A century OF Divine Meditations UPON PREDESTINATION, and its Adjuncts: Wherein are showed the comfortable uses of this Doctrine.  
To which are annexed sixteen Meditations upon God's Justice and Mercy.  
By ALEXANDER ROSS.  
LONDON, Printed by James Young, 1646.   

TO The Right Honourable and virtuous Lady, FRANCES Countess of Rutland, wife to the Right honourable JOHN Earl of Rutland.  
Noble Lady,  
AS you have been pleased to make me happy, by permitting me to gaze with admiration upon the rare structure and goodly fabric of that beautiful temple of your virtues; so give me leave to pass through this, into your temple of honour, and there, at the shrine of your perfections, to lay this century of Divine Meditations; a sacrifice, I know, more acceptable to you then whole hecatombs of fat beasts, or the smoke of Sabean incense. Your noble Progenitors have devolved upon you many natural endowments, whereby you outstrip most of your own sex: but grace hath gifted you with clearness and perspicuity of judgement in the mysteries of speculative divinity, even beyond many who think themselves learned Clerks of our sex. Madam, though you are every way honourable, yet nothing doth so much ennoble you, as your zeal to Religion, and love to learned men: When your beauty, wealth, outward honours and pleasures shall determine in death, even than Religion and Learning will beautify and enrich your soul, and immortalize your name. The highest pitch of my ambition in this, and the former Dedication, is only to show my gratitude to your honourable Husband, and yourself, though in small mites, compared to your noble favours; and withal, to set forth the lustre of your own knowledge in these points which still perplex the minds of many Christians. The Father of Mercies crown you both, and your hopeful Issue, with the blessings of both hands here, and of eternity hereafter. This is, and still shall be, the prayer of  
Your honour's devoted Servant, Alexander Ross.   

I Have perused these divine and learned Meditations on God's Predestination, justice and mercy; and, judging them to be pious and profitable, I allow them to be printed and published.  
JOHN DOWNAME. January the 7. 1645.   

DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON PREDESTINATION, and its Adjuncts.  

I.  
I find that God by his absolute power can do that, which in justice he may not; He can torment the good Angels that sinned not, but he will not: if he could not do so, he were not omnipotent; if he should, he were not just. I will therefore reverence that power which can do what he wills, but will not do all that he can.   

II.  
God may justly annihilate the good Angels, though justly he cannot punish them: He could not be unjust in taking that nature from them which he freely bestowed; and he could not be just in inflicting a punishment which they had not deserved. But I, that am a sinful man, must acknowledge it goodness in him to annihilate me. I must reverence his justice if he punish me, but will admire, and extol his mercy, if he save me.   

III.  
God is a most free Agent, being subject neither to a commanding law, nor to a constraining power; yet hath he necessitated some of his external actions, partly by his goodness, partly by his Promise: He must do what he promiseth, because he is true; he must do what is just, because he is good. I will claim Heaven as my due, not because I merit it, but because he promised it; his own goodness hath tied him to give it, though my sins may deter me from begging it.   

iv.  
If my Adoption be the end of Predestination, by which Grace and glory are prepared for me; then shall the end be first in my intention, but the means shall be first in execution. I will strive and beg for faith in God's natural Son, that in him I may become God's adopted son.   

V.  
The good Angels were made happy by the grace of Confirmation, Adam by the grace of Restauration: the Angels fell not, therefore needed not this grace; Adam stood not, therefore wanted that grace. He that is confirmed falls not, he that falls, is not confirmed: God showed his love to the Angels in confirming them, but his mercy to Adam in restoring him. Lord show thy mercy to me when I fall, in restoring me; show thy love to me when I am raised, in confirming me: make me happy with Adam in the one, happy with Angels in the other.   

VI.  
God's Prescience is of a larger extent than his Predestination; for he foreknew or foresaw both good and evil, but he predestinated good only: he foresaw good and evil, because he is omniscient; he predestinated only good, because in him there is none, and from him there comes none evil. O that we could be like him, to foresee evil, and hate it; to resolve only upon good, and do it.   

VII.  
God's decrees are in our power, and our power is in his decrees; they are in us as causes in their effect, we are in him as effects in their cause: It's by his decree that we have power, 'tis not by our power that he decrees:' Its in our power to perform his decrees, but this power we have by his decree. Lord, if thou hast decreed my obedience, give me power of performance, and so thy decree shall be in my power: not that thou didst decree, because thou knewest I would obey; but I will obey, because I know thou hast decreed.   

VIII.  
God hath decreed to give us faith, and he hath decreed to justify us by that faith; by the former decree he makes us his sons, by the other he acquits us of our sins. Lord, if thou hast decreed to make me thy son, bestow faith on me; if thou hast decreed to blot away my sin, by that same faith justify me.   

Ix..  
God first loved us, and then he decreed to bestow Grace and Glory on us; his love to us is the cause of our happiness, so our love to him must be the cause of our obedience. Lord make me to love thee, and then I know I shall obey thee.   

X.  
Faith and holiness are graces by which we attain to happiness; but God's love is that grace by which we obtain faith and holiness. As the action follows the quality, so God's decree follows this first grace, but other graces come after his decree: it was by his decree that we have any grace, it was by his grace that he was pleased to decree. Lord, as the grace of thy love made thee to decree my happiness; so make the love of thy grace in me increase, that I may enjoy this happiness.   

XI.  
God doth so determine the actions of the Will, that sometime he bends it to what he pleaseth; and so it works necessarily, not freely, if we consider the act or use of working: sometime he determines it so, that he leaves it to its own inclination; and than it works freely: God's Providence doth not thwart his Creation, if he sometimes suspends, hinders, determines the properties and motions of his creatures; in the creation he gave them, that in his providence he might use them. Lord, if thou shouldest leave my Will to itself in this corrupted estate I now am in, what fruit can it produce but sour grapes, and wild olives? for the fruit cannot be better than the tree, and men gather not grapes of thistles, nor figs of thorns. I had rather have a necessity laid on me to do good, then be left at liberty to do evil; I had rather my Will should be a servant to thy commands, then be master over its own actions.   

XII.  
If Adam had not sinned, he had been saved; and being a sinner, yet he is saved: grace had saved him then, and grace saves him now; the grace of God's love had saved him then, the grace of God's mercy saves him now; God's love then had been grounded upon the first Adam's perseverance, it is now grounded on the second Adam's death and obedience. I had been happy in Adam, had he not been a sinner; but I am now much more happy in Christ by being my Saviour. I lost Paradise by the first Adam, I have gained Heaven by the second: the first Adam, being man, would needs be God, and so made us equal to the beasts; the second Adam, being God, would needs be man, and so hath made us equal to the Angels.   

XIII.  
Some 
† Supralapsarians.  say, that God in predestinateing man, looked on him as he was to be created; others, 
* Sublapsarians. , that he considered him as already created and lapsed, because we are predestinated in Christ: but Christ is a Saviour, and a Saviour presupposeth a sinner. I will not dispute the question, but this I know, that my misery occasioned his mercy; and, had I not been a sinner, he had not been a Saviour.   

XIIII.  
I am elected in Christ, who is my Mediator, not only by his merit of impetration of pardon for me, but also by the efficacy of application of that pardon to me. Not only by his blood hath he made a purchase of Heaven for sinners, but also by that same blood he hath delivered the possession of Heaven to sinners.   

XV.  
There is a Promise of Heaven made to us, and there is a law of obedience and faith imposed on us: Heaven is promised upon condition of faith and obedience, and these are promised upon condition of divine assistance. Lord, if thou assist, I will obey; if I obey, thou wilt reward: but here are the odds, that my obedience is the effect and fruit of thy grace and assistance, but not the cause of thy remuneration and benevolence.   

XVI.  
God, being the supreme cause, can have no superior cause of his actions; yet some say, he may produce an effect which may occasion him to work further: thus the foresight of man's sin gave him occasion to precondemne him. This well is too deep, and I have no bucket to draw with: I will not soar with the waxen wings of human reason too nigh this inaccessible light, nor will I pry into the sacred ark of God's secret decrees; only this I can say, that whatever his decrees were before time, I am sure, his proceeding to judgement is just in time. He is so just, that he never condemned any man but for sin; and he is so merciful, that he will not condemn every man that doth sin.   

XVII.  
Justice and Mercy were still in God actually from all eternity, in respect of the first act, to wit, of existence; though they were not always in respect of the second act, to wit, of operation: God could not always exercise Justice and Mercy on sinners, because there have not been always sinners; as soon as man sinned, these attributes in God appeared, which were eternally existent in him, but not eternally exercised by him. Lord, thou hast exercised the eternity of thy justice in punishing for me thy natural Son, exercise, I pray, the eternity of thy mercy for him, in saving the soul of me thy adopted son.   

XVIII.  
God by his antecedent will decreed to bestow Faith and Grace on us, which by his consequent will he resolved to deny us; his former will was moved by his own goodness, but his latter will was provoked by our wickedness: if we have unjustly rejected the grace which by his former will he resolved to give us, may not he justly by his latter will deny that grace, which was rejected so perversely by us. Lord, if thou art resolved by thy first will to bestow grace on me, let me not by my disobedience provoke thy second will to deny that grace unto me.   

XIX.  
Our wickedness is the cause that moveth God to exercise his acts of Justice; but his own bounty is the cause, and our misery the occasion, why he exerciseth his acts of Mercy. When I am punished, I will accuse my own wickedness, which provoked against me divine justice; and when I am saved, I will extol and reverence that bounty, which took occasion by my misery, to make me an object of his Mercy.   

