcends from above, from the Father oflights, Jam. r. 17. And the belt and moft perfe& ofhis Gifts he bellows on the Sons of Men. What is faid of the Wifdom of God, Prov. 8. may be applied to his Goodnefs; the Goodnefs ofGod Ihines forth in all the works of Creation, in the Heavens and Clouds above, and in the Fountains of the great Deep, in the Earth and the Fields , but its delight is with the Sons of Men. Such is the Goodnefs of God to Man, that it is reprefented to us in Scripture, under the Notion of love. God is good to all his Creatures; but he is only Paid to love the Sons of Men. Moreparticularly the Goodnefs ofGod to Man appears, a. That he bath given us fuch noble and excellent Beings, and placed us in fo high a rank and order ofhis Creatures. We owe to him that we are, and what we are; we do notonly partake of that effe& ofhis Goodnefs which is common to us with all other Creatures, that we have received our being from him; but we are, peculiarly obliged to him, for his more efpecial Goodnefs, that he hath made us reafonable Creatures, of that kind which we fhould have chofen to have been of, if we could fuppofe, that before we were, it had been referr'd to us, and put to our choice, what part we would be of this vifible World. But we did not contrive and chufe this Conditiòn for our felves, we are no ways acceflary to the dignity and excellency of our Beings ; but God chofe this condition for us, and made us what we are; So that we may fay with David, Pfai. Roo. 3, 4, 5. 'Tis he that bathmade us, andnot we our felves. 0 enter then into his gates with ,thankfgiving, and into his courts with praife ; be thankful unto him, andfpeak good of his name,for the Lord is good. The Goodnefs of God is the Spring and Fountain of our Beings; but for that we had been nothing; and but for this farther Goodnefs, we might have been any thing, of the loweft and. meaneft rank of his Creatures. But the Goodnefs of God bath been pleafed to advance us to be the top and perfection of the vifible Creation, he hath been pleafed to endow us withMind and Underflanding, and made us capable ofhappinefs in the knowledge, sand love, and enjoyment of himfelf. He hath curioufly and wonderfullywrought the Frame of our Bodies, fo as to make them fit Habitations for reafonable Souls, and immortal Spirits; he hath made our very Bodies Veffels of Honour, when- ofthe very fameClay he bath made innumerable other Creatures, ofa much lower rank and condition; fo that tho' Man in refpet of his Body be a-kin to the earth,
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