mercies, he saith, Psalm cili. 4, "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction," there is the mercy of life; "who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies," there is favour imparting the supplies of life. And indeed we do not use to make our acknowledgments and express our obligation to the hand that gives, but the mind that inclines the hand to bestow the gift; the favour and good will of the giver is the spring of the benefit: all our supplies come of mere favour, godly and wicked have forfeited them into the hands of justice: Jacob acknowledged he was not worthy of the least of God's mercies,* so may we say; one sin forfeits temporal enjoyments, bless God for their undeserved continuance. 3. It follows, that wicked men have many fruits of God's favour, and we must still distinguish betwixt God's common and his special favour. As to the latter, no man knows either love or hatred by what is before him, for all things come alike to all, Eccles. ix. 1, 2. Riches of themselves do not evidence God's peculiar favour; for both Scripture and experience testify, that the worst of men oftentimes have the greatest share of the best things of this world. By what tenure they possess these things, I shall not dispute, or whether they be properly usurpers of God's creatures; as to true covenant title in Christ they have none, but a right before men they have, and some right in God's sight as from his royal bounty: as thus, suppose a malefactor is condemned to die, the sentence is not executed, in the interval before the execntion, he hath bread and water, or something still more nourishing given him to keep him alive till the execution, he hath broken the law, and forfeited his life and livelihood, yet it is the king's pleasure and favour he shall be main * Gen. xxxii. 10. tained, he is no usurper in using that meat; thus God endureth with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. * 4. The last inference is this, that God's favour is infinitely better than all worldly enjoyments. There were endless disputes amongst heathen philosophers, to decide wherein consisteth man's chief good? this text determines the controversy, the chief good of man consists in the favour of God. It seems this was the great inquiry, and a subject of eager investigation in the days of David; Psalm iv. 6, 7, "There be many that say, who will shew us any good?" Let David answer the question, he will clearly transfer it from the creature to the Creator: "Who will shew?" they meant, who among men? but God alone must answer David's diligent inquiry, let him have a propitious smile from heaven, and he is satisfied; let others make their best of the world's markets, David looks for his profit from another mart and quarter: God's shining countenance is better to him, than their plentiful harvests of corn and wine, and no wonder if we compare a little, worldly enjoyments with God's favour. (1.) God's favour is the spring and fountain, the original cause of all favours; and surely, the cause hath more in it than the effect. God's favour is abundant and plentiful; hence it is called, "The fountain of living waters." It is true, the streams of God's favour do run through God's covenant people as their proper channel, yet many rich drops sprinkle over mountains of Gilboa, and the heath of the wilderness; but these are only drops, crumbs cast to dogs, or showers of outward mercies at the best, while saints lie at the spring-head of grace. (2.) God's favour alone satisfies a rational soul, + Jer. ii. 13. * Rom. ix. 22. other things cannot; this only brings solid peace and quietness to our minds, and satisfaction to our desires.* God made the soul for himself and it cannot be at rest till it return to God; Psal. cxvi. 7. Other things are bread which fills not, nay, no bread at all, but he that obtains divine favour may eat that which is good, and his soul shall delight itself in fatness; Isa. Iv. 2. As a natural body out of its place is not at rest, so the soul must enjoy God; as no quantity of any thing can fill a vessel when its capacity is larger than that quantity, so no earthly thing can fill a heavenly soul, for the soul is more capacious than the world. (3.) God's favour is spiritual, therefore can extend to souls and spirits, which carnal corporeal objects cannot do, they adhere to the outside, to the members and senses. Hence said that rich man, "Soul, take thine ease, thou hast goods laid up.” But what were those goods to his soul? it was his sensitive, not his rational soul that was the better by them; there is no proportion betwixt outward things and spiritual faculties, but God's favour in Christ is adequate and suitable to the soul, it can pierce and penetrate through all the senses to the inward man, and there unite itself by intimate conjunction with our minds, for it doth not lightly tickle the outward or inward senses, but even possesseth the soul and spirit. One compares the joy of God's favour to an abundant drenching of the earth with seasonable rain, while favour from the world, resembles a light sprinkling of the earth with an evening dew; God's favour waters thoroughly, the world's drops are but like the sprinkling of water on the smith's fire, making it burn hotter. (4.) God's favour is to be desired for itself, as the ultimate object of our desires. Other things are only * Psalm xxxvi. 8. desirable for inferior ends in their secondary respective places, as physic to recover health, meat to satisfy hunger, &c. but there is no other end for which God can be rightly desired, except for himself, and all other things in subordination to this end, for all things must be referred to God, as the efficient cause and chief end of all; when a man is travelling, if he be arrested in any part of his way he cannot perfect his journey, or reach to the end thereof; but created things are intended as steps to conduct the Christian forward on his journey. (5.) God's favour is independent, and needs not to be indebted to the creature, as a means to effect the end; it can satisfy souls immediately, and so indeed it doth those in heaven, for they have neither creature supplies, nor positive institutions, through which God's favour is communicated to them, his blissful presence is their heaven; so it is in this world, God can, and often doth refresh the hearts of his children in the absence of means, not only of creature comforts, but of his own ordinances; a Paul could feel enjoyment,* whether in the body, or out of the body, he could not tell; but however, as it was abstracted from the creature, so it was above the creature to effect. (6.) God's favour is an infinite good, because it can, at one and the same time, supply all the creatures in heaven and earth, whose necessities are so various ;† the sun can only give light to one hemisphere at once, but the sun of God's favour shines through the visible creation into men's souls, and to the saints and angels in heaven in a glorious radiant manner; these live more directly under the benign influences of God's bliss-mak 2 Cor. xii. 2. + Quod totum omnibus simul communicatum debet esse infinitum.-Ames. Cat. Sec. 7. ing presence, yet we feel the virtue and comfort of it more reflexly through the glass of ordinances. I dispute not whether that which satisfies a soul must needs be infinite, since a soul is but finite; but this is certain, that which satisfies all souls at once must be infinite. (7.) God's favour is unmixed, pure, and perfect, there are no dregs in this cup, it is a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal; Rev. xxii. 1. There is light and no darkness at all,* life and no death, blessing and no curse, fulness of joy and no sorrow,† heaven and no hell; his blessing makes rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it as to outward comforts; and for spiritual joys, so far as God's favour shines upon the soul, and is not obstructed and intercepted with the thick mists of sin, fear, or ignorance, there is no defect in it, no sadness attends it, but the spiritual Jews have light and gladness, and joy and honour,‡ while in worldly enjoyments there is not only vanity but vexation. (8.) God's favour is effectual, it can cure the soul of all its fears, and sad thoughts, and scatter all clouds. Psalm xciv. 19, "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul." Alas! the top and cream of worldly joy from outward comforts is soon fleeted, or skimmed off by means of affliction; when God emptieth from vessel to vessel, he spoils mirth, but his favour can elevate the heart from earth, yea, from hell to heaven; it can make the Christian bear up against storms in the midst of the most furious encounters, yea, it causeth joy not only in them, but for them. || (9.) God's favour may be made sure, but the enjoyments of the world cannot; all outward comforts are * 1 John i. 5. + Psal. xvi. 11. 2 Cor. xii. 10. James i. 2. |