XX.  
I find a twofold decree, the one of Providence, the other of Predestination: by that, God resolved to give us as much grace as might suffice to save us; by this, he appointed to give us effectual grace, that we might be powerfully saved: by the former we may believe if we will, by this we do actually believe. They are inexcusable that have sufficient grace, though it be not effectual; for God hath dealt graciously with us in affording sufficient helps of our salvation, and we have dealt wickedly with ourselves in hindering the efficacy of these helps. No man then hath cause to complain of God's cruelty, seeing he hath bestowed on all men sufficient grace of Providence, whereby they may be saved; but many men have cause to admire God's mercy, who hath bestowed on some the effectual grace of Predestination, whereby they shall be saved.   

XXI.  
God will have all men to be saved, and he will have wicked men to be damned: that, is his antecedent will; this, his consequent: that, is sometimes frustrated of its end, this never; and its fitting that seeing his will cannot be fulfilled by us, it should be fulfilled upon us. They that will not satisfy his will by their obedience, shall satisfy his will in suffering just vengeance.   

XXII.  
God loves himself, and so he doth man: the one love is internal, the other external; the one is eternal, the other temporary; the one necessary, the other voluntary; for God's internal actions, if the object be internal naturally, are absolutely necessary; as when he loves himself, the agent, the object, the action are all internal, and all necessary in respect of existence: but if the object be internal voluntarily, as when God decreeth and understandeth external objects, which he makes internal, by uniting them to his understanding, than all these actions are voluntary and free, even his very decrees which proceed from his free will. It was in his choice whether he would decree any thing concerning man or not; whether he would bestow grace and glory on him: The eternal generation indeed of his own Son is an action of necessity, but the regeneration of his adopted sons is a work altogether voluntary. So much the more than will I admire and praise that goodness which elected and saved me, by how much the more I see it was free and voluntary, but no ways, in respect of his perfection, necessary.   

XXIII.  
There is in man a twofold judgement, to wit, an antecedent, which is that of the affections and senses; and a consequent, which is that of reason: so there is a twofold volition; the one follows the judgement of sense, and it is rather  
an imperfect desire, than a perfect volition; the other follows the judgement of reason: both these volitions were in Christ more eminently then in us, because in him were two wills, and these, by reason of his two natures, were distinct in him, though his person was but one; therefore he desired the cup might pass from him, but willed it not; or, he willed it by his antecedent, not by his consequent will. O thou that madest in thyself, the judgement of affection stoop to the judgement of reason, and madest thy desire subservient to thy will, and causedst thy antecedent will to give place to thy consequent; produce in me the same effect, that these sinful delights which my affections so earnestly run after, and thy gentle corrections, which they so earnestly run from, may be so ordered, that the one by me may be courageously subdued, the other patiently endured; that my affections may submit to my will, my will to reason, and reason to thy Spirit.   

XXIIII.  
God worketh not immediately by his decree, but by his power: his decree is but a remote cause, his power immediate; his decree is an internal action, the actions of his power are external; the actions of his decrees depend on his wisdom, the actions of his power are subservient to his decrees. Lord, if in thy wisdom thou thoughtest it good that my soul should be saved, and if thou hast decreed it, then let thy power be seen in effecting it.   

XXV.  
The necessity and contingency of things is not to be attributed to God's decree, but to the working of his power; contingency, is when he useth his resistible power, if he works irresistibly then follows necessity: what is contingent to the second cause, is infallible to God's prescience, but necessary to the work of his omnipotency: his decree is a remote cause, which without his power worketh not. Christ's death was contingent to the Jews, that crucified him; infallible to God's prescience, who foresaw that the Jews would kill him; but necessary in regard of his decree, working by his power in presenting that bitter cup unto him. Why then shall afflictions dismay me, which though they be contingent in respect of the second agent, yet they are infallible to that all-seeing eye of Heaven that foresaw them; and necessary, if we regard that powerful hand which inflicted them?   

XXVI.  
God ordereth sin, though he ordained it not: he ordereth it, that it may be subservient to his glory; he ordained it not, because he sinneth not: He could not ordain it, seeing he hates it, forbids it, and punishes it. Lord, I ascribe to thy glory both my salvation, and my sin: my salvation thou hast ordained, my sin thou hast ordered; that by the one I may love thy mercy, and by the other, I may fear thy justice. Who but goodness itself would ordain the salvation of a sinner, and who but wisdom itself would order the prevarications of a sinner? What is more offensive to thy nature then sin? What is more destructive of thy feature in me then sin? yet out of sin thou hast drawn the means to manifest the goodness of thy nature in my salvation, and out of the same sin thou hast drawn a means to repair in me thy decayed feature by my repentance and conversion.   

XXVII.  
God gave to Adam sufficient grace to stand, but not to persist; he permitted him to fall, who by the grace he received might have stood; he gave him sufficiency of grace, not permanency in grace: by the one God is cleared from iniquity, and by the other he manifests his justice and mercy: if man had not been a sinner, God had not been a Saviour; we had not known Emanuel, God with us, if Adam by sin had not separated God from us; we had known him as Jehova, but not as Jesus. O my God, if thou give me sufficiency of grace, I may fall; but if thou give me permanency in grace, I shall not fall: give me Adam's happiness in Paradise, that I may sufficiently love and know thee; give me the angel's happiness in Heaven, that I may constantly love and know, and eternally abide in thee.   

XXVIII.  
God delivered his Son to death, so did Satan by Judas: God had power to do so, Satan had none; God did this in love to the sons of men, Satan did it in malice to the Son of God: by an affirmative act God was willing to permit Satan to exercise his malice, by a negative act he hindered him not: in all this God sinned not, if we consider the authority of the agent, the form of the action, and the justice and goodness of his intention. Though God acts not sin, nor is willing it should be acted by man, yet he is willing to permit it. Not sin, but permission is the object of his will; he could not will sin, because he is not sinful; he permits it, because he can draw good out of it.   

XXIX.  
God permits not punishment, but inflicts it; he permits not good, but commands it; he wills not sin, but permits it; not as it is good, but as out of it he draws good. O thou that drewest light out of darkness, and meat out of the eater; draw good out of my evils, and comforts out of my afflictions: Thou canst draw honey out of the rock, and turn water into wine, and make bitter Meribah potable; we pray thee, turn the bitter waters of our Meribah, our strife and contention, into the pure and sweet streams of Peace and Union.   

XXX.  
What God cannot do, he cannot will; what he cannot will, he cannot decree: and although affirmatively his power be of a larger extent than his will, for he can do that which he will not do; yet negatively he cannot will what he cannot do, nor do what he cannot will: he cannot do evil, therefore he cannot will it; he cannot will it, therefore he can neither do it by an external, nor decree it by any internal act. O that my will and actions, Lord, were conformable to thine: for oftentimes I do the evil which I will not, and I will the good, which I do not. Lord, make my will conformable to thine, that my actions may be conformable to my will.   

XXXI.  
God's grace reacheth further than his mercy; his grace is extended to all, his mercy only to those that are in misery: by grace the Angels were confirmed, by grace the world is preserved, but by mercy man is redeemed; he is gracious then to all, but merciful only to some: yet though his grace be more universal and communicable, his mercy is more wonderful and amiable. Lord, the noblest of all thy Attributes is thy goodness to thy creatures▪ but the excellency of thy goodness is, in showing mercy to sinners: Thy goodness made me a man, but thy mercy a happy man: by the one, thou deliverest me from nothing; by the other, from worse than nothing: thy goodness gave me being, and thy mercy well being.   

XXXII.  
In every sin the act and the obliquity, in every virtue the act and the circumstances are distinguishable. In sin the act is always good metaphysically, but evil morally; either because it is prohibited, as the act of eating the fruit to Adam; or because it is repugnant to justice and sanctity, though they were not prohibited, as theft and murder: In every virtue the act is always good both morally and metaphysically, but the circumstances may be evil; as to give alms is good, but to give out of pride is evil. I will not forbear to do good, because the circumstances may be evil; nor will I venture to do evil, because the circumstances may be good. If God command that which may seem to be evil, I will do it; for his command makes it good: if he forbids that which may seem to be good, I will not do it, because his prohibition makes it evil. Adam sinned in eating of the fruit (though seemingly good) because God prohibited it; and the Hebrews sinned not, in spoiling the Egyptians (though seemingly evil) because God commanded it.   

XXXIII.  
God did no ways necessitate Adam to sin, neither by inward persuasion, nor by outward coaction: besides, he gave him a law easy to be kept, and power sufficient to keep it: He did then neither will nor decree his fall, nor persuade nor force it, only he gave way that he might fall, who had power to stand; that, being by Christ raised from his fall, he might more firmly stand. Lord, as thou didst permit my fall, so be now pleased to remit it; I fell willingly from thee, make me to return as willingly to thee: Thou gavest me a will to stand or fall, give me a will to rise, and so to stand, that I may never fall again.   

XXXIIII.  
There is a twofold necessity; the one is 
* Consequentiae.  syllogistical, the other is 
* Consequentis.  real: there was a syllogistical necessity of man's fall, in respect of God's foreknowledge, but not real: God's prescience was an antecedent not a cause; and man's fall was the consequent, not the effect of that prescience: but there is a real necessity of that which God decreeth. Lord, I did not sin, because thou didst foresee it; but because I was to sin, therefore thou didst foresee it: my fall was a necessary sequel of thy precognition, so let my rising be a necessary effect of thy Predestination.   

XXXV.  
Sin properly is not the punishment of sin, because we sin willingly, we suffer punishment unwillingly; in sinning we are agents, in punishments we are patients: yet sin may be the cause of sin; not that one sin can procreate another, but because one sin can deserve and prepare the way for committing of another. Lord, free me from the guilt and stain of Adam's sin, which hath been both the preparatory and meritorious cause of all my actual sins.   

