770 God the f ir f t Cau f e; and la f i End . V I. loufre and fufpicions ; God's wrath is greater than our fear, according to thy fear fo is thy wrath. How fhould we love him, when we are altonilh'd with admiration of God's goodnefs, and fay, how great,. is thy goodnefs, and how great is thy beauty ? Behold, what manner of love the Father bath bellowedupon us ! How great Ihould our love be to him ! What manner of love Ihould we return to hire ! This calls for the higheft degree of our Faith. With vhat confidence Ihould we rely upon him, who is able todo for as exceeding above chat we can ask or think! To conclude, This requires the higheft degree of out fervice : How dhould our hearts be enlarged to run the ways of his commandments, who bath laid up for us fuch things, that eye hath notfeen, nor ear heard, nor have entred into the heart of Man ? SERMON CIV. God the firíf Caufe, and Jail End. , R o M. XI. 36. For of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be Glory for ever. Amen. Li AVING confider'd the more Eminent and Abfolute Perfefions of the [I Divine Nature, as alfo that which refults from the infinite Excellency and Perfedion of God, compar'd with the Imperfeûion of our Underftandings, I come in the laft place to treat of filch as aremerely and purely Relative ; as that He is thefrll Caufe, and the laß End of all things ; to which purpofe I have cho- fen thefe Words of theApoftle, for the Subjeét of my prefent Difcourfe ; For of him, and through him, &c. The dependance of thefe Words upon the former is briefly this. The Apoftle had been fpeaking before in this Chapter, feveral things that might tend to raife us to an Admiration of the Wifdom, and.Goodnefs, and Mercy of God, in the difpenfation of his - Grace, for the Salvation of Men, both Yews and Gentiles, and therefore would have us afcribe this work wholly to God ; the contrivance of it to his Wifdom, and not ro our own counfels, v. 34. For who bath known the mindof the Lord? andwho hath ken his counfellor ? and the bellowing this grace, to his free Goodnefs and Mercy, and not to any defert of ours, v. 35. Or who bathAll given to him, and it fhall be recompenced to him again? Yea andnot only in the difpenfation of Grace, but of all good things ; not only in this workof Re- demption, but alto of Creation, God is the Fountain, and Original, and frfl Caufe, from whence every thing proceeds ; and the laß End, to which every thing is to be referr'd. For of him, &c. '4lurt, from him, the efficient Caufe producing all things ; 1 duns, by or through him, as the efficient conferving Caufe of all things ; :ÿ es áuòv, and to him, as the final Caufe of all things, and the End for which they were made. The Propofition I fhall fpeak to is, that God is the frfl Caufe, and laßEnd. Firfl, I that! a little Explain the Terms. Secondly, Confirm the Propofition. Thirdly, Apply it. Firfl, For the Explication of the Terms. I. That God is the ftrfl Caufe, lignifies t. Negatively, that he had no Caufe, didnot derive his Being from any other, or does depend upon any other Being ; but that he was always, and eternally of himfelE a. Po_
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