tence, after the reading the charge; God tells them, he would not destroy them, he would not execute them, because he was God. If he were not a God, he could not keep himself from pouring out a just vengeance upon them. If a man did inherit all the meekness of all the angels and all the men that ever were in the world, he could not be able to bear with patience the extravagancies and injuries done in the world, the space of one day; for none but a God, i. e. one infinitely long-suffering, can bear with them.

Not a sin passed in the world before the coming of Christ in the flesh, but was a commendatory letter of God's forbearance, To declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God, Rom. 3. 25. God, Rom. 3. 25. And not a sin passed before the coming of Christ into the soul, but gives the same testimony, and bears the same record. And the greater number of sins, and great sins are passed, the more trophies there are erected to God's longsuffering; the reason why the grace of the gospel appeared so late in the world, was to testify God's patience. Our apostle takes notice of this long suffering towards himself in bearing with a such a persecutor; Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me, first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him, 1 Tim. 1. 16. This was Christ's end in letting him run so far, that he might shew forth not a few mites, grains, or ounces of patience; but all long-suffering, long-suffering without measure, or weight, by wholesale; and this as a pattern to all the ages of the world; TOTUTwo, for a type; a type is but a shadow in respect of the substance. To show, that all the ages of the world should not waste that patience, whereof he had then manifested but a pattern. A pattern we know is less than the whole piece of cloth, from whence it is cut. And as an essay is but a short taste of a man's skill, and doth not discover all his art; as the first miracle Christ

wrought, of turning water into wine, as a sample of what power he had, was less than those miracles which succeeded; and the first miracle God wrought in Egypt, in turning Aaron's rod into a serpent, was buta sample of his power which would produce greater wonders; so this patience to Paul was but a little essay of his meekness, a little patience cut off from the whole piece, which should always be dealing out to some sinners or other; and would never be cut wholly out till the world had left being. This sample or pattern was but of the extent of a few years; for Paul was but young, the scripture terms him a young man, Acts 7. 58, * about thirty-six years of age, yet he calls it all long-suffering. Ah Paul! some since have experienced more of this patience, in some it has reached not only to thirty, but forty, fifty, or sixty

years.

2. Grace. It is partly for the admiration of this grace, that God intends the day of judgment. It is a strange place; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, in that day, 2 Thess. 1. 10. What, has not Christ glory enough in heaven with his Father? Will he come

on purpose to seek glory from such worthless creatures as his saints are? What is that which glorifies Christ in them? It is the gracious work he has wrought in them. For the word is, ἐνδοξασθηναι ἐν ayivis, to be inglorified in his saints, i. e. by something within them; for which they glorify Christ active and objective; as the creatures glorify the wisdom and power of God, by affording matter to men to do so; so does the work of God in saints afford matter of praise to angels, and admiration to devils. The apostle useth two words, glorified, that is the work of angels and saints, who shall sing out his praises for. it. As a prince after a great conquest receives the congratulations of all his nobility. Admired; that

* Sanctius in locum.

the very devil and damned shall do; for though their malice and condition will not suffer them to praise him, yet his inexpressible love in making such black insides so beautiful, shall astonish them.

In this sense those things under the earth shall bow down to that name of Jesus, a Saviour. A name which God gave him at first; Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, Phil. 2. 9, 10. And upon his exaltation did confirm, Heb. 5.9, when he was made perfect, i. e. exalted, he became the author of eternal salvation, and had the power of saving, as well as the name conferred upon him. They shall confess that he is Lord, Phil. 2. 11. i. e, that he acted like a Lord, when he prevailed over all the opposition which those great sinners made against him. The whole trial of the saints, and the sentence of their blessedness, shall be finished before that of the damned, Matt. 25. 35. 44. That the whole scene of his love, and the wonders of the work of faith being laid open, might strike them with a vast amazement. And that this is the design of Christ, to be thus glorified in his grace and power, appears by the apostle's prayer, ver. 11, 12, that the Thessalonians might be in the number of those Christ should be thus glorified in. Therefore he prays, that God would fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, i. e. that grace he so pleased and delighted to manifest, and carry on the work of faith with power; that the name of Christ might be glorified in them, as well as in the rest of his saints. Ordinary conversion is an act of grace; Barnabas so interprets it, Acts 11. 21, 23, when a great number believed; what abundance of grace then is expended in converting a company of extraordinary sinners!

It is the glory of a man to pass by an offence, Prov. 19. 11, i. e. it is a manifestation of a property which is an honour to him to be known to have. If it be thus an honour to pass by an offence simply, then the

Fulness of God's Grace.

153

greater the offence is, and the more the offences are which he passeth by, the greater must the glory needs be; because it is a manifestation of such a quality in greater strength and vigour. So it must argue a more exceeding grace in God to remit many and great sins in man, than to forgive only some few, and lesser offences.

1. Fulness of his grace. He shews hereby, that there is more grace in him, than there can be sin in us, or the whole world. He lets some sinners run mightily upon his score, to manifest, that though they are beggared, yet his grace is not. That though they have spent all their stock upon their swinish lusts, yet they have not drained his treasures: no more than the sun is emptied of its strength, by exhaling the ill vapours of so many dunghills. This was his design in giving the moral law, finis operis, that is, the event of the law was to increase the sin; but finis operantis, was thereby to glorify his grace; Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, Rom. 5. 20. When the law of nature was out of print, and so blurred that it could scarce be read, God brings the moral law (the counterpart of the law of nature) in a new edition into the world; and thereby sin hath new aggravations, as being rebellion against a clearer light, a swelling, and breaking over this mighty bank of the law laid in its way. But this was serviceable to the fulness of his grace, which had more abundant matter hereby to work upon, and a larger field to sow its inexhaustible seed in, vimeperρSiwepo, it did superabound. That grace should rise in its tide higher than sin, and bear it down before it ; just as the rolling tide of the sea riseth higher than the streams of the river, and beats them back with all their mud and filth. It was mercy in God to create us; it is abundant mercy to make any new creatures, after they had forfeited their happiness, 1 Pet. 1. 3. which according to his abundant mercy, karà тò modu“,

But it was ὑπερ.

according to his much mercy. Továα xapis, overflowing exceeding abundant, more than full grace to make such deformed creatures new creatures, ver, 14. of this chapter.

2. Freeness of grace. None can entertain an imagination, that Christ should be a debtor to sin, unless in vengeance, much less a debtor to the worst of sinners. But if Christ should only take persons of moral and natural excellencies, men might suspect that Christ were some way or other engaged to them, and that the gift of salvation were limited to the endowments of nature, and the good exercise and use of a man's own will. But when he puts no difference between persons of the least, and those of the greatest demerit, but affecting the foulest monsters of sin, as well as the fairest of nature's children, he builds triumphal arches to his grace upon this rubbish, and makes men and angels admiringly gaze upon these infinitely free compassions; when he takes souls full of disease and misery into his arms. For it is manifest hereby, that the God and Lord of nature is no more bound to his servant, (as touching the gift of salvation) when she carries it the most smoothly with him, than when she rebels against him with the highest hand. And that Christ is at perfect liberty from any conditions, but that of his own, viz. faith; and that he can and will embrace the dirt and mud, as well as the beauty and varnish of nature, if they believe with the like precious faith.

Therefore it is frequently God's method in scripture, just before the offer of pardon, to sum up the sinner's debts, with their aggravations; to convince them of their insolvency to satisfy so large a score, and also to manifest the freeness and vastness of his grace; But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob, but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel; Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt-offering, &c. but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities, Isa. 43. 22, 23, 24,