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and in not reflecting on that gracious Promife, whereby he hath engaged to be our God, our Portion and Felicity, if we will but return and yield ourselves to him, thro' Jefus Chrift, by a true and living Faith, a fincere Repentance, and dutiful Obedience. We cannot indeed expect the full Effect of his Promife, whilft we continue in this prefent finful World. But the Time is coming, and that fhortly, when that infinitely perfect and happy Being fhall display his Glory, and communicate of his Fulnefs to his faithful Servants and Children, who loved and served him in Sincerity here on Earth, in fuch a Manner as fhall for ever ravish their Souls, and diffuse Joy and Gladness through all their Faculties and Powers. Then shall they behold his Face in Righteousness, and be perfectly fatisfied with his Likeness. For with him is the Fountain of Life, and in his Light shall they fee Light. In his Prefence is Fulnefs of Joy, and at his right Hand there are Pleafures for evermore. Rejoice therefore in the Lord, O ye righteous, and shout for Joy all ye that are upright in Heart. Let the Man of real Piety and Virtue delight himself in the Lord, and in his infinite Perfections, even when the World frowns upon him, and his outward Circumstances have a dark and uncomfortable

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Afpect. If the Lord is his Portion, whatever be his present Lot, he shall in the final Iffue of Things be perfectly happy; and may upon good Grounds, break forth into that rapturous Strain of the Prophet, Although the Fig-tree fhall not bloom, neither fhall Fruit be in the Vine, the Labour of the Olive fhall fail, and the Fields hall yield no Meat, the Flock jhall be cut off from the Fold, and there fhall be no Herd in the Stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my Salvation. Habak. iii. 17, 18.

On

On the Divine Dominion.

DISCOURSE XIX.

I

I TIM. vi. 15.

Who is the bleed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

N my former Difcourfe on these Words, it was observed, that there are two Things plainly fignified here, the divine Happiness, and the divine Dominion. The first is fignified in the Character of blessed, or, as it might more properly be rendered, happy', which is here given him. The fecond is fignified in his being called, the only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

The first of these has already been confidered. It was fhewn, that God must needs be perfectly happy, because he has all

the

the Fulness of Perfection and Excellency in himself; and that he has all this eternally, unchangeably, and independently. And it was farther obferved, that God is for ever exalted above every thing that could be supposed to interrupt or disturb his Felicity. The Government of this vaft Universe, and all the Orders of Beings in it, does not create any Uneafinefs in him: nor is it in the Power of any of his Creatures, by their Oppofitions to his Authority, and Tranfgreffions of his Laws, in the leaft to diminish the perfect Bleffedness he for ever enjoys. Some Perfons of profane Minds have drawn a perverse Inference from this, as if because Sin cannot hurt God, therefore there is no great Evil in finning against him, nor will he feverely punish it. But it was fhewn, that if the Sins of his Creatures do not make God unhappy, this is not owing to any Want of Malignity in Sin, which would render him unhappy if he were capable of being fo, but is owing to the infinite Excellency and Perfection of his Nature; and this very Excellency and Perfection of God mightily heightens the Evil of Sin, which is an Attempt against his Authority and Government, and a mon ftrous Breach of Order, and, as fuch, deferves and requires to be punished. Nor does God's inflicting Punishments on his rebellious Creatures occafion the leaft Perturba

tion in his infinite Mind, fince it is only acting agreeably to Juftice and Order, and in a Manner worthy of his Perfections, and becoming him as the wife and righteous Governor of the World, and which tends to the maintaining and promoting the univerfal Good.

I concluded with obferving, that as God is his own eternal Happiness, fo he is every way fufficient to be the Happiness of his Creatures, and delights in the free Communications of his own Goodness: that therefore it is of the highest Importance to us to feek to him for Happiness, and to endeavour to fecure an Interest in his Favour.

Having confidered the first Thing here fignified, viz. the divine Happiness; the next Thing that comes to be confidered is, the divine Dominion. As he is faid to be the bleffed, or 'happy', fo he is represented to be the only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

God is here called the only Potentate, as if there was no other that deferved the Name of Potentate but God alone. And indeed there is no other Potentate, whofe Dominion is fupreme and abfolute, univerfal in its Extent, and unchangeable and eternal in its Duration.

Ift, God may be faid to be the only Potentate, because he alone is truly and pro

perly

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