XXXVI.  
God worketh on the will either by a physical motion, or by moral persuasion; and he persuades either powerfully by his Spirit, or sufficiently by his Word: so he hindereth sin, either by his law prohibiting it, or by his power inhibiting it: let no man sin presumptuously, because he is not stopped in the full career of his sin powerfully; though there is not always an inhibition by his Power, yet there is still a prohibition by his Law, to make us inexcusable. Lord, work on my depraved will physically, work morally, work sufficiently, and work powerfully, by the Word, by thy Spirit, by thy Law, by thy Sword: circumcise my heart and ears; the one by the Sword of the Spirit, the other by the Sword of the Word: if I cannot be restrained by thy Law, to forbear the forbidden fruit with Adam; let me be constrained by the glittering of thy sword, to stop in the ways of wickedness with Balaam.   

XXXVII.  
Though nothing is contingent to God, yet his knowledge may consider contingencies, as they are contingent: for what by man is done contingently, by him it is foreseen certainly; in which regard God's judgements are founded upon sin, which may more fitly be called the object and occasion of his judgements, than the cause. Lord, the cause of thy judgements is thy justice, and my sin the occasion: thy justice is eternal, thy judgements are just, my sins are contingent: if it were not for thy judgements, I should not acknowledge my sins; if it were not for my sins, thou couldst not exercise thy judgements; and if it were not for thy justice, there would be no proportion between thy judgements and my sins: the exercise of thy judgements will cease, if thou put an end to my sins; but thy justice shall not cease, though thou in mercy pardon my sins.   

XXXVIII.  
Nature is before grace, and the works of creation before the effects of Predestination: Man was first made a living soul, by the outward breath of God's mouth; and then was made a quickening spirit, by the inward breath of the holy Ghost: so he decreed first to give man natural ability by the work of Creation, and then to bestow on him supernatural graces, the effects of Predestination. Lord, thou hast gifted me with natural faculties, whereby I exceed the beasts; and thou hast endowed me with supernatural graces, whereby I am equal to the Angels: I praise thee for the work of thy Creation, much more for that of Predestination; by the one thou madest me a man, by the other a happy man: make me to exceed the beasts as much in moral virtues, as I excel them in natural abilities; so make me to equal the Angels as much in love and obedience, as I come near them in supernatural happiness.   

XXXIX.  
God did first foresee that Adam would sin, before he predestinated Christ to die for sin; he foresaw the disease, then prepared the remedy; he foresaw the leprosy, then ordained the blood of his Son to wash it: for as the sinner only is capable of the grace of Regeneration; so this grace was preordained to the sinner in God's Predestination. O my God, if thou wast so provident as to prepare physic for my sinful soul before I had sinned; I am confident thy goodness is not now lessened, but that thou wilt apply that same physic to my soul having sinned.   

XL.  
God's Image in man consisted in nature and natural properties, in moral virtues, and supernatural graces; the first were totally retained in Adam's fall, the third totally lost, the second lost in part. Again, the essential part of God's Image remained, to wit, the soul; but the accidental part was lost, to wit, justice and holiness; the subject continued, though this form perished: therefore for the soul, renovation is sufficient; but for those graces in the soul, a new creation is required. Lord, by thy Image I excel the beasts, by it I match the Angels, by it I resemble thyself; but the subject of this image is by sin decayed, and by sin the form is quite abolished. O thou that in my Creation didst grace me with the breath of life, now in my Regeneration breathe in me the life of grace: the temple of God is decayed in me, and the God of this temple is banished from me; repair this temple, that thy image again may stand in it, and renew thy image that this temple may be sanctified by it.   

XLI.  
Adam's sin was committed after Predestination, if we consider Adam's actual existence; but it was before Predestination, in respect of God's prescience. What madness is it to think, that God sees not our sins which we commit secretly; whereas he did foresee our sins before they were committed, and that from all eternity?   

XLII.  
In Predestination, the preterition of some men, was the punishment of those men; and the denial of felicity, was their misery: but punishment presupposeth sin, and preterition as a punishment must come after the prevision of sin. If this doctrine be true, that the prevision of sin was the cause of preterition; sure it is most true, that the commission of sin is the cause of condemnation.   

XLIII.  
Passive excaecation, or the wilful ignorance and spiritual blindness in man, is both a sin, and the cause of sin: active excaecation, as it is from man, it is a sin; as from God, it is the punishment of sin. It stands with thy justice, O God, to punish them with blindness, who have with delight blinded themselves; and to deprive those of light, who love to walk in darkness. Why shouldest thou hold out the lamp of thy Word to those that despise it; and cause thy sun to shine on them, who wilfully shut their eyes against it? Lord, deal with me as thou didst with Saul: I am blinded spiritually, make me blind corporally; that by losing the sight of my body, I may regain the sight of my soul. I will gladly lose the light of the sun, moon, and other planets; so I may behold the light of the Son of righteousness.   

XLIIII.  
Some say, that the heart's induration is not the cause of God's indignation; but that God is first angry, then hardeneth: I am sure God hath just cause to be angry with those who will be hardened, and therefore in his just anger hardeneth them. I confess, Lord, that I have hardened my own heart, therefore thou mayest justly be angry with me; and because my voluntary hardness hath provoked thy anger, therefore may thy anger effect in me, and that most justly, a further degree of hardness.   

XLV.  
God who by his irresistible will decreeth the hardening of a sinner, yet actually by his resistible will useth to harden that sinner. Though none can resist the will of his decrees, yet he permits us sometimes to oppose the actions of his will: in the one he shows himself the God of power, in the other he shows his mercy, in suffering man to resist the power of God. O thou that didst wrestle with Jacob, and gavest him strength both to resist and conquer thee; when thou wrestlest with me by tentations, give me so much strength as by mortification to subdue myself, and then give me leave by faith and tears to vanquish thee.   

XLVI.  
There is in God a twofold negative act; the one of Providence, the other of Preterition: by the former, God denied to Adam the gift of Perseverance, and so suffered him to fall; by the other, he denyeth to some men the gift of Faith and Repentance, and so suffers them to remain in their fall. God was not bound to give Adam perseverance, seeing otherwise he furnished him with grace sufficiently; nor is he bound to give to those faith, and repentance, who fell from their former grace willingly, and oppose his Word and Spirit obstinately. Lord, I confess, that as thou wast not in Adam's debt for perseverance, so neither art thou in mine for any grace: but if thou wilt be pleased to bestow on me so much grace, as to attain true happiness; I will impute it not to my deserts, but to thy favour and goodness.   

XLVII.  
Some say, that those whom God hath decreed for Salvation may be damned, but that they shall not be damned; that his decree hindereth the act, but not the possibility. I leave this nicety for the schools: But this use I will make of it, that if I may be damned, I will work out my salvation with fear and trembling; if I shall not be damned, I will not fear, though I walk through the valley of death: if I may be damned, I acknowledge, Lord, it is through my own wickedness; if I shall not be damned, it is out of thy unspeakable goodness.   

XLVIII.  
It is the doctrine of many in these days, that as God by his revealed will saves none, but such as believe in him; so he decreed by his secret will to save none, but such as he foresaw would believe in him. I am confident, God could foresee nothing thing in me, but what he was pleased to bestow upon me: if he foresaw my faith, he foresaw the fruit of his preventing grace; if he foresaw my perseverance, he foresaw the effect of his subsequent grace.   

XLIX.  
Election (say some) is God's decree to justify the faithful; others say, 'tis God's decree to save man, as he is man, and to that end to make him faithful: In the one opinion, I find faith the means of Justification; in the other, of Salvation: means, I say, but not the cause. Lord, the cause of my happiness is in thee, the means in me; but the efficacy of this means, both in my justification and salvation, is only from thee.   

L.  
If the decree of preterition went before the act of sin, but not before the prevision of that sin; I am confident, the act of preterition cannot, much less can the act of condemnation, precede the act of sin. Therefore how injurious are some to the God of mercy, in daring to accuse him of cruelty, who is so far from condemning any man, but for sin committed, that he would not decree man's condemnation, but for sin foreseen?   

LI.  
There was enjoined to Adam the law of abstinence from the forbidden fruit, and the law of obedience: the former was particular to Adam, the other was common to him and his posterity: it was not for the breach of the former, which was personal; but for the breach of the other, which was universal, that we are condemned: not adam's act of eating, but his disobedience was our bane; for we sinned in him: sin is a transgression of the law; but the law could not have been transgressed by us, had it not been in him given to us. Lord, we have great cause to admire and respect thy mercy, in saving us for the second Adam's obedience; but we have no cause to suspect thee of cruelty, in condemning us for the first Adam's disobedience.   

LII.  
Punishment was prepared in God's decree as well for the sin of Jacob as of Esau, both having sinned alike in Adam; but it was pardonable in the one, unpardonable in the other: which difference proceeded from grace, not from nature. Lord, I confess, thou couldst see no more original sin in Judas, then in me; yet thou wast pleased to punish him, and to spare me: if thou hadst condemned us both, thou hadst done justly; but in sparing the one, thou hast magnified thy mercy.   

LIII.  
There is a twofold grace, the one of Creation, the other of Election; the one was the gift of God without Christ, the other was the gift of God in Christ; the one was the image of God, the other was the renovation of that image; the one was lost in Paradise, the other shall never be lost in Heaven. Lord, thou hadst no other inducement, but thine own goodness to create me to thy image; but now thou hast another inducement, to wit, thy Sons merits, to renew in me that decayed image: the one thou mightst not have done, the other thou canst not but do; for, though thou wast not bound in the creation to bestow thy image on me, yet now thou art bound by thy son's satisfaction to repair this image in me.   

LIIII.  
Adam could have abstained from the external act of touching, by natural grace only; but in him could not be the inward and permanent affection of obeying, without supernatural grace also. Lord, if Adam could not yield constant obedience to thee in his estate of integrity, how shall I be able to persevere in obedience, without thy special grace, being now in the estate of iniquity?   

LV.  
Though the habit of justice, as it is the essence of God, be necessarily in him; yet the actions of justice, which are not his essence, are not necessarily performed by him: He is necessarily just, but a voluntary agent: He doth necessarily hate injustice, but freely and voluntarily he punisheth it, and decreed punishment for it. Lord, what should become of me, and of all the other wretched sons of Adam, if it were as necessary for thee to punish, as it is to be just? But my comfort is, that, as justice is so necessary in thee, that thou canst not be unjust; so thy actions are so free and voluntary, that thou canst pardon my sin, and yet notwithstanding thou canst not be but just.   

LVI.  
There was no necessity why God should manifest his justice in punishing sinners, seeing he had power to manifest that, in punishing his own Son for sinners. In the one, he shows himself to be a God of mercy, not of revenge, in sparing his enemies; in the other, he shows himself a God of justice, in punishing his beloved Son, who became surety for his enemies.   

LVII.  
There is a twofold cause of predemnation; the one is sin, the other is God's decree; the one is necessary, the other voluntary: sin is the cause why God may condemn all, God's decree is the cause why he will condemn but some: he looks on sin as it is pardonable in some, unpardonable in others; the one eye by which he looks is justice, the other is mercy. Lord, thou didst look upon my sin with justice and severity, when thou punishedst it in thine own natural Son; therefore look on it as it is in me, with meekness and mercy, and pardon it in me that am thy adopted son.   

LVIII.  
Every man is not a reprobate that falls into sin, but he that finally perseveres in sin: for all men fell into sin, by the permission of providence; but wicked men only continue to the end in sin, by the permission of preterition. Lord, that sin which was voluntary in Adam, is necessary in me; but although in thy just judgements, there is a necessity that I should be tainted with original contagion, yet there is no necessity why I should lie still and persevere in actual transgression: without thy providence I could not fall, without thy assistance I cannot rise: as by thy providence thou hinderest not my falling, because the glory of thy justice was thereby manifested; so, I pray thee, further, by thy assistance, my rising again, that the glory of thy goodness may be thereby magnified.   

LIX.  
In God's external actions there is neither natural nor coactive necessity; for both nature, and coaction exclude liberty: the fire burns naturally, the bullet flies upward violently, therefore both necessarily; but God's internal actions on himself are natural, therefore necessary: the Father begot his eternal Son, neither willingly nor unwillingly, but naturally and necessarily; so because God's attributes are natural, and essential to him, they are necessarily in him: he is necessarily not voluntarily good, because he cannot be but good; he doth voluntarily, not necessarily make man good, because he can forbear, if he would, to make him good. Lord, I confess, that the more free Agent thou wast in the work of my conversion, the less free am I, but the more necessitated to praise thy goodness and wisdom; for, how can I choose but honour and obey thee, who couldst have chosen whether thou wouldst have redeemed and saved me?   

LX.  
Faith is both an habit, and an action: if it justify, as it is an habit, I will not dispute; this I know, that it justifieth, as it is an action: for Abraham believed, and so was justified. The life then of Religion consisteth in action; not only of the outward works of the hand, but also of the inward work of the heart; for this is the work of God, that we believe in him. O Lord, faith is thy work, and it is mine too; it is thy work to infuse it, it is my work to apprehend Christ by it: let thy work be first performed in me, and then I know my work, if thou assist, shall be performed by me.   

LXI.  
Though we are not actually free from sin in this life, yet there is a possibility that we may be free; if either we consider the power of God, who can mightily effect it; or the will of a regenerate man, who doth so earnestly affect it. Lord, in that I may be free from sin, it argues thy omnipotency; but in that I am not free from sin, I must blame my own impotency: There is in me a desire to be freed from this body of death, and in thee there is power to free me, who art the Lord of life.   

LXII.  
There was in Adam a directive light of the mind while he was falling, to let him see his danger; but there was not in him that persuasive light which might powerfully restrain him from danger: that light had kept him from falling, had he followed it; and this light had kept him from falling, had he received it. Lord, though thou didst not give Adam this light, thou art unblameable; seeing thou didst give him so much of that light, as made him inexcusable.   

LXIII.  
In what faculty of the soul the cockatrice of Adam's sin was first hatched, I will not now dispute; whether it was in the understanding, being first blinded; or in the will, being first perverted: this I know, that the will is apt to be seduced by a blind understanding, and the understanding as apt to be clouded by a perverse will: The understanding 
* Quoad speciem actus.  moves the will by proposing the object, which the will cannot affect, except the understanding knows it; the will 
† Quoad exercitium actus.  moves the understanding to judge and consider the object, which the understanding cannot consider, except the will command it. Lord, illuminate my understanding, that it may direct my will to affect the things that thou commandest; and rectify my will, that it may command the understanding to exercise its act in meditating on the things which thou commandest.   

Lxiiii  
If Christ's obedience had been necessary or natural, and not voluntary, he had not been like to us in all things except sin; neither had he been subject to the tentation of disobedience, nor had his obedience been meritorious, nor had it been more excellent than the obedience of Angels: but in this was his obedience more noble than theirs, in that he yielded that obedience willingly, which they do necessarily. I will strive whilst I am here to obey willingly, that hereafter I may obey necessarily: for, though voluntary obedience be the nobler, yet necessary obedience is the surer; for I may disobey in the one, I cannot but obey in the other.   

LXV.  
Though the sufficiency of Christ's death be extended to all, yet the efficacy thereof is not applied to all; nor did he pray and make intercession for all: By his death he procured pardon for us, and by his intercession he applies that pardon to us. Lord, in thy birth, thou acceptedst my nature; in thy death, thou representedst my person: by thy intercession put away my sins, and pardon my offences, that the mediation which thou begannest in thy birth, and didst accomplish in thy sacrifice and passion, may be fully made effectual to me, by thy prayers and intercession.   

LXVI.  
Action follows the affection; therefore we love and hate actually, because these affections are in us radically: Though hatred be no affection in God, yet we conceive it as an affection: God therefore rejected Esau, because he hated him; but he did not hate him, because he rejected him. Lord, I know thou Mayst justly reject me, because in me there is that pravity, for which thou Mayst justly hate me: repair therefore in me the lost image of thy Son, and so I shall escape thy just wrath and indignation.   

LXVII.  
The acts of Christ's righteousness are ours, not as they are performed by him, but as they are imputed to us.; imputed, I say, by his merit and goodness, and apprehended by our faith, though in much weakness. Then I see, Lord, that without faith thy righteousness will not avail me, and without thy merit and goodness my faith cannot prevail with thee: give me then the hand of faith, that with the Hemorroisse, I may touch thee; and by thy merit strengthen that hand, that, with Jacob, I may hold thee.   

LXVIII.  
Christ first suffered, before we could be redeemed; and we are redeemed, before it is applied, or can receive benefit by it: then are we fully redeemed, when we are from Satan and sin delivered. Though Christ in suffering hath sufficiently paid the ransom, yet whilst we are here subject to sin and Satan, we are not fully partakers of redemption; Heaven, not earth, is the place where that shall be perfected. I will therefore lift up my head with joy, because by death the day of my redemption draweth nigh.   

LXIX.  
A double benefit we have by Christ: one, that he hath purchased Redemption for us by his blood; the other, that he hath applied that Redemption to us by his Spirit: if he had not died, I could not have believed; if I had not believed, he had not applied his death and merits to me: Redemption is the cause of Faith, and Faith the cause of Application. Lord, produce Faith in me by the virtue of thy passion, that by Faith I may enjoy thee in a true and spiritual Application.   

LXX.  
That the Church enjoys life eternal, she is bound to God's dilection; but that she enjoys that life alone, she is bound to his election: because he loved her, he hath bestowed this happiness upon her; because he chose her, he hath appropriated this happiness unto her. Lord, I will praise thy love, by which I was elected; and I will praise that election, by which I am separated from the reprobate.   

LXXI.  
God's will is the cause of preterition, his justice is the cause of predemnation: he was not bound to give grace to all, therefore he passed by some without prejudice to his goodness; he was bound to punish sin in all, therefore he preordaines the death of his own Son; and eternal pains for reprobates, that he might not suffer prejudice in his justice. Lord, if thou hadst passed by me, I could not have blamed thy goodness: if thou shouldst punish me eternally, I cannot blame thy justice; for, if thou givest grace to all, where is thy liberty? if thou forgivest all, where is thy justice and equity?   

LXXII.  
God is a most free Agent, because he can do what he pleaseth, not because he can do every thing: his will is the supreme cause of all external things, but not of his justice, which is internal: as he cannot do that which is evil, so he cannot will that which is unjust; as goodness is the object of his actions, so justice is the rule of his will. Lord, make my actions subordinate to thy will, as thy will is subordinate to thy justice: that, as thou canst not will that which in justice thou Mayst not; so I may not do that, which in wisdom thou wilt not.   

LXXIII.  
Though God foresaw sin in all, yet he rejected not all: sin was the occasion why he rejected some, his will was the cause why he rejected but some; his will was the cause of discrimination, but sin of reprobation. Lord, I confess, it was not for want of sin in me, that thou didst not reject me; but because there was no want of goodness in thee, therefore thou didst elect me: my sin was the cause why I might have been rejected, but thy mercy is the cause, why I was not rejected.   

LXXIIII.  
God hindered Adam's sin morally, by his law; not physically, by his power: he gave a law to guide him, threatenings to affright him, promises to induce him, sufficient grace to strengthen him; but used no violence or force to restrain him: he would not thwart or destroy, by any violent restriction, that liberty which he gave him by Creation. Thus we see his prudence, in not restraining sin physically; and withal his goodness, in curbing it morally.   

LXXV.  
God willeth the death of a sinner, because he foresaw the impenitency of the sinner: this is his consequent, not his antecedent will; in this, his will depends not on the creatures actions, but on his own prescience: his will may be Posterior to the foreseen sin of the creature, but no ways depending on the will of the creature. In willing the death of sinners, he shows his justice; in willing the death but of some sinners, he shows his goodness.   

LXXVI.  
All men may believe, only some men will believe; in all there is a possibility, in some only a velleity: the possibility to believe, is the gift of nature; but the will to believe, is the gift of grace: the one we have by Creation, the other by Regeneration. Lord, what is possibility without will, and nature without grace? As in Generation thou gavest me a reasonable soul, that had a capability to believe in thee; so, in my Regeneration, give me a sanctified will, that I may actually and constantly believe in thee.   

LXXVII.  
He that bestoweth Faith upon sinners, bestoweth also Salvation upon repentant sinners; by faith we are brought to repentance, by repentance we are prepared for salvation. Lord, if thou hadst not bestowed faith upon Peter, to believe in thee, he had not repented for denying thee; and if he had not repented, he had not been saved: lead me then, by the hand of faith, to the Jordan of repentance; that, being washed there from my spots, I may see Heaven opened with Christ, and with him enjoy thy Spirit, and light of thy Countenance.   

LXXVIII.  
There is in God's will both a necessity, and a liberty; he wills necessarily what concerns himself, he wills freely what concerns other things besides himself: he did necessarily will his own glory, he did freely will and decree my felicity. Lord, thou couldst not but will thine own honour and goodness; thou couldst not have willed my happiness: the more free thou wast from necessity in willing my felicity, the more am I bound to praise the glory of thy mercy.   

LXXIX.  
God's will hath a twofold consideration, one as it is concealed, another as it is revealed; the former hath relation to his own actions, the other to ours; what he will do himself is concealed, what he will have us do is revealed: this will is not always forcible, the other is powerful and irresistible. Lord, let me follow the directions of thy revealed will, and not meddle with the hid secrets of thy concealed will. I will not be too forward to know what thou hast not revealed, nor will I be too backward to do what thou hast commanded.   

LXXX.  
God hath decreed to bestow on man first grace, than glory: to the decree of giving grace, preterition is opposite; to the decree of giving glory, reprobation: no man is debarred from glory, but he that was first deprived of grace; preterition then is the antecedent to reprobation, and the want of grace to the want of glory. Thus they whom God doth here honour with the spiritual crown of grace, shall be hereafter graced with the eternal crown of honour.   

LXXXI.  
That is a just law which is given by him that hath right to impose it, and imposed on him who hath power to perform it: such was the law that God gave to Adam; the one had power to give, the other power to keep it. Lord, thy law is just which thou hast given to me, because thou hast power to impose it; this law will not be the less just, if thou wilt assist me, and give me power to obey it.   

LXXXII.  
As God's will hath relation to his own actions, it is accompanied with omnipotency; as it hath relation to our actions, it is regulated by justice: for, when he will do what he hath determined, he cannot be resisted; so, when he will have us do what he hath commanded, he cannot be unjust: what he himself will do, is best known to him; what he will have us do, is not unknown to us. Lord, as it is thy will, that I do that which thou commandest, wherein thou showest thy justice; so let it be thy will to command that, which by thy help I can do, and therein show thy goodness.   

LXXXIII.  
He that opposeth God's revealed will, which can be resisted; deserveth to be hardened by God's concealed will, which cannot be resisted: for that will of God which is not done by him, shall be done on him. Lord, assist me to follow the direction of that will which is revealed, that I may avoid the destruction which by that other will is decreed: for although, by the secret will of thy 
* Voluntas placiti.  pleasure, thou hast determined death for obstinate sinners; yet, by the pleasure 
† Voluntas signi.  of thy revealed will, thou hast proposed life to penitent sinners.   

LXXXIIII.  
God in his goodness made man a vessel of mercy, Satan in malice made him a vessel of misery; therefore God in his justice hath made him a vessel of his wrath and fury: God made the vessel, which, whilst it stayed in his hand, remained sound; falling from thence, it hath received a crack, therefore, by this crack being made unserviceable, it is rejected. Lord, the substance of the vessel is thine, the crack is mine; I have made myself unfit to serve thee, therefore justly Mayst thou refuse to honour me.   

LXXXV.  
God hated Pharaoh, not because he hardened him, but because he obstinately resisted God, therefore he hated him, and consequently hardened him; and that not by the force of his omnipotency, but by his patience and longanimity. Lord, if I by thy goodness should take occasion to become obstinate in wickedness, why Mayst not thou take occasion by my perverseness, to obdurate me in my sins, and to debar me from grace and happiness? Therefore, I pray thee, keep me from obstinacy, that thy patience, by my sins, may not be turned into fury.   

LXXXVI.  
There be two sorts of carnal men; some are carnal in knowledge, some in affections: the former sort are children, who are fed with milk, and not yet, with spiritual men, able to judge of all things; the other sort are wicked men, who walk after the flesh, not after the spirit, and have not mortified the deeds of the flesh: now God is a Spirit, and will be worshipped in spirit. Lord, remove from me all fleshly understanding, that I may conceive thee spiritually; and remove from me all carnal affections, that I may love thee spiritually. Give me the love of knowledge, that I may attain to the knowledge of thy love: Make me by the spirit of understanding, to come to the understanding of thy Spirit.   

LXXXVII.  
Goodness hath a twofold residence; one in the mind, the other in the flesh: when 'tis there, I will good; when 'tis here, I do good: 'tis good to have the knowledge of good, and that is in the mind; 'tis good to subdue and mortify sinful lusts, and that is in the flesh: the former goodness is sometimes in wicked men, the other is only in good men. Lord, place in my mind the goodness of knowledge, whereby I may see and understand thee; and place in my flesh the goodness of holiness, whereby I may love and enjoy thee: for what is knowledge without goodness, and sight without enjoyment? It is by knowledge I see, it is by love I enjoy.   

LXXXVIII.  
1. There is in us an inward man, so there is an outward. 2. There is a new man, so there is an old man. 3. There is a law of the mind, so there is a law of the members, and there is a law also of the spirit of life. 4. There is a voluntary dominion in sin, and there is an involuntary. 5. There is an universal tyranny of sin, and there is a particular. 6. There is a regeneration in the mind and will, and there is a regeneration in the members and affections. 7. There is a complete will, or volition; and there is an incomplete will, or velleity. 8. There is a general, or confused judgement; and there is a more particular, or distinct judgement. 1. The inward man is the mind, the outward man is the body. 2. The new man is grace, the old man is sin. 3. The law of the mind is knowledge and conscience, the law of the members is sin, the law of the Spirit of life is saving grace. 4. The wicked are under the voluntary, the godly under the involuntary dominion of sin. 5. Original sin is an universal tyrant, actual sins are particular tyrants. 6. Regeneration in the mind and will, is knowledge and desire; Regeneration in the members, is action, or working the will of God. 7. Volition follows the last judgement of reason, velleity follows the antecedent, or confused judgement. 8. By a general and confused judgement, my will affects the good which is commanded by God's law; by a particular and distinct judgement, my will affects the evil which is condemned by God's Law. Lord, ¹ as I praise thee for the inward and the outward man, ² so will I much more praise thee, if thou wilt strengthen in me the new man of grace, and weaken the old man of sin; ³ if thou wilt give me the law of the spirit of life, to illuminate the law of the mind, and to debilitate the law of the members: ⁴ Make my service of sin involuntary; ⁵ and though I cannot be free from that Catholic tyrant of original sin, yet in thy mercy deliver me from the insolency of these particular tyrants, my actual sins: ⁶ And let not my Regeneration be only intellectual, but also operative and effectual. ⁷ rectify and clear my judgement, that it may direct my will: ⁸ And make my will to affect the good which thou c●mmandest, and to disaffect the evil which thou condemnest.   

LXXXIX.  
Though Predestination, as it is an act or work of God, can nothing be furthered or hindered by our good or wicked lives; yet salvation, which is the effect of Predestination, may be furthered by prayers and holiness, hindered by our infidelity and wickedness: for God who preordained Salvation, preordained also the means which may help forward our Salvation. Lord, let not the conceit of my Election dull me with security, or puff me up with presumption: but assist me, that by good works I may make my Election sure, and in fear and trembling I may work out my Salvation.   

XC.  
There are three books of life; the one is God's Register book, the other is God's book of Statutes, the third is his book of Records. In the first, as in a Register, are set down all the names of the predestinate; in the second, which is the Scripture, are set out all the duties that are to be performed by the predestinate; in the third are set down all the good actions and sufferings of the predestinate: Out of the first we cannot be blotted, for our names are written in Heaven; and though an earthly mother may forget the fruit of her womb, yet our heavenly Father cannot forget the fruit of his Spirit. Out of the third book we may be blotted, because our sins may occasion him to forget our good works, and to slight our sufferings. Lord, I confess that I have slighted thy sacred Book of divine Statutes, therefore thou Mayst justly blot me out of the book of thy remembrance: but in that thou hast not blotted my name out of thy first book, I ascribe it to thy immutability; and if thou wilt not blot out my patience and sufferings out of thy other book, I will admire and praise thy mercy.   

XCI.  
Though God loves all men, yet he saves not all men: he loves them, because he made them; he saves them not, because he willed it not: he could not in justice will all men's Salvation, seeing man by his voluntary unjustice deprived himself of Salvation; he loves his own image, but hates that which defaced his image; he loves the man, but hates the sin; and if it were not for sin, he would not punish man. Lord, thy love to man is unspeakable, in that thou savest some; and thy justice is unsearchable, in that thou savest not all. I cannot blame thy justice, but my sins, that caused my misery; I cannot brag of my merits, but of thy goodness, that moved thee to mercy.   

XCII.  
God hates the sins of man, because he loves his own justice with the love of 
† Amor benevolentiae.  complacency; he hates the miseries of man, because he loves man's welfare with the love of 
* Amor amicitiae.  amity; but by accident he loves the death of wicked men, because he hates the works of iniquity. Thus it is as natural for God to hate evil, as it is to love himself; and as impossible for him to love evil, as it is to hate himself.   

XCIII.  
Christ loved us when we were his enemies, and he loves us being his friends: when we were his foes, he suffered death for us; being his friends, he hath purchased life to us: that love was greater than this, if we consider the object; this love is greater than that, if we consider the benefit. O my God, how am I bound to thee, who when I was thine enemy, didst wear the crown of thorns for me; and being now thy friend hast bestowed a Crown of glory on me: Let not the servant repine to bear the reproaches of so gracious a master, who was content to bear the sins and shame of so ungracious a servant.   

XCIIII.  
God did first will his own glory. 2. Man's existence. 3. His righteousness. 4. His own Promises. 5. The execution or accomplishment of them concerning man's happiness. God's glory is the great wheel of this clock, which moves all the rest; the final cause, which moves all other causes. Had it not been for his glory, I had neither had being, nor well-being; he gave me existence, he made me to his image, he promised me happiness, and he hath performed it, to the end I might glorify him. Shall I then dishonour thee, O God, by whom I am what I am, when I look on my creation; and am by grace what I am not by nature, when I look on my regeneration? Therefore I will praise the glory of thy power, for my existence; the glory of thy goodness, for my righteousness; the glory of thy mercy in promising, and the glory of thy truth in performing what thou hast promised, though thus I have not deserved.   

XCV.  
All the afflictions of God's people are either punishments, chastisements, or probations; punishments for sins past, chastisements to prevent sins to come, probations to make trial of our Christian virtues: and, though Christ was punished for our sins, to free us from eternal torments; yet we are not thereby exempted from temporary punishments: he died to save us from death eternal, not from death temporal: he both suffered and satisfied; we suffer, though we cannot satisfy: our sufferings are to show our conformity with Christ, but not to show any insufficiency in the death of Christ. Thou, O Lord, hast paid a plenary ransom for sin; and thou that knewest no sin, becamest sin, and didst suffer death as a punishment for us, that we who are born in sin might be free from sin, that death might not be a punishment, but a chastisement to us.   

XCVI.  
As by one simple act God knows his own Essence, so by one simple act he wils his own goodness; which will, whether we take it for an act or for an habit, is eternally in God, and differs but in some respects from his essence, and therefore is immutable, infinite, and holy as his Essence: and though many things are willed by him, yet there is but one will in him; which cannot be moved by any efficient end, or object different from himself. Lord, though my will cannot attain that simplicity, infiniteness, and immutability that is in thee: yet let it obtain some measure of holiness, that in desiring of that only which is good, it may in some measure resemble thine.   

XCVII.  
All have not had the happiness to hear of Christ, and yet there is no happiness without Christ: in this God is not unjust, for they who either in themselves, or in their parents have rejected him, are not worthy of him; besides, God hath not left himself without a witness, for he hath left a law written in all men's hearts, and so much light of his goodness and justice as may make all men excuseless. If therefore they shall be rejected that had not that light of knowledge which we have: how can we think we are elected, who have even spurned at the knowledge of that light which they have not?   

XCVIII.  
Regeneration, which is the killing of the old man, and quickening of the new, hath for her ushers Sorrow and Contrition; for her Attendants Faith and Hope; for her followers the works of charity: if any of these be defective, Generation will be little effective: neither is this the work of nature, but of grace; for nature by generation can give us a mortal essence, but grace by regeneration gives us an immortal existence: in our first birth we had a new nature from our corporal parents, in our second birth, nature is renewed by our spiritual parents: So easy is the work of physical generation, that it's performed in the instant of our conception; so difficult is the work of hyperphysical regeneration, that we cannot be consummately reformed, till the instant of our dissolution. Lord, the great world was with greater facility by thee created, than the little world of man could by thee be recreated; that was done only by uttering thy external word, this could not be done, but by the suffering of thy internal Word: therefore, as I am bound to thee for the tempor all life, which in my generation by thy spirit thou breathedst in me; much more am I bound for that eternal life, which, in my regeneration, by thy son's death, thou hast purchased for me.   

XCIX.  
In thy sight, O Lord, no flesh can be justified, if we consider the purity of thy nature, the rigour of thy justice, the infirmities of our flesh, and the imperfections of our righteousness: For the first, the Angels are not pure in thy sight, much less we who dwell in houses of clay: For the second, if thou shouldst mark, Lord, what is done amiss, who could abide it? For the third, there is no man that doth good, no not one, we are all gone out of the way: For the fourth, the justest man falleth seven times a day, and our righteousness is like a menstruous cloth. Therefore we acknowledge, Lord, there is no righteousness inherent in us, by which we can be saved, but that righteousness which is inherent in thee, and imputed to us, and by that we are justified; and there is in thee exuberance of mercies, by which we may be pardoned.   

C.  
We are justified by grace formally, by faith instrumentally, by the word ministerially, by good works demonstratively, by sorrow and repentance preparatively, by Christ's death and obedience meritoriously, and by God himself principally: if then God be the efficient cause, if Christ's active and passive obedience be the material, if grace be the formal, if God's glory be the final cause of our justification; how can we claim any share in it? We are only subjects and patients, no ways agents; our good works are but fruits and effects, no ways causes; our sorrow and repentance are effects of preventing grace, not of freewill; our faith is from above, not from ourselves. Therefore, O Lord, I disclaim all merit of congruity and condignity, all efficacy of Sacraments, all suffrages of Saints, all power of Roman Prelates, all absolution of Priests, all observation of human tradition, and all will-worship, from my justification. I acknowledge no other merits but thy mercies; by thy grace thou preventedst my merits; my merits are thy sufferings, my holiness is thy goodness; my righteousness is but a sparkle of thy brightness, a drop of that Ocean, a grain of that heap, a stone of that immense mountain of thy incomprehensible goodness; for which I am indebted to thee, not thou to me: Therefore, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name we glve the glory.    

DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON God's Justice.  

I.  
GOD will not pardon any sin, except we repent of every sin; for as he that breaks one command, is guilty of the breach of all; so he that faileth in repenting of one sin, repenteth of never a sin. God loves not to do things by halves, he will pardon all, or none; and he will have us repent of all, or none: for, as it stands not with his goodness and perfection to give an imperfect pardon; so it consisteth not with the sincerity of repentance, to conceal any sin not repented: as he ejected seven devils out of one, and a legion out of another, without leaving any behind in the possessed; so he will have us cast out all our sins, without hiding of any unrepented. What avails it to be freed from Satan's power in casting us into the water of drunkenness, if he can, when he pleaseth, fling us into the fire of concupiscence? O thou that art the great Physician of my soul, to thee I open all my wounds, and disclose all my maladies: make me, by the vomit of confession, to cast up all my sinful humours before thee; that, by the cordial of a general pardon, my soul may be cured, and totally saved by thee.   

II.  
So severe is the great Judge of the quick and the dead, that when he shall come to judge the world in righteousness, at his presence the powers of Heaven shall shake, the elements shall melt, the stars shall fall, the sun shall be darkened, the sea shall roar, and the moon shall give no light; yea, the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, and shall pass away with a noise. Lord, if the righteous shall scarcely be saved, where shall sinners appear? If there be no purity in the Angels, nor stability in the heavens, nor holiness in thy Saints, what shall become of me, who am sold under sin, and drinks in iniquity as water? But my comfort is, that thou hast committed all judgement to thy Son, who died for sinners. Shall I fear to be judged by a brother; or appear before a Saviour? He that left Heaven to suffer death for me, will he after death shut Heaven against me? I will not fear from that mouth the sentence of condemnation, which by prayer hath been the means of mediation between God and me. Surely, he that came to seek that which was lost, will not lose that, which he came to seek.   

III.  
Such is the severity of God's Justice, that he will not exempt his own children from temporary punishments, though he died for them: 1. Because, like gold, they must shine in the furnace of affliction. 2. That they may not be damned with the world. 3. That they may be the better fitted for Heaven; for they must be baptised in this red sea, before they can obtain that heavenly Canaan; and through the temple of virtue must pass into the temple of Honour. 4. That the wicked may have less cause to complain when they see God's own sons not spared. 5. That by chastisements sin may be suppressed, as Paul's pride by an Angel of Satan was buffeted. 6. That the Patience, Faith, and Obedience of the Saints might be manifested and exercised; that the metal of their virtues may not, for want of exercise, be rusted. 7. That in some sort they might be made conformable to Christ their Master; for, if he suffered for sin, that knew not sin, shall we escape punishment, that are born, live, and die in sin? Shall the head be wounded with thorns, and the members sleep in beds of Roses? 8. That others by their example may be animated to run with patience the race which is set before them. 9 That God's love to them may be testified; for he passeth by bastards, and corrects those whom he loves. Lord, with all reverence I kiss thy rod; by it I am bettered; thy flail doth not break me, but separates the chaff from me; thy fire purifieth, but consumeth me not; in thy mortar, the more that the spices of my virtues are bruised, the more they are made fragrant: My spiritual camomil by thy treading is not spoiled, but made more redolent: in thy press, though, like grapes, I am squeezed, yet the precious liquour of my virtues are not lost, but increased; the more that the storms of afflictions beat upon me, so much the more, like a strong Cedar, let my roots be fastened in thee; the darker the night is, I will, like a star fastened in thy firmament, shine the clearer; and the more burden thou layest upon me, with the palm, I will rise the higher. I acknowledge, Lord, thy goodness, in that thou hast not drowned the Ark of my soul in the flood of afflictions, but hast raised it higher than the highest mountains: Thy rod hath sweetened my bitter waters; and thy salt hath preserved me from rottenness.   

iv.  
Such is the severity of God's Justice, that some men's temporary sins are punished with eternal pains; because the person offended is eternal, the happiness which they lost is eternal, their desire to sin is eternal, the malice of Satan in tormenting men is eternal; the Justice of God is immutable, the fire of hell is inextinguishable, the repentance of wicked men in hell is impossible, the wrath of God without Christ is implacable. Lord, make me seriously to meditate upon these infernal pains, which for acerbity are unspeakable, for variety innumerable, for permanency interminable; that I may not run the hazard of suffering endless torments, for the enjoyment of a few, short, and fruitless vanities: make me to prevent thy wrath by timely repentance, that I may, before I go hence, obtain thy favour and indulgence.   

V.  
As God in his Justice suffers his Children to lie under the rod of correction, and adversity; so doth he permit wicked men to flourish with all outward prosperity. Lazarus starves, whilst the rich Glutton surfeits: whilst Joseph is a prisoner, his brethren are at liberty; and whilst Belshazzar is feasting, God's people are in captivity. This God is pleased to suffer: 1. That his goodness may appear, which causeth his sun to shine upon the good and bad. 2. To make the wicked inexcusable, who have not wanted the bait of outward blessings to bring them to goodness. 3. That we may know worldly prosperities to be none of God's choicest blessings, seeing bad men enjoy them; and outward adversities to be none of his chiefest judgements, seeing good men are annoyed by them. 4. That the wicked may not complain for wanting the reward of their good actions; verily they have received their reward here: let them be content with their temporary blessings, that is all the reward they shall have; let them take then that which is their own, and go their way. 5. The more outward prosperity is heaped on them, the greater judgements are prepared for them. 6. It stands with God's Justice, that these temporal vanities which they prefer to life eternal, should be the occasion of their stumbling and downfall. 7. Here is the comfort of God's Children, that he who heaps so many outward and earthly benefits on his Enemies, will not forget to bestow inward and heavenly blessings on his Friends: if the few good actions of wicked men are here so plentifully rewarded, surely the many sufferings of good men cannot be forgot and obliterated. O my God, as thy outward blessings, which are but temporal, content not my desires, which are immortal; neither am I assured by them that thou lovest me, seeing thou bestowest them on such as hate thee: therefore, Lord, confer on whom thou wilt wealth and honour; that which I desire of thee, is thy love and favour.   

VI.  
It stands with God's Justice to suffer us to fall into divers doubts and tentations, when we are puffed up with pride and conceit of our own excellencies; he will by such means humble us, that we may see our own infirmities; he will suffer us, with Peter, to sink in these waters, that with him we may fly to our Master Jesus: the Angel of Satan is permitted to buffet us, that we may, with Paul, pray to him whose grace is sufficient for us: God himself in these tentations wrestles with us, as the Angel did with Jacob; but we must not despair though we halt: he that strives with us all the night, will give us a blessing in the morning; and he that commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, will send an Angel to Abraham to rescue his son; though Satan seek to winnow us, yet we have a supporter of our faith, a Saviour who prays to his Father for us. Fear not drowning, though these billows of tentations shake our ship, so long as we have Christ with us in the ship, though our tentations are unpleasing, (for a wounded spirit who can bear?) though all the waves and storms of the almighty go over our head, though from our youth up we suffer his terrors with a troubled mind, though he give us vinegar and gall to drink, and feed us with the bread of tears: in a word, though he would slay us, yet, with Job, let us trust in him; he will lay no more on us than we can bear; he can make the same rod that beats us, support and comfort us; and though the vinegar which he powers into our wounds be sharp, yet he will temper it with oil: he can sweeten our corrupted pottage with meal, as well as our corrupted waters with salt. What though the gall of tentations be bitter; what though the spittle and clay of afflictions be unpleasant, so long as he can by them recover our spiritual eyesight, which we by pride have lost? Give the Physician leave to lance and scarify, so long as by such means he can cure thee of thy malady. O great Physician of my soul, I will not refuse to swallow the bitter Aloes of afflictions, if by them thou canst purge out the rank humours of my sickly affections. If I cannot obtain the Crown, but by fighting in this bloody field; if I cannot attain the haven of Heaven, but by sailing through this stormy sea; be thou my Pilot to conduct me, my Captain to lead me, and my King to reward me, or rather thy own work in me. O my God, if these waters of tentation do at any time overflow their banks, like Jordan, let the presence of the true Ark of the Covenant drive back these waters, that I may pass safely through them to the land of eternity: let the rod of thy passions divide this red sea of tribulations, and let the long robe of thy righteousness, which far exceeds Elijah's mantle in virtue and largeness, make me a way through this Jordan, to the kingdom of true happiness.   

VII.  
1. God in his severe Justice doth often punish a multitude for the sins of one man; one Achan offends, and all the host of Israel suffers. 2. Oftentimes he punisheth the children for the parents, to the third and fourth generation. 3. Sometimes he punisheth the good for the sins of the bad; Mordecai, Daniel, and the three Children are punished with captivity, for the Jews rebellion and iniquity. 4. Oftentimes for man's transgressions, he destroys the dumb creatures; Man sinned, and the earth with the beasts are destroyed. In this God is not unjust, though his judgements be occult: for, if the chirurgeon can strike the arm for the infirmity of the head, why may not God punish one for the offence of another, if by punishing the one, he can cure the other? 1. It was no injustice in God to punish a multitude for the sin of Achan, because the multitude was guilty of other sins, though not of the sin of Achan. 2. It is no injustice in God to punish children for the sin of their parents, because they are parts of their parents. 3. Neither is it injustice in God to punish the good, for the offences of the wicked, because no man is so good, that can say, he is no ways wicked. 4. It is no injustice in God to punish the creatures for man's transgression, seeing it was God's goodness to make the creatures for man's use and recreation: thus, as God can justly punish a whole nation for the sins of a wicked Prince, so as justly can God punish a good Prince for the sins of a wicked nation. O Lord, if harmless Infants, who have not sinned but in their pare●ts, are not exempted from thy justice; how shall I, who to the stock of my parents sins have added such an increase of actual transgressions, think to escape? And if the dumb creatures, which know not sin, are punished for mine iniquity; do not I deserve to be punished both for mine own sins, and for subjecting the creature unto vanity?   

VIII.  
God's Justice appears in punishing the wicked, in relieving the oppressed, in rejecting the bribes of rich men, in refusing to accept the persons of any men, in pronouncing just judgement, and putting the same in execution towards all men; and in tempering his justice with mercy towards the most wicked men: He drowned the first world for their abominations: he relieved the Israelites from their oppressions: he spared not kings and rich men for their wealth and greatness; and yet in sparing some, when he drowned the world, he showed his mercy and goodness. O thou righteous judge of the world, look with the eye of justice upon the oppressions of thy Church, and remove them; and with that same eye of justice look on her oppressors, and destroy them: but yet with the other eye of mercy look upon such of her persecutors as thou wilt save, and in time reclaim them.    

DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON God's mercy.  

I.  
AS there is in God no passion, so consequently no compassion; yet he is truly the God of mercy, because there is in him a promptitude to help those that are in misery: This mercy he extends not only to the good that love him, but also to the bad that hate him: 1. That they who are bad by their own perverseness, may be made good by his love and kindness. 2. As no man is so bad, in whom there is not some goodness; and no man so good, in whom there is not some wickedness: so God is not so unjust, as to suffer the one to go unpunished; nor is he so merciless, as to suffer the other to go unrewarded. 3. As he showeth mercy to the bad, and to those by whom he is hated; he will teach us, by his example, how to carry ourselves to those by whom we are persecuted. He healed the ear of him that came to apprehend him; he forgave Peter that denied him; he made Paul a vessel of mercy, though he persecuted him; he prayed for those that crucified him; and he died for those sheep that went astray from him: he causeth his sun to shine upon the good and bad; his rain to fall upon the just and unjust. O my God, I acknowledge thy goodness and mercy towards me a wretched sinner, who am sold under sin, and laden with iniquity: O let this thy goodness be a forcible means to reclaim me from the course of sin; that I may henceforth walk before thee in truth, in righteousness, and in sincerity.   

II.  
A great argument of God's goodness and mercy is his forbearance and longanimity: he stretcheth out his hands all day long to a rebellious generation. Why will you die, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord, I will not the death of a sinner. Many miracles did he work to turn Pharaoh's heart: sixscore years did he spend to bring the first world to repentance: many Prophets did he send, before he would destroy the Jews; he would have healed Babylon, but she would not be healed; he would have gathered Jerusalem, as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but she would not be gathered: How loath was he to cut down the figtree, though fruitless? how loath was he to destroy his Vineyard, though grapelesse? how loath to overthrow the Jews, though graceless? O Lord, I confess, that thy forbearance in punishing me so great a sinner, proceeds not from any liking thou takest in my sinning, for thou art most good: nor for any neglect in correcting, for thou art most just: nor for any ignorance that can be in thee, for thou art omniscient: nor for any impotency that can befall thee, for thou art omnipotent; but only out of thy goodness and mercy towards me, who delightest not in any man's destruction, but patiently waitest for the sinner's conversion. Lord, I am more bound to thee for thy long forbearance, than the Angels, who sinned in Heaven, and Adam in Paradise: they had no sooner offended thee, but they were rejected by thee; I have oftentimes sinned, and yet I am spared. O let me not abuse thy long animity by presumption, but let it work in me a true and speedy conversion.   

III.  
God showeth his great mercy towards us, in using so many means to call us: when we are weary, he bids us come to him, and he will ease us; when we are thirsty, he bids us come and drink, that with these waters of life he may refresh us; when we are hungry, he bids us come and eat, for with his own body he will feed us; when we have fought, and got the victory, he will bid us come to receive the Crown of glory, which he hath laid up for us. He calls us by his Spirit inwardly, and by his Word outwardly: Every good motion is a call, and an inward knocking: every Preacher is a Messenger, every Sermon is a Summons, every Scripture is a Love-letter, by which he invites and calls us. Besides, every benefit that we receive from him, is a Messenger to invite us to him: every morning the sun riseth, not only to give us light, but to invite us unto him who is the fountain of light: every night the moon or stars appear, not only to lessen the darkness of the air, but also to drive away the darkness of the mind; to call us both out of corporal and spiritual obscurity; Every drop of rain, every flower in the field, every ear of corn, every grape in thy Vineyard, every increase of thy flock, every addition to thy stock, are so many trumpeters of God's mercy, to stir up and call thee. Again, every cross and affliction he lays upon us, whether sickness, poverty, banishment, imprisonment, or infamy, are so many heralds sent to summon and call us. Besides all these, the horror of hell-darkness, which shall never be enlightened; of that fire, which shall never be extinguished; of that thirst, which shall never be quenched; of that worm, that shall never be consumed; of that weeping and gnashing of teeth, which shall never be ended; are proposed to us as so many sad Apparitors to summon us: But, lastly, if none of these will prevail with us, than the joys of Heaven are painted out unto us; the light that knows no darkness, the joy that knows no sorrow, the life that knows no death, the comfort of God's countenance, the beauty of the new Jerusalem, the society of holy Angels, the company of Christ, and of all the blessed souls; the rivers of delight, fullness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. O God, how wonderful is thy goodness, which thou hast showed to me, in proffering so many baits to catch and draw me out of the turbulent sea of this world, unto the shore of eternal happiness! But I have not obeyed thy outward invitations, nor inward motions: I have not taken notice of thy benefits, nor of thy chastisements; not of thy threatenings, nor of thy promises. Lord, I am so backward, thou must not only call me, but compel me; thou must not only warn me, but thou must draw me, and then I will cheerfully run after thee.   

iv.  
The mercy of God appears also in this, that, after our relapses, he is ready to receive us: his mercies are those sweet ointments, which make the Virgins follow him. He came to call sinners to repentance, to save that which was lost: he rejected not that sinful Mary Magdalene, nor Matthew, though a Publican; nor the Canaanitish woman, though a dog; nor the Thief upon the cross, nor Peter that denied him, nor the Jews that crucified him, nor Paul that persecuted him: that loving Father in the Gospel did not receive his prodigal Son when he returned, nor the shepherd that sheep which went astray, nor the woman her groat which she had lost, with so much joy and gladness, as he will us, if we return to him by repentance. O Lord, I have gone astray, like a lost sheep, from thee; I have, like a prodigal, spent that patrimony of grace which thou gavest me; I have gone a-whoring after this vain world, and have forsaken thee: O thou that art a careful Shepherd, a pitiful Father, a loving Husband, reject not thy lost sheep, thy prodigal son, thy disloyal wife. Shall I despair to come unto thee, whose arms are stretched out on the cross to embrace me, whose head bendeth downward to kiss me, whose heart is opened to receive and entertain me?   

V.  
God's mercy is to be considered, either as it is in him, or as it is from him: as it is in him, it is his act or habit; as it is from him, it is his effect: as it is in him, it is immutable; as it is from him, it is changeable: as it is in him, it is necessary; as it is from him, it is voluntary (for he will have mercy on whom he will:) as it is in him, it is his 
* {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}.  power; as it is from him, it is his 
† {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}.  operation: as it is in God, it is God; for nothing is eternal except God, but his mercy is eternal, from generation to generation, saith David: it is not lawful to trust in any, but in God; yet David trusteth in God's mercy; doubtless than his mercy is himself: and, being it is so, his mercy and justice are all one, though the effects of his justice and mercy are different. Lord, as thy justice is seen in punishing sinners; so is thy mercy manifested in sparing them; as thy justice was unspeakable in punishing thy Son for my sin, so is thy mercy incomprehensible in pardoning my sin by the punishing of thy Son.   

VI.  
As Christ's active and passive obedience is the meritorious cause, so is God's free mercy and grace the impulsive cause of our Justification and Salvation: And although God was bound in justice to pardon our transgressions, having received full satisfaction by his son's death and mediation, yet was he not bound in justice to send his Son into the world, or to make him an atonement for our prevarications: to send a mediator, who, by his obedience, might make satisfaction, and consequently save us, was an act of his free grace and mercy, to which he was not tied; but having sent a mediator, who, by his obedience, hath made satisfaction, it is an act of justice now to save us, and to this he is necessarily tied. O my God, how much am I bound to love and honour thee, who hast bound thyself to justify and save me? I pray thee, as thou hast divested thyself of thine own liberty in condemning me, and hast freely subjected thyself to necessity, that thou mightest save me; so debar me from all liberty in offending thee, and impose on me this necessity, that all my days I may love and serve thee.   

VII.  
To show mercy, and to pardon sin, are not of equal extent; for God shows mercy to all that are in misery, but he only pardons their sins whom he means to glorify: he is merciful to the wicked, in causing his sun to shine, and his rain to fall, and in bestowing of many outward blessings on them; but he pardoneth only the sins of them, who by repentance turn from sin to him, and by faith lay hold on Christ that died for them. And, although God be mercy itself, or merciful in the highest degree; yet, without satisfaction, he will not pardon iniquity; because pardoning is an act rather of his free will, then of his mercy: neither is it essential to his mercy to pardon, for so he should pardon all to whom he is merciful; which is not true: and though he is merciful to all those whom he pardoneth, yet the act of pardoning is not mercy, but the effect of mercy: for his mercy is essential, immutable, necessary; but to pardon is a free and mutable act: therefore, as God's justice is not prejudiced by punishing one for the sins of another, seeing that other undertook voluntarily to suffer punishment; so neither is God's mercy wronged by pardoning that sin for which satisfaction is made, because the satisfaction was not made by the party that offended: it was justice then in God to punish Christ for our sins, because voluntarily he took upon him our sins; so it was mercy in God to pardon that sin, for which Christ had fully satisfied. It was justice in God the Son, having become our surety, to satisfy for us; so it was mercy in God the Father to apply and impute his son's satisfaction to us. I confess, Lord, that though thou art bound in justice to pardon my sin, for which thou art fully satisfied; yet thou art not bound in justice to impute that satisfaction, or to account it mine; seeing by my personal righteousness thou hast not been satisfied. I will admire thy justice in punishing thy son for the sins which by him were not committed, and I will magnify thy mercy in forgiving my sins, for which I have no ways satisfied.   

VIII.  
The highest degree of God's mercy was in sending of his only begotten son into the world, to be our Jesus, to procure Salvation for us; which he did, not by showing us the way of Salvation only, or by declaring his father's will unto us, or by showing us the example of his life and death; but by paying the price of our Redemption: for we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son, Rom. 5. 10. we are redeemed by the precious blood of that immaculate Lamb, 1 Pet. 1. 18. his blood was given for the remission of sins, Matth. 26. 28. we are justified by his blood, Rom. 5. 8. he was made a curse, to free us from the curse of the law, Gal. 3. 13. by his death he hath abolished death, &c. Heb. 2. 14. the Son of man came to give his life for the Redemption of many, Mat. 20. 28. his blood cleanseth us from all sin, 1 Ioh. 1. 7. by his stripes we are healed, Isai. 53. 5. he made himself a sacrifice for sin, Isai. 53. 10. therefore it is by his blood, by his sacrifice, by his death, by his stripes, that we are saved, expiated, justified, redeemed, cleansed, healed: and it was for our sins that he suffered, Rom. 4. 25. for our iniquities that he was bruised, Isai. 53. 5. our transgressions he bore in his body on the tree; and upon him was laid the iniquity of us all, Isai. 53. 7. neither did he undertake this wretched condition for us forcedly, but freely; nor was the death temporal, but eternal in the intention, and greatness of the torments; neither was Christ's death a bare manifestation, but a just price of our Redemption: for in him we have Redemption by his blood, remission of sins, &c. Eph. 1. 5. we are redeemed by the precious blood of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus, 1 Pet. 1. 18. which was represented by the levitical sacrifices, save only that the levitical Priest offered for his own sins, and for the sins of the people; but Christ had no sins of his own for which he should offer: And as the priest's office was to offer sacrifice, and to make intercession, Christ performed the one upon the cross, when by his death he made satisfaction, and blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances; but the other, Christ performs in Heaven, interceding for us, and applying his death unto us; for we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, 1▪ Ioh. 2. 1. whose Intercession must not be confounded with his oblation, because this was once performed, and cannot be iterated, for he cannot die often, Heb. 9 25. and with one oblation he hath consecrated for ever those that are sanctified, Heb. 10. 14. but his Intercession is performed daily, for he is entered into Heaven, that he might appear in the sight of God for us, Heb. 9 24. by virtue of whose propitiatory sacrifice we are not taught the way to offer and reconcile ourselves to God, but by him we are reconciled, redeemed, justified, saved. O my God, who is able to comprehend the height, depth, breadth, and length of thy unspeakable mercy? In height it reacheth to the heavens, in confirming the Angels; in depth it reacheth to hell, for thou deliveredst David from the nethermost hell; in breadth it extends from East to West, over all the world, even over all thy works; and the length thereof is from generation to generation: Therefore there is none of thy Attributes so gracious and admirable as thy mercy: for, as there is nothing greater in thee, then that thou canst; so there is nothing better, then that thou wilt have mercy on those that are in misery.  
FINIS